Pieces with the Reeses

Slingboxes, Christmas Trees, and a Couple of Grannies....

2011-12-05T19:10:00.000-08:00

This weekend, my college roomies and significant others as well as Ryan and myself got together for a Mountain Weekend to get our Christmas trees. It was absolutely perfect! I love my Grannies so very much and I am forever thankful for the relationship the Lord has given me through each of them. It was a blast of a weekend with many laughs, stories, songs, cheers (yes, cheers) and a few tears shed along with some sweating (you had to be there ;))

We got there Friday night and had some good time together and had a meal meant for kings...a huge steak, potatoes and other sides that was delicious. We hung out by the fire pit and just enjoyed time together. And, of course, we fought over baby Daye who is the cutest thing ever!

Aunt Holland and Beccs with Baby Daye

Carl and Holland (yes, she is in a pink snuggie)

My Grans!

Saturday we went Christmas tree hunting. We had an awesome breakfast before we headed to get the trees....delicious!!! Ryan and I had a tough time picking out our tree, but we finally picked a beaut!! We watched Miracle on 34th Street when we got finished and the men went hunting. Saturday night, we watched a lot of college football and had more good food.

Becca and me

The whole crew

Grannies

Cute hubby and me

Carl and Holla gettin' their stretch on before climbing the beast of a mountain to find the perfect tree

Sal captured this on camera...

And this one.....;)

We picked one....FINALLY!

I never am quite too positive about our selection until we get it home...

Cutting it down

This one is super cute!

All the couples holding hands

Taylor, Ryan and Carl in their hunting gear

Sunday, the time to part had come. Before we headed out, we had some fun on the four-wheelers. We all wore some real cool outfits (really I was the only one who ended up looking ridiculous) and had a ton of fun riding around. It was great!

We bad....

Our classic "beat each other up" picture

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Love these girls so much

Melt my heart, already...Ryan with Daye

Having some fun with her uncle Bucky...

It was such an amazing weekend and one of my favorite Christmas traditions. We have our tree up and it is the best one yet. Love you, Grans! You and your slingbox....

Thanksgiving 2k11

2011-12-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Ryan and I headed to Manning last Wednesday night. We were blessed to have our entire family there- Mom, Ken, Little Ken, Quin, Angie, Acie, Mae Harmon, Elizabeth, Tripp, Eadon, Ragin, Anna & Davis....Quite a crew!!! It was a blast. We all went to the pond house with the extended family for Thanksgiving day. We had a delicious meal where you could pick from baked turkey, fried turkey or bbq turkey, the best sweet potato casserole, peas, rice, dressing, cranberry sauce, ham, fruit salad, biscuits...and it was all delicious. We had chocolate delight for dessert.

It was a bittersweet time because it was our first holiday without our sweet Daddy Scott. We were all sad, but we tried to think of how happy he would have been to be with all of us and how much he loved his family. We took some time to celebrate his memory and enjoy one of his favorite spots-the pond.

The boys fished for a very long time and Ryan caught a TON of fish. We rode four-wheelers around the farm and just hung out, laughed and talked. The boys went hunting in the afternoon, and Quin and Acie got a buck. They were sitting in the same stand and shot it together....such a cool memory. Here are some pics..

Some sweet girls...Perrin, Kayla, Anna, Ragin & Eadon

Ann and Elizabeth

My brother and me

Ryan fishing with his nephews

Lee Kids

Hubby and me

Hatfield family

Best buds!

They caught one!!!

Two sweet nieces that I love to pieces

Sisters

Acie & Davis thought it would be hilarious if they came outside in just towels...then they started playing corn hole

My Mama and me'

Tripp, Harvin and Mama Scott

Rosy with Davis

Anna, Kayla and Mae Harmon off for a ride

Davis & Acie with the buck

Daddy and son posing with their deer

Acie with the blood on his face

Friday night we celebrated Christmas. It was a little tough to get it all together before Thanksgiving, but I am thankful we could celebrate in person together because the Hatfield clan will be in Chicago this year. Saturday most of the family went to the Clemson-Carolina game but I got sick so I didn't go. I did get some quality time with Mama Scott which was good though. And, Go Gamecocks!!!

Twin sisters.

My namesake and me...love her...she had her hair straightened..

Mama Scott, Liz, Quin and me

Eadon, Ragin and Mae Harmon

Quin and Angie

Acie with his Meme

R and I gave them these scarves for Christmas

my man

So so cute....mae with eadon and ragin

Liz and Mae

We all fight over getting a pic with Mae

Acie scaling the fence

Girls with Mama Scott

Cute nephews

Grandkids with Mama Scott

It was a great weekend!! I am so beyond blessed by my family and Ryan's family. I hope all of you had a special Thanksgiving as well!

O, Happy Day!

2011-11-13T16:19:00.000-08:00

I know I have been M.I.A. lately. I miss all of you a ton (even if that ALL is more like a select few that follow the blog:)). Life has been very full lately. I have had a job change, which has been a huge blessing, but just adjusting to that has required some time. Ryan and I also moved. We love our new little home. We are still renting, but it is great to have a home of our own with a yard and some more space for our little family to have to live in. Another road block was that I thought my camera was broken. Turns out there was just something stuck around the lens and the guy at Ritz Camera fixed it in like 2.0 seconds flat. Anyway, I felt so BLONDE but I was glad to have it repaired without spending a penny.

And, Matt & Brittany had their wedding last weekend.....Hip Hip Hooray!!! It was a blast. We had so much fun celebrating this much anticipated event with them and with all their family and friends. It was a fabulous, fun-filled weekend in Greenwood and we loved every minute of it. Take some time to enjoy some special moments I was able to capture....

My handsome hubby and me at the Rehearsal Dinner

Britt's siblings- Anna Bryce and Reynolds

Bride and groom with her daddy

Ash and Cory

Britt...such a pretty, pretty bride-to-be

Ms. Cindy with her parents

Some of my favs...Ashley, Anna Bryce and Kathryn

Grandaddy and Grandmama....love this picture of them

Ryan, Matt and Tyler

Parents of the groom...Mr. Mike and Mrs. Cindy...they looked so great!

All of the Reese fam...love this one too!!!!

Britt and Matt with her brother and sister

All the Flowe family

The rehearsal dinner was beautiful. I wish I had taken more pictures. Everyone had beautiful words to speak over the bride and groom. The cake was DELICIOUS and the room was gorgeous. It all was perfect.

The wedding day was jam-packed, but awesome. We had a great bridal luncheon. Then, we all got packed up and went to the church. Britt provided someone to fix our hair and we all got ready at the church. The wedding and reception was absolutely perfect. I was so blessed to be a part of such a special, special day.

Some of the bridesmaids getting ready

Cute!!!! Bride with her hair fixed...

Liz Ann and Katy

Crazy Kathryn....check out her blog Love & Baked Spaghetti

Kathryn and me...PA Power!!!

Ash and I with the gorgeous mother-of-the-groom

Hubs and me

I hate I didn't get more pictures....especially of the honored couple. I honestly ended up putting my camera in the car after the last picture and didn't have a chance to get it back out the rest of the night. Just know, Britt was beautiful and every single thing was breathtaking. It was a wonderful, special time and Ryan and I are so thrilled that these love birds were finally able to get hitched. We Love Y'all!!!!!

Britt's Bachlorette

2011-10-14T11:32:00.000-07:00

I totally stole this blog post from Ms. Kathryn Massengill. Check her out at Love and Baked Spaghetti!

She is a great blogger and my camera would not operate the entire weekend. So, here is her blog featured on my blog to document the weekend for your reading pleasure!!! Thanks for the blog post Kathryn...sorry I basically copied every last sentence :)

We celebrated Brittany in Tybee Island last weekend at her Bachelorette Party! She's marrying Matt in just a few short weeks, and I know she enjoyed one last single weekend with all the girls.

Here's the pretty bride on Sunday morning after a weekend full of fun.

Her mom made her army man veil, and Lizann made us all these awesome t-shirts.

Kathryn had a touch of gastroenteritis (I'll spare you the details) so she spent lots of time sipping on Sprite and Gatorade. Ashley & I tried to take great care of her. What great doctors : ) Sike.

We had lunch at Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah on Sunday. Aside from the smell of grease as soon as you open the doors, it was yummy. That woman loves some butter.

Brittany, your big day will be here SO soon, you belle of the ball!

Around the House Shower for M & B

2011-10-06T10:08:00.000-07:00

We had an Around the House shower for Matt & Brittany last weekend. It was a couples shower thrown with love by family and friends. It was a great thing because all of the Powdersville and Greenville peeps were able to attend and shower Matt and Britt with gifts and love. We had it at a cool spot in Powdersville/Easley called Taste of Distinction. They did all the catering for us and made a wonderful meal of BBQ! Matt and Britt got tons of wonderful gifts for different rooms in their future home. Everyone had fun and it turned out to be a wonderful shower. The only bad part of the entire thing was that Ryan was out of town, but we still had a fun time.

Fall is just about the best season to decorate. The beautiful colors make for gorgeous arrangements. Ashley and I had seen some great ideas from Pinterest (if you aren't a member....you need to sign up...best website EVER). We thought it turned out pretty cute;)

Mantel with pictures of Matt and Britt

Cute engagement pic of them we had to put out...

This was the gift table

Ashley, Britt and myself before the shower

Such pretty things!!

Don and Jo-Annah (another host couple)

Powdersville boys...Cory, Matt and Jason

The sweet Ashley sisters..Cindy, Elaine and Jo-Annah

Flowe ladies....Britt with her mom and sister

The honored couple!! Brittany & Matthew

Britt's brother and sister...Reynolds and Anna Bryce

Britt with her dad

Cindy and Mike

Awesome colander that Britt was pumped about...

Woodlands china

I had to include this picture....Britt had to take an important call during the shower...that's what happens when you are BIG time!!!

