Renew.

The sense of renewal that comes with Spring seems somewhat amplified for me this year. Sand shifts around inside the confines of what I used to believe, how much time there used to be. 29 becomes a gift - There's so much more for me here than I ever imagined.

This one's a creeper!

A new year has dawned and my 29th birthday has come out swinging. I've had the wind knocked out of me before: by desperation, by love, by a hard fall from a swing.. but never by time. I am emotionally exhausted and feeling a bit dramatic. Such is life, especially a life with ovaries. I feel a sense mourning for my childhood and the loss of my youth. Hopefully a road trip and some time alone will straighten out my head. Is 29 this hard for everyone? I really can't wait for 30 to get here. This feels like puberty all over again, without the fun.

Good Times Came on the Backs of Fall Breezes

My nieces looked so beautiful in my step sister's wedding.

The youngest needed a little talkin' to from Pappaw.

We dressed the pups up for Halloween. Murphy, of course, wore her angel wings.

And Wyley wore her 'Bad Dog Correctional Facility' jailhouse stripes.

And I still really, really love llamas. <3

Adventure Ahoy!

What I've been up to...



Took the dogs to Mutt Strut 2011 -- Clearly, Wyley is very excited.





She was super pooped after.







Saw a beautiful sky on my way to work one day.






Convinced she's a cat.





In a Waffle House bathroom... this thing looks like a shocked elephant.





Went duckpin bowling. These are our awesome retro bowling shoes!







Amazing retro cigarette vending machine!





Roadtrips with the perfect co-pilot.

Legacy of Flowers

It's never occured to me before, but today the simplest question today provoked some great thought and introspection on my part. 'Why are irises your favorite flower? Why not tulips or something else?'


















-- Well, why are they? I started to answer before I really understood the importance of what I was saying. 'Well they're just so beautiful, so full of color, and my grandma has always had them.' That last part there, 'my grandma has always had them', there's something important in that. I've never felt sentimental about flowers, though I've always enjoyed them. But this really hit home. I love them so because they remind me of my grandma. And the more I talked about it freely and really verbalized why I love them so, I heard myself explaining a very important part of why I am who I am - Legacy. My grandma dug up flowers, irises, from her own yard and brought them to mine: a tender and loving gesture in and of itself. She shared flowers from her own yard to beautify mine. Then I remembered that my grandma dug up flowers from her own mother's yard, my great grandma, and has moved them with her everywhere she has lived. Then, she shared them with me. While the flowers that I have him yard may not have come directly from my great grandma's yard, the legacy is there. My flowers came from the flowers that came from my great grandma's yard. That sharing of flowers and the sharing of the joy of flowers and the beauty that they add to our homes is a truly beautiful legacy, and quite frankly I'm feeling rather sentimental about it. I'm truly grateful to be a part of such a warm and wonderful home-making legacy.























Me, my grandma (Vicki), and my great grandma (Orpha), December 25th, 1985.

Eight legs of beautiful.


Country Chimes.


A look of love... in 2 different directions.

Moving through me.

God.. Is.. Good! I have felt the spirit move through me today in a way that I have been missing. He has been there the whole time, but my head has been everywhere else. He lifts me up, He comforts me, He nurishes me, He carries me forward. He is in every beautiful gesture, every priceless memory, every true love, every hope, every laugh, every need that is met. God is Good All of the time!



I have been so blessed in my life. It seems like I can reach back in my memory and find that so many people have come into my life to teach me something about myself, to show me something in the world that He wanted me to see. I have been so blessed to have close friends of such diverse backgrounds. I have been blessed for every bump in the road that has shown me His love and His glory, for He loves me every second of every day.



Lord, help me to learn from every situation. Help me to see your glory all around me. Help me to be perceptive to your will, and help me to feel your spirit moving through me. Lord, help us, all of us, to treat each other with kindness, respect, and love. Help us to always say 'thank you', 'I love you', and 'I'm sorry' to the people in our lives. And please help us to keep ourselves and each other safe and happy and healthy.



God is Good! I pray that He always moves through me in the way that He has today.