Lately

It's been quite a while since I've updated-- in short, I've just been going and doing.  

We hosted Thanksgiving here at the Berry house.  Here as in my house. As my mom's dear friend told me beforehand, "Oh it's great that you're doing it now... you are enjoying the thought and have no idea what you're getting yourself into!"  She was basically right.  It was a lot of work, but we had a lot of fun doing it.  Chad is now officially the "Turkey Man."  His turkey was one of the best I've ever tasted! Unfortunately for him, I think he has earned the privilege of making it from here on out. 

I also did the green bean and sweet potato casseroles.  They make excellent Christmas dishes as well...

Some of our recipes can be found here:

TURKEY

Green bean casserole

Sweet potato casserole (I left out the coconut in the topping and added extra pecans)

Since thanksgiving, we made a little escape to Vegas for a pharmacy conference and the Las Vegas marathon (Chad ran, I was a cheering spectator).  To be honest, I really would not care if someone told me I could never go back.  I will say the lights are beautiful at night and they have some great shows, but I definitely prefer beach or mountains over casinos and night clubs.

Of course there have been some other fun events thrown in here and there, but I suppose I will get to those later.  I've got a house full of Berry boys and it's Sunday night football... I can barely hear myself think :) 

Hope you are having a blessed holiday season! 

Flower fix

Have a bunch of empty vases?  Most of my pottery is in the form of a vase... which I don't mind a bit since I absolutely love flowers.  I really do.  I always keep fresh flowers (usually sunflowers) on my kitchen table.  I'd love to have them all over my house, but unfortunately, the budget does not allow for such things (or at least until I start my dream flower garden).

I'm not too fond of silk flowers, so I've run into problem of empty vases all over my house.  I have not been able to find the perfect filler until this past wedding season.  Being a bridesmaid is a fun perk of being in your mid-twenties... and I must say, one of my absolute favorite parts of weddings is the flowers (yes, I care about the flowers). Anyway, I have found myself leaving my best friends' weddings with the most beautiful bouquets that most of them paid a pretty penny for.... So why let them go to waste?  Dry them. 

I'm really into dried flowers these days.  They are a great alternative to buying fresh flowers to keep in your house, and you can still tell yourself that they aren't "fake flowers." Here is a dried bouquet from Tyler's wedding this past July- It's basically November and they are still in my living room!

Here are some of my newly dried yellow flowers:

Now, you can buy them at your local craft/interior store (Hobby Lobby, etc.) for about $10+, but let me recommend going to the floral section at Kroger and buying all the older blooms marked down to "manager's special" for $2.49.  Just as pretty.

So keep those bouquets... just make sure you take them out of water while they are still pretty in bloom!

Weekend getaway

I really do love camping! There's few things better than the smell of bonfire, the taste of s'mores, and staying up late talking about who know's what!

Last night, we loaded up the gear and the pups, and made a little escape to Nowhere, MS.

We had some "believers"...

And a winner...

The moon was bright...

And we ALL slept tight :) 

Oh and ate right! 

Good time had by all! 

Resting, Resting

Hello there, Saturday!  I'm currently enjoying you with a vanilla latte, cinnamon toast, and a little Ingrid pandora!  The husband made the early morning trek to Oxford to see the Rebels play, but I honestly just needed this day to REST (and work on my very un-finished seminar slides that are due Monday).

I've had a very crazy five weeks in the UMC emergency department.  Five weeks of experiencing things my [teary] eyes have never seen before and shadowing one of the most inspirational women I've ever met.  Although I'm a little tired, I feel like I've walked away from this experience as a better me.  I have realized that a bad day is not oversleeping or getting a bad grade... I have my health.  My health.  What a blessing that is!  I can eat when I'm hungry, I have two legs and two arms, I can see, smell, hear, and breathe. I have an incredible support system in my friends and family and most importantly, my Savior.  I've spent many nights wondering if some of the patients we've lost have known the Lord... it has put a true urgency in my heart to spread the Word.  I have worked with a woman who paints a beautiful picture of Jesus with her every word and deed.  I have never seen a servant quite like her. I aspire to be just like her one day... I can only imagine a selfish me learning to serve like a selfless her.

