Through my Lens: In My Cup

My favorite gingerbread coffee cup. It may be the end of February but I am still drinking from it. 

My two favorite coffee creamers, Hazelnut & Peppermint mocha. 

My favorite hot teas. I love mint green tea! I have several mugs that I love but this chalkboard one is one of my favorites because I can write whatever I want on it. I just wish it was a bit larger. I love large chunky mugs. Annie is currently the other hot tea lover in the family. She and I have been trying out a new hot tea every paycheck to see if their is anything else out there that we really like. If you have a favorite tea or brand of tea, leave us a comment and let us know. I have noticed I tend to like the Twinings brand a lot. 

Crystal Light peach tea is a favorite cold drink of mine to keep made up here at home. I love drinking it from our mason jar glasses. 

The girls and I recently discovered Sonic's strawberry vanilla sprites. They put real strawberries in the drink. It's so delicious! 

What's your favorite drink? 

Neighbor Friends

Weekend Re-Cap

Annie and I spent Friday afternoon after dance class running errands for her 16th birthday celebration. We made it home around 5pm and brought some hot wings to throw in the oven for everyone for dinner. We spent the rest of the evening cleaning and getting the tables and decorations set up for her party. 

Saturday was spent preparing for the party. Annie baked her own birthday cake this year and decorated it too. She chose a rustic theme. Her guests began arriving around 4pm on Saturday afternoon. By 6pm everyone had arrived and we served dinner and then broke the girls up into two teams and went on a city scavenger hunt with the teams competing against each other. The girls all seemed to have fun. After returning home, Annie opened her gifts and we played a game together to see how well everyone knows Annie. Then we lit her cake and sang to her and then Bryan started a fire outside in the fire pit for the girls to sit around and enjoy. The party was a sleepover and I think the last of the girls started to settle down around 1:30am. 

Everyone seemed to really enjoy the party, especially Annie. The group of girls she invited over is such a fun and sweet group! 

On Sunday morning, Bryan drove the first batch of girls that wanted to go to Sunday school to church and then Bryan came back and got the other girls for the church service. 

We spent Sunday afternoon resting and relaxing and on Sunday evening Bryan lit another fire in the fire pit and our family sat around it and roasted marshmallows. The weather was perfect as their was just enough chill in the air for a fire. 

"There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother." (NLT)

~ Proverbs 18:24 

China Bound

She's been drawn to China and its culture since she was a little girl. When most girls were asking for Barbie dolls, our girl was asking for Chinese dolls to play with. Her 8th birthday was Chinese themed and she's been saying for years that she would one day go to China. As she has grown older, her love for China has come to include the many orphans in the country and her desire is to go and show the love of Christ to them. God has opened up a door for her to do just that this summer. In July, Emmy will be traveling with a team from our area through the ministry, Visiting Orphans. They will be spending a week working in an orphanage in Chifeng, China in eastern Mongolia. It has been really exciting to see God's hand already at work and upon this trip. She is currently seeking a job to help raise the needed funds for this trip and will also be doing babysitting and house cleaning work as it becomes available so if you're local and have a job for her, let us know! She has done a lot of babysitting and house cleaning and has references. We will also be working on some fundraisers this spring. 

Would you please partner with us in praying regularly for our girl as she prepares for her time overseas? It would mean the world to us! 

We have also set up a Go Fund Me account for anyone that might feel lead by God to give financially towards Emmy's trip. You can visit that page, HERE. 

More than anything, we ask for your prayers. We are very excited to see what God has in store for Emmy and the team this summer! 

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Ally's 12th Birthday Celebration

Just a few pictures from Ally's 12th birthday celebration last month. 

{Annie decorated her cake} 

I loved Strawberry Shortcake as a young girl and I love that my girl loves her too. It's the 35th anniversary of the doll and she is now labeled as classic or vintage! Yikes! One sniff of Ally's doll and I was ten all over again! 

Ally's friend Gracie spent the evening and celebrated with us. 

"For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10

Through My Lens: Creation

Camden's latest Lego creation. 

{a house} 

{back of house} 

{inside- notice the couch} 

"Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men." Proverbs 22:29

Weekend Re-Cap

The kids shooting team, Alabama Privateers, hosted an introduction to the sport of shooting at Brock's Gap in Hoover on Saturday. We had a good turn out overall. Many youth along with their parents attended and a good bit expressed interest in joining the sport of pistol speed shooting under the Scholastic Pistol Program. Brock's Gap is now the host range for Alabama Privateers which will help train youth in an effort to expand our team under SPP. Here are a few pictures from the event.

{setting up the room for orientation}

{Bryan giving orientation} 

{shooting time} 

{Camden & Isaac} 

{Natalie & Abi} 

{our Ally's first time to shoot at the range} 

{Abi & Annie} 

{Houston & James} 

{Ally}