I Love My Crazy,Wonderful Life!

Things I Love About Lower Alabama

2011-08-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

There are soooo many things that I LOVE about living in LA (Lower Alabama). It is safer and quieter (even in tourist season) than my life in Tennessee. Everything here moves at a slower pace too, which is awesome!

Of course what I love most about LA is the beach! It's so relaxing to just go sit and forget about your worries.

We took this a week or so after we moved. I love how someone made these footprints. Kinda helps you remember just how big God is and that he is always there even when you don't feel like it.

There are such cute little houses here. Of course if there are neighborhoods back home that have houses this colorful too, but these are actually in areas that you WOULD WANT to live in.

I always joke with Kevin saying that I want to live in a purple one. :)

There REALLY are alligators here living in the "wild".

For some reason, we get soooo excited everytime we see these guys. You can be driving down the road and see them from the car on the banks of rivers, lakes, and lagoons.

This guy was 8-10 feet long.

I love seeing the pelicans. The coolest thing is seeing them "dive" into the water to eat fish. I could watch them for hours.

One of my favorite places to go are the marinas.

I LOVE to see the boats. I really think I want to live on a boat instead of a house. That way I will always be on the coast, and can live anywhere I want.

We also like feeding the fish at the marinas.

Mobile Bay is beautiful. This is from the Fairhope side.

This is the lagoon in Gulf Shores. Gorgeous!

Ok, back to the beach!!!! I'm sure that's what y'all wanna see anyway. :)

These little guys are interesting and creepy at the same time. They're the size of spiders and make me think of them too.

Even Rocky gets into going to the beach.

He LOVES being a beach dog :)

And of course my boys like to have fun at the beach too

Thanks for your time friends. Hope you enjoyed the tour of LA. Come down and see it for yourself.

Peace out til next time.

Me In A Nutshell

2011-07-11T18:12:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my daughter, Kristin, a little while ago about my blog about my kids being grown.(2 blogs ago) She said she didn't realize how much of my identity was being her and Joey's mom.

That got me to thinking what I convey as "Becky" when I meet new people. Thinking what I say to people that I meet thru work and other places that don't revolve around being a mom. I hope the first things that people can tell about me are that I'm a good person and that I am a Christian. I mean, those are things that people should sense about me without me telling them, right? If I have to tell someone those things, then maybe something isn't right, maybe my fruit isn't showing. Wow, deep huh? This is not even what I intended this to be about when I turned on the laptop.

Ok, now back to my original thought on this. What are the first things that I tell people I meet? What are things that I say to describe who I am? What does it mean to be me?

I still think the first thing that I tell people is that I'm a mom. It's in my DNA, I can't help it. Being a mom is the most wonderful thing I ever did. I love my my kids more than anything in the world. They are also the ones I feel the most connected to in this world.

I also tell people that I am married, and have been married to Kevin for over 20 years. Wow, that's a LONG time. I've been with him more than half my life. That seems crazy to me. Sometimes it's hard to remember pre-married life.

Next in line is probably a that I am from Memphis. I know that I say a lot that I am glad to be moved away from there, and for many reasons I am. I love where I live now, but that doesn't mean that I forgot my roots. I will ALWAYS be a Memphis girl, I can't get away from it. That too is in my DNA. Growing up in Memphis made me who I am. Almost everyone I love and everything I know is from when I lived in Memphis. Growing up, it was a safe place. It was HOME. Not only that, the best music, BBQ, ~~wrestling~~and college basketball team are from Memphis. (GO TIGERS!)

Next is probably that I am obsessed with all music and anything 80's ~~especially 80's music~~. If I could only have one "media outlet" for the rest of my life, it would be music. I would choose it over television and movies anyday. I would even choose music over my iPhone and Facebook. (just don't ever ask me to do it) :) Every song has a memory attached to it- some good and some bad. Most are good memories though. So much of my life has revolved around music. Before I could even walk very well, my mom started teaching me to dance. I was one jammin little toddler doing the Rollercoaster and Hustle. My daddy and I used to sing together ALL the time. I always believed my dad was the best singer in the world- I still do. His voice was as good as Elvis- which was his favorite music. We would sing Elvis for hours. Then I got older and loved MTV- not this crap that MTV has become. I'm talking about the real MTV that actually played nothing but videos. Almost every song I hear from the 80's takes my mind back to the video. There are also several songs that remind me of certain friends and happy times we've shared. Then I of course sang to and with my kids. We sang ALL the time just like my dad and I did. I can't tell you how many times we turned OFF the radio and just sang. I mean, who would've thought a little boy would want to sing "Away in a Manger" even in the summer. The memories of singing with my kids, or dancing with Joey are priceless. Oh boy, there I go about the kids again. :) Yes, "all" I've been for 24 years is a mommy and I can't escape it, nor do I want to. :)

The fifth thing people usually discover about me is that I homeschooled my kids. I know, there I go about my kids again. :) Did you know that I homeschooled 25% of my life so far? That's really something if you think about it. What an honor to have gotten to spend all that time sowing into the the lives of two amazing kids (and all of their friends) for 25% of my life.... or over 50% of my adult life if you want to look at it that way. I miss that part of my life. I miss spending 24/7 with them and a house full of other young people who were always around. Ok, you're probably tired of hearing about my kids, but like I said before- being a mom is in my DNA!

I guess the next thing that people find out about me is my newfound love for Disney World. Last year was the first time I ever went. Kevin and I took a couples trip. I rediscovered how much I enjoyed riding rollercoasters and other rides. I stopped riding them when the kids were little. Going to Disney World helped me find my sense of adventure again. It gave me excitement that I thought I had lost. DW really is a magical place!!!! And since I have never been with the kids, it is a place all mine. See-a memory or fun time not connected to the kids. (unless you add the part that I would LOVE to go to DW with them, especially now that they're grown. I actually have 2 trips planned there before the end of the year. It's become an obsession for me because it's a happy/no worry place. The days are spent doing nothing but fun stuff. :) Everyone at my work seems as obsessed as I am with DW. Almost everyone has either gone or plan to go within the last year. I've never worked somewhere that SO many people are Disneylovers. I think that only added to my obsession.

There are so many layers of me, but I seriously think those are the first things I convey about me. Those are probably the main things (minus the DW) who make me who I am. Those are the things in my life that I am most proud of- my kids/family, being a Memphian, music and homeschooling.

So, what about you? Do people see your fruit first off without you telling them? Also, what do you want people to know about you? Does the picture of you that you show people represent the "real" you?

Hope you all have a great night, let your light shine, and enjoy the people and things you love most in life.

Until next time.... Peace out friends!

Joey Got His License

2011-07-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

Joey has been wanting to get his license for quite a while. ~~since he was 2 I think :)~~ He would've had it WAY before now, but I ~~being a horrible mom~~ lost his social security card. The SS office has been crowded everytime I went by on my lunch break, so there hasn't been time to get it replaced.

I took off work Friday, applied for his SS card, and he FINALLY got his license.

We gave him our truck. He has been putting money into it for over a year to get it the way he wanted it including a $2500 sound system.

He now has insurance and enjoys cruising the strip along the beach yelling at girls with his radio booming. Typical boy. :)

He takes after his mom and has bit of a lead foot, but thank goodness for cruise control when he remembers to use it- only thing that keeps me honest. He also already drives with only one hand, again like me. Now, hope he doesn't text or talk on his phone and drive like I do.

Until next time- Peace out friends!

The Kids Are What? Grown? No Way!

2011-07-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

I know Joey is 18, and I should be used to the fact that both of my kids are now {gulp} "grown ups". It's just hard to wrap my head around it sometimes. I mean, I don't feel old enough to have grown kids {not most of the time anyway}. I'm told all the time that I don't look old enough to have grown kids, so I believe that's true {even if it's not the case}. So, how on Earth can it be that both of my kids are "grown-ups"? How does 18 years {and 24 years for Kristin} just fly by so quickly? Wasn't it just last year ~~or so it seems~~ that we were having to watch Disney movies ~~the SAME Disney movies over and over~~ everyday? And no, I don't mean for me!!!! {although I do enjoy a good Disney movie from time to time} It doesn't seem that long ago that Joey used to have a Cowboy Woody with "Joey" written on the boot that he carried around. He loved that Woody so much, that his hand kept coming off. I still have the hand in my jewelry box because I ~~finally~~ got tired of sewing it back on.

