151 - Sisters

I took Ms. Charlsie to do some business this afternoon and we had about 30 minutes extra. So, I asked her if she wanted to go check in on her sister, Dorothy,  in the nursing home. She was happy to.  It makes me SO happy to see them interact.  They are both hard of hearing and have to talk real close to each other’s ears, but it’s the sweetest thing to just watch.

When I look at Dorothy’s skin it’s hard for me to believe she is almost 101 years old. Dorothy asks how “everything is at Charlsie’s house”.  So cute.

They enjoy a few minutes catching up with each other and then before we leave Dorothy says, “we may be gray-headed, but we’re smart.” What a blessing they are!!

150 – Comfort Food

I got out an old faithful for breakfast this morning.  It’s feeling more like fall here these days (thank goodness)…so I bought some old fashioned oats and ate a little comfort breakfast food.  I’m getting ready for that first cold, cold day… then it’ll be time for chili!

149 – Two Monkeys

   

There’s never a dull moment with these two monkeys around.  But, it sure puts a smile on my face.

148 – Phone Call

Kale called me this afternoon to tell me that (unexpectedly) he’s going to be in Fayetteville tomorrow. Tomorrow!! That’s two hours away.  He’ll be busy at the University until 6 PM and then he’ll be leaving on an 8 AM flight back to Houston Wednesday morning.  So close. Yet so far.

Then he reminded me that next week he’ll be back at the University and is staying from Thursday night until Sunday at HOME!! I knew that he was scheduled to be here in early October, but I hadn’t even really realized that next week IS early October!  That made my day.

If only Kayla-girl could come with him…

147 – He is Lord

We sang this song in church this morning and I’ve had it in my head and heart all day.  I LOVE good worship!!

I am so thankful for our worship team and their dedication.  They are all volunteers and give of their time to lead us each week.  Randy (our worship leader) and his sister, Janice (piano) have been leading in worship for close to 30 years.  They bless me, I tell you!!!

Today was so fun! David and I had lunch with Daisy and Maddie and Maddie came home with us while her momma had to work.  We stopped by to say “hi” to Ms. Charlsie before she and I went to my Mom’s.  Today is my Mom’s birthday.  Happy Birthday to the best mom in the WORLD!!

Maddie met several of my nieces and nephews (not near the whole, I’m afraid), but they loved and loved on her and she didn’t want to leave.  I finally just had to say, “It’s time to go, Maddie.”  She is so good.  One time, I had to tell her and my nephew that the car they were running through the hall with was just too loud and she said, “alright”.  My family loved that! She is so easy (most of the time).

 

Her and my nephew, Dominic, played like this for about 2 hours.  He was SO sweet with her.

Taking a break for hot chocolate

The big girls gave her lots of attention.  She ate it up!

I do this to her every time!! (Sorry she got that SWEET little outfit dirty, Daisy! She played hard.)

         

A little supper.

It has actually been cold here today.  Our very first cold day.  We turned our furnace on to take the chill off just a few minutes ago.  Poor Daisy (the dog) was shivering.  Dave is a bit of a spoiler.

Hope you were as blessed as I was today!!

146 – The Events of the Day

This morning I thought I’d try to change the water softener filter by myself.  I’ve seen David do it, but never really paid much attention to the process.  I do know that he doesn’t shut off the breaker to the well pump when he does it… and my friend, Erica (who works for a water well company), does.  I thought I’d try to do what I thought was Dave’s way first.  That resulted in water shooting out everywhere, mostly straight in my face.

I didn’t know that I’d be able to get it tightened back up without electrocuting myself (since there’s a power strip in that closet).  I finally did, then went in and popped the breaker, let the water drain from the lines, and finally got it changed.  Mission accomplished.  (Dave told me tonight that I forgot to turn off the shut off valve. Oh! Lesson learned.)

This pretty much sums up most of my afternoon – me and the dogs watching the football game…

  Tonight David and I went to eat pizza and stopped by to say “hi” to Daisy at work…

…then we hit up TJ Maxx (which is right next door).  I was going to go earlier today, but I got sidetracked and then the game came on.

I broke the zipper on Izzy’s pet bed today when I was taking it off to wash it.  I put it back on and stuck it back in her crate with the open end kind of tucked under.  I didn’t think it would even be noticed.  We decided to put the two dogs together in Izzy’s room.  Usually they are separated in their own bathrooms with their own crates, but tonight I decided they might keep each other company.  When we got home, this is what I found…

I guess a new pet bed is in order.

145 – Short and Sweet

For some reason I’m really tired tonight, so this will be a short but SWEET post/photo for day #145.

Tyler is gone to Fayetteville for the big game.  (Have y’all heard there’s a big game this weekend? Ha!)  Anyway, while he is gone, Daisy and Maddie joined David and I for supper.  That was fun!!  Maddie wanted to sit in my lap the whole time… that didn’t hurt my feelings one little bit.

Here’s the little sweetie sitting on her monkey bean bag chair… adorable!

144 – Saying “So Long” and If I Could Have a Do-Over

These are my girls.  I have had the pleasure of training them for about a year and a half (with a break here and there).  I can honestly say that, just like you see on Biggest Loser, a trainer really does come to love and care about the people they work with (or work OUT). Leslie, the one on the left, is moving away this week.  She and JoAnn, on the right, are good friends and it has been so fun to get to know them and to work with them and see them on a weekly basis.  We’re sure going to miss you, Leslie!! JoAnn better get ready, I’m harder on a client when it’s just one-on-one. Ha!

A couple of girls that I think are just the sweetest young moms EVER gave me this blog award.  I am not real big on blog awards, but I liked Rule #1. So, I’ll share.

