Just keep swimming!

Okay, if you've ever seen "Finding Nemo" you know what the title of this blog means. 

Lately there has been a lot of stressful things happening in my world. I try to always handle everything on my own And face whatever is coming head on. Lately there's just been too much. I've been just trying to keep myself above water and it has felt like I've been drowning. 

My Mom has been having some health issues and it is killing me that I can't just take care of it for her. She has arthritis and is needing to get surgery done on her hands. She is also having a lot of pain in her back and they think she is possibly missing one of the first vertebrae in her lower back. They think that it's causing the next two bones to pinch something and cause the pain she is feeling. Now my Mom is the strongest lady I know. Seeing we in pain is hard for me. I just want to make it better and I can't. It stresses me out. 

There are other family members and friends that have things going on and they lean on me at times too. I don't mind being leaned on. It's what I'm here for. But at times my stress level gets a little overwhelming. I said before I try and handle it all alone. 

Tonight I've been watching tornado coverage from Moore, Ok. This town has been devastated with damage. There are children and adults that are dead. People that are unaccounted for that they are still searching for. It has been unreal to watch the coverage. But it reminded me of something. Today, before the storms hit here, I prayed and asked for protection for my family. There were tornado warnings issued here and a tornado touched down about 4 miles away. But, God protected us. 

It made me think. So tonight, I sat down with the iPad and my Bible app. (My Bible is in the truck and I didn't feel like running out to get it.) I noticed there was a book that showed up and didn't remember looking at it last time I had this out. It was 2 Corinthians 12. I read through it in the Bible and then got out my favorite gift from Christmas...my Matthew Henry book. In it I re-read what I had just read in the Bible and saw this---

"If an answer be not given to the first prayer, nor to the second, we are to continue praying. Troubles are sent to teach us to pray; and are continued, to teach us to continue in instant prayer."

Basically what I take from this is that no matter what, pray. I may not get an answer the first time I pray about something. But these stressful times are not to see how strong I am. It's to teach me to fully rely on God and pray during times like this. Just like Dory said, "Just keep swimming" I'm being told to "Just keep praying." 

So I'm letting go of this stress. I'm going to pray without ceasing. Let God show me his desires in this situation. I know that god is bigger than my stress. And I also know he wanted me to read this tonight. I'm glad I listened. 

Apraxia Awareness Day 2013

Today was Apraxia Awareness Day! What is Apraxia? Well, it's a neurological condition. There are three forms of Apraxia: Verbal Apraxia, Oral Apraxia, and Limb Apraxia. Verbal Apraxia makes it difficult to move your tongue and jaw in the right way to form words. Oral Apraxia makes it difficult to move facial muscles in certain ways. This makes it difficult to smile, wink, etc. Limb Apraxia affects a person's ability to move their arms and legs even though their muscles are fine. This makes it difficult to do tasks we take for granted such as tying shoes, riding a bike, playing sports, writing, buttoning up a shirt, etc. The muscles are all fine but somewhere between the brain and the body everything gets jumbled.

I am posting about Apraxia because I love someone who has all three forms of Apraxia. His name is Alex. He's the greatest eight year old I've ever had the privilege to know. He's hard working, smart, and so sweet. Today was a day to bring awareness to this condition and also celebrate all of the amazing progress that this boy has made.

Today there were many people that sent in pictures to show their support for Alex. They all wore blue and white for Apraxia Awareness. I'd like to thank them all personally on the blog but that would take me forever to name each and every name. Instead, I'm putting all of their pictures up here for Alex to have in one place. This way he can see just how many people thought of him and wore blue and white to support him and Apraxia Awareness! Alex, my big, strong, loving, super hero, rock star....all of these people think the world of you! They all want you to know that they support you. Thank you everyone for taking the time to think about Alex. Thank you for wearing blue and white in support of Alex & Apraxia! He's an amazing kid and has some amazing people in his life! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Poppy & Nana

Alex, Kaitlyn, Shawna, & Logan 

Jacob & Alex 

Kaitlyn 

Lacey & Sofia

Madden

Matt 

Leaoma, Madison, & Bethany (in Texas!)

