Day in the Life

Friday morning was a great morning....the girls had been given a stern talk by Granny about how they have been behaving (er...misbehaving) in the mornings when we are trying to leave. This week was zoo camp and the girls had to be there at 8:30, so our normal routine was a little hurried this week as we tried to have everything done for them to be there at 8:30. We experienced some very frazzled mornings this week but Friday was a different morning and things were going great. I asked Jessie to run downstairs to the dryer to get their zoo camp shirts out. She came back with shorts and shirts in hand....but had a wide eyed look on her face. With all the drama she could possibly muster, she said "I have a tip for you....if you think you're claustrophobic, don't stick your head in the dryer!" It may be one of those times when "you just had to be there"....but the look on her face and the tone in her voice was hilarious....to think -all this drama from a 7 year old! We were taking the girls to eat and were trying to take them somewhere they haven't been versus our regular chain establishments. We were sitting at the Hall's, who live near Trussville, trying to decide where to go....and Shelby was asking to go to "Nomi"...keep in mind Shelby is three and "Nomi" meant she wanted to go to Konome, the Japanese Steakhouse in Trussville. The girls love going there and we just ate there this past Sunday...but we went again. We got Shelby her own dinner this time and she almost cleaned her plate of shrimp and rice. She knows all the chef's jokes and can say them before he does. Still she laughs and laughs like she has never been there before! So much for someplace new.....but it won't ever be old watching her next to me eating the little bowl of soup, waiting for her rice to cool off and laughing with a smile covering her entire face!

Life Notes

~One day I'll learn to trust myself more than others. ~One day I'll learn that despite my best desires to find the good in most everyone...that most everyone is human and will let you down, can be capable of hurting you and can be entirely capable of being phony. ~One day I'll learn that true friends come along only once in a true blue moon therefore everyone is not a friend. ~One day I'll learn deception knows no age limits or boundaries. ~One day I'll learn why I've lived my life in the the way I have and why I didn't lower myself to their standards or lack thereof. ~One day I'll learn that the "good guys don't always finish last"!

Music "un"-Appreciation 101

I learned Friday evening that age is truly just a number and can be a state of mind as well. This lesson was learned as I watched old and very young sway and scream to the sounds of Gretchen Wilson followed by Kenny Chesney. We were offered free tickets last week and I thought it could be fun. I'll preface the rest of this with the fact that I don't listen to much country music these days but remember Kenny Chesney's music from five or six years ago and I liked him then. However, my thoughts on Gretchen Wilson are much different. She is newer to the mainstream scene and I don't share quite the fondness for her that others do. While all her claims to being the real down to earth person she is and wanting to make her hometown proud (as noted in the song Pocahontas Proud, which refers to her hometown Pocahontas, Illinois) could be commended by some, you won't find it from me. I am not here to bash her or any other star and at the risk of sounding holier than thou, I have no desire for her lyrics to be in my house or car. In her song "Here for the Party" she sings about being "an eight ball shooting double fisted drinking son of a gun" and goes on to say.... "I wear My jeans a little tight Just to watch the little boys come undone Im here for the beer and the ball busting band Gonna get a little crazy just because I can" While she sings about "kickin the butt" of a homewrecker and about being a proud redneck woman she elaborates by saying "Well, I ain't never been the Barbie doll type No, I can't swig that sweet Champagne, I'd rather drink beer all night In a tavern or in a honky tonk or on a four-wheel drive tailgate" she provides an emotional pull to every Mom with a video intro to her song "Holdin You" with clips of her daughter Grace and audio clips of baby laughter. I know it takes all types to "make the world go round" but I can't honestly condone her lyrics anymore than I can the lyrics of some rappers. The messages may be different but if we're after impact of the message then it's all the same to me. I felt so out of place as I sat during most of her performance and listened to a sold out crowd sing and chant with her. When I watched her video clip of her daughter, I felt proud...I felt proud that my daughters know I am "real" without having to hear me sing of my roots, my drinking preferences and my ability to "take it outside" with someone. They know I am real when we pray about something, they know I am real when they hear Chad and me argue and see us "kiss and make up", they know I am real when I get mad at someone and cry and hurt about it but can forgive and forget, they know I am real when I get mad and scream and shout and apologize for my actions, they know I am real when they see me hurt and they come give me a hug and I know they want to make it all better for me. So, while I felt so out of place I am so thankful for the lesson I learned and to say that I am proud of who I am too! PS - the eBay dress came in and I LOVE IT....also booked photography team of Mark Lawley and Associates on Thursday night (http://www.marklawleyphotography.com).

Wedding Plans

Well, I was beginning to get nervous about finding a dress....now I have two! I bought one on clearance at Southern Bride and then won one off of eBay (good ole' eBay!) So, if I hate the one from eBay - I have the other one to fall back on from Southern Bride (but it is definitely second choice just based on appearances). My eBay seller was a little slow in shipping as they moved their store, but I was told it shipped Wednesday the 29th. So, I am anxiously waiting on the eBay dress. Earlier this month we purchased a dress for Jessie from David's Bridal. It is Blush Pink and it is from their Junior Bridesmaid line. We also completed our pre-marital counseling questionnaire's and are waiting to get our counseling started with Pastor Mark. Also, two of my friends told me this week that they wanted to do something for us / me...so they are hosting a lingerie shower...it will be fun! I have lined up people to sing and play: my friends Ted Stricklin, Katanya Langford and Wendy Thomaston will sing as well as my favorite praise and worship minister, Pastor Tommy Connor will play and hold Praise and Worship at the reception. We want to have a really fun time at the reception and we are sure to have good music with Pastor Tommy at the microphone! It was recently announced he will be leaving the church in Centerpoint to be full time Pastor of our Homewood church and I was crushed. I know God will continue to use he and his wife and grow the Homewood church, but I will definitely miss my favorite praise and worship minister and his wife on Sunday mornings at Centerpoint Cathedral! Working on decorations and picking out invitations. Things seem to be "falling into place"!

Catchin' Up.....

BIG NEWS FROM MAY.... May 22, 2005 Our much needed beach trip turned into a bigger trip than I could imagine.....We took the girls to Mom and Dad for church and headed towards Destin. We arrived at where we were scheduled to stay and found it was too far from the beach for our taste. So, we went to find other accomodations. We quickly found a place to stay at Sun Destin Condominiums, through Resort Quest properties. We got to our unit and changed to go down to the beach for what was left of the afternoon. Getting down to the beach, I found it to be a little breezy, so of course I was a little whiney. Chad and I were playing "hangman" in the sand and he offered to go back to the room to get my jacket so we could stay til sunset. When he came back, he didn't have my jacket and I was so confused how he could forget it? Shortly I found out that he had other things on his mind....when he pulled out a beautiful solitaire and asked me to marry him! I was crying and he said I took forever to answer him...but of course I said yes. We went back to the room and got dressed to go out to eat and decided to call everyone the next day to tell them. MAY 23, 2005 We called everyone that morning to tell them and I told Jessie by asking her if she wanted to be my flower girl? She SQUEALED and was so excited. Shelby was a little less enthused about being a flower girls....but was excited about us getting married. Chad called his family and they were excited as well. We began discussing wedding dates and he was hoping for August...while I was hoping for November or December to give me more time to plan. Eventually, I conceded that if things would really fall into place, that I would shoot towards an August date - so off we went.