MORE Answers for Your Questions

I'm sorry it's been over a week since my last response, but I had the privilege of being the bridesmaid and candle-lighting singer for my good friend Tracy's wedding last weekend at a beautiful little chapel in Kaufman, Texas, on the grounds of The Victorian House. It was such a beautiful place and we had a good time. And now Tracy is married!! Needless to say, though, I was away from blogger world for awhile.

So, let's pick up where we left off...

Do you ever not work?

I guess that all depends on what you consider "work." I do NOT work all the time with my business. I'm with kids about 20 hours a week and try to take only one morning a week to do "paperwork," preferably a day that Skyler is in Mother's Day Out. I am very happy to say that I no longer have clients on Friday afternoons and my appointment load is slowing down considerably, which is good news since I DO work every spare minute to get my self, my child, and my house ready for this new little baby that will be in our house in 4 or less weeks!!! YIKES!!

If you had one day that ANYTHING was possible in your world, what would you do?

Travel to a European spa in the Alps, get pampered like crazy, eat tons of food, drink my new favorite wine that I would discover upon arrival as I was greeted with a bottle of it in my suite, soak in a huge jaccuzzi tub, and get paid to go shopping for myself for hours!!! And did I mention chocolate and movies and some time to read a book? Would I only get a day??? :(

Seriously, though, I would want the privilege of one more day with my dad to introduce him to his grandchildren, talk to him about life, tell him all the things I wish I could have when he was alive, and learn all about the amazing things he experiences in heaven.

What is the funniest thing that has ever happened to you?

Gosh, that's hard. Not to be confused with something embarrassing for me, I guess I would say once when I was working at a photography studio in the mall at the front desk and I apparently caught this guy's attention. He made eye contact with me and then starting bringing his cup up to his mouth for a drink when he missed his mouth and his straw went up his nose. Then, to make matters worse for him, he was trying to recuperate and play it off and didn't see the metal sign that was in front of him and ran into it. The sign and the guy and the drink all landed on the floor with a bang. It was too funny, and he was really cute, so that made it even worse for his pride I'm sure.

What were your dreams for yourself ten years ago? Have those dreams come true?

Ten years ago I wanted to marry Coby, have kids, and be a teacher. And yes, all my dreams did come true...and then some!!

If you could sing a duet with anyone in the world, who would it be? What song would it be?

OH MY GOSH!!! It is so hard to pick just one person!!! I think the first person that pops in my mind, despite her obvious life troubles of the past fifteen years, would be Whitney Houston. I know some people knock her for all the wrong choices she's made, and most of that is legitimate, but the girl has a heart for music like no other. She's a soul icon, and amazingly talented. Plus, who hasn't made mistakes in life? Who am I to judge her? I think just being in a studio with her and sharing a mic for a few hours would be AMAZING!!!!! My voice would hardly compare to hers, but it would be fun to be in a duet with her on a spiritual medley of some kind. Some Brooklyn Tab piece that would show her off and remind her of God's grace and mercy for her life, bless her heart!!! :)

What reality show would you go on? Why?

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE to go on the Amazing Race. I love to travel, I love that kind of competition, and if I had the right partner to come along with me, I think I'd TOTALLY win. It would be awesome to me to see those countries and get to experience, even if only for a few hours, the different cultures of the world. God loves diversity, and I think as an American, I'm very much "in a box" as far as what I've experienced in my life. All I've experienced is good, really, and it would be eye opening to see the other side of the world. SO MUCH FUN!!! Maybe some day when my girls are older, huh? Any takers for a partner? Coby said he'd never do it with me.

Have you ever wanted to move out of the Waco area?

Girl, YES!!! I actually never thought I'd stay in Waco. I always figured that as soon as I was out of MCC, I'd move to a bigger city to go to school. As fate would have it, though, I met Coby in my last semester there. I visited UNT with my mom to see if that's where I should finish my degree, but falling in love with Coby and knowing he was staying in Waco made Baylor a much more attractive option. :) It wasn't a mistake. Waco has been a great place to be young married's--it's right in the middle of big cities so traveling to "fun" is easy--and now that we're parents it's a great place, too. I love that I get to raise Skyler and Chloe Grace in a smaller town around people I've known forever. I like that I can be established in a town and still see people at the HEB to talk about life and how the family is doing. It's a great middle road for us--even though I NEVER thought we'd stay here.

What's the most precious memory you have of your father?

