Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

(oh my heavens, this pic is from 2006!! but...it's the only pic I have saved to my computer. Usually I would go get one off Facebook, but I gave that up for lent...so, this is all I have)

*Date night with my Sissie Lu*

Ahhhhhhhhh....I am SO SO SO excited about tonight! I get to hang out with my sister!!!! For those of you who know me real well, then you know that my sister is my BEST FRIEND! However, we don't get to hang out as much as we used to. Living in Brookhaven, being married, and having 2 kids prevents us from hanging out. So...I messaged her earlier this week and I told her that we were hanging out on Friday, and I told her to make the plans! From what I understand, the plans for tonight consists of me hanging out with her and some of her friends. This may seem weird to some people, since we are 5 years apart. But Lauren AND her friends have always been a big part of my life! When I lived in Hattiesburg, they would come stay with me all the time. They've all been like family to me. They have seen me get married and been around through the birth of both my kids! I am SO excited about getting to hang out with them tonight!!!!



*Sick of snow, ready for a GLOW!*

I'm pretty sure I talk about this every week, but I have never been so ready for warm weather!!!!!! If it snows one more time (I know it's supposed to tomorrow), then I will screammmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! All I want is to get to the beach, sit in my chair, with my toes in the water, and soak up the sun! Is that so much to ask?!!?



*Spring Break*

Ok, while we're on the subject, let me tell you about my Spring Break plans. First of all, Spring Break for us is in 2 more weeks....WOOHOO!!! (Come on, Mr. Sun) We're leaving on the 12th to go stay with my aunt in Pensacola, and we'll be there til the 16th! This will be Parker's first trip to the beach, and you better believe I'll be taking some family beach pics....DUH! I'll also probably just stay on the beach the whole time we're there...even if it's 25 degrees! I ain't skeered!! :) Anyways, that Wednesday (the 17th) I'm going to get my hair cut...like in that pic I posted a couple weeks ago. So, it'll be super short! I can't wait to see what it's going to look like! And then...the 19th and 20th we're going on a girl's trip to the Beau Rivage. Ahhhhhh....I can hardly contain my excitement. I can't remember the last time I went on an all girl's trip! The plan is to shop, eat, go out, get massages, see the Hairspray show, and come home. Heavenly bliss!


*Working out*

I've mentioned in previous posts that I've started a hardcore workout plan. I'm working out 4 days a week. Mondays and Wednesdays I do cardio, abs, and arms. Tuesdays and Thursdays I do cardio, abs, and legs. I've lost 25 lbs since I had Parker!! Working out has been great in so many ways. Of course, I'm excited to be back down to my pre-baby weight...but also, I look forward to working out every day! It's an hour devoted to just ME!!!!!!!!! I go to the workout room on campus, blare the music, and go at it for a full hour! Ahhhh...LOVE IT!



*Dave Ramsey update*

Michael and I have decided to try to sell our house! Yes, we just bought our house in August, but here's the plan...try to make about $40,000 off our house (we've done lots of work to it), pay off every single bit of debt, live somewhere cheap(er) for a while, save up, and start building. We're actually trying to get in a house on Co-Lin's campus for a while so we can save. At first, I cringed at the thought of doing this...but now I'm super excited about it! Once it gets warm, we're going to do some landscaping and then put a sign in the yard! We're not in any hurry to sell it...we're just gonna see how God works it all out :)



*Classic Rock & Booty Music*

Nothing puts me in a better mood than some CCR, ZZ Top, Pink FLoyd, Guns-n-Roses, Led Zeppelin, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Black Eyed Peas, etc.....
It's my guilty pleasure, and I just can't thank Michael enough for my fabulous Christmas present---XM radio!!!!!!


**CHALLENGE:
Have fun this weekend. Make time for just YOU. Do something that you haven't done in a while. Even if it's just for 30 minutes....go do something by yourself! Enjoy! And don't feel guilty! We all need to be refreshed every once in a while :)


in a great mood,
Tonya

It's DEFINITELY a Monday!!!

