2009: A Look Back

I thought I would jot down some memorable moments of the past year. These are in no particular order. Enjoy the trip down my memory lane.

* Alexis started Kindergarten.

* Austin began going to pre-school full time.

* I began volunteering up at the Church every Friday.

* Mom, Dad, Kimberly, Justin, Lexi, Austin, Tazzie, and I all went to Galveston for a weekend and had a BLAST! We're making it a tradition and will be going back in 2010.

* Mom, Dad, and I went to Colorado for a week and are still in awe of God's beauty when we look at pictures. AND...Dad FINALLY saw his Colorado bear!

* Taylor Crocker was born.

* I got the surprise of a lifetime the day after my birthday (don't ask, won't tell)

* Michael W. Smith's "A New Hallelujah" came out and I fell in love with "Deep in Love with You"

* KSBJ was able to put their Listen Live feature back online.

* I discovered "Enation" and "Eyes of Grace" is now my favorite song of ALL time. A band that seeks God first!

* Lexi made a Home run during an All Stars softball tournament!

* Meredith and Derek got engaged in an elevator and "married" via post-it note on "Grey's Anatomy."

* I began to start enjoying "Brothers & Sisters" MORE than "Grey's Anatomy." (and the whole world gasps...I know).

* I deleted my Myspace account and jumped into the Facebook world.

* I got a twitter account.

* Jonathan Jackson returned to the role of Lucky on "General Hospital" after a TEN YEAR absence...And he and Becky Herbst still have what made me fall in love with them. And JJ continues to be sold out for Christ!

* Scott Reeves joined GH as Steven Webber and he and his wife Melissa have become two of my biggest inspirations because of the way they live their lives and seek God in all they do.

* I got an IPhone.

* Liz Jordan got engaged....LIVE on KSBJ.

* I watched and prayed while Patrick Dempsey raced in the 24 Hours of LeMans (yep, stayed up ALL night & still made it to church the next morning).

* I said "See ya later" to my Great Granny after she went to be with Jesus Christmas Eve.

* Trent and Ginny brought Ruthie home from China.

* It snowed like crazy while Kimberly, Mom & I were shopping in early December.

* We got a White Christmas while in Coppell for the holidays.

* My best friend since Kindergarten found out she was expecting her third child!

* I came to appreciate and be more grateful for my older sister and the relationship we have because at the end of the day, we're always going to be the only sisters we have.

All of the above things makes me thank God for His plan and for the simple things He has done that fill my heart. I pray that in 2010 I continue to fall more in love with Him and that I may reflect Him in all that I do.

I know there are AMAZING things ahead in 2010 and I pray that each of you have a year filled with God's best. May you know that you are loved and adored by Him, and I pray you seek Him in every way and that He reveals Himself to each of you in incredible ways in the coming year.

Love and hugs to all of you. God bless!

The Twitterness of it All

I'm a twitter person, I like twitter, BUT I'm learning that it's all about WHO you are on twitter that will reflect how many followers you have.

There are a few people I follow on twitter that are in the industry of entertainment in some capacity or another. Three of those people I really enjoy and I @ them quite often. I have no clue why though, one of those people has over two thousand followers, the second one has over one thousand, and the third had over one hundred on his first day on twitter two days ago. Today he has 640 and climbing by the hour.

I love these people, but let's face it, they have no clue whether I follow or unfollow them at any given moment. I'm simply just another tweet, just another person, just another fan. It boggles my mind at times that people are always like "follow me on twitter..." and they already have an AMAZING amount of followers. How in the world do they keep up with everything? To be fair, the three people I've mentioned above, don't @ anyone, all of their tweets are general to everyone. I do however, know someone with over twenty five thousand followers who DOES @ reply to people, only it seems to me the SAME people get the replies.

When I was under the name PDempseyFan, I had 80 followers, most of them were greys fans or race car people. I rarely got @ replies when I mentioned something general about me, but when it was something about Patrick Dempsey, it got attention. Once again, all about who you are.

Now that I am under the name NatNicole1981 I have 9 followers. Nobody cares what Natalie Pearce is doing at any given moment, but if you're "in the public eye" they can't get enough.

I've slowed down my @ mentions to everyone, most of the time I simply don't see the point. it'll just get lost in the shuffle, but I still enjoy the peek I get into their world. :)

And to be fair to them, I purposefully didn't specifically mention the three people I especially enjoy.

Goodbye for now, Granny

On the morning of Christmas Eve, my great grandmother went to be with Jesus. She was 97 years old and lived a wonderful life! I'm SO incredibly blessed to have known her and had a great relationship with her. And I'm so glad she got to meet and know both Alexis and Austin. We will have many stories to tell them about Granny when they get older!

She will be so missed, but we know that this was not a goodbye so much as a "See you later" because we know she is with our Lord and that we will see her again!

Goodbye for now sweet Granny! We love you!

Congratulations, Liz!

My amazing friend and sister in Christ, Liz Jordan just got engaged this afternoon LIVE ON THE AIR!!!!!!!!! I missed the live proposal but Liz posted about it on her facebook and I cried just reading it then KSBJ played the proposal again a few minutes later (I e-mailed them and begged....I don't think they did it JUST because of me though...LOL) and HEARING it made me cry AGAIN! It was INCREDIBLE and SO sweet!

Those of you that read this blog know how much Liz means to me because I talk about her often on here. So needless to day, I'm BEYOND thrilled for her! I seriously can't stop smiling!

Please keep Liz and her fiancee DK in your prayers as they ready themselves to take this next step.

And Liz, CONGRATULATIONS!!! Words do little to express how happy I am for you! I'm praying for you and know God's blessings will continue to pour on both of you. I love you so much! :)

Scott and Melissa Reeves: Big Inspirations!

I went out to dinner last night with some friends and once I got home checked in on Facebook and saw that Scott Reeves and his wife Melissa were having a live chat. I thought I had missed, but it turns out, I was right on time! I've been a fan of both Scott's and Melissa for years. Melissa was on Days of Our Lives for years when I was watching, and Scott was Ryan on Y&R several years ago. He just joined General Hospital this past week and it's so awesome to see him back on television!

I knew Scott and Melissa were Christians. I've read in interviews recently how Scott and Melissa never say never and they stay open to whatever God leads. I went to the chat last night and was blessed beyond words!

Melissa and Scott answered questions from us, and spoke openly about their love for the Lord and how they devote their lives to Him each day. Several people wrote in asking about their faith and Scott and Melissa were eager and happy to discuss anything and everything. One person even told them they (a chatter) was not a believer but that they enjoyed hearing people discuss their faith in Christ. It was awesome because we all started telling her we'd be praying for her. Melissa shared how she came to know Christ after meeting Scott. Their kids, Emily and Larry even came in and answered some questions! Steve Burton even called Scott while it was going on! LOL! They discussed their favorite musical artists (Scott has an AMAZING voice) and I said something about Michael W. Smith and shortly after Melissa said, "Oh look, somebody likes Michael W. Smith and they both said they were big MWS fans! I was of course, smiling from ear to ear!

I really didn't talk a lot during the chat, I just simply listened as they shared their lives and stories. I actually found myself tearing up more than once as they shared. And when the chat was over, I simply could not get Scott and Melissa off my mind.

As a believer, it is SO awesome to see two people within the entertainment industry living lives that reflect Jesus so clearly! The way they talked to each other, the easy banter between them, the way they interacted with each other as a family, the way they interacted with US...I can't speak for anyone else, but I know for me it felt as if I was in their living room listening as they shared with us. The chat was over entirely too soon and I could have sat there for hours talking about my faith and swapping stories back and forth.

I can't begin to tell you how much they have encouraged me and inspired me. It's so encouraging to know that they are there being a Light for Christ in a place and industry SO in need of Him! And it's not that they talk constantly about it, but they live the kind of life that CLEARLY reflects Him. Knowing that Scott, Jonathan Jackson, Steve Burton, and Rebecca Herbst (and more, I'm sure) are all on the GH set shining for Christ just makes me smile!

I pray that is how I live my life. That when people look at me, they see Him in all that I do. God's timing is perfect, because had I not gotten on Facebook when I did, I would have missed the chat and what that time did for me was a total God thing!

Please keep Scott, Melissa, Emily, and Larry in your prayers. They are in the process of moving into an apartment in L.A. since Scott is now on GH. They were in Nashville and still have animals and such there. Please just pray that the move goes well and that every need is taken care of. God is truly at work through them...I know, because I was touched by them last night!

To the Reeves family if you happen to read this: Thank you for your incredible story and for allowing God to work through you like He is. I can't begin tell you how much I appreciate the chat last night and how much it blessed and spoke to my heart. Thank you. Please know I am praying for you and I know that God will continue to be glorified through you. Love you guys! God bless!

Let It Snow!

