Birmingham Home Theater

Justin's home theater business has really taken off this year. We launched his website a few months ago, and earlier this month, he hired an assistant full time! Please keep his business in your prayers. Pray that God will lead him and give him wisdom.

Happy 3rd Anniversary, Justin!

How could 3 years have possibly gone by so quickly??? Then again, what was life even like before I was married???
April 23, 2005 I married my best friend, Justin Hardy. We were 25 and 27 years old, and quite in love. We have gone through as many challenges as any couple I know, but three years later, our relationship is stronger and better than ever!

The more time I spend with Justin, the more I love him - his mischevious smile, his crazy curls, his gregarious personality, his passion for life, and every thing he does - small and big. I'm looking forward to spending the rest of my life with him and growing our family!

Happy Anniversary, Justin!

Help! I need somebody!

Work is busy, busy, busy right now. Sometimes we think about complaining, but we quickly reconsider knowing that there are so many people in the Real Estate business right now who are just trying to make ends meet. Nevertheless, we needed help. We were backed up on the administrative part of our job, and were bogged down with so many of the things that take up time that we could be spending following up with prospects and creating raving fans of Signature Homes and our community.

We hired a 4th agent back in October, but it just wasn't a good fit for her, so she left us back in February. This time, we took a different approach. We wanted to start with an assistant or apprentice who could help us get caught up, but still be there to help us with sales when we need her. After talking with a few others, we interviewed Tarayn Comer last week, and she started today!

We are so thankful to have her. We all think she will be a good fit for our "family" at Ross Bridge.

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 3)

The long awaited 3rd and final part of this post!

So, after the wedding we went back to Beth and Matt's cute little house in Grosse Pointe Woods. Beth was a college friend of mine, and a life-long friend of Lynnette. We appreciated having a place to change clothes before the after-wedding festivities, and had a good time visiting with old friends.

This is Beth and her husband Matt Rainbolt at the Westin.

We didn't have time to stay long before we all headed to the Westin Hotel at the airport. Because Dan and Lynnette rarely get to see their out-of-town friends, and because the wedding was over so early, they invited several people back to hang out at their hotel for a few hours that evening.

Here's a picture of the group hanging out in a private area of the Westin lobby. We ordered plenty of appetizers to share, and were grateful for the time to spend with the bride and groom before they headed off to St. Lucia.

One last picture before saying goodbye!

Our friends Paul and Donna Vilela were planning on staying only for a short time. They live about an hour away, and Paul's band was playing in a show later that night. So Donna could stay longer, Justin and I decided to pack up early and stay the night at Paul and Donna's in Toledo.

We made it to Paul and Donna's house late... around 1am, I think! Paul was just getting home from his gig.

Paul and Donna have two great dog-kids, too. Opal and Trixie were gracious hosts - even sharing their toys with Rez and Ader.

Have you ever seen four better behaved dogs? Of course, there were treats involved.

Thanks for letting us stay at your home, Paul and Donna. Your house is precious and it was SO good to see you again. Next time you're down south, please let us know!

Justin and I hit the road early the next morning before Paul and Donna got up. We (and by "we," I mean "Justin") drove straight through and made it back to Birmingham in time for dinner! We had such a wonderful week end. Now, back to work!!!

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 2)

Apparently, the morning of the wedding was a whirlwind, because I seem to have not taken a single picture until post-ceremony. Between hair and makeup, dresses and shoes, we all managed to get ready just in time for professional pictures by Yakov, the Russian photographer.
The ceremony was absolutely beautiful. It was held in an atrium of sorts - a conservatory of glass with a garden-like setting. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day. Although cold outside, the sun was shining brightly, and inside the conservatory, it felt like Spring. During the exchanging of vows, Dan said "I do," but the minister didn't hear Lynnette's "I do." After an awkward pause, Lynnette turned with a smile, and said it again. Lynnette's brothers did what brothers do and gave Dan a hard time... even during the ceremony. When the minister asked for the rings, Lynnette's brother Lincoln pulled out handcuffs for all the wedding guests to see. Fortunately, we were in the company of people who found this funny. Not sure it would have gone over so well at my wedding. ;-)
Mr. and Mrs. Dan Noble pause for a kiss while walking down the isle as newlyweds! This picture is compliments of my friend from college, Donna Coker Vilela. She and her husband Paul found Justin in the lobby so he would have "friends" to sit with... even though they had never met!

