Party Like A Rockstar!

We had a birthday party for Chris with our family and friends over the weekend. We had a great time! Everyone came over to our house for pizza and cake and then we headed to the bowling alley (where we proceeded to get our butts kicked!). I made Paula Deen's Butterfinger cake for Chris b/c that's his favorite candy bar. It was quite yummy! Here are some pics from our party!

And the Love Continues . . .

Saturday morning, we woke up and I fixed Chris a special Vday breakfast (heart-shaped pancakes). We then packed up the car, dropped the girls off at the kennel, and headed towards Mebane. Chris' mom, Debbie, owns a vineyard and winery and was putting ason a special event for all the lovers in the area last night. It was called a 'Wine, Roses, & Romance" dinner. She had a catered 4-course meal (very much unlike what we had the night before!), a live musician, and dancing. It was a blast! We went to together as a family and had so much fun together!

Valentine's morning breakfast :)

Chris' sister, Dana, anad her husband Josh. They are currently 18 weeks preggers with a baby boy! YAY!


We found a little corner of the room beside our table that was perfect for some intimate dancing :)


Havin' some fun!


Debbie and Gene, Chris' parents and owners of the winery.

Enjoying a glass of "Dixie Dawn" - mmm, yummy!

The Harrell's and the Herman's

long-stemmed roses for the ladies at the dinner :)

the guests were all having such a great time!

mom and son

mom and daughter-in-law

A quick photo-opp before dinner was served

Love is a Mystery

Last night Chris and I attended the Love is a Mystery dinner hosted by our Sunday School class. We weren't really sure what to expect. All we were told was to show up at 7:00 for a 4 course meal. So, that's what we did. The atmosphere was adorned with reds and pinks, hearts and candles, etc. There was soft music playing in the background and a 5-star wait staff ready to serve our every need. We were seated by couple according to our place cards, 3 at each table. Everything as was anticipated and expected, and then we were handed our menus. Hmm, I'd never seen a menu quite like this before. The food choices were as follows:
Nature's Plug
Snow on the mountain
Cupid's arrow
A chip off the old block
Popeye's delight
Heart strings
Chris Harrell's past time (yes, my notorious husband actually made the list!)
A small raise
A roman mix-up
"Are you ready for the summer?"
A square soda
Jack and mac
Seedy character
Lover's delight
Exotic blubber with a twist
Sticks and stones
We were then instructed to write down on the opposite side of our menu the order in which we would like to be served (4 items per course, 4 courses). The funny thing is, our utensils were included in this cryptic list, so we had to be very careful and methodical about our choices; otherwise, we would be left with no utensils to eat our food with. AND, you weren't allowed to carry any items over into the next course. So, if you were given more than one utensil at a time, you were screwed :) This, of course, happened to me on my second course. I was given a knife, a fork, cubed cheese, and olives. Hmm . . . at this point, I'm thinking that I haven't eaten anything that required utensils yet, so 2 more courses left and somewhere in there are entree type foods. To ease the suspense, my 4-course meal went as follows: Course 1 - spoon, peanuts and carrots, Caesar salad, meatballs; Course 2 - knife, fork, cubed cheese, olives; Course 3 - bread, crackers, sliced pickles, toothpick; Course 4 - spaghetti with meat sauce, chocolate brownie with whip cream, jello, Hershey kisses. If you'll notice, that lat course did not include ANY utensils. It was very interesting. We had LOADS of fun with our friends. A small food fight even broke out between tables - to be expected with our crowd :) Anyways, the atmosphere was pleasant, the company was terrific, the service was extraordinary, and the food . . . well, the food was . . . interesting :) I was able to steal a few snapshots in between all our fun. Hope you enjoy them.

Super Bowl 2009!

Last night we invited our good friends, Rob & Kelly, over to watch the Super Bowl. What an exciting game! We were all cheering for the Cardinals (aka "the red birds" - just for you, Kel :)), but sadly, they were overtaken at the very end. Oh well :( We had such a blast just hanging out! Here are a few pics of our time together.

Here we are just chillin' before kick-off with the puppy dogs :)

During half-time, Rob ventured to the garage and dressed up in Chris' paintball gear . . . Kelly couldn't resist! She loves a man in uniform . . . lol!

Yummy snacks to munch on during the game. Sadly, there's still a ton left over!!! Any takers???

Merry Christmas!!!

It's finally here! Chris and I always share our Christmas morning together on Christmas Eve since we have to travel to visit our families. We have a couple of traditions . . . 1) We pick out a new snow globe each year to commemorate that Christmas together, 2) We always have sausage pinwheels and coffee for Christmas breakfast (a Strong family tradition), 3) and this year's newest tradition, new Christmas pajamas!!! Chris doesn't particularly like wearing "pajamas", and he couldn't find anything he liked this year, so he opted to sit out on our first year with this tradition. But I found some GREAT new PJ's and I LOVE them!!! Enjoy our pictures from this year's Harrell family Christmas!

The TRUE Meaning of Christmas

This year our Sunday School Class (http://hgbcmarriedadults.blogspot.com) had the awesome opportunity to adopt a Christmas family. This family is compiled of a grandmother, mother, and 5 kids (ages 6-16). After talking with the grandmother regarding the needs of her family, we came up with a list of items for each individual. Now this is this first year that our class has done this corporately, so we were expecting a much smaller family with much smaller needs; however, the Lord knew what we could be capable of and the many ways in which we could bless this family. The list of needed items included school clothes, winter coats, shoes, gloves, hats, scarfs, socks, toys, giftcards, christmas stockings, etc. Some people chose to purchase specific items for individual family members and others chose to donate money towards the cause. Well I found out last night that not only were all the needed items met for each family member, but there was a remainder of $500 in donated funds leftover. The remaining money will be put towards grocery and gas giftcards. How amazing is that?!?!?! Our class is not very big, there's only an approximate total of 30 "regular" members in our class, so to experience this much generosity is truly amazing! This family will be blessed so much and the best part is that we all get to show and experience the wonder of Christ's love during this holiday season. This is definately something to praise God for today!

