First 40

Yesterday was my BFF’s 40th birthday.

Marissa and I have been friends since I don’t even remember when. We were in the same Kindergarten class at Benbrook Elementary. We went all through elementary, middle school and two years of High School. We roomed together at Texas Tech. She was in my wedding and I was at hers. I remember when she was pregnant with her daughter. We lost touch for a few years, then after she had her son and I had Michael we reconnected. Then, for about the next eight or nine years we were only in contact two or three time. Then last summer she found me on Facebook.

I am so blessed to have her back in my life. I have really needed her this year, and every time, she has been there! She truly is a lifelong friend, and I love her! So, when her husband called and invited me to a surprise party for her 40th birthday, there was no question that I would be there.

The party was a lot of fun, and it is always wonderful to see her family. There is something that just feels good about being with people who have known you through all the good, and all the bad too! But it has left me pondering 40 and my 40’s. When I reflect back on my 30’s, I am astonished by how many times my life has been turned upside down with changes. What will my 40’s bring? What will the next 40 years bring? The possibilities are endless, and exciting, and frightening.
Anyway, these are a few pics from last night.


Me and Marissa! Who would ever believe that we are "40!"

All of those candles! It took like a hour to light them! LOL!

And then they were trick candles and kept lighting back up!

Marissa and her mom, Helen. Two beautiful women, on the inside and out!

Dirt Bike Boys

I am pretty sure that I blogged about the boys getting dirt bikes for Christmas last year. The bikes are no big deal, but the boys were SO excited to get them! They tried to ride them a little after Christmas and did pretty well, but then things just got crazy and they really didn’t get back on them until June. They were at a Dirt Bike camp the day that Daddy died.

Just after then they tried to ride, but both bikes needed a tune-up. Mark brought them home to work on. Finally, about two weeks ago the boys stayed out with Mom for the weekend, and we found a trailer and a dirt bike for Mark, and on Sunday when we went out to pick the boys up they got to ride dirt bikes with their dad. I can not tell you how happy that made me to see the three of them together having fun.

I took the boys back to Mom’s last weekend and Michael and Mavrick road again. That time I decided to watch them in style with my shade structure and lounge chair. They did so good, especially not to have Mark there with them! But after a while, they got bored and I told them that I would take them this weekend to the dirt bike track a few miles from Mom’s. Thankfully, it rained all day yesterday, and they had a busy day today, so we didn’t go. I am a bit worried about their lack of experience, but this track has a track specifically for kids. I hope the more experienced riders will be on the bigger track so they can be comfortable, but still see that they have a lot to learn yet. They have already asked if we could go next weekend. :)


This is Mark on his bike. It is a beast! It is as tall as I am!


This is Mavrick. He has already taken to spills, but gets right back on!


This is Michael. He gets bored real quickly on Mom's land, so hopefully he will like the track.


And this is my husband. Something about that little outfit is HOT!!!


And this is the trailer. It is packed! Can you imagine me driving with this thing on the back of my car? (See the pulling trailer blog from October of '08! LOL!)

A Special Day

43 years ago today, my mom married my dad, and so began a legacy of unconditional love and friendship. I am so blessed to have this as my heritage! Thank you Mom and Daddy for teaching me how to be a true friend and how to love without limits. ♥ U Mom. ♥ and miss you so much Daddy!

You probably saw this as my Facebook status today. It is kind of bitter sweet day. I am so proud of my parents for keeping it together for so long. Mark and I have been married 17 years, and I can honestly say it’s not always easy. There are not flowers every day, and after only 17 years we will both admit that we are not the same people we were when we met and/or got married. I can only imagine how one would change over 43 years.

The weekend before Daddy died, my three boys stayed with them. Mom and Dad were talking about something and Mom gave Daddy “the finger.” Well one of the kids saw and said something like “aaaawwww! You waved your nasty finger at Poppy!” Mom’s reply was simply, “that’s how we communicate.” Ok, it may not have been the most polite form of communication, but it was communication. I think sometimes we forget to communicate, or even how to communicate. But they still could and did, after all those years together.

