Brian and Lu's Wedding

Yes, I know I'm EXTREMELY tardy in getting this done (sorry, Brian and Lu)... but life always seems soooo busy with a 3 year old and a 1 year old around - some days I'm not sure I get anything productive done! Anyway, back in July we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the last Dogpound member (i.e. Darkman) tie the knot. It was wonderful to visit with good friends and be part of such a blessed and happy occasion. There is no doubt that Brian and Lu were meant to find each other in this world. They are such a beautiful couple.

I have put together a little video of some shots I took at the wedding. I hope you enjoy it. (press the play button below the screen to start)

Ready for Winter?

Paisley may not mind the cold weather as much as I do (I prefer to never be cold if I can help it)... but at least it seems she inherited my desire to be fashionable no matter what the circumstances. The following are a few pics of her as we took a walk in the cold the other day. Perfectly accessorized and matching from head to toe! I love it! (And she picked everything out herself!)

Colby's 1st girlfriend??

Colby and Katie were so cute cheering us on for the 3-day walk. I keep saying miss Katie could do worse than my sweet lil' southern gentleman. I snapped these photos of them together - they were just too cute. In the first picture, Katie makes the first move by putting her hand on his knee. Colby catches on in the 2nd photo and finally takes her hand. At that point, she's just in awe and Colby is looking to Randy for approval! See! I told you he's a little gentleman!

Lil' Miss Fashionable!

Ok, so I saw this really cute outfit months ago and bought it for Miss P. I knew it was cute, but I never realized how adorable (and in style) it really was until I dressed Paisley in it for school the other day. Curtis said she looked like "Lil' Miss Fashionable" (which was kinda true) so I just HAD to take a picture of her in it! Enjoy!

Yes, we did it! We are City Champs!!

The awesome Overlook "foxy" Foxes (one of the finalists for our new team name... since we really didn't have one before) won their first City Championship (the first of many, we hope... oh, is that greedy??) last weekend. It was very exciting to say the least!! I'm so proud of these ladies - we fought for many matches and pulled out a win! It feels good to have that gorgeous silver plate on my shelf too! Below are pictures of our team right after winning the championship and also of me and my partner, Beth... who is just awesome to have as a partner and a great friend too. You rock, miss Beth!! There are not many as quick as you at the net! Go Overlook Ladies - awesome job! Now, go home and eat some yummy cake off your new plates!

Prayer for our Nation

Beth Moore posted the following on her blog... and it's very powerful. Regardless of who you voted for in this election, we need to stand united behind our new President. We are, afterall, the UNITED States of America!! And is there any of us who cannot appreciate the history that has been made this year now that we have elected our first African-American president! I am proud that I live in a country where someone can be President regardless of the color of his/her skin or ethnic background. May God bless America!
Lisa
-------------------------
A United House by Beth Moore
To my beloved Sisters who I esteem so highly and consistently find to be part of the solution to our problems in the Church rather than the cause,

Please join me in praying for our President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and his precious daughters, Sasha and Malia. Go with me before the Throne of our sovereign God and ask Him to grant wisdom from above to President-elect Obama and the indwelling presence and power of Jesus Christ. In the words of the Apostle Paul, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior..."

Please also join me in the active and deliberate pursuit of unity and purity in the Body of Christ at this historical time in our country. I implore you in Jesus' Name to have zero tolerance for prejudice whether it is regarding party-affiliation, color (whether you are Black, White, or Brown), economics or the like. Disagreement is not sin. Prejudice is. Satan has plotted events and planted attitudes that, should he be successful, will result in havoc. We must not stand for his schemes or cooperate in a single way. We would severely displease God and invite untold chastisement upon Christ's Church in our nation. Speak clearly to your children and graciously but emphatically draw a line in your work places and social circles regarding your stand against prejudice of any kind.

"Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.'" (Matthew 12:25) A united house stands. A divided house falls. The devil has much to gain. But he also has much to lose.

We are the Body of Jesus Christ and we have an opportunity to show His character. This is our watch. We stand for what is right not from our feet but from our knees. I humble myself before you and make these pleas under such bold direction of God that I could not resist it nor disobey it. He made it a fire in my bones. I love and esteem you so much. Shoulder to shoulder, Dear Siestas. Let's leave not one inch for the enemy to come between us.

