tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44560715096646888372024-02-20T19:51:57.278-08:00A day in the life of the StitesTracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-59621985344299124172010-11-13T19:02:00.000-08:002010-11-13T19:15:36.823-08:00a few pics<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NbxQ8F6mMJ-CxzhED1TNQJFR7SK81GAEot58Dz7SU-X50p24j8SFABGz8MX8b_uxzbngntuga-99EX1igpAmgiGGmrd-9w6wTTn24qfYrkytq7XKgeKgMmz_fLhnoVONSJegRNqO5rs/s1600/2010+901.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539238431308253282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4NbxQ8F6mMJ-CxzhED1TNQJFR7SK81GAEot58Dz7SU-X50p24j8SFABGz8MX8b_uxzbngntuga-99EX1igpAmgiGGmrd-9w6wTTn24qfYrkytq7XKgeKgMmz_fLhnoVONSJegRNqO5rs/s320/2010+901.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawkBcVokyOtd3EgJqlAKzrgIJITh8gyWy_JwxXSyFBS8Kdsyv-JILpwvI_Q5ARRKcdegW_mLlXGNIE6gjEWOTdOqK7gxXOxyw7Nd5Bq0vj0yOVv0cTxs06KanvqB7uuLezIZRyG7wMts/s1600/2010+858.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539238429734239538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawkBcVokyOtd3EgJqlAKzrgIJITh8gyWy_JwxXSyFBS8Kdsyv-JILpwvI_Q5ARRKcdegW_mLlXGNIE6gjEWOTdOqK7gxXOxyw7Nd5Bq0vj0yOVv0cTxs06KanvqB7uuLezIZRyG7wMts/s320/2010+858.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-qXtdaykg9cfmnuHyxKfF3iAMCkA93qr2iOJaHykVfJt43g-yhfETbRMQ9jvoas50VI8Uqkf9CNHup5UP5mv0miTGtbTJgzXPb4VdG2E0J0WUlzNbpAcqZ-LUwOPHs2w1bgKrpnyp8U/s1600/2010+830.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539237136324642834" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-qXtdaykg9cfmnuHyxKfF3iAMCkA93qr2iOJaHykVfJt43g-yhfETbRMQ9jvoas50VI8Uqkf9CNHup5UP5mv0miTGtbTJgzXPb4VdG2E0J0WUlzNbpAcqZ-LUwOPHs2w1bgKrpnyp8U/s320/2010+830.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFnfTBn9Z9-WDcQV1j6Pq6Llzs1-RMMxu3WkefxC3kUForm4RlJQTOhzQOGs59sFTir9fwTX6NwBs7ttV0LTVOOo6wgGirfW8vOKUdtnzOFmUOIMU3Mb29N21enXevgCejCARHgRDXS8/s1600/2010+803.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539237129372301042" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFnfTBn9Z9-WDcQV1j6Pq6Llzs1-RMMxu3WkefxC3kUForm4RlJQTOhzQOGs59sFTir9fwTX6NwBs7ttV0LTVOOo6wgGirfW8vOKUdtnzOFmUOIMU3Mb29N21enXevgCejCARHgRDXS8/s320/2010+803.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX46TmiS5rGqJuF13q53Y8sLw7IS0K7P8bstpoZgij0xIMSTro7-pTqNT4M-BsV-3MQWJZD49CcTHbj1knTrjtUB0ACC-7UndINBDNO-YuZT6JO3ePphZoN0CABqVrUMHDnwVVvkkq6wo/s1600/2010+780.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539237122340010274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX46TmiS5rGqJuF13q53Y8sLw7IS0K7P8bstpoZgij0xIMSTro7-pTqNT4M-BsV-3MQWJZD49CcTHbj1knTrjtUB0ACC-7UndINBDNO-YuZT6JO3ePphZoN0CABqVrUMHDnwVVvkkq6wo/s320/2010+780.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uoR_ygofv_ogt8KkQ4HKRcotDq1iGB-n7dm1UzGZM5Z_jrMjkkcl55U0OocyIdnOxABX6lkGIu-LacgsO1RyRa_Uqz5k86BHlPfENOXWSOdRhN8kzcB10GYC7ifMzSTYJy28SsSyFfs/s1600/2010+779.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5539237116042484850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3uoR_ygofv_ogt8KkQ4HKRcotDq1iGB-n7dm1UzGZM5Z_jrMjkkcl55U0OocyIdnOxABX6lkGIu-LacgsO1RyRa_Uqz5k86BHlPfENOXWSOdRhN8kzcB10GYC7ifMzSTYJy28SsSyFfs/s320/2010+779.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-6255684050396970922010-11-13T18:27:00.000-08:002010-11-13T19:01:23.831-08:00Birthday Extravaganza 2010Well it's officially been a full year since my last entry but I have had so many requests to keep posting, I'm gonna try and keep it going or should I say get it going again. This weekend has brought us around another full year and finds our kids aging as follows: Logan age 10, Garrett age 8, & Addi age 5. This has been a big fall with lots of changes as Addi started all day pre-k and we became the parents of all school-agers. Slowly but surely our home is losing it's babyproofing in exchange for video games, MP3s, and sports equipment. It's bittersweet to lose my babies but oh so fun to be able to travel easily and buy birthday gifts like college football tickets instead of mega blocks. I have to say though that children only get pricier as they age. I thought daycare and diapers were bad, but oh here comes clothes (designer), cars, & college! <br /><br />The birthday extravaganza kicked off last weekend with our trip to Stillwater to watch the Cowboys beat Baylor. Mark's parents came and entertained Addi with her own shopping day and then met us at our favorite OKC landmark restaurant, Cattleman's. Our best friends and their 3 boys spent the day with us, a great time was had by all. Our week was busy as usual and out of rhythm for us as I rearragned my work schedule to accommodate the kids parties this weekend. I made 48 cupcakes for Logan and Addi to take to school on Friday. Then I spent all day Friday cleaning and baking Logan's pirate cookie cake. I chickened out and ordered Addi's Princess Belle cake so I didn't have to stress out about getting it done during Logan's sleepover party. Friday evening we hosted 5 fun-loving male youths to celebrate Logan's 10th birthday. We ate, had Wii tournaments, ate, played GI Joe, ate, had Nerf gun wars, and watched movies and cackled till well past midnight. I was beat! <br /><br />And as if that wasn't enough, I decided to host Addi's party a mere 3 hrs after the boys headed out. So we quickly transformed our man cave to a princess castle and welcomed our 4 beautiful princess guests. We had cupcakes, decorated crowns, played dressup, and had a delightful relatively quiet afternoon. AND THEN we had my parents and sisters and family here for a family party. WOW! What a weekend so far. We are gonna need tomorrow to recover for sure. One more full week of school and then a short week as we head to Sallisaw for Thanksgiving. I'm gonna post this before I lose it and then try to add some photos. I am a little rusty and as you can see my background was so old it got deleted automatically!Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-281022101043375602009-11-15T18:12:00.000-08:002009-11-15T19:09:13.985-08:00Birthday Extravaganza......................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj124FIvHQ8GzmLGenyzGTNFf6Na45ZKCGxqLH7V1lZouhMe-fwEK6s2DTbxEJzXY_pDIpqolvIvvhb-AMNPAeZOcgzieTYQdHndNnTbnHYrfJSaB3niqaHHCsPlJMxnWNbrBnIFxfd6Hg/s1600/Addi+birthday+2009+002.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404531973334199906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj124FIvHQ8GzmLGenyzGTNFf6Na45ZKCGxqLH7V1lZouhMe-fwEK6s2DTbxEJzXY_pDIpqolvIvvhb-AMNPAeZOcgzieTYQdHndNnTbnHYrfJSaB3niqaHHCsPlJMxnWNbrBnIFxfd6Hg/s320/Addi+birthday+2009+002.JPG" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4luRJtU9h0Y1dwgdn4bh23ln1b8pYMnLUFqRA11J816PmmxnOp0KQj2EGW4LOxe8eEWXTvFht_I5B0NNZNc5XUJBc1OJL77Lf6kGRRTyLnq9pN-mfmCrF5oQYOGN5hkesPPXfC_wDzYY/s1600/Addi+birthday+2009+030.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404531965668949250" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4luRJtU9h0Y1dwgdn4bh23ln1b8pYMnLUFqRA11J816PmmxnOp0KQj2EGW4LOxe8eEWXTvFht_I5B0NNZNc5XUJBc1OJL77Lf6kGRRTyLnq9pN-mfmCrF5oQYOGN5hkesPPXfC_wDzYY/s320/Addi+birthday+2009+030.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBGFt45Ve6rRiS_jtKsoF7ldnWHLPuPzyQIb_OUibRXwPlr2UGBayILj67da4jmIO178s_HEE72hu7U4rxH5sv3sGNOJY5JwW_O4U8Nlnp63euR0tY3gUTWon4kLDqGFpMvpP0GRCyOA/s1600/Addi+birthday+2009+015.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404531962816113346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQBGFt45Ve6rRiS_jtKsoF7ldnWHLPuPzyQIb_OUibRXwPlr2UGBayILj67da4jmIO178s_HEE72hu7U4rxH5sv3sGNOJY5JwW_O4U8Nlnp63euR0tY3gUTWon4kLDqGFpMvpP0GRCyOA/s320/Addi+birthday+2009+015.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyJt_ImELBDmW8ACHpKCzchZSoZIq8vAHDicj2BsxX-7Yup43T06O_odE2hAtCPjXoDU-ARmhxsmyOqQ_mO1x3l-NqeSQ86vB-5ign4WXOAGB6x9WyEr-_F_HGZkgDqPwFy3403mMRwo/s1600/Addi+birthday+2009+007.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404531953234123330" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjyJt_ImELBDmW8ACHpKCzchZSoZIq8vAHDicj2BsxX-7Yup43T06O_odE2hAtCPjXoDU-ARmhxsmyOqQ_mO1x3l-NqeSQ86vB-5ign4WXOAGB6x9WyEr-_F_HGZkgDqPwFy3403mMRwo/s320/Addi+birthday+2009+007.JPG" /></a> Birthday Diva<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ESacQunDUAifm-ICWWmdGakbYT4w0oWziFaLejF32wS0lhYKOZ7qURZjHADubHmsCAjnUTELbzv6Bxc6cFNOAAVYz9p2a11F7XceCZR34hkiVIuHBDavRi9qGIT_s4DFunu5VlzUTbI/s1600/november+09+040.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404530596335523858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ESacQunDUAifm-ICWWmdGakbYT4w0oWziFaLejF32wS0lhYKOZ7qURZjHADubHmsCAjnUTELbzv6Bxc6cFNOAAVYz9p2a11F7XceCZR34hkiVIuHBDavRi9qGIT_s4DFunu5VlzUTbI/s320/november+09+040.JPG" /></a><br />Sleeping Beauty cake<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1EKJg_1kwGLLk4-5zh24UiQ4nmhGWWI8mUAn0oipp5RDmRGa-60d8W02JE7984Nps_DV3Cuyr1Z0csz2aSY0PIa9HsuVileYs0kblztlRRU_tiVMdcHEr95LOMo7AMYlrvpop8lI1jg/s1600/november+09+039.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404530592456448034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl1EKJg_1kwGLLk4-5zh24UiQ4nmhGWWI8mUAn0oipp5RDmRGa-60d8W02JE7984Nps_DV3Cuyr1Z0csz2aSY0PIa9HsuVileYs0kblztlRRU_tiVMdcHEr95LOMo7AMYlrvpop8lI1jg/s320/november+09+039.JPG" /></a>Watch out, Garrett on wheels.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAp5S3v4HjMDPRtTck8cAaARNQ8Cl0ops97Zsxj4EBlVk8Q7Ye69OfW83bwM5taV81G-s4U-H2h8IQX_tWkY4FWGSbl9b6LNVd3CHsRHo77ApjeycG-ee39EXf3tjL83EgIsNjPu3Zd4/s1600/november+09+021.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529376889541058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkAp5S3v4HjMDPRtTck8cAaARNQ8Cl0ops97Zsxj4EBlVk8Q7Ye69OfW83bwM5taV81G-s4U-H2h8IQX_tWkY4FWGSbl9b6LNVd3CHsRHo77ApjeycG-ee39EXf3tjL83EgIsNjPu3Zd4/s320/november+09+021.JPG" /></a><br />Logan has become very aware of money and the spending of it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YR2gQmld1z0n5zorXrOl-veLfpvPrtHHHMyElHjpVry6v8aQDL3QlGdeIr9VmquD66_3EjcNFSgsqJJBr4pK8QfX1labwxAO9Bu7ob2N-yRLe21OqV_kBZegLmSW045Jlg4g_C4pkiw/s1600/november+09+024.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529371090213906" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8YR2gQmld1z0n5zorXrOl-veLfpvPrtHHHMyElHjpVry6v8aQDL3QlGdeIr9VmquD66_3EjcNFSgsqJJBr4pK8QfX1labwxAO9Bu7ob2N-yRLe21OqV_kBZegLmSW045Jlg4g_C4pkiw/s320/november+09+024.JPG" /></a><br />These were a hit all around, thanks Aunt Nancy!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyfBCt4MrSDwiV7j9YC50QXFep0iFfEqPWKy1RkpaHG5EmHvLtWSkEPxjXruHRg-nKAtvTIcSxfehJ28ndgN2xCD4sxBlsL_rA11dp-4PJ80zViSOdI4BeBXoV0ieXSfU_2EDqzfyYcc/s1600/november+09+020.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404529370435633218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyfBCt4MrSDwiV7j9YC50QXFep0iFfEqPWKy1RkpaHG5EmHvLtWSkEPxjXruHRg-nKAtvTIcSxfehJ28ndgN2xCD4sxBlsL_rA11dp-4PJ80zViSOdI4BeBXoV0ieXSfU_2EDqzfyYcc/s320/november+09+020.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjsR-KlYVDUru6eMH9fEGFeMy-Kk83koEj6ct-Z6tBYCOETnO6GW2pQhyi4qPnt0Dit5UOrlhdi0omwz_3aXrdJtxCWlcI5DGB6-JFVuRCy8lTu8s8Q6XqXSQLshi3rmw_S85eMlQ9Ac/s1600/november+09+003.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404527969912676786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFjsR-KlYVDUru6eMH9fEGFeMy-Kk83koEj6ct-Z6tBYCOETnO6GW2pQhyi4qPnt0Dit5UOrlhdi0omwz_3aXrdJtxCWlcI5DGB6-JFVuRCy8lTu8s8Q6XqXSQLshi3rmw_S85eMlQ9Ac/s320/november+09+003.JPG" /></a><br />Boys and their posing, made me laugh.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eWO9A6FJq-sCmeEElsfKkij5s7J0BcRDRdYFn71ZmSJk1wOYu7OJV4fPcd2-jmCB-94E1MiY_NbpHlaFDpjvOEo223A-tCoJciV1gDnb7zsJYdbMT72WKnhL9P2XLKvQ_WjoYWWkbM4/s1600/november+09+004.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404527961880043378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eWO9A6FJq-sCmeEElsfKkij5s7J0BcRDRdYFn71ZmSJk1wOYu7OJV4fPcd2-jmCB-94E1MiY_NbpHlaFDpjvOEo223A-tCoJciV1gDnb7zsJYdbMT72WKnhL9P2XLKvQ_WjoYWWkbM4/s320/november+09+004.JPG" /></a> WOW! Where did 9 yrs go and how did I get old enough to have a child this old?<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well after many months of my idle blog I have decided to make the time tonight to update, plus it has gotten me temporarily out of the turkey decorating project going on at the dining room table. Garrett had a homework "family" project to decorate a turkey. I know you other parents out there know exactly which turkey I am talking about. This surely seems like the 100th time we've done this and it's only our 2nd child. I think the teacher got the memo wrong and this is a kindergarten not a 1st grade project!! Anyhow, the turkey is taking shape and I will hide in the office and just accept it for what it is when done rather than try to guide the placement of the macaroni, glitter, etc. Besides I think the boys are having burping contests and I'd just as soon miss that too.</div><br /><div></div><div>I am pretty beat after all the birthday goings on that have ensued here the past 72 hrs. We kicked it off Friday with Logan's sleepover which turned out to be a go home at 1 AM party but that suited me as I didn't have to get up early and feed them breakfast. We did a low key friend party with pizza, cake, gifts, movies, lightsaber wars, boy mania, etc. Fun was had by all and we certainly considered it a birthday success. Logan's actual birthday was Sat and we got to share that day with Grandma Jiji, Aunt Sue, and Granny Jackson (Mark's grandmother). These ladies came bearing pizza, gifts, and more party magic. Thanks to each of you and to Aunt Nancy who sent balloons and monkeys which were a hit as well. Addi got an ironing board which she wouldn't even recognize what it was if it weren't for the movie Cinderella. Garrett got some roller blades which he loved (not his bd till December but was nice to get something now as it's tough to wait when both your siblings are back to back days). I keep telling him his time will come but so hard to wait when you are 6. I spent every free moment and some not so free moments on Addi's princess cake. I had previously decided that I was going to save money and make my own cakes. Well now on the other side of the experience I realize why cakes cost as much as they do. It was still fun and I am so pleased with how they turned out and they were certainly unique and special to my kiddos. </div><br /><div></div><div>So that brings me to today, Addi's birthday!! 4 yrs ago today after a short and sweet induction this fluffy 9.5 lb angel came into our lives at 12:35 pm ( had to look that up in her baby book) and changed our family forever. I had wanted a girl since my first positive pregnancy test but God knew she needed 2 older brothers. Well the pink has arrived and we all treasure her. She has been planning this princess party for weeks, I shudder to think what planning her wedding will be like. Being her first friend party, I wanted it to be smallish enough to handle but big enough to seem like the end all for her. So we invited 3 friends and were so thrilled that all our invited princesses were able to come. Everyone wore their princess attire and we ate princess cake, opened princess gifts, and watched Snow White! And it all ended happily ever after.....</div><br /><div></div><div>It has been a full but wonderful weekend. Just a little update for those not as involved in our daily lives. School is of course in full swing with half the yr almost over, where did it go? Logan is thriving in 3rd grade, a spelling whiz and recently got his mini facts master (a math achievement he has been working on). His football season is over, Praise the Lord! Although it can't be called a winning season to the average spectator, it was to Logan. He has wanted to play for yrs and held us to our promise to allow him in 3rd grade. It was a big time commitment and one I am happy to be done with. He is busy with church activities and has a big part in this years children's choir production. I actually started teaching choir this yr (no, I didn't assign the parts) so it has been fun to watch the program take shape. And all you who are laughing at me teaching choir can stop now. I may not sing but I do have a knowledge of music :) Garrett is also having a stupendous year in 1st grade and has really amazed us at how gifted he is with his studies. This has been a real answer to prayer as his kindergarten teacher was a little concerned a yr ago. But he is doing so well, his teacher actually thought I must be a teacher because of some great phonics knowledge he had. I assured her while I was honored that she would think so, I promise he didn't learn any official phonics from me. Garrett was playing fall baseball which is also over, yeah! His team was playing a practice season as they were crossing over from tball to machine pitch. Now Garrett has long been known as the daisy picker in the outfield and wasn't terribly into anything but batting. Well as almost all kids can hit a ball off the tee, that didn't make him terribly special. But wait what's that, Garrett hit a home run in almost every game of machine pitch and was on many nights one of the only kids to even hit the ball. This made Garrett famous on the team and he ate it up! Looks like we'll be playing baseball again in the spring. Addi is just mostly along for the ride, having to take a break from dance and gym to accomodate her brother's schedules this fall. She goes to preschool 3 days/wk when I work and although she tells you she doesn't like it, she is always having a blast when we pick her up. She is growing like a weed and we continue to be amazed at her antics and the differences in girl dramarama she brings to our family. </div><br /><div></div><div>Well the boys are now running around playing with the princess toys (the princess missed her afternoon beauty sleep and is crashed out) that their sister rec'd today so that must mean the turkey is done or worse they've lost interest and it still lacks completion despite the fact that's it bed time. Either way, I should wrap up and post some pics before I have to get them to bed.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-63234991724996828102009-08-04T10:49:00.001-07:002009-08-04T10:58:00.833-07:00Technical difficulties...........Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-91204480215324266012009-08-04T10:49:00.000-07:002009-08-04T10:58:00.380-07:00Technical difficulties...........Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-40479583220913444662009-08-04T10:28:00.000-07:002009-08-04T10:46:31.049-07:00Back in business..................................Well whether you missed it or not I am happy to say my blog is back in business. I have a new and highly functional I might add, computer that is ready at my every whim to access the internet at an amazing pace and has enough virtual memory to accommodate my needs. My old computer told me about every 5 sec that is was low on virtual memory! So I didn't really look back to see exactly when the last time I posted but I feel pretty sure it was before school let out. So I'll just see how much of the summer I can remember and then try to post some pics of our recent travels. <br /><br />June was pretty much just work, work, work, and planning for our crazy July. The kids got to go on some cool field trips with their daycare summer program and I stayed quite busy at work. Recession or not, plenty of people have been having surgery at my hospital. The plastics business might be down but we are plenty busy patching people up who find ways to destroy their bodies. I'll try not to preach about this but I must say as someone who has to live with a neurologic problem that I can't control I have little sympathy for people who knowingly participate in activities that destroy their health. You want to know what's wrong with health care, well here is my opinion. We live in a society full of people who want to go and do with no regard to how it will affect their future, then they expect to be provided with a quick fix to keep the going. Well I am tired and frustrated with people who don't care enough to take care of themselves burdening our system to the point that those of us who work so hard can't even get healthcare for reasonable cost. Ok, so too late, got to preachin, back to update...<br /><u></u><br /><u></u>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-48296251019109883952009-04-18T08:27:00.000-07:002009-04-18T09:56:06.074-07:00Is it spring or not???????????<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWb04MGpikYXJVZi-0pDzqzVsGcsCwFL4_bLhDyhK3-FnWZP0Q1yLb6ZSpFPo_TNIXCEKxvskVk4K3vn8mmF43IqE_s4QvE5maMy8aouW78pdPLHhhZaLkN5Szv7YVn3ad59YBriGfWo/s1600-h/100_1608.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326075017988560850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTWb04MGpikYXJVZi-0pDzqzVsGcsCwFL4_bLhDyhK3-FnWZP0Q1yLb6ZSpFPo_TNIXCEKxvskVk4K3vn8mmF43IqE_s4QvE5maMy8aouW78pdPLHhhZaLkN5Szv7YVn3ad59YBriGfWo/s320/100_1608.jpg" border="0" /></a> Logan at country school.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEits3aWmd8yJ1WWMktn0Sm6QYgeIo9XOSAXf1SlI2-OGvsJS58DunFXZs2H0tQyb7sUUuaC4ehrPweWAK8X85XWe46J5f1DkukJxRwPz5bsSfkWVkSmbFY4HesWIiGK2HPt2bNPOfvp-nA/s1600-h/100_1600.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074837742478786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEits3aWmd8yJ1WWMktn0Sm6QYgeIo9XOSAXf1SlI2-OGvsJS58DunFXZs2H0tQyb7sUUuaC4ehrPweWAK8X85XWe46J5f1DkukJxRwPz5bsSfkWVkSmbFY4HesWIiGK2HPt2bNPOfvp-nA/s320/100_1600.jpg" border="0" /></a>One of our attempts at family photo<br /><br /><div>D<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNwATT50kRzB7F1_BlUf3i723HLfUgm021Pi-QRUmeiIDOz_PsOHshu8BSJd3tJO6DvS75qvcrTtQ78njUj-ADaH_TN0YlFXIbCQtyEiDN-cwlQ4rWFu6vI-A9WuU3KxgwGCAYYhlqyo/s1600-h/100_1581.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074831043393810" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNNwATT50kRzB7F1_BlUf3i723HLfUgm021Pi-QRUmeiIDOz_PsOHshu8BSJd3tJO6DvS75qvcrTtQ78njUj-ADaH_TN0YlFXIbCQtyEiDN-cwlQ4rWFu6vI-A9WuU3KxgwGCAYYhlqyo/s320/100_1581.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Do you think she looks disappointed to get toothbrush from Easter bunny?<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1xt-lXY2yK1sZC8TXTwtinEt293DC3kUTGtSLxMAa_tAyk2ohthw36lw_hwOHyFFcB1v2LJCjfnUFf2ALoyhEJwh2lC8_4LKcY9EPc3SbvtnCfDWhUF28MIKgbIa4UqyAfBYTxTuxKQ/s1600-h/100_1577.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074834907621218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1xt-lXY2yK1sZC8TXTwtinEt293DC3kUTGtSLxMAa_tAyk2ohthw36lw_hwOHyFFcB1v2LJCjfnUFf2ALoyhEJwh2lC8_4LKcY9EPc3SbvtnCfDWhUF28MIKgbIa4UqyAfBYTxTuxKQ/s320/100_1577.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Our neighborhood snowman, pretty good for <2 in snow!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIWQgBPO6k23En8_WWm3-_ALEUe2X3avnfspaMiBdi1YtHpG54tCuSYtZ8m_gfgxs_Y34UiQiXPGrfCbuJVI6-uHIcuJXvhg_fptlMZiy3WSbKY0jOPFhQBytprYuX54xbyF3nkcBoX0/s1600-h/100_1576.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074826297292786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAIWQgBPO6k23En8_WWm3-_ALEUe2X3avnfspaMiBdi1YtHpG54tCuSYtZ8m_gfgxs_Y34UiQiXPGrfCbuJVI6-uHIcuJXvhg_fptlMZiy3WSbKY0jOPFhQBytprYuX54xbyF3nkcBoX0/s320/100_1576.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Garrett just about frozen in the miserable north wind, time for hot chocolate!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCMeKjE9Sp7qMYw-6rk4YGNK_GXJ0e4zwzLV1F2TiYk26ndLgBhvpt6DnYOOheEH40afikqlWAUCSe-N8nngJh1EpNbUtHJG48LXiNdtiJoWdGjA-ruEuGTibXemRQmEX7fZbInL9bWA/s1600-h/100_1575.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074819422627090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsCMeKjE9Sp7qMYw-6rk4YGNK_GXJ0e4zwzLV1F2TiYk26ndLgBhvpt6DnYOOheEH40afikqlWAUCSe-N8nngJh1EpNbUtHJG48LXiNdtiJoWdGjA-ruEuGTibXemRQmEX7fZbInL9bWA/s320/100_1575.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />determined to make snowman<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE78sPf6Mwq4AY-AxCcGxbIvTlSa_0_CNb_8UdyocR78yTfCYb6C7U1pEVd0TCJUH66q0q4RdOl2AvVbMOiHrrPx8ozmqIo7zHwfWHCO379kNpf30mSb5EvV7YqEUZBaRlPpoA8fU6aMY/s1600-h/100_1568.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074070920954562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE78sPf6Mwq4AY-AxCcGxbIvTlSa_0_CNb_8UdyocR78yTfCYb6C7U1pEVd0TCJUH66q0q4RdOl2AvVbMOiHrrPx8ozmqIo7zHwfWHCO379kNpf30mSb5EvV7YqEUZBaRlPpoA8fU6aMY/s320/100_1568.jpg" border="0" /></a> just days before the snow in bricktown<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_THvJc9AQa8M5k21KtUNiZqLKsPdK8ZC_o5Gbt8iJ2Nl8suILJsVRWk_-Bd703C_NolycL3KrndW_Ugyhv5_DrsC18E3Us3qk9zdhEN6ZK05inq2oK4Frg1UAvA1IJ2U9eMzmNqON3uw/s1600-h/100_1558.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074066794674370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_THvJc9AQa8M5k21KtUNiZqLKsPdK8ZC_o5Gbt8iJ2Nl8suILJsVRWk_-Bd703C_NolycL3KrndW_Ugyhv5_DrsC18E3Us3qk9zdhEN6ZK05inq2oK4Frg1UAvA1IJ2U9eMzmNqON3uw/s320/100_1558.jpg" border="0" /></a> more fun in bricktown<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib5dmVb6Xil9o3nxtsBeegKdSqvR2DdGyXyxD6TWJY8IfTmCAs6LDiJjHNvUNwmJgIsqDo3PDJ7R3Phj1LubOr2-fjN7TOOliZgKHuXY3TW4kPSAZZ6XuoCNeWbw9Uguqwk1osoET9Ac/s1600-h/100_1548.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074066198518514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiib5dmVb6Xil9o3nxtsBeegKdSqvR2DdGyXyxD6TWJY8IfTmCAs6LDiJjHNvUNwmJgIsqDo3PDJ7R3Phj1LubOr2-fjN7TOOliZgKHuXY3TW4kPSAZZ6XuoCNeWbw9Uguqwk1osoET9Ac/s320/100_1548.jpg" border="0" /></a> Garrett's lapboard I made<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuzCCgg6gzfU9A7XS-sZ2zqeSdr5cyfpFUx9OvzhAuNzif9mfVX-aD_tTzGj-sGGuhnoHPNmUXkGE2XucIJzBNx2YP_ataaN1hHaFb7dErU8Wmf_ZUPsYZ-AhfDRGOFpmZC59bZQxs4E/s1600-h/100_1547.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074059379830050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnuzCCgg6gzfU9A7XS-sZ2zqeSdr5cyfpFUx9OvzhAuNzif9mfVX-aD_tTzGj-sGGuhnoHPNmUXkGE2XucIJzBNx2YP_ataaN1hHaFb7dErU8Wmf_ZUPsYZ-AhfDRGOFpmZC59bZQxs4E/s320/100_1547.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Addi's<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAGDpfShrke7v5jB2qwBGKIa2_rhcSzifYFbzjHDrBEbr2QxvoMQmlzWVqs37Avsl7buuAPwIIm8QpUn6YAMlndgpRcxUTVSvBrYtaHb1GDb-CAP67WqtLH1IxhABijEcmkdr31l-k34/s1600-h/100_1546.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326074054128557186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJAGDpfShrke7v5jB2qwBGKIa2_rhcSzifYFbzjHDrBEbr2QxvoMQmlzWVqs37Avsl7buuAPwIIm8QpUn6YAMlndgpRcxUTVSvBrYtaHb1GDb-CAP67WqtLH1IxhABijEcmkdr31l-k34/s320/100_1546.jpg" border="0" /></a> Logan's<br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well life continues at a fast pace around here as we race toward the summer and the last day of school. We have passed several milestones, spring break, Easter, etc. On the home stretch now in the last 9 weeks of class, just finished parent-teacher conferences last week with glowing reports that all our hard work is keeping the boys on track with their education. The weather has been crazy up and down as my pics will reveal, sunny and warm one day with snow the next. Tball is in full swing with our 1st game a victory! Scouts is winding down thankfully as that will make tball easier. We had to cancel our plans this weekend due to a very wrong weather forcast for 100% chance of rain that we rec'd not one drop of, but I guess we shouldn't be too surprised. So we are now thinking about camping next weekend at Roman Nose as the scouts have a hike planned there. Logan and I attended his 2nd grade field trip to the musuem in Kingfisher yesterday which was fun. We got to see a gun fight, attend a 1900's school, wash clothes with a scrubboard and ringer, ride a steam engine tractor type, ride in a horse-drawn carriage, and see all kinds of neat old things that were not so long ago part of everyday life. Logan really enjoys history and this was right up his alley. We have been to this museum before 2 yrs ago but he was enough older to enjoy it even more. I was disappointed as a whole at the children's response to the collections and info from our past but I guess I am just getting old enough to really appreciate those things. I can't imagine what hard work it must have been to live without our modern-day conveniences but sometimes I think it would be fun to return to that simpler way of life. </div><br /><div>In place of our camping trip we had a fun evening with our friends that we going to camp with us. As the weather turned out pleasant, we spent the evening on their patio and the kids had a blast playing outside. Today is housework, bills, laundry, tball, and restless kiddos with dreary weather outside. Hopefully it will brighten up before our Sunday school cookout party tonight. If this post is crazy, please forgive me as I have been interrupted no less than 6 times as I have been composing. Since I began this post approximately 1 1/2 hrs ago, I have unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, done 2 loads of laundry including folding and putting away, prepared 2 different breakfast dishes for 2 different children, refed my child who slept over at friend's house, bathed and blow-dried Addi, answered 2 phone calls, and managed to get my teeth brushed, so you can imagine that my mind might be clouded. At least I can now check this off my to-do list and move on to exercise, bills, etc. Oh where is my husband and why did I say it was ok for him to go off and do guy stuff all day????????? </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-30760599957290650712009-03-01T12:50:00.000-08:002009-03-01T13:18:55.695-08:00Some time away.....................and some busy weekend.........<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFPmA0ghDEWhQBqUdrwjQGSdpsWKUiBZqrzSg1S83bonvW_i0OfVSkS_mxwVHvYV3IKDF806YIG9VbVVenS978GSzrRtBZzpVxZeE_Uos8B4yIrEMmNPbMGlnCmTab2XkNBXovALy5Gg/s1600-h/100_1538.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308330748216607986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFPmA0ghDEWhQBqUdrwjQGSdpsWKUiBZqrzSg1S83bonvW_i0OfVSkS_mxwVHvYV3IKDF806YIG9VbVVenS978GSzrRtBZzpVxZeE_Uos8B4yIrEMmNPbMGlnCmTab2XkNBXovALy5Gg/s320/100_1538.jpg" border="0" /></a>Logan after receiving wolf patch.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik63blZgatkWUh3ht4B7jU2f4jjZuifrrroZWK2nVMH79IeHu7lLrUvwssTr4WqoMRiwJx7PQ4b2HB1QClI8sgOplj_EC_cayuGJkZU8TI60qx0bqeoNyfFotWwf1qU15C-4uEmpliNKk/s1600-h/100_1521.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308330736994444866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik63blZgatkWUh3ht4B7jU2f4jjZuifrrroZWK2nVMH79IeHu7lLrUvwssTr4WqoMRiwJx7PQ4b2HB1QClI8sgOplj_EC_cayuGJkZU8TI60qx0bqeoNyfFotWwf1qU15C-4uEmpliNKk/s320/100_1521.jpg" border="0" /></a>Logan posing with the 1st place snake cake.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUACI3yHIdoN0z9S2OMf1ENGNdiHReqreUPCcdE91xr341-nfNb_TRHMyJSq3GGLx2goaLqOJHTguWe0KEuC6dZ_AxBX0K_xAOoLAigXMgyxcIaIQFdew1AfhiaEKlry7SUmIklcaSzY/s1600-h/100_1518.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308330729466952146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsUACI3yHIdoN0z9S2OMf1ENGNdiHReqreUPCcdE91xr341-nfNb_TRHMyJSq3GGLx2goaLqOJHTguWe0KEuC6dZ_AxBX0K_xAOoLAigXMgyxcIaIQFdew1AfhiaEKlry7SUmIklcaSzY/s320/100_1518.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Anyone needs a snake cake, just call me!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPv3TsuMHLRu-Oseozgred2_pxG81lTf8YQ48RVrqtqLcfgm5i8bHH6EkE9QDZiXBAe3SRq-lGa6zNjuNUlIsFPrQdu891B8JIPavc1raArz3bPSp3Pgsj-vlWyfEgfzMco0gENZud5XU/s1600-h/100_1512.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308330715938972914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPv3TsuMHLRu-Oseozgred2_pxG81lTf8YQ48RVrqtqLcfgm5i8bHH6EkE9QDZiXBAe3SRq-lGa6zNjuNUlIsFPrQdu891B8JIPavc1raArz3bPSp3Pgsj-vlWyfEgfzMco0gENZud5XU/s320/100_1512.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />...that is unless you think you can do better!!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-UBgOgszDhRH9xJKcqSu5PgyPQkaYAoCTYztnTntQdGg9Wr11vbdKlwkWPt5rdOxbq_ivq9bVbuTOIyjKGSX8hWrj3VceTzdwcESpux6JkyDg6wE7ctVczrzXW07kZo_4MLz05EWwws/s1600-h/100_1505.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308330702137538610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8-UBgOgszDhRH9xJKcqSu5PgyPQkaYAoCTYztnTntQdGg9Wr11vbdKlwkWPt5rdOxbq_ivq9bVbuTOIyjKGSX8hWrj3VceTzdwcESpux6JkyDg6wE7ctVczrzXW07kZo_4MLz05EWwws/s320/100_1505.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Open house at Piedmont Primary last week<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi16XDp9lyAnxlPn0ggFrmN2E6sVVNR5YwOfBhWH7xjXeeXJWmjJyOekFL7e6q3MowwJ7PYOgIBfvo6hMoSvwMxTN8-tD6z307RP4Sh8n8WzLtMSN5St2k4UXdmnJ2mEYp6ZBr5XAI1A/s1600-h/100_1501.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308329509482686498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFi16XDp9lyAnxlPn0ggFrmN2E6sVVNR5YwOfBhWH7xjXeeXJWmjJyOekFL7e6q3MowwJ7PYOgIBfvo6hMoSvwMxTN8-tD6z307RP4Sh8n8WzLtMSN5St2k4UXdmnJ2mEYp6ZBr5XAI1A/s320/100_1501.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Addi with her sponge roller curls last Sunday<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtO43H1NEOUQFBNcgYzvTCgtXVpMx5ZGpZB19mTu3Fsj9HY3JCOXkFJ6eZnLYsmDxvdwdKH4srOtWV0HJ8ANXRTP6auBbtCKvtHDuKlpmAPEBN3STpTqERK4LJiV3cG9yoN9d_T9srLc/s1600-h/100_1472.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308329503279379554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmtO43H1NEOUQFBNcgYzvTCgtXVpMx5ZGpZB19mTu3Fsj9HY3JCOXkFJ6eZnLYsmDxvdwdKH4srOtWV0HJ8ANXRTP6auBbtCKvtHDuKlpmAPEBN3STpTqERK4LJiV3cG9yoN9d_T9srLc/s320/100_1472.jpg" border="0" /></a> The steps in the lobby of our hotel<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpm6-AtQxfi6DxVvsv5-n0ERMCVTFI4QuTd64UAi_DJoDNsFo3zBltzyRmcZLWU51BYF8nCCPzKlL-fG41I6zfZ_PdHKaMV64Z7I2baKaCxuDvnVygSQcVdiEo__DoQT0dIMkCucnK6g/s1600-h/100_1459.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308328869585743922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxpm6-AtQxfi6DxVvsv5-n0ERMCVTFI4QuTd64UAi_DJoDNsFo3zBltzyRmcZLWU51BYF8nCCPzKlL-fG41I6zfZ_PdHKaMV64Z7I2baKaCxuDvnVygSQcVdiEo__DoQT0dIMkCucnK6g/s320/100_1459.jpg" border="0" /></a> nice indoor heated pool<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7bbVhDvJRpLBwwryjQ0rnU614nEokMunnS79A92TMcfsYg-HTVLOyM4J2ygcj0k0xtDF4Mknnyql4V0xM_fs_-mLsBt5R608EqOq_MxHUt_-66aehXShIsNkLbeW6pvIc2GSWpvThek/s1600-h/100_1453.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308328860236472962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7bbVhDvJRpLBwwryjQ0rnU614nEokMunnS79A92TMcfsYg-HTVLOyM4J2ygcj0k0xtDF4Mknnyql4V0xM_fs_-mLsBt5R608EqOq_MxHUt_-66aehXShIsNkLbeW6pvIc2GSWpvThek/s320/100_1453.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />patiently (not) waiting to swim<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxnHhpBiwoqqITbEMvO-RKqkokIZ_xvv5amCjWTTdryQ81345utd8fPX3hECgQFkTkjk73W1zDJDuQ39cYHFrFVWYGE1Xa8DUJZ6Nuyg9bhax7DiyxQLi6Dy60QP2WLJttD80is8IVKo/s1600-h/100_1443.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308328855423391586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKxnHhpBiwoqqITbEMvO-RKqkokIZ_xvv5amCjWTTdryQ81345utd8fPX3hECgQFkTkjk73W1zDJDuQ39cYHFrFVWYGE1Xa8DUJZ6Nuyg9bhax7DiyxQLi6Dy60QP2WLJttD80is8IVKo/s320/100_1443.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />modeling winter bodies in swimsuits<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gsYMQCeaIuMwTeRjqJFcc92SInycE9vNKbzyJbbv8Mk77WpUrBfYOzUMvkRqOcQvPS2Ruzb5Y8iUsaEPqkgYm7oGQShEGJov0bky-hhsLSeaseVtLxjdy8s6O4TADBFpmkGh5PjhAjk/s1600-h/100_1430.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308328848996846306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gsYMQCeaIuMwTeRjqJFcc92SInycE9vNKbzyJbbv8Mk77WpUrBfYOzUMvkRqOcQvPS2Ruzb5Y8iUsaEPqkgYm7oGQShEGJov0bky-hhsLSeaseVtLxjdy8s6O4TADBFpmkGh5PjhAjk/s320/100_1430.jpg" border="0" /></a> baby cousin<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwI39gfxQeN6W4qHBIAJliGZBNwjnxXRBjrFp4npt86uZ4RRPAIQQfpQ0X_y6wVD6gPoh3AOsAfv5LQE97BbGrKxz7WfN5JB8BUIl1qkB16BdCUZslE9vkuZRaINaTbDShe1-KnSRMFpw/s1600-h/100_1402.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308328839727834610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwI39gfxQeN6W4qHBIAJliGZBNwjnxXRBjrFp4npt86uZ4RRPAIQQfpQ0X_y6wVD6gPoh3AOsAfv5LQE97BbGrKxz7WfN5JB8BUIl1qkB16BdCUZslE9vkuZRaINaTbDShe1-KnSRMFpw/s320/100_1402.