Mi Vida Loca!

Oops

2010-09-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

So I haven't blogged in a long time and I can't promise I will continue. But I figure I should post a wedding picture and the story of how we met and married since it was a year before our wedding date that I posted about waiting for true love! :-) God is good!

SUMMER is almost here!

2009-05-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how time flies. Just a little over a week left of school and my life will change for the summer! Our two year old class has grown and learned so much and I will miss them!! I got teary eyed yesterday because I saw the kindergarten class wearing their caps and gowns for pictures and it hit me - they are moving on to first grade in the public school and that means that about half or more of the 4 year old class will also be going off to public school for kindergarten while only a few stay at WEE school. OH MY GOSH! They are growing up. *sigh*

Its been a fabulous year, I have learned so much teaching these kids! I look forward to the possibility of teaching in the twos class again next year - and having Evy in the class!!! This summer I will be watching kids. I'm not sure yet who all I will have because the people I currently baby-sit for want to find someone to come to their house and watch all 4. I have committed to watching 2 girls (4 and 6) and 3 boys (4 and 7 year old twins) so I can't also keep baby Karter who is only 1. I can watch the other 3 (who are 4, 6 and 8) because they will all be able to play together. Anyway, its up in the air right now but we will see what happens. For now I'm just hoping to make enough money to get through the summer a little better off than I have been these past few months. Its been a rough year.

Thats about all for the update really. Sorry I don't post here very often - blame Facebook!!

A Day with Evy

2009-05-02T19:01:00.000-07:00

o since I quit working for Gidget and taking care of Evy I haven't really had much one on one time with her. This last weekend, Evy found a cat down at the barn and had to call and tell me about it. She wanted to bring it to me at my house! Gidget said all weekend she talked about me and going to my house! Since I had Thursday "off" and Gidget was bringing horses for Rodeo Day at WEE School I told her to bring Evy and I would take her for the morning! Sure enough, she brought her and Evy enjoyed Rodeo Day, we helped with the horse rides and then I took her to my house to see my cats. While there I changed shirts so that we would match and we had a little photo shoot!! Then we went to McDonalds, took more pictures and she crashed in her carseat on the drive back home. It was a great day and I plan to do it anytime I can! I love that sweet girl!!! Enjoy the pictures - she is growing up too fast!!

S

Inspired to write...

2009-02-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

I watched He's Just Not That Into You so I was inspired to share my own story... here is what I have so far. More to come

I am 31 (and counting), single never been married, and still hoping. No matter what crazy relationship drama I have been through, no matter the heartache or frustration, I have not given up hope. I will not. God has a plan for me and I have known since I was too young to even make the choice that I would be a wife and mother someday. Its pretty much all I have ever wanted. And yet, I don’t believe that it has been my goal to find a husband because if I had been determined enough I’m sure I would have found one in college just like almost everyone else. I went to a small Baptist University and countless numbers of people I knew met and married through HPU. So had I really been driven by that single goal I think I would have succeeded. But I loved college and I don’t think I wasted a single day of it! I have so many hilarious, wonderful memories! I wonder sometimes what my life would be like had I been a little more settled, a little more demure, a little more reserved. . . . Yes I would have missed out on the crazy weekend adventures, driving to other towns hours away to dance the night away with any guy who asked, the nights staying up late playing games or watching movies. I would have missed some of the road trips, and possibly my two trips to Europe. Would I be happier if I were settled and married with 3 or 4 kids? If I had given up on all those adventures to fall in love with a secure godly man and live the life I dreamed? Because that just makes me wonder how much it really is my dream. I mean sure I want to be married. I want a partner who is there when I get home, who will travel with me, dance with me, laugh with me and cry with me. Someone who will balance me out when I get a little crazy and who will let me fly when I have a great idea. I just don’t want all that at the expense of living life. Taking each day as it comes and trying to enjoy every minute. I don’t want to hold myself back waiting for “HIM” to appear and whisk me off into the sunset. I don’t want to have my life on hold, waiting for it to start with the words “I do.”
One of my favorite books and now my favorite movie, is Pride and Prejudice. I am very much a “Lizzie” in this story - waiting for my Mr. Darcy to capture my attention and help transform my strong independent self into a loving, faithful wife. I cringe at Charlotte marrying Mr. Collins for the “security” and because she is a 27 year old burden on her parents. Like Lizzie, I would have turned down his proposal for the exact same reasons, even if he could have ‘saved’ me and my family through an advantageous marriage. I know that love and ‘warm fuzzy feelings’ are not all that marriage entails, but it must start with at least some of that! Without attraction and electricity, there isn’t much to build on and you certainly need a foundation of sorts to build a life together.
So, my dating life has been pretty interesting. I sometimes wish I would have kept a detailed journal of some of the hilarious first dates I have been on, the relationships that I have had as an adult. I would love to go back and read exactly what happened and how I felt about it at the time. It might give me more insight to who I am and where I am today. Instead I have my memories, which are probably fuzzy and the details are lost, but I would like to share them. (names have been changed, obviously ~ I don’t want to start any rumors)
Dan the Dependable was a guy that I wished I was attracted to. He and I started out as friends and then we attempted a romantic dating relationship. I don’t remember exactly how long it lasted but I know it wasn’t long - a few months or less. He was, and still is, a true gentleman and took care of me like no other guy had. I knew he would make an excellent husband and father because he has a heart of gold and was thoughtful and sincere. But there just wasn’t that “thing” that makes you excited to be with the person you like. You know, when you are in love and the object of your affection calls you out of the blue, it just sends butterflies to your stomach and a huge smile to your face. You can’t help it. People who are in love simply radiate joy and everyone can see it. Even though Dan made me happy and I truly enjoyed spending time with him, there was no need to be around him, no insatiable desire to hear his voice or see his face. And no matter how much I tried to get it, I couldn’t. I believe he had it for me to a degree and I felt terribly guilty at not returning the feeling. We are friends to this day and I went to his wedding a few years ago. The woman he married could not be more deserving and she is well aware at how blessed she is by him. He treats her exactly as I knew he would and I am so happy to know that she appreciates him and loves him in return. I am jealous of them because I know I could have had that - if only it was meant to be. Clearly they are meant to be together which is why I didn’t feel that way about him. But it makes me sad sometimes because I wanted it to be me.
In High School I dated Rob the Rodeo guy. When I met him at a dance hall, I had an immediate crush because he was just so good looking and outgoing - everyone there knew him and loved him. He was always dancing with some girl or another because he was a really good dancer and very charming. I can’t remember how our relationship started but I felt so lucky that he ‘chose’ me. I still remember the way I felt when I danced with him - it was like we were one person moving around the floor. He was so easy to blend with and I felt as though I didn’t even have to think about what I was doing because my feet simply moved in perfect step with his, our bodies pressed closely together in synchrony. He was a bull rider and rode everywhere from big arena’s to tiny hole in the wall buck-out’s. I had a love hate relationship with the rodeo because I was terrified he would get hurt but it was also a rush to watch him ride because there is just something attractive about a cowboy! I don’t even know why we broke up but we were together for quite a while - several months, which for me was a serious relationship at that age! I have had a lot of dance partners over the years, but that is what sticks out in my mind about Rob. Funny thing is, a few years later I saw him at another bar and he was bloated and drunk and not at all the cute rodeo star he had once been. I guess I dodged that bullet!
The summer after my senior year of High School, I went to a two-week summit camp in Colorado where I met Andy who became my Aggie Corps boy. We didn’t officially meet each other until the very end of the camp and had a tearful good bye at the airport. You know, lamenting the time we had not spent together that we should have and all that. But the romance lasted over the summer long distance and continued through our freshman year at college. I had seen him from afar at the camp and thought he was dreamy but never thought I could get his attention. But once I had it, I was in and we were both smitten. He lived in another town several hours away but we spent the summer visiting each other and I got to know his family pretty well. He was a gentlemen and definitely one of the best guys I have dated in my life to this point. We never argued, and we always had a good time. My memories with him include things like pulling over the truck, opening the windows and dancing in the street to the music on the radio. Sleeping underneath the stars on my parents back deck on a big pallet of blankets and pillows. His cologne on a t-shirt that I borrowed to sleep in - that I actually still have to this day! The scent of Obsession always takes me back. . . Going to see Garth Brooks in concert right before he stopped performing and dancing in the aisle. Standing with the Corps of Cadets at the A&M/ Tech game and getting soaked because it rained the entire time! The Aggie bonfire and midnight yell - kissing him at midnight in his uniform surrounded by tons of other couples doing the same thing. What broke us up was an ex-girlfriend who was also at A&M and just couldn’t let him go. She was convenient since she was there on campus and was always available, always around when he needed a date to an event or a partner for dancing class. He cheated on me with her and that confession was one of the most emotional moments in my dating life. He was very remorseful but also willing to admit what he had done was wrong and I was right to be upset. I forgave him (because I had met the vixen and knew what she was capable of) but the relationship ended. We stayed friends until he got married to a wonderful girl he met once he was finally able to shake the other ex. I didn’t make it to the wedding and I am sort of sad about that. He is one whom I sincerely believe is probably happily married and a wonderful husband and father. I could have married him and been happy. But he just wasn’t the right one for me. I hope he was the right one for her.

Pictures

2009-02-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

just to catch you up! :-) In no particular order

The smallest living room I've ever had, but I think its cozy!

I've stopped biting my fingernails! I don't paint them too well, but this is what I did over Christmas!

me and my boys for my 31st Birthday. My "small group" from CCC - Jesse, John and Geoff!

me and my friend Kelly all glammed up for the College Life Formal - we both went without dates because we are just that cool!

overdue

2009-01-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, okay I've been neglecting my blog a bit. So sorry! I am totally plugged in to facebook these days and that is where I keep up with pretty much anyone and everyone. While I check other people's blogs, I was reminded that I have forgotten my own!! Quick update

November:
Had a great birthday, 31 really ain't so bad. Enjoyed a trip to the city to visit my friends up there, then in Stephenville we had a church wide country dance which was fun! Thanksgiving was pretty low key - home to Clifton for a few days and then spent the rest of my time off doing touch-up painting and stuff around the house.

December:
The last few weeks before Christmas break were pretty crazy at school. We were trying to get pictures of the kids and doing lots of art projects for them to take home. We also put on a little Christmas musical before the party and that took some practicing. But our little two-year olds really did great up on stage! They behaved themselves and it was really fun. Many of the parents were very sweet and gave us gifts and I was touched. Its been so fun bonding with these kids and their parents and watching them grow! Then over Christmas break the family went to Nashville to see Dean and Jill and it was a very low-key nice time to just hang out and enjoy each other's company. Of course, I was slightly rude as I was completely addicted to the Twilight books and could hardly resist reading every chance I got a quiet moment!! But we did some shopping, played games, ate good food and had a really nice visit. The break was really nice!!

January:
New Years was eventful - I had two parties to go to. The first was our church-wide party and it was held at the Hansen's ranch where I used to work/live. Most of the evening I spent being bossed around by Evy. She is hilarious! But we enjoyed spending time together and she cracked me up most of the time. When she was ready for bed I left for the next party with the "younger crowd". I enjoyed my next few days of time off, sleeping in, etc but Tuesday the 6th was back to work! We've had the past 3 Mondays in a row off of school so I've had "long weekends" and so only two days at school each week. It will be really strange to start the week on Monday next week!

Not many new developments happening. . . . our singles class at church has really started to bond and grow. This past Sunday we had 16 in Attendance!! Our classroom really only fits about 12 at the most so we were squished in pretty good. But its been awesome lately because we've been getting together outside of church a lot more often - calling and texting each other to hang out on the weekends and Sunday nights after service. I have really enjoyed it. I've been part of the singles class the entire time I've lived here (2 years now!) and there has been a lot of fluctuation in numbers. But finally we seem to have hit a "sweet spot" and its really great. Ironically our teacher recently got engaged but it seems he plans to continue on with us at least for awhile which is nice. But even if he decides to move on to another class, we finally have several strong men who could easily take the place and lead our class. Its stock show time around this part and I'd like to go to the rodeo this weekend if we can get a group together (which we probably will!). Other than that, I think you're caught up. Work has been good - I'm still loving the kids I teach and the ones I baby-sit! I'll try to remember to post some pictures from the last few months :-)

What is up with the Universe??

2008-11-04T10:21:00.000-08:00

Okay in the words of Phoebe, seriously?! What is UP with the universe?! specifically MY UNIVERSE? I think its trying to tell me something - maybe stay in bed? Let's just start at the beginning. Last week the kids were CRAZY on both Wednesday and Friday and Tammy and I were about ready to pull our hair out. Then Friday after school I headed out, loaded up my car and started the 7 hour drive to Little Rock so that I could go to Reagan's wedding on Saturday. I will admit, when I started my car initially it did the clicking noise and didn't start. But when I tried again it was fine so I just shrugged it off. I stopped in Ft Worth for a quick potty break and it was fine then. But when I stopped outside Rockwall at a Love's Truck Stop, no go. The battery came on (radio, windows, lights) but it wouldn't turn over. So after lots of conversations with many people we had it narrowed down to the starter, alternator or the battery. My friend Craig said rule out the battery first - find someone who can jump start it. If that works, its the battery and thats an easy fix. So I found a nice man in a pickup truck (because they are typically prepared!) and sure enough he had jumper cables and was more than happy to help me out. It worked! So I drove to a Wal Mart back in Rockwall to get myself a new battery. But when they removed the old one and connected the new one, the alarm went off. The alarm I haven't used in YEARS and the clicker on my key does not work. So now the alarm is activated and I can't start the car or do anything with it until I get a new battery for the clicker. Wal Mart didn't have a battery that size so I trekked across the parking lot to Car Toys (praying the whole way). they didn't have one either. At that point, I started to cry from frustration. Thankfully the guy at Car Toys was super nice and he said "don't worry I can just override the alarm, where is your car?" and he walked back to Wal Mart with me and sure enough, he was able to shut it off. Yay! By this time, though, my phone battery was at 15% and I don't have a car charger because I've never needed one. I had 5 hours to go - I needed to charge my phone. So I went back to Car Toys and bought a car charger and was on my way. I got to Little Rock at 11pm and crashed. Saturday started out great because the weather was PERFECT and I got a message from Mike - a guy I used to work with and have kept in touch with - and found out he was in Searcy for the wedding. He had driven in with my friend Corrie who had flown in from Arizona! So I drove to Searcy, sought out the wedding party and found them at Reagan's house but they were on their way to get dressed for pictures so I met Mike at the hotel/university and he took me to lunch. After lunch we drove around some country roads in his firebird and enjoyed the beautiful day. The wedding was at 4 and it was really beautiful. The men wore kilts and there was a bagpipe player! It was really cool and very different!! Reagan of course, looked beautiful and I cried. I'm so happy for her! The reception had amazing food (of course, I would expect nothing less from the well travelled connoissuer!) and it was lovely. I was only disappointed to find out that Amy had a bad cold and was feeling miserable so she and Karlan left the reception to go back to the hotel and just rest/sleep. They live in Virginia so I was very sad not to be able to visit with them more. Corrie was also super tired from all the wedding festivities and she and Mike did the same. I really wish I had been able to get into town earlier on Friday so that I could have gone to the rehearsal dinner and had girl time! But it just didn't work out. Weddings can definitely be stressful and I understood that my friends were tired. I was just sad I didn't get to spend more time with them because we haven't seen each other for 3 years. I stayed at the reception until it was over and then I helped clean up and I got to visit quite a bit with Reagan's family which really was nice. I haven't seen them in quite a long time and they are a really cool bunch! I drove back to LR and got to the house in time to catch the second half of the Tech/UT game which, by the way, was AWESOME. Sunday I slept in and then started my drive home - taking my time and enjoying the scenery. Again, it was a beautiful day! The weekend was over, time to start a new week. But alas, its apparently just not meant to be my week. Monday morning on my way to school I actually got out the door a little early which was good because unfortunately just as I got outside the city limits, a small buck ran across the road and smacked right into my drivers side door!!! A woman from my church was going the opposite direction taking her kids to school and the deer ran in front of her so she witnessed the whole thing and turned around to come check on me. I was fine - the deer of course was not. I could see some slight damage done to my car and my door was crunching when I opened it because of where the deer hit but everything seemed to at least be in working order. Another car pulled over as well and then a guy in a truck pulled up where the deer was still in the road and he hauled it off into the ditch. A little shaken, I went ahead to school and went through my day a little worried about my car but otherwise fine. Until about 1:30 that is. At 1:30 I suddenly felt as though I'd been hit by a mack truck - I didn't feel well at ALL. My neck and shoulders were very tight, I had a headache and felt slightly nauseous. So I called my chiropractor and my massage therapist. I'm getting an adjustment later today, but I got in for a massage last night, thank goodness! I definitely had some whiplash and an unpleasant muscle spasm in my neck. So last night I went home, took advil and just sat in my chair and watched a movie. Despite having a house to clean (omg its a wreck!!). Oh and I took my car to a body shop to get an adjustment for the insurance - it was more than the car is even worth!! So now I'm waiting to find out if the adjuster will just total it out and then I can take collision coverage off my insurance and only carry liability. Which, really, could be a blessing. I mean, its a 12 year old Toyota with 190k miles on it. It runs great, but its not worth squat. Well it is to me, but not monetarily! Anyway, I got up this morning feeling better, got to the gym for extended care with the kids and was in the process of getting out toys. I decided to take my jacket off but when I turned to go put it on the bleachers I didn't realize there was a small bike behind me - yep, I tripped and landed square on my tail bone. One of the kids grandfather was there dropping her off and he saw me fall so immediately came to see if I was alright. Well really I wasn't - I just laid there for a minute catching my breath and assessing my body to see if I might have broken anything. I mean, I barely had time to catch myself - my hand hurt a little but mainly I had landed full force on my rear. and it HURT. He helped me up and I hobbled to the bleachers where I supported myself for several minutes while the pain slowly subsided. If you have ever fallen on your tail bone like that, you are understanding my pain. I mean, seriously OW!!! I came close to crying simply because all I could think was, what else? What else is going to happen to me this week? This sort of thing NEVER happens to me, especially not in such quick succession! I have never hit a deer before EVER. I've been driving on back country roads for 15 years and have had to slow down or stop for deer many many times. And out of nowhere one runs into me!!! I saw it about a second before it hit me -there was nothing I could have done! But to have that happen after having car trouble just days earlier, and then to fall the very next day... I am just in shock. I just hope the chiropractor can help me out today so that I'm not too sore the rest of the week. And can I just tell you something? Saturday is my birthday and we are having a big "Boot Scoot" at church for everyone and I AM GOING TO DANCE!!! I don't care if my tail bone hurts, i'm dancing! Its my birthday and I'm gonna party like a rock star. So THERE! Take that, Universe!

