Sunday, January 30, 2011

a party for miss katherine anne

This is my dear, dear, friend kate. Her real name is katherine, and when we were little we loved that we had the same "real name". It is one of the many things about us that is the same. One time, we tried to make a list of all the things we have in common, but we were too little and too easily distracted by dividing up Barbie doll clothes or some other important 10 year old task at the time. So one day I will have to blog about all our similarities :)
Aren't Kate and her sweet Mama beautiful!?
 Kate is marrying Jeff Lang in less than 2 months (yay) and we had such a wonderful girls afternoon celebrating miss katherine anne! Here are a few of the pictures from the shower...
Friends since we were 5 years old! Such a blessing to continue to celebrate life together. 
With our Mamas
Kate and her college roomie... how cute are they!?
They wore the same dress and it was a perfect kate dress :) She has such wonderful style. 
Kate's High School friends


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Thursday, January 27, 2011

a few notes to myself about snow

Tt snowed up here in Virginia yesterday, a whole stinkin lot. I was skeptical, or maybe just optimistic that it was going to pass by good old waynesboro, but I was wrong. 12 inches wrong. I know thats nothing compared to Boston or DC, but to me it was quite a bit.

I was in quite a predicament due the snow because I had to be a nurse in the ER this morning at 6:30 AM. So while I was shoveling a foot of snow off my driveway, borrowed snow shovel, at 8:30 at night, when it had finally stopped pouring snow, I made a little mental list of things about snow.

1. Buy my own dang snow shovel {instead of begging one off my neighbor down the street who I met for the first time last night}

2. That I picked the dead wrong profession for getting snow days.

3. Why can't people automatically not get sick when there is snow on the ground?

4. Never, ever, ever let my husband go out of town for the week to sunny Atlanta, with our only 4 wheel drive.

5. That I happened to be the only female out shoveling their snow last night {there were plenty of husbands and sons.... I was the only one representing the girls}

6. That my husband is going to think I am a beast when he gets home and sees our sparkly clean driveway, that I shoveled all by myself. {my neighbor offered to help but I finished our driveway before he did... hence I am a beast :) }



sorry for the bad photos but it was late, I was tired, and I simply had to quickly document my shoveling skills and figure out a way to get Bella back inside. To say she was loving the whole foot of snow craziness is putting it mildly. 

Happy snow day! 

... And for the record I made it to the ER in my little honda this morning :) 

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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A Photo Shoot with Miss B

oh man... come on now, why must you always use the flash!?
I'm getting angry. This seriously is not a way to spend my sunday... I might be persuaded with a treat?
Ok, fine... I'm looking right at you... are you satisfied? Now for that treat...
All these pictures are making me sleepy
I've been more than cooperative, maybe if I just pretend to ignore you, you'll stop....

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Sunday, January 23, 2011

a yummy oatmeal recipe from my mama

My mom sent me this delicious, easy, and healthy, baked oatmeal recipe a few weeks ago, and I wanted to share. Jay even has enjoyed it for breakfast a few mornings (despite the fact he initially thought it was a girly food) 

Baked Oatmeal
1 1/2 C. Old Fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 C. unsweetened almond milk
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C chopped dried apricots
1/4 C chopped dates or raisins
1/4 C chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 350. Put all ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Transfer to 8x8 baking dish that has been lightly rubbed w/ olive oil. Pour oatmeal mixture into the dish and bake 45-50 min. or until slightly browned and crispy on top.  Yield 6 servings (serving size 2 sq.) You can spread a little honey on each serving if you want. This recipe can be doubled and bake in a 9x13 casserole dish. 



I also think it would be really good to try with dried cherries, or golden raisins. 

Happy Sunday!

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Monday, January 17, 2011

The Big 27!

How cute is this little kiddo!?!!
His mama tells me he was a trouble maker from the very beginning. I am pretty sure he was singing Deep and Wide at the top of his lungs...
And then his mama says he would go and do something so precious like this...
He would stand on his parents bed and play preacher :) He was practicing for the next sunday in church when he would tug on his mama's dress, point to the preacher, and ask when it was his turn to speak... 
This little man is 27 years old today! 
And the odds of me having one just like him are pretty good :) 

I have been blessed to know my sweet husband for 7 years now! Time flies when your having fun... I am so thankful for the man that He is as a husband, a friend, and encourager, and a brother in Christ. Can't wait to see what God has for year 27!


