Believe it or not...

Dear friends and family,

I hope if you are reading this, you are well and are experiencing God's grace and blessing. We are back! I tried to get my act together last year to really get this blog rolling, but I just didn't pan out. Here is my 3rd attempt to share our lives with you. Maybe it really is true that the third time is a charm!

Here's hoping!

Much love,

Elizabeth

(Nathan and Maya, too)

Beginning anew...

After a very extended absence from the blogging scene...I'm rejoining you! 

Please stay tuned if you dare...

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

I know you can't see me, but I'm jumping with joy because we got a Snow Day today!!! YEAH!! The flurries began to fall this morning and I got the call from my link on the school phone tree at about 6:00 a.m. that school was cancelled! I don't know about anyone else, but I have REALLY needed a Snow Day! We've only been back in school for a month now, but I'm already counting down the days until Spring Break. It's sad, I know. Oh well...
So, wishful thinking took me to Wal-Mart last night to get a few "must-haves" in case we got snowed in. Our survival kit for snowy weather is chili, cookies, and hot chocolate. Yum! Yum! In case you haven't ever tried it, this 2-Alarm Chili is some of the best I've ever had! You can find it at Wal-Mart for about $2.00 and it has all the spices for a delicious chili already measured out for you in the kit. Also, it allows you to make it as spicy or mild as you choose. It's easy and great! I'm all about easy! In fact, in case you've never tried the Great Value chocolate chip cookes...they're some of the most scrumptous cookies you'll ever put in your mouth!! And check out that delectible hot cocoa! That's right...it's Godiva. One of my sweet students gave that to me for Christmas.
Well, the wintry mix is still coming down and it's a winter wonderland outside! I've already gotten the call that school is cancelled for tomorrow and I can't wait to sleep in. Happy Snow Day to you!

He never ceases to amaze me...

My dear husband never ceases to amaze me. Last week I was rummaging through a closet, as I was doing a little reorganization (one of my favorite things!), and he spotted these pictures. He nearly jumped with excitement when he exclaimed, "We've got to hang these up!" I faught him tooth and nail because they are just some silly pictures I painted/sketched in high school and college. I never intended to erect the "Wall-O-Elizabeth." Anyway, I had to share his sweet act of kindness. I guess love IS blind!

Congratulations Mike and Stephanie!!!

I want to send out a big congratulations to Mike and Stephanie...they're going to have a baby!!! Stephanie is one of Nathan's beautiful cousins and one of my dearest friends. We are so excited that the Lord is going to bless this great and Godly couple with a child! They will make the best parents!
(*FYI: These are some fun photos we took last year when they came to visit us. They came the weekend of St. Patrick's Day and we had a blast. :-))

Happy Birthday Kris!

Happy Birthday, Kris! We are so thankful to have the opportunity to celebrate your life!

This is a picture from Kris's birthday last year. She just happened to be in Arkansas for that birthday as well as this one. How about that...two birthdays in a row celebrated in Arkansas! I think last year must have been a little foresight into what was to come.

In case you couldn't tell, I'm still not over the excitement of having my Dad and Kris here in Arkansas!!! YEAH!!! We love you, Kris and hope you have a very blessed day!

Forgive me, for I have coveted...

Well, I have a confession to make. I am seriously coveting the HGTV Dream Home. I mean, I might be to the point of needing to pray about it I want it so badly. I'm not sure if you know about this amazing idea, but HGTV sponsors an incredible team of designers to create a home in a beautiful location and then they give it away!!!! Oh, don't let me forget...they also give away a car with the home!!! Last year it was a gorgeous home in Colorado which was essentially a luxurious ski-in/ski-out resort, but it was a house! You can tell I am totally enthralled by the genius of HGTV. So, I am entering myself into the drawing each day (which is allowed), hoping this will better my chances of winning. By the way...if I win, I will definitely invite all of my friends and family to enjoy it with me all the time. So, you must take a look at this pretty home. It is in Isla Morada, Florida which is in the Florida Keys. This dreamy home is adorned by Ethan Allen decor and painted in bright island-inspired colors...A.K.A. my heaven on earth! I guess I won't dislike you if you enter the drawing and win, just as long as you invite me several times a year to enjoy this Dream Home with you! Check it out! Oh, and here's my future bedroom sanctuary. You can take a tour of the entire home at the link above. Enjoy!

The Wedding, New Family, and a Homecoming!

Well, to all of my two or so readers, I apologize for the delay in getting anything posted for quite some time now. I have wanted to make this post really nice and I haven't even had time to post at all...please forgive me. I hope that you enjoy these pictures and the narrative about my Dad and Kris's lovely wedding day. I am so thrilled to get to write about their special day and how beautiful it was! I am also thrilled to announce that they are moving to ARKANSAS!!!!! YEAH!!!! Oddly enough, Dad just recently got an opportunity to come back to Arkansas. They'll be moving to Little Rock and I can't wait!!!!!!! New Jersey was just too far away, but it was a picturesque location for their wedding and first home together.

The First Presbyterian Church of Lambertville, New Jersey. The history is so rich in this precious, little, colonial town. Here's a fun fact: One of George Washington's spies is buried in the graveyard next to this church! WOW!

