A Little Randomness

**I have to use the computer hooked to our television right now. This means the TV is my monitor. I have to make the font HUGE in order to be able to see it without sitting at the foot of the bed. Why you ask? Because yesterday as I was sitting in the living room working on my laptop, I began to smell fire. The next thing I know I hear fire crackling behind me. My laptop charger was on fire Literally on fire!! When I tried to unplug it one of the prongs burned off and was stuck in the outlet. I managed to get it out, but according to my husband last night... I should have called the electrician in the family to do this. Oops! It was a little frustrating because I had just gotten that new charger last week. I have ordered a new one that will hopefully be here soon and last a little longer.

**Last night as I was laying in bed reading with the TV of and the house silent I heard firecrackers that sounded like they were in my house. I jumped to the ceiling nearly. I hurried and put my shoe on and took off outside. When I opened the front door I couldn't see anything but smoke. Once the smoke cleared I saw that there was a group of kids running at the other end of the street. A girl across the street said it was a group of boys and that they took off running. There is a slew of firecrackers on my welcome mat. That's how close they were. Needless to say I WAS NOT HAPPY. I started to call the police, but didn't see what good it would do as I couldn't identify the boys and they had already disappeared. I know that because I jumped in my car and drove around. I don't know what I would have done had I saw them, but like I said, I wasn't happy.

**I have been a HUGE prayer warrior for the husband the past week or so. I always pray for him, but lately I have just been heartbroken for him. Working 16 hour days in another state is not easy for him, especially when he doesn't feel appreciated for it. There are a ton of other details that go along with this but they don't really matter for my point which is this...my prayers are being answered. The husband has received some really good news about work. I have been praising God like crazy for the answered prayers these past few days. I love that I never cease to be amazed and humbled with God answers prayers.

**I have been in my surgical shoe 2 weeks and I have 2 weeks to go. I went for my 2nd post-op visit yesterday. My stitches were all under the skin except the knots on each end so they removed the knots yesterday. I had more x-rays and everything still looks good. I have to go back at least 2 more times to have my foot cleaned and rewrapped as well as x-rays done. I have to tell you...I'm ready to have my foot back to normal. It is healing so it itches like crazy, but there is nothing I can do about it. And this shoe...what a pain!! I can't tell you the number of times since my surgery that people have told me they hear that bunion surgery is the most painful surgery ever. My doctor even told me this yesterday. All I can say is that I am so glad no one told me before my surgery. I have had the best surgical experience of my life. Yes, I know it's my only surgical experience, but seriously...VERY LITTLE pain. The worst part has been staying down and wearing my surgical shoe. Other than that there was nothing to this surgery.

**I have decided that I want to work on the decor in my home. My home feels very blah to me. I'm not good at decorating though. I can't envision things very well. The husband and I spend 98% of our time home in our bedroom. No lie! I want to change that. I feel like some decor will help me. I have found some paintings I LOVE for my dining area on etsy. Problem is they are over $300. OUCH! Good news! I have a dear friend who paints and believes she can do something very similar for me for a much lower price. I'm excited about the few ideas I have. Be expecting some post wanting your input in the near future. :)

**June is at its end and I still have no motivation to work on anything school related. Sure it is my summer and I should enjoy, but I am teaching math in less than 2 months people. I need to be planning!!! Praying that motivation kicks in soon....like in the next week or so.

Easy As ABC....

A- My AIR CONDITIONER is set on: 70

B- My BEDROOM theme is: green, brown, & gold...no true theme

C- The CAR in the driveway is: Honda Accord

D- My DESK looks: unfinished in the garage.

E- The EXACT time I wake up daily is: It's summer... Different every day, but it's been somewhere between 9 and 10

F- The FIRST thing I wash in the shower is: my stomach

G- My GARAGE is filled with: EVERYTHING...wood, tools, bikes, etc, etc.

H- My HOME is: feeling very blah right now... been dreaming about some decor changes

I- If you peeked INSIDE my bedroom you'd see: an unmade bed

J- My favorite JUICE is: grape

K- The best part of my KITCHEN is: my owl...I love that thing!!

L- The LAST person who visited my home was: The Winburns

M- The last piece of MAIL for me was: Something from a credit card company

N- My NEIGHBORS think I'm: not here... we don't really talk to hour neighbors.

O- If you OPENED my fridge you'd see: milk, kool-aid, cheese, tortillas, and that it needs to be cleaned.

