Making Memories and Seeing the Forest

Tonight was a beginning of a new era for me, it is making those memories that my little man will talk about for years to come. Please don't get me wrong, I know that we've been making memories for a long time now, but this is a new cusp, a newness for 'growing up remember them for ever we don't do this very often' memories.

We went to the movies with a friend from school on a weekday night.

Now I know some are thinking "o my word stop the presses and not just for the movies but because this lady is crazy." But for reals I like my schedule, and me and my boy can't stand mornings especially mornings when we don't get to bed until an hour past bedtime. But all that stuff is/was worth it to start this era of memory making. My co-room mom and I have become really good friends and she invited Cor and I to the movies (at a most awesome theater from the 1940's) well the only night we could go was tonight (Tuesday), and she gracially said "Perfect Tuesday @ 7 then!" (see why we became really good friends to begin with). And it was great the kids had an amazing time, although we both figure we will have to spend money to rent it for them to really get to see it, they cut up, laughed and talked about how fun and special it was that they got to go to the movies on a weekday night and stay up late. It made me realize that I don't always have to stick to that schedule so ridgidly. That sometimes we focus on so many things in front of us that we forget to look at what is around us! Will it really matter if he is up late one night out of a gazillion? umm, that a negative. Will it really matter if he (and I) are a little crabbier in the morning than usual? No, (although please do not comment on my hair cuz i'm one of those gals that will sleep 10 mins later rather than do her hair.) Will it matter that I allowed us to have and to make this memory of growing up and becoming a bigger boy with great friends?  Absolutely!

Tonight just really made me see how sometimes I do miss the forest from the trees. It's also made me realize that my baby is growing up and is starting to venture into new territory and I need to make sure that I don't be a "no" mom just because it doesn't fit my schedule (of course within reason). I need to make sure that  we have those special, once in a blue moon, throw everything to the wind and jump in with both feet moments sprinkled within our life so we don't loose the forest.

Thanks Sindy for helping me remember that, and making memories with us! Can't wait for the Disco Night memories Friday!

Monday Musings - Faith Edition

Good Morning (or maybe just Morning depending on how you are as a morning person)!  The hubster is a complete morning person, me - ummm yeah not so much (which is why I write mostly the night before or during my lunch hour)!

I know that I said I would talk about different takes and thoughts on devotionals that I've been reading but first I have to ask y'all a favor. A friend from church, Cecily, a young momma and wife found out a couple months ago she has breast cancer, she is now going through chemotherapy and radiation. She has the most amazing outlook ever ever EVA of anyone I've known to face a hard, life-altering diagnosis, just read her blog and you will understand what I'm talking about http://cecilyholm.blogspot.com/. She just lost her daddy unexpectedly, y'all please pray for her and her family. I can't imagine going through all of these trials and you know what she has NEVER lost faith in our God! She is such an inspiration and I hope she knows how much she is! I just want to completely cover her and her family in prayers during this hard and difficult time. I would like to ask y'all to contiue to pray for Cecily for complete healing. Our God is an awesome and mighty God! He can do anything.


Our church's motto is 'We're about LIFE', L for love God passionately, I for imitate His character, F for follow where He leads, E for engage in His missions: you can learn more about us here: http://kingwoodfirst.org/. This year we're in the Engaging aspect, our Missions kick-off was this Sunday. As a church body this year we are ready The Unexpected Adventure by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg. An excert from the book pretty much sums it up, 'Taking everyday risks to talk to people about Jesus'. How our everyday lives can be a mission for Him and His Kingdom, how we can Engage with others, either here in our backyard or across the world. My whole thought process (watch out ladies and gents soemtimes I think myself into circles) is that whatever, whereever, how ever we are called to be missionaries of His word, we must follow the Holy Spirit and do as He commands. It can be a little as being there for someone that needs a shoulder to cry upon, that plants a little seed in their thoughts that makes them want to find out more about why you are you. What is in your life that makes you different than anyone else. Other times it is that missionary trip 1/2 around the world where people have never even heard of Our Father and His wonderful redeeming love. Sometimes God lays it in our heart as clear as the day is long, other times not so much. That's where we have to be in tune with Him, we have to have time with Him. we have to listen for and to Him. My problem is sometimes I'm too busy to hear Him or I don't want to hear Him (I'm keeping it real peeps!). I feel if I have one more thing on my plate I'll go crazy (and seriously I'm totally Chicken Little D-R-A-M-A!) but when I don't I know that I'm not living the way He's envisioned for me. So iI've learned to get up before my son does so I can have "Jesus time". This is some testimony right here folks - I'm so night owl I'm like that owl on the tootsie roll commercial cuz his eyes are always saucer size open, and I do not like mornings. But my whole day goes so much smoother when He and I share time everyday, and for that I will be a morning person all unto myself.

