Essential Element

May I submit to you that the essential element of a fall wardrobe is the perfect scarf? I love to wear scarves with everything. You can just throw one on with jeans and a tshirt and look completely put together. Or dress up an otherwise plain dress with a glitzy scarf. The possibilities are endless.

Ahhh, this Spice Collection Neck Rag is so perfectly fall in the color Turmeric

Seeing as how fall has decided to finally show up, I just ordered this incredible scarf from Textilemonster. I think it will be perfect with my black dress for the USM Homecoming game! Thanks Cole for posting about it!

Bookworm

I must confess something to you. I'm a bookworm. I always have stack of books on my nightstand that I'm currently reading or that are next in line to read.

I remember when I was younger, I would read every spare minute I had. If we had to drive in the car somewhere, I'd bring along my book and devour as many pages as I could before we made it to the grocery store. My parents used to say, "Morgan, put down the book and look outside at the scenery." How many of you have had to tell your kids to put the book down and stop reading?

My love of reading translated into my college education. When I settled on a degree in Elementary Education, I selected math and history as my concentrations. I picked math because there was no subjectiveness as far as grades were concerned. You either got the problem right or wrong. No gray areas. Obviously, my OCD tendencies were showing themselves there. History is a subject I have always loved; especially American history or military history. I don't know if it's because my dad has such a love of history or if I was just blessed with great history teachers. Either way, after some time in the education department, I decided to change from Elementary Education to a full on History degree. The History world is full of reading. For one class, I was expected to read a book a week during the semester, and they were great books! We had incredibly stimulating class discussions on these readings, and I always left craving a little more.

However, by the time I received my degree, I was burnt out on reading. It made me feel kind of lost to not want to read because it really is one of my passions. But having to read and being able to read what I wanted when I wanted was completely different. Time passed and slowly I began to pick up some books again. Quick, easy reads that didn't require any thought.

Years have passed now, and I'm back to my pre-degree bookworm status. My Amazon cart is always full of my next purchases. I redeem Swagbucks for Amazon cards. I joined Paperback Swap (Genius! Go sign up and tell them made2sing referred you.) I love participating in things like The Bloom Book Club.

Here are the books I just purchased on Amazon yesterday.

 By Angie Smith, who blogs at Bring the Rain

I've heard great things about this book; several people have mentioned it lately.

This book was just announced as the next book for The Bloom Book Club. If you want to join in, we don't start reading until October 17th, so you have time to get your hands on a copy!

And here are the books I'm currently reading.

I'm actually one chapter away from finishing this book. Incredible account of the life of Mary Beth Chapman, wife of Christian music artist, Steven Curtis Chapman. You may be familiar with the tragic loss of their 5 year old daughter, Maria. 

Bobbie Houston, along with her husband Brian, is the pastor of Hillsong church in Australia. She's a powerhouse for Jesus, and I can't wait to finish this book.

Lisa Bevere's ministry is all about inspiring women to be who they are in Christ. She just released Lioness Arising last week (which is in my Amazon cart), but I wanted to read this book first. 

So I want to know; what are you all reading?

*All images courtesy of www.amazon.com. Go there and buy these books!

Weekend Wrap-Up

I'm a little late on posting this! Busy weekend and super busy Monday at work, probably one of our busiest days in a while! So thankful.

Friday I spent the morning at the store planning out the rest of the year as far as advertising, sales, etc. I'm SO excited about all the great deals we are preparing. Wish I could spill the beans, but I can't! If you live in our area and are interested in the sales we have coming up, just keep up with Jack's on our Facebook page or our website.

Jack's car show last year

I left the store about lunch time on Friday, got Trace from daycare, and headed home to pack for a quick trip to Jackson to visit my family and honor my great aunt for her birthday. Trace and I left to get Caleb from school and then started on our drive to Jackson. We got there just in time for dinner and met my parents and my brother at Vasilio's. It's this great Greek restaurant in Madison, where I waited tables all through highschool. Bill and Soula, the owners, are like extended family to me. My grandmother is Greek, so naturally, they always called me a "good Greek girl". :)

My Greek grandmother, Andromache "May" - I've always called her Mom 

After dinner, we went back to my mom and dad's house. I've been in desperate need of a pedicure for a while, so I got the great idea to take advantage of the free babysitting and go get a pedi. I went to the mall and got there at about 7:50; an hour and ten minutes later, I had freshly manicured hands and feet! Ahhh, I must say it was so nice. I remember thinking how I loved that they were so fast...they just get you in and out...part of the big city mentality that I miss sometimes.

I went back to my parents and talked with my mom for a bit, then my brother and I left for our tradition: late night movie date. Whenever I come into town, we always go to the 10:00 movie at the Madison theater. It's such a fun tradition for just me and him to spend a little time together. It usually ends with us having to go to Walmart in the middle of the night. Last time we bought 10 cases of blueberries...you never know!

