Birthday Celebration

Today is my 26th birthday! Time can slow down any day now. I'm 26 years old and I'm about to be someone's Mom. How can this be happening? I'm way too young for all of this. Kyle and my family made this birthday very special though. We actually celebrated yesterday. My grandparents came up and met us all at The Pit in downtown Raleigh for lunch. Their BBQ is seriously amazing, actually so is everything else on their menu. I was blessed with lots of presents too! Kyle had actually treated me like royalty the whole weekend and did whatever I wanted him to do. And he got me a piece of Godiva chocolate cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory, which I ate half of for breakfast. He's the best husband ever! It was a great day that also included a nap, a win for my fantasy football team, a win for the Texas Rangers and a great small group meeting.

pregnancy weight is definitely showing now!

Photography Week 1

I'm finally getting around to taking a photography class this semester after having my Nikon since last Christmas! I'm pretty excited about it but week one was definitely over my head and I'm still way confused. However, our assignment was super easy. This week we were to take pictures of red objects. We were supposed to fill at least 2/3 of the frame with the color, which was much harder for me than it sounds. There is still much to be desired with the lighting/focus/depth of field, etc etc but we were just supposed to be creative this week so don't judge too harshly yet. Here's some of my favs. We'll see what the teacher thinks on Monday, haha.

I had to get this guy in there, the Clifford dog my Mom got for Mason

red dress

red barn

barn right down the street from our house, I think it's so pretty

trespassing for the sake of photography

wish I could have gotten more shots of the horses but they weren't red ;)

Can't wait to watch Mason slide down this slide

tunnel at the playground

dirty old fire hydrant

pretty flower

more pretty flowers

Jesus in every book of the Bible

This 11 year old gets it!!

He is MY Redeemer! He is MY Lord! He is MY Savior! He is MY Strength! He is MY LIFE!

A Family Wedding

My cousin Holly got married last weekend down in Atlanta. It was such a sweet time. I've been close with Holly since we were really small and she's the most special one to me of all my cousins. More than anyone else I've ever known, she deserved to have this wonderful day and a lifetime of happiness. Most of the family went down on Thursday night. Friday was a busy and chaotic day for everyone. All of us girls gave Holly a bridal lunch and shower. Then we came home changed clothes and headed back out to the rehearsal. The venue was absolutely beautiful! The wedding and reception were both inside of this big white country club on a gorgeous golf course. It couldn't have been a more perfect place. Friday night was the rehearsal, rehearsal dinner and the bachlorette party. By the time I got back to the hotel Friday night I was completely exhausted. Then Saturday was the big day! Everything was perfect. Holly was beautiful, Josh was happy, my dress fit and the food was awesome (which is what this preggo girl was really looking forward to!). I only teared up one time and it was only after Holly did first! I'm just so happy for her!

some of the ladies before the Bridal lunch

Bridal lunch!

Me and Nevie (she is saying "cheese")

rehearsal

 

Lez watched the little ones during the rehearsal. Cutest picture ever!

Bachlorette party

me and the glowing Bride!

me and Kyle!

I love this picture!

New blog

Hey everyone! It's time for us to move past the newly wed stage of our marriage and into the parenthood stage! Ahhhh! In honor of this new chapter in our lives, we are starting a new blog. Visit us here:  http://agenerousheritage.blogspot.com/

Pesto Pride

I am so proud of myself I can hardly stand it. For the first time ever, I made my own homemade pesto with basil from my very own basil plants on my porch! I've waited weeks and weeks and weeks for my basil plants to be big and strong enough where I could get enough leaves. Kyle and I both love pesto and I saw this recipe from the Pioneer Woman (love her!) and have been wanting to try it for a while now. It was delicious! Usually I don't do tomatoes, but I was surprised that I actually ate them in this dish. I also added chicken because it felt right. Anyway, it's super easy and you should try it if you haven't! This is PW's picture, I didn't take my own picture because I was too excited about eating it that I forgot. *grin*

