A GREAT start....

So 2008 is off to a great start.... a year of new beginnings.

Zach has started his classes at TWU and is ready to get a plan in place to complete this degree. He got his official acceptance letter on Thursday after he had already been in classes for 4 days. We are thrilled... it's a letter that should be framed, but we'll just wait to frame the diploma. ;-)

We have finished two of the projects mentioned in the earlier post and we are only 19 days into the new year....

First off, the guest bathroom....

Here is the original bathroom when we bought the house...


And now what a difference lots of paint and love do....
I really love the tile that Zach used and eventually we will tile the floor in the bathroom using the same stuff. It looks very clean and modern... love it. ;-)The dresser....

This is the dresser in its original form. Zach bought it at CCA (Christian Community Action) for a good deal. I didn't want the dresser at all, but since he had already bought it I decided to make a project of it. If I was gonna have it in my house, it wasn't going to look like this, so.....
These are the hammer holes in the drawer... I don't know what the owner was trying to do, but they really messed it up.
So we filled the holes, primed, painted and replaced the knobs, and now here's what we have....
I'm pleased with it now and I'm very glad that Zach now has a place for his clothes. They have been in plastic drawers in the closet. Now our closet is less cluttered and we have lots more space. It's wonderful.

Hope you enjoy the progress... it's amazing how far our house has come in only 6 months of ownership.

CONGRATULATIONS ZACH!!!

Hats off to Zach!!!
I would like everyone to know that Zach has been admitted to Texas Woman's University to finish his degree plan in Graphic Design. We are on the course to a degree to finish in about two years!!!



YEA, Zach!!! I love you and I'm very proud of you!

In 2008....

Long time no blog... we have recovered from Christmas and are getting settled in to 2008. I was off for a week and half for Christmas and in doing so, I was off from the world of blogging. We spent the entire break Christmasing...

Saturday before Christmas: Christmas with Ganky & Granddaddy... my grandparents.
Sunday before Christmas: Zach and I exchanged our presents to each other.
Christmas Eve: Spent the day with my parents and spent the night at their house.
Christmas Day: Opened Presents with my family... then the traditional movie, Charlie Wilson's War.
Day after Christmas: Christmas with the Kilgore family
Thursday after Christmas: Clean for the in-laws to come.
Friday: Christmas with Zach's parents at our house!
And finally Saturday was a time to relax from Christmasing... we did returns and shopping. Good times.

New Year's was spent playing games with our good friends, the Kirksey's and the Libby's. Good thing we were being active or I would have been asleep before 12am.

So that brings us to now... Zach and I are getting in the groove. Current projects in the Shirley household....

1. Paint Guest Bathroom Cabinets and eventually get new counter top. (Sink and faucet have already been bought.) As you can see... one cabinet has already been sanded and is ready for paint!
2. Paint Dresser for our bedroom.
3. Build a new fence.

Current plans for the year...
1. Get Zach in school... we're still waiting to hear from TWU. (school starts real soon.)
2. Maybe go on a trip sometime. (don't know where or when, but it would be nice.)
3. Eat better and plan meals.
4. Fix up the backyard for this summer.

Well, I hope that everyone's new year is going well. We looking forward to a great 2008! I'll keep ya posted on how these projects go!

Promised Pictures

Don't mind the new blog layout... it won't be like this for too long. We're under construction so that I can get these cool slideshows posted. So now that they will fit on the page here you go....

Christmas Parties

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Anniversary 2007

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PAR-TY Time

This weekend was filled with party after party. Busy-ness the whole time, but wonderful to be with friends!

Friday afternoon was the Christmas party at my office at Dave & Buster's. Since this year is the 25th anniversary for D&B, they went all out on the party. Some great catered Italian food, poker dealers, karaoke, great prizes and more. I will say that I'm sad that I didn't get any of the raffle prizes, but there's always next year. The best part of the afternoon was the karaoke by far. Here's a mild sampling of the many different talents... some good, some not so good but having lots of fun!

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On Saturday evening, we had our 3rd Annual Christmas Party with our small group, minus one couple (we missed y'all, Sarah and Tyson, but hope that y'all had a Happy Anniversary). Drew and Jamie hosted the night out to see the Christmas lights in Grand Prairie. Let's just say the fellowshiping with friends was the best part about it. The lights were not all that they advertised, therefore not many pictures were taken. You'll notice one picture... is it a reindeer or a spider? We're not sure? The night ended with a late night run by the guys to Sonic... we (the girls) were all starving! Thanks for a great night Libby's!!

