Baby, it's cold outside....

Wow, today is actually going to get above freezing!! If it's going to be this cold the least it could do is give us some snow! So there has been a mix of a lot going on lately and not a lot at the same time. More often than not I end each day trying to figure out where it has gone - I am constantly busy, yet most of the time I can't remember what I've been doing that's been keeping me that busy. I have been very bad at keeping everyone updated on what we've been doing so I will try my best to think back and catch everyone up!

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving we had our first appointment with our R.E. He started me on a new drug (metformin) and told me to give it until the first of the year to see if it starts working. He also gave us a game plan of sorts that lets me know what to expect if each thing doesn't work, which is really nice. So far all the metformin has done is made me sick (gotta love side effects!) and made me lose extra weight that weight watchers didn't take off. I am hoping that in the next week something happens, but I am really expecting to have to go on to Plan B which is more metformin with a chaser of clomid. This will be my forth round of clomid - hopefully taking metformin with it will help it work because the previous three rounds have done absolutely nothing but give me more side effects to deal with.

The first weekend in December we took a trip to Alabama to see my Grandma. She moved there shortly after my Grandpa passed away and we hadn't made the trip to see her new place. We have had the pleasure of having her here to visit us for 2 weeks though, so it's not like we haven't seen her. Anyway, this trip was really nice because it involved almost my entire family on that side - my brother's family couldn't make the trip. My aunt & uncle from Hattiesburg (MS), my cousin & her husband from Jackson (MS), my Grandma from Decatur (AL), my parents, my sister & her kids and Greg & I all made the trip to Huntsville (AL) to invade the Fairfield Inn for a weekend. It was SO nice to see everyone - I really wish my brother & his fam would've been able to make the trip - hopefully next time! The weekend was full of watching the kiddos swim, a small amount of shopping, food, family & a bit of drinking. It was a great way to spend a weekend between Thanksgiving & Christmas and I hope that it is made an annual trip from now on!!

We drove back from Alabama on Sunday (the entire way - what a LONG day!) so we'd be back for my FIL#2's surgery on Monday (for my uncle Rick - FIL#2 = Greg's stepdad). He was diagnosed with prostate cancer almost 2 months ago. Anyway, he had decided to skip the radiation and go for removal of his prostate instead, so he was scheduled to have that done on Monday. Surgery went well, a bit longer than we'd expected due to his size, but well. Recovery has been a bit of a bumpy road so far. He was kept in the hospital a day long than he was supposed to be, his drain tube is still in and still draining (it was supposed to be removed a week ago) so I'm not sure if that's bad or indifferent. He can't comfortably sit normal, so he does best in a semi-reclined position and spends the bulk of his day in his recliner. My MIL#1 (Greg's mom) has been taking great care of him and going a bit crazy from staying at home so much I think. She did go out the other day to get him some books so he'd have something to do. Hopefully his recovery will start to go a little better and he will get to go back to preaching and his usual activities - I know he misses it all!

Greg & I have just been working and getting ready for the holidays. I've gotten to spend quality time with my girlfriends at Bunco and my friend Jen's annual Ornament Exchange. We had the pleasure of watching Kayden & Bella in their school Christmas program. They did SO great - Bella even had a solo and she just blew me away!! I can't believe how grown up she is becoming - she's almost 8!! I really love this time of year and the family time that comes with it. If only there was one more day to Christmas so I could have one day per family and not have to rush around so much. Sunday we did get the honor of seeing our friend's son Henry get baptized - it was such a special day and a wonderful celebration to start off Christmas week!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas & a Happy & Blessed New Year!!

I'm still kickin'.....just haven't slowed down to write about it yet

So I have been told that I am very behind on posting. Things have been crazy busy and I haven't been home a ton, hence the lack of posts. I PROMISE to get back to it, hopefully in the next few days. Until I have time to sit, think and write here is a little Christmas survey fun...I needed a quick break from work!

• Wrapp​ing paper​ or gift bags?​ most of our gifts are for the kids so definitely wrapping paper - I love to watch them tear into it!!
• Real tree or Artif​icial​?​ fake....and not just any fake, a pre-lit fake!
• When do you put up the tree?​ usually the day after Thanksgiving
• When do you take the tree down?​ oh somewhere around the first week of January...I'm going to get as much out of that thing as I can before I have to pack it all up!
• Do you like eggno​g?​ I have honestly tried it but I just don't like it
• Favor​ite gift received as a child​?​ not sure if I have ONE favorite....every Christmas was awesome and I got so many wonderful gifts....if I had to pick I'd say the manger/backdrop for my nativity...my dad built it and painted it and I absolutely LOVE it!
• Who is the harde​st perso​n to buy for? either my parents or one half of my in-laws...there just isn't much that they need
• Who is the easie​st perso​n to buy for? the kids...especially Reed right now - give the boy some tools and he is entertained for months!!
• Do you have a nativ​ity scene​?​ yes, the Willow Tree nativity.....I got it piece by piece over a few Christmases , including the manger for it to sit in/on....it's one of my very favorite possessions ever!!
• Mail or email​ Chris​tmas cards​?​ real paper mail, absolutely no question about it!
• Worst​ Chris​tmas gift you ever recei​ved?​ I can't think of one
• Favor​ite Chris​tmas Movie​?​ A Christmas Story, Miracle on 34th Street, It's A Wonderful Life
• When do you start​ Chris​tmas shopp​ing?​ we do most (if not all) of our shopping on Veteran's Day....Greg's parents started that tradition - it's a bank holiday so the men had it off anyway.....Greg and I started doing it our first Christmas together and it just works out so great....everything (except a few stragglers) is bought and wrapped by the time the tree goes up on black Friday!
• Have you ever recyc​led a Chris​tmas prese​nt?​ um, no
• Favor​ite thing​ to eat at Chris​tmas?​ my most favorite is pumpkin bread - it's SO good!!
• Light​s on the tree?​ absolutely! I'm an all white light kinda girl though....colored lights bother me (on my tree, not on other people's trees)
• Favor​ite Chris​tmas song? I have too many favorites...Tracy Chapman's version of O Holy Night is up there though
• Trave​l at Chris​tmas or stay at home?​ stay home.....Christmas is hectic and exhausting enough as it is with all our families being in the same general city, I can't imagine if we were just here visiting for a few days for Christmas....I'm not sure how enjoyable it would be
• Can you name all of Santa​'​s reind​eer?​ Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen...and Rudolph
• Angel​ on the tree top or a star?​ we have a star...I'm not totally fond of this particular star, but I'm more partial to a star
• Open the prese​nts Chris​tmas Eve or morni​ng?​ wow.....um, we do presents on Christmas Eve with Greg's dad's side, Christmas Day with his mom's side and either Christmas Eve or before with my family
• Most annoy​ing thing​ about​ this time of the year?​ people being "politically correct" and saying that Christmas shouldn't be celebrated in schools because church and state are supposed to be separate.....it's CHRISTMAS for crying out loud - it has never been a problem before, why is it now - why are people suddenly getting so offended by things like school Christmas parties, plays and such? Changing Christmas Parties to Winter Fesitvals and banning nativities from school Christmas programs? If we are really going to be THAT P.C. then shouldn't we not even call it CHRISTmas, shouldn't we change it's name too?!? Can't people that don't these things just not attend? I am ALL for freedom of speech and religion and not making people participate in things against their culture or beliefs....why can't we still have all the things we always have and still call them all the same things and those that are offended by them can just not go see the play, or not go to the Christmas party or to see the living nativity? wow...got a little worked up there...I just don't understand people these days....
• What theme​ or color​ are you using​?​ what, on my tree? it is mainly silver & ivory.....Greg & I add a new ornament every year that has the date on it and we've always gotten silver ones
• Favor​ite for Chris​tmas dinne​r?​ we have beef tenderloin for dinner every year with my Norman in-laws....YUM!! I am not really a turkey fan so I am all about non-traditional dinner!
• What do you want for Chris​tmas this year?​ for the drugs to work and for all of the side effects and needle sticks and early mornings to be for something......to give me my family

Happy Thanksgiving

Life has been crazy as always and I haven't really had time to post lately. I am hoping to make time over the holiday weekend - we'll see!

