Vickers Ventures

Paige pictures!!

2011-03-21T07:21:00.001-07:00

I know it's been a few months... sorry. We had some pictures of Paige taken at 9 months. I cannot believe she will be 11 months old this Friday. Wow! Almost a year old! What a FUN ride this has been so far!! Here are a few highlights from her 9 month photo shoot with Krista Lee...

http://kristaleephotography.blogspot.com/

Amanda Vickers & Cumberland Basin

2010-11-12T13:34:00.000-08:00

FINALLY!!!!!! MY WEBSITE IS DONE!!!
http://www.amandavickersband.com/

Thanks to my web designer and friend, Rebekah Pillmore. She's great! Link to her site - http://pilldesigns.com/

And thanks to Phil Wilson for helping fade the songs in/out.

And of course thanks to Brad Crisler for letting us use your studio to record the songs - and for being a spectacular engineer!! :) p.s. Brad is a major Nashville songwriter. He's written for Brooks & Dunn and all sorts! Check out his latest hit "Raymond" by Brett Eldredge. http://www.cmt.com/videos/brett-eldredge/578746/raymond.jhtml

Gosh, I feel like I just won an award thanking all these people!! the other thank you's can be seen on the "contact" page of the site.

Let me know if you have an office holiday party or any sort of wedding reception or get together coming up soon - will give you a good deal on a great band! :)

Paige- 6 month photos

2010-11-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

Go to the link below to see Paige's "Sneak Peek" from her 6 month photo shoot. I have found a photographer that I absolutely LOVE and will use over and over again. She was absolutely amazing, and SUPER reasonably priced, plus we get a high res digital CD of all the pictures. ALL the pictures. (had to say it twice that's how good it is). Copy and printing rights too. So, here is the sneak peek! And we'll probably use some of these for Christmas cards.
http://kristaleephotography.blogspot.com/2010/11/paiges-sneak-peek.html

CMAs were a blast last night! GREAT seats. The after party was a bust though... pretty lame. Geof and I had an amazing dinner before with our CMT distributor from Disney / ABC (he sold us Extreme Makeover Home Edition) and the new GM at ABC Nashville. We went to a restaurant I had never heard of, but is AMAZING. City House. Check it out. http://cityhousenashville.com/ Super cool atmosphere and the chef is fantastic! Reasonable prices as well.

Have a great weekend!!

Been a while...

2010-11-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a while. We went in for a scheduled c-section on April 25th and Paige Brooks was born! That was 6 months ago, can you believe it?? Wow. Here are a few highlights in pictures since I haven't posted in a while...

And most recently for Halloween...

Work Baby Shower

2010-03-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't have a ton of pics yet because others were taking photos and will get those to me soon. Here are a few of the food table, decorations, and the MASS amount of gifts! I think this was a record for the best baby shower ever here at work! Was so great! They did a nursery rhyme theme. Most of the food was prepared by my good buddy, Brooke O'Dell. (my very first friend in Nashville almost 8 years ago!) She has a local catering business, specializing in cakes/cupcakes. Absolutely FANTASTIC!! Her website is: http://icethiscakes.com/ Check it out!!

My 4runner was stuffed full from the very very back window to the front seat! Whew!
I got everything in the house and Max didn't know what to do. I think in this picture he was thinking... "not again..." ha! That was my last baby shower and boy oh boy are we set!! I will keep you all posted when I get more pictures or fun stuff to share!

BABY, BABY, BABY!

2010-03-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

Almost 32 weeks....

Here are pictures of the nursery (the one wall that is completely finished)... and pictures from my MASSIVE church shower. Talk about richly blessed. Let's just say...I just finished writing almost 100 thank you notes and we still have 3 showers to go! Whew! Thanks to all the hostesses for putting on a smash hit of a shower last weekend! And thanks to mom, Aunt Sandy, my sister, and Jackie (Geof's mom) - we have the nursery/closets organized, blankets and clothes and wash rags etc are all washed and ready. Things are moving along... and so is my belly as you can see...

I have a black bookshelf that goes on that blank wall there. There is also a dresser not pictured and other things to finish. I'm hoping to find a cute solid color rug. The walls are gray even though they look a little purple in these pics. The color squares are painted with craft paint and then I framed pieces of my fabric. I had the bedding custom made b/c I wanted something unique (I know, shocker right?). Found the fabrics online and had someone in NY make it all for a good price. It's very bright and fun! Thanks to my good friend Anna Berry for helping me decorate the nursery!

Now on to the church shower... the cake was homemade by the one and only Teresa Buck - we had strawberry, lemon, white chocolate, and carrot cake. They were all wonderful! And yes, I did have one of each flavor thank you very much. Homemade buttercream icing - YUM!!! Linde Browning Giddens made this sign for the hospital door. Precious!

I leave you with a full on shot of my big belly. haha!! I love that dress though. Very comfy!

Snow, snow, GO AWAY!

2010-02-15T15:34:00.000-08:00

Snow, Snow, Go Away....Come Again Another Day!!

We are so tired of winter weather up here! As beautiful as it is, it always seems to come on the weekend or on holidays. Stuck inside with ice and snow on the roads... again... Nashville has truly seen more than usual this year! This morning we woke up to another 1.5 inches and it hasn't stopped falling since. Here is a picture of Max as he LOVES to eat the snow on the back deck. The bandana came from his dog daycare. They always dress the dogs in bandanas after their bath. Happy Valentine's Day to Max! haha!

29 Weeks

2010-02-15T11:14:00.001-08:00

Today I'm 29 weeks! Here are the latest 4d images from Friday... Paige is going to have quite the head of dark hair as you can see! Geof and I were both born with tons of dark hair, so we had a feeling this would be the case. At this rate, we might be doing pig tails within the first week! ha! Paige now weighs 2 lbs and 11 oz. The nursery is almost done!! Very excited - I will post pictures eventually when it is complete...

Move over Max!

2010-01-06T13:23:00.001-08:00

Have I seriously not posted a blog since October?? Seriously? Oops. Time is flying!

Lots going on. The biggest of course if that we're expecting a little girl - due May 2nd. Max (the dog) better mooove on over and make room. Will be quite the adjustment for all! :) We announced her name over Christmas dinner. PAIGE BROOKS VICKERS. Here are some sonogram photos of her from 12/28/09. This first one = she looks like a little drama queen with her hand on her head like that. haha! My child? Surely not....

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to hoping I don't go another 2.5 months without a post. :)

More photos...

2009-10-26T13:18:00.000-07:00

More photos from Mary Alice Duncan!!! http://www.maryaliceduncanphotography.com/a-little-more-amanda-never-hurt-anyone-a-sneak-peek/

Photo Shoot

2009-10-07T08:27:00.001-07:00

Are you ready for this? I did a fun photo shoot for my band's website (which will be created eventually)... my friend from church Mary Alice Duncan did the shoot and posted a sneak peek of my photos on her website. Check it out!!! http://www.maryaliceduncanphotography.com/i-cant-even-come-up-with-a-title-good-enough-for-these-a-sneak-peek/

Hardwood Floors!

2009-09-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, our hardwood floors have been installed! Yay!! Here are a few progress pictures...sorry most of them were taken a couple days ago on my cell phone... not super clear...
Now if we can just get everything back in place tonight and all cleaned up. My sister comes to visit Friday! Yippeeee!!! More pics to come...

New Paint

2009-09-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

We had our painter Pam bring her crew in yesterday and paint a few more rooms in the house. Our rec room is now a beautiful rust red color. It looks more orange in these pictures, but it is not orange in person. A very dark rust color. One of our guest bedrooms - bright yellow! I love this one! The bedding in this room is black and white. We'll do white bead board around the bottom of the walls. Rise and shine! :)Our guest bathroom in the upstairs hallway is now a dark orange. Looks nice with the cabinets and shower curtain.
And our master bathroom looks GREAT now! It is the same coloring as our bedroom. Dark slate walls with light gray ceiling. Love it!! Once we get things all put back where they were, we'll take pictures of the finished look in each room. Next Saturday...hardwoods go in. Bring on the mess! Sheesh!

Autumn has arrived...

