My Most Boring Post

Get your attention? Well, this IS truly the most boring post you'll get from me. Why? I've been trying to blog all week about our recent family vacation. But when we were gone, I needed to dump my memory card and the only place to do that was on Superman's laptop. If you follow him on either his blog, his business website, his Twitter or his Facebook you will notice that he has completely been hogging the computer this week! Now, I'm not going to completely complain because he is trying to market his business and I'm proud of him. BUT . . . my blog is starting to grow cobwebs. :-)

Anyhow, as you anxiously await my next post, feel free to keep up by checking out Superman's blog and my bestie's blog. They are both up to date!

BTW ~ If you follow Superman's blog (or facebook or Twitter . . .) he often offers "specials" for his followers. Check him out!

Labor Day Outing

Like most working parents, Superman and I have to wait for the weekends or holidays to have "day dates" with our kiddos. What stinks about that is so does every other working parent so the "fun" places are crowded. On Labor Day, it was no different but we decided we didn't care and took the girls to the zoo. We didn't care how crowded it was - we were going to have a fun day at the zoo! And fun we had :-) Here are some pics to sum it up . . .

Right now, they are at the ages where they love each other!

But Chloe's not as sure about water - she's kinda girly

Hannah on the other hand LOVES the water!

Trying to tell sissy "it's okay, c'mon in!"

And although daddy is a real photographer, mommy is the blog photographer so I'm rarely seen in my own blog . . .

Except when I make Superman take a pic of me with my girls! I love those 2 faces. They make my smile big and bright :-)

Get a Line!

As Superman was growing up, he spent lots of time at the lake with his family. Me . . . not so much. He has enjoyed fishing for as long as he can remember. Me . . . not so much! Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with fishing. I've just never really been around it so I never grew to enjoy it. Superman was baiting, casting, reeling and starting all over again from the time he was able to carry his own pole. (BTW, he's not even home right now. I really do know all those terms!) His mom loves to tell me about his different fishing adventures when he was little. She said that as soon as the car stopped, he would be grabbing his pole and tackle box and heading down to the water before they even realized what was going on.

Since I knew of this love for fishing from the very day we met, I can't complain. But I knew what I was in for when I would catch him singing with Hannah "You get a line, I'll get a pole, honey. You get a line, I'll get a pole, babe." Then I REALLY knew I was in trouble when Hannah got old enough to sing with him and they would alternate lines! It was too cute! But I knew what was coming...

So, when we were packing the car for our recent visit to Houston I was not at all surprised to see 2 fishing poles in the back of the Envoy. And even less surprised that Hannah kept talking about "fishing with Papa and Daddy" all the way there (when she wasn't watching movies of course)! Ya see, the place we were staying had a catch-and-release pond and Papa's RV was parked right on the water's edge.

But this year was a little different. In the past, John barely got to fish because he was helping Hannah bait her hook then watching her more than fishing himself. All that patience finally paid off. This time around, Hannah was baiting her own hook - with real worms (only needing a little help with "pinching" the tough ones) - and casting like a pro. She even caught more than her daddy one day! Was she ever excited :-)

And while this momma doesn't enjoy fishing, I do enjoy this site:

And then there's this one:

Chloe's even starting to get in on the action. But I'm not sure she's going to settle down long enough to really learn it! :-)

Here are some just to enjoy. I hope they make you smile. But I can tell you for sure that as much as I don't love fishing, I do love that Superman has this past time to share with his girls . . . well, at least one of them :-)

Relationships . . . Easy? I think not!

So when I started this blog, I had an idea what I wanted it to be. It has turned into something completely different than my original plan . . . but that's okay. I like what it has become :-) It has become my outlet. Not necessarily for venting or expressing anger. But for letting the thoughts out of my brain. That's what this is all about tonight. I've been writing this in my head for over a week now. I don't know why I didn't think to blog it before!

So, we start building relationships from the day we are born. We build a relationship with our parents. Other family members came next. Then siblings (at least in my case that was next). Sometime soon after that (or in the midst of all that for other people) we start school and have to develop even more relationships - teachers, classmates, bus drivers . . . Before we know it, there are employers and co-workers. Boyfriends or girlfriends. And for most, eventually husband or wife (which brings more family members into the mix!) and often children. I know there can be other relationships but these are the basics.

Why do I think relationships are NOT easy? They all take work. Well, at least if you want to have a good one. How many of you can say you have a good relationship with someone that you have not spoken to or seen in over a year? Too often, we loosely use the word "friend." I've been more aware of my semantics lately and began clarifying with "a girl I went to high school with" or "someone I used to work with."

I have learned the value of true friendship. This is never an easy lesson because it means you'll see the truth about a "friend" at some point in your life. What's awesome about a true friend is this . . . you may not always agree but you care enough about each other to work through it. AND you care enough about each other to share when you think the other is getting themselves into something that may not be the best for them. And you love them - even if they end up getting them self into a mess! I've been on both sides of that kind of friendship - most recently when my bestie shared that she thought I was making a wrong decision. Turns out it didn't pan out anyway but that's beside the point. We have worked on our relationship enough that we were able to share our thoughts with each other, even though it may have hurt initially, and still love each other through our disagreements.

And in marriage? THAT'S a relationship that takes some work! Why does it take more? Because this is the person that you vowed to spend the rest of your life with. Don't get me wrong. Superman and I have a great marriage. But that doesn't mean it's easy or without its own problems. We have our share of disagreements and frustrations. But with God's guidance and good communication (which in itself takes a lot of work) we work it out. I'm more and more grateful for this as I see the sad reality of so many around me who have gone through, are going through or are contemplating divorce. Such a sad situation for all involved; often because they are not willing to work on the relationship.

