NOLA, Here We Come

My sweet friend, Taylor, is getting married this weekend to one of the most funny guys I know, Jeremy. They both grew up in New Orleans and Taylor takes a lot of pride in the city. She is all about traditions and the history of the city, so I am anxious to see how she incorporates that into her wedding. I will always thank Taylor for introducing me to the crawfish experience and King Cake. She is getting married down in the Quarter and our hotel is there as well. It should make for a wonderful mini-break. Pictures to come.

I Don't...

Want to blog today. No, not for one tiny minute. I can't wait until Friday and then this dreadful blogging challenge will be over. Work is busy and we are trying to get things wrapped up so that Kari and I can head to NOLA for Taylor's wedding. Now that, I am looking forward to. Peace out.

It's a Miracle

So last night, Enzo "The Escape Artist", snuck out of our backyard. I thought to myself, "here we go again". Kari had put him out there at lunch because it was such a pretty day and when I got home from the office, he was gone. I felt emotionally drained, so I did not cry (right away) and Kari and I just searched up and down the streets in our neighborhood until dark. When you have a dog that tiny, it feels like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After dark we went home and made dinner. I sat blankly in front of the TV and we left all the doors open in the hopes that Enzo would try to find his way home. Around 8pm I started getting teary and my amazing roommate attepmted to do anything to ease the pain. She ran me a bath (did I mention I had fever), made me some hot tea and got my room all ready for bed. I swear, she is such a cherished friend!

I took a long, hot bath and there I prayed and cried. As I was walking back to my bedroom I told Kari I was going to go to bed early. I put my hot tea down on my nightstand and decided to walk to the window in one last attempt to see my puppy and GUESS WHAT...at that exact moment Enzo wenting prancing by my window! I ran to the back door and Kari must have thought I was crazy. She came around the corner and we both saw Enzo just standing there. We were screaming and cheering and totally freaking Enzo out. It was so funny because the first thing that Kari said was, "he is a real dog". We were so proud of him for finding his own way home. It was such an answer to prayer. Even when my faith is so small and I doubt so much.

Once I knew Enzo was safe and sound, I felt great. I was ready to go tan and read. Funny how that works.

Best Win of the Night

I watched the entire Academy Awards show last night and my most favorite winners of the night were Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova for Best Orginal Song. Yay for them! I have already blogged about this very song, Falling Slowly, here. I was so happy for them and his speech was adorable.

These Are A Few

of my favorite things...

In Honor of Nathan William Herzog

On Friday night we celebrated Nathan Herzog and his beautiful life that we were blessed and enriched to be able to share with him. On Tuesday, February 26th, it will be one year since he went home to be with our Lord. One year since he has been able to be face to face with our creator and crack jokes with Him.

JT was gracious enough to open up is home and let me move in half my kitchen to cook for 18 of our closest friends. Everyone brought lots of yummy food, drinks, memories, laughter and love.

I would not be Courtney if I did not share the spread, so here it goes. Jen made yummy dips for appetizers, both rich queso (sorry Callie) and a delicious pizza dip. She is quickly becoming the queen of the appetizer. We had baked veggie pasta, garlic bread and french bread with plenty of balsamic vinegar available, green beans and salad. Then for dessert, Megan out did us all with her chocloltae chip cookie bars lined with a solid chunk of chocolate in the middle. She also made cherry cheescake. The kiddos ate tons of chik-fil-a nuggets and so did my brother. We had lots of wine and beer, and Aimee brought one of my favorite wines that I rarely buy for myself, Gewurztraminer.

Since we had 18 adults and 6 kiddos we needed a big place to eat. We did not want to all be divided up. So, we made a huge picnic on the living rooms floor and listened to a CD with some of Nate's favorite songs and his pictures donned the living room walls. It all turned out pretty cool.

There will be plenty of pictures to come, so just sit back and wait patiently. I do just have to say, I have such an incredible group of friends and each person brings so much to each of our lives. I think we all became utterly aware of that last year around this time. Nate would have loved Friday. And I am pretty sure that he would have jumped in with us girls and our ridiculous attempt to take sexy pictures.

