Anything less than Butterflies

11.24.2011

thankful.

Today is the International Day to be Thankful, and there is so much in my life for me to be thankful for.

I am thankful for my incredible FAMILY and their support system.

I am so thankful for Drew and his unconditional love.

I am very thankful to have a roof over my head.

I am thankful for Cooper and that he is finally calming down.

I am unbelievably thankful for a God who is bigger than everyone and everything else and who loves me unconditionally.

I am thankful for the hope that I have that things will get better eventually.

I am so thankful for my friends, although some are scattered to Africa they all bless my life each day.

I am thankful for my Mom who pushes herself each day and never fails to show her love.

I am thankful for my brothers who are thriving in their own lives.

I am thankful for my sister in the room next door who is flourishing in her creativity every day.

I am thankful for my Dad who is fighting each day to get up and get better.

I am thankful for Kelsey who is the most positive person in my life and shows her love every single day.

I am thankful for Aunt Tammy who keeps tradition alive and reminds us of the importance of family.

I am thankful for Nana who keeps Grandy's memory alive each and every single day with her love.

Today is a reminder to count our blessings and treasure them all!

11.20.2011

Weekend Getaway

Last weekend Drew, Lane, Neeley and I went to Dallas! It was a much much needed getaway. We were all generously rewarded for our help moving Mom and Nana from Abilene to Amarillo. Of course none of us needed a reward... we are all just so Happy to have them here but it was so amazingly sweet of them to do.

We got in late on Friday night after a little car trouble, some bad moods (yes I had one of them), and some dinner in Clarendon, TX. Saturday morning we were prepared to sleep in but Neeley woke up super duper early, I am talking 8 on a Saturday is WAY early for me. But we all got up and with it. Lane and Neeley dropped Drew and I off at the hospital my Dad is in to visit with him for a couple of hours. It was a good visit. I was happy to see where he is now, there is comfort in being able to picture where he is. I was excited to get to give him his birthday present even though it was a week early. I have been a neglectful daughter the past years on his birthday presents.

Anyway, we went to Southlake Town Center after the hospital. I was craving me some Louisiana Chicken Pasta from this amazing place...

And it was every bit AMAZING as I remember from Vegas. We left there again without getting Cheescake, How this is possible I have no idea! But neither Drew nor Neeley were very happy about it.

Patrick met us for dinner and came to hang out with us afterwards.

Patrick looks SO TALL compared to Drew and I! I don't know why we didn't get a group picture but here we are and Neeley and Lane are below.

We were pretty lame-o after dinner and just went and chilled after. The oldest bunch of twenty-year-olds you could ever meet! I think we about bored Patrick to death.

They guys had a big day the next day though, As their little gift for being super awesome Nana, Mom, and Aunt Tammy got Drew, Lane and Patrick tickets to see the Dallas Cowboys. This was HUGE to them! Drew has never been to a game at the new stadium, Lane has never been to a NFL game, and Patrick just loves everything Dallas Cowboys. The game was at noon and they got up and left at 9:30 to make sure they had time to walk around and explore the staduim.

They are so freaking sweet! Drew and Lane both got themselves new Cowboy's hats at the stadium. Truly I cannot think of a better way to have thanked them for their help. They were in heaven!

Meanwhile... Neely and I were on a shopping mission! We drove from Ft. Worth to Downtown Dallas to hit up Urban Outfitters and were waiting at the door when they opened for the day.

It was our lucky day! Urban was having a 50% off their Sale items that day. In all the time Neeley or I have been shopping at Urban we have never ever seen them do this so we were pretty Stoked to say the least. I have never found so many clothes there that fit in my life. and if you know Urban you know their Sale items are as awesome as their new clothes.

We did all we could at the Urban in Mockingbird Station and were headed to H&M in Northpark mall along with Forever 21 when we found another Urban in that mall and had to do some damage there as well. It was such a great shopping trip for us! We even saw local celebrity from Most Eligible Dallas on Bravo, Glenn Pakulak shopping there!

It was such a fun and relaxing trip and I cannot Thank My Mom, Nana, and Aunt Tammy enough for it!

11.18.2011

COME TO ME, and rest in My Peace. My Face is shining upon you, in rays of Peace Transcending understanding.

Philipians 4:6-7

Driving with Mom

Ever since I was in High School my mom has super fun little cars. She had a pearl white Mitsubishi Eclipse convertable that I would try to take out on Friday nights with my friends. We would usually end up with her driving and us in the back seat at Sonic or something with the top down. In College she got a pearl white convertable PT Cruiser that she would run around town in (I don't like PT cruisers but that was definitely the coolest one there was!) Then mom got a pearl white VW Beetle covertable (are you seeing the trend yet?!!) that she would whisk around town in. We would take it out on Spring Saturdays with the top down for a little shopping adventure after meeting Nana and Grandy at the Dixie Pig. Last year mom got a ...wait for it... BLACK VW Eos Convertable (of course) for her to drive. She said she just loves to drive something with the wind blowing through her hair. I have Always ALWAYS loved spending days riding around with my mom in her cars. She has always loved to drive. When I am not with her I have this vision of her whipping about town in her little car jamming to some music and on a nice day with her top down. (The car's not hers... although with her you never know!)

This week mom went back to see the Dr. in Dallas who diagnosed her with Dementia. Over all the appointment was pretty good, However he did tell her that she can no longer drive her car. She has been really heartbroken about it and I have too! It seems like a step in the completely wrong direction. She can't drive?! That's ridiculous my mom LOVES to drive her car. I keep thinking that surely if the Dr. KNEW how much she loved to drive he would change his mind. I am sad for her. I am hearbroken for her.

I just made contact with the Alzheimer's association to get her involved, to get her an outlet out of the house, to give her something to do during the day and now she can't drive herself there. My mom is 52 and 11 month's and can no longer drive her car. Something is very wrong with this!

11.11.2011

She is an Incredible Woman!

I cannot think of a better scripture to describe my Amazing Aunt Tammy. She may not "laugh" at the future but she stands up and faces it knowing God is by her side.

I can absolutely say without a doubt that I am the person I am today because of her!

She is so much more than an Aunt to me and I know she will ALWAYS be there for me to run to.

I am so grateful for her and blessed by her wisdom every single day. I could never begin to explain the depth of what she means to me and the love I have for her.

I want to wish her an Incredibly Happy Birthday because she deserves nothing but the absolute best!