Happy Halloween...I think?!?

This morning I woke up and I was so excited to see the sun shining! It's forecasted to shine all week long & be in the mid-60s. I was thinking about what a fun Friday night it had been carving pumpkins with Hubby (pics to come Monday) & how I am already looking forward to tonight when we have all the little ghosts, goblins, princesses, witches, & who knows what else knock on our door and say Trick-or-Treat.

Then...I got in my car and couldn't hardly believe my ears!!! Yes, it's Halloween, October 31st, people still have pumpkins, mums, cornstalks, & scarecrows filling their front porches. There are still a few leaves on the trees & everything just smells & looks like fall. However, as I listened to my most favorite Christian radio station I heard the instrumental end of a song I love but just couldn't put my finger on it. It was CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!! It seriously just brought a smile to my face thinking about all the joy, peace, & incredible time with family that we get to enjoy each Christmas season. I listened to it almost all the way to work & it certainly brightened my day! I got on their website to see what was going on and instead of focusing on the terrifying aspects of Halloween they are focusing on "happy family memories, and celebrating the hope, peace, and joy that comes when thinking about our biggest holiday as Christians - Christmas."

Hearing that music this morning certainly made me start thinking about Christmas & how special of a time it is....however, I think I'll enjoy my 60 degree days for as long as they last!

Happy Friday!!

I am so thankful Friday is here, work is getting seemingly more stressful the longer my dad is gone so I'm so glad he'll be back on Monday. I'm just so ready for a break! I do have to work tomorrow, but it's only for a few hours and I don't expect we'll be all that busy.

Last night Hubby played racquetball after work with some of his co-workers so I got some yummy McAlister's chicken tortilla soup for dinner. It was so good & with the rainy, story weather it was just perfect. I was in the middle of catching up on my DVR when suddenly the power was gone, no pop, no lightning, not even really strong winds...but the power was gone. Although it flipped on once or twice in the beginning it stayed off completely for about an hour. Lovely. I didn't really mind being at home but I pretty much had nothing to do and I'm not strong enough to open our garage door manually to even get my car out to go somewhere! So...I lit all the candles I could find, grabbed my Bible & just did a little bit of reading. This would have been such a nice time, but I could barely see & it was seriously way too quiet in my house to focus. I managed to pick up the house by candlelight and then by the time Hubby got home, the power had come back on...YIPPEEE!!!

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing & then the rain finally stopped long enough to take Bogey & Josie on a nice walk. They are seriously hilarious on walks & sometimes it's a little complicated to keep their leads from getting all tangled!

Hope everyone has a safe & happy Halloween! Josie has her own costume so I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures.

the little things

• The sun is shining today for the first time in a long time...too bad the rain is coming again tomorrow. I was beginning to forget what it felt like.
• Last night my grandma moved her left arm...actually picked it up & slightly bent it! Woohoo! We serve such an awesome & mighty God!!!
• Confession: Hubby & I ate homemade apple pie ala mode last night while watching the Biggest Loser. Does anyone else struggle with snacking while watching this show?
• Work has been chaotic with my dad gone, but I'm actually learning a lot which I guess is a good thing.
• We've got tons of candy for the little kiddos this weekend...Carryout pizza, football & kids ringing the door bell are on the agendy for Saturday night!
• On that same note...can you believe how expensive Halloween candy is? Maybe next year I'll make homemade Rice Krispy treats instead...well probably not, but it's a good idea anyway.
• My brother & his wife are going to be in town this weekend, hopefully we'll able to have dinner/lunch at least once! I miss them while they're in KC.
• We've been pretty much failing at working out, but we are walking about 1 1/2 miles each night with Bogey & Josie...at least it's something.
• I'm having dinner next week with a great friend that I haven't talked to or seen in way too long! Can't wait to catch up with her...
• Josie has been a lot of fun to have around...but house dogs are still not in our future.

Voices from Paradise

Since my parents are gone experiencing God's paradise in Tahiti, I've been spending some of my lunch hours at their house. I don't want Josie to completely think they abandoned her so I take her to that familiar place...and also, let's be honest...I'm kinda cheap and can't afford to eat lunch out every day so I've been eating their stockpile of Weight Watchers meals, PB & J, & whatever else I can manage to find (this is all with their approval of course). They did hire my cousin to housesit for them & to take care of things, but I also like to make sure everything is ok for myself.