You may recall me posting almost a year ago about getting snow in Huntsville. Well folks, it happened again today! Yep, it SNOWED in Huntsville! Mom, Kimberly and I were in The Woodlands, but if it snowed anything here like it did in the Woodlands, it was quite a sight!

I even said at one point while getting in the car after a stop at "Toys R Us" "I never thought I'd say this, but SNOW is getting in the car!" The above picture is of the snow on our windshield shortly after I made that statement! It was awesome to see and really got us in the spirit! We at lunch at The Olive Garden (big surprise there, I know ;) ) and had a table right next to the window where the snow was REALLY coming down hard. So we watched the snow fall as we ate and Christmas music played in the restaurant!

It was SUCH a fun day! I had a blast with my Mom and sister and we talked about how years from now we'll be able to look back and say, "Remember that year the three of us went Christmas shopping in the snow?!"

It is already a treasured memory!

The Blind Side

Go see it! Go see it! GO SEE IT!!!! The absolute BEST movie I've seen in YEARS!

Be Inspired.....

Stop the music at the bottom of the blog to watch this INCREDIBLE story!

No Condemnation

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." ~Romans 8:1~

A friend of mine recently sent me the link to a podcast Jonathan Jackson did talking about his faith, being a husband, father, actor, musician etc.

In the podcast he talks about one instance where he was disciplining his young son and how we need to discipline our children in love and walk them through the process of grace and forgiveness. He said that it's not enough to just say "What you did is wrong" but AFTER that, talking through it and looking at them when it's all done saying, "Do you know that everything's okay now?"

As he was saying this a mental image came to me of Christ doing just that for us when we've fallen short. Too many times it seems like we get so caught up in the guilt of our actions that even after we've confessed it to the Lord, we STILL carry it around and Satan LOVES throwing it back in our face to convince us we are horrible and undeserving of any good thing when in reality, you and God took care of that already....It's forgiven!

I'm the worlds worst at carring around old sin. And when Jonathan was saying all of this, I saw this image of Christ getting eye to eye with me as we talked things out, then of Him looking at me saying, "Do you know that everything's okay?"

There IS NO condemnation! If we've confessed our sin(s), God's forgiven and forgotten and He wants us to move deeper in faith with Him! I'm learning that's awfully hard to do if I'm lugging tons of past sin around that God's already forgotten about.

So, now I ask you....Do YOU know that everything's okay? If you need to hear that (like I did) let me just tell you right now....Everything's okay. You are loved, you are adored. There is no condemnation.

Thoughts on a Tweet

I always thought it would be cool if I ever tweeted Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey's Anatomy) something and get a response. Today I did.

I tweeted her about a dream I had Monday night in which Derek referred to Meredith as "Meredith Grey-Shepherd" and asked if my dream might come true. Her response, "She doesn't have to change her name to love him."

That wasn't at all what I was trying to imply but apparently others thought that because I got other tweets about as well.

I DON'T CARE that Meredith didn't change her name! I wasn't even expecting her to, because it's just not Meredith. I did however LOVE the acknowledgement that they ARE actually married, because we get no form of that on the show. She wears no ring, she has she same name, heck, the marriage itself isn't even legal! And yes, that BUGS me. But in no way do I think that because Meredith didn't change her name that means she doesn't love him! But you can't easily explain that in 140 characters. And you REALLY can't get that across to someone who has so many followers that it's a total God thing I even got a reply and who probably tuned me out the second she responded simply because other things (and tweeters) wanted a reply to their question...That's why I came here. Shonda will never read this so she'll never know, but it certainly makes ME feel better!

For those interested, in the dream Meredith was doing an operation with Derek talking her through it directly across from her. Things started to go south and Mer began to panic. Derek tried to calm her down and finally said "Meredith Grey-Shepherd...." That stopped her in her rambling and Derek was able to calm her down and get things back on track.

That's what it was all about...NOT about questioning how much they love each other! And now that that's out of my system, I will enjoy this Grey's day! Hope you do too!

And just so you know, I DO appreciate Shonda answering my tweet....I just think something was implied that wasn't meant to be and this is the only way I have of clearing that up! :)

Vote for Patrick Dempsey

Vote for Patrick Dempsey for Favorite TV Drama Actor for the 2010 People's Choice Awards. You can vote daily! Spread the word....Thanks!

This is my choice for:

Favorite TV Drama Actor

Patrick Dempsey

Happy Birthday, Prince Charming!

The picture abovew was taken around Easter of 2008 and I just love it!

Austin turned three today!

Man, how time flies....I'd swear I was just holding him yesterday for the first time, keenly aware that this was the only boy that I would ever love at first sight (all the other guys out there, I have to get to know to love, but Austin had me at first glimpse...And still does, by the way).

There's a reason I call him my Prince Charming....And he totally lives up to the name.

Happy Birthday, Austin! As with your sister, words fail to describe how much I love you!

Happy Birthday, Ladybug!

The above picture was taken at my college graduation party in 2007 and is one of my absolute favorites....

Alexis turned six today! The one who showed me love at first sight WAS possible. She brings so much joy and laughter to me. And it seems like only yesterday I was holding her for the first time knowing that my life would forever be more blessed because she was in it!

Happy birthday precious girl! I love you more than words could ever express!

A Lesson from GH

Okay, I'll try not to make a habit of continually talking about General Hospital here, but ya know, Jonathan Jackson is back and if you knew how much of a fan I was ten years ago, then you know how excited I am about this. Besides that fact, I can't seem to find a message board I like out there to comfortably talk about the show, so you might just have to bear with me if I DO talk about it on here. I'm considering creating a separate blog for that, but we'll see. Feel free to give me your thoughts about it in the comments if you have any.

Actually, I don't want to talk about the show so much as I want to talk about a bit of dialogue that struck me.

"I don't want perfection. I want you. I want your confusion, and your fears, and your anger. I want it all."

That's exactly what God wants from us. EVERYTHING. Every fear, every frustration, every heartbreak. He doesn't want us to hide from Him (we can't anyway) and keep it all to ourselves. He wants us to come to Him JUST as we are. He's still going to love us....No matter what.

So, if you're struggling right now....Just know, He's there, He's waiting, and He loves you!

Welcome Back, "Cowboy"

All I can say is, ten years later....And the ABSOLUTELY still have the chemistry that made me adore them! :) Pause the music at the bottom to see for yourself.

A Great Week Ahead!

The last week of October is going to be a really great one for me....

Monday- Not a lot going on. Alexis has a softball game scheduled, but it's supposed to rain (of course) so she'll probably get rained out (AGAIN!)

Tuesday- Jonathan Jackson returns to "General Hospital" as Lucky Spencer! A role he vacated TEN YEARS ago! Jonathan Jackson and Rebecca Herbst as Lucky and Elizabeth is what got me hooked on GH. The role has been recast twice since Jonathan left, but I've never been a "Lucky" fan since and I started supporting Elizabeth with Jason until I finally got tired of being teased for years and stopped watching altogether. Never thought Jonathan would return to the role he originated after such a long absence, but I am THRILLED! Guess this means I'll be recording again. :)

Wednesday- "Friday Night Lights" returns for its fourth season! The show that keeps proving season after season what a GREAT show it is....And it stars Kyle Chandler....That alone is reason to tune in...At least for me!

Thursday- Patrick Dempsey's "Derek centered" episode on "Grey's Anatomy"....Need I say more? ;)

Friday- Alexis (my niece) turns SIX!!! Definitely the best way to end the week!! :)

So, I'm definitely hoping to end October on a high note! Hope all of you have a great week!

Chill out and trust God! :)

A Two Year Old Miracle

He is not a blood relative. In fact, he is of no relation to me in any way in this physical world. We've never even met. But, I adore this little boy, he is incredibly special to me. Like me, he was born premature (earlier than me) and like me, he beat the odds....And survived.

Kyle Sherrill is two years old today! He grabbed a part of my heart on the day I heard of his birth at just 23 weeks, and my love for him seemed to grow as I prayed and begged God for Kyle to survive as his Mom blogged almost daily about his progress.

Any time I need a reminder that God heals, that He listens to (and answers) our prayers, and that He performs miracles....All I have to do is think of Kyle. He is a LIVING example of all of that!

CLICK HERE TO SEE HIS STORY

Happy Birthday, Kyle! You are loved!

Patrick Makes the Cover of T.V. Guide!

Can't wait to get this McGoodie in my mailbox soon! LOVE when he gets a cover!

As for the headline, I personally don't see "Meredith being MIA" since she WILL be in every episode, despite her maternity leave (which she is already back from, by the way). Even though she won't be on A LOT, she pre-taped A LOT of stuff before she left to have Stella so that she'd be able to be in every episode this season. Gotta love Ellen for doing that! I love her anyway, but that's beside the point. :)

Izzie on the other hand, I WILL classify as MIA seeing as she will miss five episodes due to shooting a movie.