2009-08-24T06:58:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Autumn, the Fall season hasn't exactly arrived yet, no. (although I'm so excited about FOOTBALL and the Fall weather!!!) "Autumn" has arrived in other ways though....Geof and I went to Dalton, GA on Saturday to look at hardwood floors. Dalton is the flooring capitol of the world, and let me tell you the money you can save! WOW! We ended up finding something we loved and compared to what we priced out here in Nashville, we saved $1000 by going to Georgia! I'm telling you, they are beautiful. They aren't the dark brown rustic look that I thought I wanted. Long story short, we bought everything we needed, rented a uhaul trailer and drove back to Nashville 3000 lbs heavier than before. 57 boxes of Maple wood! Here are a few pictures... because of the lighting, all these pictures look like a different color depending on where you stand, but that's what I love about it. It isn't dark, but it isn't light wood - it's a great medium, rich color. It's called "Autumn" which describes it perfectly.
And below you see the 57 boxes stored in our dining room. :) We will have everything installed in September. YAY!! We are so thrilled! That is 3000 lbs of wood right there, people! Whew! I cannot wait to get rid of the ugly entry way hardwoods and the yucky carpet. Autumn has arrived!! Perfect timing for the season!

Catfish and history

2009-08-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to Oxford, MS to visit Geof's old roommate from law school at Ole Miss. He and his wife are great! We had a wonderful time! That town is so rich with history. If you are a fan of John Grisham, this is where most of his books are based off of. Real people from the law school there. So much history with Ole Miss and just the area itself. Very neat. While we were there, we visited Taylor, MS just outside of Oxford.

This is Taylor Grocery. An old grocery made into a catfish restaurant. Built in the 1800s. Very famous actually. In fact, during regular school season, it is very normal to wait on the porch for a table for 3 hours. We only waited 1 hour, but it was well worth it!! Quite possibly the best catfish I've ever had. Another place we went in Oxford is called "City Grocery" on the town square - no idea what the deal is with the grocery names down there being so famous. But City Grocery is a bit more upscale and known for their shrimp and grits. Who would have thought shrimp and grits would be in the same sentence as the word "upscale"?!! ha! Now, I have never liked grits, never really wanted to. But let me tell ya- I'm a HUGE fan of cheese grits and shrimp now!!! WOW!!! What a fantastic southern dish! Which by the way... I obtained the original recipe from an Oxford cookbook. Can't wait to try it! You should google these places and check them out. So neat.

I am finally coming out of the fog of a CRAZY past couple weeks of work. Nothing too earth shattering, just stressful. Looking forward to spending the rest of the week at the beach. GIRLS TRIP!!! WOOHOO!!

Wounded... again.

2009-07-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Well, I went to pick up Max from daycare on Friday evening and low and behold he got hurt once again. This dog is so accident prone - we seriously thank God every day for pet insurance!!! We have saved thousands! Basically they aren't sure what happened at daycare. Max came over to one of the day care girls and she looked down and noticed Max was bleeding. It was fresh, so it had just happened. They didn't hear a bark or a yelp or anything - so no dog fight this time. They think he may have rubbed up against a sharp edge of the fence or maybe another dog scratched him. He didn't even realize it. Never cried, nothing. They glued it up for me and I went ahead and took him to the vet just to be safe - he had to get stitches. So, here are some fun graphic pictures for you (taken with my phone so they are not great).

BEFORE STITCHES (below):

AFTER STITCHES: (below)

Still a bit drugged on the tranquilizer (above). He was stumbling all over the place completely drunk. Very hard not to crack up at a drunk dog that big. Had to keep him from falling over several times b/c he would stand there and stare into space, then fall asleep standing up. So I'd have to run over to him and catch him. ha!! He's 83 lbs now!!!! Anyway, he's fine...he finally laid down and slept the drug off. He doesn't even realize he's been hurt. We're keeping him home for a few days.

Promotions and such!

2009-07-22T13:18:00.000-07:00

Just a few exciting things to catch you up on...

I was promoted to Director, Programming Strategy. Basically means taking a nice pay increase and being recognized for the job that I've been doing for 2 years now. (this promotion has been in the works for a while). Either way - it happened and I'm VERY excited!
I move into my office with a window tomorrow. This has been in the works since I was made a Manager back a few years ago - so this I'm SUPER excited about too!! For t hose of you counting, this is my 7th year with CMT.
A few of you have asked about my cd. I made a demo cut of 6 songs with my jazz trio. We're in the process of getting a website put together and I'm going to be doing a fun photo shoot soon for the website. Basically we're looking for local gigs for wedding receptions, fund raiser events, parties, etc.. We did an anniversary party a couple months ago for a 60th wedding anniversary. Was so sweet.

Nothing else new going on here. The weather has been pretty cool here in Nashvegas! Mid 50s at night and high 70s during the day. Feels like Fall!!

Family Vacation 2009!

2009-07-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

We had the annual 4th of July McKinney family vacation last week! Was so much fun!! We stayed at the most amazing lakehouse on Lake Possum Kingdom in TX. Some friends of Sarah and John's built it last Fall and allowed us to use it for the July 4th weekend this year. It was like staying in a celebrity house! Absolutely beautiful! It'd take me days to tell you about all the rooms and technology they have. The subdivison "The Ranch" had horseback riding, skeet shooting, an amazing pool, boats, jet skis, fishing, you name it! Here are a few pictures.
Katie (above) jumping off the boat.

JD and Lindsey (above) - David LOVES being a cowboy!

I don't have room to post pictures of the house, but it was unbelievable! Hope you had a happy 4th of July!

Zoe

2009-06-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

It was fun being in the studio with Zoe and singing with them again... I've missed you guys... Peter and Lindsey should be welcoming their first baby here in the next week or two! Very excited for them!!

Get The Shovel!

2009-06-23T11:29:00.000-07:00

The other day we were doing yard work when Geof yelled out, "I just saw a field mouse run up the gutter!" So, I of course insisted we somehow get it to come out of the gutter and kill it. But.. how...

Now most of you know that I will not tolerate rats or mice. In fact (side story)... a couple months ago I had my terminix dude come out to the house and check out this weird looking nest under our deck. I insisted it was a rat. I had never seen a nest like that! And some of you know that our backyard backs up to Sanford & Son's backyard. (a whole other story). The nest ended up being a family of sparrows. We now enjoy watching them torment the dog.

Anyway... back to the original story... so I had to think FAST b/c if it was a field mouse, it was going to move fast! I told Geof, "well, here's what we'll do! We'll spray up in the gutter with hornets nest spray to get it to run out, then when it comes out, you'll take the shovel and beat the **** out of him!" Geof's face dropped and said "awww... nooo..." I feel NO sympathy for these varmints b/c I know they will multiply and get in my pantry! So, we had the plan... I'm getting the shovel and all of a sudden I hear Geof spraying and spraying and spraying... then I hear this sad voice, "Oh no... Amanda! I don't think this is a mouse!" Of course I go running around the corner to the gutter and look... sure enough that thing is bigger than a mouse. Geof thought it was a chipmunk. But the thing would NOT come out! I told him to gently spray the water hose up there and maybe he'll come out... still he wouldn't come out. Finally, Geof got his gloves and pulled it out. A sweet little TERRIFIED bunny... it took all I had not to burst into tears. Geof let it go a couple houses down where there was an open common area. Hopefully he found his mom!

Awards Show 2009

2009-06-12T11:51:00.001-07:00

Our CMT awards show is coming up on Tuesday night, June 16th! Be sure to tune in to CMT to watch. Should be a fun evening!! I decided to give my tickets and passes away to friends this year and watch from my cozy home. :)

What a difference 2 years can make...

2009-06-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is hilarious. At our old house, you see Max wanted to check out whatever Geof was looking at. He was a little over 5 months here. I quickly snapped the picture before Max saw me. And below... you see the difference 2 years can make. Whew!!! He's gotten so big!! He still loves to put his paws on the deck if we walk up and look out like that. So funny.On days when we work in the yard, Max enjoys staying cool in his pool and catching some rays. ha!

30 and more

2009-05-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Lots going on the past couple weeks!

I turned 30! So fun!!!
I finished my cd... yay!!! If I knew how to post songs on here I'd do it.
I visited the family in Texas over Memorial Weekend. (pictures soon)...
Helped organize Cardboard Testimonies at our church - go here to see: http://www.ottercreek.org/

We have a busy weekend.... I have a gig on Saturday and the rest of the weekend we'll be re-doing our flower beds in the front yard. Whew! What a chore!!! They look so awful though. Bring on the digging! My back already hurts. ha!

Next Thursday we're off to Pittsburgh for Geof's brother's wedding. Happy Summer!!!

Steeplechase 2009

2009-05-14T05:58:00.001-07:00

MUDDY, but a great day! The weather turned out perfect!!! Usually everyone dresses up with big hats, expensive dresses, suits, etc. A very rich/historical event in Nashville. But with the mud this year (it's been raining in Nashville for 3 weeks straight) most people went casual. Well... most smart people. :)

Below: Jason (Geof's boss man) and hot mama Suzie!! We LOVE them!

