Experiencing grief

This summer we lost a precious little pup member of our family. Our beloved little Gus (or Gusy Gus as Annaliese called him) passed away. I didn't blog about it when it happened. It was too hard. Too tragic.

It was the first time my kids experienced grief. It took me a little time to realize it. It hurt my son especially. There's something about a boy and his dog. He cried and it broke my heart. The next day he told me"I don't know what this feeling is. Every time I think about Gus I cry, and it hurts here". (pointing to his chest) I had to explain to him that he was greiving. Such a difficult concept to grasp.

Annaliese has finally stopped going outside calling for him.

The really crazy part.....he dreamed it before it ever happened. About 1 week before it happened. He woke up telling me Gus had died in his dream. I told him his dog was fine, and it was only a dream. Now how can I tell him his dreams are just dreams now?

The day it happened I called a neighbor where Gus frequently visited. He had just spent several days on their property and I wanted to let her know. We discussed what the possibilities where of why he may have died, and then she mentioned to me her cute english bulldog had been gone the same day Gus was gone. We were sure the friends went off on a rendevous. She told me there could be the possibility that her dog was pregnant.

She called me last week to let me know.....her dog is expecting...due in a week or two....and most likely our Gus is the daddy!! She's going to allow us to have first pick of the pups. The kids are so excited. While it won't replace our Gusy Gus, we're happy to be able to bond with another puppy that is a part of him.

There was a part of this experience that made me not want to have another pet....ever....

It was hard to watch the kids go through the grief.

But I realized what a teachable moment it had become.

We talked about death. About heaven. And the joy of heaven.

And who before us is in heaven.

And how Gus is playing with all of them right now...chasing his tail....

They were able to experience the grieving process and come to understand what loss was......

Before they ever had to experience it through losing a family member.

I know they will someday. It's a fact of life.

So I'm thankful for our sweet Gus.

And the joy he gave to our family.

And the joy he left behind :)

A week of bliss

We just returned from an amazing vacation. We went to Disney World and on the way back we stopped at the beautiful beach of Destin, FLorida.

One of the first things we did was visit the Bippitty Boppitty Boutique for some princess makeovers for two sweet girls.

So much girly fun!

A little too much according to my guys.....they were ready to leave...

What did the guys want to do? Ride the Tower of Terror!!

That's us on the front row.......terrified! The front is the worst place to be...but according to the little guys beside us, it's the best. I beg to differ.....

On another of our days we made a stop at the Rainforest Cafe. If you've never been.....be careful....it's a jungle in there...

We made our way to the hundred acre woods and found these friends:



We even went up to the top of a mountain......once there we begged for another way down...

Oh, well......


At least the beach was relaxing....


I did have a few complaints....

There was limited seating...


The waves were too big & "narly" (words my kids used...all of a sudden they are surfer dudes?)

And the seashells were only to be found by those shortest and closest to them....

At the end of it all....what can I say?

It was a week of fun...

a week of bonding...

of relationships...

of memories....

of pure exhaustion...

but more important.....

a week to remember.

Friend in me

Here's a video from dance camp:




Thanks M & M for the camp and for taking this video!!

Hold my hand

Children are a blessing. They are. So much that God uses them to teach us about Him. I remember pondering this reality many years ago when my then 3 year old A1 reminded me not to say "Oh, my gosh!", because it sounded too much like "Oh my God!", and God didn't want us talking like that about Him.

I was walking with little A3 one day and asked her to take my hand. She runs off saying nothing, and shortly after tumbles down. I said "Oops, baby girl, you should have been holding my hand." Then on another day the same thing happens....I say "Let me hold your hand", and she runs off. Clumsy (and stubborn) little thing she is this time she trips on something she didn't see and skins a knee. I tell her "If you would of been holding mommy's hand you wouldn't of fallen, because I saw that limb on the ground and I would have held you up". There have been many times since then that she will hold my hand, she'll lose her step, and I'll hold her up. After one of those times she turned and looked and me and said "You hold me mommy". Not as a question, but a statement. She knew I would hold her up.

This led me to wonder....how many times does this same scenario happen between God and I?

He's there walking beside, telling me to hold His hand....and off I run.

I'm trying to get to where I'm going faster.

No time to slow down.

Expecting God to keep up.

He's with me wherever I go anyway?

And then I wonder why I fell and got hurt.

He patiently tells me again to hold His hand.