Here are some of my favorite pics of our sweet friend:













I like to keep track of who attends our infamous little dinner parties. Friday we were graced with the presence of:

Geof, Rachel, Caleb and Cora Nichols
Paul and Sydney Shabay (plus the Chris Shabay crew)
Aimee Gregor
Brent Burke
Brad Brown
Matt Coker
Jen Long
Mark Gregor
Megan Barber
Kelsie Fuller
Matt Shabay
Larry Causey
Paul Robinson
Liz Gale
JT Gale
Me
Kari Maddox
Bay Kirkham

And lastly, Nathan, we miss your face.

Busy Weekend

I am behind. No one needs to point that out, alright?

To catch up, I want to share a few of my favorites vids. Enjoy!

Look What I Got

So, I have to brag about my latest gift. One of my favorite people sent us a package to the office. We were a little behind in getting the mail so it was a belated Valentine's gift. Super fun. Jen is ultra creative and one of best stampers I know! Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness for two Valetine's in a row! The office just adores you for who you are and your goodies that always have a personal touch.

Expelled

My friend, Matt, emailed me about this upcoming Ben Stein movie. It looks really interesting and controversial. Hopefully it rocks the boat a little. Please watch the trailer if you have time and let me know what you think. Happy Hump Day!

Go to the website below and hit the big "PLAY" button to see a preview.
http://www.expelledthemovie.com/playground.php

Also, take note of my new music playlist. The first song on the list is dedicated to someone very special, you know who you are! Enjoy some of my favorite tunes.

Late Night Thinkin'

Last night, as I was laying in bed, I started thinking about how much it gets under my skin when people write things like b4, u, or idk. I don't know why it bothers me but I know it does. I hate that younger people are growing up using this more frequently than writing a full word, sentence, email, letter or paper. There is so much to be said for good writing. Good grammar. We are in such a hurry that we can't even take the time to type in the word "before" or "you". And it annoys me.

I read a book about 3 years ago called Eats, Shoots & Leaves. It talks a lot about the neglect and ignorance of the English language and the importance of punctuation. If you wish to learn more about this ridiculous rant of mine, then pick it up. It's a great read.

And now, I am finally caught up to 19 blogs. Whew.

Washing Away

A couple of weekends ago, I went to the YL Capernaum Benefit Concert and one of the artists was Patrick Ryan Clark. I purchased his album on iTunes and it's awesome. Of course, I can't seem to get past the song Mercy. For those of you that know me well, know that I am the queen of the repeat button. But anyway, check out his stuff. It will be well worth it!

http://www.kingsofar.com/2006/07/10/patrick-ryan-clark/

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. -Red Auerbach

Enzo Is Not The Only One

Enzo is a strange little pup but so is this one. This little guy looks just like Enzo and he hates to get cold back feet! I am going to see how much it cost to bring in snow to my backyard and train Enzo to do this too.

Why...

Did I get us girls into this mess? The weekends are a hard time to blog for me because I have no internet at home or following me around through this crazy WiFi world. I should have thought of that before my great blogging challenge idea. And so now, with only 11 days to go as Callie pointed out, I have nothing interesting to rant or rave about at the moment.

I did manage to go to Lake Granbury this weekend and hang with my most favorite people in the world. It was relaxing and exactly what I was hoping for. We dined at this little Italian place called Pastafina on Saturday night and I enjoyed the Salmon smothered in rich Lobster Sauce and drank plenty of yummy red wine with Aimee and Brent. Other than that...nada. We watched TV, read, went to bed when we wanted and got up when we wanted. No agenda. Glorious.

We hit the Cracker Barrel on our way out of town. It's so funny how excited we all were about that meal. Rain, a cozy lakehouse, good food, millions of starbursts and friends...what more can a girl ask for? Oh, that's right, Paul getting pushed into the freezing, February lake or maybe Brent walking around in his briefs come Sunday morning. Too much I tell ya.

Behind

Dang it. Who's enjoying the rain?

Just wanted to share one of my favorite songs at the moment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NkzxwpQlXA

One Year Ago...

I was anxiously awaiting my very own special date night with Nathan Herzog. He was only a friend, but one of the best. I had been through a bad break-up and Nate knew just how to light up my life, without even knowing what he was doing. He knew how to light up everyone's life. His smile alone was rapidly infectious.

I say "knew", because we lost Nate last year, only 12 days after my blessed Valentine's date with him. But more on that to come. Let's focus on our day of love, shall we?

