Happy 30th Anniversary STS-1

Today was an amazing day!  Thirty years ago today, Columbia launched into space for the first time, carrying astronauts John Young and Bob Crippen.  The space shuttle program has been such a part of my life that I hardly remember my life before STS-1.  At a press conference this afternoon, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announced that Space Shuttle Atlantis will remain at Kennedy Space Center after it's final flight later this year.  This was an amazing announcement because while it seems common sense that one of the orbitors would be housed at KSC, there was no guarantee.  There were many museums that were vying for a shuttle.  The others will go to Los Angeles, New York, and DC.  Houston, we have a problem....in that Houston did not get one of the shuttles and they really should have. 

Anyway, this afternoon/evening there was a 30th Anniversary celebration for employees and their families and we were fortunate enough to attend.  This is Charlie Bolden giving his speech.  Also on the platform are Bob Cabana, Director of KSC (left) and Rita Willcoxen, Director of Launch Vehicle Processing.

This is astronaut Chris Ferguson, who we have met before and Prince really enjoyed him.  Ferguson will be Commander of the last launch, STS-135. 

Look who came for the ocassion!! Yep, it's the Cake Boss and he made that amazing shuttle with boosters and tank in the background.  He said the shuttle itself is made of rice crispy treats.  The rest is cake. 

Here's another picture of the cake.

And, here's me with the cake.

They put flares on the bottom of the solid rocket boosters and lit them as the structure the cake was on lifted the cake.  It was really quite amazing. 

Princess and Prince goof off with Grandma.

It was a fun celebration and I am so glad we went.  Even if it was 90 degrees and humid as all get out.  It was worth it and I got to eat cake from the Cake Boss.  Yummy!!

Remembering the Wedding ~ 9 Years Later

In honor of our 9th Wedding Anniversary, I wanted to share some wedding pictures of Hubby and I.  I love looking back at the old pictures and remember this special day.  But before I share the wedding pics, here are a couple of oldies but goodies.  Hubby and I have been friends since 7th grade.  Our first official date was to the homecoming dance our freshman year of highschool.

With my hairdo and all, I was actually taller than him!

We were kind of on again, off again in school.  We went to homecoming again our junior year.

He grew!

OK, so here are the pictures from 9 years ago today.  It was a magical day! 

My handsome Hubby!

Me and my girls!

My beautiful sister was my matron of honor.

The wedding day was perfect.  I can still see the sanctuary full of smiling faces and my daddy walked me down the aisle, the smile on Hubby's face as he waited for me to get to him.  I can hear the pastor's voice as he spoke.  He was the pastor from my childhood, and he came back to marry me off.  The organist was our organist when I was in high school and she and I were so close.  People joked that I brought back the "All-stars" to come do my wedding.  I guess I did.  My friends and family were there as Hubby and I were served communion, our first official act as husband and wife.  I can still see the candle lit church at the end of the ceremony as everyone in the sanctuary held up lit candles and sang "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."  The reception was great fun as we ate and danced and visited with the 300 guests that came to celebrate with us.  It really was a grand day.  I wanted the Princess, Fairy Tale wedding and I got it.  I also realize though, that the wedding is one day out of a lifetime together. I knew that being married would be great, I just never knew how much fun we'd have together.  The last 9 years have been the best of my life and I couldn't imagine spending them with anyone else. 

The scriptures and theme for our wedding was from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12:

 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

This marriage takes 3 ~ Hubby, God, and me.  God is at the center of everything in our lives.  I can't imagine it any other way.  We've had some bumpy times with my health, the issues we had when the babies arrived, and just other life happenings.  Had we not had that strong cord of three strands, I'm not sure how we would have survived. 

Next year we will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and our 25th anniversary of being friends.  Time really flies when you are having fun! 

And they lived happily ever after...

The Anniversary Trip

Yesterday I promised you the story of our anniversary weekend.  Let me first remind you of how awesome my Hubby is.  We know he is awesome because he has a shirt that tells us so.

He is also awesome for other reasons too, and I am about to tell you one of the reasons I think he is so awesome. 

Around the end of January Hubby asked me if I thought my parents would watch the kiddos for a weekend around our anniversary.  My parents agreed that it would be fine, and Hubby began making secret plans.  So I have been in suspense for several weeks.  Around the beginning of last week Hubby asked if I wanted him to tell me where we were going.  After waiting all of this long, I decided that being surprised would be a great thing.  It wasn't easy for me, being such a planner and all, but I knew Hubby had plans and he had it all under control.  Throughout the week he threw me a few hints, telling me we were not going far and that I would need dress-up clothes for Saturday.  On Wedensday he really threw me for a loop when he told me he needed to know what shoes I was going to wear.  Huh?!  So I tried on a couple of dresses and we decided what dress and shoes I would wear to wherever it was we were going.  I couldn't figure out why it mattered what shoes I was going to wear.

