"God Gave Me You"

When looking thru these new pics yesterday the song "God Gave Me You" kept ringing in my head. "God gave me you for the ups and downs, God gave me you for the days of doubt..." I am so grateful for Luke and for the relationship that we have. In the past 7 years of marriage, and 11 years of being together we have had A LOT of ups and downs. Life has happened and things have not always turned out how we thought they would. But I can say with 100% certainty that there is no one I would rather go thru life with. Luke is my best friend and the other half of me.

I LOVE YOU Luke!!

I’ve been a walking heartache

I’ve made a mess of me
The person that I’ve been lately
Ain’t who I wanna be

But you stay here right beside me
Watch as the storm goes through
And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
*If* There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

There’s more here than what were seeing
A divine conspiracy
That you, an angel lovely
Could somehow fall for me
You’ll always be love’s great martyr
Ill be the flattered fool
and I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
*If* There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
For when I think I’ve lost my way
*If* There are no words here left to say, it’s true
God gave me you, gave me you.
Gave me you.

Images by Krystle K Photography - www.krystlekphotography.blogspot.com

No Matter What

So much has been going on in the Graham household lately that it is really hard to know where to start. Pain, Sickness, Death, Sadness, Heartache have all been a very tangible part of our lives for the past 2 weeks. It has been a difficult season to say the least, and as we continue to walk thru this time our lives the faithfulness of God continues to be just as real and tangible as the pain and heartache.

During this season my anthem has become Kerrie Robert's song No Matter What. The words have been healing to my soul as it she has expressed in this song the very feelings I have inside.

"No matter what, I’m gonna love You. No matter what I’m gonna need You. I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain, But if not, if not, I’ll trust You no matter what."

You see no matter what happens in life, no matter what comes my way, no matter what God gives me, or no matter what God might choose to never give me, i'm going to love Him, and i'm going to need Him, and i'm going to trust Him.

I am going to ask why? I am going to be sad. That is natural, I am human, but I am also His daughter. He loves me. He knows what is best for me, and He has whispered to me during this storm... "I've got this." The love and faithfulness of God is indescribable! The legacy of faith, passed down to me by my family, has given me the foundation to stand firm on and say "no matter what."

"NO MATTER WHAT" - Kerrie Roberts

I’m running back to Your promises one more time
Lord that’s all I can hold on to
I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises You
Before a heartache can ever touch my life
It has to go through Your hands
And even though I keep asking why, I keep asking why

No matter what, I’m gonna love You
No matter what I’m gonna need You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, if not, I’ll trust You no matter what, no matter what

When I’m stuck in this nothingness by myself
I’m just sitting in silence
There’s no way I can make it without Your help, I won’t even try it
I know You have Your reasons for everything so I will keep believing
Whatever I might be feeling, God You are my hope
And You will be my strength

Anything I don’t have You can give it to me, but it’s OK if You don’t
I’m not here for those things
The touch of Your love is enough on its own
No matter what I still love You and I’m gonna need You

No matter what I’m gonna love You, no matter what I’m gonna need You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, if not, I’ll trust You
I know You can find a way to keep me from the pain
But if not, but if not, I’ll trust You

No matter what
No matter no matter what
No matter no matter what
No matter no matter what

CHARTING!!!

So Since October's new single "The Way You Move" is doing really well on the charts right now! We found out today that it is #19 on the Active Rock Charts and steadily climbing... that's HUGE!! They are surrounded on the charts by all the "super bands" of our time. Not a bad place to be! Luke is super pleased with the progress of this song, and it comes at a really great time, as they are heading out on 2 huge tours soon, Saving Abel in September and Sevendust/Ten Years in October.

Grocery Shopping Trip #2

Ok, so today I went to Publix again to buy groceries. I went armed with an envelope full of coupons and a list that was way to detailed and organized. But all the hours spent organizing my list, cutting coupons, and planning meals paid off... I spent $51.08 and I saved $51.93!!!!!! I saved more than a spent (barely... I recognize that :) But I still saved more than I spent!!!!)

Here is what I got for $51.08....

6 boxes of pasta

2 boxes of velvetta cheese

2 boxes of texas toast

2 cans of pasta sauce

flour

eggs

1 box of beef patties

1 (2lb) bag of chicken breast

1lb of ground beef

2 bags of frozen vegetables

1 bag of egg noodles

2 bags of shredded cheese

2 packs of Kraft singles

2 gallons of water

2 bottles of mustard

2 Old Spice Deodorants

2 Old Spice Body Wash

2 bottles of BBQ sauce

2 boxes of cake mix

1 sour cream

1 bottle of laundry detergent

1 package of hotdog buns

1 package of hamburger buns

1 package of carrots

Because of all the food I have gotten in the past 2 weeks I don't plan on grocery shopping for a couple of weeks. Here are the meals that I have planned...

Spaghetti & Meatballs w/ garlic bread

Chicken Alfredo w/ garlic bread

Chicken Tostados w/ salad

BBQ chicken sandwiches w/ veggies

Hotdogs w/ mac & cheese

Hamburgers w/ veggies

Chicken and noodles

We are not "cook every night" people, simply because LG and J are gone so much, and because my work schedule is so crazy. So these meals will last us several weeks!! I am also good on toiletries, laundry detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. So if I do have to run to the store it will only be for milk and possibly bread!!

It's your life...

It's your life
What you gonna do?
The world is watching you
Every day the choices you make
Say what you are and who
Your heart beats for 
It's an open door
It's your life

Sent from my iPhone

What can you buy for $53.63??

All of this!!!!

The day has finally come, I have given in to the couponing craze!! Today I went to Publix with my first batch of coupons and got the following items...