P- My last house PARTY was: The Springers and the Winburns over for dinner and boardgames.

Q- A QUICK meal I like to fix is: Quesadillas

R- My favorite ROOM of the house is: Our bedroom...we pretty much live in that one room.

S- The SHAMPOO brand I use is: Dove right now...we recently switched

T- My largest TELEVISION is: in the bedroom I think it is 42" but I could be totally wrong. We don't have one in the living room.

U- UNDER my bed you will find: A lot of dog hair

V- The last time I VACUUMED was: June 17. I know I need to do it again.

W- Looking out my WINDOW I see: the house across the street

X- I wish I had X-TRA: time! to spend with my husband!

Y- My YARD is: mowed thanks to my nephew

Z- ZZZZZZZ My bedtime is: midnight or later....It's Summer

The Countdown

In my twenty-six years of living, I have had a lot of countdowns. I've counted down the days until Christmas, summer break, the first day of school, vacations, my wedding, birthdays, and many more fun and exciting things.

In fact right now I'm counting down the days until I don't have to wear my surgical shoe anymore. It hasn't even been two weeks and that thing is already getting on my nerves. If I'm honest I'm counting down until September because after my surgical shoe, I'm stuck in tennis shoes for two months.

We've all counted down to something before. When I countdown to something it is because I'm anticipating that it is going to be fun and exciting. It is normally something good that I'm counting down to.

Yesterday morning at church, God reminded me of something I should always be counting down to, always be looking forward to.

An eternity with my Heavenly Father. Now I can't exactly countdown to the day when I will join him because I don't know the number of days I have left on this Earth. But I can definitely be looking forward to it. I can be living with that ending in mind.

God's word tells us this about Heaven: "I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” Revelation 21:3-4

Being with God and his people, no death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain. Now that is something to look forward to. That is something to countdown to.

I want to start living with that ending in mind. The happiest ever after ending!!

Do You Know How Many Hairs Are On My Head?

"And the very hairs on your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:30

The husband and I attended church at Geyer Springs this morning. While I have lots to share with you about the message God gave me this morning, for now I just want to share one thought. God knows everything I'm going through. He allows trials and pressures into my life so that I might look a little more like Him. That is such a comforting thought. The God who created everything and for whom everything was created knows me and cares about me. He knows the number of hairs on my head.

Because it is Funday Sunday and you probably don't know me as well as God does.....let's play!

1.If you had 5000.00 to spend on plastic surgery what would you have done?
First of all I don't think I would ever have plastic surgery. Most days I'm perfectly happy with the appearance God gave me. But, for the sake of the game... I would have plastic surgery on my arm and my foot. I would get rid of all these scars that i have. I have lots on my left arm because eight years ago I flipped my car into a tree. It really wasn't as bad as that sounds. A story for another time. I remember when it happened I was so worried about my arm being ugly for the rest of my life. Andrew would tell me that someday he would pay for my plastic surgery to get it fixed if it bothered me that bad. He is such a sweetie. It doesn't really bother me at all now. Most people seem to know me or be around me for months or more before they ever even notice it.

2. Do you watch Soap operas and if so what is your favorite and why?
Nope!! When I'm home during the day the TV is on TLC for most of the day.

3. Favorite clothing brand?
Anything affordable. I shop at Old Navy, Target, and Forever 21 most often.

4. An afternoon shopping spree at your favorite store or maid service for a year?
That's a no brainer. Maid Service for a year. I do not enjoy cleaning. Working no getting better at that though.

5. would you ever vajazzle?
Okay I don't have any idea what this is so I'm going to say no. Feel free to clue me in on what vajazzle is.

Okay I just looked this up... SERIOUSLY??? People do that!!! I don't think so!!!!

6. Favorite Disney Princess?
Ariel from The Little Mermaid. This was my FAVORITE movie when I was little. I remember one year Santa wrapped my presents in Ariel wrapping paper. I also got a Prince Eric and an Ariel the bride doll that year.

7. Last movie that made you bawl your eyes out?
I seem to cry at every movie lately. I'm not sure I've bawled my eyes out at one lately but some that have made me cry in the past few weeks: The Blind Side, The Express, & Believe in Me.

8. Have you ever broken any bones and if so what?
I guess I can answer yes to this question now. I'm pretty sure Dr. Buk had to break my bone for my bunion surgery.


