dear journal

(2.27.12) spending time with anna yesterday was a good time. you know it's funny we sometimes don't realize the good time that we're having until it's over. maybe that's why people look back when they are older and say "those were the good old days." in reality, the "good old days" are right now. why do I have to look at a picture after the memory is already past to realize that? maybe i'm so caught up in looking for what fun i'm gonna do next that I completely miss what special time is going on right now. you know a lot of people want to grow up and move on to something bigger and better... they want to do whatever is next now. they want to turn sixteen so they can get their license. they want to turn eighteen so they can move out. they want to turn twenty-one because that's when they will graduate from college. honestly, i am glad i'm where i am right now. i am loving this time of my life. if i'm constantly in the future, i wouldn't be like that. so look at the pictures and enjoy reliving the memories, but don't miss the moments made right now.

{give + aways}
....goodbye, yellow brick road
much love, illy

he's my valentine

he runs with his little legs pumping. we're at church and his arms are outstretched. he is always willing to share a hug. this time is no different and he has something for me.
he unexpectedly gave me a Valentine puppy with a heart hanging out of it's mouth last year. i gave him a gaint sized bag of m&m's in return. this year, he asked to do it again.
he got me m&m's (my favorite), a hand picked red flower, crayon hearts, candy and a little valentine. the flower and valentine hang on the board in my room for all to see. they will be treasured forever, although the m&m's will not... they were quickly devoured by me. he's six years old and i asked him what i could get him for being my valentine. after giving him a few suggestions, he decided on a stuffed frog or dog and decided his favorite candy was skittles. i agreed and soon was shopping for his goodies. little did i know how hard it was to find a stuffed frog or dog for valentine's. after looking at several different places, i soon found one at hobby lobby. i excitedly give him his goodies, he gives me mine. our smiles are a mile wide...just me and my little valentine.

{last year}

{this year}

I'm hanging out at Breanne's blog this week.

{giveaways}
tunes and spoons
the happy hour (she's having five giveaways going on right now!)
miss indie
why girls are weird
much love, illy

we became friends

{talking to each other}

{the necklace she sent me}

her name is elisha. i follow hers and she follows mine. she giddy, me occasionally silly but mostly reserved. she uses lots of smileys in her posts. you can just tell she is an energetic person through her blog. soon we somehow begin emailing. we talk of Disney World and our trips there. we talk about anything. she firsts mentions me on her blog. elation is the feeling. she's sweet and knows how to make a girl feel good. as we are chatting on email one day, she wants to Skype. to meet face to face, she says. i'm at home and i'm a mess. i make an excuse, wanting to make this first impression-meeting a good one. we decide to take emailing a step further and become mail pals. i send her a little something, she blogs about it. happily surprised are the words to describe me. our friendship grows and she wants to call. i get nervous. a phone talking person i am not. she encourages like she always does to not be worried and the call is made. we talk for at least twenty minutes. i find her easy to talk to. a call is then scheduled for the next week. a new friend is made. what a great blog world we live in... acquaintances become more than that, they become friends. i'm thankful for my girl elisha.

udders and tantrums

 

"is this where the poop comes out?" the question leaves the four year old's mouth. we can't stop laughing. it's the toy cow's udders and we explain to him it's actually where the milk comes out. this kid is too cute and we have a class full of them. toby is my little buddy and i hold him this class time. he loves to be held and he likes to snuggle. one kid is new and he has temper tantrums. he pouts whenever he can't have his way... no, throws a fit. flailing himself about on the floor, i get down there with him and begin playfully crying too. he soon quiets as he watches me in amusement. i switch to snoring and try to keep myself from giggling as he stares at me with red face. a little girl stuffs her mouth with cherrios. she trys to fit just one more, we are reminded of Po on Kung Fu Panda 2 and burst out laughing. we sing Bible songs with all. their little hands pat the Bible, eyes attentive. as we play with them, sing of going to Bible class and Who made our eyes, i ponder how it's never too early to teach. the seed of His Word is planted and i can't wait to see what it will grow in their lives to become.

giveaways
famous in my own mind
why girls are weird
this little momma
diary of a beautiful soul

bland, yet beautiful

eat. go to the grocery store to buy more to eat more.

sleep. get up, live another couple hours, just to be tired again.

money. only to spend and be broke again days later.

teeth. brush them only to have stinkiness a few hours later after that meal is wolfed.

make-up. only to take it off hours before bedtime.

church. time flies from sunday and it's soon wednesday night Bible study.

write. only to feel empty and write more to fill.

exercise. then eat then get up and do it again the next day.

bed. make it up only to pull back the covers after nightfall and fall in.

iron. two weeks later and the pile will be bigger.

clean. dust will be back in two days.

blog. days pass and it's time to post another.

email. wait a day and the inbox will be overflowing.

full. only to hunger much the next day.

accomplish. tasks pile up faster than you can get them done.

birthday. you remembered it but wait a year and it's time again.

shop. only for the shirt to feel outdated months later.

shower. early morning you'll do it once more.

routine. something you do all the time that you mostly enjoy doing but just gets boring sometimes.

do you ever get tired of routine? eating? sleeping? showering? sometimes it just feels all the same and the same is just... bland.

what if God got tired of routine? we all know that He doesn't. when life gets tasteless, i'll just try a new brand of toothpaste, eat a different kind of cereal and change up the excercise routine. if God doesn't get tired of His job, He'll help me not to tire of the beautiful every day life He has given me. (pass the rasin bran, please.)

note: the above picture of mom and i doesn't really have anything to do with this post.

it was taken yesterday when she and i were delightfully treated to starbucks... all because

of a recent package with a starbucks gift card and other goodies from this lovely girl's generous

giveaway.

