Long time no blog!

Wow, I kind of forgot about this blogging thing....it seems weird to pick it back up at this point but oh well, here goes! A lot has happened since my last post, took a child to college, miss child at college, got other kids started at school, miss kids while they are at school...you get the picture. I am slowly adjusting to life with 3 kids under our roof instead of 4. It is a process is all I can say. A very SLOW process. Remember the ripping? Well, it is not quite so bloody, and I would say that it feels like a slow tear. But I am adjusting.
I have started doing Moms In Touch this year and I absolutely love it. I thought I would just do one group, but I have ended up doing 3. It is very time consuming but I feel such peace whenever I leave. I love praying with other Moms for our children and leaving our concerns at the foot of the cross. I have already seen so many answers to prayer and my faith has grown by leaps and bounds. There are times that I feel like the women at the Moms in Touch group are holding me together and I don't even know them that well. It is so nice to know other women who have gone before me with problems that I now face. I am also doing a Beth Moore study at my church on the Fruit of the Spirit. I did it back in 2003 when Beth was taping but it is so nice to do it again. I especially love my small group, I have several of my buddies with me and I am enjoying getting to know the other ladies as well. Well, that's all for now, hopefully I can start blogging again!

Grace,
Dana

SSSSHHHHHH, SPLAT!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I went to the Astros game with our youth group last night and I was so excited because I haven't been able to do much this summer with them. I miss them all so much! Anyway, so we get to the game and we are all talking and having fun, Lindsee is sitting next to me and we are having a great time.....Enter cranky man in front of me. "Excuse me, are you with this group? Yes. Well, I am TRYING TO HEAR THE GAME, could you all be quiet, PLEASE?" (not said in a nice way....) WOW. We are at a baseball game. An outdoor sporting event. A baseball game. After I picked my teeth up, Lindsee and I couldn't stop laughing and shushing each other and everyone else around us. Let's just say, we have some awesome shushing pictures on her camera....please see her blog for those! I mean really, ITS A BASEBALL GAME!!!! Some people just aren't ever going to be happy with anyone or anything. We had fun anyway...Then on the way home, Kevin and a bunch of girls rode back with me and we were singing along to the Jackson 5...flashback! This 18 wheeler rode up next to us and Kevin was jammin and waved to him. I changed lanes to give him some room, then he joins us again. Kevin throws him the deuce and then HE SPITS A LOOGIE ON MY WINDSHIELD!!! At this point I am laughing so hard that I can't see and Kev needs oxygen! Do I have a target on my back or what. We get back to the church and I am telling everyone about our spit adventure and then David Martin says "you know, your kind of pissing me off just standing there doing nothing..." I think I peed my pants laughing...Life if NEVER BORING! Oh and can ya'll please keep it down out there, I am trying to write a blog here!!!!!

Laughing Out loud,
Dana

Anniversaries, and Air Conditioners....

So Bryant and I went to see Hairspray last night and it was such a cute movie....very light, very summer. It is so nice to go out with my husband of almost 22 years. (Yes, I got married when I was 8!) We will celebrate 22 on August 10th. Wow! It kind of freaks me out a little to think that I met my mate when I was 18 during my first semester at SFA. Did I mention that Brendan is going to SFA? Did I mention that he turns 18 tomorrow? Kinda freaky if you think about it. We thought we were old enough, mature enough, ready enough to get married. I look back now and know that it was the GRACE OF GOD that got us through. It really is amazing that we made it through with out killing each other. I am so blessed to have him. Anyway, on another note, we have been having an air conditioner/birthday extravaganza over here. We keep having problems with our air and Lindsee can testify that it has been interesting. We were hanging out one Sunday night because the before mentioned hubby was out of town when I started hearing a drip, drip, drip, hitting leather! Now, our couch is pretty new, so when you hear the drip on leather it sends you in to a panic! My words were "SAVE THE COUCH! Don't worry about the ceiling, SAVE THE COUCH! I was so glad that Lindsee was here to hold the flash light and make sure I didn't fall through the ceiling and it turned out that I had to turn off the unit and spend the night and the next day in a hot house waiting for the air guy. But, he ended up not charging us (nice man, thanks God) because he had been out so many times this year. I think we have reached some kind of quota....
We have been celebrating our July bdays this month...Ethan on the 20th, Megan on the 28th and Brendan on the 31st. Ethan had a moving watching party, Megan had a scrapboooking sleepover and Brendan doesn't want a party. I am trying to change his mind and have some friends over. I am a glutton for punishment. Yes, I know what you are thinking.....WEIRD! Three of the four within the span of a few days. (Collin is in May) We didn't plan it that way, but God did. It feels like Christmas with all the presents and planning, stressful but fun. My kids are so awesome, and I am so glad that God made them. My prayer today is to enjoy them and the time I have with them. To enjoy every crazy, mixed up, stressful, with out air conditioning day with my family. I love them all so much....

