Thursday Thoughts

This is one of my favorite sayings.  I catch myself saying it a lot to others but I do have to remind myself also, that sometimes you just have to do things you don't want to do or feel like doing.

  

Smile vs. Frown?  YOU do have the power to change how you view your day, even if things are not going so good.  You can not always control the circumstances but you can control your attitude! Turn that frown upside down!

 Anyone that knows me, knows I wait until the last minute to do a lot of things...well, nearly everything! 

I have been a procrastinator my whole life I guess.  I can remember cramming for tests and staying up late to finish projects for school.  Things ALWAYS got done and were not late, but they were done with lots of panicking!

I think most people tend to 'talk' about problems and worry over things before we turn to God about them.  Things are so much easier to handle when we go to Him first!

I think most things that we struggle with, and worry and fret over, are really not that big of a deal in the whole scheme of things.  We do need to pray and realize that God is in control but we have responsibilities to try to make things happen for ourselves also.  Things WILL work out!  They may not work out as we have planned, but they will work out in the way that's best for us.

And finally...I just love a good nap!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

It's been a while since I've done a WILW post so I thought I would do one this week.

I'm LOVING that these two were home last weekend and that I may be seeing them again this weekend!

I'm LOVING that the new Karen Kingsbury book, Loving, came out this week!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Karen Kingsbury!

I'm LOVING that Pioneer Woman's new cookbook is out and that I'm planning on going to her book signing in OKC on Saturday! YAY!!!

I'm LOVING that my friend, Tammy, and I had a fun lunch earlier in the week!  We always have so much fun and lots of laughs whenever we're together.

What are you loving this Wednesday?

Weekend Wrap-Up

I was so excited for the weekend!  The kids were coming home!  They hadn't been home since Christmas and that is way too long for this momma. I spent most of Friday cleaning,  making Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti and baking a chocolate cheesecake for Ashley's birthday, which we hadn't celebrated yet.
 The kids got home just in time for supper at Angie's. 

Colby's friend, Derrick, ate with us also.  He just happened to be at our house when the kids got there so we invited him along.   
Colby spent the evening gathering up sports memorabilia in his room to take back with him for his apartment.

He has been a sports card collector since he was about 4 years old so he has quite a collection.
Saturday, Allan and Colby went to work on the house.

Allan put Colby to work installing light boxes or whatever those square metal things are.  I know Allan was glad to have his help!
Ashley and I stayed home most of the day.  She had jewelry work to do and I just sort of did nothing!
Mom and Dad came for supper and to celebrate a belated birthday for Ashley.  She was sick with the flu back in February on her birthday and this was the first available weekend for us to all get together.

We had a good supper of chicken spaghetti, salad and mom's delicious homemade bread!  I'm so glad she's back to baking bread again.  We then had Ashley's favorite birthday cake-brownie chocolate chip cheesecake!

I always let the kids pick what kind of birthday cake they want and they have each chosen the same one for YEARS! 

Happy 26th Birthday, Ashley!

After Mom and Dad left, Ashley got back to working on her jewelry and Colby and I played Wheel of Fortune on the wii.  Well, he played while I sat there and sat there and sat there WAITING for a chance to play.  He killed me in this game!
Sunday was church and Ashley helped me in my Bible Class. We went to lunch at Molina's and then came home.
Ashley's best friend and her family came by to visit before the kids left.

Jessica, Ashley and Sweet P

 

Colby and Sweet P

Just look at that precious girl!  Both of them!

 Jessica's family left and we took our usual 'tree' pictures before changing out of our church clothes.

I love these two so much and just can't hardly stand it when they drive off after a trip home.

I hope you had a great weekend also!

Last Week

We had quite a busy week last week.  One of Allan's uncles passed away the week before and one of his services was held in Allan's hometown of Lawton.  Monday morning, after dropping Sandy off at mom and dad's home, we headed out for the long drive to western Oklahoma.  We got there and got checked in to our hotel. 
One of Allan's best friends from high school was turning the big 5-0 that day so we had made plans to take him out for his birthday.

We let Larry choose and he picked Santa Fe Cattle Co.  Allan and I had never been there before and were glad that the food was great!

