30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 30

Day 30: A picture of me taken within the past month

 

photo copyright of Lynne Richardson, Making Memories Digital Photography. April 7, 2011

The above photo of me was taken on April 7 by Mrs. Lynne Richardson. She is the talented photographer who took my maternity pictures and Rylee's 3-month pictures. Unfortunately we missed having newborn pictures and 6-month pictures taken of Rylee, but I was able to get myself together and catch up with Mrs. Lynne in enough time to have her take Rylee's 9-month pictures. At the same time, she took some pictures of my brother, sister, and me, and a few family pictures of Jordan, Rylee, and me together. She got a lot of great shots, and I can't wait to share a few more of them on here when she finishes editing them.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 29

Day 29: A picture of my pet(s) or a pet I would like to have

Ragdoll Siamese kitten

Golden Retriever

I have always loved cats and dogs, as I have grown up with several of each all my life. Jordan and I currently don't have any pets, but I am really starting to get the "fever" to adopt a pet into our family. My two "dream pets" are a Ragdoll Siamese cat and a Golden Retriever. My family used to have a Ragdoll Siamese cat named Kobe when my little sister, Amanda, was just a baby/toddler. He was a beautiful cat, and he was so mild-tempered. Amanda used to drag him all over the house, and he just dealt with it... he never scratched her or bit her. He was a great family pet. Also, when I was younger (in my early teens), I had a Golden Retriever mix named Lola. She was such a sweet dog, and unfortunately she was hit by a car and had to be put to sleep. I know it will be best if Jordan and I wait awhile yet before we get a dog, because they require a lot of attention, but I'm really trying to convince Jordan to let me get a kitten soon. Cats are so much more low maintenance and self-sufficient than dogs are, and they're great company and have been proven to be relaxing for the soul. I really want Rylee (and our future children if/when they come along) to be able to grow up with a good family pet. Hopefully maybe we can get one soon.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 28

Day 28: A picture of my favorite band

Without a doubt, my favorite band is the Hillsong United praise band. Their songs are so beautifully written and so passionately performed, and I just can't help but feel moved by the Spirit every time I hear their music. It is on my "Bucket List" to attend one of their concerts some day. Here are links to two of my favorite songs of theirs:

"With Everything"
"Hosana"

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 27

Day 27: A picture of the cast from one of my favorite TV shows

One of my favorite TV shows is without a doubt ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Addition. I love watching the stories of the families the show helps, and seeing how they change their lives by building them a new, BEAUTIFUL home. It is mind-boggling to see what these designers and home builders can do in just one week.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 26

Day 26: A picture of somewhere I'd love to travel to

Greece

Tuscany, Italy

I would love to travel all over the world if I could, but unfortunately that would cost a LOT of money, and... well... we can barely afford to travel to visit family in neighboring states. However, I really hope that one day I have the opportunity and the financial means to go to Greece and Italy. One of my favorite movies is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and parts of the movie were filmed in Greece. I absolutely fell in love with the scenery, and ever since then, I have dreamed of one day seeing those sights in person. I also fell in love with the scenery in the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, which was filmed in Tuscany, Italy. I'm a huge fan of Italian food, too, so it would be awesome to eat authentic Italian food IN Italy. We'll see if it ever happens...

Easter Weekend and Other Updates

Yesterday was Easter, and I must say I had a great long weekend spending some much-needed special time with my family. On Wednesday, my granny Greene (my mom's mom) and my great-uncle Bob (my granny's brother) came down from Wisconsin to visit for a few days. On Thursday, I made taco soup and had my mom, dad, sister, granny, uncle Bob, and cousin David over for dinner. Unfortunately my brother and Jordan both had to work, and my aunt Jackie (David's mom) already had plans, so they weren't able to join us. We had a nice evening visiting, and my taco soup was a hit with Granny and Uncle Bob, neither of whom had ever had it before. Here are some pictures that Uncle Bob took during our visit on Thursday:

Rylee was a little shy... she still needed to get used to Uncle Bob

Rylee wanted Uncle Bob's camera

On Friday, our power company had to cut off our power for a few hours to do some maintenance on some nearby power lines, so Rylee and I went over to my parents' house to hang out and visit with everyone until our power was turned back on. Early Friday morning, my uncle Kenny (my mom's brother), aunt Donella, and cousin Kenneth arrived at my parents' house from Florida to visit for a few days as well. On Friday evening, I invited everyone over to my house for dinner again. My mom and I made "Chicken Stuff" with mashed potatoes and other sides, and my aunt Jackie baked a yummy cake for dessert. Thankfully, Jordan got off work in time to join us, and my cousin Erica and her family came as well, but unfortunately Seth had to work again. Here are some pictures from Friday:

