We've Grown & Moved!

Back to it! It looks like the last time I blogged was way back in 2008 when life was simple & sweet as newlyweds! Well, life has only gotten sweeter...

We've grown from a family of 2 (okay, 3 counting Jack!) to a family that includes a 16 month old busy boy! That's right, Dyer James was born on March 31st in 2010. It's been the greatest adventure of our lives and I must say....he's pretty fantastic! Life changes every day with him in it and it keeps us on our toes. Here is our sweet little man...


We've also recently moved! Just a small move across town, but it is taking our every extra minute right now as we get settled in to our hopeful "forever home" here in Fayetteville. We are loving the extra space for our little man to run & play at his own pace! Jack also has a much, much larger yard to run & play in!

Mark just started a new job at Kimberly-Clark about 6 weeks ago (yep, right when we moved) after being at Unilever for almost 5 years. J.Bailey Occasions is going through some new, exciting changes that will be announced soon {fingers crossed!}. It's been a blessing to have such a flexible job while toting a new "team member" around town.

My parents also recently moved from Fort Smith up to our stomping grounds! They are about 20 minutes away in Rogers, which is close to us and all of our Missouri family. I can't believe that they actually did it after 24+ years in The Fort. We love having them nearby and seeing them grandparent our little man. It's such a blessing that they are a part of his everyday life!

My sister, Jonna, also recently got engaged! We are in the beginnings of planning her Fall wedding and my, oh my, it's going to be beautiful.

So, stay tuned as I go back in time to catch up on life the past couple of years. No promises on being a 'regular' blogger here--too much pressure! Thanks for checking in!

Lots going on....

It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Northwest Arkansas, and after a great morning filled with church, our friends, and some good ol' home cookin' from Momma Dean's...it is naptime. Oh, Mark just sat up on the couch, straight from his sleep, because something exciting happened on the Cardinals game on the tube. HA!

We have had lots of fun things going on lately. Between birthdays, mother's day, graduations, weddings, etc... we haven't had much time to ourselves. So, we promised each other that this weekend would be our weekend together. Friday night we went to Stomp at the Walton Arts Center, which was lots of fun! Then, a couple of my friends from home surprised me in town, so we met up with them on Saturday for brunch. We had a fun day cruising in the Jeep (sunburned shoulders for me!), before the hard work began. I did some gardening in the front, and picking up in the back. All the while, Mark was digging a trench for the 3rd time to fix our sprinkler system that Jack had pulled up. It took him all day, so I really hope it is still buried this morning. We went out for dinner at 9:00 and quickly hit the hay when we got home.

We have 28 days until our annual vacation to the Bahamas. It turns out that Jonna isn't getting to go with us afterall, but Richard is still going to come along. The only good thing about Jonna missing out is that Mark & I get the bedroom rather than the sleeper couch! WAHOO! But, we would much rather sleep on the sofa and have Jonna there. But since she can't....

Today is my mom, uncle (her twin), cousin, and sister's mother-in-law's birthday. Happy birthday to all of you! It was also my great-grandfather's birthday. In celebration of births, I doodled some baby names in church this morning and Mark rolled his eyes at me. He said he likes Jack. I have narrowed the names down to Mary Allison or Allison Kate, all after my grandmothers. Hope we don't have a boy first. :)

I am super busy with work right now, and we just received BIG news from Mark's job on Friday. He has had a change of jobs (for the better) to be a forecaster and demand planner for Unilever. He will be doing this work on deodorants! So, keep on buying your Degree, Dove, and Axe! I am so proud of him!

Jack is doing well. He is singing in the back yard as we speak. He has an unusual talent with this. He ate Mark's sunglasses case yesterday, but thankfully the glasses made it out okay.

What's New...

Hi everyone!

I recently realized how upset when I get on to read blogs and they haven't updated in weeks...and then I realized I haven't updated mine in MONTHS! Yikes...

Let's see, let's see. Wedding season has officially kicked in for me. My first wedding of the year this year was Lauren & Stuart's gorgeous April 5th day. It was "as close to perfect as it could be" according to the FOB. (father of the bride) Next on my list was Race for the Cure, in which I formed a team called Brides for the Cure. Together with Dale & Amy we had a team of over 60 people and raised over $2500! We finished in the TOP 10 teams out of 200 in our first year. The race was this weekend and we had a great time. Couldn't have been better weather! Coming in 2 weeks I have Lauren & Dusty's wedding, a possible NYC trip to see my good friend PB for his birthday, then the LIVE UNITED fashion show for the United Way (I got to design!), then Abby & Chris' wedding on May 24. In June I have Suzanne & Ben's wedding and VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One wedding in July and then a couple of months off!

