Not All Fun and Games

What a night at church. I help serve on the junior high ministry at our church and we meet on Wednesday's. Normally this is a night of music, laughing, learning, laughing, acting goofy, laughing.....well you get the idea. But last night was different. Jay announced that we lost a member of our junior high group to a tragic car accident in West Texas, along with his mother, grandmother and cousin. Some were already aware of this, but several were not. What a shock it was to hear that someone so young and so close in our community had lost his life before it really even began. I help with the 6th grade girls and during our small group time, it was very emotional. The girls had questions of "Why?" and "How could God allow something like this to happen?". It was a difficult thing to see them hurting and to realize the hurt and pain this young man's family was going through. We tried to impress upon the kids how important it is to live your life as if it were the last. Also, how God didn't cause this wreck to happen. And if we allow it, that something amazing can come of this terrible thing. No, that won't replace Aaron and the friendship that he gave, but it can help you heal and help keep his memory alive. Who knows what God will create out of such loss? I certainly do not, but I do know that God will provide the comfort we need in times like this.

One of my favorite passages: Proverb 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.


Until next time.....

Feelings of Thankfulness

Today I realized how grateful I am to God for giving me the life that he did. For some reason I started thinking about how lucky and fortunate I am where I'm at. I've always been very thankful to God, but it hit me extra hard today (not sure exactly why). I have not had to easiest life, just like a million others out there. I've dealt with my share of hardships...some brought on myself and others out of my control. But it overwhelmed me today and I started praying and giving thanks to God for always being there for me even when I was not willing to walk with Him. I realized how fortunate I was to have the past that I do and be here today with a family who loves me, a church who changed my life and friends like I've never had before!

What grace I have been given!! Thank you, God!

No Husbands, No Kids...No Sleep

What a weekend! It was so much fun to get together with my small group ladies for the weekend without any interruptions. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Park Central and had a great time! I had no idea I could go a weekend without sleep, though.

We started out meeting at the hotel and then Bennigan's for dinner. I finally got to try their monte cristo sandwiches....it was incredible (it was also 2 meals). Then back to the hotel for more food, talking and laughing. Three out of the five of us lasted until 3 a.m. then decided to call it a night. Up at 9:00 for free breakfast and then more discussions sitting under the gazebo while eating omelets and hashbrowns. Back to the room for showers, more talking and more eating. Then finally around 4:00, we decided to have lunch at Freebirds. It was very good, but I recommend not getting the quesadillas...they are too messy. The burritos are all nice and rolled up with tin foil around them that you can later make into a sculpture and put on the wall. Then off to the mall to do some shopping. More laughs and more talking and then a nice smoothie. Then we ended up at Toys R Us looking for a game to play. Something that would make us reveal more "stuff" about us (like we needed a game to do that). We found one and it was greatness! It was so much fun to laugh uncontrollably until there were tears and to just look at each other and crack up for no reason. But there was plenty of reasons to laugh at any given time. Once again it was a late night...I passed out about 5:00 a.m. and there was still a couple up talking! By the next morning free breakfast meant nothing to me, so sleep it was for just a little bit longer while some of the others went down and ate omelets again. Now it's Sunday morning and time to pack up and say our goodbyes....NO, NOT YET. We still had stuff to talk about (if you can believe that) and there was still chocolate left to eat...just a few more hours?

All good things must come to an end, I suppose. It was great fun and I'm very fortunate that I have such a great group of friends. I'm also very fortunate that I have such a loving husband that doesn't mind and understands my need for my friends. Thanks, honey...couldn't have happened without your support!

Michele, Stacey, Carey, Jill and Shari....I love you guys and hope that we can always be so honest with each other and continue to have lots of laughs!!! Hey Stacey, I wound an itty bat!!!!

Until next time....

What to type...

As I sit here trying to think about what to blog, my mind wonders to so many different things. I think that is why I don't come to this site more often and put my thoughts down. I'm thinking "Where do I begin?....what do I type?....does anyone care?" But I love reading other blogs and random thoughts. I have them saved in my favorites and usually once a day I check them out and am disappointed if there are no new entries. I wish I knew more people with blog sites so I could check them out, too. Does that mean I'm a nosy person and have nothing better to do? Well, the first might certainly be true!

I guess I can start with another update since it's been so long. Things are going well from my surgery and I feel great!! Summer is in full swing and will be over before we know it. We still have our summer vacation coming up and I can't wait. The whole family (Justin's girlfriend included) is flying to NYC to visit Scott's family. We have so many fun things planned (check out Scott's blog and he'll give you blow by blow details) and they are all new things that we haven't done there before. I have to say thanks to Scott's aunt....she lives in NYC in a 2 bedroom house w/a basement and is letting all of us stay with her. Yes, it will be a little cramped and we will have to make a schedule for the bathroom, but I think it will be great. She is an awesome host and always spoils us when we come up! I'm sure Scott and I will have lots to post once we get back from there.

I have a small trip coming up this weekend with my WISDOM girlfriends. I only say small because we are staying at a hotel here in Dallas, but it is truly BIG to me! We had a great time last year and who would have thought we could go so long without eating!!! We were having so much fun talking without any interruptions that we talked until 4:00 in the afternoon and had not eaten anything except a few little munchies that we had in the room!! What a great group of friends....I look forward to whatever comes our way this weekend!

Other things going on....Justin is moving to Austin with his girlfriend in a month or so. Lots of emotions with that one. Dylan is trying a new sport in the fall, football. Marissa is still into her cheering and gymnastics. And last but not least, Cassie is having fun this summer playing with friends and going to F.R.O.G. camp at a local church. I'm really glad to be home again and be able to be more involved in their lives!

Well, that's it for me today. Until next time.....