Happy Reformation Day

Many of you might not know but October 31 is not only halloween but Reformation Day!

Here's some info, if you're interested....p.s. there are halloween photos at the bottom, but you can only view them if you read about The Reformation....ha.

The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517, though its roots lie further back in time. It began with Martin Luther and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

The movement began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church. Many western Catholics were troubled by what they saw as false doctrines and malpractices within the Church, particularly involving the teaching and sale of indulgences. Another major contention was the practice of buying and selling church positions (simony) and what was seen at the time as considerable corruption within the Church's hierarchy. This corruption was seen by many at the time as systemic, even reaching the position of the Pope.

Martin Luther's spiritual predecessors included men such as John Wycliffe and Jan Hus, who had attempted to reform the church along similar lines, though their efforts had been largely unsuccessful.

The Reformation can be said to have begun in earnest on October 31, 1517, in Wittenberg, Saxony (in present-day Germany). There, Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the All Saints' Church, which served as a notice board for university-related announcements.

These were points for debate that criticized the Church and the Pope. The most controversial points centered on the practice of selling indulgences and the Church's policy on purgatory.

Other reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli, soon followed Luther's lead. Church beliefs and practices under attack by Protestant reformers included purgatory, particular judgment, devotion to Mary (Mariology), the intercession of and devotion to the saints, most of the sacraments, the mandatory celibacy requirement of its clergy (including monasticism), and the authority of the Pope.



"Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that 'the just shall live by his faith.' Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise." Luther

Enough of that. Emery's the cutest pumpkin ever.....


Benji and I were SCARY!!!!


The Halloween Partay! We are so blessed to have such an awesome group of friends here in Greenville.

Better Late Than Never

This one's been around awhile, but never gets old. Watch this one first......


Then watch this one.....

Air Control

Anyone that knows us well know that I am married to a man's man. Benji is on all sides your all American guy. He drives a big ol' truck, WITH 4 wheel drive. He loves college football. Loves golf. He would rather deer hunt and turkey hunt than anything in the world....

He played baseball in high school and college, thinks soccer is for pansies and wouldn't be caught dead eating quiche.

I tried to get him to moisturize and exfoliate his face when we were engaged and he just laughed at me.

There is one thing, however, that separates Benji from the rest of the guys who have a lifetime membership card to bass pro.....

Benji has become addicted to my Aveda hair spray. Yes it is true.

My sister, and my friend Loria and I have been Aveda addicts for many years. I use the shampoo, lotions, perfumes, skin care products, and hair styling products. Any product they have made, I have bought at once in my life.

At first Benji was very resistant to my Aveda addiction. Aveda is not cheap. It is all natural plant derived products. Friendly to the environment and to the body.

One can of hair spray cost about $24.00. Benji about had a hernia the first time I bought it while he was with me. I assured him that I don't use that much hair spray, and that it would last me awhile......

Then the day came when Benji haphazardly used my hairspray..... and a new addict was born. He, however, uses about a can every two months. Much more than I use...... I tried to ween him off of it one time and he complained every day that the "new" "cheap" hairspray didn't work as good.

Yesterday I got a frantic phone call, it was Benji wanting me to pick up some hair spray. 24 dollar hair spray.

I told him I wasn't getting Aveda anymore, because we can't afford Aveda hair spray.....but then I started thinking about how I would need more shampoo soon and I didn't want to have to buy my shampoo at Bi-Lo. I also thought of how hard he's been working, and how his hair does look better when he uses Aveda.

So I caved. And I bought him 3 cans.

We will just have to eat spaghettios and canned tuna for the rest of the month, but his hair will look good when he goes deer huntin.

I Got Nothing But Love

My life is over flowing with love right now.

I love love love Emery. People always say that until you are a parent you'll never fully understand unconditional love.....well people were right. The best part of my day is in the morning when she first wakes up. She is so happy and we just smile and laugh at each other for awhile. I love being back in Greenville. I love our church and the fact that Benji actually gets paid to do what he loves.

In honor of all the loveliness in my life right now I've decided to post a list of all things loved by muah.... in no particular order, okay...

(so dont get all righteous on me if Jesus is on the list below mascara).

*emerys smile *vance licking my face *the way benjis eyes turn up when he smiles *sushi with girlfriends *my coffee pot.grinds the beans fresh every morning *sugar in the raw *natural peanut butter *mascara *shoes *maternity jeans *bravo tv marathons *season one of greys *mission trips to new countries *stamps in my passport *election years *lattes *black coffee *dry breve cappuccinos *irresistible grace *the sea shore *remembering summers on the lake *a good cheap manicure *the smell of my shampoo *sephora *reformation history *itunes gift cards *fridays with benji *sunday mornings *books *romans 8:28-31 *being a mama *benji cooking breakfast *fall mornings *old hymns *advil *san pellegrino *jesus' blood and righteousness *weddings *graduations *text messages *hoodies *the streets of buenos aires *hearing a really good song for the first time *lazy saturdays *diet coke...AND french fries*

You have to watch this. Seriously.

Happy Birthday Benji!

Today is Benji's birthday! Happy Birthday babe!

Emery gave Benji an early present by sleeping through the night!

I have read Baby Wise about six times since the ninth month of pregnancy. I was convinced that it would never work with us, but the past three nights Emery has slept from around 11pm until 730am! She'll be 10 weeks tomorrow, so she is right on schedule! Baby Wise says that between 8 and 12 weeks is when babies should start sleeping 6 to 8 hours a night.

I can not tell you how much this helps me. I'm the kind of girl that needs my sleep. I know, I know, everyone needs sleep. But seriously, I cried and cried the last month of being pregnant because I just knew that I would never sleep again.

Emery had her first round of immunizations this week. That was a sad day, but she did well, and seemed to have no reactions to the shots.

I have to say that I'm pretty sure I have the cutest, best baby in the world.

I'm getting used to this "stay at home" mom thing, and I'm starting to like it more and more. I was worried about that as well. I went from working full time in a very social environment, going to school full time and studying constantly, to basically staying in the house all day. It definitely took some getting used to, but I think Im really going to enjoy it!

The presidential debate was pretty annoying last night. They were like two little kids tattle telling on each other all night.

I still catch myself feeling guilty sometimes when I'm watching t.v, I feel like I should be studying something.... Here are some more pics that my friend took.

Pray for us that this whole sleeping through the night thing sticks!

Life Is "Normal"

Life in the Ladd family is finally getting back to normal.

Whatever normal means.

We are settling into our new apartment in Greenville. Our second new apartment, but we won't get into that.

We have a contract on our condo in da ville finally! this is a huge blessing. Now we can breathe easier and take our time finding a house that is perfect for us.

Vance is finally back at home where he belongs. He stayed with me with my mom while I was living in Gainesville for a month, but I had to leave him there while we figured out what we were going to do in Greenville, I lived about 2 weeks here without him and that was two weeks to long.

Benji was ordained on Sunday. It was such a special time in our lives. Our families came to support Benji and we had a great time celebrating God's call on our lives.

We love our new church home. We are having a blast getting to know the youth and all the families in the church. We have been so blessed to be able to work along side of of so many wonderful people at Brushy Creek.

Here are some more of the pictures that we had taken by a special friend that I met through working at da bux. She is an amazing photographer, whom God uses in so many different ways....