change of plans, change of heart

yesterday i stayed longer after school than i had planned to stay. that ended up being a good thing because our entire team was there, and we were able to plan next week together.

as we were pulling into our neighborhood, colby asked if he could go play at alli's house.  i initially told him no because it was so late, and it didn't look like they were home.  but right as i was about to pass their house, i saw a light on in the window and quickly changed my mind and pulled into their driveway.

colby got to play at her house for a couple of hours, and her mom said she would bring him home.  

spencer asked if we could just keep driving around and not go home yet.  he'd had rotten day, but he wouldn't talk to me about it even though i told him that i was there for him anytime he wanted to talk.  he still didn't want to share.

it was already after 5 p.m., and i really wanted to go home.  but i could tell he didn't just want to sit at home, so i changed my plans and just kept driving.  i'm so thankful i did.  

he realized we weren't headed home and asked where we were going.  i just said, "you said you didn't want to go home yet and wanted to keep driving, so that's what we're doing.  do you want to go see the bowling ball yard art?"  we ended up driving to nowata, and he ended up opening up to me and sharing his bad day with me.  (nothing major, but it would have made my day lousy if it had happened to me!)

he wasn't in such a bad mood after our quick, spontaneous road trip.

so now i've been to the bowling ball yard art place 3 times, but each time it's still fun!

 i'm giving bunny ears to a rabbit!  ha ha!  i'm so funny!

 notice how straight his whiskers are in this picture.....

 spencer was fascinated by the newton balls made out of bowling balls!

 there was an OSU bowling ball display, but spencer didn't want anything to do with that.  hmm...i wonder why!

 beautiful oklahoma sunset!

 now look at the bunny's whiskers!  one of them is bent!  after i took a picture of spencer giving him bunny ears, i swear that rabbit bit me when i walked by!  i felt something grab my arm and when i looked at it, his whisker was bent!  sneaky rabbit!

photo of the day

1-14-11

barbed wire at sunset

 awesome giant pig at a nearby farm!

today i went to the tulsa performing arts center with kori, kashia and their mom, karen (a.k.a. granny k)  we saw the dance show, burn the floor.  i don't know how those people danced so much!  they made me tired just watching them!

this was my attempt at a one-arm-shot of all of us.  it would have been a great picture if i hadn't cut kashia in half!  

 photo of the day

1-15-11

burning the floor with kashia, kori and granny k!

quote of the day:  "hey mom, don't leave those earwax sticks with the cotton on the end on the floor....smudge tries to eat them." ~colby (as he was taking out the trash today)

new book

i bought a new book today that my sweet friend, nellie, recommended to me. i can't wait to start reading it!

photo of the day

1-13-11

crazy love

quote of the day: "a good book has no ending." r.d. cumming

hot wheels

check out my new ride!

photo of the day

1-12-11

hot wheels!

it became officially mine today!  daryl found a great deal on this used '08 honda pilot, and we traded off my jeep compass.  i wasn't sad to see the jeep go.  it had terrible blind spots, and it didn't have a lot of cargo space. spencer was so excited about the car that he just wanted to go sit in it last night while it was parked in the garage.  i was leery, but daryl said it was ok as long as he didn't push any buttons!

i got in it this morning all excited to drive to work for the first time, and it wouldn't start!!!  i thought, "maybe there is a trick to starting it." but then i remembered i started it twice yesterday with no problems.  daryl said it was probably just so stinkin' cold and it hadn't been driven very far in a while.  we didn't have time to jump it because i had to be at a faculty meeting at 8:00 and spencer had to be at school by 8:12.  so daryl took all of us to school.  when i talked to him at lunch, he said the battery wasn't dead because of the cold.  it was dead because of spencer!!!!  so much for not pushing any buttons!  he'd turned on the dome light last night and left it on!!!  ugh!

so as payment for me not being able to drive my new car today, he's had doggie potty duty outside in the below freezing temps!  

quote of the day:  "it was so cold, grandpa's teeth were chattering...in the glass!" ~unknown

snow day

no school today!  i don't really know if they cancelled because of the road conditions (which really weren't that bad) or if they cancelled because of the temperature.  if it was for temperature reasons, then we might be out tomorrow.  the low in the morning is going to be 1 degree!  that's it!  just 1!

so i didn't do much today.  played on my phone, washed some dishes, did some laundry and watched phantom of the opera.  it was so good!  i had seen parts of it last christmas when i was at my sis-in-law's house.  my niece begged me to watch it with her, but i fell asleep a couple of times. it's a much better movie if you watch the whole thing!  i watched the scene with the song, "all i ask of you" 3 times!  it is a beautiful song, musically and lyrically.

while i watched phantom, smudge slept in my arms.

photo of the day

1-11-11

smudge's snow day

i promise my picture of the day won't always be smudge!  i only took pictures of him sleeping and that was because i had my phone right there with me!  if i hadn't taken this picture, i wouldn't have a photo of the day!  yikes!  i can't mess up just eleven days into it!

quote of the day:  "say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime..." line from "all i ask of you"

(i can't get that song out of my head!)

