Catching Up

Wow! So much has happened since the last time I had a chance to blog. I'll try to keep this at a reasonable length, but I make no promises.

Aunt Suzie got married!!!

November 13, 2010, Greg, Kirsten and I went to New Orleans to celebrate Greg's Aunt Suzie and Chris' wedding. Highlights:

Wedding

Suzie & Chris/Bride & Groom

Getting to know Chris a little better (he had me at the pink tie)

Seeing family from New Orleans we don't get to see as often as we'd like

Getting to see family from Texas we don't get to see as often as we'd like

Getting to meet Suzie's Houston friends

Wearing a dress/dressing up

Cutting up and having fun

Watching the kids/cousins have a great time together

Food (which deserves a list on it's own)

Gumbo, Crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice

Zea's grilled chicken salad with pepper jelly vinegrette

Fried Cheese Sticks

Tiny muffalettas

Wedding Cake

More Wedding Cake (I promise if Heaven had a taste, this would be it)

Copeland's Banana's Foster French Toast

Bop's splenda chocolate milk shake with a touch of peanut butter

Bop's hot chocolate with a scoop of splenda custard and whip cream

We had the best time, but our stay was definitely too short.

Kirsten's Preschool Indian Village:

My baby had her first preschool program. My parents happened to be coming through town on their way back from Charleston, SC, so they were able to attend. I was so proud of Kirsten. She did a great job. I cried as I watched her, realizing she was growing up right before my eyes and I couldn't do one thing about it, but treasure every second. She was the cutest Indian ever.

Thanksgiving:

My parents and Hayley came to our house for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving morning, Hayley and I ran in the Atlanta Thanksgiving Day 5K. It was so much fun. I'm not a fast runner at all, but I really enjoy doing these events...mainly for the t'shirts and medals. I did improve on my time from my last 5K which was back in May. My time for that race was about 41 minutes. My time for the T'giving Day 5K was 36:38. Hayley and I made it home by 9:00am.

Deeper Still:

I've been looking forward to Deeper Still since Oct., 2009. In fact, for Mother's Day, Greg got me a Deeper Still ticket along with the money to go. Deeper Still is a weekend long spiritual event for women. The speakers at Deeper Still are Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. This particular Deeper Still was in Birmingham, AL, and guests Kelli Minter and David Platt joined the mix. The worship was lead by my 2nd favorite, only to Mandisa, Travis Cottrell and his Praise Team.

Along with being one of my greatest friends, Tracy Short is my spiritual conference buddy. We've been to quite a few of these events together, and we know what to expect from each other. I love how we can play slumber party, stay up late and share our lives, struggles, and words of wisdom with each other. We talk about what all we got out of the worship and messages from the speakers. We'll offer each other encouragement and prayer without judgement. I pray everyone can have godly friends and influences like Tracy. Sometimes, Tracy and I take others along with us. This time we went with a couple of ladies from my Bible study group. We didn't get to have our bonding time for the risk of keeping the others awake. I really missed it, so I hope we'll get a chance to make that time up sometime soon.

I went to the Deeper Still in Atlanta a couple of years ago and it changed my life. This time, I was in a totally different place in my walk than I was 2 years ago. This time, I've done Bible studies by all of the speakers, including Kelli Minter. Two years ago, I was only familiar with Kay Arthur and her studies. I didn't know much about Beth Moore since I had not done one of her Bible studies or read any of her books. She blew me away, and so did Priscilla Shirer. I suppose I was hiding under a rock or something because I was really missing out. These are some amazing women. I am so glad I was able to see them again before they stop doing Deeper Still.

Hats:

Finally, to wrap up this post, I want to share with you about my hats. I've been trying to get some sort of ministry going with knitting hats for the needy, less fortunate, and/or sick. It's been a little tough trying to get others involved, but there are a few great women who have taken on the challenge. A few friends from Bible study and I made some hats for our church's Hope For Christmas event. We teamed up with a ministry that knits scarves for the less fortunate. I am hoping that our ministries working together on this project will end all discrimination that lies between the tops of our heads and our necks, and we can join together as one ministry. We want to keep America warm one top of the body at a time, or something like that. No, seriously, there is no greater blessing than being able to do something for someone that needs it. Also, this allows opportunities to share Jesus and His love with others.