Gaylord Weekend

Last week my good friend celebrated her 30th birthday.  Her husband had been trying for months to think of something fun to do for her.  He called me the weekend before wanting to stay at a hotel for the night and just hang out doing some fun things together, with Jeff and I. So he decided on the Gaylord..  Jeff and I staying there as well (in an opposite room) was part of the surprise.  That day she thought she was just going out for dinner and a movie.. Jeff and I got there before them and Jimmy asked Jeff if he could decorate the room some with flower petals.. so this is what Jeff and I came up with.. There were also roses leading from the door to the bed.

We were sitting in the next room and could hear them when they walked in.. Kristi started crying with excitement.. She sent me a text with the picture of her bed and room.. expecting me to respond back with excitement that Jimmy had pulled something off.. but I instead walked into their room.. She screamed and threw her arms around me crying.. We went out for a nice dinner at Bob's Steak and Chop house.  Then went to the Glass Cactus for a few drinks, dancing etc.  We went back to our hotel and talked for a bit, then decided we'd be responsible parents and hit the sack early. We had soccer games early the next morning and they had cheerleading to go too.  Much to our surprise dismay we received a lot of rain that night and our games were cancelled the next day.. So we had breakfast, walked around taking pictures, talking, laughing etc.. and then parted our ways.. Jeff and I came home and took a much needed nap..  We had a GREAT time.. 

Below are some pictures from the night.

  

  

Kristi, 

Thank you for being such a GREAT friend to me over the years.  Little did I know that when you helped me get my job nearly 5 years ago, how much our friendship would grow.  I had only met you a few times in person..  You have been my rock, my shoulder, my ears, and my confidant.  I can get advice from you without judgement.  You've been in places I've been in and can give me honest opinions.  I love you and your family very much.  I've enjoyed watching your girls grow over the years.. and I love that many of my childrens great memories include you and your family.  Maybe some day when we grow old, our kids are grown and out of the house, we can be neighbors.. sit on our porches with our Dr Peppers, rocking in our chairs, and watching our grandkids running around playing together! :-) 

Carrie

"A friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope."

Be sure to check out my Business Blog www.SouthernGalsBoutique.Blogspot.com

some old pictures

A few weeks ago while digging through my drawers in my dresser, I ran across 15 rolls of film that I forgot I had.  I wasn't sure what I'd find on these, considering I've had a digital camera for years!!  I secretely hoped that I'd find some pictures of my Grandma on there from when we moved here.. no such luck.. or pictures of me and Jeff when we started dating.. again, no such luck!! But I did find some pictures that made me laugh, smile, and left me missing those days...

some funny faces from Peyton..

                                   Joey's last visit with his "dads" side of the family!  Below with his grandma, great grandma, and then his grandma and grandpa.

Aleena a little younger... always smiling..

Great family memories at the beach in my home town.

and some shots of a few of my favorite people in this world!! :-)

Che, Chelynn, Emma and Jeff

Amy and Austin..

And I couldn't leave you without sharing this picture..

cracked me up when I seen it!!

fun with friends..

Several years ago, I learned about a baby who was fighting for her life. She had Leukemia, at such a tender young age. You can read about her story here . I heard about her battle from Jeff, her uncle was a co-worker of his. I set out to help however I could, with fundraisers, spreading the word etc. During that time I joined a group called Friends of Allie, created in this young girls memory. Through this group I started walking in Light The Night walks, raising money for LLS. FOA was a huge group and people in each town started creating there own message boards to keep in touch, share ideas, fundraise, deliver meals etc. Through this group I met a few ladies that are now great friends of mine. One of them, Kristi, not knowing much about me, but knowing I was looking to get out of daycare, let me know about an opening at her company. And that's how I got the job I got today. I had corresponded with her on this message board, primarily about kids we were praying for, who needed meals, donating baskets to the hospitals etc. And met her twice, at LTN functions. I now see her on a daily basis at work, and we've grown quite close.. Thankfully, considering we share a cube at work now!! LOL We also met George, a sweet lady from England... And Heidi.. Who lives a few hours away.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."~ Walter Winchell

Kristi and I try to get together with George a few times a year, George might think its only so we can have her great curry that she makes, but I promise its for the great stories, conversations and friendship she offers as well... She's got a sweet daughter who is just growing like crazy.

"Friends are those rare people who ask how you are and then wait to hear the answer."

Heidi is also a very sweet lady. And what saddens me is that in the past 3 yrs we haven't gotten together, only communicated via email. Until she delivered her 3rd baby, and Kristi and I drove to see her in the hospital on a whim. But what breaks my heart most, is that this sweet lady and her family are being stationed in Germany. They will be moving in 2 wks. 3 yrs we wasted not seeing each other, and now for 3yrs they'll be on the other side of the world! Heidi is the mother to 3 gorgeous kiddos, 2 boys and her little princess. We've seen her 2 more times since she had her baby 2 months ago. One day she surprised us up at work after an impromptu trip to Dallas. And this past weekend us 4 ladies and our families (minus my hubby and grown son), met up at a park in Denton.

The weather was GREAT, the kids had a super fantastic time playing, I got to love on some babies.. and we got to spend some cherished time with each other...

Heidi, we'll miss you and your family dearly, but i know you'll be updating your blog with lots of cool pictures that we will all envy, and sharing great stories.. And we'll see you soon.. ((HUGS))

Us 4 moms and our kids

Just us moms!

Me getting some baby loves from sweet Sianna

Jimmy pushing the kids on the tire swing.