And they're off! Notice the tents in the infield below... all of those people are standing in mud ankle deep. Really. See the last picture and you'll get the idea of the type of mud. I wore my rain boots! Thank God! I've never seen so many people take off their shoes and trudge thru mud like that. It was quite a site. And of course when all the alcohol sets in, you get to watch all sorts of mud slides and mud fights. Mostly college and high school groups. Quite a day, let me tell ya! Luckily, Jason rented a huge tour bus RV, so our group had prime location and a bathroom on board!

Below: Jason made the mistake of driving the BMW.... d'oh! This is what the infield looked like. (mud)

Easters Past, Part 2

2009-04-17T15:15:00.001-07:00

More Easter pictures from years ago... nice huh? I had the most mischievous grin on my face, didn't I? :)

I love the following picture of Sarah. That was a RARE thing for her to be the one cutting up in the picture. That was 99.9% always me. So I laugh so hard every time I see this picture!! And I love how my tights are bunched around my ankles. Hilarious - I'd bet a billion dollars those things didn't stay on long. I HATED tights!!! ugh.

Easter with the cousins. Every year we had to take our Easter pictures in front of that giant azalea bush. Note John David's black eye here. He almost always had a black eye just in time for Easter pictures. I love the perms too. Hilarious. I remember after one perm, my friend Judith at church told me "you look like Richard Simmons." Thanks. Mom's famous saying "perm it or cut it." ha!!

Easters Past...

2009-04-15T19:37:00.000-07:00

A few fun Easter pics from years past... more to come....

Gotta Love Texas Girls!!

2009-04-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

I got the following email from my cousin - fellow Texan of course...it made my day...

Gotta love Texas Girls!

A couple from Texas and a couple from the east coast were seated side by side on an airplane.

The girl from Texas , being friendly and all, said, "So, where ya'll from?"

The east coast girl said, "From a place where they know better than to use a preposition at the end of a sentence."

The girl from Texas sat quietly for a few moments and then replied: "So, where ya'll
from, bitch?"

San Antonio - pictures

2009-04-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

We just returned from a much needed weekend get-away to San Antonio! Had so much fun! Did a few tourist type things and for the most part caught up on sleep and GREAT mexican food and mexican pastries. The weather was perfect. 70-80 degrees and sunny! We flew back into Nashville this morning to 35 degrees, rain and snow. Welcome home. :(

On the river in front of our hotel.. Omni La Mansion del Rio. Alamo.

At the Mission San Jose.

At the mexican market - the best mexican food and mexican bakery on earth: Mi Tiera.

Random photo on the riverwalk.

The Chart House - revolving restaurant at the top of the "Tower of the Americas".

Bridal Shower fun

2009-03-20T14:36:00.000-07:00

What?!! A blog 2 days in a row?? I remembered that I forgot to post pictures of the Bridal shower I helped host at church last Sunday. It was really sweet and simple. Melissa Baker is a dear friend - grew up with Geof. I blogged about her in December when her missing brother was found... big answer to prayer! Anyway - a few of us at church gave her a Bridal shower and here are a few pics. I was in charge of the table deco and I think it turned out pretty cute!
Melissa and Jaren. Wedding Date: May 16, 2009. My 30th birthday. :)

Spring?? Is that you?

2009-03-19T08:09:00.001-07:00

This Winter in Nashville has been long and drawn out. I am SO over it!! Earlier this week we had beautiful weather...60s, 70s. Today is a bit gray and in the 50s again, but hopefully the weekend will warm back up and we'll welcome SPRING officially here in Nashville! I am SO READY for warm weather and sunshine!!!!!!

Yesterday it was so pretty outside that I actually rushed home from work and mowed the yard. Here is a cell phone picture of part of my masterpiece. :) Of course Max enjoyed the weather too. Anyway, the fresh cut grass smell still lingers this morning and I absolutely LOVE it. That's when you know... Spring is just around the corner... well, that and all the allergies.

Lubbock trip

2009-03-09T13:56:00.000-07:00

Had a great time in Lubbock! Here are a few pics. We met up with a good friend from ACU while we were there - Windy Babcock. She sings on the worship team at the church where the conference was held. Was so fun to see her! They are expecting a baby boy in the next month or so... Was also great having dinner with the Wall family! It had been years since I have seen any of these friends. Was good to see my sister too of course. And of course it was fantastic to sing with Peter and Lindsay Wilson again... miss those guys! They just found out they are having a boy! Yay!! I wish we all lived closer together.
I'll try to post more pics eventually...

Colorado

2009-02-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Ft Collins with Geof's brother (Jon) and his fiance' Jennifer! It was a very relaxing weekend getaway. We took the afternoon Saturday and went hiking in Boulder with their dog, Deacon. The weather was perfect. Here are a few pictures... Jen took some of the four of us with her camera, so hopefully we'll see those soon.

I took this last picture in the car on the way to the airport Sunday. It's a bit dark, but I thought it was so pretty with the mountains in the background and the sun coming through the clouds on that little church.

Houston

2009-02-13T12:10:00.001-08:00

I'm headed to Houston today with four others. We're going to be working with a worship team at the Bammel Rd Church of Christ on Saturday afternoon. Then Saturday evening we'll do an evening of worship. I'm really looking forward to it. The Zoe Group ministry does unbelievable things for worship teams around the US and it truly is exciting to jump back in this year. Plus I get to see one of my best childhood friends, Kelly (Garrett) Harp!! Cannot wait!! She is SO talented and has actually started her own business. You can buy her baby clothes and accessories at many stores now, and she continues to grow her business and have major success!! Here is the website for her design store: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5688783

Should be a fun weekend! Geof and I will have a nice Valentine's Day dinner on Monday night probably. Then his birthday is Wednesday... this month is going to be so busy!

Jackie's Surgery & Celebrities

2009-01-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

Geof's mom, Jackie, had pretty major surgery on Tuesday. She found out early December that she needed Cervical Spine Surgery to fuse degenerated discs and remove bone spurs from inside her spinal canal. It was actually done by a neurosurgeon. Jackie did great and was actually able to go home the day after surgery! Geof has talked to her I think once or twice, and Leland (his dad) has continued to keep us updated. I believe she will go back for a follow up appointment next week and start plans for physical therapy. She will be in a neck brace for at least 6 weeks from what I understand. Please pray for her recovery process. If you guys know Jackie, you know she is always on the move and involved with church, friends, etc.. Pray that she gets the rest she needs and is able to tolerate the pain medicines that tend to make her sick. I will try to keep you posted, but thanks for keeping her and Leland in your prayers the next few weeks!!

Nothing too new going on with us. We recently joined a new Life Group at church and we are having the BEST time!! It's so difficult to find those close friends around our age that are in the same walk of life we are in. They usually either have kiddos or are newlyweds just out of college. We feel like God has answered our prayers and given us this new group! We are having SO much fun getting to know everyone!!!

Several of you often ask if we ever see celebrities in Nashville. Yes. The two latest: I was singing on praise team a couple weeks ago and looked out to see Carrie Underwood at church. She lives near our church, so I'm assuming she was just visiting? not sure. Didn't see her last week. And about two weeks ago I had a meeting at work with a producer of a new show we're about to start shooting. When I was meeting with him, I kept thinking to myself, "I know this guy. He's famous somehow. I think he was a kid actor, but I can't place him... " I went home that night and googled him. Jason Hervey. The older brother from "The Wonder Years". Wayne. Ha! Pretty cool! Very nice guy.

Have a fun week!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-06T10:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year was a BLAST! Everyone arrived safely in Nashville late Christmas night - and we kicked off the next day with a bang! The weekend was full of FOOD, GIFTS, playing Wii... and all sorts! It flew by so quickly!! Here are just a few pictures....
David acted like he was fainting when he saw the Transformer toy we got him for Christmas!

Here we are at the Aquarium Restaurant in the Opry Mills Mall.

We love to go see the lights at the Opryland Hotel every Christmas. SO beautiful!

What A Gift!!!

