Hello Spring, are you there?

Oh my. Spring so far is not so fabulous. Hoping for warmer, spring-like weather soon!

Peace within

{{kelly rae}}

"May today there be peace within. May you  trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget  the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.  May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has  been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are.  Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom  to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of  us." ~ St. Theresa's Prayer

Your hands

image via pinterest

Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. ~ Psalm 73:23

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about God's plan for my life. Sometimes it's hard to see how God is working in my life. He moves at his own pace and I grow impatient. But, even in the silence, He's working, paving the way, writing my story, which is ultimately His story.

This Sunday, my pastor was talking about Jacob and how he wrestled with God. I can relate to Jacob. I've been in rough situations, and rather than praying to God for help, I run away. But God doesn't let me get away that easily. He loves me too much to let me go. And so in my silence, God gently forces me to deal with my pain, and reveals to me that my real issue is that I need God. C.S. Lewis once said, "[God] is not tame. But He is good."

So I place my life in His hands. And I see Him and even feel Him working in me. He didn't give up on me. I still belong to Him. I am in His hands. And I am so thankful and humbled by the thought that the God who created the heavens and earth, also holds me in His hands.

"Your Hands" by JJ Heller

"...I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands..."

Happy Uncle Joe Day!

Uncle Joe Zanders - What a good lookin' guy, huh!

St. Patrick's Day always reminds me of my sweet Uncle Joe, God rest his soul. The sweetest, most charming man on earth. He loved to talk about the "homeland" and beautifully sing Irish songs such as "When Irish eyes are smiling," and the song that still brings tears to my eyes because I can hear his sweet voice "My wild Irish rose." 

Oh Uncle Joe, I do miss you, but I know you are up in heaven serenading God and his angels. I only hope they serve some Guinness and corn beef and cabbage up there in heaven. Slainte, my dear Uncle Joe!

To Kill A Robin

{{pinterest}}

Yesterday as I sat on the couch planning the week's meals, I heard a consistent tapping on the window every 1-2 minutes. As I stood in front of the window trying to figure out what the noise was, a little, fat robin flew himself into our window. "What the...," I screamed. The hubs stayed in his office. Of course, I am the one that has to deal with this suicide bird bombing. The little guy was literally knocking the poo out of himself. Seriously, bird poo everywhere on our deck. Disgusting. I don't want to clean that up. He even managed to get some on the window. Yuck.

I googled the phenomenon, and come to find out, this is common in the spring time. According to Cornell, the behavior is a "territorial reaction."

"This is the time of year when most birds are busy establishing their territories, finding a mate, laying eggs, and raising their young. They are very protective of their territory and will attack and try to drive away any bird they view as a possible competitor or a threat to their young. When they see their own reflection in your window, they assume they’re seeing a competitor and so they attack their own image."

Great, on top of having poo in my house and a mole in our yard (yes, he's still here), we have horny birds flying into our windows. This must be the "Birds" part of the "Birds and the Bees." Oh goody. When are the bees gonna show up next?

What is the solution to stopping the insanity - I could "streak my windows with soap" OR "put nets up to distract" the little guys. Yea, cause that all sounds great. (Please note the sarcasm in my writing...) The hubs printed off a picture of an eagle to tape to the window. We'll try that for now, or else its either bird-poo covered windows or soap covered windows. Might just stay with the poo theme we seem to have going.

What stinks?

There has been a strange aroma around our household lately. I thought it was the hubs. He thought it was me. Come to find out, the stench is coming from our house plants.

A few weeks ago, my mom told me I needed to buy some plant fertilizer. I'm new to the gardening businnes, but no biggie. I can buy fertilizer...OR so I thought.

I bought organic fertilizer aka poop. I did think there was a bit of a funky smell, but I just figured all fertilizers smelled funny. But, then I thought about it and yep, it's poop. Our house smells like poop. The hubs thinks its hilarious. I think it just plain stinks like poop. What a gross word, and now, its in my house till its sunny and warm enough for me to put the plants outside. To make matters worse, the plants are in the kitchen. barf.

Home

Last night, when the hubs and I got ready for bed, and he put his arm around me, just like he always does when we go to sleep, I recalled what life was like a year ago when the hubs was still a boyfriend and I lived 2 hours away. I hated leaving him and having to go back "home." It was a very sad and lonely drive for me. But walking into the empty apartment was even more unbearable. It would take all I had to not breakdown and cry into my pillow those nights.

Looking back, I now can appreciate those lonely moments. The loneliness has taught me to appreciate all that I have. Home, for me, is not a place, its a person. So now when I go home and I open the door, I don't find loneliness there. I find love smiling back at me, and I know how blessed I am.

Rando

image via pinterest

Prepare yourself for an uber random post.

HELLO! Last week was an interesting week. In addition to struggling with back pain from too many spills, I was diagnosed with shingles. oh joy. I have little painful red bumps in patches on my left leg that shoot pain up and down my leg. The hubs keeps reminding me that I basically have herpes on my leg. Thank you for that, love. 

image via pinterest

I ended up missing 3 days of work last week due to the nerve and back pain, so I did a lot of sleeping, yoga and watching "Keeping up with the Kardashians." By the way, I wasn't a fan of Khourtney at first, but she is beginning to grow on me. I've also been watching "The Bachelor." The hubs has been watching it with me too. We both think Brad Womack is such a wonk. Yes, the hubs has opinions about "The Bachelor." He actually gets really into it, although if you asked him, he wouldn't admit it. He really like Emily, the "tragic mother." While watching this weeks episode he said (and I quote), "Aww, she is just too sweet. I hope he picks her." No lie. He secretly LOVES the show.

Back to the matter at hand...I got bored really quickly last week. Actually, I don't know if it was boredom or my pain pills, but I got antsy. So I decided to paint.

 

I was extremely proud of this painting until I realized that the quote that I thought I got from "The Godfather" was incorrect. Instead of "swim" it should be "sleep." Oops. Its the pain medicine. It makes me forgetful and say stupid things. Oh well. I like it.

Happy Hump Day!