I had some kind of grilled chicken pasta alfredo that was wonderful!  The guys, of course, had steaks.

Allan and one of his best friends, Larry.  I'm so glad that after quite a few years of losing contact with each other that they have rekindled their friendship.

We had a great time!  After eating, the guys dropped me off at the hotel and they spent the rest of the evening reminiscing about their high school days, driving by their old stomping grounds, and visiting with Larry's mom.

Tuesday, we headed out for the funeral service for Allan's uncle.  The kids were meeting us there also, so I was excited to see them.

Ashley & Colby with their cousin, Andrew.

Allan with his brother, Danny, and cousin, David.  This was the first time for me to meet quite a lot of Allan's family on this side.  It's sad that it takes funerals to get relatives together so much of the time.
After the service, we went to lunch before heading back home.

Me and Ashley at Eduardo's Mexican Restaurant.  We shared quesadillas!

My in-laws, Pam and Leon.

Allan & his brother, Danny.

I don't know what Colby was showing Andrew on  his phone or ipod but evidently it was impressive!

After lunch, it was time for everyone to head back to their homes.  I ALWAYS hate saying goodbye to my kids!

On the drive to Lawton, we noticed that beautiful redbud trees were everywhere!  Allan snapped a few pics of them on our way back home. 

They were absolutely gorgeous!

 On the drive home, we found ourselves here:

 

"The Middle "O" Nowhere"

This was an actual little store at one time.  It is all boarded up now.  We saw this on our way out to Lawton and it made us laugh so we made sure to stop to take pics on our way home.

Thursday night, we had a pretty good little rain shower/thunderstorm.  Afterwards, I looked out and saw one of the most beautiful full double rainbows I've ever seen!

My pictures really don't do it justice though! The bottom rainbow was truly glowing!  Absolutely beautiful!

It reminds me of the church song "God Put A Rainbow In The Clouds"!

That's all for now!

Weekend Stuff

We began our weekend with supper at Angie's on Friday night.  We usually go there at least once early in the week, but for some reason, we didn't make it until Friday.

We always have a good time visiting with the locals that go there just to socialize and catch up on town news.
After we left Angie's, we went out to the new house and just sat on the porch practicing for what it will be like when we finally get moved out there.  THEN, the coyotes started in and I was ready to head back to town!  That sound just terrifies me! 
Saturday morning, I got up in time to watch my new favorite cooking show!

I just LOVE Pioneer Woman!  I'm so excited that her new cookbook came out last week and I'm planning on going to a book signing with her in the next few weeks.  I can't wait!!
I then grabbed some lunch to take to Allan out at the new house.  We ate lunch and then got to work.  My job was sanding...again.

You would think with the sander being electric, that it would be an easy job.  NOT!  It really wears me out quickly!

There are probably several safety violations going on here!  You have to use what you have available though.  At least I didn't fall!
We got ready to leave and I was leaving ahead of Allan.  I hadn't gone far down the road when he calls me to come back.  I could barely hear him and thought he had hurt himself.  Finally, I understood what he was saying, "I am petting Millie.'

This is Millie!  She is the pet deer of our neighbors down the road.  They have raised her from a tiny baby when something happened to her mother.  She was raised in their home, sleeping with their boys at night!

A couple of weeks ago Betty, the neighbor, told me that Millie had been gone that if we saw her for us to please let her know.  I didn't know how I would know a pet deer from a wild deer.

 

This is how you tell!  Poor Millie lost her lower jaw in an accident and now her tongue hangs out all the time!

She is the sweetest thing!  I stopped next door and got the neighbors to come over and get her.   She was so happy to see her Momma!  They had been really worried that something terrible had happened to her so they were VERY THANKFUL that she is back for  now.

Today was our usual Bible class and worship.  We had a great guest speaker today that just had us all on the edge of our seats!   We went to Molina's after church for lunch.

 

My sister-in-law and niece, K, were here for the day also.  K is staying a few days with Mom and Dad since she is on Spring Break.

We all went to Braum's after church tonight.  K was REALLY enjoying her chocolate ice cream.  I think she is wearing more than she ate.
I hope everyone had a great weekend also!