Keep swimming...

On a more serious note than my past blogs....I have been dealing with some personal issues lately. At times I feel like I'm going and going and getting nowhere and then somehow God brings me back to reality. Reminding me of all the things He has brought me through so far. There are things that have happened in the past year that I know without a doubt God's hand has been in it. So as I was needing to be reminded of God's grace I picked up a book off my shelf that I had started a couple of years ago and never finished. I needed some encouragement so I decided to start back to reading this book. It's called Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado. And I'm going to share with you what jumped out at me while I read. Maybe you're going through some struggles yourself and need a reminder just like I did.

Be quick to pray, seek healthy counsel, and don’t give up…..

Don’t make the mistake of Florence Chadwick. In 1952 she attempted to swim the chilly ocean waters between Catalina Island and the California shore. She swam through foggy weather and choppy seas for fifteen hours. Her muscles began to cramp, and her resolve weakened. She begged to be taken out of the water, but her mother, riding in a boat alongside, urged her not to give up. She kept trying but grew exhausted and stopped swimming. Aids lifted her out of the water and into the boat. They paddled a few more minutes, the mist broke, and she discovered that the shore was less than a half mile away. “All I could see was the fog,” she explained at a news conference. “I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”

Take a long look at the shore that awaits you. Don’t be fooled by the fog of the slump. The finish may be only strokes away. God may be, at this moment, lifting his hand to signal Gabriel to grab the trumpet. Angels may be assembling, saints gathering, demons trembling. Stay at it! Stay in the water. Stay in the race. Stay in the fight. Give grace, one more time. Be generous, one more time. Teach one more class, encourage one more soul, swim one more stroke.

*This passage can be found in Chapter 8 of this book.*

Eat dirt...and WIN!

That's exactly what one of Wes's cousins did last night at the church softball game. I wish I had taken a picture of that. Seriously, this kid slid to 2nd base and was COVERED with the red dirt. Afterwards he looked like he had been to a bad makeup artist who had chosen the wrong base color. ha! The church guys did awesome last night. We had our first win of the season! The final score was....US 15 and the opponents 12. Close game but we won!

This is our pastor, Clifton, doing what he likes to do best...instead of running for the balls...Gotta love him!

Thank you Lord, for our win, and no hurt men.

One more thing..

I forgot to mention that I did indeed put my sister through much torture during the Hobby Lobby shopping trip. Too many decisions. So I owe her a HUGE thank you for her support. HA! Love you Ash!!!!

For the Love of softball...and my husband...

I did it. I actually went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some crafty items. Now I was about to say that this was my first attempt at being crafty, but I really can't say that. I have done my own share of making invitations for my sister-in-law's baby shower and a friend's lingerie shower. These weren't your typical invitations that you print and go either. These took some time and effort and in the end I was quite proud of my work. Now, if anyone thought they were actually bad, I don't know. They've saved my feelings and kept it to themselves. Anyways, my next step into the craft world was taken this past weekend. Wes plays in our church's softball team. All the team members have their numbers on the back of their shirts. I had purchased a tshirt for myself to show some support but it didn't have anything on the back. It needed something. It needed some spruceing up. So with the help of my little friend Candace (the pastor's daughter who is a Freshman in H.S.) I did just that. I added some sparkle and some of my own taste to my shirt. I wonder what's next when it comes to my crafty skills? Hmmmm I'm still thinking on that one.

A year gone by..what have I done?

Let's see. I'm going to try and summarize what has all happened in the last year and get caught back up to where I am today. And believe me.....this will be long.

October 2007: Picked up Sadie. It was quite interesting. We took Logan and headed down to Godley, TX on a Saturday. Picked Sadie up and she was so nervous and out of her comfort zone that she decided to throw up dog food all in her new crate. We stopped at the nearest convenience store, cleaned it out, and I drove home while Wes held Sadie. ** Inside note** He wouldn't admit it to anyone but he LOVES our little lap dog. I'm going to try and attach photos. Hope they all work...

A year later Sadie is still a bit nervous of strangers or too much excitement around her. Her and Roscoe (our other dog - a/k/a Bat Dog) have become good buddies. They can be quite affectionate towards each other....Sadie tends to lick Roscoe's slobber from his tongue when it is hanging out. HA! Then when Wes drives up out back Roscoe will bulldoze over Sadie so she's sure not to get too close to Roscoe's master. It's the craziest thing.

Next in October was our 5th wedding anniversary. You know, it's a pretty big accomplishment for young people to make it to their 5th wedding anniversary. A lot of people our age do not think of marriage as a commitment anymore. It's really a shame. But you know, I give all the credit to God. Only He knows how much Wes and I have gone through and He has always been there. I thank God for Wes every day....ok enough of the mushy stuff. Wes and I went to Granbury, TX to celebrate. We stayed in a bed & breakfast, played golf together (well, Wes played while I drove the golf cart), shopped the square, went to a drive in movie theater, saw the local musical (50's singing), and got massages. It was wonderful. I wish I could go back there every year!

