Madame Rubies

A. I got my chair!!!  The too expensive one?  It was on sale for $35.  I had an unexpected check.  WOOT! I also got the Juno soundtrack, b/c it makes me happy.  :) That movie is so fun and funny.  The lingo is supa-fab. Honest to blog!

B. We are having a cookout for college students at our house tonight. There will be 30-50 people at my house. Have I ever mentioned that I have a very small house?  Praise God for a big backyard. And my house is looking better and better as time goes on.  The hardwood floors help a lot.  Lana finished painting my back room and I am putting it back in order.  I have flowers from the dollar store in a gorgeous green glass vase I made Corey steal for me in a dirty santa game. I have a drawer set in the dining room that is full of the kids’ “school” stuff for this summer (coloring books, crayons, scissors, paper of all sorts, puzzles, art project supplies, etc…).  The dog is sleeping beside me, and I am soon to be found in the backyard, lounging in my awesome chair.

C. Ben & Jerry’s is making a new flavor called One Cheesecake Brownie.  One b/c they are using it to raise money for the charity called “One.”  It is the most fabulous ice cream I have ever tasted in my whole entire life.

D. It has been movie week around here.  I went to see Made of Honor with a few girlfriends.  We watched Juno the next night and a Dane Cook DVD the night after that.  I watched Becoming Jane while folding laundry, and then Corey and I watched Juno (my second viewing) last night.

Happy Thursday!

Heather

Gift #3 is Local Girlfriends (1000 Gifts)

“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one” - C.S. Lewis

For years, my best friends were far away.  Either I had moved away from them, or I met them through the Internet and we never lived near one another to begin with.  However, my prayers were steady for girlfriends that were physically close as well.  I was lonely. A husband is a wonderful thing, but he is not a girlfriend.

The first couple of years that we were in Mississippi, there wasn’t much change.  I latched onto friendships that just weren’t there.  That is a story for another time.  However, I was lucky enough to meet Amanda at a Bible Study for moms.  Then, Matt W introduced me to his girlfriend (now wife), Leila.  Lauren started as a teen in the youth group who babysat for us and has grown up into a friend. I stumbled into a parenting class with Cat.  Then, Matt G started dating Emily and she joined the circle.  There are other friends, but these girls have become my main group.  Any combination of us can be found together at any time. 

If you remember, 2008 isn’t just my Year of Possibilities but also my Year of Laughter.  I have beening seeing laughter blossom in three areas of my life - my mothering, my marriage and my friendships.  Laughter seems to bond us.

Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.  ~Victor Borge

But, before I leave the topic of friendship and veer into laughter, let me get back on the subject.  For the first time since high school, I have a local group of girlfriends.  There is someone to call when I need to talk.  There is someone to shop with me, go to lunch with, help me with the kiddos when I am in a bind, etc…  My life is overflowing with this blessing, and it makes me pray that other women will find this gift as well.  Girlfriends reach something deep inside us.  They bring out the best in us.  A good friend challenges you to be better and - at the same time - never judges you.  It is a hard line to walk, but friends seem to do it with ease.

I am so thankful for my friends here.  They make the days more bearable.  Each of these girls deserve their own entry to describe how they have carried my burdens and allowed me the blessing of also bearing theirs. Amazingly, it isn’t the ways they have been there for me that makes me love them as much as the ways I have been able to be there for them.  I love the memories of cleaning Leila’s house while she was on her honeymoon, of talking Lauren through spiritual warfare issues, of holding Emily and praying and praising when her Dad escaped an explosion at his plant, of praying with Amanda in the mornings before I went to work, of arranging to watch Meg this summer, so Cat can relax about her child’s care…  These are the things that make me happy. 

Thank you, Abba-God, for friends.

Heather

Continue Reading »

Gift #2 in my 1000 Gifts series is Choice. 

Recently, I made the decision to give up my job and come home again.  Plenty of people would say I am crazy.  That job paid well.  I had just gotten a raise.  I had health insurance for me and my children. There was a ton of possibilty for moving up in the company. I loved my coworkers like family (still do).  But, the longer I was there, the harder it got.  My spirit was with my family.  I started having daily panic attacks at work.  My motivation to do my job well wavered and began to disappear altogether for days on end. Continue Reading »

I neglected the Nattie Challenge Blog while I was working.  Sad.  I apologize.  I let too many things slip by when I was at Cokesbury.  I missed so many of them.  Well, the newest theme is now posted.  Please join us in the Thinking of Nat Challenge. The basic gist of the challenge is to read a book that reminds you of Nat, sometime between now and the end of June.  Heck, read a bunch of books that remind you of Nat.  And, please, give a book away in her name.  Any book to anyone.  In order to show it is in Nat’s name, I scribble “In memory of Natalie” inside and then write her web address (www.nattierosewrites.com).  Continue Reading »

Stephanie blogged on Choice, recently.  This was a part of her Thousand Gifts series. I had also been planning a blog on choice (though she said it so well, what can I add), and I am taken with the 1000 Gifts idea.  I believe she got it from another blog she reads.  That blog is called Holy Experience. It reminded me of a few years ago when I did a series based on the Annie Lennox song “1000 Beautiful Things.” Continue Reading »

I asked hubby for a few summer dresses.  I have been craving them.  He actually went shopping with me, and we got one from Walmart, last night.  It is black with red and white flowers.  So, today, I am fiddling around looking at dresses online while the boys run off some energy in the backyard. Continue Reading »

Academy Sports has some really awesome shoes.  I never would have looked at shoes there.  My friend, Cat, showed up at church with these awesome Crocs flip-flops and she found them at Academy.  So I am browsing their selection online. Continue Reading »

Actually, just this one contest.  Amazon hosted a Harry Potter writing contest.  Entries had to be under 100 words.  The topic I chose was something along the lines of what I learned from Harry Potter and how the books relate to real life.  Here is my ballad of Harry Potter… Continue Reading »

Seriosuly.  I just got $25 for signing up.  No strings attached.

Sign up.  Get money.

Heather

I am having an Aloette party tonight. Hosting it earned free stuff for my friend, Emily.  And I was in a domestic mood.  Well, I had forgotten we are having a room in our house painted this weekend.  Being as we live in such a small house, the stuff from said room is all over the house while my girls paint.  So, Emily was sweet enough to lend me her apartment for this party. Continue Reading »

• Sunshine and a breeze
• Mountain Dew
• All day in the church library
• Text messaging
• Good books to read
• A fab new episode of Grey’s Anatomy
• Scripture
• A teen girl with a big smile on her face
• Giggling with girlfriends
• King sized beds
• It’s friday!

Have a beautiful weekend!

Heather

It is time for the Thursday Thirteen.  I am planning to get back in the habit of doing this weekly.  I enjoy it, and I enjoy reading other lists, as well. Continue Reading »

I don’t tend to blog about election stuff very often.  However, I would love to direct you to my friend’s blog.  Lane talks about Rev Jeremiah Wright’s latest controversial speeches, and I enjoyed the entry.

Click Here

Heather

1. I have discovered Twitter. Well, I suppose I rediscovered it.  Someone invited me back in Sept and I used it sporadically but didn’t get into it.  Now, most of the WaH ladies Twitter, so I am back.  Go check it out if you are so inclined. I believe Sara referred to it as “micro-blogging.”  I think that fits it well. Continue Reading »