Paradise

A while back I told you that the hotel we will be staying at in Maui has a webcam. There you can view the whole grounds, beach and pool. I spend a few minutes everyday staring at it and daydreaming of being there. I especially like to take a gander at it when its cold, wet and dreary outside. While I'm not crazy about telling everybody where exactly we will be staying on our honeymoon I don't think too many people will be making their way there to crash it. :)

So to see a glimpse of paradise click here. Enjoy! I know I will be enjoying it in 45 days!!!!

Out Of The Mouth of Babes

I know that every Aunt says they have the cutest, funniest, and most intelligent nieces and nephews that have ever lived. But I have to say that is especially true of my nieces and nephew. My brother called my dad the other night and told him a couple of very funny stories (or we at least think they are hilarious) of my oldest niece Anna Grace. Anna Grace just turned five years old and she is just plain hilarious. She is always coming up with these great one liners. She can keep us in stitches forever.

My sister in law had out patient surgery this past Monday. Her mom came to pick up Anna Grace and Luke to let Jenny recover from the surgery. As they were leaving Chad had told Anna to be good and to mind her Nana and Papa and to keep on eye on Luke. He then told her loved her and would miss her and to make sure she calls him everyday. Anna then put her hand on Chad's shoulder and said, "Dad. Be strong."

Not too long a go a friend of my brother was celebrating his 30th birthday. They all had gone out to eat and Anna was sitting between Chad and this friend. Anna was being all fidgety and getting up and down in her chair (this is a frequent occurrence with her). Chad had about enough of it and really got on to her about it in front of everyone. After Chad go on to her Anna Grace leaned over to the friend and said, "That was awkward."

LOL! Where does she get this?! She is just so cute! I'm so excited that I'll get to live near them and be more a part of their daily lives. Anna Grace has already asked if she can sleep over at my house. I can't wait! :)

Explosion of the Head

I think if I had an explosion of the head I might feel better. I am still battling whatever this crazy head thing might be. I can tell that I'm getting better after taking Zyrtec for a few days. I've just recently discovered this drug and it has become my best friend. I love it! But since I'm taking this along with some medicine prescribed by a doctor for a small "issue", I'm feeling a little loopy and sluggish. It probably isn't the best combination but at least both problems are getting resolved.

So I've been knee deep (or maybe eyeball deep) in wedding mode lately and I was looking at my forever long list of things to do and get and I've realized that I only have a few items left to do until the week of the wedding. (Boy was that a long sentence.) And since it looks like I may be down for the count for about week coming up soon, this makes me very happy. It has been a stressful process of planning the wedding but it's been a lot of fun at the same time. I can't wait to see how it all comes together on the day. I am determined that no matter what happens on my wedding day all I care about it is getting married to the man of my dreams. Who, by the way, is pretty awesome.

I've been, not stressing, but more worrying about a cake stand. I know this seems like a minuscule item but do you know how expensive it is to rent or buy one of these?! My bakery wanted a $100 deposit just to rent it. I said, "Thanks, but no." I don't know if I told you but my fiancee is a machinist. A pretty good one too and since he has access to metal he said, "Hey baby! Don't worry your purty little head about a cake stand. I can make you one the finest in the land." Okay, so he didn't say it exactly that way but he did say he can make me one and it will cost us about a fourth of what it would have cost to buy or rent one. I love my handy man!

He started on it today and has been sending pictures of his progress. I might post it on here when he gets it all finished. I'm so excited! Who knew that a cake stand would get me all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Ah-Choo!!!!

This is how I've been feeling the past couple of days. I don't know what my deal is. A couple of weeks ago I was feeling like this and then I seemed to have gotten better. Then on Saturday I woke up weird and then it was down hill from there.

I've been constantly sneezing and blowing my nose. It is so raw and red. I dragged myself to work but everyone is staying away from me like I have the plague or something. :)

I don't feel bad really. I'm just sneezing and blowing my nose every two seconds and my eyes are burning and watery. Everyone says it sounds like allergies but I've never had allergies before and I've never been allergic to anything in my entire life. Maybe I've developed allergies. I've heard of people developing allergies once they reach adulthood. I hope not. I feel sorry for everyone with allergies if this is what they feel like every year. Ugh!

