Happy Birthday, Amy!!

 Today is my best friend, Amy's birthday!!! I remember eight years ago when we met. We became fast friends from the beginning. The picture above is of us while we taught Sunday School together at church! So fun!

 Here are Russell and I with Amy and Tony on their wedding day five years ago! Happy Anniversary tomorrow too, by the way! :) What a great day that was!

 What a beautiful bridesmaid you were in my wedding!

And here we all are from Christmas 2010! We have so many memories and I am sure we will make many more memories as best friends and family! Thank you for always being there for me, Amy! You truly are such a blessing from the Lord! Have a Happy Birthday! I Love You! Love, Meredith

Bro. Bob

Today, we learned of the passing of a wonderful Christian man who showed the love of the Lord to many many people. Bro. Bob Crank was a huge influence in mine and Russell's lives and sooooo very many others as well. 

Russell knew Bro. Bob through an organization called the ABS (Association of Baptist Students), at SAU and from church as well. Bro. Bob was such an awesome mentor for Russell from the day Russell started going to the ABS. I met Bro. Bob when Russell and I started dating back in 2005. I knew he was very special from the day I met him.

I attended SAU starting that August and attended the ABS as well.

 Bro. Bob served in the student ministry for about 36 years, I believe. Here's some of the "ABS Bunch" one of the years Russell was in college. I only attended SAU one year. Every Tuesday night, the ABS would have TNT (Tuesday Nights Together) and all us college students met at the center. Bro. Bob would always share a very inspirational message every week. Every Wednesday night, ABS had L.I.G.H.T and M.I.G.H.T. (Ladies in Gods Holy Truth and Men in Gods Holy Truth). The guys would meet in one room and girls in another and Ms. Amy Covington (Bro. Bob's daughter), would lead the girls and of course Bro. Bob led the guys. We were taught many biblical truths and our faith grew in many ways.

 Here are Russell and I during an event at ABS--Puttin' On the Ritz! It was a special way to commemorate all the ABS leaders and seniors for that year. So fun.

 Here are some of the  guys after a M.I.G.H.T. meeting

Last but not least, here's a sweet pic of a few of us ABSers with "Mama Crank". She is the one on the front in the middle. Such a precious lady.

I just wanted to share my heart about Bro. Bob today and a little about the ABS at SAU. We will always carry so many memories of him and our college ABS memories with us forever. To all the SAU ABS RIDERS out there: Remember these things? "I'm Third", TNT, MIGHT, LIGHT, Cactus Pete, Talent Shows, Puttin on the Ritz, ABS Mug Shots on the bulletin board, Girls Nights Out, Hay Rides, Coca-Cola, Prayer Closet, Travel Team, Thanksgiving meals, Christmas caroling, Leadership conferences, Branson, friendships made, studying countless hours at ABS (I know that's so true for Russell), and SOO many others I may be leaving out.  

"When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus we'll sing and shout the victory!"



Randomocity

As of yesterday, it is officially Summer! I thought I would share just some Summer Random things today!

 Have y'all heard of these new Diamond Candles? I can't wait to try them soon. First of all, they are soy candles so they burn really clean and evenly. I have heard many raving reviews about these candles. But the best part? Each candle has a ring inside!! Yes, you heard me right! They say that the ring can be worth anywhere from $10 to $5000!!! I know it sounds too good to be true to get a ring worth $5000, but there's always a chance when you buy a candle, right?

 I loooove children. Therefore, I love children's books. And who doesn't love The Pioneer Woman? She wrote this book, "Charlie the Ranch Dog" and it hit the bookstores in May. It is such a cute book and I recommend it to any child from ages 3 to 8.

 Have y'all heard of Pinterest? It is my new addiction. Basically, you can create your own account and then post all the things that interest you on your page. You can also share it with friends and see what they are interested in from decorating, to birthday parties, to favorite movies you may want to share. It's really up to you!

Lastly, I had to share this with y'all. This is another good summertime drink. If you are looking for something tart and sweet, the McDonald's frozen strawberry lemonade is for you. It's really yummy and makes for a good summer drink! Hope you are all enjoying Summer!

