What a wonderful royal event!

I love weddings! Melissa and I had more fun planning and then experiencing all the joys of her special day! All women were created by God to desire to be "captivating" and to be like a princess and find her prince who adores her totally and whom she adores exclusively! God made woman this way! The royal wedding event was such a nice and timely method of a needed mental escape, if only for a few hours of TV, but an escape from all the bad and heart wrenching news of tornadoes and of the poor economy as well as political turmoil in Washington.
Melissa, our princess, has been happily married for about a year and a half now! We just love and adore Jonathan and his family! Jonathan's mother, Diane, went to Baylor where Bill and I went as well!

I was so happy to have both my brothers and their families come and Bill's brother and sister's and most of their families! Our nieces, Hope and Brooke were the flower girls! Our nephew, Nathan was the ring bearer!

Melissa's dress was just perfect for her and just the one she wanted!

I loved Kate's dress!

My dress was purchased at Korona's in San Angelo, Texas and was a replica of the dress Adrian wore to marry Rocky Balboa in Rocky II. I loved it and I think it was very similar to Kate's dress!

We were so pleased with our photographers, Jenny and Eddie Martell! Melissa's dress was just so her!!

A few days before this royal wedding I was watching the Nate Berkus show and he was showing different ideas on how to have a tea party and watch the royal wedding. I hadn't been too terribly interested, with so much in the news about the devastation from the many tornadoes, the economy doing so poorly, and the political strife getting more and more outrageous and just shameful (Mr. Trump, please grow up, don't speak publicly, and just do you real estate business etc. privately and stay out of politics!!). However, when Berkus showed my same china that was "made in England" on a lovely tray all ready with tea and pastries for a fun watching party, I decided to do the same for Bill and I! Tea and blueberry muffins! We got up a little before 5 and had more fun watching! It brought back memories of getting up in the night to watch Charles and Diana's wedding years ago while I was a student at Baylor in my apartment on 4th Street in Waco!

In my opinion, our country's citizens truly could demonstrate more civility toward one another. Bill tells me that the British Parliament yells at one another and displays all sorts of drama but when they throw a wedding they demonstrate ultimate civility, courtesey, proper and modest behavior and manners. There were only 53 arrests out of probably 1 million in the crowds! I enjoyed watching the beautiful couple as they seemed to be truly happy and genuinely in love. His mother would have been so proud of him. I loved her dress! It is much like the dress I wore in our wedding!

The official wedding portrait.

The royal family.

They look so happy! I am so glad this prince found the perfect princess for him! I pray that they will be happy and grow old together and live "happily ever after"!

Pillow Talk!

