Mumbai, India....

My dear friend, Vickie Arruda, is the founder of an International Retreat Ministry forWomen Missionaries serving overseas on the Mission Field. It's been so exciting to be a part of the Board and watch God bless and bless and bless this ministry far beyond our expectations. It is truly GOD's Ministry! Something I started years ago on one of Vickie's first trips overseas is make her something that she had everyday she was there with a specific verse I was claiming for her as well as my prayers for the day on behalf of her, the team, the missionaries, and anything else. I've been abundantly blessed to be a part of several teams myself and have first hand experienced the joy and refreshment myself as well as the other ladies. SO....off to Mumbai, India this time for Pure Joy. I wanted to do something a little different and honestly, didn't have much time to spend on anything so one day while standing in Hallmark the idea hit me. I LOVE the cards out now that when you open them it plays music. Well, when they first came out it was all about Birthdays. They shortly made ones for Celebrations but now they have them for pretty much anything. I stood in Hallmark probably annoying everyone in there by opening up 20 different Music cards for Friendship and Encouragement to find 8 of them (one for every day she was gone). Once I checked out off to my house to become creative in some way so she could keep them all together. I kind of copied the idea of those card rings that are out now where you can punch a hole in the top and keep your cards on there. My thought was she could hang it on her hotel door and pull out the respective one for each day. Below is the end result......it was fun and of course, something new! Now....off to think of something else- she leaves for Poland in May! 

My Sweet Sydnee.....

On Friday while in Ft. Worth I received a call from my sweet big sister about my youngest "adopted" niece being admitted into Dell Children's Hospital. Such a weekend to be away and not at home. They weren't sure what was going on but she had tremendous abdominal pain. Poor baby ended up spending 5 days in the hospital. Her Aunt Ha-Ha definitely took care of keeping her busy. As soon as I got home I went to the store and made up the biggest care package to keep her mind off all the "hospital" stuff. On Monday, we snuggled up in her hospital bed and watched a movie together. Praise Jesus everything is fine now.....and life in the Day family resumed back to normal quite quickly with Sydnee going home and celebrating Made's 11th Bday the same day. My kiddos are growing up! I've loved every minute of watching them become who they are and will continue too! 

Family Bonding.....

A few weeks ago I went to Fort Worth for a quick trip to visit my Wells family. Brooke had made some bags that I needed to deliver and I just needed a few days with my girls! Kent's dad recently passed away and so Kent has been going through his things. Well, when I was up there I help clean out and go through boxes and boxes full of coins. And I mean BOXES! Have you ever been up late at night and seen the infomericals for the State Quarter collections or any of the other Coins that were sold in special display cases with an official certificate?? That's what all these boxes were full of! Harold obviously knew what he was doing b/c everything was kept in "MINT" condition! Kent had located a Coin Collector on Craig's List and so on Friday the house became a "show and share" bank to see if any of it was worth anything. Much to Kent's (and Brooke's) surprise the guy walked away with a lot and left $1800 worth of bills in Kent's hot little hand. He also said he may come back for more if what he had sold. While there he told us that all the State Quarters were worth "about a quarter!" SO began the bonding.....each quarter was in a small plastic case and then of course we had to wrap them before taking them to the bank. I would guess probably 5 hours and $800 later we were done! Absolutely CRAZY to think we wrapped $800 dollars worth of quarters! Thanks for the memory, Harold! 

Call Me a Reality TV Junkie!

Well, today's been an interesting day. Yesterday, I came home not feeling good so I crawled into bed at about 4:00 and now it's almost six o'clock TODAY and I'm still in my PJ's! I have to say it has been nice because I rarely EVER do this. Now, don't think I was too sick to watch American Idol because that is definitely NOT the case. I was thrilled to see when they announced that they would be singing Michael Jackson songs because they are some of my ALL time fave! I have several that I'm still watching before I pick out exactly WHO I'm sticking with this season. But below were my top two picks from last night: 

On my way home yesterday I picked up the latest People magazine. It sucked me in when I read "The Bachelor Betrayal"on the front cover. Yes, I'm a PROUD Bachelor fan...always have been. I have friends who have not ever seen an episode and I have other friends that we talked EVERY Tuesday morning after the show on Monday night and talk about every second of the show. I have to say that I was a little disappointed....okay, really I was outraged at "America's Sweetheart" of Jason Mesnick this season because I really liked him and partly because I had Melissa pegged from the first step out of the Limo as my favorite  BUT after reading this interview it helped explain some things. I wish them all the best! Now onto the next reality show is me cheering on Melissa Rycroft on Dancing with Stars. She did AMAZING the other night! Go Girl! Show America what you're made of!! 

