Happy Easter!!

It's only Friday, but Sunday's Coming

I wish that every day I felt the weight of Friday. Not just any Friday, but a special Friday. Perhaps, no definitely, the most significant, most special, most defining, most fulfilling, and every other most word Friday. The Friday that my sin held Him there. The Friday that hope seemed lost. The Friday that for a moment seemed that death had won and all that everyone believed would happened simply didn't.

I am thankful that I live on the other side of that Friday. The side that knows that although Friday was dark, Sunday was Light. Hope. Peace. Love. Life. I don't know what I would have thought if I lived on the front side of the Friday. Would I have been denying like Peter? Distraught like Mary? Gambling for his clothes? Scoffing from the crowd? My guess is probably the last. Because really is that any different from times in my life now? Times when I say prove yourself. Show me you say you are who you are. This is just a guess.

But, thankfully He knew to put be on the other side of that Friday. There is an old sermon that to me describes the weight of the Friday and the wait to the Sunday in the best words ever. 

It's Friday...
Jesus is praying, Peter is asleep. Judas is betraying...
... but Sunday's a Comin'.

It's Friday...
Pilate is struggling, the Sanhedrin is conspiring, the crowd is vilified...
they don't even know that...Sunday's a Comin'.

It's Friday...
The disciples are running in every direction like sheep
without a shepherd, Mary's crying, Peter's denying
...but they don't know...that Sunday's a Comin'.

It's Friday...
the Romans beat my Jesus, they robe him in scarlet,
they crown him with thorns,
...but they don't know, Sunday's a Comin'!

See Jesus walking to Calvary, his blood dripping,
his body's stumbling, and his spirit's burdened,
but see it's only Friday, Sunday's a Comin!

It's Friday...
The world's winning, people are sinning
and evil's grinning...it's Friday

The soldiers nail my Savior's hands to the cross...
They nail my Savior's feet to the cross...
Then they raise him up next to criminals...
it's Friday, but let me tell you something...

Sunday's a Comin'!

It's Friday...
The disciples are questioning, "What has happened to our King?"
and the Pharisees are celebrating that their scheming has been achieved...
but they don't know...it's only Friday.
Sunday's a Comin'!

It's Friday...
He's hanging on the cross, feeling forsaken by his Father,
left alone and doubting, can nobody save him?
Oh...it's Friday...but...
Sunday's a Comin'!

It's Friday...
The temple veil ripped from top to bottom - the earth
shook - the rocks split and tombs opened.
The centurion screamed in fear 'Truly He was the Son of
God!'
... Sunday's a Coming

It's Friday...
the Earth Trembles, the sky grows dark,
my King yields his spirit...
it's Friday...hope is lost...death has won,
sin has conquered...and Satan's just a laughin'

It's Friday...
Jesus is buried, a soldier stands guard,
and a rock is rolled into place...
but it's Friday...it is only Friday...
Sunday is a Comin!

People are saying 'As things have been, so they shall
always be. You can't change anything in this world'
... but Sunday's a Coming!

It's Friday...
Satan's doing a little jig saying 'I control the whole
world'
... but Sunday's a Coming!

It's Sunday!!!
The angel like dazzling lightning, rolled the stone
away, exclaiming, 'He is not here! He is risen!'
It's Sunday!!!! It's Sunday!!!! It's Sunday!!!!

--Tony Campolo

Thank God that Sunday is Coming. Let's praise the Redeemer.

Thoughts on Thursday

First, I am so glad that social media was not everywhere when I was a teen because keeping up with the various themes for each day would have exhausted me and caused anxiety and made me uncool in an additional way.  While some do "throw back Thursday," I will simply be happy that I thought of a "th" word to go in the title of this already random post. Let's bullet shall we:

• I forgot to add in our baby announcement post that my sister-in-law (Bubba's sister) is also pregnant!! She is due just a little before me, and excitement is an understatement for the word that describes my feelings about our bambino having a built in bestie to love/fight with/annoy/love!! This could easily hold off a sibling for a while. Plus, we just found out Reba's baby is a BOY!! Our first nephew!! 
• We keep the nursery on Sunday. The 5 year olds. While explaining Easter, the death and resurrection of Christ, a child replied to me that Elvis died on the toilet. I am positive I will be asked back to teach as we covered the King of Kings and the King of Rock-n-Roll in the same lesson.
• Easter is this weekend, and I am so excited to celebrate. Hopefully, with the ushering in of white purses/shoes/dresses, we can usher in a high of above 30. This week's weather has been stupid.
• Last night, Gunnar was found head in a Rice Krispies box. Bubba came and told me and said "I guess we should throw it away since he was eating them." Is it bad I thought about just scooping out the top layer of Krispies and going about my cereal business the next morning?
• I am DYING to know the sex of our baby... I have smocking to purchase and monogramming to do!

I think that about covers all the updates in my head. I cannot wait for Easter! Happy Day to all.

Our Big Announcement!

Coming September 2013....

BABY GARROTT

Well, we finally let the cat out of the bag. We are pregnant!! This explains my TERRIBLE blogging for the better part of two months. We weren't ready to share the big news, and I have the worst time keeping secrets. I tried avoidance. It is totally an effective strategy.  Now, on to the details!

BG will make his/her appearance on September 29, 2013... Or at least that is my due date 2 weeks on either side leaves a nice big window.  Hopefully, baby will take after someone in our family that is punctual. This person is neither his/her father or mother.  Just for some record keeping sake, we have been to the doctor twice and seen a nice strong heartbeat both times.