Prayer

2008-10-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well I found out today, along with the other teachers at WEE School, that a 3 year old in Ms Tammy's class has leukemia. I only teach with Tammy on MWF and Danny comes on Tues/Thurs so I haven't actually had him in class. But I've seen him many times, and he's a bright, hilarious little boy with brown eyes and silky brown hair. He's smarter than his own good but well behaved. To know that he has leukemia is crushing. But I believe his spunky spirit means he's a fighter. He's receiving treatment at Cooks Children's Hospital and I believe had a blood transfusion either yesterday or today. Please pray for Danny and his family. I don't know if he has siblings, I really don't know anything about them at all. I just know he had his 3rd birthday on October 5th, and now a week later is in the hospital for treatment of leukemia. Thank you for your prayers and as we find out how he is doing I will keep you posted!

Two Year Olds, Laundry, and groceries

2008-10-09T09:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I am settling in to my new life pretty well. Sleeping good in my new house and enjoying my jobs. My two year old class is hilarious and I really am enjoying watching them learn and grow. They are all getting really good at the potty training thing which is nice. And they are just so sweet! Baby Karter and I get along well and he's a sweet baby. I do a LOT of laundry on the days I work with him but thats fine with me! I am enjoying living in town and cooking - I have made countless batches of chocolate chip pancakes, 2 peach cobblers and several casseroles. Its great!
This week has been a little rough though. I started to get a bit of a cough on Saturday night and then as Sunday went on I progressively lost my voice. Monday at school was insane - teaching two year olds with a whisper is not easy! Thankfully we only had 6 kids (everyone else is sick too) so that made it a little easier. And little Levi seemed to like my whisper because he whispered back to me and it was the most he's ever talked in class! I am finally getting my voice back today but I'm coughing more. I just hope its getting better and not worse. Anyway, Sunday was also a little difficult because Cody and I broke up. Honestly I think it was for the best, and I totally saw it coming. But it still stinks for a relationship to be over. My feelings were a little hurt but I'm over it now. There are things about him that I'll miss but we really weren't right for each other if I'm totally honest with myself. His mom and I will still be friends, which I'm grateful for! His family is awesome and they are definitely an aspect of the relationship I will miss.

In other news, Evy is doing well. I got to spend some time with her at church last night. she is so sweet because now when she sees me she gets a huge smile, yells "NANNA!" and comes running for a big hug. nothing warms the heart quite like that! Gidget and the kids came to visit on Monday and they got to see my house since I've decorated. I still have more work to do but its definitely feeling like home these days. I still have some stuff at the ranch (gosh, I have a lot of stuff!) to move and then I will get the nanny's quarters cleaned. Then I'll head to mom and dads to get my stuff thats in storage there. But I am loving living in town and being so close to everything!! I guess thats it for now. I will try to post more funny stories as they happen, this was really just an update :-)

Oh and I added "my favorite blogs" links - I hadn't realized they had disappeared! Check out mom and dad's - they are on a trip in the northeast and their pictures are fabulous!

tid bit

2008-09-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Interesting thing about where I live- I am just a few blocks from the hospital and when care flight comes in it sounds like its landing next door. Seriously it totally freaked me out until a friend told me what it was!

fixing things

2008-09-25T07:45:00.000-07:00

So I am in my new house but there are still many things to be done before its cozy and "home". I painted the walls but still need to get the trim and the bathroom at some point. I tried to hang a towel bar but failed - I followed the instructions so I have no idea what I did wrong! I need to find a spot for spices and will be using my crates as an additional pantry. I rearranged my living room again and I think I am happy with it now. My laundry room is tricky and when I tried to hook up the dryer I realized the vent took up too much space and I didn't have room to open the door!! Then I discovered the plug was wrong! So I got a new plug and today will attempt to change it out and hopefully I can conquer the mountain of laundry that is piling up!! Oh and I can't forget the trauma of Tuesday night when I was rudely awakened by a police officer going through my gate to my backyard and running his flashlight along the house!! Turns out I know the officer who was driving and they were on a chase. They caught the guy but I spent the night terrified!! So I got new doors and feel a little better

new things

2008-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well baby Noah arrived with a bang - all 11 pounds of him!!! But he and Gidget are doing great! Evy seems to like him too.
I also moved into my new house over the weekend and brought the cats last night. It still needs some work and I have a lot of unpacking to do but I like it!
Today is my first day watching Karter so that will be interesting!
On another note, strangely it has become apparent that I am the main person for the morning extended care for wee school!! I am always here early by myself to unlock doors turn on lights and pull out the gym toys. Whoever else is working that day shows up at 745 when its time to let the kids in and I have done all the work!! One day I will be sick or late and then what will happen?? Its very interesting!
Well that's all I have for now but more to come

rainy day

2008-09-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well its been another busy week. I spent my "off" days packing and then ended up subbing in the 4s class on Thursday because brandy caught a stomach bug. Man was that a different class!! On Friday I had to change poppy underwear. Always a joy! Really though j love my two year olds!! They are learning so much and are so sweet! On Friday I looked at the houses Andy has for rent and picked one. It needs some work - two exterior doors heve to be replaced before I move in and he will put in a new stove. Then I have an allowance to paint and fix it up some. Its a very quirky house with lots of character and I think with some TLC it will be previous!!! Look for before and after photos!!
Well I am with Cody this hurricane weekend and we are watching football. He made nachos and they are ready so ta ta for now!

testing

2008-09-02T15:26:00.000-07:00

Okay this is my test post from my blackberry! I think its gonna work yay!

Making changes

2008-09-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well I think I have my 'profession' ironed out for now. We'll see how it all goes in a few weeks! Right now I'm still living on the ranch and helping Gidget by feeding horses and dogs every day and helping with bath time at night. But they have hired a new nanny who is doing very well! This week and next I am looking at apartments and houses to find the right one. Gidget's due date is the 17th and its doubtful she'll go past that, if she makes it to it! After that I'll be able to move to town. Either the week of the 22nd or the first week of October I'll start my job on Tues/Thursdays taking care of baby Carter. He's 5 months old and his mom is only working 2 days a week 10 hour shifts. So the hours will fluctuate but mostly it will be a pretty easy two days! MWF I will work at the church - WEE School in the mornings and financials in the afternoons. I'm excited about the new schedule and getting a new place in town (even if it isn't that great of a place). I'm ready to have my own kitchen - I know that sounds crazy because I'm not exactly a great cook. BUT I just miss having the opportunity! The irony is that the few things I do like to cook, Cody doesn't eat. Figures. But we'll find something! This week will probably officially start my stint as what everyone calls being a "coaches widow". I don't think it will be that bad, but then it might. They have a game on Saturday in Wichita Falls which means he'll be working Sunday going over films and plans for the week ahead. So he won't get a day off until the following Sunday! But we'll work things out. We enjoyed a long weekend together this past weekend - he came to town on Friday afternoon for his brother's football game Saturday night and he stayed until Monday afternoon. It was blissful. I was very sad to see him leave on Monday.
Anyway, the next two weeks will sort of be my "limbo" weeks, waiting for the baby and finding a house, getting packed and cleaned up, etc. But hopefully by October I'll be settled in a new place and into a new routine! Check back for details!!

Oh and I got a new blackberry so I'll try to figure out if I can post blogs on it. If so, I'll be able to update more and maybe actually post funny stories! I know I've been boring lately :-)

Pregnancy Photos

2008-08-22T22:07:00.000-07:00

just had to share these, We had a photo shoot the other day and Evy was hilarious!

long time no blog

2008-08-22T21:54:00.001-07:00

Okay so life has been seriously crazy lately and I'm soooo sorry I haven't blogged! I don't even know where to start so I'll just dive right in. I'm in the midst of a life change - changing jobs, homes, etc. I gave notice with Andy and Gidget a few weeks ago and have accepted a position as a teachers aide at the Wee School at our church. I'll be working in the 2's class on MWF mornings. I'll still be doing the financial job at the church as well, but those hours will change based on whatever 3rd job I get - I can't live off just the two!! So I have several possibilities available that need a bit more investigation. I also need a roommate because while I would love to live by myself, rent for a 1BR is at least $400 a month, typically closer to $500 and I can't afford that on my own just yet. There is a chance I could move in with a friend at her new house temporarily - she has an extra bedroom. But I'd rather not move twice! We'll just have to see how it all pans out. I might be able to afford a place on my own depending on what job works out but its just not certain yet. Gidget has already found a replacement and she starts on Wednesday which is awesome. She is really great. I will stay at the ranch until the baby comes because I am currently the only person feeding horses. Gidget is just way too pregnant to be going down there twice a day and cleaning the stall, etc. So for the next few weeks my life will suck a little haha! I am doing the extended care mornings for the wee school which means getting there at 7:30 a.m MWF and I have to feed horses before that. So I'll be getting up around 5:30 a.m. to go feed (takes 30 minutes) and then come back and get showered and ready for the day. I have to leave by 7:10 at the very latest. Yeah. NOT FUN for someone who hates getting up in the morning! I can barely make it to work by 8 when I don't have to look good! but only a few weeks. Its possible that Noah could make an early appearance which honestly would be FABULOUS. In other fun news, the kitchen remodel is going super slowly. They were supposed to be done by the 17th. Yep, thats come and gone and there are still no countertops or doors on the cabinets. The appliances arrived but are not in their intended locations yet. Gidget's baby shower is at the house on the 30th and we've now been given a completion date of Wednesday. Cross your fingers!! If that works out, we'll have 2 days to clean and move everything in. Don't worry, Andy is hiring reinforcements because no way can we do that on our own! Cody and I are still doing okay but he is pretty stressed at the moment. He's new to the education business and is frustrated with the lack of organization. Nothing seems to be working out the way he thought it would with scheduling, etc. School starts monday so I'm hoping its all been ironed out! I get to see him tomorrow.... well later today since its now officially after midnight!!! I am in Irving at a hotel for Women of Faith conference YAY! I'm taking my own care tomorrow so that I can leave a little early and head to Crowley to see him in time to have dinner. If I went with the group in the van I probably wouldn't get there til 7 or maybe even later and well... I just don't get to spend much time with him as it is and an extra hour or two would be nice! I am looking forward to going to his church on Sunday - he's going to Celebrate Freedom church in Ft Worth and he loves it. Okay well I think thats the update. Just pray for my living situation and job situation. So far everything has worked out very well and I know God is in control!!!!

Some kind of miracle

2008-07-22T08:57:00.000-07:00

Okay so everyone who knows me knows I bite my fingernails. Yes its a nasty habit and its one I've had for FOREVER. I've quit a few times in the past but it never lasted. And back when I was making more money I just kept acrylic nails on so that my hands looked pretty. But I can't afford it here. Anyway, I had to have a root canal several months ago and it was the result of clenching/clashing my teeth. My dentist also made me an NTI which is a little acrylic device I snap onto my top two teeth at night to keep me from clenching in my sleep. I recently got a daytime one that fits onto my bottom teeth. Well, it also made me realize that biting my nails was causing my teeth to clash together and it was messing with my bite. So since I can't afford something like Invisaline right now and I definitely don't want another root canal, I had to stop biting my nails. And it turns out that was reason enough! I've quit!! Its been almost two weeks now and while I still have the occasional nibble (its compulsive, I'm telling you!) I catch myself and stop. but I've noticed that once I quit I don't even think about it much. And ironically this past week has been pretty crazy and a little stressful, yet no biting! I guess I've just been too occupied! Here is a picture of my growing nails!!

Wednesday Cody had a job interview at Everman Junior High and they offered him the job on the spot. So Saturday I went with him and his mom and we drove to Crowley to house hunt. A friend of the family who lives in Crowley had already done a TON of searching for him and she had weeded out the junk (or as Cody called them, "crap holes" lol) and she had narrowed it down to a few. We only actually walked through 3 places and he picked one, signed the lease, paid the rent and got the keys that day. Its really awesome actually because its a small 3 BR house with a yard (for his dog) and its 2 minutes from the school! Its a little subdivision kind of out on its own but there is a little backroad (no stops or traffic) that leads directly to the Everman campus!! A family lived in it before so its very stylish and clean with nice fixtures and some landscaping in the yard which makes it very homey. We were all very pleased. So we went home that night and got him packed and then we all missed church on Sunday to get him moved in because he started his job on Monday! He is staying with the family friends right now because the electricity doesn't come on until Wednesday but the water was turned on on Monday so he's good to go after tomorrow. We timed it and its an hour and 15 minutes from Stephenville. Since coaching is pretty time consuming and he'll have to work half days on Saturdays and a few hours on Sunday afternoons I will be doing all the travelling to visit him. But its all good because in my opinion its worth it! I get along fabulously with his family and we just had a really good time together. This week his family is on vacation and I'm feeding the dogs for them and then next week I am going with them to a Rangers/Yankees game even though Cody can't go lol! So yeah, things are good. And hopefully, I will not start biting my nails again!! I miss him already but as he says, we'll get used to it. And we both agree that we are comitted to really sticking it out. And whatever happens, it will be up to God!

So much to tell

2008-07-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

I don't even know where to start, life has been crazy! Its been such an amazing summer so far and I can't believe we are halfway through July!!!! I am officially dating a new guy which is surprising and wonderful all at once. God really has a sense of humor when it comes to my love life lately!! Meeting Shane and the short time we dated, I learned SO much and it was awesome. Things I never learned in longer relationships!! I was sad that it didn't work out because really, he's a great guy. But his job is insanely busy and plus gas prices are just crazy and thats with normal driving! My budget just doesn't have room for the distance driving. It barely has room for the normal driving. We still talk and will hopefully stay friends. But shortly after it was settled that we just couldn't continue dating, Cody came along. For those who want to know the story (I think its kinda cool) keep reading, but if you don't want to hear all the details, feel free to skip down! I'll get to Evy and nanny life in a minute :-)

Cody currently works for a carpet cleaning business and has actually come to the ranch 3 or 4 times to clean our carpets since I've been here. So I'd seen him before, but had absolutely NO idea that he went to my church. Turns out he pretty much keeps to himself and can blend in when he wants to. About a month ago, my singles class was organizing a bowling get together (we try to do something once a month) and I was in charge of getting the word out. Rian said to include 'Cody Avalos' on the list of people to invite. I didn't know who he was but I did. That same week when I was at the church working, he was there cleaning the carpet! I overheard him talking some to my pastor about church but I didn't think anything of it. We talked some (he was cleaning in my office and the sanctuary) and finally he asked if I still worked at the ranch and I told him about working at the church part time. Then he said "Okay, so whats your name so I can stop calling you 'hey'?" and when he told me his name, it clicked and I said (in typical, hyper "jan" fashion) "Wait, are you Cody Avalos?" and he sort of backed up and said "yeah...." and I freaked and explained (rapidly) that I was supposed to invite him bowling with our singles class, blah blah blah. You should have seen his face. He was a little scared I think :-) BUT he gave me his number and the next Sunday I told him we were bowling Monday night. I texted him to remind him and he came! I totally flirted hard core but really didn't get much in response so I just figured, oh well I tried. Turns out I was wrong. He's just not a 'flirt' and as he says it, he doesn't "play that way". He actually enjoyed the fact that I was flirting (fairly obviously) with him!! The following Sunday I wasn't at church so he texted me asking where I was - that shocked me because I realized that 1) He saved my number, 2) he looked for me at church and 3) since I wasn't there he missed me! He then invited me to the College Life fellowship on Tuesday night (they do something every Tuesday during the summer to give the college kids something to do. Yes I realize I am not in college but thats a good peer group for me lol). And basically, its just continued from there.... texting/talking and hanging out! He took me to dinner that following Sunday night after church, then the next Sunday I went with him, his friend blake, and his brother out on their boat to Lake Proctor (so much fun!!!). He is living with his parents and brother right now while he looks for a new job that may relocate him. So I go over there pretty often and we play Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Wii, etc. Its a blast. We are VERY different in a lot of ways - he's very athletic and wants to be a coach. He knows a TON about sports. He's not super outgoing like me and actually prefers smaller groups and people he's close with. He can be pretty guarded in a big group. But when we are with fewer people or by ourselves, he's very open and sweet and we have great talks. Stay up way too late thats for sure. Okay so there you go. This past week I finally made him admit that he liked me (up til then he kept saying we were 'just friends' just to harrass me) and that we are "together", etc. He even called me his girlfriend and let me tell you, for him thats a big deal! His family is really awesome, I met his sister and brother in law on Sunday after church for lunch at his parents house and they are really nice. His mom sings with me in the choir! So yeah, I'm a little smitten these days. The only worry now is where he's going to get a job. He is trying to find a coaching job where he will either teach history or PE. He's never taught before and is only certified to teach PE so that kind of puts him at the bottom of the list. But there's a chance something will work out. He interviewed in Copperas Cove and this week has interviews at Lingleville (very close by) and Texarkana (not so close!). We'll just see - if he has to go far away it would really suck since we will both be REALLY busy come the fall. Not to mention gas prices like mentioned above. So its all up to God. Pray for us!!!