Grace,
Dana

Summer

So, I have been reading a lot this summer and just finished "Quaker Summer" by Lisa Samson, for all of you readers out there. It was such a great book to get you thinking about life, yet lite enough for a summer read. It is about a 40ish Mom going a little crazy and God calling her to a ministry in the urban part of her town. Very interesting......I am praying now that God would shake up my life a little as well. I know that He wants me in Youth Ministry, but I am open to whatever He has. We will see. On another note, I need help with my JH daughter and her friendships. She is having some trouble and I am having a difficult time knowing how involved to get. She wants me to talk to the Moms sometimes, which is hard, but I don't know if that is the right thing to do. Right now, I am encouraging her to work things out on her own. So hard to watch her go through this. She is a gentle soul and takes things much harder than I do. I am more of a boy mom..."suck it up and get on with it"...so God is teaching me to be more sensitive and thoughtful with her. Just praying my way through this one. We are trying to plan a trip to Santa Fe for August with the family....needs to be economical and that is hard to do! I love NM and haven't been there is years, hope it works out. That is about all that is going on...
Grace and Peace,
Dana

New York , New York

Well, I have officially experienced my first visit to NY. Did you notice that I said my first visit? That's because I definatly am going back! What a whirlwind of a trip. I have never experienced anything like it. London and LA have such a different feel to it. Anyway, Bryant, Brendan and I packed in as much as we could in 3 1/2 days. We saw the Empire State Bldg, Rockefeller Center, Statue of Liberty, NBC tour, many museums, STOMP, concert, ate good food, shopped and walked through Central park to name just a few things. We also had a incredible opportunity to visit Carnegie Hall and see Brendan be recognized for his Scholastic Art Award. It was a very emotional night for me! When we were walking around, it was so interesting to people watch and wonder what their lives are like. I kept wondering how they could afford to live in such an expensive place! We ran into some very interesting types around town and we found that New Yorkers weren't rude, they were actually quite helpful. We also witnessed some very needy people who were strung out and sleeping on the streets. I felt so helpless to do anything for them. So I did the most powerful thing and prayed for God to save them. We pointed them out to Brendan and told him that no matter what, to always come home. No matter what he gets himself in to in his life, no matter how bad it is, always come home. We made some great memories with Brendan and I know that we will try to do the same thing with all of our kids. I am very thankful for the time we had with him. Megan and Ethan had a great time with the grandparents while we were gone and Collin had an awesome time in Florida. I know that God had me where I needed to be but I sure missed my time with my girls at the beach. It sounded like an incredible trip and I am so thankful that it was. I am very interested to see what God does with the youth group this summer and how He will change things this next year. He is at work all around us, and I am trying to be more aware of what He is doing, the little things and the big. Being aware....not just coasting or blindly living on auto pilot. Being fully aware and awake. That's all for now....

