Maggie G

July 14th, 2010

People often say, “Dogs are a man’s best friend” and I know that to be true. Maybe you do too. For 9+years, we’ve experienced the unconditional love offered by our best friend….Maggie. Everyone who ever met her…..loved her! She was special! I know what you’re thinking….. she really was!

We bought her from the same breeder that sold us our other black lab, Molly. We lost Molly to some careless teenagers on a motorcycle in front of our house. At the time, I couldn’t even think of picking out another lab pup. Hubby couldn’t think of NOT picking another. He was determined. I finally gave in (but declared….I WOULD NOT GET ATTACHED!!!).

Yea, my plan failed! She stole my heart. I can’t put into words what an awesome dog she was. I can’t think of one bad behavior she ever had. Matter of fact….if she was ever missing, it was because one of our neighbors had let her inside (their house) and was giving her some sort of treat. She was known in our neighborhood as “Sweet Black Maggie”. Often when I would come home….I’d see her over at my neighbors house on the front porch with her best friend, Dooley. Maggie was the alpha female in the friend group. Dooley (a mut) and Stitch (a rascal Jack Russel) were her comrades. Together the three of them ran security over the kids and property on Oakridge Drive. {Don’t try anything hanky panky around here!!} 🙂

Tonight, after a long few weeks of dwindling down to a mere 50lbs. Maggie passed away. We spent the day loving on her and comforting her as best we could. It was horrible to watch her struggle to stand. She was always so strong and energetic. Cancer steals everything!

Something that I’ll always remember about Maggie is her tail. It wagged all the time! She was the happiest dog in the world….no matter what was happening. What a great example for us all. Be happy!

Maggie….thanks for loving and protecting our family for all those years. Your life was lived to the fullest and we enjoyed every minute of it. Rest in sweet doggy peace, Mag-pie! We will always love you, girl!

I’m going to miss this sweet face!

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Facing forward

July 12th, 2010

I’ve been pretty content staying home (except for the pity party of having no vacation trip). Summer has been the medicine the doctor would’ve ordered. I’ve loved staying up way too late and sleeping in the next morning. I was meant to be free, people! 🙂

I had this crazy night of insomnia over the weekend though. It was pretty annoying! I like sleep! I’m good at it. But I couldn’t drift off to lala land for all the tea in China. So, I lay there….thinking. Then, it hit me…..OH NO!!! School starts in ONE MONTH!!!

Yea….I definitely have the gift of encouragement! I even cheer me up! NOT!!!

Whatever shall I do? I have to make this summer count for something fun! I have limited time with these kids! Gavin is moving into his first apartment in a month! Whaaa? Why does time fly so fast? We’re still trying to come up with much of what he needs to setup house.

Ally is going into her SENIOR year of high school. My baby Gates is a sophomore for goodness sakes. They’ve already started to ditch me! Gee whiz! I’ve got to make the most of our time together.

Here are some things we have on our WANT TO DO list:

1) The Beach Waterpark (We love this place and go every summer. I have 4 tickets so far. I still need another set of 4 to make it fun!)

2) Atlanta Braves vs. Cincinnati Reds (this is a special game, Mercy Me is performing Aug 1st)

3) Holiday World Splashin Safari (we’ve been invited to go with friends…still trying to save pennies for our tickets)

4) School shop! (what’s that?)

5) Camp/swim/eat in the wild (this is most likely NOT going to happen….we sold our camper a long time ago and hubby is not speaking positively of the tent). 🙁

6) See Despicable Me. (we rarely go to the theatre…but this looks like a must see!)

I’ll be happy with any of those ideas coming to fruition. Remember, I’ve been SITTING at home all summer? Going to the grocery store is a major deal for me. {LOSER} All I can say is that I’m cherishing these next few weeks. Looking ahead to August makes me want to cry. I love you summer! Stay just a little longer, ok?

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Teen Focused Ministries ROCK!!!

July 9th, 2010

Ok, I know my last post was all ‘up in your face’ about teen girls. It’s something very near and dear to my heart. I’m a mom of two teen girls. I’m crazy about them and I want to provide the best resources available as they navigate this temptuous time in their lives. Satan is out to destroy, people! I don’t want his grubby paws on my sweet girls. He’s hungry to steal “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” in our young people. And I’m NOT going down without a fight!