Rylee with her great-great-uncle Bob

2 generations

3 generations

4 generations

my mom, my granny, me, and Rylee - 4 generations

4 generations

Rylee and her great-aunt Jackie

On Saturday, I had to work my usual four hours at Coffee & Co., but Jordan was off, so he got to spend some special daddy/daughter time with Rylee. Shoal Creek Baptist Church had their annual "Great Eggsit" Easter festivities, so Jordan took Rylee to that to have some fun. When I got off work, I met them there to check out all the activities, and then we headed home. When I got home, I checked the mail and found that Rylee's newest book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library had arrived. It's called Where's Spot?, and it's a lift-the-flap book. I was so excited... it may sound silly, but I love lift-the-flap books. Anyway, later Saturday afternoon, we went to Jordan's aunt Tavia's house to visit for a little while and have some burgers for dinner, and then we went over to his dad and sister's house to visit with them and color Easter eggs with our nephews. Here are some pictures from our busy Saturday:

Rylee "hunting" Easter eggs at the "Great Eggsit"

Rylee and Daddy at the "Great Eggsit"

Rylee's new book from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Rylee, ready to go visit family. Saturday was her first day riding in her big girl car seat!

Rylee's very first colored Easter egg

the colored Easter eggs Jordan and I made

Sunday was Easter. Jordan, Rylee, and I went to New Home Baptist Church to be with Jordan's family, and after church, we went to his dad and sister's house for Easter lunch. After lunch, we hid Easter eggs around their yard for our nephews to hunt. I enjoyed watching the boys run all over the yard (and in some cases, running around the yard with them to help them) in search of the hidden eggs. Shortly after the hunt, we went home. Later in the afternoon, I called my sister to see if she wanted to come over to our house for a little while to hunt some eggs that Jordan and I had filled with candy. My mom brought her over, and she decided she wanted Jordan to hide the eggs so that she and I could hunt for them together to see who could find the most. It was fun to run around and feel like a kid again. After Amanda and I found all the eggs Jordan hid for us, Amanda decided she wanted to re-hide all of the eggs so Jordan and I could hunt them to see who could find the most. Well... she hid them a little TOO well, and it took us FOREVER to find all of them. We decided that, if we ever have an Easter egg hunt again, Amanda isn't allowed to hide the eggs. After we finished hunting the eggs here at our house, we all went over to my parents' house to eat leftovers and hang out for a little while. Eventually, we came back home, put Rylee to bed, and went to bed ourselves. And that was the end of our lovely Easter weekend full of family time. It was a great weekend indeed. Here are some pictures from Sunday:

Rylee's first Easter basket

Rylee checking out her goodies from the "Easter Bunny"

our little family, ready for church

Rylee and Daddy, dressed and ready for church

Rylee and Mommy, dressed and ready for church

Rylee with her cousins Levi and Spencer after church

In other (quick) news, the Disney movies that we ordered from the Disney Movie Club came in the mail today. We got The Aristocats, A Bug's Life, Cars, Finding Nemo, Monster's, Inc., Toy Story, and Toy Story 2 - ALL for less than $22 BRAND NEW! I am so excited that we're getting our family movie collection started. I can't wait until Rylee is old enough to watch movies with us so we can have family movie nights. I think those nights will make for some special memories over the years. Also, Jordan and I stopped by the Boy's Store really quick today and bought Rylee her very own Slapout t-shirt. I really wanted to get her a pretty purple one, but I decided to go with a gender-neutral color instead and bought her a green one so that if Jordan and I have a boy someday, he can wear it as well. It's a 12-month size shirt, which is perfect, since Rylee is quickly outgrowing her 9-month-size clothes. I can't wait to try her new little t-shirt on her soon. I know she'll look so cute! And, last but not least, I would like to announce that Rylee's first tooth has FINALLY broken through her gums. I've been keeping an eye on it for the last few days, because I could tell that it looked like she was really close to cutting one, and yesterday while I was feeding her dinner, I stuck my finger in her mouth, and there it was! - a new, sharp tooth. No turning back now! It's just starting to come in, so I can't see it well enough to take a picture yet, but here are pictures of Rylee's new t-shirt and our new family movies:

the front of the t-shirt

the back of the t-shirt

our new movies!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 25

Day 25: A picture of something I want to do before I die

 