2008-12-24T08:27:00.001-08:00

Geof's family grew up with the Baker family. Geof and his brother Jon were around the same age as the Baker kids - Joel, Phillip, and Melissa. Geof and Joel were the exact same age and went off to Harding University together. After their Freshman year, Joel left school and has been missing for about 8 years. They have not heard from him or seen him since. They used to hear during those early years that he was living on the streets and involved with substance abuse, etc. But stopped hearing about him after a few years. I believe this year, his mother was going to have to declare him dead since his social security card had been inactive for so many years. An unfathomable mystery and devastating experience. Joel's sister, Melissa, lives in Nashville now where I have gotten to be friends with her thru Geof. She is like a sister to me now and I've enjoyed so much seeing God work in her life. I went with her and her mother to pick out her wedding dress a few weeks ago. So fun!!! This past Sunday at Otter Creek, Melissa responded and walked down front during one of the final songs. Geof and I went down there when we realized she was crying. We had no idea what was wrong. Maybe her mom was in a car wreck that morning, maybe someone in her family was sick, etc.. When we reached Melissa, she looked up at Geof with huge tears steaming down her face and a smile that would knock you over and said, "They found Joel!!" Geof just held her and we all bawled with unimaginable disbelief and joy. He is now in a group home in New Orleans, and is ready to see his family again - they will go see him on Christmas Day. Merry Christmas to the Baker Family!!! What an awesome gift! As you get together with your family this Christmas, give a little extra THANKS to God for this Christmas miracle. And give your brothers an extra little squeeze too. Merry Christmas! Top: Melissa, Geof, Joel, Jon, Phillip

Geof's Project

2008-12-22T12:41:00.000-08:00

Geof covered the cornices the other day! His mom found this AWESOME fabric in Kansas City and brought it when they came here for Thanksgiving. Thanks, Jackie!! And don't you think Geof did a great job?? He is so proud of this project. I had to show him how to do the corners, but he did GREAT! He had 2 smaller cornices (about 3.5 feet) and 2 large cornices (about 6.5 feet).
Way to go, Geof!!!

Christmas Time's A Comin'!

2008-12-19T07:29:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe Christmas got here so quickly! So much to update you on...

THE HOUSE - decorated for Christmas, Geof covered the cornices (pics soon) - to which he was SO proud of, we had our first Winter snow last week. And today it is 64 degrees - go figure. these pics were actually taken after most of the snow melted.

The Christmas tree is in the dining room - you can see it peeking thru the window here in the above picture. That's a snow flake blinking above the door by the way. Gotta love Big Lots.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! We ran out of Christmas cards, so sorry if you didn't get one... here is a cropped version of our Christmas card picture below...

Family all gets here Thursday evening! Can't wait!!! Will be a wild and fun weekend!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-03T13:44:00.001-08:00

It's so easy to just plow right through Thanksgiving and into Christmas. Thanksgiving is my FAVORITE holiday! My absolute favorite time of the year. We had a great time with Geof's parents here. Our first Thanksgiving in our new house. We ordered a Greenberg smoked turkey from my old middle school/high school buddy Griffin. Was WONDERFUL! I am not a turkey fan, but this was absolutely awesome! Go to http://www.gobblegobble.com/ to get you one for Christmas! Here is Geof after carving it. This is what I deal with every day, people. Not just the holidays. He's quite hyper all the time.

THREE

2008-11-19T10:38:00.000-08:00

Three years ago today.....

Fall Leaves

2008-11-10T12:52:00.000-08:00

The leaves FINALLY changed colors about a week ago here in Nashville. This is my absolute favorite season, so I always look forward to the leaves changing here. It's like nothing I've ever seen. Unfortunately, this year isn't quite as pretty as years past. Not enough red. We had very little rain this summer, so most of the trees dried up early. At any rate, I took a day off last week and went with Max to one of my favorite parks. I could never get a picture of him that I am extremely happy with, but he was a sport to pose as much as he did. He finally got tired of it and every time I pulled out the camera, he would turn his head away. Smart dog.

Pictures and more pictures!

2008-11-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

Saturday we went to visit Geof's best childhood friends (Kris & Heather Grant) in Indianapolis. Baby Kameron was born 6 weeks ago, so we went to meet her! I can't believe I didn't get Heather in one picture.

We got home on Sunday and FINALLY painted our Master Bedroom! Here are some pictures. Geof painted the ceiling too - I absolutely LOVE this room! It is a dark slate gray w/ a lighter gray ceiling. The 2nd pic was without the flash and looks more like it. Let me know your thoughts on bringing another color in there. The valances are the same color as the bedding. This red mirror was purchased last weekend from Kirklands to go over the mantle in the living room. I love it too. The reflection in the mirror shows the ugly yellow cornices I'm going to recover over Thanksgiving.

Halloween Pictures

2008-10-31T08:11:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween!! Max was groomed and bathed yesterday, and they put a Halloween bandana on him. I had to take a picture. He was very tired as you can see... I wish the first picture wasn't blurry. :( It's so funny!

If you are wondering about the fund raiser event, it went GREAT! I hope to have pictures up eventually. I'm still waiting for someone to send them to me. Had a GREAT shopping weekend with Mom too!!

Have a safe Halloween!

Music and Mom

2008-10-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Mom gets here today!! yay!! Tonight we are headed to The Standard to see my favorite performer, Annie Sellick. http://anniesellick.com/ Food and wine tasting, etc. Should be a GREAT evening! The rest of the weekend will be all about shopping and getting more done with the house.

Then comes SUNDAY... I actually was invited to sing at a really big fund raiser for the TJ Martell Foundation. http://www.tjmartellfoundation.org/Nashville-Home.aspx The event is out at our friends' beautiful tuscan style home, Stephen & Robin Collins. We went to France with them last year and Geof is on the same cycling team with Stephen. Anyway... the fund raiser is $125 per person and there will be 40 different types of wine and they flew in a famous chef from Spain. Its' going to be unreal!!! And I am singing!! AGGHHH!!! There will be some big shots there from all over Nashville, etc. I am so excited! I've got a superb jazz trio behind me and we'll be out on the patio as people mingle. Should be an absolutely WONDERFUL event. I cannot wait!

I will try to post more pics after the weekend!

More House Pictures...

2008-10-21T13:36:00.001-07:00

More pictures of the house....

Last weekend we painted Geof's study. His desk is absolutely beautiful! You can't see the detail in these pics, but I tried. We found it at the Ashley Home Furniture Outlet just outside of Nashville. We got REALLY lucky. It didn't even have a scratch (other than a tiny little mark that can be covered up or rubbed out). Anyway it was over 50% off just because of that! Awesome! Now we just need to get some deco and book cases, etc..

Here is our happy little family in front of the house! (sorry we are so far away...) I now have some gorgeous mums on the front porch for Fall. I'm so domestic!!

We finally painted the Texas bedroom. Beautiful! I'll try to get pics of that up soon. Mom comes on Thursday. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cement Carvings...

2008-10-17T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun picture! When Geof and I got married and built our townhouse, I carved our initials on the side of our front step after they laid the cement - I know, such a rebel. You can't see it unless you dig thru our flowerbed. Just before we moved out of the townhouse last month, I took a picture. It's hard to read since it is a few years old, but I'm glad I got to take a picture so we can remember it. It says A + G 2005. Have you ever carved in wet cement? It's harder than it looks!
I need to find a place on the new house to do something like this. Maybe the back deck or something. The new house was built in 2001, so there isn't really any wet cement around. Speaking of the new house... last weekend we painted Geof's study. Looks GREAT! I will post a picture soon. And this weekend we are going to be busy painting the Texas room - finally! My mom comes into town next Thursday. I'm so excited!!!!!!

Light The Night

2008-10-10T06:37:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to be a part of an awesome fund raiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! If you haven't heard of the Light The Night walks, you should do some research in your area. The walk in Nashville takes place next Thursday night. It is going to be SO fun! The Titans Cheerleaders will lead us all out and we will walk 1.75 miles around downtown Nashville .... around LP Field (where the Titans play), across the bridge over the Tennessee River downtown, down Broadway, and back over the bridge to the stadium where we will finish... It's going to be absolutely beautiful! And what a great cause to be a part of. The entire evening is going to be family oriented so there will be all sorts of things to do for kids like face painting, bounce houses, etc. And of course BBQ too!

My niece, Katie (who turned 7 yesterday by the way!!!) is involved in the Light the Night Walk in the Dallas area coming up at the end of the month. Her cheerleader squad is actually going to lead the massive group of Dallas area walkers carrying a big banner. I know those girls are so excited!

Anyway, if you want to be a part of this fun evening in your area, check it out here:
http://www.lightthenight.org/

If you want to donate on my page (I am so close to my goal!) you can donate here: http://www.active.com/donate/ltnNashvi/2471_mndbrks

You Know You Live in the Burbs When.....

2008-10-07T11:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday afternoon I hear loud clown type music playing outside.... could it be? Could it REALLY be?? AN ICE CREAM TRUCK!!!!!!!!!! (no, I didn't really take a picture)

I open the front door and look down the street to see an ice cream truck parked on the corner, and people and children were coming out of their houses and running like mad! I've never seen anything like this! It was as if it were a magnet of some sort just pulling people out of their homes. Like a movie or something. I got this rush of excitement as if I were 10 years old again!!! Of course I didn't have any cash on me, so I didn't get to enjoy, but I did love watching how excited people were over this phenomenon that has (in my opinion) become rather creepy. But Saturday it was GREAT! You know you're living in the suburbs when the ice cream man is BACK IN BUSINESS!!

