all about the alleys

the story of us

2012-02-13T09:12:00.019-05:00

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?
we have been together since june 2006...so, that's 5 years and 8 months.

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}
we actually met several times before we "met." {i know that doesn't make sense...let me explain.} at the time i was working at hickory grove baptist as the preschool ministry director and several other staff members from our north campus kept telling me about this great guy named joel alley. my response was always, "well tell him about me and we'll see where it goes. i'm not going to chase a guy." well, they encouraged me to attend a Bible study joel taught and i did {not just to get to meet him but it was definitely a perk ;) } . he didn't notice me AT ALL. so i thought, well, this guy just isn't interested in me at all. little did i know that at that time, joel wasn't even remotely considering or looking to date anyone. i also attended several other singles events and joel alley didn't so much as look in my direction. sigh.

fast forward two years {I KNOW...and those staff members kept raving about him throughout that time} the single's minister and his wife decided to just take charge and they invited us both over to dinner at their house. we had a great time and joel even chased me out the door to get my number {shoes half on, untied and everything}. like they say, the rest is history!

3. How long have you been married?
we've been married 3 years and 3 {almost} months

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? Big or small wedding?
we were married at my home church, parkwood baptist church, in gastonia, north carolina. i'm not really sure what qualifies a wedding as big, medium, or small but i'd say we had a big, traditional church wedding.

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? Do share!
we're not that creative as far as nicknames go...
joel's nicknames for me: baby, sweetie, sweets
my nicknames for joel: babe, hot husband {it's how he's listed in my phone contacts ;) }, hubs, my love or love, mr. safety

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey.
1) he is the most selfless and giving person i've ever met 2) he loves me completely and shows it through his words and actions 3) he can make me laugh like no other person...he is hilarious.

7. Tell us how he proposed?
we'd been dating for 9 months and i knew he already had the ring but he had made a big deal about wanting to wait to get engaged until we'd been together for a year. of course, i hoped he would propose sooner but he seemed pretty determined to wait until june. so, i was trying really hard to not get so excited and not to start booking reception locations, look for dresses, etc. :) the really challenging part of this situation was that joel was so excited about the ring that he kept bringing it up and wanting to talk about it...which was NOT helpful in my whole trying to not let my excitement get out of hand. so i finally had to tell him that i didn't want him to talk about the ring until he was proposing and he agreed.

the next weekend he had asked me to clear my schedule for that saturday for a day in the mountains {one of our favorite places}. so i thought...maybe he'll propose then! a picnic in the mountains sounds like a perfect proposal idea {and i was secretly hoping he was being so adamant about a june proposal to throw me off to surprise me with a proposal much sooner}!! well, i woke up saturday morning to RAIN. ugh. i'm not gonna lie, i cried and not just a few glistening tears...it was the full on ugly cry. i'm pretty sure i told my mom that i didn't think that he was ever going to propose {dramatic, much??}.

joel came to pick me up and said that he thought it would be nice to just go for a drive since it was supposed to rain all day in the mountains. i had already resigned myself to the fact that i wasn't getting engaged that day and i was trying so hard to enjoy the day and not be grumpy. we drove around for awhile {think back roads} talking and listening to music and at this point, it had stopped raining. so we stopped to grab some sandwiches for lunch and i still had no idea where we were going. we ended up at a botanical garden to have a "picnic." we had lunch and i was seriously trying to fight off the tears and not be a grumpy girl {i'm not proud of it, just being real}. after lunch joel suggested that we walk over to the orchid conservatory so that's what we did. we walked through and joel stopped at a bench in front of a beautiful water wall with orchids and everything. we sat down and he said, "i know you don't want me to talk about the ring but what if i wanted to show it to you?" {still not cluing in to what was going on...i know, i know but i had done a great job convincing myself that he wasn't going to propose} i said, "no, i don't want to see it, either...not until you're proposing." at that point, he got down on one knee, said some really amazing and beautiful things and asked me to marry him. obviously, i said yes! :-)

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne , and rose petals?
i don't really think that he is either...maybe kind of a mixture. he's a flowers, nice dinner out, and thoughtful gift kind of guy :).

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?
i am definitely a pop in a movie, relax on the couch kind of girl. {i like romantic dinners but i'm not a fan of the beach. at. all.}

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant other one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?
we love to travel and have been to a handful of fun places {pictured below} but we have a list of places we'd like to go; i'd love to get to be a parent with him someday {hopefully sooner than later}; i'd also really love to be able to go on a mission trip with my love someday.

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.
we are going to have a romantic dinner at the melting pot {one of our favorite spots}. i'm working on a surprise for hub's gift...hope he loves it!

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
only to get to spend time with my love :)

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.
after only 3 years of marriage, i definitely know that i'm not a marriage expert but first i would say that while i love, love, love being married, it's more than flowers, gushy feelings, and hearts. it's about comittment and dedication even when things are tough...it's a daily decision to love another person and put them before yourself. also, you can't expect another person to make you happy...that's not their job {and happiness really isn't the goal of the christian life but that's another post for another day ;) }. bottom line, to have a strong marriage that is full of love, you have to live by the Spirit allowing His grace, love, mercy, and compassion flow through you. i also think it's really important to laugh and laugh a lot. :-)

14. Show us a picture of what love means to you.

messy

2012-02-08T20:32:00.005-05:00

i'm not a fan of anything messy...whether it is describing a room or a difficult situation, i'm simply not a fan. you see, i'd rather have things nice and orderly tied up neatly with a pretty ribbon but that simply isn't the way things are in life right now. {for reals, though, is life ever NOT at least a little messy?}

messy. i think i'm pretty good at looking put together on the outside but the inside on most days? messy. it's been four months since i last blogged {almost to the day} and it's been four months since my life and my family's life was turned completely upside down.

i've followed Jesus for 26 years and have walked through challenges, difficulties, and struggles before but i've never had to face anything like this. i'm going to be honest {why stop now, right?;) } that it's the hardest thing i've ever dealt with to this point in my life. sometimes {most times} i'd rather keep the messy stuff to myself and most times that's appropriate, but sometimes it spills out on the "pages" of this blog and i'm learning to be okay with that. i'm learning to be okay with messy. this journey we call life? it's messy and if we're going to live it, we're going to have to face those difficult situations and challenges.

so here i am, four months {almost to the day} later and i'm still pretty broken and raw from everything my family and i have walked through, but the Lord has been so gracious, patient, loving, compassionate, and merciful to me. over and over i end up before Him with my hands outstretched offering up "the mess" because i've learned first hand that He is close to the brokenhearted . can i say that i'm thankful for these trials? i can't say that i'm there, yet, but i am so completely thankful for the Lord's goodness and patience while i've wrestled and struggled through all of this.

a lot of things have been uncertain over the last four months but there are several things that are certain. my God has been faithful, gracious, merciful, and compassionate as i've faced this messy, difficult journey.

praise Him...He is good.

my daddy

2011-10-09T22:43:00.007-04:00

my daddy went to be with Jesus two nights ago. that's hard for my mind to comprehend right now, much less see it in print on the computer screen. it was sudden, unexpected, and the most difficult thing i have had to face in my life up to this point.

i'm a daddy's girl so obviously i think he was the best and most incredible husband, father, papaw {or poppy}, uncle, co-worker, friend that you could ever have. i think, though, if you knew him, you would agree with me. he was absolutely incredible. i've known for awhile that not every girl has a daddy like mine and i've been aware of how blessed i was to be able to call jim grayson my daddy. so i wanted to take a second and write about Daddy so you could get to know more about him if you didn't know him personally. {plus, he was amazing and i just want to talk about him. i love him so much.}

one of the most important lessons i learned from Daddy was that our faith is real...following Jesus every day is what life is all about. i didn't just see my daddy attend church on Sunday morning and then put his Bible on the shelf for a week until the next Sunday...he lived what he believed. any time i had a problem or a question, Daddy's solution was to always look to Scripture to see what God had to say about that particular problem or question. in fact, any time i approached him with a worry, concern, or problem he would always say to me, "it's going to be alright baby girl" and then he would guide me to Scripture that applied to the situation. he loved Jesus with all his heart and it was evident in his daily life. i was also blessed to have the opportunity to see first hand what a Godly marriage looks like. Daddy adored my mom and loved her with a selfless love. he truly fulfilled the role as the spiritual leader of our family but he led with such a kind, quiet, and gentle spirit. i have been able to walk through life with an understanding of the love of my Heavenly Father because of my earthly father.

Daddy loved his family and i believe {and other people have since confirmed} that anyone who knew Daddy knew that his family was his top priority after his relationship with Jesus. he was always there...chorus concerts, ball games, special events, math homework in the evenings {math was his strength--definitely not mine!} around the kitchen table, family vacations, major and minor emergencies. if it involved his family, Daddy was there no matter what. i always knew that Daddy felt that no matter the activity, the time that we were spending together was priceless. Daddy didn't just spend time with me, my mom, and my sister...our whole family was important to him. He was like a second Daddy to many of my cousins.

in the last few days, we've also had the opportunity to hear about what Daddy was like at work and i'm not surprised by what we've heard. everyone {literally everyone} loved and adored him. Daddy made a huge impact on the people with whom he worked and one major thing that stands out to me is that he lived out his faith in his interactions with his co-workers. we've also heard about what an incredibly gifted engineer Daddy was and that he was an integral part of his company.

i am beyond grateful that the Lord allowed me to have 32 years with jim grayson and i am crushed that my time with him is over for now. my Daddy faithfully followed Jesus and while i am devasted at my loss, i am full of joy because of all Daddy has gained. he is in heaven doing what God created Daddy to do...worship the Lord forever.

well hello there, august!

2011-08-02T20:33:00.003-04:00

we've had a fabulous summer here in the alley household...so much so that we've had no time to blog and now i'm going to attempt to recap all of the fabulousness in one post.

june

hubs birthday: we celebrated with his family, my family, and then just the two of us. it still makes me chuckle just a bit that when we met he didn't want anyone to acknowledge his birthday (so much so that he even refused to list his birthday in our church database...something i learned when i called him from work--our church--when we were engaged to tell him that i updated his information to include his birthday. i assumed it had been an error...not so much :-) but he married someone who LOVES birthdays. i don't just love my birthday but i love celebrating the birthdays of those i love. i've learned to scale the celebrations back (unless it's something he wants to do) and he has learned to let me celebrate him by enjoying our "birthday week" or "birthday weekend" celebrations. this year as part of our "birthday week" celebration, we rented a boat and spent the day on the lake. (we also spent 2 days without air conditioning and working to get it fixed but that was a slight pause in the celebration.) we had such an incredible day and plan to make it an annual tradition for his birthday. (i can't believe i don't have ANY pictures of any birthday celebrations...we were having too much fun to remember to take pictures!

marissa's going away party: i hope marissa felt like her party was fabulous! i wanted to use bright, fun colors in the theme so i picked a lemon/lime/orange theme and decorated with fruit in glass cylinders and really was able to carry the color scheme through every last detail of the party. it was my prayer that marissa would feel loved and celebrated by those who are closest to her and i think she did. we had a wonderful time chatting and being together and then ended the night lifting her up in prayer.

vbs:marissa's party was the 18th and vbs started on the 20th. yeah, it's safe to say we were quite tired in the alley house during this particular week! part of my responsibilities this year with vbs included leading the preschool worship rally. we had SO MUCH fun every night and by friday night, my little preschoolers were ready to perform the theme song to big apple adventure! they did such a great job. it's such a catchy tune. btw, hubs and i will deny it, of course, but you might just catch a glimpse of us driving around town doing the motions and singing along to the bi-bi-bi, bi-bi-bi, big apple adventure!

july

vacation!!: after such a crazy busy schedule in june, hubs and i were definitely so relieved when our annual summer vacation with my family rolled around. my family has a tradition where we all go on vacation together every summer and i love it. it's not always just my parents and my sister's family...in years past we've vacationed with aunts, uncles, and cousins, too. honestly, i just assumed all families vacationed together like this until several years ago when i realized that we're more of an exception to the rule but i love it. we are a super close family and we enjoy being together. i've been waay blessed that my hubs loves and adores my family and has just as much fun on these vacations as i've ever had. my mom and dad were blessed with two amazing sons-in-law! (and i'd argue that my hubs and bro-in-law were blessed with some pretty amazing parents-in-law!) anyway, off that rabbit trail and back to vacation! i can truly say that this beach trip was one of the best that i can remember. we rented an ah-mazing house on emerald isle and we truly spent the week resting, relaxing, and having fun being together. emerald isle isn't as commercialized (it isn't really at all) as some beaches so there's really not a lot to do but that did not bother us! we all practically lived in our bathing suits by the pool or in the house in our pj's. i think we went out in the evening twice. we actually all decided to go ahead and reserve the same house for next year because we loved it so much! needless to say, we were sad when vacation ended and it was time to head back home.

new job: yes, that's for me...not hubs! a job opportunity presented itself to me during vbs and i was super excited to accept it! i'm the new preschool resources coordinator for our church. it's a part time position and i absolutely love it! the week i returned from vacation, i spent time learning the ropes and the next week, it was all mine! i plan for and prep all the supplies for the preschool ministry on sunday mornings (and will also do this for special events...teacher training, vbs, camp), coordinate Cut Ups (a group of volunteers who meet together every week to help prep the supplies for Sunday school...cutting, counting, sorting, etc) with the elementary resource coordinator, and write the lesson plans for the preschool Sunday school classes. oh. my. word. i love it!! (oh and in case you were wondering....this means no more substitute teaching for me!)

girl time: my dear friend, stephanie, visited for a week and we had such an amazing time together! we met while we were in seminary and i actually lived with stephanie and her parents on the weekends and during the summer while we both worked at prestonwood. we had such a blast hanging out, shopping, eating, and talking! i'm lucky that all of my close friends love my hubs so we all enjoy hanging out together. i was sad to see steph leave (she started a campaign trying to convince hubs to transfer to his company's dallas office but i don't think she was completely successful) but hubs and i are already planning a trip to the big d in december.

beth moore: steph and i were fortunate enough to get to spend the weekend with beth (well, and 9400 of our closest friends ;-) while she was here. i don't say this lightly but the weekend was truly amazing. i don't mean that it was all rainbows and butterflies but it was good...in the God was all up in my business sort of way. you know where you're uncomfortable but it's a good type of uncomfortable because you know the Lord is speaking and working in your life. we also had such a fun friday night. we rented a hotel room in downtown charlotte and my sister joined us. we laughed and had room service and went to bed waaay too late for the early hour that we had to get up. it was worth it, though. i was also so excited for my sister (she served as one of the city coordinators who worked an entire year here in charlotte to help make the conference happen) because she got to meet beth and have her picture taken with her and the rest of the committee. she worked hard helping to make the conference a success and looked super cute (and good hair to boot!) in her picture with beth.

well, that about wraps up the highlights from the last two months. for the most part, we've had a good summer. even though it's been a good summer is anyone else wishing fall would arrive....pronto???

an alley fam update...numbers edition

2011-05-17T18:44:00.003-04:00

here's an update on the alleys in numbers...

41...days since i last blogged.

32...years i've lived without ever having seen any of the star wars movies, until now.

24...pansies that did not survive in my flower pots this spring. i have no idea what happened and why they didn't survive but since they're typically pretty tough flowers i'm thinking it's not looking good for the geraniums i'm planting this week. i definitely did NOT inherit my mom's green thumb!

18...preschoolers sang their hearts out at our hymns 4 Him night of worship which was presented by our preschool and children's choirs. they were fabulous!

17...family members who participated in family pictures. both sides of our families (the graysons and the alleys) had family photo sessions within two weeks of each other. fun times :).

14...days until hubs' birthday. less than that, actually if you consider that we don't just celebrate a day but we have birthday weekends or birthday weeks in my family!

11...people (including 2 puppies) hubs and i hosted for a mother's day dinner for my mom and sis. they (mom and sis) are the best...ever. we had a blast and some super yummy food (if i do say so myself ;).

6...months until my birthday. i got to "celebrate" my first ever half birthday this month...it was hubs' idea and totally a lot of fun.

3...critters (2 japanese beetles and 1 caterpillar) ingested by our puppy (that caused some major tummy troubles...if you catch my drift) which led to a vet visit (x-rays, blood work, iv fluids, and two medicines) and a diagnosis of gastritis and dehydration. we had an interesting week last week but thank goodness she is all better now! we are quite vigilent in making sure she doesn't eat anymore BUGS! she definitely has a sensitive tummy like her mama.

2...more episodes of biggest loser for this season. hubs and i have really enjoyed watching this particular cast mostly because they're not into the "game play" thing. i'm glad that they all genuinely seem to want to be there to, you know, lose weight.

1...more month after this month with my bff until she moves to peru. sniff.

one of those days...

2011-04-05T19:56:00.005-04:00

i hoped i would have some more cute and funny anecdotes about life in kindergarten to share from yesterday. umm...sorry but nothing funny OR cute happened. all i'm going to say about the experience is that i think all of us {the kindergarteners AND the teacher} had a rough day and really needed a nap by the end of carline. i did have coffee with a sweet friend yesterday evening which was such a blessing after the ~~beating~~ great experience i had in kindergarten. ;)

after coffee i stopped by walgreens to pick up some photos i had printed and all i'll say is that experience was yet another opportunity for growth {particularly in the patience department}. seriously, as i was standing in the line {waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting} i had a moment where i asked the Lord, "okay, what am i supposed to learn from my day today because i would really like to learn this lesson asap." {because the Lord usually responds to requests we make asap.} as i cranked my car chris tomlin's song, Lord i need you, was playing. {total aside: if you don't have the newest passion 2011 cd, purchase it right now. it's pretty much incredible.} all of a sudden, i got it. quietly i heard the Lord speak to my heart and remind me that whether i'm having an absolutely fabulous day or an absolutely awful day, i need Him...every hour...every moment. i am not made to stand on my own but to fully rely and depend on the Lord. i can't do life on my own and when i try, i fall {way} short. i am thankful for His grace and mercy that gently guides me back to where i should be...totally and completely relying on Him. {and did you notice that the Lord pretty much answered my prayer asap?? praise Him for that!}

Lord, i need you, oh i need you every hour i need you. my one defense, my righteousness oh God how i need you.

random thoughts from the weekend

2011-04-03T19:28:00.004-04:00

we've had a great, relaxing weekend and it has been glorious. no real plans, no to-do lists {except for mowing the yard and planting pansies}, just an easy going, fun weekend. by the way, i can. not. believe. that it's april! yikes...where is the year going? {and where is spring time?? it's supposed to be 88 degrees here tomorrow. double yikes.} it sounds like such a cliche but time certainly is flying by! now, on to random thoughts from the weekend...

we {hubs and i} are adults but we both love a good disney movie. i guess you could say we're still kids at heart. we both wanted to see tangled but didn't make it to see it in the theater. it released this week and we waited all week until we had free time to watch it on thursday night. oh my. we loved, loved, loved it!

anna, my niece and our family's own little soccer girl had a game friday night and they won! after a few seasons playing with teams who have struggled some, it's fun for her to get to play for {and for us to watch} a winning team. i really get into the games, though, and my brother-in-law is ~~very~~ a little concerned about my ability to be a good sport ;). what can i say...i'm passionate about competition.

bff marissa came over yesterday and she spoke my starbucks love language by bringing a non-fat latte and {surprise!} their new cake pops which are oh so yummy and just enough sweetness. we did talk about her upcoming move to lima, peru and ~~i did indeed cry my eyes out~~ only a few tears were shed ;). i am super excited for her {for real} and am blessed to have a front row seat to see how the Lord is working in her life.

the pollen? it is absolutely killing us. hubs and i are downing claritin like it's our job. this is the one and only thing i dislike about spring time. and i'm not exaggerating when i say i seriously dislike the pollen.

our pastor started a new series this morning, close doesn't count. this morning's sermon was really good...it made me really evaluate my heart {am i just driven or am i devoted to Christ; am i just present as a believer or am i passionate about my relationship with Christ; does my guilt lead me to repentance or destruction} i'm looking forward to the next two weeks leading up to easter.

i'm subbing in a kindergarten class tomorrow {again...i subbed in this same class on thursday} and i'm really looking forward to it. they were quite an entertaining little class on thursday and there was never a dull moment, that's for sure. i think my favorite moment happened when one little precocious kindergarten boy {who was very upset when he found out they had homework over the weekend...they weren't in school friday} informed me, "mrs. alley, you know, you can control how much homework you put in our take home folders." to which i replied, "your homework is already in your folder. go sit down." ha! i was laughing on the inside.

now, i'm off to enjoy the last few hours of the weekend with hubs and try to decide what to wear to work tomorrow. {did i mention it's going to be 88 degrees??} sheesh.

it's a process

2011-03-30T09:35:00.004-04:00

i have to admit that sometimes i can be a totally selfish person. it's easy {especially in our culture today} to get wrapped up in the things i want or the things i need without ever really considering what God wants for me or what God knows i need. please understand me--sometimes it's not about material things {although, sometimes it is} i think, though, the underlying issue is who is receiving the glory?

here's the deal...do i want and truly desire to live my life for the Lord and for His glory and not my own? absolutely. do i feel like i'm doing my best in this area of my life? i don't know. i do know that the Lord calls us to be radical in following Him...to take up our cross and follow Him. my heart's desire is that the words i speak and the small decisions {that only He knows about} i make would reflect His glory just as much as "the big things in life." my sunday school teacher mentioned something sunday morning that i know {in my head} but has stuck with me all week long. in reference to living our lives for God's glory he mentioned that when people look at us, they should see a reflection of Jesus. now, he's not saying we are supposed to be or even have the ability to be perfect but it's a process. daily i want the decisions i make; the words that i speak; the text that i post on blogger, facebook, or twitter to reflect Jesus. daily...take up my cross, die to myself and follow Him.

i'm thankful that it's a daily process that is full of God's grace, mercy, and love. my hope and my desire is that when my head hits the pillow every night that more pieces of amy will have been chipped away than the day before so that a clearer reflection of my Jesus can be seen.

"not to us, LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness." ~ psalm 115:1

long time no blog

2011-03-28T06:05:00.002-04:00

so it's been another month or so since i blogged again and i'm beginning to hate having to start posts with this sentence (not to mention, i'm sure it's poor form ;). i haven't given up on blogging it's just that all the ideas for posts in my head have never made it through my fingertips to the blog. today, i'm turning over a new leaf. here's the thing...i really enjoy writing (blogging) but often times i edit myself and talk myself out of posting. i don't mean that i have to edit myself because i'm going to blog about something offensive but i second guess myself as to whether or not i should write about that or if anyone even wants to read about this. no more. no more editing. i mean, the blog is entitled all about the alleys so clearly i should feel the freedom (with discretion, of course ;) to write about whatever i'd like since i am, you know, one of the alleys. so to catch you up on life with the alleys here's a snapshot into what's going on with us (in list form, of course).

i feel like i've been sick 4,837 times this winter. seriously. most recently i endured (and i'm not trying to be dramatic--it was horrible) strep throat. i'm pretty sure the antibiotic kicked the strep germs out of the party but some part of whatever i had last week is still holding on and i don't know what is up with my immune system but i'm putting it on notice that it better GET IN GEAR. i don't usually type in ALL CAPS but desperate times call for desperate measures. i'm heading to walmart as soon as possible to buy every vitamin they possibly sell.

things at work are going well for hubs. he's so smart...he seriously amazes me and he's so good at his job. the man also has the patience of job to deal with some of the issues and customers that he does. i try to remind him everyday that he's a rockstar because he totally is ;).

my best friend in the world is moving to lima, peru. i know. i can't even believe i had it in me to type that sentence. i tend to deal with things like scarlett o'hara...i'll think about that tomorrow so seeing it in black and white on the computer screen is tough. don't get me wrong, i'm super excited for her. God has given her the opportunity to fulfill one of her lifelong dreams of becoming a missionary. the situation could not be more perfect for her and the way everything unfolded was clearly from the Lord. you can follow her during this exciting new chapter in her life by reading her blog.

in other non-important news, i am loving the new (well, fairly new) gel nailpolish by opi. i love that it's just nail polish on my real nails that doesn't chip. i'm totally hooked.

i've been teaching preschool choir at our church on wednesday nights and those short 30 minutes of my week, every week, never disappoint me. they are a hilarious group of kiddos who can be quite rambunctious when they want to be...well, they pretty much are quite the handful every week but i love it. we're working on learning 3 songs and a memory verse for the children's choir night of worship in may. our memory verse is in the book of deuteronomy. yes, was i even thinking when i picked a verse in deuteronomy? we have the verse completely memorized but are now spending time learning how to say, "deuteronomy." either way, they'll be cute as they can be on the stage...deuteronomy or not.

like the new look to the blog? if you're reading through email or a reader, you'll have to hop over to the actual blog to see it. i loooove it. i wanted a fresh, new look for the new leaf i'm turning over. danielle moss did a great job. this was one of her "pre-made" templates and i couldn't love it anymore if she had designed it specifically for us!

i'll be back tomorrow or the day after (new leaf, remember?) with more exciting news or insights from the alleys.

i'm loving...

