Really? That long???

I can't even believe I've waited so long to post. I have had a million things to post but as many confess, the whole 1-2 sentence demand of Facebook has put a damper on my blog life. This will not be long even though I owe you a long post. But wanted to update you (don't you love how I assume there are still devoted readers here???) on a few items:

1) Tomorrow marks 6 weeks till Spicegirl is due to arrive via c-section. I would not be surprised if she arrives early, however it makes no difference to me if she waits till Dec 27. It's a little scary to say 6 weeks. That means, SOON. The bedroom is completely undone. No furniture, paint or bedding. Yep, you read right. That will all change in the next 7 days or so, so I'm not the least bit concerned.

2) Heartburn and sleep continue to be difficult but nothing too terrible. Brian was gone in Australia and New Zealand for 8 days and since he's been back I feel more energetic and like my normal self. Thank you, Lord! He will not be traveling for a looooong time, so we are looking forward to lots of good family time through the holidays.

3) No name for baby girl yet. Your prayers are appreciated! :)

4) My friend Cindy and Beth threw me an adorable, perfect, incredible shower and my mom was able to be here for it. I was completely overwhelmed by the love and support that surrounds me and how much this sweet girl is already loved. The boys have been so excited about all the gifts their sister is getting. Wesley especially likes to look at them over and over again. :) So precious. I'll be anxious to get everything hung up once the room is more complete.

5) Fall weather has finally descended on Bloomington, I think. God has blessed us with amazing warm weather for so long and the next week or so it is supposed to be highs in the 50's, lows in the 30's. I'm afraid there is no turning back now. But it's been a pretty fall and I'm actually starting to get very excited for all the holiday festivities. This will be our first Thanksgiving EVER without relatives/family. It will be a sweet time with just the 4 of us.....and the last time.

6) Noah and Wesley are doing awesome. They love school and Wesley especially has really grown up these last few months. His language and attitude seem so mature BUT he definitely knows a baby is coming because he in no way is relinquishing his baby title. The words, "Wesley! STOP talking like a baby!!" can be heard from the mouth of me, Brian or Noah several times a day. :) He chooses his timing well, but it's going to be a struggle. Their relationship as brothers brings a smile to my face everyday. While there is the typical sibling rivalry, they love eachother so much and adore playing all day long.
7) Heartburn---gonna have to cut this short. Tears are coming to my eyes at the moment because my throat and chest are BURNING. Must go take some beloved (not) Mylanta. To be continued!!!

Noah's 6th birthday

Noah's birthday was September 6th and he had a football party. I wasn't sure when he first mentioned his desire whether it was going to be a good theme or not. Well, it was the best party ever. The smallest party too! But the kids were gung-ho fans of football and everyone got so into it. The decorations were so easy to find with it being the beginning of football season and the weather was incredible that day. It was the first day of college football and the weather was crystal clear and cooler (mid 60's-70's). I've been bad about posting pics on here. I will try to be better! New school pics will be coming as well!

Thankful Friday

I realize it would be more alliterate to do Thankful Thursday, but oh well, I missed it. So here is the list for this morning!

1) I'm thankful for cool morning temps. While I don't exactly want them to last throughout the day yet, I'm happy to wake up to an environment that encourages blankets, candles, coffee, hot showers, etc.

2) I'm thankful for my new non-frizz hair routine. I probably have never talked about my hair on this blog because well, it is my curly hair that hasn't changed in decades and there is never anything new to talk about. However, I created an easy non-frizz technique that is working swimmingly! It makes me feel cute---which is important at this stage of the pregnancy. :)

3) I'm thankful for my boys. They are both just so cute and cuddly and hilarious. I might be prone to treat Wesley like a baby sometimes because in some ways he's still my baby. BUT, they are both growing and maturing in such awesome ways and I'm proud of each of them for different reasons. And it seems putting them into the same room to share has helped their relationship. There has been less fighting and less pestering which is music to my ears.

4) I'm thankful for Brian. He's just the best. I love his devotion to our family as well as his job. I trust him, I love him, I admire him, and I need him.

5) I'm thankful for wonderful smelling candles. I just found some melting candle squares from last year that I bought in Nashville at this amazing little antique/country store. They are Apple Cider scented and now my kitchen smells amazing! I also loaded up Monday on some new Yankee candles as they were having an awesome sale plus I had a $15 off coupon! So my house has good smelling going on in full effect!

