Out With The Olds

Dear 1999 Oldsmobile Alero,

It is with mixed emotions that I come to you today.  Mostly, I feel excitement, yet, I also feel a twinge of sadness.  You see, the time has come for me to let you go.  You have served me very well over the last seven years, and we have had many good times together.  You faithfully have taken me to and from Alabama- close to 60 times actually, as well as other road trips to neighboring states.  For that I thank you.  One time you did leave me stranded along the Tennessee interstate, but that may have been due to negligence on my part.  I apologize.  I hope you don't become hurt and defensive at my actions toward you, but you have become a safety hazard to my life, along with providing many inconveniences to me.  Let's just talk about those for awhile, shall we?  For starters, you insist that I rev the engine immediately after starting you up, and if I don't, you threaten to shut down.  You do periodically follow through with that threat.  In fact, there have been times where you have not only followed through, but then you refused to start for about three days after.  You've done that twice.  I'm not sure why- I've tried to take good care of you!  You light up your dashboard like Christmas, and even when I take care of what you're reminding me of, whether it be tires, oil, etc., you still leave the lights on.  That makes me feel bad, like you don't appreciate what I've just done for you.  The cruise control?  You force me to tape it down with masking tape, or else you won't allow me set it.  Not only does this cause for a sticky mess, it also makes me look a little redneck like.  Now, the gas tank.  I'm not sure what kind of games you're playing with me, but most cars point the needle on the gas gauge towards the E when the gas is low.  For some reason, you have decided to point yours towards the F instead.  I would give you the benefit of the doubt and say maybe you struggle with dyslexia, but you never used to do that so I know that you know better.  All things considered though, you've been a good car.  However, you need new tires desperately, and the price of the tires will cost about half of what you're even worth.  That, combined with all of the things we just talked about, led me to believe that it was just time to trade you in.  I was really hoping our relationship could last one more year until I finished school, but it's just not going to make it.  So without further ado, I bid you farewell.  I will miss you.

Love,

Sarah

 

 

 

Dear 2011 Ford Fusion,

I know we've just met, but I'm so excited to get to know you!  I look forward to many miles travelled together, karaoke concerts, times of deep thought, and whatever else the coming years might bring.  Even though we've only been together less than a day, I can tell I will be forming an emotional attachment with you, much like I did with the Alero.  I'm ready to start our adventure together!
Love,

Sarah

WAKE UP!!!

If you're on facebook, you've probably already seen these pictures.  Sorry.  But just to recap Girl's Camp 2013- it was awesome, as usual!  Our theme was WAKE UP!, and our theme verse was Romans 13:11.  "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time, to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." 

 

With the theme, they went with slumber party stuff, and our cabin name was the Steadfast Sleeping Bags.  Sleeping bags make me think of camping so that's how we decorated.

 

 

Each of our girls got a "camping survival kit" upon arrival, filled with glowsticks, a bug repellent wristband, a bandana, a s'more kit, and baked beans. 

 

We had a great group of girls!  Camp was a little bit smaller this year and we only had eight to start with, then one never showed so we just had seven.  But we sure loved being together!

 

Not only were the girls great, but I was blessed with a FANTABULOUS co-counselor:)  Loved getting to know her!

 

Here we all are again- I just like this one because it shows off our fun campground decorations.

 

I sat down to watch the field games and had every intention to only be a spectator during the water fight.  But things changed and I ended up being one of the most drenched people.  Post water fight picture with two of my hometown girls.

 

And just a fun one we snapped before the huge group picture.

 

Other highlights included the speakers, testimonies, the lake, singing (nothing quite like girls camp singing), amazing food, renewing friendships and creating new ones.  While I am praising God for another great year, it sure is nice to catch up on sleep!  This morning I completely slept through my alarm and only woke up when my dad knocked on my door (40 minutes later) asking me if I needed to leave for work.  Good thing he was here cause I was still completely zonked out!  Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow...

Two Different Kinds Of Sad

On Sunday I attended the funeral of a young husband, daddy, son, brother.  Today I heard of an old family friend's passing.  Two incredibly sad scenarios.

The first scenario brings a lot of heartache.  Heartache for the family who will never be the same.  But in the middle of that heartache, there is also joy to be felt.  Joy, because in the face of great trial, this family allowed God to use them in mighty ways.  Joy, because Zach has been healed and is now able to worship Jesus face to face.  Joy, because they will one day join him in that worship.

The second scenario brings a whole different kind of sadness.  This man, who was almost 90 years old, lived a very full life.  He served in the Army, he was an inspiring teacher, and he served in the Peace Corps.  He never married, so he does not leave behind a family.  He lived his life as a minimalist, being careful to not be wasteful and only using and owning what he truly needed.  He was unlike any person I've ever known.  But the sadness I feel for him runs much deeper.  He spent his whole life proclaiming atheism and denying the truth of Jesus Christ.  I feel no joy or hope when I think about his death.  I can only pray that on his deathbed he finally softened his heart, and I can only pray that God has mercy on his soul.

