Random Thoughts

Just plain thankful!!

2009-11-12T09:49:00.003-06:00

I think I did one of these blogs last year when we were doing our blog the straight month of November but I want to do another one because I just don't say enough how thankful I am for the things I love and that are in my life. So here goes...

I am thankful for God. I am thankful that He is there in all the things we do and that He remains faithful no matter what we do, because that's just who HE is! Thank you GOD!

I am thankful for my family, immediate and extended. Some people don't have family and we take them for granted alot.

I am thankful that God gave me a good man, scratch that an awesome man! He loves God with all his heart and I am so blessed to have a man that loves his family and wants to be a good dad and IS a great dad! There are so many dads out there that aren't or that don't want to be apart of their kids lives or that simply are too lazy to be a dad. I love that I don't have to ask him to "watch" our kids...um he's the dad, it's a shared responsibility and I love that he's always felt that way. He's not afraid of work and will do whatever it takes to provide for his family, lazy men are so annoying. I am just so very blessed!

I am thankful for my two boys. Jake is so sweet and so sensitive to everyone's needs and always wants to do good and is really disappointed when he doesn't. He is so smart, it just amazes Jackson and I each day. Stockton is amazing as well, yet in his own way. He is boy thru and thru and wants to help with anything you are doing, mainly daddy if he's working outside. He isn't scared of anything. I sometimes wonder if he knows deep down he may not live as long as a healthy child has the potential too because he lives each day to the fullest, doing whatever and not being scared of anything new.

I am thankful for a roof over my head and a car to drive. I am thankful for my job(s).

I am thankful for all my friends, (you know who you are) from dressing alike without knowing, to Twilight movies on opening night (even though we're missin New Moon on opening night), to the memories of writing stories in Coach White's computer class, to running the long runs and the short runs, being excited for new babies and lovin them all almost as much as my own, hanging at Starbucks (well when we had one), laughing until we cry, "spiked" peach tea, making cards or trying to because we can't stop talking or you are just plain slow ;), getting matching tattoos. There's a ton more but I better stop there.

I am thankful that I can run 1/2 marathons, thankful that my body allows me to do this.

I am thankful for so much but here's a list of simple stuff that comes to mind (not in any particular order) green tea lattes, air, sushi, a good hair cut and color, my dogs, water, flip flops, nice fitting clothes, babies that like to smile at me, days I get to spend with Jackson, baking with the boys, diet dr pepper, Lori, good family photos, desserts, tattoos, tv, movies, sharing joys with my friends and so much more.

Family photos 2009

2009-11-09T09:47:00.008-06:00

Joanna was our photographer this year and it just gets more and more interesting each year to find something different to do. I think we had some really good poses though...

And some funny/random ones...

Tanner sure wanted to be apart of all of it. :)

Here are a few more pics...mostly my favs.

15K

2009-11-04T15:21:00.003-06:00

Jackson, Jeff, Amy and I went and ran the Tulsa Run this past weekend. It was perfect weather to start out until the sun was beating on you. Prefer 40's and overcast however 50's and a little sun wasn't so bad. Here we are before the race.

I was feeling extra spectacular for this race, thank you God! And ran it in 1 hr and 34 min at a 10:09 pace. The good ole garmin watch said we ended up running 9.4 miles instead of the 9.3 and my time with the extra 10th was 10:02 pace. Taking that one since I'm not thinking the satelites are wrong :). Amy did so excellent for her first race past a 5K with 1 hr 44 min at an 11:13 pace. I'm so proud of her, that was awesome for the first long race!!! Jackson finished in 1 hr and 32 min and Jeff in 1 hr 30 min. We all had good runs and hope to run it again next year!!

1st tooth

2009-11-03T08:34:00.002-06:00

Sunday morning when we woke up Stockton came up to us and told us he had lost his first tooth. He showed me the night before that it was loose but it didn't look to me like it was that loose. Well apparently it was and he pulled it out himself and already had it in a baggy and everything. So funny.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-11-03T08:12:00.011-06:00

This is the 2nd annual pumpkin carving with the Lee's and the Jenkin's...sounds so formal..HA.

The boys love this and Joanna and I totally agree that we are glad it's just once a year.

After everyone finally decided which design they wanted off to work we go. The inside of my pumpkin was soooo full!

It seemed like it took me 1/2 an hour to clean it out. Joanna's was small and it took her just as long because of the itty bit hole she cut in the top...:)

Tanner sure was having fun even though his hands weren't diggin out the insides of a pumpkin, he probably would have had fun with that too. It took the boys longer than the rest of us so their pumpkins actually didn't get done but they did get their designs poked out.

Well I'm not sure of what else to say about the pumpkin carving...so I'll leave you with the finished projects. From left to right is Joanna's, Tyler's, Jackson's and mine.

Arkalalah 2009

2009-11-02T16:19:00.007-06:00

This year we went to Arkalalah on Wednesday for the night parade. It wasn't the best parade, that will be why you see no pictures of it.

We started off the night with the infamous bierocks...there IS a picture of that!

I know...so good! I had 1 1/2 that night and 2 more on Saturday, yep they are that good.

Jami and I always have so much fun together and this year we made plans to do Arkalalah together. We both were raised going to the event so it's no wonder we both love to go every year so much.

Here we are and no we did not plan to dress alike. Stuff like that happens all the time with us.

The kids sure had a good time between eating cheesecake on a stick...

to riding rides and, we're not talkin any sissy rides for my boys.

To just hangin out with their good friend Hali.

We always have a good time with Jami and Hali!!! Can't wait to do it again next year!!

Why I love fall!

2009-09-02T11:07:00.003-05:00

Haven't posted in a while so I thought I would post about why I love fall! Feel free to repost with your own loves of fall.

1. While I am a runner all year, running in 60 degrees and above is not fun. Love the fall weather for running, it's so much more amazing.

2. Fall scents

3. Love being able to open my windows.

4. Octoberfest.

5. Arkalalah with the girls.

6. Love all the runs we are doing this year! One in Oct, Dec, and Jan!!! Woohoo.

7. Chai tea

8. Pumpkins

9. Trick or treating with the kids

10. Thanksgiving with the family!

11. Hangin outside in the evenings

12. the changing leaves

13. Mums

14. Comfy sweatshirts

15. OU Football!!

16. Warm food such as soups and yummy pumpkin desserts

17. Pumpkin spice latte from starbucks!

18. Blackwell fair

19. Affair of the Heart

That's all I can think of right now but I'm sure I have plenty more. Can't wait to read my friends...tagging Julie B and N and anyone else who wants to do it. This was fun!!

And two more make four...

2009-07-12T20:03:00.007-05:00

Well now our family is complete. I mean doesn't two dogs make anyone's family complete? Especially after having two boys already...here's a picture of my children...

Kali is so not impressed...can you tell? Here she is telling Tank who's boss.

And then Tank telling Kali, he isn't listening..

They are getting along alot better now that we are on day 3. Kali still thinks she's boss, when he out weighs her by 20 or 30 lbs well see what she thinks then. Posting more adorable and funny pics of them.

Is this not the cutest picture ever!! So adorable...and then Stockton decided to take a picture....

Nough said.

It's been awhile...

2009-07-09T09:49:00.003-05:00

Well I know I've been a blog slacker so I thought I would write about our newest addition, or soon to be newest addition. Tank!

Yep he's the one with his tongue sticking out....so funny! He comes home tomorrow morning. He's 13 weeks and in this picture he had just gotten the stitches taken out of his ears.

We've had Kali for 2 months now and she has literally doubled in size. She weighs 44 lbs now and is just a great dog. The puppies I have been around in the past, well she is nothing like a regular puppy. We go on a walk and she is so alert at what is going on around us, and at 5 months! She is amazing! I hope she likes Tank...we will soon see. Here is a recent picture of Kali.

Garage Sale!!!

2009-05-14T11:03:00.003-05:00

Yep that's right, it's been over a month since I've blogged so I'm going to advertise for my garage sale. I have a TON of boy clothes, yep no girl stuff, just good ole boys. I have a few 24-2T things, a few 3T, a ton of 4T-5T and a ton of 4 and 5's. Also a ton of shoes in all sizes, well except baby. Haven't had one of those in about mmm 5 or 6 years. A few of my clothes and one lonely pair of swim trunks is all the mens I have. Tons of kitchen and other odds and ends. A game table, little tykes table with 2 chairs, playdoe table and numerous other toys, some wiggles dvds and a few other dvds my boys have out grown and some good ole fashioned vhs tapes (all kids). I do believe that about sums it up. It will be Friday (tomorrow) and Saturday (the day after tomorrow) from 7 to who knows when....or unless it rains me out. Come see me if you are interested!!!!! :)

The Florida trip.

