A laugh for you.

Source: Things children do that are unacceptable for adults to do by epoddle on Rumble


I can totally relate! My daughter is three and I have experienced all of these at some point. Enjoy the laughs.

Gettin' philosophical: dreams don't work unless you do.

"Dreams don't work unless you do."

A co-worker of mine has this displayed in her classroom. This is not only excellent advice, but it directly relates to my life. Many people in my family were taught while growing up that nothing good comes easily. If you wanted it, you had to work for it. And if it was worth getting, working hard wasn't a problem. Hard work was heavily valued, and so was determination. Both of those things go hand in hand.

Hard work played into my life majorly. I knew as a child I wanted to be a writer, but I had a persistent, almost nagging voice in the back of my mind trying to persuade me to be a teacher. I managed to convince myself not to listen, that I wanted no part of teaching. I never could completely silence the voice. After two and a half years as a journalist, I realized I truly wasn't happy and the only think that could make me happy was to teach.

So, I became a teacher assistant so I could catch a glimpse of what I might be getting myself into. I also enrolled in NC State University's Master of Arts in Teaching program. After working hard all day at the elementary school, I'd drive to Raleigh and work hard in class until 9:30 at night. My two and a half years of grad school were some of the most stressful, overwhelming years of my life. I worked hard. As a new wife, I often didn't see my husband until 10:00 at night. It was tough, but at graduation, I knew I'd done the right thing. My first week as a student teacher? I knew I'd made the right choice.

Ten years ago, if you had told me I would teach middle school English, I would have laughed at you. If you had told me ten years ago, I'd be married and be the mother of a little girl, I would have laughed at you. But, here I am. And I couldn't imagine my life any other way.

I've come a long way so far. First and foremost, the love of a patient God and his hand guiding me had everything to do with it, but some other things also had positive affects. Hard work had a lot to do with it. Determination had a lot to do with it.  A supportive family and supportive friends had a lot to do with it.

The entire purpose of this post was to expound on how far I have come and how grateful I am for having gotten this far. I am not bragging, I am simply reminding myself to be grateful for the journey.

It is my hope these same core values that are ingrained within me will also be ingrained in my own child's being. Dream big, but understand that unless you're willing to work for it, it isn't going to happen.

I don't always kill a buck, but when I do...

It's with the front end of my van. *sigh*

No one was hurt, and Bertha (our van) only has a damaged bumper and a busted radiator. Our van isn't as damaged as it could have been.

If you prayed for me today, thanks! Things certainly could have been worse.

A little something fun to start off your week!

Maybe they should change the quote "dance like no one is watching" to dance like you are three. Enjoy!





On another note, I have finally gotten around to writing and posting my fall house tour. You should really go check that out.

Coincidence? I think not.

It's funny how the Lord always gives us what we need when we're needing it the most.

If you are one of the few people who has made it known they are uncomfortable with my talking about my miscarriage, you should leave this post now and discontinue reading. I am not "whining," or "being dramatic" or "trying to get attention." I am currently going through something heartbreaking, and talking about it is the only thing getting me through. Keep your hurtful comments to yourself- if it bothers you, I am pretty sure there is a large "X" at the top of your browser. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let me share what's on my heart today.

I've had a difficult time lately- each day, my spirit and body become more aware that my child is gone. On Christmas Eve, I would have been 20 weeks pregnant. Halfway there. Instead, I'll celebrate Christmas with my child and husband, and instead of looking forward to our new child, I'll be missing this one. I could sit here and expound on each and every "would be milestone" that is going to be difficult for me. Instead, I will talk about what the Lord gave me yesterday.

Yesterday, my devotion was about handling grief, and what to do when people close to you are grieving. The devotion talked about the Jewish tradition of the Shiva, in which they grieve for their loved ones for seven days. Any visitors to the home within those days does not speak unless one of the hosts speaks to them first. The families of the deceased simply sit there in quiet, comforted only by one another's presence. Words are not necessary.

