Old School (MM)

Happy Memory Monday!

First, a few pictures: 

My favorite niece, Kyndal Faith... those sassy hands on her hips, the precious smile and cozy PJs, and the over it face in that bottom right pic (which is now my phone screensaver - I can barely handle it - I laugh and/or talk to her picture every time I look at it - lol.) Oh, Miss K - what a presh!! =)

Celebrating Lindsay's birthday at Lifegroup last Tuesday! Kyndal being very serious in asking me for my phone and pointing to what she wanted to take pictures of. I'm still working on the first page from the adult coloring book from Debbie Wallace - (so adult coloring books are more intense and less fun, just like adult life). Half-Jaceman, Half-Spiderman, pretend Hyena! :) Dad eating his daily apple breakfast while the dogs hang out by his chair. Dropping the girlfranz off for boarding at "Camp Bow-Wow!" (They were not happy campers about that.)

Mom bruises easily, but I hate seeing it on her arms (these are from the IVs a week ago). T-man giving Mamaw a big hug. A happy cheesy pic of J&K!  Reagan jumping on top of the pillow pile to see if I had any food for her. Jaceman sitting on the ice machine and chatting it up with Mamaw! An artsy pic of Reagan by Miss Kyndal Faith! lol

Target trip with Rach and the kids. Carter jumping on the red ball outside. It's a happier trip with Icees!! I watched so many fun old school movies this weekend, including Wild Hogs, Troop Beverly Hills, Cops & Robbersons, Renaissance Man, and City Slickers 2!

"This above all, to thine own self be true!"  That's still ringing in my head from Renaissance Man - I'm a big fan of that movie and hadn't seen it in so long! And how psyched was I about finding Troop Beverly Hills!? I LOVE that movie - such a cheesy fun childhood throwback! I still hear the "Cookie Time" song in my head sometimes when I'm having cookies. lol Ridic.

And speaking of old school favorites, I switched up the CDs in my car recently and came across this little gem (from the days of illegally downloading songs off WinMX but paying for a program where we could print our own CD labels). lol  Some angsty songs, some line dancing favorites, some old school Kanye West, Nelly Furtado's epic first CD, and hundreds of memories and emotions that go along with the different people and seasons of my past! Music really does take you back, and it's sometimes good and sometimes bad. It makes me super aware of the stark transitions from one season and friend group to the next...

It's interesting and strange to me how I am able to look back and see real beauty and goodness in each past season, and I can see the growth and change in my life that has come through painful times, and I feel genuinely thankful for and delighted by most of the people in my life right now... Yet at the very same time, there is part of my soul that feels unhealed (sad, numb, unseen, unsought, uncertain, weak, exhausted). I try to be kind and thoughtful toward others, but I'm never sure about where I "fit" or truly belong or what main purpose my life is supposed to serve, and there's the constant underlying pressure to keep myself together and "light" enough so that no one else will decide to walk away forever and call it good riddance. I'm subconsciously trying to prevent that and brace up for it all at once. Sometimes I wonder if my desire to move is just the desire to be in control of choosing the next life-altering change in my life. All that to say, I'm feeling a bit worn down and disconnected and desperate for change, and I'm tired of trying to fight through that alone, so I think I'm going to call a Christian counselor who comes highly recommended by a friend who has worked with her, and I'm really hoping it will be good and helpful!  I'm half-dreading it because verbal communication is not where I excel plus where do you even start and how far back do you go in explaining how you got here and what's bothering you and how honest can you reeeeally be and what could they tell me that I haven't already heard or read in 1,000 memes and sermons and blogs and psychology classes? You risk wasting valuable time and a fair amount of money and coming out with the added shame of trying one more thing that didn't really help you, but I think I'm at a point where that risk is worth it. So I'm going to give it my best shot. Kind of a heavy topic for a Memory Monday post, but it's easier to talk about here than in real life, so there you go. I hope you all have a lovely week!  Life is complex and messy sometimes, so know that you're not alone if you're facing hard emotions, even in the midst of summery beauty and goodness and joy and gratitude!!

New Flipagram to go with my Song of the Week: The Heart of Life (a great song that fits my mood, even though I'm not a John Mayer fan)

Quotables!!

