Thankfulness before Thanksgiving! :)

November 25-the twenty fifth thing I am thankful for is another person.  I am thankful for Stormie Omartian and what a great author she is.  She has several "Power of a Praying....." books.  I have only read 3.  I have read "The Power of a Praying Wife" "The Power of a Praying Parent" and "The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage"  and they have all three been amazing books.  There are sooo many highlighted parts in all three of them. 

The Power of Prayer to Change Your Marriage may as well have been written straight to ME!!  It was incredible how spot on it was on so many things in our relationship.  I read that at the perfect time in my marriage too.  When some of my friendships were in jeopardy and we were having difficulties in our marriage, it really helped me in dealing with alot of things.  I am so thankful she wrote it!

The other two books were fantastic in their own ways too.  Both speaking to me in different ways.  It was nice to read all the different ways that help when you try to pray for your husband.  Then the praying parent was great for helping me learn different ways to interceed in prayer for my children.  If you havent read any of her books, i highly recommend them.  She is really awesome and she is defniately another one I would enjoy getting to meet.  :)

November 26th-the twenty sixth thing I am thankful for is Christian music and Christian music singers and radio stations that play Christian music! :)  It is very nice to have an alternative to listen to than all the crud they play on the mainstream music channels....which i used to LOVE, btw.  I used to love rap music and know every artist and all the lyrics to all their filthy songs and I totally loved Lil Wayne...went to see him in concert everytime he came to OKC.  Not only him, but i went to see TI and Young Joc and Snoop Dogg and The Game (at the concert that people were worrying about gang violence going on bc Snoop was a crypt and Game was a blood.......yeah....i was there) 

Now that I have grown a brain (finally.......at the ripe old age of 28) I can say that thankfully those days are behind me.  Fortunately I made it thru them all.  While we are at it, my 27th thing I am thankful for is God saving me on the night I was attacked in Bricktown.  Ill write more on that in a bit...  But for now, I really am thankful for all the Christian singers, Steven Curtis Chapman, Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Chris Tomlin, Newsboys, and so on and so forth.  They bring meaning back to music.  Instead of singing about broken hearts or about hot girls or getting trashed or whatever, they are singing about something WITH PURPOSE!!!  They are giving us a way to praise the Lord!  I am glad that I switched over to listening to Christian music.  I did that around the time that i began my sobriety and it really helped at random times when I would start letting my mind go, that would always bring me right back to what I was doing and WHY I was doing it.  So I really am grateful for that! 

Now, for November 27--a day early---but the twenty seventh thing i am thankful for is that God saved me on a night when I was being ignorant......well.....one of the MANY nights i was being ignorant.  I forgot my credit card in my car (which was a Range Rover at the time) and I was walking out to the car from CityWalk.  I left the bar and walked across the street to the alley way I had to go thru to get to my car.  Not too many lights around either.  I could sense people were behind me but I didnt look back.  I remember my heart began to beat a little quick as i could feel them gaining on me.  Then they grabbed my arm.....at the time i thought it was prolly some of my buddies behind me catchin up to me or something.  But i looked down and realized there was a glove on the guys hand and it surprised me.  I turned around to get smacked in the face and I dont really remember what happened after that.  I remember coming back to in my car, someway??  To this day, im not postive how i got there.  But i was in the car and i had blood all over me and i realized my arm was cut pretty bad and i was bleeding from my head.  SO, i called my friend Daniel who was still in CityWalk and I walked back up to the doors.  At the time, i went there so often, i knew all the bouncer guys at the front door.  I was walking back up and the first one who saw me took off in the direction i had come from as the other two said "OH MY GOSH!!!!" Then one of them said "Call 911....What happened to you???"  So i told him that i wasnt exactly postive and by that time Daniel had come outside and it was kind of surreal from there.  The ambulance was there in like 15 seconds.  It happened so fast.  Daniel called my dad while the bouncer guys were trying to get the blood cleaned up.  I remember so many people walking by looking at me with a freaked out expression at everything going on and I remember thinking to myself "what must i look like?!?!?" 

But after all that happened the ambulance took me to St. Anthony hospital and mom and dad were already there when i got there.  The ambulance guy was so nice and funny.  He was also the main reason i got to get in a room in the ER without waiting.  It was so weird.  I had to get a cat scan too, because i wasnt sure what they hit me with.  They had to stitch my arm up.  the cut on my forehead didnt need stitches, but it left me and my eye swollen up.  I had a huge handprint bruise on my arm.  Probably the deepest bruise i have ever had.  There were big bumps underneath the surface of my skin from it.  I assumed it was a handprint, not sure what else it could have been?  But the officer that came up to the hospital was nice and he brought me my purse and my keys, which im not sure where i had even left them.  He told me and my parents that there had been a white Ford bronco (OJ Simpson, right???) speed off from the parking lot really fast.  So they assume that was them.  The officer said that there had been a few "gang initiations going on around town" recently and that since all the did was "leave a mark" on me, that was probably what had happened.  

