Eighteen

Happy 18th Birthday to my oldest nephew, Triston Michael! ❤  In some ways, it feels surprising that we’re already here!  In others, it feels like he’s been an adult for a while now.  He's resilient, intelligent, and mature for his age, and I'm confident he has a bright future ahead of him!!

This post will be 18 pics/collages as a tribute for this milestone birthday marking official adulthood.  (Above is our 12-15-24 dinner at Tucker's to celebrate him being on Christmas Break and my last day of class!)

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We first met back in 2010 when Josh and Rachael started dating -- he was 3 and Carter was 2.  This = him looking through the kid's Bible I got him + an adorable LifeChurch lobby pic + them coming to see me and visit the Jenks Aquarium!

So little and cute in their PJs - their first Christmas Eve with us!!

T&C enjoying some watermelon at the DeBusk get together -- that pic was framed in Jace's nursery room!  And I love his bright summer smile in the pic on the right (both of these are at JB's pool/hot tub)!

Rach and T after he lost his first tooth - major news!!

He's the oldest sibling on both sides of his family, and he's always been an awesome big brother (to Carter, Jace, Kyndal, Mason, Bryson, and Emberlee)!

I'm grateful we have a good connection and loads of good memories together!
These pics = After opening his first Macbook on Christmas Eve 2019, Mandalay Bay Beach at our Vegas trip summer 2022, and Serendipity 3 during our NYC trip this January!!

Just hanging out on the stage after the R&J wedding in 2011 + the hoverboard Christmas!

❤ Christmas Eve at Pelican's, surrrious brothers in glasses, dressed up for the CHA program, his baptism Sunday, our "brinner" Christmas 2011, monkey bars at Mom and Dad's, swing at Mom and Dad's, with Alan at Kristin's wedding, and a Parrish family fall photo shoot!

True story - he's the one we call with phone, TV, or computer questions!!

Three of my favorite pics of the four of them!!  (Two at JoBug's, one at 522).

The kids surprising me in the trunk of my car as I was getting ready to head back to Tulsa! lol

Brothers! ❤

Classic tree pic at Woodward Park in Tulsa.  Love them all!!

Timeline hop:  Kindergarten Graduation, candy bar sale in 6th grade, and flying an airplane at age 17!!

Spending quality time with the niece and nephews on the day before the Niagara trip with Mom and Dad!

Rach with T&C at Josh's apartment in 2010 + their rooftop photo shoot 2024!

And #18 = Our escape room adventure + Triston's GoPro swimming pic - love it!

T,

I see you.

I believe in you.

And I'm confident you will change the world!

You've been through a lot, and you have what it takes to keep moving forward.  God is always with you and for you, and as long as I'm around, I am here to support you in any way I can.  I'm excited for your Senior year at CHA ahead!  Praying for continued growth, healing, and strength as you step into the future with a strong foundation and a bright sense of hope and purpose!

Happy 18th Birthday!!

Love you! 
~Aunt Lindsey

❤ ❤ ❤

Double Brunch Weekend

Well, it was a lovely weekend featuring a Friday night walk with Kristin, two delicious brunches, a 7-mile jog at The Station, and a 5-mile walk in Tulsa!  

Brunch #1 was at The Main Street Diner in Norman with Marla on Saturday... her last day at the courthouse was Friday, and we caught up on all she learned in her training week at CREOKS and all I've learned through various job searches, interviews, and networking conversations.  (To sum it up, Tulsa pays counseling candidates significantly more than OKC, and Tulsa supervisors charge significantly less, and neither of us fully understand why.) Anyway, I'm grateful for the Cleveland County connection with her, and I wish her all the best as she moves forward with her new school counselor and play therapist career!!

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Brunch #2 was a belated 'birthday brunch' with the Wilsons and Fultons at Red Rock in Tulsa today... topics included online dating, job searching, challenging interviews, vaccinations, weight loss methods, body image issues, politics, family dramas, past traumas, panic attacks, parenting stressors, church mistrust, and more!  Cue the cheerful birthday music, please. lol  ...But I always appreciate deep conversations with trusted friends, and our brunch food was excellent, as per usual!!