4 Totinos Pizzas

5 boxes of Cereal

2 bags of Salad

2 packages of hotdogs

2 packages of bratwurst

1 package of breakfast sausage

1 whole chicken

2 boxes of aluminum foil

2 packages of break and bake cookies

2 boxes of potatoes

paper plates

coffee filters

1 can of black beans

1 can of spaghetti o's

2 boxes of mac & cheese

Butter

Don't judge my food choices... Luke is home most of this month, and Jessica moves in on Friday, so a lot of the "unhealthy" choices were for them.

I'm just stoked that I was able to buy $97 worth of groceries for $53!!!

The newest member of our family...

A child?? You seriously thought I might mean a child?? No sillies... it's a GUITAR! Yep, another guitar has entered the Graham Household. Luke recently sold the blue PRS, and replaced it with a black PRS.

Not exciting for most people, but this is the world we live in :)

And just for fun... here is one of the newest, and my new favorite, picture of Luke at work...

Yep! That's my husband!

Baby Shower... Numero Dos

Last weekend I had the privilege of helping with the baby shower for our 24/7 Pastor and his wife, Justin and Stefanie. They will be welcoming baby Bentley into their family in October.

Stef has an ultra cool, ultra modern nursery with a gray/black/white theme, so we played off her nursery theme for the shower decor.

Because Stef is a HUGE pasta lover we did an Italian menu complete with 3 types of pasta dishes, bread sticks, salad, and bruschetta!! So Yum!

The "take home" for Stefanie's shower were these precious custom candy bars made by one of the girls in our church! They were super precious!

Another AMAZING cake by Becky Strite!! Seriously, this girl is ridiculously good!

The frames on the mantle are actually pieces that Stefanie will be using in Bentley's room. There are framed pieces of his bedding fabric.

Babies, Babies, Everywhere...

So most of you know that within our church... within our circle of friends... within our staff :) there are a plethora of pregnant mommies!!! New mommies who are all carrying precious little BOYS!!! There are seriously 5 little staff baby boys who will be born in the next 4 months, and I have had the privilege of helping out with several of the baby showers.

The first shower that occurred was for our good friends, and neighbors, Jordan and Kristin. Jordan is the Worship Pastor at Bayside and Kristin is the Creative Coordinator. They will be welcoming baby Cohen into the world next Tuesday, and you had better believe that Luke and I will be there to welcome him too!

The shower was amazing!! Amazing food, Amazing friends, and a pretty Amazing Mommy to Be!

A smash cake for Daddy... he's a big time hunter :)

AMAZING cake, made by Becky Strite (she taught our cake decorating small group).

Dessert table! The onesie cookies where individually wrapped and given as the "take home".

Candy Bar!!

I LOVE to plan a good party!! Especially when I get to plan one for such amazing friends!

Cookies!!

Tonight was the final night of my cake decorating class and we
decorated sugar cookies!! They are definitely a lot of work :) But
they turned out pretty cute.

I have loved this class! So much fun! Such great girls! It was awesome!

Uhhhh.... Look what I made :)

Entrusted... that's a big job.

"When you marry someone, you are entrusted with the heart of another human being. Whatever else your life's great mission will entail, loving and defending this heart next to you is part of your great quest." - John Eldridge

Cake Decorating: Part 2

So we had our second cake decorating small group tonight and we made
cupcakes! Here is a pic of the cupcakes I made...

Introducing...

The ribbon flower bow! The newest addition to the Jax & Jill product
line!

Where am I??

Loving God, and Loving Others...

Oh how I get this WRONG so much of the time.

Father forgive me.

Help me to never excuse my evil actions, no matter how tired, or busy, or stressed I might be. Help me to never think that the work I am doing for you is more important than loving your people.

Father forgive me.

Make this true in my life Father... "April is patient and kind; April does not envy or boast; April is not arrogant or rude. April does not insist on her own way; April is not irritable or resentful; April does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth. April bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."

Father forgive me.

THE SHOW!!!

Today we received some VERY exciting news! One of Since October's new songs titled "The Show" is going to be used as the Theme Song for Wrestlemania XXVI!!! This is HUGE!!!

Wrestlemania is like the Superbowl of wrestling entertainment! It is the WWE's biggest payperview event! It will be watched live by millions of people all around the world on March 28th!

The WWE will be using the song to promote wrestlemania, so "The Show" will be featured on all of the WWE programs leading up to the event (RAW, SMACKDOWN, NXT, ect.) WWE programming reaches nearly 16 million people per week in the U.S., and is available to nearly 500 million homes worldwide. This will be incredible exposure for Since October and a milestone in Luke's career. What a great way to start off the sophomore record!

I am so proud of Luke and how hard he has worked to get to this point, but the thought that has been going through my head all day is: God is faithful. If we are diligent to the call He has put on our lives, he is faithful. I am so honored and grateful that God has called us to do ministry in the way that we are doing it. It has been a very trying ride, but God is Faithful! He is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine!

What do you think this could be???

Look what I made!!

So tonight was the first night of the cake decorating small group that
I am attending, and this is what I made. Not a bad start, if I do say
so myself :)

I am so stoked about this small group. Because of Mom and Janet I have
such fond childhood memories of late nights with them being in the
dining room decorating a birthday cake or a wedding cake. Tonight I
was surrounded by cake and the smell of buttercream icing and it
totally took me back to those days.

I'm excited to learn more! I can't wait for our next class in 2 weeks!

This Guy...

Oh how I LOVE this guy!!

It's not our anniversary, it's not Valentine's day, it's not his birthday... it's just Monday, March 1st, and I just want to say how much I LOVE this guy.

God has blessed me immeasurably more than I could ask or imagine in so many areas of my life. But in regards to my husband, He hit this one out of the park!