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Happy Birthday Auntie KK<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well, as usual.... I haven't taken the time to read my last few entries but it seems I keep starting with well, as uual it's been some time since my last post. So I am gonna try and come up with something new. </div><br /><div></div><div>In February we had the good fortune to get away for a few days over the President's day holiday weekend. My sister's birthday is around that time so my family usually gets together for the party. So we went down to Duncan to celebrate the birthday and then since my parents are swamped with tax season, we left Sunday morning and headed to the big D! We had requested time off to go skiing over this weekend which didn't pan out. So instead, we got a hotel with a nice indoor heated pool and just hung out, swam, ate, shopped, ate, played, ate, you get the idea! The kids were taken with the hotel and pool, remember when that used to be so cool! Would have been a perfect trip, but my sister got a stomach bug and got real friendly with our hotel bathroom, poor thing! She was a trooper though and despite my offers to come home early, she was determined we would get our day at the Grapevine Mills mall. Love ya for stickin it out sis! </div><div></div><br /><div>The only problem with weekends like this is that I miss out on my time to recover for the upcoming week and such was this weekend. We returned home Monday evening to a messy house, made it even messier with the unloading of our stuff, which created piles of laundry, and so on and so forth! It has taken me 2 weeks to recover from that venture. This weekend has proven to be just as much of an endurance test. Friday evening found us, or should I say myself and my sis, baking a snake cake for Logan's scout banquest jungle contest Sat evening. I was up past midnight completing this project and then drug myself out of bed at 6am Sat morning to attend the Focus on the Family Marriage Simulcast at our church. That great event was from 8-4 sat and then we came home long enough to tidy up the children and get our cake and head to the banquet. Then from 5-8 last night we attended the Blue & Gold scout banquet where the boys advance to their new ranks. Logan is now officially a wolf! I'll post some pics. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-8709219854084780952009-02-08T18:58:00.000-08:002009-02-08T19:13:26.073-08:00Home improvement, what a chore.....................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDLPsEhbccNlY5U-oGXl3i50iSpeKYf-4G_q1W1o_Cjhbyjlulgx7BVLa-SUdlGdgewsmtLvPHn0Y740YOyy6-VZ5dXF9Ue5dOhvQoz83BrwW6n-kmLc5mUzkFrXgE4p39fpL7WRBgkI/s1600-h/100_1398.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300630313077190498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtDLPsEhbccNlY5U-oGXl3i50iSpeKYf-4G_q1W1o_Cjhbyjlulgx7BVLa-SUdlGdgewsmtLvPHn0Y740YOyy6-VZ5dXF9Ue5dOhvQoz83BrwW6n-kmLc5mUzkFrXgE4p39fpL7WRBgkI/s320/100_1398.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7TA7h_IDbLJMxHgRhiDaNHX44pHIVLRsLeWbwpobAwB2NhBgD_zra5x82Mb9SUUqRs_A77jBjvw3EVuLLOmI1t5fjepGFNAToE2rNEKhvIelngReZ4VC0tIrQBNYjrhWikQbjPFtr2c/s1600-h/100_1397.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300630308494721298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7TA7h_IDbLJMxHgRhiDaNHX44pHIVLRsLeWbwpobAwB2NhBgD_zra5x82Mb9SUUqRs_A77jBjvw3EVuLLOmI1t5fjepGFNAToE2rNEKhvIelngReZ4VC0tIrQBNYjrhWikQbjPFtr2c/s320/100_1397.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM76J7cOocqOW-uwz1LCrUUrnHRF1jyD2ZWiyoEdj-kWCYaUvQFRyEole6vmC9dbXxzgoWj1qbUtt1OAuuG72ey1UDIKzUGsN9taPaEo6nHB2PNTElZFowZycVboB6BBowyV3FxJnlSRg/s1600-h/100_1395.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5300630304539552338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM76J7cOocqOW-uwz1LCrUUrnHRF1jyD2ZWiyoEdj-kWCYaUvQFRyEole6vmC9dbXxzgoWj1qbUtt1OAuuG72ey1UDIKzUGsN9taPaEo6nHB2PNTElZFowZycVboB6BBowyV3FxJnlSRg/s320/100_1395.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Well the weeks just keep passing by and we are about to start the countdown to summer! We are in the process of making plans for our summer vacation to Yosemite this year which is really getting me excited. The past few days have been so beautiful and pleasantly warm that it is quite a tease and then the sun goes down at 6 pm and I remember oh yeah, it's still February. Addi and I have had recent sinus infections but seem to be much improved. Logan woke up with a random fever this morning so we kept him home but seems to be better tonight. Hopefully this week will find us well. Mark and I are totally exhausted as we have worked ourselves to the bone this weekend by painting. After living in this house for over 4 yrs I finally got motivated to paint our dining room and kitchen. Wow! What a project. We have painted rooms before but never areas with the kind of woodwork and details that had to be painted around in these areas. We also painted our back hallway which has a great deal of woodwork as well. And to make it even more challenging it was 3 different colors. I will post some pics, although they really don't do it justice. Despite this project consuming our entire weekend, I am glad it's done and very happy with the result. The kids were able to play outside a great deal which really helped. I think Addi only touched the wet paint maybe 5 times! The boys just kept wanting to help which I just wasn't up to allowing. My brain is so exhausted that I can't even remember what else we've had going on. Oh yeah, Mark is currently serving jury duty and is in the middle of a lengthy case so he is just doing that. I really am enjoying it myself b/c he doesn't have to leave for work so early and can help get kids ready for school. It is a rare treat for me to just get up and get myself ready for work and not have to feed, dress, fix hair, pack lunches, find coat, hat, gloves, and get 3 kiddos in the car, then run in and throw something in crockpot, pack my own lunch, and we're off! Ok so I've still been helping but at least not doing it all myself. Otherwise we are status quo and that's good for me. We will be celebrating my sis's bd this upcoming weekend and enjoying our 3 day weekend, especially sine school is going to go on forever as Piedmont had no snow days built in. </div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-11676146441968319352009-01-28T19:54:00.001-08:002009-01-28T20:16:27.985-08:00Snow days............................................<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBmEAz3gjoeT31we-0oJfWycdRLqxG0j5J0PIB6F1OGvJ1E6U6sLnBd0bI3qna_9rBG2BFSmmgwVKZtz9-RRtpEE9eu0Jq6hjskxACuTg4geI2IywwZSOZLlKpJcIgjpVfzR8VYOAKlQ/s1600-h/100_1388.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296564106103057698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMBmEAz3gjoeT31we-0oJfWycdRLqxG0j5J0PIB6F1OGvJ1E6U6sLnBd0bI3qna_9rBG2BFSmmgwVKZtz9-RRtpEE9eu0Jq6hjskxACuTg4geI2IywwZSOZLlKpJcIgjpVfzR8VYOAKlQ/s320/100_1388.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFE6fiEfKjp8ZIDvcp9iLRoVdR8aHoee-X43DUlgr_Wp5Sbkt-Rz2-pXM9W8noRm9BZfrdfqj7URGwpFtQEBdkvZ7K_njijofkOwjVusWpeuY3zatoXlWi0mnznd94QFZ1FqKYheEmJU/s1600-h/100_1384.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296564096620351234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKFE6fiEfKjp8ZIDvcp9iLRoVdR8aHoee-X43DUlgr_Wp5Sbkt-Rz2-pXM9W8noRm9BZfrdfqj7URGwpFtQEBdkvZ7K_njijofkOwjVusWpeuY3zatoXlWi0mnznd94QFZ1FqKYheEmJU/s320/100_1384.jpg" border="0" /></a> Garrett and Addi<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ItALGPbwXW1wO_OJ8bUCcD9BTSplq1iLUaR0Bh13K52VsiJmntpuAFxZ1jyVItDx1ht_d1PXibXUNoDootwHI43Y7_uMuidbiMswU7307mVQ7to3QqcbP_vDb9evoV4T-VFzWVc1otg/s1600-h/100_1378.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296564089460082754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ItALGPbwXW1wO_OJ8bUCcD9BTSplq1iLUaR0Bh13K52VsiJmntpuAFxZ1jyVItDx1ht_d1PXibXUNoDootwHI43Y7_uMuidbiMswU7307mVQ7to3QqcbP_vDb9evoV4T-VFzWVc1otg/s320/100_1378.jpg" border="0" /></a> Eating snow<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDerdU7RUgEoAa9egZ5pkXC7LjTiSIveS6cHt9PPSlrvxls6Yu-Dr53DCRq7hcGoMOo_hMJhXDiLio2m_dyrQXWZgPk-8VCWj8rJ8qkl2la15dnlGzYCkRxGxTskYnJ5UAF_MHZ9QMLkY/s1600-h/100_1369.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296564080928959474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDerdU7RUgEoAa9egZ5pkXC7LjTiSIveS6cHt9PPSlrvxls6Yu-Dr53DCRq7hcGoMOo_hMJhXDiLio2m_dyrQXWZgPk-8VCWj8rJ8qkl2la15dnlGzYCkRxGxTskYnJ5UAF_MHZ9QMLkY/s320/100_1369.jpg" border="0" /></a> Logan and Addi<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOnNU1rPf1qAHm26vHuZTD6BwL_75OFPfowoez6MybOEdLXJVprDE0_JMtCfrYM9j7lBwHlze3sK6i3yGx4wFvujm2qLmL00gX9mr-eM5Sr30mIoGCzgeXFPGKCYkaHB5-BAyIXlXpCE/s1600-h/100_1362.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296564079131542578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOnNU1rPf1qAHm26vHuZTD6BwL_75OFPfowoez6MybOEdLXJVprDE0_JMtCfrYM9j7lBwHlze3sK6i3yGx4wFvujm2qLmL00gX9mr-eM5Sr30mIoGCzgeXFPGKCYkaHB5-BAyIXlXpCE/s320/100_1362.jpg" border="0" /></a> Sweet Addi Grace<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpmL7MxF4tZavdQqO5KA0lWyzrxmw8aGL6WrfFAmQNN-cOAZ4nXN_3xJYAk58BvVCF1Wxm_a7sW89zMvDE-AUE1tTIzetKBJfuR0J-xa9HM-Pqd08L9Dap_00a2xghdxNAZRLip_Wbtk/s1600-h/100_1359.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296563199395597314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpmL7MxF4tZavdQqO5KA0lWyzrxmw8aGL6WrfFAmQNN-cOAZ4nXN_3xJYAk58BvVCF1Wxm_a7sW89zMvDE-AUE1tTIzetKBJfuR0J-xa9HM-Pqd08L9Dap_00a2xghdxNAZRLip_Wbtk/s320/100_1359.jpg" border="0" /></a> Garrett sailing down hill<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4mVMtOhcS29uSRWZgbGyjs5uEV-eCxGi8BPKsBwApH4zIVrLB2fZK0s8I1DpebFszlFwAEK8p_JcmfLUFXlnPNaRpA1Sdh_UlfEb7_aqx_r7t30eW57UtnQD2qGClLaucCt3jcBiXTE/s1600-h/100_1348.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296563187300797586" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM4mVMtOhcS29uSRWZgbGyjs5uEV-eCxGi8BPKsBwApH4zIVrLB2fZK0s8I1DpebFszlFwAEK8p_JcmfLUFXlnPNaRpA1Sdh_UlfEb7_aqx_r7t30eW57UtnQD2qGClLaucCt3jcBiXTE/s320/100_1348.jpg" border="0" /></a> Garrett and Logan<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgECTTfzrcV7uSGC-XxVPBFc1y1W_YReNqFVnD6Ey_ChVtuBrHLwfimvumevWLMdVnopQ_e74zImwGD9BzV8_2fxacEbbxWDXs4RxKds3c5wSlMY2bk7RqE7vkhLmNRFrZkbCXgM-ySq0/s1600-h/100_1347.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296563178969200658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgECTTfzrcV7uSGC-XxVPBFc1y1W_YReNqFVnD6Ey_ChVtuBrHLwfimvumevWLMdVnopQ_e74zImwGD9BzV8_2fxacEbbxWDXs4RxKds3c5wSlMY2bk7RqE7vkhLmNRFrZkbCXgM-ySq0/s320/100_1347.jpg" border="0" /></a> Logan relieved that spelling bee was over!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GfK4zUBw8Uk9-43MNqAiF2vXlJ7xz-Kn9YNMOWslk5gjjvApJGEMajaW-lpqPYPz17fKhFNmgGzdCpjRFT_AcBJ6YaGFa0gpTebi74Fdu6hjsVO4vLeT7HzPPPGQHEpsSURDmXZ4NRA/s1600-h/100_1346.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296563170494305410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GfK4zUBw8Uk9-43MNqAiF2vXlJ7xz-Kn9YNMOWslk5gjjvApJGEMajaW-lpqPYPz17fKhFNmgGzdCpjRFT_AcBJ6YaGFa0gpTebi74Fdu6hjsVO4vLeT7HzPPPGQHEpsSURDmXZ4NRA/s320/100_1346.jpg" border="0" /></a> Can't really see him so far away, but Logan is spelling his 1st word (ulna)!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Is it rain, is it freezing drizzle, is it sleet, is it snow? Well the answer is yes to all the above. What crazy weather these past few days. Not really crazy for OK I suppose as we are used to this stuff but what an inconvenience. Mark and I attended Logan's spelling bee early Monday morning and went in late to work. It was the beginning of the precip and little did we realize what was to come. As OK began to shut down midday Monday, I rec'd calls from the school and daycare that we needed to come get the kiddos. Fortunately Mark got to leave work around 3:30 and made it to get the kids just in time. I was stuck at work for the duration and it took me 2 hrs from the time I walked out of the hospital to de-ice my car and get home. But as duty calls for us medical people, I braved the elements again Tues morning to go back. Ironically when everyone else is shut down for this stuff, the hospital is busier than ever! Of course lots of our xtra surgeries were people who neglect the advice to stay inside and end up getting hurt. Can't tell you how many broken bones I've seen this week. Anyway, Mark's office was closed so it was slumber party, movie and Wii day at our home. Although the going was slow, I had no trouble getting to work and back and was ever so glad to be home last night. With school out again today and waking up to a winter wonderland with bright sunshine, I think I actually turned out to have the best day off I could have! Mid-morning I bundled the kids up and we headed out to sled, and sled we did. There were several neighborhood kids zooming down the hill and I admit that I joined in for a few runs and it was quite fun. Even Addi Grace got in on the action, little dare-devil that she is. Despite her sinus infection she had a great time. Although she and I needed to thaw after about an hour, the boys were out for several hrs. They even complained about being hot! I thought surely to goodness that school would resume tomorrow but we've already heard that it's cancelled. Too bad b/c I sure don't want to tack any days on at the end of school but I am sure that's what will happen and the winter isn't likely even over yet. There could be more of this in our immediate future. I guess we'll take it as it comes. Hope this finds you all well and cozy warm. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br /></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-77609081601897044862009-01-28T19:40:00.000-08:002009-01-28T19:53:25.348-08:00Do you wanna dance? .....................................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczwSod9WSmSyDhkzNhUufyUhLu4WaM3qfBRHMv58xnG3aQacG3TgCABohTmjZOk2j20aOm-KTzvCZeI5lDQVe0KfmkBERkxRxWfHDdsQVm1OWm-e1f9SY3T5Hk8QLQFu7dYN8LjmBPic/s1600-h/100_1264.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296558765382175778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiczwSod9WSmSyDhkzNhUufyUhLu4WaM3qfBRHMv58xnG3aQacG3TgCABohTmjZOk2j20aOm-KTzvCZeI5lDQVe0KfmkBERkxRxWfHDdsQVm1OWm-e1f9SY3T5Hk8QLQFu7dYN8LjmBPic/s320/100_1264.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx851_ovnfSZcqpI-gSjRhY1o5kV8hLcd83AwkbGpEtjIGV-1PBHzlFOkZXPJI23sRQqtdvibUe1cQYG0yPlquD7-0CUvgfByUQqvEJE7phdqv3Hbs5gOq_8HK95c9_YKRTjSjSPIfCJI/s1600-h/100_1257.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296558758584135330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx851_ovnfSZcqpI-gSjRhY1o5kV8hLcd83AwkbGpEtjIGV-1PBHzlFOkZXPJI23sRQqtdvibUe1cQYG0yPlquD7-0CUvgfByUQqvEJE7phdqv3Hbs5gOq_8HK95c9_YKRTjSjSPIfCJI/s320/100_1257.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDioZedOJPvrfWPJgCwiNWnFoWJwGgfuO7LiEs4n_oUtfsddVCK_6Po-sqhTn8C6VzLRfdqX6lTaCvyRL7-1u4MRv2XFTHna5VdYUvz3Umxl06e7_5-8fbTk03ITsqxE0M9AmmsQ6KYw/s1600-h/100_1255.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296558726869730674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNDioZedOJPvrfWPJgCwiNWnFoWJwGgfuO7LiEs4n_oUtfsddVCK_6Po-sqhTn8C6VzLRfdqX6lTaCvyRL7-1u4MRv2XFTHna5VdYUvz3Umxl06e7_5-8fbTk03ITsqxE0M9AmmsQ6KYw/s320/100_1255.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Well I have been meaning to post some pics of Addi at dance for a while now. You might remember Addi and I had attended a mom and tot gymnastics class when Addi was 2 and I must admit I was not crazy about it. Addi liked it ok but we opted not to reenlist when our term was up. Instead we decided to try a new option, DANCE! After looking around, and consulting with my friend and other mom victim of the aforementioned class, we found a gym that offers a dance/gymnastics combo. So we took a chance and enrolled and it has been great. We just completed a 10 wk session of tap/gymnastics and Addi loved it! I did as well, b/c the moms just sit and watch. And the best part is that Addi's friend from down the street is in the same class so my friend and I can carpool, grab a coffee on the way, and visit for an hour uninterrupted while the girls dance and jump. The pics I will attach are from the tap recital in early Jan. The girls only have 6 in their class but as multiple classes are offered the recital was for all the girls. They learned a cute routine to frosty the snowman . Now I was wondering just how much tappin Addi would actually do during the recital and as I expected she spent most of her time watching the audience. But she looked cute anyway! We are now in the session of ballet/gymnastics which has proven just as fun. We go every Friday morning and it is something we both look forward to.</div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-45175151415161396862009-01-28T19:19:00.000-08:002009-01-28T19:40:13.869-08:00Here comes Santa Claus: again......................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XNkUioZNuCP2kis0NzGzi42QqUxL-T-N_W8J_I2XJpWW6XHAgJk_KQW4aUilcug-uysJqgULI9oIHRlOKBrHeY66wjxYosAVxuBpI77xQ-rRLOZ4wX9cadZeyBW6h_JwRN0SsaOHbjw/s1600-h/100_1241.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554606147723746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_XNkUioZNuCP2kis0NzGzi42QqUxL-T-N_W8J_I2XJpWW6XHAgJk_KQW4aUilcug-uysJqgULI9oIHRlOKBrHeY66wjxYosAVxuBpI77xQ-rRLOZ4wX9cadZeyBW6h_JwRN0SsaOHbjw/s320/100_1241.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnngh9X7d7YiVRPfmpXAK6OLyIg8APwbNf0wgzqdXxDU71_fsA5fw4X6zdE-FGuLTuEGQAaG8bfmSCBuVph3V5krLcmUMgthKNJ0zxuboQbmsFJLhA_WkvWDKu4wAUAW9Arzfkxi6CE8/s1600-h/100_1207.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554601456142354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOnngh9X7d7YiVRPfmpXAK6OLyIg8APwbNf0wgzqdXxDU71_fsA5fw4X6zdE-FGuLTuEGQAaG8bfmSCBuVph3V5krLcmUMgthKNJ0zxuboQbmsFJLhA_WkvWDKu4wAUAW9Arzfkxi6CE8/s320/100_1207.jpg" border="0" /></a> Addi loves to sing with guitar hero! <br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESNoWz3cF8WxvMKLLTS4qgvDiMB3allyBuSdRWCaN-NlTIldN53BmxGuLyUsfduT2dbpZAjNSZ_j65O3OuqhxuWo1e2BxMVvCVzxg-a82p276nvAvco4XsTlQwUmHJla5GdibrbMjPBw/s1600-h/100_1205.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554600017797122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgESNoWz3cF8WxvMKLLTS4qgvDiMB3allyBuSdRWCaN-NlTIldN53BmxGuLyUsfduT2dbpZAjNSZ_j65O3OuqhxuWo1e2BxMVvCVzxg-a82p276nvAvco4XsTlQwUmHJla5GdibrbMjPBw/s320/100_1205.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Rocking out!<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPoRlxw5D6ukCQtQ9mAP52iN5tZ6pg_ik1VOlfQsoNUKCoHdQ00DPK5OvfGpQ_qf3Pl4dHDKClgiBxchSc2OYNp84O3hInzCUAolEvKtSwkMBFgxsfnug1_WyFu3NQWj6bBflVBe7ey4/s1600-h/100_1198.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554085977951314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPoRlxw5D6ukCQtQ9mAP52iN5tZ6pg_ik1VOlfQsoNUKCoHdQ00DPK5OvfGpQ_qf3Pl4dHDKClgiBxchSc2OYNp84O3hInzCUAolEvKtSwkMBFgxsfnug1_WyFu3NQWj6bBflVBe7ey4/s320/100_1198.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />In the money now.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_UcaTp-9KfHi_o9kdH96Ege39hrqTzPlu4JmFk4MJJSsAAYrGVNXDmuFOG2Pq1mYrprO4Q75DvBXJ7-Va-HfN0EB0AEiybqwvT6_vXlnzY8HzgbEyrfPmlwg1_b6SkutcX9xM9lKr6Y/s1600-h/100_1157.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554081668663314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_UcaTp-9KfHi_o9kdH96Ege39hrqTzPlu4JmFk4MJJSsAAYrGVNXDmuFOG2Pq1mYrprO4Q75DvBXJ7-Va-HfN0EB0AEiybqwvT6_vXlnzY8HzgbEyrfPmlwg1_b6SkutcX9xM9lKr6Y/s320/100_1157.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Addi with her favorite Barbie.<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8c2czmPzOH75Wc_STb3u5yF77e4GpTn4o2Dxdulj9PNFisHr5P4I878QH-u2sAol0VgGE-PziFGYUMGcARpM-y5ktMRlNni26hG5OuUmZHvQpfS7QPlocTMMNz7lgT6UJ6IBIkK3-Fg/s1600-h/100_1147.