Finally!!

Yay! I finally have some time to write! And I have SO much to say! I think I'm going to post several different posts on the different topics I have been dying to talk about over the last few weeks, so get ready for plenty to read!! I hope I can get through all of it...I am having a sleepover right now with Bonita, Linda, Monique, Tasha and Lindsay. So, we'll see how long I last without being called away to judge a dance contest or preview the next great rap. I am SO thankful that these girls have the relationships that they do. I'll talk more about that in a different post...

Of course, I have to start with the cruise! I still miss it and we all are already trying to figure out when we can go again. It was an AMAZING vacation!!

I went with my friends Frank, Elizabeth, Shera, Jonerik and Emily. We flew out pf Philly early on Monday, and even had fun waiting in the airport, playing games and trying to hold in our excitement. We arrived in Miami, immediately found a cab that dropped us off at the ship, and easily made our way onto the ship; and it was even better than we imagined!! Our rooms were kinda small, but who cares! We spent most of our time touring the ship, or touring the islands!!

The itinerary had us stopping at a different island each day, arriving around 8 a.m. and disembarking (or taking off as Jonerik called it) around 5 p.m. So, we had plenty of time each day to enjoy the ship as well as the island. Our first stop brought us to Grand Bahama island. Elizabeth, Frank and Shera decided that they wanted to spend the first day relaxing on the ship, but Jonerik, Emily and I decided to tour the island. First we looked into renting scooters, but it was kind of expensive and it turned out I was the only one old enough (though that would have been a really funny picture...me driving with JE and Emily on the back of my scooter). So, we decided to take a cab into the "city" and hang out at the beach a bit.

God had something even more amazing in store for us! As we walked along the beach we saw some jet skis. We couldn't tell if they were for rent or not but started talking about how much fun they would be. So, we decided to ask and they were for rent!! So, we rented the jet skis for an hour and got to ride over a mile out to sea (over crystal clear blue waters). It was AMAZING and SO BEAUTIFUL!! We had a blast!!!

The next day we stopped at Nassau Island, which has a really amazing casino. We didn't gamble, but did go to their aquarium and took a boat tour of the island. All six of us spent the day together and had a blast (of course). We're kind of like the TV show "Friends"...when you get all 6 of us together, its just awesome. :)

Our last island day was spent in Great Stirrup Cay, a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Lines. The people on the ship were the only people on the island. It was GREAT!! Jonerik, Emily, Frank and I decided to rent snorkel gear and check out the sea life. The water was so clear and beautiful, goggles were hardly necessary. It was the most relaxing day! The cruise ship even had an amazing lunch buffet set up for us on the island!!!

The food on the cruise was beyond delicious and we all ate way more than we ever should. Plus, every night we got to see different shows the ship had, went to a karaoke bar on the ship, and enjoyed walking around the ship (trying to work of some of the food we ate, haha). I also had some good time to spend alone reading, and hanging out with Jesus. Our only complaint was that the cruise did not last long enough. Next time we will definitely go for at least a week!!

That vacation was an incredible gift from God that I am still in awe of. Every once in a while I will find myself thinking..."I was on a cruise?!? In the Bahamas?!?".

Yes, yes I was. And it was SWEET. :)

So You Think You Can Dance!!

If you know me at all (which most of you do), you know that my favorite show of the year is So You Think You Can Dance. Its kind of like American Idol, but for dancers...and a thousand times better. The show is only one once a year, in the summer, and I literally count down the days to the season premiere of each year. I LOVE the show!

If you know me, you also know that I get very into TV shows. So You Think You Can Dance is no different. I fall in love with the people as well as the dances. Thankfully, each year the top 10 dancers go on tour performing their best dances from the season. I went to see the tour 2 years ago but couldn't afford it last year. This season was my favorite season so far, so I knew I HAD to see the show live. Unfortunately, this was also the first year they didn't come to Philly!!

