And He's Off...

I wasn't quite sure how I'd react today, but it has been an emotional one.

I woke up to a text message from Patrick at 7:10am saying that he'd be briefed at 10:15am and shipping at 10:30am. I quickly replied to say we would be there by 10:00. He responded that we should get there earlier just in case. So, I called Melody to see if she wanted to go and forfeit a few hours of her much needed sleep. She said yes, so Mom and I hurriedly got ready and headed to downtown by way of Melody's to pick her up.

At 9:09am I received a text from Patrick that said "Fixin 2 swear-in". We were still a few minutes away. At about 9:30, Mom dropped Melody and me off at the front door of the Federal building so that we could try to find Patrick. Mom tried to find a parking spot and finally found one. We had to park in Metered parking and she only had enough change for thirty minutes. Oh NO! I told her that I'd pay the ticket if we got one.

So, we proceeded through security, got our badges, and made it upstairs. We were just in time. We waited a few minutes while they prepped for the Swearing In ceremony. We got to be there with Patrick when he officially swore in. The pics and video are grainy, but here goes!




















We waited after the ceremony to see Patrick one last time and watch him get on the bus. He will travel by bus to the airport and then fly to Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Please pray for his safe travel and success in Basic. I will keep you posted as much as possible. Thank you for your love and support.

Last Night of Freedom

Not exactly sure of how to start this post, but here goes.

I just got home from spending the evening with my wonderful husband Patrick. We spent our last day together before he ships to Army Basic Combat Training tomorrow. It is hard for me to describe my feelings tonight. This is something we've been anticipating for several months and now the time has come.

After getting some last minute things done today, we headed into Dallas to meet his recruiter at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. We were supposed to meet him between 7 and 7:30. Little did we know that this would be the start of the "Hurry up and wait" element that we knew would be part of the Army experience. We arrived early, but the recruiter was late.







And WAITING,





Finally, at around 8:00 or so, the recruiter showed up. After a quick briefing and last instructions, he released Patrick to leave the hotel and get dinner. So, we left to grab a bite to eat and spend some time together. I dropped him off at 9:45 and he headed to bed.

Patrick will wake up at 3:45 am, get on a bus at 5:00 am and head to Military Enlistment Processing Station (Federal Building in Dallas). Mom and I and possibly Melody will be heading down in the morning to see him sworn in.

Until then...

Austin Trip Rap-up

We're back! Home together for three days before Patrick ships to basic training. I want to catch you up on our trip to Austin, so I'll refer you to Patrick's post on the subject. Have fun reading. We had a lot of fun exploring.

Quick Howdy and Check in!

I just wanted to check-in with you! I don't have time to get deep right now (I would really like to get settled and start writing better blogs someday). But, life is busy right now. School is out, we have hopefully just one more day of work to get done at the good ole' band hall. Officially, there are eleven days until the big move and 21 days until the big life change. Patrick leaves exactly three weeks from today.

I wish I could describe the emotions I have been experiencing these last few days, but I can't put a label on them. I am sure that eventually this huge change in our lives will hit me, but I am going on adrenaline at this moment. It was very sad to hug our students and say goodbye. Many of them cried and that really helped us feel loved. We will miss them.

As usual, I am procrastinating. I should have been cleaning and packing tonight, but I've squandered my time once again. Please pray for us in the weeks to come. Pray that I'll use my time wisely and get things done. Please pray for Patrick as he continues to prepare for the physical and emotional trials ahead.

Sorry for the short sentences... It is SO past my bedtime...

Checking things off of the list...

In our four days of school, 19 days until we move, and 29 days until Patrick leaves, there are many things that we've got to get done. The check list is huge. Yesterday, we checked-off one more thing. SELL THE MIATA. CHECK.

We loved the little car, but decided we don't need it anymore. We didn't want to pay to store it while Patrick's in training. So, we headed to Carmax and they made us a good deal. It was a breeze. No problems at all. That was a big weight off of our shoulders. And, we got more than enough money to pay-off our new computer. Yippee!

We also checked-off a couple more items:
MOVE KAYAKS TO MOM'S HOUSE AND INSTALL STORAGE HANGER.
MOVE INSTRUMENTS TO MOM'S HOUSE.
MOVE WINTER COATS AND JACKETS TO MOM'S.
GET PATRICK'S FOSSIL WATCH INTO THE REPAIR SHOP.
HELP ORGANIZE MOM'S GARAGE SO THAT MY CAR WILL FIT.
SHOP FOR SOME SUMMER CLOTHES.

Now on to the next thing on the list: PACKING, PACKING, and MORE PACKING.

WARNING! Your foolish pride is showing!!!!

By now, it's safe to say that I've done a number of stupid things in my life. Regrettably and admittedly, some have been adverse to the law (okay, we're talking minor traffic violations...nothing major). But, nevertheless, I've been wrong.

Unfortunately, I haven't learned. Tonight, on our way home from handing Sebastian off to Mom in Dallas, I drove into our neighborhood like any other night. It was just getting dark and no one was behind us or on-coming. At the last stop sign near our house, I stopped, but apparently failed to signal my usual right turn. I didn't realize the mistake. Upon turning, we noticed a cop pulling over to the opposite curb facing us on the next block. We saw him turn his lights off and even discussed the fact that he was setting up a trap for some unsuspecting game. As usual, I made the right turn onto our street to head home. No other car was in sight, except the officer in his parked car. After I had turned completely and headed down our street, (our house is only like the fourth one down) I noticed the nice young cop come up behind me. He followed us until I signaled the turn into our driveway... You know what happened next? Yep! That guy proceeded to turn on his flashing red and blues and pull in behind us. Angry and embarrassed that he had the nerve to flash his lights in my drive way, I immediately got an attitude. I was sure I'd done nothing wrong. After all, I was just on my own block. We had even opened our garage door already for Pete's sake!

Nervous and a bit upset, Patrick and I both opened our car doors. You would have thought we were wanted criminals carrying weapons and drugs. Cop began shining his light in my face and demanded we get back in the vehicle and shut the doors. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I was just so ticked-off and scared at the same time. We obliged him and got back in. He told me to roll the window down, and I did. Neighbors literally began coming out of their houses to see what was going on. And I guess that's when I lost it. Cop nicely told me that I had been pulled over for failing to signal my intent to turn. WHAT? You've got to be kidding me... This guy's got to get a life. Pulling me over in my own driveway for doing something that put no one in danger. I was livid. There's a newspaper reporter living across the street for goodness sake.

He took my license and insurance and went to his car. He was there for what seemed an eternity. During that eternity, I was pleading with Patrick about the injustice of it all. Seriously, I know there are laws, but come on!!!! Give me a break! I'm sure there was some robbery going on that he could have been tending to. But for goodness sake, it's my own front yard. TURN YOUR LIGHTS OFF!!!! You're telling the whole neighborhood to come out and watch!!!

After moaning, groaning, and griping of innocence and injustice to my husband, the little man (who could not have been more than 22 years old) came shining his light in my face again. You see, when we moved to this new place, we failed to get new licenses. That gets me into another rant altogether, so I'll just say that we had to convince the man that we now lived at this location and had not gotten the card changed. It was correct on our insurance and registration, just not on our license. You'd have thought we'd just murdered someone. After convincing him of our residence and profuse error in not getting a new license, he wrote me a WARNING for failing to signal intent of a right turn. I think I would have found a lawyer if it had been a real ticket.

You know, I've been pulled over for speeding I think three or four times in my life, but that's it. I understand that there are laws for our safety. But, come on!!! Turning my blinker on when there is no one around. You've got to be kidding me.

...

