My very first attempt at keeping something green alive...

I have been planning all winter and spring to grow herbs. I am so excited about the possibility of just walking out the back door and picking fresh basil while cooking dinner. It sounded so easy. Now I am living in fear of over watering my little guys!

I found a few old terra-cotta pots at mom's house and decided to spruce them up a touch with some spray paint. I was inspired by my sweet friend Lisa and her pretty red painted pots on her front porch.

These are the plain looking, weathered, boring pots.

This is the dog, stuck behind the screened in door, who thinks she wants to come outside and become a blue spray painted puppy. These are shiny blue pots filled with herbs and lots of hope. (Hope that they survive overwatering, and lack of watering, and nibbling by a certain puppy who nearly escaped being spray painted blue.)

Mr. and Mrs. Cody Simoneaux!

Nicole and Cody's wedding weekend was such a blast! It was wonderful to have time to catch up friends and hang out with the Clemson Crew. Jay and I continue to feel blessed by how lucky we are to have so many wonderful friends from college that we remain close to. Here are just a few of the many fun, and quite hilarious pictures that happened to land on my camera from the weekend.
lookin nice and sweaty from lots of fun dancing :)
With my sweet groomsman!
My favorite picture from the whole weekend! Love their genuine smiles... and Nicole's BEAUTIFUL dress!

Cody is in heaven... only waited 435 days for this moment!

the spring green sage dresses went quite nicely with white tulips! Nicole has good taste :)

Some of the crazy fun from the rehersal dinner. Love these candid pictures of our clemson crew friends





The soon to be Katie Conley! (even though she had no idea at this moment Chris was planning to propose only 2 days later!) Very excited about our next clemson friends wedding!
I Love these two SO very much! Man, we are blessed to have had each other as roommates all the way through college. Almost every clemson memory includes Leigha and Nicole. There will definitely be many more memories to come.
I think arranged marriages for our children sounds about right ;)

Our Smart Girl

This is our sweet girl. She will randomly just go sit by the Clemson stone mom has in the back yard. She is so smart! I can almost hear Go Tigers when she barks :)
And she also continues her loyalty by chewing on a nasty, ugly, red chicken named gamecock. She has pretty good taste in my opinion.

Daddy's Girl.

I am a Daddy's girl. I always have been. And I had the BEST dad in the whole world for 24 years, 4 months and 12 days. It was a precious gift, and I am thankful and so blessed to have known that my Daddy loved his girl. I can't believe that it was a whole year ago when my sweet Daddy went to heaven. I can't believe the last time I heard him call me Katty was a whole year ago. I can't believe the last time I heard him laugh at Ben's silly jokes was a whole year ago. I can't believe the last time he gave me advice was a whole year ago. I miss him so much. I miss not sharing the adventures of our life with him. God has been faithful. He has provided grace in abundance. He has allowed joy to slowly weave its way back into our daily lives. And, He has allowed me to lean into the goodness of His promises. It is a choice to fall into the arms of my heavenly Father. A daily choice. When Satan tries to wrap himself around our family with his lies, I must choose to surround myself with God's presence. I must cling to the truth that I stood firm on before my life came crashing down around me on that Colorado mountain. The truth that God works all things for His purpose and glory. The truth that God is still in control and still good. And the simple truth that God loves His girl desperately. The truth that God's heart was broken for His children on that snowy, beautiful mountain top, the same mountain He formed with his own hands. And I choose to celebrate in the fact that God gave me a wonderful Daddy. He gave me a Daddy who wasn't afraid to show how much he loved his family. My Dad told me he was proud of me a lot. I was blessed, and I choose today to continue to believe I am blessed for having known him. I was blessed to dance with my Daddy when I was a little girl. And I was so blessed to dance with my Daddy on my wedding day.

And I will dance with my Daddy again one day in heaven. And my God speaks truth to my heart, and reminds me that I am still a Daddy's girl. I am His girl always and He loves us even when its hard to choose to believe His truths.

