jimmy

And then comes the snow day. That we dreaded. But because it’s allowing me to sit on the couch with a cup of hot tea and my better half, I digress. Not to mention, there’s not many things more humorous and intriguing than the wonderment of a Southern boy in an ice storm.

We are no longer Mississippians, but Kentuckians. After living in two separate states for two months, we finally both got settled in our new jobs and our brand new, first ever home! So even though it’s Kentucky- the place I never thought I’d live again- I’m happy to be here.

I have finally made the decision to fulfill one of my new year resolutions and sign up for a half marathon. I can’t take all the credit, though- Kelly, one of the reasons I run in the first place- decided we would all participate in one for her bachelorette party. A unique but very exciting and extremely encouraging idea that I can hardly wait for! After the snow cleared last week, I decided to start my training and got in about 2 miles for two days…not a very big dent in the whole 13.1, but it’s a start. And then snowpocalypse hit again…so no more running for me until we can actually see the roads again. At least it’s progress…

Not having blogged in quite some time, the “notes” on my phone and in my email are piling up once again…so without further adieu, here we go:

Have you ever heard a song and not really understood it or had any connection to it, then sometime later- maybe even years later- you hear it again, and all of the sudden you know exactly what it means? I think that’s another one of those subtle God things. He’s reminding us that He knows the plans He has for us long before we can see it.
Earlier this year, my very dear friend, Bobby, introduced me to Jimmy. I was unaware, but apparently Jimmy is the angel that God has put solely in charge of putting songs in your head. Walking through the store humming a song? Thank Jimmy. Mindlessly nodding your head to a beat on your mind? Thank Jimmy. Randomly dancing while you carry out daily tedious chores? Yep, that’s him again. I imagine Jimmy to look like a tiny little Rastafarian (I’d give him 5’2 max with dreads down to his elbows), always wearing sunglasses and spinning beats in the heavens…and how cool that he works for God?! So next time you wake with a strange song in your head that you may not have heard in years, or maybe you don’t even like, take time to listen to it a little closer. It may very well be another one of God’s subtle messages.
And on a side note, Jimmy was playing Christmas music in my head on November 1st this past year. That sneaky little dude sure does love some Christmas!

I have realized that I think more when I drive alone. Not simply because of the “alone time”, but because it’s the only time I can play MY music as loud as I want and sing it as loud as I want without worrying if the neighbors can hear me. Singing gets me on my “frequency” and gives me goose bumps. (Getting goose bumps and highs from small life events is known as your “frequency” because that’s when God can speak to you the easiest. Just like tuning the dial for a radio station.) The dopamine kicks in, just like it does in a perfectly warm shower, and everything is right….and so my brain begins to roll.

Remember me saying I need to be more open minded with my style? Yeah, well, turns out I may need a little help with that. On a recent shopping trip, I found a very unique dress that I thought just might be my ticket to the “stylish yet eclectic” vibe I was pulling for. After fighting for over ten minutes in the dressing room to decide where it should fall on my shoulder and whether or not it was on backwards, I realized that it was four sizes too big. Likely the reason I couldn’t get it to fit “just right.” Oops.

And remember how I constantly look for patterns, especially in my home addresses lining up my future? The last house I lived in before moving to Mississippi was number 524…and Alex (who became a permanent part of my picture shortly after I moved to Mississippi) was born on 5-24. Whoa.

That’s all I got for today. Gotta check on the stew on the stove. Deer stew. Eww. Our freezer is filled with two whole deer anyway-you-can-process-them. And I’ve learned that I am not really a deer meat fan. So I’m trying to be creative. But mostly, I’m just trying to get rid of it.

Cheers to snow days that allow cooking experimenting time for musky deer meat. Hurry up turkey season.

Until next time…

Love always,

Addie

“Don’t die before you’re dead.”

old hymns

I’ve heard that a child is closer to God because of their innocence and open hearts that have yet to be hardened by the world. For me, I disagree. I once was that child. And I can unfortunately admit that my heart has been hardened by the world. I am not sure if I have made the conscious decision somewhere along the way to listen and look for God in my everyday, or if He was waiting for this time to become more apparent to me, but recently I see Him more and more- even when I’m not looking.

I once was lost, but now am found.

I also read an article last week about the hymn, Great is Thy Faithfulness and how it is a somewhat broad phrase in terms of praise, but can be so personal to each individual. And guess what was on the bulletin to sing in church last Sunday after reading that…yep, I may or may not have soaked up every verse of that powerful song like never before.

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.

My newest obsession- besides still giving a good swing at whole holistic lifestyle thing- is reading devotionals about being a Godly wife. Loving him like Jesus does, as Eric Church would call it. And quite frankly, I can’t get through most of them without crying. But I like it. A lot.

This is a short one, but I promise to write again soon of all the latest in my life. Lots of changes lately!! But I want to leave with one thought:

The zest of a lemon is minuscule compared to the whole, but it’s by far the tastiest. I believe the same goes for life. Don’t overlook the small and often unnoticeable things because they are often the best parts of life. They fill it with the unexpected and memorable times. And of course, that’s why they’re called the ZEST of life! (Sorry for the pun, I had to.)

