Randomness

1. As long as I can remember, my Mom and Dad have always given me a Valentine gift of some sort. Today, they gave Zach and me our Valentine's Day surprise a little early! This picture was taken with my cell phone- so the quality isn't that great- but you can imagine how excited I was!!!!!!!!



2. Mandy finally posted her pictures from our Girl's Night this weekend. We all got together with Katie's new fire pit. We roasted hot dogs, marshmallows, and played Dance Dance Revolution (DDR as Anna refers to it) all night long. I'm constantly in awe of the support I have with these girls.

3. Zach and I are leaving tomorrow on our trip. I have a to do list staring at me right now with at least 30 things on it before I can leave. One of those things consisted of getting all my pictures edited from the weekend. I've finally posted those on my photography blog. You can check them out here.

4. My new addiction: Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte with Fat Free Milk from McDonald's AND Lipton's DIET Green Tea, Citrus Flavor (cold in the bottles). I'm in NO WAY a health nut. Seriously- in NO way. I love all things sugary, buttery, salty, and filled with fat. I sometimes think I could survive on nothing but meat, potatoes, and cheese. HOWEVER- I try to find some good healthy alternatives when I can. My health nut of a brother suggested the sugar-free, fat-free vanilla latte from McDonald's. I almost gagged at the thought- but surprisingly it is SOOO good. I have had to stop myself from getting one every single morning. In Tennessee, the small one is $2.50. Not Bad.

5. I'll have internet access from Turkey- so I'll be posting regularly, I'm sure.

In exactly 48 hours from now, Zach and I will be on an airplane, headed to see my brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew.

I'm SO excited.

We'll be meeting up with them in Istanbul for the week. There is SO much we're dying to do and see. But most of all, we can't wait to see these faces!



In the meantime- here's a little special put together by The Today Show about Istanbul.

Zach's Day with Syd

On Friday, I woke up with the crud that's been going around. On Saturday, it got even worse. We were supposed to go visit Syd that day, and Zach thought it would be a good idea for me to stay home. I took him up on his offer and stayed in bed until almost noon. I spent the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing, besides sleeping here and there. I'm trying to get myself better before my big trip this weekend (which I'll be blogging about later).

Also- I think it's good for Zach and Syd to be able to spend some time alone, anyway.

Zach took a few pictures of Syd during their day together. These are SOOO her! She's such a goofball- I LOVE IT!

It feels like these past few weeks, I've needed a weekend to recover from my weekends. This weekend, I had 5 photo shoots (2 of which were out of town), a party in Nashville for one of my best friends, and a superbowl party with friends.

Because I was completely wiped out and exhausted by photo shoots, I did NOT do a good job of taking pictures this weekend. I did, however, steal a few off of Martha Jo's facebook page of Jessica and Josh's fiesta in Nashville. Jess and Josh are getting married in March, and in their honor, a few of Jess's college friends threw them a couple's fiesta. They're such a cute couple!! I'm literally counting down the days until their wedding!

I LOVE to sing, but I am absolutely HORRIBLE at it. Insanely horrible. So bad, in fact, that when it comes to worshiping and lifting our voices to God, I often wonder if God means "everyone but you, Elizabeth." I'm kidding, of course, but I am THAT bad. My inability to sing or do anything that requires vocals or tone has always been a subject for entertainment for my family. I remember my brother Fred, standing in the kitchen with me once, saying "Ok- Elizabeth- you can do it... just sing after me." We stood there for about half an hour, as he tried to get me to follow the notes, but for some reason, I was physically unable to do it.

I've always said that coming from a large family keeps me grounded. My brother, Dan, recently filled out one of those "25 things about me" on Facebook. This was his number 11.

11. On American Idol last week, there was a really really awkward moment with this girl who was voted funniest person in her high school, and Kara, the new judge, thought she was trying to make a joke out of the audition. When I think of it now, it still almost makes me sick to my stomach on her behalf. I think mostly because she kind of reminded me of my sister, Elizabeth.

I haven't been following Idol much, yet, so I had no clue what he was talking about. I look it up and found this.



Lovely...

This also makes me think of another time. My family and I all went to see a movie years ago. When one of the scenes started, I quickly noticed EVERY member of my family snickering, trying to hold their laughter in. The more the scene went on- the harder they laughed, glancing over at me with an "I'm sorry, but can you honestly say this doesn't sound like you?" kind of glance. I'm sure you all remember the scene.

