It's the Little Things- Scrabble Messages

Sitting on our old piano we have a Scrabble rack along with a jar full of Scrabble letters. I change the message every few days and usually it says something seasonal (HE IS RISEN) or some sort of statement (BLESSED).

Occasionally Madison will change the message. Right before Dory and her family came to Texas in June, I saw Madison standing over at the piano digging through the jar for letters. She said "Don't look!" so I thought she was putting some sort of fabulous message like WELCOME or their last name to welcome Dory's family to our home.

But obviously I had forgotten the silliness and randomness of my adorable 13 year old.

This was the message:

Madison is visiting her dad this week and I miss her like crazy. Each time I pass by that Scrabble rack, I smile thinking of how much I love that silly girl and how blessed I am to have her for a daughter. A little thing that reminds me of a HUGE blessing.

It's the Little Things- Toothbrush Tradition

As I came home last night from a wonderful evening with some sweet friends- both old and new- I was greeted by this sight on the bathroom counter that always makes me smile.

Since the day we were married over 7 years ago, Tony and I have had a toothbrush tradition.

It's simply that whoever gets ready for bed first puts toothpaste on the other's toothbrush.

This may seem like a silly thing to do but is something I absolutely love.

We put the toothpaste on the other's toothbrush first, before our own,

as a reminder to put their needs before our own.

If I'm out late it always seems like a big "I love you" sitting on the counter

and it's something I truly miss when we are apart.

(As an added bonus it's a great way to make sure not to go to bed angry

because it's hard to put toothpaste on a toothbrush when you are mad.

Well, without squeezing it all over the place :) )

go

It's the Little Things

It's so easy to become discontent in today's world. With the economy the way it is, with the unemployment rate sky high, and with money tighter than normal, it's hard to not worry and become anxious about the state of our finances.

But God reminds us in Philippians 4:16 to

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

So I've decided to work to consciously be happy and content in all that I have.

Because truly, I AM blessed!!

So for the next 30 days I'm going to take and post a picture of something that makes me happy each day. It could be some bargain I've purchased, it could be something I've made, it could be something I have been given, or it could just be something I see that makes me happy. It will just be a reminder to me to be thankful for everything- even the little things that God has blessed me with.

Day 1

This is a picture of what Belle looks like every evening as we eat dinner.

She sits on the bench at our table and lays her head down-

staring intently at each of us as we eat.

It is so stinkin' cute and so stinkin' pitiful!

(Of course this sweet face usually gets some sort of treat from the table before each meal is over! )

Cookie Dough Pie (aka The Easiest Pie EVER)

When I saw this recipe on Big Red Kitchen I thought to myself, no way is that any good, it's way too easy. But on Father's Day I decided to give it a shot and oh my goodness- it is yummy and simple and sinfully good!



You need only 4 simple ingredients:



-a 15.25 ounce package chocolate chip cookies (I used Kroger brand Chips Ahoy type cookies)

-either an 8 ounce or a 12 ounce container of Cool Whip (again, I used the Kroger brand)

-2 cups milk (I used skim b/c it's what I normally buy)

-chocolate syrup



Pour two cups of milk into a bowl. Dunk cookies in the milk, shake off excess milk, and layer in a 9 inch pie plate- breaking cookies to fill any gaps. It is important to leave the cookies in the milk for a bit so they get a little mushy- but not so long that they completely fall apart. You definitely want to make sure to shake off the extra milk so that you don't end up with a big puddle of milk in your pie. Once the first layer is done, cover with a light layer of Cool Whip. Repeat layers twice- making the last layer of Cool Whip thicker to cover all cookies completely. Decorate the top of the pie with chocolate syrup. Place in freezer for 2-3 hours before serving. Set pie on counter to thaw a bit before serving.



This was so simple and yet so yummy- I will absolutely be trying it again soon- with different types of cookies. I think next I'll have to try oatmeal cookies for my sweet daughter who loves them!

Praying for Maggie Lee

My friend Jinny's daughter-Maggie Lee was on a church bus on their way to camp on Sunday morning from Shreveport, Louisiana when the bus had a blowout. The bus flipped three times killing one young man and injuring many others. Maggie Lee received head trauma and was flown to Jackson, Mississippi. She has serious head injuries and has had a lung collapse. She has fluid on her lungs, her heart has stopped once already, her brain is swelling, and she is not stable enough at this time to have the brain surgery she needs to save her life.

