Meet Me In…Memphis

December 31, 2012December 31, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres6 Comments

Good Morning Everyone!

My my my! 2012 is not coming to an end slowly, and the end of this eventful year has not become any less eventful! Part of that may have to do with my own flightiness…but nonetheless, beginning with Friday, it has been quite the journey to end the year!

Friday evening, in Dallas, Georgia, was a rainy and stormy and COLD one (for Georgia folk anyway – 34 degrees!! Brrr!)…Sweet Craig had left that morning for work, and I got home from work, and had my peanut butter for dinner, followed by a glass of wine, and decided to sit on our front porch with the iPad to enjoy the rain, and wait for my husband’s evening call before bed. This was around 8:45pm…and Craig did indeed call around 9pm…I grabbed my glass of wine and the iPad and went to go inside for the night…to find the door locked. Not wanting Craig to worry nor to embarrass myself, I asked my husband if I could call him right back, thinking maybe the neighbors had a spare key…So here I am in my pj’s and fuzzy socks, running next door in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain and cold weather…Long story short, there was no spare key…and I had to walk back to 116 Caitlin Court with my tail between my legs…I called Craig back and explained the situation…Now, I don’t know this for sure, but I am almost positive he rolled his eyes a little and sighed, “Oh my goodness, my silly wife…” but he didn’t let me hear it if he did. 🙂

He had me check a few windows that might be open…They weren’t…I called our sweet friend Julia, who lives semi-nearby, but she didn’t answer so I texted her. Finally, Craig broke down and called the locksmith. Meanwhile, Julia called back and sweetly asked if she could help. Knowing how reliable locksmiths are, and also that (by this time) it was 9:45/10pm and she has 3 small children at home and a husband who is also a pilot and away, I thanked her profusely for calling and offering to save me, but told her that the locksmith was already on the way. I called Craig back and sat down on the bench to wait the estimated 15 minutes for the locksmith to arrive to save the day…and (another long story short) during the 2 and a half more hours I waited outside with freezing wet feet and a HUGE spider climbing the wall next to me, I was reminded of the time in February when Craig and I went camping, in the snow…I was pretty much THAT cold. LUCKILY, around 12:30AM, the locksmith arrived to let me inside. It literally took him 2 seconds.

That little fiasco ALMOST foiled my plan for Saturday…

Poor Craig had to be up SUPER early the next morning to fly to Detroit, and he of course had waited up with me until I was safely inside the house before going to sleep. I felt horrible for him, but OH SO THANKFUL I have such an amazing husband – who saved me from the freezing cold and the scary spider even from hundreds of miles away! I was awoken the next morning by a text message from my husband letting me know he was safely in Detroit at the perfect time. 🙂 We had ‘planned’ that I would try and make it on a flight to Memphis, where Craig would be ending up for a long overnight…HOWEVER, the flights were full going to Memphis and back to Atlanta, as well…So we scratched that plan…and Craig knew how tired I was (we both were) from the night before…But all along I knew I wouldn’t let a full airplane stop me from seeing my husband on my day off! 🙂

Craig’s text came at 9:30am – just enough time for me to jump out of bed and quickly pack and get ready to be on my way by 10am! The drive from Dallas, GA to Memphis, TN is right around 6 hours, and Craig was scheduled to be at his hotel around 4pm. Of course, when I got in the car, Craig called me and I had to work hard to muffle all the driving sounds, since he thought I was sitting downstairs enjoying a ~~pot~~ cup of coffee with Miss Daisy…By the time I had passed safely through Birmingham, AL, Craig had told me the flight between his arrival in Memphis and right then had been canceled, and I felt I should probably let him in on my surprise:

Craig was SO excited! 🙂 I couldn’t wait to see him in just a few more hours…

Ha! I should have remembered that my husband is a PILOT who works for the AIRLINES and that anytime you PLAN anything, it never happens as you think it should! Right, Julia? 🙂

Craig’s first plane was delayed by maintenance, so I found a Target in Memphis and decided to go shopping for a bit…Craig texted to let me know they were on their way and I disappeared into the store for about an hour. After I got back out to the car, thinking it would be time to go and pick him up at the airport in about a half hour, I got another text from Craig…there was an issue AGAIN and they couldn’t take-off…AAHH! Very frustrating and so much for newlywed romance, huh? 🙂

So…I visited Best Buy since my phone was close to dying at this point and I didn’t have a car charger…(We do now!) Then, I found a movie theater, rather close to the airport – and not in a desirable part of Memphis… – and by this time, Craig reminded me of his flight number and said they had gotten a NEW airplane, and were about to take off.