Cute ottoman...Britt relaxing while Matt works away

Cute "laundry room" gift

Ash and I with our hostess gifts from Britt

More hostesses...Ms. Peggy and Ms. Rita

All the hostesses with the special couple

It was a great night! We love you, Matt and Britt and are so excited to see all these beautiful things "Around the House"!!!

Ode To Fall

2011-10-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

Fall is the season I love the most;

that is why I am dedicating to fall this blog post.

I love the weather, pumpkins and leaves;

Plus candy corn is so great it will bring you to your knees.

I love the fall colors and cool decor;

Beautiful orange and red wreaths adorning front doors.

Pumpkin spice lattes are every bit worth the price you pay,

College football gives you tons of entertainment on Saturdays.

Lots of chances to see friends at your local fall fest;

Another reason why fall is a step above the rest.

You can go enjoy hunting with your lab or pointer;

And, Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner!

So many reasons that bring me joy about fall;

That is why it is my favorite above all!!!

Cooper

2011-09-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

Cory and Ashley got a new puppy last night. He is the sweetest black lab that they have named Cooper. Ryan and I got to meet him today and fell in love. Scout can't play with him yet because he is still so small and needs to get his shots, but he is excited to have a new buddy.

Cory and his little guy

Uncle Bucky

How sweet and precious??!!!

Playing in the grass

Tired from playing and trying to chew on a leaf

We are excited to have this new member of the fam. Welcome, Cooper!!!

Finishing Well

2011-09-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

At our church, we are currently studying 1 Kings. One reason I love my church is because they can take a book from the Bible that is hard to connect with and make it relatable. One question that has been sticking with me through this study and that I keep coming back to is..."How do we continue to walk the road of faithfulness with the Lord and finish well?"

This question comes from studying Solomon, who is the featured character in the first 10-12 chapters. Solomon began his kingship in humbleness, seeking the Lord for the grace and wisdom to be king. His biggest desire was making the Lord known and creating a temple for the Lord where others could come and worship. The Lord revealed Himself to Solomon two different times and blessed Solomon with more wealth than we could even imagine. As Solomon dedicates the temple to the Lord in 1 Kings 8, he has several times where he just breaks out in praise to the Lord....

"O Lord, God of Isreal, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below-- you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way." 1 Kings 8:23

"But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built.Yet give your attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O Lord my God."1 Kings 8: 27-28

"Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Isreal just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses......And may these words of mine, which I have prayed befroe the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant....so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other." 1 Kings 8: 56-61

As Solomon's character develops, you begin to see cracks in his solid foundation. He intermarried with other women, which the Lord commanded him not to do. These women were from evil people with different gods. Solomon rationalized this sin by thinking he was building his kingdom by making connections with other nations. But, he was disobeying God. Solomon ended up having 1000 wives and something happened in the midst of those relationships that caused his heart to be turned away from God. This was not the same as just a simple sin, because he eventually bowed to those other gods, turned his back on the Lord and worshipped something else.

This whole scenario seems so sad to be. That a man with such blessings from the Lord that had been tracking with the Lord decided to worship something else and turn his back on God. He never went back and repented but continued to live his life this way. Solomon's heart completely changed. His father King David had committed a major sin with adultery and murder, but his heart was always after the Lord. Solomon's heart worshipped another.

At church and in community group, we have talked about this story and talked about the fact that sometimes the second part of life is the most dangerous. Our pastor said that sometimes sin feels like an event or step that takes you down a path that leads somewhere else causing the next "sin step" to make sense. Solomon's sin lead him down a path leading somewhere else. In some cases the gods he was worshipping called for sexual sacrifices and in other instances, child or even infant sacrifices.

I think on this and plead it would not be the same for me or any of us as we continue on our journeys with the Lord. To be living in step with the Lord and to witness His presence and then get so wrapped up in sin, that you completely leave the Lord. So, how does one finish this life well walking with the Lord so that we complete our journey of faith and so that the next generation will have something to look to?

One answer to this question we talked about in community group is letting other people speak into your life and speaking into other peoples' lives? Calling people out in love when you sense something isn't quite right or when you witness an event that is wrong. The Lord causes us to judge other believers in love. Not out of gossip or self righteousness, but just out of love and wanting that believer to finish the race that is before him. Also, not neglecting prayer, reading the Bible and being accountable to other Christians.

I don't know all the answers, but it has been a good lesson to think on over the past couple of weeks. I am thankful we serve a merciful and grace giving God that only asks we confess and repent our sins and continue to believe in Him and HE WILL BE FAITHFUL to forgive us. Our hearts have to want to come back to Him though and we have to WANT to be cleansed. Obedience must come from the heart and flows out of trust in the Lord.

Also, with this story that is filled with just a tragic ending, it makes you know that the Bible is real. If it wasn't real, why would stories like this be included? If it was just some make believe story, why would these terrible endings and people choosing other gods be included? It just shows we all need Jesus and need redemption. And, the Lord can use anyone and save anyone. All we have to do is Believe and Confess and Repent and TRUST.

Anyway, I am sorry for this long post, but I thought I would share something that has really been on my heart lately. Continue on the path of faithfulness, friends.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Chicago!!!!

2011-09-12T12:48:00.000-07:00

What a great trip to Chicago, Il!!! We had a blast!! It was a crazy whirlwind of a weekend, but so great.

Thursday, I headed to Chicago and Quin met me at the airport to take me to their house. They live about 30 minutes outside of the city of Chicago in the cutest little area ever! It was pretty late, so after some conversation, we went to bed. Friday, I was able to spend most of the day just lounging and playing with Acie and Mae Harmon. We watched some movies, played outside and they showed me some of their favorite spots around town. I loved just being with them and spending some time. Acie doesn't sit much so the only pictures of him are him climbing on something or doing some Justin Beiber moves or working on his handstand....

Ryan got there Friday night. On Saturday morning, we went to a bagel shop and then took our breakfast out to the lake. The lake there looks like our beach...it is huge and beautiful and a little calmer. Then, we all went to Acie's first soccer game. He did great!!!

Handstand pic of Acie :)

Acie and Mae Harmon...not sure about Acie in this pic

Uncle Ryan and Acie

One handed!!!!

Before breakfast

Angie with the kids...Mae Harmon looks like a scarecrow in this one.

Mae Harmon and B

Quin, me and the kids

Acie in his uniform ready for the game

After the soccer game, R and I headed into the city to eat dinner and get ready for the Half Marathon the next morning. It was super crazy because we left the game at 2 to get the train. The train didn't come and then Angie had to drive us across town to another train because we were having to get into the city by 5 to pick up our race packets. The other train got us into the city around 4:30 and we had to get a cab to truck it to the Navy Pier to get our packets. So, we are running through the Navy Pier which is like a big fair with restaurants with our suitcases trying to make it on time. We did make it with about 3 minutes to spare, but it was really stressful.

The city was beautiful and the weather was great. We got to see some of the Carolina game before dinner (such a good game!) and then went to eat at a great little Italian restaurant. The Best Lasagna EVER!!! Then, we got some rest to get ready for our 4:30 wake-up the next morning.

Picture of the city from the Navy Pier....this is the beautiful lake I was talking about..

Another city view...

On our drive through town

On race day, we woke up early because we had to catch the train by 5:30. You would not believe all the people trying to get a seat on the train!!! But, we were able to find some seats and make it to the race spot. We started the race at 7 Sunday morning. It was a really cool sight with all the racers and fans wearing red, white and blue in remembrance of September 11th.

The race was TOUGH. My knee was seriously hurting something awful and Ryan started having these extreme toe cramps, but we made it with a respectable time. I actually prayed about my knee and the Lord gave me what I needed to get through. Also, saw the back of a lady's shirt quoting Philipians that said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", so I tried to think on that. But, 13 miles is a pretty long way!

We made it and we were so incredibly proud of each other. We stayed with each other the whole way and it was a sweet experience of just living life together and experiencing a challenge together. There were so many people encouraging the racers along the way and also some great music here and there that pushed us to the finish line. We got some neat medals and then had to book it out of there to catch our plane!!!

Before the race....love the shirts they gave us!!!

Ryan with his "game face" on :)

Such an awesome trip!!! We loved Chicago!!!

Progress

2011-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

I realize this picture is backwards because I took it from my computer for the ease of the situation. But, it stands for a lot!!! R and I are headed to Chicago this weekend to visit my brother and his family and to run a half marathon...my first but Ryan's second. We decided a couple of months ago we wanted to try running a long distance together and see how it went before we decided on a full length marathon. It has been a fun process because we have run almost all the runs together and it has been some great bonding time. But, I really don't think we will do a marathon any time soon. I am glad we are doing it and looking at this sheet today that has been keeping track for us, I realized how far we have come! I know we won't be the fastest or the most enthusiastic, but we are going to try our hardest to get the job done! Well, I am off to catch my flight....wish us luck and say a little prayer for us on Sunday morning :)

Great Weekend!!!!

2011-09-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

We had to have a final beach trip to Litchfield for the summer!! So, we headed that way for the long Labor Day weekend. It ended up being my mom, aunt Meri, sister and all of her children. Great days consisting of sitting by the beach and occasional napping, reading good books, and to top it all off a TURTLE HATCHING!!!

The highlight of the weekend was a turtle nest we were all keeping an eye on. We knew it was due to hatch any day that we were down there. One day while walking on the beach, we noticed it had started to sink. We went back later that evening and some other people were around the nest watching it. About ten minutes later, a baby turtle made a fight to the sand surface and started his trek down to the water. We all followed him and watched him finally make it to the wave that took him out to the deep sea. Then, we were walking back up the beach and noticed more turtles start coming out of the nest. There ended up being about 70 baby turtles that hatched. The neat thing was that the sun was just going down so we were able to watch most of the even without flashlights. It was glorious!! Such a miracle to watch the beauty of God's creation in such a natural, beautiful process. My mom was thrilled to the bone. And, Ryan got to see his first turtle hatching. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic but he thought it was cool.