I've never wanted to be anything except a Momma. ~~and a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader. Cut me some slack on that one though- I was 7-8 years old~~ All I have been since I was 17 years old is a Mommy (yeah, yeah wife too, but this isn't about that at this time.) The last 24 years of my life have been devoted to being the best Mommy possible to the most amazing kids in the world. What now? How do you move on when you're not needed as much as before? How do you go from every breath making sure they are ok, to barely seeing them, and mainly just speaking to them on text and Facebook? How do you change from having the identity of "Kristin's/Joey's mom" to finally being merely "Becky"? It's really different going from where you know the entire family of all of your kids' friends to not even knowing their friends.

I'm learning to "let go". I really am! It may not sound like it from the last paragraph. I don't ask a lot of questions. I show Joey that I trust him and his decisions. {and I REALLY DO trust him-he hasn't given me reason not to}. I don't give him a curfew, and when I have asked him to come home earlier than midnight, he has. I am always here if he needs to talk. I wait for him to come to me instead of demanding to talk to him. We actually still talk about things in his life daily {of course it means I stay up a lot later}. I am so glad that we homeschooled because we may not have the relationship we do otherwise. There are times though that he thinks I am ridiculous when I worry about him. Hey, I'm new to this kids being grown thing. He IS just 18. I think it'd be a lot easier if I had my close friends around instead of living so far from them. We're all going thru the same thing- going from homeschooling and them being totally dependent on you for everything to basically just being on call for them...kinda like PRN work- let go and be there on an as needed per request. The key that I've found is to pray, pray and pray for my kids... And still pray more. I pray for myself to let go and not try to hold them down either. I also trust in the way I raised them. I know their upbringing. I KNOW they know right from wrong. I worked for the last 24 years to make sure they did.

My biggest goal is for them to know that I love then no matter what. Nothing they can do will ever make me not love them. I may get mad at them from time to time. I may get frustrated. But I will ALWAYS love them. I hope that they both know that.

Hopefully, some of you can relate to this. Let's all pray for each other and each other's ~~babies~~ oops, I mean grown kids. :)

Until next time- Peace out!

80's Hair Bands ROCK!

2011-07-10T11:43:00.000-07:00

I've been to two (more) AWESOME concerts in the last month. They are both groups I loved as a teenager (and still love today). They were part of the 80's Hair Band Movement.

I've loved Def Leppard since 7th grade. I had posters of them all over my walls, and almost wore out the Pyromania casette tape. I have now seen them twice in concert. Once was the early 90's, then the other was June 18, 2011. Here are a few pics. from the show.

The whole show was AWESOME! Joey went with me to the concert and said they still knew how to rock. Guess if they can pass for an 18 yr old who likes his music, it means that they're really good. :)

I had such a crush on Joe Elliott when I was a teenager. Now he's just old. (sorry Joe)

One armed drummer, Rick Allen, is better than most 2 armed drummers. It's incredible how he has overcome what has happened to him, relearned how to play with just one arm and his legs, and can rock it out with the best of them. And I commend Def Leppard for not giving up on him, but being willing to no longer play music if he wasn't able to play. Now, that's loyalty!

Thank you and good night!!!!

Now on to the 2nd 80's band I've seen in the last month. I got to see Poison rock the house last week- 7-7-11.

Poison came along in the late 80's- after Kristin was born. They wore a lot of make-up back then. Thank goodness they're "normal" now.

Here are pics from that show:

I had no idea that Bret Michaels played the mouth-harp (aka the harmonica)

Very easy on the eyes.

CC Deville can still bring it!

Sign of a good show--- ears are ringing when you leave..LOL... I remember those days. :)

Thank you Def Leppard and Poison for coming to Orange Beach, Alabama and reminding me how to rock it out 80's style.

Until next time friends- peace out!

You Have To Eat, Right?

2011-07-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

I decided that I would make a blog featuring foods that I've eaten and love since moving to Alabama. Keep in mind that I do NOT eat seafood (yuk!), so you will not see any of that here.

I guess I will start with appetizers... yummy....

Our very favorite appetizer is the fried dill pickles from The Hangout. They are the best we've eaten. The Hangout is also one of our favorite places to go. Great food, not too pricey, and great view because it's right on the beach.

This is the 18 cent Senate Soup from McGuire's Irish Pub. Yes, it's really just 18 cents, and really yummy.

Alligator Bites! Yes, REAL alligator. Tastes like chicken (yes,seriously!) Joey loves it dipped in Ranch dressing.

Spinach/Artichoke Dip with chips at Derailed Diner. Even Kevin who keeps saying he hates spinach dip couldn't stop eating it.

This is the appetizer we got at the Hard Rock Biloxi. It was awesome and filled us both up.

Onion ring tower.... yummo!

Now on to "real food" (like appetizers and desserts aren't "real food"- who am I kidding?)

These are from a little place called Antonio's on the beach in Panama City. They were awesome!

This is the Chef Salad Kevin got at Lambert's. It was so big that he ate on it 3 times and still had a lot left. Finally just threw it out because he was sick of salad.

I eat a lot of salads with chicken in them-either grilled or strips like in this picture. This particular salad was at Red Robin's in Pensacola. I LOVE Red Robin.

Tacos at Bravo Taco.. We have recently discovered this place, and was pleasantly surprised. Great prices and everything tastes so fresh.

Now, on to the nachos......

This is the Garbage Nachos at Tacky Jacks. They are fantastic! I also love Tacky Jacks because all locations are on the water and have a very laid back atmosphere.

These are the nachos from McGuire's. They are HUGE!!!! It's only $9.99. I ate til I was full, and took 3 to-go boxes home FULL.

Joey's nachos at North Shore Grill. I LOVED that place and am so disappointed they're closed now. The oil spill did them in. :( They had the best burgers on Pleasure Island.

Speaking of burgers.....

This is the 3/4 pound burger at McGuire's. You can get your burger up to 50 different ways- even hot fudge sundae burger. Not a flavor I would try personally. This burger is so big, I can only eat half.

A1 Peppercorn Burger at Red Robin. Other places with great burgers are Bahama Bob's, Lester's, Jake's, and Lulu's.

Other "real" foods.........

Jake's is one of our favorite places to eat. Our favorite waiter's name is Dustin. Be sure to ask for him and tip well if you go there. :)

We were excited to finally find some good barbecue. Being from Memphis, we have very high standards for BBQ. The photo above is Moe's. The photo below is Rib Shak in Perdido Key.

Voodoo Ribs from Reggae J's in Panama City. Joey said these are the best ribs he ever ate, followed by the ones at Jake's.

This root beer is brewed in kegs at McGuire's and is the best root beer I'veever drank. You must try this if you go there.

Now......on to the best part....DESSERT....ice cream!

Dippin Dots

Key Lime shake at Stacy's Drug Store. The shake was good, but the lady who works there is not very friendly at all- kind of rude actually.

Mint Chocolate Chip Shake at Summer Scoops in Summerdale, AL.

Banana Split at Scoops a block from the beach...This is our favorite ice cream spot.

Here are a couple of things we didn't try, but look very good.

Chocolate suckers for Breast Cancer.
Below is hamburger shaped cakes in Panama City. Don't they look like real hamburgers?

And last, but not least.... every marina has fish feeders. We love feeding the fish, and I LOVE the marinas. They are beautiful and very interesting places within themselves.

Hope I didn't make you all too hungry. Have a great day and Peace Out!

2011-07-04T07:11:00.001-07:00

New pics of Leiana and Zarek June 2011

2011-07-04T07:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday America!!!!!

