Flight Suits and Fairytales

Chris had to work on Saturday (Boo!!), so we filled Sunday up with as much family time as possible! Elli had kind of a rough night, so we forfeited church, and decided to get do-nuts and snuggle instead. Sadly, the Columbus Shipley's didn't get the memo that they need to make enough do-nuts to last them at least until 10AM! Umm, hello?! Actually having do-nuts might be key when trying to run a do-nut business! But, what do I know right?! Anyway, after our very disappointing do-nut trip, we went to The Ranch House for their breakfast buffet. You'll never guess what happened...yeah, breakfast was over! So, we waited around for 15 min., and had the lunch buffet instead. It was no Shipley's Do-Nuts, but it was okay :)

After breakfast, we came home and took a VERY long nap. Elli's longest ever, actually! 2 hours! It was glorious! Afterwards, since it was so gorgeous outside, we decided to head down to the riverwalk to try out our new BOB stroller. That thing ROCKS!! I am SOOO pro-BOB! Much better than my car-seat travel-system stroller. I like it so much that I'm thinking I might actually be motivated to run b/c it is just THAT cool! And if I can say that, this thing must be pretty awesome :) The weather stayed wonderful, and we were able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon outside. Elli was sporting her cute little sun hat, and I actually wore flip-flops! It's supposed to get cold again this week, so I'm glad we were able to soak it all in while it lasted :)

Mama & Elli

Daddy & Elli

Elli loves the BOB!!!

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to.....

the guy I can stop on the side of the road w/ in Belgium to take a goofy picture,

the man I want to travel the world with,

the best pilot I've ever seen,

my hero,

the BEST snow-ball fighter EVER,

the only guy I know who would put up w/ my Bingo addiction :),

the one who doesn't mind looking like a cheese-ball w/ me,

the most loving father in the world,

the man who has made all of my dreams come true.

I love you, Chris. Thank you for making these past 4 years absolutely incredible.

Wordless Wednesday

A Wonderful Way To Give!

As a new mom, I'm constantly taking pictures of Elli...I know, it's hard to tell :) And though I really enjoy taking them, and I love how they turn out most of the time, there is really nothing like having a professional photographer capture some great images of significant milestones. It's the same way with wedding pictures, family sessions, & engagement portraits...I love having professional looking pictures of the ones I care about most, to display around my home.

That's where Pictures of Grace comes in. Bree Adams is a photographer in the DFW area who is serving others and "glorifying Christ" by using her talent & time to benefit those in need. She has been passionate about photography for the past 20 years, and recently felt called by the Lord to use that passion as a way to serve. It's so inspiring, I wanted to tell you all about it!!

For a low $85 session fee, you and up to 5 other family members can get a 2 hr photo session anywhere in the DFW area. **Each additional person is $10** That fee will also get you basic digital retouching on all photos, and enhanced retouching on up to 10 photos. You will also receive a high resolution DVD with all of the pictures from your session, as well as the rights to all photos.

Now all of that is great by itself, right? But you want to know the best part?? That $85 session fee, in it's entirety, goes to Bree's current mission. That's right, I said the WHOLE fee! In the latter part of last year, Bree's mission was to support a church-sponsored mission trip to Kenya. This year, she is contributing the money to the sponsorship of three Haitian children, as well as to two Compassion trips to Africa this summer.

What servanthood! Her desire to help others touches my heart, and I wanted to share her mission, and the mission of Pictures of Grace, with you. Not only is she a GREAT photographer who has unbelievable prices, she is also making a difference in the lives of so many others...bringing them to Christ, sharing the Good News, and delivering hope to those in need. I encourage you to at least check out her site...I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Oh, and just FYI, I don't know Bree personally. I heard about her site from a family member, and quickly checked it out when I found out what she was trying to do. She doesn't even know that I am writing about her! It just goes to show you how much of an impact she has already made on me :)

