How The Bush Grows

This weekend Tanner and Nichole were out of town for a wedding so we got to keep the kids for a while. We had a great time on Saturday taking the kids to the McWane Center. Both Taylor and Bella were super sweet and very well behaved. It was so nice getting to hang out with them and spend some quality time with the kids. Later that night we went over to the Bush’s and helped Susan with the kids as she did dinner and baths. I got to hold sweet little Marjorie Ann. (Now my arms are really sore…) We just love our little kideos and are so thankful that they are in our lives!

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Today we met Nana and Papa T at Cracker Barrel for dinner. After a long day at work it was so nice to get to take a break and meet up with everyone.  Gary, Susan, Kyler Felicia, Eric and I all joined Nana and Papa T as they  stopped by on their way to the beach. We can’t wait to meet back up with them again but this time it will be in Destin!

Well this week has been the week of concerts. On Monday we had Dave Mathews and then tonight we went and saw Wilco.  Dana, Jonny, Eric and I all got together to see one of my all time favorite bands. They were playing at Sloss Furnace. The music was great but the setup was not good at all. We all agreed that Gary T. needed to head over there and lend his services and get that place in shape. Perhaps if I could have actually seen the stage I would have had a better time. But on the way out we were driving over the bridge that passes over Sloss and for the first time of the night I saw the band. So we pulled over on the side of the bridge and took a couple of pics and watched them play their encore.

Tonight was so much fun. Eric and I met Nichole, Tanner, Kacie, and Jordan at Two Pesos for a delicious Mexican Dinner then we headed on over to Verizon Ampheater for the Dave Mathews Concert. Gary was so nice to hook us up with an awesome Box Seat. Dave Mathews played every song we could have wanted and we had a very fun time getting to hang out with everyone. After the concert we went to IHOP for a late night snack. That in itself was another adventure. Below are some pictures from our fun night…

This week was a very great week. Even though I had to work until 10:30 on my actual birthday there were plenty other great activities that made up for it. The week kicked off last Friday when we went to my parents and had the Birthday/Easter celebration. Then on my birthday eve we went to the pet store and got me a new fish for work. On my birthday I took a break at work for dinner and Eric and I grabbed dinner at Broadway’s, one of my all time favorite restaurants. On Friday we went up to the summit and went birthday shopping at Urban Outfitters, got a new cookbook at Barnes and Noble, then saw an awesome birthday movie “State of Play”. Saturday we went to a beautiful wedding  for Cassidy at Aldridge Gardens and got to catch up a bit with old high school friends. Then today we went and met the Bush Family for a final Birthday Lunch at the Tavern. It was very delicious and great to hang out with everyone. Below are some pics of our fun lunch.

Thank you all for helping me have a very blessed birthday. I am so appreciative for  you all making me feel so special.

Recently Kendall had to do a school project for her family studies class and was asking a bunch of questions of why I was happy to be in this stage of my life. So in honor of my quarter century birthday I thought I would be cool to jot down the top 25 Reasons I am happy to be 25. Most of them are just random thoughts but it will give you a look into the things I am extremely grateful for.

25. I love Chick-fil-a Icecream and I can eat it every day and no one can tell me not to. Well on this note I love eating all things at all hours of the day.

24. I finally know exactly what music I like. No more trying to figure out what my music taste is.

23. I kinda know how to cook now. (Well I have mastered about 5 dishes if you count chicken fingers, fries, and things like that.)

22. I love that I have a husband that will bring me home two of my favorite guilty pleasures all the time…Gossip Magazines and Red Hots.

21. I love that the Wallabies that I got in the 8th grade still fit and so super comfortable that I still wear them around all the time.

20. I love that I still get to sleep late on the weekends and don’t feel like too big of a bum because I am only 25.

19. I know what clothes I like to wear…No more dressing in outfits because others are wearing it or it is “in style”. I have found my style and like it.

18. I have a system and a schedule for running the household chores and all the tweaks have been worked out so it works for us. For example we only do laundry every other Sunday- so it doesn’t constantly feel like I am always folding clothes.

17. I love that I am finished with school and married and have closed that guessing game chapter of my life, so I don’t have to worry about what I am going to do when I grow up…But still young enough where I can still dream about what I am going to do when I grow up too.

16. I love going to see movies just about every week with Eric over the past 4 years…Pretty crazy seeing that I could have counted all the movies I saw in the theater on one hand before I met him. But there is something so very special about going to get a coffee and catching the midnight showing of a movie with only a couple other night owls in the audience with you.

15. I am excited that I only have completed one quarter of my life and I have at least three quarters of this life left to live.

14. I feel like I have mastered the whole pet thing. I can finally keep my reptiles, frogs, fish, etc alive and happy.  I am especially proud because I feel like I have raised a pretty cool, well behaved, Super sweet dog. (I guess the next step is kids. Hopefully I will just as confident in how I raised them in my to 50 at 50 Blog post- or whatever we will have then.)

13. I have learned the importance of tithing and how much He appreciates it if you give him the first of your finances and trust him to provide for you financially. This was a hard area to relinquish control of my life. But am so grateful for the freedom in finances knowing that God will provide.

