So You Had a Bad Day

I had a bad day.

Every so often we have a day that knocks us off our feet. A day that leaves you curled up in ball crying. I had one of those days recently. 

I won't bore you with the details, but just know it was one of those days that knocked the wind out of me. It seemed that every time I tried to do something, the universe tried to stop me. It felt like every moment I tried to catch my breath and return to normalcy, I was punched in the gut again. Physically, I was present. Emotionally, I was riding a roller coaster.

It was towards the end of this day that David came to check on me and I lost it. I couldn't stop crying. I'd held it together for so long that was I let myself go a little, I couldn't stop the emotions from pouring out. He sat there and listened and once he realized I was calming down, he helped me talk through it. He asked the right questions that got me thinking. He challenged me on where God was in my thought process. It was hard, but it was good.

I had a bad day, but I do not have a bad life.

I don't know about y'all but I can get stuck dwelling in the negative. If one thing happens to hit me hard, it becomes very difficult to recover. It's one of those "take two steps forward, one step back" things. It took some discussion and prayer for me to remember how truly blessed I am. No matter how rough things get in one day, or even a month or year, it's just a blip on the radar. God has blessed us so much and these few bad days are nothing compared to what it could be. His sacrifice on the cross promises us that the pain of this place is only temporary, and for that I am grateful.

Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

- Luke 6:21

(Very Delayed) Weekend Adventures

Two weeks ago we headed to Georgia to visit our sweet friends. We had a blast visiting and exploring the hip city of Augusta!

The visit kicked off with two very spoiled puppies enjoying treats from Scott. 

Then we headed over to the Carolina Ale House (where Tiffany works) to visit. I tried a new peach beer that was delish! 

The next morning required caffeine and grease from the Awful Waffle. 

David had to have an actual waffle at the Awful Waffle. 

After an adventure at Petsmart we headed downtown for lunch with their new pup, Piper! 

Lunch in Downtown Augusta. 

Daisy loved being invited to lunch. 

A walk along the river. 

We even took in an Augusta Greenjackets (get it, like the green jackets from the Masters? te he he) baseball game. 

The Greenjackets lost, but at least it was to our local team-the Kannapolis Intimidators!

As you can probably tell from the gajillion pictures, it was a great weekend we hope to relive again soon! Big thanks to Scott and Tiffany for the fabulous hospitality!

Friday's Letters [04.26]

Happy Friday, folks!!

Dear 10K, Welp, it's official, we will be meeting in a few short weeks. Please be kind to my still in training body.

Dear Keurig, Thank you for the extreme joy you bring very tired teachers! We are all so excited by your arrival and can't wait to see you take us through the rest of year with lots of energy. HOORAY!

Dear computer, What gives? You've been running super slow recently and have taken to crapping out randomly. Please keep chugging along, little buddy.

Dear projects, Please be kind. I know there are roughly 6.45 bajillion of you, but I would really appreciate it if you didn't take up my entire weekend. Mmmkay?

Dear students, We are almost there! Six more weeks until we reach FREEDOM!

Buying Local!

We love to buy local whenever we can. It started with visiting local restaurants and the farmer’s market and expanded to our CSA experience at Barbee Farms and local brews.

Importance

    Why is it important to us? There are lots of different reasons, one of which is that we like to support the business that keep our community unique. We chose to live where we do after a lot of thought. We want to keep it as special as it was the day we moved into our home!

Small Business Builders

    We’ve both worked for small businesses before and we know the effort that goes into keeping them afloat. Without the public’s support they wouldn’t exist! They work their tails off for not much reward.  Oftentimes you also get better service when you’re dealing one-on-one with the owner and not just an hourly manager who clocks out at 5.

Safer

    Local food is also typically safer than that which has been imported in. You know where it’s coming from and if there is ever an issue you can go directly to the source. Win-win situation!

Community Support

    Have you ever thought about where the money from a local business goes? It stays in the community! Where do you think it goes when you buy from the big box chains? Far, far and away is where.

I found this awesome image that describes it all WAY better than I can:

via

What are your thoughts on buying local?

The Power of Prayer

I believe in the power of prayer.

When people said they were praying for us after we lost Emerson, I felt full of hope and love. I knew we had an army of people behind us pleading to God for our healing. Each week at the end of our community group discussion, we listen to each other's prayer requests and praises. It's amazing to check in and see the needs of your church family, and the growth that can come from it.

There is something incredible about knowing people are praying for you. When people say they are praying for me, I genuinely hope that they are. I believe the outcome of prayer is something wonderful. I love when people ask if they can pray over me, or if I need prayer. I believe God is using the people around us to comfort us and to build us up through these prayers.

