Thankfulness - Are we missing something?

Thankfulness is defined as expressing gratitude and relief.


I have a wonderful Lord and Savior who loves me unconditionally, although I don’t deserve it. He is a just, loving, caring, understanding, comforting, teaching, healing, patient God. He loves me much more than I allow Him to love me and much more than I love myself. He died on a cross for me. I’m so undeserving.

I have a wonderful husband who understands me, makes me laugh, supports me, encourages me, serves his family, who is a hard worker, and loves me. I know God made him perfectly for me.

I have an amazing family who is so unique – we care deeply for one another. We would give each other the shirts off our backs. We understand one another and appreciate each other’s company. We can laugh together, we can cry together, we understand one another.

I have a wonderful career that allows me to use my God-given abilities. My career challenges me every day. My career gives me a sense of pride that I can accomplish goals, use my knowledge, and feel that my skill is needed.

I have a beautiful home that keeps us safe, secure, and warm. It’s a home that memories will be made and cries and laughter will be heard.

I have been graced with some beautiful friends; true inner-beauty. Each friend having special gifts that God has given them. They each bless me with their laughter, their true passion for life, their love of the Lord, the care and compassion.

I’m a blessed person, truly more than I can even comprehend most days. This year, I’ve learned a lot about myself. I’ve learned how God looks at His children, how He wants our hearts to be, and how He chooses each of us to walk paths He has prepared for us.

On Thanksgiving, we always stop to think about the obvious ones - family, homes, friends. Do we stop and thank Him for those things that are tough to grasp sometimes?

Thank you Lord for taking my Dad to be with You. I miss him terribly – his voice, his passion, his laugh, his concern, his touch. It hurts some days more than others. I’m thankful that you chose me to feel such raw pain. This pain has changed my perspective on You, on heaven, on family, on forgiveness, on worship. Thank You for allowing me to see Your will. Thank You for comforting me. Thank You for not forgetting me through this. Thank You for the lessons taught and those to come. Thank You for choosing me.

Thank you Lord for being a step-mom. This is a hard job - loving a child who isn’t mine, who didn’t choose me and who found me in her own brokenness. I’ve always struggled with breaking down the walls of my heart and this has been a true test of my ability to love and to hope for love in return. I have had to practice patience and holding my tongue, experience turning the other cheek, struggle with resentfulness, truly understand the act of being selfless. I have not always walked this journey with grace. Thank You for always forgiving me and dealing with my heart. Thank You for having patience with me. You have chosen me and I am relying on You. Thank You for choosing me.

For this life, You choose me. In return, I must become more reliant on you. Lord, You see so much good in broken things. You turned my heart of stone and made it a home for You and have set me free.

Hallelujah, hallelujah. Whatever’s in front of me, help me to sing hallelujah. I’ll choose to sing hallelujah.

Whatever may come, I will choose to be thankful. I am thankful today and every for Him choosing me to be a part of His will.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Hallelujah - Bethany Dillon

"Honey-Do" Couples Shower!

Saturday night, my sister and her husband (who introduced me and Scott), along with my mom and step-dad, were so sweet to host a couple's shower in my and Scott's honor! We had so much fun hanging out with so many close friends and family! The food and cakes were AWESOME (catered by Homeplate Cooking), my Mom's cheesecakes were an absolute hit, the koozies were super cute, the decorations were perfect and the fellowship was wonderful! Scott and I felt so honored at so many people's sweet gestures and well wishes as we embark on our lives together!

My sister sent out invitations that gave each guest a different "Honey-Do" request, such as:

Honey, let's...

 take a nap,

have a dinner party,

have game night,

do yard work,

do laundry,

clean house,

have a picnic.

We got so many wonderful gifts! Picnic baskets, wine, wine goblets, a blanket, laundry supplies, cleaning supplies, sheets, towels, home improvement store gift cards, serving ware, and so much more! And, my mom, step-dad, sister, and bro-in-law thought it would be good to take "Game Night" to the next level.....our family is now the proud owner of a Nintendo Wii! It's so funny because I've never had any gaming system since the original NES, so this will be a new one for us! My sister's family has one and they love it, so we can't wait to start family tournaments!

Thank you all for making that night so special for us!!

