Picture Update on Topaz...

Here are a few sweet pictures of our labradoodle, Topaz...

3 Short Work Weeks

The next three weeks at work are 4 day weeks. That is so exciting to me. And this week is half over already. Only 2 more work days. My parents will be here and I don't have to work. I always hate it when we have company and I have to work the whole time they are in town.

This past weekend was very productive and fun. Friday night we had dinner with some friends and played cards. Saturday morning we were able to participate in creating food baskets with our church and distributing them. It was a great reminder of what we are about. At several of the houses I just wished I could sit down and let those people tell me their stories of their lives. The last house was pretty frightening. The man at the house asked us for a ride somewhere through his daughter and when Mike went to talk to him he was smoking pot. My imagination started going crazy and I could just see us ending up in the worst of situations. We weren't able to take him, but it was difficult to make that decision. The middle part of the day was spent cleaning and organizing the house. We even fixed the smelly, broken vacuum ourselves! I did a little bit of shopping for myself and found a few new pairs of jeans. While I was in line to check out at Kohl's I watched a lady get angry because she was being asked to stand in the universal line that fed to the next available cashier. She did not understand why she couldn't just walk up to the one line that didn't have many people in it. When she was asked to get in line she threw her clothes in the ladies face and walked out. We were all shocked.

Saturday night we had my office Christmas party and then we went to this pottery place and painted. I can't wait to pick it up. Sunday morning we discussed our turning points on our spiritual journey in class. Sunday afternoon was spent painting nightstands, cleaning the garage, giving Topaz a bath, and cooking for the Christmas party at church. Sunday night we had the Christmas program which was great and yummy food afterwards.

Needless to say, I was tired yesterday!

Changes

I think all of the changes in my life over the recent months are beginning to catch up with me. I find myself feeling very tired these days and trying to make it to bedtime each night. So many things have been going on, mostly good things, but I still feel worn out. Right now I long for a day off work that doesn't involve a holiday, a day in which I could just lay around and rest. Christmas is quickly approaching. I am always surprised at how quickly it sneaks up on me. I still have a few gifts to buy and need to wrap everything! My parents will be in town next weekend and I am really looking forward to having them here. The next three weeks are four day weeks so hopefully that will give me some rest. I look forward to making new memories in our home.

Other than exhaustion, it doesn't seem as though there is much going on. I have been baking for different holiday gatherings and we have the last of our Christmas parties this weekend. It will definitely be a full weekend and will probably be ready for Monday just to not go, go, go. Hope you all can enjoy life right now without feeling stressed and worn out.

Blessings.

Holidays...Joy and Suffering

Christmas is supposed to be such a happy and jolly time of the year. But every year, I can't help but feel immense sadness for families who don't have the money to celebrate in the same way as other people. Everytime I walk through the mall and see that angels on the angel tree or hear about a family who has recently lost everything my heart aches for the parents and the kids.

A few Sunday's ago we had the opportunity to adopt some children to buy gifts for through our church. Every year they put together food baskets and coordinate efforts with a local agency to provide presents to children whose families can't do these things for them. One of the things we have tried to be intentional about when picking these children out is that we choose a type of child that would not be typically chosen. Usually that means the older adolescents to teenagers. This is important to me because I feel strongly that it will effect a 17 much more if they don't get a gift then it will a 2 year old. The older kids are embarrassed when they go to school and know what they are missing out on. As we picked them out, the lady coordinating it told me that if they had left over names they would be going shopping for them. I quickly let her know that I would love to help if they needed it.

Mike and I agreed that we would forego gifts for each other and put our money towards these kids. We set a budget and have found them quite a few things. The lady in charge invited me to help finish the shopping for the kids that were leftover. When I met them Monday night I found out that we are only able to spend $20-$25 on each kid. This broke my heart. Most of these kids were older and their clothes naturally cost more than a 5 year old. So they will get very few items. I could hardly stand it. The other downside to this is many of their siblings have been "adopted" by someone in the church and will get a sackful of presents and they will only have one or two. It is times like this that my heart sinks. I just hate that kids have to experience pain during what is supposed to be a joyful holiday. I try to take joy in knowing that at least many of these kids will receive something and they might understand that their are people that truly care about them.

