Oh my. I don't even know where to begin. It has been too long. What is that saying, "life happens"? Well, it sure does. I'm not going to try and play catch up for the last few months, it would be waaay too much. Here are a few highlights: we have set a wedding date (April 24, 2010), we are hoping to have our house finished by Christmas (of THIS year), I moved to Boaz, I finally bought a wedding dress ( and I LOVE it!!), Brian and Katie joined Corinth (big yay! we are so blessed!), I turned twenty-five (ugh), Ross and I went on our first "real" vacation (more on that later), found out an old high school friend is pregnant with her first child (congrats Hahn!), and of course just the same old day to day musings. Ha. I will post pictures of the progress that we have made on the house and from our vacation (and other random things, I am sure). But for the time being, I just needed to blog to get back in the habit. (And I am at work!) I will be back soon. Really. :)





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Lord Send A Revival...And Let It Begin In Me!

It is revival time and I can't wait! It starts Sunday (Easter! How great is that?!) and will run until Wednesday. I can't wait to see the amazing things that I KNOW are sure to happen. It starts at 7:oo for any of you that can come. I would LOVE to see you there! I don't really have much to post, I just wanted to blog tonight because I don't know that I will have another chance until the middle of next week. We have to go to both of Ross' grandmothers and mine as well so it is going to be a busy weekend, and then comes revival. I hope that everyone has a very Happy Easter!

Ideas....

I like these colors. Maybe not quite as much green.

This was the original plan for the bridesmaids. Something close, anyway.

I really like these colors!

But, then again I like these too.

What do you think?!

This Is What Saturdays Are Supposed To Be Like...

Today has been a great day!! (Even though I had to get up at 6:00!) I started this BEAUTIFUL day by going all the way to Hazel Green with my mom and grandmother to watch my little cousin play soccer. What fun! We had a blast. It is so hilarious watching a bunch of six year olds fighting over a soccer ball. I laughed so hard! Riley did great! She got best defensive player. Yay, Riley!! The weather was perfect. The game started at nine and it was just right. Not to hot, and not to cold. We left there and went to a thrift store. (Where I bought an awesome dress AND shoes to match for $6.58!). This was followed up with a few yard sales and lunch. Nothing like spending time with Mawmaw. We got home around one and I went straight in the house to change into my "yard working clothes". Mom and I worked outside for a couple of hours and I actually got blistered! Not that it takes much these days. I LOVE spring. Even if my nose is constantly stopped up AND running, I'm sneezing my head off, and I'm hoarse for a couple of months. Oh well, the weather is amazing and I love to see all of the flowers and tress blooming! It's too bad that I am going to have to get my winter clothes back out on Tuesday. It is going to be freezing! After working outside I came in and fixed a quick dinner, cleaned up the kitchen, practiced a few songs with Mom for church tomorrow, took a bubble bath, played a little Sudoku(while in the tub!), and now I am getting to blog. This is what Saturdays are supposed to be like! It also means that tomorrow is Sunday! Like I mentioned yesterday I missed church on Wednesday night and I can't wait for tomorrow! I miss my church family, the singing, the preaching, watching the Holy Spirit move from one pew to the next, I miss it all!! I hope that you are all as excited as I am!

So, I have been thinking about the wedding a lot today. I am really torn. I know for sure that I want the theme to be black and white (champagne). I am really considering wearing a champagne colored dress instead of white, just because I think that it is more elegant. Originally I had planned on the bridesmaids carrying calla lillies (off white) and my bouquet being RED. Roses probably but not a definite. So here is my dilemma. I am now wondering if I want to add some color in there and have the bridesmaids have a "colorful" bouquet. The question is....what color(s)? I have no idea! I have thought about pink. Not bright pink, and not baby pink. Something in between. More like an "antique" pink mixed with something ivory/cream colored. Does this make any sense? I just don't want it to be too loud or too busy. My goal is for it to be simple and elegant. However, it is going to be in May. I'm so confused! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Maybe I will post some pictures on here and you all can help me decide. Hmm... that is what I am going to do! Let me know what you think!

We Made It....

