Sorry Everybody......I Moved

I spent my weekend pretty much relaxing at home with my family. On Sunday, my husband attempted to kill me with some exercise. To hear that story I am inviting you to please join me at Wordpress where I have moved my blog too.

My new friend Roxanne at Sharing Notes and I have been disappointed that we don't get emotioncons. We have both looked into Wordpress and I made the leap. I wasn't quite sure what a widget was but I think I have figured it out.

I hope you all come over and see me there. :) Please :)
At Wordpress those would be yellow smiley faces.

***UPDATE***
I have relocated to:
http://theresatrotter.com/

Happy

It is about 10 o'clock at night.

The kids are asleep.

I am kind of tired.

I am thinking about things.

Things are alright in life.
There are some good things going on.
There are some not so good things going on.
My Life isn't a bed of roses.

I can honestly sit here and say that I am Happy!

Are You?
If not is there anything I can do to help?
Feel free to email me if you want to talk privately.

Most of the time Happiness is just a choice you have to make.

What choice are you going to make?
Happiness or Something Else?

Forgiveness - ReRun

I first posted this in March, after doing serveral posts about my mom and then my father. I had wanted to cover forgiveness before moving on to other things. I noticed in the advice my mother gave me yesterday that she is concerned about me falling into a pit of dispair and unforgivness. And while I am glad for the warning, I feel that I have dealt with some of the issues that she has not.

I do know that I have some new readers who probably have not read the story of my mother. If you are interested it is 4 parts and in the month of March. The story of my father is also interesting it is only 3 parts and also in March.

There was one other bit of advice in the previous post that I was surprised nobody hit on. I don't agree with my mother that I am suppose to let God worry about other people's faith. I feel that we are all called to GO and teach others about Jesus. I may cover that in a future post.

Thanks for letting me unload my baggage. If you have been around awhile you can stop reading now. :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I plan on writing more about my life soon. My Grammy was my best mentor/mother/friend in my childhood, actually in my life. She has been gone for 14 years now but I still hear her telling me how to bring my life to the feet of Jesus. How no matter what I have done my Abba Father would still love me and accept me. Where as it brought up some feelings of resentment telling my mom’s story and feelings of great grief to talk about my dad. When I tell my story about my Grammy I will be full of laughter, love and pride.

I thought that before I moved on to happier aspects of my life I would first talk about forgiveness. We know that when we confess our sins to the Lord that he forgives our sins. That the slate is washed clean with Jesus’ blood.

Oh, what a joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
Whose sins are put out of sight.
Yes, what a joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of sin. – Romans 4:7-8


How come it is harder to forgive others sin against us than it is for God to forgive our sins against him? Am I the only one that has at one time or another been stuck on the hamster wheel of holding someone’s sins over their heads? Unable to forgive them for an action that hurt me? What about when you love the person and they hurt you? Break your trust? Use you? How easy is it to just turn the other cheek and say “I forgive you”?

What is Forgiveness? What is the true definition of it?
1. To excuse for a fault or an offense; pardon.
2. To renounce anger or resentment against.

It took me a long time to really understand the depth of walking away from hurt. That I was suppose to treat that person as if nothing happened. But I also learned that the more unforgiveness I carried around the only one I was hurting was myself. I was stealing time from the Lord who wanted to work in my life. I was missing my blessings because I was stuck in unforgiveness.

One day I woke up and it was like God was sitting on the end of my bed. He was begging me to let him heal me. He told me to seek him first to heal my pain. At that moment I realized that I wanted the life he promised. I realized that I could forgive my mom for not being the best parent. I could forgive my dad for the things that were done to me but most of all for dying.

As I sit here today I reflect back on those things that caused me the most pain and I choose to not be a victim. I choose to be a Princess of my Divine Father! I am reconciled, loved, forgiven and most of all His child. My Heavenly Father Loves ME!!! YEAH!!! Guess what…..He loves all of you too.

Forgiveness is giving up hope
that you can change the past!

Advice

I received some advice this evening in a letter. I thought I would share it.

"Since you have chosen a life in religion I would wish only that you remember that God judges, you don't. If you can accept people for what they are, and let God worry about their faith, and their beliefs you will be a happier person. And try to not hold grudges, both of your grandmothers were very unhappy, one reason was their absolute inability to let stuff go, to just start over with people or situations and try again, If there is any pit you might fall into, that is it. Forgive, try again, move on."

This letter also had a statement that caught me off guard.

"First off, I am proud of the way you have decided to live your life. I feel like I have contributed something to the world that is good and not bad. If you get to almost 60 and see it that way, you will be blessed. Many Don't."

The final statement that I will share of this letter:

"Don't forget, we are survivors. Your dad taught you how to hang out and find friends. I taught you to work and to survive. You got the best of both worlds."

I think my mom had a lucid moment and actually just like said she was proud of me and complimented how I live my life. She even gave me advice about forgiveness. She has done none of these things for at least 20 years.

I'm thinking her letter makes up for sleeping through my 40th birthday.

40 By 40...Goal Achieved

Saturday is my 40th Birthday. I was born Friday the 13th in September of 1968. So people have asked me how does it feel to be middle-aged? Are you ready for a Mid-Life Crisis? Wrinkles? Menopause? Your Biological Clock Stopping Ticking?(that person really doesn't know me...LOL) I suppose I am ready for all of those things.

I am not someone that is dreading my 40's. I am actually thinking this is going to be one of the best decades of my life! My children will become adults. My life will become more mine and less theirs and my father in laws. I am looking forward to friendships with my children. I am looking forward to more freedom. I am looking forward to making my husband go places he really doesn't want to go but will because I am going. I want to go on mission trips. I want to see things! I want to enjoy ourselves just the two of us.

OK...Enough of my ramblings. I am sure you will all get to hear more about my dreams and goals later. I would like to show you a goal I met recently. This first picture has been posted before when I first started MY PROJECT in April. I went to a Bon Jovi Concert with some friends. When I got this wonderful picture I really realized that I am a big fat cow. I decided to join Weight Watchers. For those of you that don't know me or can't guess...I am in the purple.

One of my goals was to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday. I achieved that goal Wednesday at weigh in. Alot of you have been very supportive and I hadn't posted an update in a long time. I still have 20 more pounds in my total weight-loss goal. For now I am enjoying this goal. I am having potato salad this weekend. (I hear you Robin...I am going to use light mayo.) My husband wanted me to show you the difference so here I am tonight sitting in my dining room, 40.6 pounds lighter.


Happy Birthday to Me! The hard work has been worth it!Have a great weekend everyone!!! I plan on it!