Okay, now for nanny life. Things are good, but a little chaotic around here. Gidget is getting more pregnant by the week and she gets her 3D Sonogram in a few weeks. There is also major demolition going on in the kitchen for remodeling. Its supposed to be completed within 3 weeks and we are in week 2. A lot has gotten done so far, and its gonna be AWESOME when done! But in the meantime our makeshift kitchen is in the laundry room (there is another fridge and sink in there, along with the pantry) and we are eating a lot of precooked casseroles and sandwhiches, etc. Potty training is slow going since there are lots of workers in and out and the schedule is off a little. But Evy is getting more and more verbal and really becoming easier to understand every day! She's such a little helper and keeps us laughing. I think she'll be a good big sister. Thats about it. Hopefully more fun summer stories to come :-)

Potty Training

2008-07-02T07:20:00.000-07:00

Okay so Monday night Gidget called me to tell me Evy had just pooped in the potty and we had a big "yay!" fest. Well, we've had her Dora musical potty in the bathroom for awhile but she really didn't seem to "get it". So for at least two months we've just taken her with us to the bathroom and let her observe, etc. Well last night, she told Gidget she needed to go potty and she did! This time was in her Dora potty so it played music which made her very happy. Her reward for going is that she gets to wear a pull-up which is "big girl underwear". Anyway, this morning I knew she needed a new diaper (obviously she still needs a diaper at night) so I asked her "do you need to go potty?" and she nodded yes so we went to the bathroom and she went immediately! When the music played I don't know who was more excited, me or her! When she was done she said "up? up?" so I said "yep, you get to wear a pull-up!" and it has a princess on it which is even better :-) So it seems we are well on the way to potty training - cross your fingers that she really gets it down before baby Noah arrives in September because that would just be AWESOME if we only have one baby's diapers to change!!! :-)

Funny things

2008-06-20T11:47:00.000-07:00

Living with a 20 month old is hilarious (those of you who have been through this time know what i mean!) Today I realized that Dora the Explorer has officially taught Evy things. She came running into the kitchen crying "ahmay! ahmay!" She had the remote in one hand, grabbed my hand with the other and pulled me into the living room. She pointed to the tv with the remote and said "ahmay!" I then realized she was saying "ayudame" which is spanish for "help me" and they say it all the time on Dora. Oh my.
The other funny thing is that she never says "one" when counting. Evidently our starting the counting off by saying one and letting her finish has made her believe all she has to say is "two, three, go!" We are working on it, but no matter what, if we say one, she says two three go!she gets mad if we keep saying "say one" over and over again.
I'll have to load the picture, but she has FINALLY taken to the cabbage patch doll I got her a year ago! I got it because it has blond hair and she was always wanting to pull on mine. I thought maybe she'd pull on the dolls hair instead. But turns out the doll was "too old" for her and she wasn't ready. So the poor thing has been laying untouched in the toy box.... UNTIL NOW! The other day I almost cried when I saw that the doll was on the floor in the living room and when I asked her what it was, she picked it up, hugged it close and kissed its cheek. So sweet! I loved Cabbage Patch kids as a kid and I'm so happy she likes hers! course, lately her favorite thing about her dolls is undressing them and she can only do that on 2 of them. Poor cabbie keeps losing her panties. *sigh* oh well
She's in a phase of yelling/screaming. Of course, we live in a very large house so if someone isn't in the same room as you, its sort of necessary to raise your voice for them to hear you. So she'll start out quiet "nanna?" and if I don't answer then she gets louder and louder until I do. We will eventually teach her marco polo (just cuz it would be fun and also in wal mart and at church, everyone is mama or nanna).

Okay I don't have time now, but I'm going to post pictures from the concert I went to, and also of Evy. but right now, she's pulling on my shorts saying "ow-sigh" which is of course, OUTSIDE!! Time to play

cell phone pictures

2008-06-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

We gotta wear shades!!

Evy fixing the vacuum

Evy hanging out in the horse stall, playing with the rake

She loves sitting in the drivers seat - I always have to turn off the windshield wipers, turn signal, etc when she's done!!

Update

2008-05-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

We are having our very own episode of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds around here. We've always had barn swallows on the front porch but now they are swarming around the back windows as well and its FREAKY!!! They are literally flying around like crazy all day long and its especially noticeable in the breakfast nook where we eat because there are several nests in those eaves. Creepy.

Evy now likes to sing and talk to herself as she walks along or plays or does whatever. Her vocabulary continues to expand although many times we have to ask her to repeat something til we figure out what she's saying. She also has quite an imagination. Yesterday Gidget said she kept saying there were bugs in the couch and would stick her hand between the seats and say "eewww!" And also sometimes she'll whisper "whats that?" and look around suspiciously. Then giggle. Too funny. She loves her letters and knows the alphabet but just not quite in order yet. She likes to say the letters randomly "A E U B O" etc. She has an alphabet 'puzzle' and she can match them all up. She also knows her colors and shapes. We enjoy our four wheeler rides in the afternoon to take the trash to the dumpster and get the mail (she says "may? may?" and she tells me where she wants to go out in the field while we ride. She's very bossy. I can't wait to watch her boss her baby brother around, which I'm sure she'll do!!

I am enjoying the summer weather, trying to get a tan (or at least less glaringly white). Last Sunday I sang a 'special' song in church and it was great. It turned out to be Family Worship day so the kids choirs replaced the adult choir on stage and they were perfect! The song I sang was "Praise You With A Dance" by Casting Crowns and the kids danced!!

And finally, what I know everyone wants to know is my dating life update. Well, in that arena God is really teaching me some important things. I went through an Apples of God mentoring program a few weeks ago and it was great, but there's nothing like real life experience to teach you. I am living out some of those lessons on submission, purity and biggest of all PATIENCE. Not a strong quality in me, evidently! I never thought I was one to be impatient but when it comes to some things, I just want to know whats going on! So I am trying to patiently let Shane lead the relationship, which he asked me to do, but its an unusual position for me. Sometimes I'm not so patient!. And then I go back to my verses and most importantly prayer. You know the scripture "don't be anxious about anything but by prayer and petition present your requests to God..." thats my life verse right now. Every time I get nervous or anxious or worried or just plain confused, I have to stop and just pray. Otherwise my imagination will run away with me and make things worse. So I'm learning some important lessons that can be applied to ALL relationiships.

thats it for now! probably more summertime pics to come later. I have some cute ones on my phone I just haven't loaded them yet!

Hot Day Playing in WATER!

2008-05-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend the first HOT day of summer than in a sprinkler!!! Gidget bought some fun water toys and so today we broke one out. Evy was a little scared of it at first but after running around through it with her she finally "got it" and after that had a blast. It was hard to pull her away but she was getting splotchy from the heat. But yay, SUMMERTIME!!!

Fun Weekend

2008-05-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend went by way too fast! A few weeks ago I was asked to help with a bull sale in Austin this weekend. Knowing Austin is not far from Shane, I agreed - I'd get to see him AND get paid to work! The Bull Sale/Auction was put on by a couple from my church who I have worked for before and it was in between Elgin and Bastrop. My best friend Becca just recently moved to Lago Vista which is North Lake Travis and half an hour from Shane. Perfect! So I drove down Friday afternoon to have dinner with Shane before going to spend the night with Becca. We went to dinner at a place in downtown Marble Falls but just as we got there, a big storm blew in and right before we got seated the electricity went out! We really thought it wouldn't be out too long, so we ordered the avacado salad to take the edge off. But the electricity didn't come back on so we paid for our drinks and salad and went to Wendy's! It was kind of cool to have our salad over candlelight, though!! Staying with Becca was a blast - she and I tend to act like teenagers together, all giggly and girly. We stayed up way too late talking and then her boys were up at 7:30 in the morning! She and I had breakfast at IHOP (Yummmm) and then I headed to Sayersville for the sale which started at 12. It was quite an experience because some of the cows and bulls that were on sale were famous bred and quite popular. The sale was also on tv so there were bidders present at the sale but also bids on the phone. I got to sit in the auctioneer stand to help locate buyers from the list so that the producer could call out their names after the bidding was won. There were famous bull riders present which was really cool, and when the price kept going up the bidding got pretty exciting! After all that, I drove back to Becca's where they had ordered pizza. Shane came over and we all played poker, and for my first time I did really well! I actually won quite a few hands! We are all looking forward to doing that more often - Becca and her husband love to play poker and so does Shane and now so do I! On Sunday morning I drove to Shane's to help him clean his house and get it ready for his whole family who were coming for the afternoon. Then I went to see MY mom - Happy Mother's Day! As a whole it was a great weekend, despite getting very little sleep!! I am looking forward to more fun weekends in Marble Falls visiting Shane and my friends down there!!! Oh and for all who I know are curious, here is a picture I snapped real quick before leaving. I'll get better ones in the future, but this should satisfy you for now! I think we look pretty cute together!!

Daredevil in the making

2008-05-06T10:42:00.001-07:00

I mentioned in my post about weathering the storm that nothing scares Evy. In fact, she likes the thrill of being "scared". Since the weather has been so nice I have been using the four-wheeler to take the trash to the dumpster instead of using the farm truck (saves gas too). Evy LOVES the four-wheeler and if you ride it without her she will scream. Andy and Gidget have been taking her for rides since she was little, and only recently have I started doing it too. We have a "seatbelt" for her - a strap that fastens her to us so she can ride hands free but still be held on. She loves this. She is very bossy on the four-wheeler. As soon as she is on, she reaches for the belt and fastens it (or directs you to if she can't). Then she points to the "run engine" button and then reaches for the brake and the key to start the engine. When the engine starts she points to the gear shift. Then she holds on to the front of the seat (perfect space for her little fingers) and is ready to go. on the way back down the road from the dumpster I stopped around the curve in the road just before a long straight stretch. I said "Okay, are you ready?" and she said "one, two, three, go!!!" and I gunned it - we went flying down the road and you know what she did? Threw both hands in the air and screamed. Yep thats right. She's ready for roller coasters - and no one taught her that! She did it all on her own. Crazy kid :-)

National Day of Prayer

2008-05-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Today is the National Day of Prayer and I am so thankful to have a Chamber of Commerce that is full of believers. We are having a big event tonight at the park, including worship by local churches. In fact, my church (Rocky Point) choir and the First Assembly worship band are joining together to perform "Revelation Song" by Hillsong and it will be so awesome! The President of our Chamber is a member of our church and she is incredible. Stephenville is blessed and I am proud to live here. In honor of today, please take a moment to pray for our country, our leaders, the Presidential Campaign, our troops overseas and here in the U.S., third world countries, etc. There are so many things to be thankful for but also so many things that desperately need God's intervention. May HIS name be praised today all across the nation!!!

Through the storm with Evy

2008-04-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

So last week Andy and Gidget took a much needed mini vacation away from Evy - Gidget's first time away from her baby overnight! So me and Evy got to hang for 2 days by ourselves! With that said, hats off to the single moms because WOW. Anyway, the big highlight of our time together had to be the horrendous storm that blew through here on Wednesday night. We went to church as usual and it was a little cloudy but I had no idea of the torrential downpour that was to come. Also keep in mind that we live about 30 minutes (20 miles) away from the church. At about 7:30 I got a text from one of the girls in the nursery telling me Evy was not feeling well and her temp was rising. So I went to get her and while she seemed fine, she was definitely warm to the touch and her eyes were very red. Yep - pink eye. As we made our way through the chapel to leave I heard it. The sound of rain thundering on the roof. I had a choice to make - attempt to wait out the storm (with a feverish, pink eyed toddler) or just make a run for it and hope the storm wasn't in Morgan Mill. I decided to make a run for it. To add to the fun, my 11 year old car has a bit of a catch in the lock mechanism that occasionally sticks and it takes several tries to turn the key to unlock the door. It hasn't been acting up for quite some time now but wouldn't you know when it does, its when I'm holding Evy in a massive downpour!! At first Evy didn't mind the rain so much but as we continued to get poured on she got upset . I finally got the door open and threw her into the drivers side, threw my stuff down and then opened the back door to put her in the car seat. I got more soaked than she did for sure. Back in the drivers seat, I caught my breath and called Shane - I figured if I was gonna drive in this stuff someone needed to know what I was doing and where I was in case something happened. We were maybe a mile from town when the hail started. Shane wanted me to pull over somewhere and just stop but I was in the middle of nowhere (our church is out on a farm road 4 miles from town). So I kept driving and got to the gas station where I was able to get the nose of my car under the overhang while the rest of my car got beaten with hail. During all this I have the heat blasting because I'm already thinking Evy is sick and now she is soaking wet - not a good combination! But she is sitting in her car seat just singing and talking and saying "rain? rain! rain, rain rain!" She was having a blast. Nothing can scare that kid - nothing! We hung out at the gas station for probably a good 15 minutes until the hail stopped and the rain slowed down, and we made our way home going between 40-50mph. Shane stayed with me the whole time to make sure I got home okay. Evy of course fell asleep somewhere between town and home. When we got to the house I noticed my windows were open. I ran into my little house to find my dresser in my bedroom soaked with standing water on it. I cleared everything off and laid it all out on towels and towel dried the wood hoping it wasn't too wet and wouldn't ruin! Then I woke Evy up and carried her in and put her immediately in the bath tub to warm her up. But carrying her I realized she was no longer hot and sure enough, didn't have a fever. She was pretty hyped up though with all the excitement and from her little nap so we didn't go to bed until after 11. But we survived the storm and thankfully, neither of us got sick from our rain soaking experience!! I did take her to the doctor the next morning to find that she did in fact have pink eye and she also had an ear infection. I was glad when Andy and Gidget got home and I could go rest! Again, hats off to single moms. I appreciated my sleep that night!!

My lovely flowers

2008-04-25T09:29:00.000-07:00

a few of them have really bloomed since I got them on Saturday and I'm trying to make them last as long as possible!

Backyard

2008-04-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Playing in the backyard - she looks like such a big girl!

Early morning

2008-04-23T04:55:00.001-07:00

Well, its just me and Evy today. Andy and Gidget took a much needed short vacation to a local Lodge/Resort and I'm with the kid. They left yesterday afternoon and will return tomorrow and its Gidget's first time away from Evy over night. Right about now I'm sure she's deep asleep which is a good thing! I, on the other hand, am up before I normally am. Evy hasn't learned the concept of "its still dark outside, go back to sleep". I am thankful for coffee this morning.

Yesterday I did some much needed spring cleaning. When I moved here I brought a lot of STUFF that really I don't need for normal day to day life. Things like old journals, cards and random stuff that I want to keep but don't need. So yesterday I cleared it all out of my closets and put it down in the basement with my other stuff. Eventually it should probably be moved to the storage room at my parents house seeing as its a lot of sentimental stuff and not necessary stuff. I also took out the mini fridge I haven't been using (There were two) and now have more 'pantry' space! Sometime today (after cleaning this house) me and Evy will go back over there and do some more detail cleaning. Gotta take advantage of the cleaning bug!

In other news, the weather has been great which always makes me happy. I love warm summer days and not having to blow dry my hair in the morning! Here's to hoping it will stay this way!

A Grrreat Day

2008-04-21T12:22:00.001-07:00

So I just have to tell you, my readers, that Saturday was a fabulous day! There is a new development in my life and I have to share a little of my excitement with you! About 2 months ago, Gidget's aunt asked if she could give my number to the son of some people she knew. She thought maybe we would "hit it off" and if not, what was there to lose? Well a few weeks ago he finally got a hold of me (she gave him the house number instead of mine) and we've been talking since then and getting to know each other. We were able to meet on Saturday afternoon and had a wonderful afternoon/evening together. He lives in Horseshoe Bay which isn't exactly close to Stephenville so we had to find a 'middle' point which was Goldthwaite. Not a lot to do there, but it actually worked out because we were able to do a lot of walking and talking! The end result is that we both had a great time and agree that we definitely want to continue talking and seeing each other when we can. At the end of the day before we parted ways, he gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers - very thoughtful and sweet! It just might have been the best first date I've ever been on - and I've been on my fair share! It was a great day.

And to add to that, I'm very happy that the weather has been staying warmer! I'm ready for warm evnings as well but I will settle for sunny warm days for now!

Just another day on the ranch

2008-03-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Heading out to catch horses

Sitting on Bug

Asleep on the four-wheeler

Trip to the city

2008-03-25T10:02:00.001-07:00

Okay so I know its silly but I actually got a little nostalgic this weekend when I went to Plano. I don't really miss living in the city but there are things about living in the city that I miss. I miss the conveniences, the restaurants and the stores. I went to Central Market and just walked around - I couldn't afford to buy anything anyway. Its a good thing they didn't have my chocolate Hob Nobs because I would have bought some of those!! Alas, I simply walked around envious of the other shoppers with their carts full of exotic wines, meats, organic pasta and oriental party mix. I had lunch at La Madeleine which was great as always - bow tie pasta with tomatoes and pesto and strawberries romanoff. Yummmmmmm. I miss the occasional long lunch with my work girlfriends at places like Potbelly's, Mi Cocina, and two other really great restaurants that I can't remember the names of! From what I understand, CSAB isn't the same anymore which is sad but I'm glad I left when I did because I still have happy memories. I miss my days at the office and the people I worked with because they were so great but I still don't regret the change. Even the lack of health insurance and the less pay is worth it to live here and have such a great job. Whats interesting is that now, after a year of being here, I know that I actually like working. So while I want to be a stay at home mom (God willing), I will definitely work somewhere when my kids are old enough. The sense of accomplishment is more important than I thought it was and while keeping the house clean, etc is important there is something to be said for that paycheck. Even if its a measley one, it makes one feel like it was worth it. I still don't know exactly where my life is headed, but really who does? I just know that I am where I'm supposed to be and that God has a master plan. Thank goodness He does because otherwise I'd probably mess it all up!

alright, back to work lunch break over!

