Thankful Thursday (28)

"Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God... And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."  ~Philippians 1:4-6

Today, I'm thankful...

1.  That nothing - NOTHING - can ever separate me from God's love!
2.  That God is RENEWING MY MIND and setting me free from guilt and shame and negative thinking!
3.  For my fun new cell phone cover, and my phone being fixed!  Hooray for "Phone Doctors" - a cute little place by the mall, and the workers dress in scrubs. :)
4.  Getting to help Mom and Rach out with wedding planning and taking pictures for the wedding video!

5.  Sleep! 

6.  Oprah... I'm loving all the nostalgia and looking back during this final season, and especially loved the episode about her friendship with Gayle! :)

7.  Grandad's surgery going well, and him inviting me to come dancing with them this past weekend. :)  I'll always remember dancing with him to "You're Something Special to Me."  (He used to rock me to sleep with that song when I was little, so Babah asked their friend in the band to play it that night.)  Also, I love this picture of them - they don't usually smile in their pictures, but they were laughing right at this moment because Babah told Grandad he needed to have his bright Easter-y shirt showing in the picture!  :)

Song of the Week = Firework by Katy Perry, because it's been stuck in my head thanks to the Soul Surfer previews!

"Do you ever feel already buried deep?  Six feet under screams, but no one seems to hear a thing!  Do you know that there's still a chance for you?  Cause there's a spark in you... you've just got to ignite the Light, and let it shine!!"

MM ~ Moving Day

(*For future reference, MM = Memory Monday.)  =)

With Malori moving into her new place this coming weekend, I've been thinking a lot about my moving day in August 2007... to my first (and current) home in Jenks.  If only I had known Malori, Chet, Jeff, Bobbi, and Laura back then - just think how much quicker this all might've gone!! :)  The move came at a real low point in my life, but actually helped serve as a nice transition, since my friendships and my residence all changed at the same time... God knew what He was doing and knew this was where I needed to be. 

I am oh so thankful that I bought this house and decided to stay in Tulsa (well, technically Jenks)!  I was so uncertain then, but I love my house and I love my life here!!  And, of course, I love my family for coming down and helping me clean, tape off, paint, and decorate every square inch of my new house on moving week, almost four years ago.  Hard to believe it's been that long...

Loading up Grandad's truck for the drive to Jenks - you can see my happy living room chair - (that's at Mom and Dad's old house... aww, memories).  And my house and my old car on moving day! :)

JB was the ladder queen on this project!  Emma was great when we needed someone in the small spaces. lol  And Grandad was our handyman, as usual! :)

Paint makes SOOO much difference.  And I still really love my "Lyndhurst Victorian Rose" color!! :)

Beginning stages on the exercise room - (really glad we switched to the signature wall... it's more fun, and this mosaic look was taking FOREVER), computer room, and my room/closet!  The laundry room pic is just for the calendar to remember it was August 2007. :)

Before, After, and Current of the Guest Bathroom. :)

After and Current on "Malori's room."  (No before shot of this one.)

This is memorable partly because it was terrifying. lol  Grandad cut these boards to set over the bathtub so I could get up high enough to paint the magnolias... yikes!  I do love it now, though. :)

Before and After of my living room... only thing that's changed much now are my tables!

And finally, a before and after shot of my kitchen... quite possibly my favorite thing about my house, (even though I rarely cook and it's been a mess to fix the island lately.)

I vividly remember standing at the kitchen island bar with Stephanie and Mom and Dad (and feeling nervous and wondering what my future would be like here) as I signed the papers to put in my offer... but God worked it all out so well! 

And now He's doing the same on everything concerning Malori's new house... so yay for finding the place that really fits you, and for helpful friends and family and fun/exhausting moving weekends, and for entering a new season and all the great memories soon to come! :)  Yes, I'm kinda talking directly to Malori on that last part!  Okay, that's all for today.

Thankful Thursday (27)

"I thank You for answering my prayer and giving me victory!"  ~Psalm 118:21

Today, I thank God for...

1. Not having to transcribe Jury Voir Dire in court this morning.  Hooray, always a blessing.  :)
2. Getting to see Miss Natalie Lovenburg and hear about her Japan trip and her future plans.

3. Finally getting to experience the Cherry Street Farmer's Market & Coffee House on Saturday... fun, but probably not something I'll do regularly - who gets up that early on a Saturday!?