I've had a few hours to think about it, and Patrick has helped me come to a conclusion and admission. If I had been pulled over for not signaling anywhere else but my own driveway, I'd probably not even be writing this post. But, because I was so embarrassed to be seen with flashing cop lights in my yard, I ranted and raved with anger and hatred. Instead of taking my lumps of correction and having a gentle spirit, I chose to let foolish PRIDE control my responses. Wow, there's that horrible word. You know, if cops gave tickets for letting foolish pride show, I think the world might be a better place to live. Let's just say, I'd be in attitude court way too often! Fortunately, I have the Holy Spirit to handle the attitude correction, not the men in blue!

Drawing to a Close

It is very hard to believe, but things are starting to wind down here in C-town. We had a wonderful time of fellowship on Sunday with our family at Memorial. They are so loving and care so much for us. We are so thankful to them for their support and encouragement. On our last Sunday with them, they gave us a very unexpected gift that included a goodbye video. We all stayed around after the fellowship to watch the video as members said their sweet goodbyes to us and laughed and cried together as we remembered the last four years. We will still attend tonight and next Wednesday to finish up our study of the book, "The Case For Faith". We will miss our church family! This Sunday, we're planning to attend church at the church of our college friends.

School is drawing to a close quicker than we expected. We'll be out on band trips Thursday,Friday and Saturday. Then, after a quick trip to Dallas to spend Memorial Day Weekend with family, we'll take our little convertible to the Carmax to sell it. We are hoping to get what it's worth. We've loved having it, but it's time to downsize. With Patrick being in training for nine months, there's no need to have two cars. Anyone in the market for a 1994 Miata?

Next week will be a blur, I'm sure. No school Monday. Then Tuesday through Thursday are skeletal at best because of exams. Friday's a shortened day with a graduation rehearsal, with graduation on Saturday. Then, after a time of fellowship with our CSO friends on Saturday, we hope to visit our dear friends Julie and Darin in Frankston on Sunday.

As if that's not enough to think about, we'll be doing even more in the following three weeks. Three days of in-service will be followed by a long awaited trip to Oklahoma to visit family. Then, it's packing, packing, and more packing. We'll move on a Friday, have a gargage sale on a Saturday, then rest for a day. Next, we're off to Austin for a few days of relaxation before the big send-off. In case you didn't know, Patrick will be "shipping-out" on Tuesday, June 24th. I hope to go to MEPS to send him off and take pics. We'll keep you posted!

And the Decision is...

I am a little late in sharing this news, but I thought I'd let you know that we've made a decision about Patrick's first duty post. If you've read his blog, then you are already "in the know". After doing some research, we have decided to select Ft. Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma as our first post. If everything works out, we'll be there in March of 2009. We will be much closer to Patrick's family in the OKC metro and still be not terribly far from my family in Texas and Arkansas. We are excited!

Also, I have just begun a new business venture! I am in the process of becoming a Pampered Chef consultant. Not a full-time job, but definitely nice extra income! I am sure I'll be blogging more about that adventure as I get deeper into it.

I know this post is short, but I have to get ready for one of the things we get to experience as Americans - JURY DUTY!!! Say it with me - UGGGHHHHH! I am sure I won't get picked for the jury, and that's why the process is such a pain! I'll let you know what happens!

Have a great Monday!

34 and 75?

Okay, Okay. I won't bore you with a countdown everyday, but I just had to let you know that there are 34 days left of school and 75 days until Patrick ships to Basic Combat Training for the Army!

I can't believe it. Before we know it, we'll be moving to a new place and a new time in our lives. Yesterday, we found out the options for Patrick's Station of Choice. We are praying about which post we should choose. This is a tough decision and we want to make the right one.

We have so much to do! It's hard not to be overwhelmed by the cleaning, purging, packing, moving process. Part of me wants to completely get rid of everything we own, just so I don't have to decide what to keep, store, move, etc.

It is our goal to glorify God during this process. I am learning to trust Him during every step of the way.

So Nice To Get Away...

Just in time for a much needed break, Patrick and I were able to go camping this past weekend. Melody and Danny came along to Lake Murray in Oklahoma. I absolutely love being outdoors! It was a beautiful weekend on a beautiful lake. We learned that Danny is a closet lumberjack and can build a pretty mean fire!!! Thank you, Danny for helping us stay warm! The first night, we almost froze to death in our tents. Thankfully, it warmed up a lot so the second night was more comfortable. If you are not the camping type, I urge you to at least give it a try sometime. I am so thankful God allowed us to have a great time. We even got to use our kayaks!

Here are a few pics:






And a few more:

Urgent Prayer Request

Dear Blogging Friends and Family,

I want to do a shout-out to my Uncle Clay. Hi, Clay! I want you to know that we are praying for you and for Cheryl. I hope you don't mind if I share a little bit of your story.

Uncle Clay has been suffering at home for several months after doctors sent him home with out a hip. Can you believe the absurdity of that statement? He had hip replacement surgery about a year ago and let's just say things weren't done exactly right. Doctors removed the hip and, after a long stay in the hospital, they basically said "we're done" and sent him home. He has been bed bound for months and his only link to the world is a laptop computer and maybe the tv, but I'm not sure about that. He has recently re-entered the world of blogging through his blog Netblogger2. To add to the urgent need for prayer, Clay's wife Cheryl is having surgery today to remove a tumor on her spine. This was a sudden development and now leaves them both with major issues of medical care and concern.

If you have the chance today, please join us in praying for Cheryl's surgeons and a quick recovery. Also, please pray that someone can step in and take up Clay's struggle to receive proper medical care!

Thank you!

It's Official - We're In the Army Now!

Just wanted to let my faithful readers know that it's now official! Patrick has just been sworn-in to the US Army as a Band Member. We will give you more of the details as the weeks progress. At this time, we do know that he will "ship out" to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for basic training on June 24th. We will not know his permanent station for a few more weeks. Thank you to those of you who have been praying with us about this. We know that you are a big part of our lives. Please continue praying that all of the details will be worked out.

We will both fulfill our contracts with the school district. Our last day will be June 13th. Not sure of the living arrangements after that, but I know we will be ready to go!

Stay tuned to Patrick's blog for more details.

Healing Family Hurts (from James MacDonald)

This post is borrowed from one of my favorite blogs. I felt it was very timely today.

Taken from "I've Been Thinking: A Weekly Devotional" from pastor and author James MacDonald)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, ESV

Have you got some hurdles to overcome in your family relationships? You know . . . some things that need to change and improve at your house? All of us can at one time or another admit to family problems, causing family pain.

I have just one word to offer you as you seek help and healing for your family: love. Love is relational dynamite that obliterates all obstacles in its path. Talking won't do that for you. Pressuring won't; prodding, insisting, demanding, getting selfish-these all will only tear your life and family apart. But 1 Corinthians 13:8 says, "Love never fails" (NKJV).

Love never fails to what? Let me point out three things that it will handle for you:

#1 Love never fails to conquer selfishness. I am selfish and so are you. All of us need help here. You never have to work at self; it's just right there barking for attention. Love conquers the biggest obstacle in me: selfishness.

#2 Love never fails to conquer skepticism. Over time, it's easy to doubt that anything is ever going to change. Your family disappoints you. Someone does something foolish or hurtful and you want to bail out. But love holds on. Love is being used by God to transform that person-even when that person is you.

I wonder if you've read this far and are thinking, James, we've got real problems over at our house and some pep talk on love is not going to fix it.

You're right-that's why 1 Corinthians 13:6 sits in the middle of the passage: "[Love] does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth."

