Thoughts for Thursday--Holding Hands

This reading is from the Married for Life book; I love this book, keep it in a drawer on my nightstand and will probably be taking a few stories from it that I love.

Never get too old to hold hands.
"It starts with a tiny fist wrapped around a mother's finger. It continues with a young hand held gently in one much larger. It endures through puppy love, adolescent relationships and courtship. And if we are wise, it extends into marriage, through middle age, beyond golden years, to the very end of life.

Holding hands is one of the most intimate expressions of love between two human beings.

Don't ever let this beautiful act slip away from you. It's so much more than a gesture of affection, so much greater than a mere symbol of connection. It's an incredibly meaningful communication, a deep connection in and of itself. It requires no words; in fact no words can convey such a profound message.

Why would two people ever stop holding hands? Perhaps it seems silly, somehow undignified, when we're older and have been married a long time. We may begin to think such things were meant only for young lovers and newlyweds. That's far from true! Besides its many other purposes, holding hands helps satisfy the basic human need for physical touch, a need we never outgrow.

Hold your spouse's hand throughout your life together; don't ever let it go until the day when you've fulfilled every marriage vow and finally release it from your grasp, placing it lovingly, trustingly into the hand of God."

2 Years Ago Today, I Thee Wed...

Today is my wedding anniversary, my second wedding anniversary to my Scott. I refer to him as my Scott sometimes, because... well, he is mine, God blessed me with him, my one and only. This is simply the best day of my life. On this day, our two lives were joined as one if front of God, family and friends. On this day I joined my partner, my best friend, my true love, my everything in marriage. On this day, we vowed "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part." It is hard to put into words all the emotions that I felt on this day. We both have said how much fun it would be to re-live this day, although we know that is not possible, it all went by so fast.

It was a beautiful September day, the first day of fall, blue skies with a touch of white clouds and a light breeze in the air. I could not wait to see you at the end of that aisle. We laughed, we cried tears of joy, we ate and the nicest toast were given, we sang sweetly in each other ears and we danced and danced the night away! Our families, now joined together by our love, watched on with the biggest smiles on their faces. I will never forget how happy my parents were.

Below are just a few highlights from our Wedding Day. It is so hard to just pick a handful of pictures to share that capture the moments on our special day. But I am finally so happy to be finally putting these pictures on my blog! Enjoy.

Thoughts for Thursday--Peace

May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others. May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love, it is there for each and every one of us.

I have read this over and over again; Every time it sinks in even more. It is a constant reminder for me to be happy, thankful, grateful, and at peace with myself and my life.

Always Remembering 09/11

September 11, a day most everybody will never forget and now titled as Patriot Day in the USA. This day holds a lot of remembrance for me as well as hundreds and thousands of others around this great nation and around the world. I will never forget this day for two events in my life:

The first is the day we all know and remember as 09/11--the day that terrorist attacked the United Sates of America when airplane hijackings flew into the World Trade Center, resulting in the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York City, the destruction of the western portion of The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a passenger airliner which crashed in a wooded area in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The total number killed in these attacks is 2,819 (official figure as of 9/5/02). You can visit this website for more 09/11 statistics. I was a senior at Jersey Village High School and I first heard of the news in 2nd period Physics class and not really understanding what was happening, then walking through the hall ways hearing lots of commotion and in third period photography class being able to finally watch a little bit of news coverage of it. These are sights I will never forget seeing on television. When I got home that day, my eyes were glued on the TV for the rest of the evening and the days to follow. I will also never forget the great feeling of patriotism that I felt during the months after the attack. Never Forget.




The second is the day my house (the house I grew up in for the first 20 years of my life) flooded for the first time by Tropical Storm Francis on September 11, 1999. I was a freshman in high school that year and it was a school day when this happened. It was a complete shock to us as we just watched the water in the streets rise higher and higher at the same time realizing that we were not going to go to school or work that day. The water eventually started to seep through the doors and lower windows. I will never forget my mom putting down towels by the door hoping to keep the water out, looking back now, kind of funny, but it was just a natural reaction. We ended up getting a little over two feet of water in our home that day which the water outside our homes was much higher, more like 4 feet street level. I remember helicopters flying over our area, boats going down my street and kids playing in the all that water. A nice man on a boat picked us up as we heavily waited in the water holding what we could of some bags of clothes above our heads. The aftermath of the flood was filled with tears and the generous help of the Salvation Army. After the water reseeded a day later, began all the clean up; ripping out the carpet, tearing down the sheet rock, sanitizing every surface with bleach, packing up stuff, storing furniture and moving in with gracious family while our house was being put back to together again.

My house ended up flooding a total of three times within four years. The second flood was on June 10, 2001 by Tropical Storm Allison, where most of downtown Houston also flooded really bad. The third flood was on October 3, 2002 (I believe) by just a bad rain storm. After the third flood, FEMA finally bought out my parents home (which was a good thing) so they could tear in down as well as many others on my street and neighborhood because it was now considered a flood disaster area. During our first flood we were out of our home for four months getting it all back together. The second flood we were out for 3 months and by the third flood we were only out for six weeks. By then, my parents unfortunately had this down where they knew who to call, when to call and how to get things moving. We all learned the value of our lives and our possessions during these floods and we stuck together strong as a family; my parents stayed strong for us are still married and happy as ever. I feel that

Thoughts for Thursday--Life's Too Short

"Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."

