HAPPY EASTER!

"This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all the nations..." Luke 24:46-47

We had such a wonderful Easter! It was BEAUTIFUL and we were SO excited about Wellsprings first preview service. It was WONDERFUL and I hope you will read about it on our Wellspring Partners Blog. The kids had a great day and we were so excited about my parents and our great friend Tammie being here to celebrate Easter with us.

After church they had a little egg hunt for the kids. I was trying to feed Anderson his lunch so I missed it but apparently Karoline has a huge hit and had a crowd of people watching her. They told me she would find and egg, open it, eat ALL the candy, find another egg, repeat... she brought me a bag full of EMPTY EGGS!!! She won't be getting anymore candy for the rest of the week!

The Easter Bunny didn't get to come until after nap time. TJ would have missed them seeing their baskets so we held out a little longer. As you can see GiGi, PopPop, Gammy, & Gandaddy spoiled them completely!

I have to share this cute story though. Our neighbors came over a few days ago and gave Karoline some balloons. She loves balloons and last night when I was putting her to bed she asked me to put her balloons in her closet. She said she didn't want the Easter Bunny to get them when he came! :)

I hope every one of you had a WONDERFUL Easter and I pray that each and every day we will remember the gift of life our Savior has given us!






Our first Easter with my parents! It was so fun to have them around.


We are having SO much fun with Tammie here... all the way from California!

Gandaddy can always make Anderson laugh!


Karoline knows she should not have eaten all the candy... she got in a little trouble!

Our service was SO great... Please read more about it on our Wellspring Partners Blog... Click HERE!


The Easter Bunny came during nap time...

No Words....

Okay... Few words... I guess I will see a lot of crazy things being in the real estate business!

Oh, and yes, there were mirrors above the bed AND an ocean view! It can be yours for just $135,000! Don't you all call at once...

A Word From The Lord

(cell phone pic- sorry)
This morning while eating my eggs and drinking my coffee before heading to work I had a quick "free" moment and I opened God's Word. What I read was SO powerful!

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect... You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great!"

Psalm 18: 30-32, & 25

I don't want to focus on how hard times are right now for so many of us but they are... There are so many of you I wish I could so see in person and pray this verse over you. So whether you are going through a job loss, living off support, worrying about the value of your home, your 401K is almost gone, a struggle with infertility, a high risk pregnancy, a child with an illness, a family or friend with cancer or other illness (my list could go on) let these words soak in for a minute! I HOPE that these words from the Word will bring encouragement to you know matter where you are or what you are going through. I know they brought me comfort today!
I wrote this on Friday

New Post on Wellspring Blog... www.wellspringpartners.blogspot.com

Oh, AND my parents movers are packing up their Texas house today! Yeah!!

Karoline's Easter Party & A Story About Heaven

The other night when I was putting Karoline to bed we had this conversation right after reading "The Three Tree's" and talking about the meaning of Easter and about Heaven...

Me: One day we will get to go to Heaven and be with Jesus

KBG: I don't know if I want to go to Heaven

Me: Well, I hope that you decide one day to ask Jesus in your heart and go to Heaven. See mommy and daddy are going to Heaven one day to be with Jesus.

KBG: Well, I'll go with Daddy in the little car, and you can go in the big car.

Enjoy the pictures from her Easter party at preschool. Amanda and I were in charge of the party... I was working and sick all week so sweet AMANDA did everything! I felt so bad. It was fun but I wish it would not have been raining... the kids had a blast though anyway.

Karoline and Grayson are ready for the egg hunt...

Karoline enjoyed the egg hunt despite the rain..

Playing a game with Ms. Amanda...

Enjoying the bubbles... her prize from the game.

Putting stickers on her bunny ears...

Snack time...

Group pictures!

All the kids with their teachers... Mrs. Lackie, and Mrs. Kenney


I don't want to forget this story too so I am going to add it. We were driving home from Awana the other night and this is what she said...

Me: Karoline, do you see the moon?

KBG: Yes, Jesus made the moon and God made the sun.

Desperately Ready For Summer

We were so excited that it was so warm Sunday! TJ was being silly and put "product" in Anderson's hair. It was a desperate attempt at spiking it... To me it just looked like he ate a banana and put his hands in his hair!



