3 kt. Coldwell

BUMP!

2012-01-31T18:00:00.000-06:00

Here is all of my 'growing' pictures so far! :) The first one makes me laugh really hard.. what exactly was I taking a picture of?? hehe

11-6-11

11-21-11

12-2-11

12-12-11

12-20-11

1-3-12

1-5-12

1-10-12

1-30-12

I better start taking more pictures!!

Baby Boy!!

2012-01-29T14:51:00.002-06:00

It's a BOY!!!! Jeremy is SO excited! While I don't think that he "thinks" about the baby, I'm sure that he has all these plans of teaching him things (including that Coldwell charm). I tell him that he doesn't think about the baby, what I mean by this is that when I asked him what kind of wood he wanted to nursery furniture to be he looked at me like I told him our baby is a monkey! I also asked if he had been thinking about Godparents for baby and I got the "monkey" look again. I guess it's just on my mind 24/7 because I'm the one walking around with the nausea, the big belly and the "is she fat or is she pregnant" looks that come along with the belly. I can say that I wouldn't trade any of those things for the world. I'm beyond excited about our baby boy on the way!!

When I went to Kansas for Danielle's baby shower, Jeremy was busy in the nursery!

To be honest I was surprised that it isn't burnt orange! We had actually talked about doing a Longhorns themed nursery but Daddy did it in blue so now it's just a blue/sports themed nursery. :) I'm just glad that we're actually moving along the process!

Jeremy has been on C-shift (11pm-7am) for 2 weeks now and just like everyone on C-shift, he is a zombie! He's trying to keep his sleeping schedule the same on the weekend as it is on the weekdays. It's boring for me, but I can't complain because I would be much worse if it were me on C-shift.
This is how it goes around here...

Daddy and WallE sleeping the day away

I went and checked out a couple daycares on Thursday. I had already been to one by my work after my eye exam one day, and yes I was dilated but I don't care for that place. She has been open since '98 and the place was kinda dumpy and it was $189/week. The ones I looked at this week are by our house. One is 2 blocks North and one is 5 blocks South. I went to the one that's 2 blocks away and I love it! Everyone was very nice, I got a tour of the whole building, they are very organized and the location is right on my way to work. The best part is that they have cameras so I can log on and see what the little guy is up to! Which is also nice because I can see that if he is screaming all day, I will be prepared for his mood when I pick him up!

The one that's 6 blocks away stressed me out while I was there. The walls aren't all the way to the ceiling, so if someone is screaming in one classroom, the whole building is going to hear it and that seems really stressful to me. Both of these ones are $135/week, but every time I think about it, I just love the 2-blocks-away daycare more and more.

I'm pretty sure I ruined the secret so I can announce it.... baby boy is being named after his Grandpa.. RICHARD LEE!!!

I reminded Jeremy yesterday that in 2 weeks we will be "mourning" our 3 year mark in NEBRASKA. WOW! THREE years!! That's insane! I say "mourning" it, but we are lucky to have been so close to our family for these past few years, but then again we've been close to them for 20 and 22 years before that! We are keeping our fingers crossed for the opportunity to go somewhere else before his enlistment is up. We'll see how that goes, we only have 2 1/2 years left!

Stay warm everyone (not like that's been very hard this winter)

Talk soon!

2011 coming to an end

2011-12-29T18:47:00.001-06:00

I can hardly believe that 2011 is over. It has flown by! 2012 is going to be a great year!
January 13th we will find out what we're having.. baby boy or baby girl. I think it's a boy so we'll see how my 'mother's inuition' is! That weekend is also Danielle's baby shower. Then we will be in BUY BUY BUY, PREPARE PREPARE PREPARE mode! We don't have much yet, for the baby. I'm really starting to show!

Christmas was very busy! December 22nd I had a dentist appointment and after that we headed to Ark City! We hung out with Luke and Janet for a little while, before visiting with Pops and Bobs. On the 23rd we had lunch with Danielle and Pat at Neives'. That evening we went to have Christmas with my mom, Elissa, Aunt Susan and Terry. We made our own pizzas and enjoyed visiting. The 24th included more visiting with Luke and Janet then we went to The Regency Hotel to have a pool party with Pops, Bobs, Courtney, Glen, Misty, Kenny and Kolby Lee! We had an early morning on the 25th in order to see everyone. So we went to Grandpa's to see Sherry, Courtney, Glen, Aunt Debbie and Kelsey. It was really good to see them! It had been 3 years since we last saw the Mullins'. Then we went to Maize to see The Dunbars, Olsons, and Wilsons. That was a lot of fun. I believe it was the beginning of a new tradition. Then we went back to Ark City to see the rest of the Coldwell's. Dirty Santa was fun as usual! Then it was bed time! I was so exhausted! On the 26th we got up and headed back to Nebraska. It was a good trip but we were glad to be back. And now we're back and we both have colds! Tis the season!

Elissa, Belle, Terry, Mom, Me, WallE and Jeremy

This isn't the best picture that we got, but I love that WallE is sticking his tongue out! Jeremy wanted to be doing that too!

Grandpa at Christmas

Kolby isn't camera shy at all! Just let him see it and he's smiling and saying CHEEEESE!

Uncle Chris, Brian, Jeremy, Jennifer, Brenden, Jordan, Me, WallE, Aunt Lori, Aunt Susan, Uncle Mike, Aunt Shirley, Elissa, Grandma, Ryan, Grandpa and Dad

I got a promotion at work, December 1st. I'm doing the same thing, I'm also now the supervisor. I could say that this causes more stress but I think it actually relieves stress. Before I would feel like I couldn't say something just because other people had been there longer than me. I am going to start a suggestion box, just for this reason. I really want people to utilize it.

I'll keep you posted on how our Daycare hunting goes!

November already!

2011-11-03T18:33:00.001-05:00

Well all of the family knows now so I don't have to keep putting it off any longer... WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!We found out on September 28th and kept it a secret for a whole month!! I couldn't believe it either! :) We will find out what we're having around Christmas time so it'll be a nice little Christmas gift.We can HARDLY believe it! I'm so excited and I want to go buy a bunch of stuff but I know we'll have a couple baby showers plus I don't have the energy!! I don't think any stores want me to vomit on their toys either! I have been pretty nausious but only thrown up 4 times (so far!) On the weekends I'm usually okay until I eat a larger amount of food. By larger I mean less than half of what I usually eat! It's so frustrating not being able to eat much because I love to eat but when I get full I get nauseous.. I think work takes a lot of energy out of me also because I sit down and stand up all day. I've been trying to limit it but sometimes it's hard.
I've been keeping a journal about the pregnancy. Telling how many times I've been throwing up and everyone's reactions to the news. I know I won't remember it so I'm being ambitous by trying to keep a journal. Poor WallE really isn't excited about this baby. Mostly because I'm so irritable I think. Right now I just don't like him getting in my face and just standing there. I have to tell him 6 times before I push him off me. I think what I really don't like about it is that the whole time he is next to me I am tense because I don't want him to step on my stomach and so it's just annoying.

I've actually been a pretty angry person here lately (thank you hormones!). But most of the time it's just me sticking up for myself which I didn't do it the past.

A little something off subject.. Jeremy and I went to visit a church back in April or May time. It's a nice church but it just wasn't what we were looking for. We went back a couple more times but there still wasn't a spark so we stopped going. Every week that w haven't been, they come to our house. Every Tuesday evening they come ring the doorbell. I'm going to be honest... I don't answer it. I have a few times but they aren't there to spread the Word. They are there looking for answers as to why we aren't at church. That's between me and God.. not you! They usually leave a pamphlet in the door and one time the pastor wrote on it and said "Trust you will be there tomorrow". That made me very mad but Jeremy doesn't think it's a big deal. That's because he's not the one hiding out in his own house from them! I'm not exaggerating when I say that they've been here at least 20 times! One time they came on a Saturday around noon and I was on my way home from work. Well I drove by and saw them at the door so I kept driving. Jeremy didn't even warn me! He was going to let me just drive on in to a trap! BUTT! I don't know how to get them to leave us alone. I just want to put a sign on the door that says 'GIVE IT UP!' But that seems a little unnecessary...

