90 (89) days

I. Am. Truly. Blessed.  Really!

Woke up this morning to two, healthy, sweet, beautiful precious pretties.  Got Kate off to school and Mary Clare and I headed to Target to purchase some airplane friendly toiletries for my trip Thursday (I'm going to Boston, baby!!).  We then headed to LifeWay Christian Book Store because I wanted to get the new Mary Beth Chapman book, Choosing to See, and my beloved Target didn't have it.  Mary Beth is married to the world-renowned Christian music artist Stephen Curtis Chapman, and her book is about her struggle through the loss of her daughter, and how hope is carrying her through it.  (Their daughter was playing on the driveway and their son didn't see her and backed over her with his car.)  I snagged the picture of the book from Amazon.com, and I should have bought the book from Amazon as well, but my impatience cost me six extra bucks.  Oh well, at least I'll have something to read on the plane.  I'll give my opinion of the book when I finish reading it and let me know if you would like to read it when I am done.  I'll be more than happy to mail it to you!

When I moved to Sherman, I looked for a women's/moms group at a church to join but to no avail.  I want to join a bible study group, but can't seem to find a meeting time that works with my schedule.  So, I called my sister in law Carlye, and asked her about a particular bible study she just finished.  She asked me what I was doing, and once I told her, she recommended the Beth Moore 90 Day Bible Study with Jesus the One and Only.  I actually had the Beth Moore's 90 Days with Paul study in my hand, but I thought I would go with her recommendation first.  (again I snagged the picture from Amazon)  I realized once I got in my car that it is 89 days until Christmas, so if I doubled up on days 1&2 of the study, then I would finish the bible study on Christmas Day!  90 Days (well 89) to becoming closer to the One and Only, and the last day of the study is on the day we celebrate His birth.

After our shopping excursions Mary Clare and I went over to the AWESOME park down the street from our house and walked 3 1/2 miles on the walking trail.  Ended our morning of fun at Chick-Fil-A.  Today was just wwwwooonnnnnnddddeerrrfffuuullllllllllllll.

The only way the morning could have been any better is if Tim and Kate could have been with us.  Tim, of course, is worked hard to provide for the pretties and I.  My precious pretty #1, on the other hand, has been having some trouble adjusting to our new life in Sherman.  She had a set schedule for four and a half years, and out of no where, mommy & daddy up and move her to a new town, house, school, etc.  I knew it would be an adjustment, a difficult one at that, but I didn't think it would take this long for her to get the hang of things.  Kids are resilient right?  She definitely is, however, it has been rather hard for her, and she has some anxiety issues.  After a long, heart felt discussion with her pediatrician, we decided to see if how she would respond if we put her back on a similar schedule that she had in WF (school everyday from 8-3), to see if her behavior at home and school starts to improve.  Once we have things under control with her then I will slowly start to decrease her time at school.

Life is good.  G-Double-Oh-D.  Good.  And that's all I have to say about that.

 

Whirlwind of a Weekend

Whew--this weekend flew by super fast! I know it's still Sunday morning, but I'm trying to figure out what happened to Friday & Saturday.

One of my best friends Sarah brought her kiddos Luke & Elizabeth to Sherman for a weekend visit. Friday night we enjoyed pizza & the kids got some much needed playtime.

Saturday we went to breakfast, playtime at the park, and then headed over to Fairview Park to
cheer for Kate in her first soccer game.

She's #6 & a head taller than some of her teammates.


Getting ready to start the second half!



Luke & Mary Clare watching from the sidelines.








Later on a babysitter came to be with the kiddos while Sarah & drove to Dallas to watch Coco try on wedding dresses. We ended the night with an amazing meal at Roys Hawaiian Cuisine.

All in all it's been a whirlwind weekend, but we loved every second of it!

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Answered prayers

So, as you know, I have had a bit of a time adjusting to this new life in Sherman, Texas.  Not just living here and hardly knowing anyone, but living here and being a full-time stay at home mama.  It took me about month to get everything out of the boxes and in their place, and I have spent my extra time this week putting the final touches in different rooms.  I have also been making lists of things I want to do/add/change to each room so that should keep me busy too once I can save up some money to do it!

