Queenies Little Kingdom

I guess we do a lot of this —>

This is my mom's little punk.  She's so tiny but big on kissin'!

It's just who we are….dog lovers!

Ok, so maybe they're a little spoiled.  They're just so danged lovable!

With Christmas break ending, both of these girlies are in for a big slap of reality.  Back to long days home alone with no laps to sit in or people to follow room-to-room.

I wonder if they'll miss me as much as I'll miss them.

Goodbye Christmas break, you were awesome!!  Hello to routine, wearing make-up & real clothes and DOWNTON ABBEY Season 3!!  My heart is full up, y'all.

I'm up early while the rest of my family sleep soundly in their beds.  I wanted to get busy praying for a friend.  Stephanie was the first person I can remember loving as my best friend.  God sent her to me when we were in Middle School.  I didn't even know a friend could be so special until I met her.  She was so much fun and she inspired me to be just like her.  I used to imitate her every move because she was so pretty and together, we were a pair!

It was with Stephanie that I first put on make-up.  She had tons of it and the attraction to the shimmery white eye-shadow felt like a magnet for me.  Why?  Why didn't anyone tell me how ridiculous I looked?  No matter, I felt beautiful….like somehow, God was making me look like my pretty friend.  Stephanie and I used to ride bikes back and forth to one another's house.  She lived with her grandparents and in my eyes, she was royalty!  Everybody knows if you're special enough to live with grandparents then you are a queen!  Grandparents spoil you and I thought Stephanie was spoiled!  It was fun going places with her….grandparents just make you feel extra loved!

As we grew older and way more mature…we put away our shimmery eye-shadow and traded up to boyfriends & Jordache jeans.  We'd spend Sunday's after church skiing at the lake and eating at Pizza Hut.  The weekends became pretty busy for us all when we marched in the high school band.  Stephanie was a majorette and I was in Flags.  We giggled on the bus rides to competition and froze our buns off marching in the Edison Light Parade (who knew it could be that cold in S. Florida?).  Life was easy…then.

Today, my precious friend is in a battle.  As I type, surgeons are working meticulously to remove tumors that have found home inside her beautiful head.  I don't know many details and that's not important right now.  What matters is that we pray for Stephanie and that we remember her loving family…her hubby Chris and their two precious daughters Chelsea & Shelbie.  This family needs a miracle and I know just who to call on for that.  While my heart is heavy…I'm trusting my Sweet Savior to heal my friend and bring her back to newness!

I love you dear Stephanie!  May God blanket you with His healing hands right this moment and in the coming weeks ahead.

Gracious God

Your love knows no boundaries and Your power is endless. I praise you God for you are Holy & worthy!   Thank you for such a special friend like Stephanie.  I'm blessed because YOU shared her with me so many years ago.  I lift her up to you, trusting you with all that is threatening to steal her away.  She needs a miracle and I know you will be glorified in each detail of this situation.  Blanket the Lee family with your love & mercy, Lord.  Give them peace when fear tries to attack.  Bless them all and hold them tight.  Faithful One.

Amen

The One sitting on the throne said, "I am making everything new."  Revelation 21:5

Don't let my blog title trick you… 2012 has been a pretty good year!  My family has managed to live it up, fall short and accomplish big things all at the same time.  I won't bore you with the "look at all my blessings" family letter.  That wouldn't be worth a hoot to you and it wouldn't be exactly true.  We're a real family and normal stuff happend to us, all year long.

People overslept, ran late, yelled at each other, forgot important deadlines, had breakdowns, missed appointments, lost "things", ran out of gas, worked too late, made huge messes and acted crazy!

I try to tell myself that other families experience all that real stuff too.  Some days, it feels like I'm the only one.  God has been a real source of grace for me time and time again when I beat myself up for not having the picture perfect family.  Which honestly, I do have (for me) and so do you.  Family is family and nothing can change that.

Why not celebrate it, right?  Quirks and all.

2012 brought with it growth.  It seems that everyone in my family stepped off into a new world of grown-up moments.  The one I call Sweetboy stopped attending a college he hated (not IU), got a job/lost a job, got a better paying job and has since won several employee incentives because he's so good at his job.  All that it takes to grow (sometimes) is a push out of your comfort zone.  He's still searching for whatever it is God has for him but he's growing.  Ups & downs, disappointments & challenges are just part of the path that each of us must walk.  It's a whole different ballgame when it's one of your kids, am I right?

My middle babe switched jobs this year too.  While she loved working in the retail world of TJ Maxx, she couldn't take much more of the long hours and skimpy pay.  On the one day she was out working the register (they assigned her the dressing rooms every shift) a nice lady came through her line that happened to work for Mainsource Bank.  The customer was so impressed with Ally that she offered her a job at the bank right then.  Ally was so excited and jumped at her chance.  Within weeks she was working at her new job, loving it and making tons more money to shop at TJ Maxx & more.  All while steady rocking a full-time college class schedule.  The girl is killer!

My baby turned 18 & finished high school a semester early.  Make it stop, please!?  This kind of growth seems too much to handle for a mom like me.  I hadn't planned on letting this one grow up.  I know, sounds crazy…even to me.  She sailed through a semester of school without a care in the world except for getting her own car and that happened just in time.  Her next step is a job of her own (aside from babysitting) and applying to colleges.  I can't wait to see all that God has in store for her.

It's been a great year for my family and I couldn't be more thankful for ALL that God has done for us each and every day.  He's provided great jobs, healthy bodies and a happy life that I promise I never take for granted.  My prayer is that this coming year will be one full of GRACE and love.  Both received and given.  May God bless you with grace & love as well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR  2013

It's snowing! Hard! Like the song says, "the weather outside is frightful…"

Take it from Gracie.  She's sitting on top of the patio table.  The whole standing in the wet snow thing was more than her brain could process.

Gracie: What IS this stuff?  It's everywhere?

Me:  It's snow, Gracie!  Don't you love it?

Gracie:  Uhmm, NO!  It's all over my yard!  It's on my porch!  And it keeps getting on my feet!  Look, how am I supposed to chase squirrells in this mess?

Gracie:  I give up!  LET ME IN!!  PRONTO, PEOPLE!!

Gracie:  Ahh, this is better!  I can just watch here from the glass doors.  Geez, how long will it go on?  I need to chase something and no one will get up and play in this house!

We're under a severe weather watch.  Duh!  The news has been running non-stop this morning with the WARNINGS about the road hazards.  As in, don't get on them unless IT IS AN EMERGENCY!!

Try telling that to my oldest two kids who have "real" jobs in the real world.  Both were scheduled to be at work (each works in a different town from where we live 15 & 35 minutes away) and didn't have any plans of missing their responsibility. Have you tried to reason with young adults before?  They don't listen nor do they understand!

If NO ONE is allowed on the roads due to emergency weather warnings…then who can shop at Staples or go to the bank?  THEY WON'T BE NEEDING ANY EMPLOYEES, DUDES!!  Besides, try getting out of our driveway…that's a sample of how the roads are in our whole area!

Case closed!  Everybody's staying home!

Guess who's out of Caramel coffee for the Keurig and Salted caramel creamer too?  Yes, of course…..we are!     I don't care!  WE'RE ALL STAYING HOME!!