Storms

Wow. Storms have pretty well taken over the week at this point. We live in Kansas and have our whole lives (minus my 4-year stint at OSU) so storms - even tornadoes - don't typically startle me too awful much. In fact, I tend to find them exciting, and I love to get a great picture or two out of the deal. But the storms this week have been devastating. Thankfully, our little town has been pretty well missed but oh how many other communities have been practically destroyed. It's sad. I talked more about Joplin, MO over on our photo blog. Since then, several other lives have been lost and a lot of people have lost homes and businesses. Praying for all of them.

Not-So-Timely-Two-Week-Recap

I had a great weekend... (referring to last weekend... I wrote this first part last week but never posted it...oops!). Friday, Dac and I went to a coffee shop for a little dinner date. Then we drove around, took some pictures of the softball complex for work, and watched "127 Hours". It was really good but kind of hard to watch at times.

Saturday morning I picked up my awesome friends Kayla and Heather (along with some tasty donuts) for a shopping trip in Wichita. Since we were having pictures taken by Laura McPherson of Elephant Juice, I wanted to pick up a few things. I didn't have the best of luck but that's ok... I got a couple things and the pictures will be fun no matter what I look like, right?! =) That's right!

Dac started working on the bathroom/spare room project again... he got a lot more tore out. The house was an absolute dusty disgusting mess but I'm glad we're making progress. I cleaned up a bit when I got home and then we hung out and watched another movie - but we both fell asleep during that one.

Sunday we went on a breakfast date to Brick's. I got my usual jumbo fatty pancake and egg. Delicious. I sorted through stuff from the spare room closets so Dac could get those ripped out. Then, I ran some errands and hung out with Heather for a bit before going to our friend Erika's daughter Jessi's 2-year barnyard birthday shindig! =) It was fun. I made a barnyard craft and played little kid games.

Speaking of Jessi - we get to keep her and her sister Jazzy all weekend! We're going to have a blast! =) Can't wait!! More on that later.

After the party we grabbed some ice cream (like we really needed it after the plethora of Cheetos and animal cupcakes we had...ha). Then, I went home. It was literally a construction zone in there and I couldn't breathe - so I went and crashed my MIL and SIL's pizza party! =) They hooked me up with some stuffed crust, we watched TV, and then I went home and cleaned again.

Monday night was our friend Tabitha's birthday outing. We planned to eat at Red Lobster and play putt-putt - but the mini golf place closed too early so we decided to just eat at the Warren movie theater and watch Bridesmaids . Man oh man. It. Was. FUNNY. Sure it was a little on the crude side but I seriously laughed SO hard. We all did.

I had a seriously crazy, ridiculous, grump-inducing work week. It was awful-falafel people. So come Thursday - instead of cooking for Wii night - I pansied out and we met Steve, Cori, and Charli at La Fiesta. Then, the girls came over and we watched the Greys Anatomy and Private Practice season finales.

I took Friday off. HOLLA. I had lots of errands to run (including picking up a couple last minute things for pictures), laundry, and house cleaning to do before we headed over to Erika's to begin our weekend-o-fun as super nanny extraordinaires. =) We're thrilled they trusted us with the girls and I for one had a great time.

Here's Dac and Jazzy snuggled up watching a movie. Jessi was taking a nap and I forgot to use my camera the rest of the time. Jazzy loved Dac and he was a big help. He'll make a good dad one day.

Saturday, we took a little break and had our photo session with Laura. EEEEK! It was a blast!! Like a little date night which is exactly how we like photo sessions to be. =) Perfect perfect.

Today, we took the girls to church and then to my grandparents house to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday! That's big time. Then, once the girls were down for a nap and their house was picked up, I kind of just crashed. Having two toddlers thrust into your life like that can wear ya out! =) But they were really good and it was a lot of fun. I'm so glad we got the opportunity to hang out with them and that their mom and dad were able to enjoy some much deserved alone time!

Now, I'm vegging on the couch in my pj's, taking the last sip of my route 44 vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper and finishing off some leftover chicken-n-noodles from lunch. Mmmm.

SO - here's to two, busy, good weekends!!

Mama...oooh ooh ooh oooh

It's Mother's Day - but we'll get to that in a minute. First, a little on our fabulous weekend.

