I'm getting old!

Not really, though, but I am closer to 30 than I was last year. I'm no longer in my early 20s. But, God has blessed me, and I'm here, so I'll be thankful for every year I spend on earth!

So, now the fun part...My presents! =.)

The hubby went above and beyond, and he got me an I-Touch! My I-pod died in February, so that was all I've been asking for since. I had to go on a work trip to Orlando (tons of kids and annoyances on the plane, both ways, with no escape), so I've been bugging Marc to get me one! I was honestly just expecting a Nano, but I got a Touch! Super stoked about this! I've been playing with it all weekend!

So, from Tiffany and Kelli, I got I-Tunes gift cards and a case for the Touch so I don't mess it up! Thank you, girls! I love y'all! =.)

From my brother and his fam, I got the first 2 books of the Twilight series (no, I haven't read them, yet...I'm way behind, I know) and another I-Tunes gift card.. So, as soon as I finish my current book, I'll be starting with what I hear will be an obsession. Can't wait! =.)

And from my parents, I received some new tennis shoes (I had a pair of Air Maxxs, but they blew out about 2 months after I had them, but I've still been wearing them for 2 years, and Mama has been wanting to get me a new pair of shoes). They're charcoal and pick - too cute! And my biggest surprise - she bought me some Woozies! Theire Koozies for your wine glass! They perfect, and I can't wait to try them out this weekend at the beach! =.) Yay!

There were no pictures taken, because I'm always the one that take the pictures, so...sorry...nothing fun to post for pics!

Ooohh! And I got a hair cut on Friday! I love it! =.) Happy Monday!


"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

I won! I won!

I'm super excited that I won Angela's Apron Giveaway! Is this not the cutest apron ever?!? This is the one that I really want! I just love it! =.) Thanks for hosting this, Angela! And thank you to Annie for participating! Go by and see what else Annie has! There's some great stuff, there! I can't wait for my apron!! =.)





Can you tell I'm excited? I've used nothing but exclamation points in my text! =.)

Summer Swap

Let me just start out by saying that I had the best swap partner, ever! =.) Lisa over at Like a Valentine sent me some wonderful stuff! I was super excited when I received my package! It was all wrapped up so nicely, and I completely forgot to take a picture before I just ripped into it! =.) So, Lisa, thank you so much! I'm especially fond of the OPI nail polish and the great note cards! She even brought me back some stuff from Hawaii! You rock!

Thanks to Angela over at Sweet Tea Diaries for hosting the swap! =.)

I am so behind!

I have so much to write about and just not enough time to do it!

Quick weekend recap (in list format, as that's just easier):

• Friday night, I was exhausted. I headed out to Charlotte on Wednesday for some training classes on Thursday and Friday. I left the hotel around 3:15 p.m. Friday afternoon. It took me an hour just to get to Concord, the traffic was so bad. So frustrating! So what should have taken 2 hours, took 3 hours, instead. I didn't really want to go out.
• Friday night in Hillsborough is Hog Day...annual event, and the festivities start Friday night with the pig cookin'. We headed over to Rob and Sarah's for dinner, then we were going to walk around Hog Day for a bit before heading home. We didn't even eat dinner until 9:30, I think, so we just went home after that.
• I slept until 10 am on Saturday! I guess I was pretty tired. Then, I went with Mama to a baby shower for some of her cousins. It's always nice to see family that you don't get to see often.
• When I turned on the water to take my shower before going to the baby shower - nothing. There's still something wrong with it! Something about smaller gauge wires on the pump than in the wiring to the house, so it gets overworked, or something like that. I'm not sure, but it's frustrating.
• Marc, Rob, and Grant were working on the well when I got home. It's fixed, but we need an electrician to come replace the wires from the pressure box in the crawl space to the fuse box inside the house. More $$. I'm not sure when we'll be taking care of that.
• We went to dinner with Grant's family Saturday night to celebrate his brother's birthday. We went to The Homestead in Timberlake - it was wonderful! =.) Such fun!
• Sunday, we helped a friend, Stephen, move into his new house! It was hot, but it was fun. Stephen's helped us out around the house a lot while we were renovating, so we owed him. =.)
• After helping Stephen, we rushed home to get a shower before heading over to Mama and Daddy's for dinner. We had baked potatoes and steaks on the grill. I just love my family so, so much, and I'm so blessed to have parents who have been married for so long, and who show me what a family is supposed to be. They've always been supportive, and I just love them so much!

