A MARRIED CHRISTMAS!

I am trying to revamp the blog. so be patient with me :). if you know me, youll know that technology isnt exactly my greatest talent! I have so much to blog about!! I havent posted in quite sometime due to the overwhelming last 3 months. Im talking OVERWHELMING guys. I sort of had a lot going on. I GOT MARRIED! whoop! and I TOOK EXAMS... all in about 2 weeks. OH, and dont forget to add in that I became soo sick the week of my wedding! and while I did feel like ramming my head in the wall, God once again has a bigger purpose. Being sick the week of my wedding forced me to not be so ticky on details and I also had to remember what really was important. It wasnt gifts, or showers, or even a beautiful white dress..it was marrying my best friend and devoting our relationship to our Creator! and we did just that! there will be a WEDDING BLOG later when I get my pictures back...

but for now lets stay focused on Jesus' birthday..........................


This was the first Christmas ( being married and all) that caused for big changes for Pete and I. There are two families now. And while Pete and I absoloutely adore our families, change wasnt the easiest thing in the world, especially trying not to hurt any of our loved ones! We went to my Pops house last Sunday for Christmas and had a great time! Pete received a  nice gift certificate to Bass Pro and you would have thought the boy had won the lottery. He says its the one gift hes got in the last 5 months that I cant touch. Ha! After Pops, we came back to Senatobia and spent the night at the Webbs house and pretended it was Christmas on Monday morning. We had a fabulous time, and amongst all of our other goodies, we got a dryer! Never thought Id be so thankful for a dryer. CAN YOU SAY OFFICIALLY A MARRIED WOMAN! On Christmas Eve night, we had a great steak dinner at my parents house. Mom even set the dining room table! We eat at our bar usually, so obviously mom was in major Christmas mode!

ELF BOBBIE

 

 



On Christmas morning, we opened gifts with my family and Pete experienced REAL CHAOS. Bless his heart, Im not sure he realized what he had gotten himself into when he married me! We then bundled up and hit the road to Calhoun City for Christmas lunch at Pete's Grannys with all of the Pedens! Thankful doesnt even describe how blessed I am to have joined such a wonderful family! My new in laws have welcomed me with lots of love from the first moment I started dating Pete!

Peden Clan

 

 

Sadly, shortly after lunch, Petes mom and I returned home because we both had to work Wednesday and the weather was a bit icky! So I missed christmas at Petes other side of the family. And also, had to leave my Mr. Webb for the first time since the I Do's.. He went to deer camp to spend time with his brother and dad and while i dont like the whole deer camp thing too much, I know that means a great deal to them to be together every year hunting! Pete went back south tonight to start back work tomorrow and I stayed here in Senatobia to spend time with mom, and yall know I surely cant miss the UPSTAIRS CLOSET SALE! So hubby and I will be reunited Sunday for Christmas at my Aunt Becks and then for New Years! I dont really like this whole being apart thing, I thought it would be a breeze, but I am now a bit attached to that Pete!

 

WE had a wonderful first married Christmas and are so thankful for the best family in the world! Happy Birthday Jesus!

 

 

Wedding and Jamaica blogs COMING SOON!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Good things come to those who wait!

I have been so busy lately. I got home yesterday and took a nap, woke back up, and fell asleep again only then to wake up late for work this morning. ugh sorry upstairs closet :/ Theyre used to me doing that after 8 years!  it just happens sometimes! Ive had a cold and it felt so good to be in my own bed! thats  a big bed!  Im currently sleeping on a tiny twin bed in Hannah's room in starkville, and Pete sleeps in a tiny room at his house that opens to two other guys rooms..yeah needless to say, were busting at the seams to have our own place, own bed, and to just be married. Ive loved living the college life, but after 5 years, its time for a home.....a real home with my husband! I keep having to remind myself that God's timing is way more perfect than my own, to chill, and to enjoy these crazy preperation days! its difficult! so pray for us..and my sanity! :)

Saying all that, i wouldnt have lasted these last first weeks of clinic and class without some amazing girls. Seriously, God knows exactly where you need to be and the road it takes for perfect timing. Ive been trying to rush getting out of school, but this is where I should be right now. and who I should be with! The girls in my class and I have totally become inseperable, dependent and loving to one another. Which is good, considering we spend the majority of the week together. Im glad that we share materials, help out each other, and totally get crazy in that grad student room after staying up all night and eating doughnuts..... here are a few things that keep our long days entertaining...

I mustache you a question.

 



Rachel working it in her " therapy materials belt"

so hot.

 

 

Pete is also on his bachelor party/fishing trip weekend in LA. I have been told that I am not allowed to text or call him every five minutes. haha. like i really listened to that! But, they are having a great time and I just got a picture of all the yummy fish they caught today! I cant wait for them to come back and grill me some up. I love a fresh grilled fishy.

 

Pete has some super sweet friends to do this for him!

L to R: Alex, Jesse, Matt, Ryan, Scott, and Pete

3 are missing..there is no telling where Adam, Tyler and Hewston are...

 

 

I have so much I need to be doing this weekend, but Id rather go to the movies with the fam, so thats where Im headed!

 

hope yall have a wonderful weekend! and get up in the morning and worship your creator!

Cant wait to be back at lifepoint!

 Love, Sam

 

 

 



 



Where You Go, I Will Go...

After last night’s neat little incident, I thought I must share on the blog. It may be simply silly to most of you….but to me….its miraculous.

First, Read our engagement story, if you haven’t yet..Click Here 

Ive been keeping a cute book since Pete and I got engaged..FULL of our proposal story, pictures, shower invitations, every sweet card and all of our gift notes etc..and it was getting pretty big.  And ALSO pretty special…to me anyways. Particularly the very front page, be it the letter that Pete wrote me when he proposed with  Ruth 1: 16-17. 

