God's Amazing Plans for Our Family

Isn’t it amazing how God works in the most remarkable ways? Chris and I have seen this time and time again over the last few years. We know without a doubt that we serve a Mighty and Powerful God who has everything planned perfectly for our life together, yet we still are amazed daily by his miracles and blessings in our life.

Over the past month, God has placed another blessing on our life. We are excited to announce that our family will be moving to the Birmingham area soon. Starting on Father’s Day, Chris will be the new worship leader at Union Hill Baptist Church in Bessemer, AL. We are so excited about where God is leading us and we are looking forward to serving in their church. We however, are sad to say goodbye to some of the most loving people at Gordo First Baptist Church.

The families, women and men at Gordo have welcomed our family with open arms from the first day that we showed up at their church. We have always felt loved and cared for and it’s going to be so hard to tell them goodbye. As I look back over the past 2 years that we have been at Gordo, I start understanding more and more why God lead us there to begin with. When we became members of Gordo, Colton was 1.5 years old and was struggling with his speech and communication. Being a mom, I knew that our little boy was behind in certain areas and I struggled everyday knowing that he was delayed. It was then that the precious ladies of Gordo prayed over me and encouraged me each and every step of the way. They prayed for our precious boy and prayed for our family, time and time again. It’s now that I realize that God sent us to Gordo not only to Glorify and to Worship Him but also so that we would be blessed with Godly men and women who would lift up our little boy in prayer each and every day for us. When I think about these ladies/men who prayed for our family, tears begin to flow down my face because I could never thank them enough for all of their prayers and support. They have meant more than they will ever know to our family and we are forever grateful to have gotten to know each and every one of them over the past 2 years.

To our church family at Gordo:
Chris, Colton and I love each and every one of you so much and we are so blessed that you have stood by us and have prayed and encouraged our family throughout the past 2 years. You have known us throughout what seemed like the darkest moments of our life and you have reminded us that God is faithful to His children. Thank you so much for loving our little boy, for encouraging me and for accepting our family into your church family. We love you all so much and you will forever be remembered in our family. We look forward to keeping in touch with you all and one day visiting you and showing you the miracles of God throughout our little boy. Thank you so much, we love each and every one of you.

April 27th 2011 Tornados

If you live in Tuscaloosa, April 27th 2011 will always be a day that you will remember. It was a sad day where many people lost their homes and loved ones. A day that we all will never forget…

I remember waking up early on that Wednesday morning to find out that the schools were closed due to the coming storms that would be arriving that afternoon. Colton’s preschool was closed as well, so I called into work and told them that I would have to stay home with him that morning. After waking up, Colton and I grabbed some breakfast at Chick fil A and played at the house until around lunch. I’ve never been a huge fan of storms, so we decided to head over to my parents house that afternoon. Chris was working at the church and the last place I wanted to be was at our house alone with little man when the storms arrived. Another factor of heading to my parents was that their neighbor Scott had a storm pit we could get in if the weather got really bad. I remember arriving at my parents with the sun still shining. If the storms were coming, they seemed far away because the weather was beautiful and Colton was able to play outside for most of the early afternoon. Dad, Colton and I even headed into town to grab some ice cream and smoothies at Dairy Queen around 1:30pm before we put Colton down for a nap. Once we arrived back home, Colton laid down for a nap while Dad and I watched the storms on TV. It wasn’t much longer, when we watched one tornado rip through Cullman. It was unreal and huge!! Mom shortly arrived home and Chris called within a few minutes to inform me he was heading our way as well. It wasn’t much longer when James Span said that everyone in the Coker area needed to find shelter soon. We then all loaded up (except dad) and headed to Scott’s storm pit along with Donna, Carter, Scott’s daughter and granddaughters. If you know my dad, you would know he has never been a fan of storm pits. He told us he was going to stay at home; however about 5 minutes after we left he entered the storm pit as well. He said he saw the tornado on the TV entering Tuscaloosa County and that it was huge. Luckily, the storm passed us, but hit Tuscaloosa hard. 15th Street, parts of McFarland and Alberta were gone! I remember feeling numb the next few days trying to imagine what just took place in a city that I have loved my entire life. So many people lost lives, homes and loved ones from one tornado on April 27th. Even though it was a terrible event, my community has pulled together and it is simply amazing to see so many people helping others out there. I also have to remind myself, that my God is sooooo much more powerful than that one tornado and that He is Faithful! He will be with us each and every step of the way!

Nashville Trip

Chris and I headed to Nashville a few weekends ago for our 5th Anniversary. We had planned on going to New Orleans, but about a week before the trip, we changed our mind and headed to Nashville. We both LOVE Nashville, so we were both excited in the last minute decision.

