The Tales of Two Puppies, Part 1

(I'm calling it Part 1 because I'm just assuming there'll be a Part 2, 3, 4, etc.  I'll always call them "puppies" no matter how old they get.)

Just some random funny things I want to remember:

1)  A Present from a Sammich:  I've gotten used to finding random rocks and pebbles in the kitchen or computer room, and sometimes they'll bring in leaves - (they love to carry big leaves around and then tear them to pieces - so funny/cute!) - but then there was the day that SamSue brought me a cricket, half-dead but half-kicking.  As soon as she set it on the floor, I was cringing and trying to get her to pick it back up and carry it outside, which of course was a lost cause and just made her more excited about it... so I finally grabbed the broom and did it myself. lol

2)  Runaway Sammers:  The first week I had the puppies, it somehow didn't occur to me to shut my garage door before I opened the door to the laundry room (where they stay when I'm gone).  Sam darted out and down my driveway, and I panicked and ran after her!  (Thankfully I shut the door before Bellsy joined her.)  There was, very randomly, an older lady riding around in a golf cart down my street.  I was in a hoodie, pj pants, and flip flops with no makeup on running and calling Sam in my baby voice - stellar first impression, I'm sure - and the lady asked if it would help if she stopped for a minute.  I figured it couldn't hurt, so I said that'd be great.  Sam had run up into my neighbor's yard at that point, where the grass was wet and muddy.  She thought it was a fun game to dart away from me, and I knew there was no hope of sneaking up on her or catching her with my flip flops on, so I kicked them off and ran through the muddy grass and finally caught her in the neighbor's flower bed!  Me and the random neighbor lady exchanged happy cheers... and I've shut the garage door first from that day on! lol

3)  Tiny Travelers:  They're pretty good traveling companions - meaning they've never gotten carsick.  They have, however, scared me to death when they randomly bark somewhere in the middle of the long drive to OKC!  (I figured out that the applause on the American Idol tracks confuses them and makes them bark every time - but other times, I'm not sure what arouses their fluffy fury. lol)  They ride in their crate in the front passenger seat, and one day, Sam put her little paws through the crate and reached the console and adjusted the AC, music, etc. in a flutter of motion.  Bellsy just lays there wagging her Bellsy tail and watching her silly sister. lol  I put the blanket over their crate to see if they'd calm down and go to sleep, and a couple minutes later, there was an outline of a Sammich puppy snout sticking out of the top of the crate... so adorable! lol

4)  First Walk:  "It was a DISASTER, Fay!!" :)  When Laura was here with Molly and Clara, we decided it'd be fun to take all the puppies on a lovely neighborhood walk.  I had bought the smallest dog collars at Petsmart and had retractable leashes, so Laura helped me put their little collars on them, and we tried the leash with Sam first.  She took the retractable leash as far as she could go (my bad), weaving around my kitchen chairs and table legs... then when it stopped, she set into an all out panic spasm!  It was sad, but a little funny at the same time.  I tried to help her, but we had to wind her back around, so that was interesting.  She hated the collar and had no intention of walking anywhere.  She planted her little puppy paws and was literally being dragged by the leash, with Laura and I trying to coax her and convince her that this was fun! lol  Bellsy was confused about it all, but was walking along with us in her tiny little front kicks way.  Sam really got stubborn when we got to the garage; she was pulling backwards and trying to get back in the house. lol  Poor puppy.  We got Bellsy down to the end of my driveway, at which point, she slipped right out of her little collar without even trying.  Then we finally declared it a lost cause for that night and put my girls back inside and walked without them. lol  (I've since been told that I should get cat collars for them, because even the smallest dog collars are too big.)  Heaven knows they get enough exercise anyway with their playful little selves...

