Shout Out to Melissa!!!


I have to give a "shout out" to Melissa, that is her on the right. Melissa and I have know each other for years but have just recently developed a really great friendship. I love this girl! One of my favorite things about her is I know she will always be honest with me. I really value that. If I REALLY want to know how I look or how I did on something, I go to Melissa! Love that. I also love that I can be so honest and upfront with her. I know when she asks me something, she wants truth and I feel like I can say anything to her and I don't worry she will get offended. She is also one of the most giving people. If one of her friends has a need, she will meet it. If someone is having a birthday...she is gonna throw you a party and it's not just gonna be any party! This girl is SO creative and talented. She truly goes above and beyond for people. I have seen her grow so much over the last year, I have watched a transformation right before my eyes. It has been beautiful to watch. She has a heart after God, and she longs to be the woman he created her to be, and she pursues that goal daily. She is passionate, talented, motivated, generous, driven, and SO much fun! She is able to get so much done and still has time for 4 kids and a husband! She amazes me! She gives 110% to everything she does, I don't think anyone has ever called this girl lazy. :) Mel, you are a blessing to me. I really enjoy our friendship. I always have so much fun with you. You have added a lot of fun times to my life lately. Also, thank you for your constant support and encouragement to me as a worship leader, it means so much. You really are a true cheerleader, for everyone around you, you are a cheerleader. Thank you. Oh...and did I mention she is just slightly competitive?? :) hehehehe

DINNER AT EL GAUCHO WITH KEITH AND JUSTY!


Our good friends, Keith and Justy, came into town for an evening and treated us to a wonderful dinner at El Gaucho. We had SO much fun. Keith is John's best friend from WAY back in the day...they have been friends for about 20 years! Keith was the best man in our wedding. John and Justy have also been long time friends as she and Keith have been together for 17 years! Wow! They are an awesome couple and SO much fun. There is so much history between them and John, the 3 of them keep me laughing for hours! Oh the stories I could tell!! :)
Here are some fun pictures of Justy's and my "photo session"! John was having fun playing photographer!








Fun times! The dinner was AWESOME, the company even better. Thank you Keith and Justy for an evening to remember. We love you and we cherish our times together. Hey Justy....at least no one got Strep-da-Caca!!!!! :)

VALENTINE'S DAY AT THE OCEAN!
John and I had an AMAZING Valentine's Day! It was SO nice to get up early and take off for the day and night, just the two of us. It was WONDERFUL. Even the weather was good!! :)








We went to Seaside and stayed at a beautiful Bed and Breakfast(thank you Marcie for the recommendation!!). We LOVE B&B's, and this one was no exception. We do our homework when picking B&B's and it has always paid off.....here are some pictures of where we stayed.....


The B&B at night was SO PRETTY!
My Man. I love him so much.
John and I laughed so much together on this trip. I'm sure anyone who saw us would have thought it was our first Valentine's Day! We were always giggling, holding hands, and even kissing in public! What happens in Seaside stays in Seaside...right?! Well, unless you put it on your blog! :)
John gave me a beautiful love letter in a card at dinner. One of my favorite lines he wrote was, "You are truly a gift from God to me. You are precious and beautiful in every way. I realize that I was already in love with you before we even met. Because you are what I have always dreamed of, wanted and needed." Some of you are going "Awwwwwwww" right now, and others may be gagging :). But you know, it's a beautiful thing when something like that is said when you are first falling in love, but it is so much more special when it is said after almost 7 years of marriage. Thank you Sweetie.
John and I love being home together, with our kids, just enjoying everyday life together. But, there really is something to be said for "getting away" together. Even if it is just for the night, it is SO worth it. All you married folks out there, take that time and just getaway together...you'll be amazed at what a difference it can make...even when you think things are already as good as they could be.
Thank you God for creating such a beautiful place to slip away to, and thank you for my wonderful romance!

JOHN II'S PARTY AT CHUCK-E-CHEESE!!!!!