We headed up to Nashville Thursday morning after dropping Colton off at Chris' parents house and stopping by Chick fil A. We finally arrived in Nashville around lunch and headed to our favorite mall, The Opry Mills Mall for some shopping and lunch. We grabbed some burritos at Blue Coast Burritos and then walked about the mall until it was time to check in to the hotel.

At 3pm, we headed over to the Gaylord Opry Resort to check in. We've both been to the hotel before but we have never stayed there, so we were supper excited to experience the stay at the hotel. It was beautiful and soooo nice!! We walked around the hotel and relaxed before heading to eat dinner at the Cock of the Walk. I knew Chris would love it because he is a huge seafood fan and they have the best fish ever!! It was sooooo yummy and we both agreed that it was our favorite meal of the trip. We can't wait to go back!

Friday morning, we woke up and headed to downtown Nashville. We decided just to walk around and browse all the shops and stores before grabbing lunch at Jacks BBQ. Lunch was wonderful and it was such a cute little local place to eat lunch at. After lunch, Chris decided to do a little photography around downtown. (See pictures below)

Since it was a little chilly, we decided to head back to the car and we were on a mission to find Gigi's Cupcakes.

We finally found GiGi's so we grabbed some cupcakes to eat back at the hotel. Chris choose Wedding Cake and I had the Peanut Butter Chocolate Cup.

Before heading back to the hotel we spent about an hour in Lifeway Christian Bookstore looking at CD's and books. Once back at the hotel, we enjoyed our wonderful cupcakes!!

They were sooooo yummy!!!

After relaxing and taking an afternoon nap, we headed to the Aquarium Restaurant for dinner and then to the Opry to see Vince Gill, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. The Opry was great and while watching the show we enjoyed some great kettle corn.

Before heading home Saturday morning, we walked around the hotel one last time. The hotel was beautiful!

We had a wonderful trip, but we were so excited to see Colton once we got home. I think he was glad to see mommy and daddy as well.

Our lazy weekend at home

We had a wonderful weekend at home this past week. It's always so nice to spend the weekend at home with my two favorite boys.

Friday night, I cooked a mean Hamburger Steak, Mashed Potatoes and well some interesting Heart Shapped Biscuts and some terrible gravy. Chris wasn't too impressed with the gravy and neither was I. haha! After dinner and putting Colton to bed, we watched Mall Cop. I didn't even make it through the first 10 minutes before falling asleep. (This happens almost every time I watch a movie)

Saturday morning, Colton and I met Sarah and her precious little girl Byrnn at Chick fil A for breakfast and a playdate. The kids had a great time and it was so nice to catch up with Sarah. (We've been friends since Elementary School, and it's been great getting to experience mommyhood with her) After breakfast, Colton and I headed to Publix for our weekly grocery trip, back home to play in the playroom, then to Taco Casa to pick up lunch and then back home to enjoy an afternoon nap. Saturday night, we played in the playroom, had dinner and then I watched Miss America while Colton was sound asleep and Chris was working on stuff for church the next day.

Sunday morning, we had a wonderful church service, followed by lunch at the church. Once we got home, Colton and I watched Fame (Don't recommend) while enjoying a bag of chips (you should have seen the boy digging into the bag for more.. haha) and snuggling on the bed. After afternoon naps, Colton headed to Big Daddy's and Nana's house for a spend the night party. Chris picked up pizzas and we watched the Grammy's for a very interesting show. All in all it was a fantastic weekend at home and we're already looking forward to our next one in a few days!

Weekend at the Whitaker House

Friday Night -- Chris and I met up with some friends at Brown's Corner for a 30th birthday party for one of our friends. The food was great and it was so nice to spend time with everyone.

Saturday -- After a morning trip to the grocery store I picked up breakfast at Chick fil A. Colton must have been starving because he ate every single hashbrown in the box!!! After breakfast, we all played a little bit before Colton went down for a morning nap. For lunch, we all headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Iguana Grill. Colton was the sweetest boy and was great during lunch. He loved looking at all the decorations and he was all about the group of sorority girls sitting right by us. After lunch, we all headed home to play and to take afternoon naps. For dinner, we had homemade pizza and afternoon Colton went to bed Chris and I watched Night at the Museum.

Sunday -- Church was Amazing!! We are really enjoying the new contemporary worship service at Gordo. It's been wonderful to see what God is doing at Gordo. After church, we headed home for lunch. We made Bama Steak Sandwiches and they were AMAZING!! If you need anything quick and easy, then you should try these.

After lunch, playing with Colton and some more afternoon naps, Chris headed back to church, while Colton and I stayed home to clean the house and to cook supper. I attempted Beef Stew for the first time and it was wonderful. Colton took an early bath and was in bed before daddy got home.

What a wonderful weekend!!

