Getting Stuff Done

Michael's on day shift again! So of course I've got a little more pep in my step!

It was a great day spent mostly at home. My brother, Stevie, is in town so he helped us get a few projects done around the house. It's always great having an extra set of hands.

Bennett and Michael washed his patrol car today. It finally has stopped raining. I promise there are oodles and boodles of adorable pictures of them washing it together...but this is the only one I can post. You LEOs and LEO wives understand. DISCLAIMER: I did not dress my son. Remember that Michael AND Stevie are in the house. Okay, now we can continue.

Uncle Stevie was put to work and took a break from his normal activities of being an awesome author, guitar player, and sport fishing tournament planner and helped me work on one of Bennett's Christmas presents! I handed him the sander and told him to get to work. He is bigger than me but I'm older, so pretty much whatever I say still goes. The. End.

Yes, Stevie had a vacation beer at 11:17 AM on a Tuesday. It's the least I could offer him for sanding.

The table and chairs were a steal of a find at a little consignment shop but just needed a little TLC. I'll do a post on that here in a day or so, so check back! This is where they're at now....chairs sanded, legs of table sanded, and the top of the table still need a heavy duty sanding. The table top is laminate...oh how I despise laminate.

Ready for some paint!

 We took a trip out to Furman in the afternoon to pick up our Christmas card. Furman is my old stomping ground and where I go for most all my printing needs. They are super inexpensive and it's always nice to see the sweet familiar faces working in there. Y'all- I'm so excited to share it with you! I'm mailing them out tomorrow. After I know family and friends have received them, I'll of course share them on the blog! I can't ruin such a fun surprise!

I hope everyone had a fabulous Tuesday!

Inspired by Kiralynn: Fall Color Hair

One of my besties, Kira, is always changing her hair color. She's one of those girls that can literally pull off any shade. She's your bubbly blonde in the summer, your fierce caramel-brunette in early fall and this year she surprised me by going red for mid-late fall! We never know what it will be next! :o)

Her and I both go to the same hair girl, Ashley Owens, at Pomp Salon in Greenville. Ashley is seriously amazing,extremely talented, listens to you, protects your hair to keep it healthy, and always has a smile on her face. I love that she can keep my hair looking natural with three colors that all blend into one, or transform Kira from color to color. If you need a hair girl- she is it! I know she runs specials for new clients all the time for cut and color, so be sure to check her out!

Today I had the chance to snap a few pictures of Kira to document her turning twenty-one! (Yes she makes me feel very old). Here are the pictures! Doesn't she inspire you to go red...just a little bit?

Ugly Little Past of Mine

Tonight is one of those nights for me where you sit and think about all of your past. The good, the bad, the ugly, the bitter. But mostly- the bad, ugly, and bitter part. I'd be a lying fool if I said that I have a past I'm happy to rant and rave over. And you're only entertaining yourself if you think I don't know who you are that have said things behind my back about who I was, what I was doing, who I was dating, and how I was acting. I know there were close friends who talked, teammates that walked away instead of coming and asking if all was okay. And maybe...if you don't know me from my past... you don't have a clue what in the world I'm talking about. It's okay. Just know that my past sucked. Probably not as bad as some people's...but I definitely wasn't partying with Jerusalem Cruisers on in college.

Speaking of....College. The days where you're finally free. Free to make all your own choices, study what you want to study, try to become a doctor and play a fall sport at the same time, date the most pathetic guys on the face of the planet but for some reason...still think you owed them a line or two, an "I love you," or maybe more than an innocent kiss. It was the days where you wanted no commitments but yet a focused, committed, and planned path for your academic study. I wish I could say that I absolutely loved college.I was supposed to have loved it. Hell- I had all the right ingredients sitting in my mixing bowl. Highly prestigious academic education, pre-med track to be a pediatric cardiologist, scholarship volleyball athlete, and a myth that you can easily find your future husband at "a school like this."

God LOLed at this and "shared" this with his disciples. "Hey guys..let's show Stacie what's up!" Oh boy did he ever. Here's how it went down for me instead.

1.Partied a little too hard some nights (even did a cartwheel into a dumpster to start my college days of right).
2. Got rat blood on my face and fainted in bio lab so I opted out of the pre-med track (oh not to mentioned I was failing on top of that).
3. Ripped my shoulder to pieces shreds smithereens and was forced by the will of my own body after two surgeries and extensive nerve damage to find another dream besides volleyball.
4. Had a track record of "gems" of "gentleman" to fill the voids in my love life. One I even crashed into a deer on Interstate 85 going 105 mph AND reached my lowest weight ever in a state of depression at 125lbs at 6 feet tall. All because he was such a gentleman and I thought he was "the one." I might as well have just been smoking crack on top of all that too! I won't go into the other gentleman I dated.
5. There's more but that's another blog post.

