Friday Five

1. Sunday is Chris' birthday! My man is getting old! 2-5! I can't wait to give him his present and celebrate with him! He said he hasn't "celebrated" his birthday since he was little! Well this girl lovessss a celebration, so celebrate we will! Of course we will start the weekend with crawfish, then some family time, presents, and who knows what else!

2. I finally got a Mac Book! Actually I got the MacBook Pro. It's one of the first BIG purchases I have made, and have to pay for all on my own. Yikes, no more credit card usage for a while!

3. Memorial Day is Monday, or Sunday? But we are off work Monday. It's nice to have a long weekend but it is important to not forget why we have this day. Many, many soldiers have died protecting our country. It's important to take a moment and remember what they did for us.

4. Pa-paw is in the hospital again. Nothing too serious, just an infection on his incision from the last surgery. But he will have to be there for about 6 days. He is NOT going to be too happy about that! He hates being away from home. He hates being inside. And he hates having nurses tell him what to do and trying to help him all the time. Praying for Papaw.

5. I have mentioned my friend Nathan several times, but he again needs some major prayer warriors. His Leukemia is gone, yay! But the whole time the doctors were treating the Leukemia, they didn't realized he had another cancer present- Ewing’s sarcoma. The doctors told him he is literally one of a kind because no where is it recorded that a person has had these two cancers at the same time. He is a unique fella. But please continue to pray for Nathan and his family. And read his blog; he is amazing.

Leaving a Legacy

Today is my birthday. 23 years old. That's twenty-three years. That's 8,395 days old! Whew. I know people older than me will tell me I am crazy, but that feels old! It makes me think, 23 whole years on this Earth, and what have a I done. I have a friend whose blog is titled "Leaving a Legacy." Am I leaving a legacy? Is it to early to have a legacy? How old do you have to be to have a legacy? I don't think you can be too young, so what's mine? I'm open for suggestions here, because I'm really not sure. Maybe I am creating my legacy right now and don't even know it. Maybe all the pieces will fall into place one day and I will realize I was building my legacy all a long. I wish I knew if it was happening. Maybe I would feel more important then. Or maybe I would feel I had more direction in my life.

But 23 years is only the beginning (hopefully, though tomorrow is never promised). I suppose I have lots of time to leave my legacy, or at least start creating it. And quite the opposite of the cliche, it does not feel like yesterday was high school. I feel like it was ages ago! I have changed so much as a person. For better or worse I guess is up for debate, but I'd say mostly better. You know, you were raised to believe certain things, and taught why things are right and why they are wrong. But it is a real revelation when you begin to understand it for yourself. You see for yourself why you as a person, not as a daughter or son believe what you want. Most of the time your parents were right all along (but you never tell them that!) Sometimes you disagreed, and that's ok too.

I don't know what my 23 year legacy is. Hopefully I am makign an impact, and don't even know it! Maybe I will have more to report on next year!

Turning 22!

Turning 21!

Wordless Wednesday

My sister Esther and I in Mexico

Sweet children in Mexico - 2009

OK who am I kidding, I can't do a Wordless Wednesday! Especially about Mexico! Everyone knows I am no good at not using words! These are pictures from our Mexico trip last year. I can't wait to go back! We are leaving July 3 and will return July 10! This will be my 4th year to go! I am so blessed to be able to help others in another country with my family!

Mexico 2008

Denver and I in Mexico circa 2004?

Another semster

Well it is official... another 4.0 this semester! Whoop! Just another reason to love May. School is done! I am excited that semester is over and only 2 left! I get the summer off because there was not a single class I could take. So two classes in the Fall and two in the Spring and I am done! it will be exciting to graduate, again! And I even think some of my younger friends will be graduating with their undergrad degree! I'm not sure what the next step after that will be. A lot will be changing at the Foundation in the next year, and you can just never be too sure where life will take you....

Interesting...