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554071256103570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF8c2czmPzOH75Wc_STb3u5yF77e4GpTn4o2Dxdulj9PNFisHr5P4I878QH-u2sAol0VgGE-PziFGYUMGcARpM-y5ktMRlNni26hG5OuUmZHvQpfS7QPlocTMMNz7lgT6UJ6IBIkK3-Fg/s320/100_1147.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Cousins playing in the beautiful December weather.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZaMjmV-SATCk959nXJEGFHSaI3eeyhnGlYG8s0oeu_39PhhMKBgU1eoC56didx4RGM5nOsd2evcLO9V9biTgytvBwzJHDvAHVPAhMhWPPSSPv2pdsH6gJKAoC4NjwajcfrAoNQ00dm8/s1600-h/100_1142.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296554068376662834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0ZaMjmV-SATCk959nXJEGFHSaI3eeyhnGlYG8s0oeu_39PhhMKBgU1eoC56didx4RGM5nOsd2evcLO9V9biTgytvBwzJHDvAHVPAhMhWPPSSPv2pdsH6gJKAoC4NjwajcfrAoNQ00dm8/s320/100_1142.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Logan loves to climb this tree.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well here is the long overdue conclusion to our Christmas marathon. I didn't reread my 1st post so if details are repeated or don't make sense, sorry! You know it has also now been a month since these events took place and my mind is so full these days that it is like my DVR, it dumps the oldest stuff to make room for the new stuff. Anyhow, the week of New Year's I met my inlaws 1/2way b/w here and there to drop off the kiddos. Mark and I attended some New Year's celebrations and managed to stay up to see the new year in. I was on call New Year's Day and was at the hospital for about 12 hrs that day. Although on call overnight as well, I was fortunate to not have to go back in. So early Friday morning Mark and I left for Sallisaw to spend the long weekend with his family and have our Christmas with them. If you can remember back that far, the weather was pleasant and we were able to play outside quite a bit. Mark's bro and his new wife Tracey (yes another Traci but with 'ey') were here from Detroit and we got to spend the day with them before they had to leave to drive home. Mark and I had taken our Wii and guitar hero which proved to be a hit until about 2am when Papa Don shut down the show and sent us all to bed. It is so easy to lose track of time while playing that game! Overall we just had a blast visiting all our friends and family there and xchanging gifts with the family. The boys rounded out their GI Joe collection and Addi's fave gift was a princess Barbie she rec'd from her uncle (nice job Uncle Gary). As usual, all too soon it seemed, it was time to come home. And so that was the final chapter in Christmas 2008. I'll post some pics from that adventure and then add another post of our January fun!</div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-11269097678646965342008-12-29T19:29:00.001-08:002008-12-29T19:56:36.641-08:00Keep the celebrations coming..........<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeVg-GXkWHhb5tlavcOOBFWOAVblwwq3NFSeZK5_ubtv_mKwFdFKiBNlhA0F4Ya8CWhT4GZz2d-B5aCx_Gf9cyOmJnypEHrCZTLIoWTvy5wmmNuKU3U7kQMxXL2f6wlcSsEJsZ3YgJws/s1600-h/img_0939.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426945963071282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeeVg-GXkWHhb5tlavcOOBFWOAVblwwq3NFSeZK5_ubtv_mKwFdFKiBNlhA0F4Ya8CWhT4GZz2d-B5aCx_Gf9cyOmJnypEHrCZTLIoWTvy5wmmNuKU3U7kQMxXL2f6wlcSsEJsZ3YgJws/s320/img_0939.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPxUw3vzH73v3FMDZyfnFmoSfGdDi35JLTruSx9iPTzD7GMuyHAckBpBuBNxJQAEEJOzAKomzDGlxbMaghLM0wj7UAjShozsnhSdi07GdK1l92Jc4NAS4cUPQpsxDvM7XNOxf5yzCUss/s1600-h/img_0935.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426934792699698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPxUw3vzH73v3FMDZyfnFmoSfGdDi35JLTruSx9iPTzD7GMuyHAckBpBuBNxJQAEEJOzAKomzDGlxbMaghLM0wj7UAjShozsnhSdi07GdK1l92Jc4NAS4cUPQpsxDvM7XNOxf5yzCUss/s320/img_0935.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uE0a-55wsBcA1bejp7982s848-MHNZmkR3RU8C7ycLXr-IxztSyC-fYpyOeDwccRnfckkL5Qi_M0ZKLe2V3DSOorixalhbOX7XInbCftcEK0TvX_qUi1cOV-HoJJ-Or57ED0v0e6Zck/s1600-h/img_0916.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426932540409554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7uE0a-55wsBcA1bejp7982s848-MHNZmkR3RU8C7ycLXr-IxztSyC-fYpyOeDwccRnfckkL5Qi_M0ZKLe2V3DSOorixalhbOX7XInbCftcEK0TvX_qUi1cOV-HoJJ-Or57ED0v0e6Zck/s320/img_0916.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBil4Ox7lR0xZS80HOHvRjGymoqc1hZ7Pl0HtT0KPRce2pXQlQKKkprdhRkCw6DdlPtPx1dNeNbmAlQQaSByLrK1s13wh5BF0JEBDs1eSimNKN8iguMwDpkoUWV_XFbIWBdtBdCS_1a4c/s1600-h/img_0907.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426156289434882" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBil4Ox7lR0xZS80HOHvRjGymoqc1hZ7Pl0HtT0KPRce2pXQlQKKkprdhRkCw6DdlPtPx1dNeNbmAlQQaSByLrK1s13wh5BF0JEBDs1eSimNKN8iguMwDpkoUWV_XFbIWBdtBdCS_1a4c/s320/img_0907.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9QstYqo_O3QxjenbBk3Ahc2Ud-7npsbMNUD7lU0Vz42jC5wcVDwOnbfsdS4qXWWqlm3c6zyZB1u5YFRlnG9_IYS3II6i1cB8_tnnxI8sjZ9OBYt8hwplrFVzJ2VBmVznbaUhuGNNUn0/s1600-h/img_0902.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426126803341506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS9QstYqo_O3QxjenbBk3Ahc2Ud-7npsbMNUD7lU0Vz42jC5wcVDwOnbfsdS4qXWWqlm3c6zyZB1u5YFRlnG9_IYS3II6i1cB8_tnnxI8sjZ9OBYt8hwplrFVzJ2VBmVznbaUhuGNNUn0/s320/img_0902.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVzHCkjtbT-ZtVyg_ssO2HeBh8iqY_EX-lrJ5OtaGJlhz3zfzeaca0zNOM654tEJlVrlUZ6dgt2Q7S9rNp4XIdQ4LilADa6ajf6zp3WGH2SKDoqU3o4hibQKbHNrsYF-9c1g9fHNGSzc/s1600-h/img_0906.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285426141148767762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijVzHCkjtbT-ZtVyg_ssO2HeBh8iqY_EX-lrJ5OtaGJlhz3zfzeaca0zNOM654tEJlVrlUZ6dgt2Q7S9rNp4XIdQ4LilADa6ajf6zp3WGH2SKDoqU3o4hibQKbHNrsYF-9c1g9fHNGSzc/s320/img_0906.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhOfZWxVBoqmv3RjDVw4Ei1YPTYRA2EN9ks55TFFTxKXXh3TiZF9RhwmRyhsJsZLUOMzdyYvjx6mNIBzXKr6iUmKjYYh7T_0Yg2yyFMz2qa7JmSX3yGLWGZoYaNC4C5kz87UYmZyATfk/s1600-h/100_1125.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285424925401349538" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUhOfZWxVBoqmv3RjDVw4Ei1YPTYRA2EN9ks55TFFTxKXXh3TiZF9RhwmRyhsJsZLUOMzdyYvjx6mNIBzXKr6iUmKjYYh7T_0Yg2yyFMz2qa7JmSX3yGLWGZoYaNC4C5kz87UYmZyATfk/s320/100_1125.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Lk8bGrQuglgtlWDupn9f6ocpTL1BM3mluLM5N1K4NaMgUUZmh-USkMmReP0oqV8tkaApowlfHFkRatsYLsR-J7DgB4nbhfY5QX2c4iPLfJojH0T9jMPYsgTZKOpYFRpOIkK0LpSQv0/s1600-h/100_1075.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285424917933794402" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv7Lk8bGrQuglgtlWDupn9f6ocpTL1BM3mluLM5N1K4NaMgUUZmh-USkMmReP0oqV8tkaApowlfHFkRatsYLsR-J7DgB4nbhfY5QX2c4iPLfJojH0T9jMPYsgTZKOpYFRpOIkK0LpSQv0/s320/100_1075.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well we've had the 1st half of our Christmas and still have more to come. We spent last week in Duncan with my family at least for the most part. We all embarked on my parents home at some time Christmas Eve and the party started. We started with our newest tradition started just last year, dirty santa, Redelsperger style! One party purchases the gifts (with the funds donated by mom and dad, thanks you guys) and then we use the traditional number rules to swap and play. I did manage to come away with some stuff I liked but since I did shop for all the gifts, that wasn't too hard. Now rest assured I did choose an equal amt of male and female gifts lest you men worry about our guys ending up with girl stuff. Then it was off to bed for Santa to come and boy did he remember us. Those kids must have been really good this year. We adults were thrilled that the kiddos let us sleep in till 8:00 which was awesome since we had stayed up so late ourselves trying to see Santa!!! After stockings and Santa we opened our gifts to each other and I think everyone was thrilled. Probably the highlight of the exchange was the Wii which was our family gift. I think we've already just about gotten our money's worth out of it. What fun! I currently hold the tennis record while my sis is a champion bowler. The kids seem to be good at all of it. </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Christmas day was a marathon of eating, Wii, naps, playin with the baby cousin (now 3 mo old), and just good old family fun. Mark and I packed our small bags to make a flying trip to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, the next day. We left early Friday morning and made the 6 hr drive in order to see Mark's brother get married. The wedding was Friday evening, followed by dinner and hanging out, followed by a short night there, and back in the car early Sat morning to drive back to Duncan. I have to give the credit to Mark for all the driving although I offered. He drove the whole way and let me sleep and read (neither that he is good at in the car). Thanks honey for a nice little break. </div><br /><br /><div>The rest of the weekend was a blur of more eating, church Sunday morning, and Mark's birthday. My sweet hubby turned 35 yrs old yesterday and we had a little cake and singing in his honor. The best part was his gift, which just happened to go along with our Wii. Now I've heard a lot of people talk about Guitar Hero, but little did I know how easy it is to become an addict. After much debate and shopping around my sis and I decided on the entire kit, guitars, drums, microphone, etc. We set up the whole band and boy did we have a blast. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone got a turn, and we even got some on video! I'll have to figure out how to post that one sometime. We came home late last night and have spent all day today trying to unpack and get ready for the 2nd half of our holiday, to be spent with Mark's family. Mark is working this week and I am working Tues/Thur so we have that to finish first. </div><br /><br /><div>Hope you all had a great Christmas. More to come when ours is done............</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-49991431588159216902008-12-22T18:17:00.000-08:002008-12-22T18:40:50.131-08:00Pay attention or it will be gone before you know it.......I have to remind myself of this several times a day as I feel like life is almost passing me by it's going so fast. We have been busy as usual, much like everyone else, but I have really tried to just enjoy the moments as they unfold. I really love the Christmas season and am one of "those people" who could listen to my Christmas music almost year round but certainly at least after Halloween. I love coming home to the mailbox each day in December to see what precious person has sent me a Christmas card (preferably a photo card) that day. I promptly open the promising cards and place them in a place of honor on our frig. I then make my way through the house making sure all our holiday decor is plugged in and lit up that I might enjoy every second of the display. I seem to find time to light my candles and turn on the music rather than the tv. I also love the "last" of each weekly obligation as we make our way toward the big day, the last AWANA, the last scout meeting, the last day of teaching my students, the last day of school, and tomorrow will be my last day of work before I leave for my parents. I love the tender appreciation that my children have for the fact that it's Baby Jesus birthday. Having recently celebrated their own birthdays, they seem to hold this distinction in high regard, even if they don't completely grasp the magnitude of what this means for us as sinners. I love the holiday services at church and the old carols along with the newer favorites. I love the lights on the houses and the squeals of joy that come from my precious Addi's mouth at even the simplest of displays. I love baking sweet treats and forcing them on my coworkers as we can't possibly eat everything that I seem to want to make. I love remembering the traditions of Christmas past and building new traditions with my own family. I can't wait to get the whole family together even though we always seems to pass some contagious illness around while we are there! I love blaring my Christmas music and having a marathon gift wrapping session topped off by decorating my freshly wrapped gifts with just the right ribbons and bows. Then I arrange the gifts under my tree just so and relish how very blessed I am to have such an abundance beyond what we need or deserve. I just love Christmas and I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am. <br /><br />We will be traveling this week so we had our family Christmas last night which didn't disappoint. The kids were excited and Mark and I were pleased with our selections as we seemed to have made some good choices. You fellow parents can relate that it's even better to watch your children open their treasures that you were able to provide than to open your own gifts. Now lest you misunderstand, I do love getting gifts, but gone are the days of true surprises as I seem to be difficult to buy for, according to my hubby. Strange to me as I seem to have no trouble finding things I want at the mall and my various fave stores but anyhoo, we always seem to make the agreement that we aren't going to buy for each other and then I always find a few things for him and I am left either shopping for and wrapping my own gifts or settling for the precious things from the Piedmont Elem Christmas store purchased with love and my money by my children! <br /><br />Now I know you are all done with this monologue and ready for pics but I must quit playing and get down to business. You see I have approximately 4 more loads of laundry to do before I can pack the 5 of us to leave town for 5 days, a now past Christmas celebration to clean up from, a dirty kitchen from baking, 12 more hrs at work, and a checkbook to balance in the next 24 hrs. So you will just have to wait until I can get those pics downloaded. If I don't post again, as there is a good chance that will happen, at least between now and after Christmas, may you have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-70553854418272931132008-12-14T19:46:00.000-08:002008-12-14T20:25:37.625-08:00Baby it's cold outside..................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-SZlgXZecAkIu0A1jmHqW_8aozTe6TOqCzIOVnhyQJtxocBCdpq-bSUqSeBgnBzX3FsmuFlHl2m7TYgmPQOXuoELUXfHGRustbdDG8x_YPi7wgSed0gUzOOv4r8XDDj0ziUWK8UBN2E/s1600-h/102_0901.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279867528209932642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI-SZlgXZecAkIu0A1jmHqW_8aozTe6TOqCzIOVnhyQJtxocBCdpq-bSUqSeBgnBzX3FsmuFlHl2m7TYgmPQOXuoELUXfHGRustbdDG8x_YPi7wgSed0gUzOOv4r8XDDj0ziUWK8UBN2E/s320/102_0901.jpg" border="0" /></a> Happy Birthday Garrett and Logan<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpyLAd85MsxLE0RC3jh7zJCYsZaFjaFQoiffLPCj9bVVT0BdQomF51BWJ3DyafOgsFA_A89L0ckylNA0CEBgBk2GmSZXKh8ad3PiSq60tGD6VsfYzDxlBxTbup5EPfuiT0Jhpt0CMjjs/s1600-h/102_0969.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279867519292055346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZpyLAd85MsxLE0RC3jh7zJCYsZaFjaFQoiffLPCj9bVVT0BdQomF51BWJ3DyafOgsFA_A89L0ckylNA0CEBgBk2GmSZXKh8ad3PiSq60tGD6VsfYzDxlBxTbup5EPfuiT0Jhpt0CMjjs/s320/102_0969.jpg" border="0" /></a> On the candy tour<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YJwzfaKJQTt3BcDoPrRtAXhCAPkdWNFpUDz5S0oQCuwa6J65jt6wCsiOxP6ow6qDF00xceatOhgRpUGgNMQuVT_dLwdraS0i4TbwO8nrLvDxXd_uOH6xYlI16ludZZECqnDvNEMIOb4/s1600-h/102_0967.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279867510591232690" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YJwzfaKJQTt3BcDoPrRtAXhCAPkdWNFpUDz5S0oQCuwa6J65jt6wCsiOxP6ow6qDF00xceatOhgRpUGgNMQuVT_dLwdraS0i4TbwO8nrLvDxXd_uOH6xYlI16ludZZECqnDvNEMIOb4/s320/102_0967.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /> On the way to Branson<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-_5xh3W_Y2GEpb4n0dk-Cj3hF1GoHTSYyEqbxKF8gu6sWC1xdckw3C-XXoTdEP1p0NkJ433efousLwxogeap7DaLwd_AnW-TEAMNub9Pj1rAAvV7bxENOx9qA1ZMJDiEd1hrrhT1tao/s1600-h/102_0918.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279866985456453410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4-_5xh3W_Y2GEpb4n0dk-Cj3hF1GoHTSYyEqbxKF8gu6sWC1xdckw3C-XXoTdEP1p0NkJ433efousLwxogeap7DaLwd_AnW-TEAMNub9Pj1rAAvV7bxENOx9qA1ZMJDiEd1hrrhT1tao/s320/102_0918.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /> and a mermaid birthday!<br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm-sDQf3HbAlEUUzhKjv9g41hVKnLnDXrGvpHTmAwFTig3wT6NnSPAyEmNQftDCuv02A5mXivP8CTG6bnS85hblW29nsRR_IP_f5iSrSe-tfwkehijaQ5CXyZbXZcyWMeSvHmOyeeeX0/s1600-h/102_0949.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279866994816800258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwm-sDQf3HbAlEUUzhKjv9g41hVKnLnDXrGvpHTmAwFTig3wT6NnSPAyEmNQftDCuv02A5mXivP8CTG6bnS85hblW29nsRR_IP_f5iSrSe-tfwkehijaQ5CXyZbXZcyWMeSvHmOyeeeX0/s320/102_0949.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /> Our sweet baby cousin!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoov5n0ZyQC8zoYHQJvavq3xCgeUdbP20D5eO_1x1EnyagVVgN3LGaSITLM0gLt3ssVlXt31657eM-C09Y7_tF-pRGydvrVqp-mFE8fBkTX8olFopOjkrBtHoMjZn8hOc0Qhnl4bzKSs/s1600-h/102_0911.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279866979966303986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqoov5n0ZyQC8zoYHQJvavq3xCgeUdbP20D5eO_1x1EnyagVVgN3LGaSITLM0gLt3ssVlXt31657eM-C09Y7_tF-pRGydvrVqp-mFE8fBkTX8olFopOjkrBtHoMjZn8hOc0Qhnl4bzKSs/s320/102_0911.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /> It was a Go Pokes Birthday!