Rocky's 1st Trip to a Dog Park 6/26/11

2011-06-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Joey and I were driving around last Sunday and found a dog park in Orange Beach. Since today was the first time we've all been off work since then, we decided to take Rocky to the dog park.

I'm so glad they have a small dog part. Rocky forgets sometimes that he is smaller than other dogs.

This is the small dog part. It has lots of room to play and run. It also has hurdles and other obstacles.

and we did :) Well, Joey did. :)

Even with all the obstacles and things to do, all that Rocky wanted was his tennis ball.

There are several benches "in memory" or "in honor" of several pets. I thought this one was a little "different" because it's for a "pig" at a "dog" park. Guess it's because there aren't "pig parks".

Well, we went and had fun. Rocky played hard, but got tired and hot after a while- guess you can call him a "hot dog weinie dog" today.

Have a great day peeps and Peace Out!

Fun With Sherry, George, and the Kids

2011-06-26T13:03:00.000-07:00

We are so blessed to have family and friends come see us. We LOVE when people come visit. We get homesick from time to time, and visits from special friends and family are like special moments from "home".

June 18-19, 2011, Kevin's cousin Sherry, her husband George and their kids came to visit. It had been almost 2 years since we've seen them. They moved to Minnesota shortly after we moved to Alabama.

Sherry and George are such a sweet couple. We absolutely LOVED spending time with them.

This is their son Christian AKA Kissy. He became Kevin's shadow.

This is their daughter Jessie (Jessica). She was my new best friend.

Great picture of the cousins :)

We felt lost when the kids left. We got so used to them being right by our side. We miss the Cummings family and hope they get to come back to visit soon.

Going to try this by text to see if it goes thru. Peace out!

2011-06-04T22:29:00.001-07:00

June Is Off To a Good Start!

2011-06-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well, today is June 4 and I think the month has gotten off to a pretty good start. It was a 4 day work-week which is always wonderful. No matter if you like your job or not, an extra day off is ALWAYS pretty terrific. Payday was on the 1st-yay! The best thing so far is seeing friends from home.

Kim Irby and Mendy Brooks came to town with a couple of ladies from their church. I got to meet them two nights for dinner. They are sweet, wonderful, Christian friends. I just wish I was off work so I could've spent more time with them.

Kim & Mendy

Mendy, me & Kim

Me, Kim, & Mendy

I am blessed to be friends with these two awesome women. They have your back and are always there with prayers and support- never fail. It was so sad driving away from them, and I have to admit I cried. It's been two years since I've seen them-before we moved from Memphis. I don't want it to be that long again.

Ok, well- didn't want to turn this into a downer. It REALLY has been a good month so far, and I'm looking forward to a great summer filled with family, friends, concerts, and of course the beach.

So, until next time (which may be a while if I keep forgetting my sign in and password)................... Peace out!

May Was Fantabulous!

2011-06-04T10:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, May was a awesome month! (and June hasn't been so bad yet either)

I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. I blinked and May was gone. May was of course filled with work everyday M-F, and mostly my "regular" routine that I went over a couple of blogs ago. But there were also 3 weekends of concerts, Momma/Joey Sundays, and the month ended with a 4 day work week because of Memorial Day. Only thing better than a 4 day work week is a vacation week. :)

Speaking of work though, been a pretty good month. Maybe it's just me, but eventhough it's been super busy working for the best 7 doctors ever, I've felt more relaxed and at ease. I'm still working nonstop everyday, so maybe it's just my attitude that's changing. For one thing, stopped listening to country music all day. That was the only radio station I could get to come in. I moved the radio and now either listen to Classic Rock or Christian everyday. I'm sure the Relient K, Toby Mac, The Katinas, Casting Crowns, and P & W helps with the possitivity too.

May 1st Joey and I went to see "Fast Five"- the latest installment of the Fast and the Furious series. AMAZING movie! My new favorite movie! Even better than Chick Flicks!

May 8 was Mother's Day and I spent the WHOLE day with Joey. He took me to lunch and a movie- all his treat. He is a blessing! I am thankful everyday that God saw it fit for me to be his momma. He is one sweet kid! (eventhough he's not really a kid- he is almost 19-yikes!)

May 14 I went to see the Beach Boys/Sha Na Na with Sheree and Cindy from work.We had a blast!

Sha Na Na was a lot of fun. 50's music is cheery and makes you wanna smile. I knew almost all the songs, and it made me think of my daddy most of the night. I even got teary-eyed remembering him loving that kind of music. I also thought of my mom. She and Dennis (my wonderful step-dad) watch the Doo Wap concerts all the time on PBS.

The Beach Boys were great too. My dad used to have an 8 track tape of them that we listened to driving around Memphis with the windows down. (man, that makes me sound old- 8 tracks-gulp)He's the only one I really listened to the Beach Boys with until "Kokomo" came out in the 80's. They have some new, younger group members (so does Sha Na Na). The younger members don't harmonize quite as well as the older guys. I guess that's because they were singing before the younger guys were even born. :)

The BEST part of the Beach Boys though was that John Stamos came with them. And I MUST admit, that he has aged VERY well, and looks even better than those old Full House days.

I LOVED it when JS sang "Forever". Such a great, sweet song. Reminds me of watching "Full House" with the kids. They don't make tv like that anymore- REAL family tv.

Then, May 21- Sheree and I went to the Billy Currington/Kenny Chesney concert. I LOVED Currington, but seriously doubt I will go see Chesney again. His show was VERY boring. Sheree and I had more fun watching the crowd than him.

Billy Currington- Thank God for good directions..... and turnip greens. :)

I definitely prefer Brad Paisley to Chesney anyday. The Paisley concert was AWESOME! It was entertainment from the 1st note to the last, not a dull moment at all (compared to all dull at KC).

May 29 I went with Sheree and Jennifer (also from work) to see Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top. Man, that show was INCREDIBLE!!!!!! Both acts put on a SUPERB show!

Show started off with LS! Man, they are awesome! I just love good, Southern rock! Ain't NOTHING like it!

Then ZZ Top took the stage. OMG I forgot how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE ZZ Top! Don't know what it is, but they are just awesome! They don't need all the bells and whistles. Just 3 guys singing and playing music! AWESOMENESS!

So, there you have it. May was filled with good times, good friends, good music, and a little work sprinkled in, but not too bad because the weekends were so so good. Only word to sum up May is FANTABULOUS!!!!!

Until next time- peace out!

Wow, Bin Laden is Dead!

2011-05-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

When I first heard the news of Osama Bin Laden's death I had mixed emotions. My first feeling was joy because it meant that his reign of terror was over. I had (and still have)such pride in my country and our armed forces. My next emotion was fear and concern because there is a good chance that his followers will retaliate against our troops. I know many military overseas and I pray for their safety. My last emotion was anger as I listened to our president's speech. He used the word "I" MANY times in his speech and seemed to take credit for Bin Laden's death. He took the credit before he even gave credit to our military who have been there risking their lives. The speech also made me feel sick to my stomach because of his arrrogance while he took the credit. Then, he FINALLY gave credit where credit is due- to our service men and women. And then he finished the speech quoting the pledge and saying God Bless America thinking we wouldn't all remember how he took credit for the whole thing. Because of his repeating "I" many times, I could no longer feel the joy I had at first. Another reason I think I got so mad at him taking the credit is because he REPEATEDLY said that he was against the war, against us being there. If you're against it, how can you take credit when we finally get Osama? Yes, I said "we" knowing that "I" had nothing to do with it, but I mean "we" as America.

"My" job in this for now is to pray for our country, pray for Americans who are overseas-be it military, tourists, missionaries, etc. and to even pray for our president who I do not care for at all. I also pray that we, as Americans, come to our senses and vote him out in 554 days.

Have a great night folks and peace out!

My life is even more boring than I thought......

