Tuesday Tunes: Show Me Your Glory

I missed last week. Spring Break got my days all messed up and Tuesday came and went before I even knew it.

But I'm back.

Today's song is new to me. We sang it Sunday morning at church. I'm loving it!!

Tips to Go

The husband and I eat out a lot. Or rather I eat out a lot. I hate cooking. I'd much rather just go pick something up.

We do a lot of car side to go. I especially do this on nights when he is out of town.

Sometimes I tip and sometimes I don't. it doesn't seem to make a difference for me if it is a place that brings it out to the car or a place where I go in.

I don't know what makes me tip or not tip. It's not the service. It's as simple as sometimes I do and sometimes I don't.

I'm curious. Do you tip when you order a meal to go? Does it matter if you go in or they bring it out to the car?

What's proper etiquette here?

Spring Break 2011

I have enjoyed this week immensely. Makes me want to be a stay at home wife. We've had some big changes our house this week that I want to record so I will have them.

Monday - Andrew took the day off to spend with me. Isn't he so sweet? We spent the day shopping for bedding and dishes. He treated me to lunch at the Target Snackbar. HA! It was actually pretty tasty. And cheap too!

We made the decision to kick the dogs out of our bed. They sleep with us every night. Liberty started off in a crate in our laundry room but was in our bed by the end of the first year. Liam Bailey has slept in our bed from day one. The little guy has never known any other way. He has spent 99% of his life in our bed. Seriously!! I just got to the point where I wanted a clean bed more than I wanted to cuddle with our dogs. Don't get me wrong. I cried like a baby over this decision, but I know it was the right one. We took our old comforter (we found a new one while shopping) and made them a pallet in the floor. We brought Liberty in and worked with her for about 15 minutes. She is such a smart girl. She caught on quickly. Liam Bailey, not so smart, bless his heart. However, he doesn't like to get in trouble. He is a sensitive little guy. He learned that getting on the bed got him in trouble. He also follows Liberty around everywhere.

They actually did very well. We all survived our first night apart.

Tuesday - Lots of cleaning and working on some craft projects. We attended our first Razorback baseball game. Loads of fun! The weather was absolutely perfect for the occasion.




Wednesday - I spent the day running errands and shopping. Cleaned a little in the kitchen.

Thursday - I worked on school stuff today. I got all my papers graded and lesson plans drafted for the next two weeks.

Tomorrow I going to spend the day cleaning. Then we are headed up to see my parents. Looking forward to spending time with them. I haven't seen them since January. That is way too long!!

Wordless Wednesday

Househunting & The Furbabies

What an absolutely beautiful weekend!! The weather has been perfect all weekend. We have truly enjoyed it.

We spent the weekend house hunting again. I have to say house hunting is mentally exhausting!! We have found a house that we are in LOVE with. The chances of us getting into this home are higher than the last home I mentioned, but there is still so much that has to happen. Just wears this girl out!!

I'm just trying to give it to God and not worry or stress about it. Things will work out the way they are supposed to.

On a different note, Liberty & Liam went to the vet Friday. The vet wasn't sure exactly what was going on with Liberty's nose, but he didn't think it was anything to worry about. He told us to keep an eye on it and if it changes color or gets bigger we should take her back in.

They are two healthy dogs. That makes me a happy Momma. :) Miss Liberty Belle weighs 21.9 pounds. She's been at that weight for quite a while now. Liam Bailey weighs 21.1 pounds. He is a rotund little boy!!!


That pretty much sums up our weekend. Nothing too exciting, but we have enjoyed it.

Tuesday Tunes

I've thought a lot this past week about which song I would share with you today. I have a mental list of songs that I eventually want to share with you. However, this week's song didn't come from that list. I feel like it's a song that God wants me to share with you. It's called Follow You by Leeland.

Andrew and I had the chance to meet and see Leeland in concert last year. These guys have such a passion for God and for His people. They have a heart for those less fortunate than you and me. They have a heart for those who have true physical needs as well as spiritual needs. They desire to be a light in this dark world.

To me, that is what this song is about: going where God calls you to go, following him anywhere no matter how dark that place might seem. We are called to be the light in this world. God and I have had a lot of conversations about light the past few days. I have several thoughts on the topic that I hope to share with you soon. Maybe that's why God brought this song to mind for this week. It's for me just as much as it is for you.

I pray that God uses this song to bless you as much as it has blessed me.

Miscellany Monday

1. Today is my last Monday before Spring Break. That sentence makes me do a happy dance. I am more than ready. We don't have any plans for Spring Break. I'm just ready to sleep in and relax. Actually, I probably won't do much of that either. I have a project that I've been working on that I will be tackling next week. I need to get it finished. It's one of those secrets that I'm dying to share with you. And I will when the time is right.


2. The husband and I spent the weekend driving around looking at houses. We've always thought we would buy land and build. But as things are changing, it makes more sense to buy an existing home. We actually found a house that we both love yesterday. As soon as we walked in I began picturing us there in the future and being a family in that house. It is an older house and has it's imperfections, yet it seems perfect for us. We are talking about it, doing our research, and praying about it. I'm trying not to get too excited too quick. A lot has to work out for us to buy this house. I'm trusting that if it is where God wants us to be, he'll take care of everything.

3. The husband is out of town. Thankfully its a short trip. He will be back tomorrow evening. I just prefer him to be home with me. I'm praising God that all his traveling is far less now that it has been this past year.

