A Smile for Your Day :)

I hope this brings a smile to your day like it did to mine...

Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior,

waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!

Refrain:

Up from the grave he arose;

with a mighty triumph o'er his foes;

he arose a victor from the dark domain,

and he lives forever, with his saints to reign.

He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!

Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,

vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord! (Refrain)

Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;

he tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord! (Refrain)

I Heart Country Music

I know this is random, but I just felt the need to share my love for country music. My sweet friend Laura gave me the new Josh Turner CD for my birthday, and I have been listening to it non-stop; it's SO good. Josh Turner is my absolute favorite! But let's be honest. The man could be singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and I would love it. I am usually not one to get girly and giddy over celebrities of any kind. But have you heard this man sing?!? Haha. Ok. Enough of that...

Now I know that there are some severe country-haters out there. But you know what? I LOVE it, and I don't really care if you think I am crazy for it! And I live in Texas, so I am allowed to love it :)

I think part of my love for country music stems from the fact that I grew up listening to it. It's what my parents listened to, so it's what I knew. But the best memory I have from my childhood regarding country music is that my dad was a member of a country-western band. That's right folks. My dad played the guitar and sang in the band JJ and the Drifters. Hehe. If you know my dad, many of you won't even believe me on this. And unfortunately, there's not much proof (i.e. no you tube videos, pictures, etc.) But trust me, back in the day, my dad was awesome! (He's still awesome, but this is a fun memory from my childhood).

I remember going to his gigs, running around with the other band memers' kids, placing quarters out on the railroad tracks with him during breaks, and falling asleep to the sound of my dad playing. I grew up on the classics of George Strait, Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Randy Travis, Trishia Yearwood, Shania Twain, and Reba McEntire. I still love some of these singers, and have really seen a huge shift in country music over the past 10 years. So now some of my favorites include Carrie Underwood, Josh Turner, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Kenney Chesney, Joe Nichols...but I just love it all :)

I know some people think country music is ridiculous. And I have to admit; some of it is. But come on; where else except in country music can you sing about crazy things? That's part of the reason I love it so much! I mean, who wouldn't love....

The more boys I meet, the more I love my dog...I'd like to check you for ticks...I've got friends in low places...Check yes or no...Tequila makes her clothes fall off...Every time you shake your hips, baby I go crazy...All my ex's live in Texas...Baby, why don't we just dance...Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats...She thinks my tractor's sexy...No one holds a candle to me in my red high heels...I got a brand new girlfriend...If it wasn't for Texas...

LOL. I mean, whats not to love? Plus, who doesn't love a cowboy hat and a cute pair of cowboy boots? ;)

Texas Snow Day!!!

Yesterday we had a record snow fall here in Dallas! The forecasters predicted 1-2 inches, but when it was all said and done, we received 12.5 inches!! It was so hard for everyone to stay focused at work yesterday, because all we wanted to do was sit and watch the snow fall. It was so beautiful. How cool is our God to think of snow?!? Frozen water flakes falling from the sky to blanket the ground with soft, crunchy snow. Brilliant, beautiful, awesome!

The trees are blanketed with snow!

Apartment complex is snow/iced over.

So much snow- I sunk a foot when I tried to walk through it!

The golf course next to my apartment...so beautiful!

Isn't it pretty?? :)

Last night, Lindsey came over and we spent the evening running around in the snow- complete with snow ball fight and snowman building- so fun!

Sasha LOVES the snow! I don't think she has quite figured it out yet, but she is absolutely fascinated by it. She bounds around in it like a little bunny and acts as if it's the greatest thing ever. She is probably not the greatest fan of the snowballs that melt in her mouth, but she will still try to jump up and catch them or chase after them. As much as she has enjoyed the snow, I don't think she (or I, for that matter) could endure it for any length of time. But it's a fun treat once a year :)

Sasha likes to eat the snow...

Luckily, our office finally made the call to close today, so it's nice that I don't have to go out in it. So right now, I am sitting here, enjoying some precious time in the Word, drinking my coffee, enjoying the beautiful white scenery outside my window. It's already starting to melt, but we'll be able to enjoy it for at least a couple of days...and I'll even get to share it with my parents who are on their way here :)

Blessings Rain Down

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday weekend! Saturday night we had another singles night, and it is always fun to hang out with these sweet friends! I stayed late enough to enjoy birthday singing at midnight :) Sunday was a great morning in worship; we're talking about spiritual disciplines and this week was about surrender. I have a number of things I am praying through regarding that, which I may post about in the future...

