well...

You've heard of No Shave November right? It's when guys grow out their beards and don't shave for the month of November. It's a cultural phenomenon. I don't know where it started.

Along those same lines, I think the blog {inadvertently} participated in No Blog November.

I had lots of stuff going on in my mind. And in my life. I mean, not like, life-changing things. I was just busy. And sick. And tired. And evidently couldn't find it in myself to peck out a post. Sad. 

If you were wondering about my test. I delayed it. 'Twas no way I would have been ready. New test date is January 14th. Which, is actually sister's birthday. So...I'm giving myself a present of taking a two hour test that kind of determines if I'll be able to teach the rest of my life. Or something.

No biggie.

;) 

The nieces came for Thanksgiving. And I know I've said it before, but I seriously.  SERIOUSLY. HAVE THE CUTEST NIECES EVER. Proof below.

And before I inundate you with pictures, can I just say Instagram has to be one of the best things ever invented. Ever. 

Just a reminder, Anna Woods is the oldest, she'll be 6 in a month. And is in kindergarten. And can READ! Little girl read me a story about a pumpkin and I was just like..."Can you stop growing up? PLEASE?" Also...we decided after seeing one of these pictures that she's basically The Godfather. Except, the playground kind. Or the kindergarten kind. She cracks me up.

Little brown-haired chick is Hadley. She's 3 1/2...there are three pictures of her on the couch that I feel should be in like a baby GQ magazine or something. And what's funny is Mary Neal took those pictures. Ha.

Smaller blonde-haired chica is Mary Neal. And she's actually almost a whole month younger than Hadley, even though she's a head taller.

I loved getting to play with each of them separately for a tiny bit. They are all so completely different. And I'm pretty sure they're going to be the best freakin' friends for their entire life. And that makes my heart so abundantly happy. You have no idea. So without further delay. Proof they're the cutest.

Happy December!

IT'S MY FAVORITE MONTH! :)

Feet That Follow Newsletter {November edition}

Okay, okay, I know, it's like...almost 5 months old. But...I just wanted to see if I could do this. And if it works out then...there ya go. 

I called our IT guy at work and asked how I make a PDF downloadable online and evidently, you can't on blogger. So...these images will have to do. I've finished Sister's second newsletter and as soon as she tells me which version she decided to go with (I gave her options! Go me!) I'll get that up on here.

page 1

page 2

 I don't know if you can click on the image to enlarge.  

You can try!

If not...just squint really hard.

;) 

Happy Friday y'all!

my heart hurts.

There's a person so special to me that is hurt very deeply.
A hurt that I imagine goes back almost 15 years.

That's a deep deep hurt that's been carried for a long long time.
I wonder if this person will ever let go of that hurt and bitterness and live life the way it's meant to be lived.

Christ doesn't want them carrying around that hurt. That's not the reason He came. So that we'd drag our luggages full of hurt, day in and day out? The luggage so old the latch has broken. The dirty clothes are strewn about everywhere. The mess slowly becomes bigger. So big, it looks as if there's no hope for the traveler.

Then I remember that Christ is the best mess cleaner-upper. The best deep hurt healer. The best. Period. He is it.

And I pray that they let Him clean up the mess. That His love compels them to give that luggage to Him and say "Here. Fix it. You're the only one that can."

And I try to wait patiently for that day. Praying to that end. Remembering that no one is ever too far gone for God's love. No one. Not ever.

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say on the LORD!" - Psalm 27:13-14

a quick little snippety snippet

First off -

Happy New Year!!

I have no idea where 2010 went. I'm 99% sure that time goes by faster the older you get. I have no actual scientific evidence to back this up, but just roll with me on this one.

I plan on being back Tuesday with a really good post. Tuesday, January 4th is a very special day to me this year. It was a beginning last year. And now it's an anniversary. SO...come back Tuesday for that. :)

I just wanted to ring in the new year with some of my favorite pictures from Christmas and New Year's Eve. Enjoy!


