Memphis Friends

We came to Memphis 10 years ago.  Shortly after, we visited a church & met some dear friends.  We no longer go to that church, but we are thankful for some friendships that were formed.  This week, we were able to gather for dinner with several of those families who are so dear to all of us.

Isabella has known Mia & Kaki since she was 2 1/2.    Brook has known Mallie since she was 2, & we have known Kale & Kinley since they came to Memphis.  This group of kids still has lots of fun together!

These 2 dear friends have been a source of encouragement, prayer, road trips, & lots of laughs over the years!

Sweet Kaki gave the girls gifts to open when they arrive in Colombia.  

Last night we had dinner with another family who have been great friends to us over the last 10 years. Somehow I didn't get any pictures though, but we are thankful for the Stiles, their hospitality, friendship, prayers, & laughter they have brought to our family.  They have some really sweet, cute kids too!

We are thankful for sweet times with all these friends before we move.

Blog #2

Check out www.bogotabridges.com for a blog post from yesterday.

Happy Tuesday!

Week in Review

After a week break from blogging, here is a quick last week in review (okay, it's really not so quick):

Memphis was predicted to have an ice storm.  It was cold, but no ice storm came.  So after a day inside, our family went to see Frozen.  Loved this movie!!

Because it has been so cold, we did something we rarely do....bring the dog inside.

99% of the time Beckham is in his kennel, but he was out for a moment begging to come in the kitchen.  No food is safe there with Beckham on the loose!

We attended a Christmas party last weekend & Isabella babysat Brook & 2 friends she had over to spend the night.  It was a fun night out for us.  One of our dear, dear friends came in town last weekend. Carmen. She is a friend that has been a part of my life since the mid 90's & Avery has known her since elementary school!  Carmen actually lived with me a year when I had a house in Southaven before Avery & I married. She was there for me when I got married & came to Memphis to be my right hand when Avery & I renewed our vows at our 10 year anniversary.  She has just returned to the US from spending 4 years working with a NICS school in Suriname.  She is so bold for her faith in Christ & loves life & spreads smiles to all she meets.  We just spent one day together, but it was dear.  I found out later that night that Brook had taken a 2 hour nap while she was here.  I had no idea.  That tells you I was enjoying my time & conversation with Carmen!

 

Independent Presbyterian Church hosted their 25th annual Lessons & Carols.  It was the first year both Brook & Isabella were also involved in the program. Avery sings in the choir, so it was a busy Sunday night for our family.  The music & worship was beautiful.

We finished up 99% of our school work for this semester this week, the girls babysat for dear friends, Isabella went caroling at a nursing home, the girls sang in a choir presentation at church, & I had lunch with dear friends I use to be in bible study with the past 9 years.

We also went to dinner & a play with our good friend, Larry.  We saw Tuna Christmas, a 2 man show.

Brook found a bracelet she had made at church.  It was suppose to be J (heart) M, representing Jesus loves me.  Brook made hers M (heart) J.  She said hers says, "Me loves Jesus!".  I thought that was pretty sweet. She gave it to her good friend whose initials are MJ.

selfie of Brook

Brook & I at the church watching basketball practice of the 7th grade girls

(Isabella was there to cheer on her friends!)

We went with some friends to check out the Smart Mart in Memphis.  We have seen this place for a long time but never been there, yet always been intrigued by it.  It is a virtual convienence store.

You push the category you want....

Once you pay, this door opens & you see the conveyer belt work its magic.

Out comes our pack of gum :)

Fun night at the Smart Mart!

Then we closed out the weekend by making lots of Christmas goodies, a Sunday School potluck after church, & another Christmas party.  Here we are, the week before Christmas.  Happy Monday!

Our Christmas Home

Our Christmas home, 2013...........

Our front door

Kitchen counter

Our kitchen wall has a few random nails, so I took advantage of them with misc. ornaments of the girls.

Our travel tree

Kitchen table

Dining room centerpiece

Dining room

Living room

The first time stocking have been hung from a mantle in 10 years!

End table with my books & one of my favorite Christmas candles

Guest bath

Our fireplace & tree for this year

Den coffee table

May you enjoy the sights & smells of the season with simplicity, so you can savor our Savior's birth.

What Not to Wear

One of our favorite TV Shows recently aired its last episode, and I admit, I was a little sad to see it go.

If you never saw this show, I'm sure there are many episodes out there in the internet world to be found. Stacy & Clinton were the hosts, & they were quite smart, funny, & entertaining.  On one of their final episodes, they did a show with their fashion rule book.   Along with their 10 rules, Ted (the hair stylist) had some, along with Carmindy (the make-up artist) shared some rules as well.  I don't ever do much on fashion on this blog, but this is my first & possibly only fashion blog entry!  I am simply going to share some of their fashion rules, with a slight amount of editing from me:

• Always wear proper undergarments.
• Dress your age.
• Your clothes have to fit.  Dress the body you have, not the body you want.
• Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have.
• Color, texture, pattern, and shine all create visual interest.
• You don't have to show a lot of skin to look sexy.
• Jeans are suppose fit (not sag in the front or rear).
• Mom does not equal frump.
• You can show off your personality without looking crazy.

Ted's hair rules:

• Get your hair cut every 4-6 weeks.
• Use the right product.
• Everyone should color her hair. (It will help with your complexion).

Carmindy's make-up rules:

• Carmindize your face - highlight top of cheek bone, brow bone, & tear duct area
• Blend on foundation using a non-latex sponge (cover eyelids & under eyes)
• The 5 minute face - even complexion, liquid foundation to even out skin tone, dust a light translucent powder to set make-up all day, carmindize the face, eye definition (eyeliner on upper lash line only & black mascara on top lashes only), swirl of blush on apples of cheekbones, & tinted lip balm.

Now, let it be known, I do not follow all these rules, especially every day!  I have never had my hair colored, although I have been told that many times by hairdressers.  However, I have made more attention to fashion to reserve my comfy clothes for home, and not for running errands.  So to Stacy & Clinton, I thank you & my family thanks you too!

The most important thing to wear at all times though comes straight from Colossians 3:12-14:

"Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." 

Oh Dear! (part 2)

Remember the deer Isabella killed a few weeks ago? Well, here are the up-to-date pictures....

Isabella holding the antlers of the deer

With all this deer meat, I needed an occasion to share in the bounty of our deer meat.  We hosted a chili night for 7th grade girls & their mothers at our house over the weekend.  It was a good crowd of girls & mom.  We all had a good time, & still had leftover chili :).

What color Thursday & Black Friday

In the past, I have spent many Fridays, waking up much earlier than normal to stand in line & get some good deals on Black Friday.   Then, I would stay up & just go shop at midnight.  Now, stores are opening on Thanksgiving night.  So this year, I had 2 errands I wanted to run that night & Isabella was ready to go with me.  We started at Office Depot, then went to Kohls.  Office Depot was calm.  We arrived at Kohls 30 minutes after they opened, and it was crazy busy.  Without a doubt, the line was at least an hour and a half wait.  There was nothing I needed that bad for any amount of sale price.  I have come to my sense a little bit to value my time and to reconsider, do I really need this?  Isabella and I both found a pair of shoes, so I made a note of them, we drove home, and I ordered them from Kohls.com at the same price!  That was my best deal.  We were home before 10pm, doing shopping from home :).

Friday morning, I took Brook with me to a few stores.  It was a pretty calm outing for us.

I am happy to report all Christmas shopping for the girls is complete!  

Two of our favorite Christmas traditions are to watch Christmas shows and to go to the mall.  Avery was hunting one night last week, so the girls and I watched Rudolph.  We've never even done Santa with our girls, but we do enjoy watching some of the traditional Christmas shows.  

I don't go to malls a lot, but I do enjoy going at Christmas to see the decorations.  Brook really wanted ride on this elevator before we move, so we did that while admiring the decorations.

I'm so glad it is officially the Christmas season, so my decorations & listening to Christmas music doesn't seem so early anymore!