From Miss to Mrs..

The big day has come and gone...

Such busyness the last several months trying to get everything ready for my daughters big day.  With my daughter living some 800 miles away she did most of the planning herself and she did a fabulous job.  I am quite proud of her ability to pull all this together while keeping her cool. 

There were many emotional days in between over the last several months. Lots of emotions for this momma. Lots of time C.R.Y.I.N.G. …..  Tori's big day was as beautiful as she was a bride.

The days before began with lots of pampering and enjoying the moment.  From hair highlights to nails.  To adding the finishing touches to wedding favors, and centerpieces.  To rehearsal dinner, and family time with lots of laughs.

Her venue was on the picturesque Chesapeake Bay waterfront at the beautiful Anchor Inn.  A perfect location for her as she is a beach bum at heart and has always wanted a wedding on the water.  Her wedding colors Guava and Malibu added the perfect touch for this girls dream wedding. It reminded me of being the tropics.  So Tori!

Here are a few snapshots of us getting ready.....

After make up and hair ( Mom and Daughter)

Sitting and waiting for the limo. She is/was beautiful.

Helping Tori get her necklace on.



Mom and I in the limo heading to the "Anchor Inn"

Important dates

I think hubby and I took around 300+ pictures, but we haven’t had time to edit them.  But this is a sneak preview.  Part 2 to follow shortly. 

Blessings,

Cindy

How the week is shaping up

Well this is it, the week I have been waiting on for almost 18 months now.  Since July of 08 when my son ask his girlfriend to be his wife.  That seemed like such a long time away back then, but it just goes to show time keeps marching on…so here we are now. 

I think this picture was taken 2 weeks after they started dating, almost 7 years ago.

This past weekend, I wasn’t on the computer much, as hubby and I were getting TONS of things done in the house that needed it, plus trying to make more room for the guest arriving this week.  Saturday was spent in the garage….It looked so much better on Saturday, I could have actually gotten my car in there.  However after spending all day Sunday in our basement, cleaning, sorting, organizing, boxing, decluttering, my garage has stuff in it again.  Not as much though.  Hubby is taking a truck load of stuff to good will this morning, with more I am sure to go, but we will be taking the rest to storage before mid week.  So hoping by the time family arrives, I will have my car all tucked in the garage. Oh happy day!

Thought I would give you a sneek peek into my week.

Today: Wash and change all sheets on the guest beds for family. Along with a good dusting and make space in closets for hanging garments.  Gather goodies for their bedroom baskets, towels, extra toiletries, magazines, etc. Who knows, I might even put a mint on the pillow.  :) As I am typing this, the washer is working away!!

Tomorrow: Clean down the all the bathrooms and give the guest one a real good clean. Wash rugs!  Do some baking.  Wanna have some great little treats to munch on in the mornings with our coffee. 

Today or Tomorrow, I also need to run out and do a few errands to pick up a few things on one of my many list. 

Wednesday: My folks arrive in the afternoon, so get something started in the crock pot early for a nice dinner without alot of fuss when they get here.  Mop all the floors and vacuum the carpets, put out some candles and viola.

Thursday: On this day, my sister and gang arrive. 

Friday: Mani and Pedi’s in the AM with mom, daughter and myself.  Puttering around collecting last minute things to transport to the rehearsal dinner.  Make my son and future daughter in love, my baked beans that they asked me to prepare and make for the dinner.  Rehearsal at 4:45 and dinner at 6:30

Saturday:  The big day!!!!

So as you can tell, I am getting there.  The weather looks like it is shaping up and should be a high of around 78 on Saturday with NO RAIN.  Thank you sweet Jesus!   Please keep my future daughter in law in prayer as she has come down with a bad cold and has actually missed work.  Praying she will feel better soon.

Should get back to work…

Rainy day here

today so it is going to be a day of computer fun.  Most of the work in the house is caught up so I am going to play around today on the computer and do some updating and blog hopping. 

