Grandpa GG's little BIG man

GG took little Broders and I to The Farm for lunch on Wednesday. It was such a peaceful and relaxing day. We truly enjoyed our time outdoors, with the birds chirping, beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and wonderful company.

We ate a delicious lunch out on the picnic tables while Brody walked around making friends with other kids and deciding that their balls were his to play with. He had such a great time finding pecans on the ground and taking them over to two little girls that were collecting them. He has such a generous little heart (unless it comes to his cars).

After we ate we decided to walk around the area. There is so much more to The Farm than I thought. We saw local farmers tending to their crops, a little artist building that teaches art classes, a cute little place where you can get massages and an area set up for weddings. It is such a neat area.

After we walked around for a while we got something to drink at the restaurant and continued to chat for a while.

It was truly just what the Dr. ordered!!!!!!

Brody's first glimps of what real chicken's look and sound like

Of course we had to make time for climbing on things
following in Grandpa GG's footsteps...

Thank you Gramps for this lovely day. It meant so much to me and Brody had such a great time exploring and spending time with his GG.

Love you

Somewhere Under the Rainbow

I was driving home from my parents house on Tuesday. It had been raining all day and to my suprise I saw the most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen in my entire life!!!

It was a double rainbow, one right above the other. The one below was as bright as could be and the earth lit up where it seemed the rainbow ended. I'm truly not exaggerating.

The one above wasn't near as bright and was fading into the cloudy sky very quickly.

I just so happened to have my camera with me so I told myself I should pull over and take a picture. I hesitated and then after missing the perfect opportunity decided if I didn't get a picture I would regret it!

Soooo I took the next opportunity to pull over, a dirt area right off of Elliott road. I quickly thought to myself, "maybe I shouldn't pull over here, what if I get stuck in the mud." and then I reassured myself "ya right, I'm in a four runner!"

I was a little disappointed because by the time I had convinced myself to take the picture, I discovered that the picture before me wasn't near as beautiful as it had been. I snapped two pictures in between windshield wipes and then realized that I couldn't get myself back on the road...

yep, I was stuck!

My mom came to the rescue and when explaining to her that I thought something might be wrong with my car and encouraged her to listen to the sound my car was making, she looked at me and responded "ya honey, I think thats mud." Maybe I was just trying to convince myself that my four runner truly could not be stuck in the mud on the side of a street of all things!!!!

At the same time little Brody had decided that he was getting tired of sitting in his carseat and began fussing to let me know it. I tried giving him candy and he just wasn't going for it. Then I realized that I had a small box of rice in the car that was left over from lunch at Nonnies so I put that in front of him. Brody didn't make another peep! Oh that boy has a love for rice!

Anyway, after much encouragement from my mom that nothing was wrong with my car I eventually got my car to some pavement and found out that my car drove just fine!

What an adventure :)

You wouldn't appreciate these pictures quite as much without hearing the story behind them and with the amount of effort that went into capturing them I couldn't resist posting them. :)

Little Broders at the end of the adventure with rice from head to toe!

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for strength!

for personal strength

and

for the strength of others who are facing difficult times

Adversity fills our lives

we all experience it at different levels and in different ways

it isn't easy and it isn't fun

BUT, we all get through it in one way or another!

I pray for strength every night and am so very thankful for the people that surround me,

who give me strength when I feel I don't have anything left!

Thank you!

Day Three and Four

To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another; it’s to make the most of myself.

I AM POWERLESS!!!!!!!!!!!

(I'll shout it again)

I AM POWERLESS!!!!!!

However, I do have the power to focus on myself and my own healing,

and then LET IT GO........

It is so amazing how God works in our lives! Monday after I post I checked my email and found this poem waiting for me in my daily devotional!

Broken Dreams

As children bring their broken toys

with tears for us to mend,

I brought my broken dreams to God

because He was my friend!

But then instead of leaving Him

in peace to work alone,

I hung around and tried to help

with ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried,

"How can you be so slow?"

"My child," He said

"What could I do?

You never did let go."

Author Unknown

Day Two

To “let go” is not to enable, but allow learning from natural consequences.

This is a tough one. I tend to want to protect and prevent whenever a situation presents itself.

Even thinking about little broders, my nature is to step in and do whatever I can to "control" the situation. Yet at the same time I have realized that sometimes he learns the quickest through natural consequences.

I suppose it is the same for all of us, even as adults.

Thanks for listening!

Let Go, Let Spirit

To “let go” does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To “let go” is not to enable, but allow learning from natural consequences.

To “let go” is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To “let go” is not to try to change or blame another; it’s to make the most of myself.

To “let go” is not to care for but to care about.

To “let go” is not to fix but to be supportive.

To “let go” is not to judge but to allow another to be a human being.

To “let go” is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes but to allow others to affect their destinies.

To “let go” is not to be protective it’s to permit another to face reality.

To “let go” is not to deny but to accept.

To “let go” is not to nag, scold, or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and correct them.

To “let go” is not to adjust everything to my desires but to take each day as it comes and cherish myself in it.
~author unknown

So my sister posted this on her blog today and it has touched me so much that I feel I need to post it on mine as well. I need to remind myself that I am not in control, that I am powerlelss. I have lost myself in the hopes of controlling what I am not in control of and it is time for me to find a healthy place again in this crazy world of uncertainty. I have to learn to "let go." So as I read this post I felt a little overwhelmed. There is soooo much information in this poem that I thought I would take it a sentence at a time.

So today,

To "let go" does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

Ahhh, these words feel sooo good. I cannot make others do something they do not or are not ready to do. I can still care but I am not in control of what others choose to do. I am only in control of my reactions and responses. I'll just repeat it cause it feels so good... :)

"I am not in control"

thanks for letting me get that out!

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow

Papa and Nonnie watched little broders on Thursday night while Matt and I went to see

National Treasure at the movie theater.

(yes we actually went out)

We asked Papa if he would work his magic on Brody's hair as he is long overdue for a trim. For those of you who don't know, Papa used to cut all of his daughter's hair when we were growing up. I remember begging him to cut it short however only remember it happening like once in my life :)

Thankfully Nonnie got Papa and Broders on camera!