{Heavy Hearts}

Just thought I would use my blog as a place to update all you friends and prayer warriors on something that is making our hearts heavy. I'll try to relay the details as I've been told. Most of you know that my sister Jamie is getting married this upcoming June and we will be gaining an awesome brother in law. On Wednesday evening, Chris' father fell down a flight of stairs while taking out the trash. Apparently he hit his head causing brain injuries. His father has been unconscious since and the outcome is not looking good. Our hearts break for my sister, Chris and his family. This is such a shocking and devastating incident. Please pray for the family. As you can imagine, they are tired and they are so SO sad.

Anyone else want to pray for a miracle with us? I won't go into too much detail, but this past Sunday at church a young woman shared how she was healed from something only God could heal. Then we collectively prayed for another church member battling MS. I've never felt chills like that before during a worship experience. Now I can see how that service has built my faith even more and prepared me for the week ahead. It is okay to pray for miracles. I think too often I take "doctors word to heart" or believe "that could never happen!" I want to choose to believe today. I choose to pray for a miracle. It could happen. But I also know life here on Earth is not eternal and sometimes we must be called home.

I'll be back next week once I get some tough grad school stuff over with and I'll share any updates on the Jones family. Thanks for reading. If you get a chance, let my sister and Chris know you are thinking of them.

xo,
Sara

{happy birthday hot stuff}

Yea, that's right, I'm talking about my man! Today is his golden birthday...25 years old on the 25th of March. Am I the only one who didn't know about golden birthdays? Sadly I missed mine at age 7 and had no idea. Anyways, back to the star of this post. We have been celebrating this birthday just about all month. Trust me, he is very blessed!

Friday night we went bowling with two other couples from our small group and the Putnams brought Todd his favorite cake, carrot! Yum. I don't think we sang to him but we did light the place up with some candles and let him give a good blow.

I've really enjoyed getting to know these ladies, Meg and Amber. We have all quickly become great friends. Oh and the photobomber would be Amber's other half, Charles.

Meg and her husband Tim just had their first babe a few weeks ago. Isn't she a cutie?!?!

I didn't do so hot bowling (no surprise). This is my "I'm having fun, oh wait I stink at bowling, I'll do better next time for sure BUT I'm having fun" face. Attractive, right?

It was a really fun night! Wish the other three couples from our small group could have made it! Now, let's all look at how awkward I look in this photo. In fact as soon as it was taken, Todd informed me I contorted my body. Not sure why or how I did that (and why did I try to make myself shorter than I already am)! I do weird things but weird things make great memories.

So YAY happy birthday to the best
husband,
friend,
partner-in-crime,
dish washer,
soulmate,
grillmaster, and
drummer boy.

The list could go on and one but I'll spare you. I love you Todd Davis! Shout out to Carol for birthing  and raising such an awesome man. Todd, can't wait celebrate many more years with you! 


-S

{Spring Break}

Todd and I left to visit family (his bro & wife plus kiddos + pup) this past Wednesday. We love spending time with them and it's an extra bonus that they live at the beach. We spent Thursday having a picnic on the beach. I underestimated the warm weather and didn't wear my bathing suit. What was I thinking?????? I was so shocked at how warm it was and how many people were on beach. I seriously had to look at my calendar to make sure it was still March! 

This made me laugh. Todd used his magazine as a sun blocker to play on his iPhone. 

We went back the next day with our sister-in-law and niece. Unfortunately it wasn't quite as warm but it was still relaxing. 

These two had fun together. P enjoyed dumping sand on Uncle Todd.

Friday evening Todd's parents came and we grilled out, then enjoyed some smores by bonfire. I could do that every night for the rest of my life. Yum.

Even the dog is spoiled! 

P had her first ever soccer game on Saturday morning. She looked SO cute in all her gear. However, she wasn't so sure about the whole soccer experience. Lots of pep talks were given.

Our newest niece, Adeline stole all our hearts!

Earlyyyyyy (we woke up at 4:30 am to get ready!) Sunday morning, Todd and his brother ran in a half marathon race. This was Todd's first time. Us ladies cheered them on and even were able to drive by to capture this moment:

He did it!!

 I am SO proud of him! 

Such a fun spring break! Certainly the most memorable to date. 

Sidenote: I started my interim today and it was great! I'm excited to finish out the school year with such awesome teacher and students. I've also started applying for jobs so keep praying for us that we go where the Lord leads.

Seven more weeks of grad school/college for us. I'm starting to see the light!!!