He can see those things in my path that can cause me to fall.

When I stumble along the way His mighty hand can pull me up.

And I'll know without question...."Lord, you hold me."

Isn't it great the way God can use a child to teach us something?

How about you? Has God ever taught you something through a child?

Are you running somewhere by yourself today?


"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand." Psalm 73:23

Baseball Fever

Once upon a time
Baseball season was in the air

Children carrying bats and gloves
Proud, competetive dads everywhere


















This particular dad could no longer stand
To watch his star daughter and son

Strike out time and time again
Did I mention it was only game one?


So this dad bought one of these
Saying this will fix it all...







Practice on the fields, practice at home,
Practice 'till you can hit that ball!



No more strikeouts, no more misses

Dad is ever so proud













Shouts of joy....Run fast... run!
Echo from the crowd.


Moral of this story? If there's one at all?
Practice your swing, keep your eye on ball,
These things will set you apart

But for some people who come to these games,
The snowcones are still the best part!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Happy 11th Birthday to my Cinco de

Mayo baby!

11 interesting things about her:

1. She loves reading

2. She loves when mom cooks mexican food.

3. She likes American Girl dolls and stuff and wants more...lots more...
4. She plays softball and basketball.

5. She's been in softball Allstars 2 years.

6. She plays piano and has won superior perfomance several years

7. She's won 1st place in UIL twice..once for storytelling and once for oral reading.

8. Her favorite color is green.

9. She has to make her bed and keep it neat every day or it will drive her crazy
{her room is another story!}

10. At age 4 she told me she wanted to be a dog catcher when she grew up.
{What she meant was she wanted to be a veternarian}

11. She likes dolphins.
At age 7 she wanted to swim with dolphins when she grew up.

11 things to love about her:

1. She loves Jesus.

2. Her laugh is contagious.

3. Her smile brightens a room.

4. She's a born leader.

5. Everything she does - she does to the best of her ability

6. Her beauty steals my breath away.

7. She's a daddy's girl - but loves her mom just as much.

8. She's a great big sister.

9. Gotta love her sense of humor ;)

10. She cares about others.

11. She's a gift from God.

"Then, gathering the children up in His arms, He laid His hands of blessing on them."

Mark 10:13

Day at the beach

A beautiful day to be in Galveston...



This is the sight I love the most!


"You help me daddy.."


You can't go to the beach and not look for seashells!



They could be hiding anywhere...


"Hey...where did dat water come from?"


Just here to help out the lifeguards...

"I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.." Genesis 22:17

My little cheerleaders

I'm so glad my friend took a picture of this. I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

I ran a 5K this past Saturday that went near their home.



As cold as it was that morning those brave little cheerleaders, and their mom, went to sidelines to cheer me on, and the 600+ other people running. I felt like a star.

And I'll tell you something else....that cheering section kept me moving. As much as I wanted to stop and walk...even if just for a minute....I kept thinking to myself "No way...I can't be seen walking....they're here to see me run!"

We even had a motivational speaker amongst out group. He was running, and sweating, never losing a beat in stride. He was cheering everyone on, even as he ran by some that had started to walk. He would encourage them to pick up the stride again. He was 75 years young. How do I know that? He kept repeating it. As motivation I'm sure. {If a 75 year old man can do it, I know you young folks can!} I thought he was great.

Join me on the next one friends! You won't regret it!

Run for the Ring ~ Saturday, April 19th ~ http://traditions.tamu.edu/index.php?q=node/14
See Spot Run ~ Saturday, April 19th ~ http://www.cvm.tamu.edu/seespotrun/

Spoiled

No, I'm talking about my baby girl. I'm talking about me. I've realized that I've gotten a little spoiled. This whole coupon shopping thing has me rotten. See....I enjoy saving money. Really I do. But I like options. I want the option to spend my money where I want....save it where I can and splurge a little when I can. And if I've watched my pennies and saved them where I can then I know I can buy a few nice things and not break the budget.

Here's one of my favorite splurges:

For the past few months I have kept fresh flowers in my house. I'll stroll the floral section at Kroger and start digging around for the ones that have been marked down. There's just something about having fresh flowers in the house. Makes me smile every time I see them. :)

And I only spend around $3-$4. I buy a new bouquet every week or so. Love it!