What's the point in sharing all of this? Well, basically to offer hope! No matter what your history has been with relationships, there is someone who wants to offer you the most amazing relationship ever! No matter where you come from. No matter where in life you are now. No matter where your life is headed. Jesus Christ loves you so much and wants a relationship with you so desperately that he gave his life for you! The Bible - God's Holy Word - tells us that no greater love has a man than this, that he lay down his life for a friend (John 15:13). And God loves us enough that He sent his ONLY SON to die as a sacrifice for our sin (John 3:16)!

I personally entered this personal relationship with Jesus Christ at the age of 7. I am not going to tell you that life is easy or that it is all fun-and-games. But I can tell you that without Him, I would have no hope for my future. Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? If not, I'd love to share with you how you can! Until then, I pray that the relationships we have here on Earth all lead to Him. And I pray that I will be bold enough to begin sharing this story with the other party in every Earthly relationship I have.

Pray for me . . . I'll pray for you!

Out of my comfort zone

Tonight is Monday. Superman goes to a Men's Meeting (Bible/Book study with other Christian men, mostly from our church) on Monday nights. Usually, the girls and I will hang out with my mom and sisters but they are at Falls Creek (mom is cooking again) so it was just me and mine :-) I really enjoy spending time with them doing things like this:

But today was a crazy long day at work and I just didn't feel like going home. There is too much work here to do and I knew I wouldn't relax and spend time with them. So, we headed to a favorite hang out for dinner and play time . . . Chick-Fil-A!!! One reason I like going there is because it is a Christian based business and I will support those as often as I can ~ even though it is frustrating that (even though it's one of the things I like about them!) they are closed on Sundays ;-) The other big factor in my liking to go there is that the girls will choose the fruit cups over the french fries! They don't even ask for fries (I think they believe fruit is the norm at Chick-Fil-A!) and I like that they are making a healthy choice.

So, after we ate dinner, they did a little of this . . .

THEN . . . a little of this!

Then, Hannah decided she wanted to be a photographer too.

What I didn't get pictures of was the incredibly nice family we befriended in the play area. It was a mom, a dad, an 18 month old girl and a 6 year old boy. The kids all played together really well (it was only the 4 of them in the play area) and their parents and I were able to strike up a conversation about nothing other than . . . our families :-)

I didn't find out a whole lot about them other than the 6 year old will be attending the same school as Dallas and Makenna and will be in 1st grade so there is a chance he and Makenna will be in the same class. What a small world! The entire time we were talking, God was prompting me to invite them to church. But I kept fighting it. I would make a comment here and there about things like "my husband's at a Bible study right now so we thought we'd come play" and "our Hispanic pastor's daughter is so smart" but never flat out said anything about Christianity or church.

As they left the play area to eat their dinner and the girls and I went to get our ice cream, I could NOT get God's voice out of my head. What made the whole thing worse is that just yesterday, dad's sermon was about being "sent" (which is also the theme at Falls Creek youth camp this week. So, I said to myself "Tabitha, God is giving you an awesome opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and STEP UP!" As I looked into my purse to grab my keys, here is how God worked:

First, I realized that I had a blank offering envelope in my purse with our church name, address and other information on it.

Second, the mom took the little girl to wash her hands (she had to pass by our table).

Then I finally stepped out - out of my comfort zone. I wrote my name and the names of my brother and sister who may get to meet her son on the back of the envelope. She had told me where they live and I had mentioned it was close to my parent's house. As she walked back by, I stopped her and said something about how it was so nice to have met them and gave her the envelope first showing her the side with the names and then said "and I don't know if you all attend church anywhere, but if you don't, there is information about the church we attend on the other side. We would love to have you visit sometime!" And her answer . . . "yeah! I know where that is! We may just come see you sometime. Thanks for the invitation."

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, let me start by saying that it is not to boast. Remember, I told you it took a lot of things for me to build up this courage so if anything, I should be embarrassed that this does not come naturally - so definitely not boasting!

I share for this reason alone. I want to encourage myself and you. Striking up a conversation is so natural for most people. Silence is more awkward. But striking up a conversation about our faith? Why is it so hard? Who knows if I will ever see this family again? But I can rest tonight knowing that I followed God's prompting. And I know that if a similar situation arises again, I AM able to carry on the simplest of conversations. God leading, this will happen again. I pray that next time, I will be more willing and more ready!

So, the rain couldn't stop THIS party!

Chloe's party was SUPPOSED to be a fun time playing in the water . . . . sprinklers, water balloons, etc. However, God had other plans.

But that didn't stop our party! The day started out like any other.



Then, after a "quick trip" to the store (1st weekend of the month, holiday weekend and POURING rain) to pick up the cake and a few other items, I got home with just 45 minutes to get myself ready and fix the girls's hair. I think I cleaned up mighty nice, though! :-)

Now, I was really nervous about the cake because the bakery I ALWAYS use was closed for vacation all week. But, my back-up plan paid off. The cake was great and pretty cute, too :-)

Then, Superman grilled the hot dogs

While I took some pics of the birthday girl

THEN, family and friends decided to join in on the fun. Hot dogs and chips followed by cake and popsicles!










THEN the presents . . .

Yes, that's a quad . . . THANKS grandma and grandpa . . .

Clean up wasn't too bad, either. All in all . . . party was a success! I'm so grateful for family and friends who love my baby girl. I just still can't believe she is going to be 2 in just a few days!!!