Tristin 

Talent & me 

Christina & her babies! 

Katelyn 

Lonnie & Paula

Zach & Autumn 

Baby Livi (Oliva) 

Kylie & Ashley 

The Stewart's 

The Hall's 

Karen 

The Harbaugh's 

Laura 

Leslie 

MHS StuCo

(I'm especially proud of this one! My very own town!) 

Melissa 

Sunshine & Addy

 

Rhetta

Mother's Day 2013

Today is Mother's Day. A day to celebrate the women that gave birth to you. Well, I'd like to take a few minutes to just say, I love my Mom. She has always been the coolest mom. When we were little she did all kinds of fun things with us. I remember making these things with crayon shavings and wax paper. She would let us take a pencil sharpener and sharpen crayons over the top of wax paper, then she would take another piece of wax paper and put it on top of that one and iron over it. It would make this really cool, colorful piece of artwork. I loved it! She would also make cookies or cakes and let us lick the bowl or the beaters. (I'm 31 and still get to do that!) I can remember her painting my fingernails. I can remember her fixing my hair and dressing me in foo foo dresses that had bells on the petticoat. She was fun.

I remember when we got older she made sure that our house was fun. We had rules, but, we had the "cool house" and knew it. I think what made our house so great was, even though we knew what was expected of us, we always knew that if we messed up, we could call home. Mom always told us, if we made a mistake, we could call home, she would always come get us and we wouldn't talk about it till the next day. We wouldn't be in trouble for calling to ask her to come get us out of a situation that we had gotten into. I think her letting us know we had that option led us to make better decisions. We wanted to make her proud and so, we never drank, we never smoked, we didn't have sex, or do drugs. We were good kids. And all of the other kids wanted to be where we were. Our parents made our house a fun place to be. We could be loud, have water fights, chase each other through the house, play video games, have loud music, pretty much whatever....our parents didn't care. Mom was always great about that. She loved having her house full of kids. And it always was. We always had a house full. Boys & girls were always there. We had fun. We had a fun Mom. She made sure that our house was always fun. I can remember one year we had about 8 kids snowed in at our house for 2 or 3 days. It was the most fun time. We played games, roasted marshmallows in the fireplace, and just had a blast. In the summertime we were allowed to swim at all hours of the night as long as we didn't wake up the neighbors or Daddy.

My Mom is just the coolest. Even now, she is so fun and so cool. I have been so blessed with having a Mom as great as her. I love her more than she will ever know. She's a great inspiration to me. I hope that I am half the Mom she is. When Talent is older I hope he feels about me the way I feel about my Mom. If he does, then I know I've done something right.

Happy Mother's Day, Momma! I love you!

Time flies....really.

So about this time eight years ago I was making the last minute preparations for our wedding. I had family coming in from Texas. I had a ring to pick up. Nails to be done. Polish to pick out. Clothes to pack for our honeymoon. I ha so much left to do. But I was so excited.

See, our wedding was a little spur of the moment. I had attended a wedding of my cousins a few weeks prior and had a front row seat to all of the drama. I discovered it was way more than I thought it was worth. I wanted no part of that kind of stress. To me it was just important to start my life with this man I loved so much. After my cousins wedding, I went back to my hotel and called Seth. I asked him how he would feel if we cut the guest list way down, moved the date way up, and just got this thing done. He was shocked. But, he isn't into big crowds so, of course, he said yes. He asked me several times if I was sure. I was beyond sure. I told my parents what I wanted. We got to work. Roughly three weeks later, the wedding date was almost here. Somehow I had managed to have bridal portraits taken, invitations made and sent, wedding announcements made and sent, cake ordered, and jewelry bought. I'd had the dress for a while. But everything just fell into place.

