Bailey had had that nasty tooth hanging for several days and wouldn't let us pull it and wouldn't do it herself..well Brad and I couldn't take anymore, so on Monday, I told her if she'd pull it, I'd take her to Dunkin Donuts...within about 15 minutes, it was done, and we were on the road to DD...her face is splotched because we kept trying to get her to let us do it, and she was pitching a small fit..lol..finally, we told her to just wiggle it back and forth and DO IT HERSELF ..and she did, and snap (yes, we heard it), it came out...lol..such drama!
She did share these with her brother, I must add :)
Here's week 4...I can't believe I've done this for a whole month now...and still going strong..I love it!
(click to see the pictures larger)
Left:
Right:
( I really have to say that I am shocked at the lack of cheerleading digital products like brushes? So weird...every other sport is there, but no cheerleading?)
Have to show you a closeup of this picture of Ace..he's so spoiled..he doesn't like to be put outside away from me...doesn't that look on his face look like he's saying that? silly dog...
and that's it..no inserts this week...just the basics..thanks for looking!
This morning I was reading a chapter in "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Family"..I know I've mentioned this book before..quick little chapters that are so full of truth and good advice...This chapter was "Work on absolute acceptance of those you love most"...uggh, SMACK up side of my head...
I find myself losing my patience with my kids so easily sometimes..each has their things that they do that set me off...I'm sure I do things they don't like either, but I'm the Mommy..lol...Chaz has a way of tuning me out and I have to tell him things ONE HUNDRED times to get him to finally hear me...and then I yell..and Bailey is slow in the morning and makes us run later than we would like cause she takes forever to eat, gets distracted by playing with the dog, lays back on the sofa ..etc etc..and I yell..this morning was one of those mornings..and she told me on the way out she wishes I wouldn't yell at her and would talk nicer or something like that..of course my rebuttal was .."when I do talk nicely or more softly, I get no response out of you"...and it's true..but I hate yelling all the time..or repeating myself all the time..but they are kids..I have to remember that..and I love them, along with Brad, the most in this world, yet I am so quick to get aggrevated by things they do and lose my patience...
A quote out of this chapter was "While we can quite easily overlook or simply ignore the negativity or idiosyncrasies of complete strangers, it's difficult to do the same with our children or our spouses".... "What I learned was that I (the author), like most people, levy my most demanding expectations on those people whom I love the most"...isn't that so true?
I need to lighten up...and stop the madness..and the yelling...geez!
On another note, Project Life Week4 coming next..it's all done, I just have to photograph it :)
to make a difference or do SOMETHING meaningful....or something..do you ever feel like that?
Brad and I joined a Life Group (we have been out of one for a year or so but seriously missed the connection that they bring) (some churches call it a Community Group or a Cell Group)...whatever you call it, it's all good..cause we are on the same page...
And I can't explain the "pull" or "urgency" I feel doing the study we are doing on discipleship....and I really didn't even know what "discipleship" meant when we started..it sounds so serious...but really, it's sharing your story and Jesus with others...THAT'S ALL YOU HAVE TO DO...see? that's where I get lost cause I thought it was a big process...leading people to Christ..but really, it isn't...and I'm finding in this day and time, it's more about just being "transparent" (which is a huge buzzword right now but SO true)..not putting on the "religious" airs...cause if you ask me, NO ONE, not even me, likes the whole "religious" thing...I wasn't brought up like that...but more about just sharing yourself with people and developing relationships that MATTER and with intention...Dude, I care about people..I care about my friends...and I worry about them...It makes me sad that they don't have the hope and unconditional love that we have...and I don't mean that in a "know it all" type of way...this is the thing...IT gets you through ANYthing..and this is also important...You HAVE to have it to live a truly happy life...
I'm tired of not speaking up...I'm tired of being quiet...I have friends that NEED Jesus...and I know these days, it's not the "PC" thing to be or say, but you know what? I don't care...it's not going to keep me quiet because I believe so deeply in it...People need and want it as much as they deny it..and turn it away...and scoff at it..most of the time, it's out of hurt that they are resistant to it...or past experience...or not believing they are loveable because of things they've done in life...SO not true...we watched a video at church that cut me to the core...it convicted me...made me feel guilty and selfish for all the times I've been silent....I am surrounded by friends with DEEP hurts and issues going on..and I just sit by quietly? NOT acceptable...
Here is the link in case the video doesn't post ... Penn Jillette
...and I want to note that it wasn't "religion" that made that man go up to him, it was Jesus in that man...THAT'S the difference...