Well, I looked down at the clock in my car. 6:30pm. And I walked up to the ticket counter at the movie theater, and saw that “This Is 40” began at 7:05pm. Perfect! By the time the movie ends, Craig will be here and I will have killed 2 hours! I bought my small popcorn and small Diet Coke (STAPLES for a movie, in my opinion), and went into the theater…to find the movie halfway over… What???

OH YEAH! Memphis is in the Central time zone…and the clock in my car is on the Eastern time zone. Duh.

So, I watched the end of “This Is 40″…and then, when the movie was over, I stretched my legs in the lobby and came back to watch the beginning of the movie. About halfway through, Craig FINALLY texted to say they had safely arrived in Memphis! So I left to head to the airport to pick him up! I’m not sure what happens in the MIDDLE of “This Is 40”, but I enjoyed the beginning and the end…even in reverse order.

I picked up my husband and it was WONDERFUL to be able to spend an evening with him in the middle of a 4-Day trip!! (Even though, after we ate dinner, we were both sleeping like babies within minutes!) I took Craig back to the airport at 7am, and began my drive BACK to Dallas. My mother asked me if it was worth 12 hours of driving to be able to spend even less than that with my husband, and it absolutely was! I would have driven, flown or swam any number of miles to be able to spend any amount of time with him at all.

And so, as I await his arrival back home this afternoon, I wish all of you a very Happy New Year! We are going to celebrate with champagne, black-eyed peas and collard greens, and Mass on January 1st. I cannot wait! I can honestly say that 2012 has been the absolute best year of my life, and according to a recent tweet by my husband, he feels the same:

I have the very best husband in the whole world, and am blown away each day by how God has truly blessed us in 2012!We can only imagine what He has in store for us in 2013! We thank all of you for making this year special, and wish you all the best in 2013!

Love Love!

xoxo,
Pier & Craig

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Blessings Through Raindrops

December 24, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Yesterday morning I was fortunate enough to enjoy my morning coffee on our back deck, looking out into the distant hills and enjoying the crisp Georgia breeze. While I sipped my coffee, I prayed the same prayer Craig and I have been diligently praying for what seems like forever…and then glanced down to notice that what had once looked like tree-esque weeds, now were almost actual mini pine trees…Which reminded me that God provides. Always. Matthew 6:25-34 comes to mind and is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.

And speaking of blessings in places you don’t expect, if you know THIS Newlywed Lefebvre, you know how much I despise dedicated exercise. I love to be outside hiking, playing ball, enjoying nature, swimming, but when it comes to saying, “Ok, time to exercise for 30 minutes,” typically, I would rather be told I would be denied food for a week. HOWEVER, Craig and I decided to start running together in the mornings during the week about a week ago and we have been pretty good about keeping it up, I’m even running on my own when he’s on the road. Why and how is this a blessing you might ask? Well, first, it’s more time we get to spend together. The extra hour in the mornings before I head off to the office have now become something we actually look forward to, and in ADDITION, we are doing something beneficial for ourselves! It also makes ME thankful for modern science…as we discovered one early morning last week, without my asthma inhaler and knee brace, running is…well…not a blessing! 😉

Craig called this morning to tell me he was heading out from Oklahoma City on the last leg of his trip right as I was using my inhaler and heading out the door for my run…he warned me about the rain…and about halfway into my run, it started POURING…and I was drenched! I considered picking up the pace and running straight back to the house, but then I looked up at the sky and I thought about those little pine trees in our backyard…and how God was providing for them everything they needed to grow and mature…and I thanked God for the rain and continued the final 15 minutes soaking wet! It helped to reiterate to me that GOD WILL PROVIDE for Craig and I, and we will keep praying and thanking Him for all we already have. We are so blessed.

“Blessings” by Laura Story

On a side note, we have been promising a picture of the dresser we refinished… This dresser is Stickley and when I found it a few years ago at the antique store it was stenciled in horrid varying shades of green and red and yellow…Hideous barely begins to describe it. People would see it in my old condo and comment on its ugliness! I assured them of its potential! If you have never heard of Stickley furniture, read about it here. The antique store where I found it didn’t know what it was either, and allowed me to take it off of their hands for a mere $200!!

After removing the horrible paint and sanding down the surface, we stained it a bluish grey and replaced all the knobs with clear glass ones:

What do you think? 🙂

Well, y’all, Happy Christmas Eve! I need to finish laundry so when my better half is home in a few hours we will have something to wear to this evening’s soirée, and finish getting ready myself! We wish you all the Merriest of Christmases! May God rain down His blessings on you all!

