Thankful Thursday! (81)

"I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve Me. For I have chosen you and I will not throw you away." ~Isaiah 41:9 💙

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Spring and the "spring forward" time change on the way!  I'm ready for more sunshine and warmth and beauty in my life!! =) If only the bugs could stay away. lol I'm loving this adorable chalkboard Rach made me -- the rainbow puff paint and the flowers with faces just make me really happy! 💜

2.  The Voice being back on, minus Miley!  I'm such a fan of Blake, Adam, Kelly, and Alicia - it's my favorite coaches group they've had so far!! =)

3. Having Laura and Tiffany working at the courthouse with me... friends who can see and understand the true craziness of Creek County are a big plus! lol
4. The fun of cooking and hosting dinners with friends - I tried the Pioneer Woman's potato soup recipe (yummers!) and we had caesar salad and garlic bread with it... plus some brownies for dessert! =)  (This also means I'm on track with my monthly dinner-hosting resolution, and I'll work on planning something bigger than a girls night trio with soup-and-salad for March! lol)

5.  My new audiobook, Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis... each chapter is about an agreement or lie she had believed, then how she overcame those lies and lived with more freedom!  She has also had Bells Palsy twice (which definitely got my attention!) and a lot of the struggles she shares are very relatable, and her advice is real and helpful - centered on taking responsibility for your life and making things happen - a theme God is putting in my life lately!  YAY!!

6. The truth of this quote! ❤

7. Being right on track with my Bible reading plan for this year - woohoo!!! As well as being on track with my Scrunch-Up challenge!! (18,000 squats, push-ups, and crunches in 2018 -- or 50 a day for 360 days).

Finally, here's a little encouragement for anyone who could use it today:
“One of the most poisonous of all Satan’s whispers is simply, 'Things will never change.' That lie kills expectation, trapping our heart forever in the present... We must renew our vision for what lies ahead. Things will NOT always be like this. Jesus has promised to 'make all things new.' Eye has not seen, ear has not heard all that God has in store... which does not mean 'we have no clue so don’t even try to imagine,' but rather, you cannot outdream God!” ❤❤
~John Eldredge

Happy March to you! We're marching on and moving forward!! 💗

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Catching up on blogging today... many thanks to Lauralai for this Wonder Woman card that came with tattoos, along with the Amazon gift card and tasty chocolate bar!  All solid choices! lol

On Monday, we celebrated with the fam at Johnnie's!

I know I take a lot of Kyndal pics, but *in my defense* the Miss K loves to pose it up and have her picture taken, and the nephews are usually annoyed by the idea and throw in an eyeroll or make silly faces. lol  Plus, she's the cutest person I've known from the day she was born right up to now. lol  Here's her and Rach and her Teddy Graham! lol

This = her demonstrating her ballet abilities. ❤
Me: "Oooh, are those your ballet slippers!?"
K: "No, they're my ballet SHOES." lol #sweetnsassy

I finally got some healthy groceries yesterday, now that "birthday season" is over.  Elizabeth treated me to breakfast at First Watch on Monday, where I went with the delicious French toast!  JoBug brought Eileen's cookies to lunch. The fam got cookiecake for my actual bday.  And Chet got Ludger's cake for my birthday eve! lol  Not to mention the free dessert from Chili's and free pizza from Marco's.  All fantastic - but the extremes of this season have made eating healthy sound really nice right now! =)

In other news, the Olympics have gotten me again!  I'd never cared much about ice dancing in the past, but I got into it this year.  Hooray for Canada's team Virtue and Moir winning the gold!  Their skate here was actually the first one I watched this year.

Also, how great a last name is Virtue!?  I love that!  Tessa Virtue. I'm a fan!

I was also really rooting for this team from France, as she had a costume malfunction and somehow continued to skate beautifully!  I can't even imagine how distracting that would have been for her, and I'm so happy they won silver!  (The US won bronze, so yay for that, too!)