The reception was fun! Lynnette hired a barista to serve delectible coffee treats, and had an old fashioned photo booth. In this photo Donna, Christina and I are waiting for our turn in the booth. Everyone took photos and pasted them in a scrapbook with a note to Dan and Lynnette. If I had a scanner, I would insert the cute pictures that Justin and I took in the booth. And the ones that I took with Cutie Pie alumns Lynnette, Beth, Amy, and Donna.
Amy, Donna and I (college friends and fellow Ju Go Ju Cutie Pies) waited in line for the barista. We rekindled friendships instantly, and for a moment it was almost like we were still back at Harding... Only older... and married.

It was wonderful to see college friends like Stacy... who only lives an hour and a half from me, but we never see each other. Good thing she has a blog so I can watch her precious kids grow up!
Everyone got to dance! The bride and groom. The father-of-the-bride and the bride. The mother-of-the-groom and the groom...
...even the bridesmaids! Only ours was much more like a sway than an actual dance. ;-)
Lynnette and I have a special friendship. On her wedding program, she listed me as a collge friend and "kindred spirit." We met our freshman year at Harding in the dorms, and over time developed a close connection. We stayed up late (I mean, LATE) many nights planning things for our social club (or sorority, for those of you who are unfamiliar with this term). She and I were together when we first heard the news of the 9-11 attacks on the Twin Towers, and we cried together. We sang Lee Greenwood's "I'm Proud to be an American" at the very tip top of our lungs. We shared a year's worth of free pizza our last year of college... and the pizza guys never knew that we weren't the same person. And despite being two girls who love their very different home states of Alabama and Michigan, often were asked if we were sisters! It was so special to be able to spend this special day with her.

The post-wedding events were just as fun, but you'll have to stay tuned for yet one more post of Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City - soon to follow.

Lynnette's Wedding and the Motor City (part 1)

This week end, I was able to spend wonderful time with old college friends and witness one of my best friend's weddings. Justin and I opted to drive from Birmingham to Detroit, Michigan so we could bring our children (Rez and Adler... the pups). Justin was born in the Detroit area, and moved in the 2nd grade but still has a lot of family there. His Aunt Patty and Uncle Bob have a good friend who lives and works in China, but keeps his home in Michigan, and he was so gracious to allow us to stay there. We started our trip on Wednesday evening after work, and had planned to stay in Elizabethtown, KY, but all the hotels were booked for a truck show, so we only made it to Nashville before calling it quits for the night. We got up EARLY the next morning (4:30 to be exact), and were on the road quickly. We made it to Michigan in time to shower and meet our cousin Melodie for dinner.
Melodie took us to a great restaurant called the Box Bar & Grill in the quaint downtown area of Plymouth, MI. We met early because I had to be in Grosse Pointe for shower for Lynnette later that evening. As we were eating, it began to snow outside.
By the time we left, the snow was already sticking. The weather experts were predicting between 4 and 10 inches, so we were excited to see what the night held in store!

It took us much longer than we thought to make the trip from Plymouth to Grosse Pointe. In fact, we did a lot more driving than we ever thought we would. We were staying near Canton or maybe it was Westland. The wedding festivities were in Grosse Pointe and Rochester. Distance from Canton to Rochester? 47 miles. Had we known this prior to our trip, we probably would have made other lodging arrangements, but the house was so nice, it was tough to even think of staying elsewhere.

Some of Lynnette's friends in Michigan hosted a Spa Party at a precious spa in Grosse Pointe. There were lots of girls there, and we all had the best time. I was late to the party (see above paragraph), but was there in plenty of time to enjoy paraffin wax, chocolate covered strawberries, and the opening of gifts.
Lynnette opened a variety of great gifts from comfy, fun stuff to wear during their St. Lucia honeymoon...
...to a sentimental charm bracelet from her mother.
And then there was this gift. If I told you what was just beyond the wrapping paper, I'd have to kill you, so I will let that remain nameless. But let's just say the lady who bought it hoped she didn't run into one of the elders of her church while she was walking through the mall. THIS gift, however, was a hit. We all secretly wished we had received one at our own lingerie showers. ;-)

At this point, it wouldn't be right to continue without a huge thanks to my husband. As I mentioned before, we were staying surprisingly far away from most of the wedding festivities. Justin dropped me off at the Spa around 8:00. As far as we knew, there were no guys getting together while the girls were at the spa, so he decided to go back and come pick me up when the party was over. When I called him around 9:30 to tell him to be there by 10:00, he had been "home" for 7 minutes. The weather had gotten so bad that he was driving around 45mph on the interstates! So, thank you, Justin, for being my personal driver throughout the whole week end. He picked me up around 10:15 and we headed "home." The driving conditions were still trecherous because the salt trucks hadn't quite made it to streets. The cars on the interstates kept the roads fairly clear, but once we got off the interstate, we were driving on snow.

