Late night ramblings of a mended broken heart

I've always been sort of melancholy. Sometimes I almost think sadness is somewhat comforting to me. I remember, as a child, lying in bed, thinking of the saddest things possible, crying myself to sleep. On occasion, I still find myself doing the very same thing. Why? I dunno.

Tonight, I was lying in bed, trying to fall asleep. I was trying to remember a date or a particular time frame. I can't even remember why now. Then, all of a sudden, I was thinking about it. About that horrible time in my life. The terrible time when I was sure my heart was broken beyond repair. I think of it every now and then. Usually some random thought causes my mind to drift back to it. If I dwell on it long enough, I can make myself feel exactly the same way I did then. Like this cold, empty darkness is crushing my heart. If you've never felt this way about something, it probably makes no sense to you, however, I have a strong notion that if you have ever felt this way, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

I started to think about it. Then just as suddenly as the thoughts had crept back in, I flashed forward to now. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. "Thank you Lord, for taking that pain and turning it into this wonderful peace. I know it was You. I didn't do it. If I could have changed things myself I would have, but I was totally helpless. Somehow, miraculously, you fixed it. You knew the desires of my heart, and you gave them to me beyond what I could have ever imagined."

As I am lying there, tears streaming down my face, thanking God for how He had changed things. David squeezes my hand, and asked me if I'm okay. "I'm great" I whisper. Then he says, "I had a dream you were crying". "You had I dream I was crying?", I asked surprised. "Well, not a dream, but I had a vision of you crying". Then he drifted back off to sleep.

With a heart full of happiness and a face stained with tears I wish you all a goodnight. Maybe know that I have these thoughts out of my head I'll be able to fall asleep. Sweet dreams.

I believe in the power of prayer

Today started out like any other average, mundane day in my life. I loafed around, avoiding cleaning the house for as long as possible, piddling with Facebook, letting the boys outside any time Riley whined to go out to play. Then David texted me and asked for me to pray for him. He was having problems at "work". (I say "work" because even though he doesn't get paid, it's still his job) It's not the first time, and I'm sure it won't be the last. I stopped what I was doing, told the boys that Daddy needed us to pray for him and prayed a couple of times. I texted David back to let him know that I was praying and to give him some encouragement. Then I did like I usually do and called Mom and texted Allison to pray too. They are two people that I know I can rely on to stop what they are doing and pray for something whenever I ask. Soon after, I received a text from David saying that the situation had been resolved. Now even as I had prayed, I could not even fathom a solution to the problem, but just like that, He had resolved it in His own perfect way. Whenever I pray for something, I am always in awe. I mean, God created us and saved us, but as if that wasn't enough, He cares enough about us to let us come to Him whenever we have a problem, and we can have peace knowing that He is listening and will be faithful to orchestrate all circumstances for our ultimate good. I am just so thankful for that.

Strasburg Model Search 2011

Please go vote for my beautiful niece!!! She is, in my eyes, the most precious little girl in the entire world, and I think it's safe to say, the most beautiful child in the contest! :)

(Like Cornerstone Express Photography and Like the photo)
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March is Endometriosis Awareness Month

This post is honor of my sweet friend, Amy and anyone else who suffers with Endometriosis. My goal this month is to learn a little more about this condition myself and also help raise awareness for others. You definitely need to head on over to Amy's blog where you can learn more about a special giveaway for those who suffer with this condition.

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it

I don't really consider myself successful or ambitious...at least not in the way that I think most people would define those ideas. I've mention in previous posts how, in the past, I have kept myself from trying to pursue things that I wanted because of my fear of failure. I also mentioned back in August, how for one of the first times in my life, I set out to accomplish a goal (lose 15 lbs. to be back at my pre-wedding weight), and I did it! I believe that experience really opened my eyes to what I am capable of achieving, if I just put my mind to it. Now, more than ever, I decide I want to do something, and I do it! I decide I want to learn to make bows...I learn to make bows. I want to try sewing, and I learn to sew. So on, and so forth. It is so liberating! I actually feel successful, and I LOVE it! One thing I've become addicted to is following creative blogs that get my creative juices flowing. Recently, I've found some really great ideas that I just couldn't help but to try myself.

