The Queen Has Spoken

Is it that time already?!?!

2010-08-27T13:45:00.010-04:00

Sooooo it is here...my 10 year high school reunion. I really can't believe it has been that long ago since I was roaming the halls at Winder-Barrow High School. I mean are we all really that old? Are we even old enough to have a high school reunion?

It feels just like yesterday that I was racing to class before the bell rang so I wouldn't get detention for being late...again (see I've always been late). It feels like yesterday that my only concern(s) were what am I gonna do on Friday night, I wonder if he likes me, I sure hope I don't get grounded...again, and of course just wanting to "fit in" with the "popular" & older group. Oh to go back to those four years with no "real" responsibility.

When I think back to those days I am reminded of how carefree we all were. When I think about all the fun times we had it makes me smile. And many of the memories still give me a good laugh. Then, when I think about the things that we worried about, got mad about, and fought about all I can do is laugh. To know back then what we do today I believe we all would not have worried or stressed about any of it.

As far as the reunion goes, I am really excited about seeing everyone. I know it will be such a fun night for all. Facebook has been great with allowing us all to know a little about what is going on in each others lives but it will be great to actually get to "see" everyone in person. To the people who were in charge of getting everything together...a HUGE Thank You! I can't imagine everything that went into making it all happen.

Let's take a lil trip down memory lane...

9th Grade

Either 9th or 10th grade

Fun times in the hall

Rockin' the overall shorts on yearbook day!

Junior Prom...Holy Huge Hair

Powder Puff!!!

Best of Friends...photo shoot on the beach

Senior Prom...got screwed on our transportation.

Annnnd, it was finally here...graduation day.

Hope you enjoyed our little trip. I'm looking forward to catching up and snapping recent pictures with everyone tomorrow night!

Rules of Facebook

2010-08-13T16:48:00.003-04:00

I was listening to The Bert Show this week just like I do every morning. One of the segments was titled the Rules of Facebook which was made up by one of their interns. I thought that the rules were so good that I went back and listened to the segment again online here and decided to write them down for you to see as well. Here ya go...

Rule 1: Do not message anyone on Facebook after they have deleted you.

Rule 2: If someones relationship status changes for the worst do not comment on it. If they want you to know why they will tell you.

Rule 3: Parents do not post anything about problems you are having with your grown (16 +) children.

Rule 4: Couples do not post your problems on Facebook. Do not attack your spouse, girlfriend or boyfriend for the entire world to see.

Rule 5: Don't be disrespectful on peoples memorial sites on Facebook.

Rule 6: Don't spill the beans on Facebook. If one of your friend has recently gotten engaged or found out they are expecting and you are one of the first to know...let them be the ones to tell it, not you!

Rule 7: Do not start an argument on Facebook that you will never win. Topics include: religion, abortion, politics, etc.

Rule 8: Don't be caddy or passive aggressive in your status whether your friends with the person or not.

Rule 9: Questions as your status unless you are a public figure are pointless. Ex.: What should I have for dinner tonight? Do one really cares!

So there ya go...those were the rules that she gave everyone. After each rule she elaborated about each rule to help you better understand what she was talking about. I thought they were all pretty good. I'm curious though...can you think of any other rules that should be made when it comes to Facebook??? If so, I wanna hear them. Comment away...

8 years ago today...

2010-08-10T14:27:00.010-04:00

we welcomed Addison McKenzie Crowe into the world. She turned our world upside down when she first arrived and it hasn't been the same since! Everyday is full of fun, laughter, smiles, with a few fits thrown in the mix every now and again. As I have watched her grow over the years it is hard for me to believe that she is becoming a young lady. She is still so very innocent and I pray that the Lord will protect her for many years to come. I can not imagine my world without my Little Bit in it. Watching her grow into the young lady she is becoming has been a great joy. Here take a look at a few pics throughout the years...

Always been silly

1st day of preschool

Always loved to dance & sing just like her mama

I love my girl!

Beautiful

I love it when she runs & jumps in my arms

Now a Big Sister

And also a big 2nd grader!!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy AdDiSon

love,

Aunt Call

Mama

2010-08-05T11:06:00.003-04:00

You have raised me to be the woman I am today

You cheer me on & back me up

You coach & advise

You believe in me and want only the best

You are an amazing woman

Wise beyond your years

Stronger than you know

Beautiful inside and out

I thank God for you every single day

You are my rock, my go-to, my best-friend

You are always there

I can count on you

I cherish our times spent together

Laughing, crying, and laughing some more

I can't wait until the day that You become Li-Li to my children

As I watch you with Addison and Maddox now

I know that you are exactly who God intended you to be

An excellent, fun-loving grandmother

Thank You for being someone

I can look up to and count on

A Godly woman who prays over me daily

A giving, caring, loving Mother

And my best-friend.

This past year...

2010-07-29T15:01:00.004-04:00

I have been living in Atlanta for a little over a year now. Today I was thinking about how much has changed in that one year...my opinions on some things, what I like and don't like, things I have learned, things I have experienced, people that have come into my life & people who have gone, things that make me happy & sad, and so on and so forth. So I have decided to compile a list of some of those things...

1) I've learned how much I truly love the city but still enjoy getting away from all the hustle & bustle.

2) I've learned what it is and how it feels to be completely broke. Which isn't easy when you live in such a wonderful city w/ so much to do and so many places to go.

3) I've learned that I really do enjoy time by myself.

4) I now know what it feels like to have your home broken into & some of your most precious things stolen from you.

5) I know how angry & violated one feels after something such as that happens to them.

6) I have tried to wake-board...couldn't make it up but it is my goal to do so before the summer is out.

7) I now know what it feels like to be the minority in a group of people. And how much I could care less about it.

8) I know how it feels to have others stare at you b/c you are white and your significant other is black.

9) I know that even though I want kids very badly I'm honestly just not ready for them.

10) I know what it is like to run through the airport and make your flight 2 min. before it is to take off. Think "Home Alone" and you will know what I'm talking about.

11) I have come to the realization that no matter how much I want to be or how much I try I will never be as skinny as I was in high school.

12) I know what it feels like to be out of high school for 10 years.

13) I've learned that I really do not like panties.

14) I've learned that it really is all about "who you know".

15) You really must look out for yourself b/c most people are not concerned with anyone but their self.

16) I know what it is like to go after your dream.

17) I'm learning the older I get the easier it is to say no to the things I do not want to do.

18) I know how important it is to have friends you can always count on.

19) I am learning that I am a lot stronger than I ever thought I was.

20) No matter how much it really does bother me to be late you can always count on me being late...I think there really is something in my DNA that made me this way.

21) I'm learning that I have problems with always trusting...I usually always find myself second guessing

22) I have realized that I am a continued work in progress and I only hope to grow, change, and learn every single day for the rest of my life.

23) I have a boyfriend who knows me like the back of his hand and has no problem calling me out when I need to be called out.

24) I have realized how much I need that in my life. And how much he can bring me back down from the clouds to think of things in a more realistic way.

25) I am thankful more and more every day that I have a mother who is always there for me no matter what.

26) I have watched many special and close friends say I do to the love of their life and some welcome their first born into this world.

27) I really have no problem eating a waffle for dinner.

28) I have acquired quite a love for red wine.

29) I have accepted the fact that my life isn't on my time is it on God's time and all about His plan.

30) I've determined there is so much I want to do in my life before I die.

31) I know that there are many more things to learn in this life and I hope to never stop learning b/c if so then you stop growing.

Kids of the Summer

2010-07-29T13:32:00.007-04:00

It has been quite a busy summer but it has been full of fun! The kids are growing up so fast and changing more and more every single day. I'm still loving every single minute of being Aunt Call. I'll just let the pics tell the story...well maybe w/ a few captions.

Maddox 15 months & cute as can be

Addison 7 1/2 years old & lover of horses

Precious even w/ his boo-boo's

She is our little artist

A day at the pool w/ my sister & the kiddos

The Law of the Garbage Truck

2010-06-01T15:06:00.003-04:00

I was listening to The Bert Show one morning about a month ago and Bert read something a listener had sent to him. It was something that I really needed to hear that morning b/c I had been dealing with a lot of garbage from other people. It was also just a great reminder. I've been wanting to share it with everyone and figured what better time than coming back from our holiday weekend. I hope you enjoy!

The Law of the Garbage Truck

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, for an instant you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly that person can get back their focus on what’s important. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson.

I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened:
I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car’s back end by just inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!”And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. If you let them, they’ll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You’ll be happy you did. So this was it: The “Law of the Garbage Truck.”

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, “I’m not going to do it anymore.”I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well, now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don’t make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on. One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here’s my bet. You’ll be happier. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so...Love the people who treat you right. Forget about the ones who don’t. Believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance , TAKE IT! If it changes your life , LET IT! Nobody said it would be easy. They just promised it would be worth it!

Ummm REALLY???

2010-05-06T11:23:00.005-04:00

So I was in the grocery store just the other day when I came across something rather strange, well to me at least. Here take a look for yourself...

All I could think to myself was "REALLY" ice cream dog treats? I have never seen such a thing in all my life. My De-Daddy will take his beloved dog Prissy to get a ice cream at DQ every now and again but I figured that was just because she was spoiled. So have you ever seen these treats in your grocery store or have you ever given them to your dog? Personally at $3.19 or more a box for only 4 treats I believe I will stick with the regular old dog treats. Sorry Gracie and Izzy, mommy still loves you.

continued......

2010-05-05T15:41:00.005-04:00

ok so it isn't exactly tomorrow...I know I'm several days behind. But anyway, let's finish this wedding post so we can move on!

Two weeks ago I finished out the rest of the April weddings I attended. They were both the same weekend. Friday I went to my friend Renee's wedding. Renee is a special friend that I met through Buckhead Church. She was my small group leader for about 2 years. Renee's wedding was beautiful. It was a perfect night for an outside wedding in the garden. She was glowing and Boone (the groom) couldn't have been more excited. After the ceremony the reception was held inside. They had a cocktail hour before dinner. My friend Courtney and I went to the wedding together and we ended up running into several of our old small group friends. So we were able to talk and catch up with them during the reception. It was such a fun night seeing Renee and Boone tie the knot and catching up with old friends!

That next day, Saturday, my cousin KC got married. The wedding and reception was held at the GA Club. Unfortunately the weather did not hold out for their outside wedding so it was held in the chapel on site. The ceremony was very special and touching. From the music, to the bridal party walking down the aisle, to Brittany making her appearance, and during the entire receiving of the vows I had chills. KC and Brittany could not be more perfect for one another. After the ceremony the rain held off for everyone to make it to where the reception would be held. The dinner was a sit down dinner and very nice. They also had a cocktail hour before the dinner which gave all of us time to socialize and mingle with others. B went with me so there were several more introductions and reintroductions for us. KC and Brittany chose to have a band instead of a DJ and let me just tell you they were out of this world! After dinner was over we were all ready to get into our dancing shoes. The band kicked things off and they didn't slow down. My Queen family knows just how to have a good time. It was probably the most fun I have had at wedding in a really long time. After we shut the place down it was time for KC and Brittany to get on a jet plane and fly to Maui. So we sent them off and then went home and crashed!

That weekend was fun, busy, and exhausting but I am so glad that I was able to be apart of both couple's special day. After having a lil while to relax I now feel rested. And it is a good thing too because it will all start back up again very soon. The next wedding is June 12th! Hey what can I say 2010 is the year of engagements, weddings, and babies...well for all of my friends at least. :)

To Love and To Cherish

2010-04-27T16:27:00.003-04:00

For anyone who has talked to me in the last several months you know that I have been extremely busy with wedding showers, a bachelorette party, weddings and more weddings. Well this past weekend B and I finished all of our April weddings and now have a little break for a few weeks. We have talked about how happy we are that we will be able to just relax, not be anywhere at a certain time, and mentally recuperate this coming weekend. Don’t get me wrong I have felt extremely honored & thoroughly enjoyed celebrating with all of my different friends in the days leading up to The Big Day! I just forgot how much a wedding and everything that goes along with it can take out of you. I can only imagine how exhausted the families and brides and grooms must be considering they all planned for months!

I have been to 3 weddings and 1 reception since April 10^th. Each event was unique and reflected each couple perfectly. The reception was the first event of the month and this was some of B’s friends. B went to the wedding alone and then I met him at the reception. The wedding was a Catholic wedding so I figured he would be there for no less than an hour. But to my surprise the wedding was over within 30 min. Needless to say they did not do the entire traditional Catholic ceremony. The reception reflected the bride’s Italian family and their love for delicious food. There was a full course sit down dinner with an open bar (wine, beer, and liquor) which lasted until 9:45pm. Then was their toast, the tossing of the bouquet and garter, all followed by dancing the night away…well until about 11:30. It was such a beautiful event and I was glad I got to attend for the last half.

The following weekend (4/16 – 4/17) B and I were both in our friends Jeff & Alicia’s wedding. The entire weekend was a lot of fun. We started off with the rehearsal on Fri. night followed by the dinner at East West Bistro. There were lots of kind words and funny stories spoken of that night. B even got up and gave a speech and did a very good job! He thanked Alicia and Jeff for introducing me and him. Not gonna lie got teary eyed when he did that J (I’ll tell our story one day). Alicia’s mom did a slide show of Alicia and Jeff throughout the years. I think that was one of my favorite parts of the night. Such special memories in each picture…yup, got teary eyed during it too. What can I say it was such an emotional night considering Alicia and I have been friends since we were 3 and have gone through so much together. I was very excited and happy for her. Sat. was the big day and boy was it jammed packed! It started out for me by driving back to my Salon 45 min to get my hair and make-up done. Then I immediately turned around and drove back to Athens. We had to be at the Venue at 12:30. The afternoon we spent talking, cutting up, eating, getting ready, and just passing the time until 6pm. The ceremony was very short and sweet. It couldn’t be more obvious how in love Jeff & Alicia are. The reception followed at the same venue. They had the Varsity cater outside and inside were several different foods to choose from as well. The night started off with dancing and ended in it as well. It was a fun night and I’m so glad that B and I were able to join in w/ the happy couple on their special day!

OK since April has been considered wedding month for me I am dragging this post out and I will conclude with the last two weddings tomorrow. So until then remember your special day or if you haven’t had yours yet just dream of it and we will pick back up with all of this tomorrow.

Today is not only tax day...

2010-04-15T12:36:00.012-04:00

On this day a year ago I was on my way to Northeast Georgia Hospital. We were awaiting the arrival of Nolan Maddox Crowe! I seriously can not believe it has been a year since this precious little man came into our lives. Let's take a look at a year ago today....

Right by my sister's side :)

I was extremely happy & couldn't hold back the tears!

One day old

A few months old

And here we are a year later...Look how grown up he is!!!

I am still a VERY proud Aunt Call!!! I love my little man!

How could you not with that face?! Oh I could just eat him right up!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MADDOX!!!

Hello anyone out there?

2010-04-15T11:01:00.002-04:00

Hello world! Yes, it’s me, I’m still alive. Can you believe it? What can I say a lot has been going on and there have been a lot of changes in my life since I last posted. I had pretty much just given up on the entire blogging world since I really didn’t feel like I had much to say and my creativity was definitely at a stand still. So after this very long break I think I am going to give this another try. I am not promising to write every day…I’m just gonna get myself into the groove of it and then see where this thing goes.

Let me catch you up real quick:

I am in a relationship with an amazing man who loves Christ, challenges me, makes me laugh & extremely happy, loves his family and mine, is sweet and respectful, strives to be the best he can be at all things, and well I could go on and on but you get the point. J Maybe one day I will tell you our story.
I now have a new roommate. My best-friend, Amanda moved in with me in January. We have since had to move apartments because our previous apartment was broken into. I no longer have my beloved MacBook. *tear* L That is a long and scary story.
I went on a skiing trip back in Feb. to Snowshoe, WV. It was my first experience with skiing and it was quite an eventful time I must say. The trip was great. We went with a great group of friends and we all had such a blast.
One of my oldest and dearest friends got engaged and will be getting married this weekend. She asked me to be in the wedding. So the last few months have been full of wedding festivities. My boyfriend is also in the wedding. It will be a fun filled weekend for sure. I am so happy for the Bride and Groom and can’t wait to share in this special day with them.
Between my boyfriend and me we have a total of 8 weddings coming up. The first was last weekend, so that is one down. It will be a very busy next several months but we are very excited to get to join in with our friends and family on their very special days.