It snowed. In Mississippi. On Christmas. What a gift!! :)


The ENTIRE family skyped with Sister on Christmas afternoon.
Although, it was already Sunday morning her time. It was still awesome and SO good to see her face! We sang her many songs including but not limited to, "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" because...she sings that funny.

And, "Star of Bethelehem" because...

Well, it's special to us sisters. :)

Nana (my mom) singing Jingle Bells with her 3 grandgirls.


MESS.


Add Hadley and it's even more MESS! :) I absolutely love my nieces. They are one of my favorite things about my life.

NYE -

It rained.
I had straight hair (mistake).
We didn't let the rain stop us from shooting fireworks.
We're cool.

Oldest sister and me. We dominate at trivia.


I just love this shirt! And the girl wearing it! :)


After midnight we thought to get a picture with all the girls.
Two had already left...
And Carli got cut out. But, you get the idea. :)
SO blessed to call these girls my friends! :)
Oh, and that was sparkling grape juice in those glasses. :)

See y'all Tuesday!!

what i learned about christmas today

Last Tuesday I was home sick and sometime that evening I watched one of my favorite movies.

The Family Stone.

I like it for many reasons, not the least of which is that Luke Wilson holds a special place in my heart ever since he was the thoughtful law student in Legally Blonde.

I also love it because it's about Christmas. And who doesn't love Christmas? It has my dream home. I'm pretty sure the Stone's house is my dream home. And all the snow? And the familyness? (Just look past me making up that word). I can appreciate that the Stones have their little family unit and they have their traditions and their dysfunction as does every family. And I love the bigness. Big families. Christmas. Pretty houses. Snow. It doesn't get much better than that.

So, I always cry at the end of that movie, but last week, during some random point in the movie I just started crying. Mostly because I was thinking about how Sarah wasn't going to be home this Christmas. Or the next 3 Christmases. And it seriously tore. open. my. heart. And tear ducts. I was really really really (and a lot more reallys) sad. Really.

I was thinking about waiting at the bottom of the stairs to go upstairs and dig through stockings and presents. Helping with lunch. Staying up watching America's Funniest Home Videos. All the siblings going to the movies on Christmas night. All the stuff that makes us...

Us.

That to me is a huge part of Christmas. It's what I look forward to.

And just thinking about it possibly not being like every other Christmas had me crying.

Fast forward to today, sitting at lunch, doing my Bible study. I'm going through Kelly Minter's 'No Other Gods' and it is so. good. It's reshaping my heart and allowing me to let go of things that I had unknowingly made into idols in my life. Or perhaps knowingly. Either way. It's changing me.

We've talked about idols and why they're bad and how they dethrone God and set us up for false expectations and the point has been driven home again and again that they will never satisfy. They won't. They can't. Eventually, we'll realize that, but it's always better when we realize it sooner rather than later. This week is focused on saying goodbye to those things that we've made as idols.

"I'm finding that when I dwell on a memory or a tradition in an unhealthy dose, it occupies every part of my brain that could otherwise be taking in my surrounding and what God may be trying to reveal to me. There is a place for sentimentality, but I've been a junkie, and living in the moment is a much fuller way to live."

I read that and it slapped me in the face. One of Kelly's (I say that like we're best friends, although, she did reply back to a tweet of mine last week so, perhaps we're on our way to bff-dom?) friends was talking about how she hated Nashville (her new town) for the longest and didn't really enjoy the city because her heart and mind were stuck back in Iowa (her old home).

I realized I did that a lot in Dallas. I had left my heart in Mississippi and wasn't fully living in the Big D.

I think we can do the same thing with memories and traditions.

Of course I'm going to miss my sister on Christmas, but that doesn't mean that God can't make this the best Christmas ever. I want to keep my eyes open to what He has for us this Christmas. Because my heart says, there can be nothing good about a Christmas without Sarah. But at the same time I read God can make anything good.