I at least want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving though - hope you all enjoy the holiday with your families!

happy halloween

So I'm not big into Halloween, I haven't been since I was a kid. I don't really like dressing up and we are never home enough (most of the time) to decorate or carve pumpkins. We at least usually hand out the good candy, but this year we are closed to the trick-or-treaters. We are taking the first chance we have gotten to go visit some friends and we are taking dinner with us (they had their first baby a little over a month ago). We are both really looking forward to this, but I can't help but feel a little, tiny bit bad for the poor neighborhood kids that are disappointed by the house being dark. There's always next year. I do look forward to seeing all of my nieces, nephews and friend's kiddos all dressed up though - that is by far my favorite part of this day!

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

my six things

This is courtesy of Jennifer

List 6 things that make you happy:

My faith. Not my religion of choice, but my faith in God. I was raised Catholic and now attend a Presbyterian church with my husband. He was raised primarily as a Baptist and religion/church has always been a hot topic for us. I have never felt that the faith in God that my parents instilled in me was ever exclusive to the Catholic faith, much to my parent's dismay. Before Greg & I got married we had decided that we were going to find a church that we both felt comfortable in, and that is where we would go and raise our family. It just so happened that our friends, the Greens, had tried this church and told us about it. Since Liz was raised Catholic like I was and Greg and Bernie were both raised Baptist we really valued their opinion on the matter. For us it is the perfect fusion of what I am used to and looking for and what he is comfortable with and looking for.

My husband. I have been truly blessed to have this man ask me to marry him and pledge to spend the rest of his life with me. I warned him from the get-go, divorce is not an option with me, he can only be "rid" of me if I die, but he responded by agreeing that he felt the same way. He has been my rock during the most difficult times I have ever known, he has been a wonderful uncle to my nieces & nephew, he is my best friend and my love. We talk about everything, our hopes, dreams, feelings, so much that I'm not sure that there is anything we don't talk about (unless it's a surprise for the other person.) He is the yin to my yang, without a doubt. We bring out the best in each other and I can't imagine my life without him.

My family. I am very close with my family. My parents are also my friends, as are my brother and sister (and SIL). I absolutely adore my nieces and nephews and I thank God for bringing them into my life. They make my heart smile. My best example to date - last night I had to run by my brother's house to pay for Girl Scout candy. While I was there my two nieces told me that they were going to ask their teachers and class to pray for my FIL (Greg's stepdad was diagnosed with cancer yesterday) and for his family because they "bet Uncle Greg is sad and his mom is sad too" When I heard those words come out of their mouths I started crying and went to give them a big hug & kiss. I don't know what I'd do without these kids either - my life is that much more complete because they are in it.

My new car. That may seem kinda of materialistic, but it is totally one of my favorite things! I just traded in my 10 year old Expedition for a 2008 Pontiac Torrent.

It is about the same size as Greg's Escape, but longer (the back seat has a freakish amount of leg room built in) I really lucked out and found one that was loaded. Sunroof, leather seats (heated leather seats), 6 disc in-dash CD player, headphone jack so I can plug my Zune directly into my car to play it, and it has remote start!! And the gas mileage is really good, which never hurts! Honestly, I didn't figure I would find a car that was this new with under 13,000 miles on it for the budget I set!! I have had it for 2 1/2 weeks now and absolutely love it!!

Bunco. I honestly used to not be a fan, but I have changed my mind! This is a great opportunity to see the girls once a month and eat some good food and just chat & catch up. Everyone is so busy these days with jobs and kids that it serves as a break for us ladies! Thanks Candice for starting it up!

DVR. It may be silly, but I do love to watch some shows and I am NEVER home when they are on. Whoever invented the DVR is a genius in my book ;-)

Now to pass on the "award" to those that haven't gotten it yet.....tag, you're it: Elizabeth & Emily

30 years, seriously?

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) This was the daily Bible verse on my 30th Birthday. For as frustrated as I feel lately with thinking about the future, this is something that I need to remember. Last Monday I turned 30. When did that happen? While I may act like I am in my 30's most of the time it just feels like I'm lying to say I have been alive for 30 years.

I had a wonderful birthday. Greg had the day off anyway because my birthday fell on Columbus Day this year (bank holiday), so I took the day off as well so we could spend it together. We slept in, went to check out the new Yukon Target (!!!!), went to lunch and went home to veg on the couch and catch up on all our shows we've DVR'd and haven't had time to watch. It was a wonderful, low-key day - just what I needed! My parents stopped by that evening to wish me a happy birthday and give me a present ($$) and then they went on their way. Tuesday we had dinner with Greg's dad & step-mom for my birthday. It was great to see them - Greg sees them a lot more often than I do because he goes to lunch with them every so often. Thursday evening was spent having dinner with Greg's mom, step-dad and 2 brothers to celebrate my birthday. This has truly been a birthday week! Friday night I had the honor and privilege of spending time with Miss Molly Taylor while Jen & Bob drive up to Stillwater to go to walkaround for homecoming. I have been dying to babysit her since she was born and I finally got my chance! Jen was afraid she would be a bit fussy because she didn't get e good nap that afternoon, but she was a angel! She played well and gave me lots of smiles, ate dinner very well and fell asleep during her bottle before bed. I could've put her straight to bed but I wanted to brush her teeth so I set her in her Bumbo chair and started brushing. It woke her up a little, but it was probably better because she had fallen asleep a little earlier than she should have anyway. After that I held her for a few minutes then put her in bed. She didn't fuss a bit and just played for a few minutes, listening to her music, and then fell asleep! She was truly a joy to spend time with - you can't be anything other than happy around her when you see that smile!! Saturday night we got to spend over at the Taylor's again, this time for a small cookout with a few friends for my birthday. I wanted to keep it small and not at all about my birthday so we just did 4 couples (counting Greg & I) and the Taylor's hosted because it was already baby-friendly and easiest for the moms. It was nice to see some friends and to have a social evening with no agenda. We played with kiddos, we ate, we visited and we all went home to go to sleep! Sunday was my family birthday celebration. After church Greg dropped my off at my parent's house. I went with my mom and sister to meet my SIL at Mistletoe Market, a holiday shopping extravaganza that has over 100 booths full of holiday decorations, gifts, clothing & food. I was lucky enough to do some Christmas shopping for my nephew and one of my nieces, as well as a birthday present for a little man that is about to turn 1! Later that afternoon we had 2 soccer games, both Kayden and Bella had games within half an hour of each other, so we all watched those. Then we met Greg up at Yamato for a delicious Asian meal! Before going home to go to bed Greg & I helped my parents finish emptying out the kitchen cabinets at their house - they are remodeling this week!!

I had a truly wonderful birthday week and I can't thank my friends and families enough for all of the cards, calls, text messages, myspace/facebook comments, emails and gifts. I am really blessed.

it never really slows down

I have come to the conclusion that once you get married your life is forever busy and never really slows down until you die. Don't get me wrong - I am grateful for every crazy-busy day, but a break every now and again would be nice.

