InstaFriday {That Time I Cut Five Inches Off My Hair}

Spent last weekend celebrating my 13th wedding anniversary.

You can read more about our adventures in annivertiquing here.

We ran across this and I just loved it.

It reminded me of my Maggie and all of the creative women I meet here through the wonderful world of blogging.



On Monday my mom and I went thrifting and I snagged this precious pillow made with the yummiest vintage fabric.



The rest of my plunder.

I figure if Nester can hang horns on her wall and make them look cool, surely I can rock some George and Martha silhouettes.

That family portrait was my fabulous find of the day.

It had me at round wooden frame and convex glass.

I'm just gonna pretend we are related somehow.



This will be my new dining room table.

By the way, this is not my house in the picture...didn't want you to send the crew from Hoarders my way.

It's in my garage for now...just need to find 5 chairs that speak to me and I will move it inside.

Considering leaving it the natural color that it is and just adding color to my chairs.



If you homeschool and have an iPad, you need MathBoard.

You're welcome.



Had a really refreshing time out with a few ladies from church.

Thank goodness they make me laugh cause I inhaled way too many appetizers in one sitting.

Laughter does burn calories right?

Right???

And yes that is a ginormous piece of chocolate cake, sitting under mounds of chocolate drizzled ice cream, sitting in front of me.

How the heck did that get there?!



I saw this piece last weekend at an antique store and fell in love with it.

But it was the first store we had gone into and I didn't want to spend most of my budget right away.

I thought I would come back at the end of the day if was still speaking to me.

It was....but they were closed.

I nearly cried.

Fast forward to Monday evening...

My husband brought it home to me.

This time I did cry.

My man gets me.

Just look at it....made by a sweet little 8 year old girl in 1837.

Ok, so I have no idea if she was sweet or not but it's what I choose to believe.

It was that backwards "S" that stole my heart.

When I look at it I can't help but think of how her mother must have been so proud of it...or the fact that she and her family are gone now...but I have their sweet Emma's embroidery work hanging in my house.

::sigh::



Remember last week when I said I needed a haircut?

Well, I pulled the trigger.

I took the 3 pictures with me and told her the things I liked and hated about each and she gave me the Renee version of the 3.

I actually wanted to go a little shorter but she's smart and all and told me to let it grow two more months so that my layers would be perfect.

I love it.

Amazing how sassy good a new "do" can make you feel isn't it?







"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Annivertiquing {13 Years}

There is so much I could say about my marriage...but I feel I said it all when I wrote The Story of Us.

A not so pretty story about a very broken guy and gal, a very broken marriage, and a God who heals and restores.

A story of Redemption.

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Annivertiquing: An-ni-ver-tiqu-ing [an-uh-vur-teek-ing]

verb

1.Celebrating your wedding anniversary by spending the an entire weekend perusing the delicious lovelies of days gone by. 

2.Pure bliss.

3.Heaven.

Annivertiquing...it's what we do.

Every year. 

This past weekend we celebrated 13 years of marriage.

13 years of saying yes to a promise made.

13 years of divorce is not an option.

13 years of growing old together.

{Gosh...isn't 2nd Avenue gorgeous? I heart Nashville}



This was the 6th year straight that we celebrated at The Melting Pot.

Can I just stop right here and say that my man may never be hotter than when he has a fondue fork in his hand?!

Mercy.

Fabulous food...romantic horrible for taking photos lighting.



Yin and Yang...our favorite chocolate fondue.

Quite fitting for us I do believe. 

There will be chocolate fondue in Heaven ya'll.

I think I read that somewhere in 2 Chronicles.



After a night of dunking fat enough on their own desserts in a hot tub of chocolate, we set out on a mission to get our antique on.

One of the first things I discovered was this 4 piece Pyrex set in nearly mint condition.

Had the original box even.

It was 85 bucks though...my blood runs a little too thrifty for that.



We've come a long way ladies.

If only I had a vintage breast pump collection.

Dang.



This wedding gown took my breath away.

All I could think was, "Rose Dawson."




I nearly fell over when I looked up and saw this gorgeous thing hanging on the wall.

Suddenly I was 15, sitting in Mr. Peter's Geography class.

I wanted this piece soooo badly.

I'm a homeschooler nerd.

Again though, pricey.

It does however still beg me to come and rescue it every time I look at it, so who knows.





























We ended the day by hanging out at Puckett's Grocery Store in Lieper's Fork.

I could write a whole post on how amazing this place is.

It has been around since 1953.

Ridiculously good food and live music every night.

And there is still a real grocery store in the back.

Did I mention they have Chess Pie like my Grandma Margaret used to make?!

They told us that Trishia Yearwood had just been in the week before filming a cooking special for Food Network.

As neat as that was, all I could think was Shhhh!!...don't tell anybody about this place!

