Gaillardia Girls Night!

After the girls finished filming their Tik-Tok dances, Rachael and Kyndal and Haydenn met me at the Braum's on Macarthur (aww, vivid 2011-2013 memories of Doris Drive), and I rode with them through the Gaillardia neighborhood across the street!

It was Haydenn's 13th birthday, so happy bday to her!  She and Kyndal are entertaining together, and they dressed as "Soulja Boy," as his Crank That song from the early 2000s has become popular again on Tik-Tok. lolol. Seeing their costumes and watching them kinda trip while trying the dance between houses brought me lots of joy!!

Rough lighting on this pic... for me and Haydenn, at least.  There were some people taking their golf cart through the neighborhood, and the lights were shining right on us, but that also made the shadows much more intense! #metaphorforlife

Rach wore her ghost poncho and black eye makeup and lipstick, and I wore my grad robe and Gryffindor scarf to be a Hogwarts student - yay, easy costumes!!  ...Rach jokingly called me Harry Potter at one point, and I corrected that to Hermione (pronounced "her-my-knee").  Then Rach said, "Seriously, that's how you say it??  I always thought it was her-mee-own."  Like, get all the way out.  So yeah, she and her children clearly haven't even seen the movies and have zero business visiting the magic that is Harry Potter World! lol #muggles

Rach and I mostly stayed in the car and chatted and admired the bougie houses and caught up on life whilst the girls were in and out.  It's a super fancy neighborhood, so naturally, several homes hand out full-size candy bars.  Even the security guard at the neighborhood entrance had some candy for all of us! =)  Also, Kyndal Faith got a haircut this week, and it's super cute!

Jace was at the CHA football game in Minco, but he begged Rach to trick-or-treat for him! lol  She felt dumb going up to the door at the first house, so I jokingly suggested she just tell them her son is in the car with a foot injury, then Kyndal said "Do that after I've walked away!  What if they ask to come see him!?"  The thought of that and how Rach would react made me laugh a lot!  For the record, she did not try that, but Kyndal got plenty of candy to share a bit with Jace. =)

We were there from around 7:00-9:15 and the girls canvassed most of the neighborhood.  Kudos to Rach for her great sense of direction, even if her knowledge of Harry Potter is woefully inadequate. lol  Gryffindors, ghosts, and a fun girls night at Gaillardia - that alliteration just writes itself!

Here's Karsten and Asher... their mismatched costume heads and Emily's caption made me laugh!  The sibling rivalry is so real, and it starts early!! lol

Speaking of cute siblings, here's Parker Elizabeth as a presh unicorn, and Tate Haywood as a daring ninja (Jace's costume from yesteryear)!

Her randomly putting her hand up by her face to pose now after the photographer had her do that for her school pic = my very favorite thing! lol  Gah, so much cuteness!!

That concludes my Halloween 2025 recap!

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Thankful Thursday #232!

"Rejoice always, pray continually;

give thanks in all circumstances,
for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Today, I am thankful for...

1.  Teresa, whose birthday is today!! ❤  I'm grateful for her friendship and support and kindness through the years... and of course, I'm thankful for the key role she played in raising the best person I know!

2. That my niece and youngest nephew are having a fun Fall Break... Rach took them TPing Tuesday night, and seeing this pic brings back lots of fun memories!!

3.  Happy, colorful fresh flowers!  On the latest Eldredge podcast, they talked about how the beauty we find in our favorite parts of God's creation has a powerful healing impact on our souls, and I've been thinking about that and looking for it more since.  For me in this season, it's the details of colorful flowers and the calming effect of being near water (ponds, lakes, oceans, even pools).

4.  This reminder not to take the present gifts and joys for granted.

5.  A last-minute lunch plan with Mom yesterday... good talk, good food, and good for me! ❤

6.  Long story, and I can't go into all the details here, but I'm grateful for what God has taught me through my first and last paying client at ITS!  I was questioning the value of counseling and feeling like access to money made more of a tangible difference in people's lives than any counseling skill or intervention ever could, then something happened that flipped that script and reminded me that strong relationships and self-respect are worth more than anything money can buy.  It's been a journey the past couple months, but I needed that reminder!  Starting to feel more like myself again, and I'm grateful.

7.  At Jace's football game, a kind mom came over to talk to Rach for a bit, and she was wearing a cute t-shirt that said, "Motherhood is Kingdom Work."  True, and I felt myself quickly tear up as I read it - reminding me that I'm not quite okay just yet - then I looked away and pulled myself back together.  Yesterday was Infant Loss Awareness day, and there were several posts and podcasts that were helpful to me in this ambiguous grief.  Anyway, in talking to Chet about that moment at Jace's game, without being dismissive of my emotions, he reminded me that a lot of other things I'm already doing or stepping toward qualify as valuable "Kingdom work."  And again, I needed that reminder in this season!  So I'm grateful for God-given reminders of better things ahead, for the gradual healing process I can feel, and for what is hopefully the first of many publishing contracts I got to sign this week!! ;-)  (I was surprised to learn they're actually paying me to co-author a chapter of a counseling textbook with a CCU professor, and I laughed when they assumed I was also a professor - I'll take it.)