Not a lot of fun has been going on the past week & a half, but we've tried to squeeze some in where we could. Tuesday I did something out of the ordinary - I went out to lunch. My only close friend from the KD house that still lives around here lives just a few miles north of me, and sadly we never see each other! So Tuesday CC and I went to have lunch with another friend from college, Rick. He actually lives a few blocks from the Greens (good friends of ours that live about 3 miles from us) and I haven't seen him since college. It was a nice break from the madness that is my job and a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends! Tuesday evening our friends Jon & Candice welcomed their first born to the world (CONGRATS!!!!). Samuel Alex Mason arrived after a long day of labor for poor Candice. Thanks to her epidural I think she did pretty well through the whole thing. We went to see them on Wednesday evening - he is SO cute! He is a fairly big baby (8lbs. 13oz.) but still so tiny - I always forget how tiny newborns are! Before heading to the hospital we went to eat with one of my best & oldest friends Jen, her husband Bob, their 8 month old daughter Molly, and another couple (Blake & Stephanie). We always seem to be busy and it feels like we never see anyone, so it was nice to spend some time with friends. Plus I can't get enough of Molly - she is the cutest darn thing!! Thursday Greg finally got his new company car, so we spent that evening playing with it and re-situating the garage so both cars could fit. Hopefully someday soon his new car will have my new car to stay in the garage with it. Jen's dad is my car dealer and he has begun the search for my next set of wheels so it is only a matter of time I hope! Friday was our monthly girls night of Bunco and socializing. The last Friday of every month we go to a different person's house and they cook dinner for everyone and then we chat & play Bunco. Megan was our hostess this month and she made a delicious Mexican casserole and dessert enchiladas - Greg would love them so I totally need to get the recipe! It was like a Mexican version of apple pie, which I don't even like, but this was awesome! Saturday was spent with the ladies again, this time celebrating the upcoming arrival of our friend Jackie's first born in November. She seemed like she had a great time at her shower and she got a ton of great stuff! All I can remember about Sunday is church that morning and then my day goes blurry. Life has been so crazy since mid-July when my supervisor left - we got slammed with work about a week after that and it hasn't slowed down any. Don't get me wrong - that's a good thing because I get paid time and a half for every minute of overtime I do - but it also sucks because it means I to work 1-2 hours of overtime each day, and have been for the past 2 1/2 months!! It just makes me so tired at night. Plus we are trying to get my MIL's house in Norman finished so the sale can go through and we can all be done driving back & forth! We are so close!!

My parent's left last Friday for a 2 week vacation in the New England area with my aunt & uncle from Iowa (my mom's little sister). I believe they were flying into Boston and then renting a car and driving all around from there. I chatted with my dad for a minute earlier today and they were on their way to Niagara Falls. I would anything to go on vacation right now. Greg is trying to find a good deal for a tropical vacation toward the end of this month - kind of a 30th birthday trip for me a few weeks late. I can't believe I am turning 30 in 11 days - I don't feel like I should be 30 already. It seems like just last week I was graduating college, not 6 years ago. Oh well, as they say, time flies when you're having fun....

what a great weekend

This was a really great weekend. Friday night we went on a double date with Blake & Stephanie, first enjoying dinner at Primo's and then coming back to our house for drink & games. Well, Stephanie and I kicked the boy's butts in Turbo Cranium AND Scattergories - it was GREAT!!! Saturday started off with soccer games. Kayden and Bella are both playing soccer this year and both had games on Saturday morning so I decided to go watch. I only made a little bit of Kayden's game, but they were so cute out there! Bella began her game by scoring a goal. She has never played before and has now scored 1 goal in each of her 2 games so far! After the games I went with my parents to talk remodel. They are getting ready to remodel their kitchen and wanted my opinion on the granite, backsplash, appliances and all that good stuff. I totally LOVE shopping for that kind of thing when it is for someone else and with their money - I should've been a personal shopper! After shopping and lunch we went back to my parent's house and my dad taught me to drive his MGB!! I was so excited, I've always wanted to learn to drive a stick and we didn't have one, but now that my dad has his MGB I've gotten the chance. I had such a great time that I told him I am going to have to take it for a drive every time I come over from now on - I think that made his day! Today has been spent organizing the shed and working on the garage. Greg is supposed to get his new company car on Wednesday so he wants to have a garage spot for his car too - I always get one because he's sweet like that! Now it's just off to bed and back to the daily grind. This is going to be a BUSY week!

I'll never understand His plan......

Here is the latest news on our niece Kate, not good......please continue the prayers, we all certainly appreciate them!!

Posted on CarePages 9-19-08 12:00 pm:
"Hello friends, Just another update, I am beginning to not like sitting down to this screen because I seem to post bad news more than good news. Kate and I left Wednesday morning at 3:00 am to head to Houston for a day of chemo, scans and consultation. Our original plans were to have a 3 day trip and take care of all the scans we needed, but hurricane Ike changed that for us by leaving power shortages everywhere, so we had no place to stay. Dr. Anderson wanted to have a chest CT done now and get started on the new chemo. This chemo is an IV infusion lasting 3 hours and it does not make her sick. It can have a side effect of a rash\burn on the palms of your hands and bottom of your feet, so they put hands & feet on ice for the 3 hours you get your chemo - not to the point of frostbite, but uncomfortably cold. We then met with the Dr. to go over scan and were told the cancer continues to metastasize and is now in both lungs with 6 small tumors that we could see. She has 3 on her left and 3 on her right. For the next couple of months we will continue with oral chemo at home and once a month chemo at MD Anderson followed with another chest CT and the MRI and PET scan next month. Kate handled the news just like all the other news, just fine. She is doing out patient therapy 3 times a week and continues to get stronger in the legs but still cannot walk without holding on to something. She is still in a wheelchair and is very independent in it. She is such a blessing to me. It may be hard to imagine how much we laugh together through such crap. We truly enjoy each day. I know this is the love of the Lord shinning through and giving us strength. I will close for now, Kate's calling. Love, Julie"

let's go out to the movies...

So my hub and I went out on a date last night and went to go see Burn After Reading. Here's my review: Don't waste your money. We both enjoy black comedies and expected it to be funny but it had absolutely no flow to it and it just wasn't funny. Brad Pitt can play a pretty funny goofball but they showed all of his best parts on the commercials so that sucked. The best part was J.K. Simmons (Chief Pope from The Closer) and he was only in 2 or 3 scenes. Very disappointing.

life or something like it

I feel like a lot should have happened since my last post, but that really isn't the case. It's kinda strange, we've been really busy but I guess just not with any noteworthy events. Let's see - since my last post here is a little recap of the main things that have happened....my BIL bought a house & moved in (freeing up the parts of our house/garage that were his storage units!!), my dad had a birthday (62 - wahoo!), Greg & I celebrated our 2nd anniversary as a legal version of "us", I hosted bunco and I managed to go yet another month with no progress in the family department. If the measures being taken would only make something happen I could deal with us not holding up our end of things, but so far it's not working at all and that is a bit frustrating. Enough of that.....

On a brighter note, Kate is doing better. She is home (for now) and is using a wheel chair/walker to get around. The damage is most evident in that she cannot get her legs to go where she wants them to - which I'm sure is terribly frustrating for a 16 year old girl! She did good through the PT, chemo & radiation and managed to keep her spirit strong and disposition happy! The doctors said they will not know how extensive the spinal cord damage is and if this is permanent for possibly up to a year and a half because it is a delicate area of the spine. She is continuing with outpatient therapy at home and will go back to MD Anderson for a new infusion of chemo in about a week. Please continue to keep her in your prayers!

Our anniversary was really nice and low key. We decided to go celebrate on Sunday night (2 days early) and have dinner at the Melting Pot. We picked Sunday because we'd heard that an evening there will take a while. They seated us in a secluded area and even gave us a card that the staff signed wishing us a happy anniversary. Our waiter was phenomenal and we enjoyed our meal, but especially dessert! Banana's Foster fondue - it was incredible!! Neither of us are fans of the cheese fondue, but the Coq Au Vin cooking style for our main course was so delicious!! It was just a wonderful evening all around. Then for our actual anniversary we did Chinese takeout and cuddled up on the couch to watch a movie - it was a perfect anniversary!!

