Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there! God has blessed my life with an amazing mother who is not only my mom, but my best friend & confidant for almost everything in my life. Each day I am reminded of the incredible relationship we have & the fantastic opportunity we have to see each other almost every day of the week. For some girls this might seem like a bother & a struggle--but for me it's a chance to learn as much as I can from the woman who has taught me everything I know. I know I've mentioned my mom before & how important she is to me; but it can never be said enough. I know that I will continue to learn from her each and every day & for those who say..."You're going to be just like your mom someday!" I respond with a feeling of joy and excitement that someone might think I have the ability & love in my heart to be as amazing of a woman as my mom is.

Mom & Dad with their new joy, Josie

I also have the incredible blessing to have both of my grandmother's still here with me. Grandma Smart, the Woods Grandma, is so full of love and advice & instruction when you need help with cooking, cleaning, gardening, etc. She's who taught me how to bake my first apple pie & I still call her with those everyday questions like "What should I do if I have wax on a dry-clean only shirt?" She is soooo loving & such an amazing inspiration for how I hope to live my life.

Grandma Smart & I at our wedding

Grandma Herndon, the Town Grandma, is just a special, special woman. She has an amazing heart for God & for His will & I know that it was her who prayed that Hubby & I would be brought together when none of us even knew he existed. She has had some ups & downs in the recent years, but when she's having a great day she is still the good old Grandma that I still remember. The one who used to paint my fingernails, knit me sweaters, & take me to Wal-mart for a special toy. She is an amazing woman of God & I can only hope to have the prayer life that she does as I continue to walk on this earth.

3 Generations: Myself, Mom, & Grandma Herndon at my brother's wedding

In addition to my own mom & grandma's, God has also given me an amazing mother-in-law who although she lives 10 hours away, still finds a way to make her presence and love felt in our lives on a regular basis. I could not have asked for a better relationship with my Husband's mother & I know that once she moves back home that we will have some amazing times & experiences together. The relationship that Hubby & she have is something to be envied & it is truly fascinating & exciting to witness.

Hubby & his mom on our wedding day

There are so many other moms in my life, and I hope you all know just how special & amazing you are. I can only hope that someday, with lots of guidance & love, that I can somehow be a combination of all the fantastic women in my life.

Happy Mother's Day!

Probably one of my favorite pictures of the 2 of us---Mother & Daughter

Crazy Spring Storms!

What a morning!!! The weatherman was calling for storms overnight, but they were a little delayed in getting here. They arrived this morning about 8:00 am, just as I was preparing to leave for work. So...my dad told me to stay put at home until the winds blew through. I grabbed some old sheets and laid them on the ground so I could bring Bogey in during the storms. I brought him in (muddy feet & all) & tried to get him to dance around on the sheets as much as possible to get the mud off. I called my dad to find out what the radar looked at (I had lost my television at this point) and basically simultaneously as I was calling the tornado sirens start going off. So...now I'm trying to talk to my dad over the tornado sirens & trying to keep Bogey under control!

Needless to say, something else had to go wrong. I turn around to look for Bogey & he is now marking his spot, urniating, peeing, or whatever you want to call it on my door frame to my bed room. Not really a huge deal, except that HE'S PEEING ON MY PURSE!!! My purse was laying on the floor right next to the door & it was definitely getting splattered on. So, I promptly scream an expletive, hang up with my dad & start cleaning up urine--all while the tornado sirens are still going off. I should probably mention at this point, my dad realized the storms were already past me so I was basically just ignoring the sirens. I finish cleaning up the dog urine, wipe my purse down with disinfectant wipes, & then try to relax while the rest of the storm goes through. Bogey stayed in the house--but boy did he know he was in trouble!

Finally the winds seem to calm down so I call my mom to check & see how the weather is where she's at (since this is where I'm headed for work). She says to stay put that they are getting round 2 of straightline winds. My power starts flashing in & out & then it's gone...no power means no garage door means no going to work anytime soon. I've just put Bogey outside only to find out that I should bring him back in (& of course he's headed out into the rain at this point). So, I go back to the door & invite him in again & I make sure to get him somewhat dried in the dark. We finally get calmed down & I light some candles & grab a flashlight to read my book in the dark while I wait for my power to come back on. Bogey was very behaved this time around...it might have helped that I was watching him like a hawk.

