August was a kinda busy one

I realize that my blog is kinda all over the place. A little DIY here, a little here's what we've been up to there.... sorry but my brain is pretty much all over the place so it makes sense that this blog would be, too. 

August has been a pretty busy one. 

So I'm gonna crank up the time machine and travel back. 

Here's the highlights yall.

Started off the month with a sleepover at my house with some middle school gals that have my heart. 

I had these girls in my group back earlier this year in a student event at my church called Quest. -> read about it here! We had so much fun that night that it deserves its own post. So more on that later. 

In August my little daddy started pastoring again. He's been retired from pastoring since fall of 2011. So we surprised him and showed up at his church on his first Sunday. My oldest brother had the same idea. Lol Great minds think alike.

That same Sunday I started teaching small groups again at church. They've moved em back to Sundays. This time I have 8th graders. They seem like they're gonna be a great group!! 

They're already talking about wanting to have a sleepover and do stuff outside of our group time on Sundays. I think they like me and Lynsey. 
Yeah, my partner is Lynsey. Lyndy and Lynsey. Isn't that special? Oh and one of our girls in the group - her name is Lindsey. So there's that... 

The next two pics are nature and work related. As I was leaving one day I saw a group of ducks in the road on campus. We have over 100 acres so it's not unusual to see animals around campus. But this was a first - I was glancing over at the ducks and noticed A HAWK sitting in the grass. 

I got pretty close to him and lemme tell ya, he had his eye on me. I was worried he was injured but he wasn't - cuz he flew off after a couple minutes. I really think he was about to have duck for dinner. But I s'pose I interrupted his little plan.

Then one night this week I was working a little late and as I went to my car I saw a group of deer near the parking lot. So I did the obvious thing - I walked over, snapped a pic and tweeted it. 

disclaimer: this is NOT my truck

In other work related news, this happened...

and was not planned ... lol

I made these monkey bread muffins... And I made cream cheese icing and drizzled over some of em. Pretty tasty.

here's where I found the recipe Thank ya Pinterest!

Speaking of food... 
the other night we went to the Barrel with the inlaws... and this happened... 

me and the hub ordered the exact same drink (water), and the exact same meal (pancakes with a side of bacon).

They say the longer you're with somebody... if I start wearin polo shirts and cargo shorts yall smack me. 
bwahaha 

Last weekend we went to the Wildhorse and saw/heard Vertical Horizon and Tonic. Cuz we're 90s people after all... 

Standing for 4 hours+ is my favorite... um.. but it was a really good show. I didn't enjoy my ears ringing for 5 days after that... but... it was fun. I swear it was.

Moving on.

Thursday night I went to a Titans preseason game with my friend Kelly (one of the back row Altos from choir). 

We got rained on but eh. I always dig spendin time with this chic. Even in the rain. <3

All in all August was a really good un. I am loved. And I love people. And life. Life is good. 

Stay tuned. Cuz I have more to share with you. I know you're excited. 

DIY sign for a friend with Cricut vinyl

This is a little wooden sign I made for my friend Bridgett. 
She just started teaching so of course she needed a sign with her name on it. Read about her graduation H E R E < - -

So my little daddy cut the wood for me and I painted it. It sits up on its own, but he also put a little hole in the back in case she wanted to hang it on the wall. 

I have a Cricut { everyone should have one } and I heard there was this vinyl stuff you could buy to use with it. 

So I bought some vinyl in a creamy oatmealish color at Michael's and lemme tell ya - it was so easy and I was pretty much mind blown. 

Here's a video that shows you how to do it - - > using vinyl on your Cricut

Let's pause and be thankful for youtube instructional videos. 

I wanted the sign to look distressed so I sanded it a bit, especially on the edges. 

Well that's pretty much it. 

Homemade gifts are the best, aren't they? 

DIY initial door hanging thingy

I don't know what to call this, but I stole the idea from someone on Pinterest. A crafty someone you can find here. 

I usually only put a wreath on my door in late fall and at Christmas time. Cuz I'm lazy like that. And I don't have a knack for decorating. 

But when I saw this little cutie pie on Pinterest I pinned it and forgot about it and decided to do it many months later. 

