3 Gals & A Guy

Yes I know it's been forever.

2009-12-14T22:41:00.002-06:00

Well, we've had a lot going on lately and I haven't been in the mood to blog. We recently moved to another house in October and are in the process of making it "our own" so that's taken a lot of time. I wish I would have taken some before pictures of the house to show you the transformation. Anyway, I'll leave the house for another post. I'm so behind on posting I don't know where to start. Anyway, below is the video of Alli and Meredith's choir performances at our church. Hope you enjoy!

Time at the Lake

2009-08-04T22:32:00.003-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, Michael's Uncle Alan was kind enough to let us go stay at his condo on Lake Ouchita (sp?) and then hang out with him on his pontoon boat the next day. We took cousin Will with us and I think all of the kids (and us) had a great time. They all really enjoyed riding on the jet ski and being pulled on the intertube. They also loved jumping off of the top of the boat into the lake. Thanks Uncle Alan and Aunt Jan!

Fourth of July

2009-07-28T20:58:00.003-05:00

Little did I know that I was possibly infecting my sweet family in Broken Arrow with the swine flu but through my aches and pains and not feeling well here are some pics I took. Luckily no one in that part of the woods caught it from me (Praise the Lord!) and as long as I was taking Aleeve I was doing pretty well. The girls, however, had a blast with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandma and papa with fire works and playing. Unfortunately I didn't feel well enough to attend my Dad's side of the family in Haskell on Saturday but maybe next year. They should really consider themselves lucky I wasn't there.

I then managed to pull myself together and we headed to Michael's parents for dinner that evening with Becky, Patrick and the boys. After dinner Michael started running a fever so we headed home relatively early.

Sickness and Praise in the Household

2009-07-10T15:51:00.003-05:00

It's been quite an exciting past couple of weeks here in the Atchley household. I started feeling quite sick like on the Thursday prior to the Fourth of July but as a Mom does I just kept on keeping on. I did stay in bed Thursday evening but then woke up feeling okay enough to take the girls to BA like I promised them I would do to see the family. I found that if I kept up with my "Aleeve" I could manage to feel okay to make it through the activities. (I'll post pics later). The girls and I then headed back to the Fort on Saturday to celebrate the holiday with Michael's family Saturday night. Michael had mentioned that he hadn't been feeling so great that day and so that evening at his folks he started running a fever so we headed home. We just assumed that we were passing around some cold virus. On Sunday we knew we had to fight on because we were all so excited that Meredith was getting baptized and Michael was doing the dunking! What a praise to have our first born child have the obedience to follow Christ's example and be baptized. We were thrilled! In the meantime Alli woke up Sunday morning with a slight fever so I loaded her up with Tylenol and we all went to church. I kept Alli with us so she wouldn't infect others. Anyway, below is the video of Meredith's blessed day. My brother's family, my dad and sister (my mom had MRSA infection in her toe from where she had a surgery (another story all together)), Michael's parents, and Aunt Susan and Uncle Giles. Okay, now back to the sicknesses, Alli continued to run a fever once the Tylenol ran out and then Meredith started in on Tuesday afternoon with a fever. Alli, to this day, is still running a fever so I decided to finally take them to the doctor yesterday to get them checked out. While we were there I had one of frequent coughing attacks, and the doctor said that it sounded like a flu cough. So, she tested Alli for the flu and it came back positive!! She then proceeded to share with us that it had to be the swine flu since that's the only strand going around right now. Can you believe it?! So, to all those that we infected, I apologize. We had no idea. Michael and I are no longer contagious since it has been a while since we've run fever but the girls are still running a low grade fever. I'm beginning to get cabin fever!! I've definitely got my fill of Hannah Montana episodes and other Disney shows. To be quite honest, I think this flu is probably more prevalent then we realize. Most people, like myself, who get over it rather quickly just assume it's a virus and don't go to the doctor or the doctor doesn't think to run a flu test. We had to get it somewhere! Good luck and I hope no one else gets it anytime soon!

Welcome Baby Collin!

2009-06-22T22:37:00.002-05:00

It was an exciting day on Monday, June 1, when my new little nephew Collin John was born. It was bittersweet in the fact that my Grandmother wasn't able to see her new and first great grandson that day but I'm sure she was rejoicing in Heaven with my Papa. I must say that he is quite the cutie. It was so cute to see Meredith, Alli, Carlee and Cydnee just hovering over this little guy. I can't imagine how smothered he's going to be at Christmas time with all of these mother hens looking after him. Carrie looked wonderful, of course, after she gave birth and didn't have any problems which is always a blessing.

We'll Miss You Grandma!

2009-06-17T20:40:00.003-05:00

As most of you already know, my grandmother, Wilna Hardwick (mom's mom) passed away on Wednesday, May 27th here in Fort Smith. She was living with my parents and had come over with them that day to see Meredith's soccer games in the morning and then go to the girls' dance recital that evening. Well, after the soccer game when she was using her walker to enter my house she got very weak and started feeling very dizzy and nauseous. Once we got her in the house we realized with her speech and body language that she may be suffering from a stroke and we then called an ambulance to take her to the hospital. She then slowly got worse until she left this earth to be with her heavenly father on Wednesday. Actually on Saturday, Sunday, and during the day Monday we thought she might beat it. However, we then found out it was a hemorrhage type stroke and was in the part of her brain that affects respiration.

Her funeral was then on Saturday, May 30th and was very nice. The minister at her church did a wonderful job as he did at my Papa's. Of course, it always makes it better when the pastor has a relationship with the deceased as was the case with my grandparents. She was truly a woman who did her best to follow God's word and read it daily. She was an inspiration to all and I will always cherish my sweet memories of her. She was 89 years old and I find such comfort in the fact that she no longer has her chronic pain from arthritis and back pain. She's having a party in Heaven! I love you Grandma!

Alli's Dance Recital Performances

2009-06-10T22:56:00.002-05:00

Well, I gave up loading my movies to Youtube the way I normally do and tried a different way and it worked. So, below are Alli's dress rehearsal performance of her tap routine to "I Feel Good" and her ballet recital performance. I hope you enjoy them!

Meredith's Dance Recital Video

2009-06-06T16:01:00.002-05:00

Below is Meredith's dance recital video. For some reason I'm having difficulties in posting Alli's performances on Youtube but as soon as they get on there I'll be sure and post them to my blog as well. Meredith's takes "hip hop" and I thought their performance was too cute. Her friends Olivia who is directly behind and in front of Meredith during the routine and Layla who is to the side of Meredith are also in the video. Enjoy!

Go Go Jonah!!

2009-05-28T23:45:00.002-05:00

Meredith was a children's musical at our church a few weeks ago and she a couple of her friends sang a sweet song together and here it is! Enjoy! I did! (not that I was proud or anything.)

Baby Shower for Baby Collin

2009-05-13T21:30:00.003-05:00

Our house has been in disarray lately since we got new flooring in the bedrooms so my office furniture has been in our dining room, etc. so I just now have gotten up the energy to post. A couple of weeks ago my sister-in-law, Carrie, had a shower given to her by a couple of her close friends to celebrate the upcoming birth of her son. Her friends thought that since she had a house full of pink that she needed some boy stuff and I agree! I was able to drive to Broken Arrow by myself (yeah!) and stayed a night while Michael kept the girls. I enjoyed eating out with my family the Friday night before (at Ricardo's- YUMMY!) and made a quick jaunt to the mall Saturday morning to the Apple store which was great. (You can't beat Apple's customer service by the way.) Here are some sweet pictures of the shower.

Easter Post - Finally!

2009-04-25T20:38:00.003-05:00

Well, now that it is almost the Fourth of July, I thought I'd post my Easter pictures. I must say we had a great Easter weekend. On Friday morning we headed to Grammy's house (Michael's mom) along with cousin Will and we dyed Easter eggs and that afternoon we saw the Hannah Montana movie (previous post). On Saturday my parents and grandmother along with cousin Carlee came over to watch Meredith's soccer game and then that afternoon we had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. (Notice Alli's "high heel" flip flops) My mom brought plastic eggs with her and headed to the bank to get some coins to fill them with and the girls had a hay day. On Sunday, as most of you also experienced, it was raining cats and dogs so it was a rainy day at church and then once we got home Alli started running a fever. So, Alli and I stayed home while Michael took Meredith to his parents' house for Easter dinner. They did bring some food home for me so I was quite appreciative!

Hats off to Miss California

2009-04-20T23:36:00.004-05:00

Unfortunately I missed the Miss USA pageant last night. Believe it or not, I usually try and watch the pageants but with trying to get the kids to bed and stuff ready for school the next day, I missed it this year. However, I did see the video of Miss California answering her question from one of the judges, Perez Hilton. I am so impressed with her because you know that she knew if she answered his question honestly in regards to same sex marriage that she was going to lose points with at least him. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Perez Hilton, he is an openly gay blogger that dishes dirt on celebrities and it's not pretty either. He has to be one of the crudest individuals that dish celebrity dirt (if there is such a thing). Who knows, Miss North Carolina (the winner) may feel the very same way as Miss California but she was fortunate enough to draw another judge's question that was less controversial. Here is the link to the article and video of her answer.

FOXNews.com - Exclusive: Carrie Prejean Says 'God Was Testing My Faith' With Gay Marriage Question - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

Posted using ShareThis

Hannah Montana Movie

2009-04-20T16:51:00.003-05:00

A couple of week ago, April 10th to be exact, the girls and I along with some of my sweet friends and their daughters headed to the movie theatre to check out the new Hannah Montana movie. My girls have been anxiously awaiting this movie since the first time they saw the trailer on TV. Alli had already bought the soundtrack with some of her birthday money she had saved a couple of weeks beforehand so we already had the songs memorized. Needless to say, the girls loved the movie and I thought it was pretty cute too! Like I've said in previous posts, I'm always excited to see a rated G movie that's not animated since I don't see movies that often. Alli didn't even have to take a bathroom break during the movie which is a record for her. She often times gets bored with movies and deals with the boredom by having to go to the bathroom. Now obviously were not talking about a real strong movie plot or an academy award winner but it had a good message and the music is great so that goes a long way with me. The movie is geared probably for the 5 to 14 age range (girls) and they will love it!

Happy Birthday Will!

2009-04-14T13:54:00.002-05:00

I know I'm behind in my posting and those of you that read Patrick's blog know that my nephew Will had his 6th birthday on Monday, April 6th. He had his party at a park here in town and they were able to rent a room there at the park which was really neat. Bless his heart, Will has wanted his party at the park for the past couple of years but since his birthday is in April he has a hard time to get the weather to cooperate with him. Usually it's a rainstorm and this year it was rather chilly but since they rented the room we were all warm and toasty. Becky and cousin Sarah took the kids out to the playground for a little while before we headed home. Oh yeah, did I mention his house must look like a Legoland? Will loves legos and he hit the jackpot with this birthday. I think he was thrilled with his haul. Here are some pics from the party.

Spring Break

2009-04-06T22:04:00.003-05:00

The day after Michael and I returned home from Las Vegas, the girls and I headed to Broken Arrow to spend part of the week with my family and sweet friends. My Mom is still recovering from foot surgery so she wasn't able to be quite as active as what she usually is but she is doing great. Dr. Brad said her foot is healing quite well which is wonderful. On Tuesday morning the girls and I met my sis-in-law Carrie and nieces, Carlee and Cydnee along with my awesome friends Christy and her son Luke, and Jenni and her sons Noah and Ian along with another little boy. We all went to a Bounce Around place in Tulsa where Cydnee had her birthday party the week before when Meredith got sick and we had to go home. Needless to say, the girls were ecstatic they were able to go this time and no one even threw up. This place was so great and I could only wish that they had one where I live. They have two big rooms filled with bounce arounds and when we were there it was just for ages 7 and under which meant the kids weren't run over but big kids. I think they all had a great time and were exhausted when it was over. For lunch, we all headed over to Hideaway, my favorite pizza place in Tulsa, and it was yummy as usual. Of course, the girls just loved spending time with all of the grandparents and great grandparents in addition to their sweet Aunt Staci who can do no wrong.