That's my weekend! I've got another busy week ahead, though!

Monday: Softball Game Tuesday: Softball Game Wednesday: Dinner with my favorites! Thursday: Training in Cary all day Friday: Mama and Daddy's 32nd Anniversary Saturday: It's my Birthday!!! =.) Yay!! =.)

Hope you have a great week! =.)

"The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1

Random...

Has anyone else noticed how Taylor Swift gets her love interests (well, 2 of them) for her music videos from One Tree Hill? Stephen Colletti is in her new White Horse video, and Tyler Hilton was in her Teardrops on my Guitar video.

I would notice these, because I'm a HUGE OTH fan. Since the beginning...anyone watch the season finale and wonder what the heck is going on? It's never ended with all the loose ends tied. Hmm...

Without Water...

Currently, there are 2 plumbers and my husband working on our well. Lightning ran in on it this past Friday, so we went the whole weekend without water. Not a huge problem, as Mama and Daddy moved into their new house, so their little apartment(aka the Saloon, as it's beside the barn and has a facade that looks like an old time saloon(I'll try to find a picture to put it up later)) they were living in was available for us to use. It felt like we were camping - we lived at our house, but if we needed to shower or do anything involving water, we had to trek to the Saloon. I'm really grateful we had some place to go, though.

So we really didn't spend a lot of time at home this weekend. I'm glad we already had a busy weekend planned!

Therefore, while I'm at work, my husband and the two plumbers are pulling this:

from the bottom of this:

to replace all of this, and the well pump.

And all of this is gonna cost us about a grand. Oh, the joy of being a homeowner...

P.S. This is the second time lightning has hit the well in about 6 months. Last time, they just repaired the wire. This time, there was too much damage to just repair, and since lightning hit the wiring, it also hit the well pump, which means we need to replace that, as well. Fun.

P.S.S. We got a lightning rod to put up so that hopefully, this doesn't happen again. We'll see if it works.

I'm gonna be in Charlotte for the rest of the week to learn about the financials of the office. By the way, that's what I've done every day for the past 4 years. I think I know what I'm doing. Or at least I hope so, right?

I hope your day is going better than mine! =.)

"'For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,' says the Lord, who has mercy on you." Isaiah 54:10

Feels like forever...

...since I've written! Last week was crazy busy, and then that kind of just went into the weekend.

I have tons to blog about, but not the time, so I'll leave you with a few pictures and a video from the weekend...

Karleigh eating her watermelon at her birthday party on Saturday morning. The juice was running down her neck and into her shirt. Hilarious!

Ava eating her birthday cake Saturday afternoon. She loved it!

Doesn't Allie look like she's supervising? She had the best time on the water slide and swimming in the pond!

And this would be my husband as he attempted a back flip on the bike.

(I apologize for the poor videographer skills - I think I expected him to keep going up, and he didn't)

Hope you enjoyed! I should have some more pics up for tomorrow's Wordless Wednesday. I got some of the most precious pics of Ava yesterday in her swim suit!

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgae you." Ephesians 4:32

Weekend plans, updated

Last night, Marc and I were kind of picking up around the house - filing away some old bills and stuff so things are just more tidy, and he shares with me his ideas of what were doing this weekend. So, on top of everything that I have on my list, he has even more! He also told me last week that everything outside (i.e. mowing the lawn, spreading mulch, etc) is the "man's job." So, I've been rubbing that little bit in all week. You see, here's what he wants to do:

• Set posts for lean-to on the shed
• Pressure wash entire house
• Stain back deck
• Stain front porch
• Paint back door (inside and outside)
• Paint closet doors in carport
• Paint facial board on the front porch
• Spread mulch

I still have on my own list to paint all the stuff on the inside of the house.

So last night, he was telling me I'd have to help him do something outside (I don't even remember what it was, now), and here's my reply: "Well, according to you, it's the man's job to do everything outside, so I can't help." He loved that! =.)

