A Much Needed Reminder

I read the newspaper yesterday while drinking my coffee and later that day I read USA Today on my Ipad. I tell you what: the news is depressing. Not just in our drought filled land, or even in our state, or our nation, it's all over the world.

Stories I read stuck with me throughout the day, unspeakable things that I read in the newspaper. While I was mulling over a few things from the newspaper, the Holy Spirit reminded me once again: This world may change, but He never does. Hebrews 13:8 say, " Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Glory! He never changes....perhaps it's time this world got back to the basics...believing, praying, waiting on Him, going to church as a family, caring more about others than ourself, and even stepping out in faith believing with God all things are possible.

He is the only one that can fix it all....oh what a Saviour!


(I am linking this post up with Word Filled Wednesday today).

Summer is Quickly Coming to an End!

It's true!  Summer is quickly coming to an end.  The other evening, my family was looking for a little snack, so I cut up the delicious watermelon I had waiting for us chilling in the refrigerator.  I love watermelon!  It is such a happy fruit.  I love the bright red insides and the delicious sweetness....ah summer time!  I put a little sea salt on mine to bring out the flavor.  I always have enjoyed my watermelon that way.  Do you?  I know some people like to put lime juice on theirs or chili powder, but give me a little sea salt and I am happy.

I left the other half of the watermelon on my kitchen island just in case my family wanted any more.  Mr. Incredible obviously needed just a spoon full....see the hole in the watermelon?  But I loved how the light of the candle fell on the watermelon and so I snapped a photo.  It kind of signifies the light of summer is quickly dimming and coming to an end.

Last week, I wasn't ready for summer to end...this week, I'm starting to get ready for school to begin.  I've been dreading it mostly because Rachel leaves for college, but I might as well be getting my heart ready because like it or not, she will be going, and school will be starting soon.

Don't get me wrong, I am so excited for her newest adventure with the Lord.  She will have so many amazing opportunities, and I will be excitedly waiting to hear about each one, I'm just not ready for this precious one to leave the nest.  A new milestone in our family life for sure.  But, it just came too quickly!

I am ready for routines again.  I know our calendar will be quite busy with Hannah being in high school.  Our days will be filled with cross country, band, basketball (yippee!), school, photography, etc.  And part of me is longing for routine again.

It took me the longest time to find my groove and to embrace the ease of summer, but I have fully embraced it.  I am so thankful to have had it, but I'm ready to do what God has called me to do.  I'm ready to step into my classroom and see all that God has in store for me, for my students, and for my family this year.  Are you getting ready for school?  Are you facing any new milestones this year too?

Rio...with a Side of Nachos!

 Sunday night dinners around my house growing up were always relaxed.   Sunday lunches, on the other hand, were magnificent!  Picture delicious smells of a tender roast wafting through the air when we arrived home from church mixed with comforting smells of delicious baked rolls (Hannah likes to call them bread rolls), homemade mashed potatoes, and a special dessert all eaten around the dining room table....that is still one of my most favorite smells to this day!  Sunday dinners (eaten at lunch) were the best....and they still are around my house if you ask my family....okay when I have gone to the grocery store and planned out the meals and taken time to actually make a Sunday dinner: I do like to go out for Sunday lunches too. :-)

And speaking of "dinner," do you call your Sunday lunches "Dinner," and your evening meal "supper?"  Any other day of the week, my evening meals are referred to as "dinner," but Sunday lunches are special...so we call them "dinner."  Confusing?  Sorry! 

Anyway, yesterday's Sunday Dinner consisted of a delicious brisket, mashed potatoes (I forgot to put them on before leaving for church so we used the dreaded instant potatoes...and they weren't too bad because we dressed them up with cheese and sour cream), Sister Shubert rolls (incredible!), broccoli, and chocolate cake (thanks Mom and Dad for blessing Rachel with a last day of work before college cake).  Yum!

But Sunday evening was totally different.  Our Sunday evening meal is normally, "You find it, you eat it."  Which mostly consists of sandwiches or popcorn, but last night we had super nachos!  Good, old fashioned, broiled in the oven, ooey-gooey, cheesy nachos.  My family inhaled them.  Me?  I think I must have chapped my lips at Rock the Desert this weekend, because one bite of the delicious cheesy goodness, and my lips swelled up a bit.  They were lovely, looked like collagen-injected mega lips....that hurt!  Kind of weird.  I drowned my burning lips in a piece of chocolate cake and they liked that much better. Ha!

And we watched the movie Rio together.  Have you seen it?  Oh, so cute.  It was a fun, relaxed family evening at home....and I treasured every second.....except for the, "My lips are on fire moment...." because I know it will be all too soon (two weeks to be exact) before our daughter ventures off to college.  Yes, these last two weeks are filled with Cross Country practice, band sectionals, band marching, shopping for last minute college things, and teacher inservice....but we will be making treasured memories in the process.  Do you have special Sunday dinner/supper memories?



A Little Encouragement

This is straight from Anne Graham Lotz's devotional The Joy of My Heart:

"All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made."  John 1:3

God created:
atoms and angels and ants,
crocodiles and chiggers and clouds,
elephants and eagles and electrons,
orchids and onions and octopuses,
frogs and feathers and sea foam,
diamonds and dust and dinosaurs,
raindrops and sweat drops,
dewdrops and blood drops,
and me! And you!