We got our first snow of the season on November 2nd :( It was a sad day. The snow was very pretty but it just means that it's going to be a long winter again :/

Well I've got to go figure something out for dinner. The only thing that isn't turning my stomach toward the toilet is carrots but that's not very substantial.

summer so far!

2011-06-29T19:26:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we had a very enjoyable time in Topeka with Luke and Janet. Friday night we stayed in Topeka at the Candlewood Suites.. It wasn't our dream hotel but we just needed somewhere to sleep and it was cheap! The boys headed out early to play some golf while Janet and I laid in bed for a little bit longer before going shopping!
We stopped at an acupuncture massage place in the mall... All we could say was "ouch!" We weren't really expecting that, we just wanted massages. Then some more shopping until we went and got a pedicure! Then more shopping (it sounds like we did alot of shopping but we didn't buy much) then went and got the guys from the golf course which was right by our hotel for Saturday.
Saturday we stayed at the Prairie Band Casino/Resort. Luke won a one night's stay for 4 people. The prize included $50 each off our bills (practically free after that!) and 4 free lunch buffet's! The boys were glad they had a hot tub, so we visited it a couple times. We decided that we are going to meet half way (Topeka) every year. When we move to Texas, we will have to find a new meeting place!

One thing we agreed to do is try a new restaurant each month. April we had Mark's in Dundee for Stephanie B's birthday. Jeremy had chicken lasagna (his was the best) and I had Mac-n-Cheese. It sounds funny but it had 5 different cheeses! It was good too :)
In May we had Caraba's for the rehersal dinner for Danielle and Pat's wedding. It was really good! We both really liked the appetizer salad and we both had Chicken Parm that we enjoyed (better than the Chicken Parm at the Casino/Resort!)
June's new restaurtant was the casino's restaurant Thee Fires. They had good ranch and good spinach artichoke dipe..

We might have to skip July's new restaurant since Jeremy will be in Georgia for 3 weeks for accounting school. He's such a stinker, he gets to do all the traveling while I'm stuck in Nebraska!

Happy 4th of July!!

June

2011-06-18T21:49:00.000-05:00

Summer has been flying by! I can't say that I've done much to enjoy the summer, yet, but I'm glad that it's not SNOWING!

On May 20, 2011 my best friend married the man of her dreams.. It was a beautiful wedding and I was so glad to be a part of it! She made a very beautiful bride!

The wedding was in Wichita so we spent the weekend with Grandma and Grandpa. WallE had Grandma whipped into shape by the end of the weekend! All he had to do was look at her and whine and she would take him on a little walk :) When it was time to relax and watch TV, WallE knew that Grandpa was the one to go to

Oh and happy 1st birthday Jayden Troy!! Auntie Stephie loves you very much!

Now we are dealing with the flooding going on. It's not affecting us but it's predicted to affect the base, and Jeremy has been filling sandbags. I'm not sure which is worse.. an expected flood or an unexpected flood. When Coffeyville flooded (about 10 feet) in 2006, people picked up and moved on. With expected flooding, that's all you hear about.

This weekend Jeremy is in Kansas City for Chris Williams bachelor party. I'm sure they're having a blast! All I've done is worked and mowed the lawn. I'm not going to lie... I'm enjoying not having anyone to pick up after. He'll make up for it, I'm sure! =)

We have little birdies too! Momma bird made her nest right on our porch light. So our front door is OFF LIMITS! Momma bird doesn't like for us to even stand at the door and look outside, or she swoops down at us. Needless to say I jumped 5 feet back.... Blonde Bimbo moment!

Next weekend the plan is to meet up with Luke and Janet at the new(ish) Prairie Band Casino/Resort in Topeka. It's the perfect meeting place because it's exactly half way! The boys are going golfing, and Janet and I will find some trouble to get it!

I can't believe how old that picture is of us at the top of the blog! That's from Jeremy's basic training graduation! 2 1/2 years ago! Here is an updated picture

no, this isn't what he wore.. I had to be at the wedding earlier than he did

I had to inclue this pic because I love these shades! They have zebra stripes.. The stripes are in your vision too!

quick update

2011-04-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

There's not a whole lot to update.

We got new neighbors on Sunday. He is a military cop, not sure what she does. They have 2 dogs (german shepherd and a lab, I think) and WallE just wants to go outside and play with them... here we go again! On Sunday all he did was whine because he wanted to be outside because they were. He sure misses the old neighbor dog, Kallie!

I've been taking on some more responsibility at work. Nothing major, just being asked to do more tasks and it feels good. I hope they see potential in me! I've been learning alot about eyes too, obviously! Meibomitis = inflamation of the oil glands! Yep... :)

Jeremy's getting everything finished for the new motorcycle... he had to take a class so that he could ride it on base. He will be finished with that tomorrow.

We have been going to a new church. We like it so far. It's been an interesting journey looking for a church. Especially since we both really like Hillcrest Bible Baptist Church.

Happy Easter everyone!! Remember the reason for the season!

Knee Caps

2011-04-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

Since Jeremy leave before WallE and I are even thinking about waking up we have our routine each morning. This morning was a little bit different on WallE's part. WallE stayed in bed while I got in the shower, usually he goes into the bathroom with me or lays outside the door. Sometimes he stays in bed so I didn't think too much of it. Then when I went downstairs he didn't move, which is when my mind started racing. WallE is always at my feet, but today he stayed in bed.
Rewind: about 3 hours... WallE started whining because he needed to go potty, around 4 AM. I let him eat supper late last night so I expected the whining. So I went downstairs to let him out but he stayed at the top of the stairs. I hollered and hollered at him and he just sat there. So I stopped telling him to "come on" because I thought he wasn't coming because he thought I was mad at him. He eventually walked really slowly down the stairs and when he got outside on the porch.. he laid down! Finally he went potty and we came back inside and he walked slowly up the stairs and came back in bed and cuddled with me (cuddled/wouldn't leave my side).

Fast Forward: I called Jeremy told him that he wouldn't walk this morning. So I trapped him in the kitchen so he didn't run and jump while we were at work. Our friend Jen came and got WallE and brought him home with her so she could keep an eye on him. He was more active but awfully whiney (even for WallE!). At this point he was sort of walking, but favoring his back right leg over his left. Jeremy called the vet and got him an appointment for 1:40. I took him, and they said that his knee caps move when he walks and it's hurting him. It's on both legs but must be worse on the left.
She said we could see if time will heal it or if surgery is needed. I opted to wait a week and see how he's doing. She said that he needs to be on strict bed rest. He can go outside to potty and that's it (WallE isn't going to be too happy about that). So far, he has slept ALL evening! He whines when he needs to go potty but won't get up to go. It hurts my heart that he is in pain!

Luckily she gave him some pain meds (not very many). So we will see how that goes. Think good thoughts for him while I do some researching and see what our next step needs to be!

Don't say the DP word!

2011-02-19T16:59:00.000-06:00

I can't believe February is almost over!
And guess how many Diet Pepsi's Jeremy has had in 2011?! ONE!! So whenever anyone is about to say those two words I stop them so he doesn't relapse :)

Yesterday I had to say "see ya later" to one of the most incredible people I've ever met. My co-worker Jesi is moving to Hawaii! Although I'm SO excited for her (and quite envious) I'm going to miss her!! She has a great personality and a contagious smile. In the 6 months that I worked with her, we've developed MANY inside jokes. She is going to be missed!

