Casual Fridays

Ok, I have a lot of thoughts today, but the first thing we need to talk about is this: I was recently on a day trip to Gatorland with a group of 5th and 6th grade girls from my church as a chaperone (really, this should have been my first clue). I work with these girls in my church's AWANA program. Miss Mary has been running this group since I was in 5th grade and whenever I go on these outings with them, in my mind, I'm still one of Miss Mary's girls. So all these adorable girls show up with their cute little colorful backpacks, and we're all talking and giggling and comparing our accessories fashion when I have this sudden stroke of enlightenment that I've owned the little drawstring backpack on my back—which I got during my college days—longer than these girls have been alive. 

And then I died. The end.

But seriously when did I go from being a 5th grade girl to being old enough to have a 5th grade girl?? I can't. Let's move on.

LPL was a few weeks ago, and the dynamic was so different this year. It was right down the road from where the Parkland school shooting happened and there were family members of some of the victims in attendance. As a Floridian, I know I was feeling pretty numb that weekend, and it was hard to enter in to some of the more joyful worship that the LPL crew always bring. They began the weekend with a beautiful tribute to the lives that were lost in the shooting, and it was good to have an outlet for the grief that that heinous crime brought. Ms. Beth gave us a little "Hydrology Theology," speaking on how the Holy Spirit is the spring of Living Water within us. The best part of the weekend though was being able to attend the SSMT Celebration after the official LPL event concluded. 2017 was my third year participating in SSMT, but I haven't made it to any of the celebrations before now because they're usually in Houston. It was so fun meeting some of my Siestas and cheering each other on as we recited our Scriptures to each other. 

#beachtherapy

February 17th was a day for pink books and teeny tiny broken shells. The waves that pound you somehow have a way of smoothing the rough edges, too. God is good in the midst of it all. 

"I have learned to kiss the wave that drives me against the Rock of Ages." 

-Charles Spurgeon-

And here are just some random photos of life lately....

The crazies got haircuts this week. Yay! for less dog hair flying around! Aren't they sweet?

This is what we call "training up a child in the way he should go."

This happened. 

That's a 523 on the electronic Yahtzee. 

I'm such a winner, you guys. 

And stop judging me for keeping an electronic Yahtzee game in my purse. 

And now I will share with you my Mini-Banana Muffin recipe which is a total homerun. When we get random cold snaps in March (not funny, Florida), I bake. Seriously, this recipe doesn't miss. You're welcome. 

Ingredients: 

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (I tend to go heavier on the cinnamon than the average human.)

2 ripe bananas (seriously, the browner the better)

1/4 cup + 2T sugar

2T + 2 tsp butter

1/2 egg

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees then mix your dry and wet ingredients separately. Add the dry mixture to your banana mixture and mix till smooth. Spray your muffin tin with non-stick spray and then spoon your mixture into it. Bake for 10 minutes and enjoy. This recipe yields exactly 24 muffins which is one mini-muffin tray. Perfect. 

Link Love

- HiHo Kids : Welcome to my latest youtube obsession. Literally.

- International Women's Day : My feelings exactly.

- Family First : And while we're on James Breakwell—I died. This guy is too funny.

- KFC/Taco Bell : This makes me laugh so hard. Maybe my sense of humor is really immature, but I just don't care. 

- Savchenko & Massot : Because just because the Olympics are over doesn't mean I'm ever going to stop watching this flawless routine by the Germans. Wow. Make sure to watch all the way to 6:00. 

- James & Cipres : Bonus figure skating video. It's not from the Olympics, but it's also mesmerizing. Be sure to watch till 5:15.

- I Ain't Doin' It (Easter Edition) : She just keeps gettin' better, y'all. 

And finally, my sister-in-love who is the prettiest pregnant fairy princess ever is due today, and I'm dying to meet my newest little niece or nephew. Let's go, Baby Oz!!