However, later, I found out from one of my friends who worked at Wormy Dog and was a security officer there and also an Oklahoma City Police Officer, that he had looked at the surveillance tapes and saw that they had knocked me unconscious and dragged me between two cars and off screen where he couldnt see it any longer.  Then he said they ran off pretty quick.  I cant say for sure, but I am pretty certain that my guardian angel came around and scared them off.  SERIOUSLY!!  I dont know why they didnt hurt me any worse.  Or take my car.  Or my wallet.  Or my money.  I only had $2 and my ID in my pocket at the time and I still had it when I woke back up.  WEIRD!  WHY?  Because they got scared and ran away.  That is why.  And I feel certain that my guardian angel also helped me get to my car.  I know I had been drinking, but i had not been drinking enough to not remember walking to my vehicle.  So it confuses me how i got there, but I choose to believe that she (my angel) helped me get there because i was not in a safe place where i was at.  I wish so badly that i could remember.  It was surreal when i woke up in the car too.  I was shocked ang confused when i saw blood.  When i saw my arm was when i finally realized that i better go get help.  I debated driving on home, but i didnt know what was even going on, so i thought i better go back in, in case i was not okay.  i dont know why that night didnt end worse for me, but i am thankful it didnt.  Because even though i was an IDIOT, God still protected me.  Just like HE protected me all those nights i drove home WASTED.  Or the nights i did more drugs than anyone should.  He didnt have to.  But HE DID!  I know its because how much my parents prayed for me!  I am so glad those days are behind me and I am so extremely thankful that He did save me and allow me to be alive to have my babies and watch them grow up!!  Thank you, Jesus!! 

Catching up on Thankfulness! :)

So hey readers, have all two of you been wondering where I have been??  LOL!  Well, just a bit busy here and there! :)  But now, to catch up on my thankfulness!! 

The twenty-first thing I am thankful for came about just tonight!  I am SSOOOOO THANKFUL that they did not indict Officer Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown.  The whole case has been such a mess with all the violence that has accompanied it all.  What has the world come to?  Seems like the media loves to make the police officers the villians when they are trying to HELP!!!  I know there are dirty cops out there, but seems like the media would like you to assume the majority of them are all shady.  Some are up in arms because they say "he shot an unarmed little boy"  YEAH.....right.  about that.  You don't have to have a gun to cause physical harm to someone.  there doesn't have to be a gun involved for someone to feel threatened.  It is just crazy that everyone thinks the officer just decided that day that he was gonna kill him a black boy.  WHAT IN THE HECK????  #stupid  ALL THAT TO SAY, I am THRILLED that they came to the correct conclusion!!  Thank you JESUS!!!  I will say that I am sorry for Michael Browns family.  It was a tragic loss and I am sorry to them for that.  But it was not the officers fault.  PERIOD!!  The truth always comes out in the end! :)

Now, these next few all go together!  The 22, 23, and 24th things I am thankful for....or acutally PEOPLE I am thankful for are three amazingly awesome men of God who I admire very much!  I have gotten to hear them all speak for the first time thru Lifechurch (and one is the pastor) but I really look up to and would love to meet all three of these guys.  They are Craig Groeschel, Carl Lentz, and Judah Smith!  They are super awesome guys who truly have a passion for teaching about the Lord.  They also are all three extremely gifted by God for reaching the lost. 

Carl Lentz....well....looking at him my first thought would certainly not be that he is a wonderful pastor of a huge church.  LOL!  He looks a little more on the "gangster" side, if you will.  Then Judah Smith, he looks like a golfer/hipster!  LOL!  Craig probably looks the most what I would consider the "role" of a pastor.  but they all three genuinely have a desire to reach the lost every single day.  That is their number one goal in their lives and I love it!!!  I love how they all stay current.  Craig taking all those selfies and posting them online is hilarious.  People totally relate to that and that draws them in and then when they hear their messages its a done deal!!  :) 

I am in the process of reading Judah Smiths' book Jesus is ______.  So far it is really good.  He and Craig both write just as if they were preaching their messages.  You can totally relate to their sarcasm and humor in their books.  I hope one day Carl Lentz will write one....and if he already has.....I hope someone will tell me about it! :)  Because I will absolutely positively read it!!!!!  He may be my favorite.  although it is hard to choose between the three of them.  I just so totally feel like he and I would be homies.  He just seems so legit and awesome! haha!  If I got lucky enough to run across him and kevin Durant when he visits OKC I would MOST DEFINITELY be more star struck by Carl Lentz!!  I would ask KD to take my pic with Carl, LOL!  Seriously though, he is super awesome and I would love to get to meet him one day!! 

