2011 in Review

I cannot believe this is the last day of 2011.  Where has the time gone?!  The word blessed does not do my life justice.  I do not believe there is even a word to describe just how I feel.  The Lord has been so faithful and has come through more times than I could begin to count.

When looking back just on this one year of my life, I feel so overwhelmed with how fortunate I am, but also how undeserving too. But that's what's amazing about God's grace - no one deserves it.  He just blesses us with it because He loves us.  I feel like I said this same thing in 2009 and 2010.  And I did, but when I stop to think about it, I can point to one defining moment in my life that changed everything for me.  2009 was full of some very low valleys for me during the first part of the year.  I mean...rock bottom.  But it was also the best time of my life.  Although I had been saved when I was 8, I feel like I never fully trusted the Lord with my life.  I had my own agenda and I was going to do things my way.  It wasn't until He yanked away every single perfect piece of my little plan that I realized I was a fool.  But it was what I needed.  He used the low points to bring me closer to Him.  I can remember just hitting my knees and telling Him I was so lost and didn't know what to do, but that I trusted Him that His plan was better than anything I could have planned.  I promised Him that if He would pull me through, I would never turn my back on Him again.  I've kept my promise.  A little over a month later, Jared walked into my life.  A week later, I found the EXACT home I had been looking for that I could afford to live on my own.  Two months later, my perfect niece was born.  A year later, I was engaged to the man made just for me.  Six months after the engagement, we were married and living in our first little home.  That brings us to 2011.  I just did not think it could get better.  But it did.

I loved our little home in North Hill where we began 2011.  It was old, had character, but it was a bit small.  After we got married, we had nowhere to house our gifts, I had two cabinets in the kitchen and 2 functioning burners on the stove.  Once we got Rosie, it really felt cramped.  We made the decision to move to a bigger rental with a fenced in backyard.  I still think back about our little Barcelona house.  It wasn't much to look at from the outside, but we had some great memories there.  I'll always remember how the sun streamed through the windows every morning as we sat together drinking coffee on the couch.  And I could never forget how COLD that house was.  We were always bundled up it seemed.  It was our first home and it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Moving to the house on Sandcliff was fun because it was minutes from the beach, but it just doesn't hold the same memories like the Barcelona house did.  We actually had our engagement pictures taken at our Barcelona house out on the brick street in front.  I'm so thankful we did that now.

We went into this year with absolutely NO plans of buying a home.  It just wasn't in our budget.  So, we signed a year lease in March 2011 at the Sandcliff house.  We would have never dreamed we'd be sitting in our own home that WE own right now.  The whole thing was purely a God send.  Jared saw the house on MLS one day.  On a whim we decided to look at it a week later and loved it.  It was the exact neighborhood we were wanting to move in to, but didn't see that happening anytime soon.  We prayed about it and felt led to proceed so I called the bank, we got immediate approval, made an offer and BAM we were homeowners.  Just.Like.That.  But one thing loomed over our head - that darn lease.  We prayed fervently together again asking the Lord to send us a renter.  That very same day the man that ended up renting the home drove by for the first time.  He rented it right away and we were freed from the financial obligation of paying two mortgages at one time.  Tell me that wasn't the Lord's will at work.

J and I celebrated our first year of marriage this year.  We reflected back on just how much happened to us in a year and how thankful we are to have found one another.  I just can't get over how fast it went.  I'm looking forward to many, many more years with him.

 

I changed careers and became a teacher this year - something I again prayed a lot about.  God hears our prayers, folks.  I won't go into every single detail of how that came to be, but at the very beginning of 2011, our Sunday School teacher was talking about how you have to be responsible for taking that initial leap of faith and God will lead the way.  God couldn't just make me a teacher.  I had to first pass the tests and put myself in the position to have a job open up for me.  That class changed my life and I couldn't be more happy to go to work everyday.  It's hard and long hours (except for the vacations) but it never feels like work to me.

We got our little dogter in January of 2011 and boy oh boy has she changed our lives!  She has been nothing short of a little adventure in our everyday lives but she's so much fun.

This year was JAM PACKED with weddings and I loved every minute of it.  I'm so thankful to have been able to share in so many friends' joy.  If you want to check that out, read this post.

