Happy New Year's Eve!

"I know how much God loves me and I have put my trust in His love.  

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them."

~I John 4:16 (personalized)

"As we move into 2013, why not decide to focus much more on what is right with Jesus than what is wrong with you! You become what you behold!" 

~Christine Caine

So true, and I love that idea!  2012 has been a wonderful year in most respects, full of God's blessings and positive transitions and personal growth, and no big health troubles or major crises for my immediate family and closest friends.  But still, in the midst of learning more about psychology and counseling and personality traits, so much of my focus has been centered on analyzing my own weaknesses and what I want to change, etc...

True to my optimistic nature, I'm going into 2013 feeling full of hope,

Looking forward to all the memories-to-come and exciting new things ahead!

Going against my perfectionist side, I'm going into 2013 with no defined resolutions.

There are always certain expectations and things I want to improve, 

but mostly, I want to surrender and let God transform my mind:

To focus more on what is right with Jesus than what is wrong with me.

To love God and live in love and trust God's love, 

To walk with peace and quiet confidence, 

And to engage and enjoy the ordinary and extraordinary moments in the year ahead! =)

To Return to Him and Rest in Him and Hope in Him!!

"In Christ Alone, my hope is found!"

Today is all about reflecting back over the past year,
Then ringing in the new year and celebrating with the people you love!
And tomorrow, we get a clean slate, a blank page -
The year ahead is still unwritten, 
Fresh and new and full of opportunities and possibilities
So... GET EXCITED! ;-)

Happy New Years Eve!!

Caught Up!

I am finally officially DONE with all the plea transcripts for this year!! (We did 362 total plea transcripts for the year, and I filed 152 of them this month... and at one point recently, I worked 18 days straight through to help get caught up... so yeah, I'm pretty happy about this!)  Today, I'm getting my office all organized, and I plan to do a much better job of staying on top of those transcripts this coming year!

"I'm sOoOoO caught up!" ;-)

Ahh, memories.  I really loved Usher that year! 

Song of the Week = All Too Well by T-Swift
...I freaking love her and her whole CD, and I don't care who knows it! lol

"Maybe we got lost in translation; maybe I asked for too much.

But maybe this thing was a masterpiece till you tore it all up

Running scared; I was there; I remember it all too well.

You call me up again just to break me like a promise;

So casually cruel in the name of being honest...

Time won't fly; it's like I'm paralyzed by it.

I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it.

'Cause there we are again when I loved you so,

Back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known.

It was rare; I was there; I remember it all too well."

Merry Christmas Eve!

A fun collage of Bubby Jace pics to commemorate his first Christmas!

And a few fun Christmas photos from Michael Scott, back when The Office was still funny:

Lol this last one is actually somewhat appropriate, as all our Christmas plans for tomorrow have been cancelled due to the upcoming snow.  Sometimes the White Christmas dream is not all it's cracked up to be.

Anyway, Merry Christmas Eve!

2012 Recap ...in Twelve 12x12 Collages =)

JANUARY

• Rang in the New Year with Tulsa friends at Nathan's
• Made the official decision to return to school! (Storyline post - Jan. 5th)
• Read The Help
• Helped plan and throw Baby Showers for Rach! :)
• Chuck series finale (yep, this qualifies as a major event for me) =)

 FEBRUARY

• Jace Michael was born on the 2nd! =)
• Started school at SNU! (the 20th)
• Movie nights with Malori
• Birthdays - Jace, Rach, Baby Anthony (a month early), and me!!
• Redrock with friends for my 28th b-day dinner & got a "bouquet of sharpened pencils" from Lauralai (with several other theme gifts to celebrate my return to school)
• Tried to do one random act of kindness every day
• Celebrated Leap Day with Laura (& Tres Leches cake at Chuys!)

MARCH

• My first OKC Thunder game - thanks, Malori and CHK
• Read Little Women for the first time - awesome!
• Jogged 55+ miles in training for the OKC half
• Saw Hunger Games (twice in its opening weekend)
• Started Beth's James study with Ruth's LG
• Walk/jogs at Crescent Park with Laura
• Bubby Jace with his Zoolander face - love it!
• Courthouse construction (complete with foul smells & flooding)

APRIL

• The long-awaited 3D re-release of Titanic!!
  (Saw it once with Mom, just like old times, then one final time (#15) on the actual 100 year anniversary of the sinking!)
• Read Brene Brown's The Gifts of Imperfection
• Dr. GhostBear's class - learned about the 4-stage transition cycle
  (and the personality/seasons comparison)
• Triston and Carter turned 4 and 5  =)
• Lots of fun times with the nephews!
• Visiting Baby Anthony at the hospital...
  (All surgeries went well and he has made good progress!) :)
• Lunches with K-Lamb talking about her upcoming wedding
• Learned that Chet and I both made it in the NWM lottery...
  Pretty sure we were both half-excited, half-dreading it. lol
• Ran (mainly walked) the OKC Half!
  Watched Chet Lee get his full marathon medal!! :)

