daydreams and disasters

Ella is 1!!!

2010-02-02T13:24:00.007-07:00

Ella Bella

2009-09-17T12:50:00.006-07:00

Kacey took Ella's six month old pics...aren't they to die for??? Kacey is an absolutely amazing photographer and an incredible friend...I love you, girl.
www.kaceyluvi.com

Bye Bye Summer

2009-08-23T14:08:00.006-07:00

Here are some pics from our summer...we spent a couple of weeks in Texas with TONS of family. Ella is sitting up, almost crawling, has a tiny little tooth, and has starting eating solid foods...my baby is growing up!

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-06T21:22:00.003-07:00

Don't you just love her 'iPood' shirt?!? Kacey got that for Ella! :) She's growing up sooooo fast. Everyone told me that she would. She is the love of my life.

Father's Day and What Not

2009-06-21T17:33:00.002-07:00

We took Jeremy to Outback for his first Father's Day! Something I get to enjoy, too...I ain't dumb! :) Here are some other cute pictures of Ella and me reading, her playing, and pics with her new bow that Nonnie got her... The bows keep getting bigger and bigger!!! My nephew Cade asked Sarah if Ella was a present one day! Ha!

Ella's Mimi

2009-06-01T13:20:00.004-07:00

Jeremy's mom and step dad stayed with us this past week! We had so much fun! Ella's Mimi is a photographer, and we went to the park to take a few shots of Ella! Here she is at four months old.... aren't these pictures AWESOME!!!! Go Mimi!!!

The Wedding and some Cuties

2009-05-27T20:23:00.004-07:00

Our worship leader, Joey, married his beautiful bride, Shari, this past weekend. It was a beautiful wedding...so much fun! Jeremy officiated and did an amazing job. I'm so proud of him. Jeremy's mom did the photography! Here are a few shots of Ella at the wedding, and then Mommy and Ella had an 'in home' photo shoot the other day! I can't believe she'll be four months old tomorrow. :)

We Have a Roller!

2009-05-19T23:23:00.003-07:00

The perfect toe point!!! I'm so proud. :)

Do you think I have too many toys dangling from her play place???

I LOVE how you can see her face in the mirror...

I kept trying to get a good picture of her in her darling outfit, but all she could stare at was her gold shoes!

SHE ROLLED OVER!!!!

MORE ROLLING OVER!!!!

So proud of herself!

Tonight Miss Ella rolled over all by herself for the first time! Mommy and Daddy are so proud. She started on her back and rolled over to her stomach, then after a few seconds, she rolled back over to her back. Just absolutely precious. And, of course Mommy had her camera in the diaper bag. I'm always prepared for a 'new' moment. :)

Just Some Pics of My Baby

2009-05-17T22:37:00.005-07:00

This is my 'catch up' blog. Ok, we've a little bit of everything in this one...Easter pics, Mother's Day, Ella's beautiful dress that she is wearing to all the weddings we are going to this summer, goofing off with Daddy, and just some cute pics that I thought I'd throw in there to mix it up a bit. :) Enjoy!

Swimming!

2009-05-16T20:54:00.003-07:00

Ella didn't know what to think of the water at first! She was very calm and taking it all in. Then, by the end of day she was smiling. I love these moments with my baby. :)

Fun Fotos with the Family

2009-05-01T22:35:00.003-07:00

We had a blast when Jeremy's dad, step mom, sis, and bro came to town! We went to a ball game, an old western town, and got to spend Easter together!

Visit from Sarah, Kenley, and Kyle

2009-04-06T21:58:00.006-07:00

This is how we found Kyle one night...wild sleeper!

This is the flower clip that Kenley made for Ella!!! Too precious!

I wanted to get a good picture of the three kiddos. They had a different idea...in this one Kyle wanted to hug Ella! I love how all you can see is her gigantic flower poking up!

Kenley got in trouble in this pic for laying down with Ella! Kyle is showing us his best disco move. :)

This is the best one from the photo session. :)

At the park...

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Kenley and Jeremy's acrobatics

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Sleepin' at Freestone Park

Sweet Kyle

Ella is mesmerized by her hands right now.