I was once guilty of telling people I was praying for them, without actually following through with the action. I am ashamed of this. How immature of me to claim something so special, but not complete it. I don't think I truly believed at that point, but now

I believe in the power of prayer.

Now, when I tell someone I am praying for them, I mean it with all that I am. I am genuinely curious if their prayer requests are fulfilled. I hope with my heart that what comes of it is truly from God. 

 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

-Mark 11:24 

Printed Media

It is absolutely fascinating to me how far we have come with technology. Friday morning I woke up, went about my usual routine, and tossed the paper into my school bag to read with the kids in homeroom. We'd been talking about the Boston Marathon tragedy all week and I was excited to continue the conversation and to prove a point-we were moving past the times of printed news.

Friday morning's paper covered details of the two suspects and where they could possibly be found. The paper included pleas to the public to share any information they had. All of that was old news by 6:15 when the text updates from USA Today started pouring into my phone with details of Thursday night's chase. The authorities had caught and killed the older brother and were shutting down Watertown in an attempt to capture the younger brother. All of my paper news was outdated.

Am I the only one out there who finds this absolutely fascinating??

For so long our parents, grandparents, etc leaned on the newspaper for details of the world. Slowly but surely people shifted to the radio and eventually the television as sources, but the newspaper still reigned. It was until the rise of the internet that it all changed. My students' generation could care less about the printed word. To them, it's all about the fastest way to acquire their information and the newspaper is rarely (if ever) the fastest way. 

I personally enjoy sitting down with the morning paper on a Saturday morning, but I don't consider it my source of news anymore. If I want news, I'll head to Google. If I want a few minutes to just read and catch up on the world around me, you better believe I'll be at the kitchen table with a newspaper and cup of coffee. 

Do you read the paper anymore?

April 20, 2013

Today is our due date. 

The past few weeks have been a roller coaster for us as we drift back into the realm of grief. Realistically I know the chances of her being born on this day were slim, but I still saw it as "her day" in my mind this whole time. We continue to ask for your prayers as we move past this big day and move towards new things.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

Dog Terror Update

Thank y'all for your comments and suggestions regarding our monster dog neighbor. Here is the update you've all been waiting for. . .

After sharing the story with many people at school on Monday, my anger had heightened. I went ahead and called animal control as soon as I could that afternoon. I told my story to the dispatcher who sent me along to someone else. She listened and then quickly told me there was nothing they could do. Yep, you read that right, nothing they could do.

Say what??

Apparently since Daisy did not sustain any injuries that required a vet visit I could not press charges, and if I did not press charges they could not take the dog away. She said that if there were injuries involved we could press charges, go to court, and they may take the dog away. 

Say what??

Yep, folks. It doesn't matter if there is a vicious dog taking up residence next door, unless you're bleeding they won't do anything. The fact that we are trying to prevent that from happening means nothing! The worker at animal control said that if the dog were running rampant around the neighborhood, they could come take it away. Honestly, I don't think they would have a dog to come find with how much the neighborhood hates this thing!

Fast forward about an hour and I've just finished working out. I see that the father of the family is home again. I should probably mention that the parents left the high schooler and young twenty-something at the house while they went off to work in VA, so they haven't been home to take responsibility for their terror. I'm not one for confrontation, but I wasn't about to take this sitting down. I moseyed on over and asked him point blank, "what's the plan with the dog?". His response? "I'm taking her back with me to VA". Oh, good, so now it can terrorize people in multiple states. Superb plan. The best part? "We may look into getting a fence when we get back". 

Say what??

You may look into getting a fence? Getting a fence is the bare minimum in my mind. Tying that rat up to a tree clearly did no good the first time around. The fact that you're even considering trying that route again nauseates me. 

What to do, what to do. . . my next step is to contact the HOA. I can't imagine they'll be too pleased to know that a monster is living in their confines wrecking havoc. Our HOA is pretty tough, so I'm hoping this works!

What They Don't Tell You. . .

What they don't tell you when you lose a baby is the continued reminders. I am talking about the people who don't know. The magazine subscriptions you already ordered. The email lists you are on. The coupons and free samples that just keep coming. 

From the minute I returned to checking emails, I started removing myself from as many lists as were in my inbox. I went to each website individually and went through the tedious process of unsubscribing. The worst part was when they asked why. How do you say, "well, because I am no longer pregnant and your constant reminders are like salt in an open wound" nicely? 

Then the magazines kept coming. I had forgotten the two subscriptions I ordered, but was quickly reminded when I checked the mail a week after I got home. The headlines of "Bringing Baby Home" and "How Long Should You Breastfeed?" sickened me. 

