Thankful Monday!

So last night, I got a really fun (and very unexpected) surprise!  

Laura came over to hang out, and she delivered this beautiful bouquet of flowers - a dozen yellow roses with pinkish-red tips (yellow roses are my favorite flower, and red is my favorite color)!  And there's a lot of purple and white thrown in as well.  The flowers are fantastic, but it was the letter with them that really made my day -- full of Scripture, affirmation, prayer, and encouragement not to limit myself or what God can do in my life!  The timing was great, and it meant a lot to know that someone put this much thought into making me feel loved and important and beautiful!  (I have my suspicions as to who it's from, but the person preferred to keep that to themselves so that God will get the glory/thanks... and much to my dismay, Laura kept their identity a secret too. lol)  I'm guessing that it's someone who reads my blog, and if I'm correct on that, THANK YOU!  =)  God used you to lift my spirits and build my hope - I truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and will keep the letter to re-read whenever I need some encouragement!

And now, a mini-update:
This weekend was a baby shower for Kyndal Faith, hosted by Agim and Ariel!  Agim made a "fruit Kyndal" which was super-cute!!  Rach got tons of fun baby clothes and diapers and such.  I took lots of pictures, and Ariel got one of me, Rach, and Mom.  Baby Jasmine made her kissy face, which is one of my favorite things ever (center pic). =)  Ariel had pink nail polish as party gifts for everyone... Jace threw one to the floor and it shattered -- glass and pink nail polish went everywhere!  So that got the party off to a fairly dramatic start, but thankfully, no permanent damage was done!

These clothes were my baby shower gifts... I found them at the Tulsa Affair of the Heart when I went with Kristen.  Baby girl clothes are just so much fun! =)

The boys... these pictures make me so happy.  I like that the guys are all wearing their pink to celebrate Kyndal.  I find Jace's facial expressions funny - he is not one to smile on cue.  I like that it looks like Josh and Triston are praying together in the top right pic.  Triston and Carter go straight to the fake smile when we try to get them to smile for a pic (top left)... sometimes when we ask them to scream, they'll end up laughing and we get a good pic that way... so in the bottom right, they're all 'screaming' and Jace is getting very worried.  Perhaps we'll have to think of a new method to get a real smile.

This weekend was also Grandad's 84th birthday!  I'm so glad we got some good pics of him with Jace-man.  And I love that he had on his Napa hat and his "Birthday Boy" ribbon.  Precious!!

These are from the Debusk Family Reunion - Mom went - Rach and I stayed home but ordered t-shirts anyway.  Who doesn't want a Jack Daniels themed family t-shirt? lol  
Top:  Lissie, Steven, Avery, James, Heather, David, Chad -- then just the kids.
Bottom: Tonya, David, Babah, Steven, Bryce, Mary, Audie, Mom, Bill, & JoBug  (the "original 8" cousins + Babah and Mary)

These are two of the houses my mom grew up in... not quite 9121. ;)  It means a lot to me to have these pictures and hear stories from their childhood. 

Aside from getting an anonymous flower bouquet and letter, going to Rach's baby shower, hanging out with Laura (finally watching Perks with her), and sleeping through my entire alarm not once but twice... my long weekend included a relaxing Girls Night at Malori's (pics = Malori, Bethany, Dawn, and Kelsey painting their nails as we watched Say Anything), seeing Wolverine with Dad and Charlene, working on Dad's birthday scrapbook with Mom, hanging out with my hilarious nephews, the last week of LifeChurch At the Movies (nothing like a hot dog, CrackerJacks, and a free sno-cone for breakfast - lol)!  Oh, and watching Malori pick out a Pandora bracelet and charms (complete with lots of hilarious commentary).  "Do they make one for people who sit around and do nothing?"  "Oh yeah, after our track meets, we'd go straight to cheer practice!" :)

These are a few pics I took of the Bowers - celebrating the fact that Leah, Adam, and Hannah have finally moved back to the U.S. =)  I just love the Bower family!

And since this is already a long post full of friends and family stuff, I'll also say that few things make me happier than being included on the family email list of my BFFs! =)  So today, I'm thankful for family members that I can talk to like friends, and for friends who are as close and life-long as family!

Okay, back to work and reality now.  Happy Monday, everyone!!

A Very Quotable Weekend!

