ZBB=Let Down

All though we had fun as a group going to Little Rock to see the Zach Brown Band, the concert itself was a let down (which might have fallen victim to living up to the awesome Rascal Flatts concert the night before). After 2.5 hours of 2 opening acts (which were TERRIBLE) ZBB finally started. They played a lot of new stuff which is not as fun because we can't sing along. They also didn't interact very much with the crowd. I still like ZBB and am glad I went, but I don't feel the need to go to another one of their concerts. I only took 2 pics of that night.

Christina and I with our yummy swirl margaritas. And, no, we did not plan to look like twinkies.

A funny fact about the conecrt - I went with a bunch of friends from work. We invited Scott, my childhood friend who also works with us. He told us that he and his wife had bought tickets a while ago so they were already going. Once we got to the concert and sat down - Scott and Alli were in the seat and row directly in front of us! How random is that!

Over all my concert-filled weekend was so much fun. I was completely exhausted once I got home but it was worth every second.

It's Happening Again!

It has happened again. Another year when I have tons of new babies coming into my life. I just love it!

I will start in order.

Sheri and Ben - Baby Kendall Elizabeth due May 24th Sheri is Ryan's first cousin and has become one of my good friends. Ryan describes her as his sister and is probably one of the nicest people you will ever meet. She teaches, well taught, my Body Flow class. On occasion, after our class, we would walk across the street for Mexican and beer, nullifying our workout, and catch up. Ben is a super sweet husband. Up until last week Sheri was teaching class and Ben would come to every class and demonstrate the moves she couldn't do any longer. For those of you who don't know, Body Flow is a mix of Thai Chi, Yoga and Pilate's and I am sad to say, Ben it MUCH better at it than me. They have been married for 10 years and its about time a baby arrive :)


Mark and Tracey - Baby Boy Bokermann due July 18th
Mark and Tracey are my cousins and this is #4 for them. Kinley and Will are getting so big and Baby Teddy is looking down on us from heaven. Tracey has taken a lot of precautions with this pregnancy but she is still having signs of early labor. Say an extra prayer for them. We can wait to meet this baby this summer! He will make a perfect addition to our family.


Jeni and Sam - Baby Sackett Due August 30th

I show you this pic of Sam and Jeni and Baby Cohen, who is only days old in this picture, because Jeni and Sam got a little surprise and will be adding another baby to the mix before Cohen is one!! Haha. We love it and Jeni is definitely the only person I know who could handle it. I am so sad to say that I STILL have not gotten a chance to meet Cohen. But he was at my wedding, he was just still cooking. I guess you could say he was part of the wedding party since Jeni was a bridesmaid. He now lives all the way in Indiana so we aren't very close ever. Once Baby Sackett #2 arrives I might just have to take a road trip to Indiana to see one of my favorite families!


Wes and Elizabeth - Baby Scott due September 30th
This is one of my favorite pictures ever of these 2 because if you know my cousin Wes at all, you know he is serious about 95% of his life so this is a rare glimpse into his goofiness. Wes and Liz live in Memphis and are my cousins on my mom's side. We are so excited to welcome the second grandchild and great-grandchild to the mix. Wes' sister Whitney had Keenan last year so I just know they will be very close cousins.

Please say a prayer for each one of these babies arriving in 2012. Pray they all arrive safely and in perfect health, that their mommies deliver them smoothly and that their daddies give their mommies anything they need ( ok, you can leave out that last part).

Dear Babies: I can't wait to meet each one of you!! You will be more loved than you can imagine!

More Starlight Gala Pics

Here are some more pictures from our night with Rascal Flatts. Next I am going to post pictures from the second half of my country weekend with Zac Brown Band.

The group with Gary
Me and Tammy

Bridget, Meredith, Sarah and Tammy

Rascal Flatts!

O-M-G!!! Rascal Flatts was AAAAAAA-MAZING!! We had such a blast at the Children's House Starlight Gala last Friday night.

First off was dinner and then on to the live auction. I got anxious during the auction because obviously I was not going to buy a $10,000 trip to France - I wanted to see the band!