Trip to Oxford

For Valentine's Day, Chris and I decided that it would be fun to get out of Columbus and head somewhere a little bit more romantic. Now don't get me wrong, Applebee's & Chili's can be romantic, we just wanted to spice it up a little bit :) So, we chose to make the quick 2 hr. drive up to Oxford, MS to stay at a friend's condo for the weekend. The drive was really nice. Since Chris works so much, I feel like it was the first time in a REALLY long time that we just got to enjoy each other's company w/o worrying about early "go times", check rides or instrument tests. We made it into town at around 10, put Elli to bed, and hit the sack so that we could start exploring the area early the next morning. We hit just one small snag in our perfect plan...our sweet girl doesn't really like to go to sleep after taking a 2 hr nap in the car on the way to our destination. She has also adopted the really funny habit of "talking" to herself when we put her down for bed. Well, it's funny for the first 30 min or so!! After about an hour of that sweet voice, it becomes a little less sweet and a little more...uhhh, not sweet :) After about the millionth time of hitting the song button on her Pack 'n Play, she finally decided to drift off to dreamland...until about 4 when she decided that making razzing noises was really a lot more fun than sleeping!! Needless to say, Mommy didn't have a very restful night on Friday, and therefore was not very bushy-tailed for our exploring on Saturday!

But, we finally made it out of the house by about 11 and decided to go to a local hot spot for breakfast. After a super yummy breakfast of french toast (really, is there anything better?!), we decided to check out the Ole Miss campus. It was gorgeous! We had a great time just walking around looking at all of the different colleges. Wait, is that what they call them here or am I confusing it w/ how it is in England? Well anyway, we were looking at all the buildings and reminiscing about our own college experiences. It was a lot of fun!

We then headed over to "The Square", and did a little window shopping. Sadly, Elli hasn't been feeling very well lately and Saturday was no exception. Honestly, I wasn't feeling too hot either...maybe that French Toast wasn't such a great idea after all! So, instead of eating at the super romantic restaurant in the heart of Oxford that we had all picked out, we packed up all of our stuff and headed back to good 'ole Columbus. We thought we'd stop in Tupelo and get some Logan's, but when we got there (at 5, mind you!) there was an hour and a half wait! What?! How is that even possible?! So, we found a hole-in-the-wall mexican restaurant instead. We then got back on the road and ended up making it home by 7:30.

Though it wasn't exactly the trip we had planned, I still think it was a wonderful way to spend the weekend. We talked, we laughed, we watched a movie and snuggled, and we just really enjoyed being together. And that's what Valentine's Day is really all about, isn't it? Not the flowers, or the chocolates, the presents or the cards (though I do love me some chocolate!!). It's about spending time w/ your best friend, your family, the ones you love. And I certainly got to do that this year...and it was perfect :)

**Update: Pictures :)**

Elli & Daddy deep in conversation!

The Ole Miss Seal

Getting some sugar :)

The gorgeous campus!

Me & my girl...she's not in a smiley mood at the moment!

Show Us Your Life...Valentine's Edition!!

Well, it's Friday and everyone knows what that means!! Or, maybe you don't...hmmm, probably should have thought of a different opener! Anyway, it's "Show Us Your Life" day at Kelly's Korner, and today is all about your favorite Valentine's Day date or gift!!

Many of you may know this, but Valentine's Day marks the 14th Anniversary of my first date w/ my husband. Now I'd be lying if I said that the past 14 years have been smooth sailing! Wait, that sounded bad...let me start over. Fourteen years ago I was a freshman in High School and my hubs was a sophomore (he was the studly older guy!). Like *most* high-school relationships, we broke up & got back together about a bazillion times. We FINALLY got it together after college, and realized how much we truly loved each other, and decided to get married in 2006. But let's rewind back to that first date...let me set the scene...

I spent what seemed like forever getting "primped" for my very first date...ever! Oh the amount of hairspray I used was a sin! I remember meticulously looking through my closet for the perfect outfit, and you know what I chose? Jeans, a Nautica polo shirt, a braided brown leather belt, and loafers! Eek!! I cringe just thinking about it! Chris picked me up at my moms house donning flowers and a HUGE card. He was wearing pleated khaki pants, a button-up shirt, and lots 'o hair gel...I thought he was simply dreamy! We went to eat at On The Border & to see Mr. Holland's Opus...ummm, hello 90's!!

That date 14 years ago, with that super cute sophomore, is (and always will be) my favorite Valentine's Day ever. I still have the cheesy card, and the dried flowers from the bouquet that he brought me. Why? Because the moment I opened my front door, I knew that I loved that khaki pant wearing guy standing on my porch. Something in me changed, something ignited...as corny as that may sound. We were a FAR cry from the perfect couple back then, believe me! But still, through the many years of ups and downs, the way I felt about him never changed. He captured my heart that night, and he's held it ever since. I'm so happy to call him my husband, and my forever Valentine.

I thought I'd give you all a little blast from the past...hope you enjoy the pictures :)