Sometimes, no plans are the BEST plans!

Yesterday was pretty much the perfect day. I had absolutely no plans when I went to bed Friday night, but here is how Saturday unfolded. I slept late, and then woke up to a bouquet of flowers from Zac. For now reason at all...wasn't that sweet? We relaxed around the house a bit and then decided to go to lunch. I had been given a card for a free meal at Chick-Fil-A (which I LOVE), so we went there. Yum! After lunch we went shopping to kill some time before a movie. We didn't buy anything, but it was fun to walk around and look. Our local outdoor shopping center put up their Christmas decorations, and it was a gorgeous day, so all this combined made me so very happy. Everyone we passed was in a great mood, and everything just felt right with the world. Plus, we got to go inside Barnes and Noble and if I could bottle the smell of that place, I would! I love it! I have talked about it before, but Zac and I can spend hours in a bookstore, some of it together, and some on are own, but we are both completely content. Next thing we knew, it was time to head to the theater for one of the greatest movies I have seen in ages...The Blind Side! I posted a trailer for it awhile back and have been anxiously awaiting to see it, so I had pretty high hopes, but it surpassed even how amazing I thought it would be! Zac even loved it, and he is quite the movie critic! If you have not seen this movie, I highly recommend it! I can not say enough good things about it! (Liz, you and Andy should go on at least one more date before Owen comes and see this! You will both love it! I promise!) Another cool thing about the movie is that the little boy in it (who pretty much makes the movie!) is the nephew of one of our close friends. He was also in Hancock, and even played in Friday Night Lights! He was great!
When we came home we took a little nap and watched some tv. Awesome right? The day couldn't get any better, but then Ramsi texted and asked if we wanted to hang out tonight. Yay!
They came and picked us up around 7, and we took a few pics before leaving the house. I LOVED Ramsi's hair that night! Isn't it gorgeous? I wish mine was long again...and I knew how to do that!


We decided to eat at Papasito's which we LOVE but rarely go to. It is Zac's number one favorite Mexican food restaurant! We were pretty excited to be there...


They have the best chicken fajitas, and it comes with this garlic butter sauce. Yum...it's truly heavenly! After dinner we weren't sure what we were going to do. As we were driving, we saw the new Cowboys Stadium and decided to drive closer to look around. Zac knew there was a high school playoff game going on there, but it had already started and we didn't really wanna pay a million dollars just to watch a game we didn't care about. (Our waiter told us at dinner that parking on game day is $60-70 bucks! Isn't that insane?) Anyways, so we start getting closer, and then we see an entrance with no parking attendant taking money. Huh. We pulled in and were just driving a bit, looking up at the massiveness, when "LOOK! There's a FRONT ROW parking spot!...FREE!" So we pulled in to walk around a bit and see the Tom Landry statue. Then Zac remembers that he has a "Texas High School Coaches Association" pass that might get us into the game free. What the heck, we'll try it. So we all walk in, and VOILA! We are in the fancy-schmancy stadium COMPLETELY FREE! In fact, we were kinda/sorta treated like VIP when we walked in, or else the people there are just the friendliest in the world. One of the two. :) Anyways, we walk in and jeeze...this place is incredible! We had to take a pic immediately.

The JUMBO-tron is literally the biggest thing you've ever seen! Well, I don't know, but it's HUGE! It is the biggest in the world! (Click here for more interesting trivia about it, like the fact it took over a year to build, Oh...and guess how much it cost?!) It is so high-def that it almost hurts your eyes to look at it, because it's so crystal-clear!
Some guys that coach with Zac were there, so we went and sat with them for awhile. (Yeah, they paid to park...far away, but we didn't rub it in or anything!)

Since we didn't really plan to sit at a football game all night, we decided to leave after just a bit. We had already gotten the experience of the stadium (free). Did I mention that parts of it felt more like a 5-Star hotel than a sports venue? Check out this lighting and marble flooring and leather lounges. It really was gorgeous. The building itself is like a piece of art!