Also, nowhere on his list does it include cleaning the entire house. I'm talking all out - vacuum, dust, mop, spit shine - everything. Blah.

However, after we work our tails off tomorrow, we're going on a date! =.) We still have a gift card that his dad and step-mom, Lyman and Melinda, sent us for our anniversary. We're finally gonna use that.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I just hope mine is productive! =.)

"I am the good sheperd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...and I lay down m life for the sheep." Joyhn 10:14-15

Plans for the weekend...

I'm actually kind of 'dreading' this weekend because we have so, so much to do around the house before next weekend. Here's the to do list before next Thursday:

• Paint interior doors to match 'new' trim
• Paint window frame in dining room to match 'new' trim
• Spread mulch in various locations around the house
• 'Install' the new horseshoe pits
• Clean the house from top to bottom
• Wash towels for the guest bathroom
• Pressure wash the outside of the house, all porches, and the carport
• Mow the lawn

Hopefully, we'll get most of this done this weekend, because next week will be busy - softball games Monday-Wednesday, and probably picking up from the week, washing dishes, etc on Thursday before they arrive Friday afternoon.

So, while I dread this weekend because of all that I have to accomplish, I am going to feel WONDERFUL when it's all done.

I wish I could be like I Dream of Genie, and wiggle my nose, and it be done. Wouldn't that be awesome?! =.)

My husband is awesome!

A little background:

There's a local radio station that does this thing called 'Pick your Purse.' They go out and buy 20 awesome designer purses, including: Mich*ael K*ors, Gucc*i, Loui*s Vui*tton, and the list just keeps going. The deal is, you listen and when they give the cue to call, you have to be caller 105, and you can pick the purse that you want, as long as it's still available.

What Marc did...

I've tried calling in years past, but it's just a hassle, and I've never even gotten through to be a caller at all - whether it was number 4 or number 1,542. I've pretty much just given it up on it, and I quit trying. I basically just love looking and dreaming of having one of these beauties on my arm.

Marc just called and asked if I'd been online to look at the purses for this year, and if I had, which ones did I like/want. So...I go to tell him my top 4 picks, he writes them down, and I have a feeling he will be trying to win me one.

My question to you...

If he wins one and gives it to me for my birthday, does that excuse him from actually purchasing a gift for me? =.) Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a great purse, but would there be any thought going into it? I know there would be some time going in to it, because it's a pain to call in.

Anyways, I thought it was sweet. I love him! =.)

Which one do I really want? This beauty:

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”- Proverbs 15:1

June Favorites

As we get into June, please let me list some of my favorites:

1. School is almost out - that means I don't get behind school buses that make me even later to work! =.)

2. Softball season starts! We had our first game last night, and I was breathing hard by the time I made it to first base...so out of shape, but so much fun! =.)

3. I get to celebrate Ava's birthday, Karleigh's birthday, and MY birthday! =.) Fun stuff!!

4. The sun shines more, and that just makes me happy!

5. All of my 'teacher' friends get more time off to have lunch with me while I'm working! =.)

Those are just a few! Hope you enjoy your June, and have a spectacular day! =.)

PS - I finished Firefly Lane last night, and - oh, my goodness. I cried through the last several chapters! Such a great book! You should pick it up...I couldn't put it down last night, and didn't go to sleep until after 12 midnight! But it was definitely worth it.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:27

Book Club

So, I'm almost finished reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah.

It's been pretty good, so far. It's gone through maybe 4 decades, so it's spanned the life of these two girls as they've gone through really tough times and happy times together as best friends. It's a good read. It's kind of long, but definitely worth the time. I've been reading it while I'm at lunch, and I come in late every afternoon because I want to get through "just one more" chapter. =.) I highly recommend, and I can't wait until I'm finished. I'm really looking forward to what happens next! I don't want to spoil, so you should definitely check it out! If you've already read it, leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! =.)

Wonderful Giveaway...

So, if you go over to Preppy Paper Girl, you can see that she's hosting a wonderful giveaway in honor of her birthday. And, since my birthday is at the end of the month, I would be so stoked to win this Box of Goodies! Good luck!

Have a great day! Enjoy this beautiful weather! =.)

"Then Jesus told him, 'Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'." John 20:29