My pretty pink toes.

Last night, I was in for a treat that I've never done before. Two of my dear friends encouraged me to go with them and get a pedicure done.

Now, for an ol country girl, this was totally foreign to me and I had no idea what to expect. I guess you could say that I was very nieve about such things. We went to a place in Firewheel Mall and I actually had to go out and get some sandels (Wendy L told me to go and get some so that my feet wouldn't get messed up afterwards and I thought that was a good enough reason since I haven't worn sandels since I was a kid!).

Of course, K and G agreed to take the kids during this time so it felt good just getting out of the house for a change. For this little act, I am grateful. The kids did great at grandparents and were well worn out by the time I got them home.

At one point, during the whole pedicure process, I actually felt like I could just do a little shut eye because it was that relaxing and not something that I'm acustomed to but very much needed.

Here's a question for you. How many times, during a single month, do you stop and do something extra nice for yourself? As parents, we can easily get soo caught up in the kid(s) that we forget who we are. As a single, we may get caught up in our job, family members, or whatever else life likes to throw at us and then we forget who we are as an individual.

I'm learning over this last year and half that if I don't stop to figure out who I am and take care of me first, I'm not going to be able to help my children figure out who they are and who we are as a family. They looking to me to set an example of how they live their life from day to day. R is learning how important a healthy diet is and J (even at a year old) is learning to put the bottle cap back on his bottle (which also lets me know that he's done).

People are constantly looking and watching what we do (especially when we may be totally obvilious to that fact). They know that we're not like the rest of the world because we have something that they don't (call it a spark, call it hope, or whatever). How many of us can be brutely honest with ourselves and say that we LOVE our life (even when it seems to be a constant roller coaster)??? I can and people have noticed (and they also see when I'm going downhill). As christians, we are to be there for each other and lift each other up. The only problem is that too many times, we tend to shut people out when times are difficult and then we start critizing ourself and being hard on ourselves. Simple solution, be open and honest with your chirstian family! Sure, it's not easy to open yourself up and step beyond your comfort zone... I ought to know... ha ha! Bottom line is this. Get your thoughts and feelings out (whether it's writing in a journal, talking to someone, etc). Otherwise, everything will only hurt you in the end. Once you do, you may just feel like a butterfly coming out of its cocone.

More to follow.....