Thursday, December 18, 2008

Dallas outings.

Well, Josh and I had a full weekend and I have to say that I'm glad to be back home.  It was a weekend for friends and Christmas shopping, but I can't stand not sleeping in my own bed.  I actually slept more than a few hours last night.  I feel like a champ today!  

We went to Dallas on Friday and went out to dinner at one of Josh's fave Italian restaurants and then had a few drinks later with some friends we hadn't seen in a long time.  It's always good to catch up but we stayed up late chatting and playing catchphrase for ever!  

Well, on Saturday I went to the mall to get some Christmas shopping done.  (notice I said "I".  Josh likes shopping even less than I do.)  I also spent an obscene amount of money at Mardel books and gifts.  Everything was on sale!  I got new CD's for just $5.99.  What a deal.  I think we got everyone's presents out of the way now.  I think back to last year and realize that I was done Christmas shopping by Halloween.  I get anxious at malls during the holiday season.  People are mean and everything is so crowded.  It brings out the worst in me as well.  It's just not pleasant.... at all.  

Sat night we watched movies at Mike and Matt's apartment until I got sleepy, then we woke up on Sunday to check into the Hyatt Regency in DFW airport for our old company's Christmas party.  Josh worked there for 10 years and I worked there for 8 until we got  "let go" back in June.  Well, this is going to be their last Christmas party ever, because the Frenchy's that run it are closing down all the American sites and shipping jobs to Singapore.  (we all know what kind of quality comes from that side of the world)  When we found out they were closing the company doors, Josh and I requested that we be the first to be laid off, so it wasn't under bad circumstances.    Anywho, we really had a good time with all of our old friends at the party that evening.  It was kind of sad because once they had the raffle, most people left and it was really a boring party, except for our little crew of people.  We kept it going for a while and hardly noticed that the place was dead.  The food was great, the music was just okay, but we had fun reminiscing and dancing the night away.  Good times!  I love this time of year because it reminds me of what is important.  Family and friends.  We got to see most of the people we wanted to see while we were in Dallas, but not all of them. 
 We were supposed to help our friend Matt pack up a moving truck on Monday and come back to Childress on Tues, but we got iced in.  Many of the roads in the metro-plex were closed down due to icy conditions so we just stayed at our good friend's Christen and Gilbert's house with their two cute little ones Monday and Tuesday night.  We were so pleased that they let us stay with them out in Little Elm.  It was just to unsafe to drive anywhere.  It took us 3 hours just to get from Arlington to their house due to all the wreckage, so once we were there we didn't want to leave until it was safe.  People in the city DO NOT know how to drive in icy weather.  They just keep driving in a hurry like they always do and then wonder how the heck it happened when they wreck.  Sheesh.  

We are very proud to announce that our good friend Matt has moved up to Childress officially as of today. He is moving his stuff in to his new apartment right now.  He has been a friend to Josh and I for years and years.  I look at him like a brother, and we are so glad to have him here in town, close to us.  If you see him, be sure to say hello, and take some time to get to know him.  He's a great person.  

Well, that pretty much sums up my busy yet fun super extra long weekend.  Pretty random I know, but it's all I got right now.  It's getting close to the weekend again already and I hope everyone enjoys it.  Love and appreciate your family and your friends...that's an order!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Randomness...


I just finished taking my final exam for my Contemporary Funeral Practices class.  I got a 94. Not too shabby if I say so myself.  I decided to give my brain a rest and blog for a bit before I have to put my head back in the books to study for History of Funeral Directing.  Sheesh!  At least I'll be done with school in roughly a year.  As the semester ends, it feels as though it just started so perhaps it won't seem so long before I'm done.  In fact it still feels like we just moved to Childress even though we've been here since August.  Time just goes by faster each year.

