Mission Accomplished!

Our trip to Memphis/Arkansas last weekend had 2 objectives:

1) Cross the border into Arkansas to sign our contract in front of an Arkansas notary.
2) Have a GREAT time!

I would have to give us the gold star for accomplishing task #1 with minimal hostile engagement (just one rude dude who for some reason kept honking the horn when we chose to obey the traffic laws and actually stop at the stop signs…imagine that!) and exceeding expectations for objective #2….what a great trip!!

Our trip started out Friday evening after work/school. Rena, Dorothy (Rena’s mother-in-law) and Logan (Rena’s youngest son) met mom and I in Athens and we loaded in a rented mini-van and headed toward Memphis.

We arrived late that evening at the Heartbreak Hotel right in the heart of Graceland. Could there be any better place to experience the King? Man he is awesome! The hotel is fully decorated all Elvis and they even have an Elvis channel on the TV so you can watch Elvis movies 24/7…..WOW! I saw a few I had never seen before and some old favorites. When we first found the channel it was playing one of my favorite scenes from Viva Las Vegas with Elvis and Ann Margret. Check it out C'mon Everybody

We woke up the next morning (I think Logan was the first to wake…he was excited) and had breakfast downstairs. Then Rena and I headed to Arkansas to get the contract signed. We decided that it took us longer to sign the 70 page contract than to drive there and back. We actually had to initial each page. The ladies at Jeter Tax Service were so nice to us. I was so excited that I actually forgot to pay them. I went back inside and apologized and they said not to worry about it that they had already decided to wave the fee and then they hugged our necks and wished us good luck.

And now for the fun part! Anyone who knows me knows that I have always been a huge Elvis fan. I think it started from my first visit to Graceland when I was about 12 years old with my dance team. I fell in love! I used to make my friends listen to Elvis on the way to school every day…..I can remember getting out of my mom’s minivan (nicknamed “The Silver Bullet”) with the song “In the Ghetto” playing in the background. HAHA!

My parents surprised me when I graduated from high school by hiring my dad’s friend Michael Dean for a private performance on our front porch. I think that was one of the best nights of my life! We can’t wait to for Mike’s concert this year at the Princess Theater. We have some new fans to bring with us!!

Fun trip down memory lane, but back to the story……

We started with a tour of the “Lisa Marie” and “Hound Dog II” Elvis’s private airplanes.
Then we went to the car museum, which housed Elvis’s massive car collection, including the famous 1956 Pink Cadillac.

By this time sweet Logan was getting tired and we decided we needed some fuel before the 2 hour tour of the mansion. So we loaded into the van to take a trip to the famous Beale Street and the Hard Rock Café.

Surprisingly there is not much Elvis memorabilia at the Hard Rock, guess they keep it all near Graceland. But the burgers were awesome and gave us the energy to continue on.

Mom decided that the best souvenir for the men (Dad, Paul and Michael) was ribs from Rendezvous. So as she went to get them we peeked into Peabody Hotel to see the famous ducks. The lobby was just beautiful!



Now for the grand finale, the Graceland tour. The mansion is absolutely beautiful and sits on 13 acres of gorgeous rolling hills. Earlier that day we had seen the horses out for their morning stroll, it was chilly so they had blankets on their backs.

Elvis purchased Graceland from a doctor and his wife in 1957 (he was only 22 years old) for $100,000. I know in 1957 that was a lot of money….but wow if we could purchase something this beautiful with that kind of money today…..I would love it!


One other fact I learned on this trip is that Elvis was nominated for 14 Grammy Awards. He won 3, all for gospel music. So I’m not saying I know what was in his heart (I wasn’t even born yet), but I HOPE that Elvis had a personal relationship with the Lord and that when I get to heaven I will get to hear him sing with the angel choir….can you imagine? How Great Thou Art


This trip was perfect timing. Logan had 50s day at school this week and he dressed as Elvis.
Is this the cutest thing you have ever seen?!?!?!

I am really thankful that we were able to spend this time together with Rena and part of her sweet family. There is nothing like a road trip to bring people together. And I will cherish this particular trip forever. Yes I loved visiting Elvis again…it has been a long time, but I loved being with these special people even more. I don’t know if I have ever met someone so giving and excited to be a part of something that is a huge sacrifice on their part with nothing really in it for themselves. I have always known that it takes a very special person to be a surrogate, but the closer we get to it becoming a reality the more I realize it. Thank you Lord for putting this precious person in my life. Bless her and the sacrifice her family is willing to make on our behalf. Protect them and keep them safe. They are now part of our family and we love them dearly.