Interesting Notes...

I always:

• try to eat breakfast. The only reason I would miss is if I couldn't get my hands on something edible.
• tell my husband "i love you" before hanging up the phone.
• refer to myself as the "traumatized middle child" -- even though I wasn't (LOL)
• color my hair --due to the amount of grey that has suddenly appeared (how'd that happen?)
• try to encourage my children in whatever activity they want to try.
• feel blessed when I see the loving functional family that I grew up with. Thanks Mom and Dad!

I sometimes:

• wish I were taller.
• long to live in another state.
• think juggling would be a fun activity to master.
• take my kids (and their friends) to toilet paper houses!
• wonder what it would be like to work on a cruise ship.
• think I'm trying to do too much.
• imagine what it would be like to not have to watch what I eat.

I never:

• take my family for granted
• forget a face. Now, a name -- that's different!
• thought I would be turning the big 4-0! Geez, I'm old...
• second-guess when I feel the Holy Spirit laying someone on my heart. I immediately pray for them.
• thought I would find the love of my life...but I did!
• say NO to chocolate.
• thought I would love fish as much as I do.
• want to look back on my life and have regrets.

Living in Fear

You know...I came to a realization yesterday. For the last several years (8 or so!) I have battled so many adversities! I find myself now -- absent any major drama -- living in fear of what the future holds and waiting for the "other shoe to drop." Intellectually and spiritually I know this is not the right attitude to have; however, emotionally I find myself living in a defensive position. How can I break this?? It's easy to say that God will take care of me and that "everything works together for good..."--but can I really say it and believe it?

Hence my quandry.....

I pray that I can break the cycle and just live my life (with or without drama) to His glory. It's going to take some work--but if I remain faithful, I can do it.

So, okay----"if" the other shoe drops...I hope it's a nice high-heeled beautiful slipper!

fondly,

fit

My Favorite Person in the World

I love you, BooBoo. Thank you for the date night to see Dave Koz and Brian Culverson in concert!!

Nick-isms

I'm going to start posting various sayings ("Nick-isms") that my five year old comes up with.

Upon seeing my nephew, Luke, who is turning 18 next week, he noticed that Luke had grown out a fashionable goatee and beard (he looked really cute!). Here's Nick's comment:

"Don't worry, Luke, I forgot to shave this morning, too!"

How cute is that?!?!?

fondly,
fit

FUN FUN FUN!!

The end of summer is nearing---boohoo. But, it's been filled with lots of fun and it will hopefully keep us going until winter break!

Here's a quick recap:
June: The three older kids had camp (which cost us a small fortune!). The boys went to Panama City, FL for Camp Beach. Jake settled his doubts about salavation (PTL!) and was baptized in the ocean by our Youth Pastor and Senior Pastor. They both came back excited for the Lord and definitely changed. My daughter went to camp as well and was treated extra special given her status as a graduating 6th grader. [I still can't believe she is going into the youth group!] We had Vacation Bible School, were Nick was able to attend for the first time as a graduating Kindergartner. He felt so grown up! Miranda had her week-long stint as a LoneStar Princess with the Miss Texas Pageant and was required to dress up in formal attire and wear her tiara. I'm sure that was difficult for her...NOT! We lost my father-in-law, but we were able to spend some quality time with family which was very theraputic. The month was also filled with various basketball tournaments for my oldest.

July: The older kids have been on vacation with their father and have been able to go to Las Vegas for Jake's teams basketball tournament. Robert and I have been able to do some cosmetic changes around the house and it's looking really good! The kids come back this Friday wherein we leave for a quick vacation to NW Arkansas for my cousin's wedding. We will then spend several days with Mimi and Poppi and all the rest of the family. We will celebrate Nick's 6th birthday while we golf, swim, dance, play games, etc. with the family.

As soon as we return, we will start back to band camp for Tyler, off season basketball for Jake, volleyball tryouts for Miranda and back-to-school shopping for Nick. Not to mention that I'm starting two new courses for my schoolwork. Help!!!! LOL

We have had an AWESOME summer~
fondly,
fit

"Godly talk does NOT make one godly"

Wow....How is that for a quote?

Think about it.
fondy,
fit

Lone Star Princess

As you may or may not know, my daughter was asked to be a Lonestar Princess for the Miss Texas Pageant. It was quite an event!

Unfortunately, during the very first day of rehersal is when I received the phone call that my FIL had passed away. My Mother-in-law was adamant that she not miss any of her pageant activities since she had been looking forward to this event for months. So, we let her stay with her dad for a few days while we were gone while he made sure she was at all her events. She looked absolutely beautiful! I managed to snag a picture of her while the photographer was taking her portraits (I know--I cheated...).

