The Choice (by Max Lucado)

It's quite. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.



In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exhanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.



For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.



I choose love...

No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.



I choose joy...

I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of lazy thinkers. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problems as anything less than an opportunity to see God.



I choose peace...

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.



I choose patience...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.



I choose kindness...

I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.



I choose goodness...

I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.



I choose faithfulness...

Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My husband will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their mother will not come come.



I choose gentleness...

Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clentch my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.



I choose self-control...

I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self control.



Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlness, and self control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will see his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Things to remember

Three funny stories that I must write down before I forget them.  All three came out of the mouth of my spunky five year old.  What did our family do before we had her?

Story number one comes early one morning when my poor baby was sick.  In the early hours of the morning she climbed in bed with me, leaned over, and whispered in my ear,  "I'm sick mommy and it's all because of that boy and girl whose names I can't remember. The ones that lived in the garden."


Story number two came after Shelby heard two kids in her class talking about getting married.

Shelby: Momma, what is it that you say to a boy to order him to marry you?


Me: Is there a boy that you want to marry?

Shelby: No, I just want to practice.


Number three was just something funny she said today on the way to school.  "I am SO glad that we didn't live in the old days, back when cars had wagon wheels."

It was a Sunday

As most of you know, our sweet Sandy passed away a few months ago.  I was devastated and missed her more than I can say. In this family, pets are not just animals, but very special members of the family. So a couple months ago when I spotted a smaller, darker version of my Sandy mixed in with the shelter dogs at Petsmart, I melted and adopted the little thing!   Truthfully, I can't remember much about that day except that it was a Sunday.  In hindsight, I think I must have temporarily lost my mind!  How could I forget how much work puppies are, especially slightly neurotic ones?

Nugget is around 18 months old and a sweet dog (sometimes).  He has been  abused and even lost an eye due to that abuse.  Don't even get me started on my rant about people who abuse or abandon animals! He was one of hundreds of animals at the animal rescue league.  So many of them neglected or abused, dumped on the side of the road, locked in backyards without any attention for years, given away because they aren't as cute as they used to be, or worse, beaten and starved.  It makes me sick!  These sweet little faces, completely defenseless against the people who did them wrong.  Can you tell I feel a little strongly about this? 

So our Nugget has issues, who wouldn't after going through what he has been through.  He is finally coming around on potty training.  This after he peed on my bed (twice), and I almost forgot my policy on not beating animals.  He jumps on the table during meal time and tries to eat off peoples plates, but we are working through this.   Marker and crayons seem to be his drug of choice, and he will bite over them.  We are also working on this.  For now, he is my little one-eyed monster, and I am not sure I will ever feel towards him the way I felt about Sandy or feel about Huck.  The one thing that makes him endearing is his intense love for Huck and Huck's for him.  After a few "arguments" when everyone was still getting used to each other, they bonded like I have never seen two animals do.  Huck went from sleeping all day and crying when he wasn't sleeping (his reaction to Sandy's death) to running, playing and snuggling all day long. 

Things will get better I'm sure. I have gone from crying daily to only crying weekly so that's progress.  For now I need prayer.  Lots and lots of prayer!

Snow week

It snowed in El Paso, and we had record setting low temps for this area.  The whole week was crazy.
It was way to cold to go outside for more than  few minutes.  (need to invest in water-proof gear)

The wind blew so hard up on the mountain, where our house is, that we had at least two foot snow drifts against our doors.

Our heater froze from the cold, and we all had to sleep together upstairs. (that was actually a perk)

Our hot water heater froze and we had no hot water for five days. (not a perk)

Our swimming pool froze so deep that Bret couldn't break it, even with a sledge hammer.

The city had rolling blackouts for three days.  We only got hit once, and it lasted for only 45 minutes.  We were already using the fireplace for heat anyway so it didn't matter that much.

Once the temps got above freezing, which was about three days later, our pipes started breaking. We had six total.  Two of which flooded the house.  It took every towel we owned, a broom, and a couple of comforters to get the water cleaned up.  Then we had no water at all for two more days while they were being fixed.

Bret managed to make a small hole in the swimming pool, and he would climb up to the pool with a bucket to get water each time the girls needed to go to the bathroom. Now that's love!

Once the water was turned back on,  the city announced an emergency water crisis.  Water had to be boiled in order to drink it, and there was to be no water use for showers or laundry (remember the wet towels and comforters we still had). 

I let everyone take one shower anyway.  I figured that since we had not taken a "real" shower in five days, we had done our part in conserving. 
Potty training a new puppy is disastrous when the wind chill is below zero outside!

The girls missed an entire week of school.  First for the snow, then the blackouts, and finally the water crisis.

A picture from the five minutes that we managed to stay outside.  It was COLD!

Love Bugs

Happy Valentines Day!

New Year's Eve

What could be better on New Years Eve than spending it with one of your very best friends?  So glad Andrea and family were driving through El Paso!

Huck tried to make it to Midnight, but he just couldn't do it!

Can 't believe it

I simply can't accept that my little five pound baby is now nine years old! Where does the time go???  She has hit nine full force and is counting down the days till she is ten and a "tween."  I think that was a term that her older cousin shared with her, and she loves reminding Bret and me about it. I love watching her grow and become the young lady that she is, but I can't help but long for the days when she was my little baby snuggled up in my lap not letting anyone else touch her.  No matter how old she gets, she will always be my very first baby, and because of that hold a very special place in my heart.  (all my girls do for their own reasons)

This is the first time in a while that I have seen a big change in Abby.  The girl gets taller practically every week, her foot has jumped two sizes in less than a year, and her face is starting to look much older.  She is really coming out of her shell at school which is new for her.  I don't know if this is simply a matter of a really great teacher, or if Abby is overcoming some of her shyness.  Another new change, heaven help us, is this little attitude/personality that is developing.  I've been told it will only get worse through her teen years ( boarding school isn't sounding so bad anymore-just kidding!). Abby has always been my strong-willed child, but she is now giving new meaning to the term.  I love it and hate it all at the same time!  Love that she stays strong to what she feels, hate that what she feels is often in direct opposition to what I need her to be doing!  I know it will pass and so I pray for lots of patience and the ability to remain consistent.  I know it's all part of her growing and developing into the person God has intended her to be, and it is a wonderful gift to be a part of that each and every day.  She is my smart, funny, snugly girl who I love so much.  And when I start to get stressed or worried (which all mother's do), I cling to the promise that God gave us in Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Abby's class party at Bob O's was so much fun! Go Carts, Laser Tag, Arcade games, and Tilt A Whirl. Daddy and Uncle Davie had more fun playing laser tag than the kids.

For Abby's actual birthday, she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse because she despretly wanted to sit on the saddle while everyone sang to her.  Of course as soon as Nani and Papa heard this, it was off to Roadhouse we went! This was a super fun birthday for me because for the first time Abby asked for nothing but clothes.  She specifically wanted more stylish jeans "like the ones with tears." My mom and I had so much fun picking out stuff for her.  I even found her some little girl lip gloss and perfume.  There are some fun things about them growing up!