I love Chick-fil-A:) Especially for breakfast. So, I thought I would pass this exciting offer on to my faithful readers:) CFA is giving away free breakfast entrees! You have to reserve which entree you want, and if I were you I would do it quickly....before they are all gone! Here is the link. Enjoy!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Paddle Boats!
We had family night tonight and the C Blaylocks joined us. We went to Bridgestreet to ride the paddle boats! So much fun! If you are looking for something fun to do, I highly suggest paddle boats! It is fun and not expensive! It cost $6 per person and all of our kids were free! Beau, Rylee, and I watched everyone ride the carousel! And then we headed over to Maggie Moos for ice cream! The ice cream cost almost as much as the paddle boats! We had a great time! The kids loved the boat:) Here are some pictures for your enjoyment:)
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| The crew! |
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| My sweetie:) |
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| Angel |
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| watching the carousel! |
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| Reagan is cracking me up! |
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| Love this picture! |
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| April, me, and all our babies! |
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| The Blaylocks:) |
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| The Daigres:) |
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| I love my baby! |
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Pop and Ms.Cindy
This weekend we have been celebrating! My father in law has pastored First Independent Methodist Church for 25 years! The church put together a great weekend of celebration! Saturday night there was a dinner at the church and afterward everyone gathered in the sanctuary to show their appreciation for Hal and Cindy Daigre. There were many people to share what Pop and Ms.Cindy mean to them. I did not share! I know, terrible. I just let Marshall do all of the public speaking engagements:) I am not big on crowds and avoid standing in front of them. Marshall did share a small part of how I feel about Pop, but I thought I would share via my blog!
Hal Daigre loves Jesus. He is a man of God, an example to so many. He has impacted thousands of people. Maybe not directly, but he has in some way touched lives he does not even know about. And Ms.Cindy has been by his side through the best of times and the worst of times, loving him and praying. She always laughs at his jokes.....even though she has probably heard them fifty times!
I have always thought Pop was hilarious! When Marshall and I first started dating, Pop would tell jokes and I was constantly laughing! I thought everything the man did was HILARIOUS! I still think he is pretty funny:)
Pop and Ms.Cindy, thank you for loving Jesus. Thank you for raising two amazing men of God. Pop, Thank you for leading our family. You mean so much to so many. I am so thankful that our boys have you as grandparents. I could not have asked for a better family to be a part of. I count it a privilege to be your daughter. I know Cassie would agree:) I am sad they could not be here this weekend but we all feel the same way about you. We love you both.
Hal Daigre loves Jesus. He is a man of God, an example to so many. He has impacted thousands of people. Maybe not directly, but he has in some way touched lives he does not even know about. And Ms.Cindy has been by his side through the best of times and the worst of times, loving him and praying. She always laughs at his jokes.....even though she has probably heard them fifty times!
I have always thought Pop was hilarious! When Marshall and I first started dating, Pop would tell jokes and I was constantly laughing! I thought everything the man did was HILARIOUS! I still think he is pretty funny:)
Pop and Ms.Cindy, thank you for loving Jesus. Thank you for raising two amazing men of God. Pop, Thank you for leading our family. You mean so much to so many. I am so thankful that our boys have you as grandparents. I could not have asked for a better family to be a part of. I count it a privilege to be your daughter. I know Cassie would agree:) I am sad they could not be here this weekend but we all feel the same way about you. We love you both.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Surprise:)
I love surprises! Even though I try and figure out what they are! I love sweets....I think you have probably figured that out by now. Sadly, I am out of the double chocolate chunk ice cream that Marshall got for me the other day. I went by Bruster's Monday and they did not have any. I was disappointed....plain chocolate ice cream from the grocery store just does not compare.
Well, last night M had a meeting and called me on his way home to tell me he had a surprise for me and not to eat anything. I had already eaten a Nutty Bar(you know the whole chocolate and peanut butter thing-I just can't pass up). I assumed when he said that, that he had gone by Bruster's and gotten my ice cream! I was wrong.
Even better than double chocolate chunk ice cream from Bruster's......Great Wall of Chocolate from P.F. Changs!!! Six rich layers of frosted chocolate cake topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips, served with fresh berries and raspberry sauce according to P.F. Changs website:) Let me just tell you that if you have never experienced 1440 calories of marvelous chocolate then you are missing out! It is worth the trip to eat this cake.
My precious husband surprised me with this last night:) He dropped by P.F.'s after his meeting and got this for me. I was very surprised, and we shared the cake together over conversation. I love to know that M was thinking about me and wanted to do something for me. He knew I would love it and knew it would make me happy:) It did all of those things but more importantly, it made me appreciate my husband. The little thought makes me want to be a better wife and do something special for him. I know that was not his goal. But when someone does something out of kindness just because they were thinking about you, it is really special, even if it is something as simple as cake.
