Jewelry Making and Christmas Shopping

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Holidays? Those being Thanksgiving and Christmas! Well I do. I L-O-V-E them! This year, I have completed most of my shopping pretty early....well early for me. I have most everything made, wrapped, and ready to go to the different houses for Christmas. If you know me at all, you know that I usually don't finish shopping until either the 23rd or even Christmas Eve. So a week before is a record for me. I am pretty stinking pround of the gifts I get to give this year. From Rangers' tickets, to a Red Roomba, to some the best pieces of jewelry I have ever made, to the amazing cookbook I wish I was keeping for myself, everything is absolutely perfect. I like to think that I got something unique to each person. I hope they like what I got them...well I got for them from other people. :) Oh did I mention, that this year, I did most everybody's shopping for them this year. It was an absolute blast! I can't wait for everyone to open their gifts. Aside form the gift part, I am just excited to get to go home and be with my entire family, extended and everyone. I can't wait to see my pals from Farmersville for some bonding time.

Well its this time of year, that we are strongly encouraged to take a long look at our lives and give thanks for everything we have. Our health, job, house, friends, family are just amoung a few that are typically included in that list. My question is....why are we only encouraged to do this during the holiday season? What about the other 10 months of the year? Should be ungrateful or less grateful during those months? My challenge to people this year, is to be thankful for life year round. Let God know that what He provided you with is enough. That you are completely thankful for all the blessings in your life daily. Expand those blessing beyond what we are "normally" thankful for. Expand them to the sunshine, the rain, the person that smiled at you in line at the grocery store, the grocery store, the warmth of your house, the fact that you can read, your car, your computer, the phone, the fact that you live in a place where so many conviences are at arms length. Don't get me wrong, we should still be thankful for our health, house, family, etc, but those are the only things we should give thanks for. This Christmas season and the beginning of a new year, challenge yourself to be a better person. A Thankful person. I promise that you will notice a difference if you say thanks to God for the person who cut you off on the highway, rather than cursing at them. Other people might just notice it too. Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a wonderful time with your peeps this Christmas season!

Megan

PS: Here is a picture of one the necklaces I made.....I just had to keep this one! :)

The True Meaning of CHRISTmas!

On my way to work this morning, I was listening to some Christmas music on the radio. One of our radio stations play Christmas music all the way through the holiday season. I understand that there are a ton of songs out there that are "funny" and have to do with Santa, and lots of other things associated with Christmas. I did not however know that there was a song entitled,
"The 12 pains of Christmas." This song took on a whole outlook to Christmas and what this season is all about. It also poked fun at the "12 Days of Christmas." A few of the pains included in this song were, children crying, dealing with inlaws, charity, and shopping for gifts. Color me crazy, but I thought the whole meaning behind Christmas was to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Over the years, this concept has appearantly been lost. This season is no longer about family, celebrating the birth of a King, being together, or just being happy and excited about life. It is now all about who gives the best and most expensive gifts, complaining because you had to spend a little bit of time with some people that you might not particulary care for, complaining about traveling, throwing a fit because "Santa" didn't bring you exactly what you wanted, complaining because you had to stand in line for hours to get that one perfect gift for someone you didn't really even like. When did it get to be like this? When did we all loose our values? When did the true meaning of the season change? Why do we now care more about things than people? Why do we put so much pressure on gift giving and trivial pursuits? Personally, this year will be different for my family. My grandmother, the matriarch of our family, is not doing so well. She has been through so much this past year. Her health is declining everyday. There is a very distinct possibility that this could be our last Christmas with her. So this year, I am choosing not to focus on anything but being with my family and all the things that brings with it. I don't care about the gifts. I love giving to other people, but I would be just fine with not receiving any. I have so much in my life and so many things to be thankful for. I don't care about all the little things that could go wrong anymore. I am just excited that I get to spend the whole day with my grandmother and my family just being together. I challenge anyone who might read this, to spend this Christmas season focusing on what this season is truely about. Focus on those who are not quite as fortunate as you. Focus on those who might not have the family that you have, Focus on those that just need a smile from you. Focuse less on all those small things that aggrivate you. Focus less on things and more on life and family. Focus on the reason we celebrate this particular holiday and all the joy it brings. Focus less on yourself and more on others. Focus on Life!

