the great adventure

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

MHR~BB Giveaway #3!

Halfway through our party week, and today we have a doozy of a giveaway!!!

The generous gift comes from the sweet and talented Angela at Define Your Space!

I am so excited about this giveaway prize, in fact, I'd like to keep it for myself! Angela is going to allow the winner of this giveaway to select one of the personalized wood signs from her site (valued at $28)!!!

Here are just a couple of her great designs:

There are many ways to earn entries into this giveaway, but only the first one is required to be entered:

1. Visit Define Your Space, look around, then come back and comment on this post with your favorite item in her shop!

Once you have done that, you can earn additional entries by doing any of the following {You must leave a comment here to let me know you have done an extra entry! One entry per comment. No comment = no entry}:

2. Post the button on your sidebar AND write a post announcing the birthday bash, linking back here!

Here's the button code:

3. Tweet this giveaway post with "@katylinvw" in the tweet.

4. E-mail a MHR prompt/theme idea, or an inspirational article to me at katylinvw {at} yahoo {dot} com (This one is worth 5 extra entries!!!

5. E-mail 3 friends inviting them to the birthday bash, and copy my e-mail address (katylinvw {at} yahoo {dot} com)!

ALL of the giveaways are open until 12:00AM Saturday, June 20! Be sure to enter them all! Giveaway #1 from hopeink, and Giveaway #2 from juicychristians!!!

Good luck! :)

P.S. Don't forget to check out the other party posts below!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Birthday Bash: A Husband's Covering

Today we will enjoy the first of our guest bloggers!!! Sarah Mae at Like a warm cup of coffee is one of my oldest blogging friends. She has been there since the very beginning, in fact, she commented on my very first MHR post! She is also one of the most talented bloggers I know. Her series Marriage is Hard is chock full of great insight and wisdom. She has also written a great series called "Ex Prep" - Does your husband have ALL of your heart? She always delights and challenges me with her incredible depth of insight, and today's guest post is no exception, so without further ado:

A Husband's Covering

Life can sure beat us up sometimes. As if it isn't enough that we deal with our own lies and wounds, many times we also have to deal with attacks from the enemy. It is on those days that I am especially grateful for my husbands covering.

What Is A Husband's Covering?

For me it is a place of safe vulnerability. I am willing to give up myself and surrender to my husbands protection and wisdom. It is vulnerable because I am essentially saying, "here I am, I trust you to take care of me and make wise decisions on my behalf." It is safe because the Lord has granted a husband the special place of "head" over his wife. If God ordains something, I know I can trust it...I know it is a safe (albeit sometimes scary) place to be.

When we feel discouraged, we run to the feet of Jesus. But you know what, we can also run to the arms of our husbands (instead of our girlfriends) and let them help us. We need to be asking our husbands what they think, and then we need to be willing to accept their covering over us and heed their advice. I have found so much freedom in doing what my husband thinks is best. At first there was fear (what if he's wrong?), but now there is trust. I trust God, who put my husband over me for my good, to work things out for His glory.

Even when I'm tossed in the waves.

Even when I think I know what is best.

Even when his covering isn't quite perfect.

I choose to place myself in the safe, vulnerable covering of my husband.

Try it, if you haven't. It's turns out to be a pretty tranquil place.

"A head is given to a woman for protection, safety, and shelter. We must not run from the safety of our own head....The woman must cultivate a very high view of her head, both the position God has given him over her, as well as the authority God has given him. When woman adopt this high view, submission is seen in an entirely different light. Submitting to someone whom God has placed over you with loving authority is a relief, not a burden." Nancy Wilson,The Fruit of her Hands

www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.blogspot.com

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

MHR~BB Giveaway #2!

Keeping this party going in style!!!

Today's great giveaway comes to us from the uber-talented Nathifa over at juicychristians!

Nathifa makes gorgeous jewelery, like this:

and this:

And she has offered for our birthday bash a $15 gift certificate for one lucky winner!!!

There are many ways to earn entries into this giveaway, but only one is required to be entered:

1. Visit juicychristians, look around, then come back and comment on this post with your favorite item in her shop!

Once you have done that, you can earn additional entries by doing any of the following {You must leave a comment here to let me know you have done an extra entry! One entry per comment. No comment = no entry}:

2. Post the button on your sidebar AND write a post announcing the birthday bash, linking back here!

Here's the button code:

P.S. Don't forget to check out the other party posts below, including the first giveaway, here!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Birthday Bash: Let's Talk Commitment

When it comes right down to it, a great marriage is not built on the "fireworks." Don't get me wrong, fireworks are great and fun and wonderful, I rather enjoy them myself, but the glue that really holds a marriage together is commitment.