Last night Bill made me laugh until I cried and my abs hurt! It makes me laugh thinking back over the last minutes of the evening! My husband is really very funny! His great sense of humor and frequent teasing is one of the many traits that first attracted me to him. I don't think all our church members really know how funny he can be! Well, here's how this hilarious evening started.
Remember back when Oprah did a show about "How old are your pillows?" She had an expert on describing in great grotesque details what bacteria, fungal spores and microscopic organisms along with dead skin, saliva, dried sweat, and more are in your pillow! Yes, disturbing to dwell on! Anyway, that show got my attention. I am a bit OCD anyway and I was raised by Dixie Ann Wimpee who took Microbiology in college and taught me all about germs and cleanliness in the home. I change out my pillow about every 4 years religiously. Experts recommend changing it every 1 or 2 years! Yes, look it up! Yikes. I need to do better.
Well, Mary Elizabeth Linthicum gave Bill and I two really nice, top quality, foam pillows made at San Angelo's own Western Mattress Company. What a wonderful thing to give a newly married couple! Bill is a stomach sleeper so he prefers a foam pillow. I prefer a down pillow or a synthetic down. Therefore, the foam pillows became Bill's one by one. Now we will be married 30 years next January. So...... those pillows were given to us, yes, almost 30 years ago! Yes, we still had them until yesterday! I know, I am groaning too, unbelievable as that is they didn't stink and still even looked good but really, there is a season for all things and I laid down the law yesterday to Bill. The pillows had to go. I stood my ground with Bill and insisted that his beloved foam pillow/s had to go and be replaced. We have recently done a lot of updating and cleaning out so this was on my list to do. He was not happy about this but he went with me to Dillard's and selected a new foam pillow to his liking (they only had one to choose from!). He slowly changed them out and sadly placed his old beloved foam pillow in the trash. (Mind you, I have tumbled it and them in the dryer for hours and heated it to oblivion,sprayed it with Lysol and Allergy Fe breeze etc) However, it was way past time to say goodbye to the beloved foam pillow and hello to the new. (We will do better and more frequent replacements in the future, I am determined!) Perhaps, he was actually boosting his immune system! Lol! Who knows! He's hardly ever sick! Lol!
Well, when we got in bed and turned out the lights, said good night, and Bill gets himself all comfy on his new pillow, I could see him since the TV was still on and I was watching a bit more news before nodding off, he didn't seem to settle. He was realizing this new foam pillow was just not right and not like the old one. When he tried to get situated he just couldn't get comfy and this new pillow was too high and actually made his back arch a little when he tried to settle down prone! Opps! Oh, no! I forced him to trash his old favorite pillow and now the new one wasn't working! I couldn't help but start laughing, he was making it so funny, as he'd demonstrate that it would work for sleeping on his side but definitely not for sleeping prone! Oh, no! We were both laughing harder and Bill said, well, this will be good, I'll just have to sleep on my side for 30 more years until I get another pillow! We were howling with laughter by now! I was trying to explain to him that I originally had picked out a foam "Memory Pillow" from Target for him but didn't want to get it without him being there. Then when we'd gone to Dillard's and he picked the one, I thought surely it would be fine! Lol! It was just so funny! Needless to say, I went to Target today after work and bought him the foam "Memory Pillow" and had him TEST it and it is perfect! Whew! I feel so much better now! I was able to let my guilt go for MAKING him toss his favorite OLD pillow and replace it! Oh, my, life with Bill is more and more fun everyday! On our 25th Anniversary, when we went to Disney and stayed at Saratoga Springs Resort for the 1st time we made a vow to "always have fun!" from this point forward, we would always be positive, optimistic, and laugh every chance we could! Bill gets to share so many stories on me and our kids from the pulpit so I get to blog my stories on him! He knows I'm blogging this but I don't always know when he is going to share an illustration from the pulpit that involves me! Anyway, we have some new pillows! How old are YOUR pillows?

This is such a classic and cute movie, "Pillow Talk" with Doris Day and Rock Hudson!

The old, now closed, Western Mattress in San Angelo, Texas, my quaint hometown!

These are the pillows I favor and ordered for myself from the Disney Resort Collection!

I remember when my mother, Dixie Ann, inherited her mother's belongings which included a feather bed. Mom took it to Western Mattress where they sanitized the feathers and made new feather pillows for my Mom! She was amazing at thinking of having things like this done. She never wasted anything! Seriously, just ask her kids or grand kids! They could tell you stories of Dixie Ann and her saving ways!

Mr.Binniker putting the final touches on a new Mattress at the old Western Mattress factory, now closed.

The location where the building still stands today, empty.

All my family is particular about our pillows and our favorite! Cuddly, comfy, always there when you need it! How old are your pillows?

Please pray for the winds to calm...

Pray for all of Texas regarding these devastating wildfires. I am a West Texas native and I am especially praying for my West Texas friends and family as they battle, watch, and wait during this windy, dry, fiery war. Both my brothers own ranch land in West Texas. One in Mertzon and the other in the Christoval area. They are fine so far but so many friends are keeping vigil and fighting fire. Nearer to where I live now, the DFW area, the sky is hazy here and asthma sufferers are feeling the effects of smoky air from the Possum Kingdom area West of Ft Worth where fires rage and the efforts there to fight and contain the blazes are challenging.

My heart goes out to my fellow Texans.

Livestock and wildlife suffer as well.

Pray and ask God to calm the winds, raise the humidity, and send rain for all of Texas.