4. My spontaneous roadtrip to OKC with Bobbi this past weekend!  Shopping, lunch with Bobbi and some of her friends from high school, Mom and Dad bringing Malori's chair, helping Malori pick out a couch, decorating the tennis bathroom faster than I would've thought possible, dinner at Interurban, etc.  So much fun! :)

5. Getting to go to Zumba with Laura, followed by a really long talk in the parking lot!! :)
6. My BFITWWW, Malori Riah!  (Best friend in the whole wide world - it's a Hoops & YoYo thing - love them!)  And here's a random Central Park pic. :)

7. That my Community Group is forming small groups for the summer... mine is me, Anna, Emily, and Sarah... and I'm really excited for this!!

Song of the Week = Don't by Kelly Clarkson  (not on any of her CDs, but should be)

Quotables

“Guys, I have to tell you something… about Justin Bieber!”

~Jeff, starting off a long story about meeting Justin and all that has followed

"He had failed his driving test, so we talked about that.  I asked what kind of car he wanted, and he said a Hummer.  I was thinking, 'Aww, how 'bout a '91 Honda Accord, buddy!?'"  ~Jeff :)

“I got a lump in my throat... well, no, not a lump in my throat... butterflies in my stomach… because that was MY story!” ~Jeff, talking about hearing that Justin told Ellen about meeting him on the airplane (when asked how he was adjusting to fame, to prove that some people still don't know who he is) =)

“So how are you handling your newfound fame?” ~Laura :)

“I just think we're gonna meet again someday. Like I just feel like God’s gonna work that out and we're gonna be friends! You know, he's a cool guy. I could be like a mentor. (long pause) Me and Usher.” ~Jeff… yep, still stuck on Justin Bieber lol

“They want to be my friend, and I tell them no.  Then if they have the guts to ask me again, I’ll let them look at my pictures for about a month, then defriend!” ~Chet, on former classmates
“Really? I’d think you'd be all for that just to show off how skinny you are now.” ~Jeff
“Well…. that'll be more of a 10 year reunion thing!” ~Chet :)

“This is America, y'all. Take it in! …Oh, look at that barn. We should take a side trip from our side trip!” ~Jeff, hilariously excited over the boring bare roads on our way to Pops

“My thought is, if you don't have underwear on within five minutes of getting out of the shower, you need therapy!” ~Chet, of the men at gym showers :)

“This is my fortress, and I'm the queen!” ~Jeff, imitating what Malori could say at her new house

"Looks like Bobbi's working hard!"  ~Jeff, coming in as Bobbi was taking a short donut break after working harder than most of us for a long time
"I know how you feel... sometimes, I just work, work, work, then I take a break to paint my nails and that's when my judge walks in."  ~Me, totally serious and confused by everyone laughing lol

“It was so cold!” ~Chet, sounding kinda pitiful when we asked how their night at the house went lol

“Here, let Daddy take care of it.” ~Jeff, taking charge of the taping where Laura wasn't tall enough to reach it - lol   

“So are y'all using my pillow?” ~Laura, wondering if she should leave it for the guys
“Not so much y'all as one of us.” ~Jeff

“Could you pass the Sweet & Low!” ~Jeff
“Pass the brain cancer!” ~Chet

"I think you guys are April Fools-ing me!"  ~Me, after Bobbi told me I'd left my cell phone on the counter at Braums (I lost that phone a ridiculous number of times on that trip!!)

“Okay, I find that kind of adorable, and I don't even like him!” ~Malori :)

“Nahs to meet you!” ~Jeff, to my Mom
“Wow, that was a definite Texas accent!!” ~(all of us)
“Well... my head was turned!” ~Jeff :)

“Not when he calls me Marjorie! When you hang out with someone for months, you should know their name. I mean... it's not like I blend!” ~Malori

And a few that are not from the road trip...

“I can tell you this: guys respond to brighter colors.  And to skirts!” ~Tara
“Wellll, that explains why I'm single.” ~Kristin

“I think that looks good, but I’m not the best person to ask because I don’t really date.” ~Me
“Well, we are experts.  We date every presidential election!” ~Laura
“Oh, we date so often I'm lobbying for a longer week!” ~Tara

Pic = Malori's new couch, only it'll be a bit longer :)

"Uhh, I'm not following you."  ~Salesman at Dane Design, when Malori quickly explained how she could get five pillows for the price of four with the deal he offered her
"Youuu seem really decisive!"  ~Same salesman a bit later - so true!

