Turkey - Day 4 ... Christmas Day!

Today is the day to cook the turkey! I am still praying that it turns out well. I will be serving my first turkey to my family, my parents, and my in-laws, so I hope that it turns out well!

I was afraid to risk carrying the turkey from the refrigerator to the sink by myself again (remember the vision of turkey and brine exploding all over my kitchen), so I asked my dad to carry it for me. He could not believe that I had carried it to the refrigerator myself. It was heavy!

I cleaned off the turkey and disposed of the brine. Next, I was to place half of an orange and half of an apple into the cavity of the turkey. Then, I was to tie fresh herbs together and to place them into the cavity, as well. After placing everything in the cavity, I reconnected the legs to the plastic holder and began to oil the turkey's exterior and then seasoned it with salt and pepper. Mom and I placed it into the oven about 11:30am.

Remarkably, the turkey turned out great! Sharolyn, thanks for the recipe and the instructions, and thanks for having left over gravy from Christmas Eve, as well! I did not have to boil the neck or innerds! Yeah!

Our Christmas dinner was fabulous. The party potatoes were moist and delicious, the rolls were fabulous, as usual, the broccoli was wonderful, Sharolyn's stuffing was excellent, and Carol brought some terrific roasted sweet potato wedges to add to our Christmas feast, as well. We enjoyed white cake with 7-minute icing, chocolate chip cookies, and white chocolate popcorn for dessert. We were all stuffed and happy!

Just before Flip & Sharolyn headed home, Blake surprised me with an iPhone! As many of you know, I have wanted an iPhone for quite a while, and because I was on Verizon Wireless, I was not able to get one. Well, Blake tricked me by giving me an iPhone box with a watch in it for my birthday and then an iPhone box with eye drops in it for Christmas, but then ... I recieved the iPhone on Christmas night! As soon as I discovered it, Megan said, "Well, what phone am I going to have now?" (as she is tied to my phone plan); and she was surprised with a new phone, as well. Blake got her an LG Vu. She was jumping with joy!

It was a good Chritmas at the Richardson house! Good food, good gifts, good family time, good memories!

My First Turkey - Day 2 & 3

Today I purchased a brine for the turkey. According to the instructions, I have to mix it with a gallon of boiling water, allow it to cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate it for 24 hours.

Day 3 -- Today, I have to add a second gallon of water to the brine and then place the turkey and the brine in a bag to marinate overnight.

I pulled the turkey out of the bag, cleaned it, removed the neck, and after some looking, located the other "turkey parts" that needed to be removed. Until now, I did not know that the "other parts" were stored in the turkey butt. Couldn't they have stored them in the cavity with the neck? Why did they feel the need to place them in the butt of the turkey? That is not where I would have chosen to place them. Anyway, I managed to removed everything and place it in a ziploc bag for later use. According to my instructions, I will use the neck and inner parts to make the gravy. Joy!

After cleaning the turkey, I placed it in the brining bag and filled the large bag with the brine and an additional gallon of water. Next, I had to get this 19 lb turkey and 2 gallons of brine from the kitchen counter with the garage refrigerator without dropping it. For a second, I saw the bag breaking and brine and raw turkey going all over my kitchen. Luckily, that was only a split second fear; I made it to the refrigerator with the turkey, bag, and brine. No mess! The turkey will marinate for 24 hours before cooking.

My First Turkey

I found out today that we were not receiving our annual smoked turkey from Blake's insurance guy, which means ... I am going to have to cook a turkey. I am a little nervous about this, as it is the main course, and I have no idea what I am doing. But, Sharolyn is emailing instructions, so I plan to give it my best shot.

I purchased a 19 lb turkey from Kroger this afternoon. It is partially thawed, so it is sitting in the sink thawing a bit more right now. I will put it in the refrigerator to finish thawing in just a bit. Along with the turkey, I will be preparing and serving broccoli, party potatoes, and rolls. Hopefully all of it will turn out great!

Blake's Eye Surgery

Blake had his surgery on December 4th. The surgery went well, but he is not healing as quickly as I did. When he returned for his second follow-up visit on Monday, December 8th, he was not seeing clearly, had a dry spot in his left eye, and was told that his cells were growing back wavy; therefore, he had to keep the contact in his left eye to protect it. He returned for two additional visits last week. His left eye is improving, but the progress is slow.

At his appointment this morning, the contact was removed, but the dry spot is still there. Last week, his vision was 20/70 in his right eye. Today, he was able to read 20/20 with his right eye, but it was still fuzzy. So, we know that his right eye is healing and improving. His left eye is still bothering him. The dry spot is hurting him, so he is going to have to go back to have a contact put into his eye to protect it.

Thank you for your prayers, calls, and emails. Please pray that his left eye heals and that his vision is 20/20 in both eyes very soon.

SmileBox

SmileBox is another Web 2.0 tool that allows you to create precious slideshows and scrapbook type pages for FREE. Of course, there is a paid version, but ... free is good for me. Here is a SmileBox that I just created with pictures that I had with me. Check it out.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Extra Homework?

This afternoon, I was about to begin a workshop when Connor's teacher, Mrs. Orr, walked into the room with a file basket filled with worksheets. I welcomed her and asked if she was here for the workshop. "No." she said. "I'm looking for Connor. He asked for some extra homework today, so I am here to let him choose it."

I'm sure the confused look on my face said it all, but I immediately asked, "Connor asked for extra homework?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, I think I may have had that same confused look on my face as I tried to translate what he asked. Did he just ask me for extra homework?" Mrs. Orr continued, "I'll get that to you after school," she finally uttered through her confusion.

Sure enough, my 8, almost 9-year old, asked his third grade teacher for extra homework today. I'm not quite sure where that came from, but I'll take it. I guess we will have to see what happens when we get home, and he actually has to "do" it. I'll let you know how that goes.

The picture is of Connor and some of his classmates. They are researching the history of our home city this 9-weeks.

44 Odd Things About Me

I received this from a friend and was assigned the task of telling 44 odd things about myself and then learning 44 odd things about my friends. So, it is your turn to tell me 44 odd things about you. Email me now, please!

44 ODD THINGS ABOUT ME!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Yes
2. Have you ever smoked? No
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What flavor of Kool Aid was your favorite? grape & strawberry
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I dislike them greatly; I would only eat a hotdog if it was burned and it was the LAST thing on earth for me to eat.
7. Favorite Christmas movie? Charlie Brown Christmas
8. Favorite thing to drink in the morning? Wild Strawberry Protein Shake
9 . Can you do push ups? Possibly a few; haven't tried in years
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My wedding ring, diamond earrings & Rolex watch (all of them from my precious husband)
11. Favorite hobby? Reading, Scuba Diving, Knitting (I just learned this week.)
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No; completely the opposite; probably too focused sometimes
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? Lack of patience; irritableness with others
14. Middle name? Lynn
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment... 1) I need to go on a DIET and start exercising. 2) I wish my right eye was clearer (I just had eye surgery a week ago, and my sight is not as crisp as I would like it to be yet. Still progressing.) 3) I love this movie (watching August Rush).
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? water, tea, Dr Pepper (on occassion)
17. Current worry? My eye sight
18. Current hate right now? my weight
19. Favorite place to be? snuggled in my bed watching a movie with my husband and kids
20. How did you bring in the new year? with friends at Lake Livingston
21. Where would you like to go? Australia; back to Europe
22. Name three people who might complete this: Kathy Stroud, Shelley Hodges, Angie Booth, Jody Daley
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, but I can't find them right now; I really needed them this morning; my feet were freezing!
24. What shirt are you wearing? my pink rubber duckie Nick & Nora PJ's
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slick and cold - LOVE 800+ thread count Sateen or Egyptian Cotton sheets
26. Can you whistle? a little; not too well or for a very long time
27. Favorite color? to wear - Black; otherwise - pink
28. Would you be a pirate? No, they are always way too dirty.
29. What songs do you sing in the AM? whatever is on the radio when I wake up or get into the car
30. Favorite girl's Name? Megan, of course
31. Favorite boy's name? Connor, of course
32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing; I am wearing PJ's
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Watching my mother-in-law as she laughed so hard that she was crying as she listened to Eden tell the story of her trip home from Michigan.
34. What vehicle do you drive? Chevrolet Taho -- LOVE it!
35. Worst injury you've ever had? Torn ligaments in wrist.
36. Do you love where you live? Yes
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? four
38. Who is your loudest friend? probably Sherry MacLean
39. Do you have any pets? Yes; Sophie (1 year old Shit zu) She is PRECIOUS!
40. Does someone have a crush on you? I hope my husband does.
41. Your favorite book(s): Emily Giffin's novels & Sophie Kinsella's novels
42. Do you collect anything? sterling silver charms from places I visit, crosses, Willow Tree Angels
43. Favorite Sports Team? Aggies!
44. What song do you want played at your funeral? I Can Only Imagine by Third Day

Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving was fabulous!  We had a wonderful turkey, new potatoes, sweet-potato casserole,   green bean casserole, rolls, fruit salad, with pumpkin and cherry pie and peppermint cake for dessert.  After lunch, we cleaned off the table and began a great game of Phase 10.  Connor and I did not fair so well at Phase 10, but we had a great time playing anyway.  

