Two Special People

             

Today is a special day for two very special people in my life-my precious niece Clara, and my grandmother (cookie).  How cool is that to have their birthdays on the same day?! It's so special, and I know it was in God's plan.  Tonight we celebrated Clara's birthday at Habeneros, which is our local favorite, and after dinner we headed over to Janelle and Gavin's house to watch Clara eat her first cupcake.  I don't have any pictures to post because I took them on Janelle's camera, but I will post some on Saturday when I post about her big party!!! It is so weird that Clara is 1 already! It feels like yesterday when Janelle and Gavin got up really early to deliver their precious baby girl.  She is so adorable and so lovable! I can't wait to be able to take her on shopping trips ;-)

Lent made me do it!!!

I have been trying hard to decide on what to give up for Lent this year. Every year I try to make it something hard for me...something I really enjoy. If you know me very well you already know the answer-SWEETS. Ouch is all I can say. I started today and so far I have made it until 3:45-good right?! haha I am really going to need some encouragement for this one. Isn't that sad? Giving something up to show your love and dedication to God should be so easy, and it shouldn't be that hard considering all of the hard things he has done for us. What are you giving up for Lent?!

Meet Mr. Echols

I agree with Elise, let's focus on someone else-our husbands! Here is a list of 25 random facts about my husband, Hunter...
1) He loves Alabama football...literally loves it. When home he is constantly connected to some sports website or tv channel so he doesn't miss anything! He lives on Bama Online.
2) Hunter loves dogs. He especially loves our dog Susie. He calls her "his baby"!!
3) He will eat pretty much anything you put in front of him with the exception of olives and coconut.
4) This is something I hate to admit because I should be the one that says this about myself, but Hunter is great at tying pretty bows, folding our decorative towels, and tying my scarves. He will probably kill me for telling the blog world this, but I think it's cute. He's such a manly man, but he still has a soft side. If we have a girl someday, I will be saying "Go see your daddy for that. I can't do bows!" haha Maybe he can teach me!
5) He watches HGTV second to ESPN. He loves to watch "Spice Up My Kitchen" and other shows that highlight home improvement.
6) One thing Hunter has always wanted to do is to attend the whole week of Braves Spring Training in Orlando.
7) He played tennis in middle school and high school, and he did really well at it. Sometimes I think he could have done more with it.
8) He has really good looking legs...very muscular
9) His dream truck is an F250-diesel, 4wd (I think I said that right)
10) His dream vacation would be to go to Bora Bora.
11) He is really good at doing funny voices.
12) His favorite color is Hunter Green-go figure!
13) He has driven 4 or 5 cars since he was 16...I like to tease him and call him "spoiled"
14) He is really great with babies. He was one of the few that could comfort Clara when she cried in her early months of life.
15) He loves to exercise.
16) He does 90% of the dishes at home
17) He is a night owl. If he could I think he would stay up all night.
18) He loves being at his family's lake house. He would want us to live there if we could.
19) He truly loves his job. He doesn't ever complain about going to work!
20) He is very dependable. If I or any of his friends/family ever need him he is always there to help.
21) His biggest pet peeve is slow traffic or stopped traffic. He gets very impatient.
22) One of his top favorite books is "Marley & Me" He read it on our honeymoon and cried.
23) He likes to go test drive cars on lazy Saturdays just for fun!
24) He is very low maintenance and "always goes with the flow"
25) His two favorite foods are sushi and crab cakes-yuk!!!

Spring Chick

I am such a spring chick! I have been loving this warm weather!!! Here are a few obsessions I have found online....look how pretty and how "springy" they are! The prices aren't that bad for J. Crew either! ;-) Maybe some little birdy will buy me something for Easter?! jk

PS.

Is anyone else ready for spring?!