Las Vegas

2009-03-29T22:36:00.003-05:00

Okay guys. I know this post is bad timing after my Dave Ramsey post but hey, what can I say??

Anyway, Michael's company won the Carrier "President's Award" and in turn the presentation was in Las Vegas. So, Michael's parents were so kind to watch the girls for us and we headed that way. It's so funny because Carrier (the brand of heating & ac equipment the Company primarily sells) absolutely loves to have their stuff either in Las Vegas or Dallas. So, needless to say, we've made the trip a few times and I can almost hear the hotel workers sigh and think, here comes the duds again. They don't spend any money or drink any alcohol. I'm sure we stick out there like a sore thumb but we enjoy the time away without kids nonetheless. In the past, the events have always been held in hotels on the strip like the MGM or Aladdin (now Planet Hollywood) but this time it was at the Red Rock Resort and Casino and it was about a 20 minute drive from the strip but it was an extremely nice hotel. I believe it was far nicer then either the MGM or Aladdin and would probably rival the Bellagio (sp?) or the Venetian. However, I'm sure Carrier got a better rate due to its location. It had flat screen TVs in the bedroom and above the large bathtub and huge two sink marble vanities. If you were to stay here though it would be necessary to rent a car which we did. In the past we've seen the Blue Man Group (okay, but weird), Penn & Teller (not impressed) and Mystere (excellent). However, this time we were lazy and skipped the shows and just ate and spent our money at a couple of expensive restaurants. We ate at Emeril's on Thursday night and we were both disappointed. We ate there the last time we went to Las Vegas and it was incredible. However, the two dishes that we loved previously were no longer being served and therefore we got something else and it didn't live up to our expectations. On Friday night, we had the Carrier awards dinner at the hotel which was nice as well with a gazillion courses so I had to remember all of my etiquette rules and being from Arkansas this takes some work (just kidding). I just had to remember to use the silverware from outside in. On Saturday night, our grand dinner finale was Morton's Steakhouse which is probably my all time favorite restaurant of all time but since you have to save your money to go there we only go once a blue moon and it's only located in large cities. Luckily, Michael is on their e-mail list so we had a bit of a coupon for "surf-n-turf" and got salad, Shrimp Alexander (my absolute favorite), I got a filet and Michael got a ribeye, along with a dessert. Michael picked the key lime pie and ordered the yummy raspberry souffle. I've never tried to cook a souffle but it certainly looks like everything would have to go perfect in order for it to turn out. Have any of you tried to cook one??

On Saturday, we also headed to the Stratosphere and went to the top and rode rides which we hadn't done before. Michael and I both rode the swings that swing out above the city and Michael rode the teeter totter thing that hangs off the building. The heights don't bother me but I was a little worried about getting sick from going in circles on the swing. I'm sure people below wouldn't appreciate throw up on their heads. Luckily, all was good on that front though. Here's a picture of Michael on his teeter totter ride I took from the observation deck a level below and a picture of the swings that we rode. I was obviously not allowed to take my phone or any belongings on the ride with me in case they were to fall.

On Saturday we also enjoyed shopping at the Forum Shoppes at Caesars Palace and on Thursday night we hit the outlet mall which are the shops we would actually buy something at.

Dave Ramsey

2009-03-26T23:06:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's taken me a little while to post again this time. Michael and I went to Las Vegas over the weekend where he had a work trip and then the girls and I spent time with my family in Broken Arrow during our Spring Break. I'll put posts of those trips up in the next couple of days.

Anyway, I wanted to share with you all about a class Michael and I are taking at our church and it's a Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class. I'm sure most of you have heard of Dave Ramsey from his radio shows and commentary on TV news shows, but if not, he gives great financial advice. It is such a simple concept and that is to stay out of debt and to save, save, save. He encourages using cash and an envelope system and when your cash is gone for a particular thing, it's gone. Now granted, I do feel like I need to apply for a concealed weapon permit when I leave the bank with the cash but normally, you don't carry all of the envelopes with you at one time. Now, I must say that Michael and I are truly blessed that we are not cursed with a lot of debt but we thought that this class would help us keep it that way and also help us not spend as much money on junk, which in turn would allow us to save for our future more effectively. Depending on your income, Dave encourages you to either have a $500 or $1000 reserve for emergencies so you don't have to resort to those dreaded credit cards. He also says that if you need help to get to the goal you need to sell "stuff" that is not necessary. We all are in possession of that kind of "stuff" - electronics, unused toys, etc. and it's amazing how quickly it adds up. If you want to inquire further, you can click here to get to his website. I would encourage those that need help financially to go to his website and inquire as to the closest class that is offered and take it! I believe everyone (including myself) must remember that when we save and spend our children are watching us as well and the class will help guide you and show how we can truly be good stewards with our money as God intends.

Twilight - I can hang out with the cool kids now.

2009-03-15T17:03:00.003-05:00

Okay Staci, Jenni, Emily, Leigh Ann, ShaRhonda etc. I can now say that I have succumbed to the pressure and have started reading the Twilight series and I'm completely addicted. I must admit that up until about halfway through the first book I would think occasionally that it was truly ridiculous but by the last quarter of the book I was completely enthralled and forgot about it. I'm now on the third book which I broke down and bought at Books a Million today. No, I have not seen the movie but it comes out on DVD this weekend so I'll try and rent it in the near future. I know these books are popular among the "tween" age group but I don't know if I'd want my preteen to read them or not. It's not that the language is bad, it's not at all (there's a couple of words towards the end but that's it) but the electricity between the two main characters is quite powerful. Ugh. I dread it when my daughters are interested in these types of reads and movies but I know those days are coming. I guess it's best to be informed though about what the kids are up to these days, as much as possible, and that's what I'm trying to do.

I also want to wish my sweet niece, Cydnee, a very happy third birthday. We all headed to Broken Arrow yesterday to go to her party and we were about half a mile away from the place and Meredith threw up in the car. So, apparently, she caught the awful bug I had earlier in the week. We then had to skip the party and head home as she threw up in a bowl all the way home. Lovely. Michael is now nauseous and not feeling well but hopefully his sickness will stop at that. Alli is our lone holdout and hopefully it will stay that way.

Tattoo Barbie

2009-03-05T17:34:00.002-06:00

I thought this little news story was pretty interesting because Meredith received a Tattoo Barbie for her birthday and I'm the one that suggested to her Grammy that she by it! Anyway, I believe those that are commenting during this news story clearly hadn't seen the doll. All I know is that it was pretty much the hit of the party and my little niece Cydnee really liked it! Pretty much it's just a regular Barbie doll that has a little tattoo machine thing that puts temporary tattoos on you or the doll or wherever. I'm sure a lot of people are against temporary tattoos but I think my girls recognize or will recognize the difference between a temporary tattoo and a real tattoo by the time they are teenagers or old enough to get one. It's not like there were skulls on these tattoos. Really, what's the difference between these little stickers/temporary tattoos and face painting or make-up for that matter? They all wash off. Let me know your thoughts.

Michael's brush with fame

2009-03-03T21:58:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago Michael made the journey to Nashville for a conference for work. (I'm sure my loyal followers remember my bitterness in him being able to visit our good friends that live there.) Well, it was funny because before he left to go to Nashville he was teasing our music minister at our church telling him that he was going to try out for Steve Green, a very successful Christian music artist. Now I'm sure you know what's coming next but lo and behold on the plane on the way home from Nashville to Dallas was STEVE GREEN. Those of you that are not familiar with him, Steve has been nominated for 4 Grammys, won 7 Dove Awards, and has had 13 number one Christian songs with the most famous being "People need the Lord." Steve Green has also performed for our church with the choir backing him up. (Of course, either one of the girls or I was sick during that performance so I missed it - just my luck.) So, back to the story, Michael, being the shy person he is, happened to pass by Steve and his wife's seats on the plane and struck up a little conversation. Michael's version of the story he told to our choir went like this, "Hi, aren't you Steve Green? Steve replies that yes, he is and Michael tells him where he's from and our church and asks him if he knows our music minister, Keith and Steve replies, Keith who?" Of course, the choir loved this version but the true version is that when Michael struck up a conversation with Mr. Green and his wife that when Michael told him the church he went to Steve immediately asked how Keith was doing and clearly remembered him. So, below are Michael's pictures of Steve Green so I guess it's up to you all to determine whether we should believe him or not.

Birthday Party Slideshow

2009-02-24T14:54:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy Birthday Meredith & Michael!

2009-02-23T19:29:00.006-06:00

Well, today is my sweet husband and daughter's birthday. Meredith turned 7 and Michael turned 33. It's so hard for me to believe that my first born is now 7 years old. That just sounds so much older to me then 6. YIKES! She's growing up. We did Meredith's big birthday celebration on Saturday at a pizza restaurant in Lavaca called "Steffey's" and we had a great time. (Michael's got a bad cold so I'm not sure about his great time but the rest of us enjoyed it.) The kids got to make their own individual pizzas which was a fun experience for them all. They even had a "pizza" cake for her. I'm just glad it wasn't at my house because the kids really liked flouring the pizza dough, a lot. We then celebrated Michael's birthday at his parents house later that evening. A day full of partying for us! We're so wild and crazy.

Last night after church Michael and I then took the Meredith and Alli to WalMart to get new bikes. Alli didn't get a big gift from us for her birthday so this was her birthday gift as well. She wasn't too interested in getting a new bike in October but now she's all about it. Meredith picked out a cute pink bike (with no training wheels) with streamers and a little ladybug on the seat. Alli picked out a purple Disney Princess bike which she is quite proud of. However, Alli kept insisting to me today that since both of her training wheels didn't touch the ground at the exact same time that it was broken. I kept assuring her that as she got older and bigger bikes that's they way they are made in order to get her used to riding without training wheels but she simply told me that I was wrong.

Also, please keep my mom in your prayers. She had some pretty extensive foot surgery today to hopefully make it easier for her to get around. My sweet college roomie and high school pal, Christy's husband Brad did the surgery so I know she was in good hands. As far as I know, besides being sick to her stomach from the anesthesia she is home in bed and all went well.

Blog Award

2009-02-21T17:27:00.005-06:00

My friend, ShaRhonda, of the 4 Crow's Blog gave me a blog award! Since I no longer work outside the home, I'll take all of the awards I can get.

This award acknowledges the values that every blogger shos in his/her effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literacy and personal values every day. The rules to follow are:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person that has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment. Remember to contact each of them to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I now pass it on to the following:

Jennifer @ Day to Day with Jenn

Jenni @ Where is that Cookie

Kristen @ Life with the Rodgers

Patrick @ Pabawiza % a dog Blog

Rachel @ Drew-be-Doo blog

Sandra @ Sandra's Blog

Emily @ Time to Make the Donuts

Trish @ No Rest Resort

Roger @ Roger's Blog

Gary @ Papa Gary's Blog

I would have given this award to all of my blogger friends, however, I know the ones I've left off have already received several blogger awards so I'm spreading the love on to others.

Eagle

2009-02-16T22:36:00.004-06:00

I meant to put this in my last post but I forgot. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers for my grandmother. She is doing much better now and is back living at her retirement home with her husband.

Well, as many of you Facebookers already know, Meredith came down with the stomach virus yesterday. It started out as just a fever with stomach pain but then by yesterday evening the vomiting started and continued off and on through the night. She stayed in bed and on the couch all day but then this evening she started perking up so hopefully tomorrow she'll be good to go. The good news is that Alli seemed fine today. I am so ready for them both to be well and happy. I think I need time away from house as much as they do. Today the big excitement on our Presidents Day was the cable guy coming to switch our telephone over to Cox. He told us our modem was way out of date and once we get that fixed the Internet will be even faster. I was quite pleased with this since I didn't even realize our internet was slow in the first place. I'll definitely be able to surf much more efficiently now.

Oh yeah, I wanted to share this awesome picture with you all. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that my mother-in-law, Patty, had spotted an eagle out at their place getting a fish out of their pond. Well, she saw 3 more the other day and was able to get a picture of one! So, when we were over at their house on Saturday evening for Patrick's birthday (happy 39th Patrick!) I swiped her camera and e-mailed the picture to myself. Somehow I didn't get the picture I intended to but this one is great as well. Enjoy!

