January 5, 2014 by Stephanie

Holiday Stats

Glinn Photography

We just resurfaced in Ft. Campbell after 2 weeks on the road. We don’t even know what to do with ourselves.

Here is a recap on how the past two weeks of our travel went.

Basics

14 days living out of a suitcase (or two)
1 state (Missouri) 2 cities (Kansas City and Jefferson City)
2 Christmas celebrations in JC
3 Christmas celebrations in KC
Drove through the town where our undergrad is and revisited old stomping grounds
Rang in 2014
4 family birthdays

We surprised my father-in-law with a 60th birthday party.

The Dogs

Crosby got a new nickname of Hammerhead, to go along with his others of Crosbastic and Crosbilicious.
Neither dog pooped in the house while we were away. Success.
Grace lived up to her name of the Food Ninja by stealing food off the counters.
We saw Crosby in the snow for the first time (with us anyway). He is not a fan. Grace however, thinks snow is candy coming from the sky.
Crosby demolished a Kong toy in the amount of time it took us to open up Christmas presents.

The unlucky Kong and Crosby.

For Funs

We both got to visit with old friends with typical best friend behavior
- My two best gal pals and I downed Chili’s molten chocolate cake under a couple minutes. As our families watched in awe (or horror) at three grown women fighting over cake and ice cream.
- Tom played hours of video games with his bestie.
I went to my first Christmas Eve service that I can remember. Our family lit the advent candles for the service.

My in-laws at Christmas Eve service.

Tom managed to work out every day. He scared a lot of people in the gym with his ranger panties.
On a date with my sister in law, I revisited the winery where we had our wedding anniversary.
I read 2 books and watched one documentary.
The Homemade Christmas items seemed to go over well. More to come on all the crafting that occurred gearing up for the gift exchange!
I got to officially meet the Climes whose son inspired me to run my last half. They are too sweet, except the boys let me die in a nerf arrow fight.
We watched Clemson and Mizzou win their respective bowl games. It is always a good day to be a Tiger!
We gave my parents a Royals neon. So awesome!
My father-in-law works for Budweiser so sometimes we come across gems like these!
We were so excited to give this to them!
Unfortunately, the Chiefs lost by one point in their playoff game. It was a great year for them though!
We only got up before 9am one time. Tomorrow’s 5am alarm is going to be brutal.
I got my brother hooked on the show Castle.
On both the way to Missouri and the way out, we had to stop in the first 30 minutes to search for an open auto parts store in the middle of no where because Tom’s Jeep was acting up.
My dad bought our 3 year old niece a drum set. Bahaha! My poor brother.

Oh grandparents.

Tom got a new gun for his birthday.
We saw snow, ice, rain, sunshine, and temperatures ranging from 4 degrees to 65 degrees.
We told our niece Ava about the Hamburgler, and she went on to talk about the hamburger stealer bad man for the rest of the day. Whoops.
The most played song for us was Miley Cyrus “Wrecking Ball.”
I took about 1,000 photos, but there are less than 10 that I am actually in. Most of them were the family photos we took.

My in-laws

One of the Christmases with my mom, brother and his daughter

We had a great time at home. And we can’t wait for the days when we don’t have to travel so far to have family time.

I hope you all had a great holiday season. Here’s to making new memories in 2014!

December 27, 2013 by Stephanie

Servant of the Lord

I am co-hosting the Faith and Fellowship devotional with the wonderful Susannah from Simple Moments Stick.

I just love her, and really look up to her in so many areas, so you should check her out! We chose to focus on several verses in Luke that focus on Mary’s honor and submission to the Lord. We would love for you to reflect on Luke 1:26-56 and Luke 2:1-38.

I picked out a couple key ones here.

Luke 1:30-31 “But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.”

Luke 1:46-55 “And Mary said:

My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindul of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generation will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me-holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Can you imagine being told as a 16 year old your fate is to be the mother of God?

Here Mary is 16 and engaged to Joseph who is a carpenter (which was not a high class job back in biblical times). Up shows an angel saying she was going to miraculously become pregnant without having sex with Joseph.

Now let’s look at some of the context:

Mary was a woman, which in those days did not mean much. Women’s rights was not even a thought. So to be the mother of all mothers, just hold on a second.
She was a virgin, so if she said she was pregnant don’t you think most people think she cheated on Joseph? Thoughts of others perceptions would have started creeping in.
She said she talked to Angels. Even for biblical times, most people would think that she was cuckoo.
There was a census going on, which meant some heaving traveling for Mary and Joseph.
The Romans and Jews were not exactly friends. So who would want to raise a child in that madness without the choice to plan for it?

I am sure that these are just some of the thoughts that went through her mind as the angel told her what her destiny was. Not to mention adding on the normal stress that a mother has for her first born and embarking into the unknown territory of parenthood.

