pillowcase dress sweetness.

picture taken by me.
(flower was added for color)

Not kidding.

Total, it probably took me at the most one hour to put together this little cutie.

Pinterest strikes again, y'all.

Find the directions here.

Yup,

I think I'm hooked.

p.s.

does anyone have any suggestions on where I could find pillowcases with cute patterns for sort of cheap? 

Hobby Lobby only had white pillowcases....

fear.

                                  
                                                                         //Source via Pinterest//

God is on our side. He is with us.

the foursome.

Two weeks before mother's day, the random idea popped into my head.

I texted the sis-in-law and asked what she though of the idea.

She and the brother loved it and were in full support.

I asked the sister and she was excited about the idea.

I texted the photographer (a family friend) and spilled the idea to her.

She was honored to do it for us.

It was going to be a secret and the only ones who knew were the four of us and the photographer.

Sneaky?

Yup.

The day arrived and we carried on like it was just an ordinary day.

Strawberry picking and canning consumed our morning.

Secret plans between the sis and I were made--how in the world are we going to get out of the house without mom being suspicious?

And then, daddy called.

He needed mom to drive him to a town an hour away to drop off a truck.

Without even realizing it, he was helping us out MAJORLY.

(thanks daddy)

As soon as mom walked out the door, the sis and I hit the ground running.

Showers were taken, hair was scrunched and curled, and make-up was applied.

We even had time to spare.

Life is so wonderful.

We all arrive at the first destination.

Downtown.

The weather was perfect.

A little windy. But perfect.

There were many laughs.

There were corny jokes told by the brother to make us laugh.

We were enjoying ourselves on this secret mission of ours.

I love this bunch of crazies.

We drove to the second destination:

The golf course.

It was peaceful and the scenery was breathtaking.

The fountain was flowing. 

(like, 10 minutes after we finished with the fountain, it was turned off. couldn't have timed that any better. :)

Mom calls on my cell phone.

Where are y'all? What are y'all doing?

I reply:

"We are finishing up your mother's day present."

(Whew, dodged that one.)

Which was true...we were giving these to her for mother's day.

We finish the shoot and wave goodbye to the best photographer ever.

The brother and sis-in-law head in their separate direction and the sis and I to ours.

We go to the local Publix to check out the Redbox. Nothing good that we haven't seen.

We had planned ahead.

Not wanting mom and daddy to see us in our nice clothes, we had brought another outfit.

We changed and stuffed our other clothes into our bag.

Getting home and walking through the door, mom didn't even ask questions.

Workout pants and a t-shirt looks pretty innocent, right?

Oh, and mom's reaction to when she received the pictures (the night after) was priceless.

PJ's and all.

<3

she loved life.

              

Isn't life just great?

Let's find the blessings in the little things and love life.

Have a happy day.

<3

life is beautiful.

A sister's friendship.

A baby's cry.

A shooting star.

A brother's goofiness.

A faith and hope for so much more.

A father's love.

A mother's prayer.

She sits there.

Knowing that I need her presence, she silently loves me by being there.

She's been there for me as long as forever.

A sister's love.

He is there watching her every move, encouraging her to press on toward the goal at hand.

Then the tiny blessing is born.

The sound is sweet to the mommy and daddy...

a baby's cry.

It's a clear crisp night.

They are bestowed the gift of being outside underneath the shimmery, God-made, blanket of twinkling lights.

And then it happens.

A shooting star.

She sits there in her chair.

It is early morning and the family is still in bed.

She takes out the Holy Word and dives in.

Along the way, she accomplishes one of the tasks that helps to hold a family together.

A mother's prayer.

Have you ever just stopped?

Stopped to see how beautiful life really is?

We have it all.

(ps. october baby is an amazing movie about life.)

a year ago.

We have been friends for fourteen+ years.

She met him here and the rest was history.

After having many Skype sessions and meeting a couple of times in person, they decided that they were meant to be.

