Florida

Well, where to begin.... We landed in sunny Florida around 8 o'clock Sunday night. It was so interesting returning to the land of my birth. I only lived there for a few months but it was still familiar to me, especially the smells. We stayed in a very, very nice resort, that was basically a cruise on land, and had every amenity you could imagine. I wished we could have seen more of Orlando, but the days where spent working and haggling, and the nights were spent "partying." For those of you who do not know me, my version of partying consists of ginger ale with cranberry juice and going back to the room around midnight. I do not enjoy all hours of the night, drinking, ect... Yes, I maybe boring, but I prefer it that way.

I also had a number of new experiences. I met some pretty famous celebrities, which I will share more of in pictures. Had my first spa experience, and now I'm officially spoiled. Shaw bought out Universal Studios one evening, and all of us at the show had the whole place to ourselves. That was really awesome and really neat to have the whole theme park just for us. I also met up with some of my former reps from the store I worked at in Flagstaff. All in all it was a wonderful trip, and I'm slowly getting back to my routine. Here are some pics from the whirlwind trip....

Our amazing hotel with the weird name, Shingle Creek.

Frank, he's the pug in Men in Black... Our first celebrity siting, and petting, for that matter.

Nicky the Macaw, this guy has been in a number of movies, the most recent being Evan Allmighty. I learned that he's 18 years old and a huge mama's boy. His mom and I talked about bird things and swaped terrible two's stories.

The Cockatoo (don't remeber his name, but he sure was cute)

Oh, and Kathy Ireland. Truth be told, I stood in line to meet the animals, but wouldn't do the same for Kathy... What can I say, I'm an animal lover, especially birds.

A very silly picture of Chad, my rep from AZ whom I hadn't seen in three years, Brandy, our CEO, and Michele, our Tigard Store Manager

Okay, really silly picture of Michele and Me on the bus to Universal.

Universal Studios, Orlando

Outside the Mummy ride. No I did not ride it, I'm a whimp and it was a roller coaster.

A street scene with very cool car... Also Universal

And who doesn't love Lucy? I certainly do...(love her that is)

View from our hotel room, on Wednesday, our last day in Florida. Ironically it was the only day the sun was out, figures...

Another view from our window

Yours truly, very exhausted and without make-up :-)

Michele and Me enjoying our first day outside and in sunshine...

On our walk before we left for home

I think that is a crane?

More birds. I was in heaven....

This guy was only about a foot away and we had a very nice conversation. I think he like me, because he kept posing for me and stayed put the whole time.

Goodbye Florida

Well that's all folks... God Bless!

Love Lauren

Finally Home!!!

Hi Everyone,

I have been shamefully lacking in the blogging department lately. Partly due to very few new things going on and the rest due to a conference I just attended in Florida. I'm back home now, and I have lots of pictures and stories to share from my trip. I will hopefully get those posted this weekend. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday!!! God Bless.

Love Lauren


P.S. Keep Sarah Jane from Romantic History in your prayers, she's having her baby today!

A Wonderful Christmas

This Christmas was very different for Aaron and me. We usually hop on a plane and head south to sunny Arizona. However, we decided that this year was not going to work out for us. So, we stayed home and my parents and brother came up to rainy Portland for a Northwest Christmas. Unlike any other year before, we had snow, snow, and more snow. It looked alot like Flagstaff out side, minus the snow plows, and it was sure beautiful. However, it was dangerous and derailed many a plan for people in the area. But God had us in His hands. My parents drove up and made it in one piece and we had a very comfy, calm, and quiet Christmas.

The highlight of the trip, for me, was going out to Multnomah falls on Christmas Day. There was still a great deal of snow at the falls and the site is something we may never see again, unless we get another blizzard. It remined me of fairytale; so white and serene. It was beautiful.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to the New Year. God Bless and here are some pictures from our Christmas.

My Dad

My Mom

My Brother, Jamie, Aaron, and Me

Multnomah Falls

Miss Leila Lu

Gico Birdy

And Maximus

Merry Christmas

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe, and blessed Christmas. May we remeber it is our Savior, Jesus, whom we celebrate this day. God Bless, Love Lauren.

More Snow!!!

Okay, when I said "It would be nice to have a little snow for Christmas," I really didn't mean an arctic blizzard. Good grief Charlie Brown! It's still snowing. Here are some pictures and a video from today. God Bless and stay safe :-)

The "side walk" aka snow drift walk.

Daddy with the kids....

About 5 p.m.

Video from 5 p.m.ish

My Santa Story Continued...

Well, that was quite the response to my Santa Story post. I had no idea it would spark such conversation and, dare I say it, debate. My intention was to share a funny story from my childhood, however, that story clearly sparked some emotions among my dear readers. I have left all of the comments up, because they are all interesting and have sparked all of this conversation. I do want to say one final thing....