Help me get to know you a little better. Play along. Just copy and paste the questions. It's a fun game.

Love Is All You Need

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

This is the passage that God pressed upon me to hide in my heart. It may only be three verses, but those are some powerful three verses. God has already challenged me with these verses.

I've shared with you before that He is opening my eyes to things in my life that I want to change or enhance before I have children. Well the past few weeks, He has been showing me something even more important.

I'm not a mom right now. Shocking I know. :) I truly believe someday I will be a mom, but I don't know when that day will be. Only God knows. What I do know is that I'm already a wife.

God has really been convicting me to be the wife he has called me to be...the proverbs 31 wife/woman. There are some tough things in Proverbs 31.

I really felt like the love passage from 1 Corinthians was something that was going to help me become not only the wife that God wants me to be, but the person God wants me to be.

God calls us to love one another. And not just with any kind of love, but with the kind of love that He has for us.

I do not believe God had Paul write the love passage for married people alone. He calls us all to love and these three verses tell us how we are to love.

This is my command: Love each other. John 15:17

First Post-Op Visit

Yesterday afternoon the husband took me to my first post-op visit. I was more than ready for this doctor's visit. It was a chance to get out of the house and lately those seem to be few and far between. I was also very curious about what my foot looked like.

I was feeling pretty good when we arrived at the foot and ankle clinic. They called my name and the husband and I walked to the end of the hall to my room. Okay so he walked and I hobbled.

The nurse came in and laid this plastic on the ground under my foot. I immediately began to feel sick. Just how bloody and gross was my foot going to be? The doctor stopped by and let the nurse know that we needed to do x-rays. GREAT! More hobbling!

Going down to the hall to have x-rays done was just about more than I could handle. I thought I was going to get sick right then and there. Standing up for x-rays took everything I had. It was just plain awful.

After x-rays the nurse came in and started cutting off my bandage. Literally cutting it off. There was a lot of stuff wrapped around my foot.


I turned my head. Seeing my foot wasn't such a good idea all of a sudden.

Having it unwrapped and able to breathe felt really good. I finally got up the courage to take a peek. I didn't think it looked like bad at all. Not even a little bit gross.



The doctor said everything looked great! My bone and the pin they put in are exactly where they are supposed to be. I go back next week to have x-rays done again and have my bandages changed again. I was glad to learn that I will never have to change my own bandages. That is something that is better left to the professionals.

After we left the doctor's office, the husband rewarded me with a butterfinger ice cream bar. I LOVE these and they are getting harder and harder to find!!

We went by his office so he could drop off some paperwork and then we headed to Joy's. They had some crutches they were going to let me borrow. We ended up being at their house for several hours. Joy and I talked while the boys played indoor golf. They always come up with something to entertain themselves.


We ended up staying through dinner. Joy made us the most delicious chicken quesadillas! They were so good!! I only ate half of mine so Joy wrapped my other half up for me for lunch today.

After we left Joy's we went to Wal-Mart to pick up some food for me and some travel items for the husband. He left for San Antonio early this morning. I cruised around Wal-Mart on this bad boy....



Let me just tell you, they don't go fast AT ALL!! It was awful. The husband kept asking me if I was flooring it. LOL!!


This long day completely wore me out. I think I might have over did it. I was in pain by the time I got home last night and still had a little pain this morning.

It's much better now, but my tailbone is getting sore. Ha! Staying in bed all day every day can be rough on a girl.

Getting To Know You Sunday

1. While at the beach, pool, etc..Do you cover up your assets or show them off? I definitely cover up as much as I possibly can. I do not find it necessary or comfortable to be half naked in front of everyone.

2. Road trips or Plane trips?
Road Trips... hands down. I have only flown a couple of times, but I do not enjoy it. It makes me nervous and a little sick. I would much rather to ride in a car. I don't care what anyone says I feel much safer in a car.

3. I can't stand it when...?
I can't stand it when the neighbors across the street park their car right behind my driveway.

4. Have you ever gone topless at the beach?
That would be a big fight NO!!

5. How many blog carnivals do you do a week?
I don't have any that I do on a regular basis. I probably participate in Getting to Know You more often than any others.

6. My favorite thing about the weekend is...?
Spending time with the husband and going to church.

7. Pancakes or waffles?
Definitely pancakes. Love them!! Not a fan of waffles.

8. Water Park or Amusement Park?
Amusement Park. I could ride roller coasters all day long. And again I'm not a fan of being in front of people in my swim suit. Plus I have a slight fear of being under water so water parks are not fun to me at all.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy and my Daddy-in-law. Both are great men whom I admire!!