2007 2002 February - March 2008: Next is the BIG deal. Updating our kitchen. Oh my goodness. If you haven't ever had to remodel part of your home before you are lucky. We didn't "have" to but when you see before and after pictures you will understand. And you know what, it's not even 100% finished yet. I got so tired of dealing with workers, their schedules, my schedule, decisions, AND money that I just decided to take a break. The only thing I lack is the backsplash. It will just have to wait. Ok, so what all did I do to my kitchen. I had the old cabinet doors and hinges pulled off. Had new doors made with the no-show hinges. Had interior and exterior painted. New knobs & pulls. New flooring (ceramic tile that looks like hard wood), solid surface countertop, new sink, new faucet, new dishwasher, & new microwave ventahood. Some people may not like the offwhite cabinets with white appliances. Well, the stove and fridge were already there. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new kitchen. The previous owner was an older lady and she loved to paint. So she decided to paint leaves and vines on the cabinets. Good for her but headache for me! Ackkkk! Bye, bye blue...hello loveliness.

Before (with previous owner's stuff):

After:

June 2008: I went on a fabulous 10 day trip to Nashville/Cookeville, TN, Mississippi, and Panama City Beach, FL. I flew by myself to Nasvhille stayed with my good friend Shontel. We had a great, relaxing time. Oh, and would you believe (if you know me really well) that I ate Indian Food. Now, if you don't know me very well, you wouldn't know that I am a VERY picky eater and have just started venturing out and trying new things. I do have to say it was something that I tried and probably won't ever try again. HA!

We also did some hiking and sight seeing at one of the local Falls there. It was very pretty. On this hike I saw an itty bitty baby mouse that wouldn't move and an albino (sp?) squirrel. If you look in the middle of the picture you can see it. It looks like a cat, but believe me people...it is a squirrel. Very cool!
Shontel took me to the Grand Ole Opry, Opryland, downtown Nashville, to her church, and showed me around Cookeville.

Next my friend from Mississippi came and picked me up. We met up with 3 other girls and we drove on down to PCB, FL for a few days. We had such a good time eating, drinking Claire's homemade margaritas, playing games, lounging on the beach, and the best part of all SHOPPING at the best outlet mall I've ever been to. Oh man. I was in hog heaven. We're going to try and do this once a year. And I'm pumped up ready for next year to hurry and get here. Whooooohoooo!!!!
And I can't forget to mention my celebrity sighting. Well, I'm STILL going to say I met the real deal. You can believe what you want...... As we were standing in the LONG line at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville one of the girls said "hey, isn't that Kenny Chesney??!!" It looked JUST like Kenny Chesney...here in a sec, I'll let you see for yourself. But we kept thinking "why would he be with that woman, that's no model or KC-type woman." So Diana, being the super tech-savy person she is looked up his tour date on her BlackBerry. Nope, it couldnt be him. He was scheduled to be in Wisconsin that night. Well, I had already decided that if he were to get close enough to me I would definately ask him to take a picture with me. Guess what.....he came strolling by with his "woman" in tow. Well I blurted out...."sir, sir, do you mind taking a picture with me??" He looked at me a little weird and then said "you'll have to ask her" (looking toward his "woman". She agreed. (You can only imagine what they were thinking of me!) So there as we stood getting ready for the quick picture I decided to introduce myself....here is the conversation: T-"thank you so much, I'm going to tell everyone back home that I met Kenny Chesney - you look so much like him, do you get that a lot" K - shrugs and answers "not really". T -"I'm tonya" (shaking hands) "what's your name" and I don't even remember his name he said he was from LaGrange, Georgia. At this point I am asking him questions to REALLY see if he's Kenny or some dude TRYING to be Kenny. He didn't sound like Kenny but he could have been trying to fool me. *shaking head* So when I got home I compared the picture I have of him and lots of pictures of Kenny on the internet. Now, I tell ya, if this wasn't Kenny this dude was trying seriously hard to be Kenny. Check out the necklace, hat, and glasses. You could've fooled me (he did).....so to this day I'm still saying this was Kenny Chesney...I don't care what anyone says!

And that, my friends, are all the most exciting things that have happened within the last year. Now, hopefully, I'll do better with my blogging and won't have to do this once a year. lol!

Logan had a war with the playground and the playground won...

Well as I mentioned yesterday Logan got hurt on the playground. I'm not sure what he was playing on but he told his dad he was playing and fell and busted his chin open. Yep, Logan will officially have his first chin scar. Wes said "that's alright buddy, I have plenty of scars on my chin." Logan's mom said he was a really good sport while getting 3 stitches in his chin. He didn't cry or throw a fit or anything. I'm proud of my little man. Wish I could have been there to give him a hug and take him out for ice cream or something. Poor little guy.

We won't have him this weekend but maybe next time we do I'll take a picture for ya.

Need your opinions....

Ok, for those of you who MAY be reading this...give me some cool ideas for a new title to my blog site instead of Tonya's Space....that seems boring. Come on Summer, I know you can help me think of something.....and you better become a blog stalker of mine like I am of yours. HA!