Go Red For Women - Friday, February 7

Red is a power color. Wearing red empowers you throughout the entire day. Friday is National Wear Red Day celebrating the 11th anniversary of the American Heart Association's Go Red Day for women. I am an advocate because I am the child and grandchild of women taken by heart attacks. Funny thing is that as a society we have a pink month and we talk about cancer all year, but some people just have no clue heart attacks are the number ONE killer of women. It sounds surreal. As I get older I look at the young age of 48 when a heart attack took my mother. She never had a heart problem so how could she pass of a heart attack? In an insant lives were forever changed because this horrible thing got her. We can argue that we can take better care of our bodies as women and we can exercise so many minutes a week, but when it comes down to the details, heart disease doesn't care. I am young, work out, eat healthy and go to the doctor yearly, but I already fight higher cholesterol. Maybe there was no way to fight that day and make it not happen, but maybe if we had the same awareness 13 years ago we could have prevented it. I will never know. Wearing red begs people to ask questions and raises the "red" flags. I still do not understand how heart attacks can be the cause of death for women as I don't hear of that each day. My grandmothers were older so we say it was a heart attack, but it could just as easily been any other natural cause. It's this weird, silent killer that lurks in the darkness. Some people say it's easier to go in an insant. Some people say it's like being run over by a truck and trying to walk away. I fight with red and I hold my mother's memory high as we all walk into the battle against heart disease. Go red!

January 2014

January is over. It seems the months just fly off the pages. The winter has been brutal. Yes, in Texas! Brutal to us anyway. It seems one day it is 70 and the next day it is 30. It's this strange cycle.

In January I turned 32. It sounds so old to say. I mean, it's not normal! In the past I would say I didn't want to turn older because I wasn't married blah blah blah, but now I am married, but just making another excuse to feel old! We are enjoying life and planning lots of trips. I just returned from a trip home to visit the parents and Nick worked at the Superbowl up north. We have a lot going on this year! Lots of trips and just lots of family and friend time.

There's so much I could write about, but I'll just leave it short and post a few pictures!

Jana, Kacie, Andrea, Julie - Barter

Birthday Celebration 1

 

 Birthday Celebration 2- Love & War in Texas

Abigail, Stephanie, Julie, Melissa, Georgia

Angela, Julie, Karen

Michele, Shanna, Colby, Julie

Dallas Cowboys Game

Meeting Kayla & Beau

2014

I kept seeing all of these reflections on 2013 and I kept myself from writing mine out. Maybe for fear 2014 wouldn't be as great. There have been some years I just wanted to throw away in the locked cellar! But, 2013 was a wonderful year. Things change so much in a year. You make new friends, love on your old friends and you have new adventures. The world is always spinning. I try not to sit and dwell on anything whether good or bad so I don't sit to write it all out. I know in my heart these things. Time scares me. Change scares me. I thought maybe freezing time would help, but we would be stuck in the same pattern. Life might be great frozen in one happy time of our lives, but what about the journey itself?

We rang in the new year with friends watching football and playing games. There were four couples: Sean and Karen, Jason and Angela, Cody and Kristy. We really had a wonderful time! We laugh so hard that our abs hurt every time we are all together. I've been friends with Cody since I was born. How blessed am I to love his wife, too, and then love the friends we met through him? The first day of January was just chill. We slept late, cleaned house, Nick made a fire, we took a nap, ate at his parents house and then I took a long walk around their neighborhood. Simple, but great.

I realize I didn't even write a blog about Christmas. I'm getting down on my blog! My parents came in the day before Christmas Eve. They got to stay with us and just hang out with us. I always enjoy every second with them. Christmas Eve we went to the Gray household and hung out with the huge Bennett family. This overwhelms me, but in a good way, as there are so many of them! We came back here to open presents with my family. On Christmas Day we headed over to the Grays while my folks went on up to Oklahoma. We just enjoyed the day and hung out with Nick's Granny. Thursday we headed up to Oklahoma to my stepbrother's house. It was relaxing and a great time. My nieces are so much fun and even made Nick play princess Barbies! Steven took us to his high school basketball practice! Nick got in there and actually played with them! I shot around and just hung out. It was such a blast to play a little ball. Steven is a great coach, too! I would love to be a coach one day. It's changing the lives of those kids. I had a horrendous basketball coach who basically planted in my head I was never good enough to be some star. Fine to tell the truth, but not to treat your players in such a bad way. Sad that it still bothers me so many years down the road. Kids listen to how you mold them, how you treat them. We were sad to leave, but had to get back to the real world!