Abby woke me up every 30 minutes last night complaining about her tummy hurting...
Finally fell asleep at 5:00am and woke up at 7:45am....
Abby has no idea why I'm asking her if she feels better...
She treats this morning as any other morning...
Playing, eating, laughing, whining...
So, I guess I'm not taking the day off...
Michael is taking a 45 minute shower....
I go get in Abby's shower...
I have 30 minutes to get everyone ready...
I don't look as ~cute~ as I would've liked...
I drop the kids off and get to work at 9...
I have a campus visit at 9...
And at 10...
Made Parker a Dr. Appt....
He's been congested for 3 months...
Workout at 11:30....
Sacrificed my lunch....
Campus visit at 12:30...
And at 1:00....
Go to the cafeteria...
Decided NOT to pay $5.00 for fried rice...
Starving by this time...
Catching up on bills...
Still starving...
Fixed me some oatmeal...
Put too much water in it....
I try to eat this bowl of watered down crap...
But I can't....
Is it only 3:00???....
Sigh....

Yeah, it's definitely a Monday!

Challenge~

I was so busy WHINING that I forgot to challenge yall for this weekend!

How about this...try not to be pesimistic this weekend (I'm especially talking to myself). Join me in finding the good in everything and praising God for his faithfulness even when are not faithful!

Love yall!
Happy Friday :)

Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

**This has been a week from "EARTH"!!!!!!!!!!!!
I say "earth" because it's not fair to see it's been a week from HELL! That just gives Satan way too much credit. Also, when you say you've had a day/week from hell, it's saying that in no way has God blessed you. Sooooo....even though this has been a rough week...God is still God, and He has still blessed me even when I'm not worthy of it! I'm just glad it's the weekend. I don't have any big plans...I just need some R&R!!!


**In a Spiritual RUT!
While we're talking about God...I just have to admit....I am in a R-U-T!! I have been for quite a while now. I haven't really admitted it to anyone, because I like to show that I have it all together. But I just have to be real and tell yall that I feel like there are 170,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles between me and God right now. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's like there's a wall up when I try to pray, I can't seem to make time to spend with the Lord each day, and honestly-I'm struggling with the desire for those things! I feel empty, and I know exactly why that is...so why is it so hard to do something about it?!!? I guess some of me feels like I just keep digging myself deeper into this rut, and I can't even see how it's possible to get out??? If anyone has any advice or personal testimonies, please do share!...and pray for me too!



**My Co-Lin "wolf pups"
On a lighter note...I just have to show off my Co-Lin spirit with my babies dressed in their Co-Lin attire!!! Abby's picture is from 2008, and Parker's is from this morning. I really do love my job and this college, and what better way to represent than with my little wolf pups!


**Pale, Pale, Pale
Ughhhhhhh....I'm so sick of being pale. But I'm just not into the tanning bed like I used to be. And I'm not really to the point where I want to spend $50 for a spray tan for it to only last a week!!! Soo...I guess I'll just keep waiting around for spring and warm weather. But I just hope it gets here soon, because pale is NOT the new tan!

**Sinus crud
Is it just me, or is everyone dealing with the sinus crud right now?!?! I've been very fortunate to have only had a scratchy throat here and there, but this morning I woke up and seriously wondered at what time in the middle of the night did a Mack truck run over me???????? I can't breathe, my head feels like it could burst at any minute, I'm sick to my stomach because all this snot is draining....BLAH!!!!!! Plus...I didn't get any sleep (because I could not breathe) and so not only do I feel like crap...the lack of sleep didn't do much for my looks today :(


**Debt
Ok, I'm trying to be more positive so let's talk about the fact that we just paid off a couple "pieces" of debt!! WOO HOO!!! When I say "debt", I'm talking about: a couple hundred dollars on the Belk card, a couple hundred on the gas card, some furniture, etc. However, we do still have a couple other things we working on paying off (house, car, etc), but we just gotta take it one at a time. Thanks, Dave Ramsey!! :)


