Camp Forget-Me-Not

Today has been a busy day for me - lots of meetings and LOADS of emails for some reason. Every second Wednesday at United Way, we host an "Agency Brown Bag." This is an opportunity for all of our 48 partner agencies to come together, eat lunch and hear a speaker that may or may not pertain to their particular agency. Well, today's speaker cancelled at 11:15, and the lunch starts at noon, so we were in a pickle. I haven't had the opportunity to speak to all of the agencies about Project PASS (Preparing Adults for Self-Sufficiency), and I thought this would be a great chance to let them know about an initiative that may help their clientele. Now, those of you that really know me, know that I'm pretty outgoing. I'm shy and reserved at first, but I eventually warm up to you. Well, I hate, I mean HATE public speaking - but for some reason, I was really excited about talking about Project PASS, so it went well all in all.

Anyways, to the real point...after the main speaker, there is a chance for agencies to "brag" or announce things going on in their agency. Faye Knox, who is with ALIVE HOSPICE, talked about something that really touched my heart. Alive Hospice, which provides loving care to people with life-threatening illnesses, support to their families, and service to the community in a spirit of enriching lives, has recently started a camp for children and teenagers who have recently lost a loved one in their life - it's called Camp Forget-Me-Not. This camp helps them grieve over their loss in a fun setting.

And here comes the tear-jerker.

At the end of the camp, the camp participants have a butterfly release, but before they release the butterflies, they "whisper" a message to their loved one and then release the butterfly. Faye says it is an absolutely heart-wrenching moment, but so inspiring. Their hope is to teach the participants that death is a part of life, and it doesn't have to be a bad thing for the rest of their life.

This was especially close to my heart, because, as some of you know, I went through three deaths in my family within a matter of weeks during my freshman year of college. My aunt and uncle were murdered on October 9th, 2002, and my father died from lung cancer two weeks later. Although my father and I did not have a relationship when I was growing up, we had just re-connected months before. It was absolutely traumatizing to me, and I only wish I would have had services like Camp Forget-Me-Not to help me work through my many emotions.

At the camp, the participants are asked to design a Christmas card. Alive Hospice then chooses a design to print for the holiday season, and they sell them in packs of 12 for $10. This year's card is ADORABLE (it has the cutest snowman on it) and was designed by Will Moss, who recently lost his father. On the back of each card, Will's picture is placed, as well as a description of Camp Forget-Me-Not. I ask that each of you that read will at least visit the website to see the wonderful things Alive Hospice does - the website is http://www.alivehospice.org/. You can purchase greeting cards on the website or at MidSouth Bank, The Clay Cup, Reeves-Sain Drug Store, Heavenly Ham and many other locations in Murfreesboro.

Psalm 27:4-5 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock.

Separated at birth?

Tonight, I got to meet up with my new friend, APRIL for coffee since we discovered that we actually live in the same town! How crazy is that?! Anyways, I seriously think this girl is my long lost sister - we are so much alike, it's scary. It was so nice to sit and talk with a young married woman like myself. I'm really excited about getting to chat with April more often, although it might feel like I'm talking to myself since we are practically the same person!


In other unrelated news, I made this diaper wreath for my boss, Rachel, who was hosting a baby shower for one of her friends. I saw one in a children's shop, and I thought "hey, I can do that." Anyways, I couldn't remember exactly how it was done, but it turned out cute anyways. I tied each of the diapers with lavender and mocha satin ribbons. And I have to tell you, I love those colors together! Rachel's friend is having a baby girl, and the nursery is decorated in lavender and mocha. Let me know what y'all think...I'm hoping I can make more of these for showers!

I'm a professional mover!

I have not had the chance to update y'all on the status of our weekend move. My goodness - it has been quite the task!

Everything went well with the closing - lots of signing and initialing, but all in all, it was painless! I had to go back to work after closing to finish up some things, but I got to leave a little early to get started on packing the U-haul for the first load. Things took a turn for the worst that evening when my mom's dog, Mattie, who has been really sick for the past couple of weeks, suddenly had to be put to sleep. Mattie was our beloved bassett hound that we had for over 10 years, which is a LONG life for a bassett. It was a hard night for us all, but I'm glad that we had the move to keep our mind's off everything.

We started early Saturday morning, and surprisingly we got the truck unloaded very quickly! The men left for the second load while the women unpacked and arranged things - not a bad job if you ask me! We still had several things at the house, but we had to have the U-haul back in the early afternoon, so we had to make several trips for the remaining things...I didn't think we were EVER going to get all of the stuff! Now, all that's left at the old house is cleaning supplies to clean everything up! I'm so glad to be out of that old and dirty house!

Everything is going well at the new house - it's a lot smaller than the old house, so we are getting an opportunity to get rid of all the junk that we no longer need...and I LOVE IT! We've gotten the majority of the rooms organized and put away, and I think the only room left is the office/scrapbooking room! Praise Jesus! I can't wait for the day when everything is unpacked and put away and we can enjoy our new home!

I have attached a few pictures of the garland my mom and I did for The Write Impression's front doors...I love the green and pink, which is The Write Impression's signature colors! I'm very proud of us, I think it might be one of the prettiest garlands we have made!

This is a picture of my mom and I working diligently in the dark and freezing cold temperatures!

We're better together.