Once the auction was over, the MC announced Rascal Flatts would begin in 5 minutes. So our table took that as the cue to move towards the stage. I am glad we did because we were the first ones there and this is how close I was.

When I say close, I am talking inches! I could smell Gary's cologne. I felt like a pre-teen at a Justin Bieber concert.

I was standing right in front of Gary and his mike. Their set list was tapped to the stage in front of me so I could see what song was coming next.

At one point, Gary looked down and asked what the next song was because he couldn't read it - and of course I TOLD HIM!! Then after that, every song he came over to me and I told him what to play. Again - pre-teen at Justin Bieber!!

Gary knelt down and got a picture with us

My buddy Jay

Joe Don and Gary rocking out

This pictures shows you how close we were. I backed up so Bridget could get in my spot to get a picture.

Singing "What Hurts the Most" which might be my favorite song of theirs.

They played for about 40 minutes and it was the perfect amoung of time. They played all their best songs and I was in 4 inch heels dancing so by then my feet were killing me.

After the concert, they went back stage and sponsors got to back there and take pictures with them. We may or may not have said we were with KNWA (which was kind of true :) and got back there. As soon as I walked up, Gary told me thanks for helping him out.

Overall, if you couldn't tell, we had a great time and I can't wait to see them again!

Country-Packed Weekend!

This weekend is going to be NUTS. Why you ask? Because I am seeing TWO of my favorite bands in one weekend: Rascal Flatts on Friday night and Zac Brown Band on Saturday night! I am so excited I can barely stand it.

It all happened in a very last-minute, random way. The ZBB happened first. A group of my friends from work decided one Friday afternoon in January to all buy tickets to see the band in Little Rock. It just happened to be an afternoon when I was working off site. I didn't want to get a separate ticket and not sit with them so I just bowed out. Fastforward to last week and one of the girls can't go anymore so I bought her ticket. Score!

I saw ZBB play at the Walmart Shareholder's meeting a couple of years ago. They only played for about 30 minutes but that was the best concert I have ever seen, hands down. I am so excited to see them in a full concert!

But before we head down to Little Rock on Saturday, I am seeing Rascal Flatts on Friday night at the NWA Children's Shelter Fundraising Gala in Rogers. As a member of Junior League, we work with the Children's Shelter on a regular basis so I decided, before knowing Rascal Flatts would be playing, to go to that event. Well after Rascal Flatts was announced, I knew I was absolutley going to go - that is until I went online to buy a ticket for...$200!! That was waaaay out of my budget so I gave up on seeing RF in person.

Then last Friday at work, our office got an email that stated: "Our company has bought a table for this event and the tickets are available for free on a first-come, first-serve basis." I clicked on the link and it took me to a picture of RF and the Children's Shelter. Without hesitating, I replied back and begged for a ticket. Lucky me - I was the first respondant and guaranteed a ticket! Plus, since we are considered a sponsor, we get to go early and MEET the band. Ahhh!

This is a fancy cocktail type event so I bought a new fancy dress (a Gianni Bini dress on 75% clearance at Dillard's) and get to get all gussied up. Funny thing is, the same girls I am going to ZBB with are the ones that are going to see RF as well.

This couldn't have happened on a better weekend because a bunch of Ryan's college friends are coming in town and they are doing a bunch of boy stuff.

And to top it off, Sunday afternoon I am going to the 1st birthday party of this handsome fellow- Whitt. We are going to be cheering on the Hog baseball team in the Hog Pen and celebrating his big day all at the same time.

Needless to say, I will be absolutely, positively exhausted come Monday but it will all be worth it. I am spending the entire weekend with some of my favorite men :)

Arkansas Bride

Our wedding was featured on the Arkansas Bride Blog.

Check it out here!

James Bible Study: Lesson 2

Last night we had our second bible study meeting studying the book of James. We focused on Chapter 1, verses 1-9 which was a section about the testing of our faith and steadfastness. I really enjoyed this lesson! It gave a lot of insight. My thoughts and leanings are below.