"How old are you?" ~Babah
"Umm... umm... not bery old!" ~2-year-old Kyndal Faith =)

Seeing the kids during lunch on the day of Mom's surgery:
"Lindsey, I thought you were going to the dentist with Mamaw!"  ~Jace
(I gave Rach a confused look)
"That's the only surgery he knows."  ~Rach lol

"Chicken chunkins!!" ~excited Kyndal Faith (how she says chicken nuggets right now - presh!)

"I need scum-screen!" ~K-Faith spraying her cute self with sunscreen :)

"My back huuurts." ~Mom, immediately post-surgery
"I know; I'm sorry about that."  ~Nurse Rustin, (like Justin with an R - he was great!)
"Like a mofo." ~Mom,  talking pretty quietly, but I've heard her and Rach jokingly say that before so I caught it (exactly what's written; not the actual cuss word)
"What??" ~Nurse Rustin
"Like... really bad." ~Mom
(I'm sad for her pain, but I was pretty much bent over laughing in the back of the room right then! I mentioned it to her another time when she was less drugged up, and her response was "I meant it!" lol)

"What is that on my feet?" ~Mom
"Oh, that's to keep you from getting blood clots... it just squeezes the muscle to simulate walking." ~Rustin
"Well, it's a thorn in my side!" ~Mom, being dramatic and making me laugh!

"What do I need to do? Some side straddle hops or something!?" ~Mom, cracking jokes with the nurses concerned about her low blood pressure ("Side straddle hops" is what they called jumping jacks at Channing High School - makes me laugh whenever she says it! lol)

Nurse Rustin went over some medical history questions with me as Mom was in and out of sleep (I knew about 90% of them) -- he got to one that asked if she felt safe at home:
"Yeah, definitely. That's kind of a strange question." ~Me
"That's just in case someone's boyfriend or husband was abusive or something." ~Rustin
"My husband is a rock!" ~Mom, half-awake but saying that with some forceful attitude! :)
"Well, that's good. You got one of the good ones, huh?" ~Rustin
"He's the greatest!!"  ~Mom (then immediately fell back to sleep) =)

"Have I seen you before?" Mom, when Aaron the PA (about my age) introduced himself
"No, ma'am. I'm just taking over for Dr. Jay this morning." ~Aaron
"Well, you're a handsome little thing!" ~Mom, on pain meds, but she'd probably have said that either way lol

"Whas wrong? Whas wrong, Mamaw!? Whas wrong with Mamaw??" ~Precious Kyndal, worried about Mom and not accepting any of the answers and explanations she was given

"What's she trying to do?" ~Jaceman
"Well, she's just trying to sit down without her back hurting, but it hurts right now, and no one can fix it!" ~Me, exhausted and flustered (the first day she came home)
"Hey, I think the doctor can fix it!" ~Jace, a second or two later, proud of himself for coming up with that awesome suggestion
"Solid point, bud -- I bet you're right!!" ~Me, smiling at the hope that the doctor has fixed it!

"Chad was as pleasant as a peanut today. Headphones on. Grunting. Texting and being withdrawn. He's a keeper." ~An awesome text from JEM after they saw Chad from Bachelorette at the gym that morning!! lol

"She's obviously going for personality, and my personality is s***. If this was based solely on looks, there's a good chance I would still be here. These guys aren't on my level, bottom line. I know I'm a great catch, but the chances of her falling for me? I've got a better chance of getting struck by lightening while... shaving my face!?" ~Daniel, after being eliminated from The Bachelorette (Seriously, where do the producers find these guys!?)

"Keep the beard. Without it, you lose all your high caliber spirituality that should come with your man bun, and instead you just exude the creepiness of an aggressive priest." ~JP Sears, mocking the man-bun :)

"Say you find a new gluten-free bread. How are you supposed to enjoy this coagulation of mysterious flours that form a brick with the density of a black hole and the dryness of the desert? Answer: You're not. You're supposed to pretend to!  ...Enjoy the renewed sense of purpose that floods into your life while you sit on top of your moral high ground made out of rice flour. Understand that when no one is around, you somehow become less gluten intolerant. Based on medical evidence yet to be discovered, there's a direct correlation between how many people are around and how gluten intolerant you are!" ~JP, mocking the obnoxious gluten-free trend LOLOL (full video HERE)

(I had a few more JP quotes written out, but accidentally deleted them, and I don't wanna go back and re-watch everything to find them all again. All his "Ultra-Spiritual" videos are hilarious to me, though!)