My quiche + fruit = yum!

Group pic of our table!

Walking + listening to HP book 4... JK is truly brilliant, and I will never get over it!

Gifts Rach made for K-Faith and her Club Team!! ❤

Current screensaver at work. =)

This meme reminder came at a good time for me.  God does nothing without purpose... I so wanted this finding-my-first-counseling-job part of my story to be smooth and easy, but it's okay that it looks different than I planned.  Like so many things in life, I need to avoid personalizing it and/or believing that it means something negative about me and/or my value as a counselor.  God is at work in ways I cannot yet see.  I am not alone, ever.  The best is yet to come.  And everything happening in this waiting season matters.

God is with me and for me, empowering me with the passion and perseverance to keep moving forward with hope and purpose.

That's all for today.

❤ ❤ ❤

Life in All its Fullness (41)

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.

I have come that they may have LIFE,

and have it in all its fullness."

~Jesus, John 10:10

Happy 41st Birthday to Me! ❤

This = my wonderful Tulsa friend group celebrating with me at Los Cabos last night!! ❤

An awesome, sparkly new mug from JEM and Kelly!!  (And a "Birthday Girl" tiara Chet bought for Mom's 70th bday but forgot, so I claimed it for my party!)  =)

Jeffrey and Henry Edward! =)

My mini-BFF, Parker Elizabeth!! ❤

Harvey Lane and Tate Haywood! =)

So much cuteness!!

❤❤❤

Hey, Wilson fam.... for real for real, THANK YOU.  For the key role you've played in my life, obviously, but more specifically today, for the role you've played in making my birthdays special over the past decade+.  Hosting a few of my parties, planning two surprise parties in OKC, baking or buying the cake repeatedly, making fun birthday banners, Cricut cake toppers, great gifts and cards, Swiftie-themed party decor, a surprise snow-day visit, video songs from the kids, a random birthday bonfire (at my request), and more... really just coming through every year in big and small ways - it is much appreciated!!  (The second-from-right pic on the bottom row = Chet adding peanut butter chips to the Ludger's cake for extra decoration, and it brings me joy that that even occurred to him. lol)

I made this for my friend, Kristen, in January.  And today, I am believing for myself that the best is yet to come in my story... God has a better idea of what that means than I do, but I AM TRUSTING HIM.

Hooray for this well-timed holiday!!  

(I would very much welcome a courthouse closing tomorrow, as well.)

I slept in this morning, then Kristin and the boys treated me to lunch!  Our original plan was Neighborhood Jam, but that was everyone else's plan too. lol  To avoid the 45-minute wait, we went to BJ's, where we all enjoyed lunch and mini-pizookies!! ❤

The boys also brought me flowers and candy and a sparkly pink card they picked out for me themselves with a set of stick-on nails! lol  Could not love it more - thanks again, Whitakers!! ❤

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We have a spiritual enemy whose actual stated goal is to steal, kill, and destroy the good things God is doing in our lives -- I have sensed that more than usual lately.  We also have a caring and powerful God who wants to give us LIFE in all its beauty and fullness -- so I am leaning into that abundant energy and hope today!  There is life and hope and healing in Jesus, and His goodness and mercy and wisdom and love are with me today.

“Christianity is not a promise to enjoy a life without pain, nor to be given a shortcut through it. It is a promise that pain, sorrow, sin – ours and others – will not swallow us, destroy us, define us, or have the final word. Jesus has won the victory. And in Him, so have we!” 

~Stasi Eldredge

So in spite of this dreadfully cold weather and feeling a little blue and off-kilter last week, February remains my favorite month, and this has been a really fantastic birthday weekend!!  And now I'm off to meet the fam for a late birthday dinner at Ted's (after Kyndal's vball practice). ❤

Thanks so much for stopping by.

I love you and believe in you, friends and fam,

and I hope you've had a great day on my 41st birthday!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Rachael's Birthday!

Rach elected to have her birthday dinner at Mom and Dad's this year.  It also fell on our regular family dinner night, which worked out well for everyone! ❤

Sadly, T-man left before we got the above group pic, but he was there for our lasagna dinner and Rach's white b-day cake with whipped icing, and we all had fun playing Scattergories (an old favorite for me + Mom, Dad, and Rach, but new to all the kids)!