To do this you need: 
8x10 picture frame 
Wooden letter
Yarn (1-2 colors)
Craft paint 
Paintbrushes
MAYBE a staple gun
and last but not least - Patience... plenty of patience

My sister-in-law and I decided to make one the same day and you should've seen us in Jo Ann. . .  We pined over yarn like the most indecisive duo in history lol 

The fun awful part is wrapping the frame with yarn. It feels like you're never gonna finish. 

And I goofed on mine - I meant to do the striped yarn on the longer side but I was halfway through before I realized it. Cuz I'm a dork.  

Anyway, there's really no need to explain this - it's so simple. You people are smart & crafty, right? 

I didn't have any fabric to make the cutesy little rosettes or flowers or whatever they're called so I just used some fat fuzzy yarn and did my own thing. Hot glue perfection yall.

Here's the rundown of my cost for this here project - 

10.99 Frame (on sale)
 2.99 Wooden letter
 2.99 Yarn one
 2.99 Yarn two 
 6.99 Fat fuzzy yarn 
 4.99 Black paint 
 0.69 White paint

If you're crafty you'll probably already have some yarn and paint. 

Because my letter was a T I had a bit of trouble deciding how to hang it within the frame. I opted for stapling the yarn to the back. With a C (like the example I pinned) it makes sense to just loop the yarn around the letter. 

Oh and one more thing I did on mine (at my sister-in-law's suggestion for which I'll be eternally grateful) - - I cut circles from scrapbook paper and mod podged em on my T. Cuz I love polka dots! I think that's my favorite part of this little cutie pie project. Thanks Les! (insert emoji kissy face here)

Glad I ran across this little idea and I think it's just cute as can be on our front door. 

blah but nah

Today has been an annoying not my favorite day. 

Do you ever have one of those? 

A day where everything seems to be just stupid. And things annoy you and hurt your feelings and you get irritated and and and ... 

Stop. 

I realize I'm not in the hospital. Not in jail. Not in a poverty stricken place. Not fearing for my life.

I'm soooo blessed. 

In fact, probably too much! I'm afraid I'm spoiled. 

God forgive me for taking things for granted. For being overly sensitive. For wanting my way. All.the.time.

I need to be more like Paul in Philippians... 
I need to learn to be content!

Philippians 4:11-13New International Version (NIV)

11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Next time you feel blah just say NAH, I'm gonna be content. I'm gonna choose to be positive about where I'm at right now. Yes sirree..... I have a lot to be thankful for! 

Don't you?! 

i.love.the.beach.

 I love the beach.

The way the sand feels between my toes.

How the wind flies through my hair.

Listening to the sound of the ocean waves.

The scent of the salty air.

Watching kids play in the sand.

Smiles.

Laughs.

During the week of July 4th (cough, cough sorry this post is so late) we spent some time with family down at one of our favorite spots – Fort Walton/Okaloosa Island… the weather was perfect and we came home with tans.

Sometimes you just have to get away for a while and leave your worries behind. I read a book. Went snorkeling for the first time. Laughed with the nieces and nephews. Ate some great seafood. Even got to see my nephew in the Army. Hadn't seen him since Christmas.

Isn't he a cutie?

It was good. Good indeed.

I’m so thankful God has blessed me with a great family and family-in-law.

Thankful that we’re healthy enough to go on a vacation.

Thankful that we’re able to set aside some extra $ to take time off work and relax.

Thankful for my five senses so I can take it all in when we’re in a new place.

Sometimes I forget how blessed I am.

Maybe some of these pics capture a little of that. Here are some of my faves.

I'll spare ya the food pics. 

sometimes beach

other times pool

tickles

tackles 

silly

because we can

cousin snuggles & smiles

naps... all around 

even out on the deck Lol

my first time snorkeling

my first ride in the mini 

and (ahem) Caleb scares me a little

and of course I had to play photographer for a minute

Thanks for the memories.... and for makin it to the end of this post. 

xxoo

last week's happenings

I heard somebody say recently that sometimes we miss out on the good things in the present because we're always looking ahead, looking forward to something in the future. 

I totally get that.

And I've been guilty of it. 

The work week is sometimes a struggle. { can I get an Amen? } How many times have we all said HURRY UP FRIDAY or I CAN'T WAIT TIL THE WEEKEND

BUT... I'm glad that most of my days are filled with really great things. 