I was able to spend another year with my loved ones and was blessed with good health.  My family and friends continue to be so supportive and encouraging in my life and I'm so thankful for them.  My mom and dad celebrated 30 years of marriage this year and are such a positive force in my life.  I love them so very much.

My faith has grown exponentially during this past year.  I continue to see God's work in my life everyday.  I set out as my New Year's resolution to read the Bible all the way through in 2011.  I am happy to report that although I did not completely meet this resolution, I did pretty darn good.  I finished all of the New Testament and am halfway done with the Old Testament.  I have developed a quiet time for myself and read my Bible on (almost) a daily basis.  That's coming a long way from nothing at all.  This year I plan to continue this and devote even more time to God's word.  I WILL finish the Bible this year - hopefully in just a few months.

I'm sure I'm leaving a lot out, but 2011 has been one great year.  Good thing I have this little blog to look back on some happenings from this past year.  My heart is so full of joy.  Here's to hoping 2012 is full of blessings for all!

Antiquing

J and I may have found a new favorite hobby - antiquing.  Believe it or not, I had never actually been before this week.  I've always loved anything vintage but would usually just pay full price for something new that looked old.

We got inspired by this antique china cabinet I've inherited.  It was constructed in London back in the 1800s and it's so beautiful, but comes with one large problem.  It has curved glass in the front and one of the panes is cracked.  We've talked to some folks and it seems that our only option is to either have someone from Dallas, TX or Ohio fix it...And let's just say it's not cheap - so sad!  I don't really know what to do with it now.  But anyways, since we've both had this week off together, we decided it might be fun to hit up some local antique shops just to see what they had to offer.  What we thought would be a short little adventure turned into an all day affair.  We had so much fun and found some really cool stuff.  No big purchases (yet), but we loaded up on some cool knick-knacks.

I love love love mercury glass (hence all of it at our wedding) and found those two hurricane vases for next to nothing.  I'm all a huge fan of the mason jars so I bought a handfull.  The wooden cross has already found a home on our wall and the books have made it to the bookshelf.  As for the 100 year old iron, it works perfect as a bookend. 

Now we're so inspired to hunt for more treasures.  The majority of the stuff we saw in the stores looked just like the items Pottery Barn makes to look old and charges a fortune for.  I've discovered I can decorate my home to look like Pottery Barn but pay half the price (or less).  I think I'm hooked.

December Brain Dump

I realize I haven't just been bad about blogging lately - I've been downright awful.  I have not posted once in December.  Somehow I figured that this December would be much more calm and slower than normal but I haven't had much downtime so I'm going to make one long post about some very memorable moments of my life this December.

We were only in school for 2 weeks of this month and it FLEW by.  I participated in a Secret Santa with some of the teachers and had a ball.  My Secret Santa was so spot on with me.  I absolutely loved by gifts.  They were so heartfelt.  One that meant so much to me was a book titled "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World".  I opened it up and started reading some of it.  I plan to finish it this week...WOW did I need that book or what...I'll blog more after I get done reading it, but it deals with things I really struggle with in life.

I had some really fun activities for my kids gearing up for the holidays.  We finished up our chapter in science on rocks and minerals.  To spice it up, I had my dad (who is a geologist) come in as a guest speaker.  He brought about 20 mineral samples and ended up making each kid a bag full of 5 minerals each.  He's the best father and has such a giving heart.  I know he's my dad, but I've never known anyone more giving than him.  The kids LOVED it!  They were so excited and it was a great way to make it a memorable lesson.  They had to take their bag of minerals up to my table and identify which ones they had.  I wish I had a picture of how it was all laid out, but as always, I am terrible about remembering to take pictures.





The week before Christmas, we made snowmen out of water bottles and then made cinnamon applesauce ornaments.  The snowmen were adorable.  My kids' creativity was cracking me up!  I bought pipe cleaners, felt, poms, googly eyes, and Styrofoam balls to help make the heads, arms, and clothing.  We stuffed empty water bottles with white tissue paper and then glued everything else on.  I had them write a story about "The Day it Snowed" to tie it into Language Arts.  Such a fun activity!  Now the cinnamon ornaments were a hit too - but time consuming!  It took them about 3 days to dry before I could have the kids decorate them.  Luckily they were all done in time to go home for Christmas.  The last day of school, we had a Christmas party in class.  My kids all got a little something from me (with the help of my folks) and I made them hot chocolate in the crockpot while we watched The Polar Express.  It was also pajama day at school.  We had a great time!  These are special memories that I will always cherish with my first class.  I love those kids.





