Nicaragua Bound!

Next week I will be traveling to Nicaragua again. Last year I had the amazing opportunity to travel with my mom and absolutely fell in love with the people there. I couldn't wait to go back. 

 Each year we bring hundreds of toys, clothes, rice, and beans for the people in the town of Diriamba and the surrounding communities. Hundreds of people line up waiting for food and toys. In a way we joked that we kind of felt like Santa Clause but on a serious note, it reminded me how the people flocked to Jesus wherever he went. I am in no way comparing us to Jesus but we are bringing the love of Jesus in what we do.

 We pass out candy, trinkets, games and friendship bracelets. For some children, this is the first toy they've received all year or ever!

 Last year my mom and I had such a great time. It is an exhausting yet fulfilling week. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity to take this trip with my mom. She has always encouraged me to be aware of the world around us, to give to those who are in need and to love with an open heart. Diriamba, Nicaragua is just one of the few places that God has asked me to do these very things.

 I would like to ask you, my friends, for prayer for this trip. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. If we pray over this trip I know amazing things will happen.

Please pray for the people of Diriamba. I have been specifically praying that God would place people in our lives who need who see and hear of His love.

There is one day that we will go to the local dump and pass out food, clothing and really anything we can to the people who live there. Yes, I said LIVE there. The dump is their home. Oh, how fortunate we are, America. I just ordered a huge storage unit to store all of my earthly belongings and these people literally live off of other people's trash.

Perspective.

 Please pray for safe traveling. Our traveling days by plane will be Monday, December 3rd and Saturday, December 8th. We will also be traveling by van to a different destination each day. They don't exactly abide by the same (or any) road laws. We laughed about how crazy the drivers are there but it's a little scary when you're in a van with all the other crazy drivers on the road.

 Please pray for the health of our group. If you follow my blog, then you know I have an auto immune disease. Last year, God provided me strength to do literally everything our group had scheduled to do. This shocked me considering my normal low energy levels. And when I wear myself down, I always get sick. I pray that I maintain my health so that I may serve God to the best of my abilities. And I pray this for each of our group members as well as the family we will be staying with. We will be working long days and need a renewed strength each day. Only the Lord can provide that... and a good strong cup of Nicaraguan coffee. :)

 One last prayer request is for our sponsored children. We sponsor children through the Nicaraguan Christian Outreach as well as through Compassion International. I will actually get to meet BOTH of our sponsored kids! I am just thrilled! I can't wait to meet them and their families, give them the gifts I bought them, take pictures with them, and most of all share Christ with them.

Thank you for your support and prayers.  If you are on Instagram, follow me at cbbuie. I'll try to post at least one photo a day to keep y'all up to date on our trip.

The Buie's Are Moving!

Yup. You read that right. We're moving. If you follow me on twitter then you saw my announcement last week that the Buie's are moving to Louisiana. I have been going back and forth about when and how to tell my you, my friends, the news. Of course, we had to tell our family first and then I've just been telling my close friends as I see them over the past week or two. We are in the crazy stages right now. There are boxes everywhere in our house. P.O.D.S. has been ordered and should be delivered in the next week or two. We are kind of freaking out about how much has to be done. I'll let y'all know more details later especially when we put our house on the market.

So what does this mean? Well, if you follow me on the blog, then nothing will change! I'll be blogging about our move, our house hunting process and our sanity as we try to maintain it along the way. If you live in the Central Arkansas area and are our friend and/or client, I honestly don't want this move to affect our friendship or our clients. We will only be moving 3 hours away and plan to come back all the time! (yay!) I actually am already planning Spring mini sessions for Central Arkansas. Just as I did mini sessions in Louisiana while I lived in Arkansas, I plan to do mini sessions in Arkansas while living in Louisiana. So yes, we can still be friends! :) And yes, I can still take your pictures. yay! So not much will change. Unless, of course you want to drop by for a chat and a cup of coffee... it might take you a little longer to "drop by."

So when will this move take place? Oh, how I wish I knew exactly. The simplest answer I can come up with is 6 months or less. Like I said, our house isn't even on the market yet.

We are super excited yet a little saddened by the fact we will be leaving this home behind. We have so many great memories in this home. I hope the family who lives here next will make so many more wonderful memories.

Please keep us in your prayers as we listen to God's guidance over the next few weeks and months. This has been a strenuous process and definitely one that requires a lot of faith. But honestly we just feel this is where God is leading our family for many reasons. As our plans unfold, I'll be sure to keep y'all updated. Thanks for the support and excitement that y'all have already shown us.

One Packed Week

I have spent the last week in my home town in Louisiana. Last weekend was my dear friend, Melissa's, baby shower. I also booked a few photo shoots last weekend and I just decided to stay the entire week through Thanksgiving. I always miss my husband and our animals but I get in so much family time, I love doing it every now and then. 