 

I have a "Bucket List" of things I want to do before I die. I am blessed to have already been able to accomplish some of the things on my list, including getting married to my soul mate and becoming a mommy. I also realize that I probably won't be able to do everything on my list, but it never hurts to have goals or dream. One of the things on my list is to go on a cruise - more specifically, a Disney cruise. I think it would be a wonderful, family-friendly experience, and it would give me and my family an opportunity to travel somewhere exciting that we may otherwise never get to visit. 

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 24

Day 24: A picture of something I enjoy doing

 

 

Once again, I chose the first thing that popped into my head for this post. I enjoy doing LOTS of things, but one of the things I enjoy doing during my free time is Sudoku puzzles. To successfully fill out a Sudoku puzzle, you have to strategically place the numbers 1 through 9 in the empty boxes so that they only appear once in each column, row, and 3x3 box. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it. They're addicting, and they help exercise my mind.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 23

Day 23: A picture of something I'm afraid of

In light of the recent severe weather and tornadoes that passed through our area last week, I was quickly reminded of one of my fears. I do not like bad weather. Now, overall, I'm actually not as worrisome about it as I was when I was younger. I can handle thunder and lightning and even some strong winds, as long as I know there's no real threat for a tornado. When a tornado warning pops up on the TV, though, I start to get a little nervous. What makes it worse for me is the fact that we live in a mobile home. Now, don't get me wrong - I'm very thankful for the home the Lord has provided for my family and me. But when it comes to severe weather, I don't feel safe in our home, and that bothers me. I don't want to feel like I always have to run to my parents house to seek shelter, but at the same time, I'm certainly not going to stay home and risk being picked up by a tornado and blown three miles through the air somewhere. Personally, that doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me. This topic is something Jordan and I always pick on each other about, because he figures we should just stay home and ride it out, and if it's "our time to go", so be it. I, on the other hand, feel like we should seek more reliable shelter and at least give ourselves a fighting chance of survival. I mean, when it is my time to go home to Glory and meet my Heavenly Father, I'll be more than ready. When I get up there, I know it's not going to matter to me how old I was when I died, or how it happened. But my silly, selfish human flesh doesn't particularly want it to be because I tried to beat a tornado in a trailer. So anyway, there you have it - one of my biggest fears is severe weather/tornadoes.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 22

Day 22: A picture of someone who can always make me laugh

The lovely girl in that picture up there is my friend, Katrina. I just love her. If you are one of my "faithful" blog readers (do I even have any of those?...), you will remember me mentioning her in one of my posts back in February. She is the "author" of my favorite blog in the entire universe, and she is seriously one of the funniest people I know. I don't really ever get to see her or hang out with her, but we chat online from time to time, and I check her blog a few times a day (okay, so maybe I check it a little more than just a FEW times a day... sue me, why don'tcha) to see if she's posted any updates about her latest great adventure or the silly new thing her nieces are doing. Anytime I'm feeling down, I know I can always read one of her blog posts or read a comment she's left someone on Facebook (yes, I read her comments to other people... I can't help it, okay. They're always so entertaining!), and I know that she'll have me rolling on the floor laughing in no time. God truly blessed her with a wonderful, sweet personality and sense of humor, and I'm so thankful to have her in my life!

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 21

Day 21: A picture of one of my favorite movies
 

I am really not good at this whole choosing-ONE-favorite thing. I have countless "favorite" movies. There are so many good ones, and it depends what mood I'm in on a particular day to determine what my "favorite" movie is at that time. But once again, to spare you from scrolling through countless pictures of all of my "favorite" movies, I decide to just pick the first one that popped into my head, and go with it. Believe it or not, that movie happened to be...

