that was fast

It feels like Christmas and New Years has just flown by. Its already 2013...WHAT?? Christmas was a little different this year. For the first time we didn't go and visit my family in Texas. I missed going and spending time with my extended family. It was nice and relaxing to stay here though. We had a non traditional meal and had two of my guy friends over so they didn't have to spend Christmas on their own. It was different yes but great none the less. I even got to go to go to our church's Christmas Eve service! All and all I had a great Christmas with my family. So thankful and blessed.

 

 New Year's Eve Service with the Wolf Pack (Donnally Via phone)

 Christmas Day

 

 

The Saturday after Christmas I had the privilege of singing with Durgan in my friend Julie's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding. I was so glad to be apart of it. Such a fun day and such a fun wedding. So happy for Dustin and Julie.

 

 

One of my favorite parts of break was going to see Les Miserables. I saw it twice in one weekend. Once with Nikki and once with Emily. I loved loved loved the movie! I might have even loved it more the second time around.

 

And of course what break would not be complete without a Disney movie with the bestie. So that is exactly what we did :) Pocahontas was on TV so we took advantage of that greatness!

I also got to bring in the New Year with this fun group of friends!





Christmas With the Weavers

I have mentioned in my earlier posts that I spend many of my Tuesday evenings with my friends the Weavers. I just absolutely love our time together. We have such a nice evening eating dinner, playing with the kiddos and just really enjoying each other's company. Yesterday we exchanged Christmas gifts. I love that they know me so well. I got a book and my favorite game Quelf (that I now own!!) Side note: if you are looking for a fun game to play with your friends, get Quelf. You will be laughing for hours. Love it!

One of my favorite things to do is give gifts. I got Saul a dress up costume. He is just the cutest :)

I also got to get some cuddle time in with Audrey. She is really just the sweetest baby. Love her so much :)

I just realized that I got no pictures of me and Carmen and Andrew. I guess when you are surrounded by these cuties that you tend to forget about the adults. I am so blessed by this family and they mean so much to me. So thankful that I have them in my life!

Weekend

The weekend for me started off pretty rough. I was so saddened about the shooting that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut. It just absolutely broke my heart. I cannot imagine what the family members of those who lost their lives that day felt. It made me cling to the fact that this horrible world is not my home. This weekend I counted my blessings, meditated on how thankful I was to be able to hug my mom and dad brother and sisters. My thoughts and prayers are with the families that lost daughters, sisters, brothers, sons, Mom's...

I actually ended up having a pretty nice weekend. I get off at 3 on Friday's and I got to spend the rest of the day hanging out with Parker. He's such a joy. Friday night consisted of game and Christmas movie night with friends. Frozen Hot Chocolate (which the boys did not understand ha!)  and then a sleepover with Jessica, Parker and Lori. Fun times :)

Saturday was sooo lazy. Jessica Parker and I laid around the whole morning/early afternoon. We didn't even eat lunch till 3:30. (one of those days...you know what I'm talking about) And of course what Saturday would not be complete without some shopping :).

Sunday was our last performance at church. It went absolutely beautifully. I didn't make it through one service without crying. So thankful that God sent is only son to be born in a manger, live a sinless life, and crucified on the cross for  MY sins. And so blessed in knowing that Jesus rose from the dead and He lives! Praise the Lord from whom all blessings flow :)

And of course the girls got together to watch one of our guilty pleasures. JP and Ashley's wedding. :) Looking forward to a great week ahead!

-Cassie

The Story

This Sunday is going to be the third Christmas Program. Like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts. We are doing something a little different this year. We are telling the life of Jesus in three parts. Announcement/Arrival/Atonement. This week is Atonement. This week is probably one of the most drama heaving Sunday's. We will get to see Jesus grow up, witness the miracles that He performed in the bible, His death and resurrection. My ABF class is very involved with this. Such a blessing to serve the Lord alongside some of my favorite people. If you are local you can come see our program Sunday at FBC Rogers 9:00 and 10:15. You can also stream it live at those same time at www.fbcrogers.org Here are couple of teasers.

This is a clip from part of the miracles. My friend Alex plays the dead girl's dad. He does such a good job.

This is part of the song that my friend Beau sings. Jesus grows from a baby to an adult during this song. 

