Happy (Belated) Birthday to Me!!!

You may have noticed in my post last week, that I didn't say anything about my birthday. June 10th it was. As usual, I tried to stretch the celebrating out as much as possible. I thought one of the perks of being married was a month long bday celebration.. no? 1st weekend: Friends... 2nd weekend: Just the two of us... 3rd weekend: my parents... and 4th weekend: in-laws. This sounded like such a great idea in my head. And then, the World Cup rolls around and has it's opening weekend on none other than, my birthday weekend! We somehow did manage to celebrate much longer than the actual day though, so I was happy. Here are some pics of the best month of the year: June! :)

Weekend 1: Spiro
We went to my hometown to hang out with my family for part I of my birthday. We started Saturday morning off with a little run. Just kidding... a 5k... in the most extreme heat/humidity I've ever thought about running in. Rooney ran with me/almost pulled my arm off. We were super excited to be part of Spiro's first annual "Stride for Pride." I've gotten a lot of questions about the name they chose for their annual race, and no... it has nothing to do with gay pride. Moving on.


This is me at the finish line wanting to die. I seriously wanted to just go hop in the pool after block one.

Here we are after the run at my parents garage sale. :)

The rest of the day was so much fun! We had a big cookout & were able to relax. Before we left on Sunday, my mom insisted on a "family" photo shoot. This is one of our favorites:

Weekend 2: Edmond

I woke up on my actual birthday to Chris asking if I wanted coffee/breakfast. Nothing out of the norm, except he never came back and brought it to me? In an attempt to sleep right up to the very last minute, I have to stay focused to get ready at lightening speed before running out the door. As I walked out of the bedroom area, I see Chris standing with coffee & breakfast in hand (so proud) under this:

Made my day!!! He spent so much time gathering the materials, and crafting me a birthday banner! I LOVED IT! I loved it so much that I left it up until this past weekend. :) He is seriously the sweetest. That night, Tate & Kristen (our newly engaged friends! Yippee!) came over to go out to dinner. Somehow the little stinkers all got together, gave Kristen one of my cake dishes & she made my very favorite birthday cake in the whole wide world! Wish I had a picture of it. SO SWEET! Gosh... what a wonderful day. Here are some pictures of our Saii Sushi photo shoot:

Maybe I got a little picnik-happy here?:

Weekend 3: Edmond (In-laws)
Another perk of being married is that I get to share my actual bday with my nephew, Ben! Here we all are (minus the Beldens) at Hideaway:

This is my bday card from Scott & Ash. Ben drew me a "yeti."

Weekend 4: Girls Night
It's so dang hard to get a big group of girls together, so we just did a little impromptu dinner at Bellini's. These girls are a blast. Here is a picture:

I think I got everyone in? I had lunch with Kirsten & baby Gavin at Nikkellette's, but we didn't get a picture.

Thanks to everyone for helping me stretch my birthday out way too long for someone in their 20's. :) I love you all dearly!

Have a great week!

Love,

Gena

Catch up time...

This summer has absolutely flown by. I'll just post pictures with little blurbs about what we've been up to since there is pretty much no way I could hit all of the high points since May. Yikes. Our house is FINALLY where we want it! The painters just finished up painting the exterior of the house this week, the pool is up and going (please come use it if you live nearby!), and the grill practically stays hot! This week, we had a few neighbors and friends over for a little cookout. Here are a few pictures:

Welcome back, Matt Austin! Meet & greet for Matt, Lindsay & baby Charlotte coming soon!

We've also been to several weddings this summer. Somehow I only managed to get a picture at one of them? Here we are at the Skirvin downtown. What a beautiful wedding & fun night!

Last week, we met up with our friends Alex & Laurin for date night at Boulevard. They are always so much fun and we had a blast catching up with them. Congrats, Laurin on the new j-o-b! You'll be the best coach ever (maybe I should say for a girl? or besides Chris?).

As always, we LOVE when my parents come to visit. Last time they were up, we took them to Mama Rojas at Lake Hefner. Here we are taking pics with this amazing sunset:

How cute are they?!

A while back (?) we did a little dog sitting for the Steves dogs, Lily & London. Here is little Rooney sleeping like a baby after a long weekend of playing with his friends:

We tried to do a little night swimming, but all three dogs thought they should swim with us. Several scratches later, Chris had to make them all sit and stay on the side of the pool so they weren't on top of us in the pool. So funny, these dogs. :)

USA!USA!USA! This was my first time to ever experience World Cup madness. These pictures are from one of the many little get-togethers we had to cheer on the home team. p.s. Those horns nearly drove me crazy. I go to bed before Chris, and he just reads/plays on the computer/etc until he falls asleep... usually to ESPN. What time did those soccer games start you ask? They started at 6:00 am. AM! So the sound of reporters lulled me to sleep and bright and early every morning I was awaken to the vuvuzelas (aka: the little horns that sounded like a swarm of buzzing bees in the stadium). Chris is finally over the fact that it's all over for another four years.

