Sweet 16!

The Baylor men made it to the Sweet 16 this year and once I realized they would be playing in Atlanta, I decided we HAD to go. I haven't seen the Baylor men play in person since I was in college! That's way too long considering how much I loved Baylor BBall while in school. So I bought us tickets and away we went!

We beat Xavier to head on to the Elite 8. And although we couldn't take down Kentucky, I am so very proud of how far the Baylor men's basketball team has come! I'm already looking forward to next season (and looking to get my hands on some NEON Baylor gear!). Now to cheer on our Lady Bears to another National Championship.....

Garden Prep

I am SO excited that Spring is finally here. I love working in the garden and it's finally time to begin our preparations for this year! Inspired by something I saw on Pinterest, I decided that our garden needed some color. So...

We painted the wood around the garden (don't mind all the weeds in there...that's a work in progress). I love the way it turned out! The outside is blue (obviously) and then the caps around the corners are yellow.

We also painted the wire cages for the tomatos. I was feeling especially Baylor Proud so we went for green and gold :) Sic 'em!

And last but not least, we planted our first little seedlings. This is our first year to plant from seeds so I am very excited to see how this works out for us! So far we have several baby Roma tomato plants, Bistro tomatos, Eggplants, and Peppers (both hot and sweet). We also have seeds for Okra, Squash, Zucchini, & herbs that will eventually head straight into the ground once the garden is ready and we've decided there are no more freezes in sight!

Simplify: Round 3

I know I am way behind in getting this post up but here is our 3rd round of items for our Simplify project:

14.

I own WAY too many scarves for a girl who lives in Alabama. This pile also includes a few winter hats and a belt or two.

15.

This shelf has been sitting in a corner since we removed it upon moving into our house almost 2 years ago.

16.

Old backpacks and duffle bags.

17.

Matt's old chin up bar. Our 1920s home does not accommodate this equipment....

18.

Our old printer...the ink cartridge refills were more expensive than the printer itself. I'm hoping to recycle this one.

19.

Old work bag and traveler's passport/money holder thing (it's true, we had at least 3 of these...)

20.

We cleared out our DVD collection. Many of these were duplicates or things we have since bought on Blu-Ray. I'm embarrassed by how many of these were sitting on our shelf collecting dust.

21.

Old pillows. Our bed has 4, the guest bed has 6, and we still had 3 left over.....hmmmm....

I must admit that the hardest part for me hasn't been the getting rid of items rather it's been the rules created about shopping. I don't think I realized how much I like to shop/buy casually until taking on this challenge. I really miss being able to buy new clothes and shoes here and there.

Ordination

On Sunday March 11, I was ordained by Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, Tx. It was a beautiful service in which I felt affirmed, supported, and loved. I am so thankful that my journey in ministry brought me around full circle--the church that first opened my eyes to my call is also the church that sent me out into the world.

The flowers sent from First Church Birmingham! (they also put together a stack full of letters and cards of support from church members--what a wonderful surprise!)

Matt and I sharing the Benediction.

High School Friends!

Baylor besties.

And of course the fam.

I received the robe and stole I am wearing in many of these pictures as a gift for my ordination and I am in LOVE with them! I am so thankful for the community of friends, family, and might as well be family that has surrounded me along the journey and will continue to support and love me through the joys and sorrows of ministry.

Simplify: Round 2

I'm a little bit late this week but we did move on to round 2 of our simplify project. This week was still relatively easy to find items to give away.

8.

We've kept this old comforter around in a bag since we finished seminary. I think it's time for it to go since that's almost been 3 years now.

9.

Books. We have SO. MANY. BOOKS.

10.

A chopper that we've not used much because we have other electric ones around the kitchen.

11.

Cups & Margarita glasses...some of which I've had since college....

12.

We have LOTS of old magazines. These will be finding their way to our local recycling facility.

13.

Matt's old shoes.

Here is the pile of all of our "stuff" from this week. I am looking forward to actually getting it out of the house as it's now starting to pile up!

This week I think we just realized how much "stuff" we keep around the house. Not necessarily bad things but things that are just in the way and taking up space. Do we do this to make us feel more important? To make it seem like we have more stuff when people come to the house? I don't really know why we hang on to so much so often but I think this is a reminder that we need to do a regular clean out of our "stuff."

Simplify: Round 1

This week we gathered together our 1st set of 7 things to simplify our lives. Here is the run down with some reflection scattered in:

1.

I started with some purses and bags that I never use anymore. I may eventually have more in this category to give away but we started with 3 this time.

2.

Shoes. I have WAY too many.

3.

At first I thought this might be a cop out category but then I realized just how many boxes we were keeping around the house. All of these made their way to the recycling bin.

4.

As I started to clean out, I realized that our dog has more "clothes" and toys than some children I know...and I'm not exaggerating. She had three of those ropes you see pictured.

5.

We have way too many extra sets of sheets....that we have never needed even in the "just in case" moments I've been saving them for.

6.

See above except replace sheets with towels.

7.

We bought this bed skirt to go with our King size bed and then realized we don't need a bed skirt. I don't think we need to keep it anymore.

And as the grand finale here is all of our "stuff" from the first week.

Honestly I didn't expect this first round to be as difficult as it was. There are several items we know we are ready to give up but that's only 3 or 4 out of 40 (and they are still to come)! I felt most challenged this week by the amount of stuff we have even just for our dog. I cleaned 1 of her baskets...that didn't count the one she got for Christmas or her treats, or medicine, or shampoos....