I am one lucky woman to get to walk through life with this man :)




















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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

A Christmas Snowball Fight

Because South Carolina has once again had wayyy more snow that Virginia I thought I would reminisce and share some of our christmas pictures from the first snow South Carolina has had since 1963. It was also Bella's first big snow and to say she loved it, would be putting it mildly. She ran, and ran, and chased snowballs, and attacked people who threw snowballs, and ran some more. It was a beautiful snow, and it was a wonderful weekend spent with family!

LOVE my mother-in-law's face!


Leah & Jason
Lyndsey & Chris
my sweet in-laws!
me & my snowball making champ :)
our boys
my sistas & second mamas
our family. 


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Saturday, January 8, 2011

January 8, 2011

This is my dear friend Katie...

... and January 8, 2011 will be her anniversary! 

Today she is marrying Aaron and becoming Mrs. Katherine Ann Schultz! 

Katie, since I can't be with you at your wedding celebration today, I wanted to let you know that I love you, and am blessed to have you as a friend. You are going to be a beautiful bride and an even more gorgeous wife. Aaron is lucky to have you. Marriage is so different that anything else in this entire world, but it is so very rewarding. I know you, and I know you will step into this new phase of your life adventure with the same grace-filled confidence that you embrace each new step in your life with. 
 You have been such a huge encouragement to me throughout our friendship and I so badly wish I could be there to give you a big hug before you walk down the isle... but know that I am praying for you, and supporting you, and loving you all the way from virginia as you GET MARRIED!
 I know I have only been married for 2 years, and Jay and I have so, so, so much to learn, but I wanted to give you my very limited marriage advice...Celebrate the big stuff and let the little stuff go. Life is seriously wayyy too short to get upset about stuff you will not even remember in a month. Don't let the little annoying things turn into something huge. Instead spend the energy and time rejoicing in all the things you love about Aaron {cliche I know, but seriously spend more time celebrating your marriage}. Laugh a lot. Work together to accomplish your goals. God has given you each other to be each others biggest encouragers, so take advantage of living with your best friend :)

 Katie, thank you for being you! I am confident that God is going to do huge things through yours and Aaron's lives. I love you and can't wait to celebrate again with you in April.

HAPPY WEDDING DAY my sweet friend!


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Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Jesus Calling

Does anyone else read the Jesus Calling daily devotional by Sarah Young? It is totally rocking my world! Mom gave it to me for Christmas and each morning it has given me a short and sweet little paragraph that leaves me thinking, and speaking with God all day long. If you are unfamiliar, Sarah write each devotion as if Jesus is writing you a love letter or speaking directly to you. So when it says Me, Jesus is referring to Himself. The following little exert if from today. 
"True dependence is not simply asking Me(Jesus) to bless what you have decided to do. It is coming to Me with an open mind and heart, inviting Me to plant My desires within you. I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your reach. You know that in yourself you cannont achieve such a goal. Thus begins your journey to profound reliance on Me. This is not a path of continual success but of multiple failures, However, each failure is followed by a growth spurt, nourished by increased reliance on Me. Enjoy the blessedness of a victorious life, through deepening your dependence on Me." 
How encouraging is that? All Jesus asks is for an open mind and heart. He desires to work in us, and if we are still here on this earth then he has huge things to accomplish through our lives. We were not made for the mundane or the boring. We were created to dream huge dreams that ONLY can be realized when we allow Jesus to walk beside us {or carry us} through the journey He has destined us for. AND, on top of that, failure does not make us failures, it simply teaches us humility and dependence on God.

I don't know about you but as a woman, I sure need to let go of a lot more things and allow myself to depend a little more on God. It always turns out better than when I try to plan and schedule and organize and prioritize myself into a crazy comma.

If it is true that victory and blessing come from dependence on Jesus then please Lord continue teaching me dependence on You. Allow me to fail until I learn that nothing is worthwhile apart from You. 
"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all." - Psalm 34: 17-19

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