Who do you hang around with? Do they make you a better person? Do they challenge you to be better? Do they support your dreams and goals, cheer you along the way, and give you a real talk when needed? 🎉
Or do they bring you down? Discourage instead of encourage? Bring criticism and negativity into your life? 🤷♀️
My team, my tribe, is always sharpening my blade! It was an unexpected blessing that came when I said yes to an opportunity. The women and men who came into my life when I stepped out of my comfort zone help me be a better person. 💯
That opportunity is available to you too…if you’re ready!💪
This boy can frustrate me and make me proud all in the same day! 🤷♀️
Robby gets on the soccer field every weekend and transforms right before my eyes. He is focused on his position, he communicates with his teammates, and he can do throw-ins and passes like no other. He loves the game and his team. ⚽️
He’s also my “what” kid. He plays video games or watches YouTube and tunes all others out to the point of actually not listening or hearing what you just said to him. He’s loud and crazy with his brother and usually has to be told to do something multiple times.🤦♀️
Lord only knows that I’m tough on my boys. I’m raising young men, and I realize that I only have so much time with them. I want them to be successful in the workplace, to learn how to respect and love their wife, and how to honor and serve God. Robby is funny and thoughtful, he does not want to let anyone down, and will do almost anything for anyone….especially if dessert is involved. I’m proud to be his mom…most of the time. 🤣😍
I’m thankful for my premium nutrition that gives me the energy to keep up with my boys’ schedule, and the patience needed to raise them! ❤
This morning, I was listening to a leader speak about the art of listening, and this question came to mind. Does the way someone talks, impact the way you listen? 🤔
If someone has an accent, do you listen differently? Because southerners speak slowly, are they dumb? No. Because someone has a northern accent, are they mean? No. Because someone is speaking English as a second language, are they clueless? No. Do Californians speak so fast that there is no way they are listening to us since they are already forming their next thought? No.
Yet, as we listen, are we internalizing those thoughts, and therefore it is affecting the way we listen? Daily, even as adults, we must continue to work on our listening skills. Listening is the second part of communication that often is overlooked… yet it’s a critical part! 🗣👂
Tuesday nights are our only down night during the week. I was cooking dinner and captured this moment out the window.
Richard and John had been working on John’s football snaps, and they took a break. They could have been talking about football, the need for practice, the discipline needed for an athlete, or the irritating squirrel that keeps trying to get into the eaves of the house. Either way, I hope this bond they have continues. I love these special moments and I love my guys!
Are you stuck with the feeling that this is just the way life is and nothing will change? 🤔
What if you change? What if you start to fight back? 💪
I used to feel that way. I was a spectator in my own life, watching life happen around me instead of participating. Four years ago, I decided that was enough! I tried something new because I trusted a friend, and I figured what did I have to lose? I fought for my quality of life, I fought for my happiness, and I fought for my family. I now get to participate in life, and I now choose joy for my life. 😍
It’s a joy to help others now. I’m growing and I hope you are too.🤗
I have to brag on my husband today! I got up super early on Saturday to get ready for a vendor event across town. I had several things to get done before I could leave, and the list was long.
My husband, who had his own list of things he wanted to get done, put my needs first without me even knowing. When it was time for me to go, he had removed the soccer stuff from the back of my vehicle, reloaded the SUV with my things needed for the event, had breakfast packed and ready for me to eat on the road, and an ice chest packed with waters, lunch and and goodies so I could stay out all day. What a blessing!
Ladies, serve your man, and be his helpmate! If you’re not already married, look for a man that is willing to serve you too. The little acts of kindness towards each other go so much further than just words. I can imagine doing life with anyone else!❤
I would like to talk about these ladies a little. I know this picture is a year and a half old, but this is the last one I have of all of us together. However, that doesn’t really matter because after 32 years of friendship, we are still there for each other no matter the distance that divides us.
I met these ladies when I was 12 years old. We had just moved to Sugar Land from Tulsa. I was the new girl at school and then at church, but these girls embraced me and have never let go. We went to junior high and high school together, and then college took us in different directions. College graduation had us spread out all over the state of Texas, yet we stayed together. Marriage and kids kept us together in the celebrations, yet apart in the daily family activites that continues to pull at our attention.
Yet in a time of need, we are still there for each other! We pray for each other and our families. We can still pick up the phone and continue our conversation like we had just spoken yesterday instead of months ago. I am thankful for this group of ladies. I’m thankful that the years keep adding on to our friendship. I pray that our kids find friends like these…friends for a lifetime! ❤
I remember this day in 2001, like it was yesterday. I had driven to Austin for a state compliance meeting at TCEQ, and I had no idea what was going on at all. One man had a text pager, and we received updates from his office throughout the morning. Even as the planes were grounded, our meetings continued. We didn’t see any pictures until lunchtime, and even then we didn’t understand the magnitude of the event.
I drove the Assistant Public Works Director for the City of Houston back to town that day. He was constantly on the phone with his team and the police department as helicopters were then patrolling over the lakes, our water supply, and the major facilities, along with the ship channel. We learned that downtown Houston had been evacuated hours earlier as a precaution, and it was eerie to drive him to the public works building downtown to pick up a vehicle for him to drive home since his was stuck at the airport. The city was quiet when it should have been at the height of rush hour.
And then I went home and remained glued to the TV with the rest of America. We cried, we were in shock, and then we were determined to remember and take action. Flags went up at every home and every building. We learned about the stories of heroes, some were just every day people who made decisions of sacrifice to save others.
We talk about making hard decisions and sacrifices all the time, but the heroes on 9/11 lived it. I want that courage, that determination, that clear calling to do the hard things. I may just be fighting for my family, but they are worth it. Along the way, I hope I help your family too.
Think of all the good things in life…you know, your likes… Think of the shows you like to watch on TV. The money you like to spend. The sweets you like to bake.🤔
Now, what if you exchanged those for something great? What if you gave up something you liked in order to have something you love? It may take time. It may take effort. It may take work, but don’t you think in the end it would be totally worth it? What can you sacrifice now to have something great? ❤
Determined Hustle 