Sam ate Travis’ pickle spear the other night and I got a video of it. This was his first pickle. He really enjoyed it and never made a face. He ate probably 2/3 of the pickle before setting it down on the table.

Now, I am not a person who gets riled up politically and complains about too much stuff however, this video really made me laugh and the sad thing is- it’s so true!!! Enjoy!!

I finally took pictures of the various rooms of our house. Here they are:
First the outside (you’ve seen this shot before):



From House Tour

Next the layout I drew (ignore the closet in the hall bathroom- it doesn’t really exist):



From House Tour

Next the inside of the front door that never gets used:



From House Tour

The entryway:



From House Tour

The Master Bedroom:



From House Tour




From House Tour

The master bathroom is a fun beachy theme:



From House Tour

The living room and dining area:



From House Tour




From House Tour

My Willowtree nativity and figurines- I love them a bunch:



From House Tour




From House Tour

The kitchen and a hungry boy:



From House Tour

The hall bathroom is a froggy theme:



From House Tour

Sam’s room:



From House Tour




From House Tour

The guest bedroom:



From House Tour




From House Tour

There are some more minor details that I want to take care of but the major stuff that I felt like needed to be done first are finished. I want to spread some of the stuff out so that things don’t look so cluttered. We plan on being here for a few years so I have time.

We took Sam to the Wake Forest town pool. He was pretty sleepy the whole time he was there which is evident in some of the pictures. However, I hope you enjoy the pictures and the video at the end. Here they are:



From August 2009




From August 2009




From August 2009

Cute little legs…



From August 2009

Pruny foot…



From August 2009

Told ya he was sleepy…



From August 2009




From August 2009

The next few pictures show Sam playing “peep eye” (aka Peek a Boo)- something he has recently learned and loves to do.



From August 2009




From August 2009




From August 2009




From August 2009

The next two show why I shouldn’t have let Travis have control of the underwater camera. Oops! FYI- that is not me in the picture.



From August 2009

Yes, that is his stomach…



From August 2009

It was fun and a great way to cool off on the first truly hot day of summer. Last night, I finally made my first batch of baby food. I am really hoping Sam eats it. It wasn’t difficult and just took a little over an hour to do. The part requiring the greatest amount of time was scooping out the sweet potato. I still have to make the “dinners” (aka meat with veggie and starch mixed together) and so those will be done when I cook the ground turkey. Here is a picture of what I’ve done so far.

From left to right- avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli.



From August 2009

Here is a short video I made at the pool today. I accidentally had my finger over the microphone- sorry about that!




From August 2009

Sam has started sneaking into our bedroom and playing with our movie collection. I finally got a picture of him this afternoon. Is that not the cutest guilty face ever?!

Hopefully!!

I am entering a drawing for an awesome Tamron 18 – 270mm lens. One of the ways I can earn an extra entry is to blog about the giveaway over at I Heart Faces. You can go to the giveaway and read more about the lens by clicking here.

Kelly over at Kelly’s Corner does a weekly blog sharing something about her life. She then invites her readers to share on their individual blogs and link back to her so she can read and learn more about her readers. It is really neat and this is the first time that I participated. I wish I had started sooner because she just finished sharing pictures of the various rooms in her house and that would have motivated me to take some much needed pics and post them. Oh well… better late than never.

*let me apologize for the quality, these are scanned since the actual photos were shot on film a mere 6 years ago*

Last week, she shared about her wedding dress. I will just quickly post a picture of mine so everyone will know what it looked like. I love my wedding dress, it was so “me”- very simple, not low cut, no beads, sequins, pearls, bows, lace, etc. I am not a fancy girl so why have a fancy dress? Here is the dress…



From Our Wedding

Now on to these week’s pictures.
This is a picture of the entire wedding party.



From Our Wedding

We got married March 22, 2003 and my bridesmaids wore yellow two-piece dresses. Keeping with my “simple” theme I wanted, and found, bridesmaid dresses that didn’t require a special bra. I do not like strapless bras and didn’t want my girls feeling uncomfortable during the ceremony either. Aren’t I nice?

I had a very strange photographer and he liked to take odd pictures. I forgive him for that because I can guarantee that my wedding pictures look like no one else’s. HA! Here are my bridesmaids and I before the ceremony. They were supposed to be fanning me.