(although, sometimes a trip to starbucks is the perfect change from the every day)

{give + aways}
famous in my own mind
xoxo, rachel sayumi
kitty cats and airplanes
casey leigh
fashion and cookies

are you a camel?

it's freezing outside and we've been campaigning all day. every door on our county road has been knocked with hopes of them voting for my dad for county commissioner. the race is on and pop's signs are in people's yards everywhere. i drive him and the family from door to door, sometimes getting out and greeting, sometimes staying in the truck with marli. we're hungry and the idea of eating macalister's deli never sounded better. it's my favorite place to eat, we do so there at least once a week. this is evident when the friendly employees greet us and with recognition in their eyes. the girl who had houndstooth finger nail polish during football season months back comes around to refill our drinks. "oh! i haven't seen y'all in a while!" she hadn't been working lately and i missed her friendly attitude. she shows us her fingernails all glittery this time and we admire.

we cut up with the employees at the counter just like old friends. i come for my third refill of the night and the guy who fills it jokingly asks: "are you a camel?" i laugh and later dallas tells me i should have replied, "no, but are you an arabian?" that makes me laugh harder and i feel happy. at home we watch a hallmark movie by the blazing fire, the perfect ending to a perfect day.

(giveaways)
love stitched
lil miss imperfect
annie sauce
lee la la
gentri lee

more than hey

when i first saw him from a distance my heart sank. talking to people i didn't see very much was always nerve wracking for me. so the internal pow-wow began.

just say hey

you could just jog past

you should ask if he's been hunting lately

i was on my daily walk\jog and he was fixing the fence separating our properties. i circled on the wooded path twice before finally heading his direction, convincing myself to say more than just a few words.

he looked up as i approached. deep breath. clear throat. i tugged out my headphones and we exchanged greetings. i had thought up several questions to ask beforehand. i had one picked out to get the conversation moving but he surprisingly beat me to it.

"warm day isn't it?"

we exchanged small talk about the weather. i expressed my appreciation of him mending the barbwire fence and offered my help. he declined but solemnly said he had something he wanted me to tell momma and daddy. his father-in-law was in the ICU, had been for a week. he didn't have much longer and requested our prayers.

my heart dropped. what if i hadn't mustered up the courage to stop and talk? it would have been much more comfortable for me to have passed with a quick "hey." here was my neighbor who had a burden on his heart and i almost missed the opportunity to help just a little bit in lightening his load by listening...just because i was shy and didn't have boldness for a conversation. what if i had missed that?

i asked if there was anything my family could do. a meal. something. he said he'd keep us updated.

my heart was burdened but my steps were light as i walked away. burdened because i wanted to help, light because God had shown me that sometimes a quiet person needs to step up and be used for Him, no matter how far it takes me out of my comfort zone. i thought of other conversations missed when i hadn't said anything, what were those people going through that i had passed up because of my shyness? i hoped all future occasions would turn out just as this one.

because you just never know what others are going through.

giveaways
why girls are weird
casey leigh
much love, illy



valentines, friends and fun

 1) a new Valentine is added to the family this year. Dallas is happy and we are too.
2) handmade valentines is an old family tradition.
3) valentine cookies are so fun to make!

 1) a surprise tracing by me for Pop's on the dashboard... if only you could see the rest of the dirty truck ;)
2) bestie, Kayla, and me at church
3) a pencil balancing act on his nose...some people in Bible class are just so entertaining

1 and 2) two buddies reunite at the Freed Hardeman lectures in Tennessee                                                                                                   3) my new Vera Bradley clutch.... i think i like

 1 and 3) just don't get to see these friends enough.
2) my best, best, best, bestie Natalie. spending a few days with her was very much needed.

                                                                                                                                                                  



1 and 2) texting, phone calls, Arby's fries, headphones, laughing, silly faces and sleeping are very much a part of the drive home from Tennessee.


give + aways
cait.create.
the anonymous antagonist

rain players

the sky is gray and rain is possible. we hesitantly throw the saddles on the horses anyways. we start off down by the county road. the rain stays away so we have a hayday. laughing and joking, playing and prodding along, we soon make it to Posey's store. at Cook's old place, there is junk for sale and carports too. the rain comes and two sisters dismount. pulling the horses, under the carport of metal, we find shelter from the rain. people pass on the road and stare. this is a time to be our selves, we cut up and have a good time waiting for the rain to slow. it doesn't and we wonder how long we'll be there. our minds wander and we jokingly make up silly stories in our minds of what could happen. i think to ride the rain out, she wishes to wait a while. mom texts and asks us if we want to join the rest of the family for supper. we laugh and sister tells her there's a story to tell. she advises we are to go on home. so we do and the rain is thankfully stopped. mud puddles in the neighbors yard are all too tempting. we splash through them over and over fast as we can, horses legs soaked through. a memory is made and we're glad the rain didn't keep us away from making it. Macalister's deli and a movie concludes the night, another perfect weekend in the books.

(give+aways)

keeping up with the catelmo's
this little momma
little blue eyes
love stitched
the color issue
the {official} blog of elisha!
abcde
talk2thetrees

happy

a happy list.

bright envelopes stacked to send

random dude checking out his hair in the rear-view mirror driving down the road (made me giggle)

sister's blond moment last night

day in town spent with mom and gran

macalister's deli for lunch

new scarf to wear

driving thru my first car wash and doing okay (ha)

rediscovering the glories of writing in pencil

lightning mcqueen valentines (ka-chow, kaitlin)

answered prayer

{linking up with eryka at abcde and ashley at absolutely ashley}

(giveaways)

keep it classy, alabama

talk2thetrees

yellow bird, yellow beard

magnificent obsession

keep it classy, alabama (2)

miss indie designs

everyday emma