Amber's Baby Shower

Faith, Megan, and I hosted a baby shower for Amber and baby Will this weekend. I would say it was a success. We had a nice turnout and wonderful food. I really hope Amber enjoyed it because I know that Faith Megan and I had a lot of fun putting it together. I made the diaper cake, rumaki, pacifier candies, and chex mix. (okay so maybe I didn't MAKE the chex mix :)). I also sewed some customized bibs for baby Will. I let Amber open them at the shower but immediately took them back because I didn't have time to finish them in my previously mentioned crazy week! :) I'll post pix of the bibs later.

The diaper cake made totally out of disposable diapers

Pacifier Candies

Petit Fours (how cute are the booties!)

Some of the guests

More of the guests

Tough Crazy Week

This past week was the beginning of my 5 midterms. 2 down, 3 to go this week. Also wrote a few term papers. All this while prepping for a visit from Jordan, hosting a baby shower, hearing about Uncle Tom, starting my new part-time job, and having meal-included study groups at my house! AHHHHHHh!!!!!

Blessed Aunt

I have the best niece and nephew. They are so beautiful and such a blessing to our family. All that has happened with my uncle has made me realize that Erin and I need to take every opportunity to be a part of Zion and Calvin's life. Look how precious they are!!

Please Pray for My Uncle

I would like to ask all of you, my friends and family, to pray for my Uncle Tom. He was diagnosed with cancer about 4 years ago and was told he would not live another year. God is so good because Uncle Tom changed his diet, lifestyle, and tried a holistic approach and it seemed that he had beat the cancer. However, a few months ago he went in for a root canal and they found that they were not dealing with an abscess tooth but that the cancer had spread all throughout his jaw. He has rapidly declined in the past months, the cancer is throughout his entire body, and probably will not live much longer. My heart is breaking for Uncle Tom, a chef and B&B owner. He is such a faithful man who has praised the Lord throughout this struggle. My heart breaks for Aunt Nancy who is losing her partner. And my heart breaks for myself who will probably never get to see him again. I wish I had the resources to go see him. Also Nancy want to plan a surprise for him if possible. I would post the surprise here but am afraid he might read the blog. If you're curious send me a message and I'll email you back. So, if any of you know a Dodge dealer with a generous heart, please let me know.

Please see this message from Aunt Nancy:

First of all, I wish to thank each and everyone who is praying for us and please know that the prayers are felt by the abundance of God's love who wraps his arms around us each day. I know many of you are wondering how Tom is doing and I apologize for not keeping in better communication. Tom's cancer metasized to his bones last may and now has invaded his liver creating enlargement that pushes against his stomach. He is taking chemo every 3 weeks and more frequent blood transfusions and iv's for dehydration. Ever since his radiation treatment on his lower lumbar last summer he has experienced ever increasing stomach problems. His vomiting is now several times a day and has trouble keeping any food or liquids down.
Our doctor, bless his kind heart, is making an house call tonight because tom was experiencing severe pain in his liver. Every week tom's pain meds increase to keep up with the rapid growing cancer.
I have contacted hospice today and they are coming out tomorrow to start Tom on a program. Tom's doctor has given him a couple months max to survive and the next couple weeks are crucial for anyone who desires to see him. I encourage anyone who can to come and visit tom, we have ample rooms to accomodate you. We will understand if you are unable to make the trip. Understand also, that Tom at this time can only handle short periods of visitation for he tires easily. He will totally love seeing anyone who is able. Maybe going down memory lane would be uplifting.
Tom so wanted to travel to michigan or possibly florida to enjoy the warm sunshine and beach one more time but we fear that his health is deteriorating too quicly but we will consult with his doctor tonight and the hospice people tomorrow.
My heart aches as i write this for our lives have interwoven throughout his life and many wonderful and fun memories come to the surface. Our faith and hope is in jesus christ and tom knows that jesus awaits him when the time comes where he will have no more pain, suffering and tears but in the meantime the journey of nearing the crossing of the border of heaven can be
Scary and lonely so please pray for tom to be comforted with peace that surpasses all understanding for god knows our fears and hearts and i am confident that god will provide tom's passage with abundant mercy, grace and love.
We thank god for all your tender love and compassion.
Nanc (mom) and tom

Dear Heavenly Father, If Your good and perfect will is not a miracle then let Tom enjoy his last few days/weeks/months. Thank you for the extra time you've already given him. Surround him with love and comfort from the Lord and friends and family. Let the pain disapate and bring comfort to those that love him. Amen.

