Family, Friends, God

Ok…I am warning you right this very second…this post is going to be ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! So, if you are reading this, you will say to yourself at some point, “What in the world is going on? Tori is outta her mind!” Yes, that’s true, I am…but I don’t care…this is my blog!

First, I miss my sister! I miss her like a fat kid misses his ho ho’s. I miss her smile. I miss her talks. I miss laughing with her and sometimes at her…she took it so well! I miss her encouragement. I miss her playing with her niece and nephew. Yes, I do get to talk to her a lot on the phone, but neither of us are really phone people and it isn’t the same. You may think, “Ok, Tori. Lots of people don’t live close to their siblings and are just fine. You are being totally crazy.” Well, then stop reading this! If you know me at all, you would know that I am a total family person. I need my family. I want to be with them all the time. My brother already moved to Arizona and I am still dealing with that, but now Sarah will be going to college in the fall…so I am and can have a hard time with all this. Anyways, back to Kristen. For the past five years Kristen has been at school in Ohio. I valued every moment we had together when she would come home for special events, holidays, and even just to see her family. I looked so forward to the moment she graduated because I knew she would finally be home, finally be where she should be. Little did we know that God had different plans. She got accepted to PA (Physician’s Assistant) school and had to be in Ft. Wayne two weeks after she graduated…Don’t get me wrong…I am SO proud of her and excited to see where God takes her with this…but in my own selfishness I want her to be with me. I want to know that I can drive 20 minutes just to spend time with her verses the 2 hours to go to Ft. Wayne. Aren’t I crazy?!?! She only lives 2 hours away and you would think by the way I am rambling on she lived in a different country! I think I am just emotional right now!

On to my next point. For those of you who watch basketball, you would know that the Lakers and Celtics are playing their little series or whatever you call it. Well, we have had our best friends Steve and Tara over for the games. Last night the two teams played so we had them over early for a little cookout and then we would watch the game. It was so beautiful out that we ate outside. While Nic was cooking, Steve played with Hayden on her swing set and Tara was holding little Colton. As I was getting stuff around and just going in and out the door, I just kept thinking that baby Spivey will be here before we know it. I can’t wait to meet this precious little girl that God is going to be bringing into this world. She is going to be so loved. I know without a doubt that Steve and Tara are going to be wonderful, loving parents. They have so much love for Hayden and Colton. After dinner, Steve was giving Nic a hard time with the lawn…so he went to the shed, got out the mower and started mowing it!! Seriously?! What a pal!! Tara and I got the bright idea, after seeing 2 Burger King commercials for the ICE thingys, we thought we would go get them…they were only a dollar after all! Well, our bright idea was STUPID! We got to the BK down the street and there was a sign that said “Sorry, our slushie machine is broken.” WHAT?! We REALLY wanted one so we went to a different one. We pull up and start to order 2 cherry and one coke slushie….”Sorry we only have cherry.” Whose idea was this? “Ok, fine, 3 cherry.” I was a little ticked off at the whole situation but oh well!

Now for the next randomness…Nic has been working his you-know-what off at work and is totally burned out. He had to work his normal shift and then work again tonight from 9-1am and get up again tomorrow at 5:30. So…I thought I would let him get some sleep. I think I do much more hurting than helping because I woke him up! Oops! So, I thought it might be better to get out of the house. I called my grandma and grandpa to see if they were busy. They weren’t so I took the kids over to see them for a little bit. May I say that I am so blessed to have them so close?! They absolutely LOVE these 2 crazy kids of mine and Hayden adores them…and BENJI! Remember me telling you her love for dogs? Benji is one of them! Anyways, it was soooo nice to talk with them and just be with them, even if it was for a short amount of time. From there we went to the Carlock residence (Tara’s mom and dad’s). Us girls were working on a project…well…I was watching. Maddi chased Hayden around trying to keep her occupied, bless her heart! She will be a wonderful aunt! Then when Hayden wore her out, Steve took over. I am telling you, that girl doesn’t stop! It was nice to hang out with this family…reminds me of my own. I think I will adopt Kelsey and Maddi as my fifth and sixth sisters!

Are you bored yet? If so, stop reading…if not, keep reading.

When I was in Junior High and High School, I had a favorite song. It is playing right now on my computer as I type. This song always meant a lot to me and was a song I actually knew the words to. I know…SHOCKING! This is a song I sing everywhere…in my car, in the shower, to my children, even cleaning around the house. It’s a song that I pray I live out. I know many times I fail. I know I am not perfect…nowhere NEAR perfect. But the truth of it all is that we are here to glorify God. Everything we do should be for Him. Him alone. Every time I start to sing this song, I am reminded why I am here on this earth. It isn’t about me. It’s about God. My prayer for my family is that we follow Him all of our days. That we will live for Him:

It’s all about You, Jesus

And all this is for You

For your glory and your fame

It’s not about me

As if you should do things my way

You alone are God

And I surrender to your ways

Jesus, lover of my soul

All consuming fire is in Your gaze

Jesus, I want you to know

I will follow you all my days

For no one else in history is like you

And history itself belongs to you

Alpha and Omega, You have loved me

And I will share eternity with you.

See?! I told you I would be going all different directions. But this is my heart tonight. This is me. These are the things that define me…family, friends, and most importantly, God.