Just because...

I love this man! Shane, thank you for ALL the help you have given me and for being such a great dad and husband! The children and I are blessed beyond measure in so many ways...but you are one of our greatest blessings! I could not do this without you and I am so thankful you are willing to take on whatever comes our way! Love you so much! Thank you for loving all of us so much!

Don't wait...

I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:25-27).

Take advantage of the beautiful day that God has given us and show others Christ living in you! Tell those special people in your life how much you love them and how special they are to you...don't let the time slip away!

So meaningful...

This song is one of my new favorites. I am not sure how I stumbled upon it today...but I did and I am so glad I did! We have so many people that we love that are struggling and going through very difficult times in their life and this song is such a great reminder to all of us to remember to pray in the good times and the bad!

If you want to hear the song, you can go to this site: I'll Pray for You .

I'll Pray for You

I saw an old friend at the market, standing in the checkout line,

She began to share her story, then I told her mine,

It was clear we both knew heartache so before I turned to go,

We made a simple promise, that would lighten both our loads

I’ll pray for you, you pray for me,

And together we’ll touch heaven from our knees,

Anything can happen in His name when we agree,

I’ll pray for you, you pray for me

What a privilege and an honor to know that God is there,

and to have His full attention, any time and any where,

sometimes when we’re talking, conversation turns to you,

as your name and needs are mentioned, God lifts my spirit too

I’ll pray for you, you pray for me,

And together we’ll touch heaven from our knees,

Anything can happen in His name when we agree,

I’ll pray for you, you pray for me

Barbara Huffman & Marcia Henry / Christian Taylor Music / BMI
a division of Daywind Music ( admin by ICG)

In Christ Alone

 

 

A good friend of mine brought a copy of the sheet music to several of us at church and wanted us to learn this beautiful song.  So we gave it a shot... I had no idea when I first saw the song.... how awesome the lyrics would be!  So beautiful!  Take the 5 minutes that it will take you and listen to it....and really absorb the message.  This should brighten your day and reset your focus about what is truly important.  Have a great afternoon!

Are you ready for some football?

First, let me say....WOW!  Sorry it has been so long since I posted!  Time just flies by around here these days!

I know this is a few days late and that I actually should have posted this last Saturday...but better late than never.  College football season is here and I can't tell you how happy that makes our family!  Shane's countdown to the first Alabama football game of the 2008-09 season began back February....I think  :) 

I will admit that growing up I was never a sports nut...did not care too much for any sport...however, Shane has converted me to a Crimson Tide fan.  There are a few other teams that I root for....like Marshall University and I love me some Indiana Hoosiers basketball! 

So for the Labor Day weekend we were in Huntington, WV...which is normally where we travel on the Labor Day weekend each year for a little family get together....my aunt has season tickets to the Marshall football games....and everyone was going....so we decided to give it a try this time.  Normally, Shane goes with my aunt and all the family and I stay behind with the kiddos.  We decided that this year all of the kids were old enough and could handle it...so we were going to give it a try. 

Daddy's little man!

The girls with their cousin Koral.

This was the first college football game that my kiddos have attended and despite the heat and all the walking....they did GREAT!

I love this boy!!!

Kennedy did not get in the above picture because she was too busy crying because she could not stand by Koral.  So I got a picture of just the two of them...and that seemed to make her happy! 

We had a BLAST!  Especially Parker....who has now learned how to say TOUCHDOWN and  FOOTBALL! 

Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share from the BAMA games yet.  We are hoping to get to travel to Tuscaloosa for a couple this season and you can bet if we do I will have lots of pictures to share with you.  However,  if you are a CRIMSON TIDE FAN...you will want to  visit Cheryl's Blog .... which is all about ALABAMA FOOTBALL!

Finally!

Remember this post?  Well, it has taken me a little time...but I finally am posting some pictures from my brother's wedding back in June.  It was definitely a memorable day with all the weather related inconveniences....but still a great day!

I am definitely a person who likes to combine and conquer as many things as I can into one project...and that is what you get in the pictures below.  Not only am I finally getting to post what I had promised weeks ago...but I am catching up on my memory keeping too.  I have finally been able to somewhat conquer  my severe "OCD" about having to scrapbook chronologically....or even that every picture must make it to a scrapbook...or that each scrapbook has to be made in a tradition 12x12 album....  So, now that I have been able to try some new things in my scrapbooking....it has been amazing at how much more I can accomplish in my few spare minutes each day.  Also, the fact that I have been gravitating toward doing more digital pages helps too....they are SOOOOO simple and easy for me to complete!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Make a Smilebox greeting

So if you remember my post from the other day....it listed 5 goals of mine to complete and then I will tackle the next 5?

