Zappo.

I caught my hunny using his little girl's strawberry shortcake lip gloss.
I guess that's the funniest thing ever.
Not only the fact that he uses it, but also the fact that he denied doing it.
So that means he's too tough to use it.
Which makes me laugh, because he DID use it.

I totally sold him out, didn't I?

Halloween garb for mommas.

I bet you're all wondering what I am going to be for Halloween.
Well, you'll have to wait.
Meems and I are gathering our resources.
We will be a team, so to speak.
You are going to love it!
And you will say, "Wow, they really have no shame..."
Get to imagining - you'll never guess...

Phil Wickham.

Seldom have I found an artist who can capture in words and music my thoughts and feelings of worship for my Creator. I just wanted to share some of this music with you guys. I have been enjoying it secretly for a few weeks. I love, love this cd.

Rotten Meat, Part 2.

So I returned the meat.
I have never returned rotten meat before.
I guess I never thought of it.
______________________________
I got to the return desk.
The lady asked no questions.
She just nodded and scanned and gave me my money back.
I asked her, "Does this happen a lot?"
She said, "yeah, a lot of our meat is rotten. You should go to HEB. They have good meat there."
The girl next to her, her supervisor, said, "Yeah, I don't buy my meat here."
I said, "Thanks for the tip."
I turned away. Speechless.

blessings.

For the first time in my life that I can recall, I have a group of Godly friends.
They hold me up. They help me out.
They are genuine. They are God-fearing women.
Some are mothers. Some are Grandmothers. Some are waiting...
I love you all. I love you differently.
I am thankful for your presence in my life.
Some of our friendships are tried and true.
Some of our friendships are fresh and new.
I trust.
I laugh.
I adore.
I imitate.
I admire.
I appreciate.
All of you.
I am so thankful for you all.
Thank you, God, for friends.

A special thanks for meems on her birthday.
You make 22 look amazing!
*wink* I won't tell if you don't - we are the same age, after all...
Happy, happy day!!!

rosa's

I was glad to see you ladies at rosa's tonight.
Next time, I'll get a sitter.
:)

The kind of friend I want to be.

I had a thought a few months ago about a friend of mine.
She is the type of person that is so regularly impressive with her godliness that it almost slips by without comment.
She is so routinely mindful of her Christianity that people have come to expect it from her.
That is one of the best compliments that I think I could ever receive.

One of the first times I met her, we were just talking.
I don't remember what we were talking about. It really doesn't matter.
What I do remember is that I was sharing something with her that was either a stresser or a quandary of life and we were just talking. What happened next is what changed my outlook on everything about her. She didn't plan for this to happen, she was just being her. And serving her God, as she did unashamedly and routinely.
She stopped the conversation mid-sentence and said, "I just have to pray with you over this."
She laid her hand gently on my shoulder and prayed a simple, but powerful prayer. Then the conversation resumed.
It was a definite wow moment for me.
She wasn't trying to impress me.
She wasn't trying to be religious.
She was putting her trust in God. And it was as natural to her as putting her shoes on.
This has happened countless times in my friendship to her. Her thoughts never seem to be far from God in any given situation.

That has been over 2 years ago now, and from time to time God will remind me of what a jewel she is and how very special she is to Him.
He is so proud to call her His daughter. She is so very faithful to Him.

So to you meems, You've made a big difference in my life. It has happened over a long period of time. I just want to encourage you because what you are doing is powerful. Even if it seems as natural as getting dressed in the morning, your life and relationship with God speak volumes.

Rotten Meat.

THIS IS ME SCREAMING OUT LOUD WITH MY FINGERS!!!
I (FOR THE 37, 000, 000th TIME) HAVE BEEN THE LUCKY RECIPIENT OF ROTTEN MEAT FROM WAL-MART! GRRRRrrrrrrr!
They know they're doing it, I know they do.
Because if they can drag my reluctant self back through their doors one more time this week, they can be certain that, even though I am there to make a return, they will still squeeze at least 50 bucks out of me before I am out the door.
I hate Wal-Mart. (Sorry Alycia - but you know it's true.)
I imagine those orange juice commercials.
When they see me coming, they shove out every last shred of rotten meat they have so I will have no chance of leaving there with anything better than buzzard food.
Making a return necessary.
Making me spend more money.
All those unnecessary items I gathered the will-power to refuse the last visit now become completely irresistible with my new fully-charged gift card.
You see how this works?
I'm on to you Wal-Mart.
Sneaky little devil.

A new plan?

I had to enroll A. in a school for Tues./Thurs. mornings today at another Mom's day out in town.
She will be at a different facility than me.
I was unexpectedly sad. So upset, actually, I was sick.
It will eat up another $100 a month out of my paycheck which begins to make my part-time job seem nearly pointless.
I don't know what to do.
I love my job.
but I obviously love my kids more.
I don't know what choice is the right choice.
I added it up and I'm working around 30 hours a week, which makes the hourly total good enough - unless you factor in the cost of childcare and time away from your babies... (priceless and irreplaceable)

I don't know if I am good enough at all the household things that are required of me to be away from my house so many hours each week. It's beginning to wear me out. I have had to really cut down on what I expect out of myself, just to get by. I hate the mentality of "scraping by."
I also think that there are few things as unattractive (when paired with my personality) than "overwhelmed." I don't do "overwhelmed" very well at all.

I wish there was a clear answer, like a booming voice from Heaven.
Would that be workable, God?

My body is involuntarily rejecting this idea of her going to yet another child-care facility, just to accommodate my dwindling paycheck...
It began with extreme heartburn last night. An anxiety attack and nightmares.
I was sick to my stomach all day because of the new development.
I tried to rationalize my anxiety away, but I just got sicker and sicker...
I hope it's a temporary fix for the problem.
The problem being, C's boss has been consistently ignoring his schedule conflicts on Tues./Thurs. mornings and putting us in an up-the-creek situation.

Admittedly, my boss is VERY flexible with my family's needs as they arise, but if A. had to start coming to work with me on a regular basis - that would probably wear my boss out fairly quickly.
Taking A. the 30 miles to my parent's house on a regular basis and making the trip to pick her up was not only time-consuming but also very expensive.

The only choice that seemed to work both for my job and for us financially was this.
It would be even harder, except that she loves it.
I asked her how it went and she said she likes it a lot, better than staying at home. She loves 'school.'
That makes me feel better.

I just can't shake the uneasiness.
Maybe a better solution can be worked out - but for now, this settles the topsy-turvy Tues./ Thurs. mornings.
I know God knows the answers.
So I will try to rest easy.
So many times in my life I can look back and see how God ordered my steps so that everything would fall into place. I will put my trust in Him.
I have to, because right now, I don't like it.

Now it's my turn to brag.

My husband is really impressing me today!
Sometime during the night last night, a storm blew in.
Little A. Always wakes up during a storm - terrified.
He apparently brought her into our bedroom and gave up his spot on the bed for her to sleep next to me.
When I woke up, instead of him next to me, I saw a tiny little hiney poking up in the air along with the cutest little girl nuzzled up next to me.
I never even woke up.
I got in the shower and did my morning thing.
I went to wake J. up and next to little J's bed was his daddy, curled up on the floor. Apparently, J. also, at some point in the night, stirred and was afraid of the storm.
What a fantastic daddy he is!
And thanks to his fantasticness, I got a full night's sleep!
Ain't life grand?