Keachi Confederate Cemetery

So if you know me well, you know that I love to capture...anything and everything. Right?! And when I say "anything and everything"...I mean "ANYTHING and EVERYTHING"! LOL!! My Dad is a professional photographer so, I'm sorry...I get it honestly. :) Thanks Dad!

While we were in Louisiana, we found this old Confederate Cemetery from the 1800's. There is just something about a military cemetery with all the white stones and everything. I guess you could say it kinda facinates me? This post is to honor every soldier that has ever served this country! I love this beautiful country and am thankful for each and every soldier that placed his life on the line to help protect our freedom!

This little cemetery is in a little town south of Shreveport, called Keachi.

A Fab Football Day!!

This has been a fantabulous football day and I just had to blog about it! You know...since I'm all into football these days! ha!! I'm not gonna lie...it's been an intense football day at that! All the games we cared to watch was playing against their biggest rival! I seriously have been on the edge of my seat all day! LOL

But...with that being said...

I am so happy that MU won against KU!! 35-7!! I knew I was rootin' for Black and Gold for a reason!! Those boys made me proud today!!!! Go Mizzou!!!


At the same time I was rootin' for Mizzou...I just had to root for Big Orange!! UT played against UK...another big rival game! But I had to support my friends in Rocky Top country and pleased to say that UT won again...their 26th win against UK! 24-14!! Go Rocky Top!!!


And to end the night with a game that I found myself and my Dad yelling out at the TV!! LOL! I had to root for OU since I'm a born Okie! They played against Oklahoma State and OU won 47-41! Boomer Sooner!!!

"God Bless America"

This past Tuesday as my Mom and I were starting out to drive to Louisiana for the Thanksgiving holiday, we had started out a little later than planned and we had only gotten about 20 minutes down the road when traffic came to a complete stop. Really? I'm not gonna lie, I was kinda aggravated, but my Mom so gently reminded me that you never know what God may be keeping us from down the road. (So true!) Just a few minutes later, a couple of people came walking down the road handing out a piece of paper signed by the Chief of Police. Come to find out, we were about to witness a Community that had come together to honor a Solider that had lost his life fighting in Afghanistan.

That day, November 13, 2010, Corporal Jacob R Carver of Freeman, Missouri, was laid to rest. He was a soldier of the United States Army and was deployed to Afghanistan. He was 20 years old and died of injuries sustained when an insurgent suicide bomber detonated a vest bomb and struck his unit.

A short time later traffic began to move and we looked over and saw where the funeral had been taking place. There were soldiers and flags everywhere.

My heart sank. But at the same time, my heart swelled. I felt sorrow for this family that lost their dear loved one but at the same time, I was so thankful for his service to help provide freedom to the United States of America, it made me proud.

As we started driving more, I realized just how much the WHOLE community had come out to show their support! I seriously have NEVER seen anything like this before!



There were TONS of people with FLAGS everywhere.
It seriously brought tears to my eyes and made me PROUD to be an AMERICAN!!!

The further we drove...the more flags there were...and bigger ones too!

I am so glad that we were able to experience this. I thank God for our soldiers. I pray for their protection and thank God for the freedom that we have in this country.

God Bless the USA!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family!! I trust that you all have had a wonderful day!!!

Today has been a fabulous day filled with lots of good southern food, family, laughter, talked with some friends, hugs from Granddaddy, a long game of Phase 10 with my cousins, and lots and lots of football!! Go Saints!! It couldn't get much better than this!

We should be thankful every day, for even the little things, but this time of year is a gentle reminder of just how thankful we really should be and to realize how blessed we really are.

I have missed being with my four sisters today (Robyn, Darla, Ginny, and Jen). Robyn is in Indiana, Darla is in the country of Vanuatu, Ginny is in Africa, and Jen is in Tennessee. I miss you all dearly and wish I could have spent this Thanksgiving holiday with you. I am so thankful for you and blessed to have you as my sister.

I have so much to be thankful for! Even the little things that we sometimes take for granted. Here are just a few things that I'm thankful for:

• My Parents. I love them! I'm so thankful they raised me in the truth and gave me such a rich Pentecostal heritage. They just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary! I'm really not sure what I would have done without my Mom especially through these last couple of weeks. She's been a very good nurse as I have been recovering from a minor surgical precedure. Thanks for all you've done, Mom!
• My Family. I have a LOT of family near and far that I am so thankful for. I don't always get to see my cousins and aunts/uncles with most of them being so far away but I love it when we get to spend time with them!
• My Friends. I have a TON of amazing friends. I am so blessed to have many friends all over the country. I could seriously write a book with all of my memories and experiences with yall. ha! Definitely have had some great times!
• My Church. I LOVE being apart of TLC. We have such a wonderful Pastor. And so thankful for the people of TLC that He has placed in my life. Life would not be the same without TLC.
• The day-to-day things. The things we most likely take for granted such as a job, a car to drive, a roof over our heads, ac/heat, a bed to sleep on, $$ for food and gas...all the "little" things that we never think about. Some people don't have some of the luxeries that we have, but I am grateful for everything God has blessed me with.

