Outta Here! :)

Well today is the day I leave for Oklahoma!!! :) Lately I've had a lot on my mind and just different things going on so this will be a nice trip! :) I fly into Tulsa this evening and then my friend Bethany Morris, will be there to pick me up! It will be SO great to see her again!!!! So yea, your probably wondering "why is she flying into Tulsa and not OKC?" Well for a few reason! ;) So, Besh was so kind to say she'd drive to get me there though, so it will be a nice 2 hour drive back to their house together, and I THINK Hannah Burnett will be with her, so that should be fun! :)

I'll be staying with the Morris' until the 3rd or 4th or something and then Caleb, Daniel, Bethany, me and John-Clay will be driving down to San Antonio for the Film Academy. Sometimes I wonder if I was out of my mind when buying my ticket, but too late now and I'm sure it will be fun! :) At least I get to be with friends, right? :) So then the rest of her family will be coming down around the 8th and staying for the festival! Mandy will be flying down too, so I'll get to spend time with her in Texas. Many friends of mine will be there, so it'll be a mini reunion! ;) I'm excited to see everyone! So then that goes until the 11th, and we will all drive back to the Morris' and then I fly home the 12th. I'll be a busy two weeks I am sure, but I'm looking forward to it. Also I'm going to the Naylors New Years party so it will be wonderful spending time with them as well!

I know this is a short post, but I have to get going. We are leaving in like 15 min. and I have to get my last minute things together! :) Still need to print off my ticket also..yikes! :) Better run! Hopefully I can update once or twice while gone, but I may not have any computer down in Texas so who knows!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! And have a very blessed New Year!

Christmas Eve

EDIT:: I am getting the flu I think, so since I've been feeling SO sick I can't exactly finish this post...the pictures are going to be in a very random order! :( Sorry..


Can you believe it is STILL Christmas Eve and I've already got my pictures downsized and up on this blog!!! :) (pretty good, huh Besh?) ;) I didn't do any editing though, so THOSE kinds of pictures will be posted on my other blog, probably months from now! ;) (just kidding!) I actually decided to do this post so soon because I started really missing my Mom. I began to dwell on the fact that she isn't here and well that happens a lot when the house gets quiet. :(

Okay, so moving on...I had a wonderful evening with my sisters and Jason. Tara ended up picking me up from Kim's at 11:30 so we got to hang out most of the day! :) We wrapped presents, looked at wedding photographers, just talked and well...oh, went to the grocery store! :) Then Mandy came there when she got off work around 3:30. Once she got there we started to do our gift exchange, which was fun! We were all being silly! We'd pick up the gift and try to guess what it was! Some guesses were a hamster, dog, toaster...all things that definitely didn't match the description of the box! :D It was funny! :D Jason started the unwrapping first with a new bottle of cologne from Tara. (Oh, the Jason I am referring to is Tara's boyfriend) :) So I guess I'll let the pictures explain most of the rest! Let's see some of the gifts were cologne, video game, bath and body works stuff, air freshener (LOL), socks, shirts, lip balm, iPhone cases, kitchen stuff, back massager for your chair, and much more!! :D Tara told me before hand.."Danielle, it'd be so funny for people to see what I got you!" Now I see why..one thing was the air freshener. One might ask WHY she'd get me that, but the reason is...Tara's house smells SOOOoooOO good! :) And she has this thing that every so often sprays out this really good smell! :) So, I mentioned how much I liked and it and she got me one! :) Also the socks...we were discussing how I am totally out of socks, so I just dont wear any! :D :D Well she got me two packages of socks!!! lol Anyway, it was kind of funny!

For Tara I did a memory board type thing for her. She told me many times that she wanted pictures of my Mom but I had them all, so finally it clicked and I decided to do this for her. I was kind of scared what she would think of it, but she ended up liking it I think.

Well, Mandy is up now so maybe I wont be quite so lonely! :) When we got home I played with Luke for awhile and then came down to just read my bible and write. So then Mandy came down a little while later and I read out of Luke to her, the Christmas Story. Well, she has been on meds since she is sick and they wipe her out, so when I was done reading she was snoring away! ;) (she'll get mad if she sees this!) :D :D

Guess I should get to bed so I'm rested up for tomorrow!! Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Let's keep our focus on Jesus, the TRUE meaning of Christmas!

Lots of thinking...