#3 Love never fails to rejoice in the truth. Love doesn't sit back in some happy delusion that everything will be okay. Love doesn't deny problems, but works to see them changed. Love is an action before it's a feeling.

In love, serve your family when they choose to be selfish.

In love, humble yourself before your family when conflict creates distance. Be the one to go back and say you're sorry. Own your part of the problem. Humble yourself first.

In love, lavish on them words and deeds of kindness and affirmation.

In love, forgive your family by releasing them from the obligation that resulted when they hurt you. Let it go. Don't hold it over them.

And lastly, in love, speak God's Word in any situation regardless of the cost. Truth, delivered with love, is what sets us free. Stand for what's right.

"Love bears all things," says 1 Corinthians 13:7. Love tries again. Love trusts again. Love gives God an opportunity to work. Love is part of the solution. It's a tool in God's hands to work through you in helping your family.

James MacDonald
Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel

The Absurdity of Human Expectations: Translation - You expected me to do/think/feel what?

I realize that I am not old enough to be considered wise. I certainly don't claim to be a sage. So, if what I have to say is full of holes, then please let me know.

In my relatively short life, I have noticed that the majority of human conflict and disappointment is caused by unmet expectations. These expectations are often too high and unattainable, or worse, they are never made known to the people or groups they are placed upon. One of the common situations in which we display such error in judgment is in our marriages. I am sure I'm not the only one who has placed undue expectations upon my unknowing spouse, only to act hurt when he doesn't meet them. If you don't identify with me, then please keep your perfection to yourself.

As unfair as it is for me to judge my spouse based on my secret expectations, it is equally unfair for strangers to hold any of us to any secret expectations. It is even more reprehensible when family members do this to us.

Have you ever taken a test without knowing what would be on it? Have you ever gone to a movie without having some foreknowledge of the plot or the characters? Do you ever go in for a job interview without first knowing what the job is?

If you answered any of those questions with "NO," then it must be because the more you know of what to expect, the more you can prepare!

Now, what does it all mean? Let's face it - when people get upset with us because we didn't meet their secret expectations, there really is no way to win. How can we be expected to make anyone happy, or at minimum, not angry. I guess the only way to avoid such conflict is to avoid the situations that create it. Or, we could cease to have hidden expectations and simply love people for who they are (faults and all). You would think that in a family, this would be a given - an absolute - a DUH! Unfortunately, we are humans. And humans fail.

God has given us His forgiveness when we do not meet His expectations. The big difference is that God has given us His specific expectations in his word! Knowing what God expects of us can be found through reading the Bible and through hearing Him speak to us. He has a right to be disappointed. He's the only one who can determine if I'm living up to them or not, because He created the expectations! I have no excuse for not doing what I've been instructed to do. However, unlike God's expectations for me, I cannot meet human expectations that have not been made known to me.

If only I had time to Write!

Wow! What a week of highs and lows. I've got tons of stuff buzzing through this brain of mine, but I really don't have the time right now to wax philosophical with you!

However, for a great read, please read Beth Moore's recent blog post: Just Dreaming!

I don't know where to start...

I really want to vent some major emotion today, but I'm trying to restrain myself. I found out some very disturbing information this morning and I would like to spew words of anger and disgust, but God is working on me! It's hard to know how to express this emotion without saying something I'll regret. Some people just amaze me with their level of maturity, or lack thereof. Why can people not act their age? I admire my husband because he can handle this kind of thing much better than I can. He is always the voice of reason when it comes to saying the right things in this situation. Unfortunately, this particular struggle has gone on way too long. I think that it is time to settle things once and for all. Please pray that I'll know how to handle this.

One Man's Leaves are Another Man's... LEAVES!

Ugh! Don't get me wrong, I like trees. In fact, I almost chose a career that was based on trees - forestry. I border on tree-hugger status.

However, it is the lovely little remnants of trees that have my focus today. It never seems to fail. I live in a house with no trees in the yard, yet I find myself having to rake mega bunches of leaves from other yards on my street. Not fair! I realize that when a leaf falls from a tree it can land wherever the wind takes it. I find no fault with the leaf itself. My problem is with the nearest neighbors who choose not to take care of their own leaves and instead put them off on me. You know, I think they actually use blowers to blow them out of their yard and onto mine. In fact, we had one rude passer-by that allowed some already bagged leaves to fall into our front yard. Of course, upon landing the bag busted and spewed its contents onto our lawn. Today, I raked up two huge bags of leaves and have another pile waiting to be bagged.

God made the trees and God made the leaves. I just wish that I didn't have to break my back raking them.

Monday Musings

Back to the real world and real routine. It was nice being away at convention, now it's time to get back to life as normal. We actually managed to get up and work out this morning. I feel like I am on a weight-loss yo-yo! It is so frustrating. Hey, at least I feel better, right?

Patrick passed his audition on Friday. He now will have about 40 days to go to Military Enlistment Processing Station. If he passes everything there, he will be sworn in as a soldier in the US Army. Whew! It is going to be an intense month while we work out and try to get in shape for that. MEPS was the step last year that prevented him from joining the Army. He didn't pass the hearing test and that led to a surgery to repair his hearing. We are praying that God's will is done this time around, no matter what that means. Of course, we're pulling for the Army, but ultimately we want to follow God's direction.

On to the bizarre news of my week. Most of you know that Patrick and I have not been able to have children for whatever reason. Out of nowhere last week, we received a packet of "Baby" coupons in the mail. It was addressed to us. They are coupons for expectant mothers. I don't know how we got onto that list because we obviously aren't expecting at this time. As if that wasn't weird enough, we received more mail when we got back from convention. This time it was from the Welcome Addition Club (for expectant mothers). It included a free can of Similac. I guess we'll be donating that to the church's food pantry. Unless there's something we don't know about, I'm pretty sure we won't be needing that anytime soon.

Well, better get going now. Happy Monday to you all! Enjoy Presidents' Day!

New routines, new passions...

It's been so long since I've posted much. There is so much going on. Okay, not really, I've just been placing other things ahead of blogging in my list of priorities.

Just a quick update for my readers.

Patrick and I are in our fourth week of mostly consistent exercise. The alarm goes off at 5:15 am and we eventually make it to the YMCA by 5:45 or so. It has been hard, but I feel much better. I haven't lost weight yet, but have so much more energy and feel great. It also jump starts my day.

Usually, we come home and I make breakfast burritos. Then, after Patrick leaves, I try to do work around the house or do my grocery shopping. I admit, there are some days where I just sit in a trance in front of the computer catching up on my favorite presidential candidate and reading my favorite bloggers (you know who you are). But, eventually I do get some work done. Some is always better than none... Right?

I'll quit with the boring stuff.

NEWS UPDATE: Patrick will be auditioning for the Army Band again next week. Probably on Feb. 15th while we are at convention in San Antonio. In case you weren't aware, he passed an audition last spring, but failed the hearing test during Medical Processing. So, after a miraculous surgery to repair his hearing, and another important sinus surgery that he needed, he is going to re-audition. If he passes the audition, he will have 45 days to go through processing again. We should know a bit more about our future by April.

Well, I have to go catch-up on a new passion of mine: the election. Never in my life have I cared about the election this early in the game, but I am very passionate about my candidate. I also never have been so frustrated by the voting process and the liberal media. I hope Texas gets a chance to say something in this process. How un-American and un-Democratic (not the party-the type of government)is it when most of Americans don't even get a say in the nomination experience because of the whole delegate zoo? Why don't we choose the nominee like we choose the actual president?

Here I go... I've already said more than I should. So, let me say bye-bye for now!

