As Of Lately...

The holiday time of year is always a busy one for everyone. It can be especially busy for those involved in church and the ministers!

This has been a fun semester for me because I have been a part of the holiday ensemble at church! We've been practicing all semester for Thanksgiving and Christmas and the weeks in between. Music has been a huge part of my life for so long. It was in 5th grade that I tried out for and made my first real choir. Sure, I'd been in church things before but that was the first time I had to try out and got to be a part of the 5th grade Honor Choir at Burlington Elementary. Since then, I've found so much joy in reading, learning, and preforming music. This is the first time I've been really involved in music since we've been married so it's been fun to introduced Tyler to this very serious side of me. I might take church choir a little too seriously, but music is a huge passion of mine that I've been neglecting for years. Anyway, we helped lead worship and preformed some songs for our Thanksgiving worship service. It was exhausting but I loved every second of indulging in this passion of mine! I don't want the holidays to end because I want to keep on singing. 

On December 8th we had the pleasure of throwing a Christmas party for our amazing youth group sponsors! We've seriously been blessed with incredible leaders. They've made this transition so great for us. Not only are they our sponsors but I truly consider them our friends too! It was my first time to throw a party for a group of people like this before. Let me tell you- I loved every second of it! I love being able to devote my time and energy to people who make my life better. When we were doing ministry while I was in school I was not able to devote as much as I wanted to to celebrating people we love... so this was so exciting to me. It wasn't a huge or elaborate party but I loved baking, cooking, and decorating. December 8th was also our 5 year dating anniversary! Our sponsors should feel so lucky to have spent it with us! We also spent an evening with our lovely students for a Christmas party. We ate a lot, had a white elephant gift time, and got to hang out and have fun.

We took another adventure to San Francisco to finish up our Christmas shopping. Last time we drove, parked, and walked. This time we decided to try out the public transportation and let me say, we liked that much better! It was much less stressful and quite a bit cheaper to take the train in from Pleasanton. We did still do a lot of walking, but that was because walking in big cities is one of the best ways to really take it in. There's plenty of easy and cheap public transportation, so I have to say that I think it's the better way to do the city if you don't anticipate doing things in every single part of the city. We did accomplish our shopping needs which was very exciting! We also finally found some good California themed ornaments, which I've been searching for for months!

Now that the parties are done, we've got just a little more time before we head to Oklahoma to see our families for Christmas! To say we are excited is an understatement. We can't wait to hug our parents, siblings, and especially those sweet little kids in our lives that are growing much to quickly! We love Tracy, but I'm excited to be in home, sweet 'Homa so very soon! 

Songs That Take You Back

It's no secret that I love all reality singing shows. Luckily I've pulled Tyler on board and he enjoys watching them now. Last week we even made our list of the order in which we thought XFactor contests would place-now that's a game I can get in to!

There's a contestant on The Voice that has been my favorite partially because of her voice, partially because of her song selections. She sings everything I loved about high school! Her name is Cassadee Pope and I can't wait to someday buy her album. This week I was looking forward to watching her as normal but she sang a song that took me straight back to Highway 169 on April 4th, 2006.

The day before was the day my father had his stroke. I had been at work at the time of that awful phone call, was sent home from work to an empty home and promptly went to stay with my second family, the Killions, as it was too late for me to drive to the hospital in Tulsa. One of the worst parts about that night was that Cathy didn't know what had happened by the time I got there so I had to verbalize what had happened just a couple hours after I found out. There's nothing more awful than saying something painful out loud for the first time.

The next day I went to school as normal and at 1:30 I would have had off season volleyball practice. So I went and told my coach what had happened and asked kindly if I could go ahead and miss practice so I could go to the hospital. He thought I was crazy for showing up and sent me on my way. In school they don't teach you protocol for life events like this. Just a couple days before, the newest Rascal Flatts cd came out. I had purchased it and hadn't listened yet so I popped it in before driving to Tulsa, with the hope that this cd would lift my spirits a little.

Cue waterworks. The very first song on the cd was called "Stand". I had already begun driving to Tulsa and I'm hearing these lyrics that were way too appropriate for that moment in my life. Cause when push comes to shove, you taste what you're made of. Everything about my life had changed in a moment. When Cassadee started singing, I was taken back to that exact time when I first heard this song, just like every time I hear it. Starting from that day, life changed a lot. I can look back now and see how true that song can be if you choose to not let life smother you and keep you down.

I think everyone has songs that take them back to that date, time, and place that something happened. I love these songs, I love it every time, no matter if it was a painful or a beautiful experience. Honestly, even the most painful ones can be the most beautiful ones if you don't let it ruin you.

I want to say it was some time during my freshman year of college, maybe sophomore. My parents, Lydia, James, and I went to the Rascal Flatts concert in Tulsa. You can imagine the moment I had when they started singing Stand with my father sitting just a few seats down from me, alive, Standing every day and not letting the happenings of life ruin him, along with the rest of our family. Each time I hear that song I am taken back to remember just how far we've come.

Every time you get up and get back in the race, one more small piece of you starts to fall into place.