So today I'm resting, resting.


Happy Saturday!

...

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

ALL I have needed thy hand hath provided,

Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me. 

Strength for today and BRIGHT HOPE for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside. 

September and the like

Here's another one of my sporadic posts!  

... And if you follow me on instagram, you may find that this is basically just a stream of my last 10ish photos... My apologies! 

I need to be better about updating so that I don't write/post pictures in one super long post every now and then.... but until I get better about that, here's what's been going on lately with us: 

First of all, there's been a lot of Rebel football and Oxford town... two things that make my heart very happy... especially since we are doing OK this year! 

This past week, I have declared it official "Taco Soup Season" and indulged in all things fall! 

This may be one of the best taco soup recipes I've used YET!  Special thanks to the pharmacist I'm following around these days.  She's an excellent cook! 

Ok, so maybe indulge in sunflowers during ALL seasons of the year... but I can't help it.  They just scream "have a great day!"

Although I have limited time these days, I thought I'd try and be crafty.  I've seen a lot of people making these fun fall wreath's and let's face it, Chad and I have been the LEAST festive people on our street.  I decided we should be good "neighbors" and take some pride in our "outside." (Didn't even mean for that to rhyme.)

I also found some beeeeautifullll bronze mums at the Madison Garden Center.  I have a feeling that will be my new favorite place to shop.  I. Love. Flowers. 

Speaking of flowers, Kroger had the cutest "mini bouquets"... This is about 8 of them together, but I wanted to buy them all! 

And this past weekend..... LEAH was here!!!! What a wonderful weekend it was with some of my Tupelo besties.  We started the weekend with a fried chicken sandwich and Julep followed by some quality time at the Jeter's! 

Saturday night we had a cookout at the Backstrom's! 

So happy times, indeed!  Maybe I'll be better about posting.... maybe.

RECENT NEWS:

This lovely one is ENGAGED! Yes- that's my Beefy (Beth) and her sweet Tucker. She is such a dear, dear friend of mine and she has truly met her match! SO SO SO happy for these two!  She's been in St. Louis for the past 2 years but my fingers are crossed ever so tightly that the soon-to-be King's will move down here with us! Check out her story HERE. 

There were some new baby Deeg's yesterday.  In particular, a cute little Haadsma :)  Love seeing my Ausycar and Em's Colly getting to experience something that was so special to us!  Sorry for the touch of cheese, but it's real.  

That's it for this girl....

Happy fall, y'all! 

FOR GRANTED.

Well hello there, Hart. You're 24 years old. I don't know how this happened, but I've been thinking so much about it lately. Right as I started this very sentence, I got a text from a dear friend...

"I miss you too, Hartly! You have a husband, dog, house, and I have two children and live in Florida.  How did this happen?" 

I have NO idea.  How did this happen?  My parents always told me that the years get shorter and shorter the older you get.  Granted, I'm still very young by most standards, but it seems like I should still be in college, at least.

As I've been reflecting lately, it has been brought to my attention that I took (and still take) so many things for  granted.  If any younger girls read my blog (especially college girls), I want to tell you this: Enjoy where you are. Make the most of every opportunity. Make as many friends as possible. Stay up late. Go on road trips. Work at a camp. Go on a summer project or mission trip. Live in a big house full of girls. Be discipled. Eat as much ice cream as you want. Meet people different than you. Spend your work money on something you want. GIVE as much as you can. Soak up every learning experience like a SPONGE and don't take a moment for granted. 

I tell you this because I did (and still do) a lot of those things and took (and still take) most of them for granted.  I guess in the process I just thought it was normal or just an everyday part of life.  It has taken a couple of years for me to realize that those "everyday"  things have been the biggest blessings in my LIFE!
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Man how I took for granted living in a sorority house.  After spending many nights alone this past year while my husband traveled, I could not fathom the thought of being able to walk into the next room and have a best friend just sitting there ready to talk, run to sonic, go on a walk... Or living at the GO with my very best friends. There was definitely no fear in taking on a huge dinner when you had 4 other hands available to help!  You can't live with your best friends forever... some will move off for jobs, others will get married. Whatever the case is, you won't have that girl time forever.  So soak. It. Up.