2011-04-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

I know I keep saying I'll post more, but my life is so boring and predictable that I really cannot ever find anything to blog about. Kevin told me that I'm predictable and have the same exact routine every day. Unfortunately, he is right. I guess I'll post my Monday-Friday routine. Then you can all realize how boring I really am and be glad I don't blog more... LOL

5:30 a.m.- alarm goes off on the cell phone, which is the only clock I use. I don't even know if the other ones are set with daylight savings time. :)
(the alarm goes off at 6:00 too just in case I don't get up at 5:30)

Then I take a shower, get dressed, etc. to get out the door by 6:45 to go to work.

(me in the car)

Then I'm at work for the next 10 or so hours.

FINALLY get home, change into my comfy clothes. (which Kevin and Joey say are my "homey" or "sloppy" clothes) Then we eat dinner. We usually eat at home.

Thursday nights are usually "date nights" because Joey works doubles. We ALMOST always go to:

because they have AYCE catfish- which is Kevin's fave thing to eat. He gets catfish no matter where we go, so we go where it's more affordable.

Then I get on

and play

Then I watch a little tv- depends on the night. A few of my fave shows are:

Then off to bed to start again.

So, see why I don't post much? My life is super boring with nothing exciting going on. I miss those days of homeschooling, when I didn't have to work, and could do interesting things all the time. Now, it's same ole, same ole, dull, and BORING. No wonder I dream of going to Disney World ALL the time.

Until next time- peace out!

Testing, Playing, and Trying to Get the Hang of This

2011-03-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
My friend Jill has motivated me to start my blog up again. She is very creative and takes the most awesome pictures ever. This isn't about her, just thought I'd give her the credit for getting me thinking about blogging, and keeping up with it this time. Thanks Jill- if this works.

My kids mean the whole world to me. I love them more than anything and hope that they realize exactly how much they mean to me.

This is my daughter Kristin. I haven't seen her in over 10 months- which totally breaks my heart. I love and miss her very very much!!!! Wish she'd move out of "Tornado Alley" Oklahoma and come live at the beach with me.

Hey Kristin, I love you this much (((((hugs))))!!!!!

This is my son Joey. I cannot belive he's all grown up. Where did the time go?We always have the most fun together. I love you Joey!!!!

Well, hopefully this works. If it does, I plan to blog a lot more. If not, I guess I'll have to track Jill down to help me learn more.

Have a great night friends, and hope to see you here often.

Peace out!

I Know, Here I Go Again

2011-03-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I have again forgot my gmail and password again. Just figured it out tonight, and HOPE to be blogging on a more regular basis. I know I say that all the time, but too many other things going on. If it weren't for Facebook, I'd be so isolated- except for my work friends. LOL. Hope everyone is well, and hope to keep in touch better. :)

So excited to get my FREE tix yesterday. Can't wait for the shows!

2010-09-12T09:51:00.001-07:00

2010-09-12T09:47:00.001-07:00

Now I can post from a text message so hopefully I will post more now.

letter to my friends on 9-11-01-what we did on that day

2010-09-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hi,

I just wanted to write and let you know all about our day. It's awesome to see how God can take something bad and turn it into something good!!!

Our day started out like most days. I was fixing to walk out the door to go to Bible study wh...en ...the phone rang. It was my husband. He told me to turn on the news to see the horrid scenes of the World Trade Center burning after a terrorist attack. I was mesmerized and just sat and watched a while-prayingfor all involved. Several things raced through my mind, your's too probably. I thought of missionary friends over seas and people who we love as much as family returning from Jordan by airplane. (Praise theLord they are safe in Amsterdam!!) I thought of family and friends in the service and of young men I have worked with in the youth group-praying that they don't get drafted if America ended up going to war.

Then I had an idea. I called my church and asked if we were having any kind of prayer service. They said they weren't sure and then called back a few minutes later to say we were. My husband was the first to show up there to pray. My daughter and I showed up a little while later to find him and many others already at the alter praying for our country. After praying my husband told me that he felt called or led to do something else. (which is weird -my husband never really felt called before) We then went to talk to my pastor about what we could do. We asked about going to New York, but were told that we would have to wait until he could get in touch with someone who could help us. He was worried about just sending us to New York without a plan. We are actually still waiting to see if we are needed. We have contacted a couple of agencies to let them know we are availableto volunteer wherever they could use us. Since we couldn't go to New York right then, we still felt like there was something we needed to do to reach out to others. We then asked our pastor if there wasa ny way that we could go to the airport to minister to the thousands of stranded people by handing out food and toys. He made a few calls and the people he talked to said that there really wasn't a need and put us on a list to help upon request. After seeing how determined we were and how much we wanted to minister,he told us that if we wanted to go on our own that we could take a church van and anything we needed fromthe food pantry. We chose candy, peanut butter and crackers, pop tarts, chips, and other foods like that- anything that was portable and didn't have to be cooked. We also took diapers. We then recruited another family to go with us and set off to the airport. When we got there many of the people were already gone to hotels and churches who offered their facilities.We walked from one end of the main lobby to the other.(The people were already evacuated from the concourses.) We went up to everyone we saw and offered them food, gum, candy, etc and told each of them how much Jesus loved them. The people were so surprised.Some couldn't believe that someone would come there out of their own free will to GIVE, not sell things to them. There were a few people I know we will never forget.One man was stranded there with his daughter who came over to us to get food. I walked over to him because he had not received anything from us yet. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said that that he will never forget his detour to Memphis. I casually said,"Yeah, that's just horrible about what happened in New York." He said, "No, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how you came, gave to me, and showed me Jesus." I thought I was going to start bawling right then. There was also a group of young Asians. (probablyearly 20's) They couldn't understand English very well. WE gave them food and told them how much God loved them. We also told them that we were prayingthat they would be able to get home safely and quickly.There was one girl in their group who was so overwhelmed. She was shaking and on the verge of tears. Just to see her made me feel like bawling again. (Felt like that a few times today!!!!)After we saw everyone still there, we got kicked outof the airport. Apparently we talked to the wrong person to get permission. The head guy in charge of security came and told us to leave. He said that we could be putting poison in the candy and trying tokill all the stranded passengers. He even made a security guard escort us to the van. Oh well,God stil lused us and I know some people were touched by what we did.

I then found out where some of the passengers had been taken. They were staying at some of the local churches. I called those churches to see if we could bring what we had left to give to the people there. They said yes to come on out. It was so awesome when we got there. The leaders of the church met us outside and helped us bring in what we had brought. They let us go around and talk to the people and hand out candy, toys, gum, etc. The people who were strandedt here told me that several different churches had come by too. All different doniminations and races!! Praise the Lord!!!! Before we left, we had prayer with the pastors of the church. It was so awesome to know that we could all come together as brothers and sisters in Christ and serve together.( we were different doniminations) Talk about showing God's Love!!!!WOW!!!!

I was so overwhelmed to think of how good God is and how he used just plain ole people like us to do His work!!He truly is a great God and this is one day I hope my family never forgets. Just think, when my grandkids are learning about this, my kids can say, "I rememberthat day. It started out really bad, but God used meto help that day turn out better for others." That is one thing that won't be in the history books, but will be in our hearts and minds forever.As Christians we need to bind together in prayer for our country and for each other!!!!

God Bless,
Becky Palmer in Memphis, TN

yay!!!

2010-06-30T18:52:00.001-07:00

I am so excited. I have been trying on and off for weeks to remember my blog log in with no luck. Decided to try again tonight. Had to go thru hoops to figure it out, but I did and I'm back in business. Hope to be blogging a lot more now. Just not tonight though. Bedtime... haha... Good night folks

Sorry Friends

2009-09-13T21:29:00.000-07:00

I am soooo far behind. Will try to post soon. Just know we are all great, and happy lovin our new home. Found a great church. Jobs are going fine, as far as jobs go..LOL.. would rather stay home like I used to, but I work for a good Christian company with good values and is all about family. We even have prayer group at work- pretty cool. Will try to catch up more later. Peace out!

