It Flies By...

The weekend that is: why doesn't seem to go by so fast!

A little update on what has been going on: I made it through the weekend. Patrick went to the coast so he could see his family, play golf with his dad, and especially see his Maw-Maw. I am glad that he got to go, but I sure did miss him. I had to work on Saturday. The event went really well, however, there weren't as many people there as we thought. 

I enjoyed a little down time. I missed being with Patrick and his family, but I'll admit sometimes a little quiet time is not bad. However, I was very glad to see him. My parents were out of town as well, so I took advantage of the down time. 

In other news, Amy's due date is Thursday... so that means that we are getting closer to meeting little man. I am not sure why I call him that, but I am sure there will be plenty of nicknames that we come up for him. I also like to call him sweet man. We are so excited to meet him. I can't wait to see who he looks like, and to watch him develop his personality. I know Adam and Amy are ready for him to be here. Praying for them as they begin this journey. 

Not too much else is going on here.. However, have I mentioned that I need a vacation! Yes, in the worst of ways. I think that I will get one soon though. I am looking forward to taking some time off to spend in Starkville with Adam, Amy, Cameron, and Albe. It will be so fun. I can hardly wait!!!! 

Hope you all have a good week. 

The Week in Review

I am thankful that the weekend is here. It has been a week though.. I had a program everyday this week except for today, and it was spent catching up on everything. Tuesday I was on the coast, and then spent the night and worked down there on Wednesday. And the real joy is I get to work tomorrow.

It's also been a hard week with the passing of Amy's grandfather. My heart just hurts for her and the Wade family. However, Papaw is in a much better place now. He is not suffering, and is rejoicing with the Lord. For that, we are thankful. I am praying for comfort and peace for the entire Wade family. I hope they feel His presence like never before.

And it looks like Cameron is getting ready to make his arrival. Nothing official yet, but it seems he is getting ready to come. We are so excited to meet him, but are hoping he can wait until after the funeral tomorrow. But, we know the Lord has a plan. However, I really hope that I can be there. I want to be there more than anything. I know that Adam and Amy understand, but you know me, I just want to help take care of everyone. I have a program on Monday, so a lot will just depend on what happens. I know it will workout. I just want to be there so bad! Say a prayer for them. The journey of parenthood is quickly approaching! Cant wait to meet you Cameron Charles. My heart is already filled with so much love for you.

StarkVegas

This past weekend Lori and I traveled to Starkville to see Adam, Amy, and of course Albe. I would say we kind of hoped Cameron would come while were there, but we also know that it is good for him to stay in a little bit longer. I am happy to report that Adam and Amy are officially ready for little man. Their house looks like it is ready for a baby. I am so excited for them. Now, they are just waiting, as we all are. This might be one of the hardest parts. Amy is just precious pregnant, however, I know she is looking forward to meeting her son and letting her body recover. I am sure all you moms can say an Amen to that! I am so proud of Adam and Amy. They have prepared and prayed over Cameron, and any day now they will meet him. Such a wonderful and exciting time. It was really great not to have any plans, but just to sit around and talk with them. I miss them already, and can't wait to be on my way back to my meet my nephew!

I also want to ask you to pray for Amy's papaw. Will you pray for wisdom, peace, and comfort. I know her, as well as her family would appreciate your prayers. And I also ask that for Patrick's Maw-Maw. We learned recently that she is not doing good, and they are in the process of trying to get everything worked out. As I am sure you can tell, I strongly believe in the power of prayer.

Well, work is keeping both Patrick and I busy lately. It's a busy time of the year. However, he finally convinced me to watch LOST.. and I have to admit I am totally addicted. We are almost through season 2. I can't wait to see what happens.

Hope you all have a great week!

And for your viewing pleasure: Here is a picture of Rotten Albe! He is so funny, in this picture he was begging for a walk!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIMI

I wanted to take this opportunity to wish my wonderful grandmother a very Happy Birthday!

(Her Birthday is tomorrow, but I wanted to make sure I got my post up. Since, I have a busy weekend planned, I thought I would go ahead and do it today.)

We hope that you have a wonderful day Mimi. You deserve it!

If you have never met our Mimi, you are missing out. She is a wonderful mother, grandmother, AND great-grandmother. She cares about every inch of you, she loves so much, and is just wonderful!!!

WE WISH YOU MANY MORE WONDERFUL YEARS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Mimi and Pops with all "their children"

Hey Jude!

Yesterday, I was able to go visit Jude Wallace. He is such a doll. Jessi and Jonathan welcomed sweet Jude into the world almost 6 weeks ago. I had been meaning for a few weeks to go by and see them. When I had the opportunity yesterday I jumped on it. Jessi looked great, and she is such a wonderful mom. Sweet Jude was so chill. He is one blessed little boy. I just loved watching him look around, and loving on him. Although, the puppies really enjoyed me being there as well. They were so funny! Seeing Jude makes me even more excited for little Cameron to get here. I CANNOT wait to love on him. And yes, ya'll will probably get tired of me talking about my nephew before he is even born! Oh well, what can I say... I'm a proud aunt!


Here is a picture of sweet Jude. Don't you want to just eat him up?

