A Busy Weekend!

May 9, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres6 Comments

Oh my goodness – the word Friday may never have sounded as beautiful as it does today! This week has been a BLESSING, but also exhausting since last night was the first night this week I have slept well – If you guessed that Craig finally got home late last night, you’re right! 🙂

We have a busy weekend planned!

Tonight, we are running in the 8th Annual March Against Meth 5k.

And then we are going to reward ourselves with SUSHI NIGHT!!!! MMM! I am hungry just thinking about it! 😉

Tomorrow, we will be putting together the Princess Packages for the women who have been rescued from prostitution and sex trafficking by “Out Of Darkness“.

We cannot wait to share the pictures of everything we are donating to this wonderful organization! I asked my co-workers to contribute to this cause, and their response was overwhelming!!! Between my raiding Dollar General and all of my clothes closets, and their bags upon bags of toiletries and make-up and gently worn clothing….We have SO much to share with these women!!!!! I am SO THRILLED!!!

Today, you can round out our Love On Purpose week too! In the top left part of the sidebar (you will have to view this post in a browser to see it – and the video above), there is a link to donate to help fund a missionary’s trip to Bolivia! This is such a great great cause and every little bit will help!

And now for a little bit of our regularly scheduled programming – Food For Thought Friday!

In honor of Mother’s Day this weekend, check out these sweet baby ducklings who think this man is their father!!! Awww!

And this one is just plain frightening…

The Average American Can’t Answer These Three Simple Finance Questions

Why schools don’t teach finance and money-management classes at the high school level, I don’t know… I don’t believe there is ONE of us out there, though, that wouldn’t have benefited from some lessons early on! 🙂

And finally, The Nativity Stones – Do you remember this awesome company for whom we reviewed one of their necklaces back around Easter? If you haven’t already found something special for your mother, one of these beautiful crosses would be a wonderful idea! They have just asked us to do more photography for their advertising and marketing, and Craig and I are so thrilled to have maintained our involvement and support of such a truly beautiful company!

If you haven’t read the story of these stones’ origin, you should and you can right here.

Whew! Time to grab some lunch and get ready to run!!! I’m ready!!! (The faster I run, the sooner we can eat sushi! 🙂 )

Have a wonderful weekend and a beautiful Mother’s Day! Happy Mother’s Day to all of you out there – especially our own, and the two mothers-to-be – you know who you are!! 😉

Food For Thought Friday

I Could Do The Tiny Burrito Diet…

May 2, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Y’all. Have you seen the tiniest hamster eating the tiniest burrito? OMG (oh my goodness) this is the cutest thing ever!

Seriously!? How precious was that?? He is even served his tiny little burrito at a teensy weensy little table! Awww!

That should be enough to melt your heart for the weekend!! 🙂

This one is a bit thought-provoking…

That, my dears, is seawater…magnified 25 times. Hmmm, you may want to try extra hard to keep your mouth closed tight the next time you’re diving head-first into the ocean… I guess both my father-in-law and husband are safe (and probably saying, “I told you there was no good reason for swimming!” right this second), but not me – When we venture to the beach in 2 months, I am going to bask in the glorious sun, salt and sea – disgusting microorganisms or not!

And finally, in honor of the Kentucky Derby coming up this weekend:

Click the image above to find out how to pick this year’s winner! And p.s. don’t expect much in the way of guidance – I could have given you the same advice. 🙂 I just didn’t want you to miss the opportunity to wear your big floppy hat and cheer on the horses!

And now to wrap things up for the day! My husband is home (happy dance – yay!), and I have some mint to muddle and a hat to buy for tomorrow’s race! 😉

What's Up Wednesday

Big Surprises For The Birthday Boy!

April 9, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Eeeek! Only a few more days until my husband’s special birthday extravaganza begins!! Can you tell I’m excited?!?!?!

I have SUCH a special weekend planned, and I am BURSTING to share everything with him! (Good thing he’s out of town, so it’s easier to keep my secret!)