I love opportunities like this because it forces me to recognize how blessed I am. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. May he be present in the lives of those who are broken hearted this holiday season.

Commenting Complex

For some odd reason, I don't like to comment on blogs. I love reading them (I read alot) and many times I have comments that I want to make but yet I don't. Certain bloggers have asked why I never comment. Last night I had to admit that I am a blog lurker to a friend at church :). I can't answer this question completely, except to say that I freeze when I think about leaving a comment. I think part of it is not wanting to sound stupid and another part, well who knows. In the last few weeks it is getting a little better....so I will keep working on it. I think I have the same complex at times with posting. Silly, I know. Just so my few readers know, I am working on it.

-ssd

Highs and Lows

During September and October I co-taught a class of 4th and 5th graders. One of our routine questions each week was their highs and lows of the week. After everyone shared we would pray about those highs and lows. I thought I would participate today....

Lows:
-We had awful storms blow through yesterday damaging alot of homes.
-Mike is putting in alot of time with school right now.
-Mike's stay in Abilene is quickly approaching.
-Topaz is still working on being completely obedient.

Highs:
-I have a job that is helping me toward my license.
-We have been welcomed with open arms since we moved to Paducah.
-I have a husband that loves me and makes time for me despite his school work.
-Thanksgiving is next week and I get to go see my family.
-Mike will be done with school for the semester in 2 weeks.
-We have a clean house.
-We were not affected by the storm in any major way.
-I got to go home from work early.


This is just a few things that come to my mind at this moment. Thankfully, it was much easier to think of highs than lows at this point in our journey.

Memories

Friday is finally here! As long as I can remember I have always looked forward to Fridays. Who doesn't? I am especially looking forward to this weekend. Tomorrow Mike and I are going to make the short trip to Nashville for the day. I am going to a shower for a friend/sister of mine and he is going to spend the afternoon in the library. I think I am looking forward to the trip more than he is.

However, this has brought alot of memories back to me. I am amazed as I think about the number of people in my life that have been significant and still hold such special places in my heart. Today, I want to write in particular about the Osburns. After my freshman year in college, I decided to pursue a youth internship. That summer I ended up in Atlanta, GA at the Campus Church of Christ. It was an incredible summer. I had the joy of working with a childhood friend and two new friends and vetern youth ministers, Ken and Donna Ellis. Before I go any farther, I have to say that they are great ministers and have really impacted alot of lives. I learned so much that summer and could share many stories. While all of these relationships were special, the family I lived gave me and showed me something I really needed that summer.

The Osburns loved spending time together as well as to take others in their home. The summer I was with them their family (James, Jayne, Julia, and Jayme) was there as well as Freddy, their foster son, and the two female interns. This family laughed together, watched movies together, talked about God together. James and Jayne were not afraid to laugh and have a good time with their kids. They were involved in their lives, but they also disciplined them as well. They became confidants for me during a difficult time and continued to be there for me during the next two years. Their house was the frequent gathering place for the teenagers and they didn't mind. They have always considered me their third daughter and I easily consider them my second family. Those are my sisters and I care deeply for them. Several years later, it was interesting that Julia began her freshman year at Lipscomb as I finished my senior year. I have made special trips just to spend the weekend. I know they have open arms.

I am so happy for Julia as she prepares for marriage, but it is so difficult not to think of her as still being a junior in high school. My dream has always been to get to host an intern and show them the love that I received from this family. My heart is so excited to spend the evening with Jayne, Jayme, Julia, and David. I long for Mike to know them better so he can understand the connection we share.

Our lives change, but my memories of that summer will forever be engrained on my heart.

Why GOD?

God, why do people have to hurt so bad?

Why do some people that seem to hurt the worst not have a good family support system?

Why won't it go away?

Why don't you heal them?

Why can't they see your hand in positive aspects of their life?

Why is it so hard to ask for help?

Why don't children feel they can trust adults?

Why do we get so stressed?

