Courtney's Contemplations and a Keeper in Training

Thoughts from Tuesday

2008-07-22T13:39:00.002-05:00

1) Momma has been diligent all day sorting through her coupons. It's a MUST to be totally organized for this coming Thursday's TRIPLE coupon day at one of NC's grocery stores. WE CAN HARDLY WAIT FOR THE BIG DAY!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

2) Us girls took our walk earlier today due to the high temps we've been experiencing. Anna's dog friend, Polly, followed us part of the way slowing our pace down some. However, Anna didn't mind the delay one bit.

3) Caleb proudly informed us girls at lunch that he was almost halfway through the 1,000 page WWII history book that he had checked out at our local library a week and a half ago.................what a tedious way to spend one's summer!!

4) Did some baking for the coffee shop today and was reminded for at least the second time of the widow in the Bible ( I Kings 17 ) who's oil didn't run out during her time of need. I was dreading the thought of possibly having to go out and buy more cooking oil ( prices can be soooooooo expensive! ), but as it once again turned out, I have just enough to complete the order. What a blessing!! God is good!

5) Have been practicing the piano for an offertory piece tomorrow night at church. If you think of it, please pray for me.....................I get sooooooooooooo nervous!!

Flowers for Ceremony

2008-07-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

Above are some of the colors I plan on using during the wedding ceremony. Lord willing, my bridesmaids will be wearing long formal black skirts and copper colored blouses. The flower girl, ring bearer, and groomsmen will be wearing black and butter yellow.

Birdseed Bag Materials

2008-07-18T11:48:00.000-05:00

For the reception, we hope to have a more country look to the decor and plan on incorporating more of the orange color and decorating with pumpkins, apples, etc. Our latest idea is having the reception outside and I think that would be soooooooooooo neat!!! That is, if the weather is nice........something to start praying about!!

The Countdown has Begun!!

2008-07-17T17:47:00.002-05:00

Only 100 more days until the wedding!! Things are and will continue to pick up around here leaving less and less time for blogging anything besides wedding stuff. I'm sorry I've been extremely boring here lately!! :(

Yesterday was my last day of volunteer work at the church office and I couldn't help but get a little teary eyed as I typed up "Courtney's List of Duties" for the person who will take over my responsibilities.......................This thing is for real!!!!

We finally got around to ordering the invitations this week and are currently waiting for the company to e-mail a proof before we give them the, "OK!" to print. They're simple, but very fallish looking and I can't wait to see them in real life!! Also, Momma and us girls went to Wal-mart last night after church and we got 10 yards of the cutest most fallish looking material to use for the birdseed bags. I spent a few hours today cutting 5 yards of it into 8 inch squares. Once we fill them with birdseed, we plan on tying them up with twine. Even though limegreen is still a great favorite of mine, I'm finding out that working with the orange, brown, and green colors of fall can be sooooooooooooo much fun too! I'll have to take a picture of some of the things we have bought so far to give ya'll a better feel of the atmosphere we're trying to portray. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!

All for now!! Must go see if I can help out any with supper!!

27 Years Ago..............

2008-07-10T17:14:00.006-05:00

..........at this very moment, my parents were either having their wedding rehearsal or making their way over to do so. Happy Anniversary, Daddy and Momma!!!

With wedding planning (for Stephen and I both) taking the "front burner" in our household, I don't want to become too busy with planning and dreaming and forget all about the important things that really matter in making a marriage work. Thank you Daddy and Momma for the great examples you have been to us children! No, you haven't been perfect ( who in this world is? ), but you've showed us that with God a marriage can work through the "better" times, the "worse" times, the "richer" times, the "poorer" times, the "sickness" times and the "health" times all these 27 years. I'm also sooooo thankful that I've been blessed to have you both......in the same house....... right here with me during my courtship and engagement period.

I love you both and hope the Lord blesses you with at least 27 more years of "wedded bliss"!! :)

Happy 3rd of July!!