For many different reasons today has been a difficult day for me. I feel like that in life I am constantly being stretched. Almost like God is pulling me as far as I can go until I just bust. I know He isn't and that my perception is just wrong, but I feel like I'm there...I'm ready to just burst! I feel like giving up.....not on the Lord but on life. One of the hardest things for me I think is reading others blogs or talking with friends who have "normal" lives. I hear about all these fun things they do, or see pictures from get togethers. Then I see family pictures and hear stories of what they did as a family and I just hurt SO much inside when all this happens. I know what's wrong with me...I'm jealous, and it's not good at all, but I want that SO bad. I want to have good friends near by and a family that all lives together and loves the Lord and has a similar vision. I know this wont happen though, not right now anyway. God has me in this situation for a reason but like I said, I feel like I can't be stretched anymore. :(

I'm encouraged by many verses though, and as I prayed about all this tonight I just decided to open up to Psalms and start reading.

Psalm 18:6 "In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears"

Pslam 16:1-11 "PRESERVE me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. The Lord is my portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a godly heritage. I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in they presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. "

I have studied this passage quite a bit tonight. And at first it was like, "Okay Lord, what am I supposed to learn from this?" In the first verse it is like David is fleeing to God for protection, having confidence that He will be protected. I feel like this a lot and tonight especially. I know that my only help, safety, comfort, comes from resting in Him. Then it's almost as David commits himself completely to God and rejects any practices of the world as in blood offerings to other gods. He rejoices in the Lord being his inheritance and gives all glory to God. This is what I want. I want to reject what the world is telling me and completely commit myself to Him. What we have here on earth is only temporary but I'm looking forward to eternity. Like David, I want to reject what the world is telling me (getting a loan, dating, moving out, etc.) and seek the Lord and do HIS will! And in this world sorrow is our lot, but in Heaven there is joy, REAL joy. Our pleasures here are temporary, but at His right hand, the pleasures are forevermore. Hallelujah! I'm looking forward to that!

Anyway, that probably made no sense at all. I'm so scattered brained right now I think, but I wanted to write to get some of this out..and hopefully I can fall asleep now too. :) It helps me a lot to write and makes the crying stop! ;)

Christmas Tree Decorating!

Well this post will mostly just be filled with pictures but I'll do captions or something to help explain, if needed! :) I finally got these imported to my computer though so I wanted to post them! :) It was so dark in our basement though and I didn't want to use a flash so the pictures are very very grainy! :(

First here are the couches I had mentioned that we bought! :) Now we have a cozy area to watch movies or just to relax! Plus it makes it look more homey then just a big empty room! :)
(According to Lane this is not our couch, it's a friend of mine's couch! :D :D ) Whoever's it is...it's comfy! :)

(Our first real tree...it was much smaller than our normal trees, but that's okay)

(Luke watching as we decorate the tree)

(Getting the lights ready)

(Not sure why I took this picture, but yes, that's my cell phone, an item I have with me almost always) :)

(This year we did a "themed" tree...not sure if I mentioned this already..sorry if I did. So anyway, the ornaments are all blueish and silver and white with a snowflake theme to them)

(My Dad putting the star on for us...yes the tree is short, but I still wasn't tall enough to get it on right)

(The finished tree!)

"I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star." Revelation 22:16

An Update

Well I'm not even sure what to write, but I know it's been awhile since I've updated. :) Plus I have some time right now while waiting on Mandy. :)

Last week was my first week back to work since my month off. It was good to see the kids again but it was so different going back. 2 days a week I am pretty much by myself because Hanah is at preschool in the mornings and then takes her nap in the afternoons. Then once Dave gets home I stay in my room downstairs. Soo...this means lots of time alone. It was pretty hard for me this week, I'm thinking mainly because I had been home so long. I got used to having someone with me all the time! :) Either I'd be holding Luke or playing with Lane or talking with Mandy. I missed that a lot. On Wednesday, I about totally lost it! :) I wanted to go home SOOOO badly, I missed everyone, but it snowed that night and we had ice so I couldn't take the risk of going home and not being able to get back to their house for work. But, my older sister Tara was a life saver! :) She didn't even know I was having such a hard time, but called out of the blue and asked if I wanted to come over! :) So she was so kind to come pick me up and take me back that night. I made pizzas for dinner at their house and then we just pretty much hung out! :) I then talked to a friend that night for a long time, so that gave me even more "interaction" with people! :) Thursday I went back over to Tara's house and Mandy came too. I made dinner again for them and then we just played around! :D It was a LOT of fun! Also I was busy Thursday with lots of things, other than sitting in my room. :) I had bought a dress that needed to be hemmed and then had a few errands to run. :)

