Day 274 - Monarchs

The first butterfly I learned to identify was the monarch. I still love watching them! We were surprised to see several flying around a field this time of year. But it was a welcome surprise! They are so beautiful.

Day 273 - Aperture

I love learning more about photography and how to use my camera to take better shots. Even though we don't have a DSLR (yet!), what we do have still works fairly nicely! I am learning about how to change the aperture to get effects like this picture with the flowers blurry in the background. Fun stuff!!

Day 272 - Punch Cards

I like punch cards to get free stuff! One more on the Fazoli's, and we get a free meal! Gotta love it :)

Day 271 - New Shoes

We spent some time shopping tonight with some gift cards we've had for awhile! Roy got a nice new pair of pj pants, and I got these adorable shoes! LOVE!!!

Day 270 - Open-faced Cheese

One of my absolutely favorite snacks is open-faced cheese or cheese toast. I like it best with what Roy refers to as "waxy" cheese - American singles! But we're all out. So white American had to suffice for tonight :)

Day 269 - Shades of Fall

I am so ready to see all the leaves in their shades of reds, oranges, and yellows! They are starting to change, but I'm ready for brilliant colors! The weather has sure realized that fall is here, and I'm loving that!

Day 268 - White Collar

Tonight we spent time with my mom catching up on this season's episodes of White Collar that she had DVRed for us. We watched up to the summer finale! We enjoy getting to spend time with her as we watch, and we all love the characters on this show!

Day 267 - Pumpkin Muffins

Today I made these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. It was perfect for the cool fall weather we had today! LOVE pumpkin food!!

Day 266 - Picture from the Past: The Beach

Seeing as I probably won't be visiting a beach this year, I had to include this favorite place of mine! I love the beach. It's peaceful, it's beautiful, it's a wonderful place to be! This picture is from Aruba, a place I fell in love with. I'm so thankful that when God made the world that He included beaches. The sand, the water... ah...love it!

Day 265 - Reminiscing: College Life

Roy was up at Cedarville with me today. During my lunch hour, we walked around campus and reminisced about our time there. This is a picture of us in front of the building where we met! I really enjoyed getting to spend my lunch with him today, and I loved remembering some of our fun memories from our time as students!

Day 264 - Sticky Faith

Awesome book. Awesome concepts. Totally worth the read.

Day 263 - Herons

I haven't gotten to do much birding lately, and I miss it. So I was pleasantly surprised to see this great blue heron in the pond right outside of our apartment!

Day 262 - Chocolate Milk

I ate in the Hive today at Cedarville. It's like their snack shop. I got one of their combo meals, which includes a drink. My lunch was made when I remembered they have chocolate milk!! Ahh! Love it!

Day 261 - Fall Decor

I'm enjoying getting out our fallish decor! I love fall colors and all that comes along with it!

Day 260 - Cincinnati Bengals

WHODEY!

Day 259 - Crafting

I put this back together today with my trusted hot glue gun. It's a cross made from magazine pages. I love all of the colors!

Day 258 - Flowers

I've been looking forward to tonight all day. Not because some big event was happening. Quite the opposite actually. We had a free evening to spend together. Just the two of us. We met up at P.F. Chang's for dinner and used up the gift card we had left! Then we went home, where I found the place straightened and these beautiful fall flowers waiting for me! LOVE! I love the mix of mums, roses, alstromeria, and more. We made some brownies, watched some Bones, and just enjoyed being together. So nice. I feel so loved.

Thanks, Roy :)

Day 257 - Picture from the Past: Painted Buntings

This one is for you, Roy :)

This was one of the first birds that we ever made a strong effort to find. We planned our first anniversary trip somewhat around a place where we might see a painted bunting! I don't think I'll ever forget when we sat down in the bird blind one evening and there it was! We were so excited :) Thankful for beautiful birds that God created and getting to enjoy them with Roy.

Day 256 - Windows Down...

... Radio Up, Wind Blowin' Through My Hair

Love driving on days like this :)

Day 255 - Roy Making Pizza

Roy is really into making breads of all types, so tonight he tried a new recipe for pizza dough! We're finally learning the tricks of making good homemade pizza. A hot oven and a preheated stone are key!

The pizza was great! Now to tweak it to make it even better next time!

Here's Roy with his pizza and his new pizza peel. Thanks, Mom!

Day 254 - The Attitude of Christ

The passage says it better than I could!

Day 253 - Smiling Kids

There is something about a kid's smile that just lights up a room. You never question its authenticity. You know it is genuine. And it's beautiful! All of these smiles have worked their way into my heart, some over the last months and some in the last day! So thankful to know so many great kids!

Day 252 - Cotton Candy

Tonight our church had a neighborhood night out! One of the things we offered was cotton candy. I haven't had this in years, and it was soooo good!!

Day 251 - Sunrise

Because of my early morning commute, I'm blessed to see the sunrise. It was gorgeous this morning. When the sun was lower than this, it was bright pink! It was beautiful to watch it rise through the fog. Grateful for new mornings.

Day 250 - Wedding Photos

I love looking at photos of our wedding day. It's hard to believe it's been over three years already! So grateful for this man and the memories we've made.

Day 249 - Thirty-One Lunchbox

My good friend Christy from Dallas works for Thirty-One. They offer a great line of amazing products. Check it out here. She gave me this lunchbox as a gift, and I love it! It's so spacious, it keeps my food cold, and it's adorable!

Day 248 - Copycat Recipes

Tonight we tried a recipe that appeared to be a copycat of our favorite dish at Olive Garden - Five Cheese Ziti al Forno. Mmmm. This wasn't exactly the same, but it was delicious! Love finding new recipes to add to the rotation! And, we didn't even eat half of it! LEFTOVERS!

Day 247 - Cupcakes (on a whim!)

I felt like baking something tonight. Banana bread or cookies sounded good, but I realized I'm lacking in the baking supplies since we moved. I need to restock! So a box of lemon cake mix was found (I knew I saved it through the move for a reason!), and we whipped up some cupcakes! Yum :)

Day 246 - Garden-fresh Veggies

Thankful for some veggies straight from the garden!

Day 245 - Yellow Jackets Soccer

Roy and I went out to CU for the men's soccer game. We used to go back when we were dating, so it was fun to be back and enjoy that together!