Change is gonna come

My husband's aunt is getting a little better. She's still having a tough time, but we're thankful for any progress that we find out about. Thanks for your prayers.

I just found out today that my division at work is about to be split into four separate groups. I'm nervous about what this means for me. I love my job so much, but I know that things never stay the same. I'm starting to realize that one of the most constant things about my job is CHANGE! Oh well, it keeps people on their toes and keeps everyone working as hard as they can. I'm speaking for myself, mostly.

My hubby is officially home from his law school program at UGA! Now, he will spend the next few weeks preparing for his first semester as a Georgia State Law student. My hubby is a law student. I'm so proud of him! We're making a few considerable sacrifices for him to be able to do this, but Lord knows it will more than pay off in a few years.

Oh well, I guess I'll go read Harry Potter for a while. Maybe I'll finish these last 7 or so chapters that I keep putting off. :-)

Tomorrow is Friday!

Monday Blues

Bleh. It has rained all day today. I excercise every single day so that I can eat Nestle Toll House chocolate chunk cookies every night. But, I am 31 years old with bad knees, so I'm in a lot of pain right now. Well, not a whole lot, but definitely enough. The kids are already in bed, the dogs are back in the house, and a storm just blew through. Wow, more rain. I'm thankful for it because the vegetation here in Georgia was really thirsty due to the lack of rain the past few months. I'm rambling right now, and I apologize for that. One of those days.

My husband's aunt isn't doing well right now. She had her surgery two weeks ago tomorrow. This situation is an example of how we have to be prepared for anything that is waiting right around the corner. We really don't have time to keep going back and forth in our committment to a relationship with the Lord. Time is of the essence, and all he's is asking is for us to accept Him. To accept Him as our true and only Heavenly Father. That's not much to ask from someone who gave up His only son for us. I don't know if anyone but me reads this blog, but if someone else is reading this, please say a special prayer for my husband's aunt.

God Bless You. Until another day.

Ready for a new week...

Well, this was a weekend that was very refreshing and wonderful! I couldn't have planned a better party for Cassie if I tried. It was very laidback and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time!

I think this has to do with the number of people we invited this time. We learned our lesson from Olie's 1st birthday party a few years ago. We had about 30 people show up, and after about an hour, Olie had HAD IT! He started screaming uncontrollably and we had to go and calm him down while the party guests looked on. This time we had about 9 adults and 6 kids (including Cass and Olie). It was the perfect number of people to have over.

Everyone was able to kick their shoes off if they wanted and sit outside on the porch or hangout in the living room, or hover near the food and just chill out. We all needed this time together, and I'm very thankful that the Lord blessed us with it.

And now, it's time to get ready for another week. I'll make out my schedule (I literally have to write down what I need to do from moment to moment so that I'll stay on track; ADD anyone?), feed the kids, bathe them and put them to bed. Then I'll stay up and work for a couple of hours and go to bed myself. I hope this next week is even better than last week.

God Bless you with a safe, happy, and prosperous upcoming week!

P.S. My hubby will be back home from his law program in Athens for good on Tuesday!! I'm counting down the hours! :-)

Measure of a Man

The Measure of a Man - 4-Him (Lyrics)

This world can analyze and size you up
And throw you on the scales
They can IQ you and run you through
Their rigorous details

They can do their best to rate you
And they'll place you on their charts
And then back it up with scientific smarts

But there's more to what your worth
Than what their human eyes can see

CHORUS:
Oh I say the measure of a man
Is not how tall you stand
How wealthy or intelligent you are
Cause I found out the measure of a man
God knows and understands
For He looks inside to the bottom of your heart
And what's in the heart defines
The measure of a man

Well you can doubt your worth
And search for who you are and where you stand
But God made you in His image
When He formed you in his hands

And He looks at you with mercy
And He sees you through His love
You're His child and that will always be enough

For there's more to what you're worth
Than you could ever comprehend

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
You can spend your life pursuing physical perfection
There is so much more, more than ever meets the eye
For God looks through the surface

And He defines your worth by, what is on the inside!

(emphasis mine)

Happy Birthday, Cassie!

EXACTLY one year ago to the minute that I'm typing this my precious daughter was born! She was born at exactly 10:41 am. It feels like it's been longer than a year. That's probably because SOOO much has happened this year. I'm leaving work early to go and have a party with her and her friends. We're having a party at our house tomorrow as well.