The Proposal

It's all about the proposal today over at Kelly's SUYL. Since I'm all propped up in bed and starting to get bored, I thought this would be the perfect entertainment.

I have a bank of romantic and sweet stories about the husband that I could share with you. The proposal isn't one of them. LOL!!

At this point in our dating life the husband and I were living two hours apart. I know that isn't long distance compared to some, but for me it was. We both worked full time jobs during this week leaving only our weekends to be together. We would take turns driving to each other and sleeping on each other's couch.

I made two things very clear to the husband... I didn't want to help pick out the ring or even see it and I didn't want to know it was coming. I wanted to be completely surprised.

One particular weekend I got the strict instructions not to call and bother him. He was spending the weekend with the guys and would be busy. Fine by me. I had some good quality family time. In fact I was on my way to town with my Daddy to pick up dinner for the night, when Drew called. The conversation went something like this...

Him: What size ring did you say you wore?

ME: 4. Why?

Him: Just curious, gotta go.

Me: Wait... where are you?

Him: McCain Mall. Bye.

Of course I knew something was up. As if the question about my ring size wasn't a dead give away, he was at McCain. For those of you not familiar with central Arkansas, McCain was on the other side of the river in NLR. He doesn't shop on that side of the river.

I don't remember how long that was before the actual engagement.

Fast forward to my birthday weekend. It was Friday, the day before my birthday. I was supposed to work until 1:30 and then Andrew was coming down and taking me out to dinner. I was so excited. I just knew it was going to happen that night.

I was working at Sonic at the time and that was a day at work I will never forget. Our computer system broke down. We had no way of taking orders except by hand. It was a LONG day. 1:30 came and went. Before I realized it, it was 5:00 and I was still at work. I was beginning to stress. I mean I was supposed to be getting engaged that night. Thankfully Andrew was running a bit behind as well.

I finally got off work and ran home to shower and get that wonderful Sonic smell off me. I wore a blue jean skirt and a green t-shirt. I was going for cute without over doing it.

Again I just knew he would propose at the restaurant. The meal came. We ate. No proposal. Dessert came. No proposal. We arrived back at my house. No proposal.

I was a bit disappointed.

Saturday morning we were just hanging out. After he showered, Andrew told me he had to go get something out of his car. This was it. I knew it. All of a sudden I got very nervous.

I went and took the longest shower of my life. I was a nervous wreck. Once I was showered, dressed, and ready to go, I returned to my bedroom to find Andrew sitting on my bed.

He handed me a birthday card. I read it, but now I don't have any idea what it said. After I read the card, he handed me a little black box and simply said.."Here you go. Happy Birthday."

I opened it to find my ring. I don't remember if he even officially asked me to marry him, but I do remember him telling me he was only asking the one time so I shouldn't blow it.

Ha! Told you... not one of his most romantic moments.

I said yes and the rest is history.

It isn't the most romantic proposal, but it is our proposal and I wouldn't change it for anything.

I love my husband!!!!

Bye Bye Bunion!!

I woke up this morning to the sweetest text message from my little brother. He had to work today and couldn't come down to be with me during surgery even though he wanted to.

I really wasn't nervous this morning, but I was hungry!! Not being able to eat after midnight was not good for me. I busied myself with some last minute cleaning to help keep my mind off things.

The husband and I then drove out to my school to pick up my paycheck. On the way back from there, already running late, I realized I didn't have my insurance card. Not Good!! They told me to make sure I had it with me.

We stopped at home and searched frantically for it, but had no success. I called the surgical center and they thankfully said they had my info just to come one.

On the way to surgery

We got there about fifteen minutes late. My parents were there waiting on me. Before I went back I gave my daddy his Father's Day gift... a gift card to Gander Mountain, a local sporting goods store. I was afraid I would be too loopy afterwards to remember.

All this time, my sweet husband was on the phone. He might be physically here with me but bless his heart, he has been on the phone working nonstop today. His day off isn't so restful.

After just a few short minutes they called me back. My nurse was a sweet lady. I told her I had never had anything like this done and was a little scared. She took good care of me. She marked my foot so they didn't cut on the wrong one. In fact every nurse or doctor I talked to verified that we were cutting on the right foot. That was comforting.


