Reunion

Since several of us were in town for Alex & Nick's wedding, we had the opportunity to spend some time together today. It has been so long since we've had a chance to just sit and talk. The Jones' came in from Alabama and Coop and Jen were here from California. there are two new babies in the group...Claire and Cooper. I loved getting to meet them, hold them, kiss them and love on them and their mommies. You girls have the sweetest kiddos. Here are some shots from the day.

Cutie pie Corbie

Sweet Cooper

Baby Girl Claire

Cooper and his Jeano

Lots of Corbin...I can't resist his charm or his EYES!



and...the grown men who napped longer than the babies - Pepi, Chad & Chris

Alex + Nick = The Lutons

Our dear friends Alex and Nick are finally married! We joined them tonight to celebrate with them in their sweet marriage. The Derek Hotel was an amazing location for their ceremony and reception...everything looked lovely. We had a fantastic time! Congratulations to you! We love you and wish you a lifetime of happiness.

Proverbs Ladies

She is worth far more than rubies...Proverbs 31:10.

God spoke to me, asking me to use my knack for being a communicator and my love for keeping in touch. I didn't know what He wanted me to do exactly. I just knew I needed to do something. I have created another blog. This blog is private and is not viewable to the public. To read it, you have to be a woman and you have to have permission from me. This blog is for women, mainly my friends and myself and we're using it to talk about life. Women carry so many thoughts, feelings and emotions around all day. We have questions, concerns and stories. I love my husband immensly, but my girlfriends are invaluable! We can learn from one another's mistakes, lift one another up in prayer, swap recipes, share secrets, and give advice. Men don't do that. I live with a man. I need a place to pour out some of my soul. If you'd like to be invited to read Proverbs Ladies, please email me at sarahshalley@gmail.com. I'll add you to the list. Soon, others will be invited to make posts on the blog as well. What do you think?

Happy Birthday Granddad!

We celebrated my Granddad's birthday tonight by all meeting up at Texas Roadhouse for a yummy steak dinner! My Granddad is 77 and is far more busy than I am! He's up in the wee hours of the morning (4am ish?) ready to check on his cows and horses and start his day on the ranch. I really admire him for all that he's accomplished... he's worked harder than handfuls of people added together. Really. I love him for the example that he sets for our family. I love his worn, rough hands and the way he grins without really smiling or showing any teeth (my Daddy does that too). I love the sparkle in his eyes. I love that he looks proud to stand with his arms around us as we take pictures. I love his huge hugs. I love the way he takes care of my Grandma, calling her his bride. This man is precious to me. I'm honored to belong to him.

The Group

Me and Hannah - I love her laughter!

The Wilsons
Dad, Grandma, Granddad
Daniel & Bek - These two are ridiculous together!
Me and Bek - She's so pretty!

Happy Birthday Liz!

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend Liz. We had a really fun time at Chuy's sitting, talking, laughing. Over many baskets of chips and some yummy jalapeno cream sauce, we went back to the Larkins for some famous strawberry cake. The most fun was the girl time and the girl talk! I love you girlfriends. I feel completely blessed by our relationships. I need you in my life.

The strawberry cake I mentioned...so, so yummy.

The birthday girl! This is the only picture I have of her...my camera died!

The Shalleys -

Sarah & Carrie

Sarah & Stephanie

Sarah & Erica

and...this is what our husbands do. They sit and talk about guns while we sit and talk about them. They are VERY cute though!

all photos taken with the NCS51

New Camera

Woohoo! For a long time, I've been wanting to look and feel like a "normal" person when it comes to my camera. I hate doing research on technology and prefer that people just tell me what the new best thing to buy is. With only a little research I decided to make a small investment, go out on a limb, and purchase a new point and shoot camera. I have about 30 days to decide whether or not I'm happy with the images its producing. I just thought of something and had to edit this...the reason I've purchased this camera is because it is more compact and will make taking everyday pictures easier. The one thing I'll miss is that because I've been hauling my big Nikon around, I've been able to practice shooting in Manual a lot lately. This is valuable practice...guess I'll have to remember to grab both cameras.

Here's what the Nikon Coolpix S51 can do -

Reading the manual as we drove down the road to a bday party.
At dinner...oops, a little too much zoom.

My sweetest Honey-

all photos taken with the NCS51

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm not much of a fan of days like today. I usually despise commercialized holidays. But, I love that it gives me an excuse to be sweeter, to say things I don't say everyday, and to show my hubby some extra love. I love soooo many people. Friends and family...please know that I love you. You matter to me! You are precious to me and I treasure my relationship with you.