We're Back...

We're back from California! I've posted all the details on my photography blog. You can also check out Anne-Camille's blog and Jamie's blog for more pictures as well. It was an extremely quick- but motivational trip. I'm SO excited for 2009!

But right now, I'm just happy to be home, in my sweat pants and curled up with my husband. It's nice to be home!

More to Come...

4 hours and counting...

Until our plane takes off for Costa Mesa, CA!



I'll be spending the weekend with these crazy girls as we get some one-on-one advice from the talented Drew Bittel.

Jamie and Anne-Camille are on their way to Memphis right now! I'm SO excited!!

You can read more about our trip here.

JAREN, WE'LL MISS YOU!!!!!

5 Years

I cannot believe it has been five years since our first date. I have a lot of completely gross and PDA-ish things to stay, but I guess I'll refrain right now out of respect for my blogging friends.

Just know that I love you so much and am happier now than I ever could have imagined 5 years ago!

(2004)


(2009)

The Scandal

It started as a surprise party, my Grandma was throwing for her new beau, Ray. Ray came, acted surprised, ate and opened gifts.







As soon as he finished opening his gifts, he turned the tables on the 30-40 people who had come.. He pulled out one of the most eloquently written poems I'd ever heard, got down on one knee, and read it for my beautiful grandmother. She smiled in a way I've never seen her smile before; Nervous and glowing, all at the same time.



As soon as was finished, he folded the poem, put it back in his pocket and asked her to be his wife. She said yes, as they kissed and hugged.



Then he placed the ring on her finger.



Nothing could ruin my day today. I cannot think of two other people who deserve this more than these two. I'm SO glad God blessed you with each other!

Oh, and Ray, for future reference- the engagement ring is the one with the large diamond on it. The band is for the wedding day. Ha! I love you both!!

Sydney

Zach and I got to spend another day with Sydney in Cape Girardeau this past weekend. She is getting SOOOO big. It was a fairly quick visit. We had about 6 hours to eat, go shopping, go bowling, and just hang out.

One of Syd's favorite things is having Zach read to her. We always try to stop by a bookstore at least once during our visits with her.


Zach destroyed me and Syd in bowling. I tried to even use the bumpers to my advantage and it wasn't working. That's ok- we took our revenge during the Lunchtime Trivia at Buffalo Wild Wings. Zach asked Syd why she chose to be on my team, and she said "because I want to win." Smart girl... :)


Sydney L.O.V.E.S taking pictures. In fact, I almost always have a hard time getting her picture because she is wanting to be the one taking them. This time, I brought my extra camera up so we could go take pictures together. It was FREEZING outside, so we made a quick stop by the park for a few pictures.




This is one of my favorites... a few visits ago- we let Syd pick out $5 worth of stuff at Claire's in the mall. For some reason- she HAD to have these glasses. She calls them her "inside glasses." Her mom says she wears them everywhere.




Syd in action- I LOVE it!

More From Our Photo Shoot With Jaren

So, Jaren has been INSANELY hard at work- working on our pictures from our photo shoot with her in Jonesboro. Have I mentioned how amazing she is??

We received our "part 1" CD in the mail today. Here are a few of my favorites. Thank you so much again, Jaren. You helped us capture a very special and treasured time in our marriage.

Seriously??

The Snuggie People sent me an email! Is it possible they saw my blog post?

Guntersville

Zach and I are back in town after a weekend in Guntersville, AL- visiting Zach's parents. I only took my camera out a couple of times- mainly to get pictures of Emeron and Kaya. I swear- I've got the coolest nieces and nephews on both sides of my family.

On Saturday night, Zach and I went down to the lake- just us and the dogs. It was so nice being able to hang out with him and talk. Guntersville is SO gorgeous.

Our Photo Shoot with Jaren

So, my amazing photographer friend, Jaren, agreed to take pictures for me and Zach. I think it's so important for couples to capture every aspect of their life. I specifically wanted some professional pictures at this stage in our life, as I our life is just beginning, before we start having children together. It's absolutely NO surprise that Jaren rocked the socks off this photo shoot. I love learning from my network of amazing photographers.

She's still working on the pictures- but she's put up just enough up on her blog to tease me! You can see more of the pictures here.