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well my friends, it has arrived, the bitter cold arctic air, and I can't say I am too fond of it. Now if I could just hibernate in my home around my fire in my jammies with a cup of hot tea, I could really get into this. But seeing as how I have to drag 3 sleepy children out of bed, layer them in 18 articles of clothing topped of by hats, coats, and hopefully 2 gloves a piece, get them to school, and then drag myself to the hospital and hike the 1/4 mi into the facility (b/c nurses do not get to park anywhere near the door) I could just as soon live without the 40mi/hr wind on top of the air temp in the teens. But I guess it is winter and all and not my 1st winter in OK so this doesn't come as a surprise, just a nuisance. Even worse is the threat of the ice storm and the effects it could have on travel and our electricity, not to mention that this is supposed to last all week. Now since the great weather forecasters have been warning us about this for approximately a week, we were out today in the balmy 65 degree weather stocking up on supplies like every other prepared Oklahoman. Mark and I were thinking that since we have enough wood to keep a fire going for a week, enough fuel for our Coleman stove to cook all winter, and more batteries than even our children could run down, maybe nothing will come of this! </div><br /><div>So now that you have my thoughts on the weather, here are our latest undertakings. Most recently like this weekend we have been taking in some awesome Christmas programs. Our church hosted a Christmas contata last night complete with full orchestra and choir which was awesome. We even took Addi Grace who was enthralled with the instruments and danced her way through the performance. The boys enjoyed it as well and played their air drums right along with the percussionists. It really got me in the Christmas spirit. Today was church and the kiddos program was tonight. The boys spent the better part of the day at dress rehearsal. Addi napped and I worked on our Christmas cards which I hope to mail this week. So if you don't get one and you want one, you can email your address (<a href="http://www.tracistites@yahoo.com/">http://www.tracistites@yahoo.com/</a>) and I'll send you one. It may take me all week so just be patient. Like I said, I have to drag myself in to work the next 2 days and I may spend all my xtra time (like I ever have xtra time) thawing. Anyway, the children's program was entitled "It all happened in the country" and was a story about how these city kids got stranded in the country and learned to appreciate the simple things in life including the simplicity of the surroundings that our Savior was born into. It was cute as could be and the kids did an awesome job. I wish you could have seen my oldest son and his solo part. Now it wasn't a singing or speaking part, but rather a dancing part. There was a song called Jingle Rap and as you can imagine was meant to demonstrate the secular side of things as a demo of the city kids lifestyle. Well Logan was the breakdancer and he stole the show. We are so proud! No, really he did the part proud and it was stinkin funny! The best part is that I have the whole thing on video to hold over his head when he is 16 or sooner if need be. Garrett was in the choir for the production and also did a great job. </div><br /><br /><div>As I missed the entire month of Nov, I shall cover that briefly. We were busy with birthday marathon as Logan and Addi's birthdays are back to back on the 14th and 15th and lest you think I exaggerate on the marathon part, Garrett's birthday is around the corner on the 16th of this month. So we had friend party, family party, actual day celebrations, etc. And then came Thanksgiving which found us in Branson, MO, with Mark's family. You see some years ago when Mark and I were engaged we went to Branson with his family for Thanksgiving and had so much fun that we have talked about it for the last 12 yrs. So over the summer we decided that we needed to go back so I made some reservations and we did just that. For those of you that don't know, Mark used to live there for 2 summers in college and work at Silver Dollar City. He still knows some people there and we were blessed to get free tickets. Mark worked in the candy shop there and the kids even got a private tour of the candy-making facility. Talk about feeling special, that was cool! We also went to the Dixie Stampede Christmas dinner show, Branson Landing, and of course, my mom-in-law and I breezed through the outlet mall. It was a great trip and a nice change from just a turkey dinner. Thanks to my inlaws we did manage to have our traditional turkey dinner even on the road. I had been ill the week of Thanksgiving and had a terrible sinus infection but I forged on and finally felt better, you guessed it, the day we came home! So in a nutshell that's what we've been up to. Sorry I don't have time for my details but I must get my sweet Addi to bed. I"ll try to post some pics of the above-mentioned fun. Keep warm and get your flu shot if you haven't already, it's not too late. I got mine last week! Just a last minute nurse suggestion! </div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-42559945282865506792008-10-25T19:03:00.000-07:002008-10-25T19:16:59.340-07:00Another week of memories...............<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd9JXhFbeJGEMDxG_798U7Pnr_pg1ccuT5BpKoiNSlbcJoo1rNYBHNzYnMATVsD42daJniQCOro1USpif6D-h12jNtU9_xfSY46QGBDBTuiFr1vMmuoQ_tYOLj9adMu8f3LneNT2PETA/s1600-h/102_0841.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261280671158412930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFd9JXhFbeJGEMDxG_798U7Pnr_pg1ccuT5BpKoiNSlbcJoo1rNYBHNzYnMATVsD42daJniQCOro1USpif6D-h12jNtU9_xfSY46QGBDBTuiFr1vMmuoQ_tYOLj9adMu8f3LneNT2PETA/s320/102_0841.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-KY0pq0YF7RoqvUwBzK41qOcjvDYJ2LK8RKzhUW2jltUHwgEdqcnXsSU_ZsTKkDC-S68RegzAT3tdF0vflkvuEVa2TjR03x2cudJEDPvEQ_Li-qnyddnfOiBqNNlTJW-qK_DadVWlHA/s1600-h/102_0839.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261280662671316658" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-KY0pq0YF7RoqvUwBzK41qOcjvDYJ2LK8RKzhUW2jltUHwgEdqcnXsSU_ZsTKkDC-S68RegzAT3tdF0vflkvuEVa2TjR03x2cudJEDPvEQ_Li-qnyddnfOiBqNNlTJW-qK_DadVWlHA/s320/102_0839.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxidZQPbF59-bHfJA8NOYy0OcNCF1aIKd5xjSjpcfMC3Yf1sNQcTRhfYEme93zQP-zNyFuMl54u_-CjHcxWXssgz8FjUW7fBuxzKKa7hFfktKcE1TPd_zqD3W6KNYNQLQ-HI5MLU2WzZI/s1600-h/102_0836.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261280656912648386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxidZQPbF59-bHfJA8NOYy0OcNCF1aIKd5xjSjpcfMC3Yf1sNQcTRhfYEme93zQP-zNyFuMl54u_-CjHcxWXssgz8FjUW7fBuxzKKa7hFfktKcE1TPd_zqD3W6KNYNQLQ-HI5MLU2WzZI/s320/102_0836.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmwykPOTCFYjGM7HNb7AD7bkjwvSsYCP93AcU4tONmwEWgIvfg4OCNY0JxE7XjyPBAJ2Zpc2-f5oQixfwmxgLp48MorasPPGvPuFdES1CB15bxgk_k83moHvqMU0HKCDrUT_wz7cjOWc/s1600-h/102_0833.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5261280647965556482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdmwykPOTCFYjGM7HNb7AD7bkjwvSsYCP93AcU4tONmwEWgIvfg4OCNY0JxE7XjyPBAJ2Zpc2-f5oQixfwmxgLp48MorasPPGvPuFdES1CB15bxgk_k83moHvqMU0HKCDrUT_wz7cjOWc/s320/102_0833.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well this might be a record, 2 blog posts within a week. I was downloading some pics and thought I might as well share a few. This week really hasn't been too eventful which is good I suppose. Monday was back to school and the usual routine, followed by Tues, Wed, Thur, and Oh finally Friday. This was the last week for me with my 1st group of OBU students so I am up to my eyeballs grading this weekend, or at least I need to be. On Friday some girlfriends from work and I made a trip to the Affair of the Heart. We had a blast just shopping, getting ideas, eating, etc. We made a full day of it and boy were we tired. I had stayed up late Thur evening getting the house ready for some sweet company. We had the priviledge of hosting my mom, my sister, and my new nephew. They came up for the Affair of the Heart as well and spent the night here last night. Today we ventured out to the mall and I ended up spending most of my time shopping for my sweet hubby. Those of you that really know my husband know that clothing is the last thing he wants to spend money on so the only clothes he has are those I buy for him. Well it has been 5 yrs since we purchased his last suit and for someone who has to wear a suit and tie to work, he was in need! They have recently changed his dress code at work to include sport coats. So today I found some great deals and he got a new suit, a sport coat, slacks, shirts, and ties. He is set :) Now if we can just get the suit altered we'll be sitting pretty for at least 5 more years. </div><br /><br /><div>This evening has been uneventful, just getting things organized around the house, paying bills, ran to the store for milk, etc. The kids are choosing a movie for family movie night and we are all gonna veg on the couch. Hope you all have a great rest of the weekend. Emjoy the pics!</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-75770281652911689302008-10-19T19:29:00.001-07:002008-10-19T20:08:35.460-07:00Fall break...............or the lack thereof.......<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznpq_2l6HJkT7HD_44ehayKq0_gZ0TvUN61ww-fAt1iWzf-Ejk0JAk9QeMYoisuuE4gXo3C6-0R-aNWz5qgFx_sEQfv2c-8TMGl451Ld-jJ00e9y9gALxKXvBUzjaZWh7Qo8f9b85Cic/s1600-h/102_0794.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259067258498076034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgznpq_2l6HJkT7HD_44ehayKq0_gZ0TvUN61ww-fAt1iWzf-Ejk0JAk9QeMYoisuuE4gXo3C6-0R-aNWz5qgFx_sEQfv2c-8TMGl451Ld-jJ00e9y9gALxKXvBUzjaZWh7Qo8f9b85Cic/s320/102_0794.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-13AoYEviPfHguqdiaxeFE7bNrDZ-cXPH7GJrW7SBsQ-asKBR2UajySi3rC9ni69XGobVOhjYcjH6gmXk9mhmEKW1lBumNKsE_-G89YCblo-GCfVIX3kt6MsctdVjGkETm5ReMUC77Ks/s1600-h/102_0800.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259067264912259938" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-13AoYEviPfHguqdiaxeFE7bNrDZ-cXPH7GJrW7SBsQ-asKBR2UajySi3rC9ni69XGobVOhjYcjH6gmXk9mhmEKW1lBumNKsE_-G89YCblo-GCfVIX3kt6MsctdVjGkETm5ReMUC77Ks/s320/102_0800.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYH2Af3JXzt_ntdJiPKKAAffkMceiRS-WWUyGFQDBjxO7WJPVraXAOq-Vugx3N3p1O96Cw3My5wwASm51yIg9LXMUN3S-TJYmKijTbDc56p8terbIhoQ7M0kZnuzjBlKWUUmM2oK-mWhk/s1600-h/102_0818.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259067278035197234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYH2Af3JXzt_ntdJiPKKAAffkMceiRS-WWUyGFQDBjxO7WJPVraXAOq-Vugx3N3p1O96Cw3My5wwASm51yIg9LXMUN3S-TJYmKijTbDc56p8terbIhoQ7M0kZnuzjBlKWUUmM2oK-mWhk/s320/102_0818.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y3jvYNnQT2VlslLXtrpxfXPpNF917dmxo0Coe7jk9pNfD5fRP01cwHGWLG_FrXXq4cOE_FezGisrD0sLAAZIbNI7c84C0FksQt1FSHgpCQq0TPfzHx-XXxKMBKzxzgVO6L_k23nbb90/s1600-h/102_0778.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066730690134930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5Y3jvYNnQT2VlslLXtrpxfXPpNF917dmxo0Coe7jk9pNfD5fRP01cwHGWLG_FrXXq4cOE_FezGisrD0sLAAZIbNI7c84C0FksQt1FSHgpCQq0TPfzHx-XXxKMBKzxzgVO6L_k23nbb90/s320/102_0778.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWz6bEZxbtytWm0NmkdhrGL42mN5HPHzVPP1rSxmtqvKk1LlYq5IxK9qDgYivTnPDhsB85jpO_oKyA7hh15VNfS8MVZysTBVAFWx3myeynQkQ04W1BNvY4GXQTjsbbysBnlJ3eucMUNo/s1600-h/102_0781.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066734033233042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbWz6bEZxbtytWm0NmkdhrGL42mN5HPHzVPP1rSxmtqvKk1LlYq5IxK9qDgYivTnPDhsB85jpO_oKyA7hh15VNfS8MVZysTBVAFWx3myeynQkQ04W1BNvY4GXQTjsbbysBnlJ3eucMUNo/s320/102_0781.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbwOiV_S-wXFni83kV4JbUp9d3E-tNbnstAVK3OKqtZtMN4gHj-Z2pbCD8T5iXjHeRtK-asTAmgqrSNDkY7r3E0WEUV-Y_37BORVDHb_VBoHs-U0_s4AnJ8r2JXey-J9Z7QMCBK1fYiw/s1600-h/102_0792.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066745956224738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLbwOiV_S-wXFni83kV4JbUp9d3E-tNbnstAVK3OKqtZtMN4gHj-Z2pbCD8T5iXjHeRtK-asTAmgqrSNDkY7r3E0WEUV-Y_37BORVDHb_VBoHs-U0_s4AnJ8r2JXey-J9Z7QMCBK1fYiw/s320/102_0792.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl1Y7JeSfj9H26HuSQWC237mTp4LpdrJZbciYw-o6IgtkN1zo-Tmw9jO4PWzE2SLKqYYxlpqCpRFoXOag2pY5GW7NScWkrBA14L-PHAKdFdIDDN7K_BojqPzam6-8hZh0aqk2_OA7wKI/s1600-h/102_0757.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066190418107298" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkl1Y7JeSfj9H26HuSQWC237mTp4LpdrJZbciYw-o6IgtkN1zo-Tmw9jO4PWzE2SLKqYYxlpqCpRFoXOag2pY5GW7NScWkrBA14L-PHAKdFdIDDN7K_BojqPzam6-8hZh0aqk2_OA7wKI/s320/102_0757.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktr1F3ZnXLw7K0r_NzEubS1G8VPj1U_pNRn5bBhb2aVv4J6i3J2Uyd7YZmoxhr02dT-m12qV6n7I4hwT7JduoM4011rJ1mBCNNCgOuN5qD4hM53Zpk2dowx2ryMqL4ZxXzZhqrQ5ODOU/s1600-h/102_0768.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066203729940098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktr1F3ZnXLw7K0r_NzEubS1G8VPj1U_pNRn5bBhb2aVv4J6i3J2Uyd7YZmoxhr02dT-m12qV6n7I4hwT7JduoM4011rJ1mBCNNCgOuN5qD4hM53Zpk2dowx2ryMqL4ZxXzZhqrQ5ODOU/s320/102_0768.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Igh1xInWDqUHAlolgIZpUl9hafyxiUx9s6QH0xwtdwrumz_WDfrmRM2eKNkZOvU_mfpOninL4xkvfcF5NB5uGEXismw5R0Xncj6frE7l6hb_4hz5lWcif-nI6DV6Ag_UMJxvzVYKrqU/s1600-h/102_0774.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259066211333490450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Igh1xInWDqUHAlolgIZpUl9hafyxiUx9s6QH0xwtdwrumz_WDfrmRM2eKNkZOvU_mfpOninL4xkvfcF5NB5uGEXismw5R0Xncj6frE7l6hb_4hz5lWcif-nI6DV6Ag_UMJxvzVYKrqU/s320/102_0774.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguowNIKmPOjmbnKuDadtuecOFlXCZwL_hX_JF9wW4MEq1lW-uObSRulviIH_AdAyCVwYz5YLr2UQS5cAXfhiIsBO0W64sZXT_TWkqp5iAEkj_X1RKCb2aM6XGNMl4vV8MO0flkrIQksc/s1600-h/102_0733.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259065709488331794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgguowNIKmPOjmbnKuDadtuecOFlXCZwL_hX_JF9wW4MEq1lW-uObSRulviIH_AdAyCVwYz5YLr2UQS5cAXfhiIsBO0W64sZXT_TWkqp5iAEkj_X1RKCb2aM6XGNMl4vV8MO0flkrIQksc/s320/102_0733.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyxTNMlZTEbD4mBTLo4or6RsxH0mvRQT_mYF5nBIzOdtenyyi0wPeMLOBXucgVZaHQbQSnXZhdT7-ueYgq_-nc3oSx_VKQqzHyN-W_d4Ebm8lvJ8-00s_G4rQBMWSr3YB9RY_I6wWZrQ/s1600-h/102_0741.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259065713568320034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmyxTNMlZTEbD4mBTLo4or6RsxH0mvRQT_mYF5nBIzOdtenyyi0wPeMLOBXucgVZaHQbQSnXZhdT7-ueYgq_-nc3oSx_VKQqzHyN-W_d4Ebm8lvJ8-00s_G4rQBMWSr3YB9RY_I6wWZrQ/s320/102_0741.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WTMHXbc335gI1od3cztG3OWzi6ZuLDF_ZR1H0xtj21SpQqtwh3N_xMArh7YkqZQy-Sl5DCoTrS_3_n_sR1AqK7Eg6c1o1RmlNJj6n2VY5M02vyDvHo5KB_d8VMnylwII7SV-q-Udu1A/s1600-h/102_0750.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259065718106674482" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7WTMHXbc335gI1od3cztG3OWzi6ZuLDF_ZR1H0xtj21SpQqtwh3N_xMArh7YkqZQy-Sl5DCoTrS_3_n_sR1AqK7Eg6c1o1RmlNJj6n2VY5M02vyDvHo5KB_d8VMnylwII7SV-q-Udu1A/s320/102_0750.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well it has come and gone, fall break that is! And let me tell you with what a vengeance it left and what a mess it left behind. We had the priviledge of spending our fall break this year camping with 3 other families from our church at a place called Marval Trout Camp in eastern OK. It is a beautiful campground located on a river close to Lake Tenkiller that just happens to have a great fall/Halloween lineup of activities and is very family friendly. We packed up the camper last week and headed out Thursday morning to spend 3 nights and arrived home around 6 pm tonight. Between that time and the few minutes ago when I sat down here at the computer, I was a whirlwind of cleanup activity. </div><br /><div></div><div>For those of you not on the trip and those who have never had the luxury, or those of you who have forgotten what it's like to camp/clean up after a family of five, let me just set the stage a little for you. First of all I should tell you that of the 4 families on the trip, the breakdown included 4 moms, 4 dads, 8 boys, and 3 girls, and a dog! As I said the campground was beautiful but was the great outdoors, fully equipped with dirt, rocks, water, leaves, and misc nature for the children to bathe themselves in from the moment they stepped outside in the morning until we laid them to slumber each night. Add to that an amazing buffett of continuous food, snacks, Halloween candy, caramel apples, smores, pop, etc and you can imagine what their clothing looked like by the end of the day, not to mention the wonderful smell of campfire smoke which has now penetrated not only our clothing but anything that accompanied us on this journey. In fact the smell was so potent that while unloading in our driveway this evening my hubby thought someone was grilling out until I told him it was just the smell coming from our camper!! In addition to the setting and the menu, we packed in a slew of activities also geared to the tune of the messier you were the more fun you were having, ie: pumpkin carving, did I mention caramel apple making, smore making, mini golf, endless bike/scooter riding/ramping, trick or treating, crafts, and on and on. It was a children's paradise and the adults had fun too :) </div><br /><div></div><div>So as you get a mental picture you might also imagine what the cleanup looked like in our driveway this evening. We pulled in and after a quick bathroom break and a drink we proceeded with the cleanup attack! I went into the camper and proceeded to toss out until it was clean as a whistle. The boys proceeded to transport all the stuff from the driveway into our back hallway, completely blocking any traffic flow through that area and then they were off to tell all their neighbor friends of their recent adventures. This left good ol' mom to sort through the rubble which has consumed my last few hrs. To top it all off, I came home with a severe sinus/allergy attack which has left me miserable. But all in all, what a tremendous success and oh how I wish we were still there. The weather was absolutely amazing and perfect for fall camping. The setting was beautiful and the friendship bountiful. The children played together delightfully with very little disagreement. A good time was had by all, at least I think:) </div><br /><br /><div></div><div>The rest of our October has been busy, busy just keeping up with the fall semester now well underway. I believe the 1st 9 wks are complete and we have parent-teacher conferences coming up soon. I will finish with my 1st group of OBU nursing students this week and start another next week. Tomorrow starts another full week of activities that promises to consume my every free minute. We had so much fun camping that Mark and I were hoping to get in another fall camping trip before winterizing our camper but as I look at our upcoming schedule I wonder where we can make it happen. Before we know it the holidays will be upon us along with lots of birthdays in our family. We will celebrate 4 birthdays in the next 2 mo in addition to everything on the calendar. </div><br /><div>I hope this finds you well and having a blessed fall yourselves! </div><div>Love you,<br />Traci</div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-50604457915406779192008-09-11T16:10:00.000-07:002008-09-11T17:24:54.336-07:00A lot going on..................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzG4dK0ZFp27s2Oi0uQrFeEHka4zZzYVq5zqb8sTE8DJAz7ZNolVqPlVYBSSfIg746loPj1pnFIdxpA6f2d9sB_HTh0Wfjd8pXu1FI5sN_9lUN65gp5lW6GIyNNHLRjwbg4xOuwoWtU/s1600-h/102_0541.