Fridays with Johnna.....

This past Friday marked the FIRST Friday of Johnna and I's "2009 Fridays Plan." We have decided that every Friday we are going to a new place to eat, chat, and hang with the kiddos! It's OUR time together and I'm confident God will bless it! This past Friday we went to the Domain b/c the weather was GORGEOUS! We went to eat at California Pizza Kitchen and then hung out. Before we knew it the clock read 3:45! OH my....we may get in trouble together! Well.....at least we're TOGETHER! It is a true blessing to watch William and Anna be raised by two amazing parents! Many people don't know that I knew Will BEFORE he ever met Johnna. Met Johnna when her and Will were dating and what an AMAZING blessing it is to say that NOW she's one of my dearest and best friends! WOW.....I just LOVE how God works things for HIS good! I'm even more anxious to continue to see how God intertwines our hearts for HIS purpose~ praying for each other, encouraging each other, and simply just being there for each other. Here's to this next Friday.....I believe we decided on Central Market! 

Fun Times on New Year's Day....

Kent surprised Brooke at Christmas with a trip to Las Vegas SOOOO down came the girls to Lolli and Pops house in Austin! YEAH....Aunt Holly was happy about that! Not only did I get to spend time with my girls but when K & B got home I was able to spend some time with them! 

Kent had never been to Pluckers and it was his choice for dinner. Okay, so....if you've NEVER been you MUST go! It's a great place especially if there's a good game on the TV's while you're there. BEWARE: it's LOUD and you need to clean your ears before you go so you can hear the yelling conversation across the table. Kent got the All You Can Eat and so we tried Honey Bque, Lemon Pepper, Orange, Terriyaki, Jamaican Jerk along with some others that I can't remember. We were advised NOT to try the Dr. Pepper. Our waiter actually told us they were gross! We appreciated his honesty! Needless to say we were ALL stuffed and deaf before we left. 

 After dinner we spent some time at Mom and Dad's before B and I left for the movies. I wasn't sure I was going to get B out of the massage chair but we left JUST IN TIME. Kent took the girls home for us to have some "girl" time ourselves. Marley & Me was EXCELLENT! My biggest like about it was how they portrayed a loyal married couple despite the struggles. It's been a long time that Hollywood has done that. They were very faithful to each other, their family, AND their sweet puppy. B nor I had tissues so I was glad when I got our popcorn I picked up some napkins because by the end of the movie we were both crying like babies! I will SOOOO see this again. It was a GREAT movie! 

Ringing in the New Year....

Well, this year was a little different of a New Year's....a few weeks before Christmas Maranatha fell and tore her ACL having some fun with the girls from her Small Group at church. To make a long story short she had to have surgery. The same time she scheduled surgery (due to insurance purposes) was the same time Alfred had scheduled the College Ministry Ski Trip so.....at 1:30 on Wednesday, December 31st I found myself sitting in the Surgery Center Waiting room beginning a new book and sipping on my large sweet tea from Chick Fil A waiting on my sweet friend to get through surgery. Dr. Danney came walking through the door at 4:45 to tell me "all was well." Phone calls started....first to Alfred while he was enjoying the slopes at Breckenridge, second to NeeNay and Poppa in Memphis, and third to Momma T. Sent a mass text message out to about 8-10 people who had been praying for her surgery. At about 6:00 we were ready to load up and head out after recovery. She was SOOOO alert that when I got her in the car she wanted a Sonic drink! Crack me up~ so off we went! Got her home and settled into her two machines.....they were amazing and she quickly fell asleep. BUT she didn't drift off before she looked up at me and said wake me up at 11:30 so we can watch the ball drop. 

