You've been RACK'd! December 1st edition

Have you heard of Pinterest.com?  It's a virtual bulletin board where you can not only organize your recipes, craft/decorating/style ideas - but you can spend hours (upon hours...upon hours) looking at other's pins as well.  Friends, strangers, come one - come all.

I have found lots of great recipes and ideas on Pinterest.  My favorite right now is a list of Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACKs).  This lady posted about doing random acts of Christmas during the season of advent to help us remember, it's about giving, not receiving.  And you know, random acts tend to roll forward, and hopefully form a snowball of kindness during this wonderful, stressful season.

Tonight the little Turkey needed some dinner, and upon hearing his older brother had Sonic during a playdate, he decided he needed some too!  Perfect opportunity for a RACK!  So I order his kids meal, and asked if there were any open orders that I could pay for.  He said no.  Great.  So I did the next best thing.  I taped a piece of paper around a 5 dollar bill and attached it to the speaker.  I hope it stays there for someone to enjoy.

I hope the start of your advent season started out well.  I have to admit, the devil has been working on me today.  My stress has been through the roof, and leaving this little 5 dollar bill really made me feel a little better.  It helps to stop being so self-centered and grab on to some perspective.  I'm really wanting to make this Christmas season more about Jesus and loving on others and less about stuff and things.

Merry Christmas!  We only get 25 days in December for Christmas.  Make them special!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - My own worst enemy

Ok, so that didn't go as I planned.  I thought of something every day, but really never sat down to write it.  I'm so thankful for GRACE that saves me from my procrastination!!  I am really my own worst enemy when it comes to goals and assignments.  But, I'm not going to harbor on it.  I was totally in the Thanksgiving mood and mindset, even though I didn't write it down every single day.  But for those keeping up at home, here is the remainder of my list.

5. Warm house full of love

6. Plenty of food on our table and in the pantry

7. DVD player in the car - to keep my sanity on hard days

8. Owning my own business - and those who helped me set it up

9. Joe’s great job

10. Amazing Friends who lift me up and keep me grounded

11. Freedom to worship - not everyone has this.  It's a gift!

12. Wonderful extended family and visit at Thanksgiving

13. Swimming in November - so fun for the kids

14. Target

15. My 80% off Fall Décor at Hobby Lobby - it's so pretty I don't want to take it down!

16. Pepperoni Pizza, with black olives - my death row meal

17. Red Wine - for the heart...hee hee

18. Modern medicine

19. Clean water

 20. Our Babysitter Raychel - she's amazing!

21.  Bergen’s school and teacher

22.  Preston’s teacher

23.  Sephora - the mothership

24.  My Awesome Book Club and the ladies who challenge me each meeting

25.  Facebook

26.  XM Radio

27.  Coffee - with cream only - Coconut milk cream, to be exact

28.  Shellac Nail Polish - love

29.  Today - because no one is promised tomorrow

30.  Jesus, who died on the cross to save me from my sins

I'm afraid to admit, I have big things planned for the advent season.  I hope I don't procrastinate too much.  Check back to see if I follow through!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving season!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3... and 4

Ok so you didn't really think I'd do this every day.  So much pressure!!  Tee hee - I had a busy one yesterday and P-Did had a game at 6:00, followed by dinner and running to Target for slippers for the Biggie B to wear to silly slipper day.  All exhausting - but good.

On day 3 I was going to be thankful for my in-laws.  I was blessed to marry into an amazing family (although I'd say my husband did too!).  My mother-in-law is a beautiful person.  She is Godly, warm and super supportive of us.  I say she has a direct line to God because she is amazingly in tune with God's hand in her life.  She raised an amazing man and a wonderful father and husband.  My father-in-law went to be with the Lord last October.  He was one of a kind.  I miss him everyday, but I'm thankful for the impact he made in our lives.  A gentleman, hard working Cowboy - we miss him so much!

And on Day 4 - I'm thankful for FRIDAYS!!  I gotta lighten things up every now and then!  I love Friday.  As a kid, I loved Friday night football, hanging out at the church after the game for the "5th quarter" to have fun with whatever awesome things our youth ministers came up with.  I had this one youth minister that would rent movies on the VHS (it was the 80's folks).  He would watch them, and take note of the bad words by the timer count.  Then he would fast forward when the word came up so we would miss it.  It didn't quite work that way.   It was kind of like this:  "Frankly my dear Scarlett, bzzzzzzzzzzz (that's the FF noise).... a damn".  He would fast forward before the word, press play, then we'd hear the word. So hilarious.  But I digress.

We work hard all week - TV Joe at work, and me working and playing taxi driver for these kids.  Friday means the weekend!  The gateway to relaxation.  We get to sleep a little more, relax a little, watch some little league baseball and hang out with our amazing friends.  So yay for FRIDAY!  Y'all have a blessed one!

