Creative Tales & Puppy Kisses

I have to tell you, the arrival of autumn marks the awakening of my creative spirit!

Apparently it goes in to hibernation in the summer months??

A little backwards if you ask me. Most things hibernate during the winter. 

I would prefer to keep ahold of it year round, but I'll take what I can get.

This lovely photo was taken on the dirt road that I frequent on my runs!

Isn't it beautiful?!

Oklahoma really has some great scenery to offer, even if it is lacking in mountainous ranges.

And of course, I took one of my sweet angels with me!

Isn't she the sweetest?!

Oh, how I love those sweet puppy kisses!

We count ourselves lucky when Lola graces us with one of her gentle tongue swipes.

They are few and far between...which makes them treasures!

And would you believe me if I told you I took BOTH of these pictures?! 

Because I did. 

With the help of my good friend, the tripod.

Here's me hoping that your weekend is as beautiful as mine!

:)

Real life.

Right now, my husband has plunged himself into a job that involves ripping out the old shower, re-plumbing and creating a whole new shower for our showering delight! 

{Please say you noticed my word play on using "plunged" to describe the job.

Eh, Eh?? Just re-read it.}

He's not alone, his dad is helping him.

I, however, am alone. Except for the girls {a.k.a dogs}. 

That's why you have heard from my sweet fingers three times this week! 

This time I won't be talking much, though.

Mostly because it involves football. And mostly because I have a very minimal understanding of the sport and could probably go the next 37 years of my life without watching another game. 

That last statement is pretty much blasphemy living in Oklahoma. That's why I'm whispering. Very, very quietly. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaseeee don't tell husband!! That last statement was also a wee bit dramatic.

Quite honestly, I enjoy watching football games when I'm actually at the game. Right in the middle of all the action! There's something incredibly soothing about being in the middle of a bunch of angry people who are all wearing the same color shirt as you. Call me crazy....or call me maybe....it's really up to you! The point is, you haven't experienced football until you've experienced Oklahoma football. It's not a game, folks, it's life. Real life.

This last weekend I went to my first OSU game with Matt and dare I say, it was incredible!

Fun isn't a strong enough word, but it's all I can come up with for now! Word.

And the boys managed to pull off a win, even with the zebra stripes playing for the other team.

Suck it, West Virginia!

Wow, too much?? Ain't no thang.

I'll stop here and let the pictures speak for themselves.

'Tis' Times Three

I just realized that I used the word "tis" in two consecutive blog posts.

This would make it three consecutive blog posts.

However, that's not what I'll be writing about today.

Today, I'll be writing about my second child's constant need for discipline and attention.

Oh, and please know, when I say children, I do mean dogs, which are pretty much the same thing as children, except they love you more and don't demand clothing. 

{P.S. If you're reading this and happen to be one of those poor, lonely souls who've never known the endless and devoted love of a four legged friend, please feel free to close this browser and click on the blog of a fish lover. You'll probably feel more "at home" there. There is really no gray area here. Dog=child. That's that.}

Yesterday the weather in Oklahoma took a thirty degree dive. Having grown up in Utah, these dramatic weather outbursts are nothing but the norm. They actually make me feel more at home.

Anyway, husband and I had a lazy day snuggled up inside by the fire with the two poochies!

Quite honestly, I was in heaven! Nothing warms my heart more than days cozied up inside with my sweet family! I even made my oh-so-famous potato soup!

However, my sweet Piper demands our constant attention. And when she doesn't have it, she finds ways to get it....like howling, barking or jumping on the counter and eating our food.

She really is an angel from heaven, even on the days when it feels like she's visiting from the land down under {and I'm not talking about Australia}.

Today she was put in "time-out" and restricted to her leash multiple times.

And when she was leash restricted, her solution: pouting.

Pouting and looking at me with that sweet bear face, pleading with me to let her run free. You would think that she is the most neglected child in the world.

Most dramatic is more like it. 

But my heart just melts in those sweet puppy eyes!

Not sure what that says about my parenting skills. One thing's for sure, Matt will definitely have to be the disciplinarian!

All My Single Ladies

I think I've mentioned to you before that I'm a walking contradiction.

Tis true.

You want to know why?

Because I love snow, but hate winter.

I'm always cold, but still continue to order iced mochas {and wear my coat while I drink them}.

I love dressing up and being girly but {seriously} HATE washing my hair. {Seriously, guys.}

I'm anti-social but when husband forces me out of my cave, you better believe I'm the crazy one in the center of all the laughter.

I love cooking, but rarely have the energy to make it happen.

I want to travel the world as a gypsy but have a house to come home to every night.

I want to finish my degree but have zero direction on what degree to pursue.

I like the idea of a career but would much rather be a stay-at-home mom to my dog-childs.

I say for months how homesick I am and then when the opportunity to move back presents itself, the actual going through with it freaks me out!

When will the madness end?!

Feel bad for the poor man that has to live with me.

Sorry, husband.

Good thing he loves me. 

And good thing I got him to put a ring on it. 

{Just an FYI for all my single ladies out there, the way to get ^that^ to happen is to endlessly sing Beyonce songs to him until he really does put a ring on it. Oh, and hide all the craziness until he's locked in for life! Ha! I'm totally kidding. But seriously, sing the song. 

And a little wrist action can't hurt.}

When plans don't pan

Well folks, I'm back.

For a moment, at least.

Life has been such a whirlwind lately, the last thing on my mind has been blogging.

Let's just say, tis the season of change!

I feel like such a walking contradiction when it comes to this subject. 

On the one hand, I've been craving for some kind of change to take place in our lives. We've needed some kind of change to jolt us out of this cloud of monotony. 