We are so excited to head to the Bahamas again (Mark hasn't been back since our honeymoon) and this time my WHOLE family gets to go! I couldn't be happier. All 6 of us haven't been there in several years. It's going to be a blast. Now that my sister & I are both married, it's a fight over who gets the bedroom and who gets the foldout in our condo. We think mom & dad should get the fold out bed and the 2 of us couples get the bedrooms! HA!

I have to say that I do have the best hubby in the entire world. He has been so helpful and wonderful through this busy time. He had his 25th birthday a few weeks ago and I actually, for once, surprised him with his present! I was so proud, and it brought tears to my eyes. He is looking forward to a cool hunting trip in the next few weeks, and a fun summer spending weekends at the lake.

We are hoping to make a trip up to Kansas City soon, and Carthage too. We haven't seen my side of the family since Christmas and I am having withdrawals.

Jack is still crazy. He weighs 100 lbs now. I had a breakdown last night after he smacked me in the face--I started crying and decided I was done with having a dog. Mark was impressed with my serious "take down" skills as I flew across the room and tackled Jack. But then, Jack decided to apologize and I decided I loved him again. Mark completed the fence around the air conditioning unit since Jack destroyed that as well. Our backyard is (knock on wood) somewhat Jack proof now with mini-fences all around. I just have to take a deep breath when I think about Jack. I do love him, he is just a lot of work. We're reluctantly thinking about a friend/bro/sis for Jack to calm him down & so he would have a play mate. Do I want to have another huge dog on my hands? No. I want a little one that I can dress up like a human. Mark says no.

Well, I have to go and run some errands. Gotta get outside on this gorgeous day! Here is a fun pic of us at the Dave Barnes concert a few weeks ago. Thanks, Dale & Meredith, for the tickets & the invite!!

BRIDES FOR THE CURE!

J.Bailey Occasions and Benfield Photography invite you to join our team, "Brides for the Cure" on Saturday, April 19th for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure! Every bride is looking for a great way to shape up for her Big Day, so why not do it for a good cause? Women everywhere are affected by breast cancer every day and we want to be a part of finding the cure! So, grab your mom, your bridesmaids, and your handsome groom and join our team for the Race!

The team member with the best race time will receive a wonderful wedding gift package from local vendors!

The Race entry fee is $20 for adults and $10 for kids under 12 years (yes, bring your flower girl too!). All team members will receive a Race for the Cure t-shirt, Race Packet, and a Brides for the Cure custom team t-shirt. There is a Fun Run/Walk for those of you who want a shorter course, a Kids for the Cure program, and you can even join our team and Sleep in for the Cure!

All registration is due back to Jenessa by March 7th. For registration info, please call 479-883-9073 or email jenessa@jbaileyoccasions.com.

We can't wait for you to be a part of our team!

Over a month?

Hi everyone.

I just realized today that I hadn't posted in forever. I took our Christmas pictures down because of the dual songs that were playing. I guess I should check the blog after I post it. Sorry for those of you it annoyed.

Let's see...January flew by. It's been a busy month for me with brides and other business. I am preparing for my parents' party on Valentines Day. Should be a lot of fun! I also participated in the NWA Bridal Showcase. It was great, and my good friend Rachel helped me out. You can see pics on my business blog site at jbaileyoccasions.blogspot.com.
My website was also launched in January as well. www.jbaileyoccasions.com

Things with business are continuing to pick up! I will ask for prayers for 3 specific brides to sign contracts with me. Please pray for SS, AS, and K to feel comfortable with me and to see the value of my services for them. If I pick up these 3 brides I will have 7 total for 2008! YAY! Also pray that those I contacted from the Bridal Fair will contact me for more info. There were a few that got away very quickly and I would love to be able to connect with them again. I would love to meet (and maybe exceed!)a goal of 10 brides I set for myself for the year. I have also interviewed a couple of girls for assistant positions. I hope that they are a strong fit for what I am looking for.

Mark has been and will be travelling for work more. He is on his way home from Jefferson City, MO today and will be going up north at the end of Feb. I am thinking about maybe joining him and spending some time in NYC. Who knows..I haven't even brought it up yet! If someone would just provide a plane ticket for me......

Well, I am off to meet up at the Razorback bball game with some folks. Thanks for checking in!