Summer Vacation

For the first time in several years, Kyle and I took a summer vacation!! Thanks to my parents. They rented a huge condo down in Myrtle Beach for the week and invited the whole family to come down! It was awesome. We didn't do a whole lot other than sleep in, sit out on the beach and eat amazing dinners. We did squeeze in a trip to the outlet mall, Barefoot Landing, a round of Putt-Putt and some Calabash seafood. We all took turns cooking dinner each night which turned out to be a great idea. Everyone only had to cook one time and it was nice to not have to get ready and go out every night and wait for dinner. We had beautiful weather everyday, it didn't rain one time!! A much needed vacation indeed!

The day after we got home from the beach we packed up the car again and headed to Jacksonville to see the Fescoe's! Chris, Michelle, Ava and Linc had come down from Williamsburg so we got to see the whole family. It was so much fun as always. Uncle Kyle was totally thrilled to go see Cars 2 with his buddy Lincoln. While the boys were at the movies and the other ladies were cooking in the kitchen, Ava and I made a 4th of July wreath. It was fun and it actually turned out pretty cute! We had a great time even though it was a short visit.

Now I am playing catch-up this week with laundry, grocery shopping, house cleaning and lots of errands!

VBS

Pray for us! Kyle and I are responsible for 13 "out of kindergarten" children this week at Vacation Bible School. They are totally precious and we had a great night last night. But there are 13 of them. Whoa! 10 boys and 3 girls. Help me, Lord. I do love that age though and they are so sweet. We are going to have a fun week. I'll try to take pics. :)

look at those sweet faces

game time!!

singing!!

snack time

Weekend Recap

Friday: My mom and one of my sisters came over for the day and we worked on invitations for one of my cousin's wedding showers. We are excited about two family weddings coming up at the end of the summer so we have to get busy! When you have 17 grand kids in one family, there's always something going on. It seems like we are always planning some kind of party, which is totally fun. Later that night Kyle and I decided to check out the free street concert in downtown Varina. It was the "Celebrate Fuquay-Varina" weekend and we had never been before. It was kind of cool, we got to park at the high school and ride a trolley into downtown. We checked out the new cupcake bakery that we had not been to yet. It was amazing!! It was a beach music concert so we chilled on the street curb for a while and walked around a little. Nothing too crazy. It is Fuquay-Varina after all.

Saturday: I didn't have to work this weekend which was awesome! As part of the Celebrate Fuquay events for the weekend, Kyle ran in the "Run the Quay" 5K on Saturday morning. He did awesome! It was in a different location than years past and he said the course was a little better. I cheered him on with some friends from the sidelines. I wish I could run, but my knee just isn't cooperating these days. After showers and lunch we decided to go out shopping for a little bit. On the way home we passed a theater and decided to be spontaneous and go see a movie. It was fun until we ate almost the whole bucket of a large popcorn and I thought I was going to be sick. Good times.

Sunday: It was a typical Sunday. Church and lunch with the family. My Dad grilled out hot dogs and hamburgers and we had lunch out on the deck... until it got too hot. Kyle watched NASCAR while I enjoyed my Sunday afternoon nap, like always. A lovely, restful day. It was a great weekend!

Attitude Adjustment

This past Sunday during the sermon at church, God got a hold of my heart and revealed something in me that I didn't want to see or admit to. I believe God always has something for me to learn every week, but sometimes He sends me a message at just the right time that shakes me to my core and challenges me to change. The message was from Luke 15 and a story that everyone is familiar with. The Prodigal Son. I have read that story countless times and the focus is always on that younger son who comes home. However, I never really paid attention to the older son. The brother that didn't want to come into the house and celebrate his younger brother's return.

I was challenged with the question: Am I the younger son who needs to come home or the older son who needs to come in?

