Stop Taking Pictures of Me!

It's hard work being Grace Parker.....

There, that's better :)

I adore her!

Things I've Learned in 8 Months

Thursday will mark 8 months since Grant and I have been married. (WOO HOO!) Honestly, 8 months has flown by. However, I have learned alot about myself in these 8 months, and I've also learned alot about Grant......

1. Don't move your feet when you are in bed. Husband will find it terribly difficult to fall asleep while your feet are moving.

2. If you are craving something for dinner, it's usually bland, and most likely your husband is craving something very spicy and difficult to make.

3. Husband will watch Oprah with you if you fast forward to the good parts.

4. Husband is never on time. Never early. 9 out of 10 times you will be 10-15 minutes late. This drives wife CRAZY.

6. When your sweet husband offers to do the laundry, don't get so excited. This usually means that he is going to do a load of his own clothes, not including yours. When you wake up the next day and realize you have nothing to wear, he will say "I don't know how to do your laundry".

7. The best time to cuddle is in the morning.

8. Keep Chips Ahoy in the pantry at all times.

9. It is important to have all of husband's family and friends birthdays listed on a calendar. Sometime during the day, call husband and say "It's __________'s birthday today. Call him/her".

10. When walking into a room of people you have only met once or twice, stop and have a review/quiz to help husband remember names of everyone and which couples go together. (Example: Tom goes with ______)

11. Do not make the bed with a cellphone buried underneath the sheets.

12. Make sure you turn off lights in the house. Nothing irritates husband more than a brightly lit room with not a soul inside of it.

13. Do not eat everytime husband eats. You will get fat.

14. Don't expect to watch High School Musical 2 while husband is home. He will throw up. Wait till he leaves to play golf. Then close all the blinds and watch with glee.

15. When renting movies at Blockbuster, prepare yourself to get two.

16. When eating popcorn at the movies, ask for a 2nd bag since husband will saturate the popcorn with nasty melted butter. When eating popcorn at home, get your own bowl since husband will pour spicy creole cajun seasoning (aka Tony's) onto popcorn. This may induce vomiting.

17. When watching golf for 3 hours, try to focus on the positive. Some of those men aren't too bad looking. Also, Tiger Woods will get all teary from time to time. It's quite the Oprah moment.

18. Husband will toss green bell peppers into spaghetti sauce when you are not looking. Eeeew.

19. Sometimes, when you least expect it, husband does something very romantic and wonderful, like bring home Chick-fil-A.

20. When frustrated, go to Target. It heals you. When husband is frustrated, he goes to Best Buy. This is a much more expensive healing place.

Just Checking In!

Hey Ya'll! Is it just me or has blogland been eerily quiet lately? Anyhoo, it's been a lovely Saturday so far. Grant and I slept in till 9:00!! WOO HOO! That was quite the treat. After that, my absolutely amazing husband washed my car for me. I don't even wanna tell you how long it had been since my car got a washin'. It's embarassing, ya'll. :)

Tonight we are FINALLY going to see Bourne Ultimatum with Grant's parents. I have been dying to see this movie and it's about time!

By the way, last night I had the priviledge of watching Miss Teen Usa. I love pageants... I will leave you with this clip. I must say that I am so proud of how young ladies are really poised and eloquent in our country. Grant and I kept rewinding on the tv to hear this little speech over and over again. It is so moving.

Have a wonderful day precious friends!

Gratitude

Every once in awhile I rediscover a song that meant very much to me at one point or another, for whatever chapter in my life I was going through at that time. This week I started humming the tune to a song... I knew it was Nichole Nordeman but I couldn't remember the lyrics. I finally remembered tonight. It's funny how things come back around at just the right moments...

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade

Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid...

But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case ...

We'll give thanks to You
with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain...

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight

Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time

Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...

We'll give thanks to You
with gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view
If no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread...

Oh, the differences
that often are between
Everything we want
and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus,
grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight

Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case...

We'll give thanks to You
with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessed
beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace...

But, Jesus, would You please...