Nate came to my tiny home on Russell, and brought a peach rose for me and my two roommates. He was always a gentleman. We jumped into his 4-runner and went heading down the tollway with no idea of where we would end up. We had no reservation so it was up to us to find somewhere worth spending the evening. We ended up at Mercy Wine Bar and they luckily had room for us. The hostess took us to the back of the small bar and sat us down in this tiny, tiny bench seat that was covered with rose petals, a miniature table, again covered in rose petals and candles and then there were sheer drapes that fell elegantly to the floor. We sat down uncomfortably and held our laughter just until the hostess was out of sight. The bench was so tiny that our legs would touch no matter how we arranged ourselves. And the romance....it was just invading this dear friendship of ours. Oh, that laugh was a sweet one.

We quickly asked the server if we could just move to a cocktail table at the bar. We could...whew. We drank lots of red wine and gobbled down perfectly seasoned calamari. We talked about so much, including where Nate was with our Lord. He expressed how much He loved Jesus and just wanted to know Him more. He talked about the struggle that comes with the discipline of being in the Word and I quickly nodded my head in agreement, amen. After Mercy, we walked the block down to Blue Mesa and enjoyed a quick Blue Margarita before calling it a night. As I closed the door after saying goodnight to my sweet friend and prepared for bed, I thanked the One who gave him to me in the first place. I was so utterly thankful to know him and be considered one of his friends.

It was a Valentine's that tops the charts for so many reasons. It was sacred, this I know. I feel blessed, incredibly incredibly blessed, to have spent Nate's last Valentine's Day with him. It is a memory that I will forever cherish. And so today, as we celebrate this Day of Amore, I recognize that Nate now spends eternity with Amore. So though there is a sting of pain and loss, I know that Nate would say that he has the better end of the deal. And in knowing that, I will celebrate tonight by loving on my friends and family. I will laugh, smile and make tender, fragile memories with these people that I cherish so dearly. That is exactly what Nathan would want for us.

And so with a heart that overflows...

I Try Really Hard, Actually

I heart this movie. I heart this actress. I heart this song...still.

Last Night in Dallas

Today is the last full day for the Hawkins family to live in D-town. As I type they are probably packing up mounds of boxes and getting anxious about their move to Bryan, Texas. While I am excited about the Lord's plan for them there, I am selfishly sad to know that they will be so far away.

The Hawkins' have a special, special place in my heart. The Lord used Beth to draw me close to Him. She never judged me and all of these worldly things that were going on in my life. She accepted my life "as is" and loved me wholly. She prayed for me and wrote my name down among those who needed Him in her prayer journal. And years later, she was able to mail me a few of those pages so that I could see the Lord's faithfulness in answering those prayers. She never pushed. She never acted as if I had all this work to do to be more like her, or rather Him. She just rode around with me on this old dusty bev cart, and listened to my stories of misery. And I listened to her stories of joy and life. And not only did I listen, I witnessed it. I could see that there was something different about her.

That's also where Grant comes in. Grant was her boyfriend at the time and they were one of the first Christian couples that I ever was able to spend time with. I watched them intensely and was amazed at how much they trusted each other and cared for one another. It made me long for something that looked similar. Grant is an amazing man, and now husband and father. It has been a joy to be in their home and learn from them.

And Beth, more than any person I know, tells me often to wait for someone that I can completely be myself with. Because that is the only way that marriage truly works. I can sit in their home and she can be in a sweatshirt, hair thrown up, no make-up and tell me that if she looked like that for the rest of her days, Grant would love her the same. And that is also the love of Christ.

Grant and Beth, I hope you know how much I truly love you and am forever grateful for who you have been in my life. Homes may move and change may swirl about, but this love that I have for your family will never be uprooted.

I pray that Bryan is a rich place for your family to grow. Can't wait for my first weekend visit.

Happy Birthday to my Mom

That's right, Pam is 53 years old today and still looks dang good.

Here are things that I am thankful to my mom for:

-Always looking out for my best
-Constantly choosing to serve her family
-Always loving me, even when I am a jerk
-Always, always praying for me
-Being simple
-Her love of Cinnamon Rolls on the weekends
-The best "Big Breakfast" ever on Christmas mornings
-Hemming my jeans and highlighting my hair all through high school
-Passing on the Diet Coke addiction
-Her ability to state things rationally, when I ain't so rational
-Her bed full of open books - let's you know she's been seeking our God
-Her spunky red-head personality
-Her Chicken Spaghetti and Broccoli Casserole
-Taking Enzo on walks with me
-Laying in bed with me when I have a broken heart
-Being instantly happy any time that we are happy
-Being my mentor, my friend, my mom

Getting Caught Up

Well, I failed miserably this weekend at the ol' blogging challenge. Too much going on and not enough internet access. Then yesterday I was at a seminar all day, so not internet again. I will try to get caught up today, so I will first steal a blog from both Christin and Jessie....

