happy birthday Jesus and holiday treats.

Last Saturday my mom, sister and I made holiday treats. There is nothing better then homemade gifts, especially when they are covered in chocolate! There was fudge, s'mores mix, brownies, peanut clusters and more! My favorite are peanut cluster. They are easy and the recipe makes a lot!

Peanut Clusters

You will need:

2 pounds of dry roasted peanuts (1/2 salted 1/2 unsalted)

48 ounces of white chocolate almond bark

4 ounces of sweet German chocolate

10-12 ounces of dark chocolate chips (you can substitute with milk chocolate)

Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 3 hours. Then turn off crockpot and let sit for 20 minutes. Stir mixture completely. Drop by tablespoon full onto wax or parchment paper. Let it cool and harden. Store in airtight container or ziplock bag.

Making memories in the kitchen.

While things were cooling we threw the kids a Happy Birthday Jesus party! We made salt dough ornaments with cookie cutters and they had a blast painting them. Then we read the Christmas Story, colored a nativity sheet, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and dug into some cupcakes! My sister got the kids veggietales coloring books. They had a wonderful time. Michael and I knew we wanted to make a Happy Birthday Jesus Party a family tradition since we don't celebrate Santa Claus. We wanted Gavin to focus on the true Christmas story and that everything is about Jesus. He is starting to get it but is still constantly focused on presents.  He is understanding the idea that God gave us the ultimate present on Christmas by giving us his Son and it melts my heart. 

The difference in how boys and girls eat.

Be sure to find time during this season to slow down, spend time with your family and make memories. And squeeze the kids in your life a little tighter. 

She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, 

for he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

hair.

Let's switch gears for a moment and talk about hair. My hair and I have had our ups and downs, trust me. I like to switch things up with my hair so I normally fluctuate between short and long, brown and blonde.  I recently settled on the bob length again and love it. I feel like this style really suits my features and personality, plus it gets lots of compliments. I give lots of credit to my hairstylist who can really grasp what I want and products! I've had people ask me what products I use so I thought I would share.

During all the ups and downs with my hair I really discovered, that for me, starting with a great base really shows great results. Shampoo and Conditioner. I love Bed Head. It really works best with my hair and has given me desired results. I rotate between Self Absorbed and Moisture Manic. Plus they smell amazing!

I always use a thickening spray or root booster before I dry. I have two that are my favorite; Catwalk Root Boost and BedHead Queen For A Day. You don't need both, just one will do. Just spray onto your roots around your crown and part before you dry for some added volume.

Then I roll my crown with Velcro rollers. These things are such a gem and wish I had been using them for years! They add lots of volume to my hair and cut down on styling time. I normally let those set for a while. After I remove those I just run my fingers through my hair and do a few touch ups here and there with a straighter. Finally I add some Osis Dust IT to the roots around my crown. This is a volumizing texturizer that has become my hairs best friend! It adds volume and holds it there. You can either apply directly to the root or add a little to your fingertips then rub in the roots while pulling the hair up for added volume. Then add a little hairspray and done.

So those are my secret go to products. Every hair type is different, so just play around and see what works for you. Be sure to leave a comment with some of your "go to products" for others to try. 

"The hair is the richest ornament of women."  -Martin Luther 

thankful.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to slow down and reflect on things we are thankful for. We all have lots to be thankful for and this year one thing really stands out. This year I am very thankful to have my husband alive and by my side.

On April 25 my husband went out to dinner with his best friend, Josh. He got home about 9:45. 20 minutes later we received a text from Josh's wife, who was working the night shift at the hospital, that she couldn't get him to answer his phone and she was beginning to worry. Josh had been diagnosed with diabetes a month earlier and his wife was beginning to worry that something could have happened to him. Michael dropped Josh off at his house just 20 minutes before so we all began to think something was wrong. Michael headed back over to Josh's house to give every one a piece of mind. When he arrived he called Laura and began knocking on the door. After he received no response he began to knock on the windows. He even knocked on the windows by there bed...still no response. Michael then talked with Laura and she suggested knocking the door down because she feared something was really wrong. So he set the phone down and began to knock the door in. After a few kicks Michael heard some loud pops and felt some pressure. As he looked down he realized he had been shot in the chest. He yelled at Josh who opened the door. Laura recalls hearing loud noises then hearing Michael say, "Tell Lindsey I love her."

I told Michael I would stay up until he got back. I knew enough time had passed for him to be at Josh's house so I texted him. My text was followed by a phone call. Michael called and I was not expecting what I heard. I heard lots of noise then Michael's voice got stern and very direct as he instructed me. He told me Josh shot him and I needed to meet them at the hospital. He gave me specific instructions to tell Gavin he loved him everyday and that no matter what to never forget how much he loved me. I can not describe the feeling in my stomach. It just felt so unreal. I kept asking him where he was shot and he refused to tell me. He just kept saying "It's not good." Later Michael told me that he knew he would never see me at the hospital. He knew being shot on the left side of his chest and coughing up blood that this was the end. So He just talked to God, not pleading, just ready to see his Father.