30 Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

I hope my blog doesn't explode when I post something two days in a row...  Poor neglected blog.

Before I get into day 2, I have to share - last night at dinner, in the quaint, heavy metal blaring environment of Freebirds, I told my family that we would be sharing something we are thankful for every night at dinner.  I told them it didn't have to be fancy or perfect, just something they think is awesome and that they are thankful for.  P went first and said he was thankful for his baseball coach, who takes time out of his day to coach their team.  Man - sweet kid.  I think he gets how parents are busy and pulled in 100 directions.  Pretty cool.  Biggie B was thankful for...now give me a minute because this one almost made me cry.  He's thankful for P-Did, because he's the best big brother in the whole wide world.  I'm not making this stuff up.  I almost died right there.  TV Joe was thankful for Freebirds, and the Ramones, who happen to be on the (loud) radio during this tender moment.


Day two - I'm so thankful for my parents and the home we were raised in.  My dad sold insurance while we were in school.  He had a local office and was home at lunch and dinner, and attended every event under the sun for my brother and me.  Having a husband who commutes and is in the car *a lot*, I now know how awesome this was.  Joe is at every event, and we eat pretty much every dinner together, no matter how late - but it's stressful beating traffic home and dealing with all that.  My mom stayed home with us.  It was nice to be able to come home to her and have a snack waiting and help with homework.  She's a strong, strong lady - stronger than she thinks.  She always made things feel super normal, even when it was hard for her.  When things are a little out of control around here and I'm feeling anxious or overwhelmed, I think about how she dealt with struggles and lean on what I've learned from her.  She's had some difficulties in the last 3 years and I'm so thankful that she's healthy and recovering.  We had a great childhood - one that I treasure.  We were at church every time the doors were open, and I'm certain that shaped who I am today.  They are Godly parents who prayed for us and with us and kept me on the "straight and narrow".  We had everything we needed, most everything we wanted, and lots of love to go around.  I'm thankful for the example they have set for me in parenting and in marriage, and for the legacy they started that I can carry on.

Season of Thanksgiving - Day One

Ive been missing my blog lately. Sometimes in the rush of life, the blog can be a burden. Kind of the same reason I don't scrapbook - the pressure of it weighs me down. I can't simply sit down and type something out. I feel like it needs to be funny, have lots of pictures and be super satisfying. So I just don't do it. Some would call this lazy. And when I say "some" - I mean me. So I'm going to make a better effort, and what better time than my favorite month - November.

I love November so very much. Because it's my birthday month, it's the season of Thanksgiving and a way to prepare ourselves for the holiday season. Like most moms out there, I long for a perfect holiday season - stress free, illness free - totally happy, total bliss. But that doesn't always happen. Ok, that never happens. At least not in our minds, it doesn't. But it doesn't mean it's not perfect for the family. I told my mom one particularly stressful Christmas "I wish it was 1984 again and life could be simple for me". She started laughing - apparently 1984 was a very, very hard year for them, and she had felt Christmas had been a letdown. I remember it as pretty awesome. That really goes to show that kids really don't see the "perfect". They just remember getting together as a family, keeping traditions - even when it's hard to keep them, and celebrating our Lord's birth.

This November I'm focusing on the things I'm most thankful for - one per day, and really in no particular order. Some will be grand, some will probably be downright silly. But maybe if I enter December in a spirit of thankfulness, I will be easier to embrace the true meaning of Christmas instead of striving for my mind's perfection. After all, it's not really about the perfect tree and the right Christmas music, keeping the house clean at all times, baking thousands of treats and having the perfect presents under the tree. It's about the birth of a baby - Jesus - who loves me enough to save me from my sins. And I'm going to focus on Thanksgiving, and not just skip ahead to Christmas. Poor Thanksgiving is like the middle child between Halloween and Christmas. I love Thanksgiving so much!

So today - November 1st - I start my list. Today I'm thankful for my amazing family. I have pretty much the most awesome husband on the planet. He works very hard to provide for us, and plays just as hard to make a fun, crazy life for us. He's ridiculously good at his job, and really well known in his industry. After all, he is the "wizard of the web"! We laugh a lot and we have a great time. He loves me more than I often deserve. I'm truly blessed to be married to an amazing man and an incredible father to our boys. I'm so thankful for our kids. They are anything but ordinary. P-Diddy is so smart and gifted, but he's also the most caring child I know. He stands up for his friends and makes sure everyone feels loved. He can carry on a conversation about anything with anyone - many adults have told me talking to P is like talking to an adult. He knows so much about his true passions - baseball and football. He's loving, honest and faithful - and he knows his awesomeness "comes from above" - his words. He's also a great brother to Biggie B (most of the time!!). Now Biggie B is in a class of his own. You won't meet a happier boy - pure joy oozing from his very pores. He truly embraces life and lives to the fullest. He's so very funny and like P, also very kind. His teacher counts on him to be a leader and he always helps her out. He's a momma's boy who loves to snuggle and I thank God every time I hear the words "snuggle with me mommy". Bliss! He's very smart and loves board games and puzzles. He's also really, really good at t-ball. They are both healthy and happy - along with Joe. And for that, I'm thankful. The rest is just gravy.

