Author: Becca Eby


Apr
2011

Nothing But Jesus

categories: jesus
Image from Pinterest
“Nothing but the Blood” by Robert Lowry (late 1800s)
What can wash away my sin? 
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Oh, Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus
For my pardon this I see
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
For my cleansing, this my plea
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Oh, Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus

Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Naught of good that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Oh, Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus

This is all my hope and peace
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
This is all my righteousness
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Oh, Precious is the flow that makes me white as snow
No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus
That’s it, friends.  Just Jesus.  Nothing else can make us whole again, nothing that we can do can cleanse us of our sins.  Only Jesus.  This weekend we remember and celebrate His work on the cross and His defeat of death.  It is a morbid holiday weekend, all about dying and being raised from the dead, blood and sin.  We can try to gloss over it all we want with Cadbury eggs and fluffy bunnies, but we can’t get away from the truth.  Jesus took on our sin so that we could have real life in relationship with God.  Pure and simple, we are free because of His suffering.  What separates Christianity from every other faith on earth, is that there is nothing we can do to be good enough for God.  He has done all the work for us, and gives it to us in this free gift called grace.  Every other faith is about man trying to reach God.  God reaches out to us, and I am blown away every time I think about it.  Thank you Jesus for your work on the cross.  I do not deserve your love, but I am so grateful for it.  

Apr
2011

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life

categories: family, love

Thirty years ago today my love was born, and I am so thankful every day.  He is everything I needed and nothing I expected and exactly who the Lord intended for me.  He loves me so well, and I am so blessed to have him in my life.  He is a man of God, kind, loving, faithful, selfless, hard working, and so much more.  I cannot wait to see him hold our baby in about a month.  I know  he will be an amazing father.  I pray that we get to grow very old together and have a long and blessed marriage.  Happy birthday my love.  You are the very best man I know.      


Apr
2011

Green Day – Hanging Solar Powered Light Jars

categories: green living

 In celebration of Earth Day this week, and as a part of my “Green Day” eco-friendly series, I’m sharing one of my favorite projects with y’all.  Jed gets all the credit for this one.  It was all him from beginning to end, with just a few opinions from me.  He keeps asking when I’m going to share it on the blog, so here we go.

 We found a great deal on solar powered outdoor lights at Lowe’s, but we don’t have a walkway or appropriate place to put them.  You know the ones I’m talking about, those little ones that stick into the ground.  Then we searched high and low for jars that would hold the solar cell and battery in the lid.  We are partial to mason jars at our house, but couldn’t find any that fit.  We found these at Big Lots, so they were super cheap.

 Jed painted them on outside with frosted glass spray paint.  He then took the stick lights apart and used silicone glue to attach the solar cell to the inside lid of each jar.  He tried gorilla glue first, but it was a big fail.  You can find the full tutorial at Lifehacker as trying to get Jed to explain the details of each step is not something I’m up for right now.  You now how men are with explaining details.

 He looped each jar with thick but bendable wire, and hung them from hooks along our front porch.  I think they look super cute during the day and fit our front porch aesthetic (a work in progress) nicely.

 Here’s the best part – they get enough sun each day to glow every night without ever needing new batteries or help from us.  The sun provides everything they need to light up our porch.

 The jars begin to glow at twilight, and look so lovely when we are doing a little front porch sitting.  We have a rocking chair and a 2 person glider on our front porch, which are perfect for our spring evenings.  Our neighbor’s honeysuckle makes it smell amazing, and we just sit and rock/glide away.  We are hoping that our porch fan will keep the mosquitoes at bay and allow us to enjoy the porch into the summer.

 Below you can see how the jars glow at night.  So cool, right?  I love that my husband is creative and is always building and doing fun projects around the house.  He works so hard at his job, and then comes home and works hard here too.  I can’t wait to show y’all his current project – cedar log side tables.  They are incredible and should be done soon.

We are always looking for new ideas.
What is your latest green living project?  
  
