The World of Pam

My Blog Has Moved!!!

2009-01-23T16:33:00.002-06:00

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I have moved my blog over to WordPress. You can now catch up with me at http://oupamrobe.wordpress.com

I haven't been happy with Blogger's features for a while, so I made the change and I think it's much better. I hope to see you over there. Leave me a comment while you're there so I know people have made the change!

Thanks for keeping up with me.

Change is... better

2009-01-09T16:15:00.002-06:00

Okay. I feel better now. I reverted to a classic blogger template that probably a million people have, but I didn't have to change my widgets over or anything else, so this will do for a while.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the National Chamionship game last night sucked? Because it did. The Sooners so should have won. Stinkin' Gators.

Yuck.

2009-01-06T22:46:00.003-06:00

Okay, so after Christmas I needed to change my blog background since it was Rudolph. This led me to an exhaustive search for a FREE blogger template. I mean, I design stuff for heaven's sake, I don't want to pay for someone else to design stuff... I just need to know how to do the whole HTML thing. In the meantime, I want a pretty, free template. Problem is... I'm picky. I can't find anything I really like. So, I saw the thumbnail of this background and thought, oh, this will do. Now I hate it. It's not me. And I already put all my widgets back on. Now I will suffer with it for a while, but just so you know... I don't like it.

There's my rant for the day.;)

Big Day!

2009-01-01T13:06:00.002-06:00

Luke had the best New Year's Eve a 5-year-old could ask for. You see, Luke's been wondering forever why all his friends are losing their teeth and he's not. Then, last night all of a sudden Luke yells, "I've got a loose tooth!"

Then, just 45 minutes later, we're in the car on the way to dinner and he says, "I lost my tooth!" I turn around and he's cracking up because he just pulled one over on me. Not 2 minutes ater, he says it again. Me: "Yeah, right. Stop messing around." Luke: "For real, mom! I lost my tooth!" And sure enough. He lost his tooth. I think it was the shortest span of a loose tooth in history, but Luke's pretty happy about it and Payt claims to be proud of him.

I hope your new year starts off well, too!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T21:40:00.002-06:00

Merry Christmas blog friends! I hope yours was as good as ours. This year was so much fun... the boys were really into opening their presents and playing with all their new loot. They were so cute!

To back up a little, the night before Christmas Eve Payt got sick and was up all night with a tummy ache. He finally threw up around 8:30 am and felt much better. Then that night (Christmas Eve) we went to my mom and dad's house for a family get together- our traditional Christmas Eve chili dinner. My brother and sister and their families were all there, so the boys had a great time playing with their cousins. They were ready to get home, though, and put out milk and cookies for Santa, which they promotly did and went to bed. We didn't hear from them again until 7:15 Christmas morning! When they woke up they were in awe of all the wonderful things Santa left them. We spent the morning opening lots of toys and getting ready to have Nana & Gramps, Uncle Buzz and fam over for lunch. Buzz and his family couldn't stay long after lunch, but my mom and dad did and we played Mexican Train dominoes all afternoon! Then in the evening we went to see the "dancing" Christmas lights in Norman. It was a great day, but I was drained and went to bed as soon as we got home... at 8:30!

I hope you all had a great Christmas and wonderful plans for New Year's!

TAG! I'm It!

2008-12-19T23:09:00.004-06:00

Jenny tagged me on her blog, so here I go:

8 TV Shows I watch:

1. C.S.I

2. C.S.I. NY

3. E.R. (do you see an initial theme here?)

4. The Mentalist

5. Private Practice

6. Criminal Minds (probably my fav)

7. Dancing With the Stars

8. The Unit

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Tarahumara's

2. Ted's

3. Saltgrass

4. Outback

5. Musashi

6. Pepe Delgados

7. Pei Wei

8. Cheesecake Factory

8 Things That Happened Today:

1. Made Christmas cookies with my Mom and the boys

2. Ate at Rodney's Pizza in Purcell

3. Slept in til 10 am!!!

4. Went shopping

5. Tried to mail Christmas cards (note the "tried"... sorry your card will be late!)

6. Wrapped Christmas presents for our Angel Tree family

7. Sang Christmas songs with the kids

8. Took presents to the kids' teachers

8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Mailing my Christmas cards (sorry again)

2. Christmas morning watching the kids open presents

3. Spending time with all my family

4. Time with friends

5. Reading good books

6. Vacations

7. Watching my kids try and succeed at new things

8. OU Football and Basketball games

8 Things I Wish For:

1. World Peace (All I can think of is Miss Congeniality on this question)

2. A different house

3. A swimming pool

4. A boat

5. Health for my friends and family

6. A maid

7. A cook

8. To know what I want to do when I grow up ;)

Phew... I think that's it. Now I tag Michelle (I second Jenny), Jessica (a new baby can't be keeping you busy), Jenny R., and Brooke!

10 Fantastic Years!

2008-12-17T23:21:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the blog silence... I've been in a whirlwind for the past month with the 3-Day, holidays, and now, my 10th anniversary trip to Vail with Todd! We spent 4 1/2 wonderful, fun-filled days in Vail. We went shopping in Vail Village and Lionshead, Todd went skiiing while I went to the spa and enjoyed a manicure and pedicure. Todd joined me later and we had a hot stone massage... can I just say "AWESOME!"??? We also got to go snowmobiling for a couple of hours one day, which was sooo much fun! It was bitterly cold that day- the high was 16 degrees in Vail, which is about 8,100 feet above sea level, but we went snowmobiling up the side of a mountain and ended up at 13,000 feet, so it was butt-kickin' cold! I can say that I honestly never imagined myself flying up and down a mountain on a snowmobile going 50mph and taking moguls, but now I have and I would definitely do it again.

We also ate. A lot. There was no shortage of good food where we were at and my sweet husband took the liberty of making reservations two different nights at two different fancy restaurants, where we were served several courses of gourmet food. Yummy!

Another highlight of the trip was getting to meet up with one of our dearest friends, Aaron, who was the best man in our wedding. We had been looking forward to seeing him, his wife and two precious girls, but because of the weather, we were only able to meet up with Aaron near his office just outside of Vail. It was so nice to be with one of the 614 crew again!

Also while we were there, the snow kept falling. Our second day there it snowed 18 inches! Over the course of the next couple of days we got at least 6-8 inches more, which made the drive to the Denver airport this morning a little rough. But I must say, it was absolutely gorgeous!

Our actual anniversary was the 12th, which was the day before we left. Todd gave me the sweetest gift (as if the trip to Vail wasn't enough)- he went to the florist who did all the flowers for our wedding 10 years ago and had her make a replica of my wedding bouquet out of artificial flowers, which look scary real, and put it in a pewter vase he had inscribed with our names, our wedding date, and Our 10th Anniversary. Is he good or what?!?

Here's just a few pics from our trip:

Snow, beautiful snow.

Todd on a break during our snowmobiling adventure.

A view from our hotel.

3-Day Breast Cancer Walk: An Extraordinary Journey

2008-11-27T21:27:00.002-06:00

Last week I went to San Diego for a 3-Day, 60 mile Breast Cancer Walk. It was one of the most awe inspiring and awesome things I've ever done in my life. I got to go with 7 other wonderful friends and sisters... people I now share a closeness with that cannot be undone (Jennifer C., Misty H., Kathryn R., Julie R., Carrie F., Chasity V., and Becca R.). We walked as a team to honor the memory of our dear friend, Melinda Evans and to honor Jenny Revlett, our friend who is battling stage IV now. But breast cancer has touched many of us in other ways, too. None more so than Kathryn and Julie, who lost their mom to breast cancer when they were very young. We made shirts that we all wore as a team- a different shirt for each day of the walk. So many people asked us about Melinda and Jenny and stopped to take pictures of our shirts. Of course, I forgot to take pics of the shirts, but I'm sure somebody else has them on their camera!

60 miles is no easy feat. We trained, but no training in Oklahoma can prepare you for the hilly(some may even say "mountainous" ;) terrain of San Diego. The weather was perfect and the scenery beautiful. We enjoyed a lot of time together, laughing and crying. Everybody did so well. Jennifer escaped with muscle problems and a bad knee on one leg, Becca with some sore arches, Carrie with general soreness and fatigue (she is 3 months pregnant!!!), but I fared the worst. I visited the medical tent and was told I had peritoneal tendonitis. My entire foot was bruised and swollen (this was on night 2). I toughed it out and finished, though! I had made an appointment with my foot doc for the day after I returned, which turned out to be a wise thing. Below is a picture of me just 2 days after completing my journey. I am now in a boot and shoe and crutches. The tendonitis in my right foot is very bad... so bad doc is afraid I might actually tearit if I walk on it. My left foot, which was bad before I went, also has tendonitis, just not as severe. So, not a lot of fun, but it did get me out of some Thanksgiving preparations! :)

We have sooooo many pictures between all of us, but they are not compiled yet. This and the posts below are just a small sampling.

3-Day Breast Cancer Walk: Day 2 - Day 3

2008-11-27T21:16:00.002-06:00

All of our feet after we finished walking 60 miles!

Jennifer and I in the holding area at Petco Park. Glad to be finished walking!

This is one of Julie's twin daughters. Both girls made us signs to cheer us on along the way.

This one says it all. Kathryn and Julie lost their mom when she was only in her 30's. They spent much of their childhood without a mom.

This is my foot at lunch on Day 3. Notice the absence of an ankle because of swelling. Also hard to tell from this picture, but it ws bruised from behind my ankle down the side almost to my toes.

3-Day Breast Cancer Walk: End Day 1 - Day 2

2008-11-27T21:04:00.002-06:00

Ouch! My feet began hurting really badly on Day 2. I'm wearing a pain patch and a couple places with some moleskin to avoid some potential blisters.

Pink tent city. This is where we slept while on the 3-Day. Don't be fooled, this is just a very small section of the camp.

Jennifer getting an ice pack for the first time after Day 1 ended. She had a sore leg that turned into a sore knee.

Misty and Carrie at dinner on day 1.

You know, we saw some strange things. This doesn't even begin to top the strangest that we saw, but funny none the less.

3-Day Breast Cancer Walk: Day 1

2008-11-27T20:53:00.002-06:00

Chasity and Becca not so much enjoying lunch, so much as eating whatever they put in front of us. And oh yeah, resting tired feet!

Kathryn and Julie trekking up the "mountain."

One of many pit stops along the way.

Hard to tell from this picture, but if you really look you can see a string of people all the way up the coastline to the mountains ahead.

Jennifer and I make a picture stop along the route.

Wish Us Luck!

2008-11-17T20:42:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow morning I'm heading to sunny California with Jennifer to see my aunt and uncle in Pasadena before we head down to San Diego where we will walk the Breast Cancer 3-Day, 60 mile walk with Kathryn, Chasity, Carrie, Becca, Misty, and Kathryn's sister Julie. I am so excited! I just want to thank everyone who has encouraged all of us along the way. It makes a big difference, and I think we are all ready to go! I'm not worried about my foot, I feel confident everything will be just fine. So, while we're gone, say a little prayer for safety and know that many of you had a part in helping us in this journey- with prayer, encouragement, and helping us raise $20,000 (we did it!). I can't wait to share stories and pictures when I get back. Until then, enjoy sleeping in your beds... I'll be resting my aching body in a sleeping bag inside a tiny tent. Cheers!

Religion, Three-Year-Old Style

2008-11-14T15:55:00.002-06:00

Sometimes it's easy to forget that our children are little sponges, but I often get reminders that they hear and absorb everything, including what they are learning in Bible class. Today in the car, Payt told me that some of his friends don't know God. So, he says that he tells them every day, "Listen to God, friends!" Is that sweet, or what? Then, not two hours later, we are in the car again and Payt starts burping repeatedly. I ask him to stop, to which he replies, "Jesus likes it when I burp." Followed by, "Jesus burps, too. I've heard him." Me: "And when did you hear Jesus burp?" Payt: "In heaven. I was there, and I heard him." Likely story. But how can you get on to the kid when Jesus does it, too? Smart little thing, that Payt.

