Seed, Bean, Growth

 Plant on 3/29/2011. Beans planted 1/16/2011 

Well here it is, I think the end of my cute lil plant. I brought it back home from church, put it in the window and started watering--trying to revive it. I would say to Clay, it is not going to make it, I guess this is a reminder that choices have consequence. Yesterday, he pointed out to me the new growth of two beans. I was looking for new leaves, for the color to come back and for it to go back to where it was on the day I left it at church. I think perhaps I was looking at the negative, of how tired it was looking.

It took Clay to point me in the right direction.

The lil bean did its job. It matured. It produced a crop, not a big one but a crop!

Matthew 13:22

²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Thank you Lord for my sweet Sunday school class and for Margaret's idea to plant the beans. Thank you for using this example in my life. This was just what I needed to hear, just when I needed to hear it.Well, you already know that. Thank you for of the precious peace that comes from trusting and knowing you as my Saviour. Thank you providing a job for Clay, for Blair's protection at Spring Break and for my sweet Garrett.Thank you for loving me, just as I am.

I pray Lord that you will use me to bring honor and glory to You.

In Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

My Baby Doll

 I would like to introduce you to Suzy, my sweet well loved baby doll. Clay and I were cleaning out closets the other day  and there she was. Laying there with all my "sit up dolls". (my doll collection). I just stopped what I was doing and held her and loved on her. She still makes my heart smile. I know goofy... huh. No...not goofy.... she was an important person in my life. She is where I first became a mama, I learned to feed a bottle, to change diapers, to swaddle with a blanket and most of all I learned to love.

We played at our house. All day long we played. Trees were our homes, the yard was a big hide and seek area, the pool was the Miss America stage or a mermaid adventure, my room was my dress shop, my bike and then moped was my car, riding to the store was a big trip and Suzy was my baby!!!!

 I think this was supposed to be a replacement or this was Tammy's baby, not sure of her name, but she looks loved.

Now if you thought I was crazy before you can really thinks so now because I still love Suzy.

Spring Break

This is an odd spring break week for us. Garrett is with the church at North Padre of a few days and Blair leaves Monday for South Padre with a big group of friends. I know.....yes.... we are letting her go....she is 19.... and needs to make her way....make choices for herself. Her daddy has had a hard time with this whole thing, he has wrestled and prayed and thought. He has talked with her and prayed for her. I know she knows he loves her, just not sure if she realizes just how much he loves her.

I have been to South Padre as a young college girl and I know too much. When I was her age, all  I could think about was the fun.Never thought I shouldn't be going. I had my Jesus volume on mute. We jumped on a plane in Lubbock, got a car from my dad's office in Harlingen and we were off to our fancy condo for Spring Break. I have stories that I am not sure I would like to share now. My stories, my mistakes, my growing up, my finding my way.... and finally turning up my Jesus volume. I hated the guilt and conviction,so I just turned it on mute and ignored it for a few years and did my thing. Oh how I wish I had done more of God's thing. Oh how I wish I cold take back the times I made a fool of myself and relive that part of my life as His thing not my thing...... sorry I am really about to ramble on  a whole other subject so.....back to spring break......
As a mother it is not so fun, not so exciting, I know too much, I know what goes on. I would like to put Blair in a bubble and never let her out. Can't do that. I will put her in God's bubble this week and Trust and pray.
This is a hard time to be a parent, not sure if I like being grown up.


family trip at padre and somehow I am pretty sure this is not that kind of trip.



The day her daddy was finally able to give her his thoughts ---a very good talk-- with great advise and most of all love.

Be praying for all of us.... might be a long week.
Gar will be back Monday night and I think we just might go to Gruver.

Wrote this early in the week, I am making it just fine and yes we are leaving for Gruver in the morning and yes Blair is doing just fine!

Just in case you are wondering about my lil plant......

I was excited to get to Church today to see how the lil bean plant had faired with a week of darkness.
Pretty faded and pretty thirsty.  I thinks this was a great example of what can happen to us if we neglect our walk with God. We have to water our souls, nurture our relationship with Him. I  thought the plant would look worse, but really isn't that what happens, we fade ever so slightly. We miss a week of church, one turns to two and  before you know it is has been a year. We forget to pray, to ask or include God in our plans. The bible stays shut from one Sunday School lesson to the next, we forge our own way. Ever so slighty we droop. We make one compromise and then another. I have been there, seasons of drought and hopelessness, seasons of doing it my way, times I did not want to listen to Gods word.   Now I like to think I am at a good place and there is peace here. I can assure you there is no greater high or greater sense of peace than that of  knowing and  trusting in Jesus.

This was part of my blog Jan 16th the day I studied this lesson and the day I planted the bean:
So as I ramble to all of you and surely make no sense whatsoever. What I saw this morning was that I do not want to be the person that hears the word and has no root, the person that lets the enemy snatch it from my heart or lets the world choke me out, and lets fear and doubt rule my life. I want to bear good fruit, to be fruitful and to really trust Him. To hear his word, to trust it and to have great faith.

The little plant came home with me today, it is sitting in the kitchen window all watered up and happy.I have a feeling in a few days it will look better, it does have strong roots. The thing is.... we are going to make mistakes...we are going to mess up, the awesome thing is that we are forgiven and we are loved. When we ask the lord to be our Saviour and we trust in Him, we get that peace, that assurance.

I am glad to have my little reminder back with me this week.

Clay's way of saying thank you...

Before we could eat Clay wanted to capture a photo, not of our friends, but of the food!
He loves a spread and he loves me!
Steaks and pork chops on the grill, asparagus, plump delicious shrimp and http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/

Not sure why he did not capture the chocolate fondue we had for dessert.


a little blurry from the iphone
I know this is not "diet food"
But I gotta keep Clay happy! 



Crop and more

Don't you just love the tool--- crop photo. I have been using it lately. I am really feeling self conscious of my weight gain. When I look at photos, I just see how fluffy I have gotten. I see my smile and my happiness but then there is the fluff.  Well..... no more. I can just take out the bad and  Waaa..Laa... a much cuter slimmer me.

I really think this is my jacket not my belly!



Life is not this easy. We can't "crop " out all the things we do not like.  Truth is.... I am fluffy, a little fat.These photos reflect me, the me the last few months. I have to work to get rid of what  I do not like, fix the problem, not fix the photos.

This has made me think....oh no.....here I go... Our society is so used to instant gratification. Fast results, quick responses, text messages, Internet at our fingertips. We move money, crop photos, book trips, delete friends, go from in a relationship to single in a click. Life... real life is not that easy, not that fast. Losing weight, getting in shape, making friends, mending relationships, communicating, making money....All of this takes time, effort,energy, commitment.

So as great as a click ... or a crop app.....or the delete button is ... real life is not this easy.

I was facebook deleted a few months ago. Poof.... Brigitte, Clay, Gar and Blair. We were all gone.... as if we never existed....really ...

I understand that everyone is not going to like us. I understand the whole facebook privacy thing. I do get this. I understand if you don't want to talk to me or for me to know your business... but really as a society what does this teach.  "Ok Billy Jo now if someone pisses you off or you don't like them, just hit this button and poof...they will go away.

I know I am being a extreme. But really think about it. I heard over and over.

 Do unto others as you want them to do to you.

Kill them with kindness.

Work it out.

Stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!

BE Nice Brigitte.

Think before you speak

Anyway enough of that .... didn't I start this with crop!

Yes and I should have cropped the nose picking man out of this photo, that would be ok right!

Happy Birthday to my Sweet Precious Mother!!

I love her and so many of you love her. You understand when I say sweet and precious. You understand there are not enough words to really describe just how special she is.

The day before her birthday last year we had a family celebration. Victoria sang a special at church that day and mom was determined not to miss it, even if she felt bad. She made it thru church and lunch. She was pushing and we all knew she felt bad. Once our crowd thinned, she began to really have a hard time breathing. We knew she needed oxygen so I drove down to the fire station to see if they could come to the house. I knew mom would not want 911 to come with the sirens. A few fireman came and they were so great.  The oxygen helped, but they all said she needed to go onto the hospital. We went, they admitted her and we thought it just going to be pneumonia.

The next day March 1st, 2010 ---her birthday was spent in a hospital bed and she was sick, very sick. After lots of tests, they somewhat diagnosed her with pulmonary hypertension and it did not sound good. It was a stressful few weeks before we could see the specialist. We came home and waited. She was sick, had zero energy, could barely get up to go to the bathroom and and really had to have 24  hour care. I started reading and googling.  I remember being frustrated,  mad at the doctors and mad we were having to wait to see the specialist. I remember saying to daddy "why don't they just tell us, they all  know it is bad."
Dad replied---"tell you what Brig, how much time she has? They are not going to do that, they don't know and what does it matter." I was reading too much and comparing all her stats and numbers and it did not sound good at all. You see in the back of mind I knew 18 years ago we had been given a precious miracle. I sorta believed we were out of miracles and at that point, my lowest and scariest I was putting limits on God.
This was my post on March 19th.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1174922139&sk=notes#!/note.php?note_id=499152900135

Today March 1st, 2011 One year later--we are celebrating life. God is good and guess what we were not out of miracles. Mom is celebrating her 72nd birthday at home. She cooked meatloaf, red beans and cornbread last night. Today she is doing laundry, has a roast in the crock pot and Aunt Cinda was baking her a cake. Some of you might say that is not a special exciting way to celebrate a birthday.  But you see it is! She is home, at the place she loves to be more than anywhere and cooking a meal for the man she loves more than anything. She is able to do her own dishes, dry her own hair, dress herself and be in her home alone without a bunch of us hoovering around her, jumping up for her every need.

She is not driving anymore, but we all get to be her chauffeur in her cute little Cadillac.
She did not go on our cruise in April of 2010, but she made it to the beach in July, went on a 10 day driving trip with dad this summer,they just got home from a week long cruise and yes they still go to Shreveport.
She made it to Ryan's law school graduation in May in Houston.
She made it to Blair's high school graduation and party in June.
She made it to Brisco and Karly's kindergarten graduation.
She became a great grandmother again in September.
She has made it to 1st birthday parties for our smallest Abbott cousins.
She hosted 3 big Christmas parties at her house.
She saw Madeline and Vic dressed up for their first dances.
She get to loves and spoil on Allie and Carson several days a week and she can't wait to meet Stella in June.
She has been to Ryan's new house, made it to Stephenville twice to see Blair.
She has been to showers, to lunch, to dinner, to parties.
She listens, she shares and she still can throw a hissy fit.
She Lives! She loves! She is loved ....and She is having a birthday today!
Happy Birthday Mama! I love you and am so very thankful for you.