A Long Awaited-for Post!

After about 7 months of patiently awaiting the arrival of our wedding album, it has arrived!! And it is beautiful! We chose 6 of Four to capture the moments of our wedding day, and they did an absolutely beautiful job!

Here are some pictures of the beautiful album and what is inside:

This is the album container.

This is the album itself. It is a beautiful green with ivory ribbon on the side.

The first and last pages of the album.





Even though our reception pictures are awesome, we decided to cover only the wedding ceremony and events leading up to it in our book.

YAY 6 of Four!!

It is so fun to look through this album and remember that day. My friend Chelsea wrote a post about her day going through every detail, which I would love to do soon! But until then, here are some of the other pictures that are my favorite from the wedding events!

Our rehearsal dinner might have been my favorite thing all weekend! We had the people we love most around us and just were able to enjoy time with them! We are just so blessed!





This was when my dad saw me for the first time in my dress.








Pretty much anytime he looks at me I cry...yes, I am a daddy's girl! :)

My handsome groom and I.

The boys and the girls... the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

To be continued...

One Good Chicken

Good Morning!

I wanted to share a recipe that I tried last night that was super easy and very delicious! It was one of those recipes that did not need expertise, but looked like you had been to cooking school and spent all day slaving over a hot stove.

Yes - those are my favorite too!

This recipe came from my Real Simple recipe book. If you have never entered into a Real Simple book, magazine, anything, go to the store NOW and grab a copy. They will help your life become...well, simpler.

I will start out with the ingredients for Simple Roast Chicken:

1 onion, sliced
1 31/2- to 4 lb. chicken, giblets removed
2 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
1 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, halved

Before I go on, I want to tell you the "substitutions" I made, or the details I changed a bit:
- I did not use a whole onion, just half of it.

- My chicken was 3.55 pounds, and I didn't remove any giblets because, well, I have no idea what that means.

- The potatoes I used were regular potatoes. I could not find "new potatoes" at my local grocery store, so I used what I had. I cut down the center of two potatoes and then chopped them up to pieces.

- The recipe calls for a "roasting pan" but I did not have that so I used a basic 9' by 13' baking pan lined with aluminum foil. My mom told me to cover it, but I forgot to...everything still turned out great, but you can try covering the pan with double aluminum foil (one pice won't be big enough).

Now I am going to give you the steps that I followed - if you have a roasting pan, just do all of this in that.

Heat your oven to 450 degrees. In your 9' by 13' pan lined with foil, group your chopped onion in the center. Pat the chicken down with a paper towel, place it on top of the onions and tuck the wings under it (I basically just set the chicken down...no need to be fancy!). Rub the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle it with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper (I rubbed the oo on with my hands then sprinkled the salt and pepper and rubbed that in too).

Put your potatoes in a bowl and mix the remaining tablespoon of oil and 1/2 and teaspoon of salt and pepper in with them. Pour them into the pan surrounding the chicken (HINT: the closer they are to touching the bottom of the pan, the better they will cook).

Roast, tossing the potatoes once for 50 - 60 minutes. Let the chicken rest for 15 minutes after taking out of the oven. ENJOY!

I served this with broccoli and rolls, and it was delectable. Not to mention it made our house smell really good!

I meant to take a picture of it right after it came out of the oven, but unfortunately I forgot. So, here is the finished product right after we enjoyed it!



Happy Tuesday!

Here We Go...

I have recently come to the conclusion that I would really love to be like those who blog ALL the time. But not just blogging for random reasons - blogging to have memories! I have many friends who are SO good at updating their blog(hello BFF)and they have inspired me to get better!

So, for starters:

Friday was a great day! I started the morning with my family at the pool. Unfortunately, it was pretty overcast, so Mom, Dad and I sat at one of the tables and just enjoyed catching up! Dad was facing the pool and in the midst of conversation he noticed a ripple coming from a filter.

So, he got up and went over to open it up, and inside was a baby rabbit! Still alive, the little guy was quite weak and cold, but was going to be fine. I ended up taking it home with me due to the hungry hawk we had heard and seen all morning.

That same afternoon, my niece, CB (11 months), came over to spend the afternoon with her auntie Am. Now, times like this, according to Blake, are supposed to serve as birth control. However, it did quite the opposite. We had a blast! We learned how to high five and pretended to go to sleep on our bed and wake up on our bed. We just laughed and laughed! Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh...one day, through God's grace, I will have my very own and do this EVERY DAY!!!