2009-04-02T18:17:00.012-05:00

Two weeks ago today actually we flew to Florida for a conference of Jacksons. I just tagged along as usual...:) We stayed at the Gaylord Palms, it was fancy. They had their own alligators..

Their own indoor boat that was actually a restaurant. There were fish and stingrays in that water.The next day we went to Downtown Disney and walked around. There was this restaurant called TRex it was just awesome! We didn't actually eat there we just toured the restaurant, not sure that I'd ever "toured" an eating establishment. However here are some of the cool pictures that didn't turn out so well. :(

Okay enough of there...so we keep moving to the Lego store. Stockton loves legos so we had to take a picture of every one of the statues outside that were made out of all legos...here are a few.

That day Jackson was going to be busy for the evening and all day Friday so I drove to my cousin Lori's in Boca Raton. We were suposed to snorkle but it had rained and was super windy so we didn't get to. :( But here is the beach.

Yep it was a private beach...so sad that it rained that day! Well that's all for now, I'll finish the rest of the story another day.

Card making....

2009-03-16T17:47:00.010-05:00

Well I decided along with Janie and Joanna to make cards on Saturday afternoon. They were not there very long but I continued on my own...I made this one while they were still there with Joanna's help...so cute if I do say so...:)

Here's the rest...

So much fun!!!!!

Total Randomness

2009-02-12T08:38:00.003-06:00

I was flossing this morning and a piece of my tooth came off. How does that happen? It was floss not a jackhammer. And to top it off it's one of my "two front teeth". Fantastic isn't it.

So tired these days...blaming the weather. Hopefully not laziness since that's what it really is. I want to get back into the getting up at 5 and running...but with my running partner. That's probably why is because she's not waiting on me...Jackson is. It's so much easier to cancel on someone who you know isn't out of bed yet. This morning he showed me he doesn't need me to go running with, well he's always ran alone, but he took our 9 year old and ran with him instead. Go Jake! So I've been replaced by a 9 year old. He did get out of bed though...guess that's the key. Miss you Jasper.....

Stocktons last report was good. God is so awesome. Nothing has changed on his liver which is very good. Thanks to everyone who was praying for him.

Everyone's having babies. Sometimes I wish we would have had more...even if I did get 3 boys...but then I think...nah, I'll just borrow everyone else's and send them home...oh great, now I'm a grandma.

I'm still needing ideas of stuff to do in Florida...for me and Jackson and just for me. :)

Is it May yet? We get our first dog in May and I'm ready. We've decided on names..Jackson is naming his Tank and I'm going to name mine Cali.

I'm so ready for a tan. While I do enjoy swimming wherever it may be...indoors is so not the same as being at good ole Sun N Fun and soakin up the sun...oh tan where art thou?

Well I guess that's all my thoughts for the moment...I may add more later...oh look there's a kitty.

Another proud moment!

2009-02-03T07:11:00.005-06:00

We were going thru Jake's backpack like any other day and came across this paper that he did at school.

We were amazed, obviousley. The assignment was to write about "The important thing about..." and my boy chose Jesus! That's right...Jesus!! The teachers may not be able to talk about Jesus at school, but that's not stopping my boy from doing it! You go Jake!! Below is the picture that he made to go along with the above very true story.

25 Random Things

2009-01-27T12:50:00.001-06:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. Tag the person who tagged you and tag your friends, too. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you. (: Only do this if you want to and have time :)
(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I love tattoos. I just got my 10th one a week ago and can't wait until my birthday to get the next one.
2. I grew up on a farm, never lived in town until I moved to Tennessee to be with Jackson.
3. I would love to have a horse farm.
4. I could be a dive master and never get tired of the diving.
5. I love to dive but just the thought of sharks possibly there makes me shake sitting here, no where near an ocean.
6. I got married when I was 18.
7. I also don't like people touching my feet nor do I want to touch anyone elses.
8. I would rather make a list out of a catalog then actually order it, to me it's more fun to make the list. ;)
9. I wanted to name my daughter Gracie.
10. I always wanted twin girls.
11. I love to make cards.
12. I love to organize things and when something one of my kids or husband takes out of place it drives me crazy until it's back where it belongs.
13. I love to get my hair colored, and it has to be something different everytime.
14. I love to run, just not in the heat.
15. I love to bike and if we bike we should go at least 12 miles.
16. I don't like the cold, if it wasn't for the running I could live where it's warm all year long.
17. I love roses, I have almost every color rose bush available, well at least the ones I can get around here.
18. I don't like my picture taken, I'm not one of those people who loves to be in photos.
19. I could wear flip flops 365 days of the year, I actually used to have over 50 pairs.
20. I love talking to my friends and being totally crazy and random and they knowing exactly what I'm either going to say or can keep up when I jump from subject to subject.
21. I am a lousy blogger.
22. "it's in my coat"
23. Inside jokes are the funnest!
24. I'm entirely too sensitive.
25. I love collecting old dishes.

Need ideas...

2009-01-14T10:27:00.002-06:00

I'm still needing puppy name suggestions where are they...maybe that's a good indication that no one reads my blog. HA.

This blog isn't really about that. I was thinking that I haven't blogged in awhile and mmm what a surprise that is, so I thought I would blog about ideas of things to do in Orlando. Jackson and I are going there for 4-5 days in a couple months. It's for his work but we get a little time to do fun stuff in between. So all of you who have been recently I would like to know what you thought was fun. Also ideas for me. I will have all day one day to do whatever by myself so if you have ideas other than shopping they would be greatly appreciated!

Not so much new years resolutions...

2009-01-02T09:27:00.002-06:00

I am setting out this year to not make any "new years resolutions". Every year I decide on a couple and I mess them up every time. So instead of starting out disappointing myself I am just going to start out trying to do simple things. Such as just being an overall better person, hopefully closer to who God intended me to be, working to be a better wife and mother, and working towards the best 1/2 marathons ever this year. I think those are not too out of reach but yet they are challenges none the less. I am hoping 2009 is the best year ever. Doesn't 2009 just have a good ring to it anyways? So even if things arise that don't make 2009 the best, I want to strive to choose joy each day to purposely make it the best year ever!

The greatest day of Jake's life!

2008-12-30T10:57:00.003-06:00

One down and one to go. :) Jake was baptized on Sunday. What a glorious occasion for him and us as parents! We are so proud that he has made this decision.

Introducing Octavian and Xavier

2008-12-29T11:56:00.008-06:00

One of my best friends from high school just had twins the first part of December. However I just got to see them last week, and boy oh boy are they adorable! Here they are sleeping in their bed. Octavian is on the left and Xavier is on the right:

Octavian was cracking me up with his hand up there. It was sooo cute! I was getting ansy so Suz woke up Xavier for me...and here we are :)

We're so cute together, he liked me so much when I first got him he threw up all over me. This was after Suz gave me a clean shirt to wear. :) I got to feed him since he gave me what he ate before I got there. Here he is right before.

He was obviousley ready to eat.

So after that she got Tavian up for me to do it all with him as well. Boy oh boy this twins thing is fun! I am so jealous! Here's me feeding Tavian:

I got to do all the fun baby stuff again, I hope she asks me to come back for date night...I would love to hang out with these little guys for an evening.

I made Suz some baby books for the boys and just couldn't resist sharing how cute they turned out. I still can't believe how little these two were. OH so fun!

Here you go Brent...the recap blog!

2008-12-17T12:17:00.009-06:00

Well the race is obviousley over and we obviousley finished. Finished is really the only good thing we can say about it however. It was horrible. I was saying it was 65 but everyone else says it was over 70 and it probably was. Then add in the 20 plus mile per hour wind and we didn't think we were going to finish. Here is a pic of us..finished.....literally!!!!

This was Jackson's 2nd race and my 4th...we had a good Friday and Saturday on our mini vacation but Sunday not so much.

So to back up a bit we drove down on Friday after we dropped the boys off at school. Saturday we met up with everyone for our annual night before the race italian dinner. Which was at Carrabas's once again. :)

SO moving back ahead...I should have planned this blog better but oh well...after the race we always go to Pappasitos. They have the best beef fajita meat eva!!! We were starting to feel a little better about this time, and dreading the long drive home.