(oh yeah, and after she got her best friends approval *wink, wink*)

Playing dress-up in the playhouse, swimming in their clear-blue pool, having tea parties under the trees, and having ridiculous late-night chats about our future hubby's filled alot of our time as little girls.

Her little girl wish was coming true.

She asked me to be the girl to stand beside her during the sweet ceremony and I was honored.

The wedding shower's began and the trips were planned.

To Mississippi and to Arkansas we went.

(and let's not forget the "special" one at my house. ;D)

The night before the big day arrived and the last-minute preparations were being made and accomplished.

Rehearsal dinner.

Nerd shirts were in attendance and the blue-flower heels were styling.

The big day finally was upon us.

Keys to the Jeep were stolen by another bridesmaid (hehe!) and were passed off to a groomsman (#missionaccomplished).

Hair was styled and Pandora was played.

The bride slipped into her dress and little girl dreams were coming true.

The time had come.

The wedding party were paired and had found their places on the stage.

The music stopped and all was quiet.

Then it happened.

Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath came softly through the speakers and the doors were opened.

And then she appeared.

I glanced at the groom to see his reaction seeing his bride in her dress for the first time.

Priceless.

The wedding was over.

The pictures were taken.

The bouquet was thrown.

And then they walked out. Hand in hand. Man and wife.

We had decked out there car (much to their dismay *evil laugh*) and before we knew it, they were on their merry way.

Sure I miss her.

Yeah I'm sad she lives 12 hours away.

But, you know what?

I'm suuuper happy and excited for my friend.

She and her hubby have been married for one year...with eternity to go.

I love you Lur.

friday's letters (#5)...

                                                                          //Source via Pinterest//

Dear bro and sis-in-law,

Thank you for helping pull off one of the best mother's day surprises.

I think she liked them.

Dear sunshine,

Thank you for shining your light so brightly.

Dear pink polish,

You add a wonderful splash of color to fingers and toes.

Dear ford f-350,

You are "super duty" nice and we're blessed to have you.

Dear Skype,

Using you these past few weeks has been the cherry on top of my days.

Dear summer semester,

You have been a breath of fresh air.

Thank you for being slow paced...so far.

sing your song.

             

via Pinterest

I whistle alot.

Like, every day.

Used to, I couldn't whistle. I was only a pro at blowing air when I tried.

Today, sing your song.

Or whistle.

Be happy and content knowing that God has blessed you with another fabulous day to enjoy.

<3

a run for a mom.

Saturday was race day.

We had just driven from Hilton Head the afternoon before.

We were blessed  (hey, i'm trying to find the good in having a cold, ok? :) with runny noses, sore throats, and coughs, but nothing was going to dampen our 5k spirits.

It was the Agape run and we were running for a mom.

www.runforamom.org

Dallas' birth mom.

Blessings did abound.

Daddy was prepared.

He had started to run a few months before and his name was on the list of competitors.

This would be his very first 5k.

Walking and running the course, he finished in 35 minutes.

Amazing job by Daddy.

(he has now joined the team. welcome aboard, dad)

We were on our marks but weren't set to go.

Having timing issues, we started the race 10 minutes late...at 7:40.

It was okay though. To pass the time, there was a guy who officially "warmed us up" and all the runners did the wave.

Yup, fun stuff.

Having a cold, I wasn't feeling so hot, so I placed myself to the far right side and not so close to the front of the starting line.

The timers were eventually ready and the horn buzzed.

We were off.

The photographer lady had placed herself right in the middle of where the runners were running to get that "perfect shot" but I think she kind of regretted it. I heard that she was trampled just a little.

"These are runners on a mission, lady."

Pacing myself I ended up running one of my fastest miles.

9:04 min/mi.

Averaging 9:50 minutes per mile (according to my handy dandy running app), I sprinted to and across the finish line.

Blessings abounded.

Cheering the rest of our team across the finish line, we awaited the results.

Oh, and the door prizes.

the rest of our running team: grayson, mrs. stacey, gavin, and mr. roger

The numbers were called and the door prizes were given.

And then the announcer said:

"Oh, wait we have one final door prize left."

