Girls Weekend

Just the 4....of the original 7!

While my hubby enjoyed a weekend Marriage Matters Conference, alone, at our church, and took care of our lovely precious daughter, I attended my own conference (of sorts). The conference of my highschool friends "Girls Weekend 2008!" It's been planned for months, so don't flog me for leaving my sweet hubby to take notes at the conference......I couldn't miss out on our first annual retreat!

There are 7 of us originally....3 couldn't make it at the last minute. So the four of us found ourselves in the middle of uptown Dallas, in a hotel that also was the hotel of the Washington Redskins wives for the weekend. Talk about seeing a lot of bling! Bling, bling everywhere! It was quite funny pulling up to the valet in my Subaru station wagon.....I almost wondered if they were going to say, "the servant's parking is out back, ma'am". But nonetheless, they took my wagon into shelter with the other bling-mobiles.

It was a good weekend of reminiscing and catching up. I found out two things. One - when you get women together without kids......gluttony ensues. I think we ate more this weekend (and I gained more poundage this weekend) than I've ate my entire pregnancy. Please double chin.....go away, now! The second thing I found out was - I seemed to have blocked out so many of the crazy things I did as a youth! The stories that were retold.....knocked all our socks off. We all had forgotten something crazy we had done. Would you call that a bad memory or forced amnesia?

First eating stop was, of course, the desirable PF Chang's.

They had THE CUTEST little desserts!

At the end of the weekend, I was glad to have re-connected with girls who were.....essential to me being who I am today. We all counted our blessings that we had each other as friends from 6th grade on....... (girls, you know how hard that is!) We all went our separate ways after high school, each leading different lives with different experiences, but our connection remains the same. It's just like old times when we get together - minus the teenage angst.

I was glad to get home though. The bit of a homebody that I am, being away and endless talk about our children and lives, made me excited to get back to my child and my life, with my hubby. It was good to get away though...although next year, I'll be glad to do some shopping without the Sophie-girl pressing on my bladder every 15 minutes!
Night out!

Bible Journey: Exodus 11:1-13:1

I Want To Be a Hooker....

Aha! That got ya!.......now that I have you, let me explain.

I'd love to be a hooker, as in, "one who hooks".
I've googled all around to find a hooking class, and have yet to find one.

I love this hooked rug!

I'm an artsy person. I can draw. I like to create with my hands. (I don't paint all that well though, which is too bad because painting classes are the most common.) My mom probably instilled most of the artsy-ness in me. I remember she would take her two little annoying children and teach them the art of ceramics at our kitchen table....how to use the tools, what the steps were, and then we'd fire up the professional-sized kiln that she housed in our garage (a sure fire hazard), and just a day later, we would have a beautiful Christmas present to give my grandma. (Poor grandma....I'm remembering right now the not so lovely duck cup that I once made her that she so proudly displayed in her kitchen.)

So....in searching for an outlet for my creative energy, I decided to put together my love of "old things" and my desire for a hobby and I came up with hooking. How hard can it be? I love hooked rugs...pillows...all of it.

In fact, I love most things that are old. My dream home one day would be an "old Americana-cottage-y" type house with wood floors, bead boards, and all of these below:

old iron chandeliers

I'd paint the white walls, but all this wicker and wood ....heaven!

Old dented furniture....

White antique pottery....

And I'd fill my house with handmade pottery ....

.......to dream! But all of this is much harder than I thought. There's no hooking class anywhere in a close vicinity, the "Old-Americana-Cottagy" house is hard to come by unless you build, and where do you find the time to go hunting for that great piece of dented furniture?

The answer is: You just do. I can't forget that even though we lead busy lives, creativeness and things we are passionate about still trump our "to do" lists. So I'll continue searching....maybe one of my blogger friends has a "hooker" for an aunt that she can reccommend. In a non-prostitute sort of way.

Bible Journey: Exodus 9:1-11:1
Thanks to Molly, Boog, and Jimbo for helping me sort out my questions in Exodus Ch. 4 (not Ch. 5 like I had earlier mentioned!)

Confessions of a Homebody

I am a homer. A homebody. Someone who loves the home. Not just a home, but my home. Not so much in the summer, but definitely in weather like this - cool, crisp, football weather - I find myself wanting to push my hectic schedule aside, quit volunteering for different activities, and just go home after work. Do laundry.....make some stew & cornbread....watch a little telly.....veg out. Do nothing. It's funny, though, I don't remember being a homebody growing up. Maybe it's the fact that this is my home now.....decorated the way I like....with things organized just so.....any other home doesn't do it. (Well, maybe my mother-in-law's, but her home would make even the Grinch want to pull a chair up and stay a while.)

Undoubtably, we've all been there. And there's always a season to do just that......this is mine. Being 5 months pregnant might have something to do with it, but that can't be the only reason. Now, saying that, I've got a hubby here who is 100% go, go, go all the time. Rare is it that he ever wants to sit and veg. Sometimes.....but not often. So often I veg alone....Gracie & I. No, she plays. I veg.

True to homer's nature though, I already don't want to overschedule Grace.....I opted out of t-ball this year because I just didn't want us to be "scheduled" in the summer. But I can only hold out for so long....the ballet lessons will come. Tap shoes will come. Gymnastics will come. And with Sophie on the way? Whew......let's just say I know my world of "one-child ease at home" is about to change!

So, to all the homers out there, you've got a friend in me. I understand the difference between being a homer and a loner. No loners here....I've got one or two friends, I think. Okay, three.