Friday night, I went with Jeff, Chet, and Karli to the OneRepublic concert at the Center of the Universe Festival.  So much fun!  We met at the Moss manor and Jeff drove everywhere.  We had dinner at The Brook and frozen yogurt at Yolotti, then drove around looking at houses a bit (which was pretty entertaining with the J&C commentary). :)  Then we braved the July heat and walked around for a while before finding a good place to sit down at the festival.  

The concert started at 9:00, and it was fantastic... in spite of the noisy crowd and not-quite-loud-enough speakers.  This is the third time I've seen them in concert, and I'll go again next time I get the chance.  I was getting cracked up because Chet and I sang all the verses, then Jeff usually chimed in with us on the chorus.  (Also funny was Jeff singing Good Life in dramatic vibrato before the concert began!)  Saturday night, we celebrated Chet's 25th birthday with a small group dinner at Jeff's house.  I even ate some salmon and enjoyed it, so go me! :)  

A fun weekend all around, and lots of memorable pictures and awkward/hilarious quotes:

Do you guys have vents back there?  ~Me
Nooo, Lindsey.  This car's got an H on the front, not an L!  ~Chet

That neighborhood always reminds me of Enchanted.  ~Me (by the Andalusia neighborhood)
But isn't that Andalasia!?  ~Chet, a man who knows his chick-flicks :)

I love how they mow the yard at an angle!!  I'm a huge angle person! ~Jeff

I'll show you guys where my Aunt lives.  ~Jeff
Awwnt Vicky.  ~Chet
...Is that from Parent Trap?  ~Me
Yes!  ~both guys - lol

This is the last weekend I'm eating... then it'll be all Greek Yogurt and boiled chicken!  ~Jeff
Boiled!?  ~Karli and Chet
Boiled, baked, whatever.  ~Jeff

You wanna try some of this?  ~Jeff, of his ice cream sample after he'd had a bite
Uhh, NO.  ~Me
(Long conversation followed about how I only eat after someone I'd willingly French kiss, bc you're sharing saliva either way.  I said ice cream and popcorn were the worst, demonstrating that there's a lot of hand-to-mouth contact in eating popcorn.  The guys then demonstrated their own way and seemed to think they shovel it in without that being a problem, and they text me this picture this morning as supposed proof of their theory. lol)

Shortly after that, they were talking about keeping your immune system healthy by coming in contact with some germs.  To which Jeff added:
"Yeah, and I think if you're only going #1, you don't need to wash your hands after going to the bathroom."
So that comment (and everyone disagreeing with him) later led to this picture, as me and Karli watched closely when they left the Porta-potty. lol

One morning, instead of going to work out, we Wikipedia'd all the Golden Girls and how they died.  ~Chet

#theoneandonlykingofkings  ;-)

At the gym on the morning of Chet's wedding:
Man, you're getting married today.  I'm so happy for you guys.  This is gonna be such a huge change in your life.  ~Jeff
"I will remember you..."  ~Sarah McLaughlin song starting on the radio :)

I think he's decided that my friends and myself are cooler than he originally thought!  ~Chet (of his brother)

You can still invite him if you want.  ~Jeff (about Chet's brother)
Well, he just has this problem with wanting to be the center of attention... and we all know tomorrow's about me!  ~Chet (only half-joking - lol)

Okay, now we're down here by So-Bo.  ~Jeff, at South Boston Street
I've decided that me and Karli live in E-Ba (Ee-Bah)!  ~Chet, of his East Broken Arrow neighborhood

Hey, I've got a question for you guys!  ~Jeff
Yeaaah, I probably wouldn't ask that right now.  ~Chet
(A girl near us had just loudly announced that she got her tongue pierced, and Chet knew where Jeff's would-you-rather question was going. lol)

You look really sad.  ~Chet, looking at the picture of Jeff
Lindsey, will you take another one?  I look sad here.  ~Jeff
I was just thinking that!!  ~Chet
Umm... you said it.  ~Jeff  :)

Here's what I'm wondering - where are all these people normally in Tulsa on a Friday night!?  ~Jeff
Probably smoking pot, braiding their hair, and not showering!  ~Chet, totally deadpan

We totally got this whole clapping thing started!  Now the whole crowd's going.  ~Jeff, possibly exaggerating a teensy bit

