YUCK!

Some things are just not made to be sugar free...

Cake is one of those things.

No more school =(

I actually missed not having to go to school today.

Weird... really weird...

SURPRISE!

I work with the greatest group of girls ever... and after you read this, you may think that that comment was a sarcastic one, but it really isn't. I enjoy coming to work with them everyday and they always manage to make a horrible day fun... As one of them quoted, "It should be illegal to have this much fun at work." I almost wrote a little blog about how much I missed them... I guess they missed me too.

So as you know, I was on vacation for four days. So today, I come back to work and say good morning to everyone. When I left, everything was put away in its place nice and clean. I approach my desk, and I just see stacks of papers everywhere, boxes all over the place, rubber bands and paper clips thrown all over, and post its with little notes stuck all over my hutch. Ha ha ha! They sure are a bunch of funny girls. Then, sitting on my keyboard was a note signed by our VP telling me about how my desk was unacceptable and I need to "rectify this situation immediately." I could not stop laughing. The mess is cleaned and the day goes on and I thought everything was done... BOY WAS I WRONG?!? My calculator was unplugged, my stapler taped shut, and then the phone... The phone was taped all over. I tried to answer my phone and I wasn't getting a signal!!! The hang up button was taped down and so was the mouth and ear piece! Those silly girls!!! But I love them anyway...

And now, I have been initiated in the accounting department.

P.S. They said it was because they missed me... Boy do I feel loved!

Second grade

Today was "Meet the Teacher" day at my baby's school... My baby... now in SECOND GRADE!!! Boy does time fly by so fast. It seems like just yesterday, I was walking her to her preschool class with tears in my eyes because she was growing right before my very eyes... and now she's in SECOND GRADE!

Actually, it seems like just yesterday, I was in second grade. Second grade was definitely a year to remember for me. Being a military brat all my life, I went to three different schools in second grade and one of them happened to be right here in San Angelo. Funny where the military takes you at times... The funniest part is my dad volunteered and sacrificed a year away from the family at a horrible base in Korea so we could be assigned somewhere other than here the first time around... and here we are, back in San Angelo. The military must have thought they were being funny when they handed my dad the papers for his last duty station before retiring. We seriously thought it was a joke. But I don't regret it one bit. This city has grown on me for sure. And this is the place I fell in love with Jesus the way I should have been all of my life. The amazing part is that my dad felt the disappointment within the family that he wanted to find a way to change the assignment. The only other option was Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi and he tried very hard to arrange that for us. But God is great because if we had been stationed there like we very much wanted to, we would have experienced the disasters of Hurricane Katrina. This is just one of the few ways God has revealed to me that He knows what he is doing and has reasons for everything He does.

But now, it is my baby's turn to start her second grade year here in San Angelo! She is so excited! She was assigned to the teacher she really wanted and she gets to sit right next to her best friend. I just can't believe summer has already come and gone.

And the week comes to an end...

I'm back. I went on vacation and now I'm back. It seems like time flew by so fast and there wasn't enough day to do everything. It was absolutely fun. What really puts a smile on my face is seeing my baby excited about the things we do. If only everyday was a fun day... and on top of all of that, the weather was absolutely perfect. It wasn't blazing hot like a typical August day in Texas. It was cloudy with a little wind. Thank you God for good weather! We started off at the Ft. Worth zoo. Thanks to everyone who recommended it. It was definitely a blast and I loved the many shady spots and air conditioned attractions.

Then we stayed in a hotel which was walking distance from Six Flags and of course we had to do that. We walked over thinking that it opened at 10, but ended up waiting for an hour because they really didn't open until 11! This is Diamond's first year to be tall enough to ride roller coasters so I thought it would be fun to go. She refused to ride on the really big coasters like the Texas Giant or the Titan, and I don't blame her. But she also didn't want to ride anything that turned her upside down. I didn't want to force her either. I asked her a few times and asked her if she was sure that she didn't want to and her answer was... "Yes mom, I'm sure. God said no." Well how do you argue with that comment... =)

And finally our trip ended with a trip to some Dallas museums. There was a total of 8 museums located in Fair Park and we tried to visit as many as we could, but our feet were already pretty exhausted from 3 days of walking around. My favorite of all of the ones we visited is the museum of Nature and Science. There was a variety of fun things to do there for adults and kids.

Silly me, I forgot to pack tennis shoes, so I had to do all this trekking in my lovely Old Navy flip flops. They did the job, but I'm sure my feet wouldn't hurt so much if I had planned with the right shoes... Sometimes on trips, we remember everything else, but the most important things. It was fun. The family had a blast, but nothing beats being able to sleep and relax in your own house.

Yay!!!

Why did I have to go to work today? Oh well, what matters is that I'm off for the rest of the week!!! I'm excited!

Small beginnings

"If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer..." - Matthew 21:22

Here's a little something from my devotional tonight...

No matter what our situation, before we are ready to minister, we must learn to be faithful and diligent at whatever is at hand in our lives right now. As we yield our expectations and demands and find contentment in God's love for us, He will begin to send opportunities for us to minister to others. We must not despise the days of "small beginnings." He is not in a hurry. We must not become impatient and let our spiritual vision outstrip our emotional growth.
It is so critical that we grasp the significance of the seasons of our lives, the different periods during which God is building character! No matter how clearly we visualize the dreams for ministiry, without the graceful bowing to self-denial and a deepened sense of our own need for Christ, which teaches us to forgive, without learning to say we are sorry to those with whom we live, there is no true ministry.
Oh, we may run about doing amazing things in the name of ministry, but we will not find God in any of our efforts. No eternal effect comes without the catalyst of character, and character is built by godly responses to the things at hand.
Faithfulness constitutes the fabric that must be woven into our own lives as we are dressed to carry the cross to the world. And faithfulness to those closest to us - our parents, husbands, children and friends - will be the garment that protects our hearts in the battlefield.

