To the Royal Couple:

Oh, excuse me…

Dear Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

I happily set my alarm clock last night to 3:55am to wake up by 4am this morning. I have royal bags under my eyes now to prove it…. But so so worth it.

You two are what “Happily Ever After” is all about. I was watching a real fairytale unfold before my eyes.

Kate, you are a princess in your own right. You’ve found your place and you have a confidence and a love from your Prince that won’t let you down. William, I know you’ll treat her like the princess she is. Above all else, remain best friends and that will be your ticket to royal happiness.

It’s every girl’s dream to walk down that aisle (in this case, very looooooooong aisle) to meet their Prince. I watched in awe at the beauty of it all. LOVED everything about it!!! Will never forget watching it.

I just wanted to document this, and if you shall happen to read William and Kate (ha)....

Here’s to wishing you a lifetime of Happily Ever After!!

With love from a Commoner,
Lauren :)

PS: Want your dress Kate.
PPS: William, nothing cuter than a man in uniform.
PPPS: You'll make gorgeous babies!! But no rush!!!!
PPPPS: Have no words......Kate, you have great style. For the love, help these poor girls pick out hats next time.

Easter Weekend 2011.

*Had Good Friday off. Can I get an amen?

*Lunch and matinee movie with a friend. GO see Water for Elephants.

*On said same day as matinee, saw Madea’s Big Happy Family with the
rents. No Tyler Perry movie doesn’t make you laugh and cry at the same time.

*Movies and more movies….(combo of theater, netflix, and on-demand, ha).

*Brother and his family came over to spend the night Saturday and to spend Easter with us.

*Sushi.

*Colored Easter eggs.

*Fishing in the pond at the back of our house (caught two fish… hey, better than nothing..ha).

*Pool time.

*Easter day cook-out on the grill.

*Sun, glorious sun. Gorgeous ALL weekend long.

*Loved seeing the thrill of the Easter Bunny through the eyes of my 5 year old niece.

*Wished I could be 5 again.

*Wonderful Easter church service.

*Corn on the cob. This girl tore it up.

*More fishing.

*Food, Food, Food.

*And more food.

*Family

*Love

*And lots and lots of laughter.

*The whole time thinking I'm so incredibly blessed for the gift and the life that can be found in his resurrection.

Hope y’all had a wonderful Easter, too.

Power of a praying parent.

There’s no denying that I have been blessed with amazing parents.

I could give you a list of a million reasons why they are the greatest.

But one thing that stands out to me above all the rest is their dedication to praying for their children.

My Mom is married to a wonderful, wonderful man. He filled a huge void since my real father doesn’t have much of a presence in my life. I often tell my Mom that God knew what she needed when he sent him into her life, but he also knew what I needed.

Anyway, as you know, or if you don't, right now I am living with my parents. On their bathroom mirror they have taped to it a prayer list of all the things they are praying for at the time and just have it there as a daily remember to pray for whatever the need is.

They had already left for the day this morning and I had to go into their bathroom for something, and this is what I found.

In case you can’t read it, it says “Lauren & school direction, self-confidence, and a husband for her.”

I wanted to cry. To say I am blessed would be an understatement.

I will strive to be that kind of parent someday. A parent who prays without ceasing for their children.

Even when my daughter is in her mid 20’s and still trying to find her way, still learning about self-confidence, and still waiting on God’s timing for that husband he has for her.

I will continue praying.....

Because my parents have taught me by example.

My own little world.

Please take a moment to watch this. This has become one of my favorite songs and one of my biggest prayers, that I would live outside of “Population Me.”

I had the amazing opportunity to serve my community this weekend and to give back. The college and career group from our church spent Saturday morning at a sharing center putting together almost 300 Easter baskets for our local community. It was SO much fun and I think it’s safe to say I was probably more blessed putting them together then the sweet kids who will be receiving them.

I was humbled by the whole experience. There was NEVER a year when I was a kid that the Easter Bunny (my Mom, ha) didn’t come to visit me. But it truly broke my heart to think that there are families out there that don’t have the means to put a meal on their table when the holidays come around, or to make Easter a little but sweeter for their kids and be able to put a basket together for them. I won’t meet the families that receive these baskets, but I hope the touch of my hands, will touch their hearts.