SO, I say all of this to say, do something special for your husband or wife today! Write a note and put it where they can find it when they leave for work. Something as simple as that will let them know you were thinking about them and will make their day. And in turn, it would not surprise me if you find a note or a special treat just for being you:)
Well, last night M had a meeting and called me on his way home to tell me he had a surprise for me and not to eat anything. I had already eaten a Nutty Bar(you know the whole chocolate and peanut butter thing-I just can't pass up). I assumed when he said that, that he had gone by Bruster's and gotten my ice cream! I was wrong.
Even better than double chocolate chunk ice cream from Bruster's......Great Wall of Chocolate from P.F. Changs!!! Six rich layers of frosted chocolate cake topped with semi-sweet chocolate chips, served with fresh berries and raspberry sauce according to P.F. Changs website:) Let me just tell you that if you have never experienced 1440 calories of marvelous chocolate then you are missing out! It is worth the trip to eat this cake.
My precious husband surprised me with this last night:) He dropped by P.F.'s after his meeting and got this for me. I was very surprised, and we shared the cake together over conversation. I love to know that M was thinking about me and wanted to do something for me. He knew I would love it and knew it would make me happy:) It did all of those things but more importantly, it made me appreciate my husband. The little thought makes me want to be a better wife and do something special for him. I know that was not his goal. But when someone does something out of kindness just because they were thinking about you, it is really special, even if it is something as simple as cake.
SO, I say all of this to say, do something special for your husband or wife today! Write a note and put it where they can find it when they leave for work. Something as simple as that will let them know you were thinking about them and will make their day. And in turn, it would not surprise me if you find a note or a special treat just for being you:)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sleep
I do not know about you but I cannot function well without sleep! When I was pregnant with Jackson, I think that is all I ever did! ha! That is not possible with three small children:) So, I don't usually stay up late. 10p.m. is a good time for me, but it is usually at least 11 before I actually go to sleep. I always seem to find things to keep me up.
When we went on vacation I had to be up EARLY. Early for me was 5a.m. We had to finish packing up the car, shower, and get all 4 of my boys ready to go. Lots of responsibilities on a mother(maybe I should post about that). Lets just say that 5 hours of sleep is not fun for me! I don't usually nap in the car unless I am sure that Marshall is not going to fall asleep at the wheel! Another responsibility:) He would disagree! Well, I was exhausted after only 5 hours of sleep so I decided I could take a nap in the car. My precious husband took a picture of me while I was sleeping. It is very embarrassing, but it was too hilarious to pass up. And if I can't laugh at myself, then what a boring life! So, I decided I should share the laugh with you:)
When we went on vacation I had to be up EARLY. Early for me was 5a.m. We had to finish packing up the car, shower, and get all 4 of my boys ready to go. Lots of responsibilities on a mother(maybe I should post about that). Lets just say that 5 hours of sleep is not fun for me! I don't usually nap in the car unless I am sure that Marshall is not going to fall asleep at the wheel! Another responsibility:) He would disagree! Well, I was exhausted after only 5 hours of sleep so I decided I could take a nap in the car. My precious husband took a picture of me while I was sleeping. It is very embarrassing, but it was too hilarious to pass up. And if I can't laugh at myself, then what a boring life! So, I decided I should share the laugh with you:)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
What a day!
My heart was bursting with gratitude during our service at Harvest Pointe this morning. I have so much to be thankful for. But specifically today there were several things I needed to take time out to thank my Lord for.
Harvest Pointe is a new church plant in Madison, AL. Marshall and I just so happen to be the lead on it. Well, it actually is not a "just so happen" kind of a thing. God actually called us to plant a church! What a HUGE calling. What a challenge. What an honor. Why us?!?! Honestly, Marshall and I did not expect to be where we are 4 years ago. We did not know exactly what God had for our family. We lived in Mississippi, Marshall was graduating from Seminary and we were praying about what our next step should be. We had several options and church planting was not really one of them. We had not even thought about it! But, God opens doors when we don't expect him to and closes some that we think we should take.
We had Jackson at the time. He was a tiny little guy. Almost in passing, church planting was mentioned to Marshall. When we first talked about it, we put it on the back burner. It was not really what we were thinking for our future. But, the more we prayed and the more we gave up what we thought was "right", the more resounding the answer was! The more clear God made it. The wider he opened the door! SO many things happened that were of the Lord. Answers both subtle or obvious that we knew were answers to our prayers. We KNOW that God called us to plant a church. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know.