Here is Anna and Davis with their aunt B....love these two!!

R and I before dinner

Ragin, Davis, Anna, and Eadon....Anna got these glasses from Claire's and thought they looked cool

This was all of us after the turtle hatching!!

Elizabeth and Anna...their attire for the turtle watching cracked me up. Anna is wearing Elizabeth's sweater and pajama shorts.

Today, I made these smores bars for the first time.....they look really yummy and I can't wait to sample!!!

Jam-Packed Weekend O'Fun

2011-08-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

R and I had such a fun, full weekend. It really was a blast to spend time with friends and family and to just enjoy things around Greenville.

Friday night, we met some friends at an awesome joint called Brown Street Club. We started out with 8, but by the end of the night our crew expanded to 12!! We got drinks on the house because of Elaine and David having connections. We had a great dinner and fun time listening to the jazz being played. We laughed, moved to the music and had some good conversation. Ryan and I were the old people who left first :( We felt bad about it but we were just super tired. The rest of the group went clubbing and stayed out until 2 am!!! Here are some pictures of the occasion:

Nathan and Ryan thought this was a "good" look....not too sure about that...

Being suave..

Laura, Jamie, Rob and Nathan

Cory, Ashley, Brittany and Trey

Being silly

The Reese men and women

Saturday, we went to breakfast and to the farmer's market downtown with Matt, Britt, Cory and Ashley. We discovered a great little nook of a breakfast place we hadn't been to, Sobys on the Side. It was great and INEXPENSIVE, which is a good find these days.

After breakfast, Ryan, Cory, Scout and I went hiking at a great trail near Saluda called Little Bradley Falls. We hiked to a waterfall and it was beautiful. Scout had a BLAST!!! He was running all over the place and jumping in every last pool of water he could find...good thing there were not a ton of people out that afternoon so he could just run wild. Only bad part was that I had to share the backseat with my hairy and dirty lab. But, he laid his head on my lap for most of the ride home which was super sweet. Another bad part was when we thought we heard a bear on the trail and Cory basically pulled a limb off a tree getting ready to fight it. But, we did not see one.....PTL!!

Saturday night, we headed to Anderson to see Brooks and Lindsay. We went out to eat at a cute little spot in downtown Anderson called SummaJoes. We hadn't spent time with them since they got married, so it was fun to see them.

Sunday, we had to run a whopping NINE miles before church. Surprisingly, we had perfect weather and the run was not that bad. Almost enjoyable even! Then, we went to church.

Sunday night, we went to the last showing of West Side Story at the Peace Center. Very tragic story, which I had no idea of before we went, but the music was beautiful and we felt very cultured after the experience.

Such a great, great weekend full of laughs, good times, adventure and culture!!!!

Monograms & Mimosas

2011-08-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Britt had her first shower. It was a monogram shower given by some of her friends in Greenwood. It was a precious shower and we had a great time. Brittany got some beautiful, monogrammed gifts. I just love brunch food too, and of course they had petites fours with the "R" monogram. We celebrated with family and friends and even a baby!

Cute napkins

Britt with her plate

Cute towels from Nana

Some more awesome towels from Ms. Cindy

My gift, a glass pitcher

Love this that Britt's mom gave her

Bath robe courtesy of Anna Bryce

Hostess gift of a candle and gorgeous shower curtain

The Reese girls

Britt and her sis

Anna Bryce, Ms. Flowe and Brittany

Mama and soon to be mama-in-law with the bride

It was such a wonderful time. Excited for the shower season and the wedding will be here before we know it!!!

Happy Birthday, Elaine!!

2011-08-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Ryan's aunt, Elaine, is celebrating a birthday this upcoming week. She told her husband that all she wanted for her birthday was for all the family to go out together for dinner. So, we all went to celebrate last weekend at Larkin's. We had so much food and it was all delicious. Everyone was all laughs and had a wonderful time together. Elaine got some great gifts, too. I think she really enjoyed her party and we all did too!!!

Birthday girl and David

Steven and Jo-annah

Grandmama and Granddaddy

Mr. Mike and Ms. Cindy

Hubs and me

Three sisters...so cute!

Elaine with her mama and daddy

Opening presents...

Grandmama and Granddaddy closing down the place

It was such a fun night!! Happy birthday, Elaine!!!!

Cute friend and a baby

2011-08-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

I am not sure if I have made the announcement on the blog, but I currently have a little more time on my hands. I moved from working full time to as needed at work so that I can focus on trying to find another job as quickly as possible and have more availability. I was feeling very overwhelmed and was in major need for a quick retreat and some time away from the house and Sally suggested we meet up at Commerce.

Commerce has some outlets and places to eat, but the best part is that is about 1 hour for both Sally and myself and makes for an easy day trip. So, Sally and her sweet baby Daye came and we all spent some time together. We ate and browsed and found so many cute, cute outfits for Daye. We only bought 2 outfits though, and Sally was experiencing some serious buyer's remorse even thought she only spent 16.00. So, I had to talk her through it and she ended up keeping the cutest tutu for Daye that I have ever seen in my entire life. Here is a picture of the doll baby in it:

I mean, seriously?? How precious??

It was great just to spend time with these two precious friends. I only have pictures of Daye and myself...to bad I didn't get any of mama and baby. I also didn't have my camera so the ones featured are from Sal's blog or from my phone.

I could not believe how much bigger Daye is getting!! It is so amazing to watch this sweet girl grow and mature. She is following people with her eyes and grasping and is such a wiggle worm. At one point during lunch, we looked up and Daye had almost done a complete turn over while in the car seat (not buckled in)....I am sure that takes some extreme strength and talent. It was fun to be able to spend some good time together and it was really good for my heart to be with them for a little while.

Thanks, girls for making the trip. It was great!! Love y'all!!

Piece of Truth

2011-08-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had Psalm 103 in my devotion reading. I am sure I had read the Psalm before, but as I read it in the midst of a current trial, it meant so much to me. It is a picture of rejoicing in what the Lord has done for us and how much He GIVES. I thought it may bring a few of you a word of hope and wanted to share. This isn't the chapter in it's entirety...just a few of my favorite verses. You can always look up the few pieces I have left out here...

PSALM 103

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all you sins and heals all you diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles....
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquites. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

So, in case you, like myself, need to hear this today....KEEP HOPING....Don't give up. The Lord is FOR you!!!!

Turtle Babies

2011-08-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

I think I have mentioned on the blog before how much my mom LOVES sea turtles. She has a slight obsession. Anyway, a couple of years ago she discovered a group called S.C.U.T.E. that basically is a group of volunteers in South Carolina that goes out each day, looks for turtle nests and then watches for the turtles to hatch. SCUTE stands for South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts. They have a facebook page that they use to tell you where nests are that have been laid, when they are hatching or have hatched and allow you to be a part of it.

After the mama turtle lays the nest, the volunteers place protection around it and it basically sits for about 55-60 days. It looks like this after they finish their work:

Another cool fact is that the eggs are laid gender-neutral and the temperature of the sand determines their sex. Boys are in the cool sand..."cool guys" and the females are in the hotter sand..."hot females".

Anyway, after the little turtles hatch, the volunteers plan to excavate the nest 2-3 days later. Excavation means that they dig up the nest to see how many empty egg shells are their (how many turtles hatched) and if there are any babies stuck in the sand that haven't been able to get out. They are trying to see the percent success of the nests and try to improve on the success of the nests throughout the year.

My mom, Ryan and I went to an excavation when we were at the beach last week. They were able to find 2 babies that were stuck in the nest. They passed a bucket with the baby turtles in it around so that everyone could have a peek at them and then they dumped the turtles out and we all watched as they made their journey to the water.

SCUTE volunteers digging up the nest

Mom...aka "The Turtle Whisperer"

Baby turtles

Another picture of the turtles

Baby turtles just dumped...in upper right corner...do you see them??? So small...

Go, go, go

Keep going....

It was a neat experience. Last year, some of the girls in my family and myself got to witness a nest hatch at night with about 80 of the little babies coming out. It was awesome, but no flash photography allowed.

Mom, Ryan and I went out to eat at the beach at my favorite place down there, Franks. We were celebrating Ryan's promotion...way to go, Ry!!

Mom and I before dinner

My love and me

It was a fun couple of days!!! You know, I love the beach. And, turtles. And, Ryan. And, spending time with my mom. So, all around...a great time!!

A little This, A little that

2011-08-03T15:39:00.000-07:00

My sweet friend, Amber, had a birthday last week. R and I had so much fun celebrating with her!! She had some friends meet up with her at a Mexican place and then we went over to her house for cake and champagne. It was fun celebrating with Amber and reuniting with a favorite couple of ours from PA school, the Zips. It was a great night full of fun with friends!!

Amber and her beau in background with her present

Sweet Brittany with the birthday girl

Beautiful decor arranged by Amber..the cake was delicious sweet potato cake from Brick Street

Blowing out the candles

I headed to Charleston to see Ryan and some friends on Friday. On my way, I was able to stop in and see sweet Sarah, who is expecting a baby girl in October. She looks great and her nursery is adorable. It was great seeing her for a few minutes.

Then, R and I got to reunite with some great, wonderful friends. We were able to see most of our old bible study crowd at dinner on Friday night at our favorite spot in Charleston, Sette. Saturday, most of us went to Edisto to see Becca and Craig run the Governer's Cup. We had a blast. Becca and Craig did an awesome job and we had a blast hanging out with them

The boys pledging allegiance

The girls

At the governer's cup

Becca had a spare moment to snap a picture....did not plan on the matching shirts....

