My Valentines

This little Valentine woke to a fabulous surprise - a giant box of chocolates and sweet card from Davey - and declared it to be "the biggest box of candy I've ever seen!"

This little Valentine developed a yucky cough overnight and is headed to the vet later today to make sure it's just a cold and not kennel cough. He's having to miss the big party at daycare but I took his cards in on my way to work since he worked so hard getting those tiny pawprint stickers on each one...

This little Valentine sent me flowers and I only know that because a fraudulent check cleared our account this morning and they notified me of the florist charge while I was discussing the fraud...

And the girls are sporting new V-day bandanas that have yet to be photographed. Praying you all have a blessed day and that you feel very loved. :-)

Attitude of Gratitude

Several weeks ago I began reading Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts as part of The Bloom Book Club. Honestly, I kept seeing information about this book EVERYWHERE and I had no desire to read it. In fact, after reading the description on Amazon, I desperately wanted NOT to read this book.

Which is why I knew it was needed.

All I can say is WOW, y'all. It's absolutely amazing and has changed my outlook on everyday life a great deal. I won't give away the premise in case you haven't read it but, basically, it's about recognizing beauty and His gifts to us every day of our lives.

Quite frankly, He has blessed me with so much that I absolutely do not deserve and - all too often - take for granted. Like the things I experience on mundane days aren't worth noting, which isn't true at all.

For instance, do I take the time to be thankful for a healthy child, a striking sunset, the ability to send my child to a dance class, having a job, freedom of religion, a roof over my head, the opportunity to cook dinner for my family?

Because, y'all, there are so many who don't have those things in their lives.

I complain about how much our vet bill is but, truthfully, I should just be thankful we're able to take care of these sweet animals. My busy life overwhelms me sometimes and my child may work my last nerve but I have a friend who died from breast cancer a few months ago who would have given ANYTHING to stay on this planet and have her children aggravate the snot out of her.

So I've been wrestling this through for the last few weeks and I can promise you this book - and His words through it - helped to prepare me for yesterday. As I sat in a surgeon's office with my man (who had surgery only 11 short months ago that was supposed to fix the cartilage problems plaguing him), the last thing in the world I was expecting to hear were these three words: total knee replacement.

That's what he ultimately needs as it doesn't seem that his cartilage has regenerated itself.

The problem is that he's not old enough to have the replacement as one can only have two at most in a lifetime and there's no promise as to how long each artificial joint would last. Besides, he's very active and is on his feet all day at work so odds are the joint wouldn't last him as long as older patients.

As he went for a MRI of both knees (pain in the other now from overcompensating) last night and I soothed my nerves with a Red Velvet Cheesecake Blast from Sonic (highly recommend, friends), I realized that we hadn't even come close to having a panic attack about this news.

Not even close.

Which is growth on both sides that only He can provide. We found ourselves being thankful there are injections that can get him from here to surgery with much less pain (synthetic cartilage, if you will), rejoiced that he could get into MRI the same day (which is almost unheard of) and were elated to learn he could follow up with his surgeon next Thursday. Personally I was AMAZINGLY grateful that Taylor's arm is not broken and in need of substantial rehab while we're navigating these issues again because that's the boat we were in last year.

I even found myself thanking God that we had the funds to pay all of these co-pays (instead of the rising costs of health care) and trusting that He will provide no matter what comes our way.

So, no, my life is not perfect. Some days it's so far from it that I cannot see straight. But the fact of the matter is He has provided and will continue to do so regardless of what comes our way for the man's knee ailments. Or anything else for that matter.

So I choose joy. Gratitude. Happiness.


Eucharisteo.

Because it always precedes the miracle.

The Great Blizzard of 2011

As I previously indicated, we enjoyed a nice blizzard of 2-3 inches of snow on Friday. Honestly, I didn't have a lot of hope that the forecast of said wintery mix would actually materialize because I knew we would all be off together and that just usually doesn't happen. This time, though, we were absolutely blessed to have a fun and lazy day together!