My baby bro back when he graduated highschool

My great aunt Mable (my grandaddy's sister) is moving to Florida on Friday to live in a retirement home near her son. Her 80th birthday is in a few days, so we went ahead and celebrated her birthday with a family lunch on Saturday. We had a private room at AJ's for family members and the sweet lady (and her mother and daughter) who helps take care of Aunt Mable during the day.

Aunt Mable with my Grandaddy

The food was so incredible. I ordered red fish tacos and all I can say is that I've thought about them several times since then and I want more! The lunch was such a sweet time of honoring my great aunt, who really is the epitome of a Southern lady. I mean, look at her picture. How many 80 year olds do you know that still look that classy?!

Aunt Mable with Trace...Did I mention that I have that same leopard jacket? 

It's Here!

Just received a package from Prissy Peacock Designs! While browsing online, I fell in love with the Black and White Houndstooth Longall from Prissy Peacock's Etsy shop. I was thinking it would be the cutest outfit for Trace to wear to USM football games once the weather got a little cooler. I messaged Laura to see if she could applique a gold "T" on the front to bring in the black and gold like Southern's team colors. This is the end result!  

I am beyond happy! I can't wait for it to cool down a little so Trace can go to the games styling his new look. He will definitely be wearing Prissy Peacock Designs for the Homecoming game on October 9th! 

Go shop Laura's Etsy store. You won't be sorry! 

As For Me and My House...

Since I became  Lifegroup leader for my church, we have been meeting each week in my home. One week we were talking about meditating on Scriptures, and I was telling my ladies how I like to write favorite scriptures on notecards. Then they all started commenting on how they had already noticed how much scripture I had throughout my home. I guess since I'm used to it, I really didn't realize how I have things posted everywhere! I took a few pictures to share with you.

This canvas was given to me for my birthday a few years ago from Jeffry's parents; it hangs in our living room above our sofa. Jeffry's mom and dad had taken the boys (only 2 at that time!) to get their pictures made while Jeffry and I were on a trip. The canvas is an actual photo made to look painted on. 

The photographer added this Scripture at the bottom, 

"For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these." 

Needless to say, I was SO surprised; I bawled my eyes out! 

These two Scriptures are taped on my makeup counter mirror. I got them from Angie Smith's blog post about Praying For Our Children. I have notecards for the different verses Angie listed taped up in each area (by the tub, on their bathroom door, etc.) I have a button for Angie's post (one of my favorites of all time) on the right side of my page; see Praying for My Children.

These two notecards are also on my makeup mirror. (I spend a lot of time there!) These are Scriptures that the Lord has given me lately. 

"He keeps us alive in times of famine." - Psalm 33:19

"The famine was so bad that there wasn't so much as a crumb of bread for anyone. Then there was a breakthrough." - 2 Kings 25:4

"God has chosen you to take your place before Him to serve in leading worship- this is your life work; make sure you do it and do it well." - 2 Chronicles 29:11

This verse is my new life verse! Since I lead worship at our church, it totally struck me when I read it in the One Year Bible. When I was struggling with my fears of inadequacy about God's call on my life to lead worship, He gave me the Scripture from Esther 4:14 about having been chosen for such a time as this. So how cool is it that this verse in 2 Chronicles starts with the same phrase?! 

Another favorite scripture hanging over my piano in our entryway.

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for some have entertained angels unaware." - Hebrews 13:2

These notecards on posted beside the door frame near our kitchen table. These are verses the boys are working on memorizing. We make them into songs or clap a rhythm along with them to make them easier to remember. We actually have "Do everything without complaining and arguing" posted in more than one place in our home. I need it as much as they do sometimes!

I love this plaque! Right now it rests on my mantle in the living room. It was a gift from my bestie, Kisha. The phrase "The Lord is my Strength and my Song" is found several times in the scriptures. 

Exodus 15:2, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2

These two notecards are on my bathroom mirror. The first is a scripture and the second is a phrase that I daily remind myself of right now. 

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

Hope you have enjoyed a little tour of the Scriptures in my home! 

Tailgate Time!

Another home game weekend! We spent Friday night at The Rock cheering on our Eagles. They were facing Kansas and the game was being broadcast on ESPN. I knew it was going to be a long night for the boys because the game didn't start until 7 and with it being a televised game, there'd be a lot more timeouts than usual. However, that is the beauty of tailgating with our camper! My mom actually stayed behind at the camper to begin with, so at the end of the 3rd quarter when Caleb and Trace had had enough, I just took them back to her.  They fell asleep so fast! 

Here's a little view of our tailgating setup.  

Jeffry's mom and brother with Caleb. 

Some of the crew. We didn't even set up our tent this week. 

The newlyweds! Jeffry's brother, Johnny and his wife, Danielle got to come to the game. 

Trace, again, enjoying his food. Remember last week?

We brought the big boys' scooters, which was a great idea! They got to ride around on the sidewalks and in the parking lot near us. They burned lots of energy and had a blast doing it!

Danielle and me

The Pride on the field getting us ready to start the game!

My hubby is so crazy! 

Sweet Caleb

Bray with the scoreboard in the background. We beat Kansas 31-16! Woop woop!