Thankfully, they did have a show in Chicago, and my roommate from last summer, Brooke, just happens to live just outside of Chicago. I called her when tickets went on sale and she said she would definitely be interested in going to the show. Our friend Ashley (who also lived with me for a while last summer) doesn't live far from Chicago either and also said she wanted to go. So, I bought the tickets and we made plans for a girls weekend in Chicago.

If I thought the excitement of the show was a lot to take, the excitement of the LIVE show coupled with a girls weekend with 2 of my favorite people in the world was almost too much to take!! Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of time between the cruise and my Chicago trip (less than a month), so I survived. Barely...

So, last weekend I flew to Chicago for a weekend of awesomeness!! Ashley, Brooke and I screamed when we saw each other and had non stop fun all weekend long...even when we got into long, somewhat confusing, political discussions. We are all strong, single women who love people and love the Lord...we're like Charlie's Angels, haha!! :)

So, Friday night was the show. All 3 of us were SO excited. It took us forever to figure out how to get around Chicago (their maps were not helpful), but we made it to the show and screamed our way through our favorite dances and even getting to see all of our favorite dancers perform solos. I could have gone home right after the show and still had an amazing weekend!! Thankfully, we still had a full day of fun to go!!

We left the show and again took forever to get back to the hotel. Chicago is not an easy city to maneuver around. Plus, we didn't get a chance to eat before the show so we were starving by the time it was over. We couldn't find ANYTHING open in the city, but did find a 24 hour burger stand across the street from our hotel. Grease never tasted so good! :)

Saturday was spent touring the city (thankfully Brooke and Ashley had been there before so they at least knew what to visit). We saw some cool stuff, but really just laughed a lot and really enjoyed one another. I didn't want the weekend to ever end. We are apparently getting old, though, because by about 10 p.m., we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel, got some dessert from the restaurant next door and went to sleep after watching a little bit of Saturday Night Live.

Sunday was a VERY boring day for me, at least after we all separated. I had a 4 hour wait in the Chicago airport, and that airport is NOT fun. I did get to read, and I can't complain because the rest of the weekend was so amazing. I REALLY love those girls and didn't want to leave them. I was kinda ready to get back to Philly, but I wanted them to come with me. :)

Cruisin!

Tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. I will head to the airport with 5 friends that I really love. We will fly to Miami where we will board a cruise ship and spend the next 5 days together traveling to the Bahamas and having an amazing time. I am SO PUMPED!!!

I realized earlier this summer that it has been 4 years since I have taken a real vacation. That is a long time! (I don't count the beach trip earlier this summer since I had 9 kids with me!). I'm ready for this one!

How can I afford such a trip?!? JESUS!! Haha, seriously though we found an incredible last minute deal that we couldn't pass up. And thanks to our rebate checks, we had the money to do it! We actually looked at some cruises leaving out of Philly, but this deal was so amazing that the cost of the cruise plus the flight to Miami was still cheaper. Thank you Jesus!

This last week has been insane. For the first time in my life, I am actually important at my job. What I mean by that is, while I used to be able to just go away and have someone cover me for a few days, now I have to actually take care of things before I leave because there isn't anyone else that can do them. So, I have spent all week basically preparing to go away...and its been crazy. But, honestly, a lot of fun too. :)

But, now I am ready to go. I have sent tons of emails, made several spreadsheets, spent hours on the phone training people to do what I do. I have also typed up several different "How To" documents and answered countless questions. If I didn't come back from this cruise, my job would still be covered. :)

I have also gotten everything ready for Kids Club. Birthdays, slide shows and even a new bulletin board are ready to go.

So, now I am ready to cruise. Did I mention that I'm really excited?!?!

I know there will be internet available on the cruise, but I am going to avoid it. I think I would be too tempted to check my work email and that wouldn't be fun. So, you will have to wait until I get back to hear all about it. :)

Alright, I need to get some sleep so I can actually get up in time for the airport run! (Thank goodness for Frank Hinson who is willing to wake up at a crazy hour to drive us all to the airport. We weren't sure we could find anyone who liked us enough to do it, haha).

Please pray for good weather!! There aren't any hurricanes on the horizon, but there is still talk of rain. We want sun!!