Fun Times

2009-02-12T18:43:00.002-06:00

I guess I'll just post about how exciting it's been here with sicknesses. I've been waiting for something really "funny" and "amusing" to happen to post but I'm at a loss. Anyway, starting last Thursday around midnight Alli started throwing up like a mad woman. It was terrible and it was all night. I finally just got a bowl and held it up to her and she would do her thing and then we would catnap until the next time. She stopped vomiting sometime that morning, thank goodness, and then just ran a fever the rest of the day. Believe it or not, I had actually won tickets to take the girls to a play in Fayetteville on Saturday but Aunt Becky was a trooper and took Meredith and Will to see the play instead. Alli was a little disappointed about not going but wasn't too bad since she felt bad and understood the situation. Sunday then came and went and both of the girls were fine. Yea! Well, then Monday came along and Alli started running a fever again. UGH! This time it was just a fever and just in the morning and she seemed fine yet again that afternoon and on Tuesday. Next, Wednesday came along and took her to Mother's Day Out to make fudge with Miss Debe and she threw up and I had to pick her up after about an hour. (Great so called Mother's Day Out, more like Mother's hour out). When I picked her up she acted like she felt fine and even Linda, the Director, agreed and we thought she must have ate something that disagreed with her. So, since Michael was heading out of town that afternoon and she felt fine we went to a Lewis' Diner here in town and I'm sure you know what I'm about to say. We got her food and then she puked. She hadn't even taken a bite. I really think the single guy across the way from us was quite impressed with what he saw at lunchtime that day. Thankfully, the sweet ladies that work there couldn't have been kinder and we cleaned her up and off we went. Again, she acted like she felt fine after she did it as well. So, we dropped Michael off at the airport and headed home where she's been fine ever since. I guess the true test will be tomorrow at MDO since it seems to hit every other day.

Oh yeah, did you see I mentioned Michael went out of town. HE WENT TO NASHVILLE! Yes, Nashville, where my good friend Trish had just moved to and where Michael's going to be able to eat dinner with her husband tonight. I'm not jealous or anything! He had to go for a training conference so I understand. I'm really thinking there should be a "business" trip for stay at home moms sometime.

Blog Contest

2009-02-07T22:09:00.003-06:00

I know this is at the last minute, but I wanted to make you fellow bloggers aware of a neat contest that my friend, ShaRhonda from the "The 4 Crows blog" is having. She and another blogger have gotten together to give away a beautiful piece of jewelry that the winner can pick out from several different choices. I met ShaRhonda through my sister-in-law Carrie and she is just a delight and her blog is definitely a fun read and she is hoping this contest will help improve traffic to her site. All you have to do is click on her site (see sidebar) and get the details. The contest deadline is Monday morning to be quick! The jewelry is all handmade sterling silver.

Video from Ellen Show

2009-02-03T17:55:00.002-06:00

I just have to share this video with you because it is just too funny. I first saw it on Facebook and it was posted by my friend Jennifer M. and it just cracked me up. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I Spy

2009-02-02T19:24:00.004-06:00

I thought these pictures kind of resembled an "I Spy" book. The subjects you need to find in these pictures are that of my two daughters named Meredith and Alli. This is my sweet little Alli's room during the "snow" days we had here. I took this picture because it sent me over the edge. Shortly after I took it I got rid of some toys and board books to make more room. Alli likes to empty out her toy box and every other type of toy holder to seek out what goodies are on the bottom. Unfortunately she's not big on helping put them away. (Yes Mom, I know I'm paying for my raising). Anyway, her room looks much much better now, I promise.

Happy Birthday Grandma & Great Grandma!

2009-01-31T12:11:00.002-06:00

I'm a little behind in posting this but last weekend my parents, sister Staci and grandmother came to visit. Since my mom and grandmother celebrated their birthday on January 14 and 21 I decided to pick up a cake and we would have a little party of our own since we weren't able to make it over there. Meredith and Alli are all about birthday parties so they thought it was great and I'm all about cakes so I thought that part of it was great as well (not to mention the birthday girls). It was a pretty lazy day for us all. We ate Popeye's chicken (yummy) and then had the cake for dessert with Braum's ice cream.

I am so blessed to have such a precious mom and grandma. I know I can count on them in any situation. I remember loving to spending the night with my grandparents when I was younger and playing lots and lots of board games and Bible trivia with my grandma. I also remember her making me yummy doughnuts in their fryer which I loved. We also had good times painting ceramics together. I cherish so many of the beautiful ceramics that grandma painted throughout the years and am lucky enough to have some of them now. My mom was always willing to sacrifice for the good of her children, especially when she went to work at TU so we could all get a good quality education. Thank you Mom and Grandma!! I love you both!!

I also wanted to mention to please keep my other grandmother in your prayers (she's the one that got married a couple of years ago). She's in the hospital due to a touch of pneumonia along with a bleeding ulcer. Hopefully the doctors will get the bleeding stopped soon and she'll be home in no time. Thank you for your prayers.

Junie B. Jones

2009-01-28T15:17:00.002-06:00

Last week the kind gentleman that does advertising for Michael's shop gave us 4 free tickets to see Junie B. Jones at the Alma PAC. However, Michael elected to give up his ticket (he's so kind) so that Meredith's friend, Katie, could go with us. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Junie B. Jones book series, they are the most adorable little chapter book series and I think I enjoy them just as much as Meredith. The books cover Junie's early elementary school days and she tends to get into a little bit of trouble with her quick witted personality. This little play was based on the "Junie B. Jones, First Grader" book and it was a simple little production that was just an hour long (which I appreciated). I don't know about you but sometimes I think we other larger children productions they tend to get a little long and it was a relief not to have a big intermission with gazillion dollar balloons being brought to the front as a temptation to buy. Here's a cute picture I took with my phone of Meredith and Katie. Alli elected not to be in the picture.

Great Job in First Grade

2009-01-25T21:29:00.002-06:00

Meredith has had a great first grade year I must say. She had her third awards assembly of the year at her school and she still has straight A's and made that honor roll and she also received November's Citizen award for her class. I just hope that she and Alli both inherited Michael's test taking abilities, we need some scholarships!

Expensive picture from WDW

2009-01-19T22:27:00.003-06:00

Oh yeah, on my last post I forgot to put the two downloads I bought from the Walt Disney World photography studio yesterday. If you haven't been to WDW lately, there are various photographers throughout the park and at character greetings that you give a photography pass to and then they take your picture and give you the card back. Then, when you're back at home you can type in the number on their little website and look at all your neat pictures. You then pay way to much for the pictures. See how it works? Anyway, I couldn't pass up the tinkerbell picture and the castle picture. Oh well, just call me "sucker."

Boat Show, etc.

2009-01-19T17:56:00.002-06:00

On this past lazy Sunday afternoon, we all decided we would go check out the Boat Show here in town and we had a fun time. Michael got to visit with a bunch of guys he ran into and the girls and I wandered from pontoon boat to pontoon boat checking them out. We went on a couple of deck (?) boats but the sales people weren't as crazy about us walking around on those. I guess because the average price of those puppies were around $55,000. YIKES! I picked out a cool red one that said "Interceptor" on it and I thought it suit me quite well. The girls also got to throw some lines out with a fishing pole (I have no idea how you phrase that) and they enjoyed it. They actually had a contest for the kids but you have to be seven to participate so maybe Meredith can do it next year if we go.

Also, I neglected to mention that a few weeks ago while Alli and Will were playing at Grammy's house they all spotted a bald eagle swooping down and getting a fish out of their pond. Isn't that cool? Patty said it stayed long enough for her to grab her binoculars and get a closer look since it dropped the first fish and had to come back for another one.

Poor Little Fishy

2009-01-16T22:30:00.002-06:00

Well, you probably already guessed it but we lost one of our little neon tetra fish today. I saw the little guy at the bottom of the aquarium today. The other fish seemed to be handling it okay though, in case you were wondering. To help them cope with their grief I gave them an extra serving of fish food and they seemed to appreciate it. The good news is that I got them at Petco and they have a 15 day guarantee on their fish and this one right before the end of the wire. So, the girls and I will be making a trip there tomorrow with our dead fish in the Ziploc body bag to get another fish or two. Oh yeah, did I mention that as I was scooping out the fish from the tank Michael was singing "I'll Fly Away" and then he started in with the "No More Pain" song by Point of Grace. Oh, that boy.

Trip to Dallas

2009-01-15T16:27:00.002-06:00

Michael had a Carrier business meeting in Dallas this past weekend so I was able to enjoy a child free weekend with my husband. Alli went to Grandma & Papa's house in Broken Arrow and Meredith stayed with Grammy and Papa in Van Buren and they both had a great time as well. We arrived in Dallas on Friday a little after lunch and Michael headed to his meetings and I headed to the mall to kill some time. We went to a giant mall with a 4 level Nieman Marcus and several other stores that were out of the ordinary for us. I picked up a few things at Gymboree and a couple of Hannah Montana wigs that were half off for the girls. For dinner, we hit the trade show at the convention at the hotel and we were good.

On Saturday morning I slept in (love it!) while Michael went to another meeting and after his meeting was over at noon we headed to PF Changs for lunch (yummy) and went to the Bass Pro Shop in Grapevine so Michael could get another pair of his favorite "Red Head" jeans. Saturday night was clearly the highlight of our trip. We were able to get together with our Dallas friends, Jaron and Vicki. I went to high school with Vicki and Michael and I both went to college with Jaron (one of Michael's roommates). We had a steak dinner at the Hoffbrau (sp?) and then saw a group of comedians that Jaron & Vicki got us tickets for. When I first heard that were going to hear comedians I thought, oh great, nasty comedians but boy, was I pleasantly surprised. The only other comedians I have ever seen were Penn and Teller in Las Vegas and they were quite offensive. We had no idea what were in for when we saw them and it was quite the eye opener. However, these guys, in Ft. Worth, called 4 day weekend were hilarious. I don't know if it was because we couldn't get tickets until the 10 p.m. show and I was delirious or what but I laughed so much I cried that night. This was an improv show which made it different then just stand-up. Prior to the show the audience could write down different random subjects and pin them to a bulletin board and throughout the show the comedians would pick out random papers from the bulletin board and work them into their act. Also, audience members were not off limits by any means as well but thank goodness we were not picked on. We knew that if that picked Jaron they would have had a hay day with the fact that he is a worship leader. Anyway, if you want a good laugh, you should check them out!

New Aquarium & Spanish in Arkansas

2009-01-09T21:17:00.005-06:00

Well, with some of my Christmas money I was planning on purchasing a new aquarium and give fish a try as pets. I just so happened to be in Petco when I called my friend Jennifer M. asking for advice since I knew that she had one. You're not going to believe this, but it just so happened that she and her husband Ryan were planning on cleaning their out that weekend and eventually sell it. So, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, she asked me if I wanted it. Needless to say, I was thrilled, and took her up on her offer. This aquarium is so much nicer then what I was going to buy. It is a 30 gallon tank with a stand! The girls and I were so excited (Michael, not so much) we headed to Petco and WalMart to pick out rocks and plant decor for out new tank. Jennifer then brought the tank over the next morning and helped me set it up and it looks fabulous. We let it run for a day and night and then we made the trip back to Petco for fish. Of course, I wanted hardier fish and some that weren't too expensive to start out so we picked out several types of tetras, a couple of guppies, and 2 barbs for a total of 10 fish. The girls were so proud when they walked out holding those bags of water and fish and believe, it or not, they are still alive!! Thank you so much Jennifer and Ryan for the beautiful tank! You're family is welcome to visit it any time! (Blogger's not letting me post pictures right now for some reason, but I'll try again tomorrow.)

Oh yeah, I have good story from New Year's Day. Our family went to the mall to go to Dairy Queen and beforehand I wanted to look in Dillard's real quick to check out their big sale that day. Well, as we were all looking in the children's shoes department, Meredith, out of the blue, askes "Why do people speak Spanish in Arkansas?" I, of course, laughed along with the lady next to me and later that day we explained to her that people with different cultures and languages also live in the US including Arkansas.

