Daddy

My sweet Daddio had a birthday on June 13th! BJ and I were so thrilled to get to go to Atlanta and see my parents that weekend. They had just gotten back from their big trip to Israel (which was amazing), and Dad's birthday was Sunday! It was so fun. We got there Friday night and just hung out. Saturday morning, Dad and BJ walked 9 holes of golf in the Atlanta summer heat, while Mom and I lounged around in our PJ's. Meanwhile, Katie and her fam were at the lake with their friends and Camilla was at Bonarro. Yeah, we have a pretty adventurous/rad family. Anyway, BJ and Dad came home, got cleaned up, and we all went to Scott's (fabulous antique market in Atlanta). Mrs. Barbara and Mr. Jim were coming to Scott's to look around at some things and get inspired for the house the are planning on building! Very exciting!

After Scott's, Mom and Dad took us to a fabulous restaurant called Miller Union. They had been there the night before with the Knights and loved it so much that they took us back! It was realllyyy good. I highly suggest it for all you Atlanta folks!

It was really fun to get to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad.

A little about my birthday boy Dad...He is kind, hard-working, gentle, loving, very generous, FUN, funny, goofy, COOL, and just awesome. I could never ever have asked for a more supporting and loving Dad. He and Mom have showered us with love from the day we were born. Dad has worked so hard to provide and is a fabulous leader for our family. He loves his wife, kids, AND grandkids! You should hear Harper say "papa, papa, papa!" She and Emma Kate just love him. We sure love him too!
To learn a little about how wonderful my Dad really is...check out Katie's blog HERE.
Happy late Birthday and Father's Day DAD! I LOVE YOU!

Favorite

Hebrews 4:14-16 (New International Version)

Jesus the Great High Priest

^"14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

This is how my brain always interprets this verse..."He has been tempted in every way! He is/was/always will be without sin. Whoa! SO...we should come to Him in complete CONFIDENCE because His Grace is beyond sufficient. He covers us in His mercy and wow, He is always there to help us in our time of need. . . . He understands us, He created us, He relates to us deeply..."

I just wanted to put that out there! His word is powerful.

6 Months?

This coming Friday, BJ and I will have been married for 6 months! Some times it feels like we just got married yesterday and sometimes it feels like we have been married forever. These have been the best months of our lives, hands down. We are blessed way beyond what we deserve.

A little walk down memory lane...

Birthdays and 6 Years!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (YESTERDAY) MOMMMM!!!!!

I have the best Mom in the world and yesterday she turned 35. She is growing up...slowly but surely.
Seriously though, she is awesome. She is fun, funny, gorgeous, real, cute, hard-working, God-fearing, friendly, and HOT.
Thank you Mom for changing our diapers, cleaning up throw up, living sleep-deprived, taking us to the mall, dealing with us in the dressing room, driving us everywhere, loving on us, laughing with us and at us, letting us laugh at you, taking us to the pool, reading us books over and over, encouraging us, listening to us, and just straight-up LOVING all of us!!!
There are so many things you do that all of your family and friends could go on and on about. We are just thankful for you.
My Mom is also a breast cancer survivor. If you were around her during that time, you have seen her at her best when she should have been at her worst. She was so brave (even if she just acted that way so that we wouldn't be scared). She comforted us when we should have been comforting her. It was an amazing time and the Lord protected and provided! We are so thankful for His provision.
My Mom and Dad are just so fun. Dad's birthday is June 13th!!!!
I LOVE MY FAM!!!

(Oh, and I cannot even get started on how Mom planned the whole wedding and kept me in once piece....maybe I will save that for another post...)

and next we have.....

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO KATIE AND ARTIE, DUH!

These two have blessed my life beyond words. I really cannot sit here and explain it. Katie has always been such a sweet sister and friend, and has set such an amazing example. Her marriage to Art has been such a neat thing for Milla, BJ, and I to watch! I know we all feel so blessed to walk behind them in life and see what they do!
Their Godly marriage started this day 6 years ago and May 1, 2004 will always go down as one of my most favorite days of all time. Artie took Milla and I under his wing from the moment he and Katie started dating, and we could not have been more excited to see them become ONE!
Katie and Art have really gotten out their machetes and forged the way through the forest for the rest of us. They have allowed us to watch what they do and follow in their path!
They have also provided our family with the sweetest joy- Emma Kate and Harper!!! Thank you guys for these sweet babies :) Thank you for doing all the hard work and letting us enjoy them.
Ok, if you enjoy blogs, you have to follow their BLOG HERE! Katie is a really good blogger and posts a lot of good photos and videos. I hope to be as good as her one day...

