Ahhh, a weekend of friends, food, fun, fireworks and wedding showers. I wish that the term for wedding showers started with an ‘f’ because then that first sentence would have been so much cooler.

Have a fantastic long weekend. Don’t eat too much bbq or drink too much Grapico with your loved ones. I might (might) drive over to Mississippi Saturday. If I don’t… you’re 4th weekend will be worse for it. If not, I’ll watch the Jasper fireworks from my rooftop.

However, if you can’t get to a show (or if it rains on ya) here’s 11 minutes & 45 seconds of fireworks from Disneyworld.

Happy 4th everbody!

After going to see Superman Returns last night (which is very good, bytheway) I got to thinking.

Question:

If you’ve riden around in a car me with long enough, you’ve certainly fell witness to what can only be defined as a “semi-girly freak out” when a certain Amy Grant song comes on the radio. I’m not gonna tell you which one, but it is one of the following music video links found below.

It’s been a long time so I felt the need to update the wedding/baby list.

If you want to make an addition or change some of the info below, either enter a comment, or send an email to landon.howell@yahoo.com.

Wedding

Jennifer Horton & Tony Oravet [Jasper, AL] - April 8
Saundra Brown & Jason Strong [Jackson, MS] - May 6
Ashley Neese & Ben Mangrum [Brandon, MS] - May 6
Kathryn Hooks & Kennon Vaughan [Tupelo, MS] - May 13
*Amy Byars & Jake Sanders [Jasper, AL] - May 13
Mauren Ferrell & Brennan Sanders [Jackson, MS] - May 26
Jennifer Moss & Chris Smith [Clinton, MS] - May 27
Tim Neese & Mandy Legg [Brandon, MS] - June 10
Natalie Carmichael & “Brad” [Jasper, AL]- July 15
Katie Trent & Austin Stewart [Memphis, TN] - July 15
*Lacey Fortenberry & Brock Howell [Columbia, MS] - July 29
Haley Howell & Jay Penney [Scottsboro, AL] - Aug 19
~Matt Adams & Wendy Veazey [?, Tenn] - Aug 5
Aby Sappington & Jason Stewart [B'ham, AL] - Dec 16

Baby

Bethany Burns [Bham] - Finlee Faith Johnson (7 lbs 10 oz) on March 2
Erin & Phil Rexroth [Wash DC] - Haley Elisabeth Rexroth (8lb & 19 in) on March 27
Matt “Spunk” & Jennifer Weston [Nashville] - James Seth Weston (21 inches, 7lbs, 13ozs) on June 8
John & Amy Byars [Bham] - July 28 {will be a girl}
Erin and Brian Hannula [Clinton, MS] - August 7
Brad & Lacey (Travis) Madden [Jackson, MS] - August ??
Chad & Lori Hayes [Jasper, AL] - September 10
Katy (Brown) & Tim Doremus [Waco, TX] - October ??
Justin & Melissa Jackson [Brookhaven, MS] - November 9
Katy (Gambrell) Burns & Heath Burns [Jasper, AL] - September 10 {will be a girl}

*I’ll be singing in the wedding.
~I’ll be in the wedding.

ITALICS means that it is a new addition.
BOLD means that the wedding/baby has already happened.

I was channel surfing last night just before I headed off to bed when I came accross Nick at Nite who was running the first episode of the Cosby Show, which made me think of my favorite Cosby Show moments. One of which is the famous Gordon Gartrell incident where Theo… well… either you’ve seen it a thousand times or you’ve never seen it at all. So I’m not going to explain it.

Enjoy.

I watch more TV than any man… basically because I have to have noise in the background at all times. I’m just that way.

I can count on two hands how many times I did my homework in the library during college. I did all my work from our crappy dorm room futon while football games or The Real World played in the background.

Travel Channel, A&E, MTV, FOX News, AMC, Food Network, Discovery Channel… whether it’s Laguna Beach catfights or crab fishermen in Alaska on the Deadliest Catch - I’ll watch it while I work.

