March 28th

Today is my sweet husband's birthday. If you read my anniversary post, then you already know I think I married the most amazing guy ever. Because I've already done a lot of bragging on him, I am just going to wish for Patrick the perfect birthday. Since I am too poor to make all of this a reality, the blog will have to do. So...Patrick, if I could give you the perfect day, it would go something like this:

You would wake up in your favorite city: Boston.

It would be the most beautiful day...sunny and 65 degrees, and you would have an awesome 6 mile or so run along side the river, watching all the sailboats pass by. Then we (you, me, and the girls) would head over to some yummy breakfast place and gorge ourselves on pancakes and lots and lots of bacon. Yum! (Your perfect day will probably include a lot of food, obviously.) Then, we would head over to some park and just relax in the beautiful outdoors...letting our food settle. Then we would probably go to some nerdy museum that we both would totally love and spend an insane amount of time looking at everything.

Next....just because I love you so much, we would head to the nearest Steak Escape.

After your favorite lunch spot, we would go to any sporting event you like. I know baseball isn't your most favorite, but I also know that you would love to go to Fenway Park and watch a game. (Oh, please for the sake of this blog, let that be the name of the park in Boston--oh, stink...is it Wrigley's?-well, whatever.)

After that, we drop the kiddies off with my parents (who are conveniently in Boston to babysit), and we go eat at the BEST restaurant. I have no idea what this restaurant is called. All I know is you order New England Clam Chowder for an appetizer. (You didn't think I'd let us spend a perfect day in Boston without your favorite soup, did you?)

The main course. Lobster and steak. Need I say more??

I won't blog about our dessert. Haha!:)

I hope you enjoyed your birthday via the internet. I hope one day we can actually live it out. I love you so very much. Every moment with you is a blessing, and every year of your life, I love you more. God willing, I will love you when you're old and bald (which might be sooner than later-boo!) I will love you when you are 90, and I am still a spring chicken at a mere 85. I will

love you when we do wake up in Boston one day. I love you every morning I wake up beside you, right here in Southaven. I am blessed beyond measure to have you as a husband, and I am so thankful to God for making you 32 years ago today.

*On a side note, stupid blogger is totally messing up the way my post looks with the pictures and words. And I can't fix it. Ugh!

Secrets: No one else in the world knows

Ok, maybe there are a few who know some of our secrets, maybe even most of you that read this blog... but nevertheless- we will divulge into some of the issues that you just MIGHT not know.

Top 10 secrets from Corrie and Anna:

• I am slightly deformed. I have two webbed toes and a real hole in my chest. My mom has told me all of my life that "the toe-cutter forgot to cut my toes all the way". As far as the hole goes, well I am pretty sure I could stick a stud earring in it if I wanted. I am also pretty sure it is getting bigger the older I get (pretty soon, you will be able to see my heart). And when I get nervous or I am in an uncomfortable situation, I always touch it- weird, I know. -Anna
• I think I was a little OCD when I was younger. Every time I would take a shower, I would always put my hands under the shower head after I turned it off for the last drips of water to hit my fingers, and I would stick my feet under the faucet, one at a time, to catch the remaining drips of the faucet. I literally felt a need to do it every time. To this day, I still do it.. I guess more out of habit- or maybe I am still OCD.-Anna
• I do not like to take showers. I really, really don't. I love the feeling of being clean, but I dread taking a shower everyday....which is exactly why I don't every single day. I do take a bath every night of my life. But showers...no. It just takes soooo long. The washing, the shampooing, the shaving (I am tall, and I have long legs-shaving takes some time), the rinsing. It's just too much. I should probably move to France or something where showers are optional, and smelly is sexy (or so I've been told). -Corrie
• I can buy something very small... like a green refrigerator magnet dry erase board...and I am convinced that my life will never be the same from that moment forward. I actually bought the said magnet, and I just knew it would lead to me becoming the most organized, list-making person on the face of the earth. I recently bought a small (very small) notepad to carry in my purse. I will never forget another appointment or anything of importance for the rest of my life because of this purchase. -Corrie
• I might act comfortably in a large group of people, but if you could glimpse into my head, you would see that I am totally ill at ease. I am wayyyy more self-conscious than I let on, and I am probably thinking "what should I be doing with my hands??" I just prefer small get-togethers. I hated prom. Only went my junior year. Never went to a homecoming dance or Winterfest. And I have absolutely NO regrets about it whatsoever. -Corrie
• I am an emotional person. Most would say that they have seen me cry from time to time, but I, actually, (for some reason) am weird about people (even my husband!) seeing me cry every time I do. I cry when I am mad, sad, disappointed, but mostly when I am happy. I can't laugh without tears coming out of my eyes, but I actually cry a lot when I am happy... I try to keep it to myself most of the time.-Anna
• We don't know our left and right. Seriously, neither of us do. We have to look down at our rings before we can confidently tell you our left from our right. Don't ever put us in a situation where we need to make an immediate right or left decision. We are terrible at aerobics. Corrie literally x-rayed the wrong foot on a patient three times in a row before the patient caught it. Countless times we have had to turn the car around because someone told us to turn left-- so, naturally, we merged to the right- missing the turn. -Corrie and Anna
• I hum. Like all the time. Sometimes I hum songs, and at other times, I hum out sentences that are in my head. I would like to say it is because I never learned to whistle, and this just serves as a substitute. But truth be told, it is just a part of me that is a little odd. I might blend in well at the crazy ward. I don't even notice I am doing it. I don't think I have any other crazy weird habits, so I am not too concerned about this one. But rest assured, it will probably get worse the older I get. And I will undoubtedly drive the workers mad at whatever nursing home my children put me in one day. I mean, helloooo.....I already make weird noises. I am going to be one scary old lady. -Corrie
• When I was a little kid, I used to make up raps. Dances accompanied. I will spell out (phonetically) my most famous of all: Eye la bow la see ya mo, eye le bow le see ya mo, eye lo, ella bow, ella bow la see ya mo. -Anna
• When we were both little kiddies, we were creative in the games we would play. Our favorite? Jailman's Bladder. We won't go into the details of the game... all we will say is do not fall off the swing set. It would not be pretty.- Corrie and Anna