This just makes me picture Mandalay Bay.  You know, I can just picture ...(closes eyes) ...us.  ~Jeffster, reminiscing in dramatic fashion
Yeah, we should've brought some sand to put all around us!  ~Chet, taking the seriousness of the moment down a notch - lol

I'm looking forward to that blog!  I'll have my popcorn ready.  ~JEM, on this post :)

What's your favorite genre of movie, Chet?  I know you like Seabiscuit.  ~Jeff
Yeah, horses and rom coms - that's all me!  I love a good love story!  ~Chet

I love the uplighting on that house!  ...Even though it's a modest house.  It just gives it a nice ...glow, if you will.  ~Jeff, of some random house in the neighborhood
And check out the uplighting on this modest house!!  ~Chet, when we arrived back at Jeff's :)

Preparing for next weeks party just for Lindsey!  ~text from Chet, with this picture :)

And you all can take these home with you as party gifts.  ~Jeff, of the Mason jars at Chet's party
Oh, how very hipster of you!  ~Kevin :)

Bon Appetit!  ~Jeff, when dinner was ready
Thank you, Julia Child.  ...Great movie, by the way!  ~Chet :)

At Fleet Feet the other day, somehow we both ended up in the same dressing room with the door open trying on tank tops.  ~Chet
Mmm, that was a bit of an awkward story.  ~Mindy
And not the first time he's told it.  ~Christine
Well, we both left with tank tops!  And not in the same color.  ~Chet
Oh... they're colored?  ~Mindy  lol

In honor of Chet and the Golden Girls, we blanched the green beans.  ~Jeff :)

If they won't give us 12 straws, ask for 3.  ~Jeff's text to me (I was in charge of getting black straws for the party, as Chet believes them to be super-classy!)  
I feel like that's a blog quote I just wrote.  ~Jeff's text right after that - lol
Yeah, it was desperate, desperate times!  ~Jeff (at the party) explaining why he told me to try to at least get 3

Did you know packs of candles only go up to 24!?  What about people who are turning 25!!?  ~Chettles

(They solved this pressing crisis with the center smiley-face candle, which I love... almost as much as I love the intensity of Chet's making-a-wish face.)

The Lord's favor is shining down on me.  If we play after midnight, maybe you'll have a chance!  ~Chet, after winning Left-Right-Center

So you guys can keep these as little keepsakes to remind you to make a difference in my 25th year of life.  ~the end of Chet's speech :)

I really like the brown.  ~Chet, about Jessie's b-day card
Yeah, I figured it was very manly.  ~Jessie
Yeah.  Matches my personality!  ~Chet :)

How'd that one turn out?  ~Chet, looking at my camera after the money pic
Pretty awkward, I think.  ~Jessie, from the other side of the room :)

All in all, it was very definitely a hilarious weekend! ;-)

Thankful Thursday (61)

Happy Birthday to my good friend, Chet... whom I now like to call "Chettles." lol  (I saw that on his FB from someone and it really made me laugh.)  Also, Congrats to him and Karli for being married (slightly less than a month)!  The wedding was beautiful and I'm excited to see pictures. :)  This is one of my favorites of the engagement pics...

Chet, you're one of my favorite people!  I have so many fun memories with you and love your expressive personality. :)  I believe in your heart for God and I know He has great things in store for you two and your future together!!  

(Also, I think it's hilarious that you like this picture because you think it makes it look like you have a giant 'fro! lol  I had to throw it in just for that reason.)

And now, a 25th Birthday (updated) Tribute re-post! =)

A tribute to…Chet Lee Wilson – one of my awesome LG friends who always brightens my day!

 1. Truly one of the funniest guys I’ve ever met; always makes me laugh!

2. “All he wants to do is dance, dance, dance!” On his 21st birthday, we went to Caravan... and he's been just about every week since then. lol Knows how to lead, is not afraid to try new things, and has learned some really fun spin moves, including the awesome pretzel!
3. I met him at the LG Christmas party… then me, him, and Sarah were a Scavenger Hunt group at the NY Eve party (still love our pic at the Praying Hands! Lol) I was irritated to be paired with best friends who didn't know me, but I had no idea they’d be two of my close friends soon after that… it’s cool how God works things out!!
4. He's grown so much in spiritual maturity throughout the short time I've known him - he is full of spiritual wisdom and strong leadership qualities, and I consider him a very trustworthy friend - someone who would go out of his way to protect my heart or my reputation!
5. Easygoing, easy to talk to, full of life and passion, and always fun to hang out with!  He's typically the life of the party. :-)