Many Words

2008-03-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

Okay first I have to say that it is so fabulous to be sitting in the breakfast nook ONLINE! We now have satellite internet at the main house, but the wireless booster doesn't get the signal all the way to my house (yet). Its 9:40 pm and Evy's bedtime routine is in play in the living room so I'm hidden away from the rest of the house because otherwise she would be yelling and crying NANNA!!! wanting to play with me, sit with me, lick me, etc. Those are the things she does. Real quick, since this is the "nanny diaries", an update on the hilarious 18 month old herself. She develops more and more personality every day, and is now using so many words and also lots of jibberish. Gidget and I still get a laugh out of the fact that her mumbo jumbo somehow makes sense to us and that we know the difference when a finger to the mouth means "food" and when it means "drink". How we know, we can't say. Yesterday I was getting into the Tahoe to go to church and Evy was yelling "nanna!!" at me because I had not yet greeted her. I got settled in the seat, turned to her and said "good morning Evy" and she just gave me a huge grin as if to say "thank you, thats all I needed."

Fun Evy facts:
She can chew mento's and not choke
Our food is always better than her food even when its the same
She is getting better at using a fork
She enjoys sitting in a big chair instead of a baby chair or high chair
We can put her hair in a pony tail, stick straight on the top of her head
If you ask her "Who does Jesus love?" She points to herself and says "Me!"
she can say the word Bible at the appropriate time in the B-I-B-L-E song
she knows the hand motions to I'm a Little Teapot and Itsy Bitsy Spider
She loves the cats, dogs and horses and wants to go to each one and give them hugs and kisses
She gives good kisses now, and not just open mouth slobbery ones
She tries to put her own socks and shoes on - I bet she masters it soon!
She really watches and thinks about something and then figures it out on her own - like taking the playdough out of the little container, then putting it back in and snapping the lid on properly
She can mostly drink out of a big cup and not pour it down her front
She HATES change and truly thrives on routine down to the most minute little thing
She loves her baby doll and was very distressed when her mama had to perform "surgery" to sew the head back on!
She loves to sing, dance, hug, laugh, play chase, play hide and go seek, read books and watch her tv shows to relax
She is a bundle of joy and I love her very much!!!

Okay so for me personally. well hmmm. gosh my life seriously revolves around the kid! Sad huh? There are several things going on. I have officially taken over a post for our MOPS group and I am the Moppets Coordinator - getting workers for the nursery for MOPS events and meetings, etc. This month was my first run at it and I think things went well! I still have lots to learn but I enjoy being able to help and meet new people! We have the MOPS International Summit coming to our church soon, and after that is the Great Moms Walk and I am attempting to raise some money to pay for my own participation in the walk. You can donate at www.firstgiving.com/janwilliams if you want! My job at the church is continuing to go well, I average about 10-15 hours a week now which is great since gas prices keep going up!! For those of you who I know are interested, there are no new romances in my life. Its in God's hands!

Oh random, but I finally drove the four wheeler the other day and omg so much fun! I'm totally going to do that more often, for sure!!! Evy loves to ride so as the weather continues to be nice, we'll go on more rides.

SNOW!!!

2008-03-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we were wearing short sleeves and today its snowing. I love texas

pictures continued

2008-02-28T15:19:00.000-08:00

We've had some great weather days and of course, Evy just has to go outside. She loves to run around and really is an outdoor girl. We went down to the barn to see the horses so here is Evy carrying her bucket of feed. She knows what to do! Mama's little helper!

and we had to go sit on the big rocking chair - too cute

Okay, this was hilarious. She wanted to go down to the pond but if Gidget hadn't caught her, she'd have run straight into the water! She thought it was like the beach! No kidding, she was running straight for it.

me and Gidget at the "Hoe Down" Valentine's dance. So much fun! ahh to feel young again...

Lots of Pictures

2008-02-28T15:10:00.000-08:00

Okay, this will be picture overload! First of all, pictures from Women of Faith National Conference in San Antonio! First is Jim Caviezel (aka Jesus), Next is Mandesa on stage - she was awesome! Jill and I in front of the stage (we had floor seats, woo hoo!), then me and Anthony Evans (I also know him as Falling Star!!) and last Jill with Mandesa. WOF Rocks!!!!

Update

2008-02-08T14:31:00.001-08:00

Okay so first of all, you may be interested to know that Gidget is pregnant again. She is due Sept 27th and right now is very very sick. But after the sickness passes in another month she'll be happy! Evy is doing great, although she is aware that something is going on since her mama isn't playing with her as much. She has followed Gidget to the bathroom a few times and holds her hand while she pukes - so sweet! She really does get cooler each month. She has now mastered the sign language for drink, but it no longer means water. When she signs for drink we have to ask if she wants milk, water or juice. She says "wah" or "joooce" and its precious. These days, if she doesn't get exactly what she wants she throws a fit. Mom says we are her puppets, desperate to do what she wants! I guess thats sort of true, except when what she wants is something she can't have or do. She's talking a lot these days. Some of it is still babble which is cute, but she mimics us when she's in the right mood. A while back she came into the laundry room where I was and she saw the vacuum and went to it, petted it and said in a very loving voice "vacooom". So cute! I've been trying to teach her the abc's but once we get past c everything becomes the same word which sounds a bit like 'eck'. She loves music and the first song she learned was This Little Light of Mine and she holds up her little finger as her light. So she learned that when she held up that finger we would sing and now she holds up the finger but doesn't necessarily want us to sing this little light of mine. So when we start she responds with "no!" and shakes her head so we move on through the songs until we get to the one she wants. She likes the itsy bitsy spider, Jesus loves me and if you're happy and you know it. When any music comes on - the radio or the tv or the cell phone - she immediately starts to move her head, bend her knees and clap her hands. I am also on a new diet which I call the Evy diet. She eats half of what I eat! I give her her own food but noooo she wants what I'm eating! She has taken a liking to the apple limeade at Sonic although she likes to make a sour face when she gets a sip because it makes me laugh. She has learned that she has teeth and that she can smile with them, so she'll give us that toothy grin when she knows she is being silly. Can you tell I love this child? I can't wait til the other one comes along - I know he/she will probably be completely different!! Okay, enough about Evy.

I am currently in San Antonio for the Women of Faith National conference and it ROCKS!! I love it. Pictures will be posted!!!

pictures

2008-01-31T11:25:00.001-08:00

Here are some new ones! enjoy!

Evy loves to go for walks (she loves to be outdoors) but the problem is we get halfway up the road and then have to walk all the way back! She's getting too heavy to carry on the hip so I've started hoisting her onto my shoulders and she loves it!

I have been making Malt o Meal for breakfast a lot and one time when I wasn't looking, Evy dumped her whole bowl onto her head. So she got a sink bath because a wash rag just wouldn't cut it!
She loves her hat and isn't she just so cute?
And us cheesing for the camera. She's great at saying "cheese" but I have to be quick with the button because she looks away after about one second! This is a good one though :-)

New Years Resolutions

2008-01-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

~ Get out of debt!!

~ Maintain healthy weight/jeans size lol

~ Go to more rodeo/cowboy events - might meet future husband!!!

~ Continue learning/studying the Bible, grow!

for clarification, the third one is because I've recently realized that I live in the cowboy capital (of texas or the world, can't remember?) and I'm missing out on some potential dates because I'm not out on the circuit!! I gotta get involved, I love the rodeo! and Cowboys. *sigh* wish me luck!! lol

More pictures coming soon - I gotta get them loaded and then uploaded haha

Family Christmas

2007-12-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

We are in Nashville at Dean and Jill's house, along with her mom and her neice Amanda Shae. We went to a candlelight service last night and I roped everyone into posing for a picture before dinner. The first picture I was accidentally covering up most of dad's face. The second picture Amanda had her eyes shut. This picture - well its typical Amanda Shae so we decided it was good. Merry Christmas everyone!

Evy at Christmas

2007-12-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

Evy doesn't really know what Christmas is all about just yet and ironically she hasn't shown much interest in the tree. I'm guessing that after Christmas day when she gets to open presents - THEN she'll have a better understanding. Anyway, we tried a photo shoot of her in her Christmas outfit in front of the tree and she wasn't terribly cooperative. She especially didn't want to wear the headband we kept putting on her. But I still got a few cute pictures, and had to share! Merry Christmas everyone!

Singleton

2007-12-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

"Are you interested in finding a husband?"

Question posed to me by a very sweet (blond) woman from my church in a very serious manner. She thought maybe I just planned on staying single and thought it would be such a shame since I'm so good with kids!

Of course I told her yes - that I simply haven't found the right one yet. Gotta love being single and 30! I feel the need to bond with Bridget Jones right now

Snow in Texas? In NOVEMBER??!!!

2007-11-25T18:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it snowed on Thursday and again today. SNOWED. Big fat flakes. What is going on?? Oh right, I live in Texas. don't like the weather? Wait a day, it will change. I have finally brought out the electric blanket and sweats. Fun times! I know its cold at night when I wake up with both cats sleeping on me.

Update on Evy - she is almost 15 months old (wow time flies) and has been so much fun lately. She hasn't been sick in several weeks which is nice. She has finally learned that naps are good and goes down without a single complaint. Sometimes she even asks for it! If we can get her to sleep in her real bed she can put herself down for a nap eventually! The last few teeth coming in are proving stubborn and they are taking their time. She has gotten a lot better about biting though - she knows the difference between barely closing her teeth on your finger and chomping it. She loves playing with sunglasses, taking them off and putting them on and is learning the proper way to do it. She learns very quickly so when she can't figure something out we work on it with her until she can do it. I love watching her brain work as she learns and processes things. You can just see it in her face when she's working something out. Her sign language vocabulary now includes "bath", "please" and "thank you". For some reason "drink" is just not getting through but oh well. Last night I was watching her so Gidget and Andy could go to a game night and she asked for a "bath, please" and I was very impressed! Over Thanksgiving she was bombarded with people and kids and they wore her out. Yesterday everyone was gone and so we just hung out watching a movie. For her to simply sit in my lap for a long period of time is very strange! But she was just glad to relax and not have to constantly "perform".

As for me, my tattoo is healing. The last little scab is hanging on but should be gone soon. It looks really good!! I'm going to get a few things touched up and altered, but I love it. I also colored my hair (pic below). Just for something different, I went darker. At first it was scary because it was sort of an eggplant purple-ish color. but after a few washings its much better. So far the response is pretty positive! Who knows, I may keep it for the winter. But no worries, I'm a blond at heart!! I am also single again. After a lot of consideration I broke up with John a few weeks ago and I am totally at peace with it. Yeah, the idea of another "failed" relationship isn't great, but it wasn't right so I am good with it. Sometimes I worry that I'm too happy being alone - what if I never find someone? Its weird because I want the whole husband/kids/picket fence life and yet I just can't see it. I like being on my own, having my own timetable and just doing what I want. To give that up sometimes seems unfathomable. But I'm sure when the right guy comes along it will be fine. Thats what my other friends say - the ones who thought the same thing until they found their husbands. So there is hope!! :-) But until Mr. Right comes along, I'm happy.

Hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving! I can't wait to put up Christmas decorations!!!

Birthday present to myself

2007-11-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

So I've been thinking about and working on a new tattoo for several months now and FINALLY, its permanently on my body! Its a little bigger than I originally thought it would be but I love it. :-) This is as it is right now, I just got it Friday night so its not completely healed yet. The yellow will probably be brighter when its healed.

more birthday pics

2007-11-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Saturday I went to the Cheesecake Factory with a few friends and we enjoyed good company and, of course, fabulous cheesecake! Below are pictures of me and my longtime friend Melissa who graciously welcomed me into the "30 Something club" and also me with my other longtime friend Lari who gave up time at home with her son to spend time with me. And then John and Jesse being..... well, themselves. We don't get to see Jesse very often so when we do he gets roughed up and teased mercilessly!

and at the end of the evening, I got "creamed". Yummmm

tagged...

2007-11-09T22:35:00.000-08:00

MY ROCK STAR NAME (first pet and current car): Prissy Camry (ummm)

MY WANNABE NAME (favorite ice cream flavor and favorite cookie):
Chocolate Snickerdoodle

MY "FLY GIRL" NAME (first initial of first name and first three letters of last name):
J Wil

MY DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color and favorite animal):
Blue Cat

MY SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name and the city where you were born):
Leigh Dallas (hey thats not bad!)

MY STAR WARS NAME (first 3 letters of your last name and first 2 letters of your first name):.. Wil-Ja

MY SUPERHERO NAME ("The" and second favorite color and favorite drink):
The Green Gatorade

MY -cough,cough- ENTERTAINER -cough,cough- NAME (name of your favorite perfume/cologne and favorite candy):
Unmistakeable Reisen

MY WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother's and father's middle names):
May Bob

30 and okay with it

2007-11-09T22:22:00.001-08:00

Well my birthday has come and passed and I'm still alive. haha - its really not so bad. Here are some pics from Monday night when I went to Babe's chicken dinner house in Granbury with some girls from Rocky Point. We had a blast!! Tomorrow we are going to The Cheesecake Factory - more pictures to come!!! Thanks to my parents for my new laptop - it rocks!!!

I am posing with "Bob" the regular at Babe's - he sat at our table with us. Too much fun!

Below is Michelle, Carmen, Gidget, Evy and of course me!

Halloween pics

2007-11-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Evy's costume was a horse and she had a blast at our fall festival at church. She especially liked the duck pond - instead of water, they had large kernal corn. It was a blast!

Junkie? I think not

2007-11-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, I am really getting tired of taking pills. In the last month or so I've been prescribed two antibiotics, an allergy medicine and now a strong antihistamine. Plus I'm taking glucosamine and a multi-vitamin. A few weeks ago I got an upper respiratory infection and was prescribed amoxicillin and Allegra D. When the samples of allegra D ran out I waited a few days but it was evident I would need a regular prescription. I have new allergies out here and if they get too crazy I could get sick - infections, etc. Don't want that, so now I take an allegra every day. Then a little over a week ago I saw a dentist for my back tooth that needs a root canal. I am seeing a specialist on Monday, but he put me on a strong antibiotic to fight the infection because the x-rays showed the tooth very inflamed. On Tuesday night (about day 7 of the antibiotic) I noticed a rash on my torso, front and back. Wednesday I woke up and it was worse and itchy so I took Benadryl which only provided mild releif and knocked me out. Gidget got me some anti-itch spray but that was only temporary relief. So this morning I went to my Dr (AGAIN) and he said it was probably caused by the antibiotic and to stop taking that, and he prescribed me a stronger antihistamine. I really would have preferred a shot, but great! Another pill to take! Just when I was almost done! And this one I take 4 times a day. *SIGH*. I really hope all this stuff gets under control because seriously, I'm not a pill popper!

A day outdoors

2007-10-19T19:22:00.001-07:00

Now that Evy is walking, we've been spending afternoons outdoors where she can roam and explore. Finally I remembered to take my camera to capture her walking and enjoying the sunshine. I had a great photo op a few days ago because after running around and playing at the barn, she was very content to just sit and enjoy the fresh air. She simply sat on the huge rocking chair while I rocked it and I got some great shots. The day before we were out playing with the dog and I also got some great shots. Enjoy!

Before going outside to play, I caputured this hilarious shot. She LOVES the phone and she knows the difference between an old one that doesn't work, a toy one, and the real ones. She wants the real one! Now she's started "conversing" on the phone, too cute!

She absolutely loves the dogs and they love her!

Birthday pictures

2007-10-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

The requested pic of her crying at her party. Her party hat snapped her under her chin and she bawled. So here you go!

Tis the season

2007-10-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

of illness. yep I'm sick. Last Sunday I was feeling extraordinarily tired but fought it and went to church anyway. Then a friend called for lunch and I couldn't say no because he was in town for the first time in awhile. By the time lunch was over I was dying for a nap, which I got thankfully. But after the night service I was ready to crawl home and die. I think I may have been running a fever but I had been drinking a lot of water so the thermometer would not have been accurate. Monday morning I thought I was feeling better so I went ahead and watched Evy for an hour and then went to the church to work a few hours. By 10 a.m. it just washed over me- body ache, chills. I was afraid I had the flu so I went to the clinic and got a 2 pm appointment. From there I went home for an hour nap and after the nap took my temp - it was 100.2 - fabulous. The dr did a flu test (having a q-tip shoved up your nostrils is NOT pleasant) but it came back negative so he ruled allergies. Um, allergies? with a fever? and absolutly no other "allergy" symptoms? No runny nose, itchy eyes, sneezing. He prescribed antibiotics and gave me free samples of Allegra D. I took 2 doses of the antibiotic MOnday so tomorrow it will be 7 days. Tuesday I didn't have a fever and Gidget really needed to do a riding lesson so I hung with Evy. Thankfully she took a 2 hour nap so I did too. But after that I was weak and food didn't settle well. By Wednesday I could eat and was stronger but man, I have a nasty cough. Its miserable. No other symptoms - just this horrible "productive" cough. YUCK! Today in the service I heard lots of other people with the same cough which sort of made me feel better because at least I'm not the only one. But I hate coughing because I hate it when other people cough. I imagine tons of flying germs. Ahh well. I've never had allergies like THIS before - gotta love the country.

13 months old

2007-10-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well, Evy is 13 months and growing like a weed! Granted, she is still not gaining weight like all of her other peers (no baby fat) but she has grown a full inch in the last month and is now 29 1/2" tall! I haven't tried to weigh her but I would guess she's at least put on half a pound to round herself out to 20. But she's still a picky eater at times, so who knows. The doctor said its fine as long as she gets one full meal in a day which she does. Of course, if she could eat sweets and chips and snacks all day she would! Yesterday we had an argument because I was eating cheddar cheese ruffles and she wanted some but I wouldn't give her any because she wasn't finished with her lunch of pasta wheels and peas and carrots. Ohhhh she threw a huge fit! She has 11 teeth, working on number 12. Finally the front teeth on the bottom sides are coming in, although it makes life hard for all. She's not sleeping well and of course, its at night that she really has trouble which means Gidget is up with her. And Gidget isn't blessed with the ability to fall right back asleep so she actually gets less sleep than Evy does and no naps during the day. But hopefully it will all be over soon! Evy is walking really well now. She still falls occasionally and hasn't quite mastered getting back up on her own but she tries. She is also getting more hair! Gidget was able to fasten a bow in her hair on Sunday which was a feat! She usually pulls them out and she didn't. Whats funny is that she still doesn't have bangs - no hair in the front! But whats in the back is growing long so eventually it will go down her forehead. She is also continuing to use and learn more sign language. The current word we are working on is please. She has been using the sign for "more" as an indication that she wants something so we are trying to teach her to use please instead. She also has created a new one for "out" or "up" which is to hold her hands out palms up. I figure she does that mimicking us because we hold our hands out to her to lift her.

