Sarah

My cousin, Sarah, came for a visit earlier this week.  We had a blast together!  We did hair and makeup, went outside to snap some photos, then we headed downtown to do some antique shopping.  We spent several hours browsing antique shops together, trying on cute (and sometimes goofy!) hats, and ate lunch at a cute little café. Here is a photographic summary. 

Texas girl!  :)

These hats were fun.  Not my style, though.  :)

This brick wall downtown provided a lovely backdrop for portraits.

I get such a kick out of this picture of me with all of our "baggage", because I am definitely not a shopper!  :)

 

July Blessings

Hello y'all! 

 

I hope that the month of July has been full of joy and that you have been wonderfully blessed.  Can you believe that this year is more than half gone!?!  I can't! 

 

The month of July has been full of glorious sunsets, incredible food, spending time with family, fun 4th of July celebrations, baseball, morning runs (working my way up to a 5K!), kitty-loving, Ultimate Frisbee, and God's ever abundant grace.  His mercies are indeed new every morning!

 

I have been thinking a lot about persecution, martyrdom, and serving Christ with my ALL lately.  It has been on my mind often, almost constantly, after reading Foxe's Book of Martyrs (a MUST READ!), so I was very blessed to find this quote from William Wilberforce, shared on this site.

 

"Christianity especially has always thrived under persecution. At such a season she has no lukewarm professors; no adherents concerning whom it is doubtful to what party they belong. The Christian is then reminded at every turn, that his Master’s kingdom is not of this world. When all on earth wears a black and threatening aspect, he looks up to heaven for consolation; he learns practically to consider himself as a pilgrim and stranger. He then cleaves to fundamentals, and examines well his foundation, as at the hour of death. When Religion is in a state of external quiet and prosperity, the contrary of all this naturally takes place. The soldiers of the church militant then forget that they are in a state of warfare. Their ardor slackens, their zeal languishes. Like a colony long settled in a strange country, they are gradually assimilated in features, and demeanor, and language, to the native inhabitants, till at length almost every vestige of peculiarity dies away."

 

And now for a photographic summary of what we've been up to this month:

I got up early one Sunday morning and made donuts.  Yum!

Homemade glazed donuts + an ice cold glass of milk + a glorious Sunday morning = bliss! 

We have played Ultimate Frisbee the last two Sunday afternoons, and it has been a BLAST!  I hope to post pictures soon.

The day before July 4th, I had the bright idea (or not so bright?) :) to make homemade Oreos, having no idea what a huge project it would become.  I started them in the late afternoon and finished them up around 1:30 in the morning.  By that time, my combat soundtracks were about the only thing keeping me going.  :)  The Oreos were absolutely delicious, and worth every bit of work.  You can find the recipe I used here. 

By the way, if you have never listened to The Red Baron soundtrack, you must! :) "Welcome Back", Friend & Enemy" and "Airbattle 1" are my favorites.

The 4th of July was a very beautiful and blessed day.  We had gorgeous weather, great fellowship, amazing food, and some super fun games.  God is so good!  I am so grateful for the freedom that we have.  Praise Him for His abundant goodness to each one of us!

"If our faith is to grow exceedingly, we must maintain constant intercourse with God."

- Charles Spurgeon

New family photo!  I love it!

Red, white, and blue.

Grandpa with his girls.

A mourning dove nest in a hanging flower basket.

I love spending time with my precious Great Grandma.  She loves to tell me stories from nearly 100 years ago. 

The kids took a bike ride after lunch.

At Grandma's birthday party with all of the grandkids. 

The guys picked a bunch of black raspberries and mulberries, so we made a pie and homemade vanilla ice cream (what's pie without ice cream!?!).  It is a new family favorite, and Papa told me that it was his favorite pie ever.  :)

Each Tuesday, the guys go to play father-son baseball.  It is so fun to watch them!

Little Tigger is such a cutie pie! 

Jeremiah takes such great care of her!

A glorious sunset yesterday evening!

"If we begin, continue, and end with God, our way will be strewn with blessings."

- Charles Spurgeon

Psalm 75:1

"We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!

For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near."

Life These Days {Blessed!}

 

Crazy, amazing, beautiful life and an unknown future...so grateful that I have a God, and not only a God, but God Almighty, my Heavenly Father, in control of my life. 

 

I have been reading through Foxe's Book of Martyrs lately.  Great conviction, blessing, and encouragement in those pages!  I read about John Hooper today and this beautiful quote gave me shivers as I read it:

 

"I have taught the truth with my tongue, and with my pen heretofore; and hereafter shortly shall confirm the same by God's grace with my blood."

-John Hooper

 

Then I finished the chapter.  As I read of Mr. Hooper's martyrdom, I was crying my eyes out! Never in my life have I cried while reading a book. I've come close before, but I couldn't hold it in today. I absolutely can not wait to meet this man someday!  Perseverance of the Saints constantly comes to mind as I read this book.

 

Another favorite quote from John Foxe:

 

"Wherein, if the power of man had prevailed, what could they not do?  Or what could they do more than they did? ...And yet, notwithstanding, to see how no counsel can stand against the Lord, note how all these be gone, and yet Christ and His Church doth stand."

 

In other unrelated news, I am getting better at multi-tasking!  I organized two drawers in my bathroom while brushing my teeth and listening to some of my favorite music.  Ok, so maybe not a big deal, but I thought it was funny.  :)  (To tell you the truth, though, I am horrible at multi-tasking and trying to work on that!)

 

While looking up some music from "The Hobbit" I came across "Leave No Man Behind" from "Black Hawk Down" (never seen the movie).  Oh. My. Goodness.  Definitely a new favorite here!  Very slow, but oh so beautiful.  Listening to it a lot these days.  :)

 



So now to bomb you with some pictures.  But don't worry.  There's not actually very many this time.  :)

These little cuties enjoyed a swim in our pond on a warmer day.  Love watching them splashing around!  It's the little things in life. 

