Butterfly Sparks Designs

Monday, December 31, 2007

Look at my Boo Boo

So I had a rude awakening the other night while I was in Illinois. One of the BMX ramps fell on my leg while we were doing load in and I must say it HURT! Those ramps weigh like 200 pounds a piece. Definitely brought tears to my eyes.

Take a look at my battle wounds...
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Yep the whole thigh is purple
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It covers all the way around! Gross

Hopefully it will heal quickly!

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Heels killed the competition

I'm proud of my boys! GO HEELS....No. 1

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Danny Green has made coming off the bench something of a show for top-ranked North Carolina this season.

First comes his gyrating dance moves from the Smith Center sideline just before tipoff. Then comes a solid all-around game that has made the Tar Heels deep and dangerous.

The junior matched his career-high with 20 points and sparked the decisive second-half spurt Sunday night to help North Carolina beat Valparaiso 90-58, keeping the Tar Heels rolling as they head into the final games of their nonconference schedule.

Tyler Hansbrough had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Tar Heels (13-0), who are off to their best start since winning 17 in a row to start the 1997-98 season.

With just one game left before opening Atlantic Coast Conference play at Clemson (No. 20 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP), North Carolina has been repeatedly rolling up big-margin victories and cracking the 100-point mark in crowd-pleasing fashion. The Tar Heels eventually made this one look the same way despite blowing an early 17-point lead, putting the game away with a big second-half run sparked by their steady -- yet often overlooked -- producer off the bench.

Green, a 6-foot-6 junior, came in averaging 12.6 points despite starting just one game. But he finished 8-for-10 from the floor and 4-for-5 from 3-point range against the Crusaders (10-3), including four rebounds, five assists, three steals and four blocks in 20 minutes.

"As long as we keep winning and as long as we play well, I'm fine with it," Green said. "I don't need to start."

North Carolina's fans would probably prefer Green stays on the bench, if for no other reason than his pregame sideline antics.

With the rap song "Jump Around" playing over arena speakers just before every opening tip, Green has made a ritual of showing off his dancing to the cheers of the home crowd. His carefree moves had Ty Lawson and the rest of the starters watching and laughing from midcourt Sunday, while Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams and his assistants couldn't help but chuckle.

But when Green enters the game, he's been about as reliable as any other Tar Heel, scoring in double figures in all but three games this season.

"He's a big part of this team," Hansbrough said. "I'm not sure everybody overlooks him. We know how important he is for us."

Jarryd Loyd scored 14 of his 24 points in the first half to lead Valparaiso, which fell behind 13-0 and 19-2 early before fighting back to tie the game at 37 early in the second half. But the Tar Heels responded with a 27-2 run over 8 1/2 minutes, a stretch that Williams called "probably our best basketball of the year."

Green was at the center of the run, scoring 11 points and knocking down three 3s.

The Tar Heels also got key contributions from Deon Thompson (11 points, eight rebounds, career-high five blocks) and redshirt freshman Will Graves, who ended the spurt with a 3-pointer followed by a jumper from the left corner to make it 64-39 with 8:57 to play.

Graves finished with a season-high 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting, including 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Those performances offset an off day from starter Wayne Ellington (five points on 2-for-10 shooting) while Lawson had just six points.

"They needed to step up because we were trying to key a little more on Ellington and Lawson," said Valparaiso coach Homer Drew of Green and Graves. "They really shot the ball well and broke the game wide open."

North Carolina shot 51 percent and took a 47-31 rebounding advantage while holding the Crusaders to 11-for-32 shooting after the break.

It was North Carolina's first game without key reserve Bobby Frasor, who is out for the season after tearing a ligament in his left knee against Nevada. The injury robbed the Tar Heels of a versatile junior who can play either guard position, and North Carolina's depth at the point was further depleted because senior Quentin Thomas sat out with a sprained left ankle suffered in Friday's practice.

The injuries forced junior swingman Marcus Ginyard, the team's top individual defender, to spend time at the point behind Lawson.

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Youth Encounter, FX Style

For the past two days, I have been in Springfield, Illinois for their annual YEC! This year they wanted something a little different so they brought in the Freedom Experience team. Well we definitely brought something different! The FX team was there and I must say we were on our A game.

We did three sessions, each lasting around three hours. It was incredible! Usually when we do these events we see about 80% un-churched, but his event was a little different. Because it was a youth conference, it was about 95% churched. But that didn't stop the Lord from doing what he does best. We still witnessed hundreds of kids get saved and re-dedicated their lives to the Lord. It's amazing how God uses this team of people to do his work.

