Weekend Recap

I thought I would take a second and recap on our eventful weekend! As you know, we had lots of b-days to celebrate last week...here are some pics from a few of the parties. :)

Friday night after work, we celebrated the triplets 4th B-day @ Chuck-E-Cheese. Here the b-day boys!!



Malachi

Mason (with a full mouth) & Maverick


Opening their presents...I LOVE Malachi's face in this pic!

Mammy & Pappy got them their 1st BIKE!


Then on to Olivia's 4th b-day party on Saturday morning....I honestly think me, Joshua, and Mandy had just as much fun (if not more) as the kids @ Jumperoo!

Joshua & Mandy


My husband is little kid @ heart. :)

Joshua helping/pulling Mandy down the slide...so funny!

Since I'm prego, for the most part I pretty much just sat & watched/took pictures/laughed @ everyone...but I did end up going down the slide just ONCE. Can you tell I was trying to be VERY careful? I really was!!!!!

The B-day girl!!

A Week Full of Birthdays!

This week in September is always a really busy & fun one for me & Joshua. Between my side of the family and Joshua's side of the family, we will have celebrated 4 birthdays by the end of the week! So, I figured I would give a b-day shout-out to everyone in this one post. :)

Today, is my sweet Nanny's (aka "Nan") B-day!! For those of you who know me, you know that my Nan is one of the dearest people in the world to me and we've been blessed with a very close & special relationship. She is such a blessing in my life!!! Nan, I love you and miss you very much...Happy B-day...you're beautiful!!!!

Me & my Nan

Thursday, the 25th, is my mom's b-day and I honestly couldn't say enough wonderful things about her....she's so much fun, she's loving, she's always been supportive of me, she's always been a godly role model who is constantly giving to others selflessly, and last but not least, she is the BEST mom a girl could ask for! I feel so blessed to have her in my life...I love you SO much mom...Happy B-day! I miss you and can't wait to see you SOON! :)

Me & Mom

Friday, the 26th, we celebrate the TRIPLETS b-day! These three little rascals bring so much joy into our lives...they are full of energy, adventure, trouble :), and kisses and I couldn't love them any more than I do. Happy B-day, Malachi, Maverick, & Mason!!!

Me & the boys on my 29th b-day!

Last, but certatinly not least, Joshua's cousin's little girl, Olivia, celebrates her 4th b-day on the 28th! Love you sweet, Olivia!! You and your family are SO special to us!! Here's Olivia with her mommy, daddy & brother while we were on vacation last year in Florida.

So, this will be a partying week for us...lots of time spent @ Chuck-E-Cheese & Jumperoo, and we can't wait! ;)

Way to Go, Baby!

I just wanted to take a quick second to congratulate my sweet husband on a job well done! As most of you know, Joshua was recently away from home for a month, where he attended a manager traning in Minnesota. Not only did he get the award for top of his class, but he has already been promoted!!! We officially got the news last week and I couldn't be more proud of him. He works SO hard and is SO good @ what he does, and I know the Lord is rewarding him for his faithfulness. We are so thankful, and what a blessing this is to our family right before our baby comes!! Thank you, Jesus, and honey, I love you and am so proud of you!!

Luk 19:17
And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'

September 11th

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news On September 11, 2001. Neither will I. I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK..I am ready to go.' I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night. I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said. 'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.' I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered. I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them. I was in Texas , Virginia , California , Michigan , Afghanistan ... I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor. Some sought Me with their last breath. Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there. I did not place you in the Tower that day. You may not know why, but I do. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me? Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.' I will be in the stairwell of your final moments. Author--Unkown

I received the above reading in an e-mail this AM and I thought it would be a good to share today. September 11, 2001, is a day that I'm sure we will all NEVER forget. I was sitting in my Statistics class @ LU when we recieved the news...and I'll always remember the feelings & emotions that immediately flooded the classroom. I'm so thankful to live in the wonderful country we do, and especially today, let's be sure remember the people who died or may have lost loved ones on that tragic day seven years ago. More importantly, I'm SO thankful for the salvation we have through Jesus Christ and the assurance that no matter what happens tomorrow, we are ready....ready and waiting to be with our Lord and Savior.

Weekend in the Queen City!

Well, I must say, this past weekend was WONDERFUL! I came back so refreshed and and I can't tell you how good it was to be with my Charlotte "family" again. Here's a quick recap of my weekend....and just a warning....this will probably be a LONG POST! :)

Saturday morning, I kissed my VERY sleepy husband goodbye, and left my house around 6:25 AM!!! I made a quick pit stop to get some gas and then met one of my good friends from Lynchburg, Kim Handy, for a quick breakfast before I headed to Charlotte. Kim was in Knoxville for the weekend and I wasn't going to leave town or let her get away without seeing her! We had a great time talking and exchanging gifts (her b-day & surprises for Baby Martin)...and I sure wish we could see eachother more often. She always keeps me laughing! I have no idea why we didn't take any pics....I guess it was too early and we just didn't think about it, or maybe it was because we were too busy jabbing our jaws. :) I always love my time with Kim!