This weekend my family was in town so I took a few days off work and hung out with them. We had a great time and went to the coolest place I've ever been to for kids. I'll post about it another day. All I know is that I want to open one up run it because it seems so cool and fun.

Uh oh! I feel another sneeze coming on....gotta go! :-)

It Is Well With My Soul!

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll;

Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,

It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffett, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well with my soul!

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,

It is well, it is well, with my soul!

~lyrics by Horatio G. Spafford, 1873

Changed Plans

Well, it's Tuesday, the day I am supposed to leave on my trip but instead I'm actually sitting here at work. Our plans for our trip to California took a severe turn Monday. I was going on the trip with all my co-workers and their spouses. This was something fun that we had decide to and had never done before. It was something we all had been planning and talking about for months. We were all so excited and even talking about it Monday morning when we got to work. Then the unexpected happened.

One of the men in our office walked in and as soon as we saw him, we knew that something terrible had happened. He asked us if we heard the news and we said no. Our boss's son had passed away late in the evening the night before from an apparent heart attack. We were just stunned. It was completely unexpected as this man was only 48 years old and in perfect condition. He even just recently passed a physical exam. Our hearts were just breaking for our boss and his family. I can not imagine what they are going through.

My co-workers and I got together and prayed for my boss and his family and then made the decision to cancel our trip. It just didn't seem right to go when our boss was hurting and mourning the death of his son. As disappointing as it is to not be able to go on this trip, canceling it was the right thing to do. The hardest part was telling my friend and travel companion that it was cancelled. She understood our reasons. We plan on rescheduling it but I'll already be married and living elsewhere so I won't be able to go on the rescheduled trip and unfortunately my friend won't be able to go as well.

So instead of planning and preparing for a fun trip, I'm preparing to head to the visitation later on today and the funeral tomorrow. It's such a sad situation and my heart just breaks for the entire family. He left behind a wife and a 13 year old daughter. So please pray for the Powell family this week and in the weeks to come.

California, Here I Come!

Next week I get to go on a pretty incredible trip. I'm taking a train ride to Los Angeles, CA, and then spending a few days there touring everything and then flying home. It's going to pretty fantastic, I think. I have never ridden on a train before and we are going to spend 48 hours on this train. I'm staying in a roomette which is in the sleeping car. The train starts in New Orleans, LA, and then it goes through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and then California. I can just imagine the scenery once we get out in the desert. It will be an adventure, that's for sure.

I'm really excited about going to LA. I've never been there before. I've been to the northern part of California but never the southern part and since I'm a huge fan of TV and movies, I'm pretty stoked about this trip. We are going on a tour of all of LA the day we get there which includes, downtown LA, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. The next day we are going to the Ronald Reagan Library. I'm very excited about this. I've always wanted to go and I heard that they have Air Force One there that you can tour through. Pretty cool.

Another day we are going to Malibu. I've always heard that it's beautiful there and I'm excited to be able to walk around the beach for a little while. My friend, who is going with me, and I are hoping to do some celebrity sightings...ahem, Matthew McConaughey. :) Seriously, I don't really care about that so much but I'm just excited to be going in the first place.

I'm looking forward to this trip for a couple of reasons: 1) I get a break from wedding planning. I'm enjoying the process of planning the wedding but it will be a nice break where I don't have to make a decision on the smallest detail. 2.) I get to spend the trip with one of my best friends and bridesmaid. She and I have gotten so close and this will be a nice trip for us to spend together before I make the move to Alabama. I'm looking forward to the laughter and enlightening talks that we usually have when we are together.

This weekend starts another whirlwind weekend for my fiancee and me. We have our engagement pictures tomorrow and we are registering at a couple of places. I'm really excited about this. I love taking that little gun the stores have and shooting it at everything. I can be very dangerous with that thing. :)

Have a great weekend!!