Scrap Booking

On Tuesday my new friend Guyla (remember I met her through Candy's blog) picked me up and we went to a scrap book night with some of her friends. My friend Kim, who I reconnected with through Guyla, was also there. It was so much fun to sit back, talk, laugh, and still get something accomplished. I didn't scrapbook. I just worked to catch up on my photo journaling in my ordinary plain albums.

Thanks Guyla for including me.

Kim & Rachel. Rachel didn't scrapbook but she brought some knitting/crocheting. She was making headbands.

Guyla worked feverishly on her pages. I admired her creativity. She came very prepared. Her and Kim both had all their supplies and photos packed in a suitcase!!!

Caroline and Kim working away. Caroline has only been married 3 months (I think) so she was working on her honeymoon pictures. I knew Kim from high school/college and she was working on pages for her children.

I wasn't kidding when I said they brought things in suitcases!!! All my albums and photos were packed in the little bitty pink bag!!!! But remember I didn't bring any scrap booking supplies. These two definitely inspired me to get my supplies out and start scrap booking again!!!

I had a great time with these gals!! It was a fine way to end a crazy Tuesday.

Terrorized Tuesday !!!

I so wish I could communicate this in person! It would be so much easier for me! I have had the craziest Tuesday morning in a looooonnnnngggg time and it is only 11:00 a.m. I'll try to be short and not so long winded.

I woke up at 2:15 AM this morning and laid in bed until 3:30. I got up at 3:30 and read in Psalms for 30 minutes and had a prayer time. Based on the events that transpired shortly after I should have prayed longer and read longer!! I started cleaning the kitchen around 4:15 and ran the dishwasher. I noticed under my sink was wet and I saw a grey hose and wondered "Hmmm what's this gray hose go to?" As I picked it up I discovered it was the dishwasher drain hose and it had become detached from the sink/garbage disposal thingy. I immediately shut off the dishwasher and mopped up the water and cleaned up under the sink. I decided to run the dishwasher. I had to get the water out of the bottom. I knew Bryan couldn't work on it until this afternoon and I didn't want the water to get stagnant and smelly. So I pulled out my big plastic bowl and big deep pots. I was going to listen for the drain cycle and catch the water. Weeellllll, I went into the office to clean it up and I missed the cycle. When I got back into the kitchen the entire space under my sink was wet, one pot was full, and water was standing in my kitchen!!!! I'm so stupid. I can't believe I didn't stay in there to listen so I could catch ALLLL the water!!! I had already mopped earlier that morning so I ended up mopping my kitchen yet again!!

Don't feel sorry for me yet....It gets better. I left the house a little early and stopped by America's Drive In.

I wanted to try a Cranberry Sprite. Melissa, my hair stylist, had one last night when she was coloring my hair and I've been wanting to try it. A good Sonic drink is bound to solve all the craziness, right. Well, almost. Does anyone know what this sign means?

When I left Sonic to get onto the interstate I was halfway down the side road when I realized I was going the wrong way!!!!! 3 cars passed me. I seriously considered pulling off the side of the road and parking!!! When I called Bryan he asked me if I saw the Do Not Enter sign and I said Yes. But honestly my very first thought was..."That's a weird place for the sign. I don't remember this road having a Do Not Enter sign!" I had to continue to drive on the far right. I just knew a police man was going to see me and pull me over for drunk driving!!! I'm sure I would have failed the test because I was tired!!!!!

Crazy Tuesday!!!!!!!!

Fun-Family-Frenzy

I have had an overflowing weekend! I have been blessed with some very sweet times with my family and we've made wonderful memories! It has been one of the busiest and fast paced weekends I have had in a long time but I've enjoyed it nonetheless and I know at some point I'll be able to catch up on my sleep.

I rode with my older sister and her children to my younger sister's birthday gathering. I had so much fun. We were so crazy in the truck. Spending time with my nephew and nieces makes me feel young and very old all at the same time!!!

Kayla and I enjoying the fresh country air!!!!!

This is my parents and their girls on Kristi's 27th birthday.

My parents and their grandchildren. Bryan and I hope to add to their bunch some day!

I'm so grateful I was able to see my Grandma this weekend. My dad's parents live in Oregon and my grandfather has Alzheimer's. He is in an assisted living/nursing home. My grandmother was unable to take care of him. Seeing her made me miss him. We had a great time reminiscing about things my grandpa would say or do and Grandma Joy had some funny stories to tell. We decided it was better to laugh than cry!! Laughing is great medicine.

On Saturday morning Bryan and I drove to Butler, OK to meet with the rest of the family and have a little reunion. There were people there I had not seen in over 20 years! It was strange and funny as we all tried to remember and figure out who everyone was!

Bryan and I with Grandma Joy in Butler, OK

My Dad's Entire Family with Grandma Joy

On Sunday Bryan and I went to preaching services at the church my brother-in-law pastors. We ate lunch at the church and then went to their house. This allowed us spend more time with Grandma Joy and spend more time with my nieces and nephew. Bryan and I had way too much fun playing with them in the pool. Bryan actually did all the hard work!!

I loved all these action shots!! Rachel might not can walk on water but this picture sure makes it look like she can kneel!!! My camera just happened to catch it at just the right time.

Myself, Rachel, and Kayla. We had taken about 10 different poses using my camera timer! We had lots of giggles trying to get this picture just right!!

A Good Book Among the Busyness

This week has been so very busy for me. I have had commitments every night this week, except for Monday night. And, I do not have a free day/night at home in the evenings until Monday August 4th. I either have family commitments, time scheduled with friends, a shower to prepare for, and meetings at church. I love getting to participate in all of these things but it is beginning to take it's toll on me. I'm not sleeping well. You'd think I would be dead to the world when I sleep simply from exhaustion but I've been waking up at 3:30/4:00 the past 4 days! YUCK!!!!!

