Springtime in Paris!

This weekend I got to celebrate with a very special young lady. 

I even got the opportunity to set up the venue for her big day!

My girls have been like Big sisters to Raven since she was little. 

She even acknowledged them as such in her Candlelight ceremony. 

Raven's first dance with her uncle.

With her aunt and mom.

I knew several of the teens who were at the party from our Youth Ministry days. Its hard to believe many of the boys and girls I knew are now young men and women!

We enjoyed some great food.

Hung out with some great friends! 

Some of us even did a little time on the dance floor. LOL

I think for just a moment my almost 30 year old daughters thought they were 16 again! 

But this 50 year Cinderella felt her age by the end of the night and couldn't wait to get out of her party finery! Not to mention her glass (actually satin) slippers!!! LOL I loved working with Mrs. M and I had a ball creating a magical night for a very special princess! You can see more pictures of the event space here. 

Ministry Month in Review for April

Our new ministry at WABC is Operation Andrew. Marc started it after meeting fellow classmate Andrew who is from Liberia. We collect gentle used clothing, household goods, toys, books, vitamins, aspirin, etc and box them up and then transport to be shipped out.

The Men's Ministry recently held a prayer breakfast. They cooked everything and set it up. They really did a good job. 

Including decorating the tables.

And the food was really good!

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After the breakfast a group of us started setting up for our Easter service Eggstravaganza.

Usually my favorite highlight of Easter is all of the children! But this year the theme of Men of WABC stood out. When Marc first came to WABC he prayed that it would be a place where men would feel comfortable to come forward.

Easter Sunday we saw that prayer manifest itself in service.

We also saw our teen boys step up to the plate and help the younger children during our Easter egg hunt.

This is a picture of us Easter Sunday. It was a cold and windy day and we were smiling but our butts were freezing. LOL

My friend Teresa invited our family to join her family for Easter Sunday dinner. Teresa and I have been friends for over twenty years and have even worked in ministry together. I was a young ministers wife when we first met but she has always been one of my cheerleaders from the sidelines!

This is Marc with some of Teresa's family and a mutual friend of ours who hosted the dinner at his home. Two of these men have been friends with Marc for quite some time. We don't get to see each other that often but when we do get together its always a good time! 

This is the back of our car last Friday filled with boxes for Operation Andrew. LOL Marc was headed to class and I went to see my mom for a brief overnight trip

It is never a dull moment when I'm with my mom. In the midst of the storms on Friday we were at a banquet along with several other members from my home church. I even got to spend more time with my sister cousin Pat! 

Speaking of cousins my Cousin Chrystal who is exactly a month younger then me celebrated with a big bash on the beach this past Saturday. My cousin Michelle (in the pink) rarely get to spend time together but we've had the opportunity to hang out a lot this month because of birthdays! 

In the midst of our celebrations this month our WIT Ministry members had to say goodbye unexpectedly to a very special friend. Cynt and I had been friends for nearly twenty years (along with many of the ladies in this picture). I still can't believe that she is gone. It was just a few months ago that we watched her get up from her sick bed after the doctors had pretty much thrown in the towel. She even made it to Marc's 5th Anniversary celebration. Her death as well as the passing of two other people I knew just really brought to the surface the importance of making every day count because tomorrow is not promised!  

RIP Cynthia!

Birthday luv

My people must know I love candles!! LOL The two larger ones were from church and the white one which came from my cousin Pat actually spells my name out in lights (literally...lol)!

And everyone knows I am a handbag addict (especially the friend who gave this to me). Not to mention a Disney Park lover. This bag will get some good use (hopefully in 2016)!

Clearly they know I am a jewelry connoisseur as well! Are these pieces not gorgeous? Bith of these presents came from members at our church. 

My older daughter Quisha treated me to a shopping trip to my favorite store in the whole wide world! I can't wait to try out all of the new fragrances! You all know I can't resist Bath and Bodyworks!

I was also given a bit of birthday money to spend so I picked up a few things that had been on my spring wish list. Including this black stripe skirt on my Pinterest! This one was way cheaper then anywhere else. I found it at Roses for $12.00!

My Easter Dress came from KandG (the accessories are courtesy of my hubby from my favorite retail shop Catos).

And a waffle textured robe that I had been eyeing forever at Target! I also picked up a few shirts from Cotton On but after I got them home I didn't like the way they fit so I am hoping to take them back or exchange for something else. As much as I love the presents the best part of my birthday was spending it with family and friends! Next up is my after Easter shopping (you all know how I do...the best bargains for decorating is after the holiday has passed...lol). 

How I Celebrate 50!

My birthday week started out great with our WABC family surprising me with balloons, cake and gifts (more on that later in a Birthday gift post).

Monday (the actual day of my birthday) Marc and I went with some friends to The Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the big day!

Marc and I drove to the Eastern Shore to get of all things a slush and some organic bacon. It had been a while since I traveled across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge so we turned the ride into and opportunity to just hang out and talk.

Marc works over on the Eastern Shore from time to time and while over there one day he had a client tell him about the Organic Market and about the best place in town to get a Slush! Leave it to him to turn that into a birthday trip. Its funny because the ride took us back to our military days when we would catch a hop from Germany and would have to drive to Delaware mid vacation to put our name on the list for the return trip home. Man does that seem like a long time ago now that I am 50! At the time we were in our mid 20's! 

My beautiful cards from family and friends!

Tuesday a friend treated me to breakfast at IHop!

Wednesday I had lunch with my cousin Michelle at Applebee's. 

Then Friday we had a late lunch with my aunt and uncle.

That evening Marc and I attended Good Friday service at Grove Baptist Church to hear three of the young preachers we knew speak on the 7 last sayings. We so seldom get to sit in service together that it was a great treat to the end of my birthday week! LOL Everyone kept asking me if I was planing a big 50's bash, Originally I thought about doing  that but in the end I just wanted to be able to spend the occasion relaxing, hanging out with friends and eating at some of my favorite spots! And that is exactly what I did! 

April Ipsy Bag

I received my Ipsy Bag last week but I have been so busy celebrating my big 50th birthday (post on that coming soon) that I really have not had time to really explore the products. Honestly I really wish they would not send me the hair products (unless they plan to start sending products made for women of color). My daughter Nicki feels the same way (we are actually storing up a bunch of products we can't use to give away) so I have very little need for The Big Sexy Hair Root Pump.....which honestly I have no clue what its for...lol. I was happy to see (and surprised) the the new Mary Kay@play line in the form of a lip gelly. I love the color but the test I did seemed a bit sticky. I will have to try it on a few times to really give a review. Everyone on YouTube seemed to be excited about the Urban Decay Glide On Eye Pencil. I don't wear eyeliner that often any more because I usually turn out looking like I have raccoon eyes (having dark circles doesn't help) but I will still give it a try because everyone has raved about it. I'm still trying to figure out the glitter polish from Rainbow Honey (it didn't go on my finger like I thought it would but that could be just me not putting it on right...lol). And I have to admit I get scared when I see any type of microbrasion face product. Maybe when I have a weekend where I don't have to be anywhere (for like a week..lol) I will try out the one from Dr.brandt. On a scale of one to ten I give this one a five only because most of the products are pretty cool but I just don't know how much use I would personally get out of them. The bag was just ok which also factored into my ratings. Overall I still recommend the Ipsy subscription over other boxes because nine time out of ten you get some really great products at a great price (with most being full sized products). If you would like to try them out please feel free to use my link here .