Happy Birthday Mom!!

Today is my mom's birthday!! She is a great mom and I am sad that I didn't get to see her today. I did see her Saturday at Sam's pool party and I will see her Thursday for our family reunion.

She is a great person to talk to. She also listens to my (somewhat boring) stories about school, life etc. She is always excited to see me and she cooks all of my favorite meals! I am very thankful that she is my mom.

I love you momma!!

Happy Birthday Sam!!

Christmas with Pop

Today is my cousin Sam's 13th birthday. Wow. That's fun.

I was 12 when he was born. It was pretty much the most exciting day ever. Ha. He was a sweet baby and a fun toddler. ("Beth.. Can I have this... this... look....")

Today he is a teenager. He is such a fun and witty teenager too.

Telling jokes on the way back from Florida.

Jill- " I've got one.....Wait a minute"
Sam- "What - are you looking it up on your phone?"

;)

Destin 2010

With Beth and Julie

Dane's I love seafood face...

Beth at AJ's

Mom and Dad with Beth

Tyler, Lauren, and Sam

The first time that I went to Destin, Fl I was only 4 years old. Needless to say, it's a very special place to my family. It was really complicated for us to get to go this year. I had to miss 2 days of school (which nearly took a letter of necessity) and we still only there for 4 nights. We had the best time. My parents, sister, Gran, aunt Julie, and cousins Sam and Tyler went.

Gran, Julie, and Mom

Beth working on her giant turtle. This was before the legs, head, and tail.

Sam and our cousin Lauren who lives near Sarasota, FL

Dad and Dane relaxing in the shade.

I will try to do a quick recap of the various things that we did. My dad drove mom's Honda Pilot and Dane drove Julie's truck (he had driven in a previous year and loved it so much that he bought one of his own). We left our house 4 am and arrived in Destin at 4 pm. Mom and I had packed sandwiches that we ate in the car. We also a bunch of junk food and sodas. When we made it to Destin we checked out our two rooms. One of the rooms was very modern with a bright coastal style and the other had very traditional decor. That first night we went to the beach and walked around and then ate Pizza Hut Pizza (tradition #2). Mom, Julie, Gran, and I then made the trip to Wal-Mart to buy some groceries for the week. We were so pooped after the drive that we all went to sleep fairly early. The second day it rained. Which actually turned out to be amazingly fun. Dane, Sam, Tyler, and I played in the ocean (and oil...) all day in the pouring rain. As cheesy as it sounds, it was so liberating!! Needless to say, we had a blast. We also went to Silver Sands (tradition #3) to do a little outlet mall shopping. Sam got a henna tattoo that said "Sam" on his back. Finally we went to eat at AJ's Seafood and Oyster bar. The third day it was beautiful outside! Dane sat up the tent that his family bought on their Florida vacation to provide a little extra sun relief. It was just a great day. Gran, Tyler, and I started the day with a long long long walk on the beach. Beth had gone on the walk the previous day and Tyler suggested that we try and beat her. We had a great time just the 3 of us. By this time Gran's sister and her husband and granddaughter had arrived. That night Dane and I cooked stir-fry for everyone. We also went on a crab hunt (tradition #4). The last day we basically just realized and enjoyed the sunshine. Beth made a giant sea turtle in the sand.Everyone stopped by to take pictures of it. She always has been the artsy one. For lunch we went to eat at the Crab Trap (tradition #5). The food was great. Did I mention I love seafood? The last day I was so sad when I left. I have so many great memories there. It always makes me sad to leave. I am thankful for the time I've spent with my entire family there and the way that my parents and grandparents always dedicated the time and money needed to take us. I think this trip was particularly memorable. I felt like I had my own live SNL skit thanks to my awesome cousins Sam and Tyler. :)

Gran and I at Destin Commons after the fireworks on July 3rd

Summer is here.

Summer is here.. and it is hot!!

I have been unable to blog because we did not have internet for 2 weeks. Wow. That seemed like a lifetime. We have it now so I would like to do a little update.

Joanna and Tim got married the last Saturday in May. It was a beautiful perfect Southern Living type wedding outside at Tim's parents house near Batesville. Beth and I were the guestbook attendants and we had so much fun. They had dancing too. I really love fun dancing at a wedding...



We moved on Memorial Day with the help of our wonderful parents who have helped us moved something like 10 or 15 times now if you count the times we moved back and forth to college.

Then I started back to school. Summer school is rough because we have at least 2 hour lectures at a time, several a day. We actually go to school more I think. I am very excited about this August because I start clinicals. I will be the clinic from August-October at a pediatric clinic in Conway!! :) Then I will be in the classroom November-December. Then I will be in the clinic from January-August 2011 with 2 days off in May. And THEN.. I will graduate!!!!!!!! I should know within the month of July where all of my Jan-Aug '11 clinicals are. I am a little bit anxious about that..