Anderson's really into throwing things... He are trying to teach him that this is a no-no!


The Beach

It was so warm Sunday and after helping with an open house we packed up the kids and went to the beach. We were not going to wear suits but Karoline insisted she wear her suit. So sh wore her suit... oh the joys of a three year old! The beach was was great for about 10 minutes...

THEN as TJ put it, it was like someone opened the FREEZER! The wind literally shifted and it was a COLD breeze. So we were only able to stay out for about 30/45 minutes. We still had a great time! I love the beach and even if I can only fit in 30 minutes here and there it is like therapy!

I am glad I had a little therapy session because this week has just been gloomy, rainy, and Anderson and I have been sick :(

I Need Your Help

Century 21 Boling 2009 Company Photo

*If you are wondering where I am in this picture, count 3 people over from the right in the front. My head is between the 3rd and 4th person... hard to see, I know.


As many of you know, in February I received my South Carolina Real Estate license. I was given the opportunity to come on board with Century 21 Boling & Associates here in Myrtle Beach. I am honored to be a part of such an amazing agency that has been #5 in the nation and #1 in South Carolina! I participated in an intensive training program for real estate professionals through the CENTURY 21 Learning System®. With this training, my educational and professional background, and my affiliation with Century 21 Boling & Associates, I feel quite confident about being able to help buyers and sellers with all their real estate needs.

I need your help getting started. If you know of even one person, local or out of state, who is thinking about buying or selling property, I would appreciate it if you would give them my name and contact information. We have an amazing referral program where I can help you, your friends, and family find a top Century 21 agent in any location and it will still benefit my business here in South Carolina. I will do everything I can to meet their real estate needs.

Also, If you know of anyone looking for a second vacation home, rental property, or retirement home, Myrtle Beach is a wonderful choice. Century 21 Boling is involved in a number of ocean front projects. I would be happy to mail anyone information about our ocean front listings and homes listings.

Please let me know if I can ever be of help to you.

Shrimp And Red Pepper Pasta- YUMMY!

Okay... this is YUMMY! TJ and I wanted seconds and thirds! :) I hope you try it because it is SO easy and takes less than 30 minutes to make! This recipe is from my FAVORITE cookbook, Easy Weeknight Favorites, from Southern Living. ENJOY!

Sorry, this photo is from my cell phone...


3/4 cup Ranch (I used 1 cup- I like Ranch!)
1 (3-oz) package shredded parmesan cheese
8 oz. dried angel hair pasta, uncooked
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 pound peeled medium sized fresh shrimp (I used frozed cooked shrimp because it was easy and less work)1 (12 oz.) jar roasted red peppers, drained and cut into strips (I bought mine already cut up to make it easier)
1/2 cup sliced fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine salad dressing and cheese; set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium high heat; add mushrooms. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink.( I just cooked my mushrooms and shrimp together for about 3 min because my shrimp were already cooked). Drain excess liquid.

Combine hot cooked pasta, salad dressing mixture, shrimp mixture, red pepper strips, basil, and pepper in a large bowl; toss gently. Serve immediately. Yield 4 servings.

Open House- Open Shower

Today I went and helped with an open house. This is the shower... A beautiful walk in shower and COMPLETELY GLASS... Even to the outside world! Not sure I could be that "FREE"! I just had to share.


This amazing, beautiful house is $1.4 million and I showed the house next store that is $1.2 million. It was a lot of fun... my first official open house. I might have a potential client too... we'll see.

Our Crazy Week

The above two items have been very important to me this week! The first is important so that I at least LOOKED like I had had enough sleep and to hide the fact that I was COMPLETELY exhausted! The second is my least expensive form of marketing myself in Myrtle Beach. Work was good this week but I am still learning how to adjust to being a working mom.

Mom was here and this was more of a "work" trip than a visit. When I was not working we were running all around Myrtle Beach trying to find furniture, washer/ dryer, refrigerator, ceiling fans, etc. for their new house. It was honestly exhausting! You would never guess how many fans my mom bought for their house. She has OCD about ceiling fans! It's crazy. But with all this running around town I did wear company name tag and a lot of people were interested that I was in real estate. Very good marketing I think! Mom went home today and the next time she comes back she will have a moving truck with her! YEAH! We are so excited!

