The Big 3-1

Well, somehow I've managed to have another birthday, and it has really taken me by surprise.  It literally snuck up on me, but as my grandmother says, it's better than the alternative.  I had a really good day, including lunch with friends/co-workers, and then dinner with Monkey, Sarah, Jeremy, Lucy Jewel and Brent at Saddle Creek Grill in North Little Rock.  I was also thrilled to read over 100 Facebook messages throughout the day, and some of them even made me cry!

So the weekend before, my mom gave me my present when we were in Memphis. A brand new sewing machine!  I am so excited to get to use it, and I'm already planning to make a few Christmas presents this year.  I'll be starting on them soon, so we'll see how they turn out.

Yes, you can even change the face plate on it to whatever your artistic fancy suits me. 

My sister got me this cute plastic bag with my initial on it.  I've taken it to the grocery store, and I feel so "green".  My sister-in-law got me a Scentsy nightlight, and it's lovely aroma is filling my house right now. 

Monkey gave me this very cute scarf, dangly earrings, a cute ring...all from one of my favorite places ever. NEW YORK CITY!  I can't wait to wear the scar, and I love me some big earrings (they balance out the bottom half). ha! 

I also got some money, and I've put in the savings account to save it for a rainy day.  I thought about getting an e-reader, but I haven't decided if I really want to spend the money on one yet.  I still like going to the library and reading an actual book.

I didn't take a picture of it, but Brent got me a gift card to Hobby Lobby so I can fulfill my sewing dreams, and a little sewing kit.  He is so good to me!

Last weekend, I didn't do much of anything except lay on the couch and watch TV and read magazines. And it was fabulous!  So guess what!  This weekend I'm doing it again.  In fact, here are my reading selections:

And I've begging Brent to get the fire pit out (now that the burn ban has been lifted), and one thing we're going to do is make Smores! 

And finally, here's a little glimpse into our front yard right now.  We've paid the city to come out and put in a drainage pipe and fill in the ditch, in an effort to help with the water issue.  I'm not crazy about the dirt everywhere, but at least they did spread the pile we had sitting in the driveway.  It's bad when you have to weed-eat the dirt piles!  I also walked around back tonight and realized that I need to pull some weeds in a major way!  So I think that's what I'll be doing tomorrow. 

The neighbor next door had hers done as well. 

All in all, it has been a great October.  We've gotten to hang out with several groups of friends here and there, and we're looking forward to a fun Halloween night with our Sunday School class.  We've also but a busy November coming up.  A big wedding, a company picnic, and Thanksgiving is all on the horizon.  And Christmas will be here before we know it, and I'm so ready for the holidays!

WICKED in Memphis

No, it's not like it sounds!  On Saturday, I drove over to Memphis to see my family.  My sister and brother-in-law live there and my parents had come for the weekend as well.  Me, Sarah and Mom all went to see the broadway play Wicked on Saturday night at the Orpheum, and let me say that it didn't disappoint!  It was such a great performance that I would consider seeing it again!  For those of you who don't know, Wicked is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West, before Dorothy dropped in.  It was a very cute story.

So here's me and my very cute sister - who is a first year resident in the pediatric dentistry program at UT.

The girls...Thanks Mom for the fun outing!

Here's the view from our seats.  The Orpheum is a gorgeous theater, but I had absolutely no leg room.  My knees touched the back of the chair in front of me, so I took my shoes off and slid my feet under the chair to get some relief. ha!

On Sunday morning, we got up and went to Sarah and Josh's church (where they are accepting of deep V's on men and smoke machines on stage), and it was a great service.  It was great to see people dancing and singing praises that morning, and the message was great too.

Afterwards, we drove downtown and went to eat brunch at the Arcade.  This is an old Memphis restaurant with lots of history (anybody seen The Firm?), but the food is amazing.  I had a pizza and it was so delicious.

After lunch, we went back home and packed up and headed home.  I stopped at the mall for a little bit (I love Macy's and found a few things there), and made it home by 5:30.  And I was completely wore out!  But it was a great weekend with the family!

