2013 Guatemala Benefit Concert

April 13, we hosted a Benefit Concert to fundraise for our Guatemala trip again!  It was so much fun to have our friends and family come out and support us, and also to host it in a new venue.  A friend of ours from the trip last year owns a place in the Design District called Weld, and we got to use the space.

Troy played for us again, and this year, we added Mosey to our act.  Jared & Kari Dobbs sing just a few times a year since they have two (almost three) kids on the way, and it was a treat to have them!


 

Adam and I had lots of fun playing around before setting up.  :-)

We had lots of great help getting things all situated--Mom, Dad, Papa, Troy and Sarah were all there to rearrange furniture (Mom), get the sound set up (Adam, Dad and Troy), and make sure the lights were just right (Papa and Sarah and Mom).  It was a team effort!

My Pinterest-inspired food table

Instead of lasagna, we made homemade salsa instead.  (So much easier!)

Light set-up

People came to listen and support!  To me, that's the most nerve-racking of all...waiting to see if anyone will show up.  :-)

Sarah, Troy, Shay and Adam

Our friends "Mosey" (Kari & Jared Dobbs)

I wasn't planning on singing, but Troy and I ended up throwing a little something together for me to sing with him.  (Adele's Rolling in the Deep).  No surprise, I had a ball.

We raised $1100 that night, and are nearly halfway to our goal.  It is so humbling how generous people are. Thank you for blessing us in this way!

Inquiring minds want to know {fire fighting and West}

I've had several people ask today if Adam went down to West, Texas after the explosion last night. He was already at the station and got (near) real-time reports from a lieutenant's wife who was on the phone with them.

The Department has certified teams who are trained and prepared to respond in these types of situations. These are the HAZMAT team and the USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) team. They went down to West at about 11 pm last night, so other stations picked up their calls. Adam said there were three or four stations out of service last night because they were responding to the emergency. As a result, their call volume picked up and he didn't sit down 'til about 10 pm, and then got right back up, sleeping a total of four hours. (Surprisingly, he was in a great mood today!)

When the state declares an emergency for explosions like this or wild fires, for example, the state pays for the work, rather than the city. So someone who is on the special teams will go, but if you're not on the team and would like to go, it's on a volunteer basis.

So, no, he did not go, but he did help in a way, because he took more runs than normal to make up for the city being short-staffed.

Our hearts go out to the people of West and those who are responding to this tragedy.

Thanks for checking on us and for wondering. Sometimes I forget this lifestyle of ours is a-typical. I guess you could say I'm getting used to it. :-)

Today's Letters {4.17.13}

What a week.  First Boston, where my brother walked those very streets daily, less than a year ago, and then an explosion in West, Texas, last night, where the first responders were...fire fighters.  Lord, we pray for wisdom and peace in these situations and in our response to these tragedies.  

Dear AMP, thanks for building ramps and doing March for Babies projects this week.  Having you as my work wing man is always a treat.   Weekend-made freezer meals, I'm thankful for you.  Eating at home never tasted so good.  Easiest. Thing. Ever.  #hiwearebusy   Dear Rye, on Sunday we're celebrating you with a Hot DOG party.  I can't believe it's been a year since we rescued you you made our life more fun.  We love you so.  Dear Dad, thanks for helping us with our tax return.  Married, filing jointly is complicated.  What would we do without you?  Dear Adam, (who always gets two letters) boy did I luck out with you.  Not every husband would be so understanding of a wife who (accidentally) got her 2012 withholdings wrong and ran a red light in the same week.  #iamexpensive.  Thank you for being so gracious about it all.  Love you.  

The Season of Weddings!

February kicked off a season of five weddings for us!  We've been busy!  :-)  It's been so much fun to share in dear friends' special days.  Here's a peak at the first three...

Mary Ellen Herndon & Jason Phipps (Houston)

I met Mary Ellen (or "Mellen," as I like to call her) my senior year of high school.  Her family is good friends with Mark & Laura, so Laura introduced us eight years ago.  Mellen ended up being my Tri Delta Big Sis, and that's a pic of us on the left at one of the pledge dances we went to--maybe my junior, her senior year?  And on the right is the two of us at her bridesmaid luncheon.

I flew down to Houston on Thursday afternoon and we started the weekend celebrating the Bachelorette!  We went to dinner and came back to her house to open gifts.  So many of her bridesmaids were college friends, and it was such a blast to hang out with them.  Love those girls!

Friday, we loaded up two cars (like this!), squeezed the little Maid of Honor, Holly, in the back, and headed out to the Bridesmaid Luncheon.  Then we went to the hotel for the weekend, had the rehearsal & rehearsal dinner.  Adam had to work and go to a lab class, so he joined me Saturday afternoon before the wedding.  Amanda popped up to the hotel Saturday morning, and we were able to catch up over breakfast.  Such a treat!

The wedding was GORGEOUS!  I got to sing during the ceremony, which is always a special treat for me to get to do.  Both the ceremony & reception were at the Rice Hotel, so we had some down-time in between while they flipped the room.

The Paulsons and Newly-married Phipps!

So glad to have my man by my side!

We drove back Sunday morning and two weeks later, I headed out with my college roomies to Louisiana!

Ashley Baronet & James Walker (Louisiana)

Katie flew in from Nashville, and SMoo and I loaded her up, along with our Vera Bradley bags (we could totally do an ad for her!), and headed out for the five-hour drive.

The three of us are rarely together, so this was a pure treat to have 10 hours of uninterrupted car time!

Delta Love!

{Me, Smoo, Baronet, Julie & Katie}

It was such a fun Louisiana-style wedding.  SO MANY of Baronet's friends drove in (which is a testament of what a fun friend she is!), and we got to have some great catch up time with Baylor friends.

Kelley Caldwell & Drew Brown (Dallas)

Most recently, we celebrated a wedding here in Dallas, for my lifelong friend, Kelley, who was also my little sis in Tri Delt.  We started off on Friday with the Bridesmaid Luncheon at my mom's house.  I thought the decor was so chic!  Love the burlap and lanterns.

We had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and then Saturday we went to Park Cities for the wedding!  It was a beautiful ceremony, and Kelley was just radiant.

Vicki caught this for us on my iPhone.  :-)

They had the same wedding band that we had at ours, and it was so much fun to dance with them again!!  We loved it.  The dance floor was packed, which, to me, is a sign of a great band and fun friends!!

We are so happy for all three of these couples, and look forward to celebrating with two more by the end of June!  (And if you want to get married in 2013, I think there's still time! Ha!)