Sunday afternoon blogger

I've not been good in the past at posting things quickly (like our NYC recap which is still in the works :) ), so I'm trying to post things faster this year.  We've had a busy but great weekend!
Friday evening we drove to Dallas to eat dinner with Issac and Tara, and Shae and Smith.  Precious Smith was born on Thanksgiving, but because Charlie and Shae currently reside in TN we hadn't gotten to see that sweet boy yet. We all missed Charlie and wished he could have been with us - mostly I wish he could've seen the way his buddies were loving on his son.  What a sweet moment as we get to celebrate the beginning of sharing another generation of life together.  When I met Shelby almost 10 years ago, I was blessed to be welcomed into this wonderful group of friends.  All of the girls that I met then  have gone on to become wives to these friends. And I love them dearly. And I love the way their men love Shelby (and me).  They are ALL such a blessing and we have loved living and sharing life with each of them (and vacations together!) . And I look forward to having babies together and sharing these next stages of life together too! Sweet Smith is the biggest little boy I have ever seen, with THE cutest head of hair.  At 8 weeks old, he is a long 15 pounder!

Shae is a wonderful, laid back mom who was happy to share her son (and Smith was a trooper) with all of us that night.  It was so good to see them, and even better to know that we will see them again in just a few weeks!

Saturday was busy as well; I got my hair done and prepared for the celebrations we had last night.  Our night began by celebrating our dear friend Chris' 40th birthday.  It is hard to describe this man with words, and his celebration was a beautiful reflection of his dedication to the Lord and his family and friends.  Shelby and I felt privledged to sit in a room with so many others, honored to be so loved by Chris and his wife Tiffany.  Not only is Chris a talented artist and teacher, loving husband and father, he makes time for people and loves them with the love of the Father unlike anyone I have known.  Shelby and I have benefitted from that love and encouragement and were so blessed to share last night toasting (and roasting) Chris. :) And of course, the setting was beautiful - Tiffany has a gift for never doing anything "half-way".  Shelby's final comments on the party were - "When I was a kid I wanted to be like people like Michael Jordan, now I want to be like Chris Guild".

After Chris' party, we were off to celebrate at a couples shower for Courtney and Nick.  If you have read my blog for a while, you may remember that we attended a engagement party for this sweet couple this past summer.  Their wedding is drawing near (Feb 27), and we are so excited to get to celebrate them. Their shower was so fun and we can't wait for the wedding. Courtney and I spent everyday working together for almost 2 years and became great friends as a result.  I definitely miss seeing her everyday!
So far for Sunday - we've been to church, lunched with some great friends, and are now relaxing a bit with our puppy (most likely including a little NFL football and napping) :).
As I look back on this weekend, I'm thankful that the Lord has placed each person we have spent time with in our lives.  That He is refining and shaping us to look more like Him through these friends.  And that we get to share life together, period.
And to those of you reading that we didn't get to spend time with this weekend - the same is to be said for all of you.  We love sharing life with you and are thankful for the way you have impacted our lives. 
The only thing I bet you all didn't realize when you started reading this - is that the Sunday afternoon blogger is a little sappy.  I'll blame it on the hormones. :)