Anyhoo.....just rambling some thoughts on my mind after my day of being a homebody. Loved it!

Homebody afternoons!

Genesis 7:3-Genesis 9:1
I haven't been reporting lately on my readings, and to be honest, Exodus has been way more challenging than I remember! There was a part back in Ch. 5 that I still can't wrap my mind around.....but don't you find that a lot in the Bible? Not being able to wrap our little, scrawny minds around the brainiac, genius of God? Sort of like a baby.... they come from your body and you know that one day they'll be able to understand so much....but for now, all they can do is just trust that you are going to take care of them and provide for them and walk with them through the hard times. So I'm like a baby right now, I guess......hmmmm....I've gotta get better at that trusting part!

I'm Having A .......

'nother GIRL! Sophie Rose Ferrell is on her way! She already showed a sign of her personality on the sonogram....she flashed a peace sign at us...made me laugh. Girls, girls, girls.... Boog's way outnumbered now!

Bible Journey: Exodus 5:1-Exodus 7:3

Time flies....

From this little bucket of cuteness.....

To one fro-haired, crazy girl!

Where did four years go?......

.....also, special thoughts today for all those in uniform. My little school paid tribute to our country and, as always, my principal couldn't speak because he was moved to tears after watching the 9/11 slideshow. Has it already been seven years since that tragedy?

It seems like just a moment ago....

Bible Journey: Exodus 3:5-Exodus 5:1

It's Aggie Time!

Boog, doin' his thing! Blessed with the gift of gab.
OK. I think I'm looking a little "large & in charge"

Aggie football begins, school starts again for those seasoned upper classmen and for the first time for those newby highschool grads, midnight yell, road trips, all of it starts in the fall. And of course, we can't forget, those Aggie Mom Club Meetings!

Last fall, Boog was blessed to be asked by the Ft. Worth Aggie Moms Club to speak at their introductory meeting. This year, right in our back yard, the Henderson County Moms Club asked him to be their opening speaker. Boog gets so excited about these type speaking engagements - come on! Combine his gift for the gab, on the subject of A&M and Bonfire, in front of a captive audience? That's like year round freshly ground coffee being handed to him at sunrise everyday from his wife! (ie. It almost never happens...okay. It pretty much never does!)

I have to admit, he does impress. I don't cry, but I often come to the point of tears brimming whenever he talks about those that lost their lives and the true Spirt of Aggieland. My good friend, Stephanie, her husband has a story to tell about Bonfire that would make even the most hard-hearted person break down. There's just something about listening to people recount life-changing experiences that .....is so heartfelt and pure. So unaffected and affecting at the same time.

I'm going to be honest that, aside from the joyful life-changing experiences, I haven't had much of the hard ones in my life. One. I haven't really blogged about that much..... ever, really.... because my mother's death is still something that I process on a daily basis. I don't know if it's all sorted out yet. There will be a post one day, I'm sure. But I'm not sure when. My mom's in heaven, that I know. And that's what I think about.

On a final note, it's mid-way through the week and there's not a free weekend in the whole month of September for me. Isn't this when all that starts? The busy weekend schedules? All I know is I can't wait until that first weekend when I lift up all my windows in the house to get that great, cool fall air inside while I clean. I'm crazy that I look forward to that moment each year!

Bible Journey: Exodus 1:1-Exodus 3:5

My 18 Week Belly!

I really did not want to post this picture.......my hair is bad, the light is bad, it's 7am so my eyes are still puff-city. BUT, I'm doing this for my friends from out-of-town who have asked to see if I'm really "large & in charge". As you can see, my belly doesn't look big, but it feels big (I remind myself of a beached whale when I try to roll out of bed at night).....I can't imagine getting bigger, but after seeing a picture from the end of my last pregnancy, I know "Big" is on it's way!

So, onto other things - I have a confession. I'm a terrible friend. Do you ever feel that way? Ever since I started back to teaching two weeks ago, with schedules flying everywhere, and a million things to do every afternoon, all those sweet little friendships I formed over the summer have been pushed to the wayside. Remember my new non-acquaintance Keri? Well, Keri, if you're reading this, you know now that I feel remiss about not getting to chat much anymore. I have a brand new/old friend who's moved here from the big-D, and I haven't even gotten to see their new home. And there's so many more cases....so many. Everything seemed much simpler this past summer......get up, see who's free to play that day, do a few errands....what a life! I miss it. But I have to vow to get better at being a good friend even in the midst of a busy life.

On another note, my bible journey is now into Exodus! ........it's only taken me a little over a month to get through Genesis, so at this rate, it'll take close to eleven years to finish the whole thing. I've got to get better at reading more at a time.....but it seems like so much information to take in to just "zoom through it". But having this blog as my accountability partner has helped tremendously.

OK. I'm boring myself. Time to get to another meeting.

BTW - we find out in next Tuesday whether this baby is a boy or girl! We've finally chosen a girl name....because I just know it's a girl!

Bible Journey: Genesis 43:2-Exodus 1:1

Workin' 9 to 5....

What a picture, huh? My two loves.....working their fingers to the bone. Grace, being at the age where she wants to be in whatever room we're in, and do whatever we're doing, and have the same conversation we're having.....ran to grab her "computer" when she saw daddy working on his. She also proved to be quite the multi-tasker....play-talking on the phone. Another fave. Now if I just had a couple lattes and a water cooler, what an office this would be!

Bible Journey: Genesis 41:5-Gen 43:2