2008-07-03T12:35:00.004-05:00

Yes, not quite our great American holiday yet, but I'm going ahead and mentioning it just in case I'm not able to post over the weekend. We're fixing to leave here in a bit to run some errands and pick up our pastor's 2 little girls. Pastor and his wife flew out earlier today for a funeral and we have the privilege of keeping their girls over the weekend. Of course, my sisters are excited about having them to play with the next couple of days and the rest of us??? The more the merrier!!! We learned that great truth a long time ago. After having a certain number of children in your household, you hardly think twice when babies number 5.......6.........7...........13.......come along. I'm sure other large families can say the same, aye??? :)

On Tuesday, I talked to my pastor about the volunteer work I do all day on Wednesdays. We both knew the time of my departure would be coming soon and with my parents and Christopher's blessing, I went ahead and put in my "2 week notice". It will be so strange being home on Wednesdays!!

Nothing new on wedding plans, but I reckon that's mainly my fault. I was hoping to be able to order my invitations this week, but we got busy with other things instead. Maybe next week will be better. I do hope to look at tuxes while out today..........hopefully I'll be able to find what I want!!

I need to get off here now............the rest of the family has been doing last minute "company cleaning" and I'm just sitting here.......................Ahhh!! Nice and relaxing, but I reckon I need to do my part. :)-

Have a wonderful 4th!!!

Our June 20th-27th Trip to GA

2008-06-30T15:24:00.000-05:00

Friday morning, June 20th, was when Momma, the 3 younger kids and I left out for GA. We met Christopher in a grocery store parking lot once we got in the area and he led us on to his house. His mom had a delicious enchilada supper waiting for us ( we love Mexican! ) and the rest of the evening was spent outside watching the kids play baseball/basketball/with the dog/etc., looking at some pictures, playing "Spoons" and eating pie.

Playing Spoons

2008-06-30T14:53:00.000-05:00

Christopher's siblings had never played the game of "Spoons", but they sure did catch on fast!! It was a riot playing with them!! LOL!

The House

2008-06-30T14:34:00.000-05:00

The Saturday morning after we had arrived in GA, Christopher came over to the place where Momma and us kids were staying and took us all over to run errands and such. After stopping for a quick bite for breakfast, we went to the house Christopher hopes to own in a few short weeks. We got the good news while down there that they had accepted his offer, but nothing is final yet. Please keep it a matter of prayer!!

Furniture Shopping and Meeting a Friend

2008-06-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

( Brittnie's mom, Brittnie, myself and Momma )
After spending time at the house looking at it and measuring this and that, we started making our way to a couple of furniture stores to look for a livingroom set. The second store was located in the town where one of my bridesmaids lives so, I decided to give her a quick call to see if we could meet up with one another. Both her and her mom were able to do so and I was sooooooo thrilled to see her again!! We write each other and talk some on the phone, but it's actually been a few years since we've seen one another in person.

Ring Shopping

2008-06-30T14:06:00.000-05:00

My wedding band was bought along with my engagement ring, but I still had to get Christopher's. As I had hoped, we were able to purchase one during our time together in GA.

Eating Supper at Ci Ci's

2008-06-30T13:56:00.000-05:00

After our house looking, furniture and ring shopping were over, we met up with Christopher's family at Ci Ci's.

A Trip to the Bass Pro Shop

2008-06-30T13:41:00.000-05:00

After we ate at Ci Ci's, we spent some time at another mall there in GA. Us young folks especially enjoyed trying our shooting skill ( or lack of......) at the Bass Pro Shop's laser shooting range. Counting Christopher and I, there were 14 of us that tried our hand at it. Talk about taking over the store!! LOL!!

My Turn

2008-06-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

Caleb and Christopher giving me emotional support as I shoot. :)

Campmeeting Time!!

2008-06-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Sunday evening through Friday morning was spent at Faith Baptist Camp in Resaca, GA. This meeting was either the 9th or 10th June one that we've been able to attend. We were blessed to hear some great preaching from men of God such as Bro. Stinnett Ballew, Bro. Larry Brown ( Iowa ), Bro. Johnny Pope, Bro. Ronnie Simpson, Bro. James Jones, etc. Also, we were able to meet up with old friends we don't get to see much. There's nothing like fellowshipping with other Bible believing folks in Christ!!