* In 1974 with 36.1% of oil from foreign sources, President Richard Nixon said, “At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need.”

* In 1975 with 36.1% of oil from foreign sources, President Gerald Ford said, “We must reduce oil imports by one million barrels per day by the end of this year and by two million barrels per day by the end of 1977.”

* In 1979 with 40.5% of oil from foreign sources, President Jimmy Carter said, “Beginning this moment, this nation will never use more foreign oil than we did in 1977 – never.”

* In 1981 with 43.6% of oil from foreign sources, President Ronald Reagan said, “While conservation is worthy in itself, the best answer is to try to make us independent of outside sources to the greatest extent possible for our energy.”

* In 1992 with 47.2% of oil from foreign sources, President George Bush said, “When our administration developed our national energy strategy, three principles guided our policy: reducing our dependence on foreign oil…”

* In 1995 with 49.8% of oil from foreign sources, President Bill Clinton said, “The nation’s growing reliance on imports of oil…threatens the nation’s security…[we] will continue efforts to…enhance domestic energy production.”

* In 2006 with 65.5% of oil from foreign sources, President George W. Bush said, “Breakthroughs…will help us reach another great goal: to replace more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025.”

* In 2009 with 66.2% of oil from foreign sources, President Barack Obama said, “It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs.”

From a presentation by Mike Milken posted at The Money Game, via The Christian Science Monitor, via Oregon Expat.

Friday Five

Prayer Requests:

1. Nathan- a dear friend who was just over his battle with cancer, has another set back. Some funny spots are on his femur and tailbone and he needs surgery. We don't know results of the biopsy yet though. Lots of prayer that good things will happen!!!!

2. Lindsay and Matt and Patrick- Lindsay and Matt just welcomed their son Patrick into the world 2 weeks ago! He is a precious little boy and I can't wait to meet them!! Currently, Patrick is in the NICU because he has an omphalocele. (look it up) He needs prayer to get strong and healthy and go home with Mom and Dad!

3. Justin and Tracy and Landon- Landon is a new baby boy who is only 2 days old! There were no complications with his birth, but every new family needs prayers!

4. A friend, we'll call her P, is having really troubling times with her son. She is a sweet sweet lady and is really struggling with him and his decisions as he grows up.

5. Our country's leadership- Wow, our country is going through some crazy times!! You and I may not agree with everything (or anything) that is being done, but all of our leaders need prayer and guidance.

Have a blessed Friday!

Mother's Day

MOM!

I know I am a little late, but I figure better late than never. And I need to give dear ole' Mom some lovin. I love my sweet Momma, and I think everyone who meets her too. She is probably one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She will help anyone she meets. And go out of her way to help others. She is kind in the way (and many other ways) that she will talk to anyone she meets. ANYone she meets. Which means if you have had a horrible day, and you're standing in line at Walmart wanting to go home, she is probably going to talk to you and tell you about the bread she found on sale, or tell you that she likes your shoes, or ask you where you bought that watch because she has been looking for one, or ask when your next vacation is and to where....you get the point. The woman never meets a stranger. And I'm ok with that, because it is people like Mom who make this world tolerable. When life is not going your way, you have people like Mom who are just going to but right on in and make you talk and turn that frown upside down!


Mom makes this world better for a lot of people. Not only for her me, brother and Dad, but for everyone she comes in contact with on a daily basis. See, Mom is a nurse. A PICU nurse. She worked very hard in school to become a nurse and now she loves her job and everyone she gets to meet. She takes care of sick babies everyday and loves them back to health like they were her very own. I truly believe any child or child's parent that comes in contact with Mom has a smile on their face at least once while they are in her care.

Fun Facts about Mom:

1.She is a natural Blonde, and everything that comes with it.
2. She is my only friend with the name Lisa.
3. Her name actually begins with a "J"- but would kill me if I published it.
4. She is just as happy and bubbly and loud as you may perceive her to be.
5. She can sniff out a sale better than ANYone I know.