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244923247998043618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRkzG4dK0ZFp27s2Oi0uQrFeEHka4zZzYVq5zqb8sTE8DJAz7ZNolVqPlVYBSSfIg746loPj1pnFIdxpA6f2d9sB_HTh0Wfjd8pXu1FI5sN_9lUN65gp5lW6GIyNNHLRjwbg4xOuwoWtU/s320/102_0541.jpg" border="0" /></a> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SCh2vG4Xo_IguQDDzMzn2yXydmtXWWMFkTDVyT9_c0Lro0-dcW5SGVSjcTz7o33pqS2ACwRlNsvWXyXq8Uq7mlnJcZYimm76a8gkdxFr2V7W8nEsDrixM8JRDS-vZrD6UigYJVCsodw/s1600-h/102_0565.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244923252767327106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7SCh2vG4Xo_IguQDDzMzn2yXydmtXWWMFkTDVyT9_c0Lro0-dcW5SGVSjcTz7o33pqS2ACwRlNsvWXyXq8Uq7mlnJcZYimm76a8gkdxFr2V7W8nEsDrixM8JRDS-vZrD6UigYJVCsodw/s320/102_0565.jpg" border="0" /></a> Logan and his friends in Cubscouts in Founder's Day Parade<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKs-9yGAVkuZ8S3QwGGD6gZdGWgNSVVK4Xnar9wNwaMhTJ-ofhA1E_06ggqdsURR1OvAhyphenhyphenylzGjCCu3wAQZXYXPY7iX_bt4T5Bo0JYtdqnChTGX0I9_Bjuil3LgRe_F4RAR3AQoSdqBk/s1600-h/102_0569.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244923256379396146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKs-9yGAVkuZ8S3QwGGD6gZdGWgNSVVK4Xnar9wNwaMhTJ-ofhA1E_06ggqdsURR1OvAhyphenhyphenylzGjCCu3wAQZXYXPY7iX_bt4T5Bo0JYtdqnChTGX0I9_Bjuil3LgRe_F4RAR3AQoSdqBk/s320/102_0569.jpg" border="0" /></a> Awwwwwww Mom!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgrHjXR9TuQzA2Y5Msi4PIWOAS2HKjQDxI1Oy1Q6DOXO0n_VUHPyAy98YPjt8rYddCNlCqhYiEeAIvCe85BhouuPjKhXIWjKwz4uQ8WGBYLCGAqdBn1g-JSXT-GCh-gcnH12T1iul49I/s1600-h/102_0580.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244923265976784546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWgrHjXR9TuQzA2Y5Msi4PIWOAS2HKjQDxI1Oy1Q6DOXO0n_VUHPyAy98YPjt8rYddCNlCqhYiEeAIvCe85BhouuPjKhXIWjKwz4uQ8WGBYLCGAqdBn1g-JSXT-GCh-gcnH12T1iul49I/s320/102_0580.jpg" border="0" /></a> Awesome seats!<br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTbL4aDUMlfswnTha-CYUP9YZoF-gWrDb7kpeWcvE6yLIdeIuzXmAFFehgGMvbZ8n_1Qnk4QLFSYsSYsBr8BoIRxKsaWXOGKgB_BvGSRgKzLNm4Dd0NODYwgJ86keifiIcoxMIVjqGvI/s1600-h/102_0529.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244922029889069874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijTbL4aDUMlfswnTha-CYUP9YZoF-gWrDb7kpeWcvE6yLIdeIuzXmAFFehgGMvbZ8n_1Qnk4QLFSYsSYsBr8BoIRxKsaWXOGKgB_BvGSRgKzLNm4Dd0NODYwgJ86keifiIcoxMIVjqGvI/s320/102_0529.jpg" border="0" /></a> Me attempting a pic with them not cooperating<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LjV1OiOMmxjTp_Zk4AUnwMgs93PastQwtUqtv_i9iIZoNsMJ0xmIx4yKK4eLzJ1PeARyctjwU0CzJCG-jHLlJMvfDXV0dEL7kXW-ExPwmmnBCqBpISpw918ZN7iTr0yLbmavrJpAf8k/s1600-h/102_0535.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244922040111793074" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2LjV1OiOMmxjTp_Zk4AUnwMgs93PastQwtUqtv_i9iIZoNsMJ0xmIx4yKK4eLzJ1PeARyctjwU0CzJCG-jHLlJMvfDXV0dEL7kXW-ExPwmmnBCqBpISpw918ZN7iTr0yLbmavrJpAf8k/s320/102_0535.jpg" border="0" /></a> Me taking their pic without them knowing it<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgKPpGnzTW1CQ5PmvPDsgDGX34Ql_hfvDN1jY7qzexe9EuxdrJJPEIY-SBvSjHm7EIRuxvPVadCZg70w2so_SGECB-xq5-7X9sZhT4UTfcUWfipYQBdydl3hjEilfXB_myGqpGBXLpBw/s1600-h/102_0541.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244922043910758642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgKPpGnzTW1CQ5PmvPDsgDGX34Ql_hfvDN1jY7qzexe9EuxdrJJPEIY-SBvSjHm7EIRuxvPVadCZg70w2so_SGECB-xq5-7X9sZhT4UTfcUWfipYQBdydl3hjEilfXB_myGqpGBXLpBw/s320/102_0541.jpg" border="0" /></a> Too cool Logan<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGESpV3bBRTS4Fic6rnUURu5C5oXtAbPP5u0RyQGfCBF6eezVk0k1Fk8Ha2wjN6tMZXD_Wx3UEmJChvBMods8UQ8O4dQM-nLSnpRwvKOuRFenMJH1c9Lt3zvIf8U5drkLSr478QUGbdPY/s1600-h/102_0501.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244921227100188738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGESpV3bBRTS4Fic6rnUURu5C5oXtAbPP5u0RyQGfCBF6eezVk0k1Fk8Ha2wjN6tMZXD_Wx3UEmJChvBMods8UQ8O4dQM-nLSnpRwvKOuRFenMJH1c9Lt3zvIf8U5drkLSr478QUGbdPY/s320/102_0501.jpg" border="0" /></a> 1st day of school (they fixed their own hair)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8mjHvWtl-k2pxj9lTBaP2ncOTMgFGPnLreZvPOb65bKAXmP9ydMdUl9hJc4bXssxllgpYYjchSMJMjYjNb0f19jMxr4nl3sqvtivcLXleQhR4NVal86hoR_fvrBriM2QRvRx4qkFQC8/s1600-h/102_0508.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244921231980404098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip8mjHvWtl-k2pxj9lTBaP2ncOTMgFGPnLreZvPOb65bKAXmP9ydMdUl9hJc4bXssxllgpYYjchSMJMjYjNb0f19jMxr4nl3sqvtivcLXleQhR4NVal86hoR_fvrBriM2QRvRx4qkFQC8/s320/102_0508.jpg" border="0" /></a> Garrett's favorite food (pic taken for school project)<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIpC8EGyjEmaT1x91t2bMk2mPMgzdF7a90venbPcTHsWLfwt0PPzclcgyji5rC3QpxifJW-ok8c64O14BDnwVYPZv6nKXJtNdj_di5dHlG1E3dhNa-uwaNKbUN-Z2JdJtw2epnpU4giQ/s1600-h/102_0520.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244921241247864962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIpC8EGyjEmaT1x91t2bMk2mPMgzdF7a90venbPcTHsWLfwt0PPzclcgyji5rC3QpxifJW-ok8c64O14BDnwVYPZv6nKXJtNdj_di5dHlG1E3dhNa-uwaNKbUN-Z2JdJtw2epnpU4giQ/s320/102_0520.jpg" border="0" /></a> Auntie KK, Logan, and Garrett at Zio's</div><br /><div><br /><div>Well I'll just warn you this may be a longish post as I have some catching up to do and I'm feelin a little wordy. It's amazing I have any words left as I spent the whole day talking. I took on a new challenge in my life and today was my 1st day to put it into practice. My alma mater, Oklahoma Baptist University, called me a few weeks ago about the possibility of me being an adjunct clinical faculty for their nursing students needing a pediatric clinical experience. I had this same offer 3 yrs ago but was quite pregnant and not really in a position to take on that responsibility. This year however seemed like a great time for something new and exciting so I said yes! Well I shouldn't have been surprised when they asked me for my resume and official application but I must admit I haven't even thought about my resume in about 8 yrs. I begged my poor husband to help me as he is the one current in these endeavors and we sat down to a long Saturday afternoon at the computer. At first all I could seem to come up with were my achievements as a mother as that's what I've worked on for the past 8 yrs but eventually with the help of my college memorabilia box, I remembered I was once quite accomplished in my field. Anyhoo, we pulled together a respectable resume, list of references, and completed the application which required my statement of faith (easy) and my philosophy on higher education (not so easy)!! It wasn't too anxiety producing as I really already had the job. After all they pursued me but of course I wanted it to look good. So adjunct clinical instructor I now am and our first day was today. WOW, how I've forgotten how much I used to not know. My students are 1st semester nursing students so they are green as it gets. I have always loved to teach so this is a good fit for me. I had a good time but boy am I tired. I have 8 students in my group and I oriented them to 3 different clinical areas so we were busy.<br /></div><div>But on to more intersting happenings. School is well underway and just when I thought we had weathered the storms of back to school and were sitting pretty with great teachers and children who were thriving under their instruction we get the letter. Logan came home from school today with news that he was getting a new teacher and a letter informing us in no certain terms that is was true. Well as any normal parent would react, we were shocked and frustrated and to be honest angry. You see, Logan's teacher is leaving to be the new librarian/media specialist and when we are reasonable we can be happy for her. However our frustration stems from the fact that this position has been knowingly vacant since prior to the start of school so why was this decision not made then. It seems to me that is would have made more sense to start the school year with a librarian in place and a teacher who would stay with the kids, rather than getting them all used to a great teacher only to out of the blue say, Oh yeah, today you are getting a new teacher! Now you are saying, Traci you need to be reasonable, I am sure there is some good explanantion for all this but I am telling you as a mother I don't want to be reasonable!! This is my child and we were happy with the way things were. So if there is so better explanation that what came home in that letter I'd sure like to hear it!!!! Moving on.....................</div><br /><div></div><div>Garrett is good. We are working diligently to teach him his letters and sounds b/c when we attended kindergarten orientation a few weeks ago his teach informed us that thanks to a new curriculum they have adopted this year, they will be teaching 2 levels above what has previously been the primary school level. This means in no uncertain terms that they should come into kindergarten knowing their letters and sounds. Well long story short we are already behind. It was so easy with Logan as he is our studious child. Garrett on the other hand is carefree and not really interested in letters and sounds. Despite that we are making progress and we hope someday he will read :)<br /></div><div>Addi Grace is status quo, hoping to get that girl in dance soon. She is very into ballerinas right now and loves to dance. Should be a natural! We are enjoying our days just us girls while the boys are at school. Our favorite thing to do is of course shop so we may have to find another past time as this is getting expensive fast. She can be a good little helper when she wants to be. Why just yesterday she was cleaning the toilet with her bubba's toothbrush (don't tell him, I changed it without him knowing). </div><br /><div></div><div>Happy Birthday to me! Another year has come and gone for me as of last Friday. It was pretty much just another day as birthdays seem to be at this age. We did go out as a family Friday evening to Bricktown and got to take my baby sis with us. We had a lovely dinner at Zio's out on the patio as the weather was delightful. We then spent the evening riding the boats on the canal and visiting all the exciting places like the land run statues, Bass Pro, etc, etc. The kids had fun so I did too! I did get a great little treat the following day though. Some of our awesome friends gave Mark and I 2 tickets to the 1st home game for OSU. Now I have never been to an OSU game so we jumped at the chance. Mark's parents came and stayed with the kiddos so we left around noon and made a day of it. The game was at 6:00 pm so it was really late before we got home but a great game and we won, the best part! We were on the 3rd row from the field so we could practically feel the sweat! It was amazing to see it all in person and be so close to the action.<br /></div><br /><div>So as you can see things around here are crazy busy but running smoothly. I am up to full doses of my medicine which still makes me feel crummy at times but nothing incapacitating so for that I am truly grateful. As this whole process started one of my biggest fears was that I would feel bad to the point that I wouldn't be able to keep up my regular duties. That certainly hasn't been the case so I hope it only gets better from here. When I get tired I get bone tired and I ache all over which is definitely a common side effect but I haven't let it stop me. Ironically when I ache the most some mornings the more I get around and do the quicker I feel better. Imagine that! </div><br /><div>As usual I will now attempt to download some pictures so we'll see how that goes. </div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-81731603311826492822008-08-24T14:14:00.001-07:002008-08-24T14:25:44.910-07:00Here are the promised pics..............<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OTaec4luwOJB9QWEtpi5-oI_Nda08WBff6iEjwP2JncXptee_UJwJNFtYk0JLgBzdJ-o-33SphrcLzJoNEEqXQNSbet49MuHHW8rVM9_tA7WCblfad8bZ9AJkVDA7OSzUvAxxZ1UZ5I/s1600-h/0075.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238198330228700546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2OTaec4luwOJB9QWEtpi5-oI_Nda08WBff6iEjwP2JncXptee_UJwJNFtYk0JLgBzdJ-o-33SphrcLzJoNEEqXQNSbet49MuHHW8rVM9_tA7WCblfad8bZ9AJkVDA7OSzUvAxxZ1UZ5I/s320/0075.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ-TDQVESeTRGjlGVUY-aQGIpWGSq5-kNpvrxFpDayIr3-U9w_6IjHVRO9h5BPhg2nyhYBUuA4YWYuafpQ5rtp4q8wxfx4EmTzTsrKOA4R_poCGaq3koWF7YPZJAq_6vN4KdfVsvrKDG8/s1600-h/0077.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238198329054371410" style="DISPLAY: block; 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MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJDL427s6DHmRimmGfmNI9twGWlYzED3Kt0KEQ1LzL6lDcOIZ-qvnZ4yRy9Lir67vKO_vhXIY8ti6-6FKpd51SlUyDIj8yRVF1UZp3wX2MMnJgsBEP2hSp6Ha9_mEcuGSlNnr_D0j9dM/s320/0023.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjIy9QFwxGzfHYnTOsXjbOLZdkq1uFTmMNM4QPLDLtiyyNEquJ5ECzgSj2A4LocNlggnkoMdyyOOswvOOrlFdhm2WEpdqbBXaZ2YlwoL1sGTzWj1MEgPVVRgmUUVIR5QQIaax15j7nbA/s1600-h/0031.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238197676533299026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjIy9QFwxGzfHYnTOsXjbOLZdkq1uFTmMNM4QPLDLtiyyNEquJ5ECzgSj2A4LocNlggnkoMdyyOOswvOOrlFdhm2WEpdqbBXaZ2YlwoL1sGTzWj1MEgPVVRgmUUVIR5QQIaax15j7nbA/s320/0031.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3zjaUFwuJ1DaXEWKtiLsUNUxSM0Y25QJ3gWvAEI_U1r_KwjBBCGDp4oTMXOZeWM0CUK9tU-ozF9lAfWpYMtcP0nfw-wkyQB7tbbdHfXm_2ggAveHHVFktWH-KjJZaq3Kl1oLCLWlKSY/s1600-h/0037.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5238197686317673458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh3zjaUFwuJ1DaXEWKtiLsUNUxSM0Y25QJ3gWvAEI_U1r_KwjBBCGDp4oTMXOZeWM0CUK9tU-ozF9lAfWpYMtcP0nfw-wkyQB7tbbdHfXm_2ggAveHHVFktWH-KjJZaq3Kl1oLCLWlKSY/s320/0037.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-55568392660112970022008-08-23T18:02:00.000-07:002008-08-23T18:57:40.651-07:00Business as usual.................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIpeBBfCrbNUpsZf3Vwg3ew1ib59VC7kFQpxXp4LLaAxXY0XYi1S61dfPRXu-VEMuNIRGXsko2vNpMAUUiUkbHwKN3EfDX2SnKuHMlzAdIXOZ5LaR822vuHvU_J1FjWj9fMhe_0iJnjo/s1600-h/DSCN2356.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237897146147240706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzIpeBBfCrbNUpsZf3Vwg3ew1ib59VC7kFQpxXp4LLaAxXY0XYi1S61dfPRXu-VEMuNIRGXsko2vNpMAUUiUkbHwKN3EfDX2SnKuHMlzAdIXOZ5LaR822vuHvU_J1FjWj9fMhe_0iJnjo/s320/DSCN2356.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTybzxia8CTHLqbnRPiJYFGtG9RQAp8dgiPRQgSzi8EnSIY2nMc1wQq0hmid-3TeW67xNwSz5mnQdUToALNEHPvEDcb-T-M92ycsm5EKh4VnBYeEObdl5-Pm8ALfRSOhVJ7thNWKBljPU/s1600-h/DSCN2393.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237897150049349890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTybzxia8CTHLqbnRPiJYFGtG9RQAp8dgiPRQgSzi8EnSIY2nMc1wQq0hmid-3TeW67xNwSz5mnQdUToALNEHPvEDcb-T-M92ycsm5EKh4VnBYeEObdl5-Pm8ALfRSOhVJ7thNWKBljPU/s320/DSCN2393.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5yL9ZLbbzGJqP4VpyHwLezDovGEXA46BWMyb0RfHfrkQCtG3t5g-_yElvt33eONRxWuZaSqe0EZ75fLP8vqfShsqH9pI4I8PSXPuZCgQHn_admQvFVAzLb2YgmsTiTP57kcZBkjZLik/s1600-h/addi.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237896715001370626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo5yL9ZLbbzGJqP4VpyHwLezDovGEXA46BWMyb0RfHfrkQCtG3t5g-_yElvt33eONRxWuZaSqe0EZ75fLP8vqfShsqH9pI4I8PSXPuZCgQHn_admQvFVAzLb2YgmsTiTP57kcZBkjZLik/s320/addi.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7sJlnbuFbaQZHvZBRGsNkGbv2x9bkNTUvGMJuefhUub-43GlVd1ptRMbgDj-Jko9LGnOl3ZFXsJLdat7hbVX6blS7Xaf1MKzV0MN5RyKRquaXSkcMoSXoDaXw__FCHUwAoM8Y1tAYSw/s1600-h/DSCN2363.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237896724045017266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7sJlnbuFbaQZHvZBRGsNkGbv2x9bkNTUvGMJuefhUub-43GlVd1ptRMbgDj-Jko9LGnOl3ZFXsJLdat7hbVX6blS7Xaf1MKzV0MN5RyKRquaXSkcMoSXoDaXw__FCHUwAoM8Y1tAYSw/s320/DSCN2363.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoBiZrnm6GseUBAR926iHBgM7hVW_cuNuERS0ZDIkyJ2TBPzzrTxG7or4v4_KZsq1EA6cuC8dJAuEi3nb-xr0vHbSfQdp_oIH83JDX5qljEpUsNtQ89RasiJKgBvUNhRk0700gE-vcdU/s1600-h/IMG_0096.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237895259783347570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpoBiZrnm6GseUBAR926iHBgM7hVW_cuNuERS0ZDIkyJ2TBPzzrTxG7or4v4_KZsq1EA6cuC8dJAuEi3nb-xr0vHbSfQdp_oIH83JDX5qljEpUsNtQ89RasiJKgBvUNhRk0700gE-vcdU/s320/IMG_0096.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYV7vYiRzu4eRxZaekC__aFb0PClOZfLipjLGwTKVVwzsGWa6CiMpZe7Be6lBtMBA1xlOea5V0Z5e7FCmPpYCq7NiaqSyNmHWCJc_YqYm4xkSziACYb71kGSV-DrpsG-k4_8a6dxr-_w/s1600-h/IMG_0173.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237895264354870450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixYV7vYiRzu4eRxZaekC__aFb0PClOZfLipjLGwTKVVwzsGWa6CiMpZe7Be6lBtMBA1xlOea5V0Z5e7FCmPpYCq7NiaqSyNmHWCJc_YqYm4xkSziACYb71kGSV-DrpsG-k4_8a6dxr-_w/s320/IMG_0173.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDhIuTqJEod6t6XP7WtpesFZNkdLeVAytqA4p8SQbR4w7LmCZBhnALHBtLaE0s8bnKPpA_oDwYmJeg3zuV-k84SpKddViEyMfNWiBkHEf5SkqdNr1owCRf7HaB5k6MPGzA8Ilme_aNbU/s1600-h/IMG_0186.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5237895268751156626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDhIuTqJEod6t6XP7WtpesFZNkdLeVAytqA4p8SQbR4w7LmCZBhnALHBtLaE0s8bnKPpA_oDwYmJeg3zuV-k84SpKddViEyMfNWiBkHEf5SkqdNr1owCRf7HaB5k6MPGzA8Ilme_aNbU/s320/IMG_0186.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Well another week has come and gone. We've done quite a little bit with the highlight being back to school. Monday was meet the teacher for Logan and went well but was disappointing b/c we didn't get to go in the actual classroom. There are 5 2nd grade classes at Logan's school out of the 557 total students. We were pleased with the teacher we rec'd although Logan was bummed that his 2 best friends were in another room.