T Minus 12 Days

2008-11-09T23:45:00.002-06:00

The San Diego Breast Cancer 3-Day is officially less than 2 weeks away! Jennifer and I will leave a few days earlier so we can spend a few days in Pasadena with my Aunt... then we're off for the walk we've been training for for the better part of a year now. I've been nervous about doing this because of my foot injury that popped up about a month and a half ago, but I did 10 miles with the team on Saturday (they went 20, but I didn't want to chance making myself worse before the big event) and it went great! I didn't feel tired or achy. The foot hurt some, but I wore my brand new orthotics most of the day today and they seemed to help (insert old lady joke here).

So, in preparation for the 3-Day and to build up some excitement, Jennifer and I went today and actually dyed part of our hair pink. That's right... we DYED it! Are we dedicated, or what? It's actually kind of fun to have pink hair. At least for a little while!

I'm doing this walk for a lot of reasons. To honor the memory of a dear friend, Melinda; to honor my friend Jenny, who is fighting valiantly; to honor those who have already won the fight, like my Aunt Alyson and JoAnn B. But I'm also walking to raise awareness and money to help find a cure. To that end, my 3-Day team of 8 girls (including me) have raised almost $20,000. ALMOST because we are $400 short of that milestone. If you're reading this and you're inclined to, you can help us reach this goal before we go. Simply go to www.the3day.org and click on "Donate." You can type my name in and give online, if you wish. To all of you who have already helped get us where we are, "Thank You." We couldn't do this without you.

He left a Kindergartener...

2008-11-06T18:35:00.003-06:00

Tuesday morning I sent my oldest child to school ready to conquer the playground and new reading words. When he cam home, he had voted for President and asked to watch the news. What happened in one short school day??? The entire Kindergarten class at Luke's school held a mock election for President, which John McCain won. I asked Luke who he voted for and he said Barack Obama. I asked him why he voted for Obama. He said, "I just did Mom!" Later I rephrased the question and asked him what he liked about Obama that made him want to vote for him. His answer, "He had a nice shirt." There you have it. He was very adament about watching the election results on the news that night and was disappointed when he had to go to bed. His excitement rubbed off onto Payt, as well. At Payt's school that day he got to vote, too, but only for snacks! :) He did get into the election coverage, though, and both boys were very excited the next morning to find out who won. Wednesday morning Payt refused to go to school because he wanted to stay home and watch the new President on TV. I finally got him to leave by telling him we could listen to CNN radio in the car on the way to school... which we did the entire way! Crazy kids. So little but so big.

Epic Halloween

2008-10-31T23:04:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but Halloween has been not just a day, but an ENTIRE WEEK! It started with the Young Families Party last Friday night, Fall Festival Sunday night, School costume skate night on Monday, trick-or-treating in my small football-rules-over-everything town on Thursday night, Luke trick-or-treating with his class in town during the day today, followed by a class party, followed by trick-or-treating at Nana's work, followed by a visit to Todd's office. Phew. I'm exhausted! I don't know why, but Blogger is no longer posting my pics in the order I upload them, which makes me mad, but here's a few pics (out of sequence):

Luke at his class party today. That's one of his buddies behind him, and yes, that's Payt to the right. He decided to be in Kindergarten for the day.

Luke & Payt in the costumes Nana bought them to play in at her house. This is in front of Nana's work.

Thursday night we invited some friends over to go trick-or-treating with us in our neighborhood. Pictured are Cameran on the far left, Hope, Luke, Whit, Coulson, and Reese. This was when we returned home at the end of the night.

This is what our group looked like Thursday night... always running. All of them. Fast. I never did get any really good pics of them at people's houses because they moved too fast!

A sweet group of trick-or-treaters!

I have to say that we broke records this year with the amount of candy my kids acquired. It's sick. Literally... looking at all that candy makes me a little sick to my stomach. So, if you need a little pick-me-up, let me know and I'll be happy to pass along a sugar high! I love Halloween, but now I'm ready for Thanksgiving! I love, love the Fall!

Fall Festival 2008

2008-10-27T15:40:00.002-05:00

Another year, another great Fall Festival at church! Last night Alameda had their annual Fall Festival complete with food, games and trunk-or-treating. The kids had a blast! They got to dress up in their costumes, which was hysterical! Luke went as his Uncle Buzz (a soldier), and Payt went as Jack Cross. Hilarious! Just a little background on the Jack costume. Many of you know that my Dad and Jack taught JROTC together at a local high school for many years- in fact, that is why we moved to OK. Jack is a retired Air Force pilot. He is the one who introduced my family to Alameda, and needless to say, he is a close family friend. So much so that my kids call Jack "Gramps" too. And just to be clear, Jack knew Payt was dressing as him for Halloween- all in good fun! Anyway- here are a couple pics from the night:

Luke, Hope, and Lydia.

Payt and Biker Gramps.

Payt and Kasey.

Too cool Luke.

Payt giving his best Jack Cross imitation.

Happenin' Halloween Party

2008-10-24T23:42:00.002-05:00

Tonight was our newly formed Young Families Bible Class' first social function. Thanks to Darin and Jenny L., it was a blast! The highlight (aside from the fun costumes and good food... and oh yeah, no kids!) was definitley the scavenger hunt that took us all over town- including the cemetary! I was dressed as Midori from Guitar Hero and Todd came as Slash. We won the "Coolest Costume" award (thanks, guys!). Fun times, I'm already looking forward to the next class party!

Ladies and Gentlemen, your church office staff (some of us).

Disco Cool Darin and Amy

Michelle and Palin. I mean Heather.

Jamie and Susan...the "Best Overall Costume" award winners.

Brian, Jenny, Me, Todd, Mitzi & Rusty.

I Heart Blurb

2008-10-22T16:18:00.002-05:00

A couple weeks ago I was enticed to make a Blurb book after I saw Steve's book he made of his trip to Alaska with my nephews. I am forever behind on my children's scrapbooks, so I decided to do a trial run and make a book of Payt's second year (since I had only gotten to his first birthday in his scrapbook). I LOVE the way it turned out! Here are a few pictures of the final result:

The cover

The back cover

Sooners for Christ Alumni Reunion

2008-10-19T22:59:00.003-05:00

This weekend was the first annual Sooners for Christ alumni weekend... and it was fun! Cary M., Ryan F., and myself planned the intergenerational weekend that started Friday night with a dinner, entertainment (thanks, Kevin!), and lots of catching up. Saturday we arrived at the good 'ole Outreach Center bright and early to get ready for a tailgate party, then there was lots of eating, watching football, an awesome devo (great job, Cary), and more talking. It was so much fun to see everyone again!

The Outreach Center was my home-away-from home in college (even though my family lived nearby). I practically lived there and I made the best friends of my life there. So many things in my life have happened as a result of my being there and I wouldn't change it for the world! Oh the stories I could tell...

Thanks to everyone who made the trek, and for those of you who couldn't... start planning now- homecoming weekend next year... this is our new annual event!

Off the Charts!

2008-10-15T15:07:00.002-05:00

Last night was our first Kindergarten Parent/Teacher conference. I wasn't sure what I expected to hear. I know he's a smart kid, but I was a little worried because Luke can be pretty shy and doesn't like to talk to adults much. To my surprise, his teacher said he talks to her all the time, and is doing very well in class. In fact, he tested off the charts for phonological awareness and is now in an advanced literacy group with just four other kids. They will be working on much harder words and long vowels, etc. She also tested him on the 1st Grade reading list and he could read almost every single word, so she said she would like to test him on the 2nd Grade list now. I'm so proud!!! He likes to participate in class and has a lot of self confidence. We still need to work on making the handwriting a little less shaky, but he's doing great- writing sentences and everything! Fun times (for us, anyway)!

I Wish I Were OCD...

2008-10-12T23:44:00.003-05:00

Because then my house might be clean all the time. Or at least half the time. Why can't I ever keep up? And then, once I've let it go, what's the point in cleaning now? Sigh.

*Editor's note: I know that my title technically reads, "I Wish I Were Obsessive Compulsive Disorder," which clearly doesn't make sense, but the title, "I Wish I Were OC" just didn't sound right. What's a person to do?

More RFC Pics

2008-10-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

Blogger stinks sometimes. I couldn't put all these pics in one post, so read the second post on the page, then come back to this! :)

Kyle, Jennifer, Coulson, and Kathryn at the starting line.
The Evans clan (most of them, anyway). Thanks for letting us have a Team Evans every year. We love you guys.
The happy family... and Brian trying to flee the scene.
Two crazy boys and their daddy.
Chasity, Brennen, Abby, and Marcus after the long walk.

Thanks everyone!

Race for the Cure 2008

2008-10-04T20:27:00.002-05:00

This morning was the annual RFC and we had a wonderful tunout again! Team Evans was out in full force and we had a great time together. So, maybe getting up at 5 am wasn't exactly fun, but it was completely worth it. The RFC is such a great reminder that breast cancer affects so many people. It is a great time of fellowship and hope renewed.

So, I know some of you were wondering if I was going to walk after my foot injury. Well, I didn't know until I got there that I would even attempt the 5K... but I did. And I finished! Thanks, Jenny, for letting me use Abram's stroller as a walker! ;)

Here's Luke with his good buddy, Cooper, and Payt.
Payt & Wyatt. So Cute!
The Carpenter clan. Notice the extremely cute hair bows the girls are wearing! You want one, don't you? I know you do. Write me... I'll make it happen. "Bows by Jennifer" rock!
Awwww. Aren't we... tired? Okay, so Jennifer & Jenny (and Reese, too) look great. But I look like it's still 5 am in this picture. Oh well.
Our good friends, Rusty & Mitzi.

Ummmm... OUCH!

2008-09-30T20:42:00.002-05:00

Saturday morning Jennifer and I went for a 10 mile walk as part of our training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I felt great the whole time, but as soon as we stopped and then started our walk to the car, my foot screamed in pain (okay, so feet can't really scream, but if they could, mine would have). I spent the next few days doing everything I could to avoid walking on the outside of my foot. Good friends (thanks Jenny!) persuaded me to go to the doctor So, even though I thought it was becoming more bearable today, I went to see the doc. I left an hour and a half and 10 shots later. Yes, that's right. 10 [TEN] SHOTS LATER. It appears, in the words of my doc, that my foot is "all kinds of messed up." There is something wrong with the tendon on the outside of my foot, the nerves are messed up and apparently I have the foot equivalent of carpel tunnel syndrome (thanks, dad, your advice to stop typing with my feet was extremely valuable). So.... now I am wearing a "fracture shoe" even though I have no breaks ot factures, I have to take it easy and walk with the silly shoe for a couple of weeks until I go back. Hopefully then I will be able to get rid of said shoe and resume training (albeit at a slower pace). With luck, I'll be just fine come time for the big event in mid-November. Whew. That was a lot to type. TMI???

Yikes!

2008-09-26T20:49:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've been a serious slacker on the blogging lately. Hmm... let me see what I've been up to. Oh yes, premiere week. I love TV again! I made it all summer without really watching TV, but now that all the new episodes of my favorite shows have started, I'm hooked. Bad. First up was Dancing with the Stars. Cloris Leachman, really? Funny and all, but she seriously needs to go. I'm rooting for Maurice Green, Lance Bass, or maybe Toni Braxton. I'm sure I'll change my mind again next week. Anybody catch Criminal Minds??? Awesome! ER? The. Saddest. Episode. Ever. I cried. I'm not a crier, but I cried. So sad that it's the last season...

Anyway, I've also been keeping busy with Coffee Talk (shout out to my girls!), Race for the Cure stuff (go Team Evans!), bike rides with the family, work, etc, etc. Nothing too exciting, but it keeps me busy.

That's life in this household.

Welcome Home, Buzz!

2008-09-17T20:56:00.002-05:00

Today was a wonderful day... my brother arrived home from serving with our military in Iraq! He made it home safe and sound after spending months and months in Baghdad. We sure missed him, and I know his wife and kids missed him terribly, too.

This morning my sister-in-law, my nieces, my mom & dad and myself went to greet him as he got off the plane. The guard base got us all special passes to go the terminal so we could actually be right there when he deplaned. It was a civilian flight, so there were a lot of non-military people, but also a lot of service men and women. It was such an awesome scene. So many families gathered around waving small American flags, kids with signs and banners welcoming their mom or dad home... and the crowd erupted in applause everytime someone in a military uniform got off that plane. I can't even describe how I felt when I saw Buzz walking towards us. I was relieved to finally have him back, but I was also very proud... intensly proud.

Since his arrival my niece (his daughter) has barely let go of him. She can't stop hugging and kissing him- it is so sweet. So, thanks bro. I missed you and I love you and I'm glad you're home!!!