2011-02-07T10:16:00.005-05:00

thanks to hallmark ;-) february is the month of L-O-V-E and in the spirit of how much i love valentine's day, i thought i'd share with you the things i'm loving this week!

1) i'm loving... gina's skinny recipes here! so happy to have found such a great resource for healthy and incredibly yummy recipes! my scale and hubs' tummy are loving it!

2) i'm loving... watching oprah's behind the scenes show that details everything that goes into putting together and pulling off oprah's show. i don't always watch every oprah show but seeing the behind the scenes of her show is really fascinating to me.

3) i'm loving... there is a chance of snow here wednesday night/thursday morning. yes, i am a grown up and i still love snow and snow days. i know a lot of people don't love the fact that life pretty much stops around here when it snows but i love it...i love the opportunity for some down time with hubs at home.

4) i'm loving... that valentine's day is a week away. yes, i'm one of those cheesy people who love valentine's day. i don't love it because of the gifts, or flowers, or chocolates, or stuff but i just love the purpose and intention of taking a day to let those in your life you love know they're special (of course, you should do it every day). there's nothing wrong with picking a day (say, february 14 ;-) and go all out showing your love!

5) i'm loving...that my little schnoodle (paisley) has turned into quite a little snuggle bug in the last month or so. she's definitely the best dog ever (though i know i'm biased ).

6)i'm loving... my iPad. yes, i did get an iPad right after Christmas and it is both fabu and fah-mazing (shout out to greggy on tlc's next great baker).

7)i'm loving... fun, impromptu lunches and with my mom and my sister. we love being together and we have a lot of fun, too.

8)i'm loving... the times i've spent with my nephews and my niece in the afternoons the last couple weeks! i've gone with my sister to pick everyone up (through 3 carlines) but the conversations and the laughs we've had have been priceless. it's so fun listening about their days, talking with them and hearing their opinions on life. they're the best kids ever (again, i'm probably biased ;-).

9)i'm loving... watching 24 in the evening with hubs. my dad who is a huge 24 fan owns all the seasons on dvd and hubs and i decided to start with season 1 and go all the way through to the last season. we're currently watching season 2 and it's provided some great tv but more importantly some great togetherness and snuggle time on the couch in the evenings!

10) i'm loving...my hubs. he is such a great man and i love him to pieces. i can truly say that through my relationship with him i've seen and experienced God's unfailing, undending love, His amazing grace, and His endless mercy. i'm so thankful for joel. he can make me laugh like no other person and make me feel completely loved. so glad to celebrate how much i love him everyday but especially during this month of L-O-V-E!

all about....marissa

2011-01-22T21:47:00.005-05:00

okay so here's the deal. i just realized i guess i'm in the middle of some type of blogging hiatus. clearly, it wasn't planned but it happened nonetheless. i'm breaking the hiatus, though, to participate in one of kelly's show us your life posts. this time the post isn't about me but it's about my best friend, marissa. kelly did her first show us your single ladies/guys post some time ago and it was a huge success...lots of people participated...there were 3 matches and 2 of those 3 couples are now engaged! so, kelly decided to open her blog up for part 2 of show us your single ladies/guys on friday and here we are. obviously, i am quite taken (and blissfully so, i might add) but i did receive permission from marissa to write a post about her and link it up to kelly's blog.

marissa is in her early 30's and lives just outside of charlotte, nc, and she is a music teacher at an elementary school. marissa has a passion and a love for the Lord and makes it a priority in her life to serve Him in her local church (she is on staff with their worship ministry) and has a deep love for missions.

(marissa and her daddy---on a mission trip in quito, ecuador)

she is seriously one of the funniest people i know and can make you laugh in a heartbeat. she is also incredibly genuine, kind, giving, and just all around a blast to be around. marissa loves her family (she has an amazing family, btw---that's important to know, too :-) and is a loyal and trustworthy friend. she is an adventurous girl who loves being outdoors and loves the water.

(on top of a mountain in quito, ecuador...16,000 feet above sea level)

i've known marissa since the first day of college, freshman year (1997, people...that's 14 years) and i love her to pieces. i can't fully convey how much she means to me or how much our friendship means to me. we've walked through a lot in our 14 years of friendship and i can say without a doubt that she is the real deal. any guy would be incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to date her...she is beautiful (inside and out), hilarious, and has a passion to know the Lord and love others. all of that to say, she is quite a catch! leave a comment if you know a guy that might be a good fit for her!

merry and bright

2010-12-17T18:55:00.007-05:00

faith always hosts a christmas card carousel every year and this is my first year to participate. i'm a little late to the party...mostly because i just mailed our cards this week (shameful, i know ;). i love, love, love making the trip to the mailbox this time of year because i love getting everyone's christmas cards!

we had such a great experience shooting our picture for our cards this year (and we wanted some up-to-date photos of hubs and me). a great local photographer, eric barker, met us in downtown charlotte and snapped thousands of shots. i only had to choose one out of 267 for our cards! he did such a great job and we had such a fabulous experience with him.

i hope you have a fabulous last week preparing for christmas (only 8 more days to go!!) and as you are busy preparing your home for guests, presents to be given, and yummy food for parties don't forget to prepare your heart to focus on the Christ child. our Messiah has come...Wonderful Counselor...Mighty God...Eternal Father...Prince of Peace.

for a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us,
and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. ~isaiah 9:6

God With Us

2010-12-12T17:49:00.002-05:00

confession: i love Christmas. seriously, i LOVE Christmas. trees decorated and brightly lit with lights, Christmas movies, carols, hot cocoa, Christmas cookies, parties with family and friends, and {yes} even those tacky Christmas sweaters {in small doses, of course}. i think it is easy to get wrapped up in the hallmark version of Christmas and miss the entire purpose of this glorious time of year.

Emmanuel has come. Jesus has come. God's only Son, come to earth to not only save us but to give us the opportunity to know God and walk with Him every day. Emmanuel has come.

there is nothing wrong with LOVING the Christmas season and everything that goes along with it...the trees, the carols, the movies, and yes, even the tacky Christmas sweaters, but i want my central focus and purpose for this season to revolve around Emmanuel...God with us. i want to rejoice and celebrate because the glorious impossible has happened--Jesus has come and more importantly, beyond Christmas, there is an empty tomb. so celebrate with friends and family. decorate your Christmas tree, use exterior illumination to light up your neighborhood, soak up the laughter of family and friends all the while remembering that the reason we have to celebrate is that babe wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. Emmanuel has come.

"today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord. this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." ~ luke 2:11 & 12

"she will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." ~ matthew 1:21

"...I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."~ john 10:10

christmas tour of homes 2010

2010-12-11T14:51:00.012-05:00

the nester and kelly are both hosting a christmas tour of homes this year and {for once} i'm actually early! i decided to go ahead and post my pictures and then monday i'll link up to everyone.

so in the meantime, grab a cup of hot cocoa or warm cider and welcome to our home!

our front porch

LOVE my wreath! :-)

our foyer

really love this tree in our foyer

dining room...fruit tree centerpiece; the table runner matches the tree skirt for the tree in the foyer and our stockings. they were birthday presents from my mom and sister last year and i LOVE them!

"the stockings were hung by the chimney with care..."

my willow tree nativity is so precious to me. it was a wedding present from my mom and my sister and i simply adore it!

one of our newest Christmas decoration additions this year is this tree in our den. i wanted it to be fun and playful... hence the colored lights, top hat as the topper, the santa bag and the "oversized" presents underneath. i also incorporated a lot of joel's ornaments from his childhood.

our kitchen table centerpiece and our gingerbread house masterpieces (hubs, bff marissa, and i worked so hard on those houses ;)

our advent calendar--this is super special because it was a gift to us from my parents...it was a family tradition in my house growing up and mom wanted to give it to us for future alley grandchildren ;). the little trinkets and toys hidden inside each day also hold special meaning to us so it's all around one of my favorite parts of our Christmas decorations!

"santa, i can explain..."

yes, we believe in santa claus in our household ;)

more importantly, though, "happy birthday, Jesus!"

if you stand in the kitchen (right behind the ledge) Ho, Ho, Ho reads like Oh, Oh, Oh. so funny and sometimes so appropriate during the craziness of the season!

i'm so excited about my "happy everything" plate because you trade out the little tile at the top of the plate according to the holiday or season.

even our little paisley was in the Christmas spirit!

thank you for visiting our home. praying you have a happy and joyful Christmas surrounded by family and friends. happy birthday, Jesus!

grace

2010-12-10T20:28:00.003-05:00

hubs and i just spent a week at what is supposed to be the most magical place on earth. yes, that's right--disney world. for us, it was a pretty magical week...time just for us with no schedules, no computers, no facebook, and limited texts/cell usage. it was glorious.

i had a conversation, though, with a lady while we were waiting in line in one of the thousands of disney gift shops who had not had a magical experience. in fact, the reason we even started talking had to do with the fact that a man had just blown by her to get in front of her to check out. i couldn't believe that someone would really be that rude and the lady began to tell me that she and her family had such a horrible experience...primarily due to the rudeness and inconsiderate actions of others...that if they ever come back it will be a very, very long time. i felt so bad for her and her family partly because if you're going to disney world, you should have a magical experience (hello, can we say expensive?) and because something--this vacation that had the potential to create such great memories for her and her family had been so downright disappointing.

where i am going with this? so glad you asked! while i do wish this family would have had a better vacation experience, my conversation with this lady coupled with several frustrating experiences of my own last week led me back to one word--grace.

in the moments and instances where my flesh really wanted to repay someone's inconsiderate action with a similarly inconsiderate action, thankfully the Holy Spirit would take control and give me the grace i needed to extend to others. i would often walk through the park thinking to myself, "do they see something different in you, amy?" and i'll be honest sometimes i know my flesh won in that particular instance but i'm thankful the Lord used those moments to point out my sinful nature and in His loving and gracious way give me an opportunity to turn from that attitude and surround me with His forgiveness.

i didn't expect disney world to provide such a wealth of opportunities for the Lord to dig out my selfish, sinful struggles but i'm so thankful that wherever i am, whatever i am doing, the Holy Spirit is working in my life to make me more like Christ. so as you are out finishing (or perhaps starting ;) your Christmas shopping this season...even in the stress of busy parking lots, crowded malls, the struggle to find the "perfect" gift...take a second and ask the Lord to give you the grace you need to extend to others. it is CHRISTmas, after all. what a great opportunity to really share the love of God with a mall full of crazy, stressed out shoppers.

i'm taking the challenge...will you?

but He said to me, "my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” therefore i will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. that is why, for Christ’s sake,i delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. for when I am weak, then I am strong. ~2 corinthians 12:9-10

happy anniversary

2010-12-06T10:29:00.001-05:00

just wanted to pop in for a second to say happy anniversary to the love of my life. i never in my wildest dreams imagined life could be this sweet and this good. the Lord blessed me beyond measure and i can say those 30 years of waiting for you, my love were worth it.

thank you, joel alley, for loving me well, leading me confidently, and going above and beyond providing for our family. you really were the answer to so many prayers that were prayed over those 30 years and i couldn't be more blessed. love you forever and always!

always on the go...posted via droid incredible.

sharing secrets

2010-12-03T23:33:00.002-05:00

thought that i'd take a second on this chilly friday night to share some silly secrets with you. thanks to babbling abby for the fun idea!

-i've secretly always wanted to be a personal shopper for a living. i think it would be so fun to shop for someone and spend their money.

-i secretly feel so behind and out of the loop {not to mention that i've gone about this next process in the wrong order}. i had never seen any of the harry potter movies {or read the books for that matter} until last week. hubs and i had a harry potter marathon every night and topped it off with a trip to the theater to see movie #7. now, i'm reading the books.

-i secretly {or maybe not so secretly ;} detest folding laundry. really. really. don't like it. sorting, washing, drying? no problem there. folding? mucho problemo. i even invented a game for hubs that i like to call the "laundry game." want to know how to play? essentially, all of your clean clothes can be found in hampers and it's kind of like hide-n-seek to find the specific article of clothing you'd like to wear that day. see? i look out for hubs...i like to keep his life fun and interesting ;). don't worry about us, though, we aren't drowning in clean laundry. we do put it away but it's not our favorite so sometimes i will bring back the laundry game for a day or two. just for fun, you know.

-i secretly would like to have an iPad for christmas. seeing as how hubs is employed by a company that is not apple {and is much, much better...think Mac vs PC ;} i feel as though i'm not being true to my alliances. hmph. oh well...i still want an iPad.

-i secretly find so much joy in cleaning my house. i know, i'm weird. vacuuming, dusting, bleaching every countertop and bleachable surface= such satisfaction and joy. yes, i know...i am a weirdo.

-i secretly have a {small} addiction to warm snuggly blankets and pajamas. i love to cuddle up on the couch in some super cute {and super comfy} pjs under a warm, snuggly blanket.

-i secretly don't remember what life without a dvr was like...even though it was only 2 yrs ago. spoiled, much?

-i've secretly asked the Lord to do some big things in our life in the coming year. i can't wait to see what He does or what His plan for us will be.

that's it, people. i'm all out of secrets.

thankful

2010-11-22T11:01:00.002-05:00

thinking back over the last year, i have many things for which to be thankful! my sweet husband, adorable puppy, great family, incredible friends, and the list could go on and on. i am one blessed girl...there is no doubt about that.

i have to say, though, that even with all of these incredible blessings, i am completely overwhelmed with thanksgiving for the goodness and mercy of the Lord. as i think through the events of our life in 2010, the one major theme i have seen woven through every event is the absolute and overwhelming goodness and mercy of the Lord. if i had to sum up this past year {even though we still have over a month left in 2010}, i would say without a doubt that the Lord is good and His plan for me is good...even when i don't understand. there have been many instances in the past year where i simply admitted to the Lord, "i don't understand this but i know you are good so i will trust You."

have some of the instances been easy? no. do i always automatically respond to Him this way? i wish. am i thankful for His unending grace, constant mercy and unfailing love? absolutely.

this past year i have had the opportunity to experience the kindness and mercy of the Lord in ways i never have before. His tenderness and compassion is overwhelming and i am so thankful to have the opportunity to rest in Him instead of my circumstances, my own plans, and my tendancy to stress and worry.

He is good, His plans for me are good, His mercies are new every morning, He loves me with an unfailing love, and i can trust Him.

a-z's of me

2010-11-03T19:28:00.004-04:00

well hello, november. the last few weeks of october were quite eventful in our little family and to be honest blogging quickly fell from the top of the to-do list but now it's november and i'm back to blogging. november is quite possibly my favorite month of the year {with december as a close second} and i'm not ashamed to admit because it's my birthday month {and really the beginning of the birthday/holiday extravaganza for my family. no lie...14 out of the 17 birthdays in our family happen between the months of october-february. yes, 14 and this only includes parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. we are some seriously partied out people by the time march rolls around!}

anyway, back to the point of the post: the a-z's of me. i had an endoscopy this morning {read that: i'm still under the influence of whatever glorious medicine they administered to knock me out} and am totally going to phone it in with one of those fun little blog meme posts {it is fun...and a little different}. so...here we go!

A
what’s your age? 31 9/10ths {my bday is next friday and that fraction is totally made up, btw. but just in case you were wondering, my birthday is next friday ;). now, your life is complete. ha!}

what annoys you? fake people. be real people, just be real...no one has it all together and all you have to do is be real. easier said than done, i know but it does annoy me. also, when people smack and chew their food. table manners people, basic table manners :-) oh and bad grammar. take the time to make sure your using correct words in you're sentences like your, you're, too, to, two. drives me bananas :-) {and yes, those typos were on purpose}

Do you have any allergies? unfortunately, that allergy test they do on your back {where they poke you with 1,000,000 different potential allergins} made my back light up like a Christmas tree. i think the doctor basically looked at my mom and said, "wow. she's pretty much allergic to something year round. that stinks for her." ha! fortunately, as i've gotten older, my allergies have gotten better but i still have some. cigarette smoke, dog hair, dust, and all manner of outdoor plants {think pollen, grasses, etc} are pretty much guaranteed to make me sick. i think my allergy to dust is why i'm such a freak about making sure i keep my house clean.

B
when is your birthday? november 12 {which is 9 days away, btw}

who is your best friend? i have several besties and they know who they are :-)

C
what’s your favorite candy? kit kats, krackle, nestle crunch, and reese's pb cups {my fav are the miniatures}

when was the last time you cried? yesterday. i'm a crybaby...i'm not afraid to own it.
have you been out of the country? canada and the bahamas

D
do you daydream? nope...i used to when i was in school but not anymore. i do tend to have a very active imagination, though, just ask my hubs :-).
what’s your favorite kind of dog? a little schnoodle named paisley and a little miniature schnauzer named barkley :-)

E
how do you like your eggs? scrambled but i also love them poached {especially if they are part of eggs benedict}

what’s the easiest thing to do? love my hubs. he is by far the best ever....ever!

F
what’s one thing you love about your family? umm...a lot! sorry but i can't just list ONE thing! about the graysons: i love that we are all so super close and truly know each other so well. i love that if i need them, they are here in an instant. i love that not only do we love each other but we like each other, too, which means we love being together! i love, love, love impromtu lunches with my mom and sister, family time after ballgames, hanging out at my sister's house with my nephews and niece after school, watching sports with my daddy...i could go on and on! i love the way they have automatically and seamlessly included hubs into our family...it seems like he's always been with us and that's awesome! about the alleys: i love their commitment and dedication to family and they way they are definitely there if you need them. i love the way they have taken me in and loved me. i love learning about their family traditions and hearing stories from hubs childhood. i love the opportunities we have for all of us to be together since we don't all live in the same town {but thank goodness we all live closer, now!}. i love that my father-in-law is an awesome cook and he is always willing to share recipes and wisdom when i need some cooking advice!

G
are you a giver or a taker? i'm a giver...my primary love language is gifts and i LOVE to give gifts to people. i usually try to personalize it or make it more of an "experience" than just a random gift. i love making people feel special. i also am a taker, though, but just as i love to give gifts, i'm not going to lie that i don't enjoy receiving them. just being real here ;)

do you like gummie candies? no. i really don't like any candy that isn't chocolate.

H
how are you? i'm good. i have a killer sore throat right now from the endoscopy but other than that, i'm peachy keen (perhaps because i'm still under the influence of that glorious knock-me-out medicine ;)
what’s your height? 5'6"
what’s your hair color? brown with auburn highlights (just an fyi: my hair right now is as close to my "natural" color as it's been in awhile. too bad i had to use artificial color and highlights to acheive that color. i'm not as young as i used to be, though, and gray hair doesn't discriminate so a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do...right?!)

I
favorite ice cream? ben and jerry's smores ice cream. it's heavenly.

have you ever ice-skated? yes. believe it or not but i've ice skated several times and without incident! although, i bet ben simpson still has my nail marks in his arm from the last time i attempted to take a whirl around the ice rink :)

J
do you wear nice jewerly? yes. especially on my ring finger of my left hand ;-). with the exception of a few key pieces of jewelry, most of the jewelry i wear every day is not what i would classify as "nice" jewelry simply because it's more trendy and i don't spend a lot of money on trendy jewelry. i do, however, have quite a bit of really nice, classic jewelry i've received as gifts over the years from hubs and my parents.

do you tell jokes? no. i don't tell jokes because my timing is always off...and that's important in a good joke. i have been told that i'm funny, though but not because i tell good jokes :)

K
do you want to have kids? absolutely. is it weird that hubs and i already have a list of names we like? yeah, i'm one of those girls.

where did you attend kindergarten? sherwood elementary

L
are you laid back? i would like to be laid back but ummm....not so much.
when’s the last time you sent a hand-written letter? today to my niece, anna. she turns 10 on friday and so each day this week she receives a {small} present from me and hubs that has something to do with the number 10. entering double digits is big time, people, and so we're celebrating anna and her 10th birthday all week long. since i had my endoscopy today, i couldn't be there after school to give her today's gift so i wrote her a little note to put in her gift bag.

M
do you like mangos? no. i don't like tropical fruits. i'm more plain jane when it comes to the types of fruit i like.
do you still watch Disney movies? yes! i have two of them saved on my dvr right now

N
do you have a nickname? amybeth, amyjane, gracie, grace-a-licious, ames

what’s your favorite number? 12

O
are you an only child? no way, jose. i have an older sister whom i absolutely adore and is one of my best friends in the world. love, love, love her.

do you like the color orange? it depends (pumpkins= yes, fallish colors for leaves, sweaters, decorations= yes, sports teams with the color orange = no way, neon orange= absolutely not)

P
do you think you are pretty? does any girl really think they're pretty? maybe there are a few rare ones out there but for the most part of the girls i know, we all struggle with this. there are physical features i like about myself and some i want to change (like everyone) but more importantly, i want my heart to be what stands out about me.

do you play any instruments? nope...not unless a recorder or a kazoo count as an instrument ;)

Q
are you quick to judge people? i really try hard NOT to judge people but i do tend to make a snap judgement but then usually reconsider later (so says hubs ;)

R
do you think you are always right? when i think i'm right, i'll defend my point to the death but if i don't know something, i'm the first to admit that i have no clue.
do you watch reality TV? yes and that's all i'm going to say about that.

S
are you a social person? do you need air to breathe? absolutely ;)
what states have you lived in? north carolina and texas
what’s your favorite season? fall...hands down. sports seasons i absolutely adore football (ncaa & nfl), basketball (college), and baseball (mlb).

T
what time did you wake up? 7:00 am
when did you last sleep in a tent? let me think....ummm....NEVER.

do you like tomatoes? yes

U
do you listen to Usher? i have but not on a regular basis.

do you have an umbrella in your car? yep

V
what’s your next vacation planned? disney december 2010 and then a carribean cruise in june/july 2011

what’s the worst veggie? cauliflower. blech.

W
have you ever wakeboarded? not a chance...if you wonder why i answered that way, you apparently don't know my medical/accident prone history.
do you wish on stars? never...i know the One who made them!

X
have you ever had an x-ray? i often wonder how it is that i don't glow in the dark. again, if you don't understand my answer, you are unfamiliar with my accident prone history. ask me to tell you about the time i fell out of a car (parked, thankfully). classic, hilarious, and humiliating all in one story. priceless.

have you watched the X-games? nope. i don't really like them at all.