So on Sunday afternoon, Zach and I had lunch and a gift exchange with the Sunday school class that we are a part of. I will say that I have been a Big Time a whole lot more this semester than in Sunday school, but we love the people in our class. It's lead by a couple that did one of our marriage counseling classes, so it's very special to us. So Zach and I brought one of the best gifts of the day... a Chia Pet! It was one of the only gifts that was stolen. Go figure. We ended up with a White Elephant piggy bank and a little tealight lamp.

Sunday night... we began our anniversary celebration early. D&B treated us to a nice dinner and some games and then Zach and I went out to look at the lights in Highland Park. It wasn't so much looking at the lights as it was looking at the beautiful houses. So we totally redeemed ourselves from Saturday night's lights spectacular.

On our actual anniversary (2 years, I might add), we celebrated with the day of from work for both of us. We made a delicious breakfast at home, then we got ready for the day to go to the ICE exhibit at the Gaylord Texan. But before that happened....

There was a little beagle wandering around out behind our house on the trail. No one was with him, so I took it upon myself to go get this dog and rescue him. I got the leash and rounded him up and brought him to our house. He was the sweetest little pup, but Bailey sure was jealous of him. We gave him some food and water and let Bailey play with him for a little bit and then we left to go to the Gaylord. We decided that we would take him to the vet to see if he had a micro chip because he didn't have any tags. Well, we thought about him all day and when we got home from the exhibit he was gone. He either hopped the fence (not likely) or his owner was calling for him and he barked and they took him (most likely). So I hope that the little guy is safe and sound because I was about to claim him for my own.

The Gaylord was wonderful and it was the best to just spend some much needed time with my hubby. We also went to dinner at the Macaroni Grill that night and watched Elf. Of course, I fell asleep during that though.

So that about wraps up our party/anniversary weekend. It was great!! Only two more days and I'm off until 2008!! Isn't that great! Hope the holidays are going well for y'all!

(still working on the anniversary, and party pics, to be updated soon!)

Christmas Survey

I was tagged by Neena Jean to do this fun little Christmas Survey...

1. What kind of tree do you have?
Artificial and we string our own lights on the tree. The prelit trees can create problems if any of the lights go out. ;)

2. What is your favorite Christmas movie?
Chevy Chase's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone

3. What is your favorite Christmas holiday food?
I love dressing, and sweet potatoes with marshmallows.

4. Do you use wrapping paper or gift bags?
Wrapping paper all the way. I even saw a demonstration last year on how to wrap the perfect gift, I'm still trying to get their skills down.

5. Do you have a nativity scene in your house?
Nope, no nativity scene. I didn't have one as a child either.

6. What is your favorite Christmas song?
As of recently, my favorite Christmas song is Celebrate the Day by Relient K.

Here's the lyrics...

With this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know
How much You've touched my life because
Here is where You're finding me
In the exact same place as New Year's Eve
And from the lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I wanna be

And the first time that You opened Your eyes
Did you realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did you know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that You opened your eyes
Did you realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare
The things I've felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me
And the hope that
That You give
That You were born so I might really live
To look back
And think that
This baby would one day save me…

And the first time that You opened Your eyes
Did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever
And the first time that You opened Your eyes
Did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And I
I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day
Pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life

7. What is the most memorable gift you received as a child?
Probably my cell phone. I still have the same phone number from when I got my phone sophomore year in high school.

8. What was the worst gift you ever received?
hmm... are there really any bad gifts?

9. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
Crowds and traffic.

10. Favorite thing about this time of year?
Family and vacation time.

Now I'd like to know about your Christmas... Lindsey, Arrie, Shevawn, and Lauren.

Two down, 4 to go....

The Christmas season brings many exciting things and many busy times. How is it that before Thanksgiving was even here all of my weekends in December were booked. I'm not complaining by any means, but it just means you have to be diligent in getting things done because all the weekend time is taken up.

So with that being said... this weekend Zach and I attended two Christmas parties. One was an appreciation dinner for the family ministry volunteers at the Branch. We celebrated Hawaiian style at church and all got to wear leis. Sadly, there are no pictures of us at the party, but we did get a great picture of Bailey wearing our lei.
After that party, was Zach's Christmas party for Home Depot. Circle R ranch with a hayride and BBQ. It was good, but I must say that we didn't eat at that party, we had just come from the church party. Too much food can't be good. ;-) I met several people that Zach works with and we had a good time. We missed out last year because it was on our anniversary.

I think that I am most looking forward to my sister's ornament exchange this weekend as well as our small group Christmas light outing the next weekend.

I hope that everyone is ready for the season and that you're having fun shopping. I'll leave you with this awesome video of Bailey getting her hair brushed. She could hardly contain herself, it felt so good.

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