Homecoming 2008 Featuring the BHS Class of 2021!

2008-09-12T15:04:00.002-05:00

We had so much fun today at the homecoming festivities in our hometown! Luke's class was on a float (it took two floats, actually) during the parade this afternoon- that's him above, the last kid on the right. He was very excited to be in the parade, but I think he and all his buddies found it was actually quite boring to move along at snail pace and wave at a bunch of people you don't know. We enjoyed it, though!
Jenny L. and her boys, along with my parents, joined us to watch the happenings. Payt was excited to have on eof his best buddies, Wyatt, there. Aren't they cute!?!
Who says you can't let your kids play in the road? I think Payt & Wyatt had a little more fun than Cooper. Next year Luke will watch with you, Coop!
Nana & Gramps with Payter Tot.
And I couldn't resist posting this picture of Abram because he's so stinkin' cute!

Tonight Todd will take the boys to the big football game and I'll be enjoying a night sans kids at the Ladies Retreat. I LOVE this time of year!!!

"Totally" Boy

2008-09-03T21:23:00.002-05:00

This morning I took Luke up to the bus stop at the top of our hill like I normally do to catch the school bus this morning. Payt, as usual, waited on the porch. Well, after the bus picked Luke up, I turned back down the hill to our house and what do I see? Payt is standing on the edge of the porch, facing the road (right as the bus is passing) with his pants down around his ankles... peeing. No shame.

Payt has also started using a new word... "Totally." As in, "I totally want that cereal," or "That's totally cool." When did my baby get so big? I totally don't know where he picked that up. *Sigh* They're getting so big.

Junkie

2008-09-01T14:06:00.002-05:00

I am a CNN Junkie. There. I said it. Natural disasters strike and I can't stop watching. I may see the same footage over and over and over again, but it doesn't matter. I will spend an entire day on the couch glued to the coverage. I finally have a day off with no plans. I could be shopping. I could be walking. I could be just about anywhere else, but I'm not. I don't even know anybody near where they are talking about. Does that stop me? No. It doesn't.

My kudos to CNN, though. While Fox is talking about Republican VP nominee Sarah P.'s pregnant, unmarried 17-year-old daughter, CNN is sticking to the news that matters to people right now.

I need to get out more.

10 Miles!

2008-08-24T16:35:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked a milestone in my training for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I did my first 10-mile training walk! Jennifer and I went to Lake Hefner and walked around the whole thing (see the pic above). It took us 2 hours and 38 minutes. Now the big mileage weeks are upon us. from here on out the mileage PER WEEK ranges from 24-46! I did pretty well with the walk yesterday, so I think it's going to be great. What's a few blisters, anyway, right?!?

My Little Payter Tot

2008-08-20T21:18:00.002-05:00

The last couple of posts have been about Luke, so I felt the need to do a little something about Payt. He is getting so big and has an even bigger personality! He is constantly putting on "concerts" for us (see above) where he will sing anything from church songs to Alice Cooper... and it is never dull!
Payt started his new 3-year-old class at Mother's Day Out and is loving being with all his old buddies. He was looking particularly cute this moning, so I tried to take a picture, and of course he had to do the cheesy smile. :) I am so proud of all he is learning and doing and of his sweet spirit. I have taken to calling Payt "Huggy Bear," and he has been calling me "Kissy Bear." In the last week my in-laws have been here and he decided to start calling Grandma "Grammy Bear," and Grandpa was "Spanky Bear" (my personal favorite). Too cute.

On another note... Luke had his second gymnastics class tonight (see earlier post) and guess what??? He rang the bell!!!! He was the only one in his class to do it. He also did the rings tonight and was very impressive (in my unbiased opinion!). So much fun these two boys are!

First Day of Kindergarten!

2008-08-14T22:20:00.002-05:00

My baby (one of them, anyway) started Kindergarten today. He was so excited to go to school. Payt and I took him this morning and we left him smiling and happy with his new teacher... he hardly even said good bye! It was great, though, and made me feel good. I thought I was actually going to get through the day without crying... then it happened. Payt and I were in the car on the way to the church and Payt was being vey quiet. Then he spoke up in a very sad voice and said, "Mom, I'm gonna miss Bubba." I lost it. Quietly. It took about 15 minutes to gather myself, but then I was okay. Kindergarten means a lot of changes for our daily routines, but it's a good thing. He's ready to learn more and do more and he's really excited about going back again tomorrow. He said he made lots of friends today and really liked his new teacher.

My little Luke isn't so little anymore, but I'm loving watching him grow and change and I'm having so much fun with him. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful little family who I love so much!

"I'm Gonna Ring That Bell, Mom."

2008-08-13T21:41:00.002-05:00

Tonight Luke started his very first gymnastics class. Yes, I know, it sounds girlie, but if you've been watching the Olympics, you know it's not! Anyway, we enrolled Luke in gymnastics because he is always doing somersaults and cartwheels, and more than anything... the child loves to stand on his head. He can stand on his head longer than I've ever seen anybody do it. He can even move around without falling (as in he can move his hands, then his entire body all around the room).

So, the first class was awesome! Luke was a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up and LOVED it! First they warmed up, then his class (him and 2 other boys) worked on the bar for a little while doing flips forwards and backwards on it. Next, they moved on to the trampoline, then they practiced running up to the vault ramp and flipping and jumping onto a big mat. After that, they did somersaults all across the mats and after that they went to the rope. Luke has never attempted to climb a rope before and has even been pretty aftraid of heights (this is a very tall gym ceiling), but he rocked it! He almost made it to the top to ring the bell and then came down. Neither of the other boys made it nearly as far. Then they finished off by doing headstands. Luke, of course, had no problems, and since he never fell on his own, the teacher finally pushed him over to get him down!

When we left, Luke said he had a great time, but next time, "I'm gonna ring that bell, Mom." It was so much fun to watch him enjoying himself and doing so well at something new. Fun times!

A Fly Went By and Happy 100th Post

2008-08-07T21:06:00.002-05:00

I just finished putting the boys to bed and I could not have enjoyed myself more! Luke read the entire book, "A Fly Went By." For all you moms and dads in the know... it's just about the longest Dr. Seuss book ever!! He read 65 pages!!!! I am so proud of Luke. It's so much fun to watch the ways they grow and learn. I can't wait to see what all he'll learn in Kindergarten.

In other news, this is my 100th post! Craziness. I never thought I'd last this long. But alas, here I am. Thanks for sticking with me (anybody out there????).

Where Has the Summer Gone???

2008-08-05T22:35:00.002-05:00

It seems like just a few short weeks ago "summer" began. Now my baby starts Kindergarten next week. Where has the summer gone? I guess between one long trip to Indiana/Arkansas, a weekend in Plano, VBS, birthdays, days at the lake, the summer has flown by. It's been great, don't get me wrong, but now I'm trying to face the reality of sending Luke to full-day Kindergarten. So many things to consider... will he take his lunch, or buy it in the cafeteria, will he ride the bus (this has been a big issue in my house... I don't want him to, but Todd insists... we'll see...), whose class will he be in, and what friends will be in the class with him??? I guess I'll find out the answers to all these questions soon enough, but for now, I'm barely holding it together.

I do, however, look forward to cooler weather, football, and fall holidays. By the way, who's going to invite us over for the first OU game of the season (it's Pay Per View, you know...)??? :)

I Love My Job

2008-07-31T22:33:00.004-05:00

Not everybody gets to morph their co-workers into 3-D crazy people.
BTW, sorry Rusty,but you gave me the idea to post these...

Everyone else, maybe you'll see the use for these in a future sermon?!?

The Stripper and the Steelworker

2008-07-29T14:42:00.002-05:00

Yes, I now realize I asked everybody I know to watch a Dateline segment called, "The Stripper and the Steelworker." No, my uncle was not the stripper. No, he was not the steelworker. But he did, however, look pensive. And no, ladies and gentlemen, that was not a stunt double re-enacting the crime, that was my uncle in the flesh! :)

Almost (In)Famous

2008-07-23T19:52:00.002-05:00

Get ready, go to your DVR's and your Tivo's... then set them to record Dateline NBC this Sunday night. Why, you might ask??? Because my uncle, Jim Stogsdill, will be featured as the lead investigator for a cold case unit in Alaska as it chronicles a murder trial for a crime he solved. That's right people, I'm kin to the celebrities! :)

The taping of the show is kind of a funny story. They actually filmed for the show back in January or something. They spent an entire day filming my uncle standing by the water's edge looking "pensive"- which is something of a family joke now.

If you know my Dad, you will see right away which person is his brother- they have similar looks and very similar personalities. It's actually a pretty scary thing when you get all my dad, uncles and my aunt together. One uncle is working for Homeland Security, one uncle (the one in the show) is a retired cop and current investigator and fishing guide ("Fish Happens") not to mention the vice mayor of the town he lives in, my Dad is a retired military cop, and my aunt is the director of PR for UCLA (former editor-in-chief of the LA Times and PR rep for Steven Spielberg and the Director's Guild)... so lots of powerful personalities and even more- tons of laughs!

So, I'm done bragging on my family now, but be sure to watch Dateline NBC this Sunday and let me know what you think!

Wii Fit

2008-07-20T23:55:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got the hard-to-come-by Wii Fit for my birthday. Let me just tell you, I'm diggin' it! When you first start, you have to do a "Fit Test." This incorporates your age, height, weight, BMI, and a balance test. I did one, then Todd did one. I'm proud to say that my Wii Fit age is 32 (remember I'm 29) and Todd's was 40! Crazy, I know. Then I put Luke on it and his Wii Fit age was a whopping 30! I think now that he knows what he's supposed to do, his age will come way down, but it was pretty funny.

So, the games are pretty cool. I like the slalom skiing. Other favorites are ski jumping, hula hooping, balance boards, and soccer heading. Oh yeah, the step aerobics is kind of fun, too. I haven't tried the yoga yet, or much of the strength training stuff, but so far this game rocks! Nothing like working up a sweat playing video games (yes, you really do sweat... especially if you do the running)! Don't be fooled, though, this game is serious about your fitness. It will actually get on to you if you skip days... and nobody wants to get told off by their video game. ;)

Moral of the story: I recommend the Wii Fit- it's worth the trouble of getting it.

Happy Birthday, Todd!

2008-07-18T14:53:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday, Todd! I know it's tough having a birthday the day after mine because as you like to say, "We always celebrate your birthday, but not mine." Well, that's not completely true... there was the party last year... but I'm afraid it's happened again. We'll be spending your b-day at VBS tonight. Sorry, sorry! I promise, we'll do something Saturday to celebrate!

I hope you have a great day despite work and VBS, and even more, I hope you have a great year. I love you lots! XOXO

P.S. The Wii Fit is awesome! I'll post more about it later... Thanks!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-07-17T22:54:00.002-05:00

I have had one crazy week so far... I've been completely stressed about directing VBS, but I've made it through the hard part and I've actually been enjoying it for the past two days. Working with little kids is definitely not my gift, but I think it's turned out okay. I celebrated my 29th birthday today. The day has actually been really great thanks to a lot of caring friends and family. I was showered with goodies at VBS (muffins, doughnuts, cupcakes, candy, caramel frappuccino, watermelon) , not to mention a beautiful bouquet of roses (thanks Jennifer and Kathryn!). Everyone even sang "Happy Birthday" to me during the opening of VBS this morning. All day long the kids were wishing me a happy day and giving lots of hugs. This is the reward for a lot of stress leading up to VBS! I went to the parking lot after it was over and my car had been decorated with fun sayings, my favorite of which was "30 is the new 20" (even though I'm ONLY 29 people!!!).

I took a little time to relax at home, then went to dinner with Todd, the boys, and my mom and dad at Saltgrass (yummy!). I came home to a scavenger hunt for my birthday present. Eventually, it led to a new Wii Fit!!! It is AWESOME! I just spent the last 45 minutes or so playing on it. Love it!

Thanks for a great day everybody! Tomorrow it's Todd's turn!

Sorry!

2008-07-14T22:53:00.002-05:00

I know it's been forever since I posted... I've been consumed by all things VBS! Don't worry... after this week it's all over and I'll be back to frequent posting. I just wanted to say "Thanks" to all of the people who have been helping me with this huge undertaking. It requires A LOT of work, and I've needed every last one of you who have helped, so... "Thanks!" Now, I'm tired so I'm going to bed.

