my blessed life

We just got home tonight from our very-short-but-very-fun trip to Orange Beach, AL. I thought I'd share a few shots with you quickly~and more later. The next few days are going to be VERY busy and my time on the computer will be sporadic. But I'll be back regularly very soon! We only have 4 more days in Alabama, then we're back in Arkansas. Woo Pig Sooie!!!

I hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend! Ours is a little rainy here in Alabama, but we are looking forward to getting together with some friends--even if it's indoors. Later today we'll be finishing our packing for the beach, too! We leave for Orange Beach, AL in the morning. After this past grueling week of packing we are so excited about a little R & R!! Have a great holiday today! I'd love to hear what you've got planned!

I thought I'd share this lovely photo of my living/dining room~well, at least it's mine for 9 more days. Isn't that the *picture* of organization? heehee You'll be relieved to know that this photo does not reflect on the true organization of this moving process:) I actually have a lovely list all typed up on the computer and each box has a designated number. It has been an incredibly busy week. Which is why I've fallen off the face of blogland for several days. Apparently I'm not one of those people who can simultaneously pack, do laundry, take care of kiddos, try to maintain some semblance of order in the dismantled home and blog all at the same time. { sigh } Thankfully my sister has been here all week helping me pack. She's an angel! So glad to have her here. We've had some fun, too. We've collapsed a few times from too much packing and watched some great *girl* movies: Persuasion and The Women (the original version). Plus tonight she, Vin...

Well, Vince is at it again. The creative juices are once again flowing. So I'm here to beg for votes!! This is a YouTube contest for Lowe's that had multiple categories--and you could enter as many as you wanted. Vince entered two and has placed as a finalist in both categories. Woot Woot! So here they are for your viewing pleasure. After you take a look we'd really appreciate it if you would click here and vote for both of them. Just a few quick notes: you do need a YouTube account when you get to Lowe's contest page, click the *vote* tab look for the two videos with *Vince* in the title (you may need to hit the arrow tab) VOTE! Thanks so much!!

This has been an interesting week of dinners. It started off a little rough..ok, A LOT rough. The creamy garden spaghetti was a total flop and I really considered making them eat cereal for dinner the rest of the week. But that would mean I would have to eat cereal, too, and that's just not appealing. So I relented and got back in the kitchen:) I'm so glad I did because the next night's meal was incredible. We've found a new fave chicken recipe!! The Lexington-style grilled chicken was really delicious! You should definitely try it. It's spicy, so if you're not into that or you have little ones then pair it with a mild side like a baked potato. They compliment each other well. My whole family LOVED it! Now I'm ready to clean out the freezer some more this week. Our move is getting closer. My sister is coming from Arkansas today to stay with us and help out with the kiddos and packing. She'll be here until we move at the first of June and I'm so lo...

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6 (this is our resident chipmunk, Jellybean. isn't he cute?)

( New Year's Eve 1985) I've had photos on the brain these past couple of days. Old photos, to be specific. Photos of me and my friends growing up, to be even more specific. All of my friends on Facebook are probably madly searching for revenge photos to post in response to the ones I've posted lately. heehee (at Evangel University 1990) I've only been on Facebook for a few months now, but have reconnected with so many friends from my much younger years. Friends from elementary, jr. high and high school. Friends from youth camp and college. Friends from around the world, some of whom I haven't seen in years and years. (with friends in Ohio 1998) Yesterday as I was starting to pack up my photo albums I decided to take the opportunity to scan some fun old photos of myself and friends to share with them on Facebook. It started quite the online conversation between friends across the nation. Very fun! (a lifelong best friend, Kathy, in 1987) It is amazing to me how the...

I don't know about where you live, but here in the South it has been raining. A lot . And not just here in Alabama~it rained nearly every single day we were in Arkansas, too! So, needless to say, everything is VERY GREEN everywhere. It does look so pretty, except when you need to mow and it's so soggy that you sink in the lawn! Or when the kids are bouncing off the walls and you really need to send them outside. Immediately. Oh well, I'm not really complaining because it'll be hot and dry soon and we'll be rationing water. Amazing how fast that can happen. I was so excited to see how my *patio garden* was doing after being gone for a couple of weeks. Between our friend Britt and all of the rain, they are doing wonderfully! I'm so proud:) I just had to show them off. Look at that tiny little green tomato growing! Isn't it just so cute?! I just love it:) There are little blooms and even more teeny, tiny green tomatoes growing on all of the plants. The sweet pe...

