A Happy Goodbye

School is almost out.. and as you know

Brook's cheerleading days at

Southwest High School are done.

But.. as with all things in LIFE there is a Lesson

and the choice is ours whether or not to let it

Make us Bitter or Make us Better !

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So... we got the girls together one last time

for a farewell photo.

Many of these gals will part ways now

and go in lots of different directions...

But for one year.... they were all connected.

And those memories will last forever.

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Nearly all of these girls graduate next week

and will be moving toward a new adventure in their lives..

May your new phase be filled with Bliss and Blessings.

and may you forever remember your days in high school.

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Sometimes Too much of a good thing

Can be Wonderful !!!

May we never forget to smile

and enjoy the beauty of youth..

(even if it's our children's youth we're enjoying) ha

Back to Nature

We haven't spent the night at Our River Place

since Labor Day Weekend..

and Man oh Mercy...

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I can tell you that Nature waits for NO ONE.

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The water is so high because of the rains.

Which means the snakes, and other critters

have moved up closer to the trailer.

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It took Brad hours to mow the grass down far enough

so that we could even see the water.

But... when we got it cut down

I remember why it is I LOVE this place so much.

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He had to take a few breaks in the mowing

because his helper wanted to STOP and ride,

and play, and pick up sticks, and drive.

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While Brad worked on the outside...

I worked on the trailer.

It had been lived in though for the entire

9 months that we were gone.....

However our guests were small furry creatures

who tend to eat their dwellings,

and leave an overwhelming amount

of droppings behind.

All I can say about that is....YUCK !!!

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I used a whole can of bleach wipes,

and countless amounts of spray

but.. I got it finished.

So...we decided to call it a day

sit around , eat a burger,

and enjoy the incredible peace

that only the sound of water brings.

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As the sun was on its way down...

Creatures came out by the loads..

I managed to keep Brady from grabbing a few

so I could take their picture.

He could not get enough of them..

and wanted to stay longer...

but the cold weather we had this winter

busted all of our pipes...

so that will require another weekend

to get them up and running.

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SO... until the next time...

We just sat and enjoyed the sound of the River

and soaked up the peacefulness of being so far

out in nature that NO cell phones work,

NO cable is available, and there's NOT a tv channel in site.
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I told Brad the first time we came to LOOK

at this property that I was pretty sure

Jesus Lives Here...

and every time I come back

I think I'm right !
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May we all take a moment to realize that

Nature is a FREE gift we can soak up

any time we STOP and grab it.

Taking the First Step

Wednesday's Wisdom #3

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As my backyard makeover continues..

I was outside working yesterday...

and Brent (who is home from college)

decided that BEAR (one of the monster dogs) was way too hot.

So... in his 20 year old wisdom....

he decided to dig Bear a hole and

fill it with water for him to lay in.

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This is BEAR... poor fellow has more hair than

all the men in Ft. Worth put together..

Each time I brush him it looks like snow in my backyard.

He LOVES it though... and will sit there all day.

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WELL... Bear has yet to get in HIS hole....

But one little fellow didn't even let it fill up

with water before he was headed straight in.

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From the look on his face.....

you can see that it was a tad colder than he expected.

HOWEVER.... it didn't STOP him.

and while I ran for the camera I knew exactly what I

wanted to write about today.
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While I watched my baby dot play
in his new found "greatest place on earth"....
My heart realized how quickly these last 2 years
have already flown by...
and... I can honestly say

I have enjoyed them
to the very best of my ability.
HOWEVER... I can not say that with my "big kids"
(who are now... 20 and 17 years old)....
I spent so much of their lives rushing...
to practice, to work, to school, to parties, to games and through life.
I have a lot of sadness that I didn't STOP and
cherish the goofy moments more often with them.
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BUT... as with all great things in life...
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Everything starts with that first STEP..
It all has to start somewhere.
Being the mom you want to be can not happen over night.
But it can happen day by day,
and with each day that passes
we can all say....
"I am not where I want to be yet....
BUT MAN I am so much farther than I have ever been before."
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So... today gals....
Give yourselves a break..
No one was ever born GREAT...
It all started somewhere.
So make today your first step toward
whatever it is you want to be.
Whether it's more fit, a better wife, having a cleaner garage haha,
more financial freedom, or being the greatest mom
your kids will ever know...

JUST take it one step at a time!
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May we all be proud of who we are TODAY...
because today is all we have,
and it's the first day toward forever.

CHANGE

This past 2 months have been a whirlwind of BUSY..

But as my crazy time of year is winding down

I had to STOP and take a piece of my own advice....

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ACCEPT the things that you CAN NOT change,

and make the BEST of those things that YOU CAN.

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE to be outside.

So much so that my skin could sometimes be mistaken

for a 70 year old Florida native....

BUT I can't help it...

I LOVE the sunshine.

Sitting in it, reading in it, swimming in it, working in it, or eating in it.

AND MY BACKYARD was without question

the ugliest in the city of Ft. Worth.

and let me just tell you....

I have fussed about it every day for almost 2 years.

So... I decided to stop my whining and DO SOMETHING.

I couldn't get rid of the giant monsters who live back there

who ...for the most part have destroyed it...

BUT.. I could create a small SPACE just for me to enjoy.