Slowing Down for a Minute

A friend sent out this email to me and others. It is one of those dreaded forwards. LOL Something about it made me think. Made me want to slow down for a bit. I wish you all a beautiful day.


Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things have settled down a bit.'

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask, 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift... Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

A Quiet Milestone

Below is my 1st post ever, dated January 29, 2008. After I read it I remember that I wasn't going to do any posts. I had no idea what to write,I wasn't even sure how to do a blog list. I did feel if I was going to comment I needed to have a place where people could come find out about me. About the time I took my trip to meet my Blogging Friends in OKC I quietly surpassed 100 posts. So to celebrate that major milestone I am doing a rerun which includes the original 3 comments I received.




Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Still Reading

I mainly started this blog so that friends and family can keep up with the family. We are all so far away and it seemed like a good way to let them stay current.

But....there always is one, a but.

I have turned into an avid blog reader. I have found so many awesome people's blogs. I read them daily. I even comment on some. So now I am wondering if my blog is really just a place to list all of the blogs I like to read.

I'm not sure. I am not a college graduate that has the awesome writing abilities that these bloggers have.

SO for now....I am still Reading. And if I can ever figure out how to make a blog list I will!!

Much Love and God Bless

Posted by Theresa at 2:22 PM

3 comments:

Gina McClain said...
Theresa,
Thanks for the link... but more than that, thanks for reading my gab. Welcome to the world of blogging. Don't sell yourself short. Just have fun blogging your thoughts. You'll find a niche. Looking forward to reading more.
January 30, 2008 8:20 PM

Robin Meadows said...
Hey...thanks for the link love. Found you from your comment on Anna's page---thanks for reading her stuff! How'd you find us??

Looking forward to your thoughts here.
February 5, 2008 12:23 PM

Robin Meadows said...
PS - not a college grad either....writing abilities? hahahaha
February 9, 2008 6:04 AM

When was the last time you reread your First Blog Post?

I Love Your Blog

Stonefox (otherwise known as Heidi) Writer of Moms, Ministry and More awarded me with the I Love Your Blog Award. She put me in a group of other blogs that are awesome ones. I am totally shocked and honored. I have been reading her blog for quite awhile, mainly lurking. Then one day I read this post about her son and the neighbor getting to know each other. To do this they were tossing things back and forth from window to window, on the 6th floor. It was so funny. About this same time she read a comment that I had left on Roger's blog and she went and read my blog. I think we were meant to be. LOL I only hope that I give her as much joy in any area as she gives me. Basically she makes me laugh.

So Now My Recipients Are:

1. Roger @ Roll Mental Camera- His blog is hilarious most of the time and when it isn't it is thought provoking. In person he is just as funny!

2. The Many Meadows- I love this blog. It is fairly new but that is only because Robin has enlisted her family to contribute to a family blog. So now we get great posts from Many Meadows and Wonderful Add In Family.

3. Hope @ Unveiling Hope- Hope has a beautiful heart. She writes a blog full of the Lord and how to become closer to him. It has also helped me to learn how to Love people better. I love Hope!

4. Starr @ Starr...like in the sky- She is young and fun. She has a great heart for God. She also blesses us with stories of her sweet son Matthew

5. It's a Plunderful Life- This is a wonderful blog for single mothers. It has also provided me a non-single mother with some great ideas and advice. It is put on by Kim @ Deliberate Hope. She also has some amazing contributors to this blog.

6. Heidi @ Find Me..Find Life..Real Life...- Meet the other Heidi in my life. Though I haven't yet gotten to meet her face to face. We text daily and talk on the phone at least once a week. She is an amazing woman. She loves God and serves him with everything that she has.

7. Cindy Beall so many things to say about her but not sure where to start. If you don't read her start. If you do read her then you know why she is on this list. I have had the pleasure of sitting and talking with her in person....I feel like we didn't cover half of what we wanted to talk about. I am not sure if we could in this life time. Cindy has an amazing testimony. If just one new person starts to read her blog from this post and finds comfort I will be happy.

So I have nominated 7 blogs for this award. There are many others that I love as well. Some are leadership blogs, political blogs, family blogs, jewelry blogs, homeschooling blogs, and so on. If you are looking for something that isn't listed above. Let me know. I may have a suggestion or know who does.


If you were a recipient here are the instructions to carry this award on.
Here are the suggestions for the recipients of the awards:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the people you’ve nominated.
6. Enjoy your award!

NO PRESSURE.....AS Heidi said IT IS SUPPOSE TO BE FUNNER AND FUNNER.

The Greatest Play In Baseball

God Bless America!

Who Would You Be?

Aside From God/Jesus.....

Who Would You Be in the Bible?

Why?

My Last Day in Oklahoma

When I woke up Sunday morning I was a little bummed. I knew it was my last day. As I went out to say Good Morning, I found Robin by herself on the couch. This wasn't normal. Usually Dirk is up and in his man cave but he was no where to be seen. At the time we had no clue what was wrong with him. Appearently this was the start of the Gall Bladder relapse. Even though he wasn't feeling well he still took Robin and me to POP's for lunch. It is called Pop's not for someone's dad but because they carry millions of different flavors and kinds of soda pop. I was also told that the wait for actually seating to eat is usually long but it was a great day and we sat outside. On their menu of great things they combined my 2 favorite sandwiches. I ordered a BLT/Egg Salad sandwich. (Boy was I glad not to be counting points that day) It was great!!

We had one last get together planned with all the girls. So Robin, Erin, Kaden, Will and I swung by and picked up Cindy and her gorgeous boys and headed to Deleise's house. I was so excited because there were two things at Deleise's that I wanted to do. Through email before I even got to Oklahoma she had promised that she would make me Chocolate Molton Rock Star. It was absolutely wonderful!! She had also made a great cake for the party at Cindy's Friday night. I can totally see why her and her friends call their chocolate creations Rock Star! The second thing that I really wanted to do at Deleise's had to do with a post that I had read on her blog. She posted about a swing, a porch swing. She calls this the Faith Swing. It is a wonderful story if you haven't read it please take the time too. It is another example of having faith in God. When I saw the picture of the swing and read the post I wanted to sit in the Faith swing. So before I left her house that afternoon I did sneak out back and sit for a few minutes and talked with God about continuing to bless these awesome women and their families. I do know that the next time I am there that Deleise and I will sit in it together. Her with her coffee and one of her fofo creamers and me with an ice tea.