Aside from work, we attended a few Christmas parties and ornament exchanges.  Our Sunday School Christmas party was a lot of fun this year.  The theme was "What Child is This" and our teachers compiled a booklet full of all of us in the class as children then we had a dirty Santa ornament exchange.  J and I ended up with great ornaments.  I thought mine was so stinkin cute.  It's a Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus s'more set.  J got a talking Beaker from the Muppets.




If you've read my blog for any length of time or know me, you know I love to cook and bake.  Unfortunately, I did not have nearly enough time for that this year like I had hoped, but I did try making cake balls for the first time.  They were really easy and very good - got lots of compliments on them.  This is them before I packaged them all up for delivery.  The white coated ones are strawberry and the others were chocolate.






I also made these Christmas cookies for a cookie swap at school.  I had pinned them sometime ago and figured I'd try them since they looked so Christmas-y.  I thought they were good, but they were different.  They get their red color from cherries that you puree, so if you're not a fan of cherries, you won't like these.

We were blessed enough to be able to afford a dining room table right before Christmas.  We had been searching for awhile and finally decided on a set we kept coming back to.  I loved having it in the house for us to enjoy during the holidays.  We hosted our first Christmas dinner over here and all got to sit around it.  At night, it was perfect for our intense evening of board games.  ;)

I did not take one picture of Christmas festivities.  Shame on me.  I was too busy doing this or that.  It makes me sad now, but what can I do.  This reminds me again of how much I need to read "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World".  Jared managed to snap a few pictures of us girls cooking.  I made my grandma's dressing recipe for the first time and I was so excited by how well it turned out.  There's no "recipe", just a little of this and a little of that.  My mom told me what all was in it as best she could and I totally winged it.  I was so thankful that it turned out better than I could have imagined and everyone enjoyed it.  Making that dressing is one of the reasons I love cooking so much - it was my dad's mom's whom I never met; she died way before I was born.  But I feel like her memory can live on through me by recreating her recipes.  I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else but it always makes me feel good to cook family recipes and bring joy to my family like I know my grandma used to do through her cooking.  We had a big feast - ham, dressing, sweet potato souffle', mashed potatoes (thank you, Jules!), green beans and corn (thank you, MIL!), bread, chocolate cake, and pecan pies (thank you, Angie!). 

Rosie enjoyed her first Christmas with us as well.  We got her last January so she's never spent Christmas with us.  She was feeling very festive.  And I was so very happy that she did not feel the need to tear up any decorations or pay any attention to the tree!  Yipee!




The best part about this December has been the time I've spent with my loved ones.  My husband is the most wonderful man and I am so thankful to spend my days and nights with him.  He is truly amazing and such a God send in my crazy life.  It was so nice to see all of my family this year and spend time with old friends I hadn't seen in awhile.  I love being able to hug my mom and dad's necks and loved having J's family here for the holidays.  I loved celebrating my Lord's birthday and tried to keep that as my focus as I prepared for Christmas festivities.  I could definitely have done a better job than I did and I think that will be my goal from here on out - make Christmas all about Christ instead of decorations, holiday shopping, etc.  My heart felt so happy when I put on Christmas songs and Christian music and just sang out loud as I worked to prepare the food.

I'm sure I've left something out, but this is enough brain dump for one sitting.  I'm off to warm up some leftovers and snuggle up with my hub-sand.  We're enjoying a nice quiet evening in our sweats - it doesn't get much better than that! ;)

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas filled with love.  XOXO

Homemade Cheese Grits

Finally a post about grits! ;)  Growing up in the South, I was born and bred on some good ole grits.  All types too - Nassau, cheese, butter, grits a ya-ya, you name it.  I went almost every morning for about 15 years eating cheese grits for breakfast.  They weren't difficult - typically instant grits with American cheese melted in.  But they were always so good.

I've been at home sick today with a sinus infection and "flu like symptoms" (whatever that means - do I have the flu or not?) and I finally gained my appetite back around 12:30 today.  So what did I do?  Decided to make myself cheese grits.  I don't eat them much anymore because the hub-sand grew up on oats, not grits, so he's not a huge fan and they're definitely not the healthiest choice either.  But I am sick and I don't care.

