Bible Study Trip

Mom sporting her new ride! ha!

Me, Andrea, Adelle, Diane, Judy, Kaye, Debbie, Mom, Melanie, Sharon, and Betty.

Andrea with the bag Mom made!

I'm WAY late in posting this- forgot these pics were on my phone. Our Bible Study ladies this summer have been working on a study, "Reflecting His Glory" by Andrea Lennon. It has been a life changing study, and I highly recommend it! Andrea lives in Conway, so we couldn't resist having lunch with her. She's such a sweetheart!! After lunch at Cracker Barrel, we traveled on down to Hobby Lobby and TJ Maxx for a little shopping. It was a great day! We were all so happy Mom didn't mind driving the HUGE bus!

Our 8 year Anniversary

Luke's Meal

My Meal

Yummy Fried Rice

Gotta love HORRIBLE I phone pics

Luke and I celebrated 8 years of marriage on June 28th! My how time flies. I am thrilled to still have my best friend. Luke was my only boyfriend, first kiss, and we've known each other a LONG time! I'll never forget when I first met him in 7th grade- couldn't stand the boy!!! Guess time does change a girls feelings for sure!

We celebrated by having dinner at Sakura. It was wonderful! We both got the fillet and shrimp, and I could eat a ton of their rice and vegetables. Afterward, we did what any old married couple would do- shop Best Buy and Petco. We ended the night with yogurt from Lemon Tree. It was a fun way to celebrate our 8 years- here's to many more Luke!

Our Day with Lily

Lily and Her "Panna Bear" I made for her- it's looking a little ragged, might need a new one for her birthday!

Me & Lily at Burger King

Miss Sprinkler Diva




Loving on Aunt Melissa

Lily and Uncle Luke

Doing some painting (working on early Christmas Presents!!!)




In our PJ's and Baking Cookies

Watching Veggie Tales

Luke and I had the awesome opportunity to keep Lily on Saturday night. She stayed with us for about 4 hours, and we had a blast! I was so excited. I stocked up on craft stuff and slice and bake cookies at the store. We picked her up, went to Burger King and ate. Then it was back to our house for some fun! We played in the sprinklers, finger painted, baked cookies, and watched the DBD (as Lily called it) of the Veggie Tales and Jonah. George even loved on Lily which surprised me. It was a great time with Aunt Melissa and Uncle Luke!

Natalie's Baby Shower

Natalie and her gifts from Mom

Natalie with a yummy cake!

Mom and Natalie

Me and Heather

The Cake

The food

Me and Mom

The loot

Me and Natalie

Today Mom and I went to Natalie's Baby shower for little Kingston. She got some awesome gifts and the shower was really nice. It was fun getting to visit with Heather- as I hadn't seen her in forever!!! Enjoy the pics!

Hand Knits By Melissa

I'm going on a new endeavor! I'm starting my own side business- Hand Knits By Melissa. I decided since I loved knitting so much, why not share it with others. Check out my new blog/website at:

www.handknitsbymelissa.blogspot.com

Let me know what you think! I'm so excited!

Branson with the Hubby

Me & the hubby

Does this lovely coconut couple favor us?

I'm kinda diggin' the yellow polka dot bikini- LOL!

The Boss of the Sauce- or so he thinks!

Our delicious lunch

SDC Honey Blackberry

Smokin' that meat

BBQ'ers

BBQ and Blue Grass

The past Saturday Luke and I took a day trip to Silver Dollar city. I'm so thankful Luke talked me into wearing jeans- as it was in the 50's in Branson! Luke and I stopped at the Walmart in Harrison to see if we could find some jackets. We scored a sweatshirt for Luke and a $5 jacket for me! At SDC was the Bluegrass and BBQ Festival. We stopped at the Reunion Hall to have lunch. We decided to go for the Silver Dollar City BBQ sauce which was Honey Blackberry. It was really good! Well, good except for the fact that the lady sitting at our table decided to breast feed right in front of us! That made for a fun memory!

We headed on up the hill and heard the Kruger's playing bluegrass music. It was so wonderful!! We walked around and then landed at the Funnel Cake Booth to sample a funnel cake and some hot chocolate.

After Silver Dollar City, we headed on up to Branson Landings. We shopped and walked around. The weather was great, and it was so good to spend quality time with Luke! We ate dinner at Steak and Shake and then headed home. It was a long day- but a lot of fun!

A Grandmother's Shower

The Bible Study Ladies: Debbie, Berta, Michelle, Sharon, Melanie, Diane, Mom, Kaye, Betty, Adelle, and Judy. Sorry we missed Debbie, Pam, and Dana!

Adelle

Sharon- the lovely assistant- and Mom

Mom got a glider!

Sweet Maddie and Pam- love them!!!!

Mom with some bibs- she got a lot of those!!!

The ladies checking out the loot

More bibs

The duck blanket I knitted

This past Tuesday, the Bible Study ladies (and a few extras) threw Mom her first ever Grandmother's Shower. It was a lot of fun, and Mom got some great gifts. When all the ladies started arriving, Mom didn't have a clue. She never noticed all the gift sacks laying around. When Pam, Debbie, and Dana got there, we had to tell her that this was HER shower!!!! LOL
We had King Ranch Casserole, Green Beans, Strawberry Salad, and Cupcakes for dessert!

I guess I should clarify things a bit- this is for my NEPHEW, Luke and I are NOT having a baby. This was a complete surprise to our family, but in late July we expect Chris's 1st son to be here- Kingston Edward- is the name. To say I was completely surprised that my brother will be having a baby of his own, would have been an understatement!!!

I always expected Luke and I would be the ones to have the first grandchild, but the Lord had other plans, and I've had a hard time with that. I always thought that we would have been married a few years- and had a baby. But, the Lord hasn't placed that desire on our hearts at all. I sometimes question- "Why not??? Everyone else is having babies"- But, then I realize that we've never been one to follow a crowd, and I'm so busy with the things I volunteer with, that I don't miss having a baby! So, maybe the Lord's will and desire for our lives is for us to reach out to others instead.

I am tired of the fact though, that Luke and I sometimes feel like there is something wrong with us in not having a desire for children. We know that when the Lord has it in His timing, then we will both feel the desire for it. That timing just isn't now. Sometimes the pressure from others is unreal and disheartening for us both. We feel the need to explain, it's awkward, and it hurts, and really- it's basically no one's business but our own!

All of that being said, I was happy to throw this shower for Mom. It maybe the only grandmother shower she has- but then again maybe not. We'll just see what the Almighty God has up His sleeve. If it's anything like I've already experienced, I think it will blow my mind for sure- and maybe my socks off!! 8)