A List, A picture, and A Yard Sale

A list:
1) My husband did my dishes last night. I love him forever. Amen.

2) William has started trying to eat with a fork. Stop growing. Just stop it.

3) Coffee. That is all.

4) Our apartment window looks out onto the backyard of an elderly couple that has a beautiful garden. I wonder if they know how happy it makes me, when I open my blinds on a sunny summer morning to see all their pretty flowers.  Or maybe they've seen me staring down upon their garden in my pajamas....eeks. Maybe they think I'm a stalker....sorry neighbors.

5) Right now, I am currently addicted to Greek yogurt with honey and vanilla and granola and strawberries. I usually have it for second breakfast. Normal people have second breakfast, right?

6) Today, I am praying for a deeper desire for God and His word.

7) See #3

8) I am currently listening to the Frozen soundtrack. Because I'm obsessed, that's why.

9) This post was interrupted by the worlds worst poopy diaper, that was followed by a bath, that was followed by a 2nd cup of coffee.

A picture:

This is my twin...er, Mom. She's also one of my bestest friends in the while wide world. Ain't we gorgeous? We were eating yummy wild cherry snow cones....bet you would have never guessed.

A Yard Sale!:
There's a yard sale tomorrow morning at my apartment complex! I am going to have a two tables chock full of stuff! Clothes, electronics, scrapbooking stuff, a bit of fabric, and a bunch of other odds and ends. Come check it out! It's at Preston Run Apartments in Goodlettsville from 7-12!

-JRae

A Father's Day Rambling

My Dad is a people person. He's that guy that knows everyone in the grocery store. Or if he doesn't know anyone, he ends up in a conversation with the checker that makes you think he's known them for years. He's been like that since I was little. I remember waiting in the car at a gas station while he talked to the guys next to us, who had obviously been duck hunting, and wondering who they were. Dad FINALLY quit talking and got back in the car and I asked,
 "Who was that?"
"Uh...I didn't catch his name. But they were just out duck hunting and..."
He proceeded to tell me how many ducks they killed, where they were hunting, what kind of camouflage they were wearing, where they were from, and who their aunt and uncle were.

My Dad has a beautiful singing voice. At least I think so. I grew up listening to him singing in church, usually on stage leading, and loving the bold sound his voice has in it. Even at home, Dad was always humming, whistling, singing something. Even if he didn't know the words....which he usually didn't. He still does that. To this day there are songs I have trouble singing in church without looking at my siblings and cracking up because we are hearing Dad's voice in our head singing the song with the wrong words.

My Dad is king of corny jokes. And then laughing at his own corny joke while we all roll our eyes, trying not to laugh, but not being able to help it. His laughter is infectious like that.

When me and my sister were younger, Dad usually helped us get ready for school and we would ask him to help us put our hair in ponytails. Don't ever EVER ask my Dad for a ponytail. He would tie it SO TIGHT , it looked like we had a face lift. One thing was for sure....our hair was not going to fall out of the ponytail when Dad did it.

We moved a lot when I was younger. In every new town I would quickly make a best friend (wonder where I got that from?), and Dad would inevitably refer to them as "Fred".
"How's Fred doing?", he'd say after hanging up the phone with them.
"Hey Fred! How are ya?", he'd say when they came to the house to spend the night.

Dad is responsible for my love of The Andy Griffeth Show, chocolate cake with milk poured on top and John Wayne westerns.

When I was born my Dad named me. Good job, Dad.

Dad has always been affectionate to my Mom in front of his children. When I was little, I would see them kissing and stare at them till they noticed. Then Dad would always make a big show of pretending he was trying to get me to go away, and quote that line that Jimmy Stewart says in "It's a Wonderful Life"..."Why'd we have to have all these kids anyway?!" Then he'd wink at me and I would giggle.

It was my Dad's sermon that God used to draw me to Himself and believe on Christ on one Christmas Sunday when I was about 6 years old. I don't even remember the sermon, but I remember my Daddy crying tears of joy as he prayed with me. I remember him squeezing my hand so tight it started hurting.

One of my favorite memories of me and my Dad is the day of my wedding. It was almost time for him to walk me down the isle and we were just hanging out in the tent. He almost forgot to take off his sunglasses before we left the tent. Our photographer captured some sweet pics of those last moments as a single gal.

Tomorrow is Father's Day. Here's to all the Dad's out there, but especially to my own sweet Daddy...Happy Father's Day. I love you.