We hope to have a good race in Oklahoma City in April...anyone want to join us?

The Run.

2008-12-11T09:27:00.002-06:00

Well it's finally almost here. I remember when I set my countdown on my computer and it started at 154 days. Crazy to think we are down to 3. The weather is making us very nervous. It's calling for 22 mile/hr winds and 72 degrees. Not good running weather. Please pray that it's not windy and it's about 45 degrees.

We were hoping to beat our time from last year but now we are just going to be thankful to finish. We've all worked hard so hopefully that will pay off in the race! Wish us luck!!

Pondering a name...

2008-12-09T09:22:00.005-06:00

So I know a few of you already know this but Jackson is getting two dobermans this spring. After much begging I have finally given in and actually become excited about the idea of having a good protective, non shedding dog around. We've had two dogs in the 11 years we've been married. The first was a german shephard that we got the day I found out Stockton was a boy. His name was Dozer. We had him for a while and one day he decided to jump the fence and the pound caught him and fined us. So we didn't have the money for a bigger fence and with a new baby he wasn't a house dog so we gave him to a cousin of mine. Dozer is much happier now living in the Virgin Islands...wonder if I can go live with them too...haha.

Then there was Sophie. She was our Golden Retriever. We got her from Sean and Rachel when she was I think 3. We had her for a couple years until one day she just went nuts. She'd been a house dog for awhile since she learned how to climb the fence (I am seeing a pattern here) and so we kept her in the house. However one day it was like she had lost her mind, she started acting like a puppy again, peeing everywhere and when we got that stopped we just thought she needed to be somewhere else. So a friend suggested a friend and we gave her to her. She shed too much too for Stockton so these new dogs will be great!

Well on to the reason for my blog today. Jackson is getting a male and everything he's read it was better to have a male and female than two males so I am getting the girl...obviosley. So I am in search for a name...yes Amber a name. I don't want anything sissy, as Julie and I discovered this morning Fifi and Cuddles just aren't going to cut it for my dobe. She will be a red/brown color (hopefully the litter produces one).

How cute is that!

So all you who read this if you have any ideas or suggestions please email them my way.

Couldn't resist this picture, I just love it!

Christmas Fun Survey

2008-12-08T14:58:00.002-06:00

Christmas Fun
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper because I like to make my own pertty bows

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial all the way! Jackson wants a real tree super bad, but 2 dobermans and a real tree really don't sound like that would mix well.

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually a week or two before Thanksgiving, by the time Thanksgiving gets here I don't have time to decorate.

4. When do you take the tree down? I used to wait until New Years but now I end up doing it Christmas weekend depending on if I am ready for my house to be back to normal.

5. Do you like eggnog? no way ewe!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? don't remember

7. Hardest person to buy for? guy stocking stuffers

8. Easiest person to buy for? Janie

9. Do you have a nativity scene? I have the willow tree, I love it!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail of course and this year I took on the job of making my own!

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? clothes probably

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Rudolph :)

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime in November, sometimes if I see something earlier I'll go ahead and pick it up.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? only dirty santa ones

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Nanny's chocolate pie, or any of the assorted candies we make.

16. Lights on the tree? white lights

17. Favorite Christmas song? Mary Did You Know?

18. Travel at Christmas time or stay home? for the last few years I've had Christmas at my house.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel right now.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Just depends on what the day's plan holds

22. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? going to my Grandmas for Christmas morning

23. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember how old, I just remember knowing that it was my mom's handwriting on the tag.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? the traditional is always good, but I do enjoy Jackson's side meals, we always do something different: mexican, italian, soups, finger foods, this year I think we are doing mexican pile on.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Twilight soundtrack

Thoughts being put down on paper

2008-12-08T08:16:00.004-06:00

So why is it wrong to shield your family from something you don't believe in, or find that it is wrong?

So why is it wrong to want someone to call you instead of calling them everytime and getting in trouble because you never call?

So why is it that Santa and "Holiday" are everywhere but we really wouldn't be having Christmas, yeah that's right, it's called Christmas people, if Christ wasn't born for us?

So why is everyone claiming it's hard when they still have jobs and gas is 1/3 of what it was when no one was complaining?

So why is it that saying you are a Christian automatically makes non Christians think you are better than them, when in reality it's the total opposite, we are saying we know we are sinners and we want to change!

So why is it that when you are in a restaurant and you order a pepsi and they offer you a coke? (they taste nothing alike)

So why is it that we all tend to be nice to certain people just to get what we want, why can't we just be nice all the time?

So why is it so hard to take care of that growing baby inside of you for 9 months instead of being selfish about what you could be missing out on, it's just nine months and that baby didn't choose to be concieved.

So why is it that people think the Bible has changed, it's not changed, it's still the same one from the beginning.

So why does Peter not have his powers back yet...or does he?

10 Things You Will Never See Me Do!

2008-11-26T13:09:00.003-06:00

I saw this blog idea on a friends comments and thought it sounded fun. So with the help of Nephew, I am making this list for you.

1. You will never see me snort dr pepper up my nose just because someone said it looked cool.

2. You will never see me eat chalk no matter how much it will brighten my smile.

3. You will never see me wear a dress made out of post it notes.

4. You will never see me eat paper as a replacement for gum.

5. You will never see me wear paper clips for earrings, even if Cosmo says that's the new fad.

6. You will never hear me ask anyone "Do you have a case of the Mondays?"

7. You will never see me rooting for OSU when OU is involved! Go SOONERS!!!

8. You will never hear me say I want to run 30 miles.

9. You will never see me get a tattoo of a clown riding a bicycle backwards, or frontwards for that matter....mmmm no clowns period.

10. And last but not least you will never see me participate in national blog month again.

Stolen blog yet once again....

2008-11-24T10:18:00.002-06:00

So I know I didn't blog yesterday, guess I'm being the rebel yet again. Oh well if the shoe fits right.

So after reading a friends comments on another friends blog, I decided one of the suggested topics sounded interesting...why the lack of card making when the alloted time was it's purpose.

1. Tired from packing up peoples shoes so they won't have anything to wear the next day to their job.

2. Tired from rushing home after packing up peoples shoes and cleaning my house so card maker friend could come play.

3. Kids coming in and out and wanting to make stuff too.

4. Lack of envelopes for such cards needing to be made, so no idea on size, so why start.

5. Playing Guitar Hero World Tour and whoopin up on Jackson and Julie!

6. Ornaments were easier to get too.

7. Just havin fun laughin like we always do.

8. Should have taken pictures.

9. Kids being too loud after being told over and over to be quiet because Jackson was asleep.

10. And lastly, ending early because we are old...oh the sadness.

Twilight Movie!

2008-11-22T16:20:00.007-06:00

We went to Twilight last night...and well...it was awesome! There was a few parts that I would have liked to have seen made into the movie but it was already a two hour movie. Hey I would have been fine with a four hour movie. :) And I do believe my girls would have been too!

We were set...I mean we had our popcorn..large I might add, see four hours would have been fine.

And the large drink...

We had a good time and now of course the next ones are more than ever anticipated to hurry up and be made! If you haven't gotten to read the books yet I suggest you go out and get you a copy. You will want to read them over and over and over. Then you can go see the movie and be all happy like I was. :)

My dislikes

2008-11-21T08:04:00.005-06:00

I am again copying the ideas of Julie. I decided to blog on what I dislike.

Satan, Stockton's incurable disease, being made fun of over and over and over and over...well you get the idea, running in 80 degree weather or even 70 for that matter, having a bad run day, not being able to drive to the ocean and go diving right now, friends who say they are friends but really aren't friends, the fact that it's not 6 so we could go to see Twilight, and that people already are commenting on yahoo that it wasn't any good, the sadness that she may never finish Midnight Sun.

Obesity, the fact that sweets aren't good for you, mean people, rude people, dishonest people, people who you nicely honk at once when they've been at the stoplight for 3 minutes after it's turned green and then they nicely thank you by flipping you off, door dings, being used, smoking, drunks, divorce, spousal abuse, not taking care of yourself when you are pregnant, abortion.

People who think they are perfect or better than everyone else, keeping up with the Jones', being looked down upon when you try not to keep up with the Jones', debt, not being invited to family things, bad moms, bad dads, bad hair, not having a class reunion, spiders, roaches, not having a college education.

