Blessed and Thankful

I try to be one that stops and thanks God for all the wonderful things He does for me, big and small, throughout the year...not just on one day. But it is this time of year that it is especially on my heart and mind.


I want to try to come up with something different for my list of things I'm thankful for but the brain just isn't going along with that thought.


I am first very thankful for God and his dying on the cross for my sins. He is always right there when I need Him. He listens to me, He is my friend. I would be nothing without Him, His love and His mercy.


I am thankful for my freedom and this country that I live in. It has it's negatives but we are free here.


I am thankful for my family. Each and everyone of them. They are each special and different in their own way. Each have a place in my heart.


I am thankful for my friends. I have often thought of all the friends I am so blessed to have. They too, are special and different in their own way. Each one knows just the right thing to say or do. Several I have been friends with since college. You know, a lot of people only have one real good friend and several acquaintances. But I have several real good friends. I cherish friendships more than anything sometimes. A good friend knows how to lift you up when you're down, tell you when you're wrong about something even when you don't want to hear it, gives you the best advice they know how, listens when you just need a listener, makes you laugh when you need it, and prays for you. That's the key...a friend who Believes! I love that.


I am thankful for my health and my families health.


I am thankful for my faith.


I am thankful for my love for my friends and family.


I am thankful that God has a purpose and a plan for my life and that He is helping with my patience.


I am thankful for my church.


I am thankful for my mom who made a way for me to get braces and now I have straight teeth. :)


I am thankful for my dogs.


I am thankful for my boss and coworkers.

I am thankful for Starbucks on days like today where it's so hard to get to work.

I am thankful for short weeks at work....

I am thankful for YOU....LOVE YOU!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Anxious for Christmas

I haven't blogged in a while because there hasn't been much excitement going on around my house. But I am getting really excited for the holidays. I love this time of year. I enjoy spending time with friends and family.

Move over political ads and signs and make way for the numerous Christmas commercials for our local stores. Blah.

Oh I can't wait to pull out The Christmas Story and Home Alone.

Short and sweet but that's it for now. Just letting you know where my mind is lately....the holidays. Yay!

Six years

Yesterday was my 6th wedding anniversary. Man how time flies. It seems like just yesterday I was walking down the aisle. When I look back I can understand all the lines that I heard "are you sure?" "you're so young" "they'll never make it". One guy, that worked with Wes then, said "they'll never make it past 6 months." I think we've proved him wrong. Yes we were young. Yes we hadn't known each other that long. But I knew in my heart that Wes was THE ONE God wanted for my life and as my husband. I have told several girlfriends..."you just know". And I knew in the first conversation with Wes that he was heaven sent. No, he's not perfect. No, I'm not perfect. No, our marriage hasn't been a fairy-tale. But who's is. And I am happy and couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else.

I had a friend ask me this weekend while we were discussing a situation in her life...."have you ever just looked at your husband and had this overwhelming feeling of love and appreciation?" And my answer was "absolutely!" Many times.

I love my husband, love the man he has become, love the father he has grown to be, and love him for simply being Wes.

Thank you God for six years! My prayer is that You will bless our marriage and help us to continually grow together and grow in You.

Overcome by Emotions....

What an amazing feeling I had as my sister walked into my house for her surprise birthday party. This is just what I had been waiting for. A month's worth of preperation and this was the day. The day to see if all the hard work and stress would pay off. And boy did it!

About a month ago my sister-n-law Amanda had talked to me about us giving Ashley a surprise 18th birthday party. The thought had already entered my mind but I had been consumed with giving a baby shower for a girl at church I hadn't given it much more thought. Then as Amanda and I began to discuss it we came up with the perfect plan. Amanda mentioned something about Dallas Cowboys, Ashley's favorite football team, and then I knew that was it! I quickly checked the Dallas Cowboys schedule and found out they would be playing on October 19th at 12. Perfect! We would have a surprise party at my house with it being Dallas Cowboy themed and with the game playing. So the planning began. Thank goodness for Amanda to be my sounding board. We had lots of instant messenger talks about how should we do this and what should we do about that. Oh the excitement was about to boil over for both of us. But we HAD to pull this off. What an accomplishment if we could keep this a secret.