Teacher's Gift

2009-01-05T20:47:00.004-06:00

I thought this little wall hanging turned out so cute for Meredith's teacher that I wanted put it on my blog. I think Mrs. Biggs really liked it too (I hope). Anyway, I thought it was a great buy as well from a girl in this area, if any of you are interested. I think it was $25 and it is a good size.

Christmas Day Pictures

2009-01-03T11:18:00.004-06:00

Sorry I'm a little slow but here are the rest of my Christmas pictures from Christmas morning at our house along with pictures from my parents' house along with the rest of my family. I hope you and your family had a very merry Christmas and will have a super 2009!

Christmas Eve Pictures

2008-12-31T20:53:00.004-06:00

I've got quite a few Christmas pictures so I thought I'd make a few post with different slide shows of the different Christmas celebrations we participated in. Anyway, here's some pics from Michael's parents' house on Christmas Eve. Along with us and Michael's parents, Becky, Patrick and the boys were there and Patty's sister, Darla and husband George along with their kids, Janie and her husband Dale and Terry and her husband Steve. Hannah (Janie's daughter, remember from Gulf Shores?) and Sarah (Terry's daughter) were there as well as providing entertainment. Our kids are so crazy about Sarah and Hannah, they just love spending time with them. Hannah taught Meredith, Alli and Will an animal game where you have to remember each other's animal signs which they had good time with. The girls' big gifts from Grammy and Papa included a dollhouse for Alli and a Barbie Cruise Ship for Meredith. They were thrilled to say the least.

29 and Holding

2008-12-28T22:08:00.005-06:00

For those of you that are on Facebook, I'm sure you saw that I had my 29th birthday, yet again, on Wednesday. (yes, I know, lucky me for having such a convenient birthday for everyone). Anyway, we had a good time. Michael ordered a cookie cake on Tuesday and the 4 of us pigged out on pizza and cookie that night. It was yummy. Michael got me a "hot stone" massage gift certificate that I'm very excited about using. I've never had a massage like that but I have a feeling that I will like it. If any of you have had one, let me know what to expect. The girls got me an itunes gift card which is something you can never have too much of so I was grateful. Tonight Michael's parents, Patrick, Becky and the boys along with our family went to the Catfish Hole in Alma (yummy) and had birthday banana pudding with candles and everything for dessert that Patty made and it was delicious! When we were in Broken Arrow, my sister-in-law Carrie made me a yummy birthday poppyseed cake which was so sweet. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Oh yes, for those of you that haven't already heard that great news, my friends Nathan and Emily went to South Korea and brought home their baby boy Owen. The girls and I went to the airport along with a bunch of others and greeted them and it was so great. Take a look at her blog for more details. It will definitely make you smile.

Alli's Preschool Christmas Program

2008-12-22T17:06:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday Alli's preschool (& cousin Will's kindergarten) had their Christmas program before they let out for Christmas break. As usual it was cute as can be and if you make it to the "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" song Alli is pointing straight at her Grammy to wish her a personal merry Christmas. This is kind of long so it's mainly for the Grandparents to watch, however, you're more then welcome to as well. I will put Will's main parts on Youtube and send to Patrick to put on his blog at a later point if he chooses too.

We came, we saw, we conquered.

2008-12-16T21:44:00.003-06:00

Well, we made it back from Disney World today and I'm tuckered out. Let's just say the flight there was a whole lot shorted than the flight home (thanks to icy weather) but, hey, at least we didn't have to spend the night at DFW so it could have been worse. Anyway, it was a nice trip. On Friday and Sunday we spent the days at the Magic Kingdom on Saturday we went to Disney Hollywood (formerly MGM), and on Monday we went to Animal Kingdom. I think the girls loved meeting all of the characters the best and their favorite ride was Splash Mountain (a fancy log ride). Alli enjoyed all of the rides and shows but Meredith wasn't too crazy about the Star Wars flight simulator ride and the It's Tough to be a Bug show at Animal Kingdom (both too scary for her taste). They enjoyed the High School Musical 3 show/parade at Disney Hollywood as well. Oh yeah, they all really liked the character breakfast at Disney Hollywood with all of the Playhouse Disney (Disney Channel) characters like Little Einsteins and JoJo and Goliath. Here are some pics from our trip. Oh yeah, one memorable moment at DFW was when we were all waiting to board the plane, she asked the question in earshot of all around us, "Did somebody toot?" (It wasn't me either). Anyway, we gave a lot of strangers a good laugh for the day. What can we say?

Children's Choir Performance

2008-12-11T10:01:00.003-06:00

On Sunday, our children's choir and adult choir put on a great Christmas performance at our church. Meredith sang in the children's choir and here is a little clip of one of their performances. Enjoy!

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-05T23:05:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday the girls, myself and Patty all went to "Breakfast with Santa" put on by the Junior League here in town. The girls had a great time visiting with Santa along with listening to a husband and wife music team sing Christmas songs for kids. Believe it or not, the girls even made it to the newspaper. It was pretty funny because I teased Abby, a fellow blogger, the other day saying that we only make newspapers or magazines if we're in the background and here's the proof! You have to look closely where I've circled them in the top right hand side. I've also included a picture of the girls which I scanned. Bedford's Camera & Video took the picture at the event, to give credit where credit is due.

All I want for Christmas is. . . . .

2008-12-01T22:01:00.004-06:00

As I'm sure most of you know, my sweet Meredith had a rather unpleasant day at school on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. She was up late Monday night first of all coughing so I gave her some powerful cough medicine so she could sleep since nothing else seemed to work. I then let her sleep in later and I took her to school around 8:45 a.m. or so. I then proceeded to take Alli on to preschool and go home and cook a corn casserole for Michael's work's Thanksgiving lunch that day. So, I take the casserole to the lunch and just fill my plate with yummy food when my cell phone rings. I look down and see it's her elementary school calling. Now, you moms know when you see that phone call it's usually not a good thing so I was already prepared for a sick child (I figured she had a coughing spell). Boy, was I wrong. It was her principal and she told me that Meredith got her top tooth knocked out at recess and I needed to come pick her up. I asked her how Meredith was handling it and she said that she was being brave. So, I gave my yummy plate of food away to Patty and off I went to the school. Of course, as soon as I walked in the nurses room all braveness went out the window and she cried. Oh, it was so sad. She had blood all on her jacket and shirt and two fat lips and a swollen nose that also looked like it had been bleeding. Apparently she was handing a pair of gloves to her friend that was on the swing and she didn't time the hand off right or didn't account for the girl that was swinging right next to her friend. You guessed it, she got whacked in the face and knocked on her caboose. Of course, when I heard swings I thought just your normal playground swings. But, oh no. These swings in the back of the playground are something I have never seen before. I'm sure they're great fun to ride on but not to much to get hit with. They are made out of metal with some sort of a seat and a platform thing for your feet, I believe, and she got hit with the metal platform thing. OUCH! We are so fortunate because she had yet to receive her permanent teeth up top so this was just a baby tooth that got knocked out. Her other tooth is loose as a result but thank goodness it's still hanging on. So, since that tooth really wasn't loose prior to this, it may be a while before she has another tooth again. We tried to look for her tooth on the playground to no avail. They have a bunch of trees so all of the leaves were on the ground and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. So, Meredith wrote a sweet little note to the toothfairy and she got her cash. It was quite a day. Here's a picture Michael took with his cell phone but it really doesn't do it justice since she won't show her mouth nor the huge cut on the inside of her lip.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-29T18:37:00.008-06:00

I hope you and yours had a marvelous Thanksgiving and reflected on all we should be thankful for along with a scrumptious feast. We ate our big meal at Michael's parents' house along with Patrick, Becky, Will, Zach, Becky's friend Julie and our friends, the Lightner's. We had a great time and the kids all really enjoyed playing with each other. Not to mention the beautiful weather as well.

After lunch we then headed over to Broken Arrow to spend some time with my side of the family. My Uncle Dean was in town from Albuquerque so it was nice visiting with him as well. On Thursday night we spent the night with my brother Chris & Carrie so the girls enjoyed the "sleepover" with their cousins Carlee and Cydnee. Then, Carrie, myself, my mom, and Staci all met at 7:30 a.m. (minus Staci, she met us later) at WalMart for some deals. That's about as early as we can function. We then headed to the mall and messed around shopping there. We had a good time nonetheless. The guys played golf at 1 p.m. so we had to make it by so they could go. On Friday night we all headed to Hideaway Pizza (yummy!) and then took all of the girls to Rhema to look at the beautiful Christmas lights. On Saturday Carrie cut all of our hair and then we headed home. Pretty busy weekend!

Becky's Birthday

2008-11-24T16:21:00.003-06:00

Today is my sweet sister-in-law, Becky's birthday (Michael's sister). Tonight we're heading over to the in-laws for pizza (I'm supposed to order a canadian bacon/pineapple pizza for the birthday girl - not sure what to think about that) and chocolate pie made by Patty (Becky's favorite). She is exactly one month older than me, even though I choose to stay at age 29 Becky is truthful and has come to terms with her age. Anyway, I am quite blessed to have her as a sister through marriage. She is so incredibly thoughtful, caring and sweet.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BECKY!

Picture Tag

2008-11-21T17:35:00.004-06:00

Sorry it's taken me a little longer to post this time than normal but Alli came down with strep throat on Tuesday afternoon and seemed to be better on Thursday and now Meredith is complaining of a sore throat so I've started her on the antibiotics now. So far, this fall has not been good to us in the health department. Hopefully it will get better. It'd be nice if we could stay well for a week so we can get the flu shot before we get the flu.

Anyway, my sweet friend, Leigh Ann, from Still Moments, picture tagged me this time. I'm supposed to post my 4th picture in my 4th folder on my computer. So, I looked through my files and this is what is was:

This picture was taken on February 23rd, 2007, and it was Michael and Meredith's birthday. Yes, they have the same birthday which is pretty neat. I didn't have to buy Michael a birthday present in 2002. I thought a baby was good enough. The girls hair is all fixed up (by their Aunt Carrie, of course) because Meredith as a flower girl in her great grandmother's wedding that day. It was quite the day!

So, I now tag Patrick (he always has great pics), Corrie (tagged you back, hehe) and Trish (yet again, sorry).

Weekend

2008-11-17T11:20:00.002-06:00

Meredith and Alli were both out of school on Friday for Teacher Meetings so we planned to head to Broken Arrow to spend the weekend. Well, guess what! Meredith started throwing up on Friday morning around 6;45 a.m. or so. So, that kind of threw that plan out of the water. So, Meredith started feeling better and acted fine and still wanted to go to BA. So, we packed all of the bags loaded up the car and got to Roland and you got it! Mama, I don't feel so good and I feel like I'm going to throw up. I then whipped the car in the McDonald's parking lot (last stop before the interstate, thank goodness) and grabbed a plastic bag and handed to her and that was that. I then left a present for the town of Roland and headed back to the Fort. Meredith then ate dinner like normal and seemed fine the next day so we tried the trip again and this time with more success.

It was a quick trip. Basically, we got to my parents' house, they watched the girls while I ran to Gymboree (great sale over the weekend by the way). We then headed to Aunt Staci's current employer, Ted's Mexican restaurant and waited for an hour so we could sit in her section. Oh yeah, my brother Chris and niece Carlee also met us there (Carrie was babysitting a friend's baby along with Cydnee). The girls were very well behaved which made it so much easier and Staci did an excellent job serving us. We then packed up the van and headed back on Sunday around lunch so I could make it for choir practice.

I didn't even have time to break out the camera.

I've Been Tagged!

2008-11-12T17:13:00.006-06:00

Well, my friend Corrie aka the "Cent-sable Mama" has tagged me and this is a different type of tag then normal. Here are the rules:

Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 56.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the next two to five sentences.
Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the closest.
Tag five people to do the same.

Most of you that are familiar with me know that I'm not the biggest novel reader on the block, unless, of course, you're talking about children's book. But, it just so happens the closest book to me right now is "Walt Disney World with Kids 2009." For those of you who don't know, we're planning a trip to WDW in December so I'm busy getting tips and making reservations regarding this trip. So, let's see, pg. 56, fifth sentence is in the chapter titled "Choosing a Hotel" and is under the subsection of "The Grand Floridian" and it says:

Pluses:

Convenient location on monorail line.
A private beach and marina on the Seven Seas Lagoon and numerous boating options.
On-site child-care center.
Three programs for children: Grand Adventures in Cooking, Disney's Pirate Adventure, and Wonderland Tea Party.
On-site health club and full-service spa.

