Our Zoo Tradition...

Eric & I were in Baton Rouge to visit my family this weekend. Friday, we took the kids to the zoo for a play day. It seems that every time we go to the zoo, it's sort of a tradition for Miriam to ride on Eric's shoulder. Here are some pictures of them through the last few years.

May 2007 - Baton Rouge Zoo

June 2007 - Audubon Zoo


September 2008 - Jackson Zoo

October 2008 - Baton Rouge Zoo

MS Singing Churchmen

Yesterday, our church was host to the Mississippi Baptist Singing Churchmen, a group of Music Ministers from churches around Mississippi. Eric has been part of this group for about 6 years. They had their annual banquet last night at Morrison Heights and are singing today for the MS Baptist Convention at First Baptist Jackson. I wasn't able to go to the concert today because of work, but it was nice to see everyone last night at the banquet. They only get together a few times a year for concerts, but it's always nice to get to fellowship with them. When they all get together, they are worse than a bunch of ladies!

Eric & I at the banquet last night.

Feels like Christmas...

So a few weeks ago we had a little cold front come through here. I commented to Eric that it felt like Christmas to me. He made fun of me for that... and continues to. But it did! I grew up in South Louisiana all my life where normally it only gets cold in December or January. So, I equate cold weather with Christmas! He said I was going to be surprised at how much colder it would be here than in Baton Rouge, which I'm actually kind of excited about. I like cold weather. Anyway, it feels like Christmas again today (58° right now)! So, although it's only October...

Great is His Faithfulness!

So during the process of cleaning and finally unpacking boxes, we found 2 Walmart gift cards that we received from our wedding last year (one for $15 and one for $50!). It's almost like finding cash in your coat pocket from last winter! Especially since you can pretty much get anything at Walmart nowadays. I really see these gift cards as providence from God. He always knows what we need... and exactly when we need it. He has proven to be faithful to Eric and me time and time again. And He continues to amaze me daily!

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Weekend Projects

Last weekend, Mom came up to help Eric & I finish unpacking and organize. While she was here, we actually hung some things on the wall. And that got me thinking about what other decorations we needed. All of the walls in our living room were bare. Especially the large space over our fireplace. So Monday night, Eric & I drove out to Hobby Lobby to see what kind of art they had there. And we found a few things that we liked, but nothing big enough to go over the fireplace. But we did buy a few other things that we thought might look good in our living room... and they were all 50% off! While we were there, we looked at the fabric and actually found one we liked. So we had the idea of stretching the fabric like canvas on a frame to hang over the fireplace. We figured that would be cheaper than any piece of art we could find. So, today we went back to Hobby Lobby to get the fabric and to look for a frame. However, we couldn't find a frame as big as we wanted (48' x 60'). Eric thought we could make it ourselves, and for much cheaper than we could buy one that big. So we went to Lowe's and bought the wood and accessories to make the frame, as well as a hand saw and mitre box for Eric to cut the wood. While we were watching the LSU game this afternoon, we cut the wood and assembled the frame. And finally stretched the fabric and stapled it on. It only took about 3 hours :) See our assembly pictures and final result below (I forgot to take picture while we were assembling the frame itself). I think it turned out pretty good!

Eric stretching & stapling the fabric on the frame.

Watch out, he's dangerous with a staple gun!

Lending a helping hand to my hubby
while he's stapling the fabric on the frame.

The finished product :) It's almost as tall as Eric!

Here's the final result on our mantel!

Eric also hung a few of our other purchases in the living room.

Above our front door

Our "junk" hanger, just inside our living room by the garage door.

Praise You in This Storm

This song has been an encouragement to me the last week. My desire is to continue to praise God through the storms of life, no matter how rough they may seem. I hope it encourages you as well.

I was sure by now, God, You would have reached down,
And wiped our tears away, Stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining.

As the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain, “I’m with you.”
And as Your mercy falls, I raise my hands and praise the God who gives, and takes away.

I’ll praise You in this storm, and I will lift my hands.
For You are who You are, no matter where I am.
Every tear I’ve cried, You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side and though my heart is torn,
I will praise You in this storm.

I remember when I stumbled in the wind.
You heard my cry to You and raised me up again.
My strength is almost gone.
How can I carry on, if I can’t find You.

As the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain, “I’m with you.”
And as Your mercy falls, I raise my hands and praise the God who gives, and takes away.

I’ll praise You in this storm, and I will lift my hands.
For You are who You are, no matter where I am.
Every tear I’ve cried, You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side and though my heart is torn,
I will praise You in this storm.

I lift my eyes unto the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
I lift my eyes unto the hills.
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.

I’ll praise You in this storm, and I will lift my hands.
For You are who You are, no matter where I am.
Every tear I’ve cried, You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side and though my heart is torn,
I will praise You in this storm.

A New Beginning

This is a time of new beginnings. So, I have decided to start a blog. I am hundreds of miles away from my family and friends. They have blogs where I can keep up with them, so I thought I might try to do the same. My life may not be quite as exciting as theirs are (because they have kids), but I can at least post things from time to time to let them know what's going on here. We'll see how this goes...