Thursday, August 26, 2010

Remembering Gigi



Faith is trusting what the eye can't see.
Eyes see the prowling lion.
Faith sees Daniel's angel.
Eyes see storms.
Faith sees Noah's rainbow.
Eyes see giants.
Faith seen Canaan.
Your eyes see your faults.
Your faith sees your Savior.
Your eyes see your guilt.
Your faith sees His blood.
Your eyes see your grave.
Your faith sees a city whose builder and maker is God.
Your eyes look in the mirror & see a sinner, a failure, a promise-breaker.
But by FAITH you look in the mirror & see a robed prodigal bearing a ring of grace on your finger & the kiss of your Father on your face.

This was a responsive reading from Gigi's service, an exerpt from Safe In the Sheppard's Arms by Max Lucado

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Oh, Mexico

Hi there - found some old pictures in my camera from our trip to Mexico last year & wanted to share...


Way down here you need a reason to move
Feel a fool running your stateside games
Lose your load, leave your mind behind, Baby James




Oh, Mexico
It sounds so simple I just got to go
The sun's so hot I forgot to go home
Guess I'll have to go now





"Americano" got the sleepy eye
But his body's still shaking like a live wire
Sleepy "SeƱorita" with the eyes on fire






Oh, Mexico
It sounds so sweet with the sun sinking low
Moon's so bright like to light up the night
Make everything all right


Baby's hungry and the money's all gone
The folks back home don't want to talk on the phone
She gets a long letter, sends back a postcard; times are hard


Oh, down in Mexico
I never really been so I don't really know
Oh, Mexico
I guess I'll have to go

...we had so much fun on this vacation to celebrate our second wedding anniversary!! Looking forward to our anniversary this year as we will be in VEGAS for the Flory Wedding!!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Christmas in July...

...well, August.

I don't know what it is, but I've been thinking a lot about Christmas lately!! I find myself getting excited at the thought of cooler weather, crispness of the air, decorating the house, seeing family, giving gifts - I haven't LOVED our Christmas decorations since we moved in our house 3 years ago, so in my free time I have begun scouring the internet for decorating ideas! Here are a few things that caught my eye:










This week has been an especially busy one for the Bakers as we prepared for Supper Club this weekend! We are serving up a true old fashioned summer BBQ equipped with all the 'fixins: BBQ pulled-pork sandwiches, ribs, potato salad, slaw, baked beans, pickles, & banana pudding for dessert! I hope our guests bring an appetite because they sure won't leave hungry :) The biggest project we did this week was painting our patio furniture! We were able to get a great deal on a 5 piece Hampton Beach patio set at the of last summer. I was happy with what we got, but I always thought everything looked kind of drab out there - everything was in the same color family. This week we painted all 5 pieces black & it has made a HUGE difference - I am so happy with the results! I do not have a "before" picture, but here is a shot of it now (sorry for the bad quality, it's from my phone):



This time next week we will be getting ready to head to Rosemary Beach with my parents for a few days! We are so excited about this trip as I have not been able to take a vacation with my parents since high school! Dad found a great place for us to stay - it's much larger than the 4 of us need, but the owners' parents live in Social Circle where my parents live, so we were able to get a great deal! JD & I will only be there for a 4-day weekend, but Mom & Dad are going to stay the rest of the week; actually, my Dad's siblings & spouses are going to join them after we leave - what a great opportunity for the family to get together at such a relaxing venue! Here is the place we're staying:

Well, I think that is about it for now - before I go I want to say a few words... earlier this week, JD's sister Katie had to say goodbye to her kitty, Ginger. Ginger had been a part of Katie's life for over 14 years. She followed her from her high school home down in Mobile, to Tuscaloosa for college, to Birmingham, to Auburn, & back to Birmingham. They had shared a lot of special moments together. It is never easy to say goodbye to a pet, especially when you have the kind of connection that Katie & Ginger had. We will all miss her.

Until next time...

peace & love.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Summer Time & the Living is Easy...

...it may be "easy", but it's sure HOT too!! Wow, this has been a scorcher of a summer - by far the hottest one we've had since I've been a resident of Birmingham! Not so good news for our yard & flower beds - I hope my little spurts of watering will be enough to save them.

This summer has been a very relaxing one - since we got back from our beach trip around Memorial Day, we've been keeping it close to home. In an effort to stay close to the nice air-conditioned house, we've been spending a lot of time cooking & doing inside projects. Last weekend we did a big BBQ for JD's mom & sister - we had all the 'fixins... pulled pork sandwiches, potato salad, slaw, baked beans, & a new blueberry dessert recipe that I wanted to try - it was YUMMY!! I will need to post it for you to try! Everything was delicious & we had enough leftovers to feed the neighborhood!! Looking forward to re-creating this menu when we host Supper Club later this month!

JD & I have also been trying to focus on "healthy living" this summer - eating good foods & getting lots of exercise. We joined the local JCC back in April & immediately fell in love with all it had to offer - cardio machines, free weights, TONS of fun & interesting classes (including SPIN & ZUMBA!!), indoor & outdoor pools, etc... I've been impressed with our continued devotion to the "J" each week!!


We also recently purchased BICYCLES!!! And we are absolutely loving them!! We started out doing short trips in our neighborhood (which is the perfect area to ride - lots of looping side streets), but have recently started charting out courses beforehand & venturing out farther in the community! We have made a few rides up to the local Winn Dixie to pick up the bare essentials (milk, etc...) - oh!! Did I mention that my sweet husband bought me a basket & installed it on my bike?!? What a thoughtful guy :) Earlier this week we even went as far as Otey's in Crestline Village (for those of you unfamiliar with the area, it's about 3.5 miles from the house) to stop in & have a beer before heading back to the house. JD has joined an online program that allows him to track his courses, distance, time, etc... & it will save our paths so we can repeat them later - Through this site we have signed up to start a challenge of 120 miles in 30 days!! We start on Monday, so wish us luck!

Here are pictures of our bikes:




Some upcoming events for the Bakers are...
*JD's cousin, Janet, is getting married this weekend
*Trip to Rosemary Beach in FL with "Mom & Dad Goodroe" later in the month
*Supper Club at the Bakers
*2 Baby showers for a co-worker (Karen's baby boy is due Sept. 30!!!)
*Birmingham Phi Mu Alum Membership Drive in September
***AUBURN FOOTBALL KICKS-OFF ON SEPT 4***

As always, things are staying pretty busy for us - but we are really enjoying our summer together :)

Until next time...

peace & love.

Oh, & of course - WWWAAAARRRRRRRR EAGLE, HEY!!!