Jessica's Holiday Shower

My cousin Jessica is getting married in June and she had a Holiday Shower a few weeks ago. It was so much fun and I'm already looking forward to many more showers to attend this spring. Here is a picture of all the Leonard girls (except Valerie). Mom, Tara, Aunt Melinda, Jessica, Aunt Janice and Aunt Donna. I'm so blessed to have such great role models in my life. I love each and every one of them!

Christmas Decorations

Last Saturday during the day, Colton and I put up the Christmas tree in our living room. Colton was a great helper, however, once the Christmas tree was up with all the ornaments on it, he wanted to take them all off. This resulting in the tree tipping over (Luckily I caught it in time before it crashed). After a few "No's and spankings, he left the tree alone for good. He loved all the lights and the bright colorful ornaments! His favorites of the day however, were the singing Mickey Mouse and Santa Claus. I think I heard those things pretty much all day long! We now have to hide them unless we want to hear them non-stop. haha!

Pictures to come soon!!

Updated on the Whitaker's

Chris, Colton and I have been super busy over the past few weeks. It seems like every weekend we have something to do. Whether it be football games, church, family dinners, etc., we are always on the go! However, we are loving every minute of it.

Update on Colton:

Colton is growing so fast right before our eyes. He is the typical BOY and loves everything that is fast! He loves cars, trucks and climbing on the furniture in our house. He loves to play outside and adores Sid the Science Kid (cartoon). He loves mommy but recently has become a daddy's boy. (However, he chooses mommy still when he is hurt or sleepy)

Update on Chris:

Chris is enjoying his new job over at Gordo First Baptist and we couldn't have asked for a better church to attend. Everyone has been so welcoming and we are feeling right at home. Chris is doing a great job and I am soooo proud of him. We are looking forward to starting the new contemporary service in Janurary and ready to see what God has in store for us.

Update on Me:

I'm loving every minute of being a wife and mommy to Chris and Colton. I'm blessed everyday that I get to spend with them!

Update on Our Families:

Big Daddy and Nana are doing great and they love getting to spend time with their favorite grandson! They continue to spoil him everyday, but that's what grandparents are for!

Granny and Pawpaw are still keeping Colton everyday and they love it! I'm sure Colton keeps them busy all day long though.

Rob and Valerie are doing good as well. However, Rob fell from a tree on Halloween and broke his leg. He has already had one surgery and is scheduled to have another one next week. It's going to be a long process to get his leg well again, so please keep him in your prayers.

Alabama Tennessee Game

Here are a few of the guys and Le'Ron McClain before the Alabama Tennessee Game!

Sens De Vie World Tour

A few weeks ago, one of our friends, Heath Cooper, hosted the Send De Vie World Tour (The Meaning of Life) at the Bama Theater. It involved Illusionist Harris III, Don B and Everlife. It was a great event and we all had so much fun helping Heath throughout the day.

Merchandise and Product Table Helpers: Amanda, Jennifer and Tara

Some of the guys hanging out before the show.

The show was AMAZING!!! Probably one of my favorite parts of the show was where Harris creates snow. Here is a great picture of part of that act!

Roll Tide Roll!!

Show us your Life -- Tailgates and Football Teams!

Here in Tuscaloosa, we love football! The entire fall season is pretty much revolved around football games and tailgates on the quad. Here are some of my favorite pictures at the University of Alabama.

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!

Tailgating on the Quad with friends....

Sips & Strokes... Painting Big Al

Colton last year.. I loved his Alabama wind suit outfit

Sound asleep after watching the game

Halloween 2008 ... Alabama Football Player and Big Al

Alabama Facts:

How the Crimson Tide Got its Name

In early newspaper accounts of Alabama football, the team was simply listed as the "varsity" or the "Crimson White" after the school colors.
The first nickname to become popular and used by headline writers was the "Thin Red Line." The nickname was used until 1906.
The name "Crimson Tide" is supposed to have first been used by Hugh Roberts, former sports editor of the Birmingham Age-Herald. He used "Crimson Tide" in describing an Alabama-Auburn game played in Birmingham in 1907, the last football contest between the two schools until 1948 when the series was resumed. The game was played in a sea of mud and Auburn was a heavy favorite to win.
But, evidently, the "Thin Red Line" played a great game in the red mud and held Auburn to a 6-6 tie, thus gaining the name "Crimson Tide." Zipp Newman, former sports editor of the Birmingham News, probably popularized the name more than any other writer.

