Weekend Trip - ZippityDooDa

In keeping with our Not Bummer Summer escapades, we headed to New York this past weekend. New York, Texas, that is, which is about a 2 hour drive southeast of Dallas. New York is in the Piney Woods region of Texas with rolling hills, tons of huge trees, and lots of small towns. We went through windy back roads until we started seeing the yellow signs marked NY-TX Adventures, which led us to this view:

Greeted by this crew:

Who suited us up to ZIP LINE!

There were 10 in our group, including Keri, my friend who moved to Singapore about a year ago.



Our zip line adventure took us through a course of 6 different lines, tree to tree, with the last line being 100 feet long and 100 feet high.

Our guides were absolutely fantastic and brought their humor to each station, especially when some of us didn't brake quite fast enough and ended up sharing a few "intimate" moments with the guys in their attempt to prevent us from smacking right into the tree at the end of the line.

After a wonderful morning of zip lining, we headed over to the little town of LaRue and ate lunch at "The Store" where the onion rings were amazing. We were surrounded by locals who did not know quite what to do with us loud, big city folk. They weren't sure they wanted us there until we bought out the counter of fried pies to take back to Big D.

As we were leaving LaRue, we passed a little place called the Blueberry Basket, a farm where you pick your own berries.

These crazy kids picked about 15 quarts of blueberries:

That turned into these:

Which turned into this at our cookout that evening:

It was definitely an exhausting day, but we came home with buckets full of blueberries and hearts full of memories!

A Tale of Two Trees (and one amazing friend)

Lovable Labels BlogHer Conference Giveaway Contest
This post was written as an entry to the Lovable Labels BlogHer Conference Giveaway.

When Chris and I moved into our current house, we "shifted" from the tradition of picking out a live Christmas Tree to the utter convenience and bliss of the pre-lit, artificial tree. I will spare you the details surrounding this shift, but suffice it to say that it has saved our marriage and saved Christmas in the Linebarger house.

I don't miss the pine needles or endless arguments about putting lights on the tree, but I do miss the tradition of picking out the tree. To me, it's a big part of Christmas, every year searching for The Perfect Tree. I remember one year as a little girl, finding a beautiful tree. We brought it home on the top of our car, only to find that there was a hole in the front of the tree -- a big empty spot with no branches. How could we have missed that? My Mom sat there trying to decide what we would hang in the big empty space, but then my Dad had a brilliant idea. He grabbed one of the branches that he had sawed off the bottom of the tree and gently nailed it into the trunk where the empty space was. And the tree was perfect. No empty spaces.

So there's this other tree of ours. The Family Tree. Unlike the Christmas Tree, we don't get to go to the lot and pick those out. You just get what you get. I've never been very close to my extended family -- everyone's scattered or uninterested. And there have been some big gaping holes in my family tree. Big empty spaces where it just seems like something should be. But growing up, God has been faithful to send friends who became like family, maybe even closer than family. It's almost like He's gently "nailed" new branches into my family tree to fill the holes.

One of those branches is Becca, my life-long-though-I've-only-known-you-nine-years friend. God knew that I needed another sister in my life, so he set Becca down in a house right next to mine, along with a girl ChellBell's age, a precious son, and a husband who likes the same things mine does. And wah-lah, our sisterhood began.

Becca is fiercely competitive, smart, creative, and organized. I'm serious, all that rolled into one person! She is a great Mom, an avid reader, and a gracious hostess. She lives life deliberately -- she plans things out. She reaches goals. She bakes.

And she is an amazing friend.

Becca and I have learned a lot from each other over the years. Like sisters, we are different in so many ways. But alike in so many more. She has filled a big space on my family tree, and I am overwhelmed at the gift of her friendship.

Three years ago, Becca's job moved her to Austin -- about a 3 hour drive from Dallas. After six years of having her next door to me, it was devastating to say goodbye to impromptu Friday night dinners, late night card games, "I'm running to the store, what do you need?", and having my best friend a short walk away. We have done our very best to stay connected, and though new babies and soccer schedules make weekend trips virtually impossible, there are just some connections that will never be broken.

Becca, you are -- whether near or far -- an amazing friend and a forever, permanent part of who I am.

Thanks for being my branch.


This post was written as an entry to the Lovable Labels BlogHer Conference Giveaway. Winning this contest would mean that Becca and I could attend the BlogHer Conference in SanDiego together!

Lordy, Lordy...

I remember the lazy days of summer when I was in elementary school -- days that never seemed to end. Plenty of time to run in the sprinklers, chase after the ice cream truck, ride bikes in the neighborhood, and play at friends' houses.