Friends.
Family.
Church.
Time with my hubby. Aka my soul mate. Aka my best friend. The dude that knows more about me than anyone else on the planet and loves me anyway. { read "puts up with me and doesn't kill me" } 

Lookin out my back door at this - -  not mad about it

God's creation is magnificent, isn't it? 

He's given me some awesome friends. 
Friends who are distantly related to me. 
Friends at church. 
Friends at work. 
A friend of a friend. 

Friends who are less tan than me. teehee

Friends who are more tan than me. teehee

Friends with more shoes, clothes and jewelry than me. ;-)

Seriously though - I enjoyed shopping with my girl Bridgett last week. Aka pale arm. lol She's kinda like my kid sister. And she puts up with endless texts. And pics of my cat. And pointless things. Many many pointless things. Lol 

Aaaannd celebrating Angela's birthday at The Cheesecake Factory Friday was one for the books. Working with these gals is always an adventure. It's cool to be FRIENDS with your co-workers. 

My goodness - 
    can't leave this one out!

Enjoyed some Jesus talk with this precious girl yesterday AND had my first Starbucks experience. So there's that.

All in all it was a pretty good week.

Live life and love every minute yall! 

hand lettering by yours truly

The other day I was reading another blog & the author was learning to do some hand lettering. 
here's the post from The Small Things Blog 
I've seen this kind of stuff around Pinterest. 

I've always kinda liked doodling, writing stuff out and making cool block letters and what not. I'll admit it's gotten me through a few boring meetings.
But I've never tried to make my doodle really cute, ya know?

After a couple of attempts with pencil, I decided to dive on in the water and make one for a friend's wedding and ink it. 

I like how it turned out, although it's a little different from my "first draft."

Here's the finished product  - - 

And this was my first sketch 

I definitely figured out during this process that I needed a good eraser. 

Or as I called it in my younger days, a re-raser. 

My first attempt at hand lettering was a copy from one I saw when I googled hand lettering. Only I switched one word in the phrase... instead of writing oh crap I wrote oh mercy. Cuz ya know. . . 

THEN I decided to sketch out my favorite Bible verse. Lots of people were posting "challenges" to share your favorite verse and I hadn't been challenged but it inspired me to doodle it any hoo.

Again - pencil... may ink this one sometime or another. 

And last but not least... this one is fairly simple. 

Again, a copy of one I saw from a Google search. Made it for my bestie.

So maybe I'll try to come up with something cool for this year's Christmas cards. If I do, you better know I'm gonna be finding a quality copy service to duplicate those bad boys cuz leaning over a paper can give you neck pain. Trust me on this.

camp chat

This year was my second trip to #LHCAMP at Ocoee Retreat Center (aka Horns Creek) with about 650 middle schoolers from our church. And once again, I HAD A BLAST!

Here’s what a typical day at our camp looks like - -

Rise and shine

Meet in the field (all campers and volunteers) for exercise, fun and skits

Breakfast

Quiet time (devotion) for campers / Counselor meeting for adult volunteers

Morning worship service

Back to the cabins for family group with campers (discuss the message from morning worship, quiet time topic, etc.)

Tidy cabin time (they have a contest every day for whoever has the cleanest & most creative cabin)

Lunch

Recreation time

Back to the cabin to clean up for dinner

Dinner

Family group time with campers to prepare for evening worship

Evening worship service

Campfire share time

Back to cabins for family group time (allow campers to share about worship service, etc.)

Lights out at 11:30 (yeah right)

If that sounds like a lot it’s because it is a lot. They like to keep the students busy because busy students are less likely to get in trouble. Also, keeping them on the go like this gets them good and tired. And when they’re good and tired they’re more likely to be open to the things of God.

This year my group was a lot larger. Last year two college gals and I had charge of 8 beautiful young ladies. But this year there were 22 in the group. My poor ole memory had its work cut out for it. Remembering names - not my strongest skill. Anyway. Most of our campers were rising 6^th graders. The rest were rising 7^th graders. They were pretty great.

And my co-counselors were a couple of lovely gals who had just graduated high school.

Don’t be fooled by their youth & beauty – they were awesome! As it turned out, our group got to be in one cabin together – just us – so it was like we were a family for the week. That was neat.

