I am a total sucker for all those heart warming stories you see on the internet. TOTAL.... SUCKER... I generally cry. I get sucked in and I get attached.. kind of like I do when there are characters on a show I connect with, but its worse, because these are real people.. Living human beings with honest true emotion and they have touched the lives of others, as well as had their own lives affected so strongly.
Today's story was about the last finisher in the Marine Corp. Half, hosted here in Fredericksburg. Did anyone else see this is The Free Lance Star? Just in case you missed it, or are far away and have no idea what The Free Lance Star even is, here is the link.
http://news.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2014/05/23/historic-half-final-finisher-of-race-is-transforming-himself/
I honestly started sobbing, which could partially be due to some hormones since I am experiencing a tad bit of PMS which for some reason ends with me crying over something ridiculous, but... the truth is I probably would have cried anyways. I FREAKIN' LOVE IT! How awesome is it that this guy just plain didn't care what others thought of him? Good for him! He made a decision to get in shape for his family and he did it. He didn't give up, he did something to prove to himself he could do it and the very best part is that others noticed that and they cared enough about their fellow human beings to cheer him on for 5 miles!!! I can't even get the consideration of a teenager to hold the door when I have 3 children and its pouring down raining and this guy had some people he had never met before rallying for him.
I love watching people come together, I love watching people join forces to give one person the compassion and support they need to do something HUGE in their lives, and most of all I love being reminded that in today's world, a world of ugly, horrible disgusting things and acts that there is... hope. That there are people out there who have not forgotten what life is about, They have not forgotten that what keeps the world spinning is the love we have for one another and how important it is to look beyond yourself and touch the life of another person.
Here are a few more, in case, like me.. every once in a while you need a reminder that the world is not filled with gunmen rampages, and missing children, but good hearted people, who love other people and think that their time is best spent touching the lives of others. I can't wait to have more opportunities to touch the lives of complete strangers.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/96334879503560673/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/416371928021421727/
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/416371928020955708/
And I leave you with this quote, my mantra for life..
"You have not truly lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you."
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
One confession of an almost 30 year old.
I have a confession. . . I'm 27 years old and I don't know how to dress to go out.
There I said it.
Ok, I can pull together a few things, but mainly.. I dress like a mom, because I think like one. Buying clothes has a specific checklist. Whatever item I buy has to have one or more of the following going for it..
It does not show dirt well.. i.e. spit up, breastmilk, snot, eye boogers, finger prints.
It is easily breast accessible. I plan on having more babies and what is the point in buying something that I might potentially love but can never where since wherever I go there is a child on my hip who wants to nurse, and if I leave them home I will need to be able to nurse just before walking out the door and upon walking back in.
It needs to hide belly fat. Certain fabrics are just plain out when you have the dreaded "Mom pouch." So are certain styles. My dad warned me.. he told me to take care of my body before children.. of course I didn't listen.. I was a teenage girl with plans to rule the world what would my dad know about post baby bodies.. Apparently a lot. Way to go teenage Stacey, Yet again.. listen to dad.
It needs to be a flattering color. I am of solid German heritage, with just enough Indian to merk up the waters. Which means for whatever reason I don't tan brown, I tan golden. It's very pretty.. or at least it was before I cared about wrinkles and sun damage and went sunless tanner and high spf on it, but it also means that in certain lighting and colors I look yellow. It's enough that all of my children were born slightly yellow and doctors were confused when their jaundice checks were not higher. I can't wear off white.. I look sick.
It must have a machine wash and tumble dry tag. Do you have any idea what my children would do to me if I tried to drag them in a dry cleaner once a week? " What's that smell?" "what does this button do?" I cringe just thinking about it.
Once we narrow down all the items that I like that don't fit in the above list, I am stumped. I mean what's appropriate for a mom of three that's getting dangerously close to the 3 0 number without being frumpy? I feel like I am too old for the junior section, but too young for the "Ladies" section. Isn't there a store for people who are in their 20's still and don't want to look like a whore? If there is, I will move to your city and take up residence in there.. seriously.
I don't need the entirety of my breasts hanging out. I would love it if I could just find shorts that actually covered my vagina. Is that really too much to ask? Seriously I saw a lady my age the other day wearing a pair of shorts that had holes all in them and the pockets were hanging out of the bottom. on both sides. And my bet is that they cost more than my entire outfit... for 1/3 of the fabric.
Let me take a break to admit publicly that I have become "that" person.. The one I swore to my dad I would never become and stomped off in typical teenage overdramatic girl fashion screaming "THIS ISN'T FAIR" about. Daddy I hope you read this at some point because I will never again admit to this. The words will never leave my mouth.. only my fingertips.. You were right, I was wrong. I am a conservative dresser and I can't stand watching teen girls flaunt their junk.
