Getting Into The Fun of It

I became a cowgirl for one day, during Hat Day at

the elementary school where I work,
in order to raise money for
Riley Children's Hospital.

I must say that I love being a part of doing 

these fun days, right along with

all of the children.

My hubby thought it looked a little silly

on me, but then he's much more

conservative than I am. 

You know what they say,

opposites attract!

He balances me out when I need it and I

loosen him up when he needs

a little adventure and spontaneity.

I'd be curious to know how many of you
can relate to opposites attracting in

your marriage?....and if you

want to share, please tell us how you differ. 

I would love to hear.

On the last day of our special week at school,

I became this roaring tiger.

The staff played a ballgame against one another as

a reward for the children to watch after we

reached the goal amount needed

to give to Riley Children's Hospital.

I was the tiger mascot that 

cheered for the staff ball team and

also really enjoyed giving high fives to the children

all lined up around the gym waiting 

for me to acknowledge them. 

Their smiles said it all!

It is amazing

how much fun you can have when 

you are in a mask.

(oh that would be a good subject for a new post!)

  You can ham it up and no need to 

worry about how crazy you are acting. 

I enjoyed it so much!  

The only downfall, was it felt like 100 degrees

under all of that fur!

" A smile is a curve

that sets everything straight."

Phylis Diller 

So what is one of the fun and crazy things you've done?

A Smile For You

A little bit of humor for you to enjoy today. 

Chic-fil-A is one of my favorite
fast food places to eat.

  Hope you enjoy this comedian and his song.

" A laugh is a smile that bursts. "

  ~Mary H. Waldrip 

Keep bursting that smile!

I Think I Can..I Think I Can....I Think I Can...

Sometimes you just have to " I think I can " yourself

right up to the finish line

where the "I did it" waits!!!!!
Have you been there?

An area that I've been trying to
improve on in my life is that of being more
Determined.

Without determination, how 

will we ever make it to all of our

hopes and dreams?


"Many of life's failures
are people who did not realize
how close they were to success 
when they gave up."
Thomas Edison 

No matter what our dreams are, we will face obstacles.  

Actually, we should expect obstacles instead

of being so surprised by them.

I have been there where I let the surprise from obstacles

defeat me.  It seemed easier to give up than to endure. I'm so 

thankful that God used those times to grow me

and show me that Determination was 

an area I needed to improve on so that
I could Press On

through to the finish line and to all the wonderful
things He created for me to be and do.

It's a process which I am still learning and probably
will be  continuing to improve on
until I'm in Heaven.

Once you know what your goal is,
be determined to see it through,
 past all of the failures and the obstacles. 

Be the little train that could and before
long, our puffing over getting there,
will be finished and rewarded
with seeing our goals
come to life.

 You know what?

I think you can..... I know you can!

"I can do all things

through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13 

Failure Isn't A Bad Word

I'm so sorry that I haven't posted all week until now.  Life has just been busier than usual lately and there were other things that I had to attend to first.

Lately, God has been speaking to my heart

quite loudly about not being so hard on myself

when  I've failed at something.

Whether it be in the past, presently or in the future.

I imagine,

there are others of you out there 

who are sometimes hard on yourselves too. 

I thought I'd share some encouraging things

today that God has been showing

me and hope it will encourage YOU also.

I think we are often much like this bird with the

parachute on his back.  

We carry around extra baggage,

that we think is 

going to save us incase we fail. 

Actually, the bird without the parachute

knows the only way to really soar

is to 

take the chance even if afraid.

To me this saying said: quit procrastinating Lee Ann! 
Challenge yourself.

I don't procrastinate as much as I did last year.

I have made progress in that area

and I think it's because

I have made myself continue to take

some sort of ACTION on a daily basis,

and most of the time it's a very small step, such as

spending 10 minutes on some painting project instead of

none at all that day, or 

going up to the wonderful woman speaker

that touched my heart today with her story

 and asking her if we could meet and 

talk more in the near future over lunch.

I do feel that God wants me to step out and
do some speaking, 
but I've been afraid

to take the steps to make it happen-so this

was a biggy for me to approach her

and ask this....and you know

what she said?  She said she would love to meet

and she thanked me and said that in every 

audience she  finds someone who

encourages her while she is speaking. 

She told me thank you

and that I was the one that did that for her today 
in the crowd.

That blessed my heart and I believe that

 God was blessing me through her,
for going ahead and approaching her

even though I was afraid!

I've been reading the book "Failing Forward"
by John Maxwell.
Wow!  It's a great book and I am learning 
that I have some stinkin thinkin
that I'm going to change about failing.
some of his quotes:

    

""There is no achievement without failure."

"The difference between average people and

achieving people is their perception of and

response to failure."

"Get up, get over it, get going!"

So tell me, what are you afraid of, or what has helped
you look at failing as a positive?

Happy Mother's Day To All You Momma Girlfriends Out There!

My goodness, I've had such a busy week, 
but I didn't want

to miss the chance to wish you all 

a Happy Mother's Day!

I hope your day is filled with everything 

and everyone that celebrates  how

very SPECIAL you are!

 I think so often about these two

very special women, especially on Mother's Day!

They are both in Heaven now and
I miss them very much!

I am who I am today because of them!

Thank you MOM!

 I've always loved my mother's graduation picture
and her beautiful smile. 
She carried that smile, through 

all the pain and tragedy she endured in her life, 

and it influenced my heart and

my life in a very big way!

Thank you Grandma!

She was an angel sent into my life! She and my grandpa

raised me (and my siblings) after I turned 11 years old.

She was one very special and an amazing woman.
Truly, she and her encouragement and love
changed my life!

I've been blessed!

Blessings to you all on this special day too!

What Are Your Eyes Saying?

"Bright eyes gladden the heart."

Proverbs 15:30

I picked up one of my old journals last night

and came across an entry where I had highlighted 

this verse.  I woke up thinking about these words once 
again and the power we have within our eyes

to encourage others with something as simple as

looking at them, sincerely "looking" at them,

 and letting them know how special they are.

It gladdens their heart as well as our own.

-Our sweet grandson-

Sometimes in my own hurrying around, or when

we are on a mission and very focused on getting it done,

we can forget to take the

time to use our eyes to gladden others.

The author, Rory Noland in his book

"The Heart of the Artist"

said this about the eyes.

 "People like to feel special, and they can tell how you feel

 about them simply by how you look at them - or whether

you look at them at all.  In other words, if you are a leader 

whether you are aware of it or not, how you feel about those

you lead registers on your face.  They can see it in your eyes.

If those under you see your face light up when you see them, 

they will feel accepted.  They will be drawn to you because the 

look of love and acceptance in your eyes gives them life."

Our grandchildren, Ezra and Ella.

  Ella lights up Ezra's world whenever
she looks at her little brother.

  He watches for her eyes to look at his and then
he gets so happy and excited.

photo taken by Steven Sheets

So what are your eyes communicating?

Why don't you join me in trying what Rory Noland

suggests we try:

"Look at them
and try to communicate

your love with just your eyes."

..and come back and tell me about the great results! 

I would love to hear all about your eyes.

Oh and before I go, I want to thank  Becky  
from Farmgirl Paints for
sending my my delicious Hawaiian box
of goodies along with

this sweet card I received in the mail yesterday!

Those chocolate macadamia nuts were  
AWESOME!

I say  "were"  because they are already gone!!!!!

I think the girl on the card  looks like Becky
and has eyes like her too.

Signing off with the famous words,

"Here's looking at you kid."