Much Love,

Pier & Craig

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The Parable Of The Ten Gold Coins

November 21, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Today’s Gospel (Click Me)

Good Morning Loves!

Craig and I have been trying to be pretty consistent with meditating on and reading the Daily Readings, and today’s gospel (with the link and reflection above) struck a chord I have spoken about in a previous post. It also is a great reading to reflect on in light of this season of giving thanks.

God has provided each of us with so many gifts and blessings. More often than not, we all focus on the negative things in our lives and forget about the wonderful aspects. This Thanksgiving, let’s make a return on our ‘investments’ – use the gifts God has blessed us with and thank Him for all He has done.

Will we show God our gratitude for His blessings or will we hide those blessing away, as if we are ashamed?

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s big list of THANKSGIVING from Craig & I!

Love Y’all!

Pier & Craig

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A Week of Giving Thanks

November 20, 2012November 20, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

This past weekend C & I traveled to MN for Marty & Danielle’s wedding – the newest Newlywed Lefebvres. 🙂 It was a beautiful ceremony, and it gave us both a chance to listen to and recommit to those same vows we took two months ago.

A beautiful wedding for a beautiful couple! We thoroughly enjoyed our entire weekend! It was wonderful to visit with family – especially since we won’t be back up for Thanksgiving!

And then I got to thinking…Ugh. Craig has to work on Thanksgiving. Of course. Bleh. And started feeling sorry for myself…And then, I started thinking of all we have to be thankful for…and what Thanksgiving really is all about…and while we can’t be together on this special day, we can still share our thanks – and I have a big list coming for y’all in celebration of the Nationwide Gobble!

Today, on the Tuesday before our first Thanksgiving as a married couple, and in celebration of Marty & Dani’s love, Craig and I are thankful that God led us to one another. And as I said, the bigger list is coming for Turkey Day!

Have you sat down and thought about, no matter how bleak life looks at this particular moment, the long list YOU have to be thankful for?

Lots of Love,

Pier & Craiger 😉 (And a special shout-out to our dear French Dip!)

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Random Tidbits For Today

November 12, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

We are super excited to leave this week for Marty & Dani’s wedding in Minnesota! Marty is Craig’s cousin and was also our Best Man. They are a very special couple to us and we can’t wait to celebrate with them this weekend! Keep your fingers crossed for the flights, as we try to fly out Thursday evening!
I discovered the BEST GLUTEN-FREE frozen blueberry waffles EVER. They are delicious. Oh my goodness. Gluten-Free or not, I would urge you to try them, and see if you could do the healthy(ER) alternative to waffles. Here’s a link to this delicious breakfast: http://www.vansfoods.com/The_Goods/#/Waffles/Wheat_Free–Gluten_Free/Vans-Blueberry-5
Craig and I ventured out to a ‘dance club’ in town this weekend and quickly discovered why we hadn’t been back to this place since the last time we went, back in the summer of 2011…Not only was it so smoky neither of us could breathe, but I was also ‘accosted’ by a rather hulky female who (commenting on my sparkly sea green top) asked who I thought I was, Vanna White? I think my husband was a little tickled by the remark…Um…was that a compliment, Mrs. Hulk? I can think of a million people I would be SAD about being compared with…but not Vanna White!??!
Happy (Belated) Veterans’ Day! We sent my father a thank you text, but that doesn’t even begin to cover the amount of gratitude we hold for him and all other U.S. Veterans and Active Duty Service members. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for our great nation!
Yesterday’s Gospel reading was from The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, verses 38 through 44, and our homily really made me think about how much more I could (and should) be doing. God gave me musical talent, so why am I not singing with our ‘choir’? He blessed me with the ability to speak in public well, and without nervousness, so why haven’t I stepped up to be a lector? Because I always have an excuse…My commute. Oh, we travel too much for me to make a commitment to something like that. Oh, they don’t really need me, do they? It’s time for me to stop making excuses for why I haven’t devoted more of my time to the Church, and do something about it. Stay tuned….
And last but not least… GO DAWGS!!!! Seriously! A 38-0 win over Auburn AT Auburn to take the SEC East!! Wahoooo! The Deep South’s oldest rivalry, indeed!