1. Increase the amount of time I spend in prayer and bible study.
2. Get our family on a schedule and routine that works without us stressing over being somewhere at a specific time.
3. Make and document memories more about all the little things my kids are doing....this translates to scrapbooking for me!  I would like to set aside two hours a week to work on catching up on the kids scrapbooks.
4. Keep a journal of everyday events.
5. Recognize my talents and gifts and not focus on what I CAN'T do...(with that being said...my goal for this is to learn more about photography and improve on my designing abilities and hopefully make a full time hobby/business from it...)

 

As you can see...I have succeeded in at least beginning a process...not to say that I don't have room to improve and will continue to move forward on these items.  #1...well, that will always be my first and foremost area to improve upon....so it will never be crossed off the list.   I have started and we are working towards #2 and #5 and I will post about them tomorrow with some photos I took this afternoon and a new schedule that we are going to begin tomorrow.  So check back for that info!

Have a great evening everyone!

And the winners are...

Ok...so I know I am late on the prize giveaway's for this post...

So, since I am still in celebration of returning to blogging and since you all were so kind to leave a comment and a link to your favorite crafty thing....

YOU ALL WIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If your name appears in the list below, send me your snail mail address and I will get your little goodies in the mail this week!  Just click on the little link below my picture to email me.

Briana

Jamie

Kim

Amy C.

Renee

Telah

Brianna

 

Have a great day everyone!

Too may first's to count...and thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Hey everyone!  I have so much to tell you and a bunch of pictures to share with you....a bunch of first's to talk about....

• First time I have had the chance to sit down and update my blog and actually start to get back into a routine here at home in several weeks
• First night in several weeks that I actually feel caught up on housework and laundry
• First day (well actually today is the second day...but I started typing this last night  :)  ) of a new week and the first of many new posts to share with you.....I hope
• First day that we have had rain in a long time...and I hope we get some more tonight.  We had a pretty good shower this afternoon and it really cooled things off and I am so thankful for the rain!  We REALLY needed it!
• Parker finally got his first haircut a few days ago....bye, bye little curls....my little man is growing up to fast!
• Before

 

 

 

 

 

 

 After

•  

 

 

• First time to have one of my children not scream and go into hysterics around a dog....Way to Go Parker!

 

• First ballet recital for Kennedy

• First pool party of the summer

• First time Parker has ever been brave enough to run into the sprinkler (while the water is on) by himself

• First trip to the Kiddie Carnival...however, I am sure that there will be many more to come during the summer!

• First taste of a Cheeto for Parker...it ain't easy being cheesy!

• First look at my finished flower gardens out front....It took us over a month to finally get everything transplanted and mulched and like we want it.....it isn't perfect....but we are pretty happy with it.....now for working in the backyard! 

 

•         
•   

 

• First time I have had the chance to really and truly THANK ALL OF YOU from the bottom of my heart for the friendship, kind words, emails, and most of all prayers for my family and for my Gram and Pap over the last few weeks.  I have made so many new friends because of this blog....and many of my "old" friends read my blog....it has just really and truly been a blessing to me to communicate with friends through this medium and know that there are so many people out there thinking about and praying for our family when we were in need!  It sort of becomes like your extended family I guess....I mean I have learned a lot about all of you and your families from reading your blogs....I feel like I have known some of you all my life....and I am sure you have learned a lot about me from my blog, emails, and all our commenting back and forth.    So enough mushy stuff....but just a big THANK YOU!!!!  Love to all of you!

You might want to grab a Dr. Pepper, some popcorn, and maybe even some candy before you dive into this one.....:) WARNING! Danger!....This is a long post!

I cannot believe that I have let soooo much time pass since I last updated this blog!  I know I have been a bad blogger.  I have tried several times to update, but they have been late at night and to be honest....when I would sit down to type, I would have a brain dump and then I was so tired and sleepy that I just couldn't do the thinking necessary to write.  :)

This has been one of the busiest times in my life that I can remember.  Maybe it just seems like that because I am getting older, the kids are more active and getting older themselves, maybe it is the nice warm weather and the need to get outside, ???  Maybe it is that fact that I have been officially diagnosed with migraines (duh....I already knew that) and my doctor has been trying to help me get them under control over the last several months...without much luck.   I don't know, but I have felt swamped over the last couple of months and I am finally, just now feeling like I can breath again.