Here is a picture of our house before the painters came... I'll have to post another soon.

Last, but not least... here are a few of my niece and nephews:

And that's a wrap.. I'll try to post more soon. Lot's going on to talk about. :)

Hope you're having a great week! It's almost Friday!!!! WOO HOO!!!

Gena

Weekend Highlights

Hello, all! Thank goodness today is a relaxed day at work, so I can write a quick little ditty about my weekend. I have to learn to start taking pictures and uploading them so this will be more fun to read. Anywho, one of my oldest friends (not in age, but in years I've known her), Lacie, came to visit me this weekend!!! We lived together for the majority of our college days & then she moved far far away from me. Not really, but I don't make it down to Ardmore so much, so it feels like a lot farther than it really is. Hallelujah she's engaged now & in town a lot for wedding planning stuff. I get to see her so much more! By the way, go to the link below to check out her a-freaking-mazing engagement pictures. They're precious.

http://carlzochphotography.com/blog/
This picture is from Carl Zoch's Blog:



You can also read about this cute couple here:

http://embellishedweddingsok.com/website/wordpress/?p=615

or here:

http://www.rocknrollbride.com/2010/05/when-this-baby-hits-88-mph/#more-42492

They're plastered all over the internet now! I'm sure there are more links, but I haven't had my little bit of coffee with my creamer yet & this is all I can think of. Did I mention that they are adorable?!?!?! :)

I digress. So... Lacie came in Friday night & we met up with a few friends for girls night! So fun. Our guys were out of town, so when the cat's away..? Just kidding. We met up at Iguana Lounge to all catch up. What a fun time with great girls!? Saturday morning started off with a personal shower that I was hosting at my house. I'm getting better at this shower throwing, but goodness it's a lot of work! Cleaning, organizing, decorating, entertaining, so on & so forth. We didn't really have any other major plans, so just lots of running around & hanging out.

My parents & sister are still on vacation, so I'm constantly getting picture texts from them. Sounds like they're having a blast. This is the view from their condo:



They're just laying out, reading, relaxing & eating the best food. :( Good for them.

Moving right along... here in Oklahoma, I have wonderful in-laws! My sweet father-in-law was in Chicago last week for a dental conference. They came over Sunday night because he had a surprise for me! While he was walking around Chicago, he walked past a little store & spotted the cutest sandals & decided to get a pair for each of "his girls!" I still don't know how I got so lucky to marry into such a wonderful family. Aren't these cute?!:



Lastly, I just joined an all girls Bible Study on Monday nights. This truly was an answer to prayers. I have only been a few times now, but I just LOVE getting to know this humongous, sweet, pregnant bunch of girls! :) Seriously though. There is definitely something in the water here! Just in our group last night, TWO girls announced that they were pregnant, bringing the grand total up to SIX! Holy smokes. So like I was saying, I love what I'm learning during this study. We just started on this book:


http://keepersministry.com/

Love. It. This really helps me think about how God has designed me as a woman & a keeper. A keeper of my heart, my home, & my family. I'm still feeling out my role in this new season of life, so this book is helping guide me down the right path. For the first time since I was little, I have memory verses to recite. :)

#1: Mark 12:30
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul all your mind and with all your strength."

#2 Matthew 6:33
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and these things will be added to you."

These have been great conversation topics when I get home too! We have just recently made an effort to try to pray together every night before bed. Kneeling on the floor, and praying. I've never really been comfortable praying out loud before (weird, I know), so to be honest I was kind of avoiding this. You just feel so vulnerable when you open up and speak what's on your heart. Being the spiritual leader that he is, Chris insisted that we make time for this.. together. I have already noticed a difference. In my marriage, friendships, relationships, work, thoughts, actions and words. I had my solo prayer time before, but something is unique and different now. I like it and I need it. "For where two or more are gathered together in My Name, I am there in the midst of them." When I got to work this morning, I went to turn my phone on vibrate and had this message:



Like I said earlier, how did I get so lucky? Oh my gosh. I love this guy so much.



Ok, didn't mean to get all church-y on you. :) Just something to report. I guess that's all I have for now! I should probably get to workin' at some point today. We're discussing on our big Memorial Day weekend plans, so I'll keep you posted. As long as our plans involve nonthingness & sun, I'm ok with it! Have a great week!!!!!

Love,

Gena

Wishful Wednesday

I never was good at the journal thing growing up, so I'm hoping that trend doesn't continue. :) Most of the blogs that I read have fun themes for different days of the week. I grabbed the button above called "Wishful Wednesday," and you can write about anything that you're wishing for! Today, I wish I was here:

...relaxing & soaking in some sun!

My parents & sister are going to the beach NEXT WEEK & I am so incredibly jealous that I can barely stand it. Yes, I was just there 5 short months ago... but still. Doesn't make it any easier knowing that while I'm working 8-5, commuting all the dang day long, they will be worshipping the sun, eating fab-u-lous seafood, catching crabs (this looks/sounds weird when typed out. Maybe I should say "crab hunting?"), etc. without a care in the world. I don't so much miss the forever long drive down to Alabama/Florida though. I have learned that if I slip into a Dramamine coma the night before, it's usually not so bad. Little Miss Amy will have the whole backseat to herself this year. This is how we survive the 12+ hr drive.

