Musings

Monday ladies Monday! I am off work as the past weekend was my first call

weekend at the Texas job. It went pretty well  8 hours Saturday and on Sunday

my only case was cancelled (insert sigh and excitement). Sweet Brad was off work so we 

were able to spend time together. Yay!

As we did our Sunday night devotion we shared prayer requests and discussed our 

current reading book. Love Busters. We are still completing the reading list from our 

premarital Birmingham class which was amazing. Anyone engaged in the Birmingham area

I really encourage you to seek out the Dawson Together for Life course. We have benefitted multiple times from those folk's wisdom and willingness to enrich the lives of young engaged couples!

As part of the new book we were to discuss an argument we had recently and talk about how the argument was handled or mishandled. The argument we chose was on budget (please note: this is not a husband bashing post it will get to the point quickly I promise.).

Then this morning my devotion was on a similar topic as Andy Stanley spoke about

money and peace. (If you haven't you should check out North Point's Website free 

sermons online 24-7.) His question was,"How much money would it take to 

give you peace?" The answer he concluded was for everyone:

 MORE THAN YOU HAVE.

At this point I was like well at least we are all on the same page. 

But, how do we remain content while the world tells us we need more?

Jesus said,“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Luke 16:13

Loving...devotion. We put on a face and state oh I don't love money! I love Jesus. However,

Jesus asks what is the greatest competitor for your affections?

What are you on a quest for? Is it to know him more or to store up

treasures in your homes and closets? Is it to serve God's people or remain 

attached to things and items.

I am entirely guilty. I am preoccupied with stuff. This is my tendency to sin 

my easily tempted heart wanders through the pages of magazines and 

instagram store feeds. I am easily entangled planning the next purchase.

Thankfully I serve a perfect God who gives grace upon grace. Andy wrapped

up the sermon sharing not specifics but general guidelines for management

of our income so we do not become greedy and assume just because the

Lord gives something to us it is wholly for our consumption.

1.Giving- always results in Joy

2. Saving- money in the bank equals Peace of mind

3. Living within our means and debt free yields Freedom

Who can't be content with Joy, Peace, and Freedom? This is my act of 

worship receiving God's good gifts and giving freely remembering this 

is all temporary. Our father has big plans bigger than the here and now.

I pray The Lord will be my manager and bind my wandering heart 

to him all the days of my life.

Fall Inspiration

Fall fun has come to the Peden's Place! There are pumpkins and fall scented candles galore! 

Yes!

 I have probably jumped the gun on th

fall celebration items,but I am obsessed with cinnamon spices year round. 

It's great to see everyone jumping on the band wagon this time of year.

Pumpkin Bread Goodies! 

Fall Fun

Fall Whiper

The temperature is falling! And we are excited! Here are a couple of fall

photos I have been enjoying!

Fall Family Room

Goin to the Chapel and the ICU

ICU Orientation is finished and in one week I'll

be all on my own. I am excited and know I'll learn a lot 

during the next nine months, however I get the 

sense it will be a baptism by fire experience as well.

I hear ventilator alarms in my sleep, and still get 

sweaty palms when the doctors come by and expect 

whatever info is pertinent to their organ

of expertise...Sorry I don't know what type of doctor 

you are yet people.  I will grow. I will learn. I will
be stronger (at least that's what i think to myself).

Yesterday was a fun Friday with friends and pretty much 

felt like a big dress up session. As I said in an earlier post

my friend Sabrina is getting married, so I hit the road to 

Bella Bridesmaids and my two closest friends from high 

school and another sweet bridesmaid were their to join
in on the celebration. Love is so fun to celebrate. Our times together

are always filled with laughter, jokes, and always seem to end too

soon. Here are a few pictures from the day. 

I finished the trip with a visit to my favorite Homewood restaurant 

Urban Cookhouse and then enjoyed a beautiful sunset 

on the drive home. The Lord's gifts are innumerable and his

love constantly flows to his children.

All this dress hunting had me reminiscing 

on my days of dress shopping! Sabrina 

changed colors and materials during the trip.

I couldn't help but remember how I 

did the very same thing!

 We used our phones

to compare textures and colors on

our last trip to Bella's. Sweet memories.

Porch Time

Our porch is probably my favorite part of our apartment! I am an outside person by nature so it is my little retreat especially while Brad studies. We have birds that take cover on it at night and during the rain. it is a fantastic morning reading spot nice before it gets to warm!

I love hydrangeas but instead of trying those in a pot, so I settle for geraniums. pink and red this year.

Also, during the winter we grabbed some party lights which set a fun mood the moment they are turned on 😜. 

We have white rocking chairs and a neat red table which my aunt found on the road side as it was headed to the dump! With a little red paint it fits in just fine with our porch. 

Spring Yea!