There was also the time we saw a neighbor out who didn't know what happened. How he kept casually, or so he thought, looking at my stomach. How he clearly wondered where was the bump and baby I was supposed to be carrying. The hard conversation David had to have with him when I walked away.

And what is pouring in now, more than ever, are the free samples and coupons from companies who had my due date recorded in their system. The congratulatory packets that includes freebies in celebration. 

That is what they don't tell you about.

Spring Break-Day 7

If you've been reading since the beginning, thanks for your patience! Today is the last trip update, I promise:-)

Friday morning we woke up early to meet Caroline and Steve outside to get the best beach chairs. Imagine our shock and dismay to realize not only was it cloudy, but chilly and windy too! Sure, there were plenty of chairs available, but that's because it was miserable outside. We ended up grabbing breakfast and a quick trivia game before we returned to our rooms for more sleep. It was vacation after all. . . The rest of the day was spent alternating between sleep and the casino. I'm also pretty sure I wore out the phrase, "get me off this boat" that day too. With the wind and the rough waters our entrance to Charleston couldn't come soon enough for this girl!

Learning the ways of roulette from Caroline. She and Steve taught themselves and were actually really good!

Bored and stuck on a cruise ship? Find ways to entertain yourself!

That evening we had our very last visitor and addition to the zoo. I borrowed this adorable idea from Pamela!

All in all it was a fabulous trip and I would not hesitate to book another cruise in the future!

Spring Break-Day 6

After a few days off I am back with the final few days of our vacay!

We woke up Thursday morning to unfortunate news. Due to the wind and rough waters our kayak and snorkeling adventure was cancelled. I was upset until I made the quick decision to book an excursion out to a beach resort. It included a 30 minute tour around Freeport followed by a few hours on the beach and lunch at the resort. 

The tour was excellent, made so by our super personable bus driver. The resort itself was nothing like Atlantis had been, but was still better than being stuck on the ship! We settled into some chairs hoping the wind was kept at bay and the sun popped out. Things eventually started going our way, but not before Mr. Mobley had us do a quick workout on the beach! We probably looked ridiculous to all the beach loungers, but our booties had been stationary for too long and we needed to get moving!

Afterwards we settled in for a bit. I got out my book and did some hardcore reading while David explored all the resort had to offer. 

Bahamian beer anyone?

We then headed back to the ship and market area where we met Caroline and Steve for a quick trip to Senor Frog's!

David with the obligatory "yardstick".

Head back over tomorrow for the final details of our trip!

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend started pretty low-key with a date night out. The weather was gorgeous so we skedaddled over to an outdoor mall (picture a mini-Charleston) for supper and to walk around. We decided on Baja Soul Taqueria for their delicious, fresh Mexican.

The perfect way to kick off the meal.

Gigantor burrito and street corn.

My handsome hubby.

 Delicious salad with all fresh ingredients!

Saturday morning had us at Lowe's bright and early for planting supplies. 

According to my father these puppies are hard to kill and very low-maintenance. My kind of plant!

Poor Suzy was loaded down!

David spent the day doing outside work (which he did a FABULOUS job at!) while I Spring cleaned the inside and ran errands. A pretty boring day, right? Wrong! That afternoon things got interesting. . .

We were both minding our own business, me looking for a recipe for homemade pokey ticks and David chatting with our neighbors, when out of nowhere a dog comes and attacks our poor Daisy! This dog was tied to a tree (they live next door to us) and had pulled itself loose. She had raced from behind our houses and straight to the front towards our sweet girl! One minute I was sitting on the ottoman looking up recipes, the next thing I know I see something small and white whip past the window and then these two dogs come barreling at me. 

One thing you have to know about Daisy is that she is very timid of other dogs. Even if she is the bigger of the two she will cower down. She has never been aggressive towards another dog, or a human. David worked very hard to train her that way. So, when a dog comes on too fast Daisy just runs. Sometimes it can be annoying, but for the most part I am thankful that she doesn't stir things up. When this dog came racing to her she ran to me for protection. I knew better than to put my hand down in the middle, but was freaking out at what to do. The door was open since David had just stepped outside and he came racing in as he heard me scream hysterically. He was able to get the rat dog off of Daisy was she cowered against the wall. He stepped on the leash and picked up the little terror by the rope. Keep in mind the dog was still yapping and trying to attack. He took it over and gave it back to the son there.

Here's the kicker, this is not the first time this dog has attacked. It attacked Daisy last Spring, but the mother was out and quickly got it under control. Then, last summer it attacked a child! The little boy had only gone over to see if their younger son could play and when they opened the door the dog attacked the kid. It was so bad it broke the skin and they had to take him to the ER. You may be asking, "why the heck is this dog still around??", so are we!