I attended Travis Elementary in San Angelo, Texas for 1st and 2nd grade and there I learned this state song that stays in my heart to this day.

Texas our Texas, all hail the mighty state!

Texas our Texas! So wonderful so great!

Boldest and grandest, withstanding every test,

Our empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest.

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,

that you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long,

God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,

That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.

Unexpected priviledges

I am still smiling! Yesterday Bill and I had the unexpected privilege of getting down on our knees with a precious older couple, a husband and wife, as he is facing a new cancer diagnosis. God could have used anyone, but we were so honored to have the privilege of leading them each, one at a time, in the sinner's prayer. The strong, proud, successful man truly plucked my heart strings and reminded me so much of my own dad years ago, facing a very serious diagnosis, wanted to visit with us and put in to words his desire to be sure, to "nail it down", and know that he knows for sure, that he can truly have the free gift of eternal life. After he verbalized some of his fears and struggles, I shared with him that my dad had gone to his pastor a year or so before he died with Cardiomyopathy and asked if he could "re-dedicate" his life, just "to be sure!" Well, this precious man said, yes, he wanted to do that. We all circled around him, on our knees, Bill, me and his wife. He had to sit on the couch due to some pain. Bill led him in that simple sinner's prayer where you simply acknowledge and verbalize that yes, you know you are a sinner and that you want to acknowledge and accept that Jesus paid the price for your sin's when He died on the cross and that you want to accept His free gift of eternal life. You want to then live for Him! It is and was that simple. Then I voiced a specific prayer asking for God's grace, mercy, and strength as they face the coming treatments, doctor visits, and more. We ask for healing and patience as well as perseverance and more. Then amen and it was so sweet,his wife then said, "wait, I want to do that too!" Well, yes, of course! Bill then led her in the same prayer! When we all lifted our heads again all eyes were moist and the presence of the Lord was in the room! God is so good! What a blessing, what an honor, what a privilege to get to be part of God at work right here in Grand Prairie, Texas. Please know, I am not sharing this in a bragging way. I truly am humbled and so thankful that I get to co-minister with my husband and best friend! I learned at Baylor to call these sweet times, Divine appointments or Serendipity! Yes, I am just so blessed again and again to get to be a part of these "Divine appointments!" When people ask me, "Isn't it hard being a pastor's wife?" I pause, and say, no, the blessings FAR outweigh the challenges! We get to do things all the time that make a difference for eternity! What a blessing is that?!

Chandelier in my closet!

Yes, my terrific husband has been up to it again! He is truly amazing! He hung this darling chandelier for me in our master closet Saturday! I just love it! My daughter, Melissa, had the idea and mentioned to me that she thought a chandelier would be so perfect in her master closet! Well, we HAD a not so lovely fluorescent light in there for 12 years that the builder put in. It had no cover or anything pretty at all. Just bulbs and the part that holds them in. So boring and just functional but no bling. Well, I think we now have a little bling! looked and looked until I found this one at Lowes and the minute I saw it I knew it was the one! Thanks, Melissa for the idea!

So I got a new vacuum...