Ella just loved Kyle and Kenley. She lit up whenever she saw them.

Fun day at the park!

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Feedin' the ducks!

Sweet cousins :)

I love this one!

We had so much! It was so nice for Sarah, Kenley, and Kyle to be here. We missed Lance and Cade, but we'll see them soon. Ella LOVES her Aunt and cousins. She is named after her Aunt Sarah Nichole. Sarah taught me how to cook healthy while she was here. I learned that you can have vegetables for lunch. :)

Simply Gorgeous

2009-03-28T21:21:00.002-07:00

My friend, Kacey, captures Ella's beauty inside and out. I love my baby girl.

Nonnie and Paw Paw's Visit

2009-03-20T12:52:00.005-07:00

Her new thing is sticking out her tongue!

Isn't that precious with my mom's hands and Ella looking at her???

Fallin' asleep on Paw Paw

I'm such a great photographer...can you see my shoe in the left hand corner and the shadow of the camera cord?

Once again...the camera cord! But, who notices that with this beautiful face!

Ella and Mommy with our matching hot pink head accessories!

Ella and her Nonnie...Ella just adores her!

I could just cry..... I love this picture soooo much!!!

I love it when I get her smiling on camera. :)

Simply beautiful...

Ella and Reese...her baby BFF!

Well, Nonnie and Paw Paw left early this morning. The house won't be the same without them! My favorite part was the home cooked breakfasts every morning. :) We had so much fun!

Ella is 6 weeks old

2009-03-12T20:11:00.002-07:00

Aren't I the cutest???

My BFF Reese! They were born 12 days apart. :)

I LOVE my Daddy!!!

Already a Cowboys fan!

Beautiful baby

Smiling

2009-03-05T22:45:00.004-07:00

Can you believe I got pictures of her smiling like this??
I LOVE HER TO PIECES!!!!!!!

My mom made Ella some amazing monogrammed burp cloths...I love them!

Ella is 5 weeks old!!!

Ella and Jenni...and another one of my mom's awesome burp cloths!

Cute Outfits!

2009-03-04T15:34:00.001-07:00

I just love that beautiful face!!!

Our Trip to Texas - Yee Haw!

2009-02-24T10:36:00.005-07:00

Ella's first plane ride!

My cousins Matt and James with Ella

Ella's BFF Mary and Aunt Jan

4 Generations!

Great Grandparents Nana and Gandy

Uncle John!!!

Great Grandparents Granny and Poppy

Cousins Trinity and Gavin

Molly and Ella (that's me hiding!..I looked horrible)

Ella's first shopping trip to North Park mall in Dallas

Aunt Diane, Brooke, Cassie, Me, and Ella

Ella with her Great Grandmothers Grammy and Nana

Wow...what a trip! We saw EVERYONE while we were there! So much family to see, so little time. It was a whirlwind! Ella defititely has a strong fan base. She is so loved!

My Beautiful Ella Nichole

2009-02-13T23:57:00.004-07:00

There are no words to describe these pictures. My beautiful friend, Kacey, took these shots of Ella when she was four days old. Wow...simply wow.

The Harper Family Photos

2009-02-10T01:14:00.004-07:00

Jeremy's mom took all these pics on Sunday. Ella is 11 days old. I LOVE these pictures! She is so talented. Check out her website:

http://www.photosaredivine.com/

On Our Own

2009-02-08T23:58:00.005-07:00

A collection of her hosptial memorabilia.

Ella and Papa G!

Ella and Mimi!

Long toes!!!

She already has gymnast fingers. :) Mommy is so proud.

Sorry, I had to post these two pics so I could put them on my phone...long story.

Ella and her bunny that Nonnie gave her!

I LOVE this one!

Beautiful Baby!

Well, Jeremy's mom and step dad flew back to Texas today. :( The Harper family is on their own. So far I've cried, Ella's cried (but for different reasons), we've had a diaper explosion followed by her best throw up session yet. Projectile. :) I'm excited about our journey. I love my baby to pieces.

Just For Fun...

2009-02-07T13:21:00.002-07:00

Ella's first bath...I like to think that she was thinking, "Mommy!!! Save Me!!!"