It has been my heart’s desire that God would open up doors to be able to give up myself and give of my time to make a difference in my community, to reach out and touch the lives of others. And this is the first of MANY doors I hope that God will open.

Saturday, was a good “Lauren, get over yourself, moment.” And I think we ALL need that. I could tell you about all the other weekend highlights. But this is the one that truly matters the most.

What if there's a bigger picture
what if I'm missing out
What if there's a greater purpose
I could be living right now
outside my own little world.

Going to the movies.

Okay, I love love love the movies.

I was just flipping through a magazine today and there are some GREAT GREAT summer movies coming up.

I made a list of all the movies I’d love to see this summer. Granted, there is 15 on that list, so show me some grace here, I might not make it to all of them, ha. It’s never too early to start thinking of summer and the good movies that come along with it.

These are on my list:

*Jumping the Broom
*Something Borrowed

*Bridesmaids
*Larry Crowne
*Midnight in Paris
*Super 8
*Transformers
*Horrible Bosses
*Love, Wedding, Marriage
*The Art of Getting By
*Bad Teacher
*Monte Carlo
*One Day
*Friends with Benefits
*Sarah’s Key
*Crazy, Stupid, Love
*Don’t be Afraid of the Dark
*The Help

(Sorry, couldn't find trailer)

And Water for Elephants comes out this month.



Can’t wait.

Go online and I’m sure you can possibly find the trailers for the other movies which I didn’t include. The trailers I did include are books that were turned into movies and I most DEFINITELY will see.

And of course, add a big giant coke and popcorn with that :)

Missing them.

Good gosh, I miss these girls so much it hurts!!! I haven't seen them in well over a month or more. But Easter weekend I will see them!!! Praise the Lord!

I just love them SO much and they are growing up SO fast I want to cry!!!

I know they are going to grow up to be the best of friends.

Can't wait to squeeze my nieces!!!

Back in the game!

So I didn’t do a c25k update last week because frankly last week sucked when it came to running. I was having knee issues and it was painful to even just walk, let alone try to run. It would get better and so I’d think to myself, Oh surely I can do this now. But once I got out there, it was a no go. I had no idea what the deal was and it wasn’t going away. So I took some time off, popped ibuprofen, and continued icing the knees…. Still wasn’t going away. I was getting SO frustrated and I have a 5k scheduled for May 7th and seriously was considering not even doing it because of my knees crapping out on me and this got me a little behind in my c25k training.

Until I discovered this.

KT Tape…. A blessing straight from heaven above. This was suggested to me and let me tell you, IT WORKS and I can testify to that only using it ONE time!!!! I figured out that what I have is called runners knee. It’s where there’s pain behind or right around the kneecaps. But I went running this morning without zero pain with the KT Tape on. Go here to learn more. I wanted to cry because truly my heart was dead set on doing this 5k and I just did not want to back out and felt like I’d be letting myself down.

At this point, I’m going to continue with the 5k, and even if I have to walk the majority of it, no shame in that, right?!?!?!?! (at least I hope). But my goal is to be able to run as much as I can. But if I have to walk, I keep telling myself that’s okay, too.

Ladies and gentlemen…. (ummm, or just ladies, ha), Lauren is back in the game!!!!! :)

Get your tissues ready.

Y'all, I received the sweetest email yesterday.

It touched me right to the very core of my being.

I never have felt more loved.

Like seriously, love overflows.

They miss me, they really miss me.

Uh, Wal-Mart, that is.

As evidenced by the email I received from Wally World yesterday that read in the subject line "We miss you! See Our New Top Values in Electronics, Outdoor Living & More."

Can you feel the love people?!?!?

((Sigh)) It's nice to be missed!

Ummmm, but just kind of sad that the feeling is not mutual.

And I'll leave you on that tender note.

Weekend Highlights!

This weekend has been the stuff GREAT weekends are made of!

Saturday night I went and saw the movie Soul Surfer.