The performance team for this event was Eleventyseven, Group 1 Crew, Outcast BMX, Pocket Full of Rocks, Tim Byrne and of course Brock Gill! We also brought an amazing work crew as well. That group consisted of Brad, Kyle, Greg, Brandon, Jacob, Gresham and I guess I would be included in this:) Without this team, nothing would go as planned!

We had an amazing time and witnessed some amazing things! Hopefully we can do it all over again next year!

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Frustration sets in!

So what do you do when everything around you seems to be more than you can handle? You can never seem to catch up or catch a break! Times are trying and you feel like if one more person asks you for something, you will explode and yell when you don't mean to!

I'm at that point! You see, I'm that type of person that will give till I can't give anymore. I don't really expect much in return expect maybe a "thank you" or an "I appreciate that."But when you feel less than you're really worth, it just gets to you!

I saw a movie this past weekend that stated "you can change the world by just doing one act of kindness at a time." Now that's definitely a true statement but a some point it wears on you. It's hard to keep giving when there seems like there's no appreciation.

It's hard to imagine how Jesus felt when he gave everything and didn't expect anything in return. He gave and gave...most of the time to people who didn't believe in Him or love Him! But he did it with no whining or excuses! He did it.

How can I get to that point? How can we get to that point?

Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Moments!

Here are a few moments from Christmas!


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Me and Heather under a huge tree
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Murphy under the Christmas tree
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Mama and Summer opening up some fun gifts!

These were just a few of the hundreds of pictures I took! For all of you that know me, you know that I take way too many pictures. Where there are moments...I'll be there with my camera:)

Monday, December 24, 2007

It's Christmas to Me!

The tree is all decorated and there are gifts underneath...
There's an angel on top and a beautiful wreath hanging on the door! The manger scence is set in place and smell of Christmas trees is in the air. I woke up to the smell of turkey this morning and to my dad working outside in the yard(trying to figure out how to get Mama's gift here without her knowing).

Oh, I love this time of the year because there is just something about being home for Christmas! I love visiting my aunt's house and getting to see all my cousins, who now have like three kids a piece, ha! I love watching my grandma open all her gifts and then telling everyone how she doesn't need any of them. I love seeing my niece all dressed up in some adorable Christmas outfit and watching her around dessert time, that's my uncle's favorite part too!

Christmas means a lot to me because it's the one time of the year where I can see some of my friends I graduated high school with. We all live in different states now and it's hard to get together. It's a time when I don't have to work and I can just sit back and relax. No phone calls, no waiting tables, no aggravating anything, just peace(except for the occasional fight with the sibling)!

I get to watch movies to my heart's constent, eat yummy food till I can't stand up and sleep till I absolutely have to get up! I can visit my old church and see how much the kids I used to babysit grew. I thank God for this season. I love this time of year!

What is your favorite part of Christmas?

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Go Pirates

Check this out! Today was a good day to be a pirate!

ECU edges No. 24 Boise St. for first postseason win since 2000
HONOLULU (AP) -- Ben Hartman kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired to give East Carolina a 41-38 win over No. 24 Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl on Sunday night.
Chris Johnson set an NCAA bowl record with 408 all-purpose yards for the Pirates (8-5), who won their first postseason game since the 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl.
Johnson rushed for 223 yards, caught three passes for 32 yards and returned six kickoffs for 153 yards. But he committed a costly fumble late that almost sent it to overtime.
With East Carolina trying to run out the clock near midfield, Marty Tadman scooped up Johnson's fumble and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 38 with 1:25 left.
The Pirates took possession at their 39 with 1:16 left and drove to the Broncos 17 to set up Hartman's kick.
The Pirates stormed the field in celebration and chased after Hartman, who dashed toward the locker room.


The ECU Pirates played an awesome game tonight to beat the Broncos in Hawaii! I had so much fun watching the bowl game with Janis, Joey, Don, Gray and few others! We sure did make a spectacle in CPW's! But who cares...GO PIRATES!!
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How many of you watched the game?

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Letting go

It's amazing how we continually say that we're going to let go of something and let God take control but then we continue to grasp so tightly to it that God can't even get a finger on it. Why are we so scared to let go of things that in the long run, won't matter?Do we hold on in hopes that something will change or someone's mind will take a different look? Do we hold on because we're scared to let go? What is the reason?

They say "when you love something, let it go, if it comes back to you it's yours." I haven't met one person that believes that or even practices that logic! When I love something I hold on tightly. I'm constantly worried that if it's out of sight then it will not be in my mind and I'll forget. I don't want to forget. I'm so worried about losing something or missing out on something, that I fight for it and often get hurt in the process.

