Lucky Charms and more from a controlling mama bear. . . .

yes, i admit it.

i can be just a wee bit controlling sometimes.
like every good mama bear,
sometimes a bit of meddling/controlling is what's needed:)

but in a good way, of course.

so what have i done now?

well, as i mentioned before, my daughter will most likely be

moving to Chicago in the next year.

and like any good mama,

i'm checking out neighborhoods, safety, weather. . . . .

and churches!

it helps that there is a good Bible college in the city,

with church recommendations.

it helps a LOT!!!!!

2 of the recommendations sound very promising. . . . .

everything i would love for her to have in a church.

but one in particular jumped out at me right away.

Willow Creek Community Church Chicago.

yesterday i received an email re: today's sermon topic, "Simplify"

here are the questions they will be asking. . . . .

Question. What's the most important thing in your life? 

Follow-up question. What would the people who know you say?

 and here is a bit of the rest of the message from Pastor John. . . . . 
"Sadly, I find in my own life that these answers can sometimes be different. I really wish they were the same. I wish that the thing I most longed to have preeminence in my life was obvious to everyone else, but that's not always true. I may be alone in that, but I doubt it. 
 So if the answer was the same, and the most important thing in your life was obvious to you and others, what would that look like? If your answer is your family, how would others know that to be true? If your answer is God, what attributes would be present to show it?
 This Sunday we will be teaching about how we simplify one key area of our lives, while also showing how important God is to us."

i love simple, biblical messages that give you something practical to take into your week.
i can't wait for us to try Willow Creek Church!
sometimes, being a meddling mama is a good thing:)

don't forget that another episode of The Bible is airing tonight!

today on CBS Sunday,
they interviewed Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, 
the creators/producers of the series.

GREAT interview if you can catch it again somewhere.
but when asked if the idea for the mini series was hers,

Roma Downey said "not mine.  God placed the idea in my heart".  

well said!
When asked why they made it,
Mark said he believed that even if someone doesn't go to church
or isn't particularly religious,
everyone should hear the stories of the Bible.
i like that too!

*********************************** and no, i haven't forgotten that today is St. Patrick's Day.
to those of you who are Irish. . . .Happy St. Patrick's Day!
we don't do anything to celebrate it, although when my girls were younger,
we might color our food green and stuff like that.
but some things even i can't resist.
like a good excuse to have a nice big bowl of
Lucky Charms.

aaaahhh. . . . . i love me some marshmallows in my cereal!!:)

the Grand Ol' Opry sent this photo out today with the message

"Hope you're wearing your John Deere green!"

(you might need to like country to get that:)

Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Suzanne

Just Silence, Tears and God

those are not my words.

i  found them in a blog post done by

 Hannah, The Rustic Chick.

i love her blog!!!

love it, love it, love it!

she is my go to person for cowgirl stuff.......

fashion, cowboy wisdom.

i even found one of my favorite devotional sites from her,

Campfire Cowboy Ministries.

Hannah is actually closer to my girls age than mine.

but that's ok.

it just means they can relate to the Rustic Chick when they visit.

and if i see something i think they should see (like dating wisdom:)

you can bet i share it:)

before i get to that (cause there are some cool quotes i want to share),

i have to explain the title to this post........

silence, tears and God.

Hannah sent out a prayer request this weekend.

her mom was having problems and undergoing tests.

moms are special, right?

just hearing this is enough to make one drop to their knees.

i found out this morning her sweet mom has a brain tumor

and is facing surgery tomorrow morning.

please, please please PRAY!

i remember last year 

when my dad was having surgery, 

i had people from all over the world praying.

it was such a comfort!

and God saw him through that surgery.  

In the end, he did not make it.  

he had fulfilled the purpose God had for him here on earth,

so he brought him home.

making him whole again yet breaking our hearts.

even though we knew he was in Heaven, still heartbreaking.

it's hard for me to even think about still.

i am blessed to know where he is right now

and that i will see him again.

how do people cope without that?

i can't imagine.

i had my own MRI a few years back........

to R/O (rule out) a brain tumor and MS.

not fun, waiting for those results.

they ruled out the brain tumor.

but not MS.

 i'm okay..........

and this isn't about me.

it's about Hannah's mom.

Hannah has such a strong faith in God,

which is the other reason i'm crazy about this young lady.

she knows he is holding her hand.......and her mom's.

but she still needs our prayers, so please pray.

and maybe you can visit her blog at this link and get to know my

 cowgirl "friend" for yourself:)

either way, thank you for taking the time to read this

 and for praying for Hannah and her family.

now for those cool dating quotes i found on her blog,

the Rustic Chick,

 and i shared them

IMMEDIATELY

with my own shabby chicks:)

now, don't you just love these?

and they came from the blog of a young girl determined to live a 

fun, happy, carefree, cowgirl kind of life.

a young lady whose head and heart are in the right place.

whose Faith is a wake up call for the rest of us.

Praying for your mama Hannah!

xoxo

Suzanne

for my girls.......

i titled this for my girls,

but you can read it if you like:)

i have a board especially for them on Pinterest.

it has fashions i think they would like, songs we love,

LOTS of advice and little things i want them to remember.

you know, when teenagers are at or approaching the dating scene,

you can't be there enough for them.  