So much snow, in fact, that we paused to take a picture. This was our (Justin's) first real experience driving on snow-covered roads. It was pretty crazy. We stopped by a park on the way back to let the dogs run around, and then crashed at the house.
This is what we woke up to the following morning! God blanketed the ground with about 5 inches of snow! Unfortunately, Justin nor I really brought good clothes to play in the snow, nor did we really have time to take it all in because we were meeting Justin's cousin Sharon and her daughter Zoe for lunch. Unfortunately, Sharon's twins Izzy and Alli couldn't join us because they were in pre-school. Zoe was out of school on Spring Break, so it was fun to get to visit with her! We forgot to take pictures of Sharon and Zoe, but our lunch was great.
We stopped at a church on the way to the Rehearsal, and Justin made this little snowman. The mouth fell off and wouldn't stay, so the snowman is now smoking a cigar. :-) The hotel in Rochester where the wedding was held was magnificent. It was just off the main street, and was bordered on one side by a bubbling creek.
Lynnette was a wonderful bride lining us all up according to well, I think it was approximately the length of time she had known us... or something like that.
Dan's parents hosted a wonderfully patriotic rehearsal dinner for us at Kruse and Muer complete with Bill Clinton memoribilia and Arkansas barbecue sauce! Dan's mom used to be the mayor of their town, and she and Bill Clinton were close... no, not in that way. Hehe! For the record, she told me herself that she would not be voting for Hilary during the '08 election. I think I actually let out a sigh of relief!

After the dinner, the girls headed back to the hotel to hang out with Lynnette on the eve of her wedding day! Three of us stayed with her, and we stayed up talking until almost 2am. It was so much fun to be with old friends, and meet new ones!

The actual wedding day photos are forthcoming in Part 2 of "Lynnette's Wedding and The Motor City."

The Redeemer and The Rabbit

...the history and meaning of Easter.

The tradition of Easter began when the earliest missionaries began sharing Jesus with the Teutonic tribes of Europe. During the Spring equinox every year, the pagans would worship the pagan Saxon goddess Eostre, the goddess of Spring - the same time of year early Christians celebrated the burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Attempting to convert the Teutonic (or Germanic) tribes, the missionaries adopted the celebration as their own. The new converts could keep many of their traditions, but the meaning and purpose of the celebration was changed.

What Easter would be complete without the Bunny and the eggs? These traditions are derived from our "pagan friends." Our Easter Bunny was inspired by the goddess Eostre, whose symbol is a rabbit or hare. Exchanging eggs was a Teutonic tradition symbolizing rebirth and renewal.

To Christians, Easter is worth more than bunnies, baskets and eggs. To Christians, Easter is the celebration and recognition of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of eternal life for all who believe in Him and obey his Word.

Deadly Blow

Every now and then, I'll hear a bizarre news story that gets my attention so much that I feel the urge to share. Such is the case with the recent death of a woman who was boating in the Florida Keys. How did she die, you ask?

Would you believe me if I told you that while a family (two adult sisters and their father) was riding on their boat on the Atlantic side of one of the Florida Keys, a 75-lb sting ray leaped out of the water, smacked one of the women in the face, and killed her? Well, my friends, it's sad but TRUE!

Here is a photo of the deadly beast (notice the woman's visor on top).

In all fairness to the stingray, they are not usually aggressive creatures. They jump out of the water only to shake off parasites, give birth, or to ward off a predator. It was the impact that killed both woman and stingray in this incident, not a sting by the ray's barb which is only used as a self-defense mechanism. What an unfortunate fluke accident.

Anyway, just felt like sharing. Click here if you would like to read the complete story.

Family Blogging

My mom started a blog! She enjoys reading all my friends' blogs, and now she has a place on the web of her own! Please stop by and welcome her to the blogging world! :-)

Blog Makeover

A huge thanks to Shauna Callaghan, to whom I can wholeheartedly attribute my beautiful blog makeover. She worked hard trying to please a very difficult client, but I think the end result turned out great. We all know my blog was in desparate need of some personality! :-) Click on her name to see other work that she has done, and maybe you can commission her to pimp your blog, too!

