my honey.

my honey's birthday was yesterday.  

yes, his birthday is on earth day.

                    i love him a bunch.

         our puppy was one of his "birthday gifts"....

     he was excited because the nfl drafts were on his birthday.

so we celebrated with burgers, nachos and football drafts.

he makes me happy.  he's a good man.

he's a little bit goofy. 

(photo from back when we first started dating)

he's really good at dancing. :)

he's passionate.

(time of favor drumming days)

he has amazing eyes.

(chad watson photography)

and he's super sweet.

(our wonderful wedding day)

Happy Birthday, Michael!

meet millie.

oh my goodness.

we got this little girl last night,

she is sooooooo precious.

she came from a litter of 10!

we got to pick her out and we love her.

she's a light yellow lab.

and, she's fast asleep in my arms.

a "barn" and a bike.

there are some cute houses in our little neighborhood.  we have a corner lot (which i love) and there is a house across the street and to the left that brings a little smile to my face when i look at it.

you can't really tell from this picture (that i took with my phone) that this house actually looks like a barn.  it's really darling.... from the bricks on the front porch to the big long windows with adorable shutters.  the owner was in & out so i felt awkward taking a picture.  i guess i should have introduced myself!  i think this house makes me feel like i'm home because, after all,  i was raised in the country.

annnnnnd, i want this bike.

i saw it on emalie's blog "ticky tacky"  and have been thinking about getting it.

it's supposed to rain at some point today.  i say: bring it on!  i'm ready for the pollen to go away so i don't have to drive anymore... michael's allergies are bad this time of year so he can't even see to drive at times.  poor guy.

little bird's nest.

soooo i am majorly sore today!  i did yard work yesterday and let me tell you, i feel it in my arms and legs. it's looking good.... the people living here before had it pretty well landscaped, but they let this one tree get WAY out of hand.  it wrapped itself around our fence and even made it's way up our shutters.  the one thing that we really weren't too thrilled about was how it made it's way up under the siding.  there are two of these trees in our side garden.  it's pretty, but we were tempted to just pull it up completely.

anyone know this monster of a tree/plant's name?

michael was cutting back the other tree from the fence and found a bird's nest.  i was so sad to take away it's home.......  so, i found a new home for it and hopefully the bird's will find it.  :)

i found another bird's nest and i plan on leaving it right where it is for the birds to enjoy.

ALSO... the house across the street just went up for rent?!  anyone in the springfield area looking?  it's super cute!  we're HOPING good renters move in...  preferably a young couple for us to hang out with.

we have pretty flowers growing all over the yard.

it was a good day outdoors... i even played with water guns with my nephew.  he had a blast.

now, we just need a puppy to enjoy our big backyard. ;)

(puppy found on my tumblr.. no original source)

until i have my own baby...

i will be a proud aunt.  well, i will always be a proud aunt, but i can show off my adorable nieces and nephews until i have kids of my own to show off (which will probably consume this blog... just a warning).  kadi and hagen are ADORABLE.  seriously.  they both have such strong, funny personalities.  here are a few CUTE pictures of what i saw on facebook today.  sister:  i want to go to the lake with you next time!

look at that concentration.

LOVE that smile.

big sis always helping out.

so proud.

LOVE this girl.

little diva

(sorry for the shirtless bro-in-law....)

spring in our yard.

everything's bloomin' around our yard.

i'm especially loving this tree in our backyard.

i wish it would stay so pretty and pink ALL year round.

pretty tree.

i'm always excited to see the new flowers that pop-up almost daily in our yard.  our backyard has three trees in full bloom and the front yard has some red tulips and two colors of yellow daffodils.  i LOVE it.  too bad my husband has bad allergies!  one of my favorite things to do at the new place is eat dinner on the back deck...... we were stuck indoors way too much at the apartment with no outdoor living space.

i'll share some more pictures of the yard later.  doesn't spring just make you happy?

the process.

we heard from many people that the house buying process can be tough at times.  i'm here to assure you: it's not that bad...  at all.  everything went smoothly for us.  yes, if we would have opted to buy the short sale home it might have been a different story.  but, buying this home was a breeze for us.  luckily, we live in an area that housing is VERY affordable.  if you want affordable housing just move to springfield, missouri. :)

we're still getting settled.  i just felt it was necessary to paint every single room in the house.

i'm baaack.

i HAD to take a little break from this blog.  we were (and kinda still are) in the process of moving.  it was nice to have a break.  i was just using my tumblr to find home inspiration, but other than that blogging was put last on my agenda.

we moved into our adorable home and i couldn't be more excited with how things are turning out.  we're making it our own.  i love it.