There are so many things and the list could go on and on...but I am so thankful this holiday season for not only everything God has blessed me with, but every one that God has placed in my life. I trust that you had a wonderful day with family and friends and made every moment count. I'm blessed to know you! I love you all!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Upper East Side Chic" - Photo Shoot!

My sister prepared an awesome photo booth! It was so much fun getting pictures with (almost) everyone and acting silly! These are some of the props that we had
Picture frame, hat, paper flower...
Smileys, tongues, mustaches, feathers...



And now for the fun...

My SURPRISE Birthday Party!!

So in the midst of all the "hub-bub" of planning my Dad's retirement party...little did I know that my sister was also planning a SURPRISE birthday party for my up and coming 30th birthday!! Wow...talked about being SURPRISED!! Especially since my birthday is a month away! My sister is...amazing!!! I seriously had NO idea that she planned all that! You can view her side of the story here. It was a New York theme called "Upper East Side Chic"...it was perfect...and so "me"!! Everything was Black, White, & Green...LOVED it all!!!

So we were planning on going to a friends house for dinner after church on Sunday. No big deal, right? Well, when I walked in there was 50 people singing Happy Birthday to me!! I was speechless and didn't quite know what to do with myself. I do not enjoy being the center of attention so I was kinda embarrassed. lol This was when I first walked in. I was like "what in the hay is going on?" LOL


But then my brother in law, Jeff, pulls me around the corner and to my surprise one of my best friends, Melodie, was there and had driven up from Arkansas!! So overwhelmed!

And not only that but one of my very dear friends Marcia, her husband Tony, and one of their daughters Mikelle, were standing there!! I hadn't seen Marcia in about four years and they had driven up here all the way from Georgia!!! Yep, you guessed it. By this point I was crying! I still can't believe they drove all the way up here! It meant so much to me that Melodie and them drove all that way just to surprise me!!


Come to find out my sister had invited a TON of friends from different states and some friends from St. Louis, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Oregon were supposed to come but it didn't work out at the last minute...which is totally understandable. But just the thought that my awesome friends even thought about comimg all that way just to surprise me makes me feel so loved!
Marcia and I

Then I turn around and see the AMAZING display that my sister put together! It was
P-E-R-F-E-C-T!! This made turning the big "3-0" not so bad...okay well, at least right now. teehee

I LOVE all the little details!

She knows I don't like chocolate, so she did everything in white cake/white chocolate! She's so good to me! :)

I loved the "Happy Birthday, Krista" Banner!


I adore this background!! She knows how much I love the city, especially New York City...or any big city really...BUT....she also knew I'm redecorating my room and she made this out of wood (thanks to Jeff for cutting it out for her) and it will be my new headboard! YAY!! I'll be sure to post pictures once I get my room finished.

Love lanterns!

The cupcakes were amazing! I LOVE the tags on them!



I loved the tags on the plasticware too! :) The salad and fetticine was delish!

The cucumber, cheese, tomatoe and olive kabobs were wonderful!
The McDaniels, Byron and Ragen, Mike, and Jared.

Nicole, Reegan, Crystal and Justin!
My dearies!! Ree-gan and Crys-tal!

My other dearies! Andrea and Melodie!

Me and Mel with my other dearie Michelle!

Jared, Michelle and Mom, Justin with Sissy, and Katelyn with Sissy (Noelle)

Ashlyn and Mikelle, Aunt Ruth Ann-Melody-and Andrea, Byron and Ragen, and Bethany

Melody, The Smalleys, Mel & I, and Crystal

Mom and I, Ashlyn and Jeff, Robert, and Nathan

Byron, Mike, McDaniels, Larmies, Andrea, and everybody waiting for me to come in the door. Marcia/Andrea/and I talking. Dad. The Smalleys and Uncle Paul.

Crystal and Michelle. Mel with Sissy.
Nicole and Robert
Time to open presents! Got a ton of cards and gift cards! Me with the Harveys and my dearie Andrea! Can't wait to have a spa day with Andrea to celebrate our birthdays together! :)

The most amazing shoes that I adore! Thank you Harveys!!! You know me well! :)


The most amazing purse from Melodie! Thank You! Love it!


Pictures from the Photo Booth will be posted in the next post...Stay tuned!