That’s why I’m so stinkin’ excited to share one more ministry geared towards loving on teen girls. 2:21 the mag Exemplify Teen. First of all, this is a new magazine coming out in August (oh hurry up…but take it slow August). The whole concept began with Kristen who wanted to provide “good” stuff for girls (I love her!!) to read (I want to hug her). She’s a genius! Girls do want this! I know I did when I was their age and I know my girls crave positive healthy reading too. So, yahoo to you Miss Kristen!

Go here to meet the team they’ve put together to make magic!!

Ladies, I’m so excited to find your sweet ministry. Thank you for loving young girls so much that you’d put together such a great resource! I pray your efforts are blessed beyond measure! God is pleased when we step out in His name and just DO IT!!!

Now, for us big girls (ahem, women). Let me push you invite you to check out the mother ministry to 2:21 Exemplify Teen, Exemplify. This is how I stumbled upon the teen one. I love reading the blog and devotion’s they post. This is one of my favorite “go to” sites. Everyday is something special. You just have to go see for yourself! I love it so much…..I want to be a part of it. Ministering to girls & women is just one of my things. They bless me!

Enjoy!

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Girls Gone Wise?!

July 6th, 2010


I’m a huge fan of Lifeway author Mary Kassian. Several years back, I facilitated two different groups through her study Conversation Peace. It was fantastic and….doing it twice was worth it. I still pull that book off the shelf to use when I need some “reminders” (taming the tongue is a forever thing)!

Tonight, I’m so excited to share her cool online blog/ministry/little slice of heaven. It’s awesome and I love the name too. Girls Gone Wise! Wow, what a concept…Mary! You’re a genius! I love your heart! You have a great way with words and it’s clear you love chicks. Thank you for such a sweet ministry. As a mom of two teen daughter’s, I can’t express enough how important it is to me that they have “for real” ministry stuff available to them. GGW is a great “go to” source for anyone wondering how to handle the things life throws at you.

I’m thrilled to share it with not only my girls….but my friends in the world and blogland! Yay! Go see Mary! Read her heart. You won’t be disappointed. I promise!

Oh and I’ve also done Vertically Inclined! Great study! Mary’s got the gift, ya’ll!

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Slight problem…

July 5th, 2010

My neighborhood is all trees! It’s beautiful! Most of the pictures I share here on the blog are taken outside in my yard. We are completely shaded by these enormous trees. We can’t grow flowers because of the trees. Even our grass is shoddy (thanks to the trees). Forget about having tomato plants! BooHiss! No sun = no tomatoes!

Yes, that’s terrible! But you wanna know what’s worse?

When one falls towards your house! That’s terrible! Just last week, this same neighbor had to repair the little red barn you see in the pictures….thanks to another tree coming down on top of it. They were keeping pet rabbits outside of the barn in pens. When the limbs came down they crushed one of the bunny pens (but not the bunny!). Now that’s too close for comfort if you ask me.

I was in my room when this big one fell yesterday. I wasn’t quite sure what that weird noise was….until I got up and looked out my window! Yikes! It just barely misses the owner’s house.

Have I mentioned how much I love living under all these trees? 🙂

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Get moving…

July 1st, 2010

We’ve pretty much spent the month of June, sitting around. Bored! Thanks to our whopping budget of nada. We can’t really afford to do much else. It’s not good for the soul, I tell ya! We each have been battling the demons of depression. If you’ve never had a visit from them…..GOOD! You don’t want to hang out in that crowd! It’s not fun or healthy! So, avoid!

This morning when I woke up to beautiful breezy weather….I knew I had to do something to get my kids motivated and productive. They were still able to sleep in and lounge around a bit for breakfast. But, I made a chore list and each of them got busy….including me. We worked on some much needed jobs around the house. It was time, people! We’ve been depressed! No one does housework when they feel all bummed out! Ask any of the many visitors we’ve had!

We celebrated our hardwork with happy hour drinks at Sonic! You can’t beat 1/2 price Strawberry Limeade’s! It’s so easy to fall into a pit (ask Beth Moore) and stay there. Switching up our boring routine today really helped. It’s important to get moving and push forward even when you’d rather go lay down. Depression is real and it can sneak up on you before you know it.

My advice? Keep going! Make lists. Make plans (they can be cheap or free ones)! Get out and walk (alone or with a buddy). Play a game. Have a dance off! Write down things you’re thankful for. Hug someone. Oh and clean your house! 🙂

Am I the only one bored this summer?

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