Sooo...yesterday after I had finished eating I was wasting time doing what else but reading blogs, & their house phone rings. I hesitated to answer it assuming it was a telemarketer since most everyone that would need anything knows they are completely out of the country. However, I answered it anyway and boy, am I glad I did! Hello? Hello? Nothing but dead air & I am convinced that my assumption was correct--it's a telemarketer. But then on the other end of the phone I hear the same words I had just voiced...Hello? Heellloo? Dad?!? Yes, it was my parents calling from thousands of miles away!!! I was so excited at first that I couldn't hardly believe that I was actually talking to them. It was only for about 15 minutes, but just hearing their voices was so refreshing & completely made my day. I reminded them that everything was great here & they told me about a few of their adventures & how beautiful it was & then it was over. We said goodbye & I love you & I'll see them on Sunday evening at the airport with my arms open wide.

They've taken trips by themselves before but never for this long & we normally have at least some way to communicate no matter how brief. Now you may be thinking I'm crazy for getting so excited over a phone call but you have to remember that 5 days a week I work with my dad & most days we both go home or go out to eat lunch with my mom as well. On the weekends it is probably very rare that I don't see them at least one additional time & I most certainly talk to my mom at least once. Needless to say, the idea of not talking to or seeing them for 14 days is definitely out of the ordinary. I'm thrilled to hear that they are having a fabulous time, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss them & I wasn't ready for them to come home. They are truly my 2 best friends, next to Hubby of course. I treasure the relationship I have with them & couldn't ask for two better role models and advice givers.

Mom & Dad...I know you'll read this when you get back--I love you so much & thank goodness I answered the phone!!!

Weekend Rewind

Hubby & I had a fantastic weekend that involved some super great food which is always a plus! Friday night we had dinner with some friends at a fantastic restaurant. It's actually the same restaurant where we have planned to have my work Christmas party so it was a nice trial run. Their claim to fame is flash-fried spinach--which doesn't taste like spinach at all--but we decided to be adventurous and try the flash-fried garden which was a combo of yellow squash, zucchini, & cucumbers flash friend in olive oil and then tossed with parmesan cheese!!! It was so yummy!!! We all had some variety of steak but I had filet tips with a portabello mushroom sauce. It was so delicious and I already can't wait for the Christmas party to try something else! After dinner we headed to a coffee shop to hang out and have something warm to drink...it was a great night with friends!!

Saturday morning I had to work and then I headed to lunch with one of my best friends. We tried this new little coffee shop/tea house & it was fantastic. I had a turkey avocado sandwich and mushroom brie soup. It was probably the best cream of mushroom soup I've ever had! After lunch I did a little shopping & then came home for a relaxing afternoon that might have included a nap! ;o)

The weather was beautiful outside so we had hamburgers & homemade french fries for dinner & then Hubby made a fantastic fire & we enjoyed smores for dessert. The fire was a little smoky because of the wind, but it was a great evening anyway!

Today we went to church, grabbed lunch at Qdoba (YUM!!) and then went to visit my grandma for a bit. She looked great today & is still making lots of progress, we all just keep praying that God will bring full motion back to her left side. She was in great spirits today & had a good day of therapy so that is always uplifting to see. We're spending the rest of the afternoon watching football & then we'll head to small group this evening. It's been a great weekend & I think I may need to go on a diet after all the yummy goodness I've consumed!

I've mentioned homemade french fries several times & this is one of Hubby's favorite side dishes so I thought I would share the recipe (or non-recipe)!

Ingredients:
Potatoes (normally 1 large baking potato per person is plenty)
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Cut the potatoes into then strips or however you like your fries. (I also peel the potatoes because we're not big potato skin fans, but you can certainly leave the skin on if you like) Place the potatoes in a large bowl and add 2-3 tablespoons of oil. Then add salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, & parmesan cheese. Toss/Stir until potatoes are fully covered in oil & the seasonings are distrubted evenly throughout mixture. Place on cookie sheet in a single layer and bake for approx. 30-45 minutes.

I have an actual recipe but I like more seasoning so just add whatever I think looks good & go from there. I also use parchment paper on the cookie sheet so everything doesn't stick to the pan! This is a very versatile recipe that you can use any seasoning with & the cooking time also just depends on how crunchy you like your fries. We prefer them quite crunchy so I always cook them for quite awhile! Enjoy!

Bogey Layman--Canine Search & Rescue

Hubby & I have decided that we are the PROUD owners of our very own search & rescue dog--ok, that might be a little bit over the top, but we are proud nonetheless. Of course there's a story to go along with this discovery!

