Professional Bridesmaid for Hire

Some of you may have heard me speaking of my recent "career" as a bridesmaid.  It seems that I am at the point in my life where ALL of my friends are getting married. And when I say all, I do mean that four of my closest friends have gotten married in the past year and a half. Is it my turn yet?! I suppose that is up to other forces, besides my own. (*cough* *cough*) This semester in particular has been FULL of wedding festivities, with two of my very best friends getting married within 2 weeks of each other.

While helping plan 2 weddings at one time was busy and certainly blocked off quite a bit of my calendar, now that both weddings are over, I do have to say - I thoroughly cherished every bit of it. I have felt truly honored to stand next to both of these beautiful brides on their special days. It was such a special moment in my life to see both of them take the next step in their lives with two of the most amazing men. So, I figured I'd write a little about each wedding...in honor of the brides and grooms. (Notice the plurals?)

First to tie the knot was Sam and Phil on May 12th at The Salt Lick venue in Driftwood, TX.  What a gorgeous bride my best friend was!!!

It was such a special moment to watch her walk down the aisle and marry the man of her dreams. As she came up to the front and noticed the tears welling up in all four of her bridesmaids' eyes she ordered, "Get it together girls." Much to my surprise, she was the calmest I had EVER seen her!  I felt like a proud momma standing up there as she recited her vows without even the slightest crack in her voice.  Sam and I have been best friends for almost 18 years - it was a strange feeling to watch her do this! I can't think of anyone more perfect for her than Phil. Especially when she told me that he "hops" with her when she gets excited about something - thank goodness he's someone who can take that job! My personal favorite event of the night: Phil's "routine" for the garter toss. I don't know where he learned that, but it was.......... well, it was all Phil. The night was even complete with 3 wedding crashers who asked for money for a cab ride back to Austin when they were kicked out. Seriously?

Next on the wedding list - Kat and Kyle. They were married this past weekend, on May 26th at Ashelynn Manor in Magnolia, TX. Again, my best friends make the most gorgeous brides.

This was a pretty special event. For one, Jonathan and I got to experience being in the wedding together - which was equally honoring for both of us. The four of us have been best friends for a long time. We have learned a lot from each other and have shared some really wonderful memories. As the guests heard in my toast, Jonathan and I were actually the people who "planted the seed" in getting these two cuties together. We didn't have to do much though, they really were meant for each other.  God had a special plan for them 6 years ago, and He has so much more in store for them down the road. There have been some pretty big moments in my life that I would never have made it through without both Kat and Kyle. I am so incredibly happy for the two of them and all that life has in store for them in the future! I have to say, the dance floor at this event was hoppin'!!! We even got my date on the dance floor - those of you who know him will know how much of a milestone that was! It was so great getting to run into some old friends at the wedding. A real Cy-Fair reunion! 

And to top it all off...look what we got!!!!!!!

I would say that we "caught" both of these things, but that wouldn't really paint an accurate picture. If we didn't catch them, we would have been knocked out by them.  It was more like having a target on our chests. Not going to lie, I was greatly appreciative! Can't wait for those pics!

So...that wraps up wedding season for this MOH. Anyone else getting married and looking for a seasoned professional? I only charge a small fee. ;)

What to do with my extra time now!?!?!? Oh wait...grad school here I come!

An Intro to Me

Hello friends!  Welcome to my new blog, Grace and Diamonds.  Let me start with a warning - this is my first attempt at blogging.  Forgive me of my lack of technological creativity, if you will!  I'm starting this in an effort to keep friends and family updated with life happenings, because life is always changing. A little disclaimer on the title, Grace = my middle name and the thing that keeps me going, GOD'S grace. Diamonds = the baseball kind of diamond, not the sparkly kind. Got it?

Let's start with some introductions, shall we?  Here is how my life works...

This is me.

I was born and raised in the fabulous CYP (Cypress, Texas), graduated from Cy-Fair HS (BFND), but most importantly...here it is sports fans:

I am the LOUDEST and PROUDEST member of the FIGHTIN' TEXAS AGGIE CLASS OF 2010.
(whoop!) :o)

After receiving my degree from Texas A&M in Special Education, I set out to pursue my career goal of becoming a speech-language pathologist through the post-bachelorette program at the University of Houston.  Currently, I am finishing up my post-bac year with one more class over the summer. I applied to the U of H graduate program for communication disorders and sciences in February and received a notification of my acceptance in March.  I cannot begin to explain my excitement to begin this program this coming August. Over the past year, my passion and deep interest in this career path has become so strong. Can't wait to have all those letters after my name and start spending every day in a job that I am in love with!

Something else you should know - I am an incredibly blessed girl, which is something I thank the Lord above for each and every day.  He has certainly placed some special people in my life, those of which I cannot imagine life without.
I have a truly amazing, and interesting, family.  My poor parents have YET to become empty nesters - I am living at home again as I make my journey through grad school. Although, I'm not so sure that they aren't halfway avoiding the whole "empty nest" thing!  I have the best big brother a girl could ever ask for and an absolute wide array of aunts, uncles, and cousins - all of them especially unique in their own way. (And when I say unique, I do mean strange as well. :o) )

I also have some pretty awesome, crazy, fun, and beautiful ANGELS for best friends. They have each been there for me through different times in life, each of which I could not have made it through without them. Don't worry, there will be many stories to come!

There's also one other person...some of you may have heard of him?

*sigh*

That's my boo!  Jonathan and I have been together for 7 & 1/2 YEARS.  Yes, that's what I said. 7 & 1/2. Sometimes I still can't believe it's been that long myself.  I feel like just yesterday we were keeping our feelings on the DL because we had different homecoming dates and we didn't want to make things awkward.  What were we thinking? Wasn't high school one big awkward moment anyway!?  

Since then, we've been through ups, downs, and all arounds.  Our love story is a special one.  Isn't everyone's?!

Jonathan is a recent graduate of Mississippi State University, where he majored in Business Administration and was a two year starter as a shortstop on their baseball team.  After coming within a couple of outs from a trip to the College World Series, he completed his college baseball carrier and moved on to play in the Detroit Tigers' organization. Some pretty excruciating injuries brought him to decide that it was time to "hang 'em up" and he returned to Starkville to finish his degree.  Before playing at MSU, Jonathan spent his first two years of college on the Blinn baseball team in Brenham, Texas, where some amazing relationships were started. One of which has brought him to his present position.  Beginning in August, he will become an official member Blinn Baseball's coaching staff as an assistant coach.  As you can imagine, I am one proud girlfriend. I cannot wait for this year to start because I just know that he is going to make one heck of a coach!  Brenham has been a particularly special place for both of us and we are so excited to start a new chapter of our relationship that isn't quite so long distance!  Like I said, God has truly blessed our lives in the most beautiful way!

I'll end this "about me" sesh with some pictures of some other important "beings" in my life....

*Lexi*

*Lucy*

*Ike*

*Tucker*

That's all for now folks. Here's a little message to wrap this one up:

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."    - Philippians 1:3-6