Mini Reunion and Birthday Wishes

So this weekend was another busy one! For lunch after church I decided to go visit my sister Leslie at work. She and I work opposite schedules so I usually try to stop by to say hello!! Here we are at good old Texas Roadhouse, the old stompin grounds! When I walked in I had my sunglasses on and one of her servers told Leslie "that girl looks just like you except with sunglasses" Ha! She didn't know Leslie had a twin.

The other REALLY fun thing we did this weekend was have a mini reunion with some girls from high school! We met up in Addison and had a BLAST catching up and talking about old times. This was towards the end of the night so there were quite a few people missing but you get the idea. Hopefully we will try to do that more often because nine years is way to long to go without having some good laughs that our group does!!!

Friday we met up with the Petty side of the family to celebrate Dave's older brother's birthday, everyone was there with the exception of Uncle Corey who lives in Lubbock. It was good times and the kids had a blast, Sherry being the good Ooma she is brought lots of stuff to keep the kids entertained so the adults could mingle. This is Brenna, CJ and Kristen's daughter and she is such a cutie pie!

All four grandkids: Ethan, Bailey, Braiden, and Brenna. They were really into that fireplace, they kept taking turns with some other kids near by too.

Dave and I, we have to get a picture, we are being horrible at taking pictures of our first year together, shame on me!

Melanie, Big Chris (the birthday boy) and their son Ethan. Which by the way Melanie has her own candle company which I love!! All sorts of different scents and things, check it out if your interested: http://www.princesslaniecandleco.com/

So here's to another weekend which flew by and onto another work week! Let's pray it goes fairly quickly because I have TONS of things to do this week and I am ready for some sleep and relaxation.........maybe sometime in May I will find some time to take a nap!

Daily Devotional-from Proverbs 31 Ministries

Scribbled-On Dreams
24 Mar 2009Marybeth Whalen"Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you have planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare." Psalm 40:5 (NIV)Recently I learned that a book that I had given up on was miraculously going to be published after all. I was amazed at God's power and His timing. I was ecstatic that He opened doors that I thought were shut forever. As I dug out the original notebook I had once designated to hold the papers and notes I would need for this project, I was shocked to find that almost every page in that notebook was scribbled on by my youngest child. Her artwork made every page unusable! I chuckled to myself as I closed the notebook and went in search of another one to us e instead.Later I reflected on my decision to hand over that notebook to my child.

What had made me do that? I knew that it was because the project was, in my estimation, worthless, forgotten. The notebook represented something that would never be. It epitomized the death of a dream. Why not let my daughter fill in the pages with her toddler scribbles? I must have reasoned that nothing else would ever fill those pages!And yet we serve a God who can blow new life into a dead dream. I had forgotten all about the book I once yearned to write. I had moved on in search of a new dream. But God had not forgotten. His plan was different—and longer—than mine. His vision was further reaching. His outcome never consisted of me writing my dream off as worthless and unachievable. Instead He wanted me to trust in Him even when the situation looked hopeless.

Do you have a dream that looks dead from where you are standing? Have you thrown in the towel, chalke d your efforts up to experience and moved on? Just don't move so far that God can't bring you back to the dream when He is ready. Don't fill in the pages of your notebook with hopeless scribbles and not give Him room to fill the pages with His Word, words of life and hope and vision. Yes, surrender your dreams—holding onto them lightly and always keeping His plans as your purpose, ready to lay down anything He asks because no dream is more important than Him. But also remember that God loves to bring about the unexpected, throwing us little surprise parties that bring joy to His Father's heart.

My notebook now serves as a reminder—in childlike script—of God's ability to overcome the impossible and open doors that were once slammed shut. I wouldn't trade those scribbled-on pages for anything! Now I look forward to filling the pages of a new notebook with all new dreams. Dreams that were handed back to me when I least expected it.

Dear Lord, please help me to trust You when things don't work out and I have to surrender my dreams. Help me to rest in the fact that You see things from a much bigger vantage point than I ever could. Help me to know that You always have my best interests in mind, even when You close doors I wanted open. And help me Lord to be ever mindful of Your power that is always at work—even when I can't see it. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Proverbs 31 Ministries616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road, Matthews, NC 28105877-P31-HOME (877-731-4663)

Why are weekends always busier than the week?

Isn't it funny how when we are busy running around doing things we wish we were at home laying on the couch relaxing but when we do that we are bored wishing we were out doing something??

This weekend was so busy for me!! Lots of driving, which I hate. If I could hire a driver I would, well it's traffic I hate not driving. And since Dallas is now #4 for the worst traffic in America it appears I am in the right spot!

Friday was spent at the house doing homework getting ready for my math lab Saturday morning, Saturday we were watching Miss Breanna Lee (my niece) for CJ and Kristen because they both had to work. Brenna is just the cutest little thing! We watched Dora and had some breakfast before Uncle Dave decided to get up so I could head off to school. When I returned, Brenna had gone across to street to jump in the bounce house the neighbors had, Uncle Dave took her. So by then it was lunch time and we laid down for a little bit.

Saturday night I met Jenna at the Roadhouse in The Colony to visit with Brian (Leslie's boyfriend who is the kitchen manager out there). Jenna just moved into a new apartment so we had some sister time along with a sleep over!! It was nice, we never get to do that. Sunday morning we got up and ate some lunch and then I headed over to my friend's house for her son's first birthday! LOTS of people there!! Talan got lots of good presents!!!