It seems like it takes a bad accident, tragic death or monumental loss to remind people how precious life really is and how privileged we all are to be here on earth. God chose for us to be here when he wants us here and to take us when he is ready. I too have to keep myself in check at how precious life is, no matter how easy or hard it may be and no matter what is thrown my way. Life-->don't take it for granted.

09.09.09

09.09.09-->You know that there are probably many math wizards are out there trying to figure out that something big is going to happen today because of the date. To me, it is just another day. All I know is that today is September 9, 2009. It's the 252nd day of the year and 252 adds up to 9. On top of that, 09.09.09 falls on a Wednesday in September and both the words Wednesday and September have 9 letters. This date is the last of the single digit dates for another 1001 years. That's all. It's just a date to me.

Ohh September, How I Love Thee

September is probably one of my favorite months! Why you may ask...for many reasons:

1. My Wedding Anniversary is on the 22nd of this month, so far the best day of my life; the day in which I married my best friend, lover and companion, 2 years ago. I had waited a long time to become Scott's wife (6 years) and this day is the beginning of our new life together as husband and wife.

2. The official start of the Autumn Season begins on the 22nd as well. I love the Fall Season! It does start to cool off a bit here in southeast Texas (thank goodness) and so far the first two days of September have brought low humidity and morning temperatures in the high 60's/low 70's with the highs around 90 degrees. The evenings have also been very enjoyable when the sun starts to set and cool things off. We have also got a little rain during this first week.

3. Craft shows, craft shows and more craft shows. I have already got a few marked on my calender to try to attend and I am super excited about them.

4. There are some leaves already falling to the ground. Not many, but at least it is a start and maybe a start to a little bit cooler weather (fingers crossed).

5. All of my favorite TV shows start back up for the new season; Greys Anatomy, Private Practice and Desperate Housewives are some of my favorites. I am planning to catch a new show coming this fall called Mercy, all the pre-views look really good.

6. Football Season begins! I really do enjoy watching this sport on TV and in person. I also enjoy getting a break from having baseball on all the time (thank goodness for the hubs having a TV in our garage). I love our Houston Texans and make it a point to watch just about every game. I also enjoy watching college football with my hubby. College football is much more intense compared to the NFL. Those boys are really playing with the heart and you can tell.

7. Fall scents of candles can acceptably be burned to get me and my home in the mood for the upcoming season.

Enjoy your September, I know I will.

Thoughts for Thursday--Life is a Theater

Life is a theater - invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough to have a front row seat in our lives. There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go, or at least minimize your time with draining negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships/fellowships! Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to: Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know and appreciate you and the gift that lies within you? When you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW and who should be moved to the balcony of your life. You cannot change the people around you...but you can change the people you are around! Choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life. ~unknown author~

I love this reading and love how it relates to life. I believe it really puts things in perspective.

Everything Loved In August

August was mildly filled with fun events. We went out to the stock car races on the 1st of the month, then we had the AMAZING George Strait concert the next weekend, followed by a huge garage sale that my girlfriend Shelly and I had (oh how that money came in handy, I made $340.00, i think), Scott and I had some great dates at the Olive Garden and Alicia's Mexican Food and I had several wine nights with girlfriends.

In August I also got great use out of this wonderful Laptop Desk, which I might add has been under our couch for quite some time now! I remembered I put it there so it would be easy to get to. We both rediscovered how practical this is for us to use when we are on the lap top in the living room watching TV instead of having to drag out a TV trey. Although I do very much love our TV treys, I do not like always having them out. It has a black bean-bag type of bottom on the underside so it sits soft on your lap. We just love it and will continue to use it year round!
Also, I purchased this Lettuce Knife after much consideration of how much I would really use it or not. Well, I used it twice this month and it is pretty cool. It really does a good job at cutting a bulk of lettuce up when making big salads. I purchased it at Bed Bath and Beyond (oh how I love that place).

Thoughts for Thursday--Go To Bed and Relax

"All great blessings come from being at peace. When the day is over, go to sleep. Never sit up worrying about tomorrow. Work hard and let God do the rest. I always say these words at night: "I can sleep tonight because God is awake!" Relax. Rest easy"--Rev Run

I am a big fan of Rev Run (Run DMC) and Run's House; his reality TV show on MTV. Reverend Run entered the public eye in 1983 as Run, leader of the pioneering rap trio Run-DMC and was recently inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. Rev Run (an ordained minister), closes each episode of Run's House by reading philosophical, Christian, and inspirational books in the bathtub before penning words that inspire, encourage, and motivate. I absolutely love watching his show, his relationship with his beautiful wife Justine, and his relationships with all his six kids, how he juggles his family and highly successful career. He is a true inspiration!