Life for me is still great. I still love my job - Evy is a blast and Gidget and I still enjoy each other. I finally got dish network in my apartment, although I may end up paying more for the installation than planned. Apparently the guy who installed it didn't really know what he was doing and he got fired on Monday. He installed a new dish for me because he said it wouldn't get signal from their existing one. But I don't think thats right. He also told me I wouldn't have to pay for the new satellite which I think was also a lie. So I'm a little scared of getting the bill! It was supposed to be added on to Gidget and Andy's account for $5 a month but the guy who came out to fix their switch yesterday said he wasn't sure that would work since its a separate dish. I don't know what will happen. but its nice to have tv!! haha! Gidget is upse though because she says she sees less of me now - since I go home to watch my shows. I reminded her that she told me I needed a life of my own ha!

Last weekend, John and I went to Clifton and hung out with my parents. It was the first time for him to meet my dad and all went well. I went with my mom to a "lunch with the author" and left John and dad alone for about 2 hours and they didn't kill each other so I figure thats a plus! We spent Saturday afternoon/evening playing a card game called Hand and Foot. Mom and dad play almost once a week with some other couples so they are pro's at it. Mom and I were partners and dad and John were partners and well, they killed us. 3 out of 4 games the guys won! But it was a blast.

This month's weekends are already filling up- there's a wedding on the 13th, Gidget has a horse show on the 20th and then HPU Homecoming is the 27th. This coming weekend will be nice - Gidget, Andy and Evy are going to San Antonio Fri-Sun so I get to stay behind and take care of the animals and the house. I won't really get to sleep in on Saturday because I have to feed and put the horses out by about 9 but I can go back home and be lazy if I want! Yay!

Okay thats it for now, I think. I need to get pictures up - I'll try to do that soon!!!

Misc pictures

2007-09-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

well today is Evy's first birthday. Wow a year goes by so fast!! Update: she has 9 teeth - 4 of them are molars for crying out loud!! She weighs 19.5 pounds and can still wear most of her 6-9 month clothes. But she's growing slowly! We love our petite baby. She talks and mimics us on occasion and is still using sign language. Whats funny about sign language is that if you aren't paying attention and she wants something you miss it! But then she'll scream so you know she wants something. For her birthday she got a really cool "interactive learning kitchen" that talks and has sound effects. Its so dang cool. I gave her a puppy dog vaccuum that she already loves because she loves to help me vaccuum and now she can do it on her own! It will be fun to vaccuum together. Here are some pictures of this weekend - it was a fun party!!

picture of John

2007-08-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

for those of you curious (and not on myspace or facebook) this was taken the other night at his birthday dinner. we are cracking up because the first picture his mom took john had his head tilted back so it was a great shot of up his nose!

whirlwind weekend

2007-08-26T15:31:00.001-07:00

Whew, its Sunday! I went to Women of Faith Conference this weekend with a group of 30 women and what a great time we had! I drove to Clifton Thursday afternoon and hopped on a van to the city. It was so fabulous, being with a group of awesome women and having our own drivers! Yay! No parking lot fiasco's - they dropped us off and picked us up right at the door! and we stayed at a great hotel by the airport - very comfortable! As usual, WOF was amazing - it gets better every year!! It was nice to get away from my 'day job' and enjoy the conference.

On Thursday as I was driving to Clifton I noticed a car behind me acting a bit strangely and I sped up trying to get away from them. But persistently they caught up and acted as though they were going to pass me in the other lane but instead came even with me. It was then that I saw a hubcap being held out the window. It was mine! Turns out this very sweet couple had seen my hubcap come off my car at a light in Stephenville - they chased me all the way to Hico to return it!!! I was blown away by their kindness! Unfortunately the hubcap is broken and cannot be used so I have to get a new one, but the fact that these people chased me about 15 miles was awesome. I prayed that God would reward them for their kind act because I was so dumbfounded all I could say was thank you!

Tomorrow is back to work for the week but its an unusual week. Wednesday is John's birthday so I'm heading to the city to celebrate with him. Then Friday as soon as I'm off work I'm going to Clifton for our family reunion! My brother and sister in law will be coming and I can't wait to see them!!

All About Evy

2007-08-12T17:59:00.000-07:00

Life as a nanny has definitely been interesting lately! Evy is on the verge of walking independently – crossing my fingers that its before her birthday – and she has officially cut 5 teeth. Tooth number 6 is being stubborn – it’s the top left one and for whatever reason is taking its sweet time coming down. She loves her teeth and bites into anything she can, including us sometimes! She is really starting to show her temper and throws full blown fits – screaming, crying, throwing herself backwards, biting and hitting. She hit me across the face the other day and I immediately spanked her hand and told her no. Sometimes when we do that she doesn’t even flinch – that can’t be a good sign! Gidget says its her temper and I KNOW that’s not good. Ha! But most of the time she is such a crack up. She keeps me laughing with her chatter, her smiles and her love of climbing. Her favorite thing to do is climb on whoever is on the floor near her, whether they are sitting or lying down. She will climb over our legs over and over again. She loves to be chased and will speed crawl but then stop to make sure we are still chasing her!! She hasn’t walked yet because every time she realizes she’s standing on her own she gets so excited she falls. But her confidence is building and she has taken some tentative steps between furniture or hands. She has demonstrated a few words in sign language but unfortunately she’s not very consistent so we are working on it. But she can sign for milk, more, and drink. Gidget bought a book so we are going to teach her more – things like thank you and please. While she doesn’t always use sign language, she’s very good at pointing and says a few words. We’ve decided her first official word is “duck”. She hasn’t quite learned how to distinguish though because everything is duck. We say “dog” she says “duck”, we say “fork” she says “duck”. But hey, it’s a word! She has been known to say dog, cat, mamma, and yep but not regularly. She loves to say “uh-oh” and has started to say it before she drops something on purpose. I think its funny because she is always surprised when I catch whatever she intends to drop! She mimics several noises and likes to click her tongue and smack her lips, sometimes in rapid succession! I figure she’s good at it since she doesn’t have many teeth. When she is sleepy, she’s the sweetest baby there is. Well, unless of course she doesn’t want to be sleepy – then she’s grumpy and whiny! Friday she fell asleep in my arms twice and I simply enjoyed it because that’s a rare thing! Normally she goes down for her naps by taking a bottle and sitting cozily in her chair watching her shows – Baby First Tv or Nick Jr. I now know the words to the songs on The Wonder Pets – is it crazy that I actually enjoy watching that? I also enjoy “Shushy Bye Baby” on Baby First Tv and the song gets in my head. Then I sing it and it gets in Gidget’s head. It’s a fun circle. Evy makes noises at the tv – she likes the animals and Dora. I’m sure that when she can talk she will tell us how much she loves them! Her first birthday is fast approaching (Sept 8) much to our shock and amazement. The time has flown by but I enjoy every minute. There are days that feel like months and months that feel like days – its all backwards but I’m sure every parent feels the same way. We did a photo shoot for her birthday invitation and while I cannot post every picture, below are a few of my favorites. The setup was Gidget's idea because her siblings are all very multi-talented and athletic and we figure she'll do anything she wants. Below the picture Gidget intends to write the verse "I can do ALL things..." I hope you enjoy the pictures - we had a blast taking them!

this was our first setup and If we hadn't had the background pictures in there, it would have been good

She did this all on her own - it looks like she's posing on purpose!

This was my pick for the invitation

This was hilarious, she loves rocking her horse and she was going crazy!

This is Gidget's pick for the invitation

*side note, last night Evy was crawling everywhere so I would chase her and drag her back to the middle of the room by her ankles. A few times she flipped over on her back so I was dragging her around - on the carpet. On her back. Well at the very end she started crying a little so I stopped because I thought she was tired. It wasn't until after church today that we noticed the red mark on the back of her head. I GAVE THE BABY A CARPET BURN!! ON HER HEAD!! I'm ashamed of myself as a nanny. Poor baby girl. Thankfully she has no memory of the incident and still loves her nanna Jan and Gidget thinks its funny and didn't fire me.

about my new boyfriend

2007-07-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

About John, my boyfriend:

We've been friends around 3 years, maybe a little less. He goes to my old church and was part of my "small group". There were 4 of us total and we got to be pretty close. He knows just about EVERYTHING about me - the good, the bad, the ugly! He knows my past, my quirks, all of it. He's 'liked' me for over a year but I never saw him as anything other than a friend until recently! He said he didn't realize he "made a move" but he totally did and I realized I liked it and it has just gone from there. He's an electrician, lives in The Colony, plays guitar for the praise team at my old church, he's about to be 23, he's tall and has red hair. I've never dated a redhead before! Anyway, so far so good - he knows I don't want to leave Stephenville and that if things progress he would move out here. So that's that! Yesterday we met in Weatherford (kind of halfway) to see Ratatouille and had dinner. Even though its long distance, he doesn't mind coming out to the ranch to see me and Weatherford is a good halfway point for the times we can't spend a whole weekend. Fun times!

A Good Saturday

2007-07-23T09:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a great day! My friend Melissa was visiting and we got up and had breakfast at the General Store - excellent pancakes! Then we drove to Dublin and went to the Dr Pepper Bottling Plant for a Frosty Pepper and a tour. I must say that the Frosty Pepper was not a great choice for lunchtime because it was so sweet and so filling that we were actually a little bit sick to our stomachs and didn't eat anything until dinnertime! But the tour was really neat. Then we walked around the little downtown area, visiting antique and resale shops and visiting the Dublin Historical Society Museum which was really cool. We drove back to Stephenville for dinner and then drove to Granbury to catcha movie (I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry - hilarious!). While driving to Granbury we saw a double rainbow and then we actually drove THROUGH it! I have never done that before but it was really cool. We noticed that the rainbow seemed to touch down in front of some trees and about the time we realized it, we passed the trees and the rainbow was gone - it was behind us. So awesome!! Then at the end of the day I pulled up to my little mailbox and what was waiting there? HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HOLLOWS - THE 7TH AND FINAL BOOK!!!! I was a nice hostess and did not immediately ignore Melissa to begin reading but let me tell you it was a great act of will! Melissa left early Sunday morning and I began reading THEN. Yes, I admit it. I skipped church for Harry Potter. Lord forgive me. I read all day long until almost 1 a.m. last night. I've only got about 200 or less pages to go. *Sigh* Its so sad that its the last book. but I guess all good things come to an end. Thus the weekend ended on that note and now its Monday. Have a great week y'all!

Recap

2007-07-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, wow I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post!! My wireless connection location has been temporarily closed so I haven't been able to upload pictures or anything. I have internet at the church which is what I'm using now! Okay so the last few weeks have been pretty full, thus I'm just going to recap.

~ 4th of July was a bit of a bust because lots of places cancelled their fireworks. We might have had some at the ranch but some family issues arose and they cancelled their plans! BUT I do have a boyfriend now (new development, old friend) and he came to visit. We went to the city parade on the 4th and that was fun - LOTS of people were in it and a lot of people came out for it! So that was a blast. We spent the rest of the day being lazy and watching movies.

~ On Thursday the 12th, I witnessed a horrific accident in Stephenville which will probably stay with me for a long time. I drive by that intersection regularly (its my only way into town) and every time I think of the boy that died. A 19 year old rodeo cowboy in a pickup pulled out onto the highway in front of an 18-wheeler milk truck - the milk truck hit him on the drivers side, and the boy was thrown from the window and was hit again either by his own truck (which spun several times) or by the milk truck. No one is really sure because it all happened so very quickly. The guy driving the milk truck broke his sternum because the impact threw him into his steering wheel. Thankfully he didn't overturn his truck. But I was 4 cars back from the intersection and I heard and saw what happened in the split seconds after impact. I saw the body in the air. I saw the pickup with no one in the drivers seat. I saw the milktruck screeching to a halt. I called 911 and I waited until the traffic was mostly cleared before I finally went home (since I didn't witness it up close I wasn't useful) and I had a glass of wine. It was worse when I read the story about the boy who died and how young he was. But there will never be enough answers - why did he pull out? Where exactly did he get hit and did he die instantly? I sure hope so. The only positive out of the whole ordeal was seeing how the people closest to the accident responded. Everyone pulled over and jumped out of their vehicles immediately and several people took off running towards the scene to see if they could help. Two guys had a tarp in their truck and they covered up the body. Had the boy not died, they would have helped him. A lady behind me asked if they needed blankets and many others were simply available if they could be of help. Unfortunately there was nothing anyone could do.

~ John (my boyfriend :-) ) came to visit this past weekend and while I worked on Saturday he worked on the farm. The Hansen's, my bosses, have been growing/developing an organic farm comprised of 40 or so acres of squash, zucchini, cucumber and melons. YUM! We are finally starting to see the "fruit of the labor" and much work needs to be done. So John helped with the hoeing on Saturday - not fun work, but hey he gets paid and its productive! We picked some of the zucchini for dinner that night - SO YUMMY. Sunday he went to church with me and afterwards we went to the local steakhouse which is so good. Unfortunately, Sunday night I came down with a nasty stomach virus that was apparently spreading itself around and my wonderful steak lunch was wasted. I will be kind and spare you the details but let me just say that I have NEVER been that sick in my whole life, it was awful. I thought at first it was just food poisoning or something, but as I got progressively worse, I knew it was more than that. I got sick while at church Sunday evening and Gidget rescued me and drove me home. Unfortunately when we got home, I was not able to keep my last 2 pills of phenegrin down and therefore we had to get back in the car and make a trip to the ER. I have always had the problem that once I start throwing up I can't stop and the waves were coming every 10-15 minutes. I could hardly catch my breath. By the time we got to the hospital I was becoming pretty dehydrated and very weak. It was definitely not an enjoyable evening. I was leaned over my bucket and they kept asking me questions as if I could coherently answer. And not only that, but hte same questions over and over! When we finally got a room and the doctor came in I was again leaned over my bucket but the doctor wait until I was seated and breathing normally again before he started listening to my heartbeat? Nope - he just went about his business completely ignoring the fact that I was miserable. I told them I have horrible veins, and being dehydrated didn't help the fact. I told them their best bet for an IV would be my hands or wrists. Did they listen? Nope. They tried inserting iv's into both arms, thus enforcing great amounts of discomfort on me. Finally on the FOURTH attempt, a 2nd nurse was able to get a line into a vein in my hand (what did I say?) using a smaller needle. Thank you! Once I had some fluid and lots of phenegren I was released. Gidget got some laughs out of my drugged state - there were some other laughing moments despite all the misery. Anyway, it took a few days to fully recover but I was a good girl and I followed the instructions - clear liquid only for the first 12-24 hours, then BRAT diet and clear liquids for another 24 hours after that. I still can't eat mexican food or anything, but I'm back to normal which is nice. Well, normal except for the dang bruises on my arms.

~ This weekend my friend Melissa is coming to visit and I'm super excited. I am not working on Saturday so she and I get to go window shopping (possibly real shopping, we'll see) in Dublin and maybe Granbury. I can't wait to have some girl time!!!

Just waiting for the Ark

2007-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Is it just me, or did someone perform a serious rain dance? What is up with this weather! In JUNE no less! We are supposed to be in triple digit heat right now, but Tuesday night it was 68 degrees and we were swimming down the road. In Morgan Mill where I live, the rain started around 2 and just came down in a torrential downpour for almost 3 hours without stopping. A part of our private road was blocked off by a raging river coming off a hill into a pond and the cars couldn't cross it. Gidget barely made it with her 4x4 pickup! The drain in my yard clogged up and before I knew it I had a lake that was slowly rising up to my front door. My neighbors downstairs rooms adjoin that part of my yard and there was water ankle deep in their floors. Thankfully they have all tile floors and our farm workers lifted their furniture up onto bricks. They also unclogged the drain so that the small lake drained out of my yard before it got into my front door. I have pictures, I just haven't loaded them yet so check back. The farm office is in a barn and it flooded ankle deep as well. Not to mention all the ponds overflowing, and the lake is now full! A man made lake that was dug less than a year ago is now full. They said it could take up to 10 years to fill up based on normal rain fall. HA! because the lake flooded, it also crept into one of the crop fields and we may have lost an acre and a half of cucumbers that were under water. Hopefully the water receded fast enough that no lasting damage was done but only time will tell. Ironically I took pictures from the dam at the lake on the 16th and it was about 15 feet from the top. Now its only a few feet away. Insanity!! After the downpour stopped on Tuesday I hopped in the truck with the Hansens and we drove down the highway to see all the local creeks that were raging under the bridges. some have been dry for quite awhile - and now they are out of their banks! And the rain has not stopped. All over the state and probably in other places, people are losing houses, yards, fences. So where is Noah and his Ark? I think I'm ready to hop on board!!

Wedding details

2007-06-17T17:29:00.000-07:00

Okay so finally I have time to just sit and write! Hopefully I can remember it all. Well, thanks to a friend who works for Southwest I got free "buddy passes" to fly to Nashville which was great! Carting my heavy suitcase through the airport was not that fun but it was still better than the long drive in the car, plus it enabled my parents to take one of their typical driving trips after the wedding. They are in Iowa right now! Anyway, I got to Nashville Monday afternoon and mom, dad and I went straight to the house to start helping with any wedding preparations we could. Dean had said there were still programs, jelly beans and center pieces to put together. So for the 3 days before the wedding we spent lots of time at the house working with the other bridal attendants and Jills mother. It was pretty funny actually - Jill (we all love her) had very specific ideas about how she wanted things done and of course, in the end it probably didn't really matter. But it mattered to her and so we did it! She and her cousin/matron of honor had designed the program on a stiff half size of paper and we were to use these things called "zots" (glue dots) to put a red ribbon in the middle of the J and the D and then on top of the ribbon was a round W that we had to also glue on. It was painstaking as the zot was very adhesive and you had to make sure it was in the right place because once it stuck there was no moving it. And it all had to be CENTER. At one point DLynn got distracted and almost made an M instead of a W - it was hilarious. They had also had a great idea for guest gifts of jelly beans. They were called "Jilly Deans" and were blue and red (the wedding colors). It was a really cute idea but also very specific. We had to put a cup of jelly beans into bags, then tie the bags with ribbon into a pretty bow. Fun times - but the jelly beans were very good!! Thankfully the center pieces were not that hard, but in making them I was reminded of the heat and how easily I can get overheated. It was hot outside! A friend of Jills had worked with her to design a cheap but very pretty idea for the tables - we spray painted pots white, then sprinkled glitter onto them. Once it all dried, she attached blue ribbon that matched the wedding party, and the in the pots were GORGEOUS red roses. It really did turn out beautiful! on Wednesday Deans 3 grooms people (he had a grooms 'maid' on his side!) came into town as well as several of our family members and other family friends. It was really great! After visiting with them some we all headed out to the rehearsal dinner which was held where the wedding would be. It was a good thing we went through the rehearsal at the same time as the wedding because we knew it was going to be a scorcher and we could be prepared for it. Several of us were getting a little overheated just during the rehearsal! The guy working there was fabulous, bringing us cold water. But everything went smoothly and the coordinator/owner of the place was GREAT. Slightly eccentric but really wonderful. The food was fabulous, and in all it was a great time of fellowship. I sat at a table with the 3 other bridesmaids that I had not met before then and it was fun getting to know them. Shae is Jill's cousin and close friend and she is a sweetheart. She was doing a TON of work despite the fact she's 7 months pregnant!! She made the ribbons for the dresses and worked late Wednesday night tacking them onto all our dresses. DLynn is one of Jills oldest friends and she's from Texas so she and I bonded pretty quickly. She has a sharp quick wit and keeps Jill in line! She kept me in line too... haha! She was hilarious and we had a great time hanging out. We ended up going to a salon together to get our hair done and then rode out to the wedding together. It was a blast. Then Jana is Jill's sister and she was really nice - she and I had a few laughs. Her daughter, Amanda Shae was the flower girl and omg what a hoot. That girl is a handful already but I'm sure she'll only get worse! She's a good kid but she sure has attitude. She had us laughing!
There were a few small "hiccups" leading up to the ceremony such as Deans tux not coming in until the morning of the wedding because someone had entered a date wrong. Thankfully we found out in enough time that they were able to overnight it and get it there! The day of the wedding, Bethany realized she needed help with her hair but thankfully the girl doing the rest of the bridal party had time to help her out. Jeff, Deans best man had a flat tire. The flowers didn't come in but Costco provided, free of charge, their backup roses. In the end, it all went off without a hitch!!!! The day of the wedding brought a very nice wind that helped take the heat off, although it was still pretty hot. The ceremony went by fairly quickly (at least it felt like it, its kind of a blur really and I wasn't even the bride!), and in the end, they are happy. Thats all that matters. My little brother has married a fantastic girl, I have a sister, and its all over. The pictures turned out GORGEOUS, the location was perfect and we had a blast. After it was all said and done, Dean and Jill did a "fake" getaway for those guests who were waiting to leave. When they returned, they had 30 more minutes of "paid time" at the mansion and with the Deejay so while the rest of us cleaned up and loaded everything back into cars, they snuck off downstairs for their own private dancing. Halfway through we all barged in on them and danced around to "I Got You Babe" and then left them alone again. Everyone left except me - I waited until they came back upstairs and I got to see them off. Thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes. I know its silly but somehow it was special to me to be the last one to see them on the night of their wedding. The precious man who worked there (who brought us water) told me that night "this one's gonna last, I know it." he said to me "I've been doin this 5 years and I've learned how to tell the ones that will last and the ones that don't - you can see it in the couple and in their family. This one has a great group of family and friends supporting them and you can see it between them that they really love and respect each other. They'll make it just fine." And you know, I completely agree!!

(I realize some people have visited the link of all the wedding photos but I still wanted to post these on here! There are LOTS more pictures and once Fred gets them edited and loaded I'll post them - there is one of me and Dean dancing, and the ones of us walking back down the aisle afterwards)

The bridal party before our walk down the aisle

Me and my new sis in law
Me and Dean
The new complete Williams Family!
Mr. and Mrs. Dean Williams!
Jill at the end of the night, returning from the "fake" get away, walking across the rose petals we showered on them

The next morning we had a group breakfast for those who were still in town. We ate a a famous place called The Loveless Cafe and as my dad pointed out - how ironic for them to spend their first day married at such a place?? Ha! But it was really great - kind of weird to see my brother with a wedding band!! But it was a perfect way to end the week, with our 3 aunts, 2 cousins, some family friends, and Deans crazy friends (Jeff, Brandon and Bethany).

Nashville Wedding

2007-06-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have time to properly write about Dean and Jill's wedding but I wanted to leave a little note and the link for the pictures taken by their photographer and friend, Fred. It was beautiful, we all had a great time mingling with friends. And We actually had quite a few family and friends make the trip out which was very nice!! The weather, while very hot, was great - the sun was shining and the trees were green. It was gorgeous. Check out Fred's flickr photos - he did a fabulous job! Those aren't even all of them, he took around 1600 I believe!!!

Dean and Jill Williams Wedding

Pictures

2007-05-25T19:00:00.000-07:00

Finally, some new pictures!! Enjoy!

she is pulling up (with help) but then wonders how she got there!
blowing raspberries
When I'm working in the kitchen this is where I set her because she loves to look at her reflection in the oven door!
She's already a horse girl (and a ham for the camera!)

Update

2007-05-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know I tend to sound like a proud mama when talking about Evy and I gotta admit I sometimes feel like one! I realize she's not my own flesh and blood and that the love I feel for her doesn't compare to what Gidget feels. BUT she is just so cool and I am so blessed to be in her life every day, watching her grown and learn! She now has 2 very prominent teeth that have come up very quickly and make her smile that much cuter! She's already learning to pull that lip down so her teeth show and its ADORABLE. I haven't gotten a good picture yet but will share when I do. I haven't been able to get into town with my own laptop to put up pictures lately but I will soon because I have MANY. she is pulling up now, with just a teensy bit of help. She still doesn't have good balance but she will take steps without encouragement as long as someone is holding her arms to keep her from falling. She is really enjoying this new freedom and seeing the world from a slightly different angle! This past weekend she was VERY sick and it was a long and draining time for all of us. We missed our happy, hilarious girl while sick Evy presided. She wouldn't eat or drink for a full 2 days and so we had to force pedialyte into her by syringe which was heart breaking. But she is well now and we are working on helping her to gain weight. She hasn't gained any weight in a month or so and younger babies are passing her by in that department which worries Gidget. I wasn't worried until I recently heard of a 6 month old who weighs more than Evy! So we are feeding her any time she will eat instead of keeping a rigid schedule, especially the bottle. She's on soy formula at the moment because when she was sick the milk upset her tummy. But if any mothers out there have a weight-gain food advice, etc please let me know! She's been on the plain vegetables and fruit but really only eats one #2 jar/pack at a time. The others her age are eating 2 at a time. I realize we can't force her to eat more than she wants so I'm hoping we can just get her to eat foods that will help increase her appetite and encourage weight gain. She'll be 9 months old in a few weeks which is shocking! I can't believe its already been that long. But other than the weight issue, she is developing quickly and I swear she's smarter every day. She has learned the sign language for milk and has used it twice when she wanted a bottle which was exciting. When she was sick and in a very upset crying fit she cried out for mama twice. Not in a "ma ma ma ma" way but very distinctly "MAMA". We have several games we play and she just loves to laugh and make silly noises. I will post pictures soon I promise because I have some SUPER CUTE ones you're going to love!

TAGGED

2007-05-24T10:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Reagan, who tagged me.

7 Random things or habbits about me...

1. I type super fast to the point where sometimes my fingers go TOO fast and I mess up words. Because of the way I type (fingers on the proper keys), weird keyboards really annoy me.

2. I really do want to write a book, journal, write poetry, etc but somehow I have a block and never do it. the desire is there but when I actually have time to do it I don't think about it! Very annoying.

3. I take an insane amount of pictures, some of them sort of silly (corrie and reagan can attest to that!). But I just like being different and you never know what you might catch in the lens.

4. I have a slight vanity about my hair. It has gotten really long and pretty and blond and well, I just like it. To the point that sometimes I swish it across my back on purpose when I walk - I like the feel of it!

5. I bite my fingernails while hating that I bite my fingernails. Sometimes I bite them so low that they bleed and hurt and yet I KEEP BITING. Its this weird obsessive habbit that I can't seem to break and while it annoys me to do it, I still do it. While thinking that I shouldn't do it.

6. I wish I could be like Hermione Granger (HP 4) and magically shrink and straighten my teeth. I don't have the money for orthodontics and I'd rather not go through braces. I wish I could just be magic for one day and fix them.

7. I like to read books over and over again. Its fun knowing what will happen but still reading it anyway.

I don't have anyone to tag as most of my readers don't comment or they've already done it. So sorry, I'm stopping the tag train!! :-)

Cutting teeth

2007-05-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well, after much anticipation the arrival of Evy's first teeth has come! On Thursday Gidget told me that there was a hole in her bottom gums and today I got a full view of one, possibly 2, teeth poking up! She has to laugh just right so that her lip comes down far enough to see and I got a good look. Later this afternoon while playing with her, she bit me! So the tooth has broken through and is working its way up and its a sharp little sucker! Gidget is very glad she has already stopped breastfeeding :-). As soon as it comes out all the way I will get a picture and share!

Things are really getting busy, especially this week. Monday I worked at the church plus ran a bunch of errands and took Ty to the vet. He had his teeth cleaned - he was NOT happy with me when I picked him up! Today the horse shoer came, tomorrow the vets are coming, Thursday I work at the church, Friday we will be preparing for the trail ride and Saturday is SADDLE UP FOR ST JUDE! We really don't know how many people to expect because not many have pre-registered. We could have 30, we could have 80 we don't know!

Tonight I went to the wedding of a widow and widower in their 60's! It was darling, they are precious. I met Francis a couple of months ago when the "Singles Again" and "Singles" Sunday School classes got together for dinner and bowling. She is the mother of Carmen who I've known for awhile and enjoy visiting with. So I enjoyed Francis as well! She has been a widow for 2 years and recently met Don who lost his wife in December after a long illness. They hit it off and decided to get married, in about a months time span! But it was fun to see them all dressed up and acting like true newlyweds. They wouldn't stop holding hands or touching each other and they were surrounded by their families. I love weddings of any kind and this is my first of one such as theirs! Love rocks!

Speaking of weddings, in just a few weeks I will "legally" have a sister in law! I can't wait! Just last night in the car I heard the song by Mark Schultz and Natalie Grant "When God Made You" and it made me cry. I love my brother dearly - we have grown as close siblings and friends in the past few years - and he has found a fabulous girl to marry and I love her too! I am just so amazed at how they are together and the way their relationship works. I am so thankful that God brought them together because it gives me hope for myself. God can overcome small things such as state lines, age gaps and health. He is GOOD! And just for the fun of it, I am posting one of my favorite pictures of the two of them. This is one of my favorite things about Dean and Jill - I know he will protect her and cherish her always.

Photo by Frederick Williams

Happy Pictures

2007-05-08T18:18:00.000-07:00

The world around me has been beautiful lately. Granted, the bluebonnets and paintbrushes are all gone. But my hanging flower pots are blooming beautifully and I enjoy them every day! Evy is continuing to be more and more fun, despite her occasional grumpiness due to teething. SHe drools like a maniac too. But she is a major crack up. I had a long photo session with her the other night and she was hamming it up. Below are a few of those shots. Also is a shot of Jack our miracle dog. The vet said by all accounts he should have died but instead he didn't even break a bone or have any internal injuries. He is now bouncing around as his usual self! Anyway, enjoy the flower picture - I took it in Clifton a few weeks ago. The rest are Evy obviously, and Jack. Hope everyone is doing well!

A Tribute

2007-04-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

Well a lot has been going on recently - some of it is fun stuff, and some is serious. I'll start with the serious and end on a positive note.
A short while ago I got some bad news from several people. First I learned that a friend of mine's mother in law was diagnosed with breast cancer and then her father in law with colon cancer. I am participating in the Susan G Komen race for the cure walk with their team. So far its looking good but still - scary news! What I know of Kathy Crim is that she is a very energetic, vibrant woman and I'm sure that while this has been a shock to her and her family, she is probably attacking it head on with a defiant attitude! I know she has a great support group and that always helps. Shortly after hearing that I got news that a very close family friend had gone in for a 6 month check up after having a cancerous kidney removed and there was another tumor on his intestinal wall. They have since found a few other growths as well and he will soon be seeing an oncologist. But the outlook for the moment is bleak as renal cancer is very resistant to treatment. Don is the family jokester and has always been the source and provider of much teasing. We all love to get picked on by Don because its his way of showing love - or at least thats what we tell ourselves. To even imagine reunions without him is well, unimaginable and therefore I am praying HARD for a miracle. I know I am not alone! Even though the reality seems bleak and the statistics are not good, that doesn't mean God won't come through and do something awesome. Then a few days ago a friend called to tell me her father, who was already in frail health, had broken his hip and was going in for surgery. They initially weren't sure he would survive the surgery but as of right now he is recovering albiet slowly. Its one day at a time but so far so good. Lastly, today we had a near tragedy on the ranch that is still potentially bad. Casey, Andy's youngest daughter who is 17, accidentally backed over Jack, the jack russell terrier. He was sleeping behind her car and didn't wake up when she started it. She frantically tried to find a vet, anyone to help her and no one would. SHe was turned away by 4 vets! Gidget didn't have her phone with her in the sanctuary at church so Casey finally called me and I felt mine vibrating. by that time it had been an hour since the accident and miraculously Jack was still alive - poor thing was in the back of Casey's car on a towel, bleeding and shaking from shock. Gidget took Andy's car and left him to get the baby, and I took my car and we met up with Casey. Gidget then took the dog to her vets who she had already called and later we got the news that basically it was a miracle he was even alive and it appears he doesn't have any badly broken bones. Because Casey was with him they believe she kept him from succombing to the shock. There is still a good chance he has internal injuries and possibly a pelvic fracture but he used the bathroom at the vets which was a good sign and means his bladder was not ruptured. He was sedated and given i.v fluids and seems to be responding well and even tried to sit up for a little bit. This dog is a miracle dog - his is about 12 years old, he was abused in his past, and he has been run over before and got no medical attention because he ran off and hid himself for 10 days. 10 days with an injury and no food or water and he survived! We believe God has a purpose for him! Pray that he makes it through the night and gets better.

Enough of the sad stuff. Evy is officially cutting a tooth - she has been drooling like crazy, has had a sporadic appetite and has been attacking anything she can get into her mouth (mainly my fingers/arms/legs). Gidget has felt the tooth, I haven't yet but will try! She is such a delight and learns new things every day and continues to just be a happy, hilarious baby! She is really starting to roll around and will hopefully figure out how to crawl soon! Our summer is quickly filling up with activities and we don't have a single free Saturday for quite awhile! But thats good, keeps me out of trouble haha! Anyway, I am out of time and my battery is running low. But I am LOVING the warm weather. THe cats and I are enjoing early evenings out in the yard - I let them roam around and I sit in my chair and read. Ahhh country life. I have some great pictures of some wildflowers that I just know you would love to see but those will have to wait as I don't have time to load them now.

April Showers bring May Flowers

2007-04-23T19:21:00.000-07:00

Well I never understand that saying because really, April showers bring April flowers. By May its too hot and lots of the flowers have withered up and died from heat stroke! But anyway, we finally got pictures of Evy in her Easter dress playing in the bluebonnets. She had a blast - although she broke the law and uprooted several while sitting there. I snapped a TON of pictures but these are my personal favorites!

St. Jude Trail Ride fundraiser

2007-04-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

When I remember I will post the actual sign I made up for this but until then, this post will do!

Saturday, May 19 is the Blue Stem Ranch 4th Annual Saddle Up for St. Jude trail ride! It is a 10 mile trail ride, broken up into 2 five mile rides with a lunch break in between. I've raised quite a bit of money in the past because I worked at a corporate office with a lot of great people who supported the cause. I am hoping that this year I will be able to raise as much as I have in the years past so I'm reaching out to my readers! Most people are familiar with what St. Jude does but if not, please check out their website . They do amazing work with sick children and the parents who cannot afford the treatment. Fundraisers like this one are what keep them going. This year I will not be able to ride because I will be taking care of Evy so that Gidget can lead, but she is old enough that I will have her out with me in the tent, running registration and the lunch. If you would like to donate, or if you have your own horse and would like to come ride please email me at janleighw@gmail.com

Thanks!

Pictures

2007-04-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

Okay not much time to type but many of you know about the "Easter Snow Phenomenon" so I wanted to share my pictures of the bluebonnets covered in snow. I measured 3 inches worth on the rock in front of my little house but I'm sure we got more than that, it just didn't accumulate due to the warmth of the earth. Craziness! Evy is SO MUCH fun these days - it just keeps getting better and apparently this ain't nothin yet!!

this is where we will take Evy's picture in the bluebonnets but on Easter, it was covered in snow!!

This is a normal sight - she loves to chew on her own hands and mine when I let her!