R and I at the G' Cup

All of us the next day

Had so much fun with all the people mentioned on the blog today. Love each and every one of you to pieces!!!!

Daytona Beach with Hatfields

2011-07-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

My dad and his wife, Kim, have taken most of my family and gone to Daytona Beach for vacation for the last few years. Ryan and I have never been able to go between getting married and starting school and other things. This year, we were able to work it out to make the trip. It was a lot of fun. My brother's family, my sister's family and my other sister and brother were all there with my Dad and Kim.

The house is in Daytona Beach. It is kind of a crazy area of the world, but we really just stayed at the house the entire time by the pool. We went out to eat a couple of nights, watched movies and TV, and played in the pool most of the day. My nieces and nephews are growing up so so very fast, so I am trying to enjoy every single minute of it.

This is a picture of the back of the house...it faces the intercoastal waterway and has a gorgeous view. We sat on the porch almost all day, every day reading and taking in the view of the water.

View from the house to the dock

On our first day there, Tripp was already relaxing out on this bench :) He deserves a little break...

My sister and Ragin

My sister, Alex and her boyfriend, Luke

Liz, Eadon, Ragin, Anna and me

My bukes and me sitting by the water

Love these girls!!

Sister picture

Davis and Acie..these are my two nephews and they are absolute total Best Friends!! It is so sweet to watch. At one point, we were all walking in to the movie and looked down to notice the two of them holding each other's hands walking along together...just melts my heart

Angie, Eadon and Mae Harmon before going to eat

Ragin shootin' some hoops...we need to work on her form a little...

R and I at dinner one night

The other sweet thing is that all my nieces and nephews love each other to pieces. Davis adores Mae Harmon. On morning he decided he just wanted to carry her around the pool. Here is a picture of his achievement..

Then, Mae Harmon was loving it so much and loving him so much, that she decided she just wanted to kiss Davis on his cheek....

Eadon and Ragin

Sweet Maemers

Anna, Mae Harmon and me

Another picture of the gorgeous scenery

Mae Harmon pretending to be a robber with the garden hose

Fun times in the pool...Acie, Ragin, Alex, Davis and Eadon

My nephew, Acie, had seen a guy in Chicago with a blue mohawk and decided he NEEDED to have a mohawk. Angie wasn't too crazy about the idea but they compromised on night when she fixed his hair like this.....

Angie and Quin

Sisters...

Davis and Acie gettin' their Krispy Kreme fix

Getting ready to go eat

Alex and Luke

Acie being crazy

Anna and me...shrooms for life...

My hubby and me...love him!! This was the Reese family portrait when we all took pictures.

The Lee family

The Hatfield family...they were struggling to get everyone to cooperate for the photos

Daddy and Kim

Luke and Alex

Hatfield children with Daddy and Kim

Our entire family

Luke, David and Nick...they had to stay in the motor home all week so we referred to them as "The Motor Home Residents" all week

Few of my nieces and their "Aunt B"

My sis, Alex

Rags and me

Mae Harmon is just the cutest...

I love her so much...she is so sweet she really will give you a cavity..

Cute hubby and me at dinner

Angie with her Mae

Davis...

Anna posing like a Diva...

Liz and me

Ryan hanging with the kiddos

The girls at dinner

Quin, Liz and me...they are the best!!!

After dinner R and I's last night

It was such a great trip. I don't think I had spent that much uninterrupted time with my Dad, ever...which is so crazy. Made me weepy to think of the redeeming work of the Lord in my life and in his life. I am so thankful we were able to share some memories together. God is so good. All things are possible through Him and His grace!!

Another Trip to the Beach!!

2011-07-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

Last week, Ryan and I went to the beach with my family. We usually go the week of July 4th. This year was great because my entire extended family was there---my bro and family were in from Chicago, my sister and all her family, my little brother, Mama Scott and all my aunts and uncles. We weren't all in the same house but it was so nice to be able to walk over and see them all.

We spent most of the week soaking up the sun during the day and sitting by the turtle nest at night. My mom is in LOVE with sea turtles and one laid a nest right beside our boardwalk. The week of the 4th was right in line with the time it was supposed to hatch and so she wanted us out there every night keeping an eye out to see if the nest would hatch. It actually hatched the night after R and I left the beach!! R and I are also training for a half marathon, so we were doing some running during the beach vacation as well. And you know we found time for some Starbucks. We also celebrated the 4th together, watched and participated in the golf cart parade and got a beach-front view to watch some beautiful fireworks that night. All around, it was a great trip!

Mom getting ready to cook some dinner

R hanging ou on the couch

Eadon, Ragin, Mae Harmon and me....love these nieces so much!

My hubbie and me

Eadon and Ragin with Mae Harmon...they are so cute!

Mae and Me

In honor of all the "turtle"business with my mom, my sister and I made up a rap to perform for her and had a shirt made for her. It was really fun and I think she really enjoyed it....

Mom posing in the new shirt.....her new nickname is "The Turtle Whisperer"

The back of the shirt

Davis and Acie getting ready to head out for the parade

Liz with her girls

The golfcart as it passed by us in the parade

My cousin Eadie's boys with Eadon and Ragin

Meme and Doc with all their grandchildren

Lee children

Ryan and I trying to get a pic with Acie and Davis...

Elizabeth and me posing while watching fireworks

Such a great week!! Hope you all enjoyed the 4th as well!!

26 and Father's Day!!!!

2011-06-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

Every couple of years, my birthday and Father's Day happen on the exact same day. That happened this year. We were able to celebrate both at the beach, which was a lot of fun. I cannot believe I am already 26....whew!! I am excited to see what this next year of my life will bring :)

Thankful for the Dads in my life....Daddy, Big Ken and Mr. Mike. You are all wonderful and I love each of you very much. Hope each of you enjoyed your special day!

Missed Daddy Scott a lot on Father's Day...we prayed that the Lord would give him a big hug and a kiss for us and let him know how much we love and miss him!!!

Here is a picture of Big Ken and me....

R and myself

Sweet Mama Scott, Mama and Ragin before I blew out the candles

Blow those candles, girl.... wishing that the Lord would bring a new job in my life SOON!!

Birthday girl...

Thanks to all of you who made my birthday special!!!

First Beach Trip of the Season!!

2011-06-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

What a great first beach trip of the season it was!!! The Reeses were kind enough to host us in their newly-owned condo at Litchfield By the Sea. Ryan and I arrived for the week on Tuesday of last week. It was a wonderful week of beautiful weather, good food and sweet time with family. I got really into The Prince of Tides, a book by Pat Conroy, and was thoroughly entertained by that for the week...such a good book!! We went out to eat, worked on puzzles, went shopping, exercised and played Bocce ball. It was a week filled with family at my favorite place in the entire world!

Tuesday night at Lee's Inlet Kitchen. Everyone was cracked up because Ashley had the tallest heels ever on and was having to squat down to be even with the men in the group ;)

And, Ryan decided to squat too

Ashley relaxing with a magazine

Mr. Mike hanging in his sweats during a spell with allergies

Cory working on the impossible puzzle

Ms. Cindy baking brownies

Cute picture of Cory and Ashley

Hubby and me

Ryan playing some bocce ball (how do you spell this??)

Mike and Cindy

Ryan and myself....look how beautiful the water is!!

Ryan and his mom

Ash and Cory

On Thursday night, we met up with the rest of Ryan's family that were also at the beach. It was a big crowd but so so much fun.

Ashley, Steven, David, Elaine and Ashley

Jo-Annah and Ashley

I think this is such a great pic of R's dad and mom

R with his precious grandparents

Reeses + Reeses

Me with my hubs

The whole group

Friday, Ryan's family took me to my favorite shopping place at the beach and we went to eat out there for my birthday. The made me feel so special and really honored me on my birthday. It was so much fun! Also, Market Common is the best place ever!!

Adorable pic of Ash and Cory

Sporting our pink (I PROMISE we did not plan this...we never ever plan to match, but somehow we always end up walking out the house with the exact same color on)

After dinner at P.F. Chang's we went for some ice cream at our favorite spot, Painters...delicious!

How about this coordinating background?

The Reeses left on Saturday and R and myself headed over to my parent's beach house to hang out with some of my family. We all went out on the beach, had a baseball game and enjoyed the sunshine. We were all together for Father's day on Sunday morning and went out to eat breakfast together.

Davis was cracking us up relaxing in this chair...he looked so grown up, so....

we thought it would be funny if he posed with a Bud Light....I promise he did NOT drink a sip!

My brother, Ken and his girlfriend, Kayla

Little Anna and me

Our baseball game...my mom is up to bat with my sister pitching :)

My team won!! We were named F.P.S or Fabulous Pink Sparkles by my niece Ragin

Sweet Davis and me

Love these little babies!!

Eadon

Anna and myself....I have nicknamed my haircut "Shroom"(like a mushroom) and they all decided Anna had a "Shroom" haircut as well, so the entire day we were referred to as "Shroom 1" and "Shroom 2"

Love this man of mine!!

The girls on Father's Day

Lee children with Big Ken

Sisters!

It was a great beach trip. I also was able to celebrate my birthday with both families which was fun as well. I can't wait to be back. Thanks to all those who made it so perfect!!

Green thumb..

2011-06-09T10:02:00.000-07:00

I have never been able to keep a plant alive. Since we got married and lived in a house together, I have managed to kill every single plant we have ever had. That is, until NOW!!! Most of the credit probably belongs to my father-in-law, who bought me this awesome water globe from Cracker Barrel. The water globe llows you to put water in at one time and will keep the plant watered for days!! So, even if you miss a couple of waterings, the plant can still get water.

We bought the plant that I am boasting about when we moved here 8 months ago and it is still living...miracle of miracles, I can hardly believe it myself. And, not just still living, but THRIVING!! I am so excited and I love my little plant to pieces. For that reason, I am featuring it on the blog today. Behold the beauty of it......

