Bark at the Park (Minus the Park)

In the words of John Lennon ~ "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." The past two weeks the Little Critter has had me on a very short leash, but I kept hoping that we would be able to go to the Ranger game today. I even bought Jon and myself new matching super soft Ranger T-shirts. We would have looked so cute walking our little Cookie around the ball field before the game, but it just wasn't meant to be. Before the game we put Cookie's little outfit on her & took some pictures, & like most siblings her little brother Winston decided it wasn't fair that he couldn't be part of the action. Instead of Bark at the Park, Jon & the rest of Team Trammell is going to Bark at the Flat Screen (as soon as these pictures post Little Grey cat Ralphie, Little Critter, and I are going to do what we do best - Bark at our eyelids!)

This is as fixed up as I get right now, I'm sure the pictures would have been better out in the front yard, but it's too hot out there. Yes Sir Winston is a Miniature Schnauzer. You might notice that he's missing his skirt. The poor little guy is so hot natured, schnauzers overheat very easily even if you only let them out for a few minutes. He went to the groomers this week and got what they call the "Schnauzer Strip" for summer. He's happy about it, and proud as a peacock of his little self, & I rather like it too.

Tests & Thankfulness

I've really been pondering the message our minister Gene Huntzinger shared with our church on Sunday.

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

If you are truly a follower of God, this is the #1 thing you've got to get to the root of in your life. *Give thanks in All circumstances.

It isn't always easy to be thankful in all circumstances, because to be honest some circumstances are rotten, they hurt, and they aren't fair. I don't know about you, but when things go wrong I have the ability to throw a pity party for myself that would rival the size of the Royal Wedding! So, this is one of those verses that I've read before, and thought hmmm.... well that's nice, but I'd never really pondered it, or applied it to my life.

So we're clear, God doesn't do us harm. Satan is the one you can thank for all that. God allows us to go through tests in our life, but it is always His plan to bring you prosperity, and to make you better than you were in the first place. So, we're supposed to give Him thanks in everything. Gene shared with us that last week was a really difficult week for him, his garage caught on fire & burned down, someone vandalized his yard, and then someone working on something else struck the main water line in the yard, and water shot twenty feet in the air, & flooded the yard. He said that he told his wife, that they needed to pray, and be thankful in these circumstances. Everything we have is already His, so if He wants them to continue to be able to live on that property, then He'll have to take care of these problems that have arisen or lead them to another solution. Sunday night, I put this revolutionary way of thinking into practice, because of course it just so happened that morning sickness decided to go from bad to hideously ugly. As I lay on my bathroom floor I prayed, "God I give you praise in this situation. This body belongs to You, and if You want me to be able to use it to work and serve You, then I must have some healing because You know I can't even function like this, but if I can better complete Your plan for me by continuing to go through this, then show me how to do it with a graceful spirit and grateful heart." I'm so thankful we live in this age of medicine where there is so much that can be done to help eliminate or minimize our suffering. Compared to how I was feeling, I'm a different person, but I know the reason I'm better is because God has a job for me to do that requires me being up and about. It's a lot easier to thank Him now for making me so much better, the other night it wasn't as easy, however after I did it I felt a great sense of inner peace and strength.

Right now I have several friends that are going through really bad marriage trouble, and some have even had to go through divorce. It breaks my heart so much for them. I would love to be able to give them some truly comforting, sound, Biblical advice that would make it more bearable. I don't want anyone to misunderstand, I don't want people to think I want them to say things like, "Thank you for my divorce." God didn't create divorce, but He will see you through the storms of doubt and depression that it brings to your mind. He is the one that can heal you, and give you an endless capacity to love. Thank Him for never wavering, and for never leaving your side even when everyone else has.

Whatever test you may be going through, Give thanks. It may not change the circumstance you are going through, but it will change the way you feel about it!

150th Post

Well 150 is a pretty significant number of posts when it comes to blog world. I just wish I had some really awesome / significant stuff to report. At the moment I just have small random things worth mentioning.

Today Jon & I've been married 6 1/2 years.

We tried a new place for dinner tonight. It's called Sam's Shrimp & Seafood on Stateline across from Jon's store. I am not lying when I say the shrimp are the size of my fist! It was delicious, so we now know a great place to go eat shrimp (which is very important when you're this far from the gulf)! Any of you local friends that decide to try it, take my advice & share! We got 1 entree & 2 drinks, our total was $14.99 & we had a full container of leftovers to carry out.

I planted some okra that we started from seeds in our garden today. I'm really not sure what else we're going to plant, and I know we should have done it sooner, but Jon had to make some modifications to our large garden planter box.