-Jessie Rae

Throwback Thursday

Making fun of High School Musical....2008?

Wordless Wednesday

"How Are You?"

"Hi, How are you today?"

"Good, how are you?"

I hear this question on a regular basis, sometimes multiple times a day. I hear it from my friend over the phone, the cashier at the groery store (sometimes), my church family, my pastors, my Sister when she comes over to hang out, my hubby.

I've also asked that question so many times that now it comes out of my mouth without thinking. How many times do I (or we) say those lines, but I don't really mean them. I'm just saying what I've always said because it's polite, or I don't feel like telling the other person how I actually am, or I don't think they really want to know.

How would my day (or yours) be different if I actually told you how I was when you asked? How would my day be different if I asked, "Hey, how are you today?" in a way that actually sounded like I wanted to know. You might actually see my faults. I may lose the mask of "woohoo everything is grand". I may find out what you most struggle with. I may forget about myself for a while and learn something new about you. We could know how to encourage, exhort, and pray for each other.

I'm not saying the answer to "how are you" always has to be a gloomy one. It just needs to be an honest one. Sometimes the answer will be a happy answer, an opportunity to praise God for how I see Him working in my life. Usually, if I think before I respond to that question, the answer is a mixture of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So, in the future, by God's grace, I hope to answer this question more honestly. And I hope to ask it with the intention to put other before myself and actually care about the answer I get.

How am I?
Struggling, Selfish, Sleepy, and Thankful.....(anybody know a synonym for thankful that starts with an S?)

-JRae

P.S. I see the word 'struggling' as a good thing. But that's a story for another time.

My Craft Nook (Part 1)

Our apartment has a cute little nook when you first walk in the door that is technically intended for a dining room area. It's a little too cramped for our big table or when company comes, so we have our table in the sun room. So now I have this cute little space to do whatever I want with. Yay! Right now it's got boxes of office stuff, craft supplies, and wall decor lining the walls.

The plan is to spruce it up to be my craft nook. I would LOVE a dedicated space to make cards/wrap presents/scrapbook. I also have aspirations of reopening my Etsy store (maybe).So yesterday, my hubby picked up a table I saw on Craigslist, and I'm planning on cleaning it first (cause it's gross), then painting it, and using it for my craft table. I thought it would be fun to document the very slooooooow process that it will be of turning the junk nook into my craft nook. So without further ado, here is your first peek:

I want to paint at least one wall chalkboard, cause I'm obsessed. And I'd love to get some peg board and hooks for hanging some of my gadgets where the Little Munchkin can reach them. Anyhoo, there ya have it. Excuse me while I go on Pinterest and look at craft nooks.

-JRae

A List

Hello Blog World :)
Long time, no see.

I love Pioneer Woman's blog. She makes me laugh. She also does this thing where she blogs random lists; list of things she's been up to, things she's cooked, what she is thinking about, how much she loves Marlboro Man etc. Seeing as how it's been a while since I've blogged, I thought I'd get my feet wet with my own random list.

1. I'm currently devouring some Double Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with a cup of coffee. Life will never be the same again. Here's the recipe I used.

2. I need a haircut somethin' fierce.

3. I have a friend who always asks me every time we get together, "what has God been teaching you". Sometimes I look forward to that question. Sometimes I avoid it. Especially right now, when God is teaching me to be patient. To trust His timing. To remember that this life isn't about me and my goals and schedules. It's for His glory. These aren't fun lessons to learn (most of the time). Pray for me?

4. Yesterday, William (who is almost 15 months old, WHAT?) said a new word. Diaper. Which came out, "bah-boo". How he got "bah-boo" out of diaper I'll never know. It's so fun to watch his little wheels turning in those big blue eyes. Gah! He's too cute for words.

5. My husband....*sigh*. I am so crazy proud of that man. He's been on the keto diet for about 2 months (?) now and has dropped 40lbs.

6. Last week, I read Andrew Peterson's last installment of the Wingfeather Saga. Me and the rest of the Wingfeather nerds out there had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for this last book. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. If you've never read these books, please, RUN! don't walk to The Rabbit Room and buy them. Right now. I have recommended these books to friends in the past and most of them start the first book and aren't immediately hooked (which I don't comprehend at all, by the way). However, those that stuck with it and kept reading were so VERY glad they did. I could go on and on about how awesome these books are, but I don't want to give any spoilers and the books speak for themselves better than I ever could.

7. Is it nap time?

-JRae