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Sunday, May 30, 2010

A Sweet Encounter

I have yet to share my favorite story from Greek Summit which involves meeting one of my readers! When I started this blog, I was just hoping I would have a few followers, and I have been completely humbled by what the Lord has done through my blog. When I started writing it was just about daily life,: ministry, books I was reading, weekend activities, and recipes. While I love writing about these things and still do, I realized after several months that the Lord had a purpose for this blog. As I began to walk down the sometimes frightening path of fertility, I realized I needed to share what the Lord was teaching me. My prayer was that the Lord would use my story to encourage one other person. Wow, the Lord has done just that, and He allowed me to see it in what I like to call a sweet, sweet encounter. Kyle and I had dinner with the staff team at The Red Bar, and when we were leaving I stopped to take a picture with some of the girls. I noticed Kyle talking with a girl who was waiting on a table, and I did not know her. I introduced myself, and found out that she graduated from high school with Kyle. I made small talk with her about the trip she was on with her girlfriends, and then walked off. As I was about to leave, she stopped me, and said, "Amy, I want you to know that I have been praying for you." It took everything in me at that moment not to cry. The Lord had shown me His mercy. Here I am in Destin, Florida, and a girl walks up to me, and says I have been praying for you. It was like God was screaming at me, "I have not forgotten you!" Laurel and I talked for a moment, and I come to find out that she too is battling infertility. I gave her my e-mail address, and told her to write me sometime because I wanted to hear more of her story. A few days later I got an e-mail from her, and I cried and laughed as I read her story. It was funny because there were so many times where I felt like she was taking the words right out of my mouth. Sad though because she having to walk through a very difficult trial. What a gift Laurel has been to me though. Throughout this journey, there have been moments where I have begged the Lord to just send me one person who understands, and is walking through my same experience. I know many women with PCOS, but all have children now. Laurel is exactly what I have been asking of the Lord. She also has PCOS, has walked through losing a child, and is receiving treatment now. It is amazing the similarities in our stories. I pray that the Lord will use us to encourage one another as we wait patiently on Him to bless us with a child. What an incredible blessing from the Lord! Praise be to Him!

This is a quote from the letter that Laurel wrote me. I do not share this to boast in any way. I only share this to show you how awesome and powerful is the God that we serve! He can do amazing things! I am humbled.

"I am praying for you and I'm so glad I got to meet you and tell you that you and your blog are special to me. I told the other girls I was traveling with that I met one of my blog "stalkees" and she said "only you could pull that off". I can't decide if that is good or bad!! eeek. I promise I'm not wacko! Meg, who you met as well, and wants a baby so much as well, went home and found your blog sunday night, and she texted me saying you're amazing. I wrote her back with "God let us meet her". Also, I hope I have not overwhelmed you with this email. I know a few women from church who have PCOS and have several lovely children, but I do not know anyone who has PCOS and is still waiting on their lovely children, as you and I are, so I have been praying for you so often. Also, I know the loss of your baby is so great, and I am so sorry."

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Benihana Birthday for Nay Nay

On Monday night we celebrated Whitney's 27th Birthday! She is better known as Nay Nay around the family, because that is what Kyle called her when he was little! Whitney is a huge fan of Benihana, and it has become her birthday tradition to have dinner there. I must say that I enjoy it too! Over the years, I have really come to treasure Whitney's friendship. She is a wonderful sister to Kyle, and a very loyal person. This past year she has been so sweet to encourage us and support us through the difficult times. I am so blessed to have her as my sister-in-love, and I know I can always count on her to give me a good laugh (and good fashion tips)! Love you Whitney, and Happy Birthday!

Kyle, The Birthday Girl, and Me
Bull, Whitney, and Peggie
Kyle, Mrs. Cyndi, and Whitney
Will, Bull, and Kyle
Breck, Will, Bull, and Kyle

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Blueberry Lemon Trifle

Upon many requests, I am posting this recipe. What enticed me to make this divine dessert was its beautiful picture in Taste of the South. Who doesn't love a dessert that looks good and taste good?!? I served the trifle for a senior dinner, and it was a big hit! It satisfies the sweet tooth, yet still has a light side to it. I think it will be a perfect dessert for the summer! Might as well give this one a try!