 MAY

• Walks with Joan at Haikey Creek
• Our 1st baby-filled family get-together!
• Decorated Kristin & Frankie's house with Mom
  (while they were at the hospital with Anthony)
• Babah's 76th bday... swimming in JoBug's pool & hot tub!
• Cruise Party/Nathan bringing back the fanny pack!
• Thunder in the playoffs
• Read Soul Detox
• Gave my testimony at LG (the 16th)
• Wrote 31 blog tributes! :)

JUNE

• BattleCreek Orphan Run 5k with Laura
• Read The Road Less Traveled 
• Had to stop run training for a few weeks (based on what turned out to be just a cyst)
• Called off the marathon; a decision I haven't regretted!
• Fun times & hilarious conversations with Dentist Neil
  (getting my crown redone - third time was a charm!)
• Moved into our new offices and re-done courtroom at work!
• Wrecked (and totaled) Lexi on the 22nd - sadness -
  Also had my 1st ambulance ride!
• Red Robin lunch with Dad's fam (Texas Mueckes in town for a golf tourn.)

JULY

• Road trip to Republic for Malori's 29th b-day
• Chet Lee's 24th b-day Surprise party (Murder Mystery theme!)
• K-Lamb's wedding shower at The Chapel in the Woods
• Read the Enneagram book on personality types :)
• Grandad's 83rd birthday at Cheddars
  (& the pic of him & Jace that I love)
• I started this new blog
• My judge's heart attack (the 17th)  :(
• Rach and Josh's one-year anniversary!
• Met Ruby, my new red SUV :)

AUGUST

• Mini-reunion night with Holly, Megs, and Rach! :)
• London 2012 ~ Gabby Douglas & the "Fab Five" Olympic gold medals! :)
• Finished Dr. Frisbie's class (on the 6th, to be precise)
  "To sum up:  Best ever.  I do not say that lightly." :)
• Kristin's bachelorette party 
• Read Right from the Start
  (Charlestons, Purple Glaze, & an eventful drive to the skating rink)
• Bridesmaid at Kristin & Jon's wedding!! (Saturday, the 4th) 
• Cassie & Phillip's wedding (later the same day) with Malori & LG friends
• Agonized over grad school options... landed right where I started.

SEPTEMBER

• Race for the Cure 5k with Mindi (on "Kelly's Angels" team!)
• "Math Month" - Stats class and GRE prep
• Chet Lee bought a house (& I took pics at the closing)! lol
• Painting Party for Chet's house
  Same weekend as my GRE test (the 22nd)
• Read Quiet (loved it!)
• Tara Lynn moved to OKC for a job at Jordan Advertising 
• Crickets everywhere  - out of control!
• Lifetime Fitness gym membership... 
  Hot tub, group training, & spin classes with Natalie and Jessica
  Chet and Jeff joined us for spin class (& fun pictures) :)

OCTOBER

• Sound of Music party at Malori's & Harry Potter marathon after that :)
• Jeff's epic Bieber-themed b-day party! :)
• Re-read The Shack
• Rach and Josh moved to their new place
  Painted the red swirl wall...
  Andrew:  "That looks bad-...... to the bone." lol  
• Learned about and started considering Mercy Ministries!
• Saw Perks of Being a Wallflower
• My judge returned to work (after a couple months with JSV)

NOVEMBER

• Wrote a daily thankfulness post
• Traded decorations with Rach and decorated my house with Mom! :)
• Started reading the Mercy For... series by Nancy Alcorn
• Started Counseling (what the Nordaggio's hot chocolate pic symbolizes)
• Women's Self-Defense class with Malori at NorthChurch - awesome!
• Read Book Thief & participated in my first-ever Book Club =)
• President Obama re-elected :(
  (Watched the results with Laura, Kristin, and Tara again)
• Friends-giving at Chet's =)
• Plea transcript marathon weekend with Mom!!
• Thanksgiving (lunch at Rach's and dinner at Nancy's)
  T-Man's "Everybody likes to take a holiday" song performance :)
• OSU game with Laura (Dad's suite tickets, and it was game 7!) 
• Carterman in the hospital for a while with HSP :(

 DECEMBER

• Random night that shall live in infamy:
  Ruby died at CP; Laura had to stay with me that night and got really sick :(
  The car's battery was replaced... both Ruby and Laura have recovered well. :)
• Celebrating Laura's b-day at Chuy's
• Read He Loves Me 
• Caroling at Aberdeen Heights
• Interviewed for and turned down a position in Tulsa County
• Hosting the 12-12-12 Christmas party with Mindi
• Rach made me 2 awesome Pinterest wreaths!
• Karli's sugar cookies & White Christmas girl's night party!
• Jace-in-a-box (love that pic!)
• Christmas & New Years Eve will be covered in a future post, I'm sure. =)

Hope

For several reasons that make sense to me,

I've decided my key "word" for 2013 is HOPE.