Look at those green leaves...also my water globe that is the real reason my plant is alive

Leaves so waxy and green :)

Hope you don't think I am bragging...I am just amazed the plant has made it!!!

Also, how much does your heart love this retriever????!!!!!!!!

Alex Graduates!

2011-05-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Alex, graduated high school last weekend. Because of my work schedule, R and I couldn't make it to the actual ceremony but we were able to go to Greenwood to have dinner with her and the rest of the family Saturday night.

Alex has grown to be a beautiful young woman. She is headed to PC next year and I cannot wait to see what the future has in store for her. It was fun getting some time with she and my brother, David, and my dad and Kim. Elizabeth, Tripp and their kids had come into town for the graduation and they stayed an extra night so we could see them as well. We had a great time catching up with everyone.

Here is a picture of my dad in center with Elizabeth, me, Alex and David

A few of my nieces

Sisters

This is my bro-in-law, Tripp, with Ryan....we got cracked up because they had almost the exact same outfit on and hadn't planned it at all.

Lee family..love them so much!!

Daddy and Kim posing for a picture

Me and my man, Davis

Funny faces...

Congrats, Alex!! We love you so much and had so much fun celebrating your special day with you!

Becca's Wedding Weekend!

2011-05-22T18:34:00.000-07:00

Becca is one of my roommates from college. Sally, Holland, Becca and I lived together in a pretty old house and got the nickname "Grannies". So, we have gone by the name Grannies since college. I love my sweet Grannies so much and this weekend, one of the Grans got married!!!

This weekend was Becca's wedding. It was a wonderful, wonderful weekend. So fun to celebrate the wedding of a sweet, dear friend and have other great friends there to see at the same time.

Becca had a wedding at Edisto. We all came into town Thursday afternoon. Becca's family had a get-together and dinner for everyone who was there Thursday. It was great to be reunited with our Grannie girls and to see all the other bridesmaids and family.

Hols, Beccs and me with baby Daye

Doing our classic "beat each other up" picture with Daye, but we were extra careful...

Loved seeing Hols be so tender and nurturing to Sal's baby girl....so sweet

Bride with the baby

Friday morning, Becca's aunt hosted a Bridesmaid's Brunch. The food was delicious and we were lucky enough to get to be at the bride's table and get some special time with her. Becca gave us some gorgeous earrings and sweet grass baskets.

Craig's sister, LuWinn, and her girls

Becca and her mama

Grannies at brunch

Becca gave us all letters she had written. But, she had a ton of work to do and she left our letter to the very end. So, in this picture, Holland is posing with her card that just says, "bahhhahahaha"....we know she loves us dearly :)

Holland and Sally

Baby Daye dressed for the brunch...pretty in pink

Mama Sal with her baby...such a great mama!!

Cweeps with the baby

Loved that when Daye laid down she would stretch and kick...she was so long...

We went out to the beach some for Friday afternoon, then got ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Craig and Becca had a communion service before the rehearsal dinner that everyone could attend. It was a special time where the entire congregation including the bride and groom took communion together. Loved worshipping with the bride and groom on the eve of their wedding.

Sweet church where the wedding took place

Sal, me and Holland

ADPi girls...love the bond of sisterhood..

I love this one of my sweet Grannies

Model shot..

Handsome Ryan and me

Bride and me...Love you, Beccs

The rehearsal dinner food was delicious. I loved hearing all the words that were said about Becca and Craig....The Lord's faithfulness was preached and the couple was celebrated for how they live out their faith in the lives of others.

Wedding day then was upon us. We hung out on the beach until we had to get ready at the Plantation. Becca was absolutely stunning in her gown and all the preparations turned out absolutely perfect. The church and wedding ceremony was so sweet, complete with a gospel chior praising the Lord during the service. The reception site was at a plantation on Edisto with a gorgeous tent beside a marsh....so so beautiful...a true Southern wedding.

Baby Daye dressed for the wedding

Sweet Alyssa is my fellow blogger...thought I would capture her capturing me...

Holland with her flowers and a beer

Lauren Marie and Hogan

My man and me

Love Lama...

Our sweet bible study girls....miss this group so very much!!!

Boys were so angry that I took the picture at this moment...so, I had to take another one...

Me, Alyssa and Mandy

Being cweeps...

Trying to teach the baby how to take an "ADPi" picture with the diamond sign

Got to hold her while Sal ate some dinner...love this face!!

Bride with Daye

Sweet girls

Grannies posing with our favorite baby

Alyssa thought this was so funny because this was not a posed picture. Daye's passie fell out and she let out a little cry and this was all of our natural response...

Creeping with Daye

Aunt Holland with Daye

Love this backdrop...and this bride and groom

Becca and Craig posing for picture for me...so gorgeous!!

Cutting the cake...

Such a fun night of dancing and laughing and celebrating. It was perfect!! And now, Becca is married!!! So excited for you guys, Becca and Craig....Ryan and I love you both very much and look forward to years of friendship together!!

One last picture of the baby girl....check out these sweet and precious socks!!!

Surprise!!!!!

2011-05-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Ryan is turning the big 3-0 this year (actually this coming week) and I thought it would be the perfect time to throw him a surprise birthday party. So, for the past month I have been scheming with all of his friends to get it all together.....

The party was last night and it could not have been more perfect. So many of Ryan's dear friends made it to celebrate. All the attendees arrived at the restaurant a little earlier and had appetizers while awaiting Ryan's arrival. When we got back to the room, everyone yelled "surprise", and Ryan could not believe how many people were there.

I was worried all day yesterday Ryan knew about the party. But, as I was trying to get him ready and into the car for the trip over to the restaurant, I could tell he did not know what was going on. At one point of the ride, he even asked me if I was taking him to the airport for a surprise get away...that would have been a great idea too, but I already had the party planned.

It was such a wonderful night. We were with so many people that we love so much. I was so excited for Ryan to see all his best friends and get some time together. Thanks to all of you for making the trip and loving Ryan and me so well. Here are some pics from the fun night....

Ryan hugging Thomas

Seeing Michael

Loving on his brother

Sweet Britt even made the trip and brought a card from Matt from across the ocean

Ryan and Trey opening some gifts

Some butt cream from his friend, Lawton :)

Great group of people :)

Another great group of people

And...another great group of people

Birthday boy and me with all the balloons

Amber, Ashley, Alecia and me

Katie and Jake made it from Greenville

Michael and Kelly traveled over from Spartanburg

Ryan and Jenn came from Columbia

The two Ryans

Mandy and Brad made it from Charleston

Ryan leading the singing of "Happy Birthday" being sung to him

Blowing out his candles

Cutting and serving cake

SO excited!!!

Aww! Thomas and Sarah made the trip with their 8-wk old infant from Greenville

Camps and Martins

Sisters....Emily and Ashley. Lawton and Emily made it from Columbia

Sweet friends..Jenn and Katie

Love my man!!

Amber and me

Bro and sis...Cory and Ashley

The Gosnells made it from Greenville

Reeses & Gosnells

Kelsey and Andrew comparing their bellies..Andrew said he was about 8 months compared to Kelsey's 7-months :)

Kelsey and Andrew made it from Greenville

Baby Emma Kate was the youngest person at the party...only 8-weeks old but so sweet. She stayed asleep for the whole party, but we got her to open her eyes at the very end so I could snap a pic

3 brothers....Cory, Ryan and pic of Matt (Britt had the wallet picture in her wallet for situations just like this one)

Reese women

Model pose of Trey and Ryan

Cute pic...Cory, Andrew, Trey and Ryan

Kelsey, me, Amber, Britt and Ash

Such a fun, fun time! Love each of you very much and so thankful for you coming.

Also, Happy Birthday Ryan!! Having so much fun celebrating the gift of your special life!

Keys Wedding

2011-05-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

One of Ryan's friends from college, Brooks, got married last weekend. Brooks was in our wedding and has been a good friend to Ryan through the years. He actually lives close to us now in Anderson. Brooks got engaged a couple of months ago to Lindsay.

We went to the wedding with our friends, Andrew and Kelsey. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was gorgeous too and so so much fun.

Ryan posing with our present :)

Andrew and Kelsey

Bokes and me

The couple with the cake....isn't it a bummer I couldn't really get a good picture of them? I always feel awkward at weddings to take pictures when they already have a photographer so I just had to take these two pics from afar...

Sweet one of them smooching

Brooks and Ryan

The reception was at Brooks's parents' backyard...so beautiful!!

Andrew and Ryan

Me and Kelsey

Congrats, Brooks and Lindsay!!!!

Mothers

2011-05-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Mothers are such a special gift. My mom came to visit me one day last week and just seeing her made me feel like it would all be okay. My mom has taught me about life, the Lord, heartache, courage, bravery, strength in the face of adversity and how to keep my head up when life gets tough. I am so thankful for a mother who loves the Lord first and foremost and then her family.

Even in the midst of a hard season in life right now, I am able to see how much the Lord has blessed me. I have a wonderful mama, grandmother and mother-in-law and grandmothers-in-law. Blessing upon blessing. All there to teach and encourage and love.

I am amazed at God's plan in providing mothers for us...they represent His love for us and give us an earthly representation of His fierce love for His children. They raise us and give us a strong place to stand. They help prepare us for life and surround us with love.

Praying we would all give our moms a special recognition for all they do for us on Mother's Day this year!

Mama with all the children

My sister and sister-in-law who are both such wonderful moms

All my aunts, grandmother and mama

Aunt Meri, Mama Scott and Mama

Ms. Cindy with all her girls

Ms. Cindy with all her boys

Mama and me

Ms. Cindy, Mr. Mike and me

All mama's girls

Grandmama, Ryan's aunts and Ms. Cindy

Another one of Ms. Cindy and her girls

Love each of you so very much!!!!