The absolute most treasured memories I have with my dad are nights we'd sit on his bed with a guitar and sheet music in hand and pick out harmonies to songs. Sometimes we'd just sing worship songs or he'd try to teach me how to play guitar. Regardless, it was a great time to connect with him. I remember a short season where my uncle lived with us in the interum of a job change and then they'd both take out the guitars and we'd sit in the living room and listen to them play Texas country music or some Willie Nelson. FUN memories of my childhood, for sure. As I got older, the guitar was replaced with long conversations about life or the bible or funny things in our day, which was still a treasure, but sharing music was a passion we both appreciated.

What do you do in your down time?

Well, honestly I don't get much down time, which is bad. But at the end of the day I do like to sit and watch TV with Coby. I only watch what we DVR, so it's always a good episode!! We're reality show junkies and I'm still hooked on LOST, so it's a fun time to relax. I also like to read, play outside with Skyler, and get lost in the blogger world. I probably should blog as much as I read them, huh!!

Answers to Your Questions

Good Morning!!

Today is a beautiful, crisp Saturday morning, and I am trying to answer a few questions before I head out with my friend Angela to do an outreach with some inner-city kids and our Motion youth choir. It's our first out-of-church event, and I'm excited about it!!!

Since I'm a little pressed for time, I'll try to answer one question from each commenter for now. Thanks for leaving questions!!! I'm HONORED!!

What do you like to do for fun?

I LOVE to travel. That part of my life has seemingly been non-existant with the onset of children and a new business, but that's ok. I'm very sure I'll travel again really soon. I love to go out to eat with family and friends, scrapbook, watch movies, play in the park, sit by a fire and drink coffee, have family outings, go to BUNKO, and be involved in my church--all I do there is fun to me!!

What positive traits do you see in Coby as a father and husband?

Coby loves his girls with all his heart. He makes extra effort to make sure Skyler feels loved by her dad. Even when he's frustrated, he listens to my heart and tries very hard to handle situations with her in a loving way. He is great at the little things--getting Skyler donuts on Saturday mornings, playing with her after work, taking breaks in the middle of the day just to spend a few minutes with her, always telling her he loves her, telling her she's beautiful, and trying hard to make her world as safe as possible. As a husband, he is the most loyal and faithful man I have ever known. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is committed to me and the vows we made. He works very hard to earn a good living to provide for us, and I love that he shares his ups and downs in work with me--it makes me feel connected to his world. I love that he's a dreamer and he likes to plan the future with me. He kisses me. He hugs me. He tells me he loves me every day. He is proud of my efforts with my business and he supports what I do for kids 100 percent. He knows it's a passion of my life and he works with me to make it all possible. Overall he's a great guy and I love him!!!

Well, bloggers, my child is in the middle of a melt-down, so I'll have to pick this back up later. Have a great day!

The Real Me

I have started to realize over the last few weeks that I am an interesting contradiction. I've kind of thought about this off and on a lot lately, but through a little breakdown in Bible study this week with some of my sweetest gals, I realized that maybe people don't know me as well as I think they do. I'm not an introvert--far from it--and overall I think I'm fairly transparent, but am I really? Do people really know me?

My friend Angela had this great idea to allow people to ask her questions about herself and then she'll post a blog with all the answers. Her reason for the questions is because she "says" she can't think of anything to blog about (Who, out of the two of us, isn't blogging again? Who, out of MOST bloggers in the blogging world struggles with posting blogs at a reasonable pace? Who, out of anyone that claims to blog, is probably the WORST blogger on the planet? NOT Angela, to say the least!!! I think her name is ADRIELLE!!!). But I'm so excited to see her questions and responses, and some other fellow bloggers of mine are seeming to do the same, so this is kind of a tag with good purpose!! For me, it's a chance to be real, to be open, to be honest, and to see if anyone still reads my blog because I blog so sporatically lately!! :)

So, I'm stealing the idea, too, and I'm eager to know if anyone out there wants to know anything about me in particular. Or, tell me, do you think you know me? Could you know me better? Hmmm?

Easter Fun

I always tend to write about holidays in the wrong order when it comes to blogging. I write other not-so-important stuff first, and then write about the holiday. Usually it's because I'm waiting on myself to upload pictures. They are uploaded, so it's time to write! ;)

Tonight I will share our Easter experience. Easter is one of my favorite holidays. It is such a great time to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice God made in giving his son for me and you on the cross. It's a time to reflect and be thankful--a time to acknowledge the mercy of our God. But, since 2001, I must admit that Easter is hard for me. We found out about my father's terminal cancer on Easter of 2001. It was an incredibly sad day for me--probably one of the top three saddest days ever. Over the years, though, it's been a good time of reflection for me, too. A time to remember all the fun our family had together, to reflect on the Lord's faithfulness to my family, and now that I have a little one of my own, to praise Him for the opportunity of sharing His love with a new generation.