Connor is addicted to Phase 10 and wants to play constantly.  He is so cute; he holds his cards all stacked together - not fanned out - yet he seems to know exactly what he holds in his hand and what he needs from the draw pile.  Although he rarely wins a game, he loves it all the same.

We broke from the Phase 10 game and tried to play Catch Phrase for a bit.  We did not play the game as the rules state, but we had a good time guessing the words as the kids and other adults gave out clues.  Connor, Haley, and Megan really got into the game and continued it upstairs in the bedroom after the adults had enough of the game's beeper.   The kids have had so much fun together.

Earlier in the day, they played in the snow, climbed up and down the hill behind the house, and built a little snowman.  At one point, Connor came to the door looking for the girls with a huge snowball in his arms.  The large snowball eventually became the base of the precious little snowman that he built.  He finished off the snowman with two stick arms, some rock eyes, and a red Folgers coffee can for a top hat.  I will post a picture of it once we return home.

It was a terrific Thanksgiving filled with lots of food, family, and fun!

Eye Surgery - Day 6 & 7 and Trip to Taos

My vision is much clearer today.  Although I can't read street signs that are a couple hundred yards away, I can read items just closer.  The surroundings are much crisper and continue to improve every day.  My eyes are not as tired and are feeling more and more refreshed.

We headed to Taos this morning.  Blake, Flip, and Connor played golf at the Taos Country Club, and Megan and I shopped about Taos.  We had a fabulous hamburger at 5 Star Hamburgers and then went shopping.  We picked up a few things at the Taos Walmart, which is always an interesting experience, and then visited a few local stores.  Megan did not enjoy the trip to the Overland Sheep Company too much.  She was a little uncomfortable with the sheep skin and other fur coats and shoes.  We tried on some Uggs, but we did not make any purchases.

The guys wrapped up their golf game and we headed back to Red River.  We had just enough time to rest a few minutes and play a round of Phase 10 before heading to Sun Dance for dinner.  Although the service was quite slow, the food and sopapillas were fabulous, and we had a great time visiting together.

Brad, Amy, and Haley arrived just as we were finishing dinner.  They had a rough trip in from Denver, but things are much better since they arrived.  About 10 minutes into their trip, they blew a tire and damaged the bumper of their car.  Luckily, the gentleman at Discount Tires was able to help them out and get them on their way, a little late, but on their way.

We were all excited to see each other, and Megan, Connor, and Haley began playing immediately.  We visited and settle in at the cabin before Brad and Amy headed back to town to their condo.  Haley stayed here at the Cabin with Megan and Connor, and we kept the dogs - Coco and Boggie - as well.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so we will all be waking early to help Sharolyn set the table and finish the cooking.

Eye Surgery - Day 5

I drove myself to the eye doctor today.  The contacts were really dry this morning, so I have put in lots of Soothe eye drops, but they were still irritating.  I was SOOOOO ready to get them out.  I arrived early and only had to wait a couple of minutes to see Dr. Noz.  She numbed my eyes and then used a metal tool to remove the contacts.  Being a longtime contact wearer, I was a little nervous about the metal tool, but ... I knew that she knew what she was doing.  She did not want to pull the contact on my eye and risk damaging anything, so she slipped he tool under the top of the contact and folded it forward and removed it.  It was not too bad since my eyes were numbed.  I would not have wanted to try it without the numbing meds.  Just seeing the metal tool was enough discomfort.

My vision today is 20/40.  Not the 20/20 that I was hoping for today, but she assured me that it is just around the corner.  "By the end of the week, your vision will be much clearer," she said.  I have to admit that I was disappointed.  Although the clarity and sharpness improved when the contacts were removed, I was expecting more.  The miracle did not happen today, but I am patiently waiting for it.  I am ready to wake up and see clear, crisp images.  I know that that date is not too far off, so I am waiting and praying that the crystal clear image that I saw immediately following surgery last Thursday returns soon.

My cornea is still healing, so the blurriness and lack of clarity and 20/20 vision is because I am still healing.  I am using the steroid drops 4 times each day and taking my vitamin C and B complex religiously, so I know that the day will come.  Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, emails, and phone calls.  I really appreciate all of them more than you know.  Thanks for the continued prayers for healing.

I may be away from an internet connection for a few days, so I probably won't be able to update you until the end of the week, but I will do so when I can.  Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Eye Surgery - Day 4

My vision is better today.  Still blurry, but much improved.  No discomfort at all today.  I am looking forward to having the contacts removed tomorrow and to hopefully seeing really well.  Megan and I went shopping today, and although I could not see too far away from me, my eyes felt less tired today.  It was a great shopping trip, and I enjoyed getting out for a while.

My appointment is a 9:15 in the morning, so I will email an update afterwards.

Eye Surgery - Day 3

It is day three, and I am doing my best to type this amidst the great blur.  It is strange to type with your eyes closed or almost closed and not be able to review what you have typed on the screen because the blur is quite great today.  My eyes are slightly sensitive, but 100% better than before.  I am still doing the multitude of drops - some every hour, most 4 times a day.  The drops are getting easier and quicker to administer.  I have to wait 5 minutes between each drop (to allow the drop to seep into my eye and not have the follow-up drop flush out the first one), so it is not a fast process.  

I have not been in any pain, so I have never taken the pain meds, and I did sleep better last night.  I woke up a few times and put drops in, but I rested much better than I did the first night.  I am comfortable today, able to hold my eyes open without difficulty, but my vision is really blurry.  I try to focus, but it just tires out my eyes and doesn't help, so I have stopped trying.

The contacts that are protecting the raw surface of my eye as the surface layer of the cornea regenerates, are blurring my vision.  The cornea should be healed on Monday, and then the contacts will be removed by Dr. M.  I can't wait!

Eye Surgery - Day 2

The alarm went off, and I was exhausted.  I had to get up and get myself and the kids ready for school.  Blake had to drop the kids off and then take me to my doctor's appointment.  We got the kids delivered and were off to Blake's office to run a program and then off to my appointment.  My eyes were EXTREMELY sensitive to light, and it was all that I could do to hold them open, even though I was wearing tinted, "very fashionable" goggles, and darkly tinted, "equally as fashionable" sunglasses over the goggles.

We made it to Dr. M's office, and I saw Dr. Nov first.  As soon as she entered the room, I told her how sensitive my eyes were.  She put in some yellow numbing drops, and I was in heaven!  I could hold my eyes open without any effort at all.  I wanted to hug her.  She checked the protective contacts to make sure that they were still in place, and did a quick eye test.  I was reading really well.  She checked a few other things, Dr. M. came in to take a peek, and that was it.  He said that my vision, although quite clear at that moment, would probably get rather blurry this weekend.

Eventually the marvelous numbing drops that Dr. Nov had given me wore off and the light sensitivity returned, so I kept the goggles on and stayed away from the light for the remainder of the day.

Eye Surgery - Day 1

I went in this morning at 9:15am for my surface ablasion at Dr. M's office.  The process began with some paperwork, a valium, and then some tests.  The tests were soon followed by several eye drops and a surgical cap to cover my hair.  I was taken into the operating room where I rested comfortable on a reclined chair with lots of cushion.  On the ceiling above me was a large yellow smily face with the words, "If you can see this, SMILE!"  I could see it, but it was still blurry for me, as I had not had the procedure.  

Dr. Noz placed a few more drops in my eyes, an eye cover over my left eye, and then inserted an apparatus to hold my right eye open.  It pulled a bit, but nothing was painful at all.  Next, Dr. M. took a drimel type tool with what looked like a small electric sander piece on the end, and began to sand my eye.  Yes, that was a little freaky, but again, I felt nothing - not even pressure.  Then, he took a small spatula, like the little spatulas that you get with moisturizer sometimes, and cleaned off the surface of my eye.  Again, I could see it all, but I could not feel anything at all.

