Relationships

Last month, my pastor preached a sermon about intimacy (spiritual, soulish and physical) in all our relationships. The timing was perfect for me and God spoke directly to my heart during the entire service. I have been struggling with life in general lately. I didn't realize how much MORE difficult it was going to be for me once Cory started working. Now, we are both working (opposite schedules) and time together is few and far between.

One of the main points that stuck out to me is the order our intimate relationships should be in:

God
Spouse
Children
Friends
Acquintance
Stranger
Enemy

It only took me one look to realize how out of order I had that. God has been on the back burner for a couple months now for me. I get to him when I can and intimate is definitely NOT a word I would use to describe my relationship with Him.
The rest of my relationships have not been in a very good order either. So, I look to Cory to fulfill something only God can fulfill and I look to my friends to fulfill something only God or my husband can fulfill.

Guess what?! It doesn't work out very well. I ended up trying to figure out why I was disappointed, let down and lonely. Well, it was because I was expecting things that were unreasonable and I didn't even know it. This continues to be a learning journey for me and I often have to do a self check and re-arrange again. My prayer is that God will continue to soften my heart toward him and make me sensitive to his calling in my life.

Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A

The Whole Herd headed to Chick-Fil-A for free meals tonight.

Annalise and Avery

The calves chowing down :)We had a great time. We were lucky enough to pick a restaurant that wasn't even busy during dinner time. Look around us, we were basically the only ones there. It was easy and completely FREE!! We are marking this one down for next year.

2 Four Year Olds... 1 Camera

This is what happens when I ask these 2 to take a nice picture. They sure do crack themselves up.

Relaxing at the Beach

So, our good friends invited us to stay with them at the beach this past weekend. They have family that owns a beach front condo.

Well, the invitation came on Thursday. It was near the end of a very, very rainy couple of weeks. The forecast for the weekend did not look much better, but how often can you stay at the beach for free? Plus, it was Memorial Day weekend, so the offer was until Monday.

So, off to the beach we went.

Wouldn't you know it... the weather turned out to be just perfect! We arrived Saturday afternoon and it didn't rain 1 time when we left. Sunday was my favorite. It was cloudy, so the temperature was perfect. I usually don't like the beach because I can't stand to be hot, sweaty or dirty! But, Sunday was beautiful.

Monday was great for the kids and the dads, but Jess and I decided to spend most of the day enjoying the view from the room. I read part of a book and just relaxed. The whole weekend turned out really nice.

I have to let my kids do THIS...

Before I can get THIS...

I remembered one of the things I love about my husband this weekend...
He'll stay all day in the hot sun with the kids and let them get filthy while I hide in the room :)

We watched a group of teens, I'm assuming in training, jump off the end of this dock and swim to shore. Very entertaining :)

It wouldn't be vacation without the girls making new friends.

They even exchanged numbers when we left :)

After a good bit of work, Morgan was able to get her kite up in the air.

The girls had a "Camp Rock" kiteAnd Jordan had a Spider-Man kiteWe even had all 3 (including Jess's) going at onceJordan was excited to head out with daddy

This is how he boogie-boardedHe decided he was not crazy about the water, but he wanted some for his bucket. So, he would go to the edge of the water and wait for it to come to him :)

Sydney had a hard time pushing against the waves, so daddy had to help pull her.

They finally got out there and were able to ride some waves back. Morgan spent most her time out in the water with her dad.

Avery collecting shells

Working together

American Idol Premiere Party

Well, it's back!! American Idol, Season 8 is here full force. We decided to kick things off right with our very own American Idol Rock Star Party! Everyone dressed up like a rock star and even had acapella karaoke on the commercial breaks (you must play the video below if you want to see me and my friends making fools of ourselves!).

Here is the group. What a crew!

Here is on of our commercial breaks
Hot, Girls, Hot!!I know this picture is a little weird, but so am IAnother commercial breakHere are the girls with their rock star faces on
This is our album cover
We had such a fun time acting like idiots and definitely NOT acting our age. One of things that made my evening was having the little neighbor girl that joined us say to Morgan, "Wow! I wish my mom would dress like that!". I like my kids having a friend that thinks I'm cool. I'm sure that won't last for much longer :)

Cookie Party

The kids went to a cookie making party with a friend last week. They had a great time and made a huge mess!
They were able to make some cookies from dough and add their own embellishments. They also had pre-made cupcakes and cookies to decorate.
What a fun day with friends!!

Wheel of Fortune - Part III

If you don't remember my auditions for Wheel of Fortune, check back here and here.

Well, the conclusion is:

My friends, Brandi and Brittani (who are sisters), were chosen to appear on the show. They were taped last Friday and a group of us headed out to watch. We were not technically supposed to be using cameras and cell phones, but I managed to sneak a couple in.

This is the ginormous line we had to wait in to get seats
This is the stage where the contestants stoodJaime and I in our V.I.P. seats :)The Wheel of Fortune screenWe had a fun time and enjoyed watching our friends. I won't give the ending away, but you can see it too on March 12th :) Congratulations, girls!