Saraya's First Day of School

Today was Saraya's first day at the Kindergarten Center. She has been very excited to start school. I like to be organized and since this is all new to me, I decided that picking out clothes every morning just wasn't going to work. I got a 6 shelf organizer that hangs on a closet pole. Saraya and I sat in her closet and picked out her outfits for every day. I really think this is going to work well. There was no scrambling this morning, no hunting for shoes, it was all right there. So I'm pretty happy about that. Saraya really wasn't that hard to get up either. I'm sure that won't be the case all school year.

We got there and she walked in very matter a factly. No hesitation. No tears. I'm so glad she's excited about it. It makes it so much easier to deal with. If she would've cried and not wanting me to leave the classroom, I think I would've just cried my eyes out. But that wasn't the case, so I was able to just hug and kiss her bye..... I did get a little choked up. Who wouldn't. :) Can't wait to see how it goes a week into it!

My Girl...

...is on a trip with James to California. They've been gone for a week and they won't be back til the middle of the night Friday. I've kept myself busy, spending some quality time with some of my friends. But....

...I miss her laugh, her smile, her conversation, her kisses and hugs, her cuddling in bed.

Playing Catch Up

I know, I know. I've been a horrible blogger this summer. It's been so very busy. I hit the highlights, but if you're my friend on facebook you've already seen these pictures. I'll try to do better. :)

Sophmores

Cristi and I signed up for the ASU Women's Football Clinic again this year. And we brought some fresh meat along for the ride! It is such a fun time... and I just eat it up. My favorite part is being out on the field, even though it wasn't quite as good this year because of the rain.
Lora, Cristi, me, Kristie and Marinda

4th of July

This was probably one of the most fun fourth of July's I've ever had! James, me, mom, dad, David and Jana drove over to Mud Island and met up with our family from Nashville to watch Love and Theft perform! It was so much fun to watch them with the live band.

Here's me with the boys!

Jake and Cristi met us there. Love these two..... well, Cristi more than Jake. :) Sorry Boss!But what I really enjoyed was spending time with the best cousin in the world. I've missed seeing her face! It was great getting to talk and laugh and just hang out with her for the day.
Wally, Aunt Susie, Ashley, Stephen, Andrew and Rebekah

missing

We had a Liles Family Reunion in Heber Springs in June. As the family gathered, there was a lot of talking, a lot of laughing.... we enjoyed great food and the creek. Towards the end we started taking group shots of everyone. As the siblings got together, I got a huge lump in my throat.... my grandpa was missing from the shot. And as each sibling surrounded themselves with their family.... it was just us in our family picture.

We visited my grandpa's grave there in Drasco after the reunion. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know how hard til I was walking through. Tears rushed down my cheek... and memories flooded my mind. No matter how many years pass, I'm not sure it will ever get easier.

I'm an Aunt Again

We all were so excited when Kayson Belle McClain joined the family!

Saraya & Kayson, she loves holding the baby.

James, Saraya and Eli

Happy Mother's Day!

I love being a mom, but even more than that, I love being Saraya's mom. She's awesome. And thoughtful. And creative. She's been telling me for a week that she had a surprise for me.

Little did I know that she's been planning a surprise party for me! After church today, we were going to mom and dads to eat lunch. I walked in the door to find a card table sitting close to the front door. And a sweet precious voice filled the air as she jumped out from behind the wall "SURPRISE!!". She was so proud of herself! The card table had all the important things a surprise party needs. Cupcakes, Mint Oreos (one of my favorites!), pink napkins and cups (which she told me she had to get pink because she couldn't find orange ones anywhere!), a card she made, a Dora balloon, a card she bought and a gift. James said he had to talk her out of getting a pinata.... that they're not for mother's day. Cute!

In my eyes, I'm the luckiest mom in the world to be blessed with the best daughter in the world!!

Saraya's First Concert

Just about every weekday morning, Saraya comes in my bathroom while I'm getting ready for work.... we listen to my ipod and she knows how to find Taylor Swift.... so that's what we usually listen to. She loves TS. She knows most of the words.... and sings her little heart out.

So of course, I was so excited to tell her that we were going to the Taylor Swift concert! The first words out of her mouth were, "you mean I'm going to get to see her sing on stage in her pretty dresses???" Too cute!

My cousin Stephen is friends with Taylor... and he scored us some meet and greets before the show. Saraya was really really excited about meeting her.

The concert was great! There were two opening acts, and of course Saraya kept asking, "when's Taylor coming out?" She didn't understand how it worked. But when she came out, she was soooo excited! Her face lit up and she sang along. But she only lasted til about 10. Her being tired outweighed the excitement. So James came and picked her up. But she still had the time of her life. And I really enjoyed watching her! :)
ps: my cousin Stephen's band just made their first music video!! I'm so proud of him!! You should check it out.....

http://www.cmt.com/videos/love-and-theft/376396/dont-wake-me.jhtml?id=1609997

Orange Crush

Last weekend was the Lions Club Car Show at the Convocation Center. I have many fond memories of this car show..... back in high school, my dad and I would be there all weekend with my car. I had a fully restored '66 Mustang that my dad built. I loved that car... and I still wish I had it. Not only because it was a cool car, but because of all the work my dad put into it. Enough of the past....

This year dad entered his '68 Camaro which we've named Orange Crush. This car is awesome.

Nashvegas!!!

Last weekend I spent it in Nashville with my parents, David & Jana and my family who lives there. It was a fun and packed weekend.

We ate lunch on Saturday with Kyle and Caron... I grew up with Kyle and we've stayed in contact all these years, so it was great to see him. Then we went downtown. We went to Hatch Show Print and Jana got a tattoo. Then we went to Opry Mills Mall and shopped!
The real reason that brought us to Nashville was the fact that my cousin's band... Love and Theft.... played at the Grand Ole Opry!!!! What an honor. It was amazing to see him up on that stage.
Afterwards we went to Dave & Buster's to hang out together. I just love all this family so much!! And I love spending time with them whenever I can.

Gary, Patsy, Andrew, dad, mom, Stephen, Jana, David, Brent, me, Rebekah and Aunt Susie

me and crazy Rebekah!!! :)

Sunday we had lunch with family on my mom's side of the family. It was my first time to meet Payton Joy!!! And she's such a cutie. :)

Christy, PJ and me

I've been tagged!!

I've been tagged, here are the rules:

1. go to your documents/pictures

2. go to your 5th file

3. go to your 5th picture

4. blog about it

5. tag 5 people

This was a fun day in November '08. I took Saraya out to the park at Craighead Forest. She loves to swing... just like her mom. It was great weather and a great day for us to hang out just the two of us!!!

I'm tagging Amy, Randi, Laura, Sarah and Paula.

Call me June....

... Cleaver that is. Cause that's what I feel like wearing an apron. :) My best friend Sarah is very crafty and she made Saraya and I matching aprons for Christmas. They're super cute huh!!!? June would never pick this funky fabric though.

If you hang out in a barber shop...

The S.H.E. Team (Seeking Him Eternally) for our Women's group at church had a meeting at the beginning of the year, just like every year. As we discussed what we want to accomplish in 2009, we all really felt like we wanted to do more outreach this year. We worked last year once a quarter at the Women's Crisis Center, but we really wanted to do things more than four times this year. We all felt the need to improve in this area as a group. We also wanted to expand where we do our outreach, wanting to find a place in Paragould also since we have many gals from there. We decided one place would be The Agape House. We have monthly prayer breakfasts, usually the first Saturday of the month. We decided to add an outreach project with each prayer breakfast. In March, we'll be doing our first project at The Agape House. Sunny, the lady who runs the house wanted us to come and look around, meet some people and find out what we wanted to do. So the four of us went there Saturday morning.

None of us knew a lot about the organization so we were anxious to see what it was about. It is a four month program for women getting off drugs. It was an incredible hour and actually I could have sat there much longer just listening to her. I am really excited about going back.

We met a woman who went through the program and now works as a "house mom". I can't even begin to convey the emotions, the transparency she had and the wounds that have been healed in her. As we sat in the living room and talked and asked questions, she let us into her world. She was addicted to meth. She has birthed seven kids and gave two up for adoption. She lost her kids and everything she had before she got straight. She's been clean for almost two years. Tears were shed, laughs were many and it was more than obvious that her life has been changed. And now she just wants more than anything, to give back to the place that gave her back her life. God was mentioned in every other sentence. They teach that the only way to really kick that lifestyle is with a relationship with the Heavenly Father. Yet, with tears in her eyes, she admitted, I can't be around certain people. "If you hang out in a barber shop, you are GOING to get a haircut!!" We laughed at the cleverness of her statement, yet in the same breath it broke my heart. What a weight to carry. To know that something could swallow you whole if you make one wrong step.

I commend the women in this home. It was truly amazing.

S is my favorite letter!

Five years ago today it was Super Bowl XXXVIII. I can't remember who played but I do remember that it was the Janet/Justin half time show! But long before kickoff... I have many memories.

Days before I remember asking Dr. Julie Wilkie if it was crazy to go to a concert on January 31st in Memphis. See, I was due on February 3rd. :) But we had tickets to see Bebo Norman, Amy Grant and Mercyme!!!! She said that we would be close enough to home that it would be okay. Just come straight home if I started to have contractions. My family was none too happy that she said that. I got numerous calls from my mom that night making sure that I was okay. I sat the whole concert. It was a great concert. Great for the soul. After the concert we went backstage and walked around with the guys of Mercyme for about an hour. It's always fun to reconnect with them... plus, I got to meet Amy Grant and she rubbed my belly! Driving home, completely pain free, I was more than happy we went to the concert. But it definitely threw me into labor. I woke up at 6am having contractions every 6 or 7 minutes. Off we went to the hospital. I labored for a few hours and then was lucky enough to get my epidural. After pushing for 45 minutes, Saraya Ashlyn joined this world at 4:42pm on Super Bowl Sunday.

We turned the Super Bowl on in the second quarter. But I don't remember much about it. I was fascinated by my daughter. To this day, I am still just as fascinated by her.

It's amazing to me that she's turning five today. Time passes so fast. I love the way she hugs and the way she kisses. I love that she volunteers those hugs and kisses. I love the way she laughs. I love the way she tells stories. I enjoy having conversations with her. I love that she has an opinion. I love that she's independent. I love that she loves music. I find myself looking at her sometimes just absolutely speechless. God blessed me beyond words when He gave me her.

Happy Birthday My Girl!!!!

Much I Take for Granted

Wow. Who would've thought this week would be the longest of my life. Little did I know what was in store. Tuesday after work I began hearing from some friends that they lost power. I was so sad for them, but I really thought we were going to be fine because we still had power. As I watched tv, I listened to many limbs cracking and breaking and falling. Fe called and couldn't stand hearing the sounds either, so our house quickly grew in number as Jason, Felicia, Eli, Micah, Devyn and two of the girls friends piled in our house. School was out the next day and I wasn't going work so I thought it would be fun to have such a lively house. The girls and I played Clue. I love that game. We started to go to bed around 12, and the power went out. But only for 30 minutes. Phew! I thought to myself. That was a close one! I woke the next morning to find that sometime in the early morning, probably around 4, our power went off. It didn't feel too bad... but of course, I was under my warm covers. Jason and Felicia's apartment had power so they all loaded up and went home. We packed up some stuff and walked two doors down to my aunt and uncles house. They have a gas heater and gas stove. My parents were down there, and my cousins. We sat and talked, played Scrabble, and made the time pass. That afternoon, mom and dad stopped back by thier house and they had power! So before it got dark, we went back home and packed up some clothes and food and headed to my parents. Yep. That's it. My "roughing it" lasted 8 hours.

My big event on Wednesday was falling on the ice. We were packing the car and I walked out with a few things and hit a icy spot and my feet flew right out from under me. I hit my back, left elbow and my head on the driveway. I strained every muscle in my neck and shoulders trying NOT to hit my head..... but it didn't help. I'm still a little sore, but everything's fine.

It was fun to be around the family and sit and talk. Things that I take for granted and don't always embrace. But it felt so great to sleep in my own bed last night. And it felt so great to wake up and get things done in the house today.

I can't even imagine what some of my dear friends in Paragould and Brookland had to deal with. And what so many are still dealing with for the next few days. My biggest hardship was knowing that Lost was airing Wednesday night and I couldn't watch it! (No worries, I watched it the next night online!)

There are simple things that we take for granted everyday. Turning on a light when we walk in a room. Being warm inside our house. Cooking the food that we have in our frig. But for some, they don't even have the room or the house or the food in a frig. I have a new appreciation for things.

Only Five More Days.......

I've been spending my spare time at nights lately to rewatch the Season Four episodes and bonus features. I still love this show as much as when I watched the first episode of Season One. There is so much going on, so much on the surface and so much deep within. I absolutely cannot wait til the 21st!!!!!!

Love and Hate

I like the color grey...... I have a new sweater that's grey that I really love......

And I also have these grey heels that my great friend Julie got me for my birthday......But something that I don't like that's grey....... my hair!!!!! I found a few grey hairs this week, so I prompty added hair color to my WalMart list. Last night was the night! I'm now a brunette!!!! It's just a wash in color so it'll be gone in 6 weeks. Who knows if I'll do it again....

Christmas Day

Saraya was so much fun this year. Very vocal with her list...... a list that grew every time someone asked her what she was wanting. On Christmas Eve we had a service at church. I wasn't sure how well it would be attended since we haven't ever had one since we've been at the church, but we had 97 people there! It was a really great time together. When we got home we sat out some cookies for Santa.