Jennifer Corcoran Photography

Casual Fridays

Well, yesterday my wisdom teeth came out. As I'm writing this post on Wednesday in anticipation of not feeling like being a part of the land of the living, I have no idea how it went, but I imagine I'm probably lying on the couch right about now, watching a musical, and ringing a tiny silver bell signaling my ever-patient husband to bring me some more chocolate pudding. Or I'm in Heaven with Jesus because I didn't wake up from the anesthesia. We'll find out.

Anyway, Happy Friday to you and here are three PhotoGrid collages to send you on your weekend. 

First of all, I finally got my beach day! Last Friday, right after I published this post complaining about how it still hadn't happened, my boss texted me saying she wasn't bringing Little Man, and I immediately threw some sunscreen and one of my favorite books in a beach bag and started driving east. I couldn't have asked for more perfect weather or for a more perfect day. #iloveflorida #westcoastisNOTthebestcoast #eastcoastgirlforevaaaaa

Back at the end of April (yes, it's been a solid month since this actually happened--have I mentioned how crazy it's been??), I got to go to LPL with my BFF Christina. This year, Ms. Beth talked about the blessed EMBRACE: what it means to embrace something, things we should embrace, and things we shouldn't embrace. No secret Siesta photo this year, but we almost made the recap video! If you pause it at 2:14, we were literally standing right next to that girl. To her left, if you must know. So that's....well, that's nothing really, but as always it was a wonderful, uplifting weekend. 

And finally, my sweet niece had her first birthday recently! I try to tell them that growing up is not actually allowed and also it's highly overrated, but to no avail. Auntie Hannah loves you, baby girl! 

What are you up to this weekend? You are welcome to come mock my bruised and swollen face as long as you come bearing Boston Market mashed potatoes or sweet potato casserole. 

Casual Fridays

Another Friday, another casual post. And how about making this one a Photo-Prompted Post since it's been a couple weeks and lots of stuff has been going on, ok? Good. 

First up: the Major. I feel like I haven't put up as many pictures of him as I have of the Colonel because he always just looks like a big black shadow whenever I try to snap a photo. But he's just the sweetest most lovable puppy in the world. He's every bit as big as Colonel now, and I think he's still got some growing left to do yet. He'd eat everything (including my ChapStick--remember when Colonel did that? what is it with puppies and ChapStick?!) and then keep going if we'd let him. He's the best. You should meet him.

This was back from St. Patrick's Day a.k.a (and more importantly) Danette's birthday! We surprised her with a little party at Manny's, and y'all, you've never seen true joy if you haven't seen this chick being surprised by her two nieces coming all the way from Tallahassee a day early and showing up at her school. I only saw a video of it myself, but it was too. good. Think green mullet and two cute blondes. Anyway, I love these ladies and I love this picture. iPhones for the win, amiright?!

Thought you were going to make it out of here without a photo collage or two? Think again. Collages are a game changer for our Photo-Prompted Posts in a fabulous way. Instead of posting 11 individual pictures for a specific event: voila! Collage it and now maybe you'll actually make it to the end of this post without quitting or hating me. Anyway, this is Gatorland! We took our Guard girls there on March 19th, and yes, those are real gators, you guys. And they were everywhere. This was actually my very first visit to Gatorland, and I can't believe I've never been before. Even though we got rained on, the girls had a fabulous time, and I have to admit, I want to go back and try out their (apparently) world-famous zipline. Cody thinks I'm totally crazy 'cause ain't no way brother's gonna' be suspended by a string over a multitude of hungry gators. But I'm down to try it. As long as I'm not suspended over any snakes which, as you can see if you look to the bottom right of our collage, ain't got nothin' on Miss Mary. Those same guys tried to put two gigantic, hairy, disgusting tarantulas on me (and no, I'm not kidding), but they picked the wrong girl for that trick. I was back to my seat in about 6 seconds flat and they got some willing sucker to hold those nasty things. #notthiswhitegirl  #notever

Y'all. Apparently, Colonel is just as big of an Austen fan as I am. I had been lying (laying?) on the floor reading with Colonel nearby (like he always is), and I got up to get a tissue because allergies, and when I turn around, this is what I see. I can't even. How sweet is he?!