Y
do you like the color yellow? in small doses.

what year were you born? 1978

Z
do you believe in the Zodiac? nope.

have you been to the zoo? yes. it's not my favorite place in the world. i don't do well with smelly things and you usually visit the zoo when it's warm outside. being hot + smelly animals= not my idea of a good time. i know that makes me sound so not fun but i'm just being real.
has your bank account been to zero? i don't know that it's actually been $0 but there were times in seminary when i paid for meals solely out of change. good times.

freedom

2010-10-14T19:03:00.005-04:00

"it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." ~galatians 5:1

freedom. i think everyone would admit that freedom is a good thing; i think everyone would acknowledge that it's a desirable thing. i would dare say most of us who call ourselves believers would claim to have experienced freedom in our lives and we probably have experienced the initial freedom that comes with accepting Christ as our Savior and repenting from our sins. honestly, though, a few months ago i didn't really consider that believers...that Christians...could be in bondage {isn't that for non-Christians?} or i would concede believers who have struggled through some very difficult and tragic circumstances could potentially be in bondage but not me. i've never truly had anything i would classify as a major life crisis that has the potential to wrap me up in bondage and chains. isn't that usually the result of abuse or alcoholism or drug addiction or major struggles like that? all i can say to that last sentence and thought process is that it's nothing but a lie.

let's talk about bondage {or captivity} for a minute to make sure we have an accurate understanding and frame of reference for the topic at hand. in breaking free beth moore describes this type of bondage {or captivity} in this way, "a Christian is held captive by anything that hinders the abundant and effective Spirit-filled life God planned for her." anything...anything...any...thing that keeps you from living the life God has planned for you = bondage {or captivity}. before i started the breaking free Bible study this summer and even in the first week or two, it never occurred to me that i could possibly have areas in my life that were hindering me from living out the abundant, Spirit-filled life God intended me to live; yet i would wonder why in the world i struggled so much in certain areas and truly living a victorious life never really seemed to be within my reach.

fast forward through a summer where it seemed as though i continually wrestled with the Lord over several areas and desires all the while working through breaking free. as time passed and i dove deeper into the study, the Lord began to open my eyes to things in my life that were holding me in captivity and hindering me from experiencing the life He intends for me to live. can i be real with you for a moment? i mean, can i really be real with you for a moment? i began to see and become aware of all of these areas that i would dare say most women struggle with {or have struggled with} that are just flat. out. lies. insecurity, seeking approval from {fill in the blank}, seeking satisfaction from {fill in the blank}, our broken hearts can never be mended, our unfulfilled dreams and longings are a result of something we've done wrong, i have to {fill in the blank} for God to really love me, God's plan really isn't the best for me...the list could go on and on. i don't really think, though, that we would necessarily outright say that we believe any of those lies but i think when it comes down to it, our actions say otherwise. the goal of the enemy, the accuser is to deceive us to the point that we no longer realize we're being deceived. if the lies seem normal and just part of our daily existence the less likely we are to recognize them as lies and replace them with the truth of God's Word making our captivity normal and comfortable.

back to being real {for another moment}...for example, i never would have verbalized my struggle with needing the approval of others to feel worthy, loved, accepted, good enough, etc. mostly because i didn't recognize it in myself. through the the refining process, the Lord began to show me that i was seeking approval from the wrong places and began pouring out His unfailing love in my life. not only did believing the lie that my approval/satisfaction/worth had to come from other people hold me in captivity but it also affected my relationships with those people. no one or no thing can satisfy the places within us that are meant to be filled by the Lord...talk about setting someone up for failure! once i was able to recognize this lie that had held me in such bondage, i was able to replace it with the Truth of God's Word, and i experienced a freedom and a love like never before.

here's the deal...i believe with all of my heart that it's God's desire and plan for us to live in freedom, to walk with Him victoriously, and to do big things for His kingdom. until we're willing to find the lies we've believed for so long and replace them with His Truth, we're simply going to be rendered ineffective {at best}. so how do we experience freedom? ask God to start showing you the areas of your life where you have bought into lies and then seek His Truth to fill that void. then, believe Him...He is trustworthy and His plan for you is good...even if you don't understand.

my primary motivation for pursuing the obedient life is an absolute belief that the One who has a right to rule is also the One whose rule is right. i try to obey God because with all of my heart i believe that He is always good, always right, and loves me in ways i cannot comprehend. ~beth moore

show us your home: master bedroom

2010-09-24T12:21:00.004-04:00

i had so much fun last week visiting new blogs and seeing everyone's living rooms. i really love decorating and i love getting new ideas to file away for future decorating opportunities :-). today kelly's korner show us your home is highlighting master bedrooms. yay!

our master bedroom is one of my favorite rooms in our house just because i think it's so warm and inviting. i've always heard that your master bedroom should be a place where you can relax (obviously) and just be a little retreat in your home. since our home is on the market, we've "de-cluttered" our bedside tables, dressers, and chest but if we weren't on the market, these are the books you'd see stacked on our bedside tables. my side: lies women believe and the truth that sets them free, adopted for life, sun stand still, radical, respectable sins, and something borrowed. hubs' side: you'd see his kindle which is loaded full of some fun and some serious books (as well as a couple of my own ;-). i'm also going to include the picture of the jewelry box hubs made for me our first married christmas. yes, when you see it you will be astounded because it is absolutely beautiful and amazing. the more amazing thing about the gift? when he gave it to me he said that he wanted to give me this jewelry box that will hold my "treasures" so that i will always remember that i am his treasure. see? absolutely precious.

we did leave a few things on our bedside tables, though. hubs has a pic of us on our honeymoon enjoying the luau on the island of kauai on his table. the frame is a hand-carved frame we bought in kauai. it's gorgeous. i have a willow tree figurine of a husband and wife hugging (my mother-in-law gave it to me for our first married christmas) and i absolutely love it. i also have a book my parents gave me right before hubs and i were married that has the lyrics to the song my daddy and i danced to at my wedding. it's beautiful and if i ever open it to read it, i always cry. i means so much to me!

i know kelly is going to do a specific post for bathrooms but i really love our master bath and how it seems to flow so well with our bedroom. so, i'm breaking the rules and including it today. i'm such a rebel! ;-)

i don't remember what is next on the home tour for next week but i'm sure it will be great and a lot of fun!

enough

2010-09-24T10:29:00.003-04:00

enough. this word has been bouncing around in my head over the last week as i've pondered what it means to have enough and specifically, for God and my relationship with Him to be enough. as i meditated and processed and thought through the concept of God being enough in my life, i decided to go to the dictionary to ensure that i was working with a correct perspective on the word, "enough." merriam-webster defines enough as, "occurring in such quantity, quality, or scope as to fully meet demands, needs, or expectations." wow. i'll be honest that in light of all the Lord seems to be teaching me that definition spoke volumes to my heart.

first, i'll give you a little history behind what the Lord seems to be doing in my heart as of late. a good friend and i are walking through beth moore's breaking free bible study and it has been an incredible and life changing study over the last few months. i've been challenged to really examine my life and allow the Lord to reveal areas of bondage or captivity and then do the work necessary to allow Him to bring freedom in those areas. in one of the most recent dvd sessions beth talked about the concept of "enough" and what our lives look like when Jesus isn't "our enough." she used examples of all the things that can fill our lives and take the place that is specifically reserved for Him. here's the thing...i don't think most people, myself included, intentionally fill our lives with other things (and they're usually not what we would label bad things) which end up excluding the Savior but it does happen. why? why does it happen? do we not trust Him to be enough? what does it look like when we allow Jesus to be "our enough?" these are the questions that have been rolling around in my head and my heart for the last week.

i'm pretty sure that if you ask me if i trust that Jesus is enough for me i would answering with a resounding, "absolutely!" and i do trust Him. He has proven Himself faithful, loving, and trustworthy so many times in my life over and over again. i also believe, though, that this is a process and sometimes i don't always get it the first time (or the second, or the third, or the fourth). think about the israelites for a minute...God's chosen people. they had seen such incredible wonders and experienced God's provision and His work in their lives time after time after time and then here they are in jeremiah 2:12-14. "be appalled at this, o heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD. "my people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. is israel a servant, a slave by birth? why then has he become plunder?” yikes. not only did they abandon (or forsake) God...the spring of living water, they decided to create their own source (that was broken) to try to fulfill their thirst or the need they had for God. the result of their sin and attempt to live from these broken cisterns? slavery, bondage, captivity.

i'm done with broken cisterns... first of all, it's sinful, second, they don't hold water and third, they can't fulfill the thirst and desire i have for Jesus to be enough in my life. i've asked the Lord this week to uncover any cisterns i've dug on my own so they can be destroyed. i don't want to walk around in the bondage of trying to fill places the Lord alone can fill. if the Lord has taught me anything over the last few months, i have learned that He is enough. period.

i'm so thankful that the Lord desires to be our "enough" and i'm excited about the future. He alone is capable of meeting my needs and my expectations...no one else. i can't wait to see what the Lord will do in our lives because above all else, He is what we want and desire. He is everything. He is enough so whatever He asks us to do, wherever He asks us to go...we're in.

kelly's korner: show us your life friday

2010-09-17T10:09:00.003-04:00

okay so i admit that i'm a dork and really have fun participating in what i'd call the little "blog carnivals" that other bloggers (who usually have lots of readers) host. kelly from kelly's korner is doing "show us your life fridays" and each friday has a different theme. for the next few weeks "show us your life" is all about home tours and today's room is the living room. we don't have a formal living room (most newer homes now don't have formal living rooms anymore. i'm sure eventually the trend will shift back the other way) so i'm going to give you a tour of our great room/den/family room. :-)

this is the view of our den as you walk through the front door from the foyer (down a little "hallway"). i love the "wall of windows" and how much natural light it gives to the space. ask anyone who knows me and they'll tell you that i LOVE light...i don't like it when rooms are dark and the more natural light the better!

the focal point of the room...(in addition to the windows) is the fireplace (not the tv ;-). i love the picture we have on the mantle the black and white pictures of different scenes of pathways/gates with isaiah 32:17, 18 below it which says, "and the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever. then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places." my prayer is that the Lord would work in my life and j's life refining us and developing righteousness so that our home will be a place of "peaceful habitation, a secure dwelling, and an undisturbed resting place."

view of the back door, breakfast area, and part of the kitchen...one thing i absolutely love about our house is that it is a transitional floor plan and everything is so open!!

view from the backdoor

well, that's our great room :-). our house is currently on the market so if you know anyone who would LOVE a house in our area, pass the word along!

happy friday!

lessons i learned in middle school

2010-09-14T18:56:00.003-04:00

today as i made the morning drive to the middle school (the 30+ minute commute--depending on traffic) i listened to elevation worship's new cd, kingdom come, (which is incredible, by the way) and the lyrics to a few of the songs really resonated within my heart...

...Give me faith to trust what You say
That You’re good, and Your love is great
I’m broken inside, I give You my life

I may be weak, but Your spirit is strong in me
My flesh may fail, but my God You never will...

(Give Me Faith by Elevation Worship)

middle school isn't exactly what i would call my comfort zone...in fact, it's pretty far from anything i consider comfortable. give me a class of preschoolers or younger elementary age students? perfect! i would, in fact, absolutely love it. but middle school...really...for the second week in a row? i spewed all of these thoughts (and more) to the Lord this morning on my drive. thankfully, He didn't tell me to suck it up and deal but He was gracious enough to speak to me through the lyrics of the song above (those are just a portion of the lyrics). you see, as i laid bare all of my worries, fears, and uncomfortableness before Him this morning, i felt a prodding to ask Him to give me faith...to trust Him and allow Him to work. and then...(oh yes, there's more!)

This city, Lord, it is Yours
This city, Lord, it is Yours

So break our hearts
Break our hearts for the people who are far from You
Break our hearts

Teach us to love the way You love us
Send us out, send out us out
Pour out Your fire and flow through our lives
Send us out, send us out

This city, Lord, it is Yours
This city, Lord, it is Yours

(This City Is Yours, Elevation Worship)

i truly felt the Lord prompting me to make the most of my time with these middle schoolers and to see it as my ministry for today. the song, this city is Yours, (a portion of the lyrics above) started playing and it clicked. i asked the Lord to break my heart for the students i would encounter today. the ones who would be super needy/screaming for attention, the ones who are disrespectful and really don't care what i say (there are a few of those), the ones who so clearly just want to please someone and would do anything for some affirmation, and the ones who seem as though they have it all together.

my prayer, now as i'm sitting at home pretty worn out from my day, is that i made the most of every opportunity to love those 6th graders and that He will give me more opportunities tomorrow.

break my heart, Lord, for the students who are far from You. teach me to love the way You love, pour out your fire and flow through my life. break my heart, Lord...break my heart.

monday evening brain dump

2010-09-13T20:25:00.003-04:00

it's monday...in fact, it's been monday allll day long. it's not been a bad day but the fact that it is monday gives me an excuse to not write a beautifully cohesive blog post. hence, the title of the post: monday evening brain dump. so here we go...

the weekend was super busy but also a lot of fun. spent time with friends friday and saturday nights, saw family on sunday, and ended the weekend participating in dave ramsey's financial peace university. yesterday was week #2...i'll comment more on that in just a minute.
i subbed for 7th/8th grade social studies on friday and it definitely affirmed that i am not called to teach middle school for the rest of my life. it actually wasn't that bad i just couldn't take my eyes off the class while they were doing their work. i had forgotten how sneaky and deceptive (some) middle schoolers can be but i made it! my classes all day were also the quietest on the hallway. my preschool training did pay off ;-).
i'm subbing again tomorrow and wednesday but this time for 6th grade language arts. i'm a little more nervous because i just received the call about an hour ago and i have no idea what the lesson plans are, what the teacher's schedule is, or if she has any afterschool duty. so, tomorrow morning i'll be winging it with the 6th graders. apparently i'm always up for an adventure.
j and i are definitely learning a lot from financial peace university. dave ramsey doesn't play around, that's for sure! we're working on developing our gazelle intensity toward our budget, debt, etc. and our goal is to ultimately honor the Lord with everything--especially our finances. i'm excited about the challenge because i know in the end it will be well worth it.
speaking of dave ramsey, j and i had completed baby step #1 (establishing your emergency fund) and it came in handy today when my car needed a significant repair. dave's right when he says that we all know these types of expenses will happen (we just don't know when) so it's best to be prepared for them so that you don't have a car crisis AND a financial crisis. i'm a fan of the emergency fund, i can tell you that ;-)
please continue praying for my cousin's husband, kevin. he is currently going through chemo treatments and had another ct scan this evening. please pray that the chemo is doing it's job and killing this tumor and the leukemia. you can visit his caringbridge site here.
i've not been a fan of dancing with the stars up to this point but the cast this season seems like they may be a bit of a train wreck so i'm considering watching just to see what happens (although, hubs does not know about this plan...he may object ;-).
yesterday my birthday was officially 2 months away (so now it's 1 month and 30 days away...in case you were curious). i'm not excited or anything ;-). i already know what hubs' gift to me is going to be and i'm super excited--we're going to see the chapman family (steven curtis, mary beth, will, and caleb) in concert. i recently read mary beth's book and it is simply ah-mazing. if you haven't read it, you should...it's worth it.
i did laundry most of the day today. how in the world can two people have so much laundry?! yeah, i haven't been able to figure it out yet, either. if you do figure it out, i'd love to know the answer!

well, since tonight is a school night, i should probably go pack my lunch and get ready for bed. i'm hoping for a funny story to share from my 6th grade subbing adventure.

lazy days

2010-09-05T15:51:00.002-04:00

we've had so much going on around here at casa de alley that we felt as though some lazy days were in order. so, that's just what we've done the last several days and it's been absolutely wonderful. we have truly just "existed" at home and enjoyed the beautiful weather (and not having a schedule)! the plan for tomorrow is the same as saturday and sunday: be lazy, enjoy some down time and just rest!

we actually did have one thing planned yesterday....we saw mary poppins the musical and it was absolutely incredible. it's one of my absolute favorite movies from my childhood and the musical was so much fun! it was wonderful and practically perfect in every way ;-). the only thing truly on the schedule for tomorrow is our nfl fantasy football draft. my nephew (who is 15) called me and asked if i would set it up for him and for his friends and, "would you like to play with us, too, aunt amy? you're really good at stuff like that." how can you say no to a request like that? so, i'm the league manager for our little group's fantasy football league. i actually need to go study up and make a plan for the players i want to draft. decisions, decisions.

don't be too concerned with all this talk of laziness and lack of schedules and resting that we're going to become unproductive people. no, you shouldn't be concerned at all because tuesday morning is coming when hubs has to go back to work and i have to go observe a middle school social studies class where i'm going to substitute at the end of the week. yes, you read that sentence correctly...i am going to be a middle school substitute next week. (shiver) you can start praying for me right now if you'd like. i remember what kids did to subs back when i was in middle school but the important thing is not to let them see me afraid, right ;-). i'll give you a full report next week, don't worry...and i'm the experience will provide me with some interesting blogging material.

just thinking about it tires me out....back to my restful, carefree weekend!

unfailing, unending love

2010-08-25T13:12:00.002-04:00

often throughout the years i worked in full time ministry i would have people ask me, "why do bad things happen to good people?" sure, seminary definitely helps you to formulate the "right theological answer" but in real life sometimes people don't want to hear you rattle off a treatise on the problem of pain or how a good God can allow suffering in the world. they want to be able to look in your eyes and know that you get it...sometimes life isn't fair...sometimes people seem to have to endure much more than you could ever fathom they could endure. hurting, pain, suffering is unfortunately part of our life that we live in this broken, imperfect world. while they do still want answers to their questions, i think more importantly, they want to see that God's people hurt with them.

over the last few months i've been praying over and struggling through a very difficult situation that is happening in the lives of some of our family. cancer. what an ugly word from the start...a word that at it's very mention your life can seem as though it's shattering in a million pieces. hearing it spoken as a diagnosis in the life of a loved one makes you feel as though the rug keeps getting jerked out from under your feet. it can, in a moment, make you think that you have no hope. thankfully, i know that even in the midst of complete uncertainty, of dealing with things like life and death, and having to make important decisions about things that weren't even on your radar hours before a diagnosis that because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed {or destroyed or finished or at an end}. we are not consumed {or destroyed or finished or at an end} , because His compassions, His mercy, His goodness, His loyal love, His kindness, His favor not only never end but they never fail. Not only are they unending and unfailing but they are new...not just new every now and then or every quarter. His unending and unfailing mercies are new every morning.

what an incredible promise. God's love, compassions, mercy, goodness, and favor sustains us...it doesn't come to an end just because we have come to the end of ourselves and it doesn't fail us when everything else that we thought was certain in life fails us. we can't always know why bad things happen and sometimes i don't think we are meant to know. we can know for sure that even in the midst of all things uncertain, there is a God who is certain, who not only loves us but loves us with an unending, sustaining, unfailing love.

my hope, my peace, my security {thankfully} doesn't come from having all the right answers or even having answers period. my hope, my peace, my security is found only and completely in a God who has such a great love for me that it alone can sustain me. does knowing and experiencing this great truth of God's love eliminate the pain and the hurt? of course not. i think we can read lamentations 3:21-23 with the understanding that in the midst of suffering {that it's a given it will exist}, God's love will not fail you.

today i am asking the Lord to take my thoughts, worries, and fears captive and replace them with the knowledge that His great unending, unfailing love will sustain me and i'm asking Him to give me the opportunity as i share and carry the burdens of others to extend the same hope He has so graciously extended to me.

thoughts

2010-08-23T20:08:00.002-04:00

weight watchers is going well this week. i've had a few missteps but overall, it's been a successful week. i weigh in on thursday mornings so we'll see what the scale that matters says ;-).
i've had several people ask questions lately regarding our future, what's going on with the house, with careers, with church stuff and my answer....i have no idea. it's maybe not the most informative answer but it's the truth. for one of the first times in my life i truly have no idea about most things but i've also never had more peace and confidence in being okay with the unknown. don't get me wrong, it wasn't an easy journey to finally land in that place but it has been worth it. i'm content with knowing that the Lord is in control and thank goodness, i don't have to try to be in control! my daily prayer has been, "okay Lord, what do you have for us/for me today?" all glory and praise for this belongs to the Lord because i certainly cannot do this on my own...i'm just so thankful that He has been kind, compassionate, and patient with me in this process of changing and molding my heart.
wow, that last thought was kinda heavy...on to a lighter topic ;-). tonight for dinner i made green beans {along with a chicken and rice bake} and it cracked me up that hubs specifically requested that i cook the green beans to death. he wants to see them almost shriveled up in the pot. i like my green beans like that but i also like them pretty much cooked any way...from slightly steamed to "cooked to death." i didn't find this out about hubs until a few months after we were married...after i had served steamed green beans (which were still pretty crunchy) a few times and the poor man tried to choke them down. now if he knows green beans are on the menu, he confirms that i plan to cook them beyond recognition. communication, it's a good thing.
i'm currently on the hunt for a dress to wear to my cousin's wedding (which is a little less than a month away) i do enjoy shopping almost all of the time but i don't like shopping "under pressure." and yes, i do feel some pressure to find "the right dress." i have no idea why but i do. oh and i just reminded hubs he'll need to dust off his black suit....to which he replied, "oh. i should probably try that on at some point to make sure it still fits." super. my reply? "yeah, if you're concerned about that, let's do it sooner rather than later." i can only deal with so much pressure ;-).
speaking of the wedding, i'm the wedding director. yes, you read that right...the wedding director. have i ever done this before? ummm, no but i'm sure i can do it. i'm actually really looking forward to being involved in their special day and hey, if it goes well maybe i'll have a new career in the works.
we start dave ramsey's financial peace university on september 5 and while i don't know that i would describe it as a potentially "fun" experience hubs and i are looking forward to it. we both agree that we have the desire to honor the Lord in everything we do...especially with our finances and we're excited about what we're going to learn. dave is pretty hardcore so i'm sure i'll share some of my ah-ha moments or insights here on the good 'ole blog.

alright. that's enough boredom for one sitting (that is if you're still sitting and haven't fallen out of your desk chair because you've fallen asleep ;-). until the next time you need help going to sleep at night....

are you ready...

