He Has Been Good

As I sit here at my kitchen island this morning, with the sun shining through the windows as I drink my coffee and work from home (I just took a little mid-morning break), I can't help but think how content I am right now in this moment.  Smoo came through town last night and stayed with me, and we had a great dinner with old friends and new(er) ones, and then stood around this island where I sit right now and had such sweet and funny conversations.  Maybe it was exceptionally sweet because of the brownies and ice cream we were eating.

The photo above is at this same spot where I sit right now, just back at Claire's birthday in February.  And even though it's blurry, I love the warmth and the happiness it represents.  That's how I feel right now.

Pslam 116:7 says, "Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."  Indeed, He has.

Happy Friday.

A Foul Mouth

The Roomdog (who has a new blog, by the way) and I were just talking about using "bad words" last night.  As a teacher, she expects her students to have a clean mouth in her classroom.  It seems to me that many of her fourth graders know more foul language than I know to this day.  In fact, I used a word this week that I thought meant something else entirely.  Turns out it's NOT what I thought!  Still a little naive, I suppose.  Thank goodness someone gently corrected me--won't make that mistake again!

As we continued our discussion about the "F-word" last night we remembered when we found out about it.  I recall pulling up to a parking spot at Tom Thumb (in our green Mercury Villager van) and asking my mom what the F-word actually was (not what it meant).  She paused and said, "I don't even want to say it.  It's such a bad word."  So she told me what it rhymed with.  Looking back, that was pretty smart!  To this day, anytime I hear the word, it makes me cringe.  She really made a point in my little head. 

It made me laugh today when I read Amanda's post about the time she covered her middle fingers with foil before school one morning once she found out that it was bad.  Because that's so inconspicuous...

My mom also threatened to wash our mouths out with soap if we were sassy or had a foul mouth.  Thank goodness that never happened!  Gross.  But it probably would've made a point. :-)

Isn't it funny the things we remember growing up?!

To market, to market, to buy a...

The grocery store has the potential to be a very mundane experience. But, I've had the good fortune of visiting my neighborhood grocery store with friends on two separate occasions recently.  Let's just say  it was humorous.  Let me explain...

Shopping with a Girl
We get a basket with wheels, put our purses in, and then the Sonic drinks.  (Thank goodness for cup holders.)  We work from a list (I'm a list kinda girl), and we go around the store in an orderly fashion, getting enough food for the week.  When we get to the frozen food section, we are stopped by an associate who asks if we're having fun.  I think he was probably flirting with the only two young girls in the store.  Apparently most people don't smile when they grocery shop. We laugh, because it's funny, and continue on our way.  We stop at the make-up aisle, saunter down the shampoo section, and finally decide it's time to check out after we figure out what kind of dessert we're going to make next.  Then we proceed to have a conversation with the nice manager that knows us there.  I love neighborhoods.

Shopping with a Guy
He gets a basket to carry (which is great, because that means I don't have to do anything).  There is no list--after all, we're only going to get ingredients for the one meal we're about to make.  We sing along to the music playing in the store, and then he dances in the aisle simultaneously, which makes me laugh.  Then, we continue to laugh as the man from the bakery yells, "HOT bread!  HOT bread!"  I promise, it's hilarious to hear.  After a much shorter trip, we proceed to the checkout lane, and just happen to walk past all the hairspray, which reminds me that I'm about out.  I stop, saying that I need some.  Then, I realize that it might be rather difficult to justify to a guy with very short hair why I am purchasing a can of hairspray that costs $15.  I  quickly discover that they don't have the kind I want, which in turn classifies me as a "Hair Spray Diva".  I live in Texas--of course I am.  :-) And then we leave, just 15 minutes after we walked in the door.  But it was a very funny 15 minutes.

Needless to say, both experiences were quite entertaining.  I wouldn't recommend going to the grocery store alone--it's very boring .

A Few of my Favorite Things

Hi!  This is my 51st post today.  I can't believe I've stuck with it this long!  Blogging is kind of addicting, I suppose.  Here was my first post on this blog about my lunch break experience at Barnes & Noble.  It involves sitting next to a man snoring quite loudly, oblivious to the fact that he was being noticed...or blogged about.

If you want to join in the Scripture Memory, I'm a bit behind, but it's better late than never!

And thirdly, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite blogs.  I love reading my friends' blogs, but they don't always update them every day (They have other things to do?!  Crazy.), so I have to occupy my blog time with other reading.  I'm not even sure where or how I came across half of these, but I look at them often, and find them humorous, inspiring or just plain interesting.  Enjoy!

The Pioneer Woman is so funny.  She also has great ideas--from cooking, to decorating, or just plain living.  She often has guest bloggers, and so that spices it up a bit.  I LOVE love stories, so her "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" story is so, so funny.  This is how she met her husband, "Marlboro Man." And it might even be made into a movie with Reese Whitherspoon playing PW.

Not too long ago, I stumbled upon Fly Through Our Window.  This is a sweet Southern family with a really cool blog.  In her About Me section, Darby writes, "I will also remind you this a BLOG, this is NOT a full real life account, but merely a tiny glimpse into our life."  Just keepin' it real.  Love it. 

