25 Random Things About Me

Uh oh, it's been over a month since my last posting and I thought I said I wasn't going to do that, but then I did. So, for your viewing pleasure, here are 25 Random Things About Me that you may or may not have known. Enjoy!

1. I can roll my tongue in three rolls at once. Yes, that's right.

2. I always knew I would marry a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man. Even though I was usually always attracted to the Tall, Dark and Hansom type. Guess who I married?!

3. I had a Vocal Scholarship to Fresno Pacific University my Freshman year of college.

4. I have been singing in public since I was 5 years old.

5. I had always wanted to say that I was "16 and never-been kissed." My first boyfriend, when I was 15, was 19 and he was very respectful of my wanting to wait until I was 16 and then my parents told me I had to stop seeing him because of our age difference and so he was not my first kiss after all. But, my husband WAS my first kiss, at age 18!

6. My husband and I were both virgins when we got married. (praise God!)

7. I've been to New York for a Choral Festival Competition with my high school choir.

8. My entire wedding, including my wedding dress, only cost $3,000.!

9. I have been deep-sea fishing, twice!

10. I am excited to be a full-time student again and my goal is to start the Degree Completion Program at Fresno Pacific University this Fall 2009 for my Bachelors Degree in Organizational Leadership.

11. I LOVE scrap booking and beading. (thanks to Leslie and Keirsten!)

12. I struggle with being tactful and so I pray about, and practice it regularly.

13. I've been to Ethiopia on a mission trip to teach music and English in 2008.

14. My first-ever attended concert was to see Barlow Girl in Bakersfield.

15. I am 1/2 Italian on my mother's side.

16. I serve as a volunteer on the Worship Team at Clovis Hills Community Church.

17. There were a total of 4 ministers involved with the ceremony at our wedding. (Uncle John, Uncle Paul, father-in-law Sam, and Grandpa [retired pastor.])

18. I sang the National Anthem at my high school graduation ceremony.

19. At one point, I had 5 piercing in my ears. (3 on my right lobe and 2 on my right.)

20. The place I feel the most at-peace and soulfully-refreshed is at the beach.

21. Tulips are my favorite flower.

22. I have been a brunette, a red-head and have had black hair before. (not all at once)

23. I have Hypo-Thyroidism.

24. I've been to Mexico on a mission trip in 1999.

25. I have a brother who is 10 years younger than me.

Now I'm a REAL Fan!

So, my best friend Leslie gave me the BEST gift so far this Christmas...my very own Fresno Falcon's sweatshirt! Now I'm a REAL fan! I took this picture myself, so I'll have to get another good one of us both at the rink at one of the games too. Thanks Les! I love you.

Decking the Halls

So my last post made reference to our house being decorated for Christmas two days after Thanksgiving, so I thought I'd share what that looked like! And now you get to see our new sectional sofa and decorated walls! I'm so excited that my friend Alicia was able to come over and help us hang pictures! It looks so great. We both love it! So...enjoy this little peek into our home. And our puppy, Daily, curled up in her "spot" next to the tree. Her bed used to be in the corner where the tree is now. She's still adjusting to that.

Thanksgiving...and into December we go...

Thanksgiving this year was hosted by US!!!! Oh my goodness we had a great time! I was so pleased that all the food turned out and my pies looked and tasted delicious and I escaped with only one minor injury. (I cut my finger while chopping sweet potatoes the night before.)

Steven dressed and cooked the turkey in our electric roaster, only took 4 hrs! I made mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, sweet potato pies, a hot Shepherd's dip, an jalapeno and cream cheese dip, veggie platter and coffee! What a feast we were blessed to have. God sure did provide for us and we were SO thankful to partake.

My parents, grandparents, and brother, Daniel were our guests that day. We were able to watch two movies, play cards and eat together for almost 6 straight hours. It was a lovely day and I'm SO thankful to my mother who helped me with the dishes and so now my house is clean!

We were also blessed to spend two days, uninterrupted, together after the holiday. Since Steven returned to school full time and works full time, we hardly get to spend any quality time together and this year we were able to prioritize each other and it was a huge blessing. We spend Friday watching 4 movies together and lounging around in our new sectional sofa. Then Saturday, since our house was still clean, we took all the recycling out of our garage and Steven earned $71 towards the final cost of his bass guitar. We also put up the Christmas tree and decorations!!! We've never been THIS on-top of decorating before. Man it feels good! Our house finally looks like WE live there, and not just a mixture of other family members. Having that sectional sofa and our own matching pictures on the walls really makes it seem like home to us for the first time since we've moved in, (over a year ago.)

This holiday weekend was such a blessing to me and to our marriage. I am SO blessed.

Family

Well, as we quickly approach Thanksgiving, I wanted to give my family a little face time on the blog. The second picture is last year's Estes clan. The Barker's have added another little one since then. New picture to be taken this year at Christmas! The first picture is my family. Much smaller, but love them SO much!

Vegas!

It's been a while now since my last post. So, sorry to those who read this. In mid-October Leslie and I were blessed with a week's vacation to Las Vegas! We had SUCH a great time and saw SO many things, it was awesome! Here are just a few of the many pictures taken. We went to see STOMP and that was awesome! We had $100 in gift certificates to use at the Planet Hollywood restaurant and here's us at the Flamingo Hotel, can you tell?! The boas were at the Elton John gift shop~

Delightful

For some reason, I have woken up on the right side of the bed this morning. I actually feel pretty rested and a little "chipper." I got up in time to get ready in time, including finding a cute outfit and shoes to wear, my hair looks decent, and I've had breakfast. Amazing!

I recently bought the $5.00 CD special at Berean, Lincoln Brewster - Let The Praises Ring, and I LOVE IT! I think it really added to my already potentially good mood this morning. So, I brought it into work and ripped it to my computer and am trying to make this feeling last as long as possible throughout my workday and if some of the faculty and staff happen to be exposed to the praises of our Lord, then Praise God!

I guess I'm just feeling delightful. I'm reminded of Psalms 37:4 - "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Now, I don't want this to seem like it intentionally follows my last post, but today I am looking to delight myself in the Lord because He desires me to. And because I can, because I want to, because He's worthy of my praise. I just want to thank Him for the blessings He HAS given me. Because, why not?!

May you find yourself "delighted" in our Lord today. Take a moment and observe your existence in this day. That alone should be a blessing.~