Monday, December 14, 2020

weekending and a link-up

 


Happy Monday, friends! I am linking up with Tanya from The Other Side of the Road for this Hello Monday blog post.


What. A. Weekend.

The weekend kicked off with a visit from my dad- y'all know I spend Fridays with Dad and it's been FIVE WEEKS since I had last seen him. FIVE. WEEKS. We have spent Fridays together for as long as I've been married—24 years—and I don't ever remember going so long without seeing him.


This was us on our wedding day, a little over 24 years ago and this one below was him on Friday while we listened to Christmas music and solved all the world's problems. We have two subjects that our favorite to talk about: Jesus and food.


Friday night, Todd and I went to a friend's house for dinner and "game night", but we never played a game. We sat and talked the entire time, but we had so much fun. We love our friends the Essarys and every time we get together, it goes like this. It was them, another couple, another friend and then us. It was a great night and we laughed so much over everything under the sun. 


I asked my hubby to wear his Santa shirt for me. He obliged my request.

I was up long before the sun Saturday morning and by seven forty-five, my best friend had picked me up and we were on our way to buy me something to drink for breakfast.


I bought this and two smoothies—a green juice one and a berry flavored one in case I didn't like the green one. I also had water and a diet ginger ale—I had a drinking issue all day. 😂

Our first stop was the Opryland Hotel to see all the Christmas decorations.





I haven't been there since I was a teenager! It was as beautiful as I remembered.

Our second stop was my favorite bookstore—a HUGE used bookstore. We got some stuff and we plan to go back there in the spring and we hope to take another friend with us.

Our third and final destination for the day was Franklin. I wanted to visit Landmark Booksellers in the downtown area of Franklin and I wanted to see it decorated for Christmas. 





One of my favorite authors is Karen Kingsbury and she wrote a book based on this bookstore, The Bridge. A few years after she wrote the book, Hallmark turned it into a two-part Christmas movie. I met the owner Saturday afternoon and he pointed us to her books and shared how much of a blessing she has been to them and to their small business. Isn't that cool? If you're ever in that area, check it out for yourself! 

We ate dinner at a restaurant that used to be Puckett's Boathouse and had a yummy dinner with Elvis looking over us the entire meal. I had fish and chips and Missy had a burger. The food was so good!


And of course we stopped and looked at beautiful homes along the way.




If you know me at all, you know I love beautiful buildings and homes. I have a thing for architecture because I grew up around appreciating the business thanks to someone in my family. This love goes back as far as I can remember.

We had a blast of a day and laughed ourselves silly over the dumbest and most hilarious (only to us) things. We got turned around getting out of Franklin and almost never left the area, we almost got onto an interstate ramp going the wrong way, Missy was still figuring out her new car Felicia and simulateously turned on the blinkers and windshield wipers, she almost tried to kill us on the way there once by swerving and we ate and drank our way (water, coffee and diet cokes) through the entire sixteen hours we spent together. We laughed, I cried a little, we prayed, and we thanked the Lord for our friendship and for how sweet He always is to us. Friendships like hers and ours are rare—and we do not take one second for granted. We finish each others sentences, we know what the other one is thinking and though we are just alike and like the same person, we're also different enough to keep things interesting.

On some days we only talk to Jesus and we always leave a seat for Him between us.

I was up at six thirty Sunday morning (that was sleeping in for me) and I was at church that morning by nine thirty and back again for choir practice at four. We had such a sweet day of worship. The songs were wonderful and the preaching was PHENOMENAL. I took four pages of notes and affirmed Pastor Chuck often from my spot near the back.

It was a wonderful weekend. I know this week will be equally so and I am getting it kicked off by turning 44 on Monday. I have plans with my mom that day, family plans that night with Todd and my guys, I'm seeing Missy again on Tuesday and going out with another of my best friends (Christa!) Thursday night for dinner. I'll post more about all that as I go along the week—until then, thanks for reading my blog! Love to all. 


Jen.

12 comments:

  1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Hope it's as special as you are! It sounds like such a fun weekend. We stopped in Franklin for a few hours, and it's so charming.

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  2. Thank you, Tanya! What a sweet thing to say. I hope you have a great week!

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  3. What a wonderful weekend! The houses you stopped by were beautiful! I’m so sorry you have t gotten to see your Dad, I hope you are able to soon! Have the best Monday!

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  4. Awe, I love that you got to spend the day with your dad Friday! Five weeks is too long. I am sure he really missed you and enjoyed the time. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!!!!!! Hope it's the best day!

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  5. My boys thought I was out of my mind when I wanted to take them to the Opryland hotel as our first stop when we arrived in Nashville. Then they saw it and they understood. I have never seen it decorated for Christmas but I bet it is amazing!

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  6. Abbey Kate- Thank you and I agree! One of my favorite things to do is to drive around to look at houses. I've been like that ever since I was a young girl and have always loved to take pictures of them! I hope you have a great week!

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  7. Bri-

    I agree! Five weeks is too long, but I was so thankful to see him Friday. Thank you forthe birthday wishes! It has been the best day ever. Have a wonderful week!

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  8. Joanne-

    I can imagine my boys saying the same thing until they stepped out of the car and into the hotel. Silly boys! I hope you get to see it sometime, it was incredible! Have a great week!

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  9. Thank you for linking up with us today! That bookstore looks absolutely adorable-- I would love to go visit someday! It sounds like you had such a wonderful weekend. What a blessing to have a wonderful friendship like yours and Missy's! Have a good week :)

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  10. Thank you for linking up with Not Just A Mom, such a fun weekend and gorgeous places to see.

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  11. All About That Mommy Life-

    Thanks for hosting the linkup! It is so cute, if you're ever in that area, you must go and visit! I could have stayed for hours. Have a great week!

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  12. Adrienne-

    Thanks for hosting! I hope you have a wonderful week!

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Thank you for taking the time to comment on my blog!

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