Grown-ups always said how quickly time was flying by. But I didn't see it at all.

I remember my senior year of high school, acceptance letter to Baylor in hand. The time seemed to creep along so slowly -- I was sure the day would never get there that I would actually move into my dorm and start my life as a college student.

My Mom kept saying how quickly the time had flown by. But I didn't feel that way at all.

I remember when I was pregnant with ChellBell, keeping track of her growth and progress week by week. 40 weeks seemed like a lifetime, and I wondered if the day would ever come when I would see her face.

Chris said he couldn't believe how quickly the time was passing by. But it seemed to stand still to me.

This past weekend I celebrated a milestone birthday of the big Four-O. Short of the party I have been planning for the past 6 months, I was not looking forward to this birthday. Not that I've dreaded it -- I just have not (like most people, I suppose) been jumping up and down about turning forty. Let's face it, when you turn 10, you are finally in double digits. When you hit 13, you are finally a teenager. 16, of course you get to drive. 18, you get to vote. 21, you get to drink. 30, you are finally legit. But 40. Well, that's the age when you are supposed to be all mature and have things figured out. You start looking ahead to the "back 9" and ponder on what has been instead of what is to come. Your investments become more conservative. Your bed time becomes a bit earlier. And time... You realize how quickly time really does fly.

As my friends sang "Happy Birthday" to me last Saturday, I looked out on a room full of people and thought about all the memories that had been made over 40 years with these people that I love so much. Each like a small pixel that, put together, makes up the whole of who I am and how I've gotten here. A room full of 40 years of memories is a pretty amazing thing.

And I wondered where the time had gone. How it had flown by so quickly. And I wished I could freeze it.

I definitely don't feel mature enough to be 40, and I'm nowhere near having things all figured out. But I do know that life is made up of small moments. And the memories that stick usually involve people, not things. And the richest people are those who have been loved and who have loved. And that life needs to be felt and lived and savored. And that time flies by quickly, so we must celebrate even the smallest of things while we have the chance.

Christie's 40th! from Rebecca Darling on Vimeo.

Trade Ya!

One of my favorite things about summer is Becca's Bloggy Flip Flop Exchange over at The Texas Darlings, where 2 fantastic things happen. 1. I get introduced to really amazing women from all over the country who like to blog just like me, and 2. We all get new flip-flops. Being in Texas, and having "summer weather" most of the year, the flip-flop is a staple to my non-work-wardrobe. So to find new flip-flops in the mail from a new friend is almost enough for me to throw a party!

This year, I was paired with Mimi from He & Me + 3 all the way up in Michigan. After reading Mimi's blog and getting to know her, I've decided on a few nicknames for her (Mimi, I hope you don't mind me taking the liberty). I thought about calling her "SM" for Super-Mom or "SP" for Super-Photographer (really, check out her pictures!), but I thought "SCGTIWLTHOW" would be the best nickname since she is a Super-Cool-Girl-that-I-Would-Like-To-Hang-Out-With! But another option is "SFFPO" which stands for Super-Flip-Flop-Picker-Outer. Check this out:



Not one, but TWO new sets of flip-flops (including pink cheetah!), a pedicure kit, new polish, and a postcard from Michigan. Does this girl know how to put a care-package together?? (Where was she when I was stuck in Russell Dorm my freshman year of college, needing a really great care package?!)

Becca, thanks for hosting, and Mimi, thanks so much for a great gift! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!

Extraordinary-ness of Sept. 2

You may have read that I am challenging myself to find the Extraordinary Moments in my Extra-Ordinary Life, and to blog about it each day during the month of September.

Today ended on a pretty extraordinary note. My friend Gretchen called from Chicago to tell me that her baby girl was born this evening, a full week before she was scheduled to have a c-section.

New babies are definitely something to celebrate. But THIS baby... well, there's a story to tell.

Gretch had a really hard time getting pregnant with her first baby -- lots of attempts at IUI and many heart-breaking rounds of IVF. Gretch moved to Dallas during the whole ordeal, and we met in a shoe store. She let me walk through her journey with her, and we both learned a lot about each other and ourselves. And just when it looked like it wasn't her lot in life to have a baby, she tried invitro one more time, and baby Hadley was born.

And then one day Gretchen ended up pregnant again. With no invitro. No help. The old fashioned way. And little Lottie -- we called her "the miracle baby" -- was born.

Then life got a little complicated, and their family moved back north for a new job, which didn't go as planned, and they ended up in the thick of the 2009 downturn with a couple homes to sell. And in the midst of all of that... you guessed it -- she got pregnant.