Monday evening Bryan and I cooked bratwursts on the grill. I'm so glad we had that time together. I sometimes wonder if people think he and I have all the time together because we do not have children. But these past 2 weeks would definitely prove those folks wrong. The few hours I've been home, Bryan was either working some routine maintenance on my car or he has been studying for his Sunday School lesson, or he has worked late. It has been crazy for the both of us!! The little time we have had together has been sweet and we have learned to appreciate it.

I neglected to use my camera on the fun things I've done. On Tuesday I watched Brooklyn's kiddos so she and Jorge could go out and then Thursday was Book Club for our church. I completely intended to take pictures at Book Club but got side-tracked. I LOVE Book Club. The senior ladies (70-90 years old!!!) are so sweet to me. I love looking them in the eye and listening to them. I love hugging them. I love seeing their eyes light up. I was so blessed from book club this past week.
I knew we would be on the road some last weekend and I would have a little reading time so I checked this book out from our church library:
Oh my goodness gracious, great balls of fire!!!! This is such a great book!!!!!! I could not put it down. There are some parts of it that made my heart so tender. I picked it up just based on description on the back cover. I had not read this author and I wanted something different. I was interested in it because the story was about an adoption and the birth mother. I thought it would be interesting to read from a birth mother's perspective since we hope to adopt. There were so many different stories that evolved throughout this book. People find Christ, family relationships are healed, tragedy happens, and much much more!! You just have to read it!!! Please tell me if you do. I want to write about so much more but I don't want to spoil it for you. Plus Brooklyn is reading it now!!! Bryan kept asking me what it was about and I just would tell him "Oh there's so much happening I don't know where to start." It made my heart so soft toward a birth mother. I cannot comprehend some of the feelings and thoughts she must go through. I know all things work out according to God's perfect plan, but I feel so burden for our birth mother. I feel an urgency to pray for her and her decisions. This book made me stop and think more about an adoption from a birth mother's perspective. I do realize not all adoptions happen or occur like they did in this book but still. YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!!!

Tonight I'm off to a house warming/birthday party for my little sister and then tomorrow we are going to Western OK. My dad's mother is visiting from Oregon. I have not seen her in several years. Please pray for a sweet reunion and I ask you lift me up in your prayers asking God to help me follow through with my convictions to build a stronger relationship with my grandma. Thank you.

Have a blessed weekend!

Family, Family, Family

We have had another fun filled packed weekend!!!

This weekend we had a family reunion for my Poppy's side of the family. He has passed away and his sister is the only one of the siblings still living. It was fun to see that side of the family but I visited mostly with my immediate cousins. We tend to do that at our family reunion.

James was up from TX spending some time with us and then he followed us down to Ada to stay Fri. night with Bryan's parents. On the way down we stopped at Jo's Famous Pizza in Purcell. YUM YUM!! Yes, that is Ranch dressing for my pizza! I couldn't live without it.I love knowing how to operate the self timer on my camera. I used it with Bryan and James and then again with Bryan's parents. It bumfuzzled Bryan's MeMaw and his dad.

My Granny in the center with her sister-in-laws, Aunt Helen and Aunt Jean.

Several of my cousins and I at the reunion.
The majority of the folks in this picture are my grandparents children with the exception of the girl in the black t-shirt. And not all of the family was at the reunion. I promise my eyes are not closed. I'm just really squinting!!! I've decide a bunch of us are squinty!!!

My cousin Shane and my niece Kayla. We rode in the back seat as my cousin Alyssa drove us for the first time. We loved to give Alyssa a hard time!!

Shane is getting so tall and he's only 15!!!!!

We also managed to squeeze in some quality visiting with Bryan's MeMaw. It was a fun weekend but very busy. We started another work week tired!! Then, this next weekend I have a reunion with my dad's side of the family and then in 2 more weeks I'm giving Whitney a shower and the family is going to be staying at my house. We are going to be busy. This weekend Bryan and I both mentioned wanting him to start back to school just so our schedule WOULD HAVE TO slow down! But I do love spending time with my family and making fun memories!!!

Friends and Family

I had the neatest night on Monday. I met a great friend (who is now one of my friends!!) of a fellow blogger, Candy. Candy lives in Louisiana but her friend Guyla lives in the same town I do!!!! Candy and Guyla went to college together. Guyla doesn't have a blog (I think Candy and I are really trying to get her to blog) but she has been reading Candy's and came across mine. Because we lived in the same town and had a few other similarities Guyla emailed me when we began planning our DC trip!! It was so neat!! I felt like I was a teenager all over again and I was giddy when I read her email. In her original email she mentioned she went to a Missionary Baptist Church in a nearby town. I emailed back and said I had a friend that attended there at one time and wondered if her and her husband were still there. Guyla replied Yes! and that they were great friends with each other. I had not seen this friend in 5 years.

So Guyla, Kim, and I were finally able to meet this past Monday night!!!!! So Candy, I thank you. Through you I made a new friend I'm excited to build a relationship with and I was reacquainted with a friend I had not seen in a long time!!!! Thank you Candy!!!!!

I loved my time with Kim and Guyla. Guyla has the sweetest, kindest spirit about her! I love seeing her love for her little boy shine through! My friend Kim had to leave a little early but Guyla and I stayed at iHop a little longer and just talked. I'm always a little nervous when I meet someone for the first time. I hope she didn't think I was too crazy or