When you run out of diet dr pepper, people who talk about stuff that's happening like they know exactly what they are talking about when they really have no clue because everything they've heard has not come from anywhere near the source of it, being lied to-just tell me the truth already-can't be any worse than the lie, not enough weekend time or time in a day for that matter, not finishing things, not being more like how God intended me to be, and lastly for today since I didn't realize I'd have so much to say, but not being more Christlike. It's a daily struggle to keep your mind and heart going down the right path! Thanks for reading check back tomorrow for my review and hopefully pictures of us girls from the movie Twilight!!!!

An easy blog day! :)

2008-11-20T09:30:00.002-06:00

I got the idea of a survey from my Julie's and thought it was a fun idea. This is a different survey than they filled out though! :)

Spell your name without an E,S,H,I,M,A. J

Are you available? happily taken

What’s your favorite number? 7

Favorite color? yellow

Least favorite color? white so boring

What are you listening to? a customer talking to Gail and the House

Are you happy with your life right now? definetly!!

Favorite Subject? it was keyboarding class with Suz

Are you outgoing? if I know you

Do you like Big Mac's? yes

Do you own big sunglasses? kinda

Where do you wish you were right now? diving in Mexico

What should you be doing right now? working

Do you have a crush on anyone right now? Jackson

THE CANS:

Can you blow a bubble? yes

Can you touch your toes? yes

Can you whistle? yes but not super loud like some people

Can you wiggle your ears? i don't think so

Can you roll your tongue? yes

THE DIDS:

Did you ever want to be a doctor? no

Did you ever receive an engagement ring? yes

Did you ever want to be a fire fighter? no

Did you ever swim in the ocean? yes wish I was there now

THE DO'S:

Do you believe in God? Definetly!!!

Do you know how to swim? yep

Do you like roller coasters? yes

Do you own a bike? yes

THE DOES:

Does hair loss run through your family? no

Does your car get good gas mileage? when I don't get ethanol

Does your family have family picnics? no

Does your home have a bookcase? several

THE HAVES:

Have you ever been to Canada? no

Have you ever gone fishing? yes

Have you ever seen a celebrity? a few

Have you ever been on a motorcycle? yes

THE HOWS:

How much money do you have on you right now? none I never carry cash

How many cars have you owned? woah lets see...we aren't good at keeping them around until now. ;) maybe 7

How many jobs have you had? 7

THE LASTS:

Last person you hung out with? Jackson and the boys

Last thing you said out loud? "That's weird."

Last time you ate at McDonalds? couple weeks ago

Last thing you bought? does paying a copay count?

Last place you went to eat? El Patio

Last song you sang out loud? something in the car

Last person you know to die? my keyboarding teacher

Last pet you bought? some fish

Last time you cleaned your room? goes can't remember it's been so long :)

THE WHATS:

What is the temperature outside? 39

What time did you wake up? 6:19 a.m.

What is your favorite car? something fast would be fun, but I do like my Tahoe alot!

Another exciting blog.

2008-11-19T14:02:00.005-06:00

Maybe I should give up on this trying to blog everyday, especially since the instigator may be done also. I have no new pictures of anything nor do I have anything wonderful to talk about.

Today I am home with poor Stockton. He's got a horrible cough. Pray for him please. I thought I would get something done around the house and while that worked fine in the morning I am wishing I was asleep right now.

Day after tomorrow is Twilight, hopefully someone (it will probably be a teenager) will take our picture so I have something to talk about Saturday from that most anticipated experience. So excited!

Well tonight is Awana's and I'm glad I get to see my group of girls. We have always had awesome groups of girls but this year they just want to do so much. I have a couple who come ready and do 5 verses or more a night. What a wonderful sight, to see these girls wanting to know more and more. All of our girls do at least one almost every Wednesday, it's just such an awesome experience that I am sorry I ever complained about going! God has blessed me so letting me be apart of it.

Well that sums up the day...not sure what I am cooking for supper, maybe it's not to late to throw something in the crockpot.

Thanks for reading about my day. Come back tomorrow for more exciting times in the life of Jamie.

Unfinished stuff.

2008-11-18T11:55:00.010-06:00

Today in Bible study Beth Moore talked about not finishing things. Which is so true for me. Granted that wasn't the only thing she spoke about, but it convicted me.

We always want to jump to the next thing without completing the current thing we were on. So I am setting out to do better in this. All these projects I've brought upon myself, I am completing them. It may take awhile but I WILL finish. For instance, the kitchen. Even though we are still waiting on Lowe's on some doors, we have some stuff left we can finish.

Why is it that so much other stuff grabs our attention away?

Because that's the way the world is. Bigger better newer funner...sound familiar? Yeah I'm guilty of it. It's starting in the right direction that needs to be done. You can never achieve anything if you don't start. So here I go...to complete not only the minor stuff, but also the bigger stuff too that God is calling me to do. I urge those of you that are feeling the same way to start with me. It's easier if you don't have to do this walk alone!

Not sure what to blog on today...

2008-11-17T11:08:00.001-06:00

This is the 17th and so far I've done pretty good. I've not missed a day and some blog entries were smaller and lamer than others but one still got done for each day. So I think I'll blog on things I am looking forward too...soon and future in no particular order.

I am looking forward to the Twilight movie...comes out Friday!! It's about time!
I am looking forward to the next movies of the Twilight trilogy to come out too, I am sure they will.
I am looking forward to our race on Dec. 14th and beating our time.
I am looking forward to Christmas.
I am looking forward to getting out of town in January or Febuary.
I am looking forward to Florida on Spring Break.
I am looking forward to when there is a cure for Stockton.
I am looking forward to when we are debt free.
I am looking forward to watching my boys grow older and what they will do with their lives.
I am looking forward to what Jackson and I will do on our 20th wedding anniversary.
I am looking forward to being content with all things.
I am looking forward to growing more and more like Christ.

I know there are more and more things I am looking forward to but those are what came to mind.

10 miles ain't for the weak!

2008-11-16T12:17:00.000-06:00

Today was my 10 mile run. I was a bit nervous about it yesterday. Jackson and I set out at 5:30 am at a brisk 24 degrees. I was pumped...it could have been race day from the way I was feeling! I know from previous blogs you know I've had pain, but I haven't for several runs now. So adding that wonderful change in, it was awesome! I am leaving out my time for certain reasons...;) But overall it was an awesome 10 mile training day!!!!

Decorating for Christmas

2008-11-15T09:18:00.000-06:00

I think I may decorate for Christmas today. Seems like the thing to do. What else is there to do?For cleaning comes with decorating so it's 2 in 1. I will post pics to finish off my blog a little later...tata for now.

Well I'm back and it's about 6:30 pm. All I did was the tree, but hey, that's something...right?

Drum roll please....

Ya I know, lame blog...but my tree is pertty at least! :)

My friend Julie

2008-11-14T10:31:00.000-06:00

My friend Julie is the bomb diggity bomb bomb. (I think it's mainly because she said so). My friend Julie is loud and oh so much fun. There is never a dull moment with my friend Julie. It's always been easy with Julie. Never an awkward moment like there are with so many other people. She's just my friend Julie. My friend Julie works at a bank. My friend Julie also has her own blog which sometimes is about working at a bank. My friend Julie told me to write this about how rad she is. So my friend Julie is rad. :) My friend Julie and I talk on the phone an average of 5 times/day. My friend Julie likes the color purple, not the movie the actual color, well come to think about it she may like the movie...maybe I should ask my friend Julie. My friend Julie and my other friend Julie like the Twilight series. We are going to see the movie in a week. Which I know you already know from my last blog. ;) She probably reminds me alot of Alice, always having fun and very stylish. Sometimes I think she knows things that are to come too...oooh. Well that's enough about my friend Julie for today...here's a pic of me and my friend Julie and what we do best!!!

Twilight the movie!

2008-11-13T06:40:00.000-06:00

Well it is yet only one week and a day left until the most anticipated movie of the year comes out. At least for me that is. Twilight! I've read all four books which you already know this from a past blog and just can't wait till the movie. Brietzke, Nephew and I all have read the books and are going to be in line like the rest of the other 12 year old girls next Friday night. We have been waiting for several months now since we finished Breaking Dawn and heard the sad news about Midnight Sun for more of The Cullen Family. Hopefully it won't be a let down. Hopefully we all get what we thought we were going to get out of the movie. I'm sure it will not be as good as the book but most of the time they never are. However I do hope it does give us the feeling we all had while we were reading the books. I still hold out hope that the author will continue Midnight Sun, but until then we'll have the movie. More on this after we see the movie next Friday!!

