Attitude of Gratitude

Happy Black Friday!


I had an amazing Thanksgiving with family and now I am in the truck on the way to Shreveport with my husband and uncle. We normally go to Shreveport over Christmas break but since Ad and I are taking a late (well overdue) honeymoon during Christmas break, we had to fit in our annual trip this week.

I am not going to lie, this month has been hard and I have been slacking at blogging. I am feeling behind daily! So instead of feeling like I'm failing today I am going to share what I am overly thankful for!

Thanks to Shelly and Holly hosting the link up- Attitude of Gratitude all month, I have had the chance to read some great posts that puts this season in perspective.

Life is hard but we should not dwell on the negatives daily. It is hard to stay joyful when you feel pulled in fifty million directions. However, I have made an effort to stay joyful and I am not saying that I achieved that attitude daily but I can get an A in effort.... right??

Today and everyday I am thankful for my Faith and the Almighty Savior we serve. I am not perfect but by HIS saving Grace, I am forgiven. This month there has been a lot of repenting. I am so thankful that God does not leave or forsake me, when I am letting my "worldly"  self get in the way.

This guy. If I did one thing right it my life, it was marrying this guy. 

He is such a blessing in my life. He drives me crazy at times but I know we were meant to be. This month he has put up with my never ending traveling, my ever high stress levels, and my never ending worries. I truly believe I would not be who I am today without this guy in my life. I will never take this guy for granted. 

I am grateful for my loving family. They are always there for me, even when I don't call home enough. They keep me grounded and love me for me. I am also so thankful for their health! It has been a scary couple of years around here with my mom's health not being so good but by the Grace of God she is doing GREAT! 

I am thankful for the friends that I have. Weather they are friends I have had for years or new friends, I am thankful for the love and support they give me. 

I am thankful for my job and the opportunities I have daily. I love seeing a child's world change for the better. No matter what, everyone needs to feel loved and wanted. 

I am thankful for my husband's job and his passion. He is not only teaching these boy's X's and O's he is helping them become men. I will never take that for granted. 

Overall, I am thankful for this life I have been given. As December rolls around I want to make a real effort to slow down and appreciate the little things. I know we are blessed beyond belief and I want to make sure I never forget that. 

XOXO ~ JulieAnn 

Waiting on Wednesday: Waiting on My Kind Side

It is Wednesday and that means that I am linking up with  Holly for Waiting on Wednesday.

It is basketball season around here which means I see my husband less than normal. 

5 games a week, early morning practice, and late nights watching film and getting ready for the next game. 

I love basketball season but for some reason this is truly the most stressful sport for me as his wife. 

It may have something to do with my competitive side or something to do with the fact that I do the books for the games and often find myself completely in grossed in the game. 

We are only two games in and I already have found myself in situations where I do not need to be. 

For example, on Monday night, I had a parent tell me that "I am glad I am not the coaches wife", in a not so nice context. 

I am not going to lie, I wanted to hop on this blog Monday night and express my anger-filled feelings but knew that I might not reflect the type of character I try to achieve. So Monday night I had a good cry and talked to another coaches wife and felt better. 

Then Tuesday night rolls around and I get to hear another parent bash the coaching. I get it, we are all experts when it comes to sports. I can yell at a kid for not cutting to the basket or not making the right pass, but am I also the one working with them after practice and being a "father figure" to them daily. 

Umm, no I am not. 

I wish people saw that it is more than the score and the type of offense the coach chooses to run. 

It is about people and relationships. 

It is about building up kids and not tearing them down. 

It honestly makes no sense to me. We preach at our kids to be respectful and to be kind to others. 

However, these adults in turn are not respectful or kind to other adults. 

I know I get confused. How must these kids feel?

I try not to complain about this role I have been blessed with but this season might just test every ounce of kindness I have in my body. 

To me, the Good Lord is preparing me for something and I am praying that I am able to make it through without letting my worldly rude self get in the way. 

So why am I sharing this today? 

