Women of Faith

On Friday, Mom, Michelle and I headed to Columbus for the Women of Faith conference. As always, it was a great weekend. We left early on Friday so we could spend a little time shopping at the Easton Towne Center. We were also able to enjoy a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory! (YUM!) It was a very fattening, non-weight watcher meal, but delicious.

After checking in at the hotel and resting for about an hour we then went downtown to the conference. As usual it was a very uplifting, two-day experience. I was asked today who my favorite speaker is, but honestly I love them all! We were able to hear Sheila Walsh, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, and Sandi Patty. We were unable to stay to hear Luci Swindoll (who we love as well) because we wanted to get back earlier than later. The musical concerts were performed by Nicole C. Mullen and Natalie Grant. I love both of these singers so I was extremely happy. This was the first time I was able to see Nicole C. Mullen perform. Every time she has been scheduled they replace her with someone else. I would love to see an entire concert with her! This was the second time I saw Natalie Grant. She was excellent as well.

If you have never been to a Women of Faith (and you're a woman), I would highly suggest checking one out.

Muffins for Moms (and Grandmas and Aunts)

This morning was Muffins for Moms at Alex's school. Originally only Kelly and Mom were going to go with Alex. But then, he guilted Laura and I so we joined them as well. It was a lot of fun. We even were given a tour of his classroom. He showed us his cubby and a book he's writing about pirates. Of course, we were also shown his seat (and every seat he has sat in this year) and the frogs that I hear so much about (the frogs are moved if a student misbehaves). We even were able to meet his teacher, Mrs. Pawken (I am not sure how to spell her name). She was much younger than I pictured her after hearing about her from Kelly and Alex. Here are some pictures from this morning:



Alex was so excited! I hope he had a good time!

Weight Watchers Update

I lost 2.6 pounds this week! That's 25 pounds total! Isn't that awesome?

What's Going On?

Jeromy pointed out this afternoon that it has been a while since I last updated this blog (by the way...Hi Aunt Monique! I know you're probably as frustrated as Jeromy). Anyways, we have been very busy. Here is a breakdown:

- I have started a new business with Premier Designs, Inc. It is a jewelry company. I love the jewelry and it gives me an opportunity to hang out with women and talk about jewelry. Two great things! I originally started this endeavor to give me something to do in case I lose my job. I figured I would be bored sitting around the house all day. Well, I am now 80% sure I will still have my job next year, but I am going to still continue with this new enterprise. Interested in a home show? Let me know!

- We are selling our house! Yes, you heard me correctly. We recently found the land we have been looking for. We are initiating the building process. We are very excited!

I feel like there is more going on, but I can't remember right now. If I think of what it was, I will blog again tomorrow.

The Facts of Life

Today, I traveled to Lima with three other ladies from our church to hear Lisa Whelchel speak. For those of you who don't know who that is...she played Blair on The Facts of Life. She was really funny! She talked a little about the show, but mostly she talked about her husband, children, and her relationship with God.

I believe the most important lesson a person could learn from Lisa is that you must always trust God. God cares for us and would never ask us to do something that would hurt us.

If you ever have the chance to see her, I would definitely recommend it! A funny thing she kept talking about was working with George Clooney (yes...he was on The Facts of Life towards the end of its nine year run). Whenever she mentioned him, she would say how wonderful a creator God is. It was very funny!

Okay, I Lied...

That last entry I was just getting too long. Even though this is still technically about the wedding, it all happened today. This afternoon both families met at my mom's house for lunch (eating leftovers from last night) and to watch Laura and Andy opening their presents. We had a lot of fun simply hanging out. Here are some pictures of the day.

Before arriving, Alex had his picture taken for his T-ball team. Isn't he handsome in his uniform?

Laura and Andy opening a gift.

