Playing catchup

So I skipped six months of this year. And it's been a fun one! So here I go playing catchup.
Our big event this year was Disney World! Woohoo! In May the four of us, along with my parents, took a trip to the Mouse's house! I hadn't been to Disney since I was fifteen (that was seventeen years ago!) and Lee hadn't been in about fifteen years. So, it had changed a lot for both of us.
Let me just tell you something about being at Disney. Walking into the park is like magic. Each. And. Every. Time. The happiness that flooded my heart was unexplainable. The look on my kid's faces was priceless. And watching everyone else watch them made it even better. It truly is the happiest place on Earth.
























( I love this photo bomb by my hubbie! It makes me laugh!! I didn't even notice when I took the picture)

We spent one and a half days in the Magic Kingdom and the rest of day two at Epcot. I have an Uncle, Aunt and cousin that live in Tampa, so they drove up and spent the evening at Epcot with us. I was happy that they got to come up and spend time with us:). We get to see them about once or twice a year if we're lucky.

The third day we went to Sea World which we all enjoyed because we love animals. The shows were amazing, but we stayed just half of the day because Reese had had enough. We went back to the hotel, napped, then hit the pool.









We had lots of fun, ate lots of yummy food and needed a vacation when we got home:)


I have to share this, too from the other day. I truly have the most tender hearted son. (With the biggest sweet tooth). The other day at lunch he was eating a brownie and declared the the top 5 important things are God/Jesus, Mary (because she was Jesus' mom, Mom!), his family, donuts and brownies. I'm just glad we made the list. Oh, to be an eight year old again!

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Inspired

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend an amazing event for women called "The Heart Retreat".  It started as a dream for one woman and she made it a reality.  She desired for a way for women to get together and feel the love and encouragement the Holy Spirit provides within us.  A way to connect and worship God.
You can read about it here.

To be honest, I really wasn't sure I was going to go. I had signed up to go and teach a class, but after the week we had last week, I just didn't know if it was a good idea.  Rylee was sick with influenza B and we all were sleep deprived. I had already taken off work and prayed about whether or not I should go.  Having talked with Lee about it, I decided that I would go. I had already committed to teaching a class and driving my roommates. So I went.

It's funny how things work out the way that there are supposed to. Even though I was stressed to leave my family for two days (I tend to overreact quite a bit), it was well worth it.  I learned so many things abut myself and made some new friendships that I know will last a lifetime. The women that I got to spend time with this weekend were fantastic! I became inspired. Inspired to be a better wife, mother and friend. But most importantly, I am inspired to be a better follower of Christ. I know that there will be many stumbles and falls, but I know that He will always forgive me. I know that He will always be there for me.

I am so thankful for my husband supporting me to go. I am also thankful that my dear boss let me take off and telling me that my relationship with Christ is first. And I am thankful for these women. The women that put this event on, the ones I met and the special ones that will remain a constant in my life.

I am inspired:).

P.S. Thank you Betsy for the inspiration to blog again:)

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Three

I can't believe that my baby is 3. Where has the time gone? It feels just like yesterday I was in labor watching the Cardinals opening day on tv and looking out the window to see the flurries falling to the ground. And here we are three years later with a beautiful healthy little girl who totally adores her handsome big brother. God has truly blessed us!













Happy third birthday sweet Reesie!
We love you so very much!

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Gratitude

Yes, I am still here. Haha! I know that it has been awhile, but I still love this blog:)
Things have been crazy busy and I am trying super hard to achieve balance in my life. More on that later...

Today, though, I want to talk about gratitude. It seems so simple to have gratitude. I feel like I am a grateful person but I feel like I need to dig deeper. The world has become such a negative place. Just turn the news on or read your newsfeed on Facebook. I mean really. How many people out of ten are complaining about something? I know that everything isn't all sunshine and roses, but I think we as a society need to stop and thank God for the little things in our lives. Seriously think about it. What if every day we wrote down ten things that we are grateful for? They could be big or small. Personally I like to think about the small things because the big things are always the most obvious. For instance, I am thankful for the marks the vacuum leaves in the carpet. I know it's silly, but they make me happy! And even though I see them for only five minutes, I am also thankful that they go away, because it means I have two beautiful children that love to run and play:)

When I get down about something my dad always has told me to think about my life and the wonderful things in it. That no matter how bad you think that you have it, there is always someone worse off. Life is more than just stuff. It is about God's love for us. It is so easy to dwell on the negative! Believe me, I have partaken in the dwelling for so long. One bad thing happens and It's like a domino effect. When it rains, it pours, right? But what if we thought about it the other way. What if we didn't let that one thing affect us negatively just once? Then how would our day turn out? Just try it. Now I know there is reality and there are some things that affect us more deeply than others and are harder to pull out of. I'm not talking about those. This is different.

