wait, i'm a step-what?

Do I have any blogger step-parents (or soon-to-be steps) hanging around here?

My boyfriend has two little sweet peas, 4 and 10 (N and P), and I am never sure what to call them during conversations with other people. Referring to them as "my boyfriend's kids" sort of swallows up any role that I play in in their lives (and, though I may be biased, I think that role is pretty pivotal). But they aren't my step-kids yet, so I feel a little strange referring to them as such. Does anyone else have this argument with themselves?

Am I sort of like their step-friend?

Not that the title really matters. What matters is that I have a 4 year old boy who tells me every day how much he loves me (awwww!), and a 10 year old girl who just told me last weekend, "Sometimes, when I'm not with my mom and when you're here with my dad, I kind of like to think that you're my mom, too. Is that weird?" After hearing that from a little girl who believes (as every little girl should) that her mom hangs the moon, my heart never felt so happy and fulfilled.

It is certainly wonderful to have these two little blessings in my life as often as I do. You hear so many stories of step-parents (or... step-girlfriends or step-somethings or whatever we are) who want to send "the little brats" off to boarding school, or treat them differently from the rest of their children, like red headed step children. I just cannot fathom it. I couldn't love his little sillies any more if they were my very own.

This step-something thing is rather confusing and really, really hard - especially for someone who has spent very little time around children. But it is already the most rewarding job I've ever had. Who knew I'd enjoy Spongebob marathons, spending 60 minutes a night drawing pictures of stick figures, watching Disney channel shows, and writing Christmas lists in April? It's all pretty heart-warming.

........and I just received a text message from their daddy. P just asked him if he's going to marry me.

Adventures in step-something to be continued.

Thanksgiving in August

Lord,

on this very insignificant Tuesday, with no one perched around a table, no turkey in the oven, and no family gathered around, I would like to give thanks and praise.

Thank you for continued time with family, though we may not see each other as often as we'd like. Thank you for our health, though we may take it for granted. Thank you for the roof over our heads, the shoes on our feet, the food in our bellies, the pets that make us smile, the friends that help us, the parents that love us, the siblings that teach us, the grandparents that hug us, the cousins that spend time with us, the aunts and uncles that teach us life's secrets, the significant others that adore us when we give them every reason not to..
And for every lesson we learned along the way, in times when we may have forgotten to thank you.

Please bless these thoughts to the nourishment of our souls.
                                                 Aaaaaaaaaamen.

.my cup runneth over.

It's been almost a week, and I must say I've packed a whole lot of learning into the last six days. Let me start by detailing the events of my weekend...

Friday evening was the beginning of my nomad weekend. On this particular trek to Tulsa, I watched my brother fix my car while his wife and I supervised and rocked out to 90's boyband music; I went with my soul-mate-of-a-dear-friend to pick out her wedding dress [& saying she will be the most beautiful bride ever would not even begin do her justice]; I trotted my fabulous mom and fabulous pregnant sister-in-law to my fabulous pregnant best friend's house for a baby-clothing-swap; I attended the engagement luau for the future bride; I took my grandparents out for my Papa's 79th birthday breakfast ...who am I kidding? When I tried to pay for the bill, I thought he might actually beat me with his cane. Needless to say, I allowed him to pay for his own birthday breakfast; and I had lunch with 4 of the most amazing ladies I've ever met.

In spite of knowing that I am happy with my life and where I am at and how I got here, I found myself wondering if my life is as full as it should be.. Have I ever really done anything? Am I already an old maid at the ripe ole age of 24? I was officially the unfortunate bearer of very green feelings - and I don't mean eco-friendly...

After nearly a full day of sad, pitiful, unattractive wallowing, it hit me:

The reason I have such wonderful friendships with such amazing people is because they have something about them that I adore; that I absolutely appreciate; and that I can complement. It dawned on me that I was completely, hopelessly, and happily enveloped in everything that friendship is supposed to be about, and I experienced it all in just 48 short hours. I was so surrounded with LOVE the entire weekend, that it made me question whether or not I was giving it back in the same way. I am so thankful that I can occasionally question my ability to love, because it means that I can put that much more effort into loving the right way in a positive way.

And as long as I love this way, I will never have to doubt whether or not I'm loving correctly. I generally don't like to openly discuss my relationship with God because Lord knows I believe it's a private matter between Him and me. But since Jesus understands every weakness of ours (Hebrews 4:15), I will just let it suffice to say that my cup runneth over. I am so full of love and appreciation for everything in my life right now.

Let the blogging begin!

I have been out of the blogging world for quite some time now.
As someone who used to thrive in the dramatic world of Xanga and Myspace (in my defense, I was 14 - I cannot really be held responsible for those actions, right??), it is nice to finally know that I can take joy in living a life that can make my family, my friends, and my God proud. 

Life is full of crazy, scary, exciting, joyous, sad, trying, and happy moments. I think the world needs to take a little more time, each day, to appreciate and revel in the fact that God gives every single one of us something to be happy about; something to be proud of; and something to look forward to.

Happiness is a choice.
Love is a skill.
Life is a process.