I love birthdays

I have always loved celebrating birthdays and I hope that never changes! We will be on the Staton family vacation for Mike's birthday, so I thought we should celebrate it a week early.
I hosted a small surprise birthday dinner party last weekend. I told Mike I was taking him on a "date night" and when we came over to get me, all of us said SURPRISE!

I had so much fun cooking dinner for everyone and just hanging out. Phil was nice enough to grill everything for me so Mike could have a night off! We had a delicious carrot cake from Edible Art to round out the night :) I think everyone had a great night and I'm glad everyone was able to come celebrate Mike!

Blueberry Delight

I have been looking for a kitchen table for a while...or maybe since I moved to Green Oaks TWO years ago. Over the past few weeks, the search has consumed most of my time.
I have looked online, every store in Charlotte (that I could afford) and craigslist. Because I'm a "Gibbs", I really wanted to find one on craigslist b/c I knew I could get a great deal.

After several failed attempts, we found and picked up the table last week. It was a killer deal- I talked her WAY down on the price. It's a great "starter" table and I'm so thankful I got it.

Sweet Mike knocked on my door Saturday morning with lots of grocery's in hand. He cooked me an awesome breakfast of blueberry pancakes, turkey sausage, fruit and coffee. It was SO FUN to actually eat a meal at the table. The couch and bar were not really working out for us.
Of course I had to document the occasion.
Here's to many more meals at the table :)

Pretty in Pink

We found out today that "Bug" is actually a LADYBUG!! That's right, Em & Greg have been blessed with a little girl.
I am beyond excited for a little girl and can't wait to start buying her things! Dresses with leggings or bloomer are my FAVORITE! Watch out Ladybug...Aunt Bebe is going to stock your closet :)
Em, I promise not to buy all pink.

Best Beer Cooler Ever

The "Caribbean" themed Shower was a huge success! The Flemings hosted another smashing party with the help of a few others.
We had a great night celebrating the upcoming wedding of Chid & Sara. They are such a great couple and it's really neat to see how the Lord has been working on their relationship over the past few years. I can't wait to celebrate their wedding in a few weeks!
It was great to see some of the App Family I hadn't seen in a while. I got in some much needed BFF time and I'm patiently awaiting her blog update :)
As always, the pictures speak for themselves...Fabulous night with fabulous friends!!!

Newly Wed game

We love the future Chidesters!

Birthdays & Boys

Here's my week in pictures...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADELE!!!

Report

Lots of exciting things to report...

*I got to see Nate & Em on Sunday and Monday. I had so much fun with Nate . I loved hearing him say Aunt Bebe, Play peekaboo, giggle and taught him lots of new words (ones I probably shouldn't have)!!! We celebrated his 2nd birthday about a month and a half early because I can't make it to his real birthday party. (I will be bach partying it up at Tybee Island with Kel Kel and all the girls). We did presents, dinner and cake. I think Nate liked what Mike and I bought him...but I think he loved the trash more than the presents. He LOVES throwing away trash and cleaning up. He really is his mother's son.

*BethAnn has joined Facebook. That's right folks, Mamma Gibbs is entering the world of facebook. You might get a friend request soon, so get ready :)

*The Chid's wedding shower is this weekend!!!!!! Who in their right mind wouldn't be excited about this?!?!?! We get to celebrate Chid & Sarah, have a fabulous party at the Fleming's House, see ALL my favorite App Staters, take LOTS of pictures, laugh about funny memories AND stay up late :) Man, I can't wait to hug the App family this weekend!

*We just book our last hotel in Italy and I'm so glad that is all set! We only have 2 train tickets and the Tuscany wine tour left to research/buy and we will be 100% set. I plan on staying the entire time in Europe...there will be no backpacking or hostels involved :)

Okay- those are all my updates.
Is it Friday yet?!?!

