Mother's Day Tea 2010

Our church held its First Annual Mother Daughter Tea, the day before Mother's Day. It was so much fun to see all of the mother/daughter teams there. There were even some mother/daughter/granddaughter teams!

I have never been to a tea, but I have to say this one was top notch! Of course, my mother, Josie, organized it along with my aunt, Wimmy. They made petit fours, tea cakes, chicken salad in pastry shells, cupcakes, and on and on.

The tables were decorated with my Nanny's teapot collection. They were absolutely adorable!



We made the cutest craft! It was a teapot frame craft. We took pictures of each mother/daughter in the beginning, then rushed to CVS and printed them. Then each team decorated their frame and put their picture in it.

Here is mine and SG's picture:


Mrs. Eunice (Nunice) has adopted SG as her own grandchild, and always has little surprises for her. We surprised Nunice and asked her to come as SG's guest (I was helping with all of the pictures and such.) Here is SaraGrace and Nunice:


I do have to share a picture of the centerpiece I made for the beverage table. It is a fondant table set for a tea party.

It was a great time and the ladies really enjoyed it. I can't wait to do it again next year!

My God is SO BIG! So STONG and SO MIGHTY....

Ever heard that song? If you've grown up in a Baptist church, I'm sure this is very familiar. As a matter of fact, we have 5th Sunday Family Services in "big church" where even the kids stay in the service, and we all sing this song together, complete with the motions:)

If you have never heard the song, here are the words:

My God is so big! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do.
My God is so big! So strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do.
The mountains are His, the valleys are His, the stars are His handiwork too!
My God is so big! So Strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do.

As a kid, the words get lost in the concentration it takes to remember and perform the AWESOME motions. But as an adult, those same words have profound meaning. I wanted to share with you how big my God was this last week. He showed himself in a mighty way.

If you don't know, I work in our family business. I got my contractor's license, with high hopes that I would one day be as successful as my Dad, because I've always wanted to make him proud. However, this terrible economy has affected us in a huge way. Because of this, we are making cuts, and praying that God will give us direction and that we will be able to give Him the glory no matter the outcome.

This year has been a tough one financially, for Rob and me. I have just had my third cut in hours/pay, and to describe it as "devastation" would be an understatement. However, I know that my Bible tells me to "Trust the Lord with all your heart!" and "I will never leave you or forsake you." Rob and I made a commitment several months ago, to remain obedient in tithing, even when things were tough. This has always been a struggle because we are NOT good money managers. But, we committed, so we have followed through.

Last week, things were really tight. Good ol' Satan just kept telling me that I didn't have enough money to tithe. That God would understand....and on and on. But I just prayed that God would provide our needs for the week. Well, I wrote that tithe check as soon as I got paid. By Monday, we had several bills that HAD to be paid that day. The grace period was OVER! The problem was that we needed $360, but had $10 left. I cashed in my Christmas fund at work, which gave us $350. I told my mom that I may need to borrow some money, but that I would let her know.

As we were on the way to the bank, I just prayed and thanked God for the availability of the $350. I thanked Him for his mercy and grace, and his never-ending ability to provide for His children. After we made the deposit, the bank showed a balance different than what I had. I started back-tracking, and realized that I had made a $205 deposit, and had never written it down. You will NEVER convince me that this was a coincidence. I know I am human. I make mistakes. I forget to write things down. But let me tell you, I NEVER forget to write down a DEPOSIT! It was God! He was bigger than the bills we had hanging over our head. You know, He always holds up His end of the bargain. We just have to be obedient. Even if it means putting complete trust in Him that He will not fail us. Has He failed you yet? I can't say that He has. He always shows up in a mighty way.

I share this with you, not to pat ourselves on the back for tithing, but because I think it is important to share with everyone when God does something STRONG and MIGHTY in our lives. What has He done for you? What blessings are you missing out on by not trusting in Him? You know, He's got us covered. We just have to TRUST and OBEY!

One thing I have learned in these tough financial times is that our money means nothing when we leave this earth. God doesn't care what we drive, what we wear, where our kids go to school. The only thing He cares about is how we lived for Him. I have to keep reminding myself of these things. This in only temporary. I need to store my treasures in heaven, and not get so worked up over the worldly treasures.

I have to say that I admire my Dad, Mom and the rest of my family. They have always been very forward about their Christianity with all of their clients, employees and even their competition. Philippians 4:13 rides around on our trucks, it mails out with our invoices, and even makes an appearance on our website. People know that we are Christians. But, this is when the rubber hits the road. It's easy to be a Christian, and a great witness when things are going good. But it takes a great deal of FAITH to remain a great witness in the tough times. They keep reminding us all that this is where we must live our testimony. God is good, all the time. Even when the money isn't flowing in. Even when you are having to lay people off. Even when you have no idea when a job will be awarded to you. We just have to keep praising Him.

