Royal Wedding!

So yes I know it may be a bit over the top, but I went to a Royal Wedding Party!! Though I must say, it was absolutely fantastic! My mom and I got up at 3:00am and drove to Bristol to a friend's house and made it just in time for the coverage that started at 4:00am. We had a blast, and the food and company was simply wonderful. I can't imagine how Kate must have felt to go from being just a regular girl like the rest of us to absolute royalty! I just thought I felt like a princess on my own wedding day...Kate actually became one! And no matter what the critics all say, I thought she was simply stunning. The dress was perfect and to see the love William has for her made the whole thing that much better. Here are some pictures from our royal event!

My cousin made treat bags for everyone filled with British goodies!

This is the back of the treat bags!

We had hot tea made with tea bags from England!

Beautiful dishes to eat our breakfast on!

Punch with Lady Diana :)

Peach preserves for the scones

Our scrumptious breakfast!!

The delicious scones with clotted cream and preserves!

Three different kinds of cheese

Quiche and Beans and Toast (William and Kate's favorite!)

The big event!!

Waving our British Flags along with the crowds!

The Happy Couple

Sarge also wanted to celebrate (this is our friend's dog)

All our treat bag goodies!!

Yum Yum scones!

Ahh...

Devastating Weather..

Yesterday, we were in the midst of the worst weather I have witnessed in my town since I've been alive. I knew the weather that had been predicted, which was severe thunderstorms and tornado watches, but when we left church last night the skies didn't look bad at all. However, it didn't take long for the storms to plow in. We kept watching the weather and it was one of those moments where we thought well, should we really go to the basement? We've had weather warnings in the years past but nothing usually hits here because the mountains break it up. But it looked and sounded pretty serious so 8 of us, and two dogs, went to my parents' basement and in the laundry room (not a very large room at all!) At first we felt kinda silly, all cramped up in this room but we had the tv on pretty loud upstairs so we could hear and after only about an hour in, there had been 135 tornadoes and the bands of storms simply kept coming. So I started messaging my friends and family to make sure everyone was ok and everyone else were also in their basements. I also have a cousin at the University of Alabama and Tuscaloosa got hit extremely hard, so hard that the school has let students go on home without taking finals! We did hear my cousin was ok which was good news! But then we heard from my mom's friend who lives about 25min or so from us and they were in her basement with what they thought to be a tornado right outside. It then was about 10 min before we heard from her again and that made everything become very real. Once we did hear from her, they had come out to find their house to be ok but neighbors homes absolutely destroyed.

So we spent almost 4 hours in the basement before the storms finally weakened. Today we are safe and sound but others were not so lucky. We drove out today to see some of the damage and I am so very thankful to first and foremost be alive and also to have no damage to the house. These storms swept through the entire southeast leaving behind great loss and devastation. And the scary thing is, it could have very easily been me or someone close to me. Here are a few photos of the damage all around us...

This was the worst area we saw. There was once a house here and now no more. Luckliy, the lady living here had gone to a friend's house and is safe but her home is scattered all over these fields. 

Half the garage wall is gone here...

Trees were down everywhere! Many were even completely uprooted...

The roof was blown off here as were many other homes in this neighborhood. 

The siding was blown off here. 

And here it was blown completely off as well as the gutters along the eves of the house. 

This looked like it was once a strorage building, the remains are scattered all over the yard. 

Please pray for those who suffered loss with these terrible storms...

Friendship

Today, one of my very best friends had a baby boy! I am So happy for her and her family but it is breaking my heart that I'm not there to celebrate with her. This isn't the first big event I've missed in my friends' lives since we left Texas. I missed her other baby boy take his first steps and I had to find out over the phone she was pregnant with this baby born today. I missed two of my other friends give birth to baby girls. (Thankfully I was able to travel to TX to see one of them but I've yet to meet the other) I missed another friend's baby girl's first steps as well as when she found out she was pregnant again! Not mention all the first birthday parties, halloween costumes, and just the everyday get togethers! And while I am very grateful for videos and pictures, it's not the same.

When we moved to Texas, I had never felt so scared and out of place. Yet it wasn't long before I had made the kind of friendships I never knew existed. And when we found out we were moving, I questioned why God would put these wonderful people in my life only to take them away. Leaving Texas was just as hard as leaving TN was! (and I seriously never thought I would say that!) But I don't ask this question anymore because no matter the distance between us, I know my friends are always there for me and I try to make a huge effort to be there for them as well. Even though we don't see each other daily, not a day goes by that I don't think about them or keep up with their lives in some way. And there have been many days that I couldn't have made it through without a phone call or text from them.

So while moments like the birth of a new baby are hard to not be around for, I am SO thankful to have these wonderful people in my life, no matter how many miles apart we may be from each other, and I hope they are forever!!

Apple!

A friend of mine recently wrote a post about her little baby girl. She was telling how with each new thing her baby does, she finds herself getting so excited and reacting in such silly ways. It really is so true. Every single day Emma does something new that gets me so excited and makes me so proud of her. She isn't talking much yet except for the usual words...Dada, Mama, Bye Bye, Hi, and her response to everything, Whoa! But we now have a new word to add to the list!! My mom has a garland of apples hanging above the kitchen sink and my dad was showing it to Emma and saying "apple" and she said right back to him..."Apple!!" It was one of those moments where I was so excited and so proud but I almost wanted to cry because my baby is growing up so much! I am CRAZY about her and she brings such an amazing joy to my life with every moment.

Easter Fun

We had so much fun dying our eggs. Emma loved it! Each time we would bring an egg out of the dye she would say "whoa!"

The visit with the Easter bunny did not go over very well...

We went to the playground Sunday afternoon. She loved it so much that when we were leaving she turned around and tried to run back in!

It took her a little bit to get the concept of putting the eggs in the basket. She tried to carry as many eggs as she could. It was SO cute :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!!

What a Great Day!

Sunday was such a wonderful day for us! It started out with a great church service. Wll and I are loving our new church. Our pastor has so much emotion when he preaches and is so passionate about the Word that it overflows from him. I look forward each week to hear what God will say to me through him. We also had the Lord's Supper in celebration of Palm Sunday. I always enjoy the Lord's Supper, it is such a concrete reminder to me of the ultimate sacrifice given for my life.

After church, we spent the afternoon at my Mamaw and Papaw's house for our family Easter dinner (my uncles were off this weekend so we went ahead and got together). It was absolutely wonderful! We had the most amazing spread of food...

The most AMAZING pork chops ever!

...and the weather was gorgeous so we were able to eat outside. After lunch, Emma got to play in the yard with her little cousin Tanner. They had a blast! And I thouroughly enjoyed laying on a blanket in the sun. It was so peaceful. I have so missed being able to attend the family get togethers!

Sunday evening we all went to our church to Will's ordination service. We had lots of family there, Will's grandparents and aunt and uncle from South Carolina, Will's parents, my parents, Blake, Mandy, and Mickey, my Grandma, and my great aunt and uncle. Our good friend also came to give Will the charge of ordination. The service was simply wonderful. I could not have been prouder of Will. It was so amazing to watch him accept the calling on his life. He is such an amazing husband, father, and minister. He has grown so much in his walk with Christ as well as his ministry in the last few years and it is so awesome to see. After the service, Will's family had to travel back to South Carolina, and his dad had to do taxes but the rest of us enjoyed a great celebration meal at Logans Roadhouse.

It really was such a wonderful day! I wasn't able to get any pictures at the service but here are a few pics from our family lunch...