I lost my mind recently and decided to throw a two year old a party at chuck-e cheese with a few of his little friends. :) John II was a little tired and not his usual happy self, but I think he had fun. The only bummer was I spent the whole time chasing him around and letting him enjoy himself and didn't get to visit much with my WONDERFUL friends who came out to celebrate John turning 2. But, hopefully everyone had fun! I'm not sure I'll be doing Chuck-e-Cheese again anytime soon :). Thank you to all who came and celebrated with us!! Love you all!
Melanie with John. Melanie is a newer friend of mine (making her debut on my blog!), who I just fell in love with the first time I met her. She and I have a lot in common and I am really enjoying getting to know her. She is precious, and has a heart of gold. She is beautiful on the inside and out. Thanks for coming Mel. :)
Hunter!!! This is John II's birthday buddy. :) Hunter is one of my best friend, Danae's, little guy. He was born 3 days after John.
Leslie and Vail. Leslie is another of my dearest girlfriends. She is my "genius" friend. :) Make sure to check out her business site in my links!! Love you Leslie and sweet little Vail. Thanks for coming!
Sneaky!!! Daddy caught John II sampling his cake :). Here is what it looked like after....

Mike, Jamie and Autumn. I love these guys. This is Josiah's best friend's family. If you remember, I was in their wedding. These guys are some of the nicest people I know, and they are SOOO much fun!!

Beautiful Danae. Another of my best girlfriends. She is the mom of Hunter and Drew. She is so sweet and so encouraging to me. She has seen me at my very worst and just loves me anyway! Thanks Danae. Oh, she is also my AWESOME hairdresser!!

Rollercoaster!!!
Jamie and Autumn...time to go home!!! We are pooped!! :)
I hope everyone had fun. John II LOVED his gifts...all of them! There is not one he hasn't been playing with. You all really blessed us, thank you. We love you.



Oh! One more thing...we HAD a fenced back yard...last night's wind storm changed that!! We now have pieces of fence and posts thrown around in our back yard. A couple huge pieces of fence and post landed inches from our bedroom window..yet, nothing on the house was damaged! We heard A LOT of noise but had no idea how bad it was. Thank you Lord that it didn't break our bedroom window! :)

MORE PICTURES OF JOHN II'S 2nd BIRTHDAY AND MUCH MORE!! :)

John II LOVES balloons. So, I bought him a big bunch of them. I took him to my Mom's and when I came back, I came in the door with all these balloons and got a HUGE reaction from him. He was SO excited! Too cute!


His present from John and I.....his FIRST bike!!!!
This was too funny not to include. My mom took all these sticks and drew faces on them, each expressing different emotion. When John sees a happy face, he smiles and is happy. But when there is a sad face he gets VERY concerned. It is one of the cutest things EVER! :) This is John showing Daddy one of the sad faces after he just made his own very sad face too.
John II, Taylor and Gram (my Mom)
Beautiful Taylor

John's Self Defense Class. John taught another class this past weekend. We had about 17 women come, it was a great success! All the comment cards gave him RAVE reviews! I was once again very impressed. It's an awesome class, and each time it gets better as he continues to refine it and add to it. He has another class coming up in April if you would like to attend! Every women should take this class!! Again, he can also do "on location" classes at churches, schools, businesses, homes, etc....
On another note, THIS Tuesday the Chaplain for the SEAHAWKS and the Mariners is coming to give a lecture for women called "Understanding your Man". He has taught on marriage for over 30 years. I will also be singing a song at this event. It's free! It's this Tuesday night the 7th, at 7pm, at our churches teen center. If you would like to come, e-mail me for more info at johnpcagle@aol.com.
Lastly, I have changed my Mini Poll...check it out! I have a series of questions I will be asking that will give us all a little insight into how "normal" we are :). I will change the question up every other week or so. It will ask things like...How often do you change your sheets?....or...How often do you eat out?...we will all be able to answer honestly and see how we stack up against other people...just for fun!!! I would love to get some ideas for great questions to ask, so if you have some, send them my way. It should be fun! :)

Oh!! Make sure to check out my friend Leslie's new business site, where you can buy her AMAZING skin salve that treats all sorts of skin conditions, from ezcema to diaper rash....100% naturally!!! Several doctors and health food stores are now carrying her product! Check it out at http://www.mymamaslove.com/

HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY BABY!!

