Contentment: A Re-post

Hey y'all! This is totally a re-post, but, last night I was able to sit under the teachings, yet again, of Afshin Ziafat. He taught at the bible study I attended while I was in college, TRUTH, and I miss it so much. I didn't realize how much I missed it until last night. It's been too long since I've heard him. He is an amazing communicator and is most definitely an anointed teacher. Not to mention that he just got married, Praise the Lord! Anyway, he taught on contentment last night, and it was so good for my heart. I'll have to share more about it later, but first, it reminded me of a post I wrote about a year and a half ago. This is one reason I simply love blogging, it is so fun to look back on my journey and see where the Lord has taken me. And He surely has taken me places. Take a look for yourself, this is from April of 2007:

So, I was just thinking that I haven't posted a "serious" post in a while. But, know that the Lord is teaching me new things constantly. I, in all reality, just don't know how to put it into words.

Lately, my prayer has been that I would be content where the Lord has me now, in this season of my life. For me, this doesn't always come natural. Especially when everyone surrounding you is either dating seriously, engaged, or getting married. Clearly, the Lord has placed these girls in my life, and I couldn't be more grateful, but sometimes it's just hard. When you're constantly surrounded by wedding magazines, wedding pictures and just pure love, you start daydreaming about your future. This isn't a bad thing, but it is if it consumes you more than the Lord. Because, it is than an idol.

Like I said, my prayer is that I would be content and serve him with all I've got in the here and now. It is a beautiful thing, serving him. Being right where he wants you brings me unspeakable joy. He also has allowed me to realize that I don't have to necessarily "settle down" when I graduate (in a year!) I don't have to start teaching right away, yes, I may want to, but then I realized that with me not being tied down to anyone or anything, I really can do what I want. I can move anywhere I want. I can serve anywhere I want, but only if the Lord allows and I am doing it for him.

That alone makes my heart happy. Who knows, maybe I can do girls ministry somewhere, maybe I can sing on a praise team somewhere, maybe I can do missions somewhere?! Maybe I can do all this while teaching, maybe in a year I'll be dating, engaged or even married. WHO KNOWS, but the one who controls my life, the Lord!

I know my parents are probably reading this thinking, "are you crazy Lindsee?" But, I am just throwing it out there.

That is my heart right now. I am content, but only because I am allowing the Lord to make me content. It again brings me to my favorite verse, Ephesians 3:20, that only HE can do more than we can imagine.

Oh, that I would keep resting in that promise.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

Here is the link from the real post. Y'all, that was so crazy for me to read. Clearly, the Lord was preparing my heart for what He had in store, because here I am a year and a half later, working as a Girls Ministry Director at my church! And to be completely honest, this position wasn't available at all during that time, it was filled and she was here for good. The Lord is so good!

This was such a good reminder for me, that the Lord is truly faithful and His timing is unbelievably perfect. At times when I feel like He's forgotten me in certain areas of my life, I have to remember that He is just preparing my heart for whatever is next. I have not been left behind!

What a fabulous way to start 2009. He is faithful! I pray this is your year. A Jesus year. That He would be to you what you need Him to be. That He would fill every part of your heart and life!

I love you all! Happy New Year!

Huge blessings,

Merry Christmas, Y'all!

Merry Christmas, y'all! Last year we had a very white Christmas in Colorado, and this year it will get to be in the 70's here in Houston, but it's all good because I absolutely love spending Christmas with my family and sweet friends no matter what the temperature is. Snow is always a plus, but it is that much sweeter when we don't get it every year.

This morning my older brother flew to Colorado to be with some of our family, particularly my Great Aunt who will spend her first Christmas without my Great Uncle, Herm, the one who passed away back in September. So, we did half our Christmas last night, and will do the rest without Brien today!

We had a great night that started at our Christmas Eve service, then headed home to do gifts (for Brien!), then ended the night with Elf. I was so tired that I fell asleep during the movie, but it was still worth it because that is by far one of the funniest movies ever!

Anyway, I hope that each and everyone of you have such a sweet day whether you are with or without your loved ones. I pray that if you are without that Christ would pour his extra love out on you and that you would feel him all the more! I am so thankful for this day and that truly, Christ was born to die.

I love you all and hope your day is filled with much laughter! Merry Christmas!

