Until the Whole World Hears.....

Its been 4 years since Tyler and I have been on a mission trip. For those of you that don't know our story-Tyler and I got to know each other during a mission trip to Alaska with our college ministry. Who would've thought that we would go thousands of miles away to meet the one God had intended for us to spend the rest of our lives with? I think God has a great sense of humor!

Anyways, we have so many great memories from that mission trip. We formed so many new relationships and had an awesome time serving the Lord. Alaska truly is a beautiful country.

I encourage all of you to take a vacation there!

This time, we will be going on a mission trip with our church, The Station Church to NYC! We are so excited to see what God has planned for us on this trip. I ask that you pray for safety during our travels and throughout the week, and that God would do amazing things.

Buying Healthy Foods with Sales and Coupons

I've heard some people say, you can't buy healthy foods with coupons, and that's just not true! There are plenty of coupons out there for healthy stuff such as eggs, cereals, bread, beverages, etc. I mean, even Whole Foods has coupons and they are known for their healthy, organic foods.

For instance, Nutella is on sale this week at Publix. I have never tried Nutella, but one taste and I was in love! Now, I'm not gonna eat it all the time because its 200 calories per serving, but it could be a part of a well balanced breakfast.

Publix also has:

Blueberries- 1 pint $1.99

Fresh Express Salads- BOGO

Yoplait Yoplus Yogurt- BOGO

Ronzoni Healthy Harvest or Garden Delights Pasta- BOGO

And there are many more great deals each week. Its up to you what you purchase at the grocery store!

Happy 2 Year Anniversary!

It was 2 years ago on May 30, 2009, that Tyler and I became man and wife. It has been an amazing 2 years for us and I can't wait for many more anniversaries with him.

We spent the weekend at the beach. It was so nice to get away for a little bit of rest and relaxation. We ate seafood, Shakes custard ice cream, and we even ate at the famous Lambert's. I had been there before but it was Tyler's first experience at "the home of the throwed rolls". Its amazing though, we got there 20 minutes after it opened and there was already a line to the door! That's a sign of a great restaurant!

And, of course before we left we had to go to the Tanger Outlet mall. Since I have been there, I think they have greatly improved. The mall had so many outlet stores that I love! Especially, the Gap Outlet. Who out there loves the Gap Outlet? :)

So, overall it was a great trip. I love getting to spend time with Tyler. God has truly blessed me with a wonderful husband.

Homemade Pizza

Have you ever made a homemade pizza?

It sounds difficult, but its actually pretty easy.

Here are the ingredients I used:

I think you'll notice the incredibly huge jar of banana peppers...Our best friends gave it to us. Anyways, I used ready-made pizza dough. This is a really great product I found at Publix for under $2. You can find it in the bakery department. I also used Ragu homemade pizza sauce, which tastes really good! The great thing about pizza is you can add whatever toppings you want!

Doesn't it look delicious?

Here's the final product with a yummy salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

I Want to Ride my Bicycle!

I forgot how hard it was to ride a bicycle, and man does it make your body sore! Tyler took up mountain bike riding awhile back, and I just got a bike of my own a couple of weeks ago so I can go riding with him! Its a lot of fun, but it can be difficult at times!

Its a really great way to exercise. It is so much more fun to me than going running. I would encourage anybody to try it!

Oh, but don't forget your helmet! Safety first!

Love Letter from God

I heard a radio commercial on the way home from work the other day. It was absolutely beautiful and it brought me to tears. Its a compilation of over 50 scriptures in the bible explaining God's love and mercy and his plans for us. I encourage you to go listen to it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEfJpJ1lhQc&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Please continue to pray for the victims of last week's tornadoes. Pray for strength and perseverance for all of the workers and volunteers. Please pray for the Viola family, the Lindsey family, and the Cole family. These families attend our church and lost their houses in the tornado that hit Pleasant Grove.

I am blown away by the outpouring of donations and volunteers supporting the relief effort! God bless y'all!

I will praise you in the storm

As many of you know, many of places around the state of Alabama were completely destroyed by an F4/F5 tornado that hit last Wednesday, April 27, 2011.

There are no words to express my emotions from these past few days. My beautiful hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama had a lot of damage from the storms. That day, I got home from work and I knew the weather was going to be bad. I called Tyler to make sure he would be leaving work early. Our power was out when I got home and I thought "oh great." Luckily, we had a generator given to us by my in-laws for the past snow storms. We charged our phones, kept the refrigerator running, and ran the TV too so we could listen to James Spann. Sidenote: Can I just say what an awesome meteorologist James Spann is? I don't know how we would get through bad weather without him keeping us informed.

Anyways, James Spann had said the tornado hit Tuscaloosa pretty bad. He said it was around the 15th Street/McFarland Blvd. area. I thought to myself "Oh no the little house is gone."

I began to get anxious and concerned. I could not get a hold of my sister, dad, or mom. I could get text messages out every now and then but the cell phone network was terrible.

I finally received a text message from my dad that read "the little house is gone." For those of you that don't know, my parents owned a house on 16th street in the Forest Lake neighborhood. My younger sister was suppose to move into the house. My heart just sank.

It wasn't until later on that evening, I finally got a phone call from my mom. She had told me the house was destroyed. But, the worst news of all was she told me that my dad had been inside when the storm hit. I couldn't believe it. I burst into tears. My dad had stopped by the house on his way home when the tornado hit.

I am so thankful that God had his hand of protection over my dad and he came out of the storm unscathed.

Tyler and I went to Tuscaloosa to help them clean-up on Thursday. And, I can tell you that pictures and videos do not do it justice. There are no words for the devastation.

I ask that you pray for my family as they recover from this tragedy. Pray for the families that were affected by the tornadoes. Pray for those that lost loved ones. Pray for the government officials as they make decisions regarding clean-up and rebuilding our cities and towns. Pray for all of the volunteers giving their time and donations.

I am amazed at all of the people who are donating their time, money, and supplies for the relief effort. I feel truly blessed to be a citizen of this state. Thank you God for the kindness of strangers.