Of course, until tomorrow when Craig returns home…I have a TON to do – errands to run, things to bake, places to go, coolers to fill, ~~clothes to pack~~ Oops! Did I say that?!?! 🙂 Tonight is church – for which I am super excited – but then it’s time to head home and finish making all the last minute preparations!

Just wait until next week when we get to share all of the details and pictures with you! Promise you it’ll be worth the wait! 🙂

In other news, we have our summer vacation planned!! TO THE BEACH WE GO!!!! I found a heckuvah deal on Groupon, and we booked our room today at Majestic Beach Resort! By mid-July, our view will be like this…

…and I cannot wait! There is nothing like crashing waves on the beach, fresh seafood, and a summer glow to make everything better!

Don’t forget to wish Craig a Happy Birthday on Sunday! He’ll be the big 3-2!

My Choice Monday

Faux-ah: Not The Story You Think

April 7, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Happy Monday!

What did y’all do this weekend? Anything exciting?

We kicked things off on Saturday with a matinee showing of “Noah”. And after reading all of the hellacious reviews about it, I was not expecting much…

However, we were pleasantly surprised!

While this movie did NOT follow the story of Noah, Biblically, word-for-word, scene-for-scene, it did a few other things I speculate were completely unintentional of Hollywood in their making of this epic film:

It showed the infinite power of God. Within the storyline of Faux-ah (Fake Noah 🙂 ), we see Noah realizes he is to build an ark, but the world is dead. There are no trees around. Nothing at all to build a vessel of any kind with is in sight. Once Noah turns and follows God’s instruction regardless of the lack of HOW to accomplish His will, God provides a forest for Noah. With the quickness of the snap of a finger. There, in the blink of an eye, is every piece of wood Noah could ever possibly need to build his ark. All because he had FAITH in the power of God. Did it happen exactly this way in the Bible story of Noah? Perhaps not, but it could have. Without meaning to, Hollywood showed the infinite, insurmountable power of the God we serve.
It showed that God provides. Perhaps this one and the preceding point are interchangeable, they are both noteworthy! In the movie **spoiler alert**, only 1 of Noah’s 3 sons has a wife. The other two are single and very concerned for how they will replenish the earth without wives of their own. The answer given them? God will provide. And boy, does He! That’s all I’ll say!
It showed the deep flaw we have to doubt and to misunderstand as humans. Throughout much of the film, Noah misunderstands God’s direction, and even prior to that, he seems to doubt that God could have called him. He isn’t possibly good enough to take on such a task. And while many critics of this movie have pointed out that the Bible never says Noah doubted or misunderstood anything, (and they are correct) take yourself into account, in this situation. If God called you to build a boat. In the middle of what was basically a drought-ridden desert. Would you have to think on it for a moment or would you simply pick up your toolbox and get to work? Has He ever asked you to do something you just felt you weren’t good enough for? Has He ever spoken to you, and you thought, Wellllll…..maybe what He actually meant was…. ?

Romans 3:23

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

I suppose it’s up to you, ultimately. We felt that, while the movie was by no means Biblically literal, the film certainly presented a good story with a lot of Christian themes. If you go into the theatre with that in mind, perhaps you won’t leave disappointed. We definitely didn’t.

Have you seen ~~Faux-ah~~ Noah? What were your thoughts?

Wait, before I go today, I wanted to share this with you. I was reading my New Yorker at lunch and came across this column/article… It gave me a laugh so I thought it might bring a smile to your face, as well. 🙂 All about a girl’s “conversations” with her mobile banking app… Enjoy!

New Yorker: Mobile Banking App

Have a beautiful night, y’all!

Food For Thought Friday

All Kinds of Music – All For Him

April 4, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Please view this post within an internet browser for video viewing capabilities.

Yay For Friday!!

Today we have several YouTube mixes for your listening pleasure! Personally, I love music – but y’all surely knew that already, right? 🙂

I found that when I switched over from playing the “regular radio” or my old CD mixes from college, to listening solely to Christian music throughout the day, my attitude, my outlook, my day was radically changed! Seriously, you just would not believe the difference it makes – unless you’re already on the bandwagon!

