Are you covered?

Each Morning as I get ready to go to the gym, I "put on" all that I need to work out....sports bra, (or 2 or 3...a secret I learned from a friend and YES it is sooo much better!) work out clothes (of course), my Nike Free tennis shoes, (love these for working out) and a hat to keep my hair up and out of my face. When boxing I wear these AWESOME PINK GLOVES!! I definitely ♥ them! As I've shared before, boxing is definitely my favorite and HEY, every girl needs her own gloves ESPECIALLY if they are PINK!!!

Of course before I put ANY of these on, I prepare myself with the Armor given to me by my FATHER.....

Helmet of Salvation
Breastplate of Righteousness
Belt of Truth
Shoes of Peace
Shield of Faith
and the Sword of the Spirit which is the WORD of God

On my Heart ~ Tuesdays

What is on my ♥heart♥ this Tuesday?.... Join in Here to share what's on your heart

I have just been sooo very thankful for "NORMAL" days... You know, the days that you wake up and go about your day, with nothing "new" or "different" than the ones prior to today. Those days that you ask your neighbor "How are you doing?" and they reply, "doing good, you know just the same ol ~ same ol'"

I have just been on my face thankful to the Lord for these "normal" days. I've shared with you all that I began working out in August. There are a great group of women that work out at the same time as I do. Two of these women have recently been widowed. Thing is, they are both younger than me. Their children are way younger than mine. Neither of their spouses had cancer or a long illness. No, these women woke up one morning went about their "Normal day" until they received a life-changing phone call. One that notified them, their husband and children's father had died.

There is also a friend of mine from jr. high who also became widowed recently. Her husband woke up as he always had and left for work on his motorcycle like he always did on any normal day. On this particular day, He was struck by a truck going the wrong way on the highway and was killed instantly.

For these women, this day and the days after were nothing NORMAL.

My Son has a friend who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. It always breaks my heart when kids are diagnosed with cancer. Our community is surrounding his family, raising funds for him and his family. I can only imagine how his Mother LONGS for those Normal days prior to his diagnosis.

I honestly could go on and on. I am certain as you are reading this, you could share similar stories as well. Sharing this wasn't intended to be depressing. It was simply to take time and thank the Lord for our Normal Days!

humbly and thankfully HIS,

2 Earthquakes in OKLAHOMA??? SERIOUSLY??

Happy Monday everyone!! :) How was your weekend?? Ours was full of EXCITEMENT! WHAT you ask was exciting? Well, here ya
go :)

In 2011, Oklahoma has been a WILD WEATHER YEAR soooo far....

We have had:

the Most Snow ever recorded in a 24 hour period.

Record snow fall happened to be in my small town.... we got 21 inches on February 2, 2011.

Coldest temperature ever recorded in Oklahoma -31'F on February 10.2011.''

Changing Seasons we then had a record Hottest Summer since 1936 with July being the HOTTEST month on record since the 1930's dust bowl drought.

You might think things would calm down for the Fall Season. I know I did! LOL ~ but believe it or not, we were in for quite the surprise!! On November 5, Oklahoma experienced an 4.7 Earthquake, around 2 in the morning. I slept through this one and while my husband was still awake, he did not feel any shaking either. At almost 11 pm. that very same day/night, I was in our kitchen having a bowl of cereal and all of the sudden it sounded as if a Jet plane had landed ON MY HOUSE, and everything is shaking like CRAZY. The candles, the dishes, the door...you name it, it was shaking. Of course, I have NEVER been in an Earthquake before so I honestly did not know what in the world was going on!!! I just know it lasted for quite awhile and just as it stopped, my Son came in the kitchen and we began talking about what had just happened. He assured me it WAS an Earthquake! You know, 14 year olds KNOW EVERYTHING ;)~
Sure enough, the news stations began reporting that indeed it was an Earthquake and that this particular Earthquake had set a new record!! Of course it did!

