Gonna Miss This

Baby Shower Banner

I was talking with a friend who needed the help of a crafty lady to create a banner for a baby shower. So with a plan and a trip to Hobby Lobby, we headed home to get to work.

We bought: two boxes of cardboard letters, 6 sheets of two different print 12x12 scrapbook paper, glue dots or glue sticks and ribbon to match the paper.

First, choose which sheet you want as your backing to the circles. I chose the plaid pattern so that the pink letters would stand out. These circles are about four inches wide.

I made one for every letter and put a three inch pink circle on top of it. After glueing those together, I punched two holes about an inch apart for the yarn and then adhered the cardboard letter to the circles with a glue dot.

Each circle then looked like this.

 Once you have all the letters and circles done, string them on to the ribbon by going through the back of the left hole and into the front of the right one. You can space them out however you like. I like to hang them in a curve so they are pretty close together.

I leave the same amount of room at the ends of the ribbon, tie a pretty knot and you ta-da, 

you have a banner!

Happy crafting!

Hasta Luego.

I woke up feeling like I just wanted to go back to sleep. Not because I wasn't rested, but because I didn't want to face what today held. My brother, Barton, got to the house, came into my room and made me get up. So we all got up and headed to breakfast. My parents drove separate so I sat in the backseat and my brothers drove us. I had the sudden urge to write him, which I couldn't believe I hadn't done so yet, but I scrambled for some scrap paper. I had just enough in my purse so I got to writing. I wrote out Psalm 91 and some personal thoughts, and away in to my pocket it went as we arrived to Cracker Barrel.

It was awkward sitting as a family of five having breakfast. I was incredibly over hearing my Dad talk about "how it's going to be" and seeing my Mom cry after every word Matt spoke. I started to eat and wondered why I wasn't overcome with emotion like that. I could have cried at the drop of the hat, but nothing was uncontrollable. It felt like it was just me being with my brothers, and my parents tagging along.

We finished up our meal, and to my surprise, both of my parents had things to do and ended up leaving. Barton had to go, too, so that left me and Matt. All along I wanted to be the one who took Matt, but never expected it to work out that way. We made a stop at his best friend's house, and then made our way to the Army office. As I parked I could feel the tears well up in my eyes, but I choked them back. Matt grabbed his stuff and told me he was excited. We talked some, and he said that he knows why I wasn't so upset. He began to explain that he realized that this is more of a "see you later" than a "goodbye" for us three. He said that we, as siblings, are so close that it's not really a sad time. Of course we'll miss him, but we'll keep in contact and share what's going on, and pick up right where we are together again. I think those words from him were comfort from the Lord. We hugged, and as he got of the car I handed him the crinkled note from my pocket. He smiled and said, "Great minds think alike."

As I watched him walk in that door, tears streamed down my face and I drove away. I cried the whole way home. When I parked I remembered the note he had handed me. I quickly pulled it out and opened as I read...

Abbey,

First I love you! You're an amazing sister and an amazing person.

It's funny, everyone asks me why I'm so different from other guys and I always answer "my sister." 

You've influenced me more than you'll ever know and thank you for never losing faith in me.

Thanks to you I'm closer to God, family and finally doing something meaningful.

I love you sis and I know you're gonna do amazing things!

And be a terrific mother and wife! 

I'm going to miss you and Bart so much but I'll be back before you know it.

Always praying for you Abbs!

Love always, 

Matt

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. -1 Peter 5:7

It warmed my heart to read those words. And happy that he wrote out that scripture...he knows I worry like crazy. I felt God just take a lot of worry and cares away in that moment. This whole situation is one God is using for so many things, but I know he's using this for something in mine especially. I'm already seeing some truth and wisdom and am excited to see what else God says.

It's not goodbye; it's see you later.

Army Strong & Gone

It baffles me how fast the last six months went by. I remember after my brother enlisted and he told me we had six months until he left. I remember thinking we had all the time in the world...and the next thing I know it's August.

I can't believe it's already time for him to leave. Church flew by this morning. Maybe because with every person I saw and every time someone asked me how I was I had to hold back tears. I went straight home as soon as I could. I knew he came home today after spending his last week with his friends in Knoxville. I was home cleaning, I heard the door open and heard "Abb?" I just smiled because I knew he was home. We had to get things in order for all the family to come over for his going away party, but I was looking forward to just being with him. We went to the store, grabbed some coffee and dinner and headed back to the house.

Before I knew it my house was full of family. Everywhere I looked there were tons of people. It was crazy but I loved how despite our differences we came together to support Matt.

Every branch of the military represented!

 I tried my hardest not to get upset. I tried to enjoy my family and the time we all were blessed to have with Matt. I walked into the kitchen and saw some sweet mementos that my Mom had laid out.

 There were pictures he had drawn as a child, younger pictures of him, and little things celebrating his joining the Army. I just stood there and it hit me.

My little brother, one of my best friends, is leaving tomorrow morning and even though I am sad and worried I must have faith and trust God. God will protect him and God will sustain him. God will get me through this. God will give us time to talk, see each other and communicate. God is bigger than my worries or distrust.

