Dave and I were some of the 'crazies' on the roads tonight! We had to go to Mt. Vernon to do some house stuff and it was SOOOOO bad on the way home. It took us 45 minutes when it normally takes 20 to get home. God took care of us though and I am happy to be home safe and sound!
I have to just give a little recommendation and 'shout out' of awesomeness to Lowe's. They are AMAZING!!!! From the beginning they have been so helpful and knowledgeable about everything. Our kitchen designer not only helped us with that, but tonight after we finalized the last few decisions, he walked us around the whole store and helped us find the right faucet, door handles/pulls, then even went with us to pick out lighting for the entire house, french doors, bathroom stuff, flooring, and even siding! Of course he wasn't an expert on it all, but he helped us find the right people and just gave us ideas knowing the flow we wanted to go with and the style we had picked out. We DEFINITELY recommend using Lowe's for home renovation and projects!
There is so much still needing to be done on the house, but we are so excited that God has blessed us with all the resources and people we have in our life right now! I can't wait until it's just done and we are living there AND I can't wait until I can put up the 'Before and After' pictures!!! :) Love you all!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
FREE Valentine's Day Cards
Normally I would NEVER send any Valentine's Day cards but who can pass up FREE CARDS???? Literally free, no strings, no shipping, you don't even have to supply a credit card number!
Visit the great people at Stories for Everyone and create your cards. In the coupon area put in 'valentine' as your coupon code and you'll have a $0 balance. ENJOY!
Then as you are looking for some more free photo options head over to SeeHere.com and set up a new account to receive 50 Free Prints! You do have to pay shipping but it seems pretty reasonable. I am quite glad about this because Lauryn should be getting her Wedding Picture CD soon and I will be taking advantage of MANY freebies like this!
Visit the great people at Stories for Everyone and create your cards. In the coupon area put in 'valentine' as your coupon code and you'll have a $0 balance. ENJOY!
Then as you are looking for some more free photo options head over to SeeHere.com and set up a new account to receive 50 Free Prints! You do have to pay shipping but it seems pretty reasonable. I am quite glad about this because Lauryn should be getting her Wedding Picture CD soon and I will be taking advantage of MANY freebies like this!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thank you Tami Jo!
I love having a friend that will actually hold you accountable when you ask them to! Tami Jo is one of those people and this post is my 'at least once a week' post and it shall be ALL about her! (I know you love it Tams!)
Tami Jo and I met in Masters Commission 7 going on 8 years ago. When we first met, we didn't really 'click' in fact Tami Jo thought I was quite pompous (which I was) and loud (which I still can be at times!) Our 2nd year at RMC gave us time to get to know each other better and we became QUICK friends. I spend TONS of time at her apartment and throughout the year I watched Moulin Rouge about a MILLION times at her place. They always had it on for some reason.... not complaining but strange! :)
After we finished our 2nd year we both moved on and things got crazy for us. There were MANY hours between us, yet we still kept in contact and knew that we had a special bond. We were able to move closer to each other and both made the effort to travel the 3 hours to make our friendship work and I am SOOOOO glad we did. Now we again live several hours apart and since we are both married and Tami Jo has a baby life gets crazy and we don't get to talk as often as we used to.
The great thing though is that through ALL of this, Tami Jo and I both know that the other is going to answer the phone at 3:30 in the morning when the other is having a hard time, or will drop everything when the other calls with a fun story. We pray for each other in not just the hard times, but the good ones too and when we do have those few and far between moments that we get to chat on the phone, it's like we've never spent any time apart.
My friendship with Tami Jo is one of the biggest blessings in my life and I am SO grateful for her. She encourages me, prays for me, loves me unconditionally, and of course KEEPS ME ACCOUNTABLE! I pray that each of you has a Tami Jo in your life, cause I don't know how I would survive without mine. Call your Tami Jo and tell her how much you appreciate her- or if you're like me and can't call cause you are up too late... blog about her! :)
Tami Jo and I met in Masters Commission 7 going on 8 years ago. When we first met, we didn't really 'click' in fact Tami Jo thought I was quite pompous (which I was) and loud (which I still can be at times!) Our 2nd year at RMC gave us time to get to know each other better and we became QUICK friends. I spend TONS of time at her apartment and throughout the year I watched Moulin Rouge about a MILLION times at her place. They always had it on for some reason.... not complaining but strange! :)
After we finished our 2nd year we both moved on and things got crazy for us. There were MANY hours between us, yet we still kept in contact and knew that we had a special bond. We were able to move closer to each other and both made the effort to travel the 3 hours to make our friendship work and I am SOOOOO glad we did. Now we again live several hours apart and since we are both married and Tami Jo has a baby life gets crazy and we don't get to talk as often as we used to.
The great thing though is that through ALL of this, Tami Jo and I both know that the other is going to answer the phone at 3:30 in the morning when the other is having a hard time, or will drop everything when the other calls with a fun story. We pray for each other in not just the hard times, but the good ones too and when we do have those few and far between moments that we get to chat on the phone, it's like we've never spent any time apart.
