patience is a virtue

patience is a virtue that i was not blessed with and therefore is one that i have to work on nearly all the time...wilson is a great help for this as sometimes all i want to do i have an extra moment of sleep or a bit more quiet time or not have to get up and take him out for the 10th time in the past 5 minutes as he sits on his mat at the door asking to go out.

this is something that i have prayed a lot about [not just for wilson's sake] and now have these subtle reminders to keep me in line [although inhale 1-2-3 exhale 4-5-6 does work wonders too]...when you're at your wits end and you are frustrated or being impatient say a quick prayer first and think of these [or even better, commit it to memory]...

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."  James 1:19-20

"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." Ecclesiastes 7:8-9

"Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land." Psalms 37:7-9

the pup

our super cute good bath buddy!

wilson loves his daddy

oh how time flies!

cannot believe that the time has gone so fast...

pig has been married for over a month!

t minus 2 months until landrum & ro are married!

charge it!

not to worry, i am sharing some of my shopping secrets for those [like me] are surviving as a 20 something on a "budget." this is in quotes because its really not a budget but rather guidelines that joe and i have yet to be extremely diligent in following. 2011 is going to be our year for that!

one of my new go to places to check on staple items before running to amazon or target, is www.CSNstores.com  i have had great luck there finding things for wilson! our first purchase was his exercise pen that we still have yet to use. however, i got a 20% off a follow up item and now he is about to graduate from his puppy crate and go to his big boy crate! they have free shipping and free returns...also no sales tax which is a great added bonus too.  unlike amazon, items here ship next day and they have great call in customer service!

for your new shoes, stick to bloomies, but for all those essentials you buy, furniture, lamps, dog crates [ha] give CSNstores.com a whirl next time!

dancing in the minefields

a new song i heard on xm 32--the message--dancing in the minefields by andrew peterson

Well I was 19 you were 21 

Everyone said we were much to young 

But we did it anyway 

We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road 

We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago 

We went dancing in the minefields 

We went sailing in the storm 

And it was harder than we dreamed 

But I believe that’s what the promise is for 

Well ‘I do’ are the two most famous last words 

The beginning of the end 

But to lose your life for another I’ve heard is a good place to begin 

Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down 

And I believe it’s an easy price for the life that we have found 

And we’re dancing in the minefields 

We’re sailing in the storm 

This is harder than we dreamed 

But I believe that’s what the promise is for 

That’s what the promise is for 

So when I lose my way, find me 

When I lose loves chains, bind me 

At the end of all my faith 

to the end of all my days 

when I forget my name, remind me 

Cause we bear the light of the son of man 

So there’s nothing left to fear 

So I’ll walk with you in the shadow lands 

Till the shadows disappear 

Cause he promised not to leave us 

And his promises are true 

So in the face of all this chaos baby 

I can dance with you 

The year we got engaged 

the avid shopper

i consider myself both an avid shopper and willing to support a good cause when one comes along...as i was flipping through the january issue of southern living i stumbled across the articles on top girls trips [1st thing that caught my attention] it highlighted some top travel outfits [insert amex/shoe addiction here].  "what are those cute shoes?" i said to myself and immediately skimmed to the side to catch all of the details...

TOMS?! this is obviously a joke i thought but no it was not! i love my lindsay lowry, but when i think of toms i think of her "potato skin" shoes and was oddly surprised that they made something this appealing to my taste.  what is even more surprising is the purpose behind the shoes. for every pair that you buy they give a pair (not a fraction of a pair but a whole pair of shoes...prob not my wedges) to a child in need of shoes which is pretty powerful in itself. they have lots of info about it on their website which is full of rich content and videos TOMS

so nordstroms at phipps took my order today before the store even opened for my ash tom calypso wedges and i pick them up later tonight. i'm sure joe is going to ask is if we get to write off the shoes for tax purposes haha...i think this is a good excuse for a pair of shoes...or maybe i'm just that good at justifying my online shopping/shoe additions but either way is a good use of $70.

will let you know how they fit and if i love them, then the nautical red/white or navy/white pair are coming home too!

starting off 2011 right!