So, I got a new Shark upright Vacuum cleaner! I love it! After we got the new carpet I was Vacuuming with my two year old Electrolux tank Vacuum that I love and had coveted and wanted for years! I finally was able to get one and can you believe, everything now days is made of plastic! It broke! Well, a part on the neck broke inside so that when you pull it back toward you after pushing it away, well, the mechanism that should lock the neck extender in place is broken now so as you pull it back to you the whole neck thing extends way out.... oh, can't you just mentally picture this now! Lol! It really is funny, anyway, Bill duct taped it for me and it works great now so it's my upstairs vacuum cleaner now! Lol! I always wondered why my Mom's Electrolux had duct tape all over it! But she loved it and raved about it and always told me I needed one! Ok, I got my new Vacuum and.......... I decided that with my new carpet I didn't want my cleaning lady bringing her vacuum in my house anymore after she uses it in other homes with lots of cats. My Melissa is severely allergic to cats and if I let my lady come spray all that cat exhaust into my house Melissa may be triggered into a severe allergic attack when she comes next time. Also, I was raised by a mom who took Home Management 101 at TWU and took Microbiology and she taught me that you never let anyone use their vacuum in your house, you don't let anyone brush their teeth and spit into the kitchen sink, you don't sit on bed spreads, it wears them out, and you don't let anyone put their hands on the walls! It ruins the paint. Ok, get the picture? I was taught alot of things by my amazing Mom and I am becoming her! Lol! It's all good! Anyway, I did it, I let my cleaning lady go. When I told her very nicely that I had a new vacuum and I wanted her to start using only it and then my upstairs one there and not bring hers in she said "well, I don't know, that might hurt my back". Then Bill and I were home for lunch and Bill is adamant that she stay a full 3 hours each time she comes, she was at 2 and 1/2 hours in and she looks at Bil and says "well, do you want me to stay and wait on those towels to dry?" Oh, my, that was the WRONG thing to ask and the WRONG person to ask! Lol! Those of you who know my wonderful husband, I don't have to say anymore! Lol! She nailed the last nail in the coffin right there! opps! She had done tore her britches with him right there! How else can I say it, she sealed the deal! NOT! One day she arrived and asked me, "well, didn't Bill get those sheets off the bed and started in the wash for me today?" Seriously? Why am I putting up with this? Lol! Another day she said to me, "holler up to Brad and have him strip his bed and throw down his sheets to me!" I did love her and she was a help while I was planning and implementing Melissa's wedding but we truly can handle it all now on our own and save the money. Bill really is a GREAT help and he can clean all 3 and 1/2 bathroom well and fast! I do all the floors and the kitchen and we both dust and then do extra projects like the plantation shutters and windows and light fixtures on a rotating basis but not every week. He is such a great help and gotten better and better over the years! Our biggest joke is that every Saturday HE does the laundry, YES, I admit it, He does all our laundry every Saturday AND he does the yard and I don't help! Think about it now, I either delicate wash my own stuff during the week or take it to the best dry cleaners in the area, Arnold Brothers, so the "laundry" is really ALL Bill and Brad's stuff only! Well, maybe a pair of my socks now and then but that is it! We just laugh! He is really doing HIS laundry and Brad does do his himself some too! I am blessed with two great guys here but we DO all laugh A LOT! Brad and I had more fun tonight watching the last season of "Community". Brad attends TCC so it was extra meaningful to us! Chevy Chase is my brother Blake reincarnated! He is SO funny! Blake has always kept us rolling with laughter and has a view and humor all his own! Ok, I have done my floors and the kitchen now off to dust and maybe do the bathrooms for Bill tonight since he is at a church committee meeting. Hey, wait a minute.... how did he get out of "house cleaning" night?

Things I'm Loving Thursday!

Things I'm loving this Thursday! Here they are! My wonderful hair dresser, Jeannie Payne, told me about this great app for my i-phone and other phones as well called Gas Buddy! It is amazing and really works to help you find the cheapest gas closest to you! I love it!

Gas Buddy!! gasbuddy.com

Bath and Body works has this great new fragrance! I LOVE it! I bought some for my son and....

I bought all new stuff in the fragrance for my newly redone guest bathroom upstairs! I even got the plug in fragrance with a night light built in! It smells so nice and it's not over powering. I am loving it! I got the Cashmere hand cream for me and every night I slather it on my hands until it soaks in and awaken with the softest hands!

Boston Market's new Mediterranean Salad with grilled chicken on it! So tasty and healthy! If you are fixing dinner, pick up two of these without the chicken, dump in your prettiest salad bowl and voile! You have the most amazing salad all ready to serve with your dinner!

The movie of the book "The Lincoln Lawyer". Very good. Much like a Grisham novel.

I am loving my Corioliss curling iron! Yes, I bought it at the Mall from one of those kiosks where they demonstrate it on you and it really is good! I am loving it!

What are you loving?

Moms. We always know what to do.