Friday evening we left the kids with my parents and off we went.  On our way in the car, Hubby told me that we were going to Orlando for the weekend.  Friday night's dinner was up to me, as he wanted me to have some choice about what we did.  After dinner we went back to the hotel and exchanged gifts.  Hubby bought me a beautiful pearl and jade necklace and earrings and a new dress.  This was why he wanted to know what shoes I was wearing!  He wanted my shoes to match my new dress.  He picked out a beautiful dress, the problem was that it didn't fit like I wanted it to.  It was too short for my taste and well, I have too much junk in the trunk to pull it off.  But it was such a thoughtful thing to do!  He might have also bought me a pretty nightie that is also comfortable.  He also brought me a rose in a little bud vase, champagne and champagne glasses, and his i-pod and speakers.

Saturday morning Hubby decided it was time to tell me of the plans he had made.  We had the morning free to take my new dress back to the store and I tried on lots of other clothes he picked out for me and I got two toher dresses for the same price of the original dress.  What a deal! 
The big surprise was...wait for it...

tickets to see Wicked!  I was so excited! 

This was a picture I took of us before we left the hotel.  I think we cleaned up pretty good.

The play was fantastical, I absolutely loved it!  At intermission Hubby bought me a CD of it.

This is Hubby waiting in line to buy my CD.

After the show, Hubby had made reservations for us to eat at Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse that is oh so delicious.  When you go there, you don't eat all day before going because you want to save all the room you can.  They have a huge salad bar with lots of exotic salads and cheeses on it.  Then they have these gauchos that walk around with different cuts of meat on long skewers and they keep putting different kinds of meat on your plate.  It's all you can eat and they serve it with mashed potatoes and bananas that have been baked in brown sugar and cinnamon but they aren't soggy...oh, it is just all too delicious.  It's also quite costly, so you go for really special ocassions.  We have only been one other time. 

Yesterday morning we checked out and shopped a little before going home.  Hubby indulged me by watching me try on more clothes and he might have bought me a few more outfits.  It was such a nice and relaxing weekend away.  We spent time praying together that God would direct our paths and continue to be the center of our family, that we would parent according to His will. We told each other all of the things we love about the other.  I felt totally pampered and I love my amazing Hubby so much!  It was a treat for the two of us to be able to talk without interruptions and to enjoy being alone together.   And coming back home was a joy because I felt refreshed and renewed.  I wonder what we'll do next year for our 10th anniversary?!  We'll have a hard time topping this one!



Thursday Thoughts

I woke up at 4:00 this morning with lots of thoughts swirling around in my head.  Most of them had to do with things I needed to get done at work today, but I also have a long list of things to do at home, and then there are the things that I want to do for myself and can never find the time to do.  So here's a list of Thursday Thoughts:

1.  Happy Anniversary to my Mom and Dad! or Happy in-the-nursery as I used to say when I was little
They have been married for 38 years.  That's a long time, but I guess time flies when you're having fun.

Speaking of which, in staff meeting yesterday, Pastor told about a lady he met in the hospital who was in her 90's.  Her husband is 101 and they've been married over 70 years.  Now that's a long time!

2.  I folded and put away A LOT of clothes today.  There are still lots more that need to be done but it won't be tonight.  I think we have too many clothes at our house.  Actually, I would be in favor of disposable clothes.  Then I wouldn't have to do laundry.  Of course that isn't a very "green" way to think now, is it?!  Oh well, just a thought.

3.  Speaking of laundry, I really need to clean out my dresser drawers.  Does anyone else have this problem?  I have many single socks that I'm not sure where the matches ever went, but they haven't been seen for quite some time.  I think the sock monster must have eaten them.  My sock drawer only scratches the surface but it's a good start.  I won't even tell you about the purses in my closet that need to be gone through.

4.  I got a lot of things marked off my to do list at work today.  Do you ever make lists just so you can cross things off?  Like you know what you need to do and maybe you've even done a couple of the things on your list but you still put them on there so you can feel all accomplished when you see how many things you have actually crossed off.  Just sayin' it's a good feeling.

5.  I hope my kids are ready for their spelling tests tomorrow. Princess is having a little trouble remembering how to spell "eight." Such a hard word for kindergarten. They are all number words this week: five, six, seven, eight, nine. Seven and eight are tripping her up. I've been trying to make up little cheerleading chants to help her remember how to spell her words. She tells me I don't make a good cheerleader. Woo girl is right and she's definitely cooler than me. BUT at least I know how to get her to remember her spelling words, even if I'm not a woo girl like her.



6.  I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday.  These 5 day work weeks just about kill ya.


7.  Do you ever get in a cranky mood for no apparent reason and you wish you could have an out of body experience to get away from yourself but you can't?  Me neither.  I don't feel like that tonight at all.  Just wondering if you ever do.

 
E-I-G-H-T. (I think I've been practicing spelling words too long tonight)   Perhaps a hot bubble bath and a glass of wine will help to cure the grumpies.  I mean, not that I'm grumpy or anything but if I were, I might try that and see if I feel better. 

Good night!  I'm off to fill up the tub!