Well all but two of the march goals will be completed

after this weekend! I am happy with how this monthly

goal thing is working out. My photos today are in 

celebration of the fact that spring is only a few days 

away, though my flowers are inside due to near freezing

temperatures last night!

 Brad and I have a weekly

prayer time on Sunday afternoons and this week it was filled

with prayer for medical students as the 2nd years are approaching 

their first big board exam and the 4th years find out

where the have "matched" for residency on Friday! It's hard

to believe that Brad will be applying for his residency 

program this fall.

Calm my anxious heart has been completed and we were happy

to have a book delivery last week! There are so many fun 

books out there! And since TV has turned into pretty much a 

sad excuse for entertainment I have enjoyed reading more 

recently.

Work is still well work, but our heavenly father made us to work 

so my prayer is to find delight in my job, and truly 

see it as my servant ministry. 

Have a fun filled week everyone! 

Home Sweet Home

Happy Monday! After working an extra half 

day at work this week I happily came home and 

attempted to take the rest of the day off... So 

I actually picked up  our apartment and renewed 

our lease for 11 more months. This post is mostly for 

my dads mom who has requested to see the apartment.

AKA May be of no interest to anyone else however I am 

glad she has learned to browse the Internet and will 

happily post pictures for you Mom Smith! Anytime!

So here is where we live:

This is our bedroom now the bed doesn't have its duvet cover,

as I am thinking more white and light for spring. The good thing

about this being our first and not so fancy place...experimentation

is an ongoing thing!

We also have a second bed and bath which has come in 

handy as Brad and I have had a few conflicting 

schedules these past few months with surgery 

rotations for him and call for work with me.

This space is a constant nerve for me but I am 

holding back my desires as we will only be here

a short time and there are more pressing matters for my 

paycheck to be used for! 

 Our kitchen is big enough for Brad and I
but at Christmas to many cooks in the kitchen
is the phrase that comes to mind. Any way
it has proven to be a good place to practice
my cooking skills. (see cinnamon rolls below)

 Our kitchen, eating, and living spaces 

are all connected and this little area

is passed 50 times a day the bottom

shelf is for Brad's protein! He loves protein.

 And the living room is next our furniture is all second hand thanks 

to my aunt and other family member we have not furnished any

of our furniture. Thank you all! 

 Our door says hello and brightly reminds of friends and 

family events to look forward to! Wedding season will be here soon! 

My dad and i took two matching photo frames and attached 

chicken wire to the back for hanging. It has proved one

of our favorite projects.

After the boards there is the catch all piece we 

put keys, receipts, valentines day chocolates, and 

loose change here as we walk in the door.

And last stop on our tour is the refinished dinning table 

from my darling grandmother's Opp home. She moved 

and bought new so we were grateful to accept the table and chairs.

On the wall behind the table is our wedding cow gift.

I can't even remember how it came to be, but my loving

husband has called me cowie since I can remember .

As others do not get it at all I am fine with the name 

and we have ongoing text conversations with pictures 

of farm animals and other cow conversations.

It is our love and we keep it interesting. lol

That's all for our home tour at this time! More soon!

Inspiration

Sunday's sunset was amazing yes I did instagram 

edit this, but truly there were pink, yellow, blue,

and orange hues in it. It was encouraging since

mostly it has been gray sky's for the majority of 

February.

The Valentine flowers are still brightening up our bar/protein

stash shelf depending on if you are Brad or I. Love that man.

Sunday evening usually means a kitchen experiment 

is underway at 406 and this past week Trey came to 

try out the kitchen creation. BBQ Chicken sandwiches 

crock pot style!

In other baking news Pinterest is often bashed by 

my dear husband but since it has inspired a few more 

homemade treats he is officially on board! (Smiley face)

Whole Wheat Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Chicken Pot Pie Cups

And this morning Paula Dean's Cinnamon Rolls

they took a while to make, but they were pretty 

tasty. Brad ate three before I remembered to take

the after photo! 

Bows are Always Good

bowtie love

Summer Song in My Head

 The Eli Young Band's Crazy Girl, and Katy Perry's

Last Friday Night are stuck in my head today. I don't mind

to much! It's a good balance of upbeat and sweet at the same time.

For the fourth of July I told my grandmother we really

 needed to make some ice cream! So we picked chocolate

 and it was a good pick. Brad and the roommates got a good bit of it!!

After class on Tuesday we had an oncology quiz online. Boo!

But after that it was decorate the dorm time. I have tried all

I can think of to make that room feel like home, but no luck

so far. I was cutting flowers with a knife and accidentally sliced

my finger. The blood was trickling all over. I called my

 parents who said I made need stitches. (No Thank You!)

I called my favorite new neighbor and we bandaged it

up and had some of that chocolate ice cream. Problem Solved.

Note the large bandage on my finger. Ha.

Aww Sweet Summer Afternoons...