2009 Recap!

To say that 2009 was a good year would be an understatment! This past year was one for the record books..the best one yet! God truly blessed us this year. Here is a recap of our year:

•  Jonathan and I were married in May, which many of you already know..best day of our lives to date. So from January to May we or I spent a lot of time with some of my favs planning our wedding.

• We traveled to Napa for our honeymoon and we cannot wait to get back there. It was one of the best vacations so far that we have taken together. Tons and tons of beautiful vineyards that you could go every year for a long weekend and never see all of them.

•  I graduated from graduate school! After two long years...I walked across that stage and received my degree..it was a great day! I owe some major thank you's to my grad class. Those ladies are truly amazing. And I owe a big thanks to my non-school friends who supported me everyday.

• In August I landed a job and started to work full time in an elementary school in Houston. One of the best decisions I have made to date. To have holidays off has been a blessing. It has allowed me to focus on our house and family.
• In October we bought our first home. Talk about stressful, but so glad we did it. We are now 10 minutes from both sets of parents and our location couldn't be anymore ideal for us.

• We also took honeymoon part 2 to Cozumel in October. We traveled with a great couple and had an unbelievable time in Mexico. Also trying to get the hubster to approve another beach vaca for 2010!

• We hosted Christmas for JJ's family this year. It was a great day..we ate and exchanged gifts and drank a LOT of wine. It was so special to have his family at our home.

That is a short recap of 2009, but that is what we accomplished this year. I have decided that 2010 will be a relaxing year for us. I want to travel and enjoy being married to the one I love. Like I told Mer and my family..I am taking 2010 off! Laying low is the plan and just enjoying life.

I hope everyone has a fabulous and safe New Year's. 

Handy Man..who knew?!?!

As I said before I would post pics of the latest project the hubster tackled.

The sign reads:

Merry Christmas

From Ours to Yours

From The Lenzs

He did the whole thing himself! He finished the candy canes today as well! So proud of him!

Here are two pics of our guest room complete for now!

Disregard the big red box..that is his mom's xmas present!

So there you have it..that is what we have been up to as of late!

peace.love.christmas!

what we have been up to lately....

life has been pretty non-stop at our house the past couple weeks. we have had christmas with some friends and family, christmas parties, ornament exchanges, christmas shopping and looking at christmas lights.

since december 1st it seems that we have had something every night of the weekend and even week nights...sadly i dont have many pictures to show yet..still wanting on some ladies to email me them!

i had my potluck lunch at school and am officially off until january 5th! it sure is nice working in public education..good choice megan!

monday i met jenn for lunch and christmas! she got us a precious ornament that says "our first home"..it is on the bar as we speak! i promise to post pics of it!

yesterday i picked up reyann and we went shopping and made homemade sugar cookies! it was quite an experience! a 12 year old out baked me yesterday and i am ok with that. then we had dinner with her fam.

so needless to say we have been on the go! this afternoon jonathan's godson is coming over to do christmas as well.

did i mention we are having christmas here for jj's family?!?! starting to stress a bit, but i know it will be fine and a fun-filled day!

and now that jj finished his latest project for the yard..i will post a pic of that this afternoon after i have finished wrapping presents and cleaning the house!

peace.love.christmas.

Shout Out

Just wanted to give a little blog shout out to the hubs. He is surprising me more and more everyday with the things he accomplishes around the house. He has truly embraced being a homeowner. He is building things and tackling projects I never thought he would want to take on. He recovered our dining room chairs, he hid the wires behind our tvs that are hanging on the wall, installed a dimmer switch for our entry light, the list goes on and on...he is now in the process of making something that I beyond excited about..I simply could not love him anymore.

Happy Thursday everyone! I only have to show up to work 6 more days before the break...ahhhh the joys of working in public education!

peace.love.christmas.

Music Update

i added Christmas music to the blog! the first song is for JJ because he loves Elvis! I love instrumental..manheim and transiberian are two of my favs! someday the moms and i will go to one of those concerts!

i also finished shopping for my mom and brother today! another two people off of the list! now i just need to tackle my dad, his dad and his mom. Luckily I know what I am getting them!!

jenn and brian came over for dinner tonight! it was so good to catch up with them and chat for a bit. they both are wrapping up finals this week, so a quick prayer for them! then they head out on their cruise! lucky ducks!

jj is working in the Christmas cards. it is his thing. he got it from his dad who sends out 100's of them every year. one less thing I have to worry about!

i cant believe it snowed on friday and it will be in the upper 60's by the end of the week! disguisting!

headed to relax and do some online browsing!

peace.love.christmas.

Bliss.

Since the weather is yucky rainy and dreary here today i wanted to post another photo of the snow on friday.

My parents neighbors. JJ sent me this picture on Friday while he was moving in their plants, so I could enjoy the snow! Gotta love him!

