My 2016 This and That Post

Hello Faithful Blog Followers. 

My apologies for not blogging in a while.. It has been a bit of a whirlwind life lately.

 And when something comes to mind I write, write, write and read it and think “nah, better not share that” and it gets deleted.

 Sometimes I think it’s best to keep my opinions and thoughts to myself, (I said sometimes) something I have learned that comes with age. Seems to keep me out of trouble.. 

So no Target bathroom blog, (oh my)

No rant about my thoughts and heartbreak about the young teenager who was beat up and killed in her high school, and nothing about the kid falling in the gorilla thing at the zoo.

Just know it breaks my heart and people really need Jesus. 

This world seems to be getting crazier by the day.. 

It all starts at home parents. We have to teach Love and Kindness at Home..

Now onto Life..

First off My Twins are home!! And of course this makes this momma oh so happy. They both made excellent grades their first year at college, Cameron made the Dean’s List and now both are busy working their summer jobs and being at home. Loads of fun being a responsible adult. (sarcasm) 

I am enjoying seeing them when they are home.. Just so super proud of them and thrilled to watch them grow and change and accomplish so much in life. 3 more years to go for these college fellas..

Way to Go Aaron and Cameron..

My Boys are home!

Jazz kept us busy with playing softball the last 3 months of school, and her team did so well. 

We loved going to the games and cheering them on. 

She finished her Freshmen year of high school with many achievements, one of those being making Straight A’s all year. This chick makes us so proud and even though I am sad about my baby being a Sophomore now, I am excited to see her continue to grow. 

This summer so far she has been busy raising money for 2 trips she gets to take. Her Cross Country Team is going to on their first Trip to Colorado and she is going on a trip to Florida with our Youth group. She has already raised enough for the first trip and working on the 2^nd one. Cleaning houses, having a babysitting gig and helping her brothers with laundry or their job. She is not afraid of hard work and we love that about her.

Trav and I have had the privilege of attending a couple of graduations this summer. 

Two of our nephews have graduated and are going to be attending college. 

We are so very proud of them, and wish them the best in their new season in life.

We are counting the days till we leave for our very first cruise. We go in September even though our Anniversary is not till November, we will be celebrating 20 years of marriage.

Lord knows it has not been easy. Some ups and downs along the way. Some Speed Bumps, a few pot holes and maybe a cliff or two. But so thankful we toughed it out and stayed together. We are reaping the rewards for our hard work now. Enjoying much alone time together, and eating it all up.. I think he is a keeper..

But, My heart breaks for so many people today. People that I love with all my heart have called it quits on their marriage lately. I have watched how it affects so many people who have grown up together. Especially in families. The children. I am a firm believer that God can heal any situation.

He can restore any relationship.

But it takes 2 open hearts to get help and make changes.

Life Changes..

Every Single Day Changes..

Changes in your Thoughts

Changes in your Words

I would not be preaching this if I did not know first hand on how it does help. I surely don't claim to be a marriage expert. But, when you can actually love your spouse more than yourself on his or her good days and especially the bad and ugly days AND until both people can quit pointing fingers at each other, and take a breath and look at your own heart and actions, and realize that Physical, Verbal and Mental Abuse has NO place in a relationship, than your marriage is doomed.  

And that frankly just sucks. 

For everyone involved.

Just know, YOU are loved.. You are deserving of Great Love..

 And I am sorry so many are hurting today..

Happy 19th Birthday Twin Fellas

Oh My Heart..

Here we are.. 19 years later.. And this mommas heart if so full.. 

19 years ago God showed me, that even though I did not do things the right way, that his love for me is never ending. And that he is oh so Faithful..

I was in a fight for my life and the lives of these precious twin boys!

And if you had told me than at the young age of 17, in that hospital room as they were pushing buttons and doctors and nurses were running in my room and a nice helicopter ride to down town fort worth.