In her cute Easter dress, with a onesie underneath because it was so cold!

She likes to touch my coffee cup every day. I bet she's an early coffee drinker!

The sun always rises

2007-04-03T17:02:00.000-07:00

Well I hope all of my readers are enjoying the sun shiney warmth that we are enjoying here in Stephenville!! Its GORGEOUS!!

Last week was slightly miserable because I got sick Saturday night and was pretty much bed/couch ridden Sunday and Monday. Tuesday I worked half a day and then the rest of the week until yesterday I was living with a constant sore throat and a hoarse voice. Finally, I have recovered about 95% and hopefully by tomorrow I’ll be back to normal! I look forward to being able to sing again, that’s for sure! Evy who has also had a cold for what seems like forever is finally past it and only has an occasional cough now and then. She is a blast to be with these days because every day she seems to learn something new. She will be 7 months old in a few more days and she is babbling like crazy, holding on tight, putting things in her mouth (finally!!), eating like a champ and is just plain funny. We have started enforcing more tummy time to encourage the possibility of crawling but we have heard from a few parents who’s children never crawled – they went straight to walking. Evy can hold herself up on things like the table and the couch, standing without help. We are thinking she just might walk early! She is tolerating the tummy time much better than previously, though – she used to scream bloody murder any time we put her on her stomach. The other day she lasted 10 minutes before getting really mad and I just let her get mad hoping it would be even more incentive for her to try to move herself. She went through the anger and chilled out again so she ended up staying on her tummy fairly contentedly for 20 minutes. That is a record in the Hanson house! Today I put her on her tummy and she tolerated it even better than before, until she got hungry. So I think from now on I will make sure she gets as much tummy time as possible (when she’s not hungry) and we’ll see what happens. We are feeding her naked these days because well, its just easier! She is eating more and occasionally manages to slap the spoon (with the food in it) and it goes everywhere. Oh the joys of feeding a baby. Also Gidget has begun the weaning process starting with the 3 o’clock feeding so I get to give her a bottle every afternoon now. She absolutely LOVES the formula – she sees that bottle and gets excited. She chugs it down! Its pretty funny to watch.

We are back to taking our afternoon walks and yesterday she crashed in the stroller almost as soon as I got out the door, even though she had already taken her afternoon nap! But she was still adorable in her pink sun hat and sunglasses. For any mom's out there, the roll on sunscrean IS SO GREAT! We didn't get our walk today due to many other things that had to be taken care of but hopefully I can keep it up every single day now that the warm weather has moved in. I'm already enjoying the benefits of walking a lot!

Many things are planned for the upcoming weeks such as the sunrise service for Easter Sunday, a women's retreat with my mom's church lades, a baby shower for my friend Julie, a Spring church picnic with volleyball, and our annual Saddle Up for St. Jude trail ride on May 19th! Its fast approaching so I have made a flyer and we are organizing teams for advertising, etc. Each year has been more and more successful so we are excited to see what this year will bring.

I have also been hired as a financial secretary for the church part-time starting this week. I am excited about the extra income and also working for the church - it will be a bit challenging since I will be handling/entering all the tithes and offerings and paying bills, but I know I can do the work!

Sorry for the lack of pictures but its been a hectic week and I didn't get any downloaded, but I will get one of Evy in her sunglasses - everyone calls her "Hollywood"! Also, we will be getting some of her in the bluebonnets soon - there are some great patches around here. Yesterday she got to play in the dirt at the arena and Gidget and I got a glimpse into the future - she LOVED it!! SHe will love the beach when they take vacation in June!!

Pictures coming soon!

Many stories to tell

2007-03-21T18:46:00.000-07:00

Well so much has happened since I last posted anything but hopefully I can get it all in. Evy has been sick on and off for a few weeks now - tis the season - and is now on the very tail end of her cold or whatever it was. So work has been a bit stressful since a sick, needy baby makes getting housework done hard! You stay at home moms know what I mean. Anyway, it also stresses Gidget out and she hasn't been getting good sleep at night because Evy isn't sleeping well and the circle is just crazy. Hopefully we are on the road back to normalcy! But nonetheless, even when sick, Evy is still capable of being happy and sharing with us her big smiles and laughs. Thanks to a friend of mine I was finally able to capture a good laugh on camera (even though she's not looking at me). Runny nose and all, she was laughing.

Last week I had my first visitors to the ranch and my humble abode. My friends Lari and her son Travis came to visit and stayed Sunday through Wednesday. While in the area they enjoyed Fossil Rim in Granbury, The Dr Pepper Museum in Dublin, and the country life in Morgan Mill. Travis went to a dine-in pizza place for the first time ever - he thought it was only available by delivery! Lari got to help Gidget with the horses and she had a dream come true riding the Fresian, Titan. I enjoyed having my "city friends" come visit me and it was the first time I've seen them since I moved! It was great that they ejoyed the ranch and can understand why I left my corporate high paying job to come out here.

Then I left on Thursday morning to join my mom and future sis in law to drive down to San Antonio for the W0men of Faith National Conference. I felt bad leaving Gidget with a sick baby, sleep deprived, and she was about to entertain her family for a few days. But plans were made - the show must go on! It was very nice to get away from "work" for a few days and Women of Faith couldn't be a better way to do it. Mom and I go every year to the conference in Dallas and this is our 2nd National conference to attend and we always enjoy it. This was the first time for Jill and she loved it! Despite some aches and pains and sickness scares, we didn't let anything get us down and the Lord came through as always. It was incredible and we had great weather! We walked each day to and from the Alamodome and we got to walk down the Riverwalk and allow Jill to see some Texas history (the Alamo!). On our way back to Clifton, we chose to take 281 to see some of the country and give Jill another taste of Texas. I was driving our 4RUnner and in Lampasas noticed the transmission acting funny - grinding and shuddering into gear. When we got into Marble Falls and I stopped at a red light on an incline, the engine died. It would not go back into gear, although it would idle. Great- stranded in Marble Falls! Thankfully I knew someone there and they called their mechanic who happened to have his shop about 100 feet from where we broke down. They agreed to look at it on Sunday (they were closed for the day) so we called our other friends who had attended the conference to come pick us up. We made it home later htan planned, and were not able to attend a dinner we were supposed to but we made it home. And God is good no matter what! It could have broken down anywhere else, but instead happened in a town where we could safely leave it and a mechanic would look at it. And our friends were not too far away and had room to take us home. Here is a picture of mom and Jill showing their frowns next to our broken car.

on Sunday, my parents church hosted a wedding shower for Dean and Jill and it was a blast. I got some great pictures of them but this is one of my favorites. Dean told the story of how they met and how he proposed and that was a blast. He tells it so well! I am looking forward to their wedding in June and having Jill as an "official" sister!!

and I can't leave out this picture. As they opened gifts, I wrote down what everything was and Dean asked what to do with the bows. As shown in the picture, I demonstrated to him what to do with a large bow that had been wrapped around a box. I like this picture because of Dean's expresson.

While it was nice to get back home to my cats and my own bed, Monday was crazy trying to get the house back in order. It was a long day! But now things are settling down and as Evy gets well, things get better. She is so much fun now, sitting up and babbling and she is now reaching out for people. She is definitely a touchy feely baby (not sure how that happened since Gidget is NOT). She sometimes just needs a hug when her feelings get hurt or she gets upset. Its so sweet! I expect she'll start talking soon - she opens and closes her mouth sometimes like she wants to say something but just can't get it out. Gidget is learning some sign language and hopes to use that.

Speaking of home, I think its time for me to go and get some rest. This week is already flying by so fast! I will try to keep posting each week so I don't get behind!
(sunset on the ranch)

Ahhh this is the life

2007-03-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

The weather has warmed up again which is GREAT. I love where I live! Every day that its warm, I take Evy out in the stroller and we walk up the road to the highway and back. Its exactly 1 mile from the house up and back, with several inclines and uneven road - very good for resistance! If for whatever reason I can't take Evy I go by myself anyway. I need the excersise thats for sure! We've also gone down to the barn several times while Gidget had lessons because people love to see the baby. Its been fun. Tomorrow is Mothers Day Out at the ranch for the MOPS group. Moms and their kids will be coming out to feed, brush and ride the horses. I'll have Evy in her pack-n-play so that I can help manage the kids in the brushing area! Its supposed to get up to 80 which will be PERFECT. My finger is slowly healing - I have to wear the finger brace a few more days, its still sore if I bend it too much or put pressure on it. But at least its not crooked or anything like that. Here is a picture that I took with my cell phone the day afterwards - all swollen and pretty. I took a picture of the bruise that shows where the fracture was on the underside but it looks more obscene because well, its my middle finger!
This has been a week of a few milestones with Evy. She's 6 months old tomorrow and so we are beginning the removal of the pacifier. They will probably continue to use it in the church nursery simply because its "chaos control" and she may continue to need it at night occasionally. But I'm hoping to eliminate it 100% during the day from now on. The problem has been more that she doesn't really need it but that its given to her to keep her quiet, mainly in the evenings. She went all day without it and was fine - I just had to divert her attention a few times and distract her. SHe took 3 naps just fine without it. I'm sure there will be a bit of "separation anxiety" since she has a bond with it, but all the books say the sooner the better! I spent the night in Andrew's room last night to attend to her so that Andy and Gidget could sleep. THe night before she was up all night fussing - we are pretty sure its definitely teething this time. She had a fever Sunday night and a little bit on Monday and then it disappeared but she's been fussy. Gidget only got maybe an hours sleep and Andy had to drive to Houston early this mornign and needed sleep. So I did night duty which consisted of twice giving her the pacifier again and a few other times just listening to her cry to be sure she didn't choke. They say its normal for babies to wake during the night but that eventually they'll learn to go back to sleep without much fuss. THe problem is every time she fusses even if its just for a few seconds, it wakes Gidget up and interrupted sleep can almost be worse than none! We pray that it doesn't continue and that she learns to sleep through the night quietly. WIsh us luck on the pacifier thing! Here is a picture I got yesterday - up until the last day or so she has not grasped the concept of holding on to things and putting them into her mouth. But slowly she is figuring it out and I tried to capture it with my cell phone. I gave her a teething biscuit to chew on and she actually had it in her hand and held it into her mouth for several seconds! Just long enough for me to run for my cell phone to capture it and she took it out of her mouth. But at least you see her holding it which is a big deal!! If only we could get her to put her teething toys and sippy cup into her own mouth - I bet it won't be long!

On another note, I am constantly in awe of my surroundings and each night that I walk to my little dwelling I stare up at the sky (and sometimes trip on things because I don't watch where I'm going) because the stars are gorgeous. I really thank God almost every day for bringing me out here. I pray I never take the beauty of this world for granted!

Have a great week y'all

bones and bruises

2007-03-03T15:08:00.000-08:00

well okay so I don't have an x-ray to prove it because that was a waste of money I couldn't afford. But in all my 29 years and 4 months I have never broken anything (not even when I got run over!!) but I live on a ranch for 2 months and break a finger. Not just any finger but my MIDDLE finger on my RIGHT hand. Do you know how much you use your middle finger?? Its a very important one. Thankfully I only broke it at the tip and so the knuckle still bends a little bit. I just can't put a lot of pressure on it and wear a finger splint to protect it. I am always flipping people off due to the splint lol! But it must be accident week at the Blue Stem because I hurt my hand on Monday (on a gate by the way) and then yesterday Gidget came off one of the horses. HE spooked and being as big as he is (He's a fresian) she came off. It was a long way to fall and she just happened to land on the same hip where her cell phone was in her pocket. That didn't help matters! She has a very large colorful bruise and bump on her rear on the right side. literally her butt is bigger on one side, its kind of funny. But we are just glad that neither injury was worse than it was because both could have been. I'm bowling tonight - something tells me I won't do too well. But I'll have fun!!

Dear Readers

2007-02-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know that there are people who read this blog because occasionally someone will comment to me about "i saw that on your blog". Yet you do not leave comments! Did you know that you could? There is this little icon at the bottom right of every post that says "comments" and even if you are not a member of blogspot you can still comment using your name. I know this sounds silly but I would simply like to know you are out there, reading my mindless babble occasionally. I know I'm not awe-inspiring or anything, but a nice hello would suffice. Thanks! :-)

Finally some pictures

2007-02-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

Sorry I don't have time to write more dialogue, all is well and very busy. march will be super busy. But I'll update this more on Wednesday night. For now enjoy the pics!

Me and my new friend, Baby the bird

The horses on the hill

Evy talking in her bouncer

Evy's "Diva" pose isn't she a doll

It's a Sunshine-y Day!

2007-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

I don't know about where you are, but the weather the past few days has been INCREDIBLE. Gidget and I have opened the windows and taken walks and both yestery and today I took the baby to the barn in the stroller. I also learned how to wash the (many) windows! My heater doesn't come on as often at night, I'm wearing t-shirts during the day, ahhhh its beautiful. I love Texas warm weather!
My relationship with the bird is still going well - he seems to be the only man willing to show me affection lately and I'm soaking it up. Now when I go visit him at his cage he'll approach me and rub his beak on my hands and cough up a seed or two. The whole regurgitation thing is not so bad anymore - I know what it means so I'm looking past the actual process to the meaning. Its all about meaning. He also mimics my voice more which is cool to hear. I cleaned his cage yesterday and he didn't waste time getting on the floor to enjoy his clean area. He really likes when I give him fresh water for his bathing bowl.
The baby is growing - she's now wearing more 6 month clothing which Gidget thinks is sad. She's still not rolling over like we'd like her too but she sits up and eats like a champ so we take what we can get.
I am really looking forward to the warmer weather so I can go on more walks with the baby - get good excersise!! Also, Gidget has a horse clinic coming up and then after that is the St. Jude Trail Ride in May. I'm not sure what my part will be this year - I'm sure I'll be manning the registration booth with the baby instead of riding. Thats okay with me!
Anyway, I still haven't downloaded my pictures but I will soon. Stay posted!

Showing Affection on Valentines Day

2007-02-14T19:43:00.000-08:00

This morning Baby got off of his cage again and made it as far as the kitchen. He made a noise and Gidget and I both realized that it as far too close - sure enough there he was walking down the hallway. I went to go get him and as I started talking to him and knelt down he started moving his neck rapidly and made a coughing sound and..... yep you guessed it. He regurgitated a large seed right into my hand. Um. Gross. I continued to talk to him, trying to coerce him into stepping onto my hand so I could carry him back to his cage but all he kept doing was spitting up seeds on me! Thats how birds show affection, apparently - they puke on you. I'm just glad the seeds were still whole..... he finally stepped up onto my fingers but continued walking up my arm, all the while making the gagging noise and shaking his head at me. Now when I approach him he automatically starts to do that, and when I passed by his cage to go to Casey's room he flung water at me. What a beautiful relationship.
(picture to be posted soon, I forgot my cable for my camera!)

A Potential New Friend

2007-02-12T16:53:00.001-08:00

Pretty much as long as I can remember I’ve never been much of a fan of birds. Its not really that I “dislike” them, I just don’t prefer to have anything to do with them. They are cool to watch from afar – especially when flying. But as for having a bird for a pet? Or even touching one? Nah, not for me. Funny that now I sort of live/work with an African Gray Parrot. A super smart, talkative and sometimes hard headed parrot. “Baby” is supposedly Joseph’s parrot but since Joe has gone off to college, Gidget is his caretaker now. No one else really pays him any attention. My first few visits to the ranch gave me a good picture of Baby and his personality. He is excellent at mimicking things and if he comes across one that’s particularly hard he’ll work on it til he gets it right. Lately its been the baby monitor when it goes out of range. It beeps – he’s been working on just the right tone. He can mimic Andy’s cell phone and the house phone very well – to the point sometimes I have to check to be sure. He mimics voices very well and he talks to the dogs regularly. Whenever someone walks in the door he says “Come on In” and whenever we send the dogs outside he says “OUT”. Throughout the day he chatters constantly. When I first came out to the ranch I didn’t believe Gidget when she told me I’d get used to it and wouldn’t hear him much. Now I know its true. He’s background noise. He can get very loud and annoying and I’ll just tell him to hush. Sometimes he says “no” back to me. Sometimes he says the funniest things, or he’ll try to mimic something he heard on tv but he gets it all garbled. Anyway, I haven’t really had a lot to do with him other than occasionally talking to him, or playing the game of “I can make this sound, can you?” back and forth. He whistles, I whistle back; He whistles differently, I copy it and so forth. Until finally he does something he knows I can’t possibly do and I say “fine you win”. But as for touching him? No thanks. A few times in the past he’s gotten off his cage and walked around on the floor where he instantly becomes bait for the dogs if he gets too close. If I was by myself, I did whatever I could to shoo him back to his cage but never actually attempted to pick him up. Gidget usually had to come and he would “step up” on her hand and go back to his cage. Tonight, I was baby-sitting while Andy and Gidget went on a date and at one point I got up to go get a drink and lo and behold, there was Baby by the staircase, walking around. The funny thing is I didn’t even hesitate. I knew what I had to do – he was about a foot away from Woodrow, Gidget’s blue healer mix. He was about to be a late night snack. So I knelt down to Baby and started talking to him, stuck out my finger (Like I’ve seen Gidget do) and said “Baby, step up”. He looked at my finger, stuck out one claw and then released. This went on a few times and he was inching closer to Woodrow. So I repositioned myself between the bird and Woodrow and tried again – SUCCESS! He stepped up with both feet onto my hand (ouch, those claws are sharp!!!) and he didn’t even bite me! I carried him back to his cage and told him good boy. I was so proud! I didn’t even freak out! When Gidget got home I told her that Baby and I were finally friends – she laughed and said “I hate to tell you, but you’re not in with Baby until he’s drawn blood”. Great. So I have that to look forward to!

The stars at night...

