Road Trip To Sin City, Part 1

We went to Las Vegas, NV for my brother's wedding. We decided that if we had to drive two days to get there and two days to get back, we might as well make a whole vacation out of it.

On Saturday, we drove from Oklahoma City, OK to Albuquerque, NM and spent the night at Chez Jenna, in the Mom Room. We visited for only a few moments (let her dog, Charlie Brown, come and stare at me like he does with Mom) and then went to bed. We arose fairly early on Sunday. Several months ago, I had seen an interview on TV with Neil Patrick Harris, and he said his parents owned a restaurant in Albuquerque. It is a wonderful little Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch spot called Perennials. We found it, and enjoyed the most wonderful breakfast. We both had the Fiesta Bowl which was hash browns covered by a meat of your choice, eggs cooked your way, and chile of your choice (Red or Green). I loved it so much, I bought a mug with their logo on it. I recommend that you eat there if you can. They are a very nice neighborhood sort of place; no big bragging on their famous son, nothing at all in fact to attach him to their business.



We then went to Gallup, NM to meet my parents. From there, we were a short caravan to Vegas. (My parents drive a Dodge Caravan, so yes, the pun was intended.) There was snow on the ground in Flagstaff, AZ. (This was Devil Dog Road... had to have a picture of that for the Devil Dog dessert DH loves from Vintage Timeless Coffee.)



We stopped in Winslow, AZ, and let DH stand on a corner. I am sure that is not a new concept, but it was fun for us.



We didn't forget Winona, AZ (get your kicks on Rt. 66!).



We spent three days and four nights there. I have never before been to Las Vegas. It is huge, and growing all the time. It is fantastic and busy. We stayed at the Stratosphere, at the very north end of "The Strip". DH referred to it as the giant thumb tack... it can be seen from Henderson when you get close to Vegas... and it is a perfect landmark for finding your way. All that, and I never really got a good picture of it. My good pictures were from the top of it, looking down. Imagine that!

We spent Monday walking from Treasure Island (somewhere in the middle)...



...all the way south to the MGM Grand (the far south end).



We were sore and blistered, but had a fun time with Best BFF and her hubby.

Tuesday was the Wedding.



It was beautiful! Short, sweet, to the point, and no Elvis Impersonators in sight! I made sure as my first question to Bro that there would be none. He said that there wouldn't be any "within a MILE!" and then amended to say that he couldn't be sure how many Impersonators would be within a real one mile radius of the chapel, but there would be no Elvis in the building for his wedding. The officiant on staff at the chapel. Bro said he did a great job for not knowing anything about them.



Mom looked great!



The ducks were beating them to the punch! (I hear they were male ducks, so maybe they were fighting over a girl? I don't know.)



Lots of pictures being taken.

New Family. Bro and SIL with their new In Laws.



Sisters. This is Mom (in the middle) and her two sisters. In age order from right to left, and height order from left to right.



New couple.



They each asked their sisters to be witnesses on the official paperwork!
His sister... that would be me.



Her sister.



To be continued....

Ask, Seek, And Knock. Simple Instructions.

God is so big. Massive. My realization of this fills me with awe. Saying "awesome" doesn't really share the immensity of the relationship, or the epiphany. God could be concerned with governments, planets, galaxies... or birds, fleas and grass.... but He chooses to be concerned over me. Chooses to give me more than I could ever really know I needed.

I keep coming back to the Scripture. One idea in particular stands out recently. A theme, of sorts. The words of Jesus. The way he conversed with the apostles and the people. The words he said. I can imagine him shaking his head at us... like a frustrated parent. What were you thinking? Don't you know? I have told you over and over.

It shows in the way he started different explanations. "Have you not read the Scripture?" And it is in the way he instructed by reminding. "You do not have because you do not ask!"

