CAbi Clothes

It's no secret, I love clothes!  I love clothes so much.  I love to shop, I love to look nice, I love to buy new things, I love clothes!  Alright, are you with me here?  My mom and her friend started hosting CAbi parties a little over a year ago and I have fallen in love with a new brand of super cute clothes and very comfortable clothes too.  I am thinking of hosting a party myself in the next month or so!  Here are my top picks for the Spring Collection. 

Hopefully these pieces will be making their way to their new home (aka my closet) in the near future!  Wouldn't I be the cutest teacher and wife on the block?  Haha!

Dear Baby,

At one of Emily's showers we filled out these questions about dreams for the baby. In honor of my adorable little niece/nephew that should make their appearance this week I would like to make a post to them. Soon there will be pictures of them on here! Can't wait.

Dear Baby,

I hope that you learn to love Jesus at an early age. That you will come to see his amazing grace, mercy, and love. I know that your mommy and daddy will guide you and raise you in the way that the Lord would like them to.

I hope you aren't afraid to try new things and be yourself.

I hope you love coming to visit your Auntie Al and Uncle Matt.

I hope you get to have all your dreams come true!

I hope you laugh at yourselve when you make mistakes.

I hope you never forget that you are loved by Jesus, your family, and by your AUNTIE!

I hope you ignore people who are mean to you and try to harm you.

I hope you become a strong Christian.

I hope you respect your parents.

I hope you grow to become a kind, caring, giving, and loving person. I hope you grow up to be as wonderful as your parents are. They mean the world to me and I know they will mean the world to you as well! I may be biased but they are going to be the best parents!

I love you to pieces and I haven't even met you yet,
Your Auntie Al

-This is one of my favorite songs and it reminds me to stand in the power of Christ each and every day. I pray that you will come to know the Lord at an early age and that you as well will cling to the promises in this song.

In Christ alone, my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song

This cornerstone, this solid ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease

My comforter, my all-in-all

Here in the love of Christ I stand

There in the ground His body lay

Light of the world by darkness slain

Then bursting forth in glorious day

Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me

 For I am His and He is mine

Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand


Dear Em and S,
We are praying for you each and everyday as you make the final preparations for the baby. We know that you will make wonderful Godly parents and that you will "train up this child in the way they should go and they will not depart from it" Proverbs 22:6. We know that you will find "no greater joy than to hear that your child walks in the truth" 3 John 1:4. We love you and are here for you! Feel free to call us for Babysitting!

Love,
Allison and Matt

Wii Crazy

We have always loved playing the Wii. I first fell for this game system when my sister and brother-in-law bought theirs when it first came out. I am unsure when Matt got his Wii but I know that he enjoys it as well. After our first date we became hooked on playing and competing against each other. We will go through spells where we play all the time and then we will have a period of time when we rarely touch it. Since Christmas Break we have most definitely been on a playing streak, we play ALL the time! It is such a fun time no matter what game you play. It has also brought out a very competative side of me.

We decided that for Christmas both parents could use their own Wii System so that is what we gave for Christmas presents this year. Now not only are Matt and I playing a lot but so are our parents. Now here comes my very competative side. Not only am I playing against my husband and trying to beat his records (he is really good!) but I am now competing against my dad and father-in-law. My dad and I play every time I go and visit and it is always a good time. Jerry (my father-in-law) and I will call each other with updates about our scores and what is the new score to beat. What a friendly fun competition that we all have going! Maybe we should have a Family Wii Weekend! (Hmm...now that I said that it does sound quite fun!) Wonder what the families would think? Good food, fellowship, and fun? I could probably twist their arms to do it!

Dear Matt, Dad, and Jerry,

Consider yourselves warned. A friendly competition is coming your way. I will be practicing and beating your scores. Even the ones that I have beat already I will be continuing to make them better. Put your practice shoes on and be ready!

Love to all,
Allison

Things I look forward to in 2012

*The birth of my niece or nephew in just a few weeks!

*Growing more in love each and every day with my wonderful Husband

*Family Time

*Growing Closer to the Lord

*Time with my sweet class and helping them become the men and women that God wants them to be.

*My brother-in-law and future sister-in-laws wedding

*Praying for my family

*Vacations

*Spending time with my adorable little niece or nephew/oh yea and my cute little neph-dog Jack!

*Church

*Finishing my Thank-you notes from the wedding (yes, I still have some to go)

*Be crafty, lots of cute ideas in my head that need to be done

*Following God's will for our life

*Read More!

*Try new recipes

*Blog more

*many many more things will be wonderful and fun in 2012! Looking forward to a fun year full of many of God's blessings!

