pennies.

quotes are a great thing. something someone said once that was profound enough to be remembered and written down. and retold again later.

quotes are things you put on your walls. hang on your mirror so you see it when you wake up. you put them on bumpers and key chains.

quotes are reminders.

here is one i read tonight.

it's alright with the Lord for you to pray for a good harvest

BUT

He expects you to keep plowing

i was sitting in wintzell's oyster house tonight. ADD had kicked in. there were millions of colorful printed signs on the walls that had quotes of every nature. the walls were literally covered from ceiling to floor with these quotes.

an ADD kids nightmare.

but that one quote stuck in my head. i even tweeted it [lame i know].

but it is so true. and it shouted at me about patience. keep plowing on through life. pressing forward, not quitting or slacking up. perseverance and prayer. constant surrender and sacrifice.

and then the Lord rewards those who wait upon Him.

kids collect a lot of things. from little toy cars to baseball cards. american girl dolls or weeds. kids always think it is cool to have their very own collection. something they have searched after and hunted for, something they can call their own, and of which be proud.

some kids collected pennies. i didn't, but some did.

you find pennies in the most random places. in a shoe, under your bed, in drawers that never held clothes with pockets, under couch cushions...

you find them all over. if you just. look.

God gives us pennies. pennies like the ones you find when you are not expecting it. like tonight.

in wintzell's God gave me a penny. a little reminder that he is constantly teaching me. constantly refining me. reminding me of His faithfulness. reminding me to keep on plowing.

the harvest is coming.

organizer barbie.

sunday night after all christmas festivities were over, after mom and i watched two movies, after everyone had eaten leftovers; i got the cleaning bug. i sometimes get this bug and all i can do is think about cleaning/organizing. it is a rare occasion, however it is serious whenever it hits.

monday morning i woke up and began my adventure into the massive chaos that emily and i called a closet. i do not believe the abyss had been organized or cleaned since i left for auburn in 2008. and as i peered into this black hole i became nervous that i would not come out alive.

you have seen that show about the hoarders, well i promise it was not that bad, but in order to give your imaginations a rest, here is a little before picture of my "closet."

i mean this is embarrassing for me to put on here for all you to read, however, i need you to understand the gravity of the situation...

so after four hours of organizing, cleaning, folding, sorting, hanging, and bagging. three 33-gallon trash bags, and one bag of trash. my closet was clean.

i took the cloths and shoes and other items to the "caring center" downtown that our church does, and dropped them off for people who will wear and use this stuff.

made me feel like i was giving back after having received so much for Christmas.

but here is the finished product of the closet cleaning craziness.

well this was my monday.

after this extravaganza i took a shower and took pictures of my sweet little sibs before assembly! brought back memories for sure...

until later.

christmas games.

we went to birmingham to see aunt pam and uncle terry for Christmas Eve, Eve. david and jenny, mark and brittany, chris, laura and little eloise came up to b'ham.

aunt pam always has her house beautifully decorated and arranged. no matter what time of the year, she is an amazing host.

her beautiful table.

she made most of these trees

and created these out of old ornaments and holly.

Every year we have Christmas Trivia. questions about traditions, carols, christmas movies, etc... it is normally terry's doing, and this year, the prize was a $50 visa gift card. so, as you can imagine, we were very eager to begin the game.

terry printed off questions and pam kept score for everyone. terry would call on everyone according to whoever raised their hand first. laura dominated.

but, as all Bethea's are, we were very competitive. and there was lots of laughter. and we were all more educated about Christmas.