Yep. Monster's Inc. Now before you start laughing at me, please keep in mind that I have a baby girl. And okay, maybe she hasn't actually watched this movie yet, because she's still a little too young to actually care about watching movies. BUT... she WILL be watching this movie very soon, because Jordan and I just joined the Disney movie club and ordered it... and six other Disney family movies (hey... we got ALL SEVEN movies for less than $22!) All mommy excuses aside, though, this seriously is one of my favorite movies. It's just such a sweet, funny movie. I remember watching it with my little sister when she was just a toddler. We nicknamed her "Boo", because she looked and acted so much like the little girl called "Boo" in the movie. Now, I have my own "Boo" - MY little girl. I'm confident that, before too long, I'll be watching this movie with her ALL the time.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 20

Day 20: A picture of one of my favorite books

the Bible my mom and dad gave me for Christmas 2007

I love to read. I had to refrain myself from posting pictures of about fifty of my "favorite" books. Instead, I figured I should just stick to the book that is most important to me. That book, of course, is the Bible. I have always struggled with reading my Bible on a daily basis, but it is still my favorite book, because it is literally a love letter written personally to me by my Heavenly Father. Anytime I'm feeling down or struggling with something, I can always pray and open my Bible, and I know I'll find comfort in the words that God so loving left for us to guide us through this scary adventure we call "life". There is a song by Casting Crowns called "The Word Is Alive", and I think it beautifully describes the power of God's Holy Word. Below is a video of the band performing the song, followed by the lyrics of the song.

"The Word Is Alive"

Looking out from His throne, the Father of light and of men
Chose to make Himself known and show us the way back to Him
Speaking wisdom and truth into the hearts of peasants and kings
He began to unveil the Word that would change the course of all things

With eyes wide open, all would see

The Word is alive
And it cuts like a sword through the darkness
With a message of life to the hopeless and afraid
Breathing life into all who believe
The Word is alive
And the world and its glories will fade
But His truth, it will not pass away
It remains yesterday and forever the same
The Word is alive

Simple strokes on a page
Eternity's secrets revealed, carried on from age to age
It speaks Truth to us even still
And as the rain falls from Heaven, feeds the earth before it returns
Lord, let Your Word fall on us and bring forth the fruit You deserve

With eyes wide open, let us see
 

The Word is alive
And it cuts like a sword through the darkness
With a message of life to the hopeless and afraid
Breathing life into all who believe
The Word is alive
And the world and its glories will fade
But His truth, it will not pass away
It remains yesterday and forever the same
The Word is alive

The Word is alive
His Word is alive

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 19

Day 19: A picture of my dream vehicle

Once again, I have a few pictures to share for this particular post, because I have a few different "dream vehicles". I realize that I don't need any of these vehicles, and as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I am more than thankful for the two vehicles we have, but it's fun to dream a little every now and then. And so, here they are... my "dream vehicles" (all similar styles, as you'll notice). 

First and foremost: a Range Rover.

Yes, I know... keep dreaming. (I just checked out the Range Rover website, and it says the pricing on these babies STARTS at basically $80,000. There's NO WAY I would spend that much money on a vehicle even if I had it.) 

Next up: a BMW.

I've always admired these Volvos as well:

And finally, my more "realistic" dream vehicle - a Toyota Highlander. I hope we can get one of these someday when Jordan and I extend our family and need a larger vehicle than my little Corolla.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 18

Day 18: A picture of my vehicle(s)

 

 

Those are our two vehicles - a 2001 Toyota Corolla (with new tires... thank you, Daddy!) and a 2003 Chevrolet Silverado. They're nothing overly "fancy", but they are both good, reliable vehicles, and we are very thankful and blessed to have them.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 17

Day 17: A picture of my dream home

I don't have one particular "dream house", but there are a lot of different features of a house that I would like to be in/on my "dream house". The first characteristic of my "dream house" is that it would be cobblestone. For as long as I can remember, I have loved cobblestone houses. I think it comes from my admiration of Thomas Kinkade's artwork, much of which features beautiful cobblestone houses. The pictures below are some of his paintings. (I found SEVERAL more that I wanted to post, but I figured I'd leave it to these few.)

 
I also like houses with lots of windows, which allow natural sunlight to shine in during the day, and nice, fresh air to flow throughout. (I also really like the landscaping around the house in the picture below.)

One more feature I would like on my "dream house" is a nice, deep wrap-around porch (and I do mean wrap-around the ENTIRE house) that I could put rocking chairs and a hammock on.

There are several more features I could mention, but I don't want to get too carried away in this post. I went to Google to find the images above, and I found MANY more pictures of houses that are absolutely beautiful. If I posted all of them, this post would never end. However, I did want to post one more picture of a house that popped into my head almost immediately when I was ready to do this post. It's the house that was in the movie The Proposal, and I just love it. I "ooh" and "aah" over it every time I see it. This is it: