The Pioneer Woman, aka Rock Star.

I have been dying to sit down and write about this weekend with my mom and our new friend, The Pioneer Woman. I can't describe how fun it was to have this little road trip with my mom for her birthday. I am so thankful that I have a mom that I can be friends with. What a neat blessing in this life! I pray that Langley and I will be close as she grows up. I hope that I can plan trips for her and her children like my mom does for me. She is very generous in that way. It was a fantastic trip. Thanks, MOM!

We left B-Town Saturday morning in plenty of time to eat, check in the hotel and gawk at the Pottery Barn building right next to our hotel. The book signing started at 6:00, so we headed over to the library about 4:30. I don't think we were prepared for the amount of people that flocked from all over the mid-west to meet Ree. By 4:30, the crowd was sizable and the line was out the door into the parking lot. We gathered up Wit's stroller, a bag of snacks that rivaled any grocery store, our cameras and our PW cookbooks.

This was the line out of the library at 4:30.  It got much, much larger.  Crazy.

It was such a fun experience to wait in line with hundreds of other women. The conversations were buzzing with PW's latest blog posts, recipes, fashion tips and most importantly Cowboy Josh. The funniest quote of the night came from a group of young women in front of us. One of them said, "getting ready to meet Pioneer Woman is way more stressful than a first date!" I agree. I hemmed and hawed over my outfit several times during the week leading up to the signing.

Aren't women funny?

While we waited in line, the library employees headed out in the cold to give us tickets into the building. The tickets represented what group we were during the autographing portion. We were in group 3, out of 12. One couple who had a ticket for group 12 offered my mom $20 to give up her ticket. They asked if both of us really needed to go meet her, or would it be ok if only one of us did. Really, people? Suffice it to say we DID NOT drive 4 hours WITH a toddler for ONLY ONE of us to meet Pioneer Woman.

Sheesh.

Once the doors opened it was a mad rush to get a seat for her presentation. We lucked out because my big, awkward stroller could only go in the side front row. So we were really close to the stage. It was awesome. At that moment, I was so happy that my mom insisted we take Wit.



The tray is for sitting, Mom.  Only babies sit in the seat.



Finally, it was time for her to speak. What a pleasant little ray of sunshine she is! Adorable from head to toe, she stood at the microphone and shook nervously. Immediately I connected with her. She talked about everything from cooking, to blogging, to her dog Charlie, to her fabulous boots. But the one thing that struck me was how real she was. She could have come on stage with her $400 boots and her sassy hair and been ALL THAT. But she wasn't. She was the most approachable person I have ever met. In the middle of her Q&A session she stopped talking and just shouted, "I'm sweaty up here!" A sisterhood was formed right there among 800 women.



A-DOR-ABLE!!  Inside and out.

Her website gets 31 MILLION hits per month because she is so real. She writes from her heart and doesn't try to sell herself as being awesome. Never once did she parade her children's achievements or her busy schedule in our faces. She just talked like you and I would talk. Normal, natural, human connection. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Someone asked if she wanted another baby.  Here she is looking at Marlboro Man for the answer.

Listening to her answer questions about blogging really inspired me to keep it up this time. Not that I want to ever have a blog that gets that kind of attention, it's not about that. It's about valuing my stories, my children and our life. She said to write honestly everyday. Not try to make every piece epic, just real. People are drawn to real people. She gave me lots to think about regarding passions. You can tell that hers is writing and cooking and family. Again, connection made.

After she spoke, they began to call groups back by number for the autograph portion. This was hilarious because they put her in a fancy room but they left Marlboro Man, her husband's blog name, to fend for himself. You should have seen the crowd of women surrounding him to get his picture. {He was dreamy.} I'm not sure if he planned for all this attention, but he sure got it and more!

My silly mom cropped herself out of this picture. But she was there, too!

I practiced what I was going to say when it was finally our turn at the table, but I was too awestruck to say anything other than, "I love your mixer." (What!?) I drove all the way from B-Town, stood in line for hours and all I could say was, "I love your mixer."

Dummy.

She didn't seem to mind. We had a great one minute talk about her mixer and my toddler. I think she liked him! He was the perfect gentleman for the entire night. Not one tear, or tantrum. I am so proud of my little wingman!

Sweet Wit.  What a trooper for putting up with all these women!

We had a delightful night topped off with The Cheesecake Factory. I don't think it could have been more perfect. The next day we strolled through Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma. *swoon*

The only picture my mom would allow of herself on my blog.  You're beautiful, Mom. Don't be too hard on yourself!

Awesome trip. Awesome Mom. Awesome celebrity crush!