A few thoughts on a beautiful fall day

Well November is officially here. I love this time of year. The fall brings cooler weather, brisk days, the changing colors of the leaves, time changes, and my favorite....Thanksgiving! I love all the seasons of the year, but there just seems to be something about this one that just gets me every year. It has a kind of magic in the air that I love. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday....but not because of the food. I love the whole family thing of it. I love spending the entire day at my grandparents and hanging out with my cousins and my brothers. I love playing Scrabble until we are blue in the face then switching to 42. I love everything about it. The football games on tv and the ones we play outside in the front yard. I love the parades and watching them with my aunt while we cook. I just love the day. I love that most of the time we are dressed for a blizzard, but it always ends up being in the 70s or 80s the whole day. Definately a great day. I also love going to the stock show the next day. Call me crazy, but I am in love with agriculture and everything that comes with it. I love getting up super early the next day and driving to Waco to hang out with my brothers while they get pigs ready to show. Its definately a great time of the year. It also kinda kicks off stock show season. Beginning in January there are so many stock shows to get ready for and go to. I love it! I guess I just love everything today. :) It has to be this beautiful weather. Sunny and 70 makes for some awesome weather. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me this season. Soooo exciting!!!

Time is changing

This week has been particularly stressful for me. Its been stressful, but very eye opening for me. This was my week....
Monday:
Work, last minute Fields of Faith stuff, run errands
Tuesday:
Work, put together everything for FOF, run errands
My phone blew up all morning with calls for FOF, then the cell tower went down and I couldn't receive or make calls or text anyone. I finally got a hold of my dad (thank God for Onstar and call minutes) and found out that he lost his job on Tuesday. They closed the car dealership where he worked. By the end of that day, I really just wanted to cry myself to sleep.
Wednesday:
Day of Fields of Faith, getting everything together and set up for FOF, FOF, Cleanup for FOF, stress of planning and carrying out a large event.
Thursday:
Work, class, recovering from FOF
I found out Thursday morning that they were rushing my grandmother into the hospital. She had been tossing her cookies for about a day, and they were afraid she was going to dehydrate. They gave her some medicine and sent her home. She still isn't doing to well. I had class that night and wasn't prepared for it. I am not a fan of that.
Friday:
Work, then date night
Saturday:
Dinner with Courtney in Fort Worth.
On the way home I called an old friend from high school. I talk to him every now and then and hadn't talked to him in a while. I guess God was telling me to call him. Well it was a completely eye opening converstation. This friend and I pretty much grew up together. He was super close to my brothers and me. Well we were doing the whole catch up thing. You know, how is life? Good and yours? Then I asked if he was still in school and he hit me with it. He told me the week of finals before he was supposed to graduate he started his first round of chemo. I was like "Whoa! Chemo? What is that about?" He told me that he had been diagnosed with testicular cancer. Back in December, he was working some cattle and was kicked in the groin by a calf. His groin area swelled up pretty good. He didn't really think to much about it for a while. In March, the area begin hurting super bad, so he went to get it checked out. The doctor ran a couple of tests and determined that he had testicular cancer. They ran a few more tests and found that the cancer had spread to his stomach and possibly his lungs. At that time they began an agressive chemo regimen. He was only 21. He was a fairly healthy, extremely active, typical 21 year old good guy. He caught me completely offguard with the whole cancer thing. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I just couldn't believe that something like that would happen to someone like him. He seems like he is doing well, though. He is getting his life back. He is working, and doing well. As of August, there was no more cancer.

All of this just took its toll on me. I know that sounds completely selfish. I shoulder everyone else's pain and problems. I can't help it. I have done that my entire life. My dad, my grandma, Brent, I shoulder every bit of their pain. I guess I feel like its up to me to fix everything, or at least do everything I can to make it better. That was not the case this week. I couldn't fix anything. I just pray that this week is a little better. If you read this, please say an extra little prayer for my dad, grandma, and Brent this week.

Have you wondered?