Dave got up before I did to take the pups out and he captured Rambo's first snow experience. He looks all calm, cool and collected here but I can assure you that did not last very long. I told my mom that the snow was apparently like crack to a puppy because he went absolutely nuts and he remained absolutely nuts throughout the entire day. In fact, this is one of the few pictures actually good enough to share because he was running so fast that most of them are just a blur. And that's using the new camera so you know he was moving. :-)

She was ecstatic!

This is looking out our front door. Usually when we get snow in Texas it hasn't been cold enough beforehand that the snow and ice actually stick to the road surfaces. Clearly that was not a problem this time around as there is usually a road just on the other side of our mailbox.

He. Could. Not. Get. Enough.

Looking down our driveway from the garage. Have I mentioned that we live on the side of a hill? Yeah, we weren't going ANYWHERE.

Looking down our very steep hill, which is camouflaged a bit by the snow. It's a very sharp incline but, for some reason, people were still trying to drive UP the hill. They promptly slid back down. My husband actually photographed this process but I won't share those pics. Got to protect the identities of those who have a lapse in judgment, right?

Love. Her.

She sat down to make a snow angel and promptly regretted that decision. This picture absolutely cracks me up, y'all!

Let's try again...

Almost there...

Finally - full on angel!

This crazy boy kept sticking his face in the snow, which created an adorable "snow 'stache," which is basically a pencil thin mustache made out of snow. He wouldn't slow down enough for me to capture it, though, which REALLY bummed me out!

After a really long nap, Tay went back outside to play for a while and gathered some snow off the top of the pile for snow ice cream. It was soooooo good and really easy. Of course, most things are great when you top them with chocolate and/or caramel syrup, right? :-)

We finally got out of the house about 5 o'clock in search of some Mexican food. We thought the roads were absolutely terrible given what our yard and hill looked like but once we slid down our street, all of the streets were clear. A little damp but nothing frozen at all.

Our little hill was frozen over again on Saturday and we weren't able to get out until about noon. Sometimes God just makes us slow down, doesn't He? Last weekend was definitely one of those times for us and, while we did do some grocery shopping and cleaning, we mainly just rested and enjoyed our time together.

It was fantastic!

Unfortunately, though, we're apparently expecting an ice storm sometime very early tomorrow morning so it's possible that we'll be stuck again soon. I'm not excited about that AT ALL but, hey, we'll roll with the punches. :-)

Let's Hear It For The Boys!

As I'm sure most already know, we had a veritable blizzard here last Friday in Central Texas. Yep - we got approximately 2-3 inches of fluffy, white, dry snow. It was fantastic. Both Tay's school and Baylor were closed and, as luck would have it, Davey was off (and not on call) so we had a fantastic lazy day of playing, naps and snow ice cream. You can bet that Carl was crazy busy during this time capturing the moments and you will most definitely get the obligatory Texas snow pictures but first...

LET'S HEAR IT FOR THE BOYS!!!

The Baylor Bears, that is...

If you follow men's basketball, you may know that a number of people had some rather lofty (and perhaps unrealistic) expectations of our team this year. You see, they went to the Elite Eight last year and were one lousy charge call from heading to the Final Four (yep - still bitter) BUT several of our players graduated or went in the draft so this year's squad has been working hard to put the pieces together in time for a NCAA run.

These photos are actually from the Colorado game Tay and I attended weekend before last. They were, unfortunately (and almost inexplicably) down by 14 at the half BUT our guys did not give up. Nope, not even a little bit.

They fought their way back into the game while the cheerleaders bounced around...

...and the Lady Bears (who are #1 in the country, in case you missed it) cheered from the sidelines...

...and our guys...

...took the lead...

...with two minutes left to play...

...and ended up winning!!!

And, as you may have also heard, they went down to Reed Arena on Saturday and beat the Aggies. You might say they WHOOPED 'em. You know, if you were into that kind of thing.

We could not be more proud of these guys and you can bet we'll be cheering them on throughout the remainder of the season. However long that may be. But, in the end, what matters is that these are outstanding young men with hearts for God. Their coaches have hearts for Him as well and they are intent on instilling that in the players.

