Big Cedar 2017!

Fourth Big Cedar trip this weekend... yay, Ruth!!  (Her family has a timeshare, and we've been able to use the bonus points and have a nearly free vacation!)  Georgia, Alan, Nancy, and Gene went for the first part of the week. They had a great time trout fishing and paddle boating and doing some shopping in Branson! The Myricks met me for lunch at Miss Scarlett's last Thursday to exchange the room keys. Then I met Mom halfway to switch cars Friday morning so we'd have more room on the drive, then the Wilsons, Tiffany, and Tall Kyle met at my house Friday afternoon to head to Ridgedale, Missouri!  

(Group selfie overlooking the Top of the Rock Chapel.)

This trip was fantastic -- very low key and relaxing with people who make me happy, as I believe all vacations should be! We got some groceries at the local CountryMart, then had tacos and rice for "family dinner" ...Chet Lee's gallon water jug is cracking me up! :)

Then we watched Date Night and got the traditional movie night socks pic! =)

Saturday morning, we slept in, then Kyle made breakfast for us (biscuits and a bacon-egg-bread casserole) + orange juice. Yum! :)  Then we went out for a "Wilderness Walk." (It was all paved and mostly surrounded by buildings, streets, and people... so my style of wilderness walking!) =)

Artsy photo by Chet Lee -- I love it!

The gang minus me on the bridge by the pretty waterfall.

Tiffany and I by the lovely sunlit river! (I love water, and I really enjoy being out in nature as long as it's a gentle saunter and nothing is crawling on or near me! lol)

We kept our tradition going and went to Billy Bob's Dairyland for lunch in Branson! Yes, please, to Frito Chili Pie and a peanut butter fried pie blended into a chocolate shake! lol  We stopped at Walgreens for me to grab a toothbrush, then came back to rest for a bit... Kyle read out on the porch, Chet and Karli took a short nap, and Tiffany and I started watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban!

After we came out of our carb-induced coma, we went to play a quick round of mini golf! Chettles refused to play, but served as our group photographer. I was ridiculously terrible, managing to hit my golf ball into the most random spots. But we had fun, and no one was keeping score anyway! :)

TK looks so serious here, holding the flag for our 7th and final hole! lol 

We drove to Top of the Rock, followed by an interesting shuttle ride over to see the chapel, where we stayed for about 30 minutes to watch the sunset! It was so beautiful and peaceful, then Chet chimed in with, "Well, that's that!! Yay, sun!" lol  Also, this pic makes me laugh! :)

Chet Lee in the balcony!

After that, we hit the gift shop to use our $10 voucher, then we came back to the room and played Uno and watched Pitch Perfect 2 whilst the frozen lasagna was cooking!

The girls had popcorn while the guys had caesar salad and fruit appetizers. Then we had a late but tasty dinner of lasagna, green beans, and a baguette! =)

Then me, Chet, and Tiffany learned the cups routine from Pitch Perfect, and we watched videos and talked about wanting to learn the Footloose linedance! (Yay, Youtube tutorials! lol)

Everyone went to bed, but Tiffany and I stayed up to finish Harry Potter! Maybe a bad choice as we were crazy tired on Sunday, but I was really into it and very impressed with JK Rowling, as per usual! lol  Sunday morning, we had a 7:30 breakfast by Kyle... this time switching biscuits for cinnamon rolls and getting a toasting pic with our orange juice (another BC tradition)! =)

We packed, watched part of The Help, and checked out by 10 am, then we drove to Lambert's for an early lunch, where Chet got the world's biggest salad (in a breadbowl, which was funny to me). 

Chet wanted Kyle to ask the waitress for a bag of ice for his leftovers, saying that Kyle is good at getting what he wants. lol Kyle asked for that, then followed it by pointing to me and saying, "And she's probably gonna want a picture of all of us, so if you wouldn't mind taking that..." lol So here's our happy Lambert's Pic! =)  Thankfully, Chet gave up juicing before this vacation, but the guys were great and stayed pretty healthy the whole trip! Not so much on my end, but I have a new FitBit and March 1st is right around the corner! ;-)

Tiffany was kind enough to join me in picking up the girlfranz then another halfway trip to OKC to meet Mom and Dad and exchange cars again! We got cracked up at ourselves being near-drunk level delirious and tired, discussing our love for Eminem, singing along to old school Kanye, and lamenting how he probably went crazy mostly because of his mom's death. We woke ourselves up enough to go to the 5 o'clock LifeChurch and have dinner at The Blaze... then when I finally got home for the night, I crashed into bed around 8:30!!