5)  Sickly Bells:  The day before they were set to be spayed, one of them threw up.  It's like they knew and wanted to get out of it.  (I did postpone the surgery, of course!)  I still don't know which one threw up, or if both might have?  They came in for dinner, and instead of running right to the bowl and devouring it, Bellsy just looked up at me then laid down under the kitchen table.  It was so sad and sweet, and I laid down with her and was asking if she was feeling bad, trying to comfort her... not realizing till it was too late that Sam had eaten both bowls. lol  Then I put them outside, and when I came to let them in, one of them had thrown up, and they were both eating it (yiiiikes)!  So that was disturbing. And there was a repeat of that in their crate the next morning. Sad.  They've been totally healthy and fine before and after that, so I'm thankful for that!

6)  The Impossible Dream:  "Just don't let them run or jump for a while," said the vet after they'd been spayed.  Mmm, yeah.  Okay.  They were kind of out of it that first day, and I tried hard to keep them confined to the laundry room much more and limit the jumping, but they're spastic, energetic little Pom puppies, and they apparently recovered really quickly, so yay for that! :)

7)   Feisty Bells:  While Sam gobbles her food down in about ten seconds flat, Ella Belle is a more dainty, ladylike eater. lol  She takes her time and gets a bite, then takes it to the rug and eats it.  In the beginning, this led to Sam stealing part of Bellsy's food (see picture).  But that didn't last long!  Bellsy now stands guard over her *Bellsy bowl and does this muted little growl from the minute Sam finishes eating until she finally finishes her Bellsy food.  This was the routine for a while even when Sam was nowhere near her, which she usually wasn't. Ha-larious!!  :)  Also funny is that Sam wags her tail the entire time she eats, always.  I love it!

How much do I love this picture of their fluffy little puppy butts?  :)  

*Also, "Bellsy" is both a noun and an adjective.  It's Ella's nickname, and I use it to describe pretty much anything that belongs to her. :)

Okay, that's all for the cutesy ridiculousness today.  I promise I have some deeper posts "in the hopper," as JEM would say.  They're just not quite ready yet.  Happy Tuesday!

Memory Monday ~ Top 10

This was random, but fun.  I picked a series of 10 numbers (an ottendorf cipher, for any fellow National Treasure fans out there - lol) and went to my corresponding facebook album row... album... and row of pictures.  Then chose my favorite picture on that row.  A fun way to pick 10 random memories to blog about! :)

Remember when...

1.  I had a Thanksgiving feast in 2009 for the Diving Deeper lifegroup in my garage... and I made this fun fall banner!?

We borrowed the tables from LifeChurch and Chet and Natertot brought them over (I think).  Kim Dean brought the turkey and everyone else provided sides and desserts. We came in and played Quelf after dinner.  The guy I was interested in at the time talked to me for a while, then stayed in my driveway for a while to ask out yet another ditsy blond.  Oh, you don't remember that part? lol  Maybe it's just me.  (This event directly followed "The Great Garage Remodel of 2009" - JEM was apparently 'there in spirit,' but Chettles did all the work. lol)

2.  Our lifegroup had a Christmas pizza party for two of the classes we 'adopted' at Eugene Field, and Chettles was a big hit with all the kids!?  :)

3.  We watched the Bellagio fountains (indoors for the first time) from the guys room while listening to the song play on TV!?

4.  The lifegroup was always at Bobbi's house, where we spent so many nights just hanging out in her living room on this couch!?  I like this pic for lots of reasons: it's a cute pose and I like all the people in it (including Michael, who is blocked behind Josh Lewis - lol), the memory of Maria coming over to have everyone participate in her random facebook video that night makes me laugh, and it's cool that the dancing in the rain pic is reflected in the mirror.  I would always look at that during LG, and seeing it brings back lots of memories at Bobbi's house. :)

 5.  Bart invited our lifegroup to hang out with his lifegroup (before Malori and I made him mad with our competing Halloween party - lol)!  Laura and I later felt the need to document our epic matchiness in the now legendary "Pink Power" pic! :)

6.  I got to push Rach around Disney World in a wheelchair!? lol  As she proudly wore her JoBros shirt everywhere? :)  I remember it became a fun game to run up the ramps - it was actually easier to push when I had some speed behind it.  It was nice that we got to skip the lines for the rides.  I'm excited to go there again with the nephews/niece someday! =)

7.  Holly Dei Albright Wesselhoft held a baby for the first time, and that baby was the Jaceman!?  (Holly came to visit from NYC before she left for Tanzania - and Holly, Rach, Megan, and I had dinner and walked around downtown OKC, just like the days of yesteryear. lol)

8.  This was the first picture I found online when I googled "Pom Puppies for sale," and I squealed from cuteness overload and I just knew (or really hoped) that those would be my puppies soon!?  ...Tiny Sammich and Bellsy Sue, my favorite Christmas presents ever!