**My preggie friends
Jennifer Esser- due the middle of March. She's one of my friends that has babies the "natural way" hehe! So...we won't really know exactly when baby Caleb will be here...but it won't be much longer! Can't wait for Parker and Caleb to be best friends like Abby and Austin! Love you, Jenn!
Brandi Barrett- scheduled section on March 12. WOO HOO!! John Henry will be here in 21 days!!!!!!!! Brandi's on bedrest until he's born, so keep her in your prayers. But not even bedrest can keep that girl's spirits down. Love you, Brandi!
Whitney Holmes- just found out she's having a BOY!!!!!!!!! Parker, John Henry, and Baby Boy Holmes will all be so close in age! It'll be so fun to have some little playmates right here in Brookhaven/Monticello :) Whitney's had a great pregnancy so far...and I'm praying it contines that way! Love you, Whit!
Some other friends that are expecting: Karen Webb, Erin Smith, and Jennifer Cochran. Praying for you girls!! Love yall :)


hoping for some R&R,
Tonya

Will I Survive?!?!!??!?

Soooooo.....I'm not Catholic and I really have NO idea what "Lent" is, but I saw everyone's Facebook status updates last night on what they were giving up for Lent. And I said to myself, "Self, I want to give up something this year!" So, then I started thinking about what I should give up. This usually wouldn't be hard to do, because I would've said chocolate, or junk food, or fast food, or caffeine...HOWEVER, I've already given all that up due to kidney stones and my latest "get ready for a swimsuit" workout plan! Hmmmmm....so, what could I give up?? And then it struck me....FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!! I spend wayyyyyyy too much time on Facebook each day. Totally ridiculous. I mean, I have a husband, 2 kids, a full time job, and an off-line social life! It's just plain stupid to spend so much time stalking people on Facebook! :)

I was so excited about it last night....and then I woke up. haha! Usually one of the first things I do when I get to work is check my Facebook. I like to see what people are doing, talking about, and what pictures they have posted (since the last time I checked...about 12 hours earlier-because I was sleeping!)So, when I woke up this morning the reality hit me. Um....I won't be able to get on Facebook for 45 days?!!??!?!?!!??!?!? Will I really survive those 45 days without updating my status every 5 minutes, uploading pictures (Spring Break, HELLO!!!), stalking my friends, chatting, and the biggest....maintaining Co-Lin's Facebook page!!! Yes, as the student recruiter, one of my job duties is to maintain our Facebook page. Thank the Lord that I have recently assigned 2 other people as admins on that page, so I'll just get them to keep up with it until April! Yeah, I'm going to do this right! :)

So, I guess for the next 45 days yall can check my blog to see what's going on in my life...and I'll definitley be "blog-stalking" more than usual!


I WILL SURVIVE,
Tonya

Snow Day 2010

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to you"

Ok, first of all let me apologize for yesterday's post that turned into a book. It was the first time I've ever shared our story publicly, so I just couldn't stop! I want to be open about everything, because I want to be real with everyone and I want my testimony to touch other people in the same situation.

Anyway...let's pick up with 2008. So, I told yall that we moved to Brookhaven, but I didn't really give details. Well, we moved into the Bishop's pool house. We were excited because it was going to be a great time for us to save lots of money!!! We also thought we'd just be there for about 6 months....haha....we ended up staying there for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!! Even though it was a little cramped in a 800 sq ft house, it was definitley God's plan for us. I have the absolute besttttttt in-laws in the world! So, great inlaws+ a pool right out your front door+ living for free+ saving money= fabulous 2 years! We were able to pay off some debt and save a TON! So...we started looking at houses in January 2009, and we found one in June 2009. We made a bid, they accepted the bid, and we moved in August 2009! A few other details that I have left out are: Michael went from job to job for 2 years and God finally opened a door for him at Farm Bureau in September 2008. As for me, I was a teller at a local bank for about 9 months, and then got an offer at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in October 2008! Also, I miscarried in August 2008, and then got pregnant again in December 2008. That was such a hard time for Michael and I. There are just no words to describe the pain of losing a baby. But we made it through, and we were so excited when God blessed us with another baby in December! Soooo....we moved into our new house in August 09, Michael and I celebrated 3 years of marriage, and then we had Brandon "Parker" Bishop in September 09. I took off for 2 months and went back to work in November. I worked my butt off in November and December, trying to make up 2 months of recruitment. But I loved every second of it...I absolutely love my job as the student recruiter for Co-Lin!

