Memorial Day Fun

I tried to post this last week but was having problems with the photo uploader...so here it goes again....

What a fun weekend!  My friend Sara came to visit me from Charleston.  We got to spend some time hanging out with Catherine too!

Chris displayed his patriotism by a great dye job on his beard (which is now shaved!) I went to school to be an esthetician, not a hairstylist and it shows!!

Eric did manage to hit the pool but he was missed at the lake!! 

I should take a picture of my freshly steam cleaned carpets!  Eric got all the dirt and spots out on Sunday!!  I felt lucky to have such a great husband that helps me clean!  Sometimes I feel he cleans better than I do!  It was a great weekend catching up with old friends, the only thing missing was Eric!  And Bitty & Doodle got to have lots of fun too!!

The Well

So Sunday I went to church without Eric, as he was so tired from working so much last week!  I was blessed to enjoy such a beautiful time!  Dave & Liz (who will be missed so much) played Daughters of Jerusalem during communion.  That is the song Eric & I danced to at our wedding.

I also got to hold Brighton, Susannah and Ryan's little one!  He was so cute in his little turtle shirt!  He fell asleep in my arms.  I think it shocked him when he woke up and had to figure out who the strange lady was holding him!  :)  Fun fun!

Night Night

Hi again friends & family!

I wanted to show you my little perfect ones!  Princess Jasmine

& Doodle (aka Piggy).  Any guesses to what kind of dog he is? Good luck!

I have many more pics to post from this weekend, but wanted to get a little start tonight.  Good night and may you sleep with the angels!

-Monkey

While You Were Crusing

Dear Laura,

Just thought I would let you know that while you and Scot were out crusing...Eric & I got to spend time with Baby Ryder...nah nah nah! :) Haha! Here are some pics from our fun!!

Thought we would let everyone enjoy our cute nephew!

For all the mothers!

My dad sent me this and I thought it was so funny! :) Here's to you mothers!

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1.. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
' Because I said so, that's why .'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC .
'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY
'Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM .
'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA.
'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12.. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE .
'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
'Just wait until we get home..'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
'You are going to get it when you get home !'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP.
'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
'When that lawn mower cuts off your foot, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.'

Some wedding pics

Thank you Angela and Shannon!

We are so blessed to have friends that are artists! Angela made the coolest Rasta Turtle for Eric & I! He even has his own little dreads! I love it! She makes "Whimseys" and they are awesome multi-sensory animals! You can check out her album if you would like!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLanding.action?c=11uby8kt.1k979rgp&x=0&y=-pyilqe&localeid=en_US&cm_mmc=site_email-_-site_share-_-core-_-view_photos_button

Shannon, our other artist friend, created a spraypaint image of a photo of Eric & I! How cool is this? We love it!

Thank you both so much for your time and thoughtfulness! We love you!

Turtle & Monkey Marshall

Just Me Checking In

So I read this email from a friend this morning and it filled my heart enough to want to share it!



A minister passing through his church in the middle of the day, Decided to pause by the altar and see who had come to pray.. Just then the back door opened, a man came down the aisle, The minister frowned as he saw the man hadn't shaved in a while. His shirt was kind a shabby and his coat was worn and frayed, the man knelt, he bowed his head, Then rose and walked away.
In the days that followed, each noon time came this chap, each time he knelt just for a moment, A lunch pail in his lap.


Well, the minister's suspicions grew, with robbery a main fear, He decided to stop the man and ask him, 'What are you doing here?'


The old man said, he worked down the road. Lunch was half an hour. Lunchtime was his prayer time, For finding strength and power. 'I stay only moments, see, because the factory is so far away; as I kneel here talking to the Lord, This is kinda what I say:


'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS JIM CHECKING IN TODAY.'


The minister feeling foolish, told Jim, that was fine. He told the man he was welcome to come and pray just anytime. Time to go, Jim smiled, said 'Thanks.' He hurried to the door.



The minister knelt at the altar, he'd never done it before. His cold heart melted, warmed with love, and met with Jesus there. As the tears flowed, in his heart, he repeated old Jim's prayer:


'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD, HOW HAPPY I'VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHER'S FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY MY SIN. I DON'T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY. SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.'


Past noon one day, the minister noticed that old Jim hadn't come. As more days passed without Jim, he began to worry some. At the factory, he asked about him, learning he was ill. The hospital staff was worried, But he'd given them a thrill.


The week that Jim was with them, Brought changes in the ward.. His smiles, a joy contagious. Changed people, were his reward. The head nurse couldn't understand why Jim was so glad, when no flowers, calls or cards came, Not a visitor he had.


The minister stayed by his bed, He voiced the nurse's concern: No friends came to show they cared. He had nowhere to turn. Looking surprised, ol d Jim spoke up and with a winsome smile; 'the nurse is wrong, she couldn't know, that in here all the while everyday at noon He's here, a dear friend of mine , you see, He sits right down, takes my hand, Leans over and says to me:


'I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, JIM, HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP, AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR SIN. I ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY, I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND SO JIM, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.'


Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart. May God hold you in the palm of His hand and Angels watch over you.

Yes, I do love God. He is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and everyday. Without Him, I will be nothing Without him, I am nothing but with Him 'I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.' Phil 4:13 This is too good not to share - So this is me, Just Checking In

Fun weekend

Hello again friends, family, and followers.  First I want to thank you all for taking the time to read what I write and look at my pictures.  I am really enjoying blogging.  I have been an amateur photographer for many years now and it is nice to have an avenue to post some of my pictures and to write a little to go along with it!  :)  

We had such a wonderful weekend!  Chu & Tommy got back into town from Ohio (FINALLY) and it was fun to reunite with them, eat habachi and laugh!  Relaxing was definitely on the menu this weekend and I caught up on some much needed sleep!  Saturday night, we went to see our friends play at Sk net cafe in Charlotte.  Their band is called Roll Status and it is surf-rock kinda music.  Eric's good friend Joe is the lead singer and he and his wife just had a baby!  Branden is on the drums.  Eric used to play bass with them.

I caught this shot from the bar.  The countertops were made of these stones under glass and somehow I caught the light exactly right! I really like this shot!!! 

A funny thing happened while we were out.  We ran into a guy that I met the day I met Eric.  He was actually sitting between Eric & me on the couch when we were watching the Super Bowl.  

Today was really fun as well!  We woke up and went to church at The Well in Pineville.  We really love our church and truly enjoy spending time with the people that gather there.  It was our Pastor's 40th Birthday and we had a good time with him.  We stayed after church for Eric to practice songs for next week, and they asked me to play conga drums.  I am not at all shy EXCEPT when it comes to performing or playing music in front of people!! I can't believe it but I am going to play with them next week.  WOW!  I wish I could turn off all the lights or turn around backwards and play so that I won't see people watching me.  I know that this will be a good experience for me, but I am pretty nervous!!!  If you want to read about our church, check out the website  www.the-well.org  

The photos below are from inside our church, and of Eric & the band playing music!  Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  May God bless you this week and may you share loving kindness with the world!  Peace be with you!

Five Things

A few amazing women that I know like to write out five things that they are thankful for.  I think it is my turn today!

1. Being married to my best friend

2. Waking up to doggies wagging their tails.

3. Playing conga drums in front of people even though I am embarassed at my lack of talent!

4. Thai food...yummy!

5. Being surrounded by such caring and loving family and friends!