PRAYER REQUEST!

Please Pray for my friend Jenna Kurtz, who was recently diagnosed with brain cancer. Jenna is my sister's best friend from childhood and she also went to my granny's playschool when she was little! We've know precious Jenna for her whole life and she's always been a gift to everyone who's known her! Jenna is a talented artist, a teacher, a daughter, a sister, a new wife, and a treasured friend! Jenna has already had surgery to remove the tumor they found in her brain and PRAISE THE LORD the surgery was successful and she is recovering at home. She is still weak but is very thankful they were able to remove the entire tumor without causing significant impairments. She has a long road ahead of her as she will be starting chemo and radiation treatments at Duke soon. I will keep my blog updated with Jenna's progress, with praise reports, and with prayer requests. You can also click on her name, above, which is a link to a website that provides updates from Jenna's family and friends on how she's doing! Jenna is only 25 years old. It breaks my heart! She's a beautiful girl who LOVES JESUS and she is feeling full of HOPE knowing she's in the hands of her creator! But she needs prayer without ceasing for HEALING, STRENGTH, AND PEACE as we are all human and battling something like this is so very hard!!! Please pray for Jenna!!!

Yea for Jenna! Yea for answered Prayers!

Poor Glory Girl!

DISCLOSURE: DON'T READ IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!

We had to call the vet's office tonight and make an appointment for Glory Girl! She has had some really killer gas lately and WE JUST CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! LOL! There have been times that our living room has begun to smell like what I have very appropriately compared to a BOILED EGG FACTORY! (Of course I've never been in a boiled egg factory--does that even exist?--but I'm sure that's what one would smell like!) Although we have barely survived the sneak attacks of pure SULFUR we sure do love our Glory Girl and we are starting to get a little worried about her! So for our own good...and hers...we are gonna let the doc check her out tomorrow morning! Just wondering...does anyone else have a Golden Retriever with bad gas? haha! If so, let me know if you have any good remedies because she's about to kill us both! Maybe it's the new food she's been eating for about two months but I thought she was already adjusted to that. Hmmm??? Well, hopefully we will get her taken care of tomorrow! If not, I'm buying stock in PEPTO BISMOL!

Yea for vets that can get rid of STINK BOMBS!

NEW BLOG TITLE

As you can see, I've changed my title because My mom is starting a photography/custom design print company call "Reflections of Grace" so I didn't want things to get confusing! She's very talented and I've provided a link to her BLOG http://myreflectionofgrace.blogspot.com/ for you guys to check out! It's UNDER CONSTRUCTION right now though but keep checking to see some of her photographs! She has also just made some customized greeting cards with her original photography! They're BEAUTIFUL and each one contains a special scripture verse! Ok...so now you know why I'm "All Things New" now! Lol!

PARTY TIME!

Travis and Nun Nun!

We had a great time tonight celebrating Travis's birthday with Ken, Bette, Nun Nun, Vanessa, and Tim! Travis got some green stuff (the gift that keeps on giving!), a Moe's gift card from his cousin Hunter, and the seventh season of Smallville! The cake was hilarious and was delicious! I'm telling you that Publix makes some awesome cakes!

Yea for presents!

Breakfast in Bed!

Cheese toast and Cinnamon toast for Trav's 25th Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRAVIS!

Trav- You're a Knock Out!

It's 4 am and I couldn't sleep so I got up and decided to post a Birthday tribute to my Husband Travis! He was laying beside me sleeping so soundly and I just starting thinking about HOW MUCH I LOVE HIM! Hopefully this isn't to sappy or anything but I can't help it- I'm a girl! To be honest to all you ladies out there...I have happy tears in the corners of my eyes as I type this! LOL!
I'm just so glad that he is my special gift from my Lord! He is my Leader and I'm his helper...although I feel he helps me lots more than I help him! I rest so peacefully in his arms, in this marriage, and in his love because I know that his love and committment for me come secondary to his love and committment to JESUS CHRIST! But guess what..I'm not Jealous! Ha! Ha! It's only by this great design for God's people and marriage that we can fully love one another! Travis loves me as Christ loves the church and I couldn't ask for anything more! Now I'm not saying I don't yell at him when he leaves the empty toilet paper roll every single time....but...! Kidding again!

I am so thankful that despite my many failures and shortcomings through life, God, in his infinite love, had such a beautiful life planned just for me! And He has that planned for you too...trust me He does! It's so funny sometimes with God...He knows exactly what we need, EXACTLY when we need it and He placed Travis in my life at the most unexpected but PERFECT time ever and the rest is history! I will walk with Travis hand in hand wherever the Lord LEADS and THROUGH WHATEVER COMES OUR WAY because there is NOWHERE ELSE I'D RATHER BE!

If you happen to read this and you aren't married yet I just want to take this time to share my heart with you. Please make sure that the person you are planning on marrying LOVES JESUS CHRIST WITH ALL THEIR HEART! If you don't know Jesus yourself he is desperately in love with you and wants to be your Lord and Savior this very day! If you would like to know more about JESUS I'd be happy to talk to you about it! I can't explain what JOY JESUS WILL GIVE YOU! And if you let JESUS be the center of your hearts, your home, and your love for each other...you'll find a peace and security that the world cannot provide, it's found only in CHRIST!