Whatever the case, I have no doubt Derek Shepherd can hold things together! Definitely a LOT better than the Chief is doing right now...I will hold my Webber dislike in for right now.

Can't wait to read the article and hear everything Patrick Dempsey has to say about his character, Derek's "marriage" to Meredith and where things may be headed on Grey's. Thank you T.V. Guide for giving Patrick the cover....And what a cover it is! :)

My Ipod is Stuck!

Seriously, my ipod is on constant repeat of five songs...Here's the story:

I recently "discovered" this rock band called "Enation." Actually, I've known of the band for quite some time given that I have great admiration for the lead singer, Jonathan Jackson...I'd just never listened to any of the music before, because quite honestly, the "rock" part of it....Scared me. I'm not fond of music where basically all anybody does is scream as loud as they can into the mic for about three minutes and call it a song. And when I think of "rock" music, that has been my experience.

Well, I recently got up the courage to actually listen to a few tracks off their most recent album, and I can't stop listening to them!! I mean, I literally miss my ipod when I'm not around to listen to the songs....I LOVE it!!! And really....It's Christian rock. I don't know if they label themselves a Christian rock band (under itunes, they're simply labeled under the genre of "rock") but the lyrics are clear about Who they are singing for and Who they are singing to. And really, it shouldn't surprise me....Jonathan has always been very upfront about his faith, not only in interviews, but also in the way he lives his life, which is one reason why I like him so much, and so it shouldn't surprise me that his faith bleeds to clearly into the music.

It's got a soft kind of beat to it that allows you to actually understand the lyrics...In fact, I put my ipod on the other night and put the (then three) songs I had gotten from itunes on repeat and they actually were so soothing that I fell asleep! I woke up at 2:30 that morning to Jonathan still singing. I can tell you that this has actually made me change my perception on rock music...Because I'm tellin' ya...It's all I've listened to since Friday night...I had three songs and just bought two more today. I'm absolutely addicted to this band now! Here are the songs I recommend:

"Feel This"-soft and soothing. Stand out lyrics: "What if I told you your tears have never been ignored?"

"Permission to Dream"- Might become my personal anthem. The way he sings it, I believe it. It's a very liberating song. Stand out lyrics: "My love, when you speak to Me, don't you beg on the floor. Cause you have the right to stand with your eyes on the Throne." with honorable mentions to the line, "I don't want to hear you whisper, when I called you to scream..." Actually, I love every line to this song....Every time it ends, I have to say "Amen." You'd think this song was written for me, because I'd swear he's talking right to me...And I almost want to hold my hands up in surrender saying, okay, I got it. I believe it, or at least I believe it when he says it. Every word is spoken with that much conviction, but he's not screaming at me while singing. It's the song you are listening to right now if you are at my blog site. (if you are a subscriber, you'll have to actually GO to the site to hear it).

"Eyes of Grace" this is the song that usually sings me to sleep every night....So beautiful. And if I had to pick just one song from the album to listen to over and over again, it would be this one. Lots of piano and a soft sound. Stand out lyrics: "I know what I used to be, I know what I used to think, I know what I would be without Your love in me, I know the things I used to say, I know the things I used to do, I know what I would be without Your love in me. Well see me through the eyes of grace, see me through the cross of love, see me not for what I was before Your love in me."

"World in Flight" the title track of the album....Stand out lyrics: "I used to crawl on my knees, I used to beg, beg you please. I once was blind, but now I see. I once was chained, but now I'm free...."

"Everything is Possible" Just LOVE the message in this one and the piano and guitar....Just a great song. This is the song you want playing when the alarm goes off in the morning....It'll get the day started off on the right foot. Stand out lyrics: "from my knees I rise to dream, from the inside out I sing."

I can't say enough good stuff about this band or their music. I have to say I found them at the perfect time as these songs have really spoken to and calmed me lately. It's been a long time since I've been THIS hooked on music. My ipod probably thinks these are the only songs on there. All of the above songs are available on itunes and you can check out their official site and hear directly from the band members themselves and actually hear bits of "World in Flight" and "Everything is Possible" as they play in the background while Jonathan and his brother Richard talk about the music. Check out these guys....You won't be sorry!

So, just in case you're wondering what I've been listening to lately....There ya have it.

Dempsey Challenge This Weekend!

The Dempsey Challenge is this weekend(October 3-4)! Please keep the participants and all involved with this event in your prayers throughout the weekend!

And thanks to those of you that supported me as a virtual rider and donated. I truly appreciate the support for this cause and know everyone at the Dempsey Center appreciates the support as well.

Thanks in advance for covering this event in prayer!

2009 Emmy Quotes of the Night

"For those of you who may be wondering why somebody from the "West Wing" or "Brothers & Sisters" would be presenting the award for lead actor in a comedy series clearly you have forgotten my work in a comedy I starred in called..."Dr. Vegas". Oh yeah...No, I chose that over "Grey's Anatomy". So if any of you tonight are looking for some career advice....I'm your guy." ~Rob Lowe~ (Rob was up for the role of Derek Shepherd which later went to Patrick Dempsey)

"I want to share this with anybody who has a dream, because I am living my dream right now in this moment. If you have a dream, dream big. Pursue it with a passion." ~Jeff Probst~

"I will keep my speech short in hopes of not getting interrupted by a congressman or a rapper." ~Ken Howard~

"If you're having trouble with someone on the set, learn how to tell them to 'go to hell' in such a way that they will want to go." ~Didn't get the name of the guy who said this~

"To love is to nourish with hope. With live for another who is living for us, and each must breathe hope into another." Michael Sucsy~

"The ratings weren't great, one week we got a minus seven. The way you get a minus seven is not only is no one watching the show, but several people without t.v. sets had heard about the show and said they wouldn't watch it even if they had one." ~Bob Newhart~

New Every Morning....

Yesterday was just a crappy day. To start off, these people called AGAIN and it was the first thing right off the bat I had to deal with. They always just make me want to crawl back in bed and sleep for the rest of the day. Thankfully, I was able to get my case CLOSED (unsuccessfully, since I have no paying job) but it IS closed and so they SHOULDN'T call me anymore...*crossing fingers*

Then, after being REALLY excited about this weekend's race, got some bad news that just deflated me even more and that kinda just ruined the rest of the day for me.

I was determined today was GOING to be better! Mom and I got up this morning and went and got our flu shots (yay! It's actually one of the few shots I WANT to get ASAP....I've HAD the flu before, DON'T want it again). They were giving them at Kimberly's work so I got to go there and see her and meet her co-workers. They seem like such a fun group of people to work with...No wonder Kimberly likes her job as much as she does! I also saw a very good friend of mine that knew me when I was in elementary school while I was there and was given one of the best hugs EVER! :)

After our shots, Mom and I headed to Conroe where we had lunch at The Olive Garden. We has one of the BEST waiter's. If you ever go to eat at The Olive Garden in Conroe, asked to be seated in Cass's section...We will DEFINITELY be requesting him next time we go (Kimberly, he reminded me of Dennis...). We sat close to these older ladies and noticed that the manager kept coming over to make pleasant conversation with them. Mom commented to them that they must be pretty special and one of the ladies said, "I just told my friend that something must be hanging out of the wrong place for us to be getting this attention...Something's GOT to be hanging out!" We all cracked up! It was hilarious!

After lunch we went to Starbucks (of course) where the lady that gave me my coffee asked how it was after I took a sip and when I told her "Wonderful!" she said, "Oh good! So glad you like it. Have a great day!" We drove away with Mom commenting on how NICE people were today.

We went to Michael's later and Mom ran into a friend while at the check out. Mom noticed the coupon she was going to use couldn't be used yet so Mom's friend said, "Here. I'm not going to use this and it's about to expire...." So they switched and then Mom noticed that the new coupon she had was for 50 percent off as opposed to the one she had just switched which was for 25 percent off. Mom tried to switch back saying how it wasn't right for her to take the coupon that was worth more, but Mom's friend said she wasn't going to use it and to take it...Isn't that sweet? So Mom ended up getting MORE off than she expected.

Mom and I were talking on the way home about how nice we had been treated and how sad it was that we noticed it in such a huge way, because it seems being kind is NOT the norm now days so when we encounter it, it REALLY stands out. Shouldn't it be the other way around? Shouldn't how we were treated be the norm and the opposite of that be what stands out, but instead, Mom and I were continually shaking our heads today at the kindness we were shown.

It's been such a turnaround from yesterday....Just what my spirit needed and it just proved once again that God's mercies are new EVERY morning!

Thank you Dear Father for the random acts of kindness shown to us today. Thank You for the people You put in our path today to help refresh my spirit and show once more that all it takes is one small act to make things better. Thank You for the simple things Lord! Amen

Stop back by the blog on Tuesday September 22nd as I will be posting about something I'll be doing soon that I want YOU to be a part of! In the meantime...Keep shining your light for Him!