I just want to dress appropriately for my age, which is not old and not young. It's not single and look at me because I can finally go out to a bar, It's hey I am married and have 3 kids and I just want a night where there are no little people looking up my skirt and playing with my stretch marks, and I can enjoy an entire drink without forgetting where I put it and eat my fries all by myself with as much salt and ketchup as I want without reserving some for the baby, all while not looking like the obvious mom that I feel like, because as much as I beg and plead for my husband to not make plans so that I can go out for the night, all I want to do at the end of the night is snuggle my baby and kiss my kids goodnight.
They should make a store for that.
Now I am off to pick up my friend and go shopping for something that closely resembles that... and maybe some shoes to match.
There I said it.
Ok, I can pull together a few things, but mainly.. I dress like a mom, because I think like one. Buying clothes has a specific checklist. Whatever item I buy has to have one or more of the following going for it..
It does not show dirt well.. i.e. spit up, breastmilk, snot, eye boogers, finger prints.
It is easily breast accessible. I plan on having more babies and what is the point in buying something that I might potentially love but can never where since wherever I go there is a child on my hip who wants to nurse, and if I leave them home I will need to be able to nurse just before walking out the door and upon walking back in.
It needs to hide belly fat. Certain fabrics are just plain out when you have the dreaded "Mom pouch." So are certain styles. My dad warned me.. he told me to take care of my body before children.. of course I didn't listen.. I was a teenage girl with plans to rule the world what would my dad know about post baby bodies.. Apparently a lot. Way to go teenage Stacey, Yet again.. listen to dad.
It needs to be a flattering color. I am of solid German heritage, with just enough Indian to merk up the waters. Which means for whatever reason I don't tan brown, I tan golden. It's very pretty.. or at least it was before I cared about wrinkles and sun damage and went sunless tanner and high spf on it, but it also means that in certain lighting and colors I look yellow. It's enough that all of my children were born slightly yellow and doctors were confused when their jaundice checks were not higher. I can't wear off white.. I look sick.
It must have a machine wash and tumble dry tag. Do you have any idea what my children would do to me if I tried to drag them in a dry cleaner once a week? " What's that smell?" "what does this button do?" I cringe just thinking about it.
Once we narrow down all the items that I like that don't fit in the above list, I am stumped. I mean what's appropriate for a mom of three that's getting dangerously close to the 3 0 number without being frumpy? I feel like I am too old for the junior section, but too young for the "Ladies" section. Isn't there a store for people who are in their 20's still and don't want to look like a whore? If there is, I will move to your city and take up residence in there.. seriously.
I don't need the entirety of my breasts hanging out. I would love it if I could just find shorts that actually covered my vagina. Is that really too much to ask? Seriously I saw a lady my age the other day wearing a pair of shorts that had holes all in them and the pockets were hanging out of the bottom. on both sides. And my bet is that they cost more than my entire outfit... for 1/3 of the fabric.
Let me take a break to admit publicly that I have become "that" person.. The one I swore to my dad I would never become and stomped off in typical teenage overdramatic girl fashion screaming "THIS ISN'T FAIR" about. Daddy I hope you read this at some point because I will never again admit to this. The words will never leave my mouth.. only my fingertips.. You were right, I was wrong. I am a conservative dresser and I can't stand watching teen girls flaunt their junk.
I just want to dress appropriately for my age, which is not old and not young. It's not single and look at me because I can finally go out to a bar, It's hey I am married and have 3 kids and I just want a night where there are no little people looking up my skirt and playing with my stretch marks, and I can enjoy an entire drink without forgetting where I put it and eat my fries all by myself with as much salt and ketchup as I want without reserving some for the baby, all while not looking like the obvious mom that I feel like, because as much as I beg and plead for my husband to not make plans so that I can go out for the night, all I want to do at the end of the night is snuggle my baby and kiss my kids goodnight.
They should make a store for that.
Now I am off to pick up my friend and go shopping for something that closely resembles that... and maybe some shoes to match.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
From My Heart To Yours
We are going to get a little bold here, so if you are not ready to hear my truthful opinion of you and what God has planned for your life, I will let you know when a good place to stop reading is.
---------- > Here < -------------
Ladies, ( and Gentlemen too, but right now there are too many ladies in my life who really need to hear this ) God did not create you for you to be miserable. He did not place you on this planet to settle. He created someone for you, he created a MAN.. Not a boy, not a teenager, not an adult, a MAN to be by your side, to support you, to love you, to respect you, to make all of your dreams come true. Let me clarify..
There is a difference in the above references to ages of a male, and if you are confused let me help you. A man shows strength and dignity, he respects his elders and he respects women, he is courageous and brave, he stands strong in what he believes in and he fights for what is right. Age does not define a man, his virtues do. This is not my definition, it came from the Bible.