The laser was next.  He rotated my chair under the laser, realigned it, and then asked if I could see the blinking red light.  He explained, "All you have to do is watch the light.  That's it."  He moved we out from under the laser once again, made some adjustments, and then said, "Are you ready?"  I was very ready for all of this to be over with, although I was not anxious anymore, I just waned to be passed it.

The laser made popping noises and I could smell something like burned hair, but I felt no pain at all.  It lasted only seconds.  He swung my chair out from under the laser again and Dr. Nov flushed my eye with a cool solution, and I could see the smiley face on the ceiling crystal clear.  It was amazing.  A contact and another solution were placed in my eye to protect the raw surface, and the crystal clear image became blurry once again, but that was ok and completely normal.

The process was repeated for the left eye, and only minutes later, I was walking out into the waiting room to greet my mom and walk across the hall to the regular office.  Dr. Nov accompanied me, made sure that I was situated and did not have any more questions, and then Connie came in to give me all of the follow-up instructions.  All of the instructions were written down, and my mom was there to hear them, as well, which was great because there were a lot of instructions.  She reviewed 6 different eye drops with me and gave instructions for how to administer them and how frequently.  Then, she reviewed it all again as she put the eye drops in my eyes.  Again, I was completely comfortable and without pain.  Moments later, I was adorned with some very fashionable goggles, made my follow-up appointment for Friday, and we were out the door by 10:45am.  Wow! 

The ride home was a little rough on me.  I felt car sick because I had my eyes closed the entire time.  (Car sickness is not uncommon for me, so I was not worried.)  We went to PF Changs for lunch.  It was great!  Next, we were off to the pharmacy to pick up a new pain medication and the eye drops that the pharmacy had to special order for me, and then we were headed home.  I was instructed to eat, put in the drops and take a nap.  And nap I did.

When I awoke, I was good; still adjusting to the goggles and the sensitivity, but good.  My eyes were EXTREMELY sensitive to light, so I wanted to just be in the dark.  The remainder of the day was relatively uneventful.  I took my valium to help me sleep, but since I was not in pain, I skipped the pain meds.

I awoke in the middle of the night in a panic.  I could not open my left eye.  I tried as hard as I could to open it, but it would not open.  I breathed deep and tried to relax, but I began to panic.  I needed to open my eye to know that I could still see out of it.  I was so afraid that I could not.  I woke up Blake, he tried to help me, but he just did not understand my panic.  I eventually got a few drops in my eye and relaxed enough to fall back to sleep, only to awake a few hours later to find that I could not open my right eye.  My left eye was find now, and so I knew that my right eye would be fine, too.  No panic attack this time.  I managed to get back to sleep, but I did not sleep well.

Sorry if there are a lot of typos today.  My vision is really blurry this morning.

Young Life

A couple of weeks ago, Blake and I attended a Young Life Banquet at the Embassy Suites. It was a great evening. We had the opportunity to meet some members of the local Young Life team, to see some of the current high school Young Lifers, to learn about the history or Young Life and their goals for our area, to experience a bit of Club (the weekly Young Life meetings for area high school kids), and much more. That evening, Blake and I committed to support YL financially, and we indicated interested in becoming a part of the YL team. Tonight, we attended our first Committee. Committee is a group of couples who pray for YL, help raise funds, support the YL leaders working directly with the students, and more.

I have always volunteered at church - working with children's ministries primarily - but until recently, Blake and I have never served together. A few months ago, we became part of the Welcoming Team at our church and serve together twice each month. Welcoming commitee has been great, and I am enjoying serving alongside Blake, but becoming part of welcoming commitee was my idea. Blake had a great experience as a member of YL, and he is excited about the opportunity of becoming involved and about our kids being involved in YL. This really excites me because Blake has a real vested interest in YL. I am very excited to join him and to serve alongside him and other Christian couples. I have always wanted to find a way, a place for Blake and I to serve together. I am so thankful that we were invited to the YL Banquet, that we were able to attend, and that we have this phenomenal opportunity to glorify Christ through YL. Please pray along with us that our local YL group and Wild Life group (middle school) would continue to grow and impact the lives of the middle school and highschool students in our area.

Bye, Bye Glasses & Contacts

Well, I have been contemplating eye surgery for a bit, have visited some doctors, attended a couple of consultations, and today, found a doctor and a procedure that I feel comfortable with. So ... next Thursday, November 20th, Blake and I are having eye surgery. We will be having a surface ablasion. It is done with an excimer laser, just as LASIK is done, but it does not require us to have the flap cut from our cornea. The healing time is typically 3-4 days as the surface layer of the cornea repairs itself. The advantages, we don't have to have a surgical flap cut which may not heal properly, and we don't run the risk of potentional injury/damage if we get hit in the eye with an object, elbow, etc. after the surgery, as typical lasik patients do.

For those of you who see me regularly, I have been wearing my glasses for 10 days straight, and this is why. I have not been able to wear my contacts. In fact, I will never wear contacts again. Wow!

I have worn glasses or contacts since I was 17 years old. Granted, I did not have to wear my glasses all of the time at first, but by the time I was in college, around 20-21, I was needing to wear them all the time, so I switched to contacts. Since that time, I have primarily worn contacts every day. Although contacts, solutions, and cleaners have improved over the years, the contacts have really been bothersome for the past year or two, so I am SO EXCITED about my surgery next week. I can't wait to wake up and see without glasses or contacts. I can't wait to lay in bed and watch TV without having to worry about falling asleep in my contacts and without having the discomfort of my glasses digging into the side of my head. I won't have to prop up my pillow or push the glasses down on my nose so that I can see the TV without sitting completely up. I won't have to worry about my contacts when I go scuba diving or swimming. I won't have to wear my glasses and squint as I drive because I can't wear my sunglasses and/or try to wear my sunglasses over my regular glasses. This just keeps getting better and better. I am SO EXCITED about getting my eyes fixed! I can't wait for next Thursday!

Feeling Better

Last week in my post A Bit Disconnected, I talked about how I was not feeling as though I was doing a good job at anything and not feeling as though I could pull myself out of the "funk" that I was in. Well, thanks to prayers from many friends and some very encouraging words from a few family and friends, I am much better. Thank you Mom, Steph, Kathy, Buffy, Kiki, and my Bible Study Divas for your prayers and precious words of encouragement. You guys are the BESTEST! (as Junie B. Jones would put it), and I appreciate your prayers and friendship more than these words can express. I love you all, and I am so thankful that God has placed each and every one of you in my life.

A Bit Disconnected

I am feeling a bit disconnected these days. Generally, I feel as though I am doing a fairly good job at most things in my life. If I wasn't so "gold" and so critical of myself, I would probably think that I was doing a rather good job at most things in my life most of the time. But, for now, and for the past couple of weeks, I just don't feel as though I am measuring up.

"Measuring up to what?" you ask. I guess that is part of the problem. Measuring up to the high standards that I impose upon myself, the high expectations that those who know me expect of me (or so I "believe" they expect of me, maybe? probably?). I don't know. I just don't feel like I am doing my best at anything, yet I just can't seem to do or give anything more right now to get closer to my perceived best.

I know that I am frustrated with myself right now because I am not eating right, not exercising, because I have gained 6 lbs., and because I can't remember everything about everything like I used to be able to in the past. I have managed to make a bit dent in my laundry pile and to keep my house 95% picked up and orderly, and that is a huge improvement over the last several months. I also know (in my head) that I just need to pray, stay focused - maybe refocus - stop beating myself up, pray, stop being so critical of myself, pray, stopping worrying so much about what I am "not" doing/doing well and focus on what I "am" doing/doing well, and pray that God will show me very clearly and simply where I need to place my focus and the path that He has for my life.

Like I said, I "know" all of these things in my head, but there is a disconnection between my head and my heart that I need to get reconnected. Tomorrow is another day. Another opportunity for me to start again, and I pray that I will feel more confident, more connected.

I heard this song earlier today, and it has been on my mind ever since.

Nationals Win Round One of Tournament

Our little guys pulled out a win tonight! They beat a team that beat them 4-2 early in the season. The final score was 7-6. They hung in there until the very end and never gave up. It was a great game and a great win! They play the #1 team in the league on Thursday night, so pray that our boys are focused and ready to give 110%!

Way to Go Nationals!

Our little Nationals played the Rangers yesterday and won their game 10-4. Connor was the third baseman for the 3-inning game, was walked both times he was up-to-bat, and scored one run for his team. Kathy's son, Jacob, pitched for the second time yesterday, and did a great job. He struck-out two batters.

Our end-of-season tournament begins on Monday night. If the boys win on Monday, it looks as though they will play game number two on Thursday night. If you would like to join us for a game, please let me know, and I will get all of the information to you.