Sounds lovely doesn't it? Too bad we're staying at an "off-site" resort that is probably a lot less expensive. That child-care center does sound grand, doesn't it?!

So, I think I'm going to tag:

Baby Shower for Emily W.

2008-11-11T23:00:00.003-06:00

On Saturday afternoon several of us ladies from our Sunday School class had the honor of hosting a baby shower for our friend Emily. It is so exciting because she is just waiting for a phone call from South Korea telling she and Nathan that they can go pick up their baby boy, Owen, they are adopting. I'm sure several of you have read her story on her blog that I have linked on my sidebar. Anyway, she received so many precious gifts and her cake was just beautiful. In case you can't read it due to its foreign language, it says "son." She also has pictures on her blog of Owen and he is just the cutest little thing and you just want to pinch those little cheeks. Congratulations Emily!

America's Most Wanted

2008-11-09T21:01:00.002-06:00

Hopefully a lot of you Arkansans watched or recorded America's Most Wanted on Saturday night. The show focused on Arkansas cases and in particular Fort Smith. It was pretty cool to see my old buddies from the Marshals Office in the background on horses behind John Walsh as he introduced the different stories. Leisa- You did a fine job at keeping that horse under control. I knew Leisa could ride a horse but I didn't realize the other guys could. Anyway, much of the show was focused on the murder of Missy Witt, in particular. She was kidnapped from a bowling alley in Fort Smith and her body was found 50 miles away in a forest area. Since it was featured on AMW, you probably figured out that her killer has not been caught. I specifically remember when this happened because Michael had asked for prayer for the family at the Baptist Student Union at TU during this time. Michael and I were not dating then so I didn't know many of the specifics but remember being horrified at such a monstrous crime. I want to encourage all of you to go to this website and read about the crime. The website is http://www.amw.com/fugitives/brief.cfm?id=59549. The more people that read and are familiar with this crime the better the chance that someone will come forward with information. For example, the police believe there was a good samaritan that moved Missy's body from its original placement so that it would be more easily found. Even if that person would come forward I'm sure it would be a great help. The show also featured information regarding the recent gruesome murder of Little Rock reporter Anne Pressly. It is so important to get this evil person off the streets as well so he does not brutalize someone else.

I promise my next post won't be so depressing but I feel like this information is so important to share.

Tommy's Birthday

2008-11-06T21:19:00.003-06:00

This past Saturday we had the honor of celebrating Tommy's (Michael's dad) birthday with all of us, Becky, Patrick, Will & Zach along with Patty, of course. Tommy better enjoy this year because next year is a big birthday. Kind of like I'm still 29. Anyway, Becky picked up Popeye's Chicken for us all and Patty fixed a peach cobbler and we all had a good time. Here's a picture of Tommy along with his little buddy, Jessie (one of his 5 little buddies). Tommy- It's my pleasure to call you my father-in-law and I wish you the best over this next year!

Meredith's Soccer Tourney

2008-11-04T18:53:00.003-06:00

Meredith's team did a great job in her first soccer tournament. Their team, the "Dynamite" finished second place overall. They managed to come up through the losers bracket and play three games on Saturday to finish second. It's safe to say they were exhausted by the third game and they were playing a team that hadn't played yet that day so it was tough. It's funny though how they played and beat their first game on Saturday against the same team that put them in the losers bracket but yet there were different players on their team. Oh well, such is life. The girls were quite excited about their trophies and all of the girls soccer teams in their age bracket had a skating party afterwards which was so fun. Meredith and Alli had a blast. It will be nice to have our Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays back for a while as well, until Spring season anyway. Now we just have dance on Tuesdays and Church on Wednesdays. YEA!

Halloween

2008-11-02T15:43:00.003-06:00

Thank goodness we were all well for Halloween this year. It was a close one, that's for sure. Meredith dressed up as Cinderella and Alli was Jasmine. Neither one wanted to wear their crowns with their costumes because "they bothered them." Meredith didn't want to wear dress shoes with her dress, just tennis shoes and she didn't even want to wear makeup. So, we were pretty basic princesses at that. Oh well, that makes it easy for me. We first headed up to our church for the Fall Festival where the girls went trick or treating at car trunks in the parking lot. They also had hot dogs, cotton candy and popcorn along with music which was neat. I took Alli's picture with her buddy Mason (Superman) from church and I thought it turned out so cute. She's just crazy about him. We then headed back home where I took Alli up and down our street to different houses and Meredith stayed home with Daddy to hand out candy. For those of you that don't know this, Alli has a true passion about candy. I have a feeling she'll be one of those teenagers that are 18 and still dressing up trying to get candy. We'll see I guess.

Meredith's Awards Assembly

2008-11-01T22:45:00.003-05:00

Meredith started off first grade with a bang this year. Her school had their awards assembly on Friday afternoon and she received the Perfect Attendance/No Tardies award as well as the Principal's Honor Roll. She was really excited about the perfect attendance award because all of the kids that received this award get to stay after school one day next week and watch "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie with the principal. We're so proud of her. She puts a lot of effort into her schoolwork and always tries to do her best. Our parent/teacher conference with her teacher went really well this week as well. She actually has a little bit of homework this year. She must read at least 20 minutes every night and one night she must write her spelling words and another night do math problems. She has spelling and math facts tests on Friday so she must study for those as well. I really dread the days when she's bombarded with homework and projects. I'm sure it will be here sooner then we think.

On a side note, don't forget to turn back your clocks tonight!

Oh Well, Maybe Next Year

2008-11-01T22:42:00.002-05:00

UGH! I'm sure as you have figured out, I'm pretty bummed about the game today. I really thought this was TU's year to beat the good old U of A. The Razorbacks seemed to do an excellent job shutting done our rapid scoring. If Arkansas plays us next year, maybe we can win that one. I guess there's always basketball.

Go Tulsa Hurricane!

2008-11-01T09:14:00.002-05:00

Okay, I had to hurry up and get this posted online before out soccer games today. As a lot of you already know, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane take on the Arkansas Razorbacks today at 1 p.m. in Fayetteville. Granted, normally, I would root the Razorbacks on in victory. But.......... not in this case. I see this as being the best chance in a very long time for my little alma mater of 4,000 to 5,000 students to beat the gigantic school on the hill. Michael is still hoping the Razorbacks win, which I will never understand since he, also, went to TU so that mere fact makes it of utter importance that TU win by at least 30. I've learned to never count my chickens before they hatch because playing at the U of A is an atmosphere like no other.

GO TULSA!!

Alli's MDO, Preschool & Family Party

2008-10-30T09:57:00.002-05:00

As most of you already know, I seemed to have caught Alli's little sickness. I seem to be on the mend now, finally, but now it seemed to move to my ears. Oh well. Anyway, we finally ended Alli's birthday celebrations on Saturday when my parents and brother's family came over. Here are some pictures of the special days on the slideshow. I'll go into more detail at a later point. I hope the rest of you are well and stay that way!

High School Musical 3

2008-10-24T20:41:00.002-05:00

The girls and I hit HSM3 today on the first day it opened in our town and it was really cute. I think Meredith really enjoyed it. Alli would have enjoyed it more if she hadn't been so tired since we saw it at 4:30 p.m. and that's the time of the day that Alli struggles the most with her tiredness. Anyway, they were both very well behaved and I was proud of them, especially Alli. A friend of mine, Jennifer M., invited us to go see the movie with her two older girls and I was pleasantly surprised to see my friend Allyson along with her kiddos there as well. I was just so relieved to find out that the movie would be rated G again for the third time. I was so worried that since it was making a change to the "big screen" rather then just on the Disney Channel that they would rate it PG to try and get a wider audience. If you enjoy singing and dancing and good clean family fun, go see it! However, I definitely think the movie has ran its course now and it should end on a good note.

Good news & bad news

2008-10-21T23:20:00.002-05:00

The good news is that Alli is doing so much better today and those shots in the rear must have really helped along with prayer. Her temp has gone done and she didn't sleep during the day (which I was sad about) and she slept for 4 to 5 hours straight last night which was a big improvement. She was a little cranky, but who can blame her really.

The bad news is that while I was getting in to Alli's closet I noticed that the carpet was all wet. So, I immediately concluded that Alli had been playing with her little baby that pees that was laying in the floor right next to the wetness. Alli and Meredith then both denied playing with the doll and I then called in the hubby. He explained that there was no way that the baby doll could have peed that much in the floor anyway. Well, I'm sure you know what's coming next, some drain thing got stopped up and had flooded her room under the carpet. So, after the girls in bed, Michael and I cleaned up everything out of the floor (this was not an easy task) and the guys from the shop are coming tomorrow to take a look at it. I have a feeling that Alli will be getting some new carpet out of the deal considering your feet literally sqooshed (sp?) as you walked on it. It was not pretty and I have a feeling we'll be taking all of the furniture out tomorrow. Oh the joys of this week. I guess when it rains it pours.

Update on Alli

2008-10-20T19:16:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately I had to take Alli back to the doctor today (yes, it's her birthday) because her temp was up to 103 today (the highest yet that I know of). Her doctor called us yesterday with the results of her urine test and said that afterall she did not have a bladder infection. She said she hoped it was a virus but if I didn't see improvement today to bring her in. So, around noon the ole temp started up the thermometer again and we got her in. The doctor listed to her lungs, did another blood test and another chest xray and it appears that she now has the beginning of pneumonia. So, they gave her two lovely shots in the backside which she agonized over and gave her some Tylenol with codeine and sent her home with several prescriptions. She is already starting to perk up so who knows if it's the codeine or the shots but she did mention not ever wanting to go to the doctor again and I can't really blame her. I definitely don't look forward to her next appointment whenever that should be. So, please keep us in your prayers and especially for little Alli to have a quick recovery.

Also, please keep my grandmother "Gran" in your prayers. She is in the hospital and was diagnosed with emphysema, which really doesn't make much sense to me since her previous two doctors in the last couple of weeks never said anything about that after their xrays, just fluid in her lungs. She's never smoked either. UGH! I wish Alli was feeling better so I could go see her but you know sometimes things just don't work the way we want them to, do they?

Alli's Sick

2008-10-17T20:53:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we were supposed to have Alli's family party with my side of the family driving over for the day but Alli started running a fever last night and I took her to the doctor today. Apparently she has a bladder infection which is what I suspected since we've been in almost every bathroom in this city. In case you don't know, or have boys, girls have a tendency to get the bladder infections simply due to their anatomy at this age. They are also more likely to get them if they "hold it" which is what my little Alli does until she's about to explode. So, today her fever was up to around 102 and just felt bad. She wouldn't go to the bathroom at the doctor's office so they had to use a catheter to get a urine sample which was traumatic for her but she was a little trooper. They also did a blood test and chest xray so it was quite a morning. She's now on an antibiotic so we hope it kicks in quickly. So, as a result, we have to postpone her family party until, hopefully, next Saturday. Poor little Alli. She was sick 2 Halloweens ago and then sick last year for Meredith's party so we had to postpone that one as well. She seems to get sick on special occasions.

Alli's 4th birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's

2008-10-15T15:53:00.003-05:00

Well, I survived another birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese's and Alli loved it. I was hoping that since it was on a Tuesday night there wouldn't be many people there but, of course, it was a fundraising night for a school so there were a lot of people there anyway. Oh well, it didn't seem to bother the kids and that's all that matters. It's funny because besides sister Meredith and her friend Annali all of the rest of the kids she wanted to invite were boys from church and of course, cousins Will and Zach. It was funny because after we decided on Chuck E. Cheese she said she changed her mind and wanted a tea party like Meredith had last year and I had to remind her that a majority of her guests were boys and they probably wouldn't get into a dress up tea party with a fashion show and their dads probably wouldn't like it either. Maybe next year I told her. She has had a great day today playing with all of her new toys such as Polly Pocket, Strawberry shortcake, painting set, make-up and tattoos (temporary that is). I'm including a slideshow of the party. Enjoy! For those that came, thank you!