So I know that the above picture looks like it is all fun and games. Let me tell you it wasn't. Once Natalie and Kim arrived and we all got to tour Deleise's house. (She is really artistic!) Then the work began. The afternoon was scheduled for a double learning experience. First Kim and Erin trained us about CVS's money saving program. I must admit that since I don't have a CVS I really didn't pay much attention. Natalie did crack me up through the whole thing though. She is hilarious. The second learning experience was offered to us from Deleise. She had made us all folders with paperwork about meal planning and so much more. It is such a great resource! Kim has actually stated that she got all the binders and recipe cards and labels and stuff to create hers and make it all pretty like. (I was secretly hoping that with my 40th birthday coming in just a couple weeks she would send me a completed one LOL)

Cindy started a love around and we all stated something about the people at the table that we admired. I don't accept compliments well but I did love to hear these women opinion of eachother. It was really kind of neat. They each have such great individual talents, characters and personalities. The all share one attribute. They are all commited women of God. They all are human but do their best to Love Like Jesus. And their best is Very Very Good!

This was pretty much my goodbye to everybody but Robin. It was hard to leave them behind. It was really hard not to cry. I actually started in the car but with four little boys and 3 other women talking I had time to pull myself together. I had to say goodbye to Cindy when we dropped her off. It was hard but I knew that we would talk.

It was a nice night at the Many Meadows with the Many Meadows. I know I am going back. I am just not sure when. I know that Cindy, Robin, Deleise, Kim and Natalie are going to have to tell me to go away otherwise they are stuck with me for life.

Thank You All Again for All The Fun and Memories! You Ladies Rock!

Tea Anyone? / Lifechurch.tv

Saturday Robin, Natalie, Kim, Deleise and I met for tea. We went to a place called Inspirations Tea Room. It was a very cute place. They had tons of different kinds of teas, which is good since they are a tea room. :) We had to wait a little bit but when we finally got seated the service was very nice. We ordered our tea and our lunch and started talking. When our food came the presentaion was very nice. I noticed a piece of paper on my plate. It was a Bible verse. We all had one. That to me was such a nice touch. If you tried to do that here in California you would probably get sued. I enjoyed my verse. I picked up Deleise's too. This is what they said.



I had such a nice relaxing time there. We laughed and talked and at one point even shed us some tears. Then we looked at our watches and realized we had been sitting there for 3 hours. That is a true sign of an awesome lunch with the girls.

The time flew by and now Robin and I needed too also. We had about a half an hour to get to the Edmond Campus (Big Cross) of Lifechurch.tv. Robin and Dirk serve as ushers during the service I was to attend.
When we got there I was introduced to some of the nicest people. While I was waiting for Cindy who I was going to sit by, I got to meet Nicole. She had a huge smile and her family was really sweet. I also got to meet and talk to Scott Rodgers. He seemed to really be having a good time. Cindy arrived and Natalie arrived and we went and sat. There I was between the Edmond Musical Geniuses. To much pressure for this lowly alto. :)

After this service Cindy and her boys and I went to dinner. Then I got to go and spend the rest of the evening with her. It was during those hours that I got to
pick her brain and learn. I got to see her mentoring skills live and in person. I got to feel like a friend not just a commenter on her blog. We talked and talked and talked. I had already respected her prior to my trip. All I can say is that I still do. She is one of those people who's opinion actually does matter to me but I can just BE with her too. Actually with all of these women I was able to just BE. No one made me feel inferior or like I didn't belong. They accepted me for me, flaws and all.

Only one more full day to go before my flight home. I was starting to get sad. I missed my husband and my kids but I really would have stayed another week or so. :)

Now The Party Can Begin!!!

Now that everybody was there.




(Except for Amy and Susan, who were going to try and come from Austin, Texas. They had car trouble and didn't make it.)

The Party could really start!!

There were 14 kids that belonged to people in the house and I believe a few extra from around the neighborhood. Everywhere you looked there were kids playing. They were outside, upstairs in the bonus room and across into other people's backyards. They all got along well. Rogers son had a mishap later in the evening when he fell out of a tree. No broken bones just mighty painful. Luckily with that many kids, that was the only incident.



The kids out numbered us by 2. What was kind of sad was that we were all having such a good time that we really didn't get that many pictures. I took a couple and Natalie took some. In the picture above you find 3.5 husbands Dirk, Pastor JT, Chad and then David is the one that I cut in half. The baby in the grass is Kid 3 belonging to Kim and Chad. If you look closely through the window behind the guys you will see the TV is on. I believe that got turned on so that when Michael Phelps swam we could all cheer. Mr. Beall did some serious outdoor surround wiring. It was sweet! Also notice all of the red solo cups on the outdoor table. Mrs. Beall even had her sharpie out to write names on the cups. She is such a good hostess. One thing that I had forgotten to mention was that Cindy had already driven to Dallas and back that day. She was a little tired.

We all ate potluck style. Some inside, some outside. Cindy led us all in prayer. It was a great time of conversation and laughing. When I sat back and looked at everybody. The kids interacting, the adults all gabbing, it was hard to believe that some of these people were just as new in the house as I was. There was such a feeling of fellowship and fun.




At one point us girls must have had a pow wow. Not sure what it was about but we seem to be in deep conversation. I really felt like I had known these ladies forever. I know that I haven't mentioned Roger much but he was there and he was part of the evening. He is just as funny in person as he is in his blog. He was funny when he posed for the above picture, being the only male. His wife Shelly fit right in with all of us and Roger seemed to fit right in with the guys. It really was an amazing evening. I don't normally share what I write in my journal but I am going to for the second time this week. When I looked back at what I wrote I asked God,
Did you see us tonight? Did you see us all joined together through you?
It was through God that I found these wonderful people. It was little steps along the way that brought me to this place. I would never have thought what a profound affect watching my first message on the internet from Lifechurch.tv would have on me. Where deciding to read my pastor's blog would lead me. What a crazy button on a side bar would do to my life.

Mandy wrote this in one of her comments and it basically sums it all up for me. the word gift - you keep using it - but it's the best word to describe it all!

Gathering at Cindy's

Friday evening had been slated for a party at Cindy Beall's. Originally it had been planned that Mr. Beall would be grilling meat and the other guests would bring a side dish. Unfortunatley Chris had to leave town to deal with church business. So we were on our own. I was dropped off before anybody else got there. Which was wonderful. I got to have a little alone time with Cindy and her boys. I had also brought her a couple things so this gave me the chance to give them to her. It also afforded me the extra time to show her my party fork. For those of you who may have missed the amazing BFF HOW TO Video by Kim and Natalie please follow the link and get ready to laugh! I wasn't taking any chances that Cindy might be using the same forks. I was scared of what the retaliation would be and at what cost to us innocent bystanders. In this picture you will see that my Party Fork is big compared to a regular fork. I really just wanted to make sure I didn't misplace it.