Well, today is Friday. We made it through the week! Miranda comes home tomorrow and everybody is so excited!I know that she is so ready to see her babies! Layla asked me on Wednesday, "Now when is my Momma coming home from 'Guatalamala'?" Haha. Close enough. Tuesday was a long day. It was coming a heck of a storm when I got up so I had to get three kids out into the pouring rain to take Logan to school. It was so nasty outside. Lawson screamed all the way to school and all the way back home. He spent more time crying than he did not crying that day. He was running a fever and he was just miserable. He was up and down all night. The rest of the week was much better however. We made it with no catastrophes. (Other than Logan "accidentally" jabbing Layla with a thumb tack.) On Wednesday Layla, Lawson and I went to Jacksonville to visit some old friends. It brought back such happy memories! Oh how I miss that place. I suppose it is sort of bitter sweet because Brian and I really dealt with a lot while living there (my parents getting divorced, Brian's dad passing away, etc...) but we also had SO much fun. We had NO IDEA how good we had it!! We often joke about how fun it would be to just go back for one week. We both know that it would never be the some though. We went to Struts where Layla and I shared some bacon cheese fries that were SO good. I found myself just driving around letting all of the old memories just flood back to me but then I realized that I probably wouldn't move back even if I had the chance. So much has changed. Not that I could ever get Ross out of Rodentown!! Ha.
Today was a good day. Ross and I got out just to "loafer" (as my Dad would say). We were driving by the outlets and I noticed that they had a new Catalog Closeout store and I talked Ross into stopping. I was SO glad that we did. I have been looking for disposable cameras and they are so expensive! Ok, so $6.oo isn't expensive but when you are looking to buy a bunch of them it really adds up. I want several of them to put on the tables at our wedding reception so that all the guests can take pictures. Then the guests just leave them on the tables and you take them and get them developed. How fun! So, I found Kodak disposable cameras for $1.00 each today!!! How exciting! I only bought ten but I think that I am going to go back and pick up some more. I am going with my grandmother in the morning to Hazel Green to my little cousins soccer game so I am thinking about using one of the cameras and getting it developed to make sure that it works. If so, I will definitely pick up several more. We goofed off until around four and then we had to go home so that Ross could get ready to go to work. Overall it has been a pretty good week, however THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME! I can't wait to crawl into my own bed! I hope that everyone has had a great week. I can't wait for Sunday. I didn't get to go to my church on Wednesday night and oh how I missed it. My soul is hungry, and it can't get here fast enough!!!

Update..

Well, it is 9:30 on Monday night and everyone is in bed! Except me, of course. Now I know why Miranda is always up until midnight. It is the only time that you have to yourself!! Ha. It has been a great day. Layla didn't wake up until about eight and Lawson didn't wake up until after 9:30. He slept for 12 hours! I kept going in his room to check on him, but he was just snoozing. After breakfast we all got baths and got dressed and went to Oxford to have my engagement ring inspected. After that we went and ate lunch. We got home just in time to pick Logan up after school. Logan had ball practice at 5:30 so he and Nick left around 5. Lawson was still down for a nap so Layla and I snuggled up on the couch for some quality bonding time with each other and the Disney channel. When Lawson woke up he was as ill as a little hornet. He is teething and he has not been a happy boy the past few nights. Its ok though, he just joined me and Layla on the couch. When Nick and Logan got home it was time for supper. After supper it was bath time (for Logan), homework time and then bedtime. He has SAT's this week so he has to get plenty of rest. Nick was the fist to pass out, Logan was next. While I was in the kitchen making bottles I noticed that Layla was being awfully quiet. That is never a good sign. I checked her bedroom but she wasn't in there. Next stop - Logan's bedroom. She wasn't in there either. Where was she at? In the bed with her daddy. She was so tired. She didn't even tell me goodnight!! After some play time, Lawson was ready for bed too. It is almost too easy with him...just give him a bottle and lay him in his crib and is out out for at least eight hours (most of the time). So, here I am. I have cleaned up the kitchen, packed Logan's book bag and laid out his school clothes. It has been a good day. I got to talk to Miranda for a few minutes last night. They are having a great time. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Well, I am off to bed. Hope everyone has a great week!

Playing Mommy For A Week...

