Being Transparent: Being Happy for Others

Sometimes, it's scary being transparent. I want to share from my heart, be honest with what's going on, and hopefully encourage as much as I can. But with putting yourself out there, there are those who will judge you, discourage you, mock you, and not like you. So when I go to blog, or post a status, or share a photo, I want to share about my life, but in the back of my mind, I feel like there are those who could care less about what I have to say. Anyone else ever feel that way?! That when you go to share something on social media, even though no one is necessarily saying things about you, your mind begins to wonder off in that direction? I hate that. There are so many times when I share a photo of my husband and I that I have to fight off the "what ifs." "What if they think I'm bragging? What if no one cares? What if people are tired of seeing me happy? What if they think I am faking it?"And then I am reminded: If I feel good about sharing something, I should share it. And you should too! I know I am not the only one in feeling this way. One day I was talking to one of my sisters, and we were talking about how we get so happy/excited about something that we want to share it with the world, but fear that others will think we aren't being grateful enough, that we are bragging, that we are trying to show off. Oh, how far off from the truth that is. 

As a woman who so desperately wants to start a family, I can't tell you how many times I have scrolled through social media only to see hundreds of smiling baby posts, pregnancy announcements, etc. A few months after my ectopic pregnancy, there was a baby announcement literally EVERY day. I didn't WANT to be jealous, and I didn't want to be upset at the person posting such a happy moment in their life, but that is where I found myself, and I knew I had to get my heart right. I had to get rid of bitterness and jealousy before I could truly be happy for someone else. It hasn't been smooth to come to this point in my life, but I truly believe that I've made huge strides in learning how to be happy for others. Please don't think that this is for anyone specific. I'm just sharing this as an example because it's come up in conversations lately, and I don't want people to think that they have to tip toe their happy life with a baby around me! SHARE THOSE SWEET MOMENTS. The laughing, the cooing, the crying, the crawling, the sleeping. Share away and I will love every moment you share with me. I know when the day comes for me to share pictures like that, I want you to like seeing them too, haha (just being honest) :)!!

And in this season of my life, whatever I have, whatever I do, I want my life to point to Christ. There are days I will fail at this, but I want to be free to be myself. And you have every right to be yourself! I want to share with others what makes me happy. If that is my husband, my home, my dog, my family, photos of the sky, and Jesus, then I shouldn't be afraid to share that. I'm learning to be content with the things I do have, instead of being upset by what I don't. Can you relate? My challenge to you (and myself) is to be HAPPY for others. Truly. Encourage others. Share in their joy. Because it's easy to share in each others sufferings, when the world seems to be against us, and all we want to do is wallow in sadness. But can you share joy with someone who is experiencing something amazing in their life? YES, YOU CAN! If we are there for each other, we are there for the good and bad. The moments that bring tears to our eyes, and the moments that make us want to shout from the rooftops with gladness.

Just wanted to share that this afternoon. Keep posting & let your hearts be free to share with others what brings you JOY! :)

Becky

Garth Brooks Concert in Tulsa.

Back in late October/early November, my husband discovered that Garth Brooks was going on tour. You wouldn't have known he was a big fan just by looking at him. I mean, it's not like Thunder Rolls is his ringtone, he talks about him all the time, or even owns a cowboy hat. But let me tell you, he LOVES his music. So when he mentioned to me that it would be cool to see him in concert, I was on board. I knew he would be filling one of his bucket list items by seeing him in concert, it would make a fun date night for us, and Christmas was right around the corner, so we could purchase the tickets as a gift for each other. And then the hard reality came...Garth wasn't going to be playing in Texas.  

So, we made the decision that would would drive to Tulsa, OK since that was his closest show. We purchased the tickets (stressful thanks to the overload of ticketmaster fans trying to purchase tickets too, that the site kept freezing up on us.), and then we waited for the weekend of the show.

On the drive down, Jearen played Garth's greatest hits, and I remembered so many songs that I had forgotten about. I fell in love with some. I learned the words to some (like Baton Rouge!), and had fun singing (or I should say yelling) along with my husband as he drove us. 

We arrived on time to the concert, but I was SO out of it. I had no appetite, a headache, my body ached, no energy. Not exactly how I wanted to feel going into a high energy, highly anticipated concert. It was so bad that when Jearen left to get me some sprite, I started to fall asleep in my chair. With thousands of people around. At a concert. Ha, I must have been embarrassing. 

Despite feeling totally off, I still wanted to make the most of this trip we just drove all the way out for. We sat on the very last row, which sounds like a bummer, but turned out to be perfect. We got to stand to any song we wanted to, without anyone behind us telling us to sit (this happened to people in front of us down the row, who kept being told to sit by some REALLY old fans, haha). We got to sing at the top of our lungs to our favorite songs, and had so much fun.