I have soooo many things and topics I could tell you about....so many things that I have documented with pictures and I even keep a running list of BLOG topics.....remember, I told you in an earlier post....I am a list maker!   :)  But the main idea I want to convey right now is gratitude to all of you.  Thank you for wondering about me, emailing me, calling me, sticking by me and still looking at this blog....even when the title "Grab a coke and dive on in..." keeps popping up on your screen each time.  Thank you for being my friends and caring whether or not I was still alive.  :)  I am grateful for all the sweet people I have met through blogging and I plan to keep going.  I enjoy writing here and going to different people's blogs and reading and commenting.  I have still been reading blogs for the last month, and keeping up with all my buddies out there...and I have enjoyed it so much. 

Let me just say this...I am back now.  My vacation from my blog is over!  I never intended to be gone so long and it didn't make me happy  :(  I think now that school is out and we are not on a strict schedule with bedtimes and things anymore.....that the hecticness of my life will calm down some.  I guess I sort of feel like I am taking an oath here....I, Heather Jewell, do promise to return to commenting regularly on blogs I read and to keep MINE updated regularly so as not to provoke emails that say...."Are you still breathing? "

I feel like I have my groove back and I am ready to rock and roll.....so here we GO!!!

I really don't even know where to start and what to tell you first....so here is a collage I made with  some snapshots of what has been going on over the last month or so. 

So much has been going on since I last posted!  We have had several birthdays in our family....including Mallory turning 7 and Parker turned the big ONE!  We have had dance practices going on to get ready for Kennedy's ballet recital, installing a new fence, finishing a swingset,  and re-doing all our front flower beds, ...throw in Mother's Day, a few short trips, a Senior banquet, and just having some fun outside because summer weather is here in the south!!! Oh, and of course I forgot about redecorating the girl's bedroom.   We have been a very busy family, but that is just our life and we have a lot of fun watching the kids grow and change....even though it is much too fast for me!!!

I plan on sharing lots of pictures this week about many of the above mentioned things we have been up to....so keep checking back!  Also, stay tuned for a RAK later on this week.  I have some goodies to give away....just because you all have been so good to remain loyal visitors.....even though lately have done a lousy job of keeping up to date!  So.....like I said....stay tuned for a jam packed week here on the 'ole blog!!!

I will leave you with a few more pictures and captions...

Mallory and Parker have birthdays two days apart in May.  So here they are celebrating with family and a big cookie cake! 

 

Parker was sitting outside the other day while Shane and I were working in the flower gardens out front and here come his sister to dress him up with flowers.  He loved and thought it was funny!  Couldn't resist this picture!

 

 

 

Mallory and Natalie(Leah's little sweetie) on Mallory's birthday.  We took a little trip that day and had a blast!

 

 

This has become one of my favorite candid photos. I played in Picasa with this one for a little bit and this is what I did. What a bunch of sweeties!!!

 

More later...and like I said earlier...thank you to all of you who have shown concern...I am fine....just been really busy....but this too shall pass and for now I HAVE MY GROOVE BACK and I am back to bloggin'

Have a great day!

Did you miss me? I'm NOT dead...

Maybe I set a record for the longest absence from my blog ever....Nah!  But man, I was gone for awhile...every time I would think that I need to sit down and let someone know I am still among the living...well, something would take precedence and blogging just had to wait!  Also, maybe I just wasn't really in the mood to blog about anything...like I have said before...I think maybe I just needed a break. 

Springtime is definitely here in North Alabama.  How about where you live?  I love the weather and the beautiful things I see everywhere I look outside...but along with that come the dreaded POLLEN!!!  It is now plaguing our area and so begins the sneezing, watery eyes, and of course more sinus trouble around here for many people. 

My friend Telah, suggested to me that maybe I needed to do a I'M NOT DEAD post....so here it is!  :)  I will admit I have been really busy and neglected my blog....I have read many over the weeks, but just stopped blogging and commenting on other blogs....and for that I apologize.  I let something get the best of me and just couldn't shake a funk that I was feeling.  But the sun is shining and it is a new day that God has blessed us with and I think I might be ready to get back into LIFE!  :)  I promise I will be back to commenting and visiting all your blogs soon....very soon!  Thanks for sticking by and for all your emails and comments and concern for if I was alright.  Very sweet to know that I was missed! 

Of course since it is has been over a month, I have tons of things I want to tell you about....but have no idea where to start.  So let me just give you a few glimpses of life here with me over the last few weeks...

So there you go!  Just some quick glimpses...I just uploaded 173 pictures from my camera this morning....that tells you how long it has been since I have been in catch up mode and felt like getting anything done. 

I can't wait to share more with you...but for right now I am off to get a new driver's license...since mine expires today!  YIKES!  Glad I remembered and didn't get stuck with an expired license!  Then I have some errands to run...of course it wouldn't be a trip into town without having to stop by Wal-Mart for something...right?

Love to you all and thanks for stopping by!  More later....