Sister

 

Since my new little niece Katie has been born, I've been loving the pictures that my sister, Sara has been sharing. I especially love seeing and hearing about Maggie being such a good big sister. It definitely takes me down memory lane to my childhood of having a big sister to look up to. . . .

 

 

 

Sara has always looked out for me and has played a major role in shaping me into the woman I am today. I am most grateful for her spiritual influence. Sara has strived to live a God-honoring life for as long as I can remember. 

 

 

 

 

 

It makes me so happy for Maggie to have a little sister to love on now. And I'm so happy that baby Katie will have a big sister to look up to for years to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now. . . I am thankful for my two recent sisters that I have gained through marrying Jarred. Lindy and Kimberly.

 

 

 

 

 

Two wonderful and beautiful blessings in my life!

Little Sister

During my spring semester at McNeese I met some of the staff at Big Brothers Big Sisters while working on a speech about a non-profit organization. After chatting with them after an interview, I made the decision to become a Big Sister. In a nutshell, the organization is a mentoring program that matches Bigs and Littles (the program has proven to have a big impact which I will share about later). Within in a few weeks I met my Little Sister, Kadie. We have spent the last eight months doing many fun things together like swimming, crafting, shopping, bowling, and playing putt putt.

 

 

 

Our most recent hang out time included baking and decorating Christmas cookies. Kadie loved being allowed to make a mess with all the flour! And yes, she is wearing my apron that reaches the floor :)

 

We have had lots of fun and laughs, but we have also had many chats and convo's about life. It has been a privilege to be a part of Kadie's life. One of my favorite memories is when she told me that she wants to be a Big Sister one day. My prayer is that this sweet girl grows in her faith and lives a life honoring to the Lord.

 

 

 

Research showed that after 18 months of time with Bigs (compared to those not in the program), the Littles were:

 

*46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs

*27% less likely to begin using alcohol

*52% less likely to skip school

 

 

www.bbbs.org

www.bbbs-swla.net

 



Thankful.

Jarred and I were grateful to spend Thanksgiving with the Davis family (Martha's side of the family) in Mobile. It is such an amazing blessing to be a part of this wonderfuly family!

 

 

This Thanksgiving, Jarred and I are thankful for our new little niece, Katie. I am so excited for Maggie to have a little sister.

Katherine Rodgers Pyles was born on November 16 weighing 7 lbs 11 oz. 

 

There are so many things to be thankful for. The greatest of them all is the Lord's grace and mercy. None of us deserve God's unconditional love, yet he showers us with it and calls us His children. What a wonderful blessing!!

 

 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever."

Psalm 107:1



Suprise Visit

Our sweet niece, Maggie, had a Cinderella birthday party Sunday. Since I hadn't seen her since April and Jarred hadn't seen her since last December, we decided to make the 11 hour drive over to Macon for her 3 year old birthday.

 

We gave Mags a 3 foot "chick fa cow" for her birthday. . .

 

 

I've been seriously missing my siblings the last few months and was SO excited to get to spend a little bit of time with them this weekend.

 

Joseph is enjoying his sophomore year at Auburn. And Sara is due with baby Katie in just a few weeks!

 

 

I seriously can't get enough of her!!

 

Maggie loved having Cinderella (aka family friend Kelly Shimp) visit her birthday party. . . 

Maggie had a good time at her party even with how tired she was. She stayed up watching the LSU/AL game Saturday night with us.



I am so thankful for my family and the many ways they have been a blessing in my family. We are all looking forward to meeting baby Katie in just a few weeks!!

N'awlins

Last weekend Lindy came in town for a visit. Kimberly and I loved playing hostess in our homes for our lovely sister-in-law. It was alot of fun spending time together, and I am so thankful to have Lindy as a sister.

 

 

Sunday morning Jarred and I drove Lindy to the airport in Lafayette on our way to New Orleans for our anniversary trip!! I had been looking forward to this trip for a while now, mostly because I was excited to get away from work and school and spend some quality time with my hubby. :) Also, I had never been to New Orleans and was excited to explore the city. This picture below is the view from our hotel room downtown.

Two of my favorite things we did in NOLA was take a carriage ride and eat yummy beignets with coffee. 

Jarred and I hope to get to visit New Orleans again sometime in the near future.

A Study Break

I have been wanting to repaint our coffee table for some time now (really since moving into the apartment!). There were several reasons it took me a while to get started: I had no idea what color I wanted. . . . and I don't know much about painting furniture. So the other day I got antsy from sitting and studying for my classes and decided to go ahead and start the project . . . . I read through alot of blogs of people refinishing furniture. When I came across this picture, I knew that was the style I wanted to go for.

 

 

http://ourvintagehomelove.blogspot.com/

 

The process began with stripping off all the old paint (this was definitely the hardest and most time consuming part). After sanding it all, I stained the top of the coffee table with a dark walnut color. Painted the rest of it ivory, and finished it off with a wax. Here's the final product. . .

 

 

At one point during it all, I felt like quitting. But once it was all finished, I was very pleased and would like to try another project like this again someday. However, I told Jarred I will resist from anymore furniture/painting projects until we have either a garage or backyard.

School Update

Fall classes started a couple weeks ago for me and Jarred. . . .

 

I am taking four classes this fall. . . Jarred is taking three (all of which are online).

 

I will do my internship in the spring and graduate in May with a bachelor's in Health and Human Performance with a concentration in Health Promotion. . .

 

Jarred plans to graduate spring of 2014 with a master's degree in Education in Curriculum and Instruction. . .

 

 

Jarred recently received a scholarship from Chick-fil-A. He was the first recipient for the Chick-fil-A Lake Charles FSU. David aspires to have many more team members receive the scholarship over time. I plan to apply once I have reached the required minimum hours worked.

 

I am SO proud of my amazing hubby!!! :)