Continuing on, I had put the rabbit in the back room so Miss CB wouldn't/couldn't get to it. Well, when Uncle Blake got home, we went back to see it, and much to our surprise it was NOT in the box! Fortunately we found it hiding under the dresser right away. Unfortunately, Blake spent the next 20 minutes chasing after the rabbit throughout our guest bedroom trying to recapture it while CB was just a laughing. She watched every move Blake and the rabbit made, making little noises that sounded like "Ehh" and "Uhh", but I interpreted them as "get it" and "I want it." Hilarious!!!When Blake finally got the rabbit, we let it go outside, and as CB watched it dash away she made sweet sounds of approval.

The rest of the evening was basically spent "playing house" and I watched my desire for a baby to join our family increase!!!

But for now, I am loving being a wife, friend, daughter, sister-in-law, daughter-in-law, sister, aunt...and I am joyfully, patiently (kinda sorta), and prayerfully awaiting for my time to be a mother.

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the sun.

I DID IT!

You know those times when you feel really happy? Like when everything just feels right. You almost get tingly, and - if you're like me - you almost cry a little.

I had a lot of those moments today. Fourth grade went on a field trip to Turner Field and the Varsity today. I know - it was as awesome as you think it might be. We went on the field - at least the dirt - and into the dugout. We also saw the locker rooms and went behind the scenes where the radio announcers announce. It was AWESOME - even from the teacher's perspective.




But, before all this, I was really nervous. On our last field trip, I paired up with another teacher and we went everywhere together - we were with each other if there was a problem; we were there if we had a parent problem (you would be surprised!); we basically had "backup."

But this field trip was different. I was by myself. The way we split up the classes required me to be the only teacher with a group of 22 students - and their parents. This scared me. Really. What if something went wrong? What if someone was angry? I can't handle this?!

I prayed and prayed. But not for what I thought I would pray for - please let nothing go wrong, etc. No - I prayed that God would just be with me and provide the ingredients I needed to be successful and capable.

And you know what - I DID IT!

All day it felt like God was hugging me. It was like little moments where all I wanted to do was just lay down and cry because everything was so good. Instead of doing that, I just smiled the whole day and watched as God stood beside me.

I think He might have been smiling!

All of this made me want to drink from His word and find some encouragement:

Obvisously, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil. 4:13

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as though we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26

So...two things: God has my back. And He knows what I need.

He has given me the Holy Spirit to translate my thoughts and feelings into pleas and requests. How great is our God??!!

Another verse I thought about today: Do you not know that you are a temple of God...


We're supposed to fill our "temples" with good, right? Do Varsity onion rings count?


Wishing you many hugs from God,
Amory

7 pounds

Hello Again.

I know what you're thinking. I don't know what has gotten into me. I just have time...or really I am escaping from the time I do NOT have and all the papers to grade in order to blog. But this is way better!

Blake and I watched the movie Seven Pounds the other night. I had not ever read anything on this movie, so I had no idea what to expect.

We watched the whole thing, and it was not until the end that I realized what was going on and what was probably going to happen. I'm not really big into guessing the ending (however, I am really into talking to the movie: "Don't go in there?" or "Why are you so stupid?")

ALERT: This is about to spoil this movie if you have not seen it. Just wanted to be sure you were aware!

Will Smith plays a man that has lost his wife and killed multiple other people in a car accident caused by him. He goes throughout the whole movie pretending to be an employee of the U.S. Treasury Department, going from person to person to see if they deserve an extension.

Not until the end did I realize what he was actually doing: all of the people he visited had disabilities - one man was blind, one girl had heart troubles, one man needed bone marrow. He had actually gone around to these people to see if they deserved new "parts" to fix the ones that were broken. He wanted to give back, and in the end, he kills himself and the rest of the movie shows the blind man seeing, the girl with the heart problem living freely, the person who needs bone marrow free of pain.

And the waterworks began! Can you spell C-R-Y-B-A-B-Y?!

If Blake hadn't been next to me, I probably would have been crying for way longer than I was. It was ridiculous how many tears I let out.

But they were legit. I just witnessed (on a screen) a man who felt like he owed everyone something and gave everything to save them.

Sound familiar.

The blind man sees.

The (almost) dead living again.

Hello JESUS!

And when I made that connection, I realized how casual I have been when it comes to being reminded of what Jesus did for me. When a man sacrifices himself in a movie I go ballistic. When I hear about Jesus dying on the cross for me, and you, and everyone, I think "Oh, how sweet."