And, even though I'd never tell my readers what they should think... I am entitled to share my opinion:

GO, MIKE, GO!!!!
www.mikehuckabee.com

*Where. Intheworld. is. LiptonOnionSoupMix?

And if you can answer that, you can probably tell me where to find pesto, black olives, white shoe peg corn, dry mustard, and a host of other ingredients that I've been buying over the past month. Let's just say that my grocery shopping is taking more time with each visit than it used to when the USUAL was all that was on my list.

It's not that I'm especially inept at shopping, it's just that some of these things haven't been located where my feeble mind assumes they should be. Like the onion soup mix... I went to Walmart twice in the same day (long story) and asked two workers, my friend Julie, and a total stranger where I might find onion soup mix. Each had a different answer, and I tried all of them, including my first instinct. However, it took a last resort of asking another Walmart employee, and together we found it above the Raman(?)noodles.

So, needless to say, my new cooking adventures have been just that. Some meals have been super, others have been duds. Here are a few of the ones we've liked: BBQ Chicken Dinner Packets, Pepper Steak over Rice (crock pot meal), Meatball subs, Chicken Pesto Mushroom Bake, Baked Greek Tilapia, Russian Chicken (crock pot meal), Pepperoni Loaf (YEA, BABY), Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Pasta, and Corn & Sausage Chowder.

So far, only two duds: Swedish Meatballs (which we used for the subs mentioned in the super list, but the gravy on top of the first meal was YUCK!) and Meat & Three (crock pot meal that had a mistake listed in the ingredients). I think both of these could easily be changed to be better.

Now on to this week's menu... Tortellini & Sausage Soup, Slow Bake BBQ Chicken, Crunchy Chicken, Beef Macaroni Casserole (we'll substitute turkey), and Overnight Cinnamon French Toast (a do-ahead breakfast). Each meal has included alternating sides like steamed fresh broccoli, salad, and steamed fresh green beans (which are so much better than the canned junk).

If you are interested in any of the recipes, just let me know.

Yes, this post was started last week, I just now took the time to finish it...

*The title of this post is set to the beat of the title of a tv show from my childhood...Not hard to figure out!

Now We're Cooking With Gas! (Wait, I'm just cooking...period!)

For those that know me, it is a well-established fact that I do not cook. Not that I'm necessarily terrible at it, I just don't do it. Don't get me wrong...my mom, grandmother, grandfather, and my dad and his family are all wonderful cooks. I just never seemed to find pleasure in the act of cooking. Being all-knowing as He is, God blessed me by providing a husband who is very gifted in the kitchen. If this were not the case, I would be even more over-weight than I am currently because we'd have been eating out for every single meal of our eleven year marriage.

So, what's my point? Drum Roll PLEASE...

I have cooked five meals this week!

Okay, now you can pick your chin up off the floor. They have by no means been "meals" of the multi-course variety, but meals none-the-less. Two were for dinner and three have been breakfast. Yea, yea...I know... But please remember this is a life-changing habit for me, so I am taking BABY STEPS!

The overall themes of my New Year's Resolutions are "TIME,HOUSE, and WEIGHT MANAGEMENT". For nearly six months, I have totally squandered the available time I have had to make my home a better place to live. I only work half of the day (afternoon) and I began with lofty dreams of using the other half of the day (the morning) to keep my house clean, to plan for dinner, and to exercise. Like I said - I totally wasted that precious time.

So this week I started life over again. I decided the only way to make it work is to wake up with Patrick at 5:30 am and go to the gym. When we get home, I make breakfast (which this week has been eggs and sausage and breakfast burritos). The next step crucial and most important step is to spend personal time with God in prayer and Bible study. After that step, my goal is to clean the house and keep it clean with small steps and projects throughout the week. And I do mean small steps. It's not that our house is terrible filthy, it's just that I need to develop some important easy routines to keep the ship running in top shape. I've enlisted some ideas from Valerie, as well as FLYLADY.

As far as the cooking goes, I have enlisted some help as well! Through HomeLife Magazine I found a wonderful website called E-Mealz. For a few dollars a month, they give you menus for dinner each week and even make a shopping list for you. I just did my first E-Mealz shopping last night and it was great. I haven't made any of the recipes yet, but I am ready to. The dinners I've made this week were one-pot kind of meals for which I already had recipes.

Well, all I can do is pray that the Lord will help me continue developing good and healthy habits. I'm already past my newly assigned computer/internet time limit, so I better say by for now!

OOPS! We missed a TOLL!

Okay, several tolls!

Talk about a huge oversight on our part. While driving in Illinois last week we blatantly ignored the toll plazas. We were under the assumption that we'd just be billed from our license plate...(I know...WE WERE STUPID!). There are a few toll roads in our area of Texas that will do that. So, having done just a bit of research, we were under the assumption (yes, I know what assuming means) that we could go on-line and pay our missed tolls. This is one of those times when it would have paid to read the fine print (or at least all of the print).

Much to our huge disappointment, upon our return home, we failed to remember to promptly pay our tolls (had to be done within 7 calendar days). Now, upon deeper digging, we have just been made aware that we are in VIOLATION and will receive a NOTICE in 3 months to a year. When I asked if we could pay the tolls now, before we receive violation notices, I was told NO! I mean, come on... Our trip North happened on Monday the 24th, and our trip South happened on Thursday the 27th. Because they are both now more than 7 days ago, we must wait a few months, possibly a year before we get slapped with a possible $160.00 bill. Not only will we owe the piddly $.80 cent toll per plaza, but we will also owe a $20 fine per plaza. Which, by our research comes to 4 toll plazas on each direction of the trip. You do the math.

Man, if we'd have just taken the few minutes of headache by stopping at each toll plaza and paying the minor toll, we wouldn't be in this mess!

Okay...Let the lessons on obeying the law commence... Just be gentle, we are already bruised from beating ourselves up over it!

At Home, At Last!

We are finally home from our mammoth trip. Not too adventurous, just lots of travel and wonderful visits with our families...

The holiday travel extravaganza closed with a quick but great trip to Oklahoma. It was a joy to spend time with our nephews, Clayton and Carter, as well as their parents Brandon and Jennifer, and Patrick's parents.

It's back to work today and we will probably be totally lazy the next few days when we aren't at work. I personally have postponed the start of any New Year's resolutions to next Monday. More about the resolutions later. I will say this, my resolutions are very similar to some of the bloggers I have linked to my blog. I will be taking some of their advice, as well as some great advice from my sister Valerie about blessing my home.

Stay tuned...and Happy NEW YEAR! Here's to something great in 2008!

I would drive 500 miles, and I would drive 500 more...

In case you've missed my recent blogs or my husband's, you may not be aware of our latest travel adventures. Okay, so they really aren't that adventurous, but it has been a bit crazy.

First, there was the 2600 mile round-trip to Virginia last weekend with the fam in an RV. Then, just for kicks, we left home on Friday with Melody and Danny in tow to head to Houston for an overnight stay to attend a family Christmas party (yea, yea...huge run-on sentence...). That was probably about a 400 mile trip. And then, just in case we had not had enough, we left Sunday night for a 2000 mile round trip to Chicago. We arrived Monday afternoon for a visit with our sister and brother-in-law and their two daughters. It has been a very special visit because they've not ever had the opportunity to be with family in their own home for Christmas. We are so glad we could make the trip. Our nieces are growing up so fast and because they live so far away, it is not easy to spend time with them often. Our trip back to Texas will begin tomorrow. Lastly, because we really want to see our nephews for Christmas, we will leave home again Sunday on a much shorter trek to Oklahoma for a two day stay. Needless to say, our car is in dire need of a scheduled oil change... we've been putting miles on it like crazy... But, then again... isn't that what cars are for?