Please be in prayer for Maggie Lee and for her parents Jinny and John.

Please pray for their strength, hope, peace, and healing.

Our God CAN do amazing things.

Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life. God's Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other's spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

Ephesians 6:13-18

(The Message)

Things I Learned on My Summer Vacation

Road trips are always so fun and Madison and I had a ball traveling to visit my sweet friend Dory and her precious family. We traveled about 1,826 miles, listened to 3.5 books on CD, made only 6 potty/gas/food stops, sent lots of text messages, and took almost 900 pictures.

Besides having a wonderful and fabulous time, I also learned a few things on my trip.

I learned........................................................

• Madison can sleep for a long time in the car. A LONG time.
  




• You should NEVER tell your friends an old nick name you HATE WITH A WHITE HOT PASSION unless you WANT them to call you it. ALL THE STINKIN TIME.
  




• Silly face pictures are fun no matter how old you are!
  




• Movies are ALOT cheaper at home than in other places. ALOT. (hence the reason I go to the movies all the time!)
  




• Taking pictures of a sweet baby with my new camera is SO fun!
  




• Small towns have awesome antique stores with good prices! I bought some old shutters and an old window and already have Tony working on projects using both of them! :)
  




• Doing things outside in states where it is NOT 100+ degrees in the summer time is actually fun!
  




• My car gets GREAT gas mileage on the highway. 30.85 miles to the gallon. Woo hoo!
  




• My favorite time with Dory on every trip is our early in the morning chats when no one else is awake. We do it when we are both at home- via MSN Messenger- but it's so NOT the same.
  




• The roads in Arkansas are BUMPY!
  




• Texas and Kentucky are WAY too stinkin far away from each other. I'm trying to think of a way to move them closer together. Any suggestions?
  




• Dory's husband and I are alot alike. ALOT. (He says I am the male version of him and I think he might be right!)
  




• When you are in a dark cave and someone takes your picture with a bright flash, STOP and wait till you can see again before moving or else you will end up with a huge painful bump on your head where you bumped your head on the rock. Hard. (Still have the bump to prove this one- almost a week later. What a dork.)
  







• Dory can fall asleep anywhere and at anytime. (I am so jealous of this fact!)
  




• Madison and I both have way too many stupid human tricks. Seriously. Are we freaks?
  




• There are some weird people in gas stations in Tenn. The old Indian man who hit on me was creepy. CREEPY.
  




• I enjoy ignoring my GPS system sometimes and telling it NO. Since I rarely tell people no so maybe this is my way of rebelling?
  




• Dory's girls Beebo and Luby are so sweet and so much fun. I love those girlies!
  




• Dory snorting when she laughs is a guaranteed way to make me start laughing. Every single time.
  




• My OCD tendencies are rubbing off on Dory- she now has a Swiffer in her new van after she used to laugh at me for having one in my car! LOVE that!
  





• I have successfully addicted Dory's family to Sonic. :)
  




• Our three girls are so creative and can turn anything- even a bird that died next to the swimming pool- into something fun. (After naming him and bringing him home (in my Sonic cup) they held a funeral for him, complete with a will reading, casket, eulogy, burial, headstone, and flowers.)
  








• Dory is truly a blessing and a gift from God. I know that I did not do anything to deserve a friend like her, but I thank God daily for her. She is fun and silly and smart and goofy and honest and I love her so very much! Thank you for a wonderful time Dory!
  
  
  

The Three Amigos

These three girls have had a ball this week.

Laughing, playing, making lots of funny faces and goofing around.

Sweet friends are truly a blessing from God!

It's a BOY!

On Sat. we dropped by Dory's sisters farm to visit some of her sweet animals. She had alpacas, miniature donkeys, bunnies, and miniature horses. They were absolutely adorable and we had a great time seeing them all.

At one point we were in a pen with two mama horses, their two babies, and a little male horse named Tiny. Tiny kept getting between us and the other horses- and kept trying to show off for the ladies. (We wondered if perhaps he had "small man syndrome" :)

As we stood there petting and watching the horses, Tiny went potty.