My friendship with Tami Jo is one of the biggest blessings in my life and I am SO grateful for her. She encourages me, prays for me, loves me unconditionally, and of course KEEPS ME ACCOUNTABLE! I pray that each of you has a Tami Jo in your life, cause I don't know how I would survive without mine. Call your Tami Jo and tell her how much you appreciate her- or if you're like me and can't call cause you are up too late... blog about her! :)
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Been a while, huh? ;)
Quite a bit has happened since my last post:
1. My beautiful not-so baby sister got married. It was a GORGEOUS wedding and her husband is fantastic. They are currently on the way home from their honeymoon in Disney and as far as I've heard they had a great time. OTHER than Jesse being sick with the flu on one day. We felt SO bad for them but grateful it was only one day and not the whole week!
2. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!! We close on Friday but won't be able to move in until some renovations are done. Most likely we'll have everything done with 4 days to move in and be DONE by March 1st! Dave and I are so excited we can't stand it! Last night we went and bought our appliances (since it's a foreclosure and they took them) and got a GREAT deal. We came in RIGHT AT budget AND got a convection oven, awesome fridge, and a mico-hood. I already can't wait for construction to start and be over. Now all I have to do is pick out paint colors for all the rooms, and pick out everything for the 1/2 bath we are remodeling.
3. Life is pretty much great. Dave and I are just enjoying this point of our life and we look forward to what God is doing in and through us. 2009 is going to be a great year in our life and we are so excited about it!
One of my resolves for the new year is to write on here at LEAST once a week. So hold me to it if you see me slipping! :)
1. My beautiful not-so baby sister got married. It was a GORGEOUS wedding and her husband is fantastic. They are currently on the way home from their honeymoon in Disney and as far as I've heard they had a great time. OTHER than Jesse being sick with the flu on one day. We felt SO bad for them but grateful it was only one day and not the whole week!
2. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!!! We close on Friday but won't be able to move in until some renovations are done. Most likely we'll have everything done with 4 days to move in and be DONE by March 1st! Dave and I are so excited we can't stand it! Last night we went and bought our appliances (since it's a foreclosure and they took them) and got a GREAT deal. We came in RIGHT AT budget AND got a convection oven, awesome fridge, and a mico-hood. I already can't wait for construction to start and be over. Now all I have to do is pick out paint colors for all the rooms, and pick out everything for the 1/2 bath we are remodeling.
3. Life is pretty much great. Dave and I are just enjoying this point of our life and we look forward to what God is doing in and through us. 2009 is going to be a great year in our life and we are so excited about it!
One of my resolves for the new year is to write on here at LEAST once a week. So hold me to it if you see me slipping! :)
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
OH MAN!
Well a few things...
I know this might sound bad, but I am ECSTATIC today because our Governor got arrested on corruption charges...FINALLY!!! He is a jerk, a creep, and an all around bad guy for Illinois. God puts our leaders into place for a reason, and I know that but I am SO glad that God is now taking him OUT of leadership for us. The state will be better for it! Although I say I am happy about it, it's really quite sad and pathetic that our country has come to this.
We took Boaz for a walk/run last night and had such a good time. Dave and I both need excersie and so does our poor little dog, so we bought him a couple sweaters and even a coat and we are going to be taking him with us on our walks. Last night he went an entire MILE which is the longest he has gone- and he ran MOST of it too! He was so tired last night when we got home that he just pooped out and rested the entire evening... it was kinda nice! :)
Lauryn's wedding is only 25 days away!!! We finalized our hair appointments today and I should be taking my dress to be altered soon to get that done. This weekend I'm spending my Saturday making favors, christmas gifts, and getting a Mary Kay makeover since I won $50 in make-up at a wedding show here in Salem! (Good thing b/c I needed new make-up BADLY)
Dave and I had a great weekend together. Friday night we had a game night at church with the youth- we did a Christmas "around town" scavenger hunt and it was SOOOO much fun! We also decorated Christmas cookies and played a few other games that had a Christmas theme.
Then Saturday we got to actually sleep in before we headed out for Fairview Heights. We went to PetSmart and got some fun toys for Boaz since he has DESTROYED his other toys we bought him! (That place is so much fun by the way...) After that we headed to St. Louis for dinner at Maggiano's. OH MAN it was so good! Calamari and Spinach Chicken Manicotti... FANTASTIC! Plus we split a chocolate and candy cane ice cream dessert... MMMMM. We finished the night looking at Christmas lights and then headed home.
Sunday was church, a party with friends in Orchardville where we had a White Elephant and had some pretty funny gifts exchanged! That night we headed to my parents after church and decorated their Christmas tree. The sad part is that this is probably the last year we will ALL get to do this together. With Lauryn getting married and living in Edwardsville, and Dave and I thinking of starting our own traditions as a family it's a little sad. I mean we will all still be together during the holidays, but it won't be the same when we all have our own families and stuff. I guess we'll just all start NEW traditions with each other! :)
What type of traditions do you all have with your families? Are there any traditions you no longer do that you miss or are glad that are gone? ;)
I know this might sound bad, but I am ECSTATIC today because our Governor got arrested on corruption charges...FINALLY!!! He is a jerk, a creep, and an all around bad guy for Illinois. God puts our leaders into place for a reason, and I know that but I am SO glad that God is now taking him OUT of leadership for us. The state will be better for it! Although I say I am happy about it, it's really quite sad and pathetic that our country has come to this.
