Normal days . . .

Well, Deanna fussed at me for not posting. So, for anyone who cares, let me re-cap the past week or so.

Saturday night (March 18) we threw a birthday party for Ben Bradley. He turned 28. It was a fun night - full of Ben trivia, games about Ben, cake with Ben's favorite color on it . . . well, you get the idea. It was all about Ben. Here's a photo (that's my Mark behind the Ben mask) . . . and a link to more pics if you know Ben and care to look.
http://photos.yahoo.com/missmandybee


On the first day of spring, it snowed in Iowa. There were 6 inches of snow on the ground on the second day of spring.

I drove to Iowa City (about 1hr 45min away) Monday afternoon to spend the night with Angie Shepherd. Yep, Shepherd came to Iowa and it wasn't even to see me! She was here for a job interview. You can pray for her as she seeks out what God wants for her in life. She'll finish seminary in May and is really trying to figure out where she will work after that. I wouldn't mind at all if it was Iowa, but only if that is where God wants her.

Yesterday I had lunch with Darlene Lubinus. It was wonderful to sit down with her and catch up. It is weird that she lives here now. I mean, good weird, but weird. Tim moved into his office today. We share a wall. CRAZY.

I had a wonderful date night with Mark last night! God is so good to me. He has answered so many prayers about this relationship. Mark is a great balance for me and is a wonderful leader for us.

We have a Time Out for Parents tonight at Cornerstone. Want to know how good I've gotten at delegation? I'm not even coming! I've given all responsibility to my two interns. They have my cell number if they need me. Isn't that wonderful?

Tomorrow is our next to last Upward game day. We'll have our Awards Night Ceremony next Sunday (April 2 - Mark's 35 birthday by the way).

I'll miss our final game day next weekend. I'm headed to Kansas City with Mark and his family for the weekend. I have not met one of his brothers and his wife and have only spent a little time with the youngest Stenberg and his wife. It will be a fun time I'm sure.

So, that's about it for me. Tired of reading? Feel caught up? Thanks.

My dad's wonderful job!

Hey friends. My dad loves his job. He gets to do so much fun stuff. For example, this past week he was on hand as officials caught and moved 2 mama black bears and their four cubs from land close to the hunting camp to another parish in an effort to repopulate that area. These little guys are so cute!



My dad cracks me up with stories of his work. Mostly I laugh when he talks about his hard day with the nap right in the middle of the day! I'm so happy that he is so happy and I'm thankful for the Maddens who take such good care of my dad as he works for them. The first photo here is my dad with one of the mama bears. The second is John Madden with three of the cubs.

Night on the Town

Hello friends. Mark treated me to a wonderful night out last night. The Lion King is playing in Des Moines. We've had tickets since November, so this has been in the works for quite some time. Mark invited me over for dinner before the show. I didn't know what I was in for or how much work he had gone to for me. I walked in to a table set with flowers and candles! It was really nice. He had been working on dinner since 2p and it was all delicious. Yep, he's a keeper!


We went to the show with friends Andrew and Holly. Holly is expecting twins in May.

It was a really nice evening. The show was great. The company was even better!

Bailey Ann Johnson

She's here! Princess Bailey Ann Johnson has arrived! Billy and Elizabeth are the proud parents of a 9 pound 11oz baby girl. Mom and baby are doing well. Bailey was born around 2:00p our time, 10:00p in her world.

Go here to see pics of Bailey . . . SHE IS BEAUTIFUL
www.dropshots.com/billyjamesjohnson

OK, a little clarification for my friend Becky . . . . . THIS is the real man in my life. While "pink shirt guy" is indeed a super fun guy . . . . . Mark is who has stolen my heart. Seems that my earlier blogging of our relationship has been pushed to the bottom of my blog and new friends don't get the chance to "meet" him. So, here you go . . . . .

Mark and I have been together for 4 months as of this coming Friday. He is an incredible man. He is a servant. He is stinkin' hilarious. He is an amazing leader in our relationship. He likes to dance! We have a great time together. We are learning more and more about one another AND about God because of the time we spend together.

Yeah, we need to take a new picture. This one is from this past Christmas. I'll work on that.

Life is busy here in Central Iowa. God is at work at Cornerstone. Upward Basketball is going great. D6 (Wednesday night) stuff is strong. Summer is quickly approaching which means VBS and day camp and camp and day trips and a new add for me personally . . . . weekends at the lake with Mark and his family! Yippee!

So, that's me in a nutshell. Drop me a line to say hello. I love to hear from you all.


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