I made these super sweet looking cupcakes for the ladies I work with:


Daniel and I think alike...we got each other cards that came in the SAME envelopes. Haha! We laughed pretty hard about this. Luckily, our cards were different but still totally appropriate for one another.

ps - all shot in manual. no editing!

Shalley House

We've been by the house several times this week. Thought you may like to see! We're getting pretty excited as things are coming along VERY well. It's soooooooo pretty! I can't wait to move.


Master bath cabinets-

Walls are painted-

Kitchen cabinets-

Tile floors-

Tile floors are throughout from front to back door!


We have cabinets, paint, tile, fixtures, and electrical plates in!
Next up are the counters and appliances. No idea what else. Enjoy!

Flu Monster

headaches, congestion, aching joints, sniffles, Vix, warm baths, coughing, ibuprofen, lots and lots of sleep, throwing up, sweating, shivering, 101.9 degree fevers, WalFlu, tylenol, missing two days of school... This week has been the yuckiest of all! I've been at home, infected with The Flu Monster. My husband has been soooo sweet and has taken great care of me. After days of rest and house arrest, I'm still not quite myself but I am feeling MUCH better.

I looked far worse than this:

Fish Tales

Guess what, ya'll...Daniel's blogging this story! Enjoy.

We had been wade fishing all morning and hadn't had any luck so we decided to try drifting in the bay. It was probably about 1:00 or so and I'd just started throwing a plastic lure when I felt a hit. I wasn't sure if I'd hit bottom and was caught on an oyster reef or if I had a fish. I began to reel in my line and just about the time I was expecting to see my lure in the water, I saw the line on my reel start to disappear quickly. The fish took about 45 yards of my line and then stopped. I started to slowly reel him in again. This time I was able to get him within about 20 yards of the boat before he took off again, taking the majority of my line with him. I panicked thinking that he'd take all my line and I would lose him! I had Dad fire up the boat and we made our way over to where the beast had stopped. I continued to reel in, expecting to see the other end of my line. Since it'd been about 10 minutes and we still hadn' seen a fin or tail, we decided that I'd snagged a sting ray. They rarely come to the surface when you have them hooked. Apparently this guy wanted to play a game of chase because Dad had to start the boat up about 5 or 6 more times so I wouldn't lose all the line on my reel. Finally, after a 20 minute fight, I saw a fin! On the second attempt, we netted him and I laid eyes on the biggest fish I've ever caught! He measured 37" and weighed in at about 30lbs. WOAH! Look at this guy:

Lurking near the surface-

Finally netted him-
Holy smokes!
The beast: A Black Drum

Groundhog Weekend

Daniel and I drove home to spend a little time with his parents this weekend. It was wonderful to get away, relax and hang out with Barbara and Roger. When we showed up Friday night, yummy steaks were being prepared for dinner. We ate dinner, hung out for a little while and then went to bed since the guys were getting up at the crack of dawn to go fishing. Saturday, Barbara and I slept in and then slowly got ready for our day of browsing downtown. Bay City has a few of the neatest little shops that are filled with home decor. I love to visit them when I'm in town. The best part is looking, but then I found a china cabinet that I LOVE! Hopefully I'll be able to get it for the new house. We ate at a cute little cafe' called Thyme & Again. So great for a girls lunch! We had sandwiches, soup and cheesecake....oh my! I had so much fun just walking and talking all day! Upon return to the house, I took it upon myself to have a NAP. I don't remember the last time I napped on a Saturday. I woke up and the guys came home with TALL TALES of their fishing adventures! Funny thing is, they have pictures to back up their story. Haha! (Daniel will be blogging about this later). We ate dinner at Chili's, went back to the house for coffee and convo and then headed back to Houston. It was important to us that we be in town to go to church today. Church was great. The weekend has been great. I just wish I had another day... the weekends fly by!
I hung out with these girls a little on Saturday morning:

Millie

My Honey

Millie

China Cabinet

Around the shops...

I LOVE THIS IDEA!

ps- LP, these were shot in manual! :)

Cutest Thing Ever!

If you don't read the Yonder Way Farm blog...well, ya outta! This recent post sent me rolling with laughter at the rolls on little Laney Rae. I reminisced about the days my little sister, Hannah looked quite similar to Laney. Too funny! Lyns & Jason sure know how to make some cute kids. Keep 'em coming!