Hope (Verb):  To look forward with confidence

Hope (Noun):  Trust, reliance; 

Desire accompanied by expectation; 

Someone or something on which our hopes are centered

And my focus verse for the year will be Romans 15:13:

Joy and Peace also would have been great choices, and they go right along with hope. =)

Song of the Week = Baby, It's Cold Outside by Colbie Caillat (who always reminds me of Blake Lively) & Gavin Degraw... 

Christmas Pics

Here are a few recent pictures since I've been sporadic in blogging lately:

1.  Jace-in-a-box!

With all the toys they've bought him, he loves to play with the toy box. lol  He crawled in there then turned and looked up at me - as I got my phone out and said, "Ahh, hold still, hold still, hold still..."  Success! =)

2.  Awesome Christmas cookies, courtesy of "Neslay Toolouz!" ;)

3.  My Christmas cards for the year, which will be mailed tomorrow - the perfect number for all my favorite people!  I was apparently in a Peanuts mood when I bought these.

4.  A fun collage from the 12-12-12 Christmas Party!

Hope you're having a lovely day!  =)

12-12-12

Get excited! ;)

I'm a little sad this is the last one.  It's been a good 12 years. lol

01-01-01 ~ (Monday) - I was 16, bright eyed and excited about the fresh start of a New Year and a day off from school!  We'd had a fun NY Eve party for Rach's class the night before, (with confetti all over the fan blades, which we turned on at midnight.) :)  Ringing in the New Year with the family + Megan, Holly, Mark, Jay, etc. was always a good time!!
02-02-02 ~ (Saturday) - No clue what I was doing that specific day, but this was February of my senior year at CHA, and I was very ready for my 18th b-day and graduation!
03-03-03 ~ (Monday) - My one semester at OBU already passed, and in March 2003, I was in my first few months of court reporting school and classes at Rose State, practicing with Mom and trying hard to learn the steno alphabet!
04-04-04 ~ (Sunday) - Probably going to LifeChurch with the family... still in CR school, 6 months before taking the CSR test!
05-05-05 ~ (Thursday) - Working at my first job in Chickasha, hating almost every minute of it...
06-06-06 ~ (Tuesday) - No doubt obsessing over and hanging out with JMM.  This summer was the Boston trip with the "fab five," which was a blast!

07-07-07 ~ (Saturday) - Probably mourning the recent loss of all my friendships... and the fact that I wasn't getting married on the perfect day after all. :(
08-08-08 ~ (Friday) - Olive Garden lunch with Sarah Snyder; Bourbon Street Cafe dinner with Jenny Womble; Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 at Harkins; watched awesome Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies with Mom! (Hooray for the blog keeping a specific record of what I actually did that day!)
09-09-09 ~ (Wednesday) - LifeGroup and hanging out with Malori (when we were roommates); excited about Ellen being a new judge on American Idol; writing blog tributes; training hard for my first Half Marathon!
10-10-10 ~ (Sunday) - Natalie Reid's b-day; day after running the OKC Race for the Cure 5k with Malori & hanging out with her and Megan; LifeChurch and lunch with the fam (+ Babah, Grandad, JB, and Emma) at Olive Garden; saw the Social Network for the first time
11-11-11 ~ (Friday) - By far the best of these - Bill & Jill's wedding and reception (last pic of Mom and Dad before the wreck), buying my red Coach purse, hanging out with Malori Riah, dancing with Andrew, drinking champagne for the first (and only, thus far) time, and generally being in VEGAS! =)

12-12-12 ~ (today, Wednesday) - so far, working & having lunch with Mom... and tonight will be a LifeGroup Christmas party..... which I need to go home now and get ready for! :) Should be fun!

Lately...

A few recent pictures...

The fabulous wreaths Rach and Mom made for me!! Yay! :)

Caroling at Aberdeen Heights with LG friends!

Girls' night... White Christmas + decorating sugar cookies! =)

Lauralai's birthday week... 

Chuy's fun + Laura attempting to keep warm at my house on the night that Ruby (my car) died!

(No worries, she has since been revived!)

This time of year is really busy, but it's mainly a really good busy!  Thanks to my mom being amazing - proofreading, stamping, signing, etc - I've had an incredibly productive weekend (66 plea transcripts ready to go)!!  Very close to being totally caught up at work!  I'm also trying to finish up some practicum stuff and get ready for my 12-12-12 Christmas Party. :)  Get excited!