Ephesians 5:33 ESV
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ladies would you date a man who spoke lowly of himself? Who did not care for his personal hygiene and went without simply because of laziness? Would you enter a relationship with someone who was disrespectful to others? Who never went out? Who never had anything nice to say? Who had no dreams or aspirations in life? I most certainly hope not, yet you allow these "men" to treat you that way? What does that say about your opinion of yourself? What does it say of your opinion of the one you are with? A man treats a woman with the same regard as he treats himself, because once in a relationship you are an extension of him. You are one, and if you are not, then he is not committed to that relationship, you are his toy, not his wife, girlfriend, lover etc. You are asking for a great relationship, you are asking for love and affection, you are asking for a fairy tale, and you are taking a nightmare, you are taking fights and disrespect. You are taking an unequal partnership.
But here is the thing... God wants you to have all the riches and glory, He wants you to be happy, healthy, prosper, He calls you to stand on faith alone that He will provide and all you have to do is ASK. But he can't give that to you if you don't RECEIVE when he tries to remove the garbage from your life and give you gold. You can't hang on to the junk and expect God to hand you the dreams.
Don't get me wrong, I am still working on it in areas of my life myself, We are human, we struggle with letting things go even when they need to be gone..
And I am so sorry to interrupt but all I can hear in my head right now is "LET IT GO, LET IT GO, CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANY MORE!!!!"
We are not perfect and we can't ever achieve perfection, so I can't say that there is a perfect man out there, everyone you are in a relationship of any kind at all with will at some point annoy you, or do something to hurt your feelings, but you can strive to be respected, appreciated, listened to, loved, adored, and to feel interesting, to feel beautiful, to feel worthy.
Why would you settle for less than that? Why would you want to wake up every day knowing that at some point the person in bed next to you is going to be mean, cheat, lie, steal, disrespect, disappear etc.? Are you aware that you are validating their behavior by standing around allowing yourself to be treated that way? You are saying " It's ok, I deserve to be treated this way" When the truth is you don't. You deserve someone who will love and treasure you, who wants to be with you, not someone who is just afraid of being alone or gets a kick out of having you around when they are bored. You are not second best. You are THE BEST for someone out there and why stand around letting the life you are destined to live pass on by because of what someone else thinks of themselves? You wouldn't continue going to a job where your boss thought you were worth nothing and talked to you like trash, but you go home to it? How does that even make sense?
And that does not just go for romantic relationships, that goes for friends too. Why surround yourself with people that treat you poorly and only call you when they need something. You bring value to your relationships, you bring a sparkle that nobody else in the world has, and you are wasting it on people who don't appreciate you, or letting the ones who do walk out of your life in favor of something that MIGHT be good ONE DAY.
Live your DREAMS, Live a full life, a wonderful life and magical life. Not because its some unattainable fantasy, but because it is the life you were meant to lead, the life you were born for. Nobody in the world is born for no reason, nobody is given life for no purpose, quit deciding every day to give up on yours and instead take charge.
Your friends are there to encourage you, to help you see your worth, and anyone who does the opposite perhaps should be reevaluated in their position in your life. But also realize that sometimes people step out of your life not because they are not meant to be there, but because they can no longer endure watching you take a path you know you are not meant to be on.
I want each of you to know that if you are reading this, I care about you as a person, I care that you are happy, even if I don't agree with your life decisions, even if I don't believe the same as you, because that is one of my God Given Gifts, a true and honest care for people. A passion for others smiles and a burning desire to help others see their own true worth, and for me that means fighting some pretty hefty, hairy, big ole nasty demons. I believe that I am here to touch the lives of others, I believe that I am meant to help others in this world realize they are loved and appreciated and worthy, because at times I have been told I am not, and I stand here today, on a day of frustration and disappointment in the little ridiculous things in my life that shouldn't even matter, a day where I was starting to feel that the devil was a little bigger and stronger than me and the moment that a friend needed me I was reminded that I am here with a greater calling and God couldn't care less if my laundry was done and my bedroom was clean. He cared that I spent my time looking outside of myself and helping a dear friend ( or 3 ) realize that they are beautiful, worthy, loving kind and valued. My life may be hectic, and for some of you you understand exactly how hectic it can be, but I will ALWAYS have time to sit down and talk, to remind you that there is a greater calling in your life too and to show you that there is at least one person in the world who sees you shining even on the crappiest of days.
Love you all!
---------- > Here < -------------
Ladies, ( and Gentlemen too, but right now there are too many ladies in my life who really need to hear this ) God did not create you for you to be miserable. He did not place you on this planet to settle. He created someone for you, he created a MAN.. Not a boy, not a teenager, not an adult, a MAN to be by your side, to support you, to love you, to respect you, to make all of your dreams come true. Let me clarify..