Most girls wouldn't give up their dream day so easily. For me, the day wasn't as important as what I was getting that day. A new last name, a partner to share my life with, and a best friend that will be here as my rock for the rest of my life. I didn't care about the wedding day. I mean, how in the world can that ceremony compare to a lifetime with this man I love so much? It can't.

Don't get me wrong, my wedding was still everything I wanted it to be. I had a beautiful dress, gorgeous man, my Pawpaw did the ceremony, we had great music, beautiful cake, and family and friends to share it with. Our guest list was less than 25 and that was perfect. We didn't need all the fancy stuff that I have seen at all of the weddings I've attended throughout the years. We just needed each other.

To this day I still hear from a certain family member how they think my wedding was "redneck" or whatever. But, I think they aren't seeing the bigger picture. What that day meant to us, well, that's what matters. And that day meant a lot to us. It was an equal balance if us both. In my opinion it was the perfect wedding for us because I got the things that were important to me, and Seth didn't have to be uncomfortable in a tux or in front of 100's of people.

Seth and I have been together for 10 years. We were dating/engaged for the better part of the first two years f our relationship. The last 8 years of marriage have been an adventure. One that I'm so glad I've had. I've learned a lot about forgiveness, sacrifice, compromise, and love. Being married is hard work. But if you put in the work and both work together, it is an amazing thing. I'm so glad I was able to find such a wonderful man. Each day I fall more in love. He's a great husband, wonderful provider, loving Daddy, and so much more. He is just everything I always wanted in a spouse and then some. After 10 year in a relationship and almost 8 years married, I can honestly say.....I'm still very much in love.

Sacrifices Made

Today I want to write about sacrifices. I have a very sweet friend who had to watch as her husband left on a nine month deployment to the desert today. This isn't the first time he has left and I'm sure it won't be the last. You see, he is military and it's the career he has chosen. It has taken him and his precious family to many different states, towns, counties, homes, and schools. They have met many different people, made many friends, and seen a lot of places. But, they have also made so many sacrifices. 

I write this blog entry today because we often take so much for granted. I see my friend and her two beautiful children having to say goodbye today to a man they love and it breaks my heart for them. While I know he is doing this duty so that I can sit in my comfortable chair or bed and write this blog, read Facebook, or even watch tv....to just have the freedom to do whatever I please, it's hard for me to watch the pain his family is dealing with as he leaves for another tour. We always tell people to thank a soldier for their service. And we forget a lot of times about the people they leave behind. The spouses, children, parents....

You know, I have been raised in a church filled with military servicemen and women. And I have love many that were deployed. Seth's best friend is a Marine. He has been in Iraq & Afghanistan a few times. I am pretty close to him. Let me just say this, I obviously don't know how my friend feels exactly, but, I know it is a hard thing when someone you care about is so far away. They can't call all the time. You may or may not be able to know where they are exactly. You might hear from them before or after something scary is shown on the news. It's stressful and scary. 

The sacrifices that the family of a serviceman or woman make are just as great as those of the soldier in my opinion. They give up a normal life. They give up living close to family. Letting their kids stay in one place to grow up. Having a house to grow old in and let their kids grow up in. They have to say goodbye so much. They always worry when their other half or family member is deployed. They have to comfort children that cry and miss their parent or loved one. They have so much that they give up. So much that they sacrifice to be with the one they love. I'm not saying I pity them. I don't. I respect them. I couldn't live that life. I wouldn't be able to be away from my family or move like that. And I know I would never make it more than a few days without my husband. 

I know I take things for granted. I know my husband will be home every single day. I know I can drive ten minutes and see my Momma and Daddy. Or I can walk up the road a mike and visit my in laws. I can drive 15 minutes and be with my grandparents. Heck, if I could drive in the big city I could even see my BFF. I take those things for granted a lot of times. Today seeing a picture of my friends children hugging their Daddy tight and him looking so as and torn, it tore my heart up. Made me stop an think of all of the things I do take for granted. It reminded me to say "thank you" to the families of the soldiers because they have to live without those they love while those soldiers are out doing a job to keep my freedom in tact. I'm very appreciative of both. So next time you hear someone say, "Thank a soldier" you might remind them to thank that soldiers family too. You never know how much that means to the family until you do it. 