Married Life

Well it has been a month since our wedding and let me just tell you married life is pure bliss! :) I love my husband more than the day that we got married, it is amazing how love continues to grow stronger each and every day.

We had a BEAUTIFUL wedding and the day was truly perfect! We owe a lot to our parents for helping to take our dream wedding and make it into reality. Some days I think about our wedding day and wish that I could go back and relive it a hundred times over, that's how great of not only a day but a weekend it was.

If you haven't had the chance to check out the pictures, you may want to check out this amazing video our photographer put together. www.andrewbakerphoto.com/blog I may be biased but it is the best video! I hope you enjoy.

Now we are having fun learning to be husband and wife and spending time together making precious memories! Stay tuned for more adventures in newlywed life.

24 Blessings

As Thanksgiving approaches us this week I would like to compile a list of 24 blessings that are part of my life this year. There are many more blessings that have occurred but I will keep it to 24.

1. A Godly loving husband who spoils me and encourages me to be a better person.

2. A wonderful Christian family who always points me in the right direction and love me always.

3. A great family of in-laws that support Matt and I in all that we do and love me as their own!

4. A fantastic wedding that was all I could ever dream of!

5. That I am going to be an aunt in 3 months!!! :)

6. A new job at a Christian School where I can teach Bible.

7. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ who gives me the strength to face each day and blesses me beyond belief.

8. A class of 14 adorable, funny, and kind students who love the Lord.

9. A church family.

10. A nice house.

11. Friends and all my extended family.

12. Sunshine, Rain,and Fall leaves.

13. A growing faith.

14. Sports and outdoors.

15. Fun Weekend Getaways.

16. Clothes.

17. Food.

18. The luxuries in life, when I get to spoil myself with manicures/pedicures, etc.

19. Supportive co-workers.

20. Positive Reinforcement.

21. Health.

22. Laughter.

23. Friendly people.

24. A day of Thanksgiving to be with family and remember the great things the Lord has done for us!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever. His faithfulness continues thru all generations."
Psalm 100:4-5

God is Great!

God has blessed me with so many things the past few months and I have been wanting to blog about it for a few weeks now but don't even really know how to put everything into words. I think that the Lord has definitley sparked a new fire in my heart for Him and for doing His will.

God has given me a job at a different school--a Christian school that I absolutely LOVE! It is so wonderful to start my day in prayer and devotion and that each and every lesson is based on the great promises and truths of God. I can stop my day and pray at any time and occasionally if you are walking down the halls at the right time you will hear my class and I break out in a song of praise to our Lord! How sweet it is hear those 14 students worship Christ in our classroom and in weekly chapel. How sweet it is to see these students grow in wisdom and stature just as Christ did. How humbled I am that Christ has called me to be their teacher and to be an imitator of Him to them. And might I brag for a moment that midterms go home tomorrow and I couldn't be more pleased with the grades and achievements that my students are making!

I have more I want to write about but my fiance (another one of my wonderful blessings!) is about to come see me and I want to spend some time with him so I will write more later.

You should check out this song, it will be a teaser for my next post.
----it won't let me paste the link here so YouTube Christ is Able to Save---LifeWay Worship.
I promise you won't regret it!

Vacation 2011- Folly Beach Style

This past week my parents, Matt and I headed to Folly Beach, SC for the first time. We all had a blast and a very relaxing week! Folly Beach is a very neat place where you can park your car and never move it, you can walk to all restraunts and shops. The only time we moved was if we went to the grocery store or into Charleston. Which we actually did quite a lot! It was hard deciding what pictures to put on here but I think these will show the fun week we had. None of us were ready to return home.

Many late nights were spent playing the Wii and trying to improve our Wii ages. (Note: there is an hilarious video of my mom playing the Wii and if she wouldn't hurt me for posting it I would include it for your enjoyment)

The week started out with a flat tire on my dad's car and when putting on the spare tire we found out it was flat too! My dad had hurt his back earlier in the summer so it is a GREAT thing we had Michelin Matt with us!

Two of my favorite men hanging out on the balcony.

Matt and I on the beach. We had a blast playing in the ocean and catching some rays on the sand!

Daddy's Girl, standing in the water where there is not a care in the world.

Soaking up God's beautiful creation.

Enjoying a little beach time

We enjoyed two carriage tours. One historic Charleston and the other a Ghost Tour!

Ate at some really yummy seafood place with many famous people: Mel Gibson and a Senator plus many others had eaten at our table.

Enjoying a night time swim

I'm big on the pig at Piggy Wiggly. However my dad did find a Harris Teeter and for my birthday got me my favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies and Cake!!

