Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D

This weekend I was lucky enough to go & see Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I'm not a big Tim Burton or Johnny Depp fan but for some reason this movie looked like it would be good. The ticket was $11.75 but I think it was worth it. You have to go in the movie with an open mind because it's not like any other movie. It's kind of random but the graphics were awesome, especially in 3D. The story line is kind of weird and hard to follow but it easily takes you into a different outlook where you are enthralled with the movie. If you get time, definitely go see it.

There are three things that last: faith, hope and love, and the greatest of these is love.

This weekend I attended another wedding in Pensacola. It was the wedding of one of my roommates from when I went to school there. It was a great time to see everyone that I have missed so much & to help with all the wedding festivities.

Amtrak to New Orleans

Last weekend, I took a train from Tuscaloosa to New Orleans to meet some friends for a reunion road trip; friends from Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Utah.

I also rented a car and drove over to Biloxi to meet with David Perkes, director of the Gulf Coast Community Design Center, to talk and check about a job. These are some affordable relief houses that they did. I love their work, just trying to decide if we want to move to Biloxi.

Gatlinburg

Bethany, Brett, Kelsey

Sweet dreams . . .

Nonna & Bethany

Pancake Pantry - Caribbean Pancakes "Randy's Favorite"

YUMMMMMMMM!

Pecan Pancakes with Peanut Butter Syrup "Brett's Choice"

Recipe from a friend . . .

My friend Joanna made cookies for all of us last year for Valentine's Day and shared her wonderful cookie recipe with us as well. Since I changed jobs and no longer work with my friend, I decided to make some to share. I made them last night and I think they turned out really cute, so I decided to share them on the blog.

From this . . .

to this.

Check it out, Jones Family!

kelseyandbrett.com

something old. something new. something borrowed. something blue.

so this past weekend i was blesssed to be part of a phenomenal wedding. my best friend, katie, from the ranch married the love of her life(whom she met at the ranch) this past sunday. since i was her MOH (maid of honor) i flew out last wednesday to help all week with the wedding festivities. i never realized how many tinyyy details there were for a wedding that seems like its gone in the blink of an eye. but none the less, it was so much fun. the wedding was small but it was at the cutest little chapel and had a perfect number of people to make it magical. the bridesmaids were her 4 sisters and me so we had a ball. she let us get a dress that showed our personalities (it just had to be black & knee length) and i must say that they were all so cute. although, i am totally in love with my dress. B&K, you will definitely see me in this dress at your rehearsal dinner. everything all through the process was so amazing and of course, when katie got all ready, she looked like she stepped right out of bride magazine. i know i might be a little bias since she is my best friend, but you will see in the pictures below that she was a stunnnnnning bride. being an "insider" in the whole process has made me so much more excited about B&K's wedding. i absolutely can't wait. hope you enjoy:)

me with the beautiful bride

former coach that won the superbowl. he let me wear his ring.

me & rachel

cutting the cakeeee.

bride

stretching to work-out

kitchen shower

best friends

me, katie & our friend mandy, the viola player

"Some love lasts a lifetime. True love lasts forever."

On the first day of Valentines my true love gave to me . . .

1 box of Hot Tamales, 2 new magazines, 3 new ink pens (2 red & 1 pink), 4 boxes of Conversation Hearts, 5 o'clock movie & dinner @ Iquana, 6 hours of Movie Night,

30 days of Cathi

What a great "birth"month I am having. On my birthday, my sweet husband served me breakfast in bed, gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and we went out to dinner. He also informed me that starting (on my birthday) it is going to begin "30 days of Cathi". He said that since Bethany has always expected us to celebrate the whole month of July as her "birth"month then he was going to do the same for me! He is giving me a gift

e-v-e-r-y day. This is fun!

Just another day?

just another day? . . . I hope not!

Many times when you ask the question “how are you today?” a response that I often hear is “it’s just another day! it's no different than yesterday or the day before”.

And really, there may not be anything super significant about this day apart from:

it's another day that i'm alive!

it's another day that i get to enjoy my husband. my son. and my daughter.

it's another day that i can experience God's love, grace, and mercy.


so while it is, in fact, just another day, today i rejoice—for God has granted me yet one more day.

life is fleeting. it is a vapor, a breath, a blink of an eye. so not just today, but every day take a moment to enjoy the gift of another day! That is what I want to celebrate not just today, but every day!

just another day? . . . TO CELEBRATE!

G.N.O. @ Sips-n-Strokes

Here are our abstract masterpieces!

Until next time . . .

Brett finally made it home on Christmas Day just in time for Christmas! Kelsey flew back in on the 1st and they both got to stay until yesterday. It was so nice having Bethany and Brett & Kelsey home for the holidays.