Thanksgiving 2008

Here's just a few pictures from our holiday (more to follow shortly) . . .

Fall Break

Chris and I had the opportunity to steal away for a couple of days to our favorite B&B in West Jefferson, NC. The weather was absolutely gorgeous! Highs in the 40's, lows in the 30's - very cool! It was actually a little colder than anticipated, so we didn't pack the warmest of clothes. Next time we'll just be overly prepared, then maybe we won't freeze :) We spent Friday in Blowing Rock (in the rain) and Saturday at the Valle Country Fair in Valle Crucis. It was so nice to be able to step out of our daily routine and just enjoy being together.

On Sunday, we had tickets to the Carolina Panthers/New Orleans Saints game. This was our first NFL game! It was so fun! We had a blast! Especially because our beloved Panthers came to play on Sunday and completely annihilated those Saints!!! Whoohoo! Go Panthers!!!

I've been working on some gifts for some expecting friends of ours. Here's a shot of what I was able to get done today. There are 2 pacifier clips (NC State) and one tie-back baby bib - extra wide for those bigger messes! :)

Charlotte Heart Walk

On Saturday, Chris and I joined a few of my co-workers (and approx. 10,000 strangers) in Uptown Charlotte for the annual 2008 Start! Charlotte Heart Walk. This campaign focused on raising awareness for heart disease and stroke. We were very successful in exceeding our goal of raising $500 for the American Heart Association. The weather was gorgeous (a cool 58 degrees) and everyone brought their kids and dogs - it was such a lovely event to be a part of.

Here are some pictures from Chris' last paintball game in Fayetteville (3 weeks ago). It's crazy how seriously these guys take this "hobby" - not to mention how expensive it is, too! But her loves it and I can't deny him that - what kind of wife would I be? :)





I spent part of the weekend in Raleigh with my family - it was super fun. I couldn't stay for too long b/c I left Chris at home alone and he can't stay that way for too long or he'll get crazy pitiful (don't tell him I said that!). My mom and I went to see "Mama Mia" - I had no idea had great it was going to be! PLUS - it was the karaoke version so we could sing along in the theatre! WHAT FUN!!! I immediately bought the soundtrack when we left the theatre and listened to it all the way home to Charlotte!

Today we're heading to our friends house (Rob & Kelly) for a Labor Day cookout! Can't believe summer is coming to an end already - where did it go? I know it's not officially over until September 21st, but this is the last summer holiday - which is pretty sad. I'm looking forward to Fall, though. It's my favorite season.

3 major events I recently found out about that are worth noting: 1) Edwin McCain is giving a concert at Meredith College's outdoor ampitheatre on Friday, Sept. 19th at 8:00 pm. Tickets are only $10 - GO! You can't afford to miss this man - he's amazing! 2) Miss Saigon has recently sprung from retirement and is back out on tour! I have been waiting for this to happen for many years! It's my favorite Broadway show and it's coming to Raleigh next Spring! omigosh! And 3) Michael Buble is rounding out his U.S. Tour and will be performing in Raleigh this October. Chris and I saw this tour when he came through Charlotte last Spring - but I'd go again in a heartbeat. These are three events that are a MUST! If you don't do anything else "cultural" for the rest of the year, try and do at least one of these events. They are sure to be worth every penny you spend!

Happy Labor Day!

Update: Charlotte Heart Walk

I'm happy to report that we have now surpassed our goal for the heart walk (despite what the barometer to the right says). A very special co-worker (who asks to remain anonymous) donated $150 to our campaign. In addition, my boss donated another $25. These are both "off-line donations" so they don't get included in the total amount raised until all monies are turned in. This should by no means halt any further donations! One thing to keep in mind is that our original goal was $500, but it was looking as if that goal was unreachable at the time, so I lowered the amount to $300. I still maintain that we did, in fact, meet our goal (of $300), but to match $500 would be a personal triumph!

5 Year Wedding Anniversary

We just got back from a fabulous vacation in Ocean Isle Beach. We absolutely love it there! It's our 3rd trip to OIB and it never seems long enough! We spent our days sunbathing on the beach, wading in the water, reading, relaxing, sightseeing, eating fantastic seafood and really enjoying being together! It was our 5 year wedding anniversary (on 8/2) and we had a great time reminiscing about the last 5 years. What an adventure we have been on together - certainly more than we ever expected - but we wouldn't trade it for the world. We have learned so much about each other and helped each other grow as individuals and as spouses. We are very blessed to still be in love as much as we are after all we've been through together - the Lord is to thank for that! Below are some pictures from our trip. There were also a handful of quotes we thought were worth blogging about. I can only remember two of them right now: "Hey, at least we're saving money on tips this weekend." and "I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be awesome!"

Enjoy the pics from our anniversary weekend in Ocean Isle!!!

Baby Grace's Shower

Chris & I spent the holiday weekend with my sister and her family. We hosted a baby shower for Harmony and Grace while we were there - had a super time! I've added some pictures below: