I Feel Like a New Woman

I'm back from Spokane where I enjoyed the Women of Faith conference and the company of 3 of my oldest (in terms of how long we've known each other, not their age!) friends.

And this is how I'm feeling. My...

...mood relaxed.

...spirit rejuvenated.

...patience restored.

...joy renewed.

...faith increased.

...attitude improved.

...energy recharged.

...countenance lighter.

...heart full.

...eyes cried out.

...gut laughed out.

...lungs prayed out.

...walk challenged.

...friendships strengthened.

I came home to three special people...

...my beloved awaiting.

...my preschooler beaming.

...my baby probably wondering who I was!!

Jerry had the girls freshly scrubbed and in matching dresses. The diaper bag packed and a nice restaurant chosen. And eventually I walked into a very tidy house. What an awesome homecoming.

I felt...

...missed.

...appreciated.

...loved.

...needed.

...OVERWHELMED with thanksgiving to be called wife by him and mommy by them.

It has been so long since I have felt all of these emotions at once. I'm even feeling excited about tackling things like laundry and dishes. Jerry will probably be looking to send me away again soon! I'm keeping my calendar open for girl weekend getaways.

I also came home completely EXHAUSTED! You can't have a 3 night slumber party with your best friends and come home RESTED! Regardless of that...Bonnie, Michelle, and Rachelle...what do you say, repeat in 2010? Anyone else had a fun girl's weekend lately?

Puddle Jumper

So here I am in Seattle, awaiting the next leg of my trip to Spokane. Did I mention it is in the 4o's here and is supposed to snow in Spokane 2 of the 4 days we are there? Shock to my system. Brrr...

So I am looking out the window at my plane and I see propellers. Propellers. I don't do propellers. Dear Lord, please help me! Do you know the last time I did do propellers? Why would I even remember such a thing? Well it was summer of 2001...and it resulted in a serious panic attack. Hyperventilating and the whole nine yards. It was scary. And I was determined I would drive all the way home from Chicago and never get on one again! I have no idea where this panic attack came from. It was pre 9/11, so it didn't have anything to do with that. I have flown at least once a year since the time I was in my mommy's tummy. I started flying alone at the age of 12. I'm no stranger to travelling...even internationally. So I am not sure why that day I just knew that plane was going down! It was a pretty bumpy flight. The flight attendant tried to comfort me by telling me to imagine the plane was like a roller coaster. Okay?!? How stupid is that? I think I said something like, ya...it is sort of missing the key component of a roller coaster...like...THE TRACK...that is firmly fixed to the ground!! Not helpful!

Anyway, I made it through and have flown numerous times since...even internationally...with the aide of a little pill...a tiny amazing pill...just .25 mg...XANAX! Wow, that stuff is amazing. You take it and within minutes you just don't care about anything. Plane going down? That's no big deal. BUT, this is the first time since that awful panic attack that I have braved the puddle jumper. I have been convicted of my dependency on the little white pill, even though I only take it for flight anxiety. I mean my trust is in such a higher power than a .25 mg pill. The Lord is lord even over the planes in the skies. It was during a mission trip to Peru that I was most convicted. I was talking in rough Spanish with one of the local Quechuans that we were ministering to. Somehow my issues with flying came up. As a new believer he couldn't believe that I had that fear as a fellow believer. He pointed to my heart and told me that as long as I had Jesus there, I shouldn't be afraid. Don't you just love going on a mission trip to serve and end up being super encouraged by the people you are there serving?!?

What he said is true. So why the Xanax? Well, I'll explain it like this. With Jesus in my heart, I am not scared of dying. I am ready to experience heaven in the splendor of my Savior. It's not my life ending that scares me. My fear is the crash itself people!! Anybody with me?

Okay. I am so glad I typed this enlightening post right before I get to walk down the stairs, onto the tarmac, and up onto this puddle jumper. Yep, there isn't exactly a sky walk to this beauty of a jumbo plane!!! I just hope the pilot isn't wearing a scarf and goggles.

Washington, Here We Come!

Washington state that is. Spokane to be exact. Who is "we"? Just 3 of my favorite friends ever! We've been talking about this for I'm thinking 10 years now. A girls trip. Finally the talk is over, the tickets purchased, and hotel is booked! It would have been easier a few years back. I have to add to that list: babysitters arranged!

