Inspirational Video!

Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent

I'm sure that many of you have already seen this video, either on YouTube or TV, but I had to post it anyway. I was blown away by Susan Boyle's talent and so was everyone in the audience, even our resident cynic, Simon Cowell. We are always told to never judge a book by it's cover and I believe this proves that point tremendously. Our culture is saturated with images of what constitutes beauty and as women we set standards for ourselves that are not even realistic. I want to teach my daughters to know that beauty comes from within and that they should always, ALWAYS, dream BIG!

Spring Break and Easter Weekend

We are back from a great week of Spring Break in Florida and then celebrated Easter with my family in Atlanta. It was great to get away for a bit. It was refreshing. We started out spending two nights in Montgomery, viewing one more private school for Lauren and did some house hunting. My sister, Karen, and brother-in-law, Stephen, came to be with us there, which is always great fun. Our kids always have so much fun together. On Sunday of last week, we made our way down to the beach. Unfortunately, Aaron wasn't able to join us on that part due to his work schedule. My other sister, Kathy, met us there with her two girls, so it was a full house! On Saturday we made the long trek back to Atlanta, where we met back up with Aaron and celebrated Easter with my parents. Here are some pictures of our time together...

Playing at the beach...


Lauren loves the ocean!

Gracie was not thrilled with her first experience with sand...

My first baby girl is growing too fast!

All the cousins!

Gracie playing with Lauren.

Grandma Sam made precious Easter dresses for the girls...

Gracie laughing before the egg hunt!

Jake and his loot!

Gracie loved finding the eggs and would
gently place them in her little basket. Of
course, her brother and sister ate
the candy!

It was truly a wonderful week and I'm so thankful for my family and the joy that it brings me when we are all together. As much fun as it all was, I never forgot for a moment what I was there to celebrate...

Matthew 28:1-9, "Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said. "I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as He said. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples He has been raised from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see Him there. Remember, I have told you." The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to find the disciples to give them the angel's message. And as they went, Jesus met them. 'Greetings!' he said. And they ran to him, held his feet, and worshiped him."

Matthew 28:18, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

Our Newest Obsession

So I thought I would share a little about mine and Aaron's favorite pastime these days. Thanks to our great friends, Tiffany and Justin, we are going to have to enter an addiction therapy group for those obsessed with the series 24. For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm not a huge action junkie. I am a classic chick-flick kind of girl and so I've been quite surprised with how much I have loved this show! My sister and brother-in-law have raved about it for years but we never watched it until Tiffany and Justin loaned us the first season when Gracie was a little baby. It is the greatest thing to have when you are in what I lovingly refer to as "Baby Boot Camp." You know what I'm talking about, you're exhausted, up at all hours of the night and your only TV options for a 4 AM feeding are Elimidate and Infomercials. Well, this became a great new option for us and after watching just a couple of episodes of Season 1, we were hooked!

So fast forward to my 31st birthday at the beginning of this month and Tiffany, that great friend I mentioned earlier, gifted me with the Season 2. It was all over after that! Aaron and I were useless for days. We had a million things to do and we found ourselves glued to this show! It was crazy! We blazed through Season 2 and went right on to Season 3...here is where that addiction part begins to come into play. After Season 3, you guessed it, we bought Season 4. Yes, we need help but my point to all of this is...if you haven't ever watched this show I HIGHLY recommend it. You can rent the full seasons at Blockbuster or Netflix. You can even buy them an episode at a time on Amazon, just to see if you like it. Start with the first season and go from there. I guarantee you'll be hooked and you can blame me for all the things you will neglect in your life during this process. The show is currently in it's 7th season, so it looks like we are in it for the long haul. It's a great ride though!

Easter Egg Hunt

Here are a few pictures from our great afternoon with our Sunday School class today at our Easter Egg Hunt! The kids had a great time and Tiffany and Leslie did an amazing job planning such a special event for our families. Hugs to you both! Lauren and Jake had such a great time and Gracie was fascinated with her very first egg hunt.

Moments like these are priceless...

Praise You In This Storm

I am going to be very brief today. I just wanted to post a video of a song by Casting Crowns that has been a blessing to me more times than I can count. It has been especially uplifting to me in recent days. I am going through some personal challenges right now and I covet your prayers. I know that we all have experienced valleys where we feel a little lost but one thing that God has really taught me over the years is to never cease to praise Him. He is always there, even if the rain clouds our view of Him, He will never leave us nor forsake us. That is a promise I hold very dear to my heart. My prayer today is that you will listen to this video and be blessed by it, just as I always am. I will write more another time, until then, much love to you all!

Sweet Home Alabama

After many long discussions, sleepless nights and hours of prayer...we have finally decided that Montgomery, Alabama will be where we call home beginning in June! This was not an easy decision by any means but Aaron and I both feel that it is the right one for our family. Lauren and Jake are really excited about moving, which helped us both also. As hard as it will be to leave the wonderful life we have here and start over, it is always exciting when God leads you to a new place. We both feel so comforted by the assurance God has given us over this decision. It just seemed that no matter how hard we had tried to make other opportunities right in our minds, we just found ourselves right back where we started. In the end, moving to Montgomery was the right fit. To know that God's plan for us is greater than we can even imagine is humbling. Alabama is not exactly where I thought we would raise our family but we are trusting God completely. Needless to say, this new decision will make the next few months in our house very busy. We are quickly working to get the house ready to put on the market. This is such an awful time to try and sell a home but we are just going to have to step out on faith, knowing that when God is involved, anything is possible.

Since Alabama is going to be our new home, I thought I better familiarize myself with the "culture." Here are a few tips I found to get us ready for our big move down yonder...

• You have a party or a barbecue whenever Alabama plays Auburn in football.

• You don't "take", you "carry" or "tote"... as in "You want me to carry you down to the 7-11?"

• You call it a "buggy" and not a shopping cart.

• You've said "fixin' to," "might could," or "usetacould" during the last week.

• You can properly pronounce Arab, Eufaula, Opelika, Loachapoka, Bayou La Batre, and Oneonta.

• You know exactly what chitlins and mountain oysters are, and you know someone who eats them anyway.

• You think that people who complain about the humidity in other states are sissies.

• You aren't surprised to find rental movies, groceries, ammunition and bait all in the same store.

• Mamanem means the whole family. ("Are mamanem comin?")

• You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

• You know what "cow tipping" is.

• The local papers cover national and international news on one page but require 6 pages for sports.

• You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

• Visiting Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime.

• You know the difference between redneck, hillbilly, and southerner.

• Y'all is a word.

• There is no such thing as tea...it's sweet tea.

• Your directions include "when you see the Waffle House" or "turn on the dirt road."

• A tornado warning siren is your signal to go out in the yard and look for a funnel.

• Almost everyone you know is Baptist or Methodist.

• Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.

An Old Favorite

I am feeling a bit nostalgic this evening after coming across a song that I used to listen to constantly in high school. I was avoiding the laundry this evening by browsing through some You Tube videos and I came across the wonderful duet, "I Still Believe," by Lea Solonga and Claire Moore. My parents took me to the Fox in Atlanta to see "Miss Saigon" when I was a senior in high school and I fell in love with the music. (I was very into musical theater back then...) It's great though because I haven't listened to this in years, but as soon as I heard it, I remembered why I used to love it so much. The harmony is beautiful! This video is about a hundred years old but it has the original cast members singing it. They are amazing.