We had a great Valentine's Day! Jeremy had a dozen roses delivered to me at work. Then we watched our friends kids so they could go to dinner. This was their first Valentine's Day as a married couple and they didn't get to celebrate last year since he was deployed. We don't like the crowd, so we planned on staying home anyways. Preston and Chick made it a little bit more interesting than it would have been. :)

During this crazy winter weather I managed to break my car. I was going down our street, trying to take the curve and I ended up ontop of a snowbank. My car started making a really weird noise, immediately, so I turned it off while I called Jeremy. Then I walked back home to get the snow shovel and dug myself out right as he was pulling up to rescue me. As the week went on, my power steering worked less and less. Now I have no power steering and my muscles are growing! It's a big chunk of change to fix it so I've decided that no power steering isn't all that bad!
Maybe I'll just get rid of this car and get my Equinox :)

Happy February!

Welcome 2011

2011-01-01T19:41:00.000-06:00

2011 has finally made its way!
First we should recap December.. We left for Kansas on the 23rd after work, only to arrive at an empty house! Richard and Bobbie are moving to Texas and we are SO excited to go visit them!
Christmas Eve we went and visited the Skibbe's then went to Sherry's/Grandpa's for supper. We enjoyed the family time there and couldn't believe how big Mr. Kolby is getting!!
Then on Christmas morning we went to Bucka's to have Christmas with Richard and Bobbie. The Berg's and Courtney came over too and we had a good time! Then we ran out the door to get to Aunt Lori's house to have Christmas with The Dunbar's! We were only able to stay there for a couple hours before we had to head back to Ark City for Christmas with the Coldwell's. Dirty Santa wasn't as dirty as it was in the past but the fish was there and everyone knew it! Aunt Robin got it!
Christmas was cut short, however, because Jeremy got sick. Luckily it was just a 24 hour thing and he was back to normal the next day (well, as normal as he gets!).
Sunday we hung around the house for a while before going to Bucka's for leftovers! I'll admit it... they weren't so bad. Then Richard and Bobbie headed down to Texas so we ran around seeing people before heading to Wendi's house to have Christmas with my mom and the girls. We had fun there but weren't there long either because we were staying the night with Luke and Janet. Then Monday everyone had to work so we headed to Augusta to see The Howards then headed back to Nebraska. We had a good trip but with Jeremy getting sick he was ready to just be home.

Now time to get ready for 2011!! I'm not making any resolutions, just wanting to better myself. I know I won't hold up to my resolution so it's silly to set myself up to fail...
I want to be more helpful this year. I would like to donate to food banks, smile someone that looks like they could use a smile and continue my education.
I did tell Jeremy that if his resolution would be to quit chewing then I would quit eating candy... that didn't go very far!

Another goal for this year for me is to get pregnant. Lately I've convinced myself that I'm not in any hurry but if we get some bills paid off, then why not.
WallE is still as cute as ever! :)

Jeremy is hoping to get deployed this year. I won't mind as long as every room has curtains. Also my family has to promise to come visit often!

I hope that everyone has a very safe and healthy 2011! I have a feeling that it is going to be a very great year! :)

Thoughtless Thursday- Chi Town

2010-07-22T07:27:00.000-05:00

{Story to come in a later post}

Laugh a little

2010-07-22T07:23:00.000-05:00

I wish I was this witty!

“Please keep your dog beside you, sir,” a woman said crossly to the man sitting opposite to her on the bench at the park. “I can feel a flea in my shoe.” “Midnight, come here,” replied the man. “This woman has fleas.”

4th of July

2010-07-08T20:23:00.000-05:00

We had a really fun 4th of July weekend! I had to work Saturday morning but when I came home we already had company and Jeremy was working hard on smoking the pork!

We had a lot of people over! We played cornhole, watched the UFC fights and ate good food! Then we lit fireworks for a little bit! It was a lot of fun!!

On Saturday night we went to Shannon's dads house and had MORE pork and MORE fireworks!! Then we went to Chris and Ali's and lit MORE fireworks!! They were just sitting at home and that's no fun on the 4th!! (We did that last year so we know how it feels. No one around here has fireworks shows on the 4th.. they are all on the 3rd- lame!)

We had so much fun!! We both had Monday off work also! We just hung out and enjoyed being off work! Of course it wasn't any fun waking up Tuesday morning after sleeping in a little!

Work for me has been busy busy busy!! At first it's overwhelming but you learn to how to handle it. Today I was checking in 3 patients at one time. Checking in isn't just putting a check mark on their chart.. it's scanning their insurance cards into the computer, putting the insurance info into their profile in the computer, updating personal info, collecting copays and initialing everything that you do. whew! But it's fun! I'm still enjoying it! I enjoyed getting my first-ever 80 hour paycheck today too!! :D Makes me feel all adult-like!

And WallE is WallE.. ROTTEN! but very glad his daddy is home!

Thank you, kind sir

2010-07-08T19:19:00.000-05:00

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy was speaking to his Class on the Problem Science has with GOD , the ALMIGHTY. He asked one of his New Christian Students to stand and . . .
Professor : You are a Christian, aren't you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.... See More
Professor : Is GOD Good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor :A0 My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn't. How is this GOD good then? Hmm? (Student was silent )
Professor : You can't answer, can you ? Let's start again, Young Fella. Is GOD Good? Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
Student : From . . . GOD . . .
Professor : That's right. Tell me son, is there evil in this World?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn't it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ? (Student did not answer)
Professor : Is there Sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the World, don't they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ? (Student had no answer)
Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you. Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD ?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD ?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD , Tasted your GOD , Smelt your GOD ? Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I'm afraid I haven't.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith .
Professor : Yes, Faith . And that is the Problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn't.
(The Lecture Theatre became very quiet with this turn of events )
Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat, a Little Heat or No Heat. But we don't have anything called Cold. We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Hêt, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as Cold. Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat. We cannot Measure Cold. Heat is Energy. Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.
(There was Pin-Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )
Student : What about Darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as Darkness? Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn't Darkness?
Student : You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is the Absence of Something You can have Low Light, Normal Light, Bright Light, Flashing Light . . . But if you have No Light constantly, you have nothing and its called Darkness, isn't it? In reality, Darkness isn't. If it is, where you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn't you?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality. You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a Bad GOD . You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can';t even explain a Thought. It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing. Death is Not the Opposite of Life: just the Absence of it Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your Students that they evolved from a Monkey?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument was going )
Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and Cannot even prove that this Process is an On-Going Endeavor, Are you not teaching your Opinion, sir? Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher?
(The Class was in Uproar )
Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever seen the Professor's Brain?
(The Class broke out into Laughter )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor's Brain, Felt it, touched or Smelt it? . . No one appears to have done so. So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that You have No Brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir? (The Room was Silent. The Professor stared at the Student, his face unfathomable) Professor : I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . . Exactly ! The Link between Man & GOD is FAITH . That is all that Keeps Things Alive and Moving.

That student was Albert Einstein!!

Happy Father's Day!!

2010-06-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the deserving fathers!!!

(me and my dad on my wedding day)

Crockpot fun!

2010-06-20T15:12:00.000-05:00

I realized that I've had my crockpot for a year and a half and hadn't used it once! So I dug through the internet and some recipes that I have and made Hashbrown Casserole on Friday! I had a good friend of mine, Shannon, and her daughter over for supper. They loved it! I thought it needed some sausage or some more flavor. Her 18 month old daughter couldn't eat fast enough! :)

Then I broke it out Saturday to make some mac-n-cheese! Ali and Chris had a BBQ to celebrate Jayden's arrival. Which is a great idea so that people can come see him at once and she doesn't have to worry about people coming to see them at random times A.K.A. during mommy's nap time. The mac-n-cheese was really good! I LOVE home-made mac-n-cheese! My grandma makes the best, but this is a deserving second place. I also made 1-2-3's and those are always a hit! Everyone loves those! Even Mr. "I'm on a diet"

It's been rainy and stormy this week and it's still stormy. It's a perfect day to get some dusting and vacuuming done! I didn't know Jeremy got so behind on dusting ;)

Prayer

2010-06-19T23:40:00.002-05:00

I saw this tonight and thought it was something to share with you..