Anna and Bro. Sammy Allen

2008-06-30T11:55:00.000-05:00

Christopher and Bro. Johnny Pope

2008-06-30T11:09:00.000-05:00

Bro. Sammy Allen, the moderator of the campmeeting, was giving out very nice Scofield Bibles to those who gave a love offering of $100 or more to the camp. Bro. Pope gave some money, but asked for the Bible to be given to a young preacher who could use it more than he could. Out of all those present that night, my Christopher was picked for the honor. What a blessing!

Long Time, No See

2008-06-30T10:52:00.000-05:00

My friends, Amanda and Jess, were in from Germany and it was sooooooo good to see them again!! Unfortunately, when the time came to part, Amanda was too busy chatting on the phone with her beloved ( she's planning an October wedding too! ) so, this picture was the best we could do. :)

Jess, the Trashcan and I

2008-06-30T10:41:00.000-05:00

Don't we make a nice trio???

Kristina and I

2008-06-30T10:32:00.000-05:00

Kristina and her mom were able to make it to the campmeeting the first part of the week. It was great to see them again!!

Uhh...........Nice??

2008-06-30T10:06:00.001-05:00

Very talented, Becky!!
She'll get me for this..........good thing she lives in another state........and that I only see her a couple of times a year....................LOL!!

Say, "CHEESE!!" :)

2008-06-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

One of the many treats we had that week was hearing the Ward girls pick 'n' sing.

She said, "Yes!"

2008-06-29T22:23:00.001-05:00

Congratulations on your engagement, Stephen and Becky!!

Heading Down South

2008-06-19T21:30:00.003-05:00

Some of ya'll may have wondered why I haven't mentioned Christopher in awhile or have had any new pictures of us on here. The truth is, I haven't seen him since the first weekend in May!! Almost 2 months!!! Never fear, Lord willing tomorrow, I'll be heading down to GA along with some of my family. We plan on being gone 7-8 days both to visit with Christopher and his family over the weekend and to attend the campmeeting we like to go to each summer.

From talking to Christopher on the phone, it sounded like he has the whole weekend already planned out for us. The unfortunate thing is, Christopher is a morning person if there ever was one, but at least half of my family are not.........Momma and I included...........should I mention that we both were up til after 2 this morning baking and looking at wedding and home decor books???? Anyhow, we'll try our best to be up and ready by the time he comes to pick us up Saturday morning...............ugh!!!!! Lord willing, one of the things we hope to do is to go see a house we hope will work out for us. Christopher has already made an offer on it, but we're just waiting to see if this is the one the Lord will want us to get. Some other things planned are getting to know each others' families more, wedding band shopping, furniture looking, mall browsing, counseling with his pastor, etc. Please remember us in prayer as we travel!

Wedding plans are coming together slowly on my end. I did e-mail 50-60 NC photographers this week and have gotten responses from many of them already. Most of them had prices that would make any dad GULP, but there were a precious few that just may work. Pray for wisdom concerning this! I've also started working on possible cake plans and Momma and I were able to find some gorgeous fall looking flowers for my bouquet. They were 80% off at Hobby Lobby.............another blessing from the Lord!!! I'll have to take a pic of them sometime to post on here.

Well, I need to get off here now to finish packing, cut some brownies for the coffee shop, paint Anna's toenails ( I promised her I would :) ), and anything else that needs to be done before I can hit the bed.

Take care everyone and thanks sooooooooooooooo much for being patient with me during this sporadic blogging period of my life!!

Joshua's 20th Birthday Party

2008-06-16T20:10:00.000-05:00

( I'm sorry it took me so long to get these pics together! )
This past Saturday, my family and I hosted a big 20th birthday party for my brother Joshua. Counting my family, we had 49 folks to attend. We had a bunch of fun and were glad to see everyone enjoying themselves.

~~Courtney's Contemplations and a Keeper in Training~~