Don't you remember those days back in the 80s? We'd be inside playing and we'd hear that music... dash to the closet to find our "jellies" and slip them on our feet - then go grab mom for some cash and run outside to meet the man with the goodies! Good times. I love me an orange Push-Up.

Here's to next Saturday! I hope he shows up again. I'll be ready this time.

I get it.

2008-10-02T06:38:00.000-07:00

I am CONVINCED today that God knows exactly what he's doing. ha! You know, some days you just gotta wonder - what on earth?? What is He doing up there?!! Why am I going thru this, or why am I in this place, why did this happen, etc.. But TODAY... yep. I get it. Sometimes it takes stepping back and hearing the story of someone else's journey to truly understand our own path and God's journey for our own lives. I spent about two hours with an old friend last night. Evelyn and I were in the ACU Theatre Dept together. She and her hubby, Chris (also an old ACU buddy who happens to be one of the BEST drummers on earth) live here in Nashville and are expecting a baby boy in two weeks! Anyway, Evelyn and her family suffered an unimaginable tragedy about 4 1/2 years ago when her mother's life was taken. And last night she caught me up on the latest and how God has worked within that tragedy. I am telling you, in my 29 years, I have never heard a testimony like this. It is absolutely mind blowing!! I am hoping that when the time is right she will write a memoir of her mother's life and the journey to forgiveness. I was blessed last night and moved more than I have been moved spiritually in years. Last night I was reminded just why I am a believer.

A rug makes all the difference

2008-09-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

A rug makes all the difference in the world when decorating. The main floor living room was starting to depress me just a little bit last week. My turquoise piece didn't work in that room, and it was looking like I was stuck with my old black and red deco - which would have been fine, but I was ready to change it up. UNTIL.......... Saturday we went to the Ashley Furniture outlet store. I found this rug for SO CHEAP! It looks gorgeous. The photo was taken with my cell phone, so it's not as bright as it is in person. (the blue-ish stripe is pretty turquoise) Those blue pillows on the sofa are really turquoise, not light blue. Anyway, now I can bring in some other color! And the burgandy stripes really tie in the dining room color around the corner as well! Those turquoise pillows can now stay - I'll replace the black pillows with a bright burgandy probably. We'll see what I find.

Wedding and Rangers!

2008-09-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Well, my brother is officially "hitched"! We had such a great time with family and friends! Here are several pictures from the wedding and reception Friday night.

All the sisters (cousins)! This pretty much sums up what it's like when we get together. Sorry for the pit shot - it was the best one of the 4 of us together dancing.

On Saturday night, the family all went to the Rangers game. My niece had a few friends and cousins come along for her birthday party. She was also on the jumbo-tron at the game. She's such a HUGE Ranger fan!!

One of my best friends on earth moved back to Texas last year after living in Nashville for something like 13 years... I always make sure to see her when I'm in Texas, so she came to the game with all of us. She has basically become part of my family this past year. So fun! Miss you, Lea!Jumbo-tron - Katie is 7 years old!!

Exciting times!

2008-09-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

These are definitely exciting times! I'm trying to capture some moments in picture as I think about it. Geof painting the upstairs hallway - with that came some pretty difficult challenges. We had to borrow an extension ladder for those hard to reach places. It was quite scary because the ladder was extended really far and balancing on one of the stairs! The ladder was almost vertical I might add - I had to put my weight on it so it didn't float backwards with Geof on it. yikes!! Don't worry, moms, we were VERY careful!! And the paint looks FABULOUS!!! Next paint job will be the "Texas" guest bedroom (dark khaki) and the workout room (sage green). I took a few pics of Max around the house too..... he is adjusting and loving all the space.

Saturdays are pretty much dedicated to yardwork now days. Which by the way - has been SO FUN!!! I mowed the backyard this past Saturday and took a picture of my masterpiece with my cell phone. So far, I am loving this whole house thing!! Not a big fan of picking the weeds out of the flower beds, but all in time it'll get done... here is our backyard.

We're In!!

2008-09-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

We are officially in the new house. Our first night there was Saturday night. The move went...well... it was interesting. A few things went bad, but over all it was a success. We hired painters to paint the dining room, kitchen, and living room. It all looks AMAZING. We still need to paint more eventually, so that is one project for the weekend. The other project is getting all the rest of our stuff out of the garage. Our garage is packed full of boxes and all sorts! Here is a list of our exciting adventures:

* FRIDAY NIGHT - Geof and our friend Steve worked hard to paint one of the guest rooms and bathrooms... after the 2nd coat (2nd gallon of paint) dried, it was slightly off color. Now he has to re-do the entire thing. Bless. Next time he'll take my advice and MIX both gallons of paint together first. :)

* SATURDAY - Movers damaged 2 of the most expensive pieces we have (bdr furniture), plus they dropped Geof's desk off the truck and broke it without repair. Scratched up the fridge and put holes in the wall at the townhouse. The bdr furniture was the last thing off the truck, and when I saw the damage.... I had to walk out of the house. It was all over for me at that point. Little did I know it was only beginning.

* Sunday morning Geof mows and weeds the yard. Looks AWESOME - but... He clips the wire to the air conditioner. No AC from Sunday until Tuesday. Nice. It was 90 degrees here by the way. (I tell myself, it could be worse). I do ponder sitting down with the bottle at this point though.

* Sunday Geof finds out his uncle passed away, so he is headed to Delaware first thing Tuesday, and now has to work all day Monday. Anyone see where I packed my flask?

* Tuesday comes around and the AC guy shows up to fix the air. He comes downstairs and says to me, "Um, did yall know you have black widow webs in your laundry room closet? I didn't see the spider though." AGGGGHHHH!!!! I mean, what did he expect me to say?? "Oh yeah! We knew that - that's our pet spider. We call him Spot. He's probably chillin out on my pillow case about now." Geez. I suddenly get flashbacks of 3rd grade science flim strips with deadly insects. Remember those?

So, one bad luck event after another, but really in the grand scheme of things - we are so excited and are REALLY looking forward to the weekend when we can continue to unpack and slowly continue to settle in. The Terminix guy comes tonight, the movers are going to have our furniture fixed (other than the desk), and we are SO thankful to be in a bigger house with a backyard for Max. He is LOVING it!! I'll try to post more pics eventually....

Geof gets back in town tonight and we have nothing much going on this weekend other than the Titans game Sunday (woohoo!). So, it's paint and unpacking time for the Vickers!!!!!!! Here's a pic of the dining room. My favorite room of the house. I can't wait to get a table and a chandelier. Some day. If you look close, you can see the gray color over the pantry door in the kitchen.....love it!

Need Help Deciding!

2008-08-19T08:39:00.000-07:00

Okay all you creative interior design people, I need some help! I need to decide on a paint color for my kitchen and living room area in the new house. I bought a gorgeous piece to be the focus of the living room (probably above the mantle) - and I'd like to go from there. Found it in Canton. It is 4' x 4'. Huge and gorgeous!

Here are some pictures of the living room and kitchen area of the new house. These were taken when we first walked thru this house. The kitchen cabinets are not this cherry in person - more of a brown. We have a large tan sectional and I'd like to have turquoise accent pillows, etc.. I need to decide on a paint color asap. Let me know what you think!! Oh, and we'll also have dark hardwoods put in too. By the way, the turquoise piece barely fits over the mantle. I'm open for other suggestions too if you have them...

Help me decide on a paint color...please!!! :) I don't want to do the usual beige or light tan color. BORING.

1701 Hickory Bark Lane

2008-07-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

Closing Date = August 27th.

No, this does NOT mean we are ready to have kids. Not ready for that yet people!! I'm not ready to be a suburban soccer mom just yet.

House Hunting and Ball Gowns

2008-07-14T14:32:00.000-07:00

Friday night we went to the Carbolic Ball. It is basically a big formal charity event that the Nashville Bar Association puts on. We went with a few of Geof's friends and then met up with some others at the Parthanon (where the event was). It was a good time, and I got to dress up. I seriously felt like I was at prom - but with an open bar. :) Not the best quality pic, but it was the only picture I had without my hanger thingies hanging out of my dress. Ugh. Do you know what I'm talking about. Those long ribbons that you hang your halter dresses on the hangers with? Yep - all of the pictures I took (other than this one) had those long ribbons hanging out on the side. Why didn't anyone tell me? Geez.

