Before I tell you about our family trip to the Ky Opry this past weekend, I want to share with you the…

Red Letter Words featured product of the day!

Today, I wanted to show you the wonderful line of candles they have at Red Letter Words!

Dee, my sponsor, sent me one of these at Christmas, and the smell was divine!  There are many different verses and fragrances to choose from, so click on the button to check them out!

And to receive 15% off your purchase

of anything at Red Letter Words this week

(excluding custom prints and the Hymn and Folk Song Collection which is already 20% off),

just enter the code myheart15. 

(Dee is donating 50% of the profits of purchases made by my readers to help sponsor my trip to SNAP!  So thank you in advance!)

Now to my post!

This past Saturday our family headed back down to Draffenville, Kentucky for Jonathan to participate in the Elimination Round in the Beginner’s Division at the Kentucky Opry.

I was looking forward to this trip SO much because it is such great family time!

The first time Jonathan performed at the Ky Opry, we just took Luke with us.  But this time we had the whole crew with us!

I dressed the younger three brothers alike to help me keep up with them!

It is a four hour drive to Draffenville, so this time we decided to get a hotel room instead of driving back home in the middle of the night.

We got to our hotel before the performance and chilled out for a few minutes by watching some tv.  (Except for Eli!)

I asked Cy to take a picture of me with my four handsome boys!

Can you believe I am so outnumbered, girls?!  I could have never imagined that God would have blessed me with four boys.  I have always wanted a daughter, but I can truthfully say that my heart has never been so full.  I wouldn’t trade a million daughters for one of my boys!

I asked Jonathan to get a picture of me and Cy together since I always forget to.  I realized that when we got back from our Spring Break vacation this year that I didn’t get one single picture of me and Cy together. 

This man is the love of my life!

We arrived at the Ky Opry early to let Jonathan practice his song with their incredible piano player, Angela Mosley.  Angela is sooo amazing!  She was  born blind but can play music by ear.  Her talent is beyond words!

After Jonathan practiced, we hung out in the lobby at the Opry a bit.  Here is Jonathan with his little amigo, Eli…

Daddy and Luke just chillin’…

Jonathan and Adam being sweet, and Eli being…well…Eli!

Eli decided to rest for just a minute…

Which gave him just enough energy for this picture…

Which at this point, Cy and I decided that we should get in the car and get a bite to eat before our boys tore the place down.

We had about an hour and 15 minutes before the contest began, so we jumped in the car and headed to Arby’s to get the boys a quick meal.

Luke was entertaining his brothers with a  story before the food came…

After we filled our bellies, we headed back to the Opry with 30 minutes to spare.

Then we had to wait for the show to begin.  We were checking out all the contestants on the audience ballets.

There were 14 contests in this round.  They were the weekly winners in the Beginner’s Division.

Jonathan sang fourth, and he sang the Chris Tomlin version of Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone.)

Jonathan sang his heart out (even though he was battling a cough and a sore throat, and only one of his hearing aids were working!)

This is the same song that he sang at my mom’s funeral (by her request) almost three years ago.  I know my mom would have been so proud of him for singing it at the Opry.

I almost wanted to raise my hands in praise as he sang out “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free!”

God is so good.

After everyone had performed, they brought all the contestants on staged and announced the 7 winners that would be advancing to the semi-final round.

Jonathan made it to the top 7! 

We were so excited!!!

We have been to the Ky Opry twice now, and I cannot tell you what a wonderful time we have had each time.

It is the most wholesome, family friendly thing we have been to in a long time.  Clay and Barbie Campbell, the owners of the Ky Opry, are so incredibly sweet!  As I sat in my seat, I just thought about my parents and grandparents, and how much they would enjoy being there.  To me, it’s the way family entertainment should be.  I sang out loud and strong as we clapped and sang “I’ll Fly Away” and “Rocky Top” with the Ky Opry Band.

It’s just pure goodness and sweetness to the core.

I am so very thankful that our family has gotten to be a part of this talent competition.  You just can’t put a price tag on times like these with your family!

Thank you to everyone who thought of us this weekend and prayed for Jonathan.  We truly appreciate it.

Here is the video of him singing at the Ky Opry:

(If you are reading this in a reader, you may  need to click over to my blog to view this video.)

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I am so very excited to announce that this week is RED LETTER WORDS week at Beneath My Heart!

For the next five days, I will be featuring a Red Letter Words product at the top of each day’s post.

Why?

Because Dee, the creator and owner of Red Letter Words, is sponsoring my trip to the SNAP! conference this coming week in Thanksgiving Point, Utah.

Dee has been a sponsor on my blog for three years, and I have had the honor of meeting her in real life twice, at Relevant and Blissdom.

But twice is not enough!  She is someone I wish I could be around all the time.

Since conference expenses can be quite costly, Dee has graciously agreed to help sponsor my trip to SNAP!

I am so excited to be attending and speaking at SNAP!  I have the honor of speaking at the session titled, “The Power of Personal on a DIY Site.”

Since I have shared a lot of my personal stories about losing my mom, my dad remarrying, and my faith, they thought I would be a good fit for this session.

I will be speaking with Beckie from Infarrantly Creative, Rhoda from Southern Hospitality, and Char from Crap I’ve made.

