Fill in the Blank Friday

Yes, I’ve been MIA.  Yes, I’m fine.  And yes, I will fill you in, hopefully this weekend, on my life for the past few months. :)

If you’re still around, thanks for the faith, and enjoy my Fill in the Blank Friday from Lauren’s blog:

1. I am looking forward to summer and all that implies!  I’m ready for weekends at the lake, weekends at the beach, softball games, summer cookouts, my nieces’ birthdays, MY birthday, and everything else God has planned for my life this summer!!:)

2. Something kind of embarrassing that I still love anyway is ABC Family movies and original TV shows.  Yep – I’m that kind of girl.  I also love the Disney Channel and their movies.  I’m a Jo Bros fan – I can admit that!! Haha!  Seriously, though – I love ABC Family shows.

3. My favorite car is that I’ve owned?  My current Explorer. Granted, it’s my third Explorer, but it’s the only 4-door one.  However, if I could have ANY car, I really like the GMC Acadia.  It think it’s pretty, and semi-small, for a SUV.  And it has an option for 3rd row seating, which comes in handy with our friends!! :)

4. If you could pick one type of weather to live with for the rest of your life, it would be Spring in the South weather.  When the temperatures are around the mid-70s, there’s usually a light breeze.  Cool at night, but warm during the day.  It’s before the humidity gets ridiculous.  Sadly, in NC, it seems to only last for a week before summer moves in.

5. My favorite thing to do after a bad/stressful day is change IMMEDIATELY into comfy clothes – pj pants or sweats and a t-shirt – love on my dogs for a little bit and then veg out on the couch watching some of my shows that are on the DVR.  Hang out with Marc, maybe drink a beer, and just enjoy and be thankful for my home, my family, my dogs.  Try to remind myself that it’s not really that bad.

6. This weekend I will be celebrating my niece Allie’s 6th birthday, again!  She’s having her party with all of her friends, so we’ll hang out there for awhile, then head to our friends’ house to celebrate his birthday, play horseshoes and corn hole.  And I will sew an apron for my best friend.

7. If I were a color, I’d be  blue  because it’s my favorite color and it makes me happy.  Blue, to me, at least, is calming and steady.  It reminds me of the ocean, which makes me smile. :)

If you’d like to join in, just grab the photo and the questions, and head over the Lauren’s blog to let her know you’ve joined in today!! :)

Happy Friday, y’all!! :)

Life Gets Busy

Do you ever feel like that?  Feel like you’re too busy to just sit back and take a deep breath to enjoy life?  I’ve kind of been feeling that way for the past few months.  In a way, I’m glad to be busy.  And in a way, it makes me sad.  It makes me feel like life is passing too quickly.

So what’s been going on in my life for the past few months?  Not much of anything that’s life changing, but a few things that are going to make my life a little more enjoyable. :)

Towards the end of 2010, I had grown to pretty much hate my job.  I disliked my boss and the way she treated me…it was frustrating, and there wasn’t anything that I could really do about it.  I didn’t have any other job prospects, so I just had to stick it out.  But I was really unhappy.

In the past month, that’s all changed. I have a new boss coming in next week.  As in April 4th, and I couldn’t be more excited.  Our office is moving, which is a bit of an annoyance, because it will mean a longer commute, but the move means a better chance of a profit for the business, so I’m ready to see how all of the changes are going to change my work environment. :)

************************

On a really happy note, Marc & I celebrated 5 years of marriage on Friday, March 25th! :) Happy Anniversary to us!! :)

We spent the weekend before in the mountains of North Carolina, and had a great time relaxing and sightseeing with our friends, Chad and Katie. :) These are just some snapshots of our weekend near Boone.  The weather was perfect, and it was such a nice mini-vacation! :) I’m so glad we took the time to get away.

************************

Last week, I went to my first Carolina Hurricanes hockey game.  It was so much fun! :) I look forward to going back soon!! Cutest thing – during the first break between periods, they let the little hockey players come out…so cute! :)

************************

And yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of a couple’s little boy, Lukas.  And I’m really selfish, but my favorite part of this was getting to spend time with my nephew, Brayden! :) He’s so cute and chunky!!  And I absolutely love how Marc is with all of our nieces and nephew.  He’s so good with kids! :) Isn’t this picture just precious?? He’s going to make a great dad…I can’t wait for that time in our lives! :)

************************

Other things I’ve done in the past two months?  I’ve been to Anaheim, California for a convention for work.  While there, I was lucky enough to visit San Diego for a Supercross race (dirt bike motorcycles), Disneyland, which was so much fun, lots of time with friends, lots of time at work.  Nothing out of this world exciting, but just life as I know it. :)

I hope each of you have been doing well! :) I’ve missed you all!! :)

Do you trust Him?

