~Love~

There's a new little girl that has been coming to our church and I think she is sweetest thing!
Before service started on Sunday I told her she could come and sit with me if she wanted, so she came on over and plopped down right beside me.
I had already asked her in small talk if she had any boyfriends.  She is in the 3rd grade, and I think that is when I developed my first "crush."  Most of the time, kids won't tell you, but she proudly stated she had 3!  I couldn't help but laugh. 

She pulled out her little purse that carried a few blank sheets of paper and a pen in it.  She began drawing and I was showing her how to draw about the only things I know how to draw...hearts, a butterfly, a caterpillar, you know...the easy stuff. 
As soon as I would draw something, she would take the page from me and write "I love you" on whatever I had just drawn. Then she starting writing "I love you" all over the page. 

I was flattered!  I thought, "I haven't known this kid long, but she loves me!"
Then she told me it was for her boyfriend(s)....ha!

After that she started writing things like "you are cute as can be!"
This literally made me giggle and I knew this little girl is going to be holding a very special place in my heart.

It also made me start to think...
Sometimes as adults, we forget some of the most basic concepts in life...Like how to "love" so easily!  This little girl had a lot of love and wanted to give it to everyone!

As we grow older, and people hurt us, we tend to inadvertently take it out on all the new folks we may meet in this journey.  We slowly let people into our lives, and even more slowly allow them to come close enough to hurt us, but trust that they won't.  How many times have you trusted someone to be a part of your life and they hurt you?  I think each of us can say that we have...so we're obviously not very good at picking these "safe to love" people.

In reality, we should "love" everyone and know that God has a purpose for this person to be in your life, good or bad.

I hope to have as much love to give, as this little girl showed me on Sunday.
xoxo

Home is where the Heart is...

Finally!  It's been a while since I've posted, and I've had 1,000 topics to write about and I've had 1,000 things to do that seem like they keep me from having the time to post.  I'll write more about those later...

The other day, I was driving down the road when my cell phone rang.  When I looked at the caller ID it said "Home."  I knew then it was my Mom or Dad.  Then it dawned on me...I still have my parents in my phone as "Home," even though I've been married for almost a year. 

I guess I haven't changed it because Darrell and I don't have a home phone.  We use our cell phones.  I was just thinking about how ironic it was as I drove.  Then I thought, if I were to change it, what would I call them?  I have each of their cell phone numbers saved in my phone as "Mom" and "Dad", and then their house number.  I couldn't think of any other name I would call them. 

I decided then that I would keep them in my phone as "Home" because that has always been my home.  Of course, my home with Darrell is MY home.  Now, I am lucky enough to have more than one home.  Darrell and I are blessed to be close with all of our family, and we consider all of their houses to be just another one of our homes. 

No matter where I am, I always have a home. 
After all, home is where the heart is...<3

Meet Cameron

I told ya, he's the cutest dog EVER!

It's funny how things work out: 

My husband works a LOT of hours with his job at the Winston Salem Dash.  That tends to get a little lonely for me...so before the baseball season started I begged for a puppy.  I wanted a teeny-weeny puppy that I could raise on my own!  Darrell however, wanted to adopt a puppy.  I have never adopted a puppy, but really liked the fact that you were essentially, saving a dogs life, so I agreed.  My only compromise was that it had to be a dog that didn't shed.  If there is one thing that I can't deal with, it is cleaning up dog hair.  It makes me gag!

If you have ever tried to adopt a dog, you know that finding one that doesn't shed is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Darrell and I had searched for weeks and baseball season was right around the corner, so we were running out of time.

One Saturday my Mom called and someone had dropped a little dog off by my parents' house.  Just set it out with a pillow!  I was heartbroken!!!  It was some sort of terrier mix.  My Mom sent me a picture of it and I fell in love!  On top of that, we would be saving a dogs life too!!! 

That weekend, we went to pick the dog up and see it & BOY, were we excited!  We even named him Hurley! 