Four jobs I have had:
1) Director of Client Services at MBF
2) Member Relations Director at Hackberry Creek Country Club
3) Receptionist at Timarron, Hackberry and Okamont Country Clubs
4) Bev Cart at Hackberry Creek Country Club

Four Places I have Lived:
1) Carrollton
2) Lewisville
3) Grapevine
4) Keller

Four places I have been on vacation:
1) Colorado
2) NOLA
3) London
4) Napa

Four of my favorite foods:
1) Calamari
2) Chips and Queso from Uncle Julio's
3) Thin crust pizza
4) Pears with honey

Four places I would rather be right now:
1) Napa
2.) My bed again in last night's thunderstorm
3.) Tuscany
4.) The Hamptons

Sunrise and the Desert

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” Matthew 5:43-45

I read this this morning and I think that I have always been apt to focus on the fact that I need to love, be kind, genuine and gracious to those that are quite opposite of me. Luckily I don't have many enemies, but still the fact that this is what I am called to do sounds so challenging. I often wonder, "how can I do this in a authentic, genuine way?" Thankfully the answer rests in the last sentence of the scripture. We must focus on the Lord's mercy, His love that extends to all every new, fresh morning. It took me some time in my Christian walk to realize what a blessing each new day was. To understand the gift of a new sunrise. The gift of the seasons. The gift of the soft green grass beneath my feet.

I think on the song lyrics, "A love more faithful than the morning". The sunrise will never fail us. Never. There has never been a morning in my short life where I woke up and was able to blame the Lord for forgetting the sunrise to wake the day and His people. When you think of faithfulness in that way, and you try to grasp that His love is more faithful than even the sunrise, it leaves you thankful. Utterly thankful and small.

And He sends rain on all of those who are in need, both righteous and unrighteous. I love this scripture, "He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs". A desert is a dry place. A place to die. Slowly. I think on how I would feel in the desert seeing a pool of water after many years without. Hope. Healing. And again utterly thankful.

And may His ways make it easier for us to have mercy on others. May His faithfulness to all be the sole reason that we are able to be faithful in anything that we do. Whether that means that we are the sunrise for someone lost in the dark or the water that quenches a thirst that has been dry for much too long. And may this give our hearts great joy.

Listening to Sufjan Stevens, Amazing Grace (on repeat of course)

Capernaum YL

I have been a busy bee at work today, so I am going to be lame and have you watch a video rather than read some long blog. Last week I mentioned that Larry was involved with Capernaum YL while he attended college in Dallas. I was blessed to spend last Friday with some of the kids and then on Saturday I am attending their banquet. Should be fun.

The Shack

My boss at the ol' office told me about this book that she just finished for her book club, called The Shack. She told me that I would absolutely love it. It was one of those times, when you have never heard of something before, but then soon after you hear about it once you start hearing this great buzz about it all over the place. That's what happened here.

So last night I had some time to run to the bookstore and pick up this book. I did not know the author, but I asked the guy at the counter and he walked right over to it like it was second nature. He said that me and about 90 other people had been in that day to pick it up. I read roughly the first 70 pages last night and it has already made me cry once. It is such a good story and I feel like I am just waiting, not so patiently, to find out what God does to redeem this man's life. I love stories of healing, redemption and finding wholeness. Probably because I have spent so much of my adult life, no wait, whole life fighting, searching, praying and pleading for wholeness. For my real self in Christ to be revealed so that I can rest in who He made me to be. And the Lord has been sweet to give me victory in more ways than I can describe. But enough about me...

Anyway, go get this book. Or if your lucky, I will buy it for you. We can read it together and that would be fun, eh?

Today is my bro's birthday. Be sure to give him all sorts of love on the big 2-5. He deserves it. We are going to good ol' Scmitty's for dinner, a tradition for the Coker fam (and friends now), that hold many memories for us all. I was a baby in a bar, what else can I say?

Six days down, twenty-three to go.