Our Saturday was busy as well. We went with our realtor to look at a few houses. Found some good ones, but not quite exactly what we're looking for. We are getting closer though... We're going again tomorrow at noon to look at two more. I'll keep you posted if we really love something. I'm taking my camera too just in case. As for the townhouse, we're hoping to lease it at the end of the summer. Say a prayer! This poor dog needs a yard!

Disney World adventure!

2008-07-08T13:00:00.000-07:00

What a GREAT weekend we had in the magical world of Disney! We got there Thursday around noon and didn't stop until we got back on a plane Sunday night. Whew!! It wasn't near as crowded as we expected, and the weather was perfect! Hot at times, but mostly overcast and a bit muggy. We got to do everything we wanted to do and had planned to do (all four major parks), plus some things two and three times! Katie and David had a BLAST! Here are a few of my favorite pics...

We stayed at the AWESOME Wilderness Lodge - one of the Magic Kingdom resorts.

Splash Mountain - John S is in the navy shirt and next to him is Katie. Sarah and David are behind them. The whole family rode this the first time our first night there, and mom and dad ended up on the FRONT where they were both soaked!! (see family picture below)...

The highlight for David was meeting Buzz Lightyear at Epcot of course.

We'll miss you, Disney World!!!

Summer is upon us!!

2008-06-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

Summer is definitely here!! The weather has finally warmed up here in Nashville to the 90s. I've been to the YMCA pool once, and Max has enjoyed a little R&R in his pool too. Anything to keep cool!

Here are a few pictures from our summer so far. The Chicago trip went well and we got some great pics. The Cubs game was the big highlight of course. And eating Chicago pizza at Gino's too! YUM!

We are getting ready to head to Kansas City to visit Geof's parents. Looking forward to it!! Then Disney World with my family in July... and wedding activities for my brother in August and September... going to be a busy summer! I'll try to post pictures as we roll along...

Who ME?

2008-05-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of what our Weimaraner (Max) does to pass the time away if we are late getting home.... I got home later than normal a couple weeks ago and he apparently was frustrated. He was knee deep in cotton stuffing. This used to be his bed...Is that a look of guilt or what?!

Horse Races, Birthdays, and Vacations, Oh My!

2008-05-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

May is the month of chaos! It is full of exciting times every year! Earlier this month, Geof and I went to Steeplechase here in Nashville. It is basically like Kentucky Derby, but on a much smaller scale. The women still get dressed up in big hats and heels though. Geof's firm rented a big tour bus / motor coach for the day and had everything catered. It was a GREAT time! Here we are with our friends Ken and Shelley. Ken works at the firm with Geof.

My birthday was last Friday. Geof and I both took most of the day off together. We went to lunch and then to an afternoon movie. We saw the new Narnia movie - great! Not as good as the first one, but I still loved it. The next evening, he took me to a nice dinner, but when we got there several of our friends were there to surprise me! It was perfect! And for my birthday, I got the new Nikon D60 camera. AMAZING!!! I cannot wait to break it in!!

We leave at 5am Saturday morning and head to Indianapolis, IN. Geof's best friend Kris and his wife Heather live there. So excited to see them!! We'll hang out with them Saturday and then the four of us will drive to Chicago Sunday for an extended weekend. We'll be back in Nashville Wednesday. I can't wait to go to my first Cubs game! And we are also excited to see Heather pregnant with her first baby! And I'm excited to have some great time with Geof.

Happy Memorial Weekend!! Be safe, everyone.

Texas fun!

2008-04-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

I was down in Texas for Easter back when John David got engaged, and I realized I never posted Easter pics. Here is one from Easter morning.

Last weekend we actually surprised everyone by showing up in Texas again for David's bday party! He had a "cowboy" party! It was so much fun!! The weekend also included two baseball games - one for Katie and one for David. It was busy, busy!! We had a great time. Here are some pics...

Nana and Pop gave David some new "George Strait" jeans!! And a real belt buckle and new shirt! Amanda and Geof gave him a cowboy dress up costume (he wore it to his party)...

Baseball time!!
Until next time.... have a great week!

Wedding Bells...

2008-03-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

Well, if you haven't heard by now - my brother got engaged Saturday! He and Lindsay were going to meet my sister and the kids at the Dallas Arboretum to have a picnic and take Easter pictures. Little did Lindsay know... he was going to propose to her!! She was apparently SHOCKED and so excited. Both families met for lunch at the Arboretum and congratulated the couple, etc. And little did they know - I was there too! It was a big surprise for John David. I had been helping him plan the engagement all week and then I walked up at the picnic. I wish you could have seen the look on his face when he saw me!! Anyway - here are some pictures from the afternoon...

Not a very good pic of the ring (she had it on backwards so you can't see the front diamonds)...but it is absolutely GORGEOUS! He did good! They are hoping for late October wedding in the Dallas area. No details yet....

We have great pics of Easter too! I'll send those as soon as Sarah sends them to me. She's the one with the great camera!

There's No Place Like Home..

2008-03-13T10:39:00.001-07:00

Well, we are back from NYC! The weather (for the most part) was miserable. Cold, VERY windy, and pouring rain. However! It was a wonderful trip!! I was able to see some old friends from ACU, take Geof around to see the sights, get some shopping in, and we even caught 5th row center seats for the Broadway musical, WICKED. (my new favorite by the way). Stephanie J. Block played the lead, and if you haven't heard her sing "Defining Gravity" - look it up on youtube!!! We did go to Ground Zero and see the plans for the World Trade Center Memorial. They are still working on those enormous holes where the towers stood. It was unreal. And we actually caught them removing the very last staircase from the sight to take to a museum. The media was everywhere. It was a pretty surreal experience. And one of my favorite nights was when we went to the Village Vanguard to hear the Lou Donaldson Quartet w/ Lonnie Smith on organ. Whew!!! Loved it!

Here are pictures from our trip. I was glad to get home and see Max on Monday!!

We had a fun time, but I'm glad to be home!! John David and his girlfriend, Lindsay will be here visiting us tonight thru Monday. Can't wait!!! I'm sure I'll have pictures and such to share later next week... have a fun weekend!

Bring on the Big Apple!

2008-03-05T07:21:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been out of the blog world for quite some time! Things with us are good!

A lot has happened in the way of a new church search. We have met with our elders at OC and decided that they are our family. That church is our home and we are going to stick with it. Very exciting to finally have closure on everything! It was so wonderful to see so many family faces at church this past Sunday.

We leave today for a small vacation to New York City. Bring on the shopping and the theatre! Geof will be in a conference all day Thursday and half of Friday, so I'll visit friends and shop, etc. Thursday night we have tickets to the Village Vanguard. Very famous jazz club that has been around since like 1935. I am so excited! Our friend Josh suggested that I absolutely must go. There is apparently a great quartet playing that night with an unbelievable organist too. YAY!!!! We don't have a lot of other activities planned, but we'll probably do dinner at the Rainbow Room and then go to the top of Rockefeller to the "Top of the Rock" for a great view of Manhattan. Other than that, we might see a Broadway show or two of course. It's supposed to be yucky rainy weather, but that won't stop me from shopping and enjoying the city! Hope to post pictures eventually....

"Start spreading the news - I'm leaving today...."

On The Mend

2008-01-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

Well, Max came thru the surgery just fine! It was definitely a rock the size of a small egg. He lost almost 10 lbs, so when we picked him up Monday night it was a bit scary to see how skinny he was. However, his appetite is definitely back and his energy is almost as high as it was before. So, we are on the mend for sure! Here is a picture with him all cuddled up and ready for bed last night.

On another note - we are officially about to put our townhouse up for sale next week. Please keep this in your prayers. We really cannot afford to take a hit on this financially. As it looks now, we might really have to. We have a great realtor that we have worked with before. Praying for a miracle!! Hoping that someone will come along and say "I don't care what it costs! I want it!" ha!! Keeping it clean for guests.... now THAT will be a challenge as well. I'll keep you posted!

The Vickers Adventures - Part XIII

2008-01-23T11:59:00.000-08:00

It seems like every time we turn around, we are met with a new adventure! Whether it is a positive or negative adventure, it seems to always be something dramatic. (I know, IMAGINE).

This week, it is with our Weimaraner, Max. Yes, again. If you haven't figured out by now, he is much like his daddy in that he is prone to accidents or surgery or some sort of incident quite often. The past two weeks I have noticed him not wanting to eat. He seems to be depressed as well - not wanting to take walks, just wants to lay down and sleep, etc. He has not been his hyper self. And he has lost quite a bit of weight. Last night we called our vet. Long story short... he did Xrays on Max this morning and found that Max has swallowed a rock the size of an egg. Yes, people. The - size - of - an - egg!! So, Max is going into surgery in the morning to have them remove the rock or item from his stomach. Then they'll keep him for a clinical trial for new post surgery pain meds. He'll be there for 4 days after surgery to be monitored for this trial. Say a prayer for the little guy! I want him to be fully recovered and back to being Max again really soon!!

