Thank You!

I want to take the time to apologize for not being faithful to my blogging. I don't know if anyone really would want to read it faithfully anyways, but I find it encouraging that I can come on here and find encouraging and uplifting women writing about how good the Lord is. Sometimes you feel like you have prayed all you can pray and read all you can read and you just need to hear some people praise the Lord. I needed that today. So thank you!


"We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers;

Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.
1 Thessalonians 1:2-9 KJV

And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:

So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; "

"Wordless" Wednesday

Anna Sophia's FIRST pigtails! Thanks Tessa!

The Song on My Blog

The song that plays first on my blog is called "Where've You Been" by Kathy Mattea. My mom used to listen to her all the time when we were little. She sings mostly love songs and writes her own music. This particular song, however, was written by her husband after he experienced first hand the exchange in the last verse (between his grandparents). I can't think of a more fitting song for Valentine's day. Enjoy! It's a great song!

Deer Stew

I have made this deer stew twice now and I love it. My measurements aren't very precise LOL but who measures stew anyways?
Deer Stew
1-2 lbs deer stew meat
1 large onion
4-6 medium red potatoes
16 oz carrots (I like baby carrots)
4-6 stalks celery
14 oz can diced tomatoes
4-6 cubes of bouillon (however you prefer to season your broth, we use big bouillon cubes)
1/4 cup flour
1 tbs basil
1.5 tbs parsley
2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt (add to taste later)
2 tsp nature's season (or all-purpose season of your preference)

Cut onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery. Put in crock pot. Add tomatoes. Add 4 cans full of water. Put flour, basil, parsley, pepper, salt, and nature's season in a large bag or bowl with a lid. Mix together, add meat, and shake to cover the meat. Brown in a large skillet. When meat is browned, add a half a can of water to skillet and scrape all of the yummy brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Pour water and meat into crock pot. If the meat and veggies aren't covered all the way, add water until covered. Turn on low and cook all night! Taste before serving, I am known to underseason things like stew and soup, but it's better to have to season it after the fact than have over salty food! (=

Just a Simple Update

There isn't really anything huge to blog about in my current life, so I will just write a very simple update. Anna Sophia is growing so fast! She is doing so well with her sign language (she now says please, all done, more, and nods her head yes or shakes it no) It makes communicating with her so much easier! She is also turning out to be quite the little ham and loves to perform her cute little "tricks" for everyone (she loves to "tap dance"). She is talking more and more and especially loves to say my sister's name, "Tessa". Anna got a nasty little upper respiratory infection, but she is over it now and back to normal!

Dusty and I are doing great. We took Andrew to Chucky Cheese for his birthday on Monday and had lots of fun with that. Andrew gets really excited about the little things (winning only one ticket is as big a deal as winning ten) so he is really fun to take places like that. Andrew also got saved a couple Sundays ago, so praise the Lord!! I went to Dusty's church for the first time on Wednesday as his girlfriend. It was very exciting and everything went really well. Dusty was able to pray with a man from the mission where he works as he asked the Lord to save him. It was a good night!

Life is good at home, when I can be there. My car is doing great. I love her more and more every day! I feel like a queen (even though power windows and locks are probably required in a queen's vehicle LOL). I am planning on going to York on Sunday with Dusty to hear him preach all day. That should be really fun! Life has just been good. The Lord is good, always. I love to be able to look back and see a valley that the Lord has just brought me out of. It is a great reminder of just how GOOD HE IS to me!


"When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up." Psalms 94:18

Anna Sophia and I enjoying some morning snuggles

My new car, Greta von Gretelstein

Sunday Hymn

1. "Day by day, and with each passing moment,
   Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
   Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
   I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.
   He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
   Gives unto each day what He deems best—
   Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
   Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2. Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
   With a special mercy for each hour;
   All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
   He Whose Name is Counselor and Pow’r.
   The protection of His child and treasure
   Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
   “As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
   This the pledge to me He made.
3. Help me then in every tribulation
   So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
   That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
   Offered me within Thy holy Word.
   Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
   E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
   One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
   Till I reach the promised land."
4. This is Mackenzie's favorite (that is Dusty's daughter by the way) so we sing it a lot at devotions.
5. Have a great Sunday!!!

Thought this picture was cute. Zac and Mackenzie.

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Jehovah-Jireh

THE LORD PROVIDES! I bought a brand new 2010 Hyundai Accent today. The Lord provided the perfect car to fit my needs (and my budget).

Praise be to Him!!!

Is it Just Me, or Did the Earth Start to Spin Faster This Week???

