a wednesday update = a bunch 'O nothin'

Well, I promised I would give you an update today.  So, here it is.  I cannot remember if I promised profound and inspirational, but it's not.  And for that, I apologize.  Anyway, here we go...

I have been talking a lot about exercise and running lately.  Not only has it been good for me because of the health benefits, but running has served as an amazing therapy tool.   It hasn't been easy.  In fact, it took me probably two whole months before I even began to enjoy it.  Now, I do.  I run every other day and I look forward to it.  I am a part of a runner's website through Facebook and they share inspirational workout quotes from time to time.  I thought that I would share a few with you that keep me inspired.

 This one is SO TRUE!  As much as I love to run, I COULD NOT even attempt it without my music.  I usually listen to Pandora on my phone. I can't stand it when a commercial comes on.  Music is ESSENTIAL to a good run!

 This one is just FUNNY!

 I have been to actual therapy.  All it did was confirm how true this statement is.

 

 



I have declared this one as my new life motto.  My circumstances make me sweat, no doubt.  But, they WILL NOT beat me!!!  I WILL keep moving forward.  And I WILL win by becoming a better person than I was before.

 

 

 

This week has been a really tough one for me.  For reasons that I will not share publicly.  I cried through almost my whole run the other night.  When I came through the front door and sat down, these two blessings jumped up in my lap.  Although I had only been gone for about 45 minutes, they were so excited to see me.  I thanked God then for His small reminders of His love for me.  When you are shoulder deep in a pool of blessings, it's hard to stay immersed under the wave of depression. 

 

 

 

Special Olympics took place this past week.  It is always a good time.  This is a picture of me and my friend Angie.  It was SO STINKIN' HOT!

 

 

 

That is all the random stuff I wanted to share.  I have pictures from the babies' birthday party that I still have to upload.  Plus, I want to share the things God shared with me through my pastor and the book of Acts.  When I take a "break" from updating the blog, I really get behind.  And as I said, this has been a REALLY tough week for me.  I walked the fence of depression.  Thankfully, I never TOTALLY fell into the pit, but I came close.  If it weren't for my family and best friends I seriously do not know what I would do.  I can tell you where I would probably be most of the time....in bed with my head under the covers.  At least for the next year.  There are SO MANY things about this life that I do not understand.  I am working really hard to learn that I may not understand them in this life and that is okay. 

 

I have to be honest with you for a minute.  In the midst of my most recent trial, I have a lot of well meaning people who offer advice to me.  Most of them cannot understand why I choose to handle the circumstances the way I do.  Most of the time I cannot answer that question.  When people hurt us, especially intentionally, the most natural reaction is to REACT in a negative manner.  And quite honestly, that would be the easiest thing to do.  God reminded me Sunday through Scripture of why I am handling things the way I am...

 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control."  Galations 5:22-23

 

 

The truth is, no matter how badly I hurt some days, I love God MORE than I hate what has happened to me.

 

That's all for now.  HAPPY HUMP DAY!  





be back soon

There has been a lot going on this week in our lives.  I am taking a very SHORT break from cyber world.  I will be back Wednesday. 

quotes

I sat down today and began writing about the passage from the book of Acts that spoke to me at church on Sunday evening.  I wasn't able to complete it.  Even as I sit here now, I am writing/deleting and starting all over again multiple times.  I guess my mind is just not present with me tonight.

It's been a rough day. 

Hopefully tomorrow I will have something more profound and inspiring for you to read.  So, check back.  For now, I am going to share with you some quotes that in their own way sum up how I am feeling today.

 

I have others, but truthfully, I am having a hard time staying awake.  I am emotionally drained. 

I'm going to check out for tonight.... check back tomorrow or Saturday for pictures from Preston and Lindi's birthday and hopefully the piece on ACTS!! 

HAPPY EARLY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

updates, pictures & what's to come

Wow, what a Monday.   I have to admit, coming off of the kind of Spring Break we had here at our house (sick, sick, sick!) I was ready to get back to work.  And that is saying a LOT!!  

Here are a few updates from our  household:

• Laurie is back at work in full swing and doing a great job.  We are all very proud of her determination and hard work.  She is definitely a hero of mine. She's been through a literal hell and is finally walking (although sometimes painfully) on the other side! 
• Preston is doing great.  Mean as a snake, but cute as a button!  We love him.
• JP (as most of you already keep up with) is also doing fairly well.  He continues to do well in 1st grade.  He likes his doctor that we see each month.  I am, however, thinking of calling a therapist for him.  Someone he can talk with on a weekly basis to help him sort through his emotions.  He continues to be very up and down emotionally.  As any child in his shoes would be.  I am proud most days of how he handles himself.  Your prayers for him will be appreciated.  He has a long road ahead of him in trying to understand his circumstances.

I have picked up my devotional manuscript for the first time in eight months and am putting the final touches on it.  A handful of them needed scripture references and prayers.  Once I am done (hopefully in the next week or two) I will begin my search for an agent.  Please keep this in your prayers as well.  As I have learned with our children's book, it is a very LONG and tedious process!

 

One of the many things I am obsessed about love about Facebook are the inspirational pictures that my friends post.  I found this one this morning and LOVED it.  How true.  I realize I have shared my feelings on this topic FAR MORE than any of you care to read about, but oh well.  I am very passionate about this subject these days.  So, here is YET ANOTHER shout out to my BESTIES!!  You all know who you are!  I love you guys more than life.  Literally.  (And through my storm I've even made one or two new friends that I am very thankful for.)  God is very good.