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?

Thoughtless Thursay- absent

2010-06-19T10:23:00.000-05:00

Jeremy has the camera in Virginia, so I'm not doing Thoughtless Thursday for right now.. It'll be back soon though :)

Nothing exciting lately. I don't think I mentioned this before, but our friend Ali had her baby last Friday! June 11 at 3:59 Mr. Jayden Troy LeVan was born!! He's so cute! He's going to be a ladies man! It's been a week now and he has changed their life so much and he is such a blessing.
She had a perfect labor and a healthy baby and it makes me want one even more! Her water broke around 1:30 and he was here by 4! She didn't even have time to accept or turn down the epidural.
So tonight they are having a BBQ so everyone can meet him! Of course I've already met him! I went to the hospital and I've checked up on mommy and baby at home, while daddy was at work!

My good friend Shannon and her daughter Kenzie came over last night! We watched a movie and had a little slumber party! It was fun. WallE likes Kenzie.. she is 18 months old and so she gives him food, so why wouldn't he love her? Shannon watched WallE when we went to Kansas City a couple months ago and she said they switched food. WallE was eating her cereal and she was eating his dog food! :O Until Shannon saw it and she switched the food back LOL

Jeremy is headed to Virginia beach today! LUCKY!! I want to be there so bad. It's a dreary day here.

Work is still going great! I'm catching on pretty quickly! Needless to say by Friday I have a headache because my brain needs a break! So I'm enjoying my weekend.

I hope all of our wonderful family is having a good summer so far!! We love you all!!

Vacation & more!

2010-06-10T21:28:00.000-05:00

We had a really great time on vacation! Most people wouldn't call going to Kansas for a week a vacation, but we do!
A week is a whole lot better than a couple days! We did get to see all of our family, which is what I was hoping for! We also saw all of our close friends! We would have loved to spent more time with everyone but there is so many of you that we couldn't possibly!
WallE slept from the moment we got in the car to go home until Tuesday morning! And I'm not kidding! He was SOO tired! I didn't mind though, because I had laundry to do and did ~~some~~ all the packing for Jeremy! Okay okay.. he did pack his own uniforms! :P

Since we've been back a lot has gone on! He left Monday morning for Virginia. If you know Jeremy you know he is being a social bug and not just sitting in his hotel room! So he's having fun, I think! He has spent a lot of time in the hot tub, too! He loves hot tubs!

After I dropped him off I headed straight to the dentist. I got a filling and he filled and shaved down a sharp edge on the next tooth that we are going to work on. Well that really irritated it!! I was in some pain on Tuesday then I didn't get any sleep that night because I was in so much pain! It was awful! So he squeezed me in and fixed it. I do have to get a root canal on that one (yes, that'll be my second root canal in a month). I'm just looking for the right time. I had one scheduled for the 22nd but that is a "surgery week" at my NEW JOB *bells* *chimes* whistles* *hollering* and so it'll be impossible to take off work! But I'll get in! No worrying! :)

So yes, I have a new job!! I work at Eye Specialists office! It's kinda weird.. (the title). There are 5 total doctors. One of them is part time [every other week] and the other 4 are full time. The part time doctor is our only surgeon, so when he is there we are very very busy! My first week there is a surgery week, so I'm anxious to see how it goes next week LOL But I like it there. The girl that's training me, Natalie, she is really cool and very helpful. Unfortunately she'll be gone at the beginning of July!! EEK! But that's okay, we'll manage... I hope! :)

Thoughtless Thursday- Handmade Family

2010-06-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

Man! My family is pretty talented :)

Spikes Stoneworks ArtFire

Spikes Stoneworks Etsy

Christbelle Glimmers Etsy

FINALLY!!

2010-05-27T07:45:00.000-05:00

We've been planning on coming home for ~~two~~ one week since we left in December. The day has finally come!! We are heading home after we get off work at 4. Which means today is going to DRAG ON!! But that's okay.. we can't wait to see everyone!
And we will see everyone, just know that there is a lot of "everyone"s so it might not be right away, but we'll see you!

Thoughtless Thursday- Root Canal

2010-05-20T09:12:00.000-05:00

This is what they do during a root canal. That is a filer. They file the sides of the canal to get it cleaned out. It felt weird at first (no pain though)

This is what I would have looked like.. except I would have been asleep :)

I'm going to give my dentist a little free advertising. He is simply the best. Totally worth the trip for you Kansas, if you're looking for a dentist! :P

His name is Dr. Kenneth Spanel, at Regency Dental on Regency Parkway in Omaha, NE.
How many people can say that they were falling asleep during a root canal?
It's been 2 days since the root canal and I still haven't had to take any pain medication!
He is willing to work with my insurance to make sure I get the care I need while still staying within the limits of my insurance.
When I told him I couldn't chew he temporarily fixed my tooth until my root canal (scheduled for a month later due to his busy office!)
He genuinely cares about his patients; always making sure they aren't in pain and that they are comfortable.
The ladies in the office are great too! Very friendly, always introduce themselves (the first time), and get to know you!
I'll leave it at that.. I can't stop saying enough good things about him!

Root Canal- CHECK!

2010-05-19T07:36:00.000-05:00

Lately I feel like my 'to do list' is a mile long and it's not getting any shorter. But the only thing on it that is stressful was my root canal, but....

I got my first root canal yesterday!!
I didn't get much sleep the night before. When we went to bed I couldn't stop talking even though I was SO tired! I must have tossed and turned alot because I was still pretty tired when I woke up!

Jeremy had stuff going on at work today so my friend, Shannon, took me to my appointment. I didn't know if I was going to be put to sleep or not. I wasn't put to sleep but I was falling asleep! The only thing that was uncomfortable was when he gave me the shot to make me even more numb. Even that didn't hurt. I didn't feel the shot, I felt him turning the syringe in my gum.

I'm not sure if anyone has ever fell asleep while getting a root canal, but that says A LOT about my dentist!! He constantly asks me if I'm in pain. While that could get annoying, it doesn't because I don't want to be in pain either!

Dr. Kenneth Spanel is absolutely AWESOME!! I wasn't even in pain after the numbness wore off! The only time I feel anything is when I yawn! I just can't stop saying enough great things about him!!

I will need a $crown$ next and those usually come 2 weeks after the root canal but that's when we'll be in Kansas so it'll have to wait.

I can't believe my eyes!!

2010-05-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

Well, one thing I do as a cashier is observe! I see so much stuff! Let me share what I saw the other day..

This lady has 3 boys. While I was ringing them out, she didn't seem to have much control over them. They were throwing stuff and running around.
There wasn't anybody behind her in line so I watched them walk outside to their van. She gets the two younger ones into their car seats (neither of them were rear-facing) and the older one (MAYBE 4) gets into the front seat (he didn't just jump up there from the back, he opened the door and got in). This wasn't the most shocking part. What did I see next? He was standing up in the seat and looking at the other two boys as his mom put the car in reverse to drive away!!! This child has NO seat belt on AND he's standing up while she's driving!!!

Let me get this out of the way- I don't have kids. So let me save you some time... "easier said than done", "each child is different" and "you don't know the circumstances". GIVE ME A BREAK!! It takes 10 seconds to pull a seatbelt across your child.

Jeremy has NO idea about kids. He doesn't know that they are supposed to sit rear-facing until they are at least two. He doesn't know the technical stuff. So I inform him when I'm ranting and raving. I told him that our kids will be rear-facing for a LONG time. Normally when I talk about kids, he tells me to "ssshhhh" because that's not what he is thinking about right now in life. But when I talk about how crappy this parenting was or when I talk about rear-facing he just listens and nods. I think he can tell how important this is to me.

Thoughtless Thursday- Caught Red Handed!

2010-05-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

Jeremy and I come home pretty frequently to find Mr. Wallace like this!