Life got good though, y'all. Through the main "gentleman" in my college days, I was directly introduced to the man that is now my husband and the father of my precious little boy. He stole my attention from the moment I met him at Bertolo's Pizza in downtown Greenville in March of 2008. He was the tall, dark, mysterious type...who ordered spaghetti at a pizza place. He seemed familiar, yet only later to realize that he was the man I used to serve invisible food to at my Fisher Price party kitchen table.

We were inseparable. He brought out the best in me (most of the time...come on, keepin' it real)...something I had not seen come out of me since I was young. I won't bore you with all the details of our relationship, engagement, marriage, and journey of parenthood. I will share with you that it is because of this fine gentleman that I now know the Lord again. He took me to a church service in Greenville at the beginning of our relationship and I felt nervous not only because of the huge screens (I grew up traditional Methodist), but because I had not stepped foot in a church since I was little, playing the bells, and had ugly bangs. I wept so hard that service. I don't even remember what the preacher said, but I just remember the way I felt. Relieved. Rested. Pure. Happy. Forgiven.

My faith has had it's up, downs, backwards, and forwards, since this day at my first church service with Michael. However, as a collective whole, it has grown immensely and even more so since giving birth to our son. It's funny how having children make you really say, "Dangit, I shouldn't have done that...now listen- don't do what Mommy did!"

This past Sunday I had to go to church alone since Michael was working night shift. Not only did I weep like I did that day with Michael in 2008, but I raised my hands high, higher than they've ever been, and I felt God's presence in me, around me, through me. It was simply....amazing.

The past is gone. I hate my past. If you know my past, I'm sure you hated it too. And I am forgiving you right now if you're one of the ones reading this that was a friend that walked away when what I needed most was someone to walk into my life and shake me and say WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU DOING!?  I am learning to forgive and let go of bitterness because Jesus did. Gosh it's funny how I walked WAY away from him, trashed his name, made him get out the "bleep" machine and censored bar, but I'm allowed to come back. I'm forgiven. Forgiveness is imperative to have a happy heart.

I want to thank those of you that have never walked away from me. Your friendship, love, and genuine hearts have gotten me through to where I am now. And I love you guys with all of my heart. One girl in particular I owe a huge thank you to. She came to me in college as a late roommate and we instantly clicked. When she saw concern in my life,she stayed and fought it with me. She was there when I weighed 125lbs and when I weighed 191lbs when I was pregnant. You know who you are and I am ever appreciative for you and your heart.

But now- right now. I have God. I'll say it again. I have God.  He's someone I didn't have then. I believed but I didn't have him in my heart. I am saved. I am being re-baptized at Newspring Church in the next few weeks and I am so excited for this huge moment in my life.

I'm asking for your prayers as I prepare for my baptism coming up. I will try to remember to update as to when that is.

Thanks for listening and God Bless.

Stacie

P.S. If you've got a crappy past...regrets....anything...He is there. I promise.

I Hope There are Classrooms in Heaven: A Tribute to a Teacher

Early this morning a teacher friend of mine was welcomed into the arms of the Lord. Most would agree that she was one of those teachers that absolutely loved what she did....making a difference in the lives of children.  

She was the type of teacher that all her older students came flocking back to visit with huge smiles and arms outstretched before they even reached her door. She was the type to take a subject we were studying and enrich their learning experience by having oodles of hands-on activities, creative writing assignments, and silly songs to sing. She was the type of teacher that always had a concern for the personal well-being of a child. I remember how she'd sit in a team meeting and just contemplate over what to do about a certain situation a child of her's may be dealing with...even if it wasn't related to classroom learning.

She was there early before the sun was really awake and stayed late while the shadows from the sunset were cast upon the playground. Her classroom was always welcoming and bursting at the seams with displays that always seem to lure in her children and make them excited to know what was next on the agenda for the day.  She was the type of teacher you hope your own child got one day because you could rest easy knowing that not only would they learn more than expected, but be loved and cared for as you as their parent would.

Her passing was sudden and has left many with heavy hearts. I personally can smile though through the tears because I know she is in Heaven with the Lord (probably teaching a bunch of sweet little children). I smile because I know she had the opportunity to truly LOVE children and make their days spent at school a fun experience. I smile because she taught me to not always worry about "sticking to the plan" in a classroom.  Because of her I know it's in the children's best interest to go off on a tangent and quickly throw together an unplanned activity that you know will capture their attention. I smile because I feel certain she completed the plan God had for her here on Earth...and always did it with a smile on her face.  

She was a rare, precious breed of a human being, a mother, grandmother, a co-worker, and a leader of children.  We will all miss you, but we are rejoicing that you are finally Home. 

I hope that there really are classrooms in Heaven.... filled with students ready to meet their new, wonderful teacher this morning.                                                                                                                                         

Mike's New Toy

If you know my hubby you are well aware that he's the "Gotta have all things that will save your life just in case of a tornado, fire, home invasion, and "Zombie Apocalypse" happen all at the same time" kinda guy. And I love him for it...but I blame it on the day job. Thankfully this personality trait results in him bringing home fun toys to play with!