And with my ballerina turning 18,

i need to REALLY make sure she is prepared:)

here are some of my recent favorites.

sorry for all the pics!

sweet girls,

please know this.......

there will be many things to celebrate...

and disappointments along life's path.

there's always a choice to be made.

make good choices.

you were raised with christian morals and values.

never feel you have to compromise them.

people who truly love you and care about you

will never ask you to change.

as for dating and relationships........

remember this.......

i love this one.

what a guy!

 i especially want you to read and remember these next two.

i love them both and couldn't choose my favorite,

so i am including both.

i'm gonna print these out and plaster your walls with them:)

because

someday you will be faced with choices.

you need to be prepared now;)

i love you!

welcome, happy people!

this is summer...

isn't life supposed to be lazy and relaxing?

haha...then why do i feel so busy?:)

it's all good though...spent many fun days at the beach,

so maybe it's time to get to work.

speaking of work,

making stuff for my friends shop is keeping me busy,

so i haven't been around much.

i thought maybe i'd just share a few photos from pinterest

 that might make you smile, think or laugh today,

until i get a chance to do more.

this next one just gets me every time i see it.

such a sweet, true message and those girls...

notice the little one has down's syndrome.

just precious!

TRUE...

Patience...

last but not least, my beach gypsies:)

XOXOX

Suzanne

Ballerinas Invade Boston.....

at least it seemed that way for awhile on Saturday.

okay, no need to rewrite history or anything.

(Paul Revere, your legacy is safe!:)

actually, saturday was check-in day for the advanced/pre-professional 

ballet students lucky enough to be chosen to attend

the Boston Ballet School 2012

Summer Dance Program.

and my girl Taylor is one of those students,

chosen from more than 2400 students who auditioned 

during a 46 city audition tour that traveled throughout the U.S, 

Canada, Europe and Asia.

these students will train for at least 5-6 hours/day for 5 weeks this summer.

(kinda makes me feel lazy......i thought summer was for doing nothing. haha)

anyway, i am back from dropping her off at her dorm,

Shelton Hall on the campus of Boston University.

i have to say, i am not really a big city person anymore.

(give me my little florida town:)

but, for such a big city, Boston was pretty cool.

her dorm is right near Fenway Park and it reminded me what a big deal

baseball is in the summertime for many people.

because they are CRAZY for their red sox!

but i suppose what impressed me, if anything could impress me

in the SWELTERING heat we endured while walking MILES to find

the right stores to outfit a dorm room

 (and this comes from someone who lives in south florida)

was how the city of Boston has preserved it's history.

beautiful old, historical places, like Trinity Church.

kinda reminded me of big cities in Europe, 

because their history is very much preserved.

but back to the invasion of the ballerinas.....

it is kinda crazy on check in day but Boston Ballet wins the award

for the MOST organized summer program so far.

and what a relief, cause it was steamy:)

we got miss taylor's room assignment and went to check it out.

she chose the bed looking out onto the famous Charles river.

this is the roomiest dorm room she has had, 

and the only one with a "view".
(seriously, there is a big space between her and her roommate.
it may look small because we chose to make her's a cozy little nook of a room:)

you see what it looks like BEFORE we start decorating.

well, i think we gave her a pretty cool room in a few short hours.

we went with a surfer girl/country girl theme,

 (with some ballet thrown in too:)

to remind her of home.

can i say she LOVES her room?

and according to her, the other girls do too:)

as she said "mom, this is what you do best".

or something like that. hahaha

she knows to not fight me on this.

the minute she is accepted to a program,

i start thinking about a theme.

yes, she does get final say:)

but rather than go with the predictable pink/ballet-ish look,

 which she has lived with her whole life,

we shook things up and went to the beach!

 note to everyone out there........twinkle lights are a MUST!:)

see, we did include some ballet photos.

but check out that surfboard poster.

isn't it COOL?

then we have that gorgeous sunset poster i got online for .98 on amazon.

cool hawaiian leis from the dollar store.

her favorite country singer, Luke Bryan.

next to the bed, her pink alarm clock and devotional book by

Bethany Hamilton "Soul Surfer".

(that's my girl)

and posted all over her closet and walls, 

many random photos i printed out......

photos of her much loved pups, quotes and family, of course:)

i'm telling you, it was so cozy!  

i could have taken a nap there:)

by the way, she loves her new roommate,

a sweet girl from Pennsylvania named Cheyenne.

i think they'll have a great time together!

so we got done decorating and decided to walk around the area.

look at these beauties outside her dorm.......

we walked a block to a neat pizza place called Bertuccis,

and had pizza with the most AMAZING

watermelon lemonade i've ever had in my life.

the ONLY watermelon lemonade i've had in my life.

whew.......was it good or what!

i need to find a recipe for that ASAP!

well, i guess that's about it.

today is a big day for her......

placement classes to determine exactly what level.

before i go, look at these sunflowers i saw

at this cool, big grocery store smack in the middle of Boston, 

Shaws groceries.

pretty incredible.

they were ginormous!!!!!

and they were also fake:)

well Taylorina......

(come on, you knew that was coming;)

i'm gonna miss you!

but i know this is what you want to do so i hope it's a 

fabulous experience in every way!

be safe......learn a lot......and have fun!!!

XOXOXOXO

Mummy:)