I really need to spend some time working on my bible study too, since I haven’t really started it.  Read through the lesson but haven’t actually done ANY work.

Today I also need to come up with a some more schedules to keep me on task for my son’s wedding.  We are doing the countdown now.  2 weeks and 4 days.  YIKES!!  It’s hard to believe that he is going to be getting married.  I keep asking myself where does the time go, seems like only yesterday he was under my feet growing up.and ALWAYS asking questions.  Wesley is such a wonderful son, and such a sweet and honorable person.  I couldn’t be more proud of the young man he has become.  He shows his mother such love and concern and really tries to brighten my saddest days.  I love him so much.  When I think about all the little things he has done for me over time, it leaves no doubt that he will make a wonderful husband.  His family is always top on his list and I know that will be extended to HIS new family with he and Stephanie.  I pray that they will have a blessed union and that God will shower them with his blessings as he has my life.  As parents all we truly want is for our kids to grow up and be happy and live the life that God has ordained for them.  I am no different,  I want them to be as happy as a couple as he has made me, being my son. 

Guess you can say that my days lately have been kinda emotional as I look back on my son’s childhood  and remember, and wonder where did the time go.  But I will leave those thoughts and emotions aside for now as we move on to the next chapter of his life.  

Now wiping the tears from my eyes as I stroll down memory lane, I will say goodbye for now.   Hug your kids today!  Tell them you love them, you only have them for such a short time.

Blessings,

 

I'm a Mrs. again.

Hi everybody.

thanks for all the well wishes. The wedding was simply beautiful. I will post more later. Michael and I are heading to Cancun this morning,so I don't have alot of time, but will be posting pictures and I will write all about it when I get home.

Hoping all is doing well and that you all have a blessed week.

Love and hugs,
Me

A little of this and a little of that

Hi all....just wanted to hop on here for just a second and drop a note to let you all know that I am still around. Just busy STILL with things to do for this wedding. We are getting down to the last fews days before we head to Kentucky. I thank you all for the well wishes that you have left me either on my site or via email. It means alot to me.

Last night, Michael and I along with my sons and our friends finally went to the George Strait concert. For those of you that remember we were suppose to go back in January but was postponed because George was sick. It was totally awesome. That is the third time I have seen him, and he only gets better.

Tori is Lexington Kentucky this weekend with her dad going to a University of Kentucky cheer camp. Those cheerleaders have always been her inspiration in the arena of cheering and it is a great opportunity to go to their camp and actually be taught by them. I am sure she will come home with tons of stories. Can't wait to she gets back to hear all about it.

Now, I want to share something with you that I got in a email today from a dear friend. I will tell you that it might be disturbing to watch, but I feel it is worthwhile to pass along. I hope if you feel the same way you will pass it along too.



If you feel led to share this and spread the word, then please pick up this url http://youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA and share it as well.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend.
Love and hugs,

2 weeks to go

but who is counting? I am....Feels like I will never get everything together although we have a huge amount of things done. Granted alot of things can't be done until the last minute....but still it keeps your stress level high. Anyway, I think I am okay. Today is one of those days that I need...a day at home.

Last night we went out and did a little bit more shopping and exchaging things. I had my final fitting this past week, so I should be able to go and pick the dress up early next week although I might not get it until Saturday. It should be all pressed and ready to go. Although not sure how it will fare on the airplane to Kentucky. So might have to have it repressed once I get there. Oh well. Has anyone ever taken a wedding dress on a plane or no of anyone who did? How did it go?

Decided to stay home today. Told Michael that I wanted a day to stay home and clean my house, so Tori and I have been up this morning cleaning bathrooms, picking up clutter, dusting, ect. I still need to do my floors this weekend as well as finish up laundry. I have already done three loads this morning, my bed is loaded down, it might take me forever to put it all away. Not to mention all the clothes I have to pack for our trip is on there as well. I have been up since around 4 and it is now 10:30 and I am getting sleepy, but at the same time I can't sit still. Thinking I might have to lay down and grab a nap, but I do want to get over to the tanning bed today to get a little bit more sun. I have gone a couple times already but would like to get in a couple more visits before leaving. Just would like to have a little color on my shoulders and arms for my dress.

