All I kept saying was God has a purpose and everything happens for a reason, although I knew the drive with Dan would be a bad one,....I knew he would be pissed and out of patience to say the least. I was right. I got home, threw crap in our bag and got in the car...we left and drove a good majority of the way in silence!!
I had already called my mom on my way home from work to let her know we were so late getting out we probably wouldn't be stopping at her place on the way! We made one stop in Mesquite at Woody's to eat (thank goodness - I was starving...I had worked through lunch at work and my breakfast had worn off long ago!!!)
Turns out Issy was in a whinny mood to boot so that didn't help the ride much!! I ended up working a little longer in the car, and then I read to Issy until the sun went down! We finally arrived to the hotel by about 11:30 and I had to go to the Business Center for awhile to finish up some files for work! LOL Lucky me. By the time I came back up the room a little after midnight the girls were asleep and I went straight to bed!
At 4 in the morning my phone started ringing so I woke up in a panic (like all people do when their phone rings in the middle of the night). Turned out to be some stupid kids prank calling me with vulgar suggestions...I was most definitely not in the mood...so I turned my phone off after the second call and went back to sleep!!
I finally woke up for the day at about 7!! My bad was killing me...those beds were horrible!! Makaila was full of pissyness, and Issy too...It was starting out to be another one of those days!! On the plus side...we had a great view for the morning:
We all showered got ready and went downstairs for breakfast...it was steady getting worse....there was burnt eggs, the waffles were not cooking all the way through, and they had no orange juice! LOL
It was definately time to shake it all off and so we headed into the convention center and watched for awhile while others from our school competed! Finally at about 10, Issy was called to a ring and she did great. She competed in Forms, Sparring and Combat sparring. She did amazing at her form...and the judges agreed...she placed 1st in Forms!!
Then she competed in sparring and combat sparring...let me just say that she is a phenomenal sparrer..but she is also tiny...so she hardly ever places, because the girls her age are so much bigger..she cant cover the distance without them getting her first! She did well in both and still managed to place 3rd place for sparring too!! She was pretty excited and we were really proud!!
After this it was about another hour wait until Makaila's ring was called for staging. We were a little upset...but there were not many girls in her age rank and color belt so they split her off into a small group which limited the number of points she could earn! This was no deterrent obviously because she killed it! Makaila also competed in Forms, Sparring and Combat sparring and placed in all three! She took 1st in Forms, 2nd in Sparring and 2nd in Combat sparring!! Sadly, I think I was to blame here too...cause her moves were great but her competitor had long spider legs so it was the distance disadvantage that got her 2nd! LOL
Right before I competed, Makaila asked if she could go home with the Tolley's...so I let her. I competed shortly after and was feeling pretty insecure..I was still working on the memorization of my form, and I had a hurt hip..so I expected to do pretty bad....I surprised myself...I placed in both Forms and Sparring. I took 3rd place in both! I was pretty darn proud of that because I was not as prepared as I would have like!!
We loaded up and headed home after that. it was about 3pm, and I was tired and hungry!! There were a ton of road closures along 45, so we opted to take the scenic route and drove through 45 to Corsicana, and then took 289 to Palestine (I think), and then through small towns to Livingston until we ended up at home at about 9pm. It was nice taking some off the road paths.....it allowed for a pit stops at the Collin Street Bakery, Russel Stovers, a nice diner in Palestine, and some great I-spy games! LOL
We were all tired when we got home. We relaxed....unloaded the car and were all soon in bed as soon as Makaila came home....I think we were all snoring by 11!!!
Sunday was great. We all woke up and got ready for church. We met the Ramirez's for service.
Church Notes:
Part 4 : Be the Message: Taking your Faith beyond Words to a Life of Action
I honestly cannot find my notes from service (You can just imagine how messy my bag is at this moment): but I will recount what I remember. We were given a Message by Lee Strobel (a former atheist, who converted and is now a part of our church family and running one of our faith ministries). He told us several complelling stories about people who were living testimonies in his life as a atheist and how thier words and actions were what drove him to Christ. He talked about how in his eyes most Christians were just a bunch of hypocrites and claimed one way of life but lived another. He told us a story about a Chicago gang leader who shot a guy in the back as retaliation for something and then moved away and lived in hiding for years. While in hiding he came to know Christ and several years later returned to Chicago to turn himself in and accept the punishment for his crime. He talked about the impact that this had on him and how just plain stupid and unheard of it was, but how that man had become a selfless man and how odd it was to see a Christian really live out the word without fear of the consequences that society will undoubtedly cast upon him.