Church planting has been a challenge. I will be honest. Marshall, Jackson, and I moved here with just us. In church planting terms what we have done is called a "parachute plant". Basically, that means our family starting a church from scratch. The failure rate with a parachute drop is very high. And whether our church succeeds or fails, God has done some amazing things here. We will not look at our time here as a waste, no, God is good and has done much in our own hearts as well as many around us. Today as I sat in our service and sang 2 songs in particular, I was in awe of my sweet Jesus and what he has done.
I cannot even describe to you how He changed me. I was lost and now I am found! Blind but now I see! He has worked in my life even when I wasn't sure He was there. But, today I was in tears when I sang "For I am His, and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ"!!! What powerful words. How deep His love for us.
Then as I thought of those precious faces around me. I could not help but be all the more grateful to Him. God has brought together a group of people that love Him and love each other. The people sitting there in the Harvest Pointe service mean so much to me. Each of them different and each of them my friends. And how amazing is it that Marshall and I could be a part of such an amazing thing as a church plant! To see people gathering together to worship. I am truly honored and blessed to be a part of what God is doing here. It started as just us and now there are more and more families! It has been an invaluable experience that I am grateful to be a part of.
And I have to say that we have some pretty amazing people in leadership. Today in particular I prayed for Rachel and Paul who were leading our worship service. The Lord has gifted them with music and today the Lord spoke to me through their service to Him. These are the two songs that really spoke to my heart today. I pray they will yours as well....
Harvest Pointe is a new church plant in Madison, AL. Marshall and I just so happen to be the lead on it. Well, it actually is not a "just so happen" kind of a thing. God actually called us to plant a church! What a HUGE calling. What a challenge. What an honor. Why us?!?! Honestly, Marshall and I did not expect to be where we are 4 years ago. We did not know exactly what God had for our family. We lived in Mississippi, Marshall was graduating from Seminary and we were praying about what our next step should be. We had several options and church planting was not really one of them. We had not even thought about it! But, God opens doors when we don't expect him to and closes some that we think we should take.
We had Jackson at the time. He was a tiny little guy. Almost in passing, church planting was mentioned to Marshall. When we first talked about it, we put it on the back burner. It was not really what we were thinking for our future. But, the more we prayed and the more we gave up what we thought was "right", the more resounding the answer was! The more clear God made it. The wider he opened the door! SO many things happened that were of the Lord. Answers both subtle or obvious that we knew were answers to our prayers. We KNOW that God called us to plant a church. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know.
Church planting has been a challenge. I will be honest. Marshall, Jackson, and I moved here with just us. In church planting terms what we have done is called a "parachute plant". Basically, that means our family starting a church from scratch. The failure rate with a parachute drop is very high. And whether our church succeeds or fails, God has done some amazing things here. We will not look at our time here as a waste, no, God is good and has done much in our own hearts as well as many around us. Today as I sat in our service and sang 2 songs in particular, I was in awe of my sweet Jesus and what he has done.
I cannot even describe to you how He changed me. I was lost and now I am found! Blind but now I see! He has worked in my life even when I wasn't sure He was there. But, today I was in tears when I sang "For I am His, and He is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ"!!! What powerful words. How deep His love for us.
Then as I thought of those precious faces around me. I could not help but be all the more grateful to Him. God has brought together a group of people that love Him and love each other. The people sitting there in the Harvest Pointe service mean so much to me. Each of them different and each of them my friends. And how amazing is it that Marshall and I could be a part of such an amazing thing as a church plant! To see people gathering together to worship. I am truly honored and blessed to be a part of what God is doing here. It started as just us and now there are more and more families! It has been an invaluable experience that I am grateful to be a part of.
And I have to say that we have some pretty amazing people in leadership. Today in particular I prayed for Rachel and Paul who were leading our worship service. The Lord has gifted them with music and today the Lord spoke to me through their service to Him. These are the two songs that really spoke to my heart today. I pray they will yours as well....
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
This cleaner is a staple in my cleaning cabinet. My mother-in-law first told me about it several years ago, and now I use it multiple times a week!. I have stainless steel cookware and this stuff actually gets it clean! I use it on my sink and anywhere else I have tough stains. I have even used it to clean the shower. Try it and let me know what you think:)
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
I'm back!
