Mother's Day

Because it's Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a little bit about a woman who has influenced my life more than any other woman I've ever know. This is my absolute favorite picture of my parents. So much joy right? My sweet dad passed away when I was eight from a heart attack. From that day on, my mom had a raise a child alone. I'm not even a parent yet and the older I become, the more and more amazed I am at thought of this. I could write a lot about my how incredible my mother is but just to give you an idea of how lucky I am I'll just tell you a few words that describe her. Stunning, from the heart and radiant outwardly. Courageous. I grew up thinking that my mom was literally afraid of nothing, not even grand daddy long legs. Sacrificial. If you know anything about my mom, you know she loves intensely and would give anything she had to show another person love. Growing up we did not have a lot of money, but I could have never guessed because I had everything that I could have ever wanted or needed. The Christmas after my dad died, my grandparents couldn't make it because of weather, so it was just my mom and I. I told my mom that if I got the one thing that I hoped and dreamed for, that I would know that Santa Clause was real, because only Santa could swing what I wanted.... A furby. 

Skeptical 9 year old Lacey wandered down the hall knowing that this moment would change the rest of her life. Was Santa real or had I been lied to my entire existence? OH BOYYY!! There it was!!!! A black and white furby to call my own! It was a magical moment that I will never forget because that was the moment I realized that I had a mom who loved me more than I could ever know. My mom drove to something like 3 different states to find this terrifying creature and paid an absurd amount for it (which we didn't have) because she didn't want my first Christmas without my dad to be without a little joy and magic. I never told my mom that I knew Santa wasn't real because I wanted the magic to linger a little while longer. My mom is funny. We use to have toe pinching wars. She always won, although I think I could take her today. My mom is confident. Over the years, I have seen my mom grow into a woman who is all her own and all together fabulous. I have come to know my mom as a best friend. Those are just a few words I would use to describe my mom to you. I hope that one day I can love my children the way that she continues to love me. 

Mom, thanks for everything that you've ever done for me that has gone unnoticed and for everything that you have done that has gone without a thank you. You are a woman I am honored to call my mother. You have always been and will always be my biggest fan and supporter. You love me when I am utterly unlovable. You love me in a way that no one will ever be able to love me. You're love has shown me a glimpse of how much I am loved by the Lord. What an incredible gift. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Happy Mother's Day. 

All my love,

Your Bambino

9 Hours Down, 51 To Go.

I am sitting at Panera right now enjoying the light jazz music, sipping on an iced Acacia Tea, writing a 15 page final research paper. My first semester of grad school is officially over in two days. Praise the Lord. It has been a crazy crazy 5 months. (hence why it has taken me 5 months to write another blog post).  This semester has been full of papers upon papers, interpreting for deaf students (which I loveeee), husband's softball and football games, moving from a 3,000 square foot house to a 555 square foot apartment, best friends getting married and engaged. Needless to say, it's been busy but it's been good. Marriage is still a blast and continues to be the thing in my life that drives out my sin and showers me with grace at the same time. What a picture of love. 

It's funny to look at my previous post about how excited I was to do grad school and to "do it right"....do all of the readings and assignments. It's funny because one thing that this semester has taught me is that marriage takes priority over school. Many times I missed out on doing things with friends or with Taylor because I was swimming in school work and was determined to do well. I knew that the Lord first called me to be a wife to my husband but I allowed myself to get so wrapped up in school that at times I neglected my marriage. It seems completely ridiculous right? It was more difficult than it sounds. It was hard for me to put down a 10 page paper that was due at midnight to watch tv with my husband or to turn an assignment in late because my in-laws were in town or because my best friend got married. It was a battle for me to be a wife first and then a student. In the end, the Lord has blessed me in providing plenty of time and strength to finish this semester with all A's. He is always so faithful even when I am running around like a crazy lady, trying to plan out my life so I'll have enough time in my days. He is so patient. 

First Day of School!