JANUARY 1, 2010

2010 is here - ready or not! I'm not big on making New Years Resolutions. I never have been. But this year I'd like to set some goals for myself in the new year. I am going to refer to them as "Cathi's List of Ways to Improve Her Life in 2010".

1. Spend more time in HIS presence - I have always done a daily personal devotion, but I realize the more time I spend with Him the better I will be for it. 2. Build New Relationships - I would like to develop relationships with women at church even those it won't be an easy task as well as reaching out to develop relationships with other ladies to share in His word, camaraderie, etc. It is hard to develop relationships with people when you live 45 minutes away, but I am going to try to be creative in building new relationships. 3. Be a better friend - I want to make an effort to talk to and check on my friends more. I should call my besties at least once a week. I get busy day to day with work, chores, activities, etc. that I sometimes forget to check on my friends. They are just a phone call away. 4. Try to eat healthier rather than JUST trying to loose a pound or two - I want to pay more attention to eating things that good for me rather than bad for me. Then my clothes will fit better and I will feel better about myself as a whole. I don't want to stress myself out about the whole ordeal, develop better eating habits and better better choices. I want to live a healthier life and put food into my body that reflects good living. 5. Get more exercise - I tend to say this in the winter - when it is freezing outside (too cold to walk outside); however, I do hope to attend the Y on a regular basis. 6. Get ALL the family together more often as well as build family relationships with extended family members that I love and don't get to see as often as I would like - Most all of my immediate family live within a reasonable distance to get together more often. I have extended family members that live quite a bit away; however, there are those who only live a few hours away. I would rather work harder to make it happen than regret that I never took the time to make it happen. 7. ALWAYS look for ways to improve myself in being a better servant, wife, mother, steward - I like to consider myself pretty good in these areas but I never want to miss a chance to improve. I want to be more conscientious and never take for granted how blessed I am that I have a personal relationship with my Savior, God has blessed me with an amazing godly husband, our family was blessed with two beautiful, healthy children, and that he provides for our needs daily and His grace IS amazing.

Would you like to share your "list of ways to improve your life?"

all the blessings in my life.

My life has been hectic here around the holidays but sometimes I just have to make myself stop and think about my life and the people in it. It's so cliche to hear people say, around the holidays the most, that they are thankful for family, friends and Christ most all, but a New Year's Resolution of mine is to intentionally be thankful for certain things daily. I have been so blessed in my life to be able to experience so many things, go places I never thought I would go and do things that I don't feel worthy to have been involved. This holiday season though I've had a a different outlook on thankfulness. Americans, including myself, are so spoiled with clean water, air, clothes, shoes, cars, abundant amounts of food so much that we forget that it's a blessing to have the things we do. We expect its just something that will always be there and we just assume most of the time that the other people of the world live the exact same way. Sadly, to say it's not like that. In Atlanta, just a few hours away there are more than 20,000 homeless people on any given day with children being almost 40% of the total. It slips my mind most days that there isn't only extreme poverty in other countries but just down the road from us all. I'm not making this post to make everyone sad and guilty that we aren't doing anything to help these problems, but I'm making it to show us just how much the Lord has blessed us all. I am so thankful for my family and that I was raised in a Christian home with a dad and mom that love the Lord and has shown me how to make Him the basis of a relationship. I've gotten to go and experience so many things that most people my age never get to experience and I'm so thankful that they have supplied the resources and love and prayer that I've needed along the way. I've also been blessed with a best friend, my brother. He is one of the coolest people I know. His outlook on life has taught me so much in the last few years. Along with him, I'm about to be blessed with something I've ALWAYS wanted, a sister. Never did I ever think that I would have to wait this long for one, but I'm just happy that in June I will finally have one. Kelsey, I'm so excited to have you in our family and to finally have you as a sister. I couldn't ask for a better one and I look forward to the relationship and friendship that will grow in the years to come. And lastly, I'm thankful for my heavenly Father. I'm thankful that I live in a country (as of now, ha) where I'm free to worship God however I please. He has blessed me with His fellowship everyday and I am so blessed to get to experience Him as I go about life each day. If your reading this, I just want you to sit back and think about how blessed you are. You have food to eat, clothes to wear, a place to live and people all around you that love you. I love you all dearly and I'm praying that in this new year you will have a new outlook on life and thankfulness and that you experience HIm and His love. happy new year.

me overlooking the pacific ocean after the 116 mile bike ride

where we camped the 2nd night on Mt. Shasta

God's creation. both simple & complex

212 year old tree in Su-ao Yilan, Taiwan

I climbed this . . . Mt. Shasta 14,564 ft

This summer, I got to facilitate people through this all summer

Golden Gate Bridge. checked off bucket list

Sequoia Grove. check off bucket list

Mt. Shasta mid-camp 9,736ft

I thank God everyday for his wonderful creation