If you were to think about all these what ifs that faced Mary, I think it is safe to say that most of us would say “Are you sure you want me? I am not so sure about this God. You must have gotten the wrong lady.”

I am sure that Mary envisioned her life going drastically differently. Raising a humble Jewish family was nothing unusual, right? She had plans.

Then God revealed the plans he had for her life, meaning that Mary’s original plan disappeared.

Mary didn’t put up a fight or rebel against the plans of the Lord. She didn’t just ignore what had been said to her. She said, “He is merciful…and I am blessed.” Her faith was remarkably large.

She prepared herself for the coming of the Lord. She humbly accepted what God planned for her because she knew her heart belonged to Him. She was a servant to the Lord. The ultimate follower.

She recognized God’s love and mercy, and knew that all things were possible through God. She had such unabashed faith that

He would provide despite her seemingly unbelievable situation.

He would provide a baby…even though she had never had sex.

He would get Joseph on board…even though it may seem to others that Mary cheated.

He would help them arrive in Bethlehem safely for the census…even though it meant months of traveling pregnant.

He would make it possible for Jesus to be born in a barn…even though it was filthy and not as sanitary or safe as a new mother would hope.

He would keep Jesus alive…even though there was child persecution going on in the country.

He has plans for us, whether we see them or not. We just need to have faith and trust as Mary did. This is a faith I hope to have, and continue to challenge myself to lift my heart up as Mary did.

Glinn Photography

We have turned Christmas into a stressful, go-go-go, hustle and bustle time. We have also sanitized the nativity scene by making it perfectly pristine. While it is beautiful, it has become easy to forget the details of the story. We often just see the glow and the end result, and forget the most unlikely situations that the Holy family found themselves in before the birth.

I love thinking about these scriptures, and reminding myself that this is supposed to be a holy time and time to celebrate the gift of life. It is a time of hope. While we celebrate the blessing of the birth of Jesus and what his life means to us as followers, I feel that it is important to think about the servant hood of Mary during this time as well.

God shows up in the most unlikely places, and in the most unlikely people to do His Heavenly work.

In my own life when there is much uncertainty, I am reminded to have hope and faith. My life may not look as I had once hoped, but in the moments of “Are you sure about this God?” I need to remember that he will provide.

I want to still be cognizant of ways to be a servant to him for I am still truly blessed. I know He has plans for me. I need to take a cue from Mary and just trust.

“If you are faithful, God will honor you.”

We would love to hear what you have to say in reflection of these passages. Join us for this devotion and link up with us below!

December 24, 2013 by Stephanie

Christmas Tag

Merry Christmas everyone!

I don’t normally do these things, but I figured it would be fun during my holiday travels back home.One of my blog favorites (and also hope to be someday neighbor-Just saying Elizabeth), tagged me in this Christmas fun. Be sure to check her out at Army Ever After.

1. What do you love most about Christmas time? Since I have lived away from home for the last 10 years, I love being able to spend time with family and friends I haven’t seen in a while. The food is always a perk.

2. Do you celebrate the holiday in style or is Bah-Humbug for you? I am kind of in the middle. I love the holiday spirit and decorating, but I am kind of lazy about it right now. I do really look forward to having a place that is stationary where we won’t have to travel so much during the holidays so we could actually enjoy the decorations. So I am sure I will feel different once that happens and we have kids. I imagine we will go full out then. I also don’t like opening gifts in front of other people, so that is always a fun endeavor for me. So the last few years I have really tried to focus on the “reason for the season” instead of all the glitz and glam of the holiday.

3. Are you leaving out anything for Santa this year so he remembers to leave you presents? I don’t even remember a time that I believed in Santa. I caught on real fast when my parents (who are divorced) told different tales of Santa that didn’t match up. My brother, however, believed for years. I will never forget that time when Dad, Risa (my step-mom), and I were in the living room watching through the fire place and using the phone intercom in the kitchen where Randall (my brother) was sitting. My dad pretended to be Santa on the intercom, and Randall’s reaction was just priceless. But I don’t really remember leaving anything out for him ever.

4. What is the one gift you are most looking forward to GIVING? {It can be to your kids, another family member, etc – remember to be discreet if they read your blog!} We have a gift for my dad and step-mom that is going to be ROYALLY sweet. Hint on the Royals part…I will be sure to share at a later date.

5. What is your all-time favorite Christmas movie? Since I talked about Holiday Inn and White Christmas last week, I also love Home Alone and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

6. What is your all-time favorite Christmas song? I looooooove “Oh Holy Night.” My dad sings it every year as a solo at church, so it has that special meaning for me. I secretly want to do a duet with him someday on it. My favorite secular Christmas song is “All I Want for Christmas” by Maria Carey. It makes me want to dance and sing into my hairbrush.