People started arriving and I got to answer the door. It was great! It wasn't just the women that came but their husbands and children. I would open the door and guess kids names...Boog, Goose, Monkey, Pastor JT, NATALIE!!! YAYYY and WAXY CHOCOLATE DONUTS. She also brought French Fries that Deleise's son Garrett said were the best ever in the whole world. Natalie is a fry genius with her seasonings. Roger and Shelly showed up with their boys. Roger's son informed us that his dad's salsa is the best. It was mighty yummy!! Deleise and David came with all four of their toe headed children. Deleise brought this outrageously great 4 layer chocolate cake (click link for recipe)

Then I was waiting and waiting...I went to Natalie and asked "Does Kim always run late?". For a few minutes there I thought that she had changed her mind. That she was like "Forget it I am not going, I don't want to meet the Stalker from CA." Then the doorbell rang, I raced to the door and there they were Kid One, Kid Two, Kim and Chad carrying Kid 3. (BTW I do know Kim and Natalie's children's real names)

Now the party can begin!!!

Bricktown/Bombing Memorial

Friday Morning I was a little slow moving. There is a 2 hour time difference. I will use it as an excuse but basically I was tired. I also wanted to be near my computer at 11 am OK time because Barlow Girl tickets were going on sale here in Redding then. So I got showered and moving. I wanted to go to the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial while I was there. Robin had decided that Friday was a good time to do that so after I bought my tickets online we left.

We decided to have lunch at a rib place. It is called Earl's Rib Palace. I had a wonderful sandwich. They have curly fries. Not the kind that have a coating of seasoning but just potatoes that are curly fries. They were wonderful. I ate every single one of them. I also decided at that moment that I was not going to worry about my WW points while I was there. I was going to try and be careful but I wasn't going to beat myself up about it either.

After lunch we walked around in Bricktown. They have made a cute little river that runs through that area. They also have some amazing sculpture there. There is appearently over 100 more pieces that will be installed as they are completed. The sculpture depicts a wagon train and it is life size. I enjoyed seeing this. It is beautiful. You can see that alot of work has been done to revitalize this area.

We headed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial. The outside memorial was peaceful. The three story museum was not. The museum is amazing for the artifacts that it shows. It is put together wonderfully, with great care and respect. It is very hard to deal with some of the stuff you see and the stories you hear. I don't believe that it is any less sad when adults are killed then children. It is just a little more chilling. I asked Robin What makes someone wake up and say "Today I am going to go blow up a building". I just can't grasp it in my mind.
This is the interior of the arch you walk through. It says 9:01. That is the time the bomb went off. There is a statue across the street that is Jesus weeping with his back to the memorial.

The exterior of this arch says;

WE COME HERE TO REMEMBER THOSE
WHO WERE KILLED,
THOSE WHO SURVIVED
AND THOSE CHANGED FOREVER

MAY ALL WHO LEAVE HERE
KNOW THE IMPACT OF VIOLENCE

MAY THIS MEMORIAL OFFER
COMFORT, STRENGTH, PEACE,
HOPE & SERENITY



The last line on the wall is "God Demands It!"

Many Meadows/My First Day

Many Meadows is beautiful. It is green. It is family! It is lived in! There is tons of LOVE. I felt more welcome then you could imagine. Their property is wonderful. Chiggers and all. :) It was wonderful to see family just come over. I loved the daily visits from Mister Kaden and Mister Will. Seen here tag teaming me on my last night.
The Meadows Family including all of the children's spouses and children's children, which are known as the grands, are wonderful people. By the time I left I had only missed meeting two beautiful grand girls, one of the girl's husbands and an adopted daughter that I had heard alot about.

As I look back at my journal entry for the day, I found this statement. God you have led me here, cleared my path and created a peace in me. I am not suffering my normal anxiety at meeting new people. That is so important to me. I have huge issues with meeting new people. Sounds strange as I was the one that jumped on a plane and went half way across the country. I truly feel that God led me to go, He wanted me to meet these amazing people.

I was picked up at the Airport by Robin and Dirk. I arrived in OKC late in the afternoon. I got to talk to Natalie on the phone as we were driving. Dirk took us ladies to Sonic for something to drink. As stated earlier I have never heard of a double chocolate Dr. Pepper. I had a regular Ice Tea. We continued to their beautiful home. Where I was shown to my room which was beautiful. I had the nicest Welcome Basket from the Girls on the bed. It had cards, toiletries, magazines, mints and even a frame with a designer stick figure drawing by Cindy Beall! I bet y'all didn't realize what a great artist she is. I will treasure my original Beall for years and years.

That evening I went with Dirk and Robin to Switch Leadership training that was being given by Anna Meadows. I have been in leadership training before, this was amazing to watch from the sidelines. Anna has a great energy that is contagious. There were about 30 people present and a nice italian dinner was served buffet style. After we all ate they got started. It was refreshing to see the mold of training broken and some new things taking place. As important as it is that leaders learn all the rules. For a good part of this training it was evident that the importance was for the leaders to feel comfortable with eachother, to build relationships that fostered trust. I can see why Robin and Dirk are so proud of her. Anna carries herself well and covered the required boring information quickly and precisely.

As the training session was coming to an end the most amazing lightning storm started and the rain started to pour. As we drove home we could see lightning on both sides of the freeway touching the ground. It was bright and beautiful. What a way to end my first day.

Friday was going to be busy. I was going to get to meet all the rest of the people I came to see. I was a little nervous but more excited then anything. The Lord spoke to my heart telling me it was only going to get better.

A Special Gift

Have you ever received a special gift? A gift that was unexpected? A gift that you may not have wanted to tell anybody about because you didn't want to share? Have you ever received a gift that you were grateful for but very protective of?

I received a special gift this last week. The gift of Friendship, Unconditional Love and the Gift of being Welcomed into a tight knit community. I have selfishly been keeping this experience to myself. I have been dwelling on the individual details of it daily with the Lord. I have been praying about it, praising the Lord for making it possible and in a way fighting the enemy for making my REAL life seem so hard upon my return.

It is amazing how much a 4 day trip can change your perspective. It is amazing how little time it takes to have "If Only" feelings. I am going to spend the weekend getting the details of my trip down in posts. From Deleise's amazing chocolate desserts, a 3 hour tea party, Natalie and Kim are they really as close as it seems, stray horses in the yard, 5 year old's wanting to know why I am still at Mimi's house and all the other wonderful things I experienced. I really just needed to be selfish with the beautiful peaceful memories for awhile. It truly was like going home.

