Friday, October 30, 2009

For my mom....

Several years ago, when I was just a kiddo, we got the news.

Now, this is not the "jump up and down-so excited-pee your pants" sort of news....nope, this was very real and hard for me to understand. My parents came to me...sat me down and told me....

Dad: "Summer...mom is sick. She has cancer."
Me: "Well...is she going to be ok?"
Dad: "Yes, she'll be fine."
Me: "Oh...well, ok then."

Even at the age of 12, I had absolute, unwavering faith in my parent's "force" (as I'll call it). This "force" that I speak of is something all of you know about. You know when you're a child, you think that your parents can DO anything, BE anything, HAVE anything...that they are ALL-Powerful and sort of rule the earth...Well, I still felt that my parents had this "force" at age 12. (I lived a sheltered life...haha)

So, when my dad told me that mom was going to be fine....I believed him. I truly don't remember worrying that much about it.

-Even when my mom had to have surgery (several times)...and my dad wouldn't leave her side at the hospital...and I stayed with my grandparents....It never entered my mind that anything bad could happen.

-Even when my mom had to have chemotherapy...and she was constantly sick...My parents reassured me..."Everything will be fine, Summer." -----I believed.

-Even when my mom had radiation therapy....and lost all of her hair....We made it a "fun shopping trip" to pick out wigs....Still didn't worry.

-Even when my dad threw my mom the BIGGEST Christmas party they've EVER had inviting ALL of her friends (because he thought it may be her last)......It didn't enter my mind.



It has been around 16 or 17 years since my mom has been in remission (Thank you God)

I remember when it hit me.....when I realized that my parents had sheltered me from the fear of losing her....when I realized that my mom was only breaths away from being forever out of my life. I remember feeling like I had been punched in the stomach, because of how carefree I had treated the situation. I remember feeling sharp pangs of guilt and deep feelings of remorse for not being worried or sad. I felt incredibly selfish and inconsiderate....

I couldn't understand why my parents had hidden how serious it was from me. I didn't know why I had been so ignorant and blind to the fact that she was slipping away right in front of my eyes....and I....I was completely unaware.

I felt like the worst daughter in the world.


Tomorrow morning, my parents and I are walking in a 5K called the Undy 5000 (hehe...LOVE the name). It benefits Colon Cancer Awareness, and is obviously very important to me. My mom, AKA The Most Amazing, Beautiful, Strong, Generous and Loving person, means more to me than I think she realizes...and I love her more every single day.

My mom is my best friend....my confidante...my shoulder to cry on...my inspiration...my role model....

She is everything to me....and I love her.

Love you mommily!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

It's the end of the world as we know it...

This weekend, our church is starting a new series called "The End of the World". I am extremely excited about this message and interested to see what verses and topics our pastor focuses on.

Like I'm sure all of you out there in Blogland, I have definitely thought about what "The End" will be like, when it will be, etc, etc....There are a myriad of movies out there that depict different "end of the world" scenarios.....Most with intense and spectacular effects, and it's almost always a very terrifying end result.

Now, I obviously have no idea what the end will look like...when it will be...how long it will take....but, I do know that as Christians, we shouldn't be afraid of it. This battle has already been won....and WE are the victors!!!

I look forward to sharing the message with you Monday, and hope you are all having a wonderful Thursday!!!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ramblings....

Ok, first thing's first.

drum roll, please.........



I

Bought

My

Ticket

To

See

New

Moon!


WHOOPIE!! THAT'S RIGHT BABY!!! Going to the 12:30 a.m. showing on November 20th! Soooo pumped!

Ok....deep breaths....whew....deep breaths.....alright..I think I'm better now.





AHHHHHHH! NEW MOON, NEW MOON!!! EDWARD!!! JACOB!!!

{wheeze} ok...feeling faint again....breathe Summer....breathe....

_________________________________________

** Ok, moving on....(reluctantly)**

Now, to all my ladies watching So You Think You Can Dance....HOW AWESOME IS THIS SEASON GOING TO BE, RIGHT??!!!! These dancers might just be the best group YET! Although I'm not really that fond of the tap dancers (not hatin' on tap...it's just not my favorite type of dancing to watch)

I'm stoked to see what this group of dancers is capable of....will be an exciting season!!!

_________________________________________

Tonight, I'm going to a sorority alumni event called "Fashion with a Passion" and am looking forward to bonding time with sisters. I have been trying to get more involved with my alumni group and look forward to more of the events we have coming up this season!

Happy Blogging my sweets!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Face of the Earth...

No...I haven't fallen off of it.... ;)

I've got some posts coming up...promise!

SENDING OUT BLOGGY LOVE TO YOU ALL!!!


Monday, October 19, 2009

Super Fun weekend!!!

It has been crazy busy for me lately! I feel like I've been going, going, going and not really slowing down much. And, the thing is...I don't think it WILL be slowing down anytime soon..haha....Oh well, I love it!

Saturday morning, I walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure which benefits breast cancer awareness....This means a lot to me because both my Me-ma and great aunt Ruth fought this disease. My Me-ma won her battle, but my aunt did not...

I've done this race many years now, and every year I am astonished at the number of people involved...I believe they said that somewhere around 25-35 thousand are out there!!!! How awesome is THAT?!



I participated in the 5K and ran some, walked some...I love seeing how many people are out there dressed in their pink!

I DID IT!!!



After wearing myself out, I went home and immediately started getting ready for the BIG GAME!!! What game is that, you ask? Only the biggest game OF. THE. YEAR!