9.  Mindi and I threw a 12-12-12 Christmas Party for the DDLG-South at my house, and set up a "photo booth" area in my hallway!? lol  (Aww, I miss Caleb and his dry sense of humor, and I wish singles groups didn't transition so much.)

 10.  Laura and I saw this hilarious sign while walking through Crescent Park (wearing our hoodies and drinking our hot chocolate/apple cider), and I had to sneak closer to get a picture!?  Their outdoor nativity was missing a very key figure. lol

That's all the random memories for today, but tune in for 10 more next week. lol  

*And finally, because he likes to request that I post random bits of his life on my blog - lol - here's JEM being a #neimanhorse on his weekend trip to Texas. :)

Kelly cheered him on as he set a personal record by running the Irving Half-Marathon in 1:46:54 (awesomeness)!

I love this pic of them on the monorail - very genuine smiles - seriously two of the most kind and thoughtful people I know, and I'm happy they've found each other. :)

And that's really all now. lol  Happy Monday!!

Bittersweet

A thoughtful gift from Kelly Marie for my 30th birthday, Shauna Niequist's second book, Bittersweet, is full of stories that inspire me to know God more deeply, to be vulnerable and enjoy friendships to the fullest, to create, to dream, to see the redemption through the mess, to hope, to write!!

QUOTES FROM BITTERSWEET:

"I believe that God is making all things new.  I believe that Christ overcame death and that pattern is apparent all through life and history: life from death, water from a stone, redemption from failure, connection from alienation.  I believe that suffering is part of the narrative, and that nothing really good gets built when everything is easy.  I believe that loss and emptiness and confusion often give way to new fullness and wisdom.  But for a long season, I forgot all those things... Looking back now I can see that it was more than anything a failure to believe in the story of who God is and what He is doing in the world."

"Left to our own devices, we sometimes choose the most locked up, dark versions of the story, but what a good friend does is turn on the lights, open the window, and remind us that there are a whole lot of ways to tell the same story."

"Grace is when you finally realize that the other shoe isn't going to drop, ever...  These days, I'm on the lookout for grace, and I'm especially on the lookout for ways that I withhold grace from myself and from other people."

"I don't spend time with people who routinely make me feel like less than I am, or who spend most to their time talking about what's wrong with everyone else and what's wrong with the world, or who really like to talk about other people's money... Walk closely with people you love, and with other people who believe that God is very good and life is a grand adventure.  Don't spend time with people who make you feel like less than you are.  Don't get stuck in the past, and don't try to fast-forward to a future you haven't yet earned."

"This season matters.  Christmas is a time when God's presence is more palpable than any other time of year.  It's also a time when what we've lost is more present to us, when the pain or the loneliness or the fear are more present than any other time.  It's a glorious, beautiful time and also one in which the smallest kindnesses can transform us.  It's worth more than pushing and rushing and perfecting your decorations or your homemade cookies."

"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 don't know what date it is for you - what broke apart on that day, what was lost, what memories are pinned forever to that day on that calendar.  But I hope that on that day... you hold yourself open and tender to the memories just for a moment."

"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.'"

"I believed that doing it all over again exactly the same way, but with a different ending, a happy ending, would be such a beautiful story... I realized something, as I tried to untangle my sadness and anger and confusion.  I had believed that the miscarriage was an open wound that would only be healed by a healthy pregnancy.  So I've been waiting on a pregnancy to move me out of this terrible season of loss.  And I've been weighing down a pregnancy that doesn't even exist yet with truckloads of expectation and pressure.  I realized that I need to close the wound now, that it's unfair to me and to an unknowable future to leave it open any longer."

