the Blonde and the Red Head do wedding planning and stomach viruses

I wish this blog title was some sort of cutesy, play on words. But oh no, this is what is going on in our lives right now. Jeremy (yes, my husband of nearly 2 years) and I are in full-fledged wedding planning mode. We have never had a "formal ceremony" and the truth is... I want to wear my gorgeous princess dress darn it! :D lol. So we are trying to get all of that figured out, along with me starting my hardest semester of school ever. And to top it all off, we have had a stomach bug in the house. Abbie has puked more in the last week than she has her whole life. We went out for a nice dinner the other night, only to have it end with her spewing her guts all over me. I got to walk down the aisle of booths (truly a walk of shame) with all the other, kid-free adults looking at me and I was covered in puke. Bless her heart, she seems to have gotten over it pretty quickly. And she never complained- she was a great patient. Just couldn't keep much down for a few days. ;) She also got sick all over our bedroom, which was something new to us. But hey, I needed new pillows anyway. And apparently all of those grandmommy kisses were not such a great idea because Jeremy is currently driving home from Arlington with my poor mother... who couldn't even drive home because she was, in her words, "throwing up her toenails". Jeremy puked the other night at work, too, but the Dear Lord might have spared His favorite Garner because I have only suffered minor nausea. Just kidding about the favorite part- I'm not being blashpemous I promise :) So that's what's going on in our world. Thanks for dropping in! :D

The Man On The Side of the Road..

I was driving home from Denton yesterday when I saw an elderly man, nicely dressed, standing on the side of the road holding a sign. The sign read: "I NEED A JOB". Usually, I would just think how sad that was and start brainstorming what I could do for him. But I drove on, a little perplexed.
You see, I know this man. I've seen him at least 5 times over the last 4 years, holding similar or the same sign.
The first time I saw him around the corner from where we lived, I rushed home to copy down local job agencies for him and took it to him with a $20 bill. He hugged me, and from his voice, I could tell he was intellectually disabled.
Like I said, I've seen him many times since. Always holding the sign. Always dressed nicely, usually in a blue suit. And my heart breaks for him every time. And I always say a prayer for him.
But I wonder, too. Is there more to him than my naive mind wants to think about? Could the sweet, old man be addicted to alcohol or something else? Does he have a home? How does he travel? Why can't he find a job? If he can't find a better way to get a job, what else does he have trouble getting?
And yesterday it made me think about the fact that there are somethings in this world that I just don't and probably won't ever get. They're just beyond me, despite my natural curiosity. And obviously, I can't solve everyone's problems. But I can always say a good prayer and let someone who *does* know all take care of it.

My 2nd Holiday Season as an Only Child

I survived another holiday season without my brother. I'm not sure how I feel about that, but I did. He's been gone a year and a half now, and it's hard to say where I'm at. I think about my baby brother every day. I wish he were here constantly. I see the grief, pain, and guilt in my parents' faces all the time. And I know we don't hurt as much as we did. But I don't miss him an ounce less than I did when he first passed away. It's still too much to think about how amazing he was and what life would be like with him here. It overwhelms me and it's just too much. So I don't because there's nothing I can do about it.
I know the next few weeks are going to be a whirlwind of activity, so I'm going today to visit him. I'm going to take some time by myself, probably feed the fish at the pond he is rested next to, and just talk to my brother. I'm hoping it will center me and bring me some peace I might need over the next few weeks.
Have a blessed day,
Melissa

It's been a stormy day, so I'm puttin' up my hands...

It has been a roller coaster of a day. I have been on a Level Orange Stress Level lately. I am *sure* my husband has done SOMETHING right over the last 2 months... But I couldn't tell you what it was. I have been so frustrated with him. But although he does need to change the way he does some things, I'm sure I could be more forgiving, too. But I haven't. And today I got so fed up (I was cleaning all morning after getting up with Abbie-as always- and trying to work, plus getting ready to tutor my 5th and 7th grader and needing to run errands AND get the baby ready for a nap... And my husband was still in bed... at nearly noon). And I did something saved for the most frantic of moments... I threatened my husband... with my wedding ring.
The day proceeded to be full of whining from my 2 year old, lots of questions as to what we were doing and why we were doing it (Why? is her new favorite word- isn't that great?), and demands for suckers.
I got a credit card bill with an outrageous finance charge and got to wait 30 minutes to speak to the lovely representative from the CC company (I should thank God that she was as patient with me as she was, probably b/c I told her I recognized that it wasn't her fault she worked for a corrupt and moronic corporation :)) There was nothing I could do about the CC charge, and it just got me to thinking about all the OTHER bills I wish we did not have right now.
It's just been one of those days... and I really didn't think a good, God-filled song would help me much. But it did. Because as every last ounce of energy was about to leave my body, I typed in the address for YouTube and retrieved Casting Crown's "Praise You in This Storm".
I like to think that I really never stop counting my blessings and thanking God for them. But I DO forget to simply let it all go, to give it to God... to just raise my hands and praise Him. These lyrics remind me to do that, to just give it all to God: "I lift my eyes unto the hills... Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and earth" and these: "As the thunder rolls, I barely hear you whisper through the rain 'I'm with you'...You are who You are, no matter where I am"
It doesn't matter what we're going through... even on those days where you literally feel like your whole world: your marriage, your money, you home, and your life could fall apart... God is there. Even if it's just a whisper that we hear of Him, he IS there. He may seem far away to us, but He's as close as always. And the best stress relief we can give ourselves is just to simply throw up our hands and praise Him in the storm.