Just for fun:

Today has been strange.  Judge went to Okemah, but I have a transcript I need to get done, so I came in (after sleeping in a tiny bit). lol  I wore my Ugg boots because of the weather, then changed my right foot into a flip-flop so I could work the foot pedal for my audio.  I took this pic because that made me laugh, and now I'm realizing it's a pretty appropriate representation of this week... some days in the 70s, and then today below freezing and the roads are covered in ice! #oklahoma

They actually shut down the courthouse and had everyone leave at 3, so I didn't get as far as I'd hoped on the transcript. But I was happy to come home and snuggle up under a blanket! I'm feeling a bit nauseous and weak today, but trying to will whatever this is to go away.

This = another super random quiz on FB, but it made me laugh!  I've definitely said all these things, and the Morgan Freeman narration is pretty accurate (and funnier when you read it in his voice). lol

Tonight, I will watch the last episode of Blue Bloods available on Netflix (the season 7 finale).  It's taken me a weirdly long time to get through them all, but I love it now! See you again soon, Reagan family!!  

In more serious news, Billy Graham died today, and I loved the truth and hope in this quote when I read it!!

That's all I've got for now.  Stay safe and warm!!  ❤

Say Something

Ludger's Bavarian chocolate cake for my 32nd and 34th birthdays, courtesy of the Wilsons! =)  

(We all agreed that this year's was much better decorated. lol)

My lovely bday gift from baby Tate! lol

Tiffany and I grabbed some Hideaway Pizza then joined the Wilsons for dinner at the Farmhouse on Friday. We got to see their updated nursery room, and I got to hold Mr. Tate again!  Tiffany and I went to see Black Panther afterward, so the bottom left pic is us in our 3D glasses. =)

Mmmmmiss K!!  What a presh.

Birthday dinner this year was Mom's spaghetti, garlic bread, chocolate cake, cookiecake, and ice cream!  I took a cue from the Miss K and had a low-key night at home with the fam and Charlene, including dinner, dessert, the Olympics, and funny movies! =)  Kyndal Faith requested to sit by me at dinner ❤, then T-man and I had a memorable chat about Great Wolf Lodge (they've been a few times and are excited to go again soon):

Me: "Yeah, I'll have to go there sometime - it sounds like a lot of fun!"

T: "Oh, yeah!  It's fun for all ages, so if you find someone you fall in love with, just make him take you there! ...If you got married -- (me cringing and wondering where this was going) -- where would you wanna go on your honeymoon??"

Me: "Oh, I don't know, maybe Hawaii! What do you think?"

T:  "No way! Great Wolf Lodge!!"

Me: "Hmm, I'll keep that in mind!"

(Pics = Me with J&K, Charlene watching the Average Andy Cirque du Soleil skit with the kids, Jaceman rollerskating with Kyndal's Princess Poppy helmet, Josh holding Miss K and the metal Pistol Pete because she has to keep her friend with her - lol, happy cookiecake with lots of chocolate, K-Faith wearing her awesome baseball glove, and Kyndal showing off that she wrote her name in pink sidewalk chalk! ❤)

Today was the balloon release for Anthony's 6th Birthday! ❤

Here are a few pictures from that...

Nancy also brought a couple for their cousin, Kay, who died last year.

Today also marks 10 years since Daniel Minnich (and Grandad Doc) died.  I vividly remember that day in 2008, and the way it changed my ideas about God and prayer and healing and eventually redefined and strengthened my faith.

My awareness to the pain of others is heightened for obvious reasons, and this "say something" quote came to mind:
"If you've been marked by what might have been, you don't forget.  You know the day, the years.  You know when the baby would have been born.  You know exactly what anniversary you'd be celebrating... It makes the calendar feel like a minefield, like you're constantly tiptoeing over explosions of grief until one day you hit one, shattered by what might have been.  On most days, for me, it's all right.  But for today, for a minute, it's not all right.. I can tell you to this day what people said and, much more hurtfully, who said nothing at all...  When you're mourning, when something terrible has happened, it's on your mind and right at the top of your heart all the time.  It's genuinely shocking to you that the sun is still shining and that people are still chattering away on Good Morning America... When you're in that place, it's a gift to be asked how you're doing...So when there's bad news or scary news or something falls apart, say something.  Send a note.  Send a text.  Send flowers.  And if you don't know what to say, try this: 'I heard what happened, and I don't know what to say.'" ❤
~Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet

This is a three-day weekend, thanks to President's Day, so tomorrow will conclude my birthday festivities for 2018.  I hope you have a lovely weekend, and that you feel God's love and hope surrounding you today!

