Special Friends

Today I had the pleasure of taking one of my best friends to lunch for her 32nd birthday! As I sit here thinking what I could write about today to go along with this amazing picture, I am perplexed! I don't really know what I could say to express what her friendship and love have meant to me over the past 19 years! You know there are lots of crazy memories that I could tell you about that would make you laugh until your ribs hurt (and do us on occasion) but you still wouldn't fully understand what she means to me! There is absolutely nothing in my life that she has not been through with me whether it has been a trial or triumph. We have essentially grown up together and now are watching our kids grow up together. Heather, what a joy it was to watch as you received some of God's most prize possessions and have become an incredible Mom. It was wonderful to watch you finally meet and fall in love with the man that treats you and loves you like I always felt you needed to be treated and loved! I enjoy still every single conversation we have and every minute we spend together! I wouldn't trade for your friendship for anything and you will hold a forever place in my life and my heart! Thank you for your friendship! I love you girl!

A Fresh Start

This was an incredibly tough weekend and we are hoping for a fresh start for the new week! There are lots of things going on this week and I am praying that Mr. Sickness has left our home! My suspicions were correct! We had a super tough weekend! Thursday night was horrible! Friday was even worse than that! I was a mess and poor little Brackston just couldn't hardly even move! He slept on the bathroom floor for 20 hours straight! Poor baby! We finally got him to move to the couch and his vomiting had slowed down some but his fever was still pretty high. Bryan and I had been talking back and forth to his Mom all day. We considered taking him to Urgent Care at Scott and White during the day but, as the day went on we thought we had come through the worst of it. At about 10:20 P.M. or so I looked over at him and thought he was having a seizure! He was shaking uncontrollably and I ran over and couldn't get him to respond to my voice or even look at me! It scared me to death! Bryan got on the phone with his Mom again and I said "hang-up, that's it...we are taking him to the E.R.!" I was a wreck! We all looked crazy sick but, we were going! We got there and they tested him for rapid strep and an upper respiratory infection! They did a chest X-ray and found nothing! They came in and told us that it was just a bad viral infection and that the shaking was caused by his fever trying to fight off the infection! The doctor told us he should start getting better fairly quickly and then told us to go home and get some rest because we all looked pretty bad! Thanks Doc, LOL! Anyway, Saturday was pretty rough but seemed to be a better day for Brackston! I felt like we were in the clear! Today, he woke up with a fever again! What in the world is going on here? Can a Momma get a break?!! Poor Baby!! It is almost 12:30 AM now on Monday morning and he is still coughing up a storm in there while he trying to sleep! I just hope and pray that he wakes up in the morning a happy camper! I really don't like this time of the year! Can we please just skip to spring and summer? Well, I am going to call it a night in order to prepare for whatever comes my way tomorrow! Praying that everyone stays healthy!

It's Official!!

It's Official!! The bug has officially reached and infected The Washburn Family! I am afraid that this is not going to be a fun weekend AT ALL! Bryan, got sick first with what he was told by the doctor's was the worst kind of flu that is going around! His first concern was us! He was worried that we would get it! I told him "Babe', you don't worry about us we will be fine. You just get better!" Well, I guess I was wrong! I started feeling badly yesterday evening and Brackston joined us at about 1:30 this morning! I just can't breathe....but, my little man is sleeping in the bathroom he feels so bad! Poor baby!! I so don't like when he is sick! I feel helpless! So anyway, here is your warning!! Stay away from the Washburn's house for the weekend! We are probably not going to be your best option for a fun outing! Keep us in your prayers! I gotta go my poor baby is crying and calling my name!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh no...my teeth are falling out!

Look at that gap!

Beautiful toothless smile!

A Weekend To Remember

I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend with my beautiful baby girl at our annual Mother/Daughter Retreat at the fabulous Camp Peniel. On Friday afternoon we headed towards the Marble Falls area with our sweet friends Toni and Morgan. The drive was filled with lots of joy and laughter. This is our second consecutive year that we have been able to enjoy this amazing experience. Last year TBC was one of the several churches to take part in the camp's event however, this year we were super excited to have the entire grounds to ourselves.

Our weekend was filled with an enormous amount of fun activities and amazing worship.

Together we enjoyed a fun trail ride, a plunging ride on a zip line, and a little archery lesson.

Probably my favorite activity that was scheduled for us was the rifle shooting experience. Neither Brittanie nor myself have ever fired a gun. We were instructed by the amazing Don. He diligently instructed us on exactly what it was that we needed to do to hit the bullseye. Brittanie did great her first attempt.
I on the other hand was lousy. Initially we were given 5 bullets each and somehow I managed to miss the target on every single shot. I could not handle the disappointment. I was taught as a child if at first you don't succeed try and try again so, try again I did! I received a few extra pointers and I was on my way to shooting off another 10 bullets. This attempt was intense and precise. The work paid off. I managed to hit the target with every single shot. Go Me!! I can't wait to shoot again!

Along with these scheduled activities we also enjoyed a frigid hay ride followed by some tasty s'mores by the fire, a mean game of Mother against Daughter volleyball, and our game of choice for the weekend Catchphrase.

This game was hilerious and I just loved sitting in a circle enjoying laughter with my baby and sister's in Christ.

Combined with all these fun activities was incredible worship and life lessons spoken to us by the amazing Linda Strom. She encouraged us to love our daughters where they are right now and for who they are because this time will be gone before we know it. This weekend my God of grace reminded me why I was chosen to be the Mother of one his most precious gifts. He gave me the opportunity to see my baby shared her love for her God along with her passion for music and led us in worship and dance.
What an amazing pride that I felt at that very moment. Every single moment spent with my gift from God this weekend I will truly cherish in my heart forever. She is a beautiful creation given to me for only a short time and I yearn to appreciate every single second with my angel. I love you baby girl!


These girls were inseperable...Brittanie, Morgan and Reagan


Here are some of the girls that enjoyed the weekend with Mom.


"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.: Isaiah 66:13

Cold......Brrrrrrrr......

Holy Cow it's cold!!! I am so not a winter person! I like to be comfortable! I can't even get warm in my own house! I have adjusted the thermostat a gagillion times (which I don't like to do because it will cause the bill to go up) and still can't get warm!! AAAAHHHHH!!!! Help!!!!! The only place that I have found that I can get comfortable is in my bed and that's not such a good idea because then, I get absolutely nothing done!!! Sometimes it's ok to have days like that but, I am ashamed to admit I had one of those days yesterday and quite honestly I can't afford to have two in a row! I think I've got it....if I would get off this computer and do some activity around the house I would probably warm up.....and maybe get some things checked off my to do list! Wow, I am a genius! Ok, maybe not a genius but it does seem like a pretty good idea but so does a nice hot bubble bath! Don't you just hate the decisions you have to make as an adult? Anyway, I am off to do whatever it is that I decide to do to be productive today and I hope that you all stay warm :-)

Thought for the Day

ATTITUDE
by
Charles Swindoll

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company...a church...a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitudes.