friday fav

Jason feeding his little friend Tate marshmellows~chipmunk cheeks!

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On our reading list:

Jason and I have been doing devotions on the morning since our honeymoon. This is a great devo. for couples



On The DVR:

The Next Food Network Star on the Food Network~ Who wouldn't want these three as mentors?!

On my person:

I am loving my long black sweater vest these days~it goes with everything and not only is it slimming, but it is the perfect cover up for some of my strappy shirts and dresses~ makes them ok to wear to work and church!

My new avaiators~ got a DEAL on these babies~ i love the chain detial!

in my belly:

Fresh fruit for Breakfast! We've been feasting each morning on this goodness.

on the social calendar:

this is one of my fav. pictures from Jason's b-day party~ it seems that all of our parties are full of kids now~ i guess it's just that time in life.

The peanut butter cake I made for my Birthday boy
(more on that later)

confessional

I feel chunky. I don't like it. It's the middle of summer where I want to wear skinnier clothes and bathing suits, but I just don't feel confident enough to do so. Boo! You know, it's really my own fault. I could definately be more disciplined, but I have a hard time with that sometimes. I love food and it loves me. I also blame the big 3 0 for this problem. Something magical seemed to happen last July when this number became my age. I really do think that I eat healthy a majority of the time but for some reason.. (probably due to the fact that I sit at a desk all day and don't make up for it in excercise) this weight is being extra stubborn. Jason works really hard when he diets (I also hate that word diet). I know that I can be better at following his example, but I also know that I want it to be more about developing a healthier lifestyle than majorly cutting down what I eat. I know that takes more time and I'm willing to give it time. (I think). The major motivator... pictures. Chunky pictures. NOT a fan.

Ok, thanks for letting me vent.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Phillipians 4:13

how I do birthday for the man I love

I've mentioned this.. I love to spoil the people I love, especially my sweetheart, Jason. This year i went all out.. I figured this may be one of the last birthdays it's just us (God willing). ;)

Jason knew nothing about the plans that I had for him. He just knew to meet me at my work at 5: 00. Here's how our night went.. 

We ate a Doe's~ a local eatery famous for their giant steaks~ look at that sucker!

after dinner he wes presented with the first purple card for a scavenger hunt..

had to make one stop @Evangel~ sentimental for so many resons. =)

we ran into some friends, Marshall and Tabbie on the way and took advantage of a photo opp. at the ball fields he plays church softball~

 

We  I  couldn't resist~ our traditional bass pro pose

 picking up THE GRILL~ our final stop on the hunt.

THE MAN AND HIS GRILL~ A HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY

To be continued...

friday fav.~ for the birthday boy

Me and my super hubby on our one year anniversary picnic at Dogwood Canyon. Ahh.. bliss..

let the spoilage begin!

It's his birthday!! You know....HIM!

I wanted to share a few fun moments from birthdays past~ well.. the one birthday we spent together pre-marriage. =) I took Jason to Hemingways for their All you can eat crab buffet. He was in heaven! The man ate like 5lbs. of crab that night. As you can see.. he's a happy boy.. the opposite of crabby, if you will (sorry, I can't help it!)

This big fella greets the guests at Bass Pro. He hangs out downstairs from Hemingways. At this point we were stuffed with crab and sad because I was about to head back to Memphis. (definately not the fun part)

We also celebrated his birthday with the family at Big Cedar. He always blows out the candles in one breath.

This year i've outdone myself. Tonight we are going to eat at a restaurant called Doe's. They are famous for their aged steaks. We've never been but i've heard they are giant. Uncle Ron claims they are the best steaks in town. I hope so! My man loves him some steak (i'm not sure if there is a man anywhere that doesn't)

At dinner I plan on handing him a card to kick off a scavenger hunt. Mom, Dad and Jonathan chipped in to help out and we bought him a super nice smoker. The smoker will be waiting for him at the end of his hunt. I plan on taking pictures with his I phone tonight. We will be hopping around Springfield to different places of significance. I can't wait!!

But wait.. you think the grill is the final gift?! Nope! Not with this crazy spoiler. I am going to have some friends over for a suprise grillout tomorrow night. That way he can properly break in his new smoker and show it off. Ahh!!

I know I know.. you think that how can this girl top such an extravagent celebration?well.. I figure that naturally, when kids come along, we will focus the birthday spoilage on them. And we will. =) We both like to spoil.. it's just who we are.

two of my favorite things

My fingers are just itching to blog! I've been away from the internet for different reasons but now i'm back!

