Black Friday

I braved Kohl's for Black Friday. I wasn’t going to, but I did. The stores have a way of luring you in with deals you just can't pass up. In this case, they had exactly what I needed for $20 less than usual. I did NOT get up at 4am with the other lunatics. My sister-in-law and I showed up about 8:30 and found that the line curved around the entire store. That was a little discouraging, but not discouraging enough to send us home in defeat. We had made a sort-of 'pact' that we wouldn't get crazy and it would be a laid back morning, so we smiled and got to it.

As she held a spot in line for us, I went for the items I came for. I found them without much hassle seeing as half the people in the store were in line doing the same thing we were doing. I came back to line and my shopping partner went out. Now, she has three kids, so she took a little longer and came back with some really neat things.

Guess what...the people we were in line with were really nice. I found a fellow Arkansas Razorback fan (that's a rare thing in Tennessee) and a talkative guy from the East coast. I felt bad for him. It was his second trip to the store and the lady behind him was convinced he had cut in line. She actually confronted him about it. That was the only awkward moment of the day. Turns out, he didn't cut in line, and she ended up feeling a bit silly.

The other unexpected thing I found about being in this line was that it wasn't as boring as I thought it would be. As you circled the store, you also passed by all the things they were trying to sell. I'm sure that was a convenience to them. All of us were dashing in and out of line as we saw something that sparked our interest.

After hearing other horror stories of how people were trampled as stores opened, fights over the last toy or video game and other examples of the downfall of our society, I have to say we had a pleasant experience. It's hard for me to become obsessed over an item having seen some of the living conditions in a refugee camp and impoverished areas of Mexico and Venezuela. Some of them look at our culture and feel sorry for us. Why? As a nation, we are obsessed with ourselves and we're dying because of it. I don't mean to end on a downer, but to open eyes to the fact that we don't need anything as badly as we think we do. We'll survive without a new game system or a new wardrobe (that one hits me close to home).

Here’s a holiday challenge; do something to better the world this holiday season. There are so many opportunities. There’s the Nashville Rescue Mission (or your local shelter), Angel Tree programs from the Salvation Army, and lots of other charities that I can’t think of at the moment. Now, it’s not a command or anything, just a suggestion. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Thanksgiving!

Driving down Briley Parkway this afternoon, there was a gorgeous rainbow. It was faint at first, but as I got closer, it was popping off of the grey-blue sky. I love rainbows! I have a vague memory of my dad showing me a rainbow off our back porch when we lived in Jasper, MO. Some of my memories are later found out to be dreams (I have very vivid dreams), but I’m pretty sure this was real. We lived on a farm and the rainbow was going over the barnyard that was lined with a white criss-cross fence. I loved that farm!

There are so many things to be thankful for. I sometimes focus on the negative and forget there is so much positive. The negative would be that I’m going to miss my parents, sister, brothers and their families this holiday. I hate being away from them for any holiday. I wish I could be in 2 or 3 places at the same time, but alas, I cannot.

Now here’s the positive. We are so blessed to have Andy’s brother, and his amazing wife and kids in the next town. We get to hang out with them and still celebrate with family. On top of that, we have amazing friends that live just a few miles from our house that I’m pretty sure we’ll run into.

I’m thankful for so much more – like my amazing husband, my other friends that are amazing, having a long weekend etc. – but there is food to make! If I sit here any longer, Andy will end up having to fix all the food…hey…that’s not a bad idea. HA!

This was eye-opening

I found a tool on a friend's site that ranks the reading level of your blog. I was curious to see what would happen, so I gave it a whirl. I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. I have to say, if it came back saying my blog had the reading level of a 10-year old, I wouldn't be posting this...I would be taking an English course online. However, it didn't. I would like to thank Microsoft's spelling and grammar check as well as Dr. Pittman, of the Harding University English Department, who would be shocked at this outcome and finally my husband who is forced to read everything before it gets posted.

Weekend with the girls

This weekend was the 2007 Hope Christian Fellowship Women’s Retreat. The main topic was ‘Loving God.’ There were 17 ladies and one precious little baby. I learned so much and had a blast. I love this amazing group of women.

When the ladies of Hope get together, there is always hysterical laughter and events that are hard to explain. One such event has labeled me a ‘dumpster diver.’ It’s not a title I’m proud of and because of the circumstance I found myself in, I’m going to put this in writing, since I didn’t know I had to before. If you, in the future,

• put items of importance in a garbage bag,
• and then place that bag next to a bag with actual garbage in it,
• and then I come along, and ask if you’d like that garbage taken out,
• and someone says YES,
• then I toss that bag in a dumpster that’s 10 feet tall…
• it’s gone…don’t even ask!