This post is going to be totally dedicated to my husband, Brad. We are coming up on our six-month anniversary, and I just wanted everyone to know how much I love my man! The picture above was taken after our wedding ceremony - it completely describes our relationship - JOY. FUN. and LOTS OF LOVE.

Brad and I got engaged after three months of dating - he proposed in front of my whole family (and everyone at my favorite restaurant, Miller's Grocery), and I, of course, said YES! We planned the wedding of our dreams that took place 14 months after we were engaged.

Our relationship is truly "opposites attract." Brad is everything I'm not - he's sarcastic, witty, realistic and a "numbers" guy. I'm a dreamer, not a big fan of sarcasm, and I hate math. I am a morning gal, and he is a night owl. But somehow, it works.

There are so many things that I love about Brad - I love coming home every night knowing that he is hiding somewhere in our house waiting to scare me. I love that even when we are in the most serious conversations, I can look at him and just bust out in laughter. I love that he keeps me in line regarding finances - otherwise, we'd be broke. I love hearing him sing Johnny Cash songs in the shower EVERY.SINGLE.MORNING. I love it when he dances and makes the "froggy" face. I love that he'll watch all the old classic movies with me that I love so very much - Gone with the Wind, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, etc. And I love that every night he tucks me in, kisses my forehead and tells me he loves me.

And tomorrow, we will start a new adventure in our lives as HOMEOWNERS, and we couldn't be more excited. So, here's to you, Jimmy B - I LOVE YOU to the moon and back!

So, if you've got a man you love - hold him close, kiss him sweetly, and let him know how much you truly love him!

Sewing is testing my patience...

At the end of the summer, I bought a sewing machine at Target. It was the cheapest sewing machine there, and because I'm a beginner, I thought it would work all right for me. If there is a stage before beginner, then that's me. I took sewing classes through 4-H during the summer when I was in middle school, but the main things we made were boxer shorts and pillows. And I remember that being very hard for me. Anyways, I thought I would give it a try again, especially because I want to learn to make curtains and whatnot.

My mom (who is perfect at EVERYTHING) calls herself a "learning again" beginnner, and she has been playing around with the sewing machine at her house. We went to Hancock Fabrics one day and found loads of easy fleece patterns for ponchos and skirts, and since we are always spoiling my five year old cousin, Tessa, we decided to try out a poncho pattern for her. My mom made THE CUTEST poncho last week for Tessa while I was at work. Well, if it was that easy for her, SURELY I can do it. Misty, one of my co-workers, has three absolutely precious girls, and I thought it would be precious if they all had a poncho in their favorite color. Mom bought the fleece, thread and rick rack yesterday, and I was determined to try and make one.

Well, it was an awful experience. It's hard for me to watch my mom sew and try to mimick her (since I'm left-handed) - I have to try and do everything backwards, and I get all confused. Needless to say we nearly finished Zoe's green poncho - I just have to run to Hancock today and get some purple thread for her purple rickrack. I'm not going to let this sewing machine get the best of me! I'm determined to practice, practice, practice and hopefully, I'll eventually make something! Until then, I'm going to continue to be my mom's apprentice :)

This is an almost finished product! I can't wait to see all the girls in their ponchos! Too cute for words!

New friends!

So, most everyone knows that I'm a "newbie" to the blogging world - well, if you didn't, I only started blogging in June I believe. Anyways, I always enjoyed reading my friends' blogs, and I would always stumble around reading blogs of people I didn't even know. Well, I have recently started reading this blog, and I have always enjoyed reading about the Smith family's journey to adopting their little one from Vietnam. I don't usually comment on posts, but there was this one particular post that really intrigued me, so I left a comment! And lo and behold, I go to read their blog this morning, and there is a post about my life verses post!!! How exciting - I felt so honored! I was literally grinning ear to ear! It made me so happy to know that my thoughts inspired someone else! Anyways, by chance, it turns out that we are actually both from the same town! Even more exciting!

I have been praying for MONTHS for guidance within my friendships - now, don't get me wrong, I LOVE all my girlfriends. The problem is that we are all at different stages in our lives right now - some live out of town, some are still in college, and the majority of my friends are not married. It has been a very difficult thing for me lately - sometime I feel so out of the loop. I have been praying to form friendships with women who will motivate and inspire me - so hopefully my "new" friend and I will be able to meet and greet!

So, you never know who you are going to meet on here, but so far, I can say my experience has been worthwhile!

In need of restoration.

This past Sunday at church, the sermon was based around "Heavenly Conflicts-Earthly Consequences." We talked primarily on how Christianity is about freedom - freedom for the ENTIRE person - meaning body, soul and spirit. We receive that freedom through the cross of Jesus - we examined Luke 23:44-46:

"It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last."

The temple curtain separated God and his people - there was limited access to God for select individuals. The barrier was there to remind people that God was a HOLY God. After the curtain was torn, that was God's way of telling people that there was a NEW and LIVING way into the presence of God! There is no other mediator required - and that mediator is JESUS.

This piece had a huge impact on me - I now know that we have a loving God, but we also have a mighty and fierce God who needs to be feared. I learned that I need to pray in new ways - in a BOLDER way - saying "In JESUS name." I learned that I need to make repentance routine. So often we think repentance is a one-time thing. That is not the case - repentance is the way that we open our lives to the way of God, and we need to be quick to repent!

"If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." - Romans 10:9

I am so blessed to go to such a wonderful church, a church that leaves me convicted! I hope those of you that read this will get satisfaction like I did!

Blessings :)