Hodaka Heaven

Today Erin said goodbye to his Hodaka. It was his very first "motorcycle"/dirtbike. He and his dad bought it years ago to fix up. Erin decided to sell it so that he could get his new motorcyle, the Suzuki Cruiser, that we bought a few months ago. It took a while to sell because it is a bike from the '70's and is a collectors item, so there is not a great market for it. It was hard for Erin to get rid of because of the memories associated with it but felt really good about the guy who bought it. The buyer drove all the way from Marietta Georgia and is going to restore it to original condition so that it completes his Hodaka collection. He promised to send E pics of the bike when it was finished. I think that made E feel better. He was glad that it will be taken care of instead of sitting in our garage.

Layla Grayce

Today I went to the christening of my friend Mikeya's baby, Layla Grayce. While I do not believe in child baptism, I was happy to go and support them by promising to pray for Layla as she grows, especially for Layla's spiritual growth. I will pray that someday, when she is old enough to make the decision on her own, Layla will come to know Jesus. And I commit to be a friend to Mikeya and an example of a Christian woman to Layla.

Isn't little Layla beautiful?!

A Sad Goodbye...

I took back the beautiful black pair of shoes I bought two weeks ago. They weren't in the planned budget and I bought them on impulse. They weren't expensive or anything but I was feeling a little guilty since Jordan is coming to visit and I am throwing a baby shower this month. Plus, I saw 2 people at church yesterday who had similar ones on... not that it matters but I decided I didn't need them. Goodbye 5 inch heels....hello old nasty tennis shoes :)

Miss Tennessee USA

Good Luck to the girls competing tonight at the Miss USA competition. I was there last night at the presentation show and you all looked gorgeous! To the J.S. Fields folks, thanks for letting me be there last week to help some of you get ready, it was so much fun. Knock 'em dead!

Love ya! B

Shelley George - Bridal Designs

Today I did a photo shoot for Shelley George's new line of wedding gowns. She is a local designer that has had massive success with her designer bridal shoes, handbags, and flower girl dresses. Her new line of wedding gowns will hit her website soon. For all of you soon-to-be brides out there: she is pretty affordable! http://www.shelleygeorge.com/

She is a hugely talented designer and we had so much fun at the photoshoot today. I'm trying to get back into that world a little bit because it is a great way to make good money while in school plus its lots of fun. So that means that I am trying to drop about 10 pounds (healthily, mom) and get back to the self-upkeep that I have let slide a little.

This pic is for mom...who I know will ask for a pic of my hair. This was the best I could do....what was left of my hair at the end of the day, 6 hrs after the shoot, after my errands, and after all the makeup had mostly been removed. Nothing special, just curled and down and Farrah Fawcett-y.

Commone Sense NOT Chicken Little

The Sky Is Falling!!! The Sky Is Falling!!! The Sky Is Falling!!! Oh sorry, I thought I was a freaked out American who thinks the world as we know it will end because the DOW fell 778 points on Monday. But I'm not :)

Actually I understand that the American economy is in a very precarious place right now. But, I DON'T think the government should be in the business of owning things (socialism) and am glad that they voted the bailout down. But, I DO think SOMETHING should be done.

Please check out the Common Sense Plan and contact your Senator or Representative. The idea was developed by a leading economist and the plan was put together and packaged by Dave Ramsey. Briefly, it involves retro-acting Sarbanes-Oxley by removing mark-to-market accounting for sub-prime mortgages (for 2 years). It also includes doing away with the estate tax and extending additional insurance to the lenders. This would do the trick of creating a market for the buying and selling of the current sub-prime mortgages and free the market back up.

PLEASE DO YOUR PART!!!! Contact your Congressman!!!