Well, that brings me to 2010. We celebrated Abby's 3rd birthday in January and we just enjoyed a SNOW DAY today! (pics will be posted soon!) And as a new year has started, we are so excited about what God has in store for our family in 2010. A few things that will be happening this year: Michael and I are going to Austria in April, Family trip to Destin in July, and hopefully Christmas in Disney World!

So...that is our love story-in a nutshell! There have been hard times, good times, sad times, and impatient times...but our love for eachother, for our kids, and for our God has never waivered. I am SOOO blessed to have Michael Brandon Bishop as my husband. We do not have a perfect marriage, and we never will....but one thing is certain---we will make it through whatever comes our way...and we will make it through together! I'm so glad I decided to devote this week to my "Valentine" because with 2 kids running around, he gets put on the back burner sometimes. So Michael, I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. God truly blessed my broken road...that led me straight to YOU!

Since there won't be a post with Friday's thoughts and challenge, I want to challenge you through this post. At some point this weekend, sit down with your "Valentine" and talk about your love story. From Day 1 until now. It'll be a fun time to talk, laugh, and re-live the memories of when you first fell in love. I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day.
To Sarah: I hope you start feeling better, and I'm praying Todd stays healthy.
To Brittany: I'll be praying for Ryder's derm appointment next week and that he'll start feeling better soon. Both my babies have had the crud for several weeks! :(
And to everyone else: Thanks for following my blog, and have a great weekend!

so in love,
Tonya

"This much I know is true..."

Ok, so we talked yesterday about how my husband was a **rockstar** haha! Let's move on to 2006.

From January 2006-May 2006, nothing really special happened. Just continued my education at Southern and followed the band around when I could. However in May, something SO unexpected happened.

On Mother's Day, I remember laying in bed with my mom and just feeling really sick. I wasn't throwing up, but I felt real nausiated. I laid around all that day, and when I got back to Hattiesburg on Monday I felt even worse!!! I was pretty convinced that it was just sinus drainage, because I had felt like that in the past. So...on Tuesday May 16th 2006, I went to the doctor. I told the doctor that I had sinus drainage that was making me sick and that I just needed some medicine. End of story. Write me a prescription and let me leave. So...the doctor took a urine sample and told me to wait in the room. Well, I waited for what seemed like 3849083493 hours!!!!!!! She finally came back in the room, and with the biggest smile on her face, she said..."You're pregnant!!!" O-M-G...I almost threw up!!!!!!!! I started balling crying, hysterically! She told me to calm down and that everything would be okay! WHAT??? NO...everything will NOT be ok. I'm 21 years old. I'm not married. I'm still in school. I'm not married. I'm not married. My parents are going to kill me. I'm not married. AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! So, I call Michael and tell him to meet me at my apartment. When he got there, I was still crying hysterically and when I told him the news, he broke down and started crying hysterically. (one of the three times I've ever seen him cry!) Michael leaves my apartment to go meet his dad to tell him the news and get some support. Me, on the other hand, decided not to tell my parents until the baby is 25 years old, because I knew support is not what they would offer. My parents were in Disney World at the time, so Michael and I decided to wait til they got home to tell them. After Michael told his dad, his whole family decided to come to Hattiesburg to be with us. We sat down and talked, they loved on us, took us out to eat, and assured us that everything would be okay. Soooooo....a week later, we made the trip to Clinton to break the news to my parents. Keep in mind that I've had to talk to them for an entire week without them knowing this big secret! After we eat dinner with my parents, we sit on the couch and Michael mutes the T.V. All the while, I just feel like I'd rather die than tell them. Well, Michael breaks the news to them and, just as we expected, they go CRAZY! They start yelling, and saying mean things. We finally left and I cried the whole way back to Hatti. My step dad called me the next day to apologize for how he reacted, and my mom didn't talk to me for 3 weeks. (side note: she is the best MiMi and support system for me now) :(

Well, on June 20 (Michael's birthday), Michael proposed. I wasn't expecting it to be so soon, but we decided that we would get married before I started showing. So, we got married on August 26th, 2006 and it was definitley the wedding of my dreams. It was small and simple, but it was still the wedding of my dreams. We went to the Bahamas for our honeymoon and everything about it was wonderful.