Instead of doing instant grits, I did them the old fashioned way today and cooked them on the stove.  They were very good so I figured I'd share the recipe in case anyone else would like to try.  I adapted it from the Quacker Grits canister.




Ingredients:
-1 1/4 cup of water
-1/3 cup of uncooked grits
-dallop of butter
-2 slices of cheese (or try other types like Gouda)
-dash of garlic powder
-tsp of paprika
-sea salt to taste

Directions:
1.  Bring water to boil.  Add grits.
2.  Reduce heat to med-low and stir for 2 minutes.  Cover and let simmer 12-14 mins.
3.  Once done simmering, add butter and cheese.  Stir until melted.
4.  Add seasonings to taste.

The paprika and garlic powder really made this taste so good and different from the grits I was always used to make.  Definitely a good comfort food for a cold day like today.  And now that I've got my appetite back and can taste again, I'll be making Lily's Chicken for dinner tonight - roasted chicken topped with goat cheese, wilted spinach, artichokes and lemon basil sauce...delish.  Seriously my favorite chicken dish.  I got the inspiration from Bonefish Grille's Lily's Chicken and created my own version at home.  Recipe will be coming soon.  God bless!

Thankful #3 (Final)

Well y'all, Thanksgiving came and went.  I am still exhausted and getting sick - boo!  Hopefully Emergen-C will knock it out.  I went to bed at 7:30 last night and I feel that coming on again tonight.  But first, I needed to finish up my Thankful series.  Here we go!

1.  I am thankful for safe travels for all of my family and friends.  We all made it in one piece!  And drove through rain there and back.  Thank the Lord for watching over us.
2.  I am thankful for my health.
3.  I am thankful for my sweet students.  I have really been blessed this first year of teaching.
4.  I am thankful for a huge pot of chili on the stove waiting on me to dig in.
5.  I am thankful for amazing in-laws.  I hate the word in-laws though.  That's why you'll always see me referring to them as MIL, FIL, and SIL.
6.  I am thankful that my crazy dogter did pretty darn well on her first long car ride and stay in Arkansas.
7.  I am thankful for my grandparents - biological and love related.  My life would not be the same without them.
8.  I am thankful for technology to keep me connected to my friends all over the world.  Although we complain about technology, it can be such an amazing thing.
9.  I am thankful for clean water to drink...and boy do I love it.
10.  And last but certainly not least, I am thankful for another day to live and for this little blog.  I started this almost 3 years ago just to keep in touch with family and friends afar and had no idea I'd get so much love from this blog.  So thank you to all of my followers & supporters - I love y'all.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving this year.

My class' turkeys we made before Thanksgiving break.  You may remember them from this post.  We had so much fun!

Here are just a few pictures from Thanksgiving.  Us girls were hard at work in the kitchen.  Everything was so delicious and I likely ate my weight in food.

Me and the hub-sand.

Here's our crazy dog.  We couldn't find her, she wouldn't come when we called.  Do you see her sneaky little self?

Zoom in closer and she's got a huge rock in her mouth.  She is so WEIRD.

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!  I only have 14 work days left in 2011 - AHHH!  Time flies!!  I'm behind on my Christmas decorations, I've got to get started!  Be blessed.

Football & Thanksgiving Wishes

If you're reading this, you might recall that we are a house of Hog fans.  My husband might be the biggest Arkansas Razorback fan on the face of this Earth.  And he is totally willing to spend every penny we have if Arkansas makes it to the National Championship game.  That's right, Ar-Kansas just moved up to numero tres!!  Friday's game is HUGE and after the news of a player tragically passing Sunday afternoon, the boys will be bringing it. 

No matter what the outcome, please keep Garrett Uekman's family in your prayers.  He was a sophomore at the university and was found unresponsive and in full cardiac arrest late Sunday morning.  It's crazy to watch a player on the field one day jumping around, so happy just living life and then to hear that his life ended too soon the next day.  You just really never know.  Life is so fragile and we sometimes forget that.  We tend to think we're invincible.

With that in mind, I wish all of you a great Thanksgiving holiday!  Tomorrow is my Friday and I am ecstatic!  I can't wait to spend some time with my MIL and SIL (that's mother-in-law and sister-in-law in case you didn't know).  Well, I can't wait to spend time with the whole family but especially the girls - I love our time together.  We always have SO much fun and I can't wait to see what we get into this year.

