ENGAGED!!!!

Last night turned out to be a really nice night. We went to the Melting Pot which is a little upscale fondue restaurant. Bill had everyone there and made it a really nice birthday. We took up two tables.

Dad, Ashley & Bryan, Mom, and Bill

John & Lisa, George & Candace, Gary & Angie

He kept telling me he wanted to do a toast so I was prepared for that. He got up as soon as we sat down. He told me and my dad Happy Birthday and spoke of his thoughts about his brother Bryan. Then he got chocked up and said the real reason we are here is because I want to ask Summer to marry me. BLIND SIDED!!! You want to what?? I totally wasn't expecting that one. I had some weird inc lings on Thursday and Friday but by Saturday they had passed and thought nothing of it. We hugged and kissed and sat back down. His hands were completely sweaty and he was shaking trying to talk and explain things to me. The ring is absolutely gorgeous!

So then the food began. They started with some cheese dip. It was very good. The next course was some salad but I was not that fond of. Then the main course came and it was steak, lobster, port, etc. We cooked it at the table. I was in heaven. Thought the night couldn't get any better when the waiter says Please pick your two chocolate dippings. WHAT?!? They brought out the dessert train and we all lost it. We went into little kid mode. Look at this:Everyone sang happy birthday. I opened a gift from John & Lisa and it is adorable. A coffee mug with my initial on it. Super Cute!!

I wish I could have recorded us as we dug in to the chocolate dippings. We were so happy. I have never seen my sister act as she did with that dip. She was hilarious. Every time I looked up she had chocolate all over her face and teeth. She couldn't get enough. Bill and I couldn't stop laughing and talking about it. I am glad we could provide a small taste of heaven to her. I recommend that place to anyone. It was awesome!!

Bigger Than You!!!

We had a blast at the AT&T Center on Sunday. Bill got us there at 8:07 and we were first in line to pick out our seats. Oak Hills put on a great service. The kids did great and even my sister and Bryan showed up. Jillian was cracking me up dancing around and waving her hands to the songs. Here is Gary, Gavin and I before the show started.They brought out and huge choir and they just sounded awesome. This stage was set up and all the screens were lit up.At the end of the show, we talked about being a light of God in the city. We got to break our glow sticks. It looked amazing. Bill heard that there was about 15,000 people there. WOW!!! So we first sand this little light of mine and then God of this city. I was so moved. Roy and I singing and waving our lights!!

As we left they handed us boxes to fill with food. I think we got about 5 so we got to get to the grocery store and fill them up. They are going to deliver them to SA folks who are struggling to make ends meet. We are doing what we can to help!

Early Bday....

I got home on Wednesday from work to find the boys hard at work. The house was all clean and a cake and presents awaited me. My whole family came over and we had a little celebration. I think my wish is going to come true cause we definitely blew out the candles with my huge blow.I thought all the kids loved me so much and just wanted to crowd around me......I soon figured out why they were so into me. I had my own personal present openers. My little gadget boys had it hooked up in no time and we were setting up our players and working out. I have worked out for thirty minutes each day since I got it and I have been sooo sore. But I am feeling good and think it is going to help me workout goals.

Phillips Craig and Dean

I don't know if any of you listen to Christian music but basically I keep my dial set to 91.3. It just seems to keep my spirits up and my eyes of the Lord. So yesterday was such a treat for me when I walked into church and heard a familiar sound. Phillips Craig and Dean were leading our worship service. I didn't realize how many songs that I knew. I began to sing along and was put in such an awesome mood. The sermon was good and then they handed out communion and they started the song "Revelation Song". The whole crowd stood up and every man, woman, and child had their hands in the air praising God. It was unbelievable. I had goose bumps everywhere and started to cry. Normally at our church we never clap through a whole song and only a few people have their hands in the air. Well this group definitely struck a cord with our church. It was a great service. I am looking forward to next Sunday. We are inviting everyone to the AT&T Center to bring Christ to San Antonio. We will have a guest of Michael W. Smith, Max Lucado, and more. It is going to be great. See you there.