One of the best biblical examples of someone who committed herself to another person for no apparent benefit for her is Ruth. If you've never read the biblical account, I highly recommend it, she's got her own book stuck right in there between Judges and 1 Samuel in the Old Testament.

Ruth is not an Isrealite, she's a Moabitess. But she married an Isrealite, and in doing so became the daughter-in-law of Naomi. Unfortunately, Naomi's husband died while they were living in Moab (they had moved there to avoid a famine in Israel), he was soon followed by both of his sons, so Naomi had to move back to their old home town of Bethlehem (because part of the law given through Moses was taking care of the widows in the community, and I'm not sure, but it would make sense that the Moabites wouldn't feel much loyalty or obligation to an Israelite widow). So Naomi starts out on the journey back to her homeland with both of her daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, in tow. Shortly into their walk back to Bethlehem, Naomi realizes that Ruth and Orpah will probably be better off just to go back to their own families and try to start their lives over again. Orpah agrees and heads back to Moab, but Ruth is insistent that she will not leave Naomi:

Ruth 1:16-17
But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severly, if anything but death separates you and me."

I don't know about you, but I always thought that that would make a great wedding vow. Ruth states unequivocally her commitment to Naomi. This is not because Naomi is particularly loveable at this moment in time. In fact, quite the opposite. Naomi is bitter and hurting and had just lashed out at Ruth and Orpah as she was trying to send them back to Moab (Ruth 1:11-13). And in just a few verses, she insists that the people who great her in Bethlehem stop calling her "Naomi" which means "pleasant," and start calling her "Mara" instead, which means "bitter." How's that for you? It's like she's saying "I am going to be in a perpetually terrible mood, and I want my very name to remind me to stay that way." Not exactly one of those people that everyone wants to spend their time with.

But Ruth does not sit around feeling sorry for herself, or complain to Naomi, or nag her to cheer up, or anything like that. Throughout the rest of the story Ruth first looks for and executes a plan to support Naomi, and then obeys her without question - always treating her with the utmost respect.

My Women of Faith Study Bible notes say it this way:

She offers to give of herself - not because Naomi is particularly lovely or deserving at the moment, but on the strength of her commitment to Naomi. . . . Her commitment keeps her from focusing on changing Naomi and sets her on a course that will transform a woman from Moab into the great-grandmother of Israel's most famous king . . . and part of the lineage of Christ, the King of kings!

How radically would this change our marriages? I'll tell you right now that it will not be easy, not in the least. But, oh boy, would it be worth it! This is the commitment-glue. The extra push that keeps you from rolling your eyes in disrespect when your husband makes a grumpy demand, and choosing to respect him - even when he doesn't deserve it.

Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?

Monday, June 15, 2009

MHR~BB Giveaway #1!

Let's get this party started!!!

For our first amazing giveaway of the week, we go to hopeink!

She has an adorable Etsy shop, you just have to see it!!! And for our Birthday Bash Extravaganza, she has generously offered . . .

. . . drumroll please . . .

. . . A personalized "Love Defined" print!!!!

There are many ways to earn entries into this giveaway, but only one is required to be entered:

1. Visit hopeink, look around, then come back and comment on this post with your favorite item in her shop!

Once you have done that, you can earn additional entries by doing any of the following {You must leave a comment here to let me know you have done an extra entry! One entry per comment. No comment = no entry}:

2. Post the button on your sidebar AND write a post announcing the birthday bash, linking back here!

Here's the button code:

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Birthday Bash Extravaganza!!!!!

Woo hoo! Today is the day, the official kick off of our ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ 1st Birthday Bash! I am sooooooooooooo excited! The actual birthday was Saturday, June 13th, but I decided that one measley day was not enough of a celebration, wo sere gonna do this as a week-long blow-out!

Can you believe it's already been a year! When we first started MHRF I didn't really know if it owuld catch on, but now we're 184 bloggers strong, and we have partnerships with some phenomenal people! Union28, Love, Actually, and Firewives.com!!! Thank you all!!! And a BIG thank you to all of our giveaway sponsors: hopeink, juicychristians, Define Your Space, 3 Lambs Graphics, and Daydream Studios!!!

My goal for this week is to focus on the main purpose of ~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Fridays. The reasons why we keep writing week after week, Friday after Friday, blogging all the reasons - from the seemingly silly to the passionate and poignant.

