Thoughts/Things for Thursday

- We took lil Uggie Sue back to the doggie opthamologist yesterday and her eyes are 100% better. We are down to 2 drops a day vs. 4 drops a day. Her eyes have been cloudy and red for about 6 months and the pressure was rising. We were referred to a specialist in Louisville two weeks ago. The change is incredible. The vet was so impressed with her progress. She may have to stay on the drops permanently, but her eyes are so worth it. We are so thankful :)

Look how Sweet our doggies were this morning. Precious!

- On the way back from Louisville yesterday, I had a phone date with this gal. Meet Anne (my favorite lil nun)

OK, she isn't really a nun, but she did move off to big bad Texas after Transy to attend Seminary school and now works as a youth minister. Her and her hubby, Jeff (who i ADORE and is also a minister) now live thousands of miles away in the lone star state. I miss her soooooooo much and hopefully one day they will bring their ministry skills back to the Bluegrass. Anne is an angel! She has such a genuine heart and ability to lift those around her up. She makes me want to be a better person every time I am around her aura. It was great to catch up with her yesterday, and made me miss her even more. Hopefully, we will be meeting up in July when she bring her youth for a ministry trip to Appalachia. I am keeping my fingers crossed.  Anner- if you are reading this know that I love you so much!

- I am so excited for the fam to come up tomorrow. They are definitely bringing my little granny. We are spending the weekend painting and doing things around the house. My mom and I have planned a delicious country cooked meal tomorrow. The menu reads: fried chicken, new potatoes and gravy, fresh peas from the garden and my granny's cornbread. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Looks like I am gonna have to hit the treadmill a little harder next week.

-My birthday plans for next week are set. I am sooooo excited. Getting my hair did on Tuesday and then dinner with my gal pals. (thanks caitlin and angie for setting everything up) Then Kevin Rex has Wednesday (my actual birthday ) planned and hasn't shared too many details. I know we are going up to Cincinnati on Wed and wont return till Thursday.I cant wait to spend a lil mini trip with him. My awesome brother is coming up to stay with the doggies. He is the best :)

my first birthday with kevin rex..we cruised to the Bahamas :)

- We celebrated one of my bestie's (angie) birthdays on Monday over a little Mexican cuisine. Angie is in dental school at UK and I got to meet some of her new friends. They were sooooo fun and adorable. I had such a great time meeting some new faces and catching up with old ones as well. Here are just a few pics:

Hope you all are having a fantastic week! Happy Thursday :)

funny foto

My 4 legged child thinks he is a small person. He has a whole sectional to lay on and look where he decides to sit...

He wanted to check out the blog world with his Mamaw. Kev's parents came to visit us for the night and we spent the evening grilling out and relaxing. Bailey, of course, has to be in the center of it all....literally. Our 95 pound Boxer thinks he is a lap dog. I guess I am to blame for letting him lay in my lap all those months as a puppy. Any who, wanted to share with all you dog lovers out there.

a year ago....

Meet Caitlin (or as i like to refer to her as...Cati). Caitlin and I go back to our freshmen year at Transy. She is now what I know will be a lifelong friend that is always up for a good time. Way back when, we pledged the same sorority, and at one point,  lived together in a house with four other girls. Six girls with only two bathrooms...crazy huh? We have hundreds of photos to capture the many memories we have shared along the way. When I think about some of the best memories during and post college, you better believe that this girl is in them.

Our junior year of college, little Miss Caitlin traveled to Mexico to study abroad for the semester when she just so happened to meet this guy. Meet Paco:

After doing the long distance thing for over a year, Caitlin moved to Mexico after graduation to start a new chapter in her life with her future husband :).  One year ago this past Sunday, Caitlin and Paco became husband and wife. I mean can you imagine how beautiful their children are gonna be? These two are smokin hotttt! And although she is thousands of miles away from me in Guadalajara, there is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her. We catch up via Skye, email, and good ole facebook, but sometimes not as often as we should. However, when this girl comes to visit KY it feels like we haven't even missed a beat or spent months apart.