Oh ya, This 5.6 Earthquake came just minutes after we watched my College team ~ #3 Oklahoma State University beat #14 Kansas State University. This game went back and forth and literally with 1 second left in the game, KSU had the opportunity to win the game. I don't recall EVER having my nerves shot the way they were after this game had come to an end!!! It was the most exciting, frustrating, scary, exhilarating game EVER!!! Praise the Lord we won though!!

Well, that was our weekend...How was yours??

Honestly, the game had me wayyyy more nervous than this Earthquake! I don't ever want to experience either situation again!

Friday Funnies ♥

It's Friday Friday Friday.....

Time for some FUNNIES with KIM

I just love to watch the old game shows bloopers! they just crack me up!! you know like....the newlywed game, price is right, or family feud. If you ever need a laugh just pull some of those up on YouTube and you will be laughing in no time!

Enjoy some Price is Right bloopers and Have a Blessed and Laughter filled weekend!!!




XOXO

Homecoming Weekend

This past weekend was OSU's Homecoming. They have one of the best Homecoming celebrations in the NATION! Not to mention that our Football team in the ONLY UNDEFEATED team in the BIG 12!!! WOO HOO GO POKES!!

We made plans to go down and see all of the decks that the Sorority/Fraternity houses created as well as participate in all the other activities a few months ago! We have been anxiously awaiting and FINALLY it arrived :) It was really cold walking around at night but hey ~ we were burning calories right? ;)

Here is the Library Lawn where they turned the water ORANGE!! Isn't it pretty!!!



The theme of Homecoming was "Where Your Story Began" so each deck told a story somehow incorporating this. I was just amazed at these decks. They begin plans within the first few weeks of school and then 24 hours before the celebration for Homecoming begins each member begins the tedious process of poking tissue paper into the chicken wire. HUNDREDS & THOUSANDS of Tissue Paper! Only young college students could do that for 24 hours straight ~ no sleep ~ don't you think??/





This picture is of a Sorority Girl who was in a car accident & died the week just before Greek Weekend. They dedicated this to her! Can you imagine how her parents must have felt seeing this? Truly, what a blessed gift they gave them!


This picture was my favorite in regards to the theme. They were all amazing and each one shared so much of the History of OSU.


They also introduced the Basketball teams (boys & girls). They also had their awesome Drum Line. Gosh, I could have listened to them for hours! Just sooo cool! Here are some great action shots my Husband took.













It was an UNBEIEVABLE GAME!! They are just ON FIRE this year! We beat the Baylor Bears 59-24!! Always good to win your game on Homecoming isn't it :)


This is Justin Blackmon jumping into the stands once the game is over! Everyone looks sooo happy!! They should be they just got to see an absolutely amazing game!!


Here we are....Enjoying the Homecoming weekend with my kids! We missed Krista & family though!!


How about you? Did you have a good weekend?

Mood Lights...Really?

My Husband & I have been doing alot of organizing, deep cleaning and just purging all that stuff we don't need. It feels so good to declutter and have order back!! To say we have made a few trips to Lowes would be quite the understatement! :) While shopping one of these times, we were looking for some lightbulbs and ended up finding something that cracked me up. Mood lights!



Has anyone seen these?? They are colored light bulbs! YEP, you read that correctly. Oh, it gets better! On each package you learn just what the color represents and where the best place would be in your home for that particular color. For Instance, Red=Passion! Great for the Bedroom (duh), Kitchen, Music Room, and more. I have always wanted to get Red & Green bulbs for Christmas time but I never had ANY IDEA that they came with such meaning!!!




It got me to thinking about how we are in our Christian Walk and if we Shine for Christ. Do we omit "Happiness " and hope that others will notice the JOY in our lives? Are we "Passionate" about Jesus?
Do we" Renew" our minds each and every morning? Do we experience "Serenity" despite what we may be facing because we KNOW God is in Control? How about "creativity" Being Creative for Christ can be sooo awesome and no doubt will bless many people!

As Believers I Pray we are being a Light for Jesus and shining brightly wherever we go! What about you, Which color best describes you??