You want to know what? My Aunt, who is 60 years old, a recovering alcoholic, tried EVERY self help thing there is out there...has been sober for years and then failed, has scoffed at Jesus and whatever the hell He represents...you know what? She got involved in a local Christian based AA meeting, connected, felt the love, learned about the real Jesus, and got baptized on Christmas Eve...I NEVER thought that would happen..not that I doubt the power of our God, but dang, she and her husband have always been SO resistant that I felt intimidated by them....see? it's the relationship, the caring, the transparency...that shows, through us, the true love of Jesus..everyone needs it...and I stand firmly on that..
I get intimidated by people who are very "anti" religion..and ya know what I've decided? It's because I'm NOT religious..Jesus hated "religion"...if you want to be sure of that, read the book "The Jesus I Never Knew"...I shared that book with my Aunt on Christmas and I got an email back saying that she had "thrown the baby out with the bathwater"...see? We try to muck it up..make it complicated, this whole Jesus thing..and if you really get to the heart of who Jesus was, HE hated "religion" and rules too...that's so not what it's about...
Brad and I went out to eat with some friends recently, who, once we got to talking, annnounced that one of them was an "atheist" and one of them felt no need to be part of "corporate religion"...and what did we say? Nothing...and that has bothered me since then..that we were silent and caught off guard..DANG IT...NO! You DO need Jesus (in the true sense) and you DO need to go to church to be in the fellowship of other believers...true believers..not all the fake stuff..I'm tired of Christians being judged by the few that do wrong..but here's the other twist...the church is not a club for the "righteous"..a true church is a hospital for the hurting and the sick, dude...TRUE DAT....He loves us all the same...no matter what we have done..we ALL have skeletons in our closet whether it be something huge or something that appears small that eats away at our self, our marriage, our family...envy, jealousy, drinking a little too much, eating beyond what we need, coveting, laziness....ya hearing me? We ALL have our things we struggle with...but the wonderful thing is is this...HE doesn't care..HE just wants us to admit that we are in need..that we all are not perfect and that we ALL need help...if you say you don't...really? Cause I can think of about three things in particular I need help with....
So, where am I going with all this? I want to be USED...I want HIM to use me somehow...and I know HE gives us certain talents and gifts...and I want to use the ones HE's given me for some type of purpose...I'm tired of just floating along, living life..which our life is good..but I want to make some kind of difference..do I know what that is? Not exactly, but I pray each day that He use me somehow...I'm really good at being friendly to people and hopefully for being a good friend...I care about my friends and want them to experience what I experience, but you know the problem with that? You can't MAKE people do stuff..they have to decide on their own that they need Jesus, when the time is right (just like my Aunt)...and really, I don't get what the big hang up is? It's so easy and so available....but you have to put in a some effort...I get discouraged sometimes because I invite friends/co workers to church and they don't come..or they come once, but never again...but what can I do? Pray for them and whatever they are going through, and hope they realize that they don't have to carry all these huge burdens on their own...and hope...and just keep being a good friend...I just hope sometimes it's not too late for people..anything can happen from day to day...you never know...all it takes is a decision...maybe I'm not following through like I should? and I don't want to "bother" people..always bringing it up...so I keep quiet....is that really what I should be doing? SEE, I don't know?
Anyways, not really sure what the purpose of this post is...but I needed to put it out there....and if you don't like it, whatever..it's me...
Runnning a tad bit behind on getting this finished, but finally got it done today...
Last week was a busy week, mainly at the beginning and towards the end...
The little bits and pieces of "stuff" I had for this week...Chaz's name badge from his church retreat..and I cut up the flyer for it and included it under the picture of him and his bud...
I also had one insert..bless their hearts at church..they took group pictures and had printed them for the parents..yay! I found 5x7 page protectors at Hobby Lobby, but they are way bigger than 5x7, so tried my hand at customizing them by cutting them down and sewing them...it would help if I could sew straight, but not going to let it bother me..no REALLY, I'm not...
They had even added the logo onto the picture :)
This second photo was of the brave (?) souls that took the challenge and went Polar Bear Swimming in the lake at 7am in JANUARY..yes, my son was part of that group :)
I made a little mini collage of the pics from when I took B and her friend to the movies..made it in Picasa...
and oh yes I did...I switched to computer journaling on my cards..and sigh, I feel so much better!I also made a little canvas in Photoshop and put two of my pictures on it and sized it to fit the 3x4 slot...
and here again, I am going to go on about how much I am enjoying this project!!! LOTS!
at our last scrapbooking retreat to be exact..ahem, Joanna Latham...
