Nine years between proms!!

Over the weekend, we took this kid...


















turned this young man...

to prom!

It REALLY put things in perspective.  I am aging!! Oh my goodness, I know I am not that old but to think that this kid went from the little boy who introduced me to Harry Potter to this teenage-man-like-thing in the span of nine years seems crazy to me.  I mean that's nothing right? Isn't he supposed to still be little?!

Either way, it was something really special to be apart of (even though it doesn't seem like all that many years ago his brother and I were doing the exact same thing he did.  It was nine! NINE!).  What Queso (that's what I call him) and his girlfriend do not know however, is how close I came to prom stalking them.  Babe and I were discussing where to eat as we drove to drop them off.  Once we dropped them and they were out of the car I realized I had never been to a Benihana, which just happened to be at the hotel that prom was being held at.  I figured hey, now is the perfect time to go!  I think Babe may have gone for it... if I hadn't added that after we could sneak down to the ballroom and maybe catch a glimpse of KC (he has a lot of names, though he would prefer I call him Kevin).  Babe made no reply and just drove straight out of the lot.  When far enough away he mentioned that I was not allowed to relive my youth through my brother-in-law.  Oh well!  Though I like to think that was not my intention at all, I just wanted to see him enjoying my his prom.  My mom came to mine (she even danced with Babe). And yes, I know I am not his mother but he was just this lil dude and now he's this big dude and I wanted to see them enjoying themselves.  That wasn't too much to ask, right?!

A Thousand Lives

I have attended Hogwarts.  I have lived in Forks.  I have been to a reaping and I am Divergent. I have seen the end of the world and I have been there for the beginning.  I have walked through the Wardrobe and I have flown to Neverland.  I have felt the grief of a love lost and I have seen the grace in one restored.  I have walked in the Garden and I have been at the feet of the Cross.  I hope that I was one who wept and that I didn't join in among the scoffers.  I have lived many different lives and I plan to live many more.

The amazing thing about a story, be it fiction or non, is that we get to make a choice.  With every new story, or in some cases even a new chapter in the same one, we get to be whoever we want to be.  And the choice is ours alone.  Am I going to be a defender of the underdog? Will I be the leader of the pack or the trusty sidekick? Will I be a lone ranger and forge my own path?  Will I fight against evil and see good prevail? Will I stand firm in that decision even when goodness may not seem to be winning the battle?  Will I trust in the truth or be surprised when my friend (or an enemy) was really not what he seemed? Will I be the one who will always fight for love even if it means giving everything I have?

I have loved the quote at the top since I came across it sometime ago.  A good friend actually posted it for me recently saying it reminded her of me and the fact that reading that would make her think of me made me smile. It could be the fresh excitement of a new book that I can't put down or another visit with "an old friend",  each time I read something that truly captures me I am taken outside of myself and I am forever slightly altered.

How many lives have you lived?  Outside of your own which has been your favorite?

Things for Thursday

Thankful Things

1. I am thankful for much needed breaks from reality.  And for swings (I am a total "swinger")! You know the whole Peter Pan, never grow up, adventure thing?! The second picture there would be that part that lives on in me.  I stop for all tree swings; it is a must (even ones like this that hurt my feet and reveal my lack of strength by the inability to hold myself up)! And the first picture? That would be the lazy, old soul in me that enjoys basking in sunshiny glory with a book in my hand.

2. I am thankful for strength (even small doses of it) because I needed it was to get through Friday. At least I was rewarded with the above day on Saturday, despite the rain that Orlando newscasters had called for.  Strength was then needed again for those on Monday.  The events of which also make me thankful for the faith that can be found in humanity and the restoration that can be seen through the stories that come out revealing the best of people in the worst of situations.

3.  I am thankful for sunshine on Saturdays! My burnt back may disagree but the rest of my slightly tanned body and the vitamin D infused cells within it are very, very thankful!

4.  I am thankful for evenings spent like this...

a great friend to split the meal with and yummy tea! I am always thankful for yummy tea (and great friends of course)! 

Things I am loving right now
1. This book!  

It is a beautiful story.  Typically, I am not one for reading time period pieces but I am really captured by this story right now.  It mirrors the book of Hosea and although a fictional recounting, the selfless love of the main character, Michael Hosea, for the main female character is so tender, forgiving and true.  I read it and can't help but think of how blessed I am to be loved not only despite all the flawed and bruised parts of my heart but sometimes because of them.

2.  I am loving that the little girl I nanny for is reading Harry Potter! It is so much fun to enjoy them with her.  Our Wednesday afternoons can often be spent partaking in dramatic readings.  The kid is only 8 but she speed reads those things like it is nobodies business! And when she reads out loud to me she does the voices (we are working on our accents) and has perfect intonation.  She is genius I tell ya! I am loving that she will be is a read-a-holic and that the joy of a quiet afternoon spent with a book in hand is still very much alive in the next generation.

3. I am loving that because of her new love affair with Harry Potter I shall probably reread them again as soon as I am done with Redeeming Love.  She can only read through the fourth for now and I know I will just want to keep going.  So I think I have that to look forward to in my near future!

Which is perfect because I just got this pretty thing in the mail a couple weeks ago. I couldn't
find my original copy (so sad) so I ordered this one for her to read and then to  have one
to put in its spot of glory on the shelf! It's looking a little too "unloved" though so read it I shall! 

Any good things for your Thursday? What are you loving lately?