Ok, so just because I haven't blogged everyday doesn't mean I haven't kept up with the project!
Day 3 was a bit of a fail.
Assignment: Clouds
There was literally not a cloud in the sky all day long from where I was! It was a BEAUTIFUL day but we had to settle for a glimpse of the moon in the afternoon! :)
Day 4: Something Green
Eric, Linds, and V came in town for a surprise visit. Well, this little girl is being potty trained and when she goes in the potty she gets M&M's. So...something green. :)
Day 5: From a high angle
Sweet girl in a bubble bath! So thankful she is here to snap pictures of! We will have two pictures today just cause she's so precious!
I was on my own so pitiful iPhone pictures will have to do. I have no full length mirror either.. :)
It was back to work today and surprisingly cold all day. So, we had a green peacoat, black dress underneath, black leggings, and my most favorite boots ever.
So comfy.
Sorry about the quality....Oh, and the unmade bed in the back ground mom.
I have been seeing plenty of posts about resolutions. I have made my fair share in the past. Some I have kept and others I have not. I don't have a long list of resolutions and really I am not making any. But, I do have a couple of projects that I certainly would love to keep up with. I really wanted to do project 365 and take a picture a day. I may do this but decided after seeing this post that I would stick to something small first.
So hopefully, this will be a bit more attainable. I like that there is "an assignment" for each day. It makes it easier! I will hopefully complete project 365 too but for now, I will stick to this! For now, here is Day 1. It is my pitiful excuse for a "self portrait" tonight, wet hair and all! :) This is real life yo!
There are a few other projects as well that I will share in the future! For now, here is a fun sparkler picture from New Years!
Back to work tomorrow....not terribly excited.. :)
This year has been quite the eventful one! It has been full of good times and bad times. It's been one of trials and blessings! So here are my top 11 of 2011.....
11.) Family trip to Disney World and Virginia's first visit!!
10.) Brett's graduation from college in May
9.) Completing my first half marathon in January!
8.) Celebrating two years of life for this sweet girl!
7.) Getting engaged to my best friend in March!
6.) Wedding planning, showers, festivities, and feeling more loved by sweet friends and family!
5.) Finding out that Brett got his first real coaching/teaching job! (Such a blessing)
4.) Finding out that I'm going to be an aunt times two and this one will be a big sister!
3.) Spending a week here with my husband
2.) Marrying the love of my life on a perfect November day!
1.) Seeing the Lord teach me, guide me, stretch me, convict me, love me, and sanctify me daily.
This has been such an incredible year. I am hoping that this next one will be even greater. I am so blessed to have married a wonderful man this year and we are still getting settled and used to this new stage of life. I pray that as we embrace 2012, we will draw closer to God daily. I have learned so much. I have seen my sin and seen God's grace and blessings. I am thankful for new beginnings. I only long to be closer to the Lord. I pray I serve more, think of myself less, and spend time with Him daily.
Well, we are trying to settle into a routine and our new life as Mr. and Mrs. Our house is coming together and I am realizing how much stuff I have. On Friday we went and got our first Christmas tree together!
On Saturday, we decorated it as well as the rest of our house.
I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and we had a lot of fun doing this together! It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks but we are enjoying every minute of being married!
In other news, my first graders are crazy right now. I am enjoying teaching but I have definitely got some Christmas craziness going on in my classroom! But, we are almost to Christmas break and next week we have lots of fun things we are doing!
I also need to give a BIG congratulations to my sweet friend, Katherine. She and Blake are expecting their first child in June!! That is almost as good as a niece when your best friend is having a baby!! Congrats Kat and Blake!! We are so excited for you!!
The Lord has been teaching me so much with all of these changes in my life. I am seeing more and more sin in my life which is never fun but always ends up being good. I have been a bit emotional these last weeks, I have felt sorry for myself, I have been selfish. Bless Brett's heart. It's always good to recognize that sin in my life and I am thankful for His forgiveness. I am learning a lot about striving to choose joy and choose gratitude in each and every situation.