Fabulous Fourth

2008-07-05T22:57:00.003-05:00

I love the 4th of July! Not just because it signifies the beginning of my birth month, but because it is a true summer holiday- lots of cookouts, fireworks, and playing out in the sun. We had a great time this year with a couple of 4th celebrations. They began Thursday night when Todd's work had a party complete with live band, free food, rock wall & other games and a spectacular fireworks show. The picture above was taken by one of Todd's co-workers. Pictured from left to right: Adam & Molly (Payt's crush); Heather & Derek; Payt on my lap (Todd and Luke were just to the right of me, not pictured).
On Friday, the 4th, Rusty & his extended family invited us up to his parent's house for their annual celebration. It was so nice to spend a relaxing evening with friends. Payt was doing his shy routine for Mitzi in the picture above. Both boys had a wonderful time playing with Hope and some of Luke's buddies from school. Luke made a new best friend in Rusty's dad since he let him help set up fireworks... Luke thought it was awesome and thought he was big stuff (he is!). Payt was a little concerned by some of the fireworks, but found solace on the lap of Hope's grandma.
Oh yeah, Luke & Payt drove their Gator over to the festivities, which they thought was really cool. And what's a post without a Luke & Hope picture???

Tonight we got to enjoy even more fireworks sitting on our front porch watching a neighbor's spectacular show down the road. I love July!

Also, a special shout out to my bro who is in Iraq... Happy 4th Buzz... we missed you! It's thanks to people like you (and Dad, Papa Stogsdill, Papa Tyler) that we can even celebrate this holiday. You rock.

That's right... two posts in one day, and you thought I didn't have anything to say!

2008-07-02T21:35:00.002-05:00

You know how most kids who are strong willed are that way about what they wear or what they eat? Well, my strong willed child (Payt) is strong willed about his music. He is 3. Everytime we step foot in the vehicle, he HAS to listen to his songs... which consist of Slow Ride (his favorite song in the whole world), Rock and Roll All Nite (his 2nd fav.), anything Van Halen or Weezer, and much to my pride, Def Leppard (we all know the best song in the world is "Pour Some Sugar On Me"). Did I mention he is only 3??? What will life be like when he is a teenager? I think I have a rock star on my hands.

When there's nothing else to say...

2008-07-02T16:59:00.002-05:00

Okay, so life has not been that interesting for me lately, so all you're getting from me today is a little update on my training. I "officially" started training 8 days ago for my 3-Day/60-mile breast cancer walk. In the past 8 days I have walked 22 miles- mostly on hills and in 90 degree heat! Yikes! Now, my friend "G" would say "no big deal- anybody could do that" (thanks, by the way, you're very encouraging!) ;) but I say let's see you. So the challenge is out there, G. Can you really do it???

Close Encounters of the Skunk Kind

2008-06-27T00:31:00.002-05:00

Today has been a busy day for me... work, yoga, home- fix dinner, and finally, around 9:50 pm my friend Jennifer and I went out to do our 4 mile training walk (for the 3-Day). I don't usually like to go walking after dark, but I had Jennifer with me and we were going walking in my neighborhood- which is out in the country, but it's a neighborhood nonetheless. Anyway, we got a ways into the neighborhood when, in the pitch black, I saw the slightest movement next to the road. I abruptly stopped and told Jennifer to stop. Just then a big, fluffly, nasty skunk walked onto the road. As we backed off, keeping our eyes on him, he crossed back over again... to his other nasty skunk friend. Needless to say, we high-tailed it outta there. Our 4 mile walk quickly became a 1.5 mile walk, and you know what? I'm okay with that. I'll make that sarifice in order to be free of skunk stench.

In other news, I am completely addicted to games on Facebook.

42

2008-06-22T20:22:00.002-05:00

...That's the approximate number of hours my family and I spent in the car over the last 10 or 11 days. That's an entire week's worth of work hours for some people... and we spent ALL THAT TIME in a car (well, the Rav, but close enough). We have a DVD player in the new vehicle, but it's a little harder for the boys to see, and to be honest, they had gotten used to not being able to watch movies in the car, so they played together, picked on each other, laughed, picked on each other... but mostly they were pretty good, considering. We took off from OK to Indiana, then from Indiana to Arkansas, and all the day trips between.
While in Indiana, the whole family took part in the storied "Hog Jog," a run/walk near Todd's hometown. This was my first Hog Jog and I was very excited because I really, really wanted a Hog Jog shirt of my very own... now I have one! I did the 2 mile walk as a continuation of my 3-Day training, Todd did the 10K (and came in 16th place overall!!!), and Luke & Payt did the Runt Jog- a 1/4 mile jog that they both ran and did great in! This was Payt's first race, and he was very excited to hang out with "Sunny" the local radio station mascot who was there.
Oh, the cornfields outside Grandma & Grandpa's house...
Luke is normally not so fond of dogs, but he took a liking to Grandma & Grandpa's dog, Grace.
We broke up the trip from Indiana to Arkansas with a stop at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, which was awesome! They had exhibits on comic books and characters, dinosaurs, Curious George, trains, animation, and plenty of other things... the boys had a grand ol' time!

Once in Arkansas, we got to see loads of family, which was really nice. It's been a while since we made it out to Pocahontas, so it was nice to be there. We went to my family reunion on Saturday for my dad's side of the family. My granny was there, with her 4 living brothers. They are all that remain of 16 children!

All in all, it was a great trip. We really enjoyed seeing family on both my side and Todd's. Next time, though, I don't think we'll do it all in 10 days!!!

Yada Yada Yada

2008-06-08T21:14:00.002-05:00

News from the house:

Payt is completely potty trained!!! I'm sure not so exciting to you all, but extremely exciting to me. I will never buy diapers again. Woohoo!

I am now the VBS director for my church. Yikes. I need help. You want to help, right???

I pimped my ride. That's right. Long story, but here's the gist: When we bought our new Rav4, part of our deal with the dealership was that they would put XM radio in our vehicle. It was listed as an available option both online and in the book for the car. Anyway, days go by, they take my new car, give me a crappy rental while they are supposedly installing the XM, only to call and say it can't be done- all they will do is put an aftermarket radio on my dash. I. Was. Not. Happy. And I let them know. After many phone calls and a face-to-face visit, they said go to Audio Extreme and we'll pay for them to put an XM radio in. So I did, and now I have a completely new radio installed in the dash to look like it was made to be there. It is a nice touchscreen radio that my iPod plugs into from inside the console, plays XM, plays DVDs, and everything is accessed by easy touchscreen menu options. I can even plug stuff in via a USB cable. It's awesome. Thank goodness for mistakes...

I went to my very first yoga class this week. Didn't think I'd care for it very much, but I really liked it. (Yeah, Joan!)

This weekend I went on my annual pilgrimage to Plano, TX for the North Texas Race for the Cure. I went with Charlotte, Tracy, and Cindy. We had the best time! This was my 3rd year to go and do the RFC- what an awesome experience. We had loads of fun shopping, eating, eating, walking, and shopping. I can't tell you what a great feeling it is to participate in the RFC. Thousands and thousands of people were there, all united for one cause. How amazing is that??? It is such a vibrant, emotional event, and I love it. I highly recommend you take part in one near you.

That about sums up what's been going on in my life since I last posted. Interesting, I know...

"X" Marks the Spot and Other Happenings

2008-06-01T20:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we took a trip down to Lake Lawtonka to go out on my dad's boat with him and my mom. My personal philosophy is, "I go where the boat goes." I LOVE being on the water and my boys have apparently adopted the philosophy as their own. It was a beautful day... 97 degrees of clear blue skies and open water. Which, of course, means I came home with a mother of a sunburn (yes... I do know what sunblock is and if anybody else asks... you probably don't want to know what will happen). I was wearing my swimsuit with a tank top and shorts. Unfortunately the tank top didn't cover as much of my back as I thought and I now have a sunburn around where the straps of my swimsuit were- making a big "X" on my back. Everyone had a great time with this at church today as I was sporting my lovely sunburn in a cotton dress that showed it off pretty well. Why would I wear this dress displaying my "X," you ask? Because it hurts to wear anything over it! Ouch! And if you touch me, there's gonna be trouble.

On to other happenings... Payt has now been wearing big-boy underwear since Thursday! I am so excited!!! Of course, he's had a few accidents, but it is now bedtime and we have been completely accident-free today! He has even been sleeping in underwear and has not had a single accident overnight or in the morning. His teachers will be so surprised when he shows up to his little "school" tomorrow in underwear and pretty much potty trained- it's only been a week since he was last there!

Life group tonight was hilarious. Todd and Rusty watched the kids outside and when LG was over we all made our way out there. I was talking to Charlotte as we were both watching Todd and some younger boys playing catch with a football. Todd turned to catch the ball and Charlotte and I noticed at the same time that Todd had just ripped his jean shorts clear down his hindquarters- we're talking like an 8 inch rip, here. And it's hilarious because I've been all over Todd to buy some new clothes lately because all of his newer stuff is too big, so he's gone back to wearing his super-old clothes, which clearly have passed their prime. I went up and kindly told Todd he was showing his boxers off to the world, so would he please walk backwards to the car and get in? It wasn't a big secret though, I think pretty much everybody saw what happened. He was a good sport, though, and not easily embarrassed, so all is well and now it's a funny story.

Good times.

Wiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!

2008-05-27T22:46:00.002-05:00

As mentioned in my last post, I hosted my office Memorial Day cookout at my house yesterday. We had a great turnout, good food, and lots of fun! I have to say, though, one of the highlights was watching the guys play the Wii. The pic above is of Darin, Jeremy F., Jeremy K., and his son, Derrick racing each other in a game of Mario Kart. Darin was the clear winner and I'm pretty sure no parent should let their young children play video games with Jeremy K. Let's just say he struggled. And he made it known. And he was fun to watch.
Here's the group of kiddos gathered around watching the big boys play. Before this picture, several of the little guys raced each other... and you might note that they ALL did better than Jeremy. Also, I think they were chanting "Yoshi" at this point in time, loudly and in unison (Darin was playing as Yoshi and I think he may have started the chant himself!). :)

So, it was a great cookout once again. I really enjoyed having everyone over. I'm so blessed to work with a group of people who I also consider close friends. You guys rock (although not so much on Guitar Hero...)!

Ahhh... Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-25T23:22:00.002-05:00

We started out this illustrious Memorial Day weekend with a picnic at Payt's "school" Friday morning, where we played until we were completely exhausted. We followed up the day by buying a new vehicle later that night- we went in the dealership at about 6:30 and 5 hours later we headed for home with our brand new Toyota Rav4 (isn't it cool!). Oh yeah, and the kids were up with us the whole time. We didn't get home until midnight... need I say more???
After a busy Saturday of sleeping in, tree shopping and planting, mall shopping and a night out with friend, we spent Sunday afternoon near Lawton. We went hiking a little bit, watched the buffalo, had a picnic dinner and drove up Mt. Scott. Above is a great picture of my dad "Gramps" looking for bullfrogs with the boys.
Todd soaking in the sun.
Sweet Payt.
I love this picture of Luke... what a sweet kid!

So, we got home late AGAIN tonight after an unfortunate accident on top of Mt. Scott- Payt was walking on the rocks with us and the wind was really, really strong, so he was having a hard time keeping his balance. Then he fell down and ended up with a small rock literally stuck IN his knee. Todd had to hold him down while I pryed it out with my fingernails. My poor baby. After that, it was just time to go home.

Now I'm here writing this instead of cleaning my house to get ready for a cookout I'm hosting tomorrow for my fellow church staff. I guess I better get busy (even though it is almost midnight... yikes!). I hope you all had a great weekend and have an even better Memorial Day. Don't forget to remember and celebrate all of our military. Please keep my brother in your prayers as he's serving in Baghdad right now. Thanks!

Another Installment of "Don't Be A Dummy"

2008-05-22T13:46:00.003-05:00

I know. They just get dumber and dumber.

ELLIOT!

2008-05-20T13:56:00.002-05:00

So the past few days Payt has taken to calling himself Elliot. You see, we're kind of big E.T. fans around our house, and Payt has decided that he is, in fact, Elliot. At school yesterday he made all of his teachers and friends call him Elliot. Not only that, he feels he MUST ride his bike every minute we are home (he has to stay in character, you know).

