Category: Lifestyle

It’s been a while, but I’m back!!!!

It’s been about a year and well I have not done very well with keeping up with this at all. So here we go again. Over the past year I feel like I have had a lot of growth. I think to myself “is this a “almost” 40 thing?” who knows? All in all, it’s good growth. I feel as if I am coming to know WHO I am. That has taken me a long time. I have always been different and been okay with that but felt as if I needed to fit in somewhere. Today I just feel like ME. Like I can just be the girl who hangs out and if you want to come hang out too then cool. If not, then that’s cool too. No ill feelings, well at least not on my part. I am seeing in myself that I don’t need to make everyone happy and I don’t need to say yes to everything. That is the most freeing thing I have ever felt. I am doing me, and it feels so good.

I have not always been the most confident human in the room. My husband will tell me that I’m beautiful and mushy stuff, but I would never listen. I guess one could say I did not know how to take a complement. I was my own worst critic. Not only on my appearance but on everything. I would force myself to say, “Thank you” when deep inside of my body I was telling myself “why, why, can’t they just stop saying these things, and just get on with the day.” Now, I Know I am not the only human in this world that has ever felt these kinds of feelings. I also know it is very hard to overcome. Like a fear of water. It’s a strange fear. A fear that is unexplainable. I can’t even tell you when it began. But I can tell you that today I no longer have that fear. I can take a compliment, it doesn’t weird me out and make me feel so uncomfortable that I want to run for the hills.

Two years ago, a friend of mine posted online that she was going to start hosting an online bible study. “umm ok, last bible study I attended I felt so judged and out of place I wanted to crawl under a table” but since this was online no one could see me or hear me to judge me. So,

I decided to give it a shot. I started the bible study about three weeks later and literally everything was online. This was a 6-week bible study, so I was committing to 6 weeks of reading my bible and writing in my journal. I had a journal that I kept my notes in and my girlfriend would post conversations online and others would conversate and I could just read and participate like that. It was great. I LOVED this bible study. Not only for the security that it gave me, but the actual bible study was good. It made me want to conversate. I never did. But I always read what was being talked about and checked it about 2-3 times a day to see what was going on if anything. I kind of felt like it was my safe place. The 6-weeks was up, and I felt so good. So energized. I wanted more. I wanted to share what I had learned. I contacted my friend and asked “are you going to do another one?” She said yes, there is a 2-week break and then we start a new study. I was ecstatic. I had never felt the feeling I was feeling. My fears were slowly disappearing, and I was becoming a more confident human. I could feel my mindset changing. I wanted more. My girlfriend got busy and could not host any longer, so she gave all of her followers the information they needed to continue their journey. I of course took the information and continued, and I have grown so much spiritually that it has changed me. In a good way. Not who I am but my way of thinking and going about things.

Till next time xoxox

Cris

Dream job

After working at the school in the special education department and having a child on the spectrum I now see the need and such uses for therapy/service dogs. Growing up we always had labs, but they were not our “pets” they were my dad’s bird dogs. They lived outside in the kennel and plus my brother was very allergic to animals so regardless if they were pets or not they were not coming in the house. About 3 years ago a friend of ours dog was going to have lab puppies and asked us if we would want one, my first reaction was hell no! I don’t want a giant dog in the house. Plus my husband is allergic and if I get a dog it will live in my house and that is going to be so much work to keep my husband breathing easy lol. A few weeks went on and my kids begged and begged, I did finally give in and I said yes BUT…….. I want a chocolate female and I want to name her Hazel. Hahahha……I know it’s kinda crazy but I had this image in my mind and oh my goodness does it ever fit her. She is the best dog ever. She has the best temperament and and so loving and she is just perfect. She was perfect for Nowlin, as she got older she and Nowlin formed a bond that is unbreakable. She lets him lay on her and snuggle and she watches him play his video games, she is his buddy for sure. She is not a certified therapy dog but she is defiantly Nowlin’s therapy/buddy dog. Just this past December Hazel had her first litter of puppies and she had 12……yes 12 and all made it. That’s where Levi came from, he is one of her puppies. He was the first born and he was so big and giant and I fell in love with him the moment I set my eyes on him, he definitely takes after his momma. In the picture Nowlin was crying and would not stop to talk to me so I told him to go lay down with Levi, Nowlin was not sleeping in the picture he just had his eyes closed. Calmed down in no time. Melts my heart. Anyhow since she had the puppies all I can think about is becoming a therapy dog trainer. How fun would that be? I mean…….helping others and teaching dogs to help others and how to be emotional support I just think it would be so humbling. #happyhazel #therapydog #dreamjob #labs #luckylevi #giantdog

Four days

It’s four days until my sweet sweet Savee’s 12th birthday. Do you ever feel like time is just flying by? She is counting down the days until her birthday. These are the days I cherish, I don’t want them to ever go away. As I sit here and type this Nowlin is sitting on the arm of the chair playing his game, Lanie is of coarse at her friends house. It feels like yesterday that the girls were just 3 and 4 years old playing barbies with all the toys spread out everywhere. Cherish every second you have with your sweet angels.