I did take extensive notes but I'll just give you the highlights ;)

* I've been telling God that things are not fair. Just like the older son told his father it wasn't fair that the the fatted calf was killed for the younger son who had disgraced and shamed their father. A celebration for him? You must be joking. I am the one who has stayed here this whole time and done everything you asked me to do. Why are we throwing a party for him? The speaker pointed out and I found to be so true: "We are only interested in fair when we're the one who is injured." That's not how God operates and I know better.
* I've also been telling God I deserve things and that He never gives me anything. Wrong. The father in the story tells his older son that everything he has is his son's for the asking. He has not because he's asked not. Why am I trying to earn God's favor? God has already given me way more than I deserve. There's not enough room to list them all here but for starters: Jesus. Salvation. Being born in the USA. My awesome husband. A job I love. An amazing and supportive family..... Really? God has never given me anything. Really??
* I have been choosing to celebrate others, only when I feel like it. How dare I not celebrate when the lost are found. When someone who was dead (in their sin) is alive in Christ. The Bible says the father explained to his older son that it was "fitting" to celebrate. They really had no choice, they were compelled to celebrate the miracle. Of course this passage is referring to salvation, but I was convicted of not celebrating other things in people's lives as well. You know, when people get things that I don't have or things that I think they don't deserve. Instead of being annoyed that others are celebrating, I need to come in and join the party. The part I find so sweet, is that the father comes out of the house, he leaves the party to come plead with the older son to come in and celebrate. He doesn't chew the older son out, he begs him to come inside. That's how God is though, right? He is going to gently call me to come, He's not going to force it. I've been the younger son before. I've been the one who has realized my sin, repented, come home and celebrated. How wrong is it for me to not join in the celebration of others who have come home. The party is not complete until everyone is in the house!

So I'm praying that God will help me to not be a younger brother who has forgotten what it is like to experience the love and forgiveness of my heavenly Father. I want that same feeling for others and I want to come in and join the party when they come home!!

I'm marking Sunday, May 29th, 2011 as a day in my life when I chose to make an attitude adjustment! Thank you, Lord!

Memorial Day

We had a wonderful and super fun Memorial Day weekend. I had to work all day Saturday but Kyle and I both had Monday off! We are so thankful for the men and women "who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life." We'll never forget why we have our freedom and are eternally grateful for the sacrifices our military personnel make every day.

Friday night we went grill shopping and after a little frustration, we finally found the one we wanted! Kyle assembled it Saturday and we christened it on Sunday night! We had a few friends over for a cookout and had a great time with lots of food! We also got to share with them something that we feel led to start this fall. But that's another post for another day! What's important is that I got to use a new chip and dip bowl that I had received as a wedding gift. I actually forgot I had it because it has been sitting at my parent's house for the last three years. I was so excited when I found it the other week and decided to use it for the first time! It is the coolest thing ever, and it spins!! How cute is this??

I know you're all jealous and want one now!! :-)

Yesterday I decided it was past time for a new swim suit so I drug Kyle with me shopping for a little while. I have to say though, I was not that impressed with the Memorial Day sales. They were kind of lame. So we didn't get that much. Bummer.

We did have a nice relaxing day after that though. After dinner, some friends came and picked us up in their 1966 Mustang convertible and we rode out to Coats, NC to get some ice cream. It was awesome and a super cool way to end a great weekend. Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

American Hunnies

OK, no more of the icky emotional stuff for a while. Here's a video that makes me very happy! Are these two the next Tim and Faith?? Maybe, just maybe!!

Mixed Emotions

Lately I've been dealing with lots of conflicting emotions. It's annoying. So to prove to you all that I'm not perfect and I do not always have it all together, here's me being real with y'all today:

Example #1: I've spent the entire week obsessing over my picks to win American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. Lame, I know. I've been so anxious to turn on the TV every night and see my shows and I've been so excited and joyful when my favorite wins. Then I flip one channel over and there it is. So much devastation, pain and sadness dealing with all the natural disasters that are happening lately, especially in our country. Do I really have a right to sit in my comfy house and watch reality TV when some people don't even have a house to go to, not to mention no food to eat or clothes to wear? Obviously there's not a whole lot I could do for them besides pray and give money to help. Where do you find that balance though? I can't halt my life just because someone else's life is stalled. But where are my priorities?