Biggest Loser

2008-11-12T06:44:00.000-06:00

Spoiler Alert if you haven't watched last nights episode do not read any further, unless you don't care, then read on...

I don't know how the rest of you feel but I dislike Vickie and Heba tremendously! I know some of you do feel the same and wish they were off the show along with me. Last night was by far the worse for Vickie. She was just ruthless. I love the red team

and was sad to see them go but obviousley they know what they are doing and will come back at the end proudly! I was so proud of Amy C for voting off Vickie's husband, that took alot of guts. However, I am scared for her on Tuesday to see Vickie's wrath come down on her. Maybe she'll move back to the black team. Poor girl but you go!! Way to go over Vickie and Heba's head. I don't remember a season where the girls were like this...does anyone else? Granted I haven't watched all of them but the ones I have, the people seemed to have gotten along so much better. Well anyways there's my take on things as of now, my favorites are the red team of course, even the trainers loved them. Bob, oh yeah, he's not a contestant...Amy C went back toward the top yesterday. I like the mother daughter pair alot as well. I know I am probably leaving someone out worthy of mentioning. Well it's going to be scary on Tuesday.

Bunko!

2008-11-11T08:19:00.000-06:00

So a week later I decide to blog on bunko. #1 I haven't sent my pictures to work and finally got that done today and #2 I had to let the laughter settle after the "Julie Brietzke of Golf" blog. So though I will not be anywhere near as funny as Jasper here we go.

Bunko happens once a month during the school year. It's always on the first Tuesday and consists of 20 players, well most of the time there are 20 players. This last one, however, 3 were missing. We always have tons of yummy food and loads of fun.

We always start the night off eating...hello!

Our wonderful hostess this month was Kimberly..she didn't want to be in the pic alone so here I am too :)

She did such an awesome job!!! Jami was one of our subs for the night and we can't go without a picture of her and I now can we...

Yeah no idea what she was doing but obviousley we know what I was thinking...haha...love you J!

So the time to play was at hand and it started off slow. But after a while I got a bunko!!!!!

And another bunko!!!

And yet another!! Yes folks that makes 3!!!!

So you think did she win most bunkos? Nope LaShonda got 4 bunkos that night so Rachel and I rolled off and since Rachel always wins I just knew I had lost but I rolled higher!!! However Rachel did win the traveling bunko which still proves she always wins. I did win and here is me and my prize. Since I won such a big prize I will probably not win for the rest of the year...unlike Rachel..hehe.

Bunko is always a fun time and if you want loads of laughs about bunko and the skill it takes to play, go read Jaspers bunko blog. It's sure to give you a giggle. ;)

Today's running...

2008-11-10T09:18:00.000-06:00

Running this morning was what started out to be horrendous! Both of my legs felt like they weighed 100 lb. each. I'm not sure how those invisible weights got straped on there, but they some how did. About mile number 2 a few started to fall off and it eased up a bit. We hadn't ran since Thursday and that day was 9 miles. You would have thought we had had enough rest time. Boy oh boy do we love those 3 mile days, especially when the weights seem to be strapped to our legs. I would rather them be on there for the short runs and not the long runs. However the talking wasn't there which was sad. I guess that means we have to start saving our phone conversations again for our runs. :) Or that we were so tired this morning at 5:15 that we barely had energy to do the run let alone run and talk. All day shopping trips aren't the best when you need sleep. It's 34 days until our half. Keep praying for cool weather and an awesome run day all around!! (no weights included)

Oh the joys of shopping.

2008-11-09T08:30:00.000-06:00

I used to love to shop from store open to store close. However since I've become 80 the feeling no longer is there. Only when you take your sparked best runnin buddy does it make it worth while. I did get quite a bit done, but have quite a bit left too....

Gotta Love Spark

2008-11-08T06:38:00.001-06:00

OH spark. It's a wonderous invention. However not so wonderful when you take it everyday to stay focused and energized and your body becomes immune to it and then you give it to your best runnin buddy and you have to try so very hard to keep up with her because your little legs aren't moving 90 mile an hour like hers were. It was a sad sad day! Mental note: Get off spark at first of running season, get back on when best running buddy does.

There's Always Something to be Thankful for!

2008-11-07T06:40:00.000-06:00

I decided to blog on what I am thankful for today in spite of the recent events that have happened from the unfortunate election of Obama and the sad news of possible Conoco moves. I know this sounds like a blog I should be doing for Thanksgiving but I felt I should do this anyways.

First and foremost I am thankful that I have Jesus. I am thankful that He died for me, even though I am so not worthy. If you do not know Jesus you really should!! He's an awesome listener and redeemer. I'm thankful for Jackson, the most wonderful gift from God. I am thankful that he is always there and always knows just the right things to say and do. I am thankful for my 2nd most wonderful gift from God...my boys. I'm thankful for Jake and the ways he is so caring and sensitive and so creative. Stockton for living life to the fullest each and everyday. He can teach us all a thing or two about life. Having an incurable disease does that I suppose. But I am thankful to God for intrusting Stockton to us. I am thankful for my Mom for without her I wouldn't be here. love you mom. I am thankful for my cousin Lori! Secret twins at heart. I'm thankful for my inlaws. I am so thankful for all my friends. I am thankful for my oldest friend Jami that she has come to be the person I knew she always could be! I'm thankful for my 2nd oldest friend Suzanne and her always being there through out my life no matter what. I'm thankful for the miracle of those two precious baby boys she's carrying so well!! I'm thankful for Jasper and being so patient with my learning of the Bible and being a great running partner and being able to calm pretty much anything I need calmed. I'm thankful for my loud friend Julie and just simply being her loud funny self and calling each other 20 times a day and being able to hang up on a whim when one of us gets busy. I'm thankful to have gotten to know Laurie and can't wait to learn more from that funny woman! I'm thankful for Cindy and our learning to run together and becoming the friends we always will be.

I'm thankful for the little things: the smell of a fresh cut hay field, horses, farms, scrapbooking, laughing, Arkalalah, shopping, baking, cooking, gardens, laughing, girls trips, Twilight, tattoos, fellowships, movies, dj'ing in the car and probably driving everyone else crazy, sitting close, electric blankets, running 8, 9, 10 or 11 or more miles and the feeling you have after, when you know you just ran that far, running and having something to talk about the entire time, good run days where you feel like you could go forever, diving in Cozumel and looking at your computer when you've accidentally gone down to 94 feet, the fish that you see and the sharks you hope to not see, laughing so hard and it getting caught on camera, being totally and madly in love with a husband that adores me, bunko, trying to beat the Julie Brietzke of golf, laughing so hard at blogs that you are crying, crying at others because they were gracious enough to share that with you, blogging everyday for the month of November, turning leaves, snow, sushi, facebook, Beth Moore Bible studies, Sun n Fun, and having a good tan. I am sure I could go on all day, maybe that will be what I do for my Thanksgiving blog. I am thankful for every single person in my family and life. Thanks for everything and everyone that is apart of it.

Running update.

2008-11-06T08:23:00.000-06:00

We have about 38 days left until our next 1/2 marathon and since I have to blog every single day I decided to blog on how Jasper and I have been doing. Tonight we run our 9 miles. Last week we ran our 8 and felt super other than a few sore areas we didn't feel like it was hopeless. So with that said I feel I need to go back a few weeks and talk about why we felt like it was hopeless.

Last year when we were training for the 1/2 marathon Jasper got horrible shin splints and back pain. She continued to run but was done immediatly after the race. She went and saw the wonderful dr we both go see and he fixed her right up. I have had knee pain off and on the entire time I've been running and I've just chalked it up to bad knees. I was oh so wrong. This go round my right inside knee just would throb the entire run and after for hours. So I went to Jaspers miracle worker (the chiropractor). He told me that the knee pain was because my hips were not centered and my feet were all jacked up, okay so maybe he didn't say those words exactly but you get my drift. So he gives me about 13 exercises to do twice a day. So long story short my hips are where they are suposed to be and my feet are much better, I haven't had knee pain in 2 weeks and I am down to doing the exercises only once a day.