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Football Fun, Part 2

Jace's Fan Club for his last home game this football season! =)

Post-game pics - Rach had this shirt made on Etsy - cuteness!

Jace, TJ, and Jace!

Kyndal and Kenzie!

Removing the uniform is still an entertaining struggle. lol

Front pic before the sweaty uniform change!

Aunt Lindsey, Jace, and Mamaw!

And outside the world of football, here's Kristin helping Mom decorate on Sunday (I was also there, but mostly to support and document). lol

And the wonderful Moss Fam! ❤

Work in progress...

Happy Tuesday, friends and fam!!

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Last One for Today

Okay, back to lighter and happier topics... here's a sunny pic from the Jaceman's CHA football game last night!  Mom videoed every play he was in (70+ videos), Rach cheered hard, and I was generally oblivious to what was happening on the field, but happy to be there!  (Dad came late after a golf tournament and left early because his friend, Rick, is in the hospital.)

Miss K hanging out with her friend's little sister... cuteness! =)

Post-game pic... the ladies of the fam with Jace Michael! 
(Photo by K-Faith, who objected to being in it.)

Mother/Son pic!

Just a CHA t-shirt I liked!

Truth.

More truth - I'm in a pruning season, and that's okay.
Also, on the right is my random plant from Trader Joes that is growing and doing well! =)

Goals.  "Be brave enough to imagine what could go right!"

Some CHA pics from "See You At The Pole Day."  It feels poignant to think of students gathering early to pray for our country... then seeing the close-up pic with some obvious bored expressions, tired yawns, and eyerolls made me laugh.  (Still great that they showed up!)

A CCU campus pic that made me happy!

I am planning to take a blogging break for most of the month ahead, so I wanted to be fully caught up here tonight!  I hope you've had a lovely September.

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Football Fun & More

 Hey, friends and fam!  I have a tiny minute at the end of this day where I am ALL CAUGHT UP on transcripts, so I'm writing a quick blog.  'Twas a fun family gathering at Jace's first Junior High football game last night!  (Their official first game was cancelled due to a muddy field after all the rain a couple weeks ago, so game one was an away game at Casady, which is pretty close to JB's house, so she joined us!)

Team huddle + fierce team pic (the lack of smiles cracks me up!)

Amanda (TJ's mom) and Jace + Jace on the sidelines (for a brief minute - he played the great majority of the game) + Mom and I with our Chet Wilson fans!  The sun hit hard on the vistor's side of the Casady field, so I was happy I had those with me.  I mentioned that I'd have had a 3rd one, but I had to use it to kill a bug in my car.  JoBug laughed at me for throwing it away rather than washing it off (which never for one second occurred to me) and said, "Gah, I'm glad y'all aren't poor." lol  Rach:  "We are too, JoBug!!" lol

Team huddle (love that he is #77 this year!!) + me and Kyndal!
(Mom and I switched sunglasses for a bit.)

They won 28-8, and Jace got a tackle, so he was thrilled and making sure everyone saw it. lol
Here's the proud grandparents + a selfie with a K-Faith photobomb! =)

Jace with Axel, TJ, Fielder, and their Coach!

With his mom, and with his Aunt Lindsey!

Yesteryear and yesterday... Jace Michael and his friend, Fielder!

Jace had trouble removing his jersey, which was fairly entertaining. lol

A post-game dinner with TJ and his family at CFA! =)

From Mel's latest podcast... something I hope to come back to and spend time really writing about later.  Just sharing it in case you want to do the same.  The idea is to write down your highest possible hopes, then share them with someone you trust... then save it to look back on years later!

Often accurate. lol

A cute collage of Sarah and Lyndsay (my former classmates) on day one of 3rd grade and day one of sending their kids to CHA this year! =)

Totes legit.

I'm caught up on The Gilded Age.  In spite of her flaws, Bertha Russell is one of my favorite characters ever - I am so cheering for her success and joy!

My big accomplishment for the Labor Day break week was a closet clean-out and taking a few bags and some old boots to Goodwill - huzzah! =)

This idea... has merit.  I'd be buying a vinyl album ASAP if T-Swift made this announcement. lol

I ran right over to meet this fluffy white dog on my latest walk with Kristin... her name is MoMo... she is a prancy 3.5-month-old puppy, and she looks like the freaking adorable dog (Kevin) from The Proposal!!

Yesterday was Jill's birthday, so HBD to her!  Love the Lemieux fam, and I'm grateful for their loyal friendship and loads of fun memories with them!!

That's all for today.  And now I'm off to family dinner.
Tomorrow will be all about homework!!

Thanks for being here.  I love you and believe in you, and I want to remind you that God is always with you and for you...  strengthening you with the right desires and all the grace and power you need to live a life that is pleasing to Him!!

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