Cati- if you are reading this know that I love you dearly and hope one day you and Paco can spend your lives in KY with me :) You are class act sista and I miss you so much.

Just wanted to share some photos from their amazing wedding that was such a fun time for all those who were able to celebrate such a special day.

Happy Anniversary Caitlin and Paco. Love you both to pieces!!

Bridal Party...some pretty amazing chicas

wasn't she just stunning?

and they are living happily ever after :)

too blessed to be stressed

Happy Sunday! I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend.

We took it easy Friday night and ran some errands. I stocked up at Lowe's for painting next weekend with my parents. We got several samples for the two rooms we are tackling this weekend and plan on making the final decision on color by mid week.

Saturday, I worked the majority of the day and we hosted Kevin Rex's nephew Dustin for the night.
We took him to a local pizza place in Lexington called Pazzo's. It's an eclectic campus pizza pub with speciality pizzas and sub sandwiches. The "Funky Chicken" pizza is my fave. It is a combination of  garlic ranch sauce, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, red onions and tomato. Delicious! I definitely over indulged myself and didn't feel a bit bad about it. Isn't that what weekends are for?

                                               
After Pazzo's we went and watched the Hangover 2 at the Movie Tavern. We were running a little late and ended up with front row seats to the show. Swell! Although my neck was a little sore this morning, the movie was funny and didn't disappoint. 

                                                
I caught up on sleep Saturday night and woke up Sunday morning rested for church. I woke up in a funk about my hair, closet, makeup, etc; such superficial and small things in this scheme of life. I started hitting the Internet and found my "wish lists" growing with every click of the mouse. It was one of those days where I couldn't find anything to wear and no matter how much time I spent on my hair, it just wasn't doing anything for me. Needless to say, I was being a little "fussy" as Kev likes to refer to it as. Anywho, on with the day.

We heard an amazing message today about walking in other's people's shoes that ended in a special prayer for the people of Joplin, Missisouri.

Our church has many ties to Joplin. In fact, our pastor and several other leaders in the church have family in Joplin. The pastor went on to tell stories about the tornadoes and some of the people who are currently experiencing devastating hardships. He mentioned a 21 year young girl who had contracted a skin infection from all the debris and recently underwent surgery for amputations of both arms and both legs. He also discussed a story about a woman and man who were in a meat locker when the tornado struck their restaurant. The woman was holding onto her husband and an anchor within the meat locker to keep them from being pulled into the destructive tornado. The woman was holding on so hard to save their lives that she broke her ankles and both wrists. The winds were too much and the husband had to eventually let go. His last words "Read Psalms 91." Our pastor also discussed the thousands of students that are now without schools and an education system for the fall. All I could do was weep.

The message this morning was the gut check that I needed. I am so blessed and to have one second of "woe is me" over superficial things was simply unacceptable. There are thousands of people without homes and loved ones whose needs are far beyond mine. Life is good and God is good and sometimes we need to take a step back and appreciate our blessings.

Our church is sending gift cards to Joplin. They currently have too many supplies and have nowhere to store most of them. They have asked we send gift cards to the local business that are still standing. If you want to get involved you can go here. We are also going to send over 10,000 pairs of shoes to Joplin in the next several weeks. That information is also available on the website if you feel your are being called to make a difference in Joplin. Even the small things can help.

The take away message for me and I hope for you is that no matter what challenges, stresses or obstacles you are faced with, there is always someone out there who could be struggling with more. We all need to count our blessings and realize what we DO have and not what we DONT have.

I hope everyone has a great week and takes the time to remember those less fortunate than most of us. 

This is how I am spending the rest of my day....

they were all three snoozin away...bailey woke up just as I snapped the pic

and i wouldn't have it any other way :)

the cutest thing

He has offically taken over one of the guest rooms...I finally surrendered and he has his own sheets now too. He sure makes it hard for me to leave for work in the mornings. look how precious he is. I always say...i can't imagine how much you love your children, because I know how much I love our dogs :)

Small town USA

TGIF! i love fridays!