We took Boaz for a walk/run last night and had such a good time. Dave and I both need excersie and so does our poor little dog, so we bought him a couple sweaters and even a coat and we are going to be taking him with us on our walks. Last night he went an entire MILE which is the longest he has gone- and he ran MOST of it too! He was so tired last night when we got home that he just pooped out and rested the entire evening... it was kinda nice! :)
Lauryn's wedding is only 25 days away!!! We finalized our hair appointments today and I should be taking my dress to be altered soon to get that done. This weekend I'm spending my Saturday making favors, christmas gifts, and getting a Mary Kay makeover since I won $50 in make-up at a wedding show here in Salem! (Good thing b/c I needed new make-up BADLY)
Dave and I had a great weekend together. Friday night we had a game night at church with the youth- we did a Christmas "around town" scavenger hunt and it was SOOOO much fun! We also decorated Christmas cookies and played a few other games that had a Christmas theme.
Then Saturday we got to actually sleep in before we headed out for Fairview Heights. We went to PetSmart and got some fun toys for Boaz since he has DESTROYED his other toys we bought him! (That place is so much fun by the way...) After that we headed to St. Louis for dinner at Maggiano's. OH MAN it was so good! Calamari and Spinach Chicken Manicotti... FANTASTIC! Plus we split a chocolate and candy cane ice cream dessert... MMMMM. We finished the night looking at Christmas lights and then headed home.
Sunday was church, a party with friends in Orchardville where we had a White Elephant and had some pretty funny gifts exchanged! That night we headed to my parents after church and decorated their Christmas tree. The sad part is that this is probably the last year we will ALL get to do this together. With Lauryn getting married and living in Edwardsville, and Dave and I thinking of starting our own traditions as a family it's a little sad. I mean we will all still be together during the holidays, but it won't be the same when we all have our own families and stuff. I guess we'll just all start NEW traditions with each other! :)
What type of traditions do you all have with your families? Are there any traditions you no longer do that you miss or are glad that are gone? ;)
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
New Resolve!
I had a breakdown last night and into this morning... I've decided that I am DONE with several things:
1. My apartment being dirty all the time (unless people are coming over)
2. Dishes NEVER being done
3. EATING OUT!
4. Not excercising
5. BEING OVERWEIGHT!!!!!
Starting today I go back to my 'wedding diet' which I lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks right before my wedding. Hopefully I can do this again because my sister's wedding is only a month away and I need time to get the dress altered!
Meal Plans include: 1 piece of bread per day, NO condiments (mayo, BBQ, ketchup, etc), no meat other than turkey and chicken, no chips, NOTHING FRIED, only water to drink with meals, 1 cup of coffee a day with no flavored creamer, no dairy products, and only ONE SMALL sweet snack a day.
I'm also going to start walking everyday again. This really helps with not only the weight loss, but my energy level, helping me feel better about myself, and since I'll be taking Boaz- hopefully he will get some good energy out and sleep through the night again! (We've been having a problem with him sleeping all night lately!)
I have 32 days until Lauryn's wedding, and I hope to be at least CLOSE to the size I was at for MY wedding. That way I won't have to go out and buy some new clothing for winter OR for the wedding events. Over the next few weeks I'll try to let you in on how I'm doing with it all and maybe at some point post some pictures... depending on how I feel! :)
1. My apartment being dirty all the time (unless people are coming over)
2. Dishes NEVER being done
3. EATING OUT!
4. Not excercising
5. BEING OVERWEIGHT!!!!!
Starting today I go back to my 'wedding diet' which I lost 15 lbs in 2 weeks right before my wedding. Hopefully I can do this again because my sister's wedding is only a month away and I need time to get the dress altered!
Meal Plans include: 1 piece of bread per day, NO condiments (mayo, BBQ, ketchup, etc), no meat other than turkey and chicken, no chips, NOTHING FRIED, only water to drink with meals, 1 cup of coffee a day with no flavored creamer, no dairy products, and only ONE SMALL sweet snack a day.
I'm also going to start walking everyday again. This really helps with not only the weight loss, but my energy level, helping me feel better about myself, and since I'll be taking Boaz- hopefully he will get some good energy out and sleep through the night again! (We've been having a problem with him sleeping all night lately!)
I have 32 days until Lauryn's wedding, and I hope to be at least CLOSE to the size I was at for MY wedding. That way I won't have to go out and buy some new clothing for winter OR for the wedding events. Over the next few weeks I'll try to let you in on how I'm doing with it all and maybe at some point post some pictures... depending on how I feel! :)
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving
I am so thankful for God's MANY blessings in my life. Thank you Lord for your provisions and meeting my needs, and for ALL the wonderful things I have been given from YOUR hands. My life is forever yours.
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