Easter Weekend...the BEST!!!

We left Thursday afternoon to go to my parent's house. My dad's little country church was doing a dramatic production of the "Living Lord's Supper," Thursday night. They did a FANTASTIC job. And NO, this is NOT a painting.

My nephews were there the whole time we were, so we had a lot of family fun. We decorated cookies, had a hunt or too, watched the latest Narnia movie, played cards and laughed A LOT. We stayed until Saturday, for we had to get back to our own church for Easter.

Kayla's masterpiece.

Keaton's chick, with "chicken pox"

Kev's chick that turned into what Keaton said looked like a "Christmas tree."

Sawyer then said, "there is no reason Easter and Christmas can't get along."

Some enjoyed eating more than decorating.

Got milk?!!!

Some boys are too "cool" to decorate a cookie for their mom.

(JORDAN!!!)

My parents. Aren't they cute?!
The Easter hunt...

They were out of plastic eggs at the Dollar Tree, and I WAS NOT in the mood to go to Walmart, so I found these. We ended up having an Easter ball hunt. The boys LOVED it!
Tate's favorite pose.

My redheaded cutie pie.

My nephew who thinks he CAN'T smile. I said, "yes you can, you have a beautiful smile, you just refuse to."

Crazy boys!!!

Tatey. He still likes to snuggle and give hugs. I think I will cry when he stops.

Easter morning before church, my two blessings. They grow up so fast. (I hate it that I ended up with a light circle on Jordan's face.)

Church, Easter morning was AWESOME!!!

We then went to my in-laws for burgers after church. A nice end to a GREAT weekend.

I am thankful. God has blessed me with so much; a beautiful family, a wonderful church family and His GRACE.

Thank you, Lord for saving me. Thank you for dying for me, even though I could never begin to deserve it. Thank you for showering my with blessings on a daily basis. And thank you for all the little reminders everyday, that YOU ARE THERE.

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter!

The Great "Beth" Adventure!!!

Sorry it has taken me a week to post about my exciting weekend with my friend Beth, but it has been a little CRAZY around here lately. I just got home tonight from a short visit at my parent's house. A much needed little mini break I might add. So here I am, my love tank filled up, ready to celebrate Easter tomorrow with my hubby, kiddos and the church family I love.

But, I thought I would take a minute to tell you about THE GREAT "BETH" ADVENTURE...

As I said in the previous post, I had been sick...tummy bug kind of sick. However, even though I wasn't feeling all that great, I was determined that I was NOT going to miss the Beth Moore conference. I WAS GOING!!!

I took some Imodium and off I went. Of course then I had to SMELL the wonderful aroma in my car all the way to church to meet the church van (previous post). If I wasn't already sick, I probably was on my way after that short trip. I will say, I cried to the Lord and He heard my prayers, for even though I felt weak and very tired the whole trip, I had no tummy problems. God is good.

So we were off...

The wind was blowing like no body's business. Sorry Beth, the "high hair" was not going to happen. Tangled hair is what I had. See...

We then got to Little rock and went to check in to our hotel, ONLY our hotel was in a part of town that was affected by storms the previous night. NO ELECTRICITY PEOPLE!!! It was after the conference, at 12:00a.m., that we finally found another room. That was an adventure in itself. By that time, I really didn't care where I stayed, just wanted a bed and a light to see the potty. We did finally end up in a nice place and I managed to have maybe 4 and a half hours of sleep. Not complaining, just stating facts. :)

We finally made it to the conference and it was AMAZING!!! We worshipped. We prayed. We heard. I walked away feeling like I needed a quiet place to just muddle through all I had heard. I am still working it all out with the Lord. The Lord has blessed Beth with a special gift. She can pull things out of a passage of scripture that I have never seen before. She is a teacher of the WORD and I LOVE THAT.

I NEED THAT.

I walked away from the conference BLESSED, ENCOURAGED AND CONVICTED.

The whole Bible study was on finding my ministry and community. It was about relationships. It was about discovering what my purpose is. It was about letting others in. It was about letting God guide me on this ministry journey I am called to...

Here she is in the crowd, checking "homework." Sorry, I didn't take any good pictures, I didn't have my big camera with me, just Kayla's little pocket camera and I hated taking pictures the whole time. Just trust me, she was dressed CUTE, her hair was "HIGH" and she had our total attention.

I also got to see a few old friends, got to know a few of the ladies from my church a little better and I even got to see one my favorite people in the world...my sister.

It was a GREAT weekend!

My car has a new name...

We name our cars around these here parts...mine is ol' Betsy. She has seen me through a lot. Unfortunately, I have a lot of making up to do to my old car friend. We did her wrong this past week. Jordan came home from school and I came home from work, Wednesday, sick. We both had the tummy bug and it was not fun. Needless to say, the car was not driven for a few days. Fast forward to Friday at 12:45. I am to meet my church gals at 1:00, at the church. We were going to see my friend Beth Moore. So excited. And then I got in my car. I quickly jumped out of my car. Ol' Betsy didn't smell too good...in fact she smelled BAD. I looked everywhere for a McDonald's bag gone bad or a juice explosion of some kind. Nothing. And then I decided to look in the trunk. This is what I found:

It was no longer a jug of milk, but rather a jug of cottage cheese. YUCK!!!