I Feel Like the Worst Mama...or Is Scott A Bad Daddy

This morning I woke up and dragged myself out of bed, like I do every morning, did my normal morning routine (took a shower, got my make-up on and hair done, got dressed) and headed out of the bathroom to kiss my loves bye for the day. I told Scott bye and to have a good day and said bye to Dakota, our dog. When I woke up I had noticed she was not laying on her pillow, which is on my side of the room, so I just figured that she was on Scott's side of the bed and thought nothing of it. I was saying her name but I did not see her, or hear her..... and then I panicked! SCOTT! Where is Dakota? She is not in here! I flung open our bedroom door and called her name again thinking maybe she got closed out of our room last night but I still did not see or hear. I then thought to myself, ohhh no, check outside.....I peeked out of one of our master bedroom windows and saw my sweet Dakota girl laying down on the concrete, wide awake, hears perked up, just waiting so patiently for one of us to see that she was out there. I immideately ran to the back door and let her in, saying her name over and over and telling her "I'm so sorry, mama didn't know you were out there". She ran inside so fast, heading straight to our room and jumped in the bed with Scott. I followed and loved on her for a minute and then had to leave for work. Scott and I felt horrible for this to happen. Dakota is not an outside dog. She is very much an inside dog who loves to be with her mama and daddy and only be outside to play fetch.

So I guess here is what happened: I went to bed a good hour before Scott because I was just so exhausted. Scott said that he must have let her out to go potty last night and got caught up watching something on TV and then just came to bed without letting her back in. He did not even realize that she did not follow him to the room. Poor baby! Ahh, the guilt!

Thoughts for Thursday--Keeping On

Happiness keeps You Sweet, Trials keep You Strong, Sorrows keep You Human, Failures keeps You Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, but Only God keeps You Going.

Life happens...it continues on no matter what and in life you will come across all these things, happiness, trials, sorrows, failures, and successes. It's how these situations are handled that make people better or worse, happy or sad, up or down, in or out. For me, I choose to take from whatever it may be, learn from it and stay optimistic, always, I am much happier that way.

The King of Country Comes to Town

On Saturday, August 8th (this past weekend) my ABSOLUTE ALL TIME FAVORITE musician came to town, Mr. George Strait. My mom and I have been waiting for this concert for several months now; pretty much since May when the tickets went on sale, in which we were able to buy them a week before they went on sale to the public because my mom's boss is a season ticket holder to Reliant Stadium. My mom decided for the four of us (mom, dad, me, Scott) to go all out and buy floor seats to the concert so we would have our chance to get as close as we could. We are both HUGE George Strait Fans; you can read here for more on that.

The "Man" came to town as apart of his summer tour which included the opening acts of Juliane Hough, Blake Shelton and Sugarland! All of the entertainers did such a great job performing. I was very impressed with newcomer Juliane Hough; she has a great voice and fun stage presence. Blake Shelton sang all of of hit songs and did great as well. Sugarlnad was just awesome as always; they are truly a great dynamic duo and sure do put on a show! Then it was GEORGE! He was just as humble as always and AMAZING!!! He just stands there with his guitar and sings and smiles and sometimes sways a little; he is a very simple man, but that is ALL he has to do is just stand their, play his guitar, sing and smile. He is called the King of Country for a reason, you know, an the little fact that he has 57 number one hit singles in his career, more than any other music artist in all genre of music. George sang for a good hour and fifteen minutes or so then went off stage. We the crowd proved how much we loved him by how loud and how long we all screamed for him to come back on. None of us were ready to go home yet. After a good five to ten minutes, he did come back on stage and played for another 30 minutes or so. It was a great night and a great concert!

Thoughts for Thursday--Keeping the Faith

I think I have decided to do a weekly post called Thoughts for Thursday. I will post a random thought, quote, poem, bible verse, song lyric, story, lesson learned, etc. I truly hope I can keep up with this. I am really trying hard to get good at this blogging stuff and blog more often. I do not blog everyday because...well...truthfully I do not want to bore any of my few readers with my random, sometimes boring, everyday life. Enjoy!

If God answers your prayer, He is increasing your FAITH. If He delays, He is increasing your PATIENCE. If He doesn't answer, He has Something BETTER for you.

Me-->I'm keeping the faith.

Fortune Cookies

Today I met up with my sweet husband for lunch at my favorite Chinese buffet, eStar. The hubs and I try to meet up for lunch at least 2 to 4 times a month. To me it is always a treat to have lunch with him because it is like a mini date; just me and him, no friends, no family, just us. Since being married and having lived together for over three years now, I did not want to get in the bad habit of not going to lunch together all because we were married now and we lived together...you know, like the attitude of what's the point, we see eachother at home all the time, you know what I am getting at.

Anyways, we had a very enjoyable lunch and great conversation. I enjoyed every bit of it and the hubs sent a sweet text later this afternoon saying how great lunch was too. The great part about our lunch was when we received our fortune cookies. Seeing that we are in the middle of pursing a side opportunity to make extra money, which has the potential to replace my income and more, these were exciting fortunes!!!

Amber's Said:
"You will have an exciting business adventure."

Scott's Said:
"You will make a name for yourself."