Breathe

Our church is doing a spring devotional called Breathe. We started it yesterday, Ash Wednesday. I have to admit many times I will start a devotional and not finish it. I know, not good. However, as I sat in church on Wednesday, I felt led to buy this book and do the devotionals along with the rest of the church. I am glad that I did. The devotionals are short, a page or less, but the depth is deep. One of the great things is that it challenges you to to focus on Breath Prayers.

Here is the definition taken from http://blogs.asburyseminary.edu/asbury-reader/

"Breath prayers for Reader: A breath prayer follows your breath, in and out, and can be carried with you throughout."

It is a simple prayer that can be carried with you throughout the day. It carries the practice of "praying without ceasing". I am doing my devotional at night, so my prayer for today is "Let my ears hear Your voice." This could not hold more truth for my own life. I strongly desire to hear the voice of the Lord as I walk this journey, and especially this season of my life. I hope that you will be encouraged to really hear the voice of the Lord this week.

Also, my wonderful sister-in-law, Amy, and I have been doing a memory verse challenge for the year through Living Proof Ministries: Beth Moore. We are committed to learning two bible verses each month. By the end of year hopefully we will have memorized 24 bible verses. Isn't that wonderful? I admit some weeks are easier than others, but I have to say that I go back to these verses a lot throughout my day. Each one of them carrying a different meaning for me. I wanted to share my verses so far in hopes that one of them may stick with you.

"May these words of my mouth, and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight Lord, my rock, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

"Hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts." Romans 5:5

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God" Philippians 4:6

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Not that you have anyway of really knowing, but I did type all of those from memory. I hope that I will be able to continue the entire year. One of the hardest parts is knowing where it came from. However, I think that is important.

Just wanted to share a little bit more about my journey of faith. I hope you will be encouraged today, and know that you are loved and forgiven.

Want a Cookie?

Well, actually I would LOVE a cookie. For anyone who really knows me, knows that I have two real weaknesses. Cookies and Potatoes. I know what a combination. I just love these two food groups. Especially cookies.. sugar is my favorite, but I love a warm, chocolate chip cookie any day, along with macadamia nut, and peanut butter just to name a few.. Oh the love of cookies. However, I have chosen to give up cookies for Lent. It NO where near compares to the sacrifice that Jesus made to save our sins, but I hope that every time I want to have a cookie, I will remember that sacrifice. I know that I will be tempted, but I hope my desire to make a sacrifice will out weight my want for a cookie. So, for 40 days I will not eat one cookie!!!! I hope not anyway. I write it on the blog because I know some of you might ask me about it. The more accountability the better. I am thankful for this time of a year. A time that leads to Easter: to celebrate and remember the grace and mercy of our Savior.

In other news, me and the sis have a fun adventure planned for the weekend! I am ready for the weekend to be here! It's been a long week already.

And as always looking forward to the arrival of my first nephew! Can you tell I'm excited!

Our Anniversary!

Yes, I know it's been a month since our first wedding anniversary. I always have great intentions of posting, but the I never do. I really need to be better at this. I am seriously going to work on it.

Patrick and I indeed had a wonderful anniversary. We woke up Sunday morning and got ready to the head to the coast. We pulled the top of our wedding cake out, and I poured some sparkling grape juice, and we toasted to another wonderful year. Surprisingly, the top tier of our wedding cake was still pretty good. I also had a small cake made just like Patrick's groom's cake. It was so good, and a special treat. We enjoyed some of the fresh groom's cake earlier in the week. After enjoying a little cake, we headed to the coast. We stopped and ate at Five Guys (which was wonderful), then went to see "No Strings Attached." We had a great time, just hanging out! We killed a little time looking at some of the stores then headed to the Hard Rock. (This is where we stayed our first two nights of our honeymoon). We had reservations to eat at Ruth Chris. This was a real treat, and it was so good! Patrick and I enjoyed every bite, and had a great time reflecting on our past year. We talked about the ups and downs, and the future that awaits us. We really had a wonderful time. The Hard Rock is so nice, and we once again enjoyed our stay. Monday morning we got up, and had lunch at the Hard Rock, and headed home. It was a great time away. We were very thankful for some quality time spent together. We are excited to see what the future holds, and plan to enjoy every moment. Our big trip is coming up this sumer, when we take a 7 day cruise! We cannot wait to go!

Here are some pictures from our 1st anniversary trip:

Small replica of Patrick's Cake

Top layer of our wedding cake

The inside of our wedding cake! Funfetti!

Flowers, Cake, and Sparking grape juice

On the way to the coast

Cheesecake at Ruth Chris!

Let's see what else has happened: I had to be away for work on Valentine's Day, so Patrick and I spent the day and night apart. But, it was really okay.. Neither one of us are big on the day. But, I did get some beautiful flowers, and a very sweet card with two coupons! The best gift ever, the gift of doing something for me!

In other news, it is March.. and that means I will be an aunt soon! I can hardly wait. I am so excited for Amy and Adam as they become parents. It is sure to be an exciting month.

Stay tuned... you never know what may happen around here!

PS: I also want to take this opportunity to wish my parent's a happy belated anniversary!

They celebrated 32 years of marriage on March 3rd! What a great example of how a marriage should

look. We love you mom and dad!