The Reason

Today I stopped in the midst of stressing that I don't have my Christmas lights out yet or the first gift wrapped and under the tree. My house is a wreck (if you know me at all, you know that's not really possible - but messy for me none the less). My pastor asked in a twitter post recently, "Are you ready for Christmas, or are you ready for Christ? There's a difference." Let's remain ever mindful of the true meaning of the Christmas season. We celebrate the birth of Christ and anticipate His return! Don't get caught up in the hype of it all - it's the enemy out to get us.

Blue Like Jazz

An excerpt from Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller:

All great characters in stories are the ones who give their lives to something bigger than themselves. And in all of the stories I don't find anyone more noble than Jesus. He gave His life for me, in obedience to His Father. I truly love Him for it. I think the difference in my life came when I realized, after reading those Gospels, that Jesus didn't just love me out of principle; He didn't just love me because it was the right thing to do. Rather, there was something inside me that caused Him to love me. I think I realized that if I walked up to His campfire, He would ask me to sit down, and He would ask me my story. He would take the time to listen to my ramblings or my anger until I could calm down, and then He would look me directly in the eye, and He would speak to me; He would tell me the truth, and I would sense in His voice and in the lines on His face that he liked me. He would rebuke me, too, and He would tell me that I have prejudices against people and that I need to deal with that; He would tell me that there are poor people in the world and I need to feed them and that somehow this will make me more happy. I think He would tell me what my gifts are and why I have them, and He would give me ideas on how to use them. I think He would point out very clearly all the ways God has taken care of me through the years, all the stuff God protected me from.

Life is Hard

Life is hard. I'm 100% confident no one reading this blog can disagree with that statement. Just to name a few culprits that make life challenging:

-Money
-Work
-Family
-Expectations regarding all of the above (to make a certain amount of money, to obtain a certain amount of material possesions, even if you can't afford them, to have a great job and a nice office and lots of time off, see your family often and make sure everyone is getting along)
-Our selfish sin nature (It's all about me)

These can be especially challenging for those of us who try to handle all of life's problem's ourselves - those of us who are independent/perfectionist types who want to do things our way and oh by the way I want it done perfectly. That's actually my personality type - in my grad school class we did some leadership personality typing and my personality is one that leads to stress - I want things done my way, right now, perfectly. Oh and by the way, since no one else can do it, I'll do it myself. Yikes. Am I really like that? Ewww.

I'm not sure that I have a point with all this, but if I did, it would be that I think the most important lesson (and probably the most difficult)to learn on my journey as a Christain is that I can't do it alone. And that includes my interactions with my family, at work, earning a living, etc... So to approach any difficult situation without consulting God or having Him be apart of our every thought and action is asking for more trouble.

Our preacher once said that we view God as a member of our Board of Directors of life. We want His input and value His opinion - but do we always follow His guidance? Do we always obey? I would have to back up a step further and ask - do I always seek His guidance? No.

So to get to the point, whatever you're dealing with right now - and I know you are. All of us (as my preacher also says) are entering into a storm, in the middle of a storm, or just coming out of a storm. Offer it up to God. Ask Him to take control and give you the patience, grace, peace and strength to handle any situation.

Baby Bunnies!

So we had the most wonderful thing happen. We had a momma bunny that birthed her baby bunnies in our yard. Literally, in the middle of our backyard. Laken found them in a hole and we won't go into it, but Cliff almost killed them with the water hose and a shovel. They survived - and then we got to watch them grow.

These are the bunnies when we first found them - right after Cliff almost killed them.

These are the bunnies just a few days later - they had grown so fast!

And this is one of the bunnies once they started to leave the nest. We think they are still around. Laken goes outside and looks for them every day. We're pretty sure they come up to the door and stick their tongues out at Laken and then she cries to go outside and then they hide from her. Torture!

I would like to say for the record I would be very happy to provide accommodations for any momma bunnies that want to birth babies here. I like being a baby bunny nursery!

