Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

(oh my heavens, this pic is from 2006!! but...it's the only pic I have saved to my computer. Usually I would go get one off Facebook, but I gave that up for lent...so, this is all I have)

*Date night with my Sissie Lu*

Ahhhhhhhhh....I am SO SO SO excited about tonight! I get to hang out with my sister!!!! For those of you who know me real well, then you know that my sister is my BEST FRIEND! However, we don't get to hang out as much as we used to. Living in Brookhaven, being married, and having 2 kids prevents us from hanging out. So...I messaged her earlier this week and I told her that we were hanging out on Friday, and I told her to make the plans! From what I understand, the plans for tonight consists of me hanging out with her and some of her friends. This may seem weird to some people, since we are 5 years apart. But Lauren AND her friends have always been a big part of my life! When I lived in Hattiesburg, they would come stay with me all the time. They've all been like family to me. They have seen me get married and been around through the birth of both my kids! I am SO excited about getting to hang out with them tonight!!!!



*Sick of snow, ready for a GLOW!*

I'm pretty sure I talk about this every week, but I have never been so ready for warm weather!!!!!! If it snows one more time (I know it's supposed to tomorrow), then I will screammmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!! All I want is to get to the beach, sit in my chair, with my toes in the water, and soak up the sun! Is that so much to ask?!!?



*Spring Break*

Ok, while we're on the subject, let me tell you about my Spring Break plans. First of all, Spring Break for us is in 2 more weeks....WOOHOO!!! (Come on, Mr. Sun) We're leaving on the 12th to go stay with my aunt in Pensacola, and we'll be there til the 16th! This will be Parker's first trip to the beach, and you better believe I'll be taking some family beach pics....DUH! I'll also probably just stay on the beach the whole time we're there...even if it's 25 degrees! I ain't skeered!! :) Anyways, that Wednesday (the 17th) I'm going to get my hair cut...like in that pic I posted a couple weeks ago. So, it'll be super short! I can't wait to see what it's going to look like! And then...the 19th and 20th we're going on a girl's trip to the Beau Rivage. Ahhhhhh....I can hardly contain my excitement. I can't remember the last time I went on an all girl's trip! The plan is to shop, eat, go out, get massages, see the Hairspray show, and come home. Heavenly bliss!


*Working out*

I've mentioned in previous posts that I've started a hardcore workout plan. I'm working out 4 days a week. Mondays and Wednesdays I do cardio, abs, and arms. Tuesdays and Thursdays I do cardio, abs, and legs. I've lost 25 lbs since I had Parker!! Working out has been great in so many ways. Of course, I'm excited to be back down to my pre-baby weight...but also, I look forward to working out every day! It's an hour devoted to just ME!!!!!!!!! I go to the workout room on campus, blare the music, and go at it for a full hour! Ahhhh...LOVE IT!



*Dave Ramsey update*

Michael and I have decided to try to sell our house! Yes, we just bought our house in August, but here's the plan...try to make about $40,000 off our house (we've done lots of work to it), pay off every single bit of debt, live somewhere cheap(er) for a while, save up, and start building. We're actually trying to get in a house on Co-Lin's campus for a while so we can save. At first, I cringed at the thought of doing this...but now I'm super excited about it! Once it gets warm, we're going to do some landscaping and then put a sign in the yard! We're not in any hurry to sell it...we're just gonna see how God works it all out :)



*Classic Rock & Booty Music*

Nothing puts me in a better mood than some CCR, ZZ Top, Pink FLoyd, Guns-n-Roses, Led Zeppelin, Lil Wayne, Ludacris, Black Eyed Peas, etc.....
It's my guilty pleasure, and I just can't thank Michael enough for my fabulous Christmas present---XM radio!!!!!!


**CHALLENGE:
Have fun this weekend. Make time for just YOU. Do something that you haven't done in a while. Even if it's just for 30 minutes....go do something by yourself! Enjoy! And don't feel guilty! We all need to be refreshed every once in a while :)


in a great mood,
Tonya

It's DEFINITELY a Monday!!!

Abby woke me up every 30 minutes last night complaining about her tummy hurting...
Finally fell asleep at 5:00am and woke up at 7:45am....
Abby has no idea why I'm asking her if she feels better...
She treats this morning as any other morning...
Playing, eating, laughing, whining...
So, I guess I'm not taking the day off...
Michael is taking a 45 minute shower....
I go get in Abby's shower...
I have 30 minutes to get everyone ready...
I don't look as ~cute~ as I would've liked...
I drop the kids off and get to work at 9...
I have a campus visit at 9...
And at 10...
Made Parker a Dr. Appt....
He's been congested for 3 months...
Workout at 11:30....
Sacrificed my lunch....
Campus visit at 12:30...
And at 1:00....
Go to the cafeteria...
Decided NOT to pay $5.00 for fried rice...
Starving by this time...
Catching up on bills...
Still starving...
Fixed me some oatmeal...
Put too much water in it....
I try to eat this bowl of watered down crap...
But I can't....
Is it only 3:00???....
Sigh....