As I was preparing to head to the hospital I received a call from Josh apologizing and telling me Laura arranged medflight to pick Michael up. At this moment I still wasn't sure where he had been shot. The race was on. I had to see my husband and have that assurance before he got on the helicopter. We arrived right as they were loading him onto the helicopter. I ran down the service  road yelling "That's my husband!" over and over. I got to see him responsive and smiling. A nurse even told me he was going to make it! phew! Just what I needed to hear.

Upon arrival at the hospital every one was stunned that he was the gunshot victim. He vitals were perfect and he was responsive. The bullet grazed his pericardium (the sac containing the heart), hit "something" and pierced his right lung. They inserted a chest tube to drain the blood off his lungs. No doctor or surgeon could explain what the bullet hit to make it change direction and pierce his right lung. It was a miracle. A miracle from the Most High. The Holy Spirit changed the direction of the bullet and saved my husbands life! The Holy Spirit also gave me a peace that really does pass all understanding. I had no idea how I was functioning or even not freaking out! It was very unlike me. Michael went home from the hospital a few days later and went back to work the following Monday!

We realize God performed this miracle for his glory. We were able to share his miracle and his workings in our lives to detectives, surgeons, doctors, nurses and visitors. Our God is still alive and working miracles! And he wants his people to share for his glory! The Lord saved my husband for a purpose and used our family for his glory.

I am very thankful to have my husband alive and that we are able to share all these moments together! This Thanksgiving I am extra thankful.

You can see the bullet on the left of the picture lodge in a rib sitting right above his liver.

A few weeks later at Baby Akers' gender reveal party. 

Oh did I mention she was 18 weeks pregnant when this all went down

There is no place we'd rather be then right in the center of the Lord's will.

favorite thanksgiving dish.

With Thanksgiving less than a week away I find myself thinking, wishing, dreaming of the food. The glorious spread of food that usually only comes around this time of year. I think back over many Thanksgiving meals and try to decide what my favorite dish is...or at least the one I am looking forward to most! There are too many to just pick one! I always love my Mamaw's dressing. After she got too frail to make it my aunt would do it, with Mamaw's supervision of course. It's the best! Although she will not be joining us this Thanksgiving my Mom and I will be attempting to recreate it, but I'm already prepared that it will not taste the same. However, her pumpkin pies will be there! She taught me that recipe and I do it way better than my Mom! :) So I am definitely looking forward to that. Just to bring a little piece of her to our table while she's feasting at the King's table.

Besides the pies, my favorite part would either be the Yams or Hash Brown Casserole. However this year my Mom and I decided to try a sweet potato-pecan casserole. I'm quiet excited about it. Since it is one of my favorite dishes I thought I would share my Mom's Hash Brown Casserole recipe:

Hash Brown Casserole

1 2lb bag of frozen Hash Browns
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz sour cream
1 or 2 cups shredded cheese
1/4 cup butter, melted (yes that's a whole stick)
1 cup crushed Corn Flakes (enough to cover the top of the dish)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In a large bowl, mix together the frozen hash browns, onion, cream of chicken soup, sour cream and cheese. Pour into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the corn flakes on top and pour melted butter on top of the dish.

3. Bake in oven for 30-45 mins, until the cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!

What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish? What are you looking forward to most? Leave a comment and let me know! Share some of your favorite dishes. Don't keep them to yourselves, let us enjoy with you!

adoption awareness month.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month, so I thought I'd share a little about my heart and passion on the subject.

Ever since I was a teenager I have always had a desire to adopt. I can even remember begging my mom to let me sponsor a child through Compassion. It broke my heart to know that there were children who didn't know or feel the love that I knew. I also knew I was commanded to take care of these children. James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans..." I didn't really have any excuse.

Once I got married I didn't think as much about adoption. We had discussed it and thought let's just try one on our own first. (There is so much irony in this statement!) So we began to plan to adopt in the future, possibly WAY in the future after we had raised our kids and were kinda "done." Now it kind of dawns on me Wow! How selfish! I wanted to do things my way. Have my beautiful family, receive the glory, then we'd see about adoption. I was trying to be more convenient then obedient. Then we started trying to have our own child and it was difficult. It took us about 7-8 months to conceive. Then after our son was born we were hit with a whole new reality. Long story(that I will tell one day, so stay tuned) short, I can't have anymore natural children. We were faced with this reality a couple months after our son was born and I mourned and mourned over the loss of those children. The children I had dreamed about since I was a kid. The ones that would make us a big family, the siblings to our son. However a few months ago I was told again, but this time with the realities of why. I had a great peace about it. Maybe because I had already mourned the loss of those children, or I remembered how hard my pregnancy was, or I had just accepted a new calling on my life. I had a wonderful peace. And I'm pretty sure I smiled at the Doctor and told him "It's ok, God will give me a child." What started out as a future plan after we tried one of our own(who would end up being our one and only) has now become the real and only option for having more children.