“You know, I intend to own a herd of buffalo one day.  It’s really a bucket list item. I just like the idea of the buffalo herd just grazing and roaming around.” ~Jeff, upon seeing the Bison sign at the Farmer's Market

Memory Monday ~ OKC Road Trip!

A short but very memorable and ridiculously picture-filled road trip to OKC to help out at Malori's new house...

We left on Friday, April 1st.  Jeff was nice enough to volunteer to drive us all... he had a rented Jeep (with an Illinois tag) that was perfect for our trip. :)  We left Tulsa from my house around 6:00!

Then we took a detour "side trip" to Pops on our way...

Jeff was more excited than anyone about the giant pop bottle.  "Best side trip ever!"  :)

Cheers! :)

When we got to OKC, Mom met us at Malori's to drop off some paint stuff... we took a quick tour of the house... then went to dinner at Bravo!  Yum. :)

The girls :)

I <3 the bread and red sauce... but maybe not this much!

"This is my fortress and I'm the queen!"  (one of many memorable Jeff quotes) :)

Then (around 10:30) we finally got to work.  Here's the guys, ready to acid wash the garage floor! :)  LOVE it.

Bobbi and Laura, the taping queens!  Bobbi had Pandora on the "I Gotta Feelin'" Black Eyed Peas station through most of our taping, painting, etc. and I must say, it made it much more fun! :)

Everyone working hard... we got all the taping and the acid washing done that night.

Well, almost everyone... ;)

"Here, let daddy take care of it..."

(This trip really needs its own Quotables post... so that's coming next.)

The guys decided to camp out and sleep at the new house, while the girls all went back to Malori's apartment... so Jeff and Chet were the first to sleep in Malori's new bedroom. lol

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and Bill met us at Panera for breakfast ~ fun!!  Then we rushed to the house to meet the Cox Cable guy, who was actually on time for once.  And thus began day two, starting by painting Malori's kitchen in Livid Violet... very pretty! :)

Chet Lee, the "speed painter," doing his M strokes for Martha Stewart.  :)

Bobbi, the ladder queen.  She was so great and had to go up and down a million times during this process!

Painting the guest room a nice shade of gray (Porpoise was the actual color name - lol).

The six of us in Malori's new living room, after our work was done!

The guys standing in front of the completed garage floor ...looks great! =)

And finally, yoga time in the finished kitchen!

Then we packed up and headed back to Tulsa... but not before one last stop at Pops! :)

The End.

Thankful Thursday! (26)

“My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.”  ~Psalm 62:7

Today, I am thankful for...

1.  Hilarious road trip and great weekend at Malori's new house in OKC with five of my most favorite friends... (to be covered far more extensively in a future blog post)!

2.  A fun, relaxing, homemade dinner in Abby's backyard with good friends and good food! :)

3.  "Created to reflect God's glory, born to bear His image, He ransomed us back to reflect that glory again. Every heart was given a mythic glory, and that glory is being restored." (~Eldredge)

4.  The awesome realization that I can get very similar results using a small Sharpie marker instead of a real Calligraphy pen, and save myself loads of time!!  (Doing Rach's wedding envelopes this week)

5.  I really just thought this was cool and wanted to throw it in somewhere... but I am thankful that God created our minds with the ability to see the meaning through the mess. :)  Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

6.  My Mom, for being willing to bring all the paint stuff down to Malori's, for doing some laundry and cooking and shopping for me while she's here this week, and for generally being willing to help out in any way possible!

7.  And finally, I am thankful for my childhood.  For loving family and extended family and friends and good memories and good churches, and that I always felt safe and loved.  (Listened to Joyce Meyer's personal testimony this morning, and was reminded that some children grow up in an abusive atmosphere of continual fear and shame and pain... God has obviously transformed her life and used it to help so many others, but anyway, it made me very thankful!)

Song of the Week = Forget You (not Cee Lo, but Gwyneth Paltrow on Glee!)

*I know it's both cheesy and vindictive, but wow, I kinda love this song! :)  Haven't watched Glee much, but this struck me as fun/funny, and I love Gwyneth, so here it is.  Enjoy!

"I pity the foo-ool who falls in love with you!" :)