And today, just weeks after their homes were sold and her husband started a new job, Gretchen's third baby girl was born. She was a week early -- no overnight bag had been packed, the camera wasn't ready, and the phone wasn't charged. But Margot came anyway.

Gretch just keeps moving forward. Never giving up, just rolling with the punches that life throws her way. Maybe with a temper-tantrum here and there, but she always gets up and moves forward. And she loves life. She loves it in the good moments, and even in the moments where it feels like the last thread has unravelled.

Congratulations, my friend. YOU are extraordinary!

xoxox

We will Transcend

My friend Michelle called the other day to check in and say "Howdy!" She had just finished Kelly Corrigan's book The Middle Place and was very moved by it. She told me about a YouTube video of Kelly reading an essay about friends (gosh, how did we ever live without YouTube?!) and thought it might mean as much to me as it did to her.

I share it with you now and hope we all get to the finish line of life having shared the journey with amazing friends, those with whom we can transcend.

I'm in the middle of Eclipse, so I must run (I'm keeping Edward waiting... Ha!). This series is addicting -- YIKES!

Oh, the games we play...

pssst -- *200th post coming up next!*

I love, love, love summers for ChellBell. She gets 3 months full of activities and swimming and hanging out with friends without the pressure of school (I know, I know, she's just going into the 3rd grade, but pressure is relative...).

But just to make sure she doesn't lose her "learning edge," we have a set theme for every week of the summer and plan activities and a memory verse that correspond. This week's theme is "The 5 Senses," and I have arranged activities each day of the week to coordinate with a different sense. In addition to that, ChellBell and her sweet nanny, Kala, are reading all about Helen Keller this week.

So after learning all about "sight" today, ChellBell invited her friend Sarah to come over to our house to do their favorite thing, which is jump on the trampoline in their swimsuits and have water fights at the same time. Today the water fight turned into a game of tag, and they ran around that trampoline soaking wet trying to tag each other. Hilarious to watch!

Funny that not much changes through the years, because, believe it or not, I've been tagged! My friends Becca at Texas Darlings and Kasey at All That is Good tagged me in this fun 6th folder/6th photo game. Fortunately, there was no water involved, and I did not have to wear a swimsuit! Here is my picture:

Definitely not the highest-quality pic that I have, but it's one of my favorites! This is ChellBell doing a dance/cheer routine in her school talent show back in June (in front of the WHOLE school!). I was so proud of her for going for it! Look at that herkie she's doing with her hair flying - makes a Mama proud...

I did a little flip, I did a little flop

"Mama, you have mail!"

That's all ChellBell needed to say, and I came running! My friend Becca over at The Texas Darlings hosted the cutest "Bloggy Flip-Flop Exchange," and I am the lucky girl who got a package from Tanya at Miller Racing Family.

Tanya has a great blog -- if you haven't visited her, please do! You'll end up being a "follower". She adores her family and has a huge heart for other people and for God. You will always find inspiration on her blog and get a little chuckle as well!

The Millers live in the great state of Missouri, in a small town called Houston (in Texas county -- how confusing is that?!). Included in my package along with THE GREATEST green flip-flops (my favorite color this season!), was a postcard with all kinds of facts about her State. Tanya works at the local newspaper and sent a copy along with a t-shirt that says "Knowit.all". Although I love the shirt, I'm not quite sure I qualify... Somehow my husband thinks the shirt is more suited for him (you know, being mister-know-it-all-2009), but I am definitely not sharing!

Tanya, thanks for the great package. Becca, thanks coordinating this fun exchange!

Here, take a look at my goodies, and be jealous...

(oh, and PS. - visit PopRocks next week for my upcoming 200th post and give-away! Hooray!)

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

It has been like missing a hand or an eye. Our internet has been down.

I'm still not sure what the issue was, but Verizon sent several parts before they got the right one to us. Fortunately (sigh) we are back up and running, and I am now running like a mad women to catch up on all the posts, Facebook statuses (stati?), and emails that I have missed.

And now kind of remembering how nice it was the last week to just sit and read books with ChellBell in the evenings.

Nah, just kidding. I'd rather be with you all, finding out what cool things you're up to this summer.

Since there was no internet this weekend, we decided to go out of town. We ventured 194 miles south to see a sweet new Darling that I've been dying to get my hands on. Unfortunately, the "distractions" of the past month have kept me from getting to love all over this little one, but I tried to make up for it by holding him as absolutely much as I could this weekend. I did have a little competition -- no surprise, just look at this face!

It was a fantastic weekend of just hanging out and catching up with dear friends!