I have also been praying....ALOT.  I pray for guidance, patience, forgiveness, etc., but also for God to guide me to do something that would allow my light to shine.  For Him to open a door to allow me to be more involved, and meet new people.  Last week, I went to each lunch with Kate at school and as I was leaving I told the secretary that I would like to help out at the school whether it was being a cafeteria monitor, reading to the preK and kindergarten classes, etc.  I was a little surprised when she called me a few hours later asking me if I could come in a meet with the principal.  My first thought was, "Oh no - They aren't going to let Kate come back to school until she stops sucking her thumb."  I am going to get off subject here and rant for a second on the fact that Kate is the only child in the 3K, 4K, & kindergarten class that still sucks her thumb (that I have noticed).  I have tried about three-to-four different ways to help her stop, but to no avail.  Her teacher has talked to her about not doing it, but that isn't working.  Her teacher changed her color green (which is good behavior) to yellow (not so good) and it still doesn't work.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Now back to the subject at hand.  When I calmly asked Mrs. Martin what the meeting was regarding, she stated that Mr. Scheibmier wanted to visit about getting more involved at St. Mary's.  "YES!" I tried to do the best I could to stifle my excitement.  Maybe I can be the room mother and have fun planning all the classroom parties!  OR...maybe I can help out the lunch lady and pass out mashed potatoes!  Or what about making copies for the teachers?  I was all about it.  Little did I know what was in store for me.

I met with Mr. Scheibmier this morning after Mass, and we really hit it off!  We visited about a number of things and then he slowly approached the reason why he asked me to come in today?  I was already nodding my head in excitement thinking I was going to be the room mother for 4K.  But then he started talking about Casino Night and how it is the biggest fundraiser for the school because it helps pay the salaries, benefits, insurance and he thought with me being "new blood" at the school that I can bring in ideas that will make the Casino Night even better.  I went from, "Let me think about it" to him shaking my hand at the end of our meeting and telling me how excited he is that I am going to chair this event.  WHAT???

I got in the car and the song Crazy by Gnarls Barkley was playing in my mind.  But then I remembered the lyrics to an amazing song that my precious friend Jaclyn told me about yesterday and I realized that this was how God was answering my prayer.  It's not what I was looking for, or expecting, but this is my life God has blessed me with and I am going to let HIM make the most of me!  Because EVERY moment is a chance to let your light break through.  Can I get an AMEN?

I highly encourage you to listen to the song on itunes or you tube.  LOVE IT.  I told Jaclyn that we need to write Mercy Me a thank you note because they wrote it just for us!

This Life 

by Mercy Me

this is not my home

(this is not my space)

this is not my style

(this is not my place)

Can't get comfortable

(cant get settled in)

I simply dont belong

(cant get used to this)

But I'm here right now

(I can hear You say)

make the most of Me

(this wont go to waste)

If Im out of my mind

(yeah its all for Christ)

if Im making sense

(then get in line)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh )

this life was meant to shine

I dont have to stall

(I dont have to wait)

dont have to bide my time

(till I make my escape)

cuz heavens in my heart

(I won't settle for less)

I will lift Your name

(by the life I live)

every moment is a chance to

let Your light break through

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

not just survive

hold your heads up high

this is our moment to rise

we were meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

its in my heart

its in my soul

I'll live everday

just to make You known

cuz this life (oh oh oh)

this life was meant to

meant to shine

oh oh oh 

we were meant to shine yeah!

Best buddies

We went on a very-long-overdue roadtrip to see Boatners this past weekend and the girls picked up right where they left off. You never would have known that they hadn't seen each other since the beginning of the year! Mary Clare has been asking of Lilly's whereabouts since we left their house. I hope Liz and I can keep our word and visit each monthly since we live closer to each other!

Here MC is pulling a Britney by driving while holding her baby as Lilly calls her mom.



Monday was a pretty slow day. Today we tried out a gymnastics class. I don't know if we'll sign up or not seeing how I noticed their teachers got a little frustrated. Everytime the girls did something they were yelling from across the gym to give me a thumbs up. Or to say, "Hi Mom!" and wave. Or how the best buddies yelled words of encouragement to each other (they are in separate classes). It did make me beam to see how excited they were & melted my heart that they wanted to share their excitement & their triumphs with me!




