Southern at Heart

There is this song that I can't get our of my head, I find myself singing it all day long... Download it if you can... Walking with the Angels by: Monk & Neagle Memories surround me But sadness has found me I'd do anything for more time Never before has someone meant more And I can't get you out of my mind There is so much that I don't understand But I know.... You're dancing with the angels Walking in new life You're dancing with the angels Heaven fills your eyes Now that you're dancing with the angels You had love for your family Love for all people Love for the Father, and Son Your heart will be heard In your unspoken words Through generations to come There is so much that I don't understand But I know... You're dancing with the angels Walking in new life You're dancing with the angels Heaven fills your eyes Now that you're dancing... We're only here for such a short time So I'm gonna stand up, shout out, And sing H

Today is the day I have dreaded since I was a little girl. I have always been so afraid to lose someone I love. It's really been my biggest fear. This morning at 10:10am my grandpa heard the words "well done my good and faithful servant" from our Lord Jesus. Pops went into a coma last night after his last visitor left. My dad went to be with him this morning and spent about 30 minutes with him holding his hand and praying. Pops inhaled at 10:10 and that was it. Dad said it was amazing being there with him, what a gift that was. He was the only one there with him, and we were so afraid that he was going to die by himself. It just reminds me of God's faithfulness. He knows our hearts desires and they have been fulfilled. My grandpa is no longer in pain. I have been picturing him all day and what he is doing in Heaven. I'm sure he is running around with both of his legs and cracking everyone up. He is a nut and I'm sure that hasn't changed in Heaven. I really

Waiting has always been one of the hardest things to do. I should say waiting and being patient at the same time. We are still waiting on the Lord to come and take Pops home. While he is still here we want to spend as much time with him as we can. Last night mom, dad, Chris and I went up to see him again. He was completely out of it, as they have finally given him stronger pain medicine. We had a great time with him last night, he mustered up all his energy to talk to us and make us laugh. The time we spend together is priceless. He has the best attitude! He never ever complains. Such a great example to my family and I. We took some pictures with Pops last night and I have to tell you, they are a little scary. He would go in and out of sleeping with the medicine and he was sleeping in this one. You can see how sick he is, please keep praying! God's timing is perfect.... ...Precious Lord, please take him home...

My sweet Pops is still here with us. They moved him from the hospital last night to rehab into hospice. My family and I went to be with him last night. It was the first time we were able to be with him alone without everyone else there. It was such a special time. He is still in so much pain which is ridiculous because hospice is supposed to make you as comfortable as possible until you pass. We had a great time talking to him and sharing memories that we have. The Lord kept me strong and I was able to just take care of my Pops like old times and hold his hand and hang out. He has a really neat room mate. I don't know his name but he is a retired pastor who has cancer in the lungs, kidneys and now his brain. He was praying for pops and my family and gave us some really neat words of encouragement. He told us that everything will be ok, to go home and rest and to not worry, it's all in the Lord's hands. Here is this man who is laying curled up in bed terminally ill next to m

Today was kind of surreal. I got a call this morning saying that Pops is ready to go home and he wanted to have his family there with him to say good bye. My prayer all day yesterday was that God would reveal to me what to do. I wanted so bad to go and see him to tell him I love him one last time and on the other hand, I didn't want to see him in the condition he is in. Today, it was very heavy on my heart to go and be there for him. I really was not ready for what I saw but God met us there in the hospital room and covered it with a peace only He could give. When I walked in his room he was saying, " Oh Lord, take me home, I am ready to go home...I want to come home." My heart was so glad at that moment. All my selfishness went out the door and at that moment my soul was at peace with this situation. The whole family was there with him, talking about all the great memories we have with him and praying that God would come and take him home SOON! He is so ready to go, and

This was the last time that Chris and I were together with grandma and grandpa a couple weeks before the wedding. We took them to Red Lobster, a place we always went together and had the best time....

I am home spending the day in prayer, just me and God. These past couple days have been nothing but emotional. Pops, my grandpa is in really bad shape and has been in the hospital for the past week. There are things wrong with him that I didn't even know were possible. I am a complete family girl and when someone I love, especially in my family isn't doing well, I have a really hard time. I have never dealt with a death in my family and this is a little too close for me. Death as a Christian is amazing, definitely do not get me wrong. I guess I am being selfish as I sit here and pray for God to heal my grandpa again. Pops is a believer in Christ, he assured me the other day on the phone. He knows he will be in Heaven, he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and asked Him to forgive him of his sins. That is so comforting to me, but for those of us who will be left behind...it is so hard. I haven't been able to talk to him since Valentines day and even that conversation was

We woke up to sunshine and blue skies this morning. It was beautiful! We went to this belgian waffle place for breakfast that was perfect! We enjoyed every minute of it. It had a small town charm with pretty awesome waffles and bacon! We decided to leave earlier than we had planned to go hang out with mom and dad parker. It had been a while since we had been there and we had a great afternoon/evening hanging out with them. It's been an awesome weekend and we're looking forward to many more fun weekends away.