7. If given the opportunity would you participate in an “Ugly Sweater” party and what sweater would you wear? Peruse one on the internet or even in your own closet and show us! I have done several of these over the years. But I would have to say this is my favorite because my BF and I made them out of wrapping paper and tinsel…

8. Have you started any Christmas traditions this year that you plan on carrying forward? We have some with our families, but Tom and I do not have any for us. Again, we are ALWAYS traveling so it makes it hard to have traditions when your holidays never look the same year to year. We have some ideas of things we want to take from our families and things we want to start once we settle down somewhere.

9. It’s Christmas morning … what does it look like outside where you live? I don’t know about KY, but Missouri will most likely have snow. Right now there is a thick layer of ice everywhere.

10. You just found yourself standing under the mistletoe … who comes up to give you a kiss first? I would hope it would be my husband! But maybe it will be Crosby. He is always looking to score.

I hope you enjoy your holiday however you may celebrate!
If not, enjoy me humiliating Grace holiday style at the Jingle Job 5K last year at Iowa State!

December 20, 2013 by Stephanie

Friday Filter-Holiday Movie Review

I grew up watching classic movies. I feel so connected to the stars like Audrey Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Cary Grant, Bing Crosby, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, and Humphrey Bogart…I could go on for miles.

I mean who doesn’t like a movie that has tap dancing and singing?

I am also obsessed with the style of the time. Absolutely gorgeous.

Love everything.

To say that I have an obsession with classic Hollywood would be understatement. I mean seriously, we named our dogs after Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby, and we walked out of our wedding to a Frank Sinatra song.

So it should come as no surprise that my two favorite holiday movies are right along with this era.

holiday-inn-movie-poster-1942-1020143655

I also love classic movie posters, and hope some day have a vast collection.

Holiday Inn is a musical about an inn that only is open during the holidays. They circle the year and put on grandiose dinner shows about several holidays. It is interesting because you definitely see the culture of the time throughout the movie. Gotta love a little historical context. The focus does fall around the Christmas time though, so it still counts as a holiday movie to me. And this is where the famed song “White Christmas” debuted, not with the movie White Christmas like most think.

The story line has humor and romance. Jim and Ted were partners in a show in the city. Jim decides to retire to the country once he learns that Ted romanced Jim’s partner Lila (and thought life partner). Jim then opens the Holiday Inn, as a supper club of sorts. He creates a dinner show for only holidays. Ted was dumped by Lila and comes to be comforted by Jim, only to find his next “love.” I will let you watch it to see who ends up with who.

It is just a funny movie showing the antics of early showbiz. Crosby has a laid back casual approach with perfect wit and charm, which is perfectly paired with Astaire’s more satirical humor and the acrobatics he brings to the table.

I love it all, and Bing’s voice is a dream.

(Also it doesn’t hurt that Tom has a striking resemblance to Bing-in voice and looks. I’m one lucky gal!)

Facts about Holiday Inn from IMDB:

It was released in 1942.
It was the first time Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire were paired together.
When Irving Berlin won an Oscar for his song “White Christmas” from this movie, he became the first artist to present himself with an Academy Award.
The firecracker dance sequence required 3 days of rehearsal and took two days to film. Fred Astaire’s shoes for the dance were auctioned off for $116,000 worth of war bonds.
The set of the Holiday Inn (1942) was reused by Paramount 12 years later for the musical White Christmas (1954), also starring Bing Crosby and again with songs composed by Irving Berlin.

Which brings me to my next holiday classic….

This is my ALL TIME favorite holiday movie.

Following a very similar story line to Holiday Inn, this movie also occurs at a Vermont inn. White Christmas tells the tale of two Army buddies (Bob and Phil) turned song and dance team when they meet the Haynes sisters who are also a singing duo. They all end up at this inn, which is failing miserably. Bob and Phil find out that that the inn is owned by their former Army general so they stick around to help drum up some business. They of course do this by putting on a marvelous Christmas show.

Again, romance and humor fueled by the singing and dancing.

Facts about White Christmas from IMDB:

It was released in 1954.
The “Sisters” comedy act that Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye perform was not originally in the script. They were clowning around on the set and the director thought it was so funny that it was written in. Many takes were attempted, but Crosby was unable to hold a straight face due to Kaye’s comedic dancing. The scene shown in the film was the best take they could get (which includes some laughter from Kaye as well).
While preparing to go on stage for the Sisters routine, Betty and Judy mention their brother being out of the country working in Alaska. This movie was released in 1954 and Alaska wasn’t admitted as a state until 1959, so he was in fact out of the country.
One of the dancers accompanying Rosemary Clooney is George Chakiris. He went on to earn the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, as “Bernardo”, in West Side Story (1961).
Even though Betty was the elder of the Haynes sisters, Rosemary Clooney was actually seven years younger than Vera-Ellen in real life.