"Life hands us opportunities at every turn to get over ourselves, to get outside ourselves, to wake up from our own bad dreams and realize that really lovely things are happening all the time."

"I understand the temptation to draw an angry X through a whole season or a whole town or a whole relationship, to crumple it up and throw it away, to get it as far away as possible from a new life, a new future.  But I think that's both the easiest and most cowardly choice... The harder I look, the more thankful I am for what I learned, what I became, what God gave me and what God took away during that season."

"We dilute the beauty of the gospel story when we divorce it from our lives, our worlds, the words and images that God is writing right now on our souls... Tell your story.  Don't allow the story of God, the sacred, transforming story of what God does in a human heart, to become flat and lifeless... If you have been transformed by the grace of God, then you have within you all you need to write your manifesto, your poem, your song, your battle cry, your love letter to a beautiful and broken world.  Your story must be told."

~Shauna Niequist

Great book, beautifully written.  And it makes me eager to write my own stories, my own book.  

Allison Vesterfelt (another blogger I like) recently wrote about the link between numbing ourselves to pain and struggling to be creative... That when we numb our hearts to what is hard and painful, it also numbs them to celebrating what is good and makes it difficult to write creatively and be inspired by new ideas.  It really made sense and challenged me, because I want so much to write a book that is full of life and beauty and heart, so being alive to my heart is part of that process!  

It may not be obvious on the outside yet, but I know that God is reawakening hope.  God is challenging me and using friends who truly care to support and encourage and hold me accountable in doing what it takes to get well and be healthy, emotionally and physically.  He is teaching me, through Shauna's book and through the book of Ecclesiastes (of all things) to remember what is really important.  I am thankful.  My heart is relaxing and enjoying life more than I have in a while, and I'm starting to dream again, and it's good.  My hope and prayer is that God will give me the wisdom to see and write my story in a way that brings hope and healing and the light of Christ to others.

"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' made His light shine in our hearts..."
~2 Cor. 4:6

Photo Friday!!

Nertz game night last Sunday at Chet & Karli's!!

+Pitch Perfect w/Chettles' commentary +Texas Sheet Cake by Karli! :)

Starbucks after work last Friday with Kelly and Laura!

Ominous clouds on my way in to work... (the word "ominous" always makes me think of The Simpsons Movie now). lol

Hooray for entertaining voir dire, and for Laura being my proofreader! lol

Mossy and Chettles coming over to fix my garage door and lift heavy things for me. :)  Thanks, guys - you all are awesome!

