a girlfriends weekend

 friday morning i woke up at 5am

hopped in my hubby's truck

and  drove to birmingham alabama

to hook up with my fantastic friend ashley

and one of her besties, amelia

we then jumped in ashley's swagger wagon

& road tripped to seaside florida!

oh yes we did

we talked
we laughed & we cried
we ate yummy food & drank good wine

amelia, i truly enjoyed spending some more time with you
& getting to know you better.
i appreciate your transparent heart
and your fun laugh!

ashley was shooting for her spring catalog

& chose to shoot at such a gorgeous location.

we met up with  darby

and her off the chart precious children.

she has a paige.

i wanted to bring that little one home with me.

oh my word.

we also met up with several mama's and their cutiepie kiddos

who modeled the spring BBTN line.

cuteness overload.

was a smidge chilly though. like boots & fleece chilly.

like wrap 'em up in blankies until it was their turn chilly.

but the pictures are gorgeous,

the line is fantastic,

& the weekend was wonderful

the sky this weekend was spectacular.

i look at this view and wonder how anyone could doubt that we have a Creator.

both mornings we woke up & saw dolphins playing out in the water.

i could have cried. i kid you not.

i love that.

just absolutely glorious.

i met ashley back in the spring.

we had been 'blog readers' of each other but had never chatted on the phone or met in person.

she invited me to spend a weekend with her , several ladies that host her line, a few close friends of hers and that cutiepie rockstar blogger darby.

it was an amazing weekend

that jumpstarted an amazing friendship.

ashley is a rare gem of a friend

who although we've only been buds for a few months,

i feel as if i've always known her.

she blows me away.

she's strong & creative

she loves the lord & she loves her babies well

she is an amazing wife & wears the funkiest jewelry

she's a wise entrepreneur & drives a minivan

her toes are painted black

she's off the chain generous

she serves many

gives away much

& listens to great music.

she's humble, bff to many and has the naturally whitest teeth. ever.

i love that girl.

i am blessed by her,

 more than she'll ever know.

because i'm a freak and didn't want my picture taken this weekend

i added this one from the girls weekend in the spring.

darby is third from the left

amelia is between her & ashley.

now if darby or ashley upload any unflattering photos from this weekend

this mushy post will indeed self destruct.

 (proof of ashley's fantastic choice in shoes)

 thank you sweet friend

for everything.

for being YOU.

you are loved!!!

 i haven't facebooked, emailed, blogged, got on line, edited photos,

checked out google reader, or twittered for almost 5 days.

this would normally cause me to feel completely behind

& maybe a tad overwhelmed

but i honestly enjoyed being unplugged

for a few days & just being in the moment.

tomorrow we're getting hardwood floors!

oh my word!

i want to put that in all caps, under line it & change the font

but i'll refrain.

this may be the most excited i've been about anything that is so non important

in all my life.

seriously.

Colossians 3:14 & 15 (NLT)

Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.

 For as members of one body you are called to live in peace.

 And always be thankful.