I pray that as we grow in our Faith that our light shines brighter and brighter and never dulls or goes out!!

Thank you Charlotte, you shine so beautifully for Christ! Thank you for all you do!

To join in with Spiritual Sundays, go here

Friday Funnies ♥

Thank you to my oh so HILARIOUS Friend Kim from Homesteaders Heart for hosting Friday Funnies. If you need more than a Friday Laugh then she is the girl for you! She will bring a smile to your day, or maybe a giggle, and sometimes you may even snort while reading her blog!


OK, SO.....

I was walking into Hobby Lobby yesterday, and all of the sudden I hear a VERY LOUD **BURP**!! Shortly thereafter, I hear a giggle. I thought "surely that is some kid laughing" so I turned around and much to my SURPRISE I see a MUCH OLDER WOMAN!!! She looks at me and giggles even more!! I said, "OH MY, I wasn't expecting to see a LADY!!" She laughed out loud this time and said, "well, sometimes you just don't know or have control when that is going to happen!" I laughed with her and told her...."If my kids were here with me, they would surely be HIGH FIVING you right now!!"


Moral to the story: Never judge a Burp .... You just might be surprised to find a sweet little old lady can out do a teenage boy any day! :)

Word-Filled Wednesday ♥

I seem to be very low on the energy level these past few days. I'll be honest ~ I am not the nicest person to be around if I am
a) hungry or b) tired! I learned many years ago that the enemy loves nothing more than to attack us when we are tired. It is in those weak moments when satan can work through us if we are not aware. Recognizing our weaknesses and then admitting we cannot handle them on our own can be one of the best gifts we can receive. It shows our Humility. It reveals our dependency on the Lord.

I was at a Joyce Meyer conference a few years back when she shared a story. It went like this.....

A husband and wife were having a somewhat loud disagreement. They were completely unaware that a car had pulled up in their drive and that just a small distance away stood the Pastor of their Church ready to knock on their door. The Pastor hearing the couple on the inside debated as to whether to knock, or just walk away quietly and leave so that there is no embarrassment on either end. His or Theirs. He decided to go ahead and knock. What happened next was a complete shock. He knocked on the door and to his surprise, the wife opened the door, put on a HUGE smile and welcomed the Pastor into their home. The Husband shook his hand and acted honestly happy to see him. Basically, the couple completely put on their masks. They made a conscious effort to put all the anger, yelling, and frustration aside. They were all smiles and acted as happy as could be.

How many times do we do this? One minute we are griping or wining and then we see a friend, or maybe we get a phone call and all of the sudden our whole voice changes, as well as our attitude. We may be sooo tired and want nothing more than to just sit and veg out, even telling our kids we can't go outside right now to play bc we are so tired. Next thing you know you receive a call from a ministry asking to help cook something for a family asap. You don't even think about it ~ You just get up, prepare the dinner, and then deliver it to the person(s) in need.

All of these situations I have shared can go one way or another way, it just depends on how we choose to respond. As I said, I learned to recognize these situations so that I would no longer respond the way I had in the past. It was very hard to see my behavior and to realize the hurt that came when I chose to make these decisions. I had to repent to the Lord and to those in which I had behaved that way. But honestly, it was a process. It wasn't like once I saw it that I could just "turn it off." I had to learn how to respond in a godly way. More importantly, I had to rely on the Holy Spirit to help me recognize, then to renew my mind, which for me meant that I had to CHOOSE to make godly choices!

I can't do any of it on my own! It is only through Christ that I can. HE gives me the Strength when I am tired. HE gives me the Strength to go to new levels and not allow my choices, or my weaknesses to carry me down. Am I perfect? Absolutley NOT! But, as the Word says "I can do ALL things through Christ, who gives me strength!"

You can find me here today!

Happy Wednesday my friends!

Some laughed. Some ate. but...EVERYBODY DANCED!