I wonder if there's a way to let go of things and not hurt in the process. Like when you let go of dreams, jobs and relationships(whether it's a friend or a crush). There's always this pain. One that just aches and leaves you feeling incomplete. Is there a way to avoid all that? I wish I knew...

All I know, is letting go is hard to do!

Friday, December 21, 2007

11 hours later

Yesterday I made the drive from Nashville to Winton! It is a rather long drive and it seems to take a lot of gas to do it, ha! I was on the road for about 11 hours and I learned that I don't have enough songs on my Ipod!

Driving home, I began to think about everything that's going on in my life right now and I realized that there is a lot stuff I have to figure out. I was thinking about moving arrangements, job requirements, money and just the whole change in general. It's quite overwhelming. I also had a chane to talk to God a bit about my fears and the blessings that he has given me lately. I told him how scared I was about leaving my community of friends and my office of joy. Let's just say we had a lot of time to talk and I had a lot of time to listen.

One more thing, I was sad about missing out on some Cocoa Tree action last night. Those chocolate marshmellows and all the laughes will be missed more than anyone knows! Hope you all ate a marshmellow for me:)

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

my quote for the day

The only things that stays the same is everything changes!

Monday, December 17, 2007

my weekend

Today I am exhausted! I went home this weekend for my brother's graduation and I had a great time. Brock is now a college graduate and he is expecting to go back to school in the May to get his MBA. I am so proud of him and all that he has achieved so far! He is going to do some great things.

I also went to my Aunt's house this weekend for my Mom's side of Christmas. Every year we all get together to eat yummy food, exchange gifts and just catch up with one another. It was awesome. My grandma gave a special gift this year to all her grandchildren...it made my aunt and brother tear up! She had my granddaddy's wedding ring melted down and turned into six gold nuggets. It was such a surprise and it was very sentimental. I am the only grandchild that got to meet this wonderful man! This gift made such a huge impact and made us all stop and give thanks!

It was a great weekend and I'm so glad I was able to make it home for all the festivities.

I am exhausted though and I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through the rest of the day=(

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Driving School

So I had to attend driving school tonight so that I could get my ticket dropped without effecting my insurance! What an experience that was, haha! There was quite a variety of people in that classroom and I honestly had a pretty good time (never thought I would say that).

So, the class was 4 hours long with 1 break that only lasted 15 minutes. They didn't let you bring in food or drink in so you can imagine that all of us were extremely hungry, or at least me! My stomach pretty much grumbled the whole time!

We talked about railroad crossings, emergency vehicles and basic driving stuff. I felt like I was 15 again taking driver's ed over. At one point we had to tell everyone why we were in the class. I explained how I was speeding to pass a truck and got pulled, nothing too great! This one girl had the most fascinating story though. She apparently rear ended Kanye West in Nashville and put a large dent in his Escalade. Now that's a good reason to be in driving school...way better than my story, haha!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Stage Presence

So a couple of weeks ago Wes(my co-worker) and I went to an event down in Atlanta called Youth Specialties! I'm sure that I wrote a blog about it already, so if you already knew I went this comes as no surprise!

Anyway while we were there, we saw some amazing concerts and hung out with some amazing people. One thing we were both fascinated with was the stage set up. It was incredible...so I wanted to share it with you!


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I know that it may seem dumb to be fascinated with this but I guess my job has taught me to look at things like this, haha!

Monday, December 10, 2007

What A Party

Last night Brock and Auny threw the best Christmas party. Brock cooked his famous turkey and Auny cooked some yummy food that included her famous banana pudding which is the best in the world. They are quite the lovely hosts and everyone always loves going out the their house for fun and food.

Everyone arrived between 6:30 and 7:00 with sides, desserts and one gift for the gift exchange game! It was so great to sit around and have dinner with all my friends in one room. Our table had conversations about wedding cakes, dual shower heads and olives. Strange I know, but delightful! We laughed and just carried on because some of us hadn't seen each other in forever.

After dinner we played what some call White Elephant which is a gift exchange game. There are all sorts of rules like you can only trade three times and number one gets to chose anything at the end. I got some yummy chap stick and my roomies brought home sponge things, a Christmas decoration and some coffee I think! We followed up the night with some magic by no other than the amazing Brock Gill! You should have been there!

It was fun times and we created some funny stories to tell over and over:)

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Atlanta visit

I just got home from such a great weekend. Have you ever had one of those relaxing weekends that just left you refreshed and feeling like yourself again? Well that's what I just experienced!

