Blessings Abound...

Today we turned in all of the shoes that we have collected over the past month for the orphans in Zambia!!! Thanks to the generous gifts of our family and friends, (and many people that Josh and I don't even know) we were able to collect 244 pair!!! Josh and I's goal was to collect 100 pair...and the fact that we turned in 244 pair today was just absolutely amazing. What a blessing it has been to see the Lord provide...abundantly! We can't wait to give the kiddos their new shoes this summer...I know it's going to be an amazing...and overwhelming experience! Please pray that all 10,000 pair of shoes arrive to Zambia safely. They are being shipped by boat and by air.


On the way to turn in the shoes...


Loading up the truck...


Yeah for girl's sizes 2 and 2.5!!!

THANK YOU a million times over to everyone who donated shoes!! We are so grateful....truly, blessings abound!

For those of you who are not aware...Josh and I are going to Zambia this summer with Family Legacy Missions International to serve as camp counselors at Camp Life 2008. 10,000 Zambian orphans will be attending Camp Life 2008 over 8 weeks. Josh and I will be serving during week 8. On Thursday of camp, the children will be given a brand new pair of shoes...many of the orphans come to camp without shoes or extremely worn shoes that they had to borrow from a friend. So, as you can imagine, receiving a brand new pair of shoes is very exciting to these precious children!

If you are interested in learning more about the ministry of Family Legacy Missions Internation, please visit their website here. There is still room in weeks 1, 4, 7, & 8 if you would like to serve as a camp counselor this summer at Camp Life 2008 . We'd LOVE for you to join us!

Just Working....

Seriously.....we're working.

Happy Friday Everyone!

XOXO,
Mindy and Katie

Jetsetter (n)

Socialite, one of the in-crowd, one of the beautiful people, one of the glitterate, trendsetter, person about town, member of café society, social climber.

Yep...that's pretty much me in a nut shell. Well, at least it was on Wednesday. On Tuesday night around 7:30pm I received a phone call from my boss Mary-Frances letting me know that our client had arranged for a private jet to take us to Hilton Head on Wednesday for a site visit. This client is getting married in October and wants a destination wedding...not just any ordinary destination wedding I must add. I won't go into details, but let's just say they have a bit of money to spend. So, I picked Mary-Frances up at 8am sharp the next morning and we met the rest of our team and our client near Love Field to catch our 9am flight to Savannah, GA. I must say, it was pretty nice to drive right up to the plane (which was parked next to the Texas Rangers plane) and not have to go through security....I could get use to this real quick! Upon landing, the resort we were visiting had arranged for a limo to pick us up. The limo was literally waiting for us no more than 10 steps from the plane. The limo drove us about 15 minutes to a dock on the Savannah River (which separates GA from SC). We then took a 45 minute private boat to the island resort we were visiting. The resort wined and dined us all day long during our visit....it was amazing! We spent the entire day touring the island and resort. Around 6pm we took the boat back, hopped in the limo and got back on our private jet. We landed back in Dallas at 10pm. It was quite the day...and definitely an experience I'll never forget! And after all that, our client decided that they don't like the place. Typical.

Now, I'm back to reality....

Ahh...the life of a wedding planner...so glamorous. Right........

Chloe's Birthday Party!

Well, I can now add "Pet Parties" to my event planning resume! Chloe's party was a huge success...for a dog party, I guess. Thanks to our fam for attending...and bringing gifts...Chloe loves them all! Here are a few pics from the big event...











P.S. I do have a life...I just love my pup!

Happy 1st Birthday Chloe Jane Rives!!

Chloe is 1 today! Happy Birthday girl!!!
I've contained myself over the past couple of months and have not used my blog as a method of bragging on my precious pooch. But, today is her birthday...so here I go...I'm such a proud mom!


Chloe's first day as a Rives


Chloe's first haircut...she's so soft and fluffy!


Happy 4th of July! Chloe is proud to be an American!


Chloe moving into her first house! She was a great helper!


Bzzzzz...Chloe's first Halloween. Not one of her prouder moments!


Chloe's first visit to our cabin in Colorado...she didn't know what to do with all that white stuff!


So, we bought her some doggy snow boots! She was much happier...


Happy Birthday Chloe!!! We love you!

Stay tuned for some pictures from Chloe's family birthday party tonight....