That said… this is an impossible question for me to answer.

Question:

UPDATE: This is why Barbara did it…

It’s no secret that I’m obsessed with music, as are most of you. I get this question all the time… and quite frankly, it’s hard to decide.

If you put a gun to my head (which I hope you wouldn’t do because it’s extremely rude) I’d have to go with Radiohead’s ‘High & Dry‘.

Why do I love it? Because of the deep meaning behind the lyr— err, ok… I really can’t tell you why. I just like it. It calms me down in any stressful situation yet somehow manages to pump me up at other times.

Or, maybe I just like it. Let’s not make this too deep, folks.

If anybody wants to see Ray Lamontagne on July 23 at the Alabama Theatre in B’ham, holler. Guster is playing with as well… if that makes a difference.

Oh. Oh you’re heart just hurts for this guy who forgets part of the whole dang National Anthem.

Oh, and by the way… he did this at a funeral.

Some suggested free listening for your lonely ears… sinners.

Pinelake Audio

While I’m still separated from Pinelake by distance [tear] I still endulge in Chip Henderson’s messages during my daily workout.

Free stuff on the DaVinci Code, Spiritual Disciplines, “Getting Real”, and Chip’s last series “What I Wish My ____ Knew” covering husbands, wives, dating, friends, kids, and parents are available in the archives.

A new series on the church just began.

To save these to your computer, simple right-click on the audio link and select “Save As” and save it to your computer. Then, drag the audio clip into you media player or iTunes.

Pinelake Archives
Pinelake Current Series

NOTE: Pinelake rotates what appears in their online archives. Therefore these will only be available for a short period until they are pulled and can only be accessed through Pinlake’s church library.

Mars Hill Church

This Seattle-based church is taking the Pacific Northwest by storm. Pastor Mark Driscoll does an amazing job of presenting the Bible in modern day language without comprimising Biblical principles. The current series is titled “Christians Gone Wild.” The sermons are *gasp* about an hour in length each. I’ve gone through all but two of them and can testify that they’re worth every minute.

You can subscribe to Mars Hill podcasts on iTunes, or download them straight from their website. (Right hand side)

John Piper

Wow… John Piper likes to talk. Which is fine, ’cause he’s good at it.

You can go all the way back to 2003 (3 years!?! Holy WWJD bracelet!).

Piper, as all you book nerds out there can attest, is truly a mind to explore. His is sermons challange even the most mature Christian and his voice is that of your grandfather as he tells you a bedtime story.

Alright, go save the world…

I’m a butt for not posting this sooner.

My college roommate Matt Weston and his lovely Jennifer (she didn’t live with us so that Spunk could stay pure) gave birth… well, Jennifer gave birth to a healthy baby boy James Seth Weston on June 8.

The baby came in at 21 inches, 7lbs, 13ozs… which means he’s already taller than Matt. Kidding buddy, you know I love you.

Take a peek at the photos.

The official email from Matt:

“It’s good times here at la casa de Weston. For those of you who haven’t yet heard the news, Jennifer and I had an addition to our family last Thursday, June 8. James Seth Weston was born at 10.29PM and weighed 7lbs, 13ozs. He was 21 inches long and was born with more hair on his head than I have. Below is a link where you can see some pictures of the new and improved Weston family.

As you can imagine we’re thrilled about this new phase in our lives, and although we’re apart from many of you guys, know that we love you and think about each of you often. If you’re in the Nashville area, give us a call and we’d love for you to meet baby Seth and take you out for some BBQ. Blessings to you and keep us updated on things in your world….”

Just in case you haven’t seen this clip or heard the story…

Question:

(Let’s try not to name names… unless you wanna make things more interesting.)

UPDATE: I’ve had a few of you express concern in posting your comments due to many factors… one of which being that the individual who said it to you reads this blog. Ouch. So… if you wanna post, go for it. If not… no big deal… dead question.

Remember the trick to watching streaming videos - especially larger ones such as this. And now, the crane kick…

…and if you wanna see the trailer - here ’tis.