This Christmas has definitely been different. Not in a bad way... just totally unusual. As we all get older and more geographically spread out, we have to make changes in the way we do things. The good thing is that we know the real reason we celebrate Christmas...The birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When our niece Kinley was asked what Dec. 25th was, she answered "It's Jesus' Birthday." In fact, we got to participate in a new De Leon family tradition of singing Happy Birthday to Jesus and having birthday cake after the Christmas dinner. As long as we get to spend time with family and focus on the true Deliverer, old traditions can take a back seat. I am so thankful that our families are flexible and love us no matter if they see us on Dec. 25th or not. They know it's not the date that is important, it's the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our lives!

We Made It!

We made it home from our RV Road Trip! The picture above (I know, the quality is not that swell) was taken right before we departed from Virginia on Sunday morning at 8:30 am. Our time in Virginia was wonderful...

We left Texas on Wednesday at 4:30 pm. After we fought Dallas rush hour for a full hour, we were under way. We stopped in Arkansas to pick up my grandparents and continued on our journey. Basically, the five us who were able to drive each took a four to five hour turn driving. If we weren't driving, we played video games -mainly Guitar Hero- or just tried to sleep. About 22 hours later, we arrived at my brother's house. Needless to say, we basically crashed for the rest of the day.

On Friday, we each took turns running errands or being lazy. After some morning shopping, Danny and Mason installed some outdoor lighting that Mason had been needing to finish. Patrick and Sarah went on a longer-than-planned outing to purchase Mason's graduation/Christmas gift. Later, all the ladies went clothes shopping at our favorite store. The best news of that trip was that I had way over spent my clothing budget and purchased a total of $260.00 worth of clothing. However, our fabulous cashier saw to it that I received a whole lot of undue discounts. I left there only paying $117.00. Merry Christmas to me! Friday night, Sarah's family came over and we had a small graduation party for Mason. We also did our big Christmas gift celebration at that time.

Saturday, we all got up early to make the three hour trip to Averett University for Mason's graduation ceremony. He received his Master's in Business Administration. After the three hour trip home, we all just spent time being lazy. Sarah provided a super Christmas meal for dinner. Then, the kids (that's all of us under 50) piled into a vehicle to take a Christmas light tour and stop at our favorite ice cream place, Brewster's. It's amazing... we stopped for ice cream in freezing cold temps. WE are so crazy!

Sunday morning, we woke up and started packing the RV. We were on the road at 8:30 am. About three hours into our trip, we ran into a snow storm. The further we drove, the thicker the snow got. As we came into Tennessee, we could see the snow that had already fallen. The video that is below shows the beginning of the snow. My batteries were dead by the time we saw the beautiful white stuff on the roads and hillsides.



We stopped in Arkansas at about 2:00 am Monday morning to let my grandparents out. At about 6:00 am Monday, we pulled into Danny and Melody's apartment complex. We were all so totally exhausted. Despite the fatigue, we had a super great time. I'd recommend the RV thing to anyone. But, we did break a few rules...like the one that says everyone must be seated and buckled in while the vehicle is in motion...OOPS!

ROAD TRIP!

Okay, hold on to your hats! We're heading out on a fun-filled, adventurous, yet a bit insane Road Trip today! The "we" includes myself, my husband, my sister and her new husband, our mom, and our grandparents. Yes, you read correctly...SEVEN of us! Mode of transportation - RV from Cruise America. Destination - Mechanicsville, Virginia (basically Richmond). 1st Purpose - To attend my brother's graduation for his Master's in Business Administration. 2nd Purpose - To do our Christmas celebration all together!

If you are asking yourself, "What are they thinking?" you'd be justified in that response. Back when we started planning we knew my grandparents wouldn't fly and that it would be cheaper if we could all ride together and take turns driving. We'd also save money on hotel rooms if we could just drive straight through. So, we chose the RV route.

I know the trip will be fun, but I am nervous about driving such a big vehicle in traffic, rain, and wind... which are all in the forecast!

Please pray for our safety during the travel and for our sanity during the time together. We love each other very much, but sometimes we can get on each other's nerves.

I'll keep you posted with our progress if possible. If not...I'll catch you up when we return!

Christmas Fun!

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Christmas Story

Loving, fun, and totally crazy. Don't shoot your eye out!

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Have fun taking this cute quiz. I did. Of course, I still believe in Santa even though the true awakening came in about the 3rd grade when I asked for a computer and my mom told me that sometimes Santa can't afford computers! My greed also got me the truth about the Tooth Fairy...I asked for a raise per tooth, and the fairy left me a note in my tooth pillow that read "Sometimes the Tooth Fairy can't afford a raise." Can't remember how old I was then.

Christmas Keyboards or Excellence Experienced!

Wow! I experienced true excellence yesterday. In dynamic contrast to the topic of my husband's recent post, I witnessed something yesterday that was anything but mediocre. Maybe I was so impressed because I really miss experiencing this kind of worship and extreme devotion to using one's gifts.

I attended the annual Christmas Keyboards concert at FBC Dallas. Even if you are not a musician, you would have been totally blown away by the production. The hour and fifteen minute concert featured almost 50 of the church's talented pianists. Their ages ranged from elementary to mid-70's. The stage was packed with four grand pianos and two baby grands, as well as the oh-so-gigantic pipe organ. At any given time, there were two to thirteen pairs of hands playing piano arrangements of some of the most wonderful Christmas music. Think about it... in the larger arrangements, that's thirteen people on six pianos and an organ. Thirteen sets of ten fingers all moving together (in case you are not mathematically inclined...that's 130 fingers). It was magnificent! There were small ensembles of two, three, or four that were wonderful as well.

I think what moved me the most was that for those 50 or so people (children, youth, parents, grandparents) the church had an outlet for ministry. Sure, most churches have the requisite one or two accompanists, but how many of them open up an entire concert to let everyone display their God-given talents and gifts. I know that the actual equipment budgets of most churches do not allow for multiple pianos, but this church knew just how to include everyone.

I couldn't help but imagine how it will be in Heaven when all of us get there. Musicians of every kind will be praising and worshiping God for eternity. I also couldn't help but think that musicians who don't strive for excellence are really wasting an opportunity to glorify the Almighty! I know, I know... We can strive for perfection and cause ourselves and others a lot of pain. But, we should strive to present an excellent gift to our Heavenly Father.

Thank you FBC Dallas for giving us the great gift of Christmas Keyboards.

A Hard Decision....

After much prayer and deliberation, Patrick and I have decided that we are going to find Miles a better home. He is such a sweetheart and has a wonderful personality. He is even learning to be house-trained (although the process is definitely not complete).

Miles is very affectionate and probably has a little bit of separation anxiety, but he has captured my heart. He has gotten along great with Sebastian.

I think that we are a "one dog" house. So, I am going to try to post some fliers at local vet offices or find an adoption shelter. If we put him in the pound, he'll probably be put down.

If you know of anyone who might be interested in adopting Miles, please let me know.

Congrats to the Newly-Weds!

Patrick and I are home from a very full week of wedding events and preparation. You see, my sister and best friend, Melody, got married yesterday to a wonderful guy named Daniel. After months of preparing, the wedding was a wonderful ceremony. It was an amazing display of God's love for us and Melody and Danny's love for each other.

As the Matron of Honor, I did not do a good job of keeping Melody calm on her big day. In fact, I was the most nervous person there. Not only was I dressed more "girlie" than I ever have been, but I had to sing in front of a lot of people, most of whom I'm related to, but lots I didn't know. I was so stressed out.

