These are a few of my drawings. I found out that I was able to draw a little bit after I went on a church retreat. I had always been able to get people to understand what I was drawing, but did not take notice of my talent until 3 years ago. I only draw for a hobby, but I really enjoy it. The old man is my Bappaw, the little girl is actually a picture that I took in 2001 when I went to Bolivia for a mission trip. The original picture is on my blog to the right by my bio. The flowers are just some pretty flowers that were sitting at a table I saw one day. Have a lazy and warm Sunday!

I have to give props to Lena for my theme... I do not know her personally, but she has a wonderful blog that has many pretty Christmas or winter themes! thanks Lena!

Michelle- this is for you! Love ya!!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Gift bags when I am short on time
2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial, real ones make my nose itch
3. When do you put up the tree? After Dec. 1
4. When do you take the tree down? haha...hopefully before New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? No
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Honey Jo - a stuffed bear from Santa
7. Hardest person to buy for? Heidi- I never know what to get her
8. Easiest person to buy for? My dad- he will take anything :)
9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have a picture of it, but not an actual one
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? MAIL! have never sent out Christmas cards... this year is a first. Hopefully I will mail them!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I used to be a preschool teacher...take a guess :)
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Charlie Brown's Christmas
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? After Thanksgiving...way after.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sweet Potatoes with marshmallows...I could eat them any day!
16. Lights on the tree? Yes, white.
17. Favorite Christmas Song? When Christmas Comes to town- The Polar Express
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? First weekend of Dec- Kirbyville; Saturday before Christmas- Martin Family; Christmas day? depends
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner/Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph. (What Michelle said!!)
20. Angel on the tree top or a star?Angel.. my mom is obsessed with Angels
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? People who forget those less fortunate
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My mother has only one type of angels on the tree with all different poses, gold starred wire, and LOTS of lights!
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Basically Thanksgiving all over again!!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Gas for my car for the next semester of school

I love Christmas Time!!! I love to look at all the decorations and see everyone cheerful! I especially enjoy having time with friends and family to just be in each others company. I like the Christmas music and seeing all the different Christmas movies!

This Christmas is going to a bit difficult for my family. This is the first year that we will not have my Bappaw around to help us celebrate. I miss him dearly and could not have ever imagined that the holidays would seem so weird without him here. I do have the peace however, that he is watching over me, loves me and is very proud of me.

These three ladies and I have been through alot! We all worked with the Children's choirs at my old church and they are all teachers! I love them dearly and thoroughly enjoy our starbucks and Chili's nights!! Monkeys!!!

Having had a crazy day, I just finished writing a semi-devotional. Seeing as this is one of the firsts that I have ever done, I am a bit shy to put it on here. Go easy on me!

Fear

Webster defines fear as “an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger” I have lived my life in fear. Fear of getting hurt. Fear of hurting others. Fear of failure. Fear of rejection. Fear of the unknown. Fear of relationships. I have been fearful through out my life, mostly fearing the unknown.
I recently watched the movie, Facing the Giants. It goes through the year of a high school football coach that puts his full trust in God. He has everything going in the wrong direction. His boys weren’t winning, he was in fear of losing his job, and he and his wife could not get pregnant. As he changed his attitude, and looked to give God the glory no matter what, things changed.
His team and other coaches picked up on his attitude and started performing better. They made better plays, grades, and improved relationships. The Eagles eventually went to state playoffs, beating the three time reigning champs. It was through God that the miracles happened.
This got me thinking about my life. Why do I fear so much? One of my favorite lines in the whole movie is "If the Lord never gives us children, will you still love Him?” (Coach Taylor is talking to his wife) This quote got me thinking. One of my biggest fears is that I will not find the mate that God has chosen for me. After watching the movie, and going through some events recently, I had to ask myself,” Miranda, if the Lord never gives you a husband, if you are supposed to be single, would you still love Him?” How thought provoking!
If God never gave you a child, or that perfect "X", would you still love him? Would the blessings that he provides be enough? God has a plan for everyone. During the movie, there is also a story about how there were two farmers praying for rain, yet only one prepared the soil. Which do you think God would trust with his gift?
How do you prepare your heart for that relationship? How do you prepare your mind or soul for that perfect “X” that you have been praying for? I cannot expect my perfect mate to cross my path until my heart is ready to receive him. Will that be tomorrow? 5 years from now? I do not know. This is why God wants us to trust in him. Psalm 9:10 says, “Those who know your name trust you, O Lord, because you have never deserted those who seek your help” (God’s Word for Students). God will never leave my side. Through all my waiting and my sadness, I know that in God’s timing, he will show me the Godly man that I am to spend my life with. In God’s timing, he will provide your every need. The hard part is waiting for God to make the buzzer go off. Patience is a virtue!
Selah, one of my all-time favorite music groups, sing a song titled “Wonderful, Merciful Savior”
Counselor, comforter, keeper
Spirit we long to embrace
You offer hope when our hearts have
Hopelessly lost the way, Oh we hopelessly lost the way

When we lose our way, and feel as though God is nowhere in sight, God is there, walking right beside us. When our hearts break due to a wrong choice, God is sitting on the couch with us, embracing us with His love, soothing our hearts, calming our fears, and spoon feeding us raw cookie dough!:) Through it all, God is telling me,“Miranda, I love you, and I will take care of you, if you will let me”

So... I am sitting at Panera Bread, waiting time to pass. I am watching a couple eat. The guy has his Blackberry out the ENTIRE time at dinner. The girl spilt her drink all over her, and the guy was still texting while wiping up the drink. Although I am pretty attached to my cell phone, I couldn't believe the amount of time the guy was on his berry as opposed to how much he spent with his girl. It is amazing!

Have a good weekend

 

I just had to share this picture i found from when he was little... I absolutely love this picture! For those who don't know, I cannot claim him as my own, but is the closest thing to a nephew that I have. Have a great weekend!

I did vote, but I try not to talk about politics with people. The media, however, made it very clear who they favored! I was watching CBS tonight and they basically had called the election after Ohio came in. What is that? Shouldn't the media be a non-partisan source of information?

So, Obama is our new president...am I happy? I am not ecstatic about it. Will I respect it? Yes, because as a citizen of the USA, he will be my commander in chief, the leader of my beloved country... in January.
So I have 2 months to get used to it :)

 
 
 
 

I had so much fun tonight with my girls at PF Changs and the movies. Although the movie, The Changeling, was not exactly the happy-go-lucky movie that one might expect at a girl's night, the night as a whole was pretty fun! I am so thankful for each of the girls that were there to help me celebrate. We had good food, which ended with some fortune cookie fun... with the ending...of course! Then off to the movie where we saw Angelina Jolie in a dramatic and heart-wrenching performance. All in all, my 26th birthday has been pretty special!