The above photo is a tiny hint of my continued bakyard makeover.
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While in the backyard working on my

NEW "Happy" Space....

The third (thank goodness ..small) monster

took off with one of Brady's Monkeys.

It is the kind that yells when you touch it...

and we have laughed our heads off

because Niki thinks it's her baby.

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I later found it that afternoon just like this.

I don't know about you...

BUT I'm pretty sure that means she doesn't

want Brady to have it back.

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Later that same afternoon...

I got my NEW book in the mail from AMAZON..

I am already half way through with it.

WONDERFUL is just not a good enough word to describe it.

I would recommend it highly to any woman out there.

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We just don't realize how the physical clutter in our

lives makes such a HUGE impact

on the clutter in our minds, hearts, and emotions.

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Why we hold on to some of the things that we do...

Is just amazing to me.

1. like the 5 tubes of lipstick that I HATE

yet somehow keep as if one day they might look good on me

2. literally 8 bras that do not fit

and are so thin I wouldn't even work in them

3. double digits worth of socks with NO MATE

that I must be waiting for their return from vacation

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And I have JUST BEGUN...

BUT... I am embarrassed to say...

MY Garage is the reason I bought this book.

Take a look and you will see why...

ALL I can say is Mercy...

I need a B12 shot to even get started

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countless frames.. I have nearly a hundred
can any one say addict......
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all the zillions of things I bought to
"REMAKE" and put in the STORE that I do NOT have
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the constant out and in objects from my
multiple redecorating projects
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the MANY MANY chairs I bought to recover
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and of course a random Christmas tree in the mix
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May we all discover the REASONS why we keep the things we do...
and courage to let the ones that don't ADD to our lives GO.....
You just might be surprised what greatness
could fill the space that was previously
held by clutter.

Wednesday's Wisdom 2

I have been thinking a lot lately

about how much my life has changed

in the last 5 years.

In that time .....

I have been at my life's very lowest point

as well as my life's very highest..

And I can tell you that the biggest difference

between those 2 times was

MY ATTITUDE ...

I am so very thankful for the lows

because they taught me to

dig deeper to find out

what is really important.
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Many many times in my past...

and I must say even a few times in my present

I have sat around and griped about my circumstances...

Feeling if ONLY things were different then

LIFE would be different...

That is one of life's most cruel tricks.

IF we can not be thankful with a little.....

THEN why would God ever think we would be thankful with a lot.

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Stop today and forget all the things that you DON'T have

and make a list of the things that YOU DO...

because ...IF you STOP for just a moment

you'd be very surprised how wonderful LIFE is.
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SO... with a new thankfulness in mind

Here is my quote for today.....

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"If you want your LIFE to change,

then you have to be willing to make

some changes in your LIFE."
( I heard this one day on tv while I was cleaning

and I didn't see who it was that said it...

but I can tell you that I have never forgotten it.)

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I'd LOVE to hear any or your LIFE changing moments.

I am a firm believer that we can learn a great deal by others experiences.

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May we all realize that sometimes the biggest

change we need is one only we can do to ourselves!

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I just LOVE words..

I LOVE reading them, hearing them,

saying them, and writing them.

I am always on the lookout for wonderful

sayings, quotes, or phrases to put to good use.

SO... I decided that each Wednesday

I would try to spread a few of my favorites

on to you..

I hope they find their way into some hearts out there

and I sincerely hope that

a few simple words

will work the wonders for your soul

that they have done for mine.

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I have been on the search of what makes

TRUE JOY now for almost 4 straight years.

I have read countless books, listened to bazillions of cd's,

watched many wonderful speakers,

and filled my soul with the WORDS of God.

I have learned so many incredible lessons along the way...

and have grabbed ahold of some amazing things.

All of which have left me in

the most JOYFUL time of my life.
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The most important of all things that

I have realized however is that

REAL JOY comes from within.

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AS I watch my "little man"

I am ever reminded of just that fact.

He wakes up thrilled to start every day.

He NEVER dreads Monday, or worries if the house is clean.

He doesn't count calories, care if his pants are too tight,

wonder if his hair-do is making him look tired,

or most of all ... he NEVER blames any outside factor

on the reason he has NO JOY...

If it fads out for a moment...

It quickly builds right back up...........

because it comes from within HIM..

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Today we got a knock on our door from the neighbor.

He said a package had been delivered to his house

that was addressed to us.

It was to BRADY...

a precious friend from Snyder

(who I now only get to visit through the wonderful world of BLOg)

had sent him a little PRIZE....

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Oh my goodness...

He could hardly get that box opened fast enough.

And WHAT a wonderful surprise to find

A MONKEY inside...

I have decided that the world might could just

use a few more monkeys and maybe we'd all be happier.

Besides the fact that this was for sure the

nicest thing in the world to do....

IT was the most darling monkey I have ever seen...

Who could ask for more out of a Wednesday.

Thank you bunches Leslie !s

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So.. as I sit here in my chair
ready to place an end to this particular Wednesday.
I will leave you with a hint of my backyard makeover
that is about 2/3 complete.
and I will leave you with my first
Wednesday's Words of Wisdom.
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Real JOY bubbles up from the inside out
it doesn't leak in from the world outside.
Dianna Booher
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May we all be ever mindful
that JOY is a choice.
One we must make on a daily basis.