Mmkay, Happy Thursday, gang! Have a lovely Friday and great weekend ahead!! =)

Week 6

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

~Romans 12:1-2 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

~Hebrews 12:1 

Be transformed by renewing your mind. Throw off everything that hinders you. 

Such clear advice, but still not easy.

This has been another week of putting short-term comfort above long-term victory, but I'm trying not to let myself feel defeated by it or agree with the enemy and label myself as a failure or sink into the depths of despair, as Anne of Green Gables would say. There's a lot of time left, and I need to just pick up and follow God from where I am right now...

I saw this on FB recently, and it made me laugh and seemed appropriate for this week:

In the middle of Dad telling me how well Mom was doing Monday night, I had an emotional breakdown which involved me crying on the phone with Dad, then Rachael, then Mom (3 different phone calls -- sometimes when it starts, it's hard to turn it off). Turns out being totally drained from lack of sleep and worrying about things you can't control is not a good combo, especially when you pair that with a Disney movie that makes you cry... so I blame Dory. lol (Thank heavens for the "protein powder funeral" for Chad on the Bachelorette making me laugh really hard after all that!!)

I'm doing much better now, and so is Mom, thankfully! She's getting stronger and able to do a little more each day, and she has her one week follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow. I've been thinking a lot about the importance of physical health and how many things we take for granted, and it makes me realize I really do want to take better care of myself and the body God has given me. So I'm going to pray and renew my mind and run with perseverance this coming week (which is week 7, which is the perfect number)! It's time to pull it together and choose the hard right over the easy wrong!

That's all for today.

(Thankful) Memory Monday ~ Mom's Back Surgery

Feeling so relieved and thankful today that Mom's surgery and hospital stay is over!! I'm thankful that God has protected her thus far and is working to heal and restore her. Her surgeon, surgery nurse, and anesthesiologist all introduced themselves and talked to us, and every nurse she had after surgery was great!! (Having stayed with her at OU Medical and MWC Hospital, I can say that the OKC Spine Hospital was truly awesome and above par, and I'll be writing soon to thank them.) Thankful for ALL the family and friends who prayed with us, called, texted, commented, visited, and sent cards, flowers, care packages, etc. I had felt a lot of dread and anxiety leading up to her surgery day - (there are times when it's hard to discern whether it's Satan attacking me or God preparing me for something, and that's how I felt about this). God has to keep reminding me to trust Him no matter what happens, but I am very thankful for His protection and grace here!

A few pictures from this week...

• Babah and Dad in the waiting room during Mom's 5+ hour surgery.
• Kyndal Faith taking a tiny break from asking "Whas wrong, Mamaw!?" to come smile for a picture.
• Jace, Kyndal, and Theo running crazy circles around JoBug's living room! lol
• Beautiful flowers and a "We've got your back!" card from the Texas Mueckes! :)
• Mom walking the halls for the first time with Nurse Vanessa (one of her awesome Critical Care nurses).
• Grandad coloring in one of the color books in the care package from Debbie Wallace! :)
• (The finished picture. lol)
• My cot in Room 123 (her Critical Care room)... and the Modern Family marathon on USA!
• Mom talking to Jaceman and Kyndal Saturday morning.
• I took a happy dinner break at McAlister's with Kristin, Frankie, and Diesel Saturday night!
• Silly face pictures while Mamaw was sleeping!
• Mom walking with Dr. Jay and her Physical Therapist Sunday morning.
• Jaceman with a chicken nugget in one hand and a fry in the other - (I got to go swim for a couple hours or so on Saturday morning while Dad and Babah were up there - a fun and much-needed relaxing break!)
• Bill and Debbie Wallace hanging out with me and Dad in the waiting room during Mom's surgery! (Rick and Bill and Jill and Babah and JoBug also came that day!) 
• Mom with Nurse Ashley signing the paperwork to go home yesterday!
• My new book - I'm about halfway through, and I identify with this author so much!
• Our stuff packed up and ready to go home.
• JoBug offered to "sneak" me in a glass of white wine - she wasn't kidding! lol It was more like 5 glasses, and the first time I'd had wine through a straw! lol (To be clear, I only had about 1/10th of what was in there. lol)
• Dr. Jay and Nurse Rachel taking care of Mom in Critical Care. (The photo blanket I got her for Mother's Day was a big hit, so yay for that!)

