22 years of marriage with my guy

August 22, 1998 we got married on a rainy summer day.  It was a sweet day, shared with many loved ones.  I remember people giving us all kinds of advice about marriage. It's kind of like kids though, you don't really get it until you have them. One thing that people did not tell us is that marriage takes work. It's not always rainbows and sunshine. Each day I have to make the choice to love.  I don't always get it right, but I never give up on trying. I can be difficult, stubborn, hard headed...not the qualities that are that necessarily easy to live with. Remember that song, "it takes two to make a thing go right. It takes two to make it outta sight." Rob Base :) It's true, it takes two! Now please don't hear me wrong, I'm not saying that every marriage is worth fighting for. There is divorce in my family and I have many friends who have divorced for very good reasons. But I wanted to be open and honest. So today, on our anniversary, I want to celebrate the good and the bad because they all got us to where we are today.  We wouldn't be who we are today without the struggles.  Kevin is my right hand man and I look forward to many more years together.

Happy 14th Birthday, Big Phil! 8/1

Happy 14th birthday, Big Phil! 

Today is your actual birthday, but every day I celebrate you.  You had a rough start, being 6 weeks early, but in God's time you caught up to where you needed to be.  God chose me to be your mom and I'm forever grateful. You are easy going, fun, witty, loving, kind, thoughtful, smart, a loyal and very good friend, a good listener, and encourager, a fierce competitor, and you give the best hugs. I love all the Phillipisms that you say. You truly are a gift from God. I hope this year is filled with God's greatest blessings.  I pray your walk with him continues to strengthen and that you learn to rely on him even more. I love you, son! 

Catching up...

Do you ever wake up and start your day just to hear more bad news? Lately I feel like I hear more negative than positive.  So much has happened in our world. There is so much sadness, illness, grief, loss, etc. It is overwhelming at times.  Do you ever feel like it's becoming more and more difficult to remain positive? Today, I prayed that the positive would over shadow the negative.  That we would be focused on the positive things that are happening and less on the negative. So one positive thing that is happening is that we are starting school on August 10th.  I am very optimistic about our upcoming school year and so very excited to see our littles.  I was at school yesterday and just seeing my work peeps made my heart so happy.  As much as I am an introvert and really haven't minded social distancing, I have missed my team. Together we are stronger and every time we are together I see the incredibly hard workers that they each are. Praying for a smooth start to the new school year, for peace, and a whole lot of grace as we navigate differently.  

RIP Barty boy

Our sweet Bart passed away in June.  We rescued him at the age of 3 and he was just a week away from turning 13.  Life is different and quiet without the little guy.  I'm realizing, as I know longer have to toddler proof the house, that he was quite a challenging dog.  I guess every rescue comes with unknown benefits, but we loved him anyway.  We do really miss him. Our other dogs, in particular our Claire Bear, have really missed him too.  It's interesting to see how dogs grieve.  And it's SO easy with just two dogs.  LOL There will definitely never be another Bart. RIP, my boy.  

My Valentine!

My Grana always thought we had such a sweet love story, so today I would like to share it. When I was 21, still living at home near Austin, I went back to Physical Therapy to try and strengthen my foot/leg. So many times when I went, which was around twice a week, there was a male patient close to my age who was there. He was usually telling jokes while riding the stationary bike. I did notice him because he was funny, although he would say today that I secretly had a crush on the Physical Therapist. (no comment :) One day he stopped me as I was walking into the building and he was leaving. He introduced himself and asked me what had happened. He had torn his ACL playing soccer and had surgery. We chatted for a bit and then I left. Not too many days had passed when the Physical Therapist Assistant contacted me and asked me if she could have my permission to give him  my phone number. I asked why he wanted it and she said that he wanted to ask me a question. I had NO idea what he would want to ask me. Can you say CLUELESS??? So he called and we talked for hours. Even though we were very different it did feel like we had known each other forever. He asked me to go to a concert in Austin. The only reason this happened was because my dad was out of town! HA! We hit it off, married a year later, and moved to Dallas. Yes, this small town girl moved to BIG D. We have been married for 21 years. Transitioning to Dallas and away from my family and friends was hard at times and it is true what they say. You can take the girl out of the country, but you can never take the country out of the girl. This guy has inspired, encouraged, loved me unconditionally, cared for me, and challenged me to do things I didn't know were possible. Thank you, Kevin for always being there for me. "You're all I need, my love, my Valentine." (one of the songs that was in our wedding)

See you later, Grana! 1/31/20 ❤️

On Friday, 1/24/20 my 97 year old Grana got to go be with Jesus, something she was really looking forward to. I can’t imagine what the reunion between she and my Gpa or her son, Skipper must have been like. As a believer we grieve, but we grieve with hope. I already miss her so incredibly much. When I had some exciting news to share she was always at the top of my list of people to share it with. She was a faithful prayer warrior and prayed me through so many obstacles over the last 43 years. She was filled with God’s love and grace. I went to visit my family the weekend before she passed away. I got to spend two whole days with her and that was a huge blessing to me. She waved goodbye to me as normal. She would always stand at the door and watch me leave. As I drove away I  was overcome with emotion and couldn’t fight back the tears, something that doesn’t normally occur as I leave. It has been tough to say goodbye, so we are saying see you later. She will be waiting for us and then I will receive more Grana hugs. As we were about to hang up the phone I would say, “I love you,” but she would always end with, “I love you more.”

LOVE

February is one of my favorite months of the year. God's love is so amazing and sometimes I need to be reminded of that. I fail him time and time again, but he still meets me where I am and loves me unconditionally.  I'm so thankful for God's goodness and grace. I need to look at others the way Jesus looks at them, with LOVE. Why is this so hard to do and so easy to say? Lord, help me to see others through your eyes. I want to judge less, and love MORE. When I try to do this without you I fail, but I know that with your help anything is possible. I need to be mindful every. single. day. that Jesus loves everyone, no one is exempt. I want to do all things with love, even while driving. ;)  They will know us by our love. There is nothing too big for God, there's no sin too great. Run to the Father. He's here for you with arms wide open. Remember as you go about your day today Jesus loves you and so do I! This has become one of my fave songs.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy February everyone! Love BIG!😍

"Beloved let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." 1 John 4:7-8 "And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16 "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Abide in my love." John 15:9 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Mark 12:30-31