From Our Wedding

From left to right: Lauren, we’ve known each other since 5th grade and became best friends somewhere around 7th or 8th grade. We have done all sorts of fun things together- including the 2006 Olympics in Atlanta. Crystal, we met at GA camp in 2000 and quickly hit it off. We had campers convinced that summer and the next that we were sisters. I don’t really see the resemblance any more but apparently, back in the day, we looked like sisters. Brooke, was my first roommate at seminary in New Orleans. I was so honored that she was in my wedding as she wasn’t in any of her sisters’ weddings. I am returning the favor by being in her wedding this December and I can’t wait. Kristie, was my 2nd roommate at seminary but we have known each other since 1998 when my parents moved to the same town as her folks in Mississippi and started attending her church. She got married two months before me to a guy she met on the mission field and I was in her wedding as well.

This was my flower girl, Hannah, and I. She lived in the same neighborhood as us in SC and when my parents moved, they got our dog. She and I are wearing matching headpieces. I have such a small head and thin hair that veils looked weird on me. Therefore, I just wore a silk flower wreath in my hair.



From Our Wedding

Now on to the flowers…
I didn’t carry traditional flowers. I carried a wire bouquet with crystal beads on the end. I really like it and still have it on display in our entryway. It was made by a woman undergoing chemo treatments somewhere out west.



From Our Wedding

I told our florist, a member of our church, that I wanted my bridesmaids’ flowers to look like someone went out in the middle of a field and grabbed a bunch of wild flowers. I think she did a great job but, I don’t have a super close-up picture of the flowers so please forgive me. You can kind of see them in this picture. Again, weird photographer, not sure why Travis and I were on the top in the middle completely blocked by everyone else. Don’t you just love the flip flops and blues brother look?!



From Our Wedding

Now on to the ceremony…



From Our Wedding

We were married at First Baptist, Dandridge, TN. This was the church where Travis was serving as Minister of Education and Outreach. While veering from the traditional location of my home church, I thought it was very appropriate that we started our life together at the first church where we served together. In my warped brain, it worked. Plus, logistically, it was the most convenient location.

Our parents’ lit their unity candles to the song “Parent’s Prayer” by Steven Curtis Chapman. The grandmothers were seated to “My Tribute” by Andrae Crouch. Our Minister of Music played the bagpipes for our processional, Highland Cathedral, which is on an Amy Grant Christmas album. It is a beautiful and regal song and I love it. He picked it out. By the way, bagpipes are very loud when played within a sanctuary. HA!



From Our Wedding

Here is a picture of us lighting our unity candle while the “Lord’s Prayer” was sung. The two guys standing beside Travis’ father, were our ministers who performed the ceremony. They were good friends of our from seminary (where Travis and I met) and did an excellent job.



From Our Wedding

We left the sanctuary to “Ode to Joy” (I am drawing a blank on the composer and the real name of the song- it is late and my brain is tired.)



From Our Wedding

In conclusion, I love this picture and can’t wait to blog about my wedding even more next week.



From Our Wedding

I have found a way for Peeper to entertain himself!! Watch this video! I wonder if it can throw a stuffed pig?

**Keep reading… cute Sam video and note about Travis’ book contribution follow.

I hope you enjoyed the video. Sam loves his truck.

Keep reading to find out about Travis’ book he has been published in.

Steph

This arrived in the mail today:



From Blogger Pictures

What is it? Well, you should recall that this past January Travis was approached by LifeWay to write two articles for a reference guide for all things Sunday School related. We received our free copy today in the mail and are super excited about it. Here is the description on the back of the book,
“The How to Sunday School Manual is a compilation of short, to-the-point articles from experts and practitioners that offer practical tips and advice for organizing and leading your church’s Sunday School ministry.

This manual
- Serves as a reference guide for the person expected to know how to administer an effective Sunday School;
-Gives you practical actions you can take for planning, leading, and evaluating your Sunday School;
-Provides all the forms and tools needed to complete the actions outlined.

A CD-ROM is included that features electronic forms that support the articles included, a recommended reading list, and 5 books written by David Francis.”

Needless to say, there is A LOT of information crammed into this book. Travis’ articles are on pages 169 and 179. If you would like to purchase a copy for yourself, you can visit your local LifeWay Christian Bookstore or click here to be taken to the book on the LifeWay website where you can order it. It costs $14.95 which might seem kind of steep but, remember, it comes with a CD-ROM with all the forms you need and some other books. WOO HOO! Perhaps, if you ask nicely, Travis will autograph pgs. 169 and 179.