Tonight's post will be short, I just wanted to blog before I go to bed. I'm sure that I won't have a chance next week, I am playing Mommy to three of the most precious children alive! Miranda left yesterday morning at five o'clock for Guatemala!! She is on a mission trip and will be gone for eight days! So, what does that mean? It means that starting tomorrow I get to live Miranda's life for a week. My "future Mommy" skills are really going to be put to the test! I am packing my bags and moving to Alexandria for a week and moving in with Nick and the kids. It should be a VERY interesting week. Nick has to be at work at five o'clock every morning so that means that he leaves at four thirty. SO.... I have to have three kids ( a seven year old, a three year old and a nine month old) up, fed, dressed and out the door at seven o'clock every morning in order to have Logan at school on time. THIS is the part that I am most nervous about. It overwhelms me to think about Miranda having to do this EVERY morning! Not only does she get all of the above accomplished but she also drops Layla and Lawson off and gets to work in Anniston by 7:45. She should really get some kind of award. It is going to be stressful but I am looking forward to it. I never get to spend as much time with them as I would like. It also gives me the chance to catch up with some old friends in Jacksonville since I will be so close. Layla, Lawson and I have a couple of lunch dates. So I said all of that to say this.... PRAY FOR ME!!!! Ha. Please also keep Miranda in your prayers. She has such an important job to do over there. Hopefully I will be able to post an update or two during the week but I'm not making any promises!

Work, Work, Work...

Today was very productive! Ross and I started working at the house this morning at about 8:30. The plan was to sand our bedroom. AGAIN. We worked on the sheet rock for about two hours and went out on the porch for a little break. Neither of us were really feeling into the tedious job of sanding and since the weather was so WONDERFUL we decided to work outside for awhile instead. Awhile turned into 6:30! We had started in the yard yesterday afternoon and we got a lot accomplished so we just picked up where we left off. We have three fairly large flower beds and three smaller ones (yes, his grandmother loved flowers!). Boy did we do some work! All of the flower beds were full!! They were full of both weeds and "bushes". These were "bushes" that I have never even seen before. Some of these things were rather obnoxious. Most of them were so overgrown that we had to get the chainsaw and cut them first and then get the tractor and pull the roots out of the ground. And when I say we, I mean we. I used a chainsaw today! Rickey (Ross' dad) keeps telling me that he is going to turn me into a county girl before its over. Ha. We have six crape myrtles in our front yard and seven in the back and they all had to be cut back. I look like I have been attacked! I have scrapes and scratches ALL over me! Seriously. It seemed like every time that I looked at my hands and my arms I was bleeding from somewhere. Even my legs are scratched up! It was a hard days work, but I loved it! I like to think that it is good for the soul. It always seems to remind me of just how amazing our God really is. Sometimes I get so caught up in weeding and trimming that I realize that I have been praying for 15 or 20 minutes. Its a job that has to be done but I feel like its MY time and it's more like a privilege than a chore most days. Now the sanding, that is usually another story. All I can focus on is the pain that is radiating from my forearms to my back! Ha. I'm really glad that we are doing it ourselves. I know that we will have an even greater appreciation for our little home when we finally get it finished.

Sugar And Spice And Everything Nice...

This was a great weekend! I had the house to myself this weekend (Mom was in Texas and Ross had to work) so I decided to take full advantage of it. I got caught up on some quality time with three of the most ENTERTAINING kids in the world! Thursday night Layla, Lawson, and Cloey spent the night with me. We had so much fun! We played and played until we couldn't hold our eyes open any more!! We started the night off playing dress up. This was followed up by barbies, beauty shop, grocery store, you name it. We ended the night with a slumber party in the living room floor, only to be completed with popcorn and watching Little Mermaid! Lawson just sat back and watched us girls being so silly. I think that I might have enjoyed it more than them!! We had so much fun!! I CAN NOT wait to have little girls of my own! But of course I will be just as happy playing outside in a sandbox with little boys! Here are some pictures from our "slumber party"...



A princess and The Little Mermaid.

Layla has changed into Tinkerbell and now Cloey is The Little Mermaid.

Miss Priss...

Love it!!

Precious!!

