Weekend Crazies!!!

Well, regardless of my hopes for a relaxing weekend...our plans basically consist of nothing anywhere close to that. Hubby has to work tomorrow morning and I have a trip to the grocery store & laundry on my schedule. Tomorrow afternoon Hubby is going to be spending some time with some of his guy friends and I have a baby shower at 2:00. Tomorrow night one of our good friends from small group is throwing her husband a surprise birthday party for his 30th!!! So...I'm going to be helping her out with the setup and my Hubby is in charge of keeping said husband occupied until 6:30 or 6:45 until all of the guests arrive.

Sunday, we have church in the morning and then I have a wedding shower at 2:00 for one of my cousin's. This should definitely be an experience as it always is when the ladies in my family get together. Finally to cap off the weekend we have small group at 5:00 on Sunday evening. It's certainly going to be a weekend of running around like crazy people--but seems likely to have some good memories!!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Roller Coaster Weather....

Up and down, up and down....it seems this has been the weather pattern for the past few weeks. Fairly warm the beginning of the week, even warmer in the middle and towards the end and then absolutely horrible weather for the weekend. This week is proving to be no different. Yesterday it was absolutely gorgeous outside today it's still really warm and tomorrow a cold front moves through which leaves us with highs in the 30s and a chance of snow on Saturday. Just a lovely day for what my Hubby was hoping would be a good day to head out to the golf course---guess those plans are completely shot. Hopefully Spring will be here to stay in a few weeks...I've already got tulips, daffodils, and crocus starting to come up and that will definitely turn on the Spring Fever!!!

Last night we were able to grill hamburgers for dinner and then enjoy a nice run/walk workout in our subdivision. Bogey-mon certainly enjoyed the run and he was worn out when we got back. He'll be having his 1st birthday in about 3 weeks and I can't believe it's been that long already! Our furry little son has grown into an obstinate teenager who loves to dig, chew, and tear up almost anything in sight! I'm so glad he's an outdoor dog. He may be trouble, but those times when he just runs up to you and can make you smile no matter how bad of a day you might have had completely make all of his trouble worth it (almost ;o). We honestly can't imagine not having him and he brings such joy to our lives everday!!!

They're Here!!!

Well, since it's practically already mid-week I'll just skip right through my weekend with an abbreviated recap. We had a great weekend with lots of fun with some great friends & family. I love hanging out with Tony & Dana (our pastor & his wife)--they are great fun!!! My brother's birthday went well & we had a great dinner as a family! My sister-in-law also made a fabulous Cocunut Cake that was fantastic! Sunday, we elected to skip the workout session and spend time relaxing...a nap was definitely on the agenda for me. Of course I managed to go through the entire weekend with not a single picture...I'm really gonna have to work on this.

And now onto more important things...I know some of you have probably had them for a few days but today I got a very special delivery at work...no, not flowers...not another package from my dear mother-in-law...GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!! I don't know about anyone else but I love these cookies! This year I bought a box of Caramel Delites--or for those who remember the traditional names (Samoas) & also a box of Peanut Butter Patties. I definitely broke open a box when I got home and have already had my dessert for the night. I assumed Hubby would be hit up at his office and would buy a couple of boxes of thin mints (which are honestly my favorite)--however, he informed me a few days ago that no one came around this year. Lucky for me (& not so lucky for my waistline)...the girl who brought our order let me know they have extra boxes so she will be bringing me a box later this week. Girl Scout Cookies only come once a year right!?! So can't I be justified in having 3 boxes all to myself???? Hopefully dear Hubby will save me from myself & at least help me consume them all!!!!

Yeah for the Weekend!!!

So the weekend is finally here and I'm so excited!!! Not because we have anything real exciting planned, but this week has just seemed long to me (even though I didn't even have to work on Monday). Anyways, Hubby & I are having dinner and going bowling tonight with a couple from church. It's actually one of the pastors and his wife, but they are only about 5 years older than Hubby & I so we have a great time together.

Tomorrow is my little brother's 23rd birthday so we're going out to eat tomorrow night and then my sister-in-law is hosting a party! It should be a great time and rumor has it that she's made Paula Deen's recipe for Coconut Cream Cake...YUM!!!!

Sunday will be most likely be time for rest & relaxation--also known as going to the gym and doing laundry! Hopefully I'll actually take some pictures this weekend---I've gone too long without some recent photos!