Tornados Soccer

What a game! The boys played a terrific game. The game was exciting to the very last minute and the boys continued to take shots on the other team's goal and to defend their own goal right up to the final whistle. The game ended in a 1-1 tie. Connor was named DEFENSIVE Player of the game! He stopped several goals throughout the game, came up from his defensive position to attack the ball and send it back to his forwards, and made a HUGE defensive play just in front of his own goal, protecting his goalie and preventing the other team from scoring. Their last game is next Saturday morning at 8:00am. We would love for you to join us.

Halloween

What a great night! We joined our neighbors in the cul-de-sac to pass out candy, eat, and visit. The evening started with just the neighbors but ended with neighbors from around the neighborhood. At one time, we must have had 100 people in our cul-de-sac visiting and enjoying the cool night air.

The kids trick-or-treated, ate candy, played football, did gymnastics, ran around, and just had a great time. Some of the parents trick-or-treated, as well, but most just enjoyed hanging out in the cul-de-sac. A couple of us made chili, another tortilla soup and queso, and others ordered pizza. Everyone enjoyed eating and visiting, passing out candy, and looking at all of the cute costumes.

We saw lots of rag dolls, genies, ladybugs, scary creatures, Indiana Joneses, Bat men & Bat women, witches, and believe it or not, three young boys dressed as Elvis. Yes, our little Z-Man was a precious Elvis (Little "e" as Blake's called him), and our little drama queen was a modern day Raggedy Ann doll. (For those of you who are wondering why Connor's nickname is "Z" man rather than "C" man ... when we was little, he had a hard time saying "C" and he always said that his name was spelled "Z"onnor. Hence, Blake and my dad started calling him "Z" man, and it stuck!)

Here are some pictures from Halloween 2008.

I've Been Tagged

My friend Buffy tagged me. I am supposed to write 6 quirky things about myself and then tag 6 other bloggers. I got this a bit later than all of my blogger friends, so I think that they have already tagged all of the bloggers that I know, so ... I am not sure who I am going to tag, but here are 6 quirky things about me ...

1. I don't eat chocolate! I know, I know. Many of you are saying, "You don't eat chocolate? Really? How can you NOT each chocolate?" I just don't. I do eat brownies and the occassional chocolate cake, but I don't eat candy bars, M&M's, or any other chocolate candies.
2. I don't eat peanut butter. Just about everyone I know loves peanut butter, but not me. Growing up, I was the only one in my family who did not eat peanut butter.
3. I hate dusting. Growing up, my sister always dusted, and I always folded clothes. I would do just about any chore growing up to get out of dusting. I still hate dusting today. My house only gets dusted when the maid or one of my kids does it.
4. I'm addicted to technology. I love my cell phone, my computer, my email, etc. I can't stand to be "out-of-touch", and I end pretty much every day by crawling in bed, logging in to my laptop, and checking my email.
5. I wear the same earrings everyday. My precious husband gave me diamond stud earrings for Christmas 11 or so years ago, and I have worn them everyday (with very few exceptions) since then. I have received some FAITH jewelry earrings in the past few years, but I bet I have not worn each pair more than once. I just love my diamond studs and put them on every day.
6. I am addicted to Usana Wild Strawberry Protein Shakes. My sister-in-law, Amy, a nutrition therapist, encouraged Blake and I try them last winter to boost our metabolism and help with weight loss. Now, I can't go a day without them, and I have one for breakfast every morning and sometimes a second one for lunch or dinner. I even took my little personal blender and shake mix to St. Lucia this summer and made shakes for breakfast every morning.

Well, as I said before, I don't think that I have anyone left to tag - anyone who blogs, that is - so I am going to tag some of my new FaceBook friends instead.

Orr Ocelots Win the Football Tournament!

Coach Morgan & Coach Beeler use teams and tournaments to teach the students the rules of many games/sports, to create some fun competition, to teach good sportsmanship and the importance of working together as a team to reach a common goal. While everyone student in our elementary school belongs to a team, only the 3rd-5th grade students compete in the tournaments. The students learn the rules of the game and then play other classes/teams during PE. The two teams with the most points, at the end of the sport unit, compete in the tournament.

Connor's team - the Orr Ocelots - had 6 points (4 wins & 2 ties) going into the tournament. Their opponents - the Hanvey Horned Frogs - had 4 points, I believe. Friday was tournament day, so the students went on a "walking" field trip with the special's teachers and lots of parents down the street a few blocks to the highschool football field. This is one of the highlights of the year for many of the students, and Connor was SOOOO excited that his team was in the lead and in the tournament.

I wish that all of you could have seen Connor on the field. He was so serious, was involved in every play of the game, and was often seen coaching, directing, and cheering on his teammates. The Orr Ocelots scored the only touchdown of the game and even completed the two point conversion (for which they only get 1-point because they don't kick field goals) and won the game 7-0. They celebrated their win and then congratulated the Hanvey Horned Frogs for a great game.

Here are a few pics from the 3rd grade tournament. Enjoy!

No Pun Intended!

1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, 'I'll serve you, but don't start anything.'

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm, and says: 'A beer please, and one for the road.'

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: 'Does this taste funny to you?'

7. 'Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.' 'That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome.' 'Is it common?' Well, 'It's Not Unusual.'

8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, 'I was artificially inseminated this morning.' 'I don't believe you,' says Dolly. 'It's true; no bull!' exclaims Daisy.

9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day, but I couldn't find any.

12. I went to a seafood disco last week - and pulled a mussel.

13. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

14. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says, 'Dam!'

15. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

16. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel, and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office, and asked them to disperse. 'But why,' they asked, as they moved off. 'Because,' he said, 'I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.'

17. A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt , and is named 'Ahmal.' The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him 'Juan.' Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture o f Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'

18. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him -- Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good -- A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

19. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in ten did.

I didn't check Snopes or Hoax busters to see if this actually works or if it's a scam or hoax.
It has been said that.....

If you ever get the sudden urge to run around naked, you should spray yourself with some Windex immediately..... It'll keep you from streaking.

Everything Drama ... Powerful Reminder

The following drama is a vivid reminder that it is important for us to be "in" the world so that we can share the good news of Jesus Christ, but that we must not be "of" this world. The drama shows that if we are not cautious, in prayer, and in God's word on a regular basis, we can easily be pulled into the ways of this world.

Do it Now!

If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. Ecclesiastes 11:4 (NLT)

Most of us have experienced the 8 Phases of Procrastination:
Phase 1: Hopeful – “I’ll start early this time.”
Phase 2: A little tension – “I’ve got to start soon.”
Phase 3: Creeping guilt – “I should have started sooner.”
Phase 4: False reassurance – “There is still time to do it.”
Phase 5: Getting desperate – “What’s wrong with me?”
Phase 6: Intense pain – “I can’t wait any longer!”
Phase 7: Get it over with – “Just get it done!”
Phase 8: Cycle repeats – “Next time, I’ll start earlier.”

Procrastination does tremendous damage to ourselves and others at work. It causes unnecessary pressure and problems … and it wastes opportunities, time, and money.
The problem is: procrastination is addicting! The more you succumb to it, the harder it is to change. It becomes a way of life, causing you a lot of misery.

The Bible says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done” (Ecclesiastes 11:4 NLT).

So ...
· Stop making excuses!
· Realize perfectionism paralyzes performance!
· Face your fears!
· Focus on the gain, not the pain!
· DO IT NOW!

What have you been putting off that you know you need to do? … something at work … at home … at church? DO IT NOW!

from Rick Warren's Daily Devotionals

Lunch for Megan

We've been working hard to help the kids make their lunch every evening so that it is ready for the next day. Today, Connor did a really sweet thing. He made lunch for himself and for Megan. He chose all of her favorite things and even decorated her lunch sack. It was so sweet! Since then, he has made lunch for himself and Megan a few other times. He really loves his sister!

Six Flags

Wow! What a perfect day for Six Flags. The sun was out, and it was never more than 75 degrees all day. Fabulous weather for Six Flags. Fright Fest is going on right now, but we left before dark, so we did not see too many scary, scary creatures. There were a few creatures with white faces, fangs, and fake blood and a brood of pirates on parade, but none of them scared the kids.

Connor and Blake rode their favorite roller coasters - the Titan, the Shockwave - and Megan rode her usual rides - the swings, the bulls, the teacups, the Mexican Hat, and the like. While Connor rides those rides, as well, he prefers the roller coasters. They don't scare him a bit!

