Its the little things

As most of you know, I'm not a big fan of Memphis. I never have been really. When I was a teenager I really wanted to leave and would try to get my parents to move, but it never really worked out. I just feel like there's too much crime and racial tension here (can't we all just get along?!?!), and its just not a pretty place to live with lots fun outdoor activities or anything... So coming back to Memphis a few months ago was pretty hard. I haven't lived at home for this long since I was in high school so its just been kinda different, but my family has been great. They have done a lot for me and being able to hang out with them a lot has been fun. I kinda forgot what it was like to always have family members around. The thing I have enjoyed most tho about being around my family is getting to know my niece Audrey and nephew Jackson more. Especially Jackson. I think Audrey is the cutest little girl in the world, her personality is really starting to come out and its been really fun to watch her grow, but Jackson's the one who I feel like I am just now really getting to know and its been really fun. I think part of that has to do with him being 4 now, he is able to do a lot and is able to have pretty good and entertaining conversations too. Today everyone had to work so I volunteered to pick Audrey and Him up. I picked Audrey up first then drove to his school, when he looked out the window and saw me he gave me a huge smile that was the first little thing that really made my day. Its a great feeling knowing that someone is excited to see you. So we got in the car and He started talking about some fun things we could do. He remembered a time over the summer that I took him to Chick-Fil-A, so he wanted to go. (I had already decided before he even got in the car that's what I wanted to do, so I was glad that he had the same idea.) so anyways, we get there and eat, he plays on the playground, and I entertain Audrey, since there were some big kids (like almost 5 ft tall!) playing and i didnt want her to get hurt. After that Jackson decides he wants to trade in his toy for ice cream (we had split a kids meal, he wanted nuggets, i wanted fries, perfect!). I had told him he could either, keep the toy or trade it in for ice cream, before the playing he wanted to keep the toy but i guess that ice cream was sounding pretty good, so he decided that he wanted it. I was somewhat disappointed since Audrey was getting kinda impatient and I was ready to take her home so I could just set her down and let her walk around and play without having to watch her so closely, but I didnt want to disappoint him so I said that was ok, knowing that he is the SLOWEST ice cream eater ever. Well halfway through his ice cream cone (about 10 or 15 minutes later) he looks up at me and says 'boo boo (thats my family nickname) this is a really fun day.' I know you may be thinking, wow I can't believe I read all of that just to lead up to this. The point tho is that sometimes it only takes a little something to make someones day. All it took for him was an hour of my time and an ice cream cone. And all it took for me was for him to say that he was having fun. I thought about it later and was wondering how much of an impact would it have on our lives if we were more thankful for the little things. How would our relationship with God change if we told him thank you more, or just 'hey God, this is a really fun day.' It seems like we are quick to point out to God and our friends when things are hard, or not going our way. But how often do I call a friend to tell her about the great day I had? or to tell about the verse I read that revealed something new to me about Gods grace and faithfulness? It definitely is something I am going to work on, because from the little things big things grow.. just like from a little seed a tree grows...

I'm laying on my bed listening to the rain.. I'm tired but not really ready to fall asleep yet, So I thought I'd write about some things about me. I love making lists, so that's why they are numbered. Some of them are serious and some aren't and they are just in whatever order I thought of them.

1. In my next job I want to work with kids or college students.
   
2. I am addicted to diet coke... ever since that summer at kamp when I looked forward to it and would drink as much as possible on my time off. I have got to stop drinking it!!!
   
3. If I'm still single at 30 or so I want to adopt if I can afford it financially, or I want to go and work at an orphanage in another country.
   
4. Walking around Target or Lowe's is like therapy for me on days that I cant do something outside.
   
5. I want to live in North or South Carolina, I think it is so pretty there and it would be closer to the beach.
6. If we are playing with lego's and you knock over my tower, theres a good chance I'm going to knock over yours.
7. I love spring and summer and everything about them... flowers, thunderstorms, warm sunshine... even when its super hot... i love it!
8. Getting my hair cut and going to the dentist give me major anxiety and I dont even know why.
9. Shelby farms and St Jude are the best things about Memphis
   

The post without a picture

Well...I have applied for jobs pretty much all over the place. Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, and who knows where else at this point. I really would like to find a job somewhere I can see myself working for awhile. I want to put down roots somewhere. I dont really care where. I have been living out of boxes since May. Id love to be able to have my things unpacked and actually be able to find things again. Once I am able to unpack I probably wont even remember what I have. But Im trying to be patient, and not get in a rush to find something, I have been praying about it alot. Sometimes I feel like God is pulling me in one direction, then less than 24 hours later I feel pulled in another direction. No matter what tho, I know that God has a plan.