4. This weekend we found a growth/bump on Liberty's nose. It doesn't seem to bother her when we touch it, but it definitely got our curiosity up. Andrew had me google it Saturday night. Bad idea!! They always put worse case scenario on the Internet. The first thing that popped up was cancer!!! Not what I needed to read. Of course there were a million other possibilities such as excessive licking, allergies, bee sting, dog acne, etc. Yes, dog acne! Who knew? But of course my mind focus on cancer. I'm sure it's nothing. Andrew is supposed to call and get her and Liam an appointment at the vet this week. It's time for their yearly check up. Hopefully they will be able to tell us something about her nose growth.

Blogging With Secrets

It feels like it has been awhile since I've posted about something other than Tuesday Tunes. Which by the way, I'm loving that series. It's fun to share about the different music that God is using in my life right now.

There are several things going on in my life right now that I want to blog about. But they are kind of secrets right now. Either things that I don't want to share or things that are still in the works so I'm waiting to share. In time, they will all be shared.

But for now I'm finding it hard to blog when I feel like I can't share everything with you.

A few things I can share....


*Andrew and I have been visiting a church consistently for awhile now. This past Sunday we went to a class after the service where we learned the history of the church and how it all works. It's a big church so this class was telling us what all was offered. There's another class you can take to learn the church's beliefs and the next step to join. Andrew is in the process of maybe having lunch with one of the pastor's. It's something we're praying and discussing. Something we still have lots of praying and discussing about it to do.

*I'm so ready for June. I feel like I'm in survival mode as far as the school year goes. My zest for teaching is gone. I want to enjoy and love it, but I'm finding it really hard this year.

*Sadly enough, I really can't thing of anything to share with you. We've been a pretty boring couple. Take tonight for example, it's 8:30 and the husband is fast as sleep. I'm joining him as soon as I hit publish. :)

Tuesday Tunes: Winter Jam 2011

Thought I would do something a little different today for Tuesday Tunes. Instead of picking just one song to share with you, I want to share with you about a concert the husband and I went to Saturday night.

Our oldest nephew, Tyler, tagged along with us. He and Andrew are concert buddies!! Very rarely does one go to a concert without the other one.

Winter Jam is a great concert of several different Christian artist joined by speaker Tony Nolan. It is general admission for $10 every year. Loads of fun!!

This was my 2nd Winter Jam. I have been looking forward to it for awhile, ever since I learned that Francesca Battistelli was going to be there.

The night opened with Joseph Castro. I'm sure those of you watch American Idol know who he is. I only know one song by him. Being the first act, he only played three or four songs.

He was followed by Chris August. I recently bought his cd and I'm enjoying it. You can still get one of his songs, Starry Night, free at KLOVE. Check it out here if you haven't already.

These guys were followed by Newsong and then a band called Red. I wasn't that crazy about either one of these artist. Red was LOUD!!! Just not my kind of music. The guys loved them though.

Next up was my main reason for wanting to go to Winter Jam.


Francesca Batistelli!! She was so stinkin' cute. I loved her outfit. There are very few people who can pull off that kind of look.

David Crowder Band was also one of the performers. We had never seen them before. They did a couple of their popular songs. Half way through their act, he mentioned that he was from Texas.


Wrong thing to say in Arkansas. We might have possibly booed DCB. Their little story continued and then they asked us to call the hogs. Of course, we obliged.


Not the best picture, but that's a whole lot of people calling those Hogs.

Back to the music....I was so excited that DCB played my favorite song that they do. It isn't one you would expect. I LOVE their version of I Saw The Light. They played it and I'll Fly Away. I was thrilled.

I found this video from Winter Jam in NC this year.



The night ended with Kutless and Newsboys.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in Kutless. I really like their music. I just expected more from their show.

Newsboys, however, was awesome. It was a great ending to the night. At one point they were all raised into the air on different platforms. The drummer was on a round platform that raised into the air and then began to til. It tilted until it was completely vertical. As if that wasn't enough, it started spinning.



It was amazing night. I'm so glad that we went.

Preparations for Summer

I've been looking at swimsuits lately. I don't really need a new one, but I want a new one. Amy introduced me to this great website, Lime Ricki, that has some really cute and modest swimsuits.

I have never in my life bought anything online. I try everything on, especially swimsuits.

I've also never been comfortable in a swimsuit. I'm a very modest person and like to be covered up.

These swimsuits are cute and modest enough that I'm going to give online shopping a try.

Problem is I can't decide which one I want. They are so stinkin' cute. I'm hoping you can help me. I asked Andrew, but he didn't really like any of them.

In no particular order....

Option #1: Nicki Tankini


Option #2: Jennie Tankini



Option #3: Coco Tankini



Option #4: Bailey Tankini

Tuesday Tunes: This Is The Stuff

Today's song is one that I honestly wasn't crazy about at first. This is the Stuff by Francesca Battistelli. You all know I love me some Francesca. I posted before about how much I loved her first album. It is one where every single song is a hit...at least to me.

So I was a bit surprised when I didn't like her new song right away. However, the more I listened to it, the more it grew on me. It's catchy and gets stuck in my head. It is a great reminder not to let the little day to day things get to you. We are so richly blessed.

It is on her new album, Hundred More Years, which just released today. I bought this morning and listened to on my way to work. It wasn't an instant hit to me, but there are some really good songs. It just isn't as "fun" as her first album. It's a little more serious.






Here is the link to this week's free download from KLOVE. I already have this song and love it!

http://www.klove.com/music/store.aspx