I get weekly emails from Max Lucado.  Usually, they’re good.  Today, I got just what I needed. :) Amazing how God works like that, huh? :)

Today’s topic was “Do you trust Him?”.  Max starts off by saying that God knows all things that will happen, both good and bad.  Just because God knows something bad is going to happen, that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care about those things.  It just means he has a purpose behind those things.

Here are a few excerpts from the email, because, really, Max just says things so well:

“From Gethsemane’s garden Christ pleaded for a Plan B. Redemption with no nails. “ ‘Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.’ Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him” (Luke 22:42–43).

Did God hear the prayer of his Son? Enough to send an angel. Did God spare his Son from death? No. The glory of God outranked the comfort of Christ. So Christ suffered, and God’s grace was displayed and deployed.”

Jesus didn’t want to have to die on the cross.  He asked his Father to take that away – to use a different plan to save us all – but God’s plan was perfect.

“He authors all itineraries. He knows what is best. No struggle will come your way apart from his purpose, presence, and permission. What encouragement this brings! You are never the victim of nature or the prey of fate. Chance is eliminated. You are more than a weather vane whipped about by the winds of fortune.”


There are no coincidences.  God doesn’t make mistakes.  That doesn’t mean that our life is easy, or even that we understand everything that we go through.  We don’t have to – God knows.  We just need to trust that He really does know what He’s doing…and He does. :)

“We live beneath the protective palm of a sovereign King who superintends every circumstance of our lives and delights in doing us good.

Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of his love.”


I love that last sentence - “Nothing comes your way that has not first passed through the filter of his love.”  Doesn’t that bring you reassurance?!?  It does me.  It soothes my heart of the aches it feels because of some of the things that I’m going through right now.  I know that God knows best – and I just have to trust Him, really trust Him, that I will come through this, and I will glorify Him in the process. :)

**********

Happy Thursday, y’all!  Hope you have a fabulous day!! :)

A New Year

Yes, this may be a little late, but I’ve had a hard time putting into words the things that are swirling around in my head.  So, since I’m seriously lacking creativity, you get bullet points…

• I’m doing Project 365 this year.  I’m enjoying it, so far! :) The link is on my sidebar in my blog.  However, for those of you, like me, who hate clicking out of Reader, here you go.  You many think it’s boring, but it’s way less intimidating than having to come up with words for a post.  I’m just saying. :)
• My life is pretty boring.  Most days consist of:
• going to work
• coming home
• working out
• eating dinner
• watching TV and/or reading
• going to bed
• repeat
• Therefore, not a lot of inspiration. :) I’m working on it, though.

And, because I need to be reminded, and because I’m feeling the sorrow a bit:

“Though your sorrow may last for a night, JOY comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5

Reflections

I’m still trying to figure out how it’s already 2011.  Do you know? This year has passed in a whirlwind, and I feel like I’m still trying to get my bearings.

January – We rang in the new year with our best friends in Beaufort, NC.  It was a great way to start the year, and we’ll probably end the year in the same way. :) I can’t wait! :)

February – Experienced New Orleans for the first time.  I went down for work.  It was definitely an experience, and saw my first (and probably only) pet wallaby.  Yep – that’s for real. :)

March – Marc & I celebrated 4 years of marriage.  Every morning, I look forward to meeting each day with him.  He’s been my rock for so long, I can’t imagine what I’d do without him.

This was the first year that Marc & I opened up our home to the youth group for their annual Metamorphosis event.  It was so much fun, and we’re excited to be able to do it, again, in 2011. :)

We also lost one of our friends to an awful accident.  This is one we’re still dealing with.  It’s hard – I keep expecting him to be at our events/gatherings.  It’s still just weird that he’s not with us.

April – Our great friends, Chris & Jennifer were married! Marc was in the wedding, so we enjoyed festivities for that.  We also found out that Marc’s sister-in-law, Tammy, was pregnant. :) We’re still waiting to meet Brayden, but it shouldn’t be long, now! :)

Also in April, Allie turned 5 years old…can’t believe she’s so grown!  I remember driving home from Appalachian on a Saturday morning to meet my first niece! :) She’s such a special girl!! :)

May – The girls spent a weekend in Charlotte for Krystle’s bachelorette party.  We had a great time in downtown.  It was so nice to get out of town for a bit.  Can’t wait for the next bachelorette party!  Not that we have anything in the works, but we’ve got one more girl to get hitched. :)

June – Kurt & Krystle got married!  We had such a great time at the rehearsal and the wedding!  Everyone did! :) Still wishing that we could have a wedding every year – minus the wedding – really just a big party for all of our friends! :) Wouldn’t that be great?!? :)

I share my birthday month with my other two nieces, so there was lots of celebrating in June.  Karleigh turned 3 and Ava turned 2.  And I turned 27.  I’m starting to feel old! :) And my mom and dad celebrated 33 years of marriage.  They are such an inspiration to me! :)

July – We spent the 4th of July weekend in Beaufort with friends.  We had a great weekend, and love this tradition!

