I've Been Tagged!

Ok...I'm new at the "Blog Tag" game, so I think I did it wrong. I posted my answers on the site of the one who tagged me (Neena Johnson). I don't know who I can tag that hasn't already been tagged, but here are my answers:

Four Jobs I've had:
1. Full-time mom
2. Church secretary
3. Secretary for Superior Oil & Champlin Petroleum
4. Elizabeth Arden make-up consultant

Four movies I'd watch again and again:
1. A Walk In The Clouds
2. That Thing You Do
3. Tommy Boy
4. Most Disney Movies

Four places I've lived:
1. Houston, TX
2. Pearland, TX
3. Abilene, TX
4. Anthem, AZ

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. 24
2. American Idol
3. Smallville
4. CSI

Four places I've been on vacation:
1. Orlando, FL
2. Cancun
3. Grand Cayman
4. Hamburg, Germany (really a business trip!)

Four websites I visit often:
1. Various blogsites
2. Amazon.com
3. Heartlight
4. Mapquest

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Tex-Mex
2. Lasagna
3. Pizza
4. Gummi Bears

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. Visiting family & friends in Texas
2. Disney World
3. Grand Cayman Island
4. Anywhere w/my family relaxing

(I'm not tagging anyone, but if you'd like to answer these questions here, I'd love to read your answers!)

Reflections on My Girls

Here's a quote I read in Reader's Digest when I was expecting my first child: "The decision to have a child is the decision to forevermore have your heart walking around on the outside of your body." I don't remember who said it, but those words have rung true in my life. My two beautiful daughters are definitely my heart! When they are happy or they succeed, I burst with happiness and pride. When they are sad or have been hurt, my heart breaks for them.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my girls and how fast they've grown up. Seems like this picture was taken just yesterday! (Boy, I feel old saying that!) But they are now ages 17 and 14 and are no longer the precious babies you see here. However, they will always be my precious babies even though they are now blossoming into wonderful young ladies! My husband and I are very proud of them and are proud to be their parents.

I thought parenting babies was hard (and don't get me wrong, it does have it's challenges), but I think parenting teenagers is much more challenging! My oldest is now driving. She and her sister are the best of friends, which thrills me to death! But now I often watch them get into the car and drive off together and I'm confronted with the fact that I can't be with them 24/7 to protect and guide their every move like I did when they were babies. I always pray as they drive away. I ask God to keep them safe and guide them in the things they do. After they're gone, sometimes I question myself. "Have we done a good job as parents? Have we prepared them for what's out there in the world? Do we give them too much freedom? Not enough? Have we spoiled them? Are we too hard on them? Will they make the right decisions in tough situations? Will someone hurt them? Break their heart?" The questions just keep on coming and so many things are out of my control! Parenting is an awesome responsibility and sometimes it goes by so fast that it's easy to wonder if you've done it right.

So far, I'm very pleased and proud of our girls and the decisions they've made for themselves. But as they continue to grow more independent of us, I know I have to turn my girls and their future completely over to God. After all, they are both just a gift that he's given to their father and me for a little while. I can't stop them from growing up. All too soon, I'll have to let them go to be adults and make their own decisions about their life and their faith. I'm thankful that both my girls have decided to give their lives to the Lord and love Him and trust Him. Because of that, I can rest assured that as they grow up and leave our "nest", God's grace will cover the parenting mistakes I've made and will guide them in their lives molding them into what He wants them to be. I'm just thankful to be their Mom. What a blessing!!

If you're reading this today and you have kids at home, give them a big hug and enjoy them. They grow up really fast!

Ashley and Chelsea, you are my heart and I love you! May God always bless and guide you.

Rain and SNOW!

Well, after 143 days with no rain, the drought in Arizona is finally over! God blessed us with a nice long soaking rain beginning late Friday night and all day Saturday. And, as an added bonus, there was also snow!!!! Now for Southeast Texans, snow is a rare and exciting sight, so Stephen, the girls and I all got in the car and drove north a little ways to see it. We didn't have to drive far. We began seeing flakes almost immediately. This picture was taken just about 30 minutes away from our house. What a treat to get to see the snow on the tops of the Saguaro cactus!

On Sunday morning the rain was over, but the snow is still on the mountaintops so the view is gorgeous!

This week's forecast calls for more sun and the temperature will be close to 80 by the end of the week. Winter was short and the rain has passed, but I sure did enjoy it!

A Good Laugh

I saw this picture on a blog I was looking at yesterday. (I know many of you may have seen it too.) For some silly reason, maybe because it was unexpected, it cracked me up! I must have spent 5 minutes all alone in my office laughing so hard I had tears! Even when I thought of the picture later in the day or tried to tell someone else about it, I started laughing again. And the sad thing is, no one else I showed it to thought it was that funny! Even looking at it today, I still think it's funny, but not as funny as it was yesterday.

Don't you just love it when something tickles your funny bone and you have a good laugh? I sure do (even if I'm all alone and must look like I've gone insane). The people I enjoy being with the most are people who make me laugh. Laughter is good medicine! I hope all of you have a good laugh today and, better yet, that you have someone to share it with.

Send Your Rain

Rain is on the minds of a lot of us here in Arizona lately. We are entering our 5th month with no measurable rain now. Growing up in Houston, TX on the Gulf Coast, I took rain for granted. In fact, there was many a time I was down-right sick of rain! But now that I've relocated to Arizona, I find myself reliving very fond memories of the cool fresh air before and after a rain. Or curling up with a good book while listening to the raindrops hit the window, watching the lightening and feeling the thunder. I really miss the rain! Even a few days ago when we got a few sprinkles, I was standing outside enjoying every one of them as they quickly evaporated. I also find the song "Send Your Rain" going through my head a lot. Of course, I know that song isn't just about physical rain but is asking God to rain down His Spirit and His grace on His people.

I am a person that has met head-on with God's amazing grace and mercy. I can say along with the apostle Paul, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I was the worst of them all." (1 Tim. 1:15) Yet, praise God, he rains down his grace and mercy on me time and time again. That is good news!!! Thinking about that kind of "rain" has been a good reminder to me. When I think of all that God has done for me that I didn't deserve, it reminds me to be more forgiving to those who hurt my feelings or even "sin against me". God has blessed me with His amazing grace and I want others to experience that too. Maybe they can first experience a little bit of it through me. Wow! That's something to strive for! So, while I pray and wait for some physical rain, I'll keep rejoicing in the grace that God, through Jesus, rains down on us every day. I will also continue to pray for the Lord's help to be more Christ-like and try to pass on some of that grace to everyone around me.