Example #2: Someone close to our family chose to do something that we consider (and this person does too) to be sinful. Yet, in return they are receiving something amazing. Make no mistake, they are going to receive consequences for their bad choices, but they also (by God's grace) received a gift. Where do you draw the line between rejoicing with them in their happiness yet not condoning their shameful behavior? It can be tough. So tough.

Example #3: Kyle and I have been praying for God to do something specific in our lives. I have had the privilege to celebrate with others when God has done this very thing for them. How do you respond when you have to watch others enjoy something that you have been praying for?? To make it worse, sometimes I feel like these people don't *deserve* this thing (not like I deserve it either, but that's just me being human). I know in my head that God's timing is perfect and His plan is better than mine. Living it can be challenging though.

I know the answers to my own questions, but it feels good to get them out. Confused yet? If not, what are your thoughts? How do you handle mixed emotions and find the right balance?

Life Update

Lots of fun things have been going on around here lately!

Kyle got a promotion at work. We were not exactly expecting it but we are so thankful for it! It was just one of those things that happens really fast. Someone quit and they never posted the job, they just offered it to Kyle if he wanted it. Seriously. So he started yesterday and he's moved from the desktop support team to the networking team. He'll have a lot more work so he'll stay busy! I believe his official title is IT System Engineer.

The softball season is wrapping up with just a few more games to go! Kyle got a standing triple last night, his first of the season! Sweet! He saved it for a game when I could actually be there to see it. YAY!

I spent all day last Friday working in downtown Raleigh with the NC Baptist Men to help clean up some of the mess the tornadoes caused. I have to say, the NCBM have got it going on. I was totally impressed with their operation and all of the volunteers. I was put on a debris removal team. I was hoping Kyle could join me but he was in training for his new job and couldn't get out of work. I got sent with a crew of about six men to work on three different houses. The men sawed the fallen trees into pieces and I drug the pieces to a pile and then another guy came with a bobcat and hauled all the debris to the street. After eight hours I was pure exhausted! I enjoyed every minute of it though. It brought back so many memories of when I did World Changers for four summers when I was in high school. I loved the construction part of those trips and I would always be the first one to volunteer to get up on a roof. I miss those days! Such good times!

they got the chainsaw pinched in this tree at least three times

repairing the roof

BIG tree

This past Sunday, Kyle and I participated in a Walk for Life for a pregnancy resource center right down the street from us. I have really come to love and appreciate this ministry and all that they do for so many women in our area. All of their services are free to the clients. They do free pregnancy tests, free ultrasounds, counseling, etc. It's really an amazing place and I was happy to do my part to help. You never know when someone you know and love might need that kind of help, love and encouragement to make the right decision.

ladies on our team!

me and Kyle resting after the walk

Wedding season is here again. We know about 10 people getting married over the next few months. One of those people would be my gorgeous cousin Holly. I am going to be a bridesmaid in her July 30th wedding so I'm so excited! I went and ordered the dress (in apple red) and shoes today!

cousin Holly, cousin Jenny (also a bridesmaid) and me

We are absolutely loving the weather here lately! We're also counting down the days until our summer vacation! 54 days til our beach trip!! Cannot wait!

Dance Your Shoes Off

CHRIST THE LORD IN RISEN!! HALLELUJAH!

The Starfish Story

I heard this story the other day and just wanted to share...

While walking along a beach, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking something up and throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, picking up starfish one by one and tossing each one gently back into the water.

He came closer still and called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”

The old man smiled, and said, “I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

Upon hearing this, the elderly observer commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it into the ocean past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

Lord, help me be someone who is willing to make a difference!

This is NC, we don't have tornadoes

We had 62 tornadoes in North Carolina on Saturday! Say WHAT??