So I'll write more later, but that requires time to sit and think.  For now, I'm going with music videos again. =)

This is possibly my favorite song ever.  Like, ever. ;)
David Archuleta is truly precious and his voice is so pure, and for whatever reason, I love and adore the lyrics to this song!


And this is definitely my favorite "Christmas carol" ...and while I normally don't care for Sugarland and find the woman super-annoying, this version of the song is pretty much perfection (especially if you just listen and ignore the video slideshow)!
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel by Sugarland

Birthday Tribute

Happy Birthday to my dear friend, Laura Bower!!

Lauralai Allison, 

You are truly one of my favorite people.  You are kind, trustworthy, and a great listener... you care about the details and you make me feel heard and loved and understood, and I so appreciate that (and hope the reverse is also true).  You have a wonderfully witty sense of humor that brightens everyone's day!  You are beautiful, inside and out.  You are delightfully quirky, and you know and appreciate most of my delightful quirks. ;)  You're fantastic and vibrant and one-of-a-kind, but so unaware of the reality of your own awesomeness - which just makes you all the more lovable. :)  And most importantly, you genuinely seek to serve God and "call on Him in truth," and you encourage me to draw closer to Him!  

Whether we're walking with Molly and Clara at "Crescent Park Ridge Roll" or singing to OneRepublic or dining at Panera or "waiving the wheat" at the OSU game or narcissistically editing all of our pictures or discussing the love of Katniss and Peeta or spontaneously going to the open house party or almost running over an entire family of racoons... I always love hanging out with you! :)  I'm so very thankful for our friendship - for all the fun memories and heart-to-heart talks over the past four years, and looking forward to many more in the years to come.

I hope you're having a fabulous time in Houston - can't wait to hear all about it!  And again, Happy Birthday!  

Love you!!

~Lindsey Lou

 My first memory of hanging out with Laura - Election Night 2008

The girls at Cheesecake Factory for Laura's birthday a couple years back!

And finally... a fun-filled, birthday-themed Laura & Lindsey picture slideshow!

Day 30

Today, I'm thankful for Jesus Christ!!

Pic = Description of Jesus in Isaiah 42:1-9

I especially love verse 3 - "He will not crush those who are weak or quench the smallest hope.  He will bring full justice to all who have been wronged."

...Yessss, awesome!

Day 29

Today, I'm thankful that there's only one more day of this challenge. lol

Kidding, sort of.  I just get the feeling December is going to require me to be super-focused and incredibly productive at work and school!  I'll be finishing 2012 off strong! ;-)

But today, I'm thankful for... Montgomery Exterminators, and a typically bug-free house!  Not kidding at all about that one.  I despise and have an almost phobia-like fear of most bugs, so I get my house sprayed four times a year (today being one of those days).  Most people would think that's extreme, but it's definitely worth it to me for peace of mind!

Pic = my bug-free happy Christmas living room! :)

Day 28

Today, I'm thankful for Malori Riah, my genuine and hilarious and brilliant and truly secure and all around freaking awesome best friend!!  I'm thankful for the way our friendship has grown and continues to grow... and for all the fun memories and great conversations along the way!

Happy Friend-iversary! :)

Pic = Malori and I at Bow Bridge in Central Park

As of today, we've officially been friends for five years...... and two months. lol  I missed celebrating the official five-year mark on September 28th :( but I'm celebrating it now, so get excited!  And by celebrating, I of course mean creating a ridiculously cheesy through-the-years picture slideshow to Queen's You're My Best Friend. lol  I kinda cracked myself up picking that one.
Enjoy...

Day 27

Today, I'm thankful for being part of a book club for the first time tonight... that's right, I'm driving down to OKC to join Malori's book club to talk about The Book Thief! =)

Also thankful for the way that God is working things out behind the scenes when we least expect it!  

GIGATT.

Pic = The Book Thief

Day 26

Today, I'm thankful for blogging - both writing and reading the blogs of others!  I really love having this as a sort of online journal, timeline, and scrapbook for my life and spiritual journey!  And on the rare occasion when Malori, Laura, or Chet decide to write, I love reading their posts!

But I also love reading posts by a few awesome people that I've never had the privilege of meeting in 'real life,' most notably Ashley Campbell and Fabs Harford!

Pic = an excerpt from Fabs' blog today... a letter to her 16-year-old self.  

(Or to my 28-year-old self.)  

"People are drawn to the reality that you don't need them to keep breathing... that kind of confidence is only possible if you have a guaranteed supply of love and affection coming your way for eternity."  I LOVE that. ❤