For those of you who haven't already reached this conclusion: MHRF isn't really for our husbands, not entirely anyway. Sure, our hubbies do love to hear about why we love them, and why we think they're incredible, but at the core of it all, the heart issue, is just that. A heart issue. The real point of all of this is learning to control our all-to-human proopensity to pick out and dwell up on the negatives, and choose instead to focus on the good, those things which caused us to fall in love in the first place, and that keep us falling in love all over and over again.

On top of revisiting this mystery of marriage and God-given gift of love and commitment, we're going to enjoy some very talented guest-bloggers, and a giveaway a day for the next five days!

How's that for a party?!?!!?!

Here's the button code:

Post the button on your sidebar AND write a post announcing the birthday bash, linking back here, and you're automatically entered (once) in each giveaway!!!

Be sure to come back every day to see all the fabulous prizes and party on with all of us! We're talking multiple posts per day, so check in early, check in often! There are going to be lots of other ways to get entries!!!

Happy Birthday!

Friday, June 12, 2009

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ but sometimes . . .

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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. . . I don't think he believes it.

Poor Austin. He's been under a little stress lately. And by a little, I mean stress such as would cripple an ordinary man.

Praise the Lord that mine is no ordinary man :)

He is so very sweet because I think he tries to keep me from worrying about it, but I know that he has been very discouraged lately. There are a lot of details that I'm not going to go into here, but between work and trying to get everything finished on and around the house before the end of this month, he has a lot on his plate. He is my superman! Please pray that I would be a true help meet to him in these circumstances and that we would both look to the Lord for our true strength as we try to do the seemingly-impossible!

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Don't forget . . . next week is going to be one big party! Hope you'll all be able to join us as we celebrate the 1st birthday of My Husband Rocks!!!

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

I am the only person who has the ability to add blogs to the MHR blogroll. If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays Union 28 will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you Union 28!

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Adam & Shandi's Wedding!!!

I just love weddings! So, luckily for me, a wedding just happened to be the main purpose of our visit to Colorado two weekends ago :) Getting to see my family in the mix was just a fabulous bonus!

That Wednesday, Bryce, Thelma, Austin and I loaded up our Escape and the pop-up, and headed west! Very covered wagon, don't you think, lol!

The trip itself was highly enjoyable because as much as I love my husband, it's fun to have some new faces along for a drive to which we have become frighteningly accustomed! Thelma (my mother-in-law) and I settled ourselves in the back seat and read and laughed and talked our way accross the country. Bryce (my father-in-law) and Austin occupied the front seats and enjoyed conversation and the luxury of the sattelite radio - which at any given time found its way between Christian, country, oldies, Beatles, and family-friendly comedy throughout the drive.

We stopped on Wednesday night at the Camp A Way campground in Lincoln, Nebraska.

This picture was taken the next morning, because it was pretty dark by the time we stopped!

We rose with the sunshine, well, not exactly with the sunshine, but not super late, either. Cleaned up at the VERY nice facilities, packed her all up and headed out again.

Homer & Sandra
We dropped the parents and the camper at Homer and Sandra's house in Akron, and as soon as we were settled and freshened up a bit we were on the road again to Denver to meet up with my family - but that's a whole other post in and of itself, so stay tuned, lol!

. . . but, back to the main topic (and title) of this post.
We got back into Akron pretty early in the day on Friday, and that day was spent in preparation for the rehearsal dinner and reception at the reception hall. (The hall was awesome, it had a neat little room on the back where we could have the rehearsal dinner tables set up for the smaller party on Friday evening, and not have to tear it down in the midst of the reception hall decor!)

Saturday, Austin went dirtbike-riding/semitruck-washing with the guys in the wedding party, and I spent the morning at the house chatting with the fam over cinnamon rolls and coffee :) Hoss came back in time to get cleaned up and head to the church for photos!

. . . but pics of us weren't really the point . . .

the beautiful bride

the groom and his parents

beautiful ladies . . . loved the bicep corsages :)

the whole wedding party

the happy couple

Hosser thought that the pics took a loooong time :)

waiting for the ceremony to start

exchanging of vows and rings

the kiss!

It was an absolutely beautiful wedding!!! Austin's Uncle Homer, the father of the groom, performed the ceremony!

It has taken me about three weeks to get all of these pics edited and this post composed, so this is where we're going to end for now :) maybe reception pics to follow at some point, but who knows :)

Thanks for reading!

Friday, June 5, 2009

~ my husband rocks! ~ thinking it through

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.
- Swami Sivananda

I found this quote today, and was struck by how much it describes Austin's philosophy on life. It literally fits him to a "t." This is a part of him that I had a difficult time relating to and still struggle with from time to time because the concept in and of itself was so very foreign to me.