2007-02-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

are big and bright - DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS! Seriously, lately the night sky has been crystal clear and amazing. The full moon and bright stars make for awesome sky gazing! Sometimes I just stop in awe of where I live - it seems unreal! Things are continuing to go well, but with Gidget picking up more lessons (praise God!) and getting busy, that means more time with the baby who is getting increasingly more active. Won't be long before she is rolling and sitting up on her own and then crawling! I will certainly have my hands full then! I'm trying to really relish the moments now when she contentedly sits in her swing while I do housework. There are still times she wants my undivided attention, though. Just Monday she was having trouble sleeping so finally I just left her sleeping on my lap and that way if she woke up crying I could soothe her instantly and she would go right back to sleep. I am beginning to think she is going through some sort of growth spurt lately - that would explain the weird eating schedule and the trouble sleeping. Lately she can be just a little needy - we are hoping its not spoiling her but I think she's still too little to be spoiled quite yet. I just don't know how mom's do it - the ones who do it ALL! Anyway, below are some pictures from today. She had sweet potato's for the second time and is REALLY enjoying eating. She also had a good visit with the horses in the barn since the temperature got up into the 70's. She's been inside all winter with this cold weather so Gidget wanted to take advantage of the sunshine and warm weather (which of course, is short term). She had a blast - mainly with Leo, the lab. I couldn't get a picture of that because she was on my lap and it was too close, but basically Leo lets her do anything she wants. His head was in her lap (as far as I'd let him go) and her fingers were up in his mouth, his eyes, his ears and he just stood there, tail wagging.

Sweet Potato's are Good!!

Shay and Evy get an eyeful of each other

Jake gets up close and personal!

Cereal and Sweet Potato's

2007-01-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

Evy had her checkup on Monday, complete with vaccinations, and we got the go-ahead to start her on foods. This is huge for Andy who has been DYING to feed her! So Tuesday night Gidget put her in one of her little chairs and prepared some rice cereal. The first feeding was interesting as she wasn't quite sure what to do with what was in her mouth but she has very quickly caught on! When she is put into that seat with a bib her little legs start kicking and she gets super excited. She doesn't appear to like the apple juice, but the cereal and the yams were great. Gidget gets to try new things every few days so its a process! I'm waiting for the nasty diapers to start....

Its been a busy week and I am going to be working at Andy's office once a week now. He has one assistant in the office and she has fallen behind on filing/paperwork and needs help. So I went in on Thursday and helped for a few hours and will continue going in every Thursday. Gidget and I are getting into the hang of things, and until I get another part time job and my hours change, we are pushing my start time to 9 a.m. That gives her more time in the afternoon which seems to work better for her and the baby.

Evy is getting used to me being around - if she gets fussy I can calm her down fairly quickly, and we have good interaction. She still sometimes stares at me, processing the fact that I'm there. She is talking to me a little more, as she gets more comfortable with me, but its not the same as with Gidget. When Gidget is with her, she squeals and coos and babbles constantly. With me, its only occasionally and usually right after she's been with Gidget haha! But we are getting there.

My little house is really starting to feel like home. Today I got a lot done as far as putting more stuff in storage (to give me more space) and I hung some pictures. I'm limited on decorating since one side is all cinderblock and the other side is not. So its slightly lopsided. But I found my curtains in storage and will hang those up on hte cinderblock using velcro which will help. Maybe it will deter Ty from pulling on the blinds in my bedroom! He loves the windows. Lady wants to dash out the door every time it opens - she has no concept that the dogs will eat her. Leo and Paco have had an encounter with the cats (cats inside the door, dogs outside) and they don't really do anything, but Gidget says if Lady got out and started running, the chase would be on and it would not end happily. I need to find their leashes so I can take her outside! I have adopted Jack, the jack russell terrier. He's the sweetest dog. But he's not too sure about actually coming inside with me. Other cats have actually beat up on him so mine terrify him (they are kind of big). When the weather gets a little warmer, I will give him a bath and let him inside more often. I think he'll get used to it. I really like him- surprisingly, since I'm not normally a dog person. But he's older and while he's active, he's not hyper. And Gidget has trained him well - he smiles, he obeys orders and he doesn't lick or jump. I'll have to get a picture of him smiling because its hilarious and sweet. When I'm hanging out at hte house watching tv or watching movies, he lays on my lap or next to me. He doesn't do that with anyone else really!

So I'm really settling in, its been a few weeks and starting to really feel like home.

free cone friday

2007-01-19T19:57:00.001-08:00

I just had a free cone of frozen yogurt at Beriyo and laughed hysterically at the crazy college/high schoolers coming through for their free stuff too. woo hoo!

Let it Snow...

2007-01-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

Well, I woke up Wednesday morning to a very shocking and unexpected site!

So I bundled up and ran outside to take more pictures. I got this fabulous one of the horses and dogs running around as we went to put another round bale of hay out.

Here's me covered in snow flakes.

Here's the view from the deck of the ranch.

and Here is the BEAUTIFUL picture I got a few days earlier when we had the ice. I love where I live!

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Cabin Fever

2007-01-16T15:32:00.000-08:00

Well I am free at last after 3 days of being iced in! Friday Gidget and I drove to the mall in Forth Worth and spent 6 hours looking for a dress/shoes/jewelry that she could wear to the Governor's Innauguration ball (she and Andy were invited by their pastor). On our way home it was raining and we made it home before the sleet started. A mere day before it had felt like 80 outside and within 24 hours our world was frozen and glossy. I slept in on Saturday and then wandered over for lunch and spent the rest of the day watching movies with them because it was COLD outside and COLD in my little house! we got the call Saturday evening that church was cancelled so around 10 a.m. Sunday Gidget texted me that Andy was cooking breakfast. It was still chilly in my house so I bundled up and slipped and slid across the driveway for warmth, food and more movies. We watched Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring. Monday it wasn't any warmer, still very slipper and shiny outside and I had not slept well Sunday night. SO COLD. There are gaps in the door thats in my bedroom and the cold air was rushing through and across my face all night. I don't use the door to go in and out so it is now ducktaped. True country charm - ducktape on the door! I took a picture but my camera isn't downloading quickly for some reason so I'll post that pic later. Anyway, due to the cold and sleet, things were not looking good for the Austin trip. We had planned to leave Monday night (I was going along to care for the baby while they were gallavanting with the rich people) - but the news was telling us they were getting our "wintry mix" and it would be getting worse. Finally the decision was made that we would not go - it wasn't worth the risk. Despite the fact that Gidget and I had shopped for SO LONG and done SO WELL at staying within the budget! *sigh* Now she has a fancy outfit to wear and told Andy he has to take her somewhere super nice so she can wear it! I worked on Monday but Andy stayed home and so at 3 I went "off the clock" and we watched LOTR The Two Towers. After the ducktape and a sheet over the door, I slept much more comfortably last night and woke up to find it was slightly warmer (above freezing, yay!). I still slipped and slid over to the house and the wind was COLD but the sun was out. Unfortunately Gidget seems to be getting a cold - started out seemingly as allergies but has progressed since she can't take any medication. Hopefully Evy is not getting it. But thanks to a slight raise in the temperature, I made the venture into town to run to Wal Mart, Blockbuster, and back here at Beriyo for INTERNET! CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD! Out on the ranch, sleet/ice is even more trapping because our road is not "well travelled". Its one thing to choose to stay home, another to have no choice!
Life is good out here, but time really does seem to stand still. That part is strange and I'm not sure how long it will take to get used to it. But I'm trying. Things are looking good for a job at the church, its just a matter of time - not sure when it will all take place.
Hope you all stayed warm and are staying warm - I don't think the cold is close to over, although a very hopeful weather man stated it will be warmer this weekend!

My new life

2007-01-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

(from the entrance to the ranch, looking out over the property. If you look carefully you can see the house far in the back)

Yesterday Gidget and I had lunch at the Morgan Mill General Store. We were there just before the regulars showed up and it proved much entertainment for me. The General Store is just that. Along the left wall are shelves stocked with everything from cheap brand toilet paper to Drain-O to cans of Spam and Salmon Fillet in a can. Yes, that is correct - Salmon in a can. They also have gas pumps, a fountain machine, and serve food. They have specials each day of the week and know the regulars by name and order. The regulars yesterday were almost all men - cowboys in from their hard labor of training horses, plumbing, construction or electricity. Their big pickup trucks filled the space in front of the store because there are no parking places. Folks just pull up parallel on the side of the highway and park! The woman who took our order wrote it down word for word in full - no shorthand. And then the owner came by to make sure our order was right and everything tasted right. Gidget later told me he's Tuff Hedeman's father in law (if you know who Tuff Hedeman is). There is rodeo and Texas memorabilia everywhere, old fashioned looking toys, and candles on the shelves as well. But from the highway you would drive right past and may not even realize its a business in operation! It looks like a run down gas station in passing.

Life on the ranch is great. Gidget is working me hard for sure, but its worth it. Somehow taking care of them and serving them as a family is rewarding. I've always been a bit of a servant at heart and it seems to come naturally for me to pick up and clean up after them daily - at least so far I don't mind it much! Evy is a super easy baby and when she is awake we have a blast just hanging out and playing. She just goes with me wherever I am working and occupies herself with babbling or playing with her toys or just watching me work. She definitely comes more to life with Gidget and talks incessantly. She tells Gidget what I do haha! Anyway, I'm settling in. I enjoy leaving the house after dark and looking up at the stars. I enjoy Jack the dog sleeping outside my door on the blanket I put out for him. I enjoy the quiet mornings when I drink my coffee and prepare for the work day. I enjoy the quiet nights laying in bed listening to the dogs occasional bark or a coyote howl. I'm truly at home here.

And the change begins

2007-01-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm officially living on the ranch and I gotta tell you - its still a bit surreal. Moving on Saturday was completely chaotic as it turns out I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF!!! Here is a pic of the 4Runner packed to the limit (literally front to back, top to bottom) and this is the SECOND trip we made. We didn't fit everything into three vehicles on the first trip!

Anyway, here is my new home - the front door/porch anyway. It doesn't look like much but I actually like it. I especially like that its about 25 steps away from work!

Tuesday was my last day at CSAB and I must admit it was hard. For many reasons - I was stressed out about leaving loose ends, I was stressed about the change and I was sad to leave many friends. THat was my first real "grown up" job that lasted and it lasted 5 years! But I know I've made the right decision and despite the tears and sadness, it feels good to be here. So far my new job hasn't been so bad other than that it really doesn't feel like a job! I mean, I know that it is but I'm working in a house I'm familiar with so I just feel sort of like I'm cleaning my own house. Maybe thats a good thing, I don't know. But either way, its great. I'm sore - not used to so much vacuuming and lifting and being on my feet all day - but its a good sore. Anyway, I'm getting settled and hopefully it will only take a few weeks to really feel normal out here. I'm officially "Nanna Jan"!

Baby, Its Cold Outside!

2006-11-30T15:55:00.000-08:00

one of the things I love about Texas - yesterday I was wearing a t-shirt and it was 78 degrees. Today its snowing and its 25 degrees!!!
The view of the courtyard at my apartment from my balcony

Ty stuck his nose in it and I caught him looking up at me as he licked it off lol!

Lady immediately rolled around in the snow patch on my balcony

Nana Jan

2006-11-30T08:08:00.000-08:00

Just one more month until I am full time nanny to sweet baby Evy! I spent Thanksgiving out at the Ranch and even moved a few things into my living quarters. While I've been stressing a little bit about the move and the change and the finances, being out there really put my mind to rest. Its home to me already and I can't wait to be out there! The location alone is something to look forward to but the more time I spend with babies and see how really great they are, the more excited I get about being around to see Evy learn things and grow up. This picture isn't recent but its still one of my favorites. Evy goes to sleep on her own now but its still such a sweet thing when they fall asleep in your arms!

Moving is Fun

2006-11-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

So I've been packing and organizing and trying to prepare for the first move which means the apartment is in total chaos. It will be MUCH easier once this first part is done - hopefully we'll get everything I've organized out. Then I can slowly get everything else done! But anyway, here are a few pictures of how the cats are responding to the chaos. I recently took my bed apart and found Lady perched on the "rungs" so to speak.

Then tonight I was taking things out of the dresser drawers and she made herself comfortable inside!

Ty runs around a lot and likes to climb into things.... such as the zippered bags!

Career Change

2006-10-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

So, it's official. As of January 3, 2007 this will be my new boss and the little angel in her arms will be my "charge"!

Yep thats right, I am moving to Blue Stem Ranch to be the nanny/housekeeper for my best friend and her family. A small part of me is super nervous simply because its a BIG change. But a much bigger part of me is soooooooooooooo ready for the change! Every time I go out there to visit I feel relaxed and I can BREATHE. Granted, I'm usually visiting but not always. You can ask them, they put me to work! I earn my keep most of the time :-). There are a few downsides, such as spotty cell phone reception and no possibility of high speed internet. But I already have some solutions for those problems (because the withdrawl symptoms would be UGLY). The best part is that I will be able to work in sweats/pj's and won't have to wake up early enough to shower, dry my hair and put on makeup. Granted, I can every once in a while just to feel nice..... but I doubt I will. Rolling out of bed, making some coffee,and then walking a few feet to work will be fabulous. And I am really thinking that since I'll actually be doing physical labor that requires me to move around a lot, I'll lose weight and get in shape again! No more sitting on my butt at a desk all day!

Its very bittersweet though. I will be leaving a whole crew of awesome friends and truly, an awesome job behind. I mean, yes I no longer enjoy the city life or the corporate work place. But I really do have a great job and great benefits/perks. And I've made some fantastic friends in the 6 years I've lived here. I will come visit, I have friends with spare beds thankfully! And there is the beauty of cell phones, internet and of course MYSPACE!!!

The big question is how my cats will react to such a big move. Ty is already expressing his opinion about the boxes

10 Year Reunion

2006-10-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Whew! Its over! I’ve been planning and thinking about my 10 year HS reunion practically all year. Yes, I’m weird like that and started thinking about it LAST YEAR when someone else I knew had their reunion. And now it’s over. Part of me is a little sad because I really enjoyed the work that went into finding old classmates and getting in touch with everyone. I’m hoping to keep up with everyone for the next few years until the 15-year reunion! Oh yes, there will be another one! I’m just so glad that my work paid off and we really had a great turnout! I managed to get in touch with about 80% of our classmates and even though all of them couldn’t come, the fact that I found a way to contact them was rewarding for me. In the end, we had 62 attend the Homecoming Football game on Friday night (yay Clifton won!) and several even attended the little ice cream social at our old HS where we were allowed to roam the halls and classrooms and discuss which locker used to be ours. It was strange being back in those hallways because as much as they’ve changed and I’ve changed, I was still sent spiraling back into memories. Memories of the girls bathroom where I spent much time giggling and gossiping with my friends while we checked our hair or simply hid from people we didn’t want to talk to. The classroom where I had freshman English and made one of my best friends who is still my best friend today! The science labs where many humorous discussions took place, and even the gym where I went to many pep rally’s and basketball games. Saturday morning I was up and going early for the brunch at the Mitchell’s ranch which was delicious and very nice! The food was abundant and yummy but my favorite was watching these classmates of mine and their kids. The kids are all young for the most part and are just PRECIOUS! Apparently a favorite was this mother and son – aren’t they sweet???

I enjoyed being behind the camera and just observing everyone as they interacted. It was a great morning. The finale of the weekend was Saturday night out at the Safari Ranch and while I was almost exhausted by the time it arrived, I was so ready for it! We had a great group and a great time of visiting and eating and just enjoying seeing each other again.

We laughed at the video of our graduation events, and we laughed even harder at some of the old pictures and yearbooks. So much has changed in the past 10 years and yet many of us were quite the same, just a little older and wiser ….. well maybe not ALL of us! It was so great to see old friends and faces and my favorite? Well that was talking to people that maybe I wasn’t a great friend with in HS but now we get along. Finding out what people are doing now, whether shocking or predictable. Those are the things I really enjoyed and I hope I won’t forget!

Unwritten

2006-10-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

forgive me for quoting an entire song for a blog but this song is like my theme lately! I am starting a new book in life and its exciting! I'll write more eventually I promise, just haven't had time to really sit down and write it all out yet.

Unwritten by Natasha Beddingfield

I am unwritten
Can’t read my mind
I’m undefined
I’m just beginning
The pens in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find
Reaching for something in the distance so close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
(Treat) yourself in what’s unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries are outside the lines
We’ve been conditioned to not make mistake
But I can’t live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Treat yourself in what’s unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

money sense

2006-09-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

today i actually looked at the newspaper ads/coupons in my mailbox for a change and was glad I did. Kroger has a 10 for $10 going on with many items i needed and use regularly. like toothpaste and Breyers ice cream! haha. Okay so I don't need the ice cream but I promise you, next week I will be glad I have it and girls you know what I'm talking about! So yeah, I got several items I needed and a few pints of ice cream that I WILL need in the future. I'm just excited I got things for $1 that I normally would have paid $2 for! woo hoo! I saved $11. :-) happy day!

Baby Evelynn Marie

2006-09-09T19:27:00.000-07:00

My good friend Gidget delivered her baby daughter last night at 8:46! She weighed in at 7 lbs 14 oz, 19 inches long and a 9 on the APGAR! Both mother and daughter had a very long day but are doing well and will go home tomorrow. She's a sweet one! I can't wait to go stay next week and help take care of her!!!

Ty and his kitty condo

2006-09-05T19:06:00.000-07:00

Ty has what I call his kitty condo and it hangs on the laundry door in the kitchen. He loves to rattle around in it, climbing up and down the levels, chasing the strings and other things that only he can see. Thought I'd share some funny pictures of him in action - if only I had a video camera!

free at last!

2006-09-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

in the fall/winter/spring my kitties enjoyed the freedom of going out onto the balcony whenever they wanted because I left the window open for them. But when the heat set in, I had to close the window and it has stayed closed several months now. Due to the recent change in weather, I opened the windows this evening and both cats immediately jumped through the window to roll around on the pavement! Lady prefers to sit on the sill most of the time, while Ty roams so here are some pictures showing them enjoying their freedom!