For those of you Houstonians, enjoy some snowy pictures from last year to get you in the "cold" season!

Blessings,

A Very Good Weekend

This past weekend was so very good and refreshing. It was the first weekend in a long time that I got to relax and make up my own schedule. I loved every second of it. No rushing here or there, or stressing, or running around like a chicken with my head cut off, just relaxing.

Friday night I had dinner with the parentals at a Thai food place and then went and saw a play with them at my church! Some of my girls were in it, so it was fun to see them.

Saturday I slept in (can I get an Amen!), got up and got showered, went and got a mani & pedi, then quickly ruined any relaxed bone in my body as I attempted to Christmas shop at the mall. Bad idea. It was completely chaotic. I left the mall with no gift whatsoever because it was far too crowded to even find my way around. Once I finally got out of the parking lot (which took all of an hour it felt like!) I went home and yet again attempted to clean my room. However, I did not realize how long I'd been gone, and realized it was almost time for Shane & Shane!

Oh yes, y'all, I enjoyed a glorious night of Shane & Shane at HFBC and it could not have been more amazing. I am convinced they get better and better every time I see them. Not to mention they opened with Vision of You which made me want to meet Jesus right then and there. It's a favorite. But, really, everything about them is a favorite to me, if that makes any sense. They are by far my favorite singers/songwriters and always have been and don't doubt that they always will be. They make sure the Lord gets every bit of Glory he deserves, and boy oh boy, he does. I am still on cloud nine from that night. So amazing! Oh, and the little bonus was that Bethany Dillon was with them too, because yes, Shane and Bethany are married and are quite precious if I do say so myself.

Sunday I did the normal thing, except, I did not go to church that night, instead I had dinner with my 3 BFF's. Y'all, it's been a year and a half since we've all been together! Absolute craziness and it was so much fun. It was just so good to be with them. I really needed it! Even though it's been so long, we truly don't skip a beat. You'd of thought we see each other weekly. Jesus friends is all I can say! I love them dearly.

We went to a little Italian restaurant called Fornos and then just chilled at Jen's apartment since the girl's had never seen it! We are a crazy group of girls, but I just love them to pieces.

Needless to say, it was a very good weekend, and so good for my soul!

Bethany started us out!

The jellyfish looking things changed colors the whole time! Very cool!

Are you not loving the snowflake's like I am?!

My friends are back in Houston! (Not for good, but for a small amount of time! I'll take what I can get!)

I love the Estes family...and especially their sweet boys. Just for the record, Sally had a baby in Africa. How many people can say that?!

Classic.

Totally hamming it up. I love it!

He was told to show his teeth. So, show his teeth he did.

The fox! (A.k.a. Moxie!)

Moxie was all up in our "bidness!"

Love them.

We're silly!

I tower over them.

Trying to be all cute by the tree!
But, we got really tickled instead!
BFF's.
We all felt like this at the end of the night. I mean really, what dog falls asleep sitting up? I love it. I guess he was just plum worn out!

My Dog, Chico

This afternoon after making some copies, I got back to my office to see I had 2 missed calls and a voicemail. One call was from someone I knew, and the other was from a number I didn’t have saved. I am always curious to see who it is, and am normally frustrated when the anonymous caller doesn’t leave a message. Well, today there was a message from said anonymous caller.

The message went exactly as follows: (I will use initials to keep some privacy!)

“Hi, Ms. G, this is K at Pet’s Mart and I was calling regarding Chico. Uh, we’re not going to be able to give him his bath today he keeps continually going to the bathroom and trying to bite. So if you could come back and pick him up as soon as you can, we’d appreciate it. Thank you!”

Immediately I started laughing, because first things first, I don’t own a dog.

Secondly, how sad that Chico is acting out so much he can’t even get a bath.

Thirdly, if that was my dog, I don’t know that I’d want to claim him. Who knows, he might start going to the bathroom and biting me.

I was so tickled and didn’t know what to do, but I knew that they clearly needed Ms. G to come pick up Chico and I didn’t want them waiting around forever. Obviously, Ms. G never got the message. She would have gone to Pet’s Mart to pick up her angel of a dog and been completely disappointed that they had not bathed him.

