Photo Friday!

Happy Friday, friends and fam - I hope it's a lovely weekend ahead for you!!

Here's me returning from my delightful lunch-hour jog around the neighborhood on Thursday.  I was in my 7-minute cooldown walk at the end, about half a block away from my house when the smallest raindrops started.  That became a downpour in about five seconds, and I was DRENCHED - clothes and shoes soaked through, makeup had to be redone, and hair had to be re-blow-dried before our Tulsa protest hearing started back (via Zoom) at 1:30.  Ridic. lol  Perhaps I'll go with a Peloton ride next time!

Ted's dinner with the fam + Bill and Jill last week, followed by a Starbucks hangout with Triston! ❤

Mamaw with J&K

Me with T-man and K-Faith (J was getting a pic with Bill & Jill)

Jill brought Jaceman a Wemby card, and this is him trying on their Spurs Championship replica ring (that all the fans were given during the season opener game in 2014).  Jill used to live in San Antonio, so she and Jace had a lot to say about Spurs basketball! =)

❤ So glad Bill is making progress!

Nancy is in better spirits lately, feeling thankful that God protected them!  It's a long road to recovery ahead with some big decisions still looming, so please continue to pray for Sarah and her family!

Wise advice - Enneagram 9s really struggle with this (knowing what we actually want for ourselves outside of how it affects everyone else), so I'm trying to test things this way moving forward.  Well, this and prayer. lol

Happy Birthday-Eve to Chettles, who had some early celebrations today over coffee with Tyler and Debbie, then Burn Co. BBQ lunch with the guys!!

Seeing the four of them together always makes me happy... it also makes me miss Mark Anthony, but I'm thankful the Shoemakers are loving being near their families back in Texas!

Kudos to Carter Lee, who is currently leading the Steer Wrestling competition

Fun Flashback Friday pic of Pastor Craig and Chet Lee, circa 2011! lol

This hit me, you guys... the degree to which I sometimes struggle to tell which one I am in is absurd.  It's the difference in positive and negative stress - are we being productive and working toward something meaningful or just spinning our wheels on a project that is going nowhere?  Running a difficult hill in the race God marked out for us, or heading toward a dead end?  I am tired of dead ends, and I want to be moving in the path of life and building something beautiful with God's help.

On a not-altogether-unrelated note...
Dear Solid Christian Single Men,
You have one year!

By all means, step up your game.

❤ Lindsey Claire ;-)

It's a Saturday and everything -- the actual perfect wedding date, albeit a full 20 years and 10 days later than the 7-7-07 Saturday wedding I once planned! lol

Gracious.  Honestly, I do feel genuinely tired at the moment, and I need a friend to speak life over my heart in all of this right now...

I have built a life that I love,
and I still have things that I want.

❤
God has heard you every time you pray.
It is in His heart to give you the life story
that brings Him the most glory
and brings you a lot of joy
and moves the gospel forward!

God has ENOUGH GOOD THINGS for all of us.  Not one of my friends has married the man I'm supposed to be with.  And no one is birthing a child I was meant to birth.  No matter what, you are not going to miss God's best plan for you if you are pursuing God's best plan for you, and if you say to Him: I want in my life what You have for me!  

 The person you can trust the most to handle your pain the best is God.  I feel so lucky that I can process every moment of every relationship with God.  I'm not alone; He's right there with me.  I have learned very profoundly that Jesus is the primary relationship of my life!   

Your words have the power of life and death.  Speak life over yourself:  I'm available to relationship.  I am working on my mental and emotional and spiritual and physical health, and that is going to make me better in relationship than I would have been yesterday.  I am open to meeting someone new.  I am available for relationship.  I am not married yet, but I hope to be.  I do not have kids yet, but I hope to.  

Using that life-giving language affects the world you live in.

God, You are kind.
God, You are good.
God, You are for me.
God, You are working everything out according to Your will.
God, You care about every detail of my life.  

Friends, God loves you.
And God sees you.
And you are going to be okay.

I promise in the long run, you are going to be okay.  There is not one story in my life in any area where I have not been able to look back on when it was done and say, that was God, and that was His kindness.  Even if I lost a relationship or a person or in tragedy, He still is God, and He is still kind!"