I am planning on letting Tori do my makeup for the wedding. I love the way she does her eyes. They look so much better than how I do mine, so she practiced one night this week on me. She did a good job, but I think I will have her go a little heavier on my eye makeup than she originally did. I think she is scared to do mine. :) But I really want the eyes to stand out. This will be the first time that they haven't been hid behind glasses and so I want to enhance them. Granted I don't want to over do it though.

We got our wedding bands this week. Actually I posted a pic of Michael's earlier in the week. In case you missed it, you can see it to the left. His is two toned with silver in the middle holding the 5 diamonds. Encased in yellow gold. It looks so pretty, this picture doesn't do it justice. My wedding band is yellow gold with 4 diamonds in it. At the moment, I don't have a picture of it...but maybe I can get on or find one online to show you.

I found out Thursday at work that the folks I work for are having a potluck for me on the 8th of April. I thought that was sweet. Not necessary but sweet just the same. I only have next week of work, and then I will be there the following week only on Tuesday (8th). Monday the 7th I have to be in court again for the accident I was in last year. Trying to get out of it, because I would rather work than take a day of leave. But the attorney isn't sure she will drop the supeona. Guess we will see. Michael and I will fly out the afternoon on the 9th...so thinking I will take that day off to make sure I have everything done that I need to do, plus try to rest because I know when I get to Kentucky we will be going non-stop.

I hope you are all having a great weekend. Gonna go for now, might be back later. Will try to get by and visit with you this weekend.

Hugs!

Odds and Ends

Hi ya'll. Just popping in to say hello and let you know that I am still alive. Today was a rough day for me. I have had a hard time staying focused and awake. All I have wanted to do today was sleep. Ugh! I hate days like that because I am not very productive. And believe me, I need to be productive now.

Today did bring some good news though, Michael and I waited about getting our passports, mainly because of time allowance....but we did go and apply for them last week. Guess what, they came today. Now that was fast!

Michael's wedding band got here last week. I just love it. Can't wait to give it to him. It will be funny in some ways seeing him in it because he doesn't wear jewelry. So I wanted to get something that wasn't huge but had some bling just the same. He told me this is the first time he has ever had diamonds.

Ladies, I can't tell you how much I feel out of touch with things. I have so much that I want/need to do to update and share on my blog but just don't have the time. I really am missing it. I have a small treasure of some new sites that I would like feature....but all in due time.

Well it is way past my bedtime, but took a nap today so not really sleepy now, but I know 4 AM will come early. So I will bid you a good night. Hope you all have a blessed Tuesday!

P.S. To do my post tonight I used the Windows Live writer. Love that tool! You can check it out here.

Love and Hugs!

Wedding, Again!

Hi all...did you think I forgot about you? No, really I haven't, but just haven't had any free time for the computer unless it involves looking up something for the wedding or honeymoon, etc. Anyway, I just feel terrible that I don't have a clue as what is going on with most of you. Forgive me for not being around, and know that when things slow down some I will get by to visit and check up on ya. But for me, if I get on the computer I can lose alot of precious time just 'visiting and playing'. So try to keep to my list in the evenings so I can accomplish as much as possible at a given time. Each day brings a new list. :)

This past weekend was a productive weekend for me. We didn't go to Philly to see the Spurs so I took care of some much needed things on my "blessings" list. On Saturday morning I went to get my hair cut/trimmed and highlighted. Looks much better, if I say so myself. I also took Tori shopping for her dress and we found one. WooHoo! It's simply beautiful, but it is going to need some alterations to the length, so if it can't be done then we have a back up dress. Either one will be pretty for the wedding and they both look great on her. So that is taken care of. The week before I had searched everywhere for some shoes so that I could take them to my fitting last week...and couldn't find anything. Michael if you are reading this stop now. To view my dress click here. Anyway, Saturday night while I was out looking for Tori's dress, I found a pair that I really liked, no actually fell in love with . Granted I didn't want open toed, but these were on sale and so pretty, I couldn't resist...so now a pedicure is in store for me. You'll find pedicures on my "Kentucky list of things to do".

