Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Memorial Day '08

Jackson, lucky little man that he is, got to be spoiled by Curt's mom and dad - Nana and Pappaw - last weekend. They flew down on Thursday evening and stayed with us until Sunday afternoon. It was our first time to host them since we moved and I can't tell you how many times I thanked God for our new house. It's like night and day from our last house when it comes to having company.

On Friday we took Jackson to the Children's Museum. He was cracking us up because he was going from station to station in an absolute frenzy. He wasn't at anything longer than 10 seconds. I loved that there was hardly anything in that place that he could get into trouble with. We barely had to tell him no at all! When we were done, we took him over to the train at Hermann Park. It was hotter than love (thanks for that expression, Erin) but my child was in hog heaven. I noticed that the park has several fountains and even a spray park to play in, so I think we will go back there before too long. For lunch we went to Ruggles Cafe and enjoyed some great desserts - the strawberry bomb and German chocolate cake. Curt's cousin and his wife, Andy and Mindy, had their first baby that day - little mister Eli Andrew Ward. He is absolutely beautiful and I actually kissed the picture of his face on my computer screen. Welcome to the world, Eli! Cozy and I had a lot of fun talking about labor and texting and calling Aunt Belinda, cousin Erin, and sister Lindsay for updates all day.

On Saturday Steve and Curt worked on my car for a long time. It's having some issues as it nears 100,000 miles. I made my mom's spaghetti and meatballs for lunch, put Jackson down for a nap, and then took Cozy to Town and Country to visit Pottery Barn. I wanted to buy several things but we are hoping to visit the PB Outlet in San Marcos soon, so I thought it would be better to wait. Afterward we drove out to the new Houston Premium Outlet Mall. They have some great stores, but with the heat and the crowds I'm not sure I'll ever go back. Definitely not on a weekend. Maybe on a rainy day, as weird as that sounds. There were long lines at every register, even at the food court at 3:00. Yuck! For dinner we partook of Spring Creek BBQ, which has the world's best fried okra. Get yourself some. After everyone was in bed, Curt and I slipped away to see Prince Caspian.

On Sunday morning we skipped church (which I felt bad about later when I realized that we'd be gone next weekend too) and enjoyed a lazy morning at the house. We had an early lunch at P.F. Chang's. I would never think to take Jackson to a place like that, but it wasn't very crowded and he was mesmerized by the statues inside. He was nearly perfect. Then Curt had to take his parents to the airport and Jackson cried when they pulled out of the driveway. We were so sad to see them go!

That night we tried to visit the drive-in movie theater out in Waller, but we got there too late and it was sold out. We tried not to be totally bummed but we were. It would have been so fun! I guess to get in you have to get there super early, but that wouldn't really work for us with Jackson. My mom was sweet enough to let us bring him over to her house and put him to bed while Curt and I went to see Indiana Jones. It was good but kind of bizarre. I am not seeing any more action movies until Curt sees about five dramas or romantic comedies with me. Maybe even a foreign film. He owes me.

For Memorial Day, we hung around the house and were lazy. We decided to get together with the Sanders family later that afternoon. I had to run to HEB to get some food for grilling and the ingredients for Sunni's 7 layer dip. Let me just tell you, that place was the third level of Hades. I almost left my basket in the aisle and ran out screaming and drooling. Steam was coming out of my ears, mouth, and nose and my head nearly exploded.

We went to Jonathan and Michelle's at around 4 p.m. Jackson and Keegan played in the kiddie pool and then Jackson got in the sandbox. He was wet and sandy and so happy. We all sat in chairs around the little pool and visited while they played. We actually finished conversations, which y'all know is a miracle when there are kids present. Christine made it over in time for dinner and then dessert in the playroom. She is officially Jackson's new BFF. Jackson was all like, "Mommy who?" Christine is the baby and toddler whisperer. We hated to leave that night because we were all having so much fun, but everyone either had to get up early for work or for tending babies in the morning. By the way, I loved getting to fly an American flag from our front porch this year. There were about four of them on our street.

Today we spent the morning over at Melanie's house (we met in Sunday school) and got to play with her daughters, Avery and Tatum. Aren't those cute names? They are precious little girls. Avery just turned 3 and I kept trying to imagine Ella and Ava being that grown up. Fun times are down the road, ladies!

Last week was very hard and sad for several reasons and I pray that we all have a respite from the tragedy and bad news. I read Psalm 90:14-17 in my quiet time this morning and it really ministered to my bruised heart and weary mind. Check it out.

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands. Psalm 90:14-17


We praise You, Lord, for Your ways are higher than our ways, and Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. With our limited understanding and our inability to see from eternity's perspective, we put our faith in who You are, not in what You do. Bless our troubled minds with peace this week, even as we intercede for those who are suffering and grieving. Amen.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

I so miss Ruggles! Glad you are doing great in Houston! Miss you!

Holly said...

Amen. Amen.

Did your PF Chang's have those fun bendy colored wax pieces for kids to play with and outline pictures? Our kids love it! My fave food at PF Changs in the wonton soup--yum!!

Linda Vujnov said...

I joyfully let my husband take the three boys to see "Indy" while my daughter and I went on a shopping date!

Marla Taviano said...

Yes, what a tough week. And what a great God! Love those verses!

I'm salivating. I think it's the talk of 7-layer dip. Mmmm...

Avery and Tatum ARE cute names. I love boyish girl names. I think Owen Grace would be cute.