St. Patrick's Day Block Party

I know I've sort of gone on and on about how energetic my neighborhood is. Saturday afternoon, the O'Hare's, who live around the corner from us, hosted a big St. Patrick's Day Block Party. Growing up, St. Patrick's Day was really just another day. I mean, really, I didn't even own anything green to wear (green just isn't my best color), and I didn't (and still don't) understand the meaning of the holiday. I suppose it goes without saying that the O'Hare's are Irish... and apparently very proud of their Irish roots. This party was WAY more "authentic" than anything Justin and I had ever attended. There were 2 sets of Irish dancers (I missed the first group because I got there a little late... work), a bagpiper and a fiddle player. There was always some kind of entertainment going on. There was face painting for the kids and food and drinks for the adults. Unfortunately, we have no pictures because I couldn't find my camera, and didn't want to spend time looking for it because I was already over an hour late for the party. We stayed until about 7:00 when things were just beginning to wrap up, and came back to our house and watched a movie with Matt and Amy. I love our neighborhood!

P is for Pottery

Every month, all the girls in our Small Group get together and do something fun. Not that studying God's word isn't fun, but we all long for special "Girl time." Almost everyone was able to be there. Lanie had to miss because she tore her ACL playing basketball (double whammy), but Laura, Maghan, Martha, Martina, Jamie, Bethany, Ashley, me, Rachel and Jessa (back row, then front row, left to right in the picture below) had a blast. I painted 4 coasters. One was leopard print, one was zebra print, one had a big red flower on it, and the other was green with different colored circles. I had fun being creative. Y'all know I love anything crafty! Here's a picture of the girls once it was all said and done.

Mardi Gras/Casino Night

First of all, let me say that our neighborhood is AWESOME! I am truly spoiled. There is always something to do... so much so, that my social calendar stays full between church and community obligations... oh, and work, too. I'm so blessed to work AND live in such a great place. Most of the events are very family oriented - bring on the kids and pets! But once a year, we have an 18-and-up event. This year we had a Casino Night at the resort with a Mardi Gras theme.

Here's how it all went down. Each person pays $25 to cover your food. Reasonable. When you arrive at the Ross Bridge "Casino" {sidebar: gambling is illegal in Alabama, so this is how we do it down here}, you are greeted with Mardi Gras beads, a fancy mask, and $500 of "play money." That's $500 each - or $1000 per couple. There were all kinds of games you would find in a Casino - Roulette, Black Jack, Craps, Slots and I'm sure more... but I probably don't know what they're called considering my serious lack-of-casino-experience. You trade your money in for chips and play the night away. There was a great band as a backdrop and and wonderful buffet.

Justin and the guys parked at a Black Jack table and stayed there for the ENTIRE night. The girls wasted our coins on the slots. It was fun to win, but even funner knowing it wasn't real money! At the end, you exchange your coins and chips for tickets. At the front of the ballroom were prizes ranging from golf bags to George Forman grills, and martini glasses to iPod docking stations. You place as many tickets as you have in a basket in front of one or each of the prizes. At the end of the night, they draw tickets to see who wins. Justin and I didn't win a ton of tickets, but we chose to put all our eggs in one basket. We ended up winning a small piece of red luggage.

We enjoyed the night with all our wonderful neighbors, but had a pre-party party at Matt and Amy Anderson's house next door with Dana and Daniel Pittman and John and Emily Haygood. We attended an after-party party at David and Shah Hines' home. They live behind us. We stayed there until after 1:00 am. Whew! Sunday school came awfully early the next day! Below are pictures to document the night. I took so many more, but I felt like these give a good reflection of our fun evening.

Justin and me sporting our Mardi Gras masks. Aren't they great?!
Dana, me, Emily and Amy

That's me on the left and Amy on the right. Amy and her husband Matt live next door and have become good friends. You may recognize them from the snow pictures from January.

We played the slot machines all night. I must have had a lucky streak because it seemed like I was the only one winning. It sort of became a joke that when I sat down to play, I would always win SOMETHING. Dana, Emily, Amy and I took turns at this machine most of the night.

This is my work partner, Kate and her husband, John.

A great picture of our good friends Dana and Daniel Pittman.

A picture of Justin and me sans masks... only Justin's is on the back of his head - hense the ribbon on his forehead.

Jeff Fitzmorris and John Giffin (Kate's husband) had to have won the most tickets! To put this into perspective... TOGETHER, Justin and I won 7 tickets... 7. They must have tripled that EACH.

The little pre-party group ready to head back home after a little dancing. Dana and Daniel, Emily and John, Matt and Amy, me and Justin.

What a fun night! I'm already looking forward to next year!