I must say, I was HIGHLY impressed with Garth Brook's performance. He had put out a new cd earlier in the year, and I wasn't sure what he would play. Besides playing two songs from his neweset album, he played his GREATEST HITS, which was perfect, since I just had a crash course on all of that songs. That man can sing and entertain a crowd!

After the concert, I was running to the nearest gas station for some headache medicine. I didn't have any medicine available since I have been using Young Living Essential Oils (and haven't had any medicine since that night). I was desperate to feel better, and nothing seemed to help. 

Still don't know why or what made me feel so bad that Friday, but I am so glad we got to go to that concert. (And felt fine the next day)

I left a bigger Garth Brooks fan than when we first arrived, and got to make memories with my husband.

Who is on your bucket list to see in concert?! If the opportunity arrives to see them, GO! You won't regret it! :)

Becky

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

Highlights of 2014

If you were to ask me how my last year went, I would quickly have said I hated it. I kept a smile on my face, tried hard to remain positive, and counted down the days until the year was over. Then, I did an inventory over the last year one day as I was praying, and the Lord reminded me of so much goodness that has happened over the past twelve months. So, in an effort to look at the past, and pray for the future, I blogged all that has happened.

Looking back at 2014, there were a lot of happy moments, some very big sad moments, things that we celebrated, and things that we were blessed to do/have. My last post was about the loss that we experienced at the beginning of 2014, which you can read more about here. Moving forward from that day, it took a lot of strength when feelings of sadness and grief overwhelmed me, and those feelings came in different doses each month. Looking back, I have MUCH to be thankful for, despite the pain I felt. So this post is all about celebration. Though this year has been hard for me emotionally, I look back and can see so much good that has happened. I will choose joy when I look at this past year instead of sadness & bitterness. The Lord has been good to me, and has drawn me closer to Him.

The verses Romans 8:38-39 have brought a whole new meaning to me and has been a foundation that I have stood on. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Isn't that good?! :)

As I wrote down things that happened over the past year in my journal, I had a sense of joy. Knowing that there is so much ahead of me, and that God continues to guide my steps the whole way. Life is such a journey, and at the young age of 27, I'm really starting to see that more and more. I have been given much love, grace, forgiveness, peace, joy, trust, and then more grace.

As you scroll through the photos of the past year of my life, I pray that you are able to do the same inventory in your own life over this past year, seeing and knowing that God has been good to you! I'd love to know what God has done in your life, so feel free to share :)!

Looking forward to all that is ahead in 2015,
Becky!

• Surrounded by love
  
• Attended Jearen's Great Grandmother's Funeral who lived to be 100!
  
• Celebrated Valentine's Day with my Love
  
• Witnessed our friends Kent & Lindsay get engaged
  
• Took a trip with Jearen to Vegas
  
• Celebrated Maggie's 1st birthday
  
• Blessed with a fancy dinner to Bob's Steakhouse from Jearen's Company
  
• Took my first trip to Canton, TX and came home with an M
  
• Put lights on our patio and made it feel complete (after a forever long remodel)
  
• Attended several Rangers Games
  
• Bought a new car
  
• Supported & cheered on students at Fine Arts
  
• Took a 24 hr trip to Pflugerville, TX to see my nieces perform in a dance recital
  
• Took a weekend trip to visit my parents in Matagorda, TX
  
• Surprised by an early birthday party for me in May from my preschool class (birthday in July)
  
• Attended a Color Bash at The Tree Student Ministries
  
• Took Maggie to Bark @ The Park
  
• Took a 24 hr trip with Jearen to Memphis, TN
  
• Swam in Dad & Sherry's new pool
  
• Celebrated turning 27 with friends at Hard 8 in Roanoke
  
• Celebrated the 4th of July & Birthday in Stephenville with family
  
• Went to Camp with the students at Abundant Life 
  
• Celebrated 4 years of marriage
  
• Took trip to Estes Park, CO with students from ALC
  
• Finally took my teaching certification test & passed! 
  
• Celebrated Jearen's 26th birthday at Babe's & Top Golf
  
• Shared my testimony at Thrive (Women's event at ALC)
  
• Survived Jearen's long travels for work from August - October (and picked him up from the airport with signs)
  
• Had our friend Kent move in with us
  
• Began Fine Arts practice for 2015
  
• Attended the State Fair with Kent & Lindsay
  
• Spent a weekend with family for Hansen Oktoberfest
  
• Went on our 2nd annual date to the Pumpkin Patch
  
• Shared a meal & tears & laughter around a dinner table at Friendsgiving
  
• Shared 12 dates of Christmas with Jearen