Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for. You have so much to be thankful for. We are so blessed. It's easier to realize how blessed I am when I have seen first hand, a third world country where so many people are living without all of the luxuries that so many of us, including myself often, take for granted.

I am thankful for my house. When I start thinking about how I wish we had more room, this is such a good reminder for me. Our two bedroom townhouse is filthy rich living when compared to most of the world.


I am thankful for my bed.


I am thankful for running water. I don't have to walk miles daily to carry 40 pounds of water on my head just so my family has something to drink and bathe with.


I am thankful that I have shoes to protect my feet.


I am thankful that I have insurance and a doctor to go to when I am sick. This little boy has malaria and no doctor or treatment to help him.


I am thankful for my washer and dryer.


I am thankful for my bathroom. It has a toilet. And it flushes. With running water that I did not have to walk miles to get.


Please know something after looking at these pictures-the people in Kenya do not feel sorry for themselves because of these things. For one, they do not know any different. Most of them have no clue what life in America is like. I thank God for that. I would honestly be ashamed for them to see how we live. But the most important thing is that for Christians, whether in Kenya or right here in our city, we have all we need in our salvation in Jesus Christ. Everything else is so unimportant. We can't take anything with us when we leave this earth. Please don't get me wrong, even after going to Kenya twice, I still find myself often getting caught up in all of the luxuries that our country has to offer. But then by God's grace, I am reminded of these pictures, these images that are so real. My heart is in Kenya, but I also have to constantly remind myself that there are so many people, right here in the middle of our city, that are living without NEEDS. I do not let that depress me, I thank God for his grace, for His many blessings and for His frequent reminder of these things.

Happy Thanksgiving y'all!

Preciousness

I got to spend a few hours with this beautiful little girl yesterday. Meet Renna Margaret.


She is an absolute doll! Her mommy and I became good friends teaching together. She and her husband now own a local bakery and although we are still good friends, I don't get to see them as much as I wish I did. It made my afternoon complete yesterday to babysit this sweet little princess.

Wedding weekend

We had the privilege of attending another wedding this weekend. My friend Marie is now a married woman and I was so happy to get to be a part of their special day.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryant Mock



It was such a fun night with some of my most favorite ladies in this world!


I loved the bridesmaids dresses and red shoes...so fun!





ALL UP IN IT!



Sunday's sermon at church was about work. It was an awesome message for both employers and employees. One of the things that hit home the most with me was that work is a blessing and not a curse. I don't think I have ever thought of work as a curse, but I do know that when my alarm goes off every morning, I don't jump out of bed praising God that I get to go to work. I love children and have no doubt that for right now, God has me in the education field for His purpose. I want to make sure that I am keeping a positive attitude and ultimately remember that it is the Lord I am working for. It's not a secret that teachers get paid very little, so if I am clearly not in this for the paycheck, I need to focus often on the things I love about working with kids.

So on that note, it's time for me to go to work and make today a great Monday!

Happy Friday Y'all

Boy do I love me some Fridays! Today has really been a great one because my sweet husband showed up at my school this morning with flowers! He is attending a workshop today but did not have to be there until after 9:00 so he decided to surprise me. Since we are both teachers we never get to see each other during the day or meet for lunch, so it was fun getting to see him for a few minutes again this morning.

The weather is going to be beautiful this weekend and I am thrilled. I'll take as many more days in the 60s and 70s as I can get.

My friend Marie is getting married tomorrow and I am so excited about her big day. Stay tuned for the post wedding blog post!

Happy Friday y'all!

Our baby

We didn't want Sophie to feel left out since she didn't get to come to the photo shoot so I promised her I would post some pics.





I am fully aware that this dog is beyond rotten and we are to blame completely.

Weekend fun

Friday night was date night. We haven't had too many of those lately with all that's been going on. Paul planned date night and he got us tickets to see a play. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed doing something different.

Saturday morning we got up early to go watch my nephew's baseball game and let me tell y'all....it was COLD! We were all bundled up with our hot chocolate and coffee and just got all up in it! After the game we took our weekly trip to Costco. I think the people that work the free samples know us by name. Do most people not go there every weekend for lunch?

After Costco we went home to get some cleaning done and I just couldn't help myself-I busted out the Christmas decorations. I have never done it before Thanksgiving but there were several reasons why I felt this was necessary. For one, I was tired of looking at my pumpkins and fall stuff, which had been out since the beginning of September (I told y'all that decorating for the holidays is one of my favorite things to do). Also, we are going to be out of town Thanksgiving weekend and if I waited until the next weekend, it would only be up for 3 weeks before Christmas. I think Christmas deserves way more than that. I have plenty more justification but I'll leave it at this.




My mom painted these Santas years ago and they are so special to me.


We got part of the Willow Tree nativity as a wedding gift and I got the rest of it for Christmas from my mom and Gram last year. This is my most favorite of all of my Christmas decorations.


Sunday afternoon was the second annual Hicks/ Sowers family photo shoot. Last year we started a tradition with the Sowers (the famous Mason's family) that involves going somewhere fun to take family pics that will be used for our Christmas cards. This will be a lot more necessary for the Hicks when we have little ones, but it's still a lot of fun. This year's spot was Cody Creek in Dobson. If you've never been, I highly recommend going.

Landon and Mason looked absolutely adorable! Between Landon trying to eat the dirt and Mason being silly, I don't know how many pictures of the whole family they will have to choose from. I only took a few pictures with my camera.





Here are a few of us.





I can't wait to get started on our Christmas card. Don't worry though, I do believe I'll wait until after Thanksgiving to send them out.

Alex's Wedding Weekend Take 3-The Reception

The reception was held at the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts, formally known as the Sawtooth Center located downtown. They have recently remodeled the building and it was such an awesome spot for a wedding reception. It was huge which was very accommodating to the 400 guests that attended the wedding.


My Gram and Alex joke about being BFF. Gram recently had a major back surgery and was supposed to have a hard, long recovery. She was crushed at the thought of missing Alex's wedding and even asked to reschedule her surgery. But the surgery went on as scheduled and thanks to God's miraculous healing, Gram was front and center for the big day.



My mama. One of the sweetest, most generous people I know.


Paul's team had to play a make-up game Saturday afternoon from bad weather earlier in the week so he had to leave after the ceremony. I missed having him there but had a great time with my girls.



A great friend and super talented hair stylist, Meredith Beeker.


They had a photo booth set up for guests to take pictures. The pictures would print right away and were put on a cute little clothes line. I hate I didn't take a picture of that part. It was such a good idea and I would totally steal it if I hadn't already gotten married.




Had to get one more pic with the bride before they left!



Cheers to a long, God honoring life together Mr. and Mrs. Gaskins!!!