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well...graduation is done! We made it through the whole process without too much stress and I can say that I was one pretty proud Mama! I didn't cry until they presented the graduates and I can tell you this much, my heart swelled with love for my son. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him and for my other children as well. Speaking of other children...my 242 girls have also graduated and I am so proud of them. They are the most incredible, Godly women and I can't wait to see what God does with their lives. I was so sad on Sunday, walking in to the gym and not seeing them there. I had to watch them walk upstairs to the college group, praying and hoping that they weren't too sad. Then it was time to dive in and meet the new Freshmen! There are 15 girls and I am getting excited about the possibility of starting a new group with them. It will be so hard to start over, but I have to remember how hard my girls were when they were Freshmen. They would look at me like I was a giant pickle and be down right rude! But I knew that God wanted me there with them so I just kept taking the hits and soon they warmed up to me and realized that I was interested in them. God is starting a new work...time for new beginnings, new relationships, new 242 groups. Newness...it is all around.

The Ripping

Me and my friend who also has a senior this year are calling this year "the ripping". Now, if you have a senior or have had one you know what I am talking about. As a Mom, when you are going through the process of letting one of your children go it feels like someone is ripping your heart out of your chest, or ripping your arm off, or the like. I am not necessarily a dramatic person(quit laughing) so when I say it feels like ripping, it really does. I don't think I have cried this much in years! Now, believe me, there are days, weeks even, when I am REALLY READY for Brendan to go to college, but for the most part I am going to miss him. I will miss his wicked humor, his crazy hair, his gentleness, his eye rolling(did I say that?), his artist eye, his place beside me at the dinner table and so much more. Our family will be changed forever. I know this is necessary and I welcome change but change can be painful in its goodness. I am torn in two between holding on and letting go. God will have to continue to help me open my hand all the way and let him fly. And fly he will. I can't wait to see what God will do with my son. Let the ripping continue....

Shoes

So, I went shopping with a friend last week...specifically shoe shopping. Now this friend is not really a shopping girl, which is not necessarily a bad thing. She knows that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE shoes, so she decided to ask me to help her. The thing is, she is really pickey about clothes and such, so shopping can be frustrating with her! But we must be victorious! So in we go to the Ross shoe department. Now, you know how it is at Ross , not organized! Did I mention that my friend is VERY organized? So needless to say after about 30 minutes, she still hasn't tried anything on. Me, I have talked myself out of 20 pairs because I really don't need anymore shoes. So, I go and find her in the tiny shoe section (my friend, of course, is blond and petite, sigh) and show her about 5 pairs that would look fabulous on her! She gives me the "are you sure?" "I don't have anything to wear with bronze, Dana", are these too tall"!!!!! I am getting frustrated and then this other lady hears us yappin and comes up to us and says "Are you guys sisters?" We both laugh and say no, we just fight like it! I am so blessed to have a great friend to shop with, to pray with and to get frustrated at because we are so different. But, we love the same God and that is the bomb. God gave me a friend to sharpen me and God gave me to her to loosen her up and of course, to help her buy shoes.

For the love of shoes,
Dana

God Using you

Ok, so it is Monday, otherwise known as hit the floor running day. It is the day for laundry, groceries, working out, trying to find the floor, you name it! All you Moms out there, you know what I am talking about! Anyway, in my time with God this morning, I asked Him to use me today because frankly, sometimes I feel a little useless. So, I went to the Y and saw Joanna then to the grocery. I was thinking, I really need to get home quickly and get STUFF done then I run into a friend and she is really a wreck about her teenager. She doesn't have anyone to talk to and so....God decided to use me in her life. Believe me, I was praying as I was talking because you know I do not have this teen thing wrapped up. But it was a huge encouragement to me. Then, as I was looking at milk, a lady came up behind me and said "Hey, don't you do Weight Watchers?". Ok, at this point, I am thinking this is really weird. Do I have a WW tatooed somewhere? But again, I thought ok God, here we go! Then I proceed to give this lady from my WW group a tour of the store to find all of the WW products! I know, your thinking, how shallow, helping someone with groceries, but hey, that is where God has me right now. At the grocery store, serving Him. To Him be the glory.

Grace and Peace,
Dana

Where do we begin.....

Well, here I am in blog land! My YOUNG friend Lindsee turned me on to this and I thought it might be fun to do.....don't know if I will be able to keep this up, but it is interesting to read about other peoples lives. Just don't want it to become a time warp....that tends to happen to me. Anyway, I will get more creative with it later!
Grace,
Dana