Friday was a GREAT day! :) Still amazed it worked out for me to go, but I was able to go to the last dance in Bloomington, IL. I was so hoping Mandy's boss would let her go with me (which means getting off work 3 hours early), but she said no. :( So, it was just me going. Kim ended up letting me off at 1:30 so after getting everything together I was off! :) Faith, Melody and Jason met me at the mall in Bloomington early so we could have dinner and shop for a little bit. That was fun! Of course I got a little bit embarrassed when Jason and Melody started to talk to random people. :D He would start waving to people he didn't even know! (just like the Naylor boys) :D It was all fun though. Then the dance was great! :) It was so neat seeing everyone in their fancy dresses!!! :) Even some of the guys dressed up and wore suits. Sadly though I got no pictures! :( I was going to, but I went to get my camera and I realized I left my camera ON the last time I used it. :( Soo..my battery was dead! Helena got at least 2 photos though, so when I get them from her I'll post them here. :) There weren't a whole lot of people there but it was a fun group.
Afterwards we went back to Kelli's house and just talked and some people played games. We had a fun discussion trying to figure out what animals we would be based off our personality! :) That was QUITE the conversation! :) So anyway, on Saturday I got up early and left for home. The drive went well (thanks to all my friends who kept me company along the way by talking to me) and I was home by 12:00. :) I had one small thing happen at a gas station on the way home but I'll save you all from hearing that. Let's just say I am NOT good at pumping gas! ;)

Today since church I've just been home and hanging out with family. :) Also getting ready to get pictures of Mandy and Lane and then Mandy will get one of me. :) Angie got some new frames so she needs updated pictures of us. It's going to be getting dark soon though, so I better get to them, Mandy is finally off the phone and hopefully ready to go! :)

Okay, sorry for this boring post!!! :)

Can't sleep...

.....Soooo, I write. :) Today has been a very interesting day. It started quite early for Mandy and me because we decided to join all the crazy people and go to Walmart at 5:00 am. Did I mention we are crazy?? We both had something we wanted to get and then Angie wanted us to pick some items up. Well.....we got there like 15 minutes after they opened and the items I wanted were already gone! :shock: I couldn't believe it. Thankfully, we got the things Angie wanted though. It was so crazy there though and we stood in line for 45 minutes to check out like 3 things! We made it home by 7:00 am though and then I of course went BACK to bed! I wasn't feeling too good, felt like a train had hit me or something. :) Also was having a very bad sore throat. So finally around 9 something I had to get up and get going with my day. :) (didn't want to)

So sometime during the day my Dad made and deal with Lane and me and said if we cleaned up the basement he would buy couches for down here soon! So, Lane and I got very excited and started on it right away. Our basement basically consist of one big room (and our bedroom) but it's filled with lots of baby stuff, stuff that Mandy and I brought over when we moved in, and then lots of stuff that belonged to Angie's parents. Originally the room was supposed to be used as a "game" room sort of. We have a pool table, air hockey table, and then a huge tv but we never use any of it. Oh and a dart board! :) Anyway, nough about that! Lane and I worked really hard and got it ALL cleaned up and amazed my Dad! :)

While I was cleaning I found something that was kind of weird. It was the divorce papers that my Dad had filed. I've heard about them, but never actually read them. So today I did....I never acutally knew the year they divorced because they were separated for several years, or so it seemed. I found out today though they were divorced in 1999, so I was 11 years old. It's hard to believe, but I was that old and still have very VERY few memories of my Dad living at home. :( It was kind of tough seeing all the stuff in the papers and especially my Mom's signature. Haven't seen that for quite some time.....It was also hard just because I knew my Mom had changed so much. She became a Christian after the divorce so it was not something she was at all proud of.

So after cleaning up Lane, we all watched a movie that was on TV, "The Family Man" (not saying I recommend this movie at all!) It was very odd that of all days this movie come on though. "The Family Man" was the last movie I had ever seen in theaters with both my Mom and Dad. I remembered they had been separated and My Mom took Mandy and I to see this film and invited my Dad to meet us there (around Christmas time) So he came...and it was the first time ever I saw my Dad cry. The movie was over and I remember thinking..."wow, they are going to get back together!" I was wrong...but apparently this movie has some importance in my Dad's life too. He remembered seeing the film and also remembered crying. This was the first time we have watched that movie since that day at the theater, but my Dad once again cried at the end. Of course he tried to hide it, which I understand, Angie was home, but still....it was so neat to me. I know my Dad misses my Mom. And I love that he does. I don't love that he is hurting, but I'm glad she isn't just forgotten by him. My Dad will always remember her.