Just wanted to share about a concert Kev and I attended a few weeks ago with one of our favorite couple friends. Insert Meg and Justin:

Meg and I met in 2007 when my bestest girlfriend, Katrina, introduced us to each other at the gym. Meg and I were both going to attend OT school together in the fall. We hit it off from the start. Meg is a good ole Eastern Kentucky gal raised on cornbread and taters like me hehe. 

After our first year of OT school, we took our friendship to the next level and became roommies. I LOVED our apt. Meg was the perfect roomie and not to mention she gave me weekly mani and pedis that were equal to any nail salon in Lex. She is a doll and has one of the sweetest hearts of any girl I know. We shared so many good times together (good/bad/pretty/ugly) on Cannock drive...times I will never ever forget. She is that friend you can always, always go to and know she will offer nothing but pure friendship that is incapable of being critical or judgemental.. If you cant tell already...I ADORE her! Justin and I go even farther back than megs and I . Me and Justin both grew up in Whitesburg and were in the same circle of friends. I was ecstatic when they began dating.

 A few months ago, Megan and Justin became engaged and are planning a labor day weekend wedding tucked away in the gorgeous mountains of Eastern Kentucky. I am so thankful to get to be a part of their big day. I love them both to death and I am so excited to share their next chapter with them. Meg's MOH and I are hosting the bachelorette party at my house in August....i absolutely can not wait!

So now that you have met megan and justin (look for many posts to come in the future), Look at all the fun we had at the Justin Moore concert that was here in lex at Kev's favorite venue located   in the Lexington Distillery District, home of former bourbon distilleries and warehouses. Buster's is a bar that has that "rock-n-roll" kinda feel with a concert hall. Kev has seen several bands there. We were so excited when we learned Justin Moore was playing there.

Justin Moore is a country singer with hits including: "Small Town USA", "How I Got to Be This Way," and "If Heavan Wasn't Far Away." He's pro NRA, chevy truck driving, southern raised, old school style, country crooner. We loved him!! He played for almost 2 straight hours and did some pretty darn good Bob Seger and Skynyrd covers. This guy was the real deal. If you are a country music lover you have to buy his album.

Here are some pics from the night. Good times were had by all :)

a great night!

 

The lead guitarist and keyboard player were both from Eastern Kentucky...check out the UK Hat



 The Justin Moore concern made me so proud that night to have southern/country roots. It was nice to share the moment with people who have the same upbringing and simply get what being from the country is all about at the heart and soul. loved every second of it!!!!

"Give me a Saturday night, my baby by my side
David Allen Coe and a six pack of lights
An old dirt road and I'll be just fine
Give me a Sunday morning that's full of grace
A simple life and I'll be okay, here in small town USA, oh yeah

I wouldn't trade one single day
Proud to say I love this place"

- Justin Moore

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!







What I'm Loving Wednesday

I am loving JUNE!!! Only 15 more days to my birthday J I love the heat of late spring and early summer and everything that comes along with it. Pools, cookouts, late evening walks with the doggies, flip flops, sun tan lines, laying out, vacation, sun dresses, hiking, motorcycle rides, shorts, bbqs, the lake….you name it and I LOVE summertime.

I am loving that we bought arborvitae trees yesterday to add some more landscaping and privacy to our back yard. KR is not loving the cost of a tree this day and age…but I am definitely loving what the finish product will be.  Trees will be installed in the next week or so. Yay!

I am loving blogging!  I am still getting the hang of things…so please be patient. There are some pretty awesome gals out there J

I am loving that my parents are coming to visit us next weekend. We have a weekend planned for landscaping and painting. I am loving that my lil granny may come with them (she is the one in the pink...so precious) 

 

I am loving life lately and I am so thankful for all my many blessings.

I am loving that one of my besties birthday is Saturday. Love you Angie J

Go link up with Jamie at This kind of love for more of What I'm Loving Wednesday.

hope everyone is having a fantastic week!