Now that we're having a baby, we have a lot of work to do around the house. We have gotten rid of the carpet... except the front guest room. I hadn't really thought about it, but one of the 1st things I hear is, "Now that you're having a baby, we better get the carpet out of there." I'm not putting it at the top of my priority list. I'm going to "accept the things I can not change," and at the moment that is one of them. For starters, I can't exactly go move the furniture out of there, and I'm not the kind of person who can sit while someone else is working. I get a little overwhelmed when it comes to thinking about redoing stuff in the house, but I've decided to build "Rome" one small brick at a time as the mood strikes me. We've lived in our house over 5 years without a baby, so we did like most people & spread our stuff into all 3 bedrooms (and all of the closets). The red room (which is currently our study) is going to become the nursery, but it is going to take a lot of adjusting. Today I began transferring our stuff out of the study closet into the guest room closet. I got a lot done & transferred the Critter's stuff into some Rubbermaid drawers until we figure out what kind of furniture we're going to put in here to go with my old baby bed & changing table. I think we're going to take the glider that Jon's parents used to rock him in his nursery, so we'll have things from when both of us were babies.

Bark at the Park

We're all set to take our sweet dog Cookie to Bark at the Park on May 29th at Texas Ranger stadium. We've never done it before, but I think it will be fun. I made her a really Cute tutu to wear along with her other Ranger gear. I'll take pictures and share them after the game, but I'm kind of excited about taking our little 4 legged friend! We aren't taking the other two dogs. Sasha is not an outdoor kind of woman! She likes to be inside, just taking her out to do her business is sometimes a challenge. Winston has a real issue with wanting to bark & get irritable with other dogs even when he's on a leash. I think it's his short man syndrome (since he's a miniature schnauzer).

Seriously.... How could you say "No" to that face?!?!?!

Off to a Rotten Start!

Spoiled Rotten that is! Little Critter isn't much bigger than an English Pea, and is already creating quite a stir around the house! We've already got several little things to put in a book for him or her.
This is us the day we found out about the Little Critter. Somehow every time there is a big event in our life we end up on Mom & Dad's porch. It's where we had our 1st kiss, where Jon proposed, where I took a couple of my bridal pictures with our 1st dog Sasha, and now our 1st picture as expecting parents!

For Mother's Day Jon got me flowers!

And this cute little shirt :)

Look at the loot! OU Sooner baby bedding & mobile! OU booties & hat! Dallas Cowboy booties! Converse tennis shoe socks! Special bottles & dummies for breast fed babies. Jewel's Lullaby album! A Pooh photo album & keepsake box (Thank you Big Mama & Daddy Doc!) I got the onesie with his or her first Pooh (I love Pooh! & Little Critter does too ;) ) Jon got the book from our dear friend Ms. Diann Rankin (He's actually reading it!)

The books are a combination of mine & Jon's childhood collections that our parents have given us. Jon gave me the 3 Wonder Pets in my Easter basket because we're always singing the Wonder Pet song, and as he said, "It doesn't matter if we have a girl or boy because most kids love the Wonder Pets!"

The Big News!

We are going to be parents! Since it is still too early to know if we are having a boy or a girl, and I can't stand to refer to a baby as an "It" I decided on a good gender neutral nickname for Baby Trammell. When I was little my sister & I loved the Little Critter books, and when I thought about it today it just seemed to fit, so let me make the Big Announcement....
We're Having A Little Critter!
We've gotten so many phone calls, texts, inbox messages, and sweet comments on Facebook from our friends & family. I'm going to print them all up to put in a book for our Little Critter! We've prayed for, and waited for this a long time. God is so good!

Easter Recap

My sister Jordan got to come in for a few days before Easter, so we had to do a few fun/festive things :)

We each painted a Pair of TOMSJordan, Josh, Mom, Jon, & I dyed Easter eggs. Aren't they the brightest, most fabulous you've ever seen ;)

We also got a pedicure, which was a very unpleasant experience for me. Seriously! I always end up with some oriental GUY that either pulls out a potato peeler or a cheese grater & goes after my foot like it is a hunk of Parmesan cheese! Really my feet aren't that bad, by the time he was finished my feet were as tender as the skin of a grape. I made the mistake of walking 2 fast miles the next day & got two really big blisters. I might have whined about it a little.... I might have made the statement that I am not going back to one of those torture parlors for the rest of the summer... Jon, being the sweetheart that he is got me a Migi nail art kit for my Easter basket so that "the mean nail men" can't hurt me anymore ;)

Our Royal Wedding Party

Who says you had to be in London in order to throw a Royal Wedding Party? My Mom, Aunt Jamie, Cousin Morgan, Me & Jon (for part of the night) had a real shin dig! My Mom is a master when it comes to throwing a party. Together we did all of the cooking for mine, Jordan's, and a couple other wedding receptions, we've done baby showers, wedding showers, birthdays, graduations, swim parties, wedding rehearsal dinners, going away parties, Christmas parties... You name it, we've done it! Being the only child still living in town, she has made me an apprentice. When we found out the date for Wills & Kate's wedding, we decided it would be a great excuse of a girl party. It was a blast! We laughed, ate, looked at magazines, dressed up, and watched the wedding. As a little girl I fell in love with Princess Diana, she was a real live honest to goodness Princess! Not just one out of fairy land, but the real thing! I remember feeling sick when I heard she was in a bad car accident, and I just couldn't believe it when she died. I felt like someone I knew had passed away. My Mom & Aunt Jamie both remember staying up to watch her & Charles get married, and we all stayed up to watch her funeral. (I wasn't born when Di & Charles got married, or I'm sure I'd have been watching too!) So, yesterday we watched Diana's son marry Catherine, and now the world has a new Princess.