6) I'm thankful for people God puts in my life. Today was my first morning of ladies Bible study. I wasn't really sure if I was doing it this semester. But deep down I knew I should. The group I am in has some amazing women in it that I had never met and their stories keep me in awe. One woman had her 2 month old little boy with her who has only months left to live. He was born without a good portion of skull and so his brain is held together by extra skin. He wasn't even supposed to live past birth, but there he was, cute as a button. Amazing.

7) I'm thankful for weekends.....and actually every day that Brian isn't traveling. Brian has almost been home for one month solid and it has been glorious! He goes to work early so he gets home between 4:30 and 5 every day. This consistency and the nice evening weather we've been having has just felt like heaven. Tomorrow we start soccer practice, go to the farmer's market, and just enjoy the weekend. I'm so thankful for all of us to be together.

8) I'm thankful for upcoming family visits. My sister Kasey is coming out at the beginning of next month for the weekend. I cannot wait!! She has never been to Indiana and truthfully I have no clue the last time she and I have spent any time together without her kiddos in tow. It has been years and years. So this is a very special treat. My mom is coming out in November to keep us company while Brian is away. I'm so excited for her to be here when fall weather is in full effect not to mention her birthday and my baby shower will happen too!

Lots of other things I could list, but I am going to go downstairs and bake some muffins from this new recipe I printed off. Another thing to be thankful for! :) I've already made them once and the fam scarfed them up!!! I'm gonna try a slight variation this time with apples instead of blueberries. Until next time, my friends! Oh, and a picture of my belly about 10 days ago for those who are curious (Amber). Rest assured that in the last 10 days it has probably doubled in size.

Thoughts on recycling

I'm not sure how to begin this post without heaving through a bunch of boring old stuff. But I'll do my best to summarize. Recycling is a wonderful thing--I'll start with that. And just so you know, this post will most likely be just as much about priorities/perfectionism/guilt as recycling.

So, recycling is wonderful. I'm happy when I see blue trash cans scattered everywhere from museums to my church building that give us people a way to make our earth a healthier cleaner place. I don't think it's a burden or a conspiracy. I think it is something that has been around forever (including my annual elementary school newspaper recycling competition) and just in the last 5-10 years has picked up much more national attention, for the better.

When we moved here to Bloomington, I was aware that this city was very "green" in comparison to others I had lived in. Not sure how this would affect me, I went on with my business and actually, blogs I was reading changed me more than anything about my city. I made the decision to do away with paper napkins and paper plates (cloth napkins work so much better anyway!). Then once a local trash company included our neighborhood for recycling, I signed up for that. I also bought a composter at Sam's over a year ago and started composting all of our appropriate kitchen scraps and yard waste. Major steps for the greener good! I was feeling good and everything was going strong.

Here is where the other topics of my post come in. My mind became a bit consumed with "green". Whether I was doing something well or feeling guilty about something I had yet to be doing, I was constantly looking at other ways to be green (like ALL those other people on the web I was reading about). Some of these things were reasonable (think line drying your clothes), others were a bit bizarre (homemade personal deodorants, "no-poo" campaigns which meant to stop using traditional shampoos and resort to vinegar and oil.) So what do I usually do when feeling overwhelmed with things I should be doing? I stop doing ANYTHING.

Isn't that a wonderful strategy? Um no. But it is what it is. Paper plates started making their way back into my cupboard. Many recyclable items started ending up in the trash. Composting ended all together for months. I will admit I felt a bit liberated to operate under convenience rather than guilt. That is when I knew I needed to develop my own personal philosophy of recycling/green efforts that did not produce guilt or judgmental feelings. Not to mention, I actually started to think of God in all of this instead of just what society was "telling" me to do. Was I making all of these changes out of a true respect and love for what God has given me or was I simply trying to jump on a bandwagon and impress myself and others while advocating the new social and political issues? To be honest with you, both. I was really doing both. I loved teaching my kids about God's great blessings to us and how we were responsible for taking care of this earth, not wasting, and seeing the great lifecycle God had created through composting. But the guilt and perfectionism were coming from outside sources in media and myself. They had nothing to do with my trying to please and glorify God.

So as I was thinking of all of this, I knew I needed to document it. While I've had a huge sabbatical from blogging, I have not had a deficit in ideas. It's simply getting the time to type them out. So what is my new philosophy? Well, nothing official. Mainly I'm trying to recycle, compost and limit our paper use consistently enough so that we (my family) all learn, are all aware, and all begin to care a bit more about this amazing world we live in. No guilt trips, no rants, no crazy stints of new trends. Satan has found a foothold in me over the last couple years where pride, judgementalism, and insecurity have found refuge. God is working on me to rid my life of those yucky things and this is one area where I've learned that my priority is not to do what even really smart people in the world tell me to do. My priority is to let Jesus transform me and take steps to hear His voice above all the others.