Apparently I'm stingy like that when chess pie is involved.



Thanks to my mom and step-dad, we were able to have two full days together alone.

It was fabulous.

I love this man with everything I've got.

Looking forward to 13 more.

"Grow old along with me!

The best is yet to be,

The last of life, for which the first was made:

Our times are in His hand

Who saith "A whole I planned,

Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!''

-Robert Browning

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Thursday's Mindless Ramblings

Is it a boy thing to sleepwalk and pee in random places?

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I take the crust off of my Pop-Tarts.

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E-Mealz may have just saved me from jumping off the "what's for dinner?" ledge.

A computer print out of 7 meals complete with a grocery list to boot.

Meal planning for dummies folks.

Praise the Lord.

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My grandpa Sammy was my biggest fan. I miss him today. I used to say that I could commit murder and he'd be the one to hide the body.

 I could do no wrong in his eyes.

I played ball in high school and he would come watch and bring the whole team Snickers bars. Or he would randomly stick wads of cash in my purse and say, "Now don't tell anybody that I gave you this...not even Grandma."

 Oh what I wouldn't give for just a brief moment to tell him how much his unconditional love meant to me. I didn't appreciate it back then.

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I swore I wasn't gonna watch American Idol again this year.

I swear this every year.

It is way too dramatic for me.

Let it be about the talent people!

After last year, I was determined to stick to my guns.

Sorry, but Scotty was not my cup of tea.

Anyhoo. I caved.

I'm pathetic.

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I need a haircut desperately. It is officially a beast that needs to be tamed.

I've been itching to go shorter lately.

I need some sass I'm thinking.

I'm really digging these cuts right now...but I'm a big fat chicken.

And smart enough to know that there are probably personal stylists and expensive hair products galore behind these looks.

With my hair it would just end up looking like a dandelion gave birth on my head.

I'm a 10 on the frizz meter.

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My son will be 16 in exactly 2 months.

I'm pretty sure I am having a mid life crisis about this.

Did I mention I was 19 when he came into my life?

Or that I never gave him permission to grow up?!?!

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I hate politics.

Ditto for elections.

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Tomorrow I will begin a weekend long celebration of 13 years of marriage.

It has not been easy...at times ugly even...but oh so worth the fight.

I wish every couple understood that sometimes the "better" comes after the "worse."


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Have a great weekend friends. 


"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

The Story of Us {We almost gave up}

“More marriages might survive if the partners realized that sometimes the better comes after the worse.” – Doug Larson



A year into our marriage we thought we had no choice but to go our separate ways.

Divorce was our only option.

The world said so after all.

And we almost bought into it.

Almost.

God had His own plan.

Love was there.

It just needed a voice.

We were in a foreign land.

Could not speak the language.

*****************************************

I had made my husband my idol.

Placed my happiness and expectations upon his shoulders.

I needed to remember my first love.

The one who had never failed me.

The one who never would.

Adam had his own road to walk.

A Damascus road.

Salvation.

We both said "yes".

To brokenness.

To fighting our way through.

To God.

He is so good people.

"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Genesis 50:20

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It would not be easy.

Nothing worth holding onto is.

It hurt.

We cried.

I screamed.

Anger.

Pain.

Tears.

Sadness.

They came and went.

In waves.

In no particular order.

Some days just inhaling seemed almost a battle.

"I can't do this God..it's too much!"

Walking away felt so much easier.

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We fought hard.

Sometimes with each other.

Always for each other.

Even when we wanted to bail...He was mending hearts.

Healing.

"Each time he said, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

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Each day brought with it new mercies.

New hope.

He was blessing our efforts.

Moving.

My eyes were opened and my heart reminded.

Forgiveness.

Once offered even to me.

So freely.

So messy.

Undeserving.

He saw it all.

He wanted it all.

The whole ugly thing.

Amazing grace.
Unconditional love.

Freely it had been given to me.

Now freely I was being asked to give it in return.


"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." Colossians 3:13

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With boxing gloves on we began to fight the real enemy.

Not each other.

We found a Christian counselor.

We talked.

More than ever before.

Safely.

I can not emphasize how essential this was.

God gave us eyes of mercy to see each other as He saw us.

Forgiveness began to take root.

Weeding out hurt and fear.

Bitterness began to die at the roots.

Love began to speak.

Shout.

Restoration.



"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you." Isaiah 43:2

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This past weekend we celebrated 12 years of fighting our way thorough.

Reaching for each other.

Never giving up.

Speaking the language.



We spent Friday night at our favorite anniversary spot.



Dipping all of this...



...into this.

White chocolate creme brulee fondue.

Spent the night in downtown Nashville in a beautiful historic hotel.

Slept in.

Had breakfast at 10.

Spent the rest of the day antiquing downtown.

It was a fabulous weekend.

In every way.



Old love.

My heart is so full and comfortable with old love.

