" I am the Lord. I change not." Malachi 3:6

Sunday, June 27, 2010

She's married!

This week has been a whirlwind of amazing memories! My brother was here all week and we spent so many hours just talking and catching up. I love talking with him and one of my favorite memories was sitting on the deck of my favorite coffee shop and talking about our past year in depth. Mike and I talk on a weekly basis but I treasured being able to sit across the table from him and talk without interuptions. Ash and I had a lot of fun at the spa spending the day getting pampered, having lunch, and talking about her future with Kris. I loved every minute of our day! Three days before their wedding I started waking up in the middle of the night and couldn't get my brain to shut off...lol and on the morning of her wedding I was up at 4am putting together gift bags for the bridesmaid and had the car packed by 6am. I went and visited with some of my family that came from out of town and was rambling as my coffee had kicked in :) By 10:00 I was getting my hair done and then off to the church we went. Ash was extremely calm (or at least perceived to be) and had a great time chatting it up and getting ready. The tears started flowing as we prayed over her and one of the groomsmen delivered a card from Kris. 20 minutes before the wedding the bridesmaids made a barcade and we dashed down the hall to take some pictures with the photographer before the ceremony began. The actual ceremony was amazing and even though I'm a little partial it truly was one of the neatest weddings I've ever been too. The recited traditional vows but then read their personnel vows to each other and the tears were flowing! Thankfully I had plenty of kleenex :) The reception was a blast and my little man danced the night away while the other didn't stop running! I truly enjoyed catching up with all of our family who came from out of town and wished we could have all stayed together one more day. This morning I woke up at the crack of dawn to take Mike to the airport.....picked our coffee up and away we went. An hour and a half later we pull into the airport only to decide it would be great for him to stay an extra week. And fifteen minutes last after locating a cheap one way ticket we turned around and drove all the way home! That story will make our history book. I'm thankful to have another week with him because I don't know after this when we will see him next. I came home and crashed with the boys who were watching cartons and didn't move until after 4. I just now started moving around the house and taking notes of all that needs to be picked up....ALOT! I'm praying for a first wind and hoping to get some of it down tonight. We'll see...i'm off tomorrow and so glad I took the day! I have to say after being off for a week and spending so much time with the family I'm not looking forward to going back. I love what I do but over the past week I've reflected alot on how much time I truly spend working and frankly haven't felt like cleaning out my inbox at all. I'll post pics soon. I just realized I uploaded them to my laptop but will definately share our fantastic day! Blessings!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

She's getting married!






My sweet sister Ashley is getting married in two days and I can't believe it! She is a couple of years younger than me and one of my best friends! I couldn't be happier for her and have been helping her plan her special day since October. Things are coming together wonderfully and we had a great day at the spa yesterday relaxing! This week has been wonderful for so many reasons. My brother Michael, has lived in Florida for the past 20 months. Since he was in high school he struggled with both alochol and drug addictions both of which got out of control when he was 20 and 21. He made a huge decision 20 months ago that he needs to get clean and have a change of scenery. We couldn't have agreed with him more! And 20 months later he came home for Ashley's wedding and I have been crying almost every day since he has been home. On Sat for the first time in 6 years we went to church as as a family, Mike included and it was awesome! I will treasure that moment for a long time to come. Mike and I have had so many wonderful conversations and have just enjoyed hanging out. The boys have clung to him like white on rice and my youngest is his biggest fan. I'm not sure who is will be harder for when Mike leaves on Sunday, me or them. We took the boys miniature golfing with Mike and Chad and they had a blast! I just praise God for the miracles He has performed in Mike's life and how great it is to have my brother back. Today we are heading to the church to set up which should be fun then I have to find shoes for the boys to go with their tuxes. And somewhere in between all of the I need to figure out what to make for dinner...I'm almost thinking it's going to be a Papa Murphy's night. :)
Oh and before I forget we had family pics done on Sun which was awesome! I just saw a sample of them and had to share. She hasn't done any editing on these so there are a few glares but overall I just lover them! I promise to post pics of the wedding!

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

So many fun things!





Well it's been a busy couple of weeks! I went to Greenville South Carolina for a week with work and fell in love with the downtown area! They had so many fun shops and restaurants and I was able to frequent a few. The Lazy Goat and High Cotton were my favorite and there was a Starbucks on the other side of my hotel which was awesome! The bonus for me was being able to see my Grandma, Aunt, and my cousin and her family. I truly enjoyed just hanging out with them and catching up. It was wonderful! My cousin has 5 year old twins and they cracked me up. I'm thankful that I can now see them on a regular basis and get to know them. I flew in and out of Charlotte this time and was on a big plane which made for less turbulence and less anxiety for me. I got home on a Friday evening and had to turn around and fly to Kansas City that Monday. I was not too happy about that and honestly was quite emotional. I missed being home and with my boys and Chad! Noah was graduating from his pre-K program and it broke my heart that I wouldn't be there. It only made it worse when I got to the airport on Monday and found out we were taking a small jet. I had a panic attack and really had to work through that. I kept praying for peace and God truly helped me work through that one. Kansas City was a great trip. I met alot of great people but the long hours were alot. I couldn't keep up with my day to day work because of the late meetings and dinners so I was anxious to get back and just have a few days to catch up. Fortunately, unfortunately I flew back Thursday night and the next evening the festivities for my sister's batchlorette party began. Friday night we went shopping and got everything ready and Saturday at 7am we headed to the train station to head into the city. It was a wonderful trip and all of the girls had a great time. I was a little nervous because there was 7 of us and a variety of ages, but we truly all enjoy each other's company and made a lot of neat memories. I still can't believe she is getting married in two weeks!! Our brother Michael is coming home on Saturday and I can't wait. It's been 20 long months since I've seen him and I just want to give him a huge hug. I'm taking next Tuesday through Friday off and can't wait to have family time with everyone. We are going to have family pictures down on Sunday which will be an amazing gift for all of us! We haven't had a family picture since my youngest sister was a toddler so this will be so special!

Today I took the day off. I woke up exhausted from everything and did just decided to call it a day. I moved my meetings and rolled over and went back to bed. I woke up at 11:34 and had to do a double take at the clock as I can't remember the last time I slep that long, but I know I needed it. My mom came over and we chatted over coffee and played with the boys. It was so wonderful just to sit and talk with my mom...I truly enjoy our friendship and am so thankful that we live in the same town. It's also wonderful to see the relationships she has with our boys and I treasure that! Growing up in a military family we moved my whole life and I saw my grandparents once a year if I was lucky and I'm so thankful that my boys are able to have relationships with all of their grandparents and our siblings.

Here are some pictures from our fun weekend! More of the wedding and family time to come. God Bless!