Saraya woke up and was really excited about opening up her stuff. I love how many truly "happy and surprised" looks I got on her face! She of course got WAY too much stuff. It'll take her awhile to play with it all!

We have the privilege of staying home all day on Christmas day. I wouldn't have it any other way. We start the day with the grandparents and David and Jana. We sit around and open all our stuff. Then we make breakfast. This year, the menu was biscuits and gravy, sausage, cream cheese and crescent rolls casserole, a rice casserole and eggs and ham. It was all really really good!!! I think this is just about the only day of the year I eat breakfast. We then retreat to the living room to watch the Disney Parade. Saraya really enjoyed that this year since we were just there a few months ago. She kept talking about all the things that we had seen. And Hannah Montanama sang too! So that's an extra bonus. ;) After lunch is probably my highlight for the day.......... the LAKER GAME!!!! What a great thing for the Lakers to always play on Christmas Day. And this year it was a Finals rematch with the Celtics..... and we won!!! It was great. We finish the day celebrating with James' family. We eat non-traditional food for Christmas... ribs, bbq, brats, the works! It's so great. Then we open all the presents!!!! It was fun having nieces to buy for this year. I think they were my favorite ones to buy for!

My best present was by far my 16gb iTouch!!!! I am in love! We already had a wireless router, so I can get on the internet and Facebook right from the iTouch when I'm at home!!! It's GREAT!! Plus it's just fun with the touch screen. Because of my new addition, James got my Nano because it's way better than his, and we gave his Nano to Saraya. I've put all her music on there and she's been glued to it ever since! It's really cute!!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!! And I hope that the things that made 2008 great, continue for you in 2009!!

I am the Champion, my friend!

I did it! I can't tell you how excited I am to have the winner's trophy in my Yahoo Fantasy trophy case!!!! I stuck with my faithful starters that I've been playing for awhile, even though I seriously thought about changing some of them. But I didn't. And it paid off. Several guys scored BIG for me! This week Rivers actually DID score me 25-30 points!!!! :) I look forward to my trophy presentation from The Boss. I think that's almost as fun as winning. We've watched football all season, just about every Sunday, with the Hillis'. It's been a great tradition. And if there's one person in the league that constantly gives me a hard time, it's Jake (aka The Boss... oh wait.... THE BOSS) It just better not have a cow on it! hehehe.....

Sunday....

Saraya made these Reindeer antlers at church today. She loves them. She said that "they're a little floppy but they're still cute". :) And I agreed. When we got home she wanted to take a picture in them. You have to look close for the hanging antlers!!!

Then we took one of ourselves. Then she wanted to take one of me. Which turned into a photo shoot. She'd hold the camera down, look at me and say things like, "um... can you move your head like this".... "can you put your leg like this".... it was hilarious! Like mother, like daughter!!

Trying Something New...

This year for Christmas with my grandparents, we decided to do Christmas Brunch. I'm not sure if it'll become a tradition or not. We'll see if we do it again next year.

Grandpa and mom were both crippled...... grandpa broke his foot and mom has a stress fracture. So they were both a little slow. My cousin's daughter Kayla is a couple months younger than Saraya. And they are both spoiled by this group! They had a huge pile of stuff. As we sat around watching them open gift after gift, me and my cousins discussed how we NEVER had a pile like that!!!!! :)

After they opened theirs it was time for our Dirty Santa game. That's always fun. Lots of stealing and lots of laughing. Good food.... good times.... good family.

Fantasy Football Finals

Here I am. I made it again. I've been in the Fantasy Football league two seasons now, and both seasons I've made it to the finals. I think this is my thing! I had the pleasure of beating the Defending Champion (aka Laubach) yesterday. In both of the seasons I have never beat him, so this was an extra nice win... seeing how he used to hold that fact over my head.

Cristi and I were really hoping for an all girl final..... we did not get our wish. James beat her tonight by three small points. So, looks like it's a Hewitt final.

I'm confident in my team. And the fact that I know his team password and someone might be replaced in his lineup. :)

Fantasy Football!!!

So this was a big weekend matchup for me. I entered the playoffs last weekend in 6th place. And yes, there are only 6 people who make it to the playoffs... so I just squeaked in. This week I, Victorious Secret, played Fire & Ice (aka Warner).

There are many guys in this league. In fact, there is only one other girl in the league, and that would be My Football is Pink (aka Cristi). Pinkie entered the playoffs in first place!!! And I know for a fact that there are many guys who are cheering for both of us to lose. They probably really wish we weren't even in the league. We've played two seasons now, and both seasons, we've BOTH made it to the playoffs.

I could care less about Tampa Bay and Carolina, but I was glued to the tv. Our scores were really close, and we both had people playing in the game. But when it was all said and done, my guys actually outscored F&I. So I'm movin' on up!!!! I'm thrilled... THRILLED!!!! One of us girls is going to win the whole thing. I can just feel it. And I'm gonna love it even if it's Pinkie and not me! It would be really great if it's an all girl final. :-)

Turning Thirty-Three

We celebrated with some friends on Saturday my big milestone. We started out eating dinner at Fuji's which was soooooo good. It's one of my favorite places to eat, but we don't go very often. We had a huge group crammed around the table.... and it was alot of fun!
But I think the Laser Tag was almost more fun than that! We had 15 play... and we played boys against girls...... and the GIRLS WON!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!!!

I am blessed beyond words to be surrounded by such wonderful friends. People I can laugh with, share life with and can count on. These people are like my family. And I love them all!!!

Black Friday and Memphis!!!

Our standing tradition has been for many years to go shopping on Black Friday. Sometimes you don't even need anything... you just go. It's usually my mom, me, my brother, Jana and my mother-in-law. David and Jana were out of town (missed you two!!!!) so it was just the three of us. I was up and out the door at 4:30am..... yes, people....... AM!!!!! This is the only day of the year where it's acceptable. After we hit a few stores here in Jonesboro, me, mom and my great friend Julie were on the road to Memphis! This was a first for us but it was great.... and I'm thinking it needs to be a new tradition. We had so much fun. Mom had a voucher for a free hotel, so we spent the night and shopped on Friday and Saturday. As we pulled out of Memphis, I figured out that I had been shopping for 36 hours (minus sleeping of course). I only had a few presents bought before Friday morning and I love being able to say that I am just a couple short of being completely done!!!! YAH! Here's a picture of the three of us with all our loot.

Happy Turkey Day!

Here's Saraya today in her Turkey handprint tshirt she made at PreK this week and her "indian" braids! :-)

I asked Saraya five things she's most thankful for this Thanksgiving....

1. Mommy & Daddy

2. Ibe, Papa & Grandma

3. our house

4. our mouths (she's a talker like me!!!)

5. our Christmas tree (we finally got it up!)

I hope you are all enjoying a relaxing day like me... and gearing up for BLACK FRIDAY!!!!! I can't wait!!

David & Jana's Wedding!!!

Saturday was the big day for my little brother. My cousin Rebekah did my hair and makeup, that was fun to not have to do it myself. We got to the church just in time to take pictures.

dad, me, David and mom

It worked out that Ashley and Scott were able to be here for the wedding. I was so glad! Even if it was short, I always enjoy getting to spend some time with Ash.

2:00pm came quickly and it was time to start the ceremony. My cousin Stephen sang an original song that he and David wrote just for the wedding. Then they seated the mothers. And then it was my turn to stand in the doorway. I had to wait until the precher, groom and groomsmen came out. And as David walked out there, I instantly got teary. There he stood. No longer the little brother that was 11 years younger than me, that I've watched grow up his whole life, he now stood there a man. He has grown into a wonderful man, and he'll be a wonderful husband. I cried all the way down the aisle. But I quickly regained composure as the georgeous flower girl (aka Saraya) dramatically threw the last handfull of rose petals up and over her shoulder as she walked down the aisle.

The ceremony was beautiful. It was fun to have all the family together. And the reception was nice. David's always been a big UNC Tarheels fan, so his groom's cake was their logo. It was hard for him to choose between the foot and the Apple logo.

The Liles cousins!! Scott, James, Stephen, Andrew

Ashley, Saraya, me, Jana, David, Brent and Rebekah

Three Years...

...have passed since my grandpa left this earth.

For twelve years I saw or talked to my grandpa every day during the week at the parts store. I took those moments for granted. I've found myself hearing his voice in my head as I answer the phone or seeing him walk in the door as I've reflected on it this past week. With every tear, I'm grateful for the time I did have with him, especially those last twelve years. I wouldn't trade them for anything.It was far from perfect when he was with us. There were plenty of disappointments and hurts but there were also hugs, smiles and joy. Regrets will always exsist and I can't undo the past. But the bottom line will forever be, that I love him. And I miss him.

Halloween Festivities!!

Last Saturday we went to a halloween party at Chris and Karman's house. It was cold but it was fun! The kids loved the hair color, tattoos, bonfire, and most loved the hayride. That would be everyone but Saraya. She's not much for scary stuff. And as they came around the corner and I heard the chainsaw with a guy running towards the trailer I knew she was going to loose it. And I was right. She got off bawling her little eyes out. Took a little while but she finally got over it! She had fun anyway. She insisted on wearing her WonderWoman costume from last year. It was a little small but oh well. She's with her dear friend Elijah who so wonderfully taught her this mouth noise that they both repeat ALL THE TIME! :-)

Thursday at PreK they were able to dress up. So for this party Saraya decided she wanted to be Cinderella. Which was fine with me cause we already had the dress in her dress up stuff! Parents were able to go to school during lunch so James snapped some pictures.

And finally, tonight we went trick-or-treating! For the last month at least Saraya's said she wanted to be a bat. I have no idea where this came from, but she kept saying it, so I got creative with black clothes, a trash bag, face paint and hair spray color!! It actually turned out pretty cute!!

It started as our cell group, then it grew last minute!! We had a ton of people at our house. I think I counted 35. We ate pizza and then hit the streets. Most people probably didn't like seeing our big herd coming cause we made a big dent in the candy bowl!!!

Little Big Town & Carrie Underwood

I've been looking forward to last night for over four months! I've been to many concerts in my short life, but this was only my second time to be on the front row. They're especially good for us short people!!! I love music, I love concerts, and I will start my story with a fact that I'm sure you know if you know me..... I can't sit and be still... I must stand and dance!!!!

Little Big Town opened up the show, and they were great. I think they were even better this time that when I saw them last time! They have great songs and great harmonies.... I really enjoy them and all their music. (And the girls fashion! I loved these boots! Even though I could never pull them off.)

I made eye contact with Philip a few times and he nodded his head at me cause I was singing all the words (we were friends way back in the day when he went to ASU). I was secretly hoping that he recognized me.... but no go. About halfway through their set, two older gentlemen came in and sat on the other side of me. I would never think of these two as Carrie Underwood fans. But I didn't give them another thought. I continued to enjoy LBT, dancin' and singin' my heart out. Almost as soon as the lights came up after LBT was done, one of the men sitting next to me got my attention and said, "I like watching you and all, but if you never sit down, I won't get to see any of the show." I didn't really know what to say. Standing kind'f comes with the territory when you're at a concert, especially when you have floor seats. Plus, all the people around us that weren't standing during LBT were for sure going to be standing when Carrie came out. So I just smiled and said that I'd try.


Carrie came out and rocked! It's no secret that she could sing, I mean, you sing live on American Idol, you can't fake it on that show. But to hear her live and in person....... man, she can WAIL! She did not disappoint and she sang all my favorites.

She had several costume changes. And I got a play by play commentary about it from the two men. Her first outfit was a short black dress, and I guess they thought she was dressed for halloween. Then she put on a big full floor length blue dress for a few ballads. One man said, "that dress is twice as big as the last one". Then she went into an uptempo song and they ripped the long part of her skirt off and she had a short one on underneath it. Lesley happened to look over right when it happened and apparently their eyes bugged out. I'm glad they didn't have a heart attack. That would've been very distracting. :-) I'm all heart, I know. Just kidding!!!


Then came the odd moment of the night. Carrie picked up the guitar. I was impressed at first... but then she started strumming. Well, lets just say it looked very awkward. She was strumming way faster than the song and, well, you couldn't actually hear the strums..... so I'm thinking she was muted. I think it's great that she's learning how to play. I would love to play guitar. But I won't be learning four chords anytime soon just so I can hold a guitar while I'm on stage! No worries Jon and Charleton!!!!! I was quite jealous of her pink sparkly mic though!!! I would love to have one of those!

It was a great concert, with my great friends Kara and Lesley!!!!!

people.com

Usually everyday, or at least every other day, I look around on people.com. I like to see what the hot topic is, or see the newest pictures. So tonight I was looking around on there and noticed that Taylor Swift had made a video of random things. It said there was some backstage footage of the new Crossroads they're about to show on CMT. So I watched it. And I watched it again. And again. I think I'm up to seven times. Why you ask? I am a Taylor Swift fan, but I'm an even bigger fan of my cousin Stephen!!! He's in a band called Love and Theft and they've been opening a lot of Taylor's shows. And for a few short seconds, Love and Theft are in the video with Taylor. They show up around the 4:22 mark. And Stephen's the one on the right side of Taylor!! Gotta say, seeing family on people.com made my night! :-) Love you Stephen!!! You can check out the video here.

