{Sick Day}

One of the memories that I treasure about Quentin's parents, is how they would be there for me and our children at the drop of a hat...no matter what. I can recall several occasions that Frances would take off work and stay home with one of my sick kiddos, so that I could go to school or to work. I never understood why she would do that; why she would go without ...until today.

 

Miss Olivia was sent home from daycare with a tummy bug. Mallorye was at her first full day of work at St. Bernards and Matt was training some new guys at his job. It's important to me that they succeed and build their careers so that they can enjoy life with this little bundle of life...important enought that I was happy to leave work to take care of Miss O while mommy & daddy worked.

 

I remember how comforting it was to me to know that someone was caring for my children that loved them just as much as I did while they were sick...I hope Mallorye & Matt felt that same comfort today...and Nana got some quality cuddle time while giving some TLC :)

 

Trying to get in a few zzzz's while Olivia rested....

 

Olivia cuddling her baby while I cuddled her....

 

Such sad little sickly eyes....she stayed most of the day in my arms and isn't that what sick days are all about? Rest and Pampering!

{January 1 ~ Resolution Run}

January 1, 2013

The Resolution Run

Paragould, AR

 

One of my goals for the new year is to run in at least 6 races....now, let's clear up something...I'm not really a runner. Shhhh....don't tell my body! I'm trying to sneak this one by. I've been jogging/walking off and on for most of 2012 and have lost 12 pounds in the process, but I'm ready to ramp up my efforts. Being the competitive person that I am....racing seemed like a great way to start. My age division is pretty tough, so I know that placing is a far stretched goal, but I do have goals;

 

The goal for this race?

Finish. In under 30 mintues (which is far from impressive). And to not puke.

I'm proud to say that I did finish. In 28:51 (yay me!). And I did not puke...not even once!

 

Me & Mallorye crossing the finish line together. I was so proud of my daughter for not quitting and pushing through the discomfort of running in 32 degree wet weather & burning lungs.

 

After the race....aren't we a pretty sight? LOL

 

Mallorye with her 3rd place finish in her division! How does that happen? Didn't we cross at the same time?? I told you my age group was competitive! And our friend, Brandi, who placed 1st overall...she's actually the one that got me interested in running and keeps encouraging me to keep trying and keep pressing on.

 

My 1st race bib and my tshirt.

It really is all about the shirt...I mean if you're going to get out there and sweat and torment your lungs, feet, and knees...you really should at least get a tshirt :)

 

Next race: January 12

{Happy New Year}

So tomorrow starts a brand new year....Hello 2013!

 

Where did the year go? I'm not sure, but kinda glad to just put that baby to bed. I love the beginning of a new year...a chance to try again with a fresh, clean slate.

 

I have a love/hate relationship with resolutions....I hate that they seem so cliche', but love setting goals and trying to reach them throughout the year. I don't always succeed, but it at least gives me a target to shoot for....so....here are the 2013 goals:

 

PERSONAL

 

*finish writing out the book of Psalm

*memorize (for real) Psalm 139

*log 500 walking/jogging miles

*compete in 6 races, 5k or longer

*get strong, healthy, & lighter

*document life (using Project Life, photography, & journaling)

*go on a solo weekend trip (this was the best thing I did in 2012)

 

MARRIAGE

 

*monthly date night (create date envelopes to help Q with ideas)

*nightly deviotional/prayer time by phone

*go on 2 weekend trips, just us

*pray daily for Quentin

*media free zone when Q is home on weekends (FB, Pinterest, Twitter, etc)

*read 2 books on marriage

 

CHILDREN

 

*sit down at table for dinner with Blake & connect nightly

*pray with Blake each night before bed (never too late to start)

*tour UAM college with Blake

*encourage Blake to find job & help him set a budget to buy a truck

*help Mallorye organize her house

*keep Olivia twice a month overnight to allow Mal & Matt time alone

*Sunday Dinner with our immediate family

*go on a family vacation

 