These are alot of deep questions that I find myself asking lately. The first few months of my job have been really rough. I have dealt with many serious things over and over. I tend to go home worried and stressed and for the first time in my life it is hard to leave it at work. My heart breaks for the people that walk through my door everyday. I feel helpless at times even though I have been through 6 years of college and grad school to do this. The cry of my heart is that I can see God's hand in the lives of these people, but at times I begin to wonder alongside of them where God has been. It seems that he is distant or deserted them altogether. There is such a huge segment of our society that is writhing in their pain. Will we seek them out and love them? Or will we just leave them there to suffer? Many people just need a support system that is healthy and doesn't perpetuate these patterns. Won't we look past the outside and see how we might offer them a cup of cold water?

Great weekend

My parents were in town this weekend for their first visit to Paducah, KY. It was so great for them to be able to finally see our house and the area where we live now. We got to enjoy all of our favorite pasttimes....eating, shopping, playing with Topaz, and laughing. They arrived on Thursday at lunch and I made a beeline for the house so I could give the grand tour. Mike and I had to work Thursday afternoon and Friday but Mom and Dad explored Paducah and met us for lunch. Friday we grilled chicken and steak and made fajitas and then went out for ice cream. Saturday we started the day at a greasy spoon for Breakfast. This is one of my dad's favorite pasttimes. He calls them greasy spoons because they are local flavor owned by individuals rather than a big chain. After breakfast, my mom and I headed out to do some shopping. This is one of our favorite things to do. We met back up with Mike and Dad and went downtown for dinner. We spent lots of time playing with Topaz. He ate up the attention my mom lavished upon him and has been incredibly needy since they left. In all, it was a great weekend. I love having my parents here - the conversations, the stories, and all the memories that we make for the future. I hope we will have many more visits.

Last night we went to the youth care group. Mike continued to use questions to create discussion. It is amazing how good these kids are at regurgitating the "right" answers. I pray that we will be able to help them think beyond the bounds of the "right" answers and let them stretch their minds to think for themselves. This is truly what it means to form faith in our kids.

So I found myself back to Monday, already looking towards next weekend! What a cycle!

Finally....

Well, I think we are very close to feeling settled in our house. We have pretty much finished all of the projects that we have scheduled for the time being. Tonight we will put our bedroom furniture back in place and be done for a few weeks at least. It has been a stressful few weeks with work and not feeling totally settled. I needed to find some closure with getting some projects done. I definitely allow those things to stress me out and want everything done yesterday!

In other news, my parents are coming to visit this weekend and I couldn't be more excited. They are very excited to meet their granddog, Topaz, and see this new place that we have moved to. It is always alot of fun for my mom and I to go shop together.

Mike and I went with Reidland to the ZOE conference this weekend and it was great. We saw SOO many old friends and a few that we hadn't seen in 3-4 years. The worship was refreshing and we had some great conversations with members of the church about the language of blessing and using it in our conversations. The classes that we attended were really helpful and one of the things that I think we brought home with us was teaching with the use of questions. It was interesting that Mike and I were in different classes but both talked about it.

The idea is that kids are used to being told what they are supposed to know and the "answers" to the questions. However, postmodern kids are not always satisfied with these answers. They ask the hard questions and are frustrated when they are silenced for asking questions. As I thought about it, the idea of asking questions is similar to what I do in the therapy room. My goal is to ask questions so the client come up with the answer. When this happens it is much more powerful for them than if I just told them. I think this is the same idea with our kids....let's encourage them to find the answers so that it will be a more powerful experience.

Mike tried this out Sunday night in a discussion with the kids. It was difficult at first on both ends. You have to learn to ask the right questions that open up discussion. The kids were really good at giving the "right" answers. When they were pushed to go beyond that, it was amazing what they came up with. They really think about things and have good things to say. I would really encourage parents to ask questions and not get angry with the answers but learn that this is the reality of what kids are experiencing. They need an outlet to talk about it. If you react they will just find another outlet and you won't get to experience the process of them evolving and learning to think for themselves.