One Year Later....I Remember

One year ago today, hurricane Ike made landfall.

I still remember SO clearly being glued to the television at my Aunt's house in Dallas watching the continuous coverage of things as it made landfall early that morning and watching the coverage all the next day as image after image showed the power of Ike and the devastation it caused so many. I remember coming home and on the way seeing truck after truck after truck of electrical companies and such heading south to do whatever they could to help. I remember seeing how blessed we were when our house sustained no damage and how quickly our power was restored when the people across the street had no power for close to a week. Take a look back at my post from a year ago HERE. My prayers continue to go out to those still trying to rebuild and put their lives back together.

I remember how God sustained us then and how He continues to sustain us a year later. I remember....And I'm thankful!

This is what it's all about!!

Tonight I noticed on Facebook that they were asking listeners to comment on the page about trials they were going through or a trial victory to share with others. I tried several times to post what God is teaching me as I wait for Him to bring my dream to pass. I never could get the entry to post on Facebook so I just decided to e-mail to the dj that was on the air at that time. She read my e-mail on the air and quoted a scripture I had used (Psalm 5:3).

A few minutes later a listener called in saying how much my story of "beauty in the waiting" had spoken to her at the "perfect time" as SHE was waiting for something as well and how much the particular scripture had spoken to her.

Isn't God just incredible?! THIS is what I'm talking about....How our stories can help others! I love how God would not allow the story to post on FB leading me to e-mail it in so that this person could hear it!! This makes makes the waiting worth it! God is being glorified through it, and I just thank Him tonight for allowing my story to help someone else....I've said it before, and I'll say it again...NEVER underestimate the power of YOUR story!

There is beauty in waiting!

Random Post: Kevin Spirtas

Random post of the week...Ya know the post that seems to come out of nowhere and I feel the need to share with you guys?? This is one of those.

I LOVE Kevin Spirtas! Who is this guy, you ask? Be patient, I'm about to tell ya...

I first noticed Kevin when he started playing Dr. Craig Wesley on Days of Our Lives (yes, I used to watch soaps...DON'T JUDGE ME...LOL!) I loved him!!!! I especially loved his scenes with his onscreen daughter, Nadia Bjorlin (who played Chloe) Their scenes together always blew me away! And Kevin CAN SING....Beautifully!

Side note here...My theatre appreciation professor (I don't know if he would call himself a professor, but "teacher" sounds so high schoolish for someone teaching college students) in college reminds me SO much of Kevin that it's scary! I mean really...He walked in on the first day and I had to do a double take and I couldn't really concentrate that first day because I kept thinking, "Kevin Spirtas' twin is my professor!" LOL!!! And his name....Keith! He told us on the first day we could call him by his first name and although I never did then, I can't tell you how many times I ALMOST called him Kevin. I never told him this until AFTER I was done with his class and he got a kick out of it and told me several of his friends that had MET Kevin had told him the same thing! I do call Keith by his first name now....We still keep in touch regularly and....Keith can sing too, Oh goodness, can he sing....I've talked about him on the blog before. Go check out his site and tell him Natalie sent you! :) I'm tellin' ya...Keith and Kevin....They could SO be twins! :)

Anyway...Back to Kevin....He is no longer on the show on a regular basis but has made several short stints back to the show for various events. One of those events being Chloe's wedding on DAYS...And Kevin SANG!! I LOVED it!!! I only tune into DAYS now on the rare times Kevin is asked back and thanks to the Internet, it's usually told in advance when he'll be making an appearance and it usually has something to do with Chloe.

Today Kevin ended a three episode return to DAYS to visit Chloe who is in a coma (I have no idea why....I no longer watch the show, remember?) and unfortunately since she was in a coma there was no interaction between the two of them while he was back aside from him at her bedside talking to her. Someone mentioned on a message board or someplace that they wished Kevin would sing to her and I thought, "Yes!!!! That would have been so great!!!"

I no longer watch any soaps anymore. Kevin is the ONLY reason I tune into DAYS, and if they would ever hire him back full time, I'd be a regular viewer again in a second! This is, IF you consider fast forwarding through all of the scenes EXCEPT Kevin's a "regular viewer."

Kevin Spirtas....I'm a fan!

And thus ends this random blog post. Just felt I had a sense of duty to share with all of you this great guy with SUCH talent! Check out his website to learn HERE to learn more!

School Days

Here are pictures of my niece and nephew Alexis and Austin on their first days of school. Both are having a GREAT time! Thanks for your continued prayers for both of them!

Alexis' first day of Kindergarten-- August 24, 2009



Austin's first day of Pre-K--September 1, 2009

A Great First Week & Prayers for Austin

Lexi had a great first week of Kindergarten! She says her favorite parts are: art, P.E, and recess. LOL! Please continue to pray that all goes well!

And please be in prayer for Austin this week as he starts going to daycare on Tuesday. Mom and I are SO going to miss him, but we know it's time for him to be with other kids his own age. He'll do fine....Not sure about Mom or myself! We won't know what to do with a quiet house! LOL!

Thanks for the continued prayers for the loves of my life! :)

Just A Thought

I worry all the time if I'm getting on people's nerves, if I'm one of those people who you can only take in small doses, if I comment on Facebook too much. I know I care entirely too much what other people think about me. Then this thought came to me the other day...

We wouldn't care near as much what others thought about us, if we realized just how little people think about us.

Call it negative, call it "glass half empty" thinking, but really, it's probably true. The people I worry most about probably don't think anything of me during the day so WHY am I so concerned with what people think?

Do you think this is true? Give me your thoughts!

Quote of the Week

The conversation at lunch today with my two year old nephew, Austin:

My Mom: "Who is this?" (patting Austin's chest)

Austin: "Aw-din"

My Mom: "What does Mommy call you?"

Austin: "Aw-din"

My Mom: "What does Daddy call you?"

Austin: "No no no"

Off to Kindergarten!

Please keep my little Ladybug, Alexis in your prayers tomorrow (Monday) as she begins Kindergarten! She met her teacher, Mrs. Grey last week and is REALLY excited! It's the rest of us that may fall apart LOL!

Thanks in advance for praying for my precious niece tomorrow and in the weeks ahead!

Three Truths

Three truths to share tonight....

Truth #1: I have lousy timing.
Truth #2: God has PERFECT timing.
Truth #3 God knows the desires of my heart.

When I add those three truths up, I find that truths two and three cancel out truth number one. So...I will continue waiting, praying, breathing and believing. All the while clinging to and claiming these two verses:

Romans 8:25: "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Psalm 5:3: "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

God has a plan and a reason for everything...I believe it!

The Big 2-8 (B-Day Blog)

As of 2:10 pm this afternoon, I was 28 years old!

My day was great! My aunt called before 8 this morning and because I was still asleep, I let my voicemail get it. She left me the sweetest voicemail talking about how 28 yrs ago I had everyone in a tizzy and how my entrance in to the world was exciting to say the least... (I was born two and a half months early....Exciting is an understatement! LOL).

My parents both sang to me as I entered the living room which was humorous and sweet at the same time. A big dinner out was planned for later in the evening but Mom said she'd take me by somewhere to grab a bite for lunch (Dad was going to mow). I chose Taco Bell. We got there and I ordered my two tacos, mom orders her food and we get it and pull into a space in the parking lot to eat. I start handing out food and find that I only have one taco. Mom offers to go back through and get me another, but I have an order of cinnamon twists as well so I just eat what I have. I then open my straw and find that it's only opened at one end! I look at Mom and tell her I hope this isn't a sign for how my year is going to go! LOL!!

Dad had a meeting late this afternoon so instead of feeling rushed to eat, I opted for us to go eat after his meeting so we made plans to meet my sister and her family at the restaurant at 7:30. That gave us most of the afternoon to just do our own thing.

Dinner was fun! Mom and I got there before my dad (who was on his way back from his meeting) and my sister's family so we went ahead and ordered our drinks and chips and salsa while we waited. Kimberly and the rest of the crew arrived and I was greeted with the SWEETEST hugs from both Alexis and Austin! Lexi said, "You're FINALLY 28 Nat-Nat!!!" LOL! And of course, they both wanted to sit next to me (normally, it's my Mom they want...Tonight, it was me). I was in Heaven...Lexi would lean over and kiss me and then Austin would follow. It was so sweet!

After dinner we all headed back to our house and I opened my gifts...I got two books I'd asked for: "Marked for Life" about one of the students who survived the Columbine shootings and how it changed and deepened her faith. And "Always Looking Up" by Michael J. Fox which is a follow up to his first book "Lucky Man" Looking forward to reading those, but it will be AFTER I finish my current read which is "The Art of Racing in the Rain" that a friend sent me for my birthday. I think it might be my new favorite....I can't get enough of it and I can totally understand why one of my friends said she read it in one sitting...It's THAT good!