Well, on Saturday morning before work, I decided to take the book into town with me and print off some more pics of my last shower and then put them in and show Pete’s mom that afternoon. I had planned to show her my masterpiece!…When I got to their house, my book was missing.  I thought nothing about it, thinking I just left it on my bed at home. O well, right?

 

Sunday night rolls around. Im packing my stuff  to head back to starkville, and I remembered I needed to find THE book.  looked everywhere in my house....Guess what?  ITS OFFICIALLY MISSING.  Yes.  TALK ABOUT FREAK OUT. I call Pete ( he has my car) and tell him to go outside and tear my car apart. He cant find it. I cant find it at home.

 Pete says its not in the car. Mom says it has to be in the car (and that Pete is a boy and boys don’t know how to look for things haha). ….Besides the point,  I CANT FIND IT!  So ofcourse, im crying...

 And then I remembered:  I made a HUGE mistake.  On Saturday, my car was locked when I was leaving for work and in order to find the key in my purse, I put the book on my car roof. YEP. Go me. TALK ABOUT FREAK OUT SOME MORE!

So,,, Mom and I go outside and search the driveway with flashlights, hoping it just slipped off close by. No luck. So then I’m  sitting at the bar BALLING MY EYES OUT, when mom says “Sam, whats so irreplaceable, why cant we print more pics, and people will give you more cards” …..to which I cry even louder, “the letter that Pete proposed with is in it. It’s got the verse. It says he loves me. Im supposed to give it to my children! ”

…Bobbie Faye tells me to get it in the car. ( it is almost midnight by now AND IT IS RAINING!!!!)

I’m thinking shes crazy, its gone. I know its gone. Ive already searched our  ¼ of  a mile driveway. It fell off and the dogs took it to the woods. “You Are crazy Bobbie…”

 And so we go to driving down the road…and  a little ways down,  Mom suddenly stops the car. There  is  my precious sopping wet book in two pieces on the side of the road. My heart stopped.

 But there are no pages, and there is no letter….

 We jump out, car still running in the middle of the highway, and begin searching. I felt as if I was searching a murder scene out of movie, with creepy rain, flashlights, and an old highway. ( They are doing a lot of construction on Hwy 305 and one side is a muddy mess with a standing river of trash and the other side is a deep ditch).  Mom hit the ditch and I hit the mud side.  She finds a book page with one card!!!  But, Im still falling deep into the mud in cowboy boots and pajamas, just crying…. So After about ten minutes of searching , I asked to myself  “God, just please let me find this letter, this verse from your book of  Ruth”  and then I hear that sweet Mom scream… “IVE GOT THE LETTER!!!!”

 Filled with laughter and tears, I am then jumping up and down in the middle of the highway in the RAIN wearing cowboy boots and jammies. And let me also add that I am now realizing at this moment that BOBBIE isn’t even wearing pants, or shoes. Just a bigo t shirt. ..But who cares?  We found it!!

 So excited, we start looking for the other pages, and one by one, a few things were found.

One card from the sweet Ross family whom we had counseling with earlier on Sunday :)  One page of pictures from the engagement party, and 2 white tags From: the Alfords, and Charlie and Vonda Sink. That is all I have left of my pecious wedding book.

 

 

 But I  HAVE MY SWEET LETTER THAT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME, and God did that…………. Just when you think all is lost, He finds you.

 

 

 Happy Monday everyone, and don’t ever think that God cant help you do the impossible…in the rain….at midnight.  HE CAN. J  (even in your jammies and cowboy boots)

 

Love, Sam

 

 

 

showers, new friends, and a messed up toe :)

heres an update in the world of sam:

Pete and i had a fabulous couples shower at Greg and Celeste Graves' on August 4th. WE were so blessed. and I was glad that it was something where Pete could be involved! so much of this wedding stuff seems to be about the bride, and i love my groom getting to be included too! :) The Graves' and all of the other sweet couples who hosted and came to our shower were so generous and sweet to us, and we felt so loved!
I also had a great girly shower last sunday given by super sweet ladies. and was so excited to get some of those girly things, like my beautiful skyros dishes and my first vietri christmas set! wheww whoo! Pete asked me why in the world i registered for christmas dishes when you can only use them in december. I quickly corrected him. heres why, pete! 1. i love christmas things 2. you will eat on them from halloween to january. 3. they will be so pretty when we have dinner guests. and 4. i think theyre BEAUTIFUL! but, 5. we will not be eating deer meat on them. So anyway, back to the shower. I had a great time, and again I am overwhelmed with the amount of love shown to us lately!

couples shower: Mrs. Twyla, Mrs. Pam, Mrs. Marilyn, and Mrs. Celeste

Valerie, Sherry, Penny, and Stacie

 

A few of our fabulous gifts

LOVE the candlesticks, and new Peter's pieces

Kristin, and Katie....yall know me too well, and i love the canisters!

 

 

 

 

I also have had a great first two weeks of the new grad school year! God has surely blessed me with some great new friends and new oppurtunities in only two weeks! and I survived my first week doing screenings at headstart. and definitely fell in love with some cute kiddos. God has me right where he wants me.  I pray that I can be effective with my clients, and that we will all have a fantastic year. Here is a few of my new classmates after class tonight at our mexican date.

 



Suzie , Rachel (whos not really ready), LauraLeigh, Emily, Katie Rose, Angela, Sam and Kristen

 

 

 

Also, Pete and I recently had our first visit together to  the ER. yes. how nice. Im still not sure exactly how he did it, but Petes big toe and a tree stump got in a fight, and the tree stump won. So we took care of the toenail/ toe issue at the ER, and he is now healing up well! Ill spare yall from the rather nasty photos! I hope thats our last medical incident for awhile! :)

Im so excited about tailgating with friends saturday, and then getting on  some much needed preparation to start clinic next week!

 hope yall have a wonderful weekend!