I kept looking at the table full of sweet memories, and at the end sat this:

 It's then that God captured my spirit in this situation. It seemed like he just whispered into my ear and told me that he was going to take care of my little brother. He reminded me of the special times we were blessed to have over the last few months and that our relationship will not suffer, but grow stronger through this difficult time. He told me that he has a great plan for Matt's life and I need to trust him to do what his word promises.

He reminded me that we are a family...

...and that my brother will always be my brother.

Now he's just army strong.

 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

 I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—

the Most High, who is my refuge—

no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

no plague come near your tent.

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

When he calls to me, I will answer him

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

 Psalm 91

Makes Me Smile

Making shower invitations.

Little girl makeovers (notice my eyeliner).

Church-wide baptism.

Dominican family visits.

My name spelled correctly.

Texts from my youngest brother.

My boss's office.

My new wallpaper.

Little things from the male barista at Starbucks.

Lots of little things that make me smile,

thoughtful for everything after awhile.

Another Hello Goodbye

In a nutshell, I am a hectic, crazy and emotional state. God is doing a lot in my life and I am in a state of waiting for him to show me what I am supposed to be doing and where I am supposed to be. A lot of emotional is being held within and part of it is coming from my girls.

I love each and every one of them dearly. I think of them every single day. I don't have kids, but those girls are my children. Recently, they have all moved up from the children's ministry in to the early adolescent ministry, which is another post to come, and my emotions have been in constant shambles. Holding myself together, we prepared to plan and have a banquet for them to celebrate this time. I wasn't looking forward to it, because in the past it's been nothing but me crying my eyes out, but I got ready and got excited to celebrate with them.

The night came and it was wonderful. God took hold of my thoughts and my emotions and we had a wonderful time together. With my camera dying, I struggled to get every picture I wanted, and luckily I did.

 What a joyous time. I thank the Lord that we were able to share in this excitement, and although I am crazy emotional about not knowing what the Lord has for us, I know that this is just another ending to another beginning.

Family Ties

This past weekend my brothers and I had the honor of having some pictures taken by the wonderful Rebecca Kelly. Her photography is amazing and I could spend forever looking at what she has done. We met up at the square in Murfreesboro and she snapped away! I was so anxious to get these back, but I had no idea how wonderful they would be! They are awesome, and I am in love with them. Here's some she shared with me.

I think this one is my favorite.

I love how she captured the detail and beauty of my tattoo.

Okay, maybe this one is my favorite.

The famous, Abbey Road.

I cannot say how great these truly are. She is wonderful and with my brother leaving for the Army in a week I will cherish these. They definitely capture our close relationship. If you need some great photos, definitely check her out.

Photos courtesy of Rebecca Kelly Photography. [click here!]

Trust brings joy

I am almost a week out from my last post and almost three posts behind. That gives you a little taste into what this past week has been like for me. Without getting into too much detail or too many tangents I am gong to try and share that...so bear with me.

For the last couple of months I have felt some tension with where I am at with my job. For many reasons, both mine and God's, I felt like it was time for me to leave or that the possibility of my resigning was coming closer and maybe a reality. For weeks I've prayed my heart out, asking for guidance, wisdom and discernment of what to do and when to do it.

After about a month of praying and still feeling this tension, I knew that God would tell me if I really needed to make a change and I let this all go with the trust and faith that if he wanted something to change he would tell me. Well, as God usually does with me, I was hit like a train with the realization that now was the time. When I first realized what he was saying I was flooded with emotion. I was sad. It was sad that this time in my life was coming to an end, but almost in the same moment he spoke to me and in his dear and tender character, told me that there was no need to be sad. He said that anything worth saving from this experience would be saved and he filled me with joy and excitement for what's to come.

Since that moment, I have been the happiest I've ever been. The days following that realization haven't been easy, but they've been what God willed. I couldn't have gotten through them without him, but that comes with anything worth doing. He's given me so much wisdom, excitement and encouragement and I have never felt stronger. I know he has an amazing plan for me. Sometimes it's hard because I don't know what is going to happen or when it will happen, but I know that it's all working for a purpose that he designed specifically for me. I am chosen; I should be joyous in the fact that he is using me for something that is going to make an impact. And I am.

With all that said, I am in a good place. Some people look at me and would never wish for this life. But I tell you, my friend, this is the life to have. I am not working at a job that I loved very much, but I am working for the Lord and according to his will. I am leading a simple, meek life that good is using and is going to use to do big things, some of which I'll never know or see. But this really, is the life. I'm not longer 'intern abbey,' but God has bigger and better things for this girl.

He's Home

Today was an incredibly hard day, which I'll write about later, but in the midst of it all I had planned to pick up my youngest brother, Barton, from the airport and I was really looking forward to it. For the past two weeks he has been spending some time with some family in Texas. After our vacation he went home with them to spend some quality time together. It's the longest we had spent apart in a long time, so we had to improvise. Skype soon came to be our communication outlet.

I had talked to my cousin when she dropped him off and got excited to see him. My other brother, Matt, and I hopped in the car and headed to the airport. As soon as we walked in Matt instantly saw him. We ran up to him, gave him a hug and waited for his bags to come along.

I had the strong urge to fly somewhere. 

Or hop on this for a ride.

Just waiting.

So good to see him.

While we were waiting we realized that Ricky Skaggs was standing next to us!

We even left with an autograph.

And the three musketeers are reunited for now.