Tennessee or bust baby!

Well kids, this will probably be my last post for a while. I'm going on vacation with my family on Monday to Tennessee. We're going to visit some of our family friends, the Prices for a week. They have 9 kids and we've known each other our whole lives. Let's just say when you put the 4 parents + 16 kids together we have lots of fun! I'll definitely be putting up tons of pictures when we get back, so get excited! I hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing, week!

Love ya'll~

bittersweet

so because of some recent events that I've gone through recently, I've just been doing alot of thinking..and traveling back in the past..sometimes, this is good~other times, it gets me in trouble..

I titled this "bittersweet" and it reminded me of a quote that my sister has on her facebook. It says, "without the bitter baby, life 'aint as sweet". I got to thinking about it, and realized that it's completely true. I know that there are certain things that have happened in my life that I wish I could have changed, but I know that God had them happen for a reason. I am glad I had the chance I experienced them, but also know that I was changed more then I ever thought I would be because of them.

I know that this blog is probably very vague~and if you don't understand it, that's fine~all I ask of you is that you pray for me. Pray the same prayers that I have been praying...because I know in God's perfect timing, they will be filled.

"Jesus, I pray that you guard my heart!"

"Jesus, YOUR will, not mine, be done!"

Amen.......

home..

so I'm finally back after being gone to Brady/San Angelo/Lamesa and then back to all of those again! There's really no way for me to sum it all up right now, seeing is how I am about to drop dead from exhaustion (another long blog explaining soon to come). However, I will just say that it was a wonderful trip and I had lots of fun! I'm about to head on to bed, but I just wanted to write down some things that have been revealed to me in the past week/weekend:

• true friends are a precious thing~they are there no matter what, willing to do whatever/whenever~they cry with you, laugh with you, and create part of what makes you the person you are~you know who you are and I love ya'll more that I could ever express


• I believe that the closest best thing other than love, is laughter...it truly does the soul good


• the saying of "love is blind" is completely true..however, it can also still be blind even when it is not true love


• some things you say have a greater impact then you'll ever know..or wish they did~trust me..please always use your words wisely. "Better to close your mouth and be thought a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt."

Alrighty folks..that's it tonight..here's to a good night's sleep and a nice comfy bed with nice clean sheets!!! :0)

hhmmmm...

is it wrong for me to get a secret thrill every time I hear the GEICO commercial with the gecko saying that "everything is bigger in Texas"? I just LOVE his accent..and my favorite part, which I do quote very often-complete with accent- is when he says, "I will admit, I do look slightly bigger!

Memories...

This weekend I am in Lorena, at my parent's house for Father's Day. Right now, I'm sitting on the front porch, rocking in one of my mother's rocking chairs that she got from Crackle Barrel (by the way, she got them as gifts!) The weather is beautiful right now and there's a nice breeze blowing and the wind chimes are singing. I was sitting out here thinking back to when I was a little girl~summer makes me think about going to my grandparents, playing with my brothers, sisters, and cousins. This afternoon takes me back to times that I haven't thought about..and times that I've taken for granted.

I remember going to my Grandmother and Papa's house in Mason, Texas~some of the best memories I have of my childhood were made there. They lived out in the country, so my brothers and sisters spent most of our time playing with each other or our cousins. We had some awesome times of capture the flag, tag, baseball, and hide-and-go seek there. We also made some awesome tree houses, went roaming in the pastures, and played in the tank or sprinkler. I remember taking rides in the back of the pickup with my papa, picking bluebonnets and wildflowers, and helping Papa pick and water the vegetable gardens. We ran around in our bare feet and drank water out of the garden hose. It was a race each day to see who could run down the dirt road to the highway and see who could get the mail first.

I remember cooking apple pies and cookies with my Grandmother~having her teach me how to make her wonderful gravy I loved so much, and how to crosstitch. I'm pretty sure that she made some of the best food I've ever tasted. In the evenings we all watched the nightly episode of "Wheel a Fortune" and popped in a "Little House on the Prairie". That probably explains why I'm so good at "Wheel a Fortune", and why I love "Little House on the Prairie" so much. They were the days that we fell into bed that night because we were so stinking tired~but it was a good tired.

My Grandmother and Papa made a huge impact in my life and who I have become today. My grandmother, Hattie Inez Sorrells, when she was 3 years old caught scarlet fever. She survived, but it caused problems with the blood flow in her legs. The blood would flow down her legs, but not back up, causing her legs to swell immensely. Therefore, she spent the rest of her life with this handicap. She could walk most times with her cane, but was never able to run or be active like most people. You would have thought that this would have been a huge hardship on her life~but it wasn't. I believe that her faith in God gave her spiritual strength that her body didn't give her physically. She grew up and became an amazing nurse, married my Papa, and had 5 children~the baby being my mother. My grandmother was one of the most happy and godly women I have ever known.

