your cousin/brother/son/grandson/nephew/cousin-in-law, the yankee.

this is how I start off each day... the tune in my heart and spirit in my step as I walk to the subway.



...and a bonus video HERE

Tyler, who married Jake and I wrote this t.v. show. Y'all should watch it :)

http://www.fntv.com/episodes/s1e1/

Just click on the link to watch it...this is the first episode that came out on Friday night I believe. Love y'all!

-Taylor

sopa picante picante

It has been very rainy and cold here in Waco and after a full day of classes and errands I decided to make the most of what I had laying around for dinner (in addition to a few store bought extras). I filled my crockpot full of vegetables and chicken to simmer away all afternoon into something yummy and Autumn-like.

3 chicken breasts - butterflied and cut into strips
4 zucchini - halved lengthwise and sliced into half-moons
5 roma tomatoes - quartered
4-6 cloves of garlic - minced
2 cups of corn - fresh or canned
6 or so cups of chicken broth
salt and pepper to tatse
plenty of olive oil
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
** this last ingredient is now where this soup gets its name. I thought adding a little kick would give my soup some boldness and depth - BUT the amount I added WHEWW took it over the edge. I think I added the whole small jar (chopped) and about half of the sauce. In the future I would recommend adding 2-3 if not less.

Just add all the ingredient into the crockpot and cook on high for about 2 and half hours.

Love and miss you all

xoxo

Cassie Jo

No Matter What

Psalm 16:5
      LORD, You are my portion
        and my cup of blessing;
                 You hold my future.
"Lord, in all the chaos, crisis, all the threat and doubt, You caused my life to work out. Instead of me falling apart, the lines of my life have fallen together. Truly I can say that You have given me a delightful inheritance.

No matter what life hands us, the favor God has on us, his children, turns our destruction into divine destiny, one trusting step at a time. When all is said and done, we will see that the "portion" God assigned was good, right, rich and full of purpose..."
Have a wonderful day...lisa

sic 'em

The audio in this clip isn't great, but it was enough to get me a little teary-eyed at work this morning.  I so wish I could have attended just one game at The Floyd this year.

HUGE game this weekend!  SIC 'EM BEARS!  Let's make some history!



Rise up!

- Austin

ps - (Casey's candy bark is amazing. I've challenged her to make a Christmas version for us in Waco!)

bon appé-treat!

first off, i cant wait to meet (most) everyone in Waco for Christmas! :)

but before Christmas comes Halloween! i work in promotions for bon appétit magazine (for those who might not know) and we created this amazing Halloween Peanut Butter and Toffee Candy Bark - it is ridiculously easy and festive! not to mention tastes amazing...



here is the packaging we created for our sales reps to give to clients - suffice to say, it was a hit!



enjoy ;)

Good Morning...

I was reminded this morning that how we start our day
        can determine our day...
"One reason a morning prayer time is so critical is because we never know when a matter is going to arise that needs attention "at once". We don't always get to deliberate about it for several days or weeks and study our options. If we're not surrendered to God already that day with our hearts and minds guarded by Scripture, we'll more likely react by impulse than by the Holy Spirit.
Every morning God already knows each joy and concern our day holds. Some crises are so horrendous that we feel like nothing could have prepared us for them.
Other times we can see that God strategically placed the truths on our minds that would become hope and assurance to us for months to come." beth moore
So...let's be prepared in advance to be victorious
       in whatever situation might arise.
Because "arise" it will~
lisa

Cassie Jo & Brock's Wedding Vignette: Password-cassiejobrock

Cassie Jo & Brock Wedding Vignette from Lockerpartners Artistic Wedding on Vimeo.

November 2



Iraqi Voter overcome with emotion



We have the privilege, right and duty to vote. As American's we often take that for granted...
Lisa~

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

  ~ Edmund Burke

So proud of my husband!!

Thanks for your prayers for Ashton....he did UNREAL and I am beyond proud of him. Story had a lot of first while in California including a few limo rides, In-N-Out burger, and watching her Daddy light up the stage! We are so blessed to be part of this family and I just wanted to thank you for praying for him.

Here is a picture of us with the owner after Ashton's talk...