❤ Annie F. Downs
TSF Q&A: Singleness Podcast, 8-18-21

Happy Friday!

❤ ❤ ❤

Thankful Thursday #239

"Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."  -Philippians 3:13-14

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  Bill gradually making progress toward healing - it was good to see him and Jill again for the first time in about three months on Tuesday - he had a week-long hospital stay for pancreatitis in April, followed by months of esophageal stricture (where his esophagus becomes as narrow as a straw - scary - and they have to puree all foods).  Thankful for their long-time friendship, and praying he continues to heal and return to a normal life where he can feel like himself again!

2.  Kyndal Faith creating fun games for our family dinner nights - and the ironic fact that I won the Who Knows Jace Best trivia!  I intend to make a trivia game with fun facts about me, Mom, Rach, and Dad for J&K to play soon. =)

3.  The Bible Recap plan on the Bible App (which I still call YouVersion).  I am enjoying it and especially appreciate the book overview videos!

4.  In spite of the extra-muddy arena, Carter is doing really well in the rodeo nationals (still ongoing)! 

5.  This reminder, which feels very true.  I'm thankful for the times I have chosen courage, and for good friends who are willing to have hard conversations!

6.  Jaceman's energy and excitement over basketball for the past couple months!

7.  The confident hope that God has good things in store and will never give up on me! 

That's all for today.  I love you and believe in you, and I believe God is with you and for you, continuing every good thing He has begun in your life!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Sarah's Birthday Weekend

There is simply not enough time or space to write about all the photos I take. lol

So this post includes a lot of collages and a simplified recap!

But first, here's a full-size pic of me, Karli, Chet, and Sarah outside of Waterfront Grill for her birthday brunch on Sunday!

I came to Tulsa early Saturday morning, arriving around 11am and quickly shopping Walgreens and Walmart for care package items for Sarah's extended family waiting in the hospital room.  ChatGPT had some great ideas, so I grabbed a glittery pink gift bag from Walmart and threw in some snack foods, activity/color books, crayons, chapstick, wet wipes, hairbrush, hand cream, handwritten card & gift cards, and (most popular) an assortment of cookies from Cookie Mama! =)

I ran into Steve and Kate in the lobby under the Chihuly glass flower ceiling (which briefly made me feel like I was at the Bellagio).  Then I spent around three hours there mostly catching up with Sarah and talking  a bit with Steve, Kate, David, Eric, and Daniel and his kids.  (I was there a while, but never actually saw Nancy).  She had a major surgery to repair her fractured tibia (shin bone by the knee joint) on Thursday, then she was having her clavicle surgically repaired on Saturday morning.  In this wreck caused by a careless and likely-impaired driver who seems to have gotten away (praying they find him and he has good insurance!!), her right side airbag failed to deploy, so in addition to the right clavicle and tibia fractures, she is dealing with a bruised and collapsed right lung, five fractured ribs, a fractured sternum, a lumbar spine fracture, and a fractured femoral head (right hip joint).  Breathing is painful and difficult, and developing pneumonia is a real risk.  She cannot effectively use her arms, and she will have to be non-weight bearing for 12 weeks after the leg surgery, so they are beginning discussions around handicap-accessible care options, inpatient rehabs, and skilled nursing facilities.  David is also in a lot of pain and cannot be the main caretaker, so a lot of big conversations are happening around all of the above.  It's a long road ahead, and everyone is overwhelmed and in a bit of a fog, and I can feeeeel it.  The wreck being so reminiscent of my parents' 2014 wreck (with more catastrophic results), and knowing the intense weight of responsibility I would feel if this were my mom has put this on my heart a lot - I feel deep empathy and a continuing desire to help.  They had lots of snacky foods but no real meals in the room.  We could see Jimmy Johns across the street, so I grabbed some sandwiches there for a late lunch or early dinner for Sarah and her fam.  Prayers are appreciated.

