Happy Belated New Year

Here are a few pictures from our NYE at our friend Jodi and Jake's . Some of the guys played a vicious game of SORRY while the rest of us participated in a lenghty and "friendly" game of Phase 10, which should have been called "SORRY" since that's what we kept saying to each other as we nicely skipped them in turn. :)

Here's the group, each with their spouse...well kind of. Josh was alone since Michelle was ringing in the new year in Ohio with her family and Adrian...well he got locked in the bathroom during the countdown and missed the whole thing. He did get in a kiss at 12:01. Oh well, better late than never.

More Sweet Friends

Wednesday last week was our 3rd baby shower! This one was hosted my some of my longest and dearest friends here in Houston. These girls mean the world to me, and although I don't get to see some of them as much as I'd like, our friendship doesn't suffer. I have to tell the stories about each of them because it's not just coincidence that each are part of my life.

I'll start with Erin who I met about 3 1/2 years ago. (far right) She was a desperate soul searching for someone to relieve her from her over stressful job! Actually she was my sales partner when I first started selling new homes and the day before I started I let her know that I would be gone on vacation for the next week and would start work officially when I got back. I had no idea that she had not had a day off in over 3 months and her last partner had just quit after being gone to Hawaii for 2 weeks! After she hated me for a few weeks, we became the best of friends and still are to this day.

Keisha came with the package when I met Erin. She was in a sales office not to far from us and came to visit often. It just goes to say, if you are friends with Erin, you are friends with Keisha. She has the best fashion sense of anyone I know and likes for her friends to be dressed to a T as well. She'll even go as far to buy them clothes (see example here). She also hates scary movies and will spend the night with you if you make her watch one. (back row, right)

Next would have to be Penny. We have a strange history. At one point I couldn't stand her. I'll never forget the day she waltzed into one of our Monday morning meetings at work and I kept thinking "great another bubbly blonde dumb girl coming to work here". Not to mention it was September and she was already wearing Ugs. What was she thinking. I had no reason but I had this "junior high" dislike for her. I wanted to spit my gum in her hair at the meetings. And if I would have, she wouldn't know because she never brushed it...never! I think my boss played a cruel joke on me about 8 months later when he sent Penny to cover my office while I was out with my sister's funeral. She was so sweet and compassionate and called to ask if there was anything she could do. When I returned she was still there...as my temporary sales partner. She and I have been best buds since. She still doesn't usually brush her hair but she did for my shower and she looked great (she's the one on the far left).

Now for Ms. Merri (left of me). Sweet as can be and feisty! She's barely 5 foot and you'd never know because she wears 3 inch heels with everything-even pj's! JK :) Merri was my sales partner for a few months while she trained for a bigger and better place. She taught me a lot while she was there, especially what it means to be a friend. Merri is the easiest person to talk to and is a vault. I don't know if it's because she forgets or if she really does keep secrets! Merri has taught me how to live life and keep your true friends close. She's a trooper and she's a little mama, always taking care of everyone.

After Merri left, I thought I would have my own sales office. And, I did for a few weeks. One night I was at a realtor event our company was hosting and in walks Penny (pre-friendship) with these 2 other blonde girls that didn't work for our company. Not yet anyway. All I could think was ugh! I tried to check them out without being obvious but one of the girls never said a word! I thought, how in the world is she ever going to work here! Well, Monday morning at our meeting one of the girls from the function, Christie (back row left) walks up to me and announces that she will be a little late getting to OUR office today. That's just what I wanted to hear. Howeve, it didn't take long for my heart to soften for this one. Before the day was over I realized how much she was just like me. On the outside people think she's a snob and some never give her a chance. I'm glad I did. Christie has been one of the funnest people to get to know, probably because I think we are so much alike! Except for she runs 6 miles every morning and eats healthy. Honestly, she taught me a really tough lesson on pre-judging. Something, obviously I've had a problem with! We've since become the best of friends and she even gave me the honor of being a part of her wedding last year.

Last, but not least is Jackie (right of me). I met Jackie in a Monday meeting as well. I don't have any funny stories about how we met, but I have tons of others! Jackie has a true servants heart. Although she has extreme OCD when it comes to planning and organizing, she does it well. She was the mastermind behind the shower and took on most of the duties. Not because the other girls didn't want to but because she didn't let them! :) Jackie has taught me about prioritizing and family. Something I know will come in handy in just a few weeks. She is a great mom to her son and a great friend to me.

The best thing about all these girls is how selfless they are and how much they love me and each other. We are a tight knit group and although we don't work together anymore, we are very much a part of each other's lives. I'm so honored to have these girls call me friend.