Today is my first day of school! Grad school that is. I have been given the most incredible opportunity to study something I love, which is marriage and family counseling! I am taking classes at Liberty University online. I'm not sure how online classes will go, but I will tell you that I'm sitting here in my PJ's, no make up and a big cup of joe just working away. Hey, no complaints here.

I am excited about today because I get the rare chance to start over. I got my Bachelor's degree in Educational Interpreting. I loved the 5 years it took me to finally finish my degree after I decided which direction I wanted to go. I'll be honest, if I could go back, I'd do things a bit differently. I didn't really apply myself as much as I should have. I didn't challenge myself to learn the way that I know I am capable of learning. 

Today, I get a re-do. Today, I get to read all of my assigned readings instead of skimming them in a hurry. I am excited to be disciplined and focused. I am excited to push myself and to learn instead of memorizing. 

Here's to another two years of school! Gulp.

I'm in business!

One of my goals for 2012 was to make and sell a bundle of my hand made cards. I love crafting but card making is my favorite. I've given bundles of cards away as gifts many a time, and so far, they've been a hit! Here is the first bundle that I'm selling! I think if I had to name this little collection it would "Simple & Sweet". I made half of the bundle very simple...(hence the name!) I just adore simple cards. They are very understated and clean looking. The other half of the bundle I used more materials such as scrapbooking paper, thread, fabric, and card stock... these are "sweet"ones. I'm super excited about them because believe it or not, these little babies take lots of time and love!

If any one is interested in buying some cards, you just let me know! You just let me know what kinds you want and I will do them! This client requested anniversary, birthday, and thank you cards!

Hope you like them!

Need new music?

Alrighty, this is my new CD. Ellie Holcomb is Drew Holcomb's wife and she has a killer voice! Her new album, Magnolia is wonderful. Wanted to share some new music with you singer/songwritter lovers! Enjoy!

"Obedience helps faith, and faith in turn, helps obedience. To do God's will is essential to true faith, and faith is necessary to implicit obedience."- The Necessity of Prayer, Edward M. Bounds

Good food for thought. Even when my faith may feel weak, obedience is still my responsibility.

Wedding Part 2

After we saw each other, the day just took off! Here are some of our pictures!

My handsome husband :)

Cedarwood did such an amazing job with the flowers!

This was one of my favorite details of our wedding! My family and I went around to a bunch of different boutiques in Nashville and picked out almost all of the dresses specific to each girl! It was a bit nerve wrecking because not only did the color have to go together but I wanted the girls to love the dresses enough to wear them again! (I know, typical bride statement!)

This is Cedarwood's awesome barn, where we had the cocktail hour before the reception!

I love this picture because it gets all of the moms in!

Meet my new in-laws!

Such a special moment

This was the face that I got to see coming down the isle! Lucky me!

One last smooch as Jenkins women.

I LOVE this picture! These picture frames were hanging in the front of the house. When people came in, they had their picture taken behind the frames with a mask of their choice. Then they stuck their poloraid into a scrapbook that we made and we used it as a guestbook!

 Just a few of the gorgeous details!

Meet my brother in-law, Jacob... He sang us a song at our engagement party entitled "It's not too late"... instead of a toast... he sang us a remix of that song. You can tell by our faces that it wasn't that funny. We're currently working on our first Jervis song to perform at the next family function.

Look at Taylor and Mr. Chip's profiles! Crazy similar! Mr. Chip and I were trying out our professional dance moves. :)

And.... we danced the night away!

Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Jervis

Off to Mexico!!

Meet our photographers... Matt and Kristyn Hogan! Best. Ever!

All in all, our wedding was all that I ever dreamed of, which says a lot because I can be a big dreamer. Thanks to the wonderful staff at Historic Cedarwood for helping us bring a very special day to life. Thanks to our videographers at Full Frame Digital Cinema for capturing the moments that we hope to never forget! Of course a big thanks to our photographers, Matt and Kristyn who quickly became people who we call friends. Y'all are awesome and made our day so much fun! 

The biggest thanks of all to my mom and Laren! Sheesh... no one could stick through planning a wedding like you guys. I literally couldn't have done it without you!