Luke 16:13

Visit Katie to see more from Week 6 of Scripture & a Snapshot.

chairs, marriage and a pedi

My mind is still bursting with thoughts and insights from Relevant. It was a phenomenal conference, y'all. Words cannot adequately describe how breathed-of-God the weekend was. I am still trying to process it all.

When my mind cannot fully absorb these BIG experiences, it focuses on the smaller details.

Like these chairs.

David drove to Austin with a friend today. When he saw these two chairs, he immediately thought of me. He texted me a picture and bought them on the spot. Only $35 for the pair!

These chairs are super cute and comfy. But what warms my heart even more than this bargain is that my husband KNEW that this is exactly what I would like.

Forget being newlyweds, marriage just gets better and better with each passing year! I love how David loves me. How he shows me he loves me. And how he often knows me better than I know myself.

Well, there is one thing that happened today that shows he doesn't know me as well as he or I thought.

I had my very first pedicure today.

It tickled.

My feet are happy, soft, scrubbed and polished.

Do you like the color? It looks more pink in person.

David asked me how much it cost. I told him $50, which comes out to $5 a toe.

He about choked.

Then I had to laugh.

Come on, like *I* would pay $50 for someone to paint my toenails!!!

Besides, I already told him that I had it done at *cough* Wal-mart *cough*. The spa pedicure was only $20.

(Don't be hatin' with your horror stories of infections and general grossness. I would have you know that Royal Nails sterilizes their instruments, thankyouverymuch.)

Okay, 'fess up now. Are you proud of me for getting a pedicure? Or do I lose major points for it being at WM?

PS Aren't my chairs cute?! :)

PPS Aren't feet impossible to photograph in any sort of natural stance?

PPPS What does a pedicure go for in your area?

Proverbs 25:11

A little late in linking up with Week 5 of Scripture & A Snapshot over at Katie's. :)

I'm still trying to catch up from all the fitly spoken words from Relevant this weekend. It was phenomenal. God met us there.

My friends are flat

I am leaving the house for Relevant in a mere 5.5 hours.

And I haven't even started packing yet.

While my clothes aren't packed, my friends are all packed and ready to go!

These were my original roomies-- Amy, Karin and Amy.

The Amies really are two people, although some people think they are one person with a split personality. Beautiful Karin in the middle up there looks like a pretend friend that I cut out of a magazine. She really is that gorgeous, y'all!

What do y'all think of their outfits? Stylish, no?

I am SUPER sad that I won't get to hang out with these wonderful ladies this weekend. *sniff, sniff*

However, God has blessed by giving me 3 new roomies-- Stephanie, Faith and Natalie.

The funny (and cool) thing is that none of us have ever met each other. I hadn't even known them at all until this afternoon when they said they would have room for me! I know, I know... it's a crazy thing to do. (Boy, am I glad this is a CHRISTIAN Conference!)

I am looking forward to building a friendship with these thoughtful women, as well catching up with old friends and friends that I've known online for years but have yet to meet in person (until TOMORROW! woohoooo!).

Okay, I'm off. Leaving now in 5 hours...

john 3:3

What does "born again" mean? Read about it in John 3.

See more TRUTH over at Katie's with Week 4 of...

Happy Birthday to my Hubby!

I remember when David turned 23. I thought he was SO mature, a real man.

Now when I look back at those pictures, I think how we were such babies. Look how young we looked!

(We really didn't have red hair back then. The pics just scanned weird, although I think it would be fun if my hair was really that color right now.)

It's hard to believe that was 15 years ago.

While we have always been a rather happily married couple, I sure am glad we aren't newlyweds anymore. I think marriage just gets better and better with each passing year.

This next picture was taken the day after our wedding. David has hair and I think I'm wearing hose. What is up with that? I am very thankful that the last time I wore pantyhose was in 1998!

Happy, happy Birthday, my love!

{I think you look even hotter without that hair. Grrrr baby!}

the Scouting family

This is our first year as a Scouting family. With one Boy Scout and one Cub Scout, it has been an interesting experience. We've had a great time learning different skills and spending time with other Scouts and their families.

And even if we didn't have all that, look how stinkin' CUTE they are in their uniforms! :)

If my boys heard me say that out loud, they would give me this look:

I think it's contagious.

Maybe I should've made myself a hidden camera instead. The fake smiles and real smirks can be a bit discouraging sometimes. I'm glad they can't be on smile-avoiding-duty 24/7.

Oh! Thank y'all for giving me your input on which picture to send to Great Grandma. I think it was almost unanimous that the no-teeth picture is the keeper, er sender... you know what I mean.

I am such a big dork for snickering every time someone wrote "I like no teeth!" *snort*

These pictures were taken at SHAC Jam, which stands for Sam Houston Area Council Jamboree, this past Saturday. We drove in for the day, joining over 22,000-- yes, that is twenty two THOUSAND-- other people in a slew of outdoor activities, displays, crafts, and even a world record setting rocket launch!

(Nope, I didn't film it.)

It was fun, but I'm glad it's over. Hot, dusty, and did I mention the whole 22,000 people thing? I am such a pansy when it comes to crowds.

So, is your family a part of Scouting? Were you ever a Scout (boy, girl, brownie, cub)? Do you have a cure for the camera smirk?

Grrrrreat Grandma and Q for you

After attending the SHAC Jam this weekend (along with 22,000 other Scouts!), we hopped a couple of towns over to visit David's grandmother.