...As you can see, Bellsy and Sammis really wanted to help, too! lol

1.  Jace-man... I love when he looks up at you while he's drinking! lol

2.  GiGi's cupcakes from Dad (to Mom, Rach, and me).

3.  Bellsy after her first haircut. lol

4.  Nolar-Bear (Nolan) and Lindsay at Panera!

5.  Super-helpful note to the jury - I just had to get a picture! lol

6.  T-man and his stretchy Lifesaver bracelets!

7.  Kelly and Chelsea playing Pictionary Junior

8.  LG game night at The Phoenix (Pictionary Junior + Hedbandz)

9.  Yes, that's two men carrying deer heads into the courthouse.  #creekcounty

10.  Cool tree pic as we sat outside The Phoenix for a bit.

11.  Jace loves the dryer! lol

12.  My Pictionary drawing of "brothers."  The heart threw everyone off, apparently. lol

13.  Random hiking pic on my cell phone.

14.  My b-day sundae at Longhorn Steakhouse

15.  Tman and Rach celebrating their birthdays!

16.  Reading/Spa night with my Lush bubble-bar! :)

1.  Exercise challenge, Day 1 - neighborhood 5k app with Laura (before watching the ridiculously unsatisfying HIMYM finale)
2.  Day 2 - treadmill at Remington Apts with Kelly and Jessica after LG!
3.  Day 3 - treadmill at my house.
4.  Red dirt from Vegas hike is still with me!!
5.  Beginning of Spring at Crescent Park (Sunday walk with Laura)
6.  Debating the virtues (or total lack thereof) of the Noah movie with Michael
7.  The reason "Four" in Divergent looked so familiar -- oh. my. gosh.
8.  I got this ("You're about to become a new mom" infant formula sample) on April 1st - not an April Fools joke, but definitely a strange coincidence.
9.  Mini-Miss in just being cuddly and adorable.
10.  Two puppies on their way to the vet (Wednesday was spay day - sadness - they're recovering really well, though!)
11.  Another group shot, minus me and plus Chettles.
12.  Proverbs verse that really caught my attention!
13.  My current thankfulness verse!
14.  My heart's desire verse.

Jessie and Kelly are starting their new bakery/party planning business -- I was happy to be there the night they got their first 2 orders (another reason for the "2" sign in our picture!).  =)  I'm really excited with and for them about this new beginning!!  Love the logo and the picture-perfect tasty Easter sugar cookies!!

Song of the Week = Just Give Me a Reason by Pink!

"Just give me a reason; just a little bit's enough.  Just a second - we're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again.  I never stopped; you're still written in the scars on my heart.  You're not broken, just bent, and we can learn to love again!"  Love it - both this version and the Glee version. :)

Happy Spring!  Happy Friday!!!

Thankful Thursday (65)

Writing a Thankful Thursday post because after this morning in court, I need to focus on some things that will restore my faith in humanity.  And God's grace toward us!

Today, I am thankful that God cares about our smallest problems; that He wants to heal us; and that with Him, nothing is broken beyond repair.  I am THANKFUL that the Kingdom of Christ, the restored rule of Jesus, IS coming, and hopefully coming soon!!  

I am thankful that He knows exactly how to comfort and heal and minister to those who need it most.  I am thankful that He is truly able to love the sinner while hating the sin, because that is often a hard line for me and for most people, I think.  I'm thankful that He is not only loving, but also just... that He is the Ancient of Days who sees, hears, and knows everything, and that He will bring justice and deal with evil for Satan and for people who refuse to turn to Jesus.  I am very thankful that my sins are covered through the blood and resurrection of Jesus, and that God loves me and sees not only who I am but who I will become.  

I am thankful that God's love is patient.  Thankful that He is kind.  Thankful that He is healing my heart even now.  Thankful for Starbucks nights with friends who exude genuine love and kindness and joy (that's you, Kelly Marie and Lauralai Bower).  Thankful for celebrations and new paths and things that keep life exciting (congrats to Chet for passing the state test, and to TLT for working toward publishing her book)!  Thankful for laughter and fun and friendship, for having a community of wonderful friends where I feel accepted and supported, where I feel like I belong.  Thankful for two puppies whose boundless energy and excitement and love keep my heart soft and help ward off negative emotions. :)  Thankful for parents who love me, pray for God's best for me, and encourage me to move forward and focus on what is good.  Thankful for Rach and Josh and my adorable nephews and niece!  

Thankful that regardless of how I may feel, nothing in me is broken beyond repair - that God heals and restores and sets my heart free to trust and love others.  Thankful for words of wisdom, both in Scripture and from friends, that have been so helpful in this season.  Thankful that I don't have to somehow prove myself or my worth and purpose for my life to matter deeply to God.  Thankful for the words of Christian authors that connect with my heart and help me to keep growing.

Thankful that no matter how royally broken and messed up society may be, I am called to be a light in the midst of the darkness.  Thankful that with God and His Word and Godly friends, my soul can be flooded with warmth and light when darkness is near and surrounds us.  On a day that involved some heavy and dark moments, I am thankful for the light and the hope that is mine in Jesus!!  I am thankful to be fully known and understood and loved, that my heart can rest and breathe -- rest and breathe -- in His presence.

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my HOPE is in Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.  My victory and honor come from God alone.  He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me."

~Psalms 62:5-7

The Lord has promised good to me;

His Word, my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be,

As long as life endures!