Last but not least.....I could not be more excited to see this angel TOMORROW!! She is coming to visit us and I am pumped to spend the weekend with her! Also, I don't know if I have mentioned it on the blog or not but, I am going to be an aunt AGAIN!! Linds and Eric are expecting another little girl in April!! Ahhh....I could not be more thrilled!!!
I am off to bed and thankful that tomorrow is Thursday! :)
She has been so so so so so incredibly busy!! October has been a whirlwind and oh my gracious it is almost over! Let's have a little update shall we? First of all, on the wedding front they have had several showers since the last time we spoke.
Here we are at Brett's church shower which was one full of so many sweet people. We felt so loved!
My sweet hostesses for my next shower. THANK YOU Mrs. Kitty, Annie, and Essie! :) What a fun day!
So many sweet sweet friends and women who have been such role models and mentors in my life!
My mother-in-law and mother :)
Grandmother and I
We have also had the bridesmaids brunch. We decided that the day before the wedding would be full of craziness and didn't want it to be rushed! We wanted it to be a special day!
This angel came to town last weekend!
The whole group!
My sweet bridesmaids minus Kat! (We missed you so so much!!!)
The sweetest flower girl there ever was! :)
I have also taken bridal portraits and done a whole lot of planning the last few weeks! OH MY GOODNESS! ARE WE REALLY 15 DAYS AWAY????? :) I AM SO EXCITED!
Now, moving on to another update. 2 weeks ago today I got a job! Talk about a crazy time to get a job! Seriously, things are crazy! I am teaching first grade and really enjoying it! It is a lot of work but I cannot explain what a blessing and answer to prayer this job. God has been providing for us in so many ways! We are so grateful and so ready to start our life together!
Sorry for the lack of posting. I cannot promise that in the next couple of weeks I will be posting frequently but promise that after the wedding I will have more updates and posts about honeymoon, our house, wedding, teaching, etc.! Perhaps there will be a few more posts before I become Mrs. Kittrell! As for now, I am enjoying my time with my family and the last days before get married!
About a year and a half ago I began reading this blog about a girl my age who lived in Africa. This summer, I saw this video after following her story for that long. October seemed so far off and I couldn't wait to get my hands on her book.
Well, look what came in the mail yesterday...Thank you mom for pre ordering it!
(yes, I know it is backwards....)
I finished it in a day. As I sit here and type, on my very own laptop, I just got out of a shower that I was able to warm and cool to my comfort. I have eaten three meals today, and not to mention I had a choice of what I would like. I am sitting in a house with electricity and on a comfortable bed. I am not wearing the same thing I wore yesterday. I will go to a wedding shower tomorrow and probably receive dozens of presents that I don't necessarily "need".
Now, it is easy to read a story and be moved and convicted. It can cause me to feel guilty and can cause someone to think that their responsibility is to sell all that they have and move to Africa or some other third world country. Seriously, as I read, I felt a million emotions. I am in awe of Katie Davis and how she is living her life. I felt guilt for the comforts of my life. I felt sad for those that she takes care of and all of the ones that she cannot take care of. I felt convicted that I hold on so tightly to things in my life that do not matter. I was encouraged by her faith, her prayer life, and in general the way that she serves and lives.
No, I am not packing my bags and leaving this life in the states. I am still planning my wedding and still going to get married on November 12th. Let's face it, this is where I am in life and I am at this place, in this stage of life for a reason. God has orchestrated my steps and knew that I would be here for such a time as this.