I deliberately left before Nancy got back to the room, knowing most people would prefer family-only in an immediately-post-surgery state.  Then I met the Wilsons for an early dinner at Texas Roadhouse - it had been a while, and I was happy to be reunited with the rolls and cinnamon butter!  I laughed when the birthday-announcement waiter was going all out in his LOUDEST voice, and Parker immediately put her hands over her ears. lol

After some deliberation, I decided to stay the night in Tulsa, checking into the DoubleTree right across from Saint Francis - (yay, DoubleTree cookies - they legitimately impact my choice of hotel - lol).  I had planned poorly for an overnight stay, but I managed with the hotel amenities and a couple travel-sized  items from Walgreens.

In the end, after washing my face with hand soap and moisturizing it with body lotion (eek), I was genuinely happy eating my warm cookie and leftover roll whilst watching We're the Millers and a bit of Top Gun: Maverick! =) #noragrets

Fascinating thing I learned from Sarah:  Redheads require more anesthesia and are more sensitive to hot and cold temperatures.  That makes SO MUCH SENSE with the way Mom is consistently hotter or colder than the rest of us. lol  (That came up because Nancy dyes her hair brown, so Sarah told her to be sure the anesthetist knew she was a natural redhead... and indeed, her pain was far better controlled after the second surgery than the first!  So interesting to me.)

Sunday morning, I joined the Wilson/Weatherford crew for donuts at 8:30 (woof to getting up that early, but yay for fresh chocolate long johns!).  Chet's discipline and consistency continue to be very impressive, as he brought healthier foods to snack on there!

FBC is doing Summer in the Psalms, right along with my women's group! lol

Sunday was Sarah's 38th Birthday.

Terrible timing, but here we are.  So I made this happy collage for that.

Steve was sick, so the four of us met for brunch at Waterford Grill (Sarah and I had never been there before).  Chet was happy about the omelet bar, Karli went with shrimp and grits, and Sarah and I went for the waffle (Sarah's with added chicken).

We had an hour between church and brunch, so I grabbed the last three cupcakes at Lauranae (one strawberry and two funfetti, so that worked out well).

Chet (responding to Sarah running late):  No worries, we are getting your tiara and happy birthday sash opened up.

Sarah: Lol! That better be a joke!  I'm in a fragile state.

#notajoke

Closer food pics, just for fun.  (The cookie was her free bday dessert, which she shared with everyone but Chet, who is off sweets).

My favorite pics of Paige Evelyn to date, smiling and laughing at Aunt Sarah after brunch!

I couldn't resist driving by my old home, which was sold again recently (for a nice profit from their 2022 purchase from me).  Apparently the new homeowner has a big white van like Lare-bear, so he'll fit right in on that street. lol #why #vantwins

I went to LifeChurch South Tulsa to change into my workout clothes in their restroom, and it was fun to see their storybook At the Movies setup! =)

Then I took a delightful but crazy-hot afternoon walk/jog at my fav neighborhood trail in Addison Creek!

And after alllll of that, I drove straight to the Warren Theater in Moore to see the 6:30 showing of the live Moana, which I'd been trying to work in since Wednesday and very much enjoyed!  I appreciate the focus on leadership and charting your own course, and there was some "green light at the Red Sea" symbolism that I'm still processing.

Anyway, that concludes my very full weekend recap!

"What can I say except: You're welcome!?"  ;-)

❤ ❤ ❤

Thankful Thursday #238

“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;

I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.”

~Psalm 9:1

Today, I am thankful for...

1.  How much it motivates me to have a printed-off training plan with things I can check off day by day!  Next up is printing off a list of daily habit goals!!  (This = dynamic warm-ups and run drills before my jog tonight)

2.  God's protection - this time for Sarah's mom and stepdad, who were in a head-on collision very reminiscent of my parents' 2014 wreck.  David was released to go home, but Nancy is in ICU with a long road to recovery ahead of her - prayers appreciated for their family!

3.  Shade Zahrai - I'm on the final MasterClass today.  They've all been great, and I loved her book and plan to re-read it next year!

