A BRAND NEW CAR

Okay if you didn't read that title in your best Bob Barker voice, you need to go back and read it again!

Andrew and I spent the weekend car shopping. He found a Cadillac that he liked so he went and bought it this morning. It is so big and comfy.
He seems to really like it. I'm loving it. It has dual air control. I can make my side of the car as warm as I want it. :) Yes that says 84. We wanted to know how high it would go, but I would be lying if I said I didn't leave it that way. It was warm and toasty.

We gave the Camry to our nephew Cody who just turned 16. I think he is excited that he can now drive himself to the gym.

In other news...we had storms yet again tonight. I'm not a fan of Spring storms. At least Andrew was with me this week. Things got pretty bad last week while he was away.

We went to dinner at a new restaurant called Chicken Express.

I've eaten at one in Arkadelphia several times. It is sooooo gooood!!!!! I LOVE IT. They put a memory verse on your receipt. If you can tell them last weeks' verse you get 10% of your meal. This is my Chic-Fil-A. I know that some of you may stop reading this blog when you read what I'm about to say, but I don't like chic-fil-a. Don't get me wrong, I love that they are a Christian restaurant and their milk shakes are to die for, but I'm not a fan of their chicken. I'm sorry.

But Chicken Express...I LOVE!

Anyways we went to dinner and on the way home I begged Andrew to stop at Wal-Mart so that I could buy some lunch meat for the week. I'm tired of eating out all the time. We were checking out when they came over the intercom and said something about a Code Black. They told us to leave or go to the back of the store. We went to the back of the store.

We were stuck back there for about an hour and a half. Very interesting times! There was a lady who was pregnant. I told Andrew this situation could be movie worthy if she went into labor.


We are home safe and sound now. But these storms aren't over. It's supposed to be like this tomorrow and Wednesday too. YUCK!

Playing Catch Up

I have been without Internet for the past few days and haven't been able to blog. It seems like I have so much I've wanted to blog about lately too. I'll give it to you in snippets.

**The husband was out of town for two weeks. They were a long two weeks!!! He came home Friday.

**We went to dinner tonight. We noticed the dome light in his car was on. Someone broke in and stole his XM radio tuner. They didn't take anything else. We have no idea when it happened. We're thinking they jimmied the door and the alarm went off and that's all they could grab. His glove box was open, which is where he keeps his ipod, but it was still there. We called the cops. He's waiting on them now. We will be moving soon.

**We had a wonderful Easter service this morning. The place was absolutely packed to the gills. There wasn't an empty seat in that church. It was so awesome to hear that many voices being lifted up in praise to our God.

**We've spent the weekend car shopping. I think it's time to upgrade for the husband. His Camry is a good car. She's treated us well, but he isn't comfortable taking it on long trips. He might even be buying a new car in the morning.

**We've got a big week this week. Thursday night we are taking Liam Bailey to a baseball game. Friday night we are going to see James Taylor (happy dance) and then Sunday I have a baby shower to go to.

**Oh and we also had some pretty severe storms here this last week. They seem to always happen when I'm home alone. Tornado warnings all around. We were without Internet and the weather had made us lose TV so we were pretty clueless. Liberty, Liam, and I hung out in the laundry room for an hour or so. I downloaded a local radio app on my phone so I would know what's going on. Jill was also keeping me informed and telling me when to take cover.

Tuesday Tunes: Like a Lion

We sang this song at church on Sunday. I really like it. There are several artist who sings this song including the David Crowder Band. I think this one by Kristian Stanfill is my favorite.

The Best Birthday Party Ever Part 3

The birthday boy arrived not once, but twice since we missed the picture the first time. I'm pretty sure he was surprised. he was expecting a surprise party, but not until much later and at home. He made the rounds and thanked all his guest for coming.

It was then time for cake and singing.

(Making sure the photographer didn't miss this moment. HA!)

Next came my absolute favorite party of the day. I invited all of his friends even those who live out of state. I didn't expect any of them to drive or fly here for this party. However, one couple emailed me back immediately and said they were coming. The husband's roommate, Andrew and his wife Heather said they would be here along with their little girl. This was back in January. I gave my out of towners a bit of a heads up in hopes that they might make it. I was still in shock the night before the party that the Eckharts were coming. They were a much harder surprise to keep than the party. There were so many times when I wanted to tell him they were coming.