He's such a brat!

Then he lays his head down... Does he think we can't see him? LOL

He does it when we are home too! It's pretty funny he looks like a furry, slithery animal!

Tornado

2010-05-11T09:04:00.002-05:00

We're praying for everyone that experienced the tornado in Ark City yesterday!

I hope no one was seriously injured. We saw last night on the news that there were 5 deaths in Oklahoma. Tornados are awesome to watch, but horrible to experience!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36847838@N02/sets/72157624038078402/show/

Thoughtless Saturday?!

2010-05-08T12:54:00.002-05:00

woops! I totally forgot to post my thoughtless Thursday!
This week has been a change of pace... Jeremy is on day shift now. Don't forget that since I'm such an AWESOME wife.. that I get up with him and make him breakfast! I go back to sleep after he leaves but I think I'm going to stop that. I think it's making me more tired. So I'll just go to bed earlier and stay awake in the mornings.

So here's my Thoughtless Saturday.. but it's not going to be thoughtless

This is my friend Shannon and her daughter, Kenzie. Shannon is a lymphoma cancer survivor. There was a Lymphoma-thon in April and I walked with her. The survivors had their own colored shirts, and the walkers had their own color. It was so sad to see such young kids that had to go through that! Shannon made her own shirt.. it says "Survivor I beat Hodgkins Lymphoma" And her daughters shirt says "My mommy's a survivor"

Her fiance (currently deployed in Afghanistan) works with Jeremy.

Kenzie was very well behaved the whole time!!

We got there around 9 and didn't leave until around 1:30!

This is Benny and 2 of his boys. He works with Jeremy and him and his family also came to support Shannon! One of them had his bike but there was so many people it was hard for him to ride it. Anthony walked most of the time. And Benny Boy slept almost the whole time! I was very impressed with all of the kids. It was lunch time and nap time and they didn't do much complaining!

The lymphoma-thon was on a Saturday. The Monday before the walk UNMC and Channel 6 news contacted Shannon and asked her to tell her story. Soon afterward, she was contacted and asked to walk in the lymphoma-thon. She found out about an even more exciting phone call soon after her story aired. She was told about a contest; They are looking for an inspiring story and the winner receives a $75,000 wedding! The news mentioned that her fiance was in Afghanistan, that's how they knew she is getting married. I hope that she wins the contest! I will find out when and how to vote. She would really appreciate your votes!

Soleil 100 Days

2010-05-03T09:57:00.000-05:00

Soleil 100 Days: "There are thousands of fun, sharable prizes in the BIC® Soleil® 100 Days of Sunshine promotion. Join now! www.100DaysofSunshine.com"

Kansas City weekend

2010-05-03T08:27:00.002-05:00

Lately our weekends have been full of work! Jeremy was working weekends in April and I've been working weekends for months. Since April ended on Friday Jeremy was off work on Saturday and I got lucky and was off work as well! So we took full advantage of that day off!

We went to the Indy car races in Kansas City!

We had a lot of fun! I was cheering for Danica Patrick and #34. Danica Patrick is a role model for all female racers! I think that's why I was cheering for her, because she is a female racer! I think she needs a female pit crew too but that's beside the point!
#34 was the underdog for a long time! I was so sad for him! He was being lapped until everyone went in for a tire change.. then he made it back up to 24th place! I was happy that he didn't have to end the race 5 minutes after everyone else did!

Mother Nature wasn't sure if she wanted to make it cold and windy or warm and sunny so she did both. Fighting the cold wind and then relaxing for 45 seconds while the sun was out wore me out! So we went to the hotel afterward and took a nap! {I LOVE NAPS!}
Then we went to supper at The Cheesecake Factory and I wanted another nap! :) I was full from supper but there was no way I was passing up PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CHEESECAKE!!! And it was delicious!! I didn't/couldn't eat it all so I brought it with me!

Then we had to get up early Sunday morning to come back to Nebraska because I had to work at 11. Darn.. back to work!

Jeremy is back to work today too. And for the first time in 10 months he is working in the morning! He even woke up before his alarm clock!!!

Oh while we were in Kansas City WallE stayed with my friend Shannon. She has an 18 month old and she LOVES WallE! Even if WallE isn't very fond of kids.. they think he is playing when he makes them chase him! I was very sad to leave him. That sounds stupid because it's just a dog but we walked out of the house with our bags and just left him there (she came and got him later). He probably thought we were going home without him! :(
And I didn't get to see him until I got home from work last night at 7:30! He had so many kisses for momma!! I think that was his first slumber party... he hasn't ever slept without momma!

I hope everyone else had a great weekend also! If you have been working a lot and stressing even more... TAKE A DAY OFF!! Even if you have a weekend, those are usually busy so take an extra, spontaneous day off and enjoy life!
Love you all!!

The rest of the story..

2010-05-03T08:06:00.000-05:00

Well if you read the post called 'Sympathetic vs. Empathetic' you know that I have lost more than my fair share of friends in my 21 years.

And the reason I'm continuing the story at this point... because I just heard about an old friend's brother that tried to kill himself in December. I'm so taken back by it, it's just bring back feelings that I had when a friend actually did kill himself. Please forgive me, I just can't remember exactly when it happened.
When J.W. Andes killed himself all I could think is why? Why do people shoot themselves? Did his close friends not notice how low he is? Alcohol was involved the night that he shot himself which is obviously part of the answer to all the questions that I have.
Sorry if this is morbid or too much information- J.W. shot himself in his truck. a few weeks later his sister is driving that truck to school. That part bothers me more than anything, I think. It makes it seem like they just clean it (the situation) up and move on. That's how it's portrayed but I sure hope for his memory that that's not the case!

I think I'll just leave this post just like this. I want to post each memory of each friend on separate posts. I don't want to minimize my memory of anyone. They all have a special part in my life and make me who I am everyday!

Sunday night thoughts

2010-04-25T23:03:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I forgot to post Thoughtless Thursday the other day. I worked a long day and went straight to meet up with Jeremy at a friends house to finish watching the NFL draft! While Jeremy thought Colt McCoy was going to get drafted in the 1st pick, he seems to be happy where he ended up!

Nothing exciting is happening around here really. A friend of mine is staying with us [again] for the weekend. Her husband deployed in January and she went home [Indiana] to live while he is gone. When he left they stayed with us for a week because they had to be out of there house on a Tuesday but he didn't deploy until the next Tuesday. He won't be back until later May but she came back early to start working and get the house ready! She was my first friend here and we've been close ever since!

Tuesday morning we are doing inventory at work. Last year I got hired a few days before inventory so I didn't have to attend. In the past they "inventoried" at night after close and would stay until 12 or 1 AM but this year they are doing it in the morning. So I have to be at work at 5:30 AM! I'm a pretty meticulous person so I'm looking forward to it. I was there at 5:45 for Black Friday, so this will be a nice change... not having A LOT of customers in my face!

We're both still working a lot and both still looking forward to vacation!! I still can't believe there are MORE Coldwell's :)
I can't wait to get to see my Dad & Grandparents since I didn't get to see them at Christmas [Christmas gifts are still in my trunk!!] And I can't wait to scream and jump up and down with my newly engaged best friend, Danielle!!!!
We love and miss you ALL!!

Hard Rock Cafe's Twisted Mac-N-Cheese

2010-04-20T20:14:00.000-05:00

I was surfing the 'net this evening and stumbled across a new recipe website. It looks familiar but I don't think I've been on it before. It's called Recipe Lion. I found some good recipes there and wanted to share some with you. Maybe this will be a new thing I start...! Who knows what's going to end up happening on this blog! :)

This first one I found was the All American Snack.. It's like a chex mix type. It's made in the slow-cooker. I'm always looking for recipes so I can use my slow cooker!!! I don't think I've used it yet and we've been married for a year and a half! Sheesh!