This is Stitch...our mighty protector! He already loves Ella...he lets her put her feet on him! A step in the right direction!!!

Proud parents at the hospital!

I don't know why, but I LOVE this picture of her! Once again I imagine that she's reaching out for me! ;)

Auntie Kacey and Ella are both sporting their hot pink flowers...this was not planned. Kacey and I always have this weird fashion thing where we're both thinking the same thing on the same day! Love it!

Heel Prick Day

2009-02-06T19:13:00.003-07:00

This pic is from yesterday, February 5th. We went to go look at a building for the church.

Home from the prick...in Mommy's arms...much happier!

Look at that beautiful face!

"Where's my Binkie???"

Ahhhhhh! Much better!

Today Jeremy and I took Ella to the hospital to do the dreaded heel prick. It was horrible. We both almost cried and Jeremy told me that can't do that again. I don't blame him!

Ella Nichole

2009-02-04T20:39:00.005-07:00

Sleeping Beauty

1st Doctor Visit!

Her Daddy is so proud!

The Harper Family

Nonnie and Paw Paw love her soooooo much!

Jeremy bought Ella and I tulips tonight. We are so lucky to have the best husband/daddy in whole wide world. :)

Peek -a -boo at the hospital

Look at those beautiful lips

First picture at the hospital

So beautiful

Every time her bow would fall, she would let out this big noise...never cried, but definitely let me knew she was not happy!

These are my booties from when I was a baby.

My baby is 1 week old today! Ella Nichole was born on January 28th at 12:54am. She was 7lbs 9oz and 20 inches long. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid eyes on...I am so in love.

Not Yet

2009-01-20T22:17:00.004-07:00

Still no Ella. My official due date is Thursday. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow, so I'll definitely post the results from the doctor.

My wonderful friend, Kacey, needed to take some new maternity pics for her website. She called up her VERY pregnant friend to help her out in this area...because sticking pillows up girl's shirts just doesn't cut it in the photography world. These are some of the shots she took. She rocks! I love her so much!

http://kaceyluvi.blogspot.com/

We Have Action

2009-01-14T15:36:00.002-07:00

Today I went to the doctor and my cervix has thinned and I'm 1cm dilated!!!!! She really is coming! I was glad that I got some good news because someone was going to get punched in the face if nothing was going on down there. :)

10 Days

2009-01-12T15:56:00.001-07:00

10 Days and counting til her due date. i'm bursting with anticipation. i literally don't know how much more i can wait.

Waiting

2009-01-07T16:50:00.003-07:00

I am very ready for Ella to arrive. Everyday I wake up and think that today could be the day! What will she look like? How much will she weigh? Will the bows look too big on her tiny head? These are just some of the questions that go circling through my brain.

Maternity Shots

2009-01-05T19:15:00.002-07:00

Jeremy's mom took these shots of us...isn't she talented! I'm 32 weeks pregnant here.

HUGE UPDATE

2009-01-05T19:07:00.002-07:00

Our Nephew, Gavin Avery, was born on his Uncle Jeremy's birthday...September 12th! Isn't he precious!!!

Here I am at 37 weeks...her room is ready and my bag is packed for the hospital!

Christmas!!! Jeremy and John with their matching Cowboys hats!

Ell'a beautiful bedding!

28 Weeks

2008-11-05T15:40:00.001-07:00

My beautiful baby girl! Here she is at 28 weeks...just growing!

I'm Getting Bigger!

2008-10-06T17:09:00.003-07:00

Here I am six months! 24 weeks down.....she's coming! Today one of the youth at our church came over to put together Ella's crib and changing table. When we opened up the crib, there was a broken piece. The company was great, though. They are mailing us a brand new piece this week! He put the changing table together and it is adorable! Jeremy even acted out changing the baby...he's going to be an amazing dad!