DONE

The floors are done!! Bill and I both think it turned out awesome. In the first two pictures the floors look brown but they are really a blue grey. This is the bedroom with the newly painted walls. I LOVE the colors I picked!Here is the living room.So after Bill got home from a long day at work yesterday I had him and Bryan put the big items back. In these pictures you can tell the more grey-blue look. The living room looks great with the beautiful dining room table and hutch that we got from Aunt Jane. It looks so elegant now. Notice the shine in the picture. We have to add wax probably ever six months to keep that look but we both like the shine.

All in all it was a success. The fumes of the floors are really getting to us. Bill and I both have queasy stomachs and the dogs are a mess too. :(

Home Improvement

All my life I have been anti-carpet. I just think it smells, hard to keep clean, and just doesn't look pretty. JUST MY OPINION!! So I convinced Bill that his house is about ten years old and needs a little face lift. Not to mention two children and two dogs have definitely made their mark on the floors. So he agreed to let my imagination run wild. I decided to start in the front master bedroom and the huge front living room. (A huge task.) We started by moving out ALL of the furniture and taking down all wall hangings. Then Bill ripped up the carpet, hauled it off to the dumpster, and removed all things underneath. We won't talk about that part!Scraping all of the paint off the floors was LABOR INTENSIVE! We used razor blades and slowly knocked out the master bedroom. It was very exhausting.After a whole month the bedroom was completely clean and ready to be stained. Then I decided oh we need to paint the walls. We decided on a sky blue for the three walls and a nice grey pewter for our accent wall. Every one's reactions have been mixed but WE LOVE IT!Then we hit a wall. We lost interest, Bill got sick, the boys came to visit, and the summer passed us. We've been living in an unorganized house, sleeping in the living room, and crammed on one side of the house. It was time to finish. I went out with the girls and this is what I found when I got home. Bill and Mark had finished the living room.... IN ONE NIGHT!!! Well I'm excited to announce that Bill and I have left town for Port Aransas and the floors are getting stained. I cannot wait to get home to see it. We couldn't decide on a color but when we were cleaning the concrete we used water and we kept commenting on how we liked the color of the plain ole' concrete..... so that is what we did. The concrete will be cured and sealed without a color. We shall see what happens. I will let you know what we find.....

Recap of Thursday Events

Call me crazy. I took a 9 year old and a 3 year old to Waco and back AND I made the mistake of telling them when we get back we are going to the water park. I haven't driven in rain in months and I hit a downpour on the way to Waco. I couldn't see 2 feet in front of me. I was so scared and my car kept getting pulled when I went through the water. Not to mention I had two boys asking "Are we there yet?" All in all, we made it back and met the crew at Landa Park. We went around on the train since Gavin LOVES trains.

Then, the kids got right to playing. I laid in the water monitoring the situation (well maybe I was just soaking up the sun).

I finally took Roy over to the huge slide and boy was that spring water cold. I hope the boys had fun since they headed back to their mom's house on Friday!

Dinner Mates!

Last night I went to our church and everyone was there from Bible Study. I haven't seen everyone there for like the whole summer. We are always out of town and on the go and so we never all end up at the same service. It was so nice to walk in and see everyone there. The service was great. It was a year in review and our church is just doing outstanding. Our attendance is up, giving is up, baptisms are up and Randy (our new senior pastor) IS AWESOME!! The music was great and we sang all uplifting happy songs. Then the group headed to Zio's. Here is the group enjoying our wine:

This is Tyler, Angie's nephew, who felt left out from the picture so I got him acting as an alien. He behaved very well. I shared my yummy apple dessert with him.

Afterwards, we went over to Hills and Dales for some relaxation! We stayed out way to late and boy is my stomach a little queasy today. Gary had me drinking some cider beer. WHOOAAA!! I got real scared last night because as I was leaving I remembered that my head light was out. So the whole way home I was so paranoid a cop was going to stop me for my light being out. Luckily, I got home safe and sound.