Update on Palmer Move

2009-08-03T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I meant to post this a couple of days ago, but things have been a little busy around here. :)

I'll start with Wednesday before we moved (on Thursday) was my last day of work. I had been sick for almost a week and finally
went to the doctor. I was diagnosed with borderline pneumonia, which I definitely did not have time for. Then, Thursday we were
packing and loading the truck when the tornado sirens started going off. Being that sirens go off often with no results all the
time in Memphis, I wanted my guys to hurry up and load the truck- not taking a break.. Then after I was a slave driver, I found out
that there really was a tornado that touched down within a few miles of my house. (crazy, huh?)

Since we got a late start- weather/health related Thursday- we ended up driving all night and getting into Gulf Shores (with no sleep)
early Friday morning. We got everything unloaded Friday, and Saturday morning. By Saturday night, I was totally unpacked and
all pictures were hung by Sunday night.

Kevin and I were both due to start our jobs Monday (today). When Kevin went in, he found out that his new boss had a car wreck
last week and will be off work until Wednesday. Hope he does get to start Wed. He does too. ;)

I started my job today too. I really like the place. The people are nice, and the work is both challenging as well as familiar to what
I was doing in Memphis.There are great benefits. The only drawback is the 40 mins. drive each way. Before starting my job, I went
for another interview closer to home. They are interviewing all week, and will let people know Friday. I thought I wanted that job, but
left feeling like the job I already got was the best one for me- in spite of the drive.

I guess that's it for now. Keep in touch.

Love, Becky :)

Palmers Moved... How It Happened

2009-08-03T19:34:00.001-07:00

Well, we had decided to move to Gulf Shores, AL. I went apt. hunting while there with Robyn in June. I decided that if we were really gonna move, I better get busy faxing some resumes. I got the yellow pages for the area, and started faxing resumes to several doctors in the area. I actually faxed the Thursday before the July the 4th weekend. I got a call that following Monday from a job in Fairhope, AL that has several offices. It's an ortho office with 7 mds and several PTs. I went down for an interview, got the job, and was elated that they allowed me to give my 2 week notice at Home Health Care of West Tennessee. After I got my job, Kevin went to meet up with the owner of a wrecker/towing company. He got the job too, so we went to pay up at the apt, electricity deposit, etc. to be set up to move at the end of the month.

The last 2 weeks at my job was extremely busy. I was excited and sad at the same time. My last day was July 29, moved on July 30. Details to follow on next post....

Returning from Beach/Hurricane Winds in Memphis-

2009-06-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Well, after arriving home from Gulf Shores with Robyn (see last post), I washed a couple of load of clothes, took a nap, and started to catch up on my recorded shows on TiVo. As I was finishing the 1st show, Kevin called. He was working and said there was a storm that was so bad it had knocked down trees and it was headed towards our house. He said to get ready because I was riding with him that night, he didn't want me home alone in case the power went out. Right as he got those words out of his mouth, the electricity started blinking on and off, then just went out completely. I went outside to see the yellow sky and the winds blowing like crazy. Days later, the news said they were Hurricane Force Winds. When he got home, there was no power. His boss said there was so much damage out there that they weren't running.

We decided to go find something to eat. As we drove thru Bartlett, it was crazy. There were trees everywhere. (we found out later that a tornado had touched down there) We got to Highway 64/Sycamore View which is usually a very busy intersection with lots of businesses. No one had power there except KFC and McDonald's. There were so many people lined up that it was probably gonna take over an hour to get food. We kept driving thru Bartlett and the only other places we found with power were Domino's and Milano's- both pizza. We decided on Milano's and brought some home figuring we'd probably get power later that night. We went to bed in the dark. Kevin got called in to work at 3 am, I stayed home. When Kevin got home, he said that half of the apts. had power and half didn't.

We drove around and went anywhere we could that had air conditioning. The 2nd night without air was horrible. We woke up around 4:00 am so hot we decided to get a hotel room. There are about 10 hotels near out apts. None of them had vacancies. We ended up topping off the gas tank, putting Joey's futon mattress in the back of my Blazer, and sleeping in there with the car running. The AC felt so good after being so hot for so long. Joey was still at mom's house. They didn't have power either, but they had generators and fans. We figured he was better off there.

We ended up not having power for over 48 hours. We found creative ways to stay cool, and spent all that time together without the tv. Now, that was something.. 48 hours w.o tv, and we survived. We actually had a good time together, and I'd love to have another 48 hour no tv time, I just prefer to have air conditioning when we do it.

Beach Hopping With the Hubby April 09

2009-06-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I never took the time to blog about my beach trip with the hubby in April. It was amazing! We invited Joey to go along, but as usual he wanted to stay with my parents! Kevin and I have only been away for 1 night/2 day trips twice since Joey was born, so it was a nice break. I actually kept notes on everything the whole time so I could blog with details, but now 2 months later, who knows where that is. I'll do it by memory (oh no, not what it used to be!).

We left on Good Friday. We all three worked that day, so after Joey and I got off, we picked Kevin up at his work. We took Joey to mom's and what was supposed to be a 30 minute drop off took 3 hours!!!! Kevin and our nephew Ricky got to talking and wouldn't stop. It was driving me crazy because I wanted to get on the road. We FINALLY left there about 9 pm to start the trek to Destin, Florida. It takes about 10 hours to get to Destin, so leaving at 9 pm after working all day was not my idea of fun. As we left mom's, Kevin put the address where we were going in the GPS, and it told us to go to New Orleans, then Destin. I knew that was wrong. Why would you go west to get east? Crazy! Then he put in Mobile because we knew we'd pass thru Mobile to go to Destin. Again it said to go thru New Orleans to get to Destin. Still crazy! So, we got out the directions I printed on MapQuest using my house in Bartlett as a starting point. (was planning to take Joey to Mom's the night before and leave from our house) We were already on I-55 going south from Hernando, so we thought we could go over to the highway MapQuest told us to take from 55 thru one of the small towns along the route. We got off on a Greenwood exit, headed east towards Highway 45 (I think that's right). Well, we never realized we'd be on that highway for HOURS before getting to 45. We went over 100 miles without even seeing a business, not even a gas station. About midnight we decided to start looking for a hotel since we had been up since 5 am. Again, we found nothing. At 1:30 we decided we had to try to get some sleep. We found some Civic Center with a huge parking lot so we pulled in to sleep. We tried to lay the seats down to sleep, but since we just bought the Yukon, we couldn't figure it out. The back was also OVER-full because I ALWAYS tend to overpack. I tried to sleep in the backseat and Kevin in the front, but the seatbelt kept poking me in the side. I ended up moving into the front passenger seat and Kevin moved in the back. Kevin feel right to sleep, he can sleep anywhere. I couldn't sleep. All the commotion of trying to figure out where to sleep made me WIDE awake. Also, every time I heard a car come down the highway (which seemed to all of a sudden get busy) I kept thinking it was a cop comeing to find out what we were doing there. Around 3:30 I woke Kevin up, and we started on the way again.

DAY 1- Saturday---We made it into Saraland, AL about 8 a.m., went to Wal Mart to stretch our legs and eat breakfast. We hit Florida around 10ish and we went straight to Pensacola Beach. Check-in wasn't til 4 pm anyway, needed to kill some time. Man, Pensacola was gorgeous! I am probably partial though, my fave place ever is the beach, and just about any beach'll do. ;) After staying there a while, we decided to leave. I noticed a sign for Navarre Beach. We stopped there too. Stayed a little while, and decided we were both anxious to at least find where our condo was. We rolled into the Destin area around 1 p.m. We were SOOOO ready at the point for a shower, so I called the condo. They said our room was ready and we could go ahead and check in 3 hours early! Hot Dog!!!!!