 I am sharing because I need prayer and accountability. 

My hope is that I am able to blog about how great this season is and I will not hop on and share my raw emotions, when something not so nice is said.

It is such a strange situation. When I worked at CPS I was called every horrible name in the book and it never affected me, but when someone calls out my husband and is hateful, it hurts and I get angry. #ineedtoletitgo 

We have a super young team and I know it is not going to be easy but I am hopeful. 

My hope is that I am able to be the bigger person when an adult is tearing down my husband and the other coach every week. My hope is that I don't become disheartened. My hope is that I do not come to resent this role. 

I honestly do not know why I more fearful of these things this year than the previous two years but I am. 

I try to be real around here and today you are getting the real me. 

As it stands in the first week of basketball we are 1-0 in Jr. High, 1-0 in JV, and 0-1 in Varsity. 

We have a tournament this week so 3 games in 3 days. 

It is going to be a fun but crazy ride this season! 

XOXO ~ JulieAnn 

Show and Tell Tuesday: Service Projects

Today I am linking up with Andrea for my favorite show and tell Tuesday yet!

Today is all about service projects. 

Ever since I was young my mom and grandparents instilled in me the importance of giving back. I would go to church work days on Saturday with my pop and help clean up the church and older people's homes/yards. Each year on my birthday my mom and I would go through my clothes and toys and donate the too small clothes and toys that I did not need. Then every Thanksgiving and Christmas I would get to help put meals together for the shut ins and go deliver them with my pop. I have so many great memories of me and my pop just driving through the country delivering meals. 

Now my grandparents run our church's Helping Hand Ministry. Helping Hands is a food and clothing bank for people in the community. This is a truly AMAZING ministry! Rising Star has a population of 800 people and Helping Hands has yet to ever run out of food or clothing. People in the community continuously give every single month. Helping Hands is open two days a week and my grandparents say about 20 to 30 people come in each day they are open. I am just so proud of them! They continue to do great things. 

In college I volunteered at Good Samaritan Ministries in Brownwood. Good Samaritan services the people of Brown county and it is a  food and clothing bank and they also help with bills for people that are in need. I loved my time there and often worked in the clothing section. I mostly sorted clothes or worked the register. 

One year in college my social work class took a weekend trip to Waco and were homeless for the weekend. We worked with Mission Waco and I had a great time. 

We were only allowed three personal possessions, I had a tooth brush, my jacket, and my sleeping bag. It was October after all. We were taken to a Good Will and told to pick new clothes out and new shoes. There were about 100 students from all over and we were only given a couple of minutes to find those items. Needless to say I have a big foot and got stuck with men's shoes. 

My friend got a good look, where I got a skirt and men's shoes. 

We then spent the weekend walking the streets of Waco looking for food and resources. We also went to a lower income apartments and played with the children. 

One thing I will NEVER forget is when we were walking up to the apartments there was a large dumpster and there were two boys about 8 years old, going through all of the trash looking for coke cans. When asked what they were doing they said that they go through the trash and look for cans so they can sell them and have some extra money for food. 

Y'all..... my heart hurt. Just that morning I was complaining about it being cold, feeling dirty, and how I thought it was a silly thing to be homeless for a weekend. 

Little did I know, how the Lord was going to work in my heart. 

I came back from that weekend with a new outlook and often bring up my experience with others to share my heart and hopefully bring some awareness to this population. 

An article about the trip and my thoughts was written Here

While I was working at Child Protective Services, my volunteering was lacking. I hate to say that, but it did. 

Each year we do gifts from the Angel Tree and donate to the rainbow rooms at CPS. I have way too many magazine subscriptions and I donate all the magazines to the local domestic violence shelter. 

This year I am hoping to join the county's Child Welfare Board and work with foster children. I am so excited about this new opportunity! 

Last but not least thanks to Andrea and her great post about Cards for Hospitalized Kids, I would have never known about this great organization. 

