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 :)

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. 

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!

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

Chocolate Cake in Heaven?

I am pretty sure that if they have chocolate cake in heaven, my sweet daddy, who would be 62 today, is eating a huge piece with Jesus. I miss him, but I am so thankful for all the birthdays where I was the one who was blessed to be eating lots and lots of chocolate with my Daddy.

Psalm 100

Is it really the 2nd day of December? Where did Fall go? I am so excited for the Christmas season. I am loving turning on our gas logs every night, and enjoying drinking apple cider, and am thrilled to pull out the holiday decorations! I will have to post a few Christmas decoration photos soon, but first I need to share the last of my Fall pictures. Jay and I got to spend a little time exploring our new home, and let me tell you there were some beautiful Fall colors here in waynesboro!
"Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with Joyful songs."
"Know that the Lord is God. It is He who mad us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture."
"Enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name."
"For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His Faithfulness continues through all generations." -psalm 100

a really yummy fresh apple cake & easy homemade icing

I'm still on an apple kick. They're just so stinkin delicious :)

I found this recipe in Southern Living and loved the way it turned out! Super easy as well...

Fresh Apple Cake
2 Cups Chopped Pecans
1/2 Cup Butter, Melted
2 Cups Sugar
2 Large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 cups all-purpose Flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Baking Soda
4 Large Granny Smith Apples

Preheat oven to 350 and bake Pecans in a single layer for 5 - 7 min or until lightly toasted & fragrant. Stir together butter, sugar, eggs, & vanilla until blended. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, & salt. Add to butter mixture, stirring until blended. Peel & chop apples into1/4 inch-thick wedges. Stir in apples & 1 1/4 cup pecans. Batter will be very thick. Spread into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan, and bake @ 350 for 45 min. Cool completely before covering w/ Browned-Butter Frosting & remaining pecans.
I got a little excited about icing the cake and thought midway through i might should show you what the cake looked like plain, because it would be a wonderful without the icing as well!

Browned Butter Frosting
1 cup Butter
1 16oz package powdered sugar
1/4 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla

Cook Butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly for 6 - 8 minutes, or until butter begins to turn golden brown. Remove pan from heat & pour butter into a small bowl. Cover & chill 1 hour,or until butter begins to solidify. Beat Butter at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, alternating w/ milk (Beginning & ending with sugar. Beat Mixture at low speed until well blended after each addition. Stir in Vanilla.
The Final product!

Enjoy this beautiful Fall Monday.

A girls weekend in Boston with Mama!

Mom and I had a really fun girls weekend in Boston a few weeks ago. We made the trek north for Ben's game when Clemson played Boston College. Football has been the best excuse for traveling to lots of fun places over the past few years. I can't believe its all about to come to a close (only 2 more games for Benny!) Here are a few of the snapshots of our trip.....
We had BEAUTIFUL fall weather our first afternoon in Boston. Mom and I stayed in Cambridge and decided to walk along the Charles River to Harvard. There were rowers everywhere.... and I though of you Miss Sovik :)
Isn't my mama pretty? I think so!
One of the entrances into Harvard's campus. It was a gorgeous campus!
Sunset over the river... and a little experimenting with the lighting on my camera...
After our first afternoon the weather turned much, much more chilly, and we were thankful we had spent the warm afternoon outside
The Boston Skyline
Revolutionary War Ship: The USS Constitution, aka "Old Ironsides"
Paul Revere House.... they had 16 kiddos in there!?!!
Faneuil Hall
The Old State House, where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time
Home of The Boston Red Sox!
We ate Lunch at Cheers, where everyone knows your name
My sweet friend Courtney! Her brother plays for clemson too, and she and her family have been such an encouragement to mom and me over the past 2 football seasons.
Love that #78 ... offensive line praying together before the game
Mama and Benny and Me! I'm a lucky girl to have these two :)

off to winston salem this weekend for the 2nd to last Clemson Game for my #78!

Shutterfly Christmas Cards

Jay and I have sent out Christmas cards and a Christmas update letter both of our married years together, and I definitely plan to do it again this year. I love to receive holiday cards with photos and letters from our friends and family, and it is such a great way to keep in touch with people that you don't get to see very often. Plus, its always fun to get regular old snail mail :)

I saw on my sweet, and very talented friend Lisa's Blog that Shutterfly has their own Holiday Cards. They are so cute, and very convenient to simply design at home and order from your computer. I am a big fan of the flat photo cards found here:http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/flat-photo-cards .

Shutterfly also has great New years cards which is a unique and fun alternative to the original red and green Christmas card. They are found here:http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/new-years-cards/new-years-cards .

Another tradition I have started with my dear mama is giving her a calendar for Christmas each year full of photos of the past year. (I also always sneak a few in from way back in the day.) It is a great holiday gift that you can enjoy all year long. I really like Shutterfly's designs for their calendars found here:http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars .

I can't believe the holidays are right around the corner! If you are a blogger find out how you can get free holiday cards to show off your family :)

My Love for Apple Pie

I LOVE apple pie. I love all sweets, but hot, fresh, homemade apple pie is definitely one of my favorite things. Ever.

Its been a couple weeks now, but Jay and I spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon picking apples up at Carter Mountain Orchard near Charlottesville, VA. We had a much better, much safer experience compared to last year when mom & I were attacked by 20 some enraged hornets. That was a very painful, very swollen apple picking experience that involved me running through the orchard in my bra to escape the nasty swarm of apple tree loving hornets. Luckily for my arms' sake Jay and I simply enjoyed picking apples and eating apple cider doughnuts. My Apple Pie Recipe is super simple, very basic, and from my dear friend and college roommate nicole. I think the first time I made it was with her for one of our college Thanksgiving feasts. I was lucky enough to make it with my sweet friend Haley (who also shares a passion for cooking apples pies with me!) during our clemson friends lake weekend.

Nicole's Apple Pie:
2 Homemade pie crusts (or use the Pillsbury roll out crusts... they are very yummy, and save quite a bit of time.)
6 Apples (I use whatever apples I have on hand)
3/4 Cup of Sugar
Lots of Cinnamon to taste
5 - 7 tablespoons of Butter

Roll out Pie crust onto a greased round pie dish. Place peeled and sliced into wedges onto crust. Pour sugar over apples. Sprinkle a very liberal amount of cinnamon on top. Place squares of butter, spaced evenly, over apples and sugar. Cover with another pie crust. Sprinkle top with cinnamon & sugar mix. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, and then turn down to 350 degrees and cook an additional 45 minutes. Enjoy it by itself, or with vanilla ice cream, or heck, even for breakfast :)