-Sara

{Life}

I had my first Five Guys experience last week. Honestly I wasn't too impressed. In fact here is my exact words, "my dad can make just as good if not better of a burger than this!" Maybe it's the ridiculous price of a burger that already had me turned off. We only ordered one fry which resulted in this:

A mountaintop of potatoes. Welcome to America. We barely put a dent in them. Now if those were Chick-fil-a fries or Bojangles, then I would be in fry heaven.

After the past super busy few weeks, Todd and I have finally been blessed with some downtime together. My love language is quality time so our little date strolling through this art gallery in our town warmed my soul. 

  

Todd's birthday is later this month (25th) but it seems we have been celebrating all month. I let him pick out a few new vinyl records but ultimately surprised him with new running shoes for his upcoming race. I have a feeling we will still be celebrating later this month especially since The Hunger Games comes to theaters. 

I still have not started my interim yet which isn't such a bad thing. I've had time to get ahead on my schoolwork, clean the house and get organized. I also joined a gym. I've discovered that when you actually pay for a membership, you suddenly care to go and it really helps that I can watch TV while I workout. 

I took this picture of my niece and sister this past weekend when we were briefly home. Babies are cute but ADORABLE when they sleep!  

  

Thanks for hanging with me, this post was all over the place! 

:)

-Sara

{March Birthdays}

First of all, you all had some great opinions and comments about my last post. I had several people email or text me with their thoughts which ended with people wanting to know more. My friend Amanda shared with me a great book right before I got married that has now become my personal guide. The name of the book is Taking Charge of Your Fertility so if you're interested hit up Amazon. We all share different views and it is safe to say we all believe overall it's the Lord's will. Thank goodness there is comfort in that. 

Moving on, we went home this weekend to celebrate family March birthdays. From left to right is my sisters, Ronna and Jamie, Todd, Mimi and my cousin's daughter, Saylor.

That's a lot of birthdays this month! Together they equal 175 years old!

My sister's birthday is actually TODAY! Happy Birthday sweet sisters. You two are the best role models a girl could ask for and I'm so thankful we are not only sisters but best friends!

Jamie is getting married this June and we are SO excited! I must brag on my future brother in law for one second...he is an amazing runner and frequently runs half marathons often coming in the lead. Saturday he ran in Charlotte with 3200 people and he placed 14th! He is so humble about it too. I'm so glad Jamie has found such a great man and I can't wait for her to experience marriage!

Hope it's just as gorgeous of a day wherever you are as it is in our neck of the woods. What a beautiful day to start the longer daylight hours! I love this time of year. Now, bring on graduation!!!

-S

{For Women Only}

Warning: I'm about to get real. No fun photos today just me rambling about something I've learned more about since getting married especially considering we are young, in school and terrified of getting pregnant. Told you this is about to get r-e-a-l! Oh and sorry if you tried to read this post yesterday, thought I posted it (which I did), went back to edit, then accidentally didn't publish it again.

Have you all heard about the recent birth control recalls? Sure every now and then we all hear about them but it hit home when a local radio station gal said that she just got a letter yesterday concerning the recall of her medicine. An entire MONTH after it was nationally recalled. Folks, I'm no genius but that is a problem.

Just google birth control recalls and see all the latest news articles. In fact there has been at least two within the last month. Basically, women were taking sugar pills when they shouldn't have been.

I can really get on my soapbox talking about this subject but I'll try to refrain. Honestly, it wasn't until we were getting married that I even cared about this subject. I assumed BC was the best option but never had peace. You hear stories all the time of people getting pregnant on the pill, side effects and recalls. How am I supposed to put trust in that? But you also hear of people having success stories too. I was so confused.

Many of you reading this blog are close friends and probably remember me asking a billion questions about this subject. I did lots of self-educating and actually tried BC thinking that all my fears and doubts would disappear once I had a prescription. Wrong. Three months later I was uneasy about the entire thing and petrified of getting pregnant. You can probably infer now where I stand on this subject and that I don't mind talking about it. If you ever want to discuss it more, hit me up. I'll save all the details and my opinions unless you really care.

What is our lesson here? In the end, it's really God control. For everyone, no matter what your "views" are. Todd laughs when I say that but it's so true! I know this a weird/maybe touchy subject to talk about on my blog (much different than my usual posts) but most of you reading are women and well, I don't think we talk about it enough. We all have different opinions and I respect that and ultimately you have to choose what is best for you but it never hurts to stay up to date with recalls and alternatives.

