A friend of mine asked me the other day if the process of blogging/journaling (of letting so many others read my private thoughts) was helpful in the healing process. My answer was a resounding yes. I know that I am surrounded by many, many people who love me and would lend an ear or a shoulder whenever necessary.  But, I don't always explain myself well verbally.  Writing down my thoughts?  I feel a deep sense of relief when I click that orange Publish button.  I've said all that's floating around in my crazy head, and my head..and usually my heart...feel better. This is me. This is my real life . Sometimes, the weight on my shoulders is too much to bear. Sometimes, my hopes and dreams are dashed away by the reality of the situation. Sometimes, I feel like God is so far away.  Too far to call out to.  Too far to hear me.  Too far to step in. Too far to make things right. I make mistakes.  I say hurtful words.  I think awful though...

This happened at our house this afternoon. Three guesses. Yep, you smart thinker, you.   Our water heater kicked the bucket.   We got a call from our downstairs neighbor letting us know that water was dripping out of the drain pipe downstairs that's attached to the water heater upstairs. We dashed out to the balcony where our water heater is stored in a closet. Water had filled that metal pan at the bottom, and there were lots of things on the ground that were soaking wet.   Sadly, things are rusted and beyond repair. fanTAStic. So, The Husband and his dad are out buying a new one as I type this. I'm truly thankful for a husband who can fix just about anything and for a father-in-law who can fix the things The Husband doesn't know how to!  We are praising God for the money some members of our worship team family at church gifted us with last week.   It has helped offset the cost tremendously.  Thank you, sweet fr...

Last week's tour of master bedrooms /guest bedrooms was such fun to be a part of, that I thought I'd join in to Kelly's  SUYL (Show Us Your Life) tour this week.  It's all about dining rooms .  I've checked out a few of the ones that are already posted, and they are so lovely.  I'm a little jealous of people that have an actual formal dining room, hah! We live in a condo, so our dining room is actually a breakfast room that isn't separated from our living room, but we like it! This is looking in from the living room.   The curio cabinet in the right corner was a birthday gift from my parents when I was in middle school.  It's oak with lots of glass inside and outside.  The top two shelves are organized. The bottom two are not.  It's an easy piece of furniture to keep clean, and it's really well made.  When we move into a bigger place, it will probably house other items and will hopefully reside in an actual formal dining room! ...

It was time for a change. A fresh start. "Out with the old and in with the new," as they say. So, instead of getting a wardrobe makeover or a haircut or a pedicure, I thought I'd change up some things here on the blog (though I'm crossing my toes that I'll get to redeem a gift card my generous MIL gave me for a pedicure posthaste !). I wanted more color, and I found this blog background with the gorgeous,  brilliantly-colored pillows and knew it was the one.  I edited a few things, added a bit more color here and there, and took some things away.  I like it very much, and I hope you like it, too! It feels so summery to me, like a fresh bouquet of flowers on the table, or a new comforter on the bed, or freshly-painted, neatly-trimmed toenails.  Y'all I really need a pedicure. It's em - barrassing . *Ahem* So, there's that, and here's this. At 11:00 last night, you know that time when great ideas tend to smack you around until you get up...

Father's Day is tomorrow. I have an amazing Heavenly Father .   My God has neither left me not forsook (that's a word, right?) me.  Every beautiful instant through every hardship He has been right there holding me and leading the way. He has given me a husband I cherish, a daughter I love and miss mightily, a family and a group of friends who have stood by me, and a mom who has been a rock and a source of encouragement. I also have a dad who did all of the things a fantastic and caring dad should do . Daily .  I can't count the number of sweet memories of moments with my daddy that I have floating around inside my head.  Starting way back in my childhood, moving through those ghastly middle school years, into high school and college, and now as I tip-toe my way through adulthood. He ~ gave the best piggy-back rides to breakfast in the mornings. ~ tucked me into bed every night.  On especially cold evenings, he'd bundle up under my covers and wa...

Good grief, is it as hot where you live as it is where we live?! We got in the pool this afternoon to take a break from studying, and instead of being cold or even cool, the pool was lukewarm! It was still a nice diversion, though, and I'm very thankful our complex has a nice pool area that's only thirty or so steps away from our front door. :) Deep breath, Guys and Gals.  I've decided to try something a little different on here.  Now, don't get too nervous.  Just sit back with your handful of dark chocolate chips (Hmm? That's just me?  Oh.....ok), and enjoy (or critique, hah!). Kelly, a gal whose blog I read often, does a "Show Us Your Life" post every Friday and other bloggers link up to it.  So, it's like an online "tour" of homes and places and people in our lives.  Isn't that fun?! This week's tour focuses on master and guest bedrooms .  I do so love our bedroom (it's really my favorite room in our home), so I thought...