When we left the stadium, the party was not even over yet. I mean, look at how much fun I had on the way back to Midlo!! :) Yep...I do know that I'm a complete dork! But My best friend Ramsi always says that it's fun to be a nerd, and I have to agree! Also, it's way more fun to be a teenager than an adult! See below for proof...

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Eliza's TWO!!!

This weekend we went to Austin for our niece's 2nd birthday party. It was a weekend filled with family time, which was just what we needed! Saturday afternoon we went over to Tatem and Scott's house and got to hang out and see Eliza in her prime. She even tried on her halloween costume for me! I asked her to show me a "turtle face" and this is what I got...

She has LOTS of funny faces actually. She is so expressive. Here is a sample of a few of her faces.

We met up with Eli and Ryan at Hula Hut (which is one of my favorite Austin restaurants) and had a lovely dinner on the lake.

Rye just got a new VW Taureg, and his key/remote is the jacknife style, where you push the button and the key swings out. Ellie thought this was VERY fun, and was really cute, doing it over and over, making all of us laugh.
Sunday afternoon was the big birthday party, and it was a beautiful day! They could not have asked or hoped for lovelier weather! It was at a cute little remote park that has a playground area and a picnic area. I definitely want to go back there. Here is Uncle E-Yi (that's how Ellie says Eli) pushing the birthday girl on the swing...
We almost had the whole park to ourselves. It was cool. Tatem and Scott brought really yummy snacks and great cupcakes. I think I might have even called Scooter "Martha Stewart" once.So good to be surrounded by family! I can' wait to live close to everyone, so we can do stuff like this more often!!
Eliza got LOTS of great gifts. She loved every present so much (and wanted to use it/play with it right then) that you had to convince her to open the next one. Soo cute.
She especially loved a babydoll that "Gigi" her great grandmother (Zac's grandma) gave her.
Look what a cute family they are! (Also, see that kitchen in the background? Zac's parents gave her that and it was quite a hit among all of the kids!)

Little Emily

Please pray for peace and healing for Jeff and Karen.

"After a long struggle in the hospital for many weeks, Emily went to Heaven this morning. Our beautiful girl was 5 months and 13 days old, and brought us a lifetime of love and joy during this short time we were privileged to spend with her.

Thank you for all of your prayers, love, and support.

Love,
Jeff & Karen"

Family+Friends=I'm a Happy Camper

Last weekend my Mom and Dad and Baw came to visit us. They arrived Thursday, in time to see Zac's freshmen play, so they got here shortly after I got home from work. We went out to eat some BBQ and then went to the game. It was chilly, but not too cold. It was a fun game, and the after-events were even better. (see post below) I took off work Friday to spend more time with them, and also to take my last mandatory teacher certification test, the PPR (Pedagogy and Professional Responsibility), and to go to the doctor for my last post-op check up. Aren't I efficient? :) The doctor appointment went well, and I'll go ahead and fast forward to tell you that I got the results of my PPR on Tuesday, and I passed with flying colors! Yay! I was home by 3pm, so I took a quick nap and then got up to visit with the family. The coach's wives and their families were invited to eat and sit in the suite in the press box at the stadium, so we headed up there before the game for food and to get seats. It was very nice to sit up there, since it was cold, and my grandmother was with us. She gets around okay, but it was nice to be able to sit in big comfy leather chairs, with a table in front of us, as opposed to metal bleachers in the cold. Also, if I haven't mentioned yet, we were 1-8 going into this game, with talks about firing coaches going on around town, so it was nice to be sequestered away from the community. We lost the game, but we all had fun, and all the wives had an easiness and laid-back attitude about the loss, because at least it was the last game, and at least this long season is over, and at least we get our husbands back now. Here is a pic of me Meredith in the pressbox...
and here is one of Zac and Baw and me after the game in the stands.
Saturday morning we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the UT game. After lunch and knowing the Horns were going to win easily, Mom and I headed out to do some shopping. It was a very successful trip, as I got FOUR pairs of shoes (I needed shoes I could wear to work, plus some cute wintery boots), a cute cardigan, and a purse. Mom and I are great shopping partners, and we always have lots of fun shopping together. After the game, Pops and Zac and Baw wanted to go to Sheridan's Frozen Custard for dessert, so Mom and I met them there. I personally don't care for it, but they also had a yumy treat and then we all headed home. We all took a nap, which was nice, and then woke up ready to go eat some Mexican food. Bez and Ramsi came over and went with us to El Fenix in Dallas. Zac and I are having our graduation party there, so we wanted to go try it out and see this specific location. The food was scrumptious, and the margaritas were tasty too. I think it will be a perfect place to have our friends and family help us celebrate being done with school! :) Here is a pic of "the four kids" after dinner...
When we got home, we played Zac and Baw's favorite dice game...Farkle. Bez and Ramsi came over one night after my surgery when my mom was in town and we played Farkle, so we all knew what was going on. It was the strangest game of Farkle I have ever played, as no one rolled well all night, but it was super fun. I love hanging with my best friends and my family at the same time. I also love that Ramsi is a family-oriented person like I am.
Sunday I did not want them to leave, but they had to go, and I had lots of homework, so we went out to eat and then took a few pics and they headed off. It was such a lovely weekend. We had fun, did some neat things, but got to hang around the house too. I was not wiped out when it was over, like some weekends do to me. LOL! I love my family so much!! Here is a pic of three generations...
Like those new shoes I got? Boots with the fur! ;)