Bachelorette Party - Nash-Vegas Style!!

A group of some of the great girls in my Bunco group took me to Nashville to celebrate my upcoming nuptials! We stayed in the heart of Nashville and were able to walk to eat at The Big River Grill and go over and take in some line-dancing and Country-music at The Wildhorse Saloon. After a while, we left there and headed over to the dueling piano bar, The Big Bang Bar. It was SUCH a blast! Nashville is such a fun town and to be with such a great group made my Bachelorette a wonderful memory for the books!

I hope we can make this an annual trip!!

Lindsey's Work Wedding Shower

On August 19th, my accounting firm, along with my co-workers, were so gracious to throw me and Scott a wedding shower! We received so many wonderful gifts: Foam mattress cover, 4-piece set of luggage, set of sheets, a few pans, a set of Henckels knives, Calphalon serving-ware, New Orleans Saints Tumbler, oven mitts and kitchen towels, and a gift card to Bed Bath & Beyond!! I have so many generous and thoughtful co-workers who made the shower so special for us!

Engagement Pictures

A few weeks ago, Scott and I dressed up and headed to Montevallo to take some Engagement pictures. It was BEYOND hot (as you might can tell from our hair!), but we had fun! We started out at the back of the American Village property, then headed over to the University of Montevallo and took pictures on the side walks, by the President's Home, and at the Lake. Mark Parker of Mark's Brides is the amazing photographer behind these photos! He is very talented and we look forward to working with him for our wedding! Check out his website HERE!

Below are a few that we like!

Happy July 4th – In August!

Better late than never, right? Bare with me…

Our family had one of the best July 4th weekends that I can ever remember having. I think the best part is that it fell on a Sunday and we had the following Monday off! We had the pleasure of having both Haley (4) and her cousin, McKenzie (6) the entire holiday weekend. So, I had a sneak peak of what it is like to have two girls. Boys, boys, boys! :)

On Saturday night, we went to the firework show put on in Veterans Park in Alabaster. It was sponsored by Kingwood Christian Church and it was wonderful! There was a ton of free stuff for the kids to do, a movie displayed at dark, and the fireworks were incredible! Unfortunately, no pictures.

On Sunday, we ate some barbecue and loaded up the kids to head out to a true Patriotic venue – American Village! We ended up missing most of the kids activities and thought we would make it to walk around and catch fireworks at dusk. Well, come 9:45pm, still no fireworks. They had a oldies cover band playing. They were actually pretty good, but when you have two whiny children who wanted to know where the fireworks were, we didn’t get to enjoy them and really wanted them to stop singing! We ended up picking an AMAZING seat…about 100 yards away from where they were being shot off. It was so cool! So loud..but so cool! The kids were laughing so hard because it felt like we were being invaded by fireworks!

There are some awesome places in Birmingham to catch fireworks if fighting the traffic downtown isn’t for you!

It was also great to spend some time at a place that is so special to me and Scott! The next event at American Village will be the wedding of someone you might know…..

...I'm BACK!

I’m BACK! Ok, there are a lot of reasons I took a blogging hiatus. The biggest reason was my lack of a good camera to take pictures. I mean come on, who likes to read blogs without great pictures to look at?


But, I’m SO excited that as a wedding gift, my mom, step-Dad, sister, and brother-in-law, gave Scott and me …

...THIS!!

I’m happy to get back to blogging. I promise, no more unexplained hiatuses. Some of you have been so sweet to comment to me about how much you like the blog! BUT, you people have to start promising to start commenting. If you don’t know how to, email me and I’ll let you know! I feel like sometimes I’m talking to no-one out there!!! And, I promise to be an even-better blogger after my wedding too!

..Get ready for some updates!!

Weekend Recap!

So, unlike my glory days, my weekends are no longer spent sleeping in until 1pm, eating breakfast, and snoozing until 3pm. Here is my weekend recap, be envious:


Friday night - I was so excited to go and order my wedding bands!! Scott is so sweet to buy me two of them: one for the wedding and one for my birthday that is two days before the wedding! One of my Dad's very close friends owns the jewelry store where Scott has bought my rings. Dad delivered to him for 20+ years, so I thought it was very appropriate when I saw this pull up...

