makes perfect sense...

bible.

may 22, 2011

that's the date of my husband's 30th birthday.  a little behind in posting his party pics, wouldn't ya say?  i totally spaced and can't move on with my celebration of fall and obsession with the colorful trees without posting the details of the surprise party.....so here goes:

on friday, may 20th, chris was under the impression that one of his best friends, chad, and his wife sarah were coming into town to spend the weekend and help celebrate him becoming an old man. :) (i can say that because i'm still in my 20's).  this is partially true, but they were also coming in for the party.  when they arrived, i had one job for chad: to keep chris out of my sight for the afternoon!  i really needed chris out of the house as i had to prepare for the party by setting up tables in our garage, prepare food, run errands, etc. and of course it was raining so chad's plan to take him golfing was scratched.  not my problem.  i put chad in charge so he was left to figure it out! hehe.

meanwhile, sarah and i ran around town with our hair on fire!  picking up cake, the fire pit, the fire wood and a few other things deemed exhausting so we were thankful for the help of my wonderful mother who could grab the balloons, bring the tables and chairs, make the drinks and help set things out while we quickly got ourselves thrown together for the party!

the guests slowly arrived and we waited for the boys to get back....

and when they did, i'd say chris was pretty surprised.....or he's a really good actor!

the party turnout was fabulous and i think everyone enjoyed themselves!  a few photos of our guests follow....

chris' classy gift from a couple of our friends, the boyer's

the infamous Wheatfield's strawberry wedding cake.....our birthday tradition!

i wish you could see how enormous this cake really was!

that's right, cheesy personalized candles thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law

such a proud host, i was

from left: my sister brooke, me, neighbor jason, jill, krista and jessica

my sister and friends: brooke, me, jill, krista and jessica

could not have pulled off the party without my sidekick: sarah!

chris and his buddies: travis, jeff, ron and jillian

my so-so-so-willing-to-help parents: mary jean and rod

my sister brooke and her boyfriend will

chris thought we were just spending a fun weekend with our friends chad and sarah

chris' sister laura and her boyfriend mike

chris' grandparents came from east moline, illinois! 

ron and joyce

the snyder girls: me, laura, my mother-in-law cathy, and grandmother-in-law joyce

chris' buddies: dave and kevin and his dad, ron

me and my (big) little brother, taylor

 my brother, taylor and dad, rod

my dad with the blondes 

my parent's with my friends and i

so glad my friend jill could make it!

i just loved the balloons.... :)

chris and his grandfather, ron

best buds: chris and chad, the guy who kept him out of trouble all day (and by trouble i mean out of my house)!

jeff, chris and travis

jill, chris and krista

my brother and my grandfather-in-law

annnnd....the night ended with an attempt at the worm!

so thankful chad and sarah could spend the rest of the weekend with us as well!

we went to the farmer's market and dundee days on saturday

hanging out in the driveway on a beautiful day....classy!

and ate at chris' favorite restaurant, nicola's, with his family

luckily we were sitting under the umbrellas outside because a big thunderstorm rolled in!

we ended the night at nosh wine lounge

my fall bucket list

weddings.weddings.weddings.

i love my friends.  and i love when my friends are happy and in love and decide to spend the rest of their lives with their love.  i love celebrating with them.  i'm honored to be a part of their special day.  and i love wedding cake, wedding mints and wedding dances.

but can i be honest for a minute?
i'm ready for a weekend at home.  in my own bed.  and sitting on my couch if that's what i choose.

by the conclusion of this wedding 'season', we will have attended 7 weddings and were unable to attend another 5.  since labor day weekend, we've had a wedding every weekend.....if you need help doing the math, that's 5 in a row.....not one of those 5 in Omaha.

all of that said, i'm not complaining.  i'm just tired. :)  not to mention it's breaking the bank.  when will my time be my own again?

love you friends, and i wouldn't miss your special day for the world!

crazy.busy.nutty.wacky. summer.

the title says it all.  it's been absolutely insane!  since the summer began, we've been to New Orleans, South Padre, Myrtle Beach, Lake Okoboji, Los Angeles and Orlando.  we've been busy with the travels and all the while trying to enjoy some time with our friends, fit in some golf, lay by the pool, grill some burgers and ride our bikes.  a couple of weeks ago we experienced our first 'jazz on the green' and by the time it's all said and done we'd like to go on our first 'taco ride'! it's been difficult to beat the heat these days but i've been making a significant effort to not complain!  i decided i can't complain about the weather all year round because if i did, there would be 3 feet of snow on the ground before i could blink an eye!

fall, i love you.  please come soon.

May 1, 2011

a day that will go down in history.  Osama bin Laden has been found and killed in a compound where he lived for the last 6 years in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  i have so many mixed feelings about this event.  i'm proud of an American victory to bring justice for the attacks of September 11, 2001!  an almost 10 year pursuit for this evil man has come to an end.  i'm thankful that the families of those killed can have some sort of closure.  on another note, i'm afraid.  if i'm being honest, i'm afraid of what is to come.  afraid that the al qaeda is plotting another attack on our country.  afraid to put my husband on an airplane tomorrow.  i'm also saddened.  OBL died with unrepented sin and is now spending eternity in hell.  there's nothing to celebrate about that.  we all actually deserve to spend our eternity the same way but in this moment i'm thankful for God's mercy!  the God we serve is JUST and also full of MERCY when we repent our sins to him!

"Say to them, As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn!  Turn from your evil ways!  Why will you die, O house of Israel?"

Ezekiel 33:11

"Then my anger will cease and my wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged.  And when I have spent my wrath upon them, they will know that I the Lord have spoken in my zeal."

Ezekiel 5:13

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."

Matthew 5:44

"Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice."

Proverbs 24:17