We are getting pumped about the Dallas White Rock and hope that we feel the same wonderful feel we did last time. Just if the weather cooperates and it's 45 and not 85. Here's a picture of us last year after we were done, notice how happy Jasper and I were...Cindy however wasn't feeling as spunky as we were. Hopefully this year we ALL look happy at the end.

Halloween

2008-11-05T07:45:00.000-06:00

Halloween seemed to come and go so quickly. I still have 3 pumpkins sitting on my porch waiting to be carved. Guess they'll end up Thanksgiving themes.

This year for Halloween Jake initially wanted to be a mummy. I unwillingly agreed. I went out and bought a white sheet, tea stained it, and then proceded to rip it to shreds.

The boys are in Awanas and have been since they were old enough to go and this year they let the kids dress up for Wednesday night. Oh were they excited. So I take off early to go start on Jake's costume. I got about one and a half arms done and I had had it! So I brought him up to the office and my wonderful mother in law finished him up for me. Of course after she had to unwind my bang up job. It took her 2 hours but Jake was very patient. By the time it was over we had all unanimously decided we weren't doing that again. I am sad to admit this, but I have no photo to share of the mummy that Janie so willingly created! Yes I know...horrible.

So for the rest of the two dress up days he was Karate Kid and Stockton was still a Cowboy. And what a cute cowboy he was:

And here's Jake in the new and improved (meaning super easy to get on and off) costume:

They ended up with a lot of candy that we still have over half of, but fun was had all around!!

One of the most wonderful days of Jake's life and ours as parents!

2008-11-04T14:45:00.000-06:00

Jake and I were discussing the other day different things in the Bible and the subject of angels and demons came up. We were discussing the different things each does, etc. He asked me if a demon could get inside of you and I replied only if you aren't a Christian. I believe that if the Holy Spirit lives inside of you there is no room for evil to dwell there also! Now this doesn't mean it can't attach itself to you but that's a whole other story.

1 John 4:4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

So Jake asked how he could keep that from happening and I said by believing that Christ died for your sins and now lives in your heart. He said oh I do and I have for a long time now, and then he got this sad look on his face and said but I haven't been baptized. I asked him why he hadn't told me this before and he said he had told other people, oops should have told your mom dude! :) So of course we keep talking and I asked why did Christ die for us and he answered for our sins. So we went on about that and what sins were and what it meant to be saved and so forth. I asked him if he was ready to go down front at Church and he said yes he was! So wonderful. God is good!! We are so proud and blessed. I was not baptized until I was 20 and I wanted my children to have so much more and know Jesus early on in life so they can make better decisions than I did. I know this doesn't make one perfect, by all means, I am not claiming I am perfected, however I do try to strive for it and with God's strength that He gives us we can move thru this world knowing we have a secure place, thru His son Jesus, up in Heaven!!

John 3:16-17 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. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him!

AMEN!! What a wonderful feeling to know that my son will be right up there with Jackson and I when the time comes. Stockton and I have discussed this alot lately because I do not want him to not know and he knows as well! So awesome.

The long awaited Arkalalah blog...

2008-11-03T12:33:00.000-06:00

Arkalalah came and went so fast this year and I missed the parade again. However running 7 miles and standing in a crowd of thousands just doesn't sound like that should follow the other. So needless to say I just went to our annual girls night out. Which was more than enough fun!!

The girls that went with me have all been to Arkalalah except Laurie, this was her first year and I do believe she had a good time:

Although she is from Arkansas she still has all her teeth, the chocolate covered cheesecake was a hit if you can't tell! :)

I have been going to Arkalalah since I was a baby. I can't remember a time not going (except for maybe when I lived in Tennessee for 2 years) at least to something that they have in the week of festivities. So we have made Thursday night a girls trip to Arkalalah. And boy oh boy do we have a good time...

We leave right after work and drive down there...this year Nephew and I were the dj's for the trip, they probably won't ask us to do it again next year...gotta love some Sir Mix Alot and Vanilla Ice every now and again. We arrived in Ark City and first thing we do is scope out what we want to eat first. My favorite thing to eat at Arkalalah is a bierock. So Yummy!!!

No idea what was so funny though. So on we go after the oh so yummy bierock stop to find what everyone else wanted. Jasper and I decided to split some fried pickles. She really thought they needed ketchup, I however was fine with the ranch they had given us, so we start scouting out a place that has some ketchup. Low and behold we found some or should I say "our retarded friend Jasper" found some:

She went running over, screaming about the ketchup and people all just stared, oh my it was so funny. So we had to savor the moment by the above picture. :)

After we got the initial food we decided to walk around the carnival and look at all the rides that no one would ride with me. :( When we were done there I of course if you know me had to go to the bathroom. Porta potties do not bother me one bit so off I go. Julie however thought the moment needed to be captured:

SO on we went after that wonderful experience to hunt down our favorite food stand of all...the chocolate covered cheesecake!! After the cheesecake was the hot chocolate...it was so cold that night. Here we are waiting at the hot chocolate stand being a bit goofy...

And I have no idea what I was thinking but this picture of Laurie and I totally cracks me up!!

And then Jasper and I patiently waiting for our hot chocolate, I do love my running partner!

And one of Nephew and I...if you've ever been around us, we are constantly in tears from laughing...I don't even think we know half the time what exactly we are laughing at...

All in all I am sure you can tell it was a funfilled evening that we will do years to come! I will leave you with the last event of the night...yes I had to go the the bathroom yet once again...and this time it was a new potty! They decided to make it a camera moment yet again. The first one is Laurie not agreeing obviously in my choice of restrooms and then the lovely exit is the next one.

It will be a much anticipated fun time for next year!

Gotta love Family Picture Day

2008-11-02T18:16:00.000-06:00

So today Jasper and I decided it would be a good family picture day. We are always aware of how our husbands are ready to go and the children get a little annoyed, or vice versa. So why we do try to hurry and not be so picky we get some funny ones in the mean time:

Luke really wanted to be in the picture :)

Here's one of Jasper and I, gotta love friend pics!!!

And another one, you know the ones where you can't quit laughing and she just happens to capture it on camera!!

But I got her back...:)

All in all I think we got some good pics...however Jasper....we forgot to take pics of just the kiddos...oops.

Oh the Pressure!!!!

2008-11-01T10:10:00.000-05:00

Well I was just informed this morning during our 8 miles that Jasper is putting out a blog the month of November challenge. I do love a good challenge so here we go!

Arkalalah

2008-10-21T07:47:00.001-05:00

For all of my life I've been attending Arkalalah in some way. It starts with concessions I believe today (Tues), then they have a super cool light parade on Wednesdays, but since I am a leader in Awanas we have missed it for the past 3 years, and then Thursday has become a girls trip for a few of us (oh so fun), Friday is usually the kiddie parade, and Saturday around 2 is always the big 2 hour parade. It's loads of fun. I haven't been to the big parade in a couple years. I think the last time I went Jake was 4. Here he is in it with my dad.

So you see it's been about 5 years. I am hoping to go this year to the big parade. We go down after work on Thursday and eat, walk around, possibly ride some good ole carnival rides, and eat some more. Cheesecake on a stick comes to mind! :) I can't wait for this Thursday to experience it again and welcome a newbee into the annual trip. Laurie I hope you enjoy it!!! Here's a pic of us last year.

A couple girls can't go this year for prior engagements , hopefully they can join us again next year. We goina have some fun!!!! ;) Check back Friday hopefully I have the new blog posted for this year!!

Twilight saga sadness

2008-10-03T10:30:00.000-05:00

So I've been longing for more of my Twilight stories involving Edward and Belle. The books ended fine and all, it's just they could have kept going and had more and more stories, but no she ended it in 4 books. While they were 4 long books and each book kept getting longer by about 100 pages or so, it's still sad that it's done. So right now the few of us that have read it are counting down until the movie comes out November 21st. We will be there no matter what for that first night!!! Probably standing in line like the giddy teenagers we no longer are. :)

Then there's the sad part about Midnight Sun. I do hope she recovers from whoever let her rough draft slip out into the public. There are so many of us, that why patience would have been short, would have gladly waited until it was completed. To hear Edwards side is so very necessary in my opinion. I hope she has better feelings about it and continues the story for our sake...right girls?!!