Trish's Visit

2008-10-14T21:16:00.002-05:00

Trish, Roger, Jedidiah and cousin Raven should be back in Tennessee by now. I think all of us here crammed in as much time to spend with them as possible and it was so fun. On Friday a bunch of us met for lunch at a Mexican restaurant in town without kids which was wonderful. On Saturday we had a play date at their house so the girls really enjoyed seeing and playing Jedidiah along with the other kids that came. Saturday was girls night again at Red Lobster which was yummy. Sunday we were able to see them at church and on Monday we met at the mall for lunch. Trish- I'm already ready for you to come back sister!

Tagged

2008-10-13T21:13:00.004-05:00

For the first time in my blogging life I have been tagged by Julie and Abby.

The tag is to answer the questions with a one word answer and then tag 5 of your blog friends!

Here are my answers:

1. Where is your cell phone? kitchen counter

2. Where is your significant other? in bed

3. Your hair color? blonde

4. Your mother? thoughtful

5. Your father? dependable

6. Your favorite thing? shopping

7. Your dream last night? weird

8. Your dream/goal? content

9. The room you're in? office

10. Your hobby? computer

11. Your fear? burglars

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? earth

13. Where were you last night? church

14. What you're not? disciplined

15. One of your wish-list items? skinniness

16. Where you grew up? Broken Arrow

17. The last thing you did? read

18. What are you wearing? pajamas

19. Your TV? babysitter

20. Your pet? N/A

21. Your Computer? iMac

22. Your mood? tired

23. Missing Someone? sure

24. Your car? minivan

25. Something you're not wearing? socks

26. Favorite store? Talbots

27. Your summer? vacation

28. Love someone? Michael

29. Your favorite color? black

30. When is the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? noremember

I am now tagging Carrie, Jenni, Trish, Jennifer M., & ShaRhonda!

Good luck! (one word answers are kind of hard, especially on the last one)

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-13T20:19:00.002-05:00

After Meredith's soccer games on Saturday the girls and I made our annual pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch (Michael elected to stay home and help pick up the house which was great by me). As always, we had a great time. Alli was able to ride on a pony for the first time in her life, with me by her side, of course. Her horse's name was Star and was not exactly a speed demon and was lapped by some of the other ponies but it made her ride last longer. I think Star felt she put in her hours already and was just going to take her time. Who knows, maybe she's the leader of the pony union. Meredith and Alli each picked out a pumpkin and I got a couple of mums which are quite pretty. Now I just have to remember to water them and keep them alive. Meredith was thrilled because she saw several of her friends from school and soccer and they both were excited to see Miss Linda and Callie from church.

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-10-10T21:54:00.003-05:00

Today is my dad's birthday. I believe he is around 59 as I am around 29. Unfortunately we aren't going to be able to see him this weekend but we'll catch him next weekend when they come up for Alli's party. Don't worry, I did mail him a card and we called and sang him Happy Birthday. Anyway, I am so blessed to have such a wonderful Christian man as a father. He rarely, if ever, missed a soccer or basketball game of mine and he built a soccer goal in our backyard when we were playing that sport and he built a tetherball pole for me when I loved tetherball in elementary school (I was tough to beat in that tetherball, I must say). He would often shoot hoops with me in the driveway and drive me over to my friends' houses whenever I needed him too. He's also an excellent papa as well. My girls are just crazy about him and love to go to their house and swing on the tree swing he put up in the tree in the backyard and just spend time with him, especially outside. My little Alli is in fact named from his side of the family. My middle name is Allison, my dad's middle name is Allison, my grandfather's middle name was Allison and my great grandmother's maiden name was Allison and so on. (I hope I got that right). I couldn't ask for a better father. Thanks Dad! I love you!

Target Here I Come!

2008-10-07T22:45:00.002-05:00

For those of you that haven't already found out the news from Jennifer M's blog, Target was open tonight! I know most of you will find this hard to believe, but after Alli and Meredith were done with dance class tonight I had the notion to drive by our new Target shopping area to stalk the stores and see when everything is opening (yes, instead of people, I stalk stores, very sad). Well, lo and behold Target was open! I drove by the entrance about 3 times just to see if only "special people" were invited in to shop. I couldn't tell by my drive byes, so I finally stopped and asked a young couple walking in if it was open and they said they were just going to walk in and see what happened. So, I watched them just walk in with no bouncers kicking them out or anything so I knew we were in! I then parked my car and the girls and I (like the proper English Mom?) headed inside to check it out. Now, Target is not supposed to "officially" open until Sunday and I had heard they were going to have a "soft" opening so I guess this was it. I'd never heard of a "soft" opening before but, hey, I'm always ready to participate. Let me tell you, I've never been asked if I needed help as much as I had tonight. I've never seen so much red and khaki. Finally I asked a young man if he provided babysitting and he kind of just walked off (imagine that?). For those of you that live in larger cities you do not understand what a big deal this is for our community. I always took Target for granted in the Tulsa area so I didn't really appreciate it but now we have one. Books a Million (similar to Barnes & Noble), Old Navy, Shoe Carnival, Best Buy, Lane Bryant and Michael's are all relocating to this shopping area with bigger and better store (bad news for their old soon to be vacant buildings). Dress Barn, Bed, Bath & Beyond (bad news for Linens N Things), Cheddars, an additional Chick Fil A and an Ulta are also opening. I'm very excited about the Ulta because this is like an ultimate cosmetics superstore that carries your basic brands to high end brands. Anyway, now you all can share in my joy!

Subscribe to this Blog Feature

2008-10-07T14:35:00.002-05:00

Some of you may have noticed the "Subscribe to this Blog" feature that I have included on the side of the screen. I must tell you that this has been the greatest tool for me to use to keep up with friends and family's blogs that I consistently read. Basically, if you have a google account, it will automatically update you on new posts on the blogs you read. If you don't have a google account this will probably make no sense to you. However, if you do just go to your Dashboard and you'll see a reader list. You can then add and enter the URL for each of the blogs you want to follow, even if the blogs do not have the "subscribe to this blog" feature. You can choose to either publicly or anonymously follow blogs. I probably have a list of 10 blogs I follow and it saves me from having to go through and click on each blog address individually. Clear as mud? Leave me a comment if you have any questions.

Panama City Beach, FL

2008-10-05T22:11:00.004-05:00

As most of you already know, Michael and I just returned today from a Carrier incentive trip to Panama City Beach, Florida. Alli stayed at my parents house in Broken Arrow and Meredith stayed with Michael's parents here so she could continue to go to school on Thursday and Friday. It was a great break for us but I think Meredith and Alli had just as much fun at their grandparents' houses. Michael's Uncle Alan and Aunt Jan along with their foreign exchange student from German, Maria, went as well. Michael and Alan went deep sea fishing all day on Thursday and then Michael played golf on Friday. You may be asking yourself, hmmm, I wonder what Jennifer did while he was out and about. Well, I went shopping baby! I think it's my favorite pastime and it's not that I have to spend money, I just enjoy getting out and looking. Actually on Thursday Jan, Maria and I all went to get massages which was fantastic (thank you Carrier!) I have to share this story with you regarding Wednesday night, the day of our arrival. Carrier had arranged for all of the HVAC people there to eat a buffet around the pool and they had a Polynesian dance crew there for entertainment. Anyway, Michael got suckered into coming on stage with some others to try their hand at hula dancing. Well, those of you that know Michael know that dancing is not exactly his forte so it was pretty funny. (However, I'm sure he didn't mind having the good looking hula girls around him.) We ate at wonderful restaurants while we were there but I think my favorite was the Boar's Head in case you all ever go and are looking for a great steak/seafood place to eat.

Here are some cell phone pictures from our balcony and Michael's dancing exhibition.

Prayer Request

2008-10-05T22:08:00.003-05:00

Matt, a great guy that works at the shop with Michael, has a son that is receiving a lung transplant as we speak in Houston. His son's name is Chris and he is sixteen years old and is battling Cystic Fibrosis. This surgery may last from 10 to 12 hours and, of course, is very serious. Please lift up Matt and his family in prayer as they fight the battle against CF and be in prayer for Chris as he undergoes this transplant. Hopefully this surgery will provide Chris with some relief in the next few years.

Happy Birthday Patty

2008-09-30T19:57:00.002-05:00

On Saturday night we had a big birthday bash for Patty (Michael's mom) with our family, Tom & Patty, and Becky, Patrick, Will and Zach. Tom got a prime rib for Michael to grill on their "big green egg" smoker/grill, etc. and we all pitched in and made the sides. We also got a yummy cake from Confectionately Yours to top off the night. Will had a little incident where he fell and landed against one of the legs on the pack n play and busted his lip but he seemed to feel better pretty quickly. In his picture he has a towel hanging out of his mouth to stop the blood. We all had fun and we're stuffed by the end of the evening. And, how lucky am I to have such a wonderful mother-in-law?! She's so easy to talk to and it's so great having a mother-in-law that I feel like I can just call and talk to about anything. Happy Birthday Patty! (Oh yeah, we had to have Grammy pretend to blow out the candles because no one seemed to have any).

Happy Birthday Gran!

2008-09-28T20:53:00.002-05:00

My brother's birthday in August officially started "birthday season" for us and I'm running a little behind. Anyway, my grandmother's (Gran) birthday was on Thursday, September 25th and she turned 92. For those of you that don't already know, she is a newly wed and has been married to Dency for a little over a year. My grandfather passed away a couple of years ago and they had been married almost 70 years. She knew Dency from high school and when he found out my grandfather had passed away he came a courtin.' It's a neat story and she does seem happy which makes all of us happy too. She wasn't feeling too well on her birthday so I'm hoping she'll start feeling better soon. I have great memories of she and I spending Saturdays shopping and just spending time together. I wished I lived closer so I could spend more time with her now. I believe I inherited my love of shopping from her. I love you Gran! (Doesn't she look fabulous?)

Trip to the Fair

2008-09-27T17:13:00.003-05:00

It's been a few days since I've posted due to my business with PTA stuff. Our school had a big BBQ/Karaoke night fundraiser and I was one of the lucky ones that got to help put it together. Anyway, here are some pictures from Tuesday when I went with Alli's preschool class to Old McDonald's petting farm at the fair. She had a great time but those kids were sure worn out at the end of the morning. I think the kids' favorite part was watching the pigs lay in the mud. Imagine that? We also got to see one lucky cow named dolly get to be milked. I wonder if she felt violated by the end of the day? On yeah, these pictures aren't that great because I took them with my phone. I decided it would be wiser to keep up with the children rather than my camera.

Carlee's 4th Birthday

2008-09-22T21:50:00.009-05:00

My niece Carlee's 4th birthday is on Tuesday so we headed over to Broken Arrow to go to her party on Saturday night. The party was held at Lee's Feedstore off of 11th and County Line in the Broken Arrow area. Carrie's parents own the store and this party kicked off the "Party Barn" business which her parents are also starting. It was so cute. It definitely had the cowgirls them with various games that included fishing for magnet fish, roping cow horns, and doing the Cotton Eyed Joe in order to get your cupcake. All of the kids were given a cowboy hat along with prizes for each of the games. It's a great party place for both boys and girls. Oh yeah, we also went on a hayride which was really neat too. There were also animals that the kids could pet such as a miniature horse and mule, goat, chickens, and bunnies. I'm sure the bunnies were quite relieved when it was over since they were constantly being picked up by 3 and 4 year olds. I know I would have been happy to get out of there if I were them. Anyway, we all had a super time and if any of you are interested in getting more information about the party barn, just let me know and I'll get someone in touch with you. Below is a slideshow of the party. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention it. I actually met a blog fan. Isn't that exciting?! Her name is ShaRhonda and she is a friend of Carrie's which is how she found out about my blog. I, now, know of a new blog to follow and I've included her blog title on the right which is "The 4 Crows." I look forward to seeing ShaRhonda at many more birthday parties.

On a side note, I just had to include pictures of the little book we got Carlee for her birthday. This is the second book I've ordered from them like this. The first book was for Cydneee and it was a Dora book and this book was an alphabet book. I order them from Shutterfly and they are just the greatest gifts, even if I do say so myself. We just laugh and laugh when we read them and I feel they are something to keep and the kids will always enjoy looking at them, even if they've "outgrown" them. I will worn you that they are not cheap but for a special birthday or Christmas gift they are great.

