ahhh.

i'm headed here for the weekend!


what are your memorial day plans?

busy, busy, busy.

I read this devotion in my Jesus: Day by Day devotional by Beth Moore.
I thought it was great so I wanted to share.

"Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, 'Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to serve alone?'"
--Luke 10:40

I have a feeling if someone had asked Martha's sister Mary at the end of the day if Christ cared about her, she would have answered affirmatively without hesitiation.  But Martha came to Christ and asked, "Don't You care?"

Christ's love for us never changes, but our sense of His loving care can change dramatically over time.  And I believe the determining factor in whether we sense His love or not is our willingness to abide in Him, to seek to practice a relationship in which we develop a keener awareness of His presence.

Sometimes we are so shocked when a seasoned servant of God confesses that he or she is struggling with belief and awareness of God's loving care.  We might think, "You of all people!  You're such a wonderful servant of God.  How can you doubt for a moment how much He cares for you?"  Could it be that somehow service has distracted them from abundant, life-giving intimacy?

Don't neglect to give Him ample opportunities to lavish you with the love He always feels for you.

"She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet  

and was listening to what He said"

--Luke 10:39

Do you struggle with this? 

Finding the time to just be abundantly loved by Jesus. 

Allowing that intimacy to infiltrate every piece of your heart? 

I encourage you to find that time.

As the weekend approaches, seek out a time to be still. 

To focus on the love that He lavishes on us.

To sit at His feet.

And worry about nothing else.

hump day highlights: edition -- random.

how about three things that made me happy last night?

every time i walk into my bathroom and see my $3 yard sale purchase, i get so excited!

we started a new bible study in small group last night.

it's on the study of david.

it's by priscilla shirer, beth moore and kay arthur.

so i know it's going to be fabulous.

so far so good :)

glee was on last night.

and it was gaga night.

yes, i know beth moore and lady gaga don't fit in the same blog post.  but the costumes in glee were what got me so excited - not all of her other nonsense.

rockin' it.

my roommate from college [yes, this one] came a few weekends ago with a request that we make her this.

she'd seen them other places and knew that we could figure out how to make them.

whatcha think??

if you know her, you know she'll rock it.

the pros.

this weekend we went yard saling [?] with the pros.

worker man and i have tried to be yard salers but haven't been successful.
i think part of the problem could be that we head out around 9 and stop for breakfast.
we can never figure out why there are no good deals at 10.
ha.

so, the pros invited us to tag along on saturday morning.

they showed up bright and early.
6:45 am.
all smiles.
with their newspaper out and already circled.

worker man found a nice toy in the backseat to play with.
he mentioned that d's driving was like a nascar race.
so maybe this was fitting...

after hitting some yard sales, we stopped by biscuitville for breakfast.

and coffee, of course.

ummm...have you ever had biscuitville?
because....yum.
it's fabulous.

and, just a little side story for you:  my mom pulled through biscuitville one day [there's only one nearby them] and asked the lady if they had anything fat free.  i think the lady over the intercom waited for a few minutes, to see if she was joking, before saying..."umm..NO".  if any of you have ever eaten at biscuitville, you will know - nothing fat free is anywhere close to that place!




we got in and out, in and out.
looking and laughing and just having a good time.



we did buy a few things.
they got a futon.
A got a purse and a coffee maker.
i got a vase thingy for my bathroom and a tupperware cake carrier thingy.
so exciting!




we really had a good time.
it might just have to happen again :)


how was your weekend?

sneak peek.

last friday i took some pictures of jordan and morgan.  they were headed to jordan's junior/senior formal so we met at old salem to take some pictures before hand.

they made this photoshoot uber easy.
as soon as i pulled my camera out they were all smiles.
the entire time.


oh and jordan mentioned to me at one point, "yeah...i don't mind being on graham crakas".
so here they are!

and of course i had to take a few of jordan with his family.
here's one of my favorites.

hump day highlights: edition worker man.

consider these my hump day highlights.

from the mouth of worker man over the past week or so...

1. i walked into the bathroom the other day and found worker man fixing his hair, standing in front of the full length mirror, in his boxers, singing "this is why i'm hot". i won't lie, it made my morning.

2.  my dad always tells me [along with my brother and sister] that he wouldn't trade us for a gold monkey. so, one night at supper i told worker man that i wouldn't trade him for a gold monkey. and he responds:

"babe, i wouldn't trade you for a gold monkey either!"

and after a few seconds of thinking:

"....well, i guess it depends on how big the monkey is"

3.  worker man came up with this plan that we should have to pay each other $5 from our allowances [thank you dave ramsey] if we say anything mean to one another.  this means we can only say something mean three times a week before we're in the hole. yes, our allowance is $15/week. 

be jealous.

so one night we're talking and he says, harshly, "no, uggh...you dingleberry".