If there are any questions that you want answered ask and I will respond. Thanks for your patience. I like totally way appreciate it. (my CA talk is coming back alla y'all) Have a great weekend!

My Last New Experience In OK

This picture was taken in the airport in Oklahoma City the day I was leaving. I really have never seen anything like it. Instead of using a normal paper toilet seat cover. You push the green button and it rotates the plastic cover to new plastic. I know WOW!!

I am still mentally processing alot of my trip. I am going to blog about it. How can I not. I met amazing people and saw amazing things. So bear with me and I promise it is coming soon. Of course most of my seven readers were there. But I know a lady in San Diego that is interested :) Love you all!

Packing and Heading Home

I am going home tomorrow. It has been an amazing trip for me. I have been so blessed to be in the presence of my wonderful Edmond friends. I still have to go in and pack. I would like to stay for at least another 10 or 20 years. I think my family would be sad but Sooner (get it OK SOONERS) or later they would find me here.

My one piece of advice for my fellow bloggers. If you have become close blogging friends and have an opportunity to meet them. Take it!


Guess Who's Eye Balls?

Welcome to Oklahoma

Today I flew to Oklahoma. I got up at 4:30 in the morning. Craig drove me to Saramento, about 2 1/2 hours.

I checked my bag at the curb and headed to the security checkpoint. I saw all the signs about how I can't travel with guns and knifes or fluids. I never saw the sign that said I had to take my laptop out of the case and have it scanned seperately. I am a novice laptop traveler. Thankfully the guys were really nice and we all laughed. I did enjoy the fact that for the hour I had to wait that I had free airport supplied WIFI. It made the time go by faster and I had fun chatting and twittering. I boarded the plane and was off.

We arrived in Phoenix where I had to change planes. I had an hour lay over and again free WIFI. I must admit that I thought Phoenix was not very attractive. I was excited to get out of there! It was an easy flight to OKC! We even landed a little early.

Robin and Dirk picked me up. YAY!! They were there. Robin is just as cute in person as she is on her blog!!. Dirk carried my super heavy suitcase for me! Then we were on our way to the Many Meadows. We did stop at Sonic and got something to drink. I have never heard of a chocolate Dr. Pepper.

Many Meadows is beautiful. It is green. It is family! It is lived in! There is tons of LOVE Here. I felt more welcome then you could imagine. My room is beautiful and I had the nicest Welcome Basket from the Girls!!

There was an amazing Thunder and Lightning Storm tonight!!!

I do feel very welcome in Oklahoma!! Can't wait to see more!

I am sooooo Excited!!

Well for months I have been waiting to take my journey! I have had my ticket to Oklahoma City Since April 29th. Yep Over 3 months! In less then 12 hours I will be walking through an Airport Security Check Point! In less then 24 hours I will be in the capable hands of Miss Robin who has volunteered herself as my Angel!

In advance to all the people that I am meeting;
Miss Robin
Cindy
Kim
Natalie
Deleise
Roger and Shelly

Thank alla y'all for making me feel so welcome!

I can't wait to get there!

New Address Book

I had to get a new address book. My old one is falling apart. I usually need a new one every 5 years or so. I thought this would be a good time to get one. I am hoping to be adding a few Oklahoma people to it at the end of the week.

The worst and best part of a new address book is writing in all your contacts. You get to clean up the ones that have moved 5 times since your last new book. Even when you write in pencil, there will be a time when all you can find is a pen to make a quick change with. There is a scratched out number here and an erased number there.

I also usually find that some people don't get moved into the new book. I wonder why that is. How did I lose touch with that person? Where did that person go? Why don't I talk with that person anymore? Why did they chose that lifestyle? It bothers me so much that I keep every one of my old address books. Sometimes I even reference back to them if I really want to try and find someone.

Am I the only one that this happens too?
Do you find people in your address book that you may have forgotten about or can't find?
Do you keep your old Address Books?

Lead or Follow?

When Moses led his people out of Egypt the Bible says that they followed a pillar of cloud by day and the Lord provided a light at night with a pillar of fire. At that time the people followed the Lord.

BUT.....

Do we still? Or do we expect Him to follow us cleaning up our messes or responding to our every call?

I pray in the mornings for the journeys that I am suppose to take during the day. I pray for safety, good traffic and an even temper. I pray that we all make it home at the end of our days Happy, Healthy and Safely. Some mornings the Lord talks to me and I make adjustments to my plans or remember things that I am suppose to do and forgot about. Those are the days where I really feel Lord Led.

Then there are the days where I hear the voice but do what I want anyway. I ignore the things that I should have done and forgot about. I dilly dally the day away. Then when I get home I am irritable, frustrated and behind in what needs to be done. I pray to the Lord to give me the energy that I need to complete the tasks that I need to get done. The tasks that would have been done had I listened to begin with.

So in your relationship with the Lord....Who Leads?

Do you try and Lead Him? Or Do you let Him lead You?

Does God Laugh?

Do we do things that make our Heavenly Father Laugh?

How often do our children say or do something that makes us giggle? How often do they do something that makes you laugh so hard that we cry? (I have read that one of two of you have a problem with laughing fluids out your nose.)

I have blogged about having a reverance fear of God. A respectful fear of God. A reminder of his power.

But I have to wonder at this other side.

I want to imagine the Lord delighting in me...
In my happiness...
In my goofyness...

I just wonder if He sits on his throne, slaps his knee and belly laughs. Does he ever say "That Theresa, She cracks me up!"?

If all of our characteristics come from him...wouldn't that cover our sense of humor too?

Do we sometimes go to the Lord only in quiet time or worship?
Do we ever get up and do the happy dance and holler YEEHAAAWWW?

Do we leave God out of the Fun?

Blogging Friends

I have made some Blogging Friends. I am excited to have the chance to meet some of them soon. I think that when we “meet” people by blogging we get to learn about them in different ways. We get to commisserate with each other about kids, jobs, our faith, marriage, etc. We can support each other, offer wisdom, or be the one that finds the help.

I believe that I have become blogging friends with women that I may not have approached in “real” life due to my self esteem. They may be in the “IN” crowd or Ministry Leaders spouses or have tight BFF relationships that appear not to have room for others. But by blogging I have found that they do accept me for me. They offer me support, they laugh with me, they pray for me, they offer me advice on teenagers. BUT NOW I need to meet some. I need to get hugs and finish forging the relationship. I really need to sit with them and laugh!!