Well, the condo was SUPER nice.. actually nicer than I thought it would be for the price.. only $100ish a night. When I went on the balcony and saws the water, I forgot all about being tired or needing a shower. I wanted to hit the beach. Poor Kevin, I know he was exhausted. He went with me to the beach anyway. We only stayed about an hour or so, then came up to the room for showers so we could go eat. My only rule for the day was I wanted to see the sunset. So, at this point it was about 4:oo on a Saturday and everywhere was PACKED. I wanted to go somewhere really "touristy" but settled on a place called Gilligan's since they had AYCE fish and shrimp for only $12. I ate my usual hamburger, since I don't like seafood, but Kevin really enjoyed that meal. It was still daylight so we thought we had plenty of time to go buy food to take back to the condo. Wal Mart was extra crowded, and when I walked out- disappointment set in. It was dark and I missed the sunset. We spent the evening sitting out on the balcony watching the water and listening to the waves. Well, Kevin actually didn't the whole evening. He fell asleep by 9. I stayed out there til midnight, then left the balcony door open all night to listen to the waves as I slept.. Man, that was amazing!!! God is soooooooo good to make something like the beach with crashing waves just for us to enjoy!

Day 2- Easter- I set the alarm and made Kevin get up at 5 am. I know you're thinking, who sets an alarm on vacation!!! but we were only staying in the condo for 2 nights, and since I missed the sunset, I was determined to see the sunrise! I got the most amazing pics of the sun coming up and the moon still being out. It was incredible. We ate breakfast on the balcony after walking along the beach (in our pajamas) at sunrise, then Kevin went back to sleep. I was going nuts because I SOOOOOO wanted to be on the beach. When he FINALLY got up, and was ready to do something, it was 11 am. Oh, I was so frustrated. We ate lunch at Fudpuckers, then petted the alligators. We hung out at the beach and the condo for the rest of the day, and just ate dinner "in". I wasn't planning to turn the tv on at all, but since Kevin was such a good sport about the beach, we turned it on. What was funnym is there was one of those shows on The Weather Channel about Memphis. It was one talking about if an earthquake actually hit Memphis what would happen. I found it ironic that we were at Paradise watching a show about Memphis. I mean, that is what we wanted to get away from-- Memphis.. Oh yeah, was there for the sunset, but clouds started rolling in late in the day. It went from gray clouds to black night. No pretty colors... so, still missed it.

Day 3- Monday--Good thing we were planning to check out of the condo today. The clouds and wind came in worse over night. (loved the sound of the waves that night especially while we slept) Right as we loaded the car, and got on Highway 98 headed outta town, a HUGE storm hit. You could barely see the road. We saw and heard later how it rained there for 2 days and even had waterspouts over the water, that produced one that was still formed when it hit land. My hurricane-phobic husband would have flipped out if he was still at the beach when that happened.

We didn't really have an agenda which is probably what made the trip so awesome. We just knew we wanted to be home Thursday. When we got to Pensacola, we were FINALLY out of the storm. Still not knowing where we wanted to go, I saw a sign for Beach Express Parkway (almost to Foley). We decided to see where it ended up, and before we knew it we were in Orange Beach, AL. We got out there for a little while, then went up coast (about 1-2 miles) to Gulf Shores, AL. We both talked about how much more we liked the Alabama beaches than the Florida beachess- especially the Destin area. Alabama seemed more "homey", more "family-oriented" instead of just commercialized. I could have stayed there forever. I absolutely LOVE it there!!! Around 2:30, we both started getting hungry so we drove into Foley. We ended up eating at Lambert's. Oh my, Kevin got the biggest salad I had ever seen. And then they bring you all these pass arounds. We left stuffed and had enough left-overs for dinner. While in Foley, we went to the outlet mall. I LOVE that Nike store. If I had an endless supply of money, think I'd spend it all on shoes...LOL.. We got back on the road about 6- still not having a destination in mind. We decided to stop in Loxley, AL and get a hotel room. Oh man, this place came right out of the 1940's probably. But it had a comfy bed. We were both exhausted.

Day 4- Tuesday---- We left Loxley, still not knowing where we wanted to go. When wed got to Mobile, I asked about going to Biloxi, MS. I hadn't been there since a year after Hurricane Katrina when we down and did some Missions work. 2 of the washed out bridges were rebuilt by now, and I've always had a place in my heart for Biloxi. We used to take the kids there when they were little, had even talked about moving there years before. I got so emotional going over the Ocean Springs/Biloxi bridge. I had taken pics. last time I was there when there was no bridge because of Katrina. Kevin was so awesome and drove the entire coast for me.. all the way to Bay St. Louis. He let me see everything I wanted to see. Again, as much as I love that area, the Alabama coast is still my favorite!!!! There are no waves at the MS Gulf Coast. Just still water, almost like a lake with sand.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of real restaurants in the Biloxi area. There are a few, but mostly Waffle Houses. Like one on every other corner. Seemed crazy to me to have that many so close together. And I'm not even a WH fan. We ended up eating at the Hard Rock Cafe in the Hard Rock Casino. Funny bc we have a HR Cafe in Memphis and never go. Guess cause it's on Beale St. Anyway, we had this amazing looking appetizer. Filled us up too,had something else, but can't remember what it was. We each played $2 of pennies in the slots and were done. Big gamblers, huh? That night we stayed at a Super 8 across the street from the beach, no wave sounds this night though. ;(

Day 5- Wednesday--- We decided to come back a day early so we could spend the day with Joey Thursday. We drove to mom's, picked him up, ate the awesome dinner Joey had made everyone that night, and headed home. Not really a lot of details this day. Just driving back home, enjoying the last few hours of our "alone" vacation, and thinking back to how much fun we had had the last few days together.

And oh yeah, the next day- our family day with sweet Joey.. Joey took us to the Olive Garden- he even paid, and then we went to see "Fast & the Furious: Original Parts". A great ending to an awesome week.

Hello again...

2009-05-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Wow! Been a while since I've blogged. My computer crashed and my password and everything was saved there. I could not for the life of me remember what I even used for a sign on. Tried several things today before FINALLY coming up with it, then of course I didn't know the password.. Go figure! Am I getting "30 something/almost 40 alzheimers"? I don't seem to be able to remember anything these days. I USED to be the one with the good memory. Now I can't even find my key when they are right in front of me!

Ok, now that I have that out of the way! I gotta try to remember what all we've been up to since last time I wrote. Well, we're all still at our boring jobs- threatening each other every day that "one more day like today, and I'm outta there". And we mean it! LOL.. Kevin actually started to quit 3 weeks ago, but they talked him into staying. (thankfully, because that would not have been a pretty picture!) I know everyone says to be thankful we have jobs, but if I could be let go with severance to tide me over a couple of months, I'd leave in a heartbeat.

Sorry, didn't mean to go there. Just in a funk and needing something to bring me out of it.

Guess I'll stop blogging for right now. I'm really not depressed as it may sound, think I'm just burnt out. Will write more when later.

Everything is Fine

2009-02-21T16:52:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all,
I can really tell that so many of my friends have been praying for me. Well, actually for our family the last couple of weeks. Things are back to "normal" around here. (and that's a good thing) Our family is back together and happy. It's amazing what God can do and so quickly. Guess my friends knew I was being hasty, hot-headed, and stubborn and prayed me through it.

So, as the Josh Turner song says....
Everything is fine, fine, fine
Through the sunshine and the rain
I got a peace of mind
You know I can’t complain
I make it a point to thank the Lord
When I got Him on the line
I’m feeling good and everything is fine

So, everything is fine, actually better than fine..

Love and Peace Out,
Becky

Elbow Update

2009-01-23T05:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so.. I've had A LOT of pain this week. I ended up going to the dr. again instead of waiting next week. This time I saw another dr in the same practice at OrthoMemphis. I like this one way better. He still said no cast (thank goodness). He said that where the crack in the bone is, a cast really wouldn't do anything more than the sling.

He also said the pain is from a bruised nerve. He said it'll heal on it's own, but may take a while (weeks). And that pain is normal. (great!!) He did give me pain "nerve" pain pills that I can only take at night because they will knock me out.

The bruised nerve is also what is causing my fingers to go numb... go figure..

