LeeLee cooks!

Yes, you heard it right...LeeLee has started to cook!

B has always commented on how he wished I cooked more and how he wished he could take leftovers to work, so I finally caved!

It's not that I don't like to cook, I do! It's the grocery shopping and planning that I hate! So, this past Saturday, my sweet momma helped me plan out a menu for the week, and then we made our grocery list. She even went to the grocerry store with me, helped me pick out meats and veggies, and she gave tons of great advice!

So, B and I have had one full week of homemade meals, and we are loving it! Our menu included chicken supreme casserole, lasagna, minute steak with mushroom gravy and homemade soup!

Aren't you proud of me? Well, even if you aren't, I am proud of myself!

I already have the menu planned for next week, and I am going to brave the grocery store by myself! There is nothing like cooking a beautiful meal and enjoying it with your special someone...heck, even by yourself!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend - I know I will, I am making a visit to my favorite fabric store in Nashville, and I have some big plans for some sewing projects!

Blessings, y'all!

Exalted by God

At the beginning of this year, our pastor did a series on being exalted by God and becoming a righteous person. This study has still stuck with me throughout this year, and I hope it continues to for the rest of my life - here are some verses that have stayed with me from the sermon:

Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. - Proverbs 14:34

Acts of Righteousness -

"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to you Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

- Matthew 6:1-18

I am not really sure where this post is going, but for some reason, I had it on my heart to re-visit this!

My B is home finally, and we are super excited about a low-key weekend (and a birthday breakfast for my favorite papa!)!

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! :)

I miss my B.

Brad has an amazing job - he loves it very much, and we are very blessed that he was given this opportunity after he got laid off in October. However, with this new job, comes lots of traveling opportunities. So for the past three weeks, he has been gone for 12 days! Now, if you really know me, you know that I hate being by myself. So, when Brad lets me know he's going to be gone the next week, I try to find something to do every single night.



But this week, I just miss my B.



I have had something to do every night, but I am so ready for him to get home!



And it doesn't make things better to know that he is along the Georgia coast - can we say JEALOUS?



Anyways, I have learned to really appreciate my husband while he is at home! I hope you do the same for your special man!



Blessings!

LeeLee


My main man and myself this past Christmas :)

LeeLee gets a new vacuum.

That's right folks, my precious B gave me the best Valentine's gift this year...a NEW Kenmore canister vacuum!

You have to know that because B and I have a black labrador, Turner, we also have lots of dog hair. I have never really had a great vacuum (our old one was about 20 years old - an old Rainbow, the kind you have to put water in), so we usually end up with dog hair everywhere. I always manage to have a lint brush in nearly every room, but I was getting tired of it. Now, I have the most awesome vacuum, and I will not have dog hair everywhere anymore!

If you are wanting to buy a good vacuum, something that will last, I definitely recommend the Kenmore - mine even has a red light for when there is still dirt, or hair in my case, on the floor - it turns green when the floor is clean! How awesome is that?????

Sorry this has turned into such a "domestic" post, but I was really excited about it! Ha!

LeeLee reflects on last year...

So, I know that I haven't been very good at posting, but life just gets in the way sometimes!

Things have been very good for us this year - we started the year off with a positive attitude, ready to leave 2008 behind. Is it just me, or was 2008 a bad year for a lot of people? Brad and I both changed jobs, our marriage wasn't the greatest, and I was not a very happy person. Last fall, I realized how unhappy I was and decided to give it all to God. For so long, I had been trying to fix everything myself. I fasted from my friends (crazy, huh?) just to spend some real face-to-face time with my husband and my family. I had pushed them all away, and I needed to rekindle those relationships. So, if you didn't hear from me at all from September until now, you know why!

How are things now, you ask?

Couldn't be better! Brad and I are more in love today than we were the first day we met. We have been doing the Fireproof study at church on Friday nights, and it has done amazing things for us. Just opening the lines of communication has been phenomenal. Every night, we do a "love dare" - it ranges from just being patient, to surprising your spouse with something. But the thing that benefits us is the talking and the praying. God has been rocking our world right now, and I couldn't be happier.

I am also doing the Captivating study with a ladies' group, and it has been difficult for me at certain points. I'm still trying to push forward, but there are things that I do not want to face. The only thing that keeps me going in the study is knowing that those wounds that I am so afraid of facing are not so scary now. Now, I am not facing them alone - I am facing them with Christ.

I have lots of ideas for posts, and I will try my very best to get them all down on the blog...so spread the word, I'm back :)

Blessings, y'all!

LeeLee