I wanted to save Chico, the owner, and Pet’s Mart some heartache.

So, I proceeded to call Pet’s Mart back. Of course, because I am by far the rudest person on the face of the earth, I started laughing when K answered the phone. It was so bad, y’all. It didn’t help that I had my 2 bosses on either side of me keeled over in laughter.

I mean, it’s not everyday you have to call Pet’s Mart back (when you don’t even own an animal) to tell them that Chico doesn’t belong to you.

I finally got my wits about me and explained to said Pet’s Mart worker that Chico was not mine and I wanted to make sure they got a hold of the rightful owner so that she would come pick up poor Chico. The lady was very confused, so I explained to her again, but this time just told her she had the wrong number. She became very worried because that was the number they had on file, so I had her read me the phone number. It was one number off from mine.

Problem solved.

She then proceeded to tell me again how bad Chico was acting and they needed him to leave. I felt so bad for him! Poor dog. I know the owner was probably getting her precious little pup all ready for the holidays, but unfortunately, the dog won’t cooperate so it will have to stay stinky for Christmas. And, it is probably missing out on a really cute bow.

A tragedy indeed, y’all.

I better go tend to my poor, pitiful, stinky puppy Chico that I apparently knew I never had.

A Splitting Headache

Warning: This is totally a Debbie Downer post. So sorry!

I hate funerals. Hate them. Especially one week before Christmas.

One reason I hate them is because I am that girl who cannot stop crying at them. I mean, there are times when I feel like everyone else has it all together, and I just can't get myself together. They just make me sad. Really, if I didn't even know you and came to your funeral, I'd be a hot mess. After all the crying business, I am left with a splitting headache the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, I attended one today of a 57 year old man, who has attended our church for 20 years, and passed away very early Monday morning. It was completely unexpected and very shocking! He's been battling Bronchitis for a while and was having some difficulties breathing when he woke up. I guess it got so bad that his wife finally called the ambulance, but by the time they got there, it was too late. Y'all, can you imagine the devastation? The shock? The O'Brien's have been so on my heart this week.

I wasn't crying for John at all. He is loving where he is right now and if asked to come back to earth we all know he never would. I just hurt for his sweet family. I hurt because they had to bury their husband/dad a week before Christmas. For goodness sake, he didn't even get to meet his grandchildren.

If you think of the O'Brien's would you pray for them? They are at peace and know that this will all work out for their good, but right now it's just hard.

The service today, however, was so appropriate and sweet. Truly a celebration of his wonderful life. A great time of honoring this man and his family!

With that said, I have had a splitting headache all day. I've taken the Tylenol and even took a short nap, but it is still present. I think the only thing to cure this one is a good night's sleep, and boy am I so happy to get in my bed tonight!

On top of that, y'all, a thirteen year old girl who went to my old Jr. High, was hit by a drunk driver on Tuesday after she got off the bus and was killed instantly. Really? Thirteen, y'all. Simply awful and heartbreaking. Not to mention that she was in her own driveway. A place where you think you are completely safe. I didn't know her at all, but a few of the girls in our youth group were on the bus when it all happened. That is something no Jr. Higher should ever witness. Just horrific.

Would you pray for this sweet family too? They've been on the news every night since then, and every time I can just see the sadness in their eyes. They are truly heartbroken.

I was just thinking today that it is so ironic that in the past week I have been to a baby shower, a wedding shower, a wedding and a funeral. It has just reminded me that life is so fragile. I pray we don't take it for granted. Especially during this Christmas season. Remember what is truly important in your life! Enjoy those around you. The "stuff" doesn't go with you. It may satisfy for a moment, but when you leave this life, you only take yourself. It's you and Jesus.

Don't forget the reason for the season. Jesus is so worth your everything.

8 Things About Me - A Meme

Sweet Amanda tagged me to do this meme, which, that word in itself makes me laugh so hard for some reason. I could sit here for hours saying "meme" over and over again and be completely entertained. It just tickles me, just ask Jen. So, here goes my meme. And, just for the record, none of these are in any particular order!

8 TV Shows I Watch:
1) One Tree Hill (Yes, I admittedly watch it!)
2) Ellen
3) ER (Back in the day!)
4) Alias (Too bad it’s no longer on! But it was my favorite!)
5) Saved By the Bell (TBS, baby!)
6) The Office
7) Friends
8) Jon & Kate Plus 8 (Or anything on TLC!)

