Tens....

It's been seven years and 3 days since I got married. In just one month and six days it will be 12 years since our first "date." In ten days it will be 8 years since he asked me to marry him. In honor of that, here are some tens :

Ten things I love :
1. My God
2. My kids
3. My husband
4. My Memaw
5. My mom
6. My friends
7. My animals
8. My career
9. Snow
10. Snuggling in front of the fire

Ten Places I Want To Visit :
1. Italy
2. Peru
3. India
4. England
5. Ireland
6. Spain
7. Holy Land
8. Japan
9. Australia
10. Egypt

Ten Jobs I'd Love To Try
1. Shark Expert
2. Sea World Trainer
3. Bobsledder
4. Professional Skiier
5. Hair designer to the stars
6. Couture Fashion Designer
7. Big Cat Trainer
8. Survivalist (is that the right word?)
9. Nature Documentarian
10. Olympic Athlete

Ten Jobs I Wouldn't Ever Want To Try :
1. Big Cat Pooper Scooper
2. Alligator Trainer
3. Cockroach Wrangler
4. The Deadliest Catch Guys (you'd never catch me out on that boat!)
5. Beefeater
6. Cupbearer
7. Executioner
8. Pig Wrassler
9. Construction Worker
10. Sewage Worker

Ten Songs I Love :
1. "Vincent" by Don McLean
2. "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman
3. "I Am" by Mark Schultz
4. "Amazin" by Aerosmith
5. "That's My Job" by Conway Twitty
6. "Grandpa" by The Judds
7. "Bubbly" by Colbie Callait
8. "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley (though I must admit I loved Jason Castro's version on AI...)
9. "Thriller" by Michael Jackson
10. "Rocketman" by Elton John

Ten Things (completely materialistic) I Can't "Live Without:"
1. Spaghetti
2. Cute sunglasses
3. Great smelling bodywash
4. Lotions
5. Mexican food
6. My new Tom Tom
7. My dreams
8. Shopping
9. School Spirit (I'm so glad Daniel's going to SCS and I love TCU!!)
10. Awesome shoes

Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To This Year :
1. RN license/Nursing Degree
2. Daniel starting REAL school
3. Zoe starting school
4. Christmas!
5. Turning 29
6. Matt & Karen's wedding (what can I say I'm a sucker for weddings and happy peeps!)
7. Meeting Joel and Stephie's new baby boy
8. Meeting Amanda & James' new baby boy
9. Disneyworld at New Years
10. Couple's Getaway at Gaylord Texan

Ten Things I'm NOT Looking Forward To This Year :
1. Daniel starting REAL school
2. TESTS
3. Zoe turning 3 (though I'm loving how awesome she is.....but it's sad that my baby will be 3!)
4. The UNKNOWN
5. I can't think of anything else, I'm so filled with hope for the rest of this year!!

Ten Things I've Realized Lately :
1. God's timing is perfect....but our patience is not
2. I have the three most important things I ever wished for/wanted in my life : A Strong Faith, A son and younger daughter, and a loving husband who loves God more than he loves me.
3. When I look at those three things, I realize that there is nothing in this world that matter as much as that, and I thank God daily for fulfilling those dreams
4. Patience is a virtue, and I'm still not all that virtuous!
5. I love working out with my husband
6. I really hate driving....and don't knkow why I was so excited to do it when I turned 16
7. Just because i'm a careful and cautious driver doesn't mean everyone else is....
8. Letting Go and Letting God is harder than it sounds
9. Some people go on reality competition shows just to get their faces on TV and I think the producers shouldn't waste America's time fulfilling those wishes
10. I probably watch too much tv....

Ten Things On My To Do List :
1. Laundry
2. Clean bathrooms
3. Sweep and mop
4. Vacuum
5. Bathe the cat
6. Take a bath
7. Mow the lawn
8. Go to grocery store
9. Dust
10. Clean out the fridge

Well that was fun. I like writing stuff!! Hope y'all are having great days!!

