Sunday, June 24, 2007

try, try again

We tried church again today - we made it only the first hour though...between my allergies (nasty, stupid pollen) and all the TALKING going on I just couldn't take anymore.

Now I know we don't have kids and so we are not experts on how to keep your kids behaved during church...but we have been to church with neices and nephews MANY times and seen MANY other parents with kids and have noticed a lot (afterall we weren't distracted by children, since we still don't have any). I remember our neices/nephews having little books to read and snacks and such...but they were (for the most part) generally well-behaved during church...now I know that you can't expect a small child to sit through over an hour of an adult meeting sitting perfectly still unless you have administered a tranquilizer before hand...and I know really young ones are tough...they are still learning the difference between indoor and outdoor voices and the have so much energy - those I understand... but having an all out battle with Lord of the Rings action figures or Soap Opera scale barbie happenings in the middle of the sacrament?!? Maybe, (and once again I am just speculating because of our lack of sacrament meeting parenting skills) just maybe those type of toys should be left at home...

I think parents should be able to teach their kids the importance and reverence of prayer...to sit quietly, fold their arms and NOT YELL during the appx 1.5min prayer....I remember Nathan's sister and hubby teaching their daughter to pray when she was LITTLE...like less than one year old! Now I know that kids that little don't understand all that is going on - but they learn quick and if they learn that this is important and special, they will cooperate most of the time...and then once they are older they will repect prayers because it is what they were ALWAYS taught to do...



I really tried today to go with an open mind, because I WANT to love going to church again...I miss looking forward to church, I did in Newport (for the most part - there were those days though...and the occasional psycho person, but overall...) If it is going to be like this I think I am going to pull my hair out ( and maybe strangle some parent who is participating in the Lord of the Rings battle or Barbie soap opera...)

Help me out here, those of you who have kids...is it really that hard to keep kids quiet during church meetings? Have any of you had experiences with noisy meetings? What did you do to not get distracted?



(Please don't think I am trying to be overtly rude...I AM NOT...and if it comes off that way I am sorry) :)

Friday, June 22, 2007

Crazy Family

This is a video of Nathan's mom and sisters singing at the reunion a few weeks back...man I almost peed my pants, they are so funny....my favorite part is at the end when one of them says "No, that's enough!"

Those blasted Pirates are at it again!!!

Just had to share...I almost choked on the water I was drinking when I saw this!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Adoption update

So I contacted the lady from that agency...and she seemed really nice. Told me that the twins I asked about hadn't been placed yet and that if we got our home study done asap and got our paperwork to her we could likely adopt them.

I did some research because I don't want our over-zealousness to burn us in the end. I got 6 books from the library and started reading...come to find out in California (where the twins are) a birthmother has 90 days to revoke consent for an adoption...are you freakin kidding me...?!?90 days!?!?? PLUS the girl is 14...and statistics have shown that the younger a birthmother is the more likely she is to keep the baby(or babies) and try to raise them - and the older (like older than 18,19) she is the more likely she is to have her baby (or babies) adopted... I have thought about this statistic so much and it is so suprising...and sad.

So we will not be pursuing these babies...if the birthmother wants to keep them (even if it is against what her family wants) I don't want her to give them to us and then change her mind 90 days later...I think that would just about kill me (us).


It also looks like the adoption thing will be put on the back burner for a bit...I am trying to pick up a second job to earn some money to work harder at paying off our debt so we will 'look better' financially for the application process...plus there is almost no way we could adopt while Nathan is still in school and I am working full time to put him through and pay the bills...

It is funny how things go in waves...we get so excited for something and then overnight it all changes. Like the night before last on the news I saw that taking a baby aspirin can aid in reducing miscarriage, buy thickening the lining of the uterus...and I got all excited and thought about buying a bunch of baby aspirin and then I thought...what's the use, until I get PCOS straightened out aspirin isn't going to help one bit.

Well I had better get back to work...I just needed to take a break, all the numbers were beginning to look the same.

tata for now...

more Bear Lake

Kinda funky...but this is me with my marshmallow stick ... we tried the new Strawberry marshmallows...they make the BEST S'mores when you use chocolate graham crackers...mmmm




Marie is such a dork...she was trying to get in the tent and tripped...sound like anyone else you know?!?



Adam and Nathan making an excellent breakfast over the fire. There is just something about cooking over a fire that makes it taste better... :)mmmmm




This is a picture taken off the boat ramp...I couldn't believe the color of the lake that day...I mean, it is always a pretty teal-ish, aqua blue...but this was just incredible...now I know why they call it the Caribbean of the Rockies!