There's so much to do between now and tomorrow (including my tasks at work alone), so I'm going to probably be a tad stressed at some point over the next 24 hours. But, I prayed to the Lord for a little extra peace this morning before I left. And He NEVER lets me down. He always comes through. Thank you, dear Heavenly Father, I love you!

And I love you, Cassie. Happy 1st birthday!!

How you feelin'...HOT HOT HOT!!!

The temperature outside has got to be at least 100 degrees. Kelvin. As in MISERABLE hot. My daughter literally fell asleep in my arms as I was carrying her into the house! She went straight to bed as soon as we got inside, and it wasn't even 6pm yet. I know her well enough to be certain that she will sleep until it's time to get up tomorrow. My son and I don't really know what to do with ourselves while she's asleep. Normally she sticks to him like glue, and there's lots of destruction in her path. While she's asleep, there's so much peace and quiet and we have time to hear ourselves think. We don't like it.

Work was nice today. A little less productive than yesterday, but I'm still on target with my tasks for the most part. I got an early start again this morning; up at 5am! When I get up this early, I spend about 10 minutes just lying there looking into space, and another 10 - 15 minutes praying for my family, friends, church, work, and this world in a general sense.

In random news, Angelina Jolie will be on Anderson Cooper 360 tonight, discussing motherhood. I wonder if part of the segment will include tips on how to steal a married celebrity actor from his wife, because apparently she's great at that also. And I can't believe I actually typed that. Yes I can, I meant it.

Until another day!

In a groove...

I slept this morning until 6:45AM. My wake up time is supposed to be 5:15AM, mind you...so I didn't just hit snooze once or twice. In fact, I turned the alarm off completely and threw it somewhere, I think. I haven't seen it this evening.

Not much to share today. Even though the kids and I got a late start this morning, I still got to work before most of my co-workers and got a whole lot more accomplished than on a normal day. Mind-over-matter...it always works. Something has come up at work recently that brings to mind the following verse from the word of God: Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. Matthew 10:16 I will be very watchful from now on, and I will definitely do a lot more listening than talking, if you know what I mean.

The kids are already asleep, I'm about to bring one of my dogs back into the house, and spend the rest of the night finishing up another chapter of HP (Goblet of Fire). I've been 4/5 of the way through this book for the last month, and I can't seem to pick back up. We'll see how it goes!

Coming to grips, on this Father's Day

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all of the men who make the daily sacrifice called fatherhood. God Bless each of you and all that you do. Know that you are appreciated.

I spent most of yesterday with my father, who even at age 31 I still call "Daddy". I've been sitting here reflecting on the men that have been a major part of my life.

• From birth there has been my Daddy. Always watching over me, checking up on me, cleaning up my messes, and just loving me no matter what. Always there. He's always been so patient and polite; always putting everyone else first, especially my sister, my mom, and myself.
  
• Then around 7 or 8 years old there was my Pastor. Reverend H. F. Shepherd. He has always been THE earthly example of Christ for me. He was always the same no matter what day of the week you saw Him. He went home to be with the Lord a few weeks ago, and he will be missed in a way that can only be expressed through tears.
  
• And exactly 10 years ago, the Lord brought me to be in a relationship with my husband. This man transcends the definition of a perfect husband. He gets up every morning and races me to get the kids up. He takes care of things before I even realize what needs taking care of. He is the knight in shining armour that I used to dream about, but never really thought existed. Never taking shortcuts, always doing things the right way for the love of his family.
  

I have tons of good days, and I have my share of bad days as well. But on this Father's Day, I am reminded to never stay blue for too long. For He has blessed me with 3 generations of men in my life that have all played a part in keeping me fixed on the heart of Jesus. The Lord has spoken to me through these men in different ways and I have been drawn nearer to Him because of it. This is why He is my favorite of all. My precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the Father that loves us all unconditionally every single day of our lives. Has always been there and always will. I love You and thank You for my life and for You being in it, Lord.

Happy Father's Day

The Big Picture

I'm learning a lot about myself while my hubby is away in Athens during the week. I'm understanding now that I focus SO much on specific and minor details, and that I often miss the most important component of a given situation. I rarely just take a few steps back, and look at what's going on from a higher view. The two biggest areas in my life where it's most noticable to me are home and work.

As I mentioned on a previous post, for the next few weeks I will be operating as a single parent on weekdays while my hubby finishes up this program in Athens. He's doing such a great job already! People from Georgia State Law School have already called him to tell him what a great job he's doing; apparently the professor's up at UGA in Athens have already been reporting back to the students home law schools.

So what's the problem? Well, at home, I now have to be someone that I have never been. A disciplined, focused, hard worker who doesn't have the luxury of falling into someone's arms when I mess something up. Wow, look at that, I just described my husband! Those are his characteristics. Ready to hear my characteristics? A spontaneous, high-energy, live-for-the-moment person, who has ALWAYS had the luxury of falling into her parents' arms when she messed something up (which was often). Yikes.

My kids mean everything on the Earth to my husband and to me. I have prayed to the Lord asking Him to make me into the person I will need to be to get through these weeks while my hubby is away. Looking at it now, even that prayer is very detailed . It seems too specific to really remedy my actual problem.

So I did it. I stepped back, took a breath, and just listened to God. Listening to God is not as difficult as one may initially think. He's not difficult to hear at all. What I do is pray to God...afterward, I get very quiet for about 15-30 minutes; I just sit there, usually with my eyes closed. Then, I pray again. This second prayer is usually MUCH more selfless and much more broadly focused. I'm telling you, the Lord has been able to show me things that I didn't think were possible for me to grasp.

What I'm describing here can be looked at like dominoes all lined up and ready for the first one to be pushed so you can watch them all fall. My prayers were like the very last domino that doesn't have another domino behind it! It was the only domino being knocked down. But, when I step back far enough, I realize I'm almost to the front of the domino line! So now there are lots of dominoes behind the one I'm about to push down, and ALL of them will fall as well.

That's what the Lord is doing in my life. Instead of praying "Lord, please get me through the weeks that my husband is away"...I now pray, "Lord, please instill in me all of the qualities that will develop me into the woman that will represent your Kingdom". And you know what? After a few weeks, I already feel like I'm looking at a different woman in the mirror.

Thank God It's Friday...

I really mean that. What a week! Let's see, guess I'll start at the beginning.

My husband's aunt, who happens to be one of the most vibrant women I've ever met in my life, had to have emergency surgery on Tuesday. It came about completely out of the blue and stunned all of us. I wish I knew why I was so consumed with worry during this situation. I'm usually a lot more calm, and confident that things will be okay in situations like this. She's recovering right now, and doing much better.

My hubby is in law school. He is taking some prerequisite law courses at University of GA right now. He is halfway done. It's comparable to bootcamp, he says. He should know; he served in the US Air Force for 7 1/2 years. I'm so proud of him...but I miss seeing him as much as I used to. Before, we would carpool in to work together every morning, drop the kids off together, ride home from work together, play with the kids together,...you get the idea. Now, we don't see as much of one another, but I realize that it's only temporary. Still doesn't make me miss him any less, though.

My daughter will be a year old next Friday! That sweet little munchkin-face has just grown up right before my eyes. She is walking now, and everything! My son, is officially 2 1/2 years old now as well. They are little old people, seriously. I love watching them play together. I'm witnessing the epitome of innocence and purity
right now. What a blessing!

Work was cuh-RAAAZY this week! I don't know if I was piled on with a larger amount of work than normal or what, but it's been a pretty headache inducing 5 days for sure. I think it may have to do with this being the second week of my hubby's course all the way at UGA, which means I'm playing solitaire, but not with cards. It's with managing a household, preparing meals and not only getting to and from work, but completing challenging tasks without causing my company website to go down which would be bad. Apparently some people still go to cnn.com. I don't know.

I guess that's enough for today! Later!

Love,

Tami

Who am I? What is my motivation? Why am I still up at this hour?

Oh just three of the MANY questions that could be asked about me at any given moment. For now, I will briefly explain why I decided to create my own blog. This will be my virtual "pensieve". I stole this term from a chapter of Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire. The word pensieve is a combination of the word pensive and sieve. It means to siphon one's thoughts or memories layer by layer and sort through these thoughts individually. The idea is to have an opportunity to go back and figure things out that couldn't be understood or interpreted initially.

When I read that chapter, I decided that I needed my own pensieve immediately. That is what this blog will serve as. I will type, thoughts will enter my mind, memories will be timestamped somewhere in my brain cavity, and I will come back later and remark on what an idiot I was when I typed this.

I will post daily, even if it's only one line. (doesn't everyone say that when they start a blog?) Well I mean it. No seriously. Where are you going? Is this thing on?

In the meantime, please read my friend Joel's post on Guarding Your Heart

Guarding Your Heart

Joel's post on "Guarding your Heart" really spoke to me.

TESTING

This is a test of the emergency broadcast system. This is only a test.