Daddy's Day

Father's Day is Sunday, as most of us all know. I couldn't help but post pictures from forever ago. I don't have many older ones on my computer and these have most likely been on my blog before, but they are still a few of my favorites.

 I LOVE this one.

 And this one....

Yep, and this one too! Just wanted to share my overflowing love for him.

The Southern Way

 Around South Arkansas, we love lots of things in the summer. We love swimming, laying out to tan in the sun, (not me--I would BURN to a crisp!), and make fried green tomatoes! This is just our southern way, y'all. I decided today was the day to make them for dinner.

 I also made squash casserole, which is another southern staple. If I had time I would have made sour cream cornbread, but I just made these two things. It was my first time to ever make them too.

A close up of the squash casserole. I will continue to look for stands by the side of the road that sell fresh produce this Summer. It's usually better than any grocery store around here! Summer has been steaming hot lately. It was 101 degrees today. Wow! Hope you are enjoying Summer so far!

Mama's Wedding

Yes, it's true. My mom got married on June 4th. She got engaged in February and has been looking forward to June 4th ever since. I am happy for her. As long as she is happy, that is what counts. I was almost as nervous as she was. I love weddings. To be honest, I thought about Daddy so much, naturally so. His memory was in my heart that day, as it is every day. I know I talk about him so much, but I can't help it. Like a lyric from the broadway musical Wicked, "You'll be with me like a handprint on my heart." That is just how it is! Okay, back to the wedding!

 Here are the flowers that were used for the brief ceremony and then reception.

 Like mother, like daughter! I have always thought Lauren favored Kelly so much. This picture shows that I think. Soo pretty!

 Sisters! Can I just say again how much I adore my sister? She is the absolute best.

 Here we are with our Mama!

 So beautimous!

 Mama and B.A. before the wedding

 Two candles were lit; one in memory of Daddy, and one in memory of B.A's late wife.

 Mama wanted Kelly and I to sing a duet entitled, "Together". I loved singing with Kelly and hope to sing with her again soon! However, a funny fact that we both laughed at was the last duet we sang together was "Little Cabin in the Wood" when I was 3 or 4 years old! Maybe we won't wait more than twenty years for our next one, Kelly! HA!

 My sweet cousins, Ann Marie and Jennifer.

 And here's the youngest guest at the wedding, Callen. What a sweet newborn baby!!!

 Russell and me

 Logan, Lauren and Callen

 And here's two very precious girls, Emily and Sarah Kate! They are definitely a couple of my favorite kids!

 Bye!!

Cammie, me and Courtney

It was a good weekend to catch up with so much family. It was almost like a double family reunion! Ha! Hope y'all have a great day!

Summertime Favorites

 Summertime is perfect for the things I'm talking about today. First of all, I thought I would share my first favorite thing and that would be.....get ready....Sonic Cranberry Slushes! They are my newest addiction! HA! Go get one and don't walk--run to Sonic! You won't regret it!

 My second favorite thing for this Summer is our Orange Dreamsicle candle. It smells like pure Summertime heaven, y'all! It fills the room with such a yummy smell!

 Next is nail polish for Summer. My favorite color is not a new color, but I love it anyway. It is Dim Sum Plum by OPI. Last year, I went to a birthday party and found out that Kelly, my sister, her friend, Claudia, and I all had on this same color! I still adore it!

 I recently bought this adorable picnic basket from walmart on sale for seven dollars! It is inspiring me to have a picnic by the lake with Russell sometime really soon!

Speaking of picnics....

What is a picnic without my Daddy's recipe of homemade pimento cheese? I remember anytime our family would go to the beach, we would stop for a picnic on the way. The night before we left, I always enjoyed helping Daddy make pimento cheese!

Summertime is sweet! 

Meredith's Farewell

 Did y'all watch The Today Show this morning? Today was Meredith Vieira's last day on the Today Show. Her co-workers sent her off well!

 The whole crew from the show made a live video of all of them running along with Meredith while lip syncing to "Don't Stop Believing". It was so funny, sweet and sad all at once.

I will miss seeing her on 'Today'. I thought she was so good on there. But Ann Curry will take her place. She is so good at bringing us the news too. I'll be looking forward to it! Goodbye to Meredith!