In a Beth Moore study I was doing right before Daddy died, she spoke of our heritage. We are children of God, and we have inherited all of the good and mighty things that would entail. We were encouraged to pay attention to the legacy, the heritage that we are creating for our children. My parents were great examples of how to love each other through it all. I know times were not always easy, and some were just dang hard, but they stayed together through it all. Not even once considering walking away from the other. I am proud of my heritage, and I can only pray that I will leave my children the same legacy that my precious parents have given me.

The Grill Girl

LOL! OK, this is a story about one of those things I have gotten myself into. It all started around Valentine’s Day. Mark has wanted to make an outdoor kitchen for some time and we found some grills on an auction, so we bought it. I think at that time we picked up two grills. One was really nice and brand new and one was ok and may have been used a time or two. Then, in March, we found another auction that was three grills. Anyway, between a few auctions we have accumulated an amazing stainless steel outdoor kitchen for relatively very little money. It was a very good purchase and will easily add value to our home.

You will notice that I said “between a few auctions,” which means that we did get a few items that we didn’t want. At one point during the summer, I believe we had about 15 grills, refrigerators and sink units on our back porch. Can you say white trash? I am so glad that it was on the back porch! Welcome to the trailerhood! Just call me the Grill Girl! Anyway, I have been putting the grills on Craig’s List, and to date, we have recouped our investment, so our outdoor kitchen will has cost us nothing so far, and we kept two grills, to fridges and another piece that are all stainless.

It has been kind of fun, almost like having a business again, only I am working very little. But it has also been a bit stressfull because the back yard has been so packed with grills that we haven’t been able to do anything that we want to do yet. We are down to our last few and I am hoping in the fall that I will get to complete our outdoor kitchen project . . . just as soon as we get a remodel on the master bath finished! LOL!

Chaos is in the house!

Chaos. That is the situation you find when you walk in our front door. Well, at least when you get to the top of the stairs. You see, all my boys are trading bedrooms. This started last week as Mavrick took all of Major’s things and put them in his room and moved some of his things into Major’s room. This would have been ok if we would have had a smooth weekend. . . but we didn’t.

So, here we are a week later and our upstairs is still in complete chaos! Major’s old room needs to have the crib taken down and the rest of Mavrick’s things moved into it. The bathroom is clean and looks great. Mavrick’s old room and Michael’s old room look like a tornado came through them. Half of the game room is near perfection, however the other half just needs to be put in a bag and sent to CCA.

The point in this whole room switch thing was to put Major into Michael’s old room – that still has the Buzz Lightyear mural painted on it. We just were having such a tough time with painting over it, and then Major started watching the Toy Story movies, and it just seemed to work. I am praying that Major will like sleeping in his new room, and stop sleeping in mommy’s bed! I guess if I am honest, I would rather take it all slow and do it all myself so I can make sure a lot of their junk is moved out and/or thrown away. The only problem with that is the fact that Major has been so sick this week and so needy. I am hoping that by this time next week I can report that he is well and they are all moved into the appropriate bedrooms. . . Keep your fingers crossed!

Journaling

I have decided that I need to start writing again. Seriously. I have so much going on in my head. I have to get it out. So, with that said, please know that what I say here is not intended to hurt or upset anyone. What I write here is for me and my kids to look back on one day and see how we have grown from the experiences we have gone through. This is my journal, published for the whole world to see. I welcome you to read our story, but remember you can stop at anytime. I do hope you enjoy what you find here, and perhaps it helps you to grow a little too.

Where I Am

Christy and I are going to a Grief Share group that starts tonight. Ok, I’m not going tonight because Major is sick, but that is a later entry. Anyway, I started reading the workbook that goes with the group sessions. I think it will help me move forward some. As of now, I am in denial. I am not dealing with my dad’s death at all. As a matter of fact, I am kind of in a process where I feel like if I don’t admit it, it won’t be real. I am doing an amazing job keeping myself busy so I don’t have to face reality.

The bad part of this plan is that every time I see a picture of Daddy it is like the first time I am finding out he is gone. I don’t know if this is a normal part of the grieving process. And now that things are slowing down a bit, I am realizing that it is going to be difficult to keep as busy as I was able to do this summer.