And there you have it, people. Our inner secrets are out.

A popular birthday week...

I have the amazing privilege of having an “in-law” family that I love. I know many are not blessed with such a gift, but I thank God that I am. This week was my mother-in-law, Theresa’s, and my youngest sister-in-law, Abby’s, birthdays (March 10 and March 11).

If you know Theresa, I can almost guarantee you love her. She is one of the most selfless persons I know. She is constantly doing for others. If you have ever cooked for 15+ people, you know how stressing it can be! Theresa does it EVERY WEEK. I once had 12 ladies at my house, and I was responsible for cooking for all of them… and it was a two-day process for me! I was stressed, and it was hard. I had a new respect for her after that. Not only does she cook for many, many people, but she cooks WELL for many, many people. Never have I ever put anything into my mouth that was not AMAZING from her. Once when Nathan and I were dating, she cooked us “barbeque nachos”. After making a happy plate because they were so good, she smiled really big and asked if I like it. I said, “of course, it was delicious!” Then she said, “good, because you just ate venison barbeque nachos”. I had expressed to her before that I couldn’t make myself eat deer meat... eww, gross! And without a doubt—she made it amazing. Not only is she well known for being a generous, gracious, and delicious cook, she is very giving of her time, her creative abilities, and her love. She is very involved in many church activities, and anytime you ask anything of her, she is incredibly likely to say “yes”. You can certainly count on her for anything.With Theresa, her focus is on love and relationships—not so much material things. There are few like her these days. She is the epitome of a Proverbs 31 woman, and I admire and respect her so much. If her love and wonderfulness aren’t enough to prove her godly focus in life, then her children are surely a testament to it. She (with the help of Randy, of course) trained their children well! To have 5 out of 5 children with a passionate heart for the Lord is uncommon and truly amazing. They followed God’s desire in training their children, and He greatly blessed them. I am lucky to have snatched her only boy. Two days before our wedding, at my bridesmaids’ luncheon, I gave Theresa a cross-stitch picture that had once been my grandmother’s picture given to her by my mom. The words of it are not my own, but the truth and love of it are how I felt then and how I feel even more today.

To His Mother
"Mother-in-law" they say, and yet,
Somehow I simply can't forget
'Twas you who watched his baby ways,
Who taught him his first hymn of praise,
Who smiled on him with loving pride,
When he first toddled by your side.
"Mother-in-law" but oh, 'twas you
Who taught him to be kind and true;
When he was tired, almost asleep,
'Twas to your arms he used to creep.
And when he bruised his tiny knee,
'Twas you who kissed it tenderly.
"Mother-in-law" they say,and yet,
Somehow I never shall forget
How much I owe
To you, who taught him how to grow.
You trained your son to look above;
You made of him the man I love.
And so I think of that today
When with thankful heart I'll say,
"Our Mother."

