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!

Independence

I think I am an independent person. I've never minded living alone and I can fend for myself with the best of them. Then why is it when Greg goes out of town I feel lost? This week is the longest he's been gone yet - a full work week. Most people would probably moan and groan at that telling me "that's nothing", and I am fully aware that 4 1/2 days isn't much compared to some business trips others take. The fact is though that we haven't ever been apart this long. Don't get me wrong - I'm not all depressed and moping around the house when he's gone - I fill my nights with household chores that never seem to get done with him around, or visits to family or friends that don't happen often enough - stuff gets done. My problem - nothing is nearly as enjoyable as it is when he's here. Sleep isn't as good, dinner seems pointless to cook for just me, and I miss the dozens of hugs and kisses that he showers me with on a daily basis. I just love being around him - he makes the most boring task fun and he makes the gloomiest of days brighter. My life changed that cold night in January when he asked me out, and it will never be the same.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. ~ Thomas Campbell "Hallowed Ground"

Why? A question so many people ask themselves when the light of someone's life is extinguished. He was too young. There is no answer, at least I've never found one. I have known Brian practically his whole life. Being friends with his sister since kindergarten, I have watched him grow, struggle, succeed, find happiness and know love. He was in such a good place in his life - he had such a promising road ahead of him. He knew what was important in life - something so many people his age haven't figured out yet. You could tell what kind of person he was by things he had written on his myspace page. Under the very first section he had this:

"All we have is today.........have fun everyday and smile everyday! Enjoy your friends and family and love them with all your heart!"

He loved God. He believed the Bible would teach you anything that you needed to know in life. And he loved his family - totally and completely. And his niece, Molly. Merely finding out he was going to be an uncle excited him more than words could describe. Then when he found out that it would be a niece he announced it to the world and days after her birth he posted 72 pictures of her on his page to share that new found joy with everyone he knew! It was a new kind of love he'd discovered, and it would've been one that would've grown beyond imagination.

It's unfair - such a young life - this isn't the way that things should happen. They shouldn't be burying their only son, he should be burying them when they are old and gray and have lived a full life watching all three of their children grow up and have children of their own. Such a tight-knit family - they should've been able to spend their lives together. There is SO much more he had to do in life, so much more he had to see. It just breaks my heart to think of the void that will forever be in this family, the pain that will probably never go away. He won't be there for his younger sister's wedding, or to watch his future nieces/nephews grow up, he won't experience the love that comes with marrying your best friend and having a family with them, and he won't be there to comfort his sisters when they need him. I can't imagine the devastation that this family is feeling right now - nothing can make you feel like you did before you heard those awful words.

I fully believe that God has a plan for each of us, whether we like it or not. There is a purpose, we just may not understand it until our time comes. He will never give us something that we can't handle, no matter how difficult it may be.

I loved Brian like a brother, and I love his family as if they were my own family. I pray that God will give them the strength that they need to get through this, that they come together as a family and be a support system for each other. I last saw Brian the day after Molly was born. He was a very proud uncle and would've made a wonderful godfather for her. He was a wonderful son, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew and friend. He will be missed, but never forgotten. He will live on in the hearts and memories of those he leaves behind, so he will never truly die.