2010-08-12T17:49:00.002-04:00

for some football?!? i know i am! i think the sundays after the superbowl are particularly depressing up until march madness and baseball season begins...which means that i think sunday afternoons in august-february are ah-mazing.

we're t-minus 2 hours away from the panthers first pre-season game. now, we're going to be realistic in the alley household this panther season...we're going to cheer them on but remember that this season has the potential to be a bit of a "building season" (and we're not going to really talk about the injuries that have happened at training camp). either way, i love football and can't wait.

true confessions of my dvr

2010-08-11T12:12:00.004-04:00

so this post isn't going to be enlightening or deep or serious at all. think lighthearted...think fluff. yes, that's right fluff (pointless fluff, at that!). i am such a fan of the dvr and truth be told, i'd rather wait to watch something after it's started just so i can fast forward through all of those unnecessary commericals. (which is a lot better than just muting them...just ask hubs...or in his case, channel surfing through the commercials. funny that we both drive each other crazy with how we "cope" during commercials. ha!)

so back to the true confessions... :o)

right now while i'm enduring such "a grave injustice" (aka gross summertime cold) i've been catching up on all my favorite shows that have been sitting in the dvr just waiting to be watched and it's been glorious. so in light of all the dvr fun i've been having, i thought i'd share the goodness with you...how sweet of me, right?...to let you live vicariously through my dvr viewing pleasure. what can i say, i'm a giver ;o). **you should read the last sentence (which, by the way, holy run-on sentence, batman!!) in a very light hearted and slightly saracastic tone (but not a mean saracastic tone).**

for real, back to the true confessions...

rachel zoe project: i'm sorry but who doesn't love watching rachel and team zoe style people? i really love it and i think some of the things she says are absolutely hilarious. i've been using the phrase, "it's bananas" all day even though it's so last season. i told hubs i've picked up some "life lessons from team zoe" (ha!) one of which was if you have a problem/issue/something negative in your life the best way to "cleanse" it is to go shopping and just purchase a new look. of course! why didn't i ever think to do that? ;o) obviously, i'm kidding and not that shallow or materialistic but i will vouch for the fact that sometimes a little retail therapy can be fun...but...hello, shopping addiction if you use it to cope with all of life's problems (to be clear, something i'm totally not advocating ;o)

top chef: hubs and i both love top chef and always watch this together. i just love the competition, the crazy challenges, and hello....the drama :o). i'm having a harder time getting into this season for some reason but i've watched top chef from the very first season so i'll press on to the end of this one, i'm sure. as a total aside, i'm not sure about the whole "top chef just desserts" that's coming on soon....i have doubts that it will be able to make it. sometimes it's good to just leave the original alone and ditch the spin off shows....i'm thinking this will be one of those times.

friday night lights: who doesn't love coach taylor and tami? again, a show i've watched since the first season and even though the last few were a little bumpy i really like this season. i'm more than happy to let it take up storage space in the dvr.

bethenny getting married: i will admit that i was (am) a fan of the rhnyc (who am kidding...i'm a fan of most of the real housewives shows. it's like watching a train wreck...you just can't look away) and was happy that bethenny started her own show which is great and not drama-filled like rhnyc.

best thing i ever ate: i just think this show is fun and interesting. i try to keep a mental list if i ever visit one of the cities mentioned because how fun would it be to sample one of those dishes they highlight on the show.

barefoot contessa: i just love her and even though her recipes aren't usually very good for you, i really enjoy watching her cook. all of her cookbooks are on my amazon wishlist. i just wish the team that preps her kitchen and makes it look so pretty and organized would visit my kitchen. sigh. i can dare to dream.

anne of green gables: last but certainly not least...how could you not love anne (with an "e") shirley? pbs has been showing two episodes every saturday night and i've been recording them. i used to have the vhs (what is that?!) set of all of the episodes but i don't know anyone who even has a vcr (again, a what?!) anymore. i've added the anne of green gables dvd set to my birthday/christmas wish list but since those holidays are several months away, my trusty dvr is coming to my rescue. where else am i going to get inspiration to declare to hubs that "i'm suffering a grave injustice" or that i'm "absolutely in the depths of despair." ha! anytime i say something like that he looks at me and says, "been watching anne of green gables again, have we?" what can i say? he knows me well....he is, indeed, my bosom friend. (another anne reference, btw ;o). i also love that one minute i say something like that to him and another, we're talking like ganstas to each other. we have a hilarious yet identity-crisis filled relationship with one another sometimes :0).

and thanks to anne, just remember "it is a tremendous consolation that tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.....yet." so until tomorrow, i'm going to finish my dvr watching today.

well hello there

2010-08-09T18:38:00.002-04:00

i know it's been quite a long time since i posted but we've had quite a lot of things happening in the alley household. i thought i'd start with the 411 on the last couple months...just to catch everyone up.

the diet/weight loss plan has been going really well...down 30 lbs. yay!
apparently the gallbladder is not a very big organ but it can cause some big problems! i found out the hard way half of june and all of july. thankfully, surgery went well and recovery is going very well
disney is still a magical, fun place even if you're recovering from surgery...our family {our whole family...all 9 of us} had a great time together.
immediately our return from disney hubs and i boarded a plane and headed to boston. he had fun working while i had fun experiencing the great shopping, food, and sights in boston. i had a lot of fun exploring the city on my own during the day and then in the evenings i would take hubs back to experience the highlights. i unfortunately, though, did not taste any clam chowdah. i tried to broaden my foodie horizons and i did quite a bit but i didn't get to sample the chowdah. maybe next time.
as soon as we returned home i was then in a mad dash to get ready for a hat and scarf party i co-hosted for a friend who is in treatment {chemo} for breast cancer. we had the best time loving on her and showering her with such pretty accessories.
now? now i am enduring a grave injustice.........a summertime cold. seriously? how is it that i've been sick for a total of 7 weeks this summer with 1 week of reprieve and now i have a cold. i'll be honest that i'm not a fan but i'll stop whining now. i promise...i'm stopping. right. now.
this week i'm preparing for my cousin's bridal shower which i'm co-hosting with my fabulous sister. i'm super excited about all of our fun plans...the shower will be so pretty and i just can't wait. i'm also seriously thinking over all the times i've thought that i'd like to be a party planner. the last couple weeks have fed that fun little desire...i do love planning parties {and bonus if it could be a party i wasn't hosting}.
today i've spent my time cleaning {is it weird to admit that i really loved it...i didn't clean much with the gallbladder saga}, planning meals, answering emails and i was happy to be back in a normal routine. yay for normalcy!

yes, Lord!

2010-06-30T12:10:00.004-04:00

the path of the righteous is level; O upright One,

You make the way of the righteous smooth.

yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You;

Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.

My soul yearns for You in the night;

in the morning my spirit longs for You. ~isaiah 26:7-9a

hubs and i feel as though we're in a very important place in our lives and in our walk with Christ. i've had someone even point out that it sounds as though we're in a "crisis of belief." if you're familiar with blackaby's experiencing God this will make sense to you. if not, blackaby defines a crisis of belief as “a crisis of belief is not a calamity in your life but a turning point where you must make a decision. you must decide what you truly believe about God.” in addition to blackably's quote, i thought this summary from another blog was great, "we all face opportunities to increase in faith. the problem is that often those moments don’t feel like opportunities at all. they are times when we must grow, when we must believe, when we must step out and trust that God will go before us, that He will step with us and that He will carry us every moment of the journey. these moments can be scary at first simply because they are new. they often take us completely out of our comfort zone and even test our belief system." whew. that pretty much sums up where j and i both feel we are at this moment. God is doing some big stuff in our lives regarding our relationship with Him and i am most often astounded and just flat on my face overwhelmed that He has been so good to us to continually confirm the steps that we should take.

does this mean we have any specific answers right now? ummmm. no, we don't. i can say this, though, i have honestly never been in a more exciting or thrilling time in my life with my relationship with Him. the fact that we don't have clarity on most things in our life right now pales in comparision to hearing from Him and growing in my knowledge of Him. He has, though, confirmed to us that we are walking in the right direction even though we're taking some small baby steps because we are waiting on His instructions...not our own.

does this mean that i don't sometimes get distracted by fear and uncertainty? i wish i could say that i am in a constant state of trusting Him 100% of the time but i'm just not always in that place. i'm human + not a very patient person + wanting everything organized, planned, and details mapped out = not a great equation for always trusting. i have asked the Lord to refine me and thankfully, He is at work in my life regarding these (and a myriad of other) imperfections. i have to tell you that His goodness and graciousness overwhelms me because in my moments of fear, anxiety, and doubt, He has provided Truth from His word to sustain me. my Scripture memory verse for this week?

He is your constant source of stability; He abundantly provides safety and

great wisdom; He gives all this to those who fear Him. ~isaiah 33:6

see? simply amazing.

does this mean that our lives will go through some huge change? maybe...i don't really know. i think the real key to all of this is that we are willing to do whatever He asks of us and we are willing to go wherever He would ask us to go. perhaps He just wants us to be in a place of willingness or perhaps He has something else for us.

"in his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." ~proverbs 16:9

so what's the plan? we wait and we continue to ask that He refine our wants and desires to fully align with His. for someone like me who struggles with a lack of patience and always wants to know what's going on, the process of waiting can seem almost impossible. frustrating. irritating. confusing. a waste of time. it doesn't have to be that way, though. i'm sure that you can just twiddle your thumbs and wait or stare at the sky waiting on the Lord to give you numbered directions and a complete outline in neon letters but i wouldn't recommend it. i heard beth moore teach on psalm 37 last august and something she said that back then didn't fully resound in my heart until now (i found it in my notes the other day). she pointed out that while we are to wait patiently on the Lord it does not mean that we are to passively wait. saying or reading that phrase doesn't make waiting easier or better but it does encourage me to be active while i'm waiting...seek the Lord, pour out my heart to Him, sit quietly and listen to Him. more than anything, i want to be able to say to Him, "yes, Lord" to whatever He asks.

God is God. because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience.

I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to. ~ Elisabeth Elliot

worth the wait

2010-06-25T10:44:00.003-04:00

*originally posted in august of 2007. anna is now 9 (can you believe it?) but it's funny how even 3 years later, we can find ourselves in similar situations where the Lord is working to teach us to wait patiently on Him!*

for the last month and a half or so, my niece, anna, has been waiting on a surprise promised to her by my dad (her "poppy" as she calls him :). 6 weeks is a very long time to wait on a promised surprise for a six year old (good grief, who am i kidding? it's a long time for anybody!) but especially a six year old little girl whose brothers have already received their surprise. now, my dad wasn't trying to prolong the wait or anything, i know for a fact he was in search of the perfect surprise for anna. daddy wanted to give the kids (andrew, daniel, and anna) something from him that they could keep...something that would always mean something to them. the boys gift was a given...what else do you give 12 and 10 year old boys that they will treasure forever? knives. yes, that is right, my dad bought them knives (which are kept out of their reach, by the way). well, last week sometime, daddy decided that he would give anna a locket (all girls love jewelry, you know;); so, he made the trek this morning to the jewelry store. i wasn't there when he gave anna the much anticipated surprise but was later told that after she opened it, daddy asked her, "anna, wasn't this worth the wait?" and she told him that it was. after my dad left my sister's house anna approached my sister and said, "mommy, what does 'worth the wait' mean?"

i think there are lots of things in life that we wait for and some of those things we anticipate the moment happening so often that we miss out on all the stuff that happens while we're waiting. God has been working in my life in a specific area...patience...and i hate to admit that in the last few days, i've failed miserably. so, today, after i heard anna's story i started thinking about whether or not i'm making times of waiting worthwhile. am i enjoying and savoring the small moments that happen or am i impatiently sitting on the sidelines missing life and lessons as they're passing me by. don't get me wrong, waiting times are important times but i want to focus not on the end result but on the lessons to be learned...while i'm waiting.

"waiting times are growing times and learning times. as you quiet your heart, you enter His peace...as you sense your weakness, you receive His strength...as you lay down your will, you hear His calling."

daddy's girl

2010-06-20T21:27:00.004-04:00

if you know me, you know that i am a daddy's girl (but i am also super close to my mom, too). anyway, in honor of father's day, i'm dedicating this post to my daddy.

i know that God blessed me with an amazing daddy who has taught me what it means to be loved unconditionally by my heavenly Father...a man who has never claimed to be perfect but he is a man who follows the Lord consistently and faithfully. my daddy set the bar high for the standards i looked for in a potential mate and the Lord was so gracious to provide me with a husband that not only met but far exceeds those standards! i am blessed that my daddy loves my husband as his own son and it has been such a neat experience watching their relationship grow and develop over the last few years.

i still love to hang out with my daddy...we have some fun and we looove us some sports :). in fact, that is one of my favorite things to do with my dad---watch sports. we've started a tradition where every year or so for father's day we go to a braves' game and this year we're going to the last home game of the season and we are thinking it will be a great game! one of my favorite memories of my dad involves me (8 yrs. old), my dad, and a basketball goal. i decided that i wanted to learn how to play basketball and so i remember talking my dad into putting a basketball goal in our backyard. we drove to service merchandise (does anyone remember that store?) and picked out the perfect goal. i "helped" him put it up in our backyard (which took all day, i believe). i have more memories than i can count of playing h-o-r-s-e in the backyard (or p-i-g if my dad had his way...it was a shorter version ;). unfortunately, my practice in the backyard didn't help my basketball career but it did help me capture some treasured memories of spending time with my daddy.

i am so thankful to you, daddy, for being a Godly man who was involved in our lives; you not only told us how to live justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God but you lived it out. i love you!

Help Whip Cancer

2010-05-22T09:50:00.006-04:00

May is Breast Cancer Awareness month for The Pampered Chef and they are joining with the American Cancer Society to "Help Whip Cancer." As a consultant, I am doing a party in honor of my dear friend Nikk. For those of you who don't have the privilege to know Nikki, she is an awesome 31 year old wife to Daniel, mom to Sydney, Ella, and Eli, and an incredible friend to everyone she meets. She is also a labor and delivery nurse who loves and adores her job.

Nikki was diagnosed with breast cancer a month ago and is at the very beginning of this long journey to whip cancer in her own life. She is having a left mastectomy on Monday followed by intense chemotherapy in the coming weeks. Daniel lost his job a few months ago and started going back to school. Any financial support would be a huge help. Nikki's family will receive the net proceeds from the party (my commission) and for every Help Whip Cancer product you purchase, the Pampered Chef will donate a dollar to the American Cancer Society.

How can you participate? Visit my website and enter For Nikki as the host name and then shop away! All products will be directly shipped to your home.

Let's use this opportunity to love on the Nikki's family AND to Help Whip Cancer!

~Amy Alley
Your Pampered Chef® Consultant
www.pamperedchef.biz/amyalley

Incredible

2010-05-14T23:08:00.001-04:00

So I'm posting from my new Droid Incredible. How fun! This is merely a test run just to see how it would work.

So far, it's living up to its name! Hubs & I have both been sucked in by technology tonight (he has one, too). I'm just happy to find that not all technology hates me! :-)

Have a happy weekend!

the messier side of things

2010-04-30T10:10:00.002-04:00

i have a lot of things floating around in my head right now and i'm fighting the desire i have to set them aside and write the post that i had already been formulating in my head over the last few days. why would i do that? well, that post would probably be much more organized and a little less "messy." i'm not a big fan of messy...i'd rather you think that things are always together all the time but that's not real life now, is it? by messy i don't mean that things are horrible or falling apart but more that i have some more questions than i do answers right now and i don't have everything figured out. shocking, i know. but i promised myself a few months ago that i wouldn't censor {within reason} what i blogged about just because it might be messy or not be as "together" as i'd like.

so, i'm going to go against my desire for everything to be "always together" and just type. i will promise to do my best and edit my thoughts just so they make some sort of sense ;) i can't get too crazy now, can i? to give the post a little bit of order, i'll give each little section it's own header or title. {just can't leave messy alone now, can i?}

patience: lately it seems as though i have been running short on patience or maybe lately is the wrong word...perhaps i've always been a little {or a lot} short on patience and i am just realizing it more as of late. i'm not good with waiting and right now it seems as though the answer to a lot of things in life right now is.........wait. bleh.

genuine friendships: i've been disappointed lately {within the last year} by some friendships i've had in my life that i would have labeled as a genuine friendship {and by that, i mean a real friendship...one that is going to last} but due to circumstances changing {distance, frequency of being together, etc} they've just completely died. one thing i do know is that not everyone is meant to be a lifetime friend but it doesn't make those friendships ending any easier. i do know that friendships go both ways and i'm certainly not perfect {far from it} but it's just part of what i've been processing and thinking about lately in my own life.

real life: while i've been sad that some friendships haven't seemed to make it through life's changes and real life, i do have some very important friends in my life that even though the Lord has taken us down different paths and directions, His bond has remained between us and it is the sweetest thing. one of those friends, nikki, i've known since junior high school...can you believe that? i still remember enduring our 9th grade typing class together and thinking that life was just coming to an end when we were transitioning from junior high {gulp} to high school. life has certainly "happened" for both of us and for a while, we lost touch. several years ago we reconnected and while she has been busy with her family {a husband and 3 children} and i have been busy with seminary, work, and getting married we have managed to get together when we can and just share life with each other. two months ago another lifelong friend from junior high {courtney}, nikki, and i were able to get together and share with each other over coffee. the Lord began a bond between the three of us way back in 10th grade and a desire to do ministry and missions that has never faded. it's interesting to see that even through all the "stuff" of life, those deep down passions and desires the Lord places in your heart don't die...it may not end up the way you would picture it to be but He gives us those desires for a reason and it's amazing and beautiful to see how He works those things out in our lives. the three of us got together to talk through some of those old desires to do ministry together to see if the Lord was maybe bringing us together to bring that to pass....it's funny, though, we never had the opportunity to talk through that specifically that morning. we spent our time talking about life and how God has moved and shown up on our behalf. we shed some tears talking about His goodness and i believe He began knitting our hearts together again that morning. this past week, i heard from nikki that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. to say that my heart has been heavy is a tremendous understatement. i'll be honest to say that i don't understand what the Lord is doing and my heart has been broken over this but any and every time that my sadness or grief seems overwhelming, i have made it a point to stop whatever i'm doing and just lay it down before the Lord. so, if you're reading this, would you commit to pray for nikki? she has a very long and difficult road ahead of her...pray for her, her husband, and her 3 children. real life can be hard to swallow sometimes, don't you think? i am grateful, though, that the Lord is steady and sure...the stability of our times.

ministry: when i resigned back in september, i had no idea as to what the Lord was doing and why in the world He was leading me to step away from that particular job. i think, at first, i was just relieved to get to be a newlywed! there were lots of things at home that had been on my "to-do" list for months that just never made it to the top of the priority list and it was nice to have time to get those things done. pampered chef was a fun little stint in the middle of that time...it was great to meet new people AND i was able to get lots and lots of incredible products for incredible deals. after my daddy's surgery in november, our anniversary and christmas in december, i'll be honest to say that january was rough. all of a sudden, all of the busyness of life had stopped and i realized i was staying at home. full. time. and i missed my old job. thankfully, my hubs was {and still is} amazing...he would continually remind me of the word we heard from the Lord and reassure me that the path we were on was one that was from Him and not one we created on our own. it hasn't been easy because i don't feel like i'm finished with full time ministry...actually the exact opposite is true...i have a deep desire and longing to be right there in the middle of fulltime ministry but for now, the Lord has asked me to wait. ugh. there's that word again ;). i don't know what He is doing...hubs and i have some suspicions but we will have to wait and see. all i know is that His timing and plan is perfect. i don't see the big picture right now but that's okay...i know i'm walking where He has led me and the hardest part is not running ahead beyond where I know I'm supposed to be.

i think i could probably keep typing {i've held some of this in for quite awhile...remember how i said i didn't like "messy"?} but i'll stop myself now. my goal is to blog a little more consistently so that i don't write a book every time i post. oh, and if you read all of this, bless you....that's 10 minutes of your life you'll never get back.

the stability of your times...

2010-04-23T17:05:00.007-04:00

the LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled zion with justice and righteousness. and He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure. ~ isaiah 33:5-6

He will be the stability of your times...

when you have more questions in life than answers and you simply don't understand.

He will be the stability of your times...

when your heart is heavy and so completely overwhelmed with worry and sadness.

He will be the stability of your times...

when you can only see as far down life's path as the last direction that He gave you.

He will be the stability of your times...

always and forever.

well hello there!

2010-04-15T06:33:00.006-04:00

hello there, blog world! it's been awhile, i know but it's not because we've had a lack of things happening in our little corner of world but mostly due to my hand surgery {i'm so glad my hand doesn't seem to hate me when i type anymore!} and partly due to being so stinking busy!

if you know me at all, you know that i heart making a list so to celebrate that little part of my ocd personality, i'm going to format my welcome back blog in list form. you're welcome...i know you're excited.

so here's what has been happening in our life over the last few weeks...

hand surgery: well, it wasn't awful. it wasn't nearly as bad as the big toe surgery of '07 . there were some funny and entertaining {for those around me...not necessarily funny or entertaining to me} moments that were directly related to pain medicine. my hand isn't quite back to 100% but i'd say it's back to 85 %. the awesome thing is that all of my carpal tunnel symptoms are completely gone. it's so nice not to wake up in the middle of the night to numb hands {i do have carpal tunnel in my left hand but it's not nearly as bad as it was in my right hand so we're trying some other things to try to avoid surgery}.
easter: since i was in college, i have made an effort to attend the various holy week services that churches offer. i think it can be easy to overlook the week of holy week and just focus on sunday morning (which is important, don't get me wrong) but to me, sunday means so much more when i take time that week to remember what happened in the days leading up to the empty tomb. so, we had the opportunity to do just that...joel and i enjoyed attending my aunt's church for their maundy thursday and good friday services. sunday morning i'm happy to report i had more than enough volunteers to staff the 2's and 3's sunday school rooms {praise the Lord!!} and then we had such a fun time with my family that afternoon. we did take pictures but since hubs and i forgot our camera {oops} they're on my dad's camera and i keep forgetting to have him send them to me. if they're good pics, i'll post them soon ;).
real estate: so, our house is on the market and things are going well. we've had lots of activity and a couple return showings. our realtor is really the best ever :) and we love her to pieces. we have also been working through the process of picking out lots and floorplans because we're pretty sure that we will build our next house.
seattle: bleh. hubs has been out of town since monday and won't return until this weekend and i miss him terribly. he's attending an escalation engineer summit and i'm so proud of him. he doesn't toot his own horn {ever} but since he's away i'm going to take a second to brag on him. he truly does such an incredible job...so much so that the developers of the product he supports have openly admitted that he is the expert and the "go-to" man on that product. he works so incredibly hard and more than anything, i know that he does his work with excellence and integrity to honor the Lord. i'm thankful that the Lord has given him a heart and an opportunity to be salt and light in his workplace. i will admit, though, i'm ready for him to come home.
who, me?: what have i been doing with my time lately? besides getting the house ready to go on the market {and keeping it "show ready" 24/7} and recovering from surgery, i've been a busy girl. we are in the middle of recruiting vbs teachers and sunday school teachers for the new year at church and as always, it's a challenge but i really enjoy it. i have also had the opportunity to do some teacher training sessions for a local day care/mother's day out and i have an upcoming workshop to teach for a local baptist association's vbs training. i'm also having a special pampered chef "party" online right now. if you're interested in pampered chef products, leave me a comment or email me and i'll give you details on how to place an order on my website and receive free shipping. it's worth it, i promise! :)

as far as updates go, i think i've covered everything :) and quite possibly bored you to death. now that typing doesn't kill my hand, blogging will rotate back on my "to-do" list.

rejoicing!

2010-04-03T21:33:00.000-04:00

"the angel said to the women, "do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. come and see the place where He lay. then go quickly and tell His disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into galilee." ~matthew 28:5-7

He is risen. He is risen, indeed! i believe that remembering the steps Christ walked through holy week to the cross make sunday that much sweeter. how blessed are we that we serve a risen Lord and Savior! i am excited about church today, about celebrating with long time believers and hopefully having lots of opportunities to introduce the story of the cross and the resurrection to those who have never heard it before. can you imagine something more exciting?

i remember when i was a little girl, we used to sing a song that basically talked about every day for a believer is resurrection day and that the excitement we have on easter is ours for every day of our lives. i've given myself a challenge: to look at every day through the perspective of the power of the cross AND the empty tomb.

He is risen!! He is risen, indeed!

*post originally published april 11, 2009*

remembering...

2010-03-31T10:36:00.001-04:00

this week i have worked very hard to remember...

the expensive perfume used to annoint His feet...what a precious sacrifice and way to honor her King...

those who were scheming to arrest and hurt this One by whom they felt so threatened...

the palm branches that waved and the people who shouted praises for their King...

the water, the basin, and the towel...an example to follow

the betrayal that ended with a kiss...

the denial that ended with weeping...

the arrest, the beating. the crown of thorns, the purple robe, the cross, the blood, the sacrifice...

