Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40:31 says "but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." I truly love that verse. We need to put our hope and trust in the Lord and in time, we will become stronger in many ways! We just need to give it to God. HE handles ALL things! I am so proud of my husband. He is one tough man in many ways but most of all, spiritually tough and emotionally tough. God gave both of us a test. Russell lost his job in February, and during those many months, we have cried together, and laughed together; we prayed together and trusted God together. We knew that in HIS time, God would give Russell the right job opportunity.

Well today, Russell was offered a job for Murphy USA and he gratefully accepted the position. We are sooooo happy about this! God is SO good! I needed Russell with me after my Daddy passed away. The LORD knew that. Russell needed me too. We needed the quality time with one another. Russell now knows more about cooking and even helped me cook a Julia Child recipe! :) HA! I mean, there is a reason for everything, ya'll. In life, you may not always see the end of the tunnel, but you know you will get there someway or another. But with God on your side, it is always THE BEST way to go!

I know many of ya'll have prayed and I thank you so much! I will remind you that anytime ya'll have any specific prayer requests, just send me an email. My email is on the sidebar to the right.

We will be moving to South Arkansas soon but know this is God's plan and are so confident in this. We are very excited. So just remember, God will always be there, even when the going gets tough. You just have to learn to TRUST in HIM!

South Arkansas at its Best!

First of all, I will say that I took a few other Thanksgiving pics from my side of the family and I only found TWO from our family's Thanksgiving! AGH! Okay! I got that out of my system! I will try to find them on my camera. It is so weird, it just seems like they disappeared! Whatever! Oh yes! I was talking about Thanksgiving! We had a good Thanksgiving with Mama, Kelly, Eric, Logan, Lauren, Carolyn, Kimberly, Bo, Katherine, Gram and Sandy! After we ate the big meal, Kelly, L & L and I went outside to shoot the BB gun. In our family it is a pasttime. Because my Daddy taught Kelly and I to shoot a BB gun when she was about 8 and he taught me, and Logan as well. We aim, and shoot at a tree in the woods behind the backyard.
Logan took this picture! :) Have I told ya'll before I just love my sister?! I am sure I have! She is the greatest!

That night we went to Jackie and Ricky's house and had the Price Thanksgiving. First we took pictures of this little doll! Isn't her dress the cutest?

And here is our Price family! From what I understand, a Price family photo has not been taken in over 20 years! WOW! So that is why we were all so excited to get one this year. Seated is Ricky (Russell's dad), and Papaw Price and Mamaw Price in the middle, Ron (Ricky's brother), and behind the couch is Jackie (Russell's mom), Russell, and me, Tony, Amy (Ron's daughter), Leighann, and Debbie.

Leighann was all smiles!

I am so glad Amy and I got to visit. Not only are we best friends, but cousins as well! :)

Friday (the day after T'giving), Russell and I helped Mama decorate her house for Christmas. Decorating is just so fun! I think I could decorate all day if I was organized enough! HA!

Friday night we celebrated Ricky's birthday and Tony's birthday at a good restaurant, Ole Feed House! Catfish anyone?

Saturday Mama and I went over to Mamaw and Papaw Price's and Mama met Leighann for the first time! She was so good!

Russell and I stayed in South AR for a week and a half. While we were there I also got to spend time with:

Sweet Lindsey! She is one of my best friends too! She is studying to be a Christian counselor. As far as I am concerned, I owe her a large "bill" for being my "counselor"! HA! Thanks Lindsey, in advance! :) We went to see The Blind Side. It was my 2nd time to see that movie! It is a WONDERFUL movie to see ya'll! I am telling ya!

Mama and I got to spend time with each other too. I enjoyed visiting with her so much. Her dog protects her in a major way. Her name is Abby!

This past Thursday we went to Little Rock with Jackie and Ricky to browse around stores there and visit Russell's great aunt Margaret and great uncle Randel. They are two sweet people!

Well that is just part 1 of our visit. But part 2 will be of.....thats right...Ann Marie's wedding!

I thank my God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3

Ann Marie's Getting Married Today!

I am SO sorry I haven't blogged in SOOO long! We are still in South AR. I have not been able to update my blog from here! However, tomorrow or Monday I will definitely update it! I promise!

