Thursdays with Zinnia

So, I am typically off work each week on Thursday and have devoted this day to spending time with my brand new niece. It amazes me how much she has changed in just 6 days each time that I visit. Here are just a few shots of my Thursdays with Zinnia.


My first Thursday with Zinnia. I don't think I could give this girl enough kisses!


Little monkey girl.


Holding her head up like a big girl.


She can already roll over from her tummy to her back.


Another perk to 'Thursdays with Zinnia' is seeing my beautiful Sister in Law.

Being Thankful

I try to do this every year. Mostly they are jotted down in my journal, but since I've started blogging I think it'll be neat to express my gratitude through here.

I am thankful for my family,
it has been a rough year.
We are called to be thankful
through the good and the bad,
so for the bad times I am thankful.
I don't believe I'd have the relationship
with my Father as I do now
if the bad hadn't of happened.
I am thankful for my Brothers and their
beautiful wives.
I am thankful for the opportunity to
grow closer with my siblings.
The months we shared in Rockport
filled with many laughs and many tears.
I am thankful for the new place I am at,
my wonderful roommate, our quaint little apartment,
and living in a city full of people
that need to feel the love of Christ.
I am thankful for my new niece Zinnia.
She is healthy and beautiful and full of life.
I am thankful for the opportunity to live close to her
and see her often.
I am thankful for the Till family.
My friendship in Misti and the joy her children bring me.
I am thankful for my friends. Spread as far as Oregon
to New Zealand and everywhere in between.
I am thankful for the health of my family,
the health of my friends, and the health of my own.
I am thankful for my travels
and the friends I have made along the way.
I am thankful for my precious dog Kona.
I am thankful for my spiritual growth, for a little bit of healing this year,
and for the coming to do only more.

November 19th

Although my intention was to avoid another rant on the subject of my parents divorce, I'm having a bit of difficulty doing so today as my mind continues to return to this specific day one year ago. November 19th,2007. I never dreamed that that day would happen. It wasn't supposed to happen, I thought. MY parent's marriage of almost 30 years was proof that commitment could last forever. Then November 19th happened. I somehow feel at times that I am responsible for picking it up. A year ago today, I really thought that it was possible, to pick it all up. Like a cup spilled on the coffee table; something that could be cleaned up and mended. They say that time will heal, but I disagree. It only proves that everything is temporary.
I sat in church tonight and listened to a woman speak about Paul sailing to Rome. It's a story in Acts commonly known as The Storm at Sea. and about a man named Paul who displayed extraordinary faith. At this particular time, Paul was a prisoner aboard a boat headed for Rome along with 276 other men. This boat was caught in a massive storm, but through Paul's bold and unshakable faith all 276 men were able to arrive safely to dry land. You can read the whole story in Acts chapter 27.
I was thinking about this storm of Paul's and also thinking about this storm that I have been undergoing for the majority of this past year. I feel similar to Paul in the sense that a good man is trapped in such a tragic and tempestuous storm. It is often told that people are taken through these "storms" in life so that after the storm has calmed they will be able to help someone later in life who is going through a similar storm. I fully agree that that is possible, but tonight I encountered something different. Perhaps I am in this storm for all of the other people that are in this storm. I am like Paul, a prisoner amongst 276.

"22But now I urge you to have courage because there will be no loss of life among you, but only loss of the ship. 23For just last night an angel of God, to whom I belong and whom I serve, stood by me 24and said, ‘Stop being afraid, Paul! You must stand before Ceasar. Indeed, God has given to you the lives of everyone who is sailing with you.’ 25So take courage, men, because I trust God that it will turn out just as he told me."

Perhaps I am in this storm for my Mom and Dad. A couple who at one time had a beautiful family that took weekend camping trips together and sat down at the dinner table to enjoy a good home cooked meal.
Maybe I am in this tempest for my two Brothers and their new wives. So that I can be their Paul, and stand up with amazing faith and say take heed brothers, God has given me the lives of everyone sailing with me.
Maybe I am in it for everyone affected by November 19th.
Maybe I am not in this storm to pat someone on the shoulder later and tell them "I know what you're going through".
Maybe I am in it for the 276.

The good news to this story is that Paul and his 276 landed safely on an Island called Malta. Some of them were able to swim and some of them floated in on planks and remnants of the broken ship, but they all arrived protected just as promised. SO, take courage, friends, for I trust that it will turn out just the way God has told.

Tonight,I ask you, my readers, to say a little prayer for me and those who are sailing along with me. This storm has been long, it's been windy, and it's been very rough. Pray for courage and for the hearts of my 276.