Lord Jesus, may we never walk through this week lightly but may we remember all that happened before the empty tomb on resurrection day. may we allow the enormity of Your sacrifice permeate every aspect of our lives this week...may we remember.

"for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing ,but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." ~1 corinthians 1:18

**originally posted april 8, 2009**

still here...

2010-03-30T10:34:00.002-04:00

just taking a quick moment to check in. i'm still here and around but one-handed typing isn't as much fun as it sounds ;).

i also am popping in to announce that hubs is going to post a blog or two this week :). make sure to check in so you don't miss it!

until then...

just a few charleston pictures...

2010-03-15T11:27:00.004-04:00

sunset at the battery...

cooper river bridge

shopping on king street

charleston food and wine festival...top chef competition challenge

(we had lots more pictures but i didn't want to do a massive picture post. for more charleston pictures, check out the charleston albums on my facebook page.)

checking in...

2010-03-15T10:24:00.005-04:00

hey there! just thought i'd take a second to check in. life has been busy lately. hubs and i were both out of town for a week (he was away on business and i flew down to dallas to spend time with some of my best friends on the planet ;) and the next week hubs and i took a mini-vacay to charleston (it was incredible). throw in a week of sickness (thank you, boston, for sending that horrible flu-like virus home with my hubs) and trying to get our house ready to go on the market (this week!!) and we have been some busy, busy people!

so, here's a quick little recap...

dallas: i had an incredible time with friends. andrea was an amazing hostess (with the mostess ;) and cari drove up from round rock to be with us for a few days. it was great being with those two again because we pretty much laugh 24/7. we, of course, had a blast shopping (sam moon, swoozies, charming charlie....which, is my new favorite store on the planet, by the way) and enjoying the incredible food you can only find in the dallas (or texas) area. i also got to catch up with other friends, marty and nanette, and have brunch with stephanie.

boston: hubs will have to give you an update about boston. i do know he worked...a lot...but that was the whole purpose of the trip ;). he did get to experience candlestick bowling (no idea...google it) and a bit of a cold boston winter.

while i had a blast in dallas and hubs had a successful business trip in boston, we were ready to be home and together by the time i flew in friday evening. and then.....sunday evening hubs started getting sick and by monday afternoon, i started getting sick. we have never been sick at exactly the same time before and it was an interesting week ;). you see, i like to be around people when i'm sick. i'm a big baby and i don't like to be left alone....misery loves company, you know. well, hubs is completely the opposite. he wants to suffer alone in silence. like i said, it was an interesting few days but we made it just in time to head to charleston!

charleston: we had an absolutely amazing time in charleston. we stayed in the downtown/historic district and it was absolutely beautiful. the weather was wonderful (maybe just a little chilly but i'd rather have that than die in heat and humidity!) and we loved walking around charleston and enjoying the sunshine. we had reservations at incredible restaurants (magnolias, peninsula grill, high cotton) and we also enjoyed some other fun charleston restaurants like hymans, kaminsky's, tbonz, and cupcake. shopping on king street was a lot of fun (hubs was a great sport ;) and we enjoyed 2 different carriage rides. we also happened to be there during the charleston food and wine festival...when we found out that kevin and eli from top chef: las vegas were going to compete against each other, we were sold. we bought tickets and had the best time! we sampled some incredible food and got to watch kevin and eli cook and richard blais was the mc. fun times! i was spoiled with getting to spend so much time with hubs (we were sick earlier in the week and then while we were in charleston) that it made me so sad when he had to go back to work on monday. (i'm going to post pics from charleston in my next blog post.....)

we've spent this last week working on getting our house ready to go on the market. we don't have a lot of major things that need to be done but just a lot of little things that can still take some time to get them accomplished. i've been organzing closets, the pantry, the laundry room (i just might take a picture of my laundry room to show you because, really, who ever goes in there but i worked so hard...you should get to see the fruit of my labor. i bought white baskets to organize all of my cleaning supplies and thing in the laundry room that have been living on top of the washer/dryer, and i bought a clear glass jar that holds my laundry detergent. if a laundry room can be pretty...i think ours is kinda pretty ;). hubs has been hard at work consolidating stuff upstairs that has been cluttering our office and bonus room, cleaning out the closets in the bonus room and office and moving all of that stuff to the attic. most of the stuff in the closets has been there since hubs moved into this house (before we even knew each other) so i let him decide what to keep/throw out/move to the attic. it will be nice, though, to have that closet space to use it to store the things that haven't yet found a home!

that's pretty much been our life in a nutshell the last few weeks. i'm having hand surgery (nothing big...it's outpatient) at the end of this week but i'm not going to be allowed to type or blog or (gasp!) facebook on the computer for a few weeks so blog posts may be few and far between (unless...i just had a brilliant idea to ask hubs to run the blog while i'm gone....maybe i can talk him into doing some blogging. i'm going to work on that). so, be patient and check in every now and then. i'll be back as soon as i can!

until then...enjoy the longer days with (hopefully) more sunshine and warmer temperatures!

in the in-between

2010-03-05T10:33:00.003-05:00

as i was thinking through this particular post i realized that most of my blog entires lately have been more on the serious side and while that's not a bad thing...sometimes you just want to read something funny and lighthearted. so, i promise to work on that for future entries.

but, for now, back to the more serious post...

(although, the potential for a funny blog entry just increased dramatically as i lay here and watch my husband try to re-attach the hotel curtains i pulled out of the ceiling. yes, it's a long story and i didn't intentionally mean to vandalize our hotel room...really. it just happened. i promise. btw--success! he was able to get them back into the wall. good times.)

lately i have just felt as though i'm floundering a bit in life and what i'm really supposed to be doing. i have to constantly remind myself that i'm exactly in the place the Lord has called me to be but it isn't easy. i've always had very clear direction for my life and have always even been able to map out the steps that i was supposed to take but not anymore. i almost feel like i'm in some sort of holding pattern (or perhaps just in a season of waiting...haven't i mentioned that before ;) and if i'm not careful and focused on the Lord and what i know to be true of Him and true of what He has been so gracious to reveal to us, it's easy to doubt myself in this period. i'll be honest, i would like a clear and direct plan to fall from heaven (complete with time frames, expectations, lots of details, and outlook calendar entires with appointment requests ;) but it seems as though that is not the Lord's plan.

my goal, though, is to not rely on my feelings (hello, can you spell d-i-s-a-s-t-e-r? ;) but to rely on the source of all Truth and to believe in His faithfulness to me and to my husband and to perhaps begin asking Him what He is teaching me during this time in the in-between.

while it's still called today...

2010-03-01T09:54:00.003-05:00

i've seen the quote, "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans," several times and honestly, i've shrugged it off. it almost seemed more like a cliche' but lately, i'm beginning to see how it can be true. i've had some days lately where i just feel like my life is a complete blur almost to the point that i feel like life is in fast forward. do you ever have days or weeks like that? you know, where you sit down at the end of the day and it feels as though you were just trying to keep your head above water...forget trying to do something important or meaningful with your time. well, i'll be honest and say i have felt that way lately more often than not and i'll be honest to tell you that i don't like it.

i had lots of great plans when i resigned from my full time job....spend lots of time organizing my home, spend more time with family and friends, cook amazing {and healthy} meals for my husband and i've been able to accomplish some of these things. it almost makes me chuckle to myself, though, that i still haven't learned in my 31 years of life that being disciplined with your time, resources, etc. doesn't come easy.

the Lord has also been so very gracious lately to remind me to live in the moment while keeping eternity in perspective. i remember when i was single {and had no dating prospects nearby} feeling like i was waiting on God to move and allow me to meet my future mate. i did my best during that time in my life to not put my life on hold just because i was single. i didn't want to feel like i was waiting on life to begin when i got married so i did what i could to invest in my friendships, poured myself into fulltime ministry, and most importantly, sought to spend as much time with the Lord as i could. now that i'm married, i see another potential "waiting game" and again, i'm challenging myself to make the most of my life. i want to do everything i can do grow in my relationship with the Lord, with my husband, to use this season of life as an opportunity to organize our home, and to get healthy.

lately my prayer has been that the Lord would reconcile my desires and wants for my life with His. i don't want to feel like i'm just sitting here waiting on "the next step" in life and not making a difference in the here and now. honestly, we're not promised another day or even another breath so let's make the most of today while it's still called today {thank you, steven curtis chapman}.

a little update...

2010-02-26T21:50:00.003-05:00

well, i made it back home from dallas {thank goodness}. i had a great time and LOVED spending time with some of the best friends in the world but there's no place like home {thank you, dorothy}. i'll update in a few days with some pictures and a recap of my trip {along with detailing a trip...or two...to my new favorite store in the dfw area}. we had a blast all week, shopping, laughing, eating, and just being all out crazy {it's who we are}. needless to say, even though i had a fabulous week, i seriously missed my hubs and my puppy.

just a head's up...i have a few giveaways coming on the blog so keep your eyes open and check in often!

i'm off to go snuggle a husband and a puppy. see you monday!

new look

2010-02-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

thanks to kelly at fabulous K designs! i love the new look! i'm trying out blogging on my phone while I sit in the airport waiting on my flight to dallas. so, please forgive any typos or formatting errors :).

i just wanted to pop in and comment on the new design because absolutely love it (have i mentioned that i love it? ;).

i'm off to board the plane. have a happy monday!

i'd like to buy a vowel, pat...

2010-02-09T09:55:00.005-05:00

well hello there, blogland. apparently, life just swallowed me up in the last week or so and i did not follow through on my "blog everyday commitment" but instead of just giving up...i'm hopping right back on that wagon.

first things first...i owe you a weight watcher's wednesday update. since tomorrow is wednesday, though, i'll give you part one today and conclude with part two tomorrow. seriously? can you even stand the excitement? ;) don't get too excited because "part 1" consists of one sentence. part 1: we didn't get to weigh in a week ago due to all the snow and ice that visited our area that weekend. see? i told you not to get too worked up. i can tell you this, though...being "snowed in" and not weighing in {read that: no accountability that comes in the form of the little weight watcher lady who either tells you that you've gained or you've lost that week} does not bode well for a successful weight watcher's week. i did weigh at home that week and my home scale encouraged me by saying i had lost a pound. riveting, i know and just wait...there's more tomorrow ;).

second of all, hubs truly spoke my love language on saturday night...office supplies. i needed a notebook, dividers, and supplies to put together a notebook for my job coordinating the 2's and 3's at church so he graciously agreed to make the journey with me. {and for those of you who know me and who visited my office at church...you will understand the magnitude of what i'm about to say...he also bought me some more sharpies ;} i can't really function if my work papers and things are disorganized so i'm really looking forward to putting my notebook together this morning. {and after that maw maw might go clean her dentures and work a crossword puzzle because apparently, i am just that exciting these days.}

finally, please note the adorable little dayspring add on the right side of the blog. feel free to click on it and go on over there to get some great savings on valentine's day gifts and lots of other great products. i have to say, i'm quite the fan of dayspring and am happy to advertise for them.

alright, it's 10:00 and you know that means it's time for maw maw's lunch and wheel of fortune ;). don't forget to check back in tomorrow for part 2 of weight watcher's wednesday. trust me...it's just as exciting as it sounds.

prayers and action for ronel

2010-01-31T09:11:00.004-05:00

i know we've all been burdened and overwhelmed by everything that has been happening in haiti after the earthquake. one story in particular has captured my heart and broken it all at the same time. go here to read ronel's story and then you must go here to find out what you can do about it. that's right, those of us sitting in our pj's in our warm living room surrounded by family on this snowy morning can do something about it. don't just sit back and be sad about it...do something. now.

come on people...let your voice be heard.

weight watcher's wednesday

2010-01-27T21:54:00.003-05:00

well hello there, blogland! apparently i took a one week blogging break {apparently, an unplanned break}. life has just been quite busy and honestly, didn't realize it has already been a week since i last blogged.

i have good news to share on the weight watchers front! i was a little nervous about our weigh in on saturday morning. i had worked so hard all week to make sure we were staying within our points but also eating all of our points {which is a bit of a challenge since hubs gets quite a few points}. i just wanted a little bit of movement on the scale to reassure me that i at least had an inkling of how in the world to plan our menus so that they were full of filling, yummy, and healthy weight watchers food. on to the good news...

hubs and i both lost 5.5 lbs!! i thinked i scared the little weight watcher lady because i was so excited about losing any weight much less losing 5.5 lbs! we were both very excited and felt ready to tackle this week. it's been a hard weight watcher's week simply because i've had 2 pampered chef parties and some other things going on in the evenings but we've both been tracking our points and i think we're doing okay.

fingers crossed that we'll have another success on the scale this saturday!

weight watcher wednesday

2010-01-20T09:13:00.006-05:00

pics from last week's pantry cleanse...

this was everything that was tossed in the trash...ugh.

this is the newly cleansed/organzied pantry :)

weight watchers here in the alley household is going really well. hubs says he's down 4 lbs and i'm down 2 lbs {since weigh in on saturday}. i've been working very hard to plan meals that would be very ww friendly that we love AND that we're not going to get tired of eating.

hubs has quite a large number of points he has to consume every day {ww uses the points system and you must eat your points every day in order to lose the weight}and so it's been challenging to plan meals within my points range AND meals so that he can use up all of his points :). it's been a little adventure, i'm telling ya.

this was monday night's dinner...grilled chicken, spinach salad {with oranges, strawberries, almonds, and craisins}, half a sweet potato and grapes

i think we've both {hubs and i} turned the corner and are really committed to following through with this. we're ready to get healthy and oh. my. word. it makes a world of difference that we're doing this together. so, the first full week of ww has been a success, i believe.

see you next wednesday with more ww news....hopefully much lighter ;).

be still

2010-01-15T21:57:00.004-05:00

true confession: i've really been struggling lately. there. i said it. on the blog and everything. have you ever been in a place in life where you weren't quite sure what was bothering you but you knew things weren't exactly right? yeah, i've been there the last couple weeks and it hasn't been a lot of fun. if i'm being completely honest, i'm not exactly the most introspective person in the world and sometimes, it just takes me a while to process everything to figure what in the world is going on.

i've been feeling quite discontent with some things in life...specifically, i've been feeling purposeless. {that's my "word of the month", apparently} i don't mean to sound whiny or ungrateful. please hear me when i say i know beyond a doubt that the Lord has blessed me with an absolutely amazing husband, an incredible home, awesome family and friends...i could go on and on. i think, though, that the realization that life, for me, is very different than it was 5 months ago has just now started to sink in. life was very busy for us in the months after i resigned from my job and since the pace has slowed down, it's more of a reality for me. i know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord called joel and i to make the tough decision to go ahead and resign but when you're 6 months removed from that "mountain top experience" with God, sometimes the doubts can creep in. i've asked the Lord lately, "did we hear you correctly?" or {my favorite}, "are You sure You know what You're doing here?" it's a good thing that the Lord isn't afraid of our questions and our fears. His response to me, though.... "be still." my response has been the same, "really? be still? ugh. that does not sound like my idea of a good time." His reply, again? "be still."

so, that's where i am right now. i'm supposed to be still. now, factor in the breaking free bible study and a recent conversation with a good friend over a cup of coffee {where she, not knowing my current struggles, spent 2 hours encouraging me to make the most of my time at home while i'm in this waiting season. those were her words. i sat at her kitchen table in tears overwhelmed by the goodness and graciousness of the Lord that He would continue to speak to my heart through this friend when i have been less than agreeable with Him lately.} and i know i'm right where the Lord wants me to be. i'm in a new place that, quite frankly, is a bit uncomfortable because i'm not in control right now {funny that i think i ever was} but i know the Lord is going to use this time to change me, stretch me, and mold me to be more like Him and less like me {praise Him for that, by the way}.

my goal and my desire is while i'm in this season of waiting that i will make the most of my time. my friend so kindly pointed out that i'm in a very unique season in life where i am not committed to a full time job and i don't have children {yet}. i have an opportunity to focus on my husband, our home, getting healthy and in shape, and on my relationship with the Lord. so while this time of waiting seems uncertain and sometimes difficult, i am choosing to be thankful. i don't know what the Lord is going to do in this season of my life but instead of being grumpy, whiny, or complainy {is that a word?!} i'm going to be thankful. thankful that i have such an opportunity to grow and learn and be stretched in my relationship with the Lord with very few distractions; thankful that i can focus on my husband and the best way to support him as he leads our family; thankful that i have this time {without children} to establish our home.

i have always joked that since i was 15 years old, i knew exactly what i was going to do with my life and the direction the Lord was leading. in some ways, that's very true...i always had such a clear direction and focus as to what my next step was supposed to be. for the first time in my life, more things are uncertain than are certain and i'm okay with that.

weight watcher wednesday update...on thursday

2010-01-14T21:02:00.003-05:00

i have to admit, i missed blogging yesterday. so, i owe you a "weight watchers wednesday" update even though today is thursday :). whatever works, right?

first things first, i lost 2 pounds this week. hubs and i did not make it to an actual weight watcher meeting last week but i weighed at home. we're headed to our first "official" meeting on saturday morning at 10:00. i also "cleansed" our pantry and ended up with 3 trash bags full of stuff. i also had a very successful trip to the grocery store where i replaced the not-so-good-for-us food with food that is good for us. tonight's dinner was made from ingredients purchased during the turning-over-a-new-and-healthy-leaf grocery trip and hubs actually really liked it. score!

grumpy

2010-01-12T16:25:00.003-05:00

yeah, that word kinda sums me up today. truth be told, i've been grumpy for the past few days; i don't really know what's causing it or why i'm grumpy...i just am. i even considered not blogging today because really, who wants to read what grumpy amy has to say? but then i remembered i promised to not worry or care about what you might think about me and just blog freely. so, here i am. "hi, my name is amy and i'm grumpy..."

so here are a few of my pet peeves as of late (humor me, i'm grumpy...remember?):

-facebook. {gasp!} i've been onboard the facebook bandwagon for a long time...like, back in the day when you had to be associated with a school to join and i've been a fb fan for a long time. i've really enjoyed reconnecting with friends from elementary school, junior high, high school, college, and seminary. lately, it has just bugged me that it seems as though people either use their status messages to declare how awesome their life is {been guilty of that at one point or another} or as a way to passive agressively judge other people. either way, facebook has not brought out the best in me lately so i've decided that sometimes with a status message, silence really can be golden. hopefully, i'll be feeling the facebook love again really soon.

-parents who refuse to volunteer: i've worked in children's ministry in some capacity or another for 12 1/2 years now and parents who refuse to volunteer still completely baffle me and frustrate me all at the same time. they freak out if their child's class has no teacher {or if the teacher is late, heaven forbid} but when you ask them to step up and serve they have a million reasons why they can't. now, i'm not a big fan of requiring all parents to serve {you don't want someone teaching your child who hates being in the room or doesn't really like children} but come on, people. step up and teach children about Jesus. my other related "soap box" is that parents have lower expectations for their child's sunday school teacher than they have for their own teacher but that's another rant for another day. it just baffles me that parents can hear that their child's class has no teacher 3 sundays out of the month and still seem indifferent to the problem.

-bad drivers: if you're a chronic breaker, forget to turn off your turn signal five miles after you turn, or you tend to drive slower than the posted speed limit, i'm sorry but you drive me crazy when we're on the road together.

in order to balance out the grumpiness, i have thought of a few things lately that really make me happy:

-my amazing husband: seriously...i'm not trying to be a sappy newlywed {because, newsflash...i just heard this week that if you've passed the one year anniversary, you're no longer newlyweds. that makes me so sad} but he really and truly is the sweetest man on the planet. i've been sick for several weeks and not only has he endured my whining, complaining, and all around wimpyness, he's been so sweet to me. there are about a million other examples i could give but just trust me...he's just awesome.

-my little paisley: i don't know what it is about her the last few weeks but she has been such a little cuddle bug lately and i love it! she loves to just snuggle up and chew on her {nylon} bone or lately she just lays down across my lap and settles in for some good snuggling. she also is such a fan of giving kisses {i never thought i'd be okay with that but i am}. example: the other day after she'd been outside to play for a bit {and it was pretty cold out}, i picked her up and she wrapped her front paws around my neck and nestled her head into my hair and laid her head on my shoulder. precious, just precious.

-a trip to dallas in february: i'm super excited about my trip to see some of my best friends in the world. i had some amazing experiences in dallas with some incredible friends and it always does my heart good to go back and visit.

thanks for enduring the grumpy amy today. hopefully, a happier amy will be back tomorrow :).

a little inspiration

2010-01-11T20:55:00.006-05:00

my current movie obsession {i tend to get stuck on one movie that i watch over and over and over for awhile and then move on to something else....i never truly burn out on them because eventually, old movie obsessions rotate through the list again. it's weird, i know. don't judge ;} is julie and julia. i really love it. if you haven't seen it, you should.

so, i've been inspired to master the art of french cooking {well, maybe not master it but perhaps learn to cook a recipe or two}. i'm going to order the cookbook from amazon and take the plunge. now, i'm not sure how these french recipes are going to mesh with the weight watcher's plan but everything in moderation, right? i'll post a little update on the blog with how the first few recipes turn out. i have promised hubs that i will skip the aspic portion of the cookbook :).

bon appetit!

friday night goodness

2010-01-08T21:01:00.001-05:00

sitting here staring at a big white box with a blinking cursor can be a bit intimidating, no? several topics have been bouncing around in my head all day but when i actually sat down to write the blog post...............nothing. i got nothing. so, i thought i'd give you a little random snapshot of today.

my visit to the nail salon today was less eventful than last time and even managed to make it out with just the basic manicure. i didn't give in to pressure to "upgrade" to a deluxe or chocolate or hot stone manicure and i resisted the offer to wax my eyebrows again. i assured her i was just fine with the plain old manicure today.
it was stinking cold today. seriously? this carolina girl has NO IDEA what to do with 32 degree temperatures during the day. i'm not even going to mention how frustrated it makes me to have to endure the cold temperatures with the absence of white stuff on the ground. if we're gonna be this cold i want something to show for it.
i love my sister...i got to spend the majority of the day with her and it just made me so happy. we enjoyed a yummy lunch of pimento cheese burgers and then spent some time shopping.
while we were out shopping, i scored a $50 sweater for hubs for only $15. yes, that's right...$15. i was super excited.
paisley and i had an eventful evening (before hubs came home from work) and let's just say that apparently she consumed something while playing outside that her little tummy did not appreciate and it had to come back up. enough said. ewwww. i am ashamed to admit that at one point, i called hubs and told him he would have to come home (it was already 5:30) to deal with this because i just couldn't. no worries...i did, eventually, man up and take care of it but it was brutal. ewwwwww.
i made a yummy lasagna recipe tonight that is literally called "world's best lasagna" and i can say, it does not disappoint. i'm not even a big lasagna fan and i love it. knowing that the kitchen cleanse is happening tomorrow, we're planning on sharing the lasagna love with my parents because who wants to throw away perfectly good lasagna? especially when it's called "world's best lasagna" :).
tomorrow is our first weight watcher's weigh in day. hmph. i'm not exactly thrilled about that appointment on my calendar (dreading the first weigh in) but it's worth it to get started! on a more positive side for tomorrow, we're potentially going to purchase a desk. i'm excited and i'm ready to start organizing!

so, with weight watchers, furniture shopping, church, and nfl playoff games....good bye until monday.

have a fabulous weekend!

breaking free

2010-01-07T21:38:00.003-05:00

have you ever had a moment when you know the Lord has ordained your steps to a particular place, to do a particular thing? i had a moment like that last night. it was 5:00, dinner was in the crock pot (mexican chicken...so yummy, so easy, and fairly healthy), i had been partially successful at taking down christmas decorations, and i had just sat down to check email as i waited on hubs to get home from work. all of a sudden, something i read online reminded me of a bible study starting at my church for the winter semester and i felt compelled to dig the email out of my deleted emails to find out when this bible study started...january 6 . wait, what was today's date? ....oh, it was the 6th and i noticed that you had to register for the class. having worked on church staff for sometime, i understand the reason for registration deadlines and i was hesitant to just show up. i sent a text to my friend who is leading the study...thinking it was a long shot that she would even see the text because i was sure she was hurridly trying to make it from work to church to prep for the study. i emailed our women's minister but knew the chances of her seeing the email before 6:45 were slim. so, i sent hubs a message and asked if he would mind if i attended the bible study at church that night and he encouraged me to go. we actually went back and forth for a while about me going because all of a sudden i had cold feet. what if the study was already full? what if i didn't know a soul in that room? i had almost talked myself out of going but something compelled me to take the chance...to get ready and just go.

can i be honest for just a moment? i knew, deep down inside, that the Lord had something big to do in my life through this study and last night before i took the plunge and walked into that bible study room that knowledge scared me. have you ever experienced that? it's such a weird thing to at one moment have such a deep longing and desire for the Lord to deal with you and take you deeper and then the other moment you know that times like that aren't necessarily easy or pain-free. sometimes the deeper the journey, the more painful it can be to get there.

but, i did it. i took the plunge and just decided to go for it. even though i hadn't registered, it wasn't a problem. i didn't know any one at all in the room but i've been talking about wanting to make new friends at church, right ;). most of all, as i sat in that room and listened to beth moore talk on the video, it felt as though we were the only two people in the room. i felt like she had been listening to the most recent conversations i've had with hubs because as i took notes last night, i saw myself all over the page. the bible study i'm doing is breaking free and the promise of truly understanding and living in the freedom Christ has for me in this journey called life overshadows all that will have to take place in my heart and in my life to make that a reality. Christ came that we may have life and have it to the full....and i'm excited to see where He's going to take me over the next 10 weeks.

pantry detox

2010-01-06T16:27:00.002-05:00

welcome to the first weight watcher's wednesday! hubs and i have penciled in our first meeting {yes, he is a saint....besides just being a saint because he's awesome....he has agreed to go to the meetings with me. total sweetheart.} for saturday morning and in order to set ourselves up for success, we're going to do as dr. oz suggests and "cleanse our kitchen."

cleansing the kitchen has nothing to do with actually cleaning it {although that is happening this week, too. recovering sick girl here can't stand one more day in my house without cleaning it} but throwing out all the food that isn't the best for us to consume. this is especially important since we are just coming out of the holiday season {because you know, holiday season = lots of yummy but mostly unhealthy food} and our pantry is currently housing foods that are definitely on the "don't even think about putting in your mouth" list.

hubs mentioned that he's less than excited about this little group activity i have planned for us this weekend but in the end, it will be a good thing...i just keep reminding him how good it will be for us in the end. i'll report next week how the "cleanse" went and i might even have pictures {i know...can you STAND the excitement? ;}

now, i'm off to clip coupons and formulate my plan of attack for harris teeter's super doubles this week. i know. could my life be any more exciting?

love the bag, love the shoes, love everything...