Their goal is that they develop not only athletically and academically but also spiritually. In the end, that's what really matters, right? So, as for me and my house, we will support the Bears come whatever may (or may not) because we believe.

And, long after football season, we're still intent on RISING UP!

Sic 'em, Bears!

Get in the Groove, Y'all!

Last Friday evening we enjoyed a special treat as we got to see the Harlem Globetrotters perform at Baylor. Davey had to attend a computer class at work but Nana and Boppy were able to join us for the fun!

After a quick dinner at Logan's Roadhouse, we headed to the Ferrell Center with Carl in tow (was there any doubt, friends?) and took our seats. We were blessed to be able to sit on Row C, which delighted my daughter to no end because she's used to sitting on Rows 30-34 for the basketball games. What can I say? Swiping my ID and getting complimentary tickets is just easier than buying season tickets when we can only attend 1/3 of the games anyway...

But back to our story - now I hadn't attended a Globetrotters game since I was in elementary or junior high school so I was super excited. Tay went with my parents when they were in Waco three years ago but she LOVED it the first time around so we were all on the edge of our seats...

And then it was time for the legendary circle warm-ups...

Several members of the #1 Lady Bears basketball team were in attendance as well, including 

Brittney Griner!

Special K (foreground of the pic) served as our emcee for the evening and he was awesome. So funny, y'all. And family appropriate, which is always a plus, right?

Flight Time was also really cool and he did lots of tricks with the little ones...

Because we usually sit so high up, we had no idea there was a "BU" under the new video board. Guess you learn something new every day, huh?

The coach of the Washington General donned a burnt orange suit for the occasion. My personal opinion is that you deserve what you get if you're willing to talk trash and wear orange at my school. But, you know, that's just the Bear talking...

It was difficult to root against a team wearing green and gold. Just didn't feel right. I got over it quickly but still...

Taylor was in a delightful 'tween mood and posed for numerous pictures. Obviously.

After the game we ran a marathon getting her basketball signed by a number of players. This is about the time I lamented my decision to wear 4-inch heels for the occasion. I mean, really, I was going to feel short around basketball players no matter what so why endure the pain?

Anyway, this is Bones...a magnificent dunker...

...Airport signed right about here but, y'all, the pics I got were a bit unflattering and who wants to chance angering a man who can dunk you through a hoop? Not this girl! Therefore, no picture.

...and this would be Ant, the point guard and shortest member of the squad...

...and my personal favorite - Sling Shot! Why, you ask? Because he thought I was cute. And said so. That's when I realized it was possible to live your dream of being a professional basketball player while suffering from blindness. Again, who knew?

And Globie, the mascot!

We attempted to get autographs from Special K and Flight Time but, y'all, the lines! We raced back down the steps - still in stilettos, mind you - in time for Squirrel and Bingo to signed both Tay's ball and the sleeves of her Baylor hoodie. She truly thinks she has arrived at this point, my friends.

We wrapped up with the coach and, unfortunately, I can't remember his name off the top of my head. Boppy insisted that we get this one, though, because he was apparently "a big time 'Trotter back in the day." And if that doesn't provide you with enough description, well, I don't know what would...

Happy weekend, friends! Davey is off with us this week and we don't have anything planned except for eating lots of appetizers that are very bad for you on Sunday. I also hope to enjoy the game because, honestly, I don't remember much about last year because my blood pressure was in the DANGER zone. 

I do remember the Saints won, though.

Who dat!

Oh, yes, I most certainly did say it... :-)

The Life No One Else Would Want

Hello from frigidly cold Waco, Texas!

Yes, you read that right. My daughter tells me it's colder here than Alaska. Not sure what to say about that, friends. My husband, however, has plenty to say but I'll spare you that dialogue at this point. It can be summed up as, "I live in Texas for a reason. So I don't freeze to death." But with more passion and color!

Anyway, I've been thinking (dangerous territory, I know) a lot lately about my life. And how much I enjoy it. Seriously, y'all, it's so much fun. I have an awesome husband, daughter, family, friends, church family, co-workers and job. Not to mention the Puppy Posse.