Needless to say, this week has be a mite crazy! Not necessarily in a bad way, though. I like to be busy. I have learned some difficult lessons this week, and I have had a semi-disaster strike my little tiny life, and it has all been wonderfully Anna-esque. I just made that up, but if you know me, you understand.
You see, I have this recurring problem. I have issues when things don't go my way. The Lord has used many things so far to try to teach me not to get worked up when a situation is not in my control, but I have been a stubborn little girl for the most part. Then came Tuesday. I think I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (the proverbial wrong side, since my cat sleeps on the same side every night and so I get out of the bed on the same side every morning). I went about my usual routine. I prayed getting ready and on the way to work. After Jason and Mike left for school and while Anna Sophia was sleeping, I read my Bible. Then Dusty called me. He had such a sweet spirit that morning. He kindly informed me that we would not be seeing one another until Saturday, if I could make it to Shelby Saturday. In a split second, I turned into 'baby of the family, I want things my way, I am a brat and I will complain and whine until I get it'. I won't say that this never happens, but in my defense it really doesn't happen nearly as much as it would have 2 years ago. All through out the day I successfully kept myself in a bad mood and moaned an complained, until finally I got off of work and got to talk to Dusty about it. He informed me (kindly, despite my attitude problem) that he had woken up that morning so happy to be my boyfriend and couldn't wait to see me and talk to me, etc, and when he finally did talk to me I was so mean and bratty that it took those feelings away. Not that he didn't like me anymore, but he didn't feel so strongly for me. WOW! I did that all by myself. No one helped me ruin my day and his. Did my attitude change my situation? No. What a waste of a good day from the Lord. What did I learn from this? I have read many times in Debi Pearl's book that a merry heart really does do good like a medicine. She even says that men are disgusted by women who act helpless and whiny and unhappy all the time. So I learned to smile and bear the circumstances, especially if I cannot change them. (= I'm just thankful that Dusty cares enough to stick around!!!
On Wednesday my transmission went out. I was on my way to work at 6:05 when I realized my car was not going to switch out of first gear. It takes a long time to get places at 25 MPH. LOL. So I turned around and went home to get the truck. So now I am shopping for a new car. Pray about that! I am pretty excited about having a reliable car!
Have a good day in the Lord!


"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." Proverbs 17:22

Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Dusty and I on Christmas eve. Cute, huh?

My brother, Brian and I, goofing off as usual

New Year, New Beginnings

So...It has been quite some time since I have had the time to get on here and update all three of the people who read my blog (LOL- it's totally worth it since I love those three so much!). These past few weeks have been busy and wonderful and I hardly even touched my computer, which made them even more wonderful! I guess I will start with Christmas Eve.

My family gets together on Christmas Eve for our immediate family's gathering. That included: Mom, Dad, Rhett, Erinn, Caleb, Trinity, Bryan, Tessa, Aiden, Bella, Abby, Savannah, Brian, David, Melanie, (Rebekah Dawn was there too, in the womb) Dusty, and myself. Christian, Stormy, and Ashtyn couldn't make it on Christmas Eve but they were there the weekend before when my grandparents came into town. Our family can be a pretty rowdy bunch when we all get together. We laughed and ate and ate and ate and opened presents. I realized this year just how awesome it is to watch children open gifts. The reactions are so worth the money spent! That evening, Dusty and I went to his friend's house for supper (I was too full to look at food).

Christmas Day was different this year for me. I didn't spend it with my parents, but they went to the mountains anyways. Dusty and I went to Columbia with his kids to see his mom and brother. We hung out there for a while, then we came back to Charlotte, cleaned my part of the church for Sunday services, then went to Shelby. His daughter and I had a sleepover in the neighbor's basement, and the next day we just hung out and enjoyed eachothers company. It was a good time. I had the whole week off between Christmas '09 and January '10. So I had a leisurely beginning of the week.

Then on Wednesday, Dusty and I went with the kids to Tennessee for a lock-in at the church where he used to be a youth pastor. He preached twice on Wednesday!! We stayed up until 7:30 in the morning! We rang in the new year with his good friends the Flemmings, and headed back to North Carolina on Friday. (Just to clear everything up I did have my very own room at the Flemming's house. I was the only one privileged enough to have a bed! LOL)

That Saturday, we went to the Cowpens National Battlefield and the outlets in Gaffney (I finally found someone who is a history nerd like me!) and ate at a little diner we have been wanting to try. We came home and played Mom and Dad's new Trivial Pursuit game (really fun). That's all. That is my vacation in a nutshell.

The Lord has been good to me this past year. He gave me a good job, a great group of friends at church, He has strengthened my relationships with my siblings and my parents, He gave me a wonderful man to lead me and teach me, and most of all He has shown me so many things that I really needed to learn. This year, I want to be a better listener, a better follower, a better daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, nanny, aunt, niece, granddaughter, and a better Child of God. My prayer is that I will grow leaps and bounds this year, and that all the glory will be given to God.

"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3