6. Very encouraging/supportive to his friends!
7. I love that we became friends while talking about weight loss and our love for the Biggest Loser as we both ate cookiecake during LG! lol
8. Has an awesome, strong heart for God, and a passion for serving others… serves faithfully at LifeChurch every week, and has the outgoing personality to really make people feel welcome and loved!
9. Ran in a mud run recently… which I find hilarious! He also knows all the words to “Vanilla Ice, Ice, Baby…” random, I know, but it adds to the awesomeness that is Chet-Lee!  Update - he's now also completed a Full Marathon without walking a step, which is incredible and AWESOME!
10. Whether it's attempting to hit the high notes in Mariah Carey's Oh Holy Night or really diving into the ice cream sundae challenge or wanting to invent butter slices and a car-seat-cake-holder or discussing how much he looks like Ryan Reynolds, you can always count on him to say something random and hilarious, and to be uplifting and brighten your day!

*"Well... you sound more like Mariah Carey than you look like Ryan Reynolds!" ~Malori  lol

11. Seeing his “O-Chet” license plate always makes me smile. :)
12. He has an awesome testimony... very impressive to hear his story.  I love that he knows the exact date he first came to LifeChurch and what series it was (Aug. 4, 2007/Thirty Days to Live)!
13. One of my 3 most faithful blog readers, even going so far as to read my entire 1,000 Awesome Things post.  Definitely my closest guy friend in the Lifegroup, and knows me better than most people!
14. Very involved at LifeChurch and in our Lifegroup… even made a T-shirt inviting people to our group… he’s someone you can always depend on to show up and help out, not only for the parties and game nights, but also with the mission projects and major events!  ...And for random garage remodels or to come over and kill a bug or plant fun flowers for me. lol  =)

15. He took the initiative to go learn more about Eugene Field and got Jeremy to come speak to our group, which led to the awesome cookout w/the kids, where he had the idea of getting the firemen to come spray everyone down, which was what made that day really memorable/fun!!

16. Hosted a LG bonfire, including an entertaining round of Chubby Bunny w/him and Laura! It was a lot of fun… (until he called and told me I should check myself for ticks afterwards. lol) 

17. When Tara looked at the ingredients in the can of chocolate icing and commented that she really didn't understand how people can eat that stuff, Chet's response was, "Well, gimme a spoon and I'll show you!!" lol  So funny!
18. A few other favorite Chet quotes:

"What was up with Wille counting my cookies!?  So I had a six-pack; now I don't.  Get over it!" :)

"So how do you spell your name?"

"M-A-L-O-R-I-E."

"Awwww, so close!"

~Chet Lee, taking down the prayer request of a girl named Malorie at LifeGroup who came with her friend, Lindsay! :)

"I try to tell people how essential I am to a party, but no one seems to understand!"

"I'm just gonna ignore all the trashiness and focus on the glamour!" -Chet, in Vegas

"Well, we better at least get to see Pippa!"  -Chet, hoping to see Will & Kate on his Europe trip :)

"Revelation this evening while at Wal-Mart: the most fertile people...shouldn't be.” 

"Wow, sorry I sound so hateful!" -Sarah H.
"That's okay... Lindsey was hateful yesterday and I've been hateful all week, so don't worry about it!" -Chet

"Wow!  ....youuu could be a sex offender right now."  
-Chet (after Jeff's ocean story)

19. Much like me, he is always camera-ready …ready to smile if he might possibly be in a picture!!  The pic below proves that pretty well. lol

20. He really lives out the Christian faith; committed to serving at church… does a great job of reaching out and inviting people to LifeChurch or our Lifegroup… and when his coworkers need prayer, he’s the one they come to!
21. He's great about remembering all the birthdays in our group and making sure to celebrate them and make people feel special!  His excitement over his own birthday is also pretty epic - I was invited to his 21st birthday about nine months early and before we really knew each other.  He knew the day of the week of his 22nd birthday over a year in advance.  And when he made a FB event, it said, "It's that time of year again... my birthday is just around the corner!" lol
22. Ultra-determined and driven, and lost a lot of weight (50+ pounds) on his own last year without a personal trainer or much help from anyone… really inspiring!
23. Loves Twitter and Facebook and blogging, and has a job where he can be online as much as I am! =)  {Not so true anymore, but hooray for wifi internet so he might start blogging again.}
24. Loves ice cream and chocolate icing as much as I do! :)  Pic = our hilarious bet in Vegas with the "Forbidden Broadway" Sundae!  