Now I'll tell share the breakfasts that I found. For some reason I love making breakfast. When Jeremy was on day shift (a long long looooong time ago) I got up with him (remember this is 5:30 am!) and made him breakfast.. usually it was just eggs but it still saved him time and he got to eat breakfast. When we have visitors [Hey! That's you!] I feel like I think ahead of time about breakfast but then lunches and suppers are up in the air! [sorry about that by the way]
Okay I'm done rambling, here is the Low-Fat Pineapple French Toast recipe! Sounds good and has inspired me to try pineapple pancakes!

The Baked Apple Upside-Down French Toast sounds good too! This one is an overnight recipe... mix everything together and let it sit in the fridge, then in the morning put it in the oven. That would be a fun one to do with company!

I found some supper recipes too. We like to eat supper once in a while!
The Amish Six-Layer Dinner is full of flavors which is how it caught my eye. peppers, potatoes, hamburger... yum!
Another one is Bacon Cheeseburger Upside-Down Pizza! Sounds like a lot and it is! But I think it would be really good (even if neither of us like tomatoes)!

And the one I'm most anxious to try is the Hard Rock Cafe's Twisted Mac-N-Cheese! I LOVE my grandma's homemade Mac-N-Cheese. So hopefully this can meet up to that! I think I'm pretty excited about the Cayenne pepper in there, that will give it a good taste!

If you try any of these, let me know how it turns out!!

Thoughtless Thursday- Mustache March

2010-04-15T20:56:00.001-05:00

This is Almost Thoughtless Thursday :)

In March all of POL (Jeremy's job) grows mustaches. I call him Ron Burgandy!
I hated his mustache, and by the look on WallE's face... so does he!

Quote

2010-04-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

I found this quote today and I love it. It's screaming out to me tonight...

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."~MLK

..not because I'm lost in my faith either, because I'm growing because of it!

Oh really??

2010-04-10T21:21:00.000-05:00

Ooh today was an interesting day at work!
I wasn't a cashier today, I worked in apparel. But since it's my "home" I spend a lot of time up front making sure the cashiers are doing okay, or being a back-up cashier if they need it. At this particular time I was putting sensor tags and hangers are clothes that were returned and Amanda asked me if we accept this certain coupon. [There is a couple coupons on the internet that people print off that someone scanned and changed the expiration date and posted all over the internet] I told her that that's the one that we aren't accepting and she said that she didn't know how to tell the lady so I told her that it isn't a valid coupon and that Dick's doesn't have any coupons on the internet. The only way to get our coupons is through the Scorecard.
Right then I knew she was going to throw a fit. And she did! She blew up and asked for a manager. So we called a manager up front and he too, explained that it's an invalid coupon. She asked how consumers are supposed to know that. Flip (the manager) asked her how she wanted us to publicize it, if she wanted us to post it on KETV (news station up here).
While that part was probably not needed, it's the harsh truth. All that lady had to do was think about it before printing it.. you didn't get it from Dick's website so we might not accept it! She then told Flip that she was going to call corporate and tell them how rude him and Amanda were. [Remember her? The cashier that didn't know how to tell the customer, so I did...] Somewhere, somehow Amanda was rude!
While we're 100% sure that corporate isn't going to tell her to go ahead and go back in and use it, nor are they going to get mad at us for following the rules on the email that they sent out about invalid coupons. But I told Flip that IF they do get in trouble to get me in trouble and not Amanda, because she didn't say a word.

Sheesh! The things I come across every day as a cashier are crazy! I never thought in my whole life I would have to defend why I can't use an apparel coupon on a pair of shoes [happens on a daily basis!]. The customer saving $10 isn't worth my job.

Oh and while I'm here I am going to mention military discounts. Yikes!! I understand that an advantage of being in the military (or married to it) is the military discounts. We get asked at least once a day if we have a military discount. We don't. The rudest response I've gotten was when this guy just looked at me and shook his head. What?! Why are you shaking your head? There is a picture on your way out the door of Mr. Dick Stack himself if you would like to shake your head at him. I don't make the rules, I follow them. Are you shaking your head at me because you think I don't support the military? HA! Dream on! Not sleeping with my husband at night reminds me every morning how much I support the military. Seeing a flag flying or waving in the wind and getting chills down my spine reminds me how much I support the military.
So I've decided that I'm not going to accept people shaking their head at me. I'm going to ask them why they are shaking their head at me, or why they are mad at me. That I would be happy to give them corporates email address if they would like to email them and be mad at them. There is no reason to be mad at a minimum wage-paid cashier because you want to get 10% off your $10 purchase.
99% of the people that ask if we have a military discount don't have and don't want a Scorecard even after being told that that's the only way to get our discounts. I don't understand that. Are you too good for them?

I just take a lot of belittling as a cashier and probably won't stand for it anymore. Some people [most Nebraskans] need to get off their high horse!
:) Have a good day!
haha

Prayer requests:
My brother, Donald, serving in Iraq.
Anyone [family, friend, or stanger] that needs their spirits lifted.

ONE ingredient ice cream???

2010-04-09T23:33:00.000-05:00

I found something that might be really useful for the parents in our family, or the babysitting grandparents ;)

It's one ingredient ice cream! Any guesses on what that ingredient is?

It's BANANAS!
All you do is:
(1) peel the banana
(2) cut it into bite-size pieces
(3) Freeze the banana pieces in a single layer for 1-2 hours (or up to overnight, just let them defrost in the fridge or on the counter to be soft enough to pulverize in the food processor)
(4) Place banana pieces in a bowl of a food processor or blender and pulse until the texture is smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides if necessary. If mixing add-ins, mix by hand or pulse.
(5) Serve using an ice cream scoop. If using, top with add-ins. Store remaining ice cream in an airtight container in the freezer

You can add anything you'd like! They say it tastes just like ice cream!
Hm! Thanks Cherry Blossoms' blog!

Thoughtless Thursday- suckerrrr!

2010-04-07T23:12:00.000-05:00

WallE's ~~first~~ sucker!

It was Mango flavored

Not too bad, he decided!

Oh, and you have got to read Jennifer's Motherhood Monday post! HALARIOUS!!

As many of you know..

2010-04-07T20:04:00.000-05:00

My whole high school career was focused on my role if our high school's FFA program. I was very involved in it. It changed me alot! While there are many city rivals in sports, there are chapter rivals in FFA. Winfield and Ark City are sport rivals but they were inseparable when it comes to practicing and preparing to compete against each other in FFA. In the end, we are all there with one goal... to Learn, Lead and Succeed!

I have met SO many people through this national organization! One person I didn't meet is Philip Caler, from the Booker, TX chapter. However his story has me captured.
At the National FFA Organization's national convention in Indianapolis, IN Phillip and his FFA chapter were at one of the mall's in town when he fell/tripped from the 2nd story to (40 feet later) the first story (inside). This happened in the last week in October. It's April 7th and he is still in a coma with a very minimal increase in change.
I just encourage you to read about what him and his family have gone through and please pray for them. I go to the school districts website often to read up on how he is doing. I know that God is taking his time with Phillip, and even a little bit of time is all they can ask for!
The last post says to go to Facebook to read up on him because his pastor posts his updates so here is the link to that.
Thank you for your prayers!

drowsy rambling

2010-04-03T22:53:00.000-05:00

I am tired today/tonight. We were very busy at work!

Jeremy is on weekends this month... 3-11 PM Sat-Wed.

This has ended up being a conversation with me and my brother, Chris and me and my dad tonight... How do you feel about the funeral protesters? No need to argue or anything, just wondering!

I'll spill my beans. I've said this since the day my brothers joined the Army... it's worth 25 to life. Then again there are the Freedom Riders. They are so awesome and deserve every bit of attention!! I think they are the answer to many many prayers! Now we just need to have them in every state so stories like Albert Snyder's.