Here are some of the goody's from HouseParty! bracelets, coupons, and glitter, Just to name a few

Our yummy hors d'ouevres! We also had drip beef sandwiches or pulled pork sandwiches! There wasn't a drop left!

Got that Worm down girl!!

How low can ya go?

Whippin her hair!!

We had Mothers & Daughters

and Mothers & Sons

SIBLINGS too

The best dancer of ALL~ Our Rylee ♥

We danced the night away, burned some calories too, but most of all ~ we had a wonderful time just being together! Laughing & being crazy is the best when surrounded by Family & Friends!! Thanks HouseParty!

Have you ever had a HouseParty?? What fun did you have??

Fall Break = Bloggy Break??

Holy Smokes! I guess you could say I took a Blog Break huh!?!? I had no idea I was going to do that LOL but my DH took a week of vacation and my Son had his fall break. (today is the last day - he will return to classes Tuesday)

My honey's goal in taking time off was to get some things done around our house. We got sooo much accomplished! We literally worked anywhere from 12-15 hours each day. WE had two parties! One was a HouseParty with the PS3 "Everybody Dance" game and the other was for a friend of Jantzens who is moving this weekend to Colorado! Then, We completely went through & organized the Garage, our mud room, our laundry room, and then the office. In the garage we installed some shelving. This helped us to clear the floor space & remove clutter as well as have it all organized! When we built our house, we built a Salon for me to work in, in what would have been the third car garage. Sadly, I never worked out there, but now it will serve as my DH's shop! I hope he has many wonderful days just putzing (my moms term) around in there.

We totally redid our Laundry room and closet! Wow! I am amazed at the difference!! Pics will come and this time I did get before's and after's ~ WOOHOO

Aside from work work work, Jantzen asked if he could have a going away party for one of his friends. He has a group of buddies that call themselves the Wolfpac (NO, it is NOT after Twilight LOL) Some of these boys have been friends since they were 3. Anyway, I thought that was so nice of him and said of course! So he went to town sending out invites. He also made numerous attempts to contact the friend of his that was moving to Colorado...Ya know, The GUEST OF HONOR!! He began getting RSVP's from his friends, yet, after a day or so, he still hadn't heard from his friend! AT this point, my DH helped him find his Fathers Church where he is the Pastor. He also looked in the phone book. Jantzen called those #'s, and left messages too. Surely, this will work, right?

The party day had arrived! The Bon Fire was ready to be lit. The hotdogs and smores were ready to be cooked over the fire, the lawn was mowed, and it was party time! BUT..... we had NO GUEST OF HONOR!!! Can you even believe that???/ too funny. I looked outside and saw it was getting darker and some major clouds were up in the sky. Now, let me preface this by saying....It has not rained in my town for quite some time! It has gone all around us but it has been like we have this huge barrier around our town and only our town and we just haven't gotten any rain. So when my husband says, It is fixing to rain! I was like .... YA RIGHT! Well, guess what! It didn't just rain. It Poured and it was one of the BEST Thunderstorms EVER!! The lightning was just incredible! Here is just one of the awesome pics my honey took as he stood on our back porch!



Anyways, as the boys arrived they all were sad that we probably wouldn't be able to have a bonfire. (So was I) but we played the JellyBelly game which is always a HUGE HIT (especially with boys) Ya know that game, right? Two jellybeans are the same color, one is a good flavor, and the other ...well, it's just NOT!! Like a orange/white jelly bean could be either PEACH or MOLDY CHEESE. A black jelly belly could be: licorice or SKUNK! ewwwww....get this one! A yellow green one is: pear or BARF!!! A trashcan is a MUST when playing this game!

They all had a good time! We grilled the hotdogs and did some burgers too since we were doing them on the grill :) They played video games and then finally after the rain stopped they went outside and played football. For the friend of their's that is moving I made a sign for him and made the boys gather together for him and take a pic! For some odd reason they decided NO SMILING AT ALL!!! Why? I have no idea LOL



Hope you had a blessed weekend my friends! I have missed you all soo much!