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Thursday

Kate was so super duper excited about soccer tonight. She picked out her all pink outfit & hardly ate a bite at dinner because she was ready for her coach to teach her new skills. Unfortunately the coach was sick so all we did is meet him & the other girls on the team, confirm our practice time, and decide the team name. Future soccer sensation with the Sherman Butterflies!




There is a quaint little park by our house that Tim & I took the girls to since practice was cut short.



I asked Mary Clare if she was having fun. Her reply was, "Yes because I love it this much!"


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Location:W Washington St,Sherman,United States

what a month....or two

So Sherman is ok.  Not so bad.  I would like to say that it is growing on me, however I have only been here for a month so I don't want to jump the gun.  It's just ssssooooo different.  When we found out we were "officially" moving at the end of June, I don't really think it sunk in.  I was still working, and Tim was busy working 12-15 hour days traveling back and forth from Sherman to WF.  I "retired" from MyStaf after almost 10 years of job pimping on July 30th, and I will admit that things have been a blur since then.  I had some super sweet friends at work give me a royal send off fit for a queen on my last day of work which made it very bittersweet to leave.  I don't think I got to enjoy my first day of not having to go to work because I started packing up my house so we could move that following weekend.  The night before the moving truck came my dear sweet friends & sister in law Colleen hosted a surprise dinner party for me at Pasqual, and then about 15 of us then went off to How Great Thou Art for some butterfly painting fun.  It has been a blur since that night, and not just because of the La Crema Chardonnay we indulged ourselves with.

 I was so happy with my life in WF.  Truly happy.  Some people consider it the armpit of Texas, but at least it is my armpit.  (who knew you could have 3??)  I was content.  I loved my parish and my church family.  I loved my neighborhood.  I loved the fact that I was becoming great friends with the mommas of Kate & Mary Clare's friends.  I loved that my mother in law lived a block away and my mom was a mile away.  I loved going into Market Street and being recognized by the cashiers because of my frequent trips there.  I loved that I had a handful of babysitters to call for the girls because they wanted to spend time with my precious pretties.  Life was good.  While working at MyStaf for the first six years I had a schedule that I would abide by no matter what I did (or didn't do) the night before.  Then I had my first precious pretty, and I adjusted to my new schedule.  My dad passed away unexpectedly, but I adjusted.  I didn't think I had enough to do, so I started volunteering at church, the JLWF, and other organizations more. Then I had my second precious pretty, and even though it was a little bit of a juggling act & I kept looking for the circus tent above my house,  I was able to get it under control. I was going ninety to nothing and I am 100% confident that the reason why I was able to get it all done every day is because I had faith that no matter what happened that God was going to see me through my day.  If HE brings you to it then HE will bring you through it.

Sherman is different.  So much different than what I was expecting.  Not that it has been bad,  it has been challenging.  It has been sad & lonely.  Aggravating.  Tiring.  I've only cried a couple of times out of frustration.  I didn't just go from 187 mph to 100 mph.  I went from 187 mph to a screeching halt.  And I went from knowing 600 people in WF to 6 here.  As of right now, I don't have to work.  I am so grateful that I don't have to, and I know how fortunate I am to not be able to do so.  I don't have the JLWF to keep me on my toes unfortunately, and we haven't joined a church yet.  However, I know that this was all part of God's plan for our family.  I don't know why, but it is.  And because of that, and how much He loves us, then I am 110% ok with that.  This move has enabled me to spend more time with my precious pretties.  It will allow me to be able to spend more time volunteering at their school.  I have been struggling with my weight for the past couple of years, and now I have more time to actually focus on losing weight.   It has allowed me to lean on my dear, sweet husband more.  Despite the fact that he is STILL working crazy busy hours, he calls me randomly through out the day just to check in on me.  Just to let me know he is thinking of me.   But most importantly, it has enabled me to grow closer to Jesus Christ, and spend more time focusing on God's word.  So, after a couple of deep breaths, I'm buckled in and ready for this crazy ride that God is sending us on.  And I am ready to get my groove back.  Because after all, if HE brings you to it then HE will bring you through it.