HAPPY EASTER FAMILY!!! We love you all and wish we could be home this weekend! Are you having Fried Chicken at Bucka's? I think Jeremy would appreciate it if you all ate a piece for him!

Happy Friday!

2010-04-02T10:35:00.000-05:00

Happy GOOD FRIDAY, family!!

For this post I want everyone to share what they are grateful for! ..at least one thing!

I'll start! I'm grateful for all that the Lord has done for me- past, present and future. But more specifically here lately. I have a job lead!! I just prayed for a simple job search because I am unhappy at my current job, but I didn't want to take a job that somebody else needed more than I, because I do have a job.
I had a job interview on Tuesday and she said that she thinks I would make a great assistant! Unfortunately she has to let somebody go for the position to be open to me. But it's not like they are firing somebody so that they can bring someone else, with no skills and has to get more certification, in to work for them instead. So I'm really excited to begin! (KNOCK ON WOOD!!) She said that she isn't sure when they are letting that person go, but since she has my email (we were emailing back and forth before the interview) she said she would be in touch!
At first she told me that it was a downfall because I had no experience and I wasn't fluent in dental terminology and that I'm not x-ray certified. Then she said it would be no problem to train me and that I can go to school and get certified while working there and I told her that I would study hard to learn terminology!
Thank you for all your prayers!!
Don't forget to tell me something that you are grateful for!!

Thoughtless Thursday- Wanna go for a ride?

2010-04-01T22:18:00.000-05:00

Sympathetic vs Empathetic

2010-03-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

Let's just say.. I read a lot of blogs.
Just a little bit ago I read one about a little girl named Layla Grace Marsh who was battling Stage 4 Neuroblastoma cancer. Now, if my english teacher is reading this, I know I'm supposed to capitalize cancer but I can't. It doesn't deserve to be recognized in that way.

This little girl was born on November 26, 2007. When they found out Layla Grace was SIXTEEN MONTHS OLD! They thought she had an ear infection and they got an urgent message from the doctor telling the Marsh parents into the ER. This is straight from their blog: "Layla has a massive cancerous tumor (Stage 4 Neuroblastoma) in her abdomen. It extends from above her left kidney, around her side, over her belly and wraps around her aorta. In addition, the cancer is in her bone marrow." There are twelve pages (with three blogs each) of blogs, so I haven't got the chance to read everything but at one point they were told that they had 2 weeks left with their precious baby. It turned out to be 3 months later when God called her name. Her parents wanted her to go running to Him. Just looking at pictures, you can tell she was miserable! Angels took her hand on March 19, 2010 and lead her to His gates.
I have the biggest lump in my throat right now. Part of that lump is from holding back tears, part of that lump is from being sympathetic. I CANNOT imagine how her parents handled the whole thing. I do know from the blogs, that they prayed and cried and prayed some more. Which is all they could do. It's times like these that we forget to pray, or intentionally don't pray. (I'm getting off subject)

Empathy, according to dictionary.com,, is 'Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, and motives.'
Sympathy, according to dictionary.com, is 'Harmony of or agreement in feeling, as between persons or on the part of one person with respect to another.'

You all know how eager I am to have kids. I just can't wait! And I pray to God that all I ever have for this family is sympathy. I know many parents that have lost their child, because I have lost a lot of friends. I know I shouldn't say "lost" but I am for now. Of all (5) friends that I have lost, at a young age, it would be easy for me to pull myself together and never think of them again until I am able to give them a hug in Heaven. But the parents can't, even if they try. The mom carried their baby and helped them grow for 9 months. The dad anxiously awaited the arrival of that baby and helped it grow as soon as he laid eyes on it. All of the sudden your whole life revolves around one heart. It's so important to remember everyone that God calls upon.

My first experience of losing a friend was September 22, 2004. My 5th grade boyfriend, Taylor Bradbury, passed away in a car accident. I'll never forget when I found out. He was 14.
Second experience was 2 months later on November 9, 2004. My middle school best friend's sister Lexi Crittenden, passed away in a house fire. I will never forget that whole day. She was 13.
Third experience was 3 months later on February 13, 2005. My boyfriend in the 9th grade, Nick Bittinger, passed away in a car accident. I'll never forget when I found out. He was 17.
I will tell the stories of finding out, later. This is getting pretty lengthy anyways...

I just want everyone to think back to when they lost a friend.. have you forgotten about them? No matter how long ago it was their families still grieve.
So my prayer request tonight is for you to think of someone that you have lost and pray for their family.

Welcome Spring!!

2010-03-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

Since none of you can be here with me I'll describe the scenario-
WallE is in his favorite spot- laying in front of the the front door staring out the window. ALL of the windows are open, the wind is blowing, the sun is shining, and the smell of paint is in the air! That's right! I got out the paint that Rising View left for us and did some touch up work! It was MUCH needed! The bottom of the walls had so many scuff marks, the rail was very dirty and the back door frame was apparently used as a handle many times! I did it all by myself too! "Mr. Sherwin Williams" didn't help! He was sure to let me know that I better have his paint brush CLEAN when I was done! (rolling my eyes)

I LOVE this weather right now!! The grass turning green is what I look forward to every year! More so now that we have grass! A year ago, we didn't have any grass for a while, until they laid sod. Even when I'm at work and EVERYONE that I ring out talks about how nice it is outside, I still love the weather. I like just looking outside and seeing the sunshine!

We are getting more and more antsy for our next visit home! It's been a while since we've been home! I'm pretty sure this is the longest we've went without a visit!
I'm especially missing home because on Easter Sunday I'm going to be alone! Jeremy has to work weekends in April. Last year, my friend Amanda and her husband Adam and her mom and brother all came over for lunch. He is deployed and she went back home to Indiana so I'm all alone this year.

Before I go to bed I read a couple chapters of Chicken Soup for the Soul; Devotional Stories for Women. I love it! It is really opening my eyes to things. I highly suggest it!

Prayer requests-
All the men and women serving in the military. More specifically Jeremy and Donald
All the families of fallen soldiers/airmen that have to deal with picketers. (story)
All those that are lost spiritually

Thoughtless Thursday

2010-03-25T11:28:00.001-05:00

I'm starting a new thing.
Every Thursday I'm going to post just a picture or just a video, no words.
Get it?.. thoughtless..

cupcakes

2010-03-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the pictures of our cupcakes! My friend, Christie, and I made them. They were so much fun to make! We had extras so I brought them to Jeremy at work for everyone and they asked if they were gay pride cupcakes... :( NO!! They aren't gay pride cupcakes! That's just the order you have to go in, or the colors won't look as good! ..trust me :P

This is the outside!! Before I dug in to the yummy goodness!

This is the cupcake in the middle!

This one was toward the end of the batch... I didn't do a very good job of distributing the batter so we had more of some colors :P

I do hope our family is reading our blog! Leave me some comments people!!! :D I would love to know your thoughts on our life! haha
Love you all!!!

Please pray for all of our military men and women! That the deployed will get to come home to their family's and the not-deployed aren't taking being home for granted!

blessings..

2010-03-15T23:06:00.000-05:00

I am so happy tonight!!! I got home from a pretty mellow, nothing-exciting day at work, I let WallE out and he goes sprinting across the street (like always) because he knows we're going to check the mail (don't worry, I stop him so I can look for cars) and guess what was in there.... [drum roll] MY CERTIFICATE!!! I can now officially start my search for a Dental Assistant job!!! I have the next 2 days off and I'm job searching like crazy!! I have a list of ALL the close dental offices (some are not close but that's life) and I'm going to put my GPS to full use tomorrow! :) Jeremy was on top of it when I called him and told me to email him my resume and he printed it off for me! :D Love him! Now that will save me time tomorrow, instead of going to the library and printing off a ton of copies.

I am going to ENJOY my 2 days off, well because this is my weekend and I don't have another day off until next Tuesday. I am going to make cupcakes and deliver them to friends! They are going to be so cute! I'll share the recipe..

http://247moms.blogspot.com/2010/03/st-patricks-day-sweets-and-treats.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+24%2F7Moms+%2824%2F7+MOMS%29

I'm so excited!

