Category Archives: Friends

Dinner and Comedy

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Just to give you a heads up, the title of this post is pretty exciting. Why you ask? Well that’s simple, it sums up two of my favorite things: Food & Laughter. When I add in that the food was delicious and we were with great friends AND got to hear a hilarious comedian, all of those things combined made for a majorly awesome evening!

It isn’t often that Stephen and I have a free night out, so it was fun to dress up a little and sit at a table with fellow adults. We were attending a fundraising banquet for the Pregnancy Resource Center. Our church does a lot with them and it was actually the first time I had really heard the information and details about the organization. I know I really look forward to visiting their center and would love to get more involved. Being there and hearing everything they do in our community, it really brought up the social work degree in me.

Anyways, here are some phone pictures I got during the evening.

 

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Some awesome friends:
Bebe, Rene & Amanda

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Amanda & I

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I love this because we are all laughing, but seriously, what am I doing with my hand?!

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We had a real great evening. Grandma and Grandpa kept the girls for the night so after the banquet we headed home and I’m pretty sure I was asleep within 5 minutes. I’m not used to late weeknights, haha.

It was a wonderful event and I’m so glad that we were able to attend. The food was fabulous and the comedian really had me rolling. I told Stephen he was like a white Sinbad, and if you know me you know that’s really saying something!

Posted in: awesome'ness, Church, Friends

Reunions

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This past week I was excited to have an impromptu get together with some of my best friends. Women I have known since way back when we were just teenagers. Mid-puberty high school days. Remember those?! Ya, I blocked most of them too…

We had so many great times during the crazy years of  high school. There were few I kept in “real” touch with after we graduated. These gals are the ones. The friends that stuck with me through thick and thin. Throughout all the crazy times. Years full of laughter and quite a few tears. Technically there are 4 of us, but the other is Brett, and I doubt he wants to be included in a lot of our crazy gal-moments. Although he has been there for quite a bit of it. That boy deserves a medal.

Now, after almost 12 years since we graduated, two of us live in the Pensacola area and the other two BOTH relocated to Houston. I feel like most of the people I know live in these two places. And a few scattered in between those locations. Weird.

Last week Kelly decided to make a trip to Pensacola because she had a long weekend. Thank you for that MLK day.

A lot has changed since the days we first met. I could not be more thankful for their friendships and am excited about getting to watch all of our sweet children grow up. There will definitely be several friend reunions along the way.

Now to all of you born after the 80′s, these first few photos are what pictures look like that had to be scanned INTO a computer. The pre-(affordable) digital days.

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 College Life

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My 22nd birthday, minus Kel & plus Stephen

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Ahh the college days

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It isn’t gal time without mexican food!
(I don’t know why I look like a vampire here, maybe it was all the salsa I ate)

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Kel & Lissa visiting our new house in Winter 2009

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To try and show you a true time lapse I dug through some boxes to find my storage of photos burned onto CD-R’s. You guys, they were so unorganized! Nothing was sorted in date order. I appreciate iPhoto more than ever right now. Categorized and dated folders with quick reference and easy scanning. I was a really organized teenager, so I don’t know why I wasn’t picky about my CD-R burning methods. Do they still even sell CD-R’s?! If so, only buy CDR-W’s. It was annoying not being able to delete things I no longer cared about seeing on those disks. Better yet, just ignore that and only store via flash drives and online accounts. Who needs the extra clutter of big ol’ cd’s anyway?! ;)

Okay. That’s the end of that rabbit trail. On to more photos…
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This was 2012. Kel & I had both just found out we were pregnant & Melissa joined forces soon after!
We made a pregnancy pact. No, not really.

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Brett’s wedding in Houston, July 2012
We missed Melissa so she was there virtually (See picture that follows)

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Fall 2012 : Kel’s baby shower in Houston that I missed

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November 2012
Kel was missing this time

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(Look at that belly- I had Elanor 5 days later)
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This past August when Kelly visited

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Without the kiddos

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The “go to” shot. When one of us is missing we pretend they are there
Missed you Brett

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January 2014
Seriously, we love mexican food. Chips & salsa are sooo good!

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Love them!

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Such a fun visit! Jan 2014

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I love how much has happened in our lives. From diplomas & degrees to families and babies. Getting older is fun you guys. I can’t wait to see what 2014 has in store for each of us!

Posted in: awesome'ness, Babies, Friends

The Bushes

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A few weeks ago I got to take some family photos for some great friends.