In the book "Captivating" by John and Staci Eldridge it says "As large as the role that our mothers play, the word mother is more powerful when used as a verb than as a noun. All women are not mothers but all women are called to mother. To mother is to nurture, to train, to educate, to rear. In doing this women partner with Christ in the vital mission of bringing forth life." My amazing son, Brad is 20 and will be 21 the end of May. I'll never forget when I had him, Bill looked at me across the delivery room and mouthed the words, "thank you!" He had a son! It was such an easy pregnancy AND delivery! Brad was much like his sister by being a very good happy baby. My Mom said I was really lucky to have had TWO good babies that liked to sleep and were happy most all the time. I am thankful. Brad was misdiagnosed (unknown to us at that time) in December of 2008 with Crohn's Disease. His symptoms were treated with medicine and he went into remission/symptoms went away, for 2 years. Shortly before Brad, Bill, and I ran in the Cowtown his symptoms returned. We scheduled the doctor appointment and procedure which we knew was inevitable and necessary for this etiology. The doctor gave us news that it was not Crohn's but that the biopsy was positive for Ulcerative Colitis. This falls under the umbrella of etiologies called IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Diseases). We are learning and studying and we are happy with our doctor. However, today, I think I hit a wall, to speak in runner's terms. You know when you reach that point of pain when running that you think you can't go on, but then you do and the endorphins kick in, the natural cortisone flows and your pain vanishes and you break through the runner's wall? Well, I think I had a wall experience today. Brad and me in Dallas at the end of his portfolio shoot with photographer Jenny Martell. My silly son! He has always been a happy guy who loves life and makes being his Mom, fun! Today he went back to his doctor to see why his flare up (as we have now learned they call it, with Ulcerative Colitis) has flared up again. After his hospital visit, antibiotics, steroids, and Mesalamine he started to settle down pretty quick but then all flared again. I let him go by himself to the doc today and I stayed at work. I know I need to start letting him do some of these things solo now, and learn to be his own health care advocate. I won't be around forever. The doc said he should take an additional medicine and see how that works. If not then he can start IV Medicine every two weeks for a while and see if that will put his symptoms back in remission. Wow. OK, we can do that. I am reminding myself to think on the positives, it IS treatable, it is not cancer, it is not terminal, there are so many things that could be worse. But you know, we Moms, we want to DO something. When my babies were sick I could ALWAYS do so many things. I could take their temp, bathe them, sing to them, soothe them, take them to the pediatrician and do everything he advised and more. I am so sure God created us Moms to thrive on DOING things and doing LOTS of things to help, nurture, and support our loved ones. We drive them crazy sometimes doing all we do for them! It's how God created us women and moms! We live to do! Truly, I would give my life for either of my kids! Today, I couldn't think of anything else I can DO right now. I found myself feeling really irritated and then angry. After work I went and did just Cardio at the Summit. First the bike and then wore out the treadmill. I still felt frustrated and mad. I couldn't put my finger on why? I went home and cooked, served, and cleaned up dinner. (I was busy doing!) I still didn't feel better. I drug Bill to Home Depot to pick out a new light fixture for Melissa's old closet and look at chandeliers for our closet and for a paint roller shield for some more interior painting we have to do. I still didn't feel any better. Then as I pondered and finished my paperwork for tomorrow it dawned on me, I was mad because there is nothing right now I can DO to make these IBD symptoms just go away! I am a mad Mom because I want to DO something to fix it and make it all better right now and I can't! I verbally vented to Bill and he listened. I have to now trust the doctor, help Brad follow his guidance, pray of course, pray, and seek God, Jehovah Rapha, the God of healing, to heal my son and for Brad's IBD to go back into remission, and soon! Philippians 4:6,7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus." Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." As daughters of Eve, John and Staci Eldridge say that all women are uniquely gifted to help other in their lives become more of who they truly are- to encourage, nurture, and mother them toward their true selves. In doing this, yes, we do "partner with Christ" in a vital role and mission of bringing forth life. The Eldridges say that "we mother each other when we offer our concern, our care, our comfort. We mother each other when we see a need and rise to meet it whether it is a sweater for a friend who is chilly, a meal for a struggling family, or a listening ear for a friend who is hurting." God created us this way! I shouldn't feel guilty or try to stop myself from "smothering" nor should I fear being made to stop "mothering". As Rick Warren says, this is "my shape". This is part of how God created me and part of my purpose! The Eldridges sum it up best when the wrote, "While our hearts drink deeply and rest in God's good heart, HE "mothers" us and created us to be the women we truly are. A woman who partners with God in bringing forth life in this damaged world- offering, loving, inviting others to become who they were meant to be - she is a mother indeed. She- like God- offers Freedom and Life."