8 Favorite Restaurants:
1) Willie's
2) China Inn Cafe’ (Really, ANY Chinese food will do.)
3) La Madeleine’s
4) Pappasito's
5) Fuddrucker's
6) Lupe Tortilla
7) Subway
8) Olive Garden

8 Things that Happened to Me Today:
1) Made a craft with my other lady co-workers this morning. (It was an old MOP’s craft! However, I’m not too sure mine turned out that great!)
2) Ate Mexican food over a lunch meeting!
3) Was asked 3 times how many times I’ve been a bridesmaid.
4) Created a baby shower invitation that is darling, if I do say so myself, for one of our youth workers who is due in February!
5) Made a few more plates.
6) Went to my 4th Christmas Party in a matter of a week! (I know I’ve gained 20 pounds with all of these parties!) Although at this party we sat around the piano and sang songs. I can’t tell you the last time I did that!
7) Held the cutest baby Santa while at the party. And did I mention that he reached for me and gave me the biggest smile? Melt’s my heart!
8) Oh, and I kind of redecorated my office!

8 Things I Look Forward To:
1) Going to bed early!
2) Starbucks meeting in the morning! (We’re all about food!)
3) The Shane & Shane concert on Saturday night! (With Bethany Dillon!)
4) Being home with my family and sweet friends for Christmas this year!
5) Having lunch with Sally tomorrow! (Y’all, it’s been a year and a half! They just got home from Africa!)
6) Reuniting with my 3 BFF’s Sunday night. (One of which lives in Montana, the other just got home from Africa, and the last just moved back to Houston in May!)
7) My first kiss! (Or first date for that matter!)
8) Seeing what the Lord has in store for the girl’s ministry here at CBC and bible study in the Spring!

8 Things I Wish For:
1) That my hair would be long already. Someone remind me why I ever chopped it off?!
2) A Husband (Someday!)
3) Children (Someday!)
4) That I would fall head over heels in love with Jesus!
5) A cold Christmas day so it actually feels like Christmas. And I guess I’ll through some snow in there for good measure!
6) That my school debt would pay for itself! (Dream on!)
7) That all of my sweet friends still lived in Houston! I miss them so!
8) To go with #2, that someday, somebody would love me for who I am and that I would return the favor.

8 People I Tag:
1) Janelle (Who won a plate today! Go Janelle!)
2) Lisa
3) Nancy
4) Jackie
5) Debra
6) Holly
7) Amanda, can you get your Mom and Melissa to do it? HA! Kidding.
8) You, if you are reading this! And let me know!

Y'all, I am a blogging fool today! This was my 3rd post in one day. I think that's a record for me! Thanks, Amanda, for the fun meme!

Converge

I think it goes without saying that Converge was absolutely amazing. When you get Beth, Travis and CeCe in a room, you just might want to be careful because there is some major anointing going on.

Thursday night started out fabulous, anyway. Before Converge I finally got to meet my blog friend, Missy! We’ve been trying to meet up for some time now, and I am so glad it finally worked out. She hosted a little party before the event and served some of her famous Oreo Balls which were absolutely to die for! Her house is also just precious. It was so kind of her to let a complete stranger (me) barge in on her and her friends and not only that, I brought my mom and another lady! 3 complete strangers, but, it was so fun and I can’t wait till we get to meet up again.

We finally made it to Converge, met up with some of the other ladies that were joining us, found our seats and then not 2 seconds later, to my joyful surprise, I look down to see Jen, Jaclyn and Cheryl sitting 6 seats away from us. I knew they were coming the whole time, but Jen didn’t know where they were sitting! THAT was a blast. All through the night we kept giggling back and forth like we hadn’t seen each other in years. Those girls are some of my favorite people in the USA. You can never get enough of the Martin family!

CeCe started us out with some fist pumping worship, and then Travis followed. Be still my heart. As if I haven’t heard that man countless times, I was just in Heaven. I mean, he’s probably one of those people that I would rather listen to live than recorded because he’s just that stinkin’ good. It was amazing and I was excited for my peeps to hear his praise team. Because we all know the level of goodness they bring along with Travis!

