Easter Sunday in Photos

Well, I'm about a week behind, but I have a great reason- we became "Aunt Heather and Uncle Matt" again on Wednesday of this week!! And we are SO in love with our sweet new nephew! I promise to get a post up this week so y'all can fall in love too. For now, you can enjoy the bajillion pictures I took last Sunday. I hope your Easters were wonderful!

Easter Morning in Atlanta

Easter Afternoon in Monroe

Acai Berry Smoothies

Publix had a sale this week on frozen fruit, Acai juice, and Medjool dates, so I decided to prepare some ready-to-make smoothies! Each prepared bag makes two smoothies, so half this recipe if you just want to make one at a time.

These smoothies are delicious and are high in antioxidants, but I will warn you they are also high in natural sugar, so I wouldn't drink these as a weight-loss attempt unless you do a meal replacement with them. And they are really filling so that could work!  But I'm not a doctor, so I'm only telling you to make them because they GOOD! 

If you're interested, you can learn more about the benefits of Acai and an antioxidant-rich diet by clicking here.

And before I go on with the recipe, I feel the need to add that I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've added a recipe that is 100% healthy. HA! I'll try to diversify my recipes page in the future. ;)

Here goes!

Ingredients:

1-cup each of frozen strawberries, blueberries, dark cherries

4-pitted Medjool dates

1-banana (I usually peel our bananas when they get spotty like the one below and then freeze them for banana bread or smoothies- that way they don't go to waste!)

3/4 cup Acai juice

1/4 cup orange juice

You can buy these pitted, but these came with the pit. I know Trader Joe's has the pitted ones if you're interested. They are a great source of fiber and make the smoothies taste so sweet!

It's a fitting color for this FSU glass! ;)

Three more bags for later in the week. . .

And ready to freeze for later!

Hope you like!!

Having faith when it is more natural to fear- a recent scare with my mom

A few months ago, Lydia from See Beautiful asked if I would write a guest post for her blog about what "seeing beautiful" means to me. Her request came days after I experienced a serious scare with my mom's health, and, without her even realizing it, she encouraged me to reflect on what the Lord has done in my life and pause for a moment to appreciate His presence, even in times when that presence feels far.

I don't write often about my faith, or about events that fall into the "too-personal" category, but this time, I did. I would love for you all to take a minute to read my post, What Seeing Beautiful Means to Me. And I hope that it will somehow serve as an encouragement for you to see beautiful today.

A song that has resonated with me recently and is appropriate for the post that I wrote for Lydia's blog is called Never Once, by Matt Redmond.

Here is the story behind the song.

Weekend in Charleston!

This past weekend, Andrea and I kicked off our Spring Break with a visit to Charleston to see Meagan and sweet baby E! She is getting SO big! (The baby, that is. . . obviously). I've always been a picture taker, but this weekend was my first time out with the NEW camera!! Yippee!

These were some pics of random things because I couldn't wait for an actual occasion to start taking pictures. Notice that fancy faded one of the bottom right?! Oh yeah. That's the camera. Pretty pumped it can make me look like a good photographer.  

One of the most exciting parts about this trip to Charleston was taking Andrea to Babies 'R Us to register!! I wonder if the people thought we were all three moms to this child unborn child?

Next stop- Groucho's. A must for every single visit to Charleston. Atlanta needs one of these!

E was a great sport as all three of us whipped out our cameras for baby paparazzi time. She is SO stinking cute!!!

Dre and I picked up a lil early birthday gift for E when we were shopping. This baby store has THE cutest clothes ever!! Check out what we got.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

Miss you guys already!

April Feature: See Beautiful

I am thrilled to feature the blog See Beautiful this month. When you visit this blog, the first thing you will read is this:

"Every day we have a choice. We can let others dictate the way we see beautiful in ourselves and the world or we can see the beauty we inherently possess, do something to help someone else, make a person smile, lend a helping hand, change someone's world. We're committed to making this world a better place.

The purpose of this blog is to invite readers to see beautiful."

I'm not sure I even need to share anything else about this blog after that! Who doesn't need a reminder to see beautiful in the world around them, and in themselves?

Please take a minute to visit Lydia's site and be inspired by the posts she shares.

GETTING TO KNOW US

See Beautiful™ was designed to empower girls and women to see the beauty they inherently possess and empower all to see and create more beauty in the world.

Pop culture would like us to think beauty exists in, or is defined by, reality t.v. shows, airbrushed models on magazine covers, or manikins in storefront windows. In an effort to capture some of the beauty that exists in each of us and all over the world, See Beautiful™ has started a movement. Will you join us?

See Beautiful™:

• Celebrates the inherent beauty and strength of girls and women through empowerment;
• Shares and supports the work of non-profit organizations committed to making the world a better place;
• Honors stories and work of kind, selfless, individuals who inspire others to see beautiful;
• Showcases opportunities to see beautiful in the world; and 
• Supports a commitment to making the world a better place through the design of eco-friendly, fair trade products that leave all seeing beautiful.

We could all use a little more focus on seeing beautiful.

Amen! Have a wonderful week, and try to find something in your everyday life that you can see "the beautiful" in this week.