That's about it in my world! My allergies are getting the better of me this week, but other than that no major complaints!

Prayers for Kate - tell everyone you know!!

Greg and I have a niece (his stepbrother Shane's stepdaughter) that has been battling cancer for the past year. Things have been looking up lately, she's been doing well. Then we got this message from her mother on their CarePages site :

"To the Family, Hello to you all. The Lord is our source of strength and we are going to need that strength starting now!!! Kate, Alex, and David (her bother & dad) just got home yesterday evening from a trip to Wyoming to Yellowstone. She took lots of photos and said,"Wow" how beautiful it was. Of course they did lots of walking on trails to take in the splendor of some of Gods creation that He has lovingly made available for us to see. But she also began having trouble with her legs. They just did not want to work right for her. She also had some numbing from the hips down. We watched her closely last night and were alarmed by what we saw. I called her Houston doctor and he said she needed to be in the emergency room and have an MRI and CT scan at Cook Childrens. So that is where Shane, David, Kate and myself spent the day. We did not get good news. Her tumor is back and has infiltrated the spinal column and pressure is building on the spinal chord, interrupting the signals from the brain so she cannot walk easily. They also see a lesion on the lung. So we are to be in Houston first thing Monday and go over the scans and discuss our options. Pray us through as it feels like a storm is surely coming our way. We Love You , Julie"

She is such a great girl. They spent the night at our house in May after my FIL's birthday party and I sat and talked to her for quite awhile. She was so excited b/c her 16th birthday was 2 weeks away.....she is just such an incredible spirit and this is just heartbreaking news. Please, please, please pray for her and for their family!! This has already been such a long and difficult road for them, and I have a feeling it is only going to get harder.
Thank you - hope you all are doing well.

UPDATE:
I just got an update from Shane about Kate. They are back at MD Anderson and she has just finished having her scans - here is the gist of what is going on:

Posted on CarePages 44 minutes ago:
"They (the team of doctors) are now preparing to go into surgery. Very touchy surgery. Their intent is to go into the spinal column and get the pressure off of the spinal cord. Right now the tumor is pressing the spinal cord all the way against the left wall of the spinal column. The result of this is Kate is not able to walk and has very little function in her legs. For you medical folks, she's at a T6 functioning level. Surgery should start somewhere around 2 hours from now and will last 4 to 6 hours. We met with her oncology doctor this morning, around 9am, and his only comments to us was to get this surgery done to give her a chance of some return and worry about the next plan of attack, on the cancer, later this week."

have you seen me lately?

So nothing is new really, just crazy busy life as always. Same sh**, different day! A few friends have had their babies (welcome to the world Connor & Landon), more working on the Norman house (although not very much - and rumor has it it might be sold!), my BIL Kev bought his first house (and luckily only 3 miles away from us) and my mother had a birthday (happy b-day lovely lady)!

These days have been filled with running around like a headless chicken trying to make it through each day before losing my mind - so far so good! We have been helping Kevin get his house ready so he can move in - he bought a foreclosure so the house is needing a LOT of love. Lucky find though - it has original wood floors all over (except the kitchen/dining area) so a lot of focus lately has been on replacing broken boards and pulling up tack boards/nails. He is off work today and sanding them with one of his friends. Something about being sealed up in a house with no A/C on a day like today (it's going to be around 100 today) just doesn't sound very nice - good luck guys!

And then there's work - my supervisor resigned on the spot after having a meeting with my bosses earlier this month (the 18th). I was at the dentist so I didn't get in until 9:15 and he was gone by the time I got there! There have been a lot of issues with him so this is a good thing - although I have been working more everyday since and a bit on weekends with Greg in here b/c this guy was also in charge of keeping software licensing up to date and doing the back-up on our server. Turns out he hadn't been doing any of that and we didn't have a complete back-up of our server......since FEBRUARY! Good damn thing it didn't crash - we'd have been in serious trouble!! So my darling, sweet hub has been stepping in until they find an IT person and getting the back-up system running as it should have to begin with, better really. Bless his heart, as if he didn't work too many hours already between his job and all this house work we're doing for everyone - now he has to add my office onto his list! He's an angel!!

We had a great afternoon with the family after church yesterday. We got together and had a little cookout for mom's birthday, sans Lisa & her kids as she is cruising around Mexico right about now! We got mom a Wii Fit for her birthday....she's been talking about ours and the fact that they wanted one too so we figured why the hell not, she has everything else! She loved it - we set everyone up on it (except Greg & I - we have our own & I didn't feel like getting weighed and measuring my BMI in front of my family after eating lunch!) and then watched Bella hula hoop for a while. Quite a site to see - her hula hooping isn't so much moving her hips around in a circle as it was this strange shape. And her movement had some attitude in in, so we were all cracking up! It was a good end to a good day!

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

So yesterday was a pretty darn good day. My friend Sam had her baby boy - Landon Charles Lybarger was born at 2:06pm yesterday by c-section. He is 7 lbs 12 oz and 20 1/2 inches! Then we went to Norman for dinner with Greg's dad's side (his sister Diana was here from CA with her boyfriend & their adorable daughter Isabella). We enjoyed a wonderful home cooked dinner (thanks Candy!) and us ladies had a really nice time chatting and drinking some wine afterward(1 glass had me buzzed - that's how long it's been since I have had a drink!!). Then Patrick took Diana aside toward the end of the evening and proposed - it was really turning out to be quite a day!!

Then today happened. Not really the worst of times - that (so far in my life) was last May - but definitely on the bad side of things. Not even work related - work has actually been okay. My BIL Kevin got MORE bad news about his upcoming closing on his first house - we're not sure if he is going to continue to deal with this crap or if he's going to just walk away. Poor guy has been on quite the roller coaster with this house situation! It is constantly changing and I'm not sure if he will know or believe he is actually getting this house until he is in the process or signing the papers! I feel for Kevin, I truly do, and I know how much he wants this house and quite honestly it's perfect for what he wants and it's close to us which is awesome. I have to admit that part of my irritation in all of this is that we have an entire room and 1/3 of our garage that is a storage space for him until he gets his house and I hate to say it, but I want my house & garage back! There is so much I want to do and I can't until he moves out! But I feel bad for even thinking about that....

And then there's our roof. We had to replace the west side or our roof within the first year of owning this house - a little wind damage, but it wasn't bad enough to claim insurance or anything. So last week I look at the roof as we are pulling up to the house and I notice there are some dark spots on the south side of the roof - we have shingles missing! We called 2 roofing companies (the one we used last time and then one that has been on a constant stream of replacing roofs in the neighborhood) and they both came out today to check it out. Bad news - we have wind damage that needs to be fixed and the builder hired a crappy roofer to begin with and so the roofing job is less than stellar to begin with. Apparently that is a common occurrence in our neighborhood - hence all the new roofs that have been going up. This is a big one, so I called our insurance company to get things going. I hate to claim insurance, but this is most likely going to be a more expensive venture than me buying Greg's car from the fleet company! RIDICULOUS!! And the best part is that they don't make the color of shingle that we have anymore so the new roof we had put on less than 2 years ago (the one we had to match to the existing shingles) will now have to be replaced too! I am SO GLAD today is Friday.....