Maybe we should start making up our own continuation of the story...what would Alice be doing right now? Is Rosalie still a hag? uh yeah. Who is Emmett arm wrestling now? How big is Nessie? I could go on...oh the sadness.

More Beth realizations!!! God is so good!

2008-09-30T14:15:00.001-05:00

It's Tuesday so why not blog on the awesome realizations Beth Moore continues to move in me. God is awesome isn't He!!!! Oh He is.

So today we talked of friends and His spirit showing thru us since we weren't meant to blend in. I know many of you know that I have a son who has cystic fibrosis. He was diagnosed with this when he was 3 weeks old. I had so many people coming up to me wondering why I was so calm. I simply stated to them "what good would it do if I wasn't calm?" Nothing. Today Beth was talking about wanting to have the Lord's spirit shining out of us. And immediatly I thought of that moment in the Wendy's parking lot on 240 in OKC, when I found out about Stockton, I was very very calm. I immediatly remember feeling that it will be okay. He is in God's hands. I have to trust that there is a reason and to try to show how we can live to glorify God in this diagnosis. Don't get me wrong, I pray daily for his healing, but if that is not in God's will, I am willing to find out what he wants to do with this. Life isn't easy and it doesn't always revolve around what makes "us" happy. As Beth put it so well a couple weeks ago, "hearts easily buy into Satan's lies. Your heart often lies to you, just as my heart often lies to me. "Follow your heart" is the stuff of fairy tales and the stuff of many a nightmare." I believe that's alot of why some people don't become Christians or have a false understanding of it. God never said life would be full of rainbows and butterflies. People don't want to change or give up there desires.

(All verse's are out of the New Living Translation)

1 Corinthians 10:13 "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure."

James 1:2-4 "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing."

James 1:13-14 "And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, "God is tempting me." God is never tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.

I am not saying I submit to everything, it's a horrible daily struggle, and I fall often. But I know God is right there telling me to get up! I hope this helps someone in a struggle they may be facing. God is right there fighting for us:

Psalm 139:5 "You hem me in--behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me." As Beth put it so well: "He goes before us, follows behind us, and hems us safely inside the realm of His protection." WOW what an awesome image. He is right there! Ready and willing to fight for us!!!! He loves us so.

The other thing we talked about today was friendship. I've been struggling lately with friends. No one in particular just in general. I have had relationships in my life that have not stuck. I've had friends and family that have hurt me. The trust issue is very difficult for me. Beth talked today about "His willing friendship". No matter where we are in our lives or who happens to be in them at that moment we always have God right there willing to be our friend. In the big stuff and in the "small talk", the stuff that is so minor no one else but a true close friend would care about. We are so into having a physical body right there with you and not thinking of the spiritual one that is right there ALWAYS!!!! I love my friends more than they know. I try to be that person that is there always and I hope that they see that. There are different degrees of friends and we can't be bff's with everyone. But you know it's nice to know when you are feeling left out or forgotten by someone that God will never forget us. As Beth put it "that is why God created us: not because He needed us but because He wanted us. The act was based on the pleasure of His will. God doesn't just love us. He also likes us!!"

Forgiveness

2008-09-23T11:30:00.000-05:00

I had an astounding realization today thanks to Beth Moore. It was talking about getting rid of the bitterness in your life and of course you can only do this thru Jesus. She said in order to heal from the bitterness you need to start with forgiving. Then she says: which you think "if I forgive it's saying it was all right and it's not all right." She then says: let God whisper in your ear what He whispered to her: "No, My child; forgiving will make you all right." WOW what a thought. To forgive is for us...not for the person who did the hurting. To be more Christlike means we are to forgive and to forgive everyone for everything. Not to say it was okay no big deal but to say hey I am now okay and you are giving all so that He can put His all in you. If we can't forgive how can He forgive us?

Matthew 6:14-15 "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Scary thought. I can't imagine the place that is there for those who don't have Jesus in their hearts and lives, nor do I want to imagine that place. For if we are wrong in what we believe what have we to lose, but those who don't believe have everything to lose!

Running update/challenge to partner(s)

2008-09-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

So I was reading the other day about Jennifer Lopez competing in her first triathlon. I thought to myself...JLo did a triathlon...mmmm, I can do a triathlon, if she can. So I clicked on what her's consisted of and it said 1/2 mile swim, 18 mile bike ride, and a 4 mile run. Okay now, peice of cake! It took her 2 hrs and around 23 minutes I believe. If we can run a half marathon in 2 1/2 hrs who's saying we can't do that in that time as well. Where we would train for 1/2 mile swim sounds a little iffy but girls I so think this could be done. So I am challenging you two to think about this. Maybe next year or the next, but I would like to see us do this. You with me?

I am sooo excited about how our running is progressing. We've come back quickly from being off for so long. When we started we were averaging around 12 min miles. We are now averaging around 10.30 min miles. As Julie would say "WHAT'S UP!!!" We are feeling awesome with no injuries and we have one more week of our run/walk buildup before we are running the full mileage on our training schedule. We are still hoping the mojo from last year is there again. Keep cheering for us!!!!

Accountability.

2008-09-16T12:22:00.000-05:00

I am feeling the need to express a few things I learned today in Bible Study. I know that Beth may not of specifically hit this on the head in the session but I took this from one of the answers someone gave to a question on last weeks homework.

First off did you all know that Adam was suposed to guard the garden? God told him since he couldn't guard it, He would put His angels there to guard it. He said that the serpent never should have gotten to his wife. So wow...the serpent should have never been IN the garden. What a thought!!!

Okay my reason for writing, which may be sad to some, is not a funny subject. I feel the need to get rid of the negativity in my life. I have always been around people who are negative, from growing up, to my daily life. Even though I may not be able to change the people that I am around, I can however, with Jesus's help, not retain the negativity and push it off on others. I can try to be the positive one and maybe that will reflect on them. This is obviously not a guarantee that I will not slip, we are not perfect people, but we are to strive to be Christ like and negativity was not something He ever was. So here's where the accountability comes in. My partners in this, you two know who you are, please if you hear even the beginning of a negative statement coming from my lips, I beg you to bring it to my attention. I don't want to be like the people I know who are negative. I know how that negativity makes me feel, I don't want to make others feel that way. You know what I mean? This challenge is put out there to all who may have this problem. Wouldn't it be nice to squash something else of the devil? I sure think so!

First OU game experience.

2008-09-09T12:15:00.000-05:00

We were so glad, well, let me rephrase that...I was so glad when Jackson and I were invited to the OU game this past weekend. I have never been to a football game other than high school and I've wanted to go to an OU game for a very long time!!! So needless to say, when we were asked, I rearranged our schedule for Saturday. It was also our 11th anniversary so for me it was an awesome present, and even though Jackson is an OSU fan he did enjoy himself quite abit and I heard he yelled for OU as much as all the other fans! :)

We had awesome seats and got to go to the food thing, not sure what it's called. It was soooo cool. Big building filled with free food of all kinds, what wasn't to like!

We had an awesome parking space, that I will have to say did take some sacrifice to get to. We pulled in the area that led to the parking garage but they couldn't find Julie's name on the list. So the man says no problem just get it fixed for the next game and went ahead and let us thru, after first putting an orange dot on her car. We thought nothing of this. Well we wind our way thru campus and then we get waved into a stopped lane that a dog is currently sniffing a vehicle already parked there. I look at Julie and she's about as shocked as I was. We drive up after the other car is free to go and the cop knocks on her window and tells us to crack our doors and don't pet the dog. Oh nice...we are now being bomb searched. This was a great addition to the experience as we are sitting in this car, she really needs to get her windows tinted (HA), as people are walking by just staring. However I would rather be searched then them overlook something. We are free to go after what seemed like an hour (it was only about a minute) and we arrive at the parking garage. We find a great park and go on in.

The game was a good game. Everyone warned Jackson and I about it taking along time to get out of there after but it only took about 10 minutes. It was fantastic. We ended the day with dinner at Abuelos which is always good. It was a good 11th anniversary!!

The number 11.

2008-09-04T07:50:00.000-05:00

So in 2 days I will be married for 11 years. 11 years. I thought 10 was huge since it was double digits but 11 seems HUGE! I am so very blessed to have Jackson. He's a wonderful provider, hard worker, fabulous husband, and an awesome daddy. I look at other people's marriages and realize just how blessed I am. Some may have a fabulous husband but he's not such a good dad, or lazy or this list could go on. I, on the other hand, was blessed with a man who is great at everything he does; from his time in the military, to his family, to his job. I doubt Jackson will read this but if he did he'd be totally embarrassed. I, however, am not and am so proud to be his wife!

