Hope's Splendid Song

This weekend we made a quick visit to Birmingham to help Dad lead a worship service on Sunday night, featuring many of Dad's original compositions! We had such a good time- it was so good to see friends and family and to be a part of something so special.

Mary, Austin and me drove down to Birmingham on Saturday morning, arriving just in time for lunch. We had to visit the amazing Iguana Grill! It is the best Mexican restaurant I've ever been to!

After lunch, we went to Samford and practiced the music with our lovely accompanist Anna Williams :-) We also recorded a fun children's song that Anna wrote called, "A Good Name". It was such a fun rehearsal! 

In the courtyard at the School of Performing Arts

After the rehearsal, we were surprised with a delicious made-from-scratch peach cobbler made by Anna's mother, Eloise. She was so thoughtful to do that and it was greatly enjoyed!

Before going home, we made our first trip to the famed "Steel City Pops". I'd heard rave reviews about the popsicles and they certainly met with our expectations! I had a strawberry one, Mary had a peach, Austin had orange cream and Dad had lime. Yum! I'm craving another one now! 

Sunday, we went to church at Dawson. When we arrived, I saw someone who looked a lot like my Aunt Meg standing in front of the church. It turned out to be her! With Mary's help, she surprised all of us! It was so great to get to see her and spend some time together! 

We ate lunch at Jim N Nicks (tradition, of course), then went back to Steel City Pops again- haha!

You can't tell in the picture, but Vulcan is holding a popsicle :-) 

We had just enough to take a quick nap, finish up preparations for the worship service and change clothes before we needed to go to the church. The service went so well! Those in attendance told us how worshipful and special it was. It was so cool to hear Dad sing music that has come from his heart and lead the congregation in worship choruses. 

Visiting after the service with Mrs. Williams. 

The girls! Aunt Meg gave all of us red roses :-) 

Because Austin had work on Monday, we headed back to Jackson late that night. We loved our trip to Birmingham!

Summer Lovin'

Wow! Is it really already the second week of July? Where in the world has this summer gone? Besides updating about my current fitness challenge, I have been terrible at blogging this summer! Here is one massive first half of summer post! Enjoy :-)

Memorial Day was spent in two really fun ways!

My girlfriends from college and I had reunion at Panama City Beach! It was such a blast and I loved every minute! It was a blessing to catch up on what the Lord is doing in each of our lives. I'm so thankful for their friendships- that we have the ability to pick up where we leave off and that we're sisters in Christ. Before we left, we prayed for one another on the beach (after going to great lengths to obtain pizza!). It's so wonderful to know that even though we're spread out over several different states, the Lord binds us all together. Pamela, Cassidy, Becca, Maggie, Carter and Emily, I love y'all so much and I'm so thankful for your friendship!

I have GORGEOUS friends- inside and out! :-)

In the meantime, Austin and Dad went camping in the Sipsey Wilderness in Winston County, Alabama. They ventured out into the wilderness with their packs, a tent, and lots of Dinty Moore beef stew! I was nervous about the fact they would have no cell phone reception, but I was really nervous that the area is notorious for feral pigs! I should have known Austin would construct a spear :-)

Austin and Dad set up camp, complete with a fire! The camo jumpsuit is my favorite touch.

The guys enjoyed a very (insert hilarious story here) full day of hiking on Saturday and went to see this tree. Its one of the largest trees of its kind in the country!

Exhausted after our wonderful trips, Austin and I headed back to Jackson Monday night!


Austin's New Job! 

Like the heading suggests, Austin has a new job, which he started the day after Memorial Day! He is a full-time counselor for Youth Villages at their Deer Valley campus in Linden, Tennessee! This is such a blessing from the Lord! We have been praying for a full time counseling job for Austin for a long time! He'll be able to get wonderful experience while working for a great company, and can start completing his hours for his LPC! :-) He's already been to three trainings in Memphis and is enjoying the job. We're both enjoying a more stable schedule and money flow :-)


Fun and Mary Kay in Dickson

The weekend after Memorial Day, we headed to Dickson. Austin's mom and her friend Kaye performed at the Promise Land Festival on Saturday night. They are an awesome Americana duo and they did such a great job! You can check out their website here. I'm so blessed to have such a talented mother-in-law!