a little about us

1. Who is your man? GREG ANDREW BURKS
2. How long have you been together? STARTED DATING IN JANUARY OF '04
3. How long did you date? WE WERE LESS THAN A MONTH FROM OUR 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY WHEN HE PROPOSED
4. How old is your man? 30......HE IS ALMOST EXACTLY 9 MONTHS OLDER THAN ME....HIS BIRTHDAY IS ON THE 12TH AND MINE THE 13TH
5. Who eats more? GREG
6. Who is taller? GREG BY A FEW INCHES......MAYBE 5
7. Who sings better? DEPENDS WHAT WE ARE SINGING ;-)
8. Who is smarter? I USED TO SAY HE WAS BUT HE MADE A COMMENT TO HIS LITTLE BROTHER A WEEK OR SO AGO ABOUT HOW GLAD HE WAS TO HAVE AN EQUAL WHEN IT COMES TO INTELLIGENCE......I ALMOST CRIED!
9. Whose temper is worse? PROBABLY MINE
10. Who does the laundry? BOTH OF US
11. Who takes out the garbage? MOSTLY GREG BUT I DO SOMETIMES
12. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? GREG
13. Who pays the bills? ME
14. Who is better with the computer? GREG....THAT IS HIS JOB AFTER ALL! I'M REALLY GOOD THOUGH - HE WAS IMPRESSED TO SEE MY SKILLS!
15. Who mows the lawn? BOTH OF US DO, BUT HE DOES MORE....I AM THE WEED EATER / EDGER.....MOWING CAUSES ME TO USE MY INHALER & GREG DOESN'T LIKE THAT
16. Who cooks dinner? BOTH OF US
17. Who drives when you are together? EITHER OR.......HE DOES MORE OFTEN, BUT IT'S HIS COMPANY CAR
18. Who pays when you go out? EITHER - IT ALL COMES FROM THE SAME PLACE ANYHOW!
19. Who is most stubborn? I THINK WE ARE EQUALLY STUBBORN!
20. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? WE WILL BOTH ADMIT IF WE ARE WRONG, BUT IF THE OTHER ONE MAKES A FEDERAL CASE OUT OF THE FACT WE DID THEN WE STOP
21. Whose parents do you see the most? WE SEE THEM ABOUT THE SAME......EXCEPT HIS DAD & CANDY - WE SEE THEM THE LEAST B/C THEY LIVE IN NORMAN AND ARE OUT OF TOWN A LOT......WE HAVE DINNER THERE TOMORROW NIGHT THOUGH ;-)
22. Who kissed who first? I KISSED HIM.......THE NIGHT HE ASKED ME OUT - I SURPRISED HIM!!
23. Who asked who out? HE ASKED ME
24. Who proposed? HE DID.......I WOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THAT AWAY FROM HIM....HE WENT TO LUNCH WITH MY DAD TO ASK FOR MY HAND AND EVERYTHING
25. Who is more sensitive? ME.....MY HORMONES PLAY A PART IN THAT THOUGH
26. Who has more friends? HE WOULD SAY ME, B/C OF MY KAPPA DELTA LADIES! BUT AS FAR AS FRIENDS THAT WE SEE AND DO THINGS WITH THEY ARE MUTUAL FRIENDS WE BOTH KNEW BEFORE WE KNEW EACH OTHER

the silver lining

I decided to look at my daily passage when I was finished with the previous post and this is what it is:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”

I needed that today.....

Time flies when you're having fun......or not

So I guess it's been a while since I've posted.......it's sad when you have to look at the calendar to remember what has happened in the past few weeks. Father's Day came and went. We all got together the night before to celebrate with my family. It was nice - us ladies took care of dinner and dishes - all the men had to do was show up! I did get to go to a beautiful shower in honor of Mr. Connor Joseph Benson whom is scheduled to make his arrival on July 21 or 22nd....I can't remember. I am so excited to meet him and to know that he is here safely - he's been giving his momma a hard time! My beautiful little nephew Reed turned 2 on the 20th - 2!! He had a party and I got to spend the day with him.....I have a ton of pics of him playing, I'll try to post them later this week.

We had a relatively nice 4th of July. Greg & I spent that Friday as we spend most of our evenings lately - working at the house in Norman. My MIL's house she grew up in - we are in the process of getting it ready to sell. And a HUGE process that is too.......the people that have lived there the past few years, we'll call them tenants, didn't take care of the place AT ALL and it is just in crap condition. They blame it on the "landlords" but the fact of the matter is they just didn't take care of it themselves and it was just dirty and torn up and the yard was totally neglected. So needless to say Greg & I have been making the 45 minute drive quite a bit lately (today will make the 6th day in a row) when we get off work to go try to make some progress down there. It is quite a chore and a bit of a headache, but it needs to be done. My MIL & FIL go down and work during the days so it's not like we're the only ones doing it, we just have a lot that is up to us to do. And we're tired.....tired of driving down there, tired of having to neglect OUR house, tired of not having free time and just plain tired. Hopefully the house will sell quickly - there has been a LOT of interest in it as we've been working - and my MIL & FIL can get their house sold and get into a new one!

A quick rant on the subject of buying/selling houses..........my BIL has been looking for a house for a while. He wants a fixer-upper, just 3 bed, 1 1/2 bath....nothing grand, just one he & 2 friends can live in, fix up and sell. He found the perfect house and is 1 week from closing and the lender has suddenly come to him and told him that he has to have $7000 in the bank or he can't have the house anymore. That is RIDICULOUS!! I know the bank is trying to cover themselves (the house has been off & on the market a number of times, all because financing has fallen through....well now we know why it keeps happening!!) It's only a $65,000 house.....It just pisses me off that they can yank him around like that - he has been jumping through hoops to get this house and now as he's a damn week away they screw him over like that......just because people in other parts of the country are getting in over their heads and can't afford their houses doesn't mean that everyone is like that - he shouldn't be punished for the mistakes of others!!

Dinner in Bricktown

Meet Margaret

So this is my Grandma Bice, my last living grandparent (except on the Burks side of course). I will get more pics of all of us at our dinner her last night here (hopefully soon) and pop a few on here.

Happy Birthday Margaret!

Well today is my Grandma's 85th (I think) Birthday. Not that she reads this, because she doesn't, but Happy Birthday to her! Dad drove her home on Monday - it was sure nice having her around here for a bit though. On Sunday the family (everyone except Greg & I) went to the Barnum & Bailey Circus and then we met them afterward at Toby Keith's in Bricktown for dinner. It was a nice way to get together one more time before she left. Dad took pictures of the grandkids/great-grandkids with her after dinner - if I am ever able to get any of them from him I will post some. Other than that I spent practically all day Saturday in Tulsa/Broken Arrow for Sam's baby shower. It was a nice day - Jen & I had some great conversation in the car and we got to see Bernie. Oh yeah - congrats to her & Adam - they are getting married!!!! We got to meet her future mother-in-law and one would think that Bernie and her are mother & daughter - it's bizarre! She's wonderful and she loves Bernie as much as we do I think and is SO excited to have her as part of the family! Let's see....Bernie is running in the NYC marathon on Nov. 2nd (CRAZY!) and they hope to be getting married sometime mid November!! Looking forward to celebrating with them - I love weddings/wedding celebrations!!

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken." - James Dent

Memorial Day weekend - most people think of going to the lake or having a cookout or something fun. Greg and I, we're gluttons for punishment! We had both taken Thursday and Friday off work, thinking we'd be uber-productive over a long weekend like that and be all the happier for it. Well part of that thinking was right.

We decided to have at least ONE fun day, so Thursday we went to Moore to check out the new Warren movie theater that was just built. We had planned to see the new Indiana Jones movie and have lunch. You see, they have a balcony area that is 21 and over with seats grouped in twos and little tables and waiters/waitresses. They have a full service menu that is connected to the diner on the ground level of the theater (anyone can eat there anytime, not just for movie-goers) which includes alcoholic drinks and an entire pages of desserts. The theater was freezing, but lucky for me the balcony area's big cushy seats are also heated! We enjoyed our movie with free refills and our own waiter - and lunch was delicious. We will definitely be returning to that theater on occasion!