Anyway, here's a happy Flipagram with more pics from the trip!
(DELETED WITHOUT NOTICE BY VIGO VIDEO APP!) =(
*Made a new one with Google Photos. =)

Happy Monday! (If that's a thing.) Hope your week is off to a good start and that you enjoy the last 2 days of February!! =)

Oblivious vs. Observant

"Where are you going, friend!?"  ~Tiffany, gently checking in with me after I missed the Tulsa Hills Hideaway because I was lost in conversation, then turned the car around and missed it again coming from the other direction! lol ...I laughed at myself for a while after she said that!! :)

Random thought for today:  Not sure if it's true for all introverts, but with my personality, I am comically oblivious to a lot of the external world, but weirdly observant about the internal world!

So if I were to write a fiction book, I would really struggle to describe the setting well or to give any concrete detail about the homes, cars, buildings, towns, etc. where the action of the story was taking place -- this is actually what keeps me from trying to write fiction. But I could write beautifully about the thoughts, feelings, moods, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, personality quirks, and key relationships of every character (or real life person) in rich detail. I will probably never have great directional sense (hooray for navigation!) -- I'm much too busy singing along to the music and pondering the lyrics, or looking at pretty trees and daydreaming about what kind of trees I might see in heaven. lol  Noticing even the major details about cars and houses (including family and friends) is pretty rare without someone else blatantly asking or pointing them out to me -- there has to be some sort of story or memory attached for me to truly care and remember it.  

However, I tend to naturally notice facial expressions and sense the emotions of those around me -- the internal world is always high on my radar. Others will be complimenting the beautiful ornate picture frame, and I'll have to pull myself away from analyzing the picture. Or we'll be touring a house when I get stuck stopping to look at what books are on the shelf. If there were literally a chain on the ground and most people were wondering how it got there, I would be thinking metaphorically about chains being broken, letting go of what chains us, etc. lol I heart metaphors!  Everyone around me can be distracted by the crazy drunk people or the porn fliers littering the streets, but I'm zoned in on Frank Sinatra and the Bellagio fountains. Friends often notice my parents' new cars before I do. I'd be entirely lost without my car navigation and compass. I couldn't tell you what kind of gas mileage my car gets or the name of the tree in my front flower bed (I do know it now, thanks to JEM and Chet). But I remember Friendiversary dates and other important events. I'm just really good at zoning out and focusing in on my own little world... and it's not a bad place to be lately! ;-) I'm thankful for how creative God is in how He designed us. The differences in personality styles is endlessly fascinating to me. I like that I am super-observant about heart-level things, and I'm just embracing my ongoing obliviousness to the rest of life. lol

Okay, in other news, here are some fun pictures! 

Celebrating all February birthdays at Chuck E. Cheese... I got a piece before the cake got destroyed by Jace and Kyndal! lol

And a few precious pics from their trip to Great Wolf Lodge! =)

Look - something I actually noticed on my own: Dad's SF ad on our table at Ron's this Sunday! lol

Happy Thursday! I'm off to get a massage with Michelle now (YAY!!) then back to pack and get ready for the Big Cedar trip tomorrow!! Get excited! =)

Words of Wisdom Wednesday!

It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small,

And the fears that once controlled me can't get to me at all.

Up here in the cold, thin air, I finally can breathe.

I know I left a life behind, but I'm too relieved to grieve!

Standing frozen in the life I've chosen.

You won't find me; the past is all behind me,

Buried in the snow! Let it go...

~Let It Go, Demi Lovato version

"This I declare about the Lord:

He alone is my refuge, my place of safety.

He is my God, and I trust Him."

~Psalm 91:2

Speak Now...

"If you think something kind about someone, SAY it!"  ~Craig Groeschel

A little sincere encouragement can go a long way in changing someone's day, and in the right situation, it can change the course of someone's life! ...I cannot speak for everyone, but I tend to be very aware of my flaws and shortcomings, the areas where I have failed or where I continue to get it wrong. It's easy to believe that God generally loves the world, but sometimes harder to believe that He loves you individually and specifically. Our enemy does his best to keep us from seeing our progress, understanding our purpose, and celebrating the times God has used us to make a positive difference in the lives of others. And that's why God tells us to "encourage one another and build each other up." (1 Thessalonians 5:11) 

It matters. The power of life and death is in the tongue, and it's important to speak words of life that strengthen those we love!