I’m linking this project up to some great parties on the right side bar.  Check them out, find some inspiration, and post your own.  

Visit thecsiproject.com

Apr
2011

Verse of the Week – Luke 19:35-41

categories: jesus
*image from Pinterest

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.  When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
”Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” He replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it.
Luke 19: 35-41

Today is Palm Sunday, when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  I’ve been doing a Lenten study for the past few weeks, and I have learned so much about the last weeks that Jesus walked on this earth.  Before this study, I don’t think I’d ever noticed verse 41.  Jesus rides in to the city on a donkey so that He could fulfill the prophecy from Zechariah 9:9.  The crowd is celebrating Him, acknowledging that He is the Messiah.  They wave palm branches, a national sign of freedom, and lay their cloaks under His feet.  The Pharisees try to shut up the crowd, worried that the Roman soldiers will come and regulate on the crowd.  All the while Jesus is riding on a young donkey, mourning on the inside for a city and a people that He loves.  He alone knows that He is riding to His death.  He alone knows that the cheers will quickly turn from praise to condemnation.  Imagine His thoughts as He rode through the cheering crowd.  The Son of God was so overcome with emotion that He shed tears for the lost.  Thank you, Jesus, for taking my sin so that I could live in freedom.

Join me this week in remembering His love for us.  
   How do you celebrate Easter week? 

Apr
2011

A Ribbon Mobile for Baby’s Nursery

categories: baby, crafts, decorating, handmade
We are hard at work on Baby Bun’s nursery, and my favorite part is the decorating.  I saw a ribbon mobile I love at Pottery Barn, but it was almost $70.  I decided I could make one pretty easily for a lot less.  I piled up the coupons and went to Hobby Lobby.  Ribbon was half off.  Score!  I bought ten different colors of ribbon and a wire wreath frame.  I already had paint for the frame and craft glue.  The wreath was that floral dark green, so I painted it light aqua.  The aqua repeats itself throughout the nursery, as do most of the other colors.  As you can see we did not stick solely to the traditional gender neutral colors of green and yellow.  I can’t wait to show you all of the nursery when we get done.  

 At first I cut the ribbon into strips, but they were way too long.  I wanted to make sure the baby couldn’t grab it even when he/she is able to stand in the crib.  I cut each piece in half and it was perfect.  Check out the massive pile of ribbon.

I glued strips around the inside ring first. I folded each strip over and putt a dot of craft glue on it, then held it in place for a few seconds.  This was effective but a bit messy.  I think you could double the length and knot it in half for a glueless mobile.  After the inside ring, I decided to skip the two middle rings and go straight to the outside ring.  I glued the ribbon around that ring, and love the way it looks.  Then I measured from the hook (centered above the crib) to see how far I wanted the mobile to hang.  I divided that measurement in half and then added 2 inches for a little give and the knots.  I tied each of those ribbons to the middle ring with a knot and then hung the mobile from the hook.  I love how some of the ribbon is starting to curl.

 Here is Baby Bun’s view.  Fun, right?  
I hope he or she will love it.  

 I think it is simple, yet bright and fun.  Below you’ll find a little sneak peek into the nursery.  Jackson is mystified by all the goings on back there.  As you can see we have rugs in place (that used to be in our bedroom) over the weird rent house carpet.  There is only so much you can do in a rent house, but I hope to do all that I can to make it lovely.  The fabric hanging over the crib is an eyelet crib skirt made for my bassinet (32 years ago)  by my sweet grandmother.  She died 6 years ago, so I love that I have a piece that she made in the nursery.  Hopefully we will get it in place soon.  One step at a time.  

What is your craft project of the moment? 
I’m linking to some great craft parties.  Check them out on my right sidebar and find some inspiration for your own projects, or join in.  