Miss Ella

2008-10-01T21:10:00.005-07:00

This blog may be better entitled 'The Ella Blog' from now on. She is all I think about! Poor Lilo...I'm afraid she's about to have a rude awakening come January 22nd, 2009. (as she lays in lap right now while I'm typing)

When we found out she was a girl, Jeremy wanted to do something special. We didn't tell anyone at church what we were having yet. Which was hard because EVERYONE knew we were going to have the sonogram! The Sunday after we found out, Jeremy bought some letters and ironed 'It's a Girl' onto his under shirt. Then, we did the big revealing! He played it up, unbuttoned his shirt, and showed the church that it was a girl! Everyone cheered! I was super impressed because he thought of this all on his own...very special.

This is me and Jenni before we went to Babies R Us to register! We had so much fun picking everything out. It was VERY hard to not go all girly...but I was smart and all the big items I registered for (high chair, stroller, car seat, pack n play) could be for either a girl or boy. But, trust me, everything else is going to be big bows, leopard print, and pink!

My sis in law made fun of me because I ordered a crib and changing table that is pink shabby chic. My reasoning for getting these lovely items was that the crib changes into a toddler bed and the changing table can be used to hold baskets of toys later. :)

Is this just not the cutest outfit you've ever seen!?!

Here is AZ shower invitation...only a few more weeks!

New Nephew

2008-09-22T21:13:00.002-07:00

Amanda had Gavin Avery Patterson on Jeremy's birthday! How cool! He is so precious and he looks like Jeremy...freaky. I can't wait to go see him! Here are some pics of him.

IT'S A GIRL!!!

2008-09-15T14:27:00.002-07:00

Here is Ella at 9 weeks.

Here she is again at 21 weeks...already precious!

Her Daddy is already spoiling her with gifts! Jeremy chose this bib and pink poodle for her first gifts.

Here I am at 21 weeks after we found out that she's a girl!!! Of course we had to wait 30 minutes in the waiting room last Wednesday before the sonogram. The anticipation was killing me! Then, we went into the room, she told us that she was going to do all the measurements first! I wanted to scream!!! She is healthy, growing, and perfect! I can't believe how much I already love her. I also can't believe how Jeremy is already so protective of her. I love it. I'm really enjoying being pregnant now. The first trimester was absolutely horrible. She is moving and kicking so much. One time she gave me a good one,two punch to the gut. :)

Class of 2008

2008-05-15T22:31:00.002-07:00

This is my brother, John. He is 5 years younger than me. He graduated from college last week. He's going to be a math teacher. Both of my parents are teachers and I have been a teacher. I guess it runs in the family. I am so proud of him. You go John!

My mom, my Aunt Jan, my Grammy, and me all waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin!

A pic of the fam.

John with both of our grandmother's; Nana and Grammy.

This is us with our dad and grandfather, Gandy. We had so much fun together at his graduation!

Trucks, Army Men, and Blue

2008-05-01T23:07:00.003-07:00

Amanda is having a baby boy!!!!! She just found out today! Gavin Avery Patterson will be here around September 25th. I can hardly wait!

The Little Ones I Love

2008-04-30T23:31:00.004-07:00

My precious nieces and nephews. I love them too much. Jeremy has two younger sisters and these are their children. Amanda is pregnant with her second and finding out what she is having tomorrow! I can hardly wait! Enjoy these pics...

This is Kyle. Sarah's youngest.

Kenley, Cade, and Kyle all give each other an Easter hug!

Trinity and Kenley...sweet cousins!

I love this pic of Trinity. Such a serious soccer girl. :) Amanda said she was scared half to death at her first game! She wouldn't go out on the field!

Too cute!

The two princesses.

LOL! Cade posing as Batman.

A recent pic of Kyle. I can't believe he is already 4 months old.

Kenley in her Easter dress.

Go Trinity!!!

Weary Travelers

2008-04-21T22:08:00.008-07:00

Whew...what a week! We were in six states this past week. Now, some of the states we were only there for brief moment, and in an airplane, but still...six states. Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Illinois, California, and back to Arizona. Our first stop was Houston, TX where we had a two hour lay over. Then, we were off to Birmingham, AL for the annual ARC conference. Mike was with us and we met up with Joey. It was motivating, inspiring, and life changing. I'm so glad we went. I feel recharged and energized. We saw some of our dear friends and listened to amazing speakers while we were there.

