What's Up Wednesday ~ September 2021

 Good Wednesday morning!  I am linking up this morning for the monthly series of  What's Up Wednesday.  This is always a fun look back at the month.  

What we're eating this week...........

Monday - chicken alfredo, salad

Tuesday - slow cooker cream cheese chicken, rice and broccoli

Wednesday - church

Thursday - eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, fruit

Friday - sandwiches

Saturday - out with friends

What I'm reminiscing about...........

This month has been a hard month in a lot of ways for me, yet I have also had two of the best highlights from this year happen this month as well.  So it was fun to look back at "What we've been up to" this month.

What I'm loving................

I am loving that is finally fall!  Here are some of my fall decorations.

This is my shopping from the first day of fall! Now to bake all things pumpkin!

What we've been up to.................

September has been a busy month with several small trips.  It started with a family rafting trip.

A visit to the local fair to see our daughter's art work that won a ribbon!

We took our first college visit.

We celebrated my husband's birthday.

And we reunited for the day with dear friends.

What I'm dreading..................

No comment :)

What I'm working on......................

Ongoing, I am working on stuff from both of my part time jobs.  I am also working on some car issues my daughter has had with insurance companies.  So basically adulting!  

What I'm excited about..............

I am excited about some upcoming travel.  I have weekend trips planned for October and look forward to those opportunities.  

What I'm watching/reading...................

I am watching some of the new season of The Voice, Survivor, & Ted Lasso.  I also watch Pioneer Woman and Hallmark movies on Saturdays.  A weekly favorite is Chesapeake Shores on Hallmark.  I am a fan of this series.

What I'm listening to.................

Some of my weekly podcasts currently consist of The Big Boo Podcast, Office Ladies, Something to Celebrate, The Bestie Breakdown, Typology, The Open Door Sisterhood, Dont Mom Alone and 2 new ones to me....The Naked Marriage and Making Space with Hoda Kotb.  Hoda interviewed pastor Michael Todd on her first episode and it was very good.  Believe it or not, I have actually eliminated a few from my weekly rotation.  This is why I don't read as much....I am always listening to podcasts it seems!

What I'm wearing...............

We are not in full on summer heat, yet not in full fall weather mode just yet.  So I am still wearing some summer dresses, and jeans and lightweight shirts.  Probably long sleeve, lightweight shirts are my favorite shirts to wear because I can always add a cardigan, which is my favorite transitional piece.  

What I'm doing this weekend...............

I am going to see Harry Styles in concert!  Looking forward to a fun night out with my girls!

What I'm looking forward to next month.............

I am taking a trip with my youngest daughter to visit several colleges.  It will be a lot of travel in a short amount of time, but looking forward to walking through this decision process with her and praying for some good conversations along the way.   Also, we celebrate her birthday next month!

What else is new...............

We have slowly been working on our front porch.  We just got some new concrete poured last week.  

Here are some before, during and after pictures.  Eventually, we will add some rails and some more decor.

We had a wooden walkway from our driveway to our front door.  This is the day the walkway was disassembled.

Once that was gone, this was the view from my front door....a huge drop off!

And just dirt from our driveway.

Then we had a concrete walkway poured which is one level and so much safer than the previous walkway.

Then this was the second phase of the view from my front door.

As of this week, that part of concrete was poured, so now we have 3 small steps to get to our front door, all at different places.

Thanks for reading the blog and hope you all are encouraged throughout this day.  Let's cheer each other on!

Weekend Wrap-Up Friend Reunion ~ September 27, 2021

 Good morning!  Reporting in this Monday morning with a re-cap of the weekend.  

We took off for yet another small trip Saturday morning.  A little back story if you didn't know this......We served as missionaries in Bogota', Colombia in South America for 3 years.  Prior to moving there, we spent one month in Brussels, Belgium in training with other missionary couples.  There were some trying moments, but overall, it was one of the greatest experiences of our lives.  We lived in community and traveled within Europe for a month.  It was a rare, special time.  During that month, we got to know a couple who afterwards moved to Bangkok, Thailand.  Due to the state of affairs of Covid in Thailand, they are in the states now so we met them at a halfway point in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday.  We had seen them just once since our training in Belgium in January 2014. 