The ceremony was beautiful and the minister did a great job. Then, we had a wonderful reception with a swing band providing the entertainment along with my crazy dancing on the dance floor! I just really felt like dancing, and so I just let go! I started to feel like everyone was watching me and not the bride and groom (I had the fear that I was show-boating and taking all the spotlight off of Melody). My mom assured me that was not the case!

Needless to say, we are all extremely exhausted from late nights of talking and early mornings of preparation. Hopefully, my mom will get a much deserved rest!

Melody is my best friend and I am so happy for her. She is the most deserving person I know. Daniel is very lucky to have her. Of course, my brother and I (and our spouses) will continue to make sure that he knows that!

Here's to you guys! We love you!

A Day Late and A Blog-Post Short!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK!!!!!

I know...I've posted about our niece's b-day, my sister's b-day, and my friend's b-day. How shameful am I that I didn't get a chance to wish my husband a happy birthday on my blog!!!

Patrick's birthday is Veteran's Day, so he always gets a lot of parades, etc. He also gets a federal holiday... How unfair!! I'm kidding...He deserves all of the pomp and circumstance I can give.

For his birthday, we bought the PS2 game Guitar Hero 3. It is awesome!!!!! We stayed up late last night playing it, and it was tons of fun!

What a Difference a Hair Cut Makes!

It's official. We've changed our adopted/rescued dog's name from Smokey to Miles. He has taken to the new name pretty well. Today, he got a hair cut. The groomer said that he was a great dog. She was really impressed with his personality and good looks. She also thought that he may have some Shih-Tzu, terrier, or cocker spaniel in him. Who knows? I guess it doesn't matter. You can judge the transformation for yourself.

"Baby" Steps

As I mentioned earlier, this week has been about taking steps. I am ready to tell you about another area in my life in which I have taken specific steps this week. Most of my readers are family or close friends, so I don't mind sharing this.

Although Patrick and I have been married for almost eleven years, we decided early on to wait before having children. About three years ago, we felt like it was time. Little did we know that the next three years of our lives would be so full of steps. The hardest part early on was hearing all of our family members ask us why we weren't having kids, or why it was taking us so long... Fortunately, all of that died down when the actual diagnosis of infertility came out. Of course, I won't bore you with all of the specifics because most of you know at least some of what we've been through.

God has been our refuge through all of this. Patrick has been extremely supportive and strong throughout the journey. Along with a very supportive family, God had the overwhelming grace and mercy to give me a friend that was also dealing with the struggles of not having children. I could not have made it through the last three years without her hugs, tears, and listening.

So where do the steps come in? Well, after being on-again, off-again with my specialist, Patrick and I decided to go back to set a plan in motion. We started with Clomid (it's the most basic and simple fertility treatment with the lowest percentage of success). It was a baby step, all puns intended...

After two months of Clomid therapy, the doctor decided that it was not being effective enough for me. So, this month, I officially became one of those women who use injectable medications. Okay, sorry if this is too much info for you, I just wanted share it with you. We are adding the injections in combination with the Clomid to see if that helps. I never in a million years would have imagined that I'd be one of "those" women. Patrick and I are pretty sure that this is the furthest we will delve into the fertility treatment options. Fortunately, our insurance covers the meds, so we are just out my copay. The other options aren't covered. Last night was my first injection and it was actually easier than I was worried about.

I know there are differing opinions about using medical intervention for fertility, but I believe medicine is good, when used for the right reasons. After all, where would we be without chemotherapy for cancer patients or without shots for allergies? Anyway, back to my point... Whether Patrick and I have children or not is totally up to God who created us. He is in control. When He wants us to have children, naturally or through adoption, He will bless us. In the meantime, we'll continue to treat our dog, Sebastian, as if he's our child (within limits, of course!). And if we keep Miles (formerly called Smokey), we'll treat him the same way.

Thanks for listening!!!! I apologize for the length!

Taking the Next Step...

This week has been about taking steps. I am not sure what God is trying to teach me on this treadmill of life, but sometimes I feel like I'm only taking baby steps. Other times, I feel like I am jazz-running in huge strides across this life.

On Monday, we took steps to rescue a dog named Smokey and get him on the road to better health. Yesterday, we took the next step in the process and visited the vet. Smokey seems to be in pretty good health in spite of the mess he was living in. Sadly though, he did test positive for heart worms (not a severe case), so there's no telling what his future will hold. In the next few days, we'll be getting his hair cut and making the decision about whether or not to keep him. The biggest obstacles to keeping him will be the house-training and the traveling.

We'll be getting him groomed on Saturday. And, I think we are changing his name. We don't like the name Smokey so we are trying the name Miles (like the trumpet player). It seems to fit him!

Now just for the house-training and deciding where he's going to sleep...

There are steps we are taking in other areas of life also. I'll discuss those in my next blog.

I know, I know...I'm a sucker for good causes...

You might disagree that this is a story about a good cause, but I have gotten sucked in. Yesterday as I was leaving for the gym, a cute, very dirty, very sweet dog showed up near my garbage can on the street. He had a great personality and seemed to be unloved and mistreated. He had a collar, but no tags. The collar was so tight, it choked him. So, I took the collar off and put the dog in my back yard until I could get home from the gym. I didn't want him to get hit by a car. I stopped at a neighbors house to let them know that if anyone came around looking for the dog, he was in my back yard.

When I returned from the gym, the dog was gone. I assumed that he'd dug his way out or that the owner had seen me put him back there and decided to retrieve him. As I walked around the yard looking for a hole under the fence, my next-door neighbor came out to let me know that she thought the dog was there by accident, so she let him out. Okay, I thought. Not my problem anymore...But, I still wanted to make sure he was safe. I left for school and hoped that he had returned to his home.

I told my husband about the dog, and he of course was not too keen on the story. You see, we already have a dog that takes a lot of our money and all of our love. So, to throw a sad, dirty, untrained mut into the mix did not seem that great to him.

However, when my husband came home, he said that he had seen the dog I described down the street a few houses. So, he and I walked down the street and found the dog at a very run-down house and the dog came running to us. There was another dog at the same house, but it was tethered to the garage wall. It too looked as if no one loved it. Next thing you know, I knock on the front door and a disheveled woman answered. I asked her if the dog was hers and she said that it was, but that it kept getting out of the broken gate. I asked her a few questions about the dog, and she started to explain that she had been trying to give the dog away to her relatives, but no one wanted it. By all appearances (of the house and the woman) she had no business owning a dog, much less two. She offered to let us have the dog if we could take care of it. At this point, I thought that even if we can't keep the dog, we could find a better home for it than its present address.

The dog, who we found out is called "Smokey," followed us home and we put him in the back yard. After some obligations that evening, we were able to give the dog a flea bath (a desperate need), and feed him some dinner. We also brought him into a room in our house to let our dog Sebastian get to know him. Sebastian is very territorial and does not like to share much. However, the two seemed to get along. We don't want to spend money on a vet trip, but the dog clearly needs it. We cannot agree on whether we should keep him, but he is so sweet. He loves to cuddle and I honestly can't believe I let the strange dog into my house and my heart.

I guess we'll discuss his staying some more. He seems to really like it here and I like him. Not quite sure how it would work to keep him, but I'll try to make the right decision. His curly hair and sad little eyes have sucked me in!

Stretched to the MAX!

Elastic Man...Rubber-bands...Stretch Armstrong...Me...I know I don't really fit in with this group of over-pulled, flexible objects, but I feel like it this week.

