Pics from today and yesterday...

We surprised Mike's parents with a surprise "photo shoot" on Sunday with all of the grandkids! So, while the photographer was doin' her work, I was trying to capture a few shots myself. Also, today we went to the Botanical Gardens, there are a few of those mingled in as well.

Emma at the Fairy Gate - today at the gardens.

Emma and I at a train station in Opelika for the photo shoot. Mike took this for me, I don't have many of just me and Emma :)

Emma with Mimi and Papa

Emma and Chloe looking at this really old truck

Playin' around while the others were getting their pictures taken.

At the Botanical Garden Butterfly House

Me and Mike

Emma with Wayland (Amy and Rob's daughter) and Lili

Mike and Lili

Johnathon and Deuce in Opelika

Our wedding weekend...

We had the honor of attending the wedding of our good friends, Frank Hamilton and Ellen Morgan.......now Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton :) It was in beautiful downtown Mobile, where the live oaks are absolutely breath taking. What a great weekend!

Ryan, Frank, and Mike at the rehearsal.

The happy couple!

The sight of the reception had beautiful courtyards on all sides.

Richards DAR House, where the reception was.

I loved the wrought-iron work.

This lead down the sidewalk in front of the house. A beautiful wrought-iron fence.

Another old home down the street.

Congrats Ellen and Frank! We love you guys!

Trusting

Well, I mentioned in the previous post that God is teaching us to trust Him with this new direction He's taking us. I'm always amazed at how faithful He is. I am reading a devotional titled "A Gentle Spirit, Daily Wisdom For Women", it is a compilation from different authors. Today's reading really encouraged me and so I wanted to share it with you.


Your Trust in Him by Hannah Whitall Smith

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Do you, then, now at this moment, surrender yourself wholly to Him? You answer, "Yes." Then, my dear friend, begin at once to reckon that you are His, that He has taken you, and that He is working in you to will and to do His good pleasure. And keep on reckoning this. You will find it a great help to put your reckoning into words and say over and over to yourself and to your God, "Lord, I am Thine; I do yield myself up entirely to Thee, and I believe that Thou dost take me. I leave myself with Thee. Work in me all the good pleasure of Thy will, and I will only lie still in Thy hands and trust Thee."
Make this a daily, definite act of your will, and many times a day recur to it, as being your continual attitude before the Lord. Confess it to yourself. Confess it to your God. Confess it to your friends. Avouch the Lord to be your God, continually and unwaveringly, and declare your purpose of walking in His ways and keeping His statutes; and sooner or later, you find in practical experience that He has avouched you to be one of His peculiar people, and will enable you to keep all of His commandments, and that you are being made into "an holy people unto the Lord, as he hath spoken."

This road we're on....

Several months back the Lord stirred in us the desire to move into the inner city neighborhood surrounding our church. Please pray for us as we step out in faith on this journey with the Lord. The road we are on is a winding one, requiring trust and faith at every turn. We have spent much time in prayer about this and are trusting that God is leading us in this direction.We are excited about this new direction in our lives and what the Lord has in store!

We started looking at real estate and realized that it didn't do us much good b/c we couldn't buy a house until we sold ours. So, we recently put our house on the market and after just 8 days, it sold! Now what?! We are considering a couple of houses in a proposed historic district that are about 100 years old, so they'd require alot of renovation (which is right up my alley!). So, by May 15th we have to find an apt./house to rent and move out of our home. Toss in a couple of out-of-town weddings and a surgery recovery and I'd say we're a little pressed for time! Things are moving quicker than we thought. The plan is to live in the apt. til renovations are done.

Would you pray for us? Pray that our transition is smooth and timely. Pray for faith and trust, that we'd keep our eyes on Jesus and His call on our life. Your prayers mean more than words can express.

Adventures with Mimi and Popi

The Huntsville Botanical Garden is Emma's favorite place to go with Mimi and Popi. They have made alot of special memories there.

In Recovery...

Well, I'm 1 out of the other 300,000 people that will have their gall bladders taken out this year! Over the past 2 months, I've had these episodes that have been waking me up at night, very sharp pain in my upper abdomen and back.......I just thought it must be really bad heart burn/acid indigestion. It would keep me up most of the night, after a few hours I'd finally be comfortable enough to settle down and go back to sleep. The last episode was a long one. It lasted all night long (2:30 am - 8:30am), so I went to urgent care. Through an ultrasound, they detected that I had multiple layers of gall stones......like gravel. Doc wanted to remove it asap, so about a week later, here I am.....in recovery......very sore.......but the pain is less by the day. My mom and dad came up for the surgery to help Mike with the girls. I can't lift anything heavier than 10 lbs for two weeks, so Lili (my 23 pounder) will have to learn to walk really quickly! Thanks so much for all the prayers and support, it really was an encouragement to me. I love you all!