I have to say, I kind of like Payt as Elliot. When he's just Payt he has trouble listening to me, but when he's Elliot and I call him by that name, he does exactly what I say.

I know Halloween is a ways off, but I think I know what Payt will be this year. All we need is a red-hooded sweatsirt and a basket to put on the front of his bike. Anybody have a stuffed E.T. they want to offer??? Man, I love that movie.

A Treat for My Loyal Readers

2008-05-15T15:42:00.003-05:00

Here's a special sneak peek at a video I made along with the assistance of Darin & Jeremy. This video will be shown Sunday morning during worship... but for you, my loyal readers, an early viewing. Let me know what you think.

Happy Mother's Day to Me!

2008-05-11T20:09:00.002-05:00

I had a great Mother's Day today! After church Todd, the boys, myself and Mom & Dad went to Outback for lunch, then headed out to the Bricktown Ballpark for a baseball game. It was Susan Komen day, so mom and I got free pink hats and we both got in the game free since it was Mother's Day. The pic above is Luke and me hangin' out at the game.

Nana & Payt walking to the ballpark. Payt loves his Nana!

Payt being silly as always.

Luke & Gramps enjoying a little time together.

So, it was a great day. I got to spend lots of time with the fam, celebrate my awesome mom, and I got a gift card... what more could you ask for???

The Reveal

2008-05-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

And the answer is... #131.

I have to say, several of you have asked me which one was false, and when I told you, several of you said, "Oh, I could really see you doing that."

Do I really look like a pyro? Maybe you shoudn't answer that.

In Addendum

2008-05-05T22:47:00.003-05:00

Ok, so anybody can list 100 things about themselves, right? I'm going to do better. Here's 50 more things about me (if you can stand to know that much about me...):

101. I am no longer giving up carbonated beverages.
102. I have been known to pull off some pretty good pranks.
103. My impractical dream car is a Jeep Unlimited.
104. I have read 16 books since Spring Break.
105. I used to be a CNN junkie.
106. The Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies of all time.
107. I also love movies about historical events (war movies, sports triumphs, etc.)
108. I have never seen "It's a Wonderful Life."
109. Not a big Princess Bride fan.
110. I skipped class a lot my junior and senior years of high school.
111. I skipped class a lot my freshman year of college.
112. Then I got my grades.
113. Then I started going to class.
114. I sang "Gangsta's Paradise" at Karaoke Night with Adcox.
115. When I was pregnant I threw up in the middle of the street in NYC. People thought I was drunk.
116. When I was test-driving the van I have now, I hit a squirrel. The salesman was in the car.
117. So I thought I should buy it.
118. Bad decision.
119. The most famous "Pam picture" involves me sucking a nutcracker's nose when I was about 1 year old.
120. I went to Vegas with my mom and left with a tattoo.
121. My nicknames from various stages of life: Princess Pam, Slammin' Pam, PJ, Pork Head Pumpkin Pea Chop (Thanks, Dad), Flash, Pammy, Babe.
122. Todd and I went to see one of the newer Star Wars movies in NYC and ended up seated by lesbians who made out the whole time. Yuck.
123. I lived in Florida and never went to Disney World.
124. I never lived in California, but I've been to Disney Land several times.
125. I once crossed a waist-high creek when it was 30 degrees and snowing while I was backpacking through the woods in Arkansas.
126. I froze for the rest of the night.
127. I have fallen in the baptistry at our church.
128. Every bone in both of my legs are misaligned. To correct the problem, I'd have to have "total leg replacement" surgery. No, thanks.
129. My ancestry has been traced back to Julius Caesar on my Dad's side of the family.
130. I'm also related to the guy who shot John Wilkes Booth.
131. I accidentally set fire to my house in Alaska.
132. I love green olives on just about anything.
133. We lived next to Men In Black headquarters in NYC.
134. I saw Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler at a Yankees baseball game.
135. Somebody at a Yankees game asked me if I was from Norman because they recognized my "Mont" t-shirt.
136. Fox Sports took me out to eat at a steakhouse where a big mobster was murdered.
137. I want a Husky with one brown eye and one blue eye.
138. I think cats are a little freaky.
139. I am a professional Wii bowler.
140. I hate mushrooms.
141. Todd and I accounted for a combined 4 accidents in a 3 month span last year. None were our fault.
142. I once singed a small chunk of my hair off because I was blow drying my hair when lighting struck nearby, causing an electrical surge.
143. I have a weird thing about meat. Sometimes I can't eat it. It's totally a texture thing.
144. I owned a pair of purple suede shoes when I was in the 7th grade.
145. I won an archery competition at my school in the 8th grade.
146. I want to take up an adventure sport like 4-wheeling, dirt biking, or jet skiing.
147. I used to be on a stretcher team for OU football games.
148. For prom, my date and I went as a "Bond" couple. My Bond girl name was "Pam Straps" because I wore a strappy dress.
149. I was dating Todd at the time, but he wasn't my prom date.
150. ONE of the items on this list is not true. Can you guess which one???

100 Things

2008-04-30T08:40:00.004-05:00

Okay, I'm going to cave and do my own "100 Things About Me" list. Here it goes:

1. I was born in Germany.
2. I am the youngest of three kids (1 bro, 1 sis)
3. I had naturally platinum blond hair as a child
4. I lived in Arkansas (twice)
5. I lived in Missouri
6. I lived in Alaska (for 5 years)
7. I lived in South Carolina
8. I lived in Florida
9. I lived in Georgia (for 2 weeks)
10. I lived in Colorado
11. I have lived in Oklahoma longer than anywhere else
12. Todd and I lived in New York City
13. I worked for the #1 Advertising Media Agency in the world
14. I have been skydiving
15. I was the editor of the yearbook in high school
16. I ran track in high school
17. I met Todd through life group at the Outreach Center
18. When Todd asked me to marry him, my reply was "You lied to me!"
19. My brother and I charged kids in Alaska to "teach" them how to play hockey
20. My house and belongings in Florida were destroyed by Hurricane Andrew
21. I've been through many earthquakes (slept through many)
22. I've been through tornados
23. I've been through volcano ruptures
24. My aunt was the editor-in-chief of the LA Times- now Director of Comm. for UCLA
25. My uncle in Alaska was the lead state investigator for Exxon Valdez oil spill
26. Another uncle works for Homeland Security
27. My dad was a Chief Master Seargent of security police in the Air Force
28. My brother is leaving for Baghdad, Iraq with the Reserves in the beginning of May
29. I used to want to be in the FBI
30. I have two awesome little boys
31. I love to go hiking
32. I love camping (yes, in a tent!)
33. I love all water sports
34. I rode in at least 4 bike-a-thons in elementary school (over 20 miles each)
35. I used to want to be an Olympic diver
36. In December, I will have been married for 10 years
37. I was an intern for Channel 5 News straight out of high school
38. I once cracked my ribs when I fell off a tracor my brother was driving
39. I've been to the emergency room more times than I care to admit
40. But I've never completely broken a bone
41. My children are just like me when it comes to injuries
42. I'm a shopaholic
43. I dated a guy who later had a bowling trophy as a hood ornament
44. I saw a guy I dated on the news once, going to jail
45. He was later acquitted
46. I've been in a house while it was being robbed (and no, I didn't have anything to do with it!)
47. My favorite color is blue
48. My favorite food is Chicken with Walnuts (I think Jenny would agree!)
49. My favorite drink is the Wallaby Darned at the Outback
50. Todd and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon
51. I was the captain of my powder puff football team all four years of high school
52. I was voted most likely to win a brawl at the Outreach Center when I was in college
53. I gave up carbonated beverages yesterday (we'll see how long that lasts) Be strong, Jeremy!
54. I like to bowl
55. My favorite candy bar is 100 Grand
56. I am a total minivan-driving soccer mom
57. I love watching Luke's soccer games and I can't wait for Payt to play
58. Luke and I eat at Pei Wei almost every Wednesday for our special lunch together
59. Luke, Payt, and I eat at City Bites for lunch almost every Tuesday and/or Friday
60. I ate at an Indian resturant for the first time last week and liked it
61. I work at a church now doing communications/ graphic design
62. I love the people I work with
63. I wish I could run long distances
64. I like to scrapbook, though I'm WAY behind on the boys' books
65. I went to OU, got my BA in Journalism-Advertising
66. I took Master's courses before I decided to move off to NYC
67. I am fanatic about OU sports
68. I am addicted to Guitar Hero
69. I have more Bon Jovi songs on my iPod than any other artist
70. I know French
71. I love history
72. I am training to walk 60 miles in 3 days for the Breast Cancer walk in San Diego
73. I can't sing
74. My house is messy more often than clean
75. I like to paint (pictures and walls)
76. I ate lunch with Joe Castiglione today
77. I am addicted to powdered donettes
78. I don't like lemonade
79. I don't cry at movies (sorry, Rusty)
80. But Extreme Makeover Home Edition makes me cry
81. So I don't watch it
82. I could not live without dairy products
83. I love homemade salsa
84. I make lists for everything
85. Not closing cabinet doors all the way makes me mad
86. I played the clarinet for a few years- the same one my Dad played when he was a kid
87. I have been hit by a deer (I had the antler scratches to prove it)
88. A bird flew into my face while I was riding my bike on campus
89. I hate birds
90. I've been charged by a moose
91. I've been bitten by a snake
92. I've been stung by a man-o-war
93. I was certified to scuba dive in the Florida Keys
94. I went to see Steel Magnolias on my first date (yikes)
95. I've had frostbite on my face and feet
96. My sister dislocated my shoulder pulling me out of "hot lava" when I was 4 or 5
97. I tricked my brother into believing Ozzie Smith was his uncle when we were younger
98. The Cardinals are my favorite baseball team
99. I like road trips
100. I love God and my family more than anything.

He Did It!

2008-04-27T11:45:00.002-05:00

Todd finished his first marathon!!! He participated in the OKC Memorial Marathon today and finished with a time of 3:58:39! He had hoped to finish at around 3:30, but he's diabetic and he got low around mile 18 or so. He drank PowerAde and pushed on... finishing with a darn good time, if you ask me. I'm so proud of you, babe!

My mom , the boys, and I trekked around own in the van to watch him. It was an adventure, to say the least, but worth it to stop at a few points and cheer him on with our big signs!

Well, I just had to brag on my hubby. Love you, Todd!

In a Funk

2008-04-21T17:41:00.002-05:00

I know, I know. It's been forever since I posted. Sorry! At first, I just couldn't think of anything to write. Now, I'm just in a funk. Yesterday morning I found out that Hal B. passed away. Hal and his wife, JoAnn, have been huge examples of faith to me at Alameda. I've known them since I first came here in the 9th grade. Hal was big-time into the Scouts program and he was the leader of the Medical Explorer troop I was a part of in high school. Aside from being a really nice, funny man, he was genuinely compassionate and a wonderful person. He will be missed by a lot of people, me included.

Another pillar of our church, Bud D., suffered a massive heart attack last week. As of this morning, he was deemed brain dead. I've been up to the hospital a couple of times visiting with his wife, Ella. I am so torn up with the pain my church family is feeling. On the other hand, I have been overwhelmed by the faith of each of these women. Of course they are hurting, but in their time of grief, they are concerned about other hurting members, and are quick to remind us all what is really important and where true comfort comes from. God bless these amazing ladies and my wonderful church family.

Milestone

2008-04-13T23:04:00.002-05:00

It seems like just last weekend we took the training wheels off of Luke's bike and spent 10 minutes of useless instruction on riding without them. Wait, it was last weekend! A week went by without touching the bike again, then Saturday Luke just picked up his bike and off he went all by himself! I think my mouth dropped to the ground when I saw him do it! Matt, Sarah, Ryan & Baby Mason were at the house at the time and got to witness the first bike ride without training wheels. It was so much fun! I am so proud of my baby (big boy). I cannot believe how fast time seems to fly by. He's already asking me how old he has to be to drive a car!

Here's Todd giving Luke instruction last Saturday.

Here's Luke saying, "I don't need your instruction!" (Okay, so that's not verbatim)

Yeah, Luke!

Because It's Funny and I Can...

