Praise You in this Storm

Over 260+ people have been killed in the past few days from devastating tornadoes. Dozens more are missing and hundreds more have lost everything. Houses and businesses have been demolished. Lives have been changed in seconds. 

I know that most people will be blogging about the Royal Wedding today...and that's fine. I wanted to share some pictures with y'all of the devastation that has struck our neighbors. Whether y'all live in these states or not, we are neighbors. These people are our coworkers, our friends, and our family. We are connected to them in ways that we do not even know. 

all pictures via

During my short life, I have been involved in multiple tornado warnings and watches. Only once can I remember the tornado touching down where we lived. I was young. I remember hiding in the bathtub. I remember that my mom was at work and we were home with a babysitter. I can picture the trees falling over and the houses across the street with their roofs ripped off. I can see the panic in my mom's face as she ran down the street, frantic to reach us even though the road was blocked with fallen debris and limbs. I can feel her arms around me, nearly choking me as we both cried desperate, scared tears. I remember that for months I had nightmares about tornadoes; I would wake up screaming, thinking that we were all about to be swallowed up by the massive spiral that is a tornado. I was so young, yet I can remember all of this so vividly. 

It was life changing. Thank goodness for a God who brings comfort, hope, and restoration in times like this. I pray that these friends and neighbors find some hope and peace for their hurting hearts. We cannot fathom how this can happen or why this happens, but we have to cling to the Lord for restoration and comfort.

I have been listening to Casting Crowns "Praise You in this Storm." I urge y'all to listen to it. 

Are y'all wondering how y'all can help? I sure am. 

- First and foremost, pray. 

- Learn from this and appreciate this precious life. 

- Donate to The Red Cross if able. 

- Give blood. 

- Volunteer. 

I'm thankful today for life. 

Love, love. 

PS: I'm guest posting today over at Britt's on something a little bit lighter. Basically, I call her kids dogs. : ) 

These Three Things - Peas and Crayons

Hey y'all! It's time for my new guest series again - These Three Things! This is seriously becoming my favorite day of the week! Today we have one of my blogger besties here, Jenn from Peas and Crayons! She is not only the greatest cook alive, but she is super gorgeous, absolutely hilarious, and sweet as can be! She really is the total package, but don't hate her for it. ; ) Y'all are going to LOVE her!! It'll be total girl crush at first sight. Promise. Jenn, you're up!

Hookay so today the lovely Miss Mackey is letting me take over her blog.  

She has no idea what she has gotten herself into! Muahahahahaha!

I kid I kid! <3 

So today I'm here to talk about the three [FABULOUS] things that describe me best. Isn't this the perfect way for us to get to know each other? I think so! I expect all you lovely ladies to comment with your 3 things in the comments section at the end of this post. So I can get to know ya!

Anywho! Let's do this!

1. My "Toolkit"

This describes me to a T. A little artsy fartsy [notice the paintbrush?], a little glam, and a whole lotta foodie! I wouldn't have it any other way! While my friends like to picture me wearing shades while painting an apple hot pink... it doesn't quite go down like that... No. There's usually some hot pink glitter involved when THAT happens =)

2. My Veggie Garden

Besides the kitchen, this is totally my happy place =) I move all the gosh darn time thanks to my Marine husband so my little leafy babies have to spend their days in pots so they can travel from place to place with me. Last year I was especially attached to my buddy Hal the Jalapeno Tree. He made the trip from Pensacola, Florida to Jacksonville [J-Vegas!!!!], North Carolina with me.

I'm a total hippie at heart and I love watching my little leaf babies grow up big and strong. Mainly because they grow food. Food that I get to EAT! It saves me money, keeps me healthy, and makes for colorful eats in the peas and crayon household. It also leads to really pretty recipes for the blog! Win-Win-Win situation here! Haha!

3. My Camera

I almost never leave home without it! This beat up little point and shoot has been with me for YEARS and It still works like a gem! I dream of the day I can upgrade to a "big girl" camera but for now... this little darling is capturing all my memories, recipes, and smiles each and every day =) I love it. So So much!

So there you have it! <3

I'm a little bit glam, a little bit hippie, a LOTTA bit foodie with some arty fartsy for good measure =) 

What would your 3 items be? I'm dying to know!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Is she not the cutest thing ever? So hilarious, right??

Jenn, you rocked it total P&C style! I love that Hal has basically traveled the world with you! I can't wait for our slumber party in October...I expect lots of delectable treats! : ) Thanks for being here today!!

Love, love!

PS: I'm guest blogging over at Katie's blog today about my summer must-haves, dream versus reality. Go and check it out and let me know what y'all think. I think I was pretty clever, but that's just me. ; )

The Storm's A'comin

So if y'all follow me on Twitter (which y'all clearly should), then y'all know that last night we had a pretty rough storm come through town. There were 4 tornadoes spotted in the area, lots of hail, crazy rain, and some pretty fierce winds. Did I mention that I was home alone last night? Perfect night to leave your wife alone...thanks, husband!

