Audra Jennings

Through good and bad, cling to God’s strength Sarah E. Ladd’s The Headmistress of Rosemere reminds us everything is in God’s hands Life is unexpected. Each day holds new surprises — some exciting, others unwanted. What matters most is how we respond to those trying situations. Sarah E. Ladd reminds us the importance of clinging to God to get us through the mountains and valleys of life in The Headmistress of Rosemere (Thomas Nelson/December 31, 2013/ISBN: 978-1-4016-8836-3/$15.99) . Ladd hopes The Headmistress of Rosemere , book two of The Whispers on the Moors series , will encourage readers to look for help in the right place. “I think a lot of people look within themselves to try to find answers to their problems,” explains Ladd. “But if we look to ourselves for solutions, we will be disappointed. Instead, we should take our problems, cares, and worries to God and lay them at His feet. Pray about them. Ask God to make His plans known. When we do this, amazing thin

...when it comes to my hair anyway! I really liked how I got it cut last time, but my hair grows so very fast that I decided to go shorter this time. You should have seen the pile of hair. Probably 5 inches off the back.  The first time I try to straighten or curl it, I'll berate myself for cutting it off because I'll hate it short and wish I'd kept more length. It's all a cycle, I'll grow it back out long.  Here's to hoping next year is more exciting and my blog posts won't consist of boring posts about hair cuts.  I do go to the dentist on Friday. I promise not to bore you with details. ;)

The kids really didn't know what I was going to teach about though they may have skipped if they did. I may teach it again next week since Peyton was out of town. After stubbornly refusing to go to Waxahachie and Cedar Hill to exchange some of HER Christmas presents after all of us tried to convince her she needed to go (me, her dad, my mom), she lost out could have used a firm talking to. Since we had a low turnout in class, our songs needed more work than usual. I thought they had one, then they didn't. They told me they had another one, then they didn't.

I successfully lobbied for Saving Mr. Banks rather than Madea for our annual Christmas Eve dinner (Applebee's was open until 2 AM) and movie. Dad thought it was going to be a silly comedy, but it's actually a drama. A sad one at that! But, oh-so good! He really liked it, but said watching Tom Hanks made him think Forrest Gump. He looks nothing like Forrest Gump anymore. That's his mental hang-up. The trailer below has more of the lighter-hearted moments. The movie is actually two-fold. One aspect of the story is about Walt Disney trying to convince the author of Mary Poppins , Mrs. Travers, to sign over the rights to make her books into a movie. She's very stubborn and is afraid of the spectacle he might turn her story into (NO ANIMATION!). The other half of the movie is a series of memories as to why Mary Poppins (never just Mary) is so close to Mrs. Travers heart--why Mary is family. Very serious. The movie is PG-13 mainly because of this part. Afterwar

Here are a few pictures from our Christmas day. It was a bit of a long day waiting for Brian, Paige and Peyton to be able to come, but we had a great time. Then, almost all fell out asleep on the couch. Mom wanted individual pictures of everyone in front of the fireplace. Here's Dad! We didn't get pictures of everyone in front of the fireplace. Mom and Dad Digging in! Peyton opening a pair of shoes she had already gotten an identical pair of several days before. Dad telling Mom to pay attention to what she was opening. Paige opening her Monsters Inc. and Monsters University DVDs. Making bracelets isn't all that easy. Paige looking at the scrapbook. Mom is reading it too. Brian's out. (By this time Paige was almost out in the chair, Peyton was laying on Mom, and I was getting drowsy.) I got my picture made. Mom has pics of me with Peyton's headband on, but I didn't have them on my camera.

With minutes to spare by deadline, and while working before and after my Christmas party in order to get the most discounts, I finished the photo book of my family's summer vacation to give my parents and my nieces. Here's how it turned out! *As of 5/20/17, Shutterfly made me remove the widget.

Merry Christmas to one and all! Hopefully you are stuffed to the brim with good food, fun, family and friends. I also hope Santa brought you all that was on your list!  Back to regular blogging tomorrow! I'll share pictures from my Christmas. Hope you enjoy the end of the 12 Pearls of Christmas series. Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series ! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days. We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below! The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog . *** Do You Hear What I Hear? by Cynthia Ruchti To shepherds? Really, God? You crafted a birth announcement that was delivered first to

The older I get, the more Christmas tends to lose it's magic. I miss the family gatherings we had at Nanny's house before she passed away ten Christmases ago now. Moments like my aunts screaming for my cousin Wes to come get the mouse out of the kitchen that just sprang the trap. How everyone groaned at having to gather to sing "The 12 Days of Christmas"... We all grow up, huh? I'm actually scheduling this post ahead of time as I'm off doing the new tradition I share with my parents - our annual trip to the movies. I hope as you read this that I AM NOT seeing a Madea movie. I don't know that I can pull off Saving Mr. Banks  though.  Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series ! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next

I know you must be tired of seeing pictures of crochet projects (I did one blanket, 10 hats and 2 headbands for Christmas), and that's about all I have been doing. So therefore, I'm sharing more of the 12 Pearls of Christmas. Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series ! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days. We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog . If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Conside

This morning we had donuts in class and focused on singing and looking up verses (it works with Ephesians 5!). I thought I had clicked the video button, I sure thought I did, but instead, I took a still shot to start and one to end. This is what I got. I lack video skills, obviously. The good news is, you don't have to hear me sing because I was trying to help them out in some places.

Here we are... able to count the days to Christmas on the fingers of one hand (or less if you're missing a thumb). On Monday, once I mailed out all the hats I made for my co-workers (along with the ones that I sent to my Grandmother that still haven't made it there yet and now she's even come to Corsicana!), I said that if anyone who was wanting to order one for Christmas, I would try to make it. I delivered one to church on Wednesday (I wish the color showed better)... Then, I had one more to make to deliver to church Sunday. So, I took my yarn over to my parents' house last night to work on it while I was visiting with them and my grandmother.  Grandmother asked if she was too old for one, so I said, "you want this one." I sat there and finished it for her.  She didn't know when I told her I had to take a picture that I was going to post it on Instagram, thus Facebook and everywhere else. Then, this morning, I had to start from scra

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series ! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days. We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog . If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl , Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace , or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls. *** My Gift to Him by Cara Putman As Christmas near

Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days. We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog . If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl , Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace , or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls. *** The Magic of a Christmas Moment by Sarah E. La

I'm late to the game on this, but among the holiday insanity, I decided to go ahead and share some posts from Pearl Girls' 4th annual 12 Pearls of Christmas. I'll sprinkle regular posts in between the series. Enjoy! Welcome to the 12 Pearls of Christmas blog series ! Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™ ! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days. We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items from the contributors! Enter now below. The winner will be announced on January 2, 2014, at the Pearl Girls blog . If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider pur