And Awesome Skip for having the house clean and kid's homework done by the time we rolled back into town! So thankful for that!

Road Trip Highlights....plus a good-ole embarrassing moment!

Great Time Was Had By All!

We had a fantastic time in St. Louis last weekend. As you can see the view from our hotel room was incredible. I felt like I could reach out and touch someone from our room. We had a blast watching all the excitement and hearing the noise of the crowd. Skip and Z went to the game while Lou and I stayed behind. Gotta say, I was soooo jealous. It is such a fun atmosphere that you can't help get excited.

After Skip and Z went, I kept watching the scalpers and seriously thought about buying a ticket for Lou and I. I lost my nerve well into the 6th inning. So, she and I ordered room service and took a bubble bath. She fell asleep watching Madagascar. We snuggled up in the Westin's Heavenly Bed...I gots to get me one of those.

View from the "cheap seats." When Skip was in HS, he played a tournament against #44. Gotta say he is not a fan (probably just jealous).

My guys enjoyed the game...even though Cardinals lost. It is a dream come true for Skip to take his son to a game. They had a special time.

Lookin' good! Oh yeah, I would say this was a tad bit embarrassing. I am the only one in my family with enough hair to make this experiment work at the Magic House. We had a blast exploring this museum on Saturday. Well worth the $20 bucks. Not one time did the kids complain, or fight, or whine, or beg, or bother. I would have paid $200 bucks for that peace! They have the most amazing, hands-on activities. To top it off, they have a 4 story slide that the kids LOVED!! It was a wonderful day!

Here is the kicker. If you thought I was embarrassed before with my wild hair...you ain't seen nothin' yet. You know those pin toys that show your hand, or face, etc on the other side? Well, this is a whole wall. We had so much fun sticking our hands and writing our names in the pin wall. The second panel down is my face. If you look closely at the third panel down...those 2 round objects are my boobs. I came around to the other side to see my face, only to get a double surprise! Skip was laughing so hard. Thank the LORD we were the only ones at the wall. That was enough to make me blush. Of course, he had to take a picture of it...

Ramblin' Road Trip

We are leaving in just a few short minutes for a road trip to see our beloved Cardinals. But, before we go I am going to ramble on about something that has been weighing my heart down lately.

Skip and I have been talking about this for a couple of days but purposefully didn't tell the kids until this morning. We waited until we knew for sure it was going to happen. We didn't want to crash and burn with the kids...you all know what I mean.

Everything is now secure and we gathered our foursome on the couch to tell the kids. MY, OH MY are they excited. Skip and Z are going to the game and tomorrow we will go to the zoo. The smiles from our kids made it all worth it. They immediately jumped up and started to pack. It was delightful...I love surprising them. Skip and I would have been devastated if they whined and complained about the bump in their schedule. How often do I whine and complain when God places something in front of me that doesn't quite fit with what I wanted.

As I was packing, I was struck with the thought of how our gifts towards our children don't even compare to the gifts the Lord has for His children. We rocked our kids' world and their response was IMMEDIATE. Now, mind you it was a good surprise so it should justify an immediate response.

I know and believe that God has a plan for me. I trust that plan. But I don't always obey when I hear Him whisper to me in my heart. I rebel. I procrastinate. I try to justify why I shouldn't do what I think I should. As I pondered my kids' reaction, I knew that there have been hundreds of times that I have grieved God because of my brat-like behavior.

When God told Abraham to take his only son, his beloved son Issac, to sacrifice him, Abraham's response was IMMEDIATE. The Bible says:

"Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Issac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I tell you. So Abraham rose early in the morning...and went to the place God told him."

Abraham didn't hesitate. He obeyed immediately because he knew that the Lord was greater than any gift. The Lord was everything to him. It didn't matter that it wasn't what Abraham would have chosen. He didn't try to justify a way out. He didn't procrastinate. He didn't act like a spoiled brat. He did it. First thing. He jumped out of bed with the full intention of sacrificing his son. The thought of that is beyond my comprehension.

I know God would never require me to take my child's life. But I know that He does want me to sacrifice my will. My desires. My schedule. My time. I don't willingly give any of those. I don't willingly give my day to Him and ask Him to guide me. I don't willingly lay down my desires for someone else. I don't show God that He is more important than everything He has given me.

Where am I going on this ramblin' road trip? I am not sure. But I know I need more of God. I need His Living Water to rain down on me and fill up my God-shaped hole I have created by choosing my will over His. I need to remember my kids' reaction to our surprise and make that my response to God's surprises...good or bad. I need to stop whining, stop complaining when things don't go my way.

I need to be reminded that my life belongs to the One who made it.