All I want for Christmas is You!

So, Mark is tired of hearing that song. Well, we had a great Christmas break, but a quick one. Mark is back to work and so am I! Although, my days are much shorter as I've deemed it my holiday break. We had a wonderful time in Fort Smith with my family. Jack came along--he was actually pretty good. I told someone before we left that all I was worried about was him marking things and getting into my mom's really fancy Nativity set. Within the first 30 seconds we let him in the door he made a run for baby Jesus and after that, lifted his leg to mark this fancy little tuffet thing my mom has. We laughed and laughed, but only because he didn't do any damage. Christmas Eve morning we got up and opened presents with my parents, and that afternoon we drove to Carthage. It was WILD! We have lots of little boys in my family who are all at the wrestling with anything stage. Besides that, the "big boys" (aka adults) started a wrapping-paper-wad war that no one could avoid. Needless to say, it was a fun day. We went that night to the Dyer's side which is always fun, but much much more calm. The only little one we have there is Madisyn who is the best behaved 5 year old you'll ever meet. We got my little cousin Caleb a Buzz Lightyear costume, and he LOVED it more than I've ever seen anyone love a gift. I mean, what 3 year old doesn't want to be Buzz? There are pics below. In our gag gift exchange, my grandpa ended up with the funniest gift and dressed as a purple fairy. My grandma took the mumu we brought and kept it because she loved it, not because it was a gag gift.

We still haven't had our Christmas with the Bailey's yet. Mark's grandma Ruby is in the hospital so the family focus has been on her this week. Please say your prayers for Mamaw's health and her recovery from surgery. She had her gall bladder taken out, and is now in ICU trying to manage some fluid around her heart. Hopefully we'll make it down to Clarksville to see her sometime this week. We're looking forward to our friends Drake and Kelly's wedding this weekend and of course New Year's!

Long time...

Hi everyone!

Wow--it's been over a month since we posted last, but it's been a relatively uneventful, but busy month at the Bailey house! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Mark's family, and we are looking forward to Mark's first Christmas in Carthage with the Bowers/Dyer crew! When it is your first Christmas at the Bowers' (my mom's family) you have to get under the tree with a bow on your head. While this tradition began as a way of welcoming new babies, it has evolved into welcoming new cousins through marriage! So, I will be sure to post pics of Mark with his lovely bow on his head....if he'll do it! We've been busy going from here to there, visiting the Grifs in KC, seeing a Chiefs game, singing karaoke at Katie's Hannah Montana birthday, surprising my aunt for her 60th birthday, having our community group Christmas dinner at our house, babysitting our favorite Miller kids, and going to fun tacky Christmas sweater parties! What a fun month!

Things with J.Bailey Occasions are going well. Look for my website launch by the end of the month! YAY! www.jbaileyoccasions.com I will be doing a bridal fair in Springdale (the largest in NWA usually) in January, so I am excited to get out there and be a part of the vendor industry for the first time. Pray that I meet lots of brides who are interested in using me! My current clients pick up in the spring, so I will be gearing up for those weddings after New Year's.

I've also been having a blast getting involved in our community through volunteering! I joined a new group called the Young Women's Alliance through the United Way. I've gotten to help out here and there at a really fun fall event for families, sorting clothes at the Peace at Home thrift store that benefits a women's shelter, and yesterday made Christmas ornaments with developmentally disabled adults at the Elizabeth Richardson Center. I am loving every second of it! I am also volunteering once a week as a counselor at Loving Choices, which is essentially a crisis pregnancy center. I am still in training, but I really enjoy the other girls there and the new center is beautiful! It is in the perfect location just between the U of A campus and the Fayetteville High School campus. God is doing really amazing things there, and in the lives of the women that work there. I just love being surrounded by women I can look up to!

Mark's work is still going great! He is going to be recruiting for Unilever at the career fair on the U of A campus in January, which should be really fun for him. He's been having a great time (NOT) lately dealing with all of Jack's mischevious little troubles, like digging up our cable and internet, the sprinkler system, and destroying our fire pit. Yes, it is made of granite and he still tore it apart! He is wonder dog! We're also really excited for the Razorbacks and our new head football coach, Bobby Petrino. It should be fun to see how he does recruiting and getting the fans pumped back up again!

Thanks for checking in, and here are some photos from our Christmas card photo shoot. Chelsea Sloneker, a good friend of ours who is venturing into the world of photography, endured our afternoon with a crazy dog! Take a look...