Speaking of allergies, it rained a whole bunch last week, and I haven't been suffering very much at all anymore. All the praise hands! And the weather this week has been perfect. Cool in the mornings and evenings and sunny with a breeze during the day. It's what I like to call Be Out In It Weather and believe me, I have. I've pretty much just been coming in to sleep. #floridagirlforeverrrr

Umm...the most recent bag of carrots I bought has been a little funky. As in: every handful I've grabbed has included 2 or 3 of these mutant, siamese carrots. Should I be concerned? 

So I've instituted a monthly Girls Movie Night at my house, and I can always count on these two to stay till they have to wake me up and tell me they're leaving. It's been so fun, and I hope we can keep it up because every girl needs girl time, and really, how am I ever supposed to break in to the twenty-first century without girlfriends to teach me how to snapchat?

Am I doing it right?

This past weekend was Living Proof Live in Miami. I've been looking forward to this since they posted the schedule for this year, and I bought my early-bird ticket about as soon as they went on sale. Up till just a couple weeks ago, I thought I'd be going all by my lonesome, but I finally convinced this girl that she needed to come with me, and I'm so glad she did. I can honestly echo the same words I used last year when I told you about Living Proof Live in Tampa: it was a powerful, Spirit-filled weekend of edification and worship. This time around, Ms. Beth brought us some lessons from the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 and challenged us to pray for GIANT DEFIANT faith. I'm so thankful for special pockets of focused time geared specifically toward worshipping our Mighty God, and I'm also thankful for sweet sisters in Christ, especially Amy. The recap video for this particular event can be found here, and did you notice our little secret Siesta photo? There were only 6 of us this year! We each got to hug Ms. Beth's sweet neck and chat with her for a couple minutes. How fun! #becausecheese #insidejoke #1samuel17:18

Because can you get enough of my dogs? I can't. This is a new favorite picture of them. Since our new house is almost completely carpeted, they love to lie (lay?) on the little square of tiles at the front door or in one of the bathrooms to keep cool while we're all just relaxing inside, but I caught them like this on the linoleum in the kitchen the other night. I think this picture might give me diabetes it's just so stinkin' sweet. 

Have you had just about enough yet? We're almost done, I promise.

Speaking of precious sisters in Christ, one of mine just handed my husband and me an envelope on Sunday completely out of the blue, and inside was my new favorite thing. An American flag ChapStick keychain. Which I can only assume she made. And it even had a brand new tube of lip balm in it. Y'all. Remember how excited I was when I found this one? It doesn't even compare to this new one, mostly because it wasn't made especially for me by such a thoughtful, praying lady. Thank you, Miss Rhonda! I absolutely love it!

I started a new Bible study this week, and I'm really excited about the study and the group of women I'll be studying alongside of. This is the first Bible study I've ever done by Jennifer Rothschild, and she is just as sweet as sugar. I can tell I'm going to love it. The very first day of homework already had me crying some tender tears. What a blessing to have God's Word in my own two hands and to see His unfailing love for His own on every page! Hallelujah!

Alright. Last one. Just me and my boys soaking up that gorgeous Florida sunshine this week. Lookin' a hot mess per usual. If you made it all the way down to this, I congratulate you. Tell me what's going on with you! And if you can figure out how to leave your own photo in the comments, all the better. Have a fantastic weekend!

Casual Fridays

Where do I even begin this week? I skipped Casual Friday last week because I pretty much poured my soul into this post, and now I feel like we have a lot to catch up on. Because, you know, I'm sure you're all dying to know every last little detail about my life. Right? Wait, Lyndsey and Christina are the only two reading this? Why aren't you two doing a better job of promoting my blog already? Kidding. (kindof) Anyway, here goes nothin'. 