Yeah, it's definitely a Monday!

Challenge~

I was so busy WHINING that I forgot to challenge yall for this weekend!

How about this...try not to be pesimistic this weekend (I'm especially talking to myself). Join me in finding the good in everything and praising God for his faithfulness even when are not faithful!

Love yall!
Happy Friday :)

Friday's Thoughts & Challenge~

**This has been a week from "EARTH"!!!!!!!!!!!!
I say "earth" because it's not fair to see it's been a week from HELL! That just gives Satan way too much credit. Also, when you say you've had a day/week from hell, it's saying that in no way has God blessed you. Sooooo....even though this has been a rough week...God is still God, and He has still blessed me even when I'm not worthy of it! I'm just glad it's the weekend. I don't have any big plans...I just need some R&R!!!


**In a Spiritual RUT!
While we're talking about God...I just have to admit....I am in a R-U-T!! I have been for quite a while now. I haven't really admitted it to anyone, because I like to show that I have it all together. But I just have to be real and tell yall that I feel like there are 170,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles between me and God right now. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? It's like there's a wall up when I try to pray, I can't seem to make time to spend with the Lord each day, and honestly-I'm struggling with the desire for those things! I feel empty, and I know exactly why that is...so why is it so hard to do something about it?!!? I guess some of me feels like I just keep digging myself deeper into this rut, and I can't even see how it's possible to get out??? If anyone has any advice or personal testimonies, please do share!...and pray for me too!



**My Co-Lin "wolf pups"
On a lighter note...I just have to show off my Co-Lin spirit with my babies dressed in their Co-Lin attire!!! Abby's picture is from 2008, and Parker's is from this morning. I really do love my job and this college, and what better way to represent than with my little wolf pups!


**Pale, Pale, Pale
Ughhhhhhh....I'm so sick of being pale. But I'm just not into the tanning bed like I used to be. And I'm not really to the point where I want to spend $50 for a spray tan for it to only last a week!!! Soo...I guess I'll just keep waiting around for spring and warm weather. But I just hope it gets here soon, because pale is NOT the new tan!

**Sinus crud
Is it just me, or is everyone dealing with the sinus crud right now?!?! I've been very fortunate to have only had a scratchy throat here and there, but this morning I woke up and seriously wondered at what time in the middle of the night did a Mack truck run over me???????? I can't breathe, my head feels like it could burst at any minute, I'm sick to my stomach because all this snot is draining....BLAH!!!!!! Plus...I didn't get any sleep (because I could not breathe) and so not only do I feel like crap...the lack of sleep didn't do much for my looks today :(


**Debt
Ok, I'm trying to be more positive so let's talk about the fact that we just paid off a couple "pieces" of debt!! WOO HOO!!! When I say "debt", I'm talking about: a couple hundred dollars on the Belk card, a couple hundred on the gas card, some furniture, etc. However, we do still have a couple other things we working on paying off (house, car, etc), but we just gotta take it one at a time. Thanks, Dave Ramsey!! :)


**My preggie friends
Jennifer Esser- due the middle of March. She's one of my friends that has babies the "natural way" hehe! So...we won't really know exactly when baby Caleb will be here...but it won't be much longer! Can't wait for Parker and Caleb to be best friends like Abby and Austin! Love you, Jenn!
Brandi Barrett- scheduled section on March 12. WOO HOO!! John Henry will be here in 21 days!!!!!!!! Brandi's on bedrest until he's born, so keep her in your prayers. But not even bedrest can keep that girl's spirits down. Love you, Brandi!
Whitney Holmes- just found out she's having a BOY!!!!!!!!! Parker, John Henry, and Baby Boy Holmes will all be so close in age! It'll be so fun to have some little playmates right here in Brookhaven/Monticello :) Whitney's had a great pregnancy so far...and I'm praying it contines that way! Love you, Whit!
Some other friends that are expecting: Karen Webb, Erin Smith, and Jennifer Cochran. Praying for you girls!! Love yall :)


hoping for some R&R,
Tonya

Will I Survive?!?!!??!?