They were running a little late and arrived after we finished singing Happy Birthday. It was perfect. They truly were a second surprise. Andrew had his back to the door when they walked in. I told him to turn around and when he did I'm fairly certain his jaw hit the floor. He was shocked to say the least. He couldn't believe they were here. His face was absolutely priceless. It was then time for presents. We ended the party with some basketball. I rented a court for the last two hours of the party. They played the entire two hours. Andrew had a blast. This is definitely one of his favorite past times.

A shot of the whole gang... This was the first party I have ever planned. I enjoyed it. I had fun scouring the Internet for ideas and putting everything together. There were times though that were a bit stressful, when I didn't know how I was going to pull it off. The following facebook status made every second of time and every dollar spent more than worth it... "Thank you for the Birthday Wishes. My wife threw me the best birthday party ever. I love playing ball with my family and friends. 3 or 4 generations of family running up and down the court together. Can't believe Andrew and Heather drove from Joplin to be here. Your presence was an amazing gift. Gotta love friends like that. Today I realized that I live a very blessed life. I love you all."

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I'm hanging out with Miss Amelia tonight! She wanted to pick a winner for the blog design giveaway. She was such a polite lady saying please. How could I resist? We wrote down the names of everyone who entered. We put them in a bowl.

Then she drew our winner.

I tried to get her to say the name of the winner on camera, but she wasn't in the mood.

Our winner is Linda! Congratulations. I'll give Miranda your email address so that the two of you can start working on a design.

The Best Birthday Party Ever Part 2

When I arrived at the gym, I immediately began to haul everything upstairs. After a couple of trips, my parents, brother, grandma, and cousins arrived. I put them straight to work. They were a HUGE help. A little shout out to them. I couldn't have done it without their help. They are seriously the best. For my first party, I was pleased with the decor. To be quite honest I was a little proud of myself over this little party. Some of the decor... I made the confetti that you see on the table in the picture above. I bought punches shaped like a balloon and a birthday cake. I spent a couple of nights watching TV and punching out hundreds of balloons and cakes in cardstock. I painted a canvas and attached wooden numbers to display his birth year. Along the table I had some framed photos of the husband throughout the years. I could have put pictures EVERYWHERE! I had such a hard time only choosing a few. Now I have to tell you that the cake was more for me than for the birthday boy. He isn't really a cake eater, but I don't think its a birthday party without the cake. He much prefers his sister's lemon bars. Even though she had a BUSY weekend, Joy agreed to make him a pan of lemon bars. I created a cute (in my humble opinion) stand for them. I needed something to add height and this is what I came up with. I bought a vase at Wal-Mart. The basketballs are those squish balls that you play with in the water. I found them at Dollar Tree back in January. At the time, I had no idea how I was going to incorporate them. They worked perfectly for this and they ended up being a party favor for all the kiddos. I bought a basketball net and attached it to a charger plate with Velcro to sit on top. I also placed some of the his favorites on the table for our guest to enjoy. These are SKOR bars. I made the wrappers with card stock and Word. EASY!

We also had potato chips and peanut M&M's. I sat and picked all the orange, green, and blue M&M's out of 3 or 4 big bags. I have a stash of yellow, red, and brown M&M's still. :)

I also made this banner with my Inspiration (like a cricut). I wasn't allowed to attach anything to the wall in the party room, but I wanted the banner to hang above the table. My daddy made the two orange poles from PVC pipe. They were absolutely perfect!! He loves the 10 cent candy sticks from Cracker Barrel so we of course had those.As soon as the dcorations were almost finished, the guest started arriving. Family and friends!

Finally the birthday boy arrived!!! Unfortunately I missed his initial reaction. I had my back to the door. But from what I saw he was surprised. The funniest thing is that when he walked in we all threw our hands in the air and yelled surprise...including the photographer. Jill was in the moment and completely forgot to get a picture of him walking in. Too funny!! We sent him out to do it again. Stay tuned for the third and final part of The Best Birthday Ever.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I have several friends who link up and participate in WILW. I decided it was high time I play along. So here we go.

1. Last night I had dinner with a couple of friends. We took a nice little stroll down memory lane. I really enjoyed the time with them. The food was great and the company was even better. The trip down memory lane reminded me that God loves us exactly where we are, but He also loves us enough not to leave us that way. I'm loving that truth!!

2. The husband...I fall more in love with this man every day. Growing old with him is fun!

3. I have bought 4 new things for summer. I'm loving them. I've worn the blue dress from Target, but am still just looking forward to wearing the others. I'm trying to decide if I should do a necklace with the black outfit. Whatcha think? These two are from Target... And these two are from Old Navy

4. Dark Kisses Several months ago I bought lotions and body wash from Bath and Body Works. I love it! I've never really had a scent before, but I'm thinking this one is a keeper.