In a time where people go to such great lengths to eliminate the Truth, I urge you to please take a good, long look at the world around you.  Though it can sometimes be difficult, we must stand up for this Truth and stop sugar coating the Word of God!

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel"  Mark 1:15

"I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish."  Luke 13:3

Jesus invites you!
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he will sup with me."  Revelation 3:20

"The greatest tragedy of life is not to die young, but to live a long, robust life and never use it in the service of the King." - Unknown

Please don't deny Him any longer.  Please make sure that when you die, it will be with the first kind of sadness rather than the second.

The New Man In My Life

It was love at first sight.  I knew he was something special the instant I laid eyes on him:)  My new nephew, Cooper James, has already won my heart.  I wish I had a picture of him with his two older sisters.  They're pretty excited about him too.  Weighing in at over 9 lbs., he's a solid little fella.  I can't wait to see him grow up!

 

 

I love me a burrito baby.  A little papoose.

It's Not Every Day...

I took this picture almost a month ago- it was the first gorgeous, sunny, 80 degree weather day of spring.  I was driving home from school and got caught up with this little pack of motorcycles for a couple minutes.  As they were going by me, I noticed they were all middle aged women!  It just made me laugh a little because it's not everyday that you see four middle age women out on their motorcycles together:)

 

Boots, Chaps, and Cowboy Hats

Now that school is out, I wanted to take a trip to Alabama before the busyness of summer set in.  Just so happens that one of the weekends I was looking at was rodeo weekend so that's the one I chose!  A trip that normally takes about 8 hours took 9 1/2 thanks to construction and rush hour in Nashville.  I spent a lot of time looking at the long string of cars ahead of me, inching along at a snail-like pace. 

 

 

I was excited to get there in time Friday night for the preschool graduation.  Most of the kids I know are gone by now, but there's a few left, and some have younger siblings now going to the preschool, so I still got to see them.  After graduation, I went with the other teachers to Applebee's for supper, where we had the ssslllllloooooooowwwwwwweeeeeesssssttttttt service ever.  EVER.  Eventually we said something to the manager and after that, we had 3 different servers and two different managers being overly kind and attentive.  Squeaky wheel gets the grease I guess.  At the end of the night, Susan picked up the plastic tray that the bill comes on and a piece of it snapped right off and flew into her water glass! 

 

Saturday night was the rodeo!  I get made fun of occasionally for how much I love it, but I can't help it- I just do!  One time in high school during an FFA convention, we went to a Bull Bash, and I've been hooked ever since.  I love the sight of all those cowboys just waiting for things to get started;)  We had really good seats- right by the chutes in the very front row.  Close enough to get splattered with mud that the bulls and broncs kicked up, which was actually really fun and added to the experience:)

 

The calf scramble- all those kiddos chasing after calves with ribbons tied around their tails.  Manage to pull a ribbon off and you win five dollars!  It was so muddy from the rain the night before that kids were running right out of their shoes, and one even ran right out of her pants!

 

I found a pretty cute cowboy while I was there!  About halfway through, I got a text from Devin's mom asking where I was sitting.  I had told her I was going but I didn't know they would be there so that was a fun surprise.  I spent the rest of the night sitting with them, and they had equally good seats as I did before so all was well:)  Sometimes when I'm with Devin, he makes sure I remember that he's a nine year old boy- saying things that make no sense, making farting noises, laughing at dumb stuff... But sometimes he acts really sweet and mature and makes my heart just overflow with love.  Saturday was a sweet and mature night.  I loved it!

 

I headed home Monday morning, and since I didn't have to be anywhere at a certain time, I didn't rush the trip.  Nashville has a huge farmers market with a Jamaican restaurant in it.  I've eaten at the restaurant before but never walked around the market.  So this time I stopped to eat and took the time to see what was there.  A big chunk of it was flowers, and they were beautiful! 

 

I have dreams of one day having a thriving garden, full of flowers and vegetables.  But in all reality, these are the plants that I should probably invest in.  I've never had much luck!

 

My DELICIOUS Jamaica cuisine.  Whetting my appetite for my trip in July!

 

Oh, and I threw this very short video on here that I took at the rodeo.  It looks like it loaded but I'm not sure if it will play or not.  It's only about 4 seconds long.  I think in the four or five different times I've gone to this rodeo, I've only seen one or maybe two bull riders make it to the 8 second buzzer!

No Use Crying

MISSING:

 

One purple lid and almost the entire contents of a milk jug.

 

 

FOUND:

 

One purple lid and almost the entire contents of a milk jug- UNDER THE FRONT SEAT OF MY CAR!!!!!

 

 

SO GROSS!!  I thought nothing of the fact that the 1/2 gallon jug of milk on my floor fell over on the way home from church.  Until I went to pick it up and noticed that the lid had popped off when it fell and almost the whole jug spilled out EVERYWHERE in the passenger side of my car.  My dad came to the rescue (on his birthday no less!) with the shop vac and I followed him with hot soapy water.  Then the shop vac.  The plain hot water.  Then the shop vac.  Then parking in the sunshine with the doors hanging wide open all afternoon.  So far so good but the real test will come when the 80 degree weather hits:)  But what can you do?  No use crying...