(oh and 107 days until the wedding!)

 

Love, Sam

 

 



 

 

 

22 from my Twenty-Second year

Hello peoples! i have been out of the blog world due to no internet! but i thought how marvelous it would be to come back and tell you that tomorrow is my BIRTHDAY! WHOOP! i love birthdays (especially my own ofcourse). So I thought id recap on what a blessed TWENTY SECOND YEAR OF LIFE ive had. It might just have been the best year yet..

 1. After my last birthday, I began to finish up my work  with the Barnes family before i started graduate school. Blessed, honored, and loved is what i felt my entire time working with Lawson Barnes, the cutest kid ever. He and his family taught me so much about Autism, patience, and God's unconditional love.  I also gained a wonderful, Godly friend through the Barnes: Austin May. very blessed to know her as well!

2. At the end of july, I attempted to bring out my creative martha stewarting ways to prep my new  ancient apartment for the coming year we would be sharing together. alone. I very much enjoyed my goodwill finds, and actually having my own place. Here are my favorite crafts i made for my cute little victorian home. Headboard for $5 made with shutters from goodwill. Shelf was made from old barnwood, and then i jazzed it up with knobs from anthropologie.  and i found that little table and sanded the stew out of it!

3. Moving in  in august was really hard for me. I was forced to live without two people I had spent the last 4 years living with. Katie and Kristin. We had gone our seperate ways after leaving starkville, and it was a really hard adjustment to not be able to crawl into bed for  Golden Girls watching  with them at night. and guess what, IM STILL MISSING THEM!

Sophomore year

4. I started graduate school. SCARY. I spent the whole first month praying that MUW was exactly where God wanted me to be, even if it did mean 3 more years of school, and the potential of sticking my fingers in people's mouths for the rest of my life :) but Guess what? I LOVE IT NOW. and i cant wait to start clinicals in the fall.

5. I am thankful for one girl. Without her this past year, i would have went nuts. ALESHA BAILEY: I am so glad you were there, and I wasnt the only weirdo having to go back and take pre reqs alone! (it just means we will be extra smart :))

6. I am so very thankful Columbus put in a chick fil a. without it, i would have been very sad, lonely, and...skinnier.

7.  Friends in starkville, and football season were a huge relief to my first semester.

8. I also started a little job. I taught preschool to 12yrs  tumbling and cheer classes. And although, i wanted to pull my hair out a few times, it was a blessing in disguise. There is no greater joy than teaching a 4 yr old how to do a cartwheel after 2000+ attempts.

9. Family: since i was in columbus (and had no washer and dryer), i spent a lot of time going to louisville so that my aunt and mamaw could wash my clothes :)  and i kept 2 little munchkins a few times! I LOVE MY FAMILY!

my precious carly

10. and ofcourse....december rolled around...and all of a sudden, THERE WAS A RING ON MY
FINGER.

11. and the planning began...


12. and a date was set....


13.   THEN A DRESS WAS BOUGHT!! :)

14.  AND I have still have 5, 789,595 things to do before December 15, 2012. but its all worth it! because after that day, im going home with my best friend. and hes mine. for good.

15. I spent the majority of my spring semester stuck in textbooks, doing projects, and crying on the phone to Pete and my mom. very thankful that they love me enough to say, "get yourself together samantha claire" 

16. I also went on my first turkey hunting adventure... If you missed that blog, here ya go WILDLIFE ADVENTURES

17. ALL GLORY TO GOD, I somehow managed to end up with good grades my first year as a speech therapy student. lets hope that doesnt get ruined come this august! i also learned a whole tremendous lot!

18. Pete and I started pre marriage counseling with George and Joy Ross, and they have been such great models and prayer warriors for us as we prepare to become one!

19. I came home for the summer, and started back working at my favorite place in Senatobia. Upstairs Closet. I love those ladies at the closet so much..its like having  9 extra moms/grandmas to make sure i am acting like a true southern lady should. ...(by the way, Ladies do not sweat, they perspire!  you should always have enough fruit for lunch in case you have company.  and good grief, do not ever return something to a store, if you bought it two sizes too small, and now youve split out the crotch. its just not right.)

20. Pete and I had a wonderful engagement party in june given by some pretty wonderful people. WE sure do have great friends and family that love us!

THE WEBBS

21.  Oh, and we had a great engagement session with our photographer Patrick Remington!
 to see all of them, go here: http://www.remingtonphotos.com/Clients/Samantha  our password is:  sampete

22. I spent my last full week being 22 with some of my family in Ft. Morgan. We had a wonderful time enjoying the sun, and being silly.

cousins playing

mom and i attempting to click of our heels together....never a dull moment.

I was blessed with a wonderful 22nd year, and I cant wait for the 23rd to start!!

love to all!

Sam 

HOME SWEET HOME

YES, I KNOW. Ive been lacking in my blog skills. I apologize to anyone who was desperately waiting to know any info about my life. Ha just kidding!!. its pretty normal at the moment...oh, and broke- due to the completion of my first year as a grad student and planning a wedding!  THATS RIGHT. I finished the first year of my odd three year track. If you havent figured it out by now, I am a "special case" grad student.  Due to my  B.S.degree being in psychology instead of communicative disorders, I had to take a few other classes before I could start clinical work. And  now I will officially be able to start clinic in august! whoop whoop. Who will be my lucky first patient?? :)  because of all of my hard work and grades,  Bobbie bought me some really cute heels to wear in our engagement pics. Well, by the end of the photo session, i was wishing i had failed instead. After 3 hours of pic taking, the shoes had pretty much ripped my feet apart....... and yeah, i will wear them again. because they are just that stinkin cute. BEAUTY IS PAIN PEOPLE! :)
 *if you havent yet,  Here is the link to a quick teaser of our wonderful photographer's favorites from the session. http://www.patrickremingtonphotography.com/blog/

I registered at Mimis on Main and City Drug last week. THIS IS THE FUN PART! big thanks to my friend Jacqueline Simpson for helping me figure it all out! AND ofcourse, sweet Anita for helping me at City Drug. I LOVE EVERYTHING. It totally made me want to buy a bunch of cute plates and cookbooks, and go practice my wifely cooking  and decor skills.  Im obsessed with my christmas dishes. Its aright to eat on "old st.nick" salad plates all year round, right?