When we got home from our honeymoon, I moved into Michael's trailer. During the fall semester of 2006, I continued to go to school. I finished up my semester in December, and I was 9 months pregnant!!!

On January 7, 2007, I had Abigail Roselynn Bishop. It was the greatest day of my entire life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Of OUR entire life! We lived in Hattiesburg, in the trailer, until August 2007. At that point, we felt God calling us to Brookhaven (which is where Michael was from). I knew that God was calling us there, but I didn't go without a fight! We were leaving a wonderful church, our best friends, a mall, Target, Chick Fil A, etc....to go to a town with a Wal-Mart! And I was NOT happy about it!

I finished up my college career at USM the fall semester of 2007. I had to communte from Brookhaven 3 days a week, study every night with a 6 month old, and had a husband that took a job that required him to be gone every week-home on the weekends!! So, needless to say, it was T-O-U-G-H!!!

This post has turned into more of my personal testimony than my love story with Michael. But...through that year and a half of hard times, Michael NEVER, NEVER, NEVER left my side...and I promise you, I made it difficult for him at times!!! Things did not work out like we had planned, but we look back now and we wouldn't change it for the world! He is my prince charming, and he is the best daddy in the world.

Tomorrow I'll wrap up our love story...
Stay tuned :)


God's timing is perfect,
Tonya

"Pointing me on my way, into your loving arms..."

So, where did we leave off?
Oh yes...our first date/first kiss :)

Well, I forgot to mention in the earlier posts that Michael played in a praise & worship band when I met him. He played bass for Jason Elam, along with Chris Brown and Justin Teasley. They would travel all over the United States and play at church camps, revivals, Disciple Now weekends, etc. This was a little different for me, because I wasn't used to having a boyfriend that was gone almost every weekend. But I learned to LOVE it!!!! I was able to travel with them some, and I made an effort to attend alot of the local events and even some out of state events. One of my favorite memories was when they played in Gatlinburg, TN with Jaci Velasquez, Third Day, and some others. They have also played with Big Daddy Weave, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, and other big name Christian bands. It was so neat to experience this, and it grew me so much in the way I worshipped!! It was also fun to watch the little teenage girls run up to Michael and ask for his autograph after they played! HAHA! So, that's pretty much how Michael and I spent the next 2 years of our relationship. In January of 2005, I moved back home to take some classes at Holmes and then transferred back to USM in August 2005. The long distance relationship didn't really bother us all that much. We both made it a priority to see eachother as much as possible, send eachother letters and flowers (I received lotsssssss of flowers), and Michael would show up for surprise visits very often! The summer of 2005, I served as a summer missionary through the BSU at Southern. They sent me to Lake Tahoe to serve and I was ecstatic to go!!! However, when I got there 2 things happened: 1)I started having very bad pain in my side and lower back, 2)I missed Michael like craaaaazy!!!!!!! I visited the doctor every week while I was in Lake Tahoe trying to figure out what this pain was. They finally sent me to the hospital for an MRI, and that is when I first discovered my kidney stones! They found SIX while I was in Tahoe!! They gave me the option to have surgery there, or go home. I decided to go home, because I wanted to be with my mom...and...I was ready to see Michael. So, I ended up serving in Tahoe for a month, and then went back home to finish my summer in Clinton. When I moved back to Hattiesburg in August 2005, I started living with Brandy Bell (Byrd). Michael and I continued to date and our love for eachother grew much stronger! As I continued my education at Southern Miss, Michael decided to put school on hold and traveled with the band full time. He would still work at the fitness center when he wasn't traveling, and I went to work at Belk.

The story gets better...
Check in tomorrow for the next chapter :)


my boyfriend was in the band,
Tonya

"Others Who Broke My Heart, They Were Like Northern Stars..."