Great Grandma is a storybook grandma. She's sweet, funny, a talented seamstress and the BEST angel food cake baker this side of Waco! Scratch that. She is pretty much the bestest angel food cake baker in the entire universe.

When she asks me what I want for my birthday, I always tell her I want an angel food cake all. to. myself.

Grandma and I chatted while the boys played Monopoly... the boys, as in Austin and Noah.

David was there too, but he was too busy to participate in our conversation.

{Look, he's got his head in the clouds. Now ain't that sweet?}

And now for the serious question o' the day:

If you were going to send Great Grandma one of these pictures,

which would it be?

Teeth or no-teeth? That is the question!

Matthew 10:29,31

You are valuable to God.

He knows you from the inside out, even the very number of hairs on your head.

Don't be fearful when life gets tough...

In the world, ye shall have tribulation:

but be of good cheer;

I have overcome the world.

-John 16:33

See more Week 3 Scripture & A Snapshots here:

Review (& Giveaway!): Nathan Clark George

My boys have been taking guitar lessons this year and are really enjoying it thus far. I realized that when we are doing our schoolwork in the morning, it would be the perfect time to introduce some new guitar music to make them stop and think Wow, I want to keep practicing so I can sound really good like that guy!

The problem is that it's hard to find guitar music that is:

1.) acoustic,

2.) pleasant to the ears, and

3.) not glorifying things that I'd rather my boys not think about right now (things like girls, drinking and other stuff that would make them turn red).

When Patsy asked me to review her husband Nathan's CD, I was skeptical at first. I can be a bit nit-picky when it comes to musical things. After listening to his Little Trees song, however, I knew that I should introduce his music to my boys!

We each have our favorites from Nathan Clark George's Pull Up a Chair CD.

I {heart} "Little Trees"-- there's something about the words and tune that make me think of childhood and boys growing into young men. (Go here to listen to Little Trees, scroll down to the song on the left sidebar.)

My boys like "The Devil Ain't Lazy". What can I say? It's catchy, interactive and fun to sing along with!

Nathan Clark George also has an incredible gift of putting Scripture to song. His Rise in the Darkness CD includes passages from Habakkuk 3, Psalm 127, Galations 6, and Psalm 121. While this does not appeal to my boys as much as his Pull Up a Chair CD, it does appeal to ME. God's Word is so full of beauty and poetry!

Franklin Springs also made a documentary about Nathan and Patsy's life on the road, traveling the country in an RV with their 5 young children. This DVD also includes a full length concert.

View the movie trailer here.

You can hear a sampling of Nathan Clark George's songs here.

Purchases may be made here.

(Patsy, you should write a book about how to homeschool consistently on the road... we like to travel, but it seems none of us are ever focused enough to get it all done when we are away from home!)

Congratulations to Samantha, Amy in Peru and Ali for winning this giveaway!

I actually had to redraw three names because I could not locate an email address. :(

Now for the GIVEAWAY part!

I have THREE separate prizes to offer y'all (3 prizes=3 winners... yay!):

- Pull Up a Chair Combo (both the CD and DVD!)

- Rise in the Darkness CD

- A Midwinter's Eve CD (I {heart} Christmas music.)

You have two chances to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Like Nathan Clark George on Facebook and leave me a comment telling me you did.

I'll choose the winners Saturday night. If you are posting with a Blogger account, be sure your email address is LINKED to your profile where I can see it! Or include your email addy in your comment.

*Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of Pull Up a Chair, Rise in the Darkness, and A Midwinter's Eve in exchange for an honest review of NCG's music.

empire state building

When I was visiting my sister in NYC this summer, I snapped this picture of the Empire State Building.

Did you notice?

*This post is for my friend Ruthanne, who is in the Big Apple with her husband. They got stuck in the revolving door together at their hotel. Most people "accidentally" get stuck in places that don't have glass walls. Leave it to Ruthanne to be bold and daring!

**I would normally be hooking up with Darcy's Sweet Shot Tuesday today, but Darcy is doing something even more fantastic for the whole month of October-- 31 Days to a Better Photo! Be sure to check it out!

***Did you notice? Yes, he's nekkid. No, he's not real. Just a statue.

****Sorry, Ruthanne. I thought that guy would still be there, but apparently the "exhibit" only ran until mid-August. On the way to B&H, I ran across another statue... It wasn't on the ledge of a building but set right in the middle of a sidewalk. Unfortunately, he was sans clothing as well. Talk about GROSS. I had to tell Austin to look the other way.

Psalm 27:14

We wait for many things... peace, courage, opportunity, understanding, happiness.

But waiting alone accomplishes little to nothing.

It is only when we wait on the LORD (as in invite Him into our situation, both big and little!) that the waiting bears fruit.

Do you know what else I love about that verse up there? It doesn't say that God might strengthen our heart, but that He WILL strengthen our heart!

In my own life, I have seen this come in the form of God giving me heart in areas where I was doing the right things outwardly, but my heart not really being in it. Thinking and doing what the Bible says without truly "feeling" it.

In the weakest points of my life, I have sung the song about the joy of the Lord being my strength. God was and continues to be faithful in allowing my heart to follow this lead of my mouth. It doesn't always happen right away, but it does happen every.single.time.

Is there something that you are waiting for? Are you holding back from doing what you know to be right just because you don't fully "feel" it in your heart? Invite God into your situation, into your life circumstance and let Him strengthen, fill and change your heart!

Joy, strength, courage... we can only get it from our mighty God!

It is worth the wait.

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