After an amazing week with my parents I set out on Friday for A-town(Atlanta). Kim and I packed the car and headed to visit some friends for two days. It was great just to hang out with absolutely no plans and nothing to do. We played in downtown with Kyle on Saturday. I laughed so much that my stomach hurt by the end of our adventure. After our fun filled day in the city we headed back to the house for naps, dinner and late night chats. I absolutely love talking to Lindsay! There is just something so peaceful about the way she explains things and I thankful to have her in my life.

Waking up to little kids screaming and dancing to Family Force 5 while jumping over their father's legs like a hurdle, now that's a sight, ha ha! Brad is so great with his boys. He loves those two so much. Have you seem those two adorable children? I"ll try to post some pictures of them soon!

I love Atlanta visits and I hope to visit them again soon:)

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Choices

Life is about choices and with the choices that we make comes consequences that aren't always the the greatest on the heart. You could decide something that makes total sense one second but seems so hard the next! Why is it that in life we are always scared of making the wrong decisions that every decision we make seems to cause regret!

Choices should be easy like "I like chocolate ice cream therefore I will get some!" Or "this makes me happy therefore I will do it!" Yes those seem easy but somewhere along our path we have learned that we should analyze every detail of every choice we make just so we can explain it to others! Explaining it to others helps us to rationalize things and often change our minds. Why is that!

If I say "I like you despite where you are" then that's how I feel and I shouldn't allow others to change that choice. We all need to learn to make choices based on God and what we need for us not for what makes sense to everyone else!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

The Rockettes at Orpy

Last night my parents and I went to see the Radio City Rockettes at the Grand Ole Opry! It was absolutely amazing. The Opry was decorated so beautifully with Christmas lights and wreaths. Now, I did feel like the youngest person there but it was still a great experience!

I still can't get over how those girls dance for that long without a break. I was exhausted just watching them but that's probably because I'm not in the best shape, ha! The stage set-up was incredible. They did everything from The Nutcracker to Rock 'n Roll Santa. The recreation of the Nativity that was the best I have ever seen! It was such a powerful portrayal of Jesus' birth.

If you haven't seen this show you need to go!

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

God Sees All

Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite.
~Psalm 147:5

Some years ago a friend of mine was standing on top of a mountain in North Carolina. The roads in those days filled with curves, and it was very difficult to see very far ahead. This man saw two cars heading toward each other. He realized they couldn't see each other. A third car pulled up and began to pass one of the cars, although there wasn't enough space to see the other car approaching around the bend. My friend shouted out a warning, but the drivers couldn't hear, and there was a fatal crash.
This is how God looks upon us in His omniscience. He sees what has happened, what is happening and what will happen. He also sees us when we foolishly think we can get by with breaking His moral laws, or we act out of sinful pride or lust or anger. Like the man on that mountain, He shouts His warnings at us-but we are too busy or too stubborn to listen.
God sees the whole picture. He knows what is best for us and He knows what will destroy us. Don't think your way is better than His, but listen to His Word-and obey.
~Billy Graham

God knows how our lives will turn out. Every person's life is like a book! If you skip to ending you would miss out on the greatest story ever. God knows the ending but we may only be in Chapter 4. If we listen to Him, our story will end according to His plan!

Monday, December 03, 2007

Today's adventure

Today I went on a fun little journey to The Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville! It was for the NAMB conference which is an annual thing where all the big whigs from the 50 states come together to learn more about reaching their state. I had a fantastic time hanging out with some familiar faces like Merrie Johnson, Doug Couch, Scott Kindig and Tim Binns.
I guess I never realized how much people remember me from past events. It was great to walk into a room and be greeted with genuine faces and sweet smiles. One aspect of my job is to get to know people. For the past year I have gotten to know some pretty great people from all over the United States. It makes me feel good that God is using me to make an impact all over...What a great feeling!

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Tourist attractions

So I've been MIA for the past few days because my family is in Nashville and we have been taking in all the attractions! My sweet Heather came to visit as well and I was so thrilled! I have lived here for a year and I have never experienced what being a tourist is all about, ha. People actually come to this city as a vacation and there is really more stuff to do than dinner and movies.

I walked down Broadway in the evening and saw all the live music as well as the people playing on the side of the street. We went to the Ryman to see the Grand Ole Opry show. It was so great! Vince Gill and Diamond Rio performed along with many others. We also went to one of the restaurants downtown which actually had really good food!

I kind of enjoyed being a tourist for a few days, ha!