As soon as we got there, we brought him inside to give him a bath and clean him up.  Except, when Hurley got wet, all of his hair fell out!  I was devastated...there was HAIR EVERYWHERE!!!  Something was obviously wrong with this dog and someone had dropped him off because of that.  We had no idea what to do, so my Dad took care of getting Hurley where he needed to be to get medical attention.  From there, I am not sure where Hurley's life took him...

Devastated is an understatement.  I was SO excited about a puppy and couldnt understand why this would happen!  I remember even saying to Darrell "I don't want a mutt!  I want a puppy!  MY OWN PUPPY!" 

My Dad though, knowing how upset I was, proceeds to mention that he had seen an ad in the paper for some poodles for sale nearby. 

Poodles?  They don't shed and they are hypoallergenic!  Reluctantly, Darrell agreed to give them a call and they had ONE poodle left!  I convinced Darrell to just "go look" with me. 

We immediately fell in love and the rest is history! (How could you not!) Cameron came home with us right then and there!

I wouldn't give anything for my lil Cameron now!  He has brought so much joy to my life & is truly a part of our family! 

Sometimes things fall apart so that better things can fall together. 

Cameron's 1st picture! 9 weeks old!  He's so tiny!

Cameron right before his first haircut!

His favorite place to hide: under our bed!

Playing with Mommy!

xoxoxo

Favorite Friday

I've decided every Friday will be "Favorite Friday" & I can introduce you to something that is currently my favorite.  This week's grand winner is:

Blue Bunny Birthday Party Ice Cream Sandwiches!

THEY ARE SINFUL!!!

Okay okay...There is a funny story behind this, kind of.  Darrell hardly ever has the opportunity to join me for grocery shopping.  This week though, he had a week off from games so he was available.  After much begging he agreed to go with me.

B.I.G. mistake.

I honestly try to always shop "healthy."  I try to do one big grocery run for the month, and every Monday I go to the grocery store and get fresh fruit and fresh salad materials, since they won't last an entire month. 

This time was no different than every other Monday...just a quick run in and quick run back out.  Except, Darrell was with me.

If you know my husband, you know he has a weakness for ice cream.  He would eat it every night, and some weeks, he does!

So we get to the ice cream aisle, and we attempt picking out which new ice cream we want.  Keep in mind, ice cream is not on my fresh fruit and fresh salad materials list.  But, if ice cream keeps my hubby happy, he can surely have it!

I am not joking when I say we spent almost 10 minutes debating what kind of ice cream to buy!  Initially, Darrell picked these birthday party ice cream sandwiches out.  Our only drawback was they were $4.99.  Since we are trying to save as much money as we can, we seriously debated on whether or not it was worth it to buy $5 ice cream.  I tried to convince him that we should buy some Minute Maid Fruit Juice Bars, since they were healthier.  After much deliberation, I finally said "just get whatever you want, you are the one that eats it anyway."

Bad idea.  That evening after dinner, Darrell couldn't wait to try his new ice cream.  He even shared a bite with me.  Now, if you know anything about me, you know I love cake!!!!  So cake flavored ice cream, is a dream! 

I have ate one ice cream bar every night & I am not even an ice cream person! 

My hope is that they will be gone more quickly if I help him eat them, we will NEVER buy these again, & I can be back to my salad eating habits sooner than later!

Lesson learned: It's probably okay if you're husband doesn't go grocery shopping with you...

BUT, if you want to splurge - I highly recommend this delightful little sandwiches!  :)

They are definitely a "favorite"!

Did You Know?

That "be not afraid" is in the Bible 365 times?

...One for every day

 

I learned this in school, but I can't remember if this means the exact words "be not afraid" or if it means referencing that we should not be afraid.  Either way, how comforting is that?

7 months!

Today marks the 7th month that I have been married to my wonderful husband!  In honor I'm sharing a few pictures of our journey together.

Engaged!!!!

Darrell proposed at the All Star Race in Charlotte in 2009.  He was very sneaky & had me pulled on stage to answer racing questions.  When I turned around for the next guy to ask me a question, there was Darrell on one knee.  The rest is history.