After some pizza and breadsticks at Papa John's, we took in a show at the Southern Palace. Although it was not the best show I've ever seen, it wasn't too bad. Megan hated it and wanted to leave from the moment it started, but surprisingly, Connor didn't think it was too bad. We managed to catch the tail-end of Six Flags version of Fear Factor. They made two poor moms eat "maggot mush". The one who finished first won a 2009 Season Pass. Connor thought that I should enter the next contest, but I don't think a season pass is worth consuming maggot mush. Gross!!!!

The kids want to go back for Holiday in the Park in December, and Connor wants to ride the new Tony Hawk ride. Hopefully, there won't be a 2 hour wait for it next time. Enjoy these photos.

Baseball

The boys won their game today 9-8. They were so excited! They hit the ball well, pitched well, stole some bases, and cheered each other on. Connor and Ben made a great play. Ben fielded a ball, threw it to Connor, and Connor tagged the runner out at 3rd base to end the opposing teams time at bat. Our boys were up to bat, and they scored the winning run just minutes into the final inning. What a game!

Beautiful Weather & a Great Weekend!

This weekend we got a little glimpse of fall. The air was cool in the mornings and in the evenings, and it wasn't 100 in the middle of the afternoon. It was great! We started our Saturday morning off at the soccer field at 8am. The boys played hard and fought a good fight but walked away with their first defeat of the season against the first place team. Connor played half back and goalie this week and received an honorable mention from Coach David for his fantastic defensive play. He made three big plays as goalie, stopping some great shots from entering his goal. Way to go, little man!

Next, we were off to the baseball field. Connor's team pulled out an 8 to 7 win! They were so excited! Connor played catcher for two innings and scored a run in the final inning - pushing his team towards victory.

That afternoon, we joined some friends at the Down Under Pub for lunch and football. One of our neighbors had an unwelcomed "side of moth" with her kabobs, but other than that, the meal was great! They serve pancakes throughout the day on Saturday, so Megan was in heaven, and Blake, Connor, and I enjoyed the chicken fingers and fries.

While the boys were enjoying the end of the football game, Megan and I headed to the shoe store to find some more ballet flats for her. The trip was successful! We came away with a cute pair of black ballet flats and a pair of brown and white ballet style tennis shoes that she can wear with her jeans and capris. So, she is set! Well ... for a least a month of two.

Tonight, we were on "welcoming" duty at church. Connor headed off to class, and Megan stayed and helped me pass out programs as guests arrived. She loved every minute of it, but headed off early because she did not want to miss anything in her junior high class. Our sermon series right now is entitled "Relationship 911", and it is fantastic! You can hear/download the sermon podcasts at http://www.prestontrail.org/podcast/index.htm.

We spent the remainder of our Saturday evening in the cul-de-sac with friends and neighbors catching up, visiting, and watching the kids play. I was able to get my baby fix when Austin, our 1-year old neighbor, arrived. She has just started walking, and it is so precious to watch her. She was tired, and after a little snuggling, she fell asleep in my arms. There is nothing like snuggling a baby!

Today, Sunday, we slept in a bit, and then Blake was off to the golf course. Connor came in to snuggle us before we got up, and as soon as Blake got up to get ready for golf, Connor announced that he and I were snuggling and watching Transformers together. After a few minutes, Connor decided that it would be fun to use some Pokemon "attack" moves on me, which I did not enjoy so much, so I told him that he had to be still and snuggle if we were going to watch the movie. He quickly grew tired of being still and headed downstairs to find some action, leaving me alone for some quiet time.

I spent most of the afternoon working on the middle school PTO directory. I now have all of the ads and pages formatted, with the exception of the student data. The deadline for submitting membership/directory forms is next Friday, so I will complete the student data section next weekend and send the directory off to the printer.

Well, I'd better call it a night, or I will never get up in the morning. Have a great week!

Girl's Night Out!

Last month, one of my neighbors, Darla, suggested that we all get together for a movie. So after several planning emails, 11 of us met at the Studio Movie Grill for dinner and a movie. We had no idea that a thousand other women had the same idea - "meet 10 or so of your friends for a movie on Wednesday night" - but after waiting in a long slow line, we finally made it into the theatre and managed to order food and drinks just before the movie started.

What better movie could a group of 11 women see than The Women. It was a good movie, and the first movie I have ever seen without ONLY women in the movie. Although many of the women in the movie had husbands, dads, and boyfriends, you never saw them. There was not a single man in the entire movie.

Well, we had so much fun the first time, that we decided to make Girls Night Out at the Movies a monthly event. We met tonight to see Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere & Diane Lane. While it received terrible reviews from the movie critics, we found it to be a good movie. It was a little slow at times, but overall, it was a good love story and one that you will not want to miss. If I say more, I'm afraid I'll give something away, so I will close.

I'm not sure what's on the screen next month, but I am sure that Darla will find us another great movie to see! Darla, thanks again for coordinating and for getting all of us together for Girl's Night Out!

Way to Go Tornados!

The soccer game today was a tough one. Although the boys were playing tough, we were down 2-0 at the end of the first half. About half way into the second half, we finally scored, but we were still down 2-1. The boys did not give up. They kept fighting for the ball and passing it up to their teammates, and working toward the goal.

With only 4 minutes remaining in the game, we scored - tieing the game at 2-2. The boys continued to push forward, attack the ball, and fight their way to the goal. With only about a minute remaining, the opposing team received a penalty, giving us a free kick. Elgin, the coach's son, took the penalty kick and shot it right past the goalie. But, the referee called it back, saying that he had not blown his whistle. So, Elgin had to kick it again. He made it! In the final seconds of the game, the Tornados pushed past the opposing team to win 3-2! It was an extremely exciting game!

Our Little Man shared defensive player of the game this week with a few of his teammates. Here are Coach David's words, "Defensive Player of the Game - This is a bit more difficult because it was such a team effort. In no particular order all of the following players had key defensive stops that I noticed. Connor, Thomas, Clay, and Alex ... they all share the honors this week."

Our little Tornados are undefeated ... we have one tie on our record ... but we have not lost a game this season! We face our toughest competitor this Saturday. Pray that our boys are up for the challenge and ready to fight for another win!

Defensive Player of the Game

Wow! What a game. The other team was given a penalty kick just out from our goal because one of our players was off-sides. Just as the other team kicked the penalty kick, Connor charged the ball and took one for the team. He jumped as he charged the ball and it hit him in the side, preventing the other team from scoring. He slowed for a moment, but then he was back in the game full speed!

When Coach David sent out the email recapping the game, Connor was named defensive player of the game! Here are Coach David's words ... "Defensive player of the game this week was Connor. Connor ran and jumped in front of a free kick to save a goal in the first half and didn't flinch. If you look in the dictionary under "no fear" there will be a picture of Connor taking one for the team."

Way to go Connor! We are proud of our little defensive soccer player.

Oh, Lordy ... I'm Really 40!

Saturday, September 20th was my 40th Birthday. The morning was quiet and uneventful. Then, my mom arrived, and she and I went to Hollywood Spa & Nails for a manicure and pedicure. We had a nice, relaxing time talking as we were filed, trimmed, buffed, and polished. Next, we headed for Connor's soccer game. His team did great, and won 5-2. After the game, my mom and I headed for the outlet mall to browse a few shops. We tried on several outfits at MaxStudios and I purchased a new purple top and black heels after my mom told me that I was not going to be able to go home to change before we headed to church. Because it was rather hot and neither of us had any make-up on hand, we made a quick stop in the cosmetic company for some blush, eye shadow, and purfume before we headed to church. I changed into the purple top and heels at a stop light, and by the time we arrived at church, I felt refreshed.

After church, we stopped by the house to pick-up my dad and Blake's parents before heading to Josephine's for my family birthday dinner. As we drove up, I saw that everyone had already arrived, but I hoped to have a few minutes to run inside to fresh up. As I entered the house, I was greated by several friends and family members yelling, "Surprise!" It was great! There were 40's hanging from the staircase and the ceiling of the kitchen, a large "Over the Hill ... the Party Continues" banner above the doorway, red and yellow roses, tulips, food, birthday cake, pictures of me from various years of my life, gifts, and lots of smiling friends and family.

It was a fabulous evening! Thank you to everyone who helped make my 40th birthday one that I will not soon forget. Thank you to my mom for spending the day with me and keeping me "occupied" while the surprise was prepared, to my dad and other friends who helped setup the food and drinks, to the many friends and family who joined me to celebrate, and to Blake, Megan and Connor for all of your planning, decorating, and love! It truly was a fabulous evening and one that I will always remember.