Evidently, my son (I am choosing to blame him, poor guy), when unloading the trunk of groceries forgot a very important one.

My hubby now calls poor Ol' Betsy, the "Milk Jug."

This was just the first few minutes of my "Beth Adventure." I have stories to tell coming soon.

Hope you have a beautiful week!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

I have this friend. We have been through a lot together, through the years. We have done Bible study after Bible study together. Been to a few conferences. She has shared her poetry with me. She has encouraged me to learn my scripture. She has used her story to guide me on my own journey. She is always uplifting. Her faith is incredible. Her words ALWAYS bless me in a special way. She has prayed for me in a mighty way when I really needed it. And I am going to get to see her this weekend! (Doing the happy dance!!!) You may have seen her around before... She is kinda famous. :) Truthfully, I have never met her, but would LOVE to one day. We have been on about 7 Bible study journeys together, and two conferences. And every time our paths cross, I feel God has given her a special "word" just for me. I can't help but think of her as a Bestie, a soul sister. This weekend, she will be in Little Rock and so will I. I am looking forward to a weekend off from all the daily responsibilities as "mom and wife" and have some time to just "soak in" God's word. Did I say I was doing the happy dance already? :)

Happy birthday, Jim-Dad!!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy! Love you BUNCHES!!! Mich

"That is why I had You!"

That is what I tell my baby boy all the time. When he carries in my groceries. When he carries out the trash. When he mows the yard. Of course I am only teasing, for I love this crazy little man to death and would still, even if he couldn't lift a finger to help.

However, I am thankful daily for his strength, work ethic and all he does to help us and his grandparents out. May he continue to grow strong and be all the Lord wants him to be.

Oh my, he is growing up so fast.

Of course there is always time for a break.

Boys will be boys!

Thank you, Lord, for Jordan!

My life is so much fuller because of him.

Like Poohpa, Like Granddaughter?

Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember my Dad painting, or drawing or writing. He is very creative and it has been said that us kiddos have taken after our 'ol man in this area. I have to admit, I had fantasies of Art school once upon a time, even started out majoring in the area in college, but quickly got discouraged and switched over to something else. And yes, my sister and I both enjoy writing and journaling, so I guess we do take after my Dad a little bit.

HOWEVER, as I watch my daughter come and go, I have realized that it is SHE who may have inherited my father's talents. That girl has notebook after notebook of stories and poems, is constantly doodling and drawing and is coming home with a painting or two since she is in art class this year. I am proud of her and her creativity. And I know it tickles my dad, aka Poohpa, that he has a creative grandchild. (Actually, he has more than one creative grandchild, my son and nephews are also very creative, but this post is about Kayla. :) )

I know I have showed her artwork in the past, and I am sure there will be loads more showing off to come, but here is her latest. I kinda like it a lot. It is called "Sea Beauty" and it is done with acrylics on canvas.

You may remember that my dad painted me a picture for Christmas. I finally hung it the other day in my bedroom, but since I haven't painted my bedroom walls yet, I will save that picture for another day. However, to remind you of what the picture looked like, here I am at Christmas holding my gift;

Even though my daughter is only 14 and has years of painting and learning her hobby to catch up to her grandpa, I kind of see a similar style in their paintings. What do you think?

I think I see my walls lined with artistic beauty for years to come.

All Tangled up...

Happy Monday, everyone!

It has looked like this

all day today. The kind of weather, where you are suppose to stay in bed and read a good book all day long! Can I get an "Amen?" But no, it was a Monday, back to work and school we all must go. The weekend, unfortuately ALWAYS goes by so very fast.

What did I do this weekend?

Well let me just tell you...

I cleaned on my office/scrapbook room/ workout room, aka the "junk room." No pictures yet, for I want to wait until I can show off the finished product with the before shots. Somebody, like my sister, might turn me into this

if I don't show that I have managed to get it all under control. :) Pictures soon, I promise.

I also enjoyed "movie night" with the fam, Saturday night. We watched this;

which I think is an ADORABLE movie. I think it is my new favorite cartoon flick. Kayla was all excited since it was a "blond princess." Haven't had one in recent years. Without giving too much away, at the very end she turns into a brunette, much to Kay's frustration. However, I think she has forgiven the writers, because she was rewatching it after school today. :)

We also had pizza with the movie. Hmm...dangerous territory for the new eating plan. But that is the point, I am tired of "changing" how we live for me to lose a few pounds. I have to be able to survive any situation, or it will never work. I ended up eating a salad FIRST and then instead of GORGING myself, I ate two smaller slices of cheese pizza. I even felt satisfied. So, a little pat on the back for moi. I had also eaten real well that whole day, so the two slices didn't even hurt me.

I have lost about 8 pounds now. My muffin top is slowly shrinking. Emphasis on "SLOW." But I hope. :)

Well, I hate to say "bye" so soon, but I have a kitchen to clean, a "healthy" dinner to prepare and a child that has piano lessons. A mom's work is never ending...

Have a GREAT week.

God bless!