Crossroads Fall Festival

I've been working on stuff for the Fall Festival all week long! It was a lot of fun organizing the Chili Cookoff. We had six entries, and four willing judges. We played all kinds of games after we ate. There was bowling, football toss, paintball target range, and even face painting and hair color along with many others. We had a guy come out with his train. The kids love the train! But after all that came one of my favorite things..... flag football!!! I didn't do too good at taking pictures today.

SCORE!

It's not corduroy, but I'm happy with it!!!!! I went into the Gap on a whim tonight... the best part is that it was regular $44 and it was on sale for $10!!! Woo hoo!!

Festival of Lights and Harvest or something like that...

Wednesday night after we ate and had our lesson, we worked on one of our games for the fall festival this Saturday. We're doing bowling... and these are our pins! We painted them black and each of us decorated one. Some of us are overachievers. Some of us did our best. Some of us drank too much caffiene or something. And it wasn't me!!!! We had lots of laughs during this project.....

We had a ton of fun... of course, we always have fun when we're together. These girls are so great. Each one of them mean a ton to me personally. What a wonderful group to be able to count on!!

46,000 Women..... 92,000 Boobs!!!!

Yesterday we left Jonesboro at 3:30ish and headed to Little Rock for the Race for the Cure. We got to our hotel after many, and I seriously mean MANY trips around the block. Dang those one way streets! Then after we were settled, we headed out to dinner at Cajun's Wharf. Oh wow. The best food ever!!!! My great friend Charity lives in Little Rock, so she met us for dinner. It was so great to spend some time with her. We talk on the phone every week just about, but we don't get to see each other much!!!

We went back to our hotel, with much more ease than the first time. Everyone was getting ready for bed, getting settled, I asked what time it was and they said, "10:00". No wonder I wasn't tired!!!! So I somehow managed to keep Chassidy and Julie up talking and playing with my iPod. I had the late night giggles and they kept me laughing. Julie was my bed partner, and as the clock struck midnight, we turned into pumpkins and finally went to sleep. I woke up a few times in the middle of the night...... with Julie's feet on me (her nightly habit) and once even butt to butt. Good thing I love her! ;-) But as all of you know, when the alarm went off at 6am, I thought I was going to die. I squeezed every bit of bed time I could... rolling out at the last possible minute.... 6:30. It was still dark..... so I actually got to see the sun rise!!!

The walk was great. Amazing stories. Amazing women. Amazing lives. Survivors with their daughters, and granddaughters. People walking in memory or in honor of friends. One of the neatest things though, were the men on the sidelines cheering us on. (I bought pink sunglasses just for the walk!!! And yes I know, Elton's already called... he can't have them back)

I was in the car with Holly, Angie, Cristi and Marinda. And if I learned one this on this trip..... it's that Holly and I are truly kindred driving spirits!! Everyone else in our car made comments all weekend about how she drives, a little fast.... never easing on the brakes.... but for me.......... it was like coming home. hehehehe!!!

These girls are so great, and I love spending time with them. Each time I do, our friendships deepen and our bonds grow tighter.

My new obsession...

...the color ORANGE! At first I didn't know where it was coming from. I was drawn to the orange nailpolish, and I've been wearing it for a couple weeks. I really want a new ipod.... and of course, I want the orange one. I've really been wanting a corduroy skirt for the fall.... and I specifically want an orange one. This all seemed a little out of the blue, but then I realized last week that I'm surrounded by orange every day at work! Tangelo Pearl to be exact. (And yes, that's a custom color!)

I have inherited many things from my dad. Many parts of my personality are just like his. I can't count how many times I've said something to my mom and she follows it up with, "you sound just like your dad!" I have his common sense (which I'm very proud of). I also got his lead foot... and a love for old cars. He's restoring a '68 Camaro and it's coming together quite nicely. Pieces of it are scattered throughout the store, but he's getting more and more of it put together. It's such a slow process, but a fun one to watch. Well, at least it is for me.

Tagged by Holly!

Seven random and/or weird facts about myself:

1. I am completely aware that I drink way too much soda..... but I just can't stop.
2. I love those ups white board commercials.
3. I would love to be a professional party planner.
4. I love watching "Cover Tune Grab Bag" on Mercyme's blog. They're hilarious!
5. I'm obsessed with finding an orange cord skirt.
6. I think I could eat at Taco Bell every day.
7. I'm way too excited that Brothers and Sisters is back on tv. I have to remind myself that they're not real people. ha!

This was hard to come up with 7 things that I didn't already list on here a couple months ago!!

Wednesday

We got up and around Wednesday morning and headed home. We did it all in one day.... and it was a lot of driving! We rolled in at midnight, which wasn't too bad. We were more than ready to be home. It was a fun trip though!!!

Tuesday: part three

As I was walking around taking pictures on Main Street, an employee came up to me and started asking me questions and asked if we were interested in any character sightings. I said yes, and he said, "How about Cinderella?". I knew that she wasn't spotted out very much at all outside of the parade, so I of course was interested. I thought it wasn't that big of a deal, we'd get there and have to stand in line for an hour. Much to my surprise, we got there and the time they told me was our appointment time. There was no one else even there. The Disney employee made a huge deal talking it up to Saraya. They took us behind the curtain and she made a big announcement, "I introduce to you, Princess Cinderella!" as she pulled the curtain back. It was so incredible. I teared up. Cinderella was instantly in character, talking to Saraya about her braids and asked if her mice or her birds braided them for her. Saraya was speechless. When we finally left, she looked up at me with her eyes so big and said, "mommy! she didn't have a mask on, it was really really her!!!!!"

Dancing Queen

Okay, this is a little out of order. This was from Animal Kingdom on Monday. Please keep the jokes to a minimum!!!!

Tuesday: part two

And then, my favorite day.... Magic Kingdom. I love the monorail. They didn't have one at Disneyland this year so it was fun to be able to ride it again. I haven't been to the Magic Kingdom since 1996! So it was fun to see things, how they've changed, and some things I remember so differently!!

I just love Main Street! I love the store fronts, I love seeing the castle, I just love the atmosphere!! Of course we had to take the time to take pictures in front of the castle!!!

Tuesday: part one

The heat was getting to us, and so were the long days... so on Tuesday we decided to sleep in and hang out at the pool before going to the Magic Kingdom. It was nice to be lazy and let the kids play. And the best part for me was getting to actually sit and talk to Sarah!

It was fun to watch the kids together. As much as Sarah and I talk, I feel like I know her kids as if I see them all the time, but actually getting to watch them interact with Saraya was fun. They got along really well together.

The pool area was really neat, it even had a waterslide! David and Stephen got in on the action!

Monday

Our second park was Animal Kingdom. No one in our group had been to this one before so it was fun to experience something new for everyone. It's a really neat park!

The first thing we did was go to the Lion King stage show. It was probably the best stage show ever. Now I really want to see the Broadway Show!!

Saraya really enjoyed getting to meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy.

We stopped in Africa for some lunch. This african band was playing outside a restaurant. Of course, I stopped to listen and was mesmerized. After listening for quite awhile, they wanted volunteers. The head guy started pointing to people and blowing his whistle. Something in my gut told me he was going to pick me. Probably because he had already made eye contact with me a couple times and he could tell I was really enjoying it. I went up and had a ball. (I'll post the video in the next post)

The best thing at this park is the safari ride. You climb aboard a truck and drive through a tour of the animals. But they're not in pits and cages, they're roaming around in their natural habitat. It was really incredible. The closest animals that came to our truck were the rhino and the giraffe. But we saw lions, hippos, crocodiles, flamingos... all kinds of animals.

At the end of the day I was really wanting to ride the rapids ride... cause I love it! David, James, Saraya and I rode it!! Saraya really liked it!!

Sunday

We went to Hollywood Studios, which I haven't been too since I was in high school. I used to love it, it was my favorite park.... although now, I'm not sure why. It was still fun though.

They have a lot of stage shows at H.S. and the first one we went to was Beauty and the Beast. It was GREAT! I loved the movie and I owned the soundtrack back in the day. Ashley and I sang along with all the songs!!! It was a really great show.

Saraya's favorite thing here was probably the Playhouse Disney stageshow. We got to see the characters from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Pooh and Friends and Little Einsteins. They had a back lot that looked like the skyline of New York City.... so of course we pretended like we were there again. I think we all three secretly would've actually rather been there!!

But the best part of the day was when we went on the two "big people" rides. The Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror and the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster. They were AWESOME!!! The Tower of Terror is a free fall ride. I'm usually not so good with these, but this one wasn't one big fall so that made it a lot easier to handle. Even still, I screamed the whole time.

We got a fast pass for the Rockin' Roller Coaster but when we got there the line wasn't long at all, so we rode it once and used the fast pass to ride it a second time. This is probably THE BEST roller coaster I've ever riden! I'm kind'f getting too old for them though! Riding it twice in a row just about sent me over the edge. I'm very glad we waited until the end of the day to ride them.

We left the park and had a nice mexican dinner. It was so great to have Scott and Ashley down for the day. I enjoy any time that I get to spend with her.

Our Big Fat Family Vacation

I don't think I've ever had a vacation like this one. We had so many people along for the ride..... James, me and Saraya, James' mom, my mom and dad, my brother David, my best friend from Raleigh, Sarah and her two kids, Cole and Adison. Then, once we were in Florida, we had my cousins Stephen, Ashley and Scott join us.

We got on the road Friday after work and drove to Nashville to stay at my aunts house. It broke up the drive a little, but it was still a long car ride. We had two hours worth of stops... which put us at 14 hours in the car on Saturday alone. Sheesh.

We finally got to the time share condo Saturday night and it was probably the nicest one I've stayed in. I'm so glad that my parents have it! I can reap the benefits without paying a dime! :-)

We could see Epcot from our balcony... and we could watch the fireworks over the ball at night!! It was really neat.

Christy's Shower

Friday we left on a girl trip to Springfield, MO... it was my mom, my grandma, my great aunt, Saraya and me. We went to celebrate with my wonderful cousin Christy at her baby shower for baby Payton Joy!!

We got to my cousin's house around 9pm. They have a black full size poodle and Saraya met her in the dark, and wasn't too crazy about a dog that was the same height as her. She even opened the door to go to the bathroom and freaked out cause the "pluto" was in the hall. Yes, she called it a pluto instead of a poodle. It was so cute that I really didn't really want to correct her, but I did. I had to carry her to the bathroom. The things you do for your kids. But by the next morning, after observing her in the daylight, they became fast friends and I even came out after my shower and found them cuddled together on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

The shower was a lot of fun. Seeing family is always a good time. But one person was missing.... my great aunt Marty (Christy's mom). She was talked about often, and I know that she would've been beaming from ear to ear if she'd been there. Crystal gave a precious gift, a blanket with photos of Christy and Marty on it. I enjoyed getting Christy some personalized burp cloths, bibs and a onesie that my friend Sarah made. They turned out so cute!!! She got lots of great stuff and now we're just waiting to meet that precious baby girl!!! Christy was just precious with her baby bump and was positively glowing! I'm so glad I got to see her pregnant, but now I can't wait to meet Payton!

S.A.H.

Four years, seven months and two days ago something happened in my life that changed me forever. At 4:42pm, Saraya Ashlyn was born. Little did I know how much emotion could come over me so quickly for someone that wasn't even apart of my life moments earlier. Time is an odd thing. It can seem to pass so slow at times, and other times it moves at a rapid pace. It seems like I blinked and it's instantly time for her to go to Pre-K.

Last week, Saraya and I went to Target and she got to pick out a new lunchbag for school. She was so funny in there.... making a line on the shelf of all her options. And of course she picked, (drum roll please) Hannah Montanama. (That's what she calls her) Does she watch Hannah Montana you ask? No she doesn't. She's seen snips of songs on the Disney channel and she is facinated by the fact that she sings and performs and has costumes. So there ya have it.

I have been pretty okay with the whole Pre-K thing. Since I work, I usually only bring her up here with me once every couple weeks. We have the priviledge of her getting to stay with either Grandma (James' mom) or Ibe (my mom). So I'm used to not seeing her everyday all day long. But when we dropped her off at her classroom my heart began to hurt. To know that she's starting a process of learning and experienceing life on her own. A process I want her to have, yet in the back of my mind, I know this will only give her wings, and one day she'll leave the nest. So as she hugged and kissed me bye (after running into the room without a second thought of us!!!) I did get choked up.

Knowing how excited she is about her class makes things so much easier. And knowing that she's learning great skills to take her into Kindergarten makes it worth it. I've known her teacher since high school, and I got a post on Facebook from her after school on Tuesday. It sounds like Saraya is the same little girl in class as she is at home with us. Loves to learn, loves to interact, loves to help, and loves to be a leader (sometimes that turns into bossy - but we know where she gets that! gotta love first born girls!!!!). I am very proud of her. Already, at four years old, she has a fun personality, and has so many great qualities. I will enjoy watching her grow into a woman.

Cell Group Kickoff

Tonight was the night. We take a month off in August from our cell groups, just to give ourselves a break and make us really miss each other!!

We had a great group there. Lots of talking, lots of laughing, lots of GREAT food, great games and just great fun. We really do have such an awesome group of people in our church.

But I think my biggest "proud mommy" moment happened tonight. Let me rewind a little though.

Last year we bought a Veggie Tales sings worship music cd. Saraya loves this cd. She constantly listens to it, and we even have it on both of our iPods so that it's pretty much always with us. It is the funniest thing ever to ride in the car when she's listening. You know how it is when your ears are plugged with earphones, you sing way louder than you should. She sings at the top of her lungs to these songs. We've been saying for awhile that we need to video it. Hopefully we'll actually do that soon.