Eloise was also there! She is growing up so quickly and had a precious little bow in her hair. we can lay her out on the floor and we watch her like shes television. i am excited to watch her grow up and into this beautiful little girl. and eagerly await to discover what she is going to be when she is all grown up.

we love just hanging around the house. normally a slap fight breaks out between my brother and someone.

there is always food and goodies around.

well Merry Christmas Eve everyone.

home for christmas

I love being home. I have been doing so much nothing in montgomery. and i have loved every single minute of it. it has been wonderful.

i have baked and cooked and cleaned and watched a w

hole lot of the office and other movies with the sibs.

i have loved being home for christmas. it has been so fun. here are some peaks into my break so far.

made these for 11th grade christmas party at our house.

we had a christmas get together at fran's the sunday we got out from exams.

i would really love to post more but i am growing tried and we have a busy day tomorrow. we are heading to the ham to visit family.

so until tomorrow.

favorites.

i just finished my mircoecon final and am so thankful to have that class behind me. my mind does not work that way. nevertheless, i am finished with exams for the day and decided to make a post.

my days this week consist of studying, breaking for meals, breaking for tea or coffee, breaking for anything, and more studying.

i am having my Dgroup girls over for our christmas party tonight. so i will be making a trip to hobby lobby in a little while to get some goodies for my girls!

yesterday i decided that i wanted to share with you some of my favorite things.

1. light. christmas light. i put these up during one of my breaks yesterday. it is the one thing in our apartment (besides my apple cider Yankee Candle) that is Christmas-y.

2. my Patagonia Better Sweater Jacket. i got this for thanksgiving (which was Christmas) from my grandparents. it is so soft. and warm. i love it so much. and will be wearing it so much.

3. these are my new Christmas shoes! got them from Rack Room in Tigertown for about $23! they are from x.appeal. great for dancing in too:)

4. these are my new Durango boots! i am in love. i wear them everywhere. they are so comfortable and so adorable. best Christmas present ( THANKS GRANDMA and PAPAW)!

5. this is my constant companion during the week. it's kimmy's coffee mug from cambridge coffee (which is no longer in business). it is huge (obviously) and perfect for my coffee and tea or whatever i am drinking to keep my hydrated during study sessions.

anyways. well i am about to head out to go to hobby lobby. enjoy your day!

keepin' it in state.

well WAR EAGLE everyone.

to be completely honest i didn't think we would ever see this day. if you told me in the beginning of the season that Auburn would be undefeated and going to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, I would have laughed in your face.

But yesterday our dreams came true. Auburn is going to Glendale, Arizona to play Oregon in the 'Ship. wow.

We are keeping that National Championship in the state, baby!!

on the subject of auburn, my little sister just found out she is accepted to this fine university. about gave me a heart attack. i cannot think of a more special thing to share with my sister than auburn. i will be a senior when she arrives for her freshman year, and it will be a precious year that we get to spend together.

i am very blessed to have a sister like her. we have grown extremely close over the past couple of year, despite the fact that i am in auburn. next year, will be even more exciting because she will be here with me. sharing, laughing, and growing in my last year, and her very first.

in other news, it is finals time. i have a final every day this week. looking forward to that for sure.

being the second week of advent, we sang songs at cornerstone about the "coming" of Jesus. we sang "come thou long expected Jesus," "oh come oh come Emmanuel," "Come Lord Jesus Come".....

and we talked about the meaning of advent. it is the preparation for the coming of the Messiah. so it is waiting. And Pastor Rusty discussed how waiting is when the Lord does the most work. He asked us to look into the Bible, and see that the Lord made the people of Israel wait a LONG time before He gave his promise.

Look at Abraham and Sarah with the promise of a child. That is just one example.

But how do we apply that to our everyday lives? Simple.

waiting is mostly the time in our lives when we feel that we are in a "valley." But pastor rusty pointed out that fruit grows in the valleys, not on the mountain tops.

the Lord teaches us to be completely reliant on Him. Trusting in every way. Sometimes, we "wait" for things to happen, or us to succeed, or meet someone, or figure out what we are supposed to do with our lives. Yet, God wants us to rely on Him completely, and then we will know when He is giving us what we need.

This was truly reinforcement for me this morning.

Thank you pastor Rusty for your insight.

off to study....