She gave me this beautiful cap and gown to wear. Why on Earth I add to strip down naked to have my foot cut on is beyond me.


Anyway... she gave me my first ever IV. It wasn't bad at all. I normally don't have a problem with shots and needles as long as I don't see them, but this was new and wasn't coming right back out.

Feeling the fluid move through my veins was a little weird. Very cool though. I just kept thinking it would be cool to do something like this in science class, not that I can give all my kids an IV. HA!!

After I was all prepped the husband was finally able to join me. He stayed with me a little while and prayed with me. Then he left and let my Momma come visit. In no time at all my doctor had arrived and they were wheeling me back to the OR.


I'll admit the OR was a little scary. Even though there were nurses and doctors in the room, I felt all alone. And those big lights up above and all the white... just a little freaky.

An older gentlemen gave me my oxygen mask and was talking to me about how I was going to take a little nap. The next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. The husband said it took about 45 minutes for the surgery and then I was in recovery for about 45 minutes. Not bad all!!

My parents brought me home while the husband went to have my prescription filled and pick up lunch for everyone.

I've just been laying around with the foot propped up. I have to keep it elevated above my heart until Monday afternoon when I go back to the doctor. I can't unwrap it or anything and I would really like to see it. She gave me stitches under the skin...would like to see what that looks like. I'm just curious.


I have to wear my surgical boot for 4 weeks, but I can walk in it. After that I have to wear athletic shoes for two months. That is going to be attractive with my dress pants at work. :) Won't me new students think I'm so cool!!

My sweet furbabies are taking good care of me. :) It amazes me that they know something is different.

I have definitely felt all the prayers that have gone up on my behalf. I wasn't anywhere near as nervous as I thought I would be. I never really got too nervous at all actually.

I have received a TON of calls, text, and messages through facebook today. I can't even begin to tell you how blessed and loved I have felt today. I have the best friends and family a girl could ask for!! I can't say thank you enough to all those you have prayed and loved on me already.

Tuesday Night Ramblings

I'm sitting here tonight feeling a variety of emotions.

I can't stop smiling. I feel God working on me and even though some of the things he is revealing aren't pretty, it is so incredible to know He loves me and cares about me so much.

One of my favorite songs says

Your love is extravagant. Your friendship intimate.

I love those words. Extravagant. Awesome, cool, neat, amazing, super... these are all words that I feel are overused. I'm guilty of overusing them. But extravagant?
You don't hear that word often. At least I don't.

Of course part of my smile has to do with the fact that the husband is coming home tomorrow. I am so stinkin' excited and ready to have him back. It has been a long 2 1/2 weeks.

It's looking like he won't be home long at all before he is gone again. I'm planning to finish my recovery in Dallas where he will be.

That's right surgery is coming up. In fact it is Thursday. The DAY AFTER TOMORROW! Yikes!! Either way for the next month I'm going to be in bed with my leg propped up. I'd prefer to do that in the same state as my husband. :)

I'm getting a little nervous about surgery. I don't find it a coincidence that the week of my surgery, the Bible study I'm doing talks about anxiety or worry.

God is good like that.

So I'm clinging to a couple of verses tonight. Verses I've know for a long time, but seem different to me today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

You can throw the whole weight of your anxieties upon him, for you are his personal concern. 1 Peter 5:7 (a paraphrase)

Lately I have really felt the need to memorize Scripture. In the past I've always wanted to do this just so I could say I knew Scripture. I've struggled with hiding his word in my heart.

Now I want to memorize Scripture so that I might not sin against him. I want the scripture in my heart to help me fight off Satan.

But I feel a little overwhelmed. I want to learn like a bazillion Scriptures instantly. God has shown me so many things in my life that I need to work on that it is hard to know where to start. And I wonder how important the reference is. Is it enough for me to know the scripture, or should I know where to find it?

I'm going to start with the two above. Worry is a big problem for me. Even though I "know" those two verses, I don't apply them very well. I'm not sure if they are truly hidden in my heart. Does that even make sense?

Sorry.. I know I'm rambling and I'm all over the place tonight. I'm honestly just writing as stuff pops into my head.

Would you mind sharing a scripture that you have memorized that has been particularly helpful to you?

The Battle

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Friday night I was missing the husband like crazy. He's been gone two weeks now and I was definitely feeling lonely and bored... not a good combination.