He wants me to take it out of the sling every now and then to stretch out and exercise the nerve. I am also supposed to "pillow splint" my arm so I will keep it straight at night. That is basically wrapping a pillow around and tying it (or Joey says duct taping it) so I cannot bend my arm in my sleep. Kevin and I have a full sized bed so that will be very interesting. My arm will take up over half the bed..LOL

I also still can NOT lift, push, or pull with that arm. Still have to baby it and take it easy.

Ok, so that's it in a nutshell. Will write more later.

Peace Out and Love,
Becky ;)

Freak Accidents Happen

2009-01-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

Life is so funny sometimes.

Today at work, I had one of the most stupid accidents and I would never believe it would happen, if it didn't happen to me. I still laugh when I think about it, or tell someone about it since it's just so odd.

Let me start by saying. Office chair with wheels, tile floor.. Just thought I'd give the visual. Now, think about a piece of paper on the floor to your left. Any normal person would just bend to pick it up, right? Nothing normally would happen. Right?

Ok, I leaned over to the left to pick up the paper. My chair slid out from under me (on the tile floor). I landed on my elbow, which now has a cracked bone. And the chair landed on me.

At first when my elbow kept hurting, I just thought it was because I landed on it, and it was sore. After a little while it didn't stop hurting. Then I went to pick up a 3 ring binder, and pain shot up my arm all the way to my shoulder.

So, I had to go fill out an incident report at work, got sent to the Bapt. Minor Med, who x rayed, found out the bone was cracked, and sent me to an ortho. The ortho didn't think it was that bad. Did not need a cast or anything. Just said keep it in a sling, we'll x ray it again in 2 weeks, and that's it. He also said, don't use that arm at all. (like that is so easy) Don't lift with it, so I can't file at work (darn!), and not sure if I can lift to cook or go to the grocery store. (double darn!!!) I just have to take it easy..

I am glad I did not have to get a cast, eventhough I had decided to get a cute pink camo one if I did. :o) I can take the sling off to shower and sleep, so a sling is much easier- except I still TRY to use my arm a lot, til the pain comes back... And I kept using it last night in my sleep..to assist in turning over and so forth..

I've always said that my left hand is useful except to support my right hand. I am learning that is really not true. I haven't been giving it the gredit it deserves- just because it's not AS useful as the right.

Ok, gotta stop writing. I've not got my sling on, am using the "taboo" hand I'm not supposed to, and am starting to hurt. I am also posting a picture of my x ray. They probably thought I was stupid taking a picture of my xray with my cell phone, but I wanted to share with my friends.

Peace out and love,

Becky

Change Isn't Always Bad

2009-01-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

I've had 2 things (changes) going on this week, that would normally throw me for a loop, but I'm ok. Totally weird since change usually freaks this "Type A" girl out.

The first and most shocking to me is that I found out the other day that my WONDERFUL pastor and his family have accepted a job at another church in Oklahoma. At first, I must admit that I wanted to cry. I LOVE our pastor. Kevin also has a connection with him, and that hasn't happened before. Kevin has never "wanted" to go to church, but got to where he did now because Pastor Ron's preaching is right on. That in itself is a miracle. :o) But then I found out something that made me feel better, and now even excited for them to be going to Oklahoma! Pastor Ron is going to a church 20 minutes from my daughter Kristin!!!! She has been in Oklahoma for 2 years, and has had trouble finding an Assembly of God church with a lot of people her age. She has been praying for a sign where God wants her to go because she is tired of visiting around and not having a home church. Well, for her Pastor Ron going there is her sign. Now she has a "home church". It's a pretty good sized church, so I am sure there are people her age. It'll be like having a little piece of home in Oklahoma with her. God is SO awesome how He worked things out where this awesome man of God still gets to minister to MY family over 300 miles away!!!! Also, when we go visit her, we can see Pastor Ron, Kelly, and the kids.

Another thing that happened this week is we have a new administrator at work. We were worried that she would come in and things would be turned upside down. While I am still sure that she will be making changes, I am at peace with this, and really like her.

So, I guess sometimes change can be good. We just have to look for the good in it.

Peace out and love,
Becky

Don't Like Change

2009-01-08T17:38:00.001-08:00

Why is change so hard? I am not a "change" person- unless it's something I wanna do..LOL.. I have changed desks/offices twice at work in the last 2 days, and may be "changing" my position. I'm really not sure yet. It is totally driving me CRAZY. I was told that I will for sure have a job- n problem, but the not knowing exactly what I am going to do is driving me nuts. I am a person who plans every second of my life. So not knowing what I am going to do one day to the next is not something I adapt to well. Sometimes I wish I could be a "fly by the seat of my pants girl". Instead I an totally type A, and think I passed it down to my daughter (poor Kristin). we are both into structure and no real surprises.

Now, some changes would be good... like winning the lottery (which would be hard since I don't buy lottery tickets). If I won, I think I would do nothing but travel for the rest of my life. I don't think I would even need a home or anything. Just pack up my family and travel. Never go to the same place twice. Kevin thinks I would hate it after a while, but I'm not seeing it. Think about it, if I had millions, I could just fly my friends on vaca with me when I missed them. :)

Again, just my thoughts.. I sound so self-absorbed these days. I'm not trying to- just been totally stressed this week, and this blog seems to be the only way I express myself... my only "power".. I'm not usually like this... Just gotta get somethings off my chest.. Hang in there, some posts won't be as whiney :o)

Gottta get off here..

Peace out....

Love, Bcky :o)

Swayze on Barbara Walters.. sad

2009-01-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

I wish I would've remembered to TiVo the entire thing, but missed the 1st 38 minutes of it!!! Patrick Swayze on Barbara Walters! Wish it would replay. I've always loved him as an actor, thought he was hot way before the days of Matthew McConaughey or Brad Pitt, and love that he never got caught up in the "Hollywood Hype" by staying humble, not to mention happily married to the same lovely woman for 33 years. I think he is 1st class and the real deal all the way.

The 22 minutes I saw of the BW interview was the 1st I've seen of him since his diagnoses of cancer last year- the first since his rounds of chemo. He seemed to look so old, thin, and ill. It made me so sad to see him like that. And to hear his sweet wife was quite sad too. I must admit, I even cried. They are both really brave, strong people- full of hope and faith- still looking forward to their future together- no matter how limited or short it may be. He's come a LONG way from the days of "The Outsiders", "Roadhouse", or "Dirty Dancing". If anyone has the whole thing on TiVo, I'd love for you to tape it for me.

His new show "The Beast" starts next Thursday on A & E. I read today that in spite of his disease, he only missed 1 1/2 days of 12 hour day tapings. Wow, and to think I hate my job sometimes and wish I didn't have to be there- even when I'm healthy.

Ok, I know some will think this is corny, but a blog is for your thoughts, huh? This is what was on my mind tonight.

Have a good one and peace out,
Becky

Why Is It So Hard To Just Be Thankful?

2009-01-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

Here it is, the 7th day of the New Year, and just 4 days about things I resolve to do in 2009 for my "non-resolutions".

I have SO much to be thankful for:

Kevin FINALLY got his license back, and is working. (yay!)

I have a pretty good job that I enjoy (most of the time..LOL) with benefits.

Joey is working- making his own money, and going to advance soon to a better paying position. (which he is excited about)

All of my family is healthy.

We have a nice, warm place to live only a few miles from mine and Joey’s jobs.

Kevin drives a company vehicle so we don’t have to worry about his gas/car expenses.

We have the most adorable, spoiled dog you could ever ask for.

I have AWESOME friends.

I have an INCREDIBLE church.

So, since I have so much, why is it so easy to think about what I don’t have? My thoughts/dreams are consumed with how I want to travel, how I want to move away from the Memphis area, and when Kevin can get time off work so we can do these things. It’s only his 6th day of work, and I’m already to blow outta here. ;)

Am I losing it? Sometimes I feel like I am, since I can’t be happy in the "here and now". It seems that I am always looking forward to something "hopefully" coming- rather than my blessings I have in front of me. Why do I do that?