When we got to the lake the picnic table had spider webs on it and I HATE spiders so I made Nathan and Adam carry it out into the lake to rinse it off... They were awfully good sports about it. :)



Right before we left the lake we took a few photos...the pic of the four of us was taken then. This is a photo of me, Nathan and my brother Brad...or B-rad as he likes to be called...we are just a bunch of nerds.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Bear Lake...again :)

Our friends Adam and Marie moved from RI and stopped to see us on the way to their new destination. We went camping Friday night and spent Saturday at Bear Lake...I know, again...but I'm telling ya, Bear Lake is awesome and I LOVE it!

Aren't we so cute??

Monday, June 11, 2007

Stomach Flu

Well, Bear Lake was ok...except for when we pulled back into town I got almost immediatly sick...we cruised home and I walked in the house - straight to the bathroom and started puking my guts out.

I was up every hour or so all night alternating 'ends' (for lack of a less graphic term)...I threw up everything I had eaten all day Sunday and through the night I had sipped on a Coke and ice chips, but ended up throwing them up too...

So my question is: how do I stay hydrated with the Stomach Flu...I am dying of thirst, but last night at one point while I thought I was safe I drank like 3oz of super cold water, and them puked it up within minutes...I've tried taking a Pepto, but I can't keep it down.

To add insult to injury...I got burned on my back. I did suncreen myself, but only once on my back, because we spent a lot of time in the car driving around the lake because the wind was blowing so hard...so I think that is making me extra thirsty...

So what do I do? Any home remedies out there? (It needs to be something I can do at work because I'm there today)

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Just another day

The weather here has been super chilly - and LOTS of rain. One of the weather people actually predicted snow, but luckily it didn't - I would be pretty mad if the tomato plants I have tried SO HARD not to kill were killed by snow :(

We finally have health insurance!! The cards came on Friday and I looked it over, now I just need to make an appointment, but I have to find a good Dr. first.

It is kinda funny, I was so excited to get health insurance because it brought us one step closer to adoption, but if I stay home after we adopt (which I want to) then our insurance goes away ...and Nathan doesn't work enough hours during the school year to carry insurance at his job - or to make enough $ to pay the bills if I do stay home.

So for now it seems that we are no closer to adoption than we were a year ago :( Not to mention we have to come up with the $20K-$30K to do the adoption. We can go through our church for lots less but I have had friends wait for YEARS in their system, waiting to be 'chosen' by a birth mother...that's why I like foreign adoptions, once you're approved you just wait your turn. Not that I don't think people wouldn't like us, but I have checked out the competition and we are not comparable - on paper & photos at least - I mean, neither one of us have our degree, we're in heavy debt, I have mental problems, I'm fat, Nathan's bald...


In happy news, my friend Ryann's hubby came home from Iraq yesterday...she and her girls decorated their home all cute for his homecoming....you can check it out, just click on Ryann on the side menu. We met Ryann and Terry when we lived in Virginia Beach years ago and we have kept in contact. She even sent me flowers a couple months back when we lost the baby - she is so sweet and such a good friend. I got to hold her oldest, Em, when she was just days old...she was such a beautiful baby. It is crazy to see her so big now!

Well I need to get back to the grind...hope you all have a happy non-Grey's thursday.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Patio

I know I said I would have pics of the patio with the gazebo up and I planned on taking them after work today, but the weather turned nasty and what good is a picture of a beautiful gazebo if the sky behind it is all nasty grey and black??!?

So hopefully within the next day or so it will clear up enough to take one.

If you get a sec, check out the link on the side menu about Jenny and Scott...Jenny is an old friend of mine from back in my drumline days...we were drummer chicks together...she moved to Oregon and got married to Scott and now they are hard core biker kids...and they are riding 5,000 to raise awareness for Thirst Relief. It is a pretty cool thing, I can't imagine spending months living off a bike and sleeping on the ground...they will be super buff by the end though!


I fear the morning glory is going to choke out our peas and beans in the garden...darned stuff just won't go away and we think we have it and it just comes back...grrr...

Well, off to bed I go - Winston needs his snuggle buddy :)

Monday, June 04, 2007

Click every day

Just a side note - any of you who visit just today - or every day. There is a link on the side that says 'Click Once A Day'...it is a site that funds free mammograms for women who cannot afford it...the sponsors give $ for each time the little pink button is clicked...so everytime you stop by, click over and help this worthy cause...it is FREE and it only takes like 13 seconds.


Bear Lake

Nathan has been wanting to buzz his head for a while...and I told him he could after the wedding (no funky hair-don'ts for permanent wedding photos...) so Brad helped him do it before we headed up to the lake.

Blaine in his cute little chair...He is not even a year but has already figured out to turn on the charm for the camera - what a ham...


