If We Don't Give Up

This card made me laugh! =)

Some Biblical encouragement for today:

Alaska cruise prep has begun - get excited (including my first and hopefully last pair of hiking boots - lol)!

Goals:

New dress for my cruise - yay!

A personalized collage of 2026 Rise club team pics for Kyndal Faith and each of her teammates, created and wrapped by Mom!!  Loving all the creativity and generosity and fun color here!

And here's the awesomesauce chalkboards Rach made for each of them!!

Seeing this made me happy - pretty good casting!

Yay for meeting another neighbor today - I picked up a belated bday treat for Millie (the 6-year-old leukemia survivor who lives just down the street) and wrote her family a nice card!  Unfortunately, their cute little dog was trying to escape when they opened the front door, so we didn't get to chat for long. lol

I had my first workout with Solid Rock Personal Training yesterday... rough times, but the coaches are great, and there's lots of support in the group workouts!  I'm enjoying my free week and probably going to sign up as a member when it's over!

And last but not least, HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY to Miss Parker Elizabeth today... her singing happy birthday to herself in her room at the end is my favorite thing!! lol

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Paige Evelyn

Yesterday, I got to meet Miss Paige Evelyn Wilson,
my new honorary niece and Mini-BFF! ❤ 

Chet sent this pic from her BIRTHday ❤

Parker's first time meeting and holding her - ADORABLE!!

She was excited to hold her again when I was there on day 2!  These sibling pics make me happy!!

Three generations. ❤

I wore pink for the occasion!

The Wonderful Wilson Fam, party of five (plus one in Heaven)! ❤

Looking forward to the shower next month (I'm helping Debbie Robinson host that) - this is our FB event pic when the name was still TBD.  They decided on Paige soon after she was born, then the middle name was officially chosen on 3-14.

She was delivered via C-section on Friday the 13th - look at her all swaddled and cozy in her floral blanket!  ...Chettles told me they had a board for me to write on, so I was practicing for a much larger chalkboard, then laughed when I saw this.  No space for calligraphy spins or fun hand lettering, but still very cute!! ❤

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Hope Floats

  The rest of February was mostly relaxed.  I stand by my decision to take a break from school and not put extra pressure on myself to set new goals through January and February (of course, I did technically set dating goals in that season, but that's okay).

I felt some serious burnout with the counseling profession and schoolwork at the end of last year, along with sadness and confusion over what God is up to and what I should do with my desire for a family.

I don't have a lot of answers at this point, but I am grateful for the resilient nature of Kingdom hope.  For the knowledge that "when we go through deep waters," God is with us and for us.  The verse does not say if, but when.  No one gets through life unscathed, but we get to choose our response and whether we anchor our souls in the hope of Heaven.

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This was encouraging for me - believe in your ability to figure things out - YES!

And now, a couple lighter memes:

The Mini Miss K is being bullied by a petty former Coach in the club volleyball world.  It's absurdly poor leadership, and it is not okay, and I hope there is systemic change there.

In the meantime, I hope she knows she is loved and supported and valued and worth fighting for!

This = her Rise team taking silver in a Valentine's Day tournament!

Piersyn, Emma, Ady, Olivia, Jaslyn, Coach Kate, Aniston, Kyndal, Kennedy, and Jaylah!

Aunt Lindsey, Miss K, and her Mom!

Fierce serving power!!

The sassiness and leadership are strong with her! ❤

Valentine's Day is centered right between Rach and my birthday, and it also happens to be K-Faith's half-birthday! lol

Speaking of Valentine's day, here's a throwback to our 2010 Johnny Carino's dinner, or "the lonely hearts club dinner" as JEM calls it. lol  I'm sure Chettles and Natertot were entertaining for me, along with Sarah and Jeffrey close by.

Mmkay that's all for this post!

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42

This is 42. ❤

It's off to a pretty good start.  This = cozy TV time + dessert from Kristin after she treated me to a bday dinner at Hideaway!

Kyndal Faith ran for 7th Grade Class Chaplain (they will lead some Bible studies, prayers, and class chapels).  We helped her practice and refine her speech at family dinner, and Rach made this awesome sign for her.  Two other girls were also in the running, but Kyndal won, so that's worth celebrating!!  

Also inspiring me lately is the story of Alysa Liu, our first US female figure skater to win Olympic gold since 2002.  She walked away from the sport due to serious burnout then came back when she felt more connected and in control and joyful about it... it was all over my FB feed for a while, and it made me happy every time I saw it.  Having recently walked away from the doctoral program and pressing pause on some of my big goals, it's deeply encouraging to see someone do that and make a comeback on her own terms!

The last completed collage in my through-the-years life timeline - it's been quite the transformative era, and I'm still learning and growing! =)

Verse that feels encouraging:

Fam dinner and pizookies at BJs on my actual birthday! ❤

Table pic!  Rach and I shared the new butterfinger pizookie - yum!

Friend trio pic at 40 and 42

Marble Slab after dinner with LB and the Wilson fam!

Andolini's with the Tulsa crew on 2-16-26 (Tall Kyle was also there but left before this group pic).  Parker's face here makes me happy!

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K-Renee and Hope Renee in matching shoes! ❤

Utica Starbucks chat before dinner and dessert (Sarah stopped by on her way from Kansas to Tahlequah)

JW and Annie F. are in a very serious relationship - this news and Megan's engagement are giving me a dose of fresh perspective and hope lately - that God writes redemptive stories - holding onto that hope in my own walk with Him is a challenge, but it's the goal this year!!

This is also important, and also challenging for me. lol

Reminders:

I've been making a real effort, including loads of small talk and repetitive introductory conversations with around 15 different potential matches.  It's more tiring than fun, honestly.  I want to move past this stage.  Male passivity is a real problem, and thus far, no one since K.P. has actually asked me on a date (until this morning (3-15-26), when I got a surprising last-minute breakfast invite from S.M. - didn't make it for that, but hopefully we can meet in person soon).  I'm doing my best not to personalize or catastrophize or feel too rejected here, to hold firm to my values and my inner value as a person, and to believe that God has good things in store!  I revamped the profile and signed up for a year-long eHarmony membership on March 1st.  Granted, my list of fun outdoor activities is shorter than most, but I do sincerely love pool parties, walk/jogs, cookouts, cheering for people I care about in races or sports, and hiking if I am promised fun photos. ;-)

I've taken a month+ off from blogging, but I'm catching up today!  Working virtually means less mandated desk time, and I just don't find myself writing as often.  But I have realized lately that I need to intentionally create time for that... it truly does help me to process my thoughts and feelings when things start to feel hazy or jumbled internally, and I still believe that writing my strong-over-small book will be cathartic and powerful for me!  Okay, good talk.  More posts on the way...

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