Monday night we were at church setting up the tables and chairs for the kickoff tonight. Saraya was running around playing and then she asked if she could go on stage to pretend to sing. I let her go up there with two very strict rules. 1) you cannot take the mic out of the stand. 2) you cannot touch any instruments or wires or anything up on stage. She agreed so we went up and I lowered my mic down. Then she needed a music stand. (Like she can read) I set her up and asked her what she was going to sing. I know that she loves Blessed Be Your Name so I started singing it as I worked and she stood up there and belted it out. It was so cute. I asked her if she was going to get on stage sometime and sing, and of course she said yes.

To my surprise, not very long after we got to church she came up to me and said, "mommy, is it time for me to sing?" She was 100% serious. So, we went up there and I turned on Blessed Be Your Name on my iPod and she sang right into the mic and did a great job! I teared up! It was so precious. She was so cute up there. I think I was in Kindergarten when I sang my first solo, so she is starting earlier than I did!!

Draft Day!!!!!

I have been so excited about the fantasy football draft for weeks!!!! I have a great team name this year.... Victorious Secret!

My brother made a logo for Cristi and I so we could make tshirts. We were geared up and ready.... we both had pink flip flops, pink hoop earrings, pink toenail polish, pink folder, pink clipboard, pink ink pen and pink highlighter.

There were more people dressed up at the draft than there are on Sunday mornings for service!!! Jay, Mike and Tommy wore ties! I meant to get a picture of the three of them... I forgot.

I feel good about my team. I'm ready for the season to start. There was only one guy who I never beat last season and that was Laubach. My main goal this year is to beat him when I play him.... oh, and move up in the ranks. I finished last season at #2, so winning the whole thing is my only option!

Girls Night Out

Saturday night we had a Girls Night Out with our women's group at church. There were several conflicts, so it was a small group, but we had a ton of fun none the less. This is usually one of my favorite events of the year, because I LOVE laser tag!!! The first time we played, I was ranked #1. The last time we played Kelly Warner took it from me. How dare her! My goal was to get that back.

We split into two teams. The first game I was MVP of my team, but ranked #2. Dang you Michele. My team lost by just a little. It was on. Game two we had some unwanted boys that got put on our team. Which totally changed everything. I had an aweful, AWEFUL game. Barely scored any points, and I ranked #8. Seriously????? My team won though. Technically, we're 1-1, so we need a rematch to decide the actual winner of the night.

I am very competitive, and really really hate that I did soooooo bad. Lesley was so kind and loving as she made eye contact with me this morning as I walked out on stage.... holding up eight fingers. Nice.

Impressive

Of course I'm impressed with my little Ray.... all mothers are with their kids. But I'm always a little extra proud with anything that has to do with music. James and Saraya were riding in the car Thursday, listening to the radio. Phil Collins Hold on My Heart was playing. After Saraya listened for awhile, she says, "Daddy, this sounds like the Tarzan song". Wow!!! I was very proud that she recognized Phil Collins voice!!!!!!

If you like to talk to tomatos.....

Today we went to Lifeway so that Saraya could meet Bob and Larry. When we got out of the car I told her what we were doing, she was soooo thrilled. Larry was the first one we saw. She was all smiles when she saw him. We had to wait in line for a little while. By the time we were at the front of the line, she had seen several kids cry and she was a little nervous. So... there's no picture of her with Larry. When we walked away she said, "I won't be shy with Bob Mom". We found Bob and she walked right up and got her picture made.

Tongue Tricks

We were in the bathroom a few days ago, and I showed Saraya how you can roll up your tongue. She thought it was hilarious and has been doing it ever since.

Now, rolling up your tongue isn't really that special. Most people can do it. But then, we were eating at Chili's and she was showing James how she could do it. For whatever reason, it popped in my head to see if she can turn her tongue over.... because I can. I am proud to say that I have passed on my great trick!!! She did it with ease!

One Girl, One Boy

Well, from the previous post you know that I love to take pictures. Tonight I took one year pictures of the sweet, adorable, cutest, makes you wanna pinch his cheeks, Houston. Saraya always loves when people come over to take pictures. She knows she gets to pose for me when I test the light. She also loves to entertain and try to make them smile. Here's my favorites of Saraya from tonight. She's so photogenic.... or at least I think so, but I'm suppose to say that right?? I put a couple of Houston on too. I didn't add the really funny ones of him eating his cake cause I didn't want to steal Misty's blog thunder. :-)

27 Things About Me

Well, I've seen gals blogging about random things or lists, so I thought I'd do one of my own. Mainly because I was wanting to blog and had absolutely nothing to blog about. :-)

1. I love a good laugh. There's nothing like being with a friend and cracking up. That true deep down laugh. The one you can't stop or control.

2. I love my iPod. If you see me during the week, I've probably got it in my ears. I even have a speaker pillow, and most nights I fall asleep listening to it. I love listening to music. I also love podcasts. I have my regulars.... Francis Chan's sermons from Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley California, The Official Lost Podcast with Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse, The Lost Podcast with Jay and Jack, and now I'm checking out a couple fantasy football podcasts.

3. I love things flavored with cinnamon, milk chocolate, caramel or lemon. However, I hate coconut, nuts mixed in things, and cooked fruit. I'm an ice cream and chocolate snob. I really only like the good stuff... like Ben & Jerry's, Marble Slab, Godiva and Toblerone.

4. I love instant messaging. It keeps me connected to one of my best friends, Sarah. Pretty much all day when I'm at work, we're chatting. We've been friends since the summer of 1990. We've been through so much, and I am so blessed to say that 18 years later, we're closer today than we were in high school. There are many miles between Jonesboro and Raleigh, but she doesn't seem that far away.

5. I love to shop at Charlotte Russe (when I have money to spend that is!). I usually spend any money I make from taking pictures or doing invitations in that store... which is what I was doing Saturday!! :-)

6. I love fantasy sports. I wasn't real sure if it would be my thing, but I love watching sports anyway, so I fell in love with it! It actually makes me want to watch teams other than "my" teams. Its fun to beat the boys too!!

7. I love the praise band. We have a great group of talented people. Every person brings something different to the table. We have really meshed as a group. We have a lot of fun at practice. Everyone in the band sacrifices time and effort, but most importantly, everyone is there to be used by God.

8. I love going to concerts. I think I could go to one every weekend if I could afford it. It wouldn't even matter who it was, I just completely enjoy live music.

9. I love facebook. I have found so many people from years ago, and it's been really fun to reconnect.

10. I love my church family. I have never been this happy at a church. I have never felt this connected with a group of people. There are so many people that make my life better just because they're apart of it. They're some of my favorite people on the planet!!

11. I love taking pictures. Of course, my favorite subject is Saraya! But I love taking pictures of just about anybody. I love getting that "perfect shot" for someone.

12. I love big hoop earrings. I have no idea why, but I always have!

13. I love spicy food. The spicier the better. I especially love indian, mexican and italian food. I love fresh guac. I love cilantro. I put it on everything I can.

14. I love Friends the tv show. I own all 10 seasons on dvd. I have seen every episode a million times... and they still make me laugh. I often quote it and most people don't even know what I'm talking about.

15. I love Burt's Beeswax Chapstick. I always have one with me. I also have one on my keyboard at work, and one by my bed. I don't wear lipstick, I wear the tinted Burt's Chapstick!!! I'm addicted to it you could say. My lips feel weird to me if I don't have it on.

16. I love to travel to big cities. I don't think I'm cut out to live in a big city, but they're so fun to visit. My favorites that I've been to are LA, Chicago, Las Vegas and NYC... I'd like to add Boston to that list.

17. I love old muscle cars. My first car was a '66 Mustang Coupe that my dad restored. I loved it. I regret getting rid of it. I love old cars because of my dad. I've gone to more car shows than I can count, but I wasn't drug there kicking and screaming... I wanted to go! My dad is restoring a '68 Camaro right now and I'm hoping I get to drive it!! One day I hope to own one again.

18. I love to drive fast. There's something about getting on a highway and just driving. I really enjoy it. Once again, my lead foot comes from my dad. I come by it honestly. Dad gave up drag racing when I was born. I've always had a desire to try drag racing.

19. I love to do things I'm good at. On the flip side of that, I have a problem doing things that don't come naturally to me. If I can't do it well, I'd rather not do it. I have a fear of looking stupid and being made fun of.

20. I love to play games. Board games, card games, anything... there's nothing better than a group of friends, playing games, laughing and enjoying each other.

21. I love LOST. I love to try and figure out what's going on. I love researching things, finding theories and seeing how things are connected. The show is so creatively written. It's amazing and it's very addictive.

22. I love my cell phone. It keeps me connected to my other best friend and cousin, Ashley. We talk every couple days. It makes me feel like she's just down the road. My cell phone is usually always with me. When my life is really busy (which is often these days) it's usually ringing a lot cause I'm planning something! Besides that, I like that you can get ahold of people so easily these days. It's hard to remember what it was like before them.

23. I love to scrapbook. Although I think my "scrapbooking" is changing. (I really like the photo books online!) I do still love the art of real scrapbooking, I just don't have the time to scrapbook everything like I used to. I think I'm going to keep it to a minimum, mainly vacations and Christmas.

24. I love circles. Anything that has circles on it, I'm drawn to.

25. I love flips flops. I start wearing them as soon as my toes can stand it, and I don't put them away til I absolutely have to. I also love having my toenails painted.

26. I love my family, James and Saraya. I love it when the three of us just hang out. I love Saraya's personality, her laugh, and her sense of humor. I love to watch James be such a great dad. (Even though I'm jealous sometimes that's she's such a daddy's girl..... I remember that I am too) I am blessed to have my parents. I love that I work with my dad, mainly because I get to see him 5 days out of the week. I love that I'm close to my brother, David. I love that my mother-in-law lives with us. I love all the brother/sister-in-laws I have, and I have wonderful nieces and nephews.

27. I love blogging. Obviously I love it so much, I came up with this list just so I could blog!! haha! I really do love it though. I love reading other peoples blogs too. It's such a great tool to keep up with people. Losing touch with people is easy cause life gets busy. But I can keep up with friends that I don't see that often and it makes me feel like I'm still in on their life.

J and Fe

Saturday was the big day!! Jason and Felicia tied the knot. Saraya was a flower girl for the second time and she assured us, "I won't be shy this time". And she wasn't. She walked right up there and stood the whole time. She looked just beautiful in her little dress.

Fe looked beautiful and so did her girls.


The ceremony was beautiful. Crossroads looked like a completely different place!

The happy Mr & Mrs!!!!!!!

Peace....

Death is never an easy thing. I have never been one that deals easily with it, especially with ones that I'm close to.

Today, I lost my wonderful friend Melissa to cancer. She's been fighting since last fall. We sung together in the praise band for several years. We reconnected after her diagnosis, and emailed frequently. We both were able to share with each other how much our friendship meant, and both knew that if we could just turn back time, we would take better advantage of the time we had together. She was so very strong in her faith. She was such an inspiration and an example. Words really can't describe her. Mel was full of life, very animated, and always had a story to make you laugh. Music can bring back so much, and there are certain songs that will always remind me of Mel. So much of my praise music has Mel and her key written on it. As hard as it is to see right now, I'm glad I'll always have a small reminder of her.

She always knew that no matter what her journey was, that God was in control. Even when she couldn't see Him, she trusted Him. She never strayed from that, she rested in it.

I've asked God too many times to count, "Why God? Why Melissa??" But I must rest in the fact that He is in control. That even though her journey on this earth is over, her legacy will live on. Once I can get past my selfish reasons of why she should be here with us, I know I will be jealous that she's walking on the streets of gold and she's celebrating, singing, worshiping and seeing Jesus face to face.... what could be better??????

The Food Crew

Every year at VBS I've been on the food crew. It's a hard but fun job. Misty and I try our best to get things organized but we could never be successful at it without great helpers!!! Kelly's been with us a couple years and this is Lesley and Stephanie's first year. One things for sure, in the midst of all the chaos, we make sure to fit in plenty of laughs, plenty of fun and apparently this year, plenty of butt-slappin'!! (Love you Kelly!!!) Here's some pics of us in our ice cream truck!! Of course, they thought it would be HILARIOUS to make me the driver and they could all look like I was slamming on the brakes about to kill them. Seriously, I'm not THAT bad of a driver people!!! I just speed a little.... that's all. :-)

11 hours...

That's how long I was at church today. I will be the first to admit that I have a ton on my plate right now. And yes, I get stressed. I am very grateful that I didn't scare off three of my friends today. :-) I would post about the ice cream truck we built all day, but I can't write anything as great as Misty's post. So just go read hers. Even if you don't know her, just be a blog stalker (like Lesley!), it's okay!!!

Memphis Part Two

Nothing I do is uneventful. After Graceland, we went to eat at On the Border. When I got in my car it wouldn't start. It wouldn't turn over a lick. Stephen went back inside and found someone with booster cables. (I know, I know.... I work in a parts store... you'd think I'd be more prepared). We got it started and I drove straight to Target and purchased some booster cables. We went to the mall and I had high hopes that it would start once we were leaving. No go. So we boosted it off Aunt Susie's car this time. I was super paranoid the whole way home..... but we made it.


Cousin Rebekah and Saraya


Cousin Stephen and Saraya


Saraya with her Aunt Ashley... and namesake!!

We're goin' to Graceland....