Sunday, I played hooky from church.  I woke up, crawled out of bed, got JP ready for his dad to pick him up for church and then I slowly crawled back into bed.  I began to cry.  I never know when it's going to hit me.  Sunday morning, it hit me like a truck.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to move.  I was overcome with sadness.  I have decided that when times like this occur, rather than fight it, I am just going to roll with it.  So I did.  My dad came in and consoled me as best he could.  But, honestly there is not much anyone can do to help.  I made the decision not to get ready and go to church and rolled back over to drift back off to sleep.  All day.  That's when my Heavenly Father woke me, by way of a text message from a friend.  The message read, "Good morning, beautiful, get out of bed and GO TO NEWSPRING TODAY!!! This sermon is for you!!"  No joke!  Those are the exact words.  This friend was sitting in the service and sent this message to me.  They had NO IDEA I was still in bed!  That's how God works.  So I did force myself up and got dressed.  I asked my family to leave little Preston at home and we went to Furman.  It is AMAZING what spending the day outdoors in the sunshine can do for your emotional health.  Needless to say, I went to the six o'clock service at Newspring.  And yes, it was for me!  So, thank You God for using my friend to speak to me.  You always know exactly what I need at the exact moment I need it most.

Here are a few pics of us at Furman...

A few other things from this week... we had a family fun night where we ate dinner and the boys worked puzzles together.  It was really cute.  Friday night, I hung out with my best girl, Kathi and her family.  We watched a movie and LAUGHED REALLY HARD!  It was a wonderful night.  JP and I went on a picnic lunch Saturday.  Here are a few of those pics...

 And this is my boy and I on our way to church Sunday night.  Love him!  (And his blue popsicle mouth!)

 

 
 
Well, that is about it for our week/weekend.  Here is a sneak peek at what's to come!
 

 
 

I am REALLY excited to share with you what God shared with me in church through the pastor's message.  It came from the book of Acts (one of my favorite books) and it was an AMAZING word!
 







 
And finally, spending time with my BEST friends (who are family) at their house at Pawley's Island this summer!  We do not have a vacation planned, but between lake Keowee and Pawley's, it's going to be a GREAT summer! 
 
 
Alright, I know this was long, but hopefully you survived!  I hope everyone has had a happy Monday. At least it's over.  And not that I am counting, but I have about THIRTY EIGHT days of school left before the door hits me on the way OUT!!!  Woohoo!  And special olympics is this Wednesday, so there is alot to look forward to.
 
 In the words of TIGGER,  TaTa for now!!


fyi

Hey guys!  My plan, (and we all know how MY plans work out), is to update the site tonight when my little guy has gone to bed.  Hopefully that will work out.  I have pictures from the weekend that I want to post at some point and several thoughts to share that have inspired me recently. 

So, continue to check in!!  Hopefully by tomorrow (or late tonight) there will be something new for you to read!!

HAPPY MONDAY!

party crasher

Most of the time I am fine.  Really.  I think that I do a pretty good job of functioning day in and day out under the heavy blanket of my unfortunate circumstances. 

Today has not really been one of those days.

 I contribute today's emotions to the fact that EVERYONE under our roof has passed the nasty stomach bug around for over a week now.  Thankfully I have not fallen victim, but it has not been what I would call a picnic to obsessively clean up the house and help care for the patients.  It is because of this wave of sickness that JP and I had to cancel our plans to spend the week at the beach.  So, here I sit on my bed.  Sad.  I personally accepted an invitation (from Satan, no doubt) to a Pity Party.  I am the only guest.  It is a big, lonely room.  The only music playing is the silent, but deafening, whispers of the Snake himself.  He knows the perfect lyrics to share at a time like this.  And make no mistake, it is no coincidence that the invite always arrives when you are at your lowest point.  That is what makes it almost impossible to decline. 

I love parties.  I love music, dancing and most of all, laughing with friends.  While I have certainly been to my share of parties over the years, I have never experienced what they call "party crashers."  You know, those guests who show up uninvited and obnoxiously make their presence known.  I can only imagine that if I were the host of such a party, a party crasher would be sort of like the stomach bug at my house.  Unwelcome and extremely frustrating. 

I was thankful for the interruption to my pity party today.  It came in the form of God's Word and believe me, it cleared the host out of the room faster than I could blink.  Funny how Satan is not so powerful when God enters a room. 

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."  John 15:11

 

The commentary for this verse in my Bible reads as follows:

 

" When things are going well, we feel elated. When hardships come, we sink into depression. But true joy transcends the rolling waves of circumstance.  Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ. When our lives are intertwined with His, He will help us walk through adversity without sinking into debilitating lows and manage prosperity without moving into deceptive highs.  The joy of living with Jesus Christ daily will keep us level-headed, no matter how high or low our circumstances."

 

 

 

Needless to say, the party is over.  Thank You, Jesus, for crashing in and carrying me out when You did!  



home sick

And it's not because I am out of town, BECAUSE I AM NOT!!!  (That is me yelling, by the way!)  My sweet baby woke up this morning at 3:00 am sick.  So did Laurie and Preston.  (Mom and dad have been sick all week). 

This was us yesterday...

All smiles because we were on our way to Pawley's Island early this morning.

And this is me today...

Yes, I have actually shed one or two tears.  Don't get me wrong, I know that sickness is a part of life and it'll pass, but MAN I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS WEEK!!! 

Oh well.  The good news is, my friends that we were spending the week with have a house there, so we are invited any other time we want to go.  We are already planning another trip.  Or two.

Or three.

Well, that's it for now.  I will keep you updated as to how everyone is feeling.  For now,  I'm just praying that it doesn't hit me next.