Happy Fall Y'all

It is my most favorite time of the year!!  I love fall.  I love the food that is enjoyed during cooler weather, coffee, apple cider, the scents of fall, the colors, the weather, pumpkins and pumpkin flavoring, a fall wardrobe (especially scarves and boots) the lists goes on and on!!  To welcome in the new season, I decorated the house for fall. Deer season is in full gear so while Matt was gone, I got to work.  I pulled up all the over grown summer flowers and replaced them with pansies, mums, and other fall plants.  I went to Bath and Body Works and brought some wonderful scents of fall into our home.  I brought out my lighted pumpkin and made chicken tortilla soup for dinner. Did I mention that I love FALL???? I am helping Mama make pear relish tomorrow.  I also love the fruits of the season.  I hope we soon will be enjoying cooler weather and the beauty of the leaves changing.

Yummy Chicken Tortilla Soup~ Thanks Trisha Yearwood

 I brought out my pumpkin that I painted at Paint and Pour and my favorite lighted pumpkin.  It makes our den so warm.

 The boxes will look better when the flowers grow a little. 

 All of our shrubs are blooming.  We have enjoyed our knockout roses all summer and our Azalea's are blooming for the second time this year.  I love my flowers!! 

Our front porch

Until next time, I hope you get excited for the season that is upon us.  As we are waiting for our little one, my prayer is to....

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time
we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
Galatians 6:9  

 

Let me CATCH UP!!.....

Oh my goodness!!!  School is back in full swing and I have failed miserably to update my blog.  So here is an attempt to catch up. I finally got the rest of our anniversary pictures so here they are.  We had such a wonderful time.  We certainly relaxed and enjoyed each others company and the beauty of the mountains.   The cool mountain air was wonderful as well.

Our room

 Lunch in Highlands

 The view at Blue Mountain

 Wrapped up in a blanket in early August.... only in the mountains

 We could see the gorgeous sunrise from our balcony. 

 We found lots of waterfalls tucked away!

 Another view  that I loved at the Bed and Breakfast where we stayed

I have started full swing into my new job as a Reading Recovery teacher. It has taken a lot of time trying to get my feet wet.  I am loving the opportunity to work one on one with my students.  It is so different from what I am used to, but good.  My new school is great and everyone has been so nice!  Everything has really worked out.  I am traveling every Thursday for training.  This will continue for the year. I have already learned so much about how to teach struggling readers.  I am excited to grow as a teacher this year.  My bible study is still going really well. We meet on Monday nights.  I have enjoyed opening my home to the women in my Sunday School class.  We have a great time together.  With the bible study and school my life has been really busy. 

Last weekend, we had a wonderful time with some great friends at the beach.  We went down on Friday.  Everyone else went on Thursday.  We enjoyed time on the beach.  The weather was wonderful.  I highly recommend the beach in September.  Then Saturday evening, we watched football and enjoyed Low Country Boil.  I hated that it was such a quick trip, but so much fun.   I wish we had a group picture, but we didn't think of it!

 Our balcony

 My sweet boy Evan. Emma was probably with Marcie.  Evan will come to me and Emma won't if Marcie is anywhere around.  She is a momma's girl

The guys dug a super deep hole on the beach. When Bennett was down in it....you could hardly see him!

I'm BACK........ I missed our 5th Anniversary

Well...... I am sad that my computer has been out of commission for three weeks now!!! Well, I have a lot to catch up on.  We had some important events happen lately. 

I'll start with our 5th anniversary.  We had a wonderful day/weekend.  Our Anniversary was Friday, August 2nd.  I knew we were going to the mountains on Friday, so Thursday night we watched our wedding video.  This is a tradition of ours.  I love to listen to our vows, see all of the friends we have to support us, and relive one of the most important days of my life.  It is a sweet memory.  Wow.... are we blessed to have each other. I noticed as we watched just how much we have changed in five short years.  We certainly don't look as young, but I really thought about how much we have grown(closer to each other and God).  Thank God for good and hard times- times where we have to stop, slow down, and turn to him.  The morning of our anniversary, I was doing my quiet time and I read about David- Just a young Shepard about to turn king.  Wow the plans God had for him!!!! Then as I continued my study I read before he took over his role as king, his job was to play the harp for Saul (wasn't at all what David thought, but he stuck with it and waited).  This was God's way of preparing him for what was to come.  As I thought about our life and what God has chosen for us at the present time..... I know he is at work on our behalf!  I pray that we will know the plans he has for us during this season of life and accept those plans and go after him with our whole heart. 

I am so blessed to have Matt in my life. For now here is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding day.  I will get to work on blogging our pictures and details from our anniversary weekend. 

 

 

 "But forget all of that- it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.  For I am about to do a brand- new thing.  See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?" 

Isaiah 43:18-19a 

 

I can't wait to see what God has in store for us......I know he has definitely been at work in our hearts the last 2 1/2 years!