Photo Friday ~ Mr. Tate

Happy Friday, and Happy Birthday Eve to me!! lol

And now, a few pics of baby Tate (taken at the hospital on February 3rd, the day after he was born). ❤

This = Chet saying, "Aunt Mockey wants to see your hands!" lol  Baby fingers are the very cutest!!

Grandma Teresa so excited for her first grandchild!! =)

A classic "posed candid" pic, because I like it better when people are looking at the baby or each other than smiling at the camera!

The Wilson family!  I like that Tate is yawning here! #presh

Three generations of Wilsons

Three generations of Wilsons + ME! lol  I had to laugh when I saw these pics one after the other!! 

I got to hold him for a bit, and later got him to wrap his tiny hand around my finger, which always thrills my soul! ❤

I met the Mosses at Utica Square and walked over to Saint John's with them.  Here is Aunt Kelly holding Mr. Tate!

And Uncle Mossman... with Tate and the stuffed animal they got him from The Mercantile!! =)

I brought some celebratory Merritt's cupcakes, a tiny precious engraved baby Bible (in FBC-approved ESV translation), and 3 wood panels from Walgreens with the only picture I had of the baby! lol  (One for Chet and Karli, one for Bill and Melissa, and one for Teresa!)

I heard that the Smiths were coming, and I stayed a little longer because I wanted to see Gary's reaction to the middle name and try to get a pic of them together! =)  I was not disappointed!  (They named him Tate Haywood after Gary Haywood, but they wanted it to be a surprise to Gary).  After they talked for a few minutes, Chet showed Gary my picture gift, and it definitely took him a minute to look past the photo and notice the name! lol  He was very surprised and touched, and he and Kathleen both teared up at that news! I was thankful I got to be there for that moment, and happy to get this picture!  Hooray for Dentist Gary!! =)

Teresa took this one with my cell phone, and Kathleen accidentally photobombed us. lol  

...We all left around 5:00 when the nurse came in, and Teresa drove me back to my car, then treated me to dinner at the Utica Olive Garden, so yay for that!  That entire day made me happy. =)  I'm on the Wilson "Meal Train" for tonight, so it'll be my second time to see baby Tate - get excited!

V-Day PSA

And now, a mini-rant. lol

I've written a few blogs and given many a compelling internal speech encouraging the men of today's world to "man up!" 

Today, however, I'm encouraging the single women to "woman up!"  To stop being drama queens, fishing for compliments and sympathy, hating on Valentine's Day, and believing that anything you do by yourself on this day is automatically sad or pathetic.  Let's not contribute or participate in the stigmatization of single women as pitiable, crazy, unattractive, neurotic, and/or desperate.  It's toxic, and it affects how others view and treat women... and how women view and treat themselves.

This is my 33rd single Valentine's Day, and I've been a pretty consistent fan of the holiday!  I think it's cute and fun and quirky, and I think a holiday where we celebrate and feel thankful for those we love is a nice concept that shouldn't be tainted with bitterness and cynicism.

Singleness -- like dating and marriage -- can be awesome and freeing and fun sometimes; it can be sanctifying and character building sometimes; and it can be lonely and depressing sometimes.  But we can trust that God is good and He knows what is best for us.  And we can make the most of our lives and be thankful for all the good things He's given us, whatever our current relationship status!