Run, don't walk to go see it! Hands down the BEST and most incredible movie I have EVER seen. Cannot say enough great things about it. Beautiful message and just makes you think in a huge way. Not to mention, a GREAT bonus that Carrie Underwood is in it :)

GO SEE IT!!!

This morning I met my blog friend Michelle for the first time.

Stop by her blog. She is super super sweet. Always fun to have bloggers in your area. SO glad I got to meet her. We went to church together and then hit up Cracker Barrel. Yum Yum! Michelle also has a cupcake business on the side and look what she brought me..

She's a keeper. Hope we can get together again real SOON!

After I got home, my friend Kristin texted me to see what I was doing and if I wanted to meet her at at local place called Wekiva Falls for the afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and no way was I saying no.

And we went down this a time or two, ha!

Lots of laughs and fun had out in the sun!!!!!

And tonight has been a fun family night. Tacos and a family basketball game. Gotta love a good game of "HORSE" :)

Fabulous weekend!

How was yours?

Sometimes you just need a good cry!

This post is about to go deep, real deep.

The last time I posted on Tuesday, that was a rough day. Can I just be vulnerable with you for a moment?

I found myself driving on the way to school and I just burst out in tears. I’m sure everyone who passed me on the road thought I was crazy. I had some heavy stuff weighing on me and finally I had just reached the breaking point and the dam opened.

We’re all made to love, and we crave love. There are certain relationships in my life, family relationships and people that I know are not going to change, no matter how hard I will it. It will truly have to be the hand of God that changes the people, the situation and circumstances, and not my own hands. I have a VERY hard time letting go of things and hold tighter than ever to the burden of it all. The Lord says his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

Get that through your thick head, Lauren.

So, I sat in my car with the tears falling down my cheeks, I verbally say out loud… “Lord, take this, because I can’t do it anymore. “ That was the most freeing moment.

I’ve also come to realize that when it comes to family, and any relationships, when we are choosing to live a life for Christ and your value and belief systems do not align with theirs, it’s a struggle. A big struggle. A hard struggle.

I knew the day I chose to live a life for Christ, follow after him, seek him, and live a life pleasing to him, that it wasn’t going to be easy. Actually, following Christ is probably one of the hardest things we’ll ever have to do. With that said, it’s one of the easiest things to do and the reward is SO great.

I know I have been set apart as a child of God, as his daughter. And I’m daily trying to see and view myself as such and find the value in that. No earthly love or acceptance can match the love and acceptance we have in the knowledge that we are his. God chose me. He saw those tears. He saw me in the car driving that day and counted those tears.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book”
(Psalm 56:8, NLT)

And along with that knowledge comes everything the world, people, and Satan like to throw our way. He says in this world we will have trials and tribulation, but take heart, because he has overcome the world. Amen for that!!

I guess I could have bypassed all this and summed this post up in one sentence…

Sometimes you just need a good cry!

Take a look, it's in a book...

I've always loved to read.

It's such an escape for me. Almost theraputic. I love good writing that truly makes me feel like I've stepped into another world, a world that's not my own. For a few brief pages I can step out of reality and be someone else.

Not that my reality is bad, ha! But hello, who doesn't love a brief escape?

I love books that make you laugh. I love books that even make me cry and move me. That's the epitome of a great writer. But most of all, I love books that make me think and make me want to better myself.

Lately, I've really expanded and broadened my reading due to some fabulous book suggestions I've gotten. I've come a long way since my "Baby-sitters Club" and "Sweet Valley High" days, haha!!

I've put myself on a book buying and library band though, until I read what I've already got. I'm currently reading a book and have four books sitting on my dresser waiting to be read.

With the TV shows going to be winding down soon, hopefully I'll be able to pick these books up and read. I'm not a huge summer TV person, so that should give me the time. And with the April showers, who doesn't love to curl up on the couch with a good book?? :)

You can also go to my goodreads page and see what I've read this year so far and what's on my list to read!!

This is such an awesome way to keep track of your books and to get great suggestions!

What are you reading right now?? Any suggestions you have yourself???

Disclaimer: And my apologies if you have the reading rainbow song stuck in your head now, ha!