Rachelle, Michelle and I are flying to meet up with Bonnie who now lives in Spokane. We'll be attending the Women of Faith Conference there this weekend and enjoying some long overdue girl time! I've known these girls...shudder...EIGHTEEN years! Uncontrollable shudder! So you can imagine all the things we've experienced together over all those years, from junior high until now!



I am so thankful for these friends, how they spur me on in the Lord, how they make me laugh, make me cry, how they've prayed for me, how they know me way too well...and still keep me around! It is sad how far spread out we are all over the country. We are bound in our faith in the Lord though, and I think it is because of that common bond that we can always pick up just like we saw each other yesterday. We've seen each other many times since spreading out, but if I'm not mistaken it has been almost 9 years since all four of us were together under the same roof at one time...my wedding in 1999. Much less in a hotel room for 3 consecutive nights...free of jobs, hubbies, kiddos, and any other form of responsibility! I can't wait to hug their necks and hear the laughter!

Rachelle and Michelle are also bloggy friends and they each posted a while back about our upcoming trip...here and here...fun stuff!

Now for your viewing pleasure...ahem...viewing laughter...a little bit of back then! I can assure you we won't be building any pyramids.

Praise God for my awesome hubby and in-laws who are taking over the home front for the next few days. I will miss them dearly, but take comfort that they are in such good hands!

NOTE to Jade: DO NOT start crawling before mommy gets back!

NOTE to Lily: You ARE more than welcome to poop on the potty while I'm gone. I will feel the excitement all the way on the West coast!

Two Cowgirls + Texas Themed Arboretum

= one camera happy mama!

And, believe it or not, I don't have all day to wait on blogger photo, so the rest go to the slideshow! I would just do slideshows all the time, but I try to print out my blog each month for my grandmothers, and slideshows just don't work for that! Does anyone know a trick to upload multiple photos at once to blogger?

Lily lucks out and Jerry still takes the day off...

So, yesterday we arose with the chickens, got ready and got the girls ready, and left the house by 7 AM. That is a feat! Where were we headed so bright and early on a weekday morning? Lily had her pediatric GI following up appt at 7:45 across town. When I booked the appt, they had first offered me the 7:20 slot, to which I replied...PM? So I opted for 7:45 figuring that 25 minutes could mean life or death at that time of day.

We were on the road when my cell phone rang with an unknown number. I was excited to see who else was up with the roosters, so I answered. It was the nurse from the GI office informing us that our appt had been cancelled. There had been bad storms the night before and they had no power. She was calling from her personal cell phone! They had roof damage too, so we weren't able to reschedule until May when repairs would hopefully be completed. So, Lily was off the hook. Yet, another month of poopy pull-ups will go down in Gibson history.

Jerry had taken the day off work in honor of said cancelled appointment, so now what do we do? We drove around the neighborhood a bit while Jerry decided if he was going in to work or not. There was a lot of storm damage. We couldn't believe how many huge trees had split in two on our very own street. We walked down to the local creek bridge to show the girls the rushing water. Something about all the cars passing us while standing on the bridge was enjoyable. They were mostly on their way to work, and Jerry didn't have to be, so he decided to still take the day off.

We decided to take the girl's to the children's museum downtown. Jade and I enjoyed the zero to two room, while Jerry chaperoned Lily among the farm, water, and backyard scenes. She had a ton of fun playing dress up and then parading in front of the wacky fun-house type mirrors.

Afterwards we enjoyed the beautiful weather on the fair grounds. Jerry and Lily even took a ride on the paddle boat swans. Lily eventually got bored...guess Jerry wasn't peddling quite up to her standard of speed! It was when Jade and I were accompanied by a homeless man that we decided to hike out of there. I chatted with him for a while, but when he asked for money I got uncomfortable. I'm sure I would have been a better witness if I hadn't have had my 9 month old on my lap. It's not like Jerry could have been of much help way out in the lagoon!

We avoided rush hour traffic by hanging out at our favorite Thai restaurant in the whole wide world! Chan Thai...too bad they don't have a website or I could give them more kudos. Love that place!

I might consider waking with the crowing kind more regularly if I knew the day would always turn out this great!

***question*** why isn't "poopy" or "poopie" in spell check? am i the lone person that writes on the subject?