One thing I will admit, I “missed” in the beginning was ‘dance’ music. Sometimes doing a cardio workout to a worship song isn’t the easiest. But lo’ and behold, I discovered that the Christian genre of music included many many many different styles of song!! So, below, we have provided for you several ‘mixes’ of some of the best (in our humble opinions) contemporary Christian out there.

Don’t roll your eyes or think “Ugh, I don’t like listening to that kind of music!” – You just might surprise yourself…or HE may surprise YOU.

And this one, well, just because it’s awesome!

Y’all have a wonderful wonderful weekend!

We love you!

Uncategorized

Mixed-Bag Friday

March 28, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Yay for Friday!! We are looking forward to celebrating the anniversary of our first date and our engagement tonight with dinner and a movie!! Do you have any big plans for the weekend?

Today is sort of a mixed bag here at The Newlywed Lefebvres – several things to share with you at random. 🙂

First, here is the devotion I read today.

I know God placed this one in front of me today for a reason. Part of our hope in Him is the ever-constant reminders of His faithfulness. No matter what your prayer, He listens.

Below is a video (yes, you will need to open this post within a browser to view it), of an amazing moment. The 40-year old women shown has been deaf all her life, and here, she is hearing for the first time! Can you even imagine?!?! 40 years of silence, and then beautiful sound!??! Nothing short of a miracle!

That is truly joy personified!

And finally, it’s no secret that I LOVE TO READ! It’s one of my better habits 🙂 The more I read, the more I discover the beauty of words, and the sentences they are weaved into. Here’s a listing of the supposed “Ten Best Sentences Of All Time”, some from some great pieces of literature…I don’t know that they are the greatest sentences, (They missed out on one very important book which houses all of the greatest sentences!) but the beauty of the words and the complex way they convey their meaning…It is truly art.

Well, now, you should have plenty of food for thought to round out your day and plenty of conversation starters for the weekend! 🙂

Enjoy yourselves, and we’ll meet you back here on Monday!

Food For Thought Friday

Spaghetti Popsicles & Other FOOD For Thought

March 14, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

This week, I was deeply affected by the quote below…and I wanted to share it with y’all.

“The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering but in the development of the soul.”

–Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Do a little bit of background research on Mr. Solzhenitsyn…Perhaps, you’ll be even more affected by his quote above…

And now for some Friday FUN for Thought!

Click The Picture – Dinner & Dessert In One?

YUCK!!! Would any of you eat that???

and

I can totally relate because I do the exact same thing – with sneakers, too! Wondering if I’m alone?

and

{Open this post in a browser to see the video below.}

One of the songs on our playlist right now… 😉 Colton Dixon performed this song at WinterJam this year and I think it’s a really wonderful worship tune.

Be blessed this weekend!

We’ll return on Monday – St. Patrick’s Day! – with a WINNER for the giveaway! So today is your LAST DAY to enter to win! Check back here for the details!

Food For Thought Friday

Free-For-All Friday!

February 7, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Happy Friday!

Look what we’ve got to start the weekend right!

As you probably know, TOMS is a wonderful company that provides one pair of shoes to a needy child for each pair of their shoes sold. How GREAT is that?!? Plus, TOMS are super comfortable, which makes your purchase of them all that much better! Here is a great coupon we came across via (one of my favorite savings sites) Passionate Penny Pincher:

Enter the code NEWSPRING at checkout to receive Free Shipping (yay!)!

Another little something to make you smile? How about a FREE SAMPLE of Burberry Brit Rhythm For Women? Just click the picture below!

And now for one more freebie to make your Friday:

Click the image above for a free delicious waffle Monday through Friday, until Valentine’s Day – so guys, NO, you cannot take your significant other out for a Free Waffle Valentine’s Day Date! 🙂

Hopefully, these deals bring a smile to your face this Friday! If you’re in the Atlanta area, don’t forget about Winter Jam 2014! It begins tomorrow and entry is only $10! You can get more information by clicking the image below.

You’ll also find links to free music downloads and books! 🙂 If you’re not in the Atlanta area, be sure to check out the other locations of the tour to see when the Winter Jam Tour might be in your neck of the woods!

