Mom and Daughter Day.

Yesterday I spent the most wonderful day with Heather. We have both been so busy lately that we haven't had that special mom and daughter time, so yesterday we spent the whole day together. We went and did some shopping...woohoo!! It was like when she was a little girl, she would go try on clothes and I would sit outside and she would come show me what she was trying on...it was fun to do that again!!! She was a little disappointed though that she actually shopped in the women's section instead of the youth section...LOL. Poor girl she was facing her getting older body...I just thought it was amusing that she was thinking that the jeans wouldn't be stylish in the womens section. She said "mom, these pants fit higher on my waist I don't know if I like that" I told her "there is an advantage to a little higher jean..it hides a little bit of stomach and you don't look like you have a muffin top"...LOL After about trying on 8 pairs of jeans, she decided I was right....oh I relish when my children say "you were right mom"...LOL. I need to mark that on my calendar because it might be a long while before I hear that one again.

After the jeans, we went to my favorite store Barnes and Noble....I love me some books....I actually walked out of there with nothing but a gift card for a friend's birthday. I was so proud of myself!! Of course that did not stop me from touching almost every book in the store and reading the back covers.

We had lunch at Freebirds....I love there tacos, I don't get the burritos I get there three taco meal deal. MMMMMMMM....it was sooooo good.

Then we went to see Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston....it was okay...I just expected more. Still it was great to just sit next to my daughter and hear her contagious giggle that I just love to hear!! It is one of my favorite sounds in all the world Heathers giggle....it comes from her toes up. I love it!!!

Pretty soon she will be off to Texas Tech in the summer and that giggle will not be heard here...I am so sad about that...but I know that those mom and daughter days will be even more precious when we get to have them while she is away. My tires will be paving grooves in the pavement as I go back and forth to Lubbock to visit here. I am so proud of the woman she is becoming!!!

Corpus Trip

Over Spring Break we went to see my sister Buffy and her family. I love going there!! My sister and I are pretty close and it is so much fun when we get together. We had a ton of fun playing games, I love to play games!!! We went to beach one day, but it was so cold we stayed under towels...I know we are crazy. I wanted to share some of the photos of the trip.


Here is my sister blowing me a kiss!! I love her!!


Here is JJ my nephew....I think he is close enough to the tv...LOL


My niece Makayla...isn't she so cute!!! She just made the cheerleading squad. I am so proud of her.


JJ fell asleep with Mel's headphones on and I couldn't help but take a picture of him.


Mel and Sammi-I think this is the closest Melissa will ever get to being a cheerleader...LOL.


I love this picture of Mel and Sammi-they love each other so much.


This is such a great picture of Brian and his girls!!


Me and Heather...my daughter is so beautiful to me.


My girls....they are such a blessing to me!!


Me and Mel-I love her so very much!!!


Me and my sweetie!!

Get Real Monday

I have vacation let down today. You know the feeling when you have been on vacation had a great time, relaxing, visiting with family, playing games, eating whatever you want, staying up late to talk, sitting at softball and baseball games, eating your sister's good food, watching your daughter have a conversation with her cousin over her phone while she is sitting right next to her....those kind of vacations. Then you come home and back to reality you find yourself. Back to paying the bills, doing laundry, clipping the dogs nails, catching up on 278 emails, cleaning the kitchen that sat for 7 days, realizing you just gained 3 pounds that you lost in the last challenge, getting the card in the mail from your gyno that it is time for that yearly exam. Yes, it is back to reality. When all you really want to do is hibernate for the next two days. Do you ever feel you would just like to escape reality or shut out the whole world for just a while longer? That is how I feel today. I know that is so selfish, but it is just true today. I know I should be back to the gym, but really don't feel like going.

Why do we have these feelings right after a vacation? When I should be rested and renewed to take on the world again until the next vacation. I sometimes don't even understand myself. Is it because I have become lazy over the last week? Is it because facing reality is just too much effort? Is it because I feel overwhelmed with the prospect of cleaning this messy house? Why? I hope one day when I am in heaven I might understand this and much more.

Do you ever have vacation let down? What do you do to cope?

Corpus Trip

This Spring Break I have been spending it in Corpus Christi with my sister Buffy and her family. It has been a great time. There is nothing like cheering your nephew and niece at their baseball and softball games!!! Melissa actually has been inspired to start softball again, which I am so excited about she is a great first base player. She played from the age of 5 until 13 and this last year she decided she didn't want to play, but being around her cousin playing she has decided to play again..woohoo!!!

We went to the beach this week it was a bit cold, but the cousins played in the water and me and sis stayed under towels to keep warm...LOL. I love the beach, I love the sound of waves and the sand between the toes. Some guy caught a huge jelly fish on his wake board I wish I would have got a picture because it was the biggest jelly fish I ever saw.

We have played a ton of board games this week too. I love board games, but only Heather and I really like to play in our house. :-( Brian and Melissa don't like too...I don't know what is wrong with them. But my sister and her family love to play so we have played dominos, phase 10 and skip bo tons this week.

Brian and Heather came down yesterday I sure miss my family when we are not all together. Something I learned this week is to appreciate my husband more. I am a very lucky woman, he out serves me every single day. I love how he always thinks of my comfort, my feelings and my needs before his that is what a true servant leader is Brian!!! Thank you my wonderful hubby for being such a great example to our children!! I love you honey!!