<br /></div><div>The weather this past week has been very unAugust like with the rain and cooler temps. Although it would have been ideal weather to sleep in on our last day before school started we were up and at em on Tues morning. I had a last minute burst of energy to accomplish summer pics that we had never gotten around to. Addi had a precious dress that I had to have her picture in. So in the pouring rain with our dedicated Auntie KK in tow we headed off to the portrait studio. The kids were less than cooperative and our photographer was less than desireable but somehow we managed to get a few good pics. I am currently not at my home computer so I don't have access to those pics but when I do I will post the best ones. The ones of Addi Grace are so sweet. </div><div></div><br /><div>That brings us to Wednesday, the 1st day of school! We were up in a timely fashion and out the door on time. Now let me just tell you the traffic on the 1st day of school in Piedmont in atrocious. I had asked Garrett in advance if he wanted me to walk him into school and he said no he didn't need me. In a moment of weakness I agreed, so there we were the only car in the dropoff line as every other child was being escorted into their classrooms by not only one but many by two parents. I was devastated but was past the point of no return. We hadn't left early enough to get a parking spot and thanks to the 8 inches of rain we rec'd the 2 days prior it wasn't wise for me to offroad the van into the nearby field. So Garrett hopped out and we were off to battle the traffic at the elementary school to drop off Logan. No being a big man on campus this year there was no question, Logan would walk in by himself, and so he did. Addi and I were off for some girl time. We ran our errands, had lunch with Mark and KK, and squeezed in a little shopping. Then it was back to Piedmont to pick the boys up from school.<br /></div><br /><div>Thursday was back to work for mom and another day of school. So far so good! Addi woke up with a fever in the wee hrs so Mark stayed home with her. Of course she was fine all day so we decided to ride it out. But of course the fever came back with a vengeance late that evening after I was home from work. So Friday was centered around a trip to the doctor. Sure enough another ear infection and likely a sinus infection. So $75.oo later we were doctored and medicated and on the road to recovery. Friday evening we had some friends over for hot fudge sundaes and just took it easy. Today we slept in and I spent the morning doing some deep house cleaning. Since I am not at home to add my back to school pics, I have included some oldie but goodie pics from my sister's archives.<br /></div><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div>Last Saturday KK, Addi, & I drove to Lawton to attend my other sister's baby shower. We are getting geared up for the big day when my 1st nephew will arrive. The shower was a success with lots of neat stuff but the highlight were the diaper cakes that KK & I made. I'll be sure to include some pics of them. We were quite proud of them and surprised at how neat they turned out. So today my mom, sister, and brother-in-law came up to get the few things they need to finish getting ready for the baby. Being the resident expert on baby gear I met up with them at BabiesRUS and then we headed to KK's house for pizza. After the company left, KK and I decided to update my blog. So many thanks to KK's assistance in decorating my blog. </div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-59397151835100152212008-08-15T11:27:00.000-07:002008-08-15T12:44:16.334-07:00Is it really August??????<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFK8I8MM3gEosXYi10PZ4vpV4381WtjVxYBSQNJmfcXSfx7o5_xzv4ZNXGjXtCQhLX1wS2Ie7rah2GSUMrx2ye55UCn4MLIZdFK1FxgVRGK1S9CO7ONhU7mNLuE3gHLWojO5lMVEjI3DI/s1600-h/102_0441.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234830409888226466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFK8I8MM3gEosXYi10PZ4vpV4381WtjVxYBSQNJmfcXSfx7o5_xzv4ZNXGjXtCQhLX1wS2Ie7rah2GSUMrx2ye55UCn4MLIZdFK1FxgVRGK1S9CO7ONhU7mNLuE3gHLWojO5lMVEjI3DI/s320/102_0441.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jgaS7u73M1kIiDX2KTTQQLdjOccMx9OAxuCuD8Qi4mWom_y4554N0eqHmfJ3_ZqQv351QvZe33JtiApaY6E7ibumw_-QmDF0-JuFQYfUaIV-p_yJe24nmcbI3VPEY-OORPTvpCuPOjw/s1600-h/102_0448.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234830417151185474" style="DISPLAY: block; 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MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3qej47q0V7MC2kMfs5GzbE6HgA7Q54ktNRdqwcmMr6DV1KpgcSSieGVgA3j8-0y7vwPHXZ6R0MNrGPogjawTo2zGDm-i7Ev__YALmK_3PBjEbDYVec3AHrawt9ofi66QU6tM1NUIHyE/s320/102_0405.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCkkMlGfvKANRPip32CgppRSvQdaPR1hqnnkl_nTR0xnXiRnhJQ3_3GJjlmIgbxZ5Ure7DggGM13ayYfk-_cJqUKhkBPxvmwWwKSOaf3pBxYW5lRztMMfPk-Tfza7TmASwTTVOKurpLA/s1600-h/102_0408.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234828538984710530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzCkkMlGfvKANRPip32CgppRSvQdaPR1hqnnkl_nTR0xnXiRnhJQ3_3GJjlmIgbxZ5Ure7DggGM13ayYfk-_cJqUKhkBPxvmwWwKSOaf3pBxYW5lRztMMfPk-Tfza7TmASwTTVOKurpLA/s320/102_0408.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEadTDdTwS7RHLJGHjMtKelbt9XqJGu1BF0MQyS9aAIyYp-zHLRnSi9GmR_llzLUZqWOtP-toBD1o9KP8J2mxB4xd9DPtNRACtJHxA4mNHvF8FcjAnKbjwmpw1tmBnfllzah9YNLXAtY/s1600-h/102_0413.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234828549307893266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWEadTDdTwS7RHLJGHjMtKelbt9XqJGu1BF0MQyS9aAIyYp-zHLRnSi9GmR_llzLUZqWOtP-toBD1o9KP8J2mxB4xd9DPtNRACtJHxA4mNHvF8FcjAnKbjwmpw1tmBnfllzah9YNLXAtY/s320/102_0413.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpooC0bVQ0spiLXBAkCkvU8qvBWtCKZstueNBjYbs60d0k_F-CgXc9OA31n5m1qY6CoX4ewOrAOWqpJ4V_cIhZYbuhaysZIHOnk8KqmNtp9Y2ppwqjFUrKdf2BfCrwIMn2nRritfvFN0/s1600-h/102_0362.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234827675919544978" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjpooC0bVQ0spiLXBAkCkvU8qvBWtCKZstueNBjYbs60d0k_F-CgXc9OA31n5m1qY6CoX4ewOrAOWqpJ4V_cIhZYbuhaysZIHOnk8KqmNtp9Y2ppwqjFUrKdf2BfCrwIMn2nRritfvFN0/s320/102_0362.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkcYAq5_IHTmdYKMsoUa1NnqOWP0B91AQ8CCgWVbOOHlLqnkwCl16HJR68zmuRiNA7ZNs9-YorQsdoUom4W2LNcY7QAXM4p7Qvkx5WkAa4y1Q2qOmoOpi3YEbHnnsJxt-oli4y852Mvk/s1600-h/102_0379.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234827679759008034" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEkcYAq5_IHTmdYKMsoUa1NnqOWP0B91AQ8CCgWVbOOHlLqnkwCl16HJR68zmuRiNA7ZNs9-YorQsdoUom4W2LNcY7QAXM4p7Qvkx5WkAa4y1Q2qOmoOpi3YEbHnnsJxt-oli4y852Mvk/s320/102_0379.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVviqqXgB3qMi3ncSLs14Ef1nXP3ME58gh226Fb9ctzqc_CPcXPIYhTAb6-so3pnpWqx0kSfEcahQ0nHhp1pQ1Qc49fbEzLV-oXgEMsJlgVphB3GoqyW2SrE8KaLcUV_84wDjr76klHOM/s1600-h/102_0392.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234827690554280610" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVviqqXgB3qMi3ncSLs14Ef1nXP3ME58gh226Fb9ctzqc_CPcXPIYhTAb6-so3pnpWqx0kSfEcahQ0nHhp1pQ1Qc49fbEzLV-oXgEMsJlgVphB3GoqyW2SrE8KaLcUV_84wDjr76klHOM/s320/102_0392.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIiAV3hfcIXvkpC3B25L2sg7MqHgdc6yjsz8JMpolRimrNrGedsZQ5eFjm_svgIyRGcU1k3o0pk7L7g2k-b9G0EGSYAc7JADsbl4QWs9ysjuVFQ2nzLmmaPLkyq8WRgXtLxgqWdG4gNc/s1600-h/102_0396.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5234827694645976642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKIiAV3hfcIXvkpC3B25L2sg7MqHgdc6yjsz8JMpolRimrNrGedsZQ5eFjm_svgIyRGcU1k3o0pk7L7g2k-b9G0EGSYAc7JADsbl4QWs9ysjuVFQ2nzLmmaPLkyq8WRgXtLxgqWdG4gNc/s320/102_0396.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I look at the calendar and it confirms to me that it really is August already. Where did the summer go? We have been trying to escape our prior summer schedule that revolved around our unexpected health issues for a little more R &R before the routine and business of the school year set in. Last week we traveled to my grandparents in the SW corner of the state to Hollis, OK. Now in addition to getting to see our extended family, the best part about these trips is that we have absolutely no obligations. We just eat, sleep, and play. It is a great time to rest up and rejuvenate for what's to come. As I hope you will see in my pictures (if I ever get them downloaded) we spent a great deal of time in the pool which was awesome. The kids had a blast and would have swam all day every day if we let them. With everything we've had going on this summer, our opportunities to swim have been far less than usual. Addi Grace turned out to be quite a little fish or mermaid as she calls herself. We put some of those floaties on her arms and next thing we know she is jumping off the diving board all by herself and swimming to the steps. Who would have thought? Logan spent the days perfecting his front flip off the diving board, and Garrett is somewhere in between. The pool has become a little more relaxing for me as well with the kids old enough to be so much more independent. I did spend a great deal of time catching people jumping in on top of me, lest you think I got to float around and read as I once did! It happened to be the Blackeyed Pea Festival while we were there so we got to attend the parade which was fun for the kiddos to get to see all the horses and tractors. While Piedmont is certainly a suburb of OKC, it is still a farming community as well so these things aren't completely foreign to my kids but they liked seeing them up close.</div><div>We made our way home last Sunday via my sister's house in Lawton for lunch. Auntie KK, Addi Grace, and I are headed back there tomorrow for Amy's baby shower. We are starting to get really excited about the birth of our newest baby to the family which we hope will be in the next month. Finally I get to be the aunt who spoils the baby, gives it back, and goes home. Mark and the boys are planning a day of guy events that culminates in a trip to the Lazy E Arena to see an Endurocross dirt bike race. That should make for a great Saturday for them. Sunday as far as I am concerned is the official start of our back to school routine with our usual church activities and hopefully a lazy afternoon that just might include a nap. Last evening was meet the teacher for Garrett and we were oh so pleased with his placement. He is forunate to have the mother of the sweet young teacher he had for prek last year. Now Garrett loved her so I am sure he will love her mother just as well. We got him paid up for lunch which he has been the most excited about. Garrett considers kindergarten "real school" b/c it means he gets to eat lunch there. I am a little concerned that he may check out mentally after lunch though. You see last night while at the school he wanted to know if he was in the morning or afternoon class, to which I reminded him he was in both. He wasn't too sure about all that! I think he will actually love it as he was never ready to come home from prek last year. We also purchased his school shirt which the kiddos wear every Friday. I actually like to call last night's events checkbook night rather than meet the teacher, b/c you spend <5 min with the teacher and around 1 hr writing checks for stuff!<br /><div>This week I started my medicine which has gone pretty well overall. The side effects have been very manageable so far, mostly body aches and headache but nothing that keeps me from going about my usual activities, just makes me think man I'm sore every now and then. I have a home health nurse following my progress and I spoke with her today. She seemed to think the side effects would increase as my does increases which only makes sense but I am still optimistic that this too shall pass. Hopefully soon this will just be my new way of life and won't feel so overwhelming. We've also spent a fair amt of time this week with routine medical maintainance for the kiddos. The boys both went to the eye doctor and Garrett went for his before school SHOTS! He was a trooper and thanks to the wonders of modern medicine he only had to have 2 actual injections as they have combined some of the vaccines into one. Pretty cool! Today has been house cleaning and the long overdue playroom cleanout. I spent the morning sorting through the collection of toys we have accumulated over the last 7 yrs and throwing out, packing away, and reorganizing what's left. Now is I can just get the vacuum run before it's time to cook dinner. Maybe a shower in there would be a good idea as well. I keep putting off my shower thinking I might step up on my elliptical for a little exercise but after I consumed 1/2 box of girl scout cookies with lunch I figure why start back today! Hope to get the pictures on here. Enjoy!</div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-65232276881982674092008-07-28T19:23:00.001-07:002008-07-28T19:48:15.516-07:00OK, so what does all that mean????????????????I wish I knew!!!!! This is the question that I've heard over and over again since posting my blog yesterday. So here is my attempt to talk in non-medical lingo, bottom line-it so to speak. What MS does is destroy the insulation covering of nerves in the body which relay signals from the brain and spinal cord to the rest of the body. Once destroyed this covering cannot be regenerated and once lost the signals cannot be carried which results in places downstream not getting the instructions they need to feel normal. So what you are left with can show up as a variety of symptoms most commonly numbness, tingling, altered sensation, much like my original symptoms in my left hand, thumb, and 1st finger. Another primary symptom of MS is related specifically to the optic nerve (which carries b/w the brain and the eye to make you see). If that nerve covering becomes damaged or inflamed then it can translate to vision problems. The symptoms of MS vary widely from person to person in frequency and severity. It is considered a progressive, degenerative process which means that is usually gets gradually worse over a long time frame. Some cases are much more rapidly progressive than others but the majority of people fall into a category called relapsing-remitting MS which means that over time they have relapses where they suffer new symptoms which generally resolve completely. Then they go an undefined period of time feeling perfectly or very closely perfectly normal. MS does not carry the terrible prognosis that it did in years past as there have been several advances in treatment like I talked about which is targeted at prolonging the time b/w relapses or preventing them entirely. I will spare you all the more devastating symptoms that can be associated but are far less common. So what does this mean for me? It means that I will be taking medicine in the form of injections, much like people with diabetes take insulin shots, only mine will be 3x/wk rather than multiple times/day. It means that I have to take xtra care of myself to maintain good overall basic health. Some of the less serious but annoying issues are that heat can cause worsening of symptoms so being outside in OK on an August afternoon at the zoo probably isn't recommended, darn!! It means that I might get tired more easily than before and have some vague aches and pains. What it doesn't mean is that there is really anything that I can't do if I feel like it. It doesn't mean that my overall life span will be necessarily shorter than yours or anyone else who takes good care of themself. So it means that I could use all the love and support you have to give. Please don't be afraid to talk to me about it. I am still adjusting to the idea myself and while I know a lot, I don't really know how I am going to feel. What I've described above is based on what I've read from other people's experiences. After all, I've only officially been diagnosed for 72 hrs and I've only had symptoms for 3 mo. What I do know is that people live healthy, productive lives for decades with MS and you might just be surprised how many people you know or see each day that have it unbeknownst to you. So what I need is for you to be positive and remind me when the going gets tough just how much I have to live for in case I forget. I will tell you that as hard as it is to accept I know there is a plan in this beyond anything I can fathom b/c God is in control and He will see me through.Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-31612105884471227562008-07-27T16:38:00.001-07:002008-12-11T03:38:40.476-08:00The long awaited diagnosis.....................<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1FXTK5K6QnYVlrO92m381jDO_SLQ-Gt01MKIUX_OLMgWsR9zXgoaKv5Tk_FGLP3T3bcR3N8ZKEyHkkQWF_-Kc9gNGZLYl3r3L2PS3GDdLbGkEmuUm4gnktSnwuvk-4igEiGce9ZcVzc/s1600-h/102_0320.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227854418275582386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp1FXTK5K6QnYVlrO92m381jDO_SLQ-Gt01MKIUX_OLMgWsR9zXgoaKv5Tk_FGLP3T3bcR3N8ZKEyHkkQWF_-Kc9gNGZLYl3r3L2PS3GDdLbGkEmuUm4gnktSnwuvk-4igEiGce9ZcVzc/s320/102_0320.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR629XbeCTI8esr5FWbqkA2-46IIeyaZQ1inoGXGc3WbGk-QSTcc6adGdUUpsPvTKLj8tfJnuSg_kSzDhIUJuc1-DcgWvGxbEWpueaO5MkEPbTNU41ERqfMnWnXYVM0QI-v_pikWUZ6qY/s1600-h/102_0317.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227854234083731266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR629XbeCTI8esr5FWbqkA2-46IIeyaZQ1inoGXGc3WbGk-QSTcc6adGdUUpsPvTKLj8tfJnuSg_kSzDhIUJuc1-DcgWvGxbEWpueaO5MkEPbTNU41ERqfMnWnXYVM0QI-v_pikWUZ6qY/s320/102_0317.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprKGvW3dtdUS9OXrLvoi31NIuP4OV_vuxxNir8nyTUIpCWdIUW5NjBX8PwLmru_nyiRlkuz4QdmiF565WH3YNLehTrHp3dG62aNFPjGhCB5pYJMCPcu0W0GBMlrZA3FI6XxdWFNaBRno/s1600-h/102_0319.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227854237791486354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprKGvW3dtdUS9OXrLvoi31NIuP4OV_vuxxNir8nyTUIpCWdIUW5NjBX8PwLmru_nyiRlkuz4QdmiF565WH3YNLehTrHp3dG62aNFPjGhCB5pYJMCPcu0W0GBMlrZA3FI6XxdWFNaBRno/s320/102_0319.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wzkHbvpZcZXPsjPOaSktIIPRaTdaOXjMOI_dHSiT0zqj_P1Lej1_1vlyTkEzQqarPt8i5cdkliz5uewlVp0EmWKNT690SAYYB7_DlRrVUE1r6-z-QWPX4BQNmkN4TuCyAoEpT5Lt1Gw/s1600-h/102_0278.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227853894607735986" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wzkHbvpZcZXPsjPOaSktIIPRaTdaOXjMOI_dHSiT0zqj_P1Lej1_1vlyTkEzQqarPt8i5cdkliz5uewlVp0EmWKNT690SAYYB7_DlRrVUE1r6-z-QWPX4BQNmkN4TuCyAoEpT5Lt1Gw/s320/102_0278.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PV3WcL1ZA3gOS9YiIPr2YAWDGli1jS6xJUGeA2dTxofA-Sxnz_ZUOgJ3tQAKIgjUXFRbyCZHPpvef2Vcwar3fkvYqwMTnpO1A3XC5a246eF3jtnto5fztwy-gJuphRNvnImsGz9jlsk/s1600-h/102_0298.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227853899285930466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3PV3WcL1ZA3gOS9YiIPr2YAWDGli1jS6xJUGeA2dTxofA-Sxnz_ZUOgJ3tQAKIgjUXFRbyCZHPpvef2Vcwar3fkvYqwMTnpO1A3XC5a246eF3jtnto5fztwy-gJuphRNvnImsGz9jlsk/s320/102_0298.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE82oVXAUXeL4o0s8Tufb93WopcwYHzjwjd-bhYBcnqCTrPxZ_8BYZ4gypM21xSaA0nMtBysGPzhhW55Y7hLK2dKIXTyiigRpnt_AAxcaNqCV3N5a3nB-ZJtIhhHshmANeuyno7MinMqg/s1600-h/102_0265.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227853520315774098" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE82oVXAUXeL4o0s8Tufb93WopcwYHzjwjd-bhYBcnqCTrPxZ_8BYZ4gypM21xSaA0nMtBysGPzhhW55Y7hLK2dKIXTyiigRpnt_AAxcaNqCV3N5a3nB-ZJtIhhHshmANeuyno7MinMqg/s320/102_0265.