Also, please continue to pray for my roommate situation. A friend of mine knows that I have been struggling with having a roommate and recently mentioned to me that she actually really needs a roommate and she was wondering if my roommate would be willing to move in. I thought it sounded like a great idea (their personalities actually match better), so I mentioned it to my roommate. Well, she didn't take it well and is pretty upset right now. I really feel like this is something that God may be doing, but I need Him to come and show all of us what He is up to!

I am hoping that this time of me being away will really allow both of us to really hear what God wants to do.

Also, PLEASE be praying for Carisa and her family. She is 8 1/2 weeks pregnant and is horribly sick. She was very sick with her last pregnancy but this one is even worse (which I hope means its a girl, hehe). I even took her to the ER on Friday because she is so depleted of nutrients. Her doctor's aren't overly concerned about her health (this is actually somewhat common), but she is miserable. Please pray!

Alright, I am off to bed. If my last vacation is any indication (the "dream" vacation), I will take tons of pictures, and I will share them all when I return!!

E-A-G-L-E-S- EAGLES!!!

I got to go to an Eagles game tonight!! It was AWESOME!!! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to an Eagles game, but never thought I would get the chance to actually do it! Granted, it was a pre-season game, but I don't care. I got to see the Eagles live!!!


In case you didn't know, I LOVE football. I especially love going to football games. I never missed a single home game during all of my 4 years at Virginia Tech, and even went to several away games and bowl games. I can't afford Tech tickets, so its been years since I have been to any football game (if I can't afford Tech, I certainly can't afford Eagles tickets!), so tonight was an AMAZING BLESSING!!


My friend Shera got 2 tickets from work and invited me to come along with her. THANK YOU SHERA!!! Not only did I get to see the Eagles play, but I was there with Shera and some of her co-workers and they were really fun! I really enjoyed laughing with all of them. In all, it was just a REALLY REALLY fun night!!!!!!!!!!

Fun Times

Today was a really fun day! I spent the morning and early afternoon babysitting the Hinson boys. We ran several errands together (I'm getting the Jetta all spiffed up) and then headed to my house for a while to introduce Ky to Gizmo and both boys to the kittens. They were SO cute with them! Of course, we had to work hard to make sure Ky didn't step on them, but in the end he was really sweet with them.


Ky really loved Gizmo, though Giz was a little less impressed with Ky (Ky isn't exactly known for his gentle touch, haha). It took me most of the day to convince Kyler that my cat's name was Gizmo, not Buddy (his cat's name). By the end of the day, he was calling him "Gicko". :)




I thought I was going to be with the boys all day but Frank and Carisa came home early. L is spending the night at my house tonight and went with me and Jen to take the kittens to the vet. They are doing well and their eyes are almost completely cleared up. They are still too young for their next round of shots, but the vet said they look great!

I wasn't too excited when I woke up at 6:30 in the morning (after going to sleep at 3:30), but it turned out to be a fun day. Tomorrow will be very busy with Jennifer's Birthday, L's birthday party and now I am going to a barbecue with T. It will be busy, but I plan on coming home and just relaxing for once after the party.

Oh, and I know I promised you something exciting, but you will have to wait a little longer...I've been too busy to get the picture I need. :)

Amazing Friends

My friend Jacqueline left last night and we had an amazing time!! She was here for 5 days and was such a huge blessing to me!! A few weeks ago my friend Catherine was here and she also was a huge blessing to me, and this weekend another friend, Alexa, will be here. They are all friends from high school (Catherine and I have actually been friends since 1st grade and Alexa and I since 7th grade). First, how blessed am I to still have so many friends that I have known for so long?!? (In fact, there is a group of about 10 of us, not including spouses and children, from high school that still keep in touch and visit one another as often as possible.)