Must end this post! More thoughts later!

Times are a changin'!

So I am not going to ignore that it has been MONTHS since I've written. I have 3 new posts that I'm working on. But for now, one small bit of exciting news.


It's A Girl!!!

Okay, that's all for now. But consider it a small start to a renewed commitment to blog. :)

Noah

This is gonna be quick, but I have to write it down before I forget. Nothing funny or situational. Just simply want to record my love for Noah. He is amazing. God has given me a miracle. At this moment, as I fold clothes in my bedroom and put them away, I reflect on how incredible Noah is to me. And it's not because he and I have had the dreamiest day ever together because we haven't. But he forgives me.....when I need to be forgiven. He hugs me and snuggles me and compliments me..........when I need all those things. He is so very smart it blows my mind. He is extremely creative and while his constant building/creating ventures torture me at times, I realize it is a rare gift he has, and I need to let it grow. He thinks about things that 5 yr olds should not be thinking about. But it tells me he is like his mama and likes to prepare himself for things. He wants to figure the bigger picture of life out. But there is no fear in him with regard to that (now, riding his bike is a different story......sigh). He is so confident and in awe of God that nothing about life worries or scares him. And as I've voiced before, he would gladly die today just so he could be with God. He dreams about heaven. I don't.
As I just put some pj's away, an envelope fell out of my drawer. I clutched it to my chest and then smelled it. The timing is amazing considering...............it is an envelope filled with potpurri that Noah sealed and decorated when he was 3. We did it together. He had me draw on the outside of the envelope all of his favorite smells. So it has a flower, pizza, an orange, and pancakes with syrup. We put it in my drawer back in TX and obviously it was still hidden there all this time. Thank you God for that gift! Man, I pray I get to spend a lifetime with this kid. I pray he only grows in his love for God. I pray his sensitivity and love for others only multiplies with time.


Alright, back to folding........

Thankful Thursday

What I'm thankful for today..........

1. Brian is home safe and sound.

2. My neighbor, Sandy, who watches the boys for an hour so I can work out.

3. Our cheap Easter tablecloth that brightens up our dining room.

4. free coupons for Dill Chips from Scotty's. :)

5. All the clothes I get from my sisters to clothe my children.

6. The first daffodil that bloomed in my yard yesterday.

7. Great friends who call to check on me.

8. A weekend coming up with all 4 of us.

9. essential oils (lavender in particular)

10. my cutie patootie boys that I can't stop kissing.

Check Engine Light

That is my engine light. Could be I'm out of gas, could be my air filter is blocked and I need some refreshing, could be my battery is going dead, could be..................but whatever it is, my engine is coming closer to a stand still.

I can't even begin to write what might possibly have caused this "phase" or refer to past phases like it. I have no energy to do that. All I have energy to do is express that I'm wiped out. I feel like a doormat. I feel like I have gone gone gone for almost 2 weeks and now there is little go left in me. I can't even speak coherent responses to my children because my brain is fried. "Uh huh" is about all I can muster. I feel lazy (which is highly impossible), tired, and just blaaaaaaaaaa. I don't feel like "doing" anything. I don't feel like taking care of responsibilities or filling roles. I feel like shutting my eyes and waking up a week or two from now with a new engine and a full tank of gas.

Amidst this phase, regardless how I have felt noted above, I have not been lazy. I have done anything that a normal mom, housewife, wife, friend, and sister would have done. Made phone calls, mailed presents, cleaned out closets, organized things, fed children, cooked, laundry etc. There were occasional glimmers of feeling accomplished but a majority of the time during this phase I have felt like I was simply going through the motions. Grey would be the color to describe my psyche. Each day seems to fly by and seems to repeat itself in a similar manner. I hope it is because my husband has been gone for 7 out of the past 9 days. I say that with full respect for him and his job. It is in no way a knock. He suffers just as much as me when he travels. Anyway, I was saying I hope that is why this phase has set in. I hope with his return tonight, that things will look brighter tomorrow.

