Tuesday TRUEism

 

It is important to live each day with a positive perspective.

It is not wise to pretend that problems do not exist,

but it is wise to look beyond

the problem to the possibilities that are in it.

When Goliath came against the Israelites,

the soldiers all thought,

"He is so big, we can never kill him."

But David looked at the same giant and thought,

"He's so big I can't miss him."

~ Dr. Dale E. Turner ~

 

 

Happy Birthday to YOU, Sweet Libby Lou

Cade and I made a quick trip over to Frisco

this afternoon to help celebrate the big

NUMERO CINCO

for Miss Regan Elizabeth!

The party was held at a super, huge gymnastics center! 

The kids got to rotate around the gym

in small groups

enabling them to try out all the equipment. 

After they got good and tired out, we

headed to the party room for

a rainbow themed soiree.

Ginny baked layered rainbow cupcakes and the each

child got to decorate their own cupcake!

It was a BIG hit with everyone :)

What a fun party...

When we drove away Cade asked,

"Mommy can we drive back to Frisco tomorrow?"

That's the sure sign of a good party in my book!

Thanks Ginny

and

Happiest Birthday Wishes

to you

Sweet Libby Lou

Tuesday TRUEism

A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest.
A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps herself and doesn’t even feel the
least bit weird shutting your ‘Fridge door' with her foot!




A simple friend has never seen you cry.
A real friend’s shoulder has been soggy from your tears.






A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party.
A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.






A simple friend hates it when you call after they’ve gone to bed.
A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.






A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems.
A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.






A simple friend wonders about your romantic history.
A real friend could blackmail you with it!






A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument.
A real friend calls you after you had a fight.






A simple friend expects you to always be there for them.
A real friend expects to always be there for you!








So, which kind of friend are you?




Answering that question will likely tell you
what type of friends you have...

The poison of SHOULDS

Have you ever thought about how dangerous

thinking and using the word

should

can be?

I found out some information that really

bothered me and that I

did some serious thinking about it.

Over and over I found myself stuck on the word should...

so and so should know better.

so and so shouldn't have said that.

 so and so should say it to my face.

It's something I've struggled with for most of my life I guess. 

People "should" behave this way,
marriages "should" be like this,

friends "should" respond this way,
life "should" look like this...

but guess what...
life doesn't work that way.

The truth is we all have expectations in our lives that affect the way we live, the way we view others,

and the way we respond to life.  

 Want to know what some of mine were?

1.  People should always make good choices

2.  People should tell the truth, always

3.  Moms should make dinner for their families

4.  Husbands should want to come home to their wives

5.  Friends should be honest with you, even when it's tough

6.  I should give 100% to everything I do

7.  I should stay positive, no matter what

You know what? 

These shoulds can ruin lives. 

They can ruin friendships.  They can ruin your self worth.

These shoulds can poison your attitude and bog you down into trying to figure out other people's motives and motivations.

These shoulds can make us expect things that are unrealistic.

And they allow us to be disappointed when things don't turn out the way they

"should." 

They steal our joy.

I really struggled thinking about this.

 

Finally, in the wee hours of the Saturday morning

{think like 2 a.m.}

I finally came to the conclusion that

I have to release the need to determine

how things should be...

:: I release it ::

:: I let it go ::

:: Go ::

:: Fly away ::

:: Get away from me ::

:: Get out of my thoughts ::

:: Stop stealing my joy ::

I think that my expectations were just a form of control,

born of my need to know what the outcomes would be. 

And the more I am able to release that need,

the more I am able to accept life for what it truly is...

a series of ups and downs, triumphs and trials, happy moments 
and heartaches.

I encourage you, think about what your shoulds are. 

Shoulds with yourself.  Shoulds with your friends. 

Shoulds with your kids.  Shoulds in your marriage.

If you want to share some of them please do so, via comments. Who knows, they may be enlightening to someone else. 

Fun Fridays...My Favorite Things

Going to the

 

LAKE

 

 

 

 

My Top Five Favorite Things About

Our Lake Weekends...

1.  Seeing the night sky {amazing outside of the city}

2.  Laughing at old stories

3.  Eating all together @ one big table

4.  Joy riding around the lake in the boat

5.  Watching the kids play, swim, and scheme together

:: Happy Friday ::

 

Tuesday TRUEism

{i second that}

quote from Karl Lagerfeld,

creative director for chanel and fendi

photo source

Blondies Have More Fun

We're in the triple digits still so to

beat the heat, my friend Ashley invited us over to

her mom's house for a
SWIMMING play date!

We loaded up on supplies

and hit the pool with friends!

Momma's and their boys...

{D and Court}

{Cade and I}

The kids swam up a pretty big appetite

in the pool!!!

Ashley whipped up some yummy turkey and pepper jack cheese bites and I brough over 

BLonDIes

to share.

If your not familiar with Blondies, they are similar to chocolate chip cookies, just in bar form.  These blondies are fast and easy to bake up one afternoon when you

DO NOT

want to have your oven cranking

for an hour!!!

30 minutes and and these babies are done.

Thanks to Ashley and Debbie for inviting us over

for a splish-splashin' good time.

We can't wait to get together again and

we'll bring the treats if you

promise to bake more

turkey pepper jack bites!!!!!

Blondie Bars

2 3/4 cup all purpose flour


2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder


1/2 teaspoon salt


2/3 cup butter, softened


1 lb. light brown sugar

3 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla


11.5 ounce package milk chocolate chips {I use semi-sweet}


1 cup chopped pecans {optional}


By hand:
Stir brown sugar into softened {not melted} butter in a  large bowl until butter disappears. You can use the back of your spoon to help incorporate the two together.


Add eggs one at a time to butter mixture and stir well after each egg.


Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts. Mix well.


Sift flour, baking powder and salt into wet mixture, and stir until well combined.


Coat a 13 X 9 pan with non-stick spray and spread batter evenly into dish.


Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Make sure you don’t over bake.

- A little trick I like to do is line my pan with foil both directions, folding the foil over all 4 edges.  Spray the foil with non-stick spray, and then pour in batter and bake as directed.  Allow the bars to cool COMPLETELY and simply lift them out of the pan using the foil.  Slice into squares and put away your C-L-E-A-N 13x9 pan!