Mom is really bad about letting the cat out of the bag at times so I kept this party a secret from even her for a couple of weeks. I had to find the perfect time to tell her or it would be ruined. Even telling her over the phone could be a hard job because mom doesn't know how to discuss things over the phone secretly. A perfect example.....do you want to know how Anthony and I found out mom was pregnant with Ashley? It wasn't a sit down discussion between the family or even a one on one with either of us. You see, she was talking on the phone. Anthony and I were in the same room and she was talking to an aunt of ours and there it was. The secret was out. Mom was pregnant. Oh I jumped and screamed and giggled. At the age of nine I was SO excited of the thoughts of being a big sister. I couldn't wait. So there you have it, mom is NOT good at keeping secrets. So anyways.....back to this surprise...we all managed to keep it a secret.

Invitations were sent out and the waiting began. I could not wait to see how Ashley would react. I wasn't really prepared for the emotions that would consume me at that moment. I always stress out over parties or showers that I'm helping with. Wanting everything to be just perfect. I am sure the other party goers thought I was a spaz. I am thinking that next time I give a party or shower that I will take a pill that morning. ha!

So I give Anthony and Amanda a lame excuse as to why they need to park in the back of my house for a "planned" lunch we would have together at my house. This was actually going to work. They pull up out back and I let all the family and friends know. "She's here!!!!" That's when the emotions were raging for me. Excited, scared, nervous, hands were shaking. I stood by the back door, off to the side, with camera in hand. "SURPRISE!!!!" Ashley just stands there looking all around at all the people that have filled the house. Dumbfounded I think would be a good word for her expression. She walks in further and puts her hands to her face and that's when it happened. Tears! Tears from Ashley, Amanda, me, and others. It all happened so fast but I remember us all hugging and tearing up and laughing. Oh it was wonderful.

Even thinking about it now, the emotions start to hit me. Who would imagine a surprise party being so emotional. This was it tho, the baby of our family is turning 18. To make someone feel so special and loved makes me feel so wonderful. There are no words to describe how I felt at that moment standing there watching Ashley become overcome with emotion because of pure surprise. Being 9 1/2 years difference between us, I have often felt like another mother to Ashley. I want to protect her, encourage her, be a friend, be someone she can come talk to about anything, and sometimes even be a sister that gripes about what she should be doing. But over all, I want her to know that she is loved and very special to me. I can't imagine life without my sister. She is very spoiled but I couldn't ask for a better sister. One thing I admire most about her is what a great christian young woman she has become. In today's society it is extremely difficult for teenagers. They get caught up in drugs, sex, alcohol, etc. at such an EARLY early age. But by the Grace of God, Ashley is still walking on the right path.

Time sure does fly by. Friday will be 18 years from when my sister was brought into this world. I remember Anthony waking me up early that morning telling me that Dad had taken Mom to the hospital. I couldn't wait to meet my little sister and I wondered what she would look like and couldn't wait to help with her. Now, 18 years later I thank God for the beautiful, sweet, loving friend He has given me as my sister.

........Love you Ash!

What we can GET excited about at our age!!!

I am SO excited! I have been in my house for 2 years now and I haven't done a whole lot of decorating (as far as things on the walls) because I had to do a lot of painting and applying money to the kitchen and flooring.........but I feel there is a change in the air. I know, I'm a nut. I can't help it. Meet my 2 new, (well, new to me) items...

I can definately tell I'm not a 21 year old anymore. I mean, come on, I'm getting grins and giggles over CHAIRS, for goodness sake. But these do make me happy. I'm not sure if I'll have room for BOTH of these in my living room or not but one more thing to sit on will make me happier. And I will be getting these recovered...don't you worry...they don't match each other...I know. I got these for $20 each. I thought I got a wonderful deal and that made me even happier. Sorry if I bored you but I just had to share. Next time you see these babies...or atleast one of them, will be recovered and beautified in my living room.

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.