Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts

Monday, October 18, 2010

Music Monday #16 ~ Let It Be

Though my opinions may steer my political leanings pretty far to the right, I find that many today think that means that this makes me an ignorant, hateful, war-mongering bigot.
Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am first and foremost a Christian.

And the Bible tells me these things:

God is love.
God created us out of love.
God intends for us to love each other.

Sin is another matter.
Sin, and the architect of sin, the devil, are constantly struggling for control of our lives.

No one but Jesus has ever been perfect, or will ever be.
So in light of this, it is impossible for me to hate one of my brothers or sisters in Christ because of his sin.
Being a sinful person myself keeps me from truly being able to place judgement on another.

I do hate the sin though.
I hate war and fighting.
And I hate what sin does to obscure the love and happiness that God wants for us.

If for one moment we could all (left, right or middle) just stop and realize
that not one of us is perfect,
that not one of us is doing things exactly right,
then we might be able to see each other for what we truly are...

creations of love.

Every person that God has created is worthy of being loved.
Because God first loved us.

If we will only gather ourselves into that love of God
and see that love in each other,
 then it will be that much harder for the devil to overshadow it with hatred.
And for just a moment we could "let it be".



(I am well aware that The Beatles were not professing Christians, but the message of  letting go of our hate for a person, if only to allow that person to live to see another day, is quite compelling, don't you think?)
Excerpt is from the film "Across the Universe"
"Let it Be" performed by Carol Woods & Timothy T. Mitchum

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Catching up...Part III ~ A funeral, a wedding, fun w/ friends, birthdays and more

Well I am determined to finish up this "catching up" business with this post.
I do not want to get this far behind again.
It's definitely not worth having to overwork my scattered memory to rebuild the past.

As you recall, my last post included a birth in family.
Well, a few days later we received tragic news that one of my mom's oldest friends (since 2 yrs old!) passed away after a long illness.
To make the pain even worse was the fact that less than a week before his death, his mother, who practically helped raise my mom, suffered from an aneurysm and was on life support.
She never knew that her son had passed.
We attended his funeral on the 18th and a few days later his mother went to see Jesus as well.
The whole ordeal was extremely upsetting to my mom of course and therefore to me too.
It had also been just 6 months since she had lost her brother.
It's been a rough year for her, but we have consolation in the fact that none of them are suffering from their earthly pains any longer and are hopefully resting joyfully in the arms of the Savior in Heaven.

Now that I've shared the bad news in our lives, I'd like to move on to some good news.
The same day that we attended the funeral, I also got to attend a wedding.
My husband's good friend, Brian, was the groom and Terry was actually a groomsman in the ceremony.
Jude was very excited to see us getting all dressed up that he even wanted to participate in the occasion as you can see in this shot of him walking around in my shoes. =)
(can't wait to embarass him with this pic in a few years!)


The outdoor wedding and indoor reception were both beautiful.
It was a small gathering which made it really nice.
I felt like I knew everyone in the room.
And check out how well my skateboard tee and jeans hubby cleans up!


Here we are with the happily married couple, Brian and Shauna!


The following weekend was a bit less busy, but I was able to finally get two of my bestest buds together with me for dinner, Baskin-Robbins and great conversation.

Michael, on the left, I met in the spring of 1995 in a drawing class that we were taking in community college.
We quickly became great friends, as we shared very similar tastes in music.
He is an amazing artist and is currently in graphic design.
It's not often that a talent like that actually gets to be put to use in one's work, but I am so proud of what he is doing.
Scott, on the right, you have seen here before.
He is totally my BFF.
My crazy and spontaneous BFF.
We have been this way since we were freshmen in high school...21 years now.
Back in our early college years...I say early, because out of the 3 of us, only Scott has an actual degree, and it took a while for that to happen. Michael is almost there with his degree and me, well...one day...but back in the day, these two guys and my husband, Terry, were my closest friends in the world.
Each one played an integral role in the person I am today.
But only one would be my perfect match...my soulmate...and that is the one that I married.
I was and am blessed to have these three best friends.
Though all of our lives have taken different paths and time and responsibility has stolen away the opportunities to see each other as often as we'd like, this one night with two of my greatest friends was truly priceless.
In the meantime, I've noticed that my little 2 yr old is turning into a "big boy" more and more every day.
He is becoming more confident in his physical abilities... 


And quite the little artist as well!
Below you are viewing the piece entitled "Tree and Two Suns". =P
Well, that's what it is!
A tree (with a few leaves) on the right and two suns on the left.
Pretty good for a 27 month old!


And we can't forget his self-portrait entitled "Grumpy Jude". (haha!)


On the 28th, we celebrated Terry's 39th birthday.
Only one more year and I'll be married to a 40 year old! GASP!! =)
But he's not letting the numbers bring him down.
He celebrated the day the way HE wanted...at the skatepark.
Jude spent some time watching Daddy skate.