Blueberry Lemon Trifle

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
8 eggs yolks, beaten
1 cup water
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
4 cups heavy whipping cream
12 blueberry muffins, torn into bite-size pieces
(approximately 12 cups)
6 cups fresh blueberries
Garnish: additional fresh blueberries and lemon-peel curl

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar, cornstarch, and salt, mixing well. Add egg yolks and water to sugar mixture, whisking well to combine. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until mixture thickens, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

2. Add lemon juice, butter, and 2 teaspoons vanilla, stirring well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

3. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream and remaining 1/2 cup sugar at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and beat until stiff peaks form. Set aside.

4. In the bottom of a trifle bowl, layer half of blueberry muffins. Top muffins with 3 cups blueberries. Top blueberries with half of whipped cream with two-thirds of lemon mixture. Top with remaining 3 cups blueberries and remaining blueberry muffins.

5. In a large bowl, combine remaining lemon mixture and whipped cream, folding gently to combine. Spread over muffin layer.

6. Garnish with additional blueberries and lemon-peel curl, if desired.

2 Rebels I Adore!

That would be Ole Miss Rebels! Ole Miss played Auburn in baseball this weekend, and Friday was Senior Day. The score definitely did not turn out as we had hoped, and it was a very bittersweet weekend for some of the players because it was their last series played at Swayze Field. Two of those guys are Rory McKean and Zach Miller. Kyle met both of these guys shortly after we were married, and I quickly adopted them as my sons! I do truly adore them! I could go on and on about their wonderful characteristics, but they are just good southern boys, and they would do anything for us! If the Lord chooses to bless us with boys, I definitely hope they turn out like these two! Let's just say, I definitely stood by like a proud mama this weekend as I watched them play their final games. Oh how sad I will be for these boys to leave town, but it has been a joy to watch them at Swayze Field!

Rory and Coach Bianco


The McKeans

Zach and Coach Bianco



The Millers

The Millers and The McKeans


Rory's interview after pitching

Kyle, Rory, and Me

Kyle, Zach, and Me

Back to the Beach...

After a fun-filled evening with Chicago, Kyle and I headed to Destin to help out with Greek Summit for a week. Last summer we staffed this three week Crusade summer project. Due to our family situation, and all the doctors visits, we were not able to participate in a summer project this summer. We were definitely sad about this because we love doing ministry with college students, but it has given us an opportunity to lead a summer bible study in Oxford. Also, it just happen to work out that we had a week open before the doctors visits begin, so we headed on down to Greek Summit. Ole Miss sent 12 students on the project, and we truly enjoyed spending time with each of them. The Lord has already done a mighty work in their lives, and it was so fun to see their excitement about sharing the gospel with their fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. They each have so many ideas for next semester, and I am looking forward to watching the Lord use them in their Greek houses. Overall, it was a fantastic week filled with lots of good food, good conversation, and good times!


Kyle and Me at The Red Bar

Carmen Rae, Me, and Kitty
at The Red Bar

The Staff Guys

Kyle and David

Morgan and Me

My Roomies for the week:
Jeff, Kyle, Me, Bill, and Whit

Yep, my boss definitely
wrote this book!

Hug with Carmen Rae :)

Kyle, Me, Kitty, and Joel
at Dewey Destin's

"Baby, What a Big Surprise"

SUMMER IS HERE!!! Who said the summer was more laid back?!? Kyle and I have still been on the go, and out of town, which explains my lack of posting. We are back home now for several weeks until my sister has her baby, so I should catch up in the blogging world. Stay tuned because there is much to come! I will start with a quick adventure that Kyle and I took with my parents down to the coast of MS. Can anyone guess what band we went to see? The title of this post was one of their hits. CHICAGO!! I grew up listening to Chicago, and after a few road trips with the family, I could sing every one of their songs by heart. I absolutely love Chicago, and when we heard they were coming to the Beau Rivage, we jumped on the opportunity. It was such a fun concert, and I was so thankful to have shared it with my father because he is definitely the reason I developed such a fondness for their music. For those of you who do not know who Chicago is, I will give you a brief background. What set Chicago apart was they were a rock 'n' roll band with horns....and, boy can they play!

"Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois The band began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had a steady stream of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Second only to the Beach Boys in terms of singles and albums, Chicago is one of the longest running and most successful U.S. pop/rock and roll groups. According to Billboard, Chicago was the leading U.S. singles charting group during the 1970s. They have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, scoring 22 Gold, 18 Platinum, and 8 Multi-Platinum albums. Over the course of their career they have charted five No. 1 albums, and have had twenty-one top ten hits."


Click here if you would like to read the full story.


If you ever get the opportunity to see Chicago, you must go. And if not, then go get one of their albums! It will be music to your ears!

Kyle, Me, and Dad

Mom and Me




The Four Original of Chicago




Monday, May 17, 2010

So Happy Together!

On May 6th, Kyle and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary! I cannot believe I am just now posting about this...we have obviously been very busy lately! We drove back from the beach on our anniversary, and we were exhausted from playing hard with our niece and nephew. So, we decided to stay in that night! We ordered a pizza, watched It's Complicated, and enjoyed a fun, relaxing evening at home! The following Tuesday, we celebrated again with dinner at City Grocery! It was also a fun evening, and I got my present from Kyle that day...a beach cruiser! I have been wanting one of these for several years now, and Kyle surprised me with one. I happen to think its really cute. I just need to get a straw basket, and I will be ready for my ride to the farmers market!

These four years have definitely flown by, but I can say with much joy that each year our marriage has gotten better and stronger, especially this year. Although we have suffered through a major trial this past year, it has taken our marriage to a depth we probably would not have experienced otherwise, and for this I rejoice. Oh how grateful I am to the Lord for the gift of marriage! Last year I posted ten things that I love about my sweet husband! I decided I would add one to the list each year we celebrate our anniversary. I could certainly add ten more, but I want it to be relevant for that year. Happy 4 Years Kyle! Love you to pieces!

1. His love for our Savior, Jesus Christ, and his desire to make the gospel known among college students and around the world.
2. His desire to always have fun...Kyle plans the best road trips ever!
3. His kindness towards others.
4. His patience with me, which is a lot!
5. His servant heart.
6. His positivity...Kyle is the most optimistic person I know!
7. His love for family.
8. His humility.
9. His passion for sports, especially Ole Miss...I know this is crazy, but I do love that he loves it so much!
10. His LOVE for ME!!!!!
11. He is so gentle and caring, yet very strong too. This year has had its share of ups and downs, and I am so thankful that I have been able to walk through it with my dear husband beside me.



Sunday, May 16, 2010

This Chapter Comes to An End..

I have posted about these girls hundred times now, but this will probably be the last one for a while being that my senior girls are now ALUMNI of The University of Mississippi! Each of them graduated from Ole Miss last Saturday, and their days as a college student have come to an end! I attended the ceremony in The Grove, and it was an honor to be a part of this momentous occasion. It was definitely bittersweet. I know that the Lord is going to do amazing things in and through these young women, so I am very excited for them and their future! However, as I have said many times, it is still so sad to see them go. That is the not so fun part of ministry...sending students off! What a privilege it was though to have them at Ole Miss for four years, and what an asset they were to Campus Crusade. Love you girls! You are very dear to me, and you will be deeply missed!

Chelsea, Morgan, Callie, Christie,
Carmen Rae, and Meg
The Girls and Me
Carmen Rae and Me
Chelsea and Me
Morgan and Me
Christie and Me

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Sunshiny Days


Kyle and I had a very action-packed, fun-filled week at the beach with my family! We had been in Destin for our regional conference with Crusade, so from there we met my family in Orange Beach for a few days. It was a great beach trip, and I really enjoyed having all my family in one place (we missed you Kevin)! This was Kyle's first time to meet Mikias so that was very exciting too! I'm not sure who had more fun on the trip...Kyle and I or the kids!?! The kids definitely preferred the pool over the beach, but we made sure to get in some time at both. We also took a trip to the outlet mall, and Lambert's before we left town. We had a blast spending time with Molly Kate and Mikias, and it definitely brought us much joy! We are so looking forward to having them in Oxford for a week in July!