Tuesday night Hubby took Bogey on a walk by himself while I stayed home with Josie. As they rounded a corner that has 2 empty lots Bogey practically pulled Hubby over as he headed in a very specific direction. It was probably around 9 or 9:30 pm so it was obviously very dark. As Bogey reached his destination, another dog started barking uncontrollably. Hubby was obviously a little bit shocked, but he couldn't see the dog so he assumed that the dog was simply hiding out in the tall weeds and was either lost, a stray, or had been dumped by his owner. He eventually managed to pull Bogey away and they came back to the house. Hubby relayed the story & that was pretty much the end of it.

Fast forward to last night when we decided to walk very early before the rain moved in--Hubby & I both headed out for a walk with Bogey & Josie both along for a nice stroll. As we came to the same corner, Hubby remembered the incident from the night before and headed over to the same area to see if the dog was still there. Sure enough, there it was. However, it wasn't simply hiding out in the weeds--the poor puppy was stuck in a hole about 3-3 1/2 feet deep and there was no way he was getting out on his own. We could tell that the puppy was at least part chihauhau & it was obviously going CRAZY probably from a combination of fear & hunger. Hubby & I decided that we would make another round and discuss what our options were. I mean we couldnt' just leave him there to starve, but we also had 2 other dogs with us and had no clue if this dog was diseased or not.

So...we finally decided to get the opinion of our neighbors (the same fantastic family where we got our precious boy Bogey). Tina (our neighbor) grabbed a pair of gloves & a flashlight & Hubby, myself, Josie, Bogey, and Tina's 2 kids headed back towards the hole for Operation Puppy Rescue. We realized quite quickly that the poor puppy was not going to let us pick him up out of the hole without possibly biting one of us and that was deifnitely not a smart decision. Tina called 911 as a non-emergency and requested animal control come out to rescue the pup. We all waited around for about 15-20 minutes as the pup would not bark unless you got really close to the hole and we didn't want animal control to miss him. They finally arrived & this super nice lady grabbed her gloves, some food, & her animal control pole (you know, the long pole with the wire around the end to grab an animal) and was able to eventually get the dog out of the huge hole. (and now everyone cheers!) While I'm not really a chihauhau fan, he was a cute little thing and I definitely didnt' want him to suffer any longer--I mean who knows how long he had been there!

While it might be a little far-fetched, I have to believe that had Bogey not pulled Hubby over to that hole on Tuesday night--that poor puppy might have starved to death in that hole. YEAH BOGEY!!!!

Of course I failed to grab my camera, I so wish I would have had some photos of the exciting event! However, I did manage to take some pictures last night before dinner. We have a Cleveland pear tree in our front yard which is beautiful in the spring & an Autumn Blaze Maple in the back which is beautiful in the fall. I just had to snap a picture of all the leaves before the wind/rain blew them all the to the ground!

Don't you just love the colors of fall?

This morning most of these leaves are already on the ground from some fairly heavy winds we had over night--Hubby may even have to rake a bit to keep them from killing our grass!

I also snapped a few photos of Bogey & Josie playing around. I've decided that Josie thinks it's easier if she just plays dead and lets Bogey sniff around her all he wants--she doesn't seem to mind and both tails wag continuously when they're together so I think they must be developing a great friendship!

I love this shot of both of them looking at the camera--too bad you can hardly see Josie's eyes! I can't hardly get over the size difference but they love to play together!

And so it begins...

Yesterday morning my parents left the good ole Show-Me State for a 2 week vacation in French Polynesia..yes, there I said it...French Polynesia for TWO WEEKS!!!! My mom says this trip is actually in celebration of the 8th anniversary of their 25th Anniversary as they had orignally planned to take this trip 8 years ago. However, with my brother still in high school & me still in college things just didn't work out & they've finally managed to carve out a 2 week time period to go and enjoy paradise.

On October 9th, they celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary & I couldn't be more happy for them that they are able to take a trip like this! It is such an awesome blessing that Hubby & I get to experience the love they have for each other first hand--we have such good role models in showing us how to make a marriage work & last!

So...while my parents are enjoying luxury & God's majesty here...

& here...

(photos courtesy of Trip Advisor Travelers)

I have been left in charge of this precious little black dog...