It feels super good to be home. The past year was kind of difficult for me, moving to a new town in a new apartment alone with new career goals= a lot of change! But, I learned so much. Here are just a few  solo lessons I learned:
1. I figured out how to live all by myself, which was FABULOUS at times, and yet TERRIFYING.
2. Leslie Barnes taught me how to install my own redneck alarm system: Put all the breakable plates in front of the door, so if a creeper breaks in, I could hear the plates crash and go jump out of the window!
3. Crying 3 to 4x per week is perfectly ok, and does not mean that I am certifiably crazy. (Pete disagrees :) )
4. Thank goodness I was smart enough to not purchase but, if it looks questionable..  DO NOT BUY "organic lettuce" from your weird neighbors.
5. Hairspray can kill honey bees and prevent them from taking over my living room.
6. Those little Shark vacuums will not vacuum up 1000 dead honey bees.
7. Columbus is full of airplane men in green jumpsuits, and women wearing bonnets.
8. Lean Cuisines start all tasting the same after awhile.
9. Reading your bible and singing Jesus loves Me makes everything better.
10.  THERES NO PLACE LIKE HOME and I'm never living alone again. :)

I really need to go to sleep!
have a blessed sunday!
Sam

WILDLIFE ADVENTURES

hello to my bloggers...i just finished balling my eyes out watching episode 1 season 9 of LHOP. ( Little House on the Prairie). if you didnt know...i love LHOP! I own every episode thanks to my mom. I know you probably find this comical, but they just dont make shows like that anymore! how can you not love it: its biblically based, its a tear jerker, and that Charles Ingalls is one good looking man! My children will for sure watch every episode. I find it imperative for them to know what to do if their sister goes blind from the scarlet fever, or a "nellie oleson" pushes them down in the mud, or how to behave if we ever need to travel cross country in a covered wagon...:)

I havent blogged lately due to my overwhelming amount of school work and well...laziness. Some interesting things have happened this past week though. On thursday, i walked to my car after class to discover my friend kyndall's bunny rabbit was stuck up in her car and she was parked next to me. Kyndall's little boys had received the rabbit for easter, and she lives in Philadelphia. The rabbit had rode in her car hood all the way from Philadelphia to Columbus! I mean that is one adventerous rabbit. Anyway, you can imagine I was quite interested in this scenario. So i tried to help Kyndall and Emily get the rabbit out from the car. However, after the poor bunny jumped out from her hood, he ran under my car! IMAGINE THAT. So I was then stuck at the school for an hour trying to catch a rabbit under my car..... HOW MANY SPEECH THERAPY STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CATCH A BABY BUNNY? well..the answer is none... After like two hours, some man caught it and the bunny went back home to Philadelphia!

On friday, being the good girlfriend  fiance that I  am, I went fishing with Pete. I was excited about spending an afternoon just enjoying the beautiful weather, and not doing any school work. I didnt think we'd ever get there. He just kept driving further and further into the woods on the four wheeler, and i just kept getting more and more soaked from the slushing water of the minnow bucket (gross) that I was told to hold onto. When we finally got to wherever we were, ( and Im still not sure where that was...somewhere in the backwood sticks of Grenada Lake. ) I fished for an hour, and caught no fish!! neither did pete. However he is much more dedicated than myself.  I am not patient enough to play with fish who dont want to play back.

So this is what Pete did for the remainder of the afternoon..

And this is what I did for the remainder of the afternoon....

took a nap on the four wheeler

 and made shapes out of the clouds..:)

I did very much enjoy my afternoon of lake/pete time though, and I ate the one fish he caught for dinner! yummy.  

AND,..because Pete thought I had not had enough nature time for the day, he decides that I must go turkey hunting the next morning... my first reaction was "ok, but im wearing what I want.".. his reaction: " NO, ive got some pants you can wear." ofcourse I respond with a you have lost your mind look. He then tells me these pants are  "shmediums" . Your are probably thinking what i was. What in the world are shmediums??  According to Mr. Webb, they are a cross between small and medium, and he thinks I can wear them. So I wake up at 4 am and put on the camo shmedium pants, camo shirt, and I am later forced into a camo hat. MAJOR FIANCE POINTS FOR ME, RIGHT? (The shmediums by the way, are too big. and thank goodness I wore some pants under them.) 

here is pretty much how  the 2 hour adventure went:

 Pete: Would you come on?

Sam: Sorry, i cant exactly walk fast in the dark while my shmedium pants are about to fall off. and what does poison ivy look like? and are there snakes? are you going to shoot it? you know i hate snakes.  

Pete: Sam, you have got to be quiet! Were going to wait right here and see if  we can find out where they are gobbling.

Sam ( after weve sat down next to a tree): cough, cough, sneeze.

Pete: really sam?

sam: cough, cough, (wheezing) I cant breathe.

Pete: well the turkey really isnt coming now with you making all that noise.  

Sam: I cant breathe. Do you want me to die? Im having an allergic reaction to something.

Pete: Well, lets move.

(So we move to another location for like an hour.  and  finally hear the gobbling turkeys, and pete gets super excited..... and then not so excited after we move closer and scare it away.)

Pete: I just really wanted to get a turkey.