This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for her -- one she will NEVER forget! She truly is a princess--whether it's "Lonestar" or not...

Love you, Princess!

fit

R.I.P. Bob Teta

The last few weeks have been hectic (more than normal). We received a call on Saturday, June 27th, that Robert's father, Bob, had passed away suddenly. He had been ill for quite some time, but had been doing much better. Robert left to go home (Louisiana) immediately and I stayed back to take care of some things with the kids. [more on that later!]

Bob's rosary and mass were in Leesville, LA and his burial was in Stigler, OK. Robert's brother, Richard, has been in Iraq, so we had to contact the Red Cross to get him home. He arrived about an hour before the rosary! Things were stressful and emotional, but everything went okay.

I have some pretty interesting stories, but don't have time today to go into. I will post more later.
fondly,
fit

Location, Location, Location!

New tattoo location.....did you guess it??? I only wear my hair down at work, so no one will see it [unless I want them to]

Robert calls me his "butterfly"---

fondly,

fit

P.S. It's really hard to get a picture of the back of your neck, by the way.

Mid-life Crisis or Creativity?

I am a person who loves tattoos. Period.
Now--having said that, I love them "within reason." Some are just plain ugly and offensive---

I was raised by parents who are completely against tattoos. The verse in Leviticus sums it up:
"Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD."

But look what it says in the verse right before that:"Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard". According to this standard, is it a sin that my husband shaves his beard and trims his sideburns? ~food for thought......

Anyway, I "marked" my body again the other night. I have been wanting another one--and had a good idea of what I wanted and where I wanted it. Since I work in a corporate environment, I have to be careful of my appearance.

Can you guess where I put my tattoo?
fondly,
fit

My ABC's

A - Age: 39 and holding!

B - Bed size: King

C - Chore I hate: dusting

D - Dog's name(s): Princess & Cooper

E - Essential start my day item: Contacts and toothbrush

F - Favorite color: Green

G - Gold or silver: Silver

H - Height: 5'9"

I - Instrument I play: I own a guitar---does that count?

J - Job title: Executive Assistant, Wife, Mother, Daughter, Cook, Hugger, etc.

K - Kids: (4) Jake, Tyler, Miranda and Nicholas

L - Location: Dallas, TX area

M - Mom's name: Mom

N - Nicknames: Tonee, Ton

O - Outing most remembered: My first date with my husband...amazing!

P - Pet Peeve(s): fake people

Q - Quote from movie: (1) "You can't handle the truth!" (2) "negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full..." (3) "I can tell you I don't have money, but what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills that I have acquired over a very long career; skills that make me a nightmare for people like you"

R - Running or walking: Running!!

S - Siblings: Ness & Josh

T - Time I wake up: 6:00 am

U - Underwear type: thong or commando (LOL)

V - Vegetables I like: cocoa bean, broccoli, green beans, squash, etc. (most of them)

W - Ways I like to be romanced: weekend getaways with my honey

X - X-rays I have had: head, heart, back

Y - Yummy favorite foods: anything with chocolate!

Z - Zoo animals I like: monkeys

Shoes or Skis?

As I've said in my earlier posts, my oldest son (16) plays A LOT of basketball. As a result, he seems to go through shoes in the blink of an eye. I am always on the lookout for a good deal on basketball shoes; and I found a couple of good sites: Final-Score, Finish Line, and EastBay.

Jake plays on the Garland Owls team and their colors are black and gold. The generally accepted practice is to purchase shoes that match the school's colors. Interestingly enough, there are not many shoes out there that are black and gold (I'm just sayin'. . .). When I find some, it's a good day! Well, I found some and purchased them on-line and they arrived today. The first picture doesn't really give a good indication of HOW BIG these shoes are (size 14), so I took a picture of my shoe next to it (they are lined up, even though from the angle of the picture it looks like mine is further back). Now--I wear a size 9 to 9.5, which is pretty big for a woman. AREN'T THEY ENORMOUS! Here's another piece of trivia. Jake's best friend, David (who is younger than him), wears an 18!!

Tyler, my just-turned-15-year-old ALSO WEARS A SIZE 14! I ordered his shoes, too, and they should be here next week sometime. I'll try to remember to take a picture of it, too!

Have a great weekend!

fondly,

fit

So - where have I been?

Much apologies -- life has been busy and every time I would start a posting, I would get interrupted (darn that work!). I would come back to it, but it would seem like "old news". LOL

S0, here I am---trying to figure out where to start....