My question for you is how do you engage? What has He laid upon your heart that you are following to be a missionary for the gospel? How do you step out in that faith to bring other to faith? i would love to hear about it, stories, ideas, memories, expriences, everything!

In His Love and Grace,
Michelle

Syllabus for Glitter (I don't think we are in school anymore Toto)

hello my sweet friends!

I've decided that Mondays are going to reflect a mirade of things. There will be my thoughts on devotionals. My lofty goals (or maybe I should aim low like really low) then when I get more done I will have tricked myself into feeling awesome blossom about what all "extra" I got done! See I told y'all I could always find the silver lining to ev-er-re-thang (self created or not ;o)! Lastly a sneak peek at what I did get done that weekend (reveals I'm thinking might be Wednesdays). Of course all this is subject to change in prolly oh, 14.7 seconds, cuz ladies and gents that is how I roll.

My thoughts on devotionals will be a collaboration of my personal devotionals I do each morning, a class I attend on Wednesday nights called Mom 2 Mom, my Sunday School class and church, and anything else might cross my eyeballs that makes me reflect on Jesus Christ and His wonderful redeeming forgiving love.

My goals are just that a list of things, ideas, etc that I want to accomplish that week. I've found if I write them down and make a plan of how to reach those goals I get there so much easier, faster and the journey is just down right more enjoyable. One thing I told myself this year around the first when we make all those wonderful resolutions and plans and try to completely change ourselves and our habits, was that I would NOT be a bully to myself about them! I'm serious y'all think about how hard we are on ourselves about things we should be doing, getting done or already have done! Then the whole plan falls apart because we've put so much pressure on ourselves that it's seriously just too much and too hard. That being said, I'm being more strict about sticking too the things I want to do, not just fluffing them off because I want to spend more time watching tv or on the computer.

My sneak peek will consist of a picture or two, with a little teaser ( i gotta have you guys coming back right and invite your friends for the trip)!!

Hope to see y'all on Monday bright eyed and bushey tailed (ok I might be the only one who doesn't brush her hair first thing in the morning - coffee then computer - please say it isn't so!).

test

ohklmlkmkn/m./

my forgetful brain

uumm, yea here's the linky:

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i told you my brain is a scary place to be....

Aaarreee yyooouuu ready to RRUUMMBBLLLEEE!?!?!?! Friday Free For All

Hello Luvies!! Today is the greatest day (sung to tune of My Chemical Romance's Today is the Greatest Day of My Life) cuz it's a weekday day and weekend night as Buckeroo calls Fridays. One day he was asking if it was the weekend or weekday on the way to school, and I was explaining how while it was a weekend we still have to go to school and work during the day, but we can stay up late because we can sleep in the next morning. And in all his enlightened 6 yo Kindergarten self he said, "OOOHHHH i get it! It's like a weekday day and a weekend night!"

Well, I've decided that for this free for all friday post over @ http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com that I would do my most favorite find for week. Next week I will probably do the same only with with a Christmas theme (cuz I'm just that slow!). Well here she is:

HA! look at my computer screen I was taking another picture because I didn't like the one that was on the screen, lol! yes, this is a glimpse into my brain and how it works everyday. Now you say, "Michelle, How am I supposed to read what that says?!" uummmm, well I didn't have the best camera (one of those new years things on my list #791 Learn to actually use my Koddak Easyshare big camera not a click and shoot which i totally and completely miss). Here's another view and a description  of them.

It says Children the first one has a heart and it says joy to the heart, the middle one is a sunflower and it says sunshine to the soul, and the last one has a music sign that says laughter to the spirit. I IMMEDIATELY threw  gently and ever so carefully place it in the basket at the GW. This baby was $4.99 truely the best $4.99 I've spent there in a long time. She proudly displays all her beautiful glory on my desk at the office, but I really think she will make her debut in my newly dining-room-turned-craft-room (umm when i actually finish it). Here's one last parting shot in an attempt to let you see it even better (altho the more and more I look at these pictures the more I am determined to follow through with resolution #791).