Friday we headed to Norman to work in the yard of the house my MIL#1 grew up in (for reference my #1 in-laws are Greg's birth parents and the #2 in-laws are his stepparents - so MIL#1 goes with FIL#2 and so on) My older BIL used to live there but has since moved back to OKC so my MIL wants to sell it. Greg & I worked in that stupid yard all afternoon and the only thing you could tell for sure was that the front yard got mowed - that was at least my doing :-) He spent most of the time in the back cutting down tree limbs that were hanging over the power lines and such. There are so many twigs in that back yard that we have to rake them up before we can mow or we will ruin my younger BIL's new mower. I hate that yard.

Saturday and Sunday we worked at our house in the yard - mowing, edging, tearing out a bush, ripping out flower bed borders and redoing some of them. Oh yeah, and planting our plants and flowers, finally! We got half of it finished that day, but we were exhausted and decided to stop. After stepping back and looking at things we decided the stones we had bought to line the edges of the beds just wouldn't look the way we wanted it to look, so we decided to have concrete curbs poured and stained for our flower bed borders instead. I'm excited - they're going to look fabulous - the downside though is I have to wait until mid-July to get them. Ah, what can you do...

Monday was FULL of laundry and straightening the house. My dad called Monday afternoon to tell me that my Grandma was coming to visit and they were all getting together at my parents house that night. After a LONG weekend of work we head to my parent's house to visit with the fam and play with the kiddos. It was a very nice ending to a hectic weekend. Well, most of it was hectic. I did make time to play my Wii Fit every night for at least 30 minutes.......I love that thing!

Time flies

Long time no talk! Wow, it seems like a ton has happened since I was last on here but I'm not sure how true that is. I'll pretty much do a big overview of everything that's happened since the end of April......here we go:

• Our friends Jon & Candice found out on May 2nd that they are having a boy (shout out to little Sam - can't wait to meet you!!)

• Mother's Day - Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there (and you mothers-to-be too!)

• My FIL#2 (that is Greg's stepfather for those that don't get my abbreviations) turned the big 70 on May 13th (Happy Birthday to you big man!)

• I bought a Wii Fit and am now addicted ;-)

• Memorial Day Weekend - (I'll elaborate on that later)

• My Grandma Bice came back to OK with my brother & his fam after they visited her in AL over the holiday weekend - she's here until June 9th

• My cousin Joe was ordained as a Catholic priest on the 31st (congrats Joe!)

• My cousins Gavin & Liz had their ultrasound to see what they are having but the Dr. couldn't tell!!

That's the gist of what's been going on. There's been a LOT of work intermingled in there too - nothing spectacular - just everyday life!

I went to Cantler's and all I got was crabs

So Friday morning I got up at the butt-crack of dawn so I could get to the airport on time. I was really very lucky - I had found 2 tickets for a phenomenal price - and it couldn't have come at a better time.

I arrived at BWI after a non-stop flight from OKC around 12:45. So far things were great, my flight left on time and I arrived 10 minutes early which was awesome since I was needing to find the shuttle to take me to the MARC station and I'd never been to BWI before. I found my way rather quickly and hopped aboard for a quick ride to the train station where I bought a ticket (for $6!!) and patiently awaited the train. It was nice to ride the train from Baltimore to DC - I hadn't been in that area in years and it gave me a chance to stare out the window at a lovely change of scenery. We arrived at Union Station (it's HUGE - it's a mall & train/subway station all in one!) on time and I took it all in as I went to meet my little in the Main Hall. It was in the 80's and I was dressed too warm for walking around, so we grabbed lunch & headed to her apartment in Eckington. After relaxing for a bit and walking around the neighborhood we got dressed and headed to Dupont on the Metro to meet 2 more friends from college for dinner that lived in Baltimore. We went to Lauriol Plaza which is a great Mexican restaurant in DC (and quite the happening bar too) and visited with Brooke & Erika for a few hours. They had delicious food there and the drinks weren't too shabby either! After dinner we headed back to my little's place (they gave us a ride this time though so they could see her place before heading back to Baltimore).

Saturday morning started early - I woke up at 6:15 (remember - we're an hour behind DC) and then dozed off and on for an hour or so before getting up. She made pancakes for breakfast and then we doused ourselves in sunscreen and headed for the Metro. We spent a few hours just walking around the National Mall, occasionally stopping to sit for a while on a bench & people watch. It was in the mid-80's so it was the perfect day for this! We had to be back to meet another friend of hers around 2 so we walked home through China Town and continued to enjoy the weather. I decided to skip out of the walking tour of the rehabbing that the city was doing to the neighborhood, so I stayed home and took a cold shower and a catnap while they went ahead on the walk. When they got home we piled in her car and headed to Maryland for dinner. Before moving to DC my little lived and worked in Annapolis, so we were going to one of her favorite restaurants with some of her former co-workers/friends for dinner. It was awesome - whole steamed crabs that you pick apart and get every last ounce of meat out of!! After dinner we walked around the "downtown" area and got some gelato for dessert - so delicious! Then we headed home and crashed.

Sunday I slept in (until 8:30 EST!) and then got up and started packing and got ready for church. I went to my little's church in Virginia with her. We stayed and joined the potluck lunch after service and sat around visiting with the pastor and the other members. It was a wonderful afternoon - they are all very welcoming and friendly people - I certainly didn't feel like a visitor! After a few hours we headed back to DC and prepared to head to Baltimore so I could catch my plane home.

I had an amazing time - it couldn't have been better timing for myself or for my little. I am so blessed to have her in my life and can't wait to go visit again (maybe this time I'll take Greg though - it's so beautiful there!) As much fun as I had though I am happy to be back home with Greg - I missed him!

Seven Random Things

1. My skin color is unpredictable. I am one of the whitest people I have ever known and usually don't get much color-if any-anymore (I USED to tan beautifully). I am so used to getting nothing from being in the sun. So I sat outside on Saturday afternoon for an hour and my chest and face are BURNT (nothing else even looks like it was outside). I just never know what to expect from myself :-)

2. I hate my job. I am just too indecisive to do anything about it!

3. I check my email about 50 times between the hours of 8 and 4, but rarely after that or on weekends. Internet Explorer is just open all day so it is SO EASY to look at the tab bar and see if there is a (number) next to Gmail. It's a bit OCD, but I just really like to get distracted from work sometimes!!

4. I love bell peppers. I think they are my favorite snack. Green are my favorite - they are tasty with tortilla chips and especially with chex mix (that is the best!!) I love to eat them in salads, on burgers, on turkey sandwiches, on nachos and by themselves of course.

5. I really enjoy working outside and planting flowers & plants, but I am not necessarily fabulous at keeping it all alive. It's hit or miss really, sometimes things thrive and sometimes I just can't seem to get them going.

6. Greg & I both have back problems. He threw his back out while playing pool 6 or 7 years ago and I threw mine out 2 years ago this Mother's Day while putting my youngest niece on the floor (I was even squatting!!) He is pretty much forever screwed up unless he has surgery - I went to physical therapy for a few months and was taught some tricks to help it if it acts up again. Even though I do have problems if I stand too much or walk a lot without wearing good shoes, the tricks Mary Jo taught me have helped tremendously and I have pain less and less. I at least know what causes it and what to do if I do start hurting!

7. I am a never ending hair-twirler. I don't know why, but I love to twirl my hair - it is just soft & I do it whether it is straight or curly - I always have.

Thank goodness for "storage" rooms

Well last night I became truly thankful that my younger BIL hadn't found a house yet. You see, he has 1/3 of our garage (good thing it's a 3 car!) and a whole room full of his belongings (ranging from furniture to appliances to decorative items to cookware) stored at our house. I have been a bit anxious to get his things out so I can organize the room & garage, but the fact remains until we are turning that room into a nursery it's serving a purpose. See, last night Greg & I broke our bed, well a piece of it anyway that caused my side of the mattress to go crashing to the floor. Luckily we had a set of box springs for my BIL's king-sized bed in that "storage" room. So the last part of my evening was spent taking all of the rails off of our bed, setting up the box springs (it has to sit on the floor so we still have a bit of tweaking to do) and putting the bed back together. On a bright note though it makes the mattress sit lower now like we had originally had with our foam mattress and it gave me the chance to put our new bedding on!! I LOVE it! Here's what it looks like...