Bryce - the 'master chef' cooking burgers on the grill



Shanna and Blaine - he is a momma's boy - cute little stink

Brad and Nathan playing in the water - you can't see it too well, but Brad is trying to surf on a little inflatable boat ...nerd - this isn't the best picture, but it show how pretty the lake is so I had to use it :)

ALERT THE PRESS!!!

We went to church today....and (at least by 10:40PM) Hell hasn't frozen over! hehehe

We spent yesterday at Bear Lake - one of my favorite places on earth - with my brother who just got married, his wife and baby, her sister and hubby and my other brother... We had SUCH a good time and Blaine (the baby) should be a fish, he was so stinkin cute playing in the water (which was FREEZING) and the sand.

After we left the lake they all came over to our place and we hung out in the gazebo and roasted marshmallows...I did pretty good in the burn department...only a bit pink on my legs and feet...my brother and poor Blaine got toasted.

But I got up this morning, well more like afternoon because it was around 12:15 when I joined the world of the living...and I thought about going to church, so we went and it was, well, honestly?? I didn't have that nice of a time...I tried with all my might to stay positive, but it just sucked too much. We'll have to try again in a week and see if it is better. I just hate the hypocrisy of people - the ones who spew religious sermons from their mouths and yet their daily actions are far from Christ-like... (not that I am perfect...far from it, mind you) People who think they are better than others JUST because of the church they go to on Sunday, THAT makes me nuts.

Anyway, enough of the vent...so we did get to see a couple that we hadn't seen since like Halloween....they adopted a little girl just a year ago (in fact she turned one this last week) and she is adorable and she sat on my lap for a bit and when I got home tonight Ann (the mommy) had sent me the links for some adoption agencies...there were 4 or 5 and I went through all of them and when I opened the link for the last one my heart started beating faster and my palms and feet got all sweaty and I got this anxious feeling in the middle of my tummy...all nervous/excited...

You know, I want a new car...I mean I really WANT a new car - and not just any car - a convertible...a Ford Mustang, Audi TT, or 325i BMW but I would take a baby over a new car in a heartbeat.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Catch-up...yet again

So I have been a slacker...we have been busy and then I have been just lazy too

We have been working in the yard - planting the garden and flowers, etc. We bought one of those metal gazebo thingy's and we put that up on Memorial Day...I really like it - I'll try to take a pic tomorrow and post it. The inside of the house has suffered a bit though...since we've been outside so much, but that's ok, we'll get to it this weekend hopefully.

I am pretty excited for the garden, we planted 5 types of tomatoes, cucumbers, spaghetti squash, peas, lima beans, watermelon, 2 types of peppers and 2 types of string beans. We'll see if we can get to harvest without killing most of the plants.

We have the nicest backyard neighbor - She is from Germany and we have gotten to know her a little bit more over the last week or so because of spending more time outdoors and she is great...she did tease us a bit about the MASSIVE (and I am not exaggerating) weeds we had growing in the back yard last year...but she is glad to see we are putting all this effort in too.

We are still adjusting...it is hard to believe that we have been here for one year...it seems just like yesterday I was planning the Annual Dinner at the Chamber... We have not adjusted completely...we really only know 2 neighbors...and we don't really know anyone from church (I guess it would help if we went regularly)...but I have gotten all the back ways to work down and figured out which grocery stores are the best for which types of food...and so I guess things aren't as bad as they could be...(heaven forbid I don't know where to find Hoisin Sauce!)

I am going to try to form a book group - the first month or so might be kinda small, but hopefully it will grow and I can make some good friends out of it. The first book we are reading is My Sister's Keeper (which is really good by the way).

Wedding

My little brother got married last week...I need to get some pics from someone else because mine are not that good...plus I only got like 10...

This one is pretty funny...that's the twin of the brother who got married...and me (in the red) Shanna (bride) and Emma (yellow) line dancing to Boot Scootin' Boogie - because we're basically a bunch of hicks...sorta

Brad didn't really know what he was doing, so most of the time I was trying to avoid running into him...nerd

When you click on the pic and see me upclose I am making a super funny face...double nerd

This is me and my mommy...the bridesmaids were in Popsicle dresses (so nicknamed by me and Michelle and Emma) I wore red (obviously), Emma yellow and Michelle HOT pink (the three girls from Shanna's side wore one of each color too) I'll try to get a pic of my sexy hot shoes...4" white stilettos (ya, I'm crazy...but hey I'd do almost anything for sexy hot shoes!!)
..Then the 3 moms (Shanna's real mom, step mom and my mom) each wore one of the colors...funny that my mom wore red too :)