I think Michael and I have just about got all major decisions made and all the airline tickets bought and honeymoon planned...so now it is all the loose little things to do. On Sunday I went out for a while and did some shopping for some clothes for the honeymoon, but really need to pick up some more things, shoes, makeup, suntan lotion, bathing suit, things of this nature. So we are planning to do that this weekend. The wedding is in just over three weeks. So I want to have everything done that needs to be done from our end by next week, so I can concentrate on getting all my packing done, as well as help Tori pack.

Michael and I will head to Kentucky the evening of the 9th of April, and the kids will fly down the evening of the 10th of April. Rehearsal will be on the 11th and the wedding on the 12th. The kids fly back to Baltimore on the 13th and we fly to CANCUN at the same time. We will be there from the 13th until the 19th in which we fly back to Nashville for a 5 hour lay over, so we will go out to dinner with my family ( they will all travel down to meet us/plus sister lives there) before heading back to Baltimore later that night. So I think that is our plans for now.

Besides the wedding, things are busy as ever. Tori is busy with school and her cosmetology class and 'travel' cheer squad. Plus it is that time of the year when they are bombarded by dances and fund raisers at the school. Plus she has been practicing her driving so that she can take her driving test. Believe me, I am not ready for that. The week before the wedding she is flying to Kentucky with her dad to go to the UK (University of Kentucky) cheer camp. She is really looking forward to this and I am sure it will quite informative for her. So as you can see, I have my hands in quite a bit with her.

Hope you all are having a wonderful week...and I saving things to share here once I have time and the wedding is behind me. Bear with me.

Time is flying by

Where is the time going? I have so much going on and my mind is rattled but other than that, I am doing great. I realized that one month from now, I am going to married again. WHEW! Hard to believe that it is coming along so quickly. Everyday there has been something that I have had to do, but today, I came home from work and took a nap and just have been hanging out. I actually just got out of the shower, had to wash this hair...but I wanted to get that down so that I could try to watch AI tonight. Actually I am watching last night show as I type this.

Tomorrow, I am going in for my dress fitting and I am taking Tori with me, because afterwards we are going dress shopping for her. She is going to be my maid of honor and we still have to find something for her. I hope we can find something that we both can agree on.

Depending on what is going on this weekend, I might go and get my hair cut and get it highlighted...but if not this weekend, it will be next week. Michael said something about trying to get tickets to go see the San Antonio Spurs in Philly, this weekend as they are playing in there.

I am so sorry I haven't had time to get around to visit or to even update my blog lately. Just way to much going on. But I have really missed it and checking in with you.

I have been spending as much time as possible reading these days. I have been reading two different Elizabeth George books. Almost finished with the second one. I have read her book on prayer and " A woman after God's heart". If you haven't read them, I recommend them to you. Both are excellent books and Elizabeth has a way of relating God's intention for us in such a way that it is easy to read and understand. I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I have made a concious decision this year to balance out my life with my priorities as well a dedicate time each day with the Lord. I have had times throughout my life where I felt my life was more aligned with God's plan, but over recent years it kinda slipped away....and my heart has graved for that relationship again. Thus, I have been diligently seeking his will in my life and for my family's. I find when I have a few minutes of spare time these days, that is where you will find me, with a book in my hand trying to learn. I just want to stay "teachable".

Well, there is much more going on, but will stop for now. Hoping that I will get back here soon.

Have a great rest of the week.

Back home!