Toes in the water......toes in the sand

Well..... my computer is being worked on so I haven't been able to update lately.  We had a wonderful time at the beach.   I love doing nothing for an entire week (not getting dressed, putting on makeup, having an agenda, etc).  My entire family went.  Each day we woke up, and mama cooked us breakfast.  Then we were off to the beach for the day.  One morning Matt and I got up to see the sunrise. We were at the beach at 5:30.  I took my devotion book and we read it early that morning.  It suggested how important it is to take time away from the world and it's busyness and make time for God.  It was so appropriate while we were the only ones sitting on the beach so early in the morning with nothing going on.  If you haven't got the devotional Jesus' Calling by Sarah Young, you are missing out.  I read it daily and I feel like God is speaking directly to me each morning.   It is amazing to see God's wonders If you have never taken the time to see the sunrise or sunset at the beach, I suggest that also.   I also enjoyed reading on the beach this year as well. I am not a big reader, but there is something about the beach that puts me in the mood to read a good book.  This year, I enjoyed Simply Jesus.  It was a great read.  Then we would come in for the evening.  I love to cook, so most nights I took charge of dinner to give Mama a rest.  Then we ended the night playing card games most nights, going for ice cream, or taking a stroll on the beach.  I am so happy that we had the opportunity to go.  I look forward to going back next year!!!  Well, I hope you get to put your toes in the water....toes in the sand at some point this summer.  I am a beach loving girl!!!!  Here are some pictures from our week.

Charleston Gettaway

I have a lot to share.  We have been busy the last week.  Matt was supposed to go on a chartered fishing trip in Charleston Saturday (7/12), but because of the rain, it was cancelled. So we decided to go on and spend the weekend with Ty, Rollins, and our nieces.  We had such a wonderful time.  We got there late Friday night.  We were lazy Saturday morning.  Then Saturday afternoon, we went out on the boat.  It is fun to experience Charleston, but it is also amazing to experience it from the water.   Campbell, Harrison, and Gray are cool girls.  We love hanging out with them.  It is hard to believe how fast they are growing up.  Gray is so ready for us to get a baby.  She has had lots of practice with her baby dolls.  She even thought that maybe we would surprise her by bringing a baby with us on our visit.  She loves babies!  I can't wait until she can hold our baby.  It will be so exciting!!

 Harrison and Campbell rocking their shades. 

 

 Girls just want to have fun!! We are just missing Gray.  She was in charge of taking the pictures.

Here is the one and only GRAY!!:) She is a funny girl.

 Ha, Ha, Ha!! 

The captain!

We left out of Charleston and headed to Edisto for a relaxing week at the beach with my family. 

Feeling blessed beyond measure!!

Sweet Summertime

  So if you have read our story you know that Matt and I are experiencing life and waiting with our eyes wide open.  We are on the road of adoption.  We hope to not wait too long.... but we are going to enjoy this season of life of two while we wait.  I am a teacher, so summertime is the most wonderful time of the year!!  Here are some of the things that we have been up to.  (prepare ...I am trying to rewind time and catch up~ it might be lengthy).  The purpose for my blog is a written record of life.  I hope to enjoy looking back and seeing all that happened and seeing God's hand in it all.

My summer started off at school.  The first week was spent packing my "stuff".  This girl loves some stuff.  I am excited about a new job next year.  I have felt that God was leading me in a different direction for a while.  It is awesome to witness his guidance when I actually sought after his will.  I am so sad to leave the wonderful school that I am at....but I know God has big plans for me whatever I am doing! The second week, I had reading workshop training all week.  It was a wonderful week and I left with lots of knowledge.  Then.....let the fun begin.  It was officially summertime. 

I started my week off by celebrating Matt's dad's retirement.  It wasn't a big to do.  We just hung a banner and I made cupcakes to celebrate. If you know me....you know that I absolutely love a party, bringing out a platter, planning, and then of course cooking or baking.  I love food. Then we went to dinner. 

 I wasn't wanting to hang the banner inside....but guess what.... it was raining.  So we did the best we could. 

 I tried to make the cupcakes have the golf look.  The flags say "Happy Retirement". 

The next day was Matt's 35th birthday!!  I have wanted to have him a birthday party for two years now and Matt wouldn't have it.  He does not like attention.  So this year, I told him we were having a party.  We just had family over.  We grilled out and had a great time.  Happy Birthday Matt!!!

 We are so blessed with wonderful family!! We are just missing sweet Emma who refused to look at me for her picture!  I'll get her next time!!

 We had hamburgers, baked beans, pasta salad, slaw, watermelon, cream cheese cupcakes with cream cheese icing and strawberries. I think everyone left stuffed!

 Matt felt a little silly while we sang to him.... but he wasn't getting out of it!

 What a great night. 

I have also started a ladies bible study at our house this summer.  We are doing One in a Million by Priscilla Shirer.  It has been wonderful.  I don't have pictures but look forward to Monday nights every week.  We also had a great fourth.  Even with all the rain.  We had great friends over for supper and then we headed to the lake to watch the fireworks Saturday night.  We got to spend another night with great friends.  I am not good at remembering to take pictures.  Hopefully I will do better now that I have a place to put our pictures.  When it came time to create our profile books for our adoption, I quickly realized that I do not take enough pictures.
This morning I read Hebrew 12:1-2 and loved it.  Until next time I will be running the race God has set before me and I will try my best to fix my eyes on him.

“Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:1-2