Yea! I'm happy to be menu planning again this week. I've actually missed it a little these past couple of weeks, it's become so routine for me. As some of you may have read this past week, we have sold our house here in Florence, AL ( yea!! ) and will be moving back to our hometown area in Arkansas at the first of June. So it's going to be a busy month around here! That also means I need to start cleaning out the kitchen. My goal is to plan all my meals straight from the freezer and pantry. Less to move!! So here we go... Monday: Creamy garden spaghetti Tuesday: Lexington-style grilled chicken , red/white/blue salad , roasted asparagus Wednesday: Spaghetti & meatballs Thursday: Macaroni & cheese , green beans, carrots Friday: Homemade pizza Saturday: BBQ sandwiches and French fries Sunday: TBD I'd love to hear what you've got planned for this dinner this week, too! If you need some ideas, be sure to visit Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie ...

I am enjoying my special day with my family today! I even had chocolate for breakfast:) It doesn't get any better than that, right?! We had a delicious lunch at one of our fave restaurants here in Florence~Ricatoni's~amazing Italian food! Now maybe I'll relax for the afternoon...or maybe I'll be inspired to pack a few boxes:) I hope you are having a wonderful day, too!!

There are so many ways to make a good taco salad, but I think this is my favorite. It's the one I grew up on... I can't even remember how many times I ate one of these at a church potluck dinner. It's so good every time! Taco Salad Iceburg lettuce Red onion, sliced thin Shredded cheese Black olives, sliced Tomatoes, chopped Tortilla chips, crushed Black beans, drained & rinsed Ground beef, cooked & seasoned Catalina dressing *** Toss all ingredients together for an easy, delicious meal!

Before we left on our trip to Arkansas we noticed that a new resident had taken up on our front porch. Notice the top of the wreath. Mama Robin (or so we suspected) was working so hard building the prettiest nest! She had diligently mudded in her nest to secure it to the wall, then she added more soft grass for her soon-coming eggs. Today when we got home this is what we found: Aren't they precious?! For more show & tell, head over to Kellie's at There Is No Place Like Home.

...We have a contract on our house!!!! It all just came about Monday morning and I haven't had a chance to blog about it till now. It happened really quickly~and we hadn't had any thing going on for 3 weeks. Frankly, I was beginning to think our realtor had lost our number~and then, boom, it all fell into place. We are still in Arkansas, too, and I keep thinking about all the things I have to do when I get back to Alabama. ( Kayren , it does feel like we've been gone for a month, even though it's really been just over 2 weeks). Our trip was extended by a few days since Vince and my dad decided to check out a conference they were interested in down in Little Rock. So instead of leaving this past Monday we aren't headed back until tomorrow (Thursday). Unless they hi-jack that plan, too.....but they'd better not! I'm really tired of the outfits that I brought on this trip~ heehee !! So, yes, I'm very happy about moving back *home*, I'm sad to leave ou...

We are coming up on our last few days here in Arkansas. Our trip here has been extended by a few days. Vince and my dad have decided to attend a conference in Little Rock this week before we go back to Alabama. It's worked out pretty well, although I am really getting tired of the outfits I brought. haha ! This past weekend we went to Tulsa to visit Vince's side of the family. We all had a great time! Tulsa has a new children's museum~ Kaleidoscope ~and it was so much fun. They had created some very fun rooms for the kids' to imagine in: *the doctor's office* *the beauty shop* *the grocery store* (I want this map!:) *the huge playroom* Playing along with your kiddos at places like this makes me feel like a kid again, too! I love it! We really enjoy visiting places like this when we're in different cities. In fact, I'm always on the lookout for new places to take the kiddos. Since we've lived in AL, I've often been told by locals, "I'...

Well, it has been one busy week! I was so glad to sleep in a little this morning. In case you're wondering why I'm so tired (and why I've been a little scarce around here), we've been attending a conference in Arkansas this week. It has been wonderful though~well worth the exhaustion! Now I'm ready for a slower-paced weekend and time to absorb some of the nuggets of truth and wisdom I've gotten at the conference. I thought I'd share a couple of new blogs with you today. The first one is authored by one of my cousins, Serina : Simple Solutions~Tangible Results She has recently begun this blog to share some of her amazing grocery budgeting tips, recipes, and frugal ideas. I saw her at the conference I attended this week and picked up one of her booklets (which is listed on her sidebar). It is chock-full of great stuff! Go check her out!! The next one is by a real-life friend, Stephanie: God made dirt....and dirt won't hurt She has two little boys (can you ...