Then of course, Beth gave us a word, and y’all, it was a word to not be missed. I feel like the Lord gave her that word just for my own little heart to hear. I know countless other ladies were touched, also, but I love when I know it is for me, indeed. She mainly spoke about disappointment, and what is our disappointment? When we have a disappointment, we have to remember to bring it to His throne and then “Believe to the bone that God has heard you!” Because, y’all, He indeed hears us. The minute we pray, the answer is given. We will never bring a new request to the Lord, where He doesn’t remember the old one. Amen! Of course, we may not hear that answer right at that moment, but He knows it. More often than not, those big, heavy prayers we pray are one’s where we are called to wait, and that’s what hit home HUGE for me.

You see, if He makes us wait, something bigger is at stake. A bigger package, and it’s more than what we want, or what we even know/pray to want.

Her last point was “Blessed are you when what comes naturally to others comes supernaturally to you!” Um, this hit home major. Y’all, sometimes when I am praying for a husband and that the Lord would bring him sooner than later, and why in the stinkin’ world have I never even been on a date, or even why in world it is so easy for everyone else to get a date and get married, but just not me, I feel like that’s just a complaining prayer. Like poor pitiful me, He has just forgotten about me. Like really, y’all, I’m not asking him to do something HUGE that hasn’t happened for 10 million other people. However, when I start believing those lies, like He’s forgotten about me, I have to replace those with truth. Because, the truth is, HE HAS NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME. I can’t believe that I am being picked on, but that I am being picked out! I have to believe that there is something way bigger for me, way bigger than I could ever ask, imagine or want. Because, it is a blessing when what come naturally to others, comes supernaturally to you. The fact that it’s going to take God to give me what I need is a blessing in itself. It may be a disguised blessing, and a hard on to wait out on, but, oh, it is so worth the wait.

I have been pondering this in my heart since Thursday night. I know I’m only 23 and that there are plenty of people out there that have grander needs than I have, but this message spoke straight to my heart. And, boy, am I ever so grateful for it.

I can’t wait for the day when I get to say what Elizabeth said in Luke 1:25, “The Lord has done this for me," she said. "In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people."

I know one day I’ll be saying that only the Lord could do this for me, and oh, what a day it will be. A day to give our sweet Lord and Savior all the Glory He alone deserves!

And The Winner's Are...

Y'all, this is by far my favorite part! I have 5 plates sitting in my living room ready to be sent off!

They'll be sent off too...

Drum roll Please...

1) Janelle

2) Heather

3) Erin

4) Cathy Davis

5) Patty

Ladies, if you would be so kind as to email me your address at lindsee.eddy@gmail.com I will get these sent to you pronto!

Y'all had just the sweetest comments! I so wish I could send one to everyone that entered, but unfortunately, I can't. However, I had such a blast with the giveaway that you never know when I might do one again! I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Oh, and just for the record, I totally used the random number generator. I felt to official and technical...it was fun! I would copy and paste my timestamp here like everyone else does, but I forgot to copy it!

Giveaway Reminder!

Hey, folks! I have p-l-e-n-t-y to update you on, and boy do I mean plenty, however, I didn't want you to forget about the spectacular (and I am totally kidding about it being spectacular, I just really wanted to use that word!) giveaway I am doing that will end tomorrow at 11 p.m.!

Go HERE to enter and feel free to invite your friends to enter, too.

I will announce the winners on Tuesday, so go on...leave a comment, and enjoy a plate. :)

Huge hugs to all of you.

This sister is off to bed. It has been a thrilling, exhausting, fun, busy-filled weekend!

G'night!

Let It SNOW!

Today has been SUCH a fun day. It all started last night when there was a very small (and I mean very small) chance that it could snow last night! Of course I so hoped for it to snow, but my hopes were also very small because frankly, we live in Houston, Texas and let's face it, it just doesn't snow here. I mean y'all, it was 80 degrees yesterday and way humid. That is totally Houston weather for you, completely moody. Today is is freezing and snowing. I still can't believe it.

