Sad but true...

So, I have to admit it - I am an American Idol junkie...I absolutly LOVE the last six weeks of this show. I feel like at the beginning you just get a bunch of idiots wanting to be on TV mixed in with some just ok singers. But at the end...there is all the drama and hype and some decent singing most years. My favorite years include Taylor Hicks year...definitly went to this concert...also the year of Carrie Underwood...also went to this concert! I thought the year of Daughtry was awesome and still long to see him in concert...and last year wasn't bad either. I love me some David Cook...so all that to say, overall I think this show has done a pretty good job with the entertainment factor.

This is Carrie from a long distance :)

All the idols from the season w/ Carrie Underwood

This season was also a pretty good one, I can't say that I loved the top 13...I thought a few of them were good, but I also thought a lot were bad. I didn't even pay attention to Kris Allen until they were down to the top 7 or 8 I don't think. Anyhow, he got my attention then and blew me away with his first performance of "Aint No Sunshine When She's Gone"...oh yes, its definitly on my ipod and has been for about 2 months now. Thank you itunes!!!

So, last night was supposed to be - celebrate Matt being done w/ the boards night - however, it quickly turned into - watch Matt sleep on the beanbag w/ the dog and fast fwd through AI - after our steak dinner. Nonetheless, it was a great night of celebrating - we got a great meal, Matt got a nap, and Kris Allen won!

The highlight of the past 12 hours for me was probably talking to my Aunt Jackie this morning on the phone. We text a lot about AI but don't talk on the phone THAT much...but of course I got a phone call this morning on the way to work and it started out like me answering the phone like this..."OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! My gosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you stinkin' believe it Aunt Jack?????" and she quickly told me that she wasn't surprised at all - she knew Kris had it in the bag...I on the other hand was convinced that Adam would win.

So, our conversation continued and we covered topics such as -

1 - Kris singing w/ Keith Urban - not totally exciting but WOW - the boy can do country

2 - Kris' wife is adorable and must be shy...the only explanation for not much coverage

3 - The hug at the very end of the show with Kris and his wife...priceless

4- Kris' humility - it was actually a little akward at the end of the show when he won b/c he didn't even have words to say.

5 - Adam was a very good contestant, not our favorite but props to him for not being obnoxious, rude, or arrogant with all the attention he received.

6 - Wow - Queen AND Kiss??? What an amazing show...maybe someday me and Jackie can go together!

7 - Last and final question was...where is the tour taking them this year??? Wonder if they will return to Nashville or Birmingham??? Sadly, the answer is no...we may have to travel to Duluth, GA...come on AI...bring it back to the 'ham!!!!!

Ok, now I'm just embarrassed but I'm going to post this anyway b/c I really am that excited that Kris won!

Happy (late) Mother's Day

So - to all you moms out there, I hope you had a good one. I think Mothers should be appreciated all year, and Fathers too for that matter...but I do hope Sunday was extra special for you moms.
I got to surprise my mom this year with a little unexpected visit to Nashville. Matt was on call Sunday and Sunday night so I decided to see mom and the fam instead of being bored in Birmingham. It was a lot of fun to see the whole family - my aunt Ellen had us all over for lunch and of course Jess and Levi stole the show. I could just eat these little guys up every time I see them. Love to all my friends and family who are moms!

Jonas and Em being confused.

Jesse is coming up with the cutest pouty faces - I think this one loves attention...hm...sound familiar?

Levi's face is always ready to smile - I just love this picture of him - so happy and sweet.

Another pouty face by poor little Jesse...he must have missed a meal...yeah right...maybe a nap!

Levi's checking out Bebe on Mother's day

Auntie Em is imitating the horse chewing up grass - I couldn't resist! :)

Em and Brian playing around.

Weekend 'O Twins!

Oh, this past weekend was awesome! First off - let me say Happy Late B'day to Em - she had her birthday on Saturday and we got to enjoy an awesome breakfast at the Puffy Muffin on Saturday morning. Happy 24 Em - I'd give anything to go back there! :)

Saturday afternoon we had a "corrected age" birthday party for Jesse and Levi. They were definitly more like 1 year olds at this birthday then the actual day, so it was fun watching them enjoy a cupcake (made by auntie Em - she made 125 and they were fabulous!).

Me and Jess playing

Family photo!Gee Gee caught red handed - you saw it here first people!Sweet Caroline!Rochelle and her mom, Ana, serving up the food!I love this picture of Jesse - he's trying to figure out what to eat first!Chow time!Jesse playing with his birthday balloon!Me and Em with Christian and Caroline.

Aunt Ellen and Uncle Mike w/ the b'day boys.

Sunday afternoon I got to meet the newest set of twins in our family, Benjamin and Peyton. They are doing great in the NICU and our favorite nurse Cheryl is watching out for them! Hopefully they will be able to come home this week! Congrats to Wes, D'Arcy, Christian and Caroline on your new additions!

After visiting the NICU I got to run by my aunt Mai Mai's house for a visit. She is one of my most favorite people to talk with and I don't get to her house enough when I'm home because its sort of far away. I'm so thankful for Mai Mai, Gee Gee, and my Aunt Ellen Claire - they are all pillars of our family still living who continue to impact our lives. This was a great ending to the weekend for me!