Marge Simpson

We had a little trouble fitting.

I love Halloween. This year I thought long and hard on my costume and at the last minute finally decided on Marge Simpson. This costume was, for the most part, simple. Basically all I needed to focus on was the hair. I got two blue wigs from the local Wal-Mart, a three liter coke bottle, and a hot glue gun. I cut the top off of the three liter bottle and hot clued it to the top of the wig. I then, sectioned off pieces of the hair, pulled them up onto the bottle and glued them down for security. One wig was just not enough, as Marge's beehive is quite an updo. I took the second wig and cut pieces off to create a somewhat "curly" look for this cartoonish halloween costume. I searched high and low for the perfect green dress, and unfortunately this is where the costume fell a little short. If you recall Marge wears a strapless green dress with a strand of large red beads around her neck. Given the season, I found it difficult to find a place with a strapless green dress. People at work loved the costume regardless and I found that tips were much higher due to me wearing a costume. Thank goodness no one found any Blue hairs in their entree. I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to blame that on anyone else!
Later that night after arriving home I found my roommate searching for a costume to wear throughout the house so that we could go out. Now, if you know Lee at all you know that she's not much of a "go out" girl. I was thrilled at this opportunity and tried vigorously to find her something to wear too. We tried being a hippie, a cowgirl, and finally--TOGA, TOGA, TOGA!!! We decided that Marge couldn't go out because Homer was drunk from all of his Duff beer, so I threw on a Toga too! (This brought back some good memories) So here it is folks, Lee's very first Halloween adventure!!!

"And Mr. Admiral here would like a Margarita too"

This week will almost complete a month of me living here in San Antonio. It's been a good ride so far. Our apartment is good and my roommate is great!! It's been nice to come home and have someone to share my day with; almost as nice as coming home to my trailer and sharing my day with Trailer Park Larry. So far we've only had one ill circumstance with our apartment and that was our ant infestation. We live on the 2nd floor and somehow ants were coming through our ceiling! (Doesn't make sense to me either.) Lee purchased some amazing little Ant Huts that did the trick. Thank goodness! I've been working a lot this week. I was very thankful to have gotten a job and immediately put on the schedule with a decent amount of hours. I'm waitressing at a charming little restaurant in one of San Antonio's bigger shopping malls. It serves a combination of Mexican, Spanish, and Native American cuisine and it is very tasty indeed! This week we are having what they call "Paw on the Patio". It's a charity event to raise money for our County's Humane Society. We are serving guests and their dogs a three course meal while they are dressed in their finest Halloween garb. There is also a costume contest and a photo station to help remember the event. This one particular lady came in earlier this week and wanted to check out the venue before submitting to a night with us. Apparently she had a few places on her list for places her and her dog could attend for Halloween and she wanted to make sure they went to the right place! She brought her dog and sat on our patio. We normally don't serve both dogs and their owners, but decided to humor this lady for the evening. She ordered a Margarita for herself and one for her dog, Admiral, as well. She later ordered a Shiner draft and informed me that Admiral didn't care for our Margarita. He lapped down the Shiner and his entree before I even sat the owners food on the table.
It will be interesting to see the people that come out for our event, especially after serving this woman. I'll be serving an entire night of people that dress their dogs up. This should be interesting.

Live Jams

Got another show lined up. This time it's at the Starbucks in the Quarry Market in San Antonio. Should be kickin' off around 7:30ish Friday October 10th....

Kona has been found, I repeat, Kona has been found

My Aunt Tammy reminded me recently that I needed to make it known that Kona HAS been found. So, he HAS been found! Here's the full story:
Kona went missing on Friday. I was out of town for a friends wedding and I had put him in my Mom's backyard. She too as out of town. So, Kona decided to go for a stroll around the neighborhood. No worries, he thought, he does it all of the time--with a leash on and supervision!!! He was a good little puppy and only went for a stroll in the neighborhood he was familiar with. He later told me that he didn't talk to strangers and when the neighborhood bully came by he hid in the bushes. Unfortunately, Mr. Kona Bessent was not informed of the Dog Catcher. I will take complete fault for this. I should have warned him. He was playing with the neighbors poodle when he arrived. Snatched him up immediately, I was later told by Kona, handcuffed and thrown in the back of the dog catchers mobile. He had to stay there until Monday when the pound opened up. I could recognize his bark as soon as I pulled into the drive way. Poor baby. Needless to say, Kona has learned his lesson. As punishment, he was neutered shortly after being rescued.