Josie is quite the character & I'm sure that Hubby & I will have lots of stories to pass on when my parents arrive home. Sinec I work for my dad, Josie will be spending practically all day, everyday with me as I take her to work each day. Currently, she is curled up in an office chair right near my desk sound asleep. She's really no problem at all & I'm sure she'll get used to her routine in a day or so. We survived the first night with a fair amount of sleep for all of us & have only had one potty accident so far & I'm hoping that was just because of the change in the environment.

Having Bogey, we are used to dogs--just not house dogs...hopefully we surive the next 12 nights & 13 days...but who's counting?!?

Weekend Rewind

What a great weekend!!!! The weather started off a little cool, but by this afternoon (Sunday) the sun came out & temps warmed into the 60s. This is definitely the fall weather I've been looking for.

Friday evening Hubby & I just spent the evening at home, grilled steaks, & watched a movie. It was so nice to just relax & hang out at home--sometimes we don't do enough of that.

Yesterday we spent the morning working around the house & then we headed down to my parents' house. They were hosting a reception/shower for my cousin & his new wife who got married in Tennessee over Labor Day. There was quite the turnout with probably at least 50 people there. My mom and I decided on a Holiday theme so everyone brough various Holiday decor and we decorated using red & green for Christmas. It was so fun & everyone really got into it! I so wish my Grandma & Grandpa could have been there--they would have loved seeing everyone, but sometimes God has other plans and she definitely needs to be in the rehab center where she is now.

The Happy Couple with the lovely spread--cupcakes, sugar cookies, spinach dip, crab dip, fruit & vegetable tray, & tortilla pinwheels! YUMMM!!

After the party, we came back & met Hubby's mom, sister, & nephews for dinner. We had a great dinner at Zio's and enjoyed some great conversation once we got back to our house. My mother-in-law even decided that we would make a homemade ride for Jackson--two adults holding the ends up a blanket while placing him in the middle laying down & then swinging him back & forth! He absolutely loved it!!!

This afternoon we grabbed a quick lunch & then came home to do some yardwork. Hubby mowed the yard for hopefully the last time of the year & I planted a BUNCH of tulip bulbs! They will come up next Spring & I can only hope they turn out like the pictures! I'll be sure to have an update in about 5-6 months! (photos from www.colorblends.com)

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Ok, well we're not actually leaving for around 6 weeks, but I just booked the tickets & I'm super excited. No, we're not flying to New York City to see the city at Christmastime nor are we flying to a Caribbean island to soak up the sun before the harsh winter weather--however, it's practically just as exciting for us! This year we made the leap & we are flying to Michigan for Thanksgiving to see Hubby's parents. While they live in Michigan, Hubby & I along with Hubby's sister, brother-in-law, and 2 nephews always make plans to head Up North for Thanksgiving.

Normally the drive doesn't bother me but with all the driving we've done in the past year, I am more than ready to hop on a plane! We still have to drive to St. Louis to depart, but that's much better than the 12-13 hour drive.

Hope everyone has a great weekend--it's been winter-like around here and the sun hasn't been shining for about a week! I'm so ready for a weather change & I think it's supposed to come on Sunday! Woohoo!

He asked for it...

Last night after Hubby got home from work I asked him if he checked out the blog that I had written yesterday about the weekend. "Yes..." he responded with a bit of disappointment in his voice..."But I'm a little hurt." "Why?" I ask. And he responds with something that may forever be used against him..."I thought you were going to use the picture of me in the Batman mask?!?"

Sidenote: Blogging is something I decided to do about a year ago to keep track of the happenings in our life & also to have some way to look back on where Hubby & I have been. While I did discuss this with Hubby, it was more like I just told him that I was going to do it as something to pass the time--therefore, while I almost always include the happenings in our life together, I try not to embarrass him on here or even discuss those incredibly funny personal couple moments.

So...when I snapped the picture of him in the Batman mask he might have been assuming that it was blog material--but I had no intentions to include it...

However....ask & ye shall receive!!

Don't you just love his cheesy grin and his closed eyes?!?

Hubby, I do love you so much and I'm so thankful for the times that you are able to make me smile when nothing else can! You truly bring joy to my life & I look forward to taking many more photos of you in Batman masks, with your tongue sticking out, & with you making weird faces. Those photos only make me smile even more & the remind me why of one of the reasons I married you in the first place. You make me so happy! Wifey

p.s. hope you don't regret asking me about the Batman picture! ;o)

Weekend Rewind

This weekend Hubby & I had a full schedule. Our nephews both have birthdays in October & since Hubby's parents live in Michigan, my sister-in-law planned both parties for the same weekend so they could be at both parties. In the future there will probably be just one big family party; however, Jackson is 1 this year so he definitely deserves his own first birthday! Friday night we had Jackson's party, had Mexican for dinner, & brownies & ice cream for dessert! Woohoo...bring on the calories! After dinner it was time for Jackson's cake, poor guy was worn out already & wasn't real sure about getting all messy...in fact, as you can see from the third picture he was definitely not happy.