I long for the energetic, bright hearted, engine I'm used to....that others are used to. I'm tired of Satan making me feel insecure about everything....that has never been my nature. So feel free to pray for this phase to end soon. Feel free to pray that when I do sleep, it would be good sleep instead of restless sleep. I'm completely aware that this is a phase and will end and that is why I keep referring to it as such. So don't worry, this Eeyore won't be around forever. :)

Word throw-up:

A quick and painless way to clear my mind. And you know I would never use the "v" word in this title. :)

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed just for the moment on all the messages the world sends us---mostly good---definitely cheesy, but difficult to balance and just be free!
Calgon.....take me away!

-Be true to yourself (whatever the crap that means anyway)
-Be in the moment
-Listen twice as much as you speak
-Pause before you respond
-Listen to God's still small voice (which can be EXTREMELY amidst all these other messages)
-Let go and let God
-Don't judge
-Be the change you wish to see
-Think positively
-Take risks
-Get out of the box
-Be green
-Live for today
-Live for tomorrow
-Make the most of every moment
-Take the time to slow down and rest
-Let kids be kids
-Discipline your children
-Have the heart of a child
-Protect your children
-Let your children make mistakes and learn lessons
-Be different
-Read lots of books to learn what everyone else is doing
-Listen to your heart
-Listen to Oprah ;0
-Hold your tongue
-Let it all out
-Believe in yourself
-You are a strong, powerful, beautiful woman
-Recognize your potential
-Be humble
-Think of others more highly than yourself

MostofthetimeIamconfidentinhowIfeelandcanleanonGodnomatterwhatmessagesareoutthere. Todayisadaywheretherearesomanythingstoconsiderasawife,woman,mom,andindividualthatIfeel alittleheavyandweigheddown.IwouldloveadeletebuttonsothatIcanclearmyheadandhearonlyGodandmyself.

Fears

It is almost midnight and I am taking refuge in the normalcy of my computer, light, and my Bible. It isn't often that I am up this late or if I am, to be on the computer. But you see, I have this fear. A silly one. A REALLY silly one. So silly that you'd think I could stomp it out but so far, I haven't been able to.

The stomach bug is floating around our house. I'm afraid of the stomach bug. I wish I could tell you why, or when this started, or what rational reasons there are for being afraid, but I can't. I will tell you that I didn't use to be afraid. I have many horrific memories of people throwing up in loud and violent ways around me from the time I was a child. But the degree to which I am now afraid goes way beyond that. And just to clear it up, it isn't "the throw-up". Nope, that part doesn't get me. Which is good considering God blessed me with 2 VERY gaggy kids and therefore I deal with some amount of throwup weekly. This fear definitely deals with the virus. Anything that sneaks up and causes one to go through such trauma, so quickly, so unexpectedly, is pretty much feared in my book. Add to that the waiting game involved with if and when it will approach the next member of our family.

So here I am. Trying to get sleepy. Trying to find peace. And let me tell you that a large part of this fear magnifies and even finds its footing in the dark. Meaning, I can be fine with this virus during the day. But when anyone wakes up in my house (including myself) in the middle of the night, it freaks me out. Darkness plays mind games with me and it sucks. I've thought a lot about this lately as I've pondered how much it means to me to see light starting to dawn outside. I remind myself that even the darkness is light to God. In Him there is no darkness. So instead of laying in my bed going crazy, I decided to come downstairs and catch up on some of my Chambers "Utmost". Lo and behold, Psalm 46 pops up and I'm grateful. For the 9.5 out of 10 (don't lie) of you that don't know that off the top of your head, I'll quote a few verses:

"God is our refuge and strength,
an ever present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging."

My first thought was joy and relief at the reaffirmation of God's protection and strength. Then I agreed with how ridiculous it was that I was worried about a virus. NOT earth quakes, mountains falling, or roaring seas, people. A virus. I mean, really? Despite that, the fear is there---it doesn't need legitimacy to stick around. And really, if God can handle all of our fears, then size is irrelevant. I just wish God would delete my fear. Remove it from my being forever. And I know He can do that because he has done it before. But there has to be some meaning in all of it. If I was really honest and told you just how ridiculous I act when I'm letting this fear get the best of me you would be FLOORED. For real. Pretty much panic attack sums it up. I'm sure Brian wants to beat me upside the head but he is wise and knows he is better off supporting me and playing the whole thing down. However, it has me on my knees more than usual and obviously has my eyes in the Word tonight when they otherwise wouldn't be. So if you happen to be reading this over the next 8 hours or so, please offer up a prayer for me and my family. I know we have no more right to be healthy than anyone else. In fact, I know of a family who lost their sweet young daughter/mom/wife just yesterday. My prayers about not throwing up seem pitiful as opposed to prayers about keeping one of His Creation here on earth a little longer.