I may only get to meet them once but I will still be a part of their lives and them mine if we chose to stay in touch. I love these people, my blogging friends.

They aren’t my imaginary friends….They are my God supplied far away friends! God made sure we met in a way that would tighten our bond prior to the stereotypes interferring with His work.
I have been really really blessed by Him in this aspect.

Two Weeks

I am really excited. Two weeks from today I will be getting on a plane. I only have to wait TWO more weeks!!

I am looking forward to meeting everyone.

I am looking forward to the adventure of going to a new place.


So if anybody has great travel advice let me hear it!

If anybody has great Oklahoma advice PLEASE let me hear it!

If anyone has anything that they think they would like me to bring them from California, Please let me know!

Friends and Laughing

I got to spend the weekend with one of my favoritest bestest friends in the world. She came up to the smoke zone, sniffling and coughing just to see me. She says she has missed me. I know that I have missed her. I haven't seen her for almost 2 months but we have had to go up to a year in the past without getting to see eachother.

Lenore and I met in 1982. She is the most amazing person. I am so blessed to have her in my life. We have stood up for each other at weddings, comforted each other at the passing of grandparents, celebrated the birth of children. It was fun sitting around and laughing about the cars we have owned and what we had done in them. We talked about when we went to see Bon Jovi, in 1988. We laughed about some ex-boyfriends both ours and her mothers and the fact that my mom never dated. Mostly we just laughed and laughed and laughed. Lenore and I seem to be able to pick up like we saw each other yesterday. Like no time has passed.

Do you have friends that are like that?
Do you have friends that are closer than family?
Do you have friends that make you laugh and laugh?

The Fence

This last January we had a big storm and it blew down about 100 feet of wooden fence. No one has been in a real hurry to fix it. That is the side of the house with the "good" neighbors. The time has come though to get it fixed. I personally am tired of looking at orange plastic temp fence.

Craig has been getting estimates for all kinds of fencing. Mel and Craig haven't been able to agree on what kind of fencing to get. Craig wanted to replace it with wood. Mel wants chain link. Craig wants the privacy that wood offers and Mel wants the price break that chain link offers. Ben the next door neighbor doesn't care which product is used "Just let me know what I owe Ya".

My personal opinion is that I prefer wood. I am a fat chick that likes to not be stared at in my bathing suit when I go swimming. I am not real fond of chain link but if you get the kind with the slats I will be somewhat satisfied.

This got me to thinking about the fence that I have erected around my heart. Is this fence made of wood so that nobody can guess what is in there? Are there slats in the Chain Link so if you stand there with your face pressed to it and one eye at an opening you can see little pieces of who I am but never the whole picture? Or is the fence that surrounds my heart Chain Link open for all to see everything but still a blockade so that you can't touch it or hurt it?

A Wooden Fence can't withstand the wind.
A Chain Link Fence with Slats only shows you part of the picture.
A Chain Link Fence lets you see the picture but you can't participate in it.

Through the years of dealing with garbage that had been filling my life, I hope that if there is still a fence around my heart it is a Chain Link one that is only 3 feet high. But most of all I pray that it continues to get smaller everyday and that people around me not only can see Christ in me but can feel him and desire him also!

Hope and Her New Dream

Once a year I become the only girl in my household. My daughter goes to camp at Alliance Redwoods. This is where she asked Jesus into her heart last year.

It has been a hard couple of weeks with Hope. She has decided that she wants to follow a path in her life that her father doesn't support. I personally am not real pleased with it either but I handle things differently than Craig. Craig is one that just says no. I am one that wants her to try and find out for herself that it isn't as wonderful as she thought it would be. My sweet little girl wants to be an actress. I am not sure where this desire has come from. I think that she likes Zac Ephron a little too much and thinks that if she is an actress then they can get married. How many little girls do you know that want to be actresses?

I think what bothers me the most about her announcement is that in the last month I have noticed that she is drifting further and further away from her youth group and her desire to be involved. She is shy and has decided that her brother is the chosen favorite child. Which is the furthest thing from the truth. Hope is one of the few people that I never tire of being with. To be perfectly honest if you lined up the people in my house and said to me that I had to pick someone, take them and leave forever. I choose Hope. She is such a special soul.

My prayer this week is that Jesus reminds her of who she is in him. That she remembers that she is his princess. That she remembers that she is always my Chosen One. But way before that she was His Chosen One!!

If you have extra room in your prayer list please add my peanut. I can't imagine her losing her faith at 13.

Thanks for listening to a trouble mother. I miss her already and she has only been gone 8 hours!!

Cover Charge

The Countdown Has Started

I am really getting excited! There are only four more weeks until I am on a plane. 28 Days until I land in Oklahoma. Again I am really getting excited!


I need this time away. I am tired. The whole situation with my Father In Law is wearing me out. First the amputation, then the heart attack, then the move back to rehab. I feel blessed that he is still alive. I have been spending more time at the hospital then I have at work. Then when I make it home I have 2 teenagers that seem to miss their mother.

I did get a good laugh the other day at Craig. I was sitting on our bed writing checks for bills. He wanted to know what I was doing. He told me that I had already paid bills. I laughed and informed him that I had paid his father's bills, now I was paying ours.

I would love to tie all this into something spiritual but all I can say is that I am sorry for the lag in blogging. I think that if I spend much more time in the hospital I am going to get a WIFI aircard.

My 13 year old daughter just came in my room and informed me that I have to get up and go to work in the morning. That I should really turn off the lights and go to sleep. I think I will take her advice.

Have a great weekend!!!

SIDENOTE: The President was in our town today. So the California fires that are running on the news that he is looking at are here. Yucky smoke still heavy in the air.

Pool Party

Saturday we celebrated Hope's 13th Birthday which was the 2nd. We had planned a pool party for the end of June but that was the weekend that all the fires started and the air quality was terrible. The fires are still burning but the delta breeze has helped with the air quality. So breathing is a little easier now.

All of Hope's friends showed up. We barbqued hamburgers and hotdog, had lots of chips and soda. Of course we had a birthday cake. My daughter is my mother's child in this area. Hope requested a chocolate cake with chocolate filling and chocolate frosting. I totally thought of Natalie and Kim when we cut it. I passed on the cake.

There was just one thing that really bothered me about the party.....

I blogged about it in May. Only one parent came to the door with their daughter. She was the only parent that I even really know. So all the other parents, mom's included, just pulled up and let their daughters out of the car. Seven girls and I had never met their parents. They didn't even come to the door with phone numbers in case of an emergency.