The rest of the weekend was just as wonderful! I took Cloey back to her dad Friday afternoon and Layla, Lawson and I headed back to Alexandria a little later. I spent the night with Miranda and we all got to spend some "family" time on Friday night. After hanging out with the family and going to dinner Miranda and I sent Nick and the kids back home. We were feeling up for an adventure! The night ended up at Artistic Designs in Gadsden where Miranda and I got a tattoo! It's never a good thing when we go on an "adventure"! Ha. It was so much fun (and VERY interesting!). I came back home on Saturday afternoon to spend some quality time with MYSELF. It's not very often that I get to have the house to myself for the weekend so I really try to enjoy it. We had two WONDERFUL services today at church! We also met this afternoon for our Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Esther. This is the only the second time that we have met but I am loving it. I LOVE the women in this Bible study. Not only are they my sisters in Christ, but they are my friends. We have so much fun!

Ross and I worked on the house last week. We have been working on the sheet rock in our bedroom. I have a love/hate relationship with this sheet rock business! I HATE sanding it!! I had sheet rock dust in my hair, in my eyes, in my nose, between my toes, you name it. It makes such a terrible mess! Despite all of my efforts, we have tracked dust ALL through the house. Oh well. At the same time, I love that I am getting to work on MY house. I know that I will have a greater appreciation for it when we are done. We have a LONG way to go.

We have also decided to get married at our church. It is just the most logical place. It's close by, more people will be able to attend, but most importantly it is FREE! It doesn't get any better than free. As for the reception, we are still unsure. We have talked about having the swimming pool fixed at Mom's and getting her yard landscaped and having the reception there. It is also free! I need to make my mind up! What do you think?

A Sunday Visit...

On Sunday Ross and I went to Chris and Ginger's to visit. It was wonderful! While we were there we got to see Brian, Katie and Jack!! It was a great ending to a long week. It was really a great day all around. Ross joined Corinth Sunday morning! Yay!! I have to say that I am SO blessed! I am short on time but I just HAD to show off these precious babies!!









Bronson....just happy to be here!

Such a happy boy!

Brian giving Jack a popsicle!

Kendall.

Kendall playing with Jack.

Brian and Jack.

Jack. What a precious boy!!

Bronson. Little slobber bucket!

I'm Back...

It's about time! I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. It all started when I realized that I was spending WAY too much time online. This was time that could have been better spent studying my Sunday school lesson, working on a bible study, praying, and so many other things (like laundry!). Sort of ....an Internet fasting...if you will. Of course I was only convicted about the religious things not the laundry and floor mopping! haha. Anyway.


The past two weeks have been so hectic! It started LAST Wednesday when I got a panicked call from my cousin Brandy informing me that our little cousin Abby (who had turned a year old a few days earlier) had been rushed to the hospital because she was having trouble breathing and her little feet and hands were turning blue. So, off to the hospital we went! After poking and prodding her for days and running every test imaginable (flu tests, blood work, scans, e.k.g, e.e.g, and even a spinal tap) all they could come up with was a heart murmur. She was in the hospital from Wednesday until Sunday and every time that it looked like she might get to go home her fever would spike back up to 103! To make matters worse, on Saturday she came down with the measles! So needless to say much of my week was spent at the hospital. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. She had an appointment today at Children's Hospital with a pediatric cardiologist. The good news is that he didn't find a heart murmur. Praise the Lord! The bad news is that her fever is back and she is back in the hospital and they are looking at another four to five days. This time it is a respiratory infection. She is one sick little girl. She still needs lots of prayers. As does her mother. She is exhausted.


On a lighter note.... my cousin opened a restaurant in Fort Payne on Saturday. It is called John Stone's House of Pizza. They serve pizza, subs and wings. They have very good food. Mom and I helped them out on their big "opening day". We were slammed!! I am working for them again this weekend. Hopefully we will be busy.


Hmmm.. any new news?..... Yes! This past Sunday some of the women at my church started a Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Esther. I am SO excited!! It is a big commitment - it takes about an hour a day- but it is a commitment that I am willing to make! I have much faith that God is going to bless our little study group and open our eyes to many things. After all, the Bible study is entitled "It's Tough Being A Woman"! Amen to that!


Well, I am off to bed. I have a raging case of strep and I am praying for a miracle cure by this weekend. I am needed in so many places. Everyone please remember my family in your prayers. We have a lot of sickness going on and we all seem to have a very full plate for the time being....

