Seven reasons to love September

I don't have many complaints about our old friend August, but I have to say I am excited to see him come to a close.

This is due mainly to the fact that sweet September is the keeper of many exciting events.

Here are some reasons (in no particular order) I'm excited about 09/09.

1. FALL

Ok, so it's still 95 degrees going on 200 around these parts, but there is just something about the word September that gives me hope for the following...



Even the thought of Fall gets me pumped out of my mind. Cool breezes, come soon.

2. My 'child' Will and his curls are turning FOUR.

What!?!?! How is that possible?


Baby Will is having a hard time believing it himself. He's practically blinking back tears at the realization that he's pretty much about to go off to college.


3. Mer and Russell are getting married!


Here is where they are tying the knot. I really wish they hadn't picked somewhere so small and plain - but to each his own.


(And adding to the excitement is the fact that a bunch of us are going in and getting a room at this beautiful place to stay in after the wedding. Finally, my dream of becoming a princess will be realized.)

4. Football!



Tailgating, Al's Game Day commercials, home games at the "prettiest little stadium in America", greeting the team, sweating to near death, yelling, screaming, the band blaring from across the field, The Paulson Pepaw, panic attacks, touchdowns, diet cokes, high fives, visits from special out-of-town fans...


It all begins September 5th. Be there.

5. Bible Study

We'll be starting back with our high school and college girls' bible studies this month!

I think Marsha's Mellows are ready to get back into routine of bible studying and s'more eating.


Just like Heaven intended.

And our pretty little college girls are all back in the Boro going to class - I can't wait to start seeing them every week. Little cuties.


6. Travis Cottrell, coming to a mailbox near me.

Back in January I was able to go hear Travis record his newest CD live in a quaint little town we like to call Hotlanta. It was SUCH an awesome experience.


One main reason was of course because I got to meet these beautiful ladies. SO fun, I cannot even tell you.


Well, the reason I am re-living this whole thing at this time is because September is the month the DVD is coming out.

If you are my neighbor and you see me checking my mailbox at all hours of the day and night, do not be alarmed.

Faith and Emilie, when I get it, I think ya'll should come over to GA and we should rent out the movie theatre and watch that bad boy. :-)

7. MY FIRST GIVEAWAY

I am so excited because the amazing Bethany Dillon is releasing a new record named Stop & Listen on September 8th, and I have been given the opportunity to get a little sneak listen!


(Oh my my that girl is awesome. And I totally sound like her when I'm in my car alone. It's crazy.)

And even more exciting than all of that - I have been given the chance to give away 3 (!) FREE CDs to some of you lovely people.

I will be sharing more details soon!

Welcome, September. We love you already. :-)

More than meets the eye

Some people look at the picture above and see just a regular old pool.

But something really special can happen if you add a pastor with his clothes on.


And then proceed to add a youth minister with his clothes on.


Next, throw in 5 or 6 youth who have given their hearts to Jesus.


(Including my fave.)


Then add 4 or 5 church members - all who have have given their hearts to Jesus as well.


Once everyone is in place, gather the body of Christ.



(Including one of my favorite little girlies.)


And bam! You've got yourself a Baptism going on. :-)



Our man, Jake, got saved a while back, but he had never been baptized. Today was the big day, and we are so proud of him!

Here he is going for a little spiritual swim...

Here are some of his many adoring supporters.


And with his #1 fan after getting dunked.


Well, actually, this lady is probably his actual #1 fan. She is also his #1 paparazzi. :-)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
2 Corinthians 5:17

A Friday Tale about Falling

I went to my second Bible study last night with some new girls around my age. I was invited by a friend at work, and am very excited about it. They are super sweet and the leaders have been serving some bang up dinners which we all know is a integral part of studying the Bible.

God's truth always goes down better followed by forkfuls of homemade chicken pot pie or a serving of homemade pound cake.

After we got done with the lesson part of the night, we all sat around the dining room table "cackling" as one of the girls' husband had called it earlier in the day.

One of my new friends told the story of how she recently fell down a complete flight of stairs on her bottom, thus sending us in to uproarious laughter.

Funny people. Heart 'em.

That story reminded me of a very funny falling story of my own (don't we all have them? please say yes because I have several).