Susie has a new "do"

Well not really a new do, but a new smell! Hunter and I have been putting things off lately around the house....putting up new shelves, putting new light fixtures up, touch-up paint, etc...We have also been doing this with bathing Susie because it has been so cold outside! I bathed her in our bathroom in December because it was too cold outside to use the hose. BIG MISTAKE-from someone who HATES hair flying around and clumped in our house I freaked out! I probably spent 1 hour cleaning, moping, sanitizing our bathroom making sure every inch of her hair was gone. I made a promise to myself that I would never do that again! With this wonderful spring weather we have been having, I decided she needed a bath. She started to develop a smelly dog scent that I didn't like so much so Hunter finally gave in and helped me bath her on the deck. I have to brag on her-she is so good to bath! She sits still, doesn't bark, and doesn't shake water anywhere. I am beginning to think she enjoys her bath time more than normal. After we bathed her, I told Hunter to hold her so I could get the hair dryer. If you could have seen his face! haha He looked at me like I was crazy and told me she wouldn't like it. He didn't know her love of the hairdryer because he was not there with our last bath time. Susie loves to be pampered! She sat in our side den where I don't care about the carpet getting covered in dog hair, and she let me blow dry her hair for 30 minutes!!! She would tilt her head back and close her eyes like humans do on commercials! She is so cute!!! Here are some pictures from her pampering!

A little sunrise to start my day

My alarm went off this morning, and the first thing that came to my head was "No....I don't want to get out of bed!!!" The room was cold and dark, our bed was sooooo cozy too. I slowly lifted my head to see Susie snuggled in the middle of Hunter and I's legs. I did NOT want to go to work. I usually don't have such a problem getting up the in the mornings, but today I felt like I was dragging myself out of bed. I was even trying to think of excuses to go lay back in the bed with my sweet hubby and Susie. When I got out of the shower, I was still dragging around the house until I saw something in our backyard. Out of the 6 months Hunter and I have been married, I have never noticed a sunrise in our backyard. I don't know if it's because I usually don't look outside that early in the morning, but either way it was beautiful! I took it as a sign from God...he was trying to give me a little "sunshine" for my Monday!

(This is the picture I took this morning...so pretty!!!)

Blog stalking and not afraid to admit it

The title of my post today is the honest truth of where I have been hiding the past week.  I can't believe it's been a week since my last post!!! I'm sorry for being so astray.  I can't say that I haven't had time because I have...I've just been busy blog stalking.  I have found one blog that I love to read.  This particular woman is an amazing woman of God.  I have read almost all of her blogs in the past week or so, and every time I am done reading them I think how much I would like to be like her.  Not in a jealous "I want her clothes, her car, etc..." kind of way, but "I want to be seen as a woman of God" kind of way.  Obviously I am a Christian and I always try to do and say the right things, but I am human.  I sin a lot, say things that I know weren't nice, think bad thoughts when I know I shouldn't, etc.  This year my biggest "resolution" oh I hate that word because I don't like New Years, but my new promise was to become closer to God and strong in my faith.  I go through days when I feel down, sad, wanting more, wishing for a vision for my life and when I stop to think about these things, it is as if God is trying to get my attention.  I imagine God listening to my thoughts and needs.  He's in heaven trying to get me to see what's missing-HIM. Don't get me completely wrong because I do pray and try to focus on his word, but I have continued to fail so far.  

One thing I have been doing is listening to weekly messages from Church of the Highlands.  My sweet friend who I get the pleasure to work with and be my friend is constantly encouraging me, praying for me, listening to me, etc. is like my cheerleader.  She is the one who introduced me to Pastor Chris, and it has the been one of the best gifts I have ever been given.  Every time I listen to his word I walk away feeling full of faith.  I receive such a spiritual lift that is almost indescribable.  This month he has been talking about moving "From Here to There."  The funny part about this series is that this is EXACTLY what my husband and I need at this time in my life.  Another example of how I know God is trying to point things out to me is through Pastor Chris' messages.  Every week there is something heavy on my heart, and so far it has been exactly what Church of the Highlands is discussing.  The verse of the series is "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Wow is all I can say.  It is so true...I have been wanting certain things in my life and internalizing certain things, but I haven't stop to think about my vision or our vision as a young, married couple.  Where do I need to be to be a great, spiritual wife? What do I need to do at my job to make things happen for the better?  What should Hunter and I focus on when it comes to finances, especially in the economic crisis?  So many questions, but I have faith that through God and developing a closer relationship with him, I will be able to answer these questions.  I pray that everyone reading this will try to develop a closer relationship to God because I don't think you can ever get too close to him ;-)

PS. 

If you are interested in listening to his sermons, please click here.