If you have ever seen a male horse go potty, you know that certain things stretch out during that process.

Now on a regular horse it is not very noticeable.

However, on a miniature horse, it is VERY noticeable.

So noticeable you can NOT miss it.

As soon as it happened, Madison turned to me with very large eyes and said

"Hey mom, did you see that? That is definitely a BOY horse. "

We laughed and Dory said

"Yes, that's where the saying "hung like a horse" comes from!"

Madison whipped around and looked at us and said

"Hung like a horse? You mean they HANG them from that?"

Dory and I burst out laughing and then tried to explain the meaning of the expression.

A little while later while Madison and I were separated from the group, I tried to explain to her more about what she had seen.

I said "Honey, when boys wake up in the morning or when they get excited, their boy part gets larger."

She said "When they get excited? You mean like when they get a present or something?"

I said "Um..........well...........yes...............kinda like that."

I think we will leave that conversation till we get home and let Daddy field that one. :)

Fun Times

We are having a ball in Kentucky and I've taken a million pictures

to remember our fabulous time!

Here are a few of my favorites so far!

A Fourth of July Prayer

Dear Lord,

There is no greater feeling of liberation than to experience this freedom from sin and death that you have provided for me through Jesus Christ. Today my heart and my soul are free to praise you. For this I am very thankful.

On this Independence Day I am reminded of all those who have sacrificed for my freedom, following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ. Let me not take my freedom, both physical and spiritual, for granted. May I always remember that my freedom was purchases with a very high price. My freedom cost others their very lives.

Lord, today, bless those who have served and continue to give their lives for my freedom. With favor and bounty meet their needs and watch over their families.

Help me to live my life in a way that glorifies you, Lord. Give me the strength to be a blessing in another's life today, and grant me the opportunity to lead others into the freedom that can only be found in knowing Christ.

Amen

On the Road Again

Maddie and I have been on the road again to Kentucky to visit my sweet friend Dory and her wonderful family. We made a quick stop at my in-laws house where we had a great visit and then spent yesterday driving the rest of the way to Kentucky. It was a fun trip- one where after much discussion and begging (and the wise advice of many friends on FB), I finally agreed and let Madison sit in the front seat. It was a really fun trip and we had a good time laughing and giggling along the way.

The weather here is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L and cool. The high today is supposed to be 85.

Seriously.

85??

That's 20 degrees cooler than the high at home! Love it!

Looking forward to a week of fun, friends, and lots of laughter!

A Wake Up Call- Part 2

I wrote last week about how the show on Oprah last week touched me. It's truly a story that I have thought about countless times since watching it and I could NOT get Brenda Slaby (the mother in the story) out of my mind. Every time she crossed my mind I thought about how brave she was to tell her story and what a blessing her sharing her tragedy was to me and so many others.



I considered leaving her a comment on the Oprah website but was fearful she might not read them all given the volume of comments and the ugliness of many of those comments. I kept thinking how much I wanted to let her know what it meant to me- and could not get it out of my mind.



So the other morning after writing my blog about her story, I was on Facebook and decided to look for her. I put in her name and immediately pulled up her profile and picture. I was thrilled and immediately sent her a short message. I basically just told her thank you for sharing her story, told her how much it touched and changed me, mentioned I had blogged about it, and told her I was praying for her and her family. I just wanted her to know that she was making a difference. I clicked send and hoped and prayed that she would read it.



Well read it she did and then she responded. Her message said:



Shannon,



Your blog was amazing. I may never understand why this happened to me, but I want to honor Cecilia's memory by doing positive things in her memory. I appreciate your comments. I hope that you will always remember my baby girl and remind young mothers you know how short life can be. Kidsandcars.org is a great web site for parents to go to when looking for ideas to keep their kids safe in and around cars.



Brenda



I immediately went to kidsandcars.org and it is a fabulous site full of information, stories, and links. On the site there was a link to a fabulous story in the Washington Post by Gene Weingarten.



Fatal Distraction



Please take a minute to read this truly wonderful article. It is touching and heart breaking and sheds light on the many complicated and misunderstood reasons these unthinkable deaths continue to happen.