Can't you imagine these two at camp together this summer?!

As we headed back home on Sunday, we stopped in Waco at Chris' and my Alma Mater -- Baylor University. More importantly, though, we stopped at Health Camp, the greasiest dive in the South, for a legendary Peanut-Butter-Chocolate Milkshake. (These are amazing shakes -- I have been known to put my family in the car and make the almost-2-hour-drive to Waco just for a shake. Actually 2, because I will drink one while we are there and get another for the trip back to Dallas!)

We hung out on campus for a little bit while finishing our shakes, telling ChellBell stories about our younger days (gulp -- I realized that it was 21 years ago that I entered as a Freshman!). Baylor Tidbit: Legend has it that the first boy you swing with at Baylor is the boy you are going to marry. I'm certain that Chris wasn't the first boy I swung with, but I am certain that he is my favorite...

We finally reached home sweet home, and our perfect weekend ended with the first-ever family Oven Mitt Thumb War, which is not as easy as it looks.

Just what the doctor ordered...

My Doctor told me to take it easy this week and avoid stress. I am back at work, so I am clearly not following Doctor's orders. Poor Chris was sweet and supportive during my out-of-nowhere break down last night, and then my parents "swooped in" and rescued us, as they always do in such a timely way.

Mom and Dad got tickets for tonight's RoughRiders game (our minor league baseball team) and invited me, ChellBell, Chris, and my nephew Nathaniel to be their guests for an all-fun, no-stress evening. The tickets were "Founders Club," so we had wrist bands that gave us all-you-can-eat-and-drink access to 3 different restaurants and great seats right behind home plate. Take a look:

Nathaniel and ChellBell

Sadly, someone in my family ate this as part of their dinner. (Not telling who, but it was definitely NOT one of the girls!) This was just the "first course" before we found the BBQ restaurant...

My sweet friend, my Mom (she just started a new blog, by the way -- you can find it in my sidebar under Lessons Learned in the Garden...)

The Cha-Cha-Slide

The guys, clearly NOT participating in the Cha-Cha-Slide

ChellBell and Daisy

Fun times, exactly what I needed. Thanks, Mom and Daddy, for always knowing how to make things better. You are unwavering sounding boards, genuine cheerleaders, my pier and beam. Thanks for walking hand and hand with me through life. One day, I promise, I'll "get it" and be able to respond to you the way you respond to me -- bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things.

Set Another Place

I'm a little sentimental with Mother's Day coming up, but I just want to say that I'm crazy about my Mom.  We're dramatically different from each other and yet so many of the things that I like about myself are directly from her influence.  My Mom entertained a lot when I was growing up, and most of my favorite memories are from both formal and informal gatherings that she planned.  

Mom was the queen of "setting another place."  Because even back then, people were not aware of the need to RSVP.  Or they would RSVP for 1 and end up bringing a friend.  But Mom would just say, "We'll just set another place."  Some people would scoot to the left, and some people would scoot to the right, so that everyone had a place.  And everyone was welcomed.

Last Friday night, I had a great experience -- actually a bunch of great experiences all rolled into one evening.  I was invited to come hang out with a friend from high school, Nancy, whom I had not seen in -- yikes -- 21 years.  And to add even more excitement to the evening, Nancy's friends from Virginia were all going to be in town for a Girls' Weekend, so I got to hang out with them too, including Renee and Michele, whom I had gotten to know through their blogs.

Let me tell you about these girls.  They have been through the thickest and thinnest of times with each other.  They have seen life, they have seen death, they have seen good, and they have seen bad.  Together.  They have seen each other through the moments life has handed them. Together.  What an amazing group of friends.

But you know what they did?  They set another place.  For me.  Some scooted left, and some scooted right.  And there was a spot for me.  They welcomed me in, and I had a blast.

To the TNBS girls -- you all are amazing, and it was both a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of your group for the evening!

Catching Up and Playing Tag!

It has been another crazy week, and I've missed getting to catch up on everyone's posts.  But there is nothing better than a Saturday morning, sitting here with a cup of coffee, seeing what you all have been up to this week!

Jen over at Tatertots and Jello is celebrating her 200th post!  Go congratulate her and check out her giveaway -- she's so amazingly creative!

Becca at The Texas Darlings and Kasey at All That is Good tagged me in this very fun game.  So here I go!  I'm tagging 8 people at the end of the game...

8 Things I Am Looking Forward to:

-Date night with my husband tonight

-Celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday

-Hunting for eggs that I'm sure the Easter Bunny will leave for us

-ChellBell's formal portraits next weekend

-Throwing a party next Saturday for my friend Nicholas who just turned 40!