If you had told me than that Everything works out for the good. That I would see many prayers answered. And that God takes care of the desires of my heart.  I would not have believed ya.

But here we are.. 19 years later. Two healthy and bright young men, who are chasing the desires that God has put in their hearts. They carry such favor over them. So many precious moments. 
Built in Best Friends for Life. 

These Twin fellas are almost finished with their 1^st year of college. Running and Competing at Collegiate level that helps pay for college. 

They have met so many goals in life already, and they have such dreams and more goals to meet.

Gosh they have been a complete blessing to me and Trav.

We have had so much laughter and tears and many “almost wet my pants” moments because of these Twin Fellas..

Because of these Twin fellas, I have known how powerful a praying momma is.
 How to stand on my Faith.

Falling in love the first time I saw their itty bitty faces. And held those tiny hands. 

I have known what unconditional love is all about.

Have cheered them on in all their races on the track and off the track.

And if I had to do it all over again, I would not change one single thing.

Happy 19^th Birthday Aaron and Cameron!

Your momma is so very proud of the young men you have both grown up to be.

And I am oh so thankful that I was chosen to be your momma.

Also thankful that you have both been so very good to me. 

Totally bummed I am not there to wake you up to Sing Happy Birthday to you. 

But here is a short trip down memory lane.. I pray this is the best year Yet.

I Love you Aaron !

I Love you Cameron! 

Dear Future Daughter-In-Laws

Dear Future Daughter-In-Laws

In my 36 years, I have seen and heard those dreadful “Mother In-Law” stories. We all crack jokes about how we will act or treat our future Daughter in laws, and my lovely hubby and kids always assume I will be the Mother in law from hell. 

And I probably can be..

But you see, from the very beginning when I rocked your future husband to sleep, I prayed for you.

I prayed for your mom, as she may have been rocking you to sleep in the wee hours of the morning too.

I prayed that you would know Love, that you would Know all about Jesus, and that you would learn how to love unconditionally.

I prayed that you are strong and confident in who you are.

That you know how to laugh and enjoy life without taking life so darn serious..

As my boys have grown thru the years, I find myself wondering what the future holds for them in regards to a spouse. Of course I know they are not ready to even think about that right now. 

To be honest, I have had their spouses picked out for a while now. Lol 

But it seems life happens, and seasons change, and people have grown up and taken different paths. 

My Twin Fellas are enjoying life, and growing each day. Searching for who they are and what they want in life. 

 But I still find myself praying for both of my Future Daughter In Laws. 

 I have prayed that God will speak to my heart in how to treat and love you. 

 Don’t get me wrong, my boys are my world. They are kind and compassionate, good looking and smart. They will make you laugh till your face hurts. I may have convinced them they are pretty darn near perfect.

But I am sure you will agree with me on all that. (wink, wink)

So, I want to make some promises to both of you..

I want to Promise you that you will be loved and treated like my very own.

That you are always welcome in my home.

That you will not dread the Holidays, because I understand that families have traditions and celebrate on different days, and it’s more important that I see you and my son each holiday no matter what day we choose to celebrate it.

That your sister In laws will not treat you like crap.

 The oldest one only looks intimidating, but she just loves her brothers and can be mean if she feels they are being mistreated, but I will make her be nice. 

The giggly little one will just want to be around you most of the time.. She just wants someone on her side when they both gang up on her. 

They both have a heart of gold and They will be the best aunts ever!

I promise that I will include you and make you feel like a big part of our crazy big family.

I promise to cheat with you in our hardcore games of Uno and Skip Bo. 

But you have to have a great poker face. 

I promise to smack my son if I see him being ugly to you, just be kind to him too..

I promise that when you both decide to start your own family, and you have one of those days where sleep or peace and quiet is all you want, that I am only a phone call away.

I promise that you will have a sitter for those many date nights, because couple time is so important in a strong relationship.

I promise to be “THAT NANA” that attends all Birthdays and as many games, talent shows, and recitals and to have many sleep overs..