Russian Mob

The Russian Mob decided to come visit me in Charlotte last week...through the internet that is!
That's right, I got an internet virus and it was not fun.
The good news is: The virus is gone thanks to Robby & Mike and my computer is basically brand spankin new. The bad news is: I lost ALL my favorites I had saved.
Mike transferred all my documents, pictures and music to his external hard drive. But I forgot to try and save "my favorites/bookmarked websites". I have lost all the blogs I love to read (or maybe I should say STALK).
Not to worry, I will hunt you down and bookmark each of you again!
In the mean time, watch out for those mean Russian Mob viruses...they will get you.

Oh Happy day...I'm back online :)

Overboard

I had a great long weekend over the 4th. We packed a ton into a few days and boy were there lots of stories at the end. Thursday I got Kelly & Robby's wedding invitation in the mail and I was sooo excited!! I filled out the RSVP card and dropped it in her mailbox so I could be the 1st to respond. :) Thursday night we headed to the Whitewater Center for some friends, food and live music. It was so fun to just chill, listen to music and watch people go down the rapids. Next time we go, there will definitely be some zipline action!

Friday we packed up the jeep and headed to the lake. Mike has been wanting to take the doors off the jeep for so long and I finally "sacrificed" my life and let the doors come off. All my limbs survived so I guess that's a plus. We had so much stuff loaded into the jeep, I was more afraid of that stuff falling out.
As you can see, Zoe & O'Malley loved riding in the jeep and playing in the lake. We could NOT get them out of the water. They even jumped off the dock and went swimming. I never thought O'Malley would be so brave...but I guess he is officially a water dog.

Friday afternoon we took a boat ride and I will never forget it. (Whitney you will be the only one that really appreciates this story). I have not been on a pontoon boat since Whitney & I had a near death experience. We were riding in the front of a pontoon when it started to sink, we rolled off and thought we were about to die.
So Friday we had about 10 on the boat (which isn't too many) and we went over a big wake and the front of the boat went under water. The water was up to people's knees who were sitting in the front and I could no longer see the front of the boat. The water rushed in the boat, the back end was up in the air and I jumped to the back of the boat and was ready to jump over. Phil cut the engine, everyone ran to the back of the boat and by the grace of God stopped it from going under.
I think my pontoon days are over.
We hung out at the lake for the rest of the weekend and enjoyed hanging out and relaxing with friends...and no more near death experiences. Saturday night we got a special treat of homemade ice cream...YUMMY!!! I haven't had homemade ice cream since we were kids and our dad's used to make peach ice cream and cheerwine ice cream :)
Sunday we had a great day at church (they released our new worship CD which is rockin) and then met mom and dad for lunch. It was a hoot as usual...dad wouldn't stop talking about the cookie he wanted!!! Somethings never change.
I was sad to see the weekend come to an end and head back to work. Oh well...guess I am supposed to work hard in order to play hard.
Happy 4th of July!

Be Thou My Vision

Last Sunday we had the privilege of being at Nathan Tuttle's Ordination Service. We didn't tell Tara & Nathan we were coming because we wanted it to be a sweet little surprise.
We all met at the Eckholdt's house for a cook-out. Matt grilled some great chicken and we all got to hang out, play with Oliver and catch up on life. Mike got to meet Jan & Starr and Jan told me I could bring him back as much as I wanted...guess he passed!

We headed to Beck's Baptist and took our seats so the service could begin.
The service was AMAZING!! I knew the Lord had sent Tara a special husband but man was I blown away at how others loved and respected him. Several people got up and spoke about Nathan and the man he has become. It brought tears to my eyes to hear all the stories about his life. At the end of the service Mike & I( along with lots of other people) got to lay our hands on Nathan and pray for him. It makes my heart to happy to know that the Lord brought Tara and Nathan together and I can't wait to watch their ministry grow.
After the service, we got to love on Tara & Nathan (and take a few pictures) before we all had to head out of town.
I think the service was a great time for all of us to reflect on how we are living our lives according to His plan for us! Congrats Nathan...we are very proud of you :)