2008-04-07T16:25:00.002-05:00

This is a video I made for the Ray Evans Seminar at our church. We wanted to let people know that it would be a fun time, so Darin came up with this idea for a light-hearted video. I, personally, think it is absolutely hilarious (I'm not biased or anything). I shot the video while Darin & Jeremy did the 'acting' (I use the term loosely), then I put it all together on the computer. I hope you enjoy! And thanks Darin & Jeremy...

What's on your list?

2008-04-01T22:59:00.003-05:00

Most of you know I am a total television junkie (can't believe we lost Steve Gutenberg on DWTS tonight!) but after the whole writer strike thing, my viewing has slowed drastically. This diversion led me back to a favorite pastime... reading. I'm not sure I can even count how many books I've read since January, but here's a look at some of what I read: The entire Alex Cross series by James Patterson (13-14 books, I think- I love crime/mystery novels); a Michael Connelly book; "The Kite Runner" (yikes, extremely sad, but hauntingly good); and now I'm about to finish "A Thousand Splendid Suns" (I'm a closet history junkie and these books by Khaled Hosseini seem to be a pretty accurate portrayal of what life in Afghanistan is like). Next I think I will pick up the last Women's Murder Club book by James Patterson.... after that... who knows? Got any good ideas?

This also leads me to a slightly humorous thing that took place at Barnes & Noble Friday night. Todd and I had just checked out and were walking out to leave when a man approaches the counter and asks a cashier to help him find a certain book. All we heard was her say, "Do you know the exact title?" The guy says, "No, but it's a true crime. I know the murderer." SCARY!

Soccer Superstars

2008-03-29T12:01:00.002-05:00

Today Luke had his second soccer game of the season. He rocked the soccer field- scoring 4 goals!!! I am so proud of how far he has come since starting two and a half seasons ago. He went from being so shy the coach had to go out on the field with him to breaking away and taking the ball all the way down the field and scoring. It is so fun to watch all the kids on the team. The picture below is of his good buddy, Cooper. They made up the superstar team today- Cooper on defense and Luke on offense. They passed the ball to each other and really played well together. I'm so proud of them!!! (BTW, these pics are not from today- they are from last season.)

Easter 2008

2008-03-24T22:34:00.002-05:00

Payt and his cousin, Alex. Aren't they sweet?!?

Luke's looking very dapper.

Payt's Easter basket was so full of eggs at the church Easter Egg Hunt that eggs were literally spilling out of his basket. Here his cousin, Ryan, is helping him put them back in. Payt was quite the sight sprinting around picking up eggs!

Here's my two sweet boys getting ready for the big hunt. Aren't they cute?!?

Payt's chillin' after a busy day of egg hunting. He's too cool.

Hope you had a great Easter!

MEXICO!!!

2008-03-21T15:52:00.002-05:00

Check out the awesome place we stayed in Mexico... this is the building where our room was. can I just say- AWESOME! The whole place was beautiful and very big. We had a great time with our friends Jeremy & Charlotte and James & Tracy (no kids!!!). All-inclusive is the way to go- free drinks, free food, free everything!!!
Here's a little glimpse of the beach. There was a long stretch of beach- we had to choose our spot wisely, though, to stay away from all the high schoolers on their Senior Trip (boo).
Awww. Todd and I at dinner the first night.
Brazilian restaurant. Meat. Lots of meat. Big fat swords of meat. 8 different kinds. I ate crocodile! This dinner was a lot of fun- our server was awesome and at the end they made these coffee drinks on FIRE for us. Unbelievable! Lots of laughter at this place.
This is the ocean the last day we were there. It was so windy and choppy that we weren't able to go parasailing. It was a red flag day, which means "no swimming." We weren't good at obeying as we all swam out to the buoyes (with the exception of Tracy). We weren't the only people in the water, but we were the only ones that brave. I was so tired at the end I was afraid I might not make it back! Todd and I were the only ones swimming without fins, so it was considerably more work for us. Also- this is a picure of a rocky section of beach- we were in a better spot and it wasn't quite as choppy there. Oh, but the rocks, let's just say that one day while swimming in the ocean, I ended up in a patch of rocks, getting slammed by the waves. My ankle and hands got scratched up, but then Charlotte got sucked into the same place where she scratched up her leg, hands, and broke her toe! Ouch! She was a real trooper, though, and hardly complained the whole rest of the trip!

Lots of good stories I may share later, but here's the crazy part... while we were off enjoying a well-deserved vacation our world at home fell apart! When our plane landed in Dallas, I turned my phone on and checked voice mail. This is when I learned that my good friend, Jenny L. was rushed to the hospital and eventually had emergency surgery (read about it here). I also learned that my niece, Katelyn, was in the hospital. She is just one year old. She had a seizure and they did a spinal tap and thought she might have meningitis- turns out they don't think that she does have it, but they're not really sure what's going on. At any rate, she got to go home yesterday. And alas, my youngest, Payt, had to go to the doctor on Wednesday because he hurt his toe in the McDonald's playland on Sunday when he was with my in-laws. A few days later, his toe was still bleeding and infected. He is now on heavy-duty antibiotics and ointment. His poor big toe is all wrapped in gauze and he can't even wear his shoes! What a week!

The Frenzy

2008-03-13T22:14:00.002-05:00

Life never seems to slow down. Every night the past couple of weeks has been filled with something. I'm gone a lot, then I get home and try to wind down from whatever I was just doing, then before I know it, it's after midnight before I get to bed. And I'm up early again the next morning getting kids off to school and either working or running errands.

The past two weeks we've been involved with the interview process of trying to select a new campus minister at our church. Todd and I are a part of the Campus Support Team, so we have been involved with the campus quite a bit over the last year especially. I've really enjoyed getting to know two candidates and I'm excited about meeting another in a few weeks. I have to say, though, it's a very stressful process. Here we're taking 3 wonderful guys and picking them apart to decide who will be the best fit. Ultimately what matters the most is not how wonderful they are personally, but how wonderful they are for this particular ministry. Sometimes it's a hard thing to differentiate and I know we've got a tough decision ahead of us.

At any rate, I know you won't feel too sorry for me with my busy life as I am getting ready to head off to Mexico. Todd's parents will be here tomorrow because they will be staying with the kiddos while we go on our vacation. Meanwhile, it's 10:30 and I'm typing this instead of cleaning my filfthy house because I'm just too tired to get up. Plus, my feet hurt because I wore some new shoes today, which were totally cute, by the way, but since it's the first time I wore them, they made my feet hurt a little. I guess that's the price I pay for good fashion. :)

Sassy Pants

2008-03-07T14:26:00.002-06:00

That's my new nickname for Payt. Last night we were at the church and I was standing with a large group of people and I was explaining something when Payt walks up and crosses his arms and stands like I am. Next, he starts repeating me word for word. I manage to quiet him for about 1 second before he starts up again. Of course, he's smiling the whole time, showing off his stinkin' cute dimples and mischevious face. The rest of the room was cracking up. I'm pretty sure I have lost ALL control of this child. I think this is divine retribution for my own sarcastic and mischevious ways. The next 14 years or so are gonna whip me. What have I done???

Texas Sucks, Kansas Blows...

2008-03-03T16:11:00.002-06:00

...So the weather here stinks. I'm tired of sunny 75 degrees one day, snowy 30 degrees the next and all the stuff in between. Can't we just stick with the nice, sunny days?

Last night I made a trip to Wal-Mart after Life Group to get much needed groceries. When I got to Wal-Mart it was a nice 68 degrees. During my one-hour trip it dropped to 40 degrees and starting raining... hard... and the wind was unreal! I checked out with my basket FULL of groceries and headed out to the car in the monsoon. As I was literally throwing grocery bags into the trunk, a particularly hard gust of wind came through and slammed the trunk lid onto my head. It didn't feel good.

When I finally made it home, I trudged in literally soaking wet. I went straight to the bathroom to make sure my head wasn't bleeding (not sure my head could take any more trauma after a childhood full of emergeny room trips... gee I wonder where my boys get it...). Poor Todd asked what was wrong and I responded by making him unload all the groceries so I could take a nice, hot bath. Needless to say, I had a nice headache for the rest of the night. It was a lot of fun. Really, I love Oklahoma weather.

Mexico, here I come!

Tidbits

2008-02-27T21:43:00.002-06:00

Here are a few random tidbits from the past week:

Tonight as I went around the house holding Payt's hand and looking for his precious blankie, Payt teared up and finally said, "Maybe it died." Where does he get this stuff?
----------

I don't know why.
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This is a normal scene at our house. Except I'm not sure when or how Luke learned the M.C. Hammer move.

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Too cute.

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Luke was pumped about his school's skate night. He did awesome skating without any help!

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Hello, Blanchard teachers: Meet Trouble.

This is Luke with his buddies Wyatt and Whit at skate night.

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I think Payt might kill me in my sleep one day if he ever finds out that his "plumber" picture was online for the world to see. I guess that's a worry for another day. Today I think it's pretty funny!

He's An Animal

2008-02-23T11:35:00.002-06:00

As you might recall, my hubby Todd ran his first half-marathon the weekend before Thanksgiving. He did great- his time was 1:54:something. Well, today Todd ran his second half-marathon. This time his time was 1:39:30!!! I only wish I could run half that far in that time! :)

Now we're looking forward to his first full marathon in April. I'm excited... then again, I'm not the one running 26 miles. Go, Todd!

A Rock Star Birthday

2008-02-16T14:23:00.003-06:00

Today we had a party to celebrate Luke's 5th and Payt's 3rd birthday. The theme, you ask? Rock Star, of course! The boys were decked out in their Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin shirts respectively, and green spikey hair. Their friends all came dressed as rock stars, too... they were hilarious! When I get a chance, I have a "Mosh Pit" video to post of them all dancing. Too funny!
Payt, the natural Rocker.

I think Luke should keep this look. The chicks dig it.

Wild and crazy fun with a game of "Freeze Dance!"

We had a great time and were blessed to have good friends to share this special time with. A few were missing from sickness and bad weather, but all in all, it was a great time. I love these kids!

Some Good News

2008-02-14T15:37:00.002-06:00

Just a quick update on Jenny. She called today and said that her brain scan and bone scan both came back clear- no cancer there! Please keep praying for her- she's still got a long road ahead. She wants you all to know that she truly appreciates your prayers and she can almost literally feel the blanket of prayer that's being wrapped around her.

Still more tests to go, pray they all come back clear, too. Hopefully we'll know more soon. Thanks.

Jenny.

2008-02-13T15:56:00.002-06:00

I have no idea how to start this blog post. I've typed and re-typed and there is no good way to start this, so I'll just jump right in. My dear friend, Jenny Revlett, was diagnosed with breast cancer a week ago today. Since then she has learned that it is Stage IV- it has spread to her liver. She has undergone a battery of tests and continues to have test after test. Soon they hope to find out what kind of chemo she will be given (they are treating the liver before they can treat the breast cancer), and she will probably begin that in about 2 weeks.

Anybody who knows Jenny knows that she is one tough lady. She will fight this hard. She has two sweet little boys and a husband to fight for. I write now so that you will all join me in prayer for this awesome woman and her family. I will try to keep you updated on her condition until she feels able to blog herself.

Thanks in advance for your prayers. It's hard to be so far away from her right now, but I know she feels all of our love from here in OK.

Thanks

2008-02-12T17:39:00.000-06:00

Well, here's my family on Dad's side (my brother & his family, a few cousins & their families, and one aunt are missing). It was good to see them in Arkansas this weekend, despite the awful reason we were all there. It's not often we're all together- one uncle lives in upstate NY, one in Alaska, and my aunt lives in California.

I just wanted to thank all of you for your very kind words, thoughts, prayers, and even flowers. It meant a lot to ALL of us. Aunt Cathy had a very nice service, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen more flowers in one place! The funeral home was packed to standing room only. We truly felt the love of our friends and family during this and what a blessing it was. Thanks again.

Just Pray

2008-02-06T15:37:00.000-06:00

I come to you all again with yet another prayer request. We found out this morning that my aunt was killed in a tornado in Arkansas last night. The news, of course, is devastating. My family has been through so much lately with health problems and hard times and now this. Please just pray for my cousins, who lost their mother; their children who lost their grandmother; and the rest of us who lost a really wonderful person. My grandma is taking this especially hard, too. Just what she needs on top of aggressive chemo treatments.