I finally made it to work about 10:00am after my power came back on & I got Bogey back outside. We didn't have any damage that I can see---just some flower pots over on their side & an outdoor pillow that was on our porch was in a neighbor's yard 6 houses down. Work is certainly going to be crazy with lots of claims to turn in & questions to answer. At least the day will go by quickly.

Oh & did I mention that Hubby was over an hour away set to play in a golf tournament this morning? How come he's never home for the exciting morning experiences?!?

Finally...a Weekend Recap on Hump Day...

Well with birthdays & weddings, roadtrips & rain, work & play...things have been a little crazy around the Layman house the past few days so I'm just now getting around to including the details of our fantastic weekend! Forgive me, this post may be a long one!

Friday we headed out to Oklahoma City for a quick little road trip. Hubby had purchased tickets to the Lion King for my birthday back in February so I finally got to cash those in. The trip was fairly uneventful & fairly quick except for the monsoon we had to drive through almost all the way there. Thank goodness it was not raining in OKC when we arrived. We stayed at an almost brand new Hampton Inn in the Bricktown district of OKC--we even got an upgrade to a King Suite on the top floor! Woohoo!!! We had a bit of time before our dinner reservations so we decided to drive around and find the memorial for the Oklahoma City Bombing. I do have to say it was quite moving & amazing to see.

This is a quick shot of the memorial site. Each chair represents someone who perished in the tragedy. Notice the small chair on the left side--there were small chairs to represent the children in the daycare who were killed that day. It was a beautiful memorial with lots of visitors even on the day we were there.

We had dinner reservations at the Melting Pot (our first time there) & while the food was good & we had a great time I'm not sure if I would return. The cheese fondue & dessert fondue were both amazing, but I wasn't real impressed with the main course. After dinner we headed over to the show & it was amazing just as I expected it would be. Hubby had never seen the show & he liked it as well! The weather was misty & kind of gross so I failed to get any pictures of us...again!

Saturday morning we got up and headed home--we had a wedding at 6:00 that evening. We were friends of the bride & she is the girl who does my hair all the time & also styled it for our wedding. She was absolutely beautiful & again I failed on taking pictures so you'll just have trust me. It was the first Catholic wedding for Hubby & I (who were raised & still are Southern Baptist) so it was definitely an experience but everything seemed to go very smoothly. We headed out fairly soon after the ceremony since Hubby & I were exhausted from our long day.


Sunday (Hubby's actual birthday) we had church & then relaxed at home. He was very happy with his gifts from me. I ended up with a them that I didn't even realize until I was wrapping the presents: WHITE Vineyard Vines' polo (we sent it back because it fit really weird), WHITE Oakley sunglasses for golf, WHITE North Face workout shirt, & WHITE Tiger Woods belt! Yes, everything I bought him was white--but he loved it all so that's always a plus.

Hubby's presents from his lovely Wifey!

Sunday evening we went to Branson with my parents & ate at Cantina Laredo for Hubby's Birthday dinner. This is probably one of my favorite restaurants of all time. We also walked around the Branson Landing with Josie, my parent's dog before heading home.

Hubby & I down by Lake Taneycomo at Branson Landing.

Josie really enjoyed the walk & was quite the attraction herself.

On Monday evening after work we had around 20 family & friends come over to our house for cake, ice cream, & a birthday celebration. We had a great time & my cake turned out very good! Hubby is more of an icing fan than a cake fan so as long as the icing is good he doesn't care. The cake I simply made from a Pilsbury box mix, but I made homemade cream cheese icing. YUMMM!!!! Here's a few shots from the party!

Hubby posing with his cake while my dad lights the candles!

My beautiful creation: 4-layer chocolate cake with chocolate fudge icing (from a can) in between the 1st & 2nd layer & the 3rd & 4th layer. I put my homemade cream cheese icing in between the 2nd & 3rd layer and then drenched the rest of the cake in cream cheese icing. The cake was all topped off with colorful sprinkles! I was definitely quite proud of myself!

Hubby blowing out his candles--notice Dawson's face in the background...PRICELESS!

I had quite the crowd at our house!

My brother & sister-in-law decided to use a Victoria's Secret box as their wrapping!

Lydia & Dawson both enjoyed getting to help out with opening presents! I don't know how thrilled their mom Andrea was but I thought it was adorable!

The aftermath with paper & presents strung everywhere!