You are an amazing woman, and I love you dearly. Thank you for all you do. I hope you have a great “birthday week” J

Two birthdays in one week leads me on to Abby.

Abby—I think you are precious. You are so sweet, and so welcoming. I love that every time I see you, you give, not only Nathan, but also me a loving hug and hello J I feel so close to you because you make it easy to love you and get close to you! You are so much fun to be around! You are mature in so many ways, and it is exciting to watch you grow into a godly young woman.You are very beautiful, and every time I see you, I am amazed at how much older you look-not like just a little girl anymore- (isn’t there a Brittany Spears song about that??-haha). I also love that you love Bella. That “trait” skipped a few generations in your family... LOL! I hope you have a wonderful “birthday week” shared with your mom- and I can’t wait to see you this weekend! I love you girl!!

My friendly's birthday!!

I love March 10th. Why, you may ask? Well, today is the anniversary of the day my best friend was born! Yay! I am just so grateful for her and all she means to me. In honor of her birthday, I thought I'd share twenty-five things that make Jenna awesome. I totally stole this idea from another blog, but I loved it and thought I'd give a new spin to our birthday blessings! So...here goes:
1. She is the best friend ever! I had to start with the obvious.
2. If I am having a really bad day, I can talk to her, and within five minutes, I am hysterical over something. She always makes me feel better.
3. She is an encourager.
4. She loves God, and it doesn't take long to be around her to see the evidence all over her life.
5. She always dresses modestly yet is totally stylish and looks adorable every time I see her.
6. Okay, a little bit of a retraction on number 5...she shows up to my house on dinner/game night wearing her p.j's. But I greet her at the door wearing the same. She is totally comfortable being exactly who she is.
7. Jenna laughs harder at her own jokes than anyone else. Even if they are not all that funny, you can't help but laugh watching her try to tell it. I love that about her.
8. She is a great listener.
9. She is one of the most loving people I know. She loves her family, her hubby, and she really loves her dog, Lewis. Oh, and she loves her friends:)
10. She's drop-dead gorgeous.
11. She has an AMAZING voice.... she can really sing. But you would never know this about her unless you heard her. She's totally humble about it and doesn't talk about it at all. (I am pretty sure this is why I was not blessed with a singing voice-I would tell everyone.)
12. We can be laughing over something really stupid one minute and then the next, have a serious conversation about something else. (Although the latter doesn't happen nearly as often as the laughing.) But that said, Jen is so smart, and I really value her opinion on so much.
13. She is an awesome teacher. I haven't been in the classroom with her, but I know it's true. I've heard from various sources....People want their kids in her class.
14. She is a great secret-keeper. Trustworthy to the core. She has kept silent about some big ones for me:)
15. She loves to play games. And her answers in Malarky are priceless. The girl is quite creative.
16. She is really good at hanging pictures. She often tells me/begs me to let her hang my pictures. (I'm not so good at it.)
17. She is really independent, but she does not like to drive in Memphis alone. I find this funny and endearing. If you tell her how to get somewhere out in Cordova or something, she will inevitably stop listening because she is SO not headed out there alone. I love it.
18. We've been best friends for years, and in some ways, we've grown up a ton. And in other ways, we act incredibly childish and find ridiculous things funny. I love that we can be goofy together.
19. We are on about the same level as far as being physically fit. This makes working out together easy and funny. Although I do not think we probably challenge each other too much. Haha!
20. She makes a mean manicotti something or another. I don't remember what it is called, but is is good. Very good.
21. She loves my kiddies, and they LOVE her. And I can't WAIT to "return the favor" and love on her sweet Olivia. Very excited about this. Along the same lines, she is going to be an amazing mom.
22. I am not sure she has called me "Corrie" in over a year. In fact, I don't remember the last time. It's always either friendly or friend. And I do love this as well. Actually, Jenna and I are quite convinced we started the whole "hey friend" fad.
23. At any given time, she has probably ten different lip glosses, lipsticks, chapsticks...etc. in her purse. Trust me, your lips will never be dry as long as Jenna is around. (T.W.S.S)
24. Jenna is genuinely one of the kindest hearted people I know. I love her spirit.
25. Finally, I could go on and on with Jenna-awesomeness...but I will wrap it up by saying that I am blessed beyond measure to call her friend. She is the best! I would rather spend a night hanging out in my p.j's, playing games and eating brownies with J & J and N & A than do anything else:)

Jenna, I hope you have the happiest birthday ever! And as usual, your present will be coming later....haha. I love you, friendly!