[umm...let's stop right there.  let me tell you, if i'm going to have to pay him $5 for saying something mean...it should be worth the $5. and is dingleberry worth $5? absolutely not.  but apparently that was the best he could come up with at the time]

then, as soon as it comes out - he immediately gasps, turns and grabs my hand and says,

"i mean, no...you lovely dingleberry"

you think you've got the best husband?

i'd say i've got you beat :)

mary jo's.

worker man and i went to mary jo's one saturday when we were in charlotte.

and can i just tell you...it is like heaven.

tons of fabrics - and patterns - and interfacing - and buttons - and rickrack - and little old ladies with mary jo's vests waiting to cut your fabric.

just the looks of this makes me swoon.

i can't wait to get started!

5k.

worker man and i ran a 5k last weekend.

we had such a blast.

the race was for young life.  it gives high school kids the opportunity to go to summer camp.

i went to the yl camp in georgia during high school and it was wonderful.  so we were really excited to be able to help kids go to camp this summer.  our sweet neighbor saw us out running and we stopped to talk to her about it one evening.  she decided she wanted to sponsor us which was so sweet!  she was really excited about it.

here are a few pictures from the day.

one of fmil's beach buddies is on the committe for yl.

here is fmil's beach buddy's husband and the yl area director.

discussing the results.

my sweet friend, crystie.

we went to high school together and then went to two different colleges.

but coincidentaly we ended up in the same town and she's working on staff for young life.

she's awesome. you should be jealous.  that i know her and you don't.

she's that awesome.

some of the college life girls were there for the race too.

they are so much fun to be around.

and then there's meg.  who is equally as amazing.  she also works for young life. 

she's super cute and hilarious.  another blessing in my life :)

oh, and she's pregnant.  which makes her even cuter.

she has a new name for the next 6-7 months. 

preggo meggo.

and then there's us.

we really had a blast.

and now i've got the 5k bug.  i'm ready to do another one.

worker man? 

not.so.much.

strawberries.

you know strawberries are in season right now, right?




and you know that you can make strawberry freezer jam in like 30 minutes, right?


well....if you didn't, you do now.
and you should.

so if you're looking for a quick suzie-homemaker project for the weekend, here it is!

first buy a gallon of strawberries.

it's best to buy locally grown.

and fun to make a day of picking the strawberries too.

but if you don't have time, they typically have some that are already picked.

so you can just buy them.

rinse the berries and then cut off the tops of your strawberries and slice them in half.

then you smash them.

or, if you're lazy, just throw them in the food processor and chop them a few times.

you'll need two cups smashed.

[a gallon will give you more than enough - but of course you have to buy a gallon because you know you or someone will eat quite a few]

then you add 4 cups of sugar and mix.

yes, 4 cups.

just don't think about it.

allow that to sit for 10 minutes.

then [i forgot to take pics of this part] but you take your sure jell and add it along with 3/4 cup of water to a saucepan on high.  continuously stir the mix until it starts to boil.  then allow to boil for one minute while stirring.


pour this mixture into your strawberries and sugar.
stir continuously for three minutes.

then pour into your containers.
leave them sitting out for 24 hours.
then store in the freezer.

jam will last three weeks in the fridge or up to a year in the freezer!


happy friday!

i got the receipe from here. just thought i'd repost it with pictures of my process :)

buns.

does this make me cheap or resourceful?


this was my lunch yesterday.
a peanut butter and jelly bun.

we ran out of bread.
but we have hamburger buns.
so i refuse to buy more bread.
because then the hamburger buns will just go bad.


i'm going with resourceful.


oh and, on monday i did have one flat bread left.
and i noticed there was a tiny little bit of mold on one side.

so...ummm...i might have just torn that piece off.
and ate the rest.

gross, i know.



but i'm sticking with resourceful. 

 

weekender bag.

for mother's day, i made my mom this bag.



i found the pattern online here.

and good news, there is a sew along going on now - and it's not too late, you have plenty of time to join in and get caught up.

md 2010 ctd.

when worker man and i got married, i knew i was marrying into a beautiful family.

full of love.
for one another.
but most importantly for Christ.

i knew that i was blessed.
that his parent's were wonderful.


but never did i imagine how instrumental this woman would be in my life.





she is such a blessing.


she provides just the right amount of advice at just the right times.
she loves me even though she didn't carry me around for 9 months.
she values my opinion and makes me feel important.
she listens.
like, really listens.



she's hilarious.
and stylish.

she's forgiving.

she sees past my many flaws.


she loves family.
and values that more than anything.



i am so grateful for her and for the invaluable relationship we have.



happy mother's day fmil!

we love you :)

md 2010.

we had a wonderful mother's day.
filled with lots of time with family.  
lots of laughs.
and lots of love for the mother :)


here are some pictures from our day.



the whole gang.

my cute husband :)

foooood.

the brother.

and mammie.  who we are so thankful for.  she has been extremely sick for the last two months.  in the hospital for over a month.  and finally home this past week.  so she got to spend the day with us.  we are blessed to have her.

again, fooooood.

we are really blessed to have such a wonderful mom.


thanks for all you do, mom!  
love you.