The surgery went as planned, and they updated us every 1-2 hours on their progress. Mom seemed to be doing really well that first day and night, just sleeping a lot, but not in awful pain, so I was very relieved... but her blood pressure was low, and it became more and more of a problem. It was 73/38, and I could tell the nurses were concerned. They gave her a lot of fluid and two pints of blood, and that didn't fix it like they'd hoped it would. (The top number was 59 at one point, and the bottom number dropped to 27.) At that point, she was pretty unresponsive and out of it, and her kidneys were not functioning well because of the low BP. Toward the end of the night when it was just me and Mom there, they decided to move her to Critical Care so they could monitor her and start a dopamine and sodium bicarbonate drip to increase her blood pressure. Needless to say, it was scary and felt like my fears were coming true. I googled a couple things to see how serious it was, and that was (and almost always is) a bad idea. Eventually, I got on Facebook, and it was encouraging to see the verse below in my "On This Day" -- something I'd posted in 2011, another year of hospital stays and surgeries for Mom. Obviously, she improved through the night and by 9 the next morning, her BP was stable without medication. They moved us back to Room 104 Saturday afternoon... she walked the halls that night and Sunday morning... and she was discharged from the hospital yesterday around 1:30! (Very unexpected, as they'd been telling us she would need to move to inpatient rehab for a week starting today.)

The bottom three screenshots are Rach's update for people to pray for Mom, her Father's Day post for my Dad, and JoBug's Father's Day post for Grandad! =) Just things I want to remember from this week!

The presh girlfranz have come down with a bad cough, so I took them to the vet (top left pic) and got some pills to help them. I still think they're adorable when they sleep - Bellsy Bells all worn out from her cough! I got them a new Martha Stewart pet bed, and Bellsy is a fan! When I came home to take them outside, Sam followed me to the back door as usual, but Ella had stayed back in the laundry room, not moving at all from her little throne. lol #cuteness Kelly Marie was able to house-sit and watch them for me while I was gone Wednesday through Sunday! I'm thankful for that, and I know they are, too!

Finally, here are a few pics from Mom and Dad's 35th Anniversary dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse! Me and T-man playing the games on the kids' menu, Jace helping Mom open her present from Bill & Jill, Josh and Miss K, Carterman being silly, Rach having some attitude while Kyndal shows us a pic of herself, and their complimentary dessert!! =)

Mom is doing significantly better, but the recovery process has just started, and there is a lot of fear and anxiety as she tries new things for the first time. Rach and I wondered if they discharged her too soon, as getting in the car was extremely difficult and painful for her. When Mom gets panicked, I feel completely inadequate and want to call a medical professional to help. Last night, I called the Spine Hospital with some questions and nearly called 911 twice, then when Dad got home, he calmly talked Mom through the pain and fear, and encouraged her that she will get better every day and keep building up strength. Maybe it's good that he's there now and I'm not. lol  But please keep her and our family in your prayers...

I still feel pretty tense and keyed up from this past week. Everything was heightened and more intense through the last four days -- the love, beauty, joy, gratitude, and connection... and also the fear, stress, and desire to keep everything under control. I barely slept the three nights at the hospital with the nurses coming in and out to check everything, as well as just trying to make sure I heard Mom if she needed anything. There were some great moments and quotable quotes, which I'll write more about later. I talked to the doctors and nurses and took phone notes on a lot of what was said, and I was always ready to hand Mom her water, tea, jello, Carmex, toothbrush, etc. I held her hand when they were giving her more shots (they blew two veins with IVs and her hand got really swollen - disturbing to think about, but not too serious) and I tried to comfort her when she got nervous or confused, and to stay quiet and let her sleep as much as possible.

I can feel myself still wanting to be there and be able to make sure she's well taken care of and getting whatever she needs to be comfortable and taking the right medicine at the right time, so I'm trying to trust God and let all that go. She is going to have to fight through a lot of pain and discomfort, and in those situations, sometimes you need hypersensitive compassion and comfort, and sometimes you need tough love and people who will push you, and I'm sure God timed it right for what she needed when! Dad, Rach, Josh, Babah, Grandad, JoBug, Charlene, Alan, Georgia, Bill & Jill, and many others will be working together to do our best to care for her and help her make progress through this season, but there are a million things none of us can control, so that's always a little scary (at least to me). I could make sure her teeth were clean and her blankets were situated correctly and her lips were not getting chapped, but I could only pray when her blood pressure kept dropping. There is a lot that only God can do, and He is sovereign and gets to decide what happens and how it happens. I am thankful that Mom is doing well today, and I'm thankful that if God wants her to make a full and complete recovery, she will... He is the Lord, the God of all humankind, and there is, indeed, nothing too difficult for Him!!