June Cleaver! Yes, this was the lady I wanted to be when I grew up! Actually, in retrospect, I realize that Dixie Ann Wimpee WAS so much like the "June Cleaver" persona that most girls my age grew up visualizing themselves becoming one day. Most women my age and older had mother's who stayed home and were truly "homemakers". The majority of our mom's did not work outside the home and cooked three meals a day, cleaned her own home, drove car pool, volunteered in the community, and ran errands for our father's. Our dad's were the financial providers and eating out was a special treat! Most females my age or older grew up being bombarded with this image as our future. I was so fine with that! I WAS disappointed when my vision didn't materialize! I am fine now and have embraced reality but I WAS truly disappointed! My mom always encouraged me to get my college education as "insurance". She said that just in case something happened and I ended up needing to work to help out or God forbid, support myself or me and my family, just get a degree, just in case! Well, I am so thankful I got a degree in something I love! I AM truly appreciative for my Baylor education and my profession. I am very happy and this is written with a huge sense of humor and learning to laugh at reality and embrace it! I grew up so shelter and protected and so spoiled! I was a doctor's daughter with an amazing mother who kept me right by her side at all times. She had a master's degree in Nutrition and she was a registered and licensed Dietitian. She had passed the "white glove" home management program at Texas Women's University and I realize now that Dixie Ann taught me just about everything she knew while raising me! I am so thankful! Maybe I didn't get to stay home full time and wear my pearls everyday while I kept house, like my idol June, or Dixie Ann, but I AM happy anyway! Isn't it interesting that even when our expectations don't always materialize, we can choose our attitude and we CAN make the best of it! We can make up our mind to BE HAPPY or to CHOOSE JOY at all times, no matter what! I am so blessed to be married to my best friend, to have a job I love, to have two kids I am so proud of, and to get to retire in TWO YEARS and draw full teacher retirement for the rest of my life! Hey, you know what, I AM going to get to stay home and keep house and wear my pearls everyday as I vacuum and clean and bake and wear my cute little aprons I love so, hey, wait a minute, I AM going to get to do what I've always dreamed of! I just didn't know I'd be 54 when I got to do so but hey, that's ok! I'll take it! God is so good! Just sometimes surprising! Lol! Isn't life grand! Let's just choose joy, and choose to celebrate EVERYDAY! Psalms 118:24 "...Let us rejoice and be glad!"

Things I'm Loving Tuesday!

I LOVE Ketchup, and Heinz is the BEST! I know, I know, lady like, Pam, yes, I have a thing for yes, KETCHUP! I love it on so many things! When Bill and I started dating he admitted later that he thought it was "strange" that I put ketchup on my vegetable egg white omlette! (Hey, it's not really that different than putting salsa on your eggs! ) Anyway, I LOVE ketchup and I love it on eggs, of course on fries (which I don't eat unless they are baked and not very often), on ANY kind of grilled meat, on hot dogs, corn dogs, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and more! I LOVE Ketchup! Lol! It has no fat in it and lots of vitamin C as well as lycopene! Heinz is the BEST!

I love baked cheetos! The taste always makes me think of the Swim and Raquet Club in San Angelo where I used to spend hours in the summers. I'd sometimes have a snack of Cheetos there! I LOVE Chips and Salsa and I think my favorite place is at Don Pablos! No, Abuelos, no, Chipotle, no how about at On the Boarder... well, I guess almost any Mexican food place has my favorite Chips and Salsa but if I buy them I buy "On The Border" brand amd the mild sauce. I love Diet cherry coke and a route 44 from Sonic is the BEST!! Long and Lean White Jeans from GAP! The best fit on me ever!

What are you loving today?