Glistening (aka sweating) - A Blessing

Anyone who has known me for any considerable amount of time will know that I LOVE my air conditioning. This Mama does not like being hot at all! I always blame my Dad for this - when you grow up with a mechanical father, you never had to suffer very long if there was an issue. Well, today is the first day of September but most Texans will swear it is still August, based on our weather. It was 103 today with humidity that made it feel like 105! UGH!!

Husband, A and I ventured out to the mall briefly this afternoon only to realize two things....1) there were WAY too many people at the mall and 2) it was so hot outside that it felt like the tops of my feet were burning within seconds in my flip-flops. We hurriedly returned home and have stayed here ever since. However, right around the time we were putting A to bed, we noticed it was rather warm in the house. Upon checking the thermostat, we saw that it was 81 degrees! That was not right. Husband checked the unit outside a couple of times and flipped the breaker, to no avail. Thankfully, we work for an industrial air-conditioning, security, power generation company so I called one of our managers on call and he quickly got a technician dispatched to come check our unit. It is currently 8:16 pm and it is quite dark outside but I am so thankful to know our air will be fixed shortly and that it is nothing compared to the trials and struggles some of the children adopted by the families of my favorite blogs  have gone through.

So as I sit here with a fan aimed right at me, knowing help is almost here, I remind myself of how blessed I am....that I truly have more than anyone could ask for. It really amazes me how quickly I can forget that when things don't happen perfectly. I know that even though I have never met these incredible families, I have been forever changed by reading their stories. One family's blog I highly encourage you to read is The Blessing of Verity. Susanna, the mother to all the amazing children in her family, is truly a Mary in a Martha world. Please stop by her blog and read about her blessed family and their newest addition, Tommy, who was just adopted from Eastern Europe.

Saturday in the South

Today is the opening Saturday of NCAA football. I know football is a favorite sport around the US but in the South, it takes on a whole different life. I am a born and raised Texan who grew up always having the NFL on throughout the house on Sunday so football was always something I watched. However, it wasn't until I met and married my husband did I experience college football. My husband  went to law school at Texas Tech so we root for the Texas Tech Red Raiders first, then we will root for the Texas A&M Aggies when they are not playing the Red Raiders as husband's middle brother and wife graduated there. But my ultimate favorite team to root for is.....

GEORGIA BULLDOGS!!!!!

Photo source

Their mascot, UGA, totally had me at hello so tonight I have the Bulldogs game on as they play the Clemson Tigers. Oh, and I may or may not have a Georgia Bulldog item on my Amazon Christmas list. :) Go Dawgs!!!!

When the NBA and NCAA basketball season starts, I will be sure to share my favorites. All of my husband's family knows what team takes precedence during the NCAA basketball season. Love you Mimi!!

The Good, the Bad and the.....

I apologize for my absence of late. It seems the end of summer has flown by and with it, so has my wherewithal. Today was one of those days. You know, those days when you just look up to Heaven asking why. I realize that sometimes we aren't meant to know why and I am praying that this is one of those incidences. Unfortunately, this all has to do with my job. I try very hard to do the best I can and go the extra mile and basically today one of our salesmen said we will handle it from now on.

My husband has been trying to help me realize that it really isn't the worst thing. In fact, if I was brutally honest with myself, I think my pride was hurt more than anything else. I need to step back and realize that I am not on this Earth for this purpose - I am put on this Earth for God's purpose. As long as I am trying to live according to God's teaching and guidance, then I am living a life full of happiness and purpose. So maybe the "bad" of today isn't that bad after all.

On a more positive note, I have signed myself and my daughter, A, up to participate in the HeartWalk next Saturday, the 7th. It is a 3 mile walk benefitting the American Heart Association so I will be walking and A will be riding in her stroller. What makes the plan even better is I am doing the walk with a customer of ours who has become a great friend. I am planning on taking pics of the event to share here next weekend so I hope you will tune back then.