35 Years!

Happy 35th Anniversary to my wonderful parents!!

(This pic = their 33rd Anniversary dinner at KD's.)

I'm thanking God for their marriage today... I am so thankful for their firm commitment to each other and to our family over the past 35 years! They met at a New Year's Eve party (1980 into 1981), and they got married 5 months and 13 days later... fast! lol I'm thankful that God has blessed and strengthened them individually and in their marriage! I am grateful that Mom encouraged and financially supported them as Dad worked hard to get his State Farm agency going, and thankful for the way God has blessed his business over the years. I am deeply thankful that Rachael and I got to grow up in a loving, peaceful, happy Christian home, secure in knowing that we were loved and our parents loved each other. (I'm much more aware now what a blessing that was, and how rare it is in today's society.) I'm thankful that they were there for our programs, recitals, school events, parties, etc. and that we were the fun house where our friends loved to come hang out!

I am thankful for their strength of character and Godly values -- that they prioritized church and made sacrifices to send us to a Christian school and guided us toward the right path in so many little ways. I'm thankful that God healed Mom when she had cancer and later a staph infection, and that He divinely protected them in the 2011 car wreck. I'm thankful for every holiday and vacation and family get-together and birthday party, for Dad's fantasy football league and the lasting family friendships there. I'm grateful for their continued support and encouragement in my adult life, and for getting to see their joy and love for their grandchildren! I am thankful for Dad's peaceful attitude and uncommon generosity and for Mom's listening ear and nurturing spirit - that she made sacrifices to make sure we were taken care of and happy and having fun as we grew up. And I'm thankful that Dad is selflessly taking care of her now that her back is injured. Praying that God uses the coming surgery to heal her and strengthen her!

I'm thankful for their patient, kind, and committed love through all the ups and downs of life! To sum it up, I'm thankful for their marriage and praying that they get to celebrate many more years together!!

"Love is patient and kind. It is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance... Three things will last forever - faith, hope, and love - and the greatest of these is love."  ~I Corinthians 13:4-13

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday, folks!  Our two-day Jury Trial this week was oddly exhausting thanks to about 500,000 bench conferences. I need everyone in our courtroom to SPEAK UUUUUP!!  (Or settle their case - that's highly preferable!) Anyway, very glad it's Friday and looking forward to a quiet weekend. Then celebrating Mom & Dad's 35th Anniversary on Monday night... then coming to stay with Mom at the hospital after her back surgery on Thursday! **Prayers appreciated!**

Without further ado, here are some fun "Photo Friday" pics, along with a mini-Quotables post!

Lucy, Bullet, and Lucky all lounging on the backs of JoBug's recliners -- LOVE IT!! lol Then Sammers and Ella Bell fighting for my attention on the couch. =)  (I'm somehow just realizing that between Kelsey, Reeses, Rylee, Reagan, Lucy, Lucky, Izzy, Bullet, Sam, and Ella, there's not been one male dog in the mix. #noboysallowed #girlfranzclub lol)

Kyndal Faith asked me to take a pic of her with the doll (she's playing with Rach's old Cabbage Patch doll, Sarah), then when I got my phone out, she made the face on the far left - 0% smile. lol It made me think of the old fashioned portraits and laugh, so I went ahead and took it. Then I asked if she could smile for one, and I got the super-cheesy overhyped smile in the middle. Then someone made her laugh, and I got the genuine smile on the right!! What. A. Preshface. lol (Also, this collage makes me think of my dream of having blond-haired, blue-eyed identical triplet girls! How fun would that be!? lol)

Here she is doing a flip (being thrown in) at JB's pool!!  She's a brave one, and I feel like she's gonna be a perfect combo of girly girl and tomboy. =)