2010-01-05T16:34:00.009-05:00

so today i have to confess something to you. i love accessories...truly, i do. since i'm recovering from the apparent alley bubonic plague of 09/10, i've spent a lot of time playing online and have found some stellar accessories/shoes that i seriously heart.

now, i've always said if i weren't in the ministry i would seriously love to either be a personal shopper {hello, picking out clothes/accessories for people and spending their money and not my own} or an event planner. so, humor me today {remember, i said the new blog topics might vary...today is all about fun and surfacey...how DO you spell that word?...topics like bags, shoes, necklaces, and fashion} because i'm totally going to share {just a few} of my favorite things. by the way, i've informed hubs that if he needs ideas for future gifty holidays he should not feel bad AT ALL if he uses this list to shop from ;).

so, i give you my top 5 accessory picks from piperlime {well, really, i just stopped at 5...there's pretty much a zillion things on their website i love;}.

okay, let's seriously have a moment of silence for these boots. oh. my. word. LOVE them. i've wanted some cowboy boots for just about forever now and now that i've found these boots my shoe collection has declared it won't be complete without these boots.

love, love, love this bag. i just think it's beautiful.

don't you just love these heels? now, i admit that practically speaking, i'll never wear them but they're beautiful, nonetheless. {who are we kidding...i would completely either kill myself or in the very least, break my ankle.}

these are more like what you'll see me wearing and if you know me in real life, you know that i love a little animal print...just a touch.

i've totally jumped on the cocktail ring bandwagon and think this ring is fun and super cute.

{by the way...does anyone recognize the movie quote that i used as the title to the post? it's from one of my favorite chick flicks and definitely from one of my favorite parts of that particular movie. ;}

don't forget to check in tomorrow for weight watcher's wednesday...i'm going to talk about the kitchen cleanse hubs and i will be doing this weekend.

let's get real

2010-01-04T09:38:00.000-05:00

i've always been the type of person who, honestly, refused to set resolutions at the start of the new year. something about the whole resolution thing just bugs me...maybe it's the fact that on january 1 everyone has great intentions and plans to totally change their life and then by january 8 or 10 most things go back to same old, same old. that's a positive outlook, isn't it? :)

now, while part of me {most of me, actually} is skeptical about the whole new years resolution thing, there is a part of me this year that is intrigued by the idea and promise that a new year can bring. so, {gulp} i'm thinking of setting some goals {still not calling them resolutions} for the new year. one of these goals will directly affect the blog and the other will have some sort of an indirect affect. {you're sitting on the edge of your seats now, aren't you? ;}

goal #1: i've decided that i am going to start blogging every day but you may see a bit of a different shift or change in the subject matter and sometimes the tone of the blog...not in a negative or a bad way but i've decided to stop worrying so much about what people may think about what i write and instead, i'm just going to write. what i'm saying is that for awhile i've worried about what people might think or perceive about me when they read the blog {yes, that's right...all 4 of you that read ;} and i've just decided that i'm over that. don't misunderstand me, the things i've blogged have been the real me but i've avoided the blog if things were sometimes difficult or less than perfect in life OR if i was perhaps not in the happiest, most cheerful frame of mind. all i'm saying is that it's time to get real, people. i might blog about what God is currently teaching me or i might blog about last night's episode of whatever reality tv show i watched. so, obviously, this is the goal that will have a direct affect on the blog.

goal #2: it's time to lose some weight, people. {i'm telling you i need to lose weight...not that you need to lose weight...just to clarify.} in line with the whole "let's get real" thing i've decided to share a side of me that i typically don't share with most people and that's the whole struggle to lose weight and be healthy side of my life. it's a struggle i've had as long as i can remember {way back into childhood} and i'm just done with it. for real. so, i hereby declare every wednesday on the blog to be weight watcher wednesday {this idea isn't original with me...i borrowed it from the mojito maven}. i'm not ready to get totally crazy and post my weight or anything on the blog {gives me the heebie jeebies just to think about it} but i am going to use the blog as a way to report what's going on with this part of my life as a way of accountability. since i've said i'm going to blog about it, the "type a" personality in me will cause me to follow through.

so, here's to being real and hopefully, weighing less in 2010!

see you tomorrow!

all about the alleys: the year in review

2009-12-31T18:34:00.004-05:00

we've had a fun and exciting first year of marriage here in the alley household and i thought a neat way to document it would be on the blog. (i fully intended to include pictures but then decided i would just link back to the individual posts...humor me, i'm sick...yes, again...and it's easier.)

january...

we spent lots of time in january organzing the house, figuring out how to live together (we'd both been single for a while...it takes some getting used to living with someone...especially for a girl who'd never shared a room or a bathroom with a BOY ;), and for me figuring out how to cook yummy but fairly easy and healthy meals (here's an example for you).

february...

ahhh, the month of love :). besides valentine's day (which i have to say, hubs totally brought his "a game" on that day...it was one of the sweetest, most romantic, and thoughtful days of the whole year) the month also brought with it one of my favorite blankets ever (also proving that i really have no shame) and apparently, it also brought a whole lot of sickness. we also, though, traveled to dallas, texas, for my good friend stephanie's wedding and i had a lot of fun showing hubs where i had lived and all the places i loved in dallas (as well as getting to spend time with some of the best friends a girl could ever ask for).

march...

technically, we returned home from texas on march 1 so the trip overlapped two months. coming home from texas deserves it's own little mention here on the blog because we flew home from dallas into winter storm blast of '09 (or whatever the local weather people here named it. i named it the-winter-storm-that-caused-us-to-spend-two-additional-hours-in-the-air-and-then-drove-me-to-the-brink-of-a-full-on-meltdown-whilst-trying-to-get-out-of-the-airport-and-then-drive-the-typical-30-minute-home-from-the-airport-trip-in-two-hours...yeah, i'm sure all of you charlotteans remember it that way, too ;). the trying to get home wasn't so much fun (that's putting it mildly ;) but playing in the snow the next day was worth remembering! we also had some more experimenting...err...i mean cooking in the kitchen, redecorating the guest bedroom AND being a host home for our church's disciple now, making one of my very favorite purchases...ever...all while acting like a junior high school girl with a crush ;), celebrating the anniversary of when my prince asked me to be his bride, and this daughter realizing that her Father and King desires to dance with her in the ballroom of her life.

april...

the beginning of april brought with it a season of remembering all that led up to Holy Week and allows us to rejoice and celebrate on Easter. we also kicked off the month with a fun roadtrip to myrtle beach. we packed as much as we could into that little 24 hour trip and it was so much fun! april also held some exciting (decided to get a puppy!) and not so exciting (joel had a crazy busy and stressful end to his semester) times as well as more cooking adventures and a fun, surprise date night!

may...

a new haircut kicked off the month of may. i have to say, looking back on those pictures, i really like it. i am currently hairdresser-less and seriously am itching for a little change in the hair-do part of my life. but back to may... we (my mom, sister, niece, and i) had a super fun girl's day to celebrate mother's day at daniel stowe botanical garden. the month also included a little bit o'randomness, documenting my first pound cake, AND a new addition to our family. our little paisley alley...what an adventure she has been :).

june...

june turned out to be a sparse blogging month due to a little thing in my life called vbs. we did, however, have a guest blogger {hubs, himself} who hijacked my blog and wrote all manner of nice things about me (he also threatened me that if i deleted that post i would be in serious trouble...so i didn't. but i think his assessment of me is not objective at all AND he is quite biased...anyway). besides being super swamped with work, we managed to celebrate hubs' birthday in true, grayson style (which means that we celebrated for about a week :) with birthday celebrations with my family, with his mom and dad, and then with a fun day i planned just for the two of us to enjoy. we also had several fun date nights (including a brad paisley concert...we had great seats) and ended the month at an amazing resort/spa to celebrate our two year dating anniversary.

july...

i made quite the bold statement to kick off july that, "nature is dead to me" and i'm here to report that after an unfortunate incident that occured on the hayride at my birthday party (but that's november so i have to keep the details to a minimum for now ;) nature is still, in fact, dead to me. i gave it another chance and it left me, again, itching and covered in insect bites. we also enrolled our spunky little paisley in puppy school and i can report that while she has not graduated, she is has transferred to a more advanced, uncoventional type of puppy training AND is making great progress :).

august...

if i were to sum up august in one word, i believe i would say that it was difficult. you could probably not tell it by reading the first couple posts from that month because i tried to stay very lighthearted and "surfacy" (is that a word?) but the Lord had been dealing with me regarding some big changes that were about to occur in our life and it wasn't the easiest road to walk. by the end of august, i was able to share our news that the Lord was leading joel and i down a different path...one that included me resigning my position at church and him transferring to a different seminary and taking on a completely difficult and stressful work/school schedule. while i was overwhelmed and excited at the Lord's clear and consistent direction in our life, i was scared out of my mind to let go of something that had been such a huge part of my life for so long.

september...

while i announced my resignation at the end of august, i continued to work until the third sunday in september. so september was full of wrapping things up at work, packing my office, saying my goodbyes but it was not so much a month full of blogging. i did, however, get to post some of my most favorite and quite possibly the most random pictures ever from a very random neighborhood in a nearby town. hubs and i had a lot of fun being serious dorks taking those pictures.

october...

october ushered in one of my favorite seasons {hello, fall}, taking my daddy to one of the best (and unfortunately, one of the few ) panther games of the season, some kind of random sickness (though i don't remember being sick), some difficult lessons , and a super fun mini-vacay to the mountains with hubs.

november...

hmm...well, if i thought blogging was sparse in june, i hadn't realized how bad it was in november and i don't even have a work-related excuse for my slackness. i can say that november holds the beginning of the grayson/burgess/alley birthday and holiday extravaganza in our families and that is probably part of the reason for my absence. my mom, sister, niece, and i had a very fun time at the southern christmas show (where i purchased a lot of our christmas decorations...yay)! we celebrated anna's birthday, my mom's birthday, my birthday and thanksgiving was thrown into the mix, as well. my daddy had surgery and then hubs and i prepared for our disney trip to celebrate our first anniversary. whew, it was a busy month!

december...

and here we are, back to december. hubs and i celebrated our first anniversary of becoming husband and wife with a fun trip to disney world. we decorated the house for the first time for christmas AND had a big party for our friends and family. i decided to work harder to act like a duck (which, believe it or not now when something bothers us or has the potential to get to us, hubs and i just look at each other and say, "quack." obviously, we don't do it in public but it's been a great reminder to just let. it. go.) and i shared a little "not me!" with everyone. i just realized i have about 3 posts that i meant to write but just haven't gotten around to writing (and for the record, probably won't....sorry). all in all, it's been a fabulous year.

from our family to yours, we pray that you will have a blessed and happy 2010!

happy new year!

a sneak peek

2009-12-29T08:04:00.003-05:00

we had a great christmas this year and it's hard to believe it has already come and gone! i am currently working on editing all the pics from christmas eve and christmas morning (and waiting on some from my bro-in-law) but just had to post this picture. it truly captured how absolutely excited and joyful hubs was when he opened his gifts from my parents. it makes my heart so happy to look at that picture and see the expression on his face. i'm blessed beyond measure with such an incredible husband and a family who loves me and him more than i could imagine.

we truly had an amazing christmas spent with family and friends celebrating the birth of our Savior.

more pics to come soon...i just couldn't wait to share this one, though :).

not me! monday

2009-12-28T12:28:00.004-05:00

it's been awhile since i joined in on the not me! monday fun but thought i'd jump on the bandwagon today.

in preparation for a big christmas party at my house last week i most certainly did not clean my entire house (we're talking top to bottom scrubbing) all except for my bedroom. there's no way i would have just decided to close the bedroom door and use the bedroom as the gathering place for all the party supplies that needed to be returned and christmas presents still waiting to be wrapped. nope, not me!

along those same lines, i would never wrap empty boxes and fill gift bags with wal mart bags as filler just so i had pretty presents under my tree for the party (and to conceal the christmas tree cord). since i would not do that i absolutely would not have my hubs wrap his own christmas gift because it was the right shape box to conceal said cord. i'd never do that...not me!

last week when i stopped by the nail salon to have a much needed manicure, i did not succumb to peer pressure from the nail ladies to let them wax my eyebrows. of course i would not do that because i regularly keep my eyebrows waxed, right? so of course it did not bother me when one lady completely ignored personal space rules and pointed out that she could wax my eyebrows for me and i'd be "so pretty." then it most certainly did not bother me after i politely said no that her friend from the next station invaded the same personal space rules to shake her head, click her tongue, and tell me, "you need eyebrows done...she do it for you and you be soo pretty!" so, of course i did not let her wax my brows just so they would leave me alone...nope, not me!

since i'm definitely not a procrastinator, i did not wait until last monday to do most of my christmas shopping and i most certainly did not send hubs out to purchase the last gifts on my list the morning of christmas eve. of course, i would never do that, not me!

act like a duck...

2009-12-22T10:18:00.003-05:00

anytime something completely out of my control would happen, a past co-worker of mine {someone who i always approached with questions, concerns, or problems because she always gave me great, wise advice} would tell me to act like a duck. i know that sounds crazy but she had a good point...her point was that i needed to let things go the way water runs off a duck's back. got that? let. it. go.

from experience, {and hubs just confirmed this about me} i tend to be more like a sponge...i soak things up and let them bother me {and the bad thing about a sponge, is that if you squeeze it a little or once it fills up to capacity, all that water has to come out some way...and for me, it's usually in the form of tears}. i don't do it on purpose but recently i've been trying to figure out how i can "act like a duck" and just let. it. go. believe me, i've had several moments lately where i've tried very hard to process how to be more like a duck and i have to tell you, i have no idea.

but i think i know a good place to start...i do know this, i serve and love a God who tells me to "cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me." so, today, that's my goal. the desire of my heart and my life is to please my Lord and then my husband. after that, i'm casting all my cares and anxiety on Him. period. i'm not picking it up to worry about it again...once i've handed it over, it's gone. {do you know how hard that is to do? let me tell you, it's very hard and very tempting.} so, today, my goal is to let. it. go. and if you see me walking around quacking every now and then, you'll know why ;).

christmas tour of homes (a week late...)

2009-12-21T09:31:00.007-05:00

okay, so the nester's christmas tour of homes is now closed which makes me sad :( because i had planned to totally join in on the christmasy blogging fun this year but the last 3 weeks or so have been jam packed in our life (my dad's surgery, orlando for a week, and then a week prepping for our first...possibly annual...christmas open house). due to all the craziness, taking on the christmas tour of homes (as fabulous as it is) just didn't happen last week.

so, grab a cup of hot chocolate or warm apple cider and....

welcome to our home!

love this wreath...

our christmas tree in our foyer

dining room

wreath hanging over the doorway of our family room from the loft upstairs

LOVE my willow tree nativity...thanks mom and angela :)

our mantle (random fact: the stockings, the tree skirt, and the table runner on my dining room table all match. it makes me happy :)

kitchen table

Ho, Ho, Ho (or if you're in the kitchen looking into the family room, it's Oh, Oh, Oh...my sis pointed that out. We thought it was funny and sometimes appropriate ;)

our advent calendar...love it and look forward to making part of our alley Christmas traditions. it's super special because my mom bought them to give to me and my sister. my sister's kids have loved theirs and i'm so excited to finally hang mine in our home!

up close

love my jingle bell tree AND the happy birthday Jesus plate...it's right beside my kitchen sink and was a great reminder this week amid all the craziness of prepping for the party of the REAL reason for everything this time of year!

"santa, i can explain..." :)

our pantry door...thought this was a fun little sign

some of the food from the party yesterday

more food from the party yesterday :)

paisley even is getting in the christmas spirit with her fun little red sweater!

thanks for stopping by and from our home to yours, we pray you have a very merry christmas. take time this week amid the hustle and bustle to truly stop and soak in the wonder of the season and that Emmanuel has come.

Merry Christmas!

great giveway

2009-12-12T07:54:00.003-05:00

so, i had great plans to blog about our first anniversary/vacation trip {and i will} but i was a wee bit distracted by a giveway going on at several blogs i often frequent...

you should check it out and then come back in a day or so and i'll have a real post up...with a very funny story about something that happened to hubs on our vacation. it will not disappoint :).

until then...happy saturday (oh and go check out those blogs and enter to win the computer...what a fun christmas present to give yourself)!

becoming...

2009-12-06T00:00:00.002-05:00

"the man said, 'this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man.' for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." ~genesis 2:23 & 24

happy anniversary, baby...here's to many, many more!

a year ago...

2009-12-02T09:59:00.002-05:00

a year ago this week i was preparing for one of the most important days of my life. finishing last minute details, purchasing and putting together gifts for my girls who would stand beside me, packing for an absolutely amazing honeymoon, and most importantly, preparing to marry my best friend.

i honestly can't believe that it's been a year {well, almost a year...i won't be near a computer to blog on the actual day ;}. i had a lot of friends mention to me that they thought the first year of marriage is the hardest but for me, it's been the best year of my life. sure, there were moments that wouldn't rank in my top ten list of favorite moments but overall, it's been incredible. there is nothing in the world better than walking through life with your best friend and i have been amazingly blessed with such an incredible husband.

and i'm not the only one who thinks so...a couple fridays ago i had my niece in the car with me and we were headed to my house for a sleepover and then our annual "aunt amy and anna day" {for the last 4 or 5 years we would make a day of it and go to lunch, go shopping, visit santa, etc. as a prolonged birthday celebration for her}. somehow our conversation turned to uncle joel and from the backseat she said, "aunt amy, i hope i get to marry someone like uncle joel someday." yeah, pretty sure my eyes immediately filled with tears. i told i her i hoped so, too....that uncle joel was a great man and that the important thing for her to remember was to wait for the person God has for her...because His plans are always the best. it blesses my heart to know and see how much my nephews and niece love their uncle joel...they want to spend time with him....they want to know where he is if i show up and he's not with me but more than that, i've been able to see just how good and gracious the Lord has been in blessing me with such an incredible husband. he not only loves me {which, i can testify is not always an easy task ;} but he loves my family and loves being with them and i can say without a doubt, they love and adore him, too.

it's been a year with lots of changes and some challenges but it's been an amazing first year of marriage and i can't wait to see what this coming year will bring.

a little more about me...

2009-11-04T18:59:00.003-05:00

just a fun little bloggy q & a about me...considering i struggled answering some of them, i'd bet that most of you reading my blog will learning something new about me, too.

1. What is your favorite thing to snack on while your blogging? hmm...i don't really snack while blogging but my favorite snack right now is pumpkin bread. it's very yummy and i'm so glad i found the recipe. (although, i am seriously limiting my pumpkin bread intake because...hello? it can't be that healthy for you :)

2. What is one thing you wouldn't want to live without? my practical, non-spiritual answer is my toothbrush.

3. Beach, Mountains, or Farm? Where would you live if you had a choice? mountains, definitely. on our little mountain vacay a few weeks ago we drove around and talked about how much we would both love to live in the mountains.

4. What's your least favorite chore/household duty? it's a toss up between folding laundry and cleaning the kitchen...i think because those were my "chores"when i was growing up (besides the obvious...cleaning my room). ugh. i can totally live out of a laundry basket but eventually, ocd takes over and i can't stand it. same with the dishes...it's NOT my favorite but i can't stand to go to bed at night and leave dishes in the sink.

5. Who do people say you remind them of? my sister. people often point out that not only do we look similar but our voices and mannerisms are very similar. when i was a little girl, i used to look up to her and i remember thinking, "gosh, i wish i could be just like her...she is so pretty and nice." so when people tell me that they think we are similar, it's the one of the highest compliments you could give me because she's pretty much awesome in every way :).

6. Prefer parties and socializing or staying home with the fam? it depends. if we've been super busy, i catch myself seriously craving a night in but i actually have to be careful not to "overbook" us. because i love being with people and hanging out with people, i tend to commit us before thinking through how busy we really are and then we end up with weeks where we're never home at night. i'm working on this :) and i think i've done better the last few months.

7. What's your all time favorite movie? oh man. my all time favorite? i can't answer this because i have too many favorites...sorry.

8. Do you sleep in your make-up or remove it like a good little girl every night? i've slept in my make-up the entire time that i've been wearing make-up. fortunately, i've never (even in the middle of my teen years) had any acne problems and rarely break out. i know, i know...don't fuss at me in the comments. i know better. :)

9. Do you have a hidden talent or a deep desire to learn something that you've never had a chance to learn? What is it? i don't think i have any hidden talents...if i do, they're hidden very well because even i don't know about them :). when i was little i wanted to be a fashion designer...i'd love to get to play around in that field.