I picked up the phone and called him, while allowing myself to get my hopes up that he would be home Saturday night. He told me it was going to be late Wednesday night before he would be home.

I lost it!! The tears came instantly. I allowed Satan to help me host a pretty big pity party. I was tired of being alone and having two sick dogs wasn't helping matters. I even allowed Satan to convince me that the husband didn't even miss me.

Oh the things we let Satan do to us. Someone once told me that Satan would attack my marriage every chance he got. We weren't shielded from this just because the husband and I are both Christians. If anything, I think that makes us more suseptible to Satan's attacks. Friday night it was like I just welcomed Satan in with big open arms. I let him tell me things that I know are not true.

Saturday I woke up and while the pity party was over, I wasn't completely out of it. The excitment doesn't end as soon as the last guest leaves a party. You are still on that emotional high from all the excitement. That is where I was Saturday, only it was more of an emotional low. Maybe a more accurate statement would be that the pity party had just been downsized.

This morning feeling a strong desire to worship God with other believers, I went to All Points Church. Brother David's message was from Ephesians 6. God really spoke to my heart. He reminded me who this battle was really against. It's not against my husband or his job or his boss or anyone else. The battle is a spiritual one. It is against Satan and Satan alone.

My strength to fight this battle is not my strength at all, but that of God. It is only through God that I can fight this spiritual battle that I face every day not just when the husband is away.

As soon as service was over this morning, I knew that I wanted to visit Journey Church tonight. I wanted more. I was thirsty for God. That in itself felt good. It's been too long since I was thirsty... truly thirsty.

Tonight at Journey, Alex preached from Psalm 28. His message?? He reminded me that the battle is one not of flesh and blood. It is through God's strength that we fight this battle.

Um... WOW!! Two different churches. Two different pastors. No relation at all and yet I got the same message twice in the same day.

I'm so thankful for the reminder that the battle is not against any thing or any one in this physical world. It's a spirtual battle. God is on my side. It is through his strength that I can face this battle. It's a battle that my God has already won. The victory is already his. Through him I will make it through not only the next three days without my husband, but through the rest of my marriage until God calls one or both of us home.

Getting to Know You Sunday

It's been awhile since I've played Getting to Know You Sunday. I've just haven't had the desire to play, but this is an easy blog post so here we go...


1. If you could have one of Superman's, powers which one would you want? Superhuman strength..Flight..Superhuman speed..X-Ray vision..etc
Hmmm! I'm going to have to choose speed. I'd never be late again. :)

2. The best thing I ever won is....?
That's tough. I am always so excited and feel so very blessed when I win anything that they all feel like the best. I won a $100 gift certificate to a local store one time... that was pretty cool.

3. Have you ever skyped with a bloggy friend?
Nope. I'm a skype virgin.

4. What is your favorite Summer month?
August. Hands down. It's back to school time which I absolutely LOVE!! It is also my birthday month.

5. Pool, Lake, or Ocean?
I love them all, but I have to say the pool is my favorite. I prefer to just lounge around on a floatie and that is best done in a pool.

6. One of my favorite Summer memories is.....?
I have so many. My favorites are probably of camping with my family. This might be because I have camping fever right now. Summer has always been when we've taken vacation. And those have always been full of great memories.

7. What's your favorite secret bargain?
Any bargain is a favorite. I feel like I'm saying that for all of these questions. But it's true. Hmm...my favorite bargain is probably clothes of any kind.


8. Do you plan on or have you been watching the World Cup?
No thank you. The husband is away and my TV has been sports free.

On The Road to Recovery

I decided to take Lib to the vet this afternoon. She hasn't thrown up any today, but I was still worried about her. They both needed their nails trimmed too so a trip to the vet only made sense.

He confirmed all of our thoughts. She probably ate something outside that didn't settle well. He took her temperature and said that was fine. She wasn't dehydrated which is good.

He gave her two shots. One to help settle her tummy and one for her irritated throat. He also believed that is what caused there to be blood the last few times she got sick last night. She wasn't real happy about this. She looked terrified!

He said to just slowly ease her back into drinking and eating. He assured me that she would be back to her crazy self in the next day or two, but if not I should take her back.

She ate a little dog food earlier tonight and has held it down so that's good.

She has just been resting and recuperating today. We've all done a lot of this.

He's just lazy. :)





He's stayed right by her side for the past few days.

Round Two

I thought Monday was bad with all the sickness.

I was wrong.