I also got the first season of "Designing Women" (Kimberly and I LOVED that show growing up) the third season of Friday Night Lights, and the first two seasons of "E.R." (I'm going to start trying to get all of those seasons now). I got a beautiful rod iron picture frame holder from Kimberly and her family with "FAITH" in the middle of it and you put different pictures in the different frames around the word. I LOVE it! It'll go perfect in my room! And Justin and Lexi made me some homemade chocolate chip cookies last night and brought me some of those too...YUM! And Tazzie even got me a card! Love my Tazzie Mae! :)

After gifts we went into the kitchen...Mom had made my favorite honeybun cake! I'm really surprised I like it as much as I do because it's really sweet and I'm not much of a sweet eater. But this is my favorite....Tastes just like a honeybun! We put three candles on the cake (one for Lexi to blow out, one for Austin to blow out, and one for me) They sang, I made my wish, and then we all had cake! Once the kids were hyped up on sugar (LOL!) they went home.

No, there wasn't any Dempsey Dream breakthrough...I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed, but someone else needed that miracle tonight more than I did. I know God's timing is perfect and I have to keep believing that my day will come...I do think I'm a lot closer now BECAUSE of the prayers I've prayed asking for a miracle then I would be if I HADN'T prayed them, so who knows....Hopefully soon I'll be blogging all about how my dream finally came true...

It was a great birthday! I'm SO blessed to have the incredible family that I do and the most amazing friends. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all of the Facebook messages, texts, phone calls, and e-mails!!

I look forward to sharing the next year with you through this blog...Love you all!

How to Pray for A Miracle....

Anybody got any ideas on how to pray for a miracle? Maybe a "breakthrough" is a better way of putting it, but even getting THAT would be a miracle in itself!

Saturday is my 28th birthday and I keep thinking how incredible it would be to get a breakthrough....SOME type of SOMETHING on my Dempsey Dream. So, I've been praying....For a miracle!

And it just seems like I keep repeating the same things over and over as I pray because I don't know where exactly things stand as far as my dream is concerned so I don't really know HOW to pray for it or WHAT to pray for except for what I've been praying.

Sooo....I keep praying. Believing that because He IS a God of miracles....That I WILL get a birthday breakthrough.

Care to pray with me in this?

Get Real!

If any of you read my Facebook status this past Wednesday night, then you know I was having a really difficult time. I was TOTALLY fed up! I had gone on twitter and saw several people talking about how they were going to a race of Patrick Dempsey's in Utah in September...How they were going to get to meet him and talk to him, and it all just got to be too much for me. I logged off twitter and cried for about 10 minutes. I'm THRILLED that they're going to get to meet him, but my own heart was breaking for the fact that I've wanted to do the same thing for so long and seem no closer to it happening then I was two years ago. After a few minutes I had to pull myself together and go help with dinner.

Once dinner was over I remember standing in the kitchen looking out the kitchen window as I scrubbed a dish before putting it in the dishwasher. And as I stood there, I got angrier and angrier as I scrubbed the dish as hard as I could not really paying attention but looking out the window into the pitch darkness of the night. I remember just basically yelling at God inside my head going, "If you're not going to make this dream come to pass, FINE! But quit throwing other people that my dream IS happening to in my face because I'm telling you God, they seem to be everywhere I turn lately! And if I were physically able, I would be able to GO to a race and see him too!"

I was MAD! The "If only's...." were out in full force and in those moments I HATED the feeling that my CP was the thing keeping me from my dream. I HATED my CP and I HATED that in so many ways, it forced my dependence on others. Thus, my facebook status that night. And let me tell ya, my friends circled the wagons and encouraged me and raised me up in a way that blew me away.

I was asked to swap days at the church office this week so I worked the next day. I was listening to KSBJ online (Yes, they're BACK ONLINE!) at my desk when Liz Jordan started her shift.

I feel I should stop here and tell you a little about Liz... I've mentioned her before. She's incredible! If you ever listen to her on KSBJ then you know...She's incredibly transparent and one of the most genuine people I know. She is the real deal. We have yet to meet in person but I really do consider her a friend...She's not just a DJ to me...We've talked. We've corresponded a lot! She's....She's one of those people that when God was creating her I have to wonder if *I* was on His mind. THAT'S how much God has used Liz in my life. And I can only think of a few people in my life where I've actually paused and had that thought about. Liz really is a "sister in Christ" to me. I just love her! And while I enjoy listening to KSBJ any time, I try and make a special effort to listen during Liz's shift. And with online listening being unavailable for awhile, I haven't really been able to listen as much so I was thrilled to be able to listen once again at work.

Anyway, I was listening when Liz started her shift and she always starts it off with prayer. As she prayed over the city of Houston, she said, "Lord, we just need to come before you and we need to tell you what we need and what is on our hearts...." That, right there, struck me. I didn't hear the rest of the prayer (Sorry, Liz).

It occurred to me that for SO long I think I've just been telling God what I thought He wanted to hear.... How He was so good and thanking Him for this and for that. And that's all great...We SHOULD do that, please don't get me wrong....PRAISE is GOOD! However, there were some things that I hadn't really brought before Him and just said, "Look Lord, this is how I REALLY feel about some stuff going on in my life....I don't like it!" Some things, up until the night BEFORE this prayer, I don't even think I really KNEW they were bothering me as much as they were until I just said, "I'm SO fed up!!" I think somewhere along the way I got this idea that God is God so we have no right to get angry at Him...And I learned this: He's big enough. He can handle it!

So, that night when I got home, God and I had a REAL heart to heart. I got real with what was on my heart, my desires, my wants, how I felt about a lot of things. Tears were shed, but let me tell ya...When all was said and done, I felt A LOT better! Now it feels like a whole new realm of conversation has open between God and myself because I've gotten real.

It's like for so long God and I have been talking, and He's been listening, of course, with careful attention. But He's God, He knows. So, while I've been talking He's been saying, "That's great and everything but how do you REALLY feel? TALK to me. Be honest. It's okay, I know already, just tell me....I'm going to adore you just as much...I promise!" And when I FINALLY did... He's saying to me.... "Now, doesn't that feel better?" Maybe THAT'S why I had to get SO angry the previous night...Where I basically threw my hands up and said shouted at God, He probably said, "NOW we're getting somewhere!"

While it's true God DOES know our wants and needs even before we say anything, He WANTS us to ask Him! (James 4:2). He LONGS to hear from us! Isn't that awesome?! That the Creator of the universe actually WANTS to talk...to US?! I understand that now in a fresh way and it makes me feel SO loved and safe! He will never tire of hearing our voice, we will never get on His nerves, and He's ALWAYS ready and willing to listen!

It didn't magically fix everything...I'm still irritated with my Dempsey Dream. I still feel like no matter how much I want it, I'm always two steps behind everyone else in terms of ever meeting him because of my physical limitations, BUT I'm no longer pretending it doesn't bother me when I talk with God...I may never tell anyone else how fed up I am, but I'll tell God...And hopefully I'll do so BEFORE I get quite as frustrated next time. ;)

So, the moral of the story: Be real with God. It's okay to be upset sometimes....Take it to God, unload your heart. He can handle it. And when you've gotten everything that you've held back out in the open, you will STILL be precious to Him. He will STILL love you like no other!

Colorado Trip 2009

We're back! We returned from Durango late Friday evening....And had a wonderful time!

The trip to Durango was long...Especially from Ft. Worth to Amarillo. The room was stayed in was SUPER nice. Except for the bathtub...Whoever designed that was CLEARLY NOT disabled! I have no clue how ANY disabled person bathed in that. It was a nightmare!

Once we got into the New Mexico area, we began seeing mountains and the scenery got a lot more interesting and pretty. we pulled over and had a lunch of sandwiches and chips and water (yes, water). I was trying to get ahead of any altitude sickness that might await.

We finally arrived in Colorado Sunday afternoon at 2:41 Texas time and rain, thunder, and lightning was there to welcome us. Our hotel room was nice...The living area was where I stayed. It had a television, and the couch made into a bed. Then you went down a small hallway and that was my parents area with a king sized bed and a television. It was great, because I had my own space and could close the door to be able to get dressed or watch t.v. after my parents had gone to sleep.

Monday was the train ride. It was a three and a half hour ride to Silverton. We shared a train car with four other people. They were all traveling together and one guy was also in a wheelchair. They were so nice and fun to travel with! They made several trips through the train and everyone decided that our train car was the best one because it was the least crowded and we all liked each other! The ride up was beautiful going way up into the mountains...AMAZING scenery! I was so glad we were in an enclosed car and not one that was uncovered. Those people were covered in black soot from the coal blowing back on them from the front of the train. We were told that a bear and her cubs had been seen by some people in the back, but we had missed it...Dad was CRUSHED. He has longed to see a bear in Colorado for as long as I can remember. I felt SO bad for him.