Okay, so we left off at our first unofficial date at Firehouse Subs (which is still one of our favorite places to eat!). So it was September 25, 2004 when we officially started dating. But let's rewind for a minute. Before we officially started dating, Michael swept me off my feet everyday! Here are some of those memories that stick out in my mind: One day Michael was driving through our apartment complex (because he lived there too, not because he was a stalker ha!) and he saw me and my 2 roomies (Crittle and Brittany B) dragging our bags of garbage to the dumpster. He stopped and threw all the bags into the back of his truck and took it to the dumpster for us. He was always sending me flowers with the sweetest little notes. He came over and watched a movie with me and Crit before we had to evacuate Hatti for one of the hurricanes, and then he talked to me on my phone the whole way to Jackson to keep me awake. And I could go on all day. So, like I said, we officially started dating on September 25, 2004, and this was our first date:

Michael came and picked me up one Sunday afternoon to go to church. (That already says a lot right there!). As we're driving to church, I was trying to be nice and pulled his visor down to get the sun out of his eyes. Well, little did I know that he stored his 980834243 cds under his visor, so when I pulled it down all those cds hit him in the face and dumped into his lap! HAHA! I was so embarassed, but now that is one of our fondest memories :) So, we went to church and then went to eat at Chili's. Which is where we found the chocolate molten cake. That cake has ended up being another one of our most fond memories. After Chili's, he took me to his apartment and we watched a movie and had our first kiss ;)

So, the other guys that had broke my heart served as Northern stars that directed me right to Michael. It's funny how things work out. When you're in the midst of heartache, you think your world is coming to an end. But it's really just God's way of taking you out of that relationship so that you can find your true love that awaits! I really don't regret any relationship I ever had, because each one of those relationships made me who I am today.

Our first date was the next chapter in my love story with Michael. I'll tell you more tomorrow...


no regrets,
Tonya

"Every long lost dream led me to where you are..."

So, as we approach Valentine's Day, I decided to devote this entire week to my wonderful husband. It seems as though I've overlooked him throughout my blogging career. It wasn't intentional. But that's why I want to devote a whole week to letting yall know just how blessed I am to have this man as my husband.

"Every long lost dream led me to where you are..."
There were YEARS of long lost dreams in my life. In high school, I was a lovestruck teenager that thought my first "real" boyfriend was the love of my life. After 2 years, I realized that God was leading me somewhere else. During my college years at Holmes Community College, I went from one long lost dream to another. When I transferred to Southern Miss, I was dating a guy that I had known all along. I really felt like he was "the one" that God had for me. He went to State that semester and needless to say, the long distance relationship just wasn't working out for us. At that time, God brought Michael Bishop into my life. We met at a BSU fish fry and ended up working together at a fitness center in Hattiesburg. Ben and I broke up, and a few weeks later Michael asked me on a lunch date. He asked me while I was walking on the treadmill, so I was not as ~cute~ as I would've liked to have been. But I'll never forget our first unofficial date at Firehouse Subs.

So, that's how my long lost dreams led me to Michael.
Tomorrow you'll find out more of our love story.


so in love,
Tonya

Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

**Superbowl food for lunch!!
Today the cafeteria here at Co-Lin had superbowl food for lunch. You don't have to tell me twice. I was down there as soon as my lunch break started! I just wanted it all...but settled for a chili dog, nachos and cheese, and tater tots! Mmmmmm....:) And a sprite...all for $4! Can't beat that with a stick!!!!!!!! It was very yummy, but now I'm stuffed! (and kinda wish I would've used my lunch break to workout instead! haha)


**Pink, Fuzzy Northface jacket
So, I got this Northface jacket last year (08) for Christmas, but I've only worn it a couple times because I'm a weird-o about things matching. And since I don't have a million things with pink in them, I've just pushed the jacket to the back of the closet. Until today. Mainly because today is dress down day and so my nice coats wouldn't look right with my jeans and plain jane top. Anywayssss...it's been fabulous. It's one of those real soft ones (don't know the name), so I could actually just zip myself up in it and fall fast asleep. Ahhh.....