I started working-out a couple of weeks ago. Let's face it...I am way out of shape and way overweight, so I decided I better do something about it. For the last few weeks, I've been doing the elliptical machine and the doing some strength training. Crazy me decided that I should do a session with our gym's personal trainer. WHAT WAS I THINKING?????

So, Wednesday evening, I met with the trainer for our first consult. We started with several simple stretches which lulled me into a false sense of security. Here I was thinking, "I got this...Bring it on!" You know, your normal stretches to warm-up before exercising. Before I knew it, he was stretching me in ways that I'm sure God never intended for my body to stretch. And just when I thought my legs and arms couldn't be pulled any further, you guessed it...miraculously he'd push me a few more inches. OUCH!!!!

After the stretching, we began the assessments. WHAT??? I didn't sign up for a fitness test... I just wanted some help knowing how to lose weight. For a moment I felt like I was in 6th grade all over again doing the President's Fitness Test. How many push-ups in a minute? How many sit-ups in a minute? How many squats in a minute? When I did the sit-ups, I knew it would be bad. I have not done a true sit-up since maybe 8th grade...you know, crunches are much easier. I told the trainer not to expect much and that I would probably not get into the double digits. Well, after I did those tests, he said, "Okay, now for the mile run."

WHAT? RUN? Does he know who he's talking to? I started looking around for the hidden camera hoping this was all someone's cruel idea of a Halloween prank. Much to my disappointment it was no joke. He did assure me that I was only doing this to set a starting point for my road to physical fitness and that I was only competing against myself. He also told me that as long as I began the mile running, I could walk when I needed to and it would still count as a run. So, off I went. Because the indoor track at our gym is really short, it was going to take 18.5 laps to equal a mile. I actually ran the first two laps and then about every other lap I walked. He was nice enough to keep count of the laps for me. He updated me every five laps. And, he was very encouraging...as every trainer should be.

After it was all said and done, we put the results in his fancy computer program and got the instant grade. I did "excellent" on my push-ups, "poor" on my sit-ups, and "fair" on my run. Then the really bad part came. You know, the Body Fat Test, where you hold the little machine in front of you and it reads your body fat percentage...NO SURPRISE there! Let's just say, I knew I needed to start working out way before that test.

The next day, I was in so much pain, I really wanted to stay in bed for the next three days. Instead, I fought my pain and went to work out for another hour. Then, that night, I aired up my bike tires and went for a ride. Then, at last, thinking I would define all odds, I got up Friday and went to a Cardio Fusion class. I met a girl at the gym that had encouraged me to try it. It is a class that uses jump-rope, step aerobics, weight-training, an exercise ball, and stretching. I'll admit, I couldn't keep up, but I tried everything. For a moment, I felt like I was on Candid Camera when we got on the exercise ball. Let's just say...it takes some practice.I will probably go back to the class. It was a great work-out.

Fitness is something I didn't have problems with when I was young, but in the last ten years, I have become extremely out-of-shape. God desires for us to take care of the bodies he's given us. I am only sorry that I have failed so miserably at that command.

God, please give me strength to take care of my body, especially when I don't feel like it. You created me for your work, and I can't do that work well if I am not well. Thank you for loving me enough to protect me from my laziness.

Worthy of Worship?

I need to apologize for my previous post. What a completely negative rant about something that should not have occupied my time or mind that much! God doesn't want me to dwell on the negative about Halloween, so let me say a few words about the positive things that He used yesterday to get the focus on Him!

I applaud the churches in our area and around the country who have decided to offer Harvest Festival alternatives for the children and families in the community. Granted, some of the kids still wear costumes that I believe are not appropriate, but at least they are being exposed to the Gospel! Instead of grumbling about trick-or-treating traffic, I should be thankful that fellow Christians were spending the evening being the hands and feet that God calls us to be. Thank you Calvary Worship Center, Cornerstone Baptist, FBC Frankston, and others for giving your evening to the communities that you serve!!! There was definitely no Trick to it! Just a Treat I am sure!

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet!

I may be totally alone on this vent, but that's okay. It won't hurt my feelings if you don't agree with what I'm going to say about Halloween. As a Christian, I have never been fond of the day and all it contains.

First of all, Halloween is a day that is set aside to dress like someone or something else. Okay, there's no harm in wearing a costume, but why the need for blood, guts, skeletons, fangs, death, etc.? And why are children dressing as monsters, killers, street walkers, etc.? Now, I don't have a problem with dressing as cute animals or cartoon characters, or even police and firemen. It's cute. I just don't think we need to give the freaks of the world any more freedom to make us all feel creepy!

Second, trick or treating... What is it that makes lazy parents want to take their lazy kids from door to door to get tons of treats that aren't healthy. Don't get me wrong, I can totally eat some major chocolate!!!! But, my problem is that parents around here DRIVE their kids from door to door. GIVE ME A BREAK!!!! When I was a kid, we walked on sidewalks and in yards to go from door to door in OUR OWN NEIGHBORHOOD!!!!! And when we were still young, our parents walked with us (usually holding our hands). I never remember riding all over town to the rich neighborhoods just to be greedy for candy!!!! The true nightmare of Halloween is the TRAFFIC caused by lazy parents who literally drive from house to house. Come on! There was a truck parked in the middle of one of the busiest streets in my town with it's flashers on so that the kids could go to a door for candy. It caused a major traffic problem. What's so bad about walking with your kids? If you must go to other neighborhoods, park your car in a safe place and then walk around the neighborhood.

I realize that some of my readers may like the whole trick-or-treat thing. I am not against the idea, I just think YOU SHOULD WALK!!!!! After all, wouldn't it be good to burn off some of the calories you consume from all the candy?

Happy Birthday, Julie!

I'd like to send birthday wishes out to my best friend, Julie! I'll say a bit more about her later, but just wanted to get this on today!

Julie, Happy Birthday, and thanks for being a blessing to Patrick and me!!!

Hope your day is superb!!!!

What a Week!

It's been kind of a whirlwind week. Last Thursday, my husband and I went to see Casting Crowns in concert. We didn't get there as early as we would have liked, but we still managed to get pretty good seats. Although the concert started out kind of slow, it ended up being wonderful. I am glad that I had been learning all of the words to the new album. I sang along so loud that my voice was scratchy the next day. It's been quite a while since I have attended any concert that loud. But, it was amazing to worship God with so many people from different faiths, ages, walks of life, and different hometowns. I'm not sure that the concert was in the best possible venue, but we still had a good time.

On Saturday, my mother, sister, sister's fiance, and my husband and I all traveled to the Houston area to visit with family and friends for a bridal shower. I was so thankful for the good time we had. My aunts and cousins threw a great party. It was nice to see that they still love us and care for us even though circumstances have kept us apart for a long time. Sunday, we drove home listening to a very exciting Houston Texans game on the radio! That game was a heart-breaker!

I woke up before the sun on Monday and headed to my all-too-often trip to my doctor in Dallas. Unfortunately, I failed to pay attention to any weather forecasts and got caught in the very cold and wet weather in short sleeves and no jacket. BURRRR!!!! The appointment did not go that well, but I was so happy the weather was finally becoming fall-like. Thanks to my loving husband, when I returned to work, I was able change into more appropriate clothing and my jacket. The weather since then has been beautiful, but it makes me want to be anywhere but work.

This week has also been a trial because of issues with the house we live in. It seems like every time we have everything working, something else falls apart. Even though the homeowner has repaired the leaky faucet, we are still dealing with a garage door opener that does not work. It's the 21st century...I shouldn't have to get out of my car to open and close the garage door under my own power. There's a reason openers were invented.