"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to shoulder." Zephaniah 3:9

How to best serve Princess Paisley

Carter and Paisley were playing outside the other day (I should mention that Paisley decided to wear her Halloween costume of The Little Mermaid on this particular day - heels, tiara and all). Well, needless to say it's a little difficult to run and play when you're in complete princess garb... and as a result, Paisley kept losing her tiara!

The conversation below is what I overheard at one point when Carter offered to help fix her tiara. He started to put it on upside down, but Paisley quickly corrected him.

Paisley: "No Carter, that's not right."
Carter: "Oh, okay."
Paisley: "Let me show you how to put my tiara on me... and then you will know how to do it, okay?"
Carter: "Okay."
Paisley: "And then I'll show Kelsey (Carter's 9 month old baby sister) how to put it on me too... so everybody will know how to put my tiara on for me... ok?"
Carter: "Sure."

My, my! I wasn't aware that we had royalty living in our house.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a safe and fun Halloween! We did!

The Atlanta Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk - Oct. 24-26th

Well... I did it! Friday the 24th we walked in 40 degree temperatures with cold wind and rain (it was miserable to tell you the truth), but I walked every mile of the Atlanta Breast Cancer 3-Day walk, I feel like I have a greater awareness of what really matters on this earth and I hope I am a better person because of it. Our team raised over $40,000 (not bad for 12 of us) and as a whole, Susan G. Koman raised $8.3 million from the Atlanta event. There were 3700 walkers, and countless crew and volunteers... all of whom made this weekend special beyond compare. I feel blessed to have shared it with some wonderful girlfriends!! Even saw a few faces from my past and made some new friends along the way! A BIG shout-out to my team - "Team Pink-A-Licious" - Kelli Barber, Joli Burt, Hope Cushen, Candace Crosby, Kristin Santa Maria, Stacy Benz, Yvette Wolfrom, Dena Colburn, Stephanie Woell and Charmaine Lindstrom. (Judith - we missed you!!). You girls rock!! And as always, my walk was dedicated to my grandmother (a victim of breast cancer), my mom (with the hope that she never has to battle it), my daughter (so that she will one day read about breast cancer in the history books), and my 2 friends - Lea Ann Barnes and Teresa Howard (both survivors of breast cancer). These ladies were my inspiration over those long, cold miles!! Thank you to everyone who loved and supported me on this journey. Words cannot express my gratitude!

I put together a little video of my pictures from the weekend in an attempt to give you a taste of what it was like for us. It is a little over 6 minutes long, but I think it goes pretty quick. Enjoy it when you have the time! (Just click on the play button below the screen to see it.)

My daughter, the weatherman (er... woman)!

The other day, my mom was in town visiting. First thing in the morning, she was playing with Paisley in our playroom. Paisley opened the shutters, looked outside and declared "Nana, it's going to be wet today!" My mom looked outside and asked Paisley why she thought that. (All the while noticing that there were black clouds in the sky and it did appear that it might rain). Paisley said, "See those black clouds - that means it's going to be wet."

Crazy thing is... it really did rain!
Who knew my daughter could predict the weather?
Al Roker, watch out!!

Random things you may not know about me... and may not care!

1. Fall is my favorite season
2. I am a HUGE college football fan - and before kids, I used to watch it from 10 am to midnight on Saturdays in the fall
3. I read my magazines from the back to the front
4. I brush my teeth with warm water
5. I microwave my ice cream for a few seconds before I eat it
6. I can't stand to get my socks wet
7. I get teary eyed sometimes at the hymns in church
8. I have a ritual to how I eat my banana
9. I love photography
10. I have a celebrity crush on Harry Connick, Jr. and Lance Armstrong
11. I hate sales people bothering me while I shop
12. I have been known more than once to finish off a whole box of Girl Scout "Thin Mint" cookies in one setting
13. Crooked pictures on the wall drive me crazy
14. I have to read for at least a few seconds every night before I go to bed
15. Flip-flops are my shoe of choice
16. I hate to finish a good novel
17. I love the Olympics
18. I can't stand for any dirt to get on my sheets (so I'll wash my feet or put socks on before I go to bed)
19. I am double jointed in my shoulders
20. I love to sleep with the fan on

Ok... so I wasn't really back!