5.26.08

Seven years?? How is that possible?? It literally seems like only a few years (guess I have to say at least 4 though it doesn't feel even THAT long but since Daniel's four......). I'm so thankful that you chose ME all those years ago. I'm glad God saw fit to bring the two of us together. It's been a wild and bumpy ride. We've had our ups, we've had more than what I would consider to be our fair share of downs, and through it all...here we are. I've watched you grow into a strong, caring, selfless Daddy. I've watched the gentleness with which you've handled a preemie newborn, and I've seen the careful "rough housing" you do with our rambunctious 4 year old. Your heart is huge, and God has a plan for us and for you. God. I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to know that He is fully in the driver's seat of our marriage. To know that even if we stumble, it's OK because He's there....guiding us, protecting us, and keeping us safe every step of the way.




I want to say thank you. Thank you for being there for me during the roughest time of my entire life, and for persevering. Thank you for holding my hand, and for understanding when I became a mother for the first time, and for persevering through that. Thank you for being such an amazing Daddy to Daniel and Zoe. Thank you for remembering ME, too! I'm sorry for all the times I've let you down in the past, and for all the times I'm sure will come in the future though I promise to try never to let you down.



We've both changed....a LOT......in seven years, but the one thing that remains constant throughout all of that change is our love for each other. Yes, it grows and changes, but it's always there and it's always recognizable as a pure gift from God.


I love you. And I thank GOD every day that you're the man who chose to marry me....all those years ago.

Wow, Can I Just Say................SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (TV Spoilers So Beware!!!!)

3 disappointments in television (yes, I know that I'm lame that I watch THIS MUCH TV but hey it's great distraction!!) :

1. "Moonlight" was cancelled by CBS....HOW STUPID CAN YOU GET!!!! There is NOTHING on tv on Friday nights and they cancel the one show that actually had my DVR going that night? Stupid, CBS, just stupid....now i just hope USA or CW pick it up......

2. The season finale of "Bones......" This is my number one favorite show right now, and they had me crying tonight!!! COME ON PEOPLE....................Not that he's my favorite character or anything, but ZACK?!?!?!?!?!?! Puh-leeeez couldn't it have at least been Sweets??? Seriously. And WTH was up with the tear jerking Boothe's funeral?!?!?! Way to get me going, Fox, thanks alot!

3. "Desperate Housewives" season finale.....fast forward five years.....what the HELL was that all about??? Is next season really going to jump five years forward??!?! That's a little like um, gee, I dunno.....jumping over a great white?

Some Bummers on TV :

1. "Grey's Anatomy...." Good on ya Addison for calling Meredith out "so help me, Meredith, if you let him ride off with that doe-eyed thing....." YESSSSSSSS so even the writers can't stand sappy, syrupy Rose. Boo. 2 Hours of traumatic and dramatic season finale.....and I have to wait until Thursday?!?!?! YEESH.

2. The season finale of "House..........." Number 3 fav show on TV......and again, I say WTH??? First, we have to watch the gut wrenching epic saga of House/Wilson/Amber, which ends in the most tragic of all ways, then we have to see 13 find out that she's positive for Huntington's? (Sorry if you watch these shows but haven't yet....I warned ya!) What a depressing finale....and then to find out that Wilson probably hates House, and blames him for everything, but THANK YOU writers, for showing us a truly human side of House......with the tears, the "I don't want to leave because there's no pain here," and his genuine concern (albeit in his head) that he hurt Wilson. Yay for humanity!

3. "The Bachelorette" though I'm looking forward to it (what is better to watch than 25 desperate women???? 25 desperate men!!!!) I'm sorry to say that my fav from the beginning might not make it to the finals....but we'll see (look out ladies, I'm predicting Jason the Daddy as the winner, though most likely he won't because I'm never right about those things....)

I love to watch TV. I love to escape reality into shows, and some of these shows I've been watching for awhile and I simply enjoy watching them.