My papa, Troy Hilton Sorrells, was a godly, hardworking, committed, man. He always had a smile on his face and had an amazing memory. I could sit and listen to him tell poems for hours~he also loved singing hymns and taking us all to church. His favorite hymn was "Victory in Jesus". I believe his greatest delights were his children and grandchildren. One of the hardest things that I and my family had to go through was when my papa got Alzheimer's Disease. It was so hard to watch him not remember where he had put his keys, or the way to go to the grocery store, or how to tie his shoes. However, the hardest part was whenever he didn't remember who I was. That was the worst feeling in the world, when his memory was taken from him. Over time, God showed me that I should be greatful that he was my papa and that I had 18 years of making memories with him. My papa passed away on January 17, 2003 and my grandmother on July 7, 2003. I miss them so much, but I find peace knowing that they are in Heaven together~Papa with his memory back and better than ever, and Grandmother running with Jesus!
Papa and Grandmother~I love and miss you...more than you'll ever know~

Grad school..and other various ramblings

Good things that happened today!!

1. the direct tv man came and fixed my direct tv!!! WHOO HOO! You have NO idea how glad I was to see him..plus he did a fabulous job and in a small amount of time. Funny how two different people can do such a significantly different job...THANK YOU DIRECT TV MAN!!

2. with a little help from my madre, I finally finished my grad school application. I know you're thinking, "Chelsey, you just graduated from college..why do you want to go BACK to school???" I know..I know..but trust me when I say that my school district is offering me a chance that I can't pass up!

3. Avery didn't cry at all today at VBS! Believe me..read my previous blog and you will understand (yesterday she cried 4 times)

4. Well, this one didn't actually happen per say today, but more last night and into the morning. Remember I went to babysit Cullen last night? Well, we had fun..swam in his pool for about and hour and a half, doing tricks and playing with the frisbee. Fun times~when his parents got home, I got to hang out and talk with his mom, Shonna for a while. It was awesome just to share what's going on in our lives, what God has taught us, and just talk. She is an amazing woman and I've definitely been blessed to have her and her son in my class this year. We ended up talking about stuff till midnight! I was so tired, but very blessed!

Well, I'm still tired from my late night last night, so I'm off to bed. If I don't get to blog before then, everyone make sure to wish your dad a Happy Father's Day!

YEE HAW!!

So, I pretty much think that those two words have described my attitude this summer fairly well! This week, I've been working at VBS, which has been a lot of fun. Our theme for VBS is "Avalanche Ranch" so we have a western theme. It's very cute and fun. All during the week, when anyone says the point of the day, like "God is strong!" everyone has to yell out, YEE HAW! So after yelling that phrase multiple times during the day, for the past three days, it has definitely become embedded in my brain.

I have 6 kiddos in my group. They are: Avery, Lindsey, Julia, Cullen, Justin and Jake. Everyone except Jake has just completed Kindergarten~so these kiddos are definitely my forte! Jake just finished 4th and he's in my group because he and Justin are brothers. Cullen is an ex-student of mine~man I love that kid!

By far, the funniest one in my group would be Avery. She LOVES to talk (and by that I mean NEVER stops) and gives very detailed information. She is definitely a girlie girl...with her cute outfit and hairstyle, complimented by her cute painted designed toes. These are some of the things that I've heard from her during the past 3 days:

• God is the rock!
• Um, I don't think she's a Christian! (referring to the villian Kitty Kat on a movie we saw)
• I have dry skin in my ear
• Avery: "My toe hurts! Me: "Where?" A: "Right there? Don't you see the skin thing?"
• she walks up to me crying, and I ask what happened and she said, "I stepped on a rock and it hurt! I just can't take it anymore!
• I have chicken pox~the doctor told me so when I went to see him yesterday(she does NOT have chicken pox)

So, those are just a few of the many things she's said. I'm sure there will be plenty more!

Well, I'm off to go babysit Cullen and we're going to go swimming and eat burgers. YEE HAW!!

so I should be cleaning....

Well, I've finally done it~ I have joined the blog world! I must confess that I have been a blog reader for a while, but never have blogged myself. I know that I enjoy reading other people's blogs, so I thought that someone might enjoy reading mine? Oh well if nobody does..I just like to write. We'll actually see if I keep it up though :0)

There's not a whole lot going on in my life right now, since school is out for the summer. It's definitely a bittersweet feeling~ I miss my kids and co-workers alot; however, I'm enjoying being lazy and not having any committments! Now, if I can just get DirectTV to fix my DVR I'll be good..I'll tell you that story later. That will make a good blog!

Ok, well I better get back to cleaning~talk to ya'll soon!

Love you and God bless!