two musicals and a wedding

Happy Monday friends! I'm up bright and early today for the start of theatre camp which I'll be sharing details about soon, however, I wanted to share a bit of our weekend with you first because it was craaaaazy busy.

Just like the title said.

"two musicals and a wedding"

Hubs and I had tickets for the opening night of Gypsy on Friday, so we gussied ourselves up and left early enough to have a kid-free meal before the show. We headed downtown with a craving for chicken pesto pizza from DePalma's and after 15 minutes of searching for a parking spot within a mile of the restaraunt, we decided we'd better try somewhere else. We'd lost too much time. We needed to get a'movin. "Let's try the new Shrimp Basket!", I said. "I think it's near the theatre anyway!" Off we go in the direction of the theatre, heading South. Ten more minutes elapse. We pull into the parking lot of where I think this new seafood place is located only to discover I'd gotten my wires crossed. We weren't looking at the new Shrimp Basket. We were looking at the new Pizza Palace. Not the same. My directionally-challenged brain had gotten confused. Again. We were running out of time and since the only other alternatives nearby were mexican (Pepitos) or mexican (Taco Casa), we opted for some breakfast at the newly constructed Waffle House.

Our food was served in under five minutes, leaving us plenty of time for a quick stop at Walgreens for show candy. And that was the best omelette and hashbrowns evah. Mean it.

The show was fantastic and runs through next week- if you're local or even within driving distance, you do NOT want to miss it. You can purchase Gypsy tickets HERE.

On to Saturday. Hubs and O went to a birthday party while the girls and I went to see another local theatre camp's production of The Little Mermaid. The girls loved it, but got confused and thought the show was over every time there was a blackout. Sheesh.

Kudos to the staff and campers for putting the show together in a week!

After a mad dash home and a quick costume change, the Mathews 5 headed out to see hub's cousin get hitched.

That's Mr. and Mrs. Brady Wayne Sanders right there.

 It was a beautiful family-only ceremony followed by a huge country club partay, complete with a photo booth...

Baby Owen even donned a tux for the occasion-

how stinkin' cute is he?

Hubs even posed for a pic with me.

Without making a crazy face.

Or grabbing my booty.

I'm as shocked as you are.

playing catch-up

Happy Thursday, friends! I've got some randomness for ya today...

1. Archer Farms makes some of the best pizzas I've ever had. Last night, we had these for supper:

The kiddos fave is the one on the right- I think they'd eat it all day, every day if I'd let them. Also worth noting: my 3-year old ate 2 tomatoes yesterday. One cut into slices and another sliced inside sandwiches. Also worth noting- she calls them potatoes.

2. The hubs and I went to see The Amazing Spiderman last week. It was totally amazing and thrilling and more words like that. He left the theatre by scaling down the wall, throwing webs along the way. Are we surprised?



3. My friends, Kara and Ethan, made it home from China last week with their son Joel. Such a happy happy day for their family. Several members of our church family met them at the airport to welcome them home, and while I have more photos to share from this day, this is a pic I snapped on my phone of K and her two sons.

4. Oliver's 6 weeks of swim lessons came to an end last Friday, and on Thursday night we attended a special 'swim recognition/family night' where the swimmers got to show off their mad swimming skillz for their friends and family. A blue ribbon is also involved, and my son and his enormous personality decided it would only be appropriate to take a bow before receiving his ribbon...

Love this next shot, even though it's a phone pic and not completely in focus. I mean, just look at that face.

5. This is what happens when Daddy comes home from work.

 I call this shot,"clingy on Daddy".

6. Found these cute owls in the 2.50 bins at Target on Monday. Grabbed a white one, went back on Tuesday and they were gone. Could be the resemblance to the West Elm owls and the crazy low price point.

7. Sometimes I eat super healthy. Like having just a banana for breakfast. Covered in whip cream. And white chocolate chips. And animal crackers/crumbs.