Sunday some of Dave's family from New York were in town although I had left the party to try and meet them, I didn't make it. So next time! Sunday we had a cook out with Dave's friend Craig over at CJ and Kristen's, we played with the kids and ate some good food! By that night I was pooped!!!

I would like to ask those of who do my read my blog to pray for my friend. Her nephew was diagnosed with brain cancer and has had two surgeries so far to remove the tumor. I won't go to far into it but please just pray her family and Ben (her nephew). It's a very stressful time right now as she is also getting married in a few weeks so she is needing some endurance and encouragement. Thank you so much!

As she told me this, it just reminds me of hard and stressful life can be. It breaks my heart to think of any child going through that, all we can do is pray, be positive, and give our worries to God and know that he will take care of us. Over the past few weeks though I have really found the power of prayer and firmly believe God answers those prayers. Maybe not always the way we want them to be answered, but he does.

Finding your passion

So the theme of church for the past three weeks has been "one month to live" and the pastor really spoke today about finding your passion. It was very interesting to me because that is really what I have been praying and questioning myself about lately, what is my passion? Isn't it funny how sometimes God just knows what it is you need to hear, needless to say I am still praying about it and know that everything will work out. I believe I know what my passion is, I just don't know if I ready to share it with everyone yet (still needs some thought ;)

Anywho, I found just about the BEST chicken fried chicken recipe EVER! I'm a horrible wife though cooking that stuff for Dave, shame on me! But sometimes some fried chicken, potatoes, and biscuits are just needed!

Another highlight of the day was the Jon and Kate plus 8 marathon they had running, I love that show. Kate is a little (insert ugly word) at times but Jon cracks me up! While we were watching it Dave and I discussed the whole kid thing, we decided as long as we are trying by the time he is 31 we should be good. Isn't that funny how people plan stuff like that? We have only been married a little over 4 months but sometimes it does feel like people automatically think you are suppose to want kids, especially since we are a little older than most people who get married. Dave is going to be 30 in September, isn't that crazy!! Until then, I'll settle on being the fun cool aunt to my adorable niece and nephew.

August Rush, definitely worth seeing and Australia was alright not horrible but not super great. Although Hugh Jackman sure did just happen to have his shirt off alot during the movie so that wasn't so bad :)

Decisions, decisions

As you know, I started my last class for my BSM degree yesteryday. Five weeks (hopefully I'll pass, that would be my luck) until I am officially done with my bachelor's degree and get to move on to something else, although that is just the problem for me. I can't decide what to do!

I'm wanting to continue on with my Master's at UOP, free tuition HELLO?? I'm debating on my Master's of Management/Human Resource Management or the Master's of Education in Adult Education and Training. I'm leaning more towards the adult education and training, I think I would use that more in the future.

I have a meeting with a lady tomorrow about some work in a women's organization, so wish me luck! This could turn out to be a really great thing if all goes well. This company does seminars and trainings tailored for women in business, all sorts of trainings from negotations to leadership seminars. HOPEFULLY, there is something I can do with them and get my foot in the door. I would LOVE to do some public speaking especially for women about success and following your dreams. But we will see, I'll keep you posted!

Emily was in town and we hung out Saturday night, it was fun! I absolutely love that she and I can go days, months, years without talking and things aren't strange or different when we get back together. We have been friends for like 12 years now, it's insane to think of how much has happened to each us during that time. She is doing very well in California, working for PetSmart at the pet hotel and loving being out there! I feel a trip to Cali coming up sometime in the near future.......

I also worked the Race for Wishes at the Make-A-Wish foundation, it went very well. I'm not sure how much they actually raised but there were many people out there supporting the organization. What I thought was really cool were all the families out there doing it together. What a great way to show your kids the importance of volunteering and being a part of something bigger than ourselves.

Unconditional Love

I can't figure out why the picture won't get larger, oh well. I had to blog about this article I read today, it came out of the Midlothian LIVING magazine written by a lady named Cindy Burch. It was all about the relationship with your dog and how they truly affect your life in a special way. Here is a piece, the piece that made me tear up:

"I truly love dogs and believe when they die, dogs go to heaven. They are the salt of the earth and the best among us--a reflection of God's unconditional love. They are faithful and true to the last beat of their heart. A quote by an unknown author says it best: "If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend, if you can face the world without lies and deceit, if you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics, then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog." (Burch, 2009)

I have the two best dogs, they are always happy to see me every morning and afternoon when I get home from work, they are loving no matter what, they always want to play, get pet, or just sit by me. I love how Buddy wants to lick your face all the time, how he wakes me up in the mornings by laying on my pillow, I love how C'Mere will fetch all day long, follow me all through the house, and no matter what give me those sappy brown eyes that say "please pet me." Buddy prances while C'Mere loves to play, Buddy would rather lay inside and C'Mere could play in the water all day long.

To any dog owner you will understand this post, they are a true reflection of God: UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, no matter how mean you are to them, neglect them, play with them, spank them, forget to feed them, make them sleep on the floor, anything. I asked Dave the other day if he thought C'Mere and Buddy would be in heaven with us when we died and all I can say is how could they not be. Dogs don't have to say anything for us to know what they are thinking, they when we're sick, know when we're sad, know when we're happy, excited, relaxed, etc. They never leave your side.........

Unless your name was Little Bit and a weenie dog that always wanted to run away, we couldn't ever figure out that dog ;)