That time of year

This past week I have been wishing I was my hubby. He had last week AND this week off of work, vacation time galore! He spent the week last week doing odds and ends around the house. He fixed the heater on the hot tub and we bought a new cover for it - our last one had been blown over the fence and ripped in half by a wind storm! It kind of ugly (it's greenish/dark teal) BUT it was on sale (a good one too) and just happened to be in stock and the size we needed (which they don't normally have in stock - this is one someone ordered last year and never picked up). AND it was the sloped design we were wanting (sloped down from the center so ice/snow won't sit on top of it) so I decided to overlook the color and just deal with it - it was too good a deal to pass up, and besides, it's something that sits in our backyard! So on the day that it poured rain we met at the spa store on 39th by Greg's office and picked up the cover and went home to put it on in the rain!

I can't remember that much else this past week. We did watch Last King of Scotland on Thursday - very good movie and totally not about a King or Scotland really. I'm not sure what kind of movie Greg was expecting, but I was thinking it was an old school movie - kind of like Braveheart - and that it was about the last King of Scotland. Silly me - I obviously hadn't heard or seen any previews for it prior to watching it - it was a very good movie though, we both enjoyed it. Friday night Greg went to help Blake for a bit (he was working on his floors) while I stayed home and made dinner. We spent the rest of the evening playing Yahtzee and hanging out together.

Saturday rolled around and we got up decently early and spent the day working outside - me in the flowerbeds & Greg in the garage. We took a break from our respective jobs and cleaned out the hot tub and refilled it - the weather this week is so perfect for a night or two of hot tubbing before closing up for the summer. After working outside all day we ended up being invited to the Green's for dinner, so we went over for burgers and all the fixings and got to hang out with them and visit for a bit.

Sunday morning we went to church - we have kind of gotten out of the routine of going and we both wanted to start back again so this Sunday was the day. We say the Green's there - Henry was SO good during church, even when another baby started crying and had to be taken out he was just content and quiet. I think he slept a bit, but I peeked back at them once or twice and he was just looking around being cute little Henry. I can't get over how fast he's growing up! After church we picked up Robbie and headed home to gather supplies and change clothes. We then headed to the Norman house. This is the house my MIL#1 grew up in and my BIL and his wife lived there until they got divorced - so now we are cleaning it, fixing it up and selling it! I worked in the yard - using the weed eater to chop down the huge weeds that had taken over the lawn. Not as nice looking as mowing, but we didn't have the mower with us b/c the ground was still too wet (there were so many weeds we would've had to do this before mowing anyway!) I'm sure the neighbor's were all just happy that it looks taken care of now. While I did that Greg & Robbie made up a list of all the electrical that needed to be done and took care of some branched that were hanging on the electrical & cable lines out back. There is a LOT of work to be done to that house - we'll see what all comes of it! We finished up for the day and headed home, stopping at Johnnie's for dinner on the way - a nice treat after such a busy weekend! We attempted to watch a movie after dinner, but I was exhausted and fell asleep (as we both knew I would) while Greg watched the movie....a typical end to a busy weekend!

Girls weekend - here I come!!!

So not a whole lot has happened in the past week - we went to Eichen's with the Taylor's, Blake and Stephanie on Monday for dinner - it was so good - Jen & I even drank a beer!! It was the first time in a long time (only the second time since my Grandma's funeral last May) that I have been down to Okarche - it was a little strange feeling considering it used to be a trip that was made every other week if not every week since I can remember. The time with friends was nice though - we never seem to get good quality time with friends anymore - everyone's lives are so busy! The Green's seem to be the only people we see on a semi-regular basis and I'm not even sure how that happens as much as it does! Our schedules just seem to cooperate with theirs whereas it doesn't with most of our other friends.

The week went on as it usually does. Wednesday the women in my family (and the little girls) got together for our annual pedicure (and toe painting for the little ones) while my dad watched my nephew and kept him entertained. After, we all got dinner together - Greg was working (big shock!) so he couldn't join us :-(

Friday night was the start of our movie night. We decided that we wanted to see all the movies that have ever won "Best Picture" at the Oscar's, giving us 80 movies on our list. We also decided to add a few that we wanted to see that hadn't won, such as Casablanca, Citizen Cane and a few other "classics". Greg's older brother Brian came over and we grilled burgers and ate dinner and then watched the first movie "Wings". It was a 1927/1928 silent film that was a love story taking place during WWI - it actually wasn't bad, although it was about an hour too long! Over 2 hours with a huge chunk in the middle primarily of dog fights, all aerial shots....it got a little old after a while. Other than the length though it was a good story we all thought - much better than we had anticipated considering it was the first silent film any of us had seen!

Saturday we had planned to help Jon finish the laminate floors by installing the bedroom flooring. About 5 minutes before we were to leave Greg got called into work in Norman so our day got postponed. I started some laundry and decided to wait and see how long he'd be gone before calling Jon. After about 20 minutes the phone rang and I got called into work too - which NEVER happens!! They had a salesman that REALLY needed a job on Monday and so they needed to have it set and have plates run that day so it could be picked up on Monday - so I went in to work (they offered me 2 "bonus" hours of overtime plus however long it took me to do the job if I'd do it - I wasn't going to turn that down!) So I went in for an hour and got the job to the press and headed home. I had called Jon and left a message as I drove and he called me as I pulled into the garage. I told him if he would come over & help me load the saws in my car then I would come over and we would get started without Greg. Shortly after Jon arrived Greg called and said that there was a chance he'd be flying to Phoenix so we decided to get started and do what we could. Greg ended up at Jon's house by the time we had a little over 1/3 of the floor done and found out a bit later that he would be staying in OKC and starting his vacation time as scheduled (today is the start of 2 weeks of vacation for him!) By 8:30 the flooring was done and the room was put back together with everything being cleaned and the bed being made too! We kicked some serious butt on Saturday - and my leg muscles are killing me to prove it!! I was trying to be good and take care of my back - and I must have succeeded because I was lifting with my legs and squatting down so much my quads and hamstrings are SO sore!! Oh well, it's good for me, right?

Today is the start of another week. I just purchased my plane ticket to DC for the end of this month so I am VERY excited about that! My "little sis" lives there and a few friends in Baltimore so I am flying into Baltimore on Friday around 1 and then spending the weekend in DC with my "little" before flying home late Sunday night. It'll be a fast trip, but it'll be nice to get away and get my head clear and stop dwelling on things that I have no control over. It'll be Greg's first time to stay home without me since we moved in - I told him to have a poker night with the guys or something - we'll see if he misses me as much as I miss him when he's gone!!

Green may be the color of money, but that's almost the only thing going for it

I just purchased the new bedding for our master bedroom!!! I'm SO excited to finally be getting a start on "decorating" our room!!!! As soon as it comes in then I can start to figure out paint colors and the ugly green walls can finally be gone!!!!!!!

A little funny to start the week....

BOOMER.....(that's the only time you'll hear me say that)

Thursday night we were over at the Green's house (we took dinner over since we couldn't spend Friday with the birthday boy) and my cousin called - they had just passed the exit for OSU on I-35....holy crap!! You see, my cousin Justin & his wife Sadie were coming down from Ames, IA for a visit and they were supposed to be driving to KC on Thursday night and then the rest of the way on Friday. Well, they had decided to drive the whole way that day and had called me at about 7 when they were still in Kansas but my lovely phone didn't bother to tell me :-( So, we finished out visit and headed home - good thing we had finished cleaning the guest bathroom already!! We picked up some beer and Greg dropped me off (he had to head into work for a bit) around 10 and less than 10 minutes after I get home I hear suitcases rolling on the sidewalk - they were here!!! I am very close to Justin and Sadie is like a sister in a former life - I don't think I ever laugh as hard as I do when she's around! The Anderson family & Bice family used to take summer vacations together every summer - those three are the same ages as my brother, sister and I so we all became very close over the years. Anyway, Just & I popped open some beer and the three of us sat there talking for a bit, with Greg joining us shortly after they arrived. before we knew it 1 AM had reared it's head & we all headed off to bed so Greg and I could get up for work on Friday.