Rach made a comment about Kyndal not always understanding ironic humor.  She does understand sarcasm, though!  She dramatically pretended not to understand the very next time Jace made a joke: "But I don't get it - how is it funny? - Can someone explain it all to me?"  She's the best!! lol =)

Since we failed to get a cake pic, I thought it'd be cute to just hold up the birthday banner... happy to say I was not wrong! lol

Me during dinner, looking at Rach:  So what all have you done so far today?

Jace, fully assuming I was asking him, goes into a lengthy answer about school work and friends and his fish and more, whilst Kyndal chimes in a couple times "Stop talking - she doesn't care - she was asking Mom!!" and he 100% ignores her.

Eventually, we finish talking about Jace's day, and I turn to Rachael and say, "So what all have you done so far on your birthday!?"

Jace gasps - "Were you talking to her!?  My bad!" lolol

Me:  "Well, I'm so happy to hear about your day too!"

(For real, though!)

This = the collage from my bday post on Facebook, all holiday-themed pics that make me happy.  The final year of Rachael's 30s has now begun - I told her hopefully God is saving the best year of that decade for last! ❤

Here's the Miss K with her "Big Sis," Sabrina, at their volleyball practice.

They had the 11s pair up with girls from the Charge 15s team, and each of them dressed to match for practice that night - super cute and FUN!! ❤

Doing my best to be gentle and patient with myself...

...While also doing my part to create change!  This is another good reminder from Mel.  We all face painful things, and there's a time for grief and processing.  But we don't just get to wallow endlessly and live in victim mode and fail to transform - there's no beauty and redemption on that path.  We can move forward with grief and hope, honoring all that we've been through, acknowledging what IS in our control, and taking responsibility for building a purposeful life moving forward!

Another meme from Chettles. lol

I for sure overthought that one and decided that my inner light does get brighter and warmer as I discard and burn away the sinful trash polluting my mind and soul.  Externally, a LOT is shifting at once in the world around us, and that can feel scary, but hopefully some of it is shifting for the positive, getting rid of waste and pulling people out of apathy and paving way for better things ahead!

Okay, back on topic - I'm grateful for my one and only sister, Rachael LaJo, and the vast myriad of ways her life has impacted mine!  And I'm grateful for a fun dinner and game night celebrating with the fam!! ❤

Happy Wednesday, gang!

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February Fun!

Super Bowl Sunday did not disappoint!!  Mom and Dad hosted this year's party... lots of good food and fun conversations catching up with the Wallaces, Lemieuxs, Rick, and the Parrishes!  (I saw very little of the football game, commercials, or halftime show, but that's rarely what I show up for.)

Miss K made bracelets for the Chiefs and the Eagles... she thinks Jalen Hurts is "a hottie" so she cheered for the Eagles, and I'm a lukewarm-at-best fan of Travis Kelce for as long as T-Swift chooses him, so here's our pic being fierce rivals (who barely watched the game but had fun dressing in the team colors). lol

Rach is completing this masterpiece today, but Kyndal is going with a CFA-themed Valentine's box and handmade V-day cards for her volleyball girls - super cute! ❤

UPDATE:  She finished it - super cute!! ❤

I spent the first quarter enjoying some great snacks + talking with Rick about his upcoming medical procedure + looking through Jill's amazing pics from their 17-day cruise to Antarctica - they LOVED it!!  Then Rach and I talked with Bill and Debbie Wallace through the 2nd and 3rd quarter of the game - the Wallaces can always be counted on for entertaining travel stories, and it was nice to get an update on Clint and Ty and their children.  We got some group pics before the Lemieuxs left at halftime, then we spent the final quarter of the game helping Kyndal Faith brighten up her V-day cards - cathartic and fun!!  (Photos by Mamaw)

Kyndal took the group pic at the top of this post... it's all the adults + Triston (who will technically be an adult in less than 2 months).  He starts his new Starbucks barista job next week, and I'm excited for him!  Then I took this happy group pic of everyone there, obviously minus me. =)

There was chips & queso, little smokies, 3 kinds of cookies, mini cupcakes, fritos & bean dip, sausage balls, Domino's pizza, and I made my "famous" chocolate layer cake with buttercream icing (pictured below) for the first time in a while - yum!