This is our pool. It is made out of concrete and plaster. There were a bunch girls that were getting rowdy in my concrete pool. What if one of them had cracked their head open when jumping in or some other injury? Amazing to me.

Really....What is going on with today's parents?

Insecurity

I thought I would share a shortcoming of mine with you. I have always been insecure. I have always worried about making other people happy, doing the right thing and being liked.

I get nervous when I am meeting new people. That cracks up my friend Leslie because she says I am really out going and easy to talk too. I of course want people to like me and worry that I am not good enough. Things have changed over the years. I don't get as tramatized as I use too. I have been known to sit in my car and talk to God for a long time before going into a gathering though.

I know that He doesn't want me to live this way. I also know that He loves me and that supercedes everybody else's opinion. I don't want insecurity to define me anymore. I have been studying Who I Am In Christ for awhile now and INSECURE isn't on the list. If you suffer from insecurity, I totally know how you feel! Here is just one of the many scripture that tells us we are important to God. If you need more don't hesitate to ask. I have them.


How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
I can't even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me. - Psalm 139:17-18


Tell me that isn't awesome scripture....When I wake up you are still with me! Amen

Hope everybody has a blessed weekend!

Uneasy

My Father in Law, Mel, has been moved to a rehab hospital. I know this is a good thing. Him being moved there this quickly is actually a very good thing. He appears to be highly motivated to start his rehab therapy.

When Craig and I went to the center today, I got a really uneasy feeling. There wasn't anything visually out of place there. No patients that looked abused or stranger than normal smells. The place just bothers me.

By the way, not sure if I have ever mentioned that until the last 5 years or so Mel and I preferred to stay away from each other. He is kind of a womanizer and well I am kind of not. :) Just a little history. We have grown on each other the last couple years especially.

I wanted to load up his hospital bed and bring him home right then!! His doctor said that if he gets strong enough to move from the bed to the wheelchair easily that he can come home in 3 weeks instead of 6 weeks. I am praying and motivating him in that direction. I really just want him home.

I am having a really hard time finding my peace right now. I will say that it is amazing what the Lord can do to your heart when you aren't looking. I really do love the old guy. I also give all the glory to God that we didn't lose Mel last week.

I am Married to a Smuggler/ F-I-L Update

Thank you all that have been praying for my Father In Law's surgery and recovery. The procedure went well. He looks great already. It is amazing what prayer, food, nutrition and chopping off an infected part of your body can do for you. Mel is looking at 6 weeks of rehab and a prosthetic. There is a period of depression that the doctor warned him about that usually comes about 2 weeks into rehab. We are hoping that his strength will be good enough to come home in the next 3 weeks and continue with the remainder of his rehab as an outpatient. I will update you on any new developments. Thank you all again for your support.


I would like to introduce you all to my husband Craig the Smuggler! We were all at the hospital when Mel was brought to his room from recovery. We stayed awhile and then a group of us left. Craig stayed behind and talked to his dad for awhile. When Craig finally left to come home for a bit he asked his dad if he could bring him anything back. Mel wanted a milkshake. YES A MILKSHAKE!!!



Now I am pretty sure that that is not on the list of acceptable foods to eat when you have had half your leg cut off and you are diabetic. Well my wonderful husband wanting to make his father feel better brought him one of those pictured above. He smuggled it in the hospital and Mel started drinking it. They got busted by the nurse. The nurse though was wimpy and wouldn't take it away. She did have to call Jack in the box to find out how many carbs was in it to get him the right amount of insulin. The lady nurse then sent in the big man nurse and he was a little intimidating. Craig stood his ground and Mel told mannurse it was good and he would do it again. Ryan, Hope and I were laughing so hard we almost pee'd our pants.

Tomorrow we are expecting to see a DO NOT FEED THE PATIENTS sign.

If you are ever having any surgeries, let me know and I will send over the smuggler to bring you waxy choclate donuts, Starbucks, Lava Cake, etc.

Thongs--FLIP FLOPS

(UPDATED....I WAS TALKING SHOES NOT DENTAL FLOSS....LOL)


This morning I was packing a book bag and I threw in a pair of thongs.

Hope said "Mom why don't you just wear them to work?"

I said "They don't want us to wear thongs to work?"

Hope said "AAAHHHH Well that is dumb! I am never going to work!"

I love that child!

Special Day for Hope

One of my greatest blessings in my entire life is that girl that I am hugging. That is my daughter Hope. Today is her 13th Birthday! Meet my baby that is now officially a teenager!

She is my proof that God is a forgiving God. That he listens to our prayers. That he loves us no matter what we do. That he blesses even those that are undeserving. I fall on my knees everyday and thank the Lord for Hope. I know that she is a special soul that He entrusted to me....He actually entrusted Hope's sweet soul to me! Can you believe how blessed I am!!!!

Happy Birthday Peanut!!!

Give Yourself to Silence

I cut out an article from The Curves Magazine Summer 2005. It is an excerpt from Small Graces by Kent Nerburn, PHD

GIVE YOURSELF TO SILENCE

If you learn how to listen, you can hear the subtle passing of magical momments.

We all have to learn how to listen. Our spirits are harp strings, played upon by the winds and the light and the passing of the hours. We must learn to hear their music, and let them raise melodies in our hearts.

Is there a greater wisdom than this to learn? To sit in utter stillness; to give oneself over to the whisper of the trees, the play of the light upon the surface of the water, the movement of the wind against the grasses on the land?

The yogis would have us cease all movement and listen to our breath.

But is it not as worthy to sit in silence and listen to the breath of God?

The Answering Voice

We kneel to pray - we voice our desperate need
For quick release and comfort, then arise,
Not tarrying a moment there to heed
The answer to our eager clamoring cries:
The answer that will come, though soon or late,
If we would only listen, only wait.

God is not deaf to any earnest prayer.
He hears, he heeds, he answers every one
Who gives a burden over to his care,
And humbly yielded, prays, "Thy will be done."
God grant us patient grace to wait thy word
After our earnest sincere prayer is heard.

Oh, if men would listen as they seek,
Out of the silence God's clear voice would speak!
--Grace Noll Crowell

I know that I need to slow down and listen for God's voice to answer!


This poem is on a postcard that was sent to my grandmother.
It is postmarked August 13, 1953.