Been doing LOTS of basketball watching. My oldest son plays on a select team and it is tournament season. Whew! There were several days that he had 3 or 4 games in a row! Got another one this weekend (of course), but I might be taking a hiatus. My son plays basketball EVERY day at school (spring training) and then practices with his select team (the Garland Jaguars) twice a week in the evenings (usually). Ironically, on his days off, all he wants to do is go up to the gym (Lifetime) and play basketball!! You'd think he might get tired of it---but nope! Guess you could say he loves it, huh?

My girlfriend, Kristi, turned 40 a week ago. A group of us went to dinner then to karoke. Wow---what fun! I've already told my husband what I want to do for my 40th (in September). We have a friend from church who is a DJ. I told Robert that I want a HUGE party with dancing and fun! I want to invite a ton of friends--some from church, some from my younger years, family, etc. It's going to be a BLAST! Although I enjoy a good glass of wine, this party will be non-alcoholic....since I have some friends and family members who don't partake. PLUS--my kids and some of their friends will be there and I don't think it would be a good example if someone were to drink too much. [I personally believe that drinking in excess is wrong...but not everyone holds my same opinion and I want to be able to relax and enjoy the party!] Anyway...should be a blast!

I know that Jennifer is ALMOST there----ready to deliver those beautiful twins! I can't wait to see the pics. If they look and act anything like Max, they will be gorgeous! Good luck, Jen....my prayers are with you!

fondly,
fit

All He Wants is My Time...

On the way to work this morning, I listened to the WORDfm 100.7. This is unusual for me, because I'm such a music nut. I felt the Lord speaking to me to turn it on...so I did. Whew---did I feel convicted! The speaker was talking about how God is not impressed by our talents, our abilities, our outgoing personalities, etc. What He wants is our time! The only way to do that is to be in His Word and pray.

I think I have mentioned before about my struggles to stay in God's Word. It's more of a mental block for me. I grew up with "Bible drills", church 3 times a week, and the "read the Bible before your feet hit the floor" mentality. For those that know me, I'm NOT a morning person. I had a hard time understanding WHY I had to read the Bible first - even when I'm not awake yet! The speaker on the radio emphasized that God wants our time---whenever that is. We just have to be disciplined. He challenged us (me) to focus on Bible time for 7 days in a row. So--I'm going to rise to the challenge! [I can tell you it won't be first thing in the morning, though!]
fondly,
fit

Let's get up-to-date, shall we??

I've been taking a little hiatus from blogging. Since the wreck, my life has been even more hectic than usual. I've been dealing with multiple doctor appointments, medication, ice bags, etc. on top of my usual activities. As of today, the doctor has limited my hours at work as well. My boss is in Paris, so I'm not sure yet what his opinion is about the whole situation...guess we'll see, huh?

On the positive side, we were able to purchase another vehicle to replace the totaled suburban. Although we didn't get as much on the settlement, we were able to pay cash for an Excursion, albeit older. Regardless, it's PAID FOR. Woo Hoo...no car payments. Thank you, Dave Ramsey! There's no doubt in my mind that if we had not gone through Financial Peace University (Ramsey's program) that we would find ourselves in dire straits--seriously. We have much more to learn, of course, but we have made huge strides from where we were a couple of years ago. Praise God!


I'll post more later with pictures!!
fondly,
fit

Much has happened since my last post...

So, there I was minding my own business driving to work. I had just dropped off my youngest son at school and it was seemingly a normal day. I stopped at a red light and glanced in my rearview mirror out of habit. Apparently, the car behind me decided that he didn't want to stop. BAM! He hit me going about 35-40 mph which threw me into the car in front of me, etc. It ended up a 5-car accident. My car is totaled. The car in front of me is totaled. Guess what I found out about the guy that hit me?!?!? His insurance is expired. Yep - so now I have a totaled car of which I still owed money on (It was almost paid off) and am getting low-balled on the value of my car. After all is said and done, here is the scenario:

After the payout on the now-totaled suburban, we will have about $5k. Obviously, that is NOT enough to purchase another vehicle (we require a large car!).

1. I have insurance - he did not. All he got was a citation. I got the bill for paying for my car.


2. I also get the bill for all my medical claims. I have learned that I am NOT "superwoman" and that sustaining an impact of this size DOES cause health issues.


3. I had to miss four days at work - I get to use my limited sick days. He doesn't work, so he gets to go home to Mommy's and put his feet up on the couch and eat cheetos.


4. His Mommy will pay to get her bumper fixed -- but it's not necessary due to the fact that he also has a large car so the only damage to his vehicle was his front bumper.