I encourage each of you to evaluate your relationship with the Lord. What can we do to further His kingdom? Who can we share His great love with? Are you living your testimony, even when Satan throws things in your way? I pray that each day I can be a living testimony for what God has done in my life? What has He done in yours?

Bodie's Baby Shower

My dear friend, Mindy, just had a precious baby boy named Bodie. I was so blessed to get to share her pregnancy experience with her. We have once-a-week lunch dates at Moes (my favorite that never gets old!) So of course, when I found out she was having a baby, I started planning the party. She chose a woodland theme for her nursery (complete with a custom crib built by her husband!)

I love to make wreaths for the Momma to take to the hospital. Here is Mindy's wreath:




Of course I had to make the cake too! Here is Bodie's tree:


It was a sour cream pound cake with buttercream icing, covered in fondant leaves.

I didn't get a picture of the complete food table, but we had an ice cream sundae/float buffet. It was sooooo YUMMY!

Here is Mindy and me:

I also painted a canvas to match the theme, but it is on my camera who presently has a dead battery. I will have to post it another time.

Sorry for the blog slacking. I have lots to share, including my sister's wedding, along with my very first wedding cake. I'll try to post those later.

Hope you all have a great day!

Disney Part 2

Day 2 of Disney started with a character breakfast at the Cape May Cafe. Both kids (and adults) really enjoyed wining and dining with such celebrities. SG kept chasing them from table to table, because she didn't understand she wasn't the only kid in the room. Here they are with Goofy:


And Donald:We went to Magic Kingdom again on Saturday. The princess HAD to meet Ariel. We were only the 5th person in line to meet her. SG kept yelling, "Ariel, it's me! I'm here to see you!" Cade was the best big brother. He showed her all the ropes of Character Stalking and Photographing. It was really cute. This picture pretty much sums up her reaction. She was speechless. Y'all know that's a first!



Once Ariel was checked off the list, we made our way to the Pirate League for Cade. Now...this is fairly new, but for the boys (and girls) it's a MUST! You get a pirate makeover, a pirate name, treasure and pictures. Here is Cade at the beginning of his makeover:
Now....you can choose 3 faces-Captain Hook, Jack Sparrow, or Cursed Pirate. Betcha can't guess what he chose? Here is my cursed pirate taking his pirate oath. Just a word of caution....the oath includes the fact that if you take a bath, you will then become a land lubber again. Not a pirate anymore! Imagine how bathtime went that night! Not pleasantly:(



When you are all done, and you have gone and gotten your treasure (which is a pretty nice pirate medallion on a chain), you get to write your "Pirate Name" in the guest book. Here is Frances Blackhawk signing the book. Let me tell you they take this naming business seriously. You tell them your birthday, roll the pirate dice and then check in a book, and that's how you get your name.




Only a mother could love this face!!!!

Then it was off to see Mickey. This was a blast seeing both kids sooooo excited!

We got to do everything we wanted multiple times that day . We decided to take an early seat for the night time parade, and this is how they passed the time by. They had sword fights with each other.



Once it got dark, Mr. Disney Employee Jack spent some time with Cade asking him all about the Pirate League. Since he looked so scary, Mr. Jack asked Cade to help him regulate the crowd on the sidewalk. Of course he obliged!!!



You know, I have to give credit to good ol' Walt. He really trained his people right. The second the sun starts going down, all of the blinky toys come out of the woodwork. Now, you've already bought the balloons, swords, princesses, etc. but for some reason, you just can't turn down the blinky toys. SaraGrace decided to trade in her sword for a princess wand that lights up, sings and has a mirror. Hey....atleast it's multipurpose. Well, the princess didn't want to be left out of all of the attention Mr. Jack was giving Cade, so she decided to make her move. Here she is talking to him:

...and 10 seconds later, she bopped him on the nose with her wand. I was so EMBARRASSED! He was not phased, but Good Lord, she sure did get her some attention. We settled in and watched the parade. It was one of the highlights of the trip. Here is Mommy and her two "angels":


Day 3 was spent at Epcot. For some reason we only got one picture. Here it is:


I only posted it to show how cute this little outfit was. This trip was AMAZING! We had such a good time, and we are planning to go back soon!

Disney Part 1

The girls (Me, Beas and Gamma) decided to take the kids to Disney for the weekend, the last weekend of February. This was PERFECT timing. It was a little cold, but NO LINES ANYWHERE!!! Both kids have been before, but this was the first time SG has been that she could actually remember.

We left Gainesville at noon on Friday. We went to our hotel, and then to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon. After a chilly ride on the ferry, here is who met us at the gates of the Kingdom:

SaraGrace couldn't believe her eyes. She walked right up and started kissing Pluto. Cade had to tell her to "simmer down" a little so she didn't scare him off:) After we pried the kids off of Pluto, we walked in and the fun began. We all love Disney so much. It is my favorite place on Earth! Who needs the seven wonders, when you have the Mouse?

