sniffing white powdery stuff

before you call the elders you should know that my dealer is L'oreal. i don't know how i manage to do these things but somehow during a rapid make-up application i inhaled a puff of her Pale Bare Naturale. sneezed for about 10 minutes. rough morning.

8 random facts

***Bex tagged me a while ago but i have for some reason been putting it off casue i thought i would go blank on coming up with 8 random facts. But really once you get going it's not too bad!
{Insert RULES here}
1. I have had posttraumatic amnesia. (Really what amnesia isn’t posttraumatic?? But i like to throw in the full title cause it make it sound more scary/soap opera-ish!) Although i didn’t enjoy the pain that came with the blow to the head I must say, having amnesia is probably one of the coolest things ever. I mean I can understand head bump=bleeding but I can’t fathom head bump= mind acting like an etch-a-sketch. I mean WHAT is going on up there?!
2. I have a fear of getting my eyes poked. I usually have to bend my straws down in my drink at restaurants.
3. I shout at traffic in a Russian accent when alone in my car. (Actually it's probably more of a blend of accents...)
4. I love boiled peanuts and fried green tomatoes. Can you tell my roots are in the South?
5. I would rather cut off my arm than tumble again. (But there is a part of me that would love to take a gymnastics class)
6. I’m truly comfortable in front of a crowd of 80,000 (Go Sooners!!) but sometimes get so nervous in a one-on-one convo I could pass as a mute.
7. Fruit (watermelon, kiwi, bananas, cantaloupe, pomegranate, apples ect.) often makes me more in awe of God’s goodness, provision and grace than most worship and sermons.
8. I have occasional (ok, daily) thirst attacks. I know I am probably totally fabricating them cause all the hydration really does is make me pee every 45min. (However I am STILL a great road trip partner despite what Jerry may say!)

***i think pretty much everyone i stalk has answered these... Andrea B?? have you been tagged?!!

Beach=Happy

So I am sitting in my apartment working through a pile of dirty clothes when I feel something come on that resembled an asthma attack. At first I was a bit confused and alarmed but slowly realized that my body was responding to the sudden drop off of vitamin D. So I hustled to get our wet clothes out of the washer and into a laundry basket to be run to the apartment laundry mat (sigh… our 80 year old dryer has finally bit the dust). I thought the remedy might be some time by the pool so as to ease the ocean with-drawls. But as I am rounding the corner that gives view to our pool my heart sinks. A 20X4” pool is simply no match for the breath taking sight that is the Ocean.

Yes for the past week I have been at the Gulf Shores beach living the life (that I am convinced I was made for).

The week began at 4:30am (yes AM) when we clamored in to Jer’s car- me up front, Mel and Jamie (newly ENGAGED!) in the back and Jer at the wheel. And thus was the seating chart for the whole 11 hours.


We finally rolled up to our home for the week and were greeted by John and Lecia, seriously the Best in-laws I could have ever asked for. The rest of the group consisted of Jer's sister Haley, (husband Cody still on call with the Navy); cousin Alissa & husband Brian; brother Grant, wife Sarah & everyone’s favorite of the trip sweet, little, Rhett.

Every night a couple was assigned to cook something. I cooked the only meal I feel comfortable cooking- Mexican pizza. 12 mouths to feed was a little intimidating for someone who just baked her first BOX cake only a few days before.



Hayley, an excellent cook, who made a gourmet meal of peanut chicken also, proved to be a mean jet ski driver! One day, six of us went out to ride jet skis but only three of us had our driver’s license. So the three with the license drove and I was (happily) forced to be a passenger. This was great because I am an excellent leach and thus never thrown off. Oh how I LOVE jet skies in the ocean!!

Like I have hinted at in above paragraphs… I am SUCH a beach person. It’s the only place lying on your back from dusk till dawn catching up on your People magazines is considered “doing” something. Unless you are Jerry of course, then your beach trip will look something more like Boot Camp.

He literally wore him self out EVERYDAY running, throwing, diving, catching, swimming, surfing or… crabbing.

Thirty-two in all!


Yes, he and Jamie had quite the time living their own version of Man Versus Wild. And I quote Jamie directly, “Sometimes when I fly on planes I pray that we will crash on an island like Lost!” Jerry, delighted in having found his sole mate, literally jumped for joy at the idea and said, “YES!! But only with no demonic black cloud-monsters… but actually we could probably cast those out.”


Only time it's ok to leave the beach? A Shopping Spree! Whoo hoo!
Sweet Sarah- Prego with little Hudson- wins the Cutest Prego award.
Like father like son
Last night, all dressed up!
BE CUTER RHETT!
All the boys! (My camera died right before the girl pic, sad.)
Not to sound like the Cleavers but hang out time with family is simply bar none. For example: One night we were playing a board game (yes, board games are a staple in this family) and one of the questions you had to write down a person and a quality you admire most and the challenge actually came in choosing the person. I could have written a paragraph about each.

birds, bugs and chicken...