These friends also consist of most of my supporters. The people that know me the best, support me the most. That constantly surprises me. They know my faults better than anyone, yet they support me here. Of course, they all also and and trust in God and His redemption. :)

I was looking around my kitchen the other day and I am so thankful. My fridge and stove were bought for me by a friend and supporter, and everything else in the kitchen was provided by my home church. It's very easy to feel all alone here in Philly, especially when I live alone and do much of my ministry alone (or at least with men that I don't exactly share my deepest fears with, haha). Jacqueline, Catherine, Alexa, and so many of my other friends remind me that while I am sometimes physically alone, I'm never really alone. And, I have tons of partners in ministry.

That is such a blessing.

Valentine's Day Fun!!!

Last night I celebrated Valentine's Day with a few of my friends, and I had so much fun!!!

First, I picked Shera up from work at 5 and we headed to the Art Museum. Every Friday they have "Art after 5". You pay general admission to the Art Museum, but its just any old art museum trip. After 5 on Friday, they transform the main hall into a jazz concert, complete with table service, cocktails, elegant café-style appetizers, and desserts. You can tour the museum for a while and then sit and listen to amazing jazz while munching on yummy food! I love jazz, so I had a blast!!

While we were there we spent over an hour checking out the Lee Miller exhibit. She was an AMAZING woman!! During her lifetime she modeled for famous photographers and then became one herself. She published photographs that would be controversail for a woman now...and she did it in the 1930's!! She traveled Egypt and then became a war correspondant for Time Life during WWII. (Did I mention she is a woman?!?). We saw photographs of her with Pablo Picasso and a very relaxed Charlie Chaplin (with no costume or anything!). She was one of the first photographers in Hitler's bunker shortly after his death, and even took a picture of herself taking a bath in his bath tub!! (This is one of her most famous photographs). Every picture, article and story about her was so incredibly inspiring! I loved it!!

From there Shera and I met up with Joy to see the movie "Step Up 2: The Streets". If you didn't know, I LOVE dance movies, and this one looked amazing so I was very excited to see it. I was NOT disappointed!! The dancing was incredible AND it didn't have any sex in it! In fact, other than the main character constantly showing her stomach, there wasn't much inappropraite in the movie (I'm sure some of the songs weren't the best, but I didn't listen for the words...I was mesmorized by the dancing). The dancing wasn't even dirty...it was just awesome!!

After the movie I had to head to Jennifer's house really quick to change the dressing on her finger. It ended up taking about an hour, but it was an hour of fun!! Dario and Luis were there watching wrestling and I had fun talking about MMA with them. I LOVE that stuff!! (MMA stands for Mixed Martial Arts, which is basically the most intense fighting there is. It combines boxing, all forms of martial arts and wrestling...and its all real!). Those boys are finally starting to see just how cool I am. :)

We ended the night eating some very yummy Thai food at one of my favorite restaurants in the city!!

I am so thankful for last night. I had fun, more fun than I have had in a long time. Overall, it was pretty much the perfect night!!

Orange Bowl!!

Okay, so we lost the game, so I am not going to talk about that. (Or about some of the people that came to watch the game with me and actually asked me to turn it down so they could talk, haha). But, I am quite proud of my party, so I will share that with you. (Sorry I haven't posted sooner, we took these pictures on Joy's camera and I just got them from her).

Since the bowl was the ORANGE bowl, and one of Tech's colors is ORANGE, we had an ORANGE party. First, all the food was orange. Unfortunately, I don't have any orange plates. We served oranges, macaroni and cheese, crackers and cheese, orange chicken, orange peppers, carrots, veggie dip (dyed orange), Doritos and Cheetos. And we drank orange soda and orange juice. :)

We tried to die the rice orange, but it actually came out maroon and orange...which was even better!!!

Next, the guests had to wear orange:

And finally, Giz had an orange collar. :) (He actually wore it all night!)

Overall it was a pretty fun night, despite the final score. I'm already excited for next year. I have plans for any of the BCS bowl possibilities...including a Mexican theme for the Fiesta Bowl, a Red Theme for the Rose Bowl, a much bigger Orange theme if we go back to the Orange Bowl or a Sweets Theme for the Sugar Bowl. I hope we have a great year!!

Happy New Year!!!