My top 6 shows right now :

1. Bones
2. Grey's Anatomy
3. House
4. CSI/Tudors (sorry y'all it's a tie)
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Moonlight (which will be replaced on this list by Ugly Betty if someone doesn't pick up the show since it got cancelled)

Shows I miss on TV :

1. Surface
2. Invasion
3. October Road (got attached last season, now I'll miss it in the fall)
4. The Practice
5. The Cosby Show
6. Beverly Hills 90210

Newly discovered gems of TV :

1. Man Vs Wild
2. Raw Nature

Secret TV shows I like :

1. American Idol/SYTYCD/America's Next Great Band (or whatever it was called)/any reality show where "superstardom" is "on the line"
2. Bachelor/Bachelorette/Rock of Love/Reality dating shows where each night promises to be "the most dramatic in history" :)
3. Transformers Animated (I get more enjoyment out of watching these every Saturday with Daniel than he'll ever know)
4. Family Guy....sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes this show gets it right and I can't stop laughing.....other times, not so much
5. Those old made-for-TV movies that were on when I was a tween and into my teenage years (they're usually only shown one of three places : Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, or Hallmark Channel)

So there you go.....I love TV!

*edited with apologies to ABC for lambasting the wrong network for cancelling "Moonlight"

Mother's Day BBQ

Zoe in her "pretty-ful" blue dress
Dancing with her buddy
She decided which shoes to wear....can you tell?! :)
Daniel and Lucy....awwwwww how cute!!

Dreams, Hopes, Aspirations.....

I am watching "American Idol" right now. And the theme of Syesha's little video seems to be "dreams," which got me thinking about my dreams. My dreams have always been fairly simple. I think. But here are my current dreams/hopes/aspirations....tell me if they're "simple" or not!

1. Do a Triathlon
2. Save Lives
3. Be Happy, every single day
4. Give my children everything
5. Be on "American Gladiators"
6. Own an M6
7. Take a summer long tour of Europe
8. I hope to one day visit the Holy Land
9. Adopt a child
10. Know love every single day
11. Help my children achieve their dreams

I LOVE YOU.......

.....husband
.....kids
.....family
.....friends
.....gym
.....job
.....training
.....baseball
.....goals
.....dreams
.....inspiration
.....love

I'm starting training for a triathlon....I'll blog about this more later, but suffice it to say :

I'M GOING TO BE TIRED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mommy's Day

Today is the 100th Anniversary of Mother's Day. We celebrated by having a cook out here at our house. It was fun, my mom made very tasty pork chops. I love my children, my husband, my mom, my Memaw, my friends. It's truly a reminder to be Blessed and Thankful this time of year.

Please, please, PLEASE send up special prayers on behalf of Michael.....please pray that all goes his way in the coming weeks. Thank you!!

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms reading this post!!!

Have You Been Paying Attention?

Well you should have. The future of our Country, nay our nation is on the line. This Democratic Primary race has been an astonishing one. It's had major highs, major lows, and it's hit every note in between.There is no doubt in my mind that it is time for REAL CHANGE. Not empty promises. Not half-baked ideas. Not politics as usual. CHANGE we can COUNT ON.

Hillary Clinton, loved her husband....cannot STAND her. Never actually thought I'd say this, but she is SO WRONG for this country. Those of us who might actually have thought it would be like giving Bill another run....well, not so much, no. The mud slinging, the tearing down of her fellow PARTY members?!?! WTH Hillary? Seriously. COME ON why are you doing the other party's job FOR THEM???? UGH....step down and stop the madness please.

John McCain???? Are they FOR REAL?!?!?!?! Over 25% of Republicans voting in the on-going primaries are voting for anyone and everyone BUT John McCain. I liked this guy....back like oh I don't know 8 years ago? Seriously. Elect him and it's Bush Term Numero Tres. No thank you. It's time to say good bye to the politics as usual. Time to say good bye to greedy war mongerers who would have us continually send our young men and women to DIE in vain for some trumped up idea of "Freedom." (Sorry folks, but FREEDOM is kind of like that old saying about horses and water....you can't rub someones nose in your own idea of what "freedom" is...one man's "FREEDOM" is another man's "OPPRESSION.") Tax breaks for the wealthiest. Gas prices topping $4 a gallon (and potentially DOUBLE that in the next 2 years!??!)....it's time to stop lining the pockets of double speakers like the president and his veep. (Both of whom are PROFITING from these gas prices that are killing us little guys.)