Ok, how adorable are those eyes?!? And those eyelashes...why do baby boys always have such long eyelashes!

At first, he was quite curious about what the big round sweet thing was....
however, that all changed quite quickly and he was ready for a quick bath!

After his quick bath, my sister-in-law tried her hardest to keep his attention while she opened his presents but that just wasn't gonna happen. He got lots of cute stuff & a big, red Radio Flyer wagon!

Is he not just adorable!?

After presents, it was time for bed & then it was apparently time for the costume party! Unfortunately the only one who was prepared was Hunter... He brought out Batman...

& Buzz Lightyear! This is actually his Halloween costume that he has been using as pajamas...you know some fights just aren't worth fighting!

Hunter's party wasn't until Saturday night & his parents were busy with Hunter's friend party on Saturday afternoon, so we took advantage of the free time & headed out for an afternoon date! I just love afternoon dates! We grabbed lunch at our favorite local Mexican restaurant, Maria's! YUM!!! After lunch we headed to a matinee showing of Couples Retreat. For whatever reason I was in a funk on Saturday so this was definitely the right movie for us! I hadn't seen many previews and I laughed hard through almost the entire movie! After the movie we had just enough time for me to run to the grocery store & unfortunately buy a new battery for my car. Lovely, I hate spending money on car maintenance!!!

We headed out for Hunter's birthday party which was at Pizza Hut to avoid another night of cleanup for my sister-in-law and also because Pizza Hut is basically Hunter's most favorite place in the whole world! We ate all the pizza we could handle!!! Aunt L (me) & Uncle Nicky (Hubby) bought Hunter a St. Louis Cardinals Pujols t-shirt jersey & his very first Razor Scooter. I think his reaction when he started to tear off the paper was something like...OHHH MYYYY GOSHHHHHH!!! It was priceless & so worth every penny!

I think this was during the Oh my gosh moment!


Getting even more excited--hopefully it warms up so he can ride it soon!

Apparently costumes are his new thing...he got a fireman's costume & a train conductor costume--he's set!!!

Instead of real cake, he wanted a cookie cake which is definitely fine by me! It was sooo yummy!

Yesterday we went to church & then I went and helped my friend for a few hours at a craft show. I was mainly there to help tear down her booth as there really wasn't much selling going on yesterday. We rushed home & made it just in time for Small Group--I think I managed to crash on the couch about 9:15. I was wore out!

Hubby's mom will be in town for the rest of the week so we're going to get some great quality time with her! Hopefully we'll have dinner at least once, maybe twice! I'm also hoping for some warmer weather--we went straight from summer to winter!!!

Waders...check, Canoe...check, Paddle....check

Ok, so I don't actually own any of those things, but after driving to work this morning I think they might need to be on my shopping list. It basically rained constantly for the last 24 hours & while I don't have an exact rainfall total at our house, there have been reports of anywhere from 5.5" to 10.8" of rain. Whew! There is water everywhere. I left for work a little bit early so I could go look at all the runoff--I grabbed these pictures at the creek that is south of my parent's house. This creek ALWAYS floods & normally ends up over the road when we have a big rain. It had already receded quite a bit but I could definitely tell where the water had been.

There is actually a house behind that tree on the left---it hardly every floods the house, but the bridge over the creek is completely underwater--she's not going anywhere for awhile!

Notice the yellow house at the top of the hill? Yup, they're not going anywhere for awhile either!

The same creek near my parents' house runs through our city park a little bit downstream. It was obviously almost out of it's banks as well.

In the monsoon last night we did get to see my grandma as she got settled into her rehab facility. We are all very optimistic about her recovery even if it is going to take a while. I'm just so happy to have her back in Missouri and nearby. As I went to hug her the first time she said "Hey Sugar" which she almost always says to me so I know her mind is just fine & that God has his hands on her healing process. The facility fully encourages visitors so I'll figure that I'll be visiting fairly frequently. Thanks for all your kind words about her, it's going to be a long road but we know she's capable of about anything!

Hubby's parents are in town for our nephews' birthday parties--we have a party tonight & tomorrow night. Plus I'm helping with a craft show on Sunday. Hopefully I'll be back with some great pics!