Have you wondered why? Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why is it so much easier for me to pen this blog than it is to write my incredibly important psych paper? Why is it always either paper or plastic and not like plastic or paper? Why do we always assume the worst? Just some random questions to ask. The whole why is easier to write an entry on my blog than my psych paper is the main one plaguing my at the moment. Another one is...Why is that I always seem so inspired to blog when I have a big assignment due for school. That is a biggie for me. This summer I have been terrible at keeping my focus on school. It just isn't there. I am not sure why. I love school......for the most part, but for some reason, I just can't seem to stay focused on it. I would rather focus on hanging out with my friends, going on mini trips, watching tv, playing on facebook, work, cleaning my house, mowing my lawn, watering my plants, grocery shopping, laundry, shopping....pretty much anything besides my homework. I am trying to get that focus back. Maybe summer classes are not for me, especially ones that last the entire summer. What happened to summer just being summer? You know, hanging out with your besties, roadtrips, swimming, and just lounging. I miss being a tiny child when you got to do all those things. I guess now its time for me to actually be a grown up and become trully responsible. BOOOOOOO!!!! I know I am kinda rambling about this....but that should just tell you how much I don't want to write this stinking paper. I am seriously flirting with the idea of dropping grad school all together and just working one job, and living my life. AHHHHHH I dislike grown up decisions very much!!!

Good Morning, America!

Well we have officially hit summer! 104 degrees well into the night is just too stinking hot! I guess that's Texas for you! I am also on my second week of my Bible study. I have to admit, I did not get to finish all the homework for last week. I missed days 4 & 5. I tried, I really did. Life just seemed to get in the way. Well, life and school.

This week, so far, I am on day 4 and have 2 days until the Bible study meets. I am pretty excited about it. God seems to always know exactly what I am and will be going through and what I need to hear/read before or after those events happen. How amazing is He?

This past weekend was the 4th of July weekend. This year was a first for me. It was so "grown up", I loved it! I started off the day at the city parade. I rode the float with the guys and gals from Cross Timbers Family Services. They do such amazing work and it was great to get to hang out with everyone for a little while. After the parade, my parents came into town to eat lunch with me. This was also a first. My parents love me, but they didn't really come visit much while I working on my undergrad. So far they have been down to see me twice, in the last couple of months. It was great. It was just them and me. I fixed a fabulous fest of steak, squash, mushrooms, onions, asperagus, and stuffed jalepenos. I made mom and dad sit down drink their sweet tea and let me serve them. I cooked everything on the grill and then we ate outside. Mom even made it through most of the meal with us. She did have to get up and go inside and cool off right after she ate. After lunch, we just hung around the house and talked and ate cake and watched tv. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon. They left and I took a little snoozer and then went and fed all the animals I was feeding for the weekend. That evening, my friends, Taysha and Eric, had a little party over at their new house. Their house is super cute! The babies room is so precious! I LOVE it!! I had a wonderful time catching up with everyone there and just chilling and playing Scene it! It was a pretty good day. Not many fireworks, but overall a great day!


Here are some pics from the parade:

Just some thoughts......

I just began a new ladies' bible study on Thursday nights with a group of women from my church. We are doing a poolside, study of David presented by Pricilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kay Arthur. We have only completed one session, but I have to tell you....I am completely hooked. Pricilla did the first week. I haven't ever done one of her studies, but I LOVE IT!!! She is so animated and southern. It's amazing! She captivates me. The whole time she spoke, I had chills. It was like the Holy Spirit was truly wrapping me in His arms. I can't wait to get going on the homework. Usually, when I do one of these studies, I do good with the homework for like 2 weeks and then I start to slack off. I am making a committment right now, to complete all 6 weeks this time. This is a HUGE committment for me, because I already have so much other homework from my summer classes. BUT man, Jesus Christ died for me (the ultimate sacrifice), its just a drop in the bucket, I know, but I am going to committment to Him and to doing my homework for all 6 weeks. We are doing this study poolside at my boss' house. His wife is leading it. There were about 25 women who came out for the first week. Can I just say that it was a pretty cool night. Like after the session was over, everyone just kinda sat around talking and catching up on life and fellowshipping with each other. It was pretty awesome. So many women from so many different groups and age groups. It was amazing. I can't wait to see everything I am going to learn from these amazing women.

