Where have we been????

Wow...it has once again been awhile. I am such a blog slacker. It's been quite a busy few months here in the Irwin house. Back in March, our house sold (Praise God!) and we moved into an apartment (much to Norman's chagrin). Before our house sold, our realtor brought in a stager and our house looked like it belonged on HGTV! The ironic thing is that the guy who ended up buying our house saw the house the day *before* the stager came. So the whole staging deal was all for naught. Oh well, at least Steve and I got to enjoy a beautiful house before we closed! I have to admit, Steve and I were less than on-board when the realtor was insistent on a stager, but my goodness, look at the amazing work she did!

Here is the Master Bedroom (interesting choice to angle the bed):

Our Master Bathroom:

This picture cracks me up because our realtor brought in towels with the monogram "M" which reflects neither our name nor hers - they must have been on clearance...haha.

Living Room (I love, love, love the huge metal artwork she brought in for that wall!):

A view of our living and dining areas:

Another shot of the living room:

She purchased beautiful art for above our fireplace:

I also love what she did with the dining room, especially the big bowl of fake green apples:

We miss our house - A LOT - but are so, so, so thankful that we are now "unattached" and mobile if we need to move once Steve gets a job. God orchestrated the sale of our house just perfectly. We closed on the sale April 2nd, and in early May, there was a tornado that went through our old neighborhood and damaged several of the homes (including ours). We feel awful for the new homeowner, but have to admit we were so relieved that God sold the house before that happened. I can't imagine dealing with house repairs on top of trying to sell it, while preparing for Steve's graduation...all at once. Whew!

Speaking of Steve's graduation...that was actually just one of TWO big events in our family this spring. On April 24th, three weeks before the much-anticipated graduation event, my sister Christi married the love of her life and became Mrs. Matt Kunzweiler (is that not a super fun new last name?!). I had the huge privilege of being her Matron of Honor and I had the best time with her as we prepared for the big day. The wedding was in South Carolina and I was able to head out there a few days early. We had so much fun, and I once-again realized how blessed I am to have a big sister that I also call one of my best friends. Here are some pictures from the fabulous weekend!

The Wedding Party:

We took the pre-ceremony pictures at the home of Christi and Matt's good friends Mike and Colleen. They have a beautiful house and worked so hard to spruce things up for this occasion, affectionately referring to it as "Operation Biltmore" (after the famous Biltmore Estate in North Carolina).

Here is my new brother-in-law! This is such a great picture of him. We are so happy to have him in our family!

Here are my sweet parents. They're pretty stoked about this union as well! :) I miss you, Mom and Dad!

For the rehearsal, we made Christi a bow bouquet that was, in my completely unbiased opinion, one of the best ever made. :)

And here is the beautiful bride. Goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get married!

One of the reasons I love this picture (besides the obvious joy in Christi's face and her trademark Diet Coke in hand...hehe) is that we have the exact same shot from my wedding day. Not that Christi and I look alike or anything...haha...yes, we are definitely sisters!

After all of the partying, one of the flower girls spent some time "coloring"...didn't make it very far with the coloring. Adorable! I want a little girl just like her. She has the perfect mix of sweet and feisty!

Next was the big event we have been anxiously awaiting for almost four years...STEVE'S GRADUATION! On May 14th, Steve graduated with Special Distinction (yes, my husband is not only the sweetest, most gorgeous man on the planet, he's also a genius...sorry, ladies, he's taken!) from the University of Oklahoma School of Meteorology. I couldn't be more proud.

This is Steve and Dr. Carr, the Director of the School of Meteorology. He was probably Steve's best teacher (he taught two of Steve's dynamics classes) and has a super fun accent (he's from the East Coast). Around our house, he is affectionately known as "Dr. Cah"

The happy couple! Maybe ecstatic is a better word. It's been a LONG four years...we are so grateful to have gotten to this point (seriously only by God's grace). The weather forced an indoor graduation ceremony, but nothing was getting in the way of our happiness!

We were so blessed to have our families come from both Minnesota and California to attend the festivities. They have been such a strong support system for us, and we are so thankful for them!

My sister-in-law Dawn and me:

My mother-in-law and I have a great relationship...we wholeheartedly support one another's chocolate habit.

So...busy few months, huh?? On top of all that, I also have been involved in a musical theater production of "Annie!" This is the first show I have done since Fall 2008, and I am having such a fabulous time! We have already completed two weekends of performances and have one weekend left (June 18th and 19th). If you are in the OKC area, you should come! The Jewel Box Theatre has re-opened their outdoor amphitheatre for the first time in a decade! Also, our little Annie is INCREDIBLE. Here's proof...a video taken by a local news station at one of our rehearsals.

Here is a picture of our star. I'll try to get more pics of the show with some more of my castmates and post them soon!

Whew! Now that I have typed this out, my lack of blogging makes more sense :) Things are slowing down a bit, though, and I will be more on top of it. And...stay tuned for a very exciting announcement coming soon!! I know...the suspense tactic...hope it works! I promise I won't keep you waiting long.