Thankful Thursday #228!

"Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters:
You must all be quick to listen,
slow to speak, and slow to get angry."
❤ James 1:19

Today, I am thankful for:

1.  This crew all being available on short notice for a fun early birthday dinner for Sarah Elizabeth last night!! ❤

2.  Charleston's potato soup and thickly-grated cheese and honey-butter croissants + The Big Dipper's Ultimate Cookies n' Cream ice cream... yum!  Also, catching up on life whilst the kids watched Baby Groot for a while!! =)

Kate and Parker being cute besties on our pre-dessert Brookside walk!

All the kids had fun playing with Uncle Steve!

3.  A brief pre-dinner walk at my fav Addison Creek trail + CAVA lunch and catching up with Kristin Renee for a couple hours!!  (All in all, it was a great random Wednesday off work, and today, I'm just covering the office phones and catching up on homework... and blogging! lol)

4.  Dr. Burkhart grading via video with more personalized feedback and explanations - loving that!

5.  Making this childhood fav Fruity Pebble Rice Krispie treats - quick, easy, and tasty... and gluten free, apparently! =)

6.  Rach taking a minute to email me at the new address - made me happy! =)

7.  My new "leadership routine" - I'm trying to establish a really consistent and sustainable morning habit list to get my days off to a strong start + setting my daily priorities early on, throwing in more veggies and protein, and getting to bed earlier with a brief wind-down routine that doesn't involve hours of TV!  I'm calling it a leadership routine bc that makes mundane things feel more meaningful to me, and because Dr. Burkhart is heavily emphasizing building up daily disciplines and understanding: "You are the most difficult and most important person you will ever lead and manage - start there!"

So I'll end with a meme that feels related to that. lol

Also grateful for an awesome long weekend (see the past 3 posts), and looking forward to a fun family dinner tonight!  Hope you're feeling better, Kristin Michelle!  And Happy Thursday, friends and fam ~ I love you and believe in you, and I believe in your ability to set healthy boundaries and routines and create a life you love!!

❤ ❤ ❤

A Fond Farewell Fiesta!

Last night was a Farewell Fiesta party for the Shoemaker family, who are moving back to Texas next weekend!  Here's our bright and summery group picture, which delights my soul!! ❤  (JEM was also there but had to leave a little early with Henry and Holly.)

Chet Lee grilling the fajita veggies on the Blackstone (after the tortillas and before the chicken)!

The food was awesome!

Parker Elizabeth and Zealand being cute friends (and classmates)!

Tate Haywood ready to swim!!  I was happy he conquered his fear of the poolside slide on Saturday!  Also, their flippers make me happy!

Heidi Claire enjoying the photo wall of memories!  I printed around 75 photos of the Shoemakers and our friend group over the past six years!

Wilsons and Shoemakers!  Two of my fav families!! ❤

Pinata time!!  (Harvey, Parker, and Sophia)

So much candy!!

Mark and Rachel are both counselors, so we've had lots of great conversations about that!  I'm super grateful for their friendship, support, advice, and encouragement!!

Parker Elizabeth wanted a picture with the moon. lolol  LOVE IT.

Exactly six years ago today (7-7-19), Chet invited a few friends to help his clients paint their new home.  That was my first time meeting Mark and Rachel.  They came to Friendsgiving that November, and to nearly every fun friend group event over the past six years!  I so appreciate people who show up and participate and engage in conversation, and they've been top-tier, dependable friends in that way through the past six years!!

With this move, they will be closer to their families and better able to support Rachel's mom through her cancer treatments.  So I'm sincerely happy for them, while being genuinely sad to see them go!

Much like myself, I think Tulsa will always have a place in their hearts.  Unlike myself, I don't see them moving back down the road.

Our random patriotic final pic with Chet's flags - I couldn't love it more!!

That's all for today - proud of myself for getting these written before work!

Happy 7-7, friends!!  I love you and believe in you, and I pray God gives you the daily grace and strength you need to have an awesome week ahead!

❤ ❤ ❤

Food & Fireworks with Friends!