In the end Daisy is fine; no skin was broken. I called animal control, but never heard back or saw a car. I plan on calling again to follow-up. Our neighborhood is FULL of kids of all ages and I hate to imagine what would happen if that terror got loose and no one was around to get it off the kid. 

Any suggestions on taking care of this??

We're Famous, Kinda

We're famous! Well, kinda. . . 

One of my favorite parts of Sunday is the Sunday newspaper (or "paper news" as I used to call it when I was a wee one). One of my favorite parts to read is the Carolina Living section because of the wedding announcements and "Love Stories" column. A few Sundays ago I noticed they were looking for people to send in their love story to run. I quickly emailed the columnist ours story and was delighted when she said it was chosen! She requested permission from both of us along with a few other details before she told me it would run in a few weeks.Well, this Sunday was the day! Click here to see the digital version of our love story!

Friday's Letters [04.12]

Happy Friday, folks!!

Dear Netflix, Thank you for the addition of Season 5 of Mad Men! I've been on the edge of my seat since I finished Seasons 1-4 last year. See what you can do about being speedy to post Season 6.

Dear Davido, Are you ready for some Spring cleaning?? Casa de Mobley is going be sparkling and fresh inside and out. Get excited!

Dear Mother Nature, Now we're talking! These days of high 70's and low 80's are FAB! Moods have perked up and attitudes have changed for the better. Keep this kind of weather around and the world might learn to get along!

Dear farm box, Welcome back! I am super excited to see all the goodies you will bring us this Spring/Summer. If this first week is any indication, the Mobleys are going to be very happy (and healthy!) campers:

 

Spring Break-Day 5 (Nassau!)

I woke up super early Wednesday morning with the excitement of a little kid-we were in Nassau! Today was the day we got to swim with dolphins! Trying to contain my excitement was nearly impossible, so I woke up David and we got moving. In my extreme excitement I insisted we get off the boat an hour early. You know,  just in case. Well, rest assured we were there in plenty of time, so we occupied ourselves taking pictures.

 

After waiting in line and taking a quick ride from the boat to Atlantis (where we would be doing the actual swimming) we arrived:

Not too shabby, huh?

Our "visit" with the dolphins didn't start until 12:10, so with a few hours to burn we explored! We saw all sorts of fishies and sea creatures all around. We also hopped in the gorgeous clear-blue water  for a bit.

Please forgive the horrible quality of the following pictures, but they wouldn't let us bring our cameras with us. I guess that was their way of getting us to buy the photo package, which we totally did. The following images are pictures of pictures. Ghetto-fab, I know. . .

I loved every second of it, but David was not so into it. He was scared that any second Noah (the dolphin) would suddenly lose his mind and attack. We live to tell the tales, so he didn't. It was so neat getting up close and personal with them!

 Since it was Steve's birthday our waiters brought his dessert with a candle and had the dining room singing!

There was also a singalong from the dining room staff. Andrew (left) and Boris (right) got a little too into "Apple Bottom Jeans"!

 We must have been blessed by the cruise gods because Steve was chosen to participate as the team captain for the Scavenger Hunt at that evening's show. The premise was that the host would ask for semi-ridiculous items and someone in the room had to have them (you could not leave the room to find it). The team that had the most items won. It was so much fun scrambling around for some pretty random items in our purses and pockets. 

The game got even better when they requested one member of the audience be wrapped in toilet paper, as if in a wedding dress. David was our guinea pig:

The final way to earn points was to dress your team captain like a woman. Steve rocked it!

 What better way to celebrate your birthday than with a Carnival Cruise victory??

Come back tomorrow for Day 6 in Freeport!

Spring Break-Day 4

We awoke early Day 4 to get out and soak up some sun while we were at sea. Too bad the rest of the ship felt the same way! After some finagling Caroline was able to procure us a few chairs with a great view.

That afternoon Caroline and I headed to the spa for a 75-minute treatment including full body massage and facial. It was glorious. Not so glorious? The outrageous prices of the products the masseuse tried to get me to buy. $56 for an 8-oz tube of moisturizer? Not happening, lady. 

After a wonderful catnap we got all gussied up for formal night!

Dinner's selection was fantastic. So fantastic in fact that my husband devoured five, yep FIVE, entrees. I have no idea where he puts it all. . .

Enjoying the prime rib.

Tearing up lobster number three.

That evening we headed back to the casino for more video poker for the ladies and blackjack for the fellas!

We turned in pretty early that evening in anticipation of our first stop-Nassau!

Stop by tomorrow for Day 5 of our trip!