12. I have learned how to pick and choose your battles with people. And just because you may be right in a situation…If you say it at the wrong time it makes you wrong.

11. I have three incredibly cute nieces and nephews…They bring so much joy to all of our lives.

10. I am really happy with my job. I feel like I am not the kid right out of school anymore and finally feel like I know what I am doing (well kinda). I love all of my clients and find am very blessed that I get to work with some really great people.

9. I learned the most important thing in business is just to be honest and people will respect you for that. Simple concept  I know but pretty difficult at times.

8. I love traveling. I am so grateful for all the cool places I have gotten to go my last 25 years and really looking forward to getting to go more places and experience the world and all the many cultures out there.

7. I know that I can handle anything life throws my way. I have walked thru “the valley”- a deep, dark, depressing, hard place and came out on top thanks to Jesus. Because of that I know that no matter what comes my way in the next 25 years that I will be just fine and He will give me what I need to win again.

6. I have learned the importance of just having fun. You can have a good time anywhere as long as you have a good attitude and act a little silly sometime. Some of my favorite moments are just dancing and singing- 2 of my very spectacular gifts that I have been blessed with and mastered over the past 25 years.

5. I know who my real friends are. It is the ones that stick by you in the good times and the bad times. They are the ones who you can call for advice with hard situations or just to brag about good things that happened that day to. No matter what…They are there. And I know each of you reading know who you are so to that a HUGE THANK YOU goes out. I would not be the person I am today without you. You are truly loved and cherished.

4. I have learned the importance of family. I know how important it is to to protect and preserve your family relationships. I am so blessed to have two wonderful families…both the Bakers and the Bushs. All the members of our family have a very unique and perfect place. (Perhaps that is another blog post…how each member has impacted my life.)

3. I love my marriage. It took us a while to get to this place but now it is AWESOME and so thankful to have such an amazing husband. We are finally at a wonderful place that I would not trade for anything.

2. I love my relationship with Jesus. It is crazy how when God is the center of your marriage how strong your personal   relationship with God grows too.

1. I finally feel complete. No more searching for who I am… I have found it. I am at peace with my life and what I have become.

What are some of the reasons that make you happy to be the age you are?

Today was Lauren’s 25th birthday, what would usually be a fairly uneventful age was the exact opposite for my “mildly insane” wife. Last night she kept uttering the words “quarter of a century”, which to me was a completely new way to describe the 25th birthday. By the time we went to bed she wanted to “have a baby, get a new puppy, become a preacher, and save the rainforest”; to which I responded “I’ll schedule an appointment with the therapist”. Thankfully she woke up this morning back in full “birthday week” swing, if you are not familiar with a “birthday week” it’s something that Lauren founded, which means everyone begins to celebrate your “birthday week” festivities at least seven days before your actual date of birth, this includes the obligatory “happy birthday eve” phone calls/messages. Anyhow we had a fantastic day together and thanks to my beautiful wife I feel older and older every day….

Below are two pictures, taken at her work office party during the b’day celebration (one of her cake and the other of her new fish, named EB):

This year we started off Easter Sunday with a romantic breakfast of Orange Juice and Cinnamon Rolls while we went through our candy-filled Easter baskets. Once that was completed we made the trek to our parent’s house for a small Easter-egg hunt and scrumptious late-lunch. We had a great time just hanging out with the family and spending time outside on such a beautiful day. Kyler/Felicia were having fun with her family so we missed them but other than that it was easily the best Easter yet, tonight we are just going to chill on the couch and enjoy each others company. We hope everyone is having a fantastic day and remember why Easter is so special!

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Today was the Saturday before Easter. We went over to Tanner and Nichole’s to take the kids Easter Baskets and play with them while the men helped build a deck in their backyard. I had so much fun getting to hold sweet little Marjorie Ann all day. She is just a precious little angel. Then tonight we went to church. It was a very good service. Packed but not nearly as crowded as I was anticipating. We were able to pick up a copy of the new Highlands Worship CD “Arise”. Now we are just hanging out around the house.  I decorated for Easter a little bit. I even put a pink bandanna on the digs so he could have an Easter outfit. I had to put a pic of him and his Easter get up below because he looks so cute. Now just planning on going to see Observe and Report tonight. (Update- We saw Observe and Report and it was Terrible…I do not recommend to anyone. Very bad.)

Today was Good Friday! I was so glad because I was off work. The day started off great because I got to sleep late. Then we got up and hung out around the house. Digby, Eric and I snuggled out the couch and watched some tv while it stormed outside. We even got hail the size of golf-balls! It was crazy. Later that night we went over to my parents to celebrate Easter and my Birthday. It was so fun getting to hang out with everyone. I got a lot of really cute clothes from my mom and dad and a beautiful/yummy Easter egg cake and money from my Gan-Gan and Paw-Paw. I love my birthday time and what a wonderful holiday to celebrate it with. I am so grateful that Jesus died on the cross today to pay for my sins. Hallelujah!

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