I then got to go out to lunch with 20 of my closest friends at On the Border- complete with embarassing restaurant birthday songs. I spent the evening with Laura, which was so great since we have both been so busy lately. My crazy family was getting together for the Super Bowl down in San Antonio, so I got a 10-person birthday serenade right before kick-off. Haha. So fun! The birthday fun continued yesterday at work with co-workers and then I received a yummy cake and cute balloon from my sweet friend Lindsey at girls' Bible study last night. It was a really great weekend, and a wonderful birthday!

On top of all the sweet birthday blessings, God has rained down other random blessings in the past couple of days. Yesterday, I had my last opthamology appointment and was completely cleared for my optic nerves. He gave me the ok, diagnosing me with "weird eyes." LOL. I also received a complete refund on the tire I bought this weekend; I was reminded about the road hazard certificiates that I had from Discount Tire, so I was able to get all of my money back! Definitely a blessing! This morning, I walked off the elevator and was handed coffee and a muffin- nice perk, huh? It's all about the little things :) The hotel in our office park was offering complimentary coffee and muffins to the tenants in our building, and it was just a fun way to start the morning. And as if that wasn't enough, God answered prayers, and I learned today that I was approved for a raise. God has been so generous to me- the blessings have just rained down. My heart is overwhelmed right now with all that He has done and really, just continues to do. But it's not even that He has given me "things" recently. It's more the blessing of being able to physically see His love, care, and hand in my life. He is the God who gives and takes away, and I praise Him for all He is and all He chooses to do in our lives.

Unplanned Fun

Today I got to spend the day with my brother, which is always a blessing. It's so great to have him here in Dallas! And since my parents won't be here until next weekend, it was nice to have family to celebrate with for my birthday. It was definitely an interesting day...

We both LOVE sushi, so we decided to try a new place. Being the great big city that it is, we figured we would have our pick of choices. Boy, were we wrong. Apparently, there are no sushi places open for lunch on the weekends. Is that not bizarre to you? You just can't get sushi for lunch on the weekends in the Big D. Even Waco has a place. I literally called 6 different sushi restaurants/bars, and not one of them opened earlier than 4pm. So weird. So our grand food tasting adventure came to a screeching halt. We were both so hungry (but still really wanting some sushi) so we ended up at Central Market to satisfy our craving. Haha. Not quite the grand adventure we envisioned, but it was still good :)

(Not really sure what's going on with my hair- it has decided it wants to stand on end. Sigh.)

Let me take a few steps back...rewind to before we went to lunch. We went all the way out to a sushi restaurant before we realized they were not open. So I had my brother just meet me at my apartment. I didn't want to bother Sasha, so I just parked in the parking lot to wait for him. When he pulled in, I pulled out of my space and realized that my car was driving weird and sounded strange. My brother came over and asked why the heck I was driving on a flat tire. I have no idea what happened, but apparently while I was sitting in my car (minding my own business) the air was quickly escaping from my tire.

When we got back from lunch, my sweet, strong, and handy brother (yes, ladies- he's single! haha)  helped me did all the work to put on the spare. And I sat and watched him from inside the car because it is freezing outside :) He made sure I knew that it was only because it's my birthday that he let me get away with that LOL. I am better at supervising anyway :)

He followed me to Discount Tire, but unfortunately they were unable to repair it because it was a fairly large hole on the side of the tire. So I got to buy myself an early birthday present...isn't that fun? Haha- oh well. I am just SO grateful that it went flat at my apartment and not while I was driving. And I am glad I have a great brother who is here to help when I need him. While the day didn't turn out exactly how we had planned, I had so much fun just laughing and being crazy with him. Definitely a fun (and interesting) day!

Hello Birthday Weekend!

I woke up this morning so happy and full of joy. And I know that is a blessing from the Lord, because I couldn't sleep last night and only got a few hours of rest. Because I was so excited to start this day, I made the executive decision that today marks the beginning of my birthday celebration! Haha. I have to share my birthday this year with the Super Bowl, so I feel as though my decision to celebrate early is justified. And plus, it's my 25th...I'm allowed to celebrate big, right? :)

I started the day off with Starbucks and a fun conversation with my mom (always a fun way to start the day), and I am looking forward to a weekend of festivities. And I made the right decision to start celebrating today, because I got my first presents from my coworkers this morning! Tonight is Communion Dinner with my 20s group, and tomorrow I get to spend the day celebrating with my brother. There has been talk of sushi and a movie...two of my favorites! Saturday night is singles night with sweet friends, and Sunday night is dinner with Laura. She's WAY more fun than the silly Super Bowl anyway LOL. And this fun birthday weekend will extend through next weekend when I get to celebrate with my parents. Don't you just LOVE birthdays?

25 just sounds like a good year; I am definitely excited to celebrate this one. I am so blessed with the life God has given me, and I am excited to see what He has for me this year. So here's to a good birthday weekend and a good year!

And let the birthday celebrations commence! :)