Maybe I just really badly need a break to get my head on right. Maybe if I take that vacation, I can stop thinking about it and be grateful for what I have. (maybe not though. It may make me want to go on another better vacation..LOL)

Ok, I’ll stop my rambling and complaining for now. Maybe say a little prayer for me to learn to be content.

Thanks and peace out,
Becky

2008-09 Survey

2009-01-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

Maybe this will sum me up in a nutshell (so to speak).. at least tell where my heart/brain are :o)

In 2008;

YOUR SONG FOR 2008? um... Praise You In This Storm.. because 08 was full of storms, but 09 is ALREADY looking better! Praise the Lord!!!!

LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD (longest friend) - Angie, Robyn, Toni, then Ginger & Anita

NEWCOMER AWARD - COOLEST NEWEST FRIEND?um... Tori, Terry

HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR? getting my life back on track & Kevin FINALLY getting his license & job back Dec.30!!!

LOW POINT OF THE YEAR?marriage seperation

BEST HOLIDAY?Thanksgiving, we got to stay home with just our kids. Didn't have to go anywhere... I'm starting to believe that's how the holidays should be! Deff. less stress ;)

MOVIE FOR 2008?The Dark Knight

WHO DID YOU SPEND VALENTINES WITH?Kevin, Joey, & Rocky

BEST RELATIONSHIP?Jesus

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR?Fat Larry's

BEST DECISION MADE THIS YEAR? to trust God more than ever

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR NEXT YEAR?It's already 09. Read my 1st blog and you'll see my "not resolutions" of what I am planning to do this year!

TV SHOW OF THE YEAR?One Tree Hill

MOST LOYAL FRIEND?Susan, Leann, Robyn G.,Christie, Angie, Kristina. These are the ladies I trusted with talking about EVERTHING I was going thru. Couldn't have made it without their love and prayers!

BIGGEST CHANGE OF THE YEAR?marriage seperation, moving out on my own, getting back together with Kevin

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION?to not make a resolution- read 1st Blog

How old did you become this year?39, wow! that sounds old!

Did you host any parties this year?not really a party, but planned an Oakhaven Alumni lunch

Which was your favorite month? November... life started getting back to normal then

Which was your worst month?August. I stared hitting rock bottom

Have you made a new best friend?not really a new one, just found an old one again

Have you fallen in love?fell deeper in love, and have a new appreciation for Kevin

Have you done something you regret?no, bc things that happened brought us to where we are, and things are better now than before

Did you not do something you wished you did? yes, didn't get my cruise or beach trip!

Did you wish for something that came true?yeah

Did a best friend help you out? oh yeah, couldn't have made it thru w/o them!

Did a friend hurt you? nah

Were you in a car accident?-nope

Did a close relative die? nope

Did you sleep in the same bed as the opposite sex?yes, my husband

Did you wanna say something to someone, but did not because you were too scared? no, finally told ppl things I should have for years

Did you cry for no reason?yep, all the time

Did you dye your hair?yes

Did you break any rules?speeding

If you could replay last year again,would you? nah, glad it's over.let's move on

Overall was last year a good year or a bad year?very bad

In 2009;

Will you be looking for a new job? only if I move away

Will you be looking for a new relationship?deff not

New house?yes!!!!!!!!!!!

What will you do different in 2009?appreciate my family more

New Years resolution?don't do resolutions, see blog

What will you not be doing in 2009?living in the past

Any trips planned?yes yes yes

Wedding plans?nope.

What's on your calendar?work work work, vaca or two, few graduations, shooting a wedding after buying a new camera, work, hopefully a cruise, and have I said work? Oh yeah and a few concerts, and work!

What can't you wait for?SUMMER ♥ vaca

What would you like to see happen different?more adventure, but the good kind ;)

What about yourself will you be changing?hopefully rely on God more

What happened in '08 that you didn't think would ever happen?leaving Kevin, getting my own place

Will you be nicer to the people you care about?hope so

Will you dress differently this year than you did in 08?nope

Are you going to be in school in 09?doubtful, but wish I could

How will you make more money in 09?work, work, work

Will you be nice to people you don't know?yes

Do you expect 2009 to be a worse year for you than 2008?most deff not... its going to be better way better than 2008

How much did you change from this time last year til now?a lot, feel like I am much stronger now than I was this time last year, and MUCH more happier!

Do you plan on having a child?no way

Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now?yeah, and more people too prolly

Major lifestyle changes?mmm not major

Who was the first person you talked to in 09?Kevin, Joey, Robyn, Michael

Will you be moving?HOPEFULLY

Wishes for 2009:don't really have wishes, just things I would LIKE to see happen. Basically my family become closer to each other and closer to the Lord... to love each other more.. and to TRAVEL!!!! and move to another state!

New Year's "not resolutions"

2009-01-03T15:52:00.000-08:00

Well, I've tried this before by setting up a blog account on here before. It's been SO long since I've done anything with it that I don't even know what email address I used to set it up. I'm going to try this again, and hope I keep up with it better this time. ;) Maybe some of my friends who are avid bloggers can help keep me accountable. (Christie, Liz, Jeanette, Becca!!)

I don't really do "New Year's Resolutions", but I am going to resolve to do a few thing this year. They are just desires of my heart, and will be much easier to follow than traditional "resolutions". Here they are:

1- Grow closer to the Lord. 2008 has been one of the HARDEST years on my family. We lost income, as well as my being seperated from Kevin for several months out of the year. The only "thing" that helped bring us back together isn't really a "thing"- it's a "WHO". It's Jesus. Kevin and I have BOTH learned to lean on Jesus and that we cannot make it without Him. Jesus also used the awesome tool of the "Fireproof" movie to reach us.

2- Be a better wife than ever before. I've ALWAYS loved Kevin, Joey, and Kristin, but this year when my family was seperated I realized how important they ALL are to me. I feel like I've always been a good mother, but haven't always been there for Kevin as much as I needed to. I want to be his biggest supporter. I want him to KNOW that I love him without me having to tell him- to know just by my actions. Of course, I want to remember to tell him, but it's important that he just feel it too without the words. I want to keep having our "dates" like we have been, and to make sure to save out time just for each other-- I want to make him a priority.

3- Be as good a mom as possible. As I said in #2, I think I have always been a pretty good mom, and my wonderful kids tell me that ALL the time. I want to spend more one on one time with them (which will be hard since Kristin lives so far, but wanna find a way somehow). I also want to listen to them more, and not be SO busy or preoccupied with other things that I only "half-listen". You know how we all do that.

4- Stay in touch with my friends. Outside of my husband and kids, my friends are the most special people in my life. I love them as if they are family!!!! I think of them as they are anyway! I want to be able to not be as busy, and make time for them. It's been harder since I've moved out of Millington and several of us are working/babysitting and don't get together for "homeschool activities" as much as we did before. I went to a movie and lunch with a friend today who I haven't seen in person in MONTHS! That is SO crazy considering we live within 30 mins. or so from each other!! We were all used to seeing each other 2-3 times a week with homeschooling, and are now too busy! What is up with that? I have also found many of my friends from "my school days" via MySpace/Facebook. Some, I have wondered about and tried to find for YEARS!!! I don't want to lose that contact again. I want to continue to build those relationships too. I also want to have a few more OHS (and maybe even Coleman) alumni reunion activities.

5- To go on AT LEAST 2 family vacations this year!!! Kevin and I are both working full time now. There is NO reason we shouldn't be able to find the time/money to go away together as a family... and maybe even go with another family or 2... It doesn't have to be anything extravagant-- just a few nights away from home doing something "fun"!!!

6- Have a "girls only" trip with my girlfriends!!! This again doesn't have to be anything fancy.. just some "girl time" to let our hair down, do karaoke, not have anything special to do but hang out and LAUGH TOGETHER!!!

Well, these are just a few things that I "resolve" to do this year. Again, shouldn't be as hard as "real resolutions" since they are the true desires of my heart. Always has been, and probably always will be....

So until next time (hopefully there will be a next time..LOL),

peace out and love ya!!!
Becky :o)