I have only been to Graceland once, when I was 16. We only went through the mansion, and I barely remember it. (Here's a blast from the past! It was 1991)

Shawna, me and Sarah

Ashley and the rest of the Liles gang had never been to Graceland. Ashley's been in Nashville for a week visiting the fam and we decided to meet up in Memphis for the day. I was actually really excited about going again. I knew I would soak more in this time. Plus all the other things that I'd never seen. Mom of course had seen most of it. And she was our personal tour guide. ha! We kept having questions and by golly, she knew the answers. My mom was a HUGE Elvis fan in high school and has been ever since. I always remember growing up listening to his music and watching his movies. And that's the case for Ashley and the others too.

The mansion was almost like I remembered. Some rooms were smaller than I thought they were. But my favorite room was still the Jungle Room.

Here's Saraya in the room full of gold records.

My precious family. We've always had a strong bond with this particular branch of the family tree. We've always vacationed together and been close. I love that I can say that Ashley is more than my best friend, she's family.

Me, Stephen, Ashley, Brent, Rebekah and Aunt Susie

Ashley and me

And here I am, 16 years later in front of the car museum again.... with a lot better hair! :-)

Saraya and me

Stephen, Aunt Susie, Brent and mom

I've always been intrigued by the wall, the thought that people from all over the world come and write their name on here. I very plainly remember writing my name on there when I was 16. I revisited the wall 10ish years later and actually found it. But this time, it was faded and I couldn't find it. Saraya and I both wrote our names on the wall.

At the gift shop, Saraya picked out a bear with pictures of Elvis all over it. She said she named him Elvis. (Appropriately) She very proudly exclaimed to me at the end of the day, "Mommy, I'm very glad we got to go to Elvis' house!"

a girl and her dogs....

Just a few pics I took today. No real story to go with them. Except that she's a cutie!!

Saraya loves to play with Gus and Perky. She wanted to get her picture made with them. I tried my best.

just now...

...I'm having a conversation with Saraya. I enlisted her help with making up bags for inviting kids to VBS. I love conversations with her. She's so funny. It went something like this:


S: Where did you get this chalk from mommy?
D: Mrs Cristi bought it.
S: That was VERY nice of her.

S: Are you going to tape these [closed]?
D: No, I'm going to tie them.
S: Ty's not a new friend.
D: No, I'm going to tie the ribbon, I wasn't talking about Ty your friend.
S: I know. But Ty's not a new friend. He's my bestest buddy. But he's not a new friend. Just Mason's a new friend. And Ross is a new friend. And Addie's a new friend.
D: That's right they are new friends.
S: But Elijah's not a new friend either.

Then she broke out in song...... what song you ask? Why, Jingle Bells of course!!!

the smell of pigskin is in the air.....

I love football. (Not as much as basketball of course) I love football games. I love to bundle up. I love to cheer on my team. (Reigning Super Bowl Champs I might add!!!) I love watching games on Sunday afternoons. I love playing fantasy football. I love having a friend that loves football too. And that friend is Cristi.

She called me up earlier this week and asked if I wanted to go to the women's only Football Clinic at ASU. Of course I was up for it!! We didn't really know what to expect. But it was a BLAST! Here we are with jerseys on that they let us wear all night.

They fed us (from Outback!) out on the balcony overlooking the field. Then we went into a room and reviewed tape, talked about football equipment, we met some football players. One was QB Corey Leonard, to which Cristi leans over and asked me "do you think he'd remember us?" (he spoke at our church last fall) and I replied, "I highly doubt it". Then we played a game. They drew names and Cristi was a lucky winner! We had just gone over how to dress in full uniform, and the team had to dress one of their members. Cristi was the one they dressed and her team won!!! Their team got sports bags for winning. And she got to keep the wristbands.

We had two sessions, one on defense and one on offense. It was very interesting and I feel like I learned a lot. We then toured the facility, and ended up on the field. That was the best part. They let us do all kinds of drills. My personal favorite was pushing the sled. Here's a picture of me about to push the sled. (Cristi wasn't so good at the taking of pictures. Bless her heart.)

We also attempted to kick a field goal. I have a new respect for kickers. It was WAY harder than I thought it was going to be. I got this great picture of Cristi kicking. You can see the ball just a few feet off the ground.

Then we went in and they gave out prizes. Cristi racked up tonight! She won a digital photo frame!!! We raced home to see if we'd be on the news. Cristi was... in her full uniform, jumping up and down and striking her muscle pose. (I know Jake was proud) The only problem was she was in a helmet and no one knew who she was! :-( But never fear. There's always Occasions Magazine. They saw a great opportunity to take our picture with the field in the background, so we're holding out hope that they'll make us famous!

sweet baby....

I took these pictures of my new nephew Eli yesterday. He's such a cutie! You can check out his birth announcements on my design blog.

Music Lover

No shock that's a title for me, but it's quickly becoming a title for Saraya. I bought the new Sugarland single off iTunes this week, All I Wanna Do. The first time I played it, Saraya sang the ooh's for the chorus instantly. Today, I'm sitting here reading blogs and I came to Randi's. That song started playing and Saraya came running over to the computer as soon as the first few notes played, humming along with the verse. And of course went to town with the oohs as soon as the chorus started!! She started running around, dancing, and even told me to turn it up. It was hilarious! I grabbed the camera and took some pictures of her. I think it's safe to say that's her favorite song right now!!!!

4th of July

With all the people gathered in parking lots to catch a glimpse of the fireworks, the leadership team came up with the idea to pass out glow necklaces with our church's web address on them. A group of us met up at the church, broke up into groups and passed them out... all 500 of them!!! It was fun to walk around and pass them out to the kids. Their eyes would lite up when they saw them. Hopefully someone will look us up on the web, and pay us a visit.

(Maddie, Cailey, Lexi, Ty, Abby and Saraya)


We met up after we were done passing them out and watched the fireworks all together. It was fun.
(Cristi and me)

I Heart NY... I miss it too....

It's hard to believe that two weeks have already past since my first day in New York City. Man, time flies. Of course I had to buy something with the traditional I Heart NY on it. Here's us modeling the goods!

Connections....

I love having friends with connections!! :-) When a friend can score you front row seats, you know you have a great friend! haha! Just kidding Lesley, I'd love you even if we were in the rafters.

I am totally pumped about being on the front row for Little Big Town and Carrie Underwood!!!!! Now the countdown begins....

I dropped a chain...

...turns out it was a chain I didn't even know I was carrying. I was forced to face a very difficult situation five years ago. It involved a fellow church member, and left me with so many different emotions. We left the church, I thought I'd moved on, and I haven't seen her since.

Within the last month, I had a conversation with a friend where the situation came up and I actually spoke these words, "I honestly don't know what I'd do if I saw her." Since that conversation she's actually popped into my mind a few times.

Apparently God was prepping me...

Last Saturday, I was in line for the bathroom in Target, and as I stood there she walked out of the stall. Instantly, and I mean instantly, anger, hatred, bitterness and resentment flooded me from head to toe. I could hardly contain myself. I actually had time to think to myself, "talk to her? don't talk to her? make eye contact? or not?". Then she left.

As I walked around Target trying to access where in the world all this came from, I just couldn't get past the anger. I didn't even know I was carrying it. I didn't know it was in me. I was completely livid.

Yet, in the midst of my emotions, I could hear Him say, "let it go --- you weren't in the wrong back then, but you're in the wrong now." I stuffed it down inside. I didn't have time to deal with it. I was busy. But it kept creeping back in my thoughts.

Sunday morning, while the band was going through our set, we got to the medley of Sanctified and Cannot Say Enough. It was almost like a bubble formed around me. I forgot all about the band being there. I didn't hear the guitarists talking. I didn't hear the soundguys in the back. It was just me and God, and all I could do was worship... and let it go. Moments like that are amazing. Almost as if time is standing still, and you can feel His presence wrapped all around you. And so my favorite line in that song actually happened, right then and there.... we worship with the sound of broken shackles falling to the ground.

Call me Mario....

Well, this afternoon was eventful. Dad asked me to run an errand for him, so I left the parts store and called my friend Sarah. We were talking as I was driving, and after I turned onto Main St from Nettleton, I looked in my rear view mirror to see a cop behind me with his lights on. I had no idea why he was pulling me over. I got off the phone and dealt with the cop. As I was giving him my driver's licence, my phone rang. It was Lesley. Of all the people to call me while I was sitting there. (She's scared to ride with me). Once the cop was in his car, I called her back. I really didn't want to tell her where I was. :-) As soon as I said I was pulled over, she said, "were you speeding???". I really wasn't..... but she didn't believe me. I got off the phone with her and just a few seconds later, my brother called. As soon as I picked up the phone he said, "did you get pulled over?" How in the world did he know that???? I was still sitting there! Apparently Jana had driven by and saw me in the parking lot.

The cop came back to my car and said, "I pulled you over for crossing the center line when you turned right." Oh good grief. The one time I'm actually NOT speeding, I get pulled over!!!

But the icing on the cake was the fact that I changed car insurance companies the week before I went to New York City, and in my haze of getting ready to leave, I never put my proof of insurance in the car. So, even though he gave me a warning for my weaving, he wrote me the ticket for no proof of insurance. Now I have to go through the hassle of going up there and proving it and getting it dropped. Sheesh.

I missed that girl....

It was so nice to wake up this morning to Saraya climbing in our bed and wrapping her arms around me giving me a hug. I know she loves me, but she's such a daddy's girl that sometimes I wonder if I'm just a little bit lower than James. But I could really tell that she missed me and that she was overjoyed to see me! Which of course, thrilled my soul...

This morning as we were getting ready, Saraya asked me where her play hair dryer was. I told her where I saw her playing with it before I left. She went to find it and when she returned to the bathroom she looked at me and said, "You're a genius".

She so makes me laugh. And I really missed that while I was gone.

Day five: pt three

Well, I thought I was done blogging but my plane has been delayed. zzzzzz...... don't these people know I could've spent more time in the city!!

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Day five: pt two

To my girls - We made a great foursome. I had a total blast! We have made some of the best memories, some of my favorite memories! I can't wait to relive it all through the pictures. Krystal, I felt like I already knew you. I knew we'd hit it off. Sarah and Ashley, I'm blessed beyond words to have you two as my best friends. And I'm so glad we shared this trip together! I love you both!

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Day five: pt one

After staying up til 2, we slept in a little. We went to the Brooklyn Bridge. That was amazing! I'm so glad we went. Then we went and ate lunch at Rockefeller Center. Then we shopped at the Disney Store. I'm now on the shuttle to the airport. I can't believe its over!

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Day four: pt five

We ate dinner at a really good italian place tonight after the play. Then we changed and we went back out walking around Times Square til 1am. It was fun and sad at the same time.

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Day four: pt four

We just got out of the play and it was INCREDIBLE!! I can now say I've seen a broadway play. And I highly recommend Wicked! I'm traveling with obsessed Wicked fans and so we're standing at the stage door waiting for the cast to come out... of course if Justin were in it, I'd be stalking the stage door too so I can't really say much. :-)

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Day four: pt three

Well, the Brooklyn Bridge was a no go cause it started pouring rain. Hopefully we can fit it in tomorrow. We're now getting ready for the play. I'm really looking forward to it!

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Day four: pt two

We're riding the Staten Island Ferry so we can see the Statue of Liberty. The weather is wonderful so the ride is very refreshing and relaxing. Next stop, the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Day four: pt one

We started out today going to Ground Zero. Going through the museum was very emotional. Seeing things firsthand was more than I expected. As I relived those moments when it happened, tears flowed for the lives that were lost. The families that were left behind. As an american, I was changed by 9/11. As a christian, I can only be reminded that the sacrifice Christ was for us should be a million times more powerful than the heros of the WTC.

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Day three: pt four

Its 11:30 and we just headed out to the Empire State Building. I'm excited! Who knows what we'll do afterwards, cause we're all wired!

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Day three: pt three

We just finished dinner at Rosa Mexicana, and it was great! The freshly made guac at our table was incredible! Then I shared some enchiladas with Ash and as soon as they came to the table there was a pile of fresh cilantro on top and I knew I would love it... and I did!

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Day three: pt two

We ate lunch at Tom's Restaurant which was used for the outside shots in Seinfeld. Then we went to Central Park, which is beautiful. We're about to head out to dinner to a mexican restaurant our waiter Ryan recommended. Hope its good!

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Day Three: pt one

We started today at the MoMA. It was amazing to see these paintings in person. The one painting I was dying to see was Starry Night, and it was traveling. :-(

(from the top: me in front of a Pollock (LOVE him!!), Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans, van Gogh's The Olive Trees, Monet's Reflections of Clouds on the Water Lily Pond)

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Day two: pt 3

Tonight we ate dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co, and it was the best meal I think I've ever had... because of our waiter! He was HILARIOUS! We're now at the famous Strand bookstore. But seeing how I don't read, I'm following Ashley around typing this blog.

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Day two: pt 2

Ever since high school my favorite movie has been When Harry Met Sally. I am proud to say that at this moment, I'm sitting at the table they sat at with Sarah. She shares my love of the movie, we watched it together! And I'm eating the best cheesecake I've ever had. It's so good, I almost made a scene! :-)

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Day two

Today we went to SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown. The best part was seeing the Friends building! I took lots of pics and just stood and looked at it for a long time.

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FINALLY!!!

I forgot that they dont have dr pepper at eating places in the north. but i have been reminded today since i've been looking EVERYWHERE for one. We're at a pharmacy right now and a spotlight shined down on the last 20oz. You think I'm kidding. THE last one. So I'm now going to enjoy it!