 This will likely be our motto.

I'm for sure there will be lots of laughing until we cry, maybe some crying, shopping, cooking, RELAXING and coffee drinking.

Count your blessings!  And safe travels for all of you going out of town! XOXO

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm linking up with Jamie over at This Kind of Love for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

Here's some stuff I am loving right now...

I get almost a whole week off for Thanksgiving.  I can't wait.

And I'm making these adorable turkey cookies with my class next week.

I adore big sweaters, tights and boots - so comfy AND cute.

I'm also loving this saying.  It's SO true!  I see people complain and worry so much.  I admit, I have been guilty of this as well.  Stop and think, have you prayed about it as much as you've talked about it?

Mmmm another good one.  I love the life God has blessed me with.

I'm also loving my sunless tanning lotion.  This girl's getting pale and I've sworn off tanning beds.  Thank goodness for Clarins & St. Tropez!

I saw this outfit on Pinterest, loved it but knew I couldn't afford that pricey striped shirt.  Low and behold on one of my random Target trips, I came across one that looks almost exactly like this for $9.00.  Hello clearance section!!!  Now my outfit is complete - already had everything else :)

And last but not least, I'll leave you with one more thing I love.

Let that sink in.

Be blessed! XOXO

Random Thoughts

I don't know about y'all but it was hard to get going this morning!  A 3 day weekend spoils me.  And boy oh boy I can't wait for my 5 day weekend next week!  That's right, Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

Random Thought #1 - As I've gotten older, I've decided that Thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday.  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, but it's so commercialized now and we get away from the true meaning of it.  Thanksgiving is pressure free - no gifts to be bought, no house to lavishly decorate inside and out, and you get to spend time with family and friends stuffing yourself, shopping, and just hanging out.  It is such a relaxing holiday for me.  And it deserves it's day!  I don't mean to be all "Bah, humbug!" about Christmas, because trust me - I'm not.  I just think folks need to chill out a little bit.  Christmas decorations have been out since July!  It's ridiculous how much marketing is amped up for Christmas.  Just my spill, had to let that out.  I refuse to decorate for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.


Random Thought # 2 - I really want some creamy chicken enchiladas for dinner tonight but I'm having blackened fish and veggies instead.  It's nothing but lean proteins and complex carbs for me this week.  I always do this to myself - come cooler weather, I crave hearty food and always end up losing all of my muscles and then gaining it back in "insulation".  I justify it by saying I need a little insulation for the cooler months, but then I am so mad at myself come March.  So here's to eating good this week so I can indulge next week and not feel guilty!  It doesn't help that I've eaten probably half of a pan of brownies I made Friday night.  Oy!  The downside of loving to cook and bake...but Rosie and I went on a 2 mile jog tonight and I came home and worked out after.  Just gotta stick with it!


Random Thought # 3 - I was an advocate for P90X but this girl does not have that kind of time anymore.  So what do I do?  I get ideas from Pinterest of course!  Tonight I did this workout and it kicked my bootay.

Source: Uploaded by user via Carrie on Pinterest

Random Thought # 4 - Who's going to see the new Twilight movie Friday night?  Wish I could say for sure but that depends on Bob's work schedule.  But I really can't wait for Hunger Games!





Random Thought # 5 - I finished Nicholas Sparks' Safe Haven this weekend. Go grab you a copy.  It was a great book!  I'm such a fan of his.  I've read everything he's put out, but I've been a little behind.  It's an easy read and so suspenseful...I couldn't put it down.

Source: google.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Last Random Thought # 6 - If you are in a relationship or plan on being in a relationship, go buy The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman.  Ah-mazing book.  Hubs and I have been reading it together and it has been eye opening.  I think everyone should be required to read it before marriage.  

Source: google.com.au via Carrie on Pinterest

Hope the rest of your week is lovely! XO

Thankful #2

1.  I am thankful for family members that live close by.  I had my mom and her sisters over this afternoon for lunch and it just made my heart happy to see them and laugh with them.
2.  I am thankful for my wonderful sister-in-laws, all three of them.  I love them all so much.  They are not only family, but some of the best friends I have. We have made some great memories and I look forward to many, many more to come.  I am so blessed to call them my sisters.
3.  I am thankful for the girl I have called my best friend since I was 4 years old.  I was listening to my favorite radio station yesterday (KLOVE) and Nichole Nordeman and Amy Grant's new song came on.  It's called "I'm With You".  Listen to it if you have a minute...beautiful.