The Lamberts

It's been a week since I've posted! Things have just been CRAZY. We spent the weekend in Texas to attend the celebration of Claire & Russell becoming Mr. & Mrs! :) Everything was beautiful. Also, Sally, Lindsee, AND Joanna were all in attendance with me, so we enjoyed eating and dancing and taking far too many pictures!!

I forgot my camera, so I stole this photo from facebook! They are in the Bahamas now and I can't wait to chat with Mrs. Lambert and tell her how gorgeous everything was!

Sunday we went to CBC and got to visit with alot of old friends. It is so nice for me to go to my home church. I have literally gone to that church my entire life. Leaving it was hard and coming home to it is like therapy for me. I feel like I get hugs all morning!

Today is a crazy day at work. SO busy. So busy that I told myself I needed a little break to update my blog! I've missed it. This week has been tough. It's only Tuesday, but I am having a hard time getting motivated and getting stuff done. Our bags from the weekend have yet to be unpacked and the laundry pile is getting higher. I desperatly need groceries and I just can't get myself going! Diet Coke to the rescue!

I brought a Lean Cuisine for lunch today, but I'm thinking I may treat myself to something with a little more substance. Who knows, maybe I'll even have Subway!!!

Photos Galore

Okee dokee, I promised I would upload pictures, so here they are! This is my sweet sister Jaclyn and my sweet niece Grace Parker. Grace looks a little squished up in this particular photo! This is a picture of me and the hubby. Grant said that he really appreciates that I posted a picture where he looks "high", but I wanted to show Linds and Jo a picture of my hair! Here it is!Here is mommy and Grace in the guest room. I loved having a slumber party every night! Grace was just perfect.

Here is Grace and Mommy in Aunt Jenny's room. Isn't she just so precious!?

When we were little, Jaclyn had a best friend who lived across the street named Angela. They were inseperable. Angela moved to LOUISIANA when she was 11. They have now reconnected and they both had their babies in May! Angela lives only about 10 minutes from my house! This was their first time to see each other in over 15 years. Here is Jaclyn, Angela, Grace Parker and baby Charlie!

Grace + Charlie = Love 4 Ever

My mom and Jaclyn helped me organize my shoes. There are now 2 boxes of winter shoes in big rubbermaid boxes underneath my bed. Yay for getting organized!

Okay, Saturday night we went out to eat at this yummy resteraunt called Sno's. The electricity had gone out in the main dining room. My sister used a flash in this picture so you can't tell, however, Grant and I were using the lights from our cell phones to read our menu.

This is my mom trying to read her menu using her cell phone!

This is SO typical of my home. I was taking a picture of the arrangement my mom and Jaclyn helped me with above the TV. However, golf is on the tv, which is what most of our television watching consists of! (And yes, that is THE tv!)

Jaclyn and Mom helped me do a little grouping on my dining room wall. And a pretty candle goes on the vase on the table. And the other wall has a big clock on it now. (I'm trying to help you visualize!)

Dad (aka "Pops") was helping Grace walk. I believe at this moment he was singing "Because you're mine, I walk the line"

This was SUCH a precious moment! Grace had been napping, and when we looked at her, her belly was hanging out and her pretty head band had come over her eyes! She was just a hot mess! I scolded her for her mid-riff bareing top!!

The Parker likes to talk alot!

Look at those eyes!!

Here is all the ladies! (Minus sister Shannon and twins Scarlett and Juliet!)

I leave you with this blurry yet precious picture of our litte family, Grant, Jen and Moxie!

I'm Alive!!

Good morning! It's Tuesday, and I haven't updated since Thursday. I do apologize! Things have been crazy around here! I have had houseguests since Thursday night, and Friday-Monday those guests were my parents, my sister, and my 3 month old niece! I took yesterday (Monday) off of work for my birthday. I had a wonderful, wonderful weekend. It was so nice to have my family in Baton Rouge. I ate way too much ya'll. Cheesecake is so good.

I will post ALOT of pictures later, I just wanted to announce that I am still breathing. By the way, my sweet husband got me a massage chair for my birthday!! I am LOVING it, and loving him!