Black Widow

2008-09-19T23:46:00.003-05:00

We had an exciting event at the household today. When I brought up the trash cans from the street to put them back in the garage I noticed a little black spider hanging out in its web next to 3 egg sacks. So, I took a closer look and noticed a little red dot on its abdomen. I then thought to myself, nah, that couldn't be. So I, of course, took the girls inside and went immediately to my computer to look at pictures of spider and sure enough, it was a black widow! My friend Trish told me that she had found a couple of them outside her house under some rocks in the landscaping so I knew they were around here but I was just hoping they weren't around our house and I guess I was wrong. So, being that Michael is out of town (of course) I went and got the bug killer spray and sprayed about half the container on that sucker along with the web, eggs, and anything else in that vicinity. It turns out that black widows do get kind of a bad wrap. They, indeed, are one of the most venomous spiders in the U.S. However, if they do bite a human, they inject only a small amount, if any, of venom and usually people don't even have to go to the emergency room if they are bit unless they notice disturbing symptoms with it. Therefore, the lovely brown fiddleback spider is much more dangerous then a black widow. I have decided though that I really don't want to have the little creature hanging around here because knowing my luck, it would decide to unload all its venom on me. Now that I've educated you on black widows, I took some pictures of the dead spider to show you that I have proof.

Congrats Emily and Nathan!

2008-09-19T22:11:00.002-05:00

I'm sure if most of you follow the other blogs on my favorites that you've seen that my friends Emily and Nathan now know who their son is. He is a beautiful little boy from South Korea and they will name him Owen. If you want to see an adorable picture just go to Emily and Nathan's blog. This is a long awaited answer to prayer.

Soccer Fun

2008-09-16T22:15:00.002-05:00

Meredith and cousin Will have started playing soccer this Fall. This is Meredith's 4th season, I believe, and it's Will's first. To Will's daddy's dismay his team was assigned a light pink jersey. If you read Patrick's blog you are probably already aware of this fact. However, it doesn't seem to bother his team, "The Wrecking Crew", very much which is good. It was so fun to watch Will play because he just had the sweetest smile on his little face the whole game and seemed to be just having a ball.

Meredith had her first game of the season on Saturday and the name of her team is the "Dynamite." She even scored one goal which was fun and I believe they won both games even though they don't "technically" keep score. Let me tell you, I am so impressed with the drastic change between this season and last season. For one thing, Meredith is now old enough to play with all girls which I think makes a difference. They also call it the "Academy" approach where all of the girls actually drill together one night a week and then break off into their different teams. Their teams then have one night of practice together and scrimmage other teams the last half of the practice. All of the teams have two games which are 30 minutes each and all start and end together from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Saturdays. The girls are actually learning positions, passing, etc. and Meredith is loving it. It's wonderful exercise as well. I think I need to be out there running drills with her but I'm usually running my own drills on the sidelines hanging out with Alli.

Happy Birthday Staci!

2008-09-12T16:01:00.002-05:00

My sister, Staci, turns the big 20 today. Can you believe it? She was just 8 years old when Michael and I got married and she was an all important "junior bridesmaid" in our wedding. I must admit that I was pretty frustrated that my parents were going to dare have another child when I was at the self-absorbed age of 15 but I think I've finally come to terms with it now. I love you Staci!

Not a good speller

2008-09-11T17:27:00.004-05:00

My friend Trish forwarded me this video and it cracked me up so much I just had to share it. Don't worry it's super short. For those of you that know the name of my street you understand why I liked this so much. I also wanted to mention that Trish has also started a blog and I have included a link to it under my blog list. I'm really wishing she will move back here but I don't think that's going to happen.

Sick Husbands

2008-09-11T12:56:00.002-05:00

My super friend Jenni forwarded this video to me that my super friend Emily forwarded to her (did you get that?) and now I'm sharing it with my blogger friends. Anyway, it's pretty funny and all you ladies are really going to like it and you men have to admit that it's a little bit true.

Also, don't forget to take my survey on the right hand side of the screen!

Survey

2008-09-11T12:44:00.001-05:00

Hello All-
Please take my survey to the right of the screen and let me know if you are able to read my posts with the new dark background. My parents said it doesn't show up very well on their computer but on mine I can read it just fine. I'll change the background if the majority can't read it.
Thanks,
Jennifer

Jury Duty, Glasses & Grammar

2008-09-09T20:54:00.002-05:00

Well, wouldn't you know it, my group has to show up for jury duty tomorrow. I think I will make an appeal to the Judge to be excused this week since Patty's out of town and can't help with Alli. Luckily, I was able to get Alli into Mother's Day Out tomorrow even though she doesn't normally go on Wednesday so that will be a great help. Becky could watch her but I hate to do that to her since her days are already full since she's hanging out with her dad during the afternoons. Michael has been spending the nights out there in until his mom comes back from her cruise around New England and Canada with her sister. Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm so glad they chose to take a cruise up north instead of around the Bahamas, etc., that would have been bad. Talk about seasickness.

Oh yeah, I went to the eye doctor today and the inevitable happened. I'm in glasses again! For those of you who don't know, I had lasik in the year 2000 or so (prior to children) and have enjoyed being glasses free for a good 8 years. I knew I was starting to squint while watching TV so I figured it was coming. The good news is that I can still so up close very well so no bifocals yet. Hopefully I'll look as stylish and Sarah Palin though my frames were about the half the cost of her designer frames. Michael has managed to be glasses free since his surgery and his eyes were twice as bad as mine which is pretty amazing. I think having children since the surgery may have something to do with it, but who knows really.

On a side note, to make my mother happy I am going to change my grammatical errors in the posts when I talk about "me and the girls." I will correctly change it to "the girls and I." My mother said with my education I should not write in that manner even if I'm trying to keep it casual. I'm just trying to make her happy. Ain't that right, ya'll?

Saturday, September 7th

2008-09-06T22:26:00.003-05:00

Went to Kohls today. After the lovely experience of trying on clothes, I checked out and the lovely teenage checker girl was kind enough to tell me that the inside of my purse looks like her mother's except her mother just throws her change inside. Thank you teenage girl. Any 34 year old loves to be told their purse looks like your mother's.

Can you tell I wasn't in a great mood???

Blogger Makeover

2008-09-04T22:48:00.002-05:00

I'm sure as most of you have noticed I'm attempting to redo the blog look again. For those of you with Photoshop experience, please let me know what I'm doing wrong to have the white show up behind the frame with the family picture and the "Links" tab. I bought the blog kit and so when you open those files in Photoshop to move your picture into the frame or add text it has the checkerboard look around the frame/tab button as well and those are the places that show up white on the blog. UGH! Anyway, any help given is much appreciated!

This week has been a pretty good week though busy. As Patrick stated in his blog, I did show up for jury duty on Monday. We had an orientation time that morning and were divided into 4 groups of possible jury pools. Each group is supposed to call in on different days of the week for the next 4 months to see if they need to show up the following days or if the cases have settled. I'm really hoping the one on Monday settles because I"m supposed to attend our first "official" PTA meeting of the year along with the girls dance lessons. We'll see I guess. The good news is that several from the church were also called to jury duty so I'll know some folks in my group which should be fun.

I do have a couple of good stories from Alli. First I'll give you some background and let you know that the big "word" with Meredith and Alli lately is "bored" or "boring." They often call random things "bored or "boring." So, while Alli was going to the bathroom today she said that going poo poo was boring. I've never really thought of it that way so I offered her a book to read in the process to make it more "exciting" but she refused. Imagine that. Also last night, Michael was going through Alli's new "Cubbie" book for Awanas at church with her and it asked her to think of things that are beautiful. She said hula girls. I thought that was a very interesting choice of all the things in the world she could name that she said hula girls. You never know with 3 year olds I guess.

Baby Celebration in BA

2008-08-31T21:55:00.008-05:00

Me and the girls headed to Broken Arrow on Friday after Meredith got out of school. On Friday night a bunch of the family met at Ricardo's to eat Mexican food which was yummy. However, the service was quite slow this time which is unusual for that restaurant which, of course, makes it trying with my little ones and my two nieces. Nevertheless, we survived it and headed back to my parents' house. On Saturday the girls and I all met Aunt Carrie at the beauty shop so she could cut all of our hair. Bless her heart for being our personal "stylist" because we certainly needed help in that area. Carrie, my mom and I then took all of the girls to the feed store to visit the little petting area they have their with the miniature horses/donkeys, goats, bunnies, etc. There was also a little kitty that Carrie's parents have adopted at the store and for some peculiar reason, it kept running away from the girls when they tried to attack, I mean pet it. Anyway, it was a good day for the little cousins. Also, I wanted to let you know that my sister-in-law, Carrie, has started a blog and I have added it to my blog list on the right. Enjoy!

That evening I then headed to the Cheesecake Factory to meet my high school/college friends for my friend, Christy's, second baby celebration. It's always so great to see all of my sweet friends again. Shannon flew up from Houston, Beth drove from Memphis, Emily and I drove in from the great state of Arkansas and then the rest are from the Tulsa area. How lucky am I to have such a strong group of Christian women I can count on for anything. Needless to say, we had a super time eating at the restaurant and we all then headed over to Ida's beautiful house to eat yummy cake and she relax and talk and laugh together. Christy already has a handsome little boy and now she is welcoming a little girl in October. Congratulations Christy!

First Day of Preschool & new van

2008-08-27T16:44:00.002-05:00

Alli had a great first day of preschool and her class mascot is the monkey. She enjoyed staying for "lunch bunch" and playing with her cousin Will who is in kindergarten at the same school. Last night she when Michael was taking her to bed she thanked him for letting her be a "monkey" so I think that's a good sign. Granted, she has been exhausted all day today and has been a bear so hopefully she'll get used to the new busy school schedule and will adjust. We really need to get the girls to bed earlier but that's not easy either as most of you already know.

Oh yeah, out with the old and in with the new! While Alli and Meredith were in school yesterday we headed over to Tulsa to get our Hail damage repaired new minivan! Yes, it's another white Odyssey but it's fully loaded (minus the TV) and we got it for the same price as we got our other Odyssey for in 2003! We'll take the hail damage and all! I really wanted a small SUV this time so I could be a cool mom but when you compare the same options you can get in a minivan and gas mileage it pays to be cool and I'm not willing to pay it (yet). Just wait, my next vehicle in another 5 or so years is going to be so cool you all will be jealous and maybe I'll even get a red or black vehicle! Talk about wild and crazy! Anyway, old Betsy (other van) had over 100,000 miles so we invested in a new one and Michael's mom Patty is going to drive our old one when she and Tommy aren't going somewhere together. The girls named our new van "Mini". I guess they get their creativity from their parents, poor girls. They first suggested "mini-van" and "white mini-van" and we then shortened it from there.

Chris' 30th Birthday

2008-08-24T22:02:00.004-05:00

My little brother finally turned 30 on Saturday. It's hard to believe. Staci turned 20 in a month so it's easy to remember that they're a decade apart in age. Me and the family headed over to Broken Arrow just for the day on Saturday to celebrate the big 30 with my family and with Carrie's parents at their house. They were kind enough to host the event and let the girls all go swimming. We were all about carried off by mosquitoes though so we didn't stay outside very long. The rain beforehand must have really brought the bugs out and Carlee even got bit by her eye when she was in the pool. We all had a great time at the party and Chris got some great gifts I must say. Oh yeah, in case you're wondering why Alli appears to be blowing out the candles, Sandy (Carrie's mom) had to light Chris' candles 4 times so all of the girls had a chance to blow them out.

Alli was able to visit her new preschool class on Thursday to get a little preview before she starts on Tuesday. She seemed to really enjoy her classroom and I know she'll love her teacher like Meredith did. Here are some pictures of her playing in her new class.