Two years ago, Chet Lee took the time to write out some words of affirmation for each of the friends at his birthday party... I still have that sheet of paper, and I have a picture of it that's always in my phone! :)

And this year, I received seven thoughtful, handwritten birthday cards, and then there were the awesomesauce spoken words of affirmation at my party Friday night:

Laura said that I am someone who always seeks out the truth, that I am tenacious in building and maintaining deep friendships when shutting down might have been easier, and that I am good about celebrating the little things in my friends' lives. Chet talked about the spiritual growth he has seen in me over the years, and he said I didn't deserve what happened in past friendships and he's glad that I really believe that now. Jeff said he always feels at home and enjoys the gatherings at my house - that I'm good at hospitality, and that he loves looking through the blog books and old scrapbooks and he appreciates that I also enjoy reminiscing and "treat the past with respect." Kelly said I'm a friend who is all in and not halfhearted, and that I'm very willing to share and be transparent in my writing and in our Lifegroup.  Kyle was trying to think of something no one else had said so he mentioned my fear of bugs, which was hilarious. He also said I'm very creative and artistic. Steve said he is thankful that I treat him just like anyone else there even though we haven't known each other very long. Sarah talked about the scavenger hunt story and said that she appreciated me speaking truth into her life even when she didn't want to hear it. Tiffany said I've been a very caring friend who is not just all talk but really shows up for people when they need me. Angela talked about meeting me at Lifegroup four years ago and that she felt like I just exuded kindness. Karli said that I'm very insightful and that I understand people and personalities and relationships well. Jenna said I've been a great roommate and that my love for my family and friends is very evident.

Just listening to that was SO GREAT!  I love that each person actually said something different - I probably wouldn't have thought that possible beforehand. It was deeply meaningful, and I won't forget it, (especially now that I've written some of it down). ;-)

I am a natural encourager and have written many a blog "Tribute." But I'm going to make an effort to step up my game there and be more intentional about offering personal encouragement, both written and verbal!  It's often a very small thing to us -- a text or quick note or a few words in a phone call -- but it can make a significant, lasting impact on the recipient.

I read a blog recently that talked about how people are usually overflowing with good memories and wonderful things to say about someone after they die, yet there is no reason to wait for that day to say those things... there are many people who are struggling or feeling weak or weary in their life here, and it's essential to speak our encouraging words to them now. So that's a little challenge for me and for you today: Speak now... if you think something kind, say it!!

In other news, the birthday celebrations continue at home this weekend, and I'm pretty psyched about having President's Day off tomorrow! =)

The Jesus Year

Fair warning:  This is not a short post. lol

First off, how much do I love it that my "Jesus year" 33rd birthday fell on 2-17-17, a Friday in the 7th week of 2017, on National Random Acts of Kindness Day!? ❤

I've had a lot of great birthdays, but I believe this one was my favorite thus far...

I took my birthday off work, of course, so I drove to OKC on Thursday night. We went to bed around 11:30, and I spent the few minutes before and after midnight reflecting and praying and consecrating the year ahead to God. I was greeted in the morning by Miss Reagan jumping on me with all her joyous fluffy energy, which is always a fun surprise. lol (No pic of that, but here she is on the bed after I made it.)

The Parrish fam was headed to Texas that afternoon for a stay at Great Wolf Lodge, so we did a birthday brunch at All American Diner. Breakfast foods are among my favorite things, and I went with biscuits and gravy this time. :) Josh was working and T&C were with Brooke this weekend, so it was just the original four that morning (Mom, Dad, me, and Rach) + Jaceman and Kyndal Faith, which was really great!!

J&K were not in the best moods, but there was a brief period where they were super sweet with each other, and luckily, I was nearby with my camera ready. lol  I just love them so much, and I was glad I got to spend the morning with them!!

Rachael wrote me a wonderful B-day card that morning and shared this on Facebook last night. So great and meaningful -- love you, Rach!

I went to Cut Loose Salon in Midwest City where they worked me in for a quick wash-and-style appointment. Yay for the salon shampoos and scalp massages! Peyton did some quick curling wand curls, and I had her throw some pink in it just for fun. :) We chatted about the Parrish kids (who go there, too) and about my birthday plans and the greatness of Andolini's pizza, then I took this selfie just before making the drive back to Tulsa!  I sometimes wish I had a job where I could have fun colors in my hair all the time! lol

I got home and found these lovely flowers + a beautiful card and gift from my roommate, Jenna! What a fun surprise!!

Let the girlfranz out for a minute, got ready, then headed to Andolini's to meet the girls for our 5:30 dinner. Since I had skipped lunch, I was very ready to eat by the time I got there!  The "opulent mac and cheese" did not disappoint. =)  It was Tiffany, Angela, Laura, Jenna, and me -- "all the single ladies, all the single ladies!" lol Four of us got the mac n' cheese, and Angie got one of their appetizers that she likes. Funny that none of us went with pizza, which is also really great there! (Thanks again to Laura for buying my birthday dinner!!) ...Each of the girls had written me a wonderful card... and since I've talked about loving baths lately, I got some fun Lush bath bombs and a face mask, so I'm all set for a few "Spa Saturdays!" ;-)

We headed to the Wilsons from there, and Sarah took a couple pics of me with this lovely birthday banner made by Karli! =)

Jeffrey Edward brought me some eggs fresh from the Moss farm, and we got a passing of the eggs pic that really makes me laugh! =)

JEM also took this pic of all the girls in the living room. Love it!