Well, enough for now…Hope all of you are safe, sound, and doing very well! Love to all!!

xoxo,

Pier & Craig

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Love Is In The Mountains

November 5, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

This weekend C & I were honored to be guests for our dear friends’ Josh & Julia’s wedding in the mountains of North Carolina. C used his photography skills to document the whole thing, but unfortunately, for the moment, you’re stuck with MY photography… Luckily, the bride, groom and their beautiful children made it impossible to take a bad picture. Here are a few samples: And one of the videos I took (and I profusely apologize for my videography skills…Goodness, the sun was in my eyes and I was trying to hold a small digital camera still in the wind…I know – excuses, excuses…):

The rest of the pictures are HERE and you can see the other videos HERE. Witnessing the marriage ceremony of two of our most treasured friends, especially in such an unbelievably gorgeous setting, really brought home for me (or perhaps I speak for both C &I) God truly being in the midst of such an event. And if you’ll allow Him to, He will remain at the center of everything in your relationship. At the end of a long week, there is NOTHING like going to Mass with my sweet husband. Nothing makes me feel closer to him and nothing makes all of my silly anxieties and stresses melt away like worshipping with my soul mate.

We wish our newest newlywed friends the very best! We are so blessed to have them in our life!

Xoxo,

Pier & Craig

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James 1:2-4

November 1, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

I love the Book of James, and I really felt led to share this passage with all of you today.

Love To All Of You,

Pier & Craig

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Betcha Didn’t Know…

October 26, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

In honor of my sweet husband’s post yesterday, I decided to dedicate a post on the blog today all to him. 🙂 You know Craig, but do you REALLY know him? Do you really know what a wonderful man I am lucky enough to have? Here are 10 things about C you may or may not know:

He makes my coffee for the next morning before we go to bed. Without him, I would be the frazzled mess I am ‘pre-coffee’ all day long! 🙂
He loves to sing karaoke with me! Just last night we spent the evening playing SingStar on the Playstation 3…C can do “Walking In Memphis” so well it would bring tears to your eyes – and it did to mine last night, but don’t tell him that! Shhh!
He is a roller skating champ – I mean really. How well he can roller skate would astound you. I can’t wait to go back to Sparkles (hint, hint) for some FUN exercise!
He writes beautiful poetry…♥
He loves lemon-flavored desserts…which I am not particularly fond of.
He doesn’t like his socks to be folded like a normal person…but rather, actually folded. This drives me INSANE when I am putting away laundry…Alas, the things we do for those we love. 🙂
Craig has the patience of Job…something I am trying to glean from him… 🙂
He absolutely HATES Wal-Mart…My thriftiness dictates I shop there for groceries and household items as much as possible, but as much of a spend-thrift as C is, he would avoid entering a Wal-Mart at all costs – literally. Especially the self-checkout…Want to test that Job-esque patience??? Suggest using the self-checkout at a Wally-World…Goodness gracious…
At some point on a Saturday or Sunday, you WILL find Craig at Mass. Whether he is on the road, we are on a vacation, we are exhausted from the week, or it’s a typical Sunday morning, he makes it a point to attend Mass – no matter what. That’s one of the top 5 things I love about my husband. He is the spiritual leader of our little family, and his love for God shines through everything he does.
He secretly enjoyed writing yesterday’s blog…and I’m fairly certain it wasn’t his last post. 🙂 When he and I began corresponding back and forth in the beginning of our relationship, one of the things that attracted me most to him – sight unseen – were his ‘letters’ to me…They weren’t just simple responses to questions I asked or pointed questions toward me, but flowing and sweet and thoughtful letters. So, whether he’ll admit it or not, I think you lucky folks have more reading of Craig’s notes ahead. 🙂

Well my dears, now you know! 🙂 Have a wonderful weekend all! We are heading north tonight to Clayton, GA and Tallulah Gorge…I’m sure we’ll return to post many gorgeous pictures of the scenery here and on our Shutterfly page. I cannot wait to enjoy ACTUAL FALL WEATHER here in Georgia!! Wahooooo!

Much Love Y’all,

Pier & Craig

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What A Weekend…

October 22, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Oh. My. Goodness. This weekend was absolutely crazy…but everything ended up working out for the absolute best…Praise the Lord. Literally. I just can’t believe I actually made it back to my desk at work today. I should actually be curled up in bed with Daisy, getting the rest I never got…

Friday, before leaving the office, I heard a tiny thud and saw a blue stone on a printed out e-mail at my desk…Lo’ and behold, it was a sapphire from my wedding band…Never a good way to begin the weekend…Luckily, my sweet husband is working with the guy who made my engagement ring from Craig’s design to re-design my band and fix it all up. After it is all said and done, the ring will be much more structurally sound and just as beautiful as ever.