A Divine "So That..."

I'm pretty sure most of us have asked the question, "Why God?" One of my faults is that I am, and always have been a brooder. When something bothers me, I don't just let it roll off like water on a duck's back. Not only that, but for some reason I'm also good at taking on the worries or problems of others, and stewing about them as well. I hate to see people suffer in any way, but I learned something last two weekends ago at the Beth Moore conference in Little Rock that for some reason has continued to replay over & over in my mind.

First of all, just like sand through His fingers, nothing happens in our life that hasn't first been sifted through the hand of God. There are a lot of non-believers out there that would challenge that by saying... "If God is so in control, then how could He let so many horrible things happen? Why would a loving God allow people to go through so much physical, mental, & emotional pain?" The thing that has been playing on and on in my mind is this... No matter what happens, there is A Divine "So That..." We can't always know what it is until later, and sometimes it is for the benefit of someone else that we don't even know.

The best way I can explain it is through examples:

"Why did my best friend as a little girl have to die from drowning?"

* It is a different "So that" for each person effected, but mine was So that I would become a great and very safety minded swimmer, and I would teach close to 400 children how to swim. I don't know how many of those children I taught through the years have had some sort of incident where knowing how to swim & the other safety things I taught them saved their lives, but I know that it saved my life when my family had a very bad white water rafting accident in Montana in 1998.

"Why is it that every time we get a substantial amount of money saved something happens, & we end up having to use it all?"

*So that I would realize that He will provide for us, & we can't allow money to be the thing we draw our comfort & security from.

"Why have I had to deal with weight gain, hair loss, and all the other unattractive things that come with thyroid disease when I'm so young & supposed to be looking the best I'll be in my life?"

* So that He could show me that I'm a lot more than what I look like on the outside, and that I have placed too much value in my own vanity, which is useless.

"Why am I so alone right now?" (this was a few months ago)

* So that I would depend upon Him & He could reveal Himself to me as real, and as close to me as any person I can see with my own eyes, or touch with my hand.

"Why did You allow a dear family that my cousin knows to lose their home in the tornado last night?"

* I've imagined "What if it had been us?" It has already caused me to realize that the only thing in my house that isn't replaceable are the people & of course my sweet little animals. I used to have a mental list of things that I'd grab in case of a disaster, and one was my wedding rings if I happened to have them off because they are sentimental and more monetarily valuable than any other single thing I own (I should know, it took Jon the whole first year we were married to pay them off). This has really caused me to think... it isn't the rings that make my marriage, in fact they are really just an ornament - a thing. If Jon needed something & we had to have the money I wouldn't hesitate to sell them. As much as I really love my house, it isn't the bricks & mortar that make a home, it is the people in it that matter the most.

There are other things that have happened to me that I'm still learning the "So that," and I'm sure there are others that I won't be able to understand for years. In whatever you may be dealing with, there is a "So that," if you are willing to let Him guide you & teach you.

Cotton Candy

I love cotton candy, don't you? I wish it was time for the Texas state fair in Dallas, because I'd have to head over to Fair Park, and get myself a bag of it. For some reason their cotton candy is always perfect. It doesn't have sticky lumps, or hard crusty clumps of sugar in it. It is just like eating a pink cloud. Two of my favorite recent discoveries are related pink cotton candy.

I may be one of the last people to finally try it, but I've found the most delicious smelling perfume ever! It's from Italy & it's called Pink Sugar by Aquolina, it isn't too strong & it doesn't smell like kiddy play perfume. I've worn it when I've been out and about the past week, and had strangers ask me what I was wearing. One woman what was checking out my purchase at the store said I smelled like Heaven! Now that is a pretty high compliment, so if you're up for something new this spring, give it a try.

As you know I paint, and I love to look at other artists work. This week I stumbled across the work of William or "Will" Cotton. All I can say is Incredible! His painting look like photographs they are so good! If you're interested you should visit his website http://www.willcotton.com/ I especially love his cotton candy cloud girls.

I was so inspired that I painted my own 30 x 24 inch cotton candy clouds. This layer has to dry before I can add more definitions or paint anything else in them. I just haven't decided who or what it is that I'm going to add in them.