Off to School for Meredith

2008-08-21T23:06:00.003-05:00

I apologize for taking so long to post this time but you know how it is when school first starts up. busy, busy, busy. Meredith has had a great first week of school and loves the first grade as well as her teacher. She wasn't crazy about her first day in PE because everyone was crazy and not listening. She apparently likes order. She also started soccer drills on Monday as well as dance (tap, ballet, and jazz). I'm a little nervous about how all of these activities are going to pan bit the good news is that the soccer season is pretty short. I started to regret taking her out of gymnastics this year as I was watching them on the Olympics because in another 4 years she would probably be eligible to compete if we lived in China (oops, did I put that in writing?). Here's a picture of Meredith on her first day of school.

Alli has also started ballet and tap which I hope she enjoys. Alli would just as soon not mess with any of it and just hang out with Mom which I completely don't understand. She really likes the idea of a recital though so I guess that's what we're going to have to work for. Alli starts preschool on Tuesday (I can't wait) and I think she's really going to enjoy it. She will have the same teacher Meredith had as a 4 year old so it will be fun to hear her comparisons between Meredith and Alli's personalities. Speaking of Alli, while we were at Sam's the other day buying an icee (bribery to get through the trip) she was sure to point out to me that the lady behind us had whiskers on her neck. She didn't say it very loud so I'm praying the poor lady didn't hear her. Of course, I never turned around so I wouldn't have to face her so I cannot attest to the whiskers or not. I just pretended I wasn't there.

Fishing & the Great Outdoors

2008-08-17T22:24:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Michael came up with the idea to take the girls fishing out at Grammy and Papa's pond so we did. For those of you that know me well, you know that I'm not a super fan of the great outdoors and pretty much enjoy the city life. So, I took my camera and took pictures of Michael hooking the worms to the hooks and then taking the hooks out of the catfish and then throwing them back in the water. The girls seemed to have a great time and lucky for us the fish were biting. Keep in mind they weren't large fish but it didn't matter to the girls. They were just happy that there was some action. Michael's cousin Chris came in town for the weekend from Memphis so it was fun visiting with him. Here are some pictures from the day and I've also included a couple of pictures of Tom & Patty's dobermans, Lizzy (red) and Beamer (black).

Open House & PTA

2008-08-15T22:52:00.004-05:00

We've had a very busy week in the household. The girls and I took my sister Staci to Springdale on Thursday to meet my parents for the "trade off" and to eat at the AQ Chicken House which was very good as usual. I had my usual smothered chicken breast which was quite yummy. Me and the girls then quickly headed back to Fort Smith to Meredith's school to help get ready for Open House/Meet the Teacher night. After a brief break at home I then headed back to the school in order to sell PTA Memberships prior to the event.

Okay, I just want to get this out in the open for those who don't already know this information. Just because you join PTA doesn't mean you have to help with a bunch of stuff if you don't want to. Basically, it's good to buy a membership because a portion of the fee (a whopping $3.75 at our school) goes back to the school for the school's benefit. So, in other words, if you can afford it, buy as many memberships as you can (one for each spouse, grandparents, etc.) You also get a full years worth of access to the "members only" PTA website, not to mention you support the PTA lobbying group in Washington that looks out for our children and getting more money for them. I guess I already assumed most people knew this but I was so wrong. I heard many times last night that they don't have time to join PTA (Heaven forbid you actually get involved in your child's school even a little bit) and even though I tried to explain it to them, it didn't matter. Thank you for letting me get that off of my chest.

Back to the night. Meredith did get to meet her sweet new first grade teacher. This is her third year in teaching so she's young but I've heard great things about her and Meredith is very excited. It looked like the two first grade classes had 30 and 31 students which is over the limit. The 4 kindergarten classes only had an average of 10 kids per class, which is way under. So, it will be interesting to see how many kids actually show up for the first day of class and what kind of shuffling will take place. After the kids met the teachers I ran back to the cafeteria and started serving ice cream for the ice cream social/PTA fundraiser. After we took out expenses we believe we raised about $80 but for as many ice cream bowls I fixed it felt like we should have raised $80,000. Oh well, I guess that can be our goal for next year.

We're looking forward to the new school year and hope you all are as well!

Oh yeah, on a side note, my friend Chairee's baby that was waiting for the thymus transplant had the transplant surgery last week and so far so good but please still keep Chairee's family and the baby in your prayers.

"Centsable Momma" blog

2008-08-12T20:33:00.002-05:00

I want to let you all know about a new blog I've add to the sidebar of mine titled "Centsable Momma." My friend, Corrie, who lives in Michigan started it. She was my best friend in my grade school and middle school days before she deserted me and moved with her family to Florida. Anyway, here's what she has to say in her first post in her new blog:

I've always tried to be a "frugal" person, but I discovered the land of frugal blogs about the middle of May where I learned even more techniques. God led me to those blogs, because about 2 weeks later I was unexpectedly laid off from my at-home part-time job. I didn't work many hours at home, but it was enough to earn some extra money for my family. So, now, I could save money for my family.

I intend to share what I've learned from playing the Drugstore Game (as it's called...shopping for "free" items at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite Aid), and share some of the good deals that I happen to run across. I'll also share some of my techniques for earning college fun money, as well as extra money here and there (called snowflaking across the internet).

I am by no means perfect at this, but I hope to share some of my frugal journey with others and help link them to others that can help them too. I am trying to be the steward of our family resources that God wants me to be.

Aunt Staci is here!

2008-08-11T20:37:00.005-05:00

Well, we met my parents at our halfway point in Gore to pick up my little sis, Staci. The girls were very very excited that their beloved Aunt Staci was coming to spend some time with them. I think Meredith, my little cuddlebug, was also very happy that someone would be sleeping in her room with her. My parents and Grandmother are heading to Indiana to visit my Great Aunt Lois and Great Uncle Bob for a few days so Staci elected to stay with me rather than make the long drive. On Friday night we all headed to Michael's parents' house to visit with them along with Becky, Patrick and the boys which was fun.

On Saturday evening we headed to the Lightner's going away party at the Lee's house. It rained off and on all day but luckily the rain managed to stop long enough for the party which was great. All of the kids enjoyed the swimming and it's just great to all hang out together and fellowship. The latest I've heard from Trish is that Roger is heading to Nashville tomorrow (Tuesday) to start work on Wednesday and she will stay here until Labor Day. I'm just selfishly glad I get to spend a little more time with her before the big move. By the way, the picture of Addy, Katie and Meredith was taken by Leigh Ann in case it looks familiar. I want to give credit where credit is due. By the way, I must say the Lee's have the most beautiful backyard I've ever seen in my life. It makes me feel really bad that I can't manage to keep my three flower pots watered and alive. There's no telling how long Gary and Jenny spend keeping all of those flowers watered and alive, not to mention all of the hummingbirds fed.

Today Staci was gracious enough to watch the girls for me all morning while I headed to Meredith's school to put packets together to send home with the kids on the first day of school. You would not believe how much paperwork is involved. It is unbelievable. Hopefully one day soon all or most of these forms and copies can be eliminated with electronic mail. After spending 4 hard hours there putting them together I will be all for it! Save the trees and some of our time! The rest of the day we just hung out at home and hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting.

Steven Curtis Chapman Family on Larry King Live

2008-08-07T23:39:00.004-05:00

A couple of days ago Michael and I just happened to be watching CNN for something or other and happened to see the advertisement that the Chapman family was going to be on Larry King Live on Thursday night. You have to understand that I very rarely watch CNN or any news show. I tend to stick with the very fluffy type television that really doesn't mean a hill of beans to anyone. So anyway, I set my DVR to record the show for tonight. Well, I just finished watching the recorded show and even though I knew and read the stories regarding their son Will accidently running over their 5 year old daughter Maria and I thought how terrible it was but I still felt very removed from it ( which of course, realistically, I am). But tonight watching their sweet family being interviewed about their faith and if they have anger towards God and other typical Larry King questions it just really hit me how awful and terrible and confusing it must be for this family. I cannot fathom losing a child but yet have one of your children accidently kill the other one is just beyond me. This family has no anger towards their 17 year old son and are still remaining strong in their faith. Our Holy Father must be so impressed with how this family is handling their grief. I'm sure many of you have heard Chapman's song called "Cinderella" and my girls love it so much when their daddy plays it for them and they just dance and dance. This song was written by Steven Curtis for his two youngest adopted Chinese daughters and he is still performing it at his concerts. He mentioned that the lyrics were changed from "the clock will strike midnight and she'll be gone to "Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight/But the truth is... The dance goes on." It truly brought many tears to my eyes and every time I hear that song I will pray for the Chapman family.

Meredith with Glasses

2008-08-05T22:09:00.003-05:00

It occurred to me that many of you have not seen Meredith with her little glasses. She got reading glasses in the middle of last year and they all but virtually eliminated her headaches. We knew bad eyes were in the genes so we've been sure to take our kids to the eye doctor for check-ups. Hopefully Meredith will outgrow the reading glasses but she has an astigmatism so near sighted glasses will probably also be in her future. The doctor also thought Alli is already showing signs of being near sighted so we are to watch for squinting. Anyway, Meredith's kindergarten thought to have her wear her glasses in her spring school pictures and I'm so glad she did because they are just too cute, even if I do say so myself.

I also neglected to mention that Alli and I along with my friends Trish and Melissa and their sons, Jedidiah and Drew, hit the movies again and saw "Space Chimps." I must say it was pretty cute and a little more action packed then Wall-E so it kept Alli's attention a little better. Meredith played at a friends house while we were at the movie which is probably a good thing since she gets a little more scared at movies then Alli. Meredith is all about peacefulness and no monsters.

Meredith's Dance Recitals

2008-08-03T22:32:00.003-05:00

Let me tell you, it's been so much fun going through these old videos. Here's a video of Meredith along with her friends, Addy and Allison from church in their dance recitals. In the very first performance in the red feathers Addy wasn't standing close enough to Meredith for me to get her in the video much but you can see her in the other ones. I hope you get a kick out of them. I did.

Wasp Venom in the Eye & Pictures of Meredith in OK

2008-08-02T23:35:00.003-05:00

An interesting thing happened yesterday as the girls and I were jumping on the trampoline. Michael came out and as he was getting ready to get on the trampoline as well he started covering his eye and was behaving in such a manner that would lead one to believe that he was very uncomfortable/in pain. So, after a little while I managed to gather from him something about a wasp and how it sprayed him in the eye. At this point I was like what in the world are you talking about. I've never heard of such a thing. So we rush him inside and he starts rinsing out his eye with water and the pain subsides pretty quickly. He later explained that he felt a bug on his shoulder and looked down and saw a wasp on his shirt. He then said he heard the buzzing and the wasp flew in his face and sprayed him in the eye. A few minutes later he then looked on the Internet (what else would you do in this situation?) and sure enough some wasps aim their venom for your eye. So, I guess the moral of the story is to keep your sunglasses on.

Anyway, here are some cute pictures Aunt Carrie e-mailed of Meredith during her stay in Broken Arrow and hanging out at the feed store.

Thursday Update on Tommy

2008-07-31T15:06:00.003-05:00

Michael left bright and early this morning to head to Little Rock to help with getting his Dad home today. His ortho doctor said he would be fine to go home but after Michael headed over they found out that another doctor had to "officially" release him after reviewing his blood work, etc. So, they started the journey home around 2:30 p.m. or so. I haven't heard many details yet but it sounds like the move from his hospital bed to his wheelchair was not pleasant and he was in a lot of pain. I worry about what he's going to have to go through when he gets home and moves from his wheelchair to his bed at home. Apparently during the therapy yesterday 4 people tried to move him to his wheelchair and they dropped him and he got his knee caught up in his chair which set him back some on pain. So, please continue to keep them all in your prayers, especially when they get home.

Trampoline & Hummingbirds

2008-07-30T19:30:00.004-05:00

Our sweet friends, Trish & Roger, gave us their trampoline since they are moving in a few weeks (which is quite the bummer for us). So the girls have been jumping on it in the evenings since it's been way too hot during the days. Here are some pictures of the girls.

Also, we have hummingbirds!! This is the second time I've put out the hummingbird feeder this summer. The first time I put it out in early June and Roger told us that the hummingbirds don't really come out until July so I tried again yesterday and we had three fighting over it today. I didn't have my zoom lens on the camera so the little dot you see by the feeder is the hummingbird.