To explain a little further, there was a white garbage bag filled with bags of chips. They were to be served with lunch that day. This is the bag that I threw away. Getting the bag out of the garbage became a team effort. I thank my friend, Becky, for being the person to actually get that prized bag out of the dumpster. If I ever get the time, I’ll post a picture. For those who are completely grossed out, it wasn't that bad. However, I didn't eat that many chips this weekend either.

Change My Mind

Okay. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed Monday morning, mostly feeling angry that it was time to get going. Is that just ridiculous? I hated that I got to start my routine again…like a rat in a maze with NO cheese. Arriving at work, I'm still NOT happy. But, that didn't last. There were events lined up in my morning to remind me of how temporary this world is, of how much I'm loved and a couple of things just to make me smile.

• The first good thing that happened was my cousin sent me these really neat pictures. It was as series of images with animals that were sweet and funny. Thanks Traci!



• The second good thing was my husband. He and I talked about our similar feelings and vowed to change our attitudes. I felt better after sharing with him and giving and receiving encouragement.



• Third good thing was a daily email Andy receives. 'Good morning, You can make it through today. Though your schedule may be full, though issues you face are difficult, and though you may see the obstacles ahead, you can know for sure that you are going to be all right. Why? Because God's goodness is with you, and he wants you to have joy. He will comfort you during the difficult moments, and he will strengthen you for whatever challenges come your way. No matter what today holds, God is with you-- to love you and help you through it. Put your confidence in him and take notice of all the ways he shows you his goodness. Have a Blessed day. Mike



• Now here’s the fourth good thing of the day. It's kinda silly. I called the grocery store to line up a birthday cheesecake for Andy's party. I was put on hold, which I really don't care for. What is good about this? Well, I'll tell you. When I was put on hold, ABBA's song, Dancing Queen was playing. For those of you who know about my strange and eclectic taste in music, you know that I LOVE ABBA. I was grinning from ear to ear. If anyone could've seen me, they'd said, 'Now there's a happy person.'

I think my attitude is changing. We'll see if it sticks!

Morning Drive

On my drive into to work this morning, I let my mind get the best of me. I was mainly wondering when I was going to live in a promise I feel God has given me. As I was feeling sorry for myself, diving deeper into the inevitable pity-party, a song came on the radio. I usually don’t listen to the radio, but for some reason I had it on the Christian station. I was probably waiting for the traffic report and missed it in my melancholy. This song changed my whole morning. I had heard it before, but this time it was different. It was like God, Himself, was reminding me of His love for me.

It started out asking you to look at a mountain. I thought, ‘I see it, but I can’t see how to get to the top.’ Then it asked you to look at the ocean. I thought, ‘I’m there and I can’t see to the other side.’ Then it asked if you felt like a speck of sand in a vast desert. ‘OH YEAH!’ Then it went into a chorus of how much He loves me. One of the verses that stuck out was, ‘more than the stars He taught to shine.’ I felt a surge of love come over me. I wonder what the people driving by me in the rush hour traffic thought. They may’ve thought I was sad. Maybe they thought I was pathetic. Nope! I’m loved by the Father and He will give me the desire of my heart.

The home study is almost done!

We received a copy of our home study for review tonight. This is a huge step in our adoption process. We started this process at the end of July by filling out a form and sending it to the government who then sent it back telling us there wasn’t enough money included. That was mainly our fault. I’m glad it was easily and quickly fixed.

Other than that small bump, it’s been smooth sailing. We are both so excited to have our little girl. Our social worker, who is wonderful, will send our home study to the home security dept (I think) and then they send us another form.

The amount of forms and signatures needed to obtain a child is amazing. Once we get the form from homeland security, we will take a stack of documents and get them notarized. After having a notary sign them, we need to take them to the county clerk. From what I can gather, the signature of the county clerk certifies that our notary was actually a notary. Then we take the same documents to the Secretary of State. I’m pretty sure he/she does the same thing. Wait now, I’m not done yet. Send the same documents to the federal government for another authentication of signatures. Then finally, it’s sent to the Chinese embassy and they, from what I can gather, put a sticker on it. I hope it’s a pretty sticker. If I can, I want to frame it.

Never underestimate our government’s ability to take something beautiful and turn it into something extensive and mind-numbing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to fill out every line and answer every question. I’m pleased to do it! I heard there was a lot of paperwork…now I know what others have meant by that statement.