Last night was much much worse.

All was fine and dandy until around six last night. My sweet brown girl ate her dinner and then was very gassy. I mean VERY gassy. It was smelling pretty rotten so I let her outside to take care of business. She was out there for about 30 or 40 minutes before I let her back in.

As soon as she got inside and on my bed, she threw up. From that point she threw up pretty much nonstop for about three hours. Toward the end of that, there began to be blood in it. I think it was just because she had irritated her throat by all the vomiting.

I've never seen a dog like this before. I at one point put a towel on the bed and whenever she acted like she was going to be sick, I would hold her on the towel and just pet her while she threw up. She was even making that noise you make when you throw up. I was on the phone with the husband during all this and he couldn't believe she was making that noise.

I felt so bad for her. I was torn on what to do. I knew I couldn't just let her sleep in the bed with me. I had no desire to wake up in vomit. But I also didn't want to just stick her in the laundry room alone. I couldn't put her outside because we really think she is eating something out there that is causing her to be sick.

She finally curled up next to me and went back to sleep. I thought the vomiting was over so we went to sleep. Around 12:30 I was just about asleep when I heard her get to get a drink of water. She drank quite a bit, which I thought would be good for her.

WRONG!!

No sooner than she jumped back in bed, she spewed EVERYWHERE. Literally spewed. All over me. The bed. It shot into the floor. Just EVERYWHERE. Thankfully this time, it was 95% water that she had just drank.

Liam chose this moment to poo the smelliest poo of his life.

Oh what a night!!

We got up and moved to the couch and put sheets back in the washer for what seems like the millionth time. I have needed 10 sets of back up sheets the past few days.


We slept as well as we could with the three of us on the couch until the husband called at 7 this morning. He wanted to check on his girl. She's been good all morning. She did sort of spit up once, but it was a tiny amount. She is very mopey and just laying around not moving a lot.

If she isn't better this afternoon I guess we will take a visit to the vet.

Stick with the Dogs

A coworker has jokingly told me several times this year to "Stick with the dogs". She has three children, a son who just graduated, a daughter going into tenth, and a son going into eighth. This year there were some major injuries with her children causing her to spend a lot of time in the doctor's office. She would often tell me to stick with my dogs. Well I have a story for her!!

Yesterday afternoon, the dogs and I curl up in bed together for an summer afternoon nap. As soon as I lay down and get comfortable, this little guy decides he doesn't feel good.

He walked up behind me, on the bed, and threw up!! Great! I get out of bed and am getting the proper equipment for cleaning dog puke when I start to smell it. I then threw up.

I manage to get it cleaned up and the sheets of the bed. As I'm walking through the living room to put the sheets in the washer, I noticed there is poo everywhere in the living room. It looks like the little guy exploded. So I get that all cleaned up and lovingly send the husband a text letting him know he can come home anytime.

Fast forward to last night... After putting nice clean sheets on my bed, the three of us curl up to go to sleep. This sweet little girl...



walks up behind me and throws up everywhere. SERIOUSLY!! I am not making this up. Thankfully she hadn't pooed all over the living room.

We move to the couch and I send the husband another sweet text. This time he calls me. We're trying to figure what could be wrong with my dogs when Lib throws up again...and again. I tell him I have to go because she is puking everywhere. She threw up four times in a matter of just a few minutes.

She was scaring me. She was shaking and she kept moving her head like she was going to throw up again. I could just tell she didn't feel well.

After a quick glance around the house it appears we made it through the night without anyone else getting sick.

So yeah..."Stick with the dogs".... doesn't mean no issues. I felt like I had two sick children yesterday and I was left to care for them alone.

The Weavers

Overwhelmed and Out of Control

Where do I even begin?

Today has been a hard day. I feel very overwhelmed. Andrew's Grandma Weaver went HOME to be with Jesus and her husband last night. I first met Grandma Weaver at Thanksgiving in 2001. I had only been dating Andrew for a couple of months at point, but he felt it was best for us to go ahead and meet each other's families at Thanksgiving. He said since we weren't serious, there would be no pressure. Anyways... we walked into Grandma Weaver's house for Thanksgiving and I met the entire town. LOL!! There was a lot of people in that small house. Mr. and Mrs. Weaver had eight children and those eight children had lots of children who had lots of children. I remember being in awe of how many people were there and finding it strange that Drew wasn't sure who some of them were.