"With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."
- Mark 10:27

All things.

Not some things. Not parts of things.

All things.

Even Christmases without my sister.

And as if that wasn't exactly what I needed to hear Mark goes on to say this:

"So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. "
- Mark 10:29-30 (emphasis mine)

I read that and I can only think how Sister is being obedient to Him. How she left her house, brother, sisters, father, mother, lands--for Christ's sake. For the Gospel's sake. And because of that, because of her obedience, she'll receive not only what she gave up, but all that multiplied by 100. Not only in this life, but in eternity. That blows my mind. That God loves us that much. That He chooses to bless those who honor and obey Him. We don't deserve any of it. Yet He gives it, because He can.

I don't have a big pretty bow to tie this thing up. I just know that my heart is growing. I'm being cleansed from the cobwebs of my former idols. I'm not letting traditions or cherished memories keep me from making new traditions, and new cherished memories. I'm allowing God to do the impossible, the stuff that is only possible with Him.

Like enjoying Christmas this year.

eventually i'll get caught up.

There's a cute little video over at the sister's. Seriously. Cute.

Here are some pictures from our goodbyes last week.

Ugh. Tear. :(

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..."
- Ephesians 3:20

a short something.

It's Sarah's last weekend in the States (FOR THREE YEARS) and so we're having Christmas/Thanksgiving Dinner in about 20 minutes.

Let me just say she'll never forget this one. Just starting off with the following reasons:

- The toilet upstairs wasn't working. Dad did something and discovered one of Hadley's plastic donuts in it. All was then well with the world.

- Sarah's boyfriend (newly acquired...he's cute, and sweet, more to come on him later) works for a tree cutting service. He and Dad decided while he was visiting this weekend that they'd cut some trees down in the back that needed to be cut before they fell on the house (they're dead and rotting and stuff).

Well...after a successful day 1 of cutting trees, one of the last trees they were cutting somehow managed to, instead of falling where it was lined up to fall, fall on the deck.

Yes.

The deck.

Thankfully, it only busted part of the railing and not the whole deck and no one was injured.

Everybody's freaking out about it and telling me that Chris is going to feel bad.

I choose to laugh because everyone's okay and the deck will live to see another day. That's what matters.

Someday this is going to be a really funny story.

"Remember that time Chris cut the tree and it fell and busted the deck?"

And we'll remember these special moments before Sister left to go to the other side of the world and smile.

There's more funny things yet to come. Aunt Becky and her crew will be over here shortly, then tonight we're going to see a movie like we always do on Thanksgiving and Christmas night.

I'll be sure to keep you updated. :)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.
-isaiah 55:8

the one where i'm in love.

Y'all.

I'm in love.

That little girl is the sweetest thing.

After squalling during the first night of VBS' opening ceremonies, she sat there and behaved like she should tonight. She made a wall-hanger. I think that's quite obvious from the picture above. It's ultra-fabulous.

Her and Aunt Sarah worked on some memory verses today and she said 5 tonight! On the 5-minute car ride home she taught me Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." As we were leaving she told Bro. Tracy, "I had a good time tonight! See ya tomorrow!" He laughed.


And I fell even more in love with her than I already am.

Do you have nieces that you absolutely adore? Tell me about them in the comments.

Everyone have a happy hump day!

the one where we pick up the niece

Goodness gracious night alive I am one worn out chick! My oldest niece, Anna Woods, started spending the week of VBS with my parents (Gendaddy and Nana to her) and so my mom and I drove down to meet the family today and pick her up.