Clothe-A-Child

Clothe-A-Child is a local charitable program that provides $100 clothing vouchers to underpriviledged children so that they may purchase school clothes. The program is sponsored by area churches and Kohl's Department store. Our church has participated in the program for several years now. Although Blake and I have always participated, until this year, there has not been an opportunity for our children to participate.

This year, our PT Kids program (K-5th) sponsored a Bike Rally to raise money for Clothe-A-Child. The K-5 kids were to obtain donations from friends and family and then to participate in the Bike Rally and submit their donations. Connor was excited about participating in the program. Blake told him that he would buy him a new bike if he raised enough money to sponsor one child. Well, Connor raised enough money to sponsor two children! So, Blake purchased him a new bike, and he rode it in the rally on Friday night.

Overall, the PTCC children raised enough money to sponsor 68 area children, and on October 11th and 18th, Blake and I will help a couple of area families spend their clothing vouchers at Kohl's. Thank you to everyone who supported Connor with a donation. I know that the children you helped sponsor will be blessed.

Megan Got Braces

Megan had her upper braces put on today, and she was not very happy about it. She told me several times during the process that she did not like me and that we were making her get braces just because we wanted to torture her. Although we have told her multiple times that she will LOVE the results when the braces are off, she is not believing us.

So, as you can image, she was extremely "dramatic" when they put the braces on. This meant, it took longer than they anticipated, and there were several Kleenexes used to dry tears. But, the braces are on, and she is still alive. Imagine that!

Braces are so much easier now than they were when I had them. They put the brackets only around the back molars. When I had braces, I had brackets on every molar. They created a mold of her teeth a few weeks ago, so today, they had all of the brackets for the other teeth aligned perfectly on the tooth mold. They cleaned her teeth, applied glue, and stuck ALL of the brackets on her teeth at one time! We had to wait two minutes, they removed the mold, and ... instant braces. After that, they put on a wire, added some color bands, which Megan was able to choose, and she was ready to go. Again, not happy ... but ready to go. Megan chose hot pink and glittery silver bands for her first round, but she soon realized that the glittery silver doesn't show up too well again the silver brackets. So, this may be the last time for silver.

She goes back in 7 weeks for the next visit, so please pray that the drama of the braces has subsided greatly before our next visit. Yes, she is smiling in one of the photos, but this was the 3rd or 4th photo that I took. I told her that if she did not smile, I was posting one of the bad photos, so ... I got a smile.

First Day of School 2008-09

Today was the first day of school for Megan, Connor, and I. Megan started her 7th grade year - her second year in middle school. Connor started his 3rd grade year. Megan's schedule changed again today when she arrived at school, but she seems ok with the new schedule. She knows at least one person in each class, and she has classes with several of her friends. While she does not think that she likes all of her teachers, she does like over half of them after meeting them only once. The ones that she described as "mean" she does not think she likes. But, I told her that some teachers start out mean or tough because they need to set the tone that they are in control of the classroom. Many times they lighten up/soften as the year progresses, so I have tried to encourage her not to count them out yet. She ran into her Math teacher tonight at the baseball field and went over and said hello to her. I was glad that she took the initiative to talk to her outside of school.

Connor loves his new teacher already. Her name is Mrs. Orr, and she is fabulous. I have known her for a few years now, and she is an amazing teacher and person. I am so excited that Connor has the opportunity to be in her class this year, and I believe that this is going to be another great year for Connor. Connor was excited about returning to school today, but he was not excited about all of the practicing that they do the first few days. They practice walking down the halls, to the lunch room, sitting at the lunch tables, etc. He does not think that they need all of this practice, but I tried to explain to him that there are new kids and that there are other kids who need to be reminded of the rules and procedures. This afternoon, he did not seem to be too bothered by the practicing, afterall, and he said that he had a good day. I saw him a few times during the day, and each time, I received huge hugs and lots of kisses. I will really miss it when he is too old to give me hugs and kisses at school in front of his friends and teachers. That will be a very sad day for me. I am going to enjoy my hugs and kisses from Connor each and every time I see him at school. They make me smile, and they help me get through the busy, hectic days.

Connor had a pre-season game tonight. Although his baseball team did not win, they all played really well. Connor did not get a hit when he was up to bat. Instead, he received 4 balls, so he was able to take first base on a walk. This season is completely kid pitch, so I think that there may be quite a few walks. He had the opportunity to play third base and catcher tonight. He did rather well at both positions. He really hustled while playing catcher - well, until his legs got really tired - and he stopped a few balls at third base, and nearly caught a ball to tag a runner out. Although he did not catch the ball and get the out, it was a terrific effort of his part as the 3rd baseman and on the part of the catcher. I don't have his baseball schedule yet, but when I do, I will be emailing it out to friends and family. If you would like his schedule, please let me know.

Well, it is 11:15, so I had better get some sleep. We all have a big day tomorrow ... our second day of school, and I am sure that it is going to be harder for us to get up tomorrow than it was today. Until next time ...

Saturday Night Church

We attended our second Saturday night service last night at Preston Trail. Our church decided a few months ago to add a third service, and Saturday evenings received the highests votes. We were excited to hear about the addition of a Saturday evening service, and we committed to attend the Saturday evening service for the next year. Our first two services have been great, and we are looking forward to the grand opening of the Saturday evening service next weekend.

Megan initially was not as excited about the Saturday evening service as Blake and I were. In fact, one day she told us that we were ruining her life by making her attend church on Saturday evenings. When we asked how we were ruining her life by going to church on Saturday nights, she said, "I will never be able to go on dates because I will always have to go to church!" She was completely serious. We both laughed and said, "You're 12! You are not going to be going on a date for several years. Remember, you can't date until you are 35." Her reply, "Still! You're ruining my life." Oh well. I'm sure that there are worse things that we could do.

Megan's Belated Birthday Party

Megan decided to wait until closer to the start of school to celebrate her 12th birthday party with her friends. We held her party on Friday & Saturday at the Embassy Suites Hotel. The girls swam, spent a few moments in the sauna, participated in multiple scavenger hunts, ate pizza & cake, played sleeping bag tag, watched part of the Rough Rider game from the hotel window, watched the fireworks after the game (which were right outside our window), and had a great time together. I was not sure that they were ever going to bed, but they finally did fall asleep sometime after 3:30am. When my alarm went off at 8am on Saturday morning, I felt as though I had just gone to sleep. But...they all got up and we had a great breakfast before their parents came to pick them up. All in all, I think that Megan and her party guests had a great time.

Men's Gymnastics

Gymnastics is one of my favorite events to watch. I never took gymnastics as a child, but I have always enjoyed watching them. I enjoy watching them flip and flop across the floor, twirl around the bars, and dance across the balance beam. It amazes me that they can jump so high, flip and twist, and stick a landing. Tonight, the US Men have given a phenomenal performance so far. I saw a few of the men on the parallel bars and then watched the high bar event. Wow! I can't believe that they can swing and spin that fast on the bar, fly off, grab the bar again, and just keep going. I would be so dizzy and nauseous. I can't imagine. Then, to watch them make three huge rotations, release, twist, flip and stick a landing. Wow! Even Blake is getting into the gymnastics! Blake who NEVER wants to watch gymnastics is getting excited. Incredible! I can't wait to see the women's events tomorrow. I LOVE the olympics!

Back to Work!

Sorry that I have not posted in a while. I am back to work, and I really have not had much to blog about other than work. I did conduct a blogging workshop last week with some elementary and middle school teachers. I think that it went quite well, and I hope to see many teachers and students blogging just after school starts.

I had the day off today, so I slept in a bit and then took the kids to see Space Chimps. It was a cute little movie, and the kids seemed to enjoy it. Connor ate too much buttery popcorn and felt really bad when we left the theatre. A few hours later, all of the buttery popcorn came back up. He feels much better now. I don't think that he is really "sick"; I just think that he ate too much junk today and it upset his stomach.

This morning, I watched a little bit of the swimming and men's beach volleyball before we left for the movie. It was great watching Michael Phelps and one of his teammates get so excited watching the final leg of their race today. It is also quite amazing that many of the world record swim times from 4 years ago wouldn't even qualify a swimmer for the finals this year. Wow! It is incredible that athletes have improved that much. I also enjoyed watching the strategy in volleyball. I have never been a volleyball player, but I do enjoy watching it. Tonight, I watched the women's volleyball and saw the Americans beat the Cubans. If you have not had a chance to watch the olympics, you need to find some time to do so. It is fabulous!

Photo Remix

I created this photo remix on Photobucket. It is another free, fun tool on the web. Check it out!