Never Forget

September 11, 2001


I was in Virginia Beach on a business meeting - a line review with Coleman and the Navy. I was technically on maternity leave - Preston was 5 weeks old. This was an "overnighter". I had flown to Virginia and spent the night for an early am meeting. I had not seen my sales partner Mary since I had Preston, and we stayed up until 3 in the morning talking. On the 11th, we were in my company's satellite office. A coworker burst into our meeting to tell us what had happened. Our meeting came to a halt - I remember excusing myself every 20 minutes or so to go get myself together. Hormones...nursing...not good. Once we knew we were under attack, we closed our meeting and packed up. Packed up means - packing lanterns, stoves, tearing down tents and sleeping bags. Flights had been canceled, but thankfully my boss had rented a car, which we proceeded to "borrow and cross state lines". You know, ask for forgiveness later. We got out of town around 2pm that day. I just wanted to get the heck out of Virginia Beach - lots of bridges and tunnels, and quite honestly, one our major military hubs. I was scared to death, literally. We took turns driving. My boss got tired around 1am. My turn. Those who know me well know that I am not a night owl. But I drove - through the mountains of Tennessee with more adrenaline than I had ever felt. I remember the talk radio callers volunteering to "go kick some terrorist ass". Only it was a bit more racially explicit. I drove from 1am - 6 am or so. It took 25 hours to get home. We only stopped for fuel, food and breaks. When we approached Dallas, we headed to my house first. We lived in Lewisville. The freeways were empty and the D/FW airport (practically in my backyard) was closed. When I got home, I kissed my husband and ran upstairs to see baby Preston. He was asleep in his crib, peacefully. I then saw the TV. We had been in the car for 25 hours and had not yet seen images of the attack. I sank down into my chair and wept. I was sad, tired, terrified, relieved to be home and angry all up in one. It's two days I'll never forget.

I just heard on the radio - Kidd Kraddick (don't mock me, I've listened since Jr. High) said - remember all those promises we made 10 years ago and then quickly abandoned? Like not getting mad at the driver in who cuts you off, or spending time with your family, or getting in contact with friends more often? Let's take this day to remember those promises - the pride we felt in our nation and how we felt in the days and months after the attack.

I have the George W Bush 9/11 special from National Geographic on my DVR. I haven't gotten the nerve up to watch it. It all seems so fresh in my mind. Maybe because it's been 10 years and I see a 10 year old boy sitting in front of me - the same 10 year old that drove my middle-of-the-night adrenaline. I still can't believe it happened. And yet I still wait for it to happen again. It's like we never feel truly safe again. It's why it is so important that we never forget.

Cultural Experiences

We had a lovely weekend. It was crazy busy, as we tend to over schedule ourselves. Joe traveled all last week (summer whip!!) so we were happy to see him on Friday. We went to dinner at Fuzzy's Taco Stand, and then I got a glorious hour to hit the DSW Shoes and Nordstrom Rack. Alone! Nice.

Preston had a football game at 8:00am Saturday morning (another whip), but at least it leaves the rest of the day open. We are shopping for new cars, so we hit a few dealerships, put the dream of owning a luxury vehicle out the window (soooo expensive!) and kind of narrowed it down. The total highlight was this kid at the GMC dealer. We had a bad hail storm a while back and all their inventory was dinged. TV Joe ain't buyin' no dinged up car. So he had this kid run back to get one fresh off the assembly line (in Arlington, TX - holla!). We load up in this truck and start a test drive. I like it, it's nice. We get back to the dealership and the kid says "what we gon' do to getcha in dis Denali today?" His name? Cody Wildman. Best moment of the day. "What we gon' do?" Classic.

After shopping we headed to Fort Worth for a concert at the botanical gardens by the FW Symphony. It was a hot chili pepper of a day, so we loaded up beverages and a nice Central Market picnic.


We went with our great friends Jeff and Candace. Their daughter Kate and Bergen are tight buds. Adorable friends.


Isn't she a living doll? They really do love each other.

We listened to some great Eagles music, watched some amazing fireworks, then headed home. Fun had by all.