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Or how about having a free summer?  Having rotation this summer (as well as realizing that I'll be a pharmacist for the next 50+summers) has made me realize how I took that free time of opportunity for granted!  Having the opportunity to work at Kamp and go to to Jackson Hole Summer Project... I cannot believe how I took that for granted.  What blessings those experiences were and oh, how I wish I could go again! Don't hesitate... if you are thinking about it, DO IT!  Don't let the chance pass you by... you won't have the chance forever... 

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These girls.  Oh, oh, OH how I miss these girls.  Finding the time to get five 25-year-old's together is quite a task... and five 25-year-old girls who are in the same life stage is even harder!  I think about some of the times that I skipped out on meeting with my discipleship group for one reason or another (studying, etc.) and I just want to cringe.  What I'd give to be able to have them back and even more so, have an older woman who cared about pouring into me as much as this one did.  I really took this for granted. 

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Now, don't let me sound as though I am complaining about this next one... Chad and I have been blessed beyond measure with so many wonderful things, including Chad's great job that the Lord uses to continually provide for us... But, man.... the thought of life without an electricity bill, car insurance, house mortgage, medical bills, etc... Now that's something I took for granted.  I try to remember what I used to do with my work money/allowance.  I guess I would go out and eat a lot or order a dress online.. who know's, but I don't do that much any more... Ha!  You may feel like a broke college kid, but don't take for granted being on your parent's health insurance.  Order those shoes! :)  And even more-so, give money to that girl fundraising for her mission trip... buy that Sally Foster wrapping paper or cookie dough from the kid ringing your doorbell.
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LEARN.  This is something that I am still taking for granted.  You are at a University!  There is a limitless amount of knowledge around you at all times!!! There are hundreds of classes, thousands of people, and an extremely wide variety of organizations within minutes from your very feet!  Get off the computer, get out of your room, get away from your comfort zone and GO LEARN!  You will never be in a place with as many free (or pre-paid) learning experiences around you!  I struggle with this every day as I am also still at a teaching institution... I work in a very diversified culture: healthcare.  I see all walks of life on a daily basis and I often forget that I'm not just here to learn about drugs... I'm here to learn from these people around me!  I have to remind myself of this every day... To not take this opportunity for granted.

It's funny that I say these things because I'm sure on down the road, if I'm blessed with little Berry's, I will say "MAN, HOW I TOOK THAT TIME ALONE FOR GRANTED!!!" So I'm not only telling you, but I'm telling myself this:  ENJOY TODAY!  Don't take a minute for granted.  Savor every moment with those you love where you are.  For where you are and who you're with is SUCH a blessing!

Don't wish your life away!

Days like today

Career Day.

Being in year 7 of college, one would think that the word "career" would be music to my ears.  CAREER.  That's such a big-girl word. Am I even old enough to have a career?  I often forget that I am officially in my mid-twenties, so it's probably about that time. With career day comes the realization that I have to make some major decisions very soon.  It also includes "how to make yourself the best candidate for the job you want" talks.  While I find this extremely helpful, it allowed my self-doubt to creep in and remind me of all the ways that I am insufficient.

I have to say that on days like today, I can't help but be incredibly grateful for the fact that the Lord has a very specific plan for my life.  A plan that He has had in store since July 13, 1988... and one that no one else can interfere with.

On days like today, I am thankful for the Lord's sovereignty and that I don't have to be overwhelmed with the decisions and choices that I must make in the next few months.

On days like today, I am thankful that in my insufficiencies, the Lord has an immeasurable amount of grace and goodness to make me complete.

On days like today, I am thankful "because everything He does is right and all his ways are just."

On days like today, I am thankful for moments that I am called out of comfort.

TONIGHT, on the other hand, has been wonderful!  Fresh Market date with my sweet friend Jamie complete with a spinach-feta pizza and chocolate ice cream. :)

boxes.

We are making our move. Closing my eyes and opening them when the boxes are unpacked (or actually even packed to begin with...). A nester's nightmare.  *Sigh.