We did our morning share time on the deck of our cabin.

Right behind the deck there was a little stream. It was peaceful and especially beautiful in the morning.

We did our evening groups in the living room of our cabin. 

I learned a lesson early in the week – passing around a big bag of mini chocolate candy bars at 11pm isn’t the best method for getting 22 girls settled down for Jesus talk.

In all seriousness though, these girls eventually opened up and shared some things that were pretty heavy. Sometimes as adults we forget the baggage you carry around in the teen years. My heart ached as girls shared about financial difficulties, death, bullying and family problems. We cried and prayed together. God was definitely in our little cabin in the woods.

It’s always so awesome to literally sense God helping you say the right things in these types of situations. Things I had heard my dad preach over the years. Stuff I had learned through reading the Bible & my own personal study. It would just come rolling out. Being spiritually equipped feels so good. And to be blessed with two spiritually sound well-grounded co-leaders was icing on the cake.

At camp F I V E of our cabin mates asked Jesus into their hearts. And one girl recommitted her life to Christ.

That’s what camp is about – LIFE CHANGE ! ! !

I’m so glad I got to be a tiny little part of something God did in east Tennessee during a week we set aside for kingdom work. Sure, a lot of kids went to camp because they were enticed by hanging with friends sans parents, ziplining, playing paintball, swimming and rock wall climbing. . . and we did all that… it’s loads of fun of course…  but the most important thing is that hundreds of students turned to Jesus last week. And that has eternal consequences!

God is soooo good!

Here’s one of my favorite worship songs we did at camp. ENJOY!  

WORTHY WORTHY by Vertical Worship

If you’re more lookin for a more upbeat song, check this one out. And you might wanna put on your dancin shoes.
Brighter by Hillsong Young and Free

are we ever satisfied?

Ok, this is gonna be a kinda girly post. 

I was thinking the other day about my body shape. There are parts of my body I'm cool with. Other parts I fantasize about changing. Not that I would. But a girl can dream... 

Ok... If you're gonna make an apple pie, what's one of the most important ingredients? 
 
Apples!

Well you can't really make an apple pie with oranges, can ya? 

So why do we, as girls, get so upset when our apple-y body doesn't look right in the clothes that are made for a pear shaped body? 

One of the things I think we kinda miss the mark on is finding clothes to fit us. 

I see cute styles and pine for em, but then I stop and think hmm. . . that's probably not gonna work on me because (insert reason here). . . 

And while I'm on the topic, can we please stop measuring ourselves against Hollywood models and the like?

It's bad enough we compare ourselves to each other, but trying to look at your body next to someone who has a personal trainer, a chef that cooks most of their meals and doesn't live a real life... um cmon now! 
  
God made us all in His image. We aren't meant to all be a size 3. Some of us are tall, some are short. So what? 

Be happy with what ya got ladies! And play up your best features! 

Well, that's me on my soapbox for a minute. 

Carry on.

Hope Can Change Everything

Hope. 

Hope can be defined as expectation... desire... even trust. Hope is something we all have. 

Hope for good weather on vacation
Hope for a good test result at the doctor
Hope for many years on earth with family & friends

If we're a Christian and we have the love of Jesus living in us, we have a different kind of hope. 

In 1 Corinthians the Bible tells us that three things will last forever - faith, hope & love. 

I especially love Jeremiah 29:11 
          "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.       
       "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."

As a Christian my hope is in the Lord. 
Because He will never fail me. 
He'll never leave me. 
He'll never ever disappoint me. 

I listen to KLove (97.1 in the Nashville area) & they play Christian music. Really good tunes. Last week they played a song called "Hope Can Change Everything." The song is performed by several different artists & all the proceeds from sales on iTunes go to a really good cause. 

Here's an audio version of it I found. Hope Can Change Everything

Life can be tough. If we spent a little more time encouraging each other, offering hope, I wonder how much of a difference we could make. 

In Matthew 5 we're instructed to let our light shine before others so they can see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. We're called to shine His light.

See if there's somebody you can share a little HOPE with today. 

Like this song says - you could be the spark, you could be the word, you could tell them something they've never heard ... a word can give you strength to face another day... 

Offer HOPE