-Joyce Strong

Lord, teach me to wait on You and help me to appreciate the day of small beginnings... Sometimes in life we forget the great plans You have for us. But with patience and faithfulness in prayer, you never fail to provide and remind us of how much You love us. Thank you Lord.

Tomorrow...

It's finally here! The day all kids have been waiting for, and maybe some adults too... High School Musical 2 premieres tomorrow... Anyone excited?!?

Mind your manners...

Today I went to the cutest party ever! I have never heard of this place until today, but Mind Your Manners Party House next to Ichiban's, hosts birthday and other various parties for people of all ages. They have a variety of themes and even provide BEAUTIFUL cakes, costumes, games, and party favors. This wasn't a birthday party so I didn't have any cake pictures.

Today's theme was the Ultimate Spa Party. But they also have Princess Tea, Pirate Treasures, A Night at the Movies, Safari, and even Pretend Wedding. (Can you tell I'm reading the brochure?) There's so much more, but I don't want to sound like an advertisement, if I don't already. =) The girls just had a blast as you can see from the pictures. Looks like a possible location for the next birthday party for me. I never even knew this place existed!!!

Second grade style...

My daughter is now into the dressing herself phase. I want her to understand having choices so I try not to be too pushy when I don't exactly agree with what she has on. But one thing I have always told her is that black usually can match with anything and white can usually match with anything... So as the wonderfully, smart child of mine she is, she listened to me...

WHITE GOES WITH EVERYTHING + BLACK GOES WITH EVERYTHING = BLACK & WHITE GOES WITH EVERYTHING

The funny thing is, she has done this before (about a month ago), and I was just telling my co-workers the story TODAY about this outfit that she created herself and went out with. She has this favorite shirt that she immediately wears as soon as it's clean from the laundry. It's striped with pink and white. She fell in love with it as soon as she saw it on the rack and she will wear it with ANYTHING... and I mean ANYTHING... So today, when I come home from work... here is my baby...


Notice the black and white polka dots with the pink and white stripes... "But momma, black and white goes with everything!"

Becoming Jane

Why in the world is this movie not coming to San Angelo?!? Why, why, why?!?! I want to watch it! I think we might have to drive to Abilene just to watch it!

Update, update!!!

Is it fair to say that nothing fun and exciting happens in my world? Probably not, huh?

I am so excited though! The week before school starts, I am going to take my family on a "mini" vacation. I haven't gone anywhere all summer due to the change in jobs and I finally got my week off! My daughter was able to go all over Texas and even travelled all the way to Las Vegas... but I was stuck here... working. We're not planning anything big and spectucular, just a week in the Dallas area. We are going to Six Flags, visiting some museums and I can't decide on whether or not to go to the Dallas or the Ft. Worth zoo. Any suggestions? And of course, we can't go to a big city and not shop, so we will do that too!

Circle of friends

I definitely enjoy hanging out, watching movies, playing games, and of course eating with friends. But sometimes, and maybe the best times, may just be when we sit around a dining table telling hilarious, yet embarassing stories about ourselves. That's what we did tonight. We laughed so hard until our bellies hurt. I actually feel like I did a tummy work out tonight! These are the moments that we cherish and will remember 20 years down the road.

And let me tell you, I am so glad that everybody has those weird "quirks" that everyone else notices about you but you... or even the ones that only you, yourself, and you know that you do. But whether it be infatuations with smells, textures, or even simple things like pacing your steps between the tiles... everyone has them... and I don't feel so different after all!

Early mornings...

I've always known I'm not a morning person. I've realized that even more the past 2 days. Having to be at work at 7:45 is no fun!

Hmmm...

So maybe I will use this... That was kinda long...

To wiggle... or not to wiggle

So Diamond has been losing teeth like crazy this summer. So far, she has lost 5!!! I wanted to write about this before I forgot. Last Thursday, a bottom tooth was hanging on a thread with the permanent tooth already growing behind it. I knew it was bothering her because she constantly played with it. Wiggle, wiggle... wiggle with the tongue, wiggle with the lip, wiggle with the finger. But it was already midnight and I was trying to go to sleep and in the midst of all the silence... I could hear the sound of the wiggling. I don't know if many of you remember how that sounds, but it's not the most soothing sound to sleep to. So I told her... "Diamond, if you are going to continue to play with that tooth, you need to go sleep on the couch!" She stopped. Five minutes passed and I heard it again. I needed to be awake at 6 the next morning and all I could focus on was how tired I was going to be because I wasn't going to get enough sleep. So I felt bad for the couch comment and I moved myself to the couch...



I guess I eventually fell asleep. All of a sudden, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. I started opening my eyes and here is Diamond standing in front of me with a tooth in her hand... "Mom, you can come move back to the bed now. I got my tooth out." It was 1:30 in the morning!!! My poor baby stayed up until that tooth came out because she knew she didn't want mommy to be mad at her. I wasn't going to be mad though, just a little tired at work. So a few minutes later, I finally decided to move back to my room and my baby was already crashed and there was a little note on my nightstand...

Boy... Did I feel horrible... I called the next morning when I knew she was awake and apologized... and the next night, the tooth fairy gave her $5.

New at this...

Okay... so I'm new at this. I wanted to try it to see how often I would actually use it...