Steroids kick my butt

Oh my gosh....so when I picked up my prescriptions, the pharmacist said, "You'll be up till 3am cleaning your house."  I thought she was kidding.  No, she wasn't.  I went to bed at 11.  I'm not sure when I went to sleep but I know I felt like it took forever.  K came in at 1:50 because he was coughing. So, tucked him in, got back in bed.  Levi rolled over around 3:30 and I got tickled because I was still WIDE awake.  I got up & checked my email, paid bills, read my Bible, and finally went back to bed around 5:15 and my alarm went off at 6:15-ish.  I had to take 2 pills yesterday too.  Again, had a hard time getting to sleep.  A came in around 3am and again, took some time to get back to sleep.   I'll be glad to be off of this medicine.  I'm not a fan of being on meds....especially those, that was just weird.

weekend

It's Tuesday and I've felt yucky off and on since Sat. night.  Today I went to Dr. Neiman, who is incredible.  His practice is Mercy Bridge Medical.  He takes no insurance and definitely is a huge help if you have high copays or need to be seen quick.  He gave me steroids & antibiotics for my allergies/sinus/congestion and also adjusted my back & neck. I feel so much better tonight.  Yeah.

We had a great weekend.  It was pretty laid back.  We had a nice family lunch and then split up.  A and I got our nails done and just enjoyed being together. It was nice.  Sunday, I got to lead worship, you can check it out here if you're interested.  I'm glad that I'm learning that perfection does not equal success.  I'm learning to be a little more free & enjoy myself and fight back my urge to be critical of myself. 

We enjoyed spending President's Day at the zoo with the Sprangs. It was lots of fun.  Hope you were able to enjoy your weekend as well!!

Irons in the Fire

We always seem to have lots of irons in the fire around here and life is never dull.  In the past week, Levi and I have been able to enjoy 3 nights together while our kiddos were with a babysitter...not so great on the budget but super great on the relationship...sometimes you just do what you have to:)  Tonight, we were given free tickets to a Dallas Stars game.  Our friend is collecting all the bobble heads of the players and she was going to be out of town.  She offered us the tickets as long as we could get the bobble heads...no pressure right?!!  Well, this afternoon was kind of crazy. We rushed out the door to go to Chickfila for A's spirit night, rushed back home so we could leave, we were waiting on the babysitter, we rush out the door.  We get about 15 -20 minutes down the road and I realize that I do not have the tickets.  So, we rush back home, call a friend to meet us at a neighborhood school so we don't have to weave back in neighborhood, etc etc...get the tickets and make it to the game at 7:05 instead of our scheduled 6:40 to find that they had an ABUNDANCE of bobble heads.  We breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy a great night of hockey.  It was a lot of fun and Levi is quite entertaining no matter where we are.  Another random story....hopefully I'll be able to fill you in on some of the other irons later in the week!

Valentine's Day

We've been celebrating Valentine's Day and will continue through tomorrow. It's actually been a lot of fun around here.
Friday night, we had a double date with our friends Katy & Boyd.  It's always fun when you're friends with your friend's husband/wife.  We all four get along really well and this year, Katy and I thought it'd be fun to let the boys pick the date.  This was our third year celebrating Valentine's with them.  The Dallas Bicycle Cafe just opened right behind their shop so Boyd thought it'd be fun to do a Friday night ride around White Rock Lake and then eat there afterwards.  Reluctantly at first, Katy and I agreed.  We kept a watch on the weather.  It was COLD on Friday night and the organized ride didn't start until 7:45.  We were determined! The four of us got bundled up and actually left a little earlier.  It was so much fun and I am surprised that I enjoyed it so.  My hiney is still a little sore from the "saddle" but that was my only complaint. We got to talk and enjoy the scenery of a night ride. We saw a coyote, beaver, and raccoon. It was great. We topped the night off at the Bicycle Cafe and just had a great time.  Definitely one of the most memorable Valentine dates.  And, I love that Levi had fun and he loved that I had fun.  Perfect night!!
Tonight, we went out as a family to Carinos (1/2 off family platters on Mondays).  We really just enjoyed each other. We told each person something we loved about them.  It was a lot of fun.
I just got to play Cupid and lay out the goodies for Valentine's Day.  Fortunately, I got each kid a toy on Walmart's clearance rack a few weeks ago.  I also hit up Target's dollar spot 50% off sale and we always get an edible treat and balloon from the Dollar Tree.  Both sets of grandparents sent goodies and Mimi (great grandmother) also sent a card for the kids.  They racked up!! There's even a card for Levi and I in there...woot woot!!  I think I spent $10 on each kid. I love a deal.
Levi and I usually don't buy gifts but....we've been wanting a juicer.  Levi found a great deal on Amazon and I've been saving up my rewards points on my Scentsy card so we paid $11 for a juicer that is now sold out and selling for lots more than it was selling for last week when we bought it. Woohoo! Again, I love a deal.  Our juicer should arrive tomorrow so Happy Valentine's Day to us!
Tomorrow, we will have a nice, quiet (ha), candlelight dinner at home and maybe enjoy a freshly juiced drink for dessert!