Today is a very special day. My gorgeous and very sweet cousin, Ann Marie and her fiance, Lance, are getting married today! It will be a beautiful Christmas wedding. I am singing a duet called "When God Made You", which is a very pretty song. I am also singing "O Holy Night", my very favorite Christmas songs!
Aren't Lance and Ann Marie a darling couple?!?! They have been together 7 years! I will update about it when I can!

Since they are no longer two but one, let no man separate them, for God has joined them together. Matthew 19:6

Turkey Day is Coming!

Belle is so ready for her 2nd Thanksgiving! This year we will be at my Mama's house. There will be lots of family there too! Friday night Mama came to visit and she left earlier this morning. Here is a recap of what we did.
Saturday we went to Branson to see a wonderful show at Sight and Sound Theatres called "Miracle of Christmas." It was basically like a live nativity. We could not take pictures in the theater but I did get a picture of the beautiful angel tree in the lobby. It is 30 feet high. It was so pretty!

Mama and I were pretty excited about the show.

We ate a late lunch at McFarlains. It was so yummy. Sunday we went to church and it was a wonderful service. We sang Revelation Song, which was very worshipful and beautiful.
Later Sunday afternoon, Mama helped us get our Christmas tree up and she took over the Christmas lights. We do not have a prelit tree so it's hard to put lights on the tree we do have. Mama, on the other hand, is an expert at it. She always makes it look great. I seriously couldn't do it how she does it! We did decorate early this year because my cousin's wedding is in less than 2 weeks and we may end up staying in "lower AR" that whole time. :)


I know this is another random picture, but I thought this was funny! It looks like Mr. Turkey is about to run away! :)

Mama and I went to Fayetteville and met my aunt Molly, Aunt Dodie and sweet cousins, Parke and Emily for dinner. I just love them! So happy we can spend more time w/ them on Thanksgiving too!
Yesterday we went to see a matinee movie, The Blind Side. Oh my word, ya'll! It is such a great movie! We all loved it! Great movie to see as soon as you can!

Last night we went to our town's downtown square to take pictures. Belle hardly looked at the camera, but this was one of the best pics Mama took!

It was soo beautiful at the square. We are leaving tomorrow for South AR and are excited to see family and friends for the holiday.

Thanksgiving Traditions

Lately I have been thinking a lot about our family's Thanksgiving traditions. Here are a few of them:

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

We have to turn the TV on every Thanksgiving to watch it. It has changed a lot over the past few years, but it's still a tradition for all of us! All kinds of Thanksgiving food such as turkey, dressing, gravy, rolls, and other foods. However, one thing we cannot forget is....
The MASHED POTATOES! HA! I say that because one year, at Mama and Daddy's, we were almost ready to eat. Thr turkey was ready and sliced, the rolls were ready, etc. but I asked Mama, "Where are the mashed potatoes?" She said, "OH NO! We forgot about the mashed potatoes!" We didn't have time to make homemade like we usually do, but it was just so funny that she just grabbed a box of instant mashed potatoes and whipped those up real quick! HA! I always joke about that. It's so funny!

And of course, every Thanksgiving day or the day after we always watch Christmas Vacation! We have seen it so many times that I have lost count! We just laugh as hard as ever, especially with a lot of people watching it at once!


Also, my family always waits til the day after Thanksgiving to decorate the tree. And we have never been one of those "black Friday" shoppers. It is just too crazy. What are your Thanksgiving traditions? I'd love to know!

I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings just as I passed them on to you. 1 Corinthians 11:2

Our First Year with Belle

One year ago today, Russell and I got our sweet puppy dog, Belle. One year ago, I remember when we traveled up to Missouri to pick her up. When we saw her, it was love at first sight! I think I said, "AWW!" MANY times! Belle didn't even make a sound for about a week it seemed like!
She really enjoyed her 1st Christmas with us

She loved being snowed in with both of us too!

She loves to go on walks outside. But not too fond of cold weather. She likes warmer weather!

She loved her "barkday" cake as well.

But most of all, we have loved spending our time with Belle. She has been our "little joy" ever since we got her! We love her lots!

Operation Christmas Child Music Video

Here is a music video promoting Operation Christmas Child. Matthew West and Amy Grant sing this song together and its great! Also, I forgot to mention yesterday that these shoe boxes go to different countries, not the U.S. But it is an awesome way to reach out to children around the world! :)

Enjoy!