Peyt and Benj

So, I'm just blowing up the blog scene these days! Meet Benjamin Richard Collins and Peyton Wade Collins! Born Tuesday April 21st around 6am. Benjamin was 5 pounds 5 oz and Peyton was 5 pounds 7 oz! I'll have more pictures after this weekend when I go meet them, cute little squished babies!

Ha Ha this is so typical - Wes and Brian engrossed in something on TV and Wade on his blackberry - you can tell the anticipation is killing them! Oh, I should add that this is around 2 AM!

I'm going to guess here but I think this is Benjamin - he was born first.

Guessing again but I think this is Peyton due to the bubbles he's blowing. He was second and mom said he had more fluid and therefore was a little "bubbly".

No guessing on this one - have no clue which it is!

The proud daddy (of FOUR!) with his 2 arm band thingies.

The new grandmother's of twins - Bebe will show you the ropes! haha!

Perdido Key misses us...

Well we had a great vacation last week! Thanks to our sweet friends for being so generous and letting us use their condo - we had a fabulous week down in Perdido Key - I wish I was still there! Em and Jonas came to join us late Tuesday night and needless to say provided much entertainment. Em's just lucky most pictures are on her camera :)

Here are some pictures from our trip...I'll be posting some baby pics either this afternoon or tomorrow of the newest twins in our family - congrats Wes and D'Arcy! Can't wait to meet Peyton and Benjamin!

Matt had the best caddy :) This is pre-boredom for me, I'm still smiling!

Matt enjoying a nice round of golf - the course was really pretty!

The awesome sunset on Wednesday night - pic from our balcony!

Em and Jonas cheesin' it up on the beach

Me and Mat cheesin' it up on the beach!

He's just makin' me laugh!

Vaca

So glad Matt's getting to enjoy this...

Great vaca so far, more to come!

He is RISEN!

"Don't be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ~Mark 16.6

There are so many places I could start this morning reflecting on this verse, honestly, all of the avenues I have right now of reflection are testimony to the Lord...you'll see why.

Here's the first...when I was young, my sweet mother helped us learn bible verses by memory. At very young ages, she had a calendar with stickers and we worked on verses every day, at the end of the week if we had memorized our verse we got a sticker. During that time, I didn't really understand why we were learning these things out of the bible, but as hind sight is always 20/20, I see now that mom knew the scripture needed to be written on our hearts. So, this was one of our verses and I have to say, I learned this one so well, that I thought the last words of the verse were "Mark 16.6".

I would proudly walk around saying the entire verse and just conclude w/ the address. It was just part of it for me - when I realized that "Mark 16.6" was actually the address of where the verse was in the bible, I was shocked - not sure why. Anyway...my first reflection from this verse takes me back to my childhood and the early learning of this powerful scripture.

Here's the second...so a few months ago, my friends Jenny and Kerry and I decided that we would start reading in Matthew and we would commit to like 5 chapters a week. So, every week when we meet for accountability, we would just hold each other accountable for reading the scriptures. This way, it wasn't like you had to read one chapter a day, or 2 or whatever, it was just read the five chapters at some point that week. Well, we chugged along through Matthew and every once in a while would chat about what we were reading and ask each other questions. After Matthew comes Mark so we are just going to keep going through the whole new testament. So, it just so happens that this week - the very week of Easter - we are finishing Mark and reading his account of the end of Jesus' life. Coincidence that its this week??? Nope - that's just how awesome God is - His timing is perfect.

Its funny too b/c I think Matthew's writing about the end of Jesus' life is more descriptive, so why would we not be ending Matthew this week? Who knows, but I do know that Mark is more to the point, he's cut and dry, and really, when you are talking about the resurrection of Christ...that's all you need.

Third and lastly...this Easter morning is like no other I have ever experienced. I woke up to my husband being gone to work (poor Matt he left at 4am), and my dog snuggling up to me in the bed in place of my husband. There is no Easter egg basket outside my door, there are no cute yellow duck decorations in my house, there isn't even any Easter candy, not one piece. But I will tell you that this Easter morning is VERY special - because what IS here - is that HE IS RISEN.

When Matt left for work this morning and Elle quickly jumped in his spot in the bed, he just left and said, "I love you" like he does every morning, and then I just laid there for about 20 seconds before drifting back off to sleep...but in those 20 seconds, God whispered to me, "He is RISEN". It wasn't anything to keep me awake (I love to sleep), but it was my heavenly Father telling me,

"It doesn't matter that Matt is working and you are sleeping with a dog, it doesn't matter that you don't have any family to see today or that you aren't eating ham and rolls for lunch, it doesn't matter that you are going to church alone...what matters is...HE IS RISEN!"

That's the thing...its not about ME - its about HIM! So, I'll just end where I started,

"Don't be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ~Mark 16.6

The Lord put it on my heart to share on my blog what He has done in my heart this morning - He has taken me back 2000 years ago to the rising of my King. Him rising out of that grave and defeating death is all that matters in this life, and that is the best Easter lesson I've ever learned. So, thank you Lord, for raising your son from the dead so that I can be your daughter - I love you.

~AES