Friday - We went to my parents' house for a scrumptious dinner, good conversation, witty banter, and lots of laughs. I tell ya, sometimes it hurts to be as cool as we are. =) Dac helped my dad cut down some trees and while he did that, I stayed in and "helped" my mom with dinner. I also got to see my Heidi girl (Mom and Dad's dog that is really my dog and she knows it! =)) It was definitely a good start to the weekend.

Saturday - I met my pal Kayla for breakfast at the donut shop. We had a nice chat and a chocolate long john and orange cake donut later, we were on our way to check out the house they're in the process of buying. It's perfect for them.

Then I came back because our good friends John and Anna (and sweet little Ruby) were coming for Ruby's 6-month pictures. We went to Braums for lunch, came back, played, took some pictures, played, slurped some Sonic drinks, played... it was fun. =) We love to hang out with them and we already can't wait until next time! Also, Ruby is at such a fun stage. I had a blast with her. You'll be able to see her pictures over on the photo blog in a few days.

After they left and we downloaded the pictures, we ran to Lowes. Then, Dac unclogged our shower drain. Myyyyy hero! =) As he was finishing up, I heard Peety making this awful sound outside. I thought he was seeing Dac in the basement and when I looked outside, I didn't see him. Well Dac heard him and ran outside...Turns out Peety had gotten his dog tag stuck between two boards on the deck. It was choking him. =( I felt awful that I didn't realize he was hurt. He was a sad, traumatized mess the rest of the night... he wanted lots of hugs and belly rubs but this morning he was back to his wild, crazy, stubborn pug self!! After that, we took it easy and watched "Date Night". It was funny!

We slept in and skipped out on church this morning then we took pictures of Dac's parents for their 30th anniversary next month. Next up was a delicious lunch at my Grandma's. Then, we went to Dac's cousin Darci's college graduation party. We edited some pictures tonight and now I'm trying to relax and enjoy the last weekend time I have before an extremely busy work week. Sigh.

So - it's Mother's Day today. Here's a picture of my mom and I from my wedding (duh) back in 2006.


I'd like to say happy Mother's Day to both our moms and to all the fabulous moms out there. To all the moms with babies, grown kids, those that have lost children, those who want nothing more than to be moms, grandmas, aunts, pet moms, mentors, and any woman who's ever done some mothering to someone. =) I'm so thankful and blessed to have had so many "moms." Not that I needed any extras... mine was perfect... but still, I love all of them! =) Moms, women, help make the world go round.

This and That

This weekend was good for the soul. We were quite productive. Friday night we went out to eat BBQ with Dac's brother and sister. We went on a little driving tour and I purchased a new read. The book is super cute and I just had to have it. =) Then, we stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Saturday, we woke up and got right to work. We took our piles and piles of recyclables to the drop off, took tons of bags of clothes to the Salvation Army, and took some old pipes and stuff to the metal recycling place - even landed ourselves $30 for that. =) The house is like a whole new place now! Then we got ready and headed to Pitt for a fun engagement session! We had a really good time and I'm hoping we got some great pictures to show for it. We stopped at McDonald's in Independence on the way back to grab some chow at around 9 p.m. This McDonald's was seriously W.T. (That's white trash people). It. Was. Horrible. I don't think I've ever left a restaurant so mad in all my life.

Yesterday was church, pizza, and lots of house cleaning and laundry. Still lots of cleaning to do, but I did get a few heavier cleaning-type things done so I feel good about it. =) I even took a nap - and when I woke up I had my Scentsy order waiting for me on the porch. Hallelujah, I love me some Sugar Cookie Scentsy people. Mmm Mmm good! Speaking of Scentsy - a blogger I follow is hosting a giveaway for a plug-in warmer AND a bar.

In other news, Osama Bin Laden is apparently dead, as I'm sure you've probably all heard by now. I'm certainly glad that he personally is not a threat anymore. Unfortunately, his ideals live on in many others. I'll tell you what else is unfortunate... this justice does not bring back the lives that have been lost due to his heinous acts of terrorism or those lost in the hunt for him and for those like him. I find myself a bit torn. I'm definitely no softy when it comes to criminals and I do not oppose war or the death penalty. I do, however, find it hard to truly rejoice in a death. I think that kind of misses the big picture not to mention it doesn't really do any good. Anyway, there's my two cents. I'm still glad the hunt is over and I'm grateful for all the work and sacrifice that our armed forces have done to make it possible. Here's praying they all stay safe and that the war on terror can end soon.

