Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving was by far the best one yet!  It was such a wonderful time with family and I realized how truly blessed I am to have all of these people in my life.  God is good!

Me and my brother with David and Olivia!  Love them so much!

The kids set the table all by themselves!

Checking the crab traps to see what we caught.  Out of five traps, we caught two!  YAY;)

An amazing pic of the bayou where my aunt lives!

Family picture!  Love you all!

Uncle Mike getting ready to fry his turkey...legendary in his neck of the woods!

A kitchen worth cookin' in!!!

We've been wanting new kitchen countertops for over a year now and have finally "up and done it"!!  We did a lot of research about creative ways to re-do laminate counter tops.  We came across a product where  basically, you buy this kit and after 2 days you have kitchen countertops that look like granite.  It was a viable option considering the fact it cost $4,920 dollars LESS than laying down real granite!!!!  We decided to go with the kit.  Here is what our counters looked like before the project began!

AND here is the recently finished project!!!

We are OVER THE MOON excited!!!  We could not believe a little primer, sponge painting and clear coat could result in this!  It was easy, fun and involved no stress whatsoever!  This could be a major business in the making people!  We were so happy with it that we are in the middle of making over our guest bathroom counters!  

Landscaping!

When we bought our foreclosure the backyard looked like a sand bomb went off!  There was barely any grass and the wall that closes the yard off was full of mildew.  After 20 + hours of removing rocks, painting, planting, mulching and seeding, we have a new backyard!!!  It was probably the most exhausting work I've ever done but SO worth it!  There is nothing more exciting than working your heart out on a project to completion:)  I really want to flip houses one day!  Here are some pics to show you the difference a little "labor of love" can do:

Before...ew gross!!!

During...notice half of the rocks and weeds removed from the treeline.  This already looks so much better:)

We had just painted the wall and were starting the planting process!

The finished product!!!  Ain't she purrrrty???  Next up, a deck!

Gone Fishin'

We went to Panama City Beach to visit my dad.  He recently bought a home within two miles of the ocean so it wasn't hard to convince us to drive over;)  We went to Pier Park which is the new "hot spot" for tourists.  The pier there goes out a quarter of a mile and is pretty impressive...that is where we decided to hoist the ol' fishin' lines!

Playing around until Edwin agreed to model his new straw hat;)  Lookin' somethin fierce, sweets!

My dad with his infamous straw hat...ready to fish!

The pier!

Beautiful shoreline!

Ok, ok...I bought a straw hat too;)

Edwin and dad fishing like rock stars!

I could get used to this:)

It was a perfect day for fishing and we caught ONE fish the size of a baseball glove...look out Thanksgiving!  In remembrance of the fish, we fried and ate the little pieces he had to offer!  Our 'other' dinner consisted of TGI Fridays of course!

An Indiana Wedding!

Jill's wedding was such a gorgeous and happy event!  She looked stunning!!  We drove from Tampa all the way up to Batesville, Indiana.  The setting for this wedding was unreal and the story behind it is amazing.  We had such a great time and were blessed to share in the celebration!  We love our friends:)

This is the beautiful barn her dad created for the wedding on their farm!  It took him 10 months and a lot of blood, sweat, and tears:)  Jill and her dad have an amazing relationship. Very cool to see that!

The father/daughter dance!

The front of the barn!  It was gorgeous at night too!  I love the way he did the lighting!

Me and momma Ky:)  She is due to have her second baby girl this August!  I'm excited because I get to see her a lot this year!

The bridal party!

The photographer told us to run towards her and as you can see, Kat and I are having a blast running while holding the back of her dress up!  That was probably the first time I ran in 2 years....haha!

The wedding had a bonfire too which we sat around at the end of the night.  It was sooo relaxing and a great way to end the night.  Glad we relaxed the day before we drove 15 hours home!!!!  Hahaha!  We are truly the road warriors of all of our friends b/c I HATE flying;)  

Congrats Brian & Jill!

Missing Edwin...

So Edwin left yesterday for NYC.  I'm so proud of him because he is really making waves at Citigroup and is there this week to represent his Tampa office!  BUT...oh my gaaahh, I miss him terribly!  We haven't been apart in 7 years.  I am NOT complaining because I realize so many families endure much more time apart.  BUT I can miss my husband if I want;)  Haha!  What have I been up to in the last 24 hours you might ask?  Well, I am doing everything to keep my mind off the fact that my soul mate is away....here is a glimpse!

Of course, in my hopeless depression, I immediately self medicate with Papa John's pizza.  Surprised?  Probably not;)

Take the dogs on a long walk!  I've never had to walk both at once so this was an experience.  Lets just say it was a much shorter walk than usual and poop had to be left where it was dropped:)

Comfort my Bourbon...he misses Edwin too;)  

Of course Bear is just concerned about his beverage.  He usually likes wine and beer but coconut water was fine with him today!

Having Sangria with my dear friend, Lori!  Columbia restaurant...superb!  I spent yesterday with Lori in St. Pete where she lives.  So excited she moved here...she is one of my favorites!

This is the view from Lori's rooftop where she lives.  Amazing!

Where's daddy?

So, I have had just enough to keep me busy so far;)

Cinco de Mayo! Haaayyo!!!

The dinner went off like fireworks!  Everyone was so excited and left the party with full tummies and happy hearts;)  I think we had around 35 people which was right at what we expected.  Jim and Barbara were so excited to be able to relax and only worry about eating that night!  What a blessing it was to give them the night off.  We all had a blast and even turned up the mexicano tunes while we served everybody.  I was the burrito roller and sour cream technician;)  I'm a little heavy handed when it comes to sour cream so I was graciously directed by each person on how much to slop on.  The first person wasn't so lucky....would you like a burrito with your sour cream?