It's time to get behind Barack Obama. It's time to stop the pandering. Stop the lobbying for useless causes. Let's get behind this man who genuinely seems to believe that he can deliver the things he promises. I'm supporting him because I KNOW in my heart of hearts that he's the right guy for the job. No, not just "guy," PERSON. End of story. It's not that I don't think America's "ready" for a female President....but she's the not the right choice to lead this country. Barack IS. He's the real deal. Genuine, sincere, and RIGHT.

Democrats, Republicans, Moderates, Conservatives, Liberals, WHOEVER you are....it's time to get on the Change Train and get behind Obama. He's the one with the potential to get us back on track. Alternate energy sources, reduction in taxes (for those of us who'd actually appreciate them), health care for EVERYONE.....seriously. Come on people. Open your eyes.

Democrats ---- STOP THE DERISION. Why can't we unite behind ONE candidate?? Why does it have to be all about bad mouthing Obama? I don't know many Obama supporters who waste their time spreading gossip about Hillary. The high road. I like that road, it's got a great view. All Hillary is doing is furthering herself as a petty, malicious woman. It's time to get our candidate and get behind him. It's time for America to be able to know WHO to vote for!

In the words of a great song, "Let's get together yeah yeah yeah...."

Favorite Things....

A lot of the blogs I read do "Friday Favorites," or "Thursday Things" or some day dedicated to their favorites. I decided to do it randomly today.

1. Working out with Michael. I love it because it forces me into the gym, and the kids have fun in the kids club area!
2. Trinity Trails. It's amazing. So cool that we have that place right in our backyard. (NOT cool = 2 hours on the Trinity Trails running/jogging/walking WITHOUT sunscreen)
3. Littman Stethoscopes. I don't care what anyone says I can hear better with my Littman than I can with anything else (except maybe that acoustically assisted one from Holland that costs like a bazillion dollars or something)
4. QT. Not only do they usually have the least expensive gas, but their drink selection is awesome -- they have COKE ZERO CHERRY on tap!! And I love their "Mighty Mocha with EXTRA caffeine" on their coffee bar.
5. G2 gatorade. Tastes good, a LOT less calories than regular gatorade. Really awesome.
6. My favorite shows on TV : Bones, Grey's Anatomy, CSI, House, Desperate Housewives, Moonlight, Ugly Betty, Women's Murder Club (I'm a James Patterson fan).
7. I have a new fascination : Bear Grylls. "Man Vs Wild." Check it out...this guy is NUTS-O! But really kind of makes me want to do what he does, minus the whole eating grubs thing....
8. Peru. I want to go to Peru.
9. India and Tibet. I WILL go to these countries....
10. Proactiv ..... It works. This stuff is the only thing in years that has helped clear up my complexion (I NEVER had acne until my hormones got all whacked out from getting pregnant the first time)
11. The fact that my husband and I are doing a diet/exercise regimen together....this will keep us both on track and accountable. Niiiiice.

Sometimes It's A Quiet Whisper....