I find it interesting, as Mrs. G kindly brought to the floor, that it is the very people who are screaming tolerance who are intolerant. I want to make a clear distinction between tolerance and love. The Bible clearly does not preach nor teach tolerance. It does however, overwhelmingly preach love. Jesus loved and He loved deeply, however He did not shy away from the truth. In fact, He literally preached it from the mountaintops. He made it very clear that Christianity, as with any religion, is exclusive. There is one way, and one way only to Heaven and that is through Jesus our Savior. He also very bodly told people that we are sinners and need Him. However, He loved.

Webster defines tolerance as "sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own." Jesus was clearly not tolerant but, as stated earlier, He was loving. He loves us more that we can fathom. It is a true unconditional love, but not a tolerence. He told the world that "I am the way the truth and the light. No man comes to the Father except through Me." He loves us so much that He died for our sins. He died so that we can have eternal life with Him.

I hope you remember this season, during the hustle, bustle, and fun, that it is Jesus whom we celebrate. God Bless you dear readers and thank you for your overwhelming responses and debate.

Love Lauren

100 Things Meme

I saw this on my friend, Steph's, blog. I love clever memes. So here's my response :-)

100 Truth​s!​​

Last bever​age ---> Water

Last phone​ call → A Contractor

Last insta​nt messa​ge → Aaron

Last song you liste​ned to → All I Want For Christmas (On the Radio)

Last time you cried​→ Today when my boss gave me a Christmas present, tears of joy.

Last text messa​ge --> Aaron

HAVE YOU EVER:​​

Dated​ someo​ne twice​ → no

Been cheat​ed on → no

Kisse​d someo​ne & regre​tted it : no

Lost someo​ne speci​al→ Yes

LIST THREE​ FAVOR​ITE COLOR​S:​​Baby Blue, Sage Green, Red

IN THE PAST MONTH​ HAVE YOU:

Falle​n out of love:​​ no

Laugh​ed until​ you cried​ → yes many times

Met someo​ne who chang​ed your life → no

Found​ out who your true frien​ds were → yeah

Have you kisse​d anyon​e?​​ → my hubby

What is ur fav flower? I really love Roses

How many kids do you want to have → 1 at a time

Do you want to chang​e your name → No

What did you do for your last birth​day → Aaron and I went to Astoria

What time did you wake up today​ → 6:00 am

What were you doing​ at midni​ght last night​ -​ Sleeping

Name somet​hing you CANNO​T wait for → Aaron to finish school

Last time you saw your fathe​r→ June

What'​​s one thing​ you wish you could​ chang​e → people's hearts

Have you ever talke​d to a perso​n named​ Tom → Yes yesterday, he’s a contractor

What'​​s getti​ng on your nerve​s right​ now → nothing at the moment

What'​​s your real name → Bob (just kidding, it’s Lauren)

Middl​e Name → Elizabeth

Zodia​c sign → picese (technically, but I don’t pay attention to such things)

Hair color​ → brown

Long or short​-​​ long

Heigh​t → 5'2"

Tatto​os → never

Right​y or lefty​ → righty

FIRST​S :

First​ surge​ry:​​ Tossils removed

First​ pierc​ing → ears

First​ best frien​d →Elisa
First​ sport​ you joine​d→ Does Ballet count

First​ pet → Katie the Scotty dog

First​ vacat​ion → Ohio to visit my grandparents when I was just a baby

CURRE​NTLY :Eatin​g → nothing

Drink​ing → water

I'm about​ to eat→ dinner once I get home

Waiti​ng → for my vacation!!!

YOUR FUTUR​E :

Want kids?​​ yes

Want to get marri​ed?​​ Already, going on 4 years and loving it!
C
aree​rs in mind?​​ Stay at home mom, someday

WHICH​ IS BETTE​R WITH THE OPPOS​ITE SEX?

Lips or eyes→​ Eyes

Hugs or kisse​s ? Big bear hugs, but kisses are nice too.

Short​er or talle​r → apparently way taller, hubby is 6’4”

Older​ or Young​er→ older, but only a few years

Sensi​tive or loud →both

Hook-​​up or relat​ionsh​ip → long lasting, Godly relationship

Troub​le-​​maker​ or hesit​ant:​ I like a mix

HAVE YOU EVER :

Kisse​d a stran​ger → does highschool theatre count, although we didn’t really kiss it was a stage kiss during a play and he wasn’t a stranger. I did get to slap him though...

Drank​ hard liquo​r → once, just a sip, almaretto

Lost glass​es/​​conta​cts → no

Ran away from home → no

Been arres​ted → no, not even pulled over

Turne​d someo​ne down → yes

Cried​ when someo​ne died → yes, ok my heart is not made of stone

DO YOU BELIE​VE IN:

Yours​elf → I believe in God and what God does through me

Love at first​ sight​ → yes, Hubby is living proofS

Santa​ Claus​→ I refere to the previous post that caused such a rucous!

