GNO and cousin love

We missed church Sunday morning because we went to Tulsa this weekend to spend some time with my cousin Amanda for her birthday. I was sad we missed but so happy I got to spend some time with Amanda! We did make it back Sunday so that I could go to a "Girls Night Out" hosted by our church. I went with 2 of my great friends, Meredith and Christin, along with Meredith's momma....we love her! We met up for dinner at Abuelo's before the concert for some girl talk. I love LOVE that God has blessed me with friends that I can get together with one a week, or once a month, and we just pick up right where we left off. I have been ABUNDANTLY blessed with some wonderful girlfriends. After dinner, we headed off to church to watch comedian Anita Refroe and American Idol runner up, Mandisa perform. I had honestly never heard of either of them before last night but I had a blast!

Anita is a preacher's wife and about 10 years ago became a comedian full time. She is lucky enough to have her husband on the road with her full time while she travels to churches around the U.S., sharing her talent and her testimony with women everywhere!

Mandisa was on a season of American Idol (not sure which one since I have never watched it)! She didn't win, but she did get to pursue her dream of music and I will say she has an INCREDIBLE voice....it gave me the chills! What an amazing woman who is totally sold out to the Lord! She had an amazing testimony as well regarding her recent weight loss of 100+ lbs! You can find either of these ladies on YouTube so I recommend looking them up. I know I had so much fun and love that I got to be a part of this night!

All of us girls enjoying a fun girls night!
The stage (I didn't get any good pics of the ladies performing!)

I took off last Friday and we decided to head over to Tulsa to hang out with my cousin Amanda for her birthday weekend! I love this girl SO much and am so thankful for her and her precious spirit! I love that even though she lives a couple of hours away, she comes to see me often and she keeps in touch with me! I just love her to pieces!

Amanda and her little bro Alex....love them!

Nate and I...(I spent the whole weekend without make-up on and no fixed hair!)
Manda's cake

SWEET birthday girl with her cake!

Aunt Rhonda, Uncle Jeff and Uncle Denny making dinner....I LOVE my family

Me and the Tater once again....he doesn't like his picture taken! He married the WRONG girl! HA!

Me and my Uncle Denny!

So I'll be honest, I wasn't going to put ANY of the pictures up with me in them while we were in Tulsa because I don't have my hair or make-up done....but then I reflect back on our GNO last night and one of the verses shared was this:

"Your adornment must not be merely external - braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelery, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." 1 Peter 3:3-4

I realized that sometimes (more often then not) I worry about how my outfit looks or if I have on enough jewelry, or (as many of you that know me might know) is my hair poofy enough....but honestly, that stuff doesn't matter. I'm not saying it's bad to like dressing up and wearing gawdy jewelry and have poofy hair! It's fun! What I am saying though is that in the eyes of God, what is on the inside matters most. When we let Jesus live in our hearts and live our lives for him and him alone, that is when our true beauty shows.

The Avey's

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be prasied. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate." Proverbs 31:20-31

50 Things

I have noticed several of the blogs I follow posting a"50 things you didn't know about me" post....so I figured I would join! Most recently, my friend Meredith posted her's so go check it out!

50 things you might not know about me:
1) I love the color hot pink....this probably doesn't come as a surprise to ANYONE
2) Love, LOVE going to church. We are very involved in our Sunday School class....i wouldn't change those relationships for anything.
3) I am obsessed with decorating. I went to the U of A in pursuit of an Interior Design degree...somedays, I really regret changing majors!
4) My favorite holiday is the 4th of July. I love the meaning, colors, family, friends, etc.
5) I collect crosses. I have an entire wall in my house dedicated to them.
6) Sweet tea is my greatest addiction.
7) Nathan and I got engaged at the Grape Fest. We met there and he thought that it was fitting we got engaged there....some think its corny, I think its romantic :)
8) I like to hunt and fish. So far I have caught a fish bigger than Nathan, now its time to kill a bigger deer!
9) Traveling is one of my favorite things to do. I could do it every day, all the time.
10) I can't wait to one day build my own house.
11) I cherish my friendships with my friends from high school, church, etc. They are sacred and precious to me. Ipray that I am a good friend to all of my friends and they feel they can trust me with anything.
12) I always move the shower curtain back when I go in the bathroom to get ready in the mornings....call me crazy but you just never know when someone could be hiding back there!
13) Pintrest is my current addiction....I can't quit "pinning"!
14) I worry too much about what people think of me....this is a weakness that I need to work on
15) My brother is one of my favorite people EVER! We have always gotten along and I love hanging out with him. My mom has always referred to me as "Momma #2"
16) I have a closet full of dishes....I love them. If you ever need to borrow any, I LOVE loaning them out
17) My cousin's son Michael thinks we are boyfriend and girlfriend...he is 7 and "loves me cause I gots white hair". I will be sad when he learns we can't be boyfriend and girlfriend because 1) I'm married and 2) we are cousins.
18) Gawdy jewelery is the best
19) I love a good excuse to throw a shower or a party
20) Football is my favorite sport...love the Razorbacks and Cowboys!
21) I have 2 dogs, Biscuit and Case. Case is fixing to have beagle puppies so if you want one, let me know!
22) My wedding anniversary is September 19, 2009. We are quickly approching Anniversary #2
23) I used to be shy when I was little. My mom put me in pagents thinking it would get me out of my shell....now, you wouldn't know I was ever shy!
24) Dave Ramsey is one of my favorite people ever.
25) Jason Aldean is my favorite singer. Ever. I heart him.
26) My favorite stores are Target and Hobby Lobby
27) I do dispise shopping though....I only enjoy it when I get to shop for things to decorate with.
28) I don't know what my natural hair color is....Im assuming "blah brown"
29) A new camera is what I will be asking for, for Christmas this year
30) I love music....country in particular
31) My dream is to go to the CMA awards or CMA Music Fest one day....not only because those are my initials but, I think it would be amazing to see all of my favorite singers at once
32) Staying in a tiki hut on the water in Fiji is also one of my dreams
33) I'm a daddy's girl
34) I grew up on a farm with my mom's entire side of the family. We moved when I was 15 and I miss it everyday. I hope to have that for my kiddo's one day.
35) Mexican food = Wonderful
36) I want to go on an international mission trip
37) I was engaged for 2 years before getting married
38) I love wearing dresses
39) Apple desserts are my FAVORITE
40) I don't like sitting still and would prefer to be doin something. It's seems like we are ALWAYS on the go but I wouldn't change that at all!
41) We got married at my grandparents old farm in Oklahoma in front of their waterfall
42) I have lived in the Lowell / Springdale area all of my life
43) Shoes are my favorite thing to shop fo
44) I want to own my own store one day. I don't really care what kind of store, I just want to be a small business owner.
45) Our parents are SO ready to be grandparents. Someday, we will make them grandparents but that day isn't today :)
46) My favorite movie is "How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days"
47) I have a bad memory....so please, if I forget something, it isn't intentional!
48) My mom and I eat at McAlisters for lunch together at least 1 day a week, if not more. We had "Free Tea Day" marked on our calendars for months.
49) I don't like wearing tennis shoes unless I'm working out
50) Wallflowers from Bath and Body works are amazing.

These were really hard and now that I'm done, I could think of 100 more things to post but I'll just have to do this again in a month or so! Now its your turn! Tell me 50 things about you!

Mrs. Avey
"I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me" - Phillipians 4:13 NKJV