I really have no room in my life for new really good snacks..I'm trying to eliminate snacks from my diet, not add to them...and just cause they say "Veggie"..don't let that fool you, because if you eat half a bag, they really aren't sensible, right?
Brad brought me these beautiful flowers on Friday, and we exchanged cards...
(Chaz was grossed out because Brad's card had the word "sexy" on it...first thing he noticed when he came in from school..he yelled "ewwwwwwww"...funny)
On Saturday, my parents came to watch the kids (thanks Nannie and Poppie) while Brad and I went to our favorite restaurant, Houston's...
It was awesome as always...I got my usual Flying Chicken Platter and Brad got ribs..all of this was after the most delicious Artichoke dip and drinks...The Houston's on West Paces Ferry is our favorite one to go to..love the atmosphere there...
It was a nice weekend..despite the bad weather earlier Saturday that interrupted the basketball game we were in the middle of playing and sent the whole packed gym into the halls due to a tornado warning..interesting..I was really concerned that Brad and I were not going to get to go out for our date that night..lol
Both kids were crying because they were worried about Ace at home..Brad couldn't get a signal on his cell phone to call our neighbors..it was a trip..thankfully, the tornado didn't come our way although one did touch down not far from us...mercy!
and I have to say that by the posts of congrats from people on Facebook, it's making me feel old...comments like "WOW, that's a LONG time"..and things of that sort..haha..kidding, I know people don't mean it that way...I guess...
and in writing this post, one thing I realized is that Brad and I need some new pictures of us together..that I like of myself...this is from our trip to San Antonio in December...(and I've never worn that shirt again b/c I realized in these pictures that it makes my hips look bigger, god love)
ANYWAYS, back to the matter at hand...
I've been blessed to have this man in my life for many many years...WAY before we were ever a couple, mainly due to the 7 year age difference between us cause it would have been illegal..but I had my eye on him since I was about 9...I used to swoon over him at church, but at that time, he was 16..lol...however, many years later, fate brought us together and since our first date (Feb 18th, 1993?), we've never broken up or been apart...I truly believe it was meant to be (and I truly know that I have a sixth sense or something if I picked my husband when I was nine..that's like Chaz having a crush on a girl now and they end up getting married many moons down the road..weird thinking of it that way)...
Anyhow, we've had a few bumps in the road over the years, but never anything we couldn't handle..and that's marriage...not always going to be perfect, but overall, it has been REALLY REALLY GOOD....we are team mates, "homies", partners, co-prison wardens to the kids, "lovers" (haha I HATE that word, but I guess, technically, we are..ha), best friends, etc...recently Brad told me "I have your back" about some things I was struggling with and man, that just really meant a lot to me to hear him say that...THAT'S what it is all about, I think..having each other's back...Something about knowing that as long as we have each other and things are ok between US, gives me a great sense of calm and comfort...I have to be talked off the ledge every now and then, and Brad is good at doing that for me :)
So, 16 years have gone by really fast and I hope to heck there's at least 16 more to come..actually more like 60 years, but you know what I'm saying...
Happy Anniversary Brad..I love you with all my heart :) xxxxooooxxxxooo
One thing I've figured out how to do is save a screen shot and print it...this one is of my new craft night blog that I've been working on and planning...and I talk about all that on a journaling card..
On the far left is a card with a ticket from our new sermon series ...we were invited to give those out to invite others to come (which I did ;)), but I also saved one to talk about...
and that picture of Ace? Just cracks me up everytime I look at it..love it!
Right:
Some things to note on this side...I had two doctor's appts this week, so that is what the top left is..my eye prescription and notes from my dental appt..and I talk about how I'm trying hard to keep up with things like appts for myself..I'm so bad about that...
We also went to eat a few times....and both times I forgot to take a picture, so I just Googled the name of the restaurants and downloaded some pictures of them for the internet and made the card on the far left...
Same thing with our new Life Group which we started on Friday..I would have felt like a dork asking to take a picture at the meeting, so I took a picture of our book we'll be studying to represent that instead...this project is challenging me to think of other ways to document different things even if I don't have a picture of the people or whatever...
I also added an 8 1/2 by 11" insert this week..the kids got their report cards, and they were awesome as usual..we took them out for ice cream and had a little gift for both of them...
I added their report cards and layered some pics of them from our outing on top...
Now that I'm caught up, I'm going to try to start posting my Project Life layouts each week on Tuesdays along with others on the internet....
Thanks for looking :)
Edited to add: Great post on Project Life here on Becky Higgin's blog...
