Is It Any Wonder?!

If you ever wondered where all the silliness in those pictures below comes from...I'm here to tell ya, it's genetic!!!

Wedding Fun...

Here are a few pics of some of the fun peeps that will be a part of our wedding! I looked through my pictures, and most of what I had were silly shots, so here you go...

This is Justus at my b-day party with his strawberry shortcake hat doing a super fun read aloud of my most favorite present ever..."The Foot Book." John gave me that for my birthday last year. Seeing as how I don't like feet, isn't that sweet...


This is Mais with his best mean pirate face, hopefully he will wear that all the way down the aisle! We're putting him in charge of scaring all the guests and keeping you crazy people in line!

This is an old pic of Kenz, with her big brother Mais. Kenz is the flower girl, and very recently informed all of my friends that she will be the prettiest girl in the wedding, even prettier than me! I'm gonna have to watch out for her. :o) As for the fun face, she has since graduated to putting all four fingers in her mouth to show her big smile...

This is our ring bearer and my future nephew, Jackson. Could there be one more piece of snorkle gear on him?!

When John was talking to him about the wedding, he told John that he wants to wear bacon to the wedding, instead of a fancy tux. How you wear bacon is beyond me. But regardless, I was disappointed, as I had sure hoped he'd wear the snorkle gear!

Notice, he is smiling with the snorkle in his mouth!




I do not have a pic of just Jojo, she's 2nd from the left. She sent me the cutest e-card this week! She and her little sis, Jacey (on the end) have already been shopping and have gotten dresses for the big day!

What ABC Did To My Parents...

Recognize this photo? It's from ABC's show "The Bachelor." The girl in the picture is Sarah Stone, a friend of mine from high school that I cheered with. I have not watched much of the show until the past 2 weeks. During one of the first episodes we flipped it on just to see her on TV and that was enough for me. When my mom told me she was still in the running, I thought it would be fun to watch.

First off, it is really weird to see someone you know on national TV. Second, it is even crazier to hear your dad talk about the show and how cheesy it is and how slutty the girls are. It gets me tickled just thinking about it. Never in a million years would I have thought my dad would watch The Bachelor. But, I guess when you know someone on TV, maybe all bets are off. For those who are interested, my mom thinks Sarah wins. Her sources say that she and the bachelor have been seen at the same gym and that he took a job in Nashvegas. Anyhow, since I determined a while back that I have a very random blog, I thought I would just add this to the mix! Hope you enjoy!

Lab Works

Ah the joys of lab! So far, my anatomy and physiology lab has been pretty much hands off...until last night. We checked heart rates and took blood pressure. I must say, that was much more fun than answering questions and playing a computer game that is supposed to take the place of a blood lab. At one point, my lab partner thought I did not have a pulse, we weren't sure if I was still alive! She ended up recording my resting heart rate at 56 with an on average blood pressure of 100/60. The first time she took my blood pressure she got 90/65. Once I finally was able to hear my lab partner's pulse, I found her blood pressure to be 140/90. We were at pretty opposite ends of the spectrum.

So after an hour spent in the lab, much of that time on the floor laying down for different lab tests, it was by far the most interesting, educational and relaxing lab yet!

Memories

This pic is of Maison and Justus after completing their first 5K race this past December. They both did great!


Last night John and I went shopping for a very special event, today, Maison is turning 9!!! We made one final run to the store to get a few more of the items on his birthday wish list. Target was pretty hopin!

Mais is getting lots of fun things for his birthday, one of which is currently living at my house...I have nicknamed it "fluff daddy" or "hammy" and it nibbled on MJ's finger when she came over for community group...can you guess what it is yet?! Well, I can't tell, what if he is reading this blog in hopes that I give it away! Seriously people!

Being around 3 of my favorite people, Justus, Maison and Kenzie and even now having this "creature" at my house, brings back lots of fun memories as a child. This has been a week of remembering the past for me, as Wednesday night we reminisced on favorite movies we watched growing up. Some we mentioned were Goonies, Adventures in Babysitting, Ghost Busters and Pee-wees Big Adventure (Memphis friends, guess whose favorites those were!) and the like. Other favorite memories are of playing German Spotlight and Jail Break all summer long with the neighborhood kids. What were some of your favorite movies or memories growing up?

Book Worm...