"Number 281!"

Yup, that was my number. 

Out of all 400-something numbers, my bib was called as the final door price.

I was pretty excited about my laptop cover.

Daddy won fifth in his age category, Mom won first, and the sis placed second.

(they only gave out first place trophies.)

It was a great day and we were blessed in that it didn't rain.

(thanks to all who prayed)

It was overcast and perfect.

Blessings did abound.

Stats for the Agape Run for a Mom:

Start: 07:40:00

Finish: 08:12:33

Total: 32:33

Pace: 10:30

Chip Time: 07:40:05

Age Division: 20-24

Place: 5th out of the 19 in my age group

Overall Place: 139 out of 396

moms day.

She is the *umph* to our crazy family.

She is the runner that everyone fears (because she always wins).

She is the lady that puts on get-to-gethers like none other.

She is the person who you want as a friend.

She is the woman that you can confide in.

She is the peanut butter to daddy's jelly.

She is the bomb dot com.

She is....

my mom.

We love you to pluto and back. 

(like, 10 gazillion times)

Yay for moms!

-----------------------------------------

hilton head, s.c.

I'm baaaaack!

We just returned from one of the most amazing places ever.


It was just the girls.

Mom, Me, and Sis.

and

Mrs. Melanie, Natalie, and Valerie.


There were many giggles, shopping trips, and late nights watching animated disney movies.
Oh yeah, and some fabulous bike riding.

Are you ready for picture overload?

Good.

Because, here it comes...

--------------------------------------

Monday:
leaving home later than we wanted to (surprise? not really.), driving by the school to sign papers, finally getting on the road, headphone listening and movie watching, 7 hours of fun with mom and sister in the car, sleeping most of the way (you can still have fun when you're sleeping ;P), chick-fil-a for lunch, a not-so-welcoming gas station in the middle of nowhere, texting back and forth with the hays girls keeping each other updated, arriving with lots of hugs to go around, unpacking then hitting the beach

Tuesday:
bikes arriving early in the morning, sleeping in until late, gearing up for a 5-mile bike ride, getting lost but then not getting lost, beautiful scenery and wind in our faces (*happy sigh*), cute little bike baskets, going thrifting and finding tons of great deals, taking a relaxing dip in the hot tub with sis and natalie

Wednesday:
sleeping in...again (hey, we're on vacation), mom and mrs. melanie chose to go on a bike ride and us girls headed for the beach, a scary incident with the sis but she was ok, drive-thru McDonald's for lunch, laying out at the pool to work some more on that tan, going to the room and taking a nap, getting cleaned up for church, going to church at the cutest little church with about 20-something members, wrapping up the night relaxing and watching Unconditional

Thursday:
everyone loaded up on our bikes with our bottled waters (with mom carrying the snacks, of course) and took off on an adventure.... riding on the beach, the scenery of boats and a lighthouse, going shopping, eating the biggest turkey burger that i've ever eaten, clocking 11 miles to our destination and back, getting back, me, natalie, and the sis went to get pedi's, coming back and packing up our things to leave in the morning

fyi, that is vinegar on the table. not a drink. :)

Friday:
getting up at 6:30 to get ready to leave, making one last check in the condo to make sure we had everything, taking pictures in front of the sign, everybody feeling bwuh with sniffles and sore throats, one last hug before hitting the road, lots of sleeping and music listening to on the way home, another stop at chick-fil-a for lunch, getting stuck in traffic for an hour (hey, it just gave us that much more mother/daughters' time :), stopping to pick up our 5k registration packets and driving the course to get a sneak peek, finally arriving home to an amazing daddy that missed us like crazy

this is our sad-we-have-to-leave-duck-don't-feel-good faces.

And that was our amazing week, y'all.
I hope y'all are blessed beyond measure and have a fabulous weekend.




(Note: Seriously, y'all, mom, me, and the sis are battling colds that have suddenly come up. We all have a 5k tomorrow and like have zero energy. Plus, it's supposed to rain tomorrow.
We would be thankful for the prayers. XO)