Sam: im sorry, ill buy you one at the wal mart.

Pete: No thanks,  but I am proud of you for coming with me.

Sam: yeah me too.  but can we go shopping next weekend? because im obviously allergic to turkey hunting.
                                                                                                                                                               

So i did have a pretty good weekend, and had a great time worshipping this morning. I visited First Baptist Columbus for the first time, and I really enjoyed it. Now Ive got to work on some school stuff and maybe a little bit of Little house watching :)
hope yall have a blessed week!
Sam

But God is Faithful!

HELLO blog peoples! its wednesday night. that means less than 48 hours and I will be home in the arms of my moma, my bed, and my gracie dog! I might hug the rest of the family too! and I cant wait to see petes parents, my upstair closet ladies, my church family, and ofcourse some friends in tobie town!!!! I havent been home in a month or so and after these last couple weeks of school...I cannot wait to be anywhere but Columbus. I have nothing particularly interesting happening in the world of sam at the moment, so this blog is going to concern something thats been on my mind lately for the past six years....SEX. Thats right i said it. If you happen to be a family member or someone who never wanted to hear little sam say that word...then i advise you to stop reading! hit that little X in the top right corner. :)

So, SEX . I dont have it. never have. Im 22 years old and Pete is 23 and neither of us have ever had "sexual intercourse".  ALL thanks and GLORY to God. Lets establish right here that in no way do I give credit to myself for that. Sinner sam would have got in bed long ago if my Lord had not have stepped in about 1000 times. I do not write this blog to make anyone say good job sam and pete, or for anyone who might think we're crazy dumb folks from the ancient days. Im telling my story because I feel guilty. I feel guilty that I have not been a better proclaimer to why when i get asked. I feel guilty that I have not used this subject more in the past to tell the gospel.

To begin my story, lets go back to highschool. I was clearly not walking with God on a daily basis. Was I saved? yes. Did my everyday life show it? NOT MUCH.....Besides leaving pete on the side :/...I dated guys that i shouldnt have. I learned real quickly that some of these guys had reputations. Which in turn, to some people,  made me look like i went along with these reputations.  I was pushed several times by some of these guys to have sex. more than once. and ONLY by the grace of God did I say no.  I knew i was saying no because God didnt want me to. But it was more about my fear of hell, and my fear of being labeled "a bad girl" than it was about following God's plan.

My sophomore year of college, I went to Africa. In preparation for our mission trip, we were to establish our salvation and purity testimony so that we could share to the young people of the village. (in Africa, Aids is rampant, and a  lot  believe salvation is based on works ).  I could tell you my salvation testimony. But the purity? that was more challenging. I had to face things I had done that werent pure. Repent. and then establish why God desired a pure life for me.  I have to give a little credit to the famous Jay Adkins for helping me search and encourage me to pray for why I truly was choosing to be abstinent. God told me not only was it his plan for my life,  but that it was a gift. Sex is a gift. A gift only to be shared with your husband. It is not an act that is bad. It is not an act that God invented to torture teenagers with. It is an act, however, that is holy, that is pure, and that is special when done the way He intended.

These are a few reasons/exlplanations of why I think God saves sex for marriage:
1. "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own." 1 Cor. 16:19.
God made you. That makes your body his creation. Your body should be protected and honored like a temple. It should not be used for sin. But rather used to honor God. All other sins are outside of the body, but sexual immorality is a sin within your own body. (1 Cor 6:18)

2. God made man.  and God made woman to be his companion and helper.  He then gave husbands and wives a gift of pleasure to be shared only to each other.

3. In His plan, a husband and wife would have children and establish families.  Having sex out of marriage increases the risk of children being born out of the family dynamic plan.

4. God sees sex out of marriage as an earthly sin...... "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

5. Jealousy.  God meant for a husband and wife to only experience sex with each other. Doing this, I think could help control jealousy or past thoughts about old sexual partners of the husband or wife and provide for a stronger marriage.

6.Intimacy. Whats more intimate than sex? I havent had the sex, so i cant completely say :), but i dont think two people can get any closer than sex. Having sex before marriage allows too much intimacy to happen between two people who may not be fully committed to each another, thus making it harder to split up, trust etc.

Now ill take you to the NOW:
One of the reasons I fell for Pete was his gentleness, respect and opinion about this topic. Pete is rare among college age guys these days. and I LOVE THAT!!!  Are pete and I perfect? Absolutely not. Do we struggle with abstinence daily? Absolutely yes. Have we let things get too far before? yes. Both of us have had to get up and leave the room before.  Do I want to have sex? for sure yes, but I love God more.

 1 Corinthians 10:13 = No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

We are so eat up with temptation sometimes, its hard and pete has often said he wants to pull all his hair out and go to the courthouse for a marriage license tomorrow! haha. We know everything about each other, being close for 6+ years has allowed for some build up of  tension for sure. The subject of sex comes up among our friends. And We are used to the reactions we get from people in a college town. Some are positive. Some are negative. Its usually that shocked face or a laugh of disbelief. However, I pray that we both start using our story more regularly  in order to jumpstart a convo about who Jesus is, and what he has done for us. I also pray that we can keep up the absence of sex and that the increasing temptations that come from being engaged wont take over.

Please join with us in praying for our battle, and the battle most young unmarried couples face.  I want to please my Lord and say on the night of December 15, 2012, I had sex with my HUSBAND for the 1st time! :)

Thanks for reading my very wordy, personal post!
Sam

Things Lately

HELLO friends. I thought Id give a little updating! These past couple of weeks have been STRESSFUL. I've had a test, and then a test, and then........another test. I somehow have managed to make  As on them (very close calls on a couple though:)) However, lets not speak too soon because I just took one today that was a doozy! Anyway....I know not many people want to hear about my attempts to learn all of the tongue, facial, and pharyngeal muscles in one night  one hour. The dictionary should say "procrastination= Sam Wood". Oh, and I really miss my moma Bob. If anyone sees her riding around in her super attractive STAHOME car, pull her over and give her a hug for me. She sent me a Valentines gift that I have not even received yet, because I gave her the wrong address to my house. (YEAH...I know Im nuts.) But I love getting packages so ill be glad for it to get here  soon!