Proverbs 16:9 "The heart of man plans his way,but the Lord establishes his steps." ESV

I really feel like in the next few weeks I feel that I will really begin to see where the Lord wants me to be. Im not trying to put God on some kind of time frame, because I know he does what he wants when he wants, but there will be some things that will happen in the next few weeks that will determine alot. At this point I really dont know where he wants me to be, or what he wants me to do. I mean, I know what Im passionate about. I love kids, I love being active, Id be happy to spend most of my work day outside playing with kids so If I found a job where I could do that, itd be awesome. But I'm also really organized and not to bad at doing stuff in an office. I like making to do lists and checking things off. Im such a dork that sometimes I even write things that I have already done on my list just so I can cross it off. But anyways, the point is, I could work in an office too, and like it. I know God will be able to use me where ever I am, and that is really awesome that he gives us all unique gifts and talents. I appreciate the job that I have now, it has helped me make it over the past several months, It just would be nice to find something permanant so that I can afford to go to the dentist/doctor, take my dogs to the vet to get their overdue shots, and pay my car insurance and get my car tags renewed next month, but right now I dont even know what state Ill be in... oh and I got to thinking the other day that I will be filling taxes this year on 3 jobs in 3 states.. that will be interesting to say the least, but thats not the first time I have done that so Im sure ill figure it out...
Anyways, Its been easy for me recently to get down about the economy and job market and stuff, and all the other things that seem to go wrong. Then I am reminded how blessed I am... just look at the news and you will realize how blessed you are. Earlier as I was getting ready for bed I turned on the water and let it run for a few seconds till it was warm so that I could wash my face. As I was waiting for the water to get warm I remembered some of the headlines I had read earlier about those people in Haiti that dont have water, and thought about how there are people there that will die because they dont have water, and lots of other people will die around the world too because they dont have clean drinking water either, and here I am letting nice, clean, cold water run down the drain so that I can get warm water. We are blessed in more ways than we can imagine. I know I take so many things for granted. I hope and pray that I will be more thankful for His blessings, and that I will learn how to love others the same way that he has loved us.

Holidays!

If I would have had a Christmas card this would have been the picture you got in the mail. But since i couldn't afford to spend a bunch of money on stamps... and i think its somewhat cheesy (but funny) to send a picture of yourself with your pets, I decided not to send a card this year.. but at least you get to laugh at the picture.

Here's some of our family pictures from Thanksgiving. One thing that is really great is when grandkids come into the picture, the rest of the family will do things that they never would have done before to make them smile. Jackson loves to make funny faces, so now almost any time we take a picture, we have to take a funny face picture. I took this picture with the self timer, so i wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it far exceeded my expectations and is one of my favorite family pictures ever. what do you think?

New Years

The dogs have gotten spoiled with it being so cold outside. They love sleeping inside.

From left to right they are; Komo, Lexi, and Levi. Notice that Lexi has her invisible fence collar on. She is pretty much trained now, which is great because now all the dogs can run free around the whole back yard.

Heres some of my pics from new years, with my friends Bryden, Clayton, and Audrey

A pic of Bryden and I. We have been friends since I was 18.

This is one of my best friends Celia. We worked at HAVEN together and even though we have been friends for a few years we hardly have any pictures together.

Just thought I'd throw this picture in. this is painted on a wall in front of the Little Rock library. 'Where the Wild things Are' was one of my favorite books when I was little.

and that about wraps up new years. I realized earlier that I havent added any pics from Christmas.. maybe even Thanksgiving... I will be adding those.

Things have been pretty crazy here. I am still living in Memphis. Things have been kinda up and down and back and forth with the job I want. I am beginning to feel like God may be pulling me in a different direction. Still praying about everything. I really want to do his will, and am seeking after Him and pursuing different options because as I heard a few weeks ago at church..

'You can't steer a parked car.'

I love that quote. It has had an impact on how I am pursuing options for my future. Sometimes I just want to throw up my hands and say 'I quit' and tell God that if he wants something to happen he just has to make it happen. But now I realize that isn't how I need to do things. I need to pursue options and pray through things and God will lead me wherever I should go.