Wow what a busy several days I have had.! Not sure where to actually start . Michael and I arrived back in Maryland late last night to quite a "treat" from my adorable furry pal, Mocha. She left us several care packages if you know what I mean. Ugh! So guess what Michael and I were doing around midnight last night. Shampooing carpets. Yeppers. I ended up getting to bed late but fortunately I didn't go in to work today as early as I normally do. I just needed to get some sleep. If I had it to do over I would have stayed home...just feeling kinda run down...but I am sure once I get back into the swing of things I will be fine

A little rundown of my trip, friday night we arrived in Houston about 8:30 pm. I was so glad to finally be there because it was a long day. Anyway, when we got there, we visited with the family and Betty. She seemed to be doing well, but you can never tell when someone is in pain. As we found out with being there several days she was taking some powerful pain medication. But she was a trooper and we loved the time we got to spend with her. She gave Michael 'her' ring to give to me right after we arrived. I ended up having to have it sized so we took it out on Saturday morning for resizing. I will have to get Michael to take a picture of it, as it is definitely unique and no other one is like it. It still means so much to me that she wanted me to have it. Still I feel it is a honor.

Later on Saturday afternoon we got word that Grandmom had past away. She had really been going downhill since last week. But God has a wonderful and remarkable way of working things out in his timing. Since I already planned on being in Ky. on Monday and Tuesday and her viewing and burial were then. So it worked that I could be there for that as well as take care of the wedding preparations that we needed to take care of. I am so thankful that my hometown isn't a big place,so we could take care of what needed to be taken care of it a matter of hours. We got to the florist and ordered my alter and reception hall decorations. I went with tulips as my flowers. I love tulips and since it is spring I thought this would be very springy. I am going to do hycinths on the reception tables in assorted purples and pinks. The florist had some pictures of some weddings they had done in the past using tulips and it looked so nice. Very elegent and simple. That is the look I am striving for. Simple and sweet and not overly done.

We are going to have a rehearsal dinner at the church afterwards and it will be catered. Got the menu in place for that. I also am having a small reception with cake and goodies after the wedding on Saturday but afterwards we are going to have a dinner at a resturant in town(as most of our guest are from out of town). We went to the location and reserved the hall and set a menu. Whew! We also checked with the local hotels to reserve a block of rooms for out of town guest and we ordered the tuxes and Michael got fitted. We also had to run to the county clerks office to see what we needed to do to get our marriage license, since we don't live there. Got that taken care of too. So as you can see this was a busy trip. I know there is much more, but this was the highlights. Anyway, Michael and I still have quite a bit to do but we will get it done. Only five more weeks.

This weekend, I have to find shoes and lingerie to wear under the gown so that I have them for my fitting next week. We still need to get our wedding bands, and Tori's dress and shoes, and all the incidentals that go with that. I still haven't decided what I want for my hair....but will decide. The one and major thing I fear is that since I am older and this is a second wedding, I don't want it to look like I am a young adult doing this for the first time. I am just trying to stay true to myself and what I like and keeping it simple, incorporating a few things that I really like from larger weddings.

Not planning on doing much the rest of this week other than work...I need to give myself a little break from the wedding plans. I will work more on the plans this weekend. My house really needs a good cleaning but will work on that this weekend too....I plan to spend some time over the next several days catching up with emails and such. I have a ton to go through that is the worst thing when you go on a trip and can't check your mail properly and open your inbox to 3 or 4 hundred emails. YIKES! So need to get through those. I also got backed up on my bible reading, so actually played catch up with that this morning. Now I am back on schedule.


I am sitting here watching American Idol while writing this....so if it doesn't make alot of sense you understand why. Actually Michael and I have been watching the ones we recorded to get up to date. Now I am caught up, watching the current show of the girls. I thought last nights show with the boys was actually good. So far this one has been just okay for me. I think I really like this Carly. Can we do something about the tattoo though? Its so distracting.

Before I leave, can I ask you all to please remember Michael's mom again in prayer, she went back to the doctor today for more chemo and test, we don't have any news yet how things went today, but just praying that she isn't in any pain, and that the chemo will continue to reduce the tumor she has. She really wants to be at the wedding so praying it works so that she can be there.

Hope you all are having a awesome rest of the week. I will try to stop in and visit with you all soon.

