Sunday, September 21, 2008

A Pretty Day!

We have been having such beautiful fall weather! Mommy let me help her water the flowers the other day & we also had a photo shoot!

Mommom's Visit!

I had such a great time with Mommom last week! She came to visit & to celebrate her birthday & Mommy's birthday!
I bought Mommy & Mommom flowers, with Daddy's help.
I helped Mommom & Mommy open their birthday gifts.
Mommom made Mommy a beautiful quilt using fabrics from Mommy's dresses that she wore as a little girl.
Mommom helped me with my bathtime!We had so much fun playing!

Mommom brought me the rocking horse Mommy had when she was little!

Friday, September 12, 2008

30 Memorable Moments

WARNING: This is a Very Long Post :)
Well today, the 14th, is my 30th birthday. I am feeling a bit nostalgic, so even though this is Michael's blog, I decided that turning 30 is worthy of a post. Here are my 30 Memorable Moments, in no particular order.
1. My Friendship, Courtship & Marriage to Andy - I have been so blessed by the man God gave me. He is such a wonderful husband, friend & dad.

2. Michael's Birth & Being a Mommy! What an amazing experience! Challenging, fun, exciting, hard, surprising, etc. I always looked forward to being a mom, but it has been more fun than I ever imagined.

3. My many opportunities to work with children - ACU Leadership Camps, Mission Trips, Teaching Elementary School, & teaching at the Fine Arts Institute.


4. Having my gallbladder removed in 2005 – surgery was a welcome answer to prayer after 6 yrs of sickness. The 3rd gastroenterologist I went to suggested we look at my gallbladder, which turned out, wasn't functioning. It was removed & I’ve been a new woman ever since! It is such a blessing to be healthy & feel good all the time!

5. Becoming a Christian & my relationship with the Lord - I was blessed to be raised in a Christian home & learn about Jesus from a young age. I have no memory without Him in my life. When I was in 6th grade He became my Savior - in High School & College I began to study the Word on my own. Since then I have grown to love Him more each day & I can't imagine my life without His love & grace.

6. High School Memories & Graduation -
7. My dear high school friends, Carrie, Elizabeth & Julie - we have had many memorable moments together - they are like sisters to me :)
8. My amazing college experience at ACU – friendships, roommates, trips, Gata, Beltway, oh, & learning too ;) 9. My college trip to Alaska. This trip had many "firsts" for me - snowshoeing, skiing, feeding a wolf & eating muck-tuck (whale). I will never forget skiing for the 1st time. I had never been on skis. Instead of taking a lesson, my friends told me they would teach me as I went down the mountain! Ha! I have never gone skiing again :)
10.My dear childhood friend, Candice - we met on the first day of Kindergarten & have been close friends ever since.
11. My Mom & I have the same birthday! It has been fun throughout the years to share this special day & celebrate together. She is such a blessing to me & I have learned & continue to learn so much from her. 12. Many fun memories with my sweet dad - he has always been there for me
& so supportive. I am so thankful for him.
13. When Andy gave me daisies - In college, when I prayed for my future husband, I asked God that he would allow the man I was supposed to marry to give me a bouquet of daisies - as a confirmation from the Lord that He was who God had for me. One evening in June of 2001, I walked out to my car after work & I noticed there were flowers in the front seat. I unlocked the door & picked them up - And then it hit me, they were daisies! Andy had delivered a beautiful bouquet of yellow & white daisies to my car! It was such a special answer to prayer & reminder of how personal God wants to be with his children.
14. My fun girl trip to Paris in college -
15. My Grandparents, "Mommom & Papa" - I have endless wonderful memories with. They were amazing people who left a legacy for many generations...I miss them so much. We lost Papa in 2001 after hip replacement surgery & we lost Mommom in 2005 to stomach cancer.
16. All that I have learned through LTD - our training team with our e-commerce business is awesome & it is such a privilege to be a part of this group! I have so many fun memories with great friends!
17. Being in NYC for the New Year's Eve Ball Drop in 2005 - 18. Elementary School - I loved going to Tanglewood Elementary in Ft. Worth. My favorite year was 5th grade with Mrs. May - she was one of the main reasons I became a teacher. 19. Having a good & healthy pregnancy -
20. Mission Trip to Russia - In 1998 I went to Siberia for a month. I worked with children & taught Vacation Bible School. It definitely took me out of my comfort zone & away from the conveniences that I often take for granted - I will never forget how amazed the Russian women were with zip lock bags - they wanted us to mail them some when we got back to the US.
21. Watching my parents be grandparents -
Michael has so much fun with my dad, Po. and with my mom, Mommom.
22. Moving to Oklahoma - Moving away from family to a place where we knew no one but each other has been one of the greater challenges in my life. Although it has taken some time to feel at home here, I am so thankful for all God has taught us here. And I am so thankful for all of our friends & our church family at Northwest. 23. 27th Birthday Surprise Party that Andy gave me. We went out to dinner for Japanese food. Then we decided to go bowling - When we walked into the bowling alley I looked up & saw many of our friends from church. I looked at Andy & said, "I can't believe they all went bowling & didn't invite us." Andy said, "They're here for your birthday - Surprise!"
24. My Car Wreck - this sure isn't fun to remember but a very memorable moment - In March of 2003 I was driving home from teaching when a car lost control & hit me on the passenger side - I lost control & drove head on into the concrete median at 65 mph. My only injury was a bruised & burned face from the air bag...Definitely a miracle...and a lesson in living each day to the fullest.
25. Traveling - I have had so many wonderful trips around the world - Switzerland, France, Mexico several times, a Cruise with the Nelson Family, Washington DC & much of the U.S.
26. Andy's & my engagement - He did a fantastic job surprising me - He invited 30 of our college friends over to his house for a "Christmas Party." We played White Elephant & he rigged the game. I drew the number to select the final gift - little did I know that my ring was in the final gift. I opened my ring & he got down on his knee...the rest is history :)
27. Our Honeymoon in Playa Del Carmen was so much fun. One funny memory - We were walking to one of the restaurants at our resort for dinner when I tripped & fell. Andy helped me up, but I got up to fast - I fainted...Andy called for help & tried to wake me up but I had completely passed out. Finally I woke up & was fine...but it definitely freaked Andy out:) We had only been married 3 days!
28. Watching Andy be a dad - I love how patient & caring he is with Michael. 29. Buying our first house - In May of 2006 we bought our first house - a week after moving in, we found out we were pregnant!
30. Going to "One Day 2000" - In May, a group of us from Abilene went to Tennessee for this college worship weekend. It was an amazing, life-changing experience - over 40,000 thousand college students gathered together to pray, worship & hear the Word. Andy & I met on this trip, although we don't remember officially meeting - but we are in pictures together :)