Anyways, I started to cry as it made me think about Lindsey and how much she and our friendship mean to me.  She has been there with me through it all: hiding under tables in preschool so we didn't have to leave each other to staying up late at night talking about our love interests to holding each other when those love interests weren't so interested anymore.  And there are millions of stories in-between - 21 years of friendship.

We've been through the good and the bad.  As long as I live, I will never forget the day I called her and cried to her that my previous engagement had ended abruptly.  She lived in Italy at the time and had 2 babies.  She was on a plane to the U.S. in less than a week.  She dropped EVERYTHING for me.  She traveled halfway across the world to help her friend pick up the broken pieces of her life and move on.  She helped me move into my little apartment and start my life on my own.  I had no idea what I was doing, but she helped me hold it together when I really wanted to fall apart.  And she was the one that, after I started putting the pieces back together, told me that that guy she had just met (Jared - my husband) looked at me different - like he really cared about what I had to say.  I thought she was crazy.  A year and a half later, she flew back across the world to be my Matron of Honor at my wedding.  No words can ever express how thankful I am for her.
4.  I am thankful to live in a free country where I have the resources to do what I want to do.  I can go to church because I am allowed that choice.  I can read as many books as I want because I was provided an education. 
5.  I am thankful for the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to fight for our freedom.  How do you put into words the gratitude that you feel towards our service men and women?
6.  I am thankful for my wonderful friends.  They have stuck with me through the ups and downs.  We've shared many laughs along with cries.  I love each and every one of them.  I would not be the person I am today without their love and support in my life.  Whether I've known them since elementary, middle, high school, college, or after - their friendship makes my days brighter.
7.  I mentioned I was thankful for my husband in my last post, but I want to elaborate.  I am not just thankful for a husband.  I am thankful for the man I call my husband: For his passion, his unwavering love for me, his commitment to me, his trustworthy character, his ability to make me belly laugh, his way of really caring what I have to say, his patience with my low self esteem and working so hard to build my confidence.  I could go on and on.  This man has my whole heart for my whole life.  I was terrified to say yes to our first date.  It was the best date I have ever experienced.  I was terrified to say yes when he asked me if I'd be his girlfriend, so scared of being hurt.  But he was the man I prayed for.  And I had absolutely no doubt.  I had all the faith in the world that God knew exactly what He was doing.  It was not until I completely surrendered myself to God that I began to see just how much He was working in my life. 

 Us at the Ole Miss/Arkansas game in 2009

This crazy man sitting next to me on the couch right now yelling and jumping around cheering for his Arkansas Razorbacks is nothing short of a miracle in my life.  Just the WAY it all played out - how he came to live here, how I stayed here, how he got the job at the law firm, how I got the job at the law firm (that I never even applied for), how everything worked out all had divine intervention.  This is my favorite verse.  I made sure it was on our wedding programs.

Source: inloveandwar.net via Carrie on Pinterest

8.  I am thankful that my mom and dad defied all odds.  People said they'd never make it.  Thirty years and going strong.  Thank God for them.
9.  I am thankful for my siblings.  I could say so much right here about the laughs, fights, and all we've been through.  But I feel that simply saying that I love them to death is enough.
10. I am thankful for my precious little niece.  She was the most unexpected surprise.  She has brought so much joy into our lives, it's unreal.
11. I am thankful for my grandparents.  I never got to meet my dad's parents.  They had died before I was born, but I'm thankful to have known my mom's parents.  Over the past few years since my grandma has passed, I've grown closer to my grandpa and I will forever treasure that.  I also had/have two very important people in my life that may not have been my biological grandparents, but they might as well have been - my Meemaw and Pawpaw.  My Pawpaw passed away 10 years ago, but I still have my Meemaw here.  They mean the world to me and have made such an impression on my life.

I was only going to do 10 items here, but I got going and couldn't stop.  Hope you're enjoying your 3 day weekend like I am.  I'm off to go take food out of the oven - cooking for our Sunday School lunch tomorrow.  Goodnight and be blessed! XOXO