3rd Annual 12 Dates of Christmas.

After much planning and researching, I mapped out exactly how I wanted to do our 12 Dates of Christmas this year! Then... life happened, and some of the dates got changed around. Over the years, I have SLOWLY learned how to just go with the flow, but I am a planner at heart, so "going with the flow" hasn't been an easy lesson to learn.

I was so excited when a few people started doing their own 12 Dates of Christmas, and they would share with me their dates, ideas, photos, etc. Granted, this whole 12 Dates of Christmas was NOT an original idea by yours truly. Several years ago, I was just brainstorming on things to do for my husband at Christmas time when I came across a blog with ideas, and have been hooked on doing these dates every year since then. Through these dates, I've laughed as people have told me "You are like the Pro at Christmas Things to do in the DFW.".....something like that. I can't recall the exact words at the moment. And as much as I wish I could say that I am, I'm totally not! I just look up a few things, like City Events for Dallas/ Fort Worth, Grapevine, Irving, etc (anywhere close to our general area). I take into account our budget, and things we have going on at church. I consider when the Cowboys play (because Heaven forbid my husband miss watching a game :)!) I also see what we have that we can use, like our season pass to Six Flags, movie giftcards that were given to us, groupon deals, etc. I tend to repeat some dates, but will also try something new (as long as the price is right).

The following will be the dates that I did this year, with some of my thoughts on each date. Maybe you want to do something for Valentine's Day, or a Birthday for your loved one, and just need some ideas. Granted, these are Christmas dates, but don't let that stop you from getting some creativity flowing in that brain of yours! 

Date 1. Setting Up Tree/ Dinner & Homemade Cookies. (FREE)
- This date required hardly any money. Our decor has been the same for Christmas ever since we got married, so every year we just pull out our two storage boxes full of Christmas decor, and set it up around the house. I made bbq chicken sliders for dinner (here is the recipe: Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Sliders: 6-8 Chicken breasts (I usually just use two since it't just the two of us), Frank's Red Hot Sauce, Package Ranch Dressing, Put in low crackpot for 5-6 hours. Shred, remove extra juices and add additional Frank's sauce to taste. Serve on King Hawaiian Rolls and ranch dressing.) I also made chocolate chip cookies but that recipe is a family secret ;)! We also danced around with our dog, Maggie, and I about died from laughing.

Date 2. Grapevine Parade of Lights. (FREE)
This was our first year to attend this event, and it did not disappoint! I was (and still am) obsessed with watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix, so going to this event felt like I was stepping into a small town (which I grew up in) and captured my heart. We brought lawn chairs (I would recommend this) and parked ourselves on the corner of the street an hour before it started. There are several restaurants around to have dinner at before or after the parade, and so we ate at Esparza's right behind Main Street. 

Date 3. Dinner & Games at Home w/ Friends (FREE)
I made Mississippi Roast from a recipe I found on Pinterest. My friend brought over Reese's chocolate chip cookies (so good!) and we played a round of What's Yours Like. I love having people around our table to share a meal, conversation, and laugh with.

Date 4. Grand Prairie's "Prairie Lights" ($20? with a Groupon, but the friends we went with already had the Groupon, so we got in FREE)
This was a fun night, that I brought my big canon with me to take pictures, and I'm glad I did. We drove around to look at all of the lights, and had a good time. We had tickets to get into the laser show, and let me just say, if you don't have kids with you, don't go to this. The four of us sat there with a look of "ugh, are you serious?! this is a joke" when it started. Granted, your kids will probably love it, and it only lasted ten minutes, but still. It's definitely worth the trip out there, and the hot chocolate they sell for $1 is surprisingly really good!

Date 5. Christmas Movies at Home. (FREE)
It's not Christmas for us until we watch Home Alone 1 & 2.

Date 6. Truthical the Musical at Gateway Church in Southlake. (FREE)
This is a MUST. It was our very first time to see this production, and I could rave about it all day. It was SO GOOD! Plus we joined several of our friends for the event, and caught dinner at Palio's down the road for pizza afterwords (with a Groupon).

Date 7. Bahama Bucks Snowcones ($8) and Addison Vitruvian Park to look at lights. (FREE)
This date was kind of a whim, because other plans that I had fell through, so Jearen totally took the reins of this night. He knew that Addison had lights, but we were blown away by how awesome it really was. Tons of trees were covered in lights, we caught a string ensemble playing Christmas music (like All I Want For Christmas is You). The weather was a little chilly, and if we would have known about the free concert, we would have brought a blanket to sit on. This is for sure a date I will want to repeat next year, and maybe bring some friends along with us to have a picnic.

