Oh man. Y'all have been so patient. This master bathroom has been a long time coming. 21 years, actually. We lived in apartments for several years after marrying, moved states, then built a house and then moved back to Texas into *the* cutest one-story house on the planet. It was a former spec home that the two of us had an absolute blast making our own. We worked so hard on that house. It's where we really tested out all ...

Before we get to the big reveal on Monday (I know, I'm squealing, too), I always think it's fun to see the guts of the project and just how far you've come. This is what happens when you're the daughter of a general contractor. My dad has been in the construction business his entire life, so I've walked more job sites than I can remember - from prisons to high-end residential. He instilled in me the desire to hold my ...

A few days ago, the regular hum of our household was in full effect. Scott was bathing Gianna, the boys were upstairs arguing over who was going to take the first shower and the girls were giggling in their room. Me? I was washing dishes. I do it every night. And not a single kid bothers me because they know if they walk into the kitchen I'll put them to work. As I stood there, with my fancy pink gloves ...

There's a lot of talk about a "word of the year." And while I think it's cute and I love that people are jumping on the bandwagon, it's a bit like resolutions. Unless you do something with it, make marked change and invite God into the process, it's just a word. Jen has a great word of the year generator if you're stumped. I suspect you might already know yours. Perhaps it's your God-given talent and you want to hone ...

I hope I'm not the only sucker out there for "in review" posts at the end of the year. Just yesterday I went down the Instagram rabbit hole. I guess I just love hearing how folks have grown, what they've learned, mistakes they've made and what they hope to accomplish in the new year. Believe it or not, this post marks TEN YEARS of blogging - a whole decade! My very first blog post sure is a chuckle. So as not ...

Advent started off so great - SO GREAT. I was the keynote speaker at a women's retreat in Dallas that first weekend. Even though strep had hit our house, hard, the day provided me an opportunity to speak, spend time in Adoration, go to confession and sit and chat with the loveliest of women. Boy, did my heart need all of that. I arrived home, riding the cloud, and we were stoked to participate in our parish mission with the ...