Many evenings were spent enjoying live music. This was by far our favorite one...Calhoun's Calling!

Out on the pier, taking pictures with the beautiful ocean behind.

Enjoying dinner on the pier.

My handsome fiance and I.

My wonderful parents enjoying their time on the beach.

Celebrating my birthday with BEAUTIFUL pearls from Matt, and several Charleston memories from my parents!

We had a wonderful time on our first vacation to Folly Beach and hope to go back another summer! It was a special time to have with just the four of us before the wedding!! Which by the way is only 93 days away! :)

Learning

Do you ever feel that the Lord is trying to teach you something? Well I always feel as if He is trying to teach me something but this summer there has been a common theme in my personal devotion time, sermons on Sunday's, lessons for 4th Grade Sunday School, and in preparing for my new job at the Christian School.

The common theme in all of it is: EVANGELISM. I believe the Lord is calling me to be a bolder person when it comes to sharing my faith. I need to show and share God's love for everyone in my own life so that others may come to know Him and his redeeming grace. Sharing the gospel and God's love does not come naturally to all people but it is something that we are commanded to do, so instead of shying away and leaving it up to the next person to share we all are to share with others. Not only do we need to vocalize the gospel but also our lives should be a living witness of God's wonderful love.

"All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:18-20

I already sense the Lord prompting me to do a few things to show His love. I pray that I am obedient to His call and will follow through with what that Lord has asked of me!

"But you will recieve power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Smaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Acts 1:8

"If you love me, you will obey what I command."

John 14:15

Craft Days

Today I am heading to the craft store! I have a few more weeks of summer left and a few new projects that I want to complete. You will have to stay tuned for updates on how they turn out.

I will give you a look into the things for now:

1. A wooden letter S and some spray paint.
2. Lots of scrapbooking supplies to update Matt and I's scrapbook.

3. Frame Bible Verses for my new classroom (so excited to finally be able to openly have scripture around my class) and house!

4. Two new wreaths, stay tuned to see where these show up in the house!

5. Project #5 is a surprise for my sister and since she reads my blog I will have to wait and show that one when I have given it to her.

Happy Wednesday to you and Happy Crafting Day to me!

The ups and downs of Charlotte

While visiting this beautiful city where I was born and called home for the first 9 years of my life I came to realize several different things...

1. Where can you find a prettier skyline than this? Whenever I see this skyline I instantly have so many memories flood my mind; family, friends, church, school, sports, kickball games, lemonade stands etc. This is the city where I came to a loving relationship with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, made many memories with my family and friends, where I got my first scar from swimming on the bottom of the baby pool, where I learned how to walk, talk, swim, read, and write. It is where my dad would coach my first softball team. It's where I thrived on the swimteam and could help my team win the city/county meet. It is where I got my dog Benji. It is where the dream of me one day being a teacher started at Rama Road Elementary. It's where my parents, sister, and I would create friends that last a lifetime!

2. While Charlotte has many great places to do LOTS of this and all the stores have great selections and I can always find something in my size... 3. There is the downfall of this...TRAFFIC and LOTS of it! While living in Charlotte I never noticed the traffic, I remember having to leave early to get everywhere we wanted to go but no big deal. In the past years when we have gone back to visit the traffic has never bothered me and I have always just gone with the flow of traffic. But something about this past trip there, I realized I do not have what it takes to drive in traffic day in and day out. It stresses me out! It may be different if I lived there and knew my way around but for now I will let Charlotte keep its traffic and I will go back to my town where I can easily get around no matter what time of day and the only traffic is caused by stoplights and construction.

Dear Charlotte,

Never fear I will be back to visit and I hold many fond memories of you. But please keep your traffic down south and send your shopping a little further up north!

Sincerely,

Allison

Totally In Love

This past weekend Matt and I took our engagement pictures and man did we have a blast! I think we both totally missed our calling and were really supposed to be models, ha. We both had a blast being in front of the camera and were very comfortable being our self. You know we enjoyed it and wanted these pictures when we were both awake and ready before 6:00 AM, yes you read that correct 6:00 in the MORNING!! And we are not morning people! It has been fun to look back at the pictures and to see our love shown in pictures! We have an amazing wedding photographer, Andy Baker, not only is he a family friend but he is a fantastic photographer. We headed downtown and to a car show for most of these pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have and if you want to see more of Andy's work be sure to head over to www.andrewbakerphoto.com/blog to see all of our pictures click on proofs.

Our hands sitting on top of the Bible. Our relationship is what it is today because we have God in the middle of it and seek His will for us.

I got to spend my weekend with two major cuties!

Only 130 more days til I marry my soul mate!! :)