Needless to say we brought in the last minutes of 2008 into the first minutes of 2009 laying in bed. I'm quite sure this is a New Year's NEITHER of us will EVER forget! 

31 Days.....31 years....31 blessings

Okay.....so, here I sit December 31st, 2008, and was wanting to blog about something. Here's what I thought up.....31 days in December and I turned 31 years old this year so why not share 31 blessings and favorites in my life! I didn't put a lot of thought into this....just kind of listed 1-31 on a piece of paper and wrote. Here goes it:

1. My Faith~ My relationship with Christ is the ultimate reason for living! 

2. My Family~ I am who I am because of them!

3. My Friends~ Laughs, Talks, and FUN! 

4. My "Kids"~ HUNDRED's of them!

5. My Church~ AMAZING place!

6. My Calling~ Kids & Parents

7. My Home~ Mortgage debt is a blessing! 

8. My Bible~ AHHH....my love letter from my "husband." 

9. My feet hitting the ground every morning for 31 years!

10. My Trips overseas~ they continue to change my life forever!

11. Returning to school full time~ Liberty University.

12. Pure Joy International Retreat Ministry~ my love for Missionaries!

13. Chosen Children Ministry~ my love for Nicaragua and children!

14. My Aunt Rosie's "80th" Bday~ Life is precious; live it to the fullest!

15. The birth of Lathon Atley Day~ Another "adopted" nephew! Precious little miracle!

16. My continued love, prayer, and dedication to the country of Africa~ 1/2 my heart is there!

17. My Scrap Room~ Therapy for my crazy life!

18. My "couch" and "chair"~ love for my Smith Family!

19. Facebook~ reconnecting with old friends!

20. My "Little" Sister graduating from High School~ just yesterday I was graduating and she was starting Kindergarten!

21. Moving my "Little" Sister into her dorm at Texas Tech~ that Football team was AMAZING this year! 

22. Starbuck's~ Let's see.....Caramel Frappachino, Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, Caramel Macchiato!

23. LONGHORN FOOTBALL~ Gotta love me some Horns! FOREVER FAN!

24. Hobby Lobby~ if you can't find me; I'm HERE! 

25. Jon & Kate Plus Eight~ By far my FAVE on T.V. They encourage me! 

26. Outback Steakhouse~ I'm ALWAYS up for a Filet Mignon and a Baked Potato! 

27. Bath & Body Works~ Japanese Cherry Blossom and Sweet Pea!

28. Nail Studio~ Spa Pedicure! My feet love it! 

29. O'Chester Learning Center~ being able to have fun with kids, teachers, and parents!

30. United States of America~ Election year....God's IN CONTROL! 

31. Good Health, Strong Faith, and Looking forward to 2009! 

COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS....name them one by one! Even the craziest things can bless our hearts! God gives us those things to put smiles on our faces, have fellowship with friends, grow closer and more dependent upon Him, and ENJOY life! God is good....ALL THE TIME! 

Guitar Hero fun at our Cousins.....

Last night we went over to our Cousins, the Riegers, for our Christmas with them. Mom has become OBSESSED with Guitar Hero and after last night I believe is headed to the store TODAY to get  herself a Wii as well as her OWN Guitar Hero and Wii Fit. She was SO INTO IT but I have to admit after awhile she became VERY good at it! I believe she would be willing to take anyone on! Watch out.....before you know it we will be having Guitar Hero Tournaments at the Hilderbrand house! 

 

a VERY merry CHRISTmas.....

I'm praying that ALL of my friends and family had as blessed a Christmas as we did! We had an amazing day together as a family! The biggest surprise of the day was the "BIG" gift Hillary and I gave my mom and dad. I decided several weeks ago to do something we've never done before after seeing the Christmas cards my mom was sending out to people. She was "thinking ahead" back in March when we took a family picture during our new Pictorial pictures at church and ordered Christmas cards then. Well, as many of you probably read in my blog in August I got 13 inches cut off my hair SO needless to say the Pictorial picture was WAY outdated from only 7 months ago! Hillary and I went and had our pictures taken together and surprised mom and dad with a new plethora of pictures of their "two girls." It was so much fun!