Caleb and me. I never get this many pics taken of me in one day.

My hubs and me so excited about beating those Jayhawks! SMTTT!

Fireworks after the game. Great way to spend a Friday night with the fam!

Mississippi's Got Talent!

What a week last week for Mississippi! I was so excited to hear of the awesome wins in reality tv for our state!

Michael Grimm from Waveland, MS, beat out some incredible acts to win America's Got Talent with his blues singing.

The winner of Fox's reality show, MasterChef, was a Whitney Miller from Poplarville, MS! She is a student at USM and was recognized at the USM v. Kansas game Friday night. Check out this article about her win!

'MasterChef' Whitney Miller talks chicken, earrings and Food Network - From Inside the Box - Zap2it

Just for Fun

I can't even remember who I got this from, but I wanted to fill it out just for fun. Fill one out yourself and comment to let me know you did!


The weather in my neck of the woods:
Still hot. Still waiting for fall. 

Things that make me happy: A clean house. Dinners at home with my family.

Book I'm reading: Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman and Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry by Lisa Bevere

What I'm enjoying on TV: Anything on Food Network

On the menu for dinner: Not sure yet! I didn't plan ahead for tonight. 

On my To Do List: Finish working, pick up boys, homework, quick dinner, then I leave for worship team practice and they head to football. And the cleaning fairy comes and cleans my house.

New Recipe I tried or want to try soon: I made some yummy stuffed bell peppers from the latest Paula Deen magazine. They were yummy!

In the craft basket: Well, I don't really have a basket. My craftiness right now is limited to decorating for fall and working on Project Life. 

Looking forward to this week: Southern Miss vs. Kansas tomorrow night! Hoping the Eagles will show up strong!

My favorite blog post this week: Angie Smith's Pillar

 

No words needed (favorite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Me and all my boys last year in Tennessee

Lesson learned the past few days: Compassion- looking beyond myself and my immediate family

On my mind: A lengthy to-do list

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: This is from today's One Year Bible reading


Isaiah 23:11
"You looked and looked and looked, but you never looked to him who gave you this city, never once consulted the One who has long had plans for this city."


This verse really reminded me to seek God FIRST for my questions and problems. It seems like many times I search out the advice and counsel of my husband, pastor, or friends before I actually turn the problem over to God and ask His opinion. I need to go to Him FIRST! He's the One who "has long had plans" for me! Wow, I love the sound of that.

Wordless Wednesday

Shhhh...

Seeing in Black and Gold- Part 2!

So on to the rest of our Saturday! We left Brayden's football game and headed back home to load up our camper and head to Southern Miss for the first home game of the season. We didn't really know what to expect since we have always just tailgated with Jeffry's parents in their spot. When we bought our camper, we decided it would be fun to take it to Southern's games! Not to mention that if Trace gets tired, I can bring him back to the camper and let him rest while everyone else can stay at the game. 

We had entirely too much food! But I think that's how it is supposed to be. We were supposed to have another family join us, but they didn't make it in time. So it was just Jeffry, me, the boys, and his mom and dad. We pulled the camper in at about noon. Jeffry and I got everything set up and then we got the boys to lay down and watch a movie for a bit. Caleb got a little bit of a nap, but Trace never did fall asleep. 

Jeffry's parents arrived at about 2. I went with them, Trace, and Brayden to the Campus Book Mart across the street from USM. We loaded up on lots of black and gold USM items! Trace got a cute stuffed eagle that he insists on calling "doggie". Hilarious. 

Jeffry was our grillmaster! The hamburgers were fantastic. 

Trace loved the ranch dip with the veggies. He sat there for the longest time dipping and licking the dip off of his carrots. He was a mess but it was so cute!

Brayden and Paw Paw throwing the football.

Trace cheesin' it up. I just love this pic.

The back of Jeffry and Caleb at the game. We have great seats!

Trace and me...please ignore my hair. I'd been outside for about 8 hours at this point and it was HOT.

Getting ready for the team to run out on the field!

Caleb and Trace watching the game.

Brayden and Paw Paw.

Bray showing off his dance moves, lol.

Jeffry and Trace.

My favorite picture from the day! Brayden, Trace, and Caleb

Seeing in Black and Gold

Saturday was so tiring, but so much fun! We got up early, rushed to get some breakfast and left the house at 7:30 for Brayden's first football game. He plays for the Dixie Yellow Jackets. I took a million pics at the game. I was so happy about his very first football game and his first-ever jersey with his name on it. Oh, AND he has the same number that my brother always had! #33...we didn't even choose it. So cool how God throws us little happys like that. Here are some of my fave pics:

Warming up before the game

That's Bray with his arms crossed and back to you. #33

Bray drinking water in front of the coach

He's right in the middle with his knees bent

On the sideline in his "PETERS" jersey! I love it.

He's kinda in the middle if you can see his number.

On the sidelines cheering for a touchdown!

By his coach listening to instructions

One proud Mama with her first football player!

My three boys! So blessed.

Daddy with his football star.

Brotherly love!