Hello friends! I've missed you and am ready to be regularly sharing blog posts here with you again! I'll share some home related posts next week, but before jumping back in I thought I'd catch you all up on what's been going on in our family lately with a little Summer recap. It was a busy one!
They up and moved away to Northwest Arkansas! They're (semi) newlyweds, young, and were ready for a new adventure. They are both nurses and got new jobs lickety split, Caleb is an ER nurse and Kenzi is a children's PACU (post anesthesia) nurse. The first pic here is on their first day of their new jobs. They stayed in an AirBnB for a time there while they looked for a house, and came back and forth to OKC for a bit in between their shifts while they wrapped up some commitments here. They bought the cutest house for their first home outside of Fayetteville and are loving their new town and home!
We were able to go for a few days and help them unload and unpack a bit and get a tour of all of their new spots. They had to work a few days when we were there so we grabbed a friend (now future cousin-in-law, see below!) in the area and explored one of the near by state parks. NWA is so beautiful and we've enjoyed several trips there in the last few years, so excited that we have such a great spot to visit the kids now and that even though they're not in town here anymore, they're not too far away.
I spent a late Spring day in Stillwater helping Emily when she got her SR photos taken around campus. One of her besties is a fantastic photographer and we had fun chasing the light around the campus!
She graduated in May with her Accounting degree. Such a fun day as we gathered to cheer her on!
Emily's Eyelet Dress || My Dress- this color sold out and I'm not sure what's left but variety of styles and colors 65% off here. I LOVE this dress, would highly recommend if you see one on sale that works for you- I'm in a M with room to spare.
Our niece is a talented artist and participated in her first showing at the Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts. Her work was displayed so beautifully and we were so proud to be there to support her! I bought one of her gorgeous colorful canna leaf prints.
My long sleeve dress is sold out but the same dress with short sleeves in 2 different leopard colors available here. More outfit links here.
In late May we moved Miss Emily down to Dallas for a summer internship. More on that below but she was living in the heart of downtown Dallas, so we absolutely had to head over to Turtle Creek for a Shake Shack lunch!
This year marks the 75th Anniversary of our church so we had special services through the Spring leading up to a big celebration Sunday in April. Such a joy to celebrate God's faithfulness over the years! Then, in June we welcomed a new Sr. Pastor and his sweet family. We love them so much already and are so excited to see how the Lord will continue to work at QSBC!
June was packed full of church related events. We started off with a conference in Dallas. We stayed in the coolest downtown AirBnB apartment with a fantastic view. It was stormy our first night there and we got quite the lightning show!
This is an annual nationwide conference we usually attend, and it's always good to catch up with ministry friends who live near and far. Em's internship was with a Southern Baptist related company, so they had a booth set up and we got to see her a bit while we were there. We even snagged her one night to cheer on the OKC Thunder with us during one of the playoff games while we were in town (now National Champs... woo hoo!).
After the conference we spent a week at Falls Creek, our state youth camp. Ray had a group of 6th grade boys and I helped with the kitchen crew cooking for almost 200 middle school students! And, we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary while we were there with some ice cream at the concession stand after the evening service- ha! Fancy! Now that I think about it... I think we're still due an anniversary dinner out! 😂
A few random events over the past months... Our university held a fundraising gala where I had a small part in helping with some of the decorations, such a nice evening with a great turnout! My faithful crew of helpers as we worked to spoil our VBS teachers in their break room the week of Vacation Bible School. One of my good friend's daughter got married with a Garden Party type theme for the decor, it was the sweetest wedding! And, our nephew got engaged and we are thrilled for her to join the family next summer!
Gala Outfit Links || VBS- sharing more about these decorations next week and this is my cute top (on sale! I'd suggest sizing up, I'm happy in a L) || Ruffled Striped Dress at wedding- pockets and lots of colors! || Engagement Party- Outfit linked here but very limited sizes/colors left in $10 dress, Emily's dress here
Fourth of July! We spent the day at Mom's as usual, and then back to our neighborhood for the always epic fireworks show there. Happy to have a few friends who joined us!
So a little more info. on Emily's internship- she worked for a faith-based financial company called Guidestone, and actually with a team within that company called Mission Dignity. They work to provide advocacy and financial assistance to retired ministers and widows who are in need. So, her job had a lot to do with donor relations. She loved living in Dallas for the summer and working for Guidestone! This was a photo from her last week there when the interns had to each give a presentation about their experiences. She is actually continuing to work for them for the remainder of this year on a part time remote basis to cover for a co-worker's maternity leave, and it looks like she'll have more opportunity to fill in for a different coworker in the Spring. So- yay for continued opportunities to work with them even while she's in school!!
Not long after she wrapped up there, she went back to school for one more year to get her MBA (she started some classes toward it her senior year so will be able to complete that degree with one more full year in the Masters Program.) We moved her in to yet another place to live this year- the cutest little old yellow house with some sweet roommates! She did her job and sent her Mom a first day of school photo-
Last September we got hit by a bad random hail storm that was a total surprise, even to the weathermen, and my car was in the driveway. 😠We had to get a new roof on the house last Fall but they couldn't get my car into the shop until April. It went in April 28 for what was supposed to be 6 weeks, but we JUST got it back last week, 4 months + 1 day later!! Insurance provided a rental for a month but after that we just juggled and occasionally borrowed by Dad's old truck when we needed another car. I know there are a lot worse things going on but that was a pain! So thankful to have it back!
I haven't done any major projects to speak of the past few months, but have been trying to clean out and organize here and there. My Dad built this big armoire over 30 years ago (I darkened the outside finish 10 years ago- details here) and for years it's where I've kept all of my pillow covers and lots of fabric. However, I decided that I'd rather store that stuff elsewhere and move my sweaters and sweatshirts from my closet to this cabinet instead. I had the pillow covers all stacked up neatly inside, but the rest of it had become a jumbled mess- no before photo here! I removed everything, sorted, and stored all of my covers and extra fabric in big tubs underneath my bed. I made 2 additional shelves to add inside the armoire and am still in the process of wrapping that up and organizing my clothes inside. I'll share that when it's finished.
My birthday was a couple of weeks ago, it was sweet of Emily to come home from school to spend the day and go to dinner with us. My friend had a different color of this caftan on recently and I had to get the details from her... found it online and it's on sale! Several cute colors and has pockets. One size fits most, it says 0-10 but I'd say it would easily fit well above a size 10 also. It's very wide (nature of a caftan!) but the waistband at the front helps create some shape with an elasticized drawstring inside that you can tie around your back to customize the fit a bit. Perfect cover up, lounge dress or robe, or dress it up with accessories for a simple, chic outfit! I'll wear this out and about but if you have a beach trip or cruise coming up this would be a fun piece to take.
Mom took us out for a birthday lunch (POURING rain the entire time!) and we all came home with beautiful arrangements of flowers that my sister grew in her garden.
Mom and I showed up in the same leopard sweaters- ha! Gingham Trench is old but linked what I could here. My sister's green top is part of this lounge set. Similar Green Cardigan to Mom's.
I told Ray I found what I wanted for my birthday on Facebook Marketplace! If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen a sneak peek, but I'll be sharing what I got (another project!) on the blog next week too!
OK, that gets you all caught up on all of the Griffin family news of the summer, next week I'll share some home and project posts! Thanks so much for being here and always jumping back in with me. 💖
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Enjoyed seeing your pictures of the good times your family has had over the summer!
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