west virginia weekend.

Last weekend, Andy, Carmen, and I packed a few small bags and headed home to our West Virginia mountains for a very brief weekend! As many of you know, my brother, Kent, and his sweet fiance, Danielle are getting married on August 8. 2009! Needless to say, Andy and I are very excited to share this special day with them as well as our family & friends!

In order to prepare for THE BIG DAY, a "West Virginia weekend" was in order to assist in bridesmaid dress shopping! What a fun afternoon we had at the dress boutique, not to mention the wonderful and busy moments spent with our families in the short 40 hours that we were there! According to Danielle's blog, there are only 5 months, 1 week, and 5 days...and counting... until their beautiful wedding! ...so, so exciting...

"The Matron of Honor", "The Bride",
and Miranda, Danielle's sister - "The Maid of Honor"

Courtney, Holly, Miranda, Danielle, Jeanette, & Meredith
...what nice and sweet girls...

The Mother of the Groom and The Mother of the Bride

breaking dawn.

This afternoon following school, I gave in and read the last chapter of Breaking Dawn, the final installment of the Twilight series. While I tried to read the last novel slowly, again, I read 768 pages in less than a week. Needless to say, I am so sad that I have read them all. They were so, so much fun! Who knows, perhaps I'll start over again tomorrow...sounds like a great idea!

luv ya back, cousin oden.

In honor of last week's Valentines Day and her 4th puppy birthday, Carmen has received so much mail recently...and today was no exception! Cousin Oden, Danielle and Kent's puppy, mailed Carmen a special Valentine's Day gift and card! As always, Carmen loved the special delivery and hasn't stopped playing with her LUV YA conversation heart since it arrived! Thanks so much Oden, Danielle, and Kent! We appreciate your thoughtfulness and look forward to seeing you in 2 days during our upcoming "West Virginia weekend"!

happy hearts...

Andy and I simply had a wonderful Valentine's Day, even though I non-characteristically did not take a picture of our special evening! What a yummy dinner we had at August Moon, an Asian-inspired bistro, near the Highlands. Delish, delish, delish! Also, we were so thrilled to receive so many Valentine's Day wishes and goodies in the mail from our family! We are so blessed to be surrounded here in Louisville by terrific friends and a family in West Virginia that gives endless love.

happy birthday, sweet girl.

Last Monday, Andy and I celebrated with Ms. Carmen! Our precious Carmen turned four years old on February 9th! Complete with birthday cards from West Virginia, a special dinner, and birthday doggie-cupcakes, Carmen was nonetheless a puppy princess on her special day. While Andy and I have not yet been blessed with a beautiful baby, we certainly love "our Carmen" with all of our hearts and know that while others treat their dogs just as that, she will always be more than that to us. She truly has captured our hearts!

Carmen's first Morgantown picture

Her first toy, "the lobster", still remains one of her
favorites...We are probably on our 10th!

Carmen loved to go to the
Morgantown Target in her pink bag.

Carmen loves to visit Philippi and see
everyone she loves and misses!

an early valentine "that bites"...

As most of you know, I am completely taken with the Twilight series and am slowly dragging others down with me! My friend and carpool companion, Dena, has now also become a true follower! To add a bit of humor to our morning commute, she hysterically gave me my early valentine, which she so carefully crafted last evening, after Scott's brilliant discovery! We laughed so hard that tears were rolling down our faces as we admired her hard work! Thanks so much, Dena for your creative card! I love it!

so happy for warm sunshine.

just a little obsessed.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I just finished Stephanie Meyer's Eclipse, the third novel in the Twilight series. I read with sheer delight, nervousness, and excitement as I fell more in love with this series! Because each page was simply better than the previous, I found myself taking advantage of every free moment and burried myself within the pages of Eclipse. With very mixed emotions
(I don't want it to be over), I look forward to beginning the fourth and final novel, Breaking Dawn, within the next week. I'm trying not to rush, but I cannot stand to not know what happens!
...very easy decision - TEAM EDWARD...

here we go steelers, here we go!

Yesterday evening, Andy and I hosted our young married couples bible fellowship group at our home for a Steeler themed Super Bowl party! With 20 friends, a spread of delicious snacks, and cheers for both the Steelers and the C-A-R-D-S, we had a wonderful night of fellowship, capped off by an exciting black and gold Steeler win! Here we go Steelers, here we go!