There are a few other posts below if you want to see them... I was going to do one big long post but decided to break them up...

Our attempt at a picture before I was leaving for work...

And a picture with Gammy before she left today. It was the only picture from the week!

Hair Cut Firsts

The other day TJ and I took the kids to Super Cuts... It was Anderson's first hair cut (his rat tail was beginning to get too long!) and the first time Karoline sat in the seat all by herself! About Super Cuts, Anderson's hair looked fine and Karoline's does too but there is no style to Karoline's hair... so I won't be taking Karoline to Super Cuts again.

For The Birds

I called my dad this morning and told him I had some news that was going to make him VERY excited. He asked me if I was pregnant!! NO, I am not but a blue bird might be soon!

See my dad built this bird house when he was hear for Christmas and almost every time we talk on the phone he asks me if we have any blue birds yet...

Mr. and Mrs. Blue have moved it and are in the process of building their nest. I have watched them this moring bringing back building materials. I wonder if they shop at Lowes or Home Depot.

Here are some pictures of our new neighbors...

Creating Margin

Last week I started my new career full time! It was a rough week but I know that I am where God wants me to be and I know, despite my desires to be home with my kids, I need to be working to help supplement our support AND to meet more people who need to hear about Jesus! Just this week alone I was able to share with 3 people who are not walking with God about our church and about the Christian life.

Real Estate is hard though because it is a lot of work with very little income to start, but I pray that this will be a career for me, not just a job. I will be working full time until needed but even when TJ is able to be on salary at Wellspring I plan to continue working. Why? Because we want to create margin.

We visited Sea Coast church in Charleston, SC soon after moving to Myrtle Beach. It was an amazing sermon from their series "How To Be Rich". I REALLY REALLY encourage you to watch or listen to the sermon! But ONLY if you are READY to be challenged! Try this link to listen or this link to watch. The sermon I am speaking of is How TO Be Rich, Part 4- Creating Margin.

If there is one thing I have learned though trying to raise support and being thankful for EVERY penny in our bank account, I have learned that our money is not OUR money! It's God's money! And we unless we have the attitude that it is HIS money we will not be able to bless others and we will miss out on His blessings. We have to create margin. If you don't know what I mean by create margin, you will after you listen to the sermon.

If we get a raise or a bonus and we choose to spend it right away on something for ourselves/family God cannot use us to bless others. Now there will be times when you will need the extra money for something specific, but we must make sure we are putting God first. There are hundreds and thousands of ministries out there that need support. God actually BLESSES us with the opportunity to GIVE.

So our desire is once we can live off of TJ's income alone that we will be able to GIVE GIVE GIVE to others with my income. I personally have a desire to help church plants. TJ and I have been very fortunate to have parents who have been perfect examples of creating margin. They both sacrifice, open their home to others and give even when it is hard! We have learned SO MUCH from their generosity and it has made us desire to do the same even more.

So I challenge you as I am challenging my own family to find a way to create margin. But you have to TRY HARD to do this. It's not easy. Especially when times are tough like they are now.

Plan to create margin!!

P.S.- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE watch this sermon. I think it is life changing.
P.S.S- Thanks to many of you for the calls, emails, and comments today! Yall encouraged me so much!!

I'm Sorry

I'll make this short...

It has come to my attention that a few readers believe I am using my blog to boast about my life. The truth is that life is REALLY REALLY hard right now. And I choose to mostly blog about the happy things in life, the blessing, and not all the crap going on in my life. My blog is my happy place. I use it more as a personal journal that I print off each year as my "scrapbook". That's why it's a private blog. If you don't want to read it then you don't have to do so.

God has showered our family with many blessings and I want to remember them all...

I hope that if you do read my blog that I in NO WAY mean to boast. There are plently of hard things going on right now. I just want to be positive!

If I ever come across as being boastful, Im sorry. It's only because of blessings that we are given. We are extra thankful for our families & some friends who have been able to provide for us during a time of trying to raise support & start a new church.

I am very sorry!

On a HAPPY note my mom comes tomorrow! She will be staying for a little over a week so we can get their house ready for them to move it. I am excited that I can be her assistant.

I am also excited to report that they have a contract on their house! I hope everything goes through as planned but we all know how buying/ selling a house can be in this market.