God Bless and hugs!

Different Day, Same stuff

Since I hadn't posted since Saturday morning thought it best to do a little update. We did go out on Saturday to look for my wedding dress and I am happy to report I found one. Yeppers I did. I had done some searches prior to going out and found one that was exactly what I was looking for online so wrote down the design number and when I went to our local bridal salon, they actually carried the designer and had that dress. I was shocked. I tried it on and knew that it was the one. My girlfriend went with me and she told me is was the 'one' too. I did try on some others but they were a little much, too formal. If it had of been my first wedding that would have been one thing but with this being the second, I was going for a total different look. The first dress was simply gorgeous with a long train but it looked so youthful and not me at all. Anyhow, I decided on the dress(the one I saw on the internet) that I wanted and paid for it. Much to my surprise, it was marked down 1/2 price. Wow! I was thrilled. So not only did I get the dress I saw and wanted, the local salon had it and it was 1/2 off. Can't beat that.I have to go in for my fitting on March 13th. WooHoo! So now I have to look for shoes and something for my hair. Thinking about wearing my hair half up and half down. But we will see. I am thinking that a pretty comb or decorative hair pins might be the way to go. Although I would love a simple little tiara. As for shoes, I want some simple but classic and comfortable. Since the wedding is in April, I don't think I will do open toed unless I just find some that I love.

In saying all that about the shoes, I might have to wait for a bit before I actually get some due to the fact while I was at the salon I stumped my toe, I heard it pop, and it is every color of the rainbow. I am not sure if it is broken or fractured but either way it is painful and sore. So now I am running around with tennis shoes on and my toes taped together. Call me grace. :)

I am in the process of making tons of list for our upcoming trip to Houston and Kentucky. I have so much to accomplish in a few short days so don't want to forget anything. Upon getting back home, I will be getting Tori's dress and shoes. She has seen some that she likes so will go and check them out. Not sure exactly what I want though, so this gives me a little time to think about it.

Enough wedding talk for now, on to something else. My sister is going in this morning to have sinus surgery. My folks are going down to Nashville to be with her, it will be done outpatient but they want to be there none the less. My sister has always had problems breathing so they are going to be doing a new procedure to help her breathe better and improve her quality of life. They said if this procedure didn't work they were going to do something different. Please remember her in prayer for a speedy recovery.

Today the weather here is raining and the temps are only suppose to be around 40. I am eagerly awaiting spring. Seems lately I haven't been to motivated to do anything, and I am eager to get some things accomplished. If you could only see my garage, but the weather has been so cold, Michael can't get in there. For a while he worked in there with a heater on, but that doesn't seem to help when the temps are down in single digits or teens. So hoping next weekend will be a pretty weekend so maybe he can get some things done out there. I haven't had my car in the garage since last fall. ;(

Hope you all have a great Tuesday and blessed week.

Hug and God Bless!

Going Hunting!

Yep, you heard me right....not hunting for animals, but THAT dress. Michael and I are going to hit the shops today in search of my wedding dress. Who knows what I will come home with or if I will find anything at all. We took Tori and Derek out to dinner last night , Wesley was working, and we stopped and looked at some dresses for her. She found several she liked, but because of the flower situation....I need to wait on her dress. I will have a better idea of colors for her after our trip to Houston this next weekend we are leaving friday after work and flying to Houston and then to Nashville on Monday morning and heading back to Baltimore on Tuesday.

Michael and I are flying in on friday night the 29th to spend some time with his mother and see how she is feeling. (she had another chemo treatment this week) and if she thinks she will be able to make the trip to Kentucky for the wedding. To check out the flowers and pick up my ring and possibly look for dresses. It will be a busy and hectic trip. When we stop in Nashville (Russellville, my hometown) We will visit with the pastor, and the group of ladies that will be helping my mom set up the church. I will speak to the florist, the hair dresser, caterers and the county clerks office. (which reminds me I need to pull out my paperwork to take to them...ie birth certificate, divorce papers, etc...)

