Goodbye 35, Hello New Number

See Jode is almost a year older than me.
But for a short time we are the same age until he then gets to be a new number.
So his better memory always serves me well when I forget my age.
I usually give him "the look" that he has come to be very used to and he knows how to help a girl out. Kinda like when we meet a new couple and they ask "how old are your kids" and I start to kind of stammer. I mean pfff, I know how old my own kids are for heavens sake.

For pretty much this whole last year though, unless you happened to talk to me on a really clear_ maybe we had just discussed it_kinda day, I had told everyone I was 36.
Which is so sad bc I really like the number 35 better.
It just sounds nicer to me_ 5 being in the middle of 1-10 _ and I just like the 5 better.
But I'm not gonna wallow in missing out on 35.
I'm gonna go with the 6 and see the best in the little circle part.

Amy and I decided to meet half way for an early lunch and some girly talk. 

Gosh, how it does a soul good to just be able to sit with a friend and laugh 

and talk about every subject from all over and be understood. 

I ordered a club sandwich and I'm not sure exactly where the hair came from. 

But nonetheless it wound up in my mouth. 

And then before I knew it there was another..... 

and then i picked up the other half of sandwich and there was another. 

And it got awkward bc I hate things like this. 

But also, bc I kept wondering is it my hair.? 

I mean it's long and definitely all around my face but I've never 

had a problem with it getting in my food before. 

So I decided to just give it up and wait for dessert. 

It was... my birthday after all.

The dessert was a rocking Turtle cheesecake that was hair-less and well worth it.

Afterwards, we shopped at a few antique stores in town. 

They had some quilts I'm still having a hard time getting over. 

They were so perfect as far as they're colors but not in their price. 

So I left dreaming about how great they'd look all made up on a bed.

I was met with purple_ gold_ green_ masks_ beads_ the works 

when I later walked back in the door at home.

Hubs man really outdid himself with throwing me a surprise Mardi Gras party.

As we would say in our house_ it was creative and quite whimsical.

The King Cake he ordered from back home and was cheesecake filled.

It was so yummy.

I've gone back & forth for around 2 years now on whether I should get a Keurig.

I would want one and then not. I would think how great it would be to have one. 

And then I would think about what all else I could get with that money. 

But now I have to wonder no more because I finally have one. 

Woohoo.... I'm so thankful Jode just made the decision for me.

It really is a dream and actually has helped me limit some of my coffee intake. 

Plus the kids are really loving the iced coffee I can make now with it.

I pray that this is a really really good year.

I only get to hold onto this number once.

And only for a short time.

So I want to look back on it well. 

Like I am now..... full of gratitude and thankfulness for all that has been.

And all that is to come......

January 2013 {10 on 10}

Well I remembered it was the 10th and time for 10 on 10 and since I haven't blogged and all in like 3 months. I figured this may be just the push I need to get back in the game. The writing and telling my story game. Only I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my blog. I'm passionate about us all having a story that needs to be told. We're not just a name_ or a number_ but the other day I read something in "jesus calling" that made me come to this conclusion.
I have a story because of Him.
I get to write my story because of Him.
God has written my story, I only need walk in it.
That made me think that I can do this. That I need to do this. It's not about me or for only me. Hopefully it's so much bigger. That's what I choose to believe. And I invite you to walk with me....

My day started off with the chore of washing my hair_ sipping some coffee_ while eating a banana_ and blow drying my hair. The ultimate of multi tasking. For a mama anyways.

It felt really nice to be getting out of the house. For a little over 2 weeks I've struggled with back pain and have finally been diagnosed with kidney stones. It's been painful and tiresome with my energy level at like a zero. So it felt nice to get dressed_ fix my hair_ and put on some make-up. My friend, Nina had invited me to lunch for an early birthday treat.

"From a broken earth, flowers come up. Pushing through the dirt."

One of my favorite songs by David Crowder and immediately what I thought of when I saw these growing out beside the house. Still cannot believe already they're breaking through.

And as 3:30 rolled around I waited, as I always do. For those 3 sets of feet that walk through the door and allows me to breathe a sigh of relief. Relief that they're safe_ they're home.

With the mail came unexpected "happys" for my birthday from a special friend. She has me pegged well. I love them both and have the perfect spot for each.

And as I let Neely out to do his biz I noticed our pumpkins sitting out back. I did move them from the front of the house to the back. But still it made me wonder if I'm the only silly one who can't seem to fully get rid of them.

The Neel's man was due a good washing. So I had to sike myself up while sudsing him up. Otherwise, he would've gone a little longer being stinky.

And I decided to close today out with a pic of us all (minus the hubs). 

Gray man is so outnumbered especially when it's just us. But I think he digs it deep down. 

It was a full day. A day that I found many a thing I had to be thankful for. 

A day where I saw beauty all around.

Impromptu Road Trip

Do I go backwards and work forwards or start where I'm at and work backwards?
So many trips and things that have happened within the past few weeks. So many things that I need to write about.
But instead of over thinking it I'm going to jump in by getting started with Saturday.

Hubs gets a new company car ever so many miles and they called and said his new one was in.  The cool gadgets_ programming the radio stations_ and getting the settings all worked out. Well it seemed like a good excuse to get it out on the road. You know, to get that all figured out.

So we drove up and down hills with all the changing of colors and leaves just a swirling as we went. The countryside and pureness of beauty all around for an impromptu trip to the Smoky Mountains.

We played in the leaves and jumped off logs.

We stopped by streams....and took in the water rushing over the rocks. 

That's always one of my favorite things to see.

These logs were some of the greatest. They actually looked camo colored.

The bark on each one was so different and unique.

We stopped to listen to some pickin'.

Until oldest_ youngest_ and myself decided to go through Ripley's Believe It or Not.

We learned about the tallest man.

And got to touch & move a marble ball that is suspended and held up only by water.

Played some in the crazy mirror. Or maybe I played some in the crazy mirror.

Meanwhile, Jode and middle were enjoying a ride up the mountain on the SkyLift together. Their were only 2 allowed to a seat which meant if we all would've rode somebody had to sit alone. So we opted out while they went ahead. Middle was beaming from ear to ear. She was so happy and so proud to get to do it.

Then we ended the day treating the kids to a meal for their first time at the Hard Rock Cafe.

We actually ate in the chapel area. To which we were told it is the only chapel in the world in a Hard Rock Cafe. It was a circle and had white curtains hung around that opened & closed. People actually get married there and it's also where they set the bands up to play.

The kids just wanted to know where all the Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber stuff was. 

These impromptu trips always seem to work out really well for us. There's not a lot of time 

to think about what we should wear or what we're going to do when we get there? We just go. And we go with the flow. And for us it always just seems to work.

Kinda like it did this weekend. My heart is full....