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Day one: pt one

Well, we're here and its great! We ate some pizza & then we've been walking around just soaking it in. We went up the rockefeller center building. It was amazing up there. What a view!

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My first taxi

Well, we're here! i'm in the taxi as we speak with sarah. Let me tell ya Lesley, riding with me is a piece of cake compared to this guy!

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4:30am

That's right people, i got up that early! believe you me, as much as i've been looking forward to this trip for a year, it was still hard to get out of bed. Even harder to leave my sleeping beauty in bed. We're now on the road, with a dr pepper and sausage biscuit in hand, i think i'm finally waking up. You'll hear from me once i'm in the city of lights!

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There's always next year...

The only thing I like about The Garden in Boston is their wood floors. I love the way the wood changes grain in a square pattern. However, I do not love how we played on that floor tonight. I do not love that we blew countless leads in this series. I do not love how we lose focus. BUT I still love my Lakers.

My chains are gone.....

That's one of my favorite lines. And it appears in two of my favorite songs. Chris Tomlin's Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone) and Mercyme's God With Us. The chorus to God With Us stays with me most days.

"All that is within me cries, for You alone be glorified. Emmanuel, God with us. My heart sings a brand new song, the debt is paid, these chains are gone. Emmanuel, God with us."

What an amazing thought. What freedom. What release. I can drop the chains and be free.

Yet, once I'm free from something, I think everyone should be free from it. Right? If it's not a struggle for me, it shouldn't be a struggle for anyone I know. If I can get it together, anyone can. And shame on them for not having it together. Shame on them for not being where I am. Because obviously I have it all together.

What a sad place to be in, to be so judgemental. To be the typical "holier-than-thou" Christian. Every Christian I know, has faults and struggles. They may not choose to be transparent about them, but they're still there. Wouldn't it be so much easier, to accept your brother or sister in Christ where they are? With grace and mercy, just like our Heavenly Father accepts us. How much more would we be like Christ if we could extend that to others? To help them in their walk, instead of condemn them. To love them for trying to change, instead of pointing fingers. No matter how far we think we've gotten in our Christian walk, we're still not perfect. We never will be. We will never reach the bar that Christ has set for us. Why act like we have? Just because I'm two steps in front of someone else, doesn't mean my walk is more impressive, because the walk that Christ lived out on this earth will forever be miles in front of mine.

Horseface is 30

Saturday we had a surprise birthday party for one of our good friends, Jake..... which turned out to not really be a surprise. But it was fun just the same. We had bbq and then we hit the yard for flag football. Ever since Cristi told me that was her plan for the party, I've been so excited to play again. I even made the first touchdown for our team! (but I'll omit the fact that I dropped the ball the next time Jake threw it to me!) :-) Here's some pics from the game.

This sequence of three on the bottom is me catching the ball and making my touchdown!!

LNC

Last night was our first Late Night Cafe in the new building. I love LNC's. They're so laid back and so much fun just to hang out with friends. Last night was no different. The Crossroads band was up first, we had 8 songs. We did four of our upbeat worship songs and four secular songs. I think my favorite one we did was The Difficult Kind by Sheryl Crow. Charleton and I are both huge SC fans so I picked my favorite song of hers to perform. The song has great harmonies, which Steve pulled off (mainly cause he can sing high like a girl!) :-) We also did Little Big Town's I'm With the Band. That was a lot of fun to sing too. Then we ended with Elvis' Suspicious Minds. That was really fun to sing. I grew up listening to Elvis, my mom's a big fan. (I even went to an Elvis concert in her belly!) So she would've been proud. As you can tell, I didn't get any pictures.

The highlight of the night though was when my fellow Cellmates girls, Amanda and Kara, beat Mike and Jake in the finals of the Sequence tournament. Playing against Mike and Jake is something that can't be explained. They taunt you, and talk so much smack. I wanted so badly to beat them myself. But they beat my team in the simi-finals. I was beyond frustrated at the end of the game. I'm so competitive. But I am very proud that my girls pulled it off!!!

Growing Family

One weekend in May added four people to our family! On Saturday the 17th, Jason proposed to Felicia! Felicia is Saraya's tumbling coach, so she was quite thrilled to change her name from Ms. Felicia to Aunt Felicia!!! I also gained two more neices, Micah (far left) and Devyn (next to Saraya).

On Sunday the 18th, my brother David proposed to Jana! They've been dating for over a year, so it's nice to make her officially part of the family.

Last Saturday

The past six months, God has shined a flashlight, no, a flood light on an area that I need to work on.... selfishness. I have a knack for getting so caught up in my own world, that I actually think everything is about me. God has given me a desire this year to serve others. I'm not a fan of throwing money at stuff, I believe we should give up more to really be blessed by our actions. To give up our time and effort is much more of a sacrifice.

When I met with Christine and Misty (my fellow SHE Group leaders) we really wanted to make 2008 different than last year. We all three agreed that as a group we wanted to serve others.

I have a GREAT girl in my cell group. Lesley is amazing. The way she has grown in the last year, inspires me to continue in my walk. She works at the Women's Crisis Center and takes in abused women and children. It's a job that she does with great passion and much compassion. I really don't know if I could do it. We talked to her about doing volunteer work as our outreach this year.

Volunteering at the Crisis Center is amazing to me. I feel so overwhelmed with emotions when I'm there. I become aware that there are hurting people right here in Jonesboro that need to be served, and shown the love of Jesus. I become aware that the world does not revolve around me. Being a servant is something that I still have to purpose to do. One day I hope that it's second nature for me to serve others instead of serving myself.

On a lighter note, we were sorting through some donations and putting them away, and we found some great shoes from the 70's. Lesley assured us that they would never be put to use so three of us girls decided they needed to see the light of day at least one more time! Yep, we wore them to church the next day!! Mine were really cool but they killed my feet.

Don't talk to me today about sports......

the refs were the Celtics best player last night. 38 free throws to 10 free throws. Are you kidding me???? You can't seriously say that's not proof of one sided calls. In spite of the difference in how many times they put us on the line, we rallied to cut the 22 point lead they had at the beginning of the 4th quarter to 2 points with 38 seconds to go. But of course, they got the calls and went to the free throw line twice in 38 seconds and made four points. So we lost.

Then, I get to work and the top sports headline is "I'm done", Strahan decides to call it a career. I was really, really hoping he'd come back for one more year, to try to make it to the Super Bowl again. Man! It won't be near as fun cheering for the Giants without my favorite player!!!!!!

Finals Bound!!

After the LOST finale, we watched game five of the Western Conference Finals. It was a great game. Well, it started out shakey, but by the second quarter we had found our groove. The second half proved to be our half, and we played great defense. We are now on our way to the Finals!!!!!!! If we can rest and come out fresh, and play like we did last night..... I think it's our year. And I can't wait!!!!!

Jack + Kate = 4ever

Well, if you don't watch LOST this post is completely useless to you. And in fact, you'll probably just be confused. So you can just skip it. :-)

Last night was the finale. It was great. We had some people over to watch it together and that was really fun. It's always fun to talk about stuff with that show. So here's some things that I think are going on. Not that they are. Cause you never really know what Damon and Carlton are up to.

1) The flash-forward of Jack and Kate at the airport should be early January 2008. (That was for you Mike)

2) I think Charlotte is Annie.

3) I think Christian came back to life when the coffin landed on the island, and so will Locke if they get him back.

4) I think Sayid killed Locke.

5) I think Sawyer and Juliet will be a couple.

6) I think Jin is alive.

So there's some of my thoughts. Can't wait for next season!

Meet the Chipmunks!

Saraya is on the Brookland Chipmunks tball team this year! And she loves it. She has three friends on the team from church, Wil, Maggie and Mia. Sometimes when they're in the outfield there's more talking and picking flowers from the girls! But Ray really enjoys running after the balls too. We had our first game last night and it was so fun to watch her!!!! My dad and brother came too. One game down... seven to go.

A Great Day

I've been waiting for today for several weeks. Melissa was in town for Southland Schools graduation and she said she was going to go to Crossroads with me! I was so excited to get up this morning just so I could go pick her up. I can't tell you what a great service it was for me, to look out and watch her worshipping on the front row! I sang one of her favorite songs 'Make a Joyful Noise' and got a little choked up singing it. I thought of all the times we've done it together. It was another great worship service in our new building.

After church we had a cookout at our house for the band so that everyone could visit with Melissa. It was a great time. Back when we were in the band together, she always loved my "More Cowbell" sweatshirt. She emailed me awhile back and told me that she would wear her "More Cowbell" shirt that she just got so we could take a picture. I know that these two pictures will eternally be priceless to me. I know Mel doesn't have great days every day, but she is a pillar of strength to me. Her life here on earth is squeezing her, and the love and grace of God is flowing out of her. I am blessed to call her a friend.

True Story

James and Saraya were driving in the car and they came to a stoplight. As they sat on the corner Saraya looked out the window at the birds in the tree on the corner. She said to James, "guess what that bird just said to me?" To which James replied, "What?". And Saraya said, "Pretty girl, pretty girl!" in her BEST parrot voice!!!!!

Back to KMart I go.........

One very important thing in my life is my calendar. I use it just about every day. I have everything and I mean EVERYTHING written in it. A couple Sundays ago, we had a SHE Team meeting (at Outback... and the Toowamba Pasta was ooohh so good!!) and Misty, Christine and I planned out the rest of the calendar for the year. I also have vacations written in there. Birthdays. Events. Photo Shoots. I could go on. So you can imagine the thoughts that went through my head when I realized that it wasn't on my desk. Or in my car. Or in my bag. Or at the house. I've been needing to update the SHE Myspace page ever since we had that meeting, and Monday I had some spare time so I thought I'd do it. No where to be found. So tonight after cell group, I stopped at KMart and got a calendar. I had big plans to fill it all in. I grabbed a pen and the calendar and sat down.... flipped it open and ironically enough, it's a 2006-2007 Calendar. Are you serious??? And I even paid $3 for it!!! How can they do that? Needless to say, if I had a calendar, Thursday May 15th would say "return calendar to KMart".

Our First Service

Well, yesterday was it! Our first service in our new building!!!! I cannot describe what it felt like to practice in there Saturday and walk in yesterday and actually have service. There was a buzz around the halls as people came in. Everyone was so thrilled. Everything looks so good. Of course, there are still loose ends, still a lot that has to be done, so our work isn't finished. The music went so good and it was a blast to be up on our new stage!!! We all really enjoyed ourselves. I took my camera and forgot to take pictures. But I'll try to take some next weekend.

M-O-M-M-Y

There's nothing like being a mom. There is an indescribable feeling when you look at your child and know that they are apart of you. There's a part of my heart and soul that doesn't feel complete unless she's around. There's a joy that only she can give me. Saraya has turned into a little girl. A little girl with such a fun personality, a kind heart, a sweet spirit, and a love of laughter. Wonder where she got that from?

Goin' to the Chapel....

Last Friday Amanda and Brent got married in Hot Springs. Saraya was a flower girl for the first time! She looked so cute!!! I wasn't really sure how she'd do, but she did pretty good. She got a little nervous because "everyone's looking at me", but she still did it.... but not very many petals were thrown. It was great to be apart of Amanda's day. She was a BEAUTIFUL bride!! We've been friends for over seven years, and she's extremely special to me! Sometimes I think we're cut from the same cloth cause we're so much alike!!! We always have plenty to talk about, plenty to laugh about, and we always have a blast together.

finally.........

Players to collect at least one scoring title, MVP, and Championship: Jordan, Shaq, Wilt, Kareem, David Robinson, Bob McAdoo, and Kobe.

Players to collect all three aforementioned awards and be selected to an All-Defensive First Team: Jordan, Wilt, Kareem, Robinson, and Kobe.

Players to have an MVP, a Scoring Title, a Championship, and at least six All-Defensive First Teams: Jordan and Kobe.

Wednesday night was a joy! Before the second game of this series, they presented Kobe with the long awaited, well deserved MVP trophy!!!! To watch this team go from greatness, then through the trials that we've had the past few years, and now back up to the top has been so much fun. We now have a young and talented team that hasn't been this cohesive in a long time. We not only have a dominate group of starters, we have a deep bench. Kobe is the driving force of this team, and he is a great leader. He's the best player in the league and quite possibly will give Jordan a run for his money for the title of best player of all time.

Now we're on the road to the finals.... hopefully we'll take it all this year!!!!!

LBT & Sugarland

I was introduced to Little Big Town several months ago. I'm a very selective fan of country music, but the harmonies are AMAZING on all of LBT's songs. I just love them now. I've worn out both of their cds! So I jumped on the chance to go see them when I found out they were coming to the Convocation Center here in Jonesboro. They opened for Sugarland. I went to the concert with my brother's girlfriend Jana. We had a blast! LBT did NOT disappoint one bit! They were incredible live. Even though I only knew a few Sugarland songs, they put on a great show and I enjoyed them as well. At the end, they all came out and did their duet, "Life in a Northern Town"... it was awesome!! Then they ended with "Pour Some Sugar on Me".... needless to say it was great, fabulous, incredible, amazing, and a total blast!!