I am SO excited that it is 2008!! Honestly, I am not a fan of 2007, and I am really looking forward to a much better year. I had a pretty fun New Year's Eve yesterday. I worked in the morning and then got some things done around the house in the afternoon. Last night I went to Frank and Elizabeth's house to hang out with some friends. Then we all headed to the Delaware River to watch the midnight fireworks. Joy and I picked up 2 of the teens to go with us, since their families were going to celebrate in ways they didn't want to participate in. We all had so much fun!! This time last year I was in Kenya...its amazing where I year will take you.

As you can imagine, the Delaware River was pretty packed, so we had to park pretty far away and walk (this is my 3rd trip to the fireworks, and we always have to park far away). Unfortunately, we didn't leave ourselves enough time to walk from our car to the spot we wanted to get to so we all literally had to run half a mile (I measured the distance on our way home) before midnight hit. We got there with 1 minute to spare!!! That's actually much better than 2 years ago when we were running up to the river during the countdown. :) It took us a good hour to drive home, but that gave us some good time to talk in the car, so we didn't mind.

Today has been a great day for me; mostly because I did next to nothing! :) I didn't get til bed until almost 3, so I slept in pretty late. I even turned my phone off!! I almost never turn my phone off; I'm always afraid something will happen to one of the kids and they won't be able to get in touch with me. The idea of one of the kids being in the hospital and me not knowing it terrifies me, so I usually keep my phone on. Unfortunately, that also means that the random, "Hey Trish, I'm bored" phone call wakes me up all too often. Usually that doesn't bother me...but last night I decided to just sleep!!

So, I woke up and still stayed away from my phone for most of the day. I check occasionally for missed calls, but other than that I read, watched TV and yes...went for a run. :) Tomorrow things go pretty much back to normal, so I decided to soak up today. I have work, Prayer Pals and plenty of things to do to prepare for Kids Club starting up. And of course; errands, cleaning, laundry, etc. I have also gotten calls from several teens that need to get together to talk, so I need to make time for them. I'm excited though, I enjoy the one on one opportunities.

And of course, I have to get ready for Thursday. Why? Because Thursday is the Orange Bowl!!! Virginia Tech will be taking on Kansas in their last game of this year; and it should be a really great game!! I am planning on having a party; everyone must wear orange, the house will be decorated orange...and of course, I will serve oranges. I am SO excited about this game!!!! My house is nowhere near ready for company, nor is my work ready to give me a night off...but hopefully that will change tomorrow!!!

I can't think of a better way to start of 2008 than with a Hokie win!!! :)

There was a baby in my house!!!!

I had the best weekend! My friend Catherine and her 7 month old son, Ephraim, came to visit me this weekend and we had a blast! It was the first time I have ever been around a baby for any extended period of time and I can tell you two things; I am absolutely in love with Ephraim, and I am absolutely in no hurry to have a baby of my own. :)

Gizmo, however, is apparently ready for me to have a baby in the house. He spent the entire weekend keeping an eye on Ephraim for us. Seriously! He was never far from the baby. If Ephraim was on the floor, Giz perched himself in a place where he could see the baby (notice the picture). When Ephraim would cry, Gizmo would come quickly to let us know...but even then had his eye on the baby. If Ephraim was crying and we didn't tend to him, Gizmo would wander to him and stick by him until one of us picked him up. By Sunday Giz was EXHAUSTED. :)

Catherine and Ephraim got to Philly in Friday and we spent Friday night with Linda (who is Catherine's Prayer Pal). Saturday was a very cold day so we decided to stay in for most of it. We ran a few errands (including a fun experience at a Philly grocery store on a Saturday afternoon; us and the rest of the city) and then Catherine cooked me gumbo for dinner. It was delicious and I have enough food for the week! Shera came over that night as well and we had a lot of fun. Ephraim was having some trouble by the middle of the day and didn't want to be away from mommy. That was, until I picked him up!! He and I played and laughed while we watched Catherine cook and it was great! He went to bed soon after Shera came, but didn't stay there. I don't think poor Catherine slept much all weekend (I apparently have a wonderful ability to sleep through screaming babies, sorry Catherine!). Poor Ephraim had been sick, wasn't at home with his normal routine, was surrounded by strange sounds and just didn't know what to do with himself. I still thought he was wonderful, but Catherine said he's usually even better than he was. Hopefully he (and Catherine) are getting a good nights sleep tonight!!