Anyhow, I snagged a few pics of these awesome guys off instagram.  I wanted to try to photoshop me in and make it seem like I was buddies with them all.....buuuuuut I didn't.  hahaha!  Anyhow, I am seriously grateful for these three men and I cannot wait to see how they continue reaching more and more people throughout their lives.  :)

Thankfulness Post #10

Okay, these two things that I am thankful for are kind of weird and random, but nevertheless, I dont like the idea of not having either of them! 

November 19th-the nineteenth thing I am thankful for is DIAPERS!!!!!  LOL!  and not those cloth diapers that people reuse #ewwww #toonastyforme  The disposable kind...that i DO NOT have to wash!!!  Sometimes there is a diaper so foul that the only thing I want to do is throw it outside in the trash and get it as far away from me as possible.  I do not know why people would want to have to go thru the trouble of cleaning that all off and then running it thru the washer and all that mess.  To each their own, I guess, but thats just not for me! :)  Give me some Pampers all day long!! 

I am thankful that I am born in a time where I have that option of disposable as opposed to the cloth diapers.  I know that hasnt always been the case.  Nevertheless, whoever invented diapers....GOOD CALL!!!  Moms everywhere thank you!! :) 

November 20th-the twentieth thing I am thankful for issssss PINTEREST!!!!!!!  LOL!  Stupid, i know, BUT seriously!!  I.  LOVE.  PINTEREST!!!  It is safe to say I am an addict.  It is the best website and there are millions of ideas for baking, cleaning, decorating, parenting, eating healthy, eating clean, decorating babies rooms, decorating houses, hairstyles for you, hairstyles for your kids, wreath ideas, hilarious quotes, and so many other random things!!!  ITS AMAZING!!!  They even have this pin.........

I mean, SERIOUSLY, where else could you find things like this??!  I totally pinned that, btw! ;)  I may need to skim over it a little later, hehe!  Anyhow, I absolutely love Pinterest and get on it pretty regularly!  It is a great source of random information and has way to make preeeeeetty much ANYTHING you could ever want to eat, wear, or try.  And if youre ever bored, it is a great way to waste seriously large amounts of time! ;)  And if you havent ever been on there, CHECK IT OUT!!!  youll thank me later!!! :)

9 Times Thankful!!

November 17th and 18th-the seventeenth and eighteenth thing I am thankful for is my two best friendships.  I would say that I have two close female friends that I talk to on a regular basis.  I have several "acquaintances" that I enjoy talking to and would love to hang out with and get to know better.  But at the moment, I have two girls that I would call if I needed anything. 

I have to say I do not get close to women very easily.  I do not care to honestly.  I have been stabbed in the back several times and I have also always found women, in general, too whiny for my liking, LOL.  Not being rude, but they tend to whine a bit more than males would.  I have always gotten along better with men than women.  I remember back when I used to go party, the girls would ALLLLWAYYYS be back in the back getting ready "does this necklace look good?" "do i look okay in this shirt?" "what dress should I wear?" #wahwahwahhhhh  I was usually the only girl in the living room with the guys taking shots and getting ready to party!  lol!  ahhh the good ol days!  UGH.  #wouldntgobackifyoupaidme

Anyhow, all that to say, I feel like I have Ariel Shabaj and Denisha Bryan as two of my closest friends.  Ariel, I have known for a few years now.  I met her when she and Agim, her husband, came to try out our lifegroup.  It was great.  We instantly got along and then the more we hung out the closer we got.  We have had bumps along the way here and there, but we have remained close through quite a lot!  I am thankful for that.  I recently thought that she was not really wanting to be friends with me still, so I completely withdrew from her because I will NOT beg anyone to be my friend.  But I later found out that she had been going through alot because her husband switched jobs and she lost alot of her friends and she told me that it had been a really hard time for her.  So I apologized for having been distant and now we are back to good! :)  I did not EVER want to not be her friend, so I am glad we have worked through things! :)  Her kids are around the same ages as our kids are, so that always helps out when we hang out as families.  The kids have entertainment too!  :)  She has always been there for me to talk to through so much.  She threw me a shower when I was pregnant with Kyndal.  She has such a giving heart and always thinks about others.  She is a wonderful person and I am so glad that we are such great friends!  We had a great talk the other day and she told me "no matter how long we go without talking, or what happens in either of our lives, I always know that we will be best friends and will be able to pick up right where we left off!"  That made me happy...I feel 100% the same!!!! 