We got to Silverton and mom, dad, and I had lunch at a little restaurant where we ate outside on the back porch. It was SO NICE....Eating lunch outside with mountains surrounding us, 73 degrees with NO humidity! Once we finished lunch, we shopped around for awhile at the little shops there and each had a dish of ice cream (chocolate chip cookie dough for me). Once that was over, it was about time to board the train for another 3 and a half hour trip BACK to Durango!

This was a LONG trip back. The highlight was when Dad FINALLY saw his bear! A cinnamon colored bear walking back into the mountains after getting a drink from the river....I think that made Dad's ENTIRE trip! It was AWESOME! His eyes were GLUED to the mountain from the second we pulled out of Silverton so I was so thrilled it payed off!

Once we got off the train, 3 and a half LONG hours later, we were WORN OUT! Don't get me wrong, we really enjoyed it, but the trip back was not near as fun because it was the same territory we saw coming. I think everyone in our car took a nap on the way back. Once we got back to our car we were hungry for pizza so we searched and searched and SEARCHED...We were about to give up (Dad was looking for a place to turn around) when I finally spotted a Pizza Hut! So we ate and went back to our hotel room and showered and I think we were all in bed with lights out by 10:30.


Tuesday was our dinner theatre night. We had breakfast at this adorable little cafe...Some of the best french toast and hash browns I've ever had! We enjoyed it so much, that's where we had breakfast for the remainder of our trip! We spent most of the day just taking in the sights. We headed up to go see the ruins but when we got to the entry point we were told it would take at least 2-3 hours to see everything. We didn't have that kind of time so we turned around. We ended up going back to the hotel and just relaxing before changing for the dinner theatre.

Our dinner was served in a very fancy restaurant. We were given a menu with three different choices for our first course, three choices for our second course and the choices for our dessert course. I kid you not, most of these things I couldn't even pronounce! So, I just ordered exactly what Mom did...Let's just say that dinner was the worst part of the trip. We were SO glad when it was over.

The theatre part of the evening took place right across the hall from where we ate. It was a tiny theatre but very intimate. Tables were set up with a small menu on each where you could order popcorn and other snacks and drinks. The play we saw "Dames At Sea" was SO cute!!! Definitely made up for the awful dinner! The cast was a small group of AMAZINGLY talented college students. It was a musical/comedy with a bit of romance mixed in! I loved it!!!! Made my heart swell for the entertainment industry once again! And in one of the songs the lyrics included the line, "He may not be Dempsey, but she loves him anyway!" My mouth fell open and I almost fell out of my chair! LOL! The play was great though....We left feeling good!


Wednesday Dad played golf so Mom and I had the afternoon to shop. It was a perfect day to shop....78 degrees and breezy. We walked into a candy shop to get suckers for Lexi and Austin and my beloved Jelly Belly Cotton Candy jelly beans were there!!! I was SO excited! I can't find them anywhere near us! So...I bought a ridiculous amount! They're SO good...I've missed them! We had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant, and then I grabbed a mocha at the Starbucks there.

After we picked Dad up from golf and went back to the hotel for a few minutes, we had planned to go to a BBQ dinner that had a live band. However, we couldn't find it! So, we eventually decided to turn around and have dinner at an Italian place we had seen. It was...Interesting in the fact that spaghetti and meatballs was NOT on the menu. So Mom and I split fettuccine Alfredo. It was pretty good! After that, it was back to the hotel to shower and pack so that we could begin the return trip the next morning.

Thursday morning after breakfast at our favorite cafe we hit the road but decided to come back another more scenic way than we came! And scenic it was! Coming down some of those mountains was downright scary! There came a point where mom and I stopped commenting on how beautiful the view was because it was so nerve wracking. TONS of twists and turns. We stopped at one point at a little station for a bathroom break and our brakes were smoking...And they stunk! Dad said he didn't realize he was riding them so hard. We eased up after that and it just seemed more tense because I had a fear of the brakes going out. I've never been so relieved to get DOWN those mountains! And then Dad said that Monarch Pass was going to be worse!

I can say that Monarch Pass was indeed high (over 11 thousand feet) and the view going up was INCREDIBLE! We stopped at the very top for a bathroom break and to stretch at a little gift shop that sold shirts that said things like "I Made It To The Top...."

Going down Monarch Pass was NOTHING compared to our earlier adventure. I think I actually breathed some going down this time! Dad admitted that night that he had been REALLY nervous.

We found a hotel room in New Mexico Thursday night. It was NOTHING like any of our other rooms (not even handicapped accessible), but it gave us a place to sleep. We were up by 5:30 Friday morning and had made a breakfast stop at the McDonald's drive through and were on the road to Texas by 6:09. It was a LONG LONG LONG ride home! We stopped at a Cracker Barrel in Wichita Falls for lunch. It felt like Heaven to get out and stretch! Then we stopped at a Taco Bell in Fairfield and Dad ordered our food while Mom and I took a bathroom break and we ate Taco Bell on the road. We pulled into our driveway around 9:15 that night! Tazzie, who had been dropped off a few hours earlier by Kimberly greeted us at the door! She didn't know who to go to first so she just ran back and forth between the three of us!

It was a really great trip! There are more mobile pictures on my Facebook page if you are interested! Thank you all SO much for your prayers for our safety and wellness. I drank a ton of water so I never experienced any altitude sickness. Lexi and Austin had a BLAST with Landon and we were told that Tazzie just made herself right at home with no problems.

We had such a great time but are SO glad to be back home with everyone and be able to sleep in our own beds! Going away is fun, but the old saying is true...There's no place like home!

Colorado, Here We Come!

By the time most of you read this, I will be on the road en route to Durango Colorado!

My parents and I are leaving tomorrow (Saturday morning) for a family vacation. Tazzie is staying with Kimberly, Justin, and the kids. We were originally going to take her with us but every hotel we looked at said we couldn't leave her in the room by herself. That coupled with the fact that she gets really excited and nervous in the car helped us decide to leave her. My sister offered to keep her so she is there getting settled in with the kids and their cocker spaniel, Boomer.

I've dreaded having to say goodbye to Lexi and Austin since the day we planned this trip. It will be my first time being away from either of them this long. Austin is now going through this phase where in order to get him to kiss you, you have to pretend to cry. He crawled up in my lap tonight when we took Tazzie out there and when he saw me tearing up holding him, he instantly kissed me. When he saw I was still crying, he put his hand on my face and said, "No cry, Nat-Nat..." And kissed me again. That just made me cry harder cause it was so sweet! Then Lexi came and gave me a hug promising that she would take care of Tazzie while I was away. By the time we pulled out of their driveway Kimberly was teary and I was trying in vain to pull myself together. What can I say? We're a close family!

Here are some ways you can pray for us while we're gone:

* Safety as we drive. This is indeed a ROAD TRIP! Mom's not big on flying so we'll be driving. We plan on stopping tomorrow night at a hotel and getting to CO Sunday sometime.

*Lexi and Austin. My cousin is coming to stay with them for the week and will watch them while Kimberly and Justin are at work. Lexi and Austin are SO excited Landon is coming down. Perhaps you should pray for Landon too! LOL!

* Kimberly and Justin as they take care of all the extra house guests and for safe travel as the meet to pick Landon up Sunday and then meet up again the following Friday so he can go home.

* Tazzie to be reassured. This is the first time all three of us have been away from her at one time. Pray she handles everything well.

* Pray that none of us get altitude sickness. I had it years ago when I was on our church ski trip in Winter Park, CO and it was AWFUL! I REALLY don't want a repeat performance. Pray that we all stay well.

We should return home Friday afternoon. I won't be able to check blogs so those of you that I follow/comment on, don't feel ignored...I'll catch up when I return home. I WILL however have access to my e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter accounts (Thanks to my iphone) and will be posting mobile uploads throughout the trip on my Facebook page so keep tabs on things there!

Thank you ALL so much in advance for your prayers...Can't wait to get home and share all the details! Until then....Have a great week!

Loaded Question

Alexis was watching t.v. in my room with me while Austin was napping today when she suddenly turned to me and out of the blue asked, "Nat-Nat, do dreams really come true?"

I felt all of the air leave my lungs as I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back tears and told her the only thing that came to mind... "Yes, baby girl. Some dreams really do come true..."

She seemed satisfied with that answer as she smiled and turned back to the television.

Lord, give me her faith, Please.

Pictures of Dempsey Racing T-Shirt

My Dempsey Racing t-shirt arrived in the mail today! A VERY welcome surprise after a hectic final day of VBS!

Front of the shirt. Dempsey Racing's # 40 is on one sleeve and their sponsor, El Grado Tequila is on the other.