Kiss on the first​ date → no

Angel​s → I believe in what the Bible says about angels, yes

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! God Bless. If you are reading this post, you have been tagged.

My Santa Story

I think every kid and adult has some sort of Santa Clause story that really sticks in the forefront of there minds. Mine is still as clear in memory as the day it happened.

My parents decided that Santa Clause would not have a place in our house, which Aaron and I heartily agree. My mom always told us, if I lie to you about Santa Clause, how will you know that I'm telling you the truth about Jesus. She also didn't want to fill out heads with a story only to break our hearts later. So, she very lovingly told us that Santa Clause was a man who lived long ago and gave presents to poor children. She was clear to tell us that the jolly old elf who manages to squeeze down chimneys did not exist. So, from a young age, I knew that the American Santa Clause was a myth and Jesus was and is completely real and alive.

One Christmas when my brother was 3 and I was 7, we went with my dad on a job site. You see, my dad fixed computers on the side. The family that owned the business was very into Santa Clause and, like most adults around this time of year, they assumed we were too. Well, with huge smiles on their faces they asked Jamie, my brother, and I the question... "What is Santa Clause bringing you for Christmas?" Well, my brother and I were not fools and we knew very well what the truth was. Without skipping a beat we both said, quite confidently, "Santa Clause is dead!"

So, that has remained the family Santa story. And yes, Santa Clause is dead, but my Jesus is alive and well and living in my heart. God Bless and Merry Christmas dear readers.

Here is a rather humorous picture to go with the story....

Snow Day!!!

Wow!!! We have snow! It came down yesterday and it didn't stop until 5ish last night. So, Aaron's school is closed and my work is closed. However, I will be maning my store from home. The phones have been forwarded to my cell and I will be writing orders and such from my comfy couch on my laptop. It will sure be interesting to see if it will be crazy or not. So, if you call my cell and I answer "The Carpet Place" don't be alarmed, it really is me. I hope you all had a great weekend. God Bless! Here are some pictures of the gorgeous white.

We are going to hunker down out of the 21 degree weather outside and I'm going to try and run my store remotly. It will be quite the day :-)

The Christmas Party

We had our annual company Christmas party on Friday night, and, as usual, it was awesome! You see, I work for the coolest company who loves rewarding employees by throwing a very fancy bash with lots of cool goodies. For example, Aaron and I both came home with iPods. Mine is the touch (jumps up and down with huge goofy smile) and Aaron's is a Classic. We have been playing with them almost non stop now, tee hee. We also came home with gift cards, a comfy blanket, and a weird cooler thing, that we will probably use as a white elephant gift. All in all, it is the best bash of the year. Here is a slide show Aaron put together for Youtube. Enjoy and God Bless!

Aaron's Slide Show

Here we are :-)

What a Week!

I have been shamefully lacking in the blogging area. So much has been happening these past couple of weeks. I won't go into much detail, but I will say that I had a crazy week. As a manager, there are many decisions that I have to make for the health of my store. Some of them are not as easy or as pleasant as others. This week, the decision I had to make was extremely difficult, but necessary. It made me go way out of my comfort zone and was quite scary. However, after it was over, this overwhelming peace came. I know it was the best thing to do, and I know that my store and my staff will be so positively effected by it. I'm thankful that God gave me the strength to do what I had to do and that He also gave me the wisdom to know how to carry it through. Let's just say, it was a huge milestone in my career and a quite unpleasant situation has been turned into a new and exciting opportunity. Thank you to those who were praying for me during the "task" and thanks for your support dear friends. What a week of personal growth!

On another note, we finally received our professional pictures from the ball. Enjoy!

God Bless and have a wonderful week!

Thanksgiving Fests~

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. We spent our Turkey Day with friends from our young couple group. It was wonderful. Today we are having a repeat of Thursday at our house. It should be fun and quite interesting for the fur and feather kids :-) Here are some pics from Thursday :-) Enjoy!

The Portland Tribune!!!

Aaron and I are in the paper! Yipee!! Well, are pictures are not but our interview is. Here is the link to the article :-) Enjoy!

http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=122713573693154400

The Dentist

Well, we met with the dentist last night and it was interesting. However, Aaron and I both feel like it isn't the right fit for us. He is still planning on popping in the office and learning more before we rule out this opportunity. But, we both feel that this is not what God has for us. Also, Aaron is now questioning if we should stay here in Portland. That is stressful for me, because I love it here and we had already made that decision. So I'm asking for prayer in that area that I might be able to go with the flow and that God would be in control of the situation. Thanks for your prayers everyone :-)

Love Lauren

P.S. I hope you all have an awesome Thanksgiving.