The Sun is Red

At the moment there are over 100 wildfires burning in every direction. Some are as close as 15 miles, 30 miles and others are 60 miles. The sky is smoke filled. Ash is falling and coating our cars and clogging our pool filters. Most of the fires aren't even slightly contained. Some of the fires in the more rugged areas like the Trinity Alps will probably burn until the start of fall. We have been blessed at they are mainly burning in vegetation areas instead of populated ones. We have lost very few buildings but if they don't get a couple of them contained there will be more lost. The sun is red.

It is all really eerie. Makes me really happy that I am God's Child because I am sure this is mild compared to Hell.

Prayers Please

This last weekend a mother was driving with her 12 year old daughter in the car. She over-corrected when she hit a soft shoulder and rolled her car. Her daughter Cassidy was killed. This poor mother is having a hard time. She lived her life for Cassidy. Please keep her in your prayers all of us around her are praying hard for her.

A Tater Story

A Girl Potato and Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married, and had a little sweet potato, which they named 'Yam.'

Of course, they wanted the best for Yam. When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed, and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato,' and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots.

Yam said not to worry No Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her! But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins.

When she went off to Europe, Mr. and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland. And the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. When she went out west, to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped.

Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds, or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.'

Mr. and Mrs. Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University) so that when she graduated she'd really be in the Chips.

But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry Tom Brokaw.

Tom Brokaw!

Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset.

They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just......

Are you ready for this?



A COMMONTATER

That was for my daughter Hope. She said that I wouldn't post it. :) It is kind of cute! Come on your gotta laugh. LOL

He is Preparing a Place

Most of you that read my blog read Cindy Beall’s. I was led to Cindy through a post about her on Flowerdust. I would read her posts and then read the comments left and then I would click on their names and read their blogs. That continued until I have compiled quite a list that goes from the East Coast to the West Coast and even a few in Canada, HI HOPE and VIKKI!!!!! One of the commenter that I found on Cindy’s blog is Sarah Markley. I have really just been lurking for a while but this last week I started to make my presence known to her a little. Cindy, you better warn her about me. I am a cling on. Actually that isn’t totally true. I only Stalk one person at a time. LOL

Lately I have had a craving. Not a food craving, but a craving to be somewhere other than where I am. Maybe craving isn’t the right word for it. I have been experiencing homesickness. I have been missing the ocean something awful. Sarah and her beautiful family have spent this last week in my hometown region. Sarah took some beautiful pictures that are so amazing that when I look at them I can literally smell the beach.

In John 14 Jesus says that his Father’s house has many rooms and that he is going to prepare a place for us. What do you imagine your room to be like? Do you think that your views will be similar to the places you loved here on earth? Is heaven so beautiful that our memories of the beauty here will pale in comparison?

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. - John 14:1-33

10 Percent or NMFAPIMWLC

Today was my day to weigh-in at Weight Watchers. I have been following their Flex Plan. I feel that I have been pretty successful considering I have never dieted before in my life.

So at the weigh-in today I found out that I have accomplished 3 goals.

1. I have lost over 20 pounds in a little less than 2 months.

2. I weigh less than 200 pounds for the first time in over 4 years.

3. I got to receive this beautiful copper key ring that represents a weight loss of 10% of my starting weight. Copper isn't normally my color but I will use it with pride.

Miss Robin I want to thank you for being my Oklahoma accountability partner and cheering squad. I love you Lady. Someone please go hug Robin for me. :)

Actually I want to thank you all for your encouragement and support. I hear your cheers and welcome them.

5 Things....

5 Things in my life that are BLESSINGS......

1. My Husband
2. My Children
3. My Church
4. My Job
5. My Home

The ONE thing responsible for me having so much. My Heavenly Father.

Sometimes I just need to see it in writing. Have a blessed Day!

Solitude

I am not sure how it happened but I acheived 4 hours of solitude Saturday evening. I felt like the little guy on the top of the mountain. Of course the only way I would ever get up there would be by helicopter. The amazing thing about this time alone was that it hasn't been very long since the last time I was alone. I never get it twice in a year, this has been twice in 6 months. I am so blessed!

The guys left for a basketball tournament at 10. Hope and I went shopping. we had to get her the perfect pool party invitations which of course had to include a new bathing suit. Then at 4 her friend came and got her. They went to the fair. My father in law was still here but he is an adult with a drivers license and at the moment is capable of taking care of himself. I literally came into my room and sat on my bed slightly shell shocked. Sometimes it is hard to get use to the silence.

For the last few weeks I have been attending our Saturday Night service at church so I went to that. The rest of the time I did absolutely nothing except sit in silence and read my bibles. It was wonderful. I love it when I can have a couple translations and can compare verses.

It was such a great evening I almost feel guilty for not feeling guilty. Hope spent the night with her friend. I was pretty much in bed at 10:30 when the guys got home.

So I guess you can say I was Seeking Peace and Pursuing It.

And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Reverence

I pretty much love the whole Bible. Tonight I was reading in Philippians. This just really spoke to me.

Work Hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. Philippians 2:12-13

The word Reverence is in the Bible lots. It is in the Old and New Testament. I have looked up the dictionary meaning but I think that there is more to it than that. One of the things that I see a lot of churches doing these days is forgetting to teach that we are suppose to have reverence towards the Lord. It seems that God has turned into the ever loving Father that would never treat us like misbehaving children. Reverence and Fear.

Do you remember early in the Bible when the Israelites were actually scared of God? Sure they grumbled and mumbled but they also feared him. Do you remember when they made Him mad he sent his wrath on them a few times. Illness, Snakes and then he pledged that none of them would ever get to go into the land of milk and honey.

Isn't this the stuff that Reverence is made out of?

What does Reverence mean to you?

Am I missing a point and getting confused?

Devastating News-Jokingly Sorry Deleise!

Tonight Craig and I found out some devastating news. It was quite troubling when it was brought to our attention. I am almost scared to admit it. I hope that it won't change any of your opinions of me. Poor Craig doesn't stand a chance since most of you don't know him.

OK Here goes.....

My 12 year old daughter informed us tonight that we are NOT HIP or COOL!

I know hard to believe. I am still stunned by this. I have always believed myself to be at least a little cool. So here is the reason that this title was bestowed on us.

Hope turns 13 on July 2 and she would like to have a pool party. She wants to invite about 8 girls. I really don't have a problem with that. Then she informed us that she wanted to invite a BOY. Now this isn't a boy that we have known forever and is like a brother to her. This is a boy that all of a sudden at the of the school year I started hearing his name. I don't know him or his parents but most of all...MY DAUGHTER IS 12 AND NOT GOING TO DATE!!!!

So are Craig and I being to UN-HIP? Please I could honestly use your advice.