Life Lately - According to my iPhone.

 I totally meant to have this up yesterday, but my internet failed me. Completely failed me. Pray for the people I have to talk to about it. AT&T seriously hates me. My service is always down. #firstworldproblems I know. Just needed to vent. Here are some photos. It's all I got in me today.

flower and a sickly looking arm

outfit with my thrifted purse. (in love)

mothers day arrangements for sale at the farm stand

scary face. (mine of course)

big smiles for a little cutie

flowers by my talented mother. flower photos are my jam

small town festivals with happy friends

graduation parties for a sweet bestie

cattle crossing on a rainy morning

birthday lunch edits with this favorite guy of mine

braves game with the best family ever

and him.

Love you all. Happy Thursday! It's almost the weekend!!

A New Morning

This marks the first of my morning blogging so bare with me. It's early and I am trying to get into a new habit of getting the thoughts from my head onto this screen a little earlier. 
All mornings are a fresh start, a whole new day to take on another dream or goal. In a lot of ways I feel like mornings are God's way of giving us a do-over. A brand new day that we can better serve him, be a better example to others, or just treat ourselves and those around us with the utmost respect. I like mornings, I always have. Lots of the mornings of my childhood were spent up with the animals, feeding the horses in their stalls, getting ready for a show on a weekend. Those moments before a crack of light came into the sky were special to me. A typical morning before a horse show included so many things, from ironing our show shirts, to giving those horses one last grooming before we put them in the trailer, the mornings were when it happened. There are many of those times that stick out more than the rest, but one of my favorites is still embeded in my memory.

a late night hike recently

It was a cool morning, early fall probably, and the day before had been spent in Perry, Georgia. After one show we immediately headed to another in South Carolina. I was tired, he was tired but he made it a point to let me have a good time as soon as we got to the hotel. We jumped on the beds. Literally jumped, this became a little tradition that has always happened, even to this day. We stayed up late into the night working on some tie-downs for the horses. Showing was a way of life, and a way we made our money, so it was important to win the next day. We tied rope until our fingers were tired and I am pretty sure I passed out long before daddy. The next morning we woke up early and headed out to the show grounds to feed the horses first. It was still dark outside and I can still smell the hay and grain. While the horses were eating, and they always ate before we did, we headed over to the local IHOP. I remember the menu and ordering the "pigs in a blanket". This was the first time I had heard a food called this, and I made a big deal about it. We laughed and laughed about that for days. After eating we headed back to barn to get ready for the day. I got put on a horse to warm up and one for daddy too. After riding around the arena some, and getting the horse warmed up for the day, I decided to work on some of my circles, not noticing the lady lunging her horse in the center of the arena. When our horses met they both went opposite ways and I stayed right in the middle. Falling off hard down into the dirt. Nothing hurt but my pride. I, of course, got back on after a little coaxing from daddy, and I think we went on to have an okay day. Those tie-downs worked wonders and we got those horses to bury their butts in the dirt during their slides.
Looking back now, I lived for mornings like those, and in a way still do. Now it is all about encompassing it all, making it more than a memory, making it a part of me again. This morning is going to be a good one. I am blessed, blessed, blessed. ooo, Montana

Starting Over...

Once again I am back staring at this blank screen trying to figure out the words needed to fill these pages. Words usually flow easily when I am not staring at this page but once I end up here they just stop right before they come out of my fingertips. 
So here it goes again, after almost 4 weeks without home internet, I got the break that I needed and have taken on a new perspective for this whole blogging thing. And it is starting today. Today as I sit on the back porch of my newly moved in house, my blogging will be different. Sure, I plan on sharing my outfits and things that I love but I also plan on sharing my thoughts on struggling to find my place in this world. From my ups and downs, highs and lows, I want to get it out of my brain and into this blank page. So to start it off right I would like to introduce myself.  

So I guess I will start with me. 

-First and foremost I am a Christian, yes I struggle with my exact beliefs and how it all fits together, but I also have faith that the Lord is watching over me, he sent his Son to die for me so that I may be born again. Yes, I sin daily, I make mistakes, I think things I shouldn't, but at the end of the day I know He is there.
-My family means everything to me, we are a little weird, we are a little crazy, but we are a family. As I have gotten older, I began to realize that everyone has things about them and their families that are different, those that seem perfect aren't and those that seem to be hanging on by a thread can usually hang on for a while. And while I once thought that we were the weird ones, we might all just be weird, just weird and different in our own ways. I am learning that love keeps everyone together.
-I am a talker, I like to speak to everyone, from the cashier at the grocery store, to the guy walking down the street, I try and make it a point to at least say hello, most times I even strike up a conversation. I just like to know about others, to know that they are okay, at least in that moment, and speaking to them usually shows me that. 
-I am indecisive. My Mama and I decided we would call it multi-faceted, because it sounds better. It probably sometimes comes off like I am non-committal or something like that, but I just like to think it is because I haven't found my niche yet. I haven't figured out that one thing that makes me tick. I am determined to reach it, to pull it into my arms and trust in my heart that I have found my thing, until then I will be multi-faceted.
-There are moments in time that I just like to stop. I make it a point to thank the Lord for those moments. I pray right then and there and tell Him thank you. All different things make me stop in those moments, from the most perfect sunset, to a sweet, sweet moment with Andy, to the times when my family is all gathered together and things seem like they couldn't get more amazing. I live for those moments.
-I like to dance, I am not usually very good at it, and only think I get better after a few cocktails, but I sure love to do it. I like to dance at weddings, at the bar, in my car, at home with Andy, and even by myself in the shower. I tend to think that dancing makes it all go away. It will always bring a smile to my face and a little two-steppin can turn my mood around in a nano second. ...
This list could easily go on for pages and pages but I think I will stop there. These are the first ones that come to mind when thinking of interesting (or uninteresting) things about myself. I like to read these kinds of posts about others, so I figured some may like to read these things about me to. I saw a bit of advice on a blog I read, "write a blog you would want to read", although now I am not sure whose that was on, so if you know please leave it in the comments. 
Anyway, I am back, and at a place of starting over once again. Blessed to be in this place, and blessed to find the words to fill these pages. ooo, Montana
linking up with Shanna.