There is a bright spot in the week...Friday, our football game is in the town where our good friends Julie and Darin live. We will get to see them and I'm looking forward to that. Julie's birthday is Saturday so I will get to wish her a Happy B-day in person!

I know that this post has been a bit more "journal-like" than most of my blogs, but I just wanted to write it all down! Thanks for listening. Hope you aren't too bored.

God, I thank you for being present in my life during the good times and the bad. Open my eyes to the work you are doing in me, even when I am not expecting it...especially when I'm not expecting it. Help me to worship you even when my garage door doesn't shut.

Kinley's Day

I'd like to take a moment to wish my niece Kinley a very happy 3rd birthday! Okay, I realize she won't be the one to read this, but maybe her mom can let her know! Kinley lives really far from us, so we don't get to see her and her sister Kayden very much. Fortunately, their mom is great about sending pics of the girls and keeping us updated! Happy Birthday Kinley!

While I'm at it...I'd like to give a shout out to Kinley's sister Kayden and to my nephews Clayton and Carter as well! Love you boys! Can't wait to spend time with you again.

Water falls and ice cream cake!

God created many amazing things. This weekend, I experienced two such creations in the same day, water falls and ice cream cake. Okay, the latter is definitely a human creation, but God created the ingredients. My mom, my sister, and I got to go to a park where there was an awesome water fall. I love the outdoors and especially water in the outdoors. I totally understand why there are so many references to water and bodies of water, streams, etc. in the Bible. There is such great imagery that can be found in water. When we finally made it home for the evening, Melody shared her birthday cake which happened to be cookies-and-cream ice cream cake. Now that was a treat.

The next day, we all worked in the pouring rain to help Melody move into her new apartment. It rained pretty much the entire time. Despite the weather, we were able to get most of her stuff moved. I had a great time with Melody and my mom, as well as Melody's fiance, Danny.

This is going to be a great week. My husband and I will be going to see Casting Crowns in concert this Thursday. Then, on Friday, Mom, Melody, and Danny are coming to town to see our football game. I couldn't care less about the game itself, just the fact that they'll be there. Saturday morning we will all travel to Baytown for a bridal shower and family gathering! I'm sure it will be an interesting weekend.

I am so thankful that God gave me a family that loves each other! There is nothing more fun than getting to spend time with the ones I love! Don't get me wrong...there can be drama but I can't imagine experiencing life without them.

My Sister, My Friend

I wanted to devote my blog today to the greatest sister in the world - my sister Melody!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELODY!

It is such a blessing to have a sister who is also your best friend. Although we've had our rare differences of opinion (as most sisters do), we are very close. I admire Melody for many reasons. She was ahead of me in all of our schooling, including the same college. Yes, I had the occasional teacher call me by her name or expect me to do things the same way she did, but we were different. I think the fact that she was such a great student and I am so competitive helped me to make good grades also. I was constantly trying to out-do her. Only in a couple of classes did I actually do better (i.e. Music History with Dr. Keck). Melody's strive for excellence propelled me to do the same both academically and musically. It was because of her top ten finish in high school that I tried to do the same. Of course, I transferred to a school with a larger graduating class, so I missed it by two slots. But, who's counting. Melody is a wonderful big sis. I was a typical little sis. It was not unusual for me to hang out with the same friends and hitch rides to everything they did. It was also not unusual for me to beg her for help on certain class assignments.

I admire Melody because of the diligence she has maintained in every area of her life. After finishing a four-year Bachelor of Music degree, she moved off on her own pretty far from us. She thrived. While away, Melody followed the Lord's calling on her life to go back to school. Even though it meant taking on more responsibilities than she wanted, including taking care of an ailing step-parent, she pursued a nursing degree and now uses that to help patients heal and get back to normal lives. Her caring attitude, self-less personality, and great organizational skills have all impressed those in her charge.

It is with great appreciation that I wish Melody a happy birthday. Presently, she is planning her wedding that is set for next month. She is so deserving of what God has done for her and what He will do!

I love you, Melody!

Caught in the Middle

I have been listening to the newest album from one of my favorite groups, Casting Crowns. On my trip to and from my doctor this morning, I was singing and air drumming like crazy. I am sure the people next to me during Dallas rush hour must have thought I was having a seizure of some kind. Music makes me live. Without it, I hate to imagine what my life would be. It's not just the words that move me... it is literally every detail (tempo, meter, rhythm, harmonies, melody, instrumentation). I believe that God speaks to me through music because he knows I'm not a huge reader. Sometimes he shows me things in music that I probably have been overlooking in other things.

So, what's the deal with my title for today? One of the songs on the album is titled "Somewhere in the Middle." The basic point is that we are so often caught in the middle of where we have been and where we should be. The words of the song slapped me in the face today. I couldn't help but cry as I realized that's where I spend most of my time.

"Somewhere between hot and cold - Somewhere between the new and the old - Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be - Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me. ... Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me... Deep water faith in the shallow end ... But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle ... Somewhere between my faith and my plans"

I wish I could include all of the words. My excerpts do not do the song justice. If you haven't heard this album, you should. God is still working on me. I am so thankful for that because I'm definitely not a finished product. God loves me even when I'm caught in the middle of personal control and total surrender to Him. He heals me when I fall, He hears me when I call. He understands that I am still a work in progress, too often caught in the middle of what I want and what He wants for me.

It's Bubbling, It's Bubbling...

It's bubbling in my soul. Since Jesus was laughing, since Jesus made me whole!

Okay, I don't think those are the real words, but that's the way my mom told me that I used to sing it. And, you know what? It's just fun to sing it that way.

I'm bubbly right now because I've had a great day. Despite a late start, you know, those mornings when saying hello to the world is the last thing you want to do, I got up and faced the world (or at least the people at the local YMCA). For the second day in a row, I found the secret to using one of those elliptical machines. It has been something I've wanted to do for a long time. But, every time I've tried, I have admitted defeat. I'm just not that coordinated. Until now. I finally figured it out, and it is a major work out. I was excited to burn the same number of calories in less time than using the treadmill. Don't get me wrong, I am no where near where I need to be, but at least, I'm on my way.

Although I got to work a bit late, my day continued to be good. I got to work with some students today in a smaller group, and I remembered that I do enjoy teaching others how to read music. It's a passion that sometimes gets buried by students' disrespect, laziness, and overall poor attitudes.

My husband and I actually left school at a decent time and decided to go see a movie. We saw the new one about the football player who is suddenly thrown into being a father. It was great. I laughed, I cried, I laughed, I cried... We both really liked the flick. I'll have to buy it when it comes out. Definitely my kind of movie.

Some other news... I started singing in the local Chorale yesterday. It is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but previous jobs did not allow that to work. I love to sing (although my skills are debatable). We are preparing for a concert of sacred hymns. It's going to be good.

I have a very early day tomorrow, so I should close it up for now.

Until next time...

The Best Things in Life...

Excuse my long absence from Blogging! I have been trying to sit down to blog this week and I keep getting interrupted. Oh well, there is more to life than blogging, although I admit I am addicted.

My husband and I just spent the best weekend ever with his family in the OKC area. Our nieces had a joint birthday party and were visiting all the way from Chicago. We got to spend an amazing time with our nephews as well. And of course, that meant we had a wonderful time with their parents (our siblings). It's the first time the six of us had been together in a long time. We always have a lot of fun together. I wish that we all lived closer to each other so that we could experience more of life together! My husband and I do not have children of our own yet, so each time we are around our nieces and nephews, it is very special. And their parents don't seem to mind us spoiling them a bit. If they do, they've never said anything. It has been a joy to see each family growing and living life in their own unique ways. There really is no better thing in life than spending time with family! I love you guys!