After that we hopped on a plane that went to Nashville, TN. Hopped off that plane and got on another one which went to Chicago, IL (I really want to go back there), then took off from there and landed in San Jose, CA at 10pm that night. We stayed in San Jose that night, then rented a mini van to gather up some donated church equipment. We drove from San Jose to the Fresno area (about 4 hours) and got some speakers, wedges, light thingamajig, snake (not a real one...the wire thing), and a lot of other techy stuff. We packed it all up and drove to Barstow, CA (another four hours) for the evening where we made camp. The next day (Friday) we drove it on home to Gilbert (about six hours). Here are some pics from our week...

This is Selina. She and Ryan, her hubby, are planting a church in Chattanooga, TN next January. We have really gotten close them. They are pregnant and due July 2nd. (My momma's bday) They are having a boy, Gannon!

This lovely couple is our sponsoring church for ARC! Peter and Carolyn are amazing! We love them so much and are so thankful for them. We went and visited their church, Substance Church in Minnesota, last September. We had an instant connection with them. They really keep us motivated!

Jeremy got us a fabulous deal through Hotwire at the Sheraton in Birmingham! I think he was a little excited when we crossed over the sky link into the grand hotel! Good job Babe!

Here are my boys on their laptops at the airport. What dorks.

The yellow sign in the background is the focus of this picture. Isn't that sad?

Ok, last August when we went through the ARC assessment these are the three others couples that made it out alive!!! We have a really cool bond with them. We have all been through the process of ARC together and are launching churches together across the country. It was like a family reunion! The couple next to me and Jeremy is Shane and Rachel who started Freedom Church in Indiana two months ago. Next to them are Dan and Stephanie who started a church in New Jersey a month ago. Then, Ryan and Selina will launch The Net Church in TN next January. Very cool.

Cheese.

I call this my Panera Bread masterpiece.

One of the many mountain ranges we drove through in California.

Another one.

Say it with me now...Awwwww

Workin' hard for the money.

I'm trying to get more artsy with my photos...don't really know if I accomplished that here...but, I'm trying.

When we were on our excursion through Cali, we came across hundreds of these giant propeller thingys. Don't know what they are or what they do, but they sure were interesting!

They were everywhere for about a mile on either side of the highway!

For a second I thought we had hit warp speed and were on another planet.

ATTACK OF THE BLADES!!!

Website

2008-04-18T19:54:00.010-07:00

Hey world...check out our website! Mike is doing an amazing job! Since we've gained control over it, I don't think he has slept. Seriously, he has been working on it day and night. Check out the staff page, photo page, and video page. Those are my favorites. :)

http://www.thevoyagechurch.com

Sunday Nights and a Cone

2008-04-13T19:45:00.003-07:00

This blog is two fold. First it's about my Sunday night blues. I don't know what it is about Sunday nights. Well, maybe I have a little bit of a clue. We wake up at the crack of dawn, slave to set up a church in a movie theater, then I entertain kindergarten - 5th graders for an hour, and finally we pack it all back up in a 26 foot trailer that is returned to Public Storage. We come home and we are exhausted. My legs are usually aching. So, my therapy for the evening is an apple cinnamon candle, a venti white chocolate mocha frappicino with whip, a Reeses, and of course...US Weekly. Pathetic, I know. Jeremy usually watches something violent.

The next part is about Lilo. Most of you know that the vet burned her chest during a recent teeth cleaning (don't ask). This past week she wouldn't leave her wound alone and it was getting worse. So, the vet gave us a cone. Poor thing has to wear a cone. She hates it. When I first put it on her Stitch was scared half to death of it! It was really funny. She was scratching at it trying to get it off and he wouldn't go near her for about 30 minutes.

I think he's still a little scared.

:(

Paradise

2008-04-10T17:48:00.008-07:00

It felt like we were in Paradise this past week. Jeremy took me to the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Peak in Phoenix for a romantic getaway. We went down the lazy river and water slide. It was right up our alley...we love stuff like that. :) It definitely was relaxing, but we've been back in full swing with church work since we got back. :( I love my husband and I'm so thankful that he plans fun little vacations for us. We got a little silly and took some pics...here they are...

Bewildered...