I love you too Daddy! I'm glad you approve of these rings too! :) (See, Dad was secretly involved in approving of my engagement ring too!)

And of course, I do what most 24-yr-olds do on Friday night.. GROCERY SHOP!! See, I'm not your average grocery shopper. I consider grocery shopping a mission, one which I prepare for about an hour to conquer! I'm happy to report I spent $72 and my bottom line savings was $68! Not to shabby!

Saturday: Haley had a league tournament Saturday. She played in games earlier on in the week that determined her team's seed. They played single elimination, and sadly (kinda..), they lost by one. See, I'm sad they lost, but I was glad not to have to spend all day at the ballpark! The last game was definitely bittersweet! Afterwards, Scott and I went and picked out his wedding ring! I'm glad to see all of these little odds and ends begin to start tying up! I'm glad he opted out of the diamonds and excess bling!

During the afternoon, Scott just so happened to start driving towards my sister's house...not to spend time with my sweet, adorable nephews, he wanted to play her Mother's Day present..the Wii. I took a nap while he...

..hit a few rounds of golf...and...

..boxed like Evander Holyfield.

After all that excitement, we wanted to eat where we could sit outside, so we headed to The Depot and enjoyed watching the waterfall!

We then rented two movies:

(1) Law Abiding Citizen - 1 1/2 thumbs up! It was a great plot, very intense and thought-provoking. But, a little gory for me!

(2) The Time Traveler's Wife - I will admit, I rented this because of the girl who plays in The Notebook....awful! Don't waste your money!

Sunday - I have to confess, I've been fighting a cold so I didn't make it to church. I slept in and later, we went to Scott's nephew's birthday party! It was great until the rain came in! But the kids had fun in this...

It was a fun weekend! Happy Monday to each of you! Hope the week goes by fast and you are feeling a little bit of summer wherever you are...We sure are!!

Accounting For This Life: What do you and your family do now that the weather is warming up?

Onward with the Deposits!!!

"Opposites can attract as in magnetism. Or explode, as in matter and antimatter." - Peter David

(The Epitome of Opposites!!)

Scott and I started premarital counseling a few weeks ago. In our first session, the counselor asked that we take the Prepare-Enrich quiz to check our compatibility and see if there were any areas of concern that we needed to discuss further. I couldn't WAIT to take it...that was right up my alley. Scott, well, I had to conveniently clear his schedule so he could complete it. So yesterday, I was so excited to go and find out where we stood.

The counselor started by asking us how we thought we fell into the categories. Scott and I are very realistic with our relationship and with each of our faults, so we told him that we felt as though we were compatible, however knew of our faults and probably there were areas of work. He was pleased to tell us that we were categorized as the best, a "Vitalized" couple which is defined as a happy couple with high positive agreements, have many strengths, and a few growth areas. ONWARD WITH THE WEDDING DEPOSITS! :)

Scott and I were excited to hear the results. He briefly went over some of the questions we answered differently and gave us the opportunity to discuss some of those. Then, he wanted to discuss the personality profile that was associated with the test. We all had many laughs with this one...the counselor also mentioned that he had the same personality profile as Scott and his wife, who also in an accountant, had my same personality traits. Haha, can you say God thing? :) Shocking as it may be, Scott and I had completely different personality traits, polar opposites you might say. We were completely different in social, change, pleasing, and emotional steady and were nearly the same on organized.

I was so baffled that he and I are complete opposites, yet are so compatible. The counselor went on to tell us how important it is to know each other's personality types because many of the traits can explain many of the differences we may face now and in the future. He also told us that in many cases, opposites do attract but over time, many of the opposite traits can become contention points in a relationship. He said it is important to be aware of the differences and learn to effectively communicate. The counselor went on to tell us that instead of the 4-6 more sessions of counseling that he normally does, he only saw us needing one or two more!

I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful partner who I can talk to about anything and who supports me in every way! He truly treats me like a princess and is always so thoughtful. Although we are completely different personality wise, I pray that we can continue to laugh through many of the differences! Life may not always be ideal, but I have faith that as long as we continue to focus on the root of our relationship, we can make it through anything together! Scott is truly a God-send to me!

