Thank Heaven For Little Boys

G and I babysat Nicholae today. He played and played this morning and then he took a 2 1/2 hour nap and I fed him his cereal and squash and after he ate most of it, he decided to spit some all over Aunt TT's pants and Georgia's pants. lol Here he is playing with all his legos and toys
Precious!

He is dancing but he got his foot stuck in his box. :)

"Nick-A-Dee" and I hope you have a fun weekend!

Simple Pleasure Tuesday

I haven't written a Simple Pleasure on Tuesday in awhile and I wanted to share one with you that just happened yesterday.

My brother and friend G and I were running errands yesterday and as we were on the way to the store we decided to ride around and look at available homes. After that we headed to the store and on the way I noticed a new restaurant (to us) called Rocky Top Burgers. It was made for me. ;)

For those who may not know , I am a huge University of Tennessee fan and I love all things orange and white and this restaurant was geared for the sports fan. The U.T. Vol fan. The theme throughout was football and on the table were napkin holders that were U.T. 's color...orange.

The food was so good. It was nice to see a new place and to stop and give it a try.

I think at times we can be scared to try new things.

Eating at new places, having the courage for a new beginning are a part of life and sometimes it might come wrapped in orange and white or a new church, a new home, a new city.

God is a God of new beginnings.

"But forget all of that-
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
For I am about to do something new, See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
The wild animals in the fields will thank me, the jackals and owls , too, for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland so my chosen people can be refreshed."

I hope you enjoy a Simple Pleasure this week.

Weekend Birthday

This weekend we celebrated my great nephew's 1st birthday.

We bought him a Cars ride on toy that makes plenty of noise and it has 1 song on it that makes Nicholas dance and dance. It was the funniest thing to watch.

He loved all of his presents and I have to brag on him again, he is the sweetest and best baby. He rarely cries and he loves all music.

To anyone who has young babies, can you suggest any dvds that he might like that he can dance too?

Today we have pretty much relaxed and praise God the rain held off so we could grill out. My boys are having a great time with their dad and they enjoyed the race and my guy won the rce so all is good.

They kept texting me last night because they drove into a bad storm and they told me it was raining so hard they couldn't see the road. I kept telling them I was praying for them. Thank you God for protecting them. My son Jason is sunburned and he used sunblock. He is in some pain and I am praying that he will be comfortable on the way home. God really placed on my heart to pray for them the entire time they were gone and I am so thankful God gives us wisdom and direction.

We have a busy week coming up. Brother has a few interviews. My younger sister is probably facing surgery for a kidney stone. I would love for you to say a prayer for them . Thank you so much.

I don't have a lot of time or access to be on the computer but hopefully soon I will be able to visit your blogs!!

Have a great week!

This and That

It seems this whole summer has been a big bundle of simple things. I am not complaining but although I would love a trip to the beach it has been nice taking each day as it comes and doing whatever we feel like doing that day.

There has also been busy days but we have a good balance.

For those who have kept up with our season that my family is currently in we are still waiting for jobs but next week holds more promising news. Those of you who are praying about a specific job that I mentioned last week, that job is still in the running, it's government and well, let me just say they are slow. Go figure. ;)

That is all I will say for now about the jobs. God has provided for us in many different ways and I thank God for being faithful and true to His Word.

I have been babysitting my great nephew and you can see pictures of him in a post below. Nicholae is so cute and sweet and the best baby. He loves when I take him out on the front porch and his favorite song that I sing to him is, Jesus Loves Me. He starts swinging his arms and moving his legs. He is almost walking. He gets braver and braver and I know he will be walking soon. We are celebrating his one year birthday this weekend. I will take plenty of pictures and post them by Monday. :)

One thing God has spoken recently to us is to be the light in the darkness. We live with my sister and her family for now and they are living in some dark times. I will leave it at that and I ask you to please pray for my sister and her husband . You never know what we may have to go through for another but if it is God's will then it is worth it.