25. When it comes to Christianity, he sincerely walks the walk and expects other Christians to do the same.  He will absolutely speak up and hold people accountable (which I appreciate), and he genuinely cares about his friends and wants the best for them!!

Memory Monday, Vegas Style!

{Today's Memory Monday post comes to you by special request from Jeffrey Edward Moss.} ;-)

Just slightly over three years ago, three of my favorite people and I went to Las Vegas to see OneRepublic in concert and to celebrate Malori's 27th birthday!  Lots of fun memories from this trip. :)  This pic = the four of us by the "Lake of Frogs and Dreams" outside the 'intoxicating' Wynn Hotel!

We stayed at the Bellagio hotel, which was fantastic!  I always love the water show, and hopefully everyone else did too, because I insisted that we wait and watch it a few times! :)  Jeff brought his lucky "Vegas shoes," but sadly, they didn't come through for him when he played roulette. 

Our first stop after the guys joined us was Serendipity.  Malori bet Chet that he couldn't eat the whole Forbidden Broadway Ice Cream Sundae.  He was excited about it and super-confident that he could... but then he "hit a wall," and Malori and Jeff celebrated their victory. lol

We didn't really gamble much - we played a few slot machines, and Malori got really stressed out watching JEM play roulette. lol  And I threw in the picture of them making a wish and tossing their coins in the fountain just because Malori's "Why is Jeff mad at his coin?" comment cracked me up. :)

The next morning, we had a wonderful breakfast at the Bellagio Pool Cafe.  I just loved the atmosphere there.  Malori bought her CHK fan to stay cool. :)  And a friendly little bird decided to join us and freak me out. lol

We toured the Venetian and Palazzo hotels.  I love the Venetian and wanted to ride the gondola... no one wanted to join me, but Jeff did sing me a ballad as a consolation prize. lol  Then we took our awesome ridiculously patriotic picture at the Palazzo hotel.

Later that night, we headed to the Mandalay Bay Beach for the OneRepublic concert!  It was epic.  So much better than an indoor concert would've been.  Again, the atmosphere was perfect -- at least it felt perfect to me because I was surrounded by great people who make me laugh and listening to awesome music in my favorite city on a beach with good weather.  That was the night Jeff decided to label us the "VCGO" -- the Vacation Club of Greater Oklahoma -- and we talked about all the places we would go in the future. lol  Pretty sure we've never all been on another vacation together, but maybe that just makes this one more special. :)

These are the main things I remember looking back right now, and I'm thankful for the fun memories!!

Boo Break

I'm at the courthouse working on plea transcripts!  I've been here a lot through this weekend trying to get caught up (so I can focus on grad school applications and enjoy my upcoming vacation).

Anyway, I'm tired of pleas, and I needed a break.  I got on FB and found this fluffy tilty-headed smiling picture of Boo, which made me super happy, because I am ridiculous. =)  I just wanna pick him up and kiss his fluffy forehead.

Anywho, now I must get back to work, so that's all for today. lol

Words of Wisdom

"He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

He drew me out of deep waters.

He rescued me from my powerful enemies,

from those who hated me and were too strong for me.

They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress,

but the Lord supported me.

He led me to a place of safety;

He rescued me because He delights in me."

~Psalm 18:17-19

(Loving this verse and feeling it personally right now!)

I've posted this quote at least once before, but I love it!

I wrote it down a few months ago to keep in my office.

Hope it's encouraging to you today.

In other news, Happy 2nd Anniversary (yesterday - they were married on 7-9-11) to the Parrishes... my sister, Rach, and my brother-in-law, Josh!

These are three of my favorite pics of them. :)

I'm so thankful for them and for my precious nephews... and very excited to have a niece on the way!!

These are among my favorite pics of T-man, Carter, and Jace! :)

Happy Wednesday!