Taking A Break

2007-12-20T12:30:00.001-08:00

You know, there are so many reasons to take a break. And I'm not just talking about vacation. Taking a break can be SO healthy and so renewing. Whether it is taking a break and going on vacation, or just simply taking 15 minutes during the day to pause and re-group.

Tis the season for taking a break! Geof and I have decided to take a break from our church. I've been there since I moved to Nashville almost 6 years ago. Geof and I have decided to take a break and find a place where we can make more "young married" friends and be more involved. Everyone in the young married group either has kids or is barely out of college. We've been wrestling with leaving OC for several months for various reasons - and this past week we have decided the time is now. Please be in prayer as we shop around. God might lead us right back to OC, but we want to have the wisdom to know where to go. Taking a break is a wonderful thing!

Speaking of taking a break, we leave Saturday and head to Kansas City for Christmas!! YAY!!!

The Christmas concert was AWESOME!! So much fun!! It was great to see my family too. Here are a few pictures...

Merry Christmas!!!

....p.s. Happy Birthday AMY!!!

Weekend Here We Come!

2007-12-13T13:35:00.000-08:00

The weekend is almost here!! I am so ready! This has been one of the hardest weeks of my life, so I'm ready to celebrate a weekend with all the girls! Everyone gets in town around 6p tomorrow night and then we'll head out to a nice dinner. Saturday I'm sure we'll have to do some shopping. I have a rehearsal for the big Christmas concert, so they can do most of their shopping without me. :) Sunday night is the big show - should be really fun! I'm ready for it and ready for it to be over with too. The time has come to moooove on.

So, an update on Geof's bad luck from last week... Geof's car was officially totalled. He bought a used 2006 Audi yesterday. It's gorgeous and he got a great deal on it. So, he's in "lala" land over it of course. I'd still take my 4runner over a car any day - but that's just me. Our insurance company is taking "action" against the lady that hit Geof. Not only did she not have car insurance, but she didn't have a license. Good times. She should go to jail. Merry Christmas.

We took our Christmas card pictures last weekend. Here is an early glimpse. I thought they turned out great.

Until next time... happy weekend!!

Bad Luck

2007-12-07T09:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we've decided that Geof has a gray cloud hanging over his head this week. This past Saturday he had another bike wreck. It wasn't too major. His chain locked up on him again, so he flew off the bike and skid across the pavement pretty hard. He landed on his knee cap, so he busted up his knee pretty bad (nothing broken). And the road rash on his backside was really bad, but is already healing. So, he was limping around for a few days... He says he's done with cycling for a while. He is frustrated to say the least.
Tuesday evening he was driving home from work when a lady rear-ended him on I-24. She never slowed down. He was not hurt, but we think his car is totaled. Should find out Monday. We just finished paying off that car. And if that isn't enough, here's the kicker - his $4000 bike was in the trunk. Squashed. The trunk couldn't be opened. We have great car insurance - not sure yet if they'll cover the bike. Unfortunately, the stupid lady didn't have car insurance. Our insurance company is going after her for sure!! She will be in big trouble. For the love. Merry Christmas.

Mom, Aunt Sandy, Connie, Kellie, Sarah, and Mimi are all taking a girls trip to Nashville to see me sing in the Christmas concert next weekend. Should be a fun time!! I cannot wait!

I don't have any new pictures to share right now, but hope to soon. Max is doing well. He's at doggie daycamp today, which means we will have a nice and calm weekend. They wear him out so hard at daycamp! He comes home and sleeps for days. Love it.

Happy Friday!!

2007-11-12T11:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it's been 4 months since my last post. Let's see... what is new with us... Thanksgiving is just around the corner! Yay!! My favorite holiday. The Fall leaves in Nashville are just now starting to change. With the awful drought we had this summer, everything was either delayed or dead from the lack of rain. Usually the Fall in Tennessee is the most beautiful around mid October. And here it is November and things are just now turning. The weather is also perfect though. High 50s. Great football weather! Speaking of football...

How about the COWBOYS!!! Woohoo!!

For Thanksgiving this year, we'll be flying into Dallas and then driving to Tyler with my brother to spend turkey day with my family. Christmas will be spent in Kansas City with Geof's family this year.

Here are some pictures I took of Max back in October. He is such a big boy now!! And yes, still growing...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Home Sweet Home

2007-07-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

Well, we are back in the real world. France was awesome! I'm glad to be home, but not glad to be back in the swing of work and real world "stuff". Here are a few pictures from our trip... we took over 400 pics, so this does not even do it justice. Throw me a comment or email if you want the link to all 400.

Our villa we rented out and our pool...

This is Geof when we went to the beach. Gorgeous beach!

Sunflower fields were everywhere!

Lavender fields everywhere!
Wine tour...

2007-07-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's been a while. What a summer so far! I had a wonderful trip to Tyler back in June. My parents new house is gorgeous!! Here is a picture with me and the kiddos on the back deck.

They were all up here in Nashville the weekend before July 4th. We had a GREAT time! We rented a pontoon boat and jet ski and headed out to the lake. The weather was perfect and we all had so much fun. Sarah made homemade butterfinger ice cream. Um, there are no words. WOW! Then July 4th my good friend Josh Lawrence and his wife, Amy, came to visit from Texarkana. We also had a blast! Heard some great music. I wish I could get them to move up here!!

You may be wondering about our dog, Max. He is doing much better! In fact, we sent him off to professional training for a month. He has been gone since the end of June and we'll get him back when we return from vacation at the end of July. I do miss him! Here is a pretty good picture I took of him before he headed out to school.

So now, Geof and I are preparing for FRANCE! I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. You can go here to see the pictures of our villa we are staying in with friends. Geof's friend, Stephen, and his wife Robin rented out the entire villa. Should be an amazing time. http://www.justfrance.com/properties/pvu50.html In case you can't get the website to open, here is one picture taken from the pool area. We leave before the sun comes on Friday morning. Friday, the 13th. Perfect.

Until I blog again.... Chow!

What A Weekend

2007-05-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a weekend. We had a great time with my parents being here. Mom did really well with Max, the pup. Max was fairly calm around them and did great! However... Monday morning when I tried to get him out of his cage to go outside, he couldn't walk. After a couple trips that day to the ER, they decided that the big bag of fluid hanging from his belly was caused by a possible blood vessel that was bleeding. He was in so much pain and running 103 fever. I was so worried! I told Geof that I don't think I can ever have kids if I get this bent out of shape over a dog. Anyway - Tuesday morning we took Max to our normal vet where they admitted him into their hospital there. He's doing better and we should have him back on Thursday. Here is a picture I took of him with my phone on Monday night after his second trip to the ER.

Other devastating news... very close friends of my extended family were in a car wreck Monday. They were on their way to the lakehouse in Texas when the 16 year old driving ran off the road a little bit and then over corrected the wheel. The suburban flipped 3 times, killing his younger brother (13) and seriously injuring his older sister (18) that had to be life flighted and almost bled out. His parents were not injured. The grandparents and other family members were driving in the car behind them, so they witnessed the entire thing. Out of respect, I will not give any more details about the family. Please just be in serious prayer for them as they deal with the loss and with the guilt that I cannot even imagine. What a weekend.

Bring On The Weekend!

2007-05-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well, today is Thursday the 24th and a lot has happened since my last post. I turned 28 years old for one thing. Wow... getting up there. ha! Actually, I love it. Had a great birthday. My department here at work usually has a little party and we get our favorite dessert, etc. Well, since I'm on a diet right now and doing well on it, I decided to opt for fruit instead of cake. Shocking, I know. Normally I'd go with the all time favorite- Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake. I didn't want to blow the diet though, so I went with a big tray of fruit and it was wonderful! That night I went out with some girlfriends and had dinner and drinks. Here is a picture... you might recognize the two girls beside me. The girl on the left is Lea (that dress makes her look prego, but she's not- ha!)... and Lauren is on the right. They are my two best buds here in Nash. Lea is moving the second weekend of June back to the Dallas area. I am so bummed. She's been in Nash for 11 years. Just another reason for me to visit Texas. :)

So this past weekend Geof did awesome in his bike races! He got 5th in the road race on Saturday and got 4th in the Crit on Sunday. So exciting!! He's doing so well. This coming weekend is the biggest race of them all. This year it is downtown Nashville. My parents will be here for it. A lot of people from church are coming to cheer him on as well. Over 500 cyclists have entered the race. It's going to be unreal. Say a prayer that he doesn't get hurt.