Any thoughts? No pressure. Can you tell I just got a little upset at this big mistake BC companies have done to innocent people! Yikes. Please don't think I'm writing to say one way is better than another. The whole subject can just be confusing and frustrating.

Big thanks to a few people in my life that have been such great girlfriends (you know exactly who you are) with openly discussing this subject and my sweet sister who I have got even closer to the older I get for going before me with the whole marriage and baby thing. She offers great advice! Plus, I must add my loving, compassionate, and understanding husband. Love you all!
-S

{A Lesson in Failure}

I heard this quote today and it made me smile...

A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying. 

-B. F. Skinner

Lately, I've been working on following and listening to the Lord's will in my life. I know of one time in particular that I didn't listen to his will and set my self up for failure. I hate that word. Strong hate. 

Nobody wants to fail. 

Admitting failure can be hard. Forgiving yourself, even harder. A few years ago I took a job offer as an answer. Sometimes our biggest failures can be the biggest lessons we will ever learn. I'm so different now because of my experience yet I'm still not certain that it was His plan for me. You see, for a while I struggled with thinking that God did that to me. He let me get hurt. I didn't understand. I blamed God. But looking back, I didn't seek his guidance on a huge decision in my life.  

I now believing with all my heart that God is always one step ahead of me but I must be actively following Him. I've heard that my entire life but it's more real to me than ever before. It's easy to get off path. We all have selfish desires and pride that can get in our way but constantly being aware of his presence can help us stay in tune with His plans for us. 

Plans to prosper.

     Plans to protect.

          Plans of hope.

               Plans of a future. 

                            -Jer. 29:11

That is some good stuff to rejoice in. Sorry for being preachy, my dad is a pastor so it's in my blood. I just think we can probably all relate about times in our life when we may have chosen to do or say something that wasn't "right." Thank goodness we serve a merciful God. Mistakes will happen, I'm a born sinner, but choosing to actively follow can sure save lots of wasted time and energy. 

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now.

Amen.

-Sara

{Desktop Art}

I first discovered Geninne's Art on facebook when a friend posted the free desktop calendar. She is an artist that lives in Mexico that has such a unique eye for things. I follow her blog every now and then to see what she is up to or what is inspiring her but my favorite is when she posts a free desktop background (once a month) that are
F
R
E
E
! 

If you want to grab the March Desktop Calendar, click on this picture to be directed to her blog for easy access. Then, just right click and add the pic to your desktop. 

I've always loved when the months change but I secretly now just can't wait to see what her new backgrounds will be. Her illustrations are so unique and remind me of something out of a picture book. They jump off the page as if it were real. Okay, enough of me blabbering, I just wanted to share something fun and free with you all!

Happy March. Bring on longer daylight hours and warmth please!

-S

{Happy Friday}

At the rate I'm going, I'm doing good just to post once a week these days. Oh well, better late than never right? Here are some highlights as of recently:

We finally found out that Todd's sister and husband will be having a GIRL this July! That means all the grandchildren on their side thus far are girls. So fun but maybe one of these days we can add some boys to the mix. Can't wait to spoil another niece rotten!

(We are excited too! Congrats!)

AND one of my best friends/mentor, Mason, found out she is having a girl too! This was a total shocker. Mason and her husband Eric already have two boys that Todd and I often hang out with. We are thrilled for them and their wonderful blessing that will make an entrance also in July. It's going to be a great month! 

Todd took me out for a very special spontaneous date last Friday night to see this movie:

We hardly ever go to movies (we are penny pinchers) so this was a special treat and I still snuck in our own popcorn. We both liked the movie and can't say anything really bad about it. I was surprised I didn't cry but the entire time I was thinking about what I would do if I were in their shoes. I don't want to give the details of the movie away but those of you that have seen it can relate what I'm saying. The movie is based on a true story and really inspires you to make the best of the moments you have each day with the one you love and even when tragedy hits, that love still remains. 

In other news, I finished my public library internship. Yayyyy! Although my time at the library was a wonderful experience, I'm somewhat glad it is over only because I can't be an intern forever. I have to take what I learned and make the best of life. Now, onward to my interim librarian job at a local elementary school which could start anytime now (depending on when the current librarian goes into labor). Basically I'm on call now and just waiting...

Hope to keep you all updated more often soon! As for now, it's FRIDAY FIRDAY, and we are off to another hot date of trying out the new Five Guys (so romantic, right?) that has recently opened here and then we will hang with some friends. Have a great weekend friends!

-S