Let me just say, Saturday is going down as one of the highlights of 2021.  It was truly life giving.  We laughed so much.  We shared stories of the mission field.  We shared stories of life in the past, today and the future and talked about our kids and marriages.  We just enjoyed each other.  

Here we are in January 2014 in Brussels.

The guys in Brugge, Belgium.  They are broes :).

Saturday in Birmingham....we are so thankful for this dear, couple friend.  It is rare and we only wish we saw them more often.

On our way home Sunday, I had to stop at the local Buc-ees.  Y'all know I am a fan!  And apparently, Sunday mornings are the time to go. It wasn't crowded at all!

Getting those refills with our cups I brought with me on the trip :).

Typically, I get the brisket sandwich when I go, but I wasn't sure what would be offered for breakfast.  Let me say there were so many good options.  But this brisket egg taco was amazing!  The flavor was so good.  I am going back to Buc-ess next month and already looking forward to getting this for breakfast again.  

A weekend away to see dear friends, time with my husband and a side of Buc-ees....almost a perfect weekend.  The only thing lacking was having my girls with me, but we enjoyed the time away.

Wishing you all a good day.  Praying this will be a good week ahead.

Weekend Wrap-Up / Fall Decor ~ September 20, 2021

 Good Monday morning.  Life has been tough lately and is winning over my blogging time these days.  But, today, I am sharing some highlights of the weekend.  I am thankful for some fun times sprinkled among the hard.

We headed out on Friday for a college visit to Mississippi State University.  We first rode by the field of the 2021 College World Series winning team.

My senior

Sunday night, we celebrated my husband's birthday.   He spent some time on his own with a motorcyle ride and camping then came home for dinner.

In honor of fall officially starting Wednesday, I wanted to share a little bit of my fall decor.

And this is how I cope with some hard things these days!  My autumn splurge!

Now off to a fresh start to a new day with new mercies....and cooler temperatures to celebrate this week!

Linking up with Heather today.

Weekend Wrap-Up ~ September 13, 2021 / White Water Rafting

 Good morning. This morning, I am re-capping weekend before last.  This past weekend was thankfully low-key for me.  I did attend a flag football game and went to a family member's wedding shower and spent time watching 9/11 Memorials.  It was a day of reflection and a slow weekend for the most part.  I am thankful because the next 6 weeks, the calendar is full.  So here is my re-cap of Labor Day weekend! Linking up today with Heather.

We headed out last Saturday to visit our oldest daughter.  Here I am with my girls:

 On Sunday after church, we went white water rafting.  Here is our before picture...

Here are during pictures:

Look how high our guide bounced out of the raft!  He let our oldest ride at the front of the boat over a few rapids.  She loved it! We rafted with another couple who were very nice and fun.

Aftewards, we went to an overlook to watch the sunset.

I had to laugh when the view outside our hotel window was this concrete structure.  This is the front of the hotel. I have had views of parking lots, side streets and other uneventful things, but this was a first.  

A few other pictures from our weekend you can see where I posted last week on my Thankfulness post.  

In the meantime on this Monday, I felt compelled to share some lyrics from the song, "Blessed Be Your Name".   Hope it will be encouraging as you go through your day.

Blessed Be Your Name

In the land that is plentiful 

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out, I'll 

Turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's 'all as it should be'

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering 

Though there's pain in the offering 

Blessed be Your name

God you give and take away

Oh you give and take away

My heart will choose to say

Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your glorious name

Friday Favorites ~ September 10, 2021 / Saint & the Fair

 Good Friday morning!  I am linking up to share some favorites from the week.

ONE

The end of last week we "re-homed" our dog.  There is story behind that, but basically, we found a great organization that helped us find a new, good home for him.  The reason why I put this as a favorite is that Saturday, we were sent a video of him meeting his new family so it was good for us to see that he is okay.