New Discoveries

My sister has been telling me about a bird in her backyard for a few weeks now. This bird has decided to take up residence in her hanging pot. Each day when she waters the plant, the bird flutters about and scares her and she is killing the center of the plant. My mom told her to tear up the bird's nest so that she won't return. Well, that was my sister's plan until she discovered two eggs in the nest. So, each day she waters the plant - and the mama bird and her eggs - and gets scared by the mama bird.

Yesterday, when we went over to visit, I asked about the bird. The kids wanted to see the eggs so my sister took the hanging plant down from the hook - after we watered it a bit and scared the mama bird away. Instead of two eggs, we found two small and rather ugly black baby birds in the middle of the begonia plant. The kids all looked at the baby birds before we set off on our next adventure in the backyard. Click the pics below to see all of the pics in the stack.

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You see, my sister had told me about a hole in her backyard that one of her dogs had been after. She was afraid that it was a snake hole. So, we set out with a hoe and a broom handle to investigate. The first task was locating the hole. My sister's backyard is very thick and lush, so finding the hole was a bit difficult but we finally managed. After locating it, we pulled the grass back slighly to expose the hole more clearly. We still could not see anything, so I stuck the end of the broom handle down into the whole a bit, and we heard a terrible squeeking noise. After pulling the grass back a bit further, we could see a small brown haired animal. The hole that Gracie the dog has been intrigued with is the home of a baby bunny. After showing all of the kids the tiny backside of the little bunny, we brushed the grass back over the hole and left him alone. I took a short video - you can't see much more than a small portion of the little bunnies body as he breathes - but I can't get it to upload. I'll try to add it again later.

Today, when I returned to my sister's house to help her work in her yard, we did not have any encounters with the bird or the rabbit. Instead, she edged and trimmed her bushes, and I mowed. It was extremely hot, but we got the job done and her yard looks great.

The boys played basketball and videogames while we worked in the yard, and Megan played Wii Fit. Megan was having so much fun with Wii Fitness that I decided to try it out. The first time I tried to do a balancing activity, I really did not understand what the game was asking me to do, so I did not do too well. But, on my second try, I did much better. I was not surprised by the results of the test, as it said pretty much what I thought it would, but I was encouraged by the fact that I don't have to lose as much weight as I thought I did in order to reach a healthier range. That was a little bit of good news and encouragement, and I think that a Wii Fitness purchase may be in our near future.

My Second "Round" of Golf

I played my second round of golf today, and we made it through eleven holes before it got totally dark and they turned the sprinklers on us. You are probably thinking that we were grateful for the cool water of the sprinklers since it was so hot. But, if you are thinking that, you have not smelled the Plantation sprinklers, and believe me ... you don't want to.

Blake and I played golf with our neighbors: Duncan & Sherri, Janie & Chip, and Dan & Lisa. Because we started late and because the "girls" don't really play golf yet, we alternated shots with our spouses. So, Blake teed-off on the first hole, I hit the next shot, he hit the third, and so on until we got it in the cup. I did not hit the ball too well most of the night, but it was still fun being out there with Blake and our neighbors. After our round of golf, we returned to Duncan and Sherri's house for some appetizers, drinks, and birthday cake. Here are a few pics from our after golf festivities.

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Seven Holes of Golf

Tonight I played my first seven holes of golf at Plantation with Blake, Megan, and Connor. I started two over par for the first two holes, 3 or 4 over for the next hole because I hit it in the water, and then I am not sure what the count was on the next hole, as it was a creek over water, as well, and I just took some practice shots off of the side of the hill onto the green. It was a fun round (if you can call 7 holes a round) and some great family time. Megan and Connor played a little bit of each hole. They would drive, hit a few in the fairway, and then putt it out. Both of them were hitting the ball pretty well. Megan and I need to work on our putting. We both tend to hit the ball a little too hard on the green. For my first time out, I don't think that I did all that bad, but Blake may say otherwise.

I was scheduled to start a women's golf class at the PGA Superstore tomorrow night, but I am going to have to miss the first week and catch the putting lesson later in the session. Our neighbor, Duncan, is turning 42 tomorrow, so several of us are playing golf tomorrow night and then going to their house for a little birthday celebration. I think that it will be a fun evening.

By the way, the shoes pictured above are my new golf shoes.

Swimming with Friends & Good Life Lessons

The sun was out and the weather was hot. It was the perfect day for swimming. Megan went to the Rec Center's Water Park with her friend Maddie, and Connor and I hosted Kathy and Jacob at our swimming pool. Megan had a great time with Maddie, and Connor and I had a wonderful time catching up with Kathy and Jacob. The boys swam, jumped on the trampoline, and played in Connor's room a bit. They were really excited to see each other and played well together.

Today was also a learning day for Megan and Connor. This morning, Megan was very unhappy with me because I asked her to clean up her room. This evening, it was Connor's turn to be upset. Through both experiences, however, I had the opportunity of talking to them about the choices they make and the effects of those choices. They now both understand that their choices don't affect just themselves. After a little discussion, they were both quick to realize that their initial choices wasted a lot of their own time and the time of others and that others were disappointment, hurt, or without a playmate because of the choice they made.

All in all it turned out to be a great day. The kids apologized for their behavior and realized that their actions have consequences and that those consequences affect themselves and others. Hopefully today's lessons will help them stop and "think" before making the same/similar choices in the future.

A Little Roast

I went grocery shopping this weekend, and I was trying to come up with something different to cook when I stumbled across a pot roast. I typically don't make pot roast in the summertime, as it is usually reserved for cold weather at our house, but it just sounded like a good, home-cooked option. So, I grabbed it and took it home. Today, the kids helped me salt & pepper the meat, peel and cut the potatoes, and slice the onion. Although they fought over who was going to do what, they both ended up peeling, slicing, and cutting before it was all over.

A Movie and Some Golf

We saw the new Batman movie, The Dark Knight, this morning and then spent some time shopping at the mall. The movie was very good. Connor was afraid that it was going to be scary (because Blake had convinced him that it was scary), but when it was over, he frogged Blake in the arm and said, "That was not scary!" We all enjoyed it!

We went shopping at Dick's Sporting Goods after the movie. Connor wanted to rock climb, but we opted to just stick to golf today, so he hit a few balls while I tried on golf shoes. It ended up purchasing a white and taupe pair of Footjoy golf shoes and a golf glove.

After leaving Dick's, we ventured over to Golf Smith to look around and then finally on to the PGA Superstore. I hit some balls at the PGA Superstore and signed up for some free women's lessons on Wednesday evenings. I start the lessons this week. If anyone wants to join me, please let me know! I may also sign up for the golf package at our club house so that I can go to the driving range a few days a week and so that I can participate in the weekly clinics. One of my other neighbors is going to start going next week, so I may join her. I enjoyed hitting a few balls today at the PGA Superstore, I am looking forward to the lessons and to learning more about the wonderful game of golf!

Steph, can I still borrow your clubs?

Pictures in the Park

My sister, Stephanie, and I took the kids to the park one afternoon to take some pictures. As you can see, there were moments that they decided to be "hams" or "camera hogs". It was a fun, but very hot, experience.

Double-click on the slideshow if you would like to see the pictures larger on PicasaWeb or if you would like to download some pictures.

Megan's Birthday Pics

Megan's 12th Birthday was two days ago, and she received some precious new clothes. So, we decided to make a slideshow, or should I say slide fashion show, of her in her new outfits. Minnie & Granna, thanks for the great outfits!

Not Such a Miracle After All

Well, the miracle that I referred to in the "Sleep! Finally..." post earlier today was not such a miracle, after all. When I asked Megan to get Connor so that the two of them could clean the playroom, she said, "I'll just clean it." (That was the miracle!)

She picked up a few items off of the floor of the playroom near the door, but it was basically still a complete disaster and you could not walk into the room very far without stepping on or over games, books, etc. But, I am trying to remain thankful for the few things that she did pick up.

A bit later, she and Connor came in to get their swimsuits and said that they were going swimming at the MacLean's house. I told them that they were welcome to go swimming but that they had to clean the playroom before they could go. Here came the meltdown - especially from Megan. I was calm and explained that in the time that she had thrown her dramatic fit, that she could have cleaned the room and been on her way to the pool. She turned and walked out.

She and Connor spent another minute or two in the playroom, and I heard some more yelling and complaining, as they yelled at each other and then at me. Again, I calmly said, "If I hear another negative word, you can both stay here and clean instead of going swimming." That was it. Megan still had a bit of an attitude when she left, but the room did get cleaned - mostly. It is not "mommy" clean, but most everything is put away and you can walk across the room without killing yourself!

