forever and ever amen

"nothing is sweeter than love,

nothing stronger,

nothing higher,

nothing wider,

nothing more pleasant,

nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth;

for love is born of God."

--thomas a kempis

.....

today is our first wedding anniversary.

this year has flown by so quickly. it is hard to believe that it has already been a year.

i can not imagine this past year without chase.

i am the luckiest girl in the world to have him by my side.

i love this man.

psalm 34:3

glorify the Lord with me,

and let us praise

His name together.

photos by ben sassani

Hilton Head

Wow! It has almost been one year since I got married to my best friend. So many crazy things and changes have been going on, so we felt that a small vacation was very needed. A time to get away from the hustle and bustle and be with just each other. Hilton Head was perfect. We were there just before Memorial Day weekend which marks the beginning of their busy season. It was a fun and relaxing time. A perfect place to get away and celebrate our first year together. 

sweet summertime

for the first time since i got an iphone, i have uploaded my iphone photos to my computer. 

i love looking back on the pictures i took with my phone. 

they are usually random and remind me of a sweet time. 

.: here are a few of my favorites from summer 2011 :.

my father-in-law sent me this picture.
it reminds me of how i enjoyed
every moment of my wedding day.

honeymoon in sonoma, california.
we took a drive up highway 1 to the redwood forest.
chase stopped many times for me to take pictures. love him.

after the honeymoon, it was back to reality.
i work on the 44th floor of this building.

spending the 4th of july holiday with the gentry family @ galveston.
days were filled with...
reading, wave surfing, games, and sweet family time.

i loved getting to hang out with friends in the summer.
abi and i are waiting to go into the civil wars concert.

the civil wars.
they are amazing vocalists.
i loved being able to sit and enjoy their music.
(and uncontrollably laughing at chase's silly facials)

summer softball.
crazy awesome fans (and friends :-) and summer breezes
(and getting to watch our boys play some good ball!)

lazy evenings
where you see families playing sports in the yard until dinner
just getting to stop and enjoy each others company

3D movies with my man.
(he is obsessed with 3D, which means i am too)
and don't forget the movie theatre popcorn

lunches at work
where i was dying to get some vitamin D
but only if i could get a spot that had at least a little shade

dog-sitting Kirby for a weekend
and learning that we will not be getting a puppy
until we have a house and a yard

shopping with my mom
and getting home decor ideas
from Langford Market

celebrating the 14th birthday
of my favorite sissy in the world
Megan.

going to Onion Creek many times with good friends
and sitting for 3 hours just chatting

getting to spend a weekend with Amelia
who drove in from Dallas
SO good to see her!

it's good to look back on past times and remember and smile.

sometimes i wonder where my summer went...

but now i remember.

do you remember?

Cooking for One

Last Sunday Chase went to Canada for work for two weeks. Honestly, I was a little more upset than I thought I would be. I mean, in my head, I thought, "It is only a little less than two weeks. He will be back before you know it," but it made me sad. 

Luckily, my mom and sister had invited me to go see The Help with them after Chase left. I was glad to have that to go to and to have them to go spend time with. And, oh-my-goodness, The Help is such a great movie. I will go see it again with anybody who hasn't seen it. You will laugh and you will cry. Love love love. 

So back to how Chase is gone... one night, I came home and decided I wanted a cooked meal. Not a Lean Cuisine, not Kraft mac and cheese, not a bowl of cereal, but some good food. In the freezer I found a frozen chicken breast. In the fridge I found some Prego sauce and parmesan cheese... 

You guessed it, I made Chicken Parmesan for one. I adapted the recipe from {this website}, but by adapting I mean that I didn't have all the ingredients and I only wanted one chicken, so I improvised. I must say, it was quite tasty. 

the breaded chicken

ready to go in the oven

voala

I promise I ate my greens during lunch.

Flyin' High

I came across these on the point-and-shoot camera. They are from the 4th of July weekend, but I just couldn't help myself with the popping colors and the silly kite. 

:: memories of relaxation ::

fun. fun. fun.