We got married young. I was 18 and he was 20. He was already enlisted in the Army and stationed at Ft Campbell, KY. My grandma drove me down there the day I turned 18, literally that day, in June of 97. We were married 3 months later by a justice of the peace. She was probably in her late 60's early 70's and offered to marry us in her home so we could have a better setting then the courthouse. She was so sweet. It cost less than $50 and took less than 5 minutes. I would have loved to had a big wedding, but looking back, I wouldn't change a thing.

A lot of stuff happens in 11 years. He served his 3 years in the Army and we moved back to Ponca March of 99, had Jake Sept 99, Stockton Feb 03. We've had our ups and downs, but who hasn't? It's been an awesome 11 years.

I looked up what the gift ideas were for 11 years and traditional is steel. Exactly what does that mean? Modern is jewelry (not a jewelry girl, he's probably thankful for that). And place was New York City. Now that'd be fun! :) Flowers associated with the 11th anniversary are morning glories. The Gemstone list shows Hematite and Turquoise. I went ahead and looked up ideas for steel, maybe some girls are okay with this but it sounds funny to me. Some gift ideas are cutlery, stainless steel toaster, and steel oriented gifts (said to search Amazon.com) so funny to me. I also looked up why they chose those gemstones and here's what it said.

{Turquoise: This stone stands for success in Love and is said to keep it's colour only when in sympathy with its wearer. Should the wearer change their affection the stone fades from blue to a greenish tint. Hematite is a type of Iron Ore. It is said to enhance personal magnetism, will and courage. Some people also believe it is beneficial for blood flow, stress and the nerves.}

I love the blood flow, stress and nerves part. What are they really trying to say? HA.

When we were first married and I was totally in love. I couldn't have imagined that 11 years from then I would be more in love. I am excited to see how big it grows 20 years from now.

Voted most likely too...

2008-08-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

The other day on the radio they were having a call in on what you were voted most likely too...in high school. I personally have fullfilled 1 1/2 of my most likely's the first one being most likely to marry a soldier, check and the second one was most likely to get a full body tattoo, although I will never do full body, I add to my collection yearly. I can't remember very many from what was being said on the radio but here are some of the ones I found hilarious so far are:

Most likely to break down and cry in their cubicle for no apparent reason
Most likely to scream "There's not enough cheese!!!" in a crowded shopping mall
Most likely to parachute into Moscow wired with explosives
Most likely to get arrested without pants
Most likely to have seven ex-wives by the 10 year reunion
Most Likely to Marry a Plastic Surgeon and Look Younger at the 20 Year Reunion than at the 10 Year Reunion

Those are a few I found oh so funny, I especially like the last one. :)

Memories

2008-08-29T09:26:00.000-05:00

My bff from high school and I were discussing the other day random memories from back when we used to sit in class and go off into a story about nothing really and draw pictures to go with these stories. We have a story called Pushcololiti Head Land that could easily be on the children's best selling books. I don't know where our illustrations have gone off to, but I am pretty sure I can easily lay my hands on the story. I sometimes wonder if we should have just been children's book writers from all the crazy imaginings we would come up with. We have since quit writing pictures for our stories, but it doesn't stop us from still trying to make up stories to lighten the work day. Maybe someday we'll be seen on the children's book author list. One can only hope...right Suz?

The beginning of the training.

2008-08-23T22:17:00.000-05:00

Well I thought I'd blog on the beginning of our training season. This will be my 4th 1/2 marathon and my goal is to have the best time. A little background from the last 3 races...the 1st one I ran with Cindy in Oklahoma City and it was okay for our 1st one. 2nd race I ran with Cindy and Julie in Dallas and it was PHENOMENAL!!!!! We felt super awesome (well most of us felt super awesome...luv u C :) ) and we got about the same time as before but the feeling with this one was just awesome! We thought it was going to be in the 80's and we weren't so pumped but then God was so very kind to us and it was in the 40's. It again was just awesome! So then there's the 3rd one...well lets just say it was not my best run. My running partner was injured and my other running partner lives roughly 568 miles away. So training was done with my oh so wonderful husband who instead of running with me biked beside me on my long runs. I did some and I do say some of the short runs alone. The rest I just skipped. I'd been running for a year and a half pretty regularly why can't I do this one with less training...well I was wrong...oh so wrong. I did however get about the same time as my last two but it was the worse running day/race ever! So that all said my goal for this race is to get our best time yet...yes girls I am making this your goal too...which I already know it is, and for us to feel so very awesome once again in Dallas with another super cool run day. However there is only one rule: no giving blood or any other bodily fluids for that matter. They changed the last 5K and we are super pumped to learn how much faster it really is. 111 days and counting...

The First Blog

2008-08-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

Not sure what this blogging will have in store but I was talked into it and thought how hard could blogging random thoughts be...Guess we will see.

I don't have many blogging friends hopefully more will join but the two I do have on here their blogs are fun to read. One blogs about her children and we all find out time and time again what a wonderful mother she continues to be and my other friend blogs random funniness and I look forward to reading both their blogs daily.

My blog will probably end up being a blog of randomness. I'm goina start my first blog about one of my favorite things to do...diving. I haven't got to go diving this year but it doesn't keep me from wishing we could. I have only been a certified diver for a little over a year now but I do enjoy it so. Last year Jackson and I planned a cruise for our 10 year anniversary. On the cruise he wanted to dive in Cozumel. He however was already certified. So I had to get certified or no cruise. I was very reluctant. All I keep thinking about was what kind of shark was going to eat me...something like this was what I thought would be the death of me:

So needless to say I was a little scared of the whole big ocean dive. But I kept getting told no cruise if I don't dive, well hello I wanted to go on this cruise.

So Cookson, OK here we came. I was enrolled in a 3 day course all by myself. I say all by myself because I didn't know anybody. Luck was on my side and it was a small class and there was a couple getting certified and we became quick friends. First half of the first day was spent in the classroom...learning that the chance of sharks biting you was very slim. Still not convinced it was time for the pool diving. Oh boy here came the wet suit. Now if you've never worn a wet suit let me tell ya it ain't no walk in the park. You have to squeeze yourself into this thing that barely covers half of you when it's NOT on. We all managed to get into them and get our gear on and into the pool we went. You know breathing under water isn't normal. It's to me one of the hardest things to get used to. I of course was the person the instructor got mad at because instead of breathing normal I instead hyperventialted and had to stop. I finally got the hang of it and after we did our many different remove the mask, blow the water out of the mask, etc etc we got to swim around the 13 ft pool. Now we're talkin! So that was it for the first day.

The 2nd day we spent more time in the pool and then after lunch was time to hang with the fish. Lake Tenkiller is a spot divers go because of the 8 ft visability. However last year it was some 30 ft deeper than usual and the visability was more like 3 ft. So our first exercise was to decend down 30 ft holding onto a rope the whole way. Everything is so dirty and boy was it chilly. We made it down there but freaky let me tell ya. This is what it looked like in the water:

So after we swam around this platform at 30 ft we were done for the day.

3rd day was a part play day. We had to learn to use the compass first and then we got to explore the "sunken treasure". There was a bus, plane, boats and probably other stuff. I get the go ahead to go diving with Jackson and his dad. You are always told to keep a buddy. Jackson obviousley would be my chosen buddy. However he forgot that I had no idea where I was going and would get 4 ft away and he was gone. Freaked me out...he'll tell you he never thought he could get chewed out under water until then. :) After he realized to stay near we found a bus. A bus 40 ft down and in only 3 ft of visibility sneaks up on you pertty quick. Freaked me out. This is not normal. We saw the bus, I had enough of that in about 2 seconds and was ready to get away from whatever could come swimming out of the bus...again not normal. So we are swimming along looking at stuff on the bottom and there's all these perch. I hold out my finger and one bites it over and over, so funny. We keep decending deeper and there was a boat on it's side. Jackson motions for me to swim around to the other side and I about lost it. There on the other side was this manican with a white mask on. Needless to say I didn't stay there long. So we were just about out of air and it was time to do our timed ascent to the top. We made it and I passed luckily.

This of course was me before the compass test. :)

The ocean dive is a whole other story...I wasn't eaten by a shark obviousley.