First on the agenda: I started a new Bible study last week. Jonah: Navigating a Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer. My sister-in-love is leading this study in her home, and I'm already being challenged by it in a big way. This is my second study by Priscilla Shirer. I did Gideon a while back and LOVED it so I was really excited to jump into this one. 

*SAP ALERT* Skip ahead if you're not into it.

Last Thursday (after our new Bible study group met for the first time), I came home to these gorgeous roses. It had just been one of those weeks, ya feel me? And even though my man had just worked his third 12-hour shift in a row, he went out and got me roses. 

I don't know if you've picked up on it yet, but flowers are my love language. What? You didn't know there was a sixth love language that was just FLOWERS? Gary Chapman ain't got nothin' on me. I'll write my own dang book. 

The point of all this? My husband is the best, and he speaks my love language fluently.

I mean really, how pretty are those roses?!

Friday night and Saturday was Living Proof Live in Tampa, finally! I've been looking forward to this all year. Not kidding. And believe me when I say, I was not disappointed. It was a powerful, Spirit-filled weekend of worship and edification, and I was so glad to share it with all these sweethearts:

Our motto for the weekend was "R-E the most beautiful prefix in history." We talked about reverberating, restoring, reframing, replanting, repenting, and remembering. It was awesome. And of course, we Siestas had to meet up for our clandestine photo op with Mama Beth afterwards:

It was a fabulous weekend, and it left me begging for more. I mean, seriously Ms. Beth, don't throw out the idea of a Women's VBS if we can't follow through on that, amiright? Anyway, if you want to watch the beautiful recap they made of the weekend, click here.

Moving on...

I'm well into the Psalms right now, and I think we may have to install a little Psalm of the Week segment here on our Casual Fridays posts. This first one comes out of the 37th Psalm verses 23-26 (NASB):

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, 

And He delights in his way.

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

I have been young and now I am old

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or his descendants begging bread.

All day long he is gracious and lends,

And his descendants are a blessing."

What a beautiful promise: I will not be hurled headlong because the Lord is holding my hand. That's something I can hang on tight to.

Elisabeth Elliot, December 21, 1926 ~ June 15, 2015

In other news, Elisabeth Elliot went home to be with our precious Lord this week. This dear woman has influenced thousands--maybe millions--of people during her life, and I am so thankful for her dedication to God and furthering the truth of His Word. Her books have challenged me and also encouraged me during some dark times. She lived a good long life, and I hope that her words continue to challenge and encourage the generations to come. One quote of hers that I love is this:

"Our vision is so limited we can hardly imagine a love that does not show itself in protection from suffering. The love of God is of a different nature altogether. It does not hate tragedy. It never denies reality. It stands in the very teeth of suffering."

Colonel's Corner

This sweet thing went under the knife this week, y'all. There will never be any little Colonels running around because on Monday, June 15, Colonel's manhood was stripped from him. 

Poor guy.

He apparently did really well. When we got there to pick him up, we could hear him before we could see him, and the techs informed us that he was ready to go home 5 minutes after the surgery was complete.

Excuse me?! Why didn't you call me to come get my baby immediately?? (Yes, I'm turning into that girl.)

Anyway, the pain meds do weird things to him, and so far, I haven't observed him being any calmer than he was before, which is supposed to be one of the  benefits of neutering a dog. 

But it hasn't even been a whole week yet, so here's hoping.

Let's close this week out with a little Link Love, shall we?

One of the Biggest Lies the Church Has Taught You : I know, I hate posts with buzz word kinda titles, too. But this one is really good. 

Doghouse Diaries: Self-Diagnoses : Because HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Benny the Bull Kiss Cam : Because pay attention to your woman!

Disney Princess Medley : Because Bonnie Milligan is frickin' hilarious.

Annnnnnd....I think that's it for this week, folks. Do you feel sufficiently caught up on my life?

Oh and P.S. I didn't win the contest if anyone was wondering. I know. Devastating.