The Jaceman cracks me up when he makes this face. The swagger is real. lol

QUOTABLES

"Jace, you need to come sit down by this wall over --" ~Rach, starting to put Jace in a time-out for being "tacky" to her
"NEVER!!" ~Jaceman, picking the wrong time to stand his ground! lol
(*"Never" is his new favorite word, pronounced more like "nev-oh!" and it's usually hilarious to me when he says it! In this little fiasco, right after he said it, Rach had to pop the M&Ms she was holding into her mouth so she'd have a free hand to spank him, so she and I were both trying not to crack up! lol)

"What is that!??" ~Missy, asking about my cracked fingers
"It's just a little scab - nothing too bad... What's this on your knee?" ~Me, pointing to a major scrape
"Mmm, I'm deaf." ~Kyndal (That's what it sounded like. I looked really confused, so she repeated it about 5x, the same exact sounds but saying it ultra-slowly for my benefit and looking at me like I'm an idiot- lol, before I finally caught on that she was saying, "I'm tough!" lol)
"Touuuugh, yes! Yes, you are, girlfiend! I just love you!!" =) #sassafras

"It's not fair."  ~Jaceman, so distraught that he stopped eating his fries, quietly looking down at his plate full of Ketchup after being told that he can't add any more to it. LOL #lifeishard

"So, you all might have noticed that I'm doing a pushup challenge for suicide awareness on Facebook that no one is responding to!" ~JEM, beginning to tell us about a new plan he and Kelly made lol

"Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary..." (Jeff, Kelly, me, Chet, Karli, and Evan in a random, lovely two-part harmony)
Laura steps into the living room looking very confused...
"Chet wanted to know where Ross went to church..." ~Me lol (I said "Sanctuary in Jenks," and JEM immediately burst into that song and we all joined in. Sometimes life really is like a musical! lol)

"So there's the super-nice Texas guy who reminds us all of Jeff, and then we have the Tulsa realtor..." ~Me, teasing Chettles as we watched The Bachelorette (Chad = the main jerk/villain of this season, and the drama around him has been highly entertaining - and he just happens to be a realtor from Tulsa, OK. I'm gonna laugh if Chet has to do a deal with him someday.)  =)

*The following is an actual word-for-word conversation by two men on The Bachelorette. Painful. (*I literally rushed to set Jimmy Fallon to record immediately after hearing this, hoping that Questlove and Tariq would do one of their awesomesauce reenactments of this scene!!) No such luck. :(

Daniel: "The more I talk to you, I get dragged down."
Chad: "Yeah?"
Daniel: "It's like, you know, let's just pretend you're Hitler. If I'm friends with you..."
Chad: "Let's not pretend that I'm Hitler!"
Daniel: "Well, let's just say it -- let's just say it."
Chad: "Let's not say it."
Daniel: "Okay, well, let's say you're Donald Trump or something like that. I mean, if I hang out with you, it's gonna make me look bad, too; right? So let's be not so much like Hitler. Maybe be more like Mussolini, you know? Or Bush. So I mean, just maybe take it down a notch, right? You know, just talking like, you know... one man to another."
Hahahhahaha, someone make it all stop. 

Chet (cracking up when he saw these birthday candles had fallen over just minutes after Evan put them in):  "These candles are weird. Why are there wicks at both ends!?"
Jessica:  "No, the wax burned off down to there because the brownies had just come out of the oven!" lol

Jessica, mildly annoyed: "Well, I hope you guys like wax!"
Singing and celebrating Karli's birthday! :)

"Who made the brownies, because they were really good!" ~Laura
"Oh, I did." ~Jessica
"So I guess throwing the pan in the oven constitutes making them!?" ~Evan
"Oh yeah, I forgot. Evan stirred the batter this time!" ~Jessica, laughing at the whole thing :)

Party Poppers cuteness!

I had JEM take one with me in it...

And he threw this bonus shot in, too! lol

"Jelly" as we watched The Bachelorette!

Chet showing LB updated farmhouse pics!

Jessica & Evan with their sweet new rescue dog, Willow!

Pretty much this entire video is quotable!  This guy is sarcastic and hilarious, but also has some serious videos on youtube that are on point. Anyway, I nearly spit out my drink while watching this at work when he started talking to the doll!  "Be a wall, son!!" lol


One more. lol


Okay, that's all for today. Have a great weekend!!

If I Could Turn Back Time...