It would be a terribly long post if I described in detail everything I did over the last week. There was plenty of eating, lots of picture taking and even had some time for some football watching. I love spending weekdays in Minden because I get to do and see things that I normally wouldn't be able to during a weekend. Mom and I got our hair done together one day. Dad and I and my oldest brother, Chris went to a LA Tech game together. It was such a great game! I'm so glad I went! Dad and I had lunch with my grandmother at The Arbor (the assisted living place where she lives). I had three photo shoots while I was in town. I'm trying to edit and return them to the clients before I leave the country next Monday. Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving and I saw lots of family I hadn't seen in a while.

Unfortunately the stomach bug plagued my oldest brother's family, so my two nieces did not make it for Thanksgiving. Buie drove in for the day with the dogs and I was so happy to them. We had plenty to eat and so much to be thankful for. Thanksgiving afternoon, we watched the Cowboys and were entertained by these two turkeys, Landon and Carson. Aren't they adorable?

I love watching them growing up, even if it is too fast.

I truly hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving! Now, back to editing. I only had a week until I leave for Nicaragua! AH! So much to do!

Thankful.

After spending a week a part from my husband Brent Buie, I have grown to love him even more. He drove down for Thanksgiving today (his only day off of work) and I realized more today than I ever had just how lucky I am to have him in my life. He is my rock. He is my chef who prepares all of our meals. He takes care of me when I'm sick. He makes out our grocery lists and looks up healthy recipes. He takes the time to play with the dogs in the backyard. He gets down on the floor and wrestles with them. He even lets them lick him all over (yuck!) ;)

 He is my best friend who makes me laugh constantly. He impresses me with his knowledge of history, sports and well, basically all things. (He really needs to go on Jeopardy.) He writes me sweet notes all the time and texts me throughout the day. He brings me home surprises from work just because he knows I needed a smile that particular day. He encourages me spiritually and challenges me to actually USE my Christian Studies degrees. He seriously knows more about the Bible than I ever could have learned in those four years of school. He's constantly teaching me new words and phrases and of course the origin of where they came from. :) He encourages me to pursue my dream.

Brent Buie, you are my rock and I am so thankful that you are in my life. 

Melissa's shower

Melissa and I have been friends since we were young, like 2nd grade young! We grew up going to church together, then in 6th grade we started going to the same school. She has always been such a kind and generous person to me. She always thinks of others before herself. Even when I was a part of her wedding a few years ago, she was so concerned with all her bridesmaids even on her special day. She really is one of the most selfless people I know. Melissa and David are expecting their first baby girl, Emma Kate, next month so now is the time for us to spoil them!

Saturday morning several of Melissa's good friends threw her a baby shower at my mom's house. We divided up tasks and conquered! This was actually my first baby shower that I was in charge of. I really don't like telling people what to do, but if you don't delegate then you just end of doing everything yourself and that's no fun.

I got a lot of ideas off Pinterest (of course), like the donut tower. Seriously, how simple is that? You just pile up white powered donuts in a pyramid shape and garish with some pretty flowers. Simple & practical yet still pretty enough for an elegant shower. The drinks were my mom's doings. She kept glass baby bottles from when my older brothers and myself were babies - so yes, they are 30 something years old. She uses them over and over for showers. I think they are brilliant! Use them with oj, lemonade, mimosas or punch and fun straws!  Petit fours are a must for any Southern baby shower. Instead of a fruit platter, we did fruit kabobs. Again, so simple and colorful!

Mom did the centerpiece with the adorable baby dress. 

I think it might have been Melissa's favorite part! ;)

 And if you haven't had mini quiches from SAMS, you haven't lived. No these aren't homemade but who cares when they taste this good. (I'm going from memory here since I haven't eaten one since 2007- not gluten free)

 The entry table and guest book. I found this little foxy guy on Melissa's Pinterest page. The second I saw that she had pinned it, I ordered it. Melissa's last name is FOX. How appropriate, huh?? How ADORABLE!

Melissa and Jamie showing off their baby bumps! Melissa is on the left. Jamie's shower for her little girl is next Saturday. I can't wait!

I think everything turned out so well! Melissa received so many incredible gift for little Emma Kate. Thanks for all of your help with the shower, ladies! I cannot wait to meet little Emma Kate! Sunday afternoon, we shot Melissa's maternity pictures so be on the lookout for those images soon. :)

Clearing Things Up

Getting sick is never fun especially when the only treatment is to just wait it out. The past few days have been a haze of snot, coughing & nose blowing .  I'm honestly not sure if what I had was just the common cold or more like a sinus infection but whatever it was, it was vicious. I'm a big advocate of holistic medicines when they apply. I am not 100% holistic when it comes to medicines, more like 80/20. There are some things Western medicine does better. But when possible, I like to boost my immune system the natural way without taking OTC medicines.