The real world is here and we are just excited for 2014. You just never know what tomorrow holds. I know we are sure blessed. You can sit around and think about things you wish you had or how some things could be different... or you can just pick out your blessings. 2013 rained blessings over us with love and laughter. We pray 2014 will do the same.

Icemaggedon 2013

People have called the ice storm in Dallas Icemaggedon and Iceapocalypse... I agree. It's icy. We are used to a bit of snow, but ice is just strange. Work was shut down as well as pretty much the entire land of Dallas. Nick and I tried to chill out Friday eating what we had left... we waited to go to the grocery store because our new refrigerator was to come on Friday... still no fridge today... anyway, so we ate as many scraps as we could throw together. We took walks and watched kids playing hockey and played on the ice sheets in the street. In the middle of the night as the storm hit we got a small leak. Not much we could do at 4 am... then I was still hell bent on going to work. I went out to my car to try to de-ice it... I hear Nick yelling, but I cannot see out the window. I open the door and there is a huge tree limb in the yard. It must have fallen right after I walked under it to get in my car? Needless to say, I did not go to work. Our neighbors had it much worse when it comes to trees. It amazed me how the ice just pulled them down. It broke our Christmas lights along the walkway. That's mean.

Every party we had this weekend was canceled. The television became our best friend. It sounds sort of weird, doesn't it? Truthfully it makes me smile because when you seriously cannot drive and cannot really go anywhere everyone is forced to be together. Families are forced to hang out and enjoy one another. We ventured to Wal Mart today skidding a bit on the way. Atleast we have food! Then we went sledding over at Sean & Karen's! We had a blast! I have never done that in my life! As it got dark we made our way back to our little refuge because the ice was already getting very bad. Did I mention it was 80 degrees this week? Yes, Texas!

Last night I stood in the doorway for just a minute and stared into the backyard. It was quiet. The kind of quiet you can only understand in ice and snow. I have felt this way sometimes sitting in the mountains when I am skiing. It's just peaceful, like there is nothing out there. It was just pure beauty. Ice can be so scary and can stop our worlds in our little track of life. Everything is stopped. Everything is canceled. It's just us because it's a God thing. Perfection.

Our fallen tree

Neighbor's Tree

Karen

Nick and Julie's Wedding Slideshow

Wedding Rehearsal Video - Bridesmaids & Groomsmen

Fall Festivities

Each new season seems to excite me as I grow weary of the old season. Fall is surrounding us with beautiful scenery and crisp air. This weekend we ushered in Fall with a lot of happenings. We aren't usually ever just sitting at home anyway, but this one was "on the go."

Friday was Cody Shane's wedding. My best guy friend, my brother. He and Kristy got married in downtown Dallas so we went Friday night. Many of our Big Spring friends were there as well as the entire Rubio clan, my second family. The wedding was nice and modern. Kristy was radiant. I spent a lot of time leaving Nick to talk to our friends Sean and Karen while I walked around talking to old friends and the Rubio family.

Mr. & Mrs. Cody Rubio

Lifelong Friends Hamilton, Lauren & Blair

Santa Karen? 

 My parents were coming in town Saturday on their way to vacation so Nick and I began preparations for their visit. It rained all day, but that didn't stop us from getting out the grill! Nick's parents and my parents all came over for a feast! My parents had not yet seen our house. They loved it!!! At dinner we all just sat there talking. I was just simply at peace surrounded by my loved ones. The parents have left Chewy puppy dog with us all week. The cat is not thrilled.

Sunday morning Nick cooked us breakfast and Dad and Brenda left. I had Andrea's shower for Baby Kayla later that day so it was off to get ready for that! So good to see everyone at the shower. We had such a great time celebrating the upcoming baby girl!

Summer, Chaney, Stephanie, Andrea, Kathryn, Julie, Kerry, Kacie, Shyloh, Raelyn, Jana

Then it was time to take Chewy for a walk and go to sleep. What a wonderful weekend!