However, when you get jolted, you don't always react the way that you had hoped or planned. That's usually because things don't work out the way that you had planned. And we all are far too familiar with the feeling of not having things pan out the way they do in your head.

I know I'm being vague, but I will clear things up and soon as plans are finalized.

Until then, let's just talk.

I'm in the middle of reading the best book right now.

"Greater" by Steven Furtick. 

Absolutely perfect for this season of life Matt and I are in now. It's one of those books that is so good, not because it makes you feel good, but because it tells you the things that you don't want to hear, but need to. Another sort of jolting experience. The unpleasantly pleasant kind. Each one of us are called to be something greater than average in our lives. That doesn't mean it looks the same to every person, but it does mean it exists. And often the call to do something greater means leaving the comfortable behind.  It sometimes means sacrificing the things you hold so dear to your heart, only to be lead into a plan that even in your wildest dreams, you never imagined. Sounds exciting, right? Yes, in a way. But the hardest part of the journey is in the sacrifice. And I don't mean sacrifice in the old Biblical translation of killing something. I mean it in the sense of giving up something that you hold very close.

The book follows the story of Elijah and Elisha from the Bible, starting in 1 Kings 19:19.

I won't go in to too many details, but I will summarize it.

Elisha was a simple man. In fact, we enter his life in the middle of a field while he's plowing behind a dozen oxen rears. His life, too, is monotonous, but comfortable and predictable. In the middle of his plowing, a man, Elijah, begins trudging toward him and out of nowhere, throws a cloak over his shoulders, a symbol of passing on an anointing. Elijah then keeps on trudging. You can imagine the bewilderment on Elisha's face. But at that moment, he had choice to make. He could either run after the man who had bestowed upon him the opportunity for something greater, or he could choose to stay behind the oxen rears.  The safe. The monotonous. If you're at all familiar with the story, you already know that Elisha went on to follow Elijah and was given a double anointing than that of Elijah. He went on to do much greater things than the man who gave him the cloak.  So what's the point of this story? Well when Elisha chose to do the greater, he not only left his old life behind, but he burned up anything that would give him a reason to turn back. {And no, he didn't burn any friends, relatives or humans, for that matter. Gosh, people, come on! What kind of story do you think this is anyway?! ;) }  Elisha didn't receive the double portion of "greater" until he gave up everything that might hold him back or cause him to turn back.

So that's where we are. In the middle of making decisions. One that's already breaking my heart. My fashion statement the last week has been Quasimodo eyes. Not by choice, of course.  Just a nasty side effect of water coming out of your eyes. 

Thanks for listening, friend. Sometimes your ears help make everything more clear.

Insanity on Sunday {not the workout kind}

My heart is full!

Remember when I told you about the amazing adoption journey over at Treasures Over the Rainbow?

Well their journey apart is finally over and their two little kiddos are home safe!

Funny how blogs can emotionally connect you with people you've never met.

Such is the story with this family!

Here's a little peak at their adventure's beginning. 

I pretty much cried the whole 15 minutes.

God has used this family's journey to teach me something about my own.

Bear with me as I try to explain....

You've already heard me talk about the last two years...blah, blah, blah...it's been hard.

I've mentioned to Matt before about how I wonder if the reason why the consistent lesson in the last two years has had to do with patience and trusting God is because that's what's going to be required of us in our adoption journey. Yet for some reason, it has never occurred to me that the separation and feeling of loss that I've experienced could also be part of that lesson. It never occurred to me until today, when I was reading about the post-adoption process. When a child is torn away from their environment, no matter how young they may be, the emotional effects of the trauma are felt, even by infants.  It is natural for them to regress and experience grief at the loss.  My heart started aching as I read this, aching because I know how hard that loss can be at my age, and I can't even imagine having to deal with that loss at a much younger and less developed stage of life.  God was totally speaking to my heart. No, I'm not saying that God intentionally made these last two years hard to teach me a lesson. That is not in God's nature to be mean. He is good and anything contrary to that is not of Him. What I am saying is that in that moment of ache, I could feel him speaking to my heart, whispering, as only a father could, saying, "Your hurt isn't wasted and for no reason. I promised to turn all things for good."  

I already love our little ones more than words can say. And I have no idea all of the trauma and changes that they will have experienced in their little lives by the time we're able to bring them into our family. In fact, I can't even imagine it! But what I do know is that if this small taste of loss that I've experienced in my life will make me a more compassionate, patient and understanding mother, I would go through it 100 more times so that my child wouldn't have to feel like the pain they're going through is gone through alone. Is it weird that I already love my kids that much and have no idea who they are?! Sometimes I think I could claim insanity.

Friday's Letters

Dear Friday, weren't you here yesterday?! Oh wait, no, that's when you were supposed to be here. Ah well. Better late than never!  Dear September, do you even know how happy you make me?! Not only are you my own personal New Year, but you carry so many other wonderful qualities like......scarves, crisp air, boots, colorful leaves, layers upon layers of clothing, pumpkin spice lattes and the best quality of all, you bring fall! For these things and more, I thank you!  Dear Husband, thank you for taking such good care of me while I wasted away in piles of tissues and cold medicine this week! You truly are my hero, and I love how you baby me when I'm sick! Because let's face it, I am a baby when I'm sick!  Dear Messy Hair, thank you for making such a great nest on my head. The earth thanks you for all the saved water and unused shampoo.   Dear Sickness, why must you love me so?! Because I promise the feelings aren't mutual. Do you really enjoy watching me sleep the day away and cough all night? Do you get some kind of sick pleasure out of watching me blow my innards into a Kleenex?! Please find a new hobby. Preferably one that doesn't resemble me.   Dear Husband, sorry for sharing my sickness with you. Tissue?