Annnnd....now for the big warning:

Stay off the roads!  We now have three student drivers in the Armour home! 

Friday was a tough, looonnnggg, stressful, final-exam-taking kinda day.  After my exam was over, I baked gingersnaps, made some vanilla ice cream, and created this delicious little guy.  That made my evening a whole lot better! 

Soooo...Elijah and I decided to name one of the squirrels "Peterkin" after Ballantyne's humorous character in "The Coral Island". No one else likes the idea very much... :)

I'm thinking "Ralph" (another Ballantyne character in "The Coral Island", this name is also not going over very well...) for the other little guy, and we are having an impossible time coming up with names for the two little gals.  Help, please? 

We spent a sweet Sunday afternoon in the very spot my parents married nearly 24 years ago. Praise God for His incredible faithfulness! They are such a beautiful testimony of His grace.

 LOVE these awesome guys! They make me laugh like no one else can, and encourage me each day. Praise God for brothers! 

Super fun shot!  I love the genuine smiles.  They were having a ton of fun - Elijah pretending to dump Christian off his shoulders and Christian covering Elijah's eyes with his hand.  Sweet, sweet memories! 

Glorious spring day! 

Bye, y'all!  Have a blessed week full of joy in the Lord.  Worthy is the Lamb!!!

2012 Favorites {Friends and Family}

Maybe I should have done this early on in January, but here I am doing it now. 

2012 was truly one of the best, sweetest, most memorable years of my life.  My family relationships were strengthened, we reunited with my Grandpa, I was blessed to make several trips to visit dear, dear friends, I got a new camera in early Spring of 2012, Elijah and Jeremiah both got taller than me (two down, two to go!), many of my friendships grew dramatically, and I learned to love people, my life here, and my gracious Lord more than ever.  I realize more every day how much I have to be grateful for.  My parents love the Lord so much, and they love me unconditionally; my brothers are the "bestest" (!!!) and my closest friends;  I have friends who love the Lord devotedly and serve Him; and I cannot believe that the Lord sees fit to bless me so abundantly every day.  What a glorious God we serve!

I also said goodbye to so many dear friends this year, not knowing when I would see them again.  Goodbyes always break me, Mama and I both, and we cry for days afterward.  "There are no goodbyes in heaven."  Oh, that has been such a precious encouragement to me! 
We said goodbye to Miss Dawn in May.  I miss her so much and love her dearly.  She is one of the sweetest ladies I know, and I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with her. 
We said goodbye to the Renfros after our delightful trip to Mount Vernon and D.C. with them.  That was so hard! 
I said goodbye to my dear friend and mentor, Miss Kerry Corbett during the summer of 2012.  She has been such a sweet encouragement and role model to me in my walk with the Lord, and life in general.
We said goodbye to the Nobles in October, when Mama so sweetly surprised me with a trip there for my birthday. I miss Brookie more than ever! 
We said goodbye to Daniel after his hunting trip here.  That visit was so, so blessed, and we are all looking forward to next time!
We said goodbye to the Nobles after they stayed with us for a short (and completely unexpected!) visit after Christmas.  I cried again then. 
It is truly a JOY and blessing to have friends, godly, Christ honoring friends, who are loved and missed so much.

So, yes, it has been a big year, a beautiful year, and one that I will always, always remember. 

And now to end my ramblings and get to the pictures...most of these pictures have sweet memories attached.  Some are merely because I like the photography aspect of them, but so many more are priceless for the memories that they have captured.  Please feel more than free to comment on or critique my work.  I could always use improvement!  :)

I had 150 pictures and narrowed it down to 67.  I just couldn't delete any more with a clear conscience!  :)

Please tell me we've all grown up a little bit since then! 

They are such a lovely couple! 

My guys - I love them!!!

Miss Dawn.  She is such a sweet friend and a beautiful person. I love her so much!

Me with my best friend. 

At Mount Vernon with the Renfros.  So many sweet memories there! 

Enjoying the gorgeous view of the Potomac. 

Lovely Jenna.  I miss her so much!

Ice cream...oh, yum!

At Arlington Cemetery.

 

Bri and Jenna with the delicious meal they prepared.

I hit nothing but dirt...

...Elijah, however, is an excellent marksman! 

Eagerly expecting little blessing #5...

...and he arrived July 4th!  Chase Matthew Phillipps.

My dear, sweet mentor and friend.  She is a beautiful person both inside and out.  She loves the Lord and strives to serve Him with a passion like few people I know. I miss her so very much! 

Superman! 

Smiley face.  :) 

Amanda.  So lovely and so photogenic! 

 I will miss her now that we have moved to Iowa.  :(

Cute little cowboy! 

Loveeee this photo! 

Mr. Blue Eyes 

"Big Red" (Elijah) and "Little Red" (Christian)

Elijah officially passed up both Mama and I in height this year.  I still try to stretch and reach as high as he does, but, unfortunately, it is of no use.  :( 

This picture makes me smile. :) 

Dear, sweet Brookie.  I realize more and more what a lovely, godly friend I have in her.

Aren't they good lookin'!?!

In the window of an old barn.  Is there anyone else out there who just loves the musty smell of an old barn? 

Amanda with her new puppy, Royal. 

I couldn't resist adding this picture, just because it's so stinkin' cute! 

One of my favorite B&W portraits from last year. 

One of my all-time favorite shots from last year. 

We are so grateful for God's kind provision this past hunting season.  Seven deer in one season is pretty amazing!

Jeremiah with his little buck on the last day of the season.

Oh dear!  I still laugh when I see this picture!  :)