Let me tell you what I was encouraged to do. First of all, as I mentioned, I was convicted about the way that I hold onto my comforts, my things, my relationships, etc. Why? NONE of this belongs to me but only to God. This world is not my home and nothing that is a worldly possession will last. I am praying that I will stop clinging so tightly and praying that I will give the Lord control...(which He already has anyways)
I have been more and more encouraged to wake up daily thanking Him for a new day to live for Him and also asking Him to direct my day and asking Him what I can do to serve and bring glory to His name. Right now that might be something simple like going to an elementary school to substitute for a day. It might mean choosing to not get frustrated over a silly detail while wedding planning. I may need to remember to be more considerate of the people in my life and remembering to thank them for all that they are doing. Or, it might mean taking extra time to pray for the people in my life, for my future marriage, and for the world. I don't know what my days look like but the Lord does and He will direct my days.
As I read this book, I couldn't help but think about my two weeks that I spent in Africa. Let me just say, that I was given deluxe treatment in comparison to Katie's daily life. Yes, I went to slums. I smelled the smells and saw the sights of complete desolation and poverty. However, I remember seeing the biggest moths in the shower, a gecko on my wall as I was turning out the light to sleep, and my feet never seeming clean. I remember at times thinking, wow, this is huge sacrifice. WHAT? I did nothing. Sure, the things that I saw did change my perspective and my life. I loved on those children and they truly stole my heart. However, I remember thinking that I had a comfortable life back in the states. I loved my time in Africa but could not imagine myself making that my lifestyle. Isn't that crazy? I mean, if my Lord told me to go to Africa, I should, without hesitation, go. I hope that I would. I truly don't feel that this is the calling on my life right now but there are times that I hope I do get to spend some time in another country.
I am not trying to convict anyone. Honestly, as I read about Katie's life I realized that being convicted was okay but action needed to follow. I certainly don't have millions of dollars to donate. I am not in a place where I have felt God calling me to see everything and move to the other side of the world. However, I can pray. The only way that I am going to truly see the power of prayer is to be consistent. This doesn't just mean that I pray for Katie and Amazima Ministries. It means to pray for those needs right around me. There are plenty of ways for me to serve and plenty of needs that I can meet. I am praying that the Lord change my heart and make me aware of needs. I pray that I wake up daily and say, "Lord, my day is Yours. How can I serve You and those around me?"
I would encourage you to buy Katie's book. Her story is an encouraging one. She seems to be a precious soul and I cannot wait to meet her whether here or in heaven!
This weekend was busy and productive. We welcomed October happily! The weather was beautiful and even though we were busy, we got to enjoy the cooler temperatures as well!
On Friday night, Brett and I attended homecoming at UMS. Brett always has to go but I tagged along. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed spending some much needed time together!
On Saturday, we moved furniture into our future house!! Oh my gracious. It looks wonderful and the furniture made it feel like a home! Thank you to my sweet family who took time to help clean and move things in! We cannot wait to live there together in a little over a month!! :)
On Sunday, the productiveness continued. We stuffed and licked all 366 invitations! We stamped them today and they went in the mail today!! So, you all need to be checking your mail this week!! This was such a huge relief to get these out!
Signed, Sealed, Delivered! :)
Thank you to my sweet mom for helping me lick them on Sunday and thanks Mangs for helping put stamps on them! I am thankful that we are able to get so much done this weekend since it is my last free one until November!! I am excited about a busy October and definitely ready for NOVEMBER! :)
It all started with the invite. I mean, I had to know that this was going to be the most perfect shower!
The decor in itself deserves its own post.....
Delicious cake....
Love all of my decor for my house!
Little details...
K's everywhere!! :)
Pictures of my sweet fiance and I....
Brett and Laura tic-tac-toe! haha..
Delicious food!
Adorable gifts!
So many sweet friends and family members that celebrated with me!
SO MANY BLESSINGS!
The best matron of honor/hostess in the world!
Beautiful gifts...
A blessed and overwhelmed bride!
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you to my sweet hostesses! Amy, Linds, and Aunt Amy, you all did so much to make the day so special and I could not be more grateful! Thank you to everyone who came! I felt so overwhelmed with all that I received and everyone that came to celebrate! Brett and I were both so amazed at all that we received and just feel so blessed and loved! This shower made the wedding seem even closer and more real!! I cannot wait!!