Sara, Jordan and their two kiddos, Jairus and Evangeline are currently living here in Pensacola while waiting to relocate to Uruguay. They are going to be serving with a team to share the name and love of Jesus in not just a new location, but a completely different country with a foreign language. The Lord has called each of His disciples to share His name with all nations, to the ends of the earth, and this amazing family does not take that role lightly. They are on fire, the way God desires each of us to be, and they are an inspiration and encouragement to me and my family.

Here are a few shots of their beautiful family.

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The Bush Family

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I am so glad that God placed this family in our lives. Sara and I met back in college and we have hit many milestones together. We had our first and second children within 2 months of each other, both times. We missed one another’s baby showers because the other was in labor. The very thought of going through a pregnancy without her along side me is a sad and weird thought.

Join me in praying for them. From traveling to raise funds and the patience and joy in awaiting the Lords timing in their move. To continue to use them in their current placement, sharing the love of Jesus in their neighborhood. They are people you don’t forget once you meet them and you know you are blessed to have a relationship with them. True friendships are hard to come by, and that is something I know not to take for granted.
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They have had a very busy and prayer filled 2013 and I look forward to seeing and hearing how the Lord uses them in this coming year.

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Friends, Photo Fun, Prayer

The Smith Family

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Last week I got to take some family photos for one of my best friends. I’ve known Melissa since the first year of high school when we rode the bus together. We survived high school together and while in college had many late nights with pizza and sunkist. I am so thankful for her friendship and was honored to photograph her beautiful family. She and Nate had a baby boy in July and he was the perfect little smiler for us.

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This was the first time I’ve done a family photo session (other than my own families) and I had a blast.

Living in Florida makes for finicky weather, so after a reschedule from rain we were able to get together when it was happily not hot. The skies were overcast, which made for some great lighting (and a lot of learning for me)!

I had a great time and loved getting to capture this season of their life. Watch out Melissa, this time next year he will be running bases with Nate! Love you guys.

Posted in: Family, Friends, Holidays, Photo Fun

That Time Sarah Turned 2

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Wow. 4 months. Yep, that’s right, it’s been 4 months since Sarah turned 2. 4 months since we had a sweet little party. 4 months that I never shard a single picture of said birthday party. Well today that is going to change. Here you go friends, a liiiiiittle late, but here it is

Sarah turns Two

Her favorite toy is her Minnie Mouse doll, so we used that as a decorating tool

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I made her a matching dress, which was a fun quick project

We had the #1 ingredient for a great toddler birthday party – Bubbles!

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Grandpa & Grandma

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Aunt Kelley & Uncle Jason

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Grandma’s and the grandbabes

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Aunt RiRi

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Guys, doing guy things

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Our friend Ashley & our little Elanor

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Swinging with Uncle Jason

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Singing Happy Birthday

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I love this picture because of moms face. Yep, Sarah got drums!

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Yummy Birthday Cookie

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Family Photo

This sweet little girl just melts our hearts more and more everyday.

Posted in: Family, Friends, Holiday Fun, Sarah

New Years 2012

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We had a few friends over for New Years Eve this (or “last”) year. I’m gonna summarize our evening with a bullet list.

  • Chili
  • Jiffy Cornbread
  • Thin Mints
  • Bonfire
  • S’mores
  • Hall n Oats
  • Elanor Cuddles
  • UnSuccessful group photo (battery died)
  • Euchre
  • Bomberman
  • Stayed up til after 2am
  • Baby that slept in with mommy til 9 :)
  • Aka: Awesome hubby that got up with Sarah at 7!
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Hope you all had a wonderful evening ringing in the New Year. I usually don’t make it til 12, but this year I was able to go above and beyond.

Stephen starts back to the normal work schedule tomorrow… Sarah is about to go through major daddy-withdrawal. Pray for me!

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Friends, Holiday Fun

O Christmas Tree

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The Friday after Thanksgiving we went with our friends Brandon and Nicole to get Christmas Trees. We met at their house and started the day with cinnamon rolls and coffee, then headed out to Lowes for our tree search. We already have an artificial tree, but this year I thought it would be fun to have a real tree, I love how it makes the house smell :)

Here we are at the tree lot… I think both pictures are a VERY accurate depiction of tree shopping with a toddler!

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- the Ringl Tree of 2012 -

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Sarah also had her first sampling of hazelnut coffee, compliments of her (crazy) dad…

I’m not sure what her face is saying, but she did ask for more. Crazy child. You can tell her dad thought it was hilarious. Probably because I was so shocked he let her have a sip.