So Excited...

I just wanted to say that I am SO excited that I was able to turn April into a blogger! I don't get to see her kiddos as much as I would like but now I can see them everyday. Yay!!

Pictures From Logan's Birthday Party...

Thinking hard about that present!

Bama won!

There is nothing better than a hot dog from a ball park!

Me and Ross.

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Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow...

It snowed today! Ok, it was only like an inch (if that) but that is a big deal around here! It's about time. Since my last post I haven't had very much time to work on wedding plans. I did however get my "notebook" put together. I have everything there is to know about planning a wedding including guest lists, budgets, etc... I have everything neatly organized into categories with its own little tab. I have printed off all of the pictures that I have saved onto my computer of the things that I like and want to remember. Photographers, caterers, flowers, dresses, you name it. This makes me feel better to know that I have some kind of order. (OCD? Possibly).


The beginning....

I really wish that this happened more often...

Logan's birthday party was Saturday. I can't believe that my sweet boy turned 7! He was only two when Miranda and I met. Layla will be four in July and Lawson is already nine months old. Where does the time go? We went to Tuscaloosa to a baseball game and we had so much fun. It was so cold! They were giving rain and thunderstorms but we managed to get by with just a few light showers. There were 23 of us, 13 of which rode down in the church van. Ross and I were lucky enough to be included in the van group. Ha. We had five kids with us (in the van) ranging in age from 3 to 10. It was quite the adventure! We had a blast though. Logan got to meet the coach and all of the players signed his baseball. They also gave him a shirt and a few other things- he got the works! Kudos to Miranda, it was a great idea.

****(Just a little side note while I am thinking about it- the date on my pictures are never right! My camera is crazy and every time that I turn it off it resets the date and I rarely remember to fix it before I start taking pictures. So, all of the pictures that say they were taken in 2006 or 2143 please ignore!)

Well, tomorrow is another day and it looks like it is going to be a busy one. I have to have Mom in Gadsden at nine in the morning for a doctors appointment and then we are going to do some dress shopping! Wish me luck....

I will post pictures of Logan's birthday party as soon as I get them downloaded onto my computer!

Pictures from earlier today...

Pictures....

The Race Is On...

Hmm...where do I start? Well, as of today I have been engaged for four weeks and three days. So, the race is on. Some may wonder why I have already started looking at wedding dresses, photographers, venues, caterers, etc.. when I still have a whole year (and then some) until my wedding date! Well, I will tell you why. Reason number one: I am the MOST indecisive person in the world! I hate making decisions. So, I might look at the same dress or the same photographer's portfolio a thousand times before I decided "this is the one that I want!". This is going to take some time people! Reason number two: I called the Guntersville State Park on Monday to ask some general questions about their facility and I was informed that they are already booked for most of the summer for 2010. Really?! So, I decided that while I am not working I should be planning. I have become obsessed. It is so much fun. And so stressful! I love it though. Ask me how I feel about it a year from now and you probably won't get the same answer! I started this blog because I always want to be able to remember this feeling. I am so excited. I am also anxious, overwhelmed, giddy, thankful- that God has blessed me with such a wonderful man that I will one day be able to call my husband! I love to scrapbook and make memory books but it just seems like I don't have the time these days so I have opted for this.

I tried on wedding dresses for the first time today. It is tiring! They are so heavy! I went to David's Bridal in Huntsville and spent a couple of hours there with my mom. I tried on so many dresses that I eventually got them confused and couldn't remember the ones that I liked and the ones that I didn't! Luckily we took the camera. That really helped. But that wasn't the best part of my day. I also went to the Botanical Gardens and met with Mrs. Barbara who gave us the grand tour. It is AMAZING! I will post some pictures (at least I will try to). Ross works nights at Goodyear so he was sleeping today and didn't get to go with us. I CAN NOT wait until I can go back and take him with me. The only doubts I have about having the wedding there is that it is about and hour and fifteen minutes from here. Ross seems to think that people won't come because of the traveling involved. Well even if they don't I will still be married and have beautiful wedding photos! Ha. Just kidding. Well, I suppose I have rambled enough.

I can't wait to be Mrs. Ross Amos!