Happy Birthday Caitlin!

Our precious niece turns three years old today!  She is very smart and funny and loves to Skype with Bubba and Lala (that's us!).  I cannot wait to see her in December when they come to visit!

AWANA!!!!!

We started AWANA almost two month ago, and I think we're finally getting into the groove of things.  Sadly, I am without my helper Mr. Brent, but one of my besties Kristin and I are teaching another wild group of Kindergartners.  We have 10 on the roll, and tonight all of them were there except for one.  They are a mess, but I think they're starting to realize that I mean business.  (I call myself the mean one because I'm always trying to get them to not waller all over each other and the floor and spill the water).  

We have green meadows time (aka story time), book time where they say their verses that they've memorized that wee, and game time, which is usually crazy.  I love hearing them say verses and how proud they are when they finish.  The other thing I love about AWANA is that I get to see some of my very favorite church friends there.  

P.S.  For those of you who don't know, AWANA stands for "Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed" and help develop spiritually strong children and youth who faithfully follow Jesus.  We are Sparks, which is Kindergartner through second grade. 

Here are my Frogs:  Max, Katelyn, Rebekah, and Shane

Jessica, Jared, Henely, and Peyton

During game time, Mr. Mac is in charge (he has the whistle), and the kids absolutely love him.  Each week we play a game, and he asks them for rules.  That's what he's doing here.  This game the teams hold onto a noodle and run around the circle.  The first team to pass their own finish line and get the pin is the winner. 

And it is chaotic!  Usually someone gets knocked down, stepped on, or pulled around.  But obviously they love it - please view the bottom left corner of this picture.  This kid is having a blast!

And at the end of game time, Mr. Mac sits them all down and wants to hear the verses they learned during the week.  Most of them want to say one, and the rest of them usually want to waller. ha! 

Even though I'm tired at the end of the night, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! Advancing the kingdom is so important! 

Patience is a Virtue

I really think God is trying to teach me patience.  There have been a few instances over the past week that I've heard that still small voice whisper to me and all it says is "patience."  Do you know how hard it is? But in those moments, I am also reminded that God loves me and that he does have a plan for my life.  I have hope in Him, and regardless of what happens, I WILL HAVE JOY. 


                                                   Psalm 40:1-5

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,

out of the mud and mire;

he set my feet on a rock

and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear

and put their trust in the LORD.

4 Blessed is the man

who makes the LORD his trust,

who does not look to the proud,

to those who turn aside to false gods. [a]

5 Many, O LORD my God,

are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us

no one can recount to you;

were I to speak and tell of them,

they would be too many to declare.



Harvest Time

I'm in McGehee this weekend hanging out with my mom and Nannie while Brent is in Fayetteville on a bachelor party.  I took off at noon yesterday (there were tumble weeds rolling through the halls), and decided to stop by Ma's house on the way down.  I heard that the cotton was really pretty this year because it has been so hot, and I wanted to try and get a special shot of it with Ma's house.  I was inspired by a family friend who took a similar shot, so I raced to Wells Bayou to get some shots.  They were picking the field and I only had a few minutes, but I'm pleased with how it turned out.  I put my rain boots on and took off through the field with my camera, knowing how ridiculous I looked.  I wished that I could have gotten directly in front of Ma's house, but they had already picked that side of the field.

Where the trees are is where Ma's house is, and then there are the grain bins off to the right.  This spot is where my grandfather was born and what others refer to as the "old home place."  Even after everybody I know is gone, this place will always remain special to me.

This is probably my favorite one with the sky too. 