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! Wishing you all a wonderful day! I hope that you're all relaxing and enjoying time with your loved ones. Josh and I have had a great day so far. We went to early church at Irving Bible, had brunch at Unlce Julio's with the Rives' family and collected lots of loot at the Rives' annual Easter egg hunt (all the eggs are filled with money instead of candy...it's greatness!). We're going to have dinner tonight with mom, Jimmy, Jill, Kalie and Cole...and watch Kalie and Cole hunt Easter eggs of course! Josh was precious this morning...he had an adorable Easter egg candy bowl filled with my favorite candies waiting by the back door...so I would see it right before we left for church. It was so cute! Chloe liked it too....she enjoyed some dark chocolate Dove eggs before I did...and had the grass spread everywhere...she's a little toot! Chloe had her own Easter egg hunt today too...I hid cheerios all around the kitchen...and she found them all! :)

Happy Easter Friends!!!

He has risen....HALLELUJAH!!

XOXO,
Mindy

Celebrating 25 Years...

Josh's Aunt Squeezy (a.k.a. Janet) and Uncle Greg are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary today. Happy Anniversary Squeezy and Greg!!! We love you!

Weekend Fun!

Dinner with the fam at Pan Acean...Karen and BJ's engagement party...meeting with a bride...dress shopping with Karen...Kalie and Cole's soccer games...afternoon nap...dinner at Jimmy and Jill's...Easter egg sunglasses...Rock Band!...church....lunch with Rives' fam...laundry and house chores....Target run...caught up on thank you letters...Extreme Home Makeover...Oprah's Big Give...Blogging...Time for a new week!

Need a Good Laugh?

There are a ton of great Seinfeld moments, but this one is definitely one of my all time favorites. It cracks up every time. So, if you need a good laugh today, check this clip out. If only we could all laugh like Elaine Bennis....

Enjoy!

Karen + BJ = ENGAGED!!!

WHOOOOO HOOOOOO....Karen and BJ got engaged last night! I'm so excited for them and can't wait for the big day...OCTOBER 11th!! We went over to Karen's last night to celebrate and of course...see the BLING...way to go BJ! Here are a few pics of the already blushing bride and groom to be...


Karen sharing the good news!


Caroline and I checking out the ring...


It's a beauty!


We're so excited for Karen!


Lucy on the phone...duped.


Lucy was a little upset with BJ...she thought he was proposing on Thursday, so she went home to Houston for a couple of days...and ended up missing it. We missed you Lucy!


The happy couple!


So cute!


Josh and I are so excited...another married couple to hang with!


Professional brides...


Gorgeous...it looks amazing on Karen's finger!

CONGRATULATIONS KAREN AND BJ!!!

Getting to know me...

I was having a hard time trying to decide what to blog about today...then I received one of those "getting to know you" emails from a friend...so, I thought, why not? I usually don't respond to those sort of things...but sometimes they're just plain fun...especially when you're bored.
What is your occupation? Wedding/Event Planner
What color are your socks right now? Not wearing any...
What are you listening to right now? Nothing....sitting in silence. Silence is golden.
What was the last thing you ate? 3 Samoas...my favorite Girl Scout cookie!
Can you drive a stick shift? You bet ya...I drove a standard Jeep Wrangler in college...yes, I was a hottie.
If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red...Pink...Orange...I like lots of colors!
Last person you spoke to on the phone? My boss.
How old are you today? 26 and a half (almost).
Favorite drink(s)? Coffee, Ice Tea and Dr. Pepper.
What is your favorite sport to watch? College football and volleyball.
Have you ever dyed your hair? Not completely...just highlights.
Pets? Chloe Jane Rives...an almost one year old (on March 24th) darling little Malte-Tzu.
Favorite food? I'm going to have to say pizza...and anything my mom cooks.
Last movie you watched? Into the Wild...it was a good one!
Favorite day of the year? 4th of July and Christmas!
What do you do to vent anger? Go to Target.
What was your favorite toy as a child. A typewriter I got for Christmas one year...and Teddy Ruxpin.
What is your favorite, Fall or Spring? Fall.
Hugs are kisses? It depends.
Cherry or blueberry? Blueberry.
Living arrangements? With my husband in our new house.
When was the last time you cried? During the first episode of "The Big Give"...is that gross?
What is on the floor of your closet? Something of Josh's I'm sure...
Favorite Smell? Josh in the morning...right before he is about to leave for work.
What inspires you? Hope.
What are you afraid of? Scary movies...I hate them...and losing a parent.
Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese please.
Favorite car? Little Red Corvette.
Number of keys on your key ring? 6...car, home, mailbox, work, mom's house and brother's house.
Favorite day of the week? It depends...Saturday if I don't have a wedding....Monday if I had a wedding on Saturday.
How many states have you lived in? 3...Texas, Colorado and Virginia.
How many countries have you been to? 6....Jamaica, Mexico, Dominican Republic, England, France and Italy.
Happy Monday everyone!!