So things here are great! Max is undergoing surgery right this very moment. He's getting the "snip snip" as well as getting micro-chipped and having his tail corrected. The vet that docked his tail when he was born did a horrible job, so we are having to correct that. Anyway - he'll be home tomorrow afternoon. Say a prayer for my mother. She's going to have an all out psychotic breakdown when she sees how big and hyper this dog is. Bring on the weekend!

Like Father, Like Son

2007-05-14T12:45:00.000-07:00

Had to share this hilarious picture with you! The other day Geof and I were having breakfast on the deck. Geof walked over to look out at the construction going on below us, and Max walked right behind him and imitated him. This was not staged. It was an absolute perfect picture moment!!

He won!

2007-05-09T06:17:00.000-07:00

Geof had a race this past Sunday in McMinnville, TN. After the first few laps, he turned a sharp corner and clipped his pedal. This caused him to of course skid across the pavement. Yes, again. Luckily, he only had road rash on his leg, hip and arm - so no broken bones. And he sure did jump back up and keep racing too! Long story short, he won the race!!! It was so exciting! Of all the races I have been to, I have never seen him win - so it was really neat Here is a picture that one of the photographers took. They are going MUCH faster than they look!

We are really looking forward to seeing Geof's parents. They will be here Friday afternoon. His mom is going to stay until the following Friday. They lived here for several years, so it will be great for her to see all her friends and get away from the yucky weather in Kansas right now. Although... it's supposed to storm here all next week. Yuck. Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share after the week is over.

Until next time...

Vacation Anyone?

2007-05-02T11:31:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or could we all use a vacation?! Good grief. I am having some serious Spring Fever or something. When the weather is sunny and gorgeous outside, it is so difficult for me to go to work and sit inside all day long. Ugh. Someone fly me somewhere!

On Saturdays, we have enjoyed taking Max to the dog park. Here are some fairly recent pictures of him. I love that everyone puts pics of their kids on their blog, but I have a pic of my dog. Hilarious. We like to call him our "kid in training". And let me tell you, he is getting HUGE. Over 40 lbs now and almost 5 months old. And strong and smart as ever! Notice his new collar. I love it!!

Dove Awards

2007-04-27T09:03:00.000-07:00

So... not a lot to report - that is why I rarely post by the way. A couple fun things....

The trip to Destin was fabulous! It was so beautiful down there. I'm ready to go back!! I'm just ready for summer really. Especially because it is freezing in my office right now and I want to be outside in the sun. Anyway...

Tuesday night I sang at the Dove Awards. Or danced around... or whatever you want to call it. My friend Lea and I were asked to be in the big gospel choir that backed up TobyMac, Kirk Franklin and Mandisa's performance. They opened the show with their performance of "Lose My Soul". We grooved down the aisle about mid way thru the song and stood in the aisles and sang and danced and it was so much fun! Green choir robes and everything people!!! At first I thought, gosh this is going to be embarrassing b/c I know so many of the artists and industry people there. But, then I figured ' who cares ' I'm having a blast! And it was really fun for that short minute and a half. :) Wish I had a picture of it. It's a good song too. You can hear it on Mandisa's myspace page.

Have a great weekend!

BEACH TIME!

2007-04-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well, Geof and I are headed to the beach tomorrow morning! His firm is having their retreat in Destin, FL this year and they are paying for everyone and their spouse to come down. I am so excited! All expenses paid - even deep sea fishing! I know, I know... take some dramamine. I will!

Other news... found out yesterday that I've been promoted to MANAGER! That brings a really big raise along with it, so I'm super excited about that!!

Our weimaraner puppy, Max, is doing great. He's going to be boarded this weekend while we are in Destin. Sort of worried about it b/c he's never really been around other dogs or people very much yet. He's 4 months. And getting HUGE by the way. I'll try to post some pictures that I took last month. Imagine him even bigger now though. He has grown so much more since I took these pictures.

Okay, so only one picture turned out. He really is much bigger now. Anyway...

Here is a picture of Katie and David at Easter. So precious!!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!! I'm off to Destin!

Post Weekend Blues

2007-03-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well, my sister and brother came in town Friday! We had a WONDERFUL time!! Went out for Mexican food with friends Friday night, went shopping on Saturday, movie on Sunday, etc. We saw "The Last King of Scotland". I highly recommend this movie! It was unbelievable! Forest Whitaker is phenomenal!! Way to represent East Texas!! woohoo!!
Anyway, so now I have the post weekend blues. I took Sarah and JD to the airport this morning and have been moping around ever since. Work is fairly slow today, so that makes things even more blah.
On a more upbeat note... I got a laptop this weekend! I bought a new white Macbook and I love it! It has a camera built in, so I can now talk to my niece and nephew online via camera phone. It is so much fun!! I will say that it will take me a while to get used to the Mac since things are set up very differently. But overall, it is much faster and much more up-to-date than anything else. Love it!

School Out for Tornado Warning?

2007-03-01T13:45:00.000-08:00

What on earth? On my lunch break, I headed over to the vet to buy Max some shampoo. While I was there, I overheard a lady say that they let out schools due to a tornado warning. What in the world? The state of Tennessee never ceases to amaze me. I guess living in Texas for so long, I got used to the tornado sirens going off all the time - and we'd all just cover our heads and wait it out. I cannot imagine sending a bunch of kids on a school bus with a possible tornado out there somewhere! I swear, this state lets kids out of school if it rains hard! Oh well.. lucky kids!

Tomorrow is the day!! My sister and brother are coming to visit! Lots of fun!! YAY!! Gosh, I hope the "tornado" is gone by then. ha!

Hurry Up Friday!

2007-02-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

Geof got word late yesterday that the dog that attacked him has been brought into animal control for 10 days of quarantine. Animal Control has decided to press charges against the owner. YAY!! I'm tempted to post pictures of Geof's bite, but don't want to gross you out. Instead, I'll post a recent picture of me with Max! And another picture from this past weekend of Max sitting on his spot in the living room. He is really growing fast! His training is really going great! The biting has still not stopped, but the vet told us we need to keep being patient with that. Sheesh. I'm ready for this stage to pass!

I am so excited about the weekend!!! My sister and brother are coming to town! Not sure yet what the big plan is, but we are going to go out with our friends Jeremiah and maybe Kyle. Probably hit up Casa Fiesta and maybe a trendy bar after that. I can't wait for them to see Max too! Friday needs to hurry up and get here!

Foaming At The Mouth

2007-02-26T07:58:00.000-08:00

Geof was doing his regular Saturday morning ride with his teammates this weekend when he was attacked by a dog. Yes. Attacked by a dog - cross between a bull mastiff and a big boxer. Huge dog. He got a big chunk of his upper thigh as Geof was riding down the road. He and his buddies went to the owner's house (aka white trash redneck) after calling the sheriff and animal control. The lady apologized, etc. and as Geof is standing there talking to her, the dog runs up and bites him AGAIN! So, she got the dog inside and just before the sheriffs arrive, the lady flees the scene. Go figure. She left the dog inside with her kids (yes, with her kids) and drove off. Because of some ridiculous law, the sheriff could not enter the house if the owner was not home. The kids would not answer the door of course and animal control had no way of getting the dog if it was inside the house. SOOOO................ Animal control is still in the process of going back to the house to get the dog. The neighbors doubt that it has had it's shots. Geof is going to continue bugging them b/c that dog needs to be put down. If not, then my dad and brother have both decided to come up and "shoot the dog between the eyes." Ha! So, either way the dog will pay. Geof's buddies are trying to get him to press charges. We'll see...

He has three puncture wounds. Two to his upper thigh where the dog had his mouth around him, and one to his lower leg where the dog bit him again as he was standing at the door with the owner. We have taken lots of pictures and it looks horrible. Just like something off of ER. He feels okay and is on a lot of medicine and had to get a painful shot and painful treatment to the wounds. But he was back on his bike the next day. So, he's doing okay. Right now I'm just sleeping with one eye open in case he starts foaming at the mouth. :-)

2007-02-23T14:10:00.000-08:00

So Geof and I bought a puppy about three weeks ago. He is absolutely precious. A silver Weimaraner. GREAT dogs! Very, very smart. Easy to train. However, they tend to be super hyper if not exercised enough. I am determined to have a wonderful dog. You know, "that" dog. We all have friends who have "that" dog - the dog where all the owner has to do is look at him and he knows exactly where his place is and what to do. I want "that" dog. Good luck, right? Anyway, he is 7 weeks old in this picture. He is already getting big. He'll get to be about 75-80 lbs. Whew! Good times in the Vickers house!