Mello Yellow

Well - today has been productive... yesterday was too... but it seems like it just hasn't been quite productive enough. Know what I mean? I guess it never really will be but I'm certainly glad to have gotten done what I did.

There's a bit of extra yellow in the house today.

The pretty flowers in the back are from my little buddy Charli (and her mom and dad). They brought them over for Wii night Thursday (along with some delicious steaks) and they are the perfect addition to my kitchen counter!

The clear container is full of homemade dishwasher soap. I stole the recipe from a blog I follow... it's a cup of Borax, a cup of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda, and a container of Lemi-Shine. I've yet to try it yet but I've read that it works great, is much cheaper over time, and is a pretty safe and natural concoction. I was using those handy little packets before but those things really add up.

Front and center is a pan of lemon bars. I'm taking those and some rolls to Dac's family's Easter dinner tomorrow... yeah, I'm going all out this year. =)

In other news, we've been busy with photography again, so be expecting lots of posts on the photo blog soon!

The Thief

It's Good Friday. I honestly never gave a whole lot of thought to Good Friday as a kid... I mean, all the focus was on Easter, ya know? It wasn't until high school? Late middle school maybe... that our awesome youth group leaders had us perform a Good Friday service. It was very serious, very moving, and this song was part of it.

"Thief" - Third Day

It's now one of my favorite songs and Good Friday is more important than ever. Sometimes bad things have to happen in order for the good to be seen... for God's glory to be fully recognized.

Luke 23:47 - "Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last."

Jesus' final thoughts were those of trust. I should really do that more.

John 3:16 - "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

Educated

Today is Ryan's birthday. Even more than all the hurt the past few weeks, I've thought a lot about the good things. Here are just a few of the things I've thought of recently - just some random things I experienced with him and/or learned from him.

Ryan:

chased me around the kitchen island at my Grandma B's house.


gave me many a vocab lesson. =) I'm sure some of the words weren't as family friendly, so we'll just stick with that example.

introduced me to the world of MTV, Pantera, and later, Beavis and Butthead. We keep it classy like that.

taught me how to properly sport a doo-rag and how to run for my life to avoid getting whipped by one. (UGH)

initiated my love-hate relationship with scary shows after watching my first, "The Nightmare on Elm Street." Thanks Ryan.

presented Orange Julius'. What What!

made sure I knew the best baseball team always has been and always will be the Cubs! =) Good thing!

relayed the message, in a not-so-friendly manner, that a Ryne Sandberg rookie card is way better than any ol' Phillie Phanatic holographic card or, Heaven forbid, a Beauty and the Beast collector card.

re-affirmed my knowledge that No. Matter. What... you don't drink freaking milk after a freaking game of cousin baseball. For crying out freaking loud.

convinced me that he would literally pulverize any guy who so much as looked at my picture wrong, let alone actually treated me wrong. Mr. Tough Guy.

hogged the TV with more Zelda than I care to remember.

demonstrated the unofficial dance moves to DMX' "Party Up". "One, two meet me outside, meet me outside. All my rough riiiiiiiiiiiiiidas, meet me outside, meet me outside..."

Cheered me on at one of my first musicals while on one of his first dates with Erin.

pretended to be excited when he was home from college and I made him listen to endless stories and look at my scrapbook for an hour.

sat me down and explained that maybe Dac just didn't care about going to prom if it had to be with someone else (when I was upset he was skipping his first prom).

laughed and rolled his eyes with me at the grownups when they'd act a fool.

never stopped giving me crap. All the time we were dishing it back and forth.

earned my respect by always knowing where the line was and never crossing it.

asked me to sing in his wedding.

fuh-reaked out before the rehearsal when he asked me how the song sounded and I told him "not great... hopefully it won't suck too bad." Then said "What?!?! Erin's going to be pissed! I told her you sang good."

cried during the song and told me I was a brat for worrying him.

told me time and time again how much he loved our pictures and how he couldn't wait for us to shoot his family.

never let me get by with anything.

made a great stand-in big brother. He pestered me to no end, stuck up for me, and gave some pretty sound advice for being such a clown.

Man oh man. Love those good times. =) Just wish there could be more of them.

Happy Birthday Rufus! Hope there's cold ones in Heaven and that you're enjoying the ultimate celebration. =)

Also, on this day a year ago... my grandpa Carl was diagnosed with cancer too. Like I said... April's extra hard this year. Good thing it's almost over!