**When will my babies ever get better??????
Abby and Parker have had the crud for about a month now! It's driving me crazy!! Abby is actually getting better, but I think Parker is getting worse. I took him to the doctor yesterday, because he started coughing so hard that he's making himself throw up! But of course the doctor found nothing wrong. Which I guess is a good thing that nothing major is wrong, but I just want him to feel better! And. stop. coughing. Besides for the coughing (and occasional projectile vomit), the kiddos are in good spirits. Abby is still as non-stop as ever. And Parker man is still trying to tell us everything about everything...he's a non-stop chatter box!


**A weekend in Hatti
So, the kids are staying with my parents tonight, and then we're getting them back tomorrow on our way to HATTIESBURG! We're going to stay with our Hatti Besties, The Essers! We try to get together with them at least once a month. We just take turns driving to eachother. It's always a fun relaxing time of catching up, letting our kids play, eating good food, and slumber parties!!!!! Oh, and of course a little Hobby Lobby and Target are thrown in there too :) But this trip is especially special (haha), because we're going to visit our old church while we're there!! So, we'll actually get to catch up with lots of friends. Can't wait!


**A new hairstyle!
This past Tuesday I went to get my hair done! I get sooooooo bored with my hair, so every 6-8 weeks I have to do something different. I'm either changing colors, adding colors, changing styles, or whatever. So, I found a pic (of Victoria Beckham of course...she's my hairstyle role model!) and I brought it with me on Tuesday. Debbie (my stylist) and I decided that I WILL rock this hairstyle...but I'm going to let it be my Spring/Summer style...so I'll get it cut like the pic above in 8 weeks! YAY! :) So, all I did on Tuesday was got the 4 colors touched up (2 blondes and 2 browns), and cut a few bangs (so I can get used to it before I go all the bang-way), and she cut more choppy layers! loveeeeee it....loveeeeee Debbie! (Debbie Brown, in Wesson...call her...she's great!)


**Swimsuit body
I made a decision in January that I was going to start using my lunch break to workout. Now, how much easier could it be? We have a workout facility on campus and it's RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET from my office. But for some reason, I talk myself out of it everyday. I'd probably still talk myself out of it even if I had someone bring all the equipment to my office. Ughhhh!!!!! I'm very fortunate to be back at the weight I was before I got pregnant. But it's not my weight I'm trying to control...it's the out of control untoned muscles and flab! I just want to look good in a swimsuit again. Is that so much to ask?!??!?! So......maybe Monday? Monday is always a good day to start anything new! ha!! I'll let yall know how that goes next week in Friday's Thoughts.


**Girl's Trip!!
In my last post, I talked alot about the fabulous girlfriends that I have in my life! Well...several of us have decided that it's time for a girl's trip! So, March 18-20, we're gonna go to The Beau Rivage! The musical "Hairspray" will be there, so we will go to that on Saturday...and the rest of the time, we will do whatever we want! Cannot wait!!!!! Good food, good friends, lots of dancing, of course some shopping, some spa treatments, and sleeeep! :)


Ok...well, that's all I have for today. I hope yall have enjoyed my randomness :) My challenge for you is: have some girl time this weekend! Find some girlfriends to go shopping with, eat with, and talk girl stuff with. Give yourself some time to just be a GIRL...not a mommy or a wife...just for a couple hours. You will be amazed at how refreshed you will feel afterwards. A little time away from your husband and kids will make you a better wife and mommy!


a refreshed wifey & mommy,
Tonya

Girl's Just Wanna Have FUN!!!!

Ok, so I have decided to write about the fun times I have with my girls every month...thanks Crittle, for the idea :)