5. Oh, yeah--I just remembered...we have a $500 deductible. Great -- now I get to pay that, too.


6. I have therapy on my back 3 times a week, which means I will miss more work.


7. I had begun my running regiment again -- but that's on hold now, too. So now I get to maintain my BMI, which I was trying to reduce to get to a healthy weight in order to add to the family.

Can you sense some hostility????

So-- my current project is MYSELF. I am praying for God's peace to cover me. I pray that I will seek His face and be reminded that my life belongs to Him anyway. The car--not mine; my job --a gift from Him; my health --lies in The Healer's Hands; and, fortunately, my children were not in the car.

Remaining faithful in my walk with Christ is what matters. Understanding life is not.

Matthew 6:34 (The Message) "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Book Three!

Well...I am on book three of the Twilight series--about halfway through. It's very good! I'm sure my husband wishes I would finish the series so he could have his wife back! LOL
Actually, it's a funny role reversal. My husband loves to read and reads almost every night. Just a few weeks ago, his head was constantly in a book and I made a comment, "you spend more time with that book than me..." OOPS... He remembered that statement and used it with me the other day.

gotta run--
fondly,
fit

Consider me sucked in...[pun intended]

Thanks to my friend, Lori, I am now sucked into the Twilight series. If you know me, you understand the irony in that sentence. Historically, I am not your average "girl"--I'd say I'm more of a tomboy, but one that wears make-up and cares about what she looks like. Other than that qualification, I am usually the exception. I don't care for fru-fru stuff, I can't stand to shop (only when necessary), I love athletics more than watching t.v., and I would pick a good basketball game over pretty much anything.

Anyway, my friend started talking about the Twilight series about a year ago. I didn't think anything of it. Then, the movie was announced. She immediately started getting a group of girls together to go to the midnight showing on the first day it was released. I seriously laughed and thought she was crazy. Afterwards, I heard about how WONDERFUL the movie was multiple times, but was quickly told is paled in comparison to the book. Again, I didn't think anything about it--not for me.

My daughter had a birthday a couple weeks ago and was given the movie as a gift. She begged me for several days to watch it with her--but I declined. Finally, she and I were the only ones home one afternoon and I agreed to watch it with her. She promptly fell asleep (slumber party the night before!), but I continued to watch. Really--it WAS a good movie. A little on the eerie/outlandish side, but nonetheless good.

The next day I decided to take a break from my normal routine (craziness) and sit and read a good book. She brought me the Twilight book and told me I should read it. This challenged me to see if the book actually was better than the movie. Suffice it to say, I read the book in about two days. [I love to read, just don't normally have the time...] And it was better... Sunday we went to Lori's house and she gave me the next book in the series, New Moon. I started reading it Monday and will finish it up tonight. It's good, too....and, I'll probably be part of the next "group of girls" that drags their butts to the movie theatre at midnight-----
fondly,
fit

Hijacked Blackberry!

A few days ago, I was going through my phone, deleting old messages, etc. It was then that I came across several unusual pictures. Apparently, my youngest decided he wanted to play photographer with my phone. There were many more, but I thought I would spare you the pain of looking at random cars and red lights.

Also, yesterday was hubby's first baseball scrimmage with his new team, the Chicago White Sox. He played very well--especially considering the wind was gusting up to 40 mph and it was freezing! Although a couple of the other wives were there, they were sitting in their cars. I, on the other hand, braved the elements and sat in my lounge chair looking like an eskimo with only my eyes and nose showing. Regardless, it was fun seeing him play---he hasn't played in amost eight years. He's had numerous shoulder surgeries that have prevented him playing, but the last surgeon fixed it all (so it seems) and released him to play. Being an athlete myself, it makes me VERY proud to see him play (and kinda excites me, too....TMI!).

Here's a picture of my favorite White Sox on the way to the game. Yummy!

So, now were are involved in THREE sports...baseball, basketball and volleyball. Go, White Sox, Jaguars and Serve-ivors!

fondly,

fit

Fru-Fru-ness

I am the mother of an Official Lone Star Princess. What is that? Well....let me tell you!

On Tuesday, I received a call from my dad. He said he had a friend that wanted to talk to me. Jim proceeded to explain to me that his daughter, Tiffany, was crowned Miss Denison/Sherman. She wanted to know if my daughter would be interested in being her "Loan Star Princess" for the Miss Texas pageant. Beginning June 26th and continuing until July 4th, my daughter will be rehearsing for the pageant program! She will escort her "Miss" in the pageant and will wear a white gown and an official tiara.

I'm sure she will outshine everyone....LOL. Since she's a Princess, doesn't that make me a Queen??

fondly,

fit