Would you please say a prayer for me next Saturday, the 21st?    Pray my nerves won’t get the best of me and that I will share helpful information from my heart.  Thank you.

So here is how Dee has agreed to help:

When you use the code myheart15

to purchase an item at Red Letter Words,

you will receive 15% off your purchase!

(excluding custom prints or Hymn prints which are already 20% off this month.)

Woohoo!

Then…

Dee is donating 50% of the profits of all purchases made

using the code myheart15 to help sponsor my trip to SNAP!

How exciting!

This is a great opportunity to purchase gifts for Mother’s Day, Graduation, and the upcoming wedding season!

I am featuring new products every day, but you can purchase anything (excluding custom prints and Hymn prints that are already 20% off) from Red Letter Words using the code myheart15 to receive 15% of your purchase, and 50% of the sales will help sponsor my trip.

Today, I am sharing with you products from

Dee’s Scripture Line of word art.

Aren’t these word art prints amazing?!

There are so many choices to chose from in many different colors.

I created a board on Polyvore last year using one of my boys’ favorite scriptures from Dee’s line.

How wonderful would it be to have scripture in your child’s room?!

I am hoping to put one of Dee’s prints in my boys’ new rooms when we get them finished.

If you want to check out more of the wonderful designs at Red Letter Words, just click on the button below.

And remember to use the code myheart15 if you make a purchase!

Thank you so much!!!

Have a blessed day!

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Hey Ladies!

I pray you have had a wonderful week!

It has flown by again, but I am very thankful for another week of life.

Just wanted to let you know that Jonathan will be singing in Elimination Round at the Ky Opry tomorrow night.  He will be singing the Chris Tomlin version of Amazing Grace.  Please say a prayer that he would have a peace in his heart as he sings and that the words of that song would glorify God.

I’ve decided that on Fridays, I am going to share my favorite “PIN” of the week (from Pinterest) with you.

Next week, I will add a linky widget to the bottom of the post, so if you want to join me each Friday, you are welcome!

houzz.com

Here is what I love about this “PIN”:

I love the chandelier!  So, so beautiful!

I also love the use of different size milk glass pieces as a table centerpiece.  Simple, yet gorgeous.

I’m also lovin’ those gorgeous brown and white curtains. 

Did you notice the brown and white tile flooring?  Love it!

If you want to repin this photo, you can click on the picture or the source below to pin it from the original source.

If you want to follow me on Pinterest, just click on the button below.

Lastly, if you want to join me next Friday, write a post about your favorite pin and link it up next week.

Have a blessed day!

Traci

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I would love it if we could have a brick walkway up to our front porch like the picture below.

Here is another porch with a blue ceiling.  I love the huge ferns by the front door and the white painted floor.

This picture just calls my name.  I love the gray painted wood floor, the lanterns on the sides of the door, the glass front door and transom window, and the brick walkway.

Swoon.

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Lastly, I like this small front porch.  It looks like the porch has a red brick floor or maybe red tile?  And there are those great lantern lights and glass front door again!  Love it.

These pictures really have me wanting to get my front porch looking good. 

Do you have any inspiration pictures you want to share with me?

I am going to host a linky party on my facebook page where you can share you favorite front porch with me.  It can be your own front porch or one you have found online. 

Come on over and share!

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Happy Hump-day, friends!

I wanted to share something with you that I hope will encourage you like it has encouraged me.

I’ve been feeling really stressed lately with all that we have to do around our house and in life in general.  Because of that, I seem to be complaining more than I should.

I am guilty of not “living in the day.”

My boys have the children’s devotional, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, and I loved the devotional for today, April 11th.

This devotional book is written from the point of view of Jesus.  (I made a few insertions of my own in red.) 

Just Today

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize

for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14

I have made this day for you.  Be careful not to complain about anything in it ~ not your English test (or unwritten post), not your frizzy hair (or  the unwanted pounds you’ve put on), not even the weather ~ because I am the Creator of this day.  Instead, decide to be happy today.  Open your eyes, and choose to look for all the blessings I have hidden in this day.

Then live today ~ just today.  Don’t think about mistakes you’ve made in the past.  Don’t worry about what will happen tomorrow.  You will only end up wasting today.  I want you to enjoy abundant Life in My Presence ~ today!

I pray today, that you and I will look for God’s blessings and enjoy the day that He has created for us.

(Etsy shop source)

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I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend!

We were on Spring Break last week, and I look forward to showing you some pictures of our “family-together-time.”

I wanted to quickly show you some work Cy has been doing in our addition.

In my “How to Add Old House Character & Charm to your Newer Home” series, I shared with you one way to add character to your home is through trim work.

We definitely wanted to add some old house character to our new addition, so we decided to do that through some trim work.

I showed Cy this inspiration picture of what I was wanting in our master bedroom.

source

And so far, this is what Cy has done…

He has framed out two windows and our french doors. 

We have NOT painted the trim yet, but all the trim you see in these pictures will be painted white.

Here is the trim work on the bottom of the window.  Very basic.

Here is how Cy trimmed out the top part of the window. 

I will be sharing a complete tutorial of how he did it and what materials he used soon.

Now for the winner of the

LAST Haven 2012 ticket giveaway!!!

Tori Rowland!

CONGRATULATIONS, Tori!

I will be contacting you soon about your prize, and I look forward to meeting you in June!

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