Shoe Update...

Hey Y'all! Just wanted to post a little update on the shoes Josh and I are collecting for the orphans in Zambia. So far, we have 65 pairs of shoes in our possession!!! Whooooo Hooooo!! Thank you SO much! We are super excited...keep 'em coming please! Our goal is to collect at least 100 pair...but hopefully many more. Many of you have mentioned that you would like to help...thank you! Remember the deadline is March 29th! See my post from last week for all the details. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. If you give shoes like these...I just might keep them for myself. Kidding....it would be very tempting though! :)

A Snowy Night in March!!!

So, the snow last night was pretty crazy...and what a bummer that it's already gone today! Here are a few pics that we took last night....


This picture is greatness...Chloe is sticking her tongue out too!


A little smooch in the snow! :)


The snow was coming down hard....Josh's car was covered!


Burrrr...baby it's cold outside!

Weekend Recap!

Is it just me...or is this yucky weather beating you down today? I can't get into the swing of things...Monday, Monday, I guess. On the brighter side of things...Josh and I had a fun packed weekend. Would you like for me to recap it for you....Ah, I thought so.

Friday night we babysat for the Hughey Family. (Erin use to work for my mom before she had her 3rd baby). Erin and Clay went out for a nice dinner to celebrate Erin's b-day. So, Josh and I got to spend some time with their adorable boys, Parker and Bennett. Ellie, their little girl, stayed with her grandmother Friday night, so it was just me with all the boys. We ate pizza and cookies, played the Wii...and stayed up past bedtime...it was good times indeed. Erin and Clay are expecting their 4th kiddo this June. I can't imagine being in their shoes right now...but they seen to handle things flawlessly. It's very impressive. Are Josh and I ready for kids?

Josh's answer = no
Mindy's answer = yes, please...

kidding....not now, but some day!
I just disappointed my mother-in-law so badly....sorry Julie!


I found this picture of the Hughey kiddos on Erin's Facebook....isn't it great. I love crying Santa pics. :)

On Saturday we slept in a bit...which was nice. I ran some errands and did a few things around the house. I meant to make it by the gym...but it didn't happen. I knew it wouldn't, but I like to start my day like I'm going to work out at some point! :) I went to a bridal shower on Saturday afternoon for my high school friend, Lauren Neal. It was so much fun...I had a great time catching up with old friends, which is always nice. Lauren is getting married next month...April 12th is the big day!!


Liz, Me, Lauren, Jamie and Nicole at Lauren's Shower. Liz is getting married too...on May 3rd!

Saturday night, Josh and I hung out with Michelle and Eric Anton. Josh and Eric are good high school buddies...and I just love Eric's new wife Michelle. They got married this past January in Dallas....it was a beautiful wedding. We went to dinner at Snuffers in Addison and hung out at their new house afterwards. Good times for sure. I'm still feeling those cheese fries though...wow.


The 4 of us at Josh and Eric's company Christmas Party...

Sunday, was my brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Jimmy! We met their fam at 7 Salsa's for brunch to celebrate. I was in charge of waking Josh and I up for early church before the birthday brunch...but I really screwed that one up. Opps, sorry honey! We relaxed Sunday afternoon around the house...I did some laundry...and we watched "Dan in Real Life," which was a pretty good little movie. Sunday night....drum roll please....MICHAEL BUBLE CONCERT!!! WHOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! It was amazing! WOW...he puts on such a great show. Josh and I saw him in DC a couple of years ago...and his Dallas show was just as good. I definitely had sweet dreams last night!


Helloooooo.....


Marina, Ali and I at Via Real for dinner before the concert....I know I'm wearing the same shirt that I wore to Lauren's shower...It's new...and I like it. :)


Josh and I before the concert.


Mr. Buble himself...yikes, my camera was struggling....

And now...it's Monday. Happy Monday to ya! Stay warm...and dry!

XOXO,
Mindy