My New Neighbor

We have some new neighbor's that moved in just about a week ago. Well, this morning the lady named Jackie rang my bell at about noon frantic that someone robbed their house. All their TV's, computers, game consoles were gone. The poor thing was crying and I just held her as she sobbed. Where I sit in my craft room, I can see outside and I seen a white van in their driveway but didn't see any of the occupants, but I gave a description to the police. But what really amazes me about the whole thing is we have lived here 11 years and we have never had a problem. I have always had huge dogs though so I think that detours people. The other thing that amazes me is that just last night at church Pastor Paul asked us to be "all in" when it came to evangelizing and inviting people to church for Easter Service. He gave each of us a card that we were to list our top ten people that we might be purposeful about for the next 25 days. Well, wouldn't you know that these new neighbors were on my list. God never ceases to amaze me with how He uses even the terrible things to open a door for some dialogue. Have I asked my neighbor yet to come to church...not yet...but I plan on it for sure now. Please pray that God will give me words of wisdom, I know that they don't attend church now so I hope God will use me to help bring them to HIM.

Spring is HERE!!!

I love Spring!! I love that it represents new birth, renewal or things that were dead in the winter and warmer weather. Today, I was looking out my kitchen window and this bright red cardinal caught my eye. So, of course I was thinking it is time to put out the bird seed. I went into the garage and found the birdseed, but my bird feeder from last year was eaten by my wonderful dog Diva. Well, I thought I will prop a bowl in the tree with seed...of course that didn't last long for not 2 minutes later it was on the ground with allt he seed. So, off I went to walmart to buy a new feeder...of course I had to get a new hummingbird feeder as well...LOL.

So here I am after I hung the bird feeder.




But then I had to play with my wonderful dog Diva....she loves me.





Now, I really can't wait until we Spring forward with the time. I love daylight savings time....I feel like I have so much more day and get a ton more accomplished and the longer time with the sun always does my spirits good.

Get Real Mondays

Since my friend Tanna suggested we "Get Real" on Mondays here it goes.

I couldn't sleep last night, why I have no idea....but I finally went to sleep around 4am. I hate that I get insomnia!!! I don't feel well today, I don't like that I feel like a truck ran over me most days. I suffer from Fibromyalgia and Mastocytosis and have a postive titer for Lupus, which they say I don't have symptoms of yet and hope never too. You can't imagine how hard it is some days to keep on trucking along. Most days I put on a great smile and just keep moving even when my body says stop. I hate to have anyone know that I feel like crap, it is such a pride thing. I hate that there are times I really want to serve someone and I can't because my body just won't go. I am in pain a lot of the time, my muscles and bones feel like they are rubbing together or someone has stretched them all night long. I have fatigue that most people can't understand. I have had bad bouts of vertigo for 5 months now and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I break out in hives sometimes daily. I am allergic to everything under the sun just about, so I have to watch the allergy report every day to see if it is okay that I go outside. I carry inhaler, benedryl and and epi-pen everywhere I go because I can go into anaphylaxis at any time. I suffer from migraines weekly and this frustrates me and I am sure it frustrates my family. I take so much medication that I have my very own pharmacy. I have tried alternative medicines, which sometimes help..but other times make me feel worse. My husband is one of the most amazing men I know to be so patient and such a great care giver when I am down. I am positive this takes a huge toll on him, our marriage and our family. I am grateful that God put the most nurturing man in my life.


I don't say all this for anyone to feel sorry for me....I just say it to get real as Tanna suggested. That I don't feel at my very best most days, so if I don't answer the phone or your text it is usually because I am not feeling great and don't want to have to explain it to anyone. And I know that one day in heaven I will have the perfect body with no illness and I so look forward to that day.

Spelling of Your Life

This last Tuesday in my Women's Community Group we talked about what we are spelling with our lives. It is so interesting to see what others see in you that you don't see in yourself. When I think about what I want to spell with my life words like; loving, integrity, honest, friendly, devoted, genuine, faithful, inspiring, disciplined, grateful, positive, joyful, humorous, worshipper, lover of Jesus and many...many more. Now, these are the words I hope to spell with my life and leave a legacy of faith to my children and future generations.

On Tuesday we passed around dry erase boards and had the other ladies in the group write on the boards what each woman spells out with her life. These are just a few of the ladies thoughts on what they see in my life being spelled out.

Open and genuine has strong passion for others.
Kind words and always joyful
Great Leader, honest and encouraging
Great friend, you make me laugh and feel loved
God's love shines through you.
I love how you love God and love to serve Him.
You are crazy in love with God and it shows.


Do you believe you are spelling your life out to others? Do you know what you might be spelling out to those around you? When you are gone from this earth what will people remember about you? Ask a few friends to write down a few words that spell out your life...you may be suprised to see what others say.

SETTD #8

I was so blessed this last weekend to serve the candidates of Southeast Texas Tres Dias!! God showed up in so many ways this past weekend. I love how God meets you at your deepest need. I love how God always makes the weekend special for everyone there, the team serving and the candidates attending. I love how God shows me that He is not done transforming me yet. I love how God takes complete strangers on Thursday and by Sunday binds them together in unity that will not be quickly broken. I love how God shows each person His love very specifically in ways nobody human would know or comprehend. I love how God continues to make each of these weekends renewing to my spirit. I love how God touches us in some wounds and heals them with His mercy. I love how God can put 130 woman together in one camp and not have someone want to scratch someones eyes out. I love how God can take people way outside their comfort zones and still provide peace and assurance that He is there. I love how God never ceases to amaze me with His grace which He continues to pour out on me on these weekends. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!!