Woo Hoo!!!

Yeah!!!

Grumpy...

Oh My Word!!!

Slurp...

Do you see the birdie?

Go Speed Racer

2008-04-09T23:07:00.007-07:00

Here is another video that Mike did from our series "30 Days to Live". Part of the skydiving video is on the beginning and the end is the race car. It's pretty stinkin' cool! Go Jeremy!

Pepin

2008-04-08T22:52:00.003-07:00

Our friends, Carlos and Elizabeth, took us out to their favorite restaurant last Friday night. Pepin's has a lot of sentimental value to them...it was where they got married! The Spanish food was absolutely delicious! Jeremy and I have been raving about the tomato sauce to everyone we come in contact with! Then, during dinner, three flamingo dancers came out and strutted their stuff. They were so graceful, beautiful, and excellent dancers. After all that, the DJ started setting up for salsa dancing. This restaurant transformed to a salsa hot spot right before our eyes. Jeremy and I were a little gun shy at the salsa dancing. We watched Carlos and Elizabeth, though! They were amazing! Jeremy wants us to take lessons before we make a fool of ourselves on the dance floor. :)

Elizabeth and I got some romantic roses to finish off the perfect night!

Twins Separated at Birth

2008-04-04T15:36:00.008-07:00

I had the honor to speak with Ashley during the beginning stages of PINC. It was a moment in my life that I will never forget. I can remember PINC getting started, the rehearsals, the sleepless nights, the tears, the laughter...oh the laughter! She has kept her dream alive and is still ministering to girls all over the country. I'm so proud of her.

Here's what freaky... When Jeremy and I moved to Gilbert I literally found her twin. Kacey came to shoot some photographs at one of our previews and we immediately hit it off. We talked about MAC make up, hair, she even cut my hair one time. We were instant friends. Now, Kacey has started a ministry for teenage girls, as well, called Pearls. Spooky and ironic, I know. Two girls, same heart, one Jamie.

Click on their links to read more about their heartfelt ministries. Love you girls!!!

PINC Ministries
http://www.pincministries.com

PEARLS Ministries
http://pearlsministries.blogspot.com

The Sky is Falling

2008-04-03T18:13:00.007-07:00

Really it's Jeremy falling...from the sky. In our new series called 30 Days to Live Jeremy is doing some death defying stunts to get our attention. He always said that he never wanted to jump out a plane. I mean, why would anyone jump out of a perfectly good plane? It's ridiculous. Now, if you were in an emergency situation and plane was on fire or somethings...by all means..JUMP! Jeremy and Mike went to Eloy, AZ for their skydiving excursion. Here is the video that we showed in church. Mike shot all the video on the ground, then a trained professional had a video camera on her helmet for the descent. Mike did a great job on this video...it's one of my favorites.

School Picture Day

2008-04-02T23:54:00.010-07:00

Didn't you always dread school picture day? I mean the pressure of capturing who you are and what you look like. The thought of that one picture in a yearbook...FOREVER... We had our own picture day at The Voyage Church. I want to introduce everyone to a few new staff members.

This is Joey Ebach. Awesome story with Joey. He had plans to move to Tennessee...Jeremy called him...we all prayed...he came and visited...now he's moving here in May. His girlfriend, Shari, will also be moving the valley. Wow, go God. He is the worship leader/youth pastor. Here is his myspace link: www.myspace.com/theuprisingsongs

Oh, Mike Brown...there are no words to describe you. You truly are one of a kind.

Mike has been here with us since day one. He is in charge of production at the church. We couldn't do it without him...he is irreplaceable.

30 Days to Live

2008-03-27T15:04:00.014-07:00

Our next series at church is called "30 Days to Live." Jeremy is getting to do all these cool things for the series! What would you do if you only had 30 days to live? Well, Jeremy wanted to be in a race car. So, here we are at a track while he gets to ride in a yellow corvette going 125 mph! He said it was awesome! (he was a little scared the first time around) They videotaped the inside of the car while they were driving! Mike is going to put together a video to show the church. And today...he went skydiving! I need to take out a bigger life insurance policy on my husband...

On your mark...get set...GO!!!