Prayed for you just now! Have a great week!

McClure Family said...

Amanda~I'm so glad you had such a great time this weekend with Curt's parents. See you Thursday!

Patty said...

Sounds like a fun weekend, except for HEB. :o)
I just love Eli's name.
You mentioned fried okra, I haven't eaten fried okra in a long time but I love it. It is so good but it is slimy if you make it at home but worth the slime to eat it.
Is it okay to ask for your spaghetti and meatball recipe? I lost my recipe years ago and have looked for a good recipe but haven't found it yet.
We grilled out this weekend and I made one of the chicken enchilada recipes I found on the LPM blog, good grief that was so good. I posted the recipe on my blog with a picture it was that good. :o)
We went to see Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones this weekend. Indiana was okay, I think they should have stopped at the last one and I liked Prince Caspian better but I am really looking forward to seeing Get Smart. That one looks funny.
Hope you are having a great Monday!

Janelle and Ella said...

Amen! That is a good prayer and a good verse. I am praying in agreement with that! It's been a rough week. I do pray for some relief.
Glad you had a wonderful Memorial weekend!!! The only thing missing in ours was you guys! I kept thinking about how much fun Jackson would have had on that slide that I put on my blog.
And glad to know that the girls at 3 years old will still be so fun, not that I really thought they wouldn't. :-)
Miss you...one month!

The Ugly Beautiful said...

There's a drive-in movie nearby? Yay! I've been wanting to go to one for so long! Thanks for the tip! Sounds like you had an amazing weekend! Fun! I'm heading to Africa on Sunday with our church and I'm so excited!! Hope to see you around again sometime. :)

Rose said...

Amanda, I love that psalm, It ministered to my heart too! My heart broke for the Chapmans. Hubby and I have a date night monthly (sometimes every 2 weeks if we can), we go to dinner and a movie, when it's my turn I choose a chick flix and he has to sit through :)

Good reading that psalm. THANKS.

Fran said...

Hey Amanda!
Sounds like a perfect weekend! We were in Franklin TN playing in a baseball tourney and I thought I was going to melt it was soooo hot.
Welcome heat and humidity!

My heart still hurts for the Chapman family. Being in their community while all that was going on, just made me even more sad. However, I remembered over and over that His ways are so much higher than our ways. Thank you for sharing the beautiful scripture.

Hope you have had a good day so far. Blessings!
Fran

Unknown said...

I'm a "c"!! (But I don't think you were talking to me :P.)

I'm sort of missing some pictures of Mister J! I miss seeing his cute little face!

I'm glad all is going well. Sounds like you're having some great times.

Unknown said...

Oh, and Indy was sort of strange - I agree. I'm not sure how I felt about the movie...

FRIED OKRA???? where where???

Purplelicious Janice said...

I just found your blog. I love it! My favorite part of Indiana Jones was his son (I loved his show on the Disney Channel), but he was so silly with his hair. :)

Kelli said...

What a fun weekend and I definitely agree that the Indiana Jones movie was too weird for my taste!!

Nancy Hamilton said...

Amanda, can I just say I owe you big time?!!

I took your sopapia cheesecake as the dessert to a Memorial Day picnic....well, let me just say it was THE hit of the party. Butter that up and call us the new Paula Deen! :)

Thank you! :)

Deidre said...

Thank you for the verse, Amanda. My heart needs that tonight. I love it!

Sounds like a great weekend. Reading that Jackson cried when his grandparents left hurts my heart. Little ones don't understand, do they?

Jenna said...

Loved the update! So glad y'all had a wonderful weekend!

Missy said...

Sounds like such a fun weekend! You totally deserve a chick flick after sitting through all of that action! :)

Erin Ward said...

I can't wait until you meet Eli and get to kiss him for real! It's much better than the computer screen.

Anonymous said...

I thought that Psalm was a really good one to read after last week. Thank you.
It sounds like you've been really busy since your move! Good to know ahead of time not to get too excited about the Indiana Jones movie. By the way, I made that Sopapilla cheesecake and everybody LOVED it! Thanks so much for passing on the recipe!!

Sunni at The Flying Mum said...

Love your recap! Jealous about your movie extravaganza!

Ashley McWhorter said...

Hi Amanda,
We have been to the drive-in a couple of times. We finally took our two girls, and they did great. You do have to get there early, though. I think we got there around 7ish and the movie didn't start till after dark. But, they do have a playground up front by the screen and the kids ran around and had a ball. We parked on the very front row. So, we just sat in the back of our Expedition and watched them run around. We went with our small group, so they had plenty of people to keep them entertained. I know we have never met, but if you ever want to meet up at the drive-in, let us know. Hope you have a great week!
Ashley McWhorter

fAiThFuL cHiCk said...

Sounds like a busy, but fun holiday weekend. I am so disappointed to hear about the new Indy movie.

I know you have to be so happy about the extra space for company. It makes all of the difference in the world when there is room for the grandparents to spend the night! :)

Lindsee Lou said...

I promise, promise, promise that the outlet mall isnt' always that crowded! I normally go on a weeknight. It's really not crowded at all then! (Although, I didn't think about summer just beginning. So don't take me on my word for the summer, but def. the school year it's great on a weeknight!)

Glad y'all's weekend was great with the family!

Anne N. said...

I love that fried okra at Spring Creek...and the last time we went, they brought complimentary Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla to everyone!