97

Happy Birthday Beezie!!!
97 TODAY!

Yes, you read that right!! :)

I am so, so, so thankful for this precious woman.



Let me share why I love her so much...

This is the woman who has loved me unconditionally for the past 22 plus years.
This is the woman who cooks for my entire family every Sunday & Wednesday.
This is the woman who cleaned Ecru Baptist Church for over 70 years and didn't retire until she turned 90.
This is the woman who says her pound cake which includes 6 cups of sugar won't hurt your figure.



This is the woman who is losing her vision, but reads her Bible (using her magnifying machine) multiple times a day.
This is the woman who has helped teach me to care genuinely about others.
This is the woman who has rocked 1 daughter, 2 grandchildren, 4 great grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren.
This is the woman whose hands are filled with wrinkles because she's worked hard to earn them.
This is the woman who lived through the Great Depression and has many stories to tell.



This is the woman who lost her mother when she was 8 years old.
This is the woman who married her sweetheart, Papaw Truett, when she was 16 years old. (They were married in their car, outside the church, by the preacher)
This is the woman who says "Hey Sug" and "That's what I say."
This is the woman who still wants to rake the leaves in her yard.
This is the woman who never misses a church service.
This is the woman who has taught me to make many things including jelly, dressing, berry roll, biscuit dough, etc.



My adorable Beezie: dedicated, strong, compassionate, loving, God-fearing, wise, silly, precious, fabulous, beautiful, etc.




I'm not sure that I could ever adequately put into words what Beezie means to me and my family. We cherish every day with her. She is such a blessing.

Can you imagine being 97??

Happy Birthday Beezie!
I love you!!

ps: If you're reading this, please say a prayer for my Mamaw (Beezie's daughter). She's having some stomach complications and is in the hospital having tests run. Thanks in advance!!

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

because I cannot keep silent...

Thankful.
This is quite possibly my favorite post of the year.
I should do it everyday...not just Thanksgiving day.
However, today I am thankful for so many things.

Here goes...my heart.

Jesus Christ. For His unending, never-failing love. For His guidance and protection. For His goodness and mercy. For being faithful when I am not. For providing for all my needs. For shedding His precious blood. For being my Savior and friend.





Daddy's patience, wisdom, & love. Mama's friendship and faithfulness. Britta's determination and drive. Ability to type this. Pictures. Thaxton Baptist Church. Mamaw Mabel's passion for the food pantry. Papaw's hard work. Beezie's heart and soul and "that's what I say." Special Education kids. Mamaw Margie's sense of humor and contentment in life. My car. My guitar. Running water. Electricity.



My handsome boyfriend and best friend, Paul. Contacts, for without them I would be blind. Shoes. Dishwasher. My camera. Paul's sweet family. ICC BSU. Tahoe City, CA. Operation Christmas Child. Cherokee Cove. Bro. Jimmy & Mrs. Janice. Chris' friendship for the past 19 years. Jacob's awkwardness & Bible wisdom. My Acteen girls. Mississippi State. Costa. Mission trips. Debo's Sunday School class. Debo in general. Washing machine and dryer. Tv. Laptop.



Diet Coke. Madison, Katilyn, & Payton and the joy they bring into my life. Payton's "Ashey, Mickey, Moon, Pukie, Paauul, peez, & hey baby" plus all his other words. Good health. My bed. My 5 senses. Andrea Rodgers. Ceiling fans. Earrings. Cell phone. Karen Kingsbury. Dr. Coffey's classes. My boy cousins (Morgans + Warren). Paul's ability to make me laugh no matter the circumstance.



Katy Lynn Kimbrell. Straighteners. Doctors. Nurses. Policemen--Paul & Michael. Firemen--Andrew. Paramedics--Chad McCoy. Milk. Cookies. Splenda. Car washes. Snail mail. The Gillentine Family, for opening their home to me and loving me. The Lewellen's. The Webb's & Hooker families. Leslie Michelle Ross. College friends. Clairee Mattox, for all the sleepovers this semester :).



Kelly's Korner and her sweet mama. Sunshine. Rain. Bonfires. Camping with Cory & Cassie. The miracle of a newborn. The Comer's and their sweet kiddos. Lamps. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Sushi. Dates with Paul. Surprise parties. Breath. Ability to blink. Soldiers and their families--Ash & Chris Cox. LP. Sara Beth & Kiersten. Girls nights. Cowbells. Scarfs. Sunglasses. Dollar Tree.



Teachers. Lauren, Ash, & Am. Church choir. Food in cabinets. My Bible. Whitney. Lunch at Beezie's every Sunday and Wednesday night. Bro. Steve & Mrs. Missi plus their sweet kids. Oven to cook. My dog T. Internet. My big block family. Pontotoc student teaching. Passing all 3 Praxis'. Coupons. Memories. Front porch swings. Peace. Crickets in the country. Stars in the night sky.



This doesn't even begin to touch a fraction of the MANY things God has blessed me with. I know I left TONS of things out. I have SOOO much to thank Him for. If there is any good in me or my life it comes from my Heavenly Father. He is the giver of everything good and to Him I say thank you.