So, I'm not really sure why I'm sharing that with all of you, but I was laying in bed trying to sleep and these thoughts just kept going round and round in my head. I prayed a lot and then decided to just get up and blog.

Guess I should get some sleep now though! :) Oh, never finished bout the couches!!!! lol Lane, my Dad, and I all went to the store and picked out a leather couch and recliner for the basement, so on Sunday they will be delivered!!!! YAY! :) Now we can watch Christmas movies downstairs and be extra cozy! ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it's been awhile since I've blogged on here but I wanted to do a quick post real but a longer one will be following soon. We've had a pretty full and busy day today but we are at the point now it's slowing down a little bit...and getting harder.

We woke up early and started cooking and cooked pretty much until 3:00 pm. All the food turned out good, which I'm happy about and we had a nice time just all working together! :) We all made something so there were a lot of us in the kitchen, but the time we had together was a blessing! :) Angie made rolls, mashed potatoes, and some casserole thing. Mandy made sweet potatoes and a turtle cheesecake, my Dad made two fried turkeys which were delicious but we only ate 1/2 of one! :) (I think we will be eating turkey for a LONG time) I made green bean casserole, corn casserole, this new kind of stuffing (which took forever) and then oyster dressing. So you know, I hate oysters or any sea food, but my Dad remembered my Mom making it so he wanted me to try. Those oysters looked SOOO gross! :( My Dad liked it though, so I'm happy about that. :) I think that was like everything and then my Grandparents came over and brought a pumpkin pie and lots of other goodies. :)

So we ate around 3:00 and we were all so stuff quickly. I think because we had been drinking punch and so it filled us up! After eating we cleaned up and I rocked Luke to sleep then it was time to get ready to go to meal number 2! :D Kyle, my brother, had no where to go for this Thanksgiving, so they had decided for all of us kids to just do it together. So Tara, my sister, and her boyfriend Jason, have been cooking ALL day for us! They have made TONS AND TONS of things and are actually finishing it up right now.

It's weird for me being here though, I know it shouldn't be but this is the first Thanksgiving us kids have all been together without my Mom. Last year we all did our own things. Usually on days like this (holidays) it's like I KNOW it will be hard, so I'd rather run from it. I'd rather not be with family so I don't dwell on the fact that "Wow, Mom's not here!" I know this is wrong of me and I should be thankful for the family I have left with me, and thankful that my siblings even are all together, (that doesn't happen too often) Soo...I'm trying. I escaped for just this little bit of time to come up here and blog just to get all this out.

Last year I had been thinking so much what a hard day that Thanksgiving would be and my friend said to me, "Danielle, it's not about you though. You have a new family you are with and you need to try to be a blessing to them and be thankful for what you DO have" So, I did that and last year went so well. So last night, that was my prayer again, that I could glorify God today with my actions and words and to be a blessing to my family. I didn't want to focus on my loss, but on the blessings God has given me. Guess writing this is helping me retrain my brain to do that and get out of this "slump" :D

I hope you all are having a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving!

"Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte

Today was another great day of course. My Grandma and I drove into Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte which was lots of fun. It was a lot closer than Anna Maria Island which was nice and just as pretty! :) Actually...the water was MUCH more blue here and it was warmer today so that was good also! :)

Well today basically consisted of lots of shopping! :) We went to a place called 'Fisherman's Village' and it was like a shopping mall all on a pier! A covered pier that is! :) It was pretty neat but very expensive stores. I found a cute dress but it was 80 dollars! YIKES! :) I did get a few souvenirs for my siblings which was nice and I did get two dresses and a shirt for myself (NOT 80 dollars) :)

Guess that's pretty much all we did, shop, then shop more, and then shop even more!! :) I guess I'll let the pictures do the rest of the explaining. :)

(Forgive me, I'm kind of in a weird mood tonight...wasn't even going to post but had the time so I did. Hopefully will be back to my normal self soon...just be praying for me please!) :)

(The view from the mall)

(If you can believe it, there were apartments for rent on TOP of the mall!)

(already decorated for Christmas....sooo pretty!) :)

(The gulf of Mexico)

(These boats were in the Harbor)

(Fisherman's Villiage)

(See the nice blue water?? I wanted to jump in and start swimming!) :)

(These ones were all taken through the car window)