Hope you've had a great day. And if you haven't, I hope you'll raise your hands and praise His Name anyway.

In His Love,
Melissa

Wow, slack much on blogging, Melissa?

So I have to admit that, since discovering the amazingness that is FaceBook, I have slacked on blogging.
But I am determined to make it up to every single one of my 12 fans out there... LOL.
I do have a new blog, strictly dedicated to my New Years Resolution, that most of you have already discovered. If not, just go to www.my2010resolutions.blogspot.com :D
As for the blonde and the red head, we had a great Christmas. Abbie got a trampoline, a Disney princess table and chair set (that she can WRITE on!!! lol!), and many other amazing things that I won't type out. She loves all of them. My awesome family trecked their brave butts out here in one of the biggest blizzards Texas has ever seen on Christmas Eve, and we were able to enjoy an awesome evening together. We spent Christmas day with Jeremy's family and we are all exhausted, but happy because we got so much family time in. And we still have one more trip to East Texas to make within the next couple of weeks (thank you, God, for getting me out of that trip on the 23rd or 24th of December; I AM eternally grateful).
It was a crazy Mary Kay Christmas and I'm gearing up for an AWESOME 2010. Abbie will go back to preschool in a couple of weeks and I still have 30 hours of classes to finish. So by the end of January, we'll be back in the grind: juggling school work, Mary Kay, and a full time mommy job.
I know I blogged a few months back about the changes we were making (having Abbie home with me instead of in daycare, etc) and I'm happy to report that I love it. Being home with Abbie and still being able to "work" and go to school is the most amazing blessing in the world. Our relationship has grown so much over the last few months and I am so glad that Jeremy and I made the decisions we did last summer.
I have to go to bed; otherwise I will regret it during church tomorrow morning (does it surprise anyone that I do not have clothes picked out yet? ;) ). Good night, bloggers; Thanks for reading! :D

Productive Days Are Always Good...

I knew it was going to be a great day when I woke up feeling great at 7:30 this morning. Then, to top it off, Abbie slept with daddy for another hour and I got to sneak out for an amazing Peppermint Mocha from Starbucks. :) I'm pretty sure Peppermint Mochas are sent straight from Heaven.
Abbie woke up in a great mood and I made her breakfast. We actually had clean clothes (a miracle in itself) and headed out the door without wasting a lot of time like we usually do. :D
And, by the Grace of God and one well-planned sucker for Abbie, I was able to make it through errand running with an energetic two year old... and neither one of us had a meltdown. We had some things to return, so we did... and we scored a couple of new items out of the returns. My favorite is a bulletin board that I have been needing for EVER... I am already tacking things up there like crazy! I am pretty sure it is going to be my saving grace... and all for $5.50 :)
I also scored some great things from Ross, like a cute froggie hamper for Abbie, a $3.50 pair of sunglasses for mommy, and an adorable decorative box. All for a grand total of... 75 cents!!!
It's only noon and we've already gotten all this accomplished... now to settle into our at-home routine and get some school work done and cleaning done. Yes, today is a productive day... and that makes for one happy mama. :)

One of those days...

Today was just one of those days. I didn't sleep all night last night because I kept dreaming of all the things that could possibly go wrong today... I repeatedly dreampt that I missed my 1st class (and an exam), then couldn't find my clothes to get to class. It was raining and then I got lost and someone rear ended me in my new truck- It was just a compilmation of everything that could possibly go wrong. I woke up stressed and not well-rested. Plus, Abbie decided that we should start the Elmo movie every time she woke up as well. Don't even get me started on that.
I got to school 30 minutes early and the lovely parking woman was rude about the new parking pass I needed. :) Then I almost got run over about 16 times trying to find a parking spot... I nearly ran into people and I got about 8 parking spots stolen from me. I was just a couple of minutes late to class after driving around for 20 minutes looking for a spot.
The day was just long and stressful. I did get SOME things accomplished, but there is still a lot to be done tomorrow. So I'm thinking it is time to call it a day, crawl into bed, and start fresh in the morning. I am already looking forward to that hot cup of coffee from Starbucks in the morning...