Bad Storms… {Please pray}

***UPDATE*** {April 29th, 9:45pm.}

Hey everyone!  I’m sorry that I haven’t updated you since yesterday afternoon.   I just got home from a birthday party, so I haven’t been on the computer until now.  Anyway, we are all safe.  The storms that came in yesterday didn’t get extremely bad around our town, but several other places in North Carolina got a lot of damage in their area.  Thankfully, we just got a lot of rain and strong wind at our house. 

Thank you all for praying for us!  It means so much to read your thoughtful prayers and comments.  Have a wonderful evening! ;-)

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This is not going to be fun... Eastern Carolina has the highest risk of getting tornadoes today.  We’ve been getting some really bad weather lately and the temperatures are just right for tornados.  Would you please join me in praying for everyone in North Carolina?  I’ll update when I can… Stay safe, ya’ll!

~Emily

Almost Wordless Wednesday: Tornado Destruction

On April 16th, we had some terrible tornados come through Eastern North Carolina.  The town that we lived in for seven years before the house we’re in now was hit really bad.  We drove over on Sunday and couldn’t believe what we were looking at around us… I can’t imagine being one of the people in these houses below… It is so scary to think that one tornado did this much damage in a matter of seconds!   Tornados are seriously frightening, eye-opening, and... can be very disturbing.  I’m so thankful that our family is safe, though!  We were eating supper at my Grandma’s house during the storm, and her house was only a few miles away from where it was happening!  It was extremely scary and I hope it never happens again in my life.

My heart goes out to all the people that had their lives change this past week.  Please join me in prayer for these people.

Wordless Wednesday: Spring in NC!

    

        

Praise Him with us! {A New Update on Mom}

I just wanted to share that mom’s latest CT scan shows that fluid is GONE, that there are less cancer cells than her last appointment, and that the radiation on her esophagus is still decreasing!  This is an answer to our prayer requests!  God is so good!!!

It was hard for the nurses to find mom’s veins yesterday (when she went to the doctor appointment), so instead of three sticks, she had five this time.  She told us last night that she will be calling to see about getting a mediport appointment in May for sure. :-)

Also,  mom asked her doctor yesterday when he thinks she can stop the chemo.  For those who do not know, mom is on a maintenance dose of chemo on a four week schedule for lung cancer.  The type of lung cancer that she has responds to this mixture of chemo as long as you stay on the maintenance dose.  If you stop the chemo, within four to six weeks, the cancer would multiply rapidly.  So, at this point, she will be continuing the maintenance dose every four weeks.  Of course, we are all still trusting the Lord for complete healing in her body, but like mom said last night, “As long as I'm not sick with any other illnesses or the chemo tiredness, I am able to function at about 80% of what I used to do, so I am thankful for that.  The Lord has helped me through 2.4 years now and I'm trusting him to restore my health and that I will live a long time.”  We would much rather her live a long life and have the chemo every four weeks.  Please continue to join us in prayer for complete healing, though. 

Well,  I just wanted to give you all a little update.  We are very thankful for all the prayers you have prayed since mom’s diagnosis.  You all mean so much to our family.

In Christ,
Emily

Easter Recap 2011

Easter was a very quiet, relaxing day this year…

          

We celebrated the resurrection of Christ with joyous songs and praise at church that morning, took some pictures outside when we got home, helped mom finish pulling together lunch, enjoyed each others company, and we spontaneously decided to all pile into the van and drive through the country (to our old town we used to live in before our house now).  Last Saturday, we had some major tornados and our old town was hit pretty bad by the storms.  The damage is really hard to discribe in words, so I’m going to post some pictures later this week.  I’m so glad I brought my camera along when we drove over there on Sunday!  I feel so sorry for the people that lost their homes, and had damage to their houses and businesses.  It’s so very sad…

After we got back home, we ate some leftovers for supper, had a slice of my first ever homemade carrot cake, and then our relaxing Sunday afternoon was ended by a gorgeous sunset, and watching a movie as a family.

  These are the days that hold a special place in my heart… making memories with my family. How did you spend your Easter this year?