I promise that when you find out I am stopping by, that you don’t have to run around and clean up. Heck I will help fold laundry if needed. I won’t judge, because I have been there too! 

Clean houses are over rated anyways.

I promise to laugh with you and to cry with you during this crazy thing we call life.

And last but not least, I promise you that I am not perfect. 

We don't pretend to be. 

 I have made many mistakes in life, and its known that I can be quite moody and a little biased when it comes to my Twin Fellas. 

But, it's only because I have given them all I had and loved with all I have. 

And that will never stop. 

I just ask that you Love him with all you have, that you will stand by him on his good and bad days, support him and  be his cheerleader in life. I know he will do the same for you. 

He is kind of my favorite. But don’t tell his Twin brother.

Adios 2015! Hola 2016...

Well here we are 2016..

I have seen many people post or blog about how horrible 2015 was for them.

And I look back at my 2015 and we had some heart changing moments for sure, but it was surely the year of many changes for us. I wish I could say that I stayed strong in my faith walk in 2015, but gosh I struggled, I doubted, I pouted and spent a lot of time praying and seeking answers. And thrilled to say that we always were taken care of in many areas, and prayers were answered thru out the year. It was in his timing though, and I am also thankful for unanswered prayers, because I know now that God had better things in store for me and mine.

We had many highlights of course..

Started the year off with Jazzy girl’s surgery, where God showed up over and over reminding us how he takes care of every detail.

My Twin Fellas graduated from High School..

And we dropped them off so they could begin their College life away from home in No Man’s land..

Even though I got much crap from certain people who thought I over reacted with my anxiety on that part. But I finally quit trying to explain how I felt and what I struggled with because honestly it was none of their business.

I am just thrilled that I made it thru those emotions, and now confident that again God is and was in control and is taking great care of my twin fellas. And thankful for my precious friends who would listen to me and just there to encourage me..

Our Ciera graduated from Cosmetology school.. Whoohoo!! 

I got my Honda Accord which is something I have believed for many years.

The lovely changes at the church with my nursery position which taught me how to grow a little but has left me excited and searching for my new purpose and where to go from here…

My friendships have been quite interesting. Where I have prayed and prayed for God to restore certain relationships and instead I was shown why it is ok that some of them are no longer a part of my life. Just by seeing people’s true heart, and I have peace now and love the handful of wonderful friendships in my life. And now I can concentrate on those and love them unconditionally.

We have just really been concentrating on our children and just enjoying traveling to see our Teens run and compete. Treasuring our time with them, before they grow up and move on doing their own thing. I am loving cheering them on in life, and being there for them as they figure out what this crazy life is about..

Trav and I have gotten much alone time together, which I say we are getting those “Honeymoon years” that we missed out on in the beginning since we started off with kids.

We will be celebrating 20 years of marriage this year and so we are talking and seriously looking at our very first cruise!! EEEEK!

And we are super excited with a program that they started at work, where they basically are paying us to get healthy. They paid for a portion of our fit bits, and have many different goals for us to meet. 

Between the fit bit and seeing those horrendous pictures at my Twins graduation, it has motivated me to exercise. Been doing this since July and have lost lots of inches and 30 pounds, even though the last 5 keep coming and going. And was super excited when Trav decided to start working out with me, and he has been doing it for about 3 weeks now and already has lost 10 pounds. We had to make the decision that being overweight is not ok, and it does affect us and our health. 

We want to be able to chase our future grandbabies, I want to be that grandparent that attends all the activities, and shows my support so they never have any doubt  how much they are loved.

 And I desire to run with my Teens. That is a life time goal that I have for myself.

 One day.. One day..

So 2015 was not a horrible year, trying at time yes, but not horrible.. 

But we are thankful for the growth and the changes and very excited at what 2016 has in store for us.

So farewell 2015 and HELLO 2016.. 

