Happy 30th Birthday

to this lovely lady!   Jessica Terry Burke and I have known each other for about 15 years now, and we were fast friends and have stayed close over many miles and stages of our lives.  I wish I could be with her today to celebrate 30 years of her.

If I was there, we would have coffee, go to some delicious bakery, have a healthy lunch, and then a huge delicious cake!  It would be amazing.

Jess, I love you and hope that today is the start of the best years of your life.  You are a doll face, and I am so thankful to have you in my life!

Some Brant Lake Pictures

We did some awesome things...

We celebrated Sharon's bday!!!

 

We had campfire sing-alongs!!!

We went to a chicken BBQ!!!

We swam in the lake!!!

We went to a cute carnival!!!

We played games!!!

We played BINGO!!!

We had a wonderful time.  I have plenty more pictures to upload, but I wanted you to know that we are back- safe and sound and enjoyed every minute!!!

Brant Lake, NY

I will be heading out to Brant Lake this week to spend a few days on 'business' with the full-time staff at my office.

Brant Lake is a small lake in the Adirondack Mountains, and it is pretty much a piece of Heaven on Earth.  I have spent a few weeks there in the past, and I just cannot wait to sit on the Adirondack chairs on the wrap around porch, book and coffee in hand.  Oh just thinking about it makes me fuzzy inside.

The weather last year was frigid, but this year it is supposed to be perfect.  Highs around 80 and lows in the 50s... what more could you ask for really?

Stay tuned for fun pics of the vaca  I mean business trip :)

I can't believe he is turing 5!!!

On Saturday, July 10th, this adorable little man will be turning 5 years old... 5, can you believe it?!?!?  I cannot believe that Brayden is already 6, Davis is turning 5, and Gracie is 4.  The time has just flown by!  Even though it has only been almost 3 years since Davis came into our lives, he has been the perfect match for our sweet family.  Even though we weren't there 5 years ago when he was born, he was birthed in our hearts and has grown into the sweetest young man and I honestly cannot imagine our lives without him. 

The joy that smile brings is nothing short of contagious and every person he hangs around wants to scoop him up and take him home with him.

G. Davis McElheny,

Uncle Slim and I are crazy about you!  We miss you and wish we could celebrate with you on Saturday!  Play hard and have a blast.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We love you, sweet boy!

My amazing nephew

This child is awesome!  Yesterday was his 6th birthday, and being that he is my oldest nephew, he has always held a special place in my heart!  The kids is clever, cute, sweet, gentle, and overall amazing! 

Yesterday when he received a birthday card in the mail that held $50, he decided that he wanted to use the money to donate to Children's Hope Chest.  At first he thought that he would give 40 of the dollars to feed children in Africa, and the other 10, he would use to buy himself a remote control car. 

I spoke to him when he was on the way to drop the money off at Hope Chest, and he said "Do you want to know how many children I can feed?  163!!!"  He was so excited! 

When he got there, he decided that he wanted to give all the money instead of keeping any for himself.  How wonderful is that?!?!  Brandi, my sister-in-law told him that they were well on their way to feed one child for an entire year.  He was so excited about that... he even asked Brandi to 'tweet and ask other people to help'.  Adorable.

Currently in the Brayden's birthday fund there is $199.75 which is enough to feed 799 meals!  If you would like to participate in my nephew's charity, go to http://www.hopechest.org/ and click give. In the notes section write "Brayden's bday / Africa food" They'll give me an update or you can email my sister-in-law at brandi@hopechest.org and tell me how many meals so that I can share with Brayden. (one meal is $0.25)

Bray,

Aunt Laura and Uncle Slim are so proud of the man you are becoming!  We want to be just like you when we grow up!  Keep up the awesome work!  We love you!!!

The end of an era

When I first moved to SW Florida, I started meeting with a great group of girls. One of our first small groups consisted of Carly, Kate, Mel, Abby, and me. I learned so much from each of these ladies over the past 7 years. They have been people I have turned to for prayer, encouragement, and comfort. They have each brought me so much love and joy and I am eternally grateful!

Kate was the first to leave in 2005 when she left and married her true love! She is one of those people who is the best friend to u even when you may not talk for months on end. She sends the nicest letters and always is a blessing. I always say that when I grow up I want to be as good of a friend as she is!!!!

As you all know, it has been 2years since the bff Carly moved with her doll baby in her belly and her hubs by her side. There isn't a day that goes by when I don't miss her! If u didn't know, she is expecting baby 2 right around New Years.

Tonight I went to a going away party for my darling Mel!!! She and her husband Mike are moving to Northern Cali to commit full time to running a Christian camp! This is a perfect job for their adorable family of 4... But that doesn't mean I won't miss them like crazy!

So Abby and I are left here... Abs, I sure hope u stick around for a while!

We're Moving

HOORAY!

Slim and I will be moving into this lovely house at the end of this month! 

For more of an idea of the inside of the house, here is the layout

These are pictures from another house's main space. Ours is just like this but flipped around.