Chris videotaped the whole thing...

Mom, Geno, and I waited patiently...

That yellow blur is Jeremy zooming by...

He made it out alive!

This is the guy that drove...

We bought this car for me afterwards...yeah right.

Pretty...pretty...

We went and had lunch at Whataburger before Mom and Geno had to go to the airport. We miss them already!

The Easter Bunny Wuz Here 3-22-08

2008-03-26T22:59:00.015-07:00

10,000 Easter Eggs!!! They were gone in 2.8 seconds! :) We had 3,000 people show up for our Easter egg hunt! It truly was amazing! We were all running around like crazy! It was a fun and positive day for The Voyage Church. We had 183 at our service on Sunday! God is so good!!!

We only had a few angry parents because their kids didn't get enough eggs...but most of them were happy campers...or should I say 'happy eggers'. :) Here are a few pics of the day...

Gettin' the day started off right with a few thousand eggs to throw!

At one point the lines were so long it made my stomach churn!

Rockin' Rabbit givin' some high fives. Rockin' Rabbit made his musical debut at our egg hunt! He was a hit!

This is Megan...isn't she precious?

Here is sweet Luke. His mom, Jennie, is one of my BF's here.

Look at all that sugar! We ran out of cones and bags to put the cotton candy in, so we had to resort to grocery bags! (the lady who i rented the machine from told me that there was no way we would go through 400 bags...think again!!!)

Michelle worked her tail off at the tattoo booth! We had over 900 tattoos and at the end of the day they were all gone!

Showin' off their cookies that they made.

Look how excited she is! Get ready to bounce!

We had a baby bounce house too for all the youngsters.

Easter Bonnet Time!

We went through 125 large pizzas that day! 95 of them were donated. Jeremy had to make a pizza run right in the middle of the hunt and order 30 more! Crazy!

Me with Jona aka Rockin' Rabbit

My New Do

2008-03-26T22:41:00.003-07:00

Alright...here is the hair....

Lookin' Good!

Desert Beauty

2008-03-14T22:02:00.007-07:00

Today Jeremy, Jona, and Mike all drove to Eloy, Arizona to go skydiving. They signed their life away, watched a safety video, watched others plummet to the ground...then they got sent home. It was too windy today to jump out of an airplane towards the ground going 120 mph. Jeremy and Mike will return with anticipation next week. But, they got some cool pics of the beautiful desert!

This cactus is about 30 feet tall!!!

This is Superstition Mountain. It's about 20 minutes from our house in Gilbert.

Cool pic of our friend Jona! He is here from San Marcos to lead worship for a few weeks.

I love this pic of the horizon and Mike sitting there in his Voyage church t-shirt. Too cool dude.

Video

2008-03-13T19:26:00.003-07:00

I just saw the video link and wanted to check it out...Let's see if this thingy really works...it's a video of some fishies and sharks from our honeymoon at Atlantis in the Bahamas. In fact, if you are planning a vacation anytime soon, I highly recommend this location. I give it two thumbs up, five stars, a shout out, an exclamation point, a big woo hoo...

Commitment

2008-03-13T19:18:00.004-07:00

One of my best qualities that I have in my life is commitment. I love it how I vowed to write on my blog daily and really journal my life. HA! Yeah, that lasted a grand total of three days. Jeremy and I went flitting off to Sedona, then...after that...nothing. No blog. I'm sorry my dear readers. I know that you have been in an utter state of panic for quite some time. Please forgive me!

Seriously, I have been so busy. Busy really doesn't describe it. More like consumed. We are having a 10,000 egg Easter egg hunt on March 22, then our Easter service is the next day. Whew!

Hopefully, after the Easter madness, I'll be back in full blogger swing. But...don't hold your breath.

Vacation

2008-02-18T22:07:00.002-07:00

Jeremy is taking me to Sedona, Arizona tomorrow. Our new home for the next two days will be at a quaint bed and breakfast with a fireplace and gourmet treats. Sedona is suppossed to be one of the most relaxing places in the good ole US of A. We need a break from the worship guide stuffing, printer catastrophes, scheduling difficulties, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Some fresh air is going to do us some good. I can't wait.

