Laugh or Cry?

We had a very interesting weekend. We went camping with our college group Zoe. There were around 45 people who went. What a funny weekend. We started off by putting up tents for everyone and three hours later we had enough for everyone. The worst part about the whole weekend were those dang biting flies!! I have never been so frustrated with flies in my whole life. We could not escape them. The first night James and Heath built a nice fire for everyone to enjoy. So on our way to our "tent" (we slept in trailer) Heath told Josh and Paige that he and James might come by later and scare everyone. So the next morning Paige asked Heath if he came by the camp site or was that a real animal they heard. It was a real animal!! All we could figure out was that it was a coyote and it caught a rabbit and the rabbit was screaming. So that kinda freaked some of the girls out. Then we heard a couple of the girls decided to sleep outside by the campfire. Do they not know that there are wild animals and they will attack you? There are snakes that look for warmth and will craw into your sleeping bag...I'm glad I slept in a travel trailer!! We had a great time, I think God really spoke to everyone there. I know He spoke to me!! I love it when He tells me that this weekend was just for me and everything that was spoken was just for me. It makes me feel so special!! The funniest part was going home. Have you ever just wanted to get home so badly and then everything goes wrong? Well that's what happened to us. We knew we were getting low on gas and James was watching for everything, the gas light was not on yet and it also tells you how much gas you have left. It said we had 23 miles left before empty. We were two miles away from a gas station and the truck dies and we had ran out of gas!! So we got to make some phone calls for help and James' dad came to the rescue. After we finally filled up with gas we went home and unloaded the trailer to take it back to Levelland to James' parents house and at Smyer a tire blew on the trailer!! I was following behind James and was calling him to pull over. When I saw him he just started cracking up laughing!! That is one of the many things I love about James. He can find humor in almost anything!! We finally got home around 5:30 when we should have gotten home around three. What a weekend!! Here are some pictures of the weekend.



This is the waterfall everyone was jumping.


My very first smore!!


James changing the tire on the trailer

Don't be a whiner!!

Have you ever had a day that you just want to whine?? Well mine is today! I am sooooooooo tired and I don't feel good. I don't know if its just allergies or I'm really getting a cold but my throat hurts so bad. I have been on the go for so long now that I could not tell you the last time I had a good nap. You know the one where you sleep for four hours and you try to wake up and you just can't so you sleep for another two. That's what I need!! My throat started hurting two days ago and I didn't think anything about it until last night. We worked at the church's corn dog stand at the fair and by choice we were out to late. Enjoying the nice cool air and watching the bears do their little tricks and getting attacked my mosquito's that are on steroids. So when we do finally get home we just crash. I mean it took all of me just to shower last night, let me tell you, if I hadn't smelled like a corn dog I think I would have passed on the shower. All last night, every time I would swallow I would start choking...to the point that I was getting very frustrated. I was hoping not to wake James because he is such a light sleeper but then I remembered he took a benadryl, smart man!! So at 2am I decided to take allergy medicine. And at 3am I decided to try to sleep with a Hall's in my mouth. So at 4am I was begging God to let me have just two hours of sleep. Have you ever wondered if Jesus begged for sleep? Did He get sick? Did He have allergies? Did He ever throw up? I know that's random but just wondering. I'll stop whining I promise. And I love when I don't feel good and everyone asks "Are you ok? You don't look so good." Thanks, like I already didn't know that I look like crap, but thanks for asking!! I should just be glad that I can get out of bed in the morning. I should be glad that I have all my arms and legs...for the one's who watched Oprah yesterday...The lady had no arms or legs AND had a new born!! I won't whine anymore...I'll just enjoy my thumb print cookies from Ms. Camps that I am not sharing and be quiet..but thanks for listening.

Friends!!