"You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord's coming is near."  

~James 5:8

"We who have fled to Him for refuge can have great confidence AS WE HOLD TO THE HOPE THAT LIES BEFORE US.  We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure!"  ~Hebrews 6:19

MM ~ A "Pitch Perfect" Spring Break!

And now for the first Memory Monday post in a long while:  =)

This week was "Spring Break," but Judge decided to come in for Monday and Tuesday, so I worked on scoping jury voir dire those days - great times. :(  Wednesday, I went to Lexus for an oil change (and read more of Bittersweet and drank their hot chocolate), then that night we had a movie night at my place!

The six of us (Tall Kyle was skiing so he couldn't join us) met at Five Guys Burgers and got our food to go.  

{Side note: I'm so very thankful for this group!!  I feel like we have fun together and we encourage each other and we have similar values... I found myself thinking a lot this week about how great it would be to have a LifeGroup with the Vegas peeps and a few others.  Not sure that'll ever happen, but I know I'm thankful for the time we do get to spend together, no matter what we're doing!}

I like that JEM has decided to just embrace my love of cheesy pictures. lol  And it cracks me up when he imitates the baby voice I use for Bellsy and Sammis! :)  You just can't talk to puppies in a regular voice.  You just can't.

The "30's club" as Chet called us, celebrating these cute, vintage cereal boxes - Laura's not sure what Jeff is doing, but following along nicely. lol

Watching Pitch Perfect - I assumed the guys would love it, and I was right! :)  About halfway through, Chet said, "Why did I think this was a baseball movie!?" lol  Now we're all excited for the sequel!

Thursday, Mom came to Creek County and we had an "organizing party" for Laura's new office! :)  We went through things from the prior bailiffs and organized the cabinets and shelves and drawers and made a lot of good progress!  And we ate Hideaway Pizza and mini-M&Ms while we were at it.  Then Mom headed to OKC, and I went home to pick up two puppies and we all headed to OKC - they're so funny in the car!

Friday - the first day that really felt like a day off - I slept in, then went to Rach's house.  Mom, Rach, and I took Jaceman and Kyndal to the playground at CHA (they were on Spring Break, so we were the only ones there, which was awesome).  Things have changed so much since Rach and I went there, all for the better!  They played for a while, I took pictures then held Missy K, Rach and I randomly jogged a lap, then we went to Panera for lunch. :)

I loved spending the afternoon with Jaceman - swinging and throwing rocks and listening to him make the Yak sound and trying to decipher his version of English. lol  And I loved hanging out with Miss Kyndal - holding her while Rach and Jace took a nap - she's just so soft and cuddly and happy and precious!!

Bellsy posing for her Glamour Shots. lol  She loves to look out at me from the bushes in Mom and Dad's backyard. :)

That night (Friday), TLT and I had dinner at MiMi's Cafe (yum, always a favorite!) and then went to Penn's AMC to see Divergent!  Tara loved the reclining seats (picture below - cute but blurry)! :)  Good movie, but for the record, the book is 1,000 times better than the movie.  They mostly begin and end the same way, but the middle was changed to a ridiculous degree.

Tara and I had a really great conversation - about creativity and writing, about friendships, about the ups and downs of life, about how we both feel like we're in a long-awaited winter-to-spring transition, about how cocooning is necessary for a caterpillar to transform into a butterfly.  Yeah, we were all over the place, but it was good.  As it's always good to be understood and accepted and cheered on!  We talked in MiMi's parking lot past 1am, and ended with a high five for 2014! lol

Saturday, I slept in till noon (awesomeness!), texted back and forth with JEM and Chettles about their weekend at the Bear-athon, talked to Dad about the men's group he's been leading, went to see God's Not Dead with Dad at Harkins, caught up on Jimmy Fallon (and the epic Kevin Bacon Footloose entrance!), held and played with Mini-Miss (Kyndal) for a while, read a bit, had Scholtzskys for dinner, and added pics to Facebook. :)

Sunday was LifeChurch (which made me wanna buy Erwin McManus' new book, The Artisan Soul - I'm really a fan of him, and I appreciated him delving into the doubt and pain that often comes with Christianity!), then lunch at Longhorn Steakhouse with all the fam, where we celebrated birthdays -- ALL the birthdays (me, Rach, Blake, Jace - February; Emily - March; T-man and Carter - April) -- the Kelly Clarkson lookalike waitress brought out several ice cream sundaes for the birthdays, so that was awesome!  Before we left, we took some "Generation Pics" - of the four generations present, both men and women! :)  So that was cool!  The rest of the day was spent napping, playing with the puppies, dinner with Mom and Dad, and finally driving back to Tulsa (where I caught up on some TV shows and started this happy blog)!

Generation Pic of the men, Grandpa and a very coy looking Missy K, T-man with his Gummy Lifesavers, and Jaceman swinging with Mamaw, saying "CHEESE!" =)

Generation Pic of the women, JB and I eating ice cream sundaes, Missy K in her little carrier, and Emily holding her (Rach took a class and made that bow for her - super cute!).  She's also teaching a wreath making class tonight for the first time, so that's pretty fun! :)

I'm kind of obsessed with the cuddly cuteness that is Missy K! lol  I love this pic of Dad holding her.  Rach and Jace at CHA playground, Rach and Kyndal on what was probably her first slide, me holding Kyndal as she slept ever so peacefully.  I 'heart' being an aunt! lol

So all in all, it was a great "Spring Break" week!  And now I'm back to work, needing to work extra hard this week to complete everything I want to by the end of this month!  So wish me luck on that. lol

Random fun video of my puppies:

Song of the Week = Just the Way You Are / Just a Dream Mash-up from Pitch Perfect! :)

Like a room without a roof!

Photo Update:

Girls' night at Pinot's Palette with Talhia and Terrie... a lot of fun, and I love how they turned out! (We all did our word for the year - Talhia's is "love," so she did the couple on the bridge instead, which is really cute.)

The painting process was a lot of fun, as was the epic 90's background soundtrack! lol
{Fun Sidenote:  Talhia has asked me to be her wedding photographer this September in Central Park - I'm really excited/nervous!!}

While we were celebrating my 30th in Vegas, Kristin and Frankie were celebrating Anthony's 2nd birthday in heaven with a balloon release at the cemetery.  I was sad to miss it.  I love this picture, and I love them.

{Side note again:  She found out she's having another boy, Diesel Eugene, and everything is going very smoothly with this pregnancy so far, praise the Lord!  Keep them in your prayers, please.}

Please also be praying for Jenni and the Kufahl family.  Her cancer has taken a major turn for the worse, and the doctors are not optimistic.  She is a wife and a mother of seven, and her family is well known and beloved at CHA.  Anyway, all prayers for healing, wisdom, comfort, etc. would be appreciated!

I hosted the women's LG on March 4th - Kelly brought lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting to celebrate Angela's birthday - yum!  We're going through A Confident Heart by Renee Swope right now, which has been really good!!

My preciously happy niece, Missy K (aka Kyndal Faith) with a bow as big as her head... the cutest baby on the planet! =)

Future cowgirl and cowboy, perhaps! :)

Pet IDs for my girls - adorable and hilarious!  They have now doubled in size (from 2 and 3 pounds to 4 and 5.5 pounds).  Watch out, world - there's no stopping them now! lol

Two of the best things that came out of 2013 - I just love them!!!

And finally, Lindsey and Lauralai's DAY OF FUN! (a la Joey and Janice, in case you missed that Friends reference).  Laura asked me to be her date to Travis and Blair's wedding this Saturday, and it was so much fun!  I finally got to meet Ashley's girls, Cassie and Gabby, and they entertained us through the Afternoon Tea reception.  So many good ideas from that wedding - hopefully I'll get to put them to good use someday!  We got to hang out with Tara Jane (who was the lovely Maid of Honor) and experience a helicopter send-off, which was pretty awesome!  One of the best wedding/receptions I've been to in a long time.  If I do a church wedding, I'm definitely getting married at FUMC - so pretty!

Here's my green in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

Hope it's been a good one!

This quote rang so true for me.  I'd change it a little to "The reason most people find it so hard to be happy is that they tend to see the past..." but other than that, it's pretty spot on, and something worth correcting!

A few quick thoughts/quotes:

• I recently heard about a mom who painted and decorated her child's nursery in the midst of being worried about a possible miscarriage.  I love that!  I applaud people who celebrate joy and focus on hope even in the face of fear that their greatest joy may be taken away... Brene Brown talked about that, how refusing to celebrate the joyful moments with others doesn't lessen or cushion your heartache if it ends poorly; it simply robs you of shared joy on one side and compassion on the other.  So hooray for celebrating and choosing love over fear!
• Sad sadness - Army Wives is officially over.  I watched "The Final Salute" looking back over it all tonight... it included a detailed recap of Jeremy's funeral and other poignant moments from the show.  Needless to say, I cried several times.  I miss Claudia Joy, Denise, Pamela, Roxy, and Roland already!!
• Tip:  If ever you're in a car accident (assuming you're not terribly injured), I highly recommend writing down everything you can remember that day or the next day, ASAP after the wreck.  Where were you and which direction were you going?  What color and model was the car that hit you?  What was the traffic like?  How fast were you and the other car going?  Were other cars involved?  How close were they when you first saw them?  Etc.  It took almost two years for my car wreck to make it to trial, but I was asked each of those questions that day.  (Hooray for my "Memory Monday" post right after the wreck.)  Anyway, if it never goes to trial, it'd at least be interesting to read someday once you've forgotten the little details.  So write it down!!
• I've realized relationships are like rooms with adjoining doors - each person has to open their door (their heart) to let the other in, and both can go in and out and share each other's space as they get to know each other.  When someone closes their door to you, you will never have closure until you close your door to that person, period.  Sometimes you might not want total closure (like when someone dies or when you're holding onto false hope).  But when it's a gaping reminder and you need the closure, all you have to do is choose to close the door and move forward.  In that way, "closure" is much easier and more in our control than we often make it out to be.  And I'm glad for that!
• Am I the only one that kinda wishes "Kid President" would "retire" already? lol  Surely at least Rach is on board with me.  Everyone's obsessed with those videos, and I just don't get it.  I find kids that age who find themselves adorable quite annoying.  Blarg.
• The main reason I'm glad the Olympics are over is no longer having to see the "Every victory begins with a bite" McDonald's commercial. Painfully ridiculous. lol
• So excited to see Divergent on Friday!
• Funny/awesome - thanks to a lengthy jury voir dire, we found out that of the 36 people called to serve on our jury, all but two have guns in their home (and I do mean guns, plural - most of them had several) - and of the two that didn't, one gave a speech in support of them and the other owns a gun but moved it out of her home for a bit because her son is on probation. lol  "Oooooklahoma!"
• "For I will fully satisfy the weary soul, and I will replenish every languishing and sorrowful person." ~God (Jeremiah 31:25)
• "Winter and Spring struggling for dominance... An outward expression of an internal reality: Everywhere you look, you can see the world as it is and the world as it could be. Winter and Spring. Old and new. Despair and hope. Death and life... Winter threaten(s) to conquer but Spring prevail(s) in the end. Spring wins. It always has. It always will. And that, my friends, is the very best of news." ~Ben Nockels 
• "We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. The thing is – we will. We will love others as we love ourselves... whether we want to or not. It will leak out.  How we treat our hearts is the way we will treat others. And it matters."  ~Stasi Eldredge  
• I really love that reminder not to be harsh or dismissive toward myself, not to put too much pressure on myself, but to be kind to my own heart - so that I can be kind to others as well!!
• And one more time, Happy Saint Patrick's Day!!

Song of the Week = Happy by Pharrell, (to go with my bright and happy new blog look, inspired by Spring and Summer!)  I know it's old to some of you, but I'm just discovering it, and it's pretty fun!!