He became more comfortable in the bowl this time.
He had never had the opportunity in all his years of skating to be in a bowl before they built this skatepark nearby.
So he spent a great deal of time enjoying it.
I suggested that he try dropping in from the corner here so as to build up some speed to hopefully get some height on the other side.


Um, yeah...probably wasn't the greatest suggestion to a concrete bowl novice as he turned too fast and had quite the spill. I was really afraid that he had hurt his hand/arm, but he came out unscathed.
I was of course forthcoming with the apologies.


Oh, there was one injury...the faceplate of his kneepad was knocked off.
When Terry tossed it out of the bowl, Jude kept pushing it back in to him because he knew Terry was supposed to be wearing it.

That evening we ate Terry's request of Goode Co. Pecan Pie.
Yes, the pie costs almost $32...IF you're having it shipped.
If you live in the area though it's only $15.
Is it worth it?
Um, I hated pecan pie.
That is, until I tried this one.
It is amazing. Period.
Sooooo worth it.

And Terry even got a candle in his piece of pie.


Cecilia, on the other hand, doesn't like pecans in the least, so she had a piece of the tres leches I made from scratch (whipped cream and all) for my Bunco gathering the day before.
Well, she tried it at least. Then she discovered she doesn't like soggy cake.
But seriously...it's tres leches...it's supposed to be like that.
And personally, I thought it was excellent.


Four days later, on Oct. 2nd, it was mine and Terry's 6th wedding anniversary.
We enjoyed the rare treat of a night out alone.
My dear parents watched the kids while we dined at Buca di Beppo.
Great food...great atmosphere...noisy homecoming teenagers.
But we'll definitely be eating there again.


After dinner we walked along the Woodlands Waterway and to the market street area nearby.
We sat and ate ice cream and purused the bookstore...ALONE.
Let's just say, we enjoyed the quiet time.

And here we are....caught up again.
In three days, on the 10th, it will be my 35th birthday.
10-10-10
Very cool.

Thanks for taking the time and interest in this long post and catching up with my family.

Take care and God bless,

Monday, October 4, 2010

Music Monday #14 ~ Anniversary Mix Edition



Over the weekend Terry and I celebrated our 6th year of marriage.
Sure there have been a couple of rough spots here and there, but overall we have been blessed with an incredible relationship.
I credit this mostly to the fact that we were such close friends before we began to really date.
I cherish our ability to just hang out and chat like old buds.
I once opened a fortune cookie that read:
"A good friendship is often more important than a passionate romance".
And I couldn't agree more.
I'm not saying that there's no romance in our relationship, because there is.
There is simple sweetness about our love that remains as fresh today as it did so many years ago when we began.
But that friendship, that is what I value above all else in our relationship...and that is what I think will keep us together to the end.

Anyway, this is a music post, so I wanted to use this occasion to highlight some of the songs that my dear husband has given to me over the years.

He has such a great love and knowledge of music.
I have often told him that he would do well in the music industry...production wise...because of his incredible ear for quality.
He doesn't skimp on quality one bit when choosing songs to "dedicate" to his wife either.
Though I'd love to share every song he's given to me with you, there obviously isn't enough time or space in this post.

So, here is just a sampling of the feelings and music that my love has shared with me...










Thank you for letting me give you a peek into our lovely little life.
I do love every moment of it...good and bad.

Enjoy the love in your life as well because you never know how long it will be there.

Take care,

Monday, September 6, 2010

Music Monday #11 ~ A Song from Terry

Since we are all home together today, I don't have much time to devote the music post this week.
So I asked Terry to give me a song...any song that he wanted to share with the world (as small as my blog world may be).
This is the song that he gave me....


Oddly enough, after last week's post being on mix-tapes/CD's, he just told me that this song was supposed to be on the next one he was planning for me.
I loves me some Terry for sure. <3

Have a fantastic week!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Music Monday #10 ~ Mix-tapes

Mix-tapes.
Gotta love 'em.

I grew up making and receiving them.
Traded them with friends, made them for crushes and recorded my own personal mixes in order to hang onto some memory.
But the most treasured ones were the ones given to you by your serious significant other.
Creating them took much time and contemplation.
Every song had to hold special meaning to your relationship.
And receiving that home-made mix of tunes was more important than a hundred store-bought "things".

Cassette tapes may have made way for discs, but they still serve the same purpose of being able to bottle a portion of your feelings and hand them over to someone else in a neat little compartment.
That's how it was for me anyway.

Well, that's still how it is actually.

From time to time, Terry and I still make each other mix discs.
I love how it always takes us back to the beginning times of our relationship.
I was 19 years old when I fell in love with him.
And as I told my daughter not long ago, no matter how old Terry and I get, in my mind he will always be 23 and I will always be 19.

Anyway, today I wanted to share with you a couple of the songs that I included on the last mix that I gave him.
In a month and 3 days we will celebrate 6 years of marriage, but we will also celebrate 16 years of devoted friendship.
Because before he was my husband, before he was my boyfriend...he was my dearest friend.
And none of this would be in existence without that friendship.