Back of the shirt

Order yours HERE!

Dempsey Racing Online Store

Yay!!! I can now wear some official Dempsey Racing apparel!!! And the name McDreamy WON'T be attached!

Dempsey racing t-shirts are now available to buy online! I'm told I was the FIRST to order! *blush* :) Right now there's only shirts to buy, but I think hats may be in the works as well. *crossing fingers*

Currently they only ship in the US but I think they will be shipping internationally very soon.

I'm VERY excited about being able to show off my Dempsey Racing pride and of course, have another way to support Patrick! Hopefully I'll have the shirt before we leave for Colorado on vacation so I can wear it while we're there! After THIS RECENT ENTRY I needed something to lift my spirits, this did the trick!

I added the link to the store under the "sites worth visiting" section so you can visit any time! But I'll give it to you now as well!

And another HUGE thanks to Jim for getting this up and going for all of us Dempsey Racing fans! You rock my wheels, Jim!

DEMPSEY RACING ONLINE STORE

Kyle's Story

I talk quite often about Kyle Sherrill and how his story has inspired me. I have yet to meet Kyle in person, but this precious little boy will forever hold a piece of my heart in a way no one else will. He is a living reminder of the power of God. Of how big He is and how prayer changes things!

Below is a link to a video with a condensed version of Kyle's story. Please watch. You will understand why this little guy is such a miracle and hopefully come away with a renewed belief in the power of prayer!

KYLE'S STORY

Prayer Requests...

A couple of prayer requests....

1) Vacation Bible School kicks off tomorrow (Monday) and goes through Friday. Currently we have 136 kid pre-registered (Alexis and Austin being two of them). I'll be helping with registration and record keeping all week and am sure that number will rise as kids show up tomorrow morning. SO many people have worked SO hard to make this coming week a success. Please be in prayer for all of the kids that will be attending that God will move in their lives in a special way this week. Also, please be in prayer for the workers as well, that God will work through us and through the activities the teachers have planned.

2) Some friends of mine have been waiting to travel to China to adopt their little girl. Well, they are in China RIGHT NOW and it is currently 9:33 a.m. Monday morning there so it is GOTCHA DAY for them! Meaning they FINALLY get to see and hold little Ruthie for the FIRST TIME!!! She will be theirs TODAY!!! Just typing that brings tears to my eyes. PLEASE be in prayer for Trent and Ginny as they are probably beside themselves right now waiting to see their daughter. Pray that Ruthie handles everything well as she meets her family. What a beautiful day it will be for them!

Thanks so much for praying, everybody!

I hope you like the new profile song. Listening to the lyrics, I thought it was fitting for me personally.

Is the Dream Too Big?

So, I know I said I was "Dreaming in Silence" (see a few posts below) but I just can't tonight. This is a difficult dream to give up on and I need some place to..... do whatever it is writing does that makes me feel better. Isn't that what a blog is for in the first place? So, if you're getting tired of all the ramblings about me wanting to meet Patrick, just skip this entry, okay?

I can't sleep tonight. Perhaps it's the stop I made to Starbucks after dinner tonight that's helping me not sleep, but whatever the cause, sleep isn't coming right now but other thoughts are.

I keep thinking how totally unrealistic my dream to meet Patrick is. I mean, let's look at the facts here, shall we?

* Most of the people if not ALL of the people I've read about that have met Patrick seems to have been at "right place at the right time." I can't simply look up his race schedule and say, "hey, let's go to that race! First off, he doesn't attend every race due to GA (I'd probably show up to the ONE race he wasn't attending) and second. I can't drive so that means my parents would have to get me there. There would have to be something MAJOR to convince them to do that...Oh yeah, third...Money. I've saved for three years and the amount I have probably wouldn't even cover plane tickets.

* Then there are those that get those set tours of GA...Good night nurse, talk about a DREAM...I get that they're probably not all they're cracked up to be, but who cares....Patrick Dempsey AND Ellen Pompeo and the chance to meet BOTH...Wow! Not to mention Chandra Wilson...She ROCKS!

* But then there comes to mind another question: What makes me SO special that Patrick would even WANT to meet me? Okay, I know how totally negative that sounds, but hear me out: He's got SO many fans, SO many people want to meet him, I'm just one in a sea of faces out there. What is it about me that would make him say, "Yeah, I want to hear your story..."

* I live in Texas. In a small city. This kind of stuff doesn't happen to me...Granted, I've never had something I wanted this badly either.

People say, "Dream Big" and I doubt when they say that they're thinking, "dream of meeting a celebrity..." they're thinking, "dream of becoming something." "dream of finding that cure for Cancer or a solution for homelessness" "Dream BIG THINGS" I know plenty of people that don't think this is big enough, but to ME...It IS big because for this to happen...It's going to take something big happening....It would take a medium sized miracle.

Everyone is told when they are little... "You can be anything you want to be and do anything you want to do." I believed that. When you're young, you believe that. Then you get older and the world becomes a world of "can't."

"You can't have that job because you're not qualified."
"You can't do that because you're not strong enough."
"You can't meet Patrick Dempsey because your disability won't let you..."

So, for me...Meeting Patrick Dempsey IS dreaming big because the reality of the situation screams at me. The odds don't look good and I know that, but I want that faith back I had as a little girl....That anything IS possible and that dreams DO come true!

I know people right now who are making plans to go to a race of Patrick's in a few months with plans on saying hi and getting his autograph and picture...They can do it. They're not dependent on others for certain things, I am and it makes me HATE the fact that BECAUSE I have CP, I can't just go...There are plans that would have to be made for me...Where do the disabled sit? How would I get there? Can I afford it? Could I even get TOO Patrick in a wheelchair with throngs of people wanting to meet him all around me?

These are things I think about when I think about wanting to meet him. And it makes the dream deflate a little more every time because it just seems like there's no way it will ever happen.

But...I still hope. I still pray. I still ask for God to make it possible. I HAVE to believe that it CAN and that it WILL happen. I have to believe in miracles!

A Hairy Situation

I had a hair appointment today and the place I go to get my hair cut is probably the least handicapped accessible place in town. Steps going inside as well as steps inside the actual salon. However, I go there because I REALLY like the girl that does my hair. She's great and goes out of her way to help me out as she is well aware of how hard it is for me to navigate around that place.

I was in desperate need of a cut and Kimberly had an appointment today so I sent Windy a message asking her directly if she could fit me in with Kimberly. She said that was fine so this afternoon Kimberly, Lexi, and myself headed downtown. We got to the salon twenty minutes before our appointment and made the block three times trying to find a parking space close to the salon (all of the handicapped spaces were taken. Surprise, surprise).

We found a space that someone was pulling out of at the front of the building close to the door. There was a car in front of us with her blinker on like she was waiting for this car to pull out...She was having a conversation with someone in the parking lot. When she noticed that Kimberly had stopped and turned her blinker on, the lady motioned to us that SHE was getting that spot and yelled out the window... "The spot is taken!" I had to remember I had my five year old niece in the car and said to Kimberly, "Geez! She can have the spot!" While my sister passed her and I'm sure gave her quite a look.

We finally found a parking spot across the street from the salon and I had to walk a bit more than I should have had to in order to get there, but we did. As Kimberly was getting her hair done, we told Windy about the experience, she seemed just as frustrated by it as we were. And to top it all off...When it came time for Lexi to get her hair cut, that SAME rude client's had the booster chair Lexi needed! Seems her son was getting a hair cut as well.

I came home tonight having really forgotten about the whole situation. I logged into my Facebook account a few minutes ago and Windy had posted about the situation on her page. I was stunned. Apparently it stuck with her in a way I didn't realize, I thought she probably would have forgotten about it soon after we left, but that wasn't the case.

It's sad that I'm kind of used to this stuff happening...People parking in a handicapped space, putting the blue tag on the rear view mirror, and then watching them jog into the store...Or worse, someone parking there with NO tags AT ALL! It's just something I've gotten used to. Some people are just going to do stuff like that. I've lived with this disability my entire life...Seeing things like this just comes with the territory. Does it make me mad? You bet! It's absolutely not right. My family and I are used to it. Many times we DO speak up to the person. Other times, we simply say to each other that we hope they never REALLY need those tags.

Seeing this tonight made me grateful. I'm really appreciative of Windy and the support she showed me in her post (though she never mentioned me by name) It's nice to see other people saying that it's not right and being angry about it. It's one thing for ME or my family to be upset about it...Of course...I SHOULD be, I'm the disabled one, people would EXPECT me to be angry. But it's another thing to see others NOT disabled speak up on the issue...That is NOT something most would expect.

Stuff like this is indeed part of my life. It's frustrating, yes. And I'm appreciative of the fact that others get as angry about it as I do. At the end of the day, I do what I can to handle situations like this, and then I (literally) roll on! :)

Dreaming in Silence

Have you ever been in a situation where you're trying to get someone to understand something, how important something is to you, how deeply you were affected by something. You're trying so hard and yet you feel like no one is really hearing you? That your point is just not getting across? That's how I feel tonight.