Easter

2011-05-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Only one week late.....

On Saturday, the girls met Brittany at Bella Bridesmaid to try on some dresses. It was so much fun to start making some plans for their big day coming up soon. I obviously cannot show any pictures of the dresses, but here is one of all of us...

Saturday night, we had a cookout with 2 other couples here in G-ville. It was such a fun time with all of us being together.

On Easter Sunday, Ryan and I woke up and met our friend Amber at the early service at Grace Church. It was fun to wake up and the first thing we did was worship. Such a sweet day of picturing Christ's sacrifice and resurrection. Also had a great picture of what the worship in heaven must be like on Easter and pictured my sweet Daddy Scott there amongst the crowd, singing loud and proud.

After church, we went over to Ryan's parents for lunch. We had a great meal and fun spending time with everyone. It was such a beautiful day!!

Ryan and Cory

Cute little Amber

Ryan and me

Crazy dog

Ryan was basically wrestling Scout to wash him and brush him

Cindy, Elaine and Ashley

David, Grandmama and Granddaddy

Everyone hanging out

Steven, Ryan and Cory

Love this one of the parents and all the girls...

Me, Ash and Amber

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Good Friday

2011-04-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

I am sitting here at my dining room table looking out at the rain and reflecting on all today means for us. More than Christmas or Easter Sunday, this is the day we reflect on the death of Our Savior. This is the day we reflect on what has been accomplished so that we could have salvation. Our precious Lord and Savior came to this earth to die for you and for me. He came to die. In His death, we have life. In His death, He took all of our sin on His shoulders and became the perfect sacrifice. Jesus felt forsaken, alone, confused, desperate for any other plan that may be able to work. Even in the midst of all those emotions, His love for us prevailed. He endured the scorn and the shame and being forsaken by His Father for our sakes.

At church last Sunday, Bill (one of our pastors) was saying that Jesus is more willing to die for us than we are willing to accept his offering. We do not want the deliverance He offers and we enlist Him in our own plans to accomplish what we may be wanting. I pray this is not true of us today? Would we just bask in the glory of his cross today? Would we think on His death and His sacrifice? One of my favorite verses in all Scripture is Romans 5:6-9:

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person- though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God."

Remember that Christ died for us in the midst of our dirty, rotten sin. He did not die for the righteous, but sinners. He did not come to save the healthy, but the sick. We do not have to be perfect to come to Jesus, He came for us in the midst of our imperfection.

Christ loves you. Remember that this Good Friday. All He did was for you and for me. He died so that we could live and be saved. Jesus is yearning for us to come to him, draw near to him and live in Him.

My challenge today for myself and for each of you is to think about our sin and weakness. Christ came to save us from God's wrath and also to save us from our own selves. Jesus has died to give you life. Won't you worship and draw near to Him today?

Down South

2011-04-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

After the fun beginning to our weekend, we ended up in Manning to finish it up. It was good to be back home and we got to spend some great time with my mom, stepdad, grandmother, sister and all her family, countless cousins and aunts and uncles :). I love that I am from a place where you can see your entire extended family in one fail swoop (is that the way that saying is spelled? never tried to spell it before).

I had really been wanting to see Daddy Scott's grave after the funeral to spend some time. So, my mom took me out to the graveyard and we spent some time there. My uncle had planted a cherry and dogwood tree at the grave that morning and it looked beautiful. We also went around to look at some other relatives' graves, including my great-grandmother whom I am named after. Here are some pictures....

Then, we headed out to the pond house to eat dinner with the family. We grilled out and all the family came. Ryan caught fish and was letting all my nieces and nephew check them out. Then, Big Ken showed up with a turkey he had killed. He decided to clean it out at the pond house and then even dissected the heart for all the kids to see. My nieces ended up bagging up the heart to take to school for show and tell since they were studying the heart in science class....pretty gruesome, I know! I was getting so cracked at how "countrified" the entire weekend was....as much as I forget sometimes, I really am a country girl!!!

I couldn't remember if I had put any pictures of the finished pond house on the blog..so here they are. Isn't it great?!!!

Sweet Davis posing for his "Aunt B"

My granddaddy's peach trees...blooming!!

Davis in the peach trees

Eadon, Ragin, Anna, Davis & friends on the dock

Crazy faces :)

Mom and Liz

Ryan trying to catch "the big one"

Elizabeth relaxing on the porch

Tripp

Dead turkey

The cleaning process

Turkey with heart.....

Heart after Big Ken had cut it open to show kid's the chambers....does this gross you out??

Ryan and a fish he caught

Meri, Liz, Mama Scott and Mom

Liz and Tripp

Harvin and Mama Scott

Sisters

My bukes and me

It was such a wonderful weekend. Now, a week later, I am still loving the memories!!!

BBQ Shower for Becca and Craig

2011-04-13T19:20:00.001-07:00

After meeting Augusta Daye, Ryan and I headed to Sumter, SC for a wedding shower for Becca and Craig. Becca is one of my sweet "grannie" friends and she got engaged to Craig a few months ago. I am sure you may remember this cute duo from posts when we lived in Charleston. It has been a while since we have seen them, so it was amazing to see them and celebrate their engagement this weekend. Their wedding will be here in almost a month....hard to believe!!

The setting for the shower was beautiful. It was a perfect night with sweet friends. I was so excited to also get some time with another great friend, Hanna, who I didn't even know would be there. We had a blast. Craig's dad, Vic, ended up taking my camera from me because he forgot his and took an enormous amount of "candid" shots. I got so cracked up because at one point he looked at me and said, "This is the biggest roll of film I have ever seen." (keep in mind my camera is digital :)) So many laughs and good memories made. Here are some photos, mostly taken by me ;) , from the night.....

Beccs and me

Hanna, Becca and me

(One of Mr. Vic's pictures had to be featured...)

Here is the "photographer" himself on the right with Mr. Rivers

Couples!!

Mr. Vic wanted a picture of our cowboy boots :)

Beccs with her two dads (father-in-law, Vic, on left and her daddy, Buddy, on right)

So sweet....Beccs and Buddy

Opening gifts....they really love this one....

Beautiful Haitian bowl the hosts and hostesses gave them

All the hosts and hostesses with Becca and Craig

It was an awesome night! Thanks for letting us be a part of your wedding celebrations, Becca and Craig! We love you!

After that day, we were pooped and headed back to Manning for the weekend.....another blog post to come.....

Introducing...........

2011-04-12T19:17:00.000-07:00

BABY BUKES!!!

Her real life name is Augusta Daye Stanfill and she is the cutest little thing ever! Augusta Daye was born last Thursday, April 7th and she weighed 7lbs 7oz and was healthy as can be. Sally and Taylor are doing great and getting adjusted to life as parents. Ryan and I could not wait to meet the little one so we just had to make the trip to the hospital to visit the Stanfills plus the new addition! I can't wait to share the pictures.....

Here is the sweet Stanfill family with baby Augusta Daye!

Here is daddy Taylor with baby girl

Taylor handed sweet Augusta Daye to me and then I just got to hold her. She is the most beautiful princess and I was soaking up every minute I got to hold her.....it was so precious to see what a glorious miracle the Lord had blessed Sally and Taylor with and such a sweet picutre to be a part of...

I love the little sweet pea!

The Reeses with the smallest best friend we have ever had

How sweet is this??!!! And Taylor is the best at swaddling!

Ryan and Tay with baby

Congratulations, Sally and Taylor! We are honored to have met baby Augusta Daye and we cannot wait to spend more precious moments with her. We love y'all!!!

Samson & Scout

2011-03-31T08:47:00.000-07:00

Our sweet friends, Holly and Ben, from Charleston were in town a couple of weekends ago. Holly's parents live in Greenville and they stopped into visit while they were in town. We miss all our Charleston friends so much, and it was a sweet treat to get a few minutes with them. Well, of course Scout misses his buddies from Charleston too, so Holly and Ben brought Scout's ole' buddy Samson along for the trip. I am so relieved to say that nothing broke at all during the reunion of Scout and Samson- a small miracle for sure.

Scout and Samson hung out while the grown-ups went out to lunch. It was so great to hear all that is going on in each other's lives and give each other a little encouragement and support. God is so good. We then came back to the apartment and took the dogs on a walk. Then, it was time for them to hit the road. It was a short trip, but a great one. Thanks for the visit, Holly and Ben. Hope to see you again really soon....we miss you and love you!!!! Scout says to please tell Samson he wishes they could drink some water from the same bowl really soon :)

Scout and Samson trying to obey for a treat....

Of course Scout gets way over-excited about it...

Holly and me

Ryan and Ben

So exhausted after walking and playing

Some articles about my sweet granddaddy

2011-03-23T18:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.clarendoncitizen.com/article/memorium-1

http://www.clarendoncitizen.com/article/scott-harmon-jackson-sr

Precious

2011-03-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I use this blog as a journal of sorts...I hope that is okay with all of you and I apologize if you feel I reveal too much at times. But, it is a source of therapy for me sometimes to get on and type out my feelings and what is going on in my heart and life.

I have discussed my sweet "Daddy Scott" at length lately, I know. However, this morning, he went on to be with the Lord. He had a terrible time at the end of his life struggling to fight against lung cancer that was trying to take over. He fought hard and courageously, but in the end he was just ready to give up and "go home".

It is incredibly sad to think of life without him in it. I think back on all the lessons he has taught me through the years and they are almost too numerous to count. One of my favorite memories of him is him pulling up my driveway in Manning in his pick=up truck coming to get me for church. My mom was working nights on the weekends when I was little, but he always made sure that I did not miss a single Sunday at church. I am so thankful that I had him as a grandfather. He was a man who really know how to love others and love them well. He gave everything he had to other people just because he knew that was the right thing to do. He adored his family and never missed an opportunity to tell us how much he loved us. I have never met another person with a heart as big as him.