HighFives...

I am giving HIGH FIVES for the following:

organized fabric, thank goodness I found this ugly shelf, it doesn't even matter how ugly it is, as long as it keeps my guest room fabric clutter free

we started the tradition of crockpot Wednesday this week, so excited its finally cool enough to make some soups and stews. This works out great so that food will be ready the minute we walk in from AWANA.

I stole this quote from someone off Pinterest, and absolutely love it.

I have on my happy shoes today, determined to have a wonderful Friday

This will be me tomorrow night, surrounded by best friends, watching Chipper play one of his last regular season games, and I couldn't be more excited!! 

Thankful Thursday

Source: Uploaded by user via Suzanne on Pinterest

1. Thanks for letting me live through my recent skydive. 

2. Thanks for the giant bags of clothes I received, they will be used for tote bags, clutches and makeup pouches galore.

3. Thanks for this upcoming weekend. I need to be home. I need to get out of my head and drive with the windows down to get there. 

4. Thanks for a great night last night, a night of the Braves, good beer, and the BEST company.

5. Thanks for the recent memories. The people I have seen, the pictures I have stalked, the faces I have remembered.

meet Edna...

On this Thankful Thursday, I am going to tell you about one item in my life I recently have been very thankful for. So here she is.

Meet Edna.

Edna is my car, and yesterday I found out she is officially all mine. I made it through 5 years of payments on one vehicle and I am proud to say that it is over.

Edna is not a fancy car, but she does the job right. She is reliable and safe, she can carry lots of people and stuff. And although I might not keep her the cleanest, she is perfect for me.

Last night as I was driving home from dinner, I actually got a little choked up.
Me and Edna have been through a lot. I began purchasing her, with the help of some family members, about five years ago. My other car wasn't going to make it to Texas. She has been with me since then, always reliable, always down for a road trip. She has been on many trips to Texas, a few to Florida and many in between. She has been slept in, thrown up in, and bumped into. She has seen many late nights and early mornings.
She has heard my thoughts, my screams, my crying, and my crazy road rage. She has been packed to the brim, carrying only me and everything I owned. She has carried my saddle for days at a time, taken me to jobs I hated and to friends I loved. She has seen arguments and and make-ups.

So today I am THANKFUL for my car, for 5 years of payments which taught me the importance of being committed to making money, for the memories I have in Edna, and the things I have learned in the past 5 years.

and yes, I did just do an entire post about my car.

instagrammin it...

yes, I realize I made up that word, instagrammin.

get over it.

especially you HA, I know you hate my incorrect grammar.

Here is a little recap of my day off work yesterday, we went to the Mart in Atlanta to look for wholesale items for my mom's business, and also do a little "cash and carry" buying!

I came home with some great deals and sore feet from all the walking! 

Perfect day!

Doing a little linking up with some instagram today...

Join me!!

follow me on instagram too!!

fallback Friday

So I have this new computer that I am trying to get set up and I couldn't help but look through a lot of my pictures while I was at it. These pictures make me laugh and smile and cry and lots of other random emotions. They also make me thankful that we have cameras to capture all the silly moments of our lives. The ones that you might forget because they really are not that significant, but the moment you see them you remember exactly everything that was happening.

What did people do without cameras? I have seen older photos and all the people in them were so serious. I know this is probably because times were harder back then, they just didn't smile as much, but it might have also been because they didn't have a camera to capture the funny moments, those little moments its hard to remember. 

Those moments are my favorites.

Enjoy some funnies... 

I know I did.

a new squeeze, meet "jolly green"

 who wouldn't be terrified??

i really miss "mr nubbs"

(he really loved me in this picture, excuse the moo-moo)

this is "lily grace" our bottle-fed calf, she doesn't need us anymore

but she is still just as cute

  

i went through a "planking" phase.

don't judge me.

he wanted to be a lego man, it didn't quite work out.

we have the best times in the car. 

we look a little crazy.

and here we are years earlier, rocking boots with our tie die.

we are too cute.

and this one is just pure sweetness, and there goes audee with her tie-dyed laces.

gotta love those.

These pics made me giggle tonight, hope they make you at least think I am ridiculous.

I kinda am.

Peace.

Thankful Thursday #2

Today I am THANKFUL for...

• the short holiday from work yesterday, it will make a slow week go by a little faster.
• laughing out loud, I shared lots of laughs over the past few nights while playing with some of the cutest little ones.
• Our armed forces, they fight and work everyday for our freedom, it is easy to forget to give them THANKS
• Friends away from home, although I missed my family dearly on the 4th yesterday, I am thankful for those I got to spend time with
• an apple everyday, my mid-morning snack, always supplied by a co-worker, that gets me through the morning

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(first time user)

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