Adrian makes cards with his jr. high kids at school a couple of times a year and I use it with the kids at each of our parent trainings and support groups. Not only are you brighting someones day by sending them a card, but it is also a great teaching opportunity! 

I can't wait to read about all of the service projects every one else is doing! 

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you." 

~ Princess Diana 

XOXO ~ JulieAnn 

Weekend Wrap Up

I feel like I have NOT blogged in forever! Hopefully I will find time at some point to be better at blogging.

I normally don't start with Thursday but I have to tell you about how PROUD I am of my husband! He is the head jr. high football coach and his team has not lost a game in TWO years! (we have only been at Evant for two years)

Thursday night was the last jr. high game of the year and the boys won the district championship!

So beyond Proud! 

Anyway... Friday Night's game was a win and go to the playoffs or lose and basketball season starts.

Well...... We lost, by a touchdown.

It was a tough one to sallow.

We helped decorate the bus....

We got to the game early and I got a picture of just the boy's jerseys and shoulder pads, while they were warming up. 

Tall one in the hat... 

Stress eating 

Thankfully B was there to keep me somewhat sane 

Our last picture of the year. 

I can't believe it has been 3 years now that he has been a football coach! 

It is going by sooo fast! 

Saturday I slept and did not feel well at ALL!

Ad was at the farm hunting. 

Sunday was school work and cleaning house. 

I am pretty sure I spent Saturday and Sunday paying for my crazy self on Thursday and Friday night at the games. 

I saw this on Pintrest and I am pretty sure I need to own that. 

#IknowIamcrazy 

So football season is over and I am sad but we love basketball season around here! 

Even though we have games on Monday night, Tuesday night and Friday night. 

#iamalreadytired 

Thanks for all the support this football season! 

Now prepare yourself for basketball, basketball and more basketball :) 

XOXO ~ JulieAnn

Waiting on a Slow Down

Happy Wednesday!

What a crazy busy month this is starting out to be.

I often complain about how busy I am day in and day out. However, I do believe I need to take a moment and be thankful for the busy life I live!

I am going to start off with my week and go day by day.

Monday: I had to be in Austin for Court at 8:30. Then enroll a new family. Then my mom and sister in law arrive at my house.

Tuesday: Travel to San Antonio to watch my brother in  the State Marching Contest.

Wednesday: Home, conference calls all day, and get ready for game on Thursday and work on Thursday.

Thursday: Be in Austin in the morning for National Adoption Day! Last jr. high pep rally of the year and last jr. high game of the year.

Friday: Enroll new family. Go visit a family. Last district football game. We must win to go to the playoffs.

I am already tired! Now I am going to identify the great parts of this busy life!

Monday: I get to go meet another awesome family who was called to adopt and opened their home and their hearts to some great children. I get to see my mom and sister in law. I love having family over!

Tuesday: Even though getting up early and driving for ever....... it was all worth it to see my brother marching at STATE! That is huge. Rising Star has NEVER been to the State Marching Contest but this year they did. How amazing is it to see your sibling be successful!

Wednesday: I have the opportunity to work from home, which allows me to do so much. I love getting to talk to people about my job and find ways to reach more people. I am beyond thankful to have my job and work for great people.

Thursday: Umm.... National Adoption Day! Sign me up! I can't wait to see all of these families and these great children whose world has now changed. I feel so blessed to get to be a part of this time!
Last jr.  high football game of the year is crazy! Where has this fall gone?? I am so proud of my husband and his kids this year. I love seeing my husband doing what he loves twice a week every week!

Friday: Again another awesome family who has adopted that I get to meet and help. Then the most important game of the year! We have to win to get into the playoffs.  I am nervous and excited. I am ready!

So my week is crazy and I do believe sometimes I get lost on the craziness of it but I do NEED to look deeper and be thankful I am able to live this life.

One day my life won't be this busy and I know I am going to miss it. Even though a slow down would be great, I would not change a thing about my life right now.

Have a blessed day!!

XOXO ~ JulieAnn

Don't forget to link up with Holly for Waiting on Wednesday!