boyd's birthday week, so far

i'm drinking a decaf coffee, and enjoying a rainy day.

today i've been mopping the kitchen, 

hanging a birthday banner, 

and trying to get our sick baby boy well in time for his 6th birthday, tomorrow.

so far this is how we've been celebrating his birthday.

i sure do love birthdays.

each one is a gift from god.

life is a gift, and it should be celebrated.
 

we started off last saturday by dropping off his birthday donation to the food bank.

it's our tradition to donate as many items as the age that we turn, plus a few more.

he picked out ramen noodles and soups and cans of spaghettios.

last weekend boyd had a small party at the trampoline park,
with a few classmates and friends.
it gave me the chance to see some of my good friends too.
it was a loud and crazy day, and boyd enjoyed it so much. 
i even jumped a little, it was fun,
but when i realized kevin was trying to video tape me, i made a run for it.
{ain't nobody got time for that}.

then, monday evening boyd started feeling kind of puny,

he went to school tuesday, and looked awful when i picked him up from school.
he had a high fever, went right to bed at 3:30 pm, and didn't get out of bed until 5:30 this morning.
he was only awake long enough to take some medicine and eat a few popsicles {in bed}.
he's home with me today, and i hope the extra rest will make him better by tomorrow.
get well my sweetest boy.

our birthday plate is filling up with cards from sweet friends and family.

kevin and i plan on having lunch with boyd at school this week,
and i'm taking cupcakes up to school on his actual birthday.

boyd patrick will be 6 tomorrow!
happy birthday baby boy.

love,
nicolle

feeding the hungry {and the ducks}

Jesus has a sense of humor, that's for sure.

Kevin had some leftover food from work a few days ago, 

so Boyd and I headed downtown to find one of our homeless friends.

We saw this sweet man pushing a cart, and I pulled over and asked him if he needed some food.

I handed him the food, he gave me a sweet smile, and he saw the bread and said,

oh thanks I have a friend who has some ducks and he will love this.

I'm hoping that the man also ate some of it as well.
That was my intention, but bless his heart, he was thinking of the ducks.

One of my best friends sent me this video tonight, and I laughed and I cried.

When she talks about being flooded with the love of Christ, I know exactly what she means.
When Jesus leads you to do something, and you follow Him, the feeling is indescribable.

And I should have said to him, sir do you know Jesus.

next time i will.

Do you know Jesus?
He is pretty amazing.

love,

nicolle

feeding the hungry {birthday tradition}

we started this tradition last year with my birthday.

we take as many items to the food bank, as the age we are about to turn.

boyd still has a couple of weeks until he is 5, but this morning was a good time for us to take his donation. 

we picked out five items, and took them to the food bank,

along with some toothbrushes/toothpaste and combs that we bought a while back.
bless his heart, he was so happy to do this, although he did keep asking for a toy,
but i told him not today.

i hope that boyd will continue this tradition for all of his birthdays,

and as he gets older, i hope that this is something he really looks forward to.

i have big dreams that if everyone did this for their birthday,

we would be one step closer to ending hunger,

or at least we'd be taking a huge leap in helping those in need.
and the most important part, we'd be sharing the love of Christ with more and more people.

the best gift you can give to others {and to yourself} is giving to someone that can never thank you, to a stranger that will never know your name or your face. 

i believe that our birthdays are a blessing, and a chance to celebrate our life.

life is sweet and such a precious gift.

i can't think of a better way to celebrate, than to give a blessing to someone else.

love,

nicolle

yesterday was beautiful, yesterday was horrible

Sometimes I don't know what's appropriate in times like these, but I am going to try to document our day here anyway. I'm worried I may say or do the wrong thing in light of the tragic events from yesterday, but my heart is still saying to write down my feelings. 

Yesterday started off on such a high note. 

A few years ago I wanted to hold a Christmas food drive. Although we gathered some food and money from wonderful friends and family, Kevin thought about taking it to his work as well, and something amazing was born. The first year, one ton of food was collected. Last year about 3000 pounds, plus a monetary donation from the owner. This year the goal was 4000 pounds. At weigh in yesterday, 5300 pounds of food had been donated. Another monetary donation will be made this year as well.

Thank you Jesus.

They work their tails off donating and sorting and packing up this food. Yesterday was an amazing testament to the GOOD in this world. I've come to know and love so many people that Kevin works with, and my heart could not have been more full yesterday to see God's faith and love in action. Because of their faithfulness, so many with nothing will have something,

and that is so beautiful.

We left the food bank and went to grab a bite to eat. As we were getting our table, we saw the news on CNN about the school shooting in CT. I felt sad and paralyzed and was immediately grateful that Boyd was by my side at that very moment. I didn't want to eat my lunch. I scanned the faces of the people in the restaurant making sure everything looked ok. My mind went into overdrive. 