I encourage each of you if you haven't been married yet to explore some intense pre-marital counseling before you take the plunge! Everyone needs it and you might even be surprised what you find out! Also, if you are already married, take the time to invest in your marriage now and talk to a counselor every now and then - like a refresher. The Prepare Enrich website can direct you to someone locally who is trained in the test. Also, this test is for any couple - premarital, married, married with kids, empty-nesters.... Marriage is a serious commitment and it's worth the investment! Life is hectic and it's important to remember why you fell in love in the first place.

Accounting for this Life: To the couples - How do you keep your relationship strong?

Pity Party Pitfalls

"...I do not have a mother." - Our World Vision sponsor child's sister.

Last Fall, Scott and I decided to sponsor a World Vision child. We decided we wanted to sponsor one who had similarities as Haley so she could have something in common with the child. We chose a little girl who lives in Bolivia. She lives with her father and her 5 other siblings. Her mother passed away soon after she was born. She has the same birthday as Haley, only a year younger. She also loves dolls, like Haley. Her name is Blanca. In December, we sent her a care package with some crayons, coloring pages, stickers, a letter and a picture of our family. Yesterday, we received a letter back from her sister (since Blanca is 3) and a picture of Blanca with the package we sent!

The letter said, " Dear Sponsor, My sister is so happy for all the things you sent her. She is happy for all the presents. You are so nice with my sister. She is fine. I like the presents. I do not have a mother. Thank you." ....It completely caught me off guard that the little girl put that in the letter. I already knew of her mother's passing, but it just surprised me that Blanca's sister felt like that was something of importance to put in the letter. Not how the weather is, not what their favorite colors are, not their favorite game...

Lately, I've been having pity parties for myself since my Dad passed away. It is sad to face all of life's events without him and I'm dreading many special times in mine and my family's lives. I should be able to find joy in some of these times, however my joy is overcome with grief. On one hand, I feel guilty being happy and I feel guilty for being sad. Instead of living in the moment and appreciating the moment for what it is worth, I am always struggling internally with these feelings.

When I got this letter yesterday, my heart just broke for these children. These children not only live in horrible conditions and are the poorest of poor, but their family is broken by the loss of their mother. I feel like that was God's perfect timing to show me that (1) I'm not alone in my sadness and grief over losing a parent and (2) I had so many wonderful years with my father - these kids will NEVER know much about their mother. So, stop having a complete pity party!!

I'm glad God lead our family to Blanca. I never thought I could have something in common with a 3 year old child from Bolivia, but God knew that we both would have hurt and a piece of our hearts missing over a lost parent. My prayer is that through the letters, I can express my care for loss as so many of you have for ours.



As Mother's Day approaches this weekend, my heart and mind are on kids like Blanca who don't have many memories of their mother. I'm so blessed to have had many wonderful years with both of my parents. Although my Dad is no longer with us, I have his memories which I will cherish forever.

If you don't already, I encourage each of you to consider sponsoring a child. Consider World Vision or Compassion International. Pray about and it ask that God lead you to a child that you can connect with. God's hand was all over our match with Blanca and I pray that you can find a child that can bless your life as much as you will bless theirs!

Accounting for This Life: How do you get through your own pity parties in life?

Welcome!

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end." - Seneca (Roman philosopher)


A secret obsession of mine is reading blogs. I enjoy reading about people I know and keeping up with their lives, their families and hearing stories that can make me laugh, cry, and sometimes scratch my head. Over the past year or so, I've begun to follow blogs of people I don't know and it usually begins with a heart-wrenching story, one that captivates me. You start to feel like a regular in someone's world and it's exciting to get to know them, their ups and downs, and their daily adventures.

I've always wanted to start a blog, but never felt as though I had any "blog-worthy" material. I've always considered myself a fairly boring person and one who lived for tomorrow. I've realized over the last year or so that God's plan for my life was very different that I had ever planned or expected it to be. God has been teaching me a good amount of life lessons, some that were tough, and some that convinced me that God has a great sense of humor.

With that being said, I'm starting this blog to share in life's sad times, happy times, hilarious times, and times that I never want to forget. I want to use this outlet to share with you all, but mostly as an outlet and a frozen moment in time to always be able to look back to and reflect. I'm looking forward to accounting for my life through this outlet with all of you!


Accounting For This Life - What are your favorite blogs that make you think, laugh, and cry?