This past weekend Jason and I took a mini vacation to Big Cedar resort in Branson. His parents own a time share there and we were able to stay with them for a couple of nights. I am absolutely in love with Big Cedar. The last time we stayed there was on our honeymoon. =)

please excuse the poor quality of my disposable camera~ mine broke just before our wedding.

So you can imagine.. Jason and I have some wonderful memories of big cedar and i want to share more about our trip in photos. coming soon...

On a completely dfferent note.. Have you seen the new muppet movie?! Jason and I saw it for the first time in March and bought it for ourselves about a month ago.

We can't get enough of this adorable, funny, clean... amazing movie!! It's stinkin hilarious.. the music is amazing and it's just so wholesome and wonderful. I wake up in the morning with the songs in my head. (i'm sure that has something to do with the fact that we like to fall asleep to it) Jason too.. he sings the songs and puts my name in place of another name, he's really good at that. He also does a pretty mean Kermit impression. I love that we can enjoy this movie equally. If you haven't seen it.. DO!

friday fav.

I need a little more than a caption and a picture for this week's Friday fav. Here lately i've been really getting into photography. I love it. It really is a passion. I wish I knew I had this passion when I was starting out my college career.. photography would have been my major.  I wish I had more time to do more of it. Well.. thanks to the pretty lady below, I have a great camera and I absolutely can't wait to dig deeper into this new hobby/passion/future career possibly. My husband is 110% supportive and has talked about getting me signed up for classes. I love him. Anyway.. the picture above is from my first photo shoot with Lindesy. She taught me a lot that day. If it wasn't for her, these pics wouldn't be so great. This is one of my favs. from that day. And while you're at it.. hop on over to my phogography blog and check out what i've been up to lately. Have a great weekend friends!

godly friends

Proverbs 19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

I had an unexpected phone call with this lovely lady today

It turns out, having a convo with her is just what I needed. She's always been full of wisdom and greata advice. She's a rock. It just goes to show that one conversation with just the right person can change your attitude and outlook over something. I have no doubt that our conversation was God sent.

Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

I think the advice she game me was something that God had been dealing with deep down in me for a while and it just took the vocal confirmation of a godly friend to complete and confirm what God wanted me to do. I am so thankful for this prescious godly woman of a friend. All my friends. You are more prescious to me than any earthly gift. Thank you Lord Lord for using my sweet friend Kerri today.

new friends

What a great night last night. =) I've had the privelage of getting to know these ladies lately and I'm really enjoying these new friendships. Just in case you can't tell.. we are the wives of the Praise Assembly softball team. This great group of ladies come every night to support their husbands as they enjoy some softball time. Last night the guys played two games- they won the second! woo hoo!! We jumped and cheered and kicked. It was a great night. God has been good to me. It takes time to really get to know people when you move to a new place. I've never really had to start so fresh. It's been a journey, but God has been opening a lot of friend doors lately. I am thankful. I look forward to more fun times with these lovely ladies.

On another note.. I"m just gonna keep it real.. not loving this weight i've put on. It's gotta go!! I've never been very disciplined when trying to eat well on a consistent basis. I like food too much. I need to get used to the healthy kind. I also feel that my body is different now that i've hit 30. It's more stubborn. I also sit all day for my job. That doesn't help. I also know I could do more cardio. I can do this ! Picutres like this help me to stay motivated!

On a more positive note.. It's Tuesday and It's going to be a great day! =)

unified for Africa

Sunday we had a tribute to Africa at church. Jason and I were on the worship team and we got to wear matching African garb. Aren't we cute?! The emphasis was on African missions. We have a team of 14 men from our church going in November to build a tabernacle through and organization called Africa's hope. At the end of the service we took a special offering to buy the materials for the church that they will be building while they are there.

 I love missions. We sang "A New Hallelujah" by MW. Smith. The kids choir and adult choir were involved. I got misty eyed multiple times. There is something about that song.. It's a song about everyone from every nation singing praises to God. I"m not sure what it is.. but when I see unity in the body and everyone coming together for the same purpose.. I get emotional. Even in those asteroid movies when people join together to protect themselves and to prepare for disaster.. There's something about people coming together in unity. And when you put that unity in Christ and for God's purposes.. she's a misty mess.

What a special Sunday we had. I hope that Jason and I can go to Africa someday. Jason has never gone on a missions trip. I hope he has the opportunity soon. I know it's right up his alley. He's got a heart for it. I know he does. God is faithful and I know that someday he will. We will.

friday fav.

Ahhhh!! one of my best friends in the whole wide world is coming to town next weekend and I can hardly wait. My lurvely Jennifer and her sweet boys (the woman has four!) are vacationing in Branson and it will be oh so wonderful.

we had a Christmas gift baking night and this is one of my fav. pics. and memories