The Wilsons had a low-key gathering with friends and family for their neighborhood fireworks show on Saturday night!  I insisted on a couple pre-swim pics knowing my hair would not be the same afterward!  Also because Chettles and Kristin Renee are two of my favorite people... but mostly the hair thing! lol ;-)

Me and Karli Marie!  (My shirt is a Melanie quote from the Big Boo Podcast)

Me and Teresa, who brought strawberry fluff and chips! lol

Speaking of, the food was great - Tate was craving apple pie, so I stopped by my fav Jenks Reasors and grabbed it for him.  Chet grilled burgers and hot dogs, and we had lots of fun desserts!  I snuck in a prayer pic because every once in a wihle, I'm just gripped with intense thankfulness to have a friend group like this.  Seeing Parker and Hope and Kristin holding hands while Chet prayed was one of those times. ❤

Swimming and playing with Parker Elizabeth was a rare treat! ❤  She went back and forth between me and Kristin and Karli about 500,000 times.  Vivian (the Halo hairpiece) did not fare well, but it was very worth it! lol

Chet and Chet (a pic from their morning neighborhood parade, a sign one of his Thunder fan neighbors was carrying) - and the new fort built by Bill and Chet... it was a hit with all the kids!!

The Country Crossing fireworks show was fantastic and memorable - Jessica sat on the back row with me, Miles loved it all, Tate was less sure about it, Kristin brought bug spray to share - yes please, Melissa had a spider on her chair, I was concerned about the bat flying above us, Chet and Teresa had some fireworks debris land on them, and Evan stayed back with Sophia and Parker!

Quote of the Day = Evan:  "I mean, best case scenario, it all goes well and it's just like every other fireworks show you've ever seen!  Worst case scenario, something goes wrong and somebody gets hurt!" lol  Mark and I were kinda with him on that.

Anyway, grateful for fun times with a friend group I adore!

❤ ❤ ❤

A Fun-Filled Family Fourth!

Mom and Dad hosted a family get-together on Friday, July 4th... here's our group photo of the whole crowd!! ❤

Our annual girls' pic(s)!

We had approximately 1,000 dessert options (including my Pioneer Woman Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake), and we had Mom's broccoli rice casserole + corn + mac and cheese + Al's brisket + French bread Charlene brought + ribs and chicken... lots of great food, and LOTS of leftovers, but we split them up and everyone got to take some home!

Cousin pic with Kristin, whose 39th birthday was Thursday!!

(We did a Cheesecake Factory brunch yesterday to celebrate - YAY!)

The fam!! ❤  (Kyndal did a screen mirror of a fireworks video, and it made a fun background for all these photos!)

Dad and his sisters!

Nash and Amelia!

Mamaw and Kyndal Faith!

The Whitaker Fam (just missing Anthony)! ❤

Cute cousins!!  Diesel, Wesson, Nash, Clara, and Amelia!  (Patriotic photo props by Nancy)

Gene and Nancy! lol

(Gene and Alan were both very complimentary and kind about my weight loss - they hadn't seen me in a while, so the change seemed more dramatic to them!)

The Tinker fireworks show didn't start until 9:45, so everyone but the Myricks and Charlene had gone home.  It never disappoints, though, and I love watching it all from Mom and Dad's backyard...

...with my feet in their pool! =)

All in all, there were cute kids, good conversation, good food, and awesome fireworks for a fun-filled family holiday!!

❤ ❤ ❤

Halftime Pep Talk!

Today marks the official halfway point of 2025, so this is my mid-year check in post.  

It's been a pretty full and amazing year so far.... starting with a New Years trip to NYC with Triston where we saw the big Christmas tree, the 9-11 Memorial Museum, and Wicked on Broadway!  We celebrated Mom's 70th birthday with family and friends at Firebirds, with a special poster by Rach and an awesome Ludger's cake from the Wilsons.  I came to Kellyville for Judge Golden's Retirement Party, pushed myself to complete the PhD program application, supported Abby as she finalized her CHA Senior Thesis, enjoyed fam dinners and fun movies with Rach and the kids, and a Red Rock dinner with the Wilsons and Fultons! ❤

February was full of birthday fun and lots of great parties, as per usual!  I had fun celebrating the Jaceman, Tate Haywood, Wesson and Nash, Rach, and my own birthday!  It was the party I'd originally planned for my 40th, pre-OKC surprise party (dinner at Los Cabos + Marble Slab dessert with the Tulsa crew).  Other highlights were fun family dinners, marathon training runs, cheering for Kyndal in club volleyball tournaments, and helping Rach and Kyn with her class Valentines cards during Mom and Dad's Super Bowl party! ❤

Lots of good long training runs at Central Park through the weekends in March - they gave me time to pray over various job interviews and applications + accepting my place in CCU's PhD program!  There were more volleyball tournaments, family dinners, walks with Kristin, lunch with her and the boys, fish talk with Jace, my first Segway ride, seeing the Wilsons and Fosters in OKC, and seeing the Wilsons and Fultons in Tulsa! ❤

