Heart Choices: 2010-08-29 -->

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Surprises to Share



Most of you who read Heart Choices know that I'm headed to Florida tomorrow for my niece Kristin's wedding.

I can't wait to see Kristin and Katie's faces.  It's just been too long since I last spent time with them. 

Katie and I went on a trip to New York City in 2006.  She graduated from beauty school and moved to Brooklyn. She now works in a hair salon in Manhattan and has gained lots of great experience.

She's going to do her Aunt Debbie's hair!  I'm so excited to have my highlights done.  All I can say is that I now know what my true hair color is since I've not had any color done in over a year.  I actually was pleased that I'm not gray since my mom's hair turned white gray at a young age.  But it will be so refreshing to have it done by an expert like Katie!

I will also get to see some of my favorite friends.  Lorraine (on the left) and I went to nursing school together.  And Jean (on the right) and I have been friends and sisters forever.  I met both of these women almost 40 years ago.  Jean will be at the wedding and Lorraine will return from her honeymoon cruise the day before I go home to Phoenix. 

And now for the surprises I wanted to share with my blogging friends...

Does anyone recognize this profile picture?

It's Melanie of The Bella Mella!  And would you believe that she lives less than one mile from my sister Christine?  So, how could I not get to meet her in person. 

I hope she doesn't make me run with her.  LOL.  Yes, I need the exercise but I'm not used to the humidity in Florida.  After all, I live in the dry heat of Arizona.

Melanie has been through so much this past year and I want to be able to give her a hug, pray with her and ...share some Norwegian waffles with her.

Does anyone recognize this smiling face?

It's Lisa Shaw of Sharing Life with Lisa.  And I'm getting to meet her in person.  She is driving almost two hours just to have lunch with me.  Can you believe it?  I've known Lisa through our blogs for some time now and we instantly clicked.  She's the one who gifted me with the blog redesign of Heart Choices.  She is so kind and fun and loving.  I know we'll be doing lots of hugging and praying and having fun.  I can't wait for my sister to meet her too.

There are several other Florida friends I would have loved to spend time with during this trip but my time is so limited with family and the wedding.  Robyn and Joann, my friends from high school live on the east coast of Florida.  Debra of Clothed with Scarlet lives there and so does Lori of Lori's Reflections.  Lori was one of my very first blogging friends and I've actually met her in person.  So, I hope to be able to return soon.
I probably won't be online much until next Wednesday and then I'll have lots of blog reading to do.  I don't want to miss anything.  So, say a prayer for those Delta pilots as that is the carrier I'm flying.  And pray for Kristin and Kevin if you would.


Blessings and love,
QuickEdit

Looking Forward to a Wedding


Guess who's getting married this Saturday?

I can still remember Kristin as a little girl.  What would she be like when she grew up?
She can be a goofball at times.  That's Kristin on the left and Katie on the right.  And yes, that's Uncle Greg and Aunt Debbie having fun too.
The last wedding we attended together was when my sister got married.  That was 14 years ago today.  Happy Anniversary Christine and Pat!
When Kristin graduated high school, I took her to New York City for a week.  We had a blast and she got her picture taken with a few celebs.  Yes, that's Charlie Gibson and Kristin.
Here she is with Robin Roberts of Good Morning America.
Kristin went on to college in Orlando at UCF.  After graduating, she obtained her Master's Degree in Speech Pathology at the University of Southern Florida.  She's been working in the school system in St. Petersburg for one year already.

 Here's Kristin with her future husband Kevin.  Aren't they too cute?
Here's Kristin at her bridal shower. 

As you can tell, I'm getting excited about this wedding.  I'll be flying to Tampa on Thursday.  The rehearsal dinner is Friday and the wedding is Saturday.  It will be fun to see my family as it's been too long since I've visited.

I have one more secret to share but I'll save that for tomorrow, OK? 



QuickEdit

Kristin is Getting Married


My niece Kristin is getting married this Saturday.  I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by.  She was born just one month before Greg and I got married.  She is 25 years old.

She was so excited when she became a big sister.  Here she is holding Katie.  And to think that Katie is going to be her maid of honor.

Sometimes Kristin can be so cute!
And sometimes she can be a little rascal!
I wish that my mom was still alive to see Kristin and Kevin get married.

My mom always had a way with babies.  She could do baby talk so well and could always get Kristin to laugh.  The rest of the family always got quite a chuckle out of it too.
She was never very shy!

Look at what I caught!

Here's Kristin trying on her mom's bridal gown.  I don't think it fits very well.
Kristin and Katie in the Painted Desert of Arizona
Fast forward to college days with her dog Harley. 

Harley knows where it's best to sleep!

I'm getting excited about this wedding.  Stay tuned and I'll post some pictures of Kristin and her fiance tomorrow.

Blessings and love,

QuickEdit

I'm Still Praising the Lord


Extravagant Grace

I continue to participate in eLisa's Praise the Lord in this moment at Extravagant Grace.

Our praise challenge for this week is to do a search on the word praise on Bible Gateway.  The Scripture that spoke to my heart was:
Psalm 40:3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.
We were also asked to post a praise song. Here's mine:



There's nothing like speaking the name of Jesus as I'm praising Him in this moment.  It helps me to keep my eyes on Him, especially when life isn't going along as I planned.  I remember that He sees all and knows all and best of all He is sovereign and has my best interests at heart.

Blessings and love,

QuickEdit
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