I talked to my mom and one of my best friend's on the drive home, trying to rationalize all of this. We got home and of course I turned on the news, and cried. I held Boyd extra tight, touched his sweet face, prayed and prayed some more. I would walk by his artwork on the fridge, and my heart would feel like it's never felt before, more tender and maternal than I think I've ever experienced...just over his sweet artwork. I glanced into his room, so thankful that I would be tucking him into his bed later that night. 

We headed to Kevin's work Christmas party. 

I heard a song on the radio, I cried some more, and I hoped that no one would notice.
 

What a beautiful place.

Joe T. Garcia's little chapel, across from their main restaurant, and one of my favorite places in Fort Worth.

But my heart was heavy, and I wasn't really sure if it was the right place to be. 

I don't want to sound callous, but I was glad for the little distraction for the evening. 

Life goes on, even though it's so hard to find the right balance of celebrating life, yet mourning something so awful that has happened. 

We still laugh and love, eat Christmas cookies, and try to hold our tears, while remembering that life is so precious, so beautiful, and so fragile.

I prayed before I wrote this that God would give me the right words to say. It might have sounded jumbled, but that is how I'm feeling right now. 

What I do know is that this life is not possible without the Lord.

We have been set free from the awful actions of yesterday. It doesn't make any sense, it never will, but He is our saving grace, no matter what. 

Praying for those sweet babies, the amazing teachers and staff, their friends and family, their community, and our world.
Jesus is holding us in the palm of His hand.

Thank you Jesus for this life, but more importantly, for Your promise.

love,

nicolle

wednesday

I didn't write about this the other day, but I went to an orientation meeting on Saturday, at the Union Gospel Mission, in order to start volunteering there. I was so excited all week, once I had my meeting date. I learned so much more about the mission on Saturday. I want to document some of what I do there, on my blog. I have a couple of precious friends that are going to volunteer, and another friend long distance that wants to send some items when we makeover a resident's room. God is so good. 

The mission serves about 700 meals a day to residents, as well as anyone on the street that is in need of food. 3 meals a day, 365 days a year. They have approximately 325 long term residents {up to 1 year}, who live there, get help with life skills, finding jobs, and so much more. They can also give shelter to about 70 others on a nightly, temporary basis. There are so many needs there, but it is such a beautiful place. I can't wait to get started. 

Last night I waited patiently for my sweet husband to get home, and then we went out for a late night dinner date. Yes, I kept checking out front to see if he was home.

We went to a place we love, but haven't been to in a while. It's a little 5 star restaurant, in a gas station. The owner wanted to open a restaurant, couldn't get a loan for one, but they would give him a loan for a gas station, so he opened one up, and put his restaurant on the side. It's so successful, and the food is amazing. 

They are famous for their bread pudding, and although we were stuffed, I had to have some. 

Guy Fieri has been there, or as the tourists at the table behind us said,

Guy Ferrari.

:)

Boyd has been busy helping his memaw {Kevin's mom} and great aunt decorate for Christmas. 

Their house looks so pretty and festive. 

We spent some time there today.

It was a good day.

{helmet not required for decorating, he had been riding his bike}.

Tonight's grand finale.

God gave us this beautiful sunset.

goodnight.

love,

nicolle

thursday

I dropped Boyd off at school this morning,

ran home for a few minutes,

then made my way downtown, to hand out some food/drinks and socks.
{thanks again to my sweet grandma for most of the items}.

I saw so many people sleeping under blankets on the ground,

or like this person,

on the porch of an old, abandoned home.
Why are they there?
Bad choices in life, or bad luck?
Maybe they have no one in their life to turn to,
not a single family member or friend.
God doesn't need me to figure it out, and we are told not to judge,
only to love.

And each time I go downtown,

I am reminded that I am blessed.

We work hard and try to do good,

but we don't DESERVE anything we have,

we just thank God each day for our blessings.

Life doesn't make much sense,

and I know I will be trying to figure it all out for as long as I live.

Then what really doesn't make sense,
is that I can drive away from there, and go shopping for food.
But, once again, I thank God for what He has given me,
and I am trying to glorify Him by being happy and loving this life that I have been given.
I know that for the rest of my life, my heart will struggle with having so much,
when so many have so little,
but I will never take any of it for granted.

I once read online about someone who shared the joy in her life on her blog,
and someone asked her why, why does she write about food, or a cup of coffee,
or going to the park, or the hundredth time she went for a cupcake,
{ok, I just threw in the cupcake part}
and she said that God blessed her with this life,
and she felt that by living and being happy,
and sharing her joy with others,
she was thanking Him for every little thing that she had.
I love that.

So, I went on a small shopping spree {$27} at one of my happy places,
Trader Joe's.

If you love coconut, do yourself a favor, and buy these.
They are unique, and delicious.

I came home and had a salad that I bought at Trader Joe's,
and relaxed for a few minutes.
I've had this salad twice, and it's wonderful.