Sorry for my history-nerdiness (usually I leave that to my husband, Nathan, who LOVES history), but I couldn't resist capturing the fascinating information contained in this church! This document, which was found in the church sanctuary, gives the birth and death dates of the church's founding members. Check it out...1775 and 1777!! WOAH!

This is the Lambertville City Hall which Nathan and I just happened upon one day as we were taking a stroll through town. It turns out that Dad and Kris got their marriage license here and it is another historical hot-spot, constructed in 1849.
Original stained glass

Here are a couple of Kris's "old, new, borrowed, and blue. " Her something old were the handkerchiefs which were from her grandmother. Her something new was her gorgeous dress. :-) Her something borrowed were these gloves from her sweet friend Sally. I cry every time I think about this sweet gesture because Sally is a true friend...she loaned Kris these gloves since she could not be there with her on her wedding day so that she could "hold her hand" through the day. Isn't that one of the sweetest things you've ever heard?!?!?! Finally, her something blue was her garder which her grandmother hand-made.

Here is Kris's bouquet. It was so perfect! It was precious and petit just like her!

Kris has the sweetest friends...I have to tell you about Debb as well! You can probably tell that she is holding up one little flower. Her close friend Debb who she worked with for years sent her a vase of flowers and instructed her to add just one of the flowers from the bouquet to her personal bouquet so that Debb could "be with her" on her special day. What a sweet friend! Debb ordered the flowers all the way from Minnessota, but even managed to find the same florist that Kris used in Lambertville and it was all a great surprise for Kris on her wedding day! Here we all are! My sister Jennifer, brother Christopher, Kris, Dad, and me.

Here she is with her Mom and Dad. Grandma and Grandpa are so sweet! Yeah for new grandparents!!!!
The happy couple

Waving in Sally's gloves as they leave the church

Yummy wedding and birthday cake (You may not remember, but it was my Dad's birthday as well as their wedding day!) What a great birthday gift! Here is another picture that I thought was so sweet. You can see mother and daughter holding hands so sweetly there in the middle of the picture. I am so thankful for the people in this picture. Family is such a blessing!

And...last, but certainly not least...more new family. These are my new cousins! I haven't met them yet, but Kris loves them dearly, so we do as well. This is Megan, Katie, Joey, Zach, and Tyler.
We love you Dad and Kris! We are so thankful for you both and were blessed to share in your day! I can't wait for you to get to Arkansas!!!!

Fun with Friends

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been able to spend some time with some of my sweet friends. I wanted to write an entry esspecially to brag on them and thank them for blessing me with their friendship. Check out these lovely ladies...and a baby!First of all, right after Christmas I got a chance to see my friends Carol and Bia. They are two beautiful ladies who I met this summer. They moved here temporarily from Brazil with their husbands who work for Wal-Mart International. They signed up for English classes, but their English was already so perfect we got to just chat all summer long and they made my job really easy and fun. :-) So, I am so thankful for my beautiful friends who have enriched my life and are attempting to teach me Portuguese!! Obrigada!

Of course I can never leave my precious little Cohen out of the mix! Kenley and Cohen came to visit recently so we could exchange our Christmas gifts. He's growing so fast! He is crawling now and has a tooth and a half. So precious!

I tried to get a picture of Cohen with the gift from his Mommy, but he was trying to bite it instead of smile. Silly boy! Anyway, I was so excited when I opened my gift because I have really been wanting to try this type of cooking. Believe it or not...you really can't taste the broccoli in the brownies! It's amazing! Thank you Kenley! I am so thankful for you and I love kissing on your boy and hearing his giggle. It makes my day!

This is my dear friend Anna. We recently went to Shogun Express. Yum, Yum! She got a plate of Sushi and a sea weed salad. Even though the sea weed salad sounds kind of gross, it is really yummy and very healthy. Anna is such an inspiration to me. She is a very creative and thoughtful person and an excellent cook! Most of all she is very humble and you might not ever learn those things about her because she will never brag on herself. I always enjoy your company and our time together, Anna. Thank you for inspiring me!

Finally, many of you I'm sure, know Kelly and read her blog which is precious and wonderful. Well, I must send out a belated birthday wish to both her and Kenley (Cohen's Mommy) because their birthdays were December 22nd and December 20th respectfully. These photos are from her birthday outing with Laurie and her darling daughter Emily. Feliz Cumpeanos, Kelly and Kenley!

Laurie and Emily
Little Emily and her big happy smile

**Fun Fact: Kelly and Kenley have birthdays on almost the same day and Laurie and I both have birthdays on April 1st!!! **

Both Kelly and Laurie are such a blessing to spend time with. They will laugh and cry with you, and somtimes even leave you in stitches from laughing so hard. Best of all, they are women who pray. I'm sure of that!

Recently, Kelly and I had a little escapade and we did some dumpster diving. I went for a little visit, but it turned into much more!

Some people might say that we stole her neighbors patio furniture...but what really happened was many of her neighbors were throwing away random things like matresses, armoirs, and rusted patio furniture, so I asked her if it wouldn't embarrass her too much if we swiped it! Before I knew it we were loading up her blazer and running it to my house!!! It was so exciting! I will be sure and post some "after" pictures when we get it repainted and placed just right in the back yard. Thanks for the fun adventure, Kelly!