Date 8. Dinner at Texan Station inside the Gaylord Hotel to watch the Cowboys Game ($10 for parking plus food).
I wasn't thrilled to have to pay for parking, but once you're inside the Gaylord, it's worth it. They have  lots going on during the Holidays, so if you haven't been to ICE, you should go. We have gone for several years, and always have had a good time, but I was trying to do something a little different, and since the Cowboys were playing for the night I planned, I wanted to catch the game. The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere is what draws you in. After dinner we walked around the hotel, where there are lots of lights and decor to catch your eye. I had a hard time getting a good photo of the lights though, so we captured one of us thanks to huge mirrors near the exit.

Date 9. Dinner at our House w/ my In-Laws. (FREE)
I made a big batch of Texas Chili, and we shared a meal around the table with my husband's dad & step mom. After dinner, we introduced them to Mad Gab, and it was HILARIOUS! I can't wait until they come over again for dinner & games. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the four of us, but took one of my five minutes of rest & reading this book before they came over.

Date 10. Cowboys Game (FREE)
Yes, free! One of my friends at work offered me the tickets back in October, so I planned to make this one of our bigger dates. Who knew the boys would do so well in the season to WIN the game we attended, the NFC. It was literally the best game I have watched, and had my attention the whole time. I'm slowly loving watching football more & more, all thanks to my husband and his patience to explain everything to me :). We had a blast! And after the game, we went straight over to Six Flags to check out the Holiday in the Park (we have season passes). We met up with our friends and the weather was just right. It was chilly, and we had to bundle up, but it wasn't miserably cold. 

Date 11. Christmas Lights over the Ft. Worth Skyline (Gift from Sherry). I am unaware of the price for this event, because this was a gift from Sherry. We went with Jearen's dad & step mom, and three of his brothers in a C47 WWII plane to look at Christmas lights in Downtown Ft. Worth. I was a little nervous of flying in a smaller plane (I guess I was expecting a lot of turbulence), but it was smooth sailing. Once you get in the air, you are allowed to get out of your seats and walk around the plane. I camped out near the huge window & took in all of the sights. If you have the opportunity to do this, DO IT! My only wish it that it would last a little longer. It was about a 30 minute flight, and a really cool experience.

Date 12. Christmas At Home! (FREE)
My husband and I spend Christmas evening opening gifts for each other, cleaning up around the house, and watching A Christmas Story. It was a nice ending to a fun filled month. 

So, I write all of this to say, use what you have to make a fun experience. A lot of my dates were free and didn't require a lot of planning (other than picking out what meal I would make). I know there will be new things we do next year & I am so grateful for all the things we got to experience due to giving friends & family.

Happy Planning!
Becky

God's Love Through My Heartbreak!

What I am about to share is very personal, but I want to share God's goodness over my life in hopes that it encourages your faith.

Before I married my sweet husband, I had no desire to have children. It's a little harsh, but it was the truth. Part of that reasoning was because I was terrified of having to go to the doctor's office, so to have to go for 9 whole months? Yeah right! I became an Aunt when I was a junior in high school, so I love kids and have been around them for years. Shoot, I teach a class of 3 year olds who I adore. So it wasn't that I didn't like kids, but more about fear over every aspect a child brings.

I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have a honeymoon baby, especially since my husband and I both waited to be married before we even entered "that" territory. I placed so much fear and anxiety into having a child in our first year of marriage. We both agreed prior to being husband & wife that we wanted to wait at least 5 years before we started a family. The first two years of our marriage flew by and we were loving life just the two of us. We were continuing to grow as individuals and a couple. We were happy. We were content.

 As time went on, we decided we were ready for a house, and then shortly after that we got our dog. Both were great and all seemed to fit into God's perfect timing. Then out of no where, I truly began to feel like my heart was shifting. I started to entertain this idea that one day we were really going to raise a family together. Through my doubt and worry, I know God slowly began to peel away the fears I was carrying around towards bearing a child, and was allowing my heart to be open to the idea. God is good, because the thought of this before would make me shut down. No joke. But as God, in His loving manner, began to open my heart to be filled with His desires, so much freedom has come. Looking through an old prayer journal from last year, I found an entry from August 9th, 2012. I wrote "I went to sleep last night worried that I was disappointing Jearen and other people because we weren't having kids yet. I have always been terrified to have a baby, and yet that is all people ask us these days. I feel like my heart is becoming softer to the idea. Maybe I just have a lot of walls built up towards this that you are slowly tearing down until that day comes." I went on to write, "I pray for our future children, that you will raise Jearen and I to be loving, Godly parents. I pray your provision and blessings for our future. This is the first time I've ever prayed about this, I hope you're smiling :)."