No further direction for this post. I just wanted to throw this out there. Maybe you wrestle with silly fears yourself. Maybe you wrestle with not so silly fears. Either way I leave us with this:

"The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress."

Some things never change...........

Noah just called me in his room where he was supposed to be resting.




This is what I found:

If you take a close look, that is Valentine's Day candy that Hoosya-Dog (that's the family dog) is eating. Here is a flash back to another time this little Noah did something similar.....

http://noahspicer.blogspot.com/2008/02/happy-valentines-day.html

What can be learned from watching old home videos?

1. man our kids were cute.
2. how fast the time has gone by.
3. I looked so relaxed (although I don't remember really feeling that way).
4. how I miss TX
5. I would give anything to go back in time............
6. Noah has loved Wesley from the moment he laid eyes on him up until this very night.
7. man these boys were cute.
8. it hurts my heart a little to know that time is past and I can't get it back.
9. it makes me want to have another little baby in my arms, marveling at every new stage, and watching my family interact with them........(but only if I forget about all the work involved).
10. what an amazingly lucky girl I am to have these kids, this husband, these homes, these memories, this love.....poured down from heaven above.

Thankful Thursday

I have not been one to post regularly on Thursdays, but today I have so much to be thankful for (not just today, but you know what I mean). Kristen--you inspired me with your post, so here it goes:

1. The boys, a.k.a the little boys. Noah and Wesley have just been adding so much sweetness to my days I can hardly stand it. They are two peas in a pod and they adore eachother. I realize parenting has its ups and downs, but we are in a huge upswing right now and I'm so thankful. We've been enjoying our time at home this winter and I feel so content with being a stay at home mom.

2. Health. God has protected all of our immune systems for a incredibly long stretch and I'm quite convinced that is why I've enjoyed being at home this winter. When there is illness in our house, I am an anxious mess. But so far, no one has been sick this winter and it has allowed all of us to enjoy eachother day in and day out. Yes, the boys take vitamins, and I take vitamins (SuperMom) but I'm not so sure that is the ticket. Either way, being healthy is great and even if we had colds and flu and junk, I would still be thankful that we do not have any major illnesses/conditions in our family.

3. Brian's job. This is why I'm able to stay at home in the first place and I am thankful everyday for the hard work he puts in and the respectable company he works for. He had his annual review today and while I haven't heard all the details, he did say it went really well and he felt good. What a blessing! I often think how horrible it would be to be in his shoes and be responsible for so much, get up so early, travel so far, befriend "not so nice" people, etc. I try not to think that too much because I'm afraid I'll suddenly have to work. :) But, the bottom line is, he is so much better of a person to do what he does than I could ever dream to be. I'm proud of him and I'm so so so thankful.

4. TurboJam. What's that, right? Well, it's these silly exercise DVDs that my neighbor gave to me because she had 2 copies. They sat and sat for months till one day I decided to try them out. I love it! I feel healthier and more energetic and I can do them without ever getting in my car (I usually go to the Y to workout). Wow, that sounded like a total commercial! What a dork I am. We're going to FL in 3 weeks and I hope to have a better bathing suit bod by then. We shall see!

5. My home. It's feeling more home-y to me lately and I've had a lot of good moments this winter in it. Where I sit in the morning for my quiet time, where I read to Wesley in his room, where we play boardgames as a family...I'm thankful for all these spaces. We try to make it clear to Noah how special it is to have a safe, warm home and half the time, I think we're reminding me. I love our home, and I hope any of you outoftowner friends, will come bless me by staying in it!

That's a rap folks. Enjoy your Thursday!

Goals for the New Year!

You see I didn't call them resolutions because that word alone causes almost instant failure. Goals suit me better and with God's help, I will be making some big changes this year. These are things I feel the Holy Spirit and my own conscience have been telling me for a while that I need to work on. So here it goes! And I will admit, that I've already had MANY opportunities (being that it is the 12th day into the new year) to practice these....sometimes it is fun, sometimes I groan. :)

In no particular order:


1) Do not step (or run) away from new experiences.

2) Think of others more highly than myself.

3) Savor and take joy in each day as it really is all I have.

4) Love Brian in new and deeper ways.

5) Make less assumptions.

A few comments about these....
#2 and #5 have to do with my pride and self awareness. LOTS of work to do here, folks.
#1 and #3 target the introvert in me as well as the lazyass butt I can be.
#4 is a simple goal that I want to pursue with passion as I fill the role of "wife" for what will hopefully be decades and decades to come.