Interesting

You Are Likely an Only Child

At your darkest moments, you feel frustrated.At work and school, you do best when you're organizing.When you love someone, you tend to worry about them. In friendship, you are emotional and sympathetic.Your ideal careers are: radio announcer, finance, teaching, ministry, and management.You will leave your mark on the world with organizational leadership, maybe as the author of self-help books.

The Birth Order Predictor

I definitely agree with parts of this but would not totally agree. What does it say about you?

Welcome to the Family

Yes, we now have a dog. This is our new 11 month old Labradoodle, Topaz. He has been with us for about a month now and is making himself at home. He has traveled alot this first year, he was born in South Illinois and then bought by a family in Chicago along with his brother. However, after sending him to Paducah for obedience training and then going home his family realized they were in over their heads with two big dogs and two small children. He was then sent back to Paducah with the trainer who ran a few ads to try to find him a good home.

One Sunday night I mischievously told Mike I was going to look for a lab puppy in the paper. We weren't really planning on getting a dog so soon! However, much to my delight I found the ad for Topaz. He is 11 months old, obedience trained, microchipped, and house broke and he was a Labradoodle (my dream dog). It seemed too good to be true, but with the encouragement of my friend Randi I called about him. Randi, Ali, and I went to check him out the next day and I was sold. Mike came and fell for him as well. Well, Mike initially fell for the fact that he doesn't shed. Needless to say, he came home with us later that day. He is a great people dog, doesn't shed, but still has enough puppy in him to be a goofball.

As you can see above in the first picture he already has a beloved monkey. The monkey goes everywhere that he does. He also has a great friend in Ali. She was mimicking that he was laying down curled up in a ball the other night. So they are two peas in a pod. It was pretty hilarious.

I am sure I will have many Topaz stories in the future. Stay tuned.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. In honor of her I wanted to share a few thoughts and memories. My mom is one of the strongest women I know. She has been through alot during her life and she has always come out on top. When I was in elementary school she decided she wanted to go back to school so that she could support us if anything ever happened to my dad. She worked so hard to study and continue to be available for our class parties and activities. I didn't realize at the time how challenging it must have been. She has continued to be successful in her career. She has proved to me many times over that you can do anything you put your mind too. She is one of the most independent women I know and has shown me that if I want to do something I can. She showed by example that I can do anything I want to, whether that is drive the backhoe or go out of town alone.

Not only that but one my mom's gifts is buying gifts for others. She is generous with what she has and has provided a great example for us to follow. I don't know what would have happened if she wasn't there to hold our family together. She taught us how to cook and clean even when we vehemently protested. If I could go back to that time I would do many things differently. I didn't tell her often enough how much we appreciated her. I praise God that he gave me a mom that prays for us and cares so much for us that she will call when she has a minute to chat.

As I have learned more about my mom in the last few years since leaving home we have become much closer and I respect and value what she did for me and my sister during our time at home. She has become one of my best friends and I know I can always talk to her about anything. She always has an opinion and she doesn't hold it back. She and my sister are my favorite shopping partners and I wish we got to do it more often. In the years to come I look forward to our weekend girl trips and every opportunity that we get to spend time together.

I always want my mom to know that I treasure our relationship and love the time we get to talk and visit. It is never enough!

I love you mom. I hope you have a great birthday!

--sara

Last...

The last few weeks have held many lasts for Mike and I in Abilene. Last Wednesday was our last dinner with some of our good friends, Sunday was our last day at Highland as residents of Abilene and our last lunch with some other friends, last night was my final opportunity to see a client at the Marriage and Family Institute, today is my last day of work in Admissions at ACU and my last supervision group, and tomorrow will be our last dinner with our small group for a while. I am not sure that all of these things have set in yet. There are definitely moments when I regret this descision because it is hard to say goodbye. But then I hear of people in Kentucky who are so excited for us to come that they spend a day at our new house doing yard work for us and I realize that there are many great things to come. Transitions are so difficult, yet they tend to be the times when we learn the most. This will be a great time of deepening my relationship with God and Mike as we walk in faith. I just pray that I will allow myself to grieve, because that is very important, but also look ahead to the great things and memories to come.