Please be kind to us..

Thankful Venting..

It’s the month of November and if you follow me on FB you know almost each year I start each day in November with what I am Thankful for.

I read a lot of peoples status on FB, and sometimes I find myself shaking my head. (sigh) 

Some have posted comments about how annoying the Thankful post are. 

Some have said they don’t need a month to share what they are thankful for because they are thankful every day of the year. 

And some just complain all day everyday about life. 

The cruddy thing is, I care about what people say or think. 

Oh How I wish I did not. 

I wish I could go thru my Thankful post and see that my “friends” liked every single post and are genuinely happy for me or others who are posting. But unfortunately we are living in a world where people just cannot be happy for each other, and you know that is quite heartbreaking. 

But I have come to the conclusion that I don’t post for other people to see. 

I post for ME. 

Yes, ME! 

Because we (I) get so caught up in life that we all take for granted how blessed we are. I do this November thing to remind myself how many blessings I have in my life. 

From being married for 19 years this month to an amazing hubby and best friend!

To having 4 beautiful healthy children who are loving life. Who are thriving in College, High School or being a stay at home mom. 

To this precious little girl that I consider my very own grandbaby.

And surrounded with a beautiful family and amazing friends who love me and are oh so good to me. Who invite me to do life with them!

I have people who text me daily, whether it is to say "Hey I am thinking of you" or who ask for prayers. Or just to chat or vent. I love to celebrate life with my loved ones and close friends, when they achieve a goal or have an answered prayer. When they need encouragement or a cheerleader because they lost that dang stubborn pound. But I also am there to mourn with them and hold them up when life is unfair. When they feel they are being kicked while they are down. 

The Holidays are here, and even though many are so excited as our babies will all be home, so many are heartbroken because of losing a loved one or because families are not going to be together. 

I say all this to say, step back and take a look around you. Stop complaining for just a day, quit posting how miserable you are about life or about other people.. And open your eyes and see how blessed you are. 

Reach out to those who are hurting. Just Love with your entire being. Everyone has something to be thankful for. And when you concentrate on all the blessings you have in life, it really changes your attitude to appreciate all that God has blessed you with..  

I will be the first to admit I am not Sunshine and pleasant all the time. I let my bad attitude control how I feel. But when you make an effort to have a good attitude, it is so contagious. And I have to ask myself, if my attitude is worth catching? 

Just my thoughts of course.

Wishing each of you a Happy Thanksgiving… 

May you eat plenty and not gain a pound!

Introducing.... Everyday Spoon

As a momma, my mind goes non- stop about my babies.

No matter the age, I am always wondering

How are they doing?

Do they have enough food?

Are they brushing their teeth?

Are they staying out of trouble?

When the Twins left for college, I may have been a big ole mess. But they are pretty good to me and keep in touch to let me know how they are doing..

Sometimes I even get a daily Pic from Aaron..

Aaron's Daily Picture

The other day, I saw the weather was going to be 40 and rainy at OPSU. So I sent them both a text letting them know, and telling them to keep their ears covered when they went outside so they don’t get sick. Trav laughed so hard at me. But the Twins replied “Yes momma, we will”. 

Now whether they did or not I will never know.

Lately my worry has been, with them finished with their Cross Country Season, even though they still have work outs but no more traveling to different states.

They have some free time after classes. It’s silly for them to get a job right now since they are about to be thru with their semester and home for the Holidays.

So in my mind I am thinking and praying “Lord please keep them out of trouble, help them to make good decisions, and to keep their grades up”.

Needless to say I was so excited when they contacted me because they finally got their Youtube channel up and going.

It has been something they have wanted to do for a few years. SO the guys spend their extra time in the “Recording Studio” and post these videos online.

Recording Studio Time

Even though there are some slip ups (cuss words) when they get into the game. I have really enjoyed watching them and hearing them have such a good time with this. I am not a game person, but I know this is the new thing for people who do enjoy playing.

