ok lets start part 2 with this: )



lol this is the life of the party .... oh and she can play some MAD softball

     
she is lover of soccer and nerf guns: ) 
i love her with all of my heart ...

HER.....
loves to travel.....and nature........




i love both of these girls to death and they too are a part of my world :  )

WHERE IN THE WORLD?!?!?

WOW?!?!? APRIL 8TH huh??  well i suppose i should EXPLAIN...maybe CATCH UP??? uhmmm START OVER??? ASK FOR FORGIVENESS?? well let me start with starting over from where i left off cause i FIRST think that is only fair ;) SECONDLY ... how could i cram it all in??? : ) so these next few post are gonna kinda be catch ups/start overs... so lets get started with part DOS of the siblings files : )

sibs

siblings....

 so this is half of my sibling files : ) i find that it can get quite amusing when trying to answer the question....HOW MANY BROTHERS AND SISTERS DO YOU HAVE? when your parents divorce-remarry and have kids it can be FUN : ) i have a brother and 3 sisters and i am the oldest of all of them.. my brother and 1 sister have lived together until we were old enough to move out on our own... my brother actually lived with me for 3 yrs and in that time we had "B" ...whom i affectionately call my BABY GIANT...then there is my younger sister.... or as i call her "SEESTA"
 : ) she moved here her freshman yr of college and since she was by herself she went and adopted the cutie pie in the lower left pic whom i refer to as "D" ...  sometimes they can beat my last nerve...luv me/hate me ignore my phone calls and texts.... but i know they love me and i hope they know that i love them more than anything in this world and would do anything in this world for them...and i feel that i will always have a piece of them with me as i have somehow ended up with both of the babies in the bottom pics : ) whom at many times i have thought about putting in the car and returning to their owners... but my world wouldnt be complete with out any of the above,,i love them to death and i hope they know what i wouldnt do for them....

concerts : )

OK so i have had the opportunity to see a lot of concerts ... we all have our favorite one ....our first one...and yes those maybe we wish we had never seen.... : ) my first one was New Kids on The Block...my dad took me and my brother back in the early nineties... i don't remember who was with them and just barely remember going.. but i remember none the less : ) ...raise your hand if Jonathon was your fav! ha : )   I also had the privilege of seeing Lorrie Morgan as well... that was a fun fun concert that i went with my step mom... I have also gotten to attend a few Gaither Concerts as well....as i have gotten older i have attended some and have had the opportunity to have a sidekick : ) me and my cousin have been to quite a few over the last few years....among them Chris Tomlin and Israel Houghton...luv them!


we have also had some fun concerts featuring these two guys....















yeap....Brad Paisley and Keith Urban : ) we have seen them twice :  )

and with them some others have came along.....(top left) Gary Allen (top right) Jake Owen
(bottom left)American Idol Scotty McCreery (bottom right) The Band Perry...FUN TIMES : )
Rodney Atkins was also with Keith and Gary.....


MY ABSOLUTE FAV CONCERTS contained a few of these stars....

                                (bottom left) Miranda Lambert     (top tight) Carrie Underwood
                                 (top left) Josh Kelley                 (bottom right) Justin Moore

i actually went to the Miranda Lambert concert with one of my best friends... had the best time : ) on my bucket list is to see her husband Blake Shelton in concert.... we went to see the Brad Paisley concert just a week ago and what started out as a crazy night was one of my favorite concerts...we turned off Neyland drive to the road next to Thompson Boling and while in traffic we got stopped so they could let a bus pass through.. we looked  at the time and tried to guess who would be showing up for the concert with less than 20 mins til show time.... come to find out it was Carrie Underwood : ) it was so fun...not even brad knew she was coming....

i have enjoyed these concerts and hope to attend lots more in the future : )

my home away from home

                                                                Jamaica                                                                  
                                      

          what can i say? i was introduced to MY HOME AWAY FROM HOME... 3years ago
                             
I am beyond privileged to have not 1 but 2 church families... not only is Emory Valley my home church but i have had for the last few years the honor of being part of my parents church that i lovingly refer to as my FAV MARTINS CHAPEL...and with that honor has come the GREATEST BLESSINGS  of my life RIPPLING HOPE MISSIONS TEAM.... for the last 3 yrs i have been honored to be a part of this group... My first trip was in 2009 only my 2nd time being out of the country...it was the most humbling and awesome experience ever and i was sharing it with an awesome  group of people among them...MY PARENTS...my first trip i remember thinking WOW..what i wouldn't give for the people in America to want what the people in Jamaica want and i seen first hand how much we take for granted THE SON OF GOD and what HE DOES for us...we had so many things that weren't supposed to happen on that trip that was GOD doing and that's the only reason for the things happening...i learned that if you DON'T LIKE chicken..well Jamaica may not be your country ;) i learned that GODS GRANDEST blessings come in the smallest packages ...and sometimes his BLESSINGS are there...you just have to climb a mountain to find them..FAMILY is what makes the BAD things GOOD again no matter what you have or DON'T have...my 2nd trip in 2010.... i learned that sometimes even in Jamaica you have to make known what you already know is THE GREATEST BLESSING the SON OF GOD!! and even if they cant see it... HE IS STILL THERE... and will BE... i learned the he BLESSES his children and what GIVES HIM THE GLORY shall RICHLY BE BLESSED twice fold...i also experienced the pain and heartache of losing the ones you love and the joys of the LORD with another life coming into the world....my third trip just this past October was a mixture of the previous years i seen the ones that wanted it but the same was seen the ones that didn't want what we were there to bring..and honestly my heart was saddened.. we even experienced the devil first hand...ALL 3 of these trips hold special meanings and LASTING MEMORIES that are FOREVER ETCHED in my HEART.... i want to THANK GOD for the opportunity to be able to go and do this and to be his fisherman and to bring HIS SALVATION to those we may not otherwise have the opportunity  to know him.. i have made lasting friendships and hope to go back again and lord willing if it is his will.... when he calls i will go!!

