Celebrate Blessings of 2013

Reflecting back on 2013 has been amazing. It was emotional and exciting all rolled into one. But I would not change it for anything. I always do a recap of each year. Here's 2013 recap!

January

 2013 began new beginnings. A new mindset, a few new resolutions, but most of all, continued prayers for our sweet future baby. I loved the verse from Jude that is written in the picture above. God is ABLE!!! His presence is GLORIOUS!! It was definitely a favorite verse throughout the whole year.

February

 Russell and I had a romantic Valentine dinner at Crystal Bridges. It was so sweet and so yummy.

We also celebrated Russell's birthday on the 1st of the month.

March

 We celebrated Spring at Camden's Daffodil Festival. It was so special and beautiful.

Easter was also this month.

April

 We enjoyed taking walks around the trails in the area. It was so beautiful and fun walking with my sweet hubby.

Russell's parents, Jackie and Ricky, came to visit us this month as well.

May

 Mother's Day was this month. Little did I know that in May 2014, our baby is due!

June

 Summer was in full swing! Belle got her 1st haircut. We also saw Russell's cousin, BJ, play live in Craig Morgan's band!

July

 We met Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty! Although short, it was very fun!

My family came for a fun visit this month as well.

August

 On August 31, I took my first positive pregnancy test. We will NEVER forget this day. Best day of this month for sure! HA!

September

 We went to our first Arkansas Razorback football game together! It was great! Even if I was six weeks pregnant and sitting in direct sunlight. A little hot. HA!

October

 Fall was very fun, as always. Filled with festive pumpkins, apple cider, and crunchy leaves!

November

 We met Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, for a second time! She was definitely amazing to talk to and I will always remember her genuine sweet spirit towards us.

Also this month was Thanksgiving! YUM! :)

December

December was definitely filled with many highlights. My favorite in particular, was when we found out that our sweet baby is a BOY!

We enjoyed Christmas so much with our dear family and each other.

We simply love celebrating. The more I read God's word, the more I just love celebrating life and blessings that the Lord has given us. I cannot be more thankful.

 

We are looking forward to 2014 so much!

Praying you are blessed with many wonderful moments of the year!

Happy New Year, y'all!

 

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him. Psalm 34:8



A Wonderful Christmas 2013

Well, Christmas has officially come and gone. It's soon time to get mentally prepared for 2014! Before I get ahead of myself, I of course have to document all the fun we had during Christmas 2013.

Oh, and a fair warning: there are TONS, I repeat-TONS of pictures on this post! I just wanted to knock it all out at once instead of split it into two posts. :) Moving on! 

 Monday afternoon, we left NWA. It started snowing right before we left, which made us even more excited for Christmas. Snow is so magical, but not so much when there are 8 inches of it at a time, like a few weeks ago. Thank goodness that didn't happen. HA!

 We stopped at Sonic while on the road. Belle was ready to order a corn dog. :) So cute. We love our sweet girl!

We were glad to spend a few days at Russell's parent's house this year for Christmas.

 We decorated a few pans of homemade cinnamon rolls and had so much fun doing it.

 Russell and I enjoyed delivering these to family on Tuesday, which was Christmas Eve.

 Jackie and Ricky met us at FBC Camden, along with Mama and B.A. for a wonderful Christmas Eve candlelight service. We sang wonderful carols and read Bible verses about Jesus' birth and simply worshipped Emmanuel-God with us!

 I was so excited to see my cousin, Ryan, his wife, Heather, and their newborn baby, Zachary at the service! I am so happy for their sweet family! We were so glad to meet the new addition.

 After the service, Jackie and Ricky hosted a yummy dinner and exchanged gifts with Mama and B.A. We had a fun time together.

 Mama and B.A.

 Christmas morning was fun as well. Belle especially enjoyed her gingerbread girl dog toy.

 Our traditional Christmas morning breakfast:

Paula Deen's breakfast casserole and Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls! YUMMY!

 Later Christmas morning, we went to my sister's house to celebrate the holiday. Isn't her mantle so pretty?

 Lauren made this pretty sign. Too cute!

 We enjoyed giving and receiving gifts. Look at this adorable ornament for Jackson! Thank you, KK!

 We had a fabulous dinner. So so good!

 And dessert was scrumptious, too. Yum!

 I just wanted to get a picture of my sweet nephew, Logan. Just because.

 And Lauren, too! Just because I love them TONS! :) She enjoyed making bracelets with her "cra-z-loom." She made me a white and blue one. Blue for our baby boy!

 Picture time! Eric, Logan, Kelly, and Lauren

 The girls by the tree.

 Russell and me! Next Christmas, Jackson will be in our picture. :) Russell and I have had NINE Christmases together. Wonderful.

 The guys.

 We enjoyed looking at the pretty lights on the bridge. So cool!

 We also saw some interesting lights and decorations. So funny!

 We also went to the Capital Hotel for a bit. The tree was absolutely incredible. One of the best in the country, actually. Just great. 

 Photo op!

 So blessed!

 Love this one of Lauren outside.

 Classic elegance.

Thursday, we had another celebration! We went to Mamaw and Papaw's to spend time with family.

 Leighann in her pretty Christmas dress.

 Jackie got a cute tea towel. "Cookies are better with grandma." She and Ricky can't wait til May!

 Friday, I had lunch with a sweet friend, Brittany and had the best visit. 

We also spent time with the Lawson side that night.

Such sweet kiddos!

 Todd and Dana enjoying opening gifts.

 Phyllis and Jackie...and RJ, of course. :)

 BJ, Katie, and Eve!

 BJ and Katie gave us such a sweet gift for Jackson. His first pair of shoes and a soft car rattle. I am very partial to toy cars or baby boy clothes with cars on them because of Daddy. He sold cars for years. Best car salesman I knew! :)

 Russell shot down mistletoe for me and also picked a little holly. Just so festive and sweet. :)

 Nativity at Camden courthouse. We took this earlier this week. Pretty.

KK (my mom), got Jackson such cute things for next Christmas. A sweet lil hat, bib, and a "magic pillowcase" for when he is a little older. Hey, there was a great sale on Christmas goodies, so she couldn't resist. :)

We had such a special time with family and it was great seeing a few people from my hometown I just adore so much. It was such a wonderful Christmas, and it is such a wonderful life.

I hope y'all have had a wonderful Christmas season!

 

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31