OK, fine...One picture of Mom and brother...But I am still the oldest, and favorite! :)

I am slowly realizing I am turning into my mother. It's a hard thing for a girl to grasp. But then I think about it, and is that really such a bad thing? Probably not.

*No tears were shed in the writing of this blog. Can the same be said about the reading of it?*

Birthday Presents

Birthday presents for boyfriends can be muy tricky. Don’t want to spend to little, don’t want to spend too much. Want it to be sweet but something he actually wants. Nothing too cheesy or too practical, but something he might need. The stipulations are endless, or maybe I just do this to myself…..…oh well.

I like to buy the perfect present. No matter whom I am buying for. I want it to be exactly what they want, which is always easier said than done. So Chris birthday is at the end of May and I had to start brainstorming now! Of course, I turn to Google. Trusty ole Google. I think most problems can be solved with Google. So I Googled “birthday presents for boyfriend” first there was a list of the top 5 things NOT to get him…5- necktie 4- Anything trendy 3- Sunglasses 2- watch 1- Cologne. All these things, while very practical and good, just don’t scream “HAPPY birthday!” The number one gift to give was chocolate chip cookies. I mean, I know he would love that, but come on, even that doesn’t sound that brilliant. After several articles, I’m sad to say I didn’t learn much. (I know everything already!) The articles mostly said, keep it simple and nothing to showy. The good thing is men are not like women. They will usually be appreciative for anything you took time to get them. Men are not nearly as picky so this does relieve a little pressure. So after all that, I still don’t have a gift idea, well maybe one. But I wouldn’t dare tell because Chris does like to be sneaky and read my blog every now and then.

Sorry Chris, you’ll just have to wait! ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Reasons to L.O.V.E May

I love the month of May, for many reasons. I am so excited the month is here! I thought it would never get here, and here it is! So without further ado, reasons I love May...

1.May 21, is my birthday! I love birthdays. Not that I have extravagant parties or anything, I just like a celebration! Chris's birthday is also in May, the 30th to be exact. We are debating a joint par-tay. He really wants no party at all, but I am going to go ahead and say it is for the both of us. I love birthdays.

2. The flower for the month of May is a lily. Technically I believe it is "Lilly of the Valley" but Stargazer Lillies are just as beautiful, but with more color. Lillies can be the most versatile flower coming in all sizes and colors. But they all have that wonderful smell. Chris bought me some beautiful yellow lillies that are planted in a pot on the patio. I love flowers, and lillies.

3. Crawfish. As mentioned in several other blog post, it is crawfish season! I love crawfish.

4. The weather. Anyone who knows me knows I loooooove sunshine! May is the perfect month of weather. Not to hot (well at least not for me) and not too cold. There are still a few cool-ish days throwin in this month, but May is when it really starts to heat up. Cute little dress, sandals (which means pedicures), dinners outside, tan skin, blonde-er hair. Ahhhhh, I love May weather.

5. Baseball season! Ok, ok I know baseball season really starts in April, but you really get into the "swing" (no pun intended) of things in May. College baseball begins the playoffs soon. LSUS is entering playoffs. Hopefully LSU can get its act together and win another one this year. The local Shreveport Captains haven't had a very stellar team in years but it is still fun to go out to the ball park, enjoy a hot dog and the nice weather with friends. I love baseball.

6. Summer time! This word lumps up the previous five things in one. Because summer time is synonymous with crawfish, sun, my birthday, baseball. But summer is the best time of the year, and May is the perfect month to kick off summer time!

7. Weddings. May is also synonymous with weddings showers because May leads to June and July when there is a wedding just about every weekend! My dearest friend from high school is getting married June 12. She has had two showers already and has one more next weekend. I couldn't be more happy for her. And I love seeing all my girls from high school reunited for such a wonderful occasion.

So those are a few of the reasons I love May. What are your reasons to love May?