The Rules:
1. Answer this question: If you had the chance to go back and change one thing in your life, would you and what would it be?
2. The second thing you have to do is, pick 6 people and give them this award.You then have to inform the person that they have gotten this award.
3. The third and final thing is, thank the person who gave you the award.

The answer:
If I had the chance to go back and change one thing in my life, I think it would be to enjoy every moment with my children more and worrying less!  Many of you are young moms with young children at home.  I know how overwhelming it is… the responsibility to teach the right things at the right time; worrying about the safety of your child(ren); fearing that you have so much to do that your not spending enough quality time with them; worrying that your “no's” are more frequent than your “yes’s” and that your children will think you never let them do anything; the constant concern that something you do could “make them” or “break them”. 

I think I was in a constant state of worry.

I still worry, believe you me.  But, I am so much more laid back now than I was when my kids were young and I wish I could go back and enjoy the ride more.  Working with the 3 and 4 year olds on Wednesday nights makes me realize how sweet, sweet they are and how easy it is to enjoy them when you don’t have all that worry surrounding you.

So, if you have little ones at home… I hope you’ll take the time to just sit and watch them play; look deep into their innocent eyes; tell them often how much you love them; sit and talk and make believe; hug them and hug them again.  Those moments will be gone so soon.

I think all the blogs on my blog roll are great reads…so if you feel like answering the question, too… play right along.

Thank you, Kimberley and Kelley for thinking of me.  I appreciate your kind words even more!!!!  Kimberley has two of the cutest little boys ever!! (Check out their eyes!) She is such a good mother who treasures the moments she has with her family.  Kelley is a mother of two beautiful girls.  She has so much on her plate, but finds a way to make being a wife, mother, teacher, daughter all come together in a way that honors God.

143 – Cute Cubbies!

OMG! Could they be any cuter??? God love ‘em!!

Tonight was our second week of Awana.  This is (most) of our group this year.  They are so so sweet.  One little girl even gave me one of those stretchy band bracelets.  I thanked her and told her she could have it back at the end of the night, but she told me “when you give someone something, they get to keep it.”  Her momma told me they had that talk earlier today. Haha!

142 – Tyler’s Date

Tyler brought a girl home tonight.  She was SO cute! She looks a lot like Daisy, but she’s a little sassier!  They spent the whole evening together… first hanging out here at the house, then he took her for a little outdoor adventure…

She was pushing him here.  I LOVED that!

… then they went out to eat (he’s gonna have to work on impressing the girls cuz he just took her through the drive-thru – it was her request, though), and then he brought her back to the house for a little entertainment...

It doesn’t take much to entertain her.

I have a sneaky suspicion that Daisy isn’t too jealous of his “date”, though.

* * * * * *

I have to admit that Maddie is sure getting to me and David.  She calls me “mom” often because she knows I’m Tyler’s Mom.  I love to hear her come up to me and say, “Hey, Mom!”  So cute.  Each time we see Maddie she gives us a great big smile and says, “Hey, Mr. David” or “Hey, Ms. Jacquie”.  (It melts my heart.)  She is such a good girl and she’s so fun to be around.  You’ve done a good job, Daisy!!

141 – Sleep

I have complained of having poor sleep quality for over 15 years.  When I turned 30, I lost my ability to list “sleep” as a hobby.  When I was in high school and in my 20s, I LOVED sleeping.  I could sleep all day and still sleep good all night.  It was nearly my favorite thing to do.

But, when I turned 30… it all went to pot.  Hormones.

Daisy told me about an app for my iPhone (Sleep Cycle) that tracks your sleep cycle and uses a 30 minute window to wake you at your optimal waking time. I’ve used it for about 2 weeks.  It’s pretty interesting.

Here are a couple examples of my sleep patterns:
 

Cool, huh?

I’m pretty excited for the fall TV line-up to start.  Biggest Loser starts tomorrow night and The Amazing Race starts this Sunday.  Fun TV!

140 – Sunday Randomness

We had a quiet family Sunday today.  After church, we all went to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then we went home to spend most of the day watching football.

This evening, before church, Tyler, Daisy, Maddie and I went to go visit Ms. Charlsie.  Maddie was so sweet meeting Charlsie.  She even shook her hand.

While we were there, Maddie (who is pretty good with an iPhone) “borrowed” my phone and went a little crazy making pictures.  Here are a couple that she took…

In church tonight Steve reminded us, by way of Joseph’s trials (Genesis 40-41), that God can turn seemingly hopeless situations into incredible stories of victory.  I’m so thankful today for the way He works in our lives and for knowing that He is always there for us, even when it seems impossible.  I see Him at work in my life even as I type and my heart is filled with joy and it strengthens my faith.

I’m reminded almost constantly of late that there are so many around me who are going through difficult times and if I were to pray for all the needs that I was aware of I would be in a constant state of prayer.  But, God has been prompting me to be more purposeful in reaching out to show others that I truly care and to pray for someone when I tell them I will.

I read this post by my sweet friend, Micaela, this week and it has been on my heart ever since.  If you have a heart to pray for others, I’d encourage you to read it.  It will bless your heart.  We can make a difference in someone’s life with the simple act of prayer.

139 – A Princess Party

Today was Maddie’s birthday party.  She was adorable in her little swim suit…

 

Daisy had a fun cake made for the occasion…

Maddie tried her new zebra print hat on Tyler…

Here’s the outfit we got the birthday princess…

And here she is trying out her monkey beanbag chair…

  

It was a full day…

Here’s my TJ Maxx find from yesterday.  A little black table that was on clearance for $30 from regular TJM price of $79.99.  I couldn’t pass it up!