January 29, 2014

Currently

Today I decided I wanted to blog... maybe because I wanted to procrastinate... maybe because I really just wanted to write. We will never know... I chose to use Sometimes Sweet Currently Prompt.

Reading: Oh, I'm in the middle of three books. I have been reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich and can't get myself to find the time to finish them. Over Christmas break I read up to book 18 and am somewhere in the middle. I am also reading Lone Survivor. Wow. Heart breaking. Really... every emotion is entwined in that book. I watched the movie and immediately started reading the book and researching Navy Seals and Marcus Lutrell and the many other amazing men. Such an inspiring amount of faith and hope that man has.
Doing: I should be reading one of the twelve books I have been given for this semester. I should also be scoring assessments, but I am blogging and day dreaming about the future. I have currently been wrapped up in how to decorate the kitchen... definitely going with white cabinets! I am in LOVE with this little kitchen here. :)

Excited for:Valentines day and a sweet Friday night with the hubs. I have really been wanting to decorate for valentines, but with the 600 square foot apartment I feel like it doesn't work. So I have been imagining these pretty letters, garland, and pallet wood in my living room! I am also excited for the Baby O reveal on the 8th. Ally (oldest sister) is going with the "Baseballs or bows?" theme and I can't wait to find out there is a little baseball in there! ;)


Happy about: lately I have been trying to remind myself to be happy about everything in general. My God is greater than any problem that life can throw my way. I am also super happy that Baby Mav (not mine remember...) is a girl! We had the gender reveal party last weekend and I wore my pink scarf because my guess was baby girl. Cory and Amanda chose to find out with all of us so it was a big surprise for everyone. They had one black balloon and had it filled with pink confetti! They popped it and pink glitter and confetti fell out and everyone screamed! Baby Tatum Brooke Mavroulis your aunt can not wait to meet you !!! :) Now I am ready to throw a baby shower!


Random: I am super bitter that North Texas did not get ANY snow! Y'all.. back in December we got 4 inches of straight ice and it did not quench by snow thirst! Looking at the pictures from all over Georgia and Alabama is making me so jealous! I just want one really pretty snow day!... ok you're right I want about three days off of work and school. On the flip side I am also ready for summer. 98 degrees and sunny is my kind of weather! I seriously need a tan. 

January 17, 2014

The Details

    When I was young the only dream I had for my future wedding was to be barefoot and on a beach. I never thought about realistic things, such as money. I never thought of the details or even knew what all went into a wedding. When attending weddings and looking at wedding pictures the details are my most favorite. To say wedding planning was overwhelming for me is an understatement. Did I love it? Yes. Would I do it again? Yes... to the same man :). So with that being said Pinterest and blogs were my best friends, along with my family. My family and in-laws are always helpful, but everyone was especially helpful during this planning season. Weddings are such an exciting and fun time. There is a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes to make the day just perfect. I have to say my day felt absolutely perfect to me. The memories I have from that day are beautiful. I am so grateful for everyone that helped to make my "big day" so amazing.




























My vendors:
Flowers- Nita's Flowers... My Aunt's shop in Oklahoma
Jewelry- Dillards
Caterer- Local family
Cakes- Cam's Aunt made them :)
Hotel & Accommodations- Holiday Inn Express


January 8, 2014

My Bridals

    I took my bridals in May of 2013 in Fort Worth. My photographer, Akisha, was the same person who took our engagements and wedding pictures. She is from George Street Photo and Video and I would recommend them to everyone that I know. Seriously, amazing people work for that company! I had my hair and make up done by the same girl that did them at the wedding as well. She went to high school with me and now works at the cutest shop in downtown Fort Worth. I brought my mom and mother-in-law a long. They enjoyed chatting it up and tearing up! It was grey and rainy pretty much all day... talk about nervous. I put my dress on in my mother-in-laws car half way in and half way out, in the rain! I was so worried that my hair and make up were going to literally melt off my face, Texas humidity is a killer. But, when time came to actually take pictures the sun came out and the clouds went away!

I love all of my pictures... Love my dress and wish I could relive the day all over again. I dream of the day that I get to share these pictures with my children and grandchildren. I hope these memories stick with me for eternity. Here are a few of my most favorite... If you are contemplating taking bridals or not I definitely vote yes! It really helped to relieve some of the stress on the wedding day AND you get to wear your dress so... win win!
















January 6, 2014

Here's to you 2014

    I have high hopes for 2014. So far our family knows we will be adding TWO babies to the mix... That's right, added two wives in 2013 and 2 babies in 2014. Nope not mine... don't go getting too excited. :) Two of my sister-in-laws found out they were preggo within a week of each other! Cam and I will celebrate a year of marriage in July. We are planning on going to Cabo, Colorado (hopefully twice), and maybe even a cruise! Two of my best friends will graduate college and hopefully move back home! In 2014, if plans go as expected, I will complete a FULL year of grad. school.

And y'all... that is only the start of what we are expecting in 2014. It's going to be a good one. I hope I can keep up. Speaking of keeping up... I have compiled a list of 4 major goals this year.


1. I really need to focus on His word. I really really slacked this past year... guilty and shameful. However He has redeemed me and I can keep not trying! Thank you Lord! I want Your heart. 