Wedding Preparation

This is one of my favorite engagement pictures.  It truly captured how we (usually) are when we're together.  Darrell can make me laugh like no other.  He is truly, my best friend.

You may kiss the bride!

Sealing our committments to one another!

Mr. & Mrs. Southern

It took me a little while to get used to being a "Southern."  Wouldn't trade it for the world!

Wedded Bliss

Now, we are just enjoying being married!!  We are constantly being asked how we like married life, and it is truly absolutely wonderful.  That doesn't mean it's always easy.  We put a lot of work into making our marriage work.  There is a lot of compromising, a lot of give, a lot of take, a lot of finding a happy medium.  I couldn't think of any better person to be my other half, than Darrell. 

May you all find as much happiness in a soul mate as I have. <3

His Life for Mine

One of my all time favorite gospel songs!  Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Finally Friday!!

I am beyond thankful that today is Friday!  Even though this has been a short work week due to the holiday, it seems to have d.r.a.g.g.e.d on!  To help make my day go by more quickly, I had a lunch date with my sweet Liz and & her sweet little girl.  I haven't seen Liz and Leah in over a month!  Leah only gets prettier by the day! (just like her mommy!)

They truly helped start my weekend! 
Ahhhh.....There's nothing a best friend, sweet little girl, & fried green beans (Compliments of Downtown Deli) can't fix!

Happy Thursday!

You have brains in your head, and feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
~ Dr. Seuss

  

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...

...and it's all small stuff!

For the past few nights I have been slowly reading this book and I honestly believe it is genius!!!!  I also believe it is a lot of common sense, but when situations occur sometimes, common sense goes straight out the window.  So it's nice to be reminded/taught on how to handle tough times and the stress of everyday life.

I thought I would share with you what I have found most useful in the first couple of chapters.  When everyday incidents occur - imagine that everyone is enlightened but yourself.  Take on the student approach and say "what is this situation trying to teach me?"  Whether it's the man who pulls out in front of you, having to wait in a long line, dealing with a rude person, or a whiny child, etc" - any little situation can use this approach. 

Since I have read that chapter, I have found myself asking this ALL the time!  And it's only been TWO days!  Last night, Cameron vomited in the floor and as I was cleaning it up I was thinking, "what in the world could this possibly be trying to teach me?"  Maybe, preparation for when Darrell & I have children, or maybe it was a reminder that I really should mop my floors soon.  Who knows? 

What I do know is that there isn't one situation that God throws in our way that doesn't have a purpose.

First Day of School

I can't tell you how excited and anxious I am about writing my first blog!  Blogging has been on my mind for several months now and sort of, what I would consider a personal goal...and just this morning, a dear friend of mine began blogging.  I thought to myself, "Why can't I?" 

So then I pondered in my head all day what I would write about.  What should I focus on? 

If you know me, you know I am just a little bit like my Dad.  I like to consider myself an even combination of both of my parents.  Both were and still are very influential in my life.  However, my Dad can sometimes have 1,000 projects going at once.  Before focusing on one and moving to the next, he'll start 10 others.  I find myself doing that at times: having trouble focusing...I want to have a kid, buy a house, sell a condo, travel, relax, make money and save money all within the next 4 -5 months.  See what I mean.  So I decided there would be no one focus.  This would be just a blog of my everyday life.

So today I added blogging to my list of "projects".  I am as nervous as I used to be on the first day of school!  I didn't think about having to design it or name it.  Good golly - that took all day!  So I came up with "The Preacher's Daughter."  My whole life, I have been a "Preacher's Daughter."  I recently got married, got a puppy, began teaching Sunday School, got a big girl job, and all that fun "adult" stuff.  Now I am no longer just a Preachers' Daughter: I am a wife, mommy to Cameron(puppy), sister, teacher, employee, friend and any other  name you can tag on.  This blog is about my journey as all of these. 

While I wear many nametags, the closest and dearest to my heart, will always be "The Preachers' Daughter."

The Preacher <3

(Also known as "Daddy")