Colt and Amber......3 Years

I remember well the evening when Colt slipped in the pew beside me at church and playingly said, "I met a girl today......she's pretty and she can sing!" "You've got to meet her".


I did.


That was a little over 3 years ago.



They first met at "Meet You at the Pole". They were both there to perform music at the flagpole (where students gather around the flagpole on a designated day to pray and sing).....she to sing and he to play the guitar.




And here they still are 3 years later........

Christmas 2007

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

I wonder........could this possibly be a little thing called love?

.....The Rest of the Story

I do love the expressions captured in this picture....a moment forever frozen in time.



Those of you that guessed from seeing this picture on yesterday's post that the little girl was Joy were absolutely right. (However, those that thought it could be me as a little girl actually made a pretty good guess also as our childhood pictures look alot alike.) But there really was more to this story and that's why I was wondering if anyone could guess what was going on. (More on that later on this post).....first a little background on it.

This photo was taken over six years ago, in June of 2003. Joy was the flower girl in my cousin's wedding (Lindsey). Lindsey had a very unusual, but beautiful, wedding as it took place at 7:00 a.m. (Yes, that's 7:00 in the morning, people!). We had to have Joy there around 5:30 that morning! I think we got up at 4:00 that morning because she slept in curlers and I did her hair for the wedding that morning. Lindsey and J.R. were the lucky winners of an all expense paid wedding by a local news channel. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding. It was broadcast on TV that morning.





My nephew, Kemper, was the ring bearer. Kemper is one year older than Joy and they have always had a close relationship too as cousins. Joy was four and Kemper five. They looked so cute together and were really excited to be in Lindsey's wedding (and to be on TV). Here are a few pictures of the two of them.













During the wedding....walking down the aisle.




Here's Joy with the pretty bride, Lindsey.



Now on with the story......

Actually this picture was taken at the reception, after the wedding. That is my cousin, Nathan, holding Joy. He is the bride's brother.



Joy has always been a "people" person and rarely meets a stranger. She has always in particular, liked Nathan, and Nathan has always taken time to interact with her at family gatherings. And who wouldn't like Nathan? He is a fun sweet guy....you know the kind that's the life of the party! She always looked forward to seeing him. Well, on this particular day, she chose to be different! Nathan came up to her several times at the reception asking her to dance with him. She suddenly got this very shy I-don't-want-to-dance attitude with him and wouldn't budge. But Nathan was a very wise guy. Joy really wanted a piece of wedding cake (her favorite kind) and they hadn't gotten around to cutting the cake yet. Nathan waited for his moment, right after the cake had been cut, and then came over and asked Joy for a dance. Well, of course she turned him down flat again (I think the girl was just tired from being up so early), but then he used his wild card and offered to "dance her over to the cake". What magic that worked! In the picture, he was slowly working his way toward the cake, and I have no idea what he was saying to her, but she looks so solemn and I just love the expressions on both of their faces!

And here we go....mission accomplished....Joy got her cake and Nathan got his dance!



And about two years ago, at Nathan's very own wedding, he had no trouble at all getting this little girl (then 8) to dance with him! As a matter of fact, I think he had three little girls dancing with him at one time! (I told you he was the life of the party)! I have a picture of that somewhere, but couldn't find it!

Gosh, how is it that my little girl has grown up so much in these past six years?

And now you know..............the rest of the story. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Can you guess what was going on here?

Cross-Stitcheries, Some Favorite Photos & a Little More....

Thank you all for the get well wishes for Joy! I'm very happy to say that this is the first day that Joy has not run fever and she is feeling much better. It will be a few days, I'm sure, until she's back to her regular energetic self. We're keeping it low key for the next couple of days with lots of rest. She is still slow going and I understand that this cough will linger awhile with the flu, but the worst is definitely behind us and she is acting so much better! Thanks so much for the comments and emails!

I mentioned in my last post that my friend, Betty, stitched quite a few cross-stitcheries and brought them to me. She brought them around Christmas time, and I tucked them away in my closet in the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Here are the Americana ones.



A Country at Heart one:



She also gave me several Christmas ones:



And more Christmas:



I've bought a few frames from Goodwill here and there, so I'm going to stain some of these and frame them. I'll be sure and show you when I get them finished.

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Last Friday, I mentioned our resident friends in the nursing home that we just love visiting and you'll probably remember me mentioning Ms. Ollie. Joy also mentioned her in greater detail on her blog. She was the one with Alzheimer's and cancer too. Well, I'm very sad to report that she passed away Thursday night. It was especially hard for us too, because we didn't get to make our regular visit this Thursday because of Joy being sick. Please pray for her family. We know her children. She has seven of them. They will all miss their mom tremendously.

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This has been a really crazy week and I didn't get a chance to share any Easter pictures with you. Remember I said we did go to church and to a dinner (against my better judgement since Joy was already beginning to feel bad and run fever), so we took a few pictures that morning and these are a few of my favorites:



This is probably my very favorite! Colt, in his own style, wore a shirt and tie with jeans! lol! He was in Joy's room, kidding around with Joy and me, and tying his tie with Joy standing by (with wet hair) with the normal admiration she has for her brother!

Giving my baby girl a kiss:



Jason with his little girl:



Colt had already left the house when we were taking these pictures. He had to leave to go practice music for the praise team.

But Bambi couldn't be left out...the little fur baby...



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After being cooped up in the house all week and not going anywhere since the beginning of the week, Jason asked us this evening if we wanted to go to Sonic (where we could just sit in the car and not to have to get Joy in and out), and Joy could stay in her pjs too and still get out of the house for a change of scenery! I hugged his neck because it sure was a welcomed outing to me! You would have thought he took me to Outback Steakhouse or something! We took a little drive and it did my spirit good! We listened to Delilah on the radio...so soothing! Now we're back home and have some brownies in hand that my mom made and sent over and we're settling in to watch Rocky IV! Yes, that's Rocky IV...we've already gone through the first three so Joy could see them all (for Jason and me it's probably the 20th time). lol! Believe me this week we have watched some movies!

Country (Romantic But Not Primitive) Master Bedroom

Today I thought I'd show you a couple of pictures of our master bedroom. I took these around Christmas time and never got around to showing them on here. So, I hope you don't mind a little Christmas decor in January (and believe me it IS only a little...our two little trees beside the loveseat).



There's not anything primitive about this room, but more what I call romantic country. We haven't worked on putting primitive touches to the bedrooms or bathrooms, although I'd like to do so in at least my guest bedroom for starters. But honestly, I've always loved our bedroom. It's a soothing, calming place to unwind. I also know blue is not "the in thing" now, but I still really do enjoy this blue. It just has a romantic feel to me.



And remember the iron wood burning stove that we got from my aunt? We use it every night and alot even during the day. She ended up giving me the iron tea kettle on top. I think that's just what it needed.

And somewhere....and I apologize but I just don't remember on which blog I read it, but there was a tag that involved looking in your sixth folder and finding the sixth picture. If you remember awhile back, I did this with the fourth folder, fourth picture and it was fun seeing what turned up. I decided to give it a go this time and this is what I found and I wanted to share it with you.



This is my brother, Richie, and his wife, Missy, on the day that he left to go to Iraq. I think this candid shot with the expressions on their faces says it all.
And for the record, he's now home safe and sound with his family after serving four months there. I'd like to say again, thank you, to all our men and women that serve in our military. And a big thank you to their families for the sacrifice they make everyday so they can. I truly admire you! Thank you!

I hope you all have a great weekend! :)