Wondering where I have been? I thought you might be:) We have been in Gulf Shores. Ahhhh, I love the beach! We had a great time. This was actually our second trip this Summer. If you have children, then you know that vacation is not really 'vacation'! We did not get to just 'hang out' on the beach, and I definitely did not get to read much. But, it was so worth the work it takes to be there! To see the boys having such a great time was well worth the money, time, work, and effort it takes to go on vacation. Jackson especially LOVES the beach. The child was swimming like a fish in the ocean! All day! I have a few suggestions to share...
First suggestion: When we go to the beach, we stay at the Regatta in Gulf Shores. It is right on the beach, and that is ABSOLUTELY necessary. It is worth the money to stay ON the beach. If you have to put kids down for naps, feed kids, get everyone ready for dinner, or anything else that requires being in the condo it is soooo much easier to stay directly on the beach.
Second suggestion: Take a babysitter! Eating out with kids is always stressful for me. I wish I was more laid back, but I am not. I stress! I can't stand whining.....drives me crazy! So guess what? My kids whined every night at dinner:) They were all exhausted and we went to dinner late which did not help. We took Abigail with us (I have mentioned her before-she is our 17 year old sitter). It is helpful with small kids to have an extra pair of hands! She actually kept the kids at the condo the last night we were there and we had an adult dinner! SO nice! And she gets a free trip to the beach! Everybody wins:)
Third suggestion: If you are going on a trip with kids, a DVD player is essential!
Fourth suggestion: Spray on sunscreen! So important to me! First of all, I do not want anyone to get skin cancer. But, secondly, I cannot stand to rub sunscreen on! It seems to always leave streaks where I missed! And I can't stand to get sand stuck all over me! I use the stick sunscreen for faces.
Fifth suggestion: Make some family traditions:) One of our traditions is breakfast at Waffle House! We have WH for breakfast just across the street from our condo. The boys love it! But so do we:) If we ever go to Waffle House at home the boys want to know if we are going to the beach!
Sixth suggestion: Have fun!!! I struggle with this! I like for things to go as close to perfect as possible! But, obviously things are not always going to go over without a hitch. Especially not with children! I have to step back a lot of times and remind myself to relax! In the end, who cares about the trivial? What does it really matter? One day I will look back at this time in my life and wish I could come back to it! I won't always have whining children at dinner. They will grow up. I won't always be the only lady in their life. They won't always depend on mommy. I won't always be changing diapers or feeding kids or cleaning after them. No, it won't be like this for long, and I want to enjoy every minute of it!
These pictures are actually from our first trip this Summer. I don't have my camera but wanted to share some pics:)
First suggestion: When we go to the beach, we stay at the Regatta in Gulf Shores. It is right on the beach, and that is ABSOLUTELY necessary. It is worth the money to stay ON the beach. If you have to put kids down for naps, feed kids, get everyone ready for dinner, or anything else that requires being in the condo it is soooo much easier to stay directly on the beach.
Second suggestion: Take a babysitter! Eating out with kids is always stressful for me. I wish I was more laid back, but I am not. I stress! I can't stand whining.....drives me crazy! So guess what? My kids whined every night at dinner:) They were all exhausted and we went to dinner late which did not help. We took Abigail with us (I have mentioned her before-she is our 17 year old sitter). It is helpful with small kids to have an extra pair of hands! She actually kept the kids at the condo the last night we were there and we had an adult dinner! SO nice! And she gets a free trip to the beach! Everybody wins:)
Third suggestion: If you are going on a trip with kids, a DVD player is essential!
Fourth suggestion: Spray on sunscreen! So important to me! First of all, I do not want anyone to get skin cancer. But, secondly, I cannot stand to rub sunscreen on! It seems to always leave streaks where I missed! And I can't stand to get sand stuck all over me! I use the stick sunscreen for faces.
Fifth suggestion: Make some family traditions:) One of our traditions is breakfast at Waffle House! We have WH for breakfast just across the street from our condo. The boys love it! But so do we:) If we ever go to Waffle House at home the boys want to know if we are going to the beach!
Sixth suggestion: Have fun!!! I struggle with this! I like for things to go as close to perfect as possible! But, obviously things are not always going to go over without a hitch. Especially not with children! I have to step back a lot of times and remind myself to relax! In the end, who cares about the trivial? What does it really matter? One day I will look back at this time in my life and wish I could come back to it! I won't always have whining children at dinner. They will grow up. I won't always be the only lady in their life. They won't always depend on mommy. I won't always be changing diapers or feeding kids or cleaning after them. No, it won't be like this for long, and I want to enjoy every minute of it!
These pictures are actually from our first trip this Summer. I don't have my camera but wanted to share some pics:)
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| Beautiful |
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| Live Bait |
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| Beach Fun! |
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| My boys |
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| Another tradition:) The Pier! |
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