I know it's easy to watch the news and think, "Man, all those people died in those tornadoes, that's terrible," then go on with your life. I ask that you will stop and pray, not just for us in the loss of my aunt, but for all the people who lost someone special to them- the news now says the death toll is in the 50's. Just pray. Thanks.

Class Clown

2008-02-05T14:09:00.000-06:00

So yesterday I get back to work after lunch and there is an instant message from Todd awaiting me. It read, "Your son got in trouble at school today." (yes, notice the use of "your")

As I sucked in a deep breath, I reluctantly typed, "What happened?" Next came the story. Apparently Luke decided to lock himself in a bathroom stall at school and unroll all the toilet paper. Then he refused to come out when the teacher asked him to. Now, I'm not one for disrespecting the teacher and acting out at school, but I couldn't help it when I read the story. I laughed. Hard. A 4-year-old child did this. One of his little buddies did the same thing, too. I can just picture the first-year teacher tapping her foot outside the stall in a huff. I can picture the mound of toilet paper underneath the two separate stalls. In my mind (warped as it is), it's just plain funny. Both boys received the punishment of sitting during recess and they both have to use the classroom bathroom for a week instead of the big bathrooms the other kids get to use.

I can't help but think, though, Luke's timing couldn't have been worse. Tonight is parent/teacher conference. Should be interesting.

The Strong-Willed Child

2008-02-02T21:31:00.000-06:00

Here is classic Payt, pirate style. I'm afraid Payt possesses a super power over me. You see, it's awfully hard to say "no" to those big blue eyes and sweet smile. He's a pretty good kid most of the time, so this shouldn't really be a big problem, right? Wrong. We have been trying and trying and trying to get Payt to be interested in potty training. He IS almost 3. Here's how one of these conversations might go:

Me: "Payt, do you want to use the potty?"
Payt: "No."
Me: "Did you know all your friends use the potty?"
Payt: "Yes."
Me: "Don't you want to be a big boy like your friends and your brother?"
Payt: "I little."

The conversation continues and Payt never relents. He did finally agree that he wanted to wear big boy underwear. So, I went out and got him some Cars underwear. He was pumped about wearing them today, but let me tell you how that went.

9 am: Put big boy underwear on
9:15: try to potty
9:30: try to potty
9:45: "Daddy, I go potty in my underwear" (and it's more than just potty...)
clean underwear and trips to the potty every 20-30 minutes after the accident
2:45 (approx. 5 minutes after last trip to try the potty): Major pee accident in the underwear
nap and playing, trips to the potty every 15 min. after nap
5 pm: Time to go to a birthday party. No way Daddy is going to deal with this at the party- diaper goes on. Payt wets the diaper.

Now, I've tried everything. I'm bribing him with M&Ms to go potty, I try turning the water in the bathtub on. He has a bladder of steel for a small child and the pure will NOT to use the potty. He has used it before, but very randomly, and definitely not if he's asked to. I guess I will give up and try again later. The 2-year-old wins again.

Have All the Okla. State Coaches Gone Mad?

2008-01-29T08:46:00.000-06:00

First there was the Mike Gundy "I am a Man!" tirade. Sunday night I'm watching the news and Sean Sutton, the OSU basketball coach, is crying about his team's loss and how he made bad decisions in the last few minutes, blah, blah, blah. Seriously? Crying? At least Mike Gundy is a man.

Todd and I went to the OU/OSU game last night. It was awesome and frustrating. The game went a half-hour longer than normal because the officials cried foul everytime a finger touched someone. It got to be pretty ugly, but in the words of Jeff Capel, "I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty."

Ahh, Oklahoma basketball! If you haven't been to a game yet, you need to go! (I'm just a little enthusiastic about OU basketball, can you tell?)

Social Justice

2008-01-27T22:21:00.000-06:00

My fellow Alameda buddies will know what I am talking about by the headline of my post... Preacher-Man Rusty has been doing a series at church called, "And Justice For All: The Church and Social Justice." This series, in my humble opinion is Rusty's best yet. So many of us go to church and hear about the same things we've heard about so many times- principles of how to live a Christian life. This series has been a call to LIVE the Christian life- to use your gifts and talents in ways that maybe are not "traditional" avenues of ministry.

I have definitley been inspired to do more. There are so many needs in our community, our country, and our world. I'm working on what I want to focus on and do (not that I'm going to be the next Pam Cope). I already have some ideas, which I'll share more on later. In the meantime, if you don't go to Alameda and haven't heard this series, I really encourage you to go to the Alameda website and listen to the sermons online. This morning's sermon was the best so far, I think, but as of right now it is not online. Check back tomorrow...

Update

2008-01-22T08:39:00.000-06:00

Thank you to all of you who wrote such nice things after my post about my grandma (my mom's mom). I thought I would give you an update: The doctors have sent her home even though her breathing is not what they would like it to be because she is on a very heavy dose of steroids for her brain tumors, which suppresses her immune system. They were afraid she'd pick up a staph infection in the hospital, so she's gone home. One of my aunts is staying with them, so I'm sure everything will be fine. She is still very weak and could use your continued prayers.

On another note, we also got a call this past week about my other grandma (my dad's mom). She has been living with lymphocitic (sp?) leukemia for years now. She went to the doctor this week and the doc said her tumors have grown significantly. They have decided to start her on an aggressive chemo treatment every week just to keep her comfortable (the tumors cause her a lot of pain). She has to drive an hour and a half just to get to the treatment place because Medicare won't pay for her to do it at a closer place. So, needless to say, she needs your prayers, too.

Thanks for letting me unload all my requests here. Your prayers mean a lot to me.

Payt's First Trip to the Emergency Room

2008-01-18T17:26:00.000-06:00

Well, as if this week wasn't bad enough... my sweet baby Payt got 4 staples in his head today! Poor child tripped over his blankie on the way to his bed for a nap and fell backwards, slamming the back of his head on the wood trim framing the doorway to the playroom. At first I thought he just had a bump and I picked him up and blindly put my hand on his head to see how big the bump was when I realized my hand was very warm... covered in blood! I calmy took him to the bathroom and got a washrag out to wipe off and stop the bleeding. Luke was a super big help and ran to get the phone for me so I could call Todd and have him meet me at Urgent Care. I also needed to put something over the huge gash for the car ride, so Luke ran out to the van and got the First Aid kit for me. What a superstar helper!

Anyway... Payt ended up getting 4 staples to pull his head together, but he was a trooper and didn't cry too much when they did it. Should be a fun night waking him every two hours, though...

Life Is Fragile

2008-01-16T21:27:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a trip to Arkansas. I am completely exhausted- emotionally and physically! My grandma (Granny T.) had a subclavean heart bypass surgery on Monday in Little Rock. The procedure itself went very well. Afterwards when they finally let family go to the recovery room (one at a time), I got my turn to see Granny. She had been so nervous before the surgery- I thought because she was afraid of dying, but she told me after the surgery that prayer really does work because God answered her prayer to be here to take care of my grandfather (Papa). She wasn't afraid for herself, but afraid of leaving Papa. I was glad she made it on both counts!

After we all let our guards down that night (afterall, she came through the surgery with flying colors!), we returned to the hospital the next morning to a completely different situation. Granny had been very sick during the night with vomiting. Her neck had also swollen to be bigger than her head! My Aunt Beverly went into the room and a few minutes later I joined her. She was awake and had her eyes open, but when I said hi to her, she couldn't respond. Her body was heaving violently trying to breathe. I looked at my Aunt and said right away, "she can't breathe!" Granny was in a shared room and her nurse was tending to the other patient in the room, so my Aunt leaned past the partition and told the nurse she needed to get a pulse-ox on Granny right away (my aunt is a nurse). She said she was a little busy (fluffing pillows!), so she got another nurse to do it. They took the reading and it was 52%!!! For those of you who don't know- it should be 100%. If it gets down to 92% you are put on oxygen (and Granny WAS on oxygen already). Then her regular nurse immediately called for the Rapid Response Team. They were there quickly, along with a pulmonologist, and within minutes, they had to intubate her (put a breathing tube down her throat). They said she had an airway obstruction. Turns out they think it was caused from the severe swelling of her neck constricting her windpipe. Anway, she was rushed to the ICU, where she remains now.

The good news is they were able to extubate her today and she is breathing on her own with some assistance from a C-Pack. God answered a lot of prayers this week for my family. I keep sending them up that she'll make a complete recovery. God is good.

Hello, My Name is Pam...

2008-01-09T23:36:00.000-06:00

and I am addicted to Guitar Hero. Todd and the boys got Guitar Hero for the Wii for Christmas. The first time I played, I swore I would never play again. My brain does not like for my hands to do two separate things at the same time, i.e. change notes AND strum. This is the reason I cannot play piano. But my stubborn side kicked in and I picked up that guitar again. Now I can't put it down.

Can I just say that my children have been going around singing, "My Name is Jonas," and "Welcome to the Jungle." Is it bad that my 2-year-old and 4-year-old go around singing Weezer? Today when I asked them what they wanted to do Luke said, "Sing Guitar Hero songs." They like to play their own little guitars while I play the game (or Todd). Payt especially likes "Rock & Roll All Nite." He even gets down on his knees while playing the guitar and singing.

I must say, with all of my practice, I am getting pretty good. I'm playing on Medium level and have come so close to perfection. I am obsessed. I MUST get a perfect score on something!!!

I think that's enough sharing for now. Well,maybe one more thing: did I mention that Luke and Payt are having a "Rock Star" birthday party??? Obsessed? I think so.

Is there a 12-step program for this?

Because If Everybody Else Jumped Off a Bridge...

2008-01-06T14:29:00.000-06:00

So we have welcomed another new year! A lot of my friends and fellow bloggers have been talking about their New Year's Resolutions. Well, I don't do resolutions. But there are a few things I want to work on for the new year.

#1 I want to train for and complete the 3-Day 60-mile breast cancer walk in November.
#2 I want to travel (hey, I'm already going to Mexico for Spring Break, taking a summer vacation with the kiddos, a Life Group ski trip in December [don't be a hater because we have the coolest LG] and I'm sure there will be a 10th anniversary trip in there somewhere, too).
#3 I want to be a better friend.
#4 I want to spend more time with my nieces and nephews.

There. Are you happy? I wouldn't call them resolutions, just goals that happen to start around the landmark date of January.

Oh yeah, I also want to get some home projects done. Do we have any painters out there??? I have a few rooms for some lucky DIYers to paint.... anybody... anybody? That's okay, I really don't mind doing that stuff- it's just a matter of getting the paint and I'll be set.

Well, Happy New Year. And for all of you who make resolutions, I hope you are very successful and may you all have a blessed year!!!

Sooner B-Ball, Baby!

2007-12-29T23:24:00.000-06:00

I hope all of you loyal Sooner fans out there watched our boys play West Virginia tonight and win ON THE ROAD to a ranked team in double OT!!!! That's our second win in a row against ranked opponents (did you see them beat Gonzaga????), and I have to say... we looked good!!!

I'm proud to be a season ticket holder. Boomer Sooner, baby! And Capel, you rock!

Can't wait for the football match-up against WV Wednesday- we can make it a double victory!

I'm not excited, or anything.

A Family Christmas

2007-12-26T17:06:00.000-06:00

I hope you all had a great Christmas... we sure did! We celebrated Sunday with my parents, brother & sister & their families. Above is a pic of all the cousins. What a good-lookin' bunch!
Luke & Payt had a great time with their cousins- it was fun to watch them play together. I sure wish they could be together more often. They really enjoyed their time together, and surprisingly, stayed out of trouble!
I couldn't resist posting this picture of Buzz, Buzz, & Buzz. My mom got Luke and Eli Buzz Lightyear costumes from the Disney store, which they adorned instantly. They stood with Uncle Buzz and all did a little, "To infinity and beyond!"
Here Luke & Payt are on Christmas Eve just after reading The Night Before Christmas. They were worn out from a hard day of Guitar Hero and playing with the cousins!
Christmas morning was so much fun this year! Both boys really got into opening their presents and they spent ALL day playing with them! Blogger wouldn't let me post anymore pics on this post, but I'll put more up soon. I hope you all had as great a time as us...