Tonight he surprised us with the "Hasty Harness" from North American Rescue. However, in "normal form" it looks more like an unused roll of party streamer! But I promise it's much stronger than that...

When he announced you simply wrap it around a human and drag them, propel them, hoist them, whatever...I quickly scooted Bennett to bed. I really wasn't in the mood to play fake rescue with our toddler. Although I know Michael would have been all for keeping up past his bedtime to try different wraps.

So if you've got a bail out bag for your family (which you should if you don't), this is a great addition! It takes no time at all to safely make a harness for an adult, a child, or a dog (yes we tried this). I learned pretty fast and got to tie up my own hubby. (Bow chica-wow-wow)

You can also pull a wounded person with this or I guess any person unable to do or comprehend what you say. College kids- this may be good to keep in your car for your unruly friends that refuse to leave a party when everyone KNOWS they need to.

You can even tie a harness so a helicopter can pull you....

Check out North American Rescue's website here! Guys- you all will probably love this site.

In the meantime, make sure your bail out bag is stocked for any natural disaster or emergency. Wifeys can help out with this by using their super duper organizational skills!

Things you may want to include:

*Reeses
*Diet Coke
*Gold Fish
*Puffs
*flash light
*blanket- Snuggies are acceptable too
*batteries
*nonperishable food
*cash
*weapon(s) / ammo
*clothes in all sizes for each family member- don't forget a pair of sneakers for each member
*leashes for dogs
*TP
*medicine/prescriptions
*wipes
*toothbrush/toothpaste
*bottled waters
*diapers (for babies if need be)
*dog food
*lighter
*battery radio
*charger for cellphone

blah, blah, blah...necessities.....

A Tree that Tells a Story: A Fallen Soldier Memorial

I found this online and had to share with you all. It would have been perfect for Memorial Day....and since I didn't do a Memorial Day post, this is my belated one! June is also Bicycle month, so happy bicycle month to you all!

This bicycle was chained to this tree by a young boy when he went off to war in 1914.

He never returned and his family decided to leave the bike there, chained to the tree as his memorial.

The bike still remains there today, on Vashon Island in Pugat Sound, Washington State, with the tree still continuing to grow around it. Let this forever be a reminder of all the fallen soldiers that have fought for our freedom and still do today.

I don't know about you, but this picture really moves me. The boy that rode this was so young, so free, had so much life ahead of him. All the joys of adolescent that a young boy should have. It shows how strong a person can be when they must be. What a sacrifice he made for you, for me, for his country. And so precious that he made that sacrifice so that young boys like him can go on riding their bikes without a care in the world. So "thank you" to you, young soldier. You are not forgotten.

There is a children's book written that was inspired by this "bicycle eating tree!" I think little Benn needs a copy for his library!

For the Love of Birthdays

Birthdays are a really awesome thing. It's a neat thing to think about, really: you get to celebrate the day you were brought into this world. I've now been on this earth for twenty-six years and now also brought another human into this world with the help of my God and my amazing husband. It seems a little crazy to me. I've completed a quarter of a century and am now watching a new century of a tiny person unfold in front of me every day!

On lil Man's Birthday!

 I never really have gotten so "worked up" about having a birthday before. Last year I actually forgot about my birthday. Michael was away at Academy and I was pregnant with Bennett. (So fat and lonely= worst birthday ever) I didn't even realize I had turned 25 until sometime in October. Talk about Pathetic!

Me at 36 Weeks! I was about to meet our little boy in two weeks!

There is something so beautiful about fresh life. The start of it all. Your birth. The endless possibility of where a person's path can lead. Everyone wonders and ponders and is curious. Over time and as you grow older, it's safe to say that mystery sadly fades.

Just a few days old....wondering where life will take him. (And wondering when we'll get to sleep next)

But every year on your birthday, it's another chance to think about the years to come. Whether you're turning six moths, six years, six-teen, twenty-six, forty-six, sixty-six, or ninety-six.....there are still places to go, things to do, people to meet, and dreams to chase. So here's a toast to twenty-six and all the adventures, laughs, tears, heartaches, and life-lessons it will bring!I had such an amazing day yesterday with Michael, Bennett, and some of my closest friends. It reminded me of how truly blessed I am to have what I have in life. God has given me all the people I need and I am so thankful for all of them!

My love made me a sprinkle cake! Naked Barbie must be near the cake...it's a tradition in our family! (If you're ever around I'll tell the story to you!)

The Burning of Greenville

My mom gave me her gold and diamond cross and my baby ring that she wore all the time when I was growing up. It brought tears to my eyes and I'm so honored to wear it now.

Kira made me these vintage beach prints of Fort Myers! I love them and know exactly where I'm putting them! Expect a blog post soon!!!

In honor of my coconut selling business when I was little...hahaha

Chelsea made me this awesome pillow! It's perfect for my pillow obsession!

Thank you again to everyone who made my birthday so special! And a big HAPPY 80TH to my Grandma today! Love you Graham Cracker!