Kieran and Zoe's birthday party

Today we combined my niece's birthday (Nov. 9) and Kieran's (Dec 3) for a ladybug birthday party. Both turned 6. Couldn't believe all the girlie stuff around when it was all over with. Now it's time to get ready for Christmas.













My silly sister, Kelsey...

Life is short, PARTY!

That was just one of the nice stickers on the back of the window of the white pick up truck that nearly clipped the front end of my car off as he shot through myself and another car caddy corner the lane next to me. Apparently he couldn't wait the 5 seconds it took for me to pass the other vehicle. Seems I have had the definition of "party" wrong all this time. According to this "gent" it means nearly destroying a car with a Mother and her 3 year old in it just so you can get to the red light first. Upon coming up to him on this red light, I get to gaze on the beauty of his other creative stickers and variable artwork. Seems Calvin has taken himself from urinating on decals and emblems to staring with an evil grin while holding the rebel flag. I am going to leave the other ones up to your imagination. Chances are, you get the idea. So what does an individual who drives such a intimidating piece of machinery look like, you may ask. You would envision a young scruffy man in his 20's or 30's, however you would be wrong in this instance. No, our winner of the day is either a very old looking 30 year old who appears to have spent way too much time partying, or a somewhat young looking older 70's gent who seems to not have figured out that life wasn't as short as he initially thought.

Ahh, the holidays, where commercialism and lack of patience are rampant. It's sad that I am already sick of Christmas commercials and they just started... what, last week? Yet, I still feel optimistic this year's festivities will be patient worthy. After all, seems I am getting what I have wanted for over a year now... the blessing of a 16 day vacation. I trust it will grant me the renewal I so badly long for. Everything else, will be a huge bonus. Oh December how I welcome you!

Family Pictures

A couple of weeks ago me and the fam rode up to Ft. Smith to meet up with one of my old Junior High best friends to take family pictures. She is one of the best photographers I know and did an amazing job on them. Thank you Jaime!

Boy's Belated Party post

Hectic week and a half and I never got to post about Gage's birthday and the boys party. Went off without a hitch. Weather was beautiful, especially considering it had rained for nearly 2 weeks before hand.

Anyways, here is some photos from the special day.

Boys cake, was all melty by the time the party started.







Gage's new real tool kit.



Ryker's new sandbox and truck





New pj's

Ryker 3rd birthday

Today at 4:56 a.m. my baby turned 3 years old! This is the first time I have had a 3 year old without being pregnant or just having a baby recently. It's different.

Next week is Gage's birthday so we are doing their big party then. Today we were planning on going to Fast Lanes but got a wild hair to check out the jump zone in Bentonville. It was raining so we had to do something indoors. Steven looked at the times on the doorway and noticed they only do parties on Saturdays, so we thought we were out of luck. This sent Ryker into a fit in the van, screaming "I want to go in". So I told Steven to go back and see what time they were open to the public tomorrow. Next thing I know Steven comes back with thumbs up. I was confused. He said he has several students who just happened to work there and saw him looking at the door. He told them that it was Ryker's birthday and they got their owner to make an exception for us. I thought that was pretty cool. I have never been there before, but OMG the place was awesome. It had some of the coolest jumpers. Too bad I didn't have socks or I would have tried them myself. The kids had a blast and tried everyone of them. Ryker had no fear and went to the biggest one the most (the pirate ship). Kieran took some prodding but once she would try the scary ones she loved it. All were worn out afterwards. What was nice is I was stress free the whole time. They were told the rules when they got there and they actually stuck to them. No one threw any fits either.

Afterwards we went to Denny's where Ryker fell asleep in the booth. It was nice though. When we got home he woke up starving and ate everything he ordered, which is a first. We had cupcakes after.

Here are some pics of the day...







The Pirate ship







In Elmo land



Steven in on the fun



After sliding down the almost 30ft Pirate ship slide. He shot down!

August Rush

This month has been tremendously busy. Sorry for my lack of blogging. The bad thing of blogging like this, I know I will forget something.

* We finally went to the Zoo on probably what turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year. We have made a couple of attempts but the weather never made it nice for a good trip. It was fun but swealtering.

Here are a few pics











This little guy was in the Amazon house right above us, not caged at all...



* Steven and I celebrated our 10th Wedding anniversary on the 14th. Kids went to Oklahoma, we had our date on Friday and went to the bout on that Saturday.

