I'm back and there's a new addition...

There's been a work in progress in our backyard for the past few weeks. We've been in the construction zone getting a brand new deck. This is something my mom has been wanting for forever. It's absolutely wonderful! We've been wanting to have a deck party, but couldn't find any furniture that mom really wanted. When I returned back from the Dominican, I walked outside to see a new table and chairs. The deck is officially complete my friends. Take a look!I've been on a blog hiatus for a while, but I'm playing catch up today! I'm in 2 weddings this weekend and I'm sure that I'll have more pictures to share from those events!! Keep scrolling down... there are more new posts below!!

Harper Girl

We have some good news!! While I was out of the country, cute little cousin Harper girl's open heart surgery was scheduled. The family will be going over to UAB on June 22nd for her big surgery. Hopefully, once she has the surgery, she'll be completely healed. Praise God for her sweet little life! She's such a trooper and I can't wait for her to get well so that I can take her places... I think I'm gearing up for babysitting services once again! I can't wait! Pray for her in the days ahead!

The Dominican Republic

Many of you have been praying for me over the last few weeks leading up to my mission trip and so many more prayed last week while I was in the Dominican Republic. I can't even begin to tell you everything I saw and got to experience but I can tell you that God is in the midst of the people of the Dominican. I've never been around people with such big hearts that are thirsty to know the word of God.

Physically and spiritually I was prepared for a fabulous week. However, mentally, I was broken once I reached Sabaneta. In my simple mind, I guess, I thought that there atleast would be a big group of Dominicans that could communicate with us in English-- but I was so wrong. We had to rely on Miguel, a new believer who is learning English, to try and help us understand the needs of the people.

Jose and Yoannia (the missionaries in Sabaneta) are great people who have devoted themselves to spreading the word of God and getting house churches up and running in the area. They are so sincere and we had the best time with them all week. They just welcomed a new baby, Isai, into the world and he's definitely a cutie pie!!

There were many, many "firsts" for me on the trip. My first time to fly, first time to be on a "real deal" mission trip, first time to eat goat, first time to eat chicken tacos with mayo and ketchup (they were prepared that way?!?!), first time to have to brush my teeth with bottled water because we couldn't use the water there... I can go on and on. I had a great experience and absolutely loved being in the Dominican. However, when we passed through Passport control and customs in the Miami airport coming back into the states, the words "welcome home" never sounded so good!

I pray that God will continue to work in the hearts of the people in Santiago and Sabaneta and that He will continue the good work He is doing through Miguel, Jose and Yoannia so that they can help bring more people to Christ.

My Best Friend got Hitched!

The month of May has proven itself to be one of the busiest months of my entire life. There have been so many events to attend and things to get done that I haven't had a lot of extra time to blog. I'll try and do a better job of that. I have so much to share with all of you!!

First things first though, my best friend got married two weeks ago and I had the honor of being one of her bridesmaids. Lauren and I met at Highland Baptist Church when I was a senior in High School and have been close ever since. She moved to Clinton to attend college while I stayed in Meridian. She spent her summers in Canada and traveling the East Coast working for Mission Teams and now she's in Tuscaloosa finishing her Master's degree. Even though she hasn't lived in Meridian in several years, we're closer than ever!

Lauren and Alan met in Tuscaloosa and are a perfect match for each other. I couldn't have picked anyone else for Lauren. Their love for God and for each other are so sincere and I am extrememly happy that they are spending the rest of their life together.

me and Becca before the rehearsal

bridesmaids brunch at FIG

front row: Becca, Amy, Lauren, Kristen, Beth

back row: MaryKendall, Lindsey, me, Jessica, Jama
*Lindsey O. was a bridesmaid too, but she graduated from college that morning so she couldn't attend all of the festivities

a few of the bridesmaids

Bride & Groom

Friends for a lifetime!

I'm going on a trip!!

I can't believe it, but I am leaving tomorrow to go to the Dominican Republic with a group from my church to do mission work for a week! I agreed to go sometime late last year and the time has totally gotten away from me. This is my very first time to fly (yes, first time to fly, EVER) and believe it or not, I'm not the least bit nervous. I did have my pre-trip breakdown the other night when I was trying to gather all of my stuff because I wanted to take cute luggage and it was either way too big or way too small. My mom said, "the Dominican's don't care if your luggage is polka-dotted... just put you're stuff in ziplocs." It was pretty lame to pitch a fit over my luggage, but I knew that I was running out of time and there were plenty of things left to do on my list that I didn't think were going to get done. Last night I was putting everything in my luggage, and looked up to see this:

For many of you, you already know that Gracie (my dog) and I really don't like each other. Ha-- it may be because she tends to rank a little higher than me! (just kidding, mom!) Anyway, I couldn't help but really think that her laying in my suitcase was sweet! Way sweet!!

Please be in prayer for me and my friends, Ben, Neil, Amanda, Matt & Justin. Pray that God will help us to be sensitive to the needs of the people in the Dominican Republic. There really isn't a set agenda for the trip, we're basically just prayer walking and forming relationships with the people down there. I'm really excited about meeting the missionaries that we'll be working with, but most of all, I'm excited to see how God is going to use this experience to help me grow as a Christian.

Another Senior

It's May and for many of us, it's an exciting time of getting to enjoy two months of doing whatever we want to do like staying up late, sleeping in each morning, laying by the pool, traveling, not having a strict schedule to follow (not me... I've got such a busy summer for the next 3 months that I have to have schedule), and for many people, May means GRADUATION!!

This past Sunday, my grandmother hosted a graduation luncheon for my cousin Jamey. Jamey is graduating from Lamar High School next Friday night and plans to attend Ole Miss in the fall. Everytime a grandchild graduates, a luncheon is held in her (yes, we only have girl grandchildren) honor. A great time was had by all!!

Grannie and the grandgirls... we missed you, Sarah!

Jamey & her parents