Valentine's Day

I just wanted to jump back a few days and post some photos from our Valentine's celebration.

As has become our custom, we celebrated with a special, candle light dinner at home. I asked the boys to help me plan the menu, and they asked for Flat Iron Steak...one of the best cuts of meat out there, if you ask anybody at our house! Since I had some in the freezer (from when they had been on sale), it was no problem or expense to pull this off!

So the table was set with my pretty red tablecloth, our white dishes and my ONE splurge this year was 4 crystal goblets. They weren't expensive, just something that I normally would not have purchased.

After Clayton's basketball game, they were all ready to get to this yummy dinner...and we got a phone call that company would be dropping by! Well, we made room at the table, added a couple baked potatoes, and we were good to go. Here's a photo of our surprise guests:

Joe's nephew Nathan, his wife Christa and girls. Christa's brother had gotten married earlier that day in a town about 2 hours away, and they stopped to visit us on their way back to Indiana. It was super nice having them with us, and I think he really enjoyed riding my motorcycle around the driveway!!

And there you have it, our Valentine's celebration, in a nutshell!!! :)

The Great Girlfriends Getaway~ 2009

I just wanted to post a short blog update about my wonderful weekend.

Way back in 1987, Marie Kennedy was my room mate at U.B.C. and Martha Dubbeld was her best friend. Martha lived off campus, but was always hanging out in our room to see Marie, so we felt like she was our 5th roommate!! (Yes, there were four girls in our room!)

Well, in no time, 22 years have gone by, and while I've seen Marie several times, or visited with Martha, we have not all three been together in the same location for over 20 years.

Thanks to the wonders of facebook, we've reconnected and we began planning a reunion of sorts in Pigeon Forge. And that was what took place over this past weekend.

We laughed, we talked, we laughed, we ate, we talked, we laughed...you get the picture! It was such a great time together, solving the world's problems, and just generally catching up.

I told them that there was no way we could wait another 22 years to do this, because by then we'd be too old to even remember our names!

Thanks, Martha, for flying in from Indiana...and thanks, Marie for picking her up and driving over from North Carolina! It was super-amazing!!

I took my maiden voyage!

I finally took my first "ride" on my motorcycle Sunday afternoon, and alas...there are NO PICTURES! Sorry, but I was so nervous, I walked right out the door without the camera.

It wasn't a real RIDE, per say, but it was riding, shifting gears, and all that stuff. I never got over 25 mph, and I was a nervous wreck! But it was fun!!!! We went to a near by subdivision and I went to the back cul-de-sac and turned around about 4 times. And then I was done...there were cars coming in and out and that made me very nervous! But it was a GORGEOUS day, almost 70 degrees!!!!!! Which is what it's been so far every day this week. Bring on the springtime!

Anyway, just thought I'd let you all know that I'm on two wheels now!!!

Thanking God for safety!

I wanted to publicly thank the Lord for his protection to my cousin, Cassandra.

She was on her way to college classes last Thursday, and a drunk driver ran a stop sign and plowed into her, spinning her around into other traffic where she was hit by someone else. The paramedics thought she was dead (she was unconscious), but she was able to be released from the emergency room after a few hours.

She has a neck brace on, and her mom said she has a couple of cuts and is sore.

Praise God for His protection to her. I could have been so much worse!

99 Things to Do

I got this idea from my friends SmallWorld and QueenoftheHill. Their answers helped me get to know them a little better, and quite frankly, I felt better about my life after seeing that I had actually done some things that they hadn't! :)
So read on and learn more about me. My "accomplishments" are in PINK.


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars (Strawberry, AZ was a great place to camp when you're 7 months pregnant!)
3. Played in a band (does Church count?)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (I was 5 years old, and it was in Aneheim, CA. I'd love to go back and take the kids)
8. Climbed a mountain (HIKED would be the more appropriate term here)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (If photography is an art, I'll have to count it!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (It was the closest to death I've ever been!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Well, I HAD to! My boyfriend had come all the way from Indiana to Arizona to see me!)
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Fleming County, KY)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance (after a very scary accident, when I was 6 months pregnant with Justin)
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie (I was the "STAR" off all my Dad's old 8 mm home movies!)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (OOH, I LOVE this one!)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (My wedding announcement!)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (only fish have I killed, the others someone else had killed)
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

What a weekend: Part 3

And then there was SUNDAY! I LOVE Sundays, I love everything about them...worship, sermons, fellowship, rest, just the relaxing feel of the whole day. I understand that for some people, Sundays are the LEAST relaxing day of the week! Especially if you're in a place of ministry. But even when I was there, I still loved Sunday.

And this Sunday was a gorgeous day, temperature-wise. Joe rode the motorcycle to church (without me, I might add!), and on the way home, the boys and I had the windows down in the car. It was in the 60's, and just perfect.

Sunday evening, we headed over to friends to watch the Cardinals in the SuperBowl. While the guys watched the game downstairs, the ladies played games upstairs.

Kelly and I introduced Bunco to the younger generation, and what a rousing game! Joe and Justin asked what in the world we were doing upstairs with all the screaming!!! It was great!

And then, out came the Wii...that'll make you look like an idiot for sure! No, I did NOT participate, thank you very much. Cause I didn't want anyone taking my picture and putting it on facebook or their blog, like I'm about to do! Ha!

And that wraps up my amazing weekend. The only thing that could've made it better would have been if the Cardinals had won the SuperBowl, but oh well. At least they were THERE!

What a weekend: Part 2

Saturday we had another basketball game, and Clayton's team WON!! Yeah, we were so happy. And Clayton was happy that my mom got to be there for the last few minutes of the game to watch him play.

And while we were basket-ballin' Justin was off in Petersburg, KY at the Creation Museum with the youth group from church! NO FAIR! I've been wanting to go there since they opened. He got home around 11:30 Saturday night and was so full of information and questions and Scripture verses he wanted to show us. It was a great experience for him. I'm HOPING someone took pictures!

And I got to experience something on Saturday evening that I RARELY get to have happen...my husband accompanied me to the grocery store! Now, it's not that my life is SO pathetic that this excites me. It's just that sometimes he doesn't understand why I can't buy the same amount of food for the same amount of money he's been giving me. It takes an occasional trip with him to the store for him to actually SEE how much stuff has gone up before he truly understands my plight. So we had a "date" to the grocery store, except Clayton was along, too! :)

What a weekend: Part 1

Just thought I'd take a minute or so and catch up on my amazing weekend...

It began on Friday night with a most incredible dinner we had been invited to attend with 3 other couples from church. I do not have pictures of each course, but let me tell you they were AMAZING!!! It started with a beautiful table, set with linens and crystal, china, gold silverware, candlelight and roses!

Our first course was Cajun shrimp, and was it delicious? Here's how good it was...Joe had never eaten shrimp, really. And he took a second helping of this! I did take a photo of Caroline and Elissa, holding the tray.

Next came a wonderful Strawberry/Spinach salad...yum!

Then came out hot, fresh yeast rolls, and after all that...the main course was:

Prime Rib Au Jus, with twice baked potatoes, and yellow and green beans almondine! WOW!!! I wish I had not been so lax as to forget to take a picture of it, but my goodness it was delicious! The prime rib was so tender, you could cut it with your fork.

And just when you thought you couldn't eat another bite, they came out with not one, but TWO desserts to choose from: Cheesecake with pecan carmel sauce, or Bavarian cream puffs covered in chocolate and sprinkled with fresh cinnamon! I DID take a picture of the cheesecake...it was the lightest and best I've ever had!!!

Well, we were about to bust, and they showed us into the "game" room, where we took part in the most hilarious Jeporady-type game! I can't go into details, but let's just say there was one husband that was embarrassed beyond belief by his wife's response to a question , and for ONCE it wasn't MY HUSBAND!

It felt so good to get dressed up and go out with ADULTS, get to hear their dating/marriage stories, enjoy wonderful food, and to laugh REALLY hard!

Thank you so much, Bob and Caroline, for inviting us, and to the Patch Ministries Board for cooking and serving us.

Happy Birthday to Catrena!

Just wanted to wish my dear friend, Catrena, a Happy _?_ Birthday! I already chatted with her this morning, but just wanted to let the whole BLOG world know what a WONDERFUL person she is. She's a terrific mother, a model wife, a marvelous interior decorator, and a perfect friend!!! Happy Birthday to you, my dear Catrena!!!

Winter Wonderland

Well, it's Monday, and the snow is falling like crazy! So, I'm here at Panera Bread....yes, the smell is making me CRAZY! But the library closed, due to weather. So, I had to find some place to check my crazy e-mail.

Here are some photos of what it looks like outside...I took these when I went to the library and found it closed. That was about 2 hours ago, and it's still coming down out there.

I thought this couple was so cute, trying to take their own picture in the snow!