I'm an introverty introvert, and at this stage in my life, I genuinely enjoy relaxing at home, cooking, reading, going to the movies, going to the gym, and trying new things... all on my own.  I have family and friends that I'm close to and see often, but the reality is I'm by myself more often than not, so it's a really good and healthy thing for me to enjoy my own company.  Singles should not feel ashamed or sad or less worthy because they are by themselves more often.  It's empowering to try new things on your own. And freeing to choose to open yourself up and be grateful for the LOVE of God and friends and family -- love that surrounds you and fills you and builds you up and heals you!!  It's there, and it's good, and it's worth celebrating! ❤  

You matter. Your life matters. Your heart matters.  Don't let the enemy convince you that the lack of a husband or boyfriend means YOU are less valuable or less capable of changing the world for the better!  Don't put the love of men above the love of God, and don't let this holiday convince you that you are unloved or unwanted!!  Run your race and live the life God has given you, and don't give in to this weird cultural pressure to be sad about it.

“I am not single because I am too spiritually unstable to deserve a husband or too spiritually mature to need one. I am single because God is good and this is His best for me.” ~Paige Benton Brown

...Lindsey, Out!  ;-)

Valentine's Randomness

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

If I got to pick People's 2018 Sexiest Man Alive, it'd be Chris Hemsworth.  This super random Facebook quiz tells me I have a hot date to look forward to! lol  #Thor #blueeyes #yesplease

Another man high on my list is Will Estes, aka Jamie Reagan!  Me and Rach texted about this show and Jamie vs. Danny for a while last night. We both ❤ Blue Bloods but she prefers Danny and I prefer Jamie.  

I listened to a John Eldredge podcast this week where he was talking about the shows and movies we watch, and how it's important to pay attention to the worldview they present and how they're affecting your soul.  I was conflicted about watching this show at first because of the violent crimes that are sometimes depicted, but the overall worldview of the show = God and family are always portrayed as central core values, along with loyalty and partnership. And the truth that there is real evil in this world, and we should fight to stop and overcome it! ❤ So it's not a perfect show, but a far better choice than the vast number of TV shows that glorify casual sex, promote friendship over family, and mock Christianity and conservative values.  Yay, Reagan family dinners! lol

_______

This was our Galentine's spread last night!  I brought Hurts Donuts, but didn't get the Valentines dozen because that requires a pre-order.  Angie made a Pioneer Woman breakfast casserole that was awesome!  Laura Reeder brought some fruit, including chocolate covered strawberries!  And we had potatoes and cinnamon crunch bagels!  =)

We got several chick flick movies out, then each eliminated one, then voted on the final two.  We ended up watching She's the Man - it's not my favorite, but I laughed a lot listening to the other girls reacting and quoting it!  It was a fun, low key girls night!!

 A lovely, encouraging verse! ❤

We celebrated my birthday last weekend (I planned it for that week hoping to beat baby Wilson's arrival, but that didn't quite work out).  Anyway, here we are at the theater ready to see The Greatest Showman! #fivetimes #sogood #neverenough

Then we went to Ted's for a tasty dinner!  Someone asked me what I was doing for my birthday, and I told them, "This year, I asked all my friends to risk their lives for me!" lol  (It was misting and freezing outside that night, and I offered to change the date, but the group consensus was to stick with the original plan.)

Sarah texted me later and was upset that we'd not gotten a picture of just the two of us.  I made this and told her I fixed it. LOL

Oh, the Ted's sombrero! lol  "1-2-34!!"

Miss Ray looking kinda sad.  (I call Reagan "Miss Ray" and Kyndal "Miss K" and talk to them in a similar voice. lol)

My new fun marble-y paintings, done whilst watching the Winter Olympics 2018.

Liquid silicone ($4 at Lowe's) has been the missing ingredient all this time - it's what makes the paint have these fun little bubbles and keeps the colors from turning into a brown mess when they pool together!

Super thankful to report that Mom is doing much better and feeling almost back to normal!!  No more face masks needed. lol

Anyway, now I've caught up on all my random phone pictures!  =)

Hope you feel loved and have a lovely Valentine's Day!!

❤ With lots of love,