I love traditions and I love that Coby's family is all about them. It is neat to me to see a blending of two worlds in the holiday seasons we encounter as parents from two different families. Unfortunately, Coby was on a business trip this Easter, so Skyler and I did Easter on our own. We still took time to share it with my family, though, and it was so nice!!! We played at Grandma B's house after church with Skyler's cousins and I got some good time visiting with my mom and siblings. I sure am thankful for my family! Thanks, guys, for sharing Easter with me!!

The night before Easter morning, Skyler asked if the Easter bunny was coming to her house. I said yes, and she said,"Will he come inside, Momma?" in a nervous little voice. I said, "No, Sweet Girl, he just knocks on the door and asks if Mommy will give you treats for the morning. Then he hands me your Easter basket and goes home to his Mommy." This seemed to satisfy her, and she said, "Momma, if the Easter bunny comes to bring me treats, I need to leave him somethin'!" I was busy around the house and didn't notice until she had gone to bed that she had left the Easter bunny some treats, too. She shared some of her Easter gift from the next door neighbor and placed them right at the door for him!!

The next morning she was delighted with all the goodies he left her!!! She especially loved her treats in her new Easter shoes. My girl is ALL ABOUT new shoes!!! This is a Selke/Hennigh tradition that our family can't do without!!

Here's a picture of me and my girl in our Sunday best. We decided to do our Easter egg hunt on Friday night at my nephew's birthday party since Sunday was supposed to be so gross outside. Unfortunately we didn't get pictures, but we did document with our video camera.

One Down...

I'm ELATED!!!! I have finished putting together everything for my taxes, and it's only April 1st!! Glory to GOD!!!! I'm pretty happy about that!

So, I started this week a little disappointed. I wasn't able to get those darn taxes finished last week due to a HUGELY busy day on Thursday, a full client load on Friday, and family time/hosting a shower on Saturday. Sunday was busy with church, visiting with our future part-time nanny, looking at a house, and visiting with Poppie and Gibbie (such a fun, relaxing visit!!). All in all, it was a good time but not one that lent itself to time in front of the computer.

So, I know, this is boring, but it's going somewhere.

I woke up at 4:30 Monday morning so discouraged and frustrated!!! ARGH!!!! I prayed, "Lord, am I ever going to get anything done?" In the quietness of the moment, God reminded me of what Pastor Barry said in church the morning before about discouragement. He said, "If you're discouraged, it's because you've chosen to be in that place. God has something better." It was a good reminder--I whispered, "OK, Lord, I want my day to be your day. You take every single moment and make it what it needs to be. I need to finish taxes and handle a dozen things for work, and I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in and be super-mom."

I rolled over and surprisingly fell back to sleep...at peace.

When I woke up at 7:00, I started working away. I decided not to go to bible study, which was a HUGE sacrifice for me, and tried to focus. It was a battle at first. My flesh certainly wanted to win and I felt like pouting, being frustrated, and throwing in the towel. Was all this sacrifice worth it? I felt that little voice inside again--"Turn on praise music." So I did, and you know what? As usual, my whole demeanor and the mood of my house was instantly transformed. Skyler contentedly played by herself, occasionally telling me of the great adventures she was having taking care of her babies and "cooking dinner." She colored me a picture, helped me throw out some old paperwork, and danced around the house humming along to the music in the next room.

Before I knew it we were winding down for nap time. I had taken care of ALL of my responsibilities for work and was mostly finished with my taxes and it wasn't even 2:00. As I laid there with Skyler, I thanked God for this precious moment to cuddle with my little one and rested for a few minutes.

I got up to prepare for my clients that evening...three appointments, all starting at 4:30. As I got ready, one call after another came in from my clients needing to reschedule--I had a TOTALLY free evening at the very last minute!!!

At first, in the flesh, I thought, "Lord, I'm prepared to work! What's the deal?" And then that little voice again..."What about some family time?" I had some other things I wanted to do, but in that moment I knew I was right where I needed to be. I called Coby and we quickly made a plan.

Instead of working like any other Monday night, I had the awesome privilege of watching my child play with her dad at Jumping Party. Then we ate dinner as a family and I was able to tuck my almost three year old into bed, softly singing her to sleep. All in all, it was a perfect day. Not at all what I expected, but every bit what I needed.

Thank you, Father, for taking us to the end of ourselves and showing us what really matters. Thank you for stopping the clamour and distraction of our lives and working your will in our days and weeks--in our every moment. Thank you, God, that I chose to listen to you.

And thank you for helping me finish my taxes! :)