Happily Ever After...: The Week That Was

I am taking a big collective sigh this morning, exhausted from a week that was full to the brim with life. One thing after another had us working round the clock for the last few days and now here we are on Sunday morning, almost on the other side of it. Almost. All of our carpet gets replaced this week so yes, more crazy to come...

However, in the middle of our chaos, I got a little toy I've had my eye on for oh, a few years...

Mama got a new camera, a serious upgrade from my last little point and shoot and my camera of late, my iphone. And I love it! Like really, really love it. I can't stop taking pictures of anything or anyone who is a willing subject! Last night I took three family photos of some friends at a wedding! ha ha! So in no particular order, here are some of the many pictures from our week. If it seems random, that's because it is and in honor of that, welcome to our week and my disjointed brain! We only had about 10 balls we were juggling so random seems perfectly appropriate!

This little guy.

Oh man, he is growing up. Don't tell my heart, but rumor has it he will turn 3 in about 12 days.

So those are our toilets and yes, they spent about 24 hours in our kids' room. Normal? As you'll see glimpses of a few pics below, we had some major remodel work done, in the way of new tile in both of our bathrooms and our entry way this week. So therefore, our house got turned upside down for several days and toilets ended up in our kids' room. Makes perfect sense now, right??

We found ourselves on the sidelines of two soccer games this week...man did we get some amazing weather to enjoy! It has not grown old watching Travis and his team pray after the game with every.single.team. we've played this year. Public, private, it hasn't mattered. They've invited the other teams to pray with them and they've all accepted. What a blessing to watch...so proud of my husband and his leadership with these guys. We pray that our reputation as a school is markedly different in the eyes of each team we play, but more than that we hope to point people to Jesus, even at a soccer game, the one who truly makes all the difference in the world.

We lived with two bathrooms basically out of commission for several days this week. Lots of blue tape and wet mud everywhere, but in the end, so worth it.

We had two very nice men from the tile store working for us. The kids were enamored with the part of the process that they got to see...especially Carter. He took it all in, asked them questions, watched their every move! And they were so sweet to him, answering those questions and playing along. They did a great job but I won't lie, it's nice to have people out of my house for awhile now...at least until Friday when the carpets get replaced!

Back to my new camera...it got a serious workout this week! This might be my favorite picture of us this year. With the kids at my parents for a few days so we could both work a wedding, we got a little time together to enjoy too. Friday night we went to the Rehearsal Dinner and enjoyed a great place we'd never been and had the best time on the balcony with amazing weather. Perfect. And, I love him like crazy. Watching him on the sidelines, watching him on the stage, or watching him at home...10 years later and my heart still skips a beat when he comes in the room.

We did enjoy (and need) the break so we could get our jobs done for the wedding and endure the tile being installed, but these two have our hearts and we missed them!

Those two soccer games this week? We won both! Trav's team is having a great season and this was a very good week for him. Lots of tournament play coming up so we are hoping for more of the same! A sweet Mom was laughing at me on the sidelines when I took this...the play was unfolding down the field and everyone was watching near the goal, but clearly in my opinion all the action was right here. I told her I came to photograph my favorite coach and maybe I'd get a few shots of the game, but mostly I just wanted him :)

I did my last wedding of the year and these gorgeous flowers came home with me to be arranged. I'll share more photos about that wedding in another post, but I am thankful to have this one done because now I can truly relax for the rest of the year and take my florist hat off for awhile. Although this was a fun one to end on, the colors were gorgeous and I'm very happy with how it all came together!

It was picture day this week at preschool so when I told Ava I needed a picture before she left, her sidekick jumped in and wanted me to take his picture too. Wonder how long this phase will last? I am loving the sibling bond these days, preschool has created a little absence between them that is making the heart grow fonder I think!

Oh Ava, you make my heart smile!

After the kiddos went to my parents, we were left with the aftermath of the tile install. Baseboards in my sink and sadly, that is still where they remain this morning. Even though the tile is done, we haven't had a spare minute to clean up after them or put everything back together yet. It's driving me crazy but I'll get to it soon. I have to, we need our sinks back!

We got home from a long Wednesday night and installed a toilet at 11:30pm so we could go to the bathroom in our home again. First time for both of us, after a marathon day...you can imagine the fun we were having. It's a glamourous life!

Meanwhile, I took pictures of basically everything I could this week in between the chaos...

...including the kitchen sink. Just practicing and seeing what this camera can do! Ha! Also, this backsplash might be the best design decision I've ever made. I cannot stop looking at it. Or photographing it. Or being amazed at how good it made my flowers look this weekend!

See?? Perfect backdrop. I ignored my desire to deep clean my house and instead put my florist apron on so I could crank out bouquets and arrangements! Loved, loved, loved this color scheme! So soft and romantic.

Cutest Pastor out there!

Such a sweet couple, we were honored to be a part of their big day! We've known the groom since we first came to Grace, he was a student then, and we've known the bride for the last two years. We've enjoyed them both as volunteers in junior high ministry with Trav and we just adore them. We are excited for the adventure they have ahead of them and the ways the Lord will grow them and use their marriage to bring Him glory, in the marine corp world especially! Aren't they darling? And to make a sweet day even better, the groom is an Iowa Hawkeye alum and our Hawks beat the Gophers yesterday!!! Icing on the cake!

The wedding was beautiful and so sweet, loved all that candlelight! The room was glowing and gorgeous!

The younger version of us would have stayed long in to the night having fun on the dance floor, but after this week we made it through dinner and cake before we about fell asleep at our table! We came home and collapsed into our bed.