Traditions We Should Probably NOT Keep Next Year

As I'm sure you're well aware, this is the time of year for everyone to share their nifty little family traditions.  Whether it be reading a certain book by the fireplace, cooking with Grandma's secret recipes, or unintentionally burning the turkey so many times that it's just not the holidays otherwise, we all have quirky little things our families do every year. 

While my family has many normal traditions that have been carried on through the generations, we also have some that are probably not so...well...sane.

As you have probably come to know, my younger sister Lexi is my partner in crime.  Literally. 

I'm not exactly sure when all this started, but at some point during our youth we decided we wanted to come up with some tradtions of our own, and Lexi being the daredevil that she is, decided to try to give us hypothermia...on a yearly basis...every year for the rest. of. our. lives. 

Let me tell you a story.

When I was a young'un, probably about the ripe old age of 8, we had an unreasonably cold winter.  I, being the summer baby that I am, was very very very tired of the weather, so Lexi and I decided that we were going to crank up the heater and sit in our rooms in our bathing suits, watch The Little Mermaid, and pretend it was Summer. 

(Insert God's laughter here)

Because during our day in the Tropics, it started to snow outside.  Then the snow started to stick.  So my lovin' momma called us downstairs to look at it, and then laughed when she saw our attire. 
Here comes the moment of insanity.
I'm not sure who's bright idea this was, but one of us decided it would be great to run down to the bottom of the yard through the snow.  Barefoot.  In our bathing suits.

Just what were we thinking, you may ask? I honestly have no clue. But it was probably Lexi's idea.

So we made a tradition of it.  As soon as we got a good inch of snow on the ground for the first time each year, we would run the full acre length of the yard barefoot in our bikinis.  And this year was no different.  Okay, well this year was a little different, because we were in mixed company so we had on a little extra clothing.

The thing that you should take away from the previous sentence is not that we were clothed, but that we are now infecting other people with our craziness, and lack of self preservation.  Peer Pressure!

In the words of Dylan, (the guy who forgot his beenie) "We're doing what?!?! This is a Terrible tradition!" and one that we will continue for many years to come :)

Pictures to come soon!!

Happy Holidays!!
Lacy Brianne

Dear God, Please Test My Patience

One of the things that church ladies will jokingly tell you is to "be careful what you pray for, because you just might get it." This is often times followed by the statement "don't pray for patience.  God won't give it to you, He'll teach it to you." Let me just begin by saying that these ladies are very smart, and I probably should have listened.

A few months ago, I decided to ask God for the gift of patience.  I thought I knew what I was getting myself into, because I had heard the warnings, and had prepared myself for the fact that this may not be easy.  However, I felt that I needed it, in order to be more fulfilled with life, I needed to be a more patient person. 

I took some time to think about what had tried my patience in the past, and came to the conclusion that this test would probably be centered around people.  I am a big people person, but they are also my biggest crazy factor sometimes.  So I assumed, I'd be working with the types that had at times in the past made me cranky or uncomfortable. 

Small Children. Nursing Homes. Assisted Living.  I can do this,  no big deal.

And then comes the part where God looks at your plans... and He laughs.  Out loud; at just how silly you are. 

You see, He knew that although these people had a tendency to try my patience, I had a heart for them.  I loved them, and loved spending time with and caring for them.  I loved nurturing them, and He knew that because of that, I could conquer my paticence issues in those areas all on my own.  Instead of making me though, He simply opened my eyes to just how much I care for them, and in that sense, gave me ALL the patience I could ever ask for. 

The area that He saw needed some work was that of my relationships with the male species.  Go figure that one. 

And so my patience test came in the form of a super talented, God loving, immensely attractive, beyond frustrating, extravagantly confusing man.  You know who you are. 

...and while I am confused about the presence or absence of a spark, the long talks when the rest of the world sleeps, and then weeks of not speaking, I am thankful that I can see God working in my life, and in his as well; using us to mend each other, in ways we may not even understand.

So, my word of advice to you today is to listen to the church ladies.  They know exactly what they are talking about. 

Love always,
Lacy Brianne

The Parade of the Ex's

So it's finals week, and like a good amount of my college age friends out there, instead of studying all that I possibly can, Facebook started calling my name.  For what reason? I have no idea. 

Here is the thing about my Facebook though...it is diverse every time I get on it.  I have over 775 friends on there, yet I can tell you where and how I met each and every one of them.  I guess that comes with being what is known as a connector (more to come on that at a later date).

But anyway, I rarely delete people, and my page acts in such a way that every time I pull it up, my news feed is full of different people, in no certain order.

Well tonight, it is all full of ex-boyfriends, or just guys that I dated in the past.
That in itself does not bother me, because I am actually not on bad terms with all but a couple of them. 

But as I kept scrolling through my feed looking for someone I hadn't been romantically involved with in the past, I began to wonder what it was that had been so attractive about them to me.  What was it about them that made me make a bad decision or mistrust their character.

I began to realize that while they all had something that I liked or was attracted to, none of them were right for me.  They all had something about them that was a "deal breaker," something that made us unfit to be together. 

While I regret some of those past experiences, I can't lie and say that there weren't moments that I enjoyed.  and each one of those guys taught me something different about myself, and about the kind of man I would want my husband to be. 

So thank you, dumb boys, for allowing me to know what to aviod, and for unintentionally teaching me how to be more discerning.  Thanks for showing me that I should never settle. 

Love and Luck on Finals,

Lacy Brianne