Eight Years Ago...

Eight years ago today I put on the most beautiful dress I have ever worn, had my hair and make up done perfectly, and prepared to make a promise to a man to love him until the day that I died. Eight years ago today, I was full of jitters. I was nervous and excited. I couldn't wait to see that handsome man I loved so much, standing at the other end of that aisle. I couldn't wait to marry this man and start our lives together. I had loved many people in my life, but, I had never loved someone in the way that I loved this man. Eight years in and I still get that jittery feeling in the pit of my stomach when I see him. I still get that excited feeling when I know I'm going to get to see him when I get home, or when I know we are going to have a date night. Just knowing I get to spend my life with him.....it's a feeling that I can't even explain.

I have never loved someone in the way that I love Seth. We just really work well together. He is my strong, safe place whenever this crazy world is too much for me to handle. I know that no matter what, I always have him. When things seem to be spinning out of control, just hearing his voice is enough to help me feel calm again. Seth makes me laugh, keeps me on my toes, and balances me out. I'm so thankful to have him.

You know, eight years ago, the love I had for Seth was very deep. After Talent was born, that love that I thought was so deep, grew even deeper. Seeing this man that I already loved so very much, look at this child we had just had, with a face full of pride, it just made me love him even more. To see my husband and his love for our child, it changed our relationship for the better. And honestly, I never thought that was possible. But our love grew even more when we had Talent. Just having his support and love throughout my labor & C-section, and then seeing him the first time he held Talent....wow. Our love has changed so much.

So, for now, I would like to say, I love my husband. I'm thankful for the last 8 years of marriage we have had. I thank God every single day that he brought us together. My life has been richly blessed by having Seth in it. I've never been so happy in my life.

A GREAT week!

This week has been hectic to say the very least! Seth's best friend, Michael, has been here since Saturday. He's in the Marines and only gets to come home a few times a year. When he is here I don't see much of the guys because he and Seth tend to spend a LOT of time out at Bailey fishing, hunting, shooting random things, and just being guys. They have SO much fun when they are together. I see them when the are hungry. I love it because it gives me a reason to be in my kitchen.

This time when they went out for the first time I made sure to make a pan of brownies, grill steaks, make mashed potatoes, green beans, and Texas Toast, so that when they got home from fishing all day they would be met with all kinds of yumminess. If you can't already tell, they are just a tiny bit spoiled. I have cooked SO many things this week. I've made steak, chicken, BBQ sandwiches, and we even ordered pizza one night. We've had a great week together.

Tonight Michael called and asked if we wanted to come over to his parents house and eat steaks with him. We went and he grilled steak, I took mashed potatoes, he made us mac & cheese, and baked beans. It was a great meal. He even baked chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I was very impressed. It was so nice to have someone else make dinner tonight and me have the night off. That doesn't happen often for me and when it does, I really appreciate it.

We have really had a great week. The guys have had fun out at Bailey catching fish. I have cooked so much and really gotten a good use out of my new dishwasher. Talent has had a chance to get to know Michael a little better. It's been a good week for everyone!

Now I just have to start all over because I have family in from Texas that will be here until Monday! HA! The fun just never ends! At least I have a jump start on that. I was asked to make a cheesecake for the family that were coming in. So I baked a Brownie Caramel Cheesecake. I can't wait to try it. It smells so good and looks even better than it smells!

Begging Daddy to go exploring!

Talent wanted Michael to have babies to cuddle with but didn't want to get too close!

Seth & his fish.... 7lbs 11oz

 

Mommy & Talent....such a happy boy!

Brownie Caramel Cheesecake!

 

Watching the birds on the patio at Michael's!

Exploring with Daddy!

Guy talk!

Enjoying the weather before the storm...

Mommy & Talent.

I love this baby!