In a weeks time, I have gotten the cake it will be ivory color with fresh flowers , caterer, church and pastor, flowers are in the process, so I think the only major thing not taken care of is the pictures....and if he comes down to it, I will just get a good friend to take tons with her digital and we will go from there. I don't have time to sweat all the stuff. I said that is the only one thing left, but actually we got to get dresses, line up hair and nail appts, and tuxes, and airlines and hotel accomadations for out of town guest. So as you can see I still have lots to do. Granted everything has been contingent on this trip to Houston, but once we get back things will be in full swing. I have been working on list, and Michael and I have to sort everything out on them.

We still haven't decided what to do about a honeymoon, we would love to go to the tropics but that means getting our passports and making sure that we both can get adaquet time off from work. My work has pretty much okayed everything so that shouldn't be a problem...but not sure about his schedule. Are question is do we take it now, or later in the summer. Guess time will tell. So even though we have some things done, we still have tons more to do....looking forward to having this all behind me soon. In seven weeks I will be married. That is so hard to believe.

Now, on to something else....several things actually. I was off yesterday due to the weather so I did finally make a entry to my homemaking blog. You can check it out here. Of course, I have list of things to do on it, but at the moment that is going to have to take a back seat, but sometimes it is nice to delve into that and get away from all the wedding preparations.

I also got news yesterday that Don's (my ex) grandmother (my grandmother in alot of ways) was rushed to the hospital late friday night with clots in her legs behind her knee. She is having lots of trouble with circulation and the surgery seem to help.....although yesterday he was called again for them to tell him that she was going in for another surgery (eventually they decided not to do the surgery because they thought her circulation was getting better and she was just not strong enough for another surgery if they didn't need to do it) . Apparently the top part of her heart is beating at a different pace than the bottom part. Never heard of this before, but she is in major pain and in poor health. I would love to ask you all to please keep Rilda (Real-da) in your prayers as well as the family. I would greatly appreciate you lifting her up in prayer.
Also, please keep Michael and I in prayer as we continue on in our wedding plans. Pray that this wedding will come together and that it will be a union filled with God's love. I really want this marriage to be one that glorifys God. Thanks!

Well ladies, I need to scoot, got tons to do today. Until next time...

God Bless and big hugs!

Racing thoughts

Good Morning Ladies, just wanted to drop in here and do a little update, before I get to far along in my day. I am sitting here in a quiet house and the weather is simply gorgeous outside. The birds are singing and it is the first real tease of Spring. Oh was a wonderful gift it was this morning to be home and get to enjoy it. Today I am feeling on top of the world. Life is busy but oh so good. Praise God. He is so good to me.

As some of you know from reading my last post (reading Wedding Plans) the wheels are in motion. Michael and I have lots to do before the big day. I have been blessed with lots of friends back home and my mothers church that said they would do whatever needs to be done so that I don't have to worry about getting everything done long distance. What a true blessing this will be.

Michael and I are heading to Houston on the 29th of February for a couple of days and then on the way back we will stop in Russellville (fly into Nashville) to make some arrangements and speak with the florist, caterer, and pastor, as well as the cake decorator. So it will be busy why I am there. I will also take along a list of things for the women at the church that intend to help my mom. I never dreamed I could be this excited or happy again about a wedding, but God is putting everything in place. So I am simply trying to enjoy the journey. At this point because of work restrictions, we most likely will not do a honeymoon at this time, but later in the summer, we may try to take a cruise or vacation. This is fine with me because our main goal is to have this wedding before his mom can no longer travel. Bless her heart. Not only does she have our wedding to attend but two grandchildren that are graduating from college and she wants to attend thier graduations during this whole time frame. We feel that as long as she has things to look forward too, this may be the best medicine for her. She is a remarkable woman.