As for Denisha, I met her just this year.  Her daughter is in Carters class and she is also the homeroom mom for Carters class.  Her son, Fielder is Jaces age, so that is great too!  We have had quite a few playdates with them!  I love her!  She is so funny and fun to be around.  She literally keeps you laughing the majority of the time youre with her! :) :)  I do not know her near as well as I know Ariel, but I hope to keep improving and getting to know her better!  She is someone who is SUPER busy, so it gets difficult to find times to do things with her!  But anytime she has free time, we try to get together!  I am so happy that God brought her in to my life also!  I am sure we will be going all through CHA together, so we should have plenty of time to get to be close friends! :)  In conclusion, aside from my family, these two girls are the ones that I would call if I was ever in need of anything!  I am thankful that God has given me two GREAT and Godly friends!!

Thankfulness Number 8---My FAVORITE Number!! :)

November 15-Today I am thankful for my wonderful, fantastic dad and boss allowing me to not have to work while my babies are little.  I am so insanely blessed because of that!!  It would be impossible to tell him thank you enough times for him to understand how much it means to me. 

I get to take care of my little babies every single day.  I get to be the one to teach them things while they are young.  I get to be the one to take care of them every single day.  Not someone else.  Not someone I do not even know at a daycare....who really doesn't even care about my child.  ME!!  I get to!!  It is not everyone who can say that these days.  Sure, some moms would rather work than stay at home, and more power to them!  Not me!  There is not one single thing in the world I would rather do than be with my babies.  At times, yes, they wear me out, but I would never ever want to trade my life for ANYONE elses!! 

I get to take daily trips to the mall or out to do whatever I need to do and I do not have to find time to go after work or on the weekends or things like that.  I get to do my Christmas shopping during the day, instead of the evenings or weekends when its crazy busy.  I get to take the kids to the park on nice days and watch them play and have fun!  Seriously, does it get any better?? 

I have always been grateful for my mom and dad, but even more so since all of this has happened.  I know my mom had something to do with the whole idea because she got to stay at home with us when we were little too.  So she knew how awesome it was too!  And my dad is the MAN for allowing it!!!  He has always been the A+#1 dad, but now its just like WOW, who in the whole world is this lucky???  All that to say, THANK YOU MOM AND DAD!!!!!  Yall are so amazing and I seriously cannot possibly ever do enough to make it up to yall!!  :)  LOVE YOU!! 

  

November 16-the sixteenth thing I am thankful for is my cell phone!  I know this one is kind of random, but seriously, how in the world did I ever get along without one??  It is crazy to think that we used to not have them.  I remember my dads car phone that he would have installed in his car anytime he bought a new one (which for him is OFTEN)  But he needed it because he would be out taking pictures of houses a lot and the office staff would need to get ahold of him for random things.  Then they came out with the "Zack Morris phone" if you will..  Those huge honkers were all we had back then, and I remember when mom got one and I just thought it was the JAM!!  We were BIG TIME!!!  My mom had a cell phone so you can reach me at any time!!  LOL!  Then the Nokia phones came about where you could CHANGE THE COLOR of your phone covers and you could play Snake on them and you could TEXT!!!!  How freakin cool!  Right?!?  Then the littler ones came out and then the RAZR came out.  Which, just fyi, my dad still had up until about a year ago, LOL!  Hes not big on technology! ;)  (Love ya dad!)  After the RAZR came the SLIVR and then Motorola kinda died as Apple took over the world!!  lol!  Iphones, Iphones, EVERYWHERE!!!  You see the occasional Samsungs here and there, but the Iphones seriously dominate in the cell phone industry.  Not sure why we just went thru the history of cell phones, but all that to say, I am so grateful that I have one.  They are a lifeline these days!  If you are stranded, call someone.  If you are bored, get on facebook.  If you are waiting in the doctors office, get on Pinterest.  If you are thinking about going to the park, get on your weather app and see what the temperature is.  If you have seriously any question in the universe, get on Google.  OR ask Siri.  LOL!  Anyhow, cell phones are seriously amazing.  Technology has come so far!!  Should be interesting to see what they come up with in the next 10 years!! :) 

Thankfulness Number 7!!