"The Real Christmas Story"

2007-12-19T20:57:00.000-06:00

Tonight was our church's Children's Christmas Program called, "The Real Christmas Story." Both the boys were in it- Luke was a shepherd and Payt was a sheep. Talk about cute! Here they are before the program started.
This is Payt and his best buddy, Kamden. A couple of good lookin' sheep on the prowl.
What's a church event without a picture of Luke and Hope together??? I was so proud of them standing together with nice smiles!
Here Luke's checking out Baby Jesus (or Baby Sadie... take your pick). He did such an awesome job standing on the stage for so long without moving! Sure he had some big-mouth yawning action going on, but darn it, he didn't move!
Payt was a crowd pleaser during the finale. He didn't want to sit with the sheep, he wanted to stand with the big kids and sing songs he didn't know. I think he really sold it... look at the hands on the hips! He has some definite stage presence. :)

Ahhhh, Christmas time... is there anything better?

Jinx Joke and Other Happenings

2007-12-13T14:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, okay. It serves me right for saying something about those without power... we lost power about 4 am Tuesday, but we did get it back on last night (love OEC! I have a feeling it would've been a lot longer if we used OG&E). My parents were gracious enough to let us stay at their house while they were out of town and our power was out. I love their house, but it's good to be back in our own home! We should be here just long enough to lose power again with this weekend's storm...

On another note, Todd and I just celebrated our 9th Anniversary! I can't believe it's already been 9 years (man, I got married young!!!). I thank God for such an awesome marriage to a wonderful man! Love you, Todd! I'm looking forward to retirement traveling to OU games in a pimped out RV with you... :)

"Ice Storm 2007"

2007-12-10T16:58:00.000-06:00

Here I find myself in the midst of "Ice Sorm 2007"- a name the media have so aptly given the inclement weather now upon us. I'm a little perturbed by the name, though. I'm fairly certain there were a few other "Ice Storm 2007s" here this year. That is why I am proposing a new Ice Storm naming system- similar to the naming of hurricanes and tropical storms. I'm thinking Ice Storm Abominable, Ice Storm Blitzen, Clause, Donner, Elf, and so on and so forth. What do you think?

I have some great pictures of the havoc ice has wreaked on our home and trees, but Blogger is not cooperating today- so maybe later. I will say my 3 1/2 year old house is cracking under the pressure of INCHES of ice on our roof. We have sprung a few leaks. To my insurance pals out there- any chance we might be covered??? :)

We have been pretty lucky, though. Most of our friends in the big college town down the road are without power and without safe water (power at the water plant is out) and here we are in the sticks- still have power and still have water! I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

Anyway- we are enjoying the downtime and taking it easy I hope you're all keeping warm. Adios!

Shameless Plug

2007-12-04T08:55:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've gone and done something big. I registered for the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk in San Diego in November of 2008! I will be walking 60 miles in 3-Days to help raise money and awareness for breast cancer. I know, I know... that's A LOT of walking! I started training last night!!!

Many of you who read this know that I lost a very dear friend to breast cancer this year. Melinda had been looking forward to doing the 3-Day herself. Now I will honor her memory as I walk.

I thank Kathryn R. for getting me interested in doing this awesome event- she has done it 3 times now (she's a rockstar walker!). I'm nervous about all the training and time involved, but I am committed to doing this, and I'm very excited!

If you want to learn more about the 3-Day, you can go to the website here. Now here's the shameless plug part... I have to raise $2200 in order to be able to participate in the 3-Day. Every bit of that money goes to Susan G. Komen and the National Philanthropic Trust Project (I pay my own way there). If you are so inclined to contribute, I would be truly grateful. One awesome thing about contributions is that if you work for a company that does matching funds for charitable contributions, this should qualify and you can double your contribution just like that. If you are interested in contributing, you can do it online by going to http://www.the3day.org/ and clicking on "Make a Donation- 2008 Events." Next you put in my name and state and go from there.

It's Christmas time and I know many of you are stretched right now, so if you can't donate financially, I would love your prayers on behalf of myself and the team I am walking with. Thanks for your support!

On the Farm

2007-11-28T16:46:00.000-06:00

We spent last week at Todd's parents' house on a farm in Indiana. The first thing the boys wanted to do, of course, was ride on the machines! Above Luke and Payt are with Grandma & Grandpa in the Combine (Luke knows the difference between a Combine and a Tractor, and he WILL correct you when you refer to the Combine as a "tractor"). Below they are in the Tractor. Dream come true for two little boys!
Below is a picture of their house. It is a wonderful farmhouse built in the 1800s! You can't see the back, but it's actually quite a large house. Even though it was built so long ago, much of the inside has been updated without taking away from the character of the house. Sure, you might freeze to death on a cold Indiana night, but it's charming, isn't it?

Run, Forrest, Run!

2007-11-26T23:12:00.000-06:00

I know, I know... it's been forever since I've blogged. I have a good excuse! I took a week off and headed to the farmlands of Indiana to visit Todd's family. I totally disconnected from email, blogs, internet in general (what did I do??? Oh yeah, I knit some scarves). Anyway, I'm back and have lots to talk about since my disconnect. I'll take it in pieces and spread it over several blog posts. This one is dedicated to Todd and Rusty.

Last Saturday we headed out to Tulsa after Luke's soccer game and met up with Rusty & the fam for dinner. Payt wanted to sit by Mitzi and Hope during dinner (poor Mitzi... I hope that pepperoni comes out of your jeans...). It was lots of fun, but we were all anxious to get back to our hotel rooms to watch the big OU game. Several hours and many angry words later we finally got the the boys to sleep, then I couldn't bare to watch the game anymore (your breakin' my heart, Sooners).

Bright and early Sunday morning we all met up at the race site downtown. It was so much fun to watch all the runners! We lost Todd and Rusty in the jumble of the starting line, but eventually found them and then we were able to go to one spot to see them run by. I was so impressed by how effortless they made running look- I thought I might just get up and join them, but then I remembered Phoebe in that episode of "Friends" where she is running with Rachel. I wasn't afraid I would look like her... I was afraid Rusty would start running that way to embarass me. :) Actually, I just remembered that I couldn't run a half-marathon.

We waited at the finish line and I got to see Todd finish! I was so excited for him to finish his first half-marathon, and he did it under his goal time of 2 hours- he made it in 1:55:something (see the picture). Rusty finished not too long after him and they both got cool medals, which the children immediately confiscated as their own.

Below is the after-running picture. Still alive and smiling! Now they are planning their next half-marathon. I'm hoping for California or Hawaii, but I don't think it's going to happen. Hey, a girl can dream, right???
Congrats guys, I'm proud of you!

Life in General

2007-11-12T15:45:00.000-06:00

So, life has been a little crazy lately. I've had very little time to sit down and come up with a meaningful post. So, here's a collection of randomness about my life right now.

-I love that I can let my kids play in the back yard by themselves now. Sayonara kids, I've got TV to watch! (Just kidding! Well, a little.)

-If you leave Halloween candy sitting on the counter, I will eat it.

-OU Men's Basketball rocks. Season tickets rock. Sweet old people behind us rock. Crazy little girl in cheerleader outfit across the aisle does not rock.

-Christmas is coming soon. I have 7 Christmas parties to attend this year (so far). I love Christmas and I love parties.

-My hair bothers me. One day good, next day bad.

-I'm good at figuring out people's secrets. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

-I like to knit. There. I said it. I can't make anything other than hats and scarves, but I like to do it. I aspire to knit like Mitzi. I know, I'm a dork.

-It's nearly 80 degrees and it is November. It's just plain wrong.

-I have been married for almost 9 years now. Awesome!

-Life is going by crazy fast. Luke is almost 5, and Payt is almost 3. in some ways it downs't seem possible, in other ways I can hardly remember life without them (no, it's not old age).

-I hate whining.

And on that note, Payt is crying, I must go.

Booty Shakin' Santa

2007-11-05T18:28:00.000-06:00

The 7 Days of Halloween

2007-11-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. I've never spent so much time celebrating Halloween. It all began last Wednesday when Payt had his FIRST class Halloween party at Mother's Day Out. That's right. The first. Thursday they had another one. That's right. The next day. Then, on Friday, Luke's class had a fieldtrip to the Pumpkin Patch (my baby's first field trip!). He and Whit had a grand old time running around together, jumping on hay, riding bikes and going through hay and corn mazes.
Next was the Fall Festival at church on Sunday night. what a great event Odra and the team put on! The boys loved the moon bounce, games, and trunk-or-treating. The picture at the top is of Luke and Hope at the festival. Just above is Payt and my mom (will the woman ever look at the camera?).
Monday Todd and I took both boys to the Pumpkin Patch since Payt had not gotten a chance to go yet. We went about 45 minutes before it closed, so we had to rush around. Payt was hilarious running after big brother and daddy in the corn maze.
Halloween day brought many more festivities. First was Luke's class party, which Todd and I got to go to. How fun to see him interact with his school buddies! Right ater the party was over, I got a phone call that my mom was being taken to the ER by an ambulance. She had some sort of super-dizzy spell at work and was unable to get off the floor. Luke and I spent the next 4 hours or so in the ER with my mom and dad (Todd and my brother were there for a while also). There was no shortage of "Oh, look at the cute little firefighter!" in the hospital. Apparently hospital workers dig the uni. Later, after my mom was admitted to a room and was doing a better, my dad took me and the boys to the place where he has physical therapy for his shoulder (recovering from rotator cuff surgery) because they were having a little carnival. It was pretty cool, actually, they played games, ate hotdogs and loaded up on even more candy!

We returned to the hospital for a few minutes, then home to get ready for trick-or-treating in the neighborhood. Luke and Payt had an awesometime walking the neighborhood for candy. Payt would say the following everytime somebody answered their door, "Trick-or-treat-or-treating!" Too cute. We finished up by trick-or-treating at Gramp's house. From there Gramps and I returned to the hospital for a while. I'm happy to report that mom is now out of the hospital (still no explanation of what happened) and doing better. I'm also happy to report that Halloween is OVER!!! Now, if only I could get rid of all of this candy!!!

Race for the Cure 2007 Video

2007-10-25T13:08:00.000-05:00

Race for the Cure 2007

2007-10-21T20:11:00.000-05:00

I've been looking forward to the Race for the Cure for a while now. Last year was our first year to put together a team from church. We called it "Team Melinda" in honor of Melinda Evans, a dear friend, who was, at the time, battling breast cancer. We had about 65 people on our team last year. Melinda told me so many times how awesome and encouraging it was to have so many people come out to support her and raise money for the cure. Melinda was a warrior. On August 17th of this year, Melinda lost her battle. But it's not over. We continue to fight for her and for so many other people affected by this disease.

Yesterday was the 2nd annual RFC for our church team. This year we called it "Team Evans" because now, not only do we honor Melinda's strength, wonderful personality and awesome legacy, but we also honor her family, who have to continue on without her. How big was our team this year? We had OVER 150 people! I'm proud to say we had the biggest non-corporate team. What a powerful statement of love and support! You can bet that every one of us thought of Melinda, thought of her family while we ran/walked. I was overjoyed by the sheer size and amount of support. I was also saddened that this year Melinda wasn't with us. In her absence she provided strength and endurance to those of us participating.

I know we will continue to do this race every year, and I hope it continues to grow each time. Melinda's legacy really does live on.

So, now I know you are wondering, how did I do in the race??? Horrible. Not to make excuses or anything, but I was sick, proven by the bloody nose I got DURING the race. I had to stop for a little bit, then walk for a while before I could run again. I think my time ended up an abysmal 46 minutes for the 5K. Ouch.

The picture above is the back of the t-shirt Kathryn and I made this year for Team Evans. Later this week I hope to post a video with lots of pictures from the race. Stay tuned...

-ectomies

2007-10-13T16:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Payt had a tonsillectomy and adnoidectomy. Here was my sweet, brave boy just before surgery. What a trooper! Surgery went well... doc came out and said his tonsils were huge and adnoids were so big they were blocking 75% of his nasal passage. They told us he would probably throw up once after the surgery because of the junk that runs down to their tummies during surgery. Well, at 7 pm and at least 6 changes of clothes later, the on-call doctor called in some nausea meds for poor Payt. Happy to report he has not thrown up since and he is in a happy drug-induced nap as we speak.

On another note, Luke had another soccer game this morning. He did great! He scored one goal all by himself, and then he and another teammate, Joel, kicked the ball at the same time for another goal. He did such a great job at keeping his hands to himself and playing hard that he got to go have a special lunch at Red Lobster after the game (is it bad to bribe your kid like that???). Ahhhh.... these are the days...