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This is Mr. and Mrs. Watts.  I live with their family and they have been a HUGE blessing in my life.  They were sweet enough to open up their house to me and I still can't believe how lucky I am to have found this family.  They have 3 kids...Grace and Kate are twins in 8th grade, and Jake is in 2nd grade. Best family ever, best house ever, best circumstances ever....I'm so lucky!

 This is my friend Liz that everyone has heard me talk about.  She is my heart and soul and has been my sidekick since the day I moved to Dallas.  I can't believe we made it through life this long without knowing each other.  We count our blessings everyday that God crossed our paths!  This picture is Liz with her daughter, Olive Grace, and me with Ward. 

There are 4 of us that work out of the Dallas office, and here we are!  Bria (wearing red and white) is the director of Texas and the West Coast and she is our boss.  Erin (brown shirt) and Cyndi (grey shirt) are my other colleagues that are livin the dream alongside of me!  We work hard and play hard. 

A few thoughts from my heart...

I was asked to share my "story" at The Porch last week, and it forced me into a great time of reflection.  I sat down and tried to write out my life story in a few short bullet points.  It was eye opening to notice seasons and patterns in my life.  It was equally as interesting to see how the past 29 years of my life can best be summarized. 

So, that Tuesday night came, and I sat with the Sidewalk Team and shared my story.  It still feels surreal to tell about the way that Jesus has ushered me through different seasons and showed up in the most unsuspecting places.  But I love telling the story..and I love that His story for my life is still very much underway.  He is not, by any means, finished yet!

I met with my small group last week as well...having so many thoughts from "sharing my story" still on my heart.  And I asked the group how we can celebrate during this season.  Obviously, the world is ready to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  The neighborhoods are lined with lights and inflateable Santa's.  The streets are adorned with Christmas garb and the radio stations sound a little more joyful than usual.  As each girl shared, we heard stories of amazing joy and happiness coming out of their mouths!  Stories that might have been supressed if no one had asked if they had any reason to celebrate this season.  Our hope is to take these stories home to our families this Christmas and share what Jesus has been up to in our lives.  Oh, and then happily celebrate His birth and the fact that He came down from Heaven, was born as a baby, and saved us!

In my opinion, it was the very intentional plan of God to make Jesus' birth an entire "season" of celebration.  He never intended His birthday to last 24 hours, He wanted it to last many many days, and it does.  So what will celebrating look like this year?  If you're like me, you're over the quantity of gifts under the tree.  We're adults now, and we don't need a new pair of shoes that our parents bought us anymore.  For crying out loud, my mom is a public school teacher and the last thing we need is her spending her well deserved paycheck on a clothing item that has a 50/50 chance that I will even like. 

I'm celebrating that God showed up this year.  He got my attention.  He revealed a life to me that He has been mapping out for a long time.  He had people waiting for me.  He had a home waiting for me.  He had a church waiting for me.  He had a new community waiting for me.  He changed some of the hard parts of my heart.  He proved to me that He has my best intentions in mind.  He taught me new disciplines.  He put a few more pieces of the puzzle into place.  He let me unwrap freedom.  He shifted my focus on finances.  He mended broken relationships.  He set me free from guilt.  He showed me that His timing is always better than mine.  He lets my heart beat just a little bit faster because of the assurance I have in Him! 

Then I started looking at those around me...the closest ones...my family.  And I realized that their celebrations are abundant as well.  So, as I go home this year, I'm hoping to spend some time with my family talking about how much we have to celebrate.  Our stories are so intricate and intentional, and sometimes, it is not until we are asked to share our own story that we even realize all that God has done in our life.  Our tree is not going to be exploding with wrapped gifts this year, and I love that our celebrations will likely be richer than ever before!

December in Dallas

It is so hot in Dallas in December.  We are still regularly in the 70's and it feels weird.  I don't have a coat here, and when it got cold for 2 days in a row, I had to go out a buy one. 

Life continues to be wonderful in the Lone Star State.  I couldn't be happier...I couldn't be more confident that I'm right where I need to be...and I couldn't be more excited about what God has in store for me. 

A few highlights....

We kicked off the Christmas season with a concert by Shane and Shane/Phil Wickam.  Probably the best night of my life.  Unreal how music can stir my heart.  They are on tour and their next stop after Dallas was Wake Forest.  I told mom and dad to go, and they did! 

Pat Green played at Billy Bob's in Fort Worth.  Wouldn't have missed it! 

We played Top Golf!

Heath and Scott hosted a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party.  It was so fun to decorate and host the kids and tell them the story of Jesus' birth.  I build the manger, and yes, that is Hunter in the manger acting as "baby Jesus." 

Our friends hosted a Christmas Cocktail party.  Great excuse to get dressed up!

from L to R:  Loren, Holli, Ashley, me, and Liz

Heath and I ran the "Mistletoe Miler."  I am pretty sure we came in first place.

Proof that it DOES snow in Texas.

And maybe the most FUN little treat that I've gotten in December.  Sarah Kassouf told me to go to Gigi's cupcakes shop in Dallas and pick up a cupcake that she had ordered for me.  We got on face time later that night and opened our cupcake boxes together.  The color of the icing would reveal the gender of her baby....

IT'S A BOY!!! 

Thanksgiving in NC 2012

Two weeks in NC for Thanksgiving....wonderful.  Returning home to Dallas...equally as wonderful.

Thanksgiving Day with the Utz Family.  We are new and improved now that Bradley is married--welcome to the first Utz Family holiday, Allie!  We LOVED having you at our table this year.

Sister, sister-in-law, and cousin being thankful.

First stop...hugging my best friend and her new pregnant belly! 

My one and only NCSU Football game of the year! 
Standing between Sarah and Emily is quite possibly my favorite place to be.

In the running for the highlight of my vacation....meeting Millie!  Anne (my childhood neighbor) brought her new baby over and I got to meet her for the first time.  Instant love.  Can't wait to hold this baby again at Christmas...Anne, promise me you'll bring her over again!

Still overwhelmed by the hospitality from Lindsey and Linc!  They had an amazing guest room set up for me and let me move in for 2 weeks.  This was our Thanksgiving Dinner with the crew...such a treat to have everyone back in the same room...it's the little things!  There is no one else I'd rather laugh with about Joey than Parker.  Miss all of you guys...just wait til April!!

These NC boys have stolen my heart.  Love love love them so much.  Lindsey got everyone together at Raleigh Times for a memorable night out! 

All the girls at Raleigh Times.  Margaret, Robyn, Lindz, Ali, and Krista! 

Looking forward to being back in February and taking this exact same picture again.

Dad took us to SMD Hunt Club the day after Thanksgiving.  I have always loved that Dad is a hunter and I love sucking it up, putting my makeup away, dressing in camo, and pretending like I can hang. 

As expected, I loved seeing my family and some of the sweetest faces of my friends in Raleigh...the fun lunch dates, exciting nights out, and "visiting" was awesome.  But, the best feeling ever is being constantly reminded that Dallas is exactly where God has me right now.  I was racing to the airport to head back to Dallas.  Although nothing can replace the feeling of being with my family, it is so reassuring to feel good about leaving and coming back to this place that is now my home!