So far #1 & #2 are all up in my grill and it's becoming pretty obvious how much I need to work on these. It's also becoming obvious that in no way shape or form can I do this without God. I am NOT that good of a person. I actually like the reaffirmation of these challenges because it shows me that I didn't really come up with this list---the Holy Spirit did.

I would love to hear of any goals you might have set for yourself this year. I have NEVER ever set New Year's goals/resolutions and taken them the least bit seriously, so don't feel like you have to earn your keep here. Even if you just have one thing you'd love to accomplish this year, I wanna hear it. Go on, Kristen, give me your list. :)

Simply Pathetic

Me, that is. I cannot believe I have been so TERRIBLE about blogging the last several months. I won't deny it. That's one thing I can't stand is when blogs I read go MIA for months and then all of a sudden they will post a random post with photos and make no mention of their absence. That makes me think I can only expect to wait weeks/months till their next post! Well, folks, have no fear. I won't do that to you. I know I've been awful and Lord willing, I will quit letting Facebook appease my need-comments-fast weakness and become a devoted blogger again.

So! Where to begin? I don't really feel like diving into a topic I'm excited to write about yet, so instead I'll do a kind of update.

Brian and I celebrated 10 years last month. 10. Wow. That's a lot of years. And I'm not kidding when I say I feel like we were just married. Not in that gushy mushy kind of way. In the I-seriously-just-graduated-from-college-and-all-details-of-our-wedding-are-crystal-clear-like-yesterday kind of way. I've been in this haze lately evaluating life, our life, my life, and where it's headed. Realizing I have been married 10 years makes me think about what we've accomplished in those 10 years and what I can expect from the next 10. For a few weeks I really thought I might be having a mid-life crisis at 31. Is that possible? I just seem to be questioning everything. Almost like a narcissistic 20 yr old that spends her days with her head in the clouds feeling serious about everything. Ever been there? I hope I'm not the only one. That's one of the many things I love about Brian. No matter what planet I'm on, what trend I'm following, what scary opinion I throw at him, what emotional meltdown I'm having (which he often doesn't know about), he remains the same. Other than God, he is the most constant and unwavering thing in my life. He is the same guy I fell in love with. I'm not so sure I'm the same as when he fell in love with me. But he loves me none the less. And he is what keeps me grounded. So I am thrilled to celebrate 10 years with Brian. I'm blessed. And I have a feeling God has many surprises in store for us in the near future. I have faith He's going to do some amazing things in our family.

Alrighty, on to Christmas. We spent Christmas in Texas this year. However, the weather fairies decided to play a cruel joke and take Midwest weather and throw it on the south. SO, we spent Christmas eve and early Christmas morning in Memphis due to a snow storm that hit Dallas. :(
Fortunately, we had our Christmas with the boys days earlier so there was no Santa or stockings that they expected on the "real" Dec. 25th. I think I would have sobbed if that were the case. I would tell you all the pitiful details of our experience with Northwest/Delta but it just isn't worth it. Ok I will endulge you with this little snippet: the cherry on top of our travel experience was once back at home in IN, receiving my suitcase off of the luggage spindle literally ripped open with my stuff hanging out. Not unzipped mind you, ripped. Threads everywhere. Bent up, battered and bruised. And when I took it to the Delta office 15 ft away, the lady (who most certainly had a bad day) ripped my head off and told me that it was my fault for having too bulky of an outside pocket and I shouldn't have packed it the way I did. I sat there tongue-tied and utterly confused at her response to my pathetic looking bag. THAT, my friends, is why Delta is getting a big fat letter from my said amazing husband who happens to be a silver medallion member or whatever the heck they call it. :) Okay, enough of that story.

Our time in TX was good. Seeing family and friends is always awesome. The highlight though, was going to our old church. God is truly in that place because everytime I am there, I want to ball my eyes out and never leave. So many incredible people and families that we have walked through life's hardest times with. The way all different generations of people go running up to my kids and pick them up. The treat we were in for, though, was to see the transformation of a life very near and dear to us. God saved it for us on the one Sunday we'd be there and it was simply amazing. It changed my heart for the entire trip (and beyond). God is so very good. His power never ceases.

This is sadly getting way too long and for fear of you clicking that X in the right hand corner, I will end this. But I have so much to pour out and hopefully will be disciplined enough to do it in the coming days and weeks. Happy New Year to all my friends out there! Stay tuned......