Then we went out back to start the birthday bonfire festivities!

Unannounced to me, there was a burn ban and it was super windy, so the fire portion of the evening was quite interesting and brief, including the guys being very alert and stomping out the flying embers while the girls roasted marshmallows and dramatically darted away when the wind changed directions, or maybe that last part was just me! ;-)

Lots of great memories out here already, and I'm thankful we were able to eat some s'mores and get a few fun pics outside! Chet had his bluetooth speaker and played some fun songs, and it was all light and fun and good! =)

Sarah volunteered herself to be the s'mores model. lol  (I completely forgot to bring the s'mores stuff I bought last week, but the Wilsons had us covered! Thanks for that, Chet and Karli... and for hosting this birthday, and for getting me a cookie cake in the middle of Chet's no-sweets year!)

Laura's cracking me up in this one! #cameraready

Tiffany, Kelly, and Angela -- some of my favorite friends from the Women's Lifegroup!

Hooray for Sarah Elizabeth and God renewing our friendship!!

They put out the fire and we came inside for the rest of the evening... this was the game plan I texted everyone a couple weeks ago.

I'm deeply thankful to have a solid group of friends who love me enough to go along with this unique idea... and who love Jesus and connect with each other enough to make this work!! ❤ 

I started us off with prayer, then I chose the death and resurrection topic, talking about dying to my fear/worry/anxiety and worst case scenario imaginations, and about God's mercy and grace always being sufficient for our present reality but not meant to cover our overblown imagination and fears.

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it!" -John 1:4-5

I love metaphors, and to me, that verse speaks to the life of Christ inside me being stronger than depression and stronger than sin, piercing through that darkness. I love that the verse acknowledges the existence of darkness but makes it really clear that the light of Christ is more powerful.  Yes, please!!  I also love that it says His life was the light of all mankind, the force that saves us all!

Choose life = my word for 2017.  After the major depression struggle and difficult seasons where I really did not feeling strong enough to make it through life, and after a lot of loss and distancing myself to avoid further loss, God is resurrecting certain things and I am reawakening to the strength and desire to live out whatever life God wants to give me! And to the earthly hope of a future family and the very real possibility of adoption within the next few years. #getexcited  I am praying about that and doing my best to keep my heart open to love and life, trusting God to put me back together if or when my heart gets broken again. Praying for continued peace and joy in the meantime.  (End scene. lol) 

...After I shared, everyone else took their turn sharing. We covered each of the 7 topics and more, and it was so sooooooo great hearing everyone's stories, stopping to pray for Steve and Sarah, passing Kleenex around the room, laughing about certain memories together, encouraging each other with memories of God's faithfulness, and learning some new things about every person there. It was good and sacred and meaningful, everything I had hoped for and more!!

We took a cookie-cake break after "story time," and I got a fun video of everyone singing Happy Birthday to me.  I can't even help myself, and I love it! :)

Chet Lee has been on a recent juice cleanse, so he made us fresh orange juice that was really good!  Sarah Elizabeth went for coffee and got this happy mug that creeps her out again. lol

After that, we returned to the living room for part two -- another big thanks to Laura for putting that surprise together! They went around the room again, each person sharing what they most appreciate or the character qualities or growth that they've seen in my life. It was intense and awesome -- lots of love and very meaningful words of affirmation and encouragement from people who know me well!!

Not sure how it got started exactly, but we sang Amazing Grace a capella to officially finish things off, which was also very random but cool!  I drove Tiffany back to her car that night, and we had a really good talk. She said she nearly had a panic attack over sharing her testimony, and I assured her that she spoke really well and that I'm so glad more people got to hear her story (it's powerful!). I completely understand that it's nerve wracking for almost everyone to share personal stories and emotions in a group setting like this. I felt a bit nervous even though it was my idea and I'd written down most of what I wanted to say.  I wondered if that would mean a very small crowd, but almost everyone I invited was able to make it. So thank you, friends, for pressing through the nervous energy and being willing to dive deep... it was so worth it!!

All that to say, 33 is off to a fabulous start! I want this to be a year of drawing near to Jesus and studying His life and character more deeply. (And hopefully reflecting it in new and different ways.) I feel very loved and crazy thankful for the people God has placed in my life. And I wanted to write a full recap of this day because it mattered to me. 

Whew!! Congrats to those who made it through this post. ;-) Thanks for reading and caring about my life! Happy Saturday, and I hope you enjoy the long weekend! =)