10. What's one strange thing you're really good at? bulletin board ideas (random, i know...i grew up thinking i wanted to be a teacher) and craft ideas (ex--my niece's 3rd grade fruit fly project...i helped her come up with a way to make a model of a fruit fly. we used sandwich baggies, brown paper and pipe cleaners).

11. What first attracted you to your spouse? hmm...lots of things...his integrity, his amazing knowledge of Biblical things and then his ability to teach (left me speechless), his eyes, his smile...

12. What is something you love to smell? yankee candle's harvest candle, my mom's house right after she finishes cleaning...

13. Tell something about you that you know irritates people. i can be forgetful when it comes to returning phone calls and email. i also tend to give waaay more details and give long explainations when a short answer will suffice.

14. When you have extra money, what's the first thing you think to do with it? go shopping (it's not usually what i do with it, though)

15. Are you a silent laugher or a loud laugher? What makes you laugh the hardest? i am a loud laugher but sometimes if i'm laughing really hard, it becomes the silent laugh. joel alley makes me laugh harder than anyone i know.

16. Where is your favorite place to shop? target or macy's

17. What's one thing you'd do more often if you had more time? write letters and cards to friends (instead of email)

18. Are you a big spender or frugal? hubs says i'm a moderate spender.

20. Would you want to be famous? ummm...no thank you. i'd enjoy the perks but i definitely would not want to deal with everything else that comes along with it so i will just be happy and content with my little non-famous life :).

MckGiveaway...

2009-10-24T10:04:00.003-04:00

just checking in to let ya'll know that mckmama is hosting a very fun giveaway over on her blog. you should hop on over there and check it out, too.

in other news, i've been bitten by some sort of sickness bug...not sure what it is but i can tell you what it's not...it is not fun nor enjoyable. i'm drinking lots o juice and resting so hopefully, whatever bug this is will decide that i am no fun and vacate immediately.

i'll be back in the next few days with a new post. until then, i'm off to buy stock in tylenol cold & flu and tropicana.

pass the hand sanitizer :)

hello, fall...

2009-10-11T10:07:00.008-04:00

hello, fall...i heart you. i am so excited that the days are getting cooler and fall is definitely here and what better way to celebrate the start of my favorite seasons (because fall leads us into winter and the Christmas season) than a list on the blog (that and it's too early for me to think in paragraph format...sorry)!

so, here we go...

-all the decorations: this season in particular i have loved, loved, loved decorating my house for fall (because it's my first fall in my house and my first fall to be married...like you didn't know that :). i have a gorgeous fall wreath on my front door, pansies planted in the flower pots, mums and pumpkins on the porch and that's just outside. :) i didn't go overboard inside, i promise. wanna see some pictures? good. i'm so glad you do!

welcome to our home :) this is the foyer

my dining room table

my two favorite magazines chock full of wonderful fall decorating ideas, recipes, and places to visit. (i am so gonna make those pumpkin cakes...LOVE them!!)

kitchen table...love the table runner and flowers

kitchen countertop

love the pie plate!!

this container was full of candy corn and peanuts but joel hearts the candy corn/peanut mixture :)

-i just love the smells and flavors of fall. i love all things pumpkin...pumpkin bagels/cream cheese (thank you, einstein bros!), pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin bread...i think you get the idea :). my other absolute fall favorite is the harvest yankee candle.

one word: YUM!

-football: i'm a football girl, i admit it. i love nfl and college football. just this past weekend, i had the opportunity to take my daddy to a panther's game (they were playing the redskins and he grew up as a redskins fan...until the panthers). hubs had a paper and school work to finish so he encouraged me to take my daddy (don't worry...hubs and i have tickets to two more games so he won't miss out on going to some games this season).

my daddy and me (notice, btw, the my fall wreath on the front door :)

awesome seats and it turned out to be a great game

-day trips and weekend trips to the mountains! we are headed out very soon for a fun little trip to the mountains to relax, enjoy the leaves, nature, and just enjoy being together. hubs and i can't wait...we are SUPER excited!!

hope you have a fun-filled fall weekend, peeps! :)

difficult lessons...

2009-10-08T09:43:00.003-04:00

sacrifice. submission. selflessness. those are some pretty heavy words and the actions behind them are even more difficult, i believe. when i lived in texas, a guy named david nasser was a guest speaker at the church where i was working so obviously, the bookstore stocked his resources. i'd heard great things about this author/speaker and when i saw one of his devotionals on the shelf, the title captured my attention...a call to die: a 40 day journey of fasting from the world and feasting on God. i read the summary on the inside cover and instantly knew it was a devotional that i wanted so i purchased it. upon reading the introduction, he gives a disclaimer, if you will, that if you're not really serious about taking this 40 day journey or if you feel like you're not quite ready for it...the call to die, then maybe you should wait until you are ready. reading that gave me great pause and caused me to evaluate, "am i ready to answer this call to die? am i totally committed to a 40 day journey like this?" well, i can tell you right now my next thought was, "of course i am. i'm a seminary student, this is what the Christian life is about." well, i'll confess to you that i thought that i was ready but apparently, i wasn't. after reading the introduction to that devotional, i laid the book on my nightstand and that's where it stayed for the next few months until it was packed in a box and then placed on a bookshelf in north carolina. i've picked the book up every now and then but i don't know what it is about that particular book that gives me such pause but i'm ashamed to say i've never gone beyond the introduction. {i realize that Jesus calls us to daily pick up our cross...die to ourselves...and follow Him...and it's my prayer that is what we all make an effort to do as believers but let's just be honest and transparent for a moment and admit that it's a tall order and it's difficult. it's not impossible and it's not just for the super spiritual but it is a challenge. every. single. day.} maybe it's because in his introduction, he asks for a solid and serious commitment to the journey or maybe it's because the call to die isn't a very comfortable topic of study.

fast forward to this past week in my life and guess what the theme has seemed to be? yep, you guessed it...submission, dying to self, not my will but Your will. nothing major has happened this week but it seems as though the Lord is working to effect some change in this heart of mine. you see, over the last month or two the Lord and i have had the same conversation {well, it's not been much of a conversation because for the most part, i've been the one talking without slowing down to actually, you know...listen.} where i give Him suggestions as to what i would like to happen or if He would just listen to me, things would work out so much better. then in the next breath, i admit that i don't want to take a single step outside of His will. talk about feeling conflicted! :) sunday morning we had the opportunity to worship at my home church and the sermon was all about...you guessed it...choosing obedience, submission, etc. the passage was out of mark when Jesus was praying in the garden of gethsemane and the Lord {gently} spoke to my heart reminding me that Jesus is my example. His choice to go to the cross was not easy, as that is evidenced in His agonizing moments in prayer to the Father but even as He pleaded for the cup to pass from Him, He ended every plea with, "not My will but Your will." quietly, i heard Him speak to my heart and all i could say is, "not my will but Your will." then, {oh yes, there's more} my apples of gold mentoring group's {older ladies mentoring younger ladies} Bible study this week was on submission. seriously? all i could think was, "okay, Lord, whatever You are trying to teach me, i'd love to learn it quickly because obviously, i'm not getting it." it was amazing that all He has been teaching me fits together...it's as if He has a plan or something :).

there is a reason i believe Jesus tells us to daily deny ourselves, pick up our cross, and follow Him because doing it yesterday just doesn't get it done for today and sometimes, it's a choice that we make over and over throughout the day. my heart and my desire is to willingly deny myself and take up my cross as i follow Him in my marriage, my work, my friendships, and my interactions in daily life. isn't it just like the Lord, though, to highlight two very important relationships in my life at the same time to show me how the lessons are related? the importance of obedience and submitting my will to Him in my relationship with Him and then also the importance of submitting in my relationship to my husband...the Lord has an order for the Church and a similar order in the family. can i be honest? i didn't realize how truly selfish i was until i married joel {and i know all my friends with kids will tell me just wait until you have a child} but the act of submitting doesn't always come easy. it doesn't mean i don't want to or that i don't have the desire to submit but i'm human and sometimes, my selfish desires want to be heard. i am thankful, so very thankful, that i have a husband who fulfills the challenge given in ephesians 5 to love his wife as Christ loves the Church. it definitely makes it much easier to submit when you know your husband has your best interest at heart.

so maybe, just maybe i will pick up that devotional sometime soon and sign the commitment in the introduction to complete the 40 day fast. either way, i am already on this journey with Jesus and i'm thankful for the way He speaks, teaches, and then gives the opportunity to put it into practice.

"when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die." ~dietrich bonhoeffer from the cost of discipleship

life is...

2009-10-02T16:04:00.003-04:00

life here in the alley household is good. actually, i would say that it's great. the last two weeks have been amazing. my last day in the office was difficult but praise God my last Sunday was a good day! i didn't know what to expect or how i would deal with it but from the moment my eyes opened that Sunday morning, i was completely filled with and covered by the Lord's peace...the peace that passes all understanding. sure, it was emotional to hug the necks of children and parents i've grown to love over the last 8 yrs (2 1/2 yrs of interning and then 5 1/2 yrs after seminary) and to say goodbye but through all of it, i had such an overwhelming peace. i was able to enjoy my last sunday with complete assurance that joel and i are moving exactly in the right direction...relying on the Lord to guide us instead of handling it ourselves. :)

it was funny to me when people (before my last day of work) would ask, "what are you going to do with yourself now that you'll have all that time?" i would like to find those people and ask them to what exactly were they referring? what time? obviously, my life is less structured and there is waaay less stress but honestly, life hasn't slowed down. i'm working part time doing some contract work as a consultant for hgbc's daycare/mother's morning out program, i've started a pampered chef business {if you're reading and would love to host a party in your home, have a catalog party, OR place an order, just shoot me an email...i'd love to help you out! ;}, i'm in a mentoring program/bible study at church AND i've been decorating our house for fall. and i hate to admit it, but none of that stuff was even on my "things to do when i stop working" list. so, never fear, i i haven't been bored one single second over the last couple weeks and i couldn't be happier!

we have a lot in common...minus the cool name

2009-09-17T08:33:00.003-04:00

i've known this day was coming for about a month and a half now but can i just confess to you that i'm not quite sure i'm ready for it. today is my last day in the office at work {sunday is my last official day but today is my last "in the office" day} and i can't even begin to describe my emotions. i'm sad, nervous, excited, overwhelmed {hello...i've known i was leaving since august 11 but i've yet to really pack anything?! can we say a mixture of being super busy and maybe some denial?!}, and anxious to see what the Lord is going to do. none of these emotions cancel out my complete assurance and peace that i'm doing exactly what the Lord has called me to do but it doesn't mean it's not hard.

in fact, sometimes {who am i kidding, most times} obedience is difficult but it is worth it. that little fact seems to be the lesson of the month {or month and a half} for me. you see, somewhere along the way i'd forgotten that obedience isn't always easy {stunning revelation, i know} but God doesn't promise an easy life, does He? don't get me wrong, our life is very blessed and we are more thankful than we can express for all that the Lord has done and is doing in our lives but all these changes are still hard. sitting here this morning thinking about obedience and all of it's challenges, the Lord reminded me of a guy named abram. in genesis 12 God gave abram the command to "go" but that's all He gave him...no maps, no details, no gps, just pack up and go. can you imagine?

i can. i know that i'm no abram :) but i do feel as though i can identify with him just a smidge. i know, clearly as i'm sitting here typing, that the Lord was very clear that it is time to pack up and go from the place i've been for the last 5 1/2 yrs and i don't know the next step of my journey. i think one of the most important truths to which i have been clinging is that i may not know the details of the next steps of my journey but i DO know the God that is leading me and i can trust Him.

God is God. because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. i will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to. ~ elisabeth elliot

even though i lost some cool points, it was worth it

2009-09-13T21:57:00.007-04:00

i know, i know. i promised to be more consistent in blogging but........life has just been so busy lately. the last several weeks at work have been full of ups and downs with stuff going on AND THEN you know, the whole process of wrapping up my time in a ministry that has been such a huge part of my life for five years {but we are not going to discuss the whole leaving thing right now because i'm totally pulling a scarlet o'hara and planning to think about it tomorrow. or, the next day}.

the one thing that has seemed to be consistent over the last few weeks has been the overwhelming presence and work of the Lord in our lives. there have been many times joel and i have had to just sit and stare at each other because we were in such awe of the way the Lord has been at work on our behalf or the way we have seen His hand at work. while ending this season in my life has been very difficult, i would not want to be in another place...having the privelege of seeing the Lord at work on our behalf has been humbling and exciting. so, while we are sad to say goodbye to so many people we love, we are confident that the One who called us is faithful to do all He has promised to do!

in other non-serious/spiritual news, joel and i met his parents for brunch yesterday at a cute little local restaurant {toast} and in an unusual turn of events, we were early so we decided to drive around the town of huntersville to kill some time. we stumbled upon a cute neighborhood with townhomes and noticed that the neighborhood wasn't just cute...the street signs were hilarious. {well, at least to us.} of course, i looked like the biggest weirdo hopping out of the car every other street to take a picture of the street signs with my cell phone but if i hadn't sacrificed my cool factor, you wouldn't get to see the pictures...so, it was a trade off i was willing to make. :)

"...i am doing a new thing..."

2009-08-25T19:04:00.003-04:00

{forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. see, i am doing a new thing! now it springs up; do you not perceive it? i am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.~isaiah 43: 18-19}

life in our household has been quite eventful for the last few weeks. to say that God has been at work seems almost to be an understatement because it almost seems as if He is completely turning our world upside down...in a good way. throughout my journey with the Lord, i can truly say that He has taken me places and given me opportunities that i never would have dreamed or imagined could happen. i am so thankful that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts! because i am so clearly not as imaginative or creative as He is. {total tangent but isn't it awesome, humbling, amazing, breathtaking, astonishing, and downright crazy that the Creator of all things is interested not only in the big things but in the little things, too? His presence in my life is just plain overwhelming.}

the calling into fulltime, vocational ministry came as quite the surprise to my fifteen year old self who had not even really begun to consider what i would do with the rest of my life. i remember my encounter with the Lord as if it were yesterday and clearly remember the overwhelming sense of His presence in that moment. i made a promise to the Lord that evening, even though i could not completely comprehend all that it would entail {who am i kidding? even 15 years later, i still don't totally comprehend all of it} i was certain of two things: 1) God was calling me into ministry and 2) whatever...and i meant whatever He called me to do or wherever He called me to go, i would do it and i would go. the Lord has brought that promise to my mind many times as i have walked this journey called life with Him. He reminded me of my promise to follow Him with reckless abandon when He called me to the one university that was NOT on my top ten...or top five list my senior year of high school {but is choosing a school for sports really the right motivation, anyway? yeah, i didn't think so}. He so vividly reminded me of my commitment to be faithful to this calling as my parents left me in ft. worth, texas, for seminary...all alone...in the ghetto in ft. worth...in the DORM, and He brought to mind my promise to be obedient to this calling as i stepped into a fulltime staff job and encountered my fair share of frustrations, struggles, and hard days.

the thing is, ministry isn't easy but i'm sure you already knew that. there were many days that i felt like giving up but simply couldn't because in the back of my mind and in my heart, i remembered a promise. a promise i made to the Lord to be faithful to this calling and to be faithful to be obedient to His leading. sometimes, the Lord calls us to do things that make sense and other times, His leading and His call simply don't make sense to us but we are still responsible to be obedient.

i realize that's a super long introduction to this new thing the Lord is doing in my life and in our family but i believe it's necessary...not just for you but for me, too. sometimes it helps to look back and reflect on how the Lord has worked and see His fingerprints on the past to remember that He is quite in control of the future. {again, i'm sorry...a tangent.} the Lord has been quite clear to both me and to joel that He is leading us in a different direction in our lives and as a result of this new direction, i have resigned my position on staff at my church. it's taken me about 5 minutes and about a million different sentences to finally type that last sentence. it's hard and sometimes obedience isn't easy. don't get me wrong...we are very excited about all that the Lord is doing in our lives and this new direction He seems to be leading us toward but it hasn't been an easy decision or one that was made quickly or taken lightly.

where exactly is He taking us? i don't know. joel has felt the call to ministry, specifically to preach, for a while now and i believe the Lord is getting us ready for this next step in our journey. i am beyond excited to have the opportunity to support my husband in ministry AND to minister with him. i do know this, i am as certain and sure of my calling today as i was when i was fifteen years old and just like that fifteen year old girl praying on the steps of that altar, i don't know the specifics of what or where or when the Lord will move but my promise to be faithful and obedient to the call is as steadfast as ever.

i'm totally a copycat but i'm okay with that :0)

2009-08-22T21:28:00.003-04:00

again, i'm totally copying amy beth's survey saturday for two reasons...1) because i like this survey and think it looks fun and 2) because i've been tagged for this very survey several times on facebook and have never done it. so, today's the day!

Three names I go by:
1) amy
2)amybeth
3)baby

Three jobs I’ve had in my life:
1)customer service rep for student discipleship ministries (the see you at the pole people)
2) preschool ministry director
3)kindergarten ministry coordinator

Three places I’ve lived:
1) gastonia, nc
2) plano, tx
3) boiling springs, nc

Three favorite drinks:
1)diet coke
2)sweet tea (with lemon)
3)coffee

Three television shows I watch:
1)top chef
2)army wives
3) drop dead diva

Three of my favorite foods:
1) chocolate
2)chicken
3)almost ALL veggies...weird, i know

Three of my favorite restaurants:
1) pei wei
2) maggiano's
3) bonefish

Three things I couldn’t live without: (i'm interpreting this as THINGS i can't live without...not people because we ALL know that Jesus would be at top of that list and then the awesome hubs, joel.)
1) extra fine point sharpies (in lots-o-colors)
2) cute paper/stationary
3) pony tail holders

Three things I can’t stand:
1)tardiness
2)when people don't follow through or aren't true to their word
3)bad drivers

Three things I’m decent at:
1) i love giving gifts to people...and am a little anal that i try very hard to match the gift bag/wrapping paper, card, and gift so that they're in the same color scheme. weird, i know.
2) being an aunt...i love hanging out with my nephews and niece and i LOVE that they still want to hang out with me (even though 2 of them are in the midst of the teen years).
3)cooking...i think i'm slowly getting the hang of it and am having fun changing and tweaking recipes to make them my own.

Three things I’m looking forward to this weekend:
1) looking at lots/house plans with my mom
2) hanging with the in-laws and seeing my sister-in-law, nephew, and niece who live in norfolk
3)quality time with hubs...just being together

Three things I’m addicted to:
1) diet coke
2)reading blogs/facebook/twitter...sometimes, i'm too connected!!
3)quality time with hubs...seriously, it's one of my top love languages

show us your life...wedding reception and honeymoon

2009-08-08T20:16:00.012-04:00

i decided to join in on kelly's blog carnival again this week (a few days late...). i had fun looking back through old pictures and reliving the reception through the video!

the reception:
our wedding reception was absolutely beautiful and magical. we had it at the schiele museum in gastonia and had the best time. we have loads of pictures but i thought posting the video of our reception would be best. enjoy!

the honeymoon:
we had an amazing honeymoon. we spent 4 days in new york city and then flew home to switch suitcases and then spent a week in hawaii. so that we would have the opportunity to see the island, we cruised around the islands with norwegian cruise line. we had an unbelievable 3 room suite with a hot tub on our balcony. we visited islands during the day and cruised at night.

our hotel...the westin at times square

smiling for a picture at times square

carriage ride in central park

macy's and the empire state building

joel surprised me with tickets to wicked...amazing seats. we had the best time!

us in front of the tree at rockefeller center

gorgeous picture, i thought...it took several tries before everything lined up just right

we stayed here in waikiki the first night in hawaii before boarding our ship

the view from our balcony...that's waikiki beach and diamond head

our ship: the pride of america

maui tropical plantation

rainbow falls in hilo

the shoreline at puna...absolutely gorgeous

being cheesy at the luau...so much fun!

we really enjoyed our time at the north shore on our last day on the islands

survey says...!!!

2009-08-08T09:17:00.002-04:00

a blog that is on my daily reads list posts a fun and random survey every saturday...i'm a big fan of these silly little surveys because i think they're fun and they're interesting. you get to know things about people that you wouldn't normally think to ask. so, i decided to copy amy beth's survey today and join in on the fun over here on all about the alleys.

1. Have you made a new friend this year? yes, of course! i have a new furry friend (we love our paisley) and several new friends from church.

2. Have you fallen out of love this year? nope, not at all. i've never been MORE in love, in fact.

3. Have you laughed until you cried this year? umm...i live with joel alley. he's pretty much the most hilarious person i've ever met. he makes me laugh until i cry all the time. (he doesn't always show that side to everyone so i feel completely fortunate and blessed that i get to experience it :)

4. Have you met someone who changed you this year? hmm...well, paisley was a great addition to our little family and it did kind of change our life. other than that, i don't think so.

5. How many kids do you want to have? one to start with an option to add two more. we have to see what it's like to have one although, a friend from church mentioned the other night (she just had her third) that she thinks the first two children are your initiation into parenting...kind of like a hazing. apparently, her third has been a breeze compared to her first two. so, we'll see! :)

6. Have you ever wanted to change your name? several times. when i was going into 7th grade, i decided i wanted to change my name to elizabeth (my middle name) but my friends and family just couldn't catch on to it. just last year, i was trying to decide whether to keep my middle name, drop my last name right before we were married, i was tempted to drop my first name. i would have been elizabeth alley but it's a little late in life to change your name when you're 30.

7. When is the last time you saw your mother? i had lunch with her yesterday. joel and i will also see her in about 2 hrs because she is showing us houses (YAY for that!!! very fun!)

8. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life? hmm....funny you should ask because there are one or two things that i'd like to change that might possibly happen in the near future. i'll keep you updated :).

9. What are you listening to right now? joel fuss at paisley for biting (it's a constant, "no bite" around here lately) and "sell this house" is on tv.

10. What’s getting on your nerves right now? the fact that we're going to be late to meet my mom.

11. What’s your most visited website? facebook...thanks to my crackberry.

12. What are your nicknames? i love my nicknames...ALL of them... amybeth (my family calls me this); amyjane (sometimes my mom would call me this when i was little); aims (from the bff); gracie, graceland, grace-a-licious (all from the same amazing friend); baby (from hubs)

13. What’s your relationship status? M-A-R-R-I-E-D...i love that.

14. What do you like about yourself? i try really hard to be loyal and devoted in my relationships...if you need me, it's my goal to always be there.

15. Have you ever broken someone’s heart? i don't think so...

16. Have you had your heart broken? yes but am now thankful that relationship ended because the Lord had much better plans for me!!!

17. Do you believe in love at first sight? no...i think love develops over time.

18. If you could pick a day from last year and relive it, what day would it be? definitely my wedding day. it was amazing, simply amazing.

19. Are you afraid of falling in love? nope...the Lord has blessed me with an incredible, Godly man who takes such great care of my heart.

overwhelmed

2009-08-03T20:57:00.005-04:00

desperate. amazing. humbling. incredible. awesome. thankful. overwhelming...pretty much sums up my weekend. i had the opportunity to spend a few days with some great friends, annointed speakers, and unbelievable worship. the Lord knew exactly what i needed to hear and that i was desperate for a Word from Him and He was so faithful. i wish i could sum up everything about the weekend in this post but it's impossible and to be honest, it was such an intimate time between the Lord and me that some things just aren't meant for the blogworld to know :).