This picture was taken this morning, I always forget to change the date on the camera. :) Someone is happy to be 2!!!



The date should read 2-5-04 on these...oops. :)

















Our baby, John II, is 2 years old TODAY!!!
To quote every mother on the planet, "where does the time go"? Didn't I just bring him home from the hospital yesterday? It really does just fly by.
So, this is my chance to gush and mush over my baby without apology because it's his birthday!! :)
Two years ago today was one of the most amazing days of my life. Several of you were there to share in this day with our family. Mary, I thought about calling you at 4am this morning to ask you if you remember where you were 2 years ago at that time...but I didn't...you're welcome :).
John II is such a gift and a blessing to our family. He was a dream in my husbands heart for many years, and two years ago today they placed that dream in my husbands arms. John Philip Cagle II was finally here! I remember when John and I were dating, he would write me beautiful, long, love letters :). I have saved all of them. I remember one that talked about some day having John Philip Cagle II together. That letter was written about 6 years before John II was even born. God is so good.
My sweet Baby John, you have added so much to our lives. You are such a joy to have. These past 2 years have been some of the best of my whole life. You make everything more fun. You are such a good, sweet boy. I fell in love with you before you were even born. Your Dad and I remember the day they told us we were having a boy so well. Josiah was there too, and we all cried and laughed, it was a beautiful moment. We remember when you were in my tummy, every night at about 10:30pm you started kicking and rolling around, and your Dad and I would lay there and talk to you and watch and feel you move...that was our nightly ritual. I remember being in the hospital and trying and trying to have you, until they finally said "C-section", I remember your Dad starting to cry, and I remember Mary grabbing his hand and mine and praying for us. I'll never forget that moment. That week in the hospital with you was a wonderful time. I didn't have to do anything but hold you, stare at you, and show you off to your many visitors. I was in love! I remember laying awake at night and just watching you sleep. Precious Boy. I love you so much. I look forward to watching you grow and guiding you through life. You are our little man, but you are a child of God and I know he has GREAT things in store for you little one. Happy Birthday Baby.

FOOD!!!
This is one of my very favorite subjects and I realize that I have hardly discussed it on here! :) But, this is worth sharing! I have found a new pizza by The South Beach Diet and I am IN LOVE!!! It's chicken, spinach, garlic and roasted red peppers on a whole wheat crust.....YUMMY!! I pretty much bought them off the shelf and have been having them for lunch everyday...you should try one...unless you shop in my neighborhood..cause they will be GONE!! JK. Cook them in the oven though, SO much better than the microwave.
There is another dish I have been eating for dinner almost every night since I discovered it, is SO easy....my toddler could make this! I buy Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti noodles, cook em up, throw in some frozen petite peas (they are the best!) the last minute or so, and drain. Then add a little olive oil and season to taste with ground pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasonings and fresh garlic. Serve warm and top with Parmesan cheese! Once again...YUM!!!!

OK, so I cannot talk about such a trival topic and not leave you with anything deeper to think on.....these are a couple scriptures God gave me recently for my worship team...

"In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you. I won't give up on you. I won't leave you. Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land. Give it everything you have, heart and soul! Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you are going. Don't for a minute let the Word of God be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going, then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid, don't get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take!" Joshua 1:6-9 ish (The Message)

"Get out there and walk- better yet, run!-on the road God called you to travel. Do this with humility and discipline. Pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. You were all called to travel on the same road and in the same direction, so stay together, both outwardly and inwardly. Everything you are and think and do is permeated with Oneness. But that doesn't mean you should all look and speak and act the same. Out of the generosity of Christ, each of us is given his own gift." -Eph 4 (bits and pieces)

Be Blessed and try to find time each day to just "be" with the Lord. :)