2. Date my husband... self-explanatory. We Me really get caught up the day to day activities and school that I forget to make time for him. Yep... pretty pathetic. So, in 2014 I hope to go one at least one date per month with my husband! I want to make at least one day a week and be available to him all day long... no school work, no real work, and no worry... We will see how that goes. I am horrible at letting go of things. 

3. Take the time to be present... I spend so much time dreaming of the future and worrying that I forget to even be thankful for the present time. I want to work on being completely present in those important moments and unimportant moments. I want to take time to "smell the roses". I want to spend less time worrying about things that are completely out of my control. 

4. Take more pictures... Hello I am the world's worst at taking pictures and being in pictures. I love looking at pictures so I don't know where I get lost in the idea of not taking them! I am going to use my fancy I phone camera and my little Sony... hopefully will be able to buy one of those fancy cameras in 2015! 

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year!

       2013 you were one of the best years yet! So much happened over this last year, it is a little overwhelming to even think about. You were full of joy, happiness, accomplishments, and fun.

January started in Colorado, Winter Park to be exact, and I am happy to say we are back again, but in Wolf Creek! Cory (brother-in-law #3) proposed to his girlfriend on this day last year. I continued working as a nanny for the sweetest family and cutest little boy. I started my last semester of undergrad.

February was the start of Cam's last ever baseball season. We spent many hours at the baseball field and many of those hours were freezing and filled with snow! Oklahoma experienced a crazy winter season in 2013. Weekends were full of time spent with Cam's parents and their new puppy!

March was the month I got into graduate school at Texas Woman's University. It was also the month my childhood best friend's family sold their house in my parent's neighborhood... It was a growing experience for all. My sister and her friend came to Oklahoma to visit and see a few of Cam's games.

April was the month I wrote a post about being Baptized and my choice in accepting Christ as my Savior. It was also a month of continued wedding planning and trying to complete the last few weeks of undergrad work.

May was graduation month. It was a month of huge change... I tried to the whole blog every day in May thing and did better than I had expected.  It was also full of exciting times at work, Baby B was on the move and doing new tricks every day! I tried to take as many pictures with his as possible and enjoy my time with him because I knew it was coming to an end way to soon. Cam's baseball team made it to the regional tournament. I took my bridal portraits in Fort Worth with my mom and mother-in-law. There was a horrible tornado this month that hit Moore, Oklahoma only 30 minutes away from where I was living at the time. We celebrated our middle niece's 4th birthday.

June I moved back to Texas and had to say bye to Baby B... It was a bitter sweet ride back home. The 25th of this month marked one whole year since Cam had proposed to me and was only a month away from our wedding. The Mav-O summer vacation was in South Texas at Garner State park. We enjoyed camping, the rain, and floating the river.

July was wedding month! I spent my time at the pool as much as possible trying to soak up all the sun. We saw Tim McGraw, Brantley Gilbert, and Love and Theft in concert. We attended Rangers games and were able to watch our BFF pitch at the Roughriders stadium.We completed all wedding planning tasks and decoration makings. We had the most perfect Wedding week ever and honeymooned in the U.S. Virgin Islands! I am SO ready to go back!

August was a total blur. We got back from our honeymoon and moved into an apartment together. We both went back to work and then Cam had to go to Oklahoma to have major surgery. He had to have disc replacement surgery and it was one of the scariest things I have seen to date. Seeing the man you love and the man that is always the strong one and the one that never breaks be broken was rough. We celebrated our nephews 3rd birthday. I also started Grad school this month and it was crazy. I spent most of my time reading and studying... It was tough learning to balance, work, life, school, and work.

September was a continued blur.It is the month of birthdays and we were able to celebrate with everyone, except my gram,we had to celebrate grams birthday in October. Cam, our niece, turned 7 and we drove to Abilene to surprise our bff Rodge for his birthday. In that same weekend we drove to Oklahoma to celebrate our other niece's 1st birthday. I started recapping our wedding and have yet to finish...

October we celebrated Cory and Amanda's wedding! Continued school, work, and trying to enjoy life. I basically didn't blog from August until January. We received our wedding video and pictures all this month and I think I looked at them every day all day for a solid week.

November was yet another wedding... this time in Lubbock. It was also birthday month for my mom and the beloved start of the holidays! We celebrated Thanksgiving three times, it was glorious as always. I put our tree our before Thanksgiving, but held off putting the ornaments on until after Thanksgiving. Our first tree was perfect for our little apartment, but I look forward to the day when I can have one big 10 footer and multiple minis all around.

December marked the end of my first semester of grad school and I am happy to say I came out alive. It was the most difficult thing I have completed to date, and it was not without fault and complications. We celebrated Christmas with the O's the week before Christmas and we made Santa cookies with the littles and opened presents... Spending time all together is always the greatest, never a dull moment with this family! Christmas Eve was spent with the Mavs, the Okies couldn't make it down, but we enjoyed the company of those who were with us. Christmas Day we spent with both sets of my grandparents and my parents, sister, and family friends. We also had a third Christmas in Abilene celebrating with Cam's Paw Paw. Christmas time is my favorite time of the year and I am always sad to see it go. At the end of the month we headed to Colorado for a week of snowboarding and spending time in a cabin with the Mavs and Os. We rang in the New Year by all being asleep by 10:30 pm :)... Pretty perfect year if I do say so myself.