Today is going to be full of getting my house together and ready for a new full week of activity. I spent the morning cleaning my kitchen (again) and hitting all the hotspots in the family room. The house is picked up and cleaned and so I am going to work on a few of the things I had listed for my Household Managemet book. I am going to also download something that I found online yesterday. Which is going to be the site I am going to feature this week. (excert below taken from the site)

e-Sword is a fast and effective way to study the Bible. e-Sword is feature rich and user friendly with more capabilities than you would expect in a free software package. The fact that e-Sword is free is just one of the blessings and does not speak of the quality of the software. I make my living writing software and I believe I have put forth my best effort in this endeavor. The real work, however, was put in by the godly men and women who devoted countless years creating the texts that have been made available for our benefit.
In His service, Rick Meyers

So if you are interested in this download follow this link and find the download here.

Also one of thing I did accomplish this weekend was, I posted my cooking blog. It is no where near finished but you can find the link under personal sites in the left hand column. I hope you will drop by and leave me a little note.

K...ladies, as you can see, I got lots to do, so going to get at it. Thanks for all your well wishes. Hope you have a blessed day. Love you all.

Wedding plans

Hi Ladies, as you can see from the woman at the left she is relaxing in a nice hot bubble bath. Well that was me just a few minutes ago. This has been one busy week for me and hoping that this weekend will be one of productivity. I have lots I want to accomplish but not sure how far I will get. As Michael and I have lots on our plates at the moment.

First things first, I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day. Mine was very nice, albeit Michael and I didn't get to really spend alot of quality time together we did manage to grab some Chinese food before heading to Tori's cheer competition. He also surprised me with a beautiful carat diamond heart necklace. It is full of baguettes and single stones. It just shimmers and glitters know matter which was you look at it. I was shocked. It is the most beautiful heart necklace I have ever seen. He felt bad, because he wanted to get me my engagement ring (I have a ring he gave me when he proposed, but he said it wasn't my real engagement ring)...which we have been looking at for awhile, a marquise, but just before he got it, he was called by his mother and she asked him if I would like to have her diamond set. As you all know she has terminal cancer and she has started dispersing her things. Can you say honored? I was in total shock as it is a gorgeous ring. So my engagement ring will be a band of diamonds that have been taken out of various jewelry that Michael's dad has given her over the years and put into one ring, with a big stone in the middle. Can't really describe it, it is very different. But I am so honored that she wanted me to have it. So now Michael and I need to get wedding bands that will compliment this ring. Because of his mom's health we decided we needed to get this wedding in motion so that she will still be able to travel and be there. This is something that is so important to us.

As most of you know, we are getting married, and we were planning on a wedding possibly in late spring, early summer, but with his moms health, everything is getting pushed up. As it looks now, it will most likely April 12th. He and I are taking a trip to Texas and Kentucky in two weeks just to check out venues, but I have the church in my hometown on reserve and have a paster that will perform it. But as much as I would like to get married there, it will be alot of work to do it long distance. Therefore we want to check out some venues in Nashville that will basically do everything. We want something simple but yet elegant. We are starting to put all the details together, but one of my main concerns now, is finding the perfect dress. I want something simple, but elegant as well. Looking for ivory or champagne color. But it is so hard to find. So guess I need to start hitting the bridal shops. So that is what I know for now, and will keep you up to date as things happen. The next six or eight weeks are going to be busy busy.

This morning has been a busy one for me...I have already unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, put dishes away and wiped down the stove, also cleaned down all the kitchen counters and cleaned up the clutter on the ground floor and my bedroom. Laundry has been sorted and ready for washing. Michael went through all the hotspots on the tables of mounds of mail and trashed most of it. I also got the kitchen and family room floors sweeped and mopped. Now the rugs need to be vacuumed. So basically all the general cleaning has been done, and it now gives me time to work on some projects that I have listed that need to be done over the course of the next three days. Looking forward to this extra day off this weekend. I want to spend time with my blogs and new cooking blog this weekend, as well as more time with my Household Management Binder and Prayer Journal.

I am going to try to get around to visit with all my buddies this weekend too. Just haven't had much online computer time this week, so hope to make up for that this weekend.


Hope you all are having a great weekend.
God Bless!