MINISTRY/FRIENDSHIP/EXTENDED FAMILY

 

*find a small group to join

*send encouraging text to Praise Team each week

*send a hand-written note of encouragement to someone each week

*visit my mom & Jack once a month just because

*have a friend date once a month

*visit extended family once a month..alternating people (Mema, dad, Rudy/Carolyn, Tiff, Liz, etc)

*invite extended family for dinner 4x over the year...just because

 

BUSINESS/BLOGGING

 

*blog twice a week minimum

*execute BRAG business plan

*blog photo shoots within a week of shoot

*adhere to a strict NO WORK policy for Sundays

*renew nurses license

*take 1 continuing education class

 

FINANCIAL

 

*create budget & live by it

*set up an emergency savings account & put $2500 in it

*set a Christmas budget & stick to it

*purchase a "new-to-us" economical vehicle

 

Ok, I know this all looks like alot, but it's all doable...well...there may be a few stretches {grin}. What good are goals if they don't stretch you a little though?

 

So, here's to a new year of possibilities, adventures,

 experiences, and memories!

 It's gonna be a sweet ride!

 

 

 

 



{Daily Blessing ~ March 2}

Blessing #2 was so much fun!!! One of the Camp Hope ladies is graduating and getting married...starting a new chapter of her life clean and sober. I had the privilege of hosting her Bachelorette Party. Lizabeth and I planned a scavenger hunt for the girls and refreshments that didn't include alcohol. It was so much fun to show these girls that Christians have fun too :)

A few scenes from the evening

{Daily Blessing ~ March 1}

Yay for March!! It's my birthday month and so I thought that I would do something different this year....instead of concentrating on all the things that I want, I am going to focus on blessing others. Each day in March, I'm going to be on the lookout for opportunities to bless someone else and help to foster the attitude of service and gratitude in my own life.

A simple card of thanks to our Youth Pastor, Josh Jordan

He has a tough job...one that is often thankless...& I just wanted to encourage him to keep on keepin' on because he is making a difference in these kids lives.

{Nicaragua 2011 ~ Day 1}

Finally, the day I had been waiting for came. Almost a year of preparations....many of you have prayed for this mission trip and some of you gave financially...all to make this possible. There is so much to share, but I'm going to try and start from the beginning and not get ahead of myself!

The trip actually started on Thursday at the church...weighing our luggage. We were allowed 50 pounds each. I was so nervous, but miraculously I was under by 15 pounds! Hallelujah!! I can add my hairdryer :) I went home and had dinner with my family and tried to soak up every moment, knowing it would be a long week without them. Quentin got up with me and drove me to the church at 2am. It was a foggy morning and once loaded on the bus and headed to Memphis, we realized that the bus defroster doesn't work very well...or at all. Charles was the human defroster, constantly wiping the glass so Billy could see the road. Made for a very long trip to the airport. Billy did a marvelous job...and we only had one scare when he missed the turn and we had to back up so we wouldn't end up in a ditch. We arrived at the airport around 4am...got checked in and waited for our flight. I'm a nervous wreck.

Me & Lizabeth Robinson (my boss) at Atlanta Airport
We landed in Atlanta around 8am and had enough time to kill to grab a little airport breakfast. I survived the flight and my nerves were starting to settle a little. Atlanta International is a huge airport with a tram to take you from gate to gate....when the little speaker comes on and says this train is leaving and you should hold on...they mean it!

I seen several soldiers at Atlanta...catching flights home...and it brought back a flood of memories. I stopped to shake several of their hands and just to thank them for their sacrifice. I don't think you can thank them enough and I know for some of them, they were seeing their families for the first time in months...others were leaving their families to finish tours. I know how that feels and it is always humbling for me to see soldiers & their families in airports.

JR & Brittany Lawrence and Erin Gammill...grabbing some airport breakfast...yum...yum!