Top Six

WOW!!! It's no secret that I love American Idol. Last night was amazing because I love Andrew Lloyd Webber! I loved all the performaces, because the songs are so great. But David Archuleta was INCREDIBLE...... he actually brought me to tears. To take a song intended for a woman, and change the way it sounds, to fit him..... and then he sang it soooooo well. He was awesome. David Cook was my second favorite. He's done different arangements all along, so it was nice to hear him actually sing the song. Phantom is my favorite play so I was pleased that my two favorites sang Phantom songs!!! (I think it's JCastro's week to go)

Stylin'

One of my best friends is all crafty these days. A talent I will never have... sewing. She's got her own side business of making all kinds of things. She made this headband for Saraya and it's so super cute that I had to blog about it! Great job Sarah!!!!

Top of the West!!!!!

What a season!! The last regular season Lakers game was last night. If we won the game then we not only clinched the top spot in our division, but also the top spot in the whole Western Conference!!!!! Of course, it wasn't televised. I watched NBA Coast-to-Coast which does live look-ins, so I kept up with it that way til halftime. Then I had to wait for highlights on Sportcenter. But it was an easy game for us. We never gave up the lead. And now, the time of the year that I love.... PLAYOFFS!!! They start Saturday and I'm so pumped. Now we just have to wait a couple weeks to hear who they name MVP. All I'm going to say is it better be Kobe!

I always know who I'm with.....

(Cheesy Little Big Town lyrics for the title... I know!! But I love that song!!!!)

Yesterday was the last service in our old warehouse building. It was a great service. We watched old videos, watched picture slideshows and sang the Leadership Team's favorite songs.

Two things that I will not miss..... the train and the cats.

But as I sat there, so many emotions ran through me. Remembering our first service, watching Saraya move through the nursery. She was 6 months old when we started at Crossroads. So many memories are involved in this building. Vacation Bible Schools, Cell groups, Super Bowl parties, scrapbooking days, Women's events, ping pong, Valentine Banquets, lots of food, lots of talking and lots of laughter.

One person who was noticeably absent for me was Melissa Meeker. I don't think a Sunday goes by that I don't think of her as I sing from stage. She was my duet partner for many years. (She is now fighting cancer in Nashville) We keep in touch through emails, and Saturday night I got one from her. As she talked about remembering all our plays and all our singing she asked me to think of her as we did our last service. And of course I did. I hate that I won't be singing on that stage anymore, mainly because I always think of singing up there with her!!

The familiarity of that building is wonderful. It's a Catch-22, we want more room and a bigger stage yet I love the intimacy and the closeness from this stage. Not going to that building for band practice breaks my heart. That's something that I've done every Thursday night for the past 3.5 years.

But the truth is, while I feel sentimental towards our old building and everything that it holds and represents, I am so overjoyed about our new building. I am so very pumped about our HUGE stage!! And the only thing that makes it less sad leaving the old building, is knowing that all the people that made the first one special are going to be by my side making the new one just as special.

I'll post pictures in a couple weeks from our first service in the new building.

Easter Sunday

What a day! We had a great time with our church family this morning. Then we went to my parents house for lunch and an egg hunt. Great food, and great laughs. Tonight we're grilling steaks and chicken for James' family.

As we sang our songs this morning, Steve and I read scripture in between each song. I became overwhelmed with emotion as I read the verses describing the resurrection. A story I've heard so many times that I can't even count, but today, it brought upon a feeling of humilty and complete unworthyness. What He did, to pave a road from our earthly, sinful selves, straight to His presence.... is amazing. How can you not walk down the path He has for us?? I hope today you found yourself in the presence of an Almighty Father, because He loves you without measure.

what a mess....

On Good Friday, we had the Allen's over for dinner and we let the girls color eggs.... it was quite funny. Coupled on top of the fact that we're letting two four years olds plop eggs into cups of dye, it was past their bedtime.... so they were hilarious! And of course, Abby and Saraya ended up with more dye on their hands then the eggs.

Let it Snow!!

Well we finally got our snow for this winter. It seems the past few years we've gotten one good snow and I had just about given up on it for this winter. Here it is... March 7th and we're getting a big one! I love to see snow falling. It's just beautiful!!! Saraya wasn't really into the snow at first. You can tell by the look on her face in the picture of me and her. But then she decided that she liked it. James and Saraya built a snowman, had a snowball fight, and made snow angels. James' mom even made snow cream!!! I haven't had that in a long time. I'm sure it'll all be gone tomorrow, but it was wonderful while it lasted!!!

Our SHE Group

This past weekend was our SHE Retreat. (SHE is the name of our women's group at church. It stands for "Seeking Him Eternally".) What a great group of girls. I can't tell you how much each one of them means to me. They each bring something different to the table. I love how we've grown closer together since the last retreat. I'm glad that each and every one of them are apart of my life. I also am in love with our tshirts this year. I think this one is my all time favorite. Probably because my brother and I thought up the idea and he designed it!! So that makes it extra special to me.

Chair & Me

Man I love concerts. I think I could go to a different concert every weekend if I could afford it. It wouldn't matter who it was, I just love live music. So of course, when someone I actually LOVE comes to the Convo Center in Jonesboro, you better believe I'll be there! Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire!! Woo hoo! I have always loved Kelly. But to hear her live... was, well..... AMAZING! She's just incredible. It was a great concert. I had a blast. But part of why it was such a blast, is because I went with Charity. It's been a year since we've seen each other (but we call each other all the time), so actually getting to hang out with her for the night was great. We're two peas in a pod. I just love her. And I got to meet Weston for the first time. Such a doll!!!

Super Bowl Champs Baby!!!!

Underdog = Giants. Favorite = Patriots. Any Given Sunday. Anyone can win.

The weeks leading up to this game have been so much fun. We started the season 0-2, but quietly and without the bells and whistles, we steadily won games. We played great the last month, winning the last 11 road games. We made it to the post season, beating the Cowboys, who beat us in the regular season, beating the Packers, who beat us in the regular season, and now, beating the Patriots, who beat us in the regular season. As soon as we made it to the Super Bowl, Cristi and I decided to get matching sweatshirts!! We planned a Super Bowl party at her house. It was so much fun!!!! Several people came over and it was just great to be surrounded by friends as OUR TEAM played!! It was a great game. Great defense. But in the fourth when Eli got out of a sack and Tyree grabbed the ball for a first down I knew the game was ours!!! I could feel it. And a sweet Burress touchdown to clinch the game with 35 seconds left. We did a lot of yelling, clapping, jumping, and cheering. It was great! All with my great friend Cristi by my side!!!!

What a great year to take a trip to NYC!! Maybe I'll find some championship stuff while I'm there!!! That would be awesome!

Already Four???

February 1st comes around way too quick these days. It seems like every year just gets shorter and shorter. I can't believe Saraya's FOUR!!! Just doesn't seem possible. The above picture is from her four year old shoot. Such a big girl!!!

I took the day off Friday to spend with her and get ready for her parties. That night we went out to eat with the family and then came back to our house for cake and ice cream.

She's just now getting into dressup and she got a couple presents of princess dress up stuff. I think those were her favorites!!

Saturday we had her friend party. We had a housefull! Our theme was the Peter Pan movie and Saraya dressed up like Wendy. I used a robe that was mine when I was little and she looked adorable!!!

We had a great time celebrating Saraya's birthday weekend!!!!!!!

Finally!!!

The day has come. Lost is back.... well, for a little while. This is my favorite drama ever. It is so addictive. So interesting. So many clues, and things to figure out. I sat in the floor, glued to the tv. And then it was over. So sad. Why can't episodes go on for days?? :-) I know why, I wouldn't get anything done!!! Needless to say.... I'm VERY glad Lost is back, even if we only get a few episodes.

WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Super Bowl here we come!!!!! The Giants played the Packers tonight. We went to some friends house because Cristi and I are BIG Giants fans. It was great.... we had nachos, ribs, chicken, brownies with hot fudge and ice cream.... and then there was the game. A great game. Back and forth. -24 wind chill (glad I wasn't playing!!!) We missed a field goal to end the game in a tie: 20-20. Sudden death. I hate sudden death. Packers won the coin toss. I felt a rock in my stomach. Then it happened. An interception!!!!!! And we marched down the field within field goal range. The kicker had already missed two......... but the third times a charm!!!!!!! Now we advance to the big game.... the one that counts..... hopefully to upset the "perfect" Patriots. Cristi and I will be dressed in new matching sweatshirts for the Super Bowl party!!!!

#92!!!!!!!!!

Football season is coming to a close. It's been more fun this year than it normally is because I joined the Fantasy Football league at church. Cristi and I were the only girls in a league of 16 teams and we both finished in the top 4! Not too bad!!!! I, to be exact, finished in second place! It was great!!!

But this Sunday's game, if the outcome is the way I want it to be, will be even sweeter than that! My team, the NY Giants, beat the stinkin' Cowboys this past Sunday and now we face the Packers. If we beat the Packers.... we'll be in the Super Bowl!!!!!!! That would be awesome!! Saraya and I have been wearing our Giants shirts regularly. If we win the game Sunday you can be sure I'll post a picture!!

p.s. - #92!!! was my Fantasy Football team name in honor of my favorite Giants player: Michael Strahan

Christmas Day

What a day! Saraya was so much fun this year. She was so excited to go in and see what Santa left. For some reason, she was really stuck on getting dinosaurs this year. So that's what she got!! Along with all kinds of other stuff.... too much stuff probably. But that's what happens when you're the only grandchild around!! :-) We opened presents all morning with my family, made breakfast, then James' family came over and we opened presents with them. Then we watched the annual Lakers game.... and we won!!!! It was a great game. For dinner we opted for steaks instead of the traditional stuff.... and it was awesome. We did lots of playing with toys, downloading cds onto iTunes, lots of eating and we have lots of trash to prove it! I took tons of pictures and some can be seen on my myspace page. http://myspace.com/danamichellehewitt We hope you all had just as wonderful of a time with your family as we did. Lots of memories... lots of laughter... lots of love...

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a great day. We didn't have anywhere to be. We got to hang out all day long together. We lazed around the house, took a dip in the hot tub, baked cookies, dipped pretzels, and started a new tradition of having my all time favorite punch (thanks Christine!). We had KFC with James' mom and my family. Then after Saraya went to bed, it was so fun to get everything set up and ready to go for Christmas morning!!!

Funky

Sunday morning at church we had our Christmas service. I thought it went really well. It was fun to play and sing Christmas music for a whole service. We read the birth of Jesus inbetween songs. But by far, my favorite part was seeing the kids sing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and Away in a Manger. Of course, the preschool class didn't know all the words like the grade school kids, but their angel costumes and halos made up for it!! They were just adorable up there. Who doesn't like to see their kid up front??? Saraya wore these funky pants to church that morning... I just LOVE them!!!!

Thirty-Two

It was a great "birthday weekend" as I call them!!! Friday night we went to Wings to Go, one of my favorite places, with family and friends. Then we came back to our house for cookie cake and ice cream. We went with a Laker theme so Saraya and I dressed to match. :-) On Saturday we all slept in til 10am thanks to Saraya. We met mom, dad, David and Jana at Colton's for lunch. Then James, Saraya, David and I went to the mall and I shopped with my birthday money. To end the day with a bang, I went with a couple friends to Central Baptist to see Point of Grace's Christmas concert. It was wonderful!! I love their Christmas music. It was a great way to top off a great weekend!

H&M

Last summer my cousin went on a trip and was telling me about an awesome store she found called H&M. A couple months later we went on our vacation to Chicago and before we left I thought to myself, "I wonder if they have an H&M??" So I looked it up and they did! When I shopped there I fell in love. I wish we had one close. The store is european, and the clothes reflect that. When I was planning the things I wanted to do in California, of course, I had to see if they had an H&M..... and they did!! I got Ray this mushroom print shirt and I just love it. She wore it to church today so I thought I'd write a little blog about it.

My Second Favorite.......

I think my favorite part about Thanksgiving weekend is shopping on Black Friday. It's become a tradition with me, my mom and my brother. This year my mother-in-law even came! The time this year was 4:45am.... yep, that's the earliest I EVER get up all year long!! A close second, is decorating for Christmas. We moved a shelf in our living room so we could put the tree in a position where you can see it from the couches. In the past few years it's been off to the side and I really wanted it where I could see it more. I love Christmas time. And I love putting up the tree. I'm using the pink and red theme again this year. I really loved it last year. Saraya was a big help, helping put all the ornaments on the tree, even if they were in a two foot radius. :-) As soon as we were done last night, she started asking if it was time to put up her tree. I just couldn't do two in one night, so we saved it for today. Of course that was the first thing out of her mouth when she got up. I was able to push it off til after the trip to Target. We buy an ornament each year for her tree of something that she's into. This year we let her pick it out herself. Of course, she picked Tinkerbell. When we got home we put her tree up and she was so pumped. We're now ready!!!!!! Now I just need to start wrapping presents.....

My Top Five....

Here we are at the end of our trip. It doesn't seem possible that this time tomorrow we'll already be back in Jonesboro after our flight. Vacations are great. I love to travel. But it's also nice to get back to family and friends.

Here's James and his brother Rich, and us with Rich and Tina.

So in case you weren't keeping up with it, here's my top five things about our vacation to California:

1) In-n-Out Burger

2) IKEA

3) Disneyland

4) the beach

5) seeing family

Thanks to all you folks that have been reading my blog!!!

Ronald Reagan Library

When we visited two years ago, we went to the Reagan Library but since we went they added a new building that houses his Air Force One plane. Today, we took my niece Dabe and toured the place again, plus we got to see all the new stuff. It was all just as impressive the second time around. One of my favorite parts about going there, is that it's up on top of a mountain, so the scenery is beautiful.