We were all exhausted by about 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and went to bed (after I took Shera home). We went to church Sunday morning but could only stay for worship before leaving to head to New Haven, CT. Ephraim was pretty fussy in the morning, until we got to church. Once he was surrounded by people, he was so happy!! He really enjoyed worship as well, which is a great sign! I have decided he is an extrovert. He was only fussy when we weren't around people. The minute he hit a crowd, he was in his element!!

The drive to New Haven took exactly 3 hours and was such an easy drive. We met Catherine's parents there and headed out to dinner with them along with her brother, John, and his girlfriend. The Siphers (Catherine's family) are my second family and are a HUGE blessing to me. It was really great to see them!! There are a handful of people in my life that really make it possible for me to be in Philly. Along with my parents, the love and support of the Sipher family keeps me going, and sane. They are the reason I am even a believer! They picked me up and drove me to church and youth group for years when I was a teenager and have supported me in everything I have done. I love them!!

After dinner we went to see John perform in his graduate recital. He is a trombone player about to graduate from Yale's Music School with a graduate degree. The recital was wonderful and he played amazingly...though I didn't understand most of the pieces he played. :) Catherine, Ephraim and I all spent the night in a hotel room (after Ephraim attended his first college party where we congratulated John and Ephraim immediately passed out, haha). I slept well (thanks to Karen Sipher's kind donation of ear plugs), but it appears Ephraim and Catherine didn't sleep as well. I really do hope they are both sleeping right now!

This morning, we pretty much got up, ate breakfast, packed and headed back to Philly. We hit some traffic on the way back, and I missed a turn in New Jersey which caused us to end up in Delaware, but we still got to the airport before Catherine's flight. We had to run into the airport with and quick goodbye and then it was back to life as usual for me. We didn't even get a picture of me with Ephraim, which is sad, but at least I have some pictures. Besides, Catherine has pictures of Ephraim's first everything, so there is no shortage of pictures from the trip. :)

It was a really fun trip, and so funny to see the differences in how our lives have turned out. Catherine and I have been friends for over 20 years (how crazy is that?!?) and I don't think either of us ever expected to be where we are now...and yet neither of us would want to be anywhere else. And, while I definitely want to have children of my own someday, for now I'm very content with being a surrogate aunt/friend to some of the greatest kids in the world (Ephraim, Paxton, Kyler...) :)

Its Halloween!

I spent last night (after Kids Club) walking through the 5th scariest Haunted House in the United States. It really was scary; and so much fun!!! I went last year and had a blast and I have decided to make Haunted Houses a yearly thing. I enjoy them almost as much as I do Amusement Parks! I went with a group of friends and we all had fun laughing at one another being scared for about an hour. Why is it fun to be scared? I don't know...but it is! Actually, I don't like actually being scared, which is probably why I like Haunted Houses. Its not real fear, its just fun! The 3rd scariest Haunted House in America is right outside Philly and includes a Haunted Corn Maze. Since I think corn mazes themselves are scary (even in the daylight), it should be really fun! Can't wait for next year!

Tonight will be the first Halloween in 3 years that I am not with the girls. I'm not really upset about it, I am really looking forward to a night off! (I cancelled Prayer Pals). The girls are going to dress up as boys (wearing their brothers' clothes), which I think is really cool. On a side note, Miguel is going as an M&M which I think will be the cutest thing ever! Hopefully I will at least get to see him.

This week is a very busy week with clubs and Revolve this weekend. I'm getting a cold which I hope will be gone by Friday. I really want to be able to pour into the girls this weekend. Next week won't be nearly as busy (I hope!) so I am hoping to put off my household needs until then.

GREAT WEEKEND!!!