Background Blues?

If you sit at computer all day, like I do, then sometimes you just want cute wallpaper. Problem solved, here. Enjoy friends.

Once

Last night I had nothing to do, which was so nice. And I have been wanting to see Once for months now, so I saw that as my opportunity and jumped on it to pick up the film for a lazy movie night.

Kari was home last night too, so we were excited about just soaking up this movie with the windows open. And then our precious DVD player decided that is could not work on the spot. Apparently it needs advancded notice or something. Ugh.

We tried to watch a little TV but Mondays are a pathetic TV night, leaving our options up to Dance War, Deal or No Deal and American Gladiator. I was actually kind of excited about the new Gladiators show because I loved it when I was a little girl. However, seeing that the Hulk is the host and the actual gladiators are fed these cheesy one-liners, I decided to turn off the television all together. Kari went to her room to read and that was that.

I have this tiny little DVD player that I keep in the guest room, so I finally chose to bust it out and watch Once just sitting on my bed. I curled up with Enzo and he slept in my lap while I enjoyed every minute of this movie and amazing soundtrack (which I purchased last week). I highly recommend this film, for what my opinion is worth. It is beautifully shot, and the characters are quirky and real.

In my favorite song from the movie, Falling Slowly, I am continually touched by the sweet words:
Take this sinking boat and point it home
We've still got time
Raise your hopeful voice
You have a choice

It continually makes me think of the scripture, Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near - Isaiah 55:6, when I hear this chorus. I think about how we still have the time, the choice to turn to Him and be loved by Him. And how there is no greater rising of hope within us when our boat is sinking, which it so often is, than that of Christ.

He is our home.

And the choice is ours.

La la la la la la

I have been obsessed with this song from Apple's newest commercial. Last night I was with the rents and Larry Ray and was trying to demonstrate to them that this song would be capable of waking me up from even the deepest sleep in a good mood, causing me to flutter about the house applying make-up and getting dressed like a little ballerina. Just like Cinderella. Mice would come out of their holes to help me get dressed and the birds would flock to my window sill and whistle along. Luckily, my dancing convinced Larry that I needed the song. So, today I got a very special gift. Yep, I've now got some New Soul thanks to Yael Niam. Looking forward to the mornings now, at least for a day or two.

Who's up for dancing?

LYRICS: I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take. But since I came herefelt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake.
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
I'm a young soul in this very strange world hoping I could learn a bit about what is true and fake. But why all this hate? Try to communicate. Finding trust and love is not always easy to make.
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la...
This is a happy end cause' you don't understand everything you have done why's everything so wrong this is a happy end come and give me your hand I'll take your far away.
[Refrain]:
I'm a new soul I came to this strange world hoping I could learn a bit about how to give and take but since I came here felt the joy and the fear finding myself making every possible mistake.
la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la... la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la....

http://www.spinner.com/2008/01/29/whats-that-song-in-the-apple-air-commercial/

For Pauly

My friend, Paul, is a faithful reader of my blog which I certainly appreciate. BUT he is giving me a very hard time about already failing on my little blogging challenge. The thing of it is, that he was actually with me the night that midnight struck at the ol' Waffle House, so I consider the failure partially his fault too. Uhh, okay, maybe not. But kind of.

And another thing...he has been contemplating starting his own blog (strictly for ranting purposes, I suspect) for months now, but has not followed through. So Paul, I say you can't critique my blogging anymore until you start your own dang blog for the world to read. Deal?

I will be looking for your first blog before midnight tonight, dear Pauly. So, rant away about sports, politics and all that's wrong with the world. We can't wait to be avid readers. Give your fans what they want.

Day Two Came Too Fast

Well, dang it. Last night was Matt's surpirse party for his 25th birthday and I was all excited to blog about it before midnight (so I avoided blogging during the day) but where was I at midnight? The Waffle House. I rushed home and saw that all my girls where faithful to their blogging challenge and I felt so defeated. I have already failed on day two. BUT...I will make up for it by blogging numerous times today, okay? Matt's par-tay was super fun and it was awesome to spend the night with my most favorite people. And we used streamers which is so 7th grade and awesome, thanks to Aimee, and we listened to 90's music most of the night.

Aimee, where the heck were you all night? Not in a single picture. Boo.

Happy Superbowl Day. Next year we will get Monday off for the Superbowl National Holiday, right Christin?