He's a Winner...and not just in the scoreboard kind of way

If you follow me on Facebook, you probably know by now that Zac's freshmen football team won their last game, making them DISTRICT CHAMPS!!! Zac wants to move on to become a principal, so this was (hopefully) his last football season. He really went out with a bang...they were undefeated in district! He loved the boys and they loved him.It was a very exciting game and moment. I loved seeing the clock tick down and knowing they won, I loved seeing the boys jumping up and down and surrounding him, I loved the speech he gave them after the game, but the part about the night that I will remember the most was the parents. Several parents came up to me and shared with me their thoughts on "Coach." Here are a few of the things I heard...
-"My boy doesn't have a dad or male role model, and your husband has been that for him. He looks up to him so much, and I am forever grateful for the positive impression he has made on my son."
-"He expects a lot from these boys, and as a parent I appreciate that. They are better off for playing under him."
-"Thanks for sharing your husband with our kids. I know he was away from you a lot, but the boys adore him, and come home talking about him every day... Coach O said this, Coach O said that."
-"We will never forget this football season. My son has been resenting authority lately, but there's something about your husband, my responds so well to him. He would do anything Coach ever asked him to, and more!"
Anyways, there were lots more, but it just made me proud. My heart swelled up that night. Not because they won, but because I am married to a man who changes lives. :)
Here are a few pics from the night...

Did you see that? He is SMILING!!!
They are holding up #1's...how cute is that? :)
Zac and his 4 freshmen assistant coaches...great group!
Coach and some of his key players. It's fun to see them interact.

Emily

11-6-09, From Emily's dad, Jeff:
Emily has developed a little case of pneumonia, so we have started her on antibiotics. Pray for her to get better and that she has a restful day. Continue to pray for strength for Karen, my mom, Karen's mom and myself as we take turns spending the night/days at the hospital with Emily. Pray for wisdom for each of the doctors taking care of Emily. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement you all have given to us the past several weeks.

Emily in her Halloween outfit...

Emily the Scuba Diver on Halloween...

Emily's dad Jeff sent an update today (11-3-09)...
Emily is still in ICU and still on the ventilator. Many of the test have come back negative, however, they have sent off for another test last week that will take another 8 weeks. We would like for you to pray for each of the doctors to have clarity of mind. Pray for patience and strength for Karen, Emily and myself. Pray for complete healing for Emily. We appreciate all the prayers that we have had over the past 7 weeks.