...And sometimes it's a shout. Without going into any identifiable detail (I don't want to violate any HIPAA rules), I want to tell you about an incredible experience I had yesterday. If you read my blog recently you're familiar with my feelings of inadequacy, turmoil, and self-pity. I found out yesterday that while I've been trying to do as the title of my blog says and Praise Him throughout the storm and maintain a positive outlook (and sometimes failing miserably), there is a very strong young man who is doing that very thing. And he's doing it with all the Grace of God. I met a young man (just a bit older than me) yesterday who suffers from an irreversible neurological disorder. Where most people would curse God, have pity parties, and even deny God's very existence, this young man has found that God is very real. He actually said, "I can't say this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me, in fact I might say it's the best thing that ever happened to me." He lives with his wife, step child, and gorgeous 2.5 year old son (whom I had the intense pleasure of meeting yesterday). Where many people would see a "disability" he sees an opportunity. An opportunity to spend days with his children. An opportunity to share God's love with people like me. An opportunity to find God around every corner. He doesn't wallow in self-pity, he doesn't blame God, he simply accepts and triumphs.

I realized something yesterday as I left his house. Self-pity is perhaps one of satan's greatest tools. After all, when we feel sorry for ourselves, it's very easy for Christians to turn and pump their fist at God in an angry manner and shout, "how DARE you allow this to happen to ME!" And we ask, "what have I done to deserve this?" And we even sometimes have the audacity to question God's love for us. We become petulant children, pouting in the time out corner of life, and feeling sorry for ourselves for that unfair parent scolding us. We feel somehow as though Grace is our right, our birthright, if you will. But Grace is a gift. Most parents I know don't give presents or gifts to their ungrateful and pouty misbehaving children, but God does. I would never dream of rewarding one of Daniel or Zoe's temper tantrums with an awesome new present. But God does. Every day, in small ways, He rewards His children for their perseverance. Even when we don't "deserve" it. Life isn't fair. And thank goodness that in life's unfairness God gives Grace freely even when we are acting like ungrateful, pouty toddlers.

George Strait has a great new song out called "I Saw God Today."

His fingerprints are everywhere
I just slow down to stop and stare
Open my eyes and man I swear,
I saw God today.

God's love should be evident to us every day in life's small things. A flower that is blooming unexpectedly in the midst of chaos. A fluffy white cloud that shades your children as they play outside. A beautiful butterfly that lands on the windowsill near where you're sitting. Your children catching and releasing lady bugs. A friend that calls (or leaves a comment on your blog/myspace/facebook) out of the blue, just to let you know they were thinking about you. Your children sharing with each other.

And God's love is evident even in the midst of everything. Even when we don't deserve it. Even when we have questioned His love for us. I have realized that God works miracles for us, when we least expect it. In our lowest moments, when He knows that we are at our breaking point, He uses our family and friends to reach out to us and hug us. He sends unexpected job offers. He sends old (and new!) friends your way. He sends a fuzzy bumblebee to buzz lazily along and make you smile. God even uses non-believers to reinforce His love for you.

The greatest tools God has used in my life lately are my children and my Memaw. My Memaw is the embodiment of Christ's Love. She loves me and forgives me over and over and over, especially when I don't deserve it. My children love me unconditionally, and though that could potentially change as they grow into teenagers, and I hope to model Christ's Love to them the same way Memaw has modeled it to me.

I just tried to utilize God's example when Zoe threw a fit just this minute. I have repeatedly asked her not to terrorize the cat. She did it again. I punished her, she cried (screamed really), and instead of further punishment I realized she had reached her breaking point (taking into account the fact that she doesn't feel well, she's only 2, and other environmental factors), and I scooped her up into my arms, held her close, whispered "I love you" into her ear, and rewarded her. I asked her if she would like to watch "Enchanted," and she immediately straightened her face said "yes!" with such joy on her face, hugged me, went over to the kitty and patted him on the head (gently, I must add), said "I sorry Mambo," and asked nicely for her Princess chair to watch her Princess movie. Wow. Even though it's NOTHING compared to the immeasurable gift of Grace, I still felt good. Sometimes giving a little gift to someone who doesn't "deserve" it feels really good.

So thank you, God. Thank you for your Grace that surpasses all understanding. Thank you for sticking with us even when we're ungrateful. Even when we wallow in self pity. Even when we dare to question your love for us. Thank you for constantly reminding us in your little (and BIG) ways that you DO love us, and that you DO feel pain when punishment is doled out. Thank you.