So work-wise this week.....
My boss is out of town on vacation. I am house sitting for them this week. Aside from living at the pool and in the sun this week, I hope I can catch up on all of my schoolwork. I have a ton of assignments due this week and I am hoping to get those plus a few more (so I can be ahead) finsihed this week. These classes I am taking for the summer session are way harder than I expected. Oh well! I guess I will surviv...I always do. But aside from all the homework, I only have to be at the office a couple hours everyday and I get to spend a good part of my time out here. I love it!! I feel so inspired out here. I don't know if it is the quiet of being so far out in the country or just this house or being in the sun at the pool, but I feel so inspired to write and just get all of my thoughts out there. Hence, the super long blog post. :)

Ok so now I have to really get to work......I have to put together the lesson for the nursery for church tomorrow. I love blogging!!!!!


Live with no regrets!

Megan

New Pics

So I forgot that I wanted to share some of the pictures we took at the Ranger's game with my brothers...

So We can't ever just take a normal picture!!!

This is Luke and his Girlfriend, Amanda.

So I asked for just 1 serious picture and this is what I was given.

Procratstion

Well......I have a ton of homework I really should be doing right now, instead of playing on facebook and writing this blog. For some reason, I just can't seem to get to it. :) Oh well....I work better under pressure anyway. So here is a little update on the happenings in my life.........

• I am beginning, I guess its, my second semester of graduate school. Let me tell you...It was iffy if this day was going to come. Last semester was pretty rough on me. I think I might have over-involved myself and overwhelmed myself a little bit. WOW that was tough to admit. This summer semester is starting out pretty well. I bought my books, checked my classes online quite a bit, and have already completed a couple of my assignments. I'm excited! I just hope I can keep this up for the rest of the summer. Yes that's right. While all of you are off having a very enjoyable summer, I will be tied to my computer learning about Human Development and Research Methods. Booooo! At least I can take my computer everywhere with me......this means to the pool. :)
• Well I think every year I turn over a new leaf. This year the new leaf seems to be turning itself. I have somehow become a full fledged nose to the grindstone adult. I realized this during this past weekend. Both of my roommates were gone, and I had the whole house to myself. In the past, I might have called up some of my other friends and possible gone to a movie or dinner or the river or to one of their houses and just hung out and had a wonderful. What did I do instead? I went and rented a whole bunch of movies (our satellite was out due to a mishap with the stinking roofers) and just chilled at my house....all weekend. Instead of going out and causing trouble with random friends, I chose to stay home, clean, cook, do laundry, catch up on some nursery stuff, cut the grass, read a book, and just sit at home.....alone. WOW! What an exciting life I lead.....(said sarcastically)
• I have also, every year for like the past 4-5 years, had some kind of move going on. I have moved at least once, sometimes twice, every year for the past 4-5 years. I guess this goes with college. Well, I am proud to report that this last move, has been the last one....and is the only one I can see happening in the next year or so. YAY!!! No more packing boxes, loading boxes, unloading boxes, and then unpacking boxes!!!! I love it!!!!
• I am now the Nursery Coordinator at my church. I love it!! We have been working so hard to change up a few things, and I can finally see the effects of those changes. The girls are doing a wonderful job of incorporating those changes. I think the biggest change is that we now have a very structure Sunday Morning routine. We also have a new Sunday School curriculum. I hate to brag, but I think I did a bang-up job writing some of the new stuff. See we order curriculum every quarter. That curriculum is awesome, but lacking in a few areas. It also just kinda assumes that whoever is teaching it, already knows a lot about that subject or the Bible in general. Well even I hadn't heard some of those stories. So I took the curriculum, added some background info on the story, i.e. the verses straight from the Bible, an objective and purpose, a memory verse for each week, a story for the kids, and an activity for the kids to complete and take home. It's been pretty awesome so far. The kids seem to be learning a lot and love making stuff to take home to their parents. The parents love getting the stuff that their kids are making. We do this for all 3 of the classes, so everyone from the 2 and 3 year olds to the babies are making stuff. It was pretty cool to get to send home a project for our babies for the first time a few weeks back. I am so excited to keep working on this and work out those final little kinks!!!

I think that is it for now. I guess I better stop procrastinating and get some work done.

Much Love!

Megan