Speaking of Valentines...the fiance and I didnt exactly have the best of luck. We do not and never have gone all out for the VDay, but we do usually have a sweet dinner or something. However, I ofcourse had a test the day after Valentines this year and therefore was unable to do anything that night.  This really upset me, because i had to witness all the love everyone else was getting on facebook while I was stuck studying. So the next day, being the sweet man he is, Pete had planned to cook me a yummy dinner by candlelight. I have class til 8 pm on Wednesdays, so it was going to be all ready when I got out of class. He had made a grilled chiken dish that had some sort of mushroom cheese topping. BUT, when he test tasted, he realized the mushrooms were poisoned or ruined or something. :(   so we had to chunk that and go to Peppers Deli! The poor thing was very upset!

I have been enjoying my job at the gym this week, my girls (and 2 boys) are so sweet sometimes. I only work 5 hours a week which provides for a whopping sized paycheck, let me tell ya!!! Its not easy, and in my opinion I should make $100 an hour after attempting to teach a cartwheel to 10 four yr olds all at the same time.. :) Here are some crazy things I heard this week:
"Ms. Sam, my mom is a paleontologist so she loves whales!"
"Ms. Sam, im not a very good gymnasticus but im a good magician"
"Hey Ms Sam, when I get big, Im going to be the yellow power ranger."
and my favorite..."Ms. Sam, I want to be you when I grow up!" .....  I totally ate that one up ofcourse!! :)


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On another subject: WEDDING PLANS..
Did you know I was getting hitched? :)
We have decided on the photographer !! wheww whoo!!...but now to pay the photographer....Not so wheww whoo!
I also have to share this because I just thought it was oober cute.  These are the cards I had made and sent off to ask my bridesmaids: So excited!

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Also, please pray for my Aunt Beck. She has been really sick the past week and they took her by ambulance to Jackson today. We dont exactly know whats going on yet. Really hoping she starts to get better soon!

 *All glory to my King for the past couple of good weeks in school! Really hoping Im going to become more motivated by monday! All I really want to do is sleep.
hope yall have a fabulous weekend!
SAM

Fashion tips from a drama queen

OK SO im about to rant. im feeling "rantish" (thats just a samword btw). The more and more I look at facebook, which is a lot, the more I get opinionated on what you should and should not wear girls. So heres a few personal tips from someone who has struggled is struggling with this.

COVER IT UP!!!!! God gave you curves- yes. But he didnt give them to you so that you could show everybody and their mama.......Have I worn things that dont match who I want to be as a God loving woman? ABSOLUTELY.  As a girl thats totally into the fashion world and whats cute now, this is a HUGE struggle. However, believers certainly need to be more aware of how we are being perceived by what we wear on our bodies.  IM NOT saying that you shouldnt show a little leg! I love legs! Nor am i saying that we should wear sheets and never show those pretty shoulders. Shoulders are not reproductive organs :). but I AM saying that cleavage to your belly button is highly distasteful. and that mini skirts so short and soo tight that i can see your panty line are a big  fat NO NO. I am not trying to judge ( because obviously ive worn some things i shouldnt) but I think today's women do not look at their clothes from the right perspective. If  you are a single college age girl waiting for a hubby that loves Jesus, and yet youre looking for him while wearing a  little 5 inch dress ...WELL GUESS WHAT?  the guy youre wanting most likely isnt searching for the girl in the 5 inch dress..so youre  probably out of luck sister.

YOU CAN BE CUTE AND COVERED!  Heres a few things I like to remember:

#1. BALANCE! if you are wearing something a little bit tighter or shorter  than normal on the bottom, then you need to wear a more covering and loose fitting top. and vice versa. Not only is this more appropriate, but it WILL  also make you look skinnier :) 

#2. Do not wear skirts that dont meet your fingertips when your hands are down beside your body. This is a great rule to remember and keeps everyone from seeing your Shiney Hiney when you bend over.

#3.  Mammary glands. tatas. bahoobas. whatever you want to call them. They shouldnt be out for everyone to see. There is such a thing as modest cleavage!! but you shouldnt see a two inch line of what i call  the "cleavage crack"...  You can get away with a little bit lower top if it is an evening party, a wedding, or your swimsuit.
 Got a top thats a little too revealing? JUST put a  PRETTY scarf on!

#4. TIGHTS. this is a biggie these days. First let me clarify the differences among all the types of "TIGHTS"..... stockings or hose= those thin things like your mamaw wears.... tights= thicker stockings that are spandexy and not opaque.  Leggings= cotton or really thin pants!...so The longer your top is, the thinner your bottom choice can be!!! Wearing a long top that comes just below your tushy requires very thick leggings or even some skinny/thin pants.
for all these girls wearing tights that are see through with short tops/dresses: its not attractive. at all. everybody can see your thigh dimples. :(

#5. Wear what your comfortable in!   If you wear something you feel like doesnt exemplify who you are on the inside, then it might not be a good choice.


One day a couple of years ago, I was babysitting The Edges. I had just gotten dressed  in, ofcourse, a cute little sundress and Katch Edge walked into my bathroom and said "Susan, arent ya gonna put your pants on?"......and then it hit me, If a four year old noticed that my dress looked short, than it most likely was!! .. and yes, the Edge children call me Susan. Im not sure where that came from. BUT, " Susan" doesnt wear that dress anymore :)


Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthains 6 19-20.