Please pray for Donald, being safe in Iraq!
And just throw me in to your prayer list for my job search! That someone will give me the chance since I have no experience..

Thanks! Love you all!!! :)

deep breath

2010-03-11T22:20:00.000-06:00

I have to take a deep breath tonight. I joined a facebook group called "You know you're an Air Force wife when..." One of the discussion posts had this 'poem' in it. My deep breath is to keep the tears from falling.

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
ABU
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed;
the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart.
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband,
She will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

I love the part that says that he's the most unreliable guy in town! It's true but not horrible, it's just another one of those things we learn to deal with! When he went to Las Vegas he didn't have an official come home date! Everyone else has the exact moment that their husband should be pulling in the driveway from work, I listen for landing planes..
Their language is foreign... let's just say that Jeremy "tests" me on the acronyms that I should know. And what each rank on the shoulder is.
What they say about dyeing his uniform pink.. SO true!! I just think it would be SO funny! But obviously he wouldn't go to work in a pink uniform so he would have to get a new uniform so he would go spend more money.. so I decide not to! :P
Wedding pictures make it all better! I look at them, cry a little, put them back and wonder how long it will be until I am packing them up to move again.
I wish the boots in the doorway part wasn't true... but it IS! Believe me, I trip over those big ol' things every day!
One part they forgot was that when they are gone whether it is for a TDY (temporary duty) or a deployment they always come home and trash the house! When J was in Vegas for 2 weeks I had a PERFECT house! It was awesome!! He came home and his suitcases sat in the living room for a couple days, then I finally picked up the big one but the little one stayed for a while longer. So did all the stuff he dug out of his bags to show me. As long as we get our husbands back and a souvenir, we'll put up with it!

Please pray for every single military member tonight. Pray that each new wife has the strength to put up with it all, with a smile.

Babysitting adventure!

2010-03-07T12:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I got to babysit Mr. Brennen Vickers!! His daddy and Jeremy work together. I'm not sure how old he is.. I'm going to say 3 months or so. His jean size was 0-3 months so around that. He is so cute!! And it doesn't take much to make him smile! :) He even smiled when I wiped his mouth! I'm guessing mommy does something funny when she wipes his mouth LOL He is a baby that LOVES attention. And I got the impression that Linsay (mommy) puts him in one of those carriers that you see people use at the zoo (not a sling) alot. He likes to be held right there and he just likes to be held, and not while you're sitting down! But I knew that he loves to watch the ceiling fan so that was helpful while I was eating supper! Jeremy was holding him (BELIEVE IT OR NOT) while I got supper and he fell asleep when I was getting his bottle, so as soon as I was done eating Jeremy handed him over (Yea.. it didn't last long) and I was telling Jeremy to close the door so that when Linsay and Ricky came home WallE wouldn't bark and wake Brennen up.. but of course I woke him up when I said "Jeremy".
He was a great baby! He got fussy when he needed his diaper changed and when he wanted to watch the ceiling fan! He was pretty easy! I think that little 4 (or so) hour adventure didn't help my arguement to have kids any time soon! Jeremy got mad when he was trying to watch a movie and Brennen was crying ha! I'm like oh great! He is soo not ready... And he didn't even do anything to help!! I'm the one that got his bottles ready. I'm the one that held him (except for Jeremy's 5 minute helping hand) and I'm the one that changed him! I just sigh! haha Jeremy is in for a ride (in 2 or 3 years of course!) Gotta love him! Of course babysitting is totally different than having your own kids because you know what works for them and you have all those gadgets to keep them busy while you step away!

I worked yesterday from 9-4 and started babysitting at 5:15. So I couldn't get my workout in yesterday. Today is day 7 and it says to either rest or do the stretch DVD. So I guess instead of resting or stretching I'm going to be doing yesterday's workout!

I don't think I have any other exciting news.. I do want to share my sister-in-laws blog though. My neice and nephew are SOO funny! I'll share one story- while Mandy was writing her blog Braeden came downstairs, when they were supposed to be sleeping, and was upset because "sissy doesn't love me"! They are best friends! She always posts pictures of them sleeping together or doing stuff together! Here is my favorite picture of them!

And this one is another example of them being besties!

They were posing for daddy!

Which brings me to my prayer requests-

Please pray for Donald, getting through his classes and getting to Iraq safely (kind of an oximoron!)
Please pray for everyone that is sick.. including Uncle Doug and myself. I actually got a full nights sleep last night without waking up and coughing for 30 minutes!
Please pray for my Aunt Sandra.. she is in a 26.2 mile marathon. At this exact moment she has about 12 miles left and has a big blister and gave her electrolyte tab to someone that had a cramped up leg! She also has a list on her arm.. she is praying for someone at every mile! She has such a big heart!

"I guess that's what we signed up for right?!"

2010-03-02T17:55:00.000-06:00

Well I decided to start this blog so that family can keep up with us! I have been missing family alot lately! Hoping that everyone misses us too... here it goes!

When Jeremy told me that we were going to be stationed in Nebraska (over the phone) I think we both made the same face (squishy). But the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. We were going to SIX hours away from our family. That's good and bad! Good because it's our first base and so when we get homesick we can come home for the weekend. Bad because it's Nebraska. But the good outweighed the bad and we moved with a smile!

Two days after we got here it snowed EIGHT inches!! Yikes! We knew it was going to be interesting! Summer was great, fall was nice but winter was NOT fun! It snowed ALOT and the roads were VERY icey! But the sun has been shining for the past few days and that means SPRING IS COMING!! I can't wait! Spring them summer!

And not to be the bearer of bad news, or to jinx us, but orders come out this month! Last month there was a posting of bases that needed people, so they put in for where they wanted to go and if they get "accepted" they will find out this month! We are hoping to go somewhere else. We were excited for the military life so we could travel! Nebraska wasn't exactly our dream vacation! He can still get orders at any time, they will just be unexpected (which is fine too!!)

Lately not much has been going on. Jeremy has a 24/7/365 job so he always has weird hours. Currently he is working 3-11. Which isn't bad.. until I get a real job (with real hours) then I won't ever see him! If I have to work at 8 I'll be in bed by 11 and gone before he wakes up :( But I guess that's what we signed up for right?! (You'll probably hear that alot in my blog)

We are starting a new work out! It's called P90X! We have heard very good reviews about it, and when I won it in an online sweepstake.. we were SO excited to get started! Of course then I got sick for 2 weeks (nothing serious just a bad combo of sinus' and a cold). Jeremy started last week but I finally got to start yesterday! I am pretty sore but sticking with it, and I'm so proud of Jeremy for being good and sticking with it! He hasn't had a diet pepsi in days!!!!! So the countdown in on!! 89 more days and I'll be looking great and 84 more for Jeremy!! :)

I have finished my schooling, but STILL haven't received my certificate so I can't start looking for a job. So I guess I don't have to worry about a real job just yet. It's getting frustrating and I make lots of phone calls about it but it's a goose chase. So please keep that in your prayers!

And by the way... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROMAN!! Jeremy can't believe you're FIVE!! WOO HOO!!

And I guess I will end my blogs with my prayer requests! Thanks for joining me family!! We love you all!!

Please keep in your prayers:

Grandpa Dunbar and his back.. taking toooo long for recovery! And Grandma Gina that she can keep up with taking care of him! :)
Donald (my oldest brother) and his family... he left for his THIRD deployment on Sunday. Luckily this one is only for 7 months and not 15!!

Sorry if I forgot anything, I'm trying to focus but while I'm typing this I'm watching the drama-filled Grey's Anatomy lol
And sorry if this is a boring blog, it will be more useful when we have kids and we can post funny stories and pictures! I'm just starting it now so we can keep in touch with everyone now and look back later!