One more cute pic for the road.

Happy Labor Day!

Click here to read about Labor day and why it was started.

More recommended readings for you:




I get to see some of my family this weekend! Hooray!

Happy Birthday Cliffy

July 24th marks Cliff's 28th Birthday! Cliff and I met when we were both 19 - almost 20 and we've been together ever since. Happy Birthday Cliffy!! Gifts and money are always welcome.

Yay Fountain!

This is why I married a Landscape Designer.

June

June went like this:

June 6-10 I visited 10 colleges in 5 days. Goo.

June 10 I celebrated my middle sister's birth. I called her but she did not answer, she called me back, I did not answer. I returned her call; she didn't answer. Epic Fail.

June 11 - 13 Cliff, Jane and I attended the CMA fest downtown. (Thank you Jane!) It was fabulous. As a result, I have a newfound obsession with Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton.



June 14 I joined twitter. Like I need one more social networking membership. However, my middle sister who is mentioned above posts pictures of my beloved neice on this site. Yay!

June 21 I began rehearsing with the dance team - they rock!

June 24 I took the MAT. I made an above average score - I won't mention that it was only 17 points above average. Whatever.

June 29/30 My friend from work and I had dessert at the Cheesecake Factory. I was elated!



Then saw Twilight Eclipse. I was disappointed.

Grad School...

So I have officially applied for graduate school. I have a few loose ends to tie up, but the application has been submitted, letters of recommendation sent, transcripts requested. Now I'm studying to take the Miller Analogies Test. Boo. Analogies are not cool. I'll give you a few to ponder. I'll give you an easy one to start with.

1. REPULSIVE : VILE :: COMPLACENT : (a. smug, b. bilious, c. pleasant, d. anxious)

2. NORTH AMERICA : SOUTH AMERICA :: (a. Rockies, b. states, c. prairies, d. borders) : PAMPAS

3. CHRISTOPHER WREN : (a. Windsor Castle, b. St. Paul's Cathedral, c. Tower Bridge, d. Crystal Palace) :: INIGO JONES : THE QUEEN'S HOUSE

Yes, the test is 120 of these and 60 minutes to answer. Seriously.

Answers

1. Repulsive and vile are synonymous, as are complacent and smug

2. The grasslands of North America are known as prairies, and those of South America are known as pampas. (Yes they expect you to know this.)

3. Christopher Wren was the architect of St. Paul's Cathedral; Inigo Jones designed The Queen's House. (Yes, they expect you to know this too.)

As you can see, you have to be a trivial pursuit champion to do well on this test. That I am not. :(

Cutest Niece in the World? You betcha!

By the way, I took this picture using the Hipstmatic App on my iPhone. It rocks!

Pray for Nashville

There are so many who have lost so much. Pray for us.

Why Aren't You Watching Chuck?

I like Grey's Anatomy, Cliff likes the Office. I like Smallville, Cliff likes Cops. I like Private Practice, Cliff likes The Marriage Ref. I like watching Miss America, he likes the NFL Draft. We don't agree on much when it comes to TV, but we do agree on Chuck. Monday nights on NBC - what a great show. If you are in the market for a new TV show, I would highly recommend renting Chuck and catching up - it's funny, it's clever, it's sweet, it's Chuck. I think Zachary Levi (Chuck) is cute, but I don't see what Cliff sees in Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah).

Look-a-likes Part II

What are the chances???

Cutie Patootie

Need I say more?

Clementine Quick and Laken Jones

Laken and Clementine are warming up to each other.....kind of.

Look-a-likes Part I

For a long time, Cliff and I have thought that our brother-in-law Todd looks exactly like Kevin O'Connor, host of DIY's This Old House. What do you think?



They even dress alike!

Spring Break 2010

This picture just makes me laugh. It has no connection with Spring Break - except that Cliff and Jeff are working this week. Work = Money. Money = Good!