Darby has a twin sister, Erika, who's an interior designer.  Her blog, Urban Grace Interiors, is really a great read, too.  She says, "I aim to inspire."  I like that.  Me too.  Her interior design work has been featured in several magazines like Southern Living and Coastal Living.  Pretty legit.

I've followed Kelly's Korner Blog for a while now.  She's from Arkansas, and has a sweet country accent and uses expressions like "chawed" and "she is such a mess."  She writes about her daughter, Harper, and all the cute things she does. 

I also really like Amanda Jones' blog, Baby Bangs.  She works with her mom, Beth Moore, and has encouraging, inspiring and thought-provoking posts about real life with her sweet family. 

These are just a few I thought you might enjoy.  Let me know what else you love to read!

Happy Monday.

A little encouragement for Today

Good morning.  I thought found this blog entry from Desiring God to be particularly inspiring this morning, and I wanted to share. 

Click on the title to see the actual article, God Provides Direction, Resources, and Ability.  But I've also just pasted it here--less clicking that way!  :-)

In Exodus chapters 26-30, God gave Moses very detailed instructions about how to make the tabernacle, its furnishings, the priests’ garments, and all the instruments used in worship. And then in chapter 31, God tells Moses (much to Moses’ great relief, I imagine),

See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you. (Exodus 31:2-6)

Then in Exodus 35 God commands anyone “of a generous heart” (v. 5) to contribute to the needs of constructing all these things. And the people were so stirred that they had to be “restrained” from continuing to give (Exodus 36:6).

Here’s the encouragement: when God calls us to do something, he provides all the necessary direction, ability, and resources to accomplish it.

Need your help...

Well, I'm singing in a wedding this summer, and I get to be a bridesmaid, too.  My very first friend I've ever had is getting married, and she asked me to pick a song.  I feel like it's kind of a big job.  

{Gentry, The Bride--Natalie and me at her shower a few weeks ago}

I got to sing at Gentry's wedding two summers ago.  It was so fun!  I love being a part of people's special day.  I sang "When You say You Love Me,"  by Josh Groban.  

{With my sweet friend Amanda at her Rehearsal Dinner last August}

I was also a bridesmaid in Amanda's wedding last summer and sang a song called "This Day," by Jadin Lavik.  

When my grandpa got remarried, Troy and I sang Stephen Curtis Chapman's song, "I Will Be Here."  Kind of old school, but I liked it.  It was the only time T-roy and I have ever sung in public together, besides Wednesday night youth group stuff.  There's just something really cool when siblings can harmonize together--I think it sounds extra-good.  :-)

One of my other favorites is Shane & Shane's "Hearts of Servants."  Allison and Cason had this at their wedding three years ago, and I have always loved it.  They just announced they are having their first baby, too!  Very exciting.  :-)  

So, I need your help!  If you've heard a song at a wedding, or thought, "Wow, that would be a great song for a wedding," or had someone sing a song you loved on your special day, I'd love to hear about it.  I need suggestions!!

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

This year for Easter, my parents asked us to come to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  I thought about the days of vacation I would have to take, and the hard choice of choosing which of my wonderful friends to bring, and thought about how much money I would be spending on food and a hotel and airfare.  I said, yes please, I'll take a free vacation with the fam in Paradise.  We don't get off for Easter around here, so I took two days in our very busiest month of the year, and it was so worth it. 

{Here we are eating at Cantia Laredo at DFW airport.  I knew when we were dying laughing just getting through security that it would be a great trip.}

Before we had even left that day, Will realized his Passport was still at his parent's house on the other side of Dallas, we dropped off Skippy in Coppell at some friends' house, found Will and his Passport, went to security, mom walked through without putting on her bag through the screener thing, laughed and then slightly panicked when someone asked, "WHOSE RED BAG IS THIS??"  And no one claimed it.  Mom was already through security.  So we claimed her bag and went through. Next we found Troy who got a connecting flight from Boston, and then we ate what was the first of many meals together.  And laughed.  A lot. And we finally made it to Mexico.

I didn't think about work a single time.  It was so nice to get away!  For the first time, Troy and I each got to bring a friend.  He brought our life-long family friend, Will, and I brought one of my old roomies, SMoo.  I wish I could've packed all my friends in my suitcase and brought them along.  But I wish that every day so we could live life together, haha.  Having SMoo there was such a treat to spend so much time together.

Our stressful schedule went something like this:
Wake up, eat, go to the beach, eat lunch, read on the beach, think about eating again, take a nap, shower, meet up for dinner, eat, walk around the hotel, eatsome Blue Bell ice cream, and then head to bed.  Sounds pretty rough, huh?

{I was pumped they had Blue Bell and Dr. Pepper at the Marriott!}

I really enjoyed spending time with my fam.  It was great seeing Troy so soon after Spring Break.  He's home one more time in May, and then I'm not sure if I'll get to see him again until the Fall.  So I'm soaking up every minute!

{Fun times}

I very much enjoyed being in Mexcio for the first time and being able to understand the language.  Seven years of Spanish paid off more than a little bit!  Makes me want to live somewhere and learn to speak it fluently.  Maybe someday....I'll add it to my list of things to do.  :-)