That is a little of what all has taken place and what has been going on. If there is anyone still out there that reads or even checks this blog then thanks!

A Hikin' We Will Go

2009-11-24T15:02:00.002-05:00

My parents just recently purchased a mountain house in Clayton, GA so a few of my girlfriends and I went up for the weekend about three weeks ago. It was such a fun and relaxing weekend. We went up on Friday evening after work. We took Friday night to get settled in and come up with a tentative plan for Saturday.

Saturday we got up pretty early. We had set it up where each person or two people would be in charge of one meal or dessert. Saturday morning was Lindsey's day for breakfast. She brought a breakfast keish. It was very yummy. After breakfast we got dressed and ready to go on our hike. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day. So we loaded up the car and set out to find Three Forks Trail. A couple of the guys I work with had told me about it and said that we should definitely check it out...so we did.

It took us about 20 min or so to get to the trail from the house. We finally arrived and found several other cars parked at the entrance to the trail. I had been warned that the trail could be a little difficult in certain places but I knew that we could do it so I didn't tell the girls what I knew. But they would soon learn from a guy that had just finished as we were about to go in what it was all about...his exact words were "It is a bi*** of a hike". There was a brief freak out moment for a few of them but we set out to conquer it anyway.

We did take a camera with us to document our little hike so come along and check it out...

After the hike we were all pretty tired. But we headed to little downtown Clayton and went in a few of the local shops. Small towns always have such interesting little stores. After rambling in the stores we finally made our way back up the mountain to the house just in time to watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful! Wish I had a picture to share with you but we were not quick enough to snap one. That evening we enjoyed Katie & Paige's Sante Fe Soup. It was just what we needed to replenish us after our long day. The rest of the evening was spent laughing, story telling, movie watching, and in a little friendly game of Cranium...ha! Who knew us gals could get so competitive with one another!

All in all it was such a wonderful weekend and just what each of us needed. I look forward to spending many more weekends at the mountain house with friends and family.

2009 CMA Awards

2009-11-12T11:35:00.004-05:00

The CMA's are one of my favorite award shows. Since I was young I have loved country music. I attended many different country concerts with my friend Amanda & her family very early on and my concert going has only increased over the years. As I have gotten older I have expanded my horizons as far as different genres that I listen to and I have come to appreciate the musicians even more. Everything that goes into writing a song, producing the album, the rehearsals for a show, and just the energy it takes to get up onto the stage and perform night after night makes me appreciate what each person involved does even more. The CMA's are a perfect example of all of that combined into one night.

As I watched the awards last night I watched it in a different way than I ever have before. I sat back and really paid attention to every single aspect of the show. I thought about how awesome it would be to be able to be apart of such a huge production. I know that I have expressed in the past how music is my passion and how much I would love to be able to work in the industry at some level. I have served on the production team at Buckhead Church for the last 2 years or more and I feel that I have really found my place. I have learned so much being apart of the team. I never really thought about working production though. I always thought that I would be better suited working in an office setting for a record company in Nashville. I have found though that I really like the hands on aspect of working behind the scenes. So as I watched the awards last night and really thought about how much hard work went into prepare for just one night, one awards show I was truly blown away. If I say that I wasn't discouraged or scared that I would never be able to be good enough to be apart of something so big I would be lying.

When I signed up be a volunteer on the production team at the church I had no idea exactly what all went into producing each Sunday’s services. It is truly a production. Each Sunday an environment is made to captivate and engage each person who walks through the door. An environment that is inviting and will allow everyone to be comfortable; even if it is their first Sunday to church in a while or their first Sunday ever. A lot of hard work and dedication is put into each and every service on Sunday much like what was put into the CMA award show. Watching from a different perspective last night really got me thinking a lot about the work involved in putting on any type of show or service. It is all really quite amazing to me.

I loved that there were so many different performances at the awards last night. I thought that Zac Brown Band did an AMAZING job doing their own rendition of Devil When Down to Georgia. It is really hard to believe they were not that long ago singing in the local bars and small clubs trying to make a name for their selves. They have come a very long way and I couldn't be more excited for those GA boys!!! Carrie Underwoods's performance was very sexy and I personally thought it was great. I've read several people's comments that they did not like what she was wearing, some felt has if she was trying to sell sex (so to say), etc. Carrie is a grown woman and an incredible artist. I do not feel that her performance portrayed her as trashy at all. I also really enjoyed the Vince Gill & Daughtry performance along with the Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews performance. I love watching as artist from different genres join together on songs. Last but certainly not least I will talk about Taylor Swift's two performances. I thought that her first performance was alright. I thought that the vocals were a little off. Her second song though I thought was wonderful. I love how the crowd got to interact with her. There were several other performances by others that I enjoyed but these are the ones that really have stuck in my mind.

So that is my take on the awards show last night. What did you think about it? Have you ever watched it from a different perspective before? What were your favorite performances?

Suggestions

2009-11-10T11:04:00.004-05:00

Hello out there to anyone who still even reads this here blog of mine. What can I say I've been busy but also have had a mental block for some time now with what to blog about. I feel as if I always give you updates and that is just boring to me. I started the blog to actually write. Maybe if I just jump back into it my juices will start flowing for me again. Who knows! I sure could use all of your suggestions...got anything you want to hear about or anything you think would make a good post? Leave me a comment. Got something you want to ask me? Leave me a comment. I'll answer your questions and use your suggestions for new material! So come on now...don't be shy...help a homegirl out! :)

And to hold you over until next time here is a lil slideshow of Halloween this yr. It was such a fun day/night.

HaPpY bIrThDaY...

2009-10-07T09:25:00.004-04:00

to my wonderful Mama! I am so thankful for you and everything you do for me. Honestly don't know what I would do without you!

Just thinking back I can't believe it was this time last year that Peyton and I were planning your BIG surprise! Man, how time flies. So here is to another year...I LOVE YOU!!!

Time sure does fly

2009-10-06T16:09:00.007-04:00

I can't believe it has been 5 1/2 months since Nolan Maddox was born! He has brought such joy to all of our lives. It is quite different having a lil man around. He is very laid back and just kinda go with the flow. I love him more and more every single day. Here are a few pics of him at 5 months...

Maddox & I

Such a cute lil man

This he will kill me for one day...it was just too funny not to put up!

De-Daddy w/ Addison and Maddox. Maddox is always mesmerized by De-Daddy's voice.

September recap

2009-09-30T13:46:00.020-04:00

Ok so I said I would try to post more regularly but as you can tell that hasn't happened. So here we are on the last day of September and I am finally getting around to blogging again. I guess it goes to show that my life hasn't seemed to calm down any since the beginning of the month. So I'll do a recap of Sept. for ya and go from there.

I celebrated my birthday on the 13th. I turned 28. YIKES, two more yrs and then the big 3.0. I will certainly be enjoying the last two yrs of my twenties! I spent my birthday weekend in Athens. It was a great time. My best guy friend in the entire world came down in the middle of the week so I got to spend some time w/ him on Friday night. We haven't gotten to have one of our fun filled nights in Athens in forever so it was great to be able to do that. Saturday morning I met up w/ Katie to spend the day with her. We got ready and headed to the tailgate since it was UGA's first home game. It was a long but fun day. We went to the game and cheered the Dawgs onto victory. I did A LOT of screaming at the game and woke up without a voice the next day.

Since Sunday was my actual birthday I requested that my mom cook lunch instead of going out. Since I'm not at home anymore it isn't very often I get one of my mama's good home cooked meals. So she cooked my birthday meal for me (that I have every yr) and boy was it yummy! That night she had gotten tickets to go and see Jeremy Camp in concert. I absolutely LOVE him so I was really excited. I had never seen him live before. And let me just tell you he looks even better in person than he does in pictures! That man is very easy on the eyes. Anyway, he puts on a great concert but what I loved about it so much was it was more than a concert...it was a night of worship.

That next week was pretty much just like any other week other than I ended up not having a voice at all for pretty much 3 days. I figured it was just from all the screaming I had done at the game the previous Saturday. By the weekend I was feeling pretty ok again. Lindsey came up to watch the ballgame with me on Sat. night. We went to Hudson Grille and cheered the Dawgs on w/ all the loyal fans. I didn't scream or anything during the game. I raised my voice but nothing like the weekend before. I say all this b/c it happened again the following week...no voice. Come to find out...it was strep throat. I should have known...that is the only thing I EVER get. So I was sick for pretty much two weeks straight. Fun times, fun times.

After being sick most of last week all I wanted was to go home...my parents home. I just wanted to be near my mama. Yes, I'm still such a baby when I am sick. So I packed up and headed home Thurs. evening. My mom and I had already planned that we would watch the season premier of Grey's together. I couldn't just not go home ;) Anyway, I ended up spending the entire weekend at home. It was exactly what I needed! Saturday night a very close family friend got married so we all went to that. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and could not have been any more perfect. My mom and I stayed the entire time and danced the night away w/ the rest of our good friends we don't get to see very often. It was such a fun time.

That brings us to this week. I am back to 100% health wise and I am feeling great. The week is half way over and the weekend is right around the corner. The weather could not be more perfect w/ fall finally in the air. I will spend another fun filled weekend in Athens this coming weekend w/ great friends and we will cheer the Dawgs on Saturday against LSU. In case you haven't figured it out yet...Fall is my favorite time of year...college football, great weather, and trips to the mountains! So there it is...the recap of September.

October 1st is tomorrow...wonder how many times in Oct. I will blog?!

Changes

2009-09-04T10:07:00.006-04:00

I know that I haven't posted anything in a month and I do apologize for that. I hope that some of you who actually read this here outlet of mine will stick w/ me. I promise to get back on the bandwagon and post more frequently again. There have been several changes in my life since I last posted. I have just been taking some time to sit back take it all in and enjoy where I am right now in my life. I do believe though that I am ready to share a little about all the different changes that have occurred.

This time a month ago I was still very much getting adjusted to being in Atlanta away from my family and my friends. I was still getting adjusted to being on my own again and everything that comes with that. So while I was really excited to be on my own again I was sad and a little down. I can handle certain types of change (i.e. new hair color, etc.) but when it comes to big changes I don't always seem to do well with those. I have questioned if I acted too soon and jumped at the chance of moving. But after a lot of thinking and talking with others I don't think that was the case at all. If I had to do it all over again I would do it again in a heartbeat...well probably choose a different apartment but other than that I wouldn't change my decision. I know that the Lord opened up the door for this to happen and I am so glad that I finally took the step to make it happen. So in the last month I have really began to adjust to my new environment and I really do love it. I love being in the city. Who would have ever thought?! I certainly wouldn't have.

Another change that has occurred is that I am now a single female loving life in the city. The boy that I talked about in previous posts and I are no longer together. I won't go into it all just b/c there is really no point. The beginning was great and I was extremely happy. But just like all things everything is always great in the beginning. Things ended and that's that. Anyway, so while I have been adjusting to living in Atl. I have also been adjusting to being single again. I have bounced back pretty well I think. While I am waiting for my one prince in shining armor to come and sweep me off my feet I will continue to live, grow, and have fun while I wait.

Lastly I would like to share with you about a new thing I have been given the opportunity to do. One of my best friends Katie has recently made a few changes in her life as well. She is now living/working in Athens. I was very sad to see her go but she is living in the greatest town in GA so visiting will not be an issue! :) Since she has left though that left our small group without a leader. So I approached Katie about taking over the leader position in the group. Since I was her apprentice she thought that it was a great idea. So I am now the official leader of a small group. We have added four new girls and I am so so so excited about this new group. I really do feel that this is exactly what I am suppose to be doing and I can't wait to see where all the Lord will take us.

So that's it...that is the update on my life. Many changes all for the good though. So now that I have gotten the update of everything out of the way I hope to get back to posting regularly again. If you have anything you would like me to blog about I am open for suggestions....

Finally...

2009-09-04T10:01:00.003-04:00

it is that time of the year again. The weather is just perfect and the Dawgs take the field!!! I have been counting down the days and couldn't be more excited that tomorrow is the day!

It's funny how...

2009-08-05T12:27:00.005-04:00

certain things will joggle your memory. I was grocery shopping this week and while I was on the candy aisle I was looking for a bag of Jolly Ranchers. I've gotten to the point that I like to have a hard piece of candy in the afternoons to help fight off cravings of other sweets. So I'm searching and searching but the only bag I see is GINORMOUS and not to mention $10! I guess they are already getting ready for Halloween or something. I mean seriously who only carries a 3 pound bag of Jolly Ranchers?!?! So I gave up on the Jolly Ranchers and decided to go with something else. I went with Werther's Original.

Oh how that delicious little piece of candy brings back so many wonderful memories of my daddy and me. But I didn't realize how much it would take me back until I opened up that little gold wrapper and put the piece of hard caramel into my mouth. Man was my brain flooded with memories!!! There is nothing like it.

So what about you...is there a piece of candy, a smell, a place, etc. that takes you back to special memories or a specific time?

The Blood Song

2009-08-04T12:51:00.003-04:00

My mom told me about this video last night. After I watched it I just had to share it with all of you. This precious little girl is too cute and also very dramatic. Enjoy...

New City, New Experiences

2009-07-31T14:46:00.004-04:00

I have been in Atlanta now for two months. I am still getting adjusted and still trying to work on a new routine for myself. I am more aware of the cost of things now that I am on my own again. When I lived at home I was aware but just not as aware I guess you could say. I was fortunate enough to not have to be. So I have been trying to cut back on a lot of things. I knew moving to Atlanta I would soon do something about my car but I had not really planned on doing something within the first two months of being here. But as it goes my plans were not God's plans.

For the past three years I have been driving my beloved Acura TL. I got the car soon after beginning work at FTI. Since I was living at home I had no other expenses at the time and decided that I just had to have a new car. The TL was my first brand new car ever. I fell in love with it after driving it and could not wait to make it mine. So after much consideration and help from The Runald I decided that I would lease the car for 3 1/2 years. I knew that I would keep the car so the lease didn't really bother me. Well, my lease would have been up this coming Dec. I knew I had a decision to make if I was going to keep the car or turn it in. Well, I decided that I would trade it in for a new car. The TL had more miles than I wanted to have on a car so I decided the best thing to do would be to get rid of it.

Last week, I began researching and exploring to see what all of my options would be. I first went back to Acura to see what they would be willing to do to help me out. They were more than happy to work with me but they weren't willing to work with me enough to get my payments where I wanted them. So I began to look at other makes & models. I ended up venturing in to a VW Dealership right down the road from me. The salesman was very nice, attentive, patient, and wanted to do whatever it took to make me happy. I test drove several different cars. Since I have only driven a Japanese car test driving a German car was much different. I wasn't completely blown away by anything though. The salesman and his manager promised me they would continue to look and find the perfect car for me.

They both came through on their promise. Sat. morning I received a call that they had something that I just had to see and they knew it was the car for me. I went straight to the dealership, took one look at the car, drove it, and told them they were exactly right. So we began the negotiating process. I had already been very clear what I wanted and they were good in working with me. So once we went back and forth on a few things they had the right number. So I called The Runald explained it all to him. He did a little talking to the guys himself. He just wanted to be sure they weren't screwing me over :) Next thing I know I am signing the papers to a '06 VW Passat that is fully loaded. I really love the car a lot. It is really a lot of fun to drive.

So in the last two months I have moved to Atlanta and bought a new car all by myself (something I've never ever done before). It was such a great experience for me and I am so glad that I went through with it. Now I wonder what will be the next new experience I will have. This isn't my actual car but it looks just like this...

Speak of Christ or Don't speak of Christ...That is the question

2009-07-08T10:20:00.005-04:00

I have been going back and forth on if I would write a post about this or not. I have decided to do so though b/c I would honestly just like to know every ones thoughts and opinions on the subject. I am open to them all and you may just make me think of it in a different way than I have before. Ok here I go...

In the last month or so I have seen a lot of death. Death of celebrities, death of family, death of friends family, death of neighbors, death of the old, death of the young, death from a disease, death that was unexpected, etc. Every situation was different but they were all as equally as sad. In each situation someone was lost and families, friends, and acquaintances were all left grieving.

There is typically one thing though during this time that is talked about which I've been thinking about a lot especially in the last several weeks. I have noticed that God, Jesus, Heaven, salvation, and God's love for us, are all usually mentioned in a funeral services regardless of a persons background. And the pastor who is speaking at the service usually talks about the deceased and how "they are in a better place now". As a Christian I do find that comforting. However, I only find that comforting when I know that the person was a believer and that Jesus Christ was the Lord of their life. I believe it is in the time when you are unsure about a persons salvation that their death can bring even more sadness. It is that way for me at least.

So my question is does everyone find comfort during the time of death by God, Heaven, and a better place? I guess it is just puzzling to me why a person would find comfort in God if they don't believe in Him. Why would God, Jesus, etc. be spoken of so often during a funeral service if the deceased did not believe or did not live their life for Christ? Is it solely to comfort those still here on this earth? How or why would a pastor say in the funeral service that "God has called so and so home" if the deceased was not a believer? Wouldn't that be only confusing to those at the service that were not believers? Wouldn't they think "well so and so lived this way or that way and they went to Heaven"? Is that not the wrong message to be sending out? I get that death is sad and you want to say whatever you can to comfort the grieving but if they are not believers is it really worth sending them the wrong message? Why don't you just tell the story of Christ and how one can come to have a relationship with Him? I get that this situation is sticky and many people have different beliefs on the matter. And please don't get me wrong I do strongly believe that if you have the opportunity to share Christ with others that you should whether that be in a funeral service, in a coffee house, at work, wherever. I just have a problem when you send mixed messages to others who are not believers.

I know that while I have been contemplating all of this the last several days I know God has been speaking to me. It has been very clear that He was saying "McCall this is why I have called you to live a certain way". I have been reminded and challenged to be cautious of my actions, my words, how I treat others, how I serve others, etc. Because when it is time for my Lord to call me home I do not want there to be any confusion as to whether or not I will be spending eternity with Him. So I would also like to take this time to challenge all the believers out there...be cautious how you are living your life. When others look at you do they see Christ in you? I know that I can say that I am a mess and I know that others can not see Christ in me all the time. So I will be making a conscious effort to live my life so that others may see Christ in all areas of my life.

Ok it's your turn...give me your feedback on this topic. Do you agree with me or disagree? Do you have any thoughts as to why this is the way things are? Can you help shed some light on all of this for me? Alright...go....

Happy Birthday America!

2009-07-07T12:36:00.003-04:00

What a great 4th of July it was! I was able to celebrate with my family, my boy, and my bff's. The weekend consisted of a lot of pool time, great food, great friends, lots of laughs, and all in all a great time.

Friday, I was off of work just like many of you. The day was spent in Atlanta with Joey and friends. We started it out by going to Waffle House for breakfast, then to the pool, and then to a cookout & game night. Which I will add that the girls beat the boys in Trivial Pursuit!!!

Saturday, my parents had invited all of us up to spend the day by their pool, cookout, and watch the fireworks that night. So we all headed up around lunch. It was such a gorgeous day. It was my first day back home since moving the previous weekend. I had not seen my parents in over a week and I was more than excited to get home and spend some time with them. The day could not have been any better. The girls stayed by the pool all day catching up. The guys joined us for a while but then made their way to the basement to play pool. My parents cooked a great 4th of July meal consisting of: BBQ ribs, BBQ chicken, baked beans, homemade potato salad, bread, fruit, and cupcakes for dessert. We were all pretty much stuffed when we got done. When it came time for the fireworks we all made our way over to their neighbors house to watch the fireworks. We set up chairs and just sat back and relaxed. I'm not sure the day could have gone any better. Here is a little slide show of our time...

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times

2009-07-02T14:55:00.011-04:00

This past weekend was a pretty busy weekend. Not only did I move on Sunday but we celebrated Katie and Emily's birthday Fri. & Sat. It was a jam packed weekend but loads of fun.

Friday, Katie wanted to do dinner at Flemings (a nice steakhouse in Atl). The food was fantastic and the few of us that were able to join in on the celebration had a great time. Here are a few pics from that night...

From left to right: Daniel, Katie, Paige, Myself, and Joey

This is Katie and her yummy dessert! It was seriously amazing!

And of course a pic of me and my honey :)

Saturday, we had planned on "Shootin' the Hooch". We had a pretty big group of people going so we got up early and headed to the tubing place. I had never floated down the Chattahoochee before so this was a first for me. We all arrived in time to be on the first bus. We had a group of 17 people I do believe. The bus chartered us down to the drop off, we all unloaded and tied up together. I had been told that the water would be freezing but I don't think I really quite understood just how cold it was really going to be. One step in the water and I flew right back out!!! The temp of the water was probably somewhere around 50 degrees...that is a total guess too. :) Anyway, we all finally managed to get into our tubes and begin our float down the river. I must say it was a pretty fun experience. There were a couple of rope swings along the way and we of course had to stop so the boys and a few of the girls could play for a while. After that we started back on our trek down the river. I managed to flip outta my float at one point. I was NOT a happy camper by any means. Daniel let the air outta Katie's tube along the way so thank goodness we had an extra tube! We signed up for the 4 hour trip but it ended up taking us 6 hours instead. It was a very fun filled day full of adventure! Here are a few pics from the day...I have some really funny ones but have been told they could not be posted so the following is the best I could do :) ...

This is before we pushed off...

Katie and Emily the Birthday Girls

Christen, myself, and Joey...Joey was our paddle master for the day!

This is Katie after her tube "accidentally" deflated

Random shot of some of the group

All in all it was a very fun weekend. It left moving a little bit more tiring but it was all totally worth it!

Goodbye Suburbs, Hello Big City

2009-07-01T10:40:00.004-04:00

I am officially an Atlanta resident as of this past Sunday. That's right the U-Haul was loaded with all of my belongings and the move to Atlanta was complete. I am so grateful for the best boyfriend in the world because without his dedication I would not have gotten moved. I also have to thank my bother-in-law, Jacob and Joey's roommate, Donnie for their help as well. Joey could have never done it alone. It was a very long and very hot day. The act of actually moving is never fun and it can press on your nerves and emotions like you wouldn't believe. But I'm sure you know exactly what I am talking about. I am still in the process of getting settled. But little by little it is getting done. For the most part though everything is done and by this weekend my roommate Sarah and I hope to be completely settled in.

I have been really excited about the move and could hardly wait for it to happen. I was prepared for the headache that usually comes along with moving but what I wasn't prepared for were all of the emotions that would flood my body. Even though I was extremely excited for the move a part of me was also saddened to leave home. In the 3 1/2 years since I had been back home I had a regular routine. A comfortable routine that I just came to expect. I would get to see my babies on Tues. & Thurs. when my mom kept them. I grew accustomed to seeing my mom & the Runald every single morning before leaving for work and telling them that I loved them. I was use to my dogs running to me every time I walked in the door or having Izzy sit at my door and cry until I let her in. These were all things that I knew would change but I didn't realize I would miss so much. I guess considering I am still pretty close to home I didn't think it would really make that big of a difference or change that much. But I have found that I do miss those things, my normal routine. I am not saying that I wish I wouldn't have made the move by any means I just wasn't expecting to have so many different emotions about it.

As I talked to my mom yesterday and we discussed all the little things that have changed, how it is a little weird and will take some getting use to she reminded me that change is not a bad thing. Change is good. It may not initially seem like you have made the right decision but having faith that God has you right where he wants you and will never lead you astray just reassures me that if God didn't want me in Atlanta then He wouldn't have allowed it to happen. I will now come up with a new routine, change some things around and find what will work best for me now. It will be good for me and what I should be doing at my age.

I don't want you to think that I have only focused on what all I will be missing out on because I haven't. I already have things that I love about being on my own again...coming home to a place I can call my own, being so close to my friends in Atlanta & also being so close to Joey, a sense of independence that I have longed for, and just taking this new adventure in life and running with it to wherever it might take me.

One thing I have learned in my life is that change isn't always fun and may leave you nervous and scared but it usually turns out being a good thing that brings along excitement and adventure. And I couldn't be happier to be on this new adventure in my life.

What Do I Know of Holy?

2009-06-25T11:47:00.005-04:00

I often will search for new music and new artist. I came across Addison Road a few days ago. They are not by any means new but they are new to me. They are a group from Texas and I find their music absolutely incredible. Each song is written beautifully. Several of their songs really touched me but one that stuck out was the song "What Do I Know of Holy". I am not sure if you have ever heard of this song but you must give it a listen...

When I first heard the song I was like wow, that is one amazing song. But then I went back and listened to it again and again. I even looked the lyrics up. The more I listened to it the words began to sink in and the wheels in my head began to turn. "What Do I Know of Holy"? Really, what do I know? I was raised in the church, learned all the right things to say and do but did I really ever get to know our Holy God? How many times did I make Him too small? Did I ever stop to listen to Him or did I just talk? Would I really know if He was speaking to me or if he was right in front of me? How many times did I put Him into my pocket and pull Him out just when I needed Him? Did I ever really understand just how big He was and how big His love for me was?

I was guilty of all of those things at one point and hey let's just be honest there are still times that I find myself guilty of them. I know that we serve an incredibly B.I.G. God I just think at times it is easy to forget just how big He really is. After beginning my real relationship with Jesus Christ I couldn't help but be in complete awe of the beauty he placed all around us. Just to think that the God we serve placed each blade of grass on this earth, each granule of sand, every mountain, body of water, every single ant, bird, monkey, etc. He gave breath to each and every single one of us. And to think about the beauty of creating a new life and how he allows women to carry such a precious little life inside of them for 9 months blows my mind. It is when I sit back and really think about every single thing God has blessed us with and how it is so easy to go about our days and not even stop to thank Him that I am completely humbled. He holds our lives in His hands. He knows exactly what is and is to come so how come we think we can do it better on our own? I speak to myself when I say all of these things. I often times get sucked into the busyness of day to day life and don't make time to stop and spend time getting to know our Savior better. I often times think that I know exactly what I am doing and that I can handle it just fine instead of taking the time to stop and ask God what it is I should be doing.

We serve a Holy & Loving God but do our lives reflect that? Do we live each day with a pure and holy passion for Him? This song made me really stop and think about all of these things. I was convicted & brought to my knees. So that's it...my thoughts on the song & what it spoke to me. Each of us might take something completely different away from it so I would like to know what are your thoughts on the song? Anything close to mine or very far off?

Guess what...

2009-06-19T11:35:00.004-04:00

I'M MOVING!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, you read that right...after being back in my parents home for 3 1/2 years I am finally moving out. I've been wanting this for a while now and it is finally happening. I will be moving to Brookhaven next weekend. For those of you that are not aware I am already in Atlanta more than I am not. Pretty much everything I do is in Atlanta. So it just made a lot of sense to finally make the move. I am very excited about this yet a little nervous and little scared all at the same time. Since this will be my first place on my own completely this is a pretty big step. A step that I'm ready and have been needing to take for a while. So that is a little bit of news for ya. If you will please just keep me in your prayers. Since this is such a change for me there will also be other things that will change for me too. So if you would just pray for the move, the change & changes to come, and just for me to have faith that God wouldn't allow this to happen if this isn't where he wanted me. Thanks so much!

Look for more updates coming soon...

A Fun Friday Night

2009-06-05T13:41:00.004-04:00

What do all of the following titles have in common: “Sherry”, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, “Walk like a Man”, “Rag Doll”, “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)”, “My Eyes Adored You”, “Grease”, and “Can’t Take My Eyes off You”? If you answered they are all songs that Frankie Valli recorded you are correct. For those of you that are not aware who Frankie Valli is he was most famous as front man of The Four Seasons. They were very popular throughout the 50’s & 60’s. You’re probably wondering why in the world is she giving me all of this useless information?! That would be because Jersey Boys is now at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta and I went last Friday night.

One of my favorite things to do is to go to a show at The Fox. I don’t get to do it very often but really enjoy it when I’m able to go. Jersey Boys was wonderful! I honestly wasn’t quite sure who The Four Seasons were until they sang several of their songs. I had no idea they sang many of the songs. “Big Girls Don’t Cry” is one of my all time favorite songs. It takes me back to my childhood days and also reminds me a lot of Dirty Dancing. When they began to sing that song last week I was pleasantly surprised! It was also very interesting to learn the story behind the group and everything they went through. I’ve always known the music business is a difficult business but to hear someone’s story the good and the bad is very eye opening.

I went to the show with Joey. Our seats were fabulous thanks to him. We got to The Fox just in time to grab a glass of wine and find our seats. I of course was running late so we arrived just a little later than planned. We made it before the show started so no worries. I believe we were probably two of the youngest in the crowd that evening. There were a few others our age there but it was definitely more of an older crowd. It was so fun to listen to everyone sing and dance in their seats to the songs throughout the show. It was such a wonderful night! If you haven’t seen Jersey Boys I would highly recommend that you do! You won’t be disappointed, I promise!

Here is a pic of Joey and I all dressed up at the show :-)

Kids do the darndest things

2009-06-02T09:32:00.004-04:00

A few mornings ago my sister, Peyton walked into her kitchen to find this...

Addison had decided that she would let Maddox wear a bow that day. Where or why she got this idea from we may never know. I thought I would die when P sent me the pic! What are big sisters for?!?!

Concerts galore

2009-05-29T15:42:00.006-04:00

For anyone that knows me knows how much music is apart of my life and how much I love going to concerts big or small. Last week I got the opportunity to go to two different shows! Wednesday night was Hillsong United and Thursday night was Kenny Chesney. Two VERY different shows but two incredible shows none the less.

Hillsong United is a group from Australia. They are the worship band at Hillsong Church there. You may think you don't know anything they sing but I can assure you that you do. You see their worship music is sweeping all over this world. It has impacted lives over and over again. And more than likely you sing many of their songs on Sunday morning at your church like Mighty To Save, From The Inside Out, Stand, Stronger, Salvation Is Here, etc.

The concert was amazing! Well maybe I should rephrase that the worship service was amazing! The Lord was definitely present. It was so incredible to see and be apart of the huge crowd joining together to worship our God. Towards the middle of the service the sky opened up and the rain came down along with thunder and lightening. You might think that was the end of the service but that was hardly the case. The band continued to play, the crowd continued to worship and the Lord's name continued to be lifted high. Our seats were covered so we were not in the rain but oh how I would have loved to have been out on the lawn in the rain worshiping with my hands lifted high. It was such a powerful night and I am just so thankful that I was able to go and be apart of such an amazing service. Here is a little collage of my mom and I, Katie, and her mom, Christen and her mom, and then us three girls. Morgan also went with us but we didn't take any other pictures than the ones you see below. So no pics of Morgan this go around but don't worry I'll be sure she is in the next ones!

Thursday night was the Kenny Chesney concert. And once again if you know me at all you know how much I LOVE Kenny! I have been a HUGE fan of his for the longest time. I've been to pretty much every concert I could in Atl. and have also been apart of his fan club for several years now. I'm telling you it is bad! This year Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum were with him. I really like LA a lot so I was stoked to be able see them live.

The plan was to eat at La Parilla before and then head over to the concert. So that is what we did. When we got there the concert had already started but I was certain that Miranda Lambert would go on first. I was very wrong. And yes you guessed it I missed seeing Lady Antebellum all together. Total bummer.

I didn't stay bummed out for too long though b/c Kenny came out very soon after. Amanda and Lindsey were with me so they knew exactly what to expect from me when Kenny came on stage. But there was one person with us who was experiencing it for the first time. I don't believe that I scared them too much though. Kenny did a lot of his older songs but it was a wonderful show. And he made my night when he sang "Me And You". That is my all time favorite Kenny song EVER and he has not sang that song live in 6 yrs. So I was absolutely ecstatic when I heard the music begin to play.

Our seats for the show were covered so they were pretty good seats. I was especially glad we had them once it began to rain. We were able to enjoy the concert and stay dry. Well we stayed dry until it was time to go back to the car. By the time we finally made it to the car we were all completely soaked from head to toe. Since I had already been through the exact same thing the night before all I could do was laugh. It certainly made for a great story to end the night! Here are a few pics from the show...

Checking in

2009-05-27T16:37:00.003-04:00

Just wanted to say a quick hello to everyone! It has been an eventful past several days and it's still going. So be sure to stay tuned...there will be several new post in the next couple of days. I just haven't had much time to crank them out yet. I hope everyone's holiday weekend was great! I'll be sure to fill you in on mine very soon :) But until then enjoy this video of Kris Allen...

Congrats are in order

2009-05-22T10:48:00.003-04:00

Last night my family celebrated as Bradee Caroline Burrell graduated from North Hall High School. The graduation was held at Free Chapel Worship Center in Gainesville. It was a packed house and probably one of the shortest graduations I've ever been to lasting 1 hour & 15 minutes.

Bradee is one of my cousins on my moms side of the family. She was the youngest grandchild for years until little Charlee came along. Anyway, I'm the oldest and I can remember as if it were yesterday that we were all at MeMe & De-Daddy's house for something. Bradee was only a few months old. All the adult ladies wanted to go for a walk and I gladly stayed behind so I could play little mama to Bradee. I remember rocking her and looking out the window as MeMe, my mom, and my aunt Carol walked up the driveway. I thought I was so big! Ha. I can even remember what I was wearing that day...my acid wash blue jeans, bright pink shirt, and a headband w/ a shoestring bow on top! How I remember that I have no clue.

Bradee or BB as many of us call her is a very special young lady. She has always placed Christ as number one & top priority in her life. She seeks after HIM in all areas. Which is rare to find today with most teens. BB is a very hard worker and has always striven to do her best. She is fun-loving, goofy, dependable, and full of life. I can always count on a good laugh when all us ladies get together and you better believe Bradee Caroline is right in there with us. She is always such a joy to be around and I love her dearly.

I am so proud of Bradee and her many accomplishments. This year she was the captain of her soccer team leading them to play for the state championship, she graduated with honors, she was very involved in young life, she was apart of many different clubs in school, and last but certainly not least she received a scholarship to North Georgia College to play soccer. All of her hard work and determination has paid off!

As she goes into this next phase of life I can not wait to see where all the Lord will lead and guide her. I know she will go very far in life. So Bradee Caroline...I love you, I'm proud of you, I believe in you, and I can't wait to be there as you embark on your college days! And be sure not to waste them, don't wish you could hurry and get out...savor every last minute, every opportunity, and every memory! It will come and go faster than you expect! Now go, shine your light and do your part to change this world!

I have to ask...

2009-05-20T13:45:00.006-04:00

who's it gonna be. . .

ADAM

KRIS

I personally wanted Danny to win it all. I was a huge fan of his from day one. However, as the competition has gone on I have also become a pretty big fan of Kris too. So Kris most definitely has my vote...as of matter of fact he has 80 of my votes...yes I voted 80 times last night. Sad I know!

Who do you want to win or do you even care?

On the road again...

2009-05-20T13:03:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday was my girl Lindsey's birthday! She turned 26...oops sorry Linds hope you don't mind I told everyone your age :)

To celebrate Lindsey's birthday she, Amanda, and I took a little weekend trip down to the beach. We spent the weekend on Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach, FL). I spent a lot of time on that beach growing up so memories always seem to flood when I arrive on the island.

It was a very relaxing and fun filled weekend. We spent our days on the beach or by the pool soaking up every bit of sunlight we could get. We all came home with a little bit of color. Most of mine has seemed to fade a little now though. So I will be visiting the tanning bed again until the sun decides to appear here on the weekends. Oh how I miss those summer college days when we would lay by the pool pretty much every day and end up with such glorious tans. Those were the days!

Each night while we were on the island we went to dinner...sushi one night & the ritz the last night. The food both nights was wonderful. There isn't much of a nightlife on the island but we did manage to find a place to go after dinner on Fri. It wasn't quite what we were use to but hey it worked (for an hour at least, haha).

Sunday we had to get up and come home pretty early. Amanda was going to the Coldplay concert that night and I had to be back for Nolan Maddoxs' dedication at the church. I was a little worried about not making it back in time but we were successful and I made it to the dedication on time!

It was a much needed weekend away and I loved having two of my favorite people in the world with me! Now where to next girls. . .

Mother's Day Weekend

2009-05-20T12:33:00.009-04:00

I can't believe it has been almost two weeks since I have posted last. It was a busy week last week and this week is shaping up to be pretty busy as well. I would rather not do an entire post to catch you up on everything so I am going to try and break things up a bit.

Where to start...hmmm...oh yeah, Mother's Day weekend!

I spent all weekend at home with my family. It was much needed and very relaxing. Friday, the entire family went to watch Bradee Caroline play in the State Championship Soccer game. She is a senior at North Hall High School and this was her last game as a high school student. They were playing St. Pius High School. Bradee played a great game. They unfortunately did not win but they all gave it their very best.

Saturday I helped my mom watch Addison and Nolan Maddox all day. It was such a great day. I was able to rock, and hold Nolan Maddox as much as I wanted. We took a couple of naps together which were wonderful of course. I can remember when Addison was a baby how I would do the exact same thing with her. Those are such special times.

Sunday I had planned on cooking for my mom and spending the day with her. I went to church with her that morning and then came home and cooked lunch for the fam.

We had these yummy steaks, twice baked potatos, mushrooms, and salad.

It was simple but oh so delicious! I got the steaks at the butcher and no lie I had to fillet the fillet mignon again they were so think!

The rest of the afternoon we just spent hanging out together. Mama opened her presents ( a new handbag and new flip flops) and we took a few pictures. It was a very nice Mother's Day.

Have you seen this?

2009-05-07T16:15:00.003-04:00

I was listening to the Bert Show on Q100 this morning like I do every morning. Bert played a commercial on air that he found on YouTube. This commercial is supposedly playing on television stations in North Carolina. After I did a little Google search I found that a lot of people are talking about this video. Take a look at the video. I couldn't stop laughing when I heard it this morning!!!

Any thoughts?

Sometimes you need a change

2009-05-05T14:45:00.012-04:00

I promised last week to give you a before and after look at my new "do" so here ya go...

The first two pictures were taken at the beginning of April. We were celebrating my friend Adam's birthday...he's the guy in the pic being goofy. :) Before....

The following pics were taken this weekend before and after the flood (new post below if you haven't read it already) Are you ready??? Here is the AFTER...

Soooooo what do you think??? Good, bad, snazzy, sassy, etc.??? I gotta know :)

Then the flood came

2009-05-05T10:06:00.007-04:00

There was a little bit of excitement this weekend at my friend Katie's apartment. She was having some friends up from South GA for the weekend and decided to have everyone over Fri. night for appetizers and drinks. We were all having a great time just hanging out and talking. Then the guys decide they want to go and sing karaoke. So us gals changed clothes & got freshened up. I was in the bathroom freshening up my makeup when it happened...

A picture frame that Katie had propped on the back of the toilet fell. But not only did it fall it also broke the PVC pipe behind the valve to the toilet and water began gushing out everywhere. I of course freaked and ran out of the bathroom to tell what had happened. The water got up to ankle deep in a matter of minutes. Everyone was scurrying around trying to find buckets, coolers, towels, etc. to help scoop up the water. Then, as some are trying to scoop the water and others of us are trying to move Katie's belongings out of harms way the fire alarm begins to sound. This went on for a while and all the residents in her building were now standing out in the parking lot. The fire department came and they had to take a door down for us so we could get to where you turn the water off. Katie's maintenance man for the apartment complex finally arrived an hour later. Big fans were brought in to help dry out the carpet, the padding underneath the carpet was ripped out, and they used something to suck the remaining water up.

Needless to say the boys did not get to sing karaoke. Here are a few pics so you can get a visual of just how bad it was...

This season of life...

2009-04-29T13:36:00.006-04:00

Sometime back in this post I left it up to my readers to ask me questions...anything at all, I'm a pretty open book. Well Kristy (my cuz) asked me : "What is your favorite thing about this season of your life?" After reading that I sat back and wondered myself. At the time I could not seem to come up with what my favorite thing was. It honestly really bothered me that I could not answer that question for myself. So I've been contemplating for a while now and it finally hit me just a few weeks ago. . .

I am so happy and content where my life is right now that I am not sure I could choose just one favorite thing about this season of my life. For a long time I was depressed because my life had not gone exactly as I thought it should have. I've talked about this several times in other post so I won't go into all of that right now. But after letting some things go, and making a few changes for myself I am finally at a place where I am happy and content like I said above.

I have really enjoyed growing closer and closer with my single girlfriends during this season. I have such a great group of friends surrounding me. We are having such a blast right now hanging out together and meeting new people. I'm not so sure this is something that I would have gotten the chance to experience if my circumstances were different. I'm really enjoying right where God has me. I'm so lucky to have such strong Christian ladies in my life that I can count on to be there no matter what. So that is one of my favorite things during this season of my life...the strong friendships that I have with my girls and the adventures that we experience together.

Another thing I am really enjoying in this season of life is growing in my relationship with the Lord. I do strongly believe that during this time of singleness one can grow the most in their relationship with Him. I'm not saying that if you are not single you can't grow or you won't but I just feel that while being single you have nothing holding you back from where God wants to take you. I do feel that my relationship with the Lord has grown tremendously since not being in a relationship. I've learned so much about Him, what He wants for me, what He expects from me, how much He really loves me. I'm blown away over and over again at how much He really does love me too! I've come to learn to completely rely on Him for everything. He is the reason I am exactly where I am at today. So during this season I plan on continuing to dive in, learn, experience, and go just where He wants me to.

I am also enjoying being able to spend so much time with my family as it continues to grow. There was a time a couple years ago that I had thoughts about moving out of state. That obviously did not happen and now I don't really regret it b/c I've been able to be here to join in on the happy times and the not so happy times without being so far away. I was able to fulfill all of my sisterly duties during Peyton's pregnancy with Nolan Maddox. I've been able to spend lots of time with my favorite little girl and make many memories with her. My relationship with my parents has gotten even stronger and I've come to appreciate them and everything they have done and continue to do for me even more. I do look forward to being able to bring a special someone home to join in our experiences but until then I'm enjoying just being there.

I've learned a lot about myself in this past year. Who I am, who I want to be, what is and is not important to me and I'm so thankful that I have had the chance to learn all of those things about myself before entering into the relationship with the man that God has planned for me. I am truly blessed far beyond what I deserve. I am really looking forward to continuing this season of my life until it's time for the next!

Thanks Kristy for challenging me to think about this! And if anyone has anything else that they would like to ask please...feel free!

Monday Recap

2009-04-27T12:39:00.008-04:00

It's that time again for a Monday Recap. I had all intentions of updating more than once last week but my week ended up being extremely busy. So I'll do a little Monday Recap to bring you up to speed.

Last Monday after work I went to Peyton's to visit. Peyton needed to get out of the house so us gals took a little trip to the nail salon. It was good for P to get out of the house for a little while. Then, we went back and I got to play with Nolan Maddox for a while. Well, really just hold him but that was exactly what I wanted to do.
Last Tuesday was quite an eventful day for me. I had a hair appointment that evening. I honestly didn't go in thinking I wanted a complete change but that is exactly what I came out with. Hair color and cut are much different. I do like it though. I feel awfully sassy that's for sure. And a certain someone told me just the other day that he "liked sassy McCall she was fun" so maybe the new hair does fit. ;) Once I get some decent pics I'll post a before and after for y'all.
Last Wednesday was a lot of fun. We had girls night at my house. Peyton, Addison, and Maddox all came to spend the night with us! Ron and Jacob both had tickets to the Hawks game so us girls plus Maddox made a night of it. It was so great having P back in the house...I didn't realize just how much I miss her being there all the time. It really felt like old times again.
Last Thursday we had Global Night of Worship at the church. It was such a great night of praising and worshipping our Savior. Through Global X we were able to link up with a few of our strategic partners in other countries over the Internet to all join together in worship. It was truly an awesome night!
Last Friday I went to watch the Gwinnett Braves play with a few friends. The stadium was really nice and our seats were really cheap (always a great thing). The G-Braves are not all that great so the game ended up being a little boring but we all still had a good time. We ended our night with a trip to Taco Mac for some food, drinks, and great conversation. It was a great Fri. night.
Saturday I was very excited to be able to lay by our pool for the first time! The weather could not have been any better. The water was still a little chilly but we heated up the hot tub and it was perfect. It was a fun filled day in the sun!
Sunday Katie and I went shopping before church. It was a very successful day of shopping! Church was great as always. We also had a small group leader training session afterwards. It was my first training session. I really enjoyed it a lot.

So that brings you up to date with how busy my week and weekend were. This week will hopefully be much calmer. I will leave you with a few pics of Nolan Maddox from the past week and weekend.

Do.Justice

2009-04-20T16:06:00.008-04:00

Saturday, I along with several of my friends participated in do.justice. Do.Justice was put on by NPCC and also sponsored by Q100 Atlanta. Basically singles from all over Atlanta joined together on Saturday to volunteer with non-profits all over Atlanta. You can read more about it here.

My group partnered with Open Hand in delivering Meals on Wheels to people living with symptomatic HIV/AIDS, home bound seniors, and individuals with other critical illnesses or disabilities. Each group was given a different route they would be delivering meals to. My friends and I were to deliver meals in the Brookhaven/Buckhead area. I'm not gonna lie I was originally a little disappointed that we did not get a different area. I guess I sorta had a different picture in my mind when I thought about delivering meals to people. But boy was I in for a wake up call.

Our first stop was a house located on a very nice street in Buckhead. As we were driving down the street everyone was blown away at each home. Once we arrived at the house we got out, picked up the newspaper, and then took the meal to the door. We were greeted by a man I would say probably in his 60's. He began to talk to us and we learned that he was disabled but also taking care of his 90 year old mother. He also told us to be sure to take care of our futures now b/c you never know what tomorrow holds. He was very appreciative and thanked us over and over.

The next stop was our only other stop because we were delivering to an apartment building. We had 19 meals to deliver in the building. This stop is where my eyes were really opened. The building was right in the heart of Buckhead but it was not a place you would picture there. It was five stories high, each floor was about 80 degrees, and the smell would make you sick to your stomach. In our orientation meeting we were told that there might be coolers sitting outside the doors and that this meant that the person was too sick for you to come in or to come to the door. That was the case at this building. Most of the meals we delivered we had to put into the coolers.

There were only a handful of people that we were able to meet and talk to. One of the men that I met did not speak English very well so the language barrier made it difficult to communicate. But we were able to understand a little of what he said. He was confused on the schedule of the meal delivery. And from what we understood he was not receiving the meals everyday. Which lead us to wonder if they do not receive a meal every day do they just go without food? And what about the people that were not home when we were there to deliver do they go without also? These are questions that went unanswered and that I am still wondering about. Do any of you know?

Once we were finished delivering all the meals we took the left over meals back to Open Hand. Then went on about our days. Later in the day a few of the girls and I were talking and we began to discuss how selfish our worries and wants really are compared to the people that we came into contact with on Saturday. Most of those people worry if they will have food from one day to the next, they are suffering from all kinds of illnesses, most are probably very lonely, etc. These are people in our own backyard not in another country. They live right down the street from you and me. As we go about our days living our perfect little sheltered lives there are people right next door who are not as fortunate. To think that we complain about when we are gonna meet our husbands/wives, find a new job, get a new car, a new apartment, new clothes, losing weight, having a family, etc. it all begins to seem very silly now. When we stop and think just how fortunate we all are we have nothing to complain about. We should only be praising and thanking God for everything he has blessed us with. I know that I am truly blessed with more than I deserve and I thank God for His blessings every single day.

Saturday was such a great experience and I'm so glad that I was able to be apart of do.justice.

He is here!!!