Lately I've been keeping myself busy with school, remodeling our house, and working.  I haven't had much life outside of those things, but I try to read everyday (besides school books).  I love to read.  I've been hitting the Ted Dekker books pretty hard lately.  I think I've read about 9 or so books since September, but yesterday I picked up a publication sent to me by the Alliance Defense Fund.  They are a group that provides legal defense to Christians.  They defend cases that deal with the issues of religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and protecting family values.  The article I read had to do with a lawsuit against a school in Mount Juliet, a suburb of Nashville.  The suit was filed by the "most dangerous people in America"; the dreaded ACLU.  
It seems that an organization of parents were in the spotlight.  The Praying Parents met at the school's cafeteria in the mornings to pray for students, teachers and many other issues that plague our world today.  They would receive prayer requests from teachers and students alike and would quietly pray together while classes were being held.  There is no law that keeps parent or student led ministries from praying.  Prayer just can't be conducted by school personnel.  Well, of course the ACLU sees things differently.  They want freedom FROM religion, not freedom OF religion.  

The ACLU, which has a nearly limitless supply of funding was seeking to accomplish five objectives in this suit.  "One: to get rid of the National Day of Prayer, Two: to disallow "See you at the Pole" from happening on school grounds, Three: to keep the Praying Parents from meeting on school campus, Four: to change Thanksgiving completely- you could teach about Thanksgiving, but in your teaching could never mention God or prayer, which is critical to the whole historical meaning of the holiday. Five: as far as a Christmas program, it had to be entirely secular- no Christian reference whatsoever."  

Miraculously, the Alliance Defense Fund, stepped in and offered free legal counsel to those involved.  The school would not have had a chance otherwise.  On each of these five counts, the ACLU lost!  Most Christians never even knew how close we were to losing our sacred freedoms that our forefathers worked so hard to provide for us.  It scares me to think that this stuff is even an issue.  The Bible tells us that Christians will be persecuted and this is one of many perfect examples.  After reading this and other articles like it, I have decided to donate to the ADF.  This is the only way they are funded and able to provide these amazing services.  They are the only ones big enough to stand up against the ACLU.  I thank God there are still lawyers and people with heart to provide this kind of counsel.  The ACLU wants to remove God from everything in this country and I'm not going to stand for it.  
I refuse to bend when the majority of our country still professes to be Christian.  I don't see how we just sit back and let the minority win us over.  It's disgusting and obscene.  Apathy is killing the Body of Christ!  Of course God saw this coming a long time ago, which is why one of the major recurring themes in the Bible is to warn us about standing firm and "fighting the good fight".  It's only going to get worse folks, so strap in, gear up, and start praying.  It's the only hope we've got.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving!

So this is my first time on blogspot.  I've never really thought about blogging before but here goes nothing.  I'm taking a break right now.  I've been preparing foods for Thanksgiving for the past couple of days and we just finished eating.  Boy am I stuffed.  Why do our holidays revolve around food?  Never could figure that one out, but I have to admit that I like it.  It just seems odd that we slave for so long over such things.  It's a good thing I enjoy cooking.
Lets see, I've baked two sweet potato pies, a huge pan of momma's cornbread dressing, fresh green beans, a sweet potato dish and some other stuff.  My parents helped me out which was nice and Nita cooked the turkey at her place.  I'm so thankful on this holiday to have family that love me and whom I love and appreciate very much.  A few years ago my mom and I ate Thanksgiving diner at St. Luke's hospital in Houston while waiting to see if my dad would live through his quadruple by-pass surgery.  His heart had stopped and he was clinically dead for a while.  He spent a long time out cold in ICU.  I am so grateful that he is here with me today and that he even helped me cook.  I'm treasuring every moment I have with my parents.  
My parents are staying at my in-laws guest house so it's been really nice to have everyone together.  It's even more of a blessing that everyone gets along so well.  It's like we've been family forever.  I wish my parents didn't have to leave but I think they'll be back for Christmas.  I'm also thankful for my husband who loves me no matter what and his parents who are just as awesome as mine.  I'm also thankful for our new house, my new job, a country where I'm free to believe what I want to believe and for the soldiers who fight for those freedoms.
On that note, I think I'll head back over to my family's house now.  We're going to set up some Christmas decor this afternoon!  Gotta love the holidays.  I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and pray that everyone is as fat and full as I am right now.