I sit here with tears in my eyes as I type this. I SO want my dream to come true. I don't think words could ever express just how badly I want my story to get to Patrick and what it would mean to me to get to say thank you to him. And yet, I KNOW you guys are SO tired of hearing about it.

I've been a little angry at God the past few days....WHY can't He give me another dream that I can actually WORK toward? Give me something I can tell people that won't make them roll their eyes inwardly. I've literally started making stuff up when people ask me what my dreams are. I can't tell you how many people I've sent to this blog hoping against hope that they would know someone who might be able to help get my story to Patrick. I just have this fear of seeing the end of this dream and looking back saying, if I had just told this person or e-mailed this person, MAYBE THEY could have been the one to help make this a reality.

It's my dream, yes. But I know you guys are tired of hearing about it. Just as much as I'm tired of trying over and over again to try and get someone who may be able to help to actually read what I have to say. I've talked so much about it that I don't think anyone is really listening anymore.

So, it will be a silent unspoken dream from now on. Honestly, I can't talk about it anymore...It's just too painful to hope at this point. Sorry to have gone on for so long about it...

Happier blogs to come!

"When you're dreamin' with a broken heart, the giving up is the hardest part." ~John Mayer~

My Le Mans Experience

I did something this weekend that I can honestly say I have never done...I watched sports all weekend. Okay, so it was just ONE sport, but still, for a girl who only watches sports during the summer Olympics, this is a big thing for me.

I watched Patrick and his teammates, Joe Foster and Don Kitch Jr. race at Le Mans...And I watched the entire thing! ALL 24 hours!

I have to admit, I had some nerves about watching the race. Those of you that know me know that one of my worst fears is Patrick being injured during a race. It's one thing to know he's racing and to pray for him but not actually SEE what's going on, it's QUITE another to SEE everything that's happening, live! It was quite nerve wracking at times. Please know that for me this was a first...I've NEVER gotten to see Patrick race before and it was LE MANS so it was pretty emotional on all fronts. There is no way I will ever remember everything and as soon as I post this, I know there will be something I forgot to add so just bear with me because as I write this I haven't slept since 7:15 Saturday morning. Along the way I will share some of my favorite pics with you(All of them courtesy of the Team Seattle Facebook Page or various other sites. I definitely wasn't one of the lucky ones there in person so none of these are mine). They won't necessarily correspond with what I write. In fact, none of them do, but I tried to come close.

First off, did you know Patrick is a blogger? Yep! He blogged throughout the week leading up to the race. It was so awesome to see things through his eyes. And the best part...Readers could leave comments! Who knows if Patrick read them, but I commented on every single blog...Hoping.

I'm not going to go hour by hour but just touch on what were the highlights for me. The first moment that sticks out was an interview Patrick did right after his first leg of the race. I wish I had a snap shot for you of the pure excitement on his face, he was practically giddy and grinning from ear to ear. Brought tears to my eyes. Had to be one of the cutest interviews I've ever seen. His face had to hurt from smiling so much...He was absolutely drinking it in.
Every time Joe, Don, or Patrick were interviewed, they said how incredible it was to be there and how they were just honored and thankful for the chance to be at Le Mans. Such humble and gracious guys. Every lap they completed raised money for Seattle Children's Hospital and it was evident they wanted to raise as much money as they could for the hospital.
For me, the most anxious moment came early Sunday morning (in France. In the US it was still Saturday night) Patrick was behind the wheel, doing his thing and there came word that there was a serious accident. It was dark, of course so for a few moments no one was sure who it was. And for those few moments...I was a wreck. It didn't take long to identify who it was, but it felt like ages. It wasn't Patrick and the odds that it would have been him were slim, and I knew that, but still...My worst fear guys...I was still shaking twenty minutes after. They driver involved in the wreck was pulled from the car and taken to the hospital, and it turns out he's fine, but looking at what was left of the car, it's a miracle. I was texting and tweeting everyone I knew to pray. Patrick safely pitted a few minutes later.
The night was long as some twitter friends and I kept each other going while we cheered on the team. Don, bless his heart, was sick with a severe chest cold so he didn't get a lot of time behind the wheel. Patrick and Joe took turns racing for two hours at a time throughout the night. When Patrick came out for his next stint, he was apparently asked by someone off camera if he had slept, and he told them, "No way! I'm too excited to sleep!" It was then that I told someone I was tweeting with that if Patrick hadn't slept, WE certainly couldn't! LOL! That just seemed to stiffen our resolve to stay awake with them through the end. We really got excited as we watched the team continue to climb in their class rank.

A few anxious moments when Patrick had to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix something on the car and he stayed there for what seemed like ages to us and I'm sure even longer to him. We were afraid they would slip out of the top ten and kept saying willing them to hurry by talking to our televisions (or was I the only one doing that guys? LOL) saying, "Please hurry!" "Work faster!" FINALLY Patrick was off again and they were still in the top ten but by a smaller margin. A twitter friend of mine said, "Don't worry, Speedy Joe is up soon (her nickname for Joe Foster that still makes me giggle) he'll help make up ground." So, Zoom Zoom Paddy (the nickname I came up with for PD because of his Mazda "the zoom zoom way" voice overs) finished his stint, and Speedy Joe took the wheel. Soon, they were ninth in their class! We were ecstatic!

I have to say, it was really odd to be watching coverage and see the sun coming up there while it was still the very early morning hours here. Speaking of that, on Patrick's blog for Friday, he mentioned that his body wasn't sure what time it was and he was awake when he should be sleeping, and tired when he needed to be alert. So, as I went to bed Friday, I prayed that Patrick would get a great night's rest. I forgot all about the time difference and the fact that as I was praying that prayer, it was already race day for Patrick! LOL! Thank goodness God knew I was going to pray that prayer ahead of time and answered it early. Sorry about that, Patrick! I DO hope you got a great night's rest before race day!

Seven o'clock my time Sunday morning brought what is, in my opinion, the most emotional interview I've ever seen Patrick give. As he and Don talked to a reporter the reporter made mention that he could see in Patrick's eyes how much this experience meant to him...It was then that Patrick nodded and from my view seemed to tear up and get emotional. That's all it took for me to start crying...Again, these guys were THRILLED to be there. At Le MANS for cryin' out loud! It doesn't get any better!

The race ended at 8:00 a.m. this morning. Patrick, Joe, and Don came in 30th overall and 9th in their class. AND...They raised 258,800 for Seattle Children's Hospital!! How incredible is that?! GO TEAM SEATTLE!!!!

Now, here's why this race was an experience for me and such an emotional one at that...

Patrick, Joe, and Don were in Paris France. At Le Mans. That's big. It's HUGE. And it's a dream come true for all of them. It's emotional for me because as I watched them race, I watched their dream come true...I mean literally saw it coming true hour by hour as they gave interviews and with each stint they completed, more of their dream just continued to unfold. If you've read this blog any than you probably know what my dream is...For my story to get to Patrick and be able to thank him personally for how his story changed my own. You also know how I'd pretty much given up hope that that will ever happen. I watched videos of the team in France throughout the week and the throngs of people just wanting an autograph from Patrick and I looked at the sea of people and thought, "that's why I feel this is a dream going nowhere...I'm just another fan, in a sea of faces. There's no way I can just travel to his races on my own because of my disability, I'd have to have a way to get there. Yes, meeting Patrick and thanking him is my dream, but I know there's very little hope that it will.

As I watched Team Seattle's dream unfold before my eyes, I can't help but feel a spark of renewed hope that my story WILL somehow get to Patrick....If they can get to Le Mans....My story can get to Patrick. It's a spark of hope that I needed and that I'll hang on to. I want my own "Le Mans Moment" so to speak, where I see my dream unfolding.

So, yet again, I'm teary as I type this up. I have to thank some people that kept me going last night: @zennish, @pdempseyfansite, @GraveDancer40, @Evie_89, @pickmeforever, @PD_EP_FAN, @adene626 and Kara.

you guys were a blast to experience this with!! Definitely made some new friends....And twitter hasn't been quiet since! Thanks for helping keep me awake last night as we cheered on our guys together! It really was so much fun! Same time, same place next weekend for Patrick's next race? LOL! Seriously, you guys are great...Loved spending those 24 hours with you!

Thank you to EVERYONE who kept Patrick, Joe, and Don in your prayers this weekend...God was definitely protecting them and blessing them the entire time!

Congratulations once again to Joe, Patrick, and Don....You lived the dream....You raced at Le Mans! And we're all so happy and proud for you and thrilled that we got to take the journey with you! It was a complete honor to spend "24 Hours at Le Mans" with you.