Until next time, War Eagle and Happy Anniversary K and A!!!

Updates!

Good evening everyone!

Ok, I know I apologize on every post (as rare as they are) about my terrible blogging skills. The thing is, I really want to be a good blogger, and I LOVE reading other people's blogs. I think I have a hard time coming up with things to blog about that I think you all (all 4ish of you out there) would find interesting. SOOOO....if you have any suggestions, let me know :) I guess I will start blogging more about our day-to-day life. The fact of the matter is, BJ and I do not have very exciting lives. We are EXTREMELY blessed, but we do not have big news, we do not have big things going on, and we just live a very simple life. I am thankful for this simple life, though. Life has not been this simple since we were kids! Simplicity is a beautiful thing.

Our favorite thing that has happened lately is the union of these two:

The Lord has blessed us greatly with their friendship. BJ and I (well mainly me) have been giddy with excitement for these newly weds. It is so fun to have a good friend embark on the same journey that you just embarked on a few months ago (5 to be exact).
Handley and Blake's wedding weekend was fabulous. There are really no words to describe it. We got to spend time with great friends and got to hang out with my family. We got to play with my favorite 2 nieces and it was just GOOD!
Their wedding was beautiful, Christ-centered, and so much fun! Handley was the most gorgeous bride and Blake is a lucky guy :) We think Blake is pretty cool too. Anyway, we are just thankful for the Underwoods and look forward to alllll of our many adventures together in the future!!!

Here are a few more pictures from the wedding weekend:

CLARK!

So...here he is! Our new kitten, Clark! He was 8 weeks old when we got him and we have now had him for 2 weeks...so according to my genius calculations, that makes him 10 weeks old! This picture was taken at the Humane Society where we got him. He has changed so much in just two weeks. He has already grown a bit and just looks healthier!
Funny things Clark does:
-plays hard for about 20 or 30 minutes and then wants to cuddle. (he repeats this over and over)
-climbs half way up the drapes (eh...he even got stuck the other night and I had to help him down! haha)
-chases our feet
-plays with my ponytail (this should actually go in an "annoying" category)
-eats like a CHAMP
-uses the potty like a CHAMP (not one accident! knock on wood...)
-he is at the door 90% of the time before we even open it. He hears us close the car doors or somehow knows we have gotten home!
-speaking of the door, he always wants to run outside to play and explore (this is obviously not really an option for a tiny baby kitty named clark)
-he steps all over our computers and does not have any respect for the keyboard (another "annoying" category thing)

Ok that is probably enough fun kitty facts for just about anyone! Thanks for reading :)

Praise Him!

I am sitting on the couch relaxing and listening to the great worship tunes BJ is playing while he is preparing his devotion for work tomorrow. They have a devotion every Monday morning, and BJ is leading his second one tomorrow. WHAT A BLESSING! We are so thankful for the people he works with and their foundation in Christ.
I am often overwhelmed with where we are in life. It is just so incredible obvious how sweet and special this is. We just get to live life together, try to do our best every day, and enjoy it all! I definitely have my signature Emily meltdowns about nottthinggggg occasionally, and we are tempted to complain about small things here and there, but God has been so good to us.
If you were at our wedding, you may remember the song that my sweet friend Christen (AKA "Bird") sang called, "You Have Been So Good." This is one of my family's all time favorites, and just hits the nail on the head. Even when things are not perfect, He HAS been so good. He always will be.

You Have Been So Good by Lenny LeBlanc:

"You have been so good
You have been so good to me
In my faithless hour
You've been my strength
You are my tower
From the enemy
You have been so good
So good to me

Your hand is always faithful
Your mercy never ends
And when I feel unable
Your grace is there again

You chose me with my weakness
And all my sins forgave
I've nothing to repay You
So all that I can say

You have been so good
You have been so good to me
In my faithless hour
You've been my strength
You are my tower
From the enemy
You have been so good
So good to me."

.....................................................................................................

Side note: I started work at Auburn University at Montgomery this past week and it has been great! I was lucky enough to start the same day with a girl named Lindsay. We are both Student Recruiters for the University and will be travelling to highschools, junior colleges, and college fairs near and far! Lindsay and her Husband recently graduated from Seminary in Louisville and he is now the pastor at a Church in Maplesville, AL. Lindsay drives an hour to work everyday but I sure glad she does!! She is a wonderful encouragement. And guess what??? She not only went to Auburn, but she was also a Chi O! She graduated the year before I got there, so we just missed each other, but how cool is that? We still know many of the same people. So basically, I feel strong about work so far, and I work with great people!

(That was a long "side note," huh?)

War Eagle.