Everyday Spoon Members

So blog followers let me introduce you to my Twin Fellas and their friends.

 You can find them on Youtube and Twitter under the name “Everyday Spoon”

 Check them out, Like their Page, Retweet and Subscribe to their channel

Here is a link to one of the Videos.

https://youtu.be/3mhXIyubXJc

Life in Hammettville Fall 2015

Must say I have the best Blog Followers ever! 

After my last post I got texts and FB messages of ladies who wanted to attend my Favorite Things party. We all had a blast. We all gave one piece of advice on raising children. And I got emotional while giving my advice, but I think we all went home with something to think about. It was good to share and listen to other mommas on what they have learned and learning. So thank you to the everyone who came and the ones who had to cancel at last minute I hope that you can make the next one. 

My Favorite Things Party

Life in Hammettville has been busy nonstop since August. As you know (if you follow me on FB) it is Cross Country Season. AND Cheerleading season.

MSU XC Meet

I was counting down the days that I got to go see my Twin fellas run in Wichita Falls. I went 34 days without seeing my fellas and it was tough. But I got to scream and cheer them on as they ran. Got my pictures, and hugs and saw them ride off back to OPSU. Trav and I left that meet that day realizing that XC in college is so different. There are no cheering parents, and so we made the tough choice to not attend every single meet. The guys are doing something new and were trying to be with their team and visit with us, and I think it put a lot of pressure on them. So we told them we would not go to the other meets but would definitely be there for the big one at the end of the season. So the guys text me their times and I look for pictures online that other colleges may have posted. Those that know me, know how hard this was on me. But gosh I am still so dang proud of them. And how much they have improved already in their times.

Jazzy Freshman Year

Our Jazzy girl made Varsity her Freshman year. She of course wanted to medal in every meet, and she did at some of them. But she was so hard on herself for not breaking a certain number she wanted to break half way thru. We tried and tried to explain to her that she is just a freshman and running with older girls. But she is competitive and stubborn like her daddy. Lol I am thrilled to say they actually had enough for a team, and Jasmine made some great friendships this year. Thank God for answered prayers, and for the Bowen girls. The Twins surprised her and came home the day before her District meet, she was so excited. She went 3 months without seeing them, and she missed them so much.

Friendships are Special

It evidently motivated her because she ran a 13.20 at district and that was her best time of the year. They placed 5^th as a team and she got 18^th place. But no Regionals for our girls. Maybe next year!

I would be lying if I said I am getting the hang of this College life for the guys. I still miss them like crazy and have my days where I want to go ahead and move to OPSU with them. Lol

They were taken advantage of a few weeks ago, and someone took Aaron’s Xbox 1 and some other things. Only down fall of growing up in a small town where you are so trusting. But they will live and learn and move on.

But, I must say it gives me peace when I see how well they are settling in and thriving. They are making some great friendships, and good relationships with their professors. Cameron my "mister shy kid" is now the Representative for his dorm hall, I asked him if I should call him "Governor Hammett" and he said no it's "Senator Hammett". He is learning how to speak in front of people and how our lovely government works. Aaron has joined the Theatre Arts Department for the upcoming play. Which I am hoping he eventually auditions for a part, because I know he will be great at that. They are staying busy with traveling with their team and practice and of course classes, and keeping those grades up like we expect. They have only been home once, and I was a nervous wreck about them driving the long drive on their own. But they did good and went back home Sunday.

District XC Meet

While they were home, we soaked it all up. Stayed up late talking and laughing. Ciera and Vijay came over and spent the day with us and we played a hardcore game of Uno, and just enjoyed family time. They got to see their “squad” and went to Winstar with them and their dad.

 They kept saying “How good it was to be Home” and that makes my heart so happy. 

But I am also happy that they are loving the college life too.

But I am definitely counting the days till Thanksgiving and end of the semester.

 My house feels better when all my babies are there!