The greatness of His power to create and design and form and mold and make and build and arrange defies the limits of our imagination.  And since He created everything, there is nothing beyond His power to fix or mend or heal or restore!

I loved reading this today...and the reminder that God made it all and He can surely fix it all too, if He so chooses.  The last week and a half has been filled with doctor's appointments, and it's been a bit exhausting and a bit emotional at times.  A new doctor came in after reading my mammogram and exclaimed with no sense of compassion or concern, "We see something!"  Thankfully, the Great Physician was right by my side whispering in my ear that we just needed to take a look through an ultra sound....and the Great Physician was right, as He always is.  A very large fibroid cyst was the culprit, not a massive tumor like the new doctor suspected. 

And being the Great Physician that He is, three cyst aspirations were performed that very same day, only five minutes later because the Breast Care Center's main doctor was there that day and he didn't want me to have to come back to Dallas.  Oh, God is good!

In the last ten days, I've been checked out from head to toe, I feel every bit of my 41 years.  I'm not use to being such high maintenance when it comes to my health...and I have one more doctor's visit to go.  Naturally, this devotion spoke volumes to my heart this morning and I thought you might need to hear it too.

Yes, if God made it, He can surely fix it...what peace floods my soul this morning! 

The Scholarship Dinner....

...we nearly missed! Rachel was awarded several scholarships, thank you Jesus!  If you have ever "helped" your child apply for scholarships, and by helped I mean find the available scholarships, made the copies of letters of recommendations, resumes, grades, checked off each individual scholarlships individualized detailed requirements, requested transcripts, and made sure it was all turned in on time.  Whew!  It is a monumental task, but one that is so worth it in the end when your daughter is awarded several scholarships.

The end of May became a complete blurr and I didn't give a second thought to the scholarships our daughter was awarded until last week.  I woke up in a cold sweat thinking about the scholarships that were awarded and wondered if there was anything we were required to do.

And yes, yes there was still work to be done....things like sending in your college schedule to confirm that you were enrolled in a University, and a little thing called RSVP for a special recognition dinner.

The dinner was July 21st.  The day I woke up in a cold sweat thinking about the scholarships??? July 20th!  The date the college schedule was due???? July 15th.  Oh no!!!

Come to find out, our daughter had been receiving all of the correspondance letters and had them neatly stacked in her room (I'm using the word "neatly" very loosely).  She was saving them for I don't know what!  We were sick that evening wondering if her scholarship had been forfeited.  Needless to say, none of us slept hardly at all that evening.

I felt the Holy Spirit prompting my heart to have Rachel put on her big girl panties and call the scholarship coordinator first thing in the morning....surely she was not the first student to have missed a deadline.  I think Rachel was scared to death, but she made the phone call...and everything turned out more than fine!  Praise the Lord!  The scholarships are still hers and we were still invited to the recognition dinner that evening.

There were other students there in the same boat.  I am so thankful that we didn't miss it.  We felt very honored to be there with so many parents and recognized students in our area. Here are a few pictures of the students that were also honored.  The group is so large that the photographer had to stand on a massive ladder to get everyone in one photo:

 And here is Rachel smiling ear to ear and Caleb too.

Needless to say, Rachel is writing a thank you note to the scholarship coordinator as we speak. Oiy!

Miss B and Her Little Sister Came to Visit

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost.

-Marion C. Garretty

Yesterday morning, two sweet sisters came to visit Kiki's Corner Photography.  We had the most delightful time playing in our tent and finding fun places to take pictures.  Miss B is ten years old and has the most wonderful giggle and smile and her little sister is all of two years old and busy, busy.  It was fun chasing these two girlies around and capturing their personalities.  I hope their Mommy and Grammy enjoy their sneak peek!

 In true sister style, Miss B sat in the rocking chair like this...and little sister, who was watching so carefully, climbed up  in the other rocker and gave me the exact same pose, well, minus the smile...but that is pretty big stuff for a two year old.  Love it!

 Sisterhood is a special bond.  Praying these two have many more special sister-moments to share!



Just Dropping By

to say Hi!  I realize I've been neglecting the blog a little bit.  But, I couldn't help it.  My man and I celebrated our 21st anniversary!  And he surprised me with the most romantic getaway...it was amazing.  I can't wait to tell you all about it.  I have a bazzilion pictures of this beautiful getaway to share with you.  As soon as we got home from our getaway, it was time to do a little laundry and get packed again for a fun Back to School Shopping Bash with our girls, our nephews, Mr. Incredible's parents and sister and brother-in-law.  We had an amazing time shopping and eating and visiting. 

I'm back home now trying to remember what a routine is.  Monday morning came too early.  It is back to band for Hannah, the last week for Rachel to work before she leaves for college in three short weeks, and doctor's appointments for me (routine stuff).  I think we are quickly finding our way back to a routine...even though I really enjoyed the break from normalcy.  School starts for me in two short weeks and I still have things to do on my summer list.  {Sigh!}

I think that's it for now.  Lots of pictures and stories coming soon.  What have you been doing this summer?  And did you get everything crossed off your summer list?