April brought a random minor foot injury at the Tulsa outlet mall, but in the end, I reached my long-held goal of finishing the 26.2 whilst being cheered on by my awesome family and friends!!  We celebrated Triston's 18th, Carter's 17th, and Parker Elizabeth's 4th birthdays!  I caught a 3rd Tulsa PAC play with Chet and Karli, and they hosted an Easter dinner where I grabbed some cap and gown pics with the friend group! And Mom and I came to the Myriad Gardens to take JSB photos for Triston! ❤

May was graduation month for me and Jace Michael.  Mom and I traveled to Colorado where I officially walked the stage for my Master's diploma, and Jace rocked a purple suit for his 6th Grade Graduation at CHA!  He also won a character award and did confetti poppers in the awards assembly, so he ended his elementary years with style! =)  I loved watching Parker Elizabeth's ballet recital, praying together in what turned out to be my last conversation with Kristen Harriss, taking graduation pics in the backyard with the fam, cheering for K's summer volleyball team, attending Abby's senior graduation, celebrating Mom and Rach on Mother's Day, a memorable outdoor CF brunch with Mom and Dad, a bloody-entertaining ER trip and going to a Thunder playoff game with Rach, and spending a fun day in Tulsa for Chet Lee's block party! ❤

And finally, June included lots of summer 5k walks, swimming with J&K, Beth's summer Bible study, Thunder finals game 5 with Dad and Rach and Kyn, celebrating Dad on Father's Day, seeing the Fulton fam in OKC and again in SS for Kate's early bday party, and lunch with the Wilson fam after attending Kristen's funeral service!  After several job interviews that didn't work for one reason or another, I interviewed and accepted a flexible part-time LPC-Candidate job with Integrated Therapy Solutions, interviewed a few supervisors and found one I really like, and started the process of moving forward with all of that!  And last but not least was getting an embryo adoption match email during my Colorado trip to start my doctoral program, then starting week one of my Leadership class with Dr. Burkhart - all FANTASTIC!! ❤

Happy 4th Birthday to Miss Katherine Claire today! ❤

There have been new challenges and struggles, but God is showing up and growing me up in new ways in my 41st year!!  You know when a player lobs the basketball from half-court as the buzzer goes off, and the shot goes in?  Well, in light of knowing it was the final day of the first half of 2025, yesterday felt kinda like that! lol

...I received an email from Dallas IVF approving the embryo match, so that's big news and further than I've ever gotten before!  Dr. Ku is out for vacation this week, so he will officially sign the papers on Monday (which is 7-7, just so we're all clear!).  Then I believe the next step will be a Zoom medical consult and signing legal contracts to adopt the embryos, which is super exciting!! ❤

I also finished setting up my HIPAA-compliant business email, simplified website, and Pyschology Today page, so YAY for getting those time-consuming-but-important things done yesterday!!  It was really kind of God to give me this break week from school right now - it's been pretty productive so far, and I'm hoping for a fun-filled and semi-restful 4th of July weekend ahead!  I will be creating a schedule this afternoon to make sure I prioritize my relationships, health goals, rest, school reading and homework, clients, supervision meetings, tracking hours, court schedule, and transcripts as needed moving forward!!  Rest assured I'll make time for blogging, as it's become a lifeline and important creative outlet for me. =)

Side note: I tried approximately one million domain names and most were already taken, but Rebuilding Peace was available!  My first name means peacemaker, and that all fits with what I hope to offer as a counselor -- more peace with God, peace with yourself and your decisions, and peace in all relationships!  So my new counseling email is lindsey@rebuildingpeace.com.  I thought for a bit yesterday about what images convey peace for me, and I freaking LOVE that I decided to use my pink tree-bridge pic for the website - it comes off best on a full computer screen - it feels very me, and I'm happy about that!!  I may add a counseling blog/vlog to that site in the future, but keeping it sweet and simple for now.  ❤

And now for the halftime pep talk - I'll keep it brief:

God is with you and for you, directing your steps.  He will not fail you or give up on you or let you go - don't fail Him or give up on Him or let go of your faith.  He knows your needs and desires, and He has a good plan to give you a future and a hope.  Submit to the Holy Spirit and walk in obedience - our humility and integrity MATTER!  God has the power to open the right doors and close the wrong ones, providing the wisdom and help we need day by day.  Do your best to stay close to Him and make the most of the talents and the opportunities He gives you!  For me, that includes growing in leadership skills and decisive action; learning as much as I can from my new supervisor; reworking my health goals; and moving toward motherhood with faith, hope, and love.

Let's finish strong in 2025!!

❤ ❤ ❤