Mar
2011

My Hometown Baby Shower

categories: arkansas, decorating, family

 Even though I’ve lived far away for the last 6 years, my sweet friends from home threw me a baby shower this past weekend.  Jed was on spring break, so we headed to Little Rock on Thursday for a little extra quality time with my family and friends.  We stayed with my parents as usual, but this time there were 7 dogs at the house as well as 7 people.  It was a bit crowded, to say the least.  I’ll post more pics of Dogapalooza ’11 later, but for now you’ll have to be entertained with Julie’s (one of the hostesses) pictures from the shower.  Crystal, another hostess, hand painted the letters shown above for the nursery.  I am in love with them.  I can’t wait to hang them (or more likely make Jed hang them) on the wall above the crib.  So cute!

 Here I am, with my giant belly.  This child is growing like crazy and moving like a fly girl on “In Living Color.”  Does anyone remember that show?  I wanted to be a fly girl so bad.

 Check out that spread, y’all.  My friends worked so hard and made lots of delicious food for us.  We had an incredible brunch of creme brulee french toast, fresh fruit, 2 different quiches, croissants, and brownies, and 2 different cakes.  The cakes were beautifully decorated to match the paintings that Crystal created for the nursery.  I’ll have pics of both later.  Julie created the diaper cake in the middle, which is now decorating the nursery.

 My niece, Caroline, was a big help unwrapping the gifts.  

 Trisha, my mom’s best friend, and her daughter Sarah have known me since Sarah and I were 4 years old.  Now she is the mama of sweet Maya, and I’m pregnant with my first.  I love that we are still great friends after  27 years.

 Marci, Julie, and Crystal put so much hard work into this shower, and I am so grateful for them.  They are dear friends that I’ve known forever.  Julie and I met very young playing in my neighborhood, then went to junior high and senior high school together.  We’ve been roommates in the past and had a great friendship across the miles for a long time.  Marci and I met in junior high youth group and became friends and partners in crime soon after that.  Crystal and I met in college and were finishing each other’s sentences after a week.  I love these girls and they and their families are some of my favorite people in the world.  They are all mamas already, and have given me so much great advice.  They really get me and it is so important to have people like that in my life.  I miss living near them and hope to again someday.

Do you live in your hometown, 
or are you making a new life far away?

Be sure to check out the Spring Fling Day 4 Giveaways:
A Headband with Sweet Interchangeable Crocheted Flowers from Momma’s Kinda Crafty
A Gorgeous Spring Bouquet of Hair Accessories from My Mommy Can

Mar
2011

Glen Rose Getaway – Dessert with the Pie Peddlers

categories: restaurant review, texas, travel
On our weekend getaway in Glen Rose, we happened upon an antique car show in the main square surrounding the court house.  The streets were closed off and lined with fabulously restored antique cars.  This was perfect for us, because I could wander through the antique shops and boutiques while Jed obsessed over the cars.  Every few minutes he would come in a store to see something I wanted to show him, and I would come out to do the same.  Perfect.  We stumbled on a little place called the Pie Peddlers, and had to stop in.  

  The pies are all made fresh daily, and they have a great selection.  Unfortunately we felt that it was a little overpriced.  The slices were $4 each.  I know that is pretty standard or cheap for restaurant dessert, but you know we are super frugal.  We decided to go for it since we were on vacation.

 Jed ordered the coconut caramel, and was definitely the big winner of the day.  It was phenomenal.

 I had the key lime pie, which is my go-to dessert.  It was good, but not fabulous.  I’m a little bit of a key lime pie snob, apparently.

Overall, I would say that stopping in Pie Peddlers is worth it for the ambiance and great service.  The same ladies who make the pies wait on the tables, and are super sweet.  Skip the key lime and go straight for the coconut, chocolate, or coconut caramel.  
What is your go-to dessert?  
Don’t forget to check out the Spring Fling Day 3 Giveaways: 
A Vintage Inspired Necklace at Ask Anna
A Super Cute Apron at While He Was Napping 

Mar
2011

Glen Rose Getaway – Dining at Sunset Ridge Bed and Breakfast

categories: baby, dining out, restaurant review, texas, travel
On our baby moon getaway in Glen Rose, Texas, we found a really special bed and breakfast inn.  Jed searched long and hard online to find a place that fit our needs and our style.  Sunset Ridge is in our price range and is far more modern than many B & Bs.  I’ll post pics of the place later on, and tell you all about it.  The photo above is the view from our private patio during sunset.  As you can see, the name Sunset Ridge is a perfect fit.  Besides the obvious breakfast part of the B & B, Sunset Ridge offers a four course dinner for an extra fee.  The couple who runs the place gives a few options to choose from, and let me tell you, we chose wisely.  