Above all else, he loved the Lord. I never knew his story of how he came to know Christ...I wish so much now that I had asked him. But, even in his last days, he would read you a few verses that had meant a lot to him that he had been reading. The aroma of Christ surrounded him and it was so neat to see.

I was thinking of this verse when I heard the news today from Psalm 116:15 that says, "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." During the service at church this morning, a peace settled over me because I knew that my granddaddy's death was truly pleasing to the Lord. Daddy Scott trusted in Christ, lived in His grace and died with the hope of heaven in His heart. What more could the Lord want from someone's life? I know heaven is rejoicing this moment that another faithful servant has joined their midst to worship God Almighty face-to-face.

So, although I grieve today, I am thankful for the picture of heaven that his death gives me in life. So grateful that this life is not the end and eternity and heaven awaits. Praise the Lord!

Hall of Fame

2011-03-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am so upset that I forgot my camera last weekend when I traveled back to Manning. My grandfather was inducted, along with 10 other men, into the inaugural class of the Clarendon County Hall of Fame. You may have read the article I posted a couple of months ago about his time at Clemson and this honor that the town of Manning decided to grant him.

We went to Manning this weekend for the banquet. My grandfather has lung cancer and his health is truly failing. It has been very sad to watch, mostly because this illness has confined him to the bedroom and he has always been such a go-getter. Even though I know he was feeling awful, he managed to get dressed and ready and made it to the banquet. He is extremely short of breath, but was still able to speak and thank the Lord and his family for all they have done to help him on his path to date. It was inspiring to watch.

I was reading some articles about this weekend that were featured in my home paper online. I found this excerpt about Daddy Scott and I thought I would share it....

The Clarendon County Athletic Hall of Fame now officially has its inaugural class of inductees.

The first class was inducted Saturday evening at a banquet held at Manning Junior High School.

More than 650 people from all around the country saw 11 men of different sports and backgrounds accept their place into the Hall of Fame.

“I don’t think it could have been any better,” said HOF board member Bill Brewer. “We had a great crowd of people. Everybody was very interested in listening to what people had to say. Those guys weren’t just great athletes or great coaches, they were good people.”

A dear friend, family member or teammate introduced each inductee.

They talked about their inductee and often embarrassed them or told secrets but in the end, it was all part of an ever-lasting honor.

The athletes, one-by-one, talked about their careers.

Some speeches brought tears while others brought cheers and laughter.

“All the inductees and their presenters did a great job,” Brewer said. “It went over about as good as it could go. I felt it would be a night like that.”

Every single member put God and their family first.

They spoke of how they had to sometimes depend on faith and family support to drive them to the end.

“What was the most impressive thing about all of them was none of them talked about ‘I’.” Brewer said. “It was about everybody else that helped them. They knew whatever they earned or obtained, they got it from the man above and people around them.”

The first inductee was Scott Jackson. Jackson’s health is failing; however, his fighting spirit and attitude allowed him to be present with his fellow inductees.

Jackson talked about how his family allowed him to leave the small town of Manning and succeed with all the other big boys and urged today’s youth to keep fighting for what they want in life.

“You play from your heart and not from your feet,” he said. “You can have it one way or the other. With the Lord beside you, you can make it. Young people, stay straight and don’t get on the wrong path. Find people who care about you. Do what you need to do the way it needs to be done.”

Brewer said Jackson’s performance was heartfelt and touching.

Not feeling well and still finding a way to come out and accept his award, he said, was very commendable.

“I was proud of Scott Jackson,” said Brewer. “You could see how tough it was for him to speak when he wasn’t feeling well. He kept coming back and that’s the type of fellow he is. For him to speak and get his message across, that’s as good as it gets.”

I was just really proud of my granddad and proud of the man he is. I really did enjoy the Hall of Fame because it truly was all about putting God first and what He can accomplish. Thanks for bearing with me as I brag on my granddad!!

Engagement Party for Matt and Britt

2011-03-11T11:25:00.000-08:00

While Matt was home, some of Britt's friends from Greenwood threw Britt and Matt an engagement shower. It was so much fun! I think Matt and Brittany had a great time and it was so fun for the families and friends to all get together to celebrate them. So many people were there just to shower these two love-birds. We had such a great time.

Here are the two mothers...Ms. Flowe and Ms. Cindy...don't they look so pretty?!

Aunt Elaine and Aunt Carol

Grandaddy and Grandmama

Heather with Grammy and Pop

Britt and Matt with Brittany's family

Brittany with her sister, Anna Bryce

Brittany with Ms. Cindy

Cory and Ashley

The Reese girls

So...at the party I was talking with Brittany's sweet Nana. Here is a picture of Britt and Nana:

While I was talking with her, I found out she is a major blog-follower. She reads our family blog...which is so sweet. So here is a shout-out to sweet Nana!!

Also, spent some time with my other blog-friend, Kathryn and her hubby Caleb. They were freshly back from a trip to Hawaii....awesome, huh? Anyway, I love these two and we have so much fun hanging out with them. So, of course, we took the opportunity for a photo-op...

Here are some more Reese family pics from the shower:

Me and my sweet hubby:

Of course, Ryan cannot take too many serious pictures...

It was a great party and we are so honored to be a party of Brittany and Matts' wedding. We love you guys!!!

Grannie's Weekend

2011-03-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

I love my Grannies roomies so much. I am sure if you have been following the blog, you know about my sweet roomies from college. We decided we needed a get-together since we hadn't had an all-girls weekend since college. With babies and weddings upcoming (Sally and Becca), we decided we needed to get it done. Well, it was last weekend and it was the BEST EVER!!!

I will always be thankful to the Lord for allowing me to be in fellowship and friendship with these awesome women. It was an amazing blessing to see how much God had grown each one of us in the past few years and how our stages of life have changed. There is something so special about relationships that you know in your heart will stand the test of time. I loved that we hadn't all seen each other in a while but we took up right where we left off......mmmm..such sweet time!

They got here to Greenville on Friday. We spent some time together and then Ryan and I went to an engagement party for Matt and Britt (post to come later). So, I didn't get to spend too much time with the girls on Friday, but they went out to eat and chatted......they were too sweet and only allowed "surface level talk" about movies and books until I was back home!

Here are some pictures from Friday afternoon....

Hols and Beccs....they are actually bringing in the bridesmaids dresses for Becca's wedding that will be here in May...they are soooo beautiful!!

Cute pregnant Sally

All four of us...this was a timed picture..can you tell??

Beautiful friends

Saturday morning, we went to Panera like we used to do in our college days. In college, we would go to Panera and sit for hours talking, so we recreated that moment Saturday morning. Holland and Becca were so annoyed because we left my apartment around 7:30 that morning.....they were trying to tell us Panera wasn't open that early.

After Panera, we went shopping for Becca for some engagement/wedding outfits. She had some luck and tried on some beautiful things. Then, we went and shopped for Sally for some pregnancy clothes for a shower she has coming up. She found such a cute dress!! While in the store, we had to try on the pregnancy bellies for a while...we are really weird but it was so fun.

Holland taking the opportunity to relax while Beccs shopped

Beccs in a cute dress...she didn't get it though (let me know if you want me to go back and get it for you after you see this picture, Becca!!)

This was Sally while shopping and for some reason, the outfit was just really cracking us up....she is just the cutest pregnant woman ever!!

Fake pregnancy...I am carrying really high in this one...

Can you tell who is really pregnant??

Sunday, we had time of talking and prayer. The entire weekend was such a wonderful time!!! I loved every second of it. Thanks, Grannies, for being such special friends to me....I love you each so very much....you are all unique abcesses in my heart (inside joke for the Grans)!

Matt's Home!

2011-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

Ryan's brother, Matt, has been serving our country in Iraq for the past 6 months. He has been working so hard and doing such a great job. He began his 2 week leave and came home to Greenville on Sunday. Everyone is so glad to see him. Britt and Matt are planning a wedding, so they have enjoyed being together and making some plans and all the rest of the family has enjoyed catching up with him. Yesterday, we all went out for lunch at our favorite spot, Brick Street Cafe. Then, the brothers + Britt went to play some golf. Last night, we went out for Mexican. It was so much fun.

Matt and Britt

Cory and Ashley

Mike and Cindy

Matt and his two biggest fans

Ryan and me

The girls

Showing off our letter necklaces....Britt started the trend

All the guys

Boys being silly...Ryan trying to show off his bicep

Cute one!!

We love you Matt and are so thankful you are home!!!! Thanks for all you are doing to make our country a better place!!!

Sweet Valentine

2011-02-21T07:26:00.000-08:00

I have never been a big participant in Valentine's Day. I like the concept of it...you know celebrating your love and everything...but it has never been a huge deal to me. I have enjoyed celebrating it with my hubby though. This year, I was working Valentine's, but my sweet husband had made our house a restaurant, complete with romantic lighting, great food and bread shaped like hearts. It was so incredibly sweet of him. I was so surprised too! It made me feel so special. Here are some pictures I managed to get of the big date night in......

The romantic dining room table set-up

Ryan cheesing from all his hard work

Valentines

Beautiful card and earrings from Ryan

Beautiful flowers Ryan bought for me

Scout was totally over Valentine's Day

My two men

Ryan testing the pork tenderloin

Scout....how cute!!

My buddy and me

Scout got a Valentine's kiss on the forehead

The heart toast I was telling you about..

Such a great night...Love you, Ryan!

Also, we got this card from my nephew that he made at school for us. So sweet. If you can't read it, it says, "I love my uncle and my aunt."

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day too!!!

Challenge

2011-02-16T07:45:00.000-08:00

Don't know if I told you guys, but Ryan and I are in a community group now. We love it....love the people, love the teaching, love the fellowship. One of the girls in the group is reading the book, "Calm My Anxious Heart". I haven't read the book, but after hearing her talk about it, I definitely want to. She shared a quote from the book that has really been something to think on and challenge yourself with. Just the basic premise of living in the moment God has you in during this specific time in your life. I thought some of you may be in similar places and could use this challenge as well....

