Adventures in Texas, Pre-Chosen: National Shrine Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe

When Shana and I go on a trip together, we collect Catholic churches. This time there was a cathedral in Dallas connected with Our Lady of Guadalupe. It was absolutely gorgeous and had a tapestry that was made by the parishioners that was larger than life and using real gold thread. You can see the tapestry in the third picture. I thought it was sad that they had moved it to the parish hall.

Here you can see that above the altar, instead of a crucifix, there is a life-size reproduction of the Toma that was miraculously imprinted upon by Our Lady of guadalupe. Similar to the mural of Mary Magdalene in the Cathedral of the Madeline in Salt Lake city, I was a bit upset that the crucifix was not the central item in the church. Still, the cathedral was gorgeous and I'm glad we attended Mass here!

Adventures in Texas, Pre-Chosen: Best Steak EVER

In town again to film The Chosen season 6, here we are back in texas! After doing some research, we decided to eat at Ruston Cattle Company and it was the best decision ever! Yes, it was expensive, but I'll meet was locally sourced and the best tasting meat I had ever had! Even the server was amazing, able to recommend cuts of me and even the proper drinks for our taste. I even liked the table decorations! My shirt simply says come and see which is a line from the Bible and the chosen, which is a conversation starter intended to encourage people's questions.

Adventures in Texas, Pre-Chosen: Back in Dallas, TX

I don't go on a trip somewhere warm without a convertible! It was a true joy to drive back and forth in this car! We also captured a few shots of the Dallas skyline. Originally we were supposed to meet up with April, unfortunately April and Ben got covid and we're unable to meet with us, so we had to find some other things to do.

This time we stayed in a Vrbo called Kingdom Home Country Cottage. It was absolutely adorable! I always choose a place with a hot tub so we can relax after a long day of filming. This place also had some really eclectic recycled art which we loved, and we laughed really hard when we saw the main art piece in the main room was a version of a woman who we always name Jill. There is a Jill in Edisto as well! We name her after one of our old yoga instructors. Although the sunset was impeded, the sunrise was beautiful from this place!

Annie. Bello. Nubs & Seal.

Oh how we love bello! These days, as a fully adult cat, Bellow has started sitting the way Miku used to sit with what we call "nubs." If he is not sitting nubs, he is sitting like a seal. Often we see him sitting like that and just yell "SEAL!"

Leia & Harvest Choose a Wedding Date & Venue

Leia and harvest have finally chosen their wedding date for September 28th, 2026! We have also secured the venue and even paid the deposit! It is a beautiful place called Something Blue Mountain venue located in Marion North Carolina. Leia feels like this is the site of her dream wedding! They have chosen the largest wedding package and plan to invite around 60 people. It is going to be so exciting to watch and help them plan this wedding!

As you can see, they are in the middle of a big expansion. It will be completed next august, so in plenty of time for the wedding in september. The expansion is to accommodate up to 60 guests. Another exciting thing is that the owner is a Methodist minister, and is able to do a Christian ceremony!

Meeting the Cloers at Cocula / Agave with Leia & Harvest in Town

LEIA AND HARVEST ARE IN TOWN! ... So we and an impromptu date with the Cloers at Cocula (now called Agave)!

Annie's Get-Together with School Friends

Marisa, Luz & Maddie all came over today! This is a perfect example of a photo I would get of one of Annie's friend get togethers. :-D Annie still does not like to take pictures! But she had a good time with her friends this evening and I thought I would mark the occasion with a Blog post. We purchased pizzas just for the occasion.