Lee told us how he was a drunk and a pretty bad husband and how his wife came to know God and he hated it...but one day came home plastered in teh wee hours of the morning and his wife invited him to church and he went (not really knowing why he had even accepted)...and how the things he saw had such an impact on him. Not enough to make him believe, but enough to make him curious. He said he saw people that supported on another and were doing for others being so selfless that it was just like a novelty...he was waiting to catch one in the act or fall off the wagon but these people were genuine and his wife was one of them. Lee talked about how he had a child and a few months into having this chuild it got sick and the prognosis was death. How a man he worked with that he treated horribly (He would ridicule him at work, and make fun of him as a Christian and play pranks on him or have him as the butt of his jokes), called him while he was at the hospital basically planning for the worst and he was so shaken by that call. How this man who should really hate him was so kind and called him to ask what he needed. To let him know that he and his church were praying for Lee and his family, and that they wanted to help him anyway they could. Whether it was: to pay bills or do lawn work, or just drive to the hospital to sit with him in his time of desperation. The fact that this man was still offering to be there for him after the way he treated him was such a shock to Lee.
Later in life Lee became a Christian. It was through these people and their selfless acts and the way they demonstrated Christ like lives to him that he came to know and accept Jesus in his life. He shared another story about how one day God had put it in his heart to talk to a fellow atheist at work and invite him to church. How the man rejected him and pushed him away, and how awkward he felt afterwards thinking..."why did you want me to do that God". Turned out a few years later when Lee was speaking at a church a man came up to him afterwards to thank him. He said that Lee had impacted him in such a profound way years before when he was working in a building and overheard him inviting a man to his church and explaining to him the impact God had on him and the restoration he could provide. The man told Lee that he went to Lee's church that Sunday with his family and was so grateful for the change in his life all from an overheard invitation that he accepted!
Isn't that great. This man came to know Christ not by the words in the bible or the acts of a religion, but through the lives of real Christian people who showed him the Love of Christ in their daily lives. By showing him what Jesus was and how he loved.
I want to do that...I want to be that!!
After church we headed home because Danny had invited Clint and his family over to watch the game.
I left to the store to get some goodies and when I got home, the McLeod's were there and the game was on. It was nice to see old friends. We laughed and talked crap and laughed some more. The Texans played horribly (I don't know jack diddly about sports...but it was a pretty bad game in my opinion).
Once the game ended they headed out and I headed to the Dollar Store. I was given a 10% off coupon for Sunday only...so I utilized it to go buy the remaining items I needed to gather for Makaila's centerpieces. $80 later....I had everything I needed to be done with her table center pieces and glow items. The kids where all playing outside and Makaila was bored...so she invited me to a movie date (her treat). I love movies...so of course I accepted. Danny agreed to keep Issy and so off to the movies we went.
We watched 'This is Where I leave you'...it was a great movie. Very entertaining. I love going to the movies...It's one of my favorite past times. along with reading a good book, or sewing, or crafting!! The best part of this trip however was not getting to go to the movies or being treated...but being treated to a movie date by my teenage daughter. Knowing that for all my mommy failures I have to be getting some of it right to have raised a young woman that is so kind hearted to spend her money on me and not complain or even feel embarrassed by me like some teenagers can do. It was having quality time with her knowing that my little girl is growing up and I couldn't be more proud of the woman she is becoming!!!
As a mom - I felt bad spending her money and kinda wanted to give her the $30 she spent back (Can you believe how much it cost to enjoy a freakin movie with popcorn and a drink now-a-day?!?!!?): but i decided against it. It's one of those lessons that she can learn from. To know and appreciate what little things like that cost. And to be able to know how hard it is to earn money and how fast it goes...its a lesson on responsibility and control, and appreciation. While it may make me a mean mommy...it will also make for a responsible and money savy daughter...so I'll take it!!
We came home and watched a little tv, did a little laundry and then got ready for bed.
I hope you guys have a great week and enjoy the blessings you are given each and every day!!
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