In my last post on Oct. 2nd, I said I was back. And the scary part is that I actually meant it... I just couldn't sustain it. Life is crazy sometimes and this fall has definitely been crammed full of stuff for all of us. Anyway, please forgive my time away from blogging. I really do love it and plan to do it as regularly as I can. It just seems to be at the bottom of my priority list most days. And sometimes my brain just doesn't work at 1 am. :-) But thanks for checking in occasionally and I hope to get an entry of interest here and there for you to read.

I'm back!

Well, it's been a while since my last blog. I have such good intentions, but somehow life always gets in the way. After being gone to Las Vegas for a week in September (to debut the bizzyBee), then off to the beach in FL with the kids for the following week, plus spending a long Labor Day weekend on the Chesapeake Bay as a family... and having a few crazy moments (i.e. our dog in the emergency room for 10 long, scary days)... I hope most of my distractions are in the past for a while and I will be more focused at blogging from now on.

I want to say first and foremost... I LOVE SARAH PALIN!! She speaks to me on so many levels - she is a mom, she is willing to stand up and make this world better for her kids (and for all of our kids), she is REAL (and not some seasoned politician that can't take a stand on anything for fear of losing his job in an election year), and she is fun to watch (especially when she is in her natural element). I just love her and I think she has electrified the republican party in such a strong way!

Go Sarah Go!

Paisley's 1st Day of Preschool

Paisley went to her first day of preschool today. She was excited and looked so cute. Her backpack was almost as big as she was. Here are a few pics to highlight the day.

Why do I blog?

I have always wanted to keep a journal. In fact, I have from time to time. It's the consistency thing that always gets in my way. This is how it usually goes: I feel the urge to start journaling again. I hit the bookstore. I buy a journal - a really pretty one (as if that makes a difference) with wide-ruled lines (I prefer those to college-ruled)... one that, as I browse the shelves at the bookstore, seems to call out to me "You'll use me. Really, you will. This time you'll stick with it!" Once the decision has been made, I go home and journal like crazy for two weeks until life gets in the way and I put it aside. Time and a lack of topics to write about usually give me major writer's block and eventually my journal ends up on a shelf somewhere never to be touched again. That explains the rows and rows of barely used journals I have in my bookshelf. It's sad really. Not only is it a waste of money to buy all these journals and never complete them... but it will be a difficult read for anyone who might care 100 years from now as they siphon through partially filled journals that have no particular order, sequence or topic.

Then one day, my friend Leigh Ann introduced me to blogging. I have been slightly more consistent with my blog than I ever was with my paper journals before. Both mediums share similar obstacles: time and topics. However, I have found that it's easier for me to keep up with an electronic journal because I'm on the computer so much throughout the day and I type faster than I write. A few friends and relatives have asked me: why do you blog? What's in it for you? What's in it for us? Good questions really. I appreciate the honesty and after much thought, I have come up with a few reasons why I love this so much.

1) I have always dreamed of being a writer - not necessarily a published writer (although I DO want to write a children's book one day) - but just someone who can write eloquently. Someone whose thoughts inspire others. Someone who can use words to evoke emotions out of those who read her works. This is a way for me to fine tune my writing skills while having fun sharing my thoughts, my experiences and my life with those who choose to read it. (I know, I know - I have a long way to go on the fine-tuning!)

2) As a way of saying thanks to all of the wonderful people in my life who inspire me to live life to the fullest, look beyond the surface, experience life beyond the obvious, and lovingly share their love, friendship and wisdom with me.

3) To update friends and family on the happenings of the Shoch clan - in particular, the Shoch tots... who are all everyone REALLY cares about anyway. (Our parents don't even call to talk to us anymore... just the grandkids.)

4) In my quest to go deeper. If you want to discover greatness, you have to dig deeper than the surface. It takes asking questions and being willing to hear the answers, all the while evaluating what you believe at your core... to discover true greatness. So... there are times I may ask deep questions in my blog. I welcome your thoughts and your comments in this process. We may see eye-to-eye, or we may disagree. Regardless, my hope is that in the end of it all you will better understand me... (and vice versa).

5) To remind myself every day (or week) of the things for which I am most grateful. There are so, so many!! Writing them down seems to keep my priorities in line.

Now it's my turn to ask you: why are you reading this?
(I welcome your comments below)