2009-04-16T23:16:00.004-04:00

Nolan Maddox finally made his debut in this world at 10:51 p.m. on Wed. (4/15/09). It was a very long day, night, and early morning for mom, dad, baby, and the rest of the family. We were not able to go back and see him until into the early morning hours. They were trying to stabilize a few minor issues. Everything is fine and Nolan Maddox and mom are both doing great! I am still very exhausted and will go back to work tomorrow so I must say goodnight for now but I will leave with you a little slideshow of my precious nephew Nolan Maddox...

Today's The Day

2009-04-15T10:00:00.003-04:00

I will be an aunt again!!! Today my family will finally get to meet baby Maddox! Peyton was admitted to the hospital last night around 6:45 pm. She did not get settled until about 9pm and this is when they gave her her 1st pill of the night. As of early this morning there had not really been a lot of progress made. Dr. Bailey came in to check her around 8 this morning. She had still not dilated anymore. But we are praying that things begin to pick up quickly and we will get to meet Nolan Maddox Crowe very soon!

I would like to ask that everyone keep Peyton, Maddox, Jacob, and the rest of our family in your prayers today. Just for everything to go smoothly and comfort for Peyton. This is such an exciting day for all of us!

I just figured out how to post to my blog from my phone so hopefully I will be able to keep everyone updated as things progress. And I will get pictures up ASAP!

Easter Weekend 2009

2009-04-14T14:01:00.002-04:00

Wow, what a weekend! Let me tell you a little about it...

Friday, the plan was to go to the Good Friday service that Passion City Church was doing at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Alpharetta. The weather left us questioning if we would even be able to attend. For those of you that do not live in GA we had severe thunderstorms warnings & watches along with tornado warning & watches from about 5pm - 10pm. We didn't let the weather stop us though.

My parents and I met everyone at Chili's for dinner. It was raining when we got there but by the time we were ready to leave there was supposed tornados headed right in our direction. We waited around for about 45 min to an hour before we decided to just go. The weather began to calm the closer we got the the Amphitheater. I honestly did not expect for many people to show up on account of the weather. But to my surprise it was packed! Have I mentioned that the service was outside? Yes, that's right and let me just tell you it was an incredible time of worship and reflection.

Saturday, was another full day. My mom and I worked on our fitness that morning and then spent pretty much the rest of the day in the kitchen getting ready for Easter lunch the next day. We ended up getting a lot done. Boy, were my legs & feet feeling it that night though from standing all day.

Peyton and Addison also came over Saturday afternoon to hang out. Addison wanted to color eggs. Someone had told my mom a new way to color eggs so we decided to try it out. You take a silk tie and cut it up. You only need the actual silk from the tie. Once you have it cut you take the silk and wrap it around the egg. You can secure it with a rubber band, string, really whatever you have. Then you place it in boiling water for a few min. Once the egg is cooked you take it out and set aside to cool for a few min. When you get ready to take the silk off from around the egg you will see that the pattern that was on the tie has now transferred to your egg! It was such a neat little project with hardly any mess whatsoever.

Sunday, everyone went to church that morning expect me b/c I stayed home to finish up lunch and have everything ready when everyone arrived. Well I say I didn't go to church but I did...I went to church that morning via NewSpring Church web campus. It was a very powerful service. Perry definitely brought it!

After everyone arrived after church we ate lunch and relaxed. But some of us didn't get to relax very long b/c Addison and Charlee wanted to have an Easter egg hunt. Addison wanted me to help find the eggs so my mom and Allison were the ones assigned to hide all the eggs. Addison and Charlee were the cutest little girls out there running around searching and searching.

Once all the eggs were found we then had to count each ones eggs to see who won, of course. Addison being a few years older than Charlee was much more competitive and got most of the eggs. But there are no losers at our house and each of them received a prize!

Sunday evening I went to Buckhead Church. It was another wonderful service. And it was still packed at 6! A sight I will never get tired of seeing. After the service my friends and I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant for our Easter meal together. It was a great time with great friends.

Sooo there ya have it...that was my jam packed weekend. But I wouldn't have had it any other way! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter as well and that you were able to spend some time with your family and friends.

Remembering

2009-04-09T14:33:00.005-04:00

Today I am remembering someone very special to me and our very special memories together. It was on this day 3 years ago the world lost a woman of noble character but heaven gained her. My world and life were changed forever along with my family's lives but we rejoiced because she was suffering no more. She was now in heaven reuniting with loved ones and praising and worshipping our Savior. Instead of cooking an Easter spread for us down here she was eating a feast with our King. I don't believe I can think of a better way to get to spend Easter!

Often times it still feels as if it is all just a dream as if I can pick up the phone and call her. There have been several times in the last 3 years that I have too. Oh, how I miss our conversations. We could literally talk for hours and never run out of things to say. We would talk about everything from my latest love interest to cooking to my future and what my hopes and dreams were. Regardless of what it was she was always asking questions and giving advice; yet excited for whatever was going on.

Meme was such a Godly woman who loved others and loved doing for others. Whenever someone was sick or going through a difficult time I can remember how she would always cook something yummy for them and deliver it. I can just picture it now...I would have just pulled up at her and De-Daddy's house. He would be out in the shop building or working on something. I would ask, "Where is MeMe"? He would reply, "Ahh she ran up the road to so and so's to drop off a cake (or an entire meal in some cases) she'll be back in a min." Gosh, that feels just like yesterday.

I know that my love of cooking began at an early age when I would beg to help MeMe in the kitchen. She would let me help and eventually taught me how to make her homemade biscuits. They were amazing! I've tried since then to make them but I haven't exactly mastered them just yet. But I plan on it. :) MeMe was an extraordinary cook. I'm not sure there was anything she ever made that I did not like...well except for anything w/ bananas in it of course! She taught me so much just by letting me get in there and get my hands dirty but also just by watching her. I wish she was here today so that I could cook her a full course meal to enjoy.

One of Meme's other loves was her flowers. She had the most breathtaking flower gardens you could imagine. She enjoyed being outside so much and working in her yard. This was a love she and my mom shared. Their green thumbs were/are first-rate. I do love to look at the beautiful flowers in the yard but gardening isn't something that I love to do. Maybe I will one day when I have my own house but I highly doubt it. Hopefully my husband will love to work in the yard or I'll have to get my mom to come and tend it for me ;)

One other fun memory I have of MeMe is she and I playing the piano together. For those of you that don't know I grew up playing the piano. I spent a lot of time at MeMe & De-Daddy's growing up and there would be times I would have to practice my piano at their house. She always enjoyed listening to me play. But there would be times that I would be learning a new song or having a difficult time with one so she would stand over me and count and then make these "doot de doot de doot" sounds that would crack you up yet get under your skin so bad you would just want to get it right. I can hear her now! MeMe and I also had a favorite song together. It was a little more advanced than I could play so she would play and we both would sing. Go here to see what our song was. I'm not sure why exactly I loved that song so much back then but I did. Years later I was listening to the radio and it came on...I picked my cell right up to call MeMe and tell her I had heard it on the radio. We both laughed and laughed.

As you can see I have many great memories of my MeMe and our time spent together. I could tell you many more but then this post would go on for days. I just wanted to share a few with you though. I hold each and every one close to my heart. I do miss her. I miss her everyday. But I know she is with me. And sometimes when I get a little sad all I have to do is think back to one of our many adventures together b/c there were plenty and I smile.

Do you have any special memories with your grandmother you would like to share? Did you know my MeMe? What is your favorite memory of her? Please, share them...

I WON, I WON, I WON

2009-04-08T12:43:00.005-04:00

Oh yes, I won the NCAA Basketball Bracket pool at work! I've been in the pool the past 3 years and each year I have been the only female that joined in. The first year I came in 4th place, last year I bombed but this year I WON!!! The way our bracket works is you fill out the first two rounds, then the next two, and so on. You also get the option of buying teams back if you want. This obviously helps add to the pot. Some people I have told about our bracket system said that it is cheating but I don't believe that it is the case. It just gives everyone a better chance of winning :-) Anyway, I just wanted to do a little bragging since I beat all the guys this year and won $102. But I don't want to say too much b/c I may jinx myself for next year ;-) I must tell you though it was awfully hard for me to pull for UNC...I'm a Duke girl!!!

Sorry for the shadows in the pic but this was the best I could do at the time. You get the point though.

Update on Peyton & Maddox

2009-04-03T11:13:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to take a few minutes to update everyone on Peyton and Maddox.

Peyton had a normal doctor appointment on Wed.(4/1) Everything was good except that her blood pressure was very high. She has also been experiencing a lot of swelling in her ankles and feet. So she was told to take it easy, not to be moving around a lot, and she also had to do a 24hour urine collection. So she had a day of rest at home yesterday and then went back to the doctor this morning.

Peyton just called to give me the update. Her blood pressure was good and all of her blood work came back great. The urine test will not be back in until Monday. Dr. Bailey ordered her to stay out of work until after her next appointment which is Wednesday (4/8). She is to continue to take it very easy. Then if everything looks good after her appointment next Wed. she will be able to go back to work then. Dr. Bailey seems to think that she will not go until her due date which is April 26th b/c her of blood pressure issues but he said he is watching her like a hawk.

So if you will all please keep Peyton and Maddox in your prayers. We want Peyton to be able to carry Maddox as long as she possibly can (without risk of course). And I will continue to keep everyone updated as things continue to progress.

It's finished

2009-03-30T09:45:00.019-04:00

This past Saturday my mom and I helped my sister finish her nursery. Peyton chose not to do a theme in the nursery but she did want it to have some what of a Norman Rockwell feel to it. I believe we captured just that. Here is a slideshow... enjoy!

And just an FYI for ya...we are available for hire! Just click on my email link on the sidebar. :)

Ok Tweets this is for you!

2009-03-27T09:36:00.006-04:00

Have you seen the commercial for BumpIt? If not you will need to watch it here so that the story will make sense.

Okay, now that you know what BumpIt is I can continue.

Last Sunday after the service was over my friends and I were walking out of church. We were talking, making lunch plans, and cutting up as always. One of the girls turns around to us and said, "Hey, do you think that girl has a BumpIt in?" We all look up and it wasn't hard to figure out who she is talking about. This girls "bump" was absolutely perfect. We all snicker a little and then didn't think another thing about it.

Yesterday, while I was at work, I thought back to our little BumpIt conversation on Sunday and just had to laugh. I ended up wandering into Morgan's office like I always do when I need to share something, laugh, talk, etc. I asked her if she knew what a BumpIt was. She said, "Um, no". So I began to explain it to her but after I started she remembered seeing the commercial for BumpIt and I didn't need to explain any further. I told her our little story from Sunday; we laughed a little and I went back to my desk.

After a while I decided to check Twitter and I see Morgan's latest tweet which says : "@McCall7 wears a BumpIt." I laughed and then replied back with : "@morgancollins oh no mam you didn't!" We laughed some more and that was the end of it...or so I thought!

Last night I was checking my email and I noticed I had an email from Twitter. The email read: "@BumpIts is now following you on Twitter." My mouth fell open and I began to laugh hysterically. I then called Morgan to let her know thanks to her tweet, @BumpIts was now following me on Twitter. To which she replied "Shut Up" followed by hysterical laughter.

So the moral of the story is...if you want to be recognized just BUMP-IT!!!

Latest Project

2009-03-23T15:39:00.003-04:00

My latest paint project were the letters that will go over Maddox's baby bed. I decided that I would paint them the same colors as the chest of drawers. But I wanted to do something else to make them stand out a little more. My mom gave me the idea of outlining them with twine. They turned out perfect! Here they are...

The sides were painted brown and the front obviously red. With the walls in the nursery being khaki I thought the red would look best up against the walls. Red is one hard color to get perfect though but I had to have it perfect. I think I ended up doing about five or six coats all together.

I really enjoyed doing the letters. My mom and I talked about how fun it would be to decorate nursery's for a living! That would seriously be an awesome job! Once Peyton gets everything hung on the walls in the nursery I will post some pics of everything. I actually painted a couple of shelves and stars that she is going to put up but I do not have pics of those. But there ya go, that's my latest little project.

If the Shoe fits...Wear It!

2009-03-20T09:57:00.009-04:00

Since I can remember I have loved children. My love for babies began at an early age. I can remember always wanting to hold the babies, play with them, and try to play the mama role. Then, as I got older I was able to have a few different jobs working with children of all ages. It was perfect for me. I've always known that I want nothing more than to be a mama to my own children one day. The past couple of years I have felt that desire grow stronger and stronger. Which I believe without a shadow of a doubt that this desire comes from the Lord. He has given us as women that desire and motherly instinct. What a wonderful gift. And I know that I will not be able to fully understand the love, the feelings, etc. until I do have children of my own. No, I'm not gonna tell you that I am preggo and no I'm not adopting. I'm still waiting for a husband before all of that. But it doesn't mean that this desire in me is still not there. My friends and I joke all the time that our clocks are tickin'. However, until my day comes to bare my own children I have the great opportunity of loving, spoiling, teaching, and being an example to my niece Addison and soon to my nephew Maddox. I had no idea that when I was told I would be an aunt that I could ever love someone as much as this. I can not even put into words my love for Addison and Maddox.

The past six years I have had the joy of watching little bit (that's what I call A) grow into such a vibrate, loving, aggravating, caring, funny, hard-headed, precious little girl. I see so much of Peyton in her at times it takes me right back to our childhood days. Little bit loves to play dress up and often gets my clothes/shoes out and prances around the house in them. She also loves to play school. And from what my mom tells me playing school is a little different now than it was when Peyton and I played. Let me set the scene for ya...Addison is the teacher, she has her little table all set up as her desk w/ my mom's old laptop, paper, and pens. There was obviously one student who was a trouble maker and A continued to get on to him. The student had to move his clip all the way to red (this is what goes on in her actual kindergarten class). But the child did something once again and next thing my mom hears from Addison is "Alright, _____ that's it I'm emailing your mother" and then she proceeds to go to town on my mom's laptop. I about fell out in the floor when my mom told me the story.

We have A LOT in common!

Another thing that A loves to do is write and draw. And she loves to go into my room and use my notebooks to draw on. I've had to tell her several times not to use a specific one b/c my bible study notes are in it. Well, she didn't listen and when I got my notebook out to take notes I had a few nice drawings from a certain little girl. But nothing melted my heart like when I walked into my room a few weeks ago and on my desk was one of my notebooks opened to this...
I love the fact that she knows that I have two lines under my "c". Even though they aren't under the correct one just the fact that she remembers them makes me happy. Now you tell me if you walked in and found this picture wouldn't you melt as well?!

Yes, I'm Still Alive

2009-03-18T12:06:00.010-04:00

Hello, blog world! I have not paid you much attention lately. I'm sorry about that. I guess you could say my mind has been elsewhere and my life has been very busy. Between work, showers, trips, babysitting, time spent w/ family, friends & boys, working on my latest projects, etc. I have taken every single moment of down time to just relax and refocus. But I'm hoping to get back into the groove of blogging on a more regular basis. I/we have so many exciting things coming up and I need to be blogging more to keep everyone up to date!

Here are a few pics from this past month...

The pics below are from Peyton's first shower. The first is of the shower host (her BFF's) and the second is of a few girls that were at the shower (some had already left). It was a great day and great time to get to catch up w/ some of the girls. Love them all dearly.

And the pic below is just two of the many things that I bought for Maddox. I was so excited when I found them that I almost peed my pants (well not really but you get the point). His first Converse were only right coming from Aunt Call!

I don't have any updated friend pics to share with you b/c I let them take all the pics w/ their cameras. I really do not like my camera at all...the pics always come out very blurry. But if they email them to me I'll be happy to share w/ everyone. I do have pics of my latest projects but that will be a post all by itself. So just be on the lookout for that. And I do have two more pics that I can not wait to share with you but I've decided they will be their own post as well. So more to come very soon...

P.S.- Maddox will arrive in 6 wks!!!!

Wednesday Funny

2009-02-04T13:29:00.004-05:00

My grandfather sent this joke to me yesterday in an email. I just had to share it with everyone. And just for those of you that don't know my De-Daddy...this joke is just "so him". Gosh, I love him! Ok here's the joke, enjoy...