Friday night was spent hanging out at my brother & sister-in-laws with the rest of my family. Lots of beer drinking was involved (this weekend was the first time I've had beer in probably over a year!!) and a rousing game of Loaded Questions was played......my family + alcohol = freaking hilarious answers!! We left around 12:30 and finally made it to bed around 1:30 again.

Saturday night we went to the Big XII championships for women's gymnastics. My cousins are neighbor's and friends with the ISU coaches, so we got to be on the coaches list and get in for free! The meet was awesome (I am a huge fan of gymnastics though!) - Greg even enjoyed it! It was OU, Mizzou, Nebraska & Iowa State. ISU was the worst ranked team out of the 4 - this was a rebuilding year for them and they weren't expected to finish high at all. Well the girls really brought their A game and they lost the championship by a tenth of a point!! OU had a near perfect vault (9.95) that won it for them - ISU had come so close and done so well that they were ecstatic though!

Sunday was Molly's baptism!! It was a happy day, but a sad day all in one. Brian is Molly's Godfather so Rick stood in for him, which you could tell was really hard. You can tell by his face that he is still having a really, really difficult time adjusting to life without Brian, as I know they all are, his is just so evident in his face. Landmark events like this will be terrible for a while, but they are a strong family and they will get through it together! It was nice to be able to share in this event with them! After the baptism there was a reception/party at Rick & Cindy's house - lots of food and socializing!! It was nice to be able to spend time with them all for a happy reason, even though the mood wasn't the typical happy baptism mood - there was still an air of sadness for everyone there I think. Afterward we went over to check out Sean & Makaria's new house.....it's great! They have a wonderful new house with great bones to transform into their first home together - such a wonderful and exciting time that is!! We're looking forward to the housewarming party in a few weeks!!

The week ended with storms. Golf ball sized hail was the worst we got at our house. No damage that we can tell - the cars were in the garage so they're good. I went to sleep after it passed us and hadn't fully woken up yet when my brother called this morning. Apparently there was a small tornado that was around 178th & Penn and had hit a few houses in Valencia. Jenny & Buddy moved into their new house in Valencia a few months ago. The Benson's are on the NW corner of 178th & Penn, my brother and his fam are on the NE corner & my sister and her kids are on the SE corner - so everyone was in the closet or laundry room last night!! I talked to everyone this morning though and so far all that is wrong is missing trash cans....hopefully after a good once over that is still the only thing wrong!! All in all it was a great weekend - exhausting, but great!!

Happy Easter!

Things have been crazy as always since my last entry. Thursday we were set to take Bella her birthday present and run some errands on our way home - well God had another plan for us! As we were preparing to leave our house & head to Edmond Greg got a call from his mother - his older brother had been taken to the emergency room via EMSA b/c his blood pressure was 170/180!! He has always had heart problems so I got a bit nervous that something was SERIOUSLY wrong. We decided to wait just a bit and see if we could find anything out before deciding what we were going to do. She told us a few minutes later that no one could see him for a while so we went ahead and ran to Edmond to visit with my brother & family so Bella could open her present. After visiting with them for a bit we headed up to Baptist and went to see him. I wasn't truly relieved until we walked in and saw him sitting there. That range is high enough to have a serious heart attack or a stroke and he has had open heart surgeries as a child and the whole situation just freaked all of us out I think. It turned out he was dehydrated and suffered from heat exhaustion (as well as a pretty wicked sunburn) - they released him shortly after we got there with strict instructions. Thankfully he is fine now, but man that gave us all a pretty good scare!

The weekend has been much better than the week was. My neck/back pain that I have been having all week finally bothered me bad enough to call my doctor. After talking to him and having him check out how limited my range of movement was he determined that I have a bulging disc in my neck that is putting pressure on a nerve and causing the referred pain in my back. I have steroids, muscle relaxers (to help me sleep at night) and pain pills to take (the last 2 only if I really need them). I was told if it wasn't better by Monday to come in again and I would start physical therapy and if it was worse then I would come in for an MRI. Oh joy. So I started my 6-day treatment after I got off work and then we went to get a new pillow (I have to sleep on a pillow that doesn't prop my head up at all - for those of you that know me I love pillows and have about 5 that I use in some form or fashion). I decided to try a memory foam contoured pillow after sleeping on one flat feather pillow and hating it - the jury's still out on the new one though - I can't decide if I really like it or not. We visited some friends on our way home Friday night and then put in a new fan in our living room no Saturday (well, Robbie technically put it up - neither one of us can work over our heads!) We FINALLY have light in our living room again and it is brighter than it ever was (and can be dimmed of course!) - I'm going to LOVE it!! Saturday night we went out to a nice dinner with Jen & Bob....Bob's parent's had come over to stay with Molly and the four of us went up to Edmond for a nice dinner & conversation. We had a really great time and can't wait to celebrate Molly's baptism this coming Sunday with the family! Then we spent a bit of time with our families yesterday to celebrate Easter. The Burks boys (and, well, me too) went to join JE & Jerry for Resurrection Sunday service and his church in Cashion and then we headed over to my parents house for lunch with my family and the Sisters. After a delicious (and filling) lunch some of us cleaned up and did dishes while my sister & Greg hid the Easter eggs for the kids to hunt. That was fun to watch!! When they were all done I helped the younger ones hunt for eggs and reach those that were too high.....everyone had a wonderful time! I even got a movie in with Greg last night - we ate dinner in the living room and watched a movie on our movie screen and relaxed together. It was the perfect end to a hectic yet wonderful weekend!

Busy, Busy

Well it has been a crazy few days since Greg has been home! He FINALLY got in around 1am Saturday morning - and I was still awake! We spent Saturday running errands - picking up a Wii for my uncle in Iowa, buying my niece Bella's birthday present (she turned 7 yesterday!), checking my parent's mail (they were out of town), and visiting with Greg's mom & stepdad. We got home and then headed over to the Green's house, as they had invited us for a homecooked dinner! Monday we were actually home - we are not big fans of celebrating St. Patty's day - no green beer for us! The past two days we have spent with both sets of my in-laws - Jane Ellen & Jerry and that gang on Tuesday and John, Candy & Kev last night - to have family birthday dinners for Kevin's 25th. Two delicious meals two nights in a row that I didn't have to cook!! Tonight we will be taking Bella her birthday gift b/c she is having a sleepover tomorrow night for her birthday party (my poor brother!) We have been going non-stop since he got home and we will probably continue to do so, that's just what we seem to do - we're always busy doing something! Hopefully sometime soon we'll get a vacation in, even if it's just a weekend in Decatur visiting with my grandma. No rest for the wicked and the saint's don't need it......well, we need a rest!

Blessed

Last night after work I had the pleasure of going ot the Jones' house to deliver Molly's birth announcements. The fam was just hanging out with Molly in the living room and I got to sit and hang out with them all for a few hours and visit. On my way home I decided to call Liz to see how they were doing. Turns out, she'd called my home phone and left a message inviting me over for dinner since Greg was out of town. So instead of a boring rest of the night at home I had the pleasure of joining the Greens for a nice visit and dinner. I got to see my 2 favorite babies in one day and spend good quality time with good friends. Yesterday was a hell of a day - man we are blessed!