This weekend my head was so stopped up it was hard to breathe. I went to Whole Foods and stocked up: echinacea, vitamin C, local honey & organic lemon. And yes, I stopped at Walgreens and purchased a few over the counters in case the all naturals didn't cut it: Sudafed and Clariten. But by far the award goes to....... drum roll please........ The Netti Pot. The NasaFlo is the brand I used. I think it's the off brand but it works just as well.

Now let explain: I'm not an herbalist or hippie. I'm not some far out person who tries weird things. I would consider myself pretty normal. I was actually extremely skeptical about this product. I have seen this product in use and it absolutely grossed me out. (Warning: do NOT watch YouTube videos of people using this product if you are skeptical about this product. It will weird you out.)

The reasons I broke down and tried this:
1) Nothing else I used even came close to clearing up my sinuses
2) Everyone who used it (and used it properly) LOVED it and highly recommended it to me
3) I thought I was going to die soon if I didn't at least try

This product cleans out your sinuses and helps you breathe. It might be awkward, gross and well uncomfortable but you will immediately reap the benefits if you use it probably. The best advice I was given is that you should READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS that come with it. And if water is draining down your throat, then you are doing it wrong.

*Please know that I am not a doctor or a nurse and have no medical expertise. This is simply a product I tried and like. Neither Netti Pot nor NasaFlo is not paying me to write this. Remember to always consult your own doctor before deciding if something like this is right for you. 

MidWeek Confessions

It's time for a little...

-I stayed up entirely too late last night watching election coverage and then immediately regretted getting on Facebook and Twitter to see people's responses to the outcome. Can't we just all get along, people!?

-I've been driving a rental car all week because mine is in the shop. This is me whining, "I DON'T WANNA GIVE IT BACK!" They gave me a brand new Acadia to drive and I love it, so I think I'm just gonna keep, mmk?

-We're getting ready for a garage sale sometime in the future and it's already stressing me out. I thought it would be easiest to start now for a Spring garage sale...but then there is the question of where to store the boxes. Your house? Thanks!

-I had a dream last night that this dude was holding a woman's head under water, so I punched him. But in real life I really punched the lamp on my bedside table. It made the loudest bang ever in the middle of the night - woke up Scooter, Conner & Buie. But the good news is, in my dreams, I'm a hero. :)

-I'm still behind in my session editing so back to editing! Do you have any mid-week confessions?

I'm linking up over at E, Myself, & I.

Weekend in Canton

This weekend one of my best friends and I headed to Canton, Texas for the largest flea market in the United States (according to their website). This was Alicia's first time to go to the Canton Trade Days and my fourth time. I also look forward to going especially around this time of year when it's not too hot.

Trade Days in Canton takes place on the first Monday of every month and the weekend leading up to it. The hardcore shoppers will park their RV's on Wednesday night and wake up bright and early Thursday morning to get the good deals. I think the gates open Thursday at 8am. We usually shop on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. This year Alicia and I left Friday afternoon, shopped all day Saturday and half of Sunday and drove home Sunday afternoon. That was the perfect amount of time because we were pretty exhausted at the end of it all. We ran into the former Mayor of Canton and chatted for a few minutes about the history of Canton Trade Days. It was interesting. He said that weekend their would be about 1 MILLION PEOPLE shopping over the course of the 5 days. Isn't that insane!?

Hotels fill up fast in Canton every month but that was actually to our benefit because I had to look outside of Canton to find this gem. Saline Creek Farms Bed & Breakfast is owned by this sweet couple who live about 10 or 15 miles outside of Canton. It made the perfect spot for our weekend.

We booked the garden cottage and stayed Friday and Saturday night. It was such an adorable place! So much better than a commercialized hotel. The owners served a wonderful breakfast the next morning before we headed out to shop all day.  

 My mom and a friend of my mom's drove over from Louisiana to meet us. The four of us had so much fun shopping for Christmas decor and gifts for people, eating funnel cakes & corn dogs (well, not me) but the most fun was definitely spending time together!

My mom has an excellent sense of direction so I usually just follow her around when I go with her to Canton. At times, it was just Alicia and I wandering around 2 square miles of booth after booth of shops and I quickly remembered that I was NOT blessed with a sense of direction. It is SO easy to get turned around in the Canton flea markets. 

We cannot wait to go back! The weather was perfect! We LOVE where we stayed! The trees were perfect. All in all, it was a great weekend. Couldn't ask for anything more. :)