Another little splurge:




Is it really a splurge if your veins are begging for it? This is really a treat, because I don't buy it often. But Alex and I love it so much that we won't brew anything else at home. Anything else is just not the same. And behold....there's a starbucks in Kroger that gives me my 10th cup for free. Make it a venti!!



A recent one time {ok, maybe two times} splurge:





This particular lady didn't come help clean my house, but she looks quite eager to do so. I needed some serious spring cleaning help. I finally gave in to pay someone and we both started spring cleaning my house. She worked on my living room for 3 hours. The windows shine, window sills and screens are clean, ceiling fans have no dust, dust bunnies had no hope, furniture is fresh & clean, walls and door frames have no handprints, and no kids are allowed in there for at least a month.


So here's the part where I spoil my baby girl....

I love shopping, but hate spending alot of money. The solution? Only buy on clearance with some of the money I save from couponing. And use a coupon for the clothes on top of the sale. This isn't even half of what I bought at 80% off, plus an additional 30% off that. Cute isn't it?

Speaking of cute.......

Had to throw these in here just for fun.

Debtors Anonymous

This is something that I sometimes keep quiet about. It can be a touchy subject for many. And it's something people don't usually openly talk about. I'm talking about $MONEY$...debt in particular.

I'm very open about our financial situation. In fact, I'll tell you all, my good friends, what our debts are. Here we go:

Number 1. Our home

Number 2. That's it......

Really.....

No credit cards. No loans. No gas cards. No store cards. No car payments.

God dealt with mine and Alex's heart about debt a few years back. I started listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio, and we went to see him at a seminar in Houston. What he teaches is almost exact to Crown Financial, only "he sinks his teeth in" is what I've heard quoted. His daily radio show helped keep us on track. We slowly began paying off credit cards, loans...even sold a car for less than what was owed on it, and paid off the difference... just to get rid of that payment. We lived on beans and rice {wrapped in a tortilla of course!} to pay off those bills. A treat to my kids during those times was a 99 cent burger at Jack in the Box, no fries, and water to drink. {water is good for their brains anyway} Every extra dollar went towards debt. We were intense. We wanted out of those bills.

At one time our mortgage person told us that there where very few people that applied with home loans that didn't have debt.

Really? So she was telling us we weren't normal.

Here's normal:
*52% of Americans don't have retirement savings at all.

*The average family's consumer debt is: $35,154. (car loans, credit cards) This does not include the mortgage.

*The average American saves less than 1% of their income (into savings accounts) with most saving 0%.

* Over 40% of households spend more than they earn each year.

I don't want to be normal.

A few more statistics:
*About 60 percent of active credit card accounts are not paid off monthly.
*Last year the credit card industry took in $43 billion in card fees.
*The average graduate student has six credit cards and one in seven owes more than $15,000.
*People using credit cards in fast food restaurants spend up to 50 percent more than when they pay cash.
*Studies show on average you spend 15% more anywhere else when you use a credit card than with cash

And here's a big one: Some 2.7 million U.S. households -- one of every 73 -- filed for bankruptcy in 2007.

WOW

I hate those Visa commercials that portray the guy paying with cash as "slow". Not in the loop. That's the smartest guy of the bunch.

Now I don't think all debt is bad. If we didn't have a loan for our home we wouldn't be living here. Our current vehicle we had to pull out a small loan that we paid off in 2 1/2 years, finishing just recently. But we went over a year and a half with absolutely no car payment when we started getting control of our finances, driving around a 10 yr old yukon with 170,000 miles. Proudly.

Having no debt has given us a freedom that I wasn't sure even existed. I thought debt was a way of life. You just have to have a car payment. Credit card debt? Everyone has it. Savings? Would be nice, but we need our money now, not later.

Take a moment....and imagine....dream if you will.....that you had no car payment......no credit card payments.....no student loans........you actually have money left over at the end of the month....you know where your money is instead of wondering where it went.....you have a nice size emergency fund in the bank....your retirement fund is looking good....kids have college funds....you fill up your gas tank with cash.......you buy that new furniture cash....you vacation on cash....washing machine go out? No problem, you go buy one cash....car needs a new transmission? Cash baby!

It's a dream that's real. We don't have to be slaves. Breath the sweet air of freedom my friends.

"The borrower is slave to the lender..." Proverbs 22:7

Want more information on becoming debt free? Listen to Dave Ramsey on 550 am daily from 10am-12pm, or on 1010 am daily from 1-4pm. Or go to www.daveramsey.com