After breakfast I went to pick up my friend, Jennifer, and her little boy, Eli, and we headed to Charlotte! We got to CLT a little after 1 PM, I dropped Jennifer off @ her girlfriend's house and then I headed to Dolly's baby shower....I honestly couldn't get there fast enough! I was SO excited to see everyone again, and what a wonderful reunion it was!!! The shower was beautiful and the Reber girls did an amazing job making it a special day for Dolly, and baby Michael.

Michael Leland Seckman, Jr.

Michael's beautiful mommy!

Ashleigh, Stacey, & Dawn


The two "prego" girls posing!


Thank you, Dolly & Leland for the adorable gifts for our baby!!!!

Can you tell that I LOVE it all???? :)

Some of the BGEA girls!

Yes, we had a baby shower, but we had a bloggers reunion as well!

Me & Ash

After the shower, I had a few stops to make @ some stores we don't have here in Knoxville, and after that, I met Becky & Beth Landrum for an "Olive Garden date". These girls are honestly two of the most precious people I know. The food was delicious, but the fellowship was the best!! :)


Me with the Landrum Ladies!

After dinner I met up with some other dear friends of mine, The Uibels. It was great being able to spend a little time catching up with them too. I love them dearly! Okay, so talk about a BUSY day...I think I crammed as much as I possibly could into my Saturday, but it was so much fun! I crawled into bed around midnight and I was EXHAUSTED. I talked to Joshua for a second--however, I don't even remember our conversation--and the rest of the night was history!

Sunday AM I got up early and met Dolly for breakfast @ Panera. I loved being able to spend some good quality time with her. Dolly is such a special friend in my life...it's been so cool to see how the Lord has given us our hearts desires at the same time. We found our husbands together, got married within a few months of eachother, and now are having babies together! It has been so much fun sharing these adventures with her...and even though we're 5 hours apart now...we have one of those friendships that will last forever.

After breakfast, I headed to West Cabarrus (my church in CLT) for the 1st time in over a year and a half. It felt great to be back and I was so happy to see everyone again!! Because my family has always lived so far away, alot of people there have been like family to me and I'm so grateful for the time I was able to share with them. After church, a bunch of us went to Zaxby's to eat, and I was SHOCKED to find that the girls had gifts waiting for me for Baby Martin....ahhhhh, how sweet! I was completely surprised, and it meant so much to me & Joshua! THANK YOU!

Me & Amory...it was so great to see her!


Meeting sweet little Tucker was one of the highlights of my weekend!


The guys table. :)

Precious ladies SO dear to my heart!! Thank you for lunch, the gifts for our baby, and for the wonderful time spent together. I love you all and miss you dearly!

We had a great trip home and I was so happy that Jennifer & Eli were able to make the trip with me. Having someone along makes the trip so much more enjoyable! Even though I had a wonderful weekend in CLT, it feels really good to be back home with my man. :)

Time to Register!

Last night after work, Mandy and the kids met me @ Babies-R-Us to help me register for our baby. With it being my 1st time picking out baby stuff, it was a little overwhelming, but SO MUCH FUN! Mandy was a HUGE help by showing me the things I most likely will and won't use or need, and seeing that she's doing an awesome job raising 4 kids, I soaked in every bit of her advice. :) We had a really great time and now I'm even more excited for our little man to get here! Here are a couple of pics...

Phillip, Mandy, and the boys!

**Side note--Phillip didn't help us register, only came so we could eat! haha

Sweet baby girl!

Labor Day Weekend

Hope everyone had a great & safe Labor's Day weekend. We had a really fun one here in TN! One of our good friends from college, Megan, and her son Clay, came to stay with us for the long weekend and boy did we keep BUSY! Friday night we went to a football game, Saturday, me, Mandy, Megan and the kids went shopping and then spent the rest of the day at the lake. Sunday we had church and then me, Joshua, Megan, Clay, and a bunch of Joshua's family went downtown Knoxville for "Boomsday". For all of you who have never heard of "Boomsday", it's an annual event here in Knoxville and they have the largest Labor Day firework show in the country. The fireworks are AMAZING and we've really tried to make a point to go every year. It's a lot of fun and it's a great place to "people watch". :) Monday we spent the day back out on the lake with family...we had a great weekend...but I'm trying to recover today...I'm sleepy! :) Thanks for coming to stay with us Megan & Clay...we love you guys and can't wait for you to come back soooooon!