Also here is the email from the owner sent just an hour after we left...thanks for letting me brag!  :)

Dear Ashton:

Again I want to communicate what a fabulous breath of fresh air you brought to our company this morning.  I think the standing ovation without any reservations indicated how our audience felt about your speech.  Your four objectives were met.  As I indicated to you, you have a tremendous future not only in real estate but candidly as a platform speaker.  There’s going to come a time when you’re going to have to make a decision in terms of where your focus will be.

Hope and expect to see you both in the near future.  Congratulations again.  The delivery was terrific, the content superb.  Like I said, knowledge on fire, enthusiasm is knowledge on fire and you certainly had it.

Sincerely,

Bruce

This reminded me of Lisa's e-mail yesterday and our faroff country and longing ultimately leading us to Jesus, of course :)

"In speaking of this desire for our own faroff country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you—the secret which hurts so much that you take your revenge on it by calling it names like Nostalgia and Romanticism and Adolescence; the secret also which pierces with such sweetness that when, in very intimate conversation, the mention of it becomes imminent, we grow awkward and affect to laugh at ourselves; the secret we cannot hide and cannot tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name. Our commonest expedient is to call it beauty and behave as if that had settled the matter."

"The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited."

C.s. Lewis (of course ☺ )


Love you all!
Taylor

Sometimes the "Little Thing" isn't "Little"

Every one of us who embraces the glory of God as our purpose will end up doing great things precisely because we do God-things! His holy hand resting on the least act renders the ordinary, extraordinary... Spooning soup into the mouth of the weak or manning the nursery so a tired mom can go to church are acts of high worship in the name of Christ. He beholds the sight like a breathtaking work of art, tilting His head to study each subtle detail.  (beth moore)
Mark 14:6 "She has done a beautiful thing to me"

Pray for Jeff

Please pray for Jeff today as he is taking his board exams...
we love you Jeff!

Looking at the past, but not living in the past...

If we long to live in the past, or wish things were they way they used to be, we'll miss the blessings of our here and now...our future.
In our family alone, here are the things we would have missed had it not been for the future...
 We have been blessed by our "Family Fast For Freedom" for Reid
          and have seen God move in a powerful way and are trusting Him!
We have added 4 new members to our family in Ashton, Justin, Jake &
         Cassie Jo...
We found out about a 5th addition, and what a "Story" that was and will be!
Ashton continues to provide gut wrenching entertainment that all started with
        "nut my crackers"...
Hayley moved back to Waco and is on,what I'm sure will prove to be,
        "A Great Adventure"...
   oh...and she blessed us with the perfect dog, Bayley,
        who has perfect cousins, Lucy, Sadie, Donovan, Kitty & Lola
Clif & I went through some dark days but have found such promise
        on the other side! Clif LOVES his job!
Julie is in the midst of changing careers and we are so proud of you!
Taylor continues to amaze us with her hard work ethic and deep desire to be
        the best caregiver ever!
Justin's graduation and new teaching job; we are excited for you!
Jeff and Mollie joining us at Brock's wedding
        and making that memory complete ~
oh, did I mention, Brock's MARRIED!!!
oh, and that Jake & Taylor are Broadway Bound!
Speaking of New York...
Austin started a new job in NYC and we saw God move big time in that!
We've seen what it means to "serve someone you love" in
        Big Daddy's care for Libby.
Mammaw has shown us how courageous one can be,
        even in the midst of chronic pain.
Brooke has amazed us all with the load she carries and the JOY she exudes!
Brynn showed us there is room for more than 1 "Martha Stewart" in every family!
Pat & Tanya continue to provide LOVE, ENCOURAGEMENT, MERCY, GRACE
        & STRENGTH, not only to us, but to the entire world!
Reid has taught us SO much about SO much!
and Munner has taught us how to LIVE even to the age of 98!
and then, looking to the future,
we all get to meet Casey at C h r i s t m a s !
So...we don't live in the past; we remember it, learn from it, repeat some of it, forget some of it and then we move forward and look to the promise of a new day ...
I believe Paul says it best... 

Philippians 3:13 (The Message)
Focused on the Goal 12-14I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
Blessed...Lisa

Beautiful Day in Waco

I am checking out the blog trying to figure out how to post. we'll see if this works.
It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, would you be mine could you be mine, won't you be my neighbor. wish you were all in Waco and we were eating a Lolita's breakfast together.