The puppies and I snuggled together and lit candles. We were prepared. We lost cable and internet for the night, but never lost power, thank goodness! We were very blessed. Thank you, Jesus, for keeping us safe! I have friends in town whose homes suffered destruction. Please say a prayer for ALL the people that have been affected by weather lately. It has been a rough couple of weeks weather wise for the nation. 

When the cable and internet go out, what else is there to do besides take pictures?

"Mom, what the heck is going on out there?"

Preparation is key...and smells good, too!

What we watched all night. (They lied...it wasn't available until this morning!)

Again, thank you, Jesus, for blessing us and keeping us safe last night!!

On a random side note, I'm linking up with Jenn at Peas and Crayons for:

This is my baked spaghetti from a few nights ago. It was absolutely divine. I ate leftovers for days.

Why is baked spaghetti SO MUCH BETTER than normal spaghetti?

Love, love!

PS: Thanks to all my #twitterfriends for the love and prayers last night! : ) 

PPS: Get excited about an amazing blogger on the new guest series tomorrow!!

Bachelorette Beach Bash

(continuing my recap of the road to the wedding)

My best friends and I rode tripped to Biloxi, MS for a fabulous weekend at the beach for my bachelorette party. Y'all have never heard of Biloxi? That's shocking. It's an amazing beach town, similar to Panama City. (#lie) Okay, not really. It's a small little town and the beach isn't that great, but it was perfect for us because it was close and full of sunshine! 

This trip was arguably one of the greatest of my life. It was two weeks before the wedding and a perfect time to get away from the stress of wedding planning. Plus, it was with my best friends, who are really like my sisters. We stuffed 5 girls and luggage into a Toyota Camry. Basically we brought "junk in the trunk" to life.

We rented out a vacation house right along the beach. It was absolutely gorgeous. Some of the homes still had destruction left from Hurricane Katrina and it was heart wrenching to see. The trip started out beautifully, as all road trips generally do. Isn't the drive usually the best part?? After a minor near freak-out when we were almost locked out of our house the first night, we settled right in for girl time, sunshine, and delicious food. 

Stocking up. 

Our beautiful vacation home. 

The view from the porch. 

Our days consisted of laying out beach-side with tunes and great reads, with possibly a little hermit crab hunting thrown in. Our nights were full of belly laughs, face masks, decorating underwear (yes, y'all read that right), scavenger hunts, and plenty of food. We may not do bachelorette parties the typical way, but we surely do them well. My friends thought of everything: fake bling, decorations, games, and goodies. 

A couple hundred hermit crabs? Yes, please. 

This was the funniest thing...we laughed until we cried. Face masks are awkward.

What a view. 

My 6 month pregnant (at the time) bestie.

Dinner at the Hard Rock Casino. 

My soul sister...who was my life saver wedding wise.

G-rated scavenger hunt.

Cheesiness makes the world go 'round. : )

We came back refreshed and I was ready to marry my love. Not that I wasn't before the trip. Ha. 

I love reliving these pre-wedding days. Thanks for sharing the memories with me!

Love, love!!

An Egg-cellent Day

Is it just me or do holidays make y'all want a baby even more??

It's just me? Okay. Just had to get that off my chest. 

We had a wonderful Easter surrounded by family. We are so lucky because the husband's parents live in town and most of my family lives in town...which means that my parents come here for every single holiday. So we always get to spend time with both sides of the family on holidays. No arguing over which set we are going to see! : ) We went to church this morning with my mother-in-law and then headed over to my aunt's house for Easter lunch. My parents, my brother, and my sister all came up and it was absolutely fabulous to see them! (My sister is getting married exactly two months from today!! Hooray!)

I am sad to report that I did not get any amazing outfit pictures. Within five seconds of getting home from church, husband had managed to change into jeans and a t-shirt. It's funny how men move quickly when it's stuff like that. Am I right? : ) 

We spent the day eating (ham, roast, mashed potatoes, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, green beans, pineapple pie, banana pudding pie, cupcakes, and sugar cookies), catching up, and hunting for Easter eggs.

Easter egg hunt. 

Doesn't it sometimes seem like the adults are more into it than the kids?? ; )

My crazy mother on the scooter. She just makes life more fun. 

Nappy nap time. 

My "soon-to-be a Mrs" sister!

My Easter basket from my mom...it's a picnic basket!

Picture 1 of husband and I. 

Picture 2. #somuchforholidaypictures

This is not dog abuse. This is "trying to take a picture and not get licked in the face."

See above comment. 

Happy Easter from the Mackey clan!! : ) Hope y'all had a wonderful day as well! 

Thank goodness that we have a resurrection to celebrate!

"Living He loved me, Dying He saved me."

Love, love!

Saturday Love

I thought I'd blog today, just because it's Saturday and I usually don't. : )

I have been lazy relaxing all morning with my two puppy loves. Cereal, blogs, and puppies...what could be better?

