30?!!

I cannot believe my man is 30! He's been 30 for about a week now, but we just had a surprise get-together for him on Saturday. If Joey's 30, that means I've known him for over 10 years! That seems so crazy to me! I could have never imagined 10 years ago, at age 15 or 16, that I would be married to the guy I was crushing on! I'm so grateful that when I finally got "old enough" for him to date me that he did!

We've never done huge things for each other's birthdays before, but I thought 30 was a pretty big milestone, so I figured I'd put something together. He was absolutely surpised. He had no idea that when he came back from shopping at Mike's Merchandise (and visiting with Bro. Bill Millican and looking at his guns) in Guntersville that so many of his family and friends would be there waiting to celebrate with him.



Even the Humphrey family (Tanner and Taylor pictured here), friends of ours from when we lived in GA, came over 4 hours for this!

And the very talented Alison Humphrey made this awesome cake for Joey. If you've been around Joey lately, you know how obsessed he is about McCulloch chainsaws. He will do his best to sell you one that he's fixed up! She even made parts of it off with a screwdriver and screws lying there.


We had some of his favorite foods...


Hot wings and sliders.

He got some pretty good gifts too...


To help with his OCD shower routine.

and Mountain Dew chapstick since he's having to cut back on the caffeine.

His big surprise, though, was the pressure washer he'd been lusting after...


Caiden enjoying some cake...


Happy birthday to my wonderful hubby! I love you! (Even though you're the only one that doesn't read this).

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone had a great celebration of our country's birthday. We celebrated by taking the boat out on the River in Chattanooga, grilled burgers, and watched the fireworks.



I'm not a city-girl by any means, but I do love Chattanooga. I love the history, natural beauty, and slower pace of it.






As I was thinking about how grateful I am to live in this free country, I also began to think about the freedom we as Christians have in Christ. An amazing man, Larry Crabb (a Christian counselor, author, and old professor of mine) put it in a way that really hits home for me and my struggle-

In the Old Way of life, "you've decided that what you most want out of life is within your reach, and you're doing whatever you believe it takes to get it." But in the New Way of life, "you've realized that what you most want is beyond your reach, and you're trusting God for the satisfaction you seek. You want Him. Nothing less, not even His blessings, will do."

I am so thankful to live in a country where I am free to worship and so grateful to the people who worked, fought, and died for that. But even more, I am thankful to a Savior who rescued me (and continues to rescue me daily) from the bondage of that Old Way of life, giving me freedom to live in the New Way.

Joey + Lindsay = handy + design

I'm so blessed to have a husband who complements me so well. I get these design ideas in my head of things I would like to have, and either nobody makes them or they're way expensive. So I had been on the hunt for a clock for my guest bathroom. It's kinda a shabby chic decor, but nothing I found was what I had in mind. So I did finally see this on one of my favorite websites, etsy. I loved it but wanted a different color and thought I could get one for less money.

So I found the plate, and Joey of course put it together - drilling the hole and all.



In place in the bathroom...


We make a good team!