I will be linking up here:

"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

Tonight

We have a date.

A hot date.

No children allowed.

No curfew.

Dinner.

Eye gazing.

Holding hands.

Talking.

Listening.

No interruptions.

His hand on the small of my back.

Flirting.

Laughter like only he can evoke.

Lots of PDA.

Marriage is so much fun. ;-)

What is your favorite thing to do on date night?

If you cannot answer this question it may be an indication that date night is long overdue and you need to call a sitter and go flirt with your man! :-)



"My every mortal breath, is Grace and nothing less"

11 years of "Blissdom"

Since learning about "Blissdom", I have done nothing but teeter back and forth about whether or not to attend. At first I was all gung ho and set to buy my tickets...then I realized one very important detail that I had overlooked. It fell on my Anniversary weekend. I had not even noticed!!! I'm pretty sure I would have reamed my husband out had this been his oversight so I couldn't help but feel like I needed to prepare a speech for the "worst wife of the year" award I had just managed to win. But he was super sweet about me forgetting the date in which we committed ourselves to each other and God. He even told me that if I really wanted to attend this conference of Blogger Brethren, he would support me fully and we could make alternate plans. Either I scored big time when I managed to snag this mans heart OR he too has already managed to forget this all too important date at some point over the last 11 years and had mercy on me. I think it's the former.

After praying earnestly about this trip I never could feel quite at peace about going. Even with my husbands support and prompting. And then it happened and I knew Blissdom wasn't in my future for 2010....Haiti. Once I saw the devastation I knew I was supposed to donate the money I would have spent to attend the conference. And then...peace came.

I won't lie...it wasn't easy knowing that so many of you, that I have literally come to know and love here in the blog world, were gonna be playing in my own backyard without me. Don't think I didn't think about Jennifer, Melissa, Edie, Ruthanne, Darby and so many more that I have managed to become infatuated with grown to love. Maybe God knew I needed one more year to lose the "starstruck" mentality and decided to spare me much embarrassment over drooling over Edie's cupcakes or begging Melissa for one of her cute camera straps or Jennifer having to peel me off her leg as she heads back to the Frozen Tundra or asking Ruthanne to show me her lenses and for Darby to explain HTML coding to me just one more time time ...or heaven forbid The Nester having to call security! Yeah, I may need a year to mature. My husband has already promised me that I will be getting Blissdom tickets for Christmas this year and I cannot wait! So lookout ladies....and get your restraining orders ready!

Although I couldn't attend the "Blissdom" here in Nashville, I realized this weekend that I had in fact attended Blissdom of another sort...eleven years of marriage to my best friend. This man...what can I say. No one can make me laugh or cry like this man...no one has ever been given the access to my heart the way he has. We have a huge passion for one another even still today...sometimes that plays out in heated arguments (just keepin it real here)...sometimes it plays out...well, you know. :-) Either way, we fight...we fight passionately for our marriage....for our family...for our love.

Without digging too deep into our story, I will tell you that we have hurt each other deeply in the past. We loved each other deeply but when we were hurt, we hurt each other in defense. It was a horrible coping skill that we walked into marriage with...along with a U-Haul truck full of baggage. Within our first year of marriage we were separated and seriously debating divorce. But then something amazing happened. God humbled us to a place of complete surrender. We knew we didn't want to lose each other...we knew we didn't want our children to live in the broken homes we had grown up in...we knew we needed help. My husband surrendered his life to Christ soon after, we attended counseling, fought the hard fight of forgiveness and restoration...and this weekend we ate ridiculous amounts of cheese and chocolate fondue celebrated 11 years of marriage.

I can hardly believe it myself. And I can hardly stand how much I love this man. I give God all the glory for where we are right now. We had managed to run our marriage into a deep, deep ravine....God pulled us from the wreckage and taught us how to love again and place our affections and trust in Him first.

I love you Adam....always have...always will.

"Grow old with me, the best is yet to come."

I'm linking this post up to Blessed Moon's "Not at Blissdom" blog party. Be sure to check it out!

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"

Fireproof....

Be sure to click "Watch Trailer"...



A date with my husband???? Smack dab in the middle of the day???? Discovering a fabulous new place to eat???? Eating Roast Beef and Fries out the wazoo???? Shopping together for our kiddos???? Weeping with my husband (and Kirk Cameron) in the movies???? Seriously, could a girl have had a better day???? I think not!

Mimi's Cafe: Go there! My pick? The Roast Beef Dip! Succulent! Oooh, I like that word!

FireProof: Go see it if you do nothing else this week! Challenge anyone you know to see it if they are married or at risk of ever one day being married! Worse case scenario? You get to see Kirk Cameron! (yes his face graced every wall of my room as a teenager!) Seriously, it will change your life and might just change your marriage.

"And whatever I do, may it always bring glory to you"