November 13-the thirteenth thing I am thankful for is the HEALTH of my children.  Not all families can say that.  I am so blessed that we have only had one major incident involving a hospital stay for Carter when he had HSP.  He was in the hospital for quite some time and ended up having to have a surgery and what he had was EXTREMELY RARE, so they didnt know much about it.  They met with doctors in California to figure out more about how to treat it.  It was a bit of a crazy, hectic time.  It was right around Christmas time in 2012.  Jace was a little baby still, and Josh and Brooke were taking turns spending the night at the hospital with him, which of course made it much more hectic for me because I tried to pick up the slack here and there.  But all in all, I am SO GLAD it wasnt much worse.  Lots of families have prolonged hospital stays all the time. 

We have had the bumps and bruises visits to the ER.  Triston had to get stitches in his chin after falling on the slide at daycare.  They put him in a "taco suit" where he was unable to move his arms and legs at all and then had Josh basically lay over him while they stitched him up because he couldnt move or they would mess up the stitches.  He was screaming so loud and it actually hurt Joshs heart so bad, he cried.  He came out of there and said that was the hardest thing he has done.  Triston was begging him to get off of him but he knew he couldnt.  :(  SO sad! 

Jace had to get the bottom of his lip glued back together after falling off the couch and face planting in the floor.  Ironically enough, it happened at the doctors office already! :)  He rarely cries, so when he started crying so hard we knew something was hurt, then there was blood all over my sweater and I looked at his chin area and I went weak in my knees when I realized there was a hole in his chin.  His teeth had come thru his bottom lip.  YUCK!  There was so much blood I was having a hard time telling if there was really a hole or if it was just broken skin.  But I wiped it real good and saw it.  I SO remember that feeling i had right then.  I am not squeamish at the sight of blood or anything, it was just the fact that it was my SON who was bleeding so bad.  It scared me more than anything.  But they glued it back and all was well! :) 

Other than Carters surgery, he has never had to have stitches.  He had to have several stitches in his tummy after they did the surgery though.  He also had tubes put in his ears when he was 2, but for the most part he has stayed out of the hospital.  All the boys are super tough, so I can only imagine what is in store for us through the rest of their young lives.  And Kyndal has definately never had anything to go to the hospital for yet either.  Hopefully she wont ever have to do that either! :)  She can leave all the craziness to the boys :) 

But all that to say, I thank the Lord all the time for giving me healthy kids.  I cannot imagine the pain and utter heartache watching your child suffer.  To me, there isnt much else that could be any worse than that.  I know people who have children with terminal diseases and the thought literally breaks my heart.  I pray for them often.  How do they get through it?  I am so grateful to God that all my family is healthy!!  Thank you Jesus!!!! :)

November 14-The fourteenth thing I am thankful for is that my parents' accident, which happened three years ago TODAY, was not worse.  They absolutely had a guardian angel with them when that happened.  God showed His faithfulness in so many ways.  Right after they hit, dad said he hadnt been out of the car for a minute before two British paratroopers who had just returned from Afghanistan showed up.  They were medics and so they knew exactly what to do for mom, to help the bleeding stop, and they kept everyone calm. They were 100% sent by the Lord Jesus Christ, I have NO DOUBT!  Also, dads best buddy Bill and his wife Jill were STILL in Las Vegas, so when daddy told them what happened, they were at the hospital waiting for mom when she got there in the heliocopter.  The firefighters said they had never seen the front end of a vehicle hold up so well in a crash that severe.  They hit that van going 80 miles an hour and the fact that they were not crushed proves that Gods hand was what stopped that car.  I have no doubt about that either. 

Not to make this about me, but I remember, I was around 6-7 months pregnant with Jace at the time.  I will never forget it.  I had a bad feeling that morning but I always get nervous when they are going to make long drives across the country like that.  (Dad NEVER flys, so that happens every so often)  So I shook it off and went on.  When dad called the office, I saw it was him on the caller ID and I tried to grab it but was a second too late.  Georgia answered it and I could tell it was not good.  He told her to put me on the phone without giving her much details.  She told me "rach, your dads on the phone and they had a minor fender bender."  I immediately picked it up and said "DAD, whats going on?"  First thing he said was "sweetie you need to stay calm.  We just had a little fender bender."  #NOTjustafenderbenderatall!  He said "Remeber you are pregnant, so dont get yourself worked up.  you need to stay calm and listen to what I am about to tell you."  #stayingcalmisoutofthequestion  So I said "Are you okay?"  He said yes and that he had some scrapes and cuts from the glass and burns from the airbag, so my mind is already thinking this is NOT a fender bender at all.  The glass shattered and the airbag deployed....WHAT??!?  So I said "Is mom okay?"  He said "Well they mediflighted her back to Vegas..."  I interjected "they mediflighted her????  DAD is she alive?  Is she OKAY???"  He said yes, there is a gash on her head and he didnt know how bad it was for sure, but he knew she was alive and conscious the whole time.  So he continued to talk to me for a couple more minutes then told me the tow truck is there and he had to go and would call me later.  He said "I love you Rachael and everything will be okay."  My dad rarely calls me by my full name!  It helped me get myself together a little bit more and I knew he meant what he said. 

