Me and My Homies

This weekend my besties and I went to downtown Dallas and stayed at the Magnolia Hotel. It was so much fun. The hotel was great (free happy hour, milk and cookie reception, jacuzzi, and other various amenities), the food was good (particularly Mia's), and the company was the best. We got mani/pedi's, played pool at the hotel, talked and talked and talked, people watched, and slept very little! I didn't take near as many pictures as I thought I would because I was too busy having fun. Here are the few pictures that we took yesterday! Thank you Dallas for showing us such a good time! We are doing this again next year!

My Besties.

L-R: Kara, Lori, Brittany, Betsey, and Rachel - My Homies.

Rachel standing with the Lamborgenhi at the hotel. Seriously, how sexy is her face and hair blowing in the wind?

Brittany, Me, and Lori getting our pedicures.

Lori literally kept us laughing the whole time. So much FUN!

Rachel giving the beauty queen wave while getting a pedicure.

Betsey and Lori getting their manicures.

Going to Starbucks.

Christmas in April

You know that feeling when you are a little kid that you get on Christmas Eve? That is exactly how I feel right now. The anticipation of this weekend is killing me!

Tomorrow starts off with a race that my friend Brittany and I have been training for. Then we will come home, shower, pack, and meet up with 5 other girls at the Magnolia Hotel. We are going to get mani/pedi/massages, eat good food, drink wine and other various alcoholic beverages, and have some good ol' fashioned girl time.

This is much needed for me. It's been a long year of new job, new town, new house, new baby...pretty much a new everything. I can't wait to hang out with all my favorite girls and just be me.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am sure there will be a million pictures to post on Monday. Yea! Less than 24 hours to go!

No officer...I don't know what you're talking about!

I went to Dallas yesterday to shoot some bridal portraits. As we were driving home on I-30, I was in the far left lane and sped up to get around a semi. I got nervous because I was next to a cement barrier and a semi truck that was not exactly keeping it between the lines. Lo and behold, a cop was right there waiting for me! I got pulled over, and I got a ticket. Seriously! He should have pulled the truck driver over for being a crappy driver! Instead he gave me a ticket with 2 charges. One charge was for speeding, and the other charge was because my driver's license and insurance card had 2 different addresses on them. So STUPID. My driver's license had the correct address, but my insurance card had my old Frisco address on it. We have already changed our address for our insurance but haven't gotten a new card yet. This is the first ticket that I have gotten since I was in college. Ugh. Defensive Driving...here I come!

My Charmed Life

I love my life. God has blessed me with an amazing, God - loving husband, 3 beautiful and healthy kids, a roof over my head, and plenty of food to eat...not to mention that Jesus saved me from eternal damnation. Lately it's been so easy for me to get caught up in the minor details of life that I lose sight of God, but He gently reminds me of his presence daily.

Every night before we put the kids to bed Tyron and I lay hands on our kids in prayer. (For those of you who think that it sounds weird to lay hands on some one in prayer, it's just a tangible way to show who you are praying for. It helps the kids understand that Mommy and Daddy are praying for them.) We finished our prayer and Faith says, "I want to pray." She does this every night and so does Luke.

This was Faith's prayer(unprompted by us):

Dear God,

Thank you for my dancin' and for my feet that move. I hope you love my dancin' since I dance for you and Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for Jesus and the Easter eggs. Thank you for helping me be a cheerful giver when I played with my friends today. Help my owie get better because my head hurts where I bonked it. I love you God. And Jesus, too! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

God reminded me of his presence by using my 2-year old's prayer. It's amazing that this little prayer came from my 2 year old little girl. Only God could put such sweet things in the heart of anyone.

Thank you God for working in the hearts of my children. It's such a blessing and privilege to be a mom. Thank you for your Word that I get to freely read every morning. It truly is the well spring of my life. Thank you for reminding me how sweet you are. Help me not to get caught up in the grind of life and forget that each moment is precious. Amen.

Easter Pictures

Here are some Easter pictures. We had a great Easter weekend! We went to church and had lunch with Darrick and Brittany, and after naptime Luke and Faith hunted Easter eggs. We aren't huge fans of the Easter Bunny, so we pretty much just make a game out of the egg hunt. Hannah was too busy climbing and walking around to care about the eggs, but Luke and Faith had a great time. The kids don't have Easter baskets, so they used their pumpkins from Halloween. Ghetto...I know, but we don't care. Hunting eggs is about Jesus...not eggs. That's our motto anyway. :-) Enjoy the pictures!

Heeeeellllllooooooo Beautiful!

Meet my new toy! This is the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens. This bad boy is 7.5 inches long and weighs about 2.5 pounds. That is A LOT of glass. Yea!!

I am so excited. I have been stalking this lens for months! I finally got it and can't wait to start using it. I am shooting a wedding on May 1st, so I am sure it will get a full workout then. I know some babies that are due pretty much anytime that are gonna meet this big boy too!

Lunch with Luke

This is the conversation that I had with Luke while I fixed lunch:

Me: "Luke, do you want spaghetti or peanut butter and jelly for lunch?"

Luke: "Spaghetti. Spa-ghetti. Look! I didn't say pasketti! I said spa-ghe-tti! Faith say 'spa.' Now say 'ghetti.' Now just keep saying over and over again until you get it!"

Me: "Good job Luke! Do you want cheese on your spaghetti?"

Luke: "For sheezy! For schizzle! Thanks yo!"

Me: (Thinking...What the???????????????????) "Your welcome?.?.?"

Apparently my son is learning a little slang... :-)

How You Know You Are Getting Older...

I have been running and working out like a madwoman for the past few months. It's been great! I am losing weight and feeling better. Good right? Until you realize that you are getting older.

Yesterday, I was running and my knee cap randomly dislocated. I didn't fall, step in a hole, or even run on uneven ground. Nice, right? Seriously, I am in pretty good shape! I don't know what happened. The only thing I can figure is that my body is starting to protest because I am getting older. 30 isn't old, right? I think I might have to trade my body in for a newer, less dislocated model. Anyone know where I can get one of those?

Now I have to get through a photo session with a knee that is easily 3-4 times bigger than the other. All I can hope for is that I don't permanently cripple myself. At this rate, I am gonna need a walker by 40!