-Flip Flop weather

-Hanging out with Nancy and Renee and other bloggy friends in a couple of weeks

-Retirement (oh, a girl can dream...)

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

-Thanked God for the gift of Jesus -- I'm so aware of how much I need a Savior!

-Worked really hard on a new proposal at the office

-Wished I had been able to take the whole day off to hang out with ChellBell

-Had my first mammogram

-Actually left the office early

-Went to happy hour and celebrated with my friend Nicholas

-Ran into my parents at dinner and ending up eating with them

-Kissed my sweet family and was reminded why I am so lucky to be loved by my Chris and ChellBell

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

-Find jobs for all the people who have lost them

-Move forward with Foster Parenting

-Blog more often

-A back handspring (but those days are long-gone)

-Find the time and motivation to work out consistently

-Make the perfect souffle

-Have a green thumb and make my yard look fantastic

-Own my own paper store with great invitations and gifts

8 Shows I Am Currently Watching:

-Heroes

-House

-American Idol

-Grey's Anatomy

-The Office

and only because ChellBell watches them constantly:

-iCarly

-Zoey101

-Drake and Josh

8 People I Am Tagging:

-Marci at Marci's Musings

-Carie at SheepishLion

-Sheri at It's the Journey... (she's new to the blogging world -- drop in and say hello!)

-Kelly at Fabulous K

-Nancy at Powell Family Blog

-Renee at The Sturgill Road

-Keri at Doing Life

(okay, that's only 7... )

Okay, friends, have a great day!

The best laid plans

Chris and ChellBell are in Austin for the weekend at Becca's house.  And I am a little jealous.  I couldn't make the trip because I have been asked to teach a really cool class at church tomorrow, and it just wouldn't have worked for me to dash down to Austin and try to get back in time to teach.

For a while, I was excitedly overwhelmed about having an entire weekend to myself and made a list of 14 things that were going to get done this weekend, including planting some things in the flowerbeds, cleaning out a closet, painting my entryway, getting new bedding for the Master bedroom...  Yeah, just a few things on the list (I'm not an optimistic overachiever or anything... can you tell???).

So, sadly, I have done 2 things on my list, and neither of them have entailed home improvement.  And what have I done with the rest of my time?  Work, sadly.  I've been at the office.  On a beautiful Saturday.  It's just that season where work is a little, shall we say, consuming.

Thanks for all the sweet thoughts and notes and check-ins while I've been consumed this week. 

And speaking of sweet...

 

In the midst of my crazy work schedule, my sweet friend Jen at Tatertots and Jello gave me this award, which put a huge smile on my face and a little skip in my step.  I'm crazy about Jen -- she signs her comments with x's and o's, she is always sending such great words of encouragement, and she is just a lovely person.  She is definitely one of the most creative bloggy friends I have -- you should check out her blog and get some great ideas!  (Jen, the eggs were on my list of 14 things to do, but I haven't gotten around to them yet...).  Thanks so much, Jen (xoxo)!

So now I get to pass this award on, and I want to give it to my friend Nancy over at the Powell Family Blog.  Nancy was one of the first people to start commenting on Pop Rocks on a regular basis!  Nancy is a friend from high-school and thanks to Facebook, we were re-united!  She is a fantastic Mom to the adorable Ainsley, and she is one of those rare people who doesn't just talk about making the world a better place -- she actually does it!  So go get to know Nancy -- you will be in for a treat!

And I am off to buy dog food (number 11 on the list...)

All about nesting...

My friend Becca is adding to her nest!  She is already Mom to a close-to-perfect 8 year old and a cuter-than-cute 6 1/2 year old, and God has decided to bless her with another baby boy -- we just had to celebrate!

Our church recently built a new facility to accommodate our growth.  The foyer of our church, called The Crossing, has the most beautiful, natural setting, which was the perfect venue for a Nest-themed baby shower.  Here are some pictures...

Birdhouses covered with scrapbook paper

Each table had a centerpiece of branches secured in rock salt

With birdcages and nests to match the theme

By the end of the shower, all of the centerpieces were covered with notes for Becca and the baby

The food was catered by a Dallas staple, Celebrity Cafe & Bakery

They even made these precious petit fours, which tasted as great as they look!

I can't throw a party without a craft -- we made canvas picture frames for the nursery

There was actually great participation

And now Becca has a cute way to display and switch out photos

Everyone took home a cute clipboard as a favor

What a great group of friends!

And of course, where there is water...  I'm just glad our girls waited until the shower was over!

The best thing in the world is to celebrate with a friend

No matter what age you happen to be