Here's the cute family eating lunch at McAlister's. From left to right are Anna Woods, 4 1/2 (she had just hit her head on the corner of the table and was crying). Ed, my brother sporting an LSU shirt. Groan. Melanie, my sweet and beautiful sister-in-law. As soon as I took the picture she knew she had her eyes closed but the girls wouldn't sit still for another one. Then my youngest niece, Mary Neal who is almost 28 months old. Aren't they just a beautiful family? Seriously...beautiful :)

Ed and Melanie got married my freshman year in college on what was actually Ole Miss' Homecoming that year. I missed my first college homecoming for a wedding. Melanie's bridesmaid dresses were some of the prettiest I've ever seen...if only I had a picture! And looking back, I wore the ugliest thing to the wedding. It was just...ugly, goodness. Anyway.


Anna Woods posing with her Nana (my mom). Anna has a busted lip. Mary Neal gave it to her with a book. You have got to love sisters! :)


Now THAT is one of the cutest pictures ever! I absolutely love that girl. She has 'grown up' so much since January that she's not the same little girl. I can actually understand every word that comes out of her mouth and boy, does she have some stories! We also discovered she can't do certain things in a car - take a nap, say her ABCs, and count to 25 just to name a few.


Mary Neal and Melanie again. She was chomping down some Mac and Cheese and poor Melanie can't keep her eyes open! Mary Neal (MN) used to have red hair and it's slowly going blonde. :( I wanted to have at least ONE red headed niece or nephew. They need to have another kid. HA! :) Funny moment - I asked Mary Neal why she was so cute and Anna Woods who was sitting beside me at the table, without missing a beat, responded, "Because she don't look like her mama." Now...I probably shouldn't have laughed because I don't think she realized what she was saying and it wasn't nice but it was just one of those times where you laugh before you think. Melanie's a good sport about it :)


Ed, Melanie and Mary Neal went back to Greenville while we brought Anna Woods home with us. After we had some chicken pasketti (Why can't kids say spaghetti?) at AW's request, Aunt Leah, Anna and myself went to enjoy some ice cream at Baskin Robbins. I think that's quite obvious by Anna's mouth!
Aunt Leah and AW at Baskin Robbins.

They turned the camera around on me and boy do I look scary! I had been up since 6:15, on a Saturday...that's rough!

I'm so looking forward to what this week is going to bring. Making memories with my niece is so beyond fun and I'm so blessed to be her aunt.

Lastly, I absolutely love this song that was on an episode of Bones from Season 2 (The Aliens in the Spaceship) and I felt like sharing. That episode is SO GOOD. One of my favorite episodes of all 5 seasons. So. Good. Enjoy!

I pray everyone has a blessed Sunday! I know I will :)

I'm baaaccckkk...

Long time no...blog! If anyone actually was reading my blog, I apologize for taking over a year to update it. My mom most definitely 'nagged' me (if asking nicely = nagging) whether I had updated my blog lately and so on and so forth. Well, one my most dear friends just had a baby and I thought, "If Carlin can do it when she's just had a baby, surely I can do it. I don't even have a baby!" So...here you go.

Not much is new with me except the fact that I've come to a decision to move back to Mississippi. Hopefully this move will happen in the next month and a half, but it's all riding on if I can find a job. The move was necessitated by my huge lack of not being able to be 600 miles away from my family and living by myself. I miss them dearly and am missing my precious nieces (Anna Woods - 3 1/2 years, Hadley Grace - 17 months and Mary Neal - 16 months) grow up!! That combined with the fact that I have one of the most loving, caring, considerate, funniest (and on and on) families in the world, well, you can see my dilemma. I'm trusting that God will work all the little details out and I cannot wait to see what He does.

I'm beyond excited at the thought that (hopefully) very soon I'll be less than 10 minutes away from most of my immediate family. I may not seem that excited but...I most definitely am. If you're the praying type, I ask that you pray for me a job. I have had one interview and my application was passed along to the accounting department who will decide whether to grant me another interview, but it's very nerve-wracking this job-searching business!

I must be off to bed. For now I'll leave you with some pics of my precious aforementioned nieces.

Anna Woods and Mary Neal :)

Ms. Hadley Grace :)

Just because I think they are adorable...

A.W. with my cousins Andrew and Eli