I would love to write and share that we have done this w/out complaining but then I would be lying. We have had our days of complaining and wanting this season to end but God is up to something that I never thought we would be in the middle of and I am waiting on and seeking God every day for this. He is a good God.

I think that is the end of my randomness for tonight. :)

Have a great weekend!

Cool Breezes

Over the last few days we have been enjoying cooler temps in the morning. It has felt like the beginning of fall. Fall is my favorite season and I always seem to wish summer away to get to fall. This year I slowed down and have truly enjoyed every part of summer. Even the hot, hot days! We have gone on picnics, to the water park/splash pad, grilling out, going to the Farmers Market. I love dinners where we just eat fresh veggies from the Farmers Market. Such as:

Vine ripe tomatoes and fried green tomatoes
The strawberries have been so good this summer.

The corn, we call this peaches and cream corn in East Tn, has been better than ever but when the cooler temps hit us last weekend it had me thinking and longing for this:

Fall foilage. We are blessed to live very close to the Smokey Mountains. I cannot wait
to see all the fall colors. Picnics in the mountains during
fall is a favorite thing to do but the next picture is also a favorite fall thing

Football time in Tennessee.
I. Cannot. Wait.

Seriously, there is nothing quite like this place. Neyland Stadium, The Vol Navy, tailgating with 107,000 of my closest friends.

The cooler weather had me craving homemade chili and cornbread, and
all tailgating food.

Pumpkins. I am thankful that God created pumpkins. My son Jason asked me last week to make him Pumpkin Cobbler. lol Pumpkin pies, muffins, or bread and not to forget pumpkin pancakes. Yum! They are a great fall decoration. :)


God gives us such great things to enjoy through each season. We just need to slow down and savor the seasons and pay attention to
the daily blessings He gives us and to remember to thank God for them.

I hope you are enjoying the end of your summer and looking forward to the fall season.

Sunday Morning Beauty

Nicholae a.k.a. "Spud" or "Nick-A-Dee"

I have been at my older sister's house this week visiting and helping babysit my great nephew. This morning I woke up and it was so cool and I decided to watch the beautiful sunrise. God's beauty is indescribable. For the last two days it has felt like a hint of Fall. I am enjoying it so much. Thank you Jesus !!

My great nephew is a joy to watch and he is so much fun. It has been a long time since I have had to change diapers and feed a bottle to a baby but it all comes back to you. :) Good practice for the day when I have grandchildren, which will come via my firstborn because my youngest son says no to children. lol Yes, he will probably be the one with the most children and then his brother and I can laugh at him. :)

I was up at 6:15 this morning. What a peaceful way to start the day

God starting the day. A new day filled with His new mercies

The clouds were gorgeous this morning. Pink and purple.

Where I spent my quiet time for the week.

I think I may make this into a header.

Every girl needs a Princess mug for their morning coffee or tea. Just sayin'

Y'all have a great day and praise God for a beautiful morning.

Something Profound

Good Morning!

I wanted to share something I read on Facebook this morning that I found to profound.

It was a friend of a friend of mine. :)

"Sometimes the biggest leap of faith we can take is to be still"

That will speak or preach or teach.

The season we have been in has been just that.

It is better to be still than to go ahead of God. When you don't know which way to go or when you don't understand or know what God is doing it is better to be still and wait on Him.

I have learned through this season that very fact but also to be thankful even through hard seasons because there is always something to be thankful for.

Such as:

A roof over our heads

daily provisions

people who pray for us

delights

gorgeous sunrises and sunsets

gorgeous mountains all around us

laughter

fun afternoons

the dollar menu at McDonalds :))

grilling out

trips to the mountains

trusting God deeper

faith increased

learning new things about God

knowing that Jesus never forsakes us or leaves us

God has a plan for my life and it is good

God is a Good God

Even in losing things in this season, God is our sure foundation and security and that things and people are not our security and we need to let them off the hook

Many more things to be thankful for and we can never praise God enough!

May God richly bless you today!