Please pray for him. It is SO hot outside, and Grant's job has him outdoors and in ATTICS the entire day. Yesterday he came home from work absolutely exhausted and with the beginnings of a fever. Just pray that the Lord would send a breeze every now and then!

I'll post pictures tonight. Have a great Tuesday ladies!

Morning Madness

It's just one of those mornings girls! I usually leave the house by 7:30am. This morning, I WOKE UP at 7:45am. So that already starts my morning off on the wrong foot. As I was leaving the house, I saw Grant on the internet looking at our bank accounts online. I deposited my paycheck yesterday at lunch, so I asked "did my deposit go through?". He said "it doesn't show that you made an deposit". Hmmmm....that's weird.

As I was driving to work, I pulled out the receipt from my deposit. It shows your last 4 digits of your account number. The 4 digits on my receipt are NOT the 4 digits from my account. It appears to me that they deposited my money into another account.

I get to the office. The A/C is not working. It is boiling hot. And I was going to do my makeup here at work before everyone got here, but my mascara is not in my purse.

:) I hope this gets better!

Feel the Burn

I saw a commercial yesterday for a cruise vacation. They were showing all the cool parts of the ship, like the pools, the rooms, the food, the putting green, etc. And then they showed this high tech, beautiful, fitness center. A fitness center with about 45 people working out on treadmills, lifting weights, doing crunches etc. And all I could think is "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? Go lay down in a chair by the pool and get a Pina Colada in your hand. Eat alot of food!!". Who works out on a cruise ship???

I have never, ever been the athletic type. I have never been on any organized team. Even as a little girl I never played a sport. I was in dance, so I learned to be coordinated but I sure as heck didn't run or throw anything. That ain't me! :)

My sister-in-law Ronda and I have been attending an aerobics class twice a week. It's aerobics, step, kick-boxing, and boot camp all rolled into one. The girl who teaches it, Anna, is adorable and LOVES what she does. She does it for free as a ministry and she is a wonderful teacher. Last night I was sitting on my couch, trying to think of an excuse as to why I couldn't go. Just getting dressed for it seemed like an excuse enough to me. (Honestly, if I never had to put on a sports bra again for the rest of my life, I think I'd be okay). But I couldn't think of an excuse that was good enough, so off I went.

I. Am. So. Sore. Everything hurts. Hop on one foot for 2 minutes. And while you're hopping on one foot, use that foot to draw a figure eight on the floor. I want you all to picture me hopping around on one foot like a fool and then I want you to picture sweet teacher Anna smiling and saying "GREAT JOB GIRLS!". I swear I almost took off my size 5 tennis shoe and threw it at her head! :)

I felt the burn that's for sure. Alot of people feel better after they work out. I just felt hungry. So I picked up some Wendy's on the way home!

Look to Your Left

Hi ladies! Can you believe it's August 1? I feel like this year has FLOWN by. Grant and I have been married for seven months now. Christmas will be here before you know it! Good night! (Go to bed, Sally!)

Last night I skipped dinner with my hubby and went to Outback Steakhouse with my neighbor Lindsey. Her hubby was out of town and we had a nice time chugging sweet tea and eating so much that we both said "I feel so fat" the minute we got into the car! We're such girls.

To your left is a list of other blogs I love to read. I'd like to take a moment to highlight a few them for you:

*Lindsee Lou- She is my best friend and she lives in Texas. It is far away. Her blog is full of encouraging words of wisdom, hilarious pictures, "Lindsee-isms", and hysterical stories. Go visit her, she's wonderful

*Joanna Montana- Jo just got married July 7 (I know you all saw the pictures!) and she is now living in-you guessed it- Montana! Joanna started her blog a while ago but only made 2 posts in about 2 months. She is now updating more regularly since we all started to fuss at her. Go look at her honeymoon pictures. I wanna go to Hawaii!

*Jamie the College Girl- WELCOME JAMIE! Jamie got a blog YESTERDAY. She is about to start her freshman year of college and is going to keep us updated on her University adventures while at Texas A&M. Stop by and tell her hello.

There are other links you should look at too, but I have to get a little work done before lunch! :)