Apple Butter, Elevation Worship & Alterations

Well y'all - I am still here but I know it's been a hot minute! That's why I have a whole ton of pictures and anecdotes to share with you today. Can you believe it's already May 4th? Star Wars day, as it were. The last time I posted was Saturday... although I honestly finished that post in advance of Saturday and just hit "publish" on Saturday - so it's been a wee bit since I've actively been sitting in front of the computer sharing!

Last week, Ryan and I finally got to work on something we've wanted to do - Ryan especially - for a while now. We planted four little bonsai trees that we can watch grow and flourish (I hope). Ryan seems to have a green thumb and I lean more toward having a black thumb... perhaps with him being the chief planter, all will go well? I once passed an older gentleman selling bonsai trees and didn't pull over for Ryan to buy one - and I have (and likely never will) never heard the end of it. Hopefully our new trees will heal the wound.

In lieu of some Watson snapshots for Tuesday Tails, I decided to just share two pictures I took of him last week while we were visiting the Woodstock house. The little stinker acts like he can't get on the couch - and I believe him because he's a little old man - and then as soon as we are out of the room, he's up on the couch! I never know if he's truly having little old man problems or just faking me out!

Friday the 29th I was off work for the annual Apple Blossom Festival and I was so thankful for a day off of work - it's been much needed! I was able to start the day spending some time with Ryan and looking over the next few weeks - it was nice to just spend some down time together.

I joined my Mom and some of the ladies from my life group and attended the Apple Blossom Prayer Lunch, which takes place each year and is always a big hit with people. The tickets usually sell out pretty quickly and I didn't initially have a ticket, but my Dad decided he'd rather stay home and let me go.

 

The food is always pretty similar - a chicken salad croissant, a small salad and some fresh fruit with dessert. This year's dessert were cookies that were eye-poppingly bright and absolutely delicious! And they were; of course, the apple blossom colors of pink and green! The guest speaker was Kim Sharp and they drew tons of door prizes... but I didn't win a single one, ha-ha!

 

After the lunch was over, we headed home and I spent a little time with Ryan before he headed to work and then my Mom and I went to see Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - which was quite enjoyable! After the movie, we had dinner at McAlister's and popped by work so I could say hey to Ryan and then it was home to be a bum on a Friday afternoon - as you do, ha-ha! 

I have zero pictures from Saturday but then again, we didn't really do much on Saturday from the time we got up until 2:30. I honestly can't think of what exactly we did all morning but it must not have been too important because I can't remember any of it! Isn't that terrible? When Ryan headed to work at 2:30, my parents and I went to Woodbridge to visit David's Bridal (a terribly quick stop - they didn't have what we needed) and made a long overdue IKEA run - where I found a storage solution for our house! 

We had dinner at Chuy's - one of the best Tex Mex restaurants around - and then headed home! Sunday dawned early and Ryan and I decided to visit Brookside Church, where some family friends attend - the pastor is a Teen Challenge graduate like Ryan and they hit it off pretty immediately. The service was great and we were able to see some friends before heading to grab lunch at IHOP and doing a quick Wal-Mart run! 

The big plans for the weekend - and something Ryan and I have been looking forward to for a few weeks now - we made out way into DC to the Capitol One Arena to see Elevation Worship and Steven Furtick! The concert was an Easter gift from my parents and we had some absolutely excellent seats for the show! We parked about two blocks over from the arena for only $10 (a steal in DC) and arrived about five minutes before the doors opened at 5:30! What follows are numerous photos of the concert.

 

                                     

It was an absolutely amazing concert and time of worship - the music was fabulous and Steven preached on the woman with the issue of blood - all in all, such an amazing concert to be able to attend. I think - because it was more than just a concert and was also an incredible worship experience with almost 20,000 other people! If you are a fan of Elevation Worships music and have the opportunity to see them live, I cannot recommend it enough! 

Monday was back to work as usual and the temperatures finally are starting to feel a bit more Spring-like (although as I write this, I am wearing a sweater because it's chilly out). I took a nice walk during my lunch break at work and also got back into walking after work each day. I am trying to consistently make better health choices and so getting in my steps is pretty high on the list!

Tuesday I was actually off work because I had to take my wedding dress (*happy sigh*) to the seamstress in Charlottesville for alterations! We made a day of it and had lunch and explored some of the shops at the Charlottesville walking mall before my appointment at 2:00. The weather was gorgeous and it was so nice to spend some time outside, just taking in the (finally) Spring-like weather that will hopefully stick around for a few weeks before Summer cranks up full force!

 

The seamstress was wonderful - even if her shop was a bit toasty for mid-May - and I learned that my wedding dress has six layers, so she has quite a bit of hemming ahead of her! However, it was great to know the length the dress will be and already see how much easy it will be to walk in... and I got to wear my sparkling navy shoes again! 

It's been a busy and full last week. I can't believe it's Thursday and I'm just now getting around to this, but that's just life sometimes! Y'all enjoy your week and rejoice that the weekend is right around the corner.