My sun time will come. I would be lying if I said I haven't spent several lunch break hours by our pool. Before this month long monsoon came, of course. Hope all you Harpers have a blast!!!

While I'm wishing away, I also wish I could could learn to say, "no," more often. :) Chris & I both seem to have a little problem in this area. We just love love love to stay busy and on the go. I print of jumbo size calendars every month & get excited while I use the colorful markers to fill in each and every box. Life groups, bible studies, soccer games, soccer banquets, spin class, landscaping, work trips, Co-op Nights, working on projects, dinner date nights with friends, etc. My sweet friend, Lacie, always says this reminds her of me/us:



So true. Holy cow.



My final wish for the day is that tonight on



my favorite

LEE DEWYZE


will make it through to the FINAL 2!!!!! Love this guy!

That is all for today. Stay safe from these storms!

Love,

Gena

Hello, all!.. I am alive

So I officially stink at this blog business. We've just been busy little bees for the past three months or so and I just haven't made time to keep all of you people updated. I'll just post random pictures, blurbs, etc. to catch you all up to speed. Here we go:

Randomness #1: Our house renovations are coming to an end. The only major projects on the to-do list are 1. PAINT the hideous blue garage door and around the house and 2. Rebuild the deck. We (and by we, I mean Chris) have feverishly worked in turning the front of our house a complete 180 degrees from when we first bought it in September. We now have sod, new trees, flowers galore, black mulch, etc. We love love love our new neighbors too! The walkers give us a daily pat on the back for our good deeds. Just yesterday I was making enchiladas when I heard the door beep like someone was coming in from the garage. When I turned around expecting Chris & Rooney, I was shocked to see our sweet little neighbor MicKaela with her "pink pirate eye patch" coming to say hi! So dang cute.

Here's the before picture of our house:


and then here is our house today:

TA-DA!!!

Randomness #2:
If you have ever met Maggie Belden or Ashlee Waugh, you would be so envious of their craftiness. They are WONDERFUL sisters-in-law and just have the very best ideas. So, I have added tons of arts & crafts blogs to my favorites on my computer in an attempt to gain inspiration so that I too can be crafty. Here are a few of my projects I've been working on:


Project Picture/Cross thing



This is a two-fer... I made the wreaths & the rug! See? Aren't you kinda impressed? :) This does NOT come natural to me, people.




Randomness #3:
My friend Kirsten had a baby! I got to be at the hospital for all of the birthday festivities & L.O.V.E.D every minute of it!!! So fun! Here is a pic of Chris & Noah waiting on baby Gavin:




And here is the little pumpkin, Gavin!!! Doesn't she look amazing for just spitting out a little munchkin!?!?! Holy cow. He is the sweetest little guy.



Randomness #4:
This is no big secret.. I'm allergic to nuts. Throuout my life, my family has loved teasing me about my swelling-prone lips. That was about the extent of the damage when I ate a nut. My lips would swell & swell until finally... POP! Gross? I know. But it's the truth. Last week, I went to dinner with my sister-in-law (& my physician) and her friend at this vegan restaurant called 105 degrees. I guess I'm not so familiar with vegan cooking practices & didn't realize that they use nuts. A LOT of nuts. In everything. Long story short.. I barely made it out of the trendy little restaurant before I "lost" all of the nastiness that I had just eaten. Then drove home and proceeded to "lose" the nastiness again. Right smack dab in the middle of the front yard. Did I mention that our neighbors were standing across the street watching this whole thing go down? Yep. Because they were. Yuck. Chris felt the need to make the announcement, "She's not been drinking, she's just very allergic to nuts." Guess there needed to be an explanation for the 10 minute long vomiting session. After getting a shot in the hiney from my father-in-law (yes you read that right... father-in-law), puffing an inhaler, AND Benadryl, I ended up here:




What a night. My in-laws were kind enough to go with us to the E.R. We all learned a lot about each other that long night in the hospital. :) My parents were waiting by the phone and ready to jump at the text saying that I was bad enough for them to make the 3 hour trek to take care of me & my swollen-ness. If they would just move up here already, there would be less of that sick-child-separation-anxiety. ;) I'm sure of it.

Randomness #5:
Since soccer season has recently ended & school is almost over for summer, Chris has turned into a landscaping fool. Our weekends & date nights have mostly consisted of us staying home and doing as little as possible. Here is our latest tv obsession:

So funny! You must watch it. We're almost done with season1.


That's all I can think of right now. I'll try to get better at this! Oh.. and head on over & check out my sister's new blog: amycophotography.blogspot.com. She's here almost every weekend it seems taking pictures of our friends & their precious babies. Have a great week!!!

Love,

Gena