On the 1st Tuesday of every month, some girls from my Sunday School class get together for "Girl's Night." Someone different hosts it at their house each month, so it's a good time to meet new people and see everyone's home! It's up to the "host" as to what we do each month. Usually we just eat, talk, and LAUGH...ALOT! Everyone brings a yummy dish, so that way no one person is responsible for all the food. And plus...you get to try new things and get new recipes :) This month was my turn to host! We've been living in a pool house, so it was hard to have more than 4 people in our house at one time. I tried to have a pool party one month for girl's night, but it ended up that on that particular night, we were moving into our NEW HOUSE! :) So, back to hosting the party...my mom came over Monday while I was at work to clean my house. Yes. I. am. spoiled. So, yesterday I knew I had to get my hair done at 3:30 and probably wouldn't get done until 5:30...which would give me only an hour to get home and get ready for the party. Well, that is where my wonderful husband comes in. He picked up the kids from school, went by and picked up my chicken salad that I ordered (because I wouldn't have time to make anything), picked up a game that I needed, fed Parker, forgot to take Abby to gymnastics (haha, yes he did, but we won't dwell on that lol), made sure the house was spik-n-span, and got himself and the kids out of the house before the girls arrived. SIDE NOTE: I am totally blessed with the greatest husband in the world. I don't say that enough..but I'm thinking that I'll have a blog post dedicated to him soon! Anyways...so I got home in enough time to change clothes, put some fun music on, and breathe for a minute. Once the girls got there, we put out all the food and started munching! After we ate and talked for a while, I pulled out the arts and crafts! hahahaha :) I am a nerd when it comes to hosting parties...I love games, crafts, and acting crazy! I thought it would be a neat idea to make Valentine's cards to send to a local nursing home. So, that's what we did...we spent the next hour and a half making cards, talking, and laughing! It was a blast. It's alwayssssssss a blast with these girls! If you don't have a group of girls that you hang out with at least once a month...find one! It's such a good thing to have some girls that you can be real with, honest with, and accountable to. here is a picture of our group back in October (I think?) at the Art Barn in Wesson. It's kinda like Easely Amused.

*I look terrible in this pic. It was my first outing after Parker was born, so excuse the pale, flabby, black roots of a mess! LOL!

Ok, now let's talk about our Bunko group! On the 3rd Tuesday of every month, we have a DIFFERENT group of girls that get together for Bunko! My girl's night group is girls from my church. My Bunko group is more of the girls that we hang out with/talk to on a daily basis. SIDE NOTE: It's such a blessing because this group of girls are all really close and our husbands are all really close too...and...our kids are all the same ages and loving hanging out together! God is so good. Anyways...Sandy Cunningham and I came up with this group back in November. Several of us had been talking about starting a Bunko group for a while, so Sandy and I sat down one day and just did it! Our Bunko "kickoff" was in December at my house. Everyone brought their favorite breakfast dish and an ornament to swap. It was a blast! January was our first month to actually play the game. Whitney Holmes hosted it at her new gorgeous house, and the way we play is...when it's your month to host, you buy the 3 prizes and provide all the food. We don't pay to play each month. So, all you have to worry about is when it's your month to host, and then you don't have to worry about it for another year. Last month was hilarious, because I had spent all day refreshing myself on how to play (used instructions that I got off the internet), and when I started explaining it to everyone, I realized that the way the internet told me to play was totally retarded! So, it took us a couple rounds to all get on the same page, but it ended up being a great time! We've also talked about making each month a new theme. So, when it's your turn to host, you come up with a fun theme! (ex: Luau, Halloween costume contest, formal night, etc.) We didn't have a theme in January since it was our trial month, but I look forward to seeing what the girl's come up with in the future. Here is a pic of our group at our Tacky Christmas party:

*This isn't the whole group...some of the girl's weren't able to be there.

I hope yall have a group of girls that you can get together with on a regular basis. Michael and I have been very blessed with the greatest couple friends throughout our marriage. And I do want to add that some of our very best friends are not in either of these groups mentioned above, because we had to leave them in Hattiesburg. :( We make a point to make weekend trips to Hattiesburg at least once a month to see these friends that have proven to be some of the best friends we have ever had! And I definitley don't want to leave out any of the girls that have been by my side throughout college. It's sad to say that I'm not really close friends with anyone from high school (even though I love keeping up with them through facebook & blogspot). But my Holmes friends, college roomies, and Southern Miss classmates are still very dear to my heart.

Crittle, I hope this is what you were expecting from this post. Thanks for the idea. It's always neat for me to write these things out, because it reminds me of just how blessed I really am in the area of friends.


a true friend,
Tonya