An elderly couple go to church one Sunday. Halfway through the service, the wife leans over and whispers in her husbands ear, "I've just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?" The husband replies, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid."

My New Hobby

2009-02-03T09:51:00.022-05:00

So I have taken up a new hobby...painting furniture. I didn't exactly expect it to turn into something that I enjoyed so much but it did.

My mom still has a chest of drawers that was in my and my sister's room growing up. It is a piece that she and daddy had back when they were first married. So this piece of furniture has been in the family for a while now. My mom had the idea of painting it and letting my sister use it in the nursery.

So a few weekends ago we went to work...

And here is our finished product...

We were both really happy with the outcome. We delivered it to Peyton's house on Sunday. She had not seen it yet because we wanted it to be a surprise. She loved it!

Next up...searching for old pieces of furniture, painting, and selling. Have any request? Let me know!

So what's one of your favorite hobbies? Any worth me giving a shot?

How Do You Live Your Life?

2009-01-30T11:06:00.003-05:00

This song really spoke to me. It is such a great reminder not to live your life just "going through the motions". It is often times very easy to get sucked into the every day routine of life. But is that really enough? Is that how your life is to be spent? I know that it isn't enough for me nor is it how I want to live my life. I don't want to get to the end of my life and have to say "I wish I would have _____". I am not perfect and I mess up many times daily but I know that even in the midst of my screw ups God still loves me. So why in the world would I want to live my life just going through the motions when I could be living out the life that God has called me to? What keeps us from living the life that God called us to live? Is it fear? Is it pride? Is it people around you? Is it laziness? It really could be any one of these things and more. I know all of the above have been a factor in my life at one time or another. And there are times that I still let some of these hold me back. But I don't want to live my life in fear, selfishly, or prideful. So what do I do...I ask God to take the fear away to remind me that he is in complete control and there is no need to fear. I ask him to help me let go of my selfish pride and to give me humility. I ask him to show me where he wants me to go, and who he wants me to be.

Those are just my thoughts. What about you...what does this song make you think about? What does "the motions" mean to you? What are some ways you live your life so that you aren't just going through the motions or what are some things you should/could change to make this happen?

Caption Please

2009-01-26T10:26:00.004-05:00

This is my dog Izzy. My mom snapped this picture of her last night. My mom gave it the caption "Leaning On The Promises". What caption would you give this picture???

Will You Help This Family?

2009-01-20T22:43:00.004-05:00

As it goes in the blog/networking world you come across new people everyday. Today I came across this blog. The family is trying to raise the money to bring their little girl that they adopted from Korea home. One way they are raising money is by hosting a raffle on their blog. So I urge you visit their blog, donate some money, be entered in the raffle, and help a family bring their precious baby girl home.

What an Eventful Day!!!

2009-01-20T16:05:00.005-05:00

This past Saturday my family and I spent moving my stuff out of my storage bin. And it turned out to be quite an eventful day.

My bro-n-law and the Runald were in charge of taking care of all the heavy furniture. My mom and I took care of all of the boxes, and light weight furniture. I had forgotten just how much "stuff/crap" I had. So my sister's car was loaded down with the remaining little things. Since the boxes were the 1st to be loaded up us gals went on to the house and unloaded.

When we arrived at the house my mom decided she would pull around to the back yard so that we didn't have such a long walk to unload everything. And the fact that is was freezing Sat. definitely came into play as well. My sister was behind us and she just followed suit.

We get everything unloaded and hurry to get the cars back in the driveway before the Runald and bro-n-law get there. My sister goes first...perfection! So my mom and I are next...so far so good...then the hill comes...OK we're good, we're good...um wait we're not goin' anywhere. Oh yes, we were STUCK and stuck in the middle of the yard nonetheless. So we backed up and tried to go up again. No luck...tires still spinning. We tried this several more times and still nothing. My sister came down and began to direct us...nada. So the three of us resulted in what we do most of the time...we began to laugh. But the laughing quickly came to an end as soon as we saw the guys pull up. I'm not sure that any of us have ever gotten out of a car and up a hill so fast in our lives. And I'm pretty sure that the word s*@! was used more than any other in that exact moment.

The guys eventually get out of the truck after sitting and staring for what seems like an hour at the little mess we had made. My mom immediately starts screaming "I know, I know. I messed up. I never should have tried it". The Runald just shakes his head and bro-n-law covers his mouth so that the Runald doesn't see his smirk. The Runald attempted to get the car up the hill. No such luck. And a tow truck had to be called.

You might think wow, well that sure made things interesting. But that's not all that happened! Once the car was pulled out of the car the guys were going back for another load. When they get in the truck to leave it will not start! After working on it for a while they get it working again and headed back for the load. We eventually got everything moved out and unloaded it just took a little bit longer than it should have ;)

There is still more though...on Friday, I had a flat tire. So Sat. morning I had to drop my car off to have my tire fixed while we were busy moving. Thank goodness there was nothing in my tire...the air just leaked out. THEN, while we were waiting for the wrecker to get to the house we had the dogs outside. I noticed that Gracie was acting funny. My mom ended up taking her to the vet...she had a bladder infection. THEN, later that night we discovered that my mom had lost the keys to the Runald's car! We turned the house upside down but did not find them until the next morning in the floorboard of my mom's car.

So as you can tell there was not a dull moment for us on Saturday! I'm so thankful that I have such a loving and giving family otherwise we probably would have all killed one another. Haha. I thought that it was all very funny and just thought that I would share our eventful day with all of you since I have not blogged in quite sometime.

Wanna help feed the hungry?

2009-01-06T21:08:00.003-05:00

Well you can and you can do it right from your very own computer! I came across a website a while back that I would like to share with you. It is FreeRice.com. Some of you may have heard of it but some of you may not have. So let me explain it a little...when you go to the site you are able to "test your knowledge" so to say and for every answer you get right 20 grains of rice are donated through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger. By default you are given words and asked the meanings of each. You can however, change the subject and the level. Some of you may be a bit skeptical so I have even taken the time to go to Snopes.com to prove that it really is legit. So next time you are at the computer and have a little time go on over to Free Rice, play a game, feed your brain, and donate rice to the hungry all at the same time! Oh and in case your wondering...IT'S FREE!!!

Lots To Learn

2009-01-04T21:27:00.005-05:00

So I got a new toy for Christmas...

and boy do I have a lot to learn. I've got most of the basics down but there is still so much to learn. I've never worked on a Mac before so you can imagine the task at hand. But I'm definitely up for the challenge.

Which do you prefer Mac or PC? Have any pointers or tips for me?

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T14:01:00.003-05:00

I had originally thought that I would do a post recapping and reflecting on 2008 and then share my hopes, expectations, and resolutions for 2009. But the more I thought about it all the more jumbled my thoughts got and so I just decided, nah maybe later. But I did want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year. I hope that this new year will bring lots of joy with it for each and every one of you!

Christmas '08 in Pictures

2008-12-27T00:26:00.026-05:00

Instead of writing out a post about our Christmas I'll just share with you our day(s) in a few pics.

My mom, me, my sister, and Addison

Queen Christmas

My daddy's 4 brothers

Sheaven, KC, and Peyton...all born 2 weeks apart

Some played the Wii

Some watched football...GO FALCONS!5 of the 13 great grandchildren before the surprise of the night...

Oh me, look who is here!!!

Santa called each of the great grandchildren up by name. Some were quick to go & others quick to shy away. It was such a fun little surprise though. Our family is still growing & we will have three new great grandchildren coming in 2009! And yes, it can be a bit chaotic when we all get together but it wouldn't be the same any other way! We've always been a big family. Proud to call myself a Queen lady :)

Healan Christmas

Aunt Carol, Mom, De-Daddy, Aunt Allison

All of the grandchildren + Addison & Maddox w/ De-Daddy

Me, Bradee, and Lee w/ his new toy

And this is how much of our day was spent...

The Burrell Family Portrait...our hosts of the day

Addison and Charlee...the reasons we laughed most of the day...so cute!

And our Christmas family portrait

I'm not sure what happened to Allison's family portrait...I know they took one...we didn't get a copy though.

So this was just a few snapshots of our Christmas 2008. It was another memorable Christmas. I enjoyed spending the time with my family and making new memories for years to come.

Daddy Gifts

2008-12-24T22:28:00.011-05:00

I have not written anything in quite sometime, I know. But I would like to take a moment to share with you a special Christmas Eve tradition that my mom, my sister, and I all share together.

As many of you know my daddy is no longer with us here on this earth. So as you can imagine every year at Christmas time no matter how much time has passed there is a little place in my heart along with my mom, sister, and the rest of my family's heart that aches just a little. There is this underlying sadness that I can't really explain but if you have lost someone then you know just what I am talking about. And it is just one of those things that my mom and my sister get and they never have to ask "what's wrong with you" because they "just know".

Every year since my daddy has been gone my wonderful mama has made sure that Peyton and I still celebrate Christmas with our daddy. And she started a tradition of what we call a "daddy gift". The gift has never been anything huge just something small but something that is meaningful. Several years ago she started giving Peyton and I Precious Moments. They are not new Precious Moments though they are the ones that my daddy gave her over the years they were married. She is now just passing them on to us. I can remember when I was a little girl every Christmas daddy would give mama a different Precious Moments and her face would just light up. I remember so vividly the smile each of them brought to her face. And I loved each and every one of them. I would often just stand in front of the cabinets they sat on top of and look at every single one and when she wasn't looking I would sometimes pick them up and read what they said on the bottom. So needless to say the fact that mama is passing her Precious Moments on to Peyton and I is extremely special to each of us.

Today as we opened our boxes to see which one we got this year neither of us had any idea just how meaningful and speechless we would be. Mama shared with us that every year as she is going through the boxes she goes through and picks just the perfect one for each of us. Well this year she just reached in the box and picked up the first two her hands touched. This is the one that Peyton got... it is called "I love you Mommy" and as you can see is a precious little boy. For those of you that do not read on a regular basis my sister, Peyton is pregnant with her second child which is a little boy who will be called Nolan Maddox. You can go here to read the full story on the baby's name.

The one that I got is this one... it is titled "Press On". This one could not be any more perfect for me. This past year has brought many challenges, difficulties, and changes. And yet as I have faced each of these I have not quit, not given up, nor have I given in even though I wanted to many times. I have "Pressed On" because I know that in the end the journey that I have taken this past year, these past several months they are all worth it and the place that God is leading me is beyond anything I could ever imagine for myself.

So as you can see each of the figurines that we received this year were as if daddy picked them out himself for us. I can not even begin to describe to you the feeling that came over me once mama explained that she had not picked them out herself. My daddy is with us. He has never left our side. And so as we do miss him this Christmas just as we do every year I am reminded that he is not far and that one day we will see him again.

Merry Christmas Daddy!

1 day until Christmas

2008-12-24T09:58:00.003-05:00

Today's video is another Faith Hill song, "A Baby Changes Everything". The song is off of her new Christmas album (which is awesome btw).

As each of us are scurrying around on this Christmas Eve to get to our families, church services, or even that very last min. shopping done let's not forget that "The Baby did truly change everything" for us. I am really not trying to sound cliche by any means I just think that it is so very important for us to remember. I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas!

I will be posting a new post without a video hopefully later today for those of you who are thinking "enough with the videos already" :)

2 days until Christmas

2008-12-23T12:22:00.004-05:00

Today's video is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Whenever I hear this song I am reminded of many special memories. Hope you enjoy!

3 days until Christmas

2008-12-22T16:47:00.004-05:00

Since I am delirious today I asked Morgan to find me a good video from "The Office"...so let's everyone say...THANKS MORGAN :)

4 days until Christmas

2008-12-21T23:11:00.003-05:00

Today you are gonna get two videos...it's just too hard to pick only one video from this movie!

5 days until Christmas

2008-12-20T22:44:00.002-05:00

This video is just classic...still love these guy's after all these years!

6 days until Christmas

2008-12-19T16:35:00.004-05:00

Since Christmas is only 6 days away I've decided to post some type of Christmas video clip or music everyday until then...

I'm startng off with Chris Brown's music video from the movie "This Christmas". I watched it just the other night. Good movie.

I was humbled

2008-12-18T16:45:00.003-05:00

This past weekend I got the opportunity to meet many new friends. And it was a weekend I will not soon forget...

I spent Friday night in the kitchen making homemade Mac-n-Cheese and lots of yummy sweetness from Gingersnaps to Rice Krispie Treats. I made enough to feed probably 30 people or so. I was in my element and there was no place else I would have rather been that night.

Saturday, my mom, Peyton, and I all got up, loaded the car with the food, some clothes, and headed over to Hebron Baptist Church. *Side note - This is where I grew up going to church. And instead of doing a Christmas play this year they set up different serving opportunities for everyone to participate in. Okay so back to my story...we arrived at the church for a quick meeting with everyone that was going with us. Then, we headed to Trinity Vineyard Church in Atlanta to continue to load more food, clothes, toys, etc. I was a little taken back at first by the number of volunteers that had given up their Saturday to go and serve the homeless of Atlanta. There were people from many different age groups and all different walks of life. It was just so awesome to be apart of a group who had come together and all had one purpose in mind...that was showing others love, Christ's love.

After everything was loaded we all gathered in the auditorium for one more quick meeting before heading down to the shelter. The organization that we partnered with was Lazarus Ministries which was founded by Allison Mitchell in November of 2000. Allison gave us a quick run through of what we could possibly expect and what we were to be doing. Then, everyone got in their cars and we headed over to a shelter parking lot downtown on Pryor St. Everything had pretty much already been set up and a line of people had already started to form. So my mom, Peyton, Addison, and I all jumped right in and were assigned jobs. Peyton, Addison and I were in charge of the men's shirt table. We were to ask the men what they needed and then help them find just the right size and what they were looking for.

As we all stood there waiting for go time we talked and joked around with everyone in line. There was one lady that definitely caught all of our attention right off the bat. She had spotted some "boots with the fur" and she let us know real quick that she wanted them. A couple of our guy volunteers even started singing the song and busted out a few moves. It was quite funny. I'm happy to report that our new friend got her "boots with the fur"! The smile on her face was enough to brighten your entire month.

Go time finally arrived and as each person came through the line I learned their name, where they were from, and what they were looking for. We would then search through the boxes until we found the perfect shirt, hoodie, or sweater just for them. The hoodies went fast! And button down dress shirts were another popular item that day. Many people had a job interview the next week and some just wanted something "stylin". But each and every one of them cared about what they looked like. They are still just like you and I. They still want to "look good". One of the first men to come through the line was Marvin. I told him that I had a friend named Marvin and he replies with "well now you have two". Although, the thought that I would make new friends that day never entered into my mind until he said it to me Marvin was exactly right. I now had two friends named Marvin. Marvin and I only got to talk for a very short time before he had to move on in the line. He thanked me over and over and told us how we were doing such a good thing. Marvin was not the only one though each and every person who came through the line was so friendly, so personable, and so appreciative of every single volunteer that was there that day.

The dinner lasted until 8pm that night but we were not able to stay until the end. We did not want to leave though. We all wanted to stay and spend as much time with everyone there as we could. I know that I for one was greatly humbled that day. Just speaking with the people that I did, some right near my age, reminded me just how blessed I really am. While I worry if I have the right shoes to go with an outfit, they worry if they will get into the shelter that night or if they will be sleeping under a bridge or on a church step. While I worry about my wants and desires, they worry about their needs. And that is one thing I've never had to worry about once in my life.

My life was changed last Saturday and there has not been a day that has gone by since that I have not thought of the people that I met and the new friends that I made. In closing I would just like to share a verse with you Isaiah 58 (msg). This verse is one of the cornerstone verses for Lazarus Ministries. And I believe that Allison paraphrazes it best in her testimony: "In sum, it says true worship and fasting is to serve the poor and set the oppressed free, then salvation will come and wounds will quickly heal." So I would just like to ask that you take this verse with you, hold it close to your heart and the next time you come in contact with the homeless remember that they are people just like you and me and God has called us to serve them.

