What's New!?!?

Hey Everyone!

It has been a little over two weeks since my last post. I was doing really good about posting every Sunday....but....then I slacked! Sorry!

Anyways I just wanted to share with y'all what is new with us!

I finally got our house unpacked and things in place. When I say I- I want to use that term loosely. It really means myself, my mom, my dad and my sister. Along with other people who have showed up when I was unavailable to receive something that was being delivered to the house. A lot of loving people have helped me get the house in tip top shape for Mr. Todd's arrival. For these people I am beyond grateful! Our bodies have been bruised and battered and I have never felt more loved than I have in the past few weeks. I am one very lucky girl to have the family I have. So thank y'all! All of y'all in every little and big way y'all have helped me thru "Operation Get Settled".

I will post pictures once Jess has seen it in person and because the pictures just don't do it justice. There are still some things we have left to do but all in all it is taken care of.

Before I went home to continue "Operation Get Settled" I came back to Memphis for a week to spend time with Jess during their homestand. This month they have been on the road a lot so we haven't got to spend a lot of time together. A lot of girls were in town during this homestand so here are some pictures of that week!

The girls at the Game!

Astrid and I 

The last game was a day game which was Father's Day so in honor of Father's Day and Prostate Cancer the boys autographed some bats and wore blue in their jerseys. Here are some pictures from some of the games.

Autographed bats, you can see Jess' signature on the second bat in the picture.

Jess and Andy after Jess closed the game!

Boys will be boys :) 

Jess got his first win since 2009 last night! He came in for the 6th inning and pitched 2 innings. He was on point and threw really well. The game was tied at the time and even though he did give up 1 run (which was home run) his team pulled it out for him and they scored some runs! It was a really good game and Jess was super excited about the W! Here is a picture of him in action last night!

The Memphis Redbirds have an official Instagram and this is where I got this picture and the other ones from the games above. His beard looks as red as the dirt in infield :) but he sure is a cutie!

You can download the Instagram app on your phone and follow them. They post pictures of games so I always like to share the ones that have Jess in them.

I hope y'all are having a nice week. It's been brutally hot this past week and unfortunately there is no relief in sight. Stay cool my friends! See y'all in about 12 days!

Love,
E

Moving right along....

Happy Sunday Y'all!

I hope everyone enjoyed their weekends! I know everyone is sad to see the weekend go but there is only 5 more days until its back!

Anywhooo....this past week was very eventful for me and my family. Tuesday we left for Austin with a list of things to do and a car full of doodads and tools. I had spent Sunday, Monday and Tuesday redoing some furniture for our house. I started with a kitchen table and chairs that was my mom and dads back in the day.

I forgot to snap a picture of the chairs but they look exactly like the table. I sanded and painted all Sunday and then on Monday had to kind of "fix" the table and chairs to my liking because something just wasn't right. I hadn't achieved the look I wanted, luckily my mom gave me some suggestions. I finally was satisfied and this is what I ended with.

After I finished the table I started on my old night stands from college.

There are two exactly alike and I put them in our master bedroom. The goal for our master bedroom is a more chic crisp look. I can't wait to show y'all what it looks like! Here is what the nightstands looked like when I finished them.

The next and last thing I had to tackle was the master bedroom headboard. I had seen a headboard similar to the one I made about 4 months ago on Pinterest. I decided I had to have it! I asked my mom and dad to keep and eye out for an old mantle. They found one shortly after I asked them to be on the look out so I really got lucky! Here is what we started with....

My dad added some sides to it along with some trim and I went to sanding and painting it Tuesday! My mom and I made an insert for the middle and this is the finishing product!

I can't tell you how proud I am of all my work! Thank goodness I had my mom and dad's help with the mantle because that thing is HEAVY!

Tuesday evening we headed out and stopped in Waco at George's Bar to eat dinner. I love that place! It is so good! It was late once we finally got into Austin so we just set up the guest room bed and went to sleep. We were up and at it the next morning around 7am so I'm glad we went right to bed. My dad had to bring the mantle and table and chairs on Wednesday because we couldn't pull a trailer behind my mom's car. He got to Austin around 10am and we unloaded the stuff and then moved a couch and some other things upstairs. We decided to take a break around 12:30 and went and had some lunch. My dad and sister then headed back home while me and my mom started tackling the unpacking and setting up of our house.

We got everything that I wanted to get done accomplished so I was very pleased with our hard work. We laughed a lot and had some good talks. I love my momma. She is truly the best.

Yummy breakfast before one of our workdays :)

Friday morning we headed back to Ennis but decided to stop at Sandra Bullock's store and cafe on the way out. Walton's Fancy and Staple is located in downtown Austin and is so cute and quaint! There is a little cafe inside and they sell fresh flowers, candles, little knick knacks and champagne. A random variety but super super cute! We had planned on having breakfast there but missed the cut-off time and weren't quite ready for lunch so we took a rain check on that for another day!