By the time I had hung up the phone the entire office staff was gathered around my desk.  Georgia was rubbing my back and praying out loud behind me.  Angela brought a box of kleenex over to my desk for me.  They were all hearing bits and pieces of my conversation, but waiting to hear the details.  I recounted everything best as I could through my tears.  Then I remembered he had told me to let Linds and Babaw and Jobug and everyone else know.  So Linds was my first call.  LOL!  I didnt do great through that conversation and probably had her heart racing before I could actually speak enough to tell her they were alright!  (sorry about that Linds)  I know I said they had an accident and then had to sob for a minute before I let her know they were alright.  LOL!  We both contemplated getting plane tickets and heading out there immediately. 

My sweet husband was my next call and he called his mom right after and them two together were able to get me a plane ticket to Vegas that left that evening if I wanted to go.  (his mom used to work for Southwest)  The next time I talked to my dad I told him I was gonna come and he insisted that I didnt waste my time.  He said everything was under control and there was no need for Linds and I to pack up and come out there.  I was sad, but I agreed not to come anyway.  :'(  I called Jobug and told her and she called Babaw and Grandad for me.  I called Bill and Debbie Wallace and they let Rick Minnich know.  Everyone was willing to help in any way they could.  I remember that thru my lunch hour I had never been so busy with phone calls. 

I also remember when I got back to the office I was with a customer when I saw Jill Lemieux calling.  I didnt answer it and I was so sad that I had to miss it.  Right when that customer left I called her back.  Turned out it was my mom calling from her phone and I had missed it.  #devastating  So Jill told me that she would take her phone back in there to her.  What I didnt know at that moment was that mom was just getting back in her hospital bed from taking a small walk.  So she was insanely out of breath and couldnt speak very well.  Mind you, this is the first time I am getting to talk to her since the accident and I have no clue how she is doing.  So I hear her voice, which was SUPER raspy and she was barely able to get a breath.  It sounded like heavy wheezing trying to inhale....it was awful.  I immediately burst in to tears and say "You are not okay MOM!!!!!"  She assured me that she was but that she needed to call me back.  So a couple minutes later when she had caught her breath again, she called me back sounding MUCH better, thank God!!!  So that gave me a better feeling, lol!  I hated so bad not being able to help her and be with her through that time.  UGH!! 

That night we had Lifegroup at our house and I remember crying quite a bit through that too.  It was so hard.  I called my dad that night and just cried to him wanting to be with him and my mom SO BAD!  I have never wanted that as bad as I did then.  It was definately a difficult time for all of us, but it most definitely could have been immensly worse.  I cannot imagine losing them that day.  How different my life would be today.  I was pregnant with my first child then and I NEEDED them through that whole process.  They have both helped me more than they will ever know.  Seriously, I know God knew what He was doing sparing their lives that day!!  Honestly, they are both lucky to have walked away from that. 

My dad is so awesome, because in that moment before the impact...where he realized that he was going to hit the van, and hit it HARD, all he said was "OHHH GOSH"  Had it been me, I woulda hollered out a few expletives for sure.  lol!  He tried to swerve to miss it, but it hit anyway.  I know he felt bad watching mom go through all she had to deal with.  But all in all, they both know that God was totally watching out for them right then because things could have ended much differently.  Thank you Jesus!!!! 

LifeChurch Seating Assignments.... lol

Okay, so a while back, I had mentioned that Lifechurch in Midwest City has removed rows of seating (#WHYYYYY?) for some unknown reason, causing there to be hardly any seats available in the 10:00 service, which is their most popular service. #makesnosense  We have been going Northwest because we have not wanted to deal with there being not enough seats for us.  However, last weekend, we decided to go to Midwest City because we had a lot going on that day and didn't have time to go that far away.  SO there is where this story begins. 