Soooooo.....I'm not Catholic and I really have NO idea what "Lent" is, but I saw everyone's Facebook status updates last night on what they were giving up for Lent. And I said to myself, "Self, I want to give up something this year!" So, then I started thinking about what I should give up. This usually wouldn't be hard to do, because I would've said chocolate, or junk food, or fast food, or caffeine...HOWEVER, I've already given all that up due to kidney stones and my latest "get ready for a swimsuit" workout plan! Hmmmmm....so, what could I give up?? And then it struck me....FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!! I spend wayyyyyyy too much time on Facebook each day. Totally ridiculous. I mean, I have a husband, 2 kids, a full time job, and an off-line social life! It's just plain stupid to spend so much time stalking people on Facebook! :)

I was so excited about it last night....and then I woke up. haha! Usually one of the first things I do when I get to work is check my Facebook. I like to see what people are doing, talking about, and what pictures they have posted (since the last time I checked...about 12 hours earlier-because I was sleeping!)So, when I woke up this morning the reality hit me. Um....I won't be able to get on Facebook for 45 days?!!??!?!?!!??!?!? Will I really survive those 45 days without updating my status every 5 minutes, uploading pictures (Spring Break, HELLO!!!), stalking my friends, chatting, and the biggest....maintaining Co-Lin's Facebook page!!! Yes, as the student recruiter, one of my job duties is to maintain our Facebook page. Thank the Lord that I have recently assigned 2 other people as admins on that page, so I'll just get them to keep up with it until April! Yeah, I'm going to do this right! :)

So, I guess for the next 45 days yall can check my blog to see what's going on in my life...and I'll definitley be "blog-stalking" more than usual!


I WILL SURVIVE,
Tonya

Snow Day 2010

Make a Smilebox slideshow

"God blessed the broken road, that led me straight to you"

Ok, first of all let me apologize for yesterday's post that turned into a book. It was the first time I've ever shared our story publicly, so I just couldn't stop! I want to be open about everything, because I want to be real with everyone and I want my testimony to touch other people in the same situation.

Anyway...let's pick up with 2008. So, I told yall that we moved to Brookhaven, but I didn't really give details. Well, we moved into the Bishop's pool house. We were excited because it was going to be a great time for us to save lots of money!!! We also thought we'd just be there for about 6 months....haha....we ended up staying there for 2 years!!!!!!!!!!! Even though it was a little cramped in a 800 sq ft house, it was definitley God's plan for us. I have the absolute besttttttt in-laws in the world! So, great inlaws+ a pool right out your front door+ living for free+ saving money= fabulous 2 years! We were able to pay off some debt and save a TON! So...we started looking at houses in January 2009, and we found one in June 2009. We made a bid, they accepted the bid, and we moved in August 2009! A few other details that I have left out are: Michael went from job to job for 2 years and God finally opened a door for him at Farm Bureau in September 2008. As for me, I was a teller at a local bank for about 9 months, and then got an offer at Copiah-Lincoln Community College in October 2008! Also, I miscarried in August 2008, and then got pregnant again in December 2008. That was such a hard time for Michael and I. There are just no words to describe the pain of losing a baby. But we made it through, and we were so excited when God blessed us with another baby in December! Soooo....we moved into our new house in August 09, Michael and I celebrated 3 years of marriage, and then we had Brandon "Parker" Bishop in September 09. I took off for 2 months and went back to work in November. I worked my butt off in November and December, trying to make up 2 months of recruitment. But I loved every second of it...I absolutely love my job as the student recruiter for Co-Lin!

Well, that brings me to 2010. We celebrated Abby's 3rd birthday in January and we just enjoyed a SNOW DAY today! (pics will be posted soon!) And as a new year has started, we are so excited about what God has in store for our family in 2010. A few things that will be happening this year: Michael and I are going to Austria in April, Family trip to Destin in July, and hopefully Christmas in Disney World!

So...that is our love story-in a nutshell! There have been hard times, good times, sad times, and impatient times...but our love for eachother, for our kids, and for our God has never waivered. I am SOOO blessed to have Michael Brandon Bishop as my husband. We do not have a perfect marriage, and we never will....but one thing is certain---we will make it through whatever comes our way...and we will make it through together! I'm so glad I decided to devote this week to my "Valentine" because with 2 kids running around, he gets put on the back burner sometimes. So Michael, I just want you to know that I love you with all my heart. God truly blessed my broken road...that led me straight to YOU!

Since there won't be a post with Friday's thoughts and challenge, I want to challenge you through this post. At some point this weekend, sit down with your "Valentine" and talk about your love story. From Day 1 until now. It'll be a fun time to talk, laugh, and re-live the memories of when you first fell in love. I hope everyone has a Happy Valentine's Day.
To Sarah: I hope you start feeling better, and I'm praying Todd stays healthy.
To Brittany: I'll be praying for Ryder's derm appointment next week and that he'll start feeling better soon. Both my babies have had the crud for several weeks! :(
And to everyone else: Thanks for following my blog, and have a great weekend!

so in love,
Tonya