Ok, no more gushy stuff. The shower was great-obviously and the hostesses (all pictured above) went in together and purchased the baby's bedding. You can see it here. These girls way out did themselves. It was a night filled with tons of friends and lots of goodies for baby Landes. Here's the rest of the crew:

nancy, me, kim and liz

lynda and penny

arlene, maria, erin

merri and sara

Baby Shower and Blessings

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Matt and I went to Longview this weekend for our first baby shower. My girlfriends Callie and Ashley from high school hosted it. I had a wonderful time getting to visit with tons of people, some I had not seen in years! Matt played golf with an old friend from college and his wife came and brought their baby girl. My cousins Sarah and Paula came from Arkansas, a huge surprise! I also had a chance to visit with my longest friend, Michelle. She and I met the summer before kindergarten and have been friends ever since. She's one of those friends that you can lose touch with for a few months or even a year and pick back up where you left off. I was so blessed to have her there with her mom too! Michelle is expecting a baby soon as well. I just wish we lived closer so our babies could grow up together like we did.

The baby was showered with tons of gifts, mostly pink things! The shower was beautiful, Callie and Ash did a great job and the food was wonderful! Thanks girls!

On another note, Matt and I left to come back to Houston on Sunday morning. Because we left early, we had a little time to spare so as we drove through Nacogdoches, we took the road through town instead of taking the loop around. It was really cool to go by where we went to college together, lots of memories. The place has changed so much, it's hard to believe it was 10 years ago that we were there. After our stroll down memory lane, we headed home but not before stopping at The Cotton Patch in Lufkin. Matt and I had our first date at the Cotton Patch in Nac in April of 1997 and I don't think we've been there since. I thought it would be fun to eat there again and of course, I'm always up for food! The place was crowded with church goers from the morning and I walked in feeling a little underdressed in my comfy traveling clothes. You have to really know this town and the surrounding areas. It's filled with true southern hospitality. The people were so nice and it reminded me so much of home. As we finished up lunch the waitress asked us what we would like for dessert. I'm not one to pass up a dessert but I had just inhaled a chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes! She mentioned that someone else was buying our lunch so we should take advantage of a free dessert....??? Remember we are out of town so who in the world was buying our lunch? Matt and I talked for a minute and felt kind of weird, like someone was watching us, so we asked her who it was-she later brought this to us

Wow! A random person from Lufkin 1st Assembly bought our lunch. I can say, I've never had that happen. Matt and I started talking about how this gesture was truly an act of kindness and an example of how Christ calls us to love each other. A moment of guilt rose in me and I thought to myself "why haven't you been this kind to someone before". We were very honored and thankful for the gift of the free lunch and left thinking about how something so small could impact someone in a huge way. It was the topic of our converstaion for the next few miles.

Our Cool Connect 6 Group

Ok, so I was all set to write this blog about our cool group then I read Ashley Lee's and it was way too good for me to add to! So anyway, here we are! I will add that I ate soooo much that I know my baby girl was fighting her way for room in there. It had to be crowded after I ate this!

Ok so let me explain. This dessert takes 20 minutes to make. It is a huge warm chocolate chip cookie, still raw in the middle (yum), topped with whip cream, strawberries, raspberries and more chocolate chips with a caramel sauce. I would have eaten two of them had there been room!

Matt just pretended to help me eat this. I didn't leave him much!

Matt and Nicole....we are going to miss the heck outta yall! I can't wait to see you again at our August Connect 6!



Matt and Ashley...we love you guys! Thanks for twisting my arm to get this dessert!

Blog Facelift and a Surprise in The Mail

First off, I love my new page! You can get one too here. Also, I got a great package in the mail today. A little background to the story first. A few weeks ago I was having lunch with 2 friends that I used to work with, very sweet friends that I adore very much. I will keep their names a secret as I know one of them would be mad if I told this story and added her name...and of course the other friend will be mad that I left hers out! :) Anyway, I made converstaion on how I always feel frumpy when I leave the house and I miss my more fashionable days when I felt "put together" when I left. Of course sitting there with these two made it worse, seeing as they were dressed to the nines as always! So lunch progressed and we said our goodbyes. No big deal. So today I go to the mailbox and there is a huge package from one of my friends from lunch. She had sent me a LOAD of clothes from Motherhood Maternity! She said she wanted me to feel "cute" again! How sweet, I was totally floored! The clothes are the cutest things ever and I can't wait to wear them! Thank you so much K, you know who you are! And E, I know you were in on this as well! You 2 are the greatest friends...you're in big trouble now, but you are still the greatest. It's a blessing to have you in my life.