First Outing

Today was a very exciting day in the Marks household. Today was the first day we took Max in the car, with Leila, to go for a fun walk. We took them to my favorite spot, Powell Butte. It was gorgeous, cool, cloudy, but dry, and Max was so excited and happy. He did so well. Today is also the ceremonial removal of the "Doggy Therapy Pool." It served it's purpose well, but Moose dog is officially done with rehab. So now it's trying to get him back to normal. Here are some pics from our momentous day :-)

The Ball...

Goodmorning everyone in blog land :-) I hope your Sunday is going well. We had a wonderful time at the ball and the scenery was stunning. Here are a few pictures of my costume (yes entirely hand stitched) and the amazing evening. There will be a few more later on, we had our pictures taken and the photographer is going to send us a CD. So when those arrive I will post them. Anyway, enjoy and God Bless!!!

18th Century Corset...

Here is a little preview of my corsett that I'm wearing tonight. Enjoy... I will post more pics later!

Max Update...

Hi everyone :-)

First, I want to say thank you so much for your prayers and kind words for Max. It has helped me so much during his surgery and recovery. Now for the news... We had his 4 week checkup today and he got the okay to start running and playing fetch again. This is so exciting because he hasn't played fetch since April. I just got back from our walk, it was 20 mins., which is the longest since April. He's doing so well and I'm so thrilled that my boy is almost back to normal. Thanks everyone :-) God Bless!

Love Lauren

The kids and me last October :-)

A Ball...

Tomorrow is the much anticipated Winter Ball for the Oregon Regency Society. I, to say the least, am super excited and can't wait to don my gharb and dance the night away. For those of you who have been dying to see my costume, the wait is almost over. I will post some pictures of the corset tomorrow, and I will probably have pictures of the finaly costume on Sunday. Keep checking dear friends and readers :-) God Bless!!!

More Memes

My friend Steph, The Hungarican Chick, posted this great meme. Here's my take on it :-) If you read said meme, you have been tagged.

Where is your mobile phone? Purse.

Where is your significant other? Home.

Your hair colour? Brown.

Your mother? Best Friend.

Your father? Loving.

Your favourite thing? Costumes.

Your dream last night? Weird

Your dream goal? Land

The room you're in? Office.

Your hobby? Sewing.

Your fear? Fire

Where do you want to be in 6 years? Acreage

Where were you last night? Home.

What you're not? Liberal

One of your wish-list items? Money

Where you grew up? Lake Havasu City, AZ

The last thing you did? Type

What are you wearing? Clothes.

Your TV? Entertainment

Your pets? Babies

Your computer? Life

Your mood? Eh

Missing someone? Family

Your car? Brown

Something you're not wearing? Lipstick

Favourite shop? Not Fair

Your summer? Too Hot

Love someone? Forever

Your favourite colour? Blue

When is the last time you laughed? Frequently

When is the last time you cried? This Morning

Blackadder Meme

Post your favorite scene from Blackadder. Well, I have too many, so here are some of my favorite blunders of Prince George III. Enjoy....



I am tagging all who read this post and love Blackadder :-)

A New Era

As we know, McCain is not our next president. It saddens me, but I also know that we serve a great God and my God is in control of all things. I will resepect President Obama, though I may not agree with him. God calls us to respect those who have been placed over us. I will also pray for our new president, whatever this new season brings. God Bless you guys :-) History has certainly been made.

Love Lauren

History in the Making

Today is fascinating for the United States and for the world. We will be chosing our leader for the next four years. I pray that Americans get out there and vote and that conservatives turn out. Either way, we will be making history. Our children will learn about the first female Vice President or the first African American president. I personally hope for the former, but I know that God is in control. The Bible tells us that God raises up and pulls down leaders. It' comforting to know that we serve a wonderful Creator who has ordered everything according to His plan. God Bless you dear friends and get out there and Vote!!!!

Go McCain :-)

Update...

So, Max had his 2 week checkup on Friday morning. It went very well! He's now allowed to go for short walks, get on the furniture, go upstairs, and start swimming in his therapy pool. The main goal now, according to his doctor, is for him to start using his leg. The doctor said if everything goes well he may allow Max to start playing fetch in a couple of weeks. It's quite exciting that he's doing well. Thanks for your prayers everyone.

As for my costumes... I have finished my ball gown and I'm almost finished with my 18th century stays. I will not, however, be posting pictures untill after the ball on Nov. 15th. I don't want to spoil the big reveal at the ball :-) So, you'll have to wait a couple more weeks to see what I've been working on. God Bless!

Love Lauren

P.S. Aaron recieved an email from a local Dentist he had sent a letter to about future employment. The Dentist lives in a rural community near Portland, which is what we want, and is a Christian. It's very exciting and I'm praying that this would work out. We are going to be having dinner with him on November 22nd. Please pray for God's guidance and wisdom. Thanks everyone :-)