Our church hosted a women's retreat June 11-12. It was a wonderful time. I was able to locate a guest speaker who has a passion for women's ministry and she was such a blessing to our retreat. We had such a relaxing and re-energizing time. We are trying to start a monthly study group and I am looking forward to that.

Last weekend Dane and I went home to take a family photo because his grandparents just celebrated their 50th Anniversary. We took some pictures at Lyon College and I am excited to see them. We also celebrated Father's Day with my dad and grandpa at my grandparents house. Gran has some beautiful flowers blooming right now and we enjoyed seeing them. Then on Saturday we went to the lake with my aunt Julie and my cousin Sam. We had a great time! I love love love to ride in a boat all day.



In further more exciting news... next week my family is taking a family vacation to Destin! ...assuming the oil is still not there. If it does get there, we are probably going to go someplace more local. Anywhere would be fine. I am just looking forward to spending time together.

Congratulations Chris and Susan!!

Well... now that's its FBO....

Chris and Susan are going to have a baby!! We are beyond thrilled. I think we both teared up when we got the phone call. They are going to be the best parents. AHHHHHHH. It's hard to express this type of excitement!!

I will give you a little background on how we know them. Dane met Chris his first year of college in good old Baridon Hall. He met Susan shortly after when she cooked for Chris and his new friends. He said that she was so sweet and that I would love her. Well, he was right. She has been such a great friend to me. She makes me laugh and she loves life. She is one of the most dependable people I know. She will be a glowing mother. She has wanted to be a mom for as long as I've known her. I really don't remember not knowing this couple. I am so thankful that God placed them in our lives. Here are a few photos of our friendship.

Birthday dinner several years ago.

This was right before Chris left for Honduras for 9 months after their college graduation.

This was right before I became a married woman. Susan was so sweet to me.
I adore this picture.

Chris and Susan on their wedding day. Such a fun and beautiful day.

All smiles.

A recent photo with Susan, Mallory, and Merritt at Michelangelo's.

And now all we need is some precious pictures of the two of them holding their newborn baby. The next several months are going to be so exciting!!

Chris and Susan, we love you both so much and are praying for you and your child. We cannot wait to meet him/her!

Apartment Hunting Nashville Style...

On Sunday, my family headed to Nashville to find Beth an apartment near Vanderbilt where she will be attending graduate school. I love Nashville so I was excited to take the trip. Dane couldn't go because we had to miss church and Monday and Tuesday. Before we left, Beth and I had Mazzios lunch with Gran and our aunt Julie. We love Mazzios buffet. Julie works in Batesville so its easy for her and Gran drove from her house. It was great to see them! :)


Sunday morning we headed out at 7am. Beth had done a fantastic job of planning the apartments that we went to see - 15 in all!! She knew every address and who was showing us the property. I was tired just listening to her. The best thing about the hunt was that I know exactly where everything near Vanderbilt is located. Well... at least a lot of things.

We stayed at the Hotel Indigo which was had a very modern and classy style.

Beth and I beside the building where she will spend most of her time.

Department of Political Science!! I was glad to see it.

Eating downtown Monday night.

Beth and mom near some beautiful bushes. The campus is gorgeous and overflowing with trees, flowers, and squirrels. Mom dropped a skittle and a squirrel ran up and ate it with his hands. It was crazy.

Macy's - yes, please.

Dad showing a little support for the Hogs in rival SEC territory. :)

The most important part - WE FOUND AN APARTMENT! I was very happy for Beth who will have a great place to live starting in August.

Nashville was fun and I look forward to visiting there many more times.

Razorbacks at Dickey-Stephens Park

One of our very favorite things to do in Little Rock is to watch the Travelers play at Dickey-Stephens Park. Last night the Razorbacks came to LR for a little C-Ark action. Dane and I bought tickets late (as in a month ago) and had to sit in the grass. Casey McCrotty was there and she told me that they bought their tickets in December. opps. It was a really fun game. The Razorbacks won in the 10th inning. I ate a box of popcorn and drank a Sprite. What more can a girl want?



The place was PACKED. When we got there we had to walk all the way around to find a spot on the grass. It was different than a Travs game, because for those games we always sit in the seats and pretty much kick back. And we all know razorback fans don't do much kicking back. .... Dane included.


Notice how packed the grass was. We had a bunch of kids around us who were pretty entertaining.

After the win there was a great fireworks display. It was getting pretty late and I heard about 5 people say, "there are going to be a lot of cranky kids at school tomorrow." ha. Fortunately, I did not have school today so I slept in. :)

I did manage to attempt a run this morning. Unfortunately the humidity was not working in my favor. I am going to have to start running after dark with Dane again. It works much better that way anyway.

Now for a little update on Nicki and Laura! Laura reported that they saw 65 patients in group sessions the first day and 45 patients individually the second day! WOW. 45 patients. A typical hospital patient load would be much less. I am so proud of these girls. These patients would have no rehab this month if they were not there. Early amputee care is so important. I am praying and cheering for them. Please continue to remember them in your prayers as well!