plans....

OK.. so i am not sure where this is going to go so just hang on with me for a lil bit and it might go somewhere ;)
 First of let me start with what an AMAZING GOD we serve... we are now about 8 weeks out of recovery and today papaw has started back to Patricia Neal rehab... to say it has been easy seeing not only him but my family go through this would not be the full truth...the truth is it SUCKS and it SUCKS bad....that is the nicest way i can put it right now.. i do find myself wondering WHY and IS THIS MY WAKE UP CALL? i KNOW in my heart of hearts that is not for us to ASK WHY? he says in  Jeremiah 29:11....

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you hope and a future.

 

You see it isn't for us to QUESTION but to TRUST...but the human in me wants to know WHY...WHY do i have to watch the MOST GODLY MAN  i know struggle to do the very things that for 75 yrs he has been able to do...? WHY do i have to see MY WORLD seem to be taken from me... little by little? WHY does it have to hurt so bad? Then i am reminded of this verse he doesn't do it to HARM us he doesn't do it to set us back... IT IS ALL IN HIS PLAN... you see THE MOST GODLY MAN i know could not be here with us right now...THE MOST GODLY MAN i know could not be 7 weeks out from a stroke and tried to cut his hair with a ALMOST fully functional left hand  only to have me his cosmetologist granddaughter fix it and still laugh about it.... :) You see i SHOULDN'T be saying WHY LORD? but LORD I PRAISE YOU FOR BRINGING HIM THIS FAR!!! and i SHOULDN'T be upset that he is NO LONGER the man he used to be BUT LORD I THINK YOU FOR HAVING HIM HERE TO ENJOY for whatever time i have left with him as he is... FOR YOU KNOW THE PLANS YOU HAVE FOR US...

i am not gonna say that it still don't HURT and i cant say that with a tear in my eye i will never ask WHY.. but i do vow to go forward and SAY THANK YOU LORD FOR YOUR BLESSINGS ON ME... YOU ARE GOOD AND MOST WORTHY!!!

 

 

tougher than nails...together we are!!

so before we can get started on 2012.... lets rewind back to Tuesday December 27....a date that none in my family will likely forget.... one half of my world was hurting and struggling and there was NOTHING I COULD DO....my STRONG ..GOD FEARING papaw had suffered a stroke... for the last 3 weeks we have lived at fort sanders hospital and we have cried more tears than i ever thought could imagine have been mentally and physically exhausted but we have seen the GRACE OF GOD SHINE SO BRIGHT... we have went from paralysis on his left side with a clot in one of his arteries in his neck to an almost back to normal functioning left side GOD HEALED no clot found.. praise given place of peace! This has been ROUGH to say the least but with GOD ...who is GOOD ALL THE TIME ....WE WILL MAKE IT!! my family may put the FUN in DYSFUNCTIONAL but when it comes to one hurting you can bet we are gonna pull together and be there for each other in the GOOD and the BAD!!!

the start

where to start? i suppose start by telling a lil bit about me would be as good as anything...i am first and foremost a lover and believer of CHRIST ...daughter to some really great parents and a group of odd parents..granddaughter to the most precious grandparents ever...sister to 4 of the best siblings a girl could ask for... niece to my fav aunts and uncles and cousin to a bunch of the best...have the greatest group of friends i could ever ask for...  am too forgiving... lover of my furbabies and my gentle giant... my next job was gonna be an airline stewartess.... can get in the car and turn radio up and drive anywhere as long as its away from here...would live as a beachbum....have taken too many pictures...art was/is my favorite... will take the sun over the rain anyday as long as it isnt above 72 degrees... really wish i had learned to play piano better...wants to really really learn to speak spanish and sign language better.... not a fan of those things they call ambulances...however am surrounded by EMS workers?!?! dont want to be alone for the rest of my life...yet i trust that GOD has mister right at the right time...this is me in a semi nutshell...and i hope to use this blog to  hopefully show the world what GOD chooses to use HIS CHOSEN FOR.... with a lil humor and life on the way...

           lets get started shall we?