a weekend away

I am hoping that everyone had a fun, safe fourth of July weekend. Jeffery and I had a fun getaway to Dallas Friday and Saturday. Our family (Lawrences) all got together at my grandparents house in Dallas on Saturday afternoon. Jeffery and I decided to head to D earlier and meet up with everyone else on Saturday. My mom graciously (and excitedly) accepted the task of keeping Emily for the night. It's never easy to leave her, but especially Friday, I did get a little emotional leaving her and even shed a couple tears as we hit the interstate headed West. I don't worry about her, its just hard...and especially hard since I am still nursing her. I knew she was in good hands and I got over the moment of emotional'ness' by the time we got out of the county! Jeffery has been in need of doing some shopping and willing, so we headed that way. We spent Friday afternoon shopping in Allen, then headed into Dallas for our amazing dinner...

We don't do it too often, but when we are in the big city, we like to try out new, fancy restaurants. We thought first of going to one of the great places we have been before (Nick & Sam's, or Suze Restaurant), but decided to try a new place, and we are glad we did. Abacus was the choice for dinner Friday night. It is in Dallas right off of 75 and Knox/Henderson. Let's just say that it met and perhaps exceeded all of our expectations. The cuisine is characterized as 'World Cuisine' with dinner options ranging from fresh sushi to prime steaks. The executive chef even defeated Bobby Flay on 'Iron Chef America'. Pretty impressive since we all know that Bobby is good!

So let's just say, I had no problem clearing all of my plates. Starting with a Hawaiian Sushi Roll which was similar to a traditional California Roll but also had fresh Hawaiian Ahi Tuna in it. Yum! I've never been too much of a sushi fan, but this was really good, very fresh, and I could definitely go for it again! Dinner was wood roasted beef tenderloin served with truffle potatoes and fresh summer vegetables. Again, Yum! Jeffery went for the filet and he said it was the best cut of meat he has ever had, and I agree. I had a couple tastes of his...it was like butter. Delish! Dessert was called 'Rockin Roll', a chocolate-mascarpone roll with an espresso gelle drizzled with caramel and garnished with a pecan praline crisp. Yes, I ate all of that too. Jeffery told me when we sat down that it takes 20 minutes for the brain to catch up with the stomach before it says...Whoa, I'm full. I was pretty past that when we left, but hey, you only live once. All this to say, Abacus was great and if you are looking for a great meal, a inviting and relaxed dinner, you should try it out.

We had a fun time at my grandparents on Saturday. We got to see Lindsey and Bryon and my niece (almost here...Lindsey's due in about 3 weeks!!) My parents brought Emily with them to Dallas, everyone loved seeing her and getting to know her more. Mom said Emily was great Friday night. She said she didn't even miss me! I am thankful to have family here close by to help out so J and I can enjoy some special time together.

I'll close with something that has stuck with me after hearing it a church yesterday. The expression God Bless America has obviously been used a lot this holiday weekend. Pretty common lingo and appropriate for the celebration of our freedom. But God does not have to bless us, He does not owe us a thing. But as His children, I do hope that my (our) actions and my (our) choices are a blessing to Him...

Have a happy week.