Inside view of our hotel, The Best Western, in Managua, Nicaragua (*note this is NOT where we stayed for our mission trip...just the first night while waiting on the rest of our team to arrive)

I got a little nervous when we started flying into Managua...ok...I got ALOT nervous! I was thinking where in the world are they going to land this plane? I couldn't see anything that resembled an airport...all I see was water and buildings. Well, there just happened to be a little...and I do mean little...stretch of a field in the midst of those buildings and that would be where the landing strip was. Wow! As soon as we touched down the pilot immediately applied the breaks...that's how short the runway was. We went through customs & immigration, paid our $10.00, found our luggage and headed to the hotel across the street. If the landing of the plane didn't scare ya, the crossing the street definitely would! Just picture a real live human form of Frogger...these cars weren't stopping for nothing and there was no end in sight, so the best course of action?? RUN!!! (and now I know why you don't want more than 50 pounds of luggage). We checked in and got our room assignments...I would be rooming with Lizabeth and Brandi Parkinson. The rooms were small with 3 twin size beds, but clean...I'll take it.

Me & Brandi Parkinson sporting our Mission Team tees :)

We walked around taking pictures of all the gorgeous vegetation around the hotel. Everything is so green and alive! They had banana trees, palm trees, and even a mango tree!

One example of the beautiful vegetation surrounding the hotel...and just happened to be a "ginger plant". Of course I had to have a picture. You will notice my backpack...it became a permanent fixture to my back during this week.

Me & Kristin Summers at dinner.

After scoping out the hotel, we all decided we were starving...it had been a long day of flights with not much time for eating. We didn't have a translator this first day and the hotel staff could speak some English, but not much, so ordering our food was challenging to say the least. Lizabeth tried using Google Translator on her iPhone, but that proved to be not such a great idea....LOL..She tried to ask "do you have dessert" and ended up translating "are you dessert?"....apparently Google needs to go back to school. The food was wonderful, but we never did get that dessert!

This was my receipt for my meal....the US dollar total is circled with the Cordova total above it...so glad they're doing the exchange for me. I stink at math without a calculator!

JR & Brittany enjoying the music of a party that was going on right outside our rooms. The music was entertaining at first, but around midnight, we were just ready for them to shut it down, so we could get some shut eye.

Passing the time with a 2-deck game of Spades.
The rest of our group (the ones that flew out of Little Rock) weren't due to arrive till 8pm, so we had to stay up for a team meeting. Luckily, I had brought a couple decks of cards in case we had some long layovers at the airports.

The Little Rock group finally arrived (they had a very eventful day of flying including arguing about the extra baggage that had ALL OF OUR SUPPLIES IN IT...and one of the little girls having to carry her little suitcase as a carry on.) They were tired and wore out. We had a quick meeting before bed. Day One complete.

I can't wait to share with you the rest of our week!!

{A New Year}

I have so much to blog about....and so little time to do it in....(and blogger won't upload my pictures).

I took a little bloggy break in December to get ready for the holidays and for my first ever mission trip to Nicaragua. I have so much to share & show about that trip....I wrote in my journal every day until my hand cramped and took over 800 pictures while I was gone for those 8 days. I'm hoping over the next few weeks to share with you what God is doing in Nicaragua, how He used me to be a small part of that, and how what I experienced changed my life. I don't know if I'm going to blog every day about the trip until I get the story told or maybe devote a post a week to it, but one way or another....I'm telling the story :)

Christmas came and went. It was a much different experience for me this year after just coming home from a 3rd world country and definitely deserves its own post.

In other news....we are T-5 weeks from Little Miss Olivia making her grand entrance into the world. We are all getting anxious...but none of us are as ready as Mallorye. She's had a couple of wonderful showers and has her last one this Sunday.

So....I have plenty to blog about and if blogger will cooperate, then I think I'm ready to tell some stories! Stay tuned.