Photo Opp

Here are some pictures from a fun little photo shoot we had recently with Ann Marie Photographics :) 

Thanksgiving 2012

Our Thanksgiving was filled with... 

Sweet Babies

Cute Kiddos

 Loving Family

Pretty Scenery

Lots of Laughter

And Lots of Love 

Hope your Thanksgiving was too!

Remembering 4 Years and Giving Thanks

Today marks four years since I lost my precious Dad. While the Lord has used the last four years for His glory, I inevitably come to this day with sadness. Selfishly, I wish my Dad could be at my Thanksgiving table today or, simply, that I could pick up the phone and call him. I wish that he could see the young lady Holley has grown to be and that he could have seen her win a medal at State last weekend. I wish I could dance with him in our living room again and blare James Taylor in the car with the windows rolled down. I wish we could have one last heart-to-heart. His absence has left a perpetual void in my life that goes deep down to my soul, but praise God!... I have a Savior who gives me hope.

God, in his great mercy, has given me the strength to carry on over the last four years with a hope-filled heart. Even though I miss my Dad and long not to have to acknowledge anniversaries like these, I know that none of this caught the Lord by surprise on November 22, 2008. I am thankful that He is the Author and knows the number of our days and that His resurrection promises me that my citizenship is in heaven.

Today I give thanks for Hope that is firm, secure and anchors my soul for eternity. I have hope because the same God who was raised from the dead is the One preparing a place for me in the heavenly realms… right beside my Dad. I am thankful that in life and in death His grace saves me, sustains me, and gives me hope. I am thankful that, if I have nothing else, I always have Hope.

Four years after my Dad’s ushering home to be with the Lord, I will celebrate Thanksgiving with my husband and his family. My angel of a father will be celebrating at the table of the King. Oh, Glorious Day!

Thanksgiving 2007 - Houston, Texas

 

Because he lives
I can face tomorrow
Because he lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life and is worth the living
Just because he lives

Happy Thanksgiving

The end of an era

After cheering from c-team through varsity, watching Holley cheer c-team through varsity, and three years of coaching LMS c-team somewhere in between, Lexington cheerleading is officially phasing out of our lives. It's been a long, fun, memorable ride. This pretty girl has cheered her last football game and has competed for the very last time. Holley and her team went out on a high note for her senior year... First Runner Up at State! 

Captains

Last football game

Congrats on a great season, Holley Girl! Now on to basketball :)

Thankful in 2012

What I’m most thankful for these days… 

1. How the Lord is teaching me to accept his grace in full. I’m so thankful for all He has revealed to me in the last several months. Our life should be about Christ... His story... and the GRACE he gives us to do all things. While we are important, we are not the main point.

2. That Ryan has received his religion degree from Liberty University!

3. Holley... and being able to enjoy all of the bittersweet "lasts" with her as a senior.

4. Starbuck’s pumpkin spice lattes.

5. A slower pace :)

6. That we leave for snowy Colorado in 36 days!

7. For the health and love of my family.

8. For the fun Ryan and I have day in and day out. He makes everything an adventure :)

9. Friendship. I am blessed to carry my best friends from childhood. And from college, Mere!

10. For a good mind that recalls precious memories of my dad and our time together every.single.day.

11. Thursday night Bible study with some wonderful ladies from CIU. I'm learning a lot AND having fun studying Ephesians. 

12.That my prayer to see “22” in some fashion has been answered daily for the last four years. On license plates, on scoreboards, in movies, on clocks, in songs, on paper, in conversation, on receipts, etc. His mercies are new every day. Great is Thy faithfulness!

((1 Thessalonians 5:16-18))

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

58

My Dad would have been 58 today. Happy Birthday to the best Dad there ever was. :)

Psalm 63:1-8

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.

Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.

I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands. 

 I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

 On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night. 

 Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings. 

 I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.