What about y'all? What has been your best find lately? I have no idea how to do a linky party (i'm still trying to figure how how to get the linky button from 5days 5ways to be a button and not alot of letters and commands that look foreign to me - i totally know that it is me, myself and I's non-techy self doing something wrong) so list it in the comments!

Luvs,

Michelle

Are you for REALS?!?!

Thursdays are the B-O-M-B! why you ask? because I get to link up to the fabulous Abbie over at http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/. She's been doing a little linky party on Thursday (and other days too you must check her out and link up!) about getting to know one another. It's really nice to learn some insight to people that we read on a normal basis, but it seems like we get a little more "below the surface" stuff with this little likey (of mine, i'm gonna let it shine!! sorry i do tangents really well). I hope I don't bore you with my "little know unique facts O' Me". On with the show (I told y'all last week I always wanted to be a famous singer/actress)

1) I am extremely shy, but most people yank their head back (like they saw a two headed dragon) when I say this because I act like I never meet a stranger. FOR REALS! Before I talk to people (even just a quick hello) I go through a whole scenerio so I have an answer or reply for anything that they might think of. I just push it deep down and be "a bull in a china cabinet" and plow through any weirdness or awkwardness. I think some of this is what causes my anxiety to be so bad, if two things exist in the universe than those two things might combine and cause some sort of cataclismic disaster. (Yes I know just nod your head yes it makes NO sense).

2) My husband is the only man I ever dated. No we weren't high school sweethearts not even CLOSE, he is 9.3 years older than me. We meet when I was 20 and he was 29, we married 9 months later on September 13th. (Yes I have that bad of anxiety but I'm not superstitious! so the whole Friday the 13th thing never bugged me). We been married for 14.4 yrs now, with one amazing young 6.5 yr old buckeroo. Hopefully more if God sees fit, if not I'm learning to be ok with it. I'm more in love with my husband today than I was when we first married. I know alot of people say that but truely this man has gotten me through so many dark periods that noone knows about that I cannot imagine my life without him. This Christmas he went out and shopped until he found the Eli Young Band CD so that I could know that his song for me was "Crazy Girl". I'm STILL just as giddy about him as the day we married.

3) I have such a Texas twang and drawl that most people ask where I'm from while I'm STILL in Texas. For reals, I remember the first time we were in Corpus Christi and the waitress asked where we were from. I was a little confused as I wasn't sure what she was talking about so I said, "A little town oustide of Houston," thinking that I must be misinterpreting what she was asking. She replied with 'Houston, Houston? Like Houston, Texas?' I just smiled and said "um, yes....". She thought we were from the OLD deep south like Mississippi or Alabama with my country drawl. It happens alot, I asked my family if it's really that bad. They chuckle and say "Yep!".

4) Along with that Texas drawl I can immitate almost any accent. One year we all went to Disney World as a big family, my folks, my sis and her crew, me and my crew and our mutually "adopted sis". Well the youngest in our crew was too young for quite a few rides and I get motion sick easily so I opted to sit out with him. He was mad (as most young bubbas would be) and I started talking in my different accents (British, Australian, etc) to cheer him up. My mom was dumbfounded as to how I could do this (I was 26 *I think* at the time and that she didn't know) She told me I was making all the other people feel at home,lol. My son cannot stand when I do this though! He whines until I stop, he says it doesn't sound like my momma and I don't like it! So I don't do it much anymore. Although I think he will have this gift because he has a unique accent when he says momma, my cousin said he sounds almost Italian, it sounds like "Mamia" (with a short a vowel sound at the end).

5) I never, ever EVA stay by myself. Yes my hubby has to take business trips and church trips with the youth. But I just pack me and little man up and stay with my momma and daddy two houses down from us. I've tried to stay by myself once and got MAYBE 2 hrs of sleep and told myself it was ridiculous because we all love it when we come down and spend the night. Cor won't stay with them overnight (with noone really) yet, so he likes that he still gets to sleep at papa and gma's house with momma. I like it because, well it's just nice to have that young kid feeling again (minus the missing hubby really bad part). My parents enjoy it because they got both of us there (although they don't understand why sometimes we don't come down when Jeff is home so they can enjoy his company over night also, lol). i think this stems from never living on my own before. I went from living with my parents, to living with Jeff after we got married. I never had that time between that I lived by myself. And to be frank - I don't think I missed anything.