I'm headed out to shop for a few things, like maybe a new Easter dress, but don't tell my husband. I'm also trying to decide what to cook tomorrow for dessert and I'm leaning toward these. Don't they just look divine? Then, we may be dyeing Easter eggs tonight. Okay, we are!! I'm pumped. 

And because no post is complete without a picture:

Two little snuggle bunny best friends. (Horrible quality, thanks iPhone)

Hope y'all have a great Easter weekend! I'm so thankful that God sent His son to die for me AND resurrected Him to save me. How amazing is that kind of love?

I Hope...

It was a rough night at work last night. I love my job, but sometimes, it's hard. 

We lost a patient last night. A family lost someone near and dear to them. He was a daddy, a son, a brother, and a grandpa. I can only assume that he was an amazing man by the outpouring of love from his family last night. We don't know what happened. He was middle aged and healthy. He was gone in a blink. 

People always ask me if I'm scared when we are working on someone who is dying. That's the easy part though. That's the part where my adrenaline is pumping and my brain is racing to think of medications and interventions that can save my patient. That's the part where we become a team and we pour our hearts out trying to put life back into the patient. 

The hard part is when it's over and they are pronounced dead. 

Death feels like a failure. As we stood around this grieving family, we hugged bodies, we patted backs, we passed out tissues, and we listened. We listened to what a great man he was and to stories of how he played jokes on his daughters. That's the hard part. What can you say to comfort someone in that situation? We say, "We are so sorry for your loss." But it feels so empty. We feel that we have failed. Only God can bring true comfort and understanding in that kind of situation.

After the family left, I found myself hoping that this man knew God. I found myself hoping that he was going home with the Lord for Easter. I found myself praying that his family knew the Lord and that somehow He had worked through me during my short time with them. I found myself begging God to never let me become numb to another person's pain.

This weekend is Easter. The most important holiday to me because it saved my life. Jesus chose to take my sin on Himself and die for me, so that I could be washed white as snow. I am so unworthy, but I am so grateful.

I hope y'all know the Lord. 

I love y'all. 

Happy Easter. We will be spending ours at church and surrounded by family. I am blessed. 

Love, love. 

These Three Things - Michaela Noelle

I am SO absolutely excited to be starting a brand new guest series today! I love guest series because they 1) introduce me to new blogs 2) let friends blog for friends and 3) give the blog owner a break! This series is called "These Three Things." Each blogger will tell y'all three things that they feel define who they are as a person. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!! : ) (Thanks to all my blog besties for helping me get started!)

The first post of the series is today and my BFF Michaela is here! Michaela and I clicked right away in the blog world and we literally talk all day long, every day. We haven't gotten to meet yet, but I consider her to be one of my best friends. She is one amazing woman with a great eye for fashion and design! Enjoy!

Hi friends! Michaela here from Michaela Noelle Designs. 

 Let me start by saying how thrilled I am to be taking over at my BFF's blog today sharing three things that define me.  Of course I jumped at Megan's request to be her guest blogger for her new cute series.  I just love it over here.  Isn't she the sweetest?!  I can't wait to meet her in person this summer when she comes to good 'ole California to visit!

Well y'all, let's get started! {PS: I've always wanted to say "y'all" in a blog post, and I feel like  my first time saying it should be over here. You know, since Meg says it every few words(: }

The three things that define me as a person would be...

ONE:

Design & Style

Contemporary vintage chic, with a touch of whimsy.

DIY painted bottle turned vintage vases

 My Refinished Vintage Dresser

My "style" has a long and complicated name because there's not just one word for this style!  A magnetic force pulls me toward classic shapes, all things white and refinished, frills, and an eclectic blend of frames, old pictures, mirrors, and items with lots of charm. 

This category represents my style and my passion in life, as I'm an interior design major.  Serving people through design is what brings me the greatest joy.

TWO:

My monogrammed tea cup from Anthropologie.

Of course, mine has an "M" (: 

Tea soothes my soul. Something about the warmth it brings me reminds me of home, playing "house" and "tea party" with my mom.  Since I don't like coffee {Sorry y'all!}, tea is an everyday thing for me!

THREE:

My ring.

It's not an engagement ring! It's on my left hand because I was trying it on in the store and I always try rings on that finger...just to see how they'll look (:

My parents gave the diamond ring to me for my high school graduation.  To me it symbolizes purity, commitment to what I love, and the eternal love that Jesus Christ has for us.  It's the most precious thing I own. {Aside from my baby blanket. Duh}

Thanks, Megan, for having me today.  It's always fun to think of things in life that represent you as an individual.  What about y'all {someone stop me, it's just so natural now}...what are some things that define you?

xoxo

Michaela


Wow. That ring is stunning and I love that it represents purity and love for the Lord! See why I love her so much?? She's just amazing. Thanks for being here, Michaela! See you in a few months! : )

Love, love!