My ears are still ringing

2008-12-17T23:32:00.004-05:00

I went to see AC/DC in concert last night at Phillips Arena. It was a great show. I can't believe those guys are still performing the way they do! It was by far the loudest concert I've ever been to. And we all forgot our ear plugs. My ears have still been ringing all day today. But my hearing is coming back some. :)

What's the loudest concert you've ever been to?

**There is a new post coming tomorrow...I've been working on it but just have not had time to finish it. Can't wait to share it with you!**

LaLaLaLaLaLaLaLa

2008-12-12T13:44:00.005-05:00

Okay everyone the Christmas music is up and running! Thanks to everyone who requested a song. I will gladly add to the play list if you still have any other request...just leave a comment or email me (I posted a link to my email on the sidebar). It's funny how when you begin to build a play list you have all these songs you want to put on it but then when you search for them they are no where to be found or your mind goes completely blank. Anyway, enjoy and Merry Christmas!

**I'll do a real post a little later today

By Request

2008-12-11T23:31:00.003-05:00

Anonymous left a comment that I needed some Christmas music on my blog. So since there was a request for it...I'm working on a new play list just for Christmas. I hope to have it up and running tomorrow. What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? Any song request???

Oh and just while it is on my mind...has anyone else been watching the show Secret Millionaire? It came on Fox last night and tonight. I will admit that I've been a bit sceptic of it and I'm sure that some of it is staged for reality TV. BUT the concept behind the show is awesome! Just wondering if anyone else had seen it and if so what your thoughts were on it...

Is it worth it???

2008-12-10T16:03:00.005-05:00

**Disclaimer** The following post is completely random and is me just needing to vent for a few min. Please feel free to skip it completely. There is another new post under this one.

So for the last month or so I have been dealing with stomach issues...pain, nausea, feelings of fullness, burning, etc. I tried to get my symptoms under control and stayed on Zantac 150 for 2 weeks straight. I just did not feel good and when I tried to explain it people didn't seem to get it. Well I ended up in the doctors office. She asked all kinds of questions, decided to run some test, and wanted to see me back in a week. In the meantime she gave me a sample of some medicine for acid reflux. The medicine seemed to help. I went back to the follow up appointment. If I said that I wasn't a tiny bit nervous that my blood work was going to come back abnormal I would be telling a lie. I guess you always have that tiny bit of what if something really is wrong in the back of your head, ya know. Well, all my blood work came back just fine. The doc said she thinks that it was just a really bad case of acid reflux. She gave me two different prescriptions to stay on and also told me I needed to stay on a very bland diet.

Well, it has been two weeks since I have been on my medicine. I do feel better for the most part. However, staying on a bland diet has not exactly been very easy. I mean I don't think this could have come at a worse time...right in the middle of the holidays...when there are holiday parties and lots and lots of yummy food & drinks. I guess the one thing that has helped me out the most is that I honestly have not really had much of an appetite since beginning my medication. I mean I am eating but very small portions and fewer meals. Hey, I'm not complaining though. :)

Last night was my work Christmas party. We have it at Pappdeaux every year. It is always very good and everyone always leaves needing to unbutton the button on their pants. I was a little bit weary though of what in the world I would eat. I knew I couldn't get anything spicy or I would not make it through the entire party. So I was careful. I even passed on dessert...not an easy thing considering chocolate is one of my many weaknesses. Well, I certainly made up for it today...I gave in to my weakness of chocolate and now I am sitting here extremely ticked off at myself, in pain, and can't quit burping (another one of my splendid symptoms).

You are thinking okay McCall, why in the world are you telling me all of this useless info...well I guess I am just venting really. I only wish I could make you understand how annoying it is to have to deal with this. To have to be so cautious of each and every single thing you put into your mouth unless you want to end up sick as a dog. I mean chocolate...really...I have to give up my chocolate??? I mean when I go out to eat I now have to be that annoying customer that asks a million questions and has the waiter take this and that off or substitute this for that. I waited tables BELIEVE ME it is extremely annoying and it is not always guaranteed to come out how you ask for it too. I am now the pain in the butt friend that says oh sorry can't eat there, or there, or there...I'll just eat at home but I'll still come and sit with y'all. Seriously...who does that?! I now do that and it stinks. But you know what even though it is all very annoying and a pain in the butt it is all completely worth it so that I do not to feel the way that I feel at this very moment for giving into my chocolate temptation. Okay, I'm done with my ranting...and I'm so sorry that this post is completely stupid...I just needed to do a little venting. :)

I would like to introduce to you...

2008-12-10T09:43:00.009-05:00

my nephew, Nolan Maddox Crowe!
I was so glad that I did not have to write a retraction of my post last week! Peyton and Jacob went to the doctor yesterday and it was confirmed 100% it IS A BOY!!!
He weighs 14oz right now. The doc said everything is normal and he is looking good. I thank God that everything is going smoothly & that he is a healthy little boy so far. This little boy is already so loved he is just not aware of it yet.

Peyton and Jacob are going to call him Maddox. His first name Nolan, comes from my daddy. Nolan was daddy's middle name. Peyton and I both have always said that one our children will have one of our daddy's names. Even though our children will never be able to know our daddy I am glad that we will be able to share our special memories of daddy with each of them and keep his memory alive.

As I pray for Maddox already...I pray for him to grow up to be a follower of Christ, placing Christ #1 in his life before anything else. I ask God that he will grow up to be a man of noble character, strong & healthy, caring & compassionate, full of life, and ready to take whatever life throws at him. I pray for his safety. I pray that he will be a living example of Christ's love. I pray that he will be a great brother to Addison and that they will be close.

Having a nephew is going to be much different but I am very excited. I get the best of both worlds...a fun little girl and a fun little boy. I get the joy of spoiling them and sending them home. I just know that Peyton is going to return the favor when I finally have children of my own one day. :)

My juices are still not flowing

2008-12-08T23:11:00.005-05:00

I am sorry that I have not been posting as regularly lately. I've been in a slump for a while...creativity wise. I have been doing a lot of "thinking" like always though which usually gives me something to share with everyone. But this time around it is probably better that I keep these things to myself for now. Give me some time though and I bet I will share my thoughts.

I do have two questions that I still need to answer so look for those coming this week. Oh wait, I actually have three...a friend of mine emailed me his question...but I think you are just gonna have to keep waiting Chris, I'm not answering that on this blog :) But there is your little shout out.

I'm not sure if I've told you...

2008-12-04T12:47:00.002-05:00

but...

We are all so excited!!! The doc told my sister at her last appointment that he was 90% sure it was a little boy. He said he didn't want to say 100% sure since he wasn't an ultra sound tech but unless the kid has 3 legs he was sure it was a boy. Peyton goes back to the doctor this coming Tues. and will know for sure then but I just couldn't wait until then. So let's all just pray that I don't have to write a retraction come next week! Now Peyton and Jacob get the fun job of trying to decide what to name the little man. We have all thrown out names and Peyton and Jacob have had several ideas but there has not been a final decision made. I'll be sure to let you know what the final decision is but until then...

What are some of your favorite little boy names? Do you like more unique names or do you like more everyday names? I am definitely a fan of unique names...hmm, wonder why?! :)

You Ask, I'll Answer #4

2008-12-02T22:42:00.002-05:00

4) Anonymous asked: "Please describe your perfect day"

Well, I've thought about this and I am not sure that I can give you just one perfect day. Here is my indecisiveness coming out. :) Soooo, I am going to give you a few different ways I would call it a perfect day. And this is probably not gonna be the exact answer you were looking for but here ya go anyway...

Any day that I am at the beach relaxing in the sun, listening to music, or reading a good book it is a perfect day.
Any day that I am at the cabin in Asheville relaxing, looking out over the mountains, enjoying the quietness but also listening to the pickin' of a guitar it is a perfect day.
Some days I consider just being able to stay at home in my PJ's all day long a perfect day.
Some days I consider it a perfect day when I go shopping.

Those are a few ways I could spend a perfect day. BUT I consider it a perfect day every day that I wake up. I marvel at God's beauty and His many blessings he has blessed me with.

It is a perfect day every day that I am able to spend another day with my family and friends.
It is a perfect day every day that I am given to live in this crazy messed up world in hopes of making a difference.
It is a perfect day every day that I wake up in good health.
It is a perfect day every day someone gives their life to Christ and surrenders to Him.
It is a perfect day every day we are allowed to freely go about every day business.
It is a perfect day every day I wake up and do not have to wonder if I will have food, drink, or warm clothes to put on.
It is a perfect day every day I do not have to stress if I will have enough money to pay this bill or that bill.

So as you can see I feel that it is a perfect day every day...even the normal workdays...I have to many things and people to be thankful for for it not to be a perfect day.

Get's Better Every Year

2008-12-02T22:19:00.003-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

And one more...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I've been busy...

2008-11-30T22:46:00.010-05:00

so here are a few pics to show you what I've been up to the last several weeks.

I took Addison to see High School Musical 2 at The Fox in Atlanta

This was her birthday present from me which was back in August. She was a very patient little girl to wait until Nov! We had a wonderful time. I always enjoy our special times together just she and I. Notice the shirt she picked out as a souvenir...already crushin' at age 6 :)

I took a day trip with my dear friend Christina to the Georgia/Auburn game.

Christina and I don't get to see each other very often so whenever we get the chance I jump at it! And it's always like we have never skipped a beat. I'm sure you all have friends that you cherish like that too. Christina was one of my roommates in Athens my 2nd year of living there. She became more than just a roommate...she became a best-friend, a sister.

I took a weekend trip to Asheville with my girls and Lee.

It snowed!!! We knew there was a possibility of snow but had no idea that it would really happen! It was a great trip. Lee was such a sport to spend the weekend with five beautiful ladies. The cabin is one of my favorite places. Whenever I am there it is so relaxing, peaceful, and just a great get-away.

Those are just a few things that I've been up to lately. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and I hope you all did as well. My Thanksgiving post will hopefully come tomorrow but now I must get some sleep.

Get Away

2008-11-21T10:01:00.003-05:00

This is where I will be in T minus 4 hours!

It is one of my favorite get-aways of all time. I can't wait to spend the weekend in this amazing place with some of my best-friends.

What is your favorite get-away? What are you doing this weekend?

You ask...I'll answer #2

2008-11-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

3) Armindy asked: "You mentioned in one post that you overcame an eating disorder. How did you get through it?"
I feel that I need to give you a little bit of a background before I tell you how I got through it. I suffered from an eating disorder while I was in high school. It was not exactly something that I just decided one day that I would do or anything. In my case it was more of a gradual thing and before I knew it I was down to 80 - 85 pounds at 17 years old. Now I have always been a petite person but I was officially sick. I was in a relationship with a boy that was not healthy. He was very jealous, told me what I could & could not wear, and if I ever went out with my friends (which was not often) I was accused of cheating. He had me on lock down and I didn't even know it. I soon began to eat less and less. My family became very worried about me and tried their best to make me see what was really going on. I would not hear it though. During the summer I attended the high school youth retreat to Panama City with the church. It was an entire week away from "the boy". An entire week that God spoke truth into my life and I was able to see and think clearly for the first time in almost a year. I remember calling home to talk to my mom and a very dear mentor/friend. I told them that I was beginning to have doubts about continuing my relationship with the boy and told them how I was finally able to realize everything that was oh so wrong with our relationship. I came home and broke up with the boy. My eating habits did not immediately change though. There were times that my mom had to stand over me to make sure I ate all of something instead of just picking at it. Picking was what I did. I had been through a lot and it took quite a while for my eating habits to become normal again. I spent some time in therapy discussing my thoughts and feelings. My therapist had me keep a journal also. I also began to surround myself with people that were only going to build me up and not tear me down. And it was also with a lot of prayer that I was finally able to let go. If you or someone you know is suffering from an eating disorder don't just sit back...reach out to them or others and find help.

A reminder

2008-11-18T20:41:00.008-05:00

Genesis 9: 12 - 17

12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." 17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

The verse above tells us about God's promise to Noah to never send another flood. And it tells us that when the rainbow appears in the clouds it is a reminder of God's covenant to all living creatures. Saturday, on my way back from Auburn, AL I was once again reminded of God's great promise and the magnificent beauty he has given us here on this earth. As we were driving along I saw a bit of a rainbow and it was so beautiful. I wanted to try and get a picture of it so I got my phone out and began to snap away. I was able to get a pretty good shot of it.

But as we kept driving the rainbow seemed to get closer and closer and we were able to see more and more if it. Pretty soon I could not only see where it began but I could see where it ended. The colors were absolutely luminous! They each shown so vividly as if you could reach out and touch them. Then I noticed there was not only one but TWO rainbows side by side separated only a few feet apart. I sat in awe at one of the most beautiful sites I had ever seen. I was in such amazement it did not even dawn on me to snap another picture. I kept staring and stretching my neck just to see it a little bit longer. I did not want to let them out of my sight. Eventually the rainbow was no longer in sight but all I could think about was how amazing God is, His unbelievable love for us, how he can show up when we least expect it and grab our attention, that He is ALWAYS faithful, and how incredibly blessed I am that I get to call Him my Savior and Lord, my Father.

So how has God grabbed your attention lately? Where/how have you been blown away at His beauty? What are you reminded of?

You ask...I'll answer #1

2008-11-17T21:25:00.003-05:00

1) Pete asked: What's the scariest thing you've ever felt God leading you to do?
This answer I knew immediately! A couple years ago I felt that God was calling me to leave everything that I knew and go to a new city (Nashville) to pursue an entirely new path for my life. It was something that absolutely scared me to death. So I began to pray about it to figure out if it was really something God was calling me to do or if it was just some crazy thought I had gotten in my head. Well, I obviously did not move to Nashville but it wasn't because I did not feel that God was calling me there it was more of me just being too scared to step out, make it happen, and trust God. So I guess it was little or small faith on my part. Which is something that I have learned. Trust and have faith in God b/c he will never call you to something or lead you somewhere that you are not supposed to be. Do I ever regret not packing up and taking that leap of faith...I'd be lying if I said no. But I love Atlanta, I love my church, and I love being close to my family & friends. I guess I still just wonder how much stronger my faith and trust in the Lord may be today if I would have only taken that step.

2) Marci asked: What are the ingredients to your taco soup recipe?
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can sweet corn
1 can hominy
1 pound ground beef
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 packet of dry ranch dressing

Brown your meat. Then just open each can and dump them in the pot (liquid and all). Add your meat, taco seasoning, and dry ranch dressing. I usually cook it in the crock pot and let it simmer all day. Then I serve it with Frito's, cheese, and sour cream. Enjoy!

Well, that's the two questions I am answering today. More to come soon.

Questions

2008-11-16T23:10:00.003-05:00

Thanks to everyone who has left a question so far. Some of you weren't messin around :) Which I like...a chance for me to get real...that's needed every now and again. I am going to begin answering questions this week. Soooo, if you have something you want to ask and haven't yet now is the time to do it. Sorry if it seems like I am dragging this out...I guess I kinda am. It has been a very busy week and weekend. But your questions will be answered this week! So again, any more questions????

Seriously?!?!

2008-11-13T23:17:00.001-05:00

Okay so maybe the question and answer post wasn't a good idea. I had 43 hits to my blog yesterday and 45 the day before that. I've received 1 , wait let me say that again, 1 question. The question I received is a great one and I knew my answer as soon as I read it. I am going to answer it but I'm hoping to get a few more questions between now and then. So come on people this is your chance, take it!

Blocked...

2008-11-12T22:46:00.002-05:00

that is what my brain is right now. I have not been able to think of anything to blog about or really had the desire to this week. I'm not too sure why. And I really don't want to sit here and ramble about nothing.

Soooo, I am going to leave it up to y'all. I am going to make this a question and answer post. I am giving you free rein to ask me anything, yes anything that you want. Then I will take the next couple of days to answer your questions and I promise to answer each and every one. Sooooo, go ahead ask away...this might be your only opportunity to do so. ;)

FOR SALE

2008-11-07T15:24:00.013-05:00

Puppies. Puppies for sale. My sister's pups are ready to go. She has already sold two and there are three left. She has one boy and two little girls left. They are all so precious. I wish that I could keep them but I can't. Soooo, if you or if you know anyone who would like a full blooded miniature dachshund you can email me and I can give you more details. One of these precious little guys sure would make a great early Christmas present :)

This is the little boy. He has been one of my favs from the beginning ;)

It wasn't easy getting a picture of them all. This was the best I could do at the time.

