Found on my doorstep

I'd had a really rough day at the office today, so it kind of made all the hard work I've had to do over the last few weeks worth it when I found this leaning against my door today.

All Things Harry Potter

Sunday I decided to start re-reading some of the Harry Potter books to refresh my memory before the last book comes out in July. I had recently reread The Goblet of Fire, so I started with The Order of the Phoenix. I had completely forgotten how much I love reading J.K. Rowling. She is an amazing author. She will pull stuff from the first book and use it as a clue to what is going on in the fifth book. I'm always amazed!


And I'm completely excited about the month of July. It's basically Harry Potter gone wild and J.K. Rowling making a bazillion dollars month! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released on July 11th and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, the seventh and final book in the series, is released on July 21st. I was a little sad when they didn't release the book on July 7th (how cool would that have been, book 7 released 7/7/07?), but then, they never ask me anything important anyway.


Now I'm off to finish reading the Order of the Phoenix. I've still got Half Blood Prince as well as my book club book to get through in three weeks! AHHH!

Touching song...

Sunday in church, Scott, our intern from Baptist Bible College, delivered the sermon, and he asked Shawn, our praise leader, to sing a song associated with his message. I always find it a little trite when people post lyrics to songs on their blog, but these words really hit a chord with me. The song is one that touches my heart so much. I think I have felt this way for a long time. Here are the lyrics to the first verse and the chorus:

Does Anybody Hear Her
She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon's ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She's another two years older
And she's three more steps behind

Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she's going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that's tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?

It's just taken Casting Crowns a while to put my feelings into a song. If you want to hear the song/see the video follow this link:

Casting Crowns Video

More fun from the closet...

Kim sent me some great pictures from Melanie's wedding. I had to share...

Aren't we cute?

Here's a toast to the happy couple! Where is the happy couple?

It's no wonder Rachel doesn't let Jamie out of the house too often.

I think we were the life of the party that night!

Presenting for one night, and one night only, Alfalfa's shadow! (Name that movie!)

Back in the closet and loving the world!

(See Say Hello to Mrs. Ward for more back story on the closet...)

Bigger isn't better according to FOX

Take a second and check this out, and then let me know what you think...

I personally was floored by what this woman inferred.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxLdNsxPSw

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Kemp

Today was the second wedding of the month. I actually had two weddings scheduled today, but chose to stay in Fayetteville for Evan and Erin's wedding. It was so beautiful. Erin and her mom, Susan, did an amazing job. My camera decided to run out of bateries right after the ceremony, and since I wasn't prepared for that, I didn't get too many pictures. But I know my friends Kim, Rachel and Melanie, and probably Erin too, will have some on their blogs soon. Here's what I got...

We started the night before with a rehearsal at the church and then ended with dinner at "A Fare to Remember" in Fayetteville. Here are Evan's and Erin's parents as well as Evan's pastor from Hot Springs and the pastor's wife.

Rachel, me, Kim, and Melanie stopped for a photo op outside the restuarant.

Evan has always been a little impatient, and today was no different. Seeing him wait for Erin was so sweet.

Erin's dress was so beautiful, and she was one of the most beautiful brides I've seen, and I've seen quite a few in my years!

There's a running joke in our group of friends that dates back quite a few years. Somehow, every wedding we attend has a giant picture/sculpture of Jesus on the stage of the church, and there's a quote from a movie that is always mentioned. Central didn't disappoint. "Look there's Jesus!"

I don't know if you can see Evan's expression in this picture, but as Erin got a little teary-eyed, I think Evan almost broke his emotional robot state and smiled/cried.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Evan Kemp! Or is it Mr. and Mrs. Evan and Erin Yell dash Kemp? Either way, Erin now has a middle name! Yeah!

Every guest to the reception received a small bride or groom filled with chocolates. Yummm!

On the entrance table, there was a display of all the announcements, invitations, programs and newspaper clippings from the last few months.

The cake was beautiful. Linda Carnes created this chocolate masterpiece for Erin. It was amazingly delicious!

The reception was held at the Nadine Baum Studios, part of the Walton Arts Center. It was a very elegant place to hold the reception. With all the dramatic lighting available, everthing was perfect!

After a little bit of slide showing and a few dances, the entire bridal party toasted the happy couple. Of course it was only sparkling cider, but it was a sweet touch, and I almost cried when Clare teared up!

CONGRATULATIONS EVAN AND ERIN!

I love you both...

Will they or won't they?

I had an interview today at Springdale. It's for an assistant choral position at a junior high and a middle school. A junior high! Can you believe it? I never thought I would want to work with junior high kids, but the director and principal at the school seemed so excited about being in this age group, I kind of want to work with them to see what it would be like. I guess this is me calling out one more time for your prayers.

A new addition?

Well, I guess since the announcement was made at church, I can share. Rachel and Jamie are having a baby! Yeah! Here's the link on Rachel's blog when she told everyone...

http://jamieandrachel.blogspot.com/2007/05/just-three-of-us.html

Aren't we cute?

Here are a couple more pictures from Melanie's wedding, mostly of all the non-wedding party partiers. We mostly stayed in a laundry closet that night because it was the only cool place in the house! The picture outside was taken right before the monsterous storm that let out a typhoon amount of rain. The other picture is from a little later that night, and that's all I'll say about that picture...

(Notice the closet door behind us?)

New Picture

Melanie, my sister-in-law, not my friend who was the recent bride, sent me the cutest picture of my nephew Landon.

I just had to share...

Say Hello to Mrs. Ward

Saturday was my friend Melanie's wedding. She was a beautiful bride, and the ceremony was perfectly Melanie. We all laughed a little, cried a little, but most of all smiled a lot. Here are a few pictures from the ceremony. The reception, or should we say after-party, was great too, but I let Kim take those pictures. She may have some on her blog soon. I'll let you know!

Welcome Home Baby Dog!

The mystery has been solved! Baby Dog has returned home to his loving family, and he will now be an inside dog from now on. He decided to visit the neighbors down the road for a few days. He also met a little girl, who now has a broken heart since she's been seperated from Baby Dog. Jonathan is happy his investment is back; Melanie is excited her puppy is back; and Braden is ecstatic that his Baby Dog has come back to him.

Help!

Baby Dog is missing. Please help find him. If you're in the area, please help Melanie, Jonathan, and especially Braden find him.

I. Am. Job.

Well, the job search is in full swing right now. I've been filling out the exact same form for all the schools in NWA. And, yes, there are now a few more positions open, so it looks like I might get to stay in the area. Yeah!

Be praying for me. There is a good chance I could get on at Springdale. Dr. Misenhelter referred me to them about a couple of positions open in that district. If this pans out, it would be amazing! I'll keep you posted...