Meal Plan for this Week

Here is our Meal Plan for this week (thank you emeals, click banner on side for more info)

Sunday: Red Beans & Rice, Tomatoes & Cucumber Salad

Monday: Sirloin Steak with carmelized onions, cheesy broccoli, steamed potatoes

Tuesday: Island Chicken with tropical salsa & rice pilaf

Wednesday:  Honey Garlic Pork chops with peas & strawberries

Thursday: Mac N Cheese Pie with romaine & orange salad

Friday: Greek Tilapia, Lemon Pepper Green Beans, & Spinach Salad

Saturday:  Cheesy Vegetable Chowder with Cornbread Muffins

I might change the days around depending on weather.  We celebrated Valentine's Day last night (another blog to come).  We were given some hockey tickets so we might have an impromptu date night but this is the plan.

And, another blog entry down. (thank you April for your encouragement & inspiration!!)

Anxiety vs Hemlines

It's 11pm....I'm usually pretty wiped out by now but for some reason I'm not.  I'm listening to our worship music for tomorrow's service.  I'm surfing facebook, such a time sucker.  I'm thinking.  The older I get, the more I am learning about myself but the more I realize I need to work on.  I hate that part.  I feel like at some point, it should be easy.  It's not.  As a wife, I struggle to be selfless and loving and I don' always recognize all the positives that are around me.  As a mom, I struggle with making little things a big deal and being joyful and savoring every second with my kiddos.  As a pastor's wife I struggle with worrying about what others think and wanting everyone to "get it" and to do what they're supposed to in our community to show the love of Jesus.  As a friend, I struggle to stay connected to all the people I want to stay connected to. As an individual, I struggle with wearing all the hats that I feel like I "should" wear and staying with it, I struggle with what others think and how I measure up. So all that to say, I'm feeling a little anxious.........
And then I read in John 14: 27, I'm leaving you well and whole. That's my parting gift to you. Peace. I don't leave you the way you're used to being left-feeling abandoned, bereft. So don't be upset. Don't be distraught. 
So, we're to have peace, we're not to be distraught or left feeling abandoned. Now contextually, Jesus is talking to the disciples.  He is comforting them in a way. So, I know that right, I get it.  I get that we are supposed to relinquish worry, anxiety, fear, etc.  It's so much easier to write that and say it but living it out is a challenge.  I read that chapter and I'm reminded that the very men who literally lived life with Jesus still questioned and asked "stupid" questions.  They lived with him and they still struggled with understanding.  I can kind of let myself off of the hook. The truth is that  Jesus was a mystery of sorts. It seemed that He always shocked those around Him (His followers and those that were not so much followers).  But he was captivating.  People who encountered Him knew He was a big deal.  When He touched them, they were forever changed even without understanding all there was to know.  I love that.  
I love the image of the woman who had so much faith that the thought of touching the hem of His robe would heal her.  That's crazy faith.  I love it.  
And I realize that I fall short all too often, as you read above.  I want to be a hem grabber.  I want to go to the Father with every ounce of my being.  I want to live carefree (not in an irresponsible way) but in a worry free way.  I want to let God be in control of all the parts of me, wife, mom, pastor's wife role, friend, me...all of me.  I love that He wants the same.  He pursues me.  He wants me to let go and grab His hem.  That's such a cool visual to me.  
I needed to get all of that out.  I've been thinking about this a lot this week.  Thanks for reading.

Quick Thoughts

So the last week and a half have been crazy and emotional and excruciating and endearing and stressful all at the same time.  So, some of our great friends mother died last week very suddenly.  This was a first for me on a lot of different levels.  Fortunately, I have not had a lot of run ins with death.  This was unexpected, it was unexplained, it was unfathomable.  It was a first to walk with my friends through this.  It was a first as a pastor's wife.  As we walked in the hospital the morning that they were taking her off of the respirator, Levi looked at me and said, "Like it or not, today you are the embodiment of Christ in the form of a pastor's wife."  That felt very weird to me.  I'm not sure I can live up to that...it sounded like a big job.  I didn't/don't have words to say.  I cried with them and hugged them.  I'm not sure I've felt pain that intensely for someone else. I'm not trying to be overly dramatic but it's amazing to me that you can hurt so much for another person.  I did.  After that event, I've been very reflective and emotions have come out in a variety of ways.  There were some positives for me from the last week. 

• I want to be a wife, mom, and friend who loves hard. I want to laugh a lot and have lots of joy.  
• I want to appreciate the people around me and every second that we have together.
• 4 years ago, when we had no one in Texas, Levi looked at me and said, "Heather, one day we'll have people who love us and people we can leave our kids with."  A week ago Sunday when we had friends who took care of our kids so we could be with our friends in Houston, and when we received numerous texts from other friends offering to take care of our dog, kids, and thanking us for making the trip, I knew that moment was now.  
• Living life with people is hard because not only do you get to do the fun stuff like parties, girls nights, brisket cookouts, New Year's Eve, Christmas dinners, it also means you walk with them at funerals and when they are grieving so hard it physically hurts.  
• My husband is amazing.  I am so proud of him.  He is wise and he is knowledgeable.  He knows the right things to say at the right moment when I turn into a blubbering fool and say all the wrong things.  I was so proud of him during the funeral service, it was his first and he did a great job.  I fall more in love with him each Sunday as he preachers (that's not weird is it?).  I love how God is using him and so thankful he is willing to be used.
• I want to learn to shut up and just smile and nod with people instead of having to be right.
• I love our church and am so glad they are part of our family.  I am constantly and consistently amazed at their generosity, their authenticity, and their love.  We are blessed for sure.
• I miss my parents and sister more than I can express with words.  

Those are my quick thoughts for tonight.  

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