American Idol Tour 2009

So this past weekend, my friend Paula & I drove to Little Rock to visit our friend Betsy. We've all been friends since elementary school and we always have a great time when we're together! This weekends visit was no exception. We had a full agenda, and managed to get almost everything done. Our main reason for the visit was Betsy's birthday, and that the American Idol Tour just happened to be in Little Rock at the same time. We bought our tickets for the concert back in April (before we even know who the winner would be) and have been anticipating it since then. All of us are HUGE fans of the show and we all liked different people which makes it more fun! Betsy digs Anoop, I'm a Kris & Danny fan and Paula loves her some Adam Lambert (for reasons I will never understand). Betsy called me a week before we came down and told me she had all these plans for us to be at certain places and certain times and we WERE going to meet the contestants. I didn't really believe her and being a "stalker" really isn't my thing, so I was a little hesitant..but oh well, it was her Birthday weekend so I was game for anything! So Saturday..the day of the concert we had heard through the grapevine (aka twitter) that the contestants come out after their sound check for signings and pictures. We were already downtown so we were like lets swing by and if anybody is there, we will stop! Well we sat in a no parking zone for about 10 mins. and sure enough out walks Matt Giraud. We were stoked. We hoped out of the car (of course Susannah moved out of the no parking zone), and went to get in line with about 20 other people. After Matt came out, so did Danny, Michael and Megan. They were all SO nice and just seemed really appreciative to have fans waiting for them. It was about 180 degrees outside and no one else came out so after much deliberation and a huge debate about whether or not to wait on Anoop, we decided to leave because we had other stuff we needed to do. We ran to the mall, went and checked into the Peabody, and then got ready for the show. I've never been to and AI concert before, but it was FANTASTIC! I was so amazed by all the contestants they all did a really great job! My favorites were of course Danny, Matt & Kris. Kris' set was AMAZING! The crowd gave him a standing ovation and yelled for about 5 mins. It was great, and as cheesy as it sounds, I was really proud of him being a fellow Arkansan and all. After the show we decided we were going to wait out by the tour buses. The line was forever long and I was not excited. However, Betsy & Susannah being the girls they are just marched us right to the front of the line, and there we waited for the rest to come out. First came Matt, Michael, Danny & Scott. We'd already met all but Scott so we were excited to see him. Then came Allison (she wasn't too nice), then came Adam and the crowd went CRAZY! I couldn't help but laugh. People LOVE some Adam. I'm not a huge fan, but I was glad he came out for Paula. Then Anoop came and Betsy was so excited however he went to the other side. Boo. We tried our best to convince her that he was going to go to both sides, but he totally didn't. It was a huge let down, and she was pretty bummed, but then walks about Kris Allen so we all got really excited! He was so nice, and just genuinely thankful to people. He signed Betsy's iPhone, and then we left. Overall it was a great night and I was so glad I got to experience such a fun night with some of my closest friends! Looking forward to Season 10!

Easter

Easter came and went really fast this year. We had a great celebration at the church. I also had the joy of going over to Blake and Mal's house to dye Easter eggs with the fam. We had fun!

New York, New York

New York was way different than I expected, but in a good way. I didn't think that I would feel that much different than I did when I was in any other big city but I really did. New York is so fast paced and really uptight. However, we did meet some really great people!. I'm once again reminded of how much I love living in NWA! Enjoy the pictures from the trip!

Here we come NYC

Dark and early tomorrow morning a group of 51 students and adults from church are headed to the Big Apple for a week long mission project. While we are there we will be serving in soup kitchens, participating in worship with addicted teens, visiting fire houses, working in the World Vision store house, and having lunch with senior citizens and the Burden Center for Aging. While we are there my prayer is that the students & adults are broken completely by God and that He uses us to our fullest potential for the Kingdom.

I'm a little nervous about our trip. Not only because we are traveling with such a large group, but because this is all new to me. I've never been to NYC, and the unknown always makes me uneasy. Of course my excitement for the things God has in store is greater than any fear or nervousness I have. While we're there, not only will be helping other but we get to do some pretty cool stuff too. We will be visiting the Statue of Liberty/ Ellis Island, Empire State Building, taking a walking tour of China Town, Ground Zero, and Wall Street. We also get to see a Broadway show. Some of the group is going to see Phantom of the Opera and the others are seeing Mary Poppins. I'm in the group seeing Phantom, but I am sure both will be exceptional.

I'll blog all about the trip when I get home, but until then please join me in praying for the following things:

• Safety of our team
• Patience, quick thinking, wisdom, and guidance for our leaders
• That the students/ adults going will truly allow God to use us as His hands and feet
• That our adults will be able to build lasting relationships with our students & students with each other
• We are able to get as much for the people we meet as they will hopefully get from us
• All going will keep a servants heart and that there is a little shock factor with the things we do.

I'm off to finish packing only 8 hours until I have to be at the church, but before I sign off I need to shout out a big Happy Birthday to my nephew Hagen. The little guy is turning 6 tomorrow and I won't get to celebrate with him! I know he will have a great day in Dallas with the fam!
Happy Birthday Hago! I love you!

Has it really been that long?

I was reading random blogs today and I realized that I had not posted in some time. If I in fact do have readers. Sorry. Because my last post was in January, I'll some up my February for you.

The apartment above mine was shot up.
Super Bowl Party at church
I got out of my lease at Chapel Ridge.
Moved in with Sam and Corey til I could find a new place.
Mallary had a birthday. We celebrated at Noodles...yum.
Hagen had a Valentines program at school. He's a spaz, and it was funny.
Watched Hagen, Reese and Olivia one afternoon we made cupcakes. Oh My!
I finally switched from Alltel to AT&T. I know.
I went and saw Avenue Q at the WAC. It was completely inappropriate but really funny!
Samantha had a birthday. We had a ballerina Rick's Cake. Delish!
My parents came to visit with my granny.
I moved into my new apartment. Clear Creek. They are nicer. I feel safe.
I ordered a king cake from Rick's for Mardi Gras. The baby was on the outside of the cake. Boo.
Lent started. I gave up facebook. I am having withdraws.
I went to Tulsa with the 8th Graders. It was very tiring. They have a lot of energy.

Well, now that it's mid March maybe I will post about it in April. Hopefully sooner. I leave for NYC in a day. I don't even know what to pack, but I'm ready to go.

Ice

Hey guess what, the bathroom light doesn't work!

Because of the ice storm of the century to hit Northwest Arkansas, Sam & Corey's (and everyone else in Springdale's) electricity went out for about 36 hours. It was an adventure, but if it would have been out much longer I was going to SCREAM! One can only read and play Yahtzee by candlelight for so long. The funny thing is we all kept going into rooms and turning on light switches, out of habbit I guess. We finally got sick of being in the dark so we went to Blake and Mallary's, who were fortunate enough to have electricity. After we were there about an hour, their power went out. Needless to say it was quite an adventure, but one I never want to partake in ever again! Corey's survival kit. They only had hazelnut, fresh linen, strawberry kiwi, and mandarin cranberry candles left at Wal*Mart, it smelled like a fruit salad in this house!
Our source of light for Tuesday evening.

Who would of thought you would ever cook mac-n-cheese on the grill?

Another source of light for the night.

We pulled out mattresses and slept in the living room around the fire so we wouldn't freeze!