So there you go 5 weird unique quirks about me. I hope I didn't bore (or scare) anyone and I hope you'll follow along with my blog (or leave me a comment) so I can check yours out I found two awesome blogs this way so far! I love to learn about new people! I'm hoping that I can link up to Abbie's Friday Free for All, when I say this I say it like the guy used to say "Arreeee you ready to RRUUMMMBBBLLLEEEE!!!???!" LOL, yes sometimes my brain is a scary and disorienting place to be! Haha.

Luvs,
Michelle



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Getting to Know You Part Duex "Hopes & Dreams"

Over at one of the most fabulous blogs www.fivedaysfiveways.com she is having a great little linky party on Thursday called "Getting To Know You" this is Part Duex (I'm ashamed to say that I was just too LA-ZAY to  do part 1) this one focuses on our Hopes and Dreams.  Here's the linky button and my 411 on myself!

1) To be a world traveler. for reals! i know that it is so cliche, but the few times I've traveled outside the US it was amazing! I've been to Toronto and Niagra falls in Canada and Puerto Rico (we are so going back and showing these wonderful places to our son), they were all places i could absolutely pick up and move to and live (if it werent for that whole i would die from missing my family so much thing). My top 5 places would be: 1)egypt 2)Greece 3)Ireland 4)Japan 5)England but for serious the list is endless.

2) To have alot of kids. This is a little personal and a very sore wound that i don't really speak about alot. But its hard for me to have kids, we tried for 6 yrs before we were blessed with my little miracle man. I've always wanted to be a wife and mom, nothing other than that, most people balk at that but to me that is the most amazing and hardest job EVA! In this world most things are based on how much you can accumulate, wether titles or materials, so when people ask what you want to be (yes this was a couple ok fine a couple of handful of years ago) and you say a momma and wife. they always look at you like "what? i mean what do you want to do with your life?" umm, seriously i just told you what more higher, wonderful, perplexing job could one have? I have recently come to the conclusion that while we may not be able to have lots of natural (or adopted) children we can absolutely influence and nurish many lives and really isn't that what it all comes down to anyways?

3) I want to have a smorgesborg of a store that houses all my ideas and collections and products that I sell and make a living at. This is little shop would include antiques, jewelry, books, and clothe goods made by these hands. In that respect I want to learn how to sew - like B-A-D!! so much so that I asked for and received a sewing machine for Christmas one year and I didn't (and still don't) know how to make a stitch. i have all these fantabulous (yes it IS a word even if only in my world and brain - just ask my friends!) ideas swirling around in my head - clothes, burp clothes, bags, etc. I'm starting this one this year, a sweet lady that I met at church is so willing to take her time away from herself and her family to teach me! I mean seriously we dont each other that well (which i hope totally changes), and she didn't hesitate ONE IOTA OF A SECOND when i asked if she gave lessons and would she teach me! She never even wavored when I told her that I work in the daytime, she immediately said, "we can do evenings or weekends." seriously? how blessed can a girl be?

4) I wanted to be a professional singer. I never had the self esteem to follow through with it,but I've been thinking about taking up voice lessons just for myself. Noone else but my own love and joy of it, i will of course share it with my biggest fans, the hubs, free bird (my stepson that always told me Momma you should be on american idol when he was young and still lived at home and we would watch it togather) and little miracle man. They are the ones that have always said I should do something with my talent. I know that most people would say to share the talent God has given me but I'm totally not there with the confidence who knows one day i might. but the other fabulous blogger here: http://jonesdesigncompany.com/thoughts/14432/ her #5 got me to thinking about taking voice lessons and fulfulling that dream for me just little bitty ole me. I haven't decided for definite, but I'm at the looking at prices and calling people to see if they take adults phase.

5) Just like abbie i want to be a writer. i'm an infomercial junkie and bought a small printing press. for serious! i figure it i can't get soomeone to publish me i can publish myself, haha and yes i'm being absolutely 110% serious (i just interject alot of humor at myself) i inherited my momma's fabulous imagination and cor always wants me to tell him bedtime stories and i make them up and he luvs them - he even starts talking about them and interjecting (i swear interject is NOT my word of the day) in the plot. but really my main passion is about "The little wren with a broken wing" hint: its not a wren and she always tries to hide her "brokeness" wether caused by others or just in my her own mind at her "short comings". And the path of her learning that while she might have issues, those issues helped her learn to fly with a once broken wing. and PROUDLY show that "mangled wing."

well now that i bared my soul (yes i know overly dramatic) but for me it is baring it all, lol! i'm gonna hit publish before i change my mind!