This was the first year that I volunteered to chaperone for the youth at their annual summer camp.  I had a great time getting to know the girls, and look forward to spending more time with them in small groups in 2011. :) They’re such a blessing! :)

August – Marc turned 25 this month.  I also spent some time in Charlotte for work.  No huge happenings this month. :)

September – We played in softball tournament one weekend.  It was the perfect weekend – not too hot, kind of breezy, no rain.  It was a ton of fun. :) We also got an alarm system for our house.

October – Allie participated in her 3rd horse show with her pony, Sugarfoot.  She did so well! :)  Marc and I helped at our friend’s family Haunted Corn Maze for a few weekends.

Breast Cancer took the life of our friend in October.  She was a mentor, former teacher, and just good person.  This loss is still fresh among all of us, as she was a huge part of our lives from the past, and from the present.  We miss Ms. Sue something fierce.

November – I spent some more time in Charlotte for classes with work, again.  Our church also hosted an evangelism event that was awesome.  Over 40 people came to know Jesus that weekend, and it’s awesome to see God work in the lives of others. :) Brings a smile to my face!! :)

Marc’s best friend, Grant, bought a house.  So, we spent a weekend in Fayetteville, NC helping him paint.  Marc took a break to go indoor skydiving.  Probably one of the coolest things to watch.  I highly enjoyed watching. :)

We celebrated Thanksgiving, as usual, and I enjoyed Black Friday shopping with my family.  One of my favorite traditions, ever!

December – We spent one weekend in South Carolina celebrating Christmas with Marc’s step-mom and her family.  It was fun and nice to get away before things got chaotic with Christmas activities. :)

We also spent a lot of time with friends – having dinner with everyone before Christmas.  It was a very nice and easy month. :) And, we celebrated Christmas, of course!

Our biggest blessing of December was our nephew!  It’s our first! :) So excited to have a little guy around to buy stuff for!! :) World, meet Brayden. :)

This is my favorite – Brayden’s winking at you! :)

We’ve already seen tons of white stuff.  And by tons, I mean less than 5 inches, total.  We rarely, if ever get snow in December, so to have had snow 3 weeks in a row is a lot for us.  The kids, I’m sure, were ecstatic, as they didn’t have school for a few days because of that! :)

So, that’s my year wrapped up.  I know lots more has happened in the year, but I really can’t tell you how glad I am to start a new year.  While there has been a lot of happiness this year, the sadness somehow overshadows that.  I’m excited to see what 2011 holds!

Happy New Year, y’all

I don’t even know who you are.

Conversation between Marc and myself while watching the Glee episode from November 30th:

Scene where Quinn and Sam are singing “Time of my Life” during the Sectionals performance:

Marc: “What song is this?”

Me: Blank stare

Marc: “Is it from a movie?”

Me: Blank stare

Marc: “What? Is it from Dirty Dancing?”

Me: Blank stare, followed by, “I don’t even know who you are.”

**********

Background info: Dirty Dancing is one of my absolute, all-time favorite movies.  When I was a kid, and I didn’t understand any of the more ‘adult’ scenes, I would watch the movie all the way through, then rewind (because we’re talking VHS here), and watch the last dance about 10 times before I turned the movie off.  Our VHS also had the best Mt. Dew commercial at the beginning – they were pulling someone on water skis with a horse. Classy, right there.  I’m pretty sure that just cemented my undying love for Mt. Dew. :)

Since this is one of my absolute, all-time favorite movies, my husband, whom I’ve been dating for over 10 years now, should definitely know that “Time of my Life” is the theme song from Dirty Dancing.  Anyone with me on this?

**********

Okay, I’m not completely nuts, but this was just a funny conversation we has last week, and I wanted to preserve the memory! :)

It’s time to start thinking Christmas!