1st snow

it finally snowed today after many weather reports and much anticipation!

it wasn't a lot of snow, but it was enough for two little boys and a dog to have fun in!  poor smudge was used as target practice, i think.  i looked in the backyard a couple of times, and both boys were armed with snowballs chasing smudge.  at least smudge was smart enough to run under the shed, out of the line of fire!

the colorful gloves that spencer is wearing are MINE!  i just bought them a couple of weeks ago because they were so cute!  each finger is a different color!  in his hand is the beginning of their snowman.  and guess where my gloves are now....on the snowman!  sheesh!

photo of the day

1-10-11

mr. innocent

i love this picture of smudge! it's too bad it was taken while the nerd was trying to come across the end table beside me to get my chocolate milk!  ugh!

quote of the day:  "i hope we have a snow day tomorrow, but don't tell anyone i said that!" ~ me

create in me

photo of the day

1-9-11

me. today.

so today i did something i've never done before.  i didn't think i was going to actually do it, but i did.

this morning our associate minister gave an excellent lesson based on the story of Jesus' first miracle, turning water into wine.  he brought a lot of points that i had never thought of before.  but the part that stuck with me the most was what he said at the end when he offered the invitation.  he said something to the affect of ask God to do something new in your life.  maybe he said that, maybe he didn't.  that's what my ears heard.

then daryl lead the song, "my eyes are dry".  that song touches me every time i sing it. here are the words:

     my eyes are dry

my faith is old

my heart is hard

my prayers are cold

and i know how i ought to be

alive to you and dead to me

what can be done

to an old heart like mine

soften it up 

with oil and wine

the oil is you

your spirit of love

please wash me anew 

in the wine of your blood

i couldn't make it through the first verse.  my heart started pounding and my eyes started tearing up.  something (God) was telling me it's time.  "you know your relationship with God is not where it should be or where you want it to be.  you know you've just been going through the motions."

i started to move out into the aisle, but then the chorus ended.  it was too late, i thought.  then daryl started singing a 2nd verse that i had only heard a few times.  (i've looked for the words to this verse online and can't find it!)  my heart started pounding even faster.  then i heard another voice in my head saying, "you can't go forward and ask for prayers!  you're the preacher's wife.  you're supposed to have it all together!"  thank goodness that voice was drowned out by the chorus of this song being sung not once again, but twice!  God was saying, "now, amy. why are you waiting?"

so i did it.  i stepped into the aisle and walked forward.  an elder met me there and sat down with me.  he handed me a blank card to write my request, and the tears just started flowing.  i could hardly see through them to write my thoughts down, but i really believe the Spirit guided my shaky hand.  this is what i wrote:

i want God to create a clean heart in me and restore the joy of my salvation.  

i'm tired of just looking like a christian on the outside.

i want to have a real relationship with Him.

that's it.  just 3 little sentences that have been eating away at my heart for a while now.  God started working on me friday night, actually.  the choir from york college performed a concert at our church.  they sang a version of the song "create in me", which i already loved.  that scripture in psalm 51:10-12 has always been one of my favorites, and the devotional song based on that is one that has stayed in my heart since i first heard it.  

i've also been thinking about a word to focus on this year, and when i heard that song friday night i begin tossing around the word create.  it embodies what i am focusing on this year spiritually, physically and just everyday things.  but today when we started singing "my eyes are dry" it was like God stuck that word create on a super-sticky post-it note and slapped it on my heart and said, "go."

so i went.  one of the elders prayed for me, and i was surrounded by brothers and sisters who put a hand on me while we prayed.  it was so humbling and uplifting all at the same time.  that initial fear that satan tried to put in my heart about being a preacher's wife was no longer there.

so many people hugged me and loved on me and told me that they had the same struggle and were so thankful that i had the courage to say what they were feeling.  i am not in this alone!  i have a family who loves me and cares for me.  it is such an amazing feeling.  i can't describe it.

today i took the first step toward a real relationship with God.  i am on a journey that will only lead to a beautiful ending.  and now i have my word for 2011:  create

quote of the day:  "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10-12