It was a beautiful day in Solvang. We went to a little bakery for breakfast. (The whole time I was thinking of Grandma and Grandpa Styll, I was at the same bakery with them about 8 years ago!) I had a Danish waffle....it was a small little sugared pastry filled with whipped cream and raspberry filling. mmm. and Chris had a lemon boat. Very tasty. We walked around the city some more and came back to rest. We found this little yummy market in Santa Ynez that had an amazing bbq going. Chris got a tri tip sandwich that was out of this world! After lunch we went to Alisal Ranch. We had to, after hearing my family talk about it for years about what a wonderful place it is we went to check it out for ourselves. It is beautiful there and a great place for families. After Alisal we went back to the hotel to catch a few more zzzz's and then went back into Santa ynez to a little coffee shop that was so cute! I was craving some sweets from the bakery and walked out with fresh bread and chee

We're here!! We left around 10:30 this morning and arrived in Solvang around 3:30 after stopping in Santa Barbara for lunch. It is so gorgeous up here! Chris and I are having the best time with eachother! It's such a different way of life here and so nice to just slow down for a couple days and enjoy each other and all the amazing things God has up here. We checked into our ever so fancy hotel, the King Frederick Best Western (ha!) We actually like it, it's in the smack down center of Solvang. Check out the sweet picture of the entrance to our room...118 baby. We forgot that it's a long weekend and every single hotel is booked, including ours! Once we got settled in we hit the streets and walked around all these little cozy quaint stores..got ourselves some coffee and walked and talked and just enjoyed each others company so much. Tonight we went to the Heidelberg Inn for dinner. It was this tiny little restaurant that had maybe 7 tables and was so yummy! For dessert

Chris made me dinner all on his own..... mac and cheese and salad. It was wonderful, I didn't have to make it! We are celebrating Valentines this weekend with a trip up the coast, leaving tomorrow morning and coming back Sunday night. We are staying in Solvang.....soo excited to get away together! It's our first get away with just the two of us since the honeymoon. We'll post pictures when we get there.... Happy love day <3

Yesterday we got a call that Pops was taken back to the hospital due to septicemia (an infection that gets in the blood and is very serious). His heart was also all over the place and his coloring was gray. I am a worrier, especially when someone I love isn't doing well. Times like these are great reminders to never give up on God and to never stop praying. I found myself in a "drought with my prayer life" when Pops was doing well. Here I am again on my knees praying every minute I can for God to heal my Pops and keep Grandma strong. I am never going to give up on Christ, He has a perfect plan for each of our lives and we're not sure what He is doing with Pops but we do trust that he is where God wants him and us right now. Completely dependent on Christ. Thank you for the prayers... We appreciate them more than anything.

Friday night is our favorite time of the week. The weekend is here and that means we get 2 full days together. Ever since Chris has started his new job where he doesn't have to work weekends anymore we set aside those 2 days for us and go off and do whatever we feel like doing. For the past couple weeks it has been hiking. We go all over Yorba Linda with no clue where we're at and always seem to find our way home....3 miles later. There was however no exploring this weekend, by foot anyway. Yesterday we went to visit Pops. It was so good to see him, it had almost been a month! He is hanging in there and by that I mean I have no clue how he is really doing. It seems like there are so many things wrong with him and he doesn't even know half of them. It's really frustrating to be there with him and ask why his arm is 2x the size it should be and noone has even checked on it. I took him some sugar free snacks to try to cheer him up and to get some weight on him. It's n

So, while I'm sitting here dreaming about living in Tennessee I figured I would just post our 2008 Bucket list while I'm at it. Chris and I were playing game a couple weekends ago (surprise!) and we started talking about places we want to go and things we want to do before 2008 kicks the bucket so here it goes.... Places to go: Solvang Seattle Nashville Cabo Things to do on our house: Flat panel for living room New Doors up and painted Front patio completed Purchase a BBQ Buy remaining furniture for living room Remodel closets New Bath tub (hmm, maybe 2009) We'll cross them off as they're completed, stay tuned!

I hope to live in Tennessee on a couple acres with my family there with us. It's been a dream of mine since I was little...it still hasn't gone away. We'll see what God has in store... This house $329,000 4 bed, 2.5 bath 2,648 sq. feet I'd buy it!

So, it was a year ago today that we found our little house. Super bowl Sunday.....we weren't even looking to buy, we were out looking at different potential neighborhoods for one day when we thought we would buy. That day came fast and the moment we walked in the door we were in love. It was the ugliest house on the street but we were hooked from the moment we walked in the door. Here we are a year later living in our little dream starter house. We couldn't be happier. It is definitely a blessing that we are SO thankful for. Just remember that our door is always open :) A little update on the family, Pops is doing a little better. He is back at rehab and has his own room because he has an infectious disease. We joked on the phone yesterday that maybe it isn't so bad since he got his own suite out of it and got to watch the super bowl with the TV to himself! He never complains and everyday when we talk we remind each other of all the blessings in our life and just to take ea