* Our last home bout of the season was on the 15th. The Betties played the Thunderdollz of Tulsa. I loved getting to play some defense for a change. Don't get me wrong I love jamming, but I like an occasional change. The Betties won 130 to 120. It was a fun and good game all around.

* The kids started back to school on the 19th. Well, Gage started back, Kieran just started Kindergarten. It has been a smooth transition as both like it very much. I am still taking Ryker to Farmington everyday, as that is where his home preK is.

Here is a pic of Gage and Kieran on their first day.



* I celebrated my 29th birthday on the 23rd. We went to Oklahoma where I spent part of the weekend with my best friend Charlette. We had a playdate at her house with the kiddos and then that night we took the hubbies on a date to the movies and out to eat at Pete's Place. The rest of the weekend I spent at my parents house. Sadly I realized I haven't been there for months, maybe even since Christmas? Steven goes down a lot to help his Dad work. He will take a kid occasionally but I usually stay here. He happens to be there right now.


Somewhere in the midst of it all I went red and decided I am going to stay for awhile. It's actually managed to stay around.



September is also going to be super busy. Both boys birthdays are a week a part. My aunts are coming from Colorado. Going to Josh's wedding in Oklahoma. And again, I am sure I am missing something else.

Oh, and I did remember something I forgot... Ryker got potty trained in one week. Last week he was screaming everytime he went near the toilet, now he is in the alone as we speak. My baby is growing up.

August is right around the corner

Well, it was supposed to be a very busy month. Some changes have taken place. I will not be taking my vacation to Colorado. I had planned on going in about a week to visit my family plus we had a bout planned on the 8th in Colorado Springs. Unfortunately, many of the team cannot make it and we did not have enough to make a full roster. Very sad, I was looking forward to visiting with my aunt and cousins. BTW, Mom, I told her that I would get with you to see about planning another trip including you. So anyways, I will now have to postpone my vacation until the holidays.

We do have 1 more home bout this season that is on the 15th. I should be playing in that one as well, so if you have been wanting to catch a game here is your chance. The 14th Steven and I will be celebrating our 10th Anniversary. And a week later on the 23rd I will officially turn 29. I see many counting in their heads all of the sudden. August is also when school starts, meaning Kieran starts Kindergarten and no more stay at home Daddy for Steven. Steven and I will also be starting the Faith Weavers Children Ministry on Wednesdays. (If you have a child from ages 4 yrs.-5th grade let me know and I will get you some more information.)

And after all this is over, I will need to start planning the boys birthday parties for September. Both are a week a part. Gage's happens to fall of the Regional Tournament. I will not be going, end of story.

Coming soon to a theater near you...

Bullets

June 25, 2009

* Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 of apparent cardiac arrest.

* Farrah Fawcett passed away at the age of 62 after a long battle with cancer.

* Last night of Bible school, kids had fun, Steven and I are tired.

* I learned how to cry again.

* Realizing I can rest when I die.

P.S.

* Get Jon and Kate off of the news please. That would be great...

Summer

It has officially started in our household. Unfortunately I am the only one in the home that doesn't get a break. I have decided to start praying for a school based therapist position that allows for me to have some kind of summer break. Will start looking into that within the next year.

This summer brings lots of exciting travel. Trips to Nebraska, Alabama, Colorado, and hopefully Georgia are all in the works. I actually plan on taking an official vacation in August to go to Colorado with my sister before one of my bouts to hopefully visit some family. Steven is taking advantage of being home with the kids and taking them to the park everyday. I of course feel left out as I am stuck in a hospital all day. But it is still nice to have them all home when I get off.

I plan on doing a lot of relaxing this summer as well. Lots of movie rentals, ice cream, and outdoor fun. You will see less of me on here, sorry.

What happened to religious freedom!!!

In your own home no less!!!! Fail again...

Couple Ordered to Stop Holding Bible Study at Home Without Permit

Pastor David Jones
and his wife Mary have been told that they cannot invite friends to
their San Diego, Calif. home for a Bible study — unless they are
willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to San Diego County.

"On
Good Friday we had an employee from San Diego County come to our house,
and inform us that the Bible study that we were having was a religious
assembly, and in violation of the code in the county." David Jones told
FOX News.

"We told them this is not really
a religious assembly — this is just a Bible study with friends. We have
a meal, we pray, that was all," Jones said.

A
few days later, the couple received a written warning that cited
"unlawful use of land," ordering them to either "stop religious
assembly or apply for a major use permit," the couple's attorney Dean
Broyles told San Diego news station 10News.