Hope everyone has a fabulous week and GO SHOPPING! buy yourself a little valentines happy!
LOVE,
Sam

Rainy Day Update

WELLLL...I dont exactly have any real exciting news to blog about it, but blogging gives me yet ANOTHER reason to not study. I have two tests tuesday and THEY ARE GOING TO BE TERRIFYING. But, i just cannot focus. Im sorry, im just simply not interested in brain neurons or laryngeal functioning. There are lots of aspects of speech therapy that im totally into (autism communication, feeding disorders, cochlear implants, augmentative comm.., etc). However, id rather eat dirt than discuss a few (nasty) other things. YES i know, they all interact and  I must know it all, but i dont want to today. TODAY, i want to sleep while listening to the rain, get on pinterest and etsy, watch little house on the prairie, eat butter fingers, eat chic fil a......you get the point.

Mallory just text me some pics of the prom dresses she liked. With 3 high maintenance women, Our fam is always looking for some sort of dress...and right now its prom. However, these dresses were awful. I try to be supportive of her different tastes, but i veto those two MAL. SORRY.  Im just not sure how she and mom get dressed at home without me there telling them what they can and cannot wear :)

Last weekend, she did wear a pretty dress and looked fabulous at the Beauty Revue. Congrats to her for being a finalist.



While at home last weekend, Pete and I also had our first counseling meeting with Mr. George and Joy Ross. LOVED IT! These 2 are super sweet and I know they will give pete and I some great insight on how we can become a better, God glorifying couple. I think Pete was a little nervous (I obviously am the talker in the relationship :)) But, after lunch with them last sunday, we are both relaxed and so excited!

Here are a few praises from last week:
(Sometimes i just want to get it together and list a FEW out!)
-Thankyou Lord for teaching me through the stories of Joseph. (they were an easier read than Job:))
- Praise to Him for giving my friend Austin a safe delivery and healthy baby! Layton is precious and I cant wait to see him!
- Although I complain, Thank you Lord for allowing me to be where I am in school.
- Thanks to God for letting me see parts of how He is working in Petes life.
- I am grateful for friends that I know have been praying diligently for me!
- Thank you Father for seeing some special friends of mine through a tough last week.
- and All glory to God for giving me and you the greatest gift of all!


Now im about to go make some spaghetti (a good reason for more procrastination).
Hope everyone has a supercalafradgalistic week!
Sam

Phillipians 2:3

This past weekend, Pete made his last trip to deer camp. Did you read that? YES I SAID LAST!! DEER TIME IS OVER ON THE 31st. and I am so happy!!!!!!!!!!! I'm sure I will one day appreciate my alone time when my husband trotts off to deer camp , but right now I consider it a torturous time of which he leaves me dateless for the weekend in order to chase a four legged animal with horns (i know i have got to be cuter than a deer?  :))
 so, mom came to stay with me in Columbus friday night and we went to the bridal show here in town saturday morning, which wasnt worth much by the way. It would have been had I won something, but ofcourse I did not.  Mom also informed me that for my something blue at the wedding, she was going to tattoo SMURFETTE to my leg....I am not kidding, she loves the smurfs..... (and yall wonder where I get my weirdness?)

We then went to one of my many cousins birthday parties in Louisville. My moms side of the family is very fertile and we have lots of cute little ones!!We had three bdays in the fam this week.. Happy birthday to my sweet Carly Rae, Brady and Cash!

Carly and Cash (who are also my flower girl and Little ring bearer)

This is one a my favs of Carly and I. and yes she is hitting "sammy" with a stick.

Brady just turned 6 and will be my BIG ring bearer!



Pete and I have also just started the Love Dare. Were only one week in, so im hoping we can keep it up!We may have jumped the gun on doing this, being as it is written with an already married couple in mind. But nevertheless, I have already learned some great relationship tips and musts, and I know they will be even more important when we ARE married. If you dont know, The Love Dare is a daily read that provides biblically based principles and daily challenges to the couple inspired by the movie FIREPROOF. Ive realized simple arguments that I pick are quite silly,  and that some of the things I do for Pete are set up through my own selfishness. I know that I personally do nice things sometimes, thinking he should do something in return or I bring it back to his attention later. But that just isnt based on love. AT ALL. Just in a few days, we have also both put forth more awareness on how our words and actions might hurt the other. Soo..im hoping we can stick with this a little longer!


I also cannot wait to go home friday! wheeww whoo!! I havent seen my upstairs closet ladies in awhile, and I surely need to be caught up with whats happening in tobie town (and believe me, these women know the scoop:)) And I miss my sweet gracie dog, my bed, and I certainly need to do some catching up with the future mom in law!

Hope everyone has a blessed week!
Sam

A DRESS AND A DEER

I AM ON A blog roll these days! we'll see how long that lasts..:) I had a great long weekend! not at all looking forward to going back tomorrow. Ive got to get on some note reading so Neurology and Voice Disorders doesnt turn me into too much of a basket case. Im real glad my neurons are firing and all but im not  interested in how it happens. I accomplished NOTHING this week in the realm of academics...however, I DID SAY YES TO THE DRESS!!!!!!!! AHHH!! ill give u a hint..................................
ITS WHITE,  ITS LONG, AND IT HAS a CHOO CHOO......guess youll have to wait 11 months and see :)

The adventure to finding this dress was ofcourse stressful yet wonderful! my dear sister PIPPA was in the other room putting on all the prom dresses while i tried on the white ones. IMAGINE THAT! Kays in tupelo was having a Mori Lee trunk show and sale, so we went saturday. I didnt think I would be leaving with a gown but It happened! (actually its still there)  It definitely needs some altering and hopefully by this summer, it will need even more altering! HELLO GYM AND YOGA CLASS!! but i love it and i think ive looked at it on my phone atleast 50 times today and yesterday! Its killing me that i cant show Pete. He even yelled at me when i asked if he wanted to see. (I was just kidding :))

When i got back from tupelo, Pete and I had dinner Saturday night, and watched MISS AMERICA. Then I went to eat Sunday lunch with Aunt beck and the crew. I loooove my beck's sunday lunch! My mamaw saw me and then called mom to tell her I didnt look good and was too skinny?  But  2 months ago, she told me i was getting "thick". So, I guess i better start checking in with mamaw more often for updates on my health!