Happy Monday.

peace.love.christmas.

Christmas Cheer Part II

As promised here are pictures from our busy but very fun weekend.

the snow on the ground at my school. the kids loved it!

Our Christmas Tree.

Our entry table with my snowman village. I think I have a problem...

Our entry with the big red bows on the chandlier and star from Pottery Barn.

Kitchen/Bar

Our mantle. Handmade stockings by my Nanny. Early Christmas present from Jenny...3 red hurricanes..just what the mantle needed! They are perfect.

Kitchen Table. Disregard my pink puffer and laptop!

Our trees and shrubs out front.

Garage with lights. The hubs did this today in the rain...i love him!

Close up of the front door and windows!

So that's what our weekend consisted of..very productive!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

peace.love.christmas.

Christmas Cheer

A recap of our day bulleted style.

• slept til about 10ish.
• wrapped the front trees and bushes with lights
• put out decorations in the house
• JJ installed a dimmer switch for our chandlier in the entry after I casually mentioned it this afternoon. it is amazing how something so small gets me excited!
• finished the bows for the wreathes on the front windows
• decorated the tree
• mantle decor is about 80% finished.
• hid wires behind in the tv hanging on the wall in the bedroom (JJ and a friend)
• cooked a decent dinner.
• tried the new bud select 55 not too bad
• received a giant box from the grandparents..it is our first legit package to be delivered! however we are NOT to open it before xmas morning! I promise nanny!
• made a HUGE mess after having the house cleaned yesterday!
• I did not have any starbucks today..probably for the best i take the day off from the insane calories in those delish drinks!
• met a new neighbor and LOVE her!
• BAMA beat the Gators! YAY!!!!!
• UT beat Nebraska in an ugly win!
• the officiating was terrible in the Rockets game tonight that I am considering not watching anymore!
• Christmas is less than 3 weeks away! Can't wait.

I think that is all for tonight. I will post pics of the tree and yard tomorrow!

peace.love.christmas.

I must admit

i was quite shocked to hear about the tiger woods drama.

i will not be making a point to discuss scandals here on the blog, but is anyone else already tired of hearing about it??

its not like he is the first person to do this..he is a man... i am in no way saying whatever happened is okay because it is not, but arent there better stories out there than this?everytime you turn on the tv there is a new update! i find it sad that people are so consumed with the wrongdoings of others...

yes he is a pro golfer and in the spotlight, but he and his family do deserve to handle this privately. what would happen is everytime a man or woman cheated it made headline news..there would be no other news!

suffice to say, what he did was wrong if he indeed did cheat on his wife, however i am tired of hearing about it already!

how about the news takes a turn and focuses on good things happening around the world instead of focusing on all the negative??? i mean it would be comforting to hear something good every once in awhile....

that is all..no more talk about these scandals anymore!

it is looking like we are headed for snow tomorrow..should be interesting at school!

PS i did buy a heater for my office last night..couldn't handle it anymore. and i also snagged another cup of hot chocolate from starbucks yesterday..this could be a BAD addiction this winter..2 days in a row. will i make it 3 today?

Unbelievable...

the weather that is.

it is insane to me that it feels so nice outside. minus the fact that my office is freezing along with my feet and hands.

i am loving this weather!

thanksgiving week was amazing. waiting on emily to send pics. we ate and ate and ate. i dont think i have ever consumed so much food in a single weekend.

the barbers were in town and life was great. they bring out the best in my family. but i do feel bad for JJ sometimes because when the barber clan is in town anything goes.

i think it is hard for him to figure how he fits in with that crazy mix of people. the odom clan is more loud and wild and crazy with the barbers than normal. people pick at each other but it is okay. we have a weird dynamic but i love it. so hopefully as he spends more time with them over the years we can find a nice place for him to fit in.

we shopped, got our hair done and shopped some more. i have finished shopping for JJ and started for my mom. i know what i am getting my brother and NO clue about my dad. oh well there are plenty of days left to figure it out.

the rest of the weekend and so far this week the hubster has been working hard. we made another trip for flagstone, hooked up the fireplace, programmed all the remotes and have cleared out most of the garage. JJ is a rockstar around the house..he has taken homeownership by the reigns and surprises me everyday with new projects.

i am hoping to decorate the house this weekend for christmas, but need to make another trip to find lights for the exterior. lots of inspiration is swirling in the Lenz house!

had my first cup of hot chocolate from starbucks yesterday and it was delish...probably stopping again today!

sunny 99.1 is set on the radio and i have been enjoying our fireplace. life is good.

now if i could just find that easy button for our home office life would be superb!

december 25th will be here quick!

PS. there is a chance of "snow" in houston friday morning...

PSS..quick prayer request for my dear friend Jenn. she is okay, but is facing some decisions and she could use the extra prayers right now.

peace.love.christmas.