That Sunday morning, Josh and I were somewhat at odds with each other, and we ended up having no place to sit, which did NOT help matters.  So once the ushers put an extra row of fold up chairs out for us, we got to sit down.  #whythefoldupchairswhenyouhavenormalchairs  So we sat down and we had already missed worship trying to decide if we should try to find chairs or just leave.  #irritating  So I sat down and began writing a note on the prayer card on the bulletin asking them WHY they are doing that with the chairs and letting them know that I will NEVER invite anyone else when they don't even have enough room for ME.  #ridiculous!  I hardly paid any attention to the sermon because I was so frustrated.  So I wrote a rather strongly worded note to them and ended it with "We will NOT be back until this NONSENSE changes!"  So yesterday I get a call from Karyn Taylor, who works up at Lifechurch and who we know from First Southern also.  She asked if we could meet and go over my prayer card. 

This morning Karyn, Kyndal and I went to Starbucks to have "coffee" there. #ibroughtmydietcoke   But she started it off asking me what had happened on Sunday.  I let her know that Josh and I were upset which is what probably made me a little ruder to begin with, but that I do not care for the situation at all.  I told her that it makes no sense to me why they are removing chairs when they KNOW a lot of people attend.  Another thing they do is close the curtains to the back seating until 2 minutes before the service starts, which I told her I can understand.  I get wanting to push people to the front, but having NO place for people to sit doesn't add up.  So I told her I can get behind the curtain idea although I do not like it either.  CMON, they know they're going to open it anyway.  BUT whatever.  So I went on to say that my friend who is 8 months pregnant had to sit in a hard chair last weekend because they didn't want to have chairs out for her.  I told her that a couple weeks ago a lady came in with a baby carrier and was standing around for 5-6 minutes looking for somewhere to sit.  WHY?!?  You think she will come back???  #NO!

She told me that everything they do at Lifechurch is thought out and done for a reason.  She said they are wanting to give everyone a sense of  "community" and let them really be able to get into the experience & really feel the Holy Spirit move.  and I said "by making them crawl over 10 people to get to their seat and then be crowded in when they sit down?"  I said "No one wants to sit by a stranger, that is uncomfortable."  and she said "that is what church is, people coming together from all walks of life"  and I said but I have to be comfortable before I can really get in to worship and get in to the flow!  She said something about knowing lots of people like the aisle seats and so I rebutted "so why are you removing what you know people enjoy?"  She said something like Jesus calls us to go out of our comfort zones, to which I said "I agree!  He does!  We should go out of our comfort zones by talking to people about Jesus and inviting them to come to church with us.  But WHY would I invite someone to come when there isn't even a seat for me?" 

She also said that their number one thought is about the first timer and how their experience is.  I said that is great and I also think about that.  I said imagine if you were a larger person looking for a place to sit and they usher you to a seat where you have to crawl over 7 people then sit in between 2 people and don't even have room to relax?  that isn't comfortable for that person and I would venture to guess they will NOT be back!  She said that their ushers try to pay attention to people who may need more space and they would ask someone to move in to the center of their aisle so that the bigger person can get the edge.  To which I said, that isn't fair either.  I get there early to sit on the edge bc that is where I WANT to sit and then youre going to come in and make me move because of someone who is late?  That isn't right either.  I also said just because you sit by someone doesn't mean you are going to be friends with them when the service is over.  you have ZERO time to talk during the church service anyway, so the basic point is to make everyone uncomfortable for an hour? 

I also mentioned something about after having a stressful morning getting 4 kids dressed and ready for church, we go drop them off to come in to the auditorium to relax for ONE hour before going to resume our day.  I do not think it is too much to ask to be comfortable for that one hour.  and if I cannot be comfortable at Midwest City I will go to another campus that doesn't mind putting seats out.  I also told her that I wasn't trying to be mean or rude or just another annoying person they have to deal with.  She said no and that she appreciated me letting her know how I feel.  She also said that things are always subject to change and it doesn't mean that is going to go on forever.  She asked if we would be interested in switching to a different time, and I told her we had thought about that, but we would either have to rush our kids around like crazy in the morning to make the early one or our nap schedule would be all out of whack and I cannot reason out messing up our whole routine because they don't want to put extra chairs out. 