The rest of our week is pretty low-key with Hubby starting to study again for the CPA exam. We'll be doing yardwork tonight since it will be the first night without rain in awhile. Our grass is soooo long & thick!!! I can't believe it's already the middle of the week, but we've got another big weekend coming up with a baby shower for me, a round of golf for Hubby & Mother's Day on Sunday. Hopefully the weather will warm up & we'll have a nice weekend for a change!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is Hubby's 26th birthday!!! Happy Birthday to the most important man in my life! I love you!

We're having dinner at Cantina Laredo with my parents & then a birthday party tomorrow evening with friends & family. It will be my first attempt at a layered-chocolate cake so we'll see how it goes (Hubby's request of course!) Even it's ugly I'm sure it will taste just wonderful. I'll try to recap our wonderful weekend & birthday events soon!

Crazy Weekend Ahead...

Woohoo...today is Friday for me! I'm super excited & I'm also very excited for this weekend with lots of fun & exciting things going on. Tomorrow, dear Hubby & I are headed to Oklahoma City--yes kind of a weird destination, but we are finally getting to use my last birthday present: Tickets to the Lion King!!! I have seen the Lion King once before, but Hubby hasn't and I'm sure he'll just love it! We're also having dinner beforehand at the Melting Pot--neither one of us have been here either, but of course we've heard amazing things.

Saturday we're planning on sleeping in & then heading home in time for a friends' wedding. She's actually the girl who does my hair & I know she's going to be be an absolutely beautiful bride!

Sunday promises to be exciting as well because it's Hubby's 26th Birthday. We don't have any big plans, but I'm really looking forward to giving him his presents. I've planned a little shindig at our house on Monday night with cake & ice cream with some family & friends. Guess I better find some time this weekend to make that cake!

Have a great weekend!

Birthdays, Sunshine & Flowers Galore!!!

What a great weekend we had! Friday night we had a quick dinner at home & then headed to Springfield to buy birthday & wedding presents for some friends. We also ended up finding a new bedspread for the master bedroom & it was even on Clearance!!! The one we have is still fine, but it wasn't made very well to start with & is starting to look very tired.

Saturday morning I had to work & Nick placed golf in a scramble with my dad, my cousin, & my uncle. He had a great time and even though they didn't win--he did win the Closest to the Pin contest. Way to go!!! Saturday afternoon we headed over to some friends' house for a birthday party for their kids. Dawson turned 5 a few weeks ago & Lydia turned 2 about the same time. They rented a big inflatable jump house & an inflatable slide. The kids had such a great time!!! Dawson & Lydia are adorable and have such great personalities. We just love hanging out with them! Here are a few pictures of them enjoying their birthday party!!!

After the birthday festivities we headed to a local greenhouse & bought a bunch of flowers so I could fill our empty pots! This place is so beautiful, but very dangerous for our pocket books! We got enough plants to fill 5 different planters & also a few odds & ends to fill up the bed in front of our house. Hubby also had a gift certificate from his firm for dinner so we had a very nice dinner out at Houlihan's. We then headed home & just spent the rest of the evening enjoying the beautiful weather & talking with our neighbors.

Sunday we headed to church & then headed to another nursery that we love & purchased a shrub for an open spot in our bed. We had this huge grass there that seemed to overwhelm everything & so we dug it up & moved it. Once we got home, Hubby got busy mowing the yard & I grabbed my new plants, some tools, my gardening gloves & got to work! I just love planting flowers & I've actually had fairly good luck with keeping them alive. Here are some photos of the pots I planted, plus some of the front bed & how things are really starting to blossom!

Just a close-up of one of the pots I planted!
My gorgeous clematis! It must have 20-25 blooms that are just ready to burst! It's probably going to be beautiful all summer!

This was actually a gift from my boss (aka my dad) for Secretary's Day--he always does something for all the girls that work here! It's just beautiful & will continue to fill out as the summer goes along!

The new shrub for our bed along with some impatients & phlox. I just love spring flowers!

I'll be sure to include more photos of our flower beds once everything has bloomed out!

Bring on the sunshine!!!

Do you ever have those weeks that just seem to fly by? Well apparently this was one of them. This week has been full of normal happenings around the Layman house--just work & working outside. We did have dinner on Tuesday night with Hubby's aunt, cousin, brother-in-law, sister, & our two adorable nephews. We had a great time, but it's those nights that always remind us that we're not quite ready for children at this point.

I can't believe it's already the weekend & I'm so excited because the weather is supposed to be absolutely beautiful! I think we've finally made it to Spring with highs in the upper 70s & low 80s. Sure, we have our share of plans, but most of those plans involve being outside which is a definite plus!