Fun with Friends

Friday night Me, Aleena and Peyton got together with a few friends for dinner. And of course we love going to George's house because that means Curry! Which I LOVE! :-)

We started off by going to the park to let the kids run around and enjoy some of the 70+ weather! Then we headed inside to start eating... Kristi brought some of her pumpkin bread that Peyton loves, and I think he had 5 slices of it for dinner!! Thank you Kristi!

Then George broke out her face painting kit and entertained the kids for a bit..

Aleena got a Dolphin

I got A Frog.. :-)

Shaylee got A Unicorn

And Miss Jessica got a cupcake!
So fitting for such a sweet little girl..

My friend Kristi is PG with her 2nd Girl, due in March. Her name will be Sianna Elise (I hope I spelled that right!).. I was attempting to get a few belly shots of Kristi.

And for the 1st time we enlisted Aleena to take a picture of the 3 of us.. I see Kristi everyday since I work with her now, but the 3 of us don't see each other often enough. We all met on a message board years ago; doing fundraising for Light The Night and got involved in other fundraising events geared around children battling Cancer. I had only met Kristi once, MAYBE twice face to face prior to her helping me get my job I have now.

Here's what us moms wish we could do the minute we sit down from a long day..

We really had a great time, and I can't wait until our next get together!!

What a fun filled weekend!!!

Just a quick post to say what a busy but excitingly fun weekend I had!!! It was non-stop from the minute I got off of work on Friday!! This weekend left me feeling blessed in so many ways! This is just a short post; and hopefully tonight I’ll have time to sit down and write more detailed posts with pictures...

Friday night was Halloween; which of course meant trick – or – treating!!! How fun!! My friend Chance and her daughter Aslynn met up with us, and along with my cousin Regina and Jr and there kids, the kids headed out to the streets.. We then went over to Jeff’s parents so they could see them in there costumes and give them some treats... Something funny coming on that later...

Saturday we got up and got the kids ready for soccer, I went shopping for some supplies needed on Sunday, went to the soccer fields. We were met out there by my mom and my sister Johann; and Jeff and I headed off to Oklahoma!! We watched an OU football game against Nebraska! We got back home around 2 in the morning Sunday.

Yesterday we got up and I went to pick up the kids. Then came back and made a dish of Enchiladas and off we went to the Horse Park. Yesterday was Aslynn’s Make A Wish Granting party. Words can’t describe the joy I felt watching this sweet 10 yr old girl walk into the party room filled with her friends, family, and school staff... Celebrating her… She’s just got such a pure heart, spirit, full of smiles, funny jokes and hugs. She’s been a true blessing to our lives. I’ll have more to post on that later...

Tonight I’ll be heading to the DR. I’m not sure what’s going on but my eyes have been really itchy and red for weeks now; the skin under my eyes is also itchy. At first I thought it was due to a new face wash I was trying, but I now know that’s not the case. But my DR opened up a walk in clinic in a local grocery store, so I’m going to pop in there really fast this evening to see what he can give me!!!

OHHH... And I can’t forget a shout out!!! I got a photographer to photograph Aslynn’s party!!! Her name is Sara and you can see her work at http://www.sdsphotography.com/ and she is also doing a xmas photo shoot for there family as well!!! I’m SOOOO thrilled!! I’ve also booked a photo shoot with her on the same day as Aslynn’s family. I can’t wait to see her work! A lady I know uses her and I just love her pictures!! THANK YOU WENDY for helping me on this!!

Lots of pictures!!!

OK; I finally got the pictures to upload to our desk top (laptop still out of commission). Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks!! You should be able to click the pictures to view larger? I've never done my pictures like this before but with having so many to post I was trying to find a way to minimize them on my blog...

First; our Cheetah Girls Concert! Aleena had such a great time!! Below is a picture of the 2 of us before leaving the house, Aleena Marissah and Thalia waiting for the show to start, The Cheetah Girls on stage. and then a picture of Aleena with The Cheetah Girls about 5 ft behind her. I hate that the flash made her white like that.

How we spend our weekends!! Here is Jeff playing his 1st game of soccer (his team is currently in 1st place!!), Peyton doing some weird pose while playing defender??... My nephew Austin during one of his games.. And my niece Lacie loving on her baby!

A few random pictures.. Joey before going to his Homecoming dance, him with Aleena and Peyton.. Me and Peyton on the couch watching a movie before bed (yes I know I need a new pillow).. And this is how you will find Peyton on most nights. This child has such a great love of reading; he will read easily for an hour a night, and many weekends he'll read for well over 2 hrs. I love it!!!

Pumpkin Patch! We met up with some friends and there girls for a fun filled afternoon at the pumpkin patch; then went to McD's for dinner... I was so excited to have some kettle corn! LOVE that stuff!!!!

5th Grade Camp!!!! Aleena had such a GREAT time at camp!!!! She talked nonstop about it for hours that night. She was gone Mon-Wed. That Monday night we had some horrible weather, and tornados were hitting about 15 miles or so south of them. I as a Mother have never felt so helpless, sitting there watching the news. Praying with tears in my eyes that it wouldn't go near them. Aleena later told me that they were all bawling at camp, scared of what was going on outside. I'm glad it didn't stick around and they were able to enjoy the next 2 days. I picked her up from camp on Wednesday with intentions of taking her and her friend Aslynn to McD's to enjoy some ice cream. That would give us some free time to talk about camp. Both girls were starving when they got off of the bus so we got kids meals as well.

Pics; Aleena all packed and ready to go, giving me a pretend pouty face, self portrait (I really need to make sure I'm running around with makeup and hair done at all times ;-) ).. Aleena and her friend Aslynn at McD's, and the girls attacking there brothers on there arrival home.