Yummy Weight Watchers Strawberry Cobbler

Some of you may have read about the cobbler on Kelly's blog...here's the recipe in case you'd like to try it. It really is only 1 point per serving and the entire recipe makes 12 servings. It's pretty good for a weight watchers treat!

2 16 oz. bags any type frozen fruit

1 box yellow cake mix

1 12 oz. can Diet 7-Up or Diet Sprite

Place both bags of unthawed/frozen fruit into a 9x13x2 inch baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top of the fruit. Pour entire can of diet soda pop over mixture. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes at 350. Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

I'm so thankful for all the friends God has given to me! I am humbled to have all the people you see in this blog entry in my life. They are beautiful people who allow God to work through them to bless others. It doesn't get much better than that. :-)

Merry Christmas Times FOUR!!!!

This year Nathan and I have had quite the Christmas! We have felt and truly been so blessed by so much time with family and by soaking up the true meaning of the season--Jesus Christ has come. All of you have probably thought of this, but I have been really taken by a certain fact this year moreso than any other year...God came as an infant. He is so mighty, He decided to demonstrate His power inasmuch that He came as the most vulnerable of beings. That is God's power.

"For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everylasting Father, Prince of Peace. His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the LORD Almighty will guarantee this!" Isaiah 9:6-7

Thus far, we have had four Christmas celebrations. Number one was with my Mom at my sister's apartment. So fun! Number two was the traditional Bailey Christmas with all of my Mom's relatives on Christmas Eve! Number three was the Smith Christmas on Christmas Day with my husband's family. The fun just keeps going! And number four was/is here in New Jersey with my Dad, brother Christopher and his girlfriend Jenn, and sister Jennifer with her boyfriend Jake, and my Dad's bride-to-be Kris (Nathan is here, too:-)! Here is at least one picture from each gathering until I can update more. Enjoy!

This is my Mom and my sister, Jennifer, at her (Jenn's) precious apartment. We posed in front of her real tree. Such a lost art!These are my beautiful cousins: Lauren, Bridgette, Kate, & my sis Jennifer is on the far right. I love these girls! Merry Christmas girls!

The Smith family in a horse carriage on the Fayetteville Square! It was so fun! From left to right: Phillip, Laurie, me, Hannah, and Nathan...It was an enchanting Christmas evening!

Here are some of the 'Christmas in New Jersey' decorations. That's right folks, 8 stockings...Dad, Kris, Jennifer, Jake, Christopher, Jenn, Nathan, and me! That's a full house for Christmas! Yeah for everyone being able to be here for Christmas and the upcoming wedding!!!

Here is their pretty tree. I'm not sure if you can tell from my picture, but perched throughout are cute little birds as well as beautiful feathers and seasonal berries. At the top are the two love-birds. How symbolic. :-)

Speaking of love birds...here are Dad and Kris in Central Park. Friday, the whole gang took a trip into New York City to see the sights. Between the 8 of us, we saw everything (not in detail) from the Empire State building, to Trump Tower, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, to Time Square, to Central Park! We had a blast!!! (*Again, I'll post more pics later. :-))

I just love this picture of Kris and me. Isn't she precious?!?!? We are so excited and blessed to welcome this lovely, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle...well, I'm just pretty sure that the whole scripture was written about her! Most of all she loves the Lord and she loves our Dad, so we think we'll keep her! The best part is, they're getting married tomorrow, Sunday December 30th. That also happens to be my Dad's birthday. So we celebrated a little early tonight since tomorrow will be full of wedding festivities. YEAH!!! Happy Birthday, Dad! And, Happy Wedding, Dad and Kris! I love you both & God Bless You!

My Christmas Home Tour

Merry Christmas! I was inspired to do a Christmas Tour of Homes because of my friend Kelly and her friend BooMama, and also because my Dad and his (soon-to-be) wife Kris live in New Jersey and won't get visit Arkansas for the Christmas season this year. I hope you enjoy the tour, Dad and Kris, and I can't wait to see you soon! Love you!!

Here is the wreath I made this year which is on our front door.

This is our Christmas tree. All the presents are gone since I am getting our tour up a little late this year. That's okay. :-) I'm sure my readers won't mind. Here's our nativity scene that my mother and father-in-law gave us last year for Christmas. I just love it! Speaking of the nativity...Nathan and I began a new Christmas tradition this year. We watched "The Nativity Story" movie and we will do it every year from now on. It was so moving and such a great reminder and illustration of the reason we celebrate this season. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it. It's not too late to watch it!Here is a view of our fireplace and stockings. If you look closely you can see the pillow that says "Feliz Navidad." Of course, the Spanish teacher has to have the Spanish Christmas pillow. I was so happy when I found that at Wal-Mart this year!!!!This is just a little side table in our dining room with some ornaments and garland with twinkle lights.
Here's the last view from the dining room into the living room. I hope you and yours had a very merry Christmas as you celebrated our Savior's birth! God bless you!