8. My girls had a play date this week with some friends from church and E begged to hold the babe of the group. Sweet Annie Ruth was passed from lap to lap and tolerated it so incredibly well. Sweet girls...

9. I found O making me a glass of ice water a couple days ago. I know that as a parent, I probably should've told him not to be climbing like this- what with it not being safe and all- but good golly at the sweetness of it. Love my boy. 

10. My friend and I decided it would be totally fun to start a book club.  I know lots of other folks who do this and have great fun and discuss books and eat cheeses and whatnot, so we thought, why not us too? Most books nowadays come with study guides/discussion questions in the back anyway. Score. We went to Sams yesterday, read the backs of about 30 books, and picked this one as the first. I'll post each of the books on my blog so feel free to join in if you'd like! 

11. The tattoo parlor my hubs uses has a new apprentice who needs practice & additions to his portfolio, SO they were offering 10 free tats to the first 10 to respond to a facebook post and schedule an appointment.  Hubs snagged the 10th spot. The only hitch was having to choose a tattoo from a specific set, so...

welcome to hubs new tat:

the squirrel

he asked for red eyes so it would match one we have in our house. Don't ask...

12. I saw this on facebook recently and as a Toy Story lover, I thought it was worth sharing:

Evidently, Sid the bully became Sid the garbage man.

Anyone else see this?

Summer Open House

Happy Tuesday, friends! I wanted to let you locals know about an Open House/Craft Bazaar going on this weekend.  There will be several vendors on hand with lots of pretties for sale, including knitted and crocheted items (scarfs, baby blankets), Holiday wreaths and bows, Scentsy, Mary Kay, Jewelry, Handbags, Wallets, and everything from my shop- pillow covers, headbands, stationary, pennant banners, and pins. There will also be yummy things to snack on while you browse, so grab a friend this Saturday (July 7) and head to my house!

Did you hear me? This thing is totally happening at my house, which is why I haven't blogged since Friday. I was thinking about all of the surfaces I needed to hit with a swiffer and all of the toys I need to kick under the sofas. Just kidding, but not really.... 

In all seriousness though, several of us gals with small businesses thought it would be fun to put together an open house this Summer, and this is it. There are so many Open House events around Christmas time, but not many in June/July/August, so we're joining forces and coming together in one place! Grab a friend and bring them with you- Saturday, from 10-2, at MY PLACE. And if you need directions, just shoot me an e-mail! I'll be glad to get you here!

I wanted to share pics of some of the new things I've been working on, but a product photo shoot just hasn't happened. I've been far too busy playing with my kiddos in the pool, and giving the girls mani/pedis, and watching movies, and reading books, and generally just being as lazy as humanly possible. You know, good Summer time stuff. I will, however, share a few pics from my shop of goodies that I'll have available this Saturday.

Please come and join us this Saturday! I'd love to see you!

Alright...back to cleaning.

Here's hoping the dust bunnies don't gang up on me and take me down.

Flashback Friday

Let's call this post 'The Big Bang Theory', shall we?


I've said it before and I think it bears repeating- "Those with naturally curly hair should not have bangs". I give you exhibit A:

See them? Those wispy little sad-and-not-a-clue-how-to-be-bangs bangs? I was 12 in the picture above, and old enough to know better. I had enough bang mishaps in elementary school to fill 6 yearbooks, and yet... I asked for them.

Again.

Silly girl.

At least I was the master of 'my bow is taller than your bow'.

And 'my socks are redder than your red socks'.

And 'my chest is flatter than your chest'.

Oh wait...

Fast-forward 4 years.

I got wise, grew the bangs out, and then...

I cut them.

Again.

Why.can't.I.learn?

There I was, trying to change the world, when I was really just distracting folks with the craziness on my forehead.

Shame on me.

Fast-forward 12 years.

(sigh)

I got scissor happy.

Again.

This time, I figured I couldn't go wrong, what with the invention of the flat iron and such.