6w4d little bean

10w1d looking like a sweet little baby

I also want to forever remember what Bubba said when I told him I thought I was pregnant. I had taken four tests, so clearly I am a skeptic, and decided maybe I should alert Bubba to the baby situation.  He was still asleep in bed because he was sick, so I woke him up and said, "Gunnar is going to be a big brother!"  Bubba replied, "Did you buy a puppy?"  Which if you know me well, this is always a legitimate question as the urge to buy a puppy is a daily occurrence. We cleared up that this go would in fact be a human sibling, and have been excited ever since!

We have been so blessed by the amazing support of our friends and family, and BG is already a totally blessed child. Please continue to pray for BG and us as we transition to the great big adventure of raising children. God has richly blessed us, and we cannot wait to share His love and show His grace to BG.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Your works are wonderful, I know full well." Psalm 139:14

Catch Up not to be confused with Ketchup

Well, we have had a crazy couple of weeks. I think I last left off during our birthday marathon. One of my BFF's and roommates for life had a birthday, and we celebrated by eating some fabulous food! Susan is without question one of the best people on the planet, and I am so lucky I get to be her bestie. Hopefully, she can forgive an INSANELY late documentation of her birthday festivities. We had a blast and it was so great to have all our friends in one place! Happy Birthday Snazzy!!

The very next day we headed to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate our favorite FOUR year old. Which absolutely BLOWS my mind. We love L so much and are so proud of the sweet girl that she is. L will make anyone smile in 2.1 seconds. I know 4 will be such a great year for her! It should also be noted that Mr. Cheese's casino is bad for the Bubba... Totally addicted to winning tickets. I have never been prouder or more humiliated of his ability to score thousands of tickets. This is not an exaggeration. Thousands. Of. Tickets.

Cutest Ariel there ever was!

Between the birthday fun, we have been hanging out and having low key days. I found a great piece of furniture so I am excited about the little updates to our house decor. I am estimating I will have it decorated and organized about when we own it... You know in 30 years.

New chest and rug. Old Dog.

Over the weekend we headed to Memphis to see Mary Poppins (which was my Christmas present). We went with our friends Tyler and Mallory, and it was such a great and laid back weekend. We ate, shopped, talked, and watched Ms. Poppins. I don't know if it can get any better than that! The show was wonderful and renewed my childhood love for Mary Poppins. The only bad part of the trip was the last hour driving in TERRIBLE rain. Probably the worst rain I have been in in quite some time. At least there were no tornadoes like there were further south. I sorta failed at taking pictures, but we have a few to document the experience.

So fun. I sure do love Bubba.

Check out that RAIN!

Okay, last thing that I have missed on the blog, but not in my heart! My life-long best friend celebrated her birthday this weekend! I hate that I missed the festivities, but I know everyone had fun! Happy birthday Em!! Love you and hope your 27th year is a good one! Lord, we are old... we have been friends for 21 years. I mean that is the age that I feel in my heart. Too bad we are closer to 30! 

An oldie, but goodie. We were so tan.

This week should be low-key and a gentle build up to the most important birthday... Mine that is :). I'm only kidding about the most important part. Have a great week!!

Life Lately or Birthdays Galore

The New Year has come, and life has turned crazy. Seriously, January has been insanely busy, but only with super fun family things so I am not complaining. January is birthday central for our family. Like 5 immediate family members and 2 close friends. Wowzers. Our weekends have been filled with family time, and I wouldn't change a minute of it! 

Two weekends ago, (yes I am far behind on documenting this journey called life, but life got busy), we celebrated Bubba's sister's birthday. We had a great time eating which is my favorite hobby and just hanging out. We laugh an insane amount when all together, and this weekend was no different. Bubba's dad may or may not have busted into a rap at dinner. I can't confirm this for sure as I have been sworn to secrecy. Also,   our waitress refused to sing the annoying restaurant birthday song for fear of the birthday girl. Totally, a fun time. I am so, so blessed to have such great in-laws, and we had such a great time celebrating Rebecca. Because she is pretty darn great. (I only wish I had taken pictures!)

Last week, we hunkered down in the freezing cold weather. See evidence of snow. And we were getting ready for rounds 3 and 4 of birthday celebrations. We headed up to Nashville over the long weekend to celebrate Caroline's 1st Birthday, which happened to be on John's birthday weekend. Don't be fooled everyone was there for Caroline. :).  We spent the night Friday with Bubba's parents, and were totally given the royal treatment. I cannot complain, it was quite lovely. Then Saturday, we drove the rest of the way to see Baby C!

Saturday night, we took a brief break to celebrate John's Birthday. It was incredibly fun. My brother is one of the funniest people ever, the other funniest being his wife so we had a good time. Exhibit A: The Birthday Boy:

You know just in Emily's night gown.

Sunday was ALL about this precious girl. Caroline is such a fun addition to our family. We love her so much. I truly CANNOT believe that she is about to be one. That is so old. She is so smart and happy. We just love her. She had an Alice in ONEderland Tea Party.  It was absolutely adorable. Emily is so creative and did a fabulous job with all the details!

Dressed as Alice

SMASH!

The birthdays are continuing this week and weekend, but this is a great place to say... To be Continued. Oh and Happy Birthday: Rebecca, John, and Caroline!

Snow Day!!

A winter miracle has occurred!! It snowed!!! Like real snow and inches. This is one for the record books. The puppies love the snow and can't stop eating it. Such a happy day!