For instance, I got pulled over yesterday for speeding. Yes, I was guilty, but the last thing I wanted was to be sitting on the side of the road, embarrassed and late for work. But instead of letting it ruin my day, I realized that it could have potentially saved me from an accident or worse. It was God's way of saying slow down.

So after all of this rambling, my point is this. I want to be more optimistic. I was to have more gratitude. Just think of the possibilities!
I know that everyone has bad days and I am not saying you can't or won't. I am just saying don't make all of them bad. Try to have more good days. I know I am trying to:)

Happy Wednesday! Spring is near!



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Happy Birthday Mama!

Thank you for always supporting me, being a fantastic mother and grandmother, and teaching me how to love unconditionally.  I love you so much Mom.  This one is for you:)

Training time

This year one of my many goals is to run a marathon. I have one in mind, but it's not until December. Why yes, I am crazy. Thank you for asking! So, in order to reach my goal I have to run a couple halfs before. So it has begun.

I love to run. But the first couple weeks of training makes me hate it! I am so mad at myself for not keeping up my running because I.am.hurting! Ugh. No fun. I have 14 weeks to get this old body going and ready for my first half marathon of the year! Woohoo!!
Wish me luck:)







(Thank you pinterest for the many awesome pins for motivation! I am truly obsessed.)

What are your new year's goals?

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Peace

Happy new year to all!  I hope everyone had a great time ringing in the new year.  My husband and three other couples spent the evening together and had so much fun!  I am thankful for such great friends. :)

So yesterday I promised to share the story of the fantastic ending to my 2011.  I tend to get windy when I tell stories so I apologize! Lol

I have to give you some back story first.  I belong to a women's bible study.  I attend it every Wednesday morning and it is so good for my soul.  In the fall this year we had a speaker come in and talk about her life.  Her name is Heather Gilion and she grew up here right in good ole JC.  She and one of her sisters, Holly Snell wrote a book called "Dancing On My Ashes".  If you get a chance to read it, I highly recommend it.  You can find it here.  It's absolutely amazing and so inspiring. These woman and their family experienced unbelievable tragedy and found peace and understanding through God.  Anyway, their sister, Heidi and I went to high school together as did our husbands and she also happened to be there that day.  I hadn't seen Heidi in years so we were catching up on everything.  She and I are both hairstylists and we started talking about hair life.  She encouraged me to come meet her boss and the staff at the salon she works at.  I told her that I might and that was the end of that.  In all honesty, I really kind of blew her off.  I was not sure it was the right thing for me at the time, so I pushed it to the back of my mind.  But, God had a plan.

For some time, even before talking with Heidi, I wasn't sure that I was where I was supposed to be.  Do you ever have that feeling?  Like something is missing or you are in need of something and can't quite put your finger on it?  I felt like that.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE what I do.  Doing hair is so much fun and very much my love.  But, I was feeling like maybe that wasn't meant for me anymore.  I was stuck in a rut and constantly searching for something.  But what it was, I didn't know.  I was unhappy and grumbly and it was beginning to take a toll on my relationships at home.  So, I prayed.  I was looking everywhere else but should have gone to God first.  Then one morning in November after a discouraging week,  I woke up and the first thing I saw on my phone was a message from Heidi.  I hadn't talked to her in two months, and here she was again asking me to come meet and talk to her boss Catherine.  She said that she just kept thinking about me and to pray about it.  What she didn't know at that time was that God was using her to show me the way.  I immediately responded telling her I had been praying and set up a time to meet with Catherine the next week.  She and I talked for an hour and a half and I left there feeling inspired.  The next week I went in and showed her a haircut and style and that very day she asked me to be a part of her team.  I was amazed.  In a matter of a couple weeks, my life had changed.  But, I was afraid.  I had been at the other salon for 6 years.  I had many important relationships that I didn't want to lose.   I wanted to be respectful to them and not cause waves.  My foundation was built there.  I wouldn't be the stylist I was without them and I especially did not want any hard feelings.  And on top of everything, I was leaving at the beginning of December, right before Christmas.  It was so hard.  But, then I experienced something that I hadn't felt before.  And if I had, I hadn't paid attention.  I was at peace.  It was overwhelming and calming and amazing.  It was God's peace.  He had made the way for me.  He took the worry away and calmed my soul.  It was indescribable.    He took care of it all.  It was like the moment I started there I was a part of their family.  I felt like I could be myself and grow in ways I hadn't before.  And the happiness is incredible.  I believe that God lead me to this incredible staff.  He gave me these women of Christ as role models and to help me on my journey.  I believe that we all need change in our lives and places where we can grow.  That is how we become better people.  God knew what I needed even when I didn't.  There are no coincidences in our lives.  It's Him every time.  And then in itself is a fantastic gift!!

So tell me, have you expereinced God's peace?