This morning was an ODD AND RARE occurence, I got up at 4 am to go hunting with Pete. I get major points for that right???? When we got there, we pulled in to park the truck in the woods and all of sudden, he just jumps out and starts shooting! I about had a heart attack ofcourse and quickly realized there were 4 deer right in front of us. We had barely got out of the truck and he had already shot an 8 point. Apparently Im good luck, and now must go hunting with him more often (we'll see about that..). I then had to witness the butchering of  poor MR. BAMBIS DADDY... For some reason, i kept watching even though I was about to puke. It was quite interesting, but i wont be eating any meat for a few days... I turned around before the decapitation.. G R O S S.
 It reminded me of how different God made men and women. I would never ever be able just get my knife out like that and start skinning and chopping. But Pete can. and It does give me a little comfort to know that if we ever are starving, he can run out in the woods and kill us some grub i guess.  BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, im going to have to be a vegetarian :)

I hope everyone has a fabulous week and lets hope that I can get focused on some speech therapy!

Also, I ask that anyone who might actually be reading my blog, pray for us during these preparation months, Petes leadership, and my ability to be a Godly, submissive wife.
Love,
Sam

Friday update and redneck reasons :)

Its friday!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS BEEN A GOOD week back...except for the now extremely painful ear infection i have gained. blah. I asked Leslie Barnes what i should do and she has instructed me to put olive oil in my ear....Shes pretty much my natural oragnic advisor. Shes also known as a Hippie to some :) I love her hippiness but Im a little concerned about the extra virgin olive oil coming out of my ear...

Ive been looking for photographers this week and have narrowed it down to a few but its so difficult to find somebody with a touch of artsy and traditional without them costing 5000 dollars! any help and advice is greatly appreciated!

Pete ofcourse has taken a trip to deer camp, and most everyone went home for the three day weekend, so im currently chilling (literally, its freezing!) in Columbus by myself this afternoon watching the Little
House on the Prairie and eating carrots. Im liking this alone time, especially since im contemplating burning my right ear off! Tomorrow, im meeting mom and mallory in Tupelo to eat, look at dresses, and find mallory some pants or something. She is going to Jackson next week to be a page chick at the capitol! Im so proud of that smart baby sister!

 I stopped by Books a Million earlier and I found the cutest little book .. 100 reasons why you would marry a redneck..It was quite humurous and some definitely true in my case..Here are a few reasons why im marrying my redneck :)

1. He can do 50000 things with Duct tape. It will never be wasted.
2. Camoflauge will be taken to new levels of personal expression.
3. He thinks half fixed is much better than fully broken.
4. Hes totally fine with Vienna Sausages being an entree..( i however would rather eat dirt.)
5. He knows how much I'd appreciate a gift card to the wal mart.
6. He's an Olympic champion Snorer.
7. Hes the perfect wheel of fortune watching partner.
8. Free oil changes, Free heavy lifting, and free road side assistance.
9. He Loves babies, old ladies, and skinning rabbits, deer, and other creatures.
10. He will give me the oppurtunity to master chicken fried steak. (why is it called that anyway? how can it be chicken and steak?) He will also give me lots of chances on cooking before kicking me out of the house.
11. Hes bigger than me. I never wanted to marry someone whos hips were smaller than mine, and who couldnt pick me up when needed.
12. He knows how to handle a varmint problem.
13. He knows all the football stats, but doesnt know where any of his clothes, socks, or towels are.
14. He would love it if we just had pigs in blankets and hot wings at our wedding reception.
15.  And Hes excited about having little rednecks one day...:)

Hope everyone has a blessed long weekend!!!

Flying the Nest

I FINALLY MADE IT to columbus. I got up early this morning to leave only to find that i had a flat tire while loading my car..LOVELY. So my departure was delayed. Took it the wal mart to discover i had ran over a nail. Last time i had a flat, it was due to a CHICKEN BONE. so this one was a little more normal. While they fixed it, i had a lovely lunch with the fam. I also had really great phone convos today with my old friends beka and then erin today! its funny how you can call old friends, look at your phone and realize youve been talking for 2 hours. i love them and it was good to catch up!

Beka and myself in bug and cat form. Weve been friends and fighting with one another since kindergarten (We fought everyday because she wouldnt let me sit by Katie Barham ha!)

Erin and myself a couple of years ago. Shell for sure keep me on my wedding planning toes:) and make sure no one is wearing anything terrible.

Last night we went to jordan and jims wedding and it was so beautiful! congrats to both of them! and ofcourse i had a running mental list of ideas and things to remember floating in my head all night :).

Mom me  and mal (who thought she was hot stuff because i let her wear my dress)

It was a great evening to sum up the Christmas break.

Mom just text me and said "Mama bird doesnt like it when all the chicks arent in the nest. ".. Youd think after five years of me leaving from breaks shed get used to it...Shes really going to have nest problems when i move on to my  very own nest  next december. and if you dont know yet, THE LOVEBIRDS HAVE AN OFFICIAL DATE! December 15, 2012! Cant wait.

Im all geared up and ready for a fresh new semester tomorrow. And then Im going over to Petes to eat and watch the national championship with a bunch of men and alysca :). okayyy....so.. I'm really just going to eat. I dont even have a clue what teams are playing..

Hope everyone has a blessed week!!

Sam