Celebration of Life

While I had planned on my day off for President's Day being a relaxing and refreshing day, it really ended up turning into much more than that. On Friday, February 13th a little after midnight my Grandma's younger brother Jerry (my great uncle) went to be with Jesus. He was an amazing man of God who had truly just come back to Jesus about 5 years ago. He loved Jesus and loved to praise Him. He had been sick for quite awhile so it was certainly a blessing that God decided his time was now. His funeral was on Monday afternoon at 2 p.m. and truly was a Celebration of His Life. We laughed & cried and I was able to spend time with 60-70 family members (most of whom I haven't seen in years!) It was such a great time even if it was a funeral. It's experiences like those that make me so thankful for the family I have and how they have always taught me to love Jesus with all my heart.

The hardest part of the whole day was watching Jerrys' wife, children, & grandchildren cry through the service at the fact that they wouldn't be seeing their loving Jerry for awhile--but at the end as my parent's sang Come to Jesus, by Chris Rice they lifted their hands and praised God for who He is and always will be. What a moving moment! It was also difficult to know that inevitably, I will be in that position one day and I can only hope that I will praise God as Jerry's immediate family did.

Uncle Jerry, you will definitely be terribly missed, but we all know that we will see you again at the gates of heaven!

(Uncle Jerry at our wedding--throwing petals as we left the church)

What a Wonderful Weekend!!!

Well, the weekend has obviously come and gone...but I am just now catching up on all the new posts and getting to post some details from our Valentine's Day Weekend. As I'd previously mentioned, Hubby & I both had to work Saturday morning & it was freezing outside so we didn't end up leaving town until about 3:00 Saturday afternoon. I had big plans of dressing all cute in something new, but with the weather and the fact that I still wasn't feeling 100%...I opted out of that option.

We headed to Branson Landing and did a little bit of shopping. We bought a large decorative vase to go in the corner of our newly painted dining area & I also bought some new sunglasses with the gift card I got from my mother-in-law. I just love them & they won't leave nasty lines on my face like the cheap ones I was wearing.

We had dinner at Cantina Laredo & I am soooo glad we had reservations. The wait when we walked in was 1 hour 45 min - 2 hours. YIKES!!!! They had even run out of pagers so they were telling people to come back in an hour and check to see if a pager was available. We were seated practically immediately and had a fantastic dinner. They have apple pie on a hot skillet with warm brandy sauce that is absolutely wonderful!!!

Once dinner was over we headed over to the Chateau on the Lake, checked in to our room and just talked for the longest time. With the busy week Hubby had & the fact that I had been sick practically all week, we had no big expectations for the weekend except to relax and just enjoy each other's company. That's exactly what we did and I couldn't have hoped for a better weekend. Sometimes it's so nice to just sit around with no television, Internet, or cell phones and just remember why we fell in love & got married in the first place. We had a great breakfast on Sunday morning and then we took our time coming back home. It was a short trip but so worth it & it was very refreshing for both of us.

I failed to take any pictures of us & the view out of our hotel room was great, but not really picture worthy so here are a few of my favorite pics of us from over the years.

Our first Valentine's Day together--February 2004--Wow, look at that hair!

STL Cardinals' games are one of our favorite things to do!!!

Another Cardinals' game...STL Cardinals vs. Springfield Cardinals...the inaugural season for Springfield

One of the best night's of my life...the night he asked me to be his wife!!!

Valentine's Day Weekend...

So...it's Friday the 13th, but instead of superstitions and old wives' tales, it seems that everyone is more focused on the fact that today is also the day before Valentine's Day and the Friday before a 3 day weekend (for those of us who have President's Day off from work). I'm certainly looking forward to the long weekend--especially since I've been feeling less than wonderful this week. I'm still not completely over my sickness, but my dear Hubby & I were so looking forward to getting away for awhile....so, we're still going & I'm still very excited. We both have to work tomorrow until noon, but then we are heading down to Branson for some retail therapy and just some relaxation. We have dinner plans at Cantina Laredo on the Branson Landing and I just love this place! It's actually upscale Mexican--which around here you don't get very often. The view is fantastic and you can see the beautiful fountain/fire show on the water. Hubby made reservations (with a little prodding from me) at Chateau on the Lake.It's beautiful and we've never stayed there, but everyone I've talked to says everything is just wonderful. The views are beautiful and I can't wait for some romance & relaxation!!! Sunday we'll probably just lay around do a little bit of shopping and then head back in time for Small Group...we're still in the Fireproof series and Hubby & I are absolutely loving it. Needless to say I'm super excited! & I'll be sure and take some pictures to post when we get back. Have a Happy Valentine's Day everyone and enjoy your sweetheart!