But the major use permit could cost the Jones' thousands of dollars just to have a few friends over.

For David and Mary Jones, it's about more than a question of money.

"The
government may not prohibit the free exercise of religion," Broyles
told FOX News. "I believe that our Founding Fathers would roll over in
their grave if they saw that here in the year 2009, a pastor and his
wife are being told that they cannot hold a simple Bible study in their
own home."

"The
implications are great because it’s not only us that’s involved," Mary
Jones said. "There are thousands and thousands of Bible studies that
are held all across the country. What we’re interested in is setting a
precedent here — before it goes any further — and that we have it
settled for the future."

The couple is planning to dispute the county's order this week.

If
San Diego County refuses to allow the pastor and his wife to continue
gathering without acquiring a permit, they will consider a lawsuit in
federal court.

In Christ Alone

This is Kieran's favorite song. I searched several youtubes to find the one she likes with the flutes.

Blazen receives the gift of fire!

It's been a good weekend. Earlier in the week I was kind of hoping to take the family to the Zoo yesterday, but based on weather predictions we once again put a hold on it. Only thing, weather was fairly nice for the most part yesterday. Guess it was a good thing anyways, Steven got a me a metal fire pit for our backyard, so we stayed outside a couple of hours last night enjoying it. If you know me at all you know one of my favorite smells is small outdoor fires. The kiddos played on the swing for awhile until it started getting too cold. I was somewhat worried after the ice storm if the yard would be back to itself once spring hit. Luckily, aside from a couple of trees pushed down to the ground it is still beautiful. We used the limbs that fell from the big trees and used them in the fire.

May is a busy month for me, next week Steven is traveling down to Dallas with me while I play with the Betties against one of Ass City's Home teams. It will be the first time all year that we have gotten away for a weekend. The week after we decided to take the whole family and go on a camping trip with the church. Normally just Steven and I go but we are using our daycare the weekend before. Gage will be going in my stead on the Buffalo River with Steven while me and the two yongins play outside all day. Praying it doesn't rain.

So here are some recent pics of our weekend. I would like to wish all the Mother's a Happy Mother's Day!!

Refreshing

This week was pretty good. Work has been less stressful. Did get a bit of bad news in that the other acute therapist put her notice in, so looks like it may be myself for awhile after she leaves. Acute therapists are a rarity in this area. Currently I am one of 3 in Northwest Arkansas. 1 of 2 that works with adolescents. It's super fast paced, which is why I like it, but many struggle to grasp the short term therapy aspect of it. They don't teach emergency room therapy in grad school.

Although I wasn't that stressed this week I still noticed my patience for certain things has steadily declined. Mostly with personalities of people with either entitlement issues or attention seeking behavior. Both drive me bonkers and I see them way too often. I guess working with teens mostly that tends to happen.

On our way home from grocery shopping I got a chance to run into the house and grab our camera and get some shots of the awesome sunset tonight. It was breathtaking, and sadly the pics didn't capture the beauty as much as I would have liked. Here is one of the shots.



Tomorrow, I will head up to Ft. Smith where I will be an alternate playing with the Betties against RVRG. I cannot say how proud I am of this team and how far they have come since the start of the team. The league is continuing to grow and with it the atmosphere becomes more positive. So you know I am enjoying it. Lots of traveling is happening this summer and next season we have already gotten word we will travil to HAWAII in 2010. I have already started a Hawaii fund. Hawaii is definitely in my top 5 places to visit. #1 is Ireland, and I will go there one day... I will! Ok, I hear thunder and my mind is drifting. Time to sign off.

Springing up...

It's Spring! Only the weather didn't get the memo. And therefore it affects my blogging productivity. I am tired of cold dreary spring weather. It has a bad case of Bipolar 1 disorder. It is making Steven confused as he is making cinnamon rolls late at night as if it were Winter!! I am ready for skirts and summer dresses. We will get one nice day in between several bad ones. We tried to go to the Zoo during Spring Break only to be forced to go to the aquarium instead, due to the bitter rainy cold. And that was a couple of weeks ago. This last Sunday's Easter was drab, but we were expecting it so we hunted eggs that Saturday. Gage went and visited his Granny for a day and had fun winning a jump rope in a local egg hunt there. Kieran and Ryker just did one in our front yard... with empty eggs.

Here are some pics from our excursions.