wordless Wednesday

goodbye 2nd grade, hello 3rd!

Somehow, someway another school year has come and gone. Here is the first and last day of 2nd grade.

We were blessed with another good teacher this year. Mrs. M has been teaching for a long time and ran a very laid back classroom. A great teacher and a great fit for Peyt. 2nd grade was good to us, and now we are ready to see what 3rd grade has to offer. We may or may not need 3rd grade to really step up big in the spelling area.

A few of the highlights from the year...





Hard to believe this August we will have a 3rd grader amongst us. Time is marching on, and I can't seem to figure out how to slow it down. Proud of our girl for sure!

wordless Wednesday

Adventure Week

I am so proud of my girl today! This week is Adventure Week at our church. A few weeks ago there were tryouts for the praise team for this week, and when I told P about them, she was all about it. I said, "P, you know what a tryout means, right?" "Yes, mom! I might make it, but I might not." Okay then, off you go! Have fun! And, she made it. The praise team kids are on stage with the leaders and sing and do the choreography for the praise and worship songs. The kids were divided into two teams, one for the morning and one for the afternoon. Peyt is on the morning team.

We have been hearing the songs and seeing the dances for days now. They had one last practice yesterday afternoon, and then this morning was the first day. Her daddy dropped her off, and then I brought Mason with me to see the opening songs. They started the first session and all of the praise team kids come running out onto the stage clapping and getting in their spots. There was my girl, front and center. Gettin' her worship on for Jesus. Could. Not. Stop. The. Tears. So many thoughts and emotions going through my mind as I watched her. She did not seem one bit nervous being in front of over 600 other kids. She looked like she was having the time of her life. I watched her and thanked God for our church. I thanked Him for Peyt and her heart for Him. I prayed that she will always be 'front and center' in her testimony for her God. And that she will always be 'brave' in her praise and worship for the Father, no matter who is watching her. My heart is full! I am one proud momma today folks!

P--Daddy and I could not be any prouder of you. It makes our hearts so happy to see you worshipping Jesus with all of your little heart. May you never lose that, sweet girl! May you always honor Him and want to worship and praise Him with your life no matter who is watching you. He is great and worthy of our praise! We love you little praise team girl!

wordless Wednesday

A Decade

Cannot believe that it has been ten years since this day!








Ryan and I met in college, second semester of my freshman year and his sophomore year. I can still vividly remember the first day he introduced himself to me in the cafeteria. We had both just come out of bad relationships, and had no interest in getting into another relationship. Small talk, 'nice to meet you', and bubye. That was it. But we had mutual friends, so we kept finding ourselves hanging out at the same places. Long and short of it, we became inseparable. You know, the all night phone conversations, every spare minute together, every meal together. We had it bad. But of course when asked would always say, we were 'just friends.' It's quite comical actually! We dated for one year, were engaged for another year, and then married on June 3, 2000.

And what a crazy ride the last ten years have been. We have had highs and lows, ups and downs, across town moves and across the country moves, good days and bad days, great jobs and not so great jobs, good times and not so good times. We have weathered and we have strengthened.

The 'd' word has never been an option for us. It isn't even on the table. In my opinion marriage is a choice. Feelings are fleeting, looks come and go, and as years go by, people change, but we chose each other. Come what may, good or bad, we are in this for the long haul.

Ryan, you work countless hours to provide for our family. You always have time for our kids. You support the heck out of me, and are always trying to make things better for us. You love Jesus and lead our family in the ways of Christ. I am so grateful for the man that God ordained for me before he laid the foundations of the earth. He created us to do life together, and I could not have asked for a better partner. I am so grateful you are my teammate on this journey. Here's to 100 more years! I love you!

fun times

One of my best pals Mar came to town this weekend. As I've talked about before, we became friends many years ago, and I love every opportunity that we get to be together. This trip was all about her birthday. We share a common, shall we say, affection to a certain singer named Daughtry, who we may or may not think is relatively easy on the eyes. Said singer had a concert in town on Sunday night and for Marleah's birthday, I got us tickets. And can I just say, it did not disappoint! Awesome seats, great concert, and priceless memories!

We had a blast over the past few days. Shopping, eating, hanging, movies, talking, and a lot of this...




I have no doubt that Marleah and I will be friends for life. I know that relationships like ours are few and far between in life, so I value it very much. Even though we go months and sometimes years between visits, we are always able to pick up where we left off. We know each other. We get each other. We are free to totally be ourselves, and that, in my opinion, is worth its weight in gold.

Mar, I love you much my friend! Can't wait till the next visit!