Both of these movies are great films to sit by the ~~fire~~ heater with a cup of something warm to breath in the holiday spirit. They are both on my list of must sees during the holiday season! It is so surprising to me how many people have never seen these two movies, so I urge you to check them out if you are guilty of that!

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

What movies are on your “holiday-must-see” list?

Also, I have a plug for an upcoming post. Next week I am co-hosting a Faith and Fellowship devotional with Susannah. We will be exploring a few verses in the first couple chapters of Luke and are focusing on Mary and her submission to God, which I feel is a great thing to focus on this holiday season! We will be opening it up on Friday, December 27th, so I hope you come back for some thoughts on faith!

December 9, 2013 by Stephanie

30 before 30 Update

One month down since I decided to do this 30 before 30 thing.

So here is my first update. I think it has been a good start to this 18 month challenge.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves-so something that isn’t straight lines.

· I have some ideas for Christmas presents, so I may have an update next month.

2. Do a 30 day photography challenge

· I need to do it in a month where we aren’t traveling a whole bunch. The hardest part is making a commitment to get the camera out ever day.

3. Visit 3 cities I have never been to before

· Well, I went to Russellville, MO for a wedding, but I am not sure it counts because we didn’t really “see” the town. But I guess I am the one in charge of this challenge so I can make my own rules.

4. Tour at least one of the distilleries in the area

· Nothing.

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

· I actually sent 9 letters! Also, this was a great excuse to buy new stationary.

6. Become a “professional” photographer

· This is in the works! Anybody have any photography needs? I am for hire!

One of my favorites from my most recent family sessions.

7. Run at least 5 races (any distance)

· I have plans in the works.

8. Go camping with Tom

· We have plans for this for next summer for our anniversary.

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

· Not yet.

10. See Tyrone Wells live again

· Nope.

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

· This is more of a summer thing.

12. Water ski with my dad

· Also summer.

13. Do a 5K with my mom

· Nothing.

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

· I am still trying to convince Tom to do this with me. This may come near the end of the challenge.

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

· I have no excuse for this one. I am still in a reading rut, but I did start the last in the Castle series this week, so hopefully I will catch up in December.

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

· Things have been too crazy schedule wise to make this happen yet.

17. Learn how to make sushi

· No plans yet.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

· This will have to wait until fall.

19. Volunteer with MCFOTS and Special Olympics on a regular basis

· I am still waiting on some paperwork from Special Olympics. This week, I started at MCFOTS (the animal shelter we got Crosby). I love it so much! It is a good thing there is a limit on how many pets we can have on base because there were two dogs that I almost took home with me. Grace is not very happy with me doing this though. She is so mad that I have cheated on her. I will deal with her hateful stares though because this is seriously awesome!

20. Explore Land Between the Lakes

· Summer plan.

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

· This will take some work and research.Tom hates heights, so either this will take some convincing or I will need to find other people to embark on this journey with me.

22. Go to at least 10 “new to me” restaurants in Clarksville.

· We have been to two: China One and King Mao. Tom and I love Chinese restaurants, and they usually are part of our weekly date nights. It was no surprise that these were our new places, however I still think our online ordering is the best out there. Any of my Clarksville friends have suggestions?

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

· Working on it.

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

· I am thinking about doing it a day over winter break.

25. Go to the Kentucky Derby

· I would really like to do this for my 30^th birthday since it is a week before my day. This would be enough time to save money too because it is expensive!

26. Go to non-touristy parts of Nashville

· I did this weekend! My supervisor from grad school was in town! We had a mini Clemson reunion downtown with dinner.

We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory and then walked around downtown for a little bit. Tom got 2 pounds of taffy from a candy shop there, which he promptly ate half of on the way home.

27.Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 10 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning)

· I need to do some research and make a list of the Best Picture films I would want to watch and put them on our Netflix queue. As for the documentaries, we tried watching one on Zombies. Yes, this is true, but we only made it through 10 minutes before we couldn’t take it anymore. It was so absurd.

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch.

· We think our sewing machine is out for the count, so this may be on hold or need to be changed on whether we can get it fixed or get a new one.

29. Find a church home here in Clarksville

· I believe we may have found a church that we both like. Tom and I have different tastes in how we like to enjoy worship, so this is an adventure trying to find a good mix for both of us.

30. Become a mom

· Working on it. *wink wink*

So there you have it. Not too shabby for my first month. We’ll see what I can mark off this month. December is going to be pretty nuts since we have so many things planned for the holiday time. Wish me luck!

Anyone want to join me on any of these excursions?