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFDr2_8h4ajGjTD3DVvhLefnczTvF2vqxaQnNn8TFBavNS8eNsIGQxJSeB49kg3hmv9YHg_12Hua3ct7Z8RUYKFXspNTnfPRw4DF5hC1MJpRgiy_XzZt0dHi0zf4fMENq64t2xzF-zuQ/s1600-h/102_0273.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227853526154673234" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaFDr2_8h4ajGjTD3DVvhLefnczTvF2vqxaQnNn8TFBavNS8eNsIGQxJSeB49kg3hmv9YHg_12Hua3ct7Z8RUYKFXspNTnfPRw4DF5hC1MJpRgiy_XzZt0dHi0zf4fMENq64t2xzF-zuQ/s320/102_0273.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well this isn't going to be an easy update for me but I want those who know and care about my family to know what's going on with us and more specifically with me. I've previously told you about my health concerns and the testing that came as a result. After an almost month-long wait and much anxiety I met with my neurologist last Friday. The short version is that the viral processes being considered have been ruled out which leaves us with a working diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Apparently there is no 100% definitive test for MS but a very high percentage of people with MS have a certain antibody present in their spinal fluid and that antibody is present in my spinal fluid. In addition to that, I have one sclerosis on my MRI's. So the neurologist says technically I don't quality for the diagnosis of (multiple) sclerosis as I don't yet have multiple lesions but all things point toward that so I should consider beginning treatment. While this was certainly not what I wanted to hear, it wasn't as big of a shock as I suppose it could have been since I had been told several weeks ago this was a likely diagnosis. Still, it's not real until you hear it for sure. As you might imagine this has brought about an overwhelming emotional response as well as the practical response of what now. I've been angry, sad, scared, anxious, you name it, I've experienced it these past 48 hrs. Ironically enough, stress is a trigger for causing/worsening MS symptoms, so how does one deal with it and minimize the associated stress? I guess that's what I must learn to do. I have done a fair amt of reading and am well-versed in the medical realm of MS. Now I face the reality of applying that to my life and making the decisions regarding treatment. So what is treatment you are asking? Well my neurologist considers himself aggressive and based on what I have learned, I think we will get along well. You see while there are several new treatments for MS that weren't available just a few years ago, they only slow and/or prevent the progression of the process. The medicines cannot restore function already lost or cure lesions already present in the brain/spinal cord. (Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune process where the body's own immune system attacks the healthy tissues of the brain/spinal cord, specifically the myelin sheath which protects the nerves that transmit impulses from your brain to your body.) So basically once the damage is done, there is no medicine at this time to make it better. Having said all that, it seems like a no brainer to me to get started with therapy ASAP. Despite that being my doc's recommendation he didn't think 5:00 on Friday afternoon after being hit with such a blow was the time for me to make a snap judgement. So I am to meet with him this week to set up a treatment plan. Meanwhile, my neurologist, while certainly qualified to treat me, is going to contact another neurologist here in OKC that treats only MS patients to see if he had any other suggestions or thoughts. It does seem that I am in the best hands possible. Back to what treatment is: treatment varies slightly but all are meds called interferons that mimic the immune system's good functions. They are given by injections, the one recommended to me is 3x/week. They do carry some risk of side effects, mostly flu-like symptoms, which supposedly are supposed to decrease in severity as your body adjusts to the medicine. There are of course other risks but apparently feeling overall crummy is the biggest thing for most people. So I am not excited about that but I am determined to do what I can to keep myself as healthy as possible. This is where the anger comes in sometimes when I think about all the people who don't take care of themselves and are just fine, when I consider myself a healthy person who works at it and this happened to me. At this time, doctors don't know what causes MS but have some ideas related to genetics, viruses, and other misc things. It is more common in women and in certain geographical areas farther away from the Equator. So now that you know more than the average person about MS, you have a piece of what I've been introduced to as the new state of the rest of my life. A little overwhelming isn't it? </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>So what has the rest of July encompassed for my brood? We did make it to Lake Murray for a few days and managed to have a good time despite the crowds and the 1st really HOT week of the summer. We came home a day early as we were laked out! We still had another day off work so Mark, Auntie KK, and I took the kiddos bowling, to a movie, and out to eat for a lazy family fun day. Good times were had by all, and best of all I beat my husband at bowling for the 1st time ever. He will tell you it was just b/c we had the bumpers out but hey winning is winning. I think Garrett came in 2nd if that tells you anything about how our game went, haha! After that it was back to work to try and make up for the lost days while I was laying flat on my back after the spinal tap. I can't remember if I told you but I did end up getting what is called a blood patch to cure my spinal headache. One of my dear anesthesiologist friends made time to place the patch via another needle in my spine, I'll spare you the details. Anyhoo, it fixed me right up and I've been good to go since. What a shame it took 6 days to find out I could have that done. Many thanks to my good doctor! With only a few weeks before school resumes we are trying to make the most of our remaining summer. The beginning of my treatment clouds the issue of our upcoming activities, not knowing how I am going to feel. So we will probably lay low and try to stay cool. I'm going to try and add some pics of our lake trip. Man it was hot. Funny how I've lived basically my whole life in OK and I manage to forget between summers just how hot it really gets here. Until next time......................</div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-7524825058074311222008-07-07T15:34:00.000-07:002008-07-07T15:42:26.132-07:00On a lighter note.................Someday I will learn how to get the pics where I want them to show up in the post. I do not claim to be a computer guru as you can see by the quality of my posting. Just don't let the presentation overcome the news!! As you can see we have managed to have a busy June despite my medical mischief. Mark and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary with a night out to dinner/movie thanks to some of our great friends and my sister who watched the kiddos. We attended Mark's family reunion in Sallisaw and were able to leave the kids there for 4 days while I endured the bulk of my tests. Mark and I have continued to work as normal of a schedule as possible. While in Sallisaw for the family reunion we were able to spend a day at Lake Tenkiller which is where all the water shots are from. The others are just the kids being kids and enjoying the fabulous summer evenings we've been blessed with. <br />Hope the summer isn't passing you by and you are all taking the time to make the most of it. If there is anything my newfound perspective has taught me it is to make the most of every moment. Some people understand that better than others. I suppose it is a process for all of us as I must admit even my own understanding has grown significantly this past 6 weeks. We are planning to do a little more lake time next week if possible at Lake Murray which is a new destination for us. We are looking forward to time away. As always, more to come. I will try to share what I find out with you as I am able. Thanks to all who have been such a tremendous help these last several weeks. It means so much..........Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4456071509664688837.post-7389212753376262212008-07-07T14:55:00.001-07:002008-12-11T03:38:43.829-08:00When the going gets tough..............<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DyuMJVWYmpD4CkY7O_Jm1FGFDmrT0iona-oPmdsrulWNxlpz5cY-feuWK7VAQt76VT1KFi_htAV8CedZpGqmR7ksW6ACUd0uWVfKVPiHfVDZGSvUhDTuYzmZr_uotP6-i2WCyoN-Yz8/s1600-h/102_0248.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220403082759291058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6DyuMJVWYmpD4CkY7O_Jm1FGFDmrT0iona-oPmdsrulWNxlpz5cY-feuWK7VAQt76VT1KFi_htAV8CedZpGqmR7ksW6ACUd0uWVfKVPiHfVDZGSvUhDTuYzmZr_uotP6-i2WCyoN-Yz8/s320/102_0248.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeHhx8CNpme_PpKvdetTWQb_V0Q2w-qixIFZgY9kLAVFHhKZrDVsL1Lrja0q6W16PLFqRSUCTiWKsrwn5QWJ5dtsmflzCFu-oceauTQR32k1yZc6JNf04AjziDDlGzZRGwponRkCa01s/s1600-h/102_0255.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220403083261327378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCeHhx8CNpme_PpKvdetTWQb_V0Q2w-qixIFZgY9kLAVFHhKZrDVsL1Lrja0q6W16PLFqRSUCTiWKsrwn5QWJ5dtsmflzCFu-oceauTQR32k1yZc6JNf04AjziDDlGzZRGwponRkCa01s/s320/102_0255.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuNUL-i4lTkSEjw_MKtlN4fM6vCZIGIKgls6S-BYgWQ_jbMmJAsCaRUmJecfVbQMocHnAId7aMVR6h-2zZl3trcAY1nJyrbwJ1tI-dJsZqCnJcfCtztQEYXvEOxnDAq5wROpt3zmW_es/s1600-h/102_0237.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220402671001600626" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCuNUL-i4lTkSEjw_MKtlN4fM6vCZIGIKgls6S-BYgWQ_jbMmJAsCaRUmJecfVbQMocHnAId7aMVR6h-2zZl3trcAY1nJyrbwJ1tI-dJsZqCnJcfCtztQEYXvEOxnDAq5wROpt3zmW_es/s320/102_0237.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRbLsrqzYjJE6Viro7AVDbnuaYoSYGOMX1DMRkREkzU1-EfZVaO1wXoRpti-0Li4u5bCyrlgD2VoaEZwZt5jZYd71DwAiyZvSixHq9eqdta-T7-mi1HqpusLpoDSGcAHqYtWbdS6-LD4Y/s1600-h/102_0243.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220402682071698450" style="FLOAT: left; 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MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN_2n-GQX3glEgDvC_OeXB2R4H-XFvPfsALSRY7WzofGQgEsKl-C7kDUDh95BGymyFGKz-NUpt2NCLvj9xFrhVBhz1pJWMSMCMjEq5SuDtsRvc5nj4AX2ZiesXy_A7ChhEmOox3atRz9Q/s320/102_0228.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREKjGrv21lVoTcsanx-6M2nJihnddB42lg8R5SEOfTcPzHbiVo28JlQotT9aO8i1UEpB02Hx-r-zhy5g_ACuwyu2HbtwEepQ1Z4MJZegZpeOIYF_gqM2_bw_omoOnG0Xkri0llkJr0VM/s1600-h/102_0198.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220401549497707650" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREKjGrv21lVoTcsanx-6M2nJihnddB42lg8R5SEOfTcPzHbiVo28JlQotT9aO8i1UEpB02Hx-r-zhy5g_ACuwyu2HbtwEepQ1Z4MJZegZpeOIYF_gqM2_bw_omoOnG0Xkri0llkJr0VM/s320/102_0198.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU0wI3SWuF_cK5FVl7LoJ-PxzSdRtaFBHIsZ3qD4n1yDgAkW91oTqeSdj_EQSXjaK03oZxYWXB3RYwXVN_gnTz7sRDZ5W3a9tRLAFeFt-AUHLR1sPj4_vlSvbPmcJ0N7aNl3ag85sIaA/s1600-h/102_0206.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220401550186768834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQU0wI3SWuF_cK5FVl7LoJ-PxzSdRtaFBHIsZ3qD4n1yDgAkW91oTqeSdj_EQSXjaK03oZxYWXB3RYwXVN_gnTz7sRDZ5W3a9tRLAFeFt-AUHLR1sPj4_vlSvbPmcJ0N7aNl3ag85sIaA/s320/102_0206.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-GWhJVObs5OCkhjb3qB_wqk8rdRBkIn7-CMJpdYEGLKcZrBLe_6p7shXFSlCH__aWqHHbK0IPTbWWz7e7E1vCeAynOmW4Xdtj9di2GK4twEd_ELnnpvT9rGtbjGVHDfxxkCTJHOX6Aw/s1600-h/102_0182.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220401183119505474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK-GWhJVObs5OCkhjb3qB_wqk8rdRBkIn7-CMJpdYEGLKcZrBLe_6p7shXFSlCH__aWqHHbK0IPTbWWz7e7E1vCeAynOmW4Xdtj9di2GK4twEd_ELnnpvT9rGtbjGVHDfxxkCTJHOX6Aw/s320/102_0182.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mDXVDpCeXLWvWF9-7Zik7lWSPB0ZZkXZO1uK0JZX9Tt8fl9GQHxOfnenQZz822rdMdjPVXTh_lbQ8rnIkT0oKsaQbKM-YLGKDfRSJHVO-lZpbkSeIV9uixxw0XBlB_DskRvJjOt20XY/s1600-h/102_0196.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220401192938353842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_mDXVDpCeXLWvWF9-7Zik7lWSPB0ZZkXZO1uK0JZX9Tt8fl9GQHxOfnenQZz822rdMdjPVXTh_lbQ8rnIkT0oKsaQbKM-YLGKDfRSJHVO-lZpbkSeIV9uixxw0XBlB_DskRvJjOt20XY/s320/102_0196.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWrmg1p4VycWwdrUt_VpEVW8kY6hyll_10VZs5j1hr4lcuQ6dMzuTtZdP3G6AlWVYLqIerjpLOr1JVwWGgoUjFSYop4-FMTXwIyDZ4lFBqAN-os1-HNwo1SBBJjubjWnBnr0QEU9BQUk/s1600-h/102_0172.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220400829045068418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAWrmg1p4VycWwdrUt_VpEVW8kY6hyll_10VZs5j1hr4lcuQ6dMzuTtZdP3G6AlWVYLqIerjpLOr1JVwWGgoUjFSYop4-FMTXwIyDZ4lFBqAN-os1-HNwo1SBBJjubjWnBnr0QEU9BQUk/s320/102_0172.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDpkyI_2LgJozqZIMO-ykdeLr27eBquhDM0jIsd7QfdqyyRnlZ7sMvXQpM-AZbMbuev7xdzagIrIp0FcswEsbCXTOomduoWdawh9fJmuEOB-m7Abcd-R4skehdugd0gLNJaKs1sAlWFQ/s1600-h/102_0174.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220400840229080434" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfDpkyI_2LgJozqZIMO-ykdeLr27eBquhDM0jIsd7QfdqyyRnlZ7sMvXQpM-AZbMbuev7xdzagIrIp0FcswEsbCXTOomduoWdawh9fJmuEOB-m7Abcd-R4skehdugd0gLNJaKs1sAlWFQ/s320/102_0174.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGewcyAMvT1U0t9csORekZF15JX6uuxpQZzEkNwkHw61yhavqBm5kIGnXddMAU_UHk_LEtyvWB-_VVA4Bm4jR4tVK12iTkJmCONjggtZSKG3hIpWF3bUO4Q7FrVQaJ-Aw8HQ31B8Lsa0/s1600-h/102_0138.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220400477945590898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlGewcyAMvT1U0t9csORekZF15JX6uuxpQZzEkNwkHw61yhavqBm5kIGnXddMAU_UHk_LEtyvWB-_VVA4Bm4jR4tVK12iTkJmCONjggtZSKG3hIpWF3bUO4Q7FrVQaJ-Aw8HQ31B8Lsa0/s320/102_0138.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd5pN1qmAT2zq_SUZ5rCPCT485xOKpOQKf9n9saUKFmP_7sL_nlXxdflgygQUzV-odRXFzYLF4oUqXkjxfl05TFPkGVnUjavwMEc-6pDo_qOKC9CpN9WJIpjedjRO7ndS_zEeSSg33ZI/s1600-h/102_0170.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220400488023168322" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkd5pN1qmAT2zq_SUZ5rCPCT485xOKpOQKf9n9saUKFmP_7sL_nlXxdflgygQUzV-odRXFzYLF4oUqXkjxfl05TFPkGVnUjavwMEc-6pDo_qOKC9CpN9WJIpjedjRO7ndS_zEeSSg33ZI/s320/102_0170.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Well things around here have been pretty challenging for me specifically and the family indirectly. You probably remember my mention of my left-hand numbness and pending MRI of my neck. Well in the last 3 weeks that MRI has been repeated with contrast, which brought about a consult with a neurologist, an MRI of my brain, and a spinal tap. As you may have figured out all of that brought with it a great deal of anxiety on my part with the what-if's and potential diagnoses. I wish I could spare you all and just tell you the answer but you will have to wait right alongside me. The working broad-spectrum, if you will, are 2 potential pathways, one being a diagnosis of an MS-like sydrome (multiple sclerosis) or something else called a viral transmyelitis. Now in general the latter of these 2 would be the preferable diagnosis with regard to the longterm picture. My neurologist has made me promise that I will not pursue info with regard to either of these until we have more info. The additional testing I mentioned earlier will provide the info needed to isolate out what is causing my symptoms and guide my future therapy. I would appreciate all your prayers as my family and I try to stay calm and remember who is in charge as this process unfolds.<br />This whole process has been just that, a long and drawn-out process of one test followed by waiting, uncertainty, a little info, anxiety, and then it starts all over again. Fortunately I have been connected with a great neurologist whom I love and have been very pleased with. As I write this, I am hope still trying to recover from my spinal tap, which is supposed to be a straight-forward inconvenience that people have everyday. That is unless you are the one having it. Now as nurse I can't tell you how many of these I have assisted with over the years but it is another issue entirely when it's your back the needle it going into. For that matter, enduring these last few weeks has taught me a lot about what it's like to be on the other side of the medical treatment. The Lord has certainly placed a few key people in my path who have been great but overall I have been disappointed in the very system that I pride myself on being a part of. It sure puts things into perspective but I could spend all day telling you about my newfound "perspective". Anyway I have encountered a complication of my spinal tap called a spinal headache which is when the hole poked into my spine through which to obtain the spinal fluid for testing doesn't immediately seal up and there is a slow leak of fluid. This is the very fluid that surrounds your brain and cushions it while you go about your everyday activities. Well you sure don't know what you've got until it's gone. While the body is constantly making more, it can't keep up and when you get into an upright position there is an unusual pressure placed on the blood vessels and nerves in your head thus creating the 'spinal headache'. This is eased greatly by just laying flat which may seem like a simple solution until you try to live your life flat on your back. For those of you that know what my day-to-day operations are like or can imagine, you know how challenging this is for me. Lest you think it's just a matter of getting on with things and overcoming a little headache, let me tell you this is an incapacitating headache like I've never known. Along with it you get some other fun side effects like nausea, dizziness, etc. So back to bed I go! </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>I keep reminding myself this too shall pass but my it's hard to see the big picture at times. Please remember me in your prayers that this will soon be behind me. I have 3 precious children and a sweet husband that I would like to take care of in the ways I am accustomed. In addition there is still the anxiety related to the ultimate diagnosis which we hope to have an answer to late this week, early next week. That too is always in the back of my mind!! </div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div>Here are some pics of what we've been up to around my medical journey as we try to make the summer as fun as possible for the kids while this unfolds.</div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tracihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11815039467430854329noreply@blogger.com1