Satuday afternoon, driving home from the grocery store, Jerry and i had the strange experience of having a dove land right on our windshield! Yes, we were in the middle of a conversation, sitting a red light when we both jumped and screamed (well maybe i just screamed). This odd looking bird (here on out called Louie) was sitting right up on the windshield staring at us with it's beady little eyes and long neck. we just sat there for what felt like 10 mins looking all at each other before we realized we should take a picture. But the light turned green and we figured he'd fly off realizing his mistake. But no! Long neck Louie just plopped down and made himself comfortable for the ride! It was strange indeed. God is so funny that way! Quirky almost, don't you think!?

Saturday night we had fun going on a triple date with some Jerry's single guy friends that i've come to know and love. i told Jerry i felt like Meg Ryan and Goose out with these two Mavericks trying to get it together! we had a great time downing chips and salsa and laughing mostly about the guy's ridiculous college stories. We even survived a cricket attack.



Sunday night we went to Megan and Stephen's new home and had dinner with Mom, Dad and Scott. Megan cooked a great meal of King chicken casserole followed by key lime pie. Yum! We were eventually called outside to the front yard by the lightning bugs. i haven't seen them in forever but have gallons of child memories that include chasing, catching and sadly, even demolishing.

scott, me and megan

yes, that's a little one on my finger.

the underdog

Well one thing I though I’d never be caught doing alone, more or less bloging about, is watching a Rocky movie. I don’t know if my mom tossed me outside too much when I was little or what but I missed out on a bunch of the classic movies of the 80’s and thus never took to them. I always laughed at the Rocky series and refused to see them. But in defense of the 80’s I really have never liked “sports movies” in general. Don’t get me wrong I love sports but to me the movies always have the same boring plot and all too accurately timed one-liners.
But anyway, I found myself at home alone one night while Jer played in a volleyball game and decide out of boredom to pop in the latest Rocky and have my laughs at this poor old man trying to have another go at the same old plot. BUT let me tell you, I ate my words! There I was in the palm of the director’s hand shuddering at the gruesome training and rooting for the underdog! That Rocky, he’s pretty tough.
Like all inspirational movies this one got me thinking of my own life; about setting some goals and even longing for some grueling training myself. But that’s where I hit a problem: I seem to have a missing piece of the puzzle.
Ok, for example, I’ve noticed that Jerry and I are very different in these kinds of things (but we actually make a great team). Jerry has always been very confident in knowing what he wants and what his goals are but it’s less natural for him to stay the path and maintain focus.
I on the other hand can stay the monotonous path till there’s nothing left of me but have an extremely hard time figuring out what it is that I am trying to accomplish in the first place. I have in fact prayed many times that if God will just put me in the right lane and say, “On your marks, get set, go” then I would gladly run as hard as I could in the straightest path you’ve ever seen.
But alas, our all-knowing God figures as much about me and is trying to grow me by letting me find the starting point my self. And oh the analogies flow! What sport? Which race? How much does it cost? Do I have the right gear? Am I properly trained? Who will coach me? Will I be more annoying to them than a toothache? Would anyone want me on their team? Can I even figure out how to Mapquest the location in order to show up on time??!! And this is how my mind works. Before I even get going I’ve lost all steam.
And I am not even talking about the classic “who should I marry/what job do I take” questions. It’s deeper than that. It’s an overarching “how am I doing at life” question. In the past, I think I’ve taken to having goals in place cause they are somewhat of a distraction for the truth that I may not really know what I am doing at all! I know that my ultimate purpose is to bring glory to God but must admit that lots of the time I am not even really sure I know what that means.
Among all the confusion I do understand the word “complete.” I can only take hope that God, who more than understands my heart, will finish what he started and understands that I am but dust.
Dang, I kept hoping that this blog will end up something uplifting with the Rocky sound track playing behind it! My poor discipler! I have not found her yet but don’t think I am not praying her in!!

oh the rain..

here is another fun pic of an attempt at a pool party. we all had a moment of GroupThink and decided that just cause it was cloudy and the weather man predicted rain we'd probably be ok. so we fired up the grill, lathered on the sunscreen and headed out for a fun Memorial Day at the pool... only to be shooed back inside about 20 min later by a down poor that left everyone soaked to the core. it actually turned out to be a pretty memorable day! we ate soggy hamburgers, hot dogs with no buns, and Miss Lindsay Moffet's famous chocolate chip cookies. i am telling you, if you have not tasted these you are truly missing out my friend. just don't bother asking her for the recipe- it's top secret. but don't worry, i have plans that include her, me and a bottle of tequila till i get it out of her!

cinco de mayo/ house warming/we love our friends

well since i am just starting all this i have to get you up to speed. i am recently married to the love of my life JERRY WILLIAMS! we have had so much fun getting our apartment set up and learing to function like two married adults. Jerry keeps me laughing pretty much non stop- i could not ask for a more loving, understanding husband. pray for that boy! he has one complicated wife he's called to love! but he's doing pretty dang well! anyway here are two pics of our House Warming/Cinco de Mayo party. it was a ton of fun! since we've been engaged we have been praying for a house full of people to love on and have fun with and on this night that is what we got!