One final thing and then we’ll let you enjoy the rest of your Friday: Please continue to send up your prayers of healing – for us, for a couple very dear to us, for a certain girl close to my heart suffering through issues with her daughter, for all of us trying to conceive… Prayer is the only road to miracles.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Have a fabulous weekend all of you!!!!

Food For Thought Friday

Keep Calm! It’s (Finally) Friday!

January 24, 2014January 24, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Good Morning Friday Folks!

Today I have the pleasure of sharing some wonderful things with you! While very different, I have a slight suspicion your day might be enhanced by both the post I am about to share with you and the website (and/or Apple App) that follows:

1. Something must be in the water. I have a very sweet cousin who is a fellow Christian blogger (and fashion junkie!). While the following post is from November, it is no less relevant for today or any day, and is a great reminder for each of us about what true beauty really is and how to become truly beautiful. It brought me back to this verse from 1st Samuel when the Lord is showing the prophet Samuel who will be the next king of Israel:

1 Samuel 16:7

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What a beautiful (no pun intended!) thought, and a wonderful way to bless others with your inner self! Take a moment to read the post from Flawless Faith below:

How to be Good Looking

I think it’s safe to safe both my cousin, Emily, (and her sweet pup, Roxy!) are beautiful both inside and out!

2. If you haven’t heard about Calm yet, click the link immediately! This website has soothing images set to corresponding music or nature sounds, and you can use a “Guided Calm” or a timer setting to personally tailor your ‘calming’ experience! I love this site for a crazy day at work, or when I get home and need a moment of quiet! And what’s even better? For you Apple folks, there is an iPad/iPhone App, as well – just don’t use it while driving!!!

And for all of you out there who just aren’t ready to calm down yet (it is Friday after all!), here’s a super fun song you may (or may not remember – that is, if you hid under a rock for all of 2011…):

Happy Friday, Y’all! Enjoy your weekend – especially those of you heading to the B Reunion in Minnesota today! We wish we could join you!!

Much Love,

Uncategorized

A GORGEous (ha ha – Get it?) Weekend!

October 29, 2012October 29, 2012 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Our mini vacation to Tallulah Gorge and Clayton in North Georgia was just the getaway we needed together! The weather was terrific, and (as we always do together) C and I had a grand time!

Tallulah Gorge - Craig — Tallulah Gorge – Craig

Tallulah Gorge - Pier — Tallulah Gorge – Pier

If you’d like to make a trip to the gorge and falls yourself, you can get more information here. Aside from the more than 500 stairs you have to climb…it’s fabulous – and yes, my calves are still killing me today!

We also visited an attraction known as “Goats On The Roof”… Total tourist trap…but if you have children, or are grown-up children (like we are), it’s worth stopping in. Their homemade ice cream and fudge are (gluten-free) delicious, and you get to watch goats…on a roof. What could be better?!?

I also spotted a red truck for children that I begged Craig to get inside of for a picture:

He wasn’t too thrilled about getting inside for a picture until he saw this, and if you know C at ALL, you’ll understand WHY:

Goats On The Roof: Craig In The CaseIH Truck

After it was discovered to be, not just any old red truck, but an INTERNATIONAL, I was encouraged to take multiple pictures. 🙂

You can see all of our pictures from the weekend on our Shutterfly share site here. Craig took some (I’m sure amazing) pictures with his camera, and those will be posted when they arrive back in a digital format from California…I believe this roll includes some from our honeymoon, as well, so stay tuned! You can now also visit our YouTube page here.

We rounded out our weekend with Mass in the mountains at St. Helena Catholic Church, which was just breathtaking. Behind the altar was a wall of glass looking out into the hills beyond…You could feel God in every minute of the Mass. Just perfect.

Finally, before driving back, we ventured over to Tiger Mountain Winery. We sampled some delicious wines, and even bought two bottles of wines we thoroughly enjoyed!

It was a wonderful weekend through which it was easy to see God all around us in His creation, and to thank Him for bringing our two souls together. Absolute perfection. We hope all of you had a wonderful weekend!! And now…back to work!

XOXO,

Pier & Craig