The Planning Begins

The past two nights I have been working on invites for my sisters bridal shower I am throwing on June 13th. They turned out super cute.



Also my camera has been driving me crazy lately...I am sure due to user error. However if anyone is looking for a great gift for me...take a look at my dream camera:

http://www.amazon.com/Canon-Digital-Camera-18-55mm-3-5-5-6/dp/B0012YA85A/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

Jewlery Fun

Your Invited! Yes you. If you are reading my blog, you are invited. My mom is having a jewelry party at her house in D'ville. The jewelry is by U Design and you actually make your own jewelry. I have had a party of my own and been to 3 others and will be going to 2-3 more in the future! They are so much fun and when you book your own party you get jewelry for free. Most of everything you see here I got for free.

Where: My moms house...call me if you want directions!
Time: 1:00 (She is providing yummy lunch)
You could also just drop in if you like!

A Special Day

Chapel Hill soccer player signs with Young Harris College!

Today I had the honor of attending the signing of one of my players. So what is so special about that you ask? Well not only is it a great accomplishment to go on to play college soccer, but she signed with Young Harris College. What is so special about YHC you ask? Well it is where I attended my first two years of college and played my first two years of soccer. My experience there as a player was by far the best experience I had. The coach there is absolutely amazing and taught me so much not only about soccer, but about life. She is also who inspires me as a coach. She invests in her players and has built an amazing program. When I played at YHC we ended up 8th in the nation my first year (being the first of her teams to go to the national tournament) and 3rd in the nation my second only having lost to the team (Utah) that won the 1st place in the NJCAA Tournament. She went on to have even more successful teams that won the championship in 2006. I would almost warn others not to ask me about YHC because I could talk forever about what a great place it was and is.

So today was special because for the first time in my coaching career one of my very talented players is going to get to experience what I did. I am so very proud of her and her accomplishments to today's signing will forever be special to me. For things to have come full circle is really neat. I have relentlessly told my player what an amazing experience she will have there and proudly (along with her parents, club coach, and the coach at YHC) stood beside her for her signing today.

Kathy, the YHC coach who had such a positive impact on me was able to make the signing which meant a lot to both my player and I.

The Lord Has Delt With Me

Wow! Since the beginning of the year I have been praying about the Lord pruning me (my marriage, my life, etc.) Boy did He work last night... I got an email from a "higher up" (who I had spoke to on my way out of school yesterday and I could tell something was not right) to stop by the office when I came in today and I immediately became convicted about how I had handled some new minor changes coming my way. Although in the big picture it might have been minute...God really worked on my heart in a way that I did not expect. I can't stand the feelings of guilt and shame (for they are not from the Lord) so I began praying for forgiveness and a renewing. The freedom that comes from being honest in prayer with God is amazing. I wanted the condition of my heart to be repentant and forthcoming about the way I had handled the change (we are moving classrooms...minor I know). That being said I was fully prepared with an apology, not an excuse. I knew that I was covered in Gods grace and that all would be ok. (Let me better explain this by saying you know how you just want to kick yourself for not having held your tongue and you would give anything to take back actions or words and then you just squirm until God works on your heart about it...that is how I felt last night anticipating a conversation I was going to have to face today). So when I got to school I sent the email to my higher up asking when a good time to stop by would be and the response was this...."I am not sure what it was that I wanted you to stop by for." Wow..."If not for nothing" (my friend Gloria's favorite saying) did the Lord prune. I say this to say that it is hard being a leader and it is easy to forget that we are always under watchful eyes, listening ears, and skeptical hearts. In a short time I have stepped in to two leadership positions and I easily forget that as a lover of Christ and as His child I have a big job on my hands. I am human and make mistakes (little comments that I should keep to myself) but I have an Awesome God who loves me enough to prune me for the glory of His kingdom. If anyone gets anything from this post today is this...take joy in the pruning and refining for there is a freedom that is unexplainable in allowing God to work like this on your heart. I praise and thank Him for the work He is doing in me...I think most of the time I miss it and thankfully my eyes were opened to this. It would be easy for me to say that I "worried over nothing" But I beg to differ. The outcome of today (not actually getting called into the office) is the work of the Lord on my heart. On a side note (you'll find this interesting too) I have been specifically praying a while now for this "higher up" to know the Lord, even more of a reason that the condition of my heart shines His love.

Bridesmaid dress

This is the back of the dress. The way it is hanging does not do it justice. The satin is actually pulled tight when the dress is on.

The front of the dress has the satin with the ribbon you can tie in a bow or a knot if you like.

The material is a chiffon with the satin ribbon. It is also a tea length dress.

So my sister gave me the go ahead to search for a bridesmaid dress. I found this in JC Pennies today for $47.00 down from $80. I thought it was a steal compared to the price of normal bridesmaid dresses and it was so pretty, light, and flattering on. This is not definitely the dress until she gives the official yes, but I think it will look gorgeous with light pink pearls and light pink flowers like she wants.

Kissing Cousins

I decided that I needed to run to Lenox mall this Friday to make an exchange and did not want to go it alone. Jonathan was busy running sound at the church for an awards night so I decided I would see if my sweet cousin could go with me. We had such a blast even though we spent most of our time in the car. Me and my cousin grew up very close and we even got to be roomates for 1 short year in college together. She is like having a second sister. She is also 11 weeks pregnant so we got to chat about all the new and exciting things her body is going through (NO morning sickness). I love her so much and feel so blessed to be able to walk beside her in such an awesome time in her and her husbands life...besides I'm getting a new little cousin!!!!

A Coaches Hardest Job

Harder than dealing with the excruciatingly long hours and harder than dealing with teenage girl attitudes is facing my team of girls who have big crocodile tears in their eyes because they just lost a game they knew they could win and having to come up with something heartfelt when even you your self wanted them to win so badly. Having to look them in the eyes and know that nothing you say is going to make them feel any better is so difficult.

Our season finally ended in a 3-0 battle against Harrison High School in the 3rd round of the state playoffs.

I am so extremely proud of my girls. I can bet there are no other teams in the state that can say the only game they lost this season was in the 3 round of state.

Go Lady Panthers

PS Harrison better watch out! (And its not like their assistant coach coaches over half my team on her Cobb Strikers club team) Advantage you think?