 



 

I couldn't resist putting a picture up of my three favorite Roman Soldiers :)

 

I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store this week. We have already had many salivations and many people wanting to join our church. God is good!


-Cassie

Love :)

I was checking out one of my favorite wedding blogs The wedding Post and to my surprise the post today was covering my best friend's engagement session. So sweet :) I'm hoping this means that they will be covering the wedding too! So So Fun! Congratulations Donnally and JR.

http://www.theweddingpost.net/2012/12/arkansas-engagement-donnally-jr.html?showComment=1355331368716#c2846229024999249951

Go check it out you won't be disappointed. Their pictures are to die for. They are one of the most beautiful couples you will meet (inside and out). I'm so blessed to be apart of their big day in June. Love you guys :)


-Cassie

Quick update

Once again it has been a LONG time since I updated my blog. Maybe it should be one of my new goals to start blogging more. I really do enjoy it I just keep forgetting to update things on here. So here we go again I'll just start from December . I'll try to update more often :)

One of my favorite things to do is go see Christmas lights. The first weekend in December me and some of my friends went to Fayetteville square and spent the evening enjoying each other's company and the lights. It was weird being the first day of December and not needing a coat at all. The weather was absolutely perfect .

One thing that has taken up a lot of time the past couple weeks is getting ready for our Christmas Programs. We are doing things a Little different this year and I am loving it. We are telling the whole story in three parts. Announcement/Arrival/Atonement. It's been keeping me busy but it is all worth it. Last week my precious 4 year old choir got to sing. They did so good and are just the cutest.

As you read in some of my earlier posts one of my best friends Donnally is getting married next summer. Me and a few of my friends went to meet her at a local dress shop to look at her final two choices (by the way we have been to multiple stores in different cities, and even states and she has tried on 65ish dresses). We were in for a big surprise when she found a special way to ask us to be in her wedding. It was so sweet and we had a blast. Not to mention that she said YES to the dress. She is going to be gorgeous :)

Have I mentioned lately that I just love my church family? Because I really really do. We have a great small group with some of my very favorite people and some of my very best friends. We always have the best time together and our Christmas party was no exception. I am beyond blessed to have these people in my life and serve along side them.

On another note. I found out last Thursday that my Grandpa Rudy had passed away. He hadn't been in the best health but it's still hard. I wanted to go and be with my family and my grandma especially but there was just so much going on here that it didn't work out. I know everyone understood but it was still a little sad that I could not be there. My mom and dad were able to make the 11 hour trip though. I will miss him but I know that I will see him again. So thankful that I have the peace and comfort of knowing that.

So there is my December so far in a glance. I'm looking forward to more great things to come. It is the Most Wonderful Time of Year :)

Memo

I haven't blogged in a little while. I have been thinking about what I want to write about and I couldn't think of anything better than a tribute to my sweet sweet grandma. My Memo recently passed away. It wasn't a total surprise since she had Alzheimer's but it was still really hard to deal with. She was put in the ICU and then an hour later she was gone. My family and I left the next day and headed for Texas. One thing about funerals is that it brings people together. We had a lot of really good family time and had some good conversations remembering Memo.

My grandma was one of the sweetest people you will ever meet. She never met a stranger and she was always eager to help out in any she could. I would say that she was a great example of a Proverbs 31 woman. I am honored to call her my grandma. She did a lot of good and touched a lot of people's lives in the 81 years she was on this earth. She is missed dearly and I think of her often. I am so thankful that I will get to see her again in heaven.

One of the fun things that I got to do while I was there was sing with my cousins and my sister Chelsea. Joel played the guitar, Jonathan did vocals and guitar, and Chelsea and I did vocals. It was such a fun experience and blessing to sing with them. We sang 4 songs at the memorial service and two songs at the funeral. And I actually sang in Spanish!! I know that it was something that my Memo would have loved so much. At both the memorial service and the funeral it was like a worship service. All in all, even though it was really really hard at times, I spent a wonderful weekend with my family. I am blessed to have an amazing Godly family.

 This is one of my favorite pictures of my grandma

All the girl grandkids with Empo

All the boys

Story time with Empo after the funeral

The handsome Paul Bearers

All the girls with Empo