Dear sweet, naive 2007 Lindsey, 

This new house will prove to be a fantastic and God-ordained decision, even though most of what you're envisioning for it right now is going to shatter dramatically in approximately five days...

By the time you move in a couple months, your life and circle of friends will have changed completely. You will become the outcast in a way you never thought was possible. There will be mini-dramas and betrayals and a lot of confusion and heartache. In a few months, your younger cousin will be diagnosed with brain tumors, then your family friend will come down with an unexplained virus and eventually die as family and friends surround him in the hospital to pray... and everything you've believed about God will come into question. It's gonna be brutal, and if I could go back and hug you and help you see things clearly, I would. I would tell you that God loves you and that He is sovereign and knows what is best. I would tell you that your worth and value are not linked to any one person's opinion of you. And I would warn you not to align yourself with someone so completely that if he rejects you and walks away, you will want to reject yourself, too. (Then you would say that could never happen, because your judgment is clouded and your faith is misplaced.)

I'm so thankful that God was there for you, that He is here for you right now today, and that He will be there for you in any future unexpected, world-shattering events. The God who was and is and is to come. I'm thankful that God brought you through that year. I'm thankful that I can separate it out when I look back at you, that my opinion of your worth is completely disconnected from Josh's opinion of your worth. And even though you made some really poor choices in that relationship, I can look at you with love and compassion and grace instead of disdain or disgust, and I'm so thankful for the way my mindset toward you has changed.

So congrats on signing the contract on your first house - that's awesome, and you're going to grow to love it, even though you'll contemplate moving back home for a bit! And thank God for that lifegroup you joined recently and haven't made much time for! Now brace yourself and know that God will get you through the coming year, and you are going to be okay.

Love you,

Memorial Weekend Quotables!

"Aww, I wanted a vanilla Coke from Sonic!!" ~Carter, a few minutes after they left Sonic

"Oh, stop!" ~Jaceman, over all the drama! lol

"Ohmygosh, hey guys, there's a cute little bunny over here!!"  ~Me, all excited

"Oh, they may not get too excited - we actually see them all the time around here. There's a lot of 'em in this neighborhood." ~Rach, assuming her kids would ignore me and explaining why

"Awwww, I've never seen a bunny before in my LIFE!!"  ~Jace, running over to look at it - lol

"Are you freakin' serious!?" -Rach, annoyed while I was cracking up

"I AM freakin' serious!"  ~Jace, with freakin' serious attitude ;-)

**All three boys rush into our house freaking out and talking over each other telling Mom and Dad all about the beavers and the "huge snake" they saw out on the golf course, while Kyndal quietly came right over to me with big eyes and said, "Snake. (nods her little head) Huge!" Lol  I love it... a simple two-word story by a sassafras Miss K... so adorable!! :)

"I can't take it. My heart is racing! I was just thinking, I wish I didn't care so much, but I dooo. It's critical - it matters so much!!" ~Mom, Thunder Game 6 

"I'm gonna say this fast, so listen close 'cause I don't wanna jinx him: KD hasn't missed a free throw in the whole playoffs!"  ~Mom, being intense and making me laugh

"Are there any good refs -- anywhere in all the world!?" ~Mom

"Maybe just one or two rules for Draymond? Nope, there are none!!" ~Mom

"Where's KD? He's not even in... whaaat!?? He's NOT TIRED!!"  ~Mom again, Lol so funny and intense watching the playoff games with her!

"I'm Jace -- I'm Mamaw's grandson!" ~Jaceman introducing himself to Ms. Williamson :)

  

"Well, I'm about ready to go in and eat some cake and ice cream... and it's my birthday!" ~Babah, attempting to get everyone out of the pool for a quick cake and ice cream break

"Okay, we'll just wait for you right here!" ~Jace, swimming around, oblivious to what Babah meant

"Yeah, you just go enjoy the hell out of your birthday!!" ~JoBug lol

"I give them about a 20% chance. It's just -- ugh, lets not even talk about it!" ~Mom, before Thunder Game 7 lol

"Hmm, can I just skip lunch?" ~T-man, not wanting anything from Chick-Fil-A or Sonic

"Sure, if you want to." ~Rach

"What will I do if I skip lunch?" ~T

"Be hungry!!" ~Jaceman, clearing that mystery right up

He's a funny one! =) Happy Friday and have an awesomesauce weekend!!