This is one of the little girls. She is full of energy and very fiesty! I think I would keep her and the little boy if I could!

Grow A Pair

2008-11-06T22:58:00.003-05:00

*If you happened to read this late last night then you will notice I changed the title. As I was laying in bed last night I was thinking about it and the new title just seemed more suitable. I hope no one is easily offended*

So I have recently been introduced to NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. Perry Noble is the pastor there. Let me just tell you this man is awesome. They are currently doing a message series called Beautiful, A Series for Women and the Men Who Pursue Them. I started the series on Monday. Boy, did the first message hit home. I would definitely encourage all you women out there single or married to check it out. And I do plan at some point to expand on my thoughts about the first message but until then I would like you to go and take a listen to a few minutes of the message from week 2.

Even though the message series is for women and about women, Perry talks a lot to the men and about men. Perry is one very funny man and he is also very honest. He speaks to the single men for a minute in the message from week 2. Boy, if every single man could hear this and then follow through I'm telling you the world would be a better place for us single ladies. Now the probability of most of them listening and then following through is really slim to none but I would still like each of you just to take a listen to what Perry has to say. Ladies, you will totally appreciate what he says and Men, hey you might just appreciate it too...go ahead just listen!!!

I am not able to embed the video so go to the link, press play, and then move the time to 37:50. That is when he begins his talk to the guys. The talk last for a few minutes but be sure to listen to all of it...promise it is worth it :)
http://www.newspring.cc/series/beautiful-week-2

Music Speaks

2008-11-04T22:42:00.006-05:00

When someone says the word music to you what pops in your mind? Passion, love, expression, ministry and life are just a few words that I think about when I think about music. See music is my passion and my love. I've loved it all my life. It was my dream to be a keyboard player in a band and travel the world when I was a little girl. Heck, I'd be lying if I told you I still didn't dream about it sometimes. :)

As I've gotten older my love for music has only grown. I love it all, well except the head banging and techno crap that shouldn't even be considered music. I mean seriously, why would anyone choose to listen to that crap?! I don't get it. Anyway, like I was saying my love for music has only grown even more over the years. There are some nights I would rather sit and listen to music or sit down and play the piano instead of watching TV. I got a guitar about two years ago and I've yet to learn to play it. Anyone wanna give me lessons?! I wanted the guitar so that I could learn worship music. I wanted to be able to sit and play those songs alone in my room...just me and God. So again...anyone wanna give me lessons?!?!?

Many songs have such great lyrics. I think my favorites are the ones that come from the heart, the ones that speak truth, the ones that tell about God's love and kindness, the ones that just get inside of you and they do something to you, the ones that can take things to an entire other level, etc. Music is such a powerful expression and ministry. I fully believe that God gave us music not only to sing our praises to Him or to be able to express our self but also to teach us. There have been times in my life when a song has spoken to me the way nothing else could have. And I do not think that it is just coincidence, I believe that it is just another way that God chooses to speak and show us things.

Chris Tomlin has a new song on his new album Hello Love called "All the Way My Savior Leads Me". The entire album is incredible but this song in particular has really spoken to me the last week or so. I would like to share the lyrics with you. I'll put them at the end of this. But first I would like to know if there are any songs that are rocking your world right now? It doesn't have to be a Christian song. Any song that you just can't get enough of? Any song that you think I need to give a listen to?

All the Way My Savior Leads Me

by Chris Tomlin

All the way my Savior leads me

Who have I to ask beside

How could I doubt His tender mercy

Who through life has been my guide

All the way my Savior leads me

Cheers each winding path I tread

Gives me grace for every trial

Feeds me with the living Bread

You lead me and keep me from falling

You carry me close to Your heart

And surely Your goodness and mercy will follow me

All the way my Savior leads me

O, the fullness of His love

O, the sureness of His promise

In the triumph of His blood

And when my spirit clothed immortal

Wings it's flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages

Jesus led me all the way

All the way my Savior leads me

Quirkiness Tag

2008-11-03T23:11:00.004-05:00

My cousin Kristy tagged me several days ago on her quirkiness tag post. Here ya go.

1) I HATE HATE HATE bananas. I can not even smell them without gagging. And I do not eat anything banana flavored...candy, Popsicle, pudding, smoothies w/ banana in them...NOTHING!!! So don't come near me with banana anything unless you want me to yack on you.

2) I am slow at pretty much everything I do hence why I am always late. Except to church. I am usually always on time to church. Of course there are those occasional Sundays that I run a few minutes late. But yeah...you get the point.

3) I reread every single thing that I write over and over and over and over before I will send or publish it. Then even once I have sent or published it I will read it AGAIN a few more times to make sure everything sounds okay and that I didn't leave anything out.

4) This one I haven't done in a while but sometimes if I am going out and there is a chance that I might be home late before I will leave my room I go ahead and move everything off of my bed so that I don't have to do it when I get home. And I mean I really will not walk out of my room until everything is moved which in turn usually makes me even more late than I already am. :)

5) And since I can't think of anything else at this moment...when my blood sugar gets low I get the shakes...which I call the "weak trembles"...and I can get very moody when this happens too. It is not a good feeling. So I do my best to make sure I always have a little something with me just in case.

Okay, Lindsey, Marci, and Amber...it's your turn...what are your 5 quirks???

Incredible Story

2008-10-30T10:17:00.002-04:00

I came across this video earlier this week while I was on ESPN.com. It brought tears to my eyes. Just take a look...

What an incredible story! This makes me even more proud to be a Dawg Fan!!!

I Have A Question

2008-10-28T12:18:00.006-04:00

How would you define authentic friendship? Would you consider your friendships authentic? I asked myself both those questions several months ago when I read this devotional . Please if you will take just a few minutes to read the devotional otherwise everything I say from here after will not make any sense. It will literally take you 2-3 minutes to read. Thanks!

After reading I just had to sit back and take it all in. The devotional could not have come to me at a better time. God's timing is always perfect and for me this was just another testament to His direction in my life. This devotional challenged me to examine the kind of friend I was, the friendships I have with others and really put things into perspective for me.

Rick Warren defined authentic friendships/fellowship this way: "Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing." After reading those words how could one not reexamine the way they "do life" with their friends. I know that I was convicted. As a female it is often far to easy to fall into the surface-level chit-chat with other females. A lot of the time that surface-level chit-chat is really only gossip which only leads to destruction. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that you should only have deep theological conversations with your friends. But what I am saying is if you are not able to get to that level with them you should probably reevaluate just what exactly you're spending your time talking about. Are you constantly bashing others when you are with your friends? Do you find that most all of your conversations are about worldly treasures? When was the last time you and your friends were able to really open up with one another about "real issues" and "real life"?

I know for myself that I want friendships that are truly authentic. I want to be able to open up about my desires, my struggles, my happiness, and just have that gut-level sharing that is mentioned in the devotional and I want my friends to be able to do the same. I don't want those surface-level friendships that are in reality not really friendships at all. I want to be able to have the authentic friendship that I know I can count on my friends to call me out when I am royally screwing up and celebrate with me when something exciting happens. I want friendships that are full of support, loyalty, honesty, etc. I mean if you are not able to be real with your friends then what is really the point?

My prayer is that God will show me and consistently remind me how to be this kind of friend. I just wanted to share this devotional with each of you because I feel it is such a great reminder. And let's face it we all need a little wake-up call every now and then. What are your thoughts on the devotional and authentic friendship? Would you define authentic friendship in a different way or maybe add something to it?

We did it, We pulled it off!!!

2008-10-27T20:49:00.015-04:00

I have been just about to bust not being able to share with everyone the planning of my mom's 50th birthday surprise party. But since my mom reads my blog that was not an option. So let me give you a little run through.

A little over a month ago Peyton (my sis) and I began to discuss what we were going to do for Mama's birthday. I had been kidding her for months that we were planning this huge shin-dig. I mean you only turn 50 once. She made it very clear that she did not want that. Well, since Peyton and I listen on so well we decided we would still plan and throw the party. ;) After a few date changes we finally decided on Oct. 25th. Which I thought was perfect b/c if we were going to get her it needed to be a significant time past her birthday. Oct. 25th would make it two weeks after her birthday. Perfect!!!

And so the planning began. We decided we would just keep it small with some close family and friends. Then, I decided that we should do a video with some of those special people in my mom's life sharing their memories and kind words with her. But I also decided that pictures needed to be included as well. Peyton thought they were both great ideas. We soon found ourselves knee deep in pictures and scurrying around to get all of the interviews done in time. My cousin Lee said he would help me out and put the video all together for me. So we got everything done and to Lee allowing him enough time to get it all done. Everything was going great. We just had to get the food ordered and everything else would not be able to be done until the day before and day of.

THEN it happened, I got a phone call from Lee explaining that he was not going to be able to download the video to his computer and explained it all to me but I don't remember all of that now. I began to panic just a bit but then decided I would check with my aunt Allison to see if she could help me out. She said she would definitely give it a try. So after much running around I got everything to her only allowing 3 - 4 days to get everything put together. She came through like a champ! I never expected anything less though.

Fast forward to this past Saturday...the day of the party. Morgan had agreed to make the cake for us. So Peyton and I met her Saturday morning to pick the cake up. The cake was incredible!!! You can click on the link to Morgan above to see her post about the cake. I then came back home and tried to be as normal as possible. I think I did a pretty good job but there were a few times I had to turn my head before I busted out laughing in front of my mom. Peyton and I had it planned that my aunt Allison (who is a photographer) would be making pictures of Mama and Addison later that day. The time came for Peyton, Addison and Mama to all leave. As soon as they left I started running around to get everything completed before the caterer and all the guests arrived. Not to mention I still had to get ready, which is not a very quick process for me. One of my dear friends, Christina came to help me and if it would not have been for her I'm not sure I would have gotten everything done! Christina you are the best!

All the guest began to arrive around 6:15/6:30. I do believe that everyone that walked through the door asked me if Mama had any idea. I told them all I wasn't sure but I sure hoped she didn't. At 7:10 Peyton, Addison, and Mama all made it back to the house. You tell me if you think Mama had any idea...

Yeah, I don't think so. Hehe!!! We did very good at surprising her! The night was full of fun, laughter, memories, stories, and great company. Mama loved the picture slide show along with the video of memories. Thank you to everyone who attended and to everyone that helped Peyton and I out. Peyton and I had a lot of fun planning and scheming. And we were both so happy with the way everything turned out. I will post a few more pics from the night below and then I will explain how you can see the entire night in pics.

If you would like to see pictures from the entire night you can visit Allison's website. Once you get there click on gallery one, then select clients, and then you can input the password "lisa50". Allison was able to capture the entire night and got a lot of great shots. Some with family, friends, and many candid. So enjoy!

The New Name

2008-10-26T22:00:00.003-04:00

I've had a very busy last couple of weeks and it was all for a special surprise for my mom. My sister and I planned and gave a surprise party for my mom's 50th birthday yesterday. It all turned out wonderful. I will do another post about the party and all the fun once my aunt Allison sends me the pics of the night. I don't think a post about the party would even be worth reading if you can't see pics. SOOOO, Allison...send those pics on over to me...don't wanna leave everyone hanging. :)

Speaking of leaving everyone hanging...I've left you all hanging long enough for the new name of my blog. I got ideas via comments, emails, and face to face conversation. Ok I won't babble on anymore...drum roll please....."The Queen Has Spoken". This idea was given to me by Melissa. She is one of my mom's best-friends and a very dear person to me and our family as well. THANK YOU Melissa for your creativity...love you!!! And thank you again to everyone who submitted an idea.

I know I'm late but...

2008-10-23T23:38:00.004-04:00

I have been going non-stop all week. I am very tired. I mentioned early this week that I was physically and mentally exhausted well I still am. So needless to say I have not put much thought into what to post today. But I did remember that I put a deadline on ideas for a new name for my blog for yesterday. Well thank you to everyone that submitted an idea! They were all great. I have made a decision. I will reveal the new name tomorrow when I am refreshed.

I Just Laughed My Ace Off

2008-10-22T15:52:00.004-04:00

I have my blogs that I read faithfully and I usually check them most every day. One of them is Carlos Whittaker's Blog. It truly is a great blog. You should definitely check it out. Well, today I got on to check it like always and I stumbled upon one of THE BEST YouTube videos I have seen in a very long time. I had the best laugh I have had in a while. I'm talking to the point that tears were streaming down my face, I did not breathe there for about a min., and I laughed for a good 10 minutes straight. Heck, every time I have thought about it throughout the day I have busted out laughing. Soooo, I must share the video with you. I recommend watching the entire thing but the best part starts at 2:30 in the stream. You ready???

Panic

2008-10-21T22:29:00.004-04:00

I will admit I had to make myself sit down and do this. I am physically and mentally exhausted. It was a good day. Just a long day with lots going on. And I am still not done with everything I need to get done. Probably another long night. But I did promise to fill you in on the weekend (like you all really care anyway). I won't go into every detail of the weekend. I"ll just tell ya the fun stuff.

So Saturday, I had planned to go to Atlanta to spend some time with Katie and her brother, Jay. I had not seen Jay in a while so it was good to get to hang out. We had also planned on going to a concert that night...Widespread Panic aka WP aka Panic. The concert was my and Katie's first experience with Panic. Jay however goes to as many Panic concerts as possible, traveling all over.

When the concert was first mentioned to me I will admit I was thinking in the back of my head "um, I'm not too sure about it" but I decided hey what the heck. So I agreed to go. But I still thought in the back of my head "what did I just get myself into" most of the week. See I had heard many different things about what might go on at the concert and that did make me a little uneasy.

Okay fast forward to us pulling up to Lakewood Amphitheater. We pull in the parking lot and it is pretty much like it is at any other concert I've ever been to there before. People are tailgating before the show, socializing, and just getting pumped before the music starts. We park, get out and go to meet up with some of Jay's friends. While walking through the parking lot it didn't take me very long to realize it was certainly a much different crowd than I was used to. And I'm pretty sure that Katie and I both looked like it was our first Panic show.

When it was near time for the show to start we made our way into the venue. We ended up having seats instead of sitting on the lawn. I am very thankful that we did that too because it was a little chilly that night. Our seats were great. Once we got in everything still seemed pretty much normal to me except like I said it was just a different crowd. Which let me go ahead and say this...that is not a bad thing...I have no problem exposing myself to new and different people & places. I think that is something everyone should be willing to do. Now back to my story...okay so we are talking, getting ready for the show and people continue to file in. Then, it happens, the music starts. Everyone goes nuts, screaming because hey the band is finally on stage. But not only did the music start...everyone began to do a "boogie" as Jay & his friends call it. Katie and I look at each other at the same time bust out laughing and then look back around to see if everyone really is doing a boogie. Yep, they were. Neither of us were real sure what to do at first I don't think. We were both just taking it all in.

As the band continued to play their songs it was hard not to start a little boogie of our own. I won't lie...I did break out my own little boogie there for a little while and Katie joined me. I was surprised with the music. I really thought it was good. Those guys are sick on the guitar and they also incorporated a lot of different instruments in throughout the night which I thought was amazing. I'm not sure I exactly understood every single lyric but maybe that was b/c I had never heard the songs before either. Oh wait, they did do a few covers that I knew. I knew some of the words to those songs. :)

So I have to say that my first Widespread Panic experience was a good one and I would definitely go back to see them again. They played for a good 3, 3 1/2 hours. All of the things that people had been telling be throughout the week probably were going on somewhere in the venue but there was not anything going on around me that made me uncomfortable. The music was great, I got to hang out with some great friends, and it was just a fun night.

So that was my WP experience and a fun story from my weekend. Are any of you Panic fans? Have you ever been to a Panic show? Do you know how to boogie? Do you need me to teach you how? Katie & Jay, did I leave anything out???

Okay that's all I got...I have got to go and finish some other things up. Peace I'm out.