All day at work I kept saying "What if it snowed today?!" and the response was always "Lindsee, there's no chance. It is not going to snow!" Of course, I stated my hopes over and over again until finally JJ, our youth pastor, ran down the hall saying "It's snowing!" Immediately I told him that if it wasn't, he was in big trouble. But, to my HUGE surprise, IT WAS. Our offices are all in one building and immediately, everyone was out of their office and at the doors watching the snow fall so peacefully. It was so fun! I got my camera too late, but I so wish I would have gotten it earlier because it would have been such a fun picture of everybody at the doors.

Of course, we acted like 8 year olds and we're completely giddy the rest of the afternoon. We even made some hot chocolate to top off the perfect afternoon. It actually snowed for quite a bit! Yes, we just happen to have hot chocolate at the office.

It clearly never got warmer, and then to our surprise again, we came out tonight to see our cars covered in a blanked of snow. I freaked out, yet again! Some of the students (and I'm assuming it was girls) wrote a sweet message on my car which was also very fun!

I know some people think we are freaks in the way we're acting, but, you have to understand that we are in stinkin' Houston, Texas. It just doesn't snow here. Ever. And if it does, it's just flurry's and melts the second it hits anything. Rarely does it actually stay! So, we houstonians are taking it all in. At least this houstonian is. You'd of thought I've never seen snow, and I completely have a gazillion times, but when it happens here, it is surely a time to celebrate!

Hope you enjoyed the "snow" pictures. It may be another 10 years before you see them again!

And, don't forget about the giveaway, y'all have till Monday night to enter!

A Giveaway

Well, they say there's a first for everything. So, here goes my first ever blog giveaway and I am so excited about it.

Y'all have been such a blessing and way more than encouraging about my custom made plates, so I thought I would bless you right back and give a few plates away. And what a better time to do this giveaway than at Christmas!

Here are the rules:

1) I will give away 5 plates and a stand with each. This means there will be FIVE winners. Each winner will take away one plate! Each plate will have Joshua 24:15 on it, as pictured above. (That's the only non-custom thing about this, the plates will already be written on!)

2) To win, all you have to do is leave a comment. I could be really creative and tell you to tell me something about why you should win them, but frankly, my creative juices aren't flowing, and frankly, I want to make this as easy as possible!

3) If you don't have a blog, don't worry, just leave your email address in the comment so I can contact you!

4) I will announce the winners next Tuesday, so the giveaway will go on for a week. Comments will be closed very late Monday night. I would love for you to get the plates before Christmas!

5) If you already have a plate, feel free to enter anyway. It could be a great Christmas gift!

6) Let your friends know about it, too!

Alrighty, I think that's all. I guess I better go get started on some plates.

Have a wonderful Tuesday, folks.

A Recap of my Crazy Weekend

Just a forewarning: This is the unabridged recap of my weekend. It contains a lot of pictures.

This weekend was what I like to call Party Central. I attended 4 parties in less than 48 hours. To say that I am loving sitting on my couch right now enjoying 27 Dresses is an understatement. I am loving the nothingness that is this moment. I should be cleaning my room that is undeniably a hott mess, but I have no energy to tackle such a task. And y'all, it is a task. The amount of clothing strung around my room is quite embarrassing. Not to mention the many bags that need to be unpacked due to my travels as of late. I hate unpacking! Am I the only one that hates unpacking? Please tell me no.

Anyway, back to my weekend, we'll start with Thursday.

Since Thursday was my first day off since Mexico, I used it to run my many errands and enjoy a lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Jen and Claire at the Galleria. It was so fun! Jen actually works down there and we had to exchange a few things before she went out of town, so we made a lunch date out of it and I am so glad we did! For some reason I felt so grown up that day. But, I thoroughly enjoyed it! I love sweet lunches with sweet friends. After lunch, Jen went back to work and I went and bought some "delicates" for Jen's (another Jen) lingerie shower!

Claire and I walked around a bit more, then made our trek home. That did take up most the day, but unfortunately, I had more errands to run. That night I went and bought Emily's baby shower gift that was today and y'all, I am so sad I didn't take a picture of the precious outfits I bought precious "baby J!" I am such a sucker for baby clothes.

Friday night began Jen's wedding festivities, and boy were they festivities. Her wedding isn't actually until next weekend, but we had her lingerie shower, bachelorette party, and bridal luncheon all this past weekend, which was actually nice instead of cramming it all into the actual wedding weekend. It makes for everyone not being so exhausted the day of the wedding! The last thing any of us want is an exhausted bride.