10 pounds of taco meat.  This actually looks a lot smaller than it was.  Picture a turkey sized aluminum dish full to the brim!  YUM!

Kelly and me!  I met Kelly over 2 years ago when I went with a church group to feed the homeless downtown.  She was the only woman in a crowd of hungry homeless men who didn't approach us to eat.  It was freezing outside and she was sitting on a bench down the way huddled in an over sized sleeping bag.  I walked over to her, quietly sat next to her with a hot plate and introduced myself.  The rest is history!!!  I LOVE her so much and she has been such a blessing to me!  God has used her in amazing ways and she is such an inspiration:)

Edwin taking a break after setting up the table for the fixings!  Edwin was in charge of stuffing the burritos with meat and made my burrito rolling very challenging with his generous portions;)  Haha!


Our life group came out to help serve and provided some of the sides to go with the dinner!  It was awesome to work together and we are very thankful they came out to show Amazing Love....LOVE:)  We are hoping to do this again in the near future!!!

Amazing Love

At the beginning of this year, we decided to step away from our Bible study group to commit more time to our  homeless ministry, Amazing Love Ministries, here in Tampa.  It probably is the most wonderful thing we've ever been apart of and we feel so blessed to call the people there our friends.  God is moving in ways that I can't explain.  One of our friends who WAS homeless just received a job and a place to live!  It was so moving when we were feeding everyone and he was next to us serving instead of in line.  We constantly pray all of the people who come to the ministry will be saved from the streets.  It is heartbreaking to watch the daily struggles of the homeless people here and it has truly put so much into perspective in our own lives.

The ministry provides so much for the people so Edwin and I decided to help provide a meal for Cinco de Mayo.  We felt it important to give the ministry a break for a day:)  Make way for a celebration!!!  I really can't wait!  I just hope everyone likes my "cooking":)  I think there will be around 40 people eating so I've got my work cut out for me!  I can't wait to see the expression on everyone's face when they step into the party!

Vacation Time!

We are leaving this week for the great Smokey Mountains!  We are meeting all of my friends from college along with their husbands and kids:)  We may have around 22 people so I know there will never be a dull moment;)  The guys have already booked their golfing day as to escape the estrogen filled conversations that are sure to dominate the entire weekend!  Ha!  We will be celebrating a birthday, baby shower and wedding shower!  Much to celebrate and so thankful these girls have remained in my life for over 11 years!  Pics to come!

Happy Valentine's Day!

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  I Corinthians 13:4-7

Wishing everyone a blessed Valentine's Day!  Five years ago we waited an hour for our table, sat next to an arguing couple, and ate an undercooked steak.  Since then we started a tradition surrounding V-Day...stay at home, make a wonderful steak dinner, and enjoy a fabulous bottle of wine!  Cheers!

He's a Goldendoodle!

Yes, it's just after 6:30 in the morning and I am blogging about my dog:)  Obsessed may be a good word.  When we rescued Bourbon, his adopted family said he was a Lhasa-Poo.  Yeah right!  He is almost 6 months old and already weighs 35 pounds!  So after much research, we finally found out he is a mix between Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle!  Crazy!  He is such a beautiful dog and has a sweet heart!  Cheers to the Goldendoodle;)

2011 Here We come!

I cannot believe how quickly 2010 flew by!  It has been an amazing year full of many blessings and lessons learned.  Edwin and I have so much to be thankful for and definitely take our time to give God the glory.  Edwin and I talked a lot about what we want to do differently in 2011 and it basically came down to two things: 1. Get out of debt and 2. Reach out to those who are hurting.

Why get out of debt?  Edwin and I were your stereotypical college students who actually went looking for the credit card companies who handed out free t-shirts as a consolation prize after selling your soul for their plastic card.  Well...12 years later we definitely have lots to do in order to get that balance back to zero!  We heard of Dave Ramsey who gives excellent advice on how to get rid of debt so you can be financially free.  It is not millions we are seeking but freedom from looming debt that can create holes in a marriage over time.  We realize this potential hazard and want to attack it together in the New Year!  I also think it will be a lot of fun to achieve goals like this together and then one day when we are free of debt, we will be able to have all of you over for the biggest party you have EVER seen!!!  ;)

Why reach out to the hurting?  God has really shown us what hitting rock bottom is like in our own lives as well as the lives of people around us.  We have really been praying that God reveal what "church" is supposed to mean in our own lives and how we need to apply that definition in our daily activities.  As a child, I grew up going to church every Sunday and Bible studies every Wednesday night.  I know that kind of "church" is important to many people but honestly I have always felt so uncomfortable and out of place in that environment.  I feel most comfortable sitting at a bar, having a drink and talking about real life with people who are seeking answers for the broken trail that has led them to a certain point.  I relate to the alcoholics, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, the homeless, the abused, and the list goes on.  So, after Edwin and I prayed about it we truly felt led to be the "church" and help those who are hurting.  We want to talk about Jesus and search for answers with people who are also searching.  We do not want to look to people to lead us because Jesus is our leader.  We do not want to stagnate because Jesus would be out there right now loving people of all walks of life.  I truly feel if Jesus were walking the earth today, I would witness Him spending much of His time out on the streets loving people who are hurting. It is the most freeing feeling to know God does not come in a box.  He is beyond our wildest imagination of love, beauty, creation, forgiveness, grace and friendship.

There you have it!  Our aspirations for 2011 are written in stone!  Feel free to hold us accountable;)  We love all of you and pray that God continues to bless you!

Happy New Year!

"Glory to God in highest heaven,
Who unto man His Son hath given;
While angels sing with tender mirth,
A glad new year to all the earth."
~Martin Luther King~