Considering a New Hairstyle

I am considering a new hairstyle. A few friends have recommended the updated bob hairstyle, so all of these are variations of the bob. Please leave comments and let me know which style(s) are your favorites. If you have other pictures of styles that you think would be better for me, please send them my way!

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If you are having trouble seeing the pictures in the slideshow, double-click on the middle of the slideshow and the pictures will open in Picasaweb, which will allow you to view them larger and individually.

Sleep! Finally ....

I finally managed to fall asleep just after 5:00 am this morning. I slept (off and on through interruptions by children) until about 10:00 am. Amazingly, I am not tired and am feeling pretty good. Maybe it is because I got a lot done on my blog, finished another book (the third in a week) and because I was able to get a lot of blog reading done as well. Maybe the satisfaction of such accomplishments offset my lack of sleep. I don't know, but for now, I am awake!

Another amazing thing happened this morning. I asked Megan to try on her new birthday clothes so that I could take pictures of her to put on my blog for all to see. She instantly cooperated and was quite pleasant throughout the photo shoot. Then, a while later, I asked her to put away some clean clothes and then to go and get her brother so that they could clean up the playroom. She instantly responded, "Oh, I'll just clean it up." and headed right into the room to clean it! I have not gone in to look at it, but the fact that she volunteered to clean it herself and did not talk back and that I did not have to ask her more than once just about made me faint! Miracles to happen!

Yes, I am STILL awake ...

I know that the time on this blog does not reflect it, but it actually 3:22 am and I have yet to go to sleep. I spent an hour or so finishing up my latest book, Baby Proof, tonight and then I decided to blog a bit before going to sleep. Well, several blog entries, editing, and researching html code, and hours later, I am still WIDE awake! I have had issues sleeping before, and I really hope that they are not returning. Hopefully I just have a random surge of endless energy today and that my children will allow me to sleep in tomorrow. For those of you who might be considering calling me in the morning, make it an afternoon call, please.

Success!

After toying with the html code, visiting a few web sites, trying to read portions of a web building book, and just trying new things with html, I finally succeeded in removing the border from behind my title picture and removing the background color from behind my posts. For those of you who are asking, "What is html?" or "Why would she want to mess with html?" ... this is probably of no consequence to you. But ... these two things have bugged me for several weeks now, and I am happy to report that I finally figured out how to get rid of them! Yeah!

Now, don't email me or comment and ask me how I did it because I may or may not be able to tell you. But ... it has been fun learning a little bit about html, learning a little bit of html code, and it is something that I may just want to investigate further sometime in the future.

For now ... I am just excited to have "fixed" the little things on my blog that were bugging me, and I hope that you enjoy the new look of the Richardson blog!

Megan's 12th Birthday!

Megan turned 12 today. It does not seem possible for 12 years to have gone by since she was born; yet, so many things have happened, that 12 years somehow seem reasonable - yet still unfathomable.

12 years ago today, Blake and I headed to the hospital for my 11:15 am doctor's appoint ... a doctor's appointment that I had already decided would be my "last" as a pregnant woman. You see, Megan was "technically" 4-days past due that morning, but in my mind, she was over a week past her due date because my doctor had told Blake just before July 4th that there was no way that I would make it through the weekend. Well, I made it through the weekend, through the Independence Day movie (which excited Megan tremendously because she kicked and turned and pushed again my ribs throughout the very loud movie), through my doctor's week long vacation, through a visit with his partner (which was awful), through many, many laps around the 3rd level of the Galleria (during which I visited the McDonald's bathroom at the end of each lap because my bladder was so compressed), through mowing the yard in the Texas heat in the middle of July, and much more. Despite the fact that he told me that he would more than likely have to allow his partner to deliver my first baby because he was unfortunately going to be on vacation, I arrived in his office at 11:15 am on the very first day he was back at work after his vacation ready for him to make the delivery.

Earlier that morning (about 1:oo am to be exact), I had awoken with mild contractions and had been unable to go back to sleep. Throughout the early morning hours, Blake and I watched several movies to pass the time before we showered and dressed for my 11:15 am appointment. Although the contractions had continued throughout the morning, they ceased completely on our way to the doctor's office. Just after our arrival, the nurse greeted us and began to assess my status. She noted that my usually low blood pressure was rather elevated and that I was 4 days beyond my expected due date. Then she said, "I am going to check with the doctor, but I am pretty sure that he is going to want to admit you and deliver this baby today." To which I responded, "I brought my suitcase with me. I am not leaving this hospital until this baby is born." You see, I had reached the point of being done, and I was not interested in going home again as a pregnant woman. I had carried this child for 9+ months, and it was time for him/her to enter the world. (For those of you who don't know, we did not find out that were were having a girl until she was born. We wanted it to be a surprise.)

Within a half hour or so, we were checking into the hospital and preparing for delivery. They gave me some medication to get the process started, and while it worked, we played cards, watched television, and visited with my mom and sister. Then, I had my first big contraction. After it was over, I looked around the room to find that it had emptied. When I asked Blake and my mom what happened to my sister, they both responded, "Oh, she left. As soon as she saw that you were in pain, she packed up her books and was out of here." We enticed her to come back for a while, but after she saw me in pain again, she was gone.

Finally, the decision was made to break my water to speed the process along. That did the trick. About four hours later, at 7:55 pm, our precious baby girl was born. She was 8 lbs. 3 oz. with rosy cheeks, dark hair, and blue eyes. She was healthy and beautiful and scored a perfect 10 on her APGAR test. She was just as beautiful on July 16, 1996 as she is today!

I am proud of our baby girl - proud of the things she has accomplished in her first 12 years, proud of her for being her own person, proud of her for being so passionate about certain things, proud of her love for drawing, reading, and writing, proud that she knows and loves Christ as her personal Saviour, and proud of her for so many other things that I can't put into words at the moment. I have been blessed by the first 12 years with my precious little princess. We have all been blessed; blessed by her smile, her laughter, her silly faces, her stories, her drawings, her drama, her hugs, her cards, and so much more. I can't imagine my life without her. I am truly blessed that God gave me such a precious little angel to nurture and to love, and I thank Him for making my life fuller through His gift of her.

A Bit Nostalgic

This morning when I checked my email, I found a message from Reunion.com. I know that you have probably received these. Typically, I just delete them and go on, but today, I felt compelled to click on the link to see "who" was looking for me ... as the message implied. Well, I quickly discovered that I could not find out "who" was looking for me without paying for a subscription. Of course, I am not going to join because I don't need to reconnect with these people that bad, so I chose the free version.

I entered my profile, only a few things, and then began to look through the list of people who graduated from my high school. The default setting was two year before I graduated and two years after I graduated. There were over 500 people in this list, and I was not up for going through that many names, so I narrowed the search a bit. As I browsed the names, many of them sounded familiar, but I could not picture them. Then, others were very familiar, but I had no interest in contacting them. Finally, there were a few that I was interested in contacting, and I began to think of who they were in high school and to wonder what they have made of themselves - who they are today. That got me thinking about myself, as well. I think that in many ways, I am similar to how I was in high school - conservative, traditional - but I am a much stronger person now than I was in high school. I found two people that I would like to get back in touch with and emailed them. Hopefully they will reply, and I can find out what they have been up to since high school. I think that it would be fun to reconnect.

A Few Moments of Peace & Quiet...

Connor was just invited to a friend's house to play and one of Megan's friends just invited her to the pool, so here I am - at home, all alone, enjoying the peace and quiet. The kids and I sorted the huge piles of laundry and got the wash started this morning, they both cleaned their rooms and picked up around the house, so I can relax and enjoy my "quiet" time.

I read two books last week - Something Borrowed & Something Blue - and was excited about the third book - Baby Proof - until I realized that it is not a continuation of the first two. I enjoyed reading the first two so much and getting inside the heads of the characters, and I was looking forward to discovering even more about Rachel & Darcey in the third book. But, after reading only a few pages, I realized that this is a completely stand alone book - not tied to the first two books at all. The "I can't wait to read this book" feeling left, and I have not made the time to start reading again. But, now that I have some time to myself, I may just have to get into it today. The first two books were marvelous, so I am sure that I will love the author's new characters just as much ... I just have to get over the fact that the old characters are not a part of this book and get excited about meeting some new ones.

I used to read all of the time, and then for several years, I just did not make the time. Now that I have started reading again, I realize how much I missed it. Megan loves to read, and I am so glad. It is such a wonderful habit. Connor likes to read, but he would rather play hockey or video games than relax and read a book. Maybe soon he will fall in love with reading, too, but I think that his outdoor activities are equally important.

Well, I should probably unload the dryer and get another load going.