We had tons of fun that night and are now all completely tired. Y'all, we were up until almost 5 a.m.! I am just tickled thinking about that, because even though I'm not that far removed from college, I don't remember the last time I stayed up that late. We started out at her sisters house with some wonderful food and cake and then made our way downtown. The laughing never ceased that night, it was great!

Yummy cake!

Phi Lamb girls!

Jen's sister and Aunt!

Me and the precious Bride-to-Be!

It took us f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get this picture...

Because we couldn't stop doing this!

There's nothing like some good ole' Peanut M&M's!

A few of us at Howl at the Moon...a fun piano bar!

Jen doing "If you're happy and you know it!"

Saturday started with a wonderful Bridal Luncheon! I totally forgot the place we ate at, but it was GOOD. Jen gave us the cutest little purses, slippers and scrapbook pages! And of course they are all red since her colors are gold and red! Very creative!

We love our Jen!

Here starts our photo shoot...

Love these girls!

After the luncheon, the three of us (pictured above) made our way to the Woodlands Mall. It was very convenient since we were already in the Woodlands. Our dresses are gold and we were instructed to wear red shoes, so our goal was to find some cute red shoes. However, we had no such luck. I am holding out for Dillard's at Willowbrook Mall, it is the only store I haven't been to! If Dillard's doesn't come through for me, I guess I'll be spray painting some shoes I already own! Totally kidding. I do think Dillard's will come through, I'm just hoping whatever I get won't be 4 inches tall. I don't need to be falling down the aisle.

After the mall I headed home and got ready for our TSMAC youth worker Christmas party! I did lay down for about 30 minutes, which really helped my sleepy eyes or else I don't think I'd a made it.

Our Christmas party was great! I thoroughly enjoyed the ham, deviled eggs, potato casserole, and meatballs. It felt like the Thanksgiving meal I missed out on. And of course, who can forget the dessert? I had to taste test everything just to make sure it was okay, and I'll have you know it was all delightful. I will now be attending Jazzercise every night this week to work off all the sugar I consumed last night. It was so worth it, though!

While at our party, we enjoyed a nice hay ride around the neighborhood. It was fun but quite chilly! Also, I guess as a child you don't notice the roughness that is hay. I was very acquainted with it last night!

HAYRIDE!

The festive cookie cake I picked up at the mall. Pure goodness.

On the hayride with Dana!

After our party, I went home and slept like a baby. I was so tired!

I'll have you know, though, that they partying didn't end there! Today after church I enjoyed a nice Schlotzsky's meal, came home and enjoyed 2 of my neighbors puppies, then headed to Emily's baby shower. I was only there for about 30 minutes because I had small group at the same time, but y'all, she is probably the cutest pregnant girl I have ever seen. And the only way you would know homegirl is pregnant is if you saw her tummy. I am convinced she hasn't gained one pound. She is glowing! I was there so quick I didn't even get to take a picture, but check out the one I stole from her blog! Is she not the cutest thing on the block?

She and Adam moved to New Mexico after they got married, so I clearly never see her, which makes me very excited about our date this week. The 30 minutes today wasn't near enough time spent with her!

After the shower, I went straight to my small group where we disscussed 3 John and had some fabulous discussions! I missed meeting with them last week since I was gone, so I really enjoyed catching up. These girls are so growing on me! I just love their hearts!
That was my last stop of the weekend and I am so thankful! Not because I didn't have a great weekend, but because my body is so tired. Since Mexico I really haven't stopped and really won't stop till Christmas, so I have truly bonded with the couch since I've been home tonight. I also enjoyed the quiet when I got home! It was very nice!

Speaking of Mexico, I promise the posts are coming soon. I really am working on them, but am just trying to condense lots of information into a not so long post! But, don't think I've for one second forgotten about them. :)

Folks, if you made it to then end of this post, I so applaud you! It was long and I'm pretty sure so very boring to you. So, this would be me clapping for you. You are so patient!

Well, my movie is over, and the blog is written. That means I am going to bed. It is 10:38 (which is actually early for me!) and I am totally ready for bed! I hope you all had a wonderful, fun filled weekend! Goodnight, sweet friends!