I don't remember if I met Grandma Weaver as soon as we got there or late on in the day. I just remember her sitting in a chair in her living room and giving me the biggest hug EVER, like she had known me all her life.

That was only one of a handful of times I was around Grandma Weaver. In those few times of being around her, it was very obvious to me that she loved the Lord. I'm grateful that her family can be assured that she is in the arms of Christ right now, painfree and reunited with the love of her life.

Visitation is tomorrow night and the funeral Saturday. The husband is in Texas and it doesn't look like he will be finished there anytime soon. He is going to fly home Saturday for the funeral and then fly back to Texas for who knows how long.

I'm trying to figure out the easiest way for me to be where I need to be over the next few days. He will leave his car in Texas which means he will neeed a ride Saturday. While I would definitely much rather have him by my side for visitation, I want to go and be there for my in-laws. I love them dearly and want to help them in any way I can. This means that I either have to drive the almost three hours to visitation tomorrow night and then come back to pick up my husband and return on Saturday or I have to leave my car at the airport for him and bum a ride tomorrow.
Just trying to get that worked out.

That wouldn't be a big deal, but school was chaotic today too. Because we are moving into a new middle school next year, teachers are being shifted around. The high school teacher who will be moving into my room was told she had to get out of her room immediately. She and all her stuff moved into my room today. And let me tell you SHE HAS A LOT OF STUFF!!! I don't mind this and I definitely don't blame her, but I just wasn't prepared. I didn't have my stuff packed and out of the way.. not that I really have any place to go. The new building isn't finished yet and won't be finished for a couple of months.

So between those two small things, my being tired, and my husband being gone for an undetermined amount of time, I'm just feeling stresed and overwhelmed.

However, even though I feel like everything is out of control right now, I wholeheartedly believe that God is still in control. He will carry me through the next couple of days and right on in to summer vacation. For that, I am thankful!

I'm A Work In Progress...

Selfishness. It is such an ugly word. It is a word that is easy for us to say of someone else, but a word that we don't want said of us.

Not many people would easily admit that they are a selfish person. They might admit they have selfish moments, but it's too hard to think those selfish moments do indeed make them a selfish person.

If I'm honest, the they is really me. I am a selfish person. Lately God has been dealing with me on this. He has flat out let me know that I'm selfish. Ouch!!

Romans 3:23 tells us that all have fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone has sinned.

Though this verse doesn't directly say it, it is stating that we fall short all the time. We haven't fallen short once or twice. We fall short every moment of our lives. I know I do. I wasn't selfish one time. I'm selfish over and over and over.

There is a particular area of my life that I have felt especially selfish in lately. It is that area that I feel God is really telling me to work on. It is my marriage.

Lately I have neglected my husband. I have been focused on me and what I should get out of this marriage. I want to go where I want when I want. I want my way all the time.

Can you say DANGER?!?!

Everyone has heard of the Proverbs 31 wife. That is definitely something I aspire to be, but I also want to be a Proverbs 12:4 wife.

"A worthy wife is her husband's joy and crown; a shameful wife saps his strength"

Of course, I want to be the first part of that verse!

Her husband's joy!! That is huge! I want to bring comfort and joy to my husband. I don't want being with me to ever be work for him.

All of this leads to the fact that I'm a sinner. From my head down to my toes, I'm a sinner.

I am doomed to die.

Romans 6:23 says "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord"

AMEN!!

Something else that I feel God has been repetitively showing me is that the gospel, that is the work of Jesus Christ, is not just for the unbeliever. They definitely need to hear the gospel and we as believers have a job to share the gospel with them. But the gospel is for us too!!

In a Bible study I'm doing called Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges, he writes, "The gospel is only for sinners."

Only for sinners. We just said we are all sinners. We ALL fall short.

Bridges goes on to say, "Even on what seems like our very best days, we still need to preach the gospel to ourselves. The truth is, there is never a day in our lives when we are so 'good' we don't need the gospel."

Sure there are days when I would consider myself less selfish than other days. But there is never a day I would consider myself selfless.

I praise God that there is good news.

"Brothers, listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is freed from all guilt and declared right with God - something the Jewish law could never do." Acts 13:38-39

"As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12

We are forgiven! We don't deserve it. We don't even come close to deserving it. But God is gracious and merciful and forgives us anyway.

That is the gospel that even we believers need to hear on a daily basis. Probably on a minute by minute basis. I know I need it as often as I can get it.