Yep.  It’s already that time.  Can you believe it?  I can’t.  This year has absolutely flown by.  So much fun in a little year!
And now, it’s time to start thinking about Christmas.  And Christmas cards.  And I'm so excited for the chance to get 50 free prints from Shutterfly!  Here are some of my favorites from Shutterfly.com. :)
So many choices!  I don’t know how I’ll choose! :)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I’m really loving the brown with modern colors.  And I like the multiple picture option.
And I’ll definitely be one of THOSE people – you know – the ones who include their dogs in their card and signature.  Because I don’t have an adorable baby to put on my card.  I just have adorable dogs. :)
So, help me out – which is your favorite of those listed above?  Each card has a number above it.  Sound off in the comments section. :)

And I'm really loving the photo books.  All of the grandparents always get these from Karleigh and Allie & Ava.  Again, as a family who doesn't have adorable baby faces to capture, I don't think they'd get as much enjoyment out of a photo book filled with my dogs. :) It matters how cute they are! :) Me, on the other hand, I think I'll have to create one for my memories...can never get enough pictures of them.  :)

And MERRY CHRISTMAS!! {Almost :)}

Faith

This Bible verse sits on my desk, and it’s been speaking to me a lot over the past few months.  Just thought I’d share. :)

 

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.”

– Ephesians 3:20

 

So, no matter what I’m going through, God is perfectly capable (overly capable, in fact) of accomplishing anything.

While I might feel as though it’s taking forever (seriously, forever) for this one thing to happen, I know God can handle it.  He’s going to handle it.  God can do anything.

Now, I just have to really, for real, let GO and let Him do his thing. :) Prayers for that, please? :)

Crazy Busy Month, Y’all

Hi!  No excuses, I’ve just not been blogging.  But here’s what I’ve been up to for the last month! :)

Warning: Photo Overload!

October 2, 2010 – Cedar Grove Horse Show

Allie was in her third horse show, and she wanted to do more than just the one “Children’s” event that she’s done for the past few years.  So adorable! :)

Allie with her great-aunt Lisa and her pony, Sugarfoot

Riding Sugarfoot by herself!! :)Riding Lisa’s horse, Ginger Ava loved watching Allie – she’ll participate next year! :) She had a blast riding the big horse PS – Her shirt has a rocking horse on it, and it says “Rock On”.  I absolutely LOVE it! :)

**********

I guess in the Spring, I volunteered to be on the Finance Team at our church.  I’m good with numbers, it’s what I do for a living, so I wanted to put my ‘talents’ to use for God.  It’s been really good.  I feel valued by the team and our church.  I feel like I’m doing something good.

However…I’m tired of budget meetings! :) We’re still trying to nail down the budget for the church for 2011, and I’m exhausted.  And I haven’t even really begun to do the budget for my job-job.  Oh, well…I know that God has given me this gift, and I’m happy to use it for Him. :)

**********

October 16, 2010 – Costume Birthday Party

One of our friends threw a big party for his mom’s 50th birthday, and it was 70’s themed.  We went with hippie/pimp?  It was such a fun night, and the costumes were great! :)

Marc & IMarc and Grant – Please notice the 3 inch white platform shoes – they actually lasted about 3 hours. :)  He sent a picture to his dad, asked him if the afro looked familiar.  His dad had a for-real afro back in the day.

**********

Our office held a fundraiser to benefit H*abitat for H*umanity a few weeks ago.  It was a fun, nice fall day.  Perfect day to be outside instead of stuffed up in an office.  And we raised money for a great cause.  We’re looking forward to paying for and building a house for a family in need in May 2011.  Such an awesome thing to be a part of!

**********

October 31, 2010 – Halloween

Every year, we help with our friend’s family Corn Maze at Halloween.  For 4 or 5 nights, they do a Haunted Corn Maze.  They block off parts of the maze, set up a few black plastic tunnels, strobe lights, and some monsters.  It’s a ton of fun for the guys who haunt the maze, and it’s funny for us to watch some of the guests come running out of the maze being chased by a big guy with a chain saw. :) It’s our Halloween tradition, now. :)

As the “greeters”, we girls dress up for at least one night…it’s the only way for us to really celebrate Halloween.  And we choose not to be ‘slutty’ girls – we dress for warmth.  I mean – we’re outside, under a tent, beside corn for about 4 hours a night.  I’m not trying to be cold! ;)

This year, we went for snow bunnies. Cute, simple, cheap, and warm. :)

Snow Bunnies :) Bunny Tails Monsters of the Maze Monsters Unveiled Allie & Ava as Hannah Montana & Minnie Mouse :) Karleigh as a Princess (and Baby Brayden in Tammy’s Belly) :) And I just love this one of Ava :)

Alright…thanks for making it this far! :) I love you, all of my faithful followers! :)

Happy November!