4.  I'm feeling very disgusted by this news, but since this post is reminding me to focus on gratitude, I'm thankful for a call and text warning from the City of Moore about the E. coli bacteria in the city's water....... and I'm grateful that I've been hooked on drinking only bottled water ever since I memorized some of the feisty speeches from Erin Brockovich several years ago! =)

"By the way, we had that water brought in special for you folks.  Came from a well in Hinkley."

*Also thankful for my GIF-maker app that allows me to create gifs from any video I please! =)

5.  Adam Grant and Brene Brown and their Curiosity Shop podcast - I freaking love it, and I'm grateful for the way it's shaping my thinking!

6.  Jonathan Matthew and Kristin Renee - celebrating God's faithfulness all along the way and Jon's continued progress since his heart attack three years ago!

7.  On a muuuuch, much lighter note, I'm thankful for the fun games on the People magazine app. lol  It's bringing me joy lately, and I feel like it's a better use of my time and mental energy than social media.  This Groupies game is my favorite - (this one was rom-com queens, and the one below was Jennifers) - and I was very quick to match the movie to the right person - fun!

That's all for today - hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead!

❤ ❤ ❤

Best of Both Worlds!

This makes me very happy.  Me with my feet in the pool + J&K swimming, and it shows the view of the Tinker Air Force Base fireworks show from my parents' backyard -- there's a perfect clearing between the trees, and their 250th-year fireworks show lasted around 20 minutes!!

So in the end, I'm thankful for the 4th of July storm - for starters, it made my evening at the Wilsons' more memorable, and same for J&K's time with their Dad in Mustang... then we all got to come together, along with my Aunt Charlene, for the postponed TAFB fireworks show last night!  I would very much appreciate this always being a two-day event so that I can celebrate with both friends and family! =)

These are my new Nike Alphafly running shoes... very cushioned and lightweight and recommended by my online running coach, and they felt great on my test run! =)  Excited to train for the Route 66 Half ahead... I'll be printing my official training plan later today!

Last night also included a belated birthday dinner for Kristin at The Ranch in Norman!  It was a last-minute change of plans after we learned Gaberino's closes on Sunday, and it did not disappoint.  We spent a couple hours catching up on everything - (yay for her and Rach both joining me in the 40s club now)!  I had their beef medallions, and she got the scallops, then we shared the fried okra, au gratin potatoes, bananas foster, and cinnamon roll bread pudding desserts!  "Nom nom for us, David!" =)

Saw the Young Washington with Mom and Dad yesterday afternoon... it's the part of George Washington's life I knew very little about, so it was interesting to learn what shaped him and how he became the respected first leader of our nation... I had assumed with the Independence Day weekend release that it would be at least a little focused on the Revolutionary War period and the building of America, and it really was not at all.  Bottom right pic = catching up on life over dessert post-fireworks!

Dad and Charlene behind me on one side, Mom and Rach on the other, my feet in the pool, and a really great fireworks show!

K-Faith beginning a very long and detailed account of their weekend + Jace re-enacting part of it for us! lol

❤ Happy 250th Birthday to America! ❤

And happy 5th of July from all of us! lol

Charlene had just gotten back from her Alaska cruise with Dana and the Myricks, so it was good to get some details about all of that as I prep for mine 22 days from now!!  Yay for the possibility of seeing eagles and whales - I'm so looking forward to a restful and refreshing week there!

Just a friendly reminder that God is with you and for you, having good plans for your future!

I'm feeling this one lately.
If I had to sum it up in a word, it'd be RENEWAL. ❤

  I've been off of GLP-1s for a couple months now.  And yes, my appetite for food has gradually increased... but so has my appetite/energy/zest for LIFE - for trying new things, seeing new possibilities, setting new goals, etc.  Bible reading, leading lifegroup, run training, Club Pilates, book writing, public speaking, all coming off of mute in the background.  Staying healthy will be more challenging (the protein goal is decidedly helpful there), but it's important to me not to numb my desires or emotions or hopes for reward moving forward!  #chooselife  I want to live a full and expansive life, not to settle for a low-energy imitation/sensation of fullness.  Lots of complex thoughts about that topic, but I'll save them for the book!

Hope you had a lovely weekend, and I hope your week is off to a great start!

❤ ❤ ❤