The first thing we did was go to the bathroom, of course. Here is little miss THANG in her first of 3 personalized Disney outfits, courtesy of the talented Robyn Stanley. Just so you know, she had matching hair bows for each outfit. That's an important detail you know?


Gamma took this picture of the two of them.

You know how I know Gamma took it? See Cade's head cut off? That is her trademark. So over the course of the next days, see how many Gamma pictures you can identify:)

We headed over to Buzz Lightyear which Cade LOVES, but Gamma loves it even better because it is the only ride she will ride. Here are the three of us battling the alien robots:


We rode a few other things in Tomorrow Land, including the race cars. Can I add that this is one ride that has been passed over the last 27 years, because it just always had a LONG line, and girls don't care about race cars:) Here is Cade and Beas in their car:


What we didn't get a picture of was me and SG in the car. She INSISTED on driving, so I thought.....WHAT THE HECK? Can I tell you I could've used a muscle relaxer and a neck brace when we got off that track. I had the worst case of whiplash ever recorded!

We then headed over to Fantasy Land, where we discovered the whole reason we spent hundreds of dollars to bring SaraGrace to Disney....
...the CAROUSEL! Are you kidding me? Over the course of the weekend, I think we rode this thing a dozen times. It's all she wanted to do. But hey, that's the purpose of trips like this....to see your kids having the time of their lives!!! We managed to ride Pooh, "Pooter Pan", Small World, and everything else in Fantasy Land before leaving for dinner at the T-Rex Cafe.

One quick story of Small World- SG loves sing-along dvds. She picks up so quickly the words of the song. By the time we were in China on the boat, she was LOUDLY serenading all of us with the song of all songs....WORD FOR WORD PEOPLE! It was pretty hilarious! She's still singing that song....everyday! But the coolest thing about Small World was that my little genius, Cade, could identify every country as we rode through it. That is pretty impressive!

I don't know how we managed to not take pictures of the T-Rex. Oh wait, yes I do.....if I remember correctly, Miss Grace, so rightfully named, decided to stand in the highchair and take the plunge, right onto the floor. Of course everyone comes running, and sister LOVES her some attention! Can I just say DRAMA? I don't know who she gets that from, but Lord help us, I just knew she had broken her arm. I ran to the bathroom with her, and she finally settled down. She was fine, I think it just scared her. The first day was a BLAST! We did everything we wanted to do, and couldn't wait for the next day.

Stay tuned.....tomorrow I will update day 2 with Character Breakfast, Pirate League, Ariel, Mickey and more!

All Dressed Up & Always Somewhere to Go

I have been a TERRIBLE blogger lately. I have to apologize:( I hope atleast a few people remember I have a blog. Things have been busier at work, which is a GREAT thing. That's the main reason I have been slacking...HA:) Anyway, lots to catch up on.

Easter is such a wonderful time of year. Everything is beginning to bloom, reminding us that He made all things new with His sacrifice for us. It's so easy to forget the reason we celebrate Easter, between shopping for Easter outfits, visiting the "bunny", gathering goods for the baskets and on and on. I'm so thankful for the blood Jesus shed to pay for my sins. I constantly pray that I can be a light that shines for Him and His glory.

Speaking of Easter outfits, here are the two littles in their new duds:

Why is it when little boys grow up, they think it is cool to be silly for the camera? I don't know, but I think this is SOOOOO CADE! I love it! Don't think I am not going to save this for some blackmail! Cade was hilarious in that he didn't want to wear a tie because it looked "stupid." He reminded me that his Daddy never wears a tie, so he didn't want to either. Well, there's an unspoken rule in our house that the only day of the year a tie is required is Easter. I know that is silly, but normally that is the only family picture we take each year. Somehow, we didn't even manage that this year, but the boys still wore ties. SaraGrace's dress came from Mississippi, while we were on our trip to LSU. Isn't it the cutest? We had to take this picture and text it to MS for Eestie, EO and Birdy (Eestie's mommy) since they helped pick it out 6 months earlier:)

Every year, on Easter Sunday, our church family brings flowers and places them on the cross. The kids look forward to this every year. Here are Cade and SaraGrace and their flowers:


I love shopping for little girls dresses. I can remember my mom shopping at Polly Flinders so we would have a new dress every Sunday. When we were in the mountains for Christmas, we visited the Lid'l Dolly's dress shop. SG made out like a bandit!

Here she is in one of her Dolly dresses:

Her friend Emma got one too! Here are the girls looking cute in their "twirly" dresses as SG calls them:

Hopefully I can keep up with my blogging now. I have lots of updates to come: Biggest Loser, Disney World complete with a Pirate Makeover, 1 st visit to the duck pond, our first garden, marriage retreat, upcoming mission trip, baby shower with my first original painted canvas, a tree cake and the youth fair. I have also updated my Chef Cheff Blog. Stay Tuned!

God Bless!

Biggest Loser Update!

Just had to update that as of last night, I am down 2 pounds, and 4 1/2 total inches. YAY!!!!!