Lord, forgive me!

I want to be torn apart when I dwell on what Jesus did for me. He gave everything he had because He WANTED TO.

I cannot make any sense of this. But I want to be moved deeply every time I encounter this truth.

We are such imperfect beings, but God has given us a "part" that is irreplaceable and undeniable called grace. We need this to have life - the life God has prepared for us.


...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ. Romans 3:23-24

Praise the Lord!

I pray that God's grace is keeping you alive and well, and that the next time you encounter the beautiful story of the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ, you will be moved deeply.

In Humility,
Amory

Long Time No See

Hello Friends.

I know...I know...I'm not so great at this kind of commitment. I promise to get better. I constantly tell Blake all kinds of topics for my blog, and, well...you see where they go - nowhere. But, since I can't get any worse, the only way to go is up! So, friends, here is my new start! We will see how it goes!

The thing that drove me today to share with you was an experience in "Nail One." I went and enjoyed some time with the ladies in my family while having our nails done. However, I was not prepared for this. After a very relaxing stay in the "spa chair" I went to sit with my sister while she got her nails put on. I was actually saying goodbye (which is hard enough as it is - one struggle of my life = missing my family a LOT).

Real quick - a piece of information you need: I am VERY motherly. Especially to my sisters - even the 16 year old. Rubs on the back, "sweethearts," "call me if you need anythings"...that is me.

So...in my motherly way, I was telling Chelsea goodbye. Went sorta like this: "OK...I love you...thanks for hanging out with me today...I miss you...call me if you need anything...love you!" (i know...pathetic!)

That's when it happened. The lady on the other side, with her heavy "Via-na-meees" accent said this:

"Ohhhhhh....baby!"

Haha...awkwardly we both laughed. Honestly I thought she was talking about how I was being so motherly. So, I played along and pretended to hold Chels's face like a mother would. You know, being funny...ohh dear!?

The sweet, innocent nail tech said "When you come here again, you will have a big belly!" but it sounded something like this: "Whe[n] yooo come heah ageh, yooo ha[ve] beeeg belly!"

SHE THOUGHT I WAS PREGNANT!

Yes. Truth.

Well, as most of you know, if that news was actually true, this would be AMAZING! (I can't wait to be a mama!)

But it is SO not true. Which makes this bad. REALLY bad. Of course Blake and my mom were like "No one in their right mind would think you were pregnant!" BUT they don't understand.

My emotions were a jumble of the following: have I gained weight?!, if only that were true (me being pregnant)!?, I am NEVER eating dessert again!!, God - thank you for allowing that to be a joyous thing - one day.

So, there you go - my first experience with the awful presumption of being pregnant from another person.

Ironically enough, I actually told my fourth graders the other day to NEVER say anything about being pregnant to a lady unless you are 100% sure. Maybe little miss nail lady needs to come be a special guest in my class.

Ugg...

While I don't consider myself to be "oversized" in any manner, it does make me want to go visit my 30 Day SHRED video with Jillian! Every day. For the rest of my life.

Sigh.

Here's to the Sweet (sometimes funny) Illuminations!
~me

P.S. In no way am I trying to make fun of the talented lady doing our nails! We have actually invited her to some to our church tomorrow, so pray that she comes!

Hi

Hi.

I've thought about doing this for a very long time now, and finally, on a day when I probably should be trying to mark out the next thing on my to-do list, I have decided to make the leap. I spend A LOT of my time reading blogs (some of my favorites: rootedinlove and bringtherain), and I think it is such a convenient way to keep up with your memories.

Sweet Illuminations - other than an awesome song by Shane and Shane, it is the statement of my life. Everything in my life seems to be a sweet illumination of God's perfect love, grace and mercy, and I want to share those moments with you.

One such moment involves the man you see in my picture. On November 28th, 2009, I married the man God has been preparing for me for a while. We dated for 7 years and finally got married on the campus of Berry College. It was perfect and beautiful, and my prayer is that God was glorified. It has been the best 43 days of my life, and I know it will only continue to get better.

Another part of my life - I am a teacher of 16 precious fourth graders. These children of God surprise me every day, and I have no doubt that each of them will grow up to win over so many people for Jesus! More on these goobers later!

So, now my to-do list is calling me...literally...my husband is waiting for me at the door to make our weekly wal-mart run (who am I kidding, something is always forgotten!?). I am excited about this new adventure, and I hope that you enjoy a glimpse into the Sweet Illuminations in my life! :)