This was me the night before, but I definitely cried when I actually told him bye.

Saying goodbye before school...

Saying goodbye over Facetime

TWO

Everyone once in a whle I watch an old episode of Hart of Dixie, which is definitely a favorite of mine.

THREE

We went to our local fair for 2 hours this week, which was just enough time to see our daughter's artwork entered in the fair and a few other attractions. It was a fun afternoon.

All these items are fried!  It is funn how they all look the same.

These stuffed animals were huge!

We are so thankful for her talent!

I hope you all have a good weekend and some time to reflect on the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow.  

Thankfulness Post

 This week, I am linking up with Jennifer for her weekly Thankful post with other bloggers.

This morning I am focusing on being thankful for my daughters. 

 We went to visit my oldest last weekend in her college town.  We had a great dinner at one of our favorite pasta places, then hung out at her house with friends. 

We basically go to this restuarant just for the amazing bread!

 Let me just say that as a first time mom to a college student, I am so, so thankful for her community.  I am thankful for her heart to stay faithful and serve the Lord.  I am thankful that she is among a community doing the same thing.  With a group of around 15 young adults Saturday night, they were all having a great time and faith is the main thing amoung this group.  I love how most of them were talking at the end of the night about them attending church the next morning.  I love that Sunday morning, all of my daughter's roommates were up and at church before we even left.  My daughter has just started a job working with youth at a local church, so it was great to be able to visit that church for the first time Sunday.  I realize just going to church alone isn't the answer in life, but it sure helps guide us all in our relationship with Jesus. Seeing a younger generation who wants to grow in their faith is so encouraging to me.

I am thankful for the fun my girls had with one another and the fun we had a as a family.  Honestly, it was one of the most fun weekends we have had there.  Most of that was because we went white water rafting, something we all enjoy but only the 2nd time we have done it together.  We all laughed so much!

They let my oldest ride what they call "Bull nose" through some of the rapids.  She loved the adventure!

(side note...we had another couple in the raft with us & they were so sweet!)

I am thankful for my younger daughter as well.  She is so talented with her art and won an award this week at our local fair.  I am thankful to spend some time with her next month as we go on college tour visits.

Here are all the art winners from her category.

I also want to mention I am thankful for my husband and for him being a great dad to our daughters.

Life is hard and honestly, I have a hard situation right now with my oldest daughter, however, we know that Jesus will see us through this.  It may be a long battle though, so even though I can't reveal details here, I would love your prayers.  I needed last weekend as a reminder of how much I have to be thankful for and hope we all look for these things in the midst of the hard world we live in on this side of eternity.

Hope you have a great day!

 

Currently ~ September 2021

 Happy September 1st!!  Y'all....this means a little more heat, but more encouragement because we know fall is coming!!  Yay!! This is my current screensaver:

I am linking up with Anne today for her Currently series focusing on thse topics:

beginning, ending, loving, picking, and posting.

Beginning ~ 

September!  I am always happy to start a new month, especially this time of year when a new season is on its way.  There is something about the 1st that just signals a fresh start.  I am always in need of hitting the reset button on every area of my life.

Ending ~ 

August!  August is probably one of my least favorite months due to the heat.  I am tired of summer by this point.  I am thankful I did get in something fun this month though with my trip to Charlotte.  Maybe I should book more fun stuff for this month? 

Loving ~

I am loving that I am going to see my college girl this weekend.  I haven't seen her since July and that just seems like a long time.  I hit the 2 month mark and it just seems long.  I am going to so miss them even more when I have both away next year.  Here is a picture of sister silliness from this summer!

Picking ~

I am picking the battles that are within me.  In the words of Louie Giglio's book, "Don't give the enemy a seat at your table."  

Posting ~

Linking up this blog post this month and all the other normal link-ups.  I don't post too much to Facebook and I do post average of once a week to Instagram.  I try to keep my posts just of simple stuff in such a complex, divided world.  I am thankful for my blog friends and those of you reading this!  

Go have a great day pulling out those apple and pumpkin decor!!