• Consider it a blessing when you face troubles and trials because you know God is with you and will guide you through it


• Trials produce steadfastness and patience. You learn from these troubles and are able to accept them more easily in the future


• Developing steadfastness and perseverance will build consistency in your life and create awareness of your situations


• God guarantees we will endure trials but he also guarantees he will take care of us and help us overcome them


• Trials give us hope, Hope is given by God


• We have trials and experiences in order to help others through those same trials


• Trials build character


• We experience trials in order to grow nearer to God which in return will grow our faith.


• During times of trials, wisdom is always the first thing you should ask God for.

Things Change So Quickly

I am laying in bed on a Friday night and at 11:37 p.m. I realized for the first time today that it is our 8 month anniversary, or it is for at least, now, 22 more minutes. As I am decompressing from my crazy week I find myself looking at photographer's blogs.

Nine months ago I would have been looking at photographer's wedding pictures or wedding blogs to find the next greatest and unique idea for my wedding. While surfing the web for these ever illusive ideas, I would probably have some trashy wedding show on the TV in the background. Nine months ago I was OBSESSED with weddings and wedding planning. I tagged every blog I read and bought every wedding magazine I could find.

Oh how things change so quickly.

Fast forward to the present, not even a year later, and I COULD CARE LESS about anything wedding related. I don't watch anymore wedding shows, I don't look at other people's wedding pictures and I certainly don't read bridal blogs or magazines. I don't think I stopped because I got burnt out, I think I have just passed that time in my life and feel like it is time to move to the next step.

These days, the topic I like reading about and the pictures I like looking at are...get ready for it....babies. I know what you are thinking and NO I am NOT pregnant and no I don't want to get pregnant tomorrow. There are still things Ryan and I still want to do before that time. I think this change just comes with the territory and comes with my stage of life. All my close friends are married now and most are starting their own families. I know of five babies due this summer!

I still giggle to myself when thinking about how quickly my interests changed and how much more mature I feel now than I did 8 months ago on my wedding day. I am not sure if it is the whole "being a wife" thing, the fact that my husband is 5 years older than me or if because I am just making major life plans now and not just tiny decisions like which color the script on the wedding napkins should be.

Today, I'd rather go to a baby shower than a wedding shower and discuss baby names rather than wedding colors. One of my favorite TV shows at the moment is "One Born Every Minute." Does this change happen so quickly for everybody else or am I a special case? The answer, I think, is that it is different for everybody.

As the last 5 minutes of my 8 month anniversary comes to a close, I will finish up this post, doing a little online shopping for the next baby due and maybe take a glance at a few more newborn pictures. Who knows when that time in my life will come, but as long as it comes at some point, I will be happy. Until then, I will do like I always do: research, learn and over organize for the next big life event.

Lent

We are currently in the season of Lent - a time to remember the ultimate sacrifice that was given for us. Our church recognizes Lent but we are not encouraged to give anything up so I have never really been a person who practices it. But recently I started trying as a way to remember and honor my Savior. The purpose is to sacrifice something that is hard for you and fast from it for 40 days.

I tried last year and it was a major fail. I mean really, what was I thinking, no wine for 40 days? Yeah right! I think I lasted 6 days. Shameful!

This year I am doing a little better. I decided to give up candy: 1. because I love it and 2. because, who doesn't use Lent as a way to lose a little weight? I am a major candy person. Not so much chocolate but I LOVE anything sour. I am the person who every time I go to Walmart I buy one of those 99 cent boxes of theatre candy they have sitting conveniently in front of the checkout lanes. Candy is a go-to snack for me.

Let me tell ya - it has been hard. Especially because my office is candy central! I literally stare at this all day because its at a table in front of my desk.
And this is in our conference room.

And this is on a table on the way to our kitchen and is so convenient to grab a little something sweet after you eat lunch.

Literally there is temptation EVERYWHERE! So far, we are about 2 weeks in and I have not had a piece of candy since before Lent. I am pretty proud of myself and every time I tell myself no I think of the why I am saying no and who I am saying no for - my Jesus!