Traveling in Style

Well the plans have been made, the airplane is ready, & the credit cards have been charged...my grandma is coming home tomorrow!!! She had another CAT scan this morning & the results came back improved enough that the doctor will release her to travel home (26 hours by car) via Med-Evac private jet. They will pick her up bedside at the hospital in Washington & deliver her all the way to the rehab facility here in Missouri. She should be settled and in the rehabilitation facility by tomorrow evening. She's already making incredible progress and regaining lots of her regular movement & ability to function--that should only continue to improve with additional therapy. What an incredible answer to prayer!!!

The plane she'll be on is a private Lear jet--talk about flying in style!

Weekend Rewind

It's just Saturday night & I already feel like I've had such a full weekend...I just love 3-day weekends! Hubby & I left early Friday morning and headed to STL for some quick shopping before the entertainment began. A nice coincidence in timing allowed us to have dinner with my parents at the Cheescake Factory--gotta get that nourishment in before a big afternoon of shopping! After lunch, we shopped and I picked up some cute things from Anthropologie & Francesca's Collection (possibly my 2 favorite stores). I tried...

Interrupted to bring you another Bogey occurrence...as I was sitting here typing this I looked over and realized that Bogey was peeing in our house on the hard wood floor. I yelled at him to STOP! and he apparently got scared, didn't finish, & then moved over about 3 feet and proceeded to finish peeing in another spot. Let me just say that Bogey is not an indoor dog but we have had him in the house countless times and have never had an accident! (except for those 2 minor "marking my spot" incidents) I guess we're partly to blame as we had noticed that he was drinking a lot from the toilet---we'll do better next time!

Anyways...back to where I was, which I don't even remember what I was about to type so I'll start over. I got some great things for fall including a pair of jeans, a new black cardigan, and a couple of tops that will make the transition from late summer to fall to even winter very well. The cardigan has already been put to good use as it was definitely a little chilly last night on the way to the theater & then today at the ballgame.

Before the show last night we had dinner at a fantastic restaurant called Vito's. It's only about 2 blocks from the theater so we were able to just park & walk from the restaurant. I had the house salad & seafood ravioli...oh I was sooo full! As for Phantom of the Opera, all I can say is WOW!!! The actors/actresses were incredible, the stage sets were unbelieveable, & the costumes were absolutely breathtaking! The music is still probably my favorite part--I always love it when I've heard some of the songs before. We were about 10 rows from the front and it was definitely worth it. If you love theater and have a chance to see the Phantom...don't hesitate, it's phenomonal!

The outside of the Fox Theater...it is so beautiful inside but they won't let you take pictures!


This morning we grabbed a quick breakfast & then did some brief shopping before heading to the game. I picked up a few sale items at Pier One & a neat wire pumpkin to add to my fall decor. We headed to the game & had a great time. We had great seats & the sun even managed to come out for a bit to warm us all up! I love the atmosphere of the ball park--all the fans, the little kids in awe of the players, and of course the food!

Hubby & I a few rows down from our seats--we had a great view!!!

The Man...Mr. Albert Pujols! (no homeruns or even hits today, but he's still awesome!)

The Cards clinched their playoff victory last week--Playoffs start on Tuesday! Woohoo!!

Overall it was an amazing weekend with lots of fun had by Hubby & I--I just treasure these times so much when we can take a quick weekend trip to get away for awhile!


On a much more serious note, last week my dad's parents & his sister & brother-in-law headed out on a road trip to visit some family members in Washington state & take in some of the beautiful sites in that part of the country. On Thursday morning we got a phone call that my grandma had fallen and had most likely had a stroke. They rushed her to the hospital, transferred her to a bigger, better hospital and she's still there awaiting lots of test results. Hopefully they'll be able to fly her home in a few days & my aunt & uncle can drive the car home. She has never experienced anything like this so my prayer's at this time are that the doctors would determine the cause & hopefully try as hard as they can to prevent it from happening again. She is one of the most active 70+ year olds I know & has always been the picture of good health--it's almost impossible for me to imagine her even being near a hospital--let alone in the ICU. It's definitely a scary time especially since most of us can't be with her; however, I know that God has full control over the situation and will take care of her & the rest of our family as they determine what the next step needs to be.


Today, my other aunt sent her a bouquet of 18 flowers symbolizing all of her immediate family who can't be there with her. I just hope she knows how much we love her & we are thinking of her each moment of every day.