SLO in Arkansas: October 2006

Harding Homecoming 2006

Harding University Homecoming was this past weekend. Silas and I always look forward to this weekend in particular, because his best friend Justin always comes to stay with us from Texas. We had a great time as usual, and this weekend was extra special as Justin and his girlfriend Nikki announced their engagement to us!! We have been praying for these two for a while and are so excited to share in their lives and see God working in both of them. We are already looking forward to attending the wedding next June.
We attended the Harding football game, which was an exciting and enjoyable event as Harding beat Henderson St. in overtime and will move up in the GSC standings. The guys did their annual kareoke fest for hours and almost lost their voices from singing so much! The pictures don't do it justice, but I have some great video of their live performance! The weather was perfect, so we enjoyed grilling out after the game and spending more time just catching up.
We were sad to see Justin and Nikki go after church, though thoroughly enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them. Overall it was a wonderful weekend filled with plenty of food, football, and sharing many laughs as we all caught up on each other's families and lives over the past year. We are truly blessed to have such good friends and are so thankful for the times we can get together.

Fall Festivities

Thursday night Silas and I went to the Chi Omega Pi fall function, which included a corn maze and hay ride. It was slightly miserable as it rained the entire time, though the corn protected us from most of it!! Neither of us have ever been in a corn maze, and this was a very elaborate one that covered several acres and had many dead ends. It took us about 45 minutes to find our way out, and it was nearly pitch black by the time we did! The hay ride was fun, though uneventful. We were also able to stand around a fire and make smores and have hot chocolate, which made the weather a little more bearable. Despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves and hope to do something like this again next year on our own maybe.

I survived pledge week!

So, this past week was the crazy pledge week at Harding for all the new members of clubs at the school. Being a sponsor, it is my privilege, and requirement, to be at as many activities as possible. I by no means went to all of them, but it still made for a busy week. It has been a long time since I was out past 1:00am, and now I remember why I dont do it much!! The girls had fun though, so that's what matters. There was also a lot of drama, so it was like living my own personal "real world" episode for a week. There are not even words to describe it!!! It is also hard to believe that this is my third year as a sponsor.....I feel like I was just in the club last week myself:) Silas was super supportive as usual and did his share of housework and chores to keep me from losing my mind, since I was not home much last week. It was touch and go for a while, but I think my brain is back. I am definitely looking forward to "falling back" and hour this weekend, as there is no better time to catch up on my sleep!
We also got a chance to shop for pumpkins this weekend, and enjoyed finding the many road side stands selling corn stalks, hay and other fun stuff. We got two great pumpkins and they look good with the mums on the front porch:) This is one of my favorite times of year, and Im trying to enjoy it as much as possible. We have been spending quite a bit of time outside the past few weeks, as the dogs require a lot of love and attention, along with exercise!! I have been trying to sit still and just enjoy the fresh, cool air, blue sky, and time together. It is a welcomed and much needed break from our hectic schedules. I am also excited as the leaves have been beautiful this year, thanks to the rain we have had. What a beautiful time to be alive:)

Race for the Cure 2006

I walked in the Race for the Cure here in Little Rock this weekend. For those of you who have never participated in this event....it's awesome!! The race is a great way to support research for breast cancer, and a good way to show support for all the survivors and families of those who have lost loved ones to this disease.
I always walk or run in memory of my Aunt "Dink", Melinda Groom, who passed away in 2002 from breast cancer. Although I lost my aunt, it always brings a smile to my face to see the growing number of women walking in pink shirts...which means they are current survivors. Little Rock has always had a great turn out for this event, and continue to have record breaking numbers each year. This year there were over 42,000 participants!! It is so neat to be surrounded by thousands upon thousands of people who are out to show their support for this specific foundation. In Little Rock, only the women are allowed to walk in the 5K, though all of the men line the entire course cheering us on. They are dancing, singing, playing music, and being a huge support for all the women in their lives. It was an enjoyable day, as I got to walk with 4 of my friends. I encourage all of you to find out where the Race for the Cure is in your area, and sign up!! I am already looking forward to next years event!

Puppy Pictures

Here are the much anticipated pictures of our newest family members...Bentley and Buster. Buster is the black and tan male, and Bentley is the smaller, black, tan and white female. They have been a riot, and we are really enjoying the simple pleasures that watching them brings.
Bentley is a fireball with a big personality in a little body. She is always jumping and ready to play. Buster is more laid back and easy going, though can be a bully when he wants his way!
They are still in the chewing phase, and the first victim was a foot stool to my patio furniture. This afternoon I stared in horror at the white balls of stuffing lying in the pen and the lifeless body of the stool upside down in the corner. Im sure it was a good fight, but the stool didn't stand a chance with Bentley!! I am sad the stool is dead, but will chalk it up to a lesson learned by someone who hasn't been around dogs much and was not fully aware of what their puppy teeth are capable of!! Score: Puppies 1, Lauren 0.

Other than their brutal attack of my foot stool, they have been excellent pets and have exceeded my expectations. They bark little, if ever, and are always excited and waiting to play with tails wagging when we get home from work. It has been an enjoyable journey thus far, and I am looking forward to many more puppy stories to write about in the future. Hopefully no more chewing victimes will occur though!
Oh yeah.....Bentley was supposed to be mine, but she is a total Daddy's girl!! Here we go!!!