DeeperStill - Greensboro NC

"forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. see, I am doing a new thing! now it springs up; do you not perceive it? i am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland." ~isaiah 43:18-19

show us your life: your wedding

2009-07-31T08:43:00.005-04:00

i decided to join in on kelly's "show us your life" blog carnival and this week the theme is your wedding...flowers, dresses, music, etc. sometimes it's hard to imagine that we've been married for almost 8 months and then other times, it feels as if we've been together forever...i almost don't remember what it was like NOT to be married. it's such a gift and the most amazing thing (i think being single since until i was 30 has really caused me to cherish and appreciate this gift...i don't ever want to take the awesome opportunity of being mrs. alley for granted).

okay, no more seriousness or sappyness...on to the pictures and some incredible memories! (note: these are pics friends and family shared with us...i don't have my professional pics on the computer, yet.) before joel and i were engaged, he asked me what my dream wedding would be like and i didn't hesitate to describe it because, like any little girl, i had been dreaming about my wedding for most of my life. i had always wanted a wedding in december mostly because i always loved how my home church was decorated at christmas. i always thought the sanctuary looked beautiful and i just love christmas....the music, the time of year, etc.

so, we were married on december 6, 2008 at parkwood baptist church. parkwood holds such a special place in my life and in my heart because i grew up attending there and all of the significant spiritual milestones of my life happened in that sanctuary. i came to know the Lord there, i was baptized there, i made my true love waits commitment there, and i accepted the call to full time ministry at that altar.

i love this before the ceremony picture. you can't see that there is also garland draped along the balcony and we had candles lining the center aisle pews.

joel and i felt strongly that a wedding ceremony is a worship experience and it was our desire that everything in our ceremony clearly declare that we were there to worship the Lord. we believe that becoming man and wife is a holy moment before the Lord and wanted our ceremony to honor and glorify Him. one of my favorite songs in the ceremony was sung just after the bridal party was in place and just before my entrance. our friend and amazing musician jason lanier sang travis cottrell's "forevermore". i loved that the song was all about the Lord and that we (joel and i) were in that place to be married only because of the Lord's graciousness and lovingkindness toward us and that we will sing His praise forevermore! we also had a family blessing where both sets of parents came forward before my father gave me away to pray a blessing over us and the beginning of our family. we practiced reading through the prayers because i just knew that when i heard my daddy pray, i would lose it! thankfully, i was able to hold it together :). after our family blessing, jason and our friend meredith (hello, incredible voice!) sang "the prayer" and it was simply amazing.

here we are exchanging our vows and rings.

after the exchange of vows and rings, we took the Lord's supper together for the first time as a married couple. it was such an intimate and incredible moment. jason sang "o holy night" and i remember being so overwhelmed at that moment at the goodness and graciousness of the Lord that He was allowing me to marry such a Godly man.

you may now kiss your bride :0)

the entire wedding party

up close of the wedding party

i loved my bridesmaid dresses...i thought they were flattering for everyone and very elegant. i also loved my flowers. the bridesmaids carried red roses and i carried a bouquet of ivory roses.

i had the best attendants a girl could ask for. everything about that day literally was absolutely perfect. we had the best time together getting ready before the ceremony while the girls were having their hair done and then i had the opportunity to just be with my mom, dad, sister, niece, and aunt while i was getting ready. it was such an amazing day!

the random rundown

2009-07-25T15:03:00.003-04:00

maybe you've noticed a lack of consistency in blogging lately? or maybe not...either way, i've not been terribly consistent in writing. just know that i feel bad about that...well, kind of :). life is just really busy for us and the next thing you know, another week has passed with no updated blog post. i keep waiting for a magical blog fairy to write for me but she continues to fail me. so, since there appears to be no magical blog fairy i guess i will procrastinate cleaning the bathroom and just update it myself :).

paisley has been to puppy school twice now and is doing really well. she's caught on quickly to the commands they've been teaching (the commands have actually been quite helpful while we've been dealing with her at home, thank goodness) and she is having fun making new puppy friends. joel and i joke that if paisley were a person, we're pretty sure she would totally be a cruise director. she has a fun little personality and she LOVES people...even if she's never met you, she loves you. i'm thankful she isn't afraid or intimidated by strange people and glad we didn't plan on her being our guard dog. :)

other than that, there's not a whole lot of news. work for me is stressful (hello, new ss year...we need 175 ss teachers by august 23rd) but hubs is enjoying work and is really busy right now. we've gotten to spend a lot of time this summer with family and friends grilling out and at the pool which has been awesome. we've been so busy but have tried to take time to enjoy life and summer time :).

oh. my. word. i almost forgot one exciting bit of news...we're going to kenya!! yes, we're going to kenya on a mission trip in october. our applications have been turned in, i'm working on getting my passport and our team starts meeting next week. we're SUPER excited about this opportunity. we will both have the chance to use our gifts to minister to people in a village in kenya and we can't wait. i, however, am not excited about all the shots and what not but i'm not going to think about that today (hello, Scarlet O'Hara ;).

well, as much as i've enjoyed updating the old blog, the bathrooms are waiting to be cleaned and there's a puppy trying to hop up in my lap for some attention. hopefully, i will actually sit down and think through something of substance to write for next time. or, i'll just wait two weeks and write another boring and non-informative blog post. either way, i'm sure you're thrilled :).

puppy school

2009-07-12T14:17:00.007-04:00

well, our little paisley is headed for her first day at puppy school tomorrow night. don't let the cuteness fool you...while paisley is adorable, she's also a spunky little stinker who has a lot to learn. her favorite activity is biting...anything, really. hands, toes, feet, clothes, baseboards, bugs, books....so, we're hoping that puppy school will really help turn things around for her. :)

we love her and wouldn't trade her for anything, though. we'll keep you updated on how things go with puppy school...apparently, at the end, they have a little graduation complete with a little hat and everything. we'll make sure to send out graduation announcements if she makes it to graduation :).

nature is dead to me...

2009-07-06T22:02:00.003-04:00

it's really no secret that i'm not the "outdoorsy" type of girl. i've never been camping, i don't like bugs (at all), creepy crawly things, and if i'm being brutally honest, i don't really dig being dirty. now, there have been times in my life where i've tried so hard to enjoy the outdoors (one tubing trip comes to mind) and while i had fun, it was clear to me that nature isn't exactly my element. (on that trip in particular, i'll never forget my youth minister telling me how proud he was of me for sticking it out and being a good sport. seriously? i didn't know it was THAT obvious that nature and i aren't bffs.)

like i said, every now and then i try to make up with nature and give it another chance but i always come away either injured, sun burnt, or covered in insect bites. this past weekend was one of those attempts at reconnecting with nature and i'm here to tell you...nature has gone too far this time. i'm sitting here covered (and i promise, i'm not exagerating...just ask hubs) in insect bites and just for my itching pleasure, not just one type of insect violated me nope...three. in the past two days, i've received more than a handful of bites from three different types of insects and i won't wait for you to ask, i'll just go ahead and tell you...i'm kind of miserable. i don't remember itching so much in my life (even with the chicken pox) and in a dramatic moment of disdain, i announced to hubs this evening that nature is dead to me. i'm done with it...this incident has been more than i can stand. so, i'm going to go cover myself in calamine lotion and enjoy being indoors (until the next time i give nature a try...i've done it before and i'm sure i'll do it again). it's more of a love hate relationship that nature and i have together...but with not a whole lot of love unless it's in a controlled, creature free environment :).

pass the cotton balls and the calamine!

if only i had something exciting to share

2009-07-04T08:23:00.002-04:00

life has been pleasantly quiet for us in the last week or so and it couldn't have come at a better time! considering the first part of the summer (june) is spent prepping for and executing vbs (aka...the BIGGEST children's event of the year) the second part (july) is spent recovering from the first :). (we're not even going to discuss august right now which for me = sunday school promotion and that's enough to make me break out in a rash...so, moving on ;). blog reader warning: i just want you to keep your expectations in check for this post...i don't want you to be disappointed from the lack of excitement or well, substance.

i mentioned in the last post that we were visiting a resort/spa in our area as a nice little getaway AND it just happened to fall on our two year dating anniversary (yes, we still remember the date...it was only two years ago ;). we stayed at the ballantyne hotel and truly had the best time. i think that i had the best massage i've ever had in my life (oh. my. word). they incorporated hot stones and a scalp treatment into the massage and i truly couldn't even stand up once she was finished (btw--apparently, if you have longish, curly hair a scalp treatment can make you look like the bride of frankenstein which is not recommended when you have to then walk around this fancy, shmancy hotel to get back to your room. i'm just sayin...it wasn't my hair's finest hour but i was so relaxed i didn't care...well, maybe i did a little ;). that little 24 hour trip was just the best...we rested, we relaxed, we had some yummy food, an awesome massage, and really great conversation.

while we were gone, our little paisley, got to host a fun sleepover with my best friend, marissa. she graciously agreed to come stay at our house with our spunky little schnoodle and ris reported back that they had the best time, too. unfortunately, i forgot to pack the camera, so we have no pictures of our little 24 hour vacay. :(

the rest of our week has consisted of working, spending time with family, spending time at the pool, going to movies, playing outside, and the pool (did i mention the pool? we are LOVING our neighborhood pool this year!;). again, no pictures...such a tragedy, i know.

if you're still awake at the end of this completely boring and uninformative post, call us and we'll take you to dinner because you certainly deserve a little something for sticking with it this long.

hopefully, something exciting will happen between now and the next time i post...at least i hope so for your sake. :) until then, we'll try to keep the mediocrity to a minimum.

and...we're back

2009-06-23T18:38:00.003-04:00

whew. it has been quite the busy month...primarily due to a little something that i've been working on since january called vbs. :) there have also been birthdays, father's day and other fun things going on.

we've also had our little paisley for just about a month now and she is so much fun! she's quite the little firecracker...she's sweet but she's spunky, too and i love that about her. she loves giving our neighbors' dogs (who are about five times her size) a hard time. she knows how to get them all riled up and it cracks me up. (although, our neighbors might not appreciate it all that much.:)

joel's last post highlighted his birthday celebration and in my opinion, was a little too gracious in his response toward me...he deserved a fabulous birthday celebration and i'm so glad he enjoyed it. he really had quite the birthday week...cookout and party with my family (with lots of fun presents), his celebration with me, and dinner with his parents. i certainly hoped that by the end of his birthday week he felt celebrated and loved...and caught a glimpse of just how awesome (and attractive ;) we all think he is.

vbs went so well this year! the Lord truly blessed us beyond our imagination and when the week ended, i knew without a doubt that He definitely worked in spite of our short comings to bring all things together for His glory. total attendance for preschool (kidaroos and adults) was 1,216. isn't that awesome? i was astounded and so thankful. our elementary kidaroos had 95 decisions for Christ that were made as a result of the presentation of the Gospel on various nights throughout the week. AND pastor scott and i were slimed, of course, because our preschool and elementary kidaroos brought $1,177 for their offering total. we promised them if they hit the $1,000 mark, we would both get slimed and boy did we ever! i've never been so excited or looked so forward to having green applesauce dumped over my head as i was friday night. the kids (well, most of the kids...some were a little afraid that mrs. amy was going to get hurt being slimed...they know me too well ;) loved it and i admit, i had a blast! cleaning up from being slimed is a whole other thing but it was so worth it! i've heard rumors about what next year's challenge will be and trust me, it will be good and waaay better than being slimed.

in the mix between paisley, birthdays, vbs, and father's days we've had a few very fun date nights including movies and the brad paisley concert. he was at verizon amphitheater and we were SO thankful to have seats under the cover because it rained like crazy the whole night.

here we are...after walking a long way in the rain...we were happy to be under the covered seats!

the stage during one of brad's new songs

needless to say, we've had quite a busy but a fun month and it's not over, yet! our two year anniversary of our first date is this friday (june 26) and we have a fun overnight stay planned including a visit to a spa! this girl is SUPER excited about that!

There is no charge for Awesomeness or Attractiveness

2009-06-03T11:32:00.020-04:00

( Today, in a rare public appearance, "the Hubs" writes a blog entry :-o )

My wife is awesome! Those of you who are close to us already know this, of course, but it's time for the whole world to know. My wife is awesome!

A few days ago, we were celebrating a minor event, a celebration which Amy has apparently been planning for some time. I should note at this point that Amy is an honor roll student in the School of Joel. I don't mean that I'm teaching her things; she's way smarter than I am. I mean that she studies me. Amy knows stuff about me that I don't know about me. She knows why I'm always late for stuff (sorry, baby). She knows my favorite foods, favorite movies, favorite shoes (yes, I have a favorite pair of shoes- some really comfortable old sneakers). And not only does she know this stuff, she uses it.

Anyhow, back to the celebration. On the day in question I walked into the house after work, and it smelled especially great. Amy is a great cook, and it was clear that she had been working magic in the kitchen again. I came around the corner, and this is the first thing I saw:

Sure! Balloons at a party make sense. But my wife is sneaky, and she knows I like puzzles. These particular balloons weren't just decorations. They were a clue!

While she was finishing up dinner, Amy had also made little toasted pepper jack pimento cheese bagettes as an appetizer. Because she knows that pepper jack is one of my very favorite cheeses, and because she knows that I discovered I like pimento cheese at another event she planned for us a while back. Sorry, no picture of these, because they were all eaten up before we got the camera out! (Are you beginning to grasp the awesomeness of my wife? Wait, there's more!)

Dinner was soon ready, and this is what she set on the table for me.

If you're from the South, or if you watch the Food Network, then you know exactly what this is, but for the unitiated, what you see before you is a little bit of heaven on a plate. That, dear reader, is stone ground grits, with butter and bacon and scallions and cheese, and some of the most ginormous and tasty shrimp you ever had, with some cornbread hushpuppies just to show off a little bit. My wife made that. For me. Because she knows they're my favorite. And they were so good. I'm telling you, Awesome.

Any man would have been happy now, but on this particular night it was like I was on the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right, and Jonny kept saying, "But wait, there's more!" Remember those balloons at the beginning of the post? Have you guessed what they were a clue to? If you guessed "Up" then you were right.

Somewhere, somebody is saying, "Timeout! Your wife took you to a kid's movie?" I see that you have momentarilly forgotten that my wife is Awesome. Because my wife knows that I love animated movies, especially CGI animated movies. I'd like to tell you it's because I studied computer graphics in college, but in reality, I'm just a big kid. And my wife knows this. And she's awesome.

By the way, in the world of family friendly movies, "Up" knows some serious ninja moves from the government. Seriously, mad kung fu skills. It's a rare movie that you can take older young children and adults to, let them sit next to each other in the theatre, and give them both something that entertains them. The kids get a fun adventure movie, and the grown-ups get a neat story about a guy keeping his lifelong promise to the love of his life. There's even a spot in there where I dare any red-blooded, wife-loving tough guy not to tear up. Go ahead, I dare you. It does have a few scary scenes with big dogs and a rather mean antagonist, which explains the PG rating, so it's probably not good for younger children, but for the older kids, and the kids at heart, it's great.

I love my wife with every fiber of my being, and I would love her that much even if she weren't awesome. But I think we can all agree now that my wife is Awesome! And lest anyone think I've forgotten the other adjective in our blog title, let me put that to rest right now.

It's okay. You can say it. "Wow". I'm not even a little bit ashamed to admit that my heart beats a bit faster whenever I see that smile. Amy is so pretty.

Awesomeness and Attractiveness. I am a lucky man.

introducing...princess paisley!

2009-05-23T09:35:00.005-04:00

this is the newest addition to the alley house...paisley alley. we picked her up yesterday and have had so much fun with her so far!! she's a great puppy...very sweet, playful, and loving. she slept 7 hours last night with no crying or whining!! i couldn't believe it! we're so excited and we love her so much already!

fun contest and an amazing worship album

2009-05-18T15:33:00.003-04:00

boo mama is having a little contest on her giveaways page to give away 20 copies of travis cottrell's newest worship album. oh. my. word. it's amazing...i've spent the afternoon working and just listening to the clips play over and over on his website.

so, go visit boo mama if you'd like to enter and while i'm being bossy, i think you should also go to travis' website and listen to the preview of his cd. and get ready to do some worshipping. for real.

completely and totally random

2009-05-16T22:51:00.002-04:00

1. Where was the very last place you went besides your house?
firebirds for dinner with hubs and marissa

2. What are you doing tonight?
hmm...well, i'll tell you what i did. i watched hubs install our new kitchen faucet (it broke last night...water everywhere...not a good scene), had dinner with ris and joel, caught up on the facebook/twitter/blogging world and am headed to bed very soon.

3. Who last texted you?
marissa

4. Do you have a secret that you’ve never told anyone?
probably...

5. Do you get mad easily?
no it takes A LOT to make me mad but once you've gone there...watch out ;0)

6. Do you talk about your feelings or hide them?
oh my goodness i'm such a talker. just ask joel :0)

7. Do you prefer warm or cold weather?
hmm. i prefer spring/fall weather to be outside but i will admit that my winter clothes are my favorite (so i'd go with cold weather for the outfit options).

8. Who was the last person you were in a car with?
joel and marissa

9. What color are your eyes?
blue!

10. Have you ever given up on someone but then went back to them later?
ugh. unfortunately and in my experience, those decisions don't usually end with a happy ending.

11. Have you ever thrown your cell phone in anger?
not thrown it but have had to beat it against my steering wheel to get the battery out. (i don't have that phone anymore...i wonder why ;0)

12. Has anyone told you a secret lately that you aren’t allowed to tell anyone?
ummmm...yes.

13. Honestly, if you could go back six months and change something, would you?
nope, not at all. the last 6 months have been amazing.

14. Are you wearing any clothes that don’t belong to you?
nope. all mine!

15. Do you have a lot on your mind at the moment?
only that i'm super tired and WHY am i doing a blog survery when i have to wake up at 5:30?

16. What side of the bed do you sleep on?
well, i would say MY side which is the left side of the bed but hubs would tell you that i travel between his side and my side. he's totally making that up, though. totally.

17. What is your favorite thing to shop for?
hmm...well, i enjoy shopping in general but i really love going with people to shop and help them pick out clothes, accessories, etc. i really think i'd love to be a personal shopper.

18. Who knows you better than you know yourself?
obviously besides Jesus (who knows me way better than anyone) i would say joel. he's quite an amazing man!

19. What are you doing this summer?
training our new puppy, paisley and working (hello summertime is a busy time in children's ministry!)

20. Do you miss your past?
i do occasionally miss being a little kid and i miss people from my past that have passed away...sometimes i would just give anything to get to sit down with them again and talk.

21. Did you ever have tea parties when you were younger?
yes...with my grandma. she would sit with me and we would pretend to be ladies who were having lunch. she was precious...i would even try to "gossip" with her at lunch. (see #20...i miss her so much!)

22. What is your favorite line from a movie?
ohh. there are too many! i don't know right now.

23. Would you rather be the opposite sex?
NO!

24. What would you never name one of your children?
gertrude (or horace)...sorry, hubs. i just can't do it.

25. What is the coolest restaurant you’ve ever been to?
well, one of my favs and it's a pretty cool place is chuy's in dallas

26. Where do you go when you want to get a really good sub sandwich?
hmm. i guess subway. i don't really eat sub sandwiches that much...i ate them a lot in college and have been burned out on them since then.

27. What style of house would you like to live in?
i love old, cottage style houses.

28. Do you flip the channel when commercials come on?
ha. no but i do mute the tv.

29. Have you seen any of the Saw movies?
umm. no way and i never will.

30. What was your favorite book as a child?
oh gosh...so many! charlotte's web was up there but then there were my sister's old nancy drew books and then the babysitter's club (my friends in 3rd grade started a babysitter's club. i got to be mary ann but i really wanted to be stacy. can you believe i remembered that ;0).

show us where you live: guest rooms

2009-05-14T21:42:00.008-04:00

so i'm joining kelly's tour of homes each week. i meant to join in the last two weeks but somehow, it just didn't happen. so, this week we're supposed to show our guest room. we've done a little work to this room but there's still more than can be done. trust me when i tell you there are big plans for this room in the future but for now....here's our guest room :).

this bed was joel's bed since he was a little boy. i love this furniture...how cool to have his bedroom suit from childhood!

you can't see it well from this pic but there i love the "old fashioned" alarm clock on one of the side tables and the vase of pink flowers on the other...

LOVE the plaque above the pictures...also, we framed one of our engagement pictures and had the mat available at our rehearsal dinner for friends and family to sign.

simple, classic white pear; also, the frame is clear glass (hard to see in the dark background) but i framed one of my favorite verses: "the LORD has done great things for us and we are filled with joy."

guest bathroom (a door in the guestroom goes straight in the bathroom...so, technically, it's part of the guest room ;). don't know what's up with the lighting in this pic...

not me! monday

2009-05-11T16:00:00.004-04:00

so, i've been reading mckmama's blog for a while now and have wanted to participate in the not me! monday posts but just haven't until now. so, here's my attempt at...

this past week i did not cry at almost every stinking thing...commercials on tv, stories about my friend's kids, etc. nope, i was not a cry baby at all.

last week during triple coupons at harris teeter, i most certainly did not have hubs go with me but pretend like he didn't know me so that we could use all of our coupons without having to make two separate trips (you're limited to 20 coupons/person). no way would i ever do that. not me!

i did not start a new workout program (dvd) called the shred and i most certainly did not injure my knee because i unknowingly started the advanced dvd instead of the beginner. nope, not me...AND i absolutely did not ignore my knee injury until it was swollen like a softball forcing me to stay home from work today with it iced and elevated. nope, not me!

since i didn't injure my knee, then i didn't spend most of today propped up on the couch catching up on recordings of old beverly hills 90210 episodes (the good ones...when brenda and the gang were in high school). no way, not me!

last sunday, i didn't ask hubs to go buy a fourth paper (we buy 3 anyway, for the coupons) because one of our papers was missing the entire coupon section (seriously, who steals coupons?!) nope, not me.

i planned to make a pound cake (family recipe) for dessert for mother's day yesterday and i most certainly did not forget to add the sugar. when i tasted it, i didn't want to spit it out because it was so nasty. then, i did not bake another cake later on to make up for the sugar-free, dense mess that i didn't mess up early that day. nope, not me!
( here's the picture of the 2nd cake i didn't make saturday evening ;)

girl's day...

2009-05-11T12:43:00.006-04:00

one of my favorite ways to give a gift is not just to hand someone a present but to actually make celebrating that person an experience. in our premarital counseling, j and i completed the love language quiz and my two primary love languages (they were tied) are gifts and quality time. so, it makes sense that when i give a gift, it's more than just a package and i want the person to know exactly how much i love them.

the last three out of the four years, i've taken my mom to daniel stowe botanical gardens for mother's day. we always have the best time and this year was no exception. my sister and niece joined us and we had a fabulous girl's day! we enjoyed an incredible picnic lunch catered by something classic, enjoyed the beautiful flowers, sunshine, and being together.

the entrance...

our yummy lunch...

my awesome mom...

my sweet sister...

adorable anna...

i'm such a goof

the path leading up to the fountains...

outside the orchid conservatory (where joel proposed)...

inside the orchid conservatory...

three generations :)

happy mother's day, mom...i love you!

ch ch ch changes

2009-05-11T12:05:00.006-04:00

i've always been open to change when it comes to my hair because after all, it does grow back :). so friday when i had my hair appointment, i decided to let my hair wizard (aka cindy) make some changes. i will admit that it was more of a drastic change than i expected but it's growing on me. (and btw--the color really is the same...i've had some people say it looks darker but it's not supposed to ;)

i know these pics look goofy but it's hard to take a picture of yourself ;). yay for changes and different hair styles (and growing hair ;).

the best ever.

2009-05-10T21:57:00.003-04:00

yes, he is. he truly is the best ever...in fact, i think he rocks :). i am so often reminded of the amazing gift God has given me in this man and i can truly say that i am overflowing with thankfulness that he is my beloved. not only does he love me well but he loves his family and my family in remarkable ways.