Friday also just happened to be my parents 25th Wedding Anniversary. I can't tell you how proud I am of them. They married so young and had so many obstacles to overcome. They conquered them all and I can only hope I make as big of an impact on my children as they did and do on a daily basis on me and my sister.

Saturday we picked up our favorite little girl Kinsley! We had lunch in Dallas and then headed back home to play.

On our way home we saw some beautiful sunflowers so we decided to stop and take some pics!

That night I cooked dinner for my mom, dad, sister, uncle and grandpa! I made chicken and shrimp tacos. It was a recipe that I pretty much winged but came out fabulously! I gave the option of soft corn and crispy tacos. I personally liked the soft corn tacos better than the crispy but they were both great!

Another week down in the books with another that starts tomorrow. I can't believe we are almost 6 months until Christmas! My FAVE time of the year! I had a wonderful couple of weeks with my family and I can honestly say that I could not have done any of the things I did without my parents. I am so thankful for them in more ways than one. They are huge blessings in my life and consider myself so lucky to be able to call them my parents.

I also want to thank everyone who helps us out while we are out of state and helps us get things taken care of at our house. We appreciate it more than y'all know! I promise we do!

Jess comes home from an 8 day road trip in the morning and I am so excited to see him! I know I haven't really posted much about how he is doing but he is doing really well. Tonight he kind of had an "off" night but before this outing he has been very effective. He topped out at 94 a couple of nights ago so that was really cool! Things are changing fast around here though and everyone is stressed. With the trade deadline approaching all the boys start to panic a little and let me tell you a team of 25 hormonal, emotional men is way worse than 50,000 hormonal, emotional women. THIS IS NOT A LIE! :)

I hope y'all all have a wonderful start to y'alls week!

Love,
E

June?? Already??

Hellloooo!

Can it really be June Already? Really? It can't be!

It seems as though life has been in fast forward mode since we left Spring Training. I feel like I am constantly asking myself and others if it is actually the month or day of the week it says it is on my calendar. Jess says that we are "old" and that is why the time is passing by so fast. He thinks that we are aging at a rapid speed I guess? Little does he know life has just begun :)

This past week my baby sister graduated High School. I came in on Tuesday because she had what we call "Senior Parties" every night of the week up until Graduation on Friday night. The week was filled with a lot of emotion. Good emotions, bad emotions and some sad emotions as well. Those of you who know Emily know she is probably the most unique person you will ever meet. She has the crazy ability to not see bad in anyone. She is forgiving, funny, strong, devoted and most of all harmless. We worry more about her when truth be told she should be the one worrying about us! High School was hard for my sister, and yes I know High School is hard for everyone but in particular my sister had a very rough 4 years.

Emily is different but the same. It is hard to explain to someone if you don't know her but at the end of the day it shouldn't matter. She is still a person with feelings and does not deserve to have her flaws magnified everyday of her life when she has no control over how she is. To her she is normal but sees how kids brand her as an outcast. Does she hold it against them? Nope! They are all her friends! They love her in her eyes.

So this week was particularly hard on my mom. She just wants Emily to be accepted and included. As a sister it is hard to watch so I know that as a mother it is even harder. Most of Emily's High School experience was spent at home watching tv in her room alone instead of hanging out with friends. It's sad but I feel like God had and has a purpose for not having her out with those "so-called" friends she once had. I have come to terms with it and I feel that Graduation solidifies a new start for my sister. I could not be more proud of her. She is stronger then I will ever be and I know that only wonderful things lay ahead in her future.

Here are some pictures from her parties this past week....

70's Party!

This is Carly, she is a very sweet girl. Emily went to prom with her and some other kids too. I am grateful that there are still good-hearted people out there in this world. Especially at the young age of 18. 

There was a dance contest between all the best dressed nominees, Emily was one of them!

Casino Party!

Playing some Blackjack! 

Black Light Party!

Graduation!

Making her way to her seat!

About to get her diploma!

Emily and Carly after Graduation!

My mom and Emily

Me and my sissy!

Dad and Em

Morgan and Emily

Family Pic at Graduation!

After Emily's Graduation we had Old Mexican Inn cater and we had family over. It was a nice get together that lasted until around 11. Everyone was so happy for Emily and she felt very special.

Tomorrow I am headed to Austin after being in Ennis all week. I will be there for a couple of days trying to piece our house together. The goal is to have it living "comfortable" for when Mr. Todd has his All-Star break. I am going to try but I am very limited with time.

I hope the teachers in my family are enjoying the summer! For the rest of you I hope you are staying cool in this horrible heat!

Stay tuned for pictures of the house. You know I LOVE to decorate!

Love,
E