I know. Crazy. So let me start from the beginning. I was at a Leadership conference Friday night and all day Saturday. I went with some ladies from our church and we met with ladies from all over the state at a church not too far from my house. We had known all week that the weather was supposed to be bad on Saturday afternoon with a possible threat of tornadoes. That is extremely rare for our state, we NEVER get tornadoes. As part of our conference we broke up into small groups to do projects around the area. My team was assigned to work at a place in Fuquay which is the town I live in. It's about a 20 minute drive from the church where the conference was. So we all loaded up in a 15 passenger van around 1pm to head to our work site. The weather at that point was the same it had been all morning, it was cloudy and windy but nothing to be concerned about and it was definitely not raining yet. So we worked for about two hours and started loading up the van around 3pm to head back to the church in Apex. Before we could pull out of the driveway our leader's daughter called and said that we should start heading back right away because the bad weather was very close and we needed to take shelter. We had not gotten five minutes down the road when another lady's husband called and said there was a tornado headed right toward Apex! That's where we were headed! I was slightly scared to say the least. At this point it had started raining really hard and the wind was blowing our van back and forth pretty hard. I texted Kyle to make sure everything was OK at the house and told him I loved him just in case anything happened to me. I was half kidding but half very serious because I was scared! On the drive back to the church we went though the town of Holly Springs (at approx 3:15pm) which I drive through pretty much on a daily basis and it would be the same way I would drive back through on my way home later that night. By the time we got back to the church the weather was severe and the power in the church was already flickering. We were all ushered down into the church's basement and oddly enough, we carried on with our retreat!! For the next hour we heard the rain and hail beating against the building and sirens going off everywhere! It was crazy I tell you!! It's (sort of) comical now but at the time it was somewhat annoying when one lady who just moved here from Texas asked if what we were hearing was a tornado siren going off. Not realizing she was serious and not trying to be funny, I was sarcastically thinking to myself "We don't have tornado sirens in North Carolina because we don't have tornadoes." Anyway, we ended the retreat and as I came back upstairs I noticed that it was incredibly eery, quiet and calm outside. It was so strange. I remember being 10 years old and experiencing Hurricane Fran when she came through. I remember that same eery feeling being in the eye of that storm and it felt the same way! It was freaky. As I drove back home the same way I had just driven through two hours earlier, everything looked the same until I got to Holly Springs. I immediately knew something was very, very wrong. There was a whole line of trees and street signs completely toppled over. There was no power to any of the traffic lights and fire trucks were trying to block off lanes where trees were all over the road. I called Kyle and he said we had no power at the house. I knew why! A tornado had come through that area for sure! After getting home and looking online to see what in the world was going on, we discovered that a tornado had indeed come through Holly Springs at approximately 3:30pm.  Holy moly! That was only about 15 minutes after our van of ladies had driven through that very area. Not to mention, that same area is only about 4 miles away from our house. We had missed that tornado by mere minutes and mere miles. I was so freaked out I couldn't even sit down. I was pacing around the dark house for a good little bit before I could calm down enough to call anyone. I was talking so fast I don't even know how Kyle could understand anything I was saying. We finally got power back a couple of hours later. Unfortunately a lot of people are still without power in Holly Springs and many other areas around NC that were hit. Governor Bev Perdue said we had a total of 62 tornadoes that afternoon and has declared a state of emergency. The death toll is currently at 25. As thankful as I am that nothing happened to me or my family, my heart is breaking even more for those who were hit and those families that lost loved ones. I can not say it enough people, you NEVER know when your last day might be. We are not promised a tomorrow. In just a few seconds, your whole life can turn upside down.

It just didn't seem right that yesterday morning we woke up to beautiful sunny skies and 70 degree weather. You would have never guessed that just 18 hours before, our state saw the worst weather conditions we have seen in years. CRAZY!