Then, in December of 2013, I found out I was pregnant. We shared the news with our closest family and friends, and had so much joy and peace inside of us as we were embarking on a new journey as husband and wife.

 Unfortunelty, it did not go according to how we planned.

At the beginning of January 2014, I went in to have my first sonogram. After not seeing anything on the screen, there was a small concern that either I wasn't as far along as we thought (8 weeks) or that the baby was in the wrong spot. I went home that night trying not to hang my head in discouragement. From day one of finding out I was pregnant, my trust has been in The Lord. So I knew I needed to continue to keep my chin up. We had to have blood work done and wait over the weekend before we knew just how far along I was. Monday at work, the only thing on my mind was the little baby inside of me. Did we catch the pregnancy super early? Was he/she in the wrong spot? It's all I thought about. Then my husband called me that afternoon to let me know what the doctor had said. (Sidenote: Jearen was PHENOMINAL at helping me with everything, from setting up my appointments to being with me every step of the way.) The doctor told him that the bloodwork came back showing I was indeed pregnant, but they couldn't tell how far along I was. They wanted to see me the next day to do more bloodwork.

Immediatly after getting off the phone with him, I went to tell my boss I had a doctors appointment in the morning. I had a nervous stomach all day, but after I talked to her, it got worse. I began to feel faint, my lower stomach was in severe sharp pain, and I got very hot. Thankfully, I only had 15 minutes left of work, so I suffered through it. I drove home, headed straight to bed, and prayed the pain would go away. The next morning, as I was getting ready to head to the doctor's office, I began to have those same symptoms again. Jearen had an errand to run, so he had to meet me at the doctor's office. I could barely sit up, let alone drive, but I made it there just in time.

After having to do another sonogram (this time very painful), my doctor knew something was wrong. This is where I KNOW God was in control and was taking care of everything. My doctor told me I had two options since she believed I was experiencing an ectopic pregnancy. I could either take a shot or go into surgery. I can't describe the peace I had, and even my husband was a little taken back by my response, but I just knew I needed surgery. Here I am barely sitting up on a doctor's bench, afraid of needles and all that doctor's offices entail, and I just said I wanted surgery?! It was God giving me the peace to do what needed to be done. I was wheeled off to the ER, texting family letting them know what was going on. I was prepped for surgery with Jearen, his dad, mom and step mom all by my side. Waking up after surgury, all I rememeber was wanting to tell the doctor who was telling me where I was (the recovery room) that I had a good dream :). They allowed Jearen to come back and sit with me for a while.

Looking back, here is how I know GOD IS GOOD and how I have faith to believe that even in such a heartbreaking time, He still loves me.
- My right fullopian tube had ruptured (which was the pain I was feeling Monday night & Tuesday morning). Had I not had that doctor's appoinment set up, I would have been stubborn and not gone to see someone right away.
- Had I waited even longer, I would have bleed internally even more than I did (loosing 2 pints of blood already). My life could have been taken from this earth.
- The surgery went well, and I had no fear of it.
- Family and friends filled my hospital room that night. God showed me His love through each face I got to see.
- Someone was kind enough to donate blood. I'm so thankful for those blood transfusions.
- God allowed me to live to tell this story of heartache, allowing me to look to him for strength and share of his love.
- God placed people in my life prior to the event, who lifted me up in prayer and encouraged my soul at my lowest moment.
-Jearen never left my side, and was so strong as he communicated how I was doing to our family every couple of hours.
- God had given me a deeper trust in him, even when I don't understand why things happen.
- My follow up exam showed everything to be working great.
- I grieved and sometimes still do, but God gives me strength to press on.

I know this is a long story,  but it has become to close to my heart, knowing that Jearen and I WILL have children one day.  This story is sad and heartbreaking, but I serve a God who is BIG, LOVING and GIVING. I stand on His promises, that He has a future for me, and I know this ant hill is just part of my journey to the top of the mountain!!!

The healing process is a long one for this kind of situation, with ups and downs of emotions. I believe that we will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimonies (Revelation 12:1). I've wanted to share this for a while now, and feel like now is the time. Why? Because I'm not ashamed to say I went through this hard season of life. I know many women who miscarry their children feel all alone, and I didn't want to stay in that place. I want to shed light on such a hard topic, knowing that others out there have gone through similar situations. This is just part of my story now, and I want to encourage others to share their stories, whatever that may be. Ladies, I'm always down for a coffee date if anyone wants to get together to know more or just need a listening ear.