Still....not great. The redeeming factor in the photo above has to be the Tony winner who agreed to pose with me, despite my crazy bang.

See this one? It's actually a happy photo, where I'm pointing at Patti's boob and thinking,

"I just saw this amazing show and my bangs have never looked better!"

Here's Hope- don't miss it

Happy Wednesday, friends! I wanted to share a few pics of the last 2 nights of the 'Here's Hope Celebration' and invite you locals to the last night (tonight) at 6:45 pm at the Jaycee Fairgrounds in Alberta City. If this is your first time to hear about it, First Baptist Church of Atlanta has partnered with our church (Alberta Baptist) and is providing supper, children's activities, and an awesome service each night full of beautiful music and a powerful message. God has sent us glorious breezes each night and the Holy Spirit has moved. Oh how It has moved. What a wonderful thing it is to witness new souls coming to know Christ, and it's happened each and every night. Do you know someone who might not know Christ? Send them our way tonight. Free food, but more importantly, food for your soul.

I'm including a couple of videos from the featured soloist/music leader, Daniel Crews, because goodgollymissmolly can he SING. God has blessed him with an amazing talent, and if you're not able to come or if you live in Australia (shout out to my Aussie readers!), then I hope you'll be blessed by some of the music that has been blessing me this week.





For the past two nights, we've heard testimonies from two incredible young athletes. The first was Jarryd Wallace, a former UGA runner who lost his leg 2 years ago but is currently training for the 2012 Paralympic Games. For his full story and testimony, visit his website HERE.

Last night, Anna Watson shared her story of being a weight-lifting GA cheerleader pursued by a body-building modeling agency. She turned down the opportunity to sign with the agency when they pressured her to take steroids to put on the neccessry pounds. For her story, go HERE and HERE.

The 120+ member youth choir, Prayz, from First Baptist Atlanta, Ga, has been astounding each night. They're not only singing their hearts out in the service, but also aiding in storm clean-up, and working in backyard bible clubs while in Tuscaloosa.

My youngest is quick to make friends with anyone who comes to the park to play sports, and ends up listening to the service as well...

So thankful for the cool breezes and beautiful sunsets God's provided each night. So thankful for the blessing that these services have been, not just to my church family, but to those in the community who are walking to the park and hearing God's word, maybe for the first time. And so thankful for the souls who have come to know Christ this week.

What a blessing.

p.s.- My friends Kara and Ethan Blankenship have been sending me updates from China as they finalize the adoption of their precious baby, Joel. If you'd like to follow along on their adventure, go HERE.

Here's Hope Celebration

Happy Monday friends! I want to extend an invitation to those of you who are local, and even those of you not so local, to an awesome event going on right now in t-town. My church has partnered with First Baptist of Atlanta to sponsor the 'Here's Hope Celebration' which will take place Monday through Wednesday night at 7 pm at the Jaycee Fairgrounds pavilion. A 120+ member youth choir from FBC will be rocking the house pavilion each night, along with featured soloist/leader Daniel Crews, and speaker Jeff Crook. The celebration began last night, and lemme tell ya right now- if you are within driving distance of Tuscaloosa, you do.not.want.to.miss.this. Amazing music, awesome message, and  a wonderful time of fellowship. The massive youth choir will also be conducting bible clubs and assisting in storm clean-up while they're here. Isn't God awesome? Here we are, 14 months since the tornado, and groups are still volunteering their time to come and help.

Here are a few photos + video from the kick-off last night. Those of us with small children brought picnic blankets + toys, and the kids had a grand time coloring & playing while the parents were able to enjoy the service. God also gave us a jaw-jropping sunset to end the evening. Love it when He shows off, as only He can do.

**p.s.- my good friends, Kara and Ethan, are in China meeting their son for the first time! I've been posting updates on her blog when she's not able to, and if you'd like to follow along on their adventure, click HERE**