Harvest Time also means that it's Football Season!  We're excited that the Razorbacks are good this year, although I am betting that they will loose today against Bama.  (You can blame my dad for my pessimistic attitude).  And because it's football season, that means that Owl Pride is flying high here in McGehee.  Things are especially optimistic because the city just passed a new millage to keep the schools open.  If it didn't pass, citizens would still have to pay a higher millage, but the students would have to be bussed to Dumas.  And if the school closed, then that would certainly mean the end of the town.  I sent out a prayer request on the day of the vote because I would hate to see McGehee go away with one vote.  I was SO thrilled to learn that the Save Our Schools campaign was successful, and the next morning I heard "God of the City" on K-Love.  I knew God had answered many prayers by allowing the vote to pass, but I immediately prayed that the citizens of McGehee would take this opportunity to improve their city and reach people for Christ. 

You're the God of this city

You're the King of these people

You're the Lord of these nation

You are

You're the light in this darkness

You're the hope to the hopeless

You're the peace to the restless

You are

There is no one like our God

There is no one like our God

For greater things

Have yet to come

And greater things

Are still to be done in this city

Fall Starts After Labor Day!

Over Labor Day weekend, we really didn't have any plans whatsoever, and since the weather was perfect, we decided to go to one of the last Travs games of the season.  Let me give you a little back story on the Travs.  SPP graciously purchases 16 seats for the entire home season at Dickey-Stephens and it is my job to promote the games and pass out the tickets.  Luckily it's an online system, but still it's a lot of emails from people wanting seats, how many, what dates, parking pass issues, etc.  It's definitely not a difficult task - it's more of a chore than anything else.  This is my second season to hand out tickets, and this one has been much easier because it's been 130 degrees the entire summer and nobody's wanted to sit in the oven and watch them loose.  But when the weather finally turned the oven off over Labor Day, it was the perfect weather to enjoy the Travs.

So we invited Sarah, Jeremy, and Lucy Jewel to come with us.  Here we are waiting on them to get there.

 When Brent and I went on our first date, Sarah and Jeremy went with us.  Sarah was four months pregnant with Lucy Jewel at the time, and I got to know Brent and the Clements during that special time in their life.  She had a good time at the game giving high 5's to Shelly the whateveritis, eating french fries, and asking when it was time to leave (right after the first inning) ha! 

And even the baby needed to see! 

Labor Day is also known for the great deals, and we spent one day looking for some cute patio furniture that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg.  We went all over central Arkansas and ended up with this set from Walmart (again, on sale).  I'm so thrilled with the pop of color, and it's so comfortable too.  In fact, I sat on the love seat on Sunday afternoon after lunch and actually fell asleep!  We're really enjoying our outside space now that it's cooled off.  We also bought a table-top propane heater that we can use when there's more of a chill in the air.  Oh yeah - and all of this stuff is being considered my birthday present.  Along with 4 new tires on the Civic.  So Happy Birthday to me! 

Now, onto fall decorations!  I'm not a big seasonal decorator until it comes to fall and Christmas time.  I went to Hobby Lobby last week and they had fall decor 50% off, so I took advantage of the discounted sparkly pumpkins.  You can never have too much sparkly fruit in my opinion.  And yes, the cook is usually on strike 95% of the time. 

Here's my piano ready for fall.  Never mind the stack of magazines that I need to get rid of - that's another project for the winter.  

More pumpkins...

I usually don't decorate my bathroom for fall, but I had a few leftover pieces and couldn't resist.  We have two bathrooms in our house, and the one that I use is actually the hall/guest bathroom.  The other one is off of our master bathroom, and Brent keeps it very manly.  So I like to keep mine cute and pretty with seasonal hand soap.  Another favorite thing of mine is the wallflower scent thingy I have plugged up in the hallway.  I bought some new flavors (Creamy Pumpkin and Leaves) and they smell so good!  I was afraid Brent was going to complain about it, but he hasn't so far.  So don't tell him, because I'm sure if he thinks about it, it will bother him.  Or maybe he's learned that he won't win that argument. ha!  

I really can't believe that we are already at the middle of September.  After Labor Day, time just seems to snowball.  I actually had a little freak-out moment when I turned the calendar a couple of weeks ago.  After September, comes October, and then someone I know is going to be 30 +1.  YIKES!  Where did this year go and why did it go so fast?