An Update on Chick-fil-A of Waynesboro!

Jay and I had our first marketing meeting in Waynesboro this past week. It was fun and a slight bit overwhelming. There is SO much to be done before July 15th when the fine people of our new hometown will help us open the doors to their very own Chick. We are just taking it a day at a time and enjoying all the decisions that we have worked so hard to have the privilege to make. We were shocked at all the changes that happened in the construction the last couple weeks. Our General Contractor or GC, if you're construction savvy (and clearly I am), Mike is the man. The walls and roof are up... the parking lot should be paved next week. Check out the photos of the updates:



Happy Mother's Day to everyone :)

Graduation: The End or The Beginning?

Jay just graduated from "Chick-fil-A School"! It was an awesome day spent with family and friends at the Chick home office in Atlanta. I love to celebrate people and rejoice with the ones I love over their accomplishments and victories. Just about anything in our home can be cause for a mini celebration. Life is wayyyy to short to not spend a heck of a lot of time rejoicing! So, you can imagine just how thrilled and celebratory we felt for Jay, my man, and his HUGE accomplishment. It marked the end of lots of unknown and lots of sacrifice, and lots of saying "who knows where we will end up or when we will end up there," and LOTS of praying.

While I let out a brief little sigh, and began thinking something about reaching the mountain top, Jay jolted me back to the reality with a question about the size of our employee break room, and another question about where we were going to hold some dinner. My sweet Lord spoke to my heart and said "hey girl, this is just the beginning. You have reason to celebrate, but you have not 'arrived'." Nope, and who the heck wants to "arrive"? Give me the adventure and the daily surprises any day.

We finally have answered the question of where Chick-fil-A is taking us, but we have simply begun another journey that will ultimately challenge us with a whole lot more praying, and some more sacrifice too. Praise Jesus for that fact, because I am thankful for the battles and victories that it took to get us to this point! And I am thankful that we can say it is definitely the beginning of our next adventure!

Here are a few more pictures from the weekend:


Just hanging out with good friend Truett...
Doesn't my mama look pretty! I loved her green dress :)

AND... we had the new SPICY Chick-fil-A sandwich. Its delicious and coming to a chick-fil-A near you June 7, 2010. Coming to Wanyesboro, Virginia in July :) Be excited... it will make you sweat.

Sweet & Spicy Peppers

I know full well that Bell Peppers are not in season quite yet, but this recipe is so dang delicious that I just had to share! Also its time for planting peppers in the garden, right? So thats close enough for me start looking for them to be on sale at the grocery store. Jay and I love spicy food, but if you don't then just hold off on the crushed red pepper. BUT if you do like spicy then I would suggest doubling the crushed red pepper in the recipe... you won't be sorry you did :)1 tsp Olive Oil
3/4 Cup Yellow Bell Pepper
3/4 Cup Orange Bell Pepper
Onion Chopped to taste (or onion flakes work well!)
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
3/4 Cup Plum Tomato, about 2 (seeded & chopped
Dash of Salt
1 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar
2 Tbl Fresh Basil (or 1 Tbl Dried Basil)

Heat Oil in medium pan over medium heat. Add peppers, onion, crushed red pepper, and garlic to pan. Cook 15 minutes until peppers are tender. Stir in tomato and salt. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 15 minutes or so. Stir occasionally. Add red wine vinegar and Basil. Allow to cook another 5 - 10 minutes.

We LOVE this recipe, and its veggies which my sweet husband isn't usually tricked into enjoying... But this will rock your taste buds I promise.

OH, and by the way I have made this with green or red bell peppers as well, just use what you have... you'll feel resourceful :)

Beach Bum Bella

Mom and I went to the beach for a week, and it was glorious! We read books, sat on the porch, went on lots of walks, cooked dinner every night, and most importantly, I wore t-shirts and sweatpants the whole time. No make-up or blow-drying of the hair. Every girl needs a few days of complete relaxation, especially with her mama! Before you get too jealous we did paint and clean... and I mean serious moving furniture kind of cleaning it was intense, and fun in "we've accomplished something" kind of way.