Never allow yourself to complain about anything--not even the weather.

Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

Never compare your lot with another's.

Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

Never dwell on tomorrow--remember that (tomorrow) is God's, not ours

Quite a challenge for sure....much easier to say than to do. But, I wonder how much God could change us if we truly did wait for Him to come through and TRUST IN HIM!!! God really is good and wants the best for His children. I don't know why it is so tough to truly believe that sometimes, but it is. Let's all be encouraged today that God is in control, He wants good for us and we can trust Him and wait for Him.

I am going to take this challenge one day at a time...today seems like as good a day as any......

Some fun with the girls....

2011-02-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

My mom called about a month ago and told me she was attempting to organize a women of the family beach weekend. We all were able to work out a time to go and this weekend was the weekend. My mom, sister, sister-in-law, brother's girlfriend, two aunts and one of my aunt's best friends all met up at the beach on Friday. The main point of the weekend was for each one of us to discover something about our lives that we want to change or point out a circumstance in our lives that we wish were different. We spent a lot of time looking at God's word and discussing God's power and the power of faith in prayer. It was cool reading Scripture that reminds us that we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us and no thing is impossible with God. It was such a sweet time of fellowship with women that I am blessed to call my family. Of course, we had some laughs too. In fact, I laughed so much my cheeks are sore today. It was truly a special weekend. Here are some pictures......

Friday night we ate dinner at an awesome new pizza place that just opened near the beach house---delicious. Then we had some bible study and watched the movie "You again". It was a great start to the weekend.

Kayla, my brother's girlfriend

My aunt, Meri and her best friend, Caroline

The two Angies

My sis and me

We were showing my mom and Meri and Caroline some people that they knew on Facebook that they hadn't seen in a long time. They basically took over the IPad and were trying to figure out how to use it...these pictures crack me up...

Saturday morning, I got a run in and most people still weren't up when I got back after 10 in the morning! Everyone woke up and we ate breakfast. Then, Angie and I went on a walk. We were having such great conversation, we didn't get back to the beach house for 2 1/2 hours and had walked the entire beach almost. We hung out, then went to some shops.

The weather was pretty nice, but not warm enough to lay out on the beach. I actually caught my aunt doing this on the back porch trying to soak up the sun....

My sister-in-law, Angie, lives in Chicago now and they have over 3 feet of snow on the ground and at times, don't see the sun for days at a time. So, after Angie saw Meri basking in the sun, she decided she would do it too...

Liz putting up the new TV we got my parents for Christmas

Angie checking out Facebook....

After we got showered, we went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Franks. The dinner and conversation was perfect. We got home, had more bible study and didn't stop talking until 2: 30 am!!!

Angie, Liz and Kayla before dinner...

Meri, Caroline and Mom

Meri and Caroline posing...

Rosy and me

Jackson sisters

All Mama's girls

Liz and I trying to look like models..

Obviously, that wasn't the career meant for us

All of us..I love this one!

Angie and me

Liz and me

Angie and Kayla

Meri and Rosy

After dinner....of course, we got the waiter to take a picture for us....but, we didn't realize Meri was in the bathroom

It was such a great and much needed time with the girls of the family. I am so thankful we were able to do it!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Showering Baby Bukes

2011-02-02T15:18:00.000-08:00

My sweet friend, Sally, is having a baby. I am sure you remember me talking about it before on our Grannie's weekend. Sal has been a very special friend to me since we met in college almost 7 years ago. She brings me encouragement, support and is such a prayer warrior. I can't wait to see what a wonderful mother she is. I am so excited for she and Taylor to raise a daughter!!! It is going to be a joy to watch!

Sal calls her baby "Baby Bukes". The story of where Bukes came from is very long and maybe we will get to that another time, but that is what they call the baby girl that is on the way.

I was invited to a shower for Sally this past weekend in Atlanta. Ryan and I went up Saturday to spend some time with the Stanfills before the shower Sunday. We had such a great time. We spent some time with their friends in Atlanta and Sal and I shopped for a dress for her to wear to the shower....just a good time of peaceful fellowship.

The shower Sunday was ADORABLE!! Sal's friends that were hosting the shower had thought of everything. They had beautiful pink roses, candy shaped like pacifiers, delicious pink cupcakes, baby pictures of Sal, and even a onsie-making station. It was the cutest thing ever.

Here are some pictures from the shower and weekend....

Sally and I before the shower....sun was so bright....

Sal, Baby Bukes and me

Sweetest little cupcakes ever

Beautiful pink roses

Stanfill women at the shower

Congrats Sal!! So excited for the baby girl to get here!!!

Scripture Memory

2011-01-19T14:15:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I love love love Beth Moore. I love following her blog and I love how she helps me understand the Bible. She is all about some scripture memory, which is something that I want to be all about as well. On her blog for the new year, she has helped start a system to help us memorize 2 scriptures per month. You are supposed to get a notebook and write a scripture down on the first and fifteenth of the month to think on and memorize for the month. Another great addition that she has added is a "notebook" for scripture memory for the IPad or IPhone. If you have one of those devices, check out her blog here:

http://blog.lproof.org/2011/01/a-siesta-hello-and-a-happy-smt-update.html

There you can download the app and watch the video tutorial for how to add your scriptures and start memorizing. I have started the process a little late...just downloaded the app, though, and late is better than never :) So here is my first verse for the month of January,

1 John 3:18-20
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything."

I want to memorize and think of this verse to remember to love people with my actions. So many patients and people I come into contact with daily need a dose of true, real, Godly love and I want to love them with God's love that flows from Him. I hope that by memorizing this verse, those thoughts will stay near my heart and I will love others well. Also, such a great reminder in this verse that the Lord is much bigger than my thoughts and fears and He knows them all....such a peaceful and awesome truth.

If you want to join the fun, post your memory verse here, or write it down somewhere and start the process of memorizing Scripture with me!!!

Couldn't Be Prouder

2011-01-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

I have talked about my sweet granddaddy before on my blog. He has been a wonderful influence in my life. He was diagnosed about a year ago with lung cancer, which has really taken a toll on him lately. It makes me so sad to see him not able to experience life to the fullest like he always has before. My sister, Elizabeth, pointed me to this article in my home paper about him that came out this week...

Check it out here: http://clarendoncitizen.com/article/scott-jackson.

I am so proud to be his granddaughter. He has taught me the value of hard work, honesty, perseverance and just being a good person. He has taught me about the Lord, the importance of family and the way to truly love others by giving what you have to give.

Just wanted to feature him today on my blog to tell the cyber world how proud I am of "Daddy Scott"!!

Update

2011-01-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since I posted last and thought you may need an update. I have been sick with a nasty flu-bronchitis combo. It is the sickest I have been in a long time.....slept on the couch for 3 days straight and had fever. I couldn't remember if I had ever had fever in my entire life before then!! I am on medicine and feeling a little better, but still not 100%.

Ryan was the best during my sickness. He was such the knight in shining armor. He was tending to my needs, cleaning up after me and brushing my hair back from my forehead. My love grew so much in those moments watching him care for me so much. It made my heart happy while my body was sick. I told him I was so sorry for having to put up with all of it and he responded with, "In sickness and in health". I know...cheesy, but so sweet and kind at the same time. And, of course, now he is sick!

It is a huge snowstorm here, so Scout and I have been inside the last few days trying to brave the storm. Ryan actually had to work in Charleston and is supposed to be returning home tonight. Please pray for safety! The Reeses graciously allowed me to stay with them until today, which was great for rest and safety from the storm.

Scout is a year old now....can you believe it? He is growing and growing, but still loves to cuddle up in your lap. We love him so much...he is hilarious and gives us lots of laughs!!

Scout chillin' on the Reese's kitchen floor

Our little fam..Scout has his eyes closed in this one

Scout and me

Can you believe how much he has grown from this picture when he was a little pup??!!

We are still getting settled here in Greenville. Working on joining a community group at church which should begin next week and building relationships with other people. It is a process that requires patience and trust that the Lord will provide exactly what we need when we need it. Ryan and I are still working at the same jobs and doing okay. It is a pretty good season of life.

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the beginning of the New Year!

Chick-fil-a Bowl Ringin' in the New Year!

2011-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Ryan was given tickets to the Chick-fil-a bowl for Christmas by my parents. The game was at the Georgia Dome yesterday, New Year's Eve, and featured the South Carolina Gamecocks versus the Florida State Seminoles. The game was a bust because our best player got hurt and we lost, but we still had a fun adventure.

We stayed in Decatur, Georgia which was a little north of Atlanta. We took the Marta, which actually dropped us off right at the stadium. There were tons of other fans riding the trains with us.

The Georgia Dome is pretty awesome....here are some pictures....

Ryan cheering on the Gamecocks!

Before the game started, they released all of these parachutes with Chick-fil-a coupons attached and they floated down to the seats. We didn't get one, but it looked awesome.

Gamecocks about to run out at the start of the game

I loved this cow and his blimp that was riding around the stadium

Ryan and I in our garnet supporting Carolina

Our free stuffed cow fell over in Ryan's drink

My stepdad and little brother were there too...they were staying somewhere different and met us at the game. This is Ken watching the game.

After the game, we got back on the Marta bus to take us to the hotel. The Marta was crazy. All the fans from the game were pushing each other onto the bus, and we could hardly even breathe once we got onto the train. I had a mild panic attack, but we made it all the way back safely. We got back to watch the ball drop and ring in the New Year at about 11:58. It was fun!!

So now, we are working on our resolutions and goals for the next year. Wishing all of you great blessing in 2011. What are some of your goals/resolutions?