When I picked Boyd up, he was sweaty like usual,
he had a great day at school,
and this was his piece of artwork from today.
I love it.

 I thought we were going to play outside this afternoon,
but Boyd is tired and keeps crying off and on.
Bless his heart, school is good, but it's doing a number on him.

have a good afternoon.

{life is hard, but my glass is half full, and I am so thankful}.

love,
nicolle

{39}

August 23, 1973.
My mom tells this story about my birth.
I came into the world by emergency c-section.
I had the cord wrapped tightly around my neck, and was blue.
She was still out of it,
when my dad kneeled beside her and smiled and whispered,
Anne, it's a girl and she looks just like you.
My mom cried and said, I'm SO SORRY.
We still laugh about that today. 

Today I am 39.

Thank you to everyone for the birthday love so far.

I appreciate every single thing.
Everyone has different feelings about their birthday,
but I think birthdays should be cherished and loved, honored and celebrated.
Life is such a gift, and our birthdays are a great time to celebrate that precious gift.

Here are a few ways that I celebrated this week.

Donuts one morning with my baby boy.

I made layered enchiladas, Santa Fe style.

I took 39 gifts of food to the food bank,

for my hungry friends.
I believe in paying it forward and sharing my blessings,
and I'm just so glad that I am able to do this.
Thank you Jesus.
{will definitely be doing this from now on, each birthday}.

I have been hanging onto a gift card since last year,
and waiting for the perfect thing,
so I used it to get 2 new Fiesta Ware bowls, in green.
I've been wanting to add to our set that we've had almost 11 years now.
I also made a fresh batch of salsa.

A little solo trip to Trader Joe's.

{Apparently I celebrate my birthday, food style.
Live what you love, right?!}.

A few other happy things this week:

a pedicure
alone time
sweet hugs from kevin and boyd
a dinner date with kevin
thoughtful gifts and awesome birthday cards

calls, texts and emails
 pretty flowers

In spite of my grey hair, wrinkles and a bad knee,
I think 39 sounds like a great number,
and I am thankful!

"Life ain't always beautiful,
but it's a beautiful ride".

love,

nicolle

feeding the hungry

Almost every week we take food here.

Sometimes I see people waiting to get their cars loaded, 

and I have this strong urge to bring them home and feed them.

I love them.

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. 

Then come, follow me."

Mark 10:21

My life has been forever changed, because of the poor and the needy, and I'm so thankful.

love,

nicolle

boyd and cupcakes, and the usual

You can't see it, but Boyd's little sweater has stitched right behind the snail, wait for me. I think it's so sweet.

We went out for cupcakes and our favorite place was not open for the day, so we picked some up from Kroger.

We've been snacking on these blueberries. I have been eating them with cottage cheese, and that combination is delicious. I used to think it sounded weird, but it's really good.


I had a nice visit with one of my best friends and her daughter. It was only 2 hours long, but it was good. It's been a long time since we've seen each other.

Boyd asked us this morning if we could go play at the water park. Poor babe. Not for a few more months.

My sister is back at work after an amazing recovery. I could cry just writing that. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes and prayers. I know she felt them all.

We're off to Hobby Lobby this morning, and a couple other places. We never went to the food bank like I said we would the other day, so that is on our list as well. Do you have a food bank in your area? Ours is always in need of combs and toothbrushes too, which you can get at the dollar store. That always breaks my heart. I know I take things in my house for granted way too often. I am so fortunate to be able to hop in my car and buy whatever I need, whenever I need it. Knowing these needs makes me thankful every time I brush my teeth or comb my hair. I know for sure that what I've been given far outweighs what I give.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 6:38

and the people said, Amen!
I am thankful for my comb and my toothbrush.

Chips and salsa would be good today too. Well, chips and salsa would be good every day.

That's about it.
have a good day.

oh how he loves us

Boyd and I went downtown this morning.

We found our friend Mr. Jule, and were thankful to feed him and wish him a Happy Thanksgiving.

We fed this man. I later saw him sitting on the side of the road, brushing his beard with a toothbrush and smiling. You can't help but love them.

Downtown was a busy place this morning. This may not make much sense, but this is where Jesus is. I feel closer to Him when I am around the needy, than anywhere else I have ever been.

We fed two people in these tents. They were so nice. They looked like they could have been any average person you passed on the streets, except they don't have a home to go to at night. Yes, maybe they've made some really poor choices in their lives, but that is not for me to judge. Who of us has not made bad choices?
There but for the grace of God go I.

Isn't she beautiful.

We fed another man who had just gotten off the bus. He was reluctant to take the food. I am sure I would be too if some stranger pulled up and handed me something out of the window. Before we could pull away, he had a sandwich out and was eating. Knowing he was that hungry made me happy that we were there at the right time. I hope we gave him a tiny bit of happiness & love today, because he seemed so sad and so lost.

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked, and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.
~ Mother Teresa