Austin is a brilliant, wonderful, passionate man, who has the ability to process circumstances and situations so quickly it boggles the mind. As such, he is able to think through the ramifications of any action in a split second before making any decision to act or react. Therefore, every thought, word, and action is thought out to the nth degree before it is ever witnessed by anyone else - every purchase, every errand, every moment is run through a gigantic filter and put through a "pro and con" scenario - and all of this happens in the blink of an eye.

I'm not sure that this is something that will make sense to those of you who have never met Austin in person, but it is absolutely incredible to me. I often fall into a pattern simply reacting to situations rather than thinking things through as well as I probably should, and I love that one of the many up-sides of being married to my wonderful husband is that who he is and the way he relates to his circumstances challenges me to be a better person in this way. He challenges me to be a better person in a lot of ways, but this is one that has really stood out to me in the last couple of weeks.

I <3 him a lot!

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Wednesday, June 3, 2009

God in America . . .

I'm a Carmen fan from way back, and this one was playing on the radio this afternoon! Check it out! :)

Hope you're having a great week!

Friday, May 29, 2009

You're Invited!!!

Who: Everyone!!!
What: The My Husband Rocks Birthday Bash!!!
When: June 15-20, 2009
Where: Right here at the great adventure

That's right! My husband rocks turns 1 year old on Saturday, June 13th, 2009! That date will kick off a week-long blog-tastic bash which at the very least will include some fantastic giveaway prizes! Most of the rest is a surprise, but stay tuned for some hints and sneak peeks! Mark your calendars, we're gonna have a blast!

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Protection

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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We called 911 the other night. How's that for an opener, huh? Before anybody freaks out I should probably tell the rest of the story :)

We were relaxing in the family room watching a little bit of television on Wednesday night when Austin saw the shadow of a person fall across our back door. "There's somebody just standing in our back yard," he said. He got up and went out back only to see a young man, about 18 or 19, ride away down the street on his bicycle.

That made us a bit uneasy to say the least.

Then, after we had turned in, Austin, who was still very uncomfortable, decided to go downstairs and shut and look all of the windows and double check the door locks. As he made his way downstairs, he noticed that there was a car parked in front of our house with its windows down. This may not seem suspicious; however, I can count on one hand the times that an unknown vehicle has been parked at our house on a weeknight. Austin stood at the front window for a moment, but he could not see anyone inside the car or outside near the car. He worked his way through the rest of the house locking the windows, and when he got back to the front windows - less than a minute later - the car was gone.

This is the point where we decided to call the police. Austin called and explained that we didn't have an emergency at the moment, but he would feel better if we could avoid one all together. He requested that the local police be aware of the situation, and keep an eye on our house that evening. When he came to bed at that point he shut and locked our bedroom door as well.

I know that he worried most of the night, and probably didn't sleep too well, but I slept like a baby. It is so comforting to know that he takes his job of protecting me and our home so very seriously. He so totally rocks!

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Friday, May 22, 2009

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Family :)

Better late than never, right? My world has been frought with technical difficulties lately, so I apologize for my tardiness - I'm hoping for a new computer in the relatively near future :)

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Austin never ceases to amaze me. As noted in my previous post, we had a whirlwind adventure to Colorado last weekend. The drive to Akron, where his cousin's wedding was, is an even ten hours. Austin drove the entire way there. Once we reached Akron, and his aunt & uncle's home, he set up our pop-up and got it ready to go, unhooked the Escape and drove the additional two hours into Denver - at just about rush-hour - so that we could see my family as well!

That evening, we ended up spending upwards of four hours sitting in the Cheesecake Factory, enjoying my family! It is difficult for me to put into words how much it means to me to have the people who mean the most to me in this world - especially the two men who have had the biggest impact upon my life - laughing and joking and just basically loving each other and taking advantage of the time we get to spend together! Not only did we all have a fantastic time together, but what really did it for me was that it was never even a question in Hoss's mind about whether or not we would go the literal extra miles to get to spend even an evening with my parents and my sisters. He wanted to see them. (This totally reminds me of that scene in The Break Up where Jennifer Aniston says "I want you to want to do the dishes." lol) I know that may seem kind of silly, but it absolutely meant the world to me!

He's pretty awesome :)

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

If you are a MHR blogger, and have not been added to the blogroll, plase comment or e-mail me and I will gladly add you to our little group!!!

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

Monday, May 18, 2009

Quick Update! :)

Hello everyone!!!

Yes, I am alive . . . and kicking! Imagine that! Austin and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Colorado where we saw both his and my extended families (well, part of them at least)!

We left Wednesday night just as soon as we could get our butts in gear and get out the door after work, and pick up his parents (who went with us) at their house! We stopped in Lincoln at the CampAway campsite (which was very nice, and would have been cool to stay longer), then Thursday morning headed out to truck right along to Akron. Once there we set up our little pop-up buddy in Homer & Sandra's driveway, then Hoss and I flew out the door again heading to Denver.

We got into Denver around 4:15 in the afternoon (just as the Rockies game was ending, I know, we have impeccable timing), found a parking space that did not require our firstborn as collateral, and met up with my parents for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory :) mmmmm . . . Tom & Pam, and Steve & Bethany joined us for the first part of dinner, but they had to leave around six to go meet Pam's family at their house who were coming in for Steve's graduation. We enjoyed the enormous appetizer sampler while they ate their meal. After they left we waited around for Kindra & Arin (sp?) to get there, and when they arrived we ate the dinner portion of our meal with them. All in all a total of 4 1/2 hours (or somewhere thereabouts) was spent in that little table - I think that has to be some kind of record.

Steve & Bethany graciously put us up in their guest room on Thursday evening, so we did not have to drive back to Akron late, and the next morning, rested and refreshed, we headed back east for wedding setup.

Austin's cousin got married on Saturday in Akron, and a great time was had by all! :) Friday was spent setting up the reception hall, then at the rehearsal - followed by a yummy barbecue rehearsal dinner (my favorite kind :) - although our pizza version was very fun, and delicious as well . . . ) Saturday morning the boys went dirtbike riding and washed up the semi truck that was the bride and groom's getaway vehicle. The wedding was beautiful, with Austin's uncle Homer officiating, and we had a blast at the reception.

We took off bright and early Sunday morning in order to get back at a decent time last night because today was my first day at my new job!!!

Which is totally awesome!

I know I've left out a lot of detail, and there are no pictures (even though we took almost 200 this weekend) - I'm blogging via my ancient desktop which is very slow and laborious, and which will not accept our high-capacity SD card from the camera, so I am unable to upload any pics :S - such is life, I guess!

Hope you're all doing well!

Friday, May 8, 2009

~ My Husband Rocks! ~ Expertise

Click here to read about why I started MHR Fridays!

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Good morning, and happy Friday everyone! Where did this week fly away to? My goodness! Preparing to trasition to my new job has kept me hopping - in the best way - this week! I have a post started about my experience at the Women of Faith event in Des Moines this past weekend, and tomorrow Austin and I become contestants in the "Amazing Race" (at least the church's 20's & 30's version), which I am sure will provide great photos and a fun story, so stay tuned!!!

Now, on to my rocking hubby! :)

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from our good friend Anna asking if Austin and I would have time to walk through a house that she's looking at purchasing. Her fathr is concernec that the house is going to be more work than it's worth, and wanted Austin to take a look a it since he has had the experience of working on his own house and he would be honest with Anna about the extent of the work that this house needs.

Don't you just love it when people appreciate the ones that you love? I mean, I know he's great - but it's just so much fun when other people recognize that as well :)

He also rocks because he puts his all into everything he does. He didn't just run through the house, give it the cursory once-over and spout off an opinion. He very thoughfully and meticulously looked through each room and shared his thoughts and opinions in a very caring manner. Austin is the kind of person who takes a request for advice very seiously - and he would never say anything if he didn't mean it and believe it with everything that he has.

In addition to having wonderful knowledge and giving thoughtful and experienced advice, he is also so very humble about the whole affair!

He's just so wonderful! Isn't he?

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Be sure to check in with the other ladies who are bragging on their rocking hubbies today by clicking on the "My Husband Rocks Participants" button in the left sidebar.

(if you would like to add the MHR Fridays button to your sidebar, use this code ).

If you're not a blogger, but still want the world to know about your amazing husband (or wife, or husband to be, or wife to be, etc.) leave a shout-out in the form of a comment! If you're unable to comment, e-mail me at katylinvw [at] yahoo [dot] com and I'll add your shout out to this post!

As always, on Fridays From*me Tees will refund your shipping on any order of two or more items if you mention the great adventure and ~my husband rocks! Fridays~ in the "how did you hear about us?" section of your order form, so run on over there and check them out, too! Thank you From*me Tees!

Hope you all have a fantastic Friday, and a wonderful weekend!