Hula Ho

2008-02-17T22:26:00.006-07:00

Before I start this blog, please know that I am not calling anyone a garden tool. I am literally refering to a garden tool; the most amazing garden tool on the face of this weed stricken ball we live on. Allow me to back up a bit...

I received a letter in the mail from my landlord. Assuming that it wasn't a greeting card or last month's rent reimbursed to me, I reluctantly opened the white envelope. My suspicions were correct about the rent; it was a - and I quote - "Friendly Letter" from the Home Owners Assosication in our neighborhood, Finley Farms. Let me first say that Jeremy and I have been extremely busy with church, work, the flu, and rearranging our sock drawers. The letter stated in a very P.C. way that we needed to clean up our yard or else. I will admit that our tree looked like one giant bush, our Arizona rock yard was green with weeds, and our broken water hose had been sunbathing for quite some time. The outside had just not been a priority. (obviously)

So, I strap on my Nike's, put tiny plastic picking up poop bags on both my hands and dig right in. In case you don't already know this, trying to dig up weeds in rocks is not the easiest of challenges. One of my neighbors walks by, stands there, stares at me, and professes, "So, you got your letter from the HOA, huh?" Now that's sad when the neighbor notices how embarassingly bad your yard is that he knows the HOA sent you a piece of mail about the issue. But then, the most rejoiceful event took place, he introduced me to the Hula Ho. It's a simple looking machine, really. One long, wooden handle with a hollow square attached at the end. All you have to do is slide that puppy across the white rocks and presto! The weeds pop up before your very eyes! It's brilliant! A whole lot easier than hand picking 10, 568 weeds.

I went the whole 9 yards that night baby. I trimmed the trees, swept the front porch, bought a new unmolded, green welcome mat that states, 'Welcome' in cursive with black swirlies to the left of the bold letters. Gotta love Target. I even bought myself some purdy workin' gloves. After about the tenth cut from the sharp rock that the poopie baggies did not prevent, I decided to splurge with some real life gardening gloves. That is an investment that my hands thanked me for later. Hopefully, the HOA will show mercy and forgive us for our thumbs not being green.

Well, that's my Hula Ho story...and believe me...I'm stickin' to it.

BFF

2008-02-16T12:40:00.006-07:00

I have a very profound discovery to share with all of you today. Early this morning I decided that Miley Cyrus and I would undoubtedly be best friends. I have been toying with this notion ever since I saw 'Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour' at the Quarry Movie Theater in San Anton. As I professed my breaking news to my husband, he smirked and asked what had happened to Kelly Clarkson. You see, up until I saw the Tennessee phenomenon, Kelly was my #1 girl. I thoroughly explained to him that she never calls or writes, so I was moving on to greener pastures. Move over Kell - there's a new BFF in town. Now, I know that Miley is only 15 years old, but it would be like a big sis little sis kind of relationship between the two of us. She would come to me with all of her heart breaks and I would let her know when she is singing off key and politely show her the correct tone and pitch. We would be a hit...i can see the headlines now...'Miley and Jamie: Best of Both Friends Concert Tour'.

Ok, ok, enough goofing around. The real story is that my mom in law, sisters, nieces, and I went to the concert at the movies. It rocked! We had the time of our lives! By we I mean me, Sarah, Amanda, and Mom. The girls were tired from staying up to midnight with their responsible Aunt Jamie. We all fell head over heals for Miley. In fact, I say, "Miley Cyrus for President." Then, because I am her new bf, I can be vice-president. Wow, I'm getting way off track here. Sorry.

Ok, so recap of blog: Miley and Jamie Best Friends Forever and...watch out Hilary...there's a new girl on the ballot.

Hello World

2008-02-15T19:05:00.002-07:00

Well hello world. It's me, Jamie. I decided to dive into this cyberland of words, quotes, and sayings without turning back. I know it's going to be a bit scary at times, but I can handle a little bit of terror. The thought of sending out my meaningless typings into the darkness of the world wide web sends chills up my spine. Feelings, fears, likes, loves, facts, opinions...is blogger.com ready for me? We shall see. I am here and I am a blogger.