Love always,

Addie

“You know it’s a good day when the organist starts to play the hymn and Papa starts to cry. That’s how you know there are familiar angels in the sanctuary, singing through the notes in the old hymns.”

normal obsessions

The royal baby (I’ll refer to him as Prince, because how cool is that?!) has arrived! I thoroughly understand the American obsession with the Royal family because we don’t have monarchies and thanks to Disney, every girl grew up wanting to be a princess. For Kate Middleton, that dream actually came true, giving the rest of us normal girls a sense that dreams really do come true. Besides, who better to admire than the people we fought so diligently to break away from? (Only kidding…)

So now the question remains: what is Prince’s name? People have been betting on it for 9 months now. Surprisingly I haven’t read much into it. I’m sure it will be a family name- and probably a very long one at that. Unlike us normal people, Prince will probably have about five names before they ever get to his last name. I didn’t know that monarchs even had a last name until I googled it about five minutes ago. I thought they just went by their first, middle, second middle, etc. names and ended it with something fun and royal like “the Duke of Cambridge”. Their last name however is obviously very English and very royal sounding…nothing as plain as Smith would do… which is why their last name is Mountbatten-Windsor. Good luck trying to teach Prince to write and pronounce that in kindergarten.

Not gonna lie, I was really crossing my fingers for a little princess, but I’m sure Prince will be just as dashing as his parents and just as fun as his Uncle Harry. Can I be his godmother? And I was also very glad that he arrived at a decent time of day so that I didn’t have to pull an all-nighter like I did in college to watch the Royal Wedding. (Ok, but seriously I probably wouldn’t have pulled an all-nighter to wait for the announcement of a baby that I will never meet. Watching the wedding was worth it but somehow waiting up just to hear a Royal crier make an announcement didn’t sound appeasing. Not to mention that in college, my body was trained to run on no sleep, but now that I have a job and a real-time schedule, I’m more of an in-bed-by-10-at-the-latest kind of gal.—But for the record I would, however break my schedule to watch another wedding of Royal or Kardashian magnitude on any given day. Yes, I’m that girl. Slightly obsessed.)

Is anyone else shocked at how quickly summer is passing by or am I just getting old? It’s almost August for crying out loud! I feel like say this every summer…but such is life. And what a difference in this summer and last. First of all rain, rain, rain. It rain an inch last week and is currently raining now. Not so bad since hardly any one down here irrigates and most crops are laid by at the moment. But the boys back home are singing a different story. Spence sent me a picture from the field last night after they got- wait for it…4 INCHES of rain the night before last. And guess what, they’re supposed to get more today. So instead of pumping water into the fields, they’re retracing all their previous steps and pumping water off. Fun fun. Compared to last summer which was one of the worst drought seasons ever with the some of the highest crop prices…God sure does have a sense of humor.

Another difference in last summer and this summer is my lack of tan-ness. Direct quote from my mother last weekend: “Wow, this is the palest I’ve ever seen you this time of year!” Thanks….I am becoming more cautious of sun damage after finding a few wrinkles on my face and my dad having skin samples sent off to be tested. So I catch rays when I can but am not exactly the sun goddess that I used to be. Instead, I now resort to sunless tanners- they stink, but they work. And to me, the cost of stench is much easier to pay than other potential costs.

Speaking of wrinkles, did you know that sleeping on your face (stomach and side sleepers) can cause wrinkles!? Engineers have built a pillow with a hole cut out so that only your ear, jaw, and hairline take the pressure, leaving your precious face unharmed from the ruthless wrinkle causing pillow while you snooze all night. While this may sound ridiculous, I have been overly aware of the way my cheeks smush into my pillow, creating an obsession of caution when I’m trying to sleep. The past few nights I have spent a good 3-5 minutes situating myself just so that my face feels as little smush as possible. “Prevention is key”…but somehow I still wake up looking like the Nightmare before Christmas every morning. Maybe I should just accept the fact that raisin skin is worth a good night’s sleep on a smushy, fluffy pillow (no matter how contradicting that sounds). Right…?

Last but not least, I would just like you to know that I fried my first ever batch of green tomatoes last night. And they were awesome. I also used my potato cutter to make my first batch (okay, actually the second because my first attempt was an utter fail) of homemade French fries. I’m becoming a decent gardener and cook while living down here- Mississippi makes me sustainable, and it feels so good. I posted a picture of the fried, unhealthy, goodness-es on my Instagram (another one of my obsessions) with the hasttag #BHGsummer in hopes of winning the weekly contest that Better Homes and Gardens is hosting all summer long. So far, they haven’t “liked” my photo…but it’s only Tuesday…there is still time. They’re probably just too busy gushing over Prince to notice me at the moment…

Stay hopeful my friends. Enjoy the summer and the rain. And remember that Jiminy Cricket was right when he said “dreams come true”.

Love always,

“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.”  – F. Scott Fitzgerald