Thankful Thursday

Today I went on a field trip with my precious sister to the McWane Center. We had a great time, but today gave me fuel for today's blog. Today I am thankful that I am not in highschool anymore. I loved school and I love EMCA, in fact I hope to one day teach there; but I would never wish to be a student there or in any high school ever again. This revelation humors me, as I never wanted to leave the hallowed halls and actually cried about graduating. Looking back, I had some good times and made memories that I can share with the few people I still keep up with; but overall the whole experience is nothing compared to my life now. I thought it could never get any better, but boy was I wrong. It could ONLY get better. Who loves constant drama, friends with crazy boyfriends, seeing people who annoy you to no end 6 days out of the week (I am including Sundays as well) and the constant nagging that you will somehow have to figure things out come that crazy day in May when you embark on the journey of life? I can honestly say that I don't miss any of that. I miss the carefree attitude and the feeling that my mom and dad would take care of everything, but things have changed and gotten 100 times better. I have an amazing husband, who I obviously could not have been married to had I stayed in highschool. My sweet friend Jenna & I are a million times closer than we were, say Senior year. Those crazy times taught us things and in alot of ways, perhaps the crazy times made us as close as we are now. Another thing I feel like I have gained is wisdom, I don't claim to be extremely wise or even knowledgable, but I see now that growing up and getting older isn't a bad thing. God's plan is for us to grow and learn and become the best person we can for Him. I remember Ms. Marilyn Elston telling me not to be sad about graduation and growing up, because doing those things would open doors and bring things my way that I could never imagine. She was so right and I see that now. While I don't encourage anyone to wish away their time in high school, I do encourage them not to hold on too tightly to the here and now, because who knows what it is God has for you in the future?

Just another Manic Monday...plus a new recipe for everyone

So this past weekend was lazy and pretty uneventful. Drew is on a shutdown at work, and consequently will be working every day until they tell him he doesn't have to. Friday night, my mom and I went to the Rebecca St. James concert. It was pretty fun and I always love spending time with my mom. On Saturday, I went to my parent's house to wait out the storm, that never actually showed up here. We just hung out and then my aunt and her husband came over for dinner. Drew came after work, and then we played some games...all in all a pretty good day. Sunday was church, great services. I also spent time with Jenna, we hung out by the pool and thus the extreme sun burn I am now sporting (on the front half of my body). Tonight, I think Drew and I are just going to hang out at the house. We may work out, depending on how Drew feels when he gets off. Tonight's menu includes one of my favorite new recipes that I will share with you guys.

Oven Fried Chicken

Mix 2 eggs with a cup of buttermilk.

In another bowl crush 35 to 45 Ritz crackers,then add salt, pepper, paprika, and Tony's creole seasoning (if you have small children you may want to go light with the creole seasoning it can be a bit spicy, but a little bit shouldn't hurt.)

Preheat your oven to 375

Take your chicken breast and dip them in the buttermilk mixture then transfer them to the Ritz cracker mixture.

Place in a lightly sprayed Pyrex dish. Cook for one hour. After cooking for 20 to 30 minutes add 2 tablespoons of melted butter. (drizzle over the chicken.)

I really like this recipe, I think I found it on copycat.com they have lots of great recipes if you take the time to sift through them. Happy Cooking!

Thankful Thursday

This one really goes along with what I said yesterday. Today I am glad I serve a God who is good, despite the circumstances and despite what I think and feel. God is steadfast and never changes...He is good!

D'Now Wrapup A Little Late

This past weekend I had the opportunity to have ten 6th grade girls invade my house. It was a really great weekend, and I got to know some of the sweetest girls I have ever met. They are super crazy and confident in who God made them to be. The theme this weekend was "All Eyes on You" and suddenly I am reminded that now more than ever I must be aware of how I live my life. My responsibility to behave as a Godly young woman has been increased by 10. Not only does God see me, but I have 10 pairs of eyes watching me, along with all my students from Sunday School. What an awesome responsibility God has given to me. It isn't always easy, but I know I don't have to do it alone. I have a Savior on my side who will guide me the whole way, just like He does in every other area of my life. This weekend taught me patience, the inportance of lessons learned over things of this world, and that sometimes there doesn't have to be a big wow moment, the fact that God showed up and seeds were planted matters just as much as those wow moments.
Even as I type the words of a Nichole Nordeman song are pouring from my computer and they pretty much sum up how I feel at this very moment about this weekend and all the other things going on in my life...
"With every breath I take in, I'll tell You I'm grateful again. Because it's more than enough to know I am loved and to know You are good...I'll sing You a love song it's all that I have to tell You I am grateful for holding my life in your hand...You are so good!"
God IS good, I thank Him for the opportunity to work with these precious girls, and to any parents who read this blog: Thank you so much for allowing your girls to be a part of this weekend. I hope they had a great time, but more importantly learned more about the Savior.

For those of you dying to know...

So since Drew & I got married, various people have been asking when we will have children. The answer is we don't know. I am only 21 and Drew is 26 so we have PLENTY of time. We both love kids and we really do want them, just not now. But for those of you who just can't wait here are a few examples of what I would like our future children to look like (as if my wants will have any bearing on how they actually look.)

Of course we love both our DeVaughn girls, so if our kids look like either one of them we are good with that.

The rest of these pictures come from weheartit.com

Doubly Thankful

So last Thursday, I failed to celebrate Thankful Thursday. I decided since I didn't do it last week, that this week I would share two things I am thankful for. Therefore this weeks Thankful Thursday is dedicated to my parents.
A girl couldn't ask for more in two people than I have in my parents. They really are fascinating people. For those of you who don't know the story of how they got together, I will share, because it truly is a God thing.
Several years ago, (I won't say how many as to not to give away my mom's "real" age and I won't say many because that sounds like alot), both my grandma's were pregnant. They were good friends and so they had their baby showers together. On August 31 my Grandma Hunnicutt had a baby girl, two days later my Grandmamma Collier had a baby boy. These two special ladies shared a hospital room and talked about how neat it would be if the two babies grew up and got married. Mamma and Daddy grew and as they grew they played together. Mamma talks about them playing house with each other. They were husband and wife and Aunt Susan and Uncle Steve were the children. Mamma's daddy was a preacher so as often happens in the ministry, the family packed up and moved to another town. They moved around and later came back to Prattville. Daddy had heard Mamma was back in town and eventually he asked her out. Of course they fell in love and got married. They ended up having the two most wonderful daughters in the world and they are living happily ever after.



It is so neat to me how their lives worked out, and they have always been an example to me of a Godly marriage. They aren't perfect and I am sure if you asked them they will tell you that their marriage isn't perfect, but they work at it every day and to me that is what it is all about.


Growing up I never felt like I couldn't talk to my parents. I knew that no matter what I could ask them any question and they would give me the answer I needed for that time in my life. I can't tell you how important that was and still is to me today. We had our times, when I was a crazy teenager, but no matter what I felt that unconditional love that always makes things feel secure. Today, I consider my parents to be two of my closest friends and that is truly a blessing.



I love my Mamma and Daddy more than this blog can ever express, and today on Thankful Thursday I feel abundantly blessed to be their daughter.

Random facts about me...

I have always been a little bit awkward...


I love bubble baths...


This is the face I make when something totally blows me away...


Drew reminds me of Prince Eric, and he gives me this look quite often...


I used to push myself up out of the water so I could look like this (shhh sometimes I still do.)


I realize I am 21 years old and probably should not love The Little Mermaid as much as I do, but I suppose there are worse things. Last but not least I imagine I look this amazing when I get out of the pool...

I realize that I don't but I choose not to look in the mirror and crush my dreams. ;)