Polka Dot Greatness

Today was "Polka Dot" day at A's school. I am that geeky Mom that always tries to make sure my daughter is participating in the fun day themes or activities. Each week her school emails out the schedule of events and both my husband and I read it and try to reaffirm the things they are learning this week. For example, this week the theme is "All About Me" so they will learn things like what color eyes they have. We have been sure to ask A at least once every morning and evening what color eyes she has to help her remember. A couple of weeks ago they learned about cowboys and what cowboys say (answer: Yeehaw!) and now whenever A is asked what cowboys say, she proudly answers Yeehaw! Not that I am biased or anything, but I think my Polka Dot Princess is too adorable and the little stance she has too!

On another note, if you see the title of this post, you will see it says "Polka Dot Greatness". We already discussed the Polka Dot so now it is time to discuss the Greatness. I love to read but I have been dragging my feet on totally switching over to eBooks versus real paperback or hardback. For me, there is just something about holding the actual book but I am trying to change. I am trying to learn and adopt a more simple way of living, which means less clutter, less stuff. I will address my ultimate goal of that in my next post but I digress. Last night I downloaded the sample of Seven Men: And The Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas. The synopsis sounded very intriguing and I have decided to branch out of my favorite genre and try different books. I really enjoyed the sample. It was very easy to read and very fluid. I am looking forward to downloading the rest of the novel and learning more about the 7 great men discussed within. I will let you know what I think of the book in its entirety when I finish. What things are you reading or would like to read? 

God's Subtle Reminders

This weekend was a great reminder for me that I am not in control, no matter how much I think I am. Saturday was a wonderful day filled with many blessings - breakfast at La Madeleine, window shopping at Garden Ridge and some relaxation at home before dinner at my parents' house. Today, on the other hand, was one of God's subtle reminders that oh-so-gently reminded us we are not in control. My beautiful daughter, A, was in rare form today. We knew soon after breakfast that she was not her normal, carefree self. It is amazing to me that I tend to forget that kids have "off" days too. 

My mom reminded me that she is her own little person too. Too many times today did I sigh loudly, roll my eyes or wish I was somewhere else. That is not A's fault. I have my own off days and I am sure during those times my husband and A wish they were somewhere else. As I look at the picture above that I took this afternoon, I see God quietly reminding me that I need to savor these times and these years for too soon will they be gone. 

With A not even 2 yet, it is hard to remind myself that I will truly miss this young years. It is the same as when you are growing up and your family says that you will miss the high school or college years when they are gone. Boy, were they right! I think the following quote by Joni Eareckson Tada is perfect to explain the purpose of my struggles today: "The times we find ourselves having to wait on others may be the perfect opportunities to train ourselves to wait on the Lord.”

Thank you God for this reminder, this lesson and this blessing. I didn't see Your hand's guidance during the day but I do now. And I truly thank you for the second greatest teacher in my life....my daughter.

A Beginning

How does one begin a new journey? Simple...one foot in front of the other, most of the time with no more than a destination or idea in mind. I tried blogging years ago right after my husband and I were married but never really adapted to it. I never left reading blogs, though. I have "daily" blogs that I check each day, in the hopes that a new post was written. After reading a few posts by my favorite authors, it dawned on me that I have grown and changed since the last time I was a blogger and I would like to try it again.

One major difference is I am now a mother to a beautiful baby girl to whom I will refer to as "A" in my postings. To say that she has changed my life is truly an understatement. I have learned that I was and still am, to a certain extent, a selfish person. I never realized how much time and energy I used before on frivolous things. Becoming a parent will quickly bring that to light and to be honest, I am quite grateful for it allows me to accept this revelation and to change. Over this last year, we have lost two amazing women in our family - my grandmother and my husband's grandmother - but we were also blessed beyond words. We were able to move to our "forever" home, in a wonderful community and that is closer to family and to work. Having pieces "fall into place" allows me to realize that now is the time to focus on what is truly important. It is time for me to deem what legacy I want to leave behind and share with those closest to me and to those miles away.

So, with that forefront in my mind, my first order of business is to create my family mission statement. My husband and I are religious individuals. He was raised in the church and I went to private school from 2nd grade through high school. We both have a relationship with our Lord but it could definitely be strengthened and we want to share that with A. We would like to adopt the following for our family mission statement:

"To share love and acceptance to those we meet in such a way that we keep Jesus' teachings as our focus and guide. So that at the end of each day, we can say we shared our blessings and beliefs to others and helped make the world a better place."

I hope you will join me on this amazing journey called Life.