For Christmas in 2007, I asked for a new car. I was frustrated with the Buick and didn't want it to die on me again in some remote place. I put the request in my Elfster account that we had for our family gift exchange. I added that if I didn't ask, I would never receive. Not that I was asking the family to provide, but that I wanted the request known.

Before Christmas 2008, I had the new car.

For Christmas in 2008, I decided to ask for the grandest thing I could think of. I know that I do not have a NEED for any THING, but I have many desires. God says he longs to give us the desires of our hearts. So I went bold. I asked for a new house.

Yesterday, we received the pre-approval letter to take to our contract meeting. We have been approved to make a loan to get a home. We have chosen the home, and are working to purchase it from the owners. This "For Sale By Owner" is a friend of ours, and they never even had to put a sign up at the house.

Before Christmas 2009, if all goes well, we will have the new house I asked for.

What have I missed out on by not asking for it?

Go talk to God. He wants to give us good things.

Safe, Sassy and Silly

I feel like I apologize every time I post. I have not been blogging enough, and I wonder if people even notice, because the hints to write have not come as often as I expected. I do keep up with many of my blogger buddies on Facebook. While it isn't the same, it is more instant, and easier for me.

I have to say for the benefit of my panicked friends, there were tornadoes here in OKC on Tuesday afternoon. My house didn't even get so much as ONE hailstone. Which is good. I could see the storm, to my west, and moving to the north. I have a friend in radio who recorded the storm from his back porch on a cell phone video. It was spectacular. (God is so big!) We are fine, and all our church family and friends are fine. I don't even know anyone who got wind damage or debris thrown at their house.

Thank you to all the friends who checked on me via phone and Facebook. We are not harmed by the tornado, and I value your good thoughts, prayers and well wishes. You are so very important to me. I don't get to say it often, but I should do so more.

My Bro is getting married. This is a little odd. I never even asked what he thought of me saying yes when DH proposed. I was so excited, I didn't think about the family opinions. I don't really know much about Future SIL. I know that she is nice, and pretty, and has Bro's heart. She thinks about Mom and Bro, and not just herself. (The past is behind us...) I have decided that she is good for Bro. In the past, with other girlfriends, I have wondered if Bro was settling. This time, I see that he has THE one. I can't argue with that. I am blessed that he found someone that I can be friends with. I would hate to hurt him by feuding with his wife. I don't see that being a problem here. And we are blessed.

Bro has been happy to plan the wedding according to Future SIL's wishes. I don't even know where the actual ceremony is going to be held. The wedding (and our vacation around it) will be held in Las Vegas, NV. We just got our tax refund in the direct deposit today... so the trip will be nice. We won't be gambling the money away, but we won't be forced to eat $1 hot dogs from the corner stand all week, either. We might even get to take in a show, thanks to this windfall.

Now I am going to have two sisters in law. SIL 1 and 2? Like Thing 1 and Thing 2 in Dr. Seuss books. This makes me laugh. I will have to think of a way to note the difference here on Blogger, so that you can know which SIL I speak of when I randomly mention life events.

DH and I are making a concerted effort to buy a home. We have picked the home, and chosen the Realtor who will guide and help us on the way. I need your prayers on the matter... I am scared. It is a good nervous fear, not the bad "I shouldn't be doing this" fear. I just don't want the fear to cripple me. We are committing to a Mortgage, when the economy and loan process are in the toilet. If one can afford it, now is the time to buy, while the rates are low and sellers are desperate to get out of their overpriced homes. This one is not overpriced, in fact the seller wants to let it go for around $15,000 less than the estimated value of the home. I will post more as we progress.

One last thing....Funny Friday.

Quotes from my Wednesday night Women's Class:
1. What good is having faith if you do not use it?
2. God is gonna be up; there is no sense to me losing sleep over my problems. I am going to bed.
3. Are there any prayer requests? "I have a plethora." (First thought in my head: Do you KNOW what a Plethora is??? We have a lot of fun in Wednesday night class!)

Have a great Valentine's Day!