So...back to Trav's Birthday! Tonight we will have Trav's family and friends over to our house to CELEBRATE with Cake and IceCream! Friday we are going on a DATE NIGHT! Saturday....open lol!, and Sunday my family is coming over and we are all going out to eat to celebrate again! Should be a FUN WEEKEND!

Yea for Travis! Yea for Birthdays! Yea for Jesus!

JOSHUA BRIAN MERCER!

God has blessed our family with a PRECIOUS GIFT! My parents were able to officially and legally adopt Brian today! We just ask for your prayers as the Lord guides my parents in raising Brian and that He will give them understanding and wisdom through this new experience. We are all confident that the Lord led Brian to our family and have been blessed beyond comprehension since the day we met him! He just fits in PERFECTLY! He loves to hunt and fish and thinks the Bass Pro Shop is "THE BEST PLACE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!" I can remember a few months ago being in Target and Brian was riding in the buggy. My mom was pushing and we had just gotten through the main entrance when Brian looked up at my mom and said, "Momma, I'm really a Mercer now right?" At the time my parents didn't know if they would be able to adopt Brian because his parents still had legal rights to him at the time. But through their consistent FAITH in their Lord, my mom looked down at those precious, needy eyes and said simply, "Of course you are!" and smiled brightly at him! We are so happy to Welcome JOSHUA BRIAN MERCER into our lives but he's been a son and a brother for awhile now, actually since the very first day he arrived at 1167 Mineral Springs Road!!!

Yea for Miracles! Yea for Little Brothers!

Cookie Dough!!!

I know it went straight from my lips to my hips but OH WELL!


Travis was in the kitchen and all of the sudden I hear..."Want a piece of cookie dough?"

What!?! Want a piece of cookie dough??? Am I still the wife you know and love??? OF COURSE I DO!!! BRING IT TO ME NOW!!! HAHA!

So, along with the oh so gooey, oh so absolutley delicious hunk of cookie dough, here are the top ten highlights of my Tuesday!
1. Cookie Dough
2. Cookie Dough
3. Cookie Dough
4. Oh, there's more to life than cookie dough???
5. Ordering Travis's Birthday cake! He's going to be 25 on Thursday!!! I can't wait for him to see his cake and I'm trying not to spill the beans but he's gonna really get a kick out of it!
6. Buying Trav's birthday present (although he was with me AND picked it out! I think it's what married people do sometimes!)
7. Mopping my floor...I know, I know, but I got a new "wonder mop" and it actually did work wonders! Yea me! Yea new mop!
8. I made homemade tuna salad for dinner and it was edible...actually better than edible it was actually good!
9. I heard an awesome interview on HIS RADIO about the making of the movie Fireproof! God provided everything they needed exactly when they needed it while making that movie! Some of it even gave me chill bumps! Can't wait to see the movie by the way!
10. My little sister made a Blog and when I read it I almost cried because I was so moved by her love for God and her fearlessness to share her Savior with the World! Yea Ali! Yea God!!!

This is the day that the LORD HAS MADE! I will REJOICE and BE GLAD IN IT!!!

Later Alligators!

Dinner for two!

What a fun night! Travis grilled some steaks and we lit our new fire pit and dined together on the deck outside! It was a teeny bit chilly but that was part of the fun! I brought out lots of candles and set them around the deck and Glory laid down beside us waiting for a us to give her a little bite of something. It was so nice and just made me stop and thank God for the beauty of His creation and for giving me such a WONDERFUL HUSBAND who can cook such yummy steaks! Ha! Ha!

But truly, my heart was so full of joy and thanksgiving for the blessings in my life. From my wonderful husband to my three-legged cat tinkerbell sitting by the firepit, to all my SPECIAL friends and AWESOME family! It was such a perfect opportunity to reflect on our WONDERFUL GOD!!!

My very first blogging adventure!

Well, I've officially arrived into the world of blogs and I'm so excited! I've gotten hooked since a friend of mine in Sunday School told me about hers and now I've decided I've just got to have one too! I think it will be an awesome way to keep a journal since I've tried keeping a paper journal so many times without success. I think of it as a modern day journal! Just a few minutes ago I was checking my email and looking out our back doors watching Travis outside blowing leaves, wearing all his safety equipment (including mask, goggles, and earplugs) and I thought that these are the funny moments I want to be able to remember! So thus, I'm starting this blog as I watch him blow all those leaves out of a dead flower bed that he'll be working hard on this spring (he just doesn't know it yet!) while our Golden Retriever Glory pounces around in the leaf piles behind him! These truly are the "days of our lives" and we are so very thankful for each one God has given us together! We are simply a REFLECTION OF HIS GRACE and this is our winding journey of loving him, loving life, and loving each other!!!