What Day Is It?

After being in Texas for a little over three weeks, I am trying to adjust to being home. Today was a full one for me..

• Drove one of my boys down to Colorado Springs (an hour drive) for a tutoring session.

• Ran to a couple of thrift stores.. it's my guilty pleasure and I scored a pair of J Brand Jeans for $5.99. Thank you to the lovely girl who donated them for her tax write-off. Keep 'em coming girl!

• Went to Hobby Lobby looking for wall hooks and some wooden/cardboard letters (thank you Pinterest). I realized that my beloved Hobby Lobby has cut back on the discounts. The last two times I've been, there haven't been as many 50% off deals. What happened? I am bargain shopper.. I need big discounts!

• Quick lunch date with my boy.. love that bonding time!

• Ran my car through the car wash to get the 4 inches of mud off. It is supposed to snow tomorrow and I wanted it to be fresh and clean.

• Drove halfway back home and stopped at the grocery store.. Apparently my menfolk survived on Eggos, Cereal, and Nutella while I was away. We had almost nothing in our pantry and fridge.

• Got home and hit the pavement to get my run in for the day. I didn't really have the energy, but if it snows tomorrow I will not be venturing outside! Plus, I'm signing up to do a 5k in Texas on Thanksgiving. Pray for me.. pray hard.

• Finally, made dinner and cleaned up... DONE! 

I love my life.. love my boys.. it takes a lot of energy and it's sometimes thankless. But this is the life that I prayed for and I will do my best to see even the challenges as a blessing. The right man is worth the wait, girls, remember that. It isn't always a fairy tale, but it will be your love story. Make it exciting, romantic, amazing and also be okay with the boring, ordinary, same 'ole routine days that you cherish. 

Blog Swap, NaBloPoMo.. and other ramblings

I participated in a Blog Swap this Fall.. it was such a very, fun experience and I really enjoyed getting to know some new friends. Check out my all of the great gifts that my new friend,Noelle, sent to me. The swap was so much fun.. the idea was to send your person gifts that represented the letters F-A-L-L. Thanks girls, for letting me be a part of it. Check out my post over at Blogger's Swap. Maybe some of my Texas friends might like to be a part of the next one??

Also, I signed up to be a part of NaBloPoMo,  that's short for National Blog Posting Month. The idea being that you post on your blog everyday in the month of November. I don't know what the heck I was thinking, because I have had the busiest year and the past six weeks have been hectic. But what the hay (or hey), whatever.. Here I am, on day 3. Please show your love and try to check back to see if I've written anything creative or astounding. Kidding, I'm kidding.. but I am posting for 30 days straight. 

Alrighty,  y'all.. I'm off to watch the end of Private Practice and then get some much needed rest. Adjusting to the altitude is not for the weak and it makes me very sleepy. Night.

Home

Home. Husband. Happy. I'm finally home and all tuckered out from my day of travel. I'll be a good blogger and post a good blog tomorrow! Night all!

Prayers, Please..

I have been in Texas for three weeks now... I spent a few days working in Amarillo and seeing friends and then I came to San Antonio to spend time with Mom and Dad. Dad has had to be out of town for work. Mom and I like to watch movies, window shop, and just sit together, doing nothing at all. I am so blessed to be able to spend this time with her. 

Tomorrow, I will head back to Colorado.  I've been told that a cold front is moving in there and that I'd better be ready to bundle up (it's currently 70 here in Schertz and the predicted high tomorrow in Lake George is 31, EEEKKK!) I'm ready to see my husband.. he's truly a saint for letting me stay gone for so long. I am really looking forward to seeing him!!  

I'd like ask that you pray with us.. My mom has been experiencing some pretty intense pain on her post stroke, affected side. I've done some research and most articles point in the direction of nerve pain, it's common after you've experienced a stroke. There really isn't rhyme or reason for what triggers the intensity or location. Tomorrow she will see a chiropractor and we are hoping for some relief.  We NEED to see relief. The pain has be almost constant for the last two weeks. We continue to trust God and have faith in His healing power.. 

Thank you friends.

Happy Birthday To Our Fearless Cy

Our Sweet Cy turned the big 8 today!

We celebrated with his favorites.. Pizza and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yum! Then he opened his presents which included a special delivery from Grandma and Grandpa Castillo. 

 Here's the Birthday Boy with his cookie cake... My dad commented that it looks like the whole cake is on fire. Funny Dad, real funny. But really, it does distract from my sandwich bag, piped, Nutella frosting, don't ya think?

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy.. you are a breath of fresh air and you find 101 reasons to make me smile every day! Love you, my Cy.

Being Late To Church And It's Benefits

This past Sunday morning, we were running late for the first service at church because I was having a fat day and changed three times. We arrived just in time for the offering. I listened to the verse being read, but I really didn't listen to the words. After  the service ended, we were visiting with friends and before we knew it, the second service was starting.. so we stayed (since we'd missed part of the first). 

The same young man came back up to read the verse for the offering.. this time I heard the words. He read this passage:

Psalm 112

1 Praise the Lord.t
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.

2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.

4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.

5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.

6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.

This next one really jumped out at me-

7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their hornt will be lifted high in honor.

10 The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

At this point, I was sobbing on the front row.... God knew that I needed  to hear this, right then. It was such a gracious reminder to my troubled, doubting heart of His guidance and protection. He knew that we would be facing challenges this week and He helped my heart to be settled and secure in His timing and His will. He understands our concerns and all that He asks is that we trust Him. How easy and pain free is that?? 

Lessons From A Road Trip

Today we took a short trip up to the high country (yes, even higher than where we live) to see the changing foliage. It was gorgeous!

On our way, we stopped to eat lunch at small town restaurant. It was delicious! As we got ready to pay for our meal, we realized that we had mis-communicated and that instead of putting our debit card in the purse that I had brought with me, it was left in the purse that was at home.. sitting on the bed. We had not one penny with us. Not good, not good at all. We went to the register and started to explain our situation and the waitress immediately told us that we could call when we got home with our credit card number. Woo Hoo! Thank God for small town businesses!!! 

In the midst of this little episode.. I thought, "Here we go again, why must our lives have a hiccup every day!! God do you even care about what happens in my daily life?" As we got to our bike, a gentleman from inside came out and said, "Here, we overheard your conversation and we want to make sure that you have at least a little cash on hand to get home." At first, we refused it, but he insisted and wanted to be sure that it was enough for us.  I was in AWE! I knew in my heart that God had sent this man to renew my hope and faith. 

The rest of our afternoon was blissful.. lots of gorgeous scenery. I'll share a few pictures:

Gorgeous Views

I'm so blessed to live in this 

If he loves it, I'll try it..

I'm so in Love with this man!

Yes, folks.. we were above 12,000ft

See this storm we were trying to outrun!! Yikes!!