He is Risen!!

Because He died, we are forgiven,

Because He rose, we have hope for the future...

“God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.” {Acts 2:24}

 

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." {Matthew 28:6}    

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!  Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  {Luke 24:1~6}

May the Lord bless you today as you celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Our Savior, and may you never forget God's loving sacrifice this day! 

Have a blessed Easter!!

What I Wore Wednesday {#3} + Product Review

Today I’m linking up to Lindsey’s What I Wore Wednesday blog series! Every Wednesday she (and 150+ bloggers) post their outfits from the past week as encouragement to get dressed and show off your style to all all your blog readers. Many of my blogging friends (Sarah-Anne, Gussy, Kim, Moriah, Lisa Leonard, and Lindsey) have been linking up for a couple of weeks now, so I’ve decided to participate as well. I might not do it every week, but I thought it might be fun to do every once in awhile.

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{Yellow Shirt- Target}

{Blue Jean Skirt- Fashion Bug}

{White Earrings- JCPenny}

{Necklace- Kelly’s Creative Designs}

{White Flip Flops- Target}

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A few weeks ago, I contacted a few Etsy shops on my “favorites list” about possibly being sponsors for some giveaways or reviews on Practically Pink.  A few days later I received an email from Christa, (the owner of Bojangles Jewelry) and she said that she would love for me to review one of her items!  We started corresponding back and forth and I finally got my pretty little package in the mail on Saturday.  I also found a letter from my beautiful friend, (Lindsay from Content in Christ) in the mailbox.  Thank you, Lindsay!  :-)

Anyway,  back to the review… I ran back inside the house and told mom what had come in the mail.  I could hardly contain my excitement as I rushed around the kitchen trying to find some scissors to open up the package.  I love how Christa packaged the earrings in this cute little box, with her lovely business card, and tied it with an adorable bow.  I almost didn’t want to open up the box because it was so pretty…

That’s a BIG almost, though.  ;-)

Yep, they are absolutely beautiful…. ;-)I’m so thankful that I was able to receive them!  I am a very happy customer and I’ve already had several people comment on how much they like them too.  Christa did a wonderful job at getting the earrings here quickly, packaging the item in a very unique and creative way, and the quality of the earrings are great.  Thank you so much, Christa!!  I will definitely enjoy them.

             

{Pink Skirt- Goodwill}

{White Shirt- JCPenny}

{Pink Rosette Necklace- handmade by yours truly}

{White Shoes- Rack Room}

{Silver Branch Earrings- made by Bojangles Jewelry}

                   

Have a great rest of the week!!!

Hello Monday {2}

{Hello Monday}

{hello warm sunshine}

{hello huge mountain of laundry to be washed from the weekend}

{hello breakfast}

{hello Bible time in the sunroom}

{hello schoolwork}

{hello lunchtime}

{hello more schoolwork}

{hello running errands in town with Katie}

{hello catching up on blogging}

{hello new gorgeous blog design by my very talented friend, Megan}

….THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I love it! ;-)

{hello chatting with two friends before dinner}

{hello dinner with the family}

{hello new Chuck episode}

{hello bedtime routine}

This post was inspired by my sweet friends, Sarah-Anne and Lisa Leonard. If you want to participate in {Hello Monday} too, then please give credit to Lisa in your post. She is the first one to start this little blog series. ;-)

An Afternoon with Moriah =Lots of Pictures!!

     

Last week, I was able to do a long-awaited photo shoot with my seriously lovely friend Moriah.  The pictures we got are all so beautiful, so I decided to post them for all for you to enjoy.  Also, thank you Moriah for letting me take so many pictures of you.  I had so much fun!  ;-)

        

She is just so pretty!!  I love all her little expressions. ;-)

     

We took turns using my camera because she didn’t have enough batteries for her own that day.  Moriah took all three of the pictures of me near the tree.  She is such a good photographer!  Thank you, Moriah!

       

Pretty green leaves and blue sky…

The end!!  I hope you enjoyed our little photo shoot… Thank you all for reading Practically Pink and come back again soon.  God Bless! ;-)