Austin, Arica, Grandmomma, Doris, Ann and I enjoyed the performance!

After the performance, we enjoyed a delicious dinner together at Applebee's, then went back to the house to prepare for Arica's Mary Kay Debut Party! Before bed, Arica and I did facials with Grandmomma and the Great Aunts. So Fun!

Sunday afternoon was Arica's Mary Kay Debut Party. She decorated everything so cute! The party went well- it was fun to get to support Arica in her Mary Kay business. 

Father's Day, a Wedding and Celebrating 60 Years

Father's Day weekend we went up to Paducah! We arrived on Friday night and stayed at the Hampton Inn, thanks to my stepdad's Hilton Honors Points :-) Mom and Larry traveled up from Atlanta for the weekend, so it was good to spend time with them, my grandparents and aunts and uncles in Paducah. 

Saturday evening we celebrated the marriage of my sweet friend, Rachel Nelson (Roach). She was a lovely bride and it was so great to see Keith and Michele again, along with other church friends I hadn't seen in awhile. Everything was beautiful and we enjoyed celebrating with them!

Post-ceremony, pre-reception shot of me on the bridge where some of our wedding pics were!

The lovely centerpiece on our table. The purple and black theme was so elegant. 

 Sunday was Father's Day and was also my grandparent's 60th Wedding Anniversary! We enjoyed a nice Father's Day lunch and celebrated Granddaddy. That night, my Aunt Joan, Uncle Wesley, and Michael and Matthew drove from Versailles, KY to celebrate the anniversary! Uncle Richard grilled the most DELICIOUS steak! I'm a steak and potatoes girl and it was so good! It was great to catch up with everyone- the only time we're all together is during Christmas so it was great to have another reason to celebrate!

Mom made a beautiful anniversary cake and we watched a DVD that Mary and I made for Grandmommy and Granddaddy.

Their wedding day, June 16, 1953

60 years later- June 16, 2013

My grandparents are a wonderful example of love, faith and what it means to put Christ at the center of everything. I'm so thankful that I am the recipient of such a godly legacy and can only hope that my marriage can set such an example for my grandchildren someday.


Getting Crafty

So, I enjoy having a wreath on our front door. We have progressively been obtaining different wreaths for different seasons and I didn't have a summer wreath. Originally I wanted a hydrangea wreath because I think they're so pretty and classy, but then I realized that it might be a little too much for our little house. Besides, we have BEAUTIFUL yellow knock out roses that smell so sweet and I didn't want to take the attention away from them. So, naturally, I started surfing wreath ideas on Pinterest. After awhile, the moss covered initials started catching my eye.

Using this great tutorial from "The Shabby Nest" I went to work on a rainy afternoon, while "Runaway Bride" played in the background. Instead of using foam board, I used 2" thick hard styrofoam and found really cute burlap ribbon with yellow polka dots from Hobby Lobby! It was an easy craft and fun to do. Here is the finished product. I am so pleased with how it turned out!

The Fourth of July

To celebrate our nation's independence, we traveled back to Paducah to celebrate! I cooked a Chicken Divan and froze it so we could take it there for our lunch and Grandmommy wouldn't have to worry about preparing anything. It turned out very nicely! We had quite a Fourth of July feast! We had: Chicken Divan, brown rice, wheat baguette, fresh watermelon, strawberries and Ninth Street House Tea. Grandmommy also procured French Silk and Strawberry pies from Bob Evans. We enjoyed eating together and visiting.

After we ate and hung out at the house, we headed to downtown Paducah for music and the fireworks display with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Sherry. We had a blast listening to the band play patriotic music and watching the fireworks light up over the river. Such a fun tradition! Of course, we took some fun pictures while we were waiting for the show to begin :-) 

How cute is my sister? :-) 

Before heading back to Jackson (Austin and I both had to work the next day!) we made an emergency stop at Sonic (along with half of the population of Paducah!) to get some food. Note to self: next year bring cash for the concession stand :-) 

So far, our summer has been great! This weekend, we're headed to Birmingham to help lead a worship service with my Dad. Next week, I'm taking the week off to get some projects done around home and just to chill! I'm affectionately calling it my "Staycation".