Tiered tray from Tatertots & Jello

My tiered tray

Cofee Filter Wreath from The Pleasures of Homemaking

My Coffee Filter Wreath

I also dyed my coffee filters pink using food coloring and added the letter "E" which I decoupaged ( My very first attempt at decoupaging). It is a welcome wreath for David's cousin's daughter who will be arriving very soon!

Also, on a different note, I got a new haircut last week. I love my hair long, but it was time for a change!

My new haircut February 22, 2011

It was my first time visiting Blonde Salon and Spa in Homewood. I lucked up and got a great hairstylists named Audra. Not only did she give me a great style, she was super sweet and encouraging. I will definitely be going back next time a need a trim!

Charlie and Riley's Puppy Love Party

Today we had a special party in honor of our sweet boys Charlie and Riley. It was a little later than I would have liked to have celebrated their birthdays, so instead I decided to have a party celebrating our love for them, and them becoming part of our family. (Charlie has been a part of our family 2 years on February 6th, and Riley will have been in our family 1 year on March 4th)

Attending the party were my cousin Donielle, her husband Brad, their precious son Ellis, and Charlie and Riley's favorite playmate Bella. I made quite a few decorations and foods for the party myself, and I am pleased to say that everything turned out perfectly. Not only that, but the weather was gorgeous, so we were able to enjoy some pleasant outdoor time too. All in all, I think the party went wonderfully. Now here are some pictures for your enjoyment!

The Pawty invitation

All the decor (along with Riley and Bella)

The cake

Cake truffles that I made on a

tiered platter that was also made by me

Charlie and Riley's favors

Bella's favor

Love Juice

Closer up of the table

LOVE banner that I made

Love Juice once it was mixed-up

Me holding sweet, handsome Ellis

Charlie enjoying his piece of cake on the patio

Riley eating his yummy cake

Bella looking for more cake

(she had already gobbled hers up in one bite)

David's Best friend's wedding!

Okay, okay! I know I've been terrible about blogging. I can't remember the last time I made a "real" blog post. It's just that there is SO much that I haven't blogged about that I feel like I need to catch up on, and every time I think about blogging I get really overwhelmed and decide not to do it at all. At this rate I will never blog again. So I've decided to start fresh, with one exception, and not worry about catching up on last years news.

The one thing from last year that I am going to blog about is pretty special to me. Normally, I would have to recall every detail of an event. This time I'm going to go against my nature and try to be as concise as possible...We'll see how that works out!

Back on December 18, David and I flew to Maryland for his best friend, Johnathan's wedding. Also, as a favor/wedding gift to Johnathan and Katie, David and I drove Katie's car back to Alabama so that they could go on their honeymoon. I'm not going to lie, it was an exhausting trip, but I'm so glad that we were able to do it.

David and Johnathan have been friends since age 5. I truly believe that David would do anything for Johnathan! When we were dating, Johnathan was convinced that I didn't like him, but honestly I was just jealous of all the time that David spent with him. Johnathan is one of the most Godly people I know, and I have always been thankful that David had such a Godly best friend. Johnathan has always been there for us when we needed him, in so many ways. I whole heartedly believe that Johnathan will always be a part of our life. Because of that, I've been a little concerned about who Johnathan would end up with, because she would always be part of our life too!

I will never forget when I first found out about Katie... It was November 2008, and Johnathan came to Birmingham to help us move (not the first time...probably not the last). The whole time he was here, he kept texting this girl he had met. She was the sister of one of his friends from Auburn, and they met when she came to visit her brother. Apparently, they had really hit it off, and were continuing to keep in touch. I was in amazement when he said that she was the girl he wanted to marry. I knew I HAD to meet this girl. It wasn't until June 2009 that we finally were able to meet her and get to know her ourselves. Since then, we've had the opportunity to get to know her even better, especially on our cross-country trip that we all made together in December 2009. She is so, incredibly sweet, and She and Johnathan have so much in common. Most importantly, she is the Godly woman I always knew Johnathan deserved. I am so thankful that they found one another and are spending their life together, and I'm so grateful that David and I were able to share their special day with them!

Johnathan, Katie, me, and David

at the beginning of our road trip

December 2009

Congratulations Johnathan and Katie!

I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the Lees and the Lanes! :)