After work, I began my 42 mile trek home…Yes. My commute is 42 miles each way, and each leg takes me about an hour and a half. Gotta love it…ANYWAY, I rushed home as quickly as I could so Craig and I could enjoy dinner together before he flew to Dulles for the evening…I got home, said hi to sweet Daisy and my amazing husband, and enjoyed a much needed glass of wine as he finished cooking my a delicious, from-scratch, meal of Gluten-Free Chile Rellenos, with the poblano peppers we grew in our own little garden. It was a delicious meal, and before I knew it, it was time for Craig to fly away…So, he left, I did a blog post about our new sofa and then went upstairs to change out of work clothes and slip into my comfy sweats…I came downstairs and watched a great movie, enjoyed another glass of wine and our extra comfortable new sectional…And then decided, since I had a hair appointment in LaGrange the next morning at 9:45am, I should probably head to bed…Well, usually when I get into bed, Daisy is right on my heels…But not this time…And then I realized I hadn’t seen her since Craig left much earlier… I called her multiple times (she answers to her name), to no avail… I looked ALL over the house…No Daisy…Around 11:30, I put on warm clothes and walked all over the neighborhood crying like a baby and calling for my sweet kitty…At 1:30am, I was all cried out, and I went inside to go to sleep with no happy thoughts in my mind…Craig was very worried too and he assured me I should go to my hair appointment the next morning and he would begin to search for her as soon as he got home…Tearily and with a heavy heart, I agreed…I cried the entire hour and a half drive, until Craig called to tell me he’d found her!!!!!! My poor sweet girl had been underneath the ground-floor deck at the neighbors’ house the entire night…She was cold and covered in cobwebs and grass, but her sweet father had rescued her and brought her back inside. Whew.

Daisy was safely at home, so I enjoyed the rest of my hair appointment and visiting with Ralph & Cynthia, but I was concerned about my mother. She had not been feeling well all week…I’d called on Thursday night and woken her up around 9pm…That was unlike her…I had called Friday night to see if she felt any better and my Dad had answered the phone and said she was still not well…Then that morning, I had called to let them know Daisy was lost – before Craig found her – and I spoke with my Dad the whole time because she was so sick…

Well, I got home and Craig and I went to pick out our pumpkin as we had planned to do before, since Daisy was now safe and sound…We went to the grocery store to get dinner ingredients for Sunday evening, and to Target to buy throw pillows and a few throw blankets I had seen on sale. We stopped by Blockbuster to pick up a scary movie (my fave: The Shining), and while we were waiting in line, my Dad texted to let us know he had taken my mother to the emergency room and would keep us posted!!!!! Of course, I was very concerned. My mother hates doctor visits as much as I do, so I knew this was serious…but all I could do was wait. Dad said not to worry about coming down until he knew more… So Craig and I went to dinner at our sushi place, and while we were eating my mother called to let us know they were taking her into surgery around 10pm for an Appendectomy. We were so relieved to hear her voice and know that they had figured it out and she would be fine by the next morning!!!!!!!

With that relief, and the promise of a phone call from my Dad when all was said and done, we went to Folklore – a haunted house in Dallas. Let me tell you. I have been to my share of haunted houses and this one was well worth the price of admission! Extremely creepy and entertaining!! If you live anywhere nearby, this is definitely a must-do for the Halloween season!

When we had heard my mother was safely in recovery, we set to work on carving our pumpkin… Whom we had dubbed “Nerdkin”… So cute! We worked hard on this one, but in the end, I think it was worth it:

I think it turned out really well…and you should SEE all the seeds we got from the Nerdkin! Goodness gracious! An entire mixing bowl full!! We are roasting them with butter, sugar and cinnamon this evening and I am sure they’ll be delicious!!

Sunday we went to early Mass at 8am, met with a man via Craigslist about purchasing our old coffee and end tables (which he did – YAY!!!), and then headed to LaGrange to see my mother! Oh my goodness she looked fabulous! Seriously, like she had had surgery less than 12 hours prior, and looked better than I did. Unfair! 🙂 But such an absolute blessing!!

In all seriousness, we are truly blessed and although this weekend was a whirlwind, and complete insanity, throughout the entire time we prayed and prayed and prayed…Prayers of pleading for help and of thanking God for his mercy! So much happened, but God led us through all of it victoriously! Praise Him!

Please continue to pray for healing for my mother, and for Craig and I as a couple – that we maintain the strength to get through the good and the bad. 🙂 Thank you for all of your kind comments and your love and for reading our blog!! We are sooooo lucky! 🙂

Much Love,

Pier & Craig

PS – You’re all in for a treat…My dear husband told me last week he plans to do a blog post here on his own about our almost-complete bedroom, with pictures of our new bed, bedding, and the nightstands he built. 🙂 Stay tuned! xoxo