 We started with homemade Parmesan Black Pepper Crackers and Herb Dip.  We had already dipped into it by the time I thought to take a picture.  The dip and crackers were savory and light, a great starter.  The lighting was also very “romantic”, making it difficult to get a great photo.  Oh well.  You get the idea.

 The second course was a Poached Pear and Blue Cheese Salad.  We were a little nervous about that combination, but it was delicious.

For the entree, we each had a Filet of Beef with Roasted Asparargus and Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.  Jed described the steak as the best he had ever had.  That, my friends, is a great compliment.  We got the recipe before we left, believe me.

 See the above photo for evidence of the deliciousness of our entree.  Amazing.

We shared a huge piece of Double Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Dipped Strawberries for dessert.  It was awesome, and we were fully stuffed after indulging in a fantastic four course dinner.  One of the best things about it was that we only had to walk across the veranda to our room after dinner.  Come back later this week for more about our Glen Rose getaway.

Have you stayed in an awesome Bed and Breakfast Inn?  Tell me about it.  

Spring Fling Day 2 Giveaways:
A Tutu and Bows at Time Well Spent
Handmade Hair Accessories at A Very Dandoislion Life

Mar
2011

Glen Rose Getaway – Dining at the Riverhouse Grill

categories: dining out, restaurant review, texas, travel
Recently, Jed and I went on a little weekend getaway, a baby moon of sorts.  We wanted to keep it close by and frugal, so we went for one night to Glen Rose, a little town southwest of Ft. Worth.  We stayed at a phenomenal bed and breakfast that I’ll tell you about later, and had so much fun wandering around a new town.  We found the Riverhouse Grill just off the main square for lunch, and we so pleased with everything they offered.  The restaurant is family run out of a 100 year old house and features fresh, local, creatively prepared food.  

  Jed picked the chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and then went double carb with the mac and cheese au gratin.  He loved all of it, but said the mac and cheese was the best he has ever eaten.  Seriously.  He let me try it and it was out of control good.  I don’t know what they did to it, but it can’t be good for you, and made us both want to lick the dish.

 I had the ultimate ham sandwich with parmesan truffle fries.  Wow.  The sandwich was on fresh whole grain bread with 3 different kinds of cheese, local ham, and fresh apple slices.  The fries had a savory flavor from the truffles that was amazing.

If you are ever in Glen Rose, I highly recommend stopping at the Riverhouse Grill.  I love supporting small town, family run places, and this one is a winner for sure.

What is your favorite off-the-beaten-path restaurant?

Mar
2011

Pregnancy Update – Test Results

categories: baby, jesus, pregnancy

Yesterday I got my long awaited test results for the gestational diabetes 3 hour glucose tolerance test. Ok, I really only had to wait over the weekend,but it seemed like an eternity. My results came back totally normal for the whole test! I am so thankful and praising God for the wake up call to eat healthier. We needed it desperately, and had become really lazy about our eating and exercise. Type 2 diabetes runs in both of our families, so we are now on a mission to fight those genetics. This whole ordeal has put Jed and I on the same page nutritionally, which is huge for us. And hopefully will prevent us from being huge in the future. 🙂 Thanks so much to everyone who prayed for Bun and me.

We are praising God for so much today- spring and spring break, good test results, loving family and friends who are kind enough to throw us baby showers, our fabulous and affordable rent house, great jobs that we love, great friends, our neighborhood lake, and so much more.

For what are you thankful today?