I found this great quote while searching the web. "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." It is so true!! When I have a problem with my life I know I can always depend on my family. They are going to love me no matter what because their my family. A couple of years ago James and I were really praying for good christian friends. We wanted friends our "age". At our old church we were the only young married couple. We were both so lonely. If your a girl you know this can be painful at times, don't get me wrong family is great but we needed friends!! We started going to church at Church On The Rock and all I can say is wow!! We have been truly blessed with all kinds of friends. God is so good!! I was given a challenge last year to be a better friend. Let me tell you this has been the best thing and the hardest thing I have ever done. To be able to share the true me is very hard for me to do. There are all kinds of hurts, current and past. The best thing for me to do was just for me to release those hurts. What a relief to let those go. I never realized what would happen to me if I let those hurts go. God has put so many amazing ladies in my life to minister to me, young and old. I have discovered that it's ok to make the first call. It's ok to pursue a friendship and to be pursued!! So this blog is to all the amazing friends that I have. Thank you for loving me for me. It's really hard for me to give all of me but I am trying. I'm trying to be a friend as well and that's not easy either, but you know what? Your worth fighting for!!! I was watching James the other day and my heart was overjoyed. He has amazing friends as well. It's so funny to me, but at least once a week he has lunch with some of his guy friends and they talk about all kinds of guy stuff and he loves every minute of it. We are both truly blessed!! Thanks to all the amazing ladies who have let me cry on their shoulder and all that have cried on mine. My shoulder is always available!! God did not intend for us to be alone but to be surrounded by friends!! I've also learned that you can't have to many friends!!

My sleep number is 50!!

This is a very random blog but bare with me. If you know me at all you know that I can sleep!! It does not matter where or what time I am anointed to sleep. I LOVE sleep. Let me say it one more time I LOVE TO SLEEP!!! It makes me so happy. My favorite is crawling into bed when it's cold outside and the sheets are freezing cold. I love to put the blanket up to my neck and lay on my favorite pillow. Just to let you know...no one touches my pillow!! I hate it when I come in the room and James is laying on MY pillow. I usually tell him...Get your own pillow that's mine!!! I don't want your smell on my pillow. Sorry I know that's real mature but its my pillow!! The whole point to this blog is that James and I got a new bed and its a sleep number bed. All this means is that on James' side of the bed is firmer or softer to his liking and mine is different from his. In our old bed we were both uncomfortable and now we get to choose how soft or how hard our side of the bed is...so mine is 50. I love it. I already have a hard enough time getting out of bed and now my bed really holds me hostage!! Sunday's are my favorite nap day. We go to the early service and we are home by 1:00 at the latest. We don't even let the dogs out, we go straight to bed and sleep for at least 3 hours. I just pray that my children will love Sunday naps just as much as we do because we do not want to give that up!! Anyways I think it's time for another nap!!

Thanks Leslie!!!

Thanks Leslie for for the pictures of your kitchen floors. Since I saw your kitchen it has inspired me to do mine. I loved your black cabinets and thought they looked great and wanted mine the same. So I've been looking at black paint and new counter tops. I found the paint and counter tops and even a new sink. I must say James is not real happy about this because he redid our counter tops this spring and I'm already changing them. Sorry honey!! But I will say it will look amazing when I'm all done. I started out with repainting the front bathroom and I love it. I took before and after pictures for you to see. So once the bathroom was finished I got a wild hair and decided to paint my coffee table and end table the black that I'm painting my kitchen cabinets and I REALLY love it. But before I painted the cabinets I painted my entire kitchen and dining. It was a dark maroon and know it is a nice khaki that matches the rest of the house. The kitchen will be done in phases so phase one is complete!! James you need to have your wisdom teeth taken out more often. I can convince you of almost anything when you are on drugs.
Bathroom before
Bathroom after


Kitchen before




Kitchen After (phase 1 complete)



So phase one is complete in my kitchen and now all we have to do is new countertops, new floor and new sink and the kitchen is done!!! Yea for the Fortner's!!
Just a little note...the layout of the pictures are not correct but I guess blogspot is smarter then me but you get the picture.