It was our Bella girl's first time to the beach, and she loved every minute of it. We would start out for a walk around the block, and she would pull us straight to the beach access. After her first day on the beach it was like a magnetic force drew her to the sand to run, and play, and dig. Now, Bella girl doesn't dig in yard or grandma would her furry little be-bop in the crate for the rest of her stay in G'boro. But, on the beach she dug, and dug, and dug some more. And we let her because its the beach, even us human people dig holes at the beach, and because she was so dang cute covered in sand.

She is a cutie for sure, and I am in love with those floppy ears. She is staying with grandmama this weekend, and I am probably going to require camera phone updates frequently (Lord help me when I have a human baby!)

Here are a few more of beach dog Bella. Happy almost weekend :)

A little life update.

Our life is moving at what feels like rapid speed! We're trying to enjoy every moment of the adventures God is blessing us with. Jay is in Atlanta, at Chick-fil-A corporate, in "operator school" until April 30th. I am very proud of all his hard work to reach this point in our Chick-fil-A journey. I am missing him like crazy but LOVING time at home with mom. God's timing is perfect for sure and its great to have a whole month with mom to take care of Bella girl, go to the beach, and take lots of fun day trips.

One of these little day trips was up to Waynesboro, VA to sign our lease on our townhouse. (Its a 3 bedroom, so we expect visitors!) It was mom's first trip to the new home, and it was fun doing a little exploring together. Of course we had to check out the Chick-fil-A. It isn't much but the footings are in the ground, and the bulldozers are moving dirt!

Oh, and I got a part time job in the Emergency Room at Augusta Medical Center. Its our county's Hospital up in Virginia and its only about 5 minutes from where we will be living. I am definitely looking forward to a short commute. I will be working about 20 hours a week (and plenty of other hours at the Chicken shack!) I'm excited about the fast paced ER and about getting back to blood and broken bones. I am a little anxious after having been away from the hospital setting for 7 months, but I am confident in Gods ability to provide abundant strength and wisdom for those 12 hour shifts again. :)

Easter, The UPS dress, and a Very Yummy Pound Cake!

I love Easter. It means spring, and flowers, and bright colors. But mostly I love celebrating my sweet Savior. His Love for us is seriously indescribable and life altering.

"Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; Sing all you who are upright in heart!" Psalm 32:11

For me Easter is a time to remember why we are able to rejoice all year long. We rejoice because of the cross. And we are glad because of the life that is found in Him. And we sing because he is the author of love. And we are upright in heart because we are allowed to wash our sins away in the blood of a perfect Savior. Thank you Jesus.

And I love celebrating Easter with Family. Especially my dear brother who has a wonderful sense of humor. Yes, Ben informed me as we were walking up the steps in church that if UPS drivers were forced to wear dresses they would in fact wear the exact dress that I currently had on. Then continued the joke with comments like "what has brown done for you" and "I have some packages in my car." All the while lots of nice church people are trying to walk up the stairs and forced to listen sweet Ben's encouraging comments. The poor brown dress is pictured below and you can decide for yourself. I personally would love to be a UPS driver if you were able to dress this cute ;)

Easter also means pound cake with strawberries! Mom and I made a very yummy buttermilk pound cake this Easter. It was simple, light, and a definite must try!
Combine in a Large Mixing Bowl:
1 cup Butter (2 Sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 Eggs
3 Cups Flour
1 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbs Vanilla
Bake @ 350 for 1 hour in a greased Fluted Pan
Glaze:
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Sugar
Boil for 5 minutes. Poke holes all over top of cake. Pour glaze over cake while still hot. Allow cake to cool completely then remove from pan. Enjoy with LOTS of strawberries! This is how Bella enjoyed her Easter... pulling mom's weeds out of the yard. She has yet to pull grass, so mom is enjoying it as well.