Start you a list. You'll be surprised at all the little things you forget to say thank you for.

Happy Thankgiving to my blog readers! I am most certainly thankful for you!

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

It's almost that time again :)

And by THAT time...I mean Christmas card time.
Mama usually puts me in charge of those duties, which I don't mind.
I have used Shutterfly for several years now, and they have the CUTEST stuff!

I always make a family photobook from the year. It's such an easy, fast, simple approach to "scrapbooking."

They're giving away 50 free cards to bloggers who write up a post.
How could I not!?
Seriously, check it out.


Idea #1


I love the cute font, bright colors, and the single picture.

Idea #2



Okay, I looove simplicity. I think it just makes the picture pop! And I like pictures. How cute and simple is this?!

Idea #3


Okay..so maybe I think these girls are more adorable than the card! It's just a fun card in general. :)

This might take me FOREVER to decide! There are seriously SO many cute, adorable things to choose from. This year we are planning on doing a picture of the four of us! We also took some outdoor pictures at my great-grandmothers too. We took a group family photo, and we might opt for using that picture. I think it turned out pretty good. We shall see, and I'll try to post pictures of the final result...which might be a variety of different cards :)

Ahh, I love this time of year. Mama and I just put up the main living room tree today. 1 tree up, 4 more to go.

Thanks Shutterfly!! You never let me down! :)

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

VOTE!

Go VOTE!

There are men and women fighting today so that your voice can be heard.




“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”- J. Q. Adams


Praise God for the FREEDOM we have today!


Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

birthday girl

My little mini-me, Madison, turned 12 this past weekend.

(I can NOT believe she is 12. I promise it feels like yesterday she was born. She has brought so much joy into my life. There isn't a thing in the world I wouldn't do for her. No matter how old she gets...she'll always be my baby girl! Love you Mimi!)

I think we celebrated pretty much all week long...which was, of course, fine by her! :)
Friday, she had a bunch of friends get of the bus with her for a spend the night party.

Since it was her birthday, we (Paul, Brit, & I) decided we should do something "extra special" for her.. :)

Side note: Paul usually embarrasses Madison everyday when she gets off the bus(by running out and screaming her name, etc)


Extra special, eh! Hahaha! We laughed our heads off before the bus even came.



We hid in the carport, and I had the video camera. Once the bus stopped I went out and acted like I was videoing the girls getting off the bus and then Paul ran out singing "Happy Birthday" to the top of his lungs.



Madison ran, and it was hilarious!!! :) I gathered up all the girls and Paul for a picture!


What a great start! The girls played outside all afternoon.



Payton stayed at our house! :) Which we looooved! He's so precious!

Saturday, family & friends, celebrated her birthday with cake, ice cream, and other food. Here's her rockin' birthday cake!


Saturday night Paul and I watched the MS State vs. Florida game!! GO DAWGS!!!


All in all, it was a GREAT weekend!! I have so much to be thankful for!!

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

Pumpkin Fun

Pumpkin carving might just be one of my new favorites. (of course it was with 2 of my favorite people...Paul & Brit)

Paul, Brit, and I had so much fun!!
Annnd, we have more pumpkins awaiting the knife. :)



All smiles through the icky part!



Deeeeep concentration! It's a miracle we still have our fingers!



We are quite proud of our work! :)



How adorable is he?!! :)



Did I mention that Payton's new thing is Mickey!! :)
He LOVED the pumpkin and he loves Paauul!




1st time Pumpkin Carving=Success & a yearly ritual :)



We are in Fall mode now! Fall break was wonderful and I got to spend time with my sweet boyfriend, which is always fun! This weekend we're going to watch Brit & the Vikings play! I love Friday night high school football! Just something about it! :) And my baby cousin, Daniel, is getting married too. Man, time flies!

My little mini me, Madison, is turning 12 this weekend too...I'm holding onto every second. She's growing up too fast. More to come on that.

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.

October.

It's OCTOBER already.
I can hardly even believe it.
This school year is flying by (and I'm NOT complaining! :)
I'm loving it too.
Classes are going great, busy, but really good.

Let's see. What's been going on?

I'm more in love with this fella right here than ever. He is a complete blessing!! He makes me so stinkin' happy and I'm just absolutely crazy about him!! :) He's an answered prayer, need I say more?!


Speaking of L-O-V-E...

Look how adorable my parents are... They are still so in love and will be celebrating their 25 years of marriage this upcoming year. I love them so very much, and I'm so thankful for them.


And then there's my baby sister...or should I say growning-up too fast sister.
She is in the TENTH grade. My stars, I wish life had a pause button sometimes.
She's super, and I'm so proud of her!



I'm just so unbelievably blessed, and even when hard times come my way...God reminds me that He is faithful.

Every step of the way!

His love, mercy, grace...I don't deserve an ounce of it. But He gives it freely.
Every single second of every single day.

I am so thankful for that.

Until next time.
Love God. Love people.