The accompanying Scripture was from John, the story of Lazarus. I immediately read about the grief of Jesus for his friend, and how he wept for his friend.

Too often, when someone close to us loses someone, we try to almost take on the role of the Lord and explain what can't be explained. We don't know why death happens. We don't know why divorce happens. We don't know why miscarriage happens. Silence should be enough. We don't need to say anything because there isn't anything we can say. I've been guilty of this so many times- just wanting to say something because I didn't know what to say. A simple "I'm sorry," or "I'm praying for you" should have been it.

I've struggled lately to feel the Lord's presence. I know he is still here and he is hurting along with me. Some horrible part of me just wants to close off, shut down and just grieve. I'm trying hard to stay positive and to just trust Him, but this is hard. I should have thought about how Jesus raised Lazarus and how if he can raise Lazarus from the dead, he can get me through this. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't think about that. He also makes the statement in this passage that through Lazarus' rest, God will be brought glory. I don't know what his plan for me is. I don't know why my baby was called home. I know somehow he'll be glorified through it. I know these things, even though it is hard for me to understand it at the moment.

Please keep praying. I need it more than I ever have.

November 8- weekend

Friday was a good day- it was the perfect end to a rotten week. We spent some time with my parents and my great-uncle and great-aunt, who are in town. We love visiting with family, especially when we don't get to see them often.

Saturday was a beautiful day. Miss Emorie wanted to go outside and play, so we bundled up and headed outdoors. We have been seriously neglecting our flower beds, so we took the time to clean them out while we were playing. We got two and a half beds cleaned out, and have one and a half to go. We will finish those on Tuesday. I also plan on cleaning out our container gardens and replacing them with some fall color.

Miss Emorie went to her grandmother's Saturday evening, so the hubs and I could have a date. We went to P.F. Chang's. We had a reservation, but due to problems in the kitchen, it took an hour for us to get our food. The manager ended up comping our meal. We had a delicious dinner that ended up only costing us $3. On the way back home, we picked up sweet girl and headed home.

On Sunday, I was running a fever and not feeling very well. I am almost feeling better now, and almost positive this is the result of some nasty virus. I am hoping the husband and sweet girl are spared the fever!

Weekend recap- November 2

What a busy but blessed weekend! We started off our weekend with a teacher workday for me, followed by Halloween festivities later on that evening with my sweet little Elsa. I know you've already seen the pics, but I just can't help but post this one again:


Saturday, Mr. B and I went to help his step-brother celebrate his wedding day. The wedding was gorgeous and we very much enjoyed being there to help celebrate. We didn't get to stay very long, since we had to go pick up our little lady from my Mom's, but we still had a great time. Here is a picture of my with my handsome man.



Of course, one doesn't celebrate a wedding without remembering their own wedding day. Almost 6 years have passed since I became Mrs. B.


When you get married, you promise to be there for each other "for better or for worse." We have had lots of "better," but unfortunately 2014 brought a whole lot of "worse." Truth be told, without the Lord, and without my man, I'd have never survived. We have faith that the best truly is yet to come, and everything we are currently enduring will truly change for the better.

Happy Halloween!

Emorie had a blast yesterday. After choosing four different Halloween costumes, she finally settled on Elsa from the movie "Frozen." I guess you can say we are a little obsessed with "Frozen" around here. I tried to talk her into being Anna since her dress is prettier, but Emorie wasn't having any of it. We saw several other Elsas when we went to the fire department, and several of my friends posted pictures of their own Elsas on my Facebook feed.

She wouldn't stop singing "Let It Go" long enough to get her picture taken. LOL. 

Waiting at the fire department. She was all for meeting Sparky and taking a picture of him until we got there. Then she was scared and wanted nothing to do with him. 

A little girl and her daddy. Love them so much. 

We didn't go trick-or-treating. We went to the fire department, the police department, and then to her grandparents' houses. She had a great time, ate more candy than she has probably had all year, and then refused to take off her costume when we got home.