-SSD

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is my husband's 25th Birthday! Mike has been such a blessing to so many people during his life. I often hear comments from people that know him talk about how he has been such an encouragment to them or a great friend during rough times. Mike is so talented at making friends with everyone he comes in contact with. When he worked at the hotel in Nashville, many times I witnessed him break the rudest of guests into smiles before he was done checking them in at the desk. He loves people completely and works really hard to make them feel special. He is an incredible husband, cooks great meals for us, and enjoys spending time with me. Sometimes he is even willing to tag along while I shop! I pray that he will have a great day of celebration today even though we are loading a moving truck!

I love you Mike! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm Back At Least For Today

I don't know if I will keep this up, but today it sounds fun.

This has been going around several blogs and seems like a good way to try to get back into the swing of things.

What I was doing 10 years ago......

Ten years ago...Well I think I was getting ready to start my freshman year of high school. I had spent alot of time with the youth group, going to Uplift at Harding University. This may have been the summer that I attended a camp called Camp Anytown that focused on diversity. My dad was beginning to let me drive to the protest of my mom and since I was only 14 I thought I was really cool. It is actually sad that I really can't think of very much from that time in my life.

What I was doing 5 years ago.....

I had just finished my freshman year of college and was working with Kin and Donna Ellis at Campus Church of Christ in Norcross, GA. It was one of the most incredible summers. I loved getting to plan youth group activities and worship services AND I got paid for it. I met some great friends which later persuaded me to transfer to Lipscomb University. I also lived with a family that is still incredibly special to me. Their girls are like my sisters and they are my second parents. They saw me through some pretty difficult years with my family. Now that I think I about it, I also met my future husband that summer ( neither of us knew at the time) coming out of a porta potty. We were introduced and maybe talked for 5 minutes. Who would have thought that 5 year later we would be happily married? There are so many great memories from this summer, I could go on forever.

What I was doing 1 year ago....

I was beginning my second year of graduate school at Abilene Christian University in Marriage and Family Therapy. I had began seeing clients and gearing up for the busiest year of my life. We went to Florida to see Mike's parents and experienced Hurricane Charlie and then came back to Oklahoma to throw a surprise party for my Mom's 50th birthday. Mike and I celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary and spent the weekend in Austin, TX. At the end of the summer we said goodbye to our good friends Andy, Randi, and their 3 week old daughter, Ali as they moved to KY.

What I did yesterday......

I began the morning at work, went to lunch with really fun girls, and then worked some more. We had our last Wednesday night dinner with our friends Kyle and Jennifer who are getting graduating, getting married, moving to Kansas City, and beginning Medical School in about 9 days. After dinner we went to the MFT talent show and laughed hysterically all night.

5 Snacks I Enjoy......

Diet Coke, Cookies, Fruit Snacks, Chips and Salsa, and ice cream

5 things I would do with 100 million dollars....

Pay off all our school loans, finance our dream retreat center, travel, random acts of kindness, and create school trust funds for my future children

5 Locations I Would Run Away To......

the mountains, Maine, Europe, Greece, the Caribbean, anywhere peaceful

5 Bad Habits ......

Stressing, Chewing on things, Drinking too much Diet Coke, Not making the bed, Not blogging :)

5 Things I Like To Do.....

Read, Shopping (even just window shopping), hanging out with Mike, Traveling, Decorating, Lunch with the girls, Reading blogs, Running

5 TV Shows I Like......

ER, Oprah, Law and Order, Today Show, Clean Sweep

5 Things I Hate Doing....

Driving long distances, MOVING, Laundry, Staying in the House for long periods of time, paying bills

5 Things I Love About My Husband....

His Loving Spirit, His willingness to do anything for me, How hard he works to support us, How much he cares about people and what they are experiencing, His goofiness that lightens me up sometimes.

5 Biggest Joys at the Moment....

Buying a house, Thinking about how I want to decorate, Both of us having jobs, Spending time with great friends, Graduating with my master's!

Wow, that took longer than I thought it would. Hope you enjoy!