God has opened our hearts and minds and we are so excited for the "not so distant" future. Through this process God has made me aware of the depravity around me. Most days I go through my life living in my "bubble" not paying attention to the darkness and heartache around me. He has definitely made me more aware and sensitive to this through Abba Adoption. Every day woman are choosing death instead of life and innocent babies are dying. My heart aches in a new way, like never before. I have mourned and wept over the loss of these children. And so many times I think we forget the mother's in the equation. Yes what they are doing is wrong but they are still woman that need to know the love of Christ and need to be ministered to. I would love the opportunity to minister to one of these women one day and hopefully reach out in time to save two lives, both physically and spiritually. I was given a second chance and adopted by my Savior, For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! Romans 8:15. We have to share what we have experienced. In the mean time we pray. We pray boldly that conviction would happen and God would save these babies. We pray that people, brothers and sisters in Christ, would step up and adopt these children, these orphans, who were saved and now have no place to go! We pray for the organizations and people ministering to these women and children. We pray for these women, that are lost, confused, callused and heartbroken. We pray.

God placed a small desire in my heart so many years ago and after much prayer has replaced it with a huge flame. I am excited to see how God will use this and what will happen. I know that heartache and more tears will follow, but in the end blessings and joy will come! I experienced that blessing and joy once before and it has overflowed my heart.

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 1 Samuel 1:27

fall is here!

It's here! It finally seems like fall is here! Sweaters, boots, scarfs, fall jackets and soup.  The weather has gotten cooler (except for this weekend) and Halloween is under our belt as Thanksgiving quickly approaches. As my son gets older and this time approaches I keep trying to hit the brakes, but it doesn't seem to do much good. The weekends keep flying by and Christmas is on its way! (It's my favorite season so I secretly don't mind)

We have been so busy the past few weekends enjoying the weather and cramming as much as we can in 2 days! A few weeks ago we went to the Pumpkin Patch. It was muddy from a big rain we had the night before and it was kind of chilly. We all were pretty filthy, but it was fun. I snapped a few pictures while we were there. (I'm a believer of "a picture says more than a thousand words" so I'm sure each post will include at least one picture!)

(notice those cute grins at the top, yeah he was actually SCREAMING "cheese" because I kept asking for a smile!)

 While we were there Gavin's Gigi picked him out a few pumpkins. He really just wanted the little baby ones and he still ask to play with it. Although it was a lot of work we still managed to have our little picnic lunch. Overall, I'd say it was a success day full of lots of memories with Gigi and Granddad.

Last week Gavin had his school Fall Festival and the church Trunk or Treat. He ate way too many sweets, but hey you're only young once right! So I totally let him indulge and skip a few naps. I quickly discovered why structure is so important! Shortly after we arrived to the church I realized I forgot Gavin's sword. Then I turned on my camera and discovered my camera battery was going to die any minute so we had to take some pictures quick! I was bummed...but that's life.

Last night we decided to take Gavin trick or treating for the first time. Although this may not be a yearly tradition, it was fun to dress up and do something different for a night! Gavin really just wanted to run around outside and follow all the big kids while I collected all the candy! After a few pieces of candy he had a meltdown so we cut the night short!

So this is how our family has kicked off the fall season. I hope you squeezed in a little time outside or with a pumpkin...even if it's in the form of a latte. If not there is still time! Don't forget I love to read blogs and learn more about the people around me. So leave a comment with a link to your blog!

                             

Happy Fall!

the start of something good.

Well after debating over it for about a year I've decided to start a blog. What will you see here you might ask. You will see a lot of me; my life, what I love, what I'm passionate about and things that interest me.  You will also see my family. I want to be transparent and remind people that blogs don't always have to be about the highlights of life because let's face it, life isn't full of just highlights.  This is my life, my story and I want to be real about it. Our family has been through the valley's and overcome mountains and I look forward to sharing all of that. 

Things you will not find on my blog...correct grammar. I'm really bad at it! So please just disregard that. 

Here's a small introduction to my family!

Michael and I have been married for 6 years (wow!) and you wouldn't believe the life we've had in that short amount of time! I will expound more on that later. In May 2010 we welcomed a little boy into our family.

Gavin is the highlight of our life, so you will see plenty of  him. He's only two, but he has a lot of great stories to tell as well. 

I am excited to share our stories and hear feedback. I also really enjoy reading blogs so leave me a comment with a link to your blog so I can follow along.



Lindsey