Beautiful Scars

This past Monday night at Bible study I got a new perspective on scars. We all have them. Most of us don't like them. Some scars bring back terrible memories. Some bring back fond memories where we laugh and remember good times. I still have a scar on my right knee from when my sister and I decided it would be smart to ride in our little red wagon down the drive way. We crashed and burned and I have the scar to prove it. Some scars bring shame. Some scars remind us of how we've been healed. Some of us may have a few small scars that we don't even remember where they came from. But most of the time, we remember exactly how we got every scar. Each one has it's own story that has left a permanent reminder on our body.

Scars should never be an ugly thing. They are a reminder and proof that we have survived! Whatever it was that caused those permanent marks on our body, wasn't stronger than us. It didn't win. We survived! I don't usually make it a habit to ask people to show me their scars and tell me their stories. That would definitely be awkward. Without a doubt though, there is one pair of scars that I absolutely can not wait to see! The nailed scarred hands of Jesus Christ. Praise, Him! He is so worthy of our praise! He survived the cross! He defeated death. Oh, those beautiful, beautiful scars. And even better, I can not wait to see my name engraved next to those nail scarred hands. In Isaiah 49:16, the Lord tells His people, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." WOW! I can not wait until that glorious day when I see Jesus hold out His hands, see my name next to those beautiful scars and hear Him say, "See Lindsey, I did this for YOU!" Jesus Messiah is my Redeemer. Is He yours? Will you see your name engraved in the palm of His hands? My prayer for you is that your answer is a resounding YES!

Puffy face, pudding and pansies

Poor Kyle had to have mouth surgery last Wednesday. Stinking receding gum lines. He had to get skin grafts for four of his teeth. It was no fun, at all. He was such a trooper though. He was only allowed to eat soft foods for the first few days. Lots and lots of pudding, yogurt, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese and bananas. It just so happened that his surgery fell on the day before the NCAA tournament started. Bless his heart he had to stay in his Lazy Boy and watch basketball for two straight days. I know, I know, it was so sad it almost made me cry. Really though, he did great and the pain meds worked quite well. It wasn't until Friday that he complained of any pain. He was pretty cute though with a puffy right cheek. He goes back tomorrow to get the stitches removed. He should feel tons better after that!

doesn't he look pitiful??

Saturday Kyle was feeling pretty good so we decided to spend the day outside since it was such a beautiful day! We went and got some flowers and mulch and attempted to make our front yard look half way decent. Every yard in our cul-de-sac looks gorgeous, except for ours. It's not that we don't want to work in the yard, but it does take time and money. Anyway, we thought the neighbors might appreciate if we made an effort this year. We spent all day working on it and it does look better. We are not finished, but after 6 hours we were exhausted and I didn't want Kyle to over do it. We pulled up all the weeds, put mulch around the front flower beds, planted a bush in a bare spot in the front, dug up an old holly tree and planted flowers around the mailbox. At least the yard has a little more color now. Success!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Three Years

I can't believe Kyle and I have been married THREE years!! It really doesn't seem like it's been that long. It's been an awesome three years too!! Wouldn't trade them for the world!

Happy Anniversary to the man I love with all my heart!!! I love you Kyle!!!

Wedding Day!!

Honeymoon!

2nd Anniversary in Savannah, GA

Summer 2010

celebrate good times, come on!!

As you know, we had lots of birthday to celebrate this past weekend!!!

Thursday night Courtney came over and I made Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti to celebrate Kyle's birthday. We tried to watch the NC State game after dinner... big waste of time. But the food and company were both awesome. Thanks for helping up celebrate, Court!!

 


Friday night, my Dad's side of the family gathered at my parents house. I volunteered to cook for everyone and I decided to make Chicken Piccata, roasted asparagus and snowy potatoes. I think everything turned out pretty good for the most part. We celebrated Kyle, Leah and my Grandma's birthday with strawberry cake that my Mom made (it was awesome!) and Cookie Dough Ice Cream cake (amazing!). Good times!!

Grandparents

Alex and Leah

Aunty Lou Lou and Alan in his ugly Carolina shirt

Love you lil sis, I just needed a pic with your "pinless" hand!

birthday boy and me :-)

Daddy and Momma

sisters