And I know just how blessed I am because I've, unfortunately, lived through varying stages (due mostly to my own behavior and choices) of each. The good. The bad. The ugly. And the super terrifying. 

Here's another thing about my life - it's really busy, exhausting, sometimes has a tinge of drama and is almost always amusing. At least to me anyway.

Quite frankly, that suits me to a "T" and, y'all, I would probably be bored to tears if it weren't exactly this way.

But yet I often find myself complaining.

Why?!?!

It's not like I don't have enough. Eons than I deserve. More than I really need in most areas of life. 

But I am also one who God has had to reform on the materialistic side. By that I mean that my life used to be about nothing other than having the biggest house, best clothes, biggest car, etc.

And you know where that got me?

Almost divorced and close to being completely alone, just to name a couple off the top of my head.

That's not who I want to be and, thanks be to God, it's honestly not who I am in my heart anymore. But I'm human and that means I'm not perfect. Unless I fully let Him guide my life, I tend to fall back into Satan's trap and believe what he's saying which is, "You're not good enough. You don't have enough. And you never will. But if you keep wearing yourself out with this stuff, maybe you'll get ahead one day."

In that type of plan, what am I actually collecting along the way? 

Junk, for the most part. None of which furthers the Kingdom of God or adds to the joy only He can provide.

And if I continue to wear myself out with things of the world, will I ever the energy to further His work?

Absolutely not!

So, after wrestling with all of that - and much more, to be frank, but I'm attempting to NOT write the longest post in the history of the free world - here's what I believe:

My life is probably one no one else would want. Nope. Not anyone.

Why?

Because this is the life He has ordained for me. It suits me to a "T" because that's the way God has it planned. And all of those people who I used to try to measure myself up against have lives I don't want either. They have their own. Their own blessings, their own problems, their own issues and their own praises.

I know that each of us is "fearfully and wonderfully made." He knows the number of hairs on my head (and the volume of said hair on any given day). What makes my soul rejoice. 

He has a plan for ME. And he has a plan for YOU. They're not the same and they're not supposed to be. Not even close.

So I choose to be thankful for what He has given me. In exactly the way it was ordained. Nothing more. Nothing less. Because it speaks to just how unique we each are in His eyes. And to the personal relationship He enters into with His children.

Really, could there be any greater gift?

And it is impossible to please God without faith! Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)

Lady Bears

The last weekend Dave had off, we took him to his inaugural Baylor basketball game to watch the Lady Bears beat the Lady Raiders. It was Carl's (our new camera) first time out in public and Davey had a ball shooting photographs until tip off. Flashes are frowned upon in venue and we didn't want to get kicked out. It was WAY too exciting of a game for that to happen. :-)

Of course, there's always the "Coach Kim Show" available for viewing on the sideline. L-O-V-E her!

Of course, there's also the "Brittney Griner Show" to behold which, if you've not seen the girl play, is AMAZING!

And don't forget the glue - Melissa Joooooones!!!

Now, y'all, I am not a fan of Texas Tech. Not even a little bit. BUT I must say that I enjoyed #4's use of color coordination between her uniform and hair.

Now that's a video screen, friends...and just in time for the NCAA women's tourney to hold rounds one and two in Waco next month...

Paying homage to the tremendous success of Lady Bear basketball...

Warmups...

And we're off...and so is the flash...

It was an interesting game and one that was heightened with emotion due to what happened last time these two teams met. In the end, the best team definitely won though it was by a much closer margin than I would have preferred! But, hey, a "W" is a "W."

After the game, we headed down onto the court and ran into some familiar faces. We, of course, whipped Carl out to capture the moments...

Perry Jones III (PJ3) and Quincy Acy

And my girl's most favorite moment of 2011 and my guess is it will still be one of her favorite moments at the end of this year as well.

She finally got her picture taken with Robert Griffin III (RG3) and she could not be happier about it, friends. :-)

Sic 'em, Bears!