There is a difference in the above references to ages of a male, and if you are confused let me help you. A man shows strength and dignity, he respects his elders and he respects women, he is courageous and brave, he stands strong in what he believes in and he fights for what is right. Age does not define a man, his virtues do. This is not my definition, it came from the Bible.
Ephesians 5:33 ESV
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ladies would you date a man who spoke lowly of himself? Who did not care for his personal hygiene and went without simply because of laziness? Would you enter a relationship with someone who was disrespectful to others? Who never went out? Who never had anything nice to say? Who had no dreams or aspirations in life? I most certainly hope not, yet you allow these "men" to treat you that way? What does that say about your opinion of yourself? What does it say of your opinion of the one you are with? A man treats a woman with the same regard as he treats himself, because once in a relationship you are an extension of him. You are one, and if you are not, then he is not committed to that relationship, you are his toy, not his wife, girlfriend, lover etc. You are asking for a great relationship, you are asking for love and affection, you are asking for a fairy tale, and you are taking a nightmare, you are taking fights and disrespect. You are taking an unequal partnership.
But here is the thing... God wants you to have all the riches and glory, He wants you to be happy, healthy, prosper, He calls you to stand on faith alone that He will provide and all you have to do is ASK. But he can't give that to you if you don't RECEIVE when he tries to remove the garbage from your life and give you gold. You can't hang on to the junk and expect God to hand you the dreams.
Don't get me wrong, I am still working on it in areas of my life myself, We are human, we struggle with letting things go even when they need to be gone..
And I am so sorry to interrupt but all I can hear in my head right now is "LET IT GO, LET IT GO, CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANY MORE!!!!"
We are not perfect and we can't ever achieve perfection, so I can't say that there is a perfect man out there, everyone you are in a relationship of any kind at all with will at some point annoy you, or do something to hurt your feelings, but you can strive to be respected, appreciated, listened to, loved, adored, and to feel interesting, to feel beautiful, to feel worthy.
Why would you settle for less than that? Why would you want to wake up every day knowing that at some point the person in bed next to you is going to be mean, cheat, lie, steal, disrespect, disappear etc.? Are you aware that you are validating their behavior by standing around allowing yourself to be treated that way? You are saying " It's ok, I deserve to be treated this way" When the truth is you don't. You deserve someone who will love and treasure you, who wants to be with you, not someone who is just afraid of being alone or gets a kick out of having you around when they are bored. You are not second best. You are THE BEST for someone out there and why stand around letting the life you are destined to live pass on by because of what someone else thinks of themselves? You wouldn't continue going to a job where your boss thought you were worth nothing and talked to you like trash, but you go home to it? How does that even make sense?
And that does not just go for romantic relationships, that goes for friends too. Why surround yourself with people that treat you poorly and only call you when they need something. You bring value to your relationships, you bring a sparkle that nobody else in the world has, and you are wasting it on people who don't appreciate you, or letting the ones who do walk out of your life in favor of something that MIGHT be good ONE DAY.
Live your DREAMS, Live a full life, a wonderful life and magical life. Not because its some unattainable fantasy, but because it is the life you were meant to lead, the life you were born for. Nobody in the world is born for no reason, nobody is given life for no purpose, quit deciding every day to give up on yours and instead take charge.
Your friends are there to encourage you, to help you see your worth, and anyone who does the opposite perhaps should be reevaluated in their position in your life. But also realize that sometimes people step out of your life not because they are not meant to be there, but because they can no longer endure watching you take a path you know you are not meant to be on.
I want each of you to know that if you are reading this, I care about you as a person, I care that you are happy, even if I don't agree with your life decisions, even if I don't believe the same as you, because that is one of my God Given Gifts, a true and honest care for people. A passion for others smiles and a burning desire to help others see their own true worth, and for me that means fighting some pretty hefty, hairy, big ole nasty demons. I believe that I am here to touch the lives of others, I believe that I am meant to help others in this world realize they are loved and appreciated and worthy, because at times I have been told I am not, and I stand here today, on a day of frustration and disappointment in the little ridiculous things in my life that shouldn't even matter, a day where I was starting to feel that the devil was a little bigger and stronger than me and the moment that a friend needed me I was reminded that I am here with a greater calling and God couldn't care less if my laundry was done and my bedroom was clean. He cared that I spent my time looking outside of myself and helping a dear friend ( or 3 ) realize that they are beautiful, worthy, loving kind and valued. My life may be hectic, and for some of you you understand exactly how hectic it can be, but I will ALWAYS have time to sit down and talk, to remind you that there is a greater calling in your life too and to show you that there is at least one person in the world who sees you shining even on the crappiest of days.
Love you all!
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