Breaking up the different events with a meme... gracious, this one feels true for me right now.  I'm still a fan of winter, just not on days when I need to do longer runs and strongly prefer being outside to the treadmill!

This past weekend's "long run" was only 6 miles, which actually felt refreshing and energizing.  I did that yesterday afternoon before the Super Bowl party.  I know these temporary tattoos are cheesy, but every once in a while, I'm in the mood for them and they make me really happy!  The left pic = my reflection in the window at the Station, feeling strong and proud of myself at the end of my six mile jog!  This coming weekend, the schedule is 14, which would be my longest run in life to date, so that feels a bit more intimidating - wish me luck!

One more fun meme to transition into the next event!

Saturday morning was Tate Haywood's 7th Birthday Party!!

That astronaut balloon is the very cutest, and Karli went all out with this layer cake with sparkly outer-space frosting and surprise planets (colored vanilla cake balls) hidden inside - epic!!

A spaceship tent, present time, delightful brunch foods, cake time, and Parker and Kate building together!

7 for Tate Haywood, or L for "Auntie Lindsey!" lol

Tate wanted a fun birthday toast, so all the kids got some sparkling cider (and approximately 0% of them understood the concept of waiting for the toast moment to drink it. lol  Poor Chettles.)  Kate and Parker are the cutest little friends!  Parker's face in the top pic was her deciding to be funny and hide from my camera, but I got the pic just in time. lol

The party was great - I got to re-meet Chet's dad and got to catch up with Melissa (also back from a recent cruise where she was sick for over half of it), Teresa, Kristin Foster, Evan, Sarah, Chet, Karli, and more.  I got to give Melissa the lovely Christmas wreath Mom made for her - she loved it!!  And who doesn't adore brunch foods!?  (Looking at you with a tinge of judgment, Chet Lee.)

Chettles, talking about his open house:  "Yeah, it's just down the street and to the right.  You can't miss my sign in the yard!!"

Me, knowing I absolutely missed it on my way there:  Maaaaybe don't underestimate me. ;-)

Sarah and I stopped by the open house -- an updated 1800-sq ft home within my cash price range in the Country Crossing neighborhood a quick walk from the Wilson home... dream scenario for me if I were certain I was moving, but alas, God is still keeping my next step a fun mystery surprise from me and everyone else! lol

In other news, I watch a stupid amount of TV but rarely write about it here.  My main show thus far in 2025 has been The Equalizer, a gem with Queen Latifah, the girl from 21, Eddie from Friends, Awnt Vi (who can be a little much), and Delilah (love her) - as of tonight, I will be fully caught up, but Season 5 continues on 2-16, so that's exciting!  I'm always a sucker for crime-solving action + drama + the family dinner dynamic, and I enjoy that this is an unconventional family unit of a strong single mom and her sister and daughter!! ❤

Also watching season 2 of Severance (wow!), High Potential (pretty fun)... and recently finished The Diplomat (really good), the final season of Blue Bloods (farewell, Reagan fam!!), and season 2 of Shrinking (very well written).

Friendly reminder, and it feels notably true for me lately.  Our mind, body, soul, and spirit really do work together, for better or worse!

Happy Birthday Eve to Rachael LaJo!!  After over 4 years as a Tinker AFB employee (the last 1.5 working from home 4 days a week), she recently submitted her deferred resignation, deciding to take the Federal government up on their crazy generous and unprecedented offer to gift her full pay and benefits for the next 7.5 months whilst she finds another job and gets double pay for a little while!  (Oh, how I wish the State of Oklahoma could make me the very same offer in this season, but alas, the State has no money and there is a shortage rather than a surplus of court reporters. lol)

Anyway, looking forward to celebrating with the fam tomorrow, and to dinner with Kristin tonight!!  That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope your week is off to a fabulous start!

❤ ❤ ❤