"Here!" (said as she raises her hand high in the air)...

...so, if there was a bad blogger roll call this is what I would say! The reason I say this is because I forgot to take pictures of our Mother's Day fun! It's not totally my fault. You see, the camera has been locked in Steve's car since I've been back from Ktown, and the batteries need to be charged too, and Sunday was pretty crazy with family and friends at the house. So, it all boils down to me not even having a minute to think, "Dang, I need to get my camera out". It was a great Mother's Day though! We had Steve's family and my family come over for some grilling on Sunday. How did we grill for that many people you ask, well that was my gift - a new stainless steel grill with infared grates. It will grill up to 36 burgers at one time. Would you expect anything less when Steve is the one in charge of shopping? He is very well known for going to extremes on his purchases. It is AWESOME!!!! I love to grill - I think I come by it honestly, my dad is the BEST griller I have ever met, and my brother-in-law (Dean) comes in a close second. So, it goes without saying that our family grills a ton. In fact, my dad probably cooks a majority of his food on the grill. I'm going to take a minute to brag on my sweet husband. He really went above and beyond this weekend for me. Last year we bought a canopy for our deck, which we loved. Our deck gets sun pretty much all day and it makes it very difficult to enjoy the outdoors when the sun is beating down on you. We waited too until too late to get it last year, so all that was left were the portable kind. We bolted it down and said a few little prayers that it wouldn't blow away - well of course it did. So, I had just mentioned in passing how great it would be to be able to get one again this year. After seeing what he spent on the grill I didn't think we would need to get it until after we saved a little for it. But when he got home on Saturday night, guess what he had in the back of the car. Yep, that's correct - A CANOPY! He was bound and determined to get it up in time for our cookout on Sunday. So in the dark, windy, rainy night Saturday, he and Sam constructed our canopy. Well, with a little help and a little annoyance (why do women have to ask so many questions?) from me and Holly they were able to construct the canopy. It is so GREAT! It makes the deck like an extension of our house that's usable instead of just something for the dogs to sit on. I do believe I'm married to the best man in the world!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DO FOR ME, STEVE!!! I LOVE YOU! I know this is a long post, so I'm trying to make my stories short. I just have to add a couple more things from this weekend. I think I have found a new fun hobby. YARDSALING! Holly, Emily, and I headed out of the house around 7:15 on Saturday morning in pursuit of stuff for Holly and Sam to use once they get married. I just wanted to check out what I would find for Steve and I. It was great! We mapped our plan out and hit pretty much all of them that we wanted to. Holly was very lucky and found a set of end tables and a coffee table for $30! They are really cute and will work perfect for them. Emily and I found her some toys, because she was desperately needing some new ones. Here's where you start to laugh out loud uncontrollably! The one thing I did find that was a really great find for Steve and I - a baby gate. I'm sure you are all saying "But Emily is too big for baby gates." This purchase had nothing to do with Emily. If you have ever seen what our beast, Makayla, has done to our deck you would understand the baby gate. It definitely helps keep the area blocked off so she can't eat our doorknob, yes I said our doorknob. Sorry but the camera was still in Steve's car at this time, so no I don't have pictures yet of our finds. We are going try to go to a few more sales in the next couple of weeks, so we'll see if we are that lucky again! As many of you know, Steve and I have dear friends, Nikki and John McDaris. John is stationed at Ft Campbell in Clarksville and has been in Iraq since last September. He is home on mid-tour leave and came to the house yesterday afternoon. I just want to say that I was almost in tears when I saw him and his sweet wife standing in our doorway together. For the past 7 or so months, we have seen Nikki. She's been to our house, we've been to hers, we've met her for dinner, or just talked to her on the phone. I cannot put into words how I felt when I saw them together again and at our house. I felt like all was right with world. I know it sounds corny and cheesy, but seriously, ever time I see/talk to Nikki I can tell she feels like half of her is missing. Which I guess in a sense it is, because the scripture says we become one body when we marry. I was beaming with pride that we have men and women in our country that sacrifice so much for us, without even knowing us. The moment was made that much more special because my Granddaddy was at my house. You see, my Granddaddy and Meme met during World War II. Both my grandparents were in the Army during the war and I have always been proud of that. But to hear the two thank each other for their service to our country was a pretty mind blowing experience to me. I am so blessed that God allowed me to be in the family I'm in and to live in the country I live in. Okay, so I'm seriously running a lot longer than I thought I would on this thing! I'm very sorry there are no pictures of our pride and joy. I have a lot of pictures to catch you up on. Like Steve and I being officially married, again; new couch; yard sale finds; new canopy & deck; and I'm sure there is more I'm forgetting. I promise it is on my LONG to do list, but it will happen before the end of the week. I will leave with something that Emily said to me last night that just made me laugh: Emily: "mommy?" Me: "yes" Emily: "When it's done being mother's day and father's day, will it be kid's day?" To this I simply explained that next month is father's day and the next month is her birthday, so yes her day was coming up.