I had such a wonderful weekend! It started on Friday night when I went to Elizabeth and Frank's house with some friends. We played Balderdash all night and had so much fun. I really enjoyed laughing with them!!

Saturday I got up early and drove to Hershey Park with Shera, J, Jen, Joy, and Lindsay. We spent the entire day at the park riding roller coasters, which I have discovered is a huge love of mine!! Jen and Lindsay aren't big fans of roller coasters, so when the rest of us rode the major coasters (like the Storm Runner that drops you 121 feet almost straight down!), they hung out together. We tried to ride as many things as possible together though. The only negative was having to stand in line for the rides, but we even turned that into a positive (I told you it was a great weekend!). While standing in line we decided to take turns picking rides out of the map and then acting them out for everyone else to guess. We laughed A LOT, acted very silly and it made the lines so much more fun. It was great!!

The "Granny Bugs" ride was the hardest for us to guess, so we decided to take a picture in front of it. We looked for it all day and finally found it as we were leaving the park!!

By the end of the day we had convinced Lindsay to try some scarier roller coasters and she had a blast! By the time we left she was ready to try an upside down coaster!! We ran out of time, but we'll get her on one next time!!

We didn't leave the park until after 9 (after spending some time shopping for chocolate...were were at HERSHEY Park!), and didn't get home until after midnight. Our original plan was to stop for dinner on the way home, but we were so exhausted we just headed straight home. Jen (who is a student at PBU) and Lindsay spent the night with me which was fun too. We didn't stay up too late, but we had some laughs and everyone enjoyed Gizmo. I have the best cat ever!!! He entertained, and loved us for a while before we fell asleep.

I was pretty tired when I got to church this morning and wasn't very helpful at Sunday School, but enjoyed being there with the girls. I had a blast during worship this morning and had a really cool God moment with Paxton. Every Sunday he comes and sits with me during worship and morning announcements. He is so sweet and fun and I really love watching him, and worshipping with him even if we worship in different ways (he really enjoys spinning in circles, not my favorite thing, haha). Anyway, as we were singing one song I looked down at my left hand and started looking at my ring finger. I asked the Lord if He has a plan for that finger. I wasn't asking if He had a husband for me, I wasn't longing for a husband. I just wanted to hear from Him that married or single, I would always be loved and pursued. Its hard to explain what I really meant by that question, but God knew exactly what I was asking.

Literally as soon as I finished asking the question, Paxton grabbed my left hand, looked at it, took my ring finger, wrapped his hand around it and started to spin with a huge smile on his face...his beautiful brown eyes looking right at me. I knew at that moment that God absolutely loved me, was pursuing me and that He has a plan for me. It was awesome.

A friend, R, came to church today and brought his daughter. I was really excited to see him (he hasn't been to church in a while) and his daughter is so beautiful!! After church Shera and I went to lunch with Miguel and Linda. We had a lot of fun (can you see a theme for the weekend...fun!). Today is Peurto Rican Day, and Shera and I decided to celebrate. :) In Philly, Puerto Rican Day is a huge party. People drive around the city honking and yelling with Puerto Rican flags flying. There is also a televised parade. So as we were driving, Shera and I joined the fun rolling our windows down, honking and yelling. Linda and Miguel were extremely embarrassed, and we loved every second of it. They spent most of the car ride literally hiding in the back seat. When we got to Wendy's Linda announced "Just wait, I'm going to get you back on Irish Day!" (Haha, I'm assuming she meant St. Patrick's Day).
After lunch I went home and took a nap! There were other things I could have done, but the nap was screaming the loudest. I had Prayer Pals tonight and it went well. We didn't have too many kids but I have been wanting to clean the Hope House for over a week now and tonight I (with Shannon's help) got it to a manageable point. Now it won't be constantly on my mind!!

After Prayer Pals I headed back to Elizabeth and Frank's for another game night and had even more fun than Friday. It was a really great way to end the weekend. I actually had some amazing times with the Lord this weekend as well...and I will probably share some of that soon (and it will make my whole "ring finger" question make more sense, haha).