Surprise!

Gunter turned the BIG 3-0 on Labor Day, September 5. We celebrated with our families at the beach. We ate, opened presents, ate some more, watched it rain, laughed at the babies, ate some more, watched it rain more, watched Auburn win the first game of the season, enjoyed family time!

We celebrated on Saturday night with our two families, who were both at the beach for Labor Day. We were reminiscing about how last Labor Day we revealed that we were expecting! Wow! Time flies! Gunter begged me to play a joke on our families that we were expecting again! But I didn't think that would be a funny joke. No new to share this Labor Day!

The fam celebrating

Kyle and his friend Melissa with John Turner

John Turner and I with Christen and Adeline and Maralee

With Gunter's Cake! Yummy ice cream cake!

But the real party came the next weekend. For weeks I had been planning a surprise party for Gunter. I couldn't have pulled it off without the help of our parents and our sweet friends Janna and Vido. Vido and my dad took Gunter to play golf on Saturday afternoon. They had to miss the last half of the Auburn- Mississippi State game.... but that was ok. As soon as they left, Mom and  I started cleaning and getting the food ready. 

We pulled it off! Gunter was so surprised when he got home at 7pm and saw his closest friends and family waiting for him. Wish that I would have gotten more pictures, but you know how it is.... 

Some of the boys

Vido, Gunter, Justin, and Raleigh

Some of the girls

Janna, Christen, Erica, Blayne and Melissa

John Turner partied all night... 

seriously would not go to bed until everyone left! 

Mom and Dad came and brought.... 

Lucy! 

Since John Turner doesn't have Heath to pet anymore :( 

he loved playing with Lucy. She's so sweet!

Gunter said that he better start planning for my 30th birthday!  He's got a few years to think about what he wants to do :) 

We Remember

Today is a sad day for our country. It was 10 years ago today that the Twin Towers were struck by terrorists. Thousands of lives were lost and families were torn apart. But as we discussed in church this morning, our country was brought together by prayer during this terrible time. We know that God has a plan in everything that occurs.

I can remember 9-11-01 so well. I was sitting in Coach Bagley's Economics class. It was my senior year at Homewood High. It seemed to be a normal day until our principal, Dyer Carlisle, came over the intercom to inform the school that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. What were we to do the rest of day? I am sure that the teachers couldn't continue on with scheduled lessons. All that you could do was to watch the coverage on TV. When I got home from school, I remember huddling up around the TV with Mom, Kyle, and Kelsey. Then that night we went to a special prayer service.

You see it was just several months earlier that the Star Spangled Girls, the dance line I was on in high school, were marching in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. My family stayed at the World Trade Center hotel.

Hannah and I in NYC. 

Notice the Twin Towers in the back. 

We toured the Statue of Liberty and got our picture taken with the New York skyline in the back. Little did we know that skyline would be changed forever in a couple of months. That was my first trip to New York, my first and only picture of the Twin Towers.

Several years later, when I was in college, I went back to New York for Spring Break with my friends Anna, Maggie, and Mary-Peyton. We visited Ground Zero. I could hardly stand it. It made me so upset that I couldn't even tour the area. There was one thing that stood tall in the middle of the rubble reminded me that God in is control.

Two years later, my family went back to New York to watch Kelsey dance in the Macy's Parade. Ground Zero was a pile of rubble still, but we did tour the church across the street. I am anxious to go back and see the Memorials that honor those who lost their lives. In 365 more days that 9-11 museum will hopefully be opened.

This morning I got to watch a little bit of dedication service at Ground Zero. So much has happened to our country in ten years, but I pray that we will never forget September 11, 2001. I love this commercial that was shown during the service today.

I pray that you are enjoying your day of remembrance. I am glued to the TV watching all of the specials and documentaries. May we always remember and never forget. God Bless America!