We got the lights on the tree and now we just need to decorate it. It’s one step at a time these days, haha. A 9 month pregnant belly makes tree decorating a lot more interesting… and less productive, haha.

I will be sure to show you guys how it looks once it complete, but here’s a 1/2 way decorated photo for you.

I hope you are all enjoying your last few days of November. I can’t believe December is almost here!

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Friends, Holiday Fun

Showering Ella

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I mentioned in my last post that we had a baby shower for our newest edition this past Saturday. It was a sweet celebration, and it was so humbling to have so many friends and family come together to show us their encouragement, support, and love.

I got the pictures from my mom today, and I thought I would share some of them with you. Prepare yourself for some major baby-bump growth!  ;)

I’m attaching all sorts of pictures so friends and family can grab the pictures for themselves. Posting all of these made me aware of how many people I DIDN’T snag a photo with… I guess that happens in the chaos of a party sometimes, so I’m glad that we got a group shot before anyone left.

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My local family

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So much wonderful family

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Family from Biloxi
Paige, Aunt Patty, Grandma, & Aunt Debbie

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Ashley

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Nicole

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Sisters

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My sweet friends Jill & Ashley

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Sarah got her very own baby doll & is smitten!

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4 Generations
(with Sarah happily cooperating…not)

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A few decor pictures

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My sis-in-law, Kelley, made this sweet diaper cake

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Sarah just looooves staying still for photos

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Stephen getting some nephew loving

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Hostess #1: My Amazing Mom

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Hostess #2: My beautiful sister

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Someone caught this video of Sarah playing with tissue paper…

Who needs toys when you have tissue paper?!

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Family, Friends, New baby

Texas Road Trip

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This past weekend Stephen and I loaded up the car, dropped the kiddo off at my parents house, and headed to Houston for a quick weekend to visit some friends and see my friend Brett get married.

Driving across the Mississippi.

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Here we are driving to the wedding, before the torrential rain and getting lost for 45 minutes. Did you know it rains as much in Houston as it does in Florida, only their highways make me a nervous wreck. Thank the Lord for my patient husband!

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It’s here people, the bump has made its appearance. It seems our little one is growing perfectly and it’s becoming more and more real that we are really having another baby!

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Waiting for the reception to begin. It was at a beautiful resort in The Woodlands. Kelly and Brett looked amazing and it was so wonderful getting to celebrate with them!

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Kelly and I sending our friend Melissa a picture to let her know we miss her. We all went to high school with Brett. There were many college road trips, and post-graduation hangouts. We are all married now. It’s crazy to think that we’ve known each other for well over 10 years. Heck, I’ve known Brett since 7th grade… and now we’re all grown ups!

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We decided to make Melissa a place at the table so she could be there with us :)

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Here’s Kelly and I with Brett, the groom.

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Kelly and her hubby Brian. They moved to Houston a few years ago, and Brett moved there last November. It seems Houston has become a popular place these days.

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Stephen and I, and new baby :)

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Our friends, the Shaws. Stephen and Sarah housed us for the weekend and it was great getting to have some downtime with them, as well as a few tasty meals that Sarah made for us.

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We got to see JD Saturday and Sunday. I love that we have so many friends that we are able to pick up with as if no time has passed.

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Grabbing lunch on Sunday before we headed out.

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On the way home we stopped in New Orleans and had a great visit with our friends Matt and Elise. We grabbed dinner at a local burger joint and hung out at their place while we enjoyed some delicious cookies and got to hear about their recent trip to Paris.

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It was a wonderful weekend and I am so glad we were able to see so many wonderful people that we love, but we were definitely happy to get home to our little girl. I doubt she even noticed we were gone with all the attention she got, but I’m glad that we are getting our share of the hugs and kisses.

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. I can’t believe it’s already the middle of July! It’s going to be fall before we know it, which I’m certainly not complaining about, I would love a break from this heat!

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Friends, Travel

Spreading the Word

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A group from our church flew out of Pensacola today on their way to Brazil. They will be there for 10 jam-packed days, sharing the love of Jesus with as many people as the time allows.
Please join me in keeping them in your prayers. Not only for opportunities to share Christ, but for safety while traveling, health, and plenty of energy! My sister and bro-in-law are 2 of the 13 on the trip and we can’t wait to hear all the ways God uses them.

Here’s a picture of them loading up for the airport this afternoon.

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I’ll be sure to report back when I get any updates :) They are currently in a plane to Miami, and then the last leg is the flight to Brazil. Pray the pilots get them their safely!
Thanks!

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Posted in: awesome'ness, Church, Family, Friends