Songs to my love...






(Both of these videos were created by HiiCactus and are unrelated to the original artists...but aren't they the sweetest things you've ever seen?)

Friday, October 2, 2009

5 years ago today...

...I married my best friend.

Yeah it sounds cliche', but it is absolutely true in this case. You see, before Terry and I even became what we are today, we were in every sense of the word, best friends. I truly believe that the most successful marriages stem from those relationships that begin as friendships. Even if it does begin as dating and not platonic...if you soon realize that even if you weren't romantically interested in this person that you would be great friends with them anyway, then it's a definite plus in the long run. Knowing that you will always have someone that you are just as content sitting around talking to as you are anything else is one of the best things in the world.

So I was fortunate enough to find that someone. We met 15 years ago. His sister, Leslie, was a dorm-mate of mine during my brief attendance at Texas A&M. After I left there and returned home, she was the only A&M friend that I kept in contact with. When she was home I would spend time at her house and eventually Terry started hanging out with us as well. Terry and I soon began dating, but dating didn't last long for us as he wasn't quite ready after just ending a 5 year relationship just months before. So we became friends. Over the next 3+ years we spent lots of time together and by the time I became pregnant with my daughter Cecilia, Terry and I were best buddies. It was after her birth that he finally revealed to me that he wanted to finally pursue a romantic relationship with me and the rest is history.

That was December of 1998.

In December of 2003, 5 years later, he proposed.


We took these photos in Marble Falls, Texas for our engagement photos. Marble Falls is a favorite place of ours.





10 months later, on October 2nd, 2004, we were married.

5 years later, with an almost 11 year old daughter and 16 month old son, we are still best of friends and one of our favorite things to do is lay in bed before we go to sleep and talk. Just talk. I can see us doing this until old age. And that, in my opinion, is pure happiness.

15 years of friendship. 5 years of marriage. Thank you, my love.


Thank You by Led Zeppelin

(the song we danced to at our wedding)

If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.
Kind woman, I give you my all, Kind woman, nothing more.
Little drops of rain whisper of the pain, tears of loves lost in the days gone by.
My love is strong, with you there is no wrong,
Together we shall go until we die. My, my, my.
An inspiration is what you are to me, inspiration, look... see.
And so today, my world it smiles,
your hand in mine, we walk the miles,
Thanks to you it will be done, for you to me are the only one.
Happiness, no more be sad, happiness....I'm glad.
If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you.
When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me.



Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Terry's Birthday

My sweet husband celebrated his 38th birthday yesterday.

When I asked him if he felt like he was only 2 years away from 40, his answer was a definite NO.

Although I am 4 years younger than him, I have never "felt" the distance in our ages...even when we first dated and I was 19 and he was 23. And neither one of us feel like we're hiking up that hill of our 30's now. But like I always say, age is just a number.

But it is always good to do something fun for your birthday and though we didn't have any major festivities planned for his birthday, he did take a few days off of work, so we took a little trip to the park yesterday morning.

Terry has been into all things skateboarding since forever. He wears skateboard shirts any time he's not working and only owns Vans skateboard shoes (he has 13 different pairs...more shoes than I own!!). He hasn't skated much at all in the past few years since he is now a "grown-up" and has to worry about more important things like work and such. There is little time left each day for him to do the things he loves like skateboarding.

Fortunately for us, there is a nice little park not too far away that has a great skatepark. It has 2 large concrete bowls and some ramps and rails. We went by there once, but it was still under construction. So yesterday was his chance since most of the "kids" that would crowd the place normally were all in school.

But first things first...we had to take little Jude to the playground there at the park.


He got a few pushes from daddy on the swing...



Walked across the squeaky bridge...



Slid down the slide...




Rode the rocking seahorse...



and drove the train.



Then it was daddy's turn to play!
So Jude took a break from the stifling humidity to watch daddy.


Terry had to get all geared up for his first time in a concrete bowl. This was definitely something he had looked forward to for a long time.


And off he went!!





We had a little intermission when his shoelace broke...


But then he was back at it!
Jude liked when Terry would ride up and wave at him.
Jude would laugh so hard.



I was so proud of him. It's not easy to be out of practice with your skateboarding and then just hop into something challenging like a concrete bowl. Terry had a few little spills, but overall did so great. He really enjoyed himself. And he really deserves the time he got to do something he loves.

To my sweet "old" man...may you always be young at heart.

Happy Birthday Terry!!!
Love you!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

This is how it works...

This is how it works
You're young until you're not
You love until you don't
You try until you can't

You laugh until you cry
You cry until you laugh
And everyone must breathe
Until their dying breath

No, this is how it works
You peer inside yourself
You take the things you like
And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made
And stick it into some
Someone else's heart
Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm
You hope it don't get harmed
But even if it does
You'll just do it all again

(Excerpt from "On the Radio" by Regina Spektor)