During the very last days of 2006, a group of us newly graduated friends planned a ski trip in the rolling hills of West Virginia. We had graduated in May of that year, and upon moving away from one another had a big concern about how in the world we were going to get in our annual visit to the slopes that coming winter.

While in school, we had gone on a winter retreat each year with the college ministry we were all involved in. Memories, memories.

Anyway, once Fall hit and a crisp breeze floated through the air, we started getting that distinct pull at our hearts to bundle up in bibs and jackets, fight with ski boots, and fly down mountains with frozen fingers and toes.

But what to do without someone to plan it for us?!?!

Oh wait, we thought. We're adults. We can do that ourselves now.

So that's what we did.

We'd head out to WV a few days before 2007, rent a house, break bread and share laughs together, and enjoy one of God's greatest wonders - Snow, baby.

Finally the day came, and in true young adult fashion we ended up not leaving until about 8pm for the 10 hour drive - we had a tentative plan of stopping somewhere to stay in a hotel, but still. We were kind of idiots back then. Kids these days.

The cast of characters loading up that night in my big ol' bus of a car included Brittany, her then boyfriend now husband Earle, me, and Russell - my friend Meredith's then boyfriend now fiance.

Long story short (What was this story about anyway? Falling was it?) we drove until we were all delirious and Bri and I begged from the back for the guys to stop at a hotel.

"We'll pay!" we cried.

I about got whiplash they pulled off onto an exit so fast.

The next morning we got up early and made our way up and up and up the curvy mountain roads until we reached the ski resort. We were like little kids on vacation. Probably because we were little kids on vacation.

Now am I about to note a very important part that is imperative to understanding how the next moments of our trip unfolded.

Because we had been driving in the car for 2 days, Bri and I were outfitted in lounge pants, t-shirts, and flip flops. We left south GA where the temps still somewhat allowed open toe, and stepped out in West Virginia where snow was on the ground.

But the flip flops remained.

So, we hopped out of the car giddy, and Bri and I excitedly clasped hands as we walked towards the building to check in.

It only took a few moments for an icy breeze to whip our hair around and cause the reality of subzero temperatures (comparatively speaking of course) to hit us. "Brrr," we said in unison. "It's cold around these parts!"

So naturally, we began to pick up our pace. Hands still clasped, we revved it up to a nice jog.

Laughing, oh how we were laughing.

I really thought the people who make postcards were going to come around the corner and take a picture of us. It was a such a great moment.

Let's review.

Coldness. Snow on ground. Flip flops. Idiot girl. Running.

All of a sudden as our laughs rang out through the hills, I realized my feet were no longer on the ground as much as they were tangled up with each other - and on a express train to completely out from under me.

Now, I wish Bri was here to recount her side of the scene because as the story goes, she looked over at me, realized I was falling, but she was confused.

It seemed that even though I was heading toward a face-plant, I was steady laughing and smiling as though nothing was wrong.

"You just kept on laughing as you were falling," she has said through the years this story has followed me.

My response has always been, "Well, I knew I was getting tripped up, but in my mind I thought Well surely I am about to recover from this. Until my hands and knees hit the pavement I was thinking Not to worry, I'm about to regain stability here momentarily."

Needless to say, stability was not regained.

And after I got up and assured everyone (including Earle and Russell who were walking behind us, bless their hearts for that image ingrained in their minds) that I was fine, we went on merry, snow-loving way.

It was a great trip with lots more funny stories.

But the one that shall never be lived down is definitely the one about the girl who fell before even getting on the slopes.

The End.

P.S. Feel free to share your falling stories so we can all wallow in our knee-scrapped pain as One.

God CD

The other day, my co-worker and I were discussing a certain work issue, and it led into a quick discussion about these uncertain times in the world and in our job, etc. We were saying that even though there are stressful situations at every turn, we are thankful to be able to work and hope we can keep on keeping on.

I ended the conversation with, "You know - we'll do whatever we can, for whomever we can, for as long as we can."

Later I was thinking about that and how that phrase really applies to so many situations in life.

Last night I wrote on Twitter that I was making a God CD for a friend who is going through a really tough time.

(My girl Janet replied to my tweet that that was very early 90's of me, and this ipod-less girl very much LOL-ed. I'm keeping it real over here with my compact disks.)