Thanks for all the love and support through all of this.
My heart is overwhelmed and beyond thankful!!
 

Blissful Becky

Sharing The Gift of Love: My Message at Thrive Live!

Hello again!

It's been a while since I've blogged, and lots have gone on in my life, as I'm sure you can relate.

So if you are reading my blog for the first time, welcome!

If you are a familiar face to my blog posts, then welcome back!

At the end of August, the women's ministry at my church (Abundant Life Church in Grapevine, TX) hosted an event called Thrive Live. This event was set up as if you were attending a live talk show, with guest speakers (me being one of those speakers), dinner, desserts, give aways & more. Funny how I planned on blessing others with my testimony and walked away being blessed myself! God is good :)!

I shared with the audience how God uses us to share His love with others. Today I'd like to share on my blog ways YOU can share the gift of love with others too!

Just as a little background about me: I come from a big family, being the forth out of five children, and so I always wanted to be entertained growing up. When my husband and I first started dating, I was adamant about being creative and having fun together. Through the years, my passion for having regular date nights and making memories in our marriage has become a part of my DNA.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, it says "but now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love." Love is something I am passionate about. I have been married for four years, and being a wife is something I do no take lightly. I'm sure you can relate, as being a mother, a daughter, a friend are all roles we value in ourselves. I want to do my very best at fulfilling this "role" that The Lord has given me, and a big part of that is sharing love.

Now please don't tune out if you are not married. This can be applied to all relationships, whether that is with children, your parents, siblings, or even friends. We all desire to be loved, and Jesus is the ultimate example of love. When sharing the gift of love, we have to realize that love from ourselves in our own flesh can wear out, grow old, and fall short. Pray for Jesus to fill you up with His love (which is unconditional), and let that flow out of you onto others. There are a few things I want to emphasize when it comes to sharing the gift of love to someone. I'm going to use my marriage as an example, but please adjust these examples to how you see it fit into your own life and relationships.

1. DO NOT COMPARE.

I learned early on in our marriage that when I compared my marriage relationship or the way we did things to others, I only hurt us. I remember a time that my husband got annoyed with me, because any idea I had on something was not my own opinion, but what I saw another couple do. There is a quote that says "Comparison is the Thief of Joy." How often do we find ourselves trying to compare to others: their relationships, the way they raise their kids, financial decisions, their walk with God?! I found that I often would feel disappointed when my husband didn't do the exact same thing as another couple did when we first started dating. Like any relationship, when we put expectations on the other person and don't communicate that expectation, our feelings get hurt. I quickly changed my perception on dating and took it into my own hands to plan and create. By doing this, I took away false expectation that didn't need to be there, and allowed myself the freedom for us to be our own couple and enjoy the time we spent together, without the comparison game. That sparked my passion for implementing date nights into our marriage, because I valued our time together and the memories we were creating for the two of us.

2. YOUR RELATIONSHIPS ARE UNIQUE.

My marriage is different than my best friends, my parents, my siblings marriage. We may have the same values and beliefs, but the DNA of our relationship is different, and that is fine. For some of you, your friendships may be different. For others, your children and the way you raise them may be different than your neighbor. That simply means that sharing the gift of love looks differently for each of us.

3. APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE.

Make the most of the time you have with the ones you love. That may mean hours of talking, acts of service, creating atmospheres to be honest and vulnerable with others. Other examples of showing the gift of love to others is in volunteering, cooking a meal for someone, taking a trip, gifts, helping in time of need, and praying over someone. Show gratitude for the blessings that God has given you. Your spouse, child, parent, friend, are all blessings. Find joy in loving others and know that God will give you the love to share to others. 

CRAFT- DATE NIGHT JAR

I brought a date night jar to show an example of ways to be creative in sharing love.

These are some of my very best friends, and they encourage me in so many ways. They each encouraged me during one of the hardest times in my life, and gave me gifts of love with prayers, chatting, hugs, texts, and laughter.

I really learned to appreciate what I had when my world came to a holt and I was in the middle of a storm. I will be blogging about that storm & God's love for me through it in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!

 My hope is that you will be inspired to create something for you and your loved one. The gift of love isn't about the amount of money you spent, but it's about spending time together. Be encourage and inspired by these ideas on sharing the gift of love.

Becky