Mileage

I've put in some heavy mileage lately.

Physical mileage and spiritual mileage.

Most of you know I'll be moving to Cleveland, TN in December where I will begin married life with the man of my dreams.

That being said... I have a lot of my God conversations when I'm driving. To say I've had some time on the road to reflect on the mileage we've put in together would be an understatement. If I had to sum up the reflection in one word it would be humbled.

I am humbled.

At where He has brought me and where we are going. If you know me and know where I was this time last year, you know it is nothing short of a miracle for me to be where I am today. I'll elaborate soon so stay tuned.

Warrior Women

You know those times in life when you need someone to help you fight the war ?

It’s been one of those years where there’s been a lot going on.

Some really, really great things and some really, really bad things.

I’m so thankful to have warrior women in my life that help me fight the fight. They aren’t the typical church women that take your prayer requests and you wonder if they ever really go to bat on your behalf. They are the kind of women that press in with me, they practice this thing called life with me and they persevere with me and perhaps most importantly… they praise with me.

They stand with me when I have struck out (again).

And they rejoice with me when I have hit the home run.

The struggle is real.

The war is real.
My warrior women are real and for you I will forever be grateful.

Thank you is not enough.

Grace

Grace... a word I've been pondering for a bit now.

I was taking a nice quiet walk through the woods the other day after the snow fall and I was thinking. Sometimes thinking too much can get me in trouble. This episode was good though. I was thinking about how perfectly the snow fell.

How it landed perfectly on each and every branch... On each and every surface.

And then it hit me... His grace. It falls the same way! On us; on you and on me.

And then I was thinking about some decisions I've made recently. I need His grace. To fall on me ever so gently. Ever so softly. Just like the snow fall.

Check back soon for some more pics from my walk.

More later.

Dad

“My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.” –Unknown

On this Valentine’s Day when couples are celebrating their love for each other, I just want to take a quick minute to tell my dad thank you.

Thank you for taking me in as your own.

Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family.

Thank you for being there: day or night, rain or shine.  

Thank you for accepting me when I fail.

Thank you for cheering me on when I succeed.

Thank you for sacrificing and giving.

Thank you for protecting your community and your family.

Thank you for showing me how a man should treat his wife.

Thank you for being the solid foundation of our family.

Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love is about.

Thank you for everything you have done and are still yet to do!

“A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men.”

And thank you for setting the standard high! 

More later. 

Thankful

I wanted to get a post up back in November about what I have been thankful for over the last year, but I never did. Mostly because I just couldn't find the words to put around all of the moments that were so very special and gave me the gratitude to continue pressing forward in this thing called life.

Since I'm on a picture kick right now, I'll just share some pics of the moments that are etched in my heart. There are many more than could be shown, but here's a few of the extra special ones:

As usual... more later!

RussRuss

Of all the pictures celebrating Christmas, New Years, and Emily’s birthday this one is my favorite. It may be my favorite picture ever.

You see- this is my baby brother, Russell. I love how Emily is looking up at him.

Emily loves him! I mean LOVES him! And Russell loves her too!

I have been around babies and little ones the majority of my life. But, Russell has never been around babies before. You know... since he was the baby of the family and all. And to see him get so excited about Emily getting so excited to see him melts my heart.

And of course, Gango is in the background eating dessert and wearing her pearls J

Oh, and she calls him RussRuss. 

My cup is full. 

More later. 

Family

While Ryan and Jessica were in town for Christmas with their cute little Emily, we took the opportunity to get some pics of everyone together since we haven't done that in a while.

The church my grandfather pastored for over 30 years 

The two responsible for creating this whole crew

The whole family. All together. In one place. At the same time.

The kids 

Brothers (and one cute little girl)

 Grandparents with the grand kids 

The girls 

The boys 

Mimi and Popi with Emily

There's one more pic from the week that is my favorite, but it deserves it's own post so you'll have to come back for that one shortly. 

More later.