In the past week alone, my friend (who is about the age of my parents) has been dealing with a spouse recently diagnosed with cancer, a child sick with the flu miles away, and the birthday of a child who passed away several years ago.

That same person, whom I dearly love and enjoy - not to mention greatly respect and admire - is also having her own birthday today. And last night, as I was driving down the road listening to the awesome Travis Cottrell, I was thinking about this great woman of faith and all she's going through.

And I also thought all the people in the world hurting so badly for so many reasons.

Throughout my life, when someone is hurting I just want to do something. Don't we all?

But it's not like I can do anything for any of those issues above. I can't cure cancer, I can't save children, I can't directly take away pain from loved ones.

And that was kind of bothering me until I was lovingly reminded from the Big Man upstairs that first and foremost He has equipped me to pray - but He has also given me a heart that is lead by Him to show His love in small tangible ways to those I come in contact with.

The thought came again, this time from Him. "Do whatever you can, for whomever you can, for as long as you can."

As and Travis blared from my speakers, it came to me - "I am gonna make that girl an inspirational God CD for her birthday," I thought.

It's not a lot in the scheme of things, but it's what I can do.

It's not helping all the people in the world, but I can brighten the day of one sweet woman on her birthday.

God will work out His purposes for that family's life in His time, but he has crossed my path with theirs and I'll stick around for as long as He says.


Here's the CD in all it's very fancy wrapping glory.

I love it (I burned myself a copy as well).

She loved it (put it in her computer right away).

And I'm pretty sure He loved it.

And I'm very sure I love Him.

Going strong

Dear Al and Deb,

Thanks for getting married 31 years ago today.

I think we're all in agreement...


...that was a great idea.

Thanks for looking at each other the same way now...


...as you did then.


Here's to 31+ more! We love you!

Love,

Matthew (The Prince) and Jenna (The Babe)

The One With Phoebe and The Many Wings

Yesterday as I was leaving work, I got an excited call. My friend Marlee was ringing my phone to let me know she had just become a teenager mother. Yaaaaay!

Here is the new addition to the Hagan fam. Meet Phoebe. (Namesake: Phoebe Buffay, of course.)


I honestly couldn't believe our dreams of Marlee getting a puppy came true. Mainly because this guy was not all for it in the beginning.


Yeah, that guy right there. That guy hugging that bundle of silky, cotton-ball fur with a huge grin on his face. Daddies always give in.

I have done extensive research on this subject over the last 25 years.

I am SO in love with my new (self-proclaimed) Goddaughter. Look at that face! And don't get me started on the bow or how she runs sideways.


Marlee, you're a mom!


Oh by the way, Phoebe just pooped on the kitchen floor.


Before too long, we took the little one outside to play.


While it may seem that Phoebe is not a big, rough-and-tough type dog, boys across America were coming out to love on her little girly self.



The little sweet-sweet is also very advanced for her age, and has already decided to take up the family business of photography. She grabbed my camera to capture shots of her new family.


Mama and GrandMarsh.


Uncle Jake and Uncle Zach.

That Marlee is going to make a great mother! And Mar, you know I'll babysit/take her home to live with me forever ANYTIME.


Once it was time for Phoebe to take a little siesta, we headed out to Buffalo's because our man Jake had taken on an All You Can Eat Wing-Eating Challenge from his buddy, Blitch.

The competitors.


And they're off!



Blitch was a fierce competitor - taking those wings for everything they were worth.


About 25 wings later, Jake is feeling the urge to quit.


Meanwhile, his supporters took pictures.


Always up for whatever the competition brings his way, this stud locked eyes with the last 5 wings before him, licked his fingers, and dug in to take home the victory. Proud moments in time.


Here he is realizing he was going to be victorious. This was right before his stomach exploded.


And what is a good competition without a friendly wager. Jake and his prize.


I took a picture of the the boys with all their many, many empty wing baskets, but somehow it didn't make it to the post. I'll have to come back and add it later.

But just know, empty baskets were running amok on that table. It was beyond my comprehension.

After dinner it was of course back home for a photo shoot with the babe.
Actually, Marsha was taking pics of the babe only, but I couldn't help but jump in. That furball moves me.


Then it was time to call it a night.


The End.