My Top Five...

It was totally different going to the beach in November rather than the summer. The wind blowing in off the ocean is so cool. But it was still great to go and walk around along the coast. We just took a few pictures down on the shore then we walked around at the stores and got hot chocolate (for me a chai tea) and watched the sailboats. It was very relaxing. Unfortunatly, after James took the picture of me and Saraya, he said, "look at that big wave" and the next thing I knew my shoes, socks and ankles were drinched in ocean water with waves rolling around my feet. (Sorry David, I know this breaks your heart) When we got home and I rinsed them out and hopefully they'll dry without smelling like salt water. :-)

Happy Anniversary Blake and Susan!!!

I really hate that we're not there to help you guys celebrate! Hope you guys were surprised! Can't wait to see the pictures. We love you guys!!! And we send you best wishes... may you always be as happy as Minnie and Mickey!!!!!!

Disneyland at night....

....was amazing. It's pretty at night anyway, but to see all the Christmas lights and decorations up it was just b-e-a-utiful!! As tired as we were, I am so glad we stayed all day. Main Street was great all lite up, but my favorite was the castle. They had so many lights on it... with Christmas ribbon, and icicles.... so I think that this will possibly be my favorite picture from the whole day.

The Mad Hatter Tea Party

We weren't really sure what Saraya would think about the rides but she really surprised us. You can tell by the look on her face that she's having the time of her life!!! These are by far my favorite pictures from a ride.

Meeting Mickey

Ahhh.... to be a kid again. Ray was beside herself when we told her we were going to meet Mickey. She could hardly wait. I was a little shocked that she wasn't timid. But she walked right in there, waved hi, gave him a hug and posed for pictures. She was thrilled!

Laura and Rowan

It was so wonderful hanging out with Laura and Rowan. As I sit here typing my blogs Saraya is writing a letter to Rowan.... "I had so much fun at Disneyland with you. You went bye-bye and I was sad." I think we're going to go through sad goodbye's all over again when we leave them!!!! It's been hard the past two months in Jonesboro without the Cebulski's, and now, even though it's been wonderful to see two of them, and share memories that will last forever of our first trip to Disneyland, we will go home and be reminded all over again of how much we miss them being in Jonesboro!!!!!

The Real Photographer

We took a disposable camera to Disneyland with us so Saraya could take pictures. I'm anxious to see what kind of pictures she took. She was totally into it!! The top picture was on the Jungle Cruise and the bottom picture was in Mickey Mouse's house.

At Last!!!

After getting a little bit of a late start (because of the one morning Saraya wanted to sleep in - sheesh) and getting stuck in traffic on the 5, we finally arrived at Disneyland. It was awesome. Everything was decorated for Christmas and the streets were filled with Christmas music. It really got me in the spirit!!! It was so fun to watch Saraya be amazed by stuff. Here we are on Main Street (probably my favorite part) and James and Ray in front of the Walt & Mickey statue with the castle in the background.

Old Friends...

Yesterday Laura and Rowan drove down from Northern California in their veggie oil truck to visit us!!! We didn't tell Saraya that we were going to see them so it was fun to watch her light up when she realized she was waving at Aunt Laura in the truck. She started waving almost as if she was used to seeing her, then a light went off, "wait! I don't see them anymore!!" We sat outside and talked and watched the girls play, then we took them to eat at Chuy's and then to Ben & Jerry's! Laura and Rowan are going to Disneyland with us today... speaking of.... we're walking out the door!!!!!

Our New VW!!!

Well, we rented a car to go to Disneyland tomorrow.... and though it's not James' dream car the VW Van, it is still a VW!! An '08 Rabbit. I know dad is saying "oh good grief" as he reads this. :-) Sorry, there were no american cars availible. It was nice to trade in the tank we've been driving for something that we can actually go through a drive-thru in!!!

Today we went to the scrapbook store I love. I found it online last night. It didn't close, it just moved to a new location. It was close to heaven.... such a great store.

We also ate lunch at Baja Fresh. We ate outside in the patio. The weather is great out here.... feels like summer til the sun goes down.

We're all geared up to go to Disneyland tomorrrow!!

My Top Five....

Wednesday we spent the afternoon in Burbank.... visiting one of my top five places to shop.... IKEA!!!!! What a great store. I could've spent hundreds, no thousands, of dollars in there. But I had to settle for some awesome shoe racks, a new utensil to use when I make hush puppies, and some new bag clips. On the way out, something caught my eye..... a swiss version of our Rolos.... except they're even better cause it's mint caramel filling!!! Wow. I'm eating them as I type out this blog and let me tell, they are awesome. After we shopped at IKEA, we walked accross the street and ate at the Califonia Pizza Kitchen. That was some great pizza. We had the Jamacian Jerk Pizza and a mango curry one. It was awesome. I'm all about some indian food but I would've never thought to put those ingredients into a pizza! It had a curry sauce with chicken, onions and fresh cilantro. Need I say more??? Then it had mango chunks (which I picked off)and a mango sauce drizzled on top. We drove back to Simi and I went in a scrapbook store (which had nothing) and then we ran in Target before picking Tina up at work. Now I'm just chillin' at the house. We're going to go out with our friends, Matt and Suzy tonight for dinner. Guess I'll tell about that later......

My Top Five....

Here we are in California!! I can't believe it's already Wednesday. Saraya did wonderful on the plane. She loved that we "blasted off" just like Rocket on Little Einstiens. And we played the game "how wide can you open your mouth" as we landed. It seemed to work. Monday we lazed around the house all day... which was really nice. I even took a nap!

Tuesday we went to a mall that I found close by because it had a scrapbook store and a H&M... unfortunatly the scrapbook store had closed!!! But the H&M was just as good as the one I went to in Chicago. I love that store. Wish we had one... I scored a couple great pairs of earrings, and found a great hippie shirt with mushrooms all over it. Since I was disappointed with no scrapbook store, I wandered in a sporting goods store and found a Lakers sweatshirt!! Woo hoo! One thing James got was a bag of $7 speciality popcorn.......... you know you're on vacation when you spend $7 on popcorn just cause it's "White Chocolate Caramel"!! He also lucked out at Target by finding a Raiders cooler since we're in Raider Nation and all...

We drove back to Simi and ate lunch at In-n-Out.... definatly on my top five list of favorite things about vacation to the West Coast. I could eat it every day... double double animal style!!!!

It's Finally Here!!!

Well, I made the mistake of telling Saraya at the end of August that we're going to go to Disneyland. It was fun to show her pictures on the computer and watch her get excited. But of course, that turned into her asking every five minutes, "are we were going to Disneyland now!!?" So I made a countdown calendar and we've been putting a sticker on it every day since.... time has flown by and today was the last sticker!!! We're sooooooooooooooo excited about flying out to California tomorrow!! Check back for blogs from the west coast.....

All Dressed Up

Here's pictures of some of the kids from the party Saturday night. They were all so cute all dressed up!!! The top picture is Saraya & Ty and Saraya & Mia. The bottom picture is Abbie, Abby, Maggie and Wil.

Y.M.C.A.

A couple at our church had a halloween party at their house tonight. They really wanted the adults to dress up but we just couldn't come up with anything... until Thursday. I was up at church with Cristi working on a slideshow and we started talking about the party and things they thought about dressing up like. One thing lead to another and we got the greatest idea ever! The four of us would be the Village People!! We had to get our costumes together in barely two days which was tough but we made it. Jake was the cowboy, Cristi was the policeman, I was the biker and James was the construction worker. It was fun to dress up and it was really fun to do it with another couple.

Mystery Solved!!

The long awaited mystery of Saraya's costume can now be revealed...... WONDER WOMAN! And let me tell ya, she makes the cutest one ever!!! She's been very excited about dressing up in it.

Post Photo Shoot

Tonight I had a baby's photo shoot and when we were done, of course Saraya asked, "Mommy, are you going to take my picture now?" How can I resist taking pictures of my cutest little thing, so of course I snapped a few. She did these poses on her own and I thought they were so cute I thought I'd share.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Yesterday we had a church outing... to Pumpkin Hollow and then to some friends house for games, candy, food and fun! We painted pumpkins and Saraya had to have complete control! She picked the color and did it all! The first picture is of course while she was painting and the second is the finished project!! It will be proudly displayed as a fall decoration all month. The third picture if of Saraya and Ty. Ty is one of Saraya's favorite friends. They were being really funny and kept wanting me to take pictures of them.... silly faces, with candy in their mouths.... I spared you all of those and put a cute one up.

Good times.... good times....

Last night, Chris, Abbie and Mia dropped by to hang out for a little bit and get in the hot tub. Ahhhh.... that is the best part about the weather starting to change. It's hot tub time! Saraya loved getting in with friends. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.

Practice Makes Perfect

One good thing about Saraya's name is the fact that there are three a's in it. Not as many letters to learn!! She's been practicing a lot lately and she loves that she can write letters. The y was hard for her. She still doesn't really get it. I have to talk her through it. :-) But it's getting better every day!! Ray's at work with me today so we started writing her name over and over. I thought I'd scan one of the good ones.

Improvement

I know that her head is still touching the ground, and I know that her arms really aren't that straight, but it's still such an improvement from when she first started her tumbling class. Saraya loves her class... and her teacher, Ms. Felicia. Saraya gets better and better each week, and in between her Thursday classes, she holds her own class in our living room nightly. This is a picture of her 'bridge up'. Praise Band practice was cancelled tonight at the last minute so I was able to go to her class and watch. It's amazing how much more she knows now. She's not a pro.... but she's on her way to be!!!!

Starting Early

Saraya loves to do things that I do. She has always loved playing salon... fixing hair and playing with her pretend makeup. Well, as I cleaned out cabinets for the garage sale, I found some cream eye shadow and Saraya very quickly exclaimed, "is that mine??!!!?" Now that she's staked her claim on her very own makeup, she loves to put it on herself. The first thing out of her mouth almost every morning is, "mommy, are you ready to put on our makeup together?".

Pillow Pile

Grandma left for Searcy yesterday to spend the week with her friends. Saraya took this opportunity to play in Grandma's chair. As we watched football yesterday afternoon (where I watched my team - the Giants - win!!) Saraya gathered all the pillows in our whole house and brought them in the living room. She very quickly thought of the best plan ever. To pile them up in Grandma's chair and then climb on top for a birds eye view. This didn't last longer than 10 minutes and then the pillows became a path around the house and she jumped from one to the other.

Case of the Mystery Costume

Tonight was a big night. We went to Target to check out the freshly stocked aisle of halloween costumes. I would've loved to pick her costume again this year. But one thing Saraya doesn't lack in, is having her own opinion. Plus, part of me thought it would be really fun to look up and down the aisles with her and watch her be amazed by all the possibilities. That is exactly what happened. She was hilarious. She loved so many of them. But the time came for us to narrow it down and choose "the one". It was completely up to her.... and I loved her decision. As soon as we got home she wanted to try it on. In full costume she looks at me and says, "Can you take my picture in my costume??" Truly my child!! Of course I did take pictures, but as you can see there are none attached to this blog. That's because I can't give it away a month early!!! You'll just have to come back on the 31st to find out the answer to this mystery.

The Perfect Face

Saraya is at work with me today. I enjoy when she's at work with me. We watch movies, color, play ball and just about anything her little head thinks of. One of her favorite passtimes is drawing. She has now perfected her "face" drawing. And of course, me being the mommy, I think it's the best face a 3 year old has ever drawn. :-)

First: draw a large circle for the head

Second: draw two small sticks at the bottom for the feet

Third: draw a squiggle line on top of the circle for the hair

Fourth: draw three circles for the eyes and nose

Fifth: draw a line for the mouth

Sixth: draw a line on each side of the circle for the arms

Seventh: draw two circles for the ears

And there you have the perfect face.....

Sad Good-byes...

September 4th, 2007 - The day I've been dreading for seven years is now here. We always knew that Joe and Laura wouldn't stay in Jonesboro, but somewhere in the back of my head I think I hoped they'd change their minds. They came to Jonesboro eight years ago so Joe could train at Bell Athletics for the Olympics. Little did we know that our paths would cross and a lifelong friendship would be born. We've been through so much with Joe and Laura since they've lived here. We've gone from friends to family.

We lived together for 6 months... before kids, we ate dinner together once a week, played a game called Catan, and watched Survivor... after the kids, we usually just eat together, but it's still once a week... Laura was with me in the delivery room when I had Saraya, and I was with her when she had Rowan... they introduced me to avacados, artichokes and indian food...

I still can't imagine living here and not being able to drop by their house, have dinner together, celebrate birthdays, watch Rowan (and future kids) grow up. Joe, Laura and Rowan are part of the ins and outs of our weeks. Not having them here will leave a void.

Our last night with them felt very normal. Lots of talking, tons of laughter. Then it turned to tears. To say our good-byes felt very weird... knowing that this time, the good-bye hug was the last for quite some time. Things will be very different now. We must rely on emails, phone calls and blogs to keep up with each other. Something I know I will be very willing to do.....

Our Pedicures!

August 30th, 2007 - Today Saraya went shopping with her Grandma and Aunt Sammi and they bought her a pedicure set! So when we got home, we tried it out together. She was so excited!

Step 1: foot scrub
Step 2: scrub brush
Step 3: wash feet off
Step 4: rub on lotion
Step 5: file nails
Step 6: put toes in spacers
Step 7: paint toenails

Precious Girl