So anyhow, we basically left it with agreeing to disagree about the situation.  I still think it is beyond ridiculous and I will stand by that.  I feel like I am not the only one who thinks that?  I don't know though because I haven't talked to enough people about it.  But the fact that my dad is annoyed by it is sayin something!!!  He NEVER, I repeat, NEVER EVER gets annoyed, so for him to say it is a bad idea.......ITS A BAD IDEA!!!!  It is just nonsense.  They want to feed you the blah blah blah of community and crap but if people WANT that, they will find it.  They do not have to control where they sit in order to help someone find a buddy.  #silliness  I know she was just told to give me their go-to lines ab all that, so she was just doing her job.  I LOVE Lifechurch though, and surely they will change this silliness eventually.  Until then, we will be at the Northwest campus......sitting in the seats that WE want!!  Oh and that reminds me, she mentioned something ab how we are spiritual contributors not spiritual consumers and that we exist for the world, the church doesn't exist for us.  To which I said, but why does that mean I cannot have the seat that I want?  I understand that we should always be reaching out to others, but that doesn't really mean that I need to sit in the front of the church and be uncomfortable?  I said, "I don't know why it is so bad to have a certain spot where you enjoy sitting."  and honestly, I am still confused on that subject!  WHY?  Why is that a bad thing?  I go there week in and week out and obviously I am going to gravitate towards the same chairs week after week.  most anyone does that.  I would think that is more the norm than the abnormal?  No?? 

Anyhow, its done and over with and they will probably change nothing.  But at least I said my piece.  It fell on deaf ears, but I said it! ;)  That is all......back to thankfulness tomorrow! LOL!

Thankfulness Number 6!!

Thankfulness day 11-The eleventh thing I am thankful for is the family dynamic between Josh and I and Brooke and Chris!  It is wonderful that we get along so great and Brooke is a big part of that.  I love that she allowed me to come in to her boys' lives and be their stepmom.  I love that she never bad mouthed me to them, like several mothers do.  I love that she was open to me and has been okay with getting to know me better and being willing to hang out with us.  A lot of people, ex-wifes in particular, would not be so kind to the "new wife"! 

I love that they come over and hang out with us and go to dinner with us a lot.  I love that they come to church with us every Sunday!  I love that the boys see us all getting along.  I love that we co-parent the kids and don't let them think they can get away with doing the wrong things behind our backs.  I love that they get to see that mistakes CAN and DO happen in life, but it is how you handle them that really counts.  We are going to all be in each others life's for 18 years and so we might as well make the best of it and enjoy it!  There are so many things to be thankful for!! 

I knew from day one that I was going to be Brooke's friend.  I wanted to so bad because I didn't want to ever put the boys in a situation where THEY had to be uncomfortable because they knew that their mom and their step mom would be in the same building together and they had to worry what would happen.  How UNFAIR!!!!  They asked for NONE of this.  It is not their faults and yet they are the ones that most of the burdens fall on in the "typical" divorce cases.  It is so nice that we can work as a team and that we always have each other when things aren't going so great!  Brooke brought the boys up to the hospital after we had Jace and Kyndal and we took them up there when she had Mason.  It is such a blessing that we all get along as well as we do.  I really enjoy Brookes company and I would most certainly call us friends!  And Josh and Chris work together almost daily, so they are definitely close too!  There are so many families that are completely torn apart by divorces and the kids suffer and the parents bad mouth the ex to their kids and all kinds of awful things.  I am SO GRATEFUL that Josh and Brookes divorce didn't turn out that way!  It speaks a lot about both of them!  It has taken effort on ALL of our parts, but it has been worth every bit of it!!!!! 

  

November 12th-The twelfth thing I am thankful for is my aunt JOBUG (this is her birthday too!!) and her pool that we got to use ALLLLL summer!!!!!  It was awesome!  We had so much fun.  We went over there pretty much daily!  Mom and I had our routine going when we would get out there! 

Jace LOVED the water and was basically a fish from day one.  When we finally got Kyndal in and used to the idea of being in the water she loved it too!  At the beginning of the summer she was too little to fit in a raft, so if she got in, we just had to hold her, which isn't that fun for her because it makes it harder for her to play very well.  But once she was able to be in a raft, she loved every second!!  She loved being by the waterfalls and letting it hit her hand and rush over it.  So sweet!!  She loved the little "sun deck" of Jobugs pool and sitting/standing there as she played with all her toys.  One time Jobug and I even put her in the HUGE bowl that held the toys and she played in there for quite some time.  She usually got fussy around 1ish and Jobug would get up in the shade and give her a bottle and let her lay on her lap but still in the water and she would fall asleep every time!  Such a sweet girl!  :) 

Jace was just all over it!  He had to wear floaties and so every day we would get outside and he would bring them to me and tell me to get them on him so he could get in!  He loved jumping off the waterfall and sliding down the "slide" that was also the raft bent backwards.  He loved eating popsicles and suckers in the pool.  His always melted rather quick because he would hold it under the water unknowingly and then go to take a bite and itd be almost gone, LOL!  Funny!  Jace always wanted to put the umbrella down when we were done.