B is for Baby Shower

This weekend we celebrated my brother and sister in law and their baby Avery. She will be here soon so this was the time to shower the soon to be parents with love and baby gifts.

It was a co-ed shower and my brother in law really enjoyed himself as you can tell by these pictures. He was too funny opening up the presents. You'd think he thought they were for him!


Instead of games, guests made onesies for sweet little Avery. It was hard to pull everyone away from the onesie station so I'd say they enjoyed it and I'm sure Avery will look adorable in the sweet little designs!


Mommy and Daddy are very excited to finally meet their little one and it was a joy to share in this special time with them. May God bless their new little family!

Grill Master

My husband is known around our house as 'king of the grill'. Before we were married he had a whole slew of different roommates, one of them was from Shreveport, Louisiana. It was that roommate, who taught him how to spice and cook lip smacking steak, pork, chicken, you name it!

The key to really good BBQ food is the seasoning. Jeremy likes to spice the heck out of the meat, but trust me, you will love it! We made some of the seasoning for my Father-in-Law for Father's day.

Jeremy's Amazing BBQ Seasoning - goes well on chicken, beef, pork, and burgers

Dry Ingredients:
*Tony Chachere's creole seasoning
*Onion flakes
*Garlic powder
*Crushed red pepper
*Coarse black pepper
*Dried basil
*Dried parsley

Wet ingredients:
*Hot sauce
*Olive Oil
*Avage Nectar or honey
*Minced fresh garlic

Combine the dry ingredients. You can eyeball the amount depending on the amount of meat you are cooking and to your particular taste. We LOVE garlic so we add more of the garlic powder than others might use. Rub the dry seasonings on the meat. Then add your hot sauce, olive oil, avage nectar and fresh minced garlic to coat. Next, fire up the grill and start bbqing. The result is amazingly spicy and sweet BBQ goodness. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. YUM!

God Moments

Ever read your bible and find yourself getting excited because you've stumbled upon an amazing verse? Ever just have to tell someone about it because it's too good not to share? Jeremy is usually the person I do my sharing with but there are times when I tell him and it may not be as exciting to him or he is preoccupied with something else and he is clearly not understanding how unbelievably cool it is. Well those are the times when I remember that I shared that moment with the One who I was excited about in the first place. I cherish those God moments, just me and Him, taking in His word and loving every minute of it!

(Side note: Jeremy deserves credit for finding that un-be-lievable passage in Zechariah. Cross that with John 1:14 where the bible says that The Word (i.e. God) became flesh and dwelt among men in their midst. He is truly an awesome God, worthy of our praise!*

Fresh Baked {baby onesie cupcake tutorial}

This adorable gift idea comes straight from the oven for that special mom-to-be in your life. Simply gather your ingredients and start 'baking'.

These cupcakes look good enough to eat. In fact, my cousins lil one thought they were real cupcakes for her and not her new baby sister!

Marriage 101

In the last few weeks I have been contemplating marriage and all that it involves. There is a lot more to it than just planning a beautiful wedding and saying 'I do'. But what do you do in a marriage to make it successful? I am not an expert by any means but I do know from my own experience the things that helped our marriage grow and also the things that caused little bumps in the road.

You've heard it said that marriage takes work and boy does it ever. Even the happiest of couples end up in disagreements so it is best to prepare ahead of time for these situations. Jeremy and I have been fairly good at dealing with the various little issues that come up between us, but there are times when it takes a little more work to get past them. Communication is key. I know it sounds clique but it truly is. If one of us is not understanding the other correctly or doesn't know all the facts, it can prolong or even make worse the situation at hand. And be watchful of the tone of your voice when speaking with your spouse. It can have a huge impact on either finding a solution to the problem or escalating it. At times I have snapped at Jeremy for something and that obviously does not accomplish any good. However, when I speak in a calm and kind voice expressing my feelings, we are able to move towards a resolution.

Marriage is about commitment. You are now married to the one you'll spend the rest of your life with (at least we hope). All too often you hear about people who were married and then are suddenly divorced. What happened to the commitment? In typical marriage vows it plainly says 'I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, and, forsaking all others, pledge to be faithful to you til death do us part.' It saddens me to see so many people walking away from the very ones they vowed to never leave even in the hard times. Our first dance as husband and wife was to a song that speaks of how our marriages are worth fighting for, after all, our marriages are not like gym memberships that you can sign up for and then cancel at any time. The promises that are made and contract that is signed is meant for keeps.

And last but certainly not least, marriage needs plenty of affection. Who cares if you look a little silly calling each other by pet names, you and your 'Cutie pie' or 'Bun Bun' (my name from Jeremy :D ) will keep that fun, loving spirit alive in your relationship. It is about showing love and demonstrating it on a daily basis. Give kisses and hugs often. Do kind things for them throughout the day like helping with the chores or sending a 'I'm thinking about you' text message. It's all the little things that show someone you care.

I feel so honored and blessed to call Jeremy my husband. He is a wonderful man who has been an amazing support and help mate. As christians it is our duty to uphold the biblical principle of one man and one woman in marriage for life. We need to support and help prepare young couples for lasting marriages. What a truly blessed thing God has ordained!