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Diary

Environmentally friendly is the only kind of friendly around here

T.V. Love

Well, my goodness...I finally watched this week's Project Runway and the cats were scratching. I guess the stress level is finally getting to them. That in conjunction with the fact that they had to make wearable clothing out of recycled garbage seemed to push a few people over the edge.Anytime you have to make fashion out of something you get at a recycling plant and a craft store...you know Read More

Turning fashion icons into fashion victims

T.V. Love

I was really going to try to do a Thursday Thirteen today, so what does it say about my creative thinking skills that I couldn't think of one subject to think up thirteen things about? Maybe since I have seven days until next Thursday, I can think of something between now and then. In the meantime, here are my thoughts on last night's Project Runway which is my new addiction (along with Read More

Fashion has gone to the dogs

T.V. Love

Last night I watched Project Runway. This is the first season that I have watched and I only started watching because there is literally nothing else on other than 600 shows dedicated to undiscovered talent in America. My thought is that the majority are probably best left undiscovered. Anyway I am loving Project Runway.The first thing that caused me some distress last night was when Heidi came Read More

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Who is Melanie?

Melanie ShankleMy name is Melanie and, in some strange twist of fate, I’m also known as Big Mama because I started this blog in July of 2006 when my daughter, Caroline, was not quite three years old and I was in the process of convincing her that BIG girls use the potty and BIG girls don’t have pacifiers, thus she thought BIG was the highest compliment in the land and began referring to me as BIG MAMA.Read More

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And just like that, her first year at Texas A&M is And just like that, her first year at Texas A&M is over. ⁣
⁣After we moved her out of the dorm last weekend, we looked around the empty dorm room and she said, “This has been the best year of my life”. And because moms know these things, I can attest to that. ⁣
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I loved Texas A&M as a student, but I love it even more as an Aggie mom. What it has given my girl over the last year has been beyond anything I even prayed for. The way she has grown in her faith, the incredible friends she has made, the professors and advisors who have guided her, the experiences she’s had, the Aggies beating Alabama at Kyle Field…it’s all been Ephesians 3:20 in action…more than I could ask or imagine. ⁣
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When she left home at the end of last summer it felt like an ending, but what it has actually been is the most beautiful beginning to the future God has written for her. And it’s a reminder to me that the best prayer we can pray as a mom is, “God, this one is yours. You are the author of her story and I trust you to write an amazing one”. ⁣
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Thanks and Gig’em. 👍🏻❤️

(Photo by @doubllel)
In light of all our construction issues this week, In light of all our construction issues this week, I felt like it was time for a special edition of grown up story time because I remembered I actually wrote about the poor tile job in our shower years ago in Sparkly Green Earrings. ⁣
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This is when it pays to have a written history to help myself  remember I shouldn’t have been surprised by anything that transpired this week.
A friend texted me this photo the other day. It wa A friend texted me this photo the other day. It was taken my last semester at Texas A&M and I’m with a group of friends at a Wes King concert at Wolf Pen Creek. (Shout out to those of you old enough to remember what a gift Wes King was to Christian music in the early 90s.) I had recently found my way back to God after a long hiatus and wasn’t entirely sure how I ended up at this concert with some new friends who wore Jesus t-shirts, but was so grateful to be there because I felt content and happy for the first time in years. ⁣
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The point of this picture is that if you look on the left you will see a young Perry Shankle with glasses wearing a white t-shirt. And if you look on the far right you will see a young Melanie Marino with an aggressive side part. I don’t think we even spoke to each other at the concert that night. No one would have put us together because we were complete and total opposites. And I like to think God laughed knowing what was ahead. ⁣
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A year later, we started dating. And three years from just about the day this photo was taken, we were engaged. And currently, we’ve been married almost 25 years and are cleaning out the attic together today which is the height of romance. What I’m saying is dream big, kids. You never know what is waiting right around the corner, right in front of you, that will change your life. ⁣
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Side note: If you look closely you’ll see that my friend Jen and I are sitting on a blue striped comforter. Perry still sleeps with that exact comforter every single night so what I’m saying is that on that night back in 1994, he had no idea he was with his future wife and a blanket he would treasure, lo, all these years later. God is good. ⁣
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Also, as for the attic clean out, he informed me last night that he did own two horses when we started dating. That’s why there is a saddle in our attic. I had no idea.
Big night out for Mom and Dad tonight. ⁣ ⁣ We Big night out for Mom and Dad tonight. ⁣
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We went to the wedding of the daughter of some dear friends and it was at the same church and the same reception venue as ours was almost twenty-five years ago. ⁣
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We agreed we barely remember anything about that day. It’s all a blur. But we agreed we like each other more now than we did all those years ago when we had no idea all that our life together would hold.  And that feels like a win because I was pretty crazy about him then. ⁣
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Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Glass! Loved celebrating with you. 💕
Here’s a confession: I hate waiting. I don’t l Here’s a confession: I hate waiting. I don’t like sitting in the unknown. I’m not sure any of us do. ⁣
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The truth is waiting makes me feel anxious as I worry about timelines and what ifs and when I’ll have answers. And it dawned on me today that waiting is really the crux of Good Friday. ⁣
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I think one of the most powerful moments in the Bible is when Jesus is on the cross and with a loud cry breathes his last breath. Mark 15:38-39 says, “The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”⁣
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Think about that. The sky has grown dark, the earth begins to shake and then as Jesus cries out with his last breath, we learn that what has been an impenetrable, thick curtain in the temple - there to separate us from the Holy of Holies - tears in two. It’s powerful enough that this centurion, a battle-tested leader in the Roman army, witnesses it and realizes Jesus is absolutely who He claimed to be. ⁣
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Jesus’ death and resurrection are the moments that changed eternity and gave hope when all was lost. The ultimate victory of good over evil. But there was also waiting. ⁣
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The centurion may have realized that Jesus was the son of God, but everyone had to wait to see what that meant. They didn’t know the stone would be rolled away. They didn’t know the crucifixion was just the beginning of a story of hope and redemption. All they knew on Friday was pain and loss and darkness. They had to wait for Sunday and they didn’t even know what they were waiting for…maybe just a small sign of hope. ⁣
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Don’t we do that? Question if He’s good or if He will come through for us? Wonder how things will work out when all seems lost? Is He who He says He is and what does that mean for our life?⁣
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Here’s what I know. Jesus is the wonder our heart is waiting for. He is our peace, redemption, and salvation. He breaks strongholds, takes away our fear and shame, redeems what has been broken and lost. He does more in our lives than we even know to ask for. We are never so broken that He can’t restore us. ⁣
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All that we wait for, all that we hope for…HE IS.
My first Aggie parents’ weekend as an Aggie pare My first Aggie parents’ weekend as an Aggie parent. Loved every minute with my girl. 👍🏻💕

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Jenny Isaminger@JennyDawnTX·

I got to interview one of my all time favorite authors on the podcast this week and when I listened to the finished episode I had a "I can't believe I got to do that!" moment. Thanks for joining us, @BigMama and thanks for getting my Mary Katherine Gallagher reference. 🙂 https://twitter.com/RealHoustonMoms/status/1522222777549443075

Reply on Twitter 1522223383643049986Retweet on Twitter 15222233836430499861Like on Twitter 15222233836430499862
TexAgs@TexAgs·

Hey… @d1baseball.

You up? https://twitter.com/TexAgs/status/1518348186275954688

Reply on Twitter 1518349161283923968Retweet on Twitter 151834916128392396826Like on Twitter 1518349161283923968462

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