I have no special Spring Break plans. Just staying at the house. And I'm PUMPED! Thank you God for allowing me to work in a profession where I get mental breaks. It's much needed and much appreciated. Amen.

You can see pictures from the Spring Dance Recital Here.

Spring Recital: Check!

My every thought for the past several days has been consumed by the spring dance recital that the girls dance team and guys' dance crew put on. I worry a lot about the presentation of it...the transition between songs, the lights, the music, the costumes, the length of the show, the programs, the music playing when people come in. I want the audience to have a certain experience when they come to our show and I become obsessed with providing that. I really think in another life, I would have made a decent producer/director. It doesn't help that I'm type A - perfectionist to the extreme. Because it doesn't matter how prepared you are, or how good you are....things will go wrong. But I'm getting better every year at dealing with the things that go wrong - at minimilizing the mistakes, addressing them quickly and efficiently and not freaking out when they happen. The show turned out awesome - better than I even imagined. And the best part is...it's OVER!

Painters extraordaniare

Cliff and I have almost painted our entire house. We only have the master bath - possibly doing that this weekend - and the guest room. We really like the way our bedroom turned out. The color is Valspar - Winter Flannel and I highly recommend it. Also, Cliff doesn't like this, but I sleep in flannel pajamas in the winter, so it's highly appropriate. :)

Video Chat - where have you been?

After video chatting for the first time ever with our neice, Mary Logan, Cliff and I wondered why we had waited so long! Mary Logan showed us her room, her closet, her toys, her dogs. We let her open her jack-in-the box for us...several times. I'm so excited that she was able to see us, and us see her! I highly recommend it! We are addicted.

It's snowing...again

Ummmm...it's snowing again. It's so pretty, but I'm ready for spring. :)

From "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I want to know what sustains you
From the inside
When all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone
With yourself,
And if you truly like the company you keep.

Happy Valentine's Day

We love you.

Dare to be fabulous

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing elightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory...that is within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
- Marianne Williamson

Casey's book list...who needs Oprah

Here are some books I've read as of late that I think are worth your time.



1. Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
2. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
3. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
4. The Twilight Saga - it will change your life. AshCoss - can I get a "what what"

It's a Small World After All

I haven't been to Disney World since 1998 or 1999...so at least 11 years. It really is a magical place. My fabulous dance team qualified (for the first time ever in school history) for the National Dance Team Competition in Orlando, FL. We didn't make it into the finals, but the girls did great and we had a blast. Apparently, Super Bowl weekend is the least attended weekend of the year at Disney World - so we literally had NO WAIT on most rides. The longest I waited was 20 minutes for the Pirates of the Caribbean. But most rides we walked right on. My favorite rides?

1. Mount Everest at Animal Kingdom
2. Tower of Terror - Hollywood Studios
3. Rockin' Rollercoster - Hollywood Studios
4. Spaceship Earth - Epcot - yes, I'm a dork

A couple of things I learned this weekend.

1. I never want to hear "Who Dat" ever again.
2. I will never take children under 6 to Disney World.
3. Fannie packs never go out of style.
4. For the most part, Disney food is gross.
5. Missy Laken, or should I call her Minnie Laken, looks really cute in her Minnie ears.

Change...

"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." - JFK

My little sister and her hubs are moving far, far away and it makes me sad. But I'm also really excited for them. It feels like my family is spread all over the place and I miss them.

Cliff and Jeff have been working on some marketing for Landscape Solutions. Hopefully, they will have a really great second year. Check out their website at www.landscapesolutionstn.com.

We've had some crazy snow around here. I've had 4...count them 4 snow days this year. Please look at how cute Laken is in her scarf that I knitted for her.

I'm taking the dance team to Orlando this weekend. I'll hopefully have some video/pictures for you when we get back. Ashley and Davis started a blog and it reminded me that Cliff and I actually have a blog that needed updated.

Peace and Love.