Believe it or not, in college, I was way more about having fun than hitting the books. Granted the fun I had was innocent, late night rearranging outdoor dorm furniture, setting off works bombs, an occassional guard raid and watching the fountain fill with bubles...who would do such a thing!?! My first semester grades almost sent me to Jackson State Community College...not that there is anything wrong with that, it was just my dad's way of telling me I better dust off my books and open them from time to time. The library for me was more of a social setting than a place to study, at least my freshman and sophomore years. My older brother, Stephen, could only be found in the library with his nose to the book, but I could be found if you just listened for my voice! Sorry, Melissa (my cousin works in the Union library). I was also known for being a huge distraction for my roommates during their all night cram sessions for Organic Chem. Seems the classes I took were all the type that allowed you to study the night before...at least that is how I handled them.

However, now that I am back in school, and doing something I want to do, I have become much more studious. Just ask John. I've even become a little type A in my studies. I have been a major stress case this past week trying to learn all about the heart. This week I took in much more than I ever thought possible about the different veins and arteries, chambers of the heart, valves of the heart, flow of blood, types of blood cells and their functions, systol and diastole, cardiac output, stroke volume...need I go on. And on top of that, we wrapped up our senses study from last semester with the special senses of taste, smell, vision, hearing and equilibrium. Yep, Stephen now I know a tiny amount about your favorite, the eye! It is just interesting to me to see the change in my study habits. Seems I view it in a different light when, not only is it something I want to do, but it takes sacrifice and commitment to get through it, verses just having fun being a college student. Some, like Stephen learn discipline in their studies the first go round...for others of us, it just takes a little while longer! Now if I can just find that balance...

On another note, as I was walking out of class last night, a girl stopped me and asked if I was in the video on Sunday at High Point. Our church did a short video of Hannah and I talking about her ski accident. I thought that was kinda neat...a new face to look for on Sundays.

The Bargain Shopper

My mom is at it again! Who knew that her bargain shopping would come in handy during the wedding. We have been on the mad hunt for cute, reasonably priced bridesmaids dresses, that could be worn again for something other than just the wedding. Earlier this week we came across a dress that everyone agreed was very cute...only it was going to cost just under $300, and that did not include alterations! Well, yesterday I was sitting down to lunch when I got a call from my mom. She explained to me that she had found some really cute dresses, bridesmaid dress potential mind you, at TJ Maxx for the ranging prices of $12-$15. I don't know why I was surprised, my mom always found my formal dresses for about $25. But still, I just had to laugh! Leave it to my mom to assist my bridesmaids in officially being a part of the cheapest wedding ever (as far as a bridesmaid is concerned that is). It is likely that the groomsmen will pay more to be in the wedding than the bridesmaids...this might be a wedding first!!!

Now, if only we could get her to "bargain shop" the rest of the wedding...sorry, Dad, something tells me this may be the only place she finds huge savings!

Early Morning Running Buddies...

I have to admit that I am very spoiled when it comes to running! This morning Aimee showed up at my house at 10 after 5 and we had so much fun, running and talking and laughing! For the past year, I can only remember a handful of times having to run by myself...which must be the reason why I do not really look forward to making my way out all alone in the cold. I know, I'm pitiful!!! For those of you who don't know, I have been running with the same group of girls about 4 mornings a week since the summer of 2004. They are an amazing group of women, and they never hesitate to speak truth into my life. We encourage, challenge and entertain one another at 5am. It makes running fun!

I can still remember Stephan asking me if I wanted to start running at 5 in the morning during the week. Though I thought we were crazy, I said "Sure, count me in!" We started meeting at my house at 5 to run our route, which depending on the day is somewhere between 4 and 6 miles. Over the course of about a month, Stephan added two other girls to our group, Beth and Aimee. Though we were all in different phases of life, we all hit it off and quickly became great friends! And we were reminded on one summer run that though we are all in different places, we all are in need of the same thing, Jesus. As Beth said, He is the only thing that satisfies.

Running with these girls is always a highlight in my day. I finish my run and start the rest of my day encouraged to seek after the Lord. We share with one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, and have a TON of fun being together! It is always a surprise to see what is in store each morning, whether we will talk serious, talk casual, or Beth will bust out with her favorite Britney Spears song. My running buddies are a HUGE blessing and have helped to carry me through the past two years. Thanks girls!