The Elephant Story

The story of how Alabama became associated with the "elephant" goes back to the 1930 season when Coach Wallace Wade had assembled a great football team.
On October 8, 1930, sports writer Everett Strupper of the Atlanta Journal wrote a story of the Alabama-Mississippi game he had witnessed in Tuscaloosa four days earlier. Strupper wrote, "That Alabama team of 1930 is a typical Wade machine, powerful, big, tough, fast, aggressive, well-schooled in fundamentals, and the best blocking team for this early in the season that I have ever seen. When those big brutes hit you I mean you go down and stay down, often for an additional two minutes.
"Coach Wade started his second team that was plenty big and they went right to their knitting scoring a touchdown in the first quarter against one of the best fighting small lines that I have seen. For Ole Miss was truly battling the big boys for every inch of ground.
"At the end of the quarter, the earth started to tremble, there was a distant rumble that continued to grow. Some excited fan in the stands bellowed, 'Hold your horses, the elephants are coming,' and out stamped this Alabama varsity.
"It was the first time that I had seen it and the size of the entire eleven nearly knocked me cold, men that I had seen play last year looking like they had nearly doubled in size."
Strupper and other writers continued to refer to the Alabama linemen as "Red Elephants," the color referring to the crimson jerseys.
The 1930 team posted an overall 10-0 record. It shut out eight opponents and allowed only 13 points all season while scoring 217. The "Red Elephants" rolled over Washington State 24-0 in the Rose Bowl and were declared National Champions.

Pictures and Gordo First Baptist

Yesterday, Mom and I took Colton to B'Ham to have his pictures made by Amanda Trawick at Precious Memories. He did so good and was such an energetic little boy while she was taking his pictures. I can't wait to see some of the pictures she got, they are going to be great! Especially the ones with him in his Alabama Football Jersey and Houndstooth hat! After pictures, we headed to Home Goods to take care of some Christmas shopping and then it was time for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants in B'Ham, Jim & Nicks. After lunch, we stopped by Target and Ross before heading home!

Last night, Chris, Colton and I went to Gordo First Baptist for their family night. We had some amazing Italian food and everyone was so welcoming! We're really looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us at Gordo. (If most of you don't know, Chris just took the Music Minster job there this past Sunday). We're going to miss Five Points, but we're so excited about being at Gordo.

Concert

Chris and I went last night to Valley View to hear Avalon and Selah in concert. It was amazing!! We had such a good time. Thanks to The Hall's for inviting us!

Weekend Plans

I'm sooooo looking forward to a weekend of relaxing, spending time with my family and or course watching some Alabama Football!!! ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!

Weekend Plans

My weekend plans consist of:

Dinner with my wonderful and amazing husband at Iguana Grill tonight. We love some Mexican Food!

Going shopping at The Little Lambs Consignment Sale in Tuscaloosa tomorrow morning with one of my best friends Sarah. (She won't be in labor this time!! haha... Last time we went to a consignment sale together she went into labor and delivered her precious little girl Byrnn within hours of returning home.)

Going wedding dress and bridesmaid dress shopping with Jess tomorrow!


Cooking Grilled Bruschetta Chicken and Fresh vegetables for dinner tomorrow night for Chris and Colton.


And enjoying every single minute of being a mommy and a wife to such a wonderful husband and son! I love my life!

Dinner with Friends

Here are a few pictures of Colton with our friends Zack and Kara. We had dinner with them a few weeks ago in Birmingham. It was so nice to see them since we haven't seen them in almost a year. We miss them so much!

Date Night

Chris and I are going on a much needed date tonight, while Colton spends the night with Big Daddy and Nana. We're going to eat at Iguana Grill and if we feel up to it, we may even catch a movie. We're so excited about getting to spend some time together before he heads out in the morning for singing.

Fire + Ice

Last Thursday night, Chris and I went with Heath and LeAnn to Fire + Ice in B'Ham to eat dinner. It was wonderful and we are already looking forward to going back again soon! If you haven't been you really need to go and try it out. It's a restaurant like you have never been to before! They have a variety of raw vegetables, raw meats and sauces and you combine any combination you want into a bowl and then they will cook it for you over the large round oven in the middle of their restaurant. They also have a salad bar, but we all headed straight to the real food! My first trip, I got pasta, mushrooms, snap peas, broccoli, squash, onions, pineapple, chicken and shrimp with a Honey Garlic Sauce. It was soooo good!!! Then I tried fajitas (chicken, shrimp, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and a fajita sauce). They were wonderful as well. Chris loved the steak and shrimp and he visited the grill a few times before we all got stuffed from eating so much. We decided to try the fondue as well, however, we weren't too impressed with it. Next time, we will stick with the all you can eat buffet. We're looking forward to our next trip real soon!

#10 Completed off 101 in 1001 days

#4 in Progress

Flower Bed Guests

Last Friday morning when we were getting ready to head to the zoo, I walked outside to see some neighborhood visitors in our flower bed. Yes, three ducks were playing in our flower bed. They scared me to death!! After I got Chris and Colton to come outside, Chris ran them off and we noticed that they had dug a hold in the flower bed. Hopefully they weren't laying eggs!

Bama Belle Cruise

Here are a few pictures from our Bama Belle Cruise last Saturday. We all had a great time!!

I love this man!

A few of the girls... Tara, Charity, Trish, Jane and Sarah

The Group in front of the Bama Belle.