TEXAS VS. OU!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went over to a house party to watch the game and had a blast!

Gotta love this cake!!!



Emily (the hostess) and me....and her hubby trying to jump into the pic...




My dear friend Lise!




The game was really not all that great, but the end result was what really matters...and....

TEXAS WON!!!!!!!!!! HOOK 'EM!

After the game ended, we decided to play a friendly game of football ourselves...



Of course, I take things very seriously and was NOT about to let this chick score!



I did get many a high fives for this superb tackle if I do say so myself...

It was such a beautiful day outside and we all had a blast just enjoying the perfect weather!

Friday, October 16, 2009

Howdy Folks!

It's that time of year again! The State Fair of Texas has come!!! YIPPEE! I always get giddy when it's "Fair-time"...I look forward to it year round with sheer anticipation! Not sure if you knew, but our state fair is the largest state fair in the United States (measured by attendance!!) Pretty cool, huh?

Every year, they concoct new "fried" foods...and this year was no exception. Here are a few of the new foods they introduced this year:

*Fried butter (yep, you heard that right...fried butter...haha)
*Deep fried peanuts
*Deep fried pizza (this one sort of makes me giggle)
*Chocolate jalapeno
*Fried apple and peanut butter on a stick...this one, I actually tried and let me tell you....YUMMMMMMY!

Here I am enjoying this tasty treat...



You've got a large wedge of apple, wrapped in peanut butter, deep fried, then dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with caramel....mmmm...my mouth is watering just thinking about how delectable it was......

Of course, we had to visit with Big Tex and get our picture with him...




My sweet mom and pops....



And, then...they start getting goofy (and this was early in the day...haha)



Yes...I'm posing by the mammoth...WHAT?! You would do it too....




Showing off my Elvis purse next to an Elvis doll...



I love my daddy...




This was actually called the "Baby Corral"....so, umm..yeah...do people actually leave their babies here? Like, Really?! ...interesting...



Me and my beautiful momma...




Ahhhh....the Midway....where all the fun happens....




It's a tradition that every year, dad and I ride this silly haunted house ride. Seriously...it's darn silly...but, HEY...Tradition IS Tradition!!!







And, of course...me and mom had to ride OUR traditional ride...the wonderful swings!!!



I always feel like I'm flying....



I could seriously ride this one over and over and over...







For those of you who don't know...our ferris wheel is GINORMOUS!!! It is the biggest ferris wheel in the nation! Everything is bigger in Texas!!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Stars game

Last night, I went to a Dallas Stars game! I love going to any sports event (although my absolute ALL-TIME fave is football!!!)




The Stars played REALLY well and scored 4 points in the first quarter!!!




We ended up winning 6-0! Gotta love shutouts!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

U2 Rockin' the House!

Last night, my friends and I went to the U2 concert! Muse opened up for them and they really rocked! If you don't know, Muse had several songs on the Twilight CD, so when I heard those, I just. about. died!!! The concert was in the new Cowboys Stadium and that things is massive! A VERY cool place to say the least.

We had pretty good seats...



U2 put on a great show and played all of our favorite songs!

Afterwards, traffic was HORRIBLE getting out of there, but well worth the show....

Monday, October 12, 2009

Making s'mores and Reconnecting with God

This past weekend's retreat was truly refreshing! My friend and I drove out to East Texas Friday afternoon and arrived at our destination just after 8 p.m.

Me all excited about driving out to camp...


Here we are walking up to camp...



The scenery really is beautiful and serene out there...



Our cabins were very nice and had huge porches with lots of rocking chairs and benches....



Taking pictures of myself inside our cabin...we both took top bunks (regretted it later...ugh!)



That night, after orientation and getting all settled into our cabins....We headed to the campfire pit and made some s'mores!







The next morning, we had a yummy breakfast and had our first worship session. Really great message that hit home! After that, we had lunch, then started out our fun day full of activities!

The camp has a really amazing and HUGE waterpark during the summertime. Unfortunately, because of the colder temperatures, it was closed down...we hope that they hold an "adult retreat" next summer so we can have some waterpark fun, too!



(I'm always snapping random pictures of myself....)


This is the zip line tower that we jumped off of!



Here we are all "harnessed" into our gear and ready to ZIP!



WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!



That afternoon, we went horseback riding....My horse's name was Titan!




That evening, we had a wonderful dinner and began worship session 2...



The first thing we did was play "Battle of the Sexes"!!!






The worship session that night was sooooo fantastic and had me completely convicted and refreshed. I sometimes have to clear the cobwebs in my mind to remember how important my relationship with God really is...and this past weekend really reignited that flame!

That night, we once again headed down to the campfire to make s'mores (you can't go camping without making s'more EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT!)







What an amazing way to spend my weekend....good friends, good times and remembering my passion for the Lord!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Retreat for the Soul

This weekend, my friend and I are going on a singles retreat with my church! We are heading out to East Texas after work today to embark upon a weekend of camping and amazing fellowship!

Here is where we will be staying...I feel so blessed to be a part of such a great church family!


We'll sing songs and make s'mores...



We're going horseback riding...


Zip lines...(yes...zip lines...I KNOW!)



There are so many wonderful things that this camp has to offer. They have paintball, kayaking, canoeing...the list goes on and on! Plus, during the summertime, they have a GIANT waterpark!

Most importantly...this will be a weekend of fellowship and prayer...



(there is no cell phone service out at the camp and we're encouraged to not bring electronic devices...which makes sense...but, I truly don't know what I'll do without my phone...haha)

Hope you all have a beautiful and blessed weekend!