An interesting gift that Laura and Andy received. It arrived with a mystery. The card was signed "XOXOXO" with no name. There was much conjecture with people guessing who could have given such a strange gift. Each guess was proved wrong when other gifts and cards were opened. We then were told as Andy's parents were leaving that it was from a couple of Andy's cousins. They had known all along but had promised them that they wouldn't tell.

Last Time I Blog About the Wedding (I Promise)

So, yesterday was the reception (the third...but who's counting :) Just kidding Laura). Here are some pictures of us setting up the reception hall in the morning.




The final picture is of my sister Kelly and my Aunt Monique (she lives in Minnesota and is visiting for the reception).

After we finished decorating, we all headed over to my mom's house for lunch. Then, that afternoon the girls all went to get our hair done for that evening. Mom, Kelly, and Elena went to their stylist at one salon and Laura and I went to our stylist. Julie and Lee arrived a little later. Lee left Julie and went shopping and we all sat and talked whiled getting our hair done.



Then, after all of this preparation the big night arrived. It was beautiful! The food was delicious! The DJ was annoying! Oh, the wonders of wedding receptions.

Yes, this is the cake. Isn't it neat! Everything on the cake was edible.

Elena and Lizzie (my cousin Samantha's daughter) had a nice time dancing on the dance floor.

My cousin Jim, sister Julie, Jen (Jim's girlfriend), Kelly and Monny. Oh, and Elena hanging from Julie's arms.

Elena was enthralled by Andy and Laura's first dance. I think it had "Princess Moment" written all over it for her.

Yes, Laura attacked Andy with the cake. :)

Not a great picture, I know. But, it was the best I could get of Laura and Alex dancing.

So, my sister Julie and my cousin Jim caught the bouquet and garter. The DJ wanted them to do the traditional move and have have Jim place the garter on Julie's thigh (weird, I know).

They tried to get around it and Julie put the garter on Jim's leg. But the DJ (I think I mentioned at the beginning of this entry that he was annoying) insisted that Jim put the garter on her leg. He ended up putting it around her ankle.



After all the excitement, Alex, Elena, and Lizzie fell asleep. It was definitely an interesting night.

Great Weight Watchers News!

I was really nervous about Weight Watchers tonight after last week. Well, I guess kind of (I knew I had only gained about 4 pounds over vacation). Tonight when I weighed in I was told I had loss .4 pounds. It's not a lot but I was excited!

The Eventful Trip Home

I have finally found time to write about our trip home from St. Lucia. At 11:30 Sunday morning we (everyone except Laura and Andy) were all placed in vans for our trip to the airport (an hour and a half drive on winding roads through the mountains). Once we arrived we had a two and a half hour wait for our plane to leave. I think almost every tourist on the island was leaving on Sunday because the airport was packed. At 3:30 we boarded our plane for the flight to Atlanta. This is where it becomes interesting.

We were supposed to arrive in Atlanta before 8:00. We thought this would give us enough time to get through customs and grab something to eat before boarding our plane to Detroit which was scheduled to leave at 9:15. That is how it was supposed to happen. Instead, we ran into quite a few problems. First, our plane was delayed in landing because of the weather. We circled Atlanta for an hour and a half. We finally landed after 8:30. While circling we learned that customs was much more involved than we originally thought. We had to go through the passport check and then claim our luggage. We then had to go through the rest of customs and recheck our luggage before heading to the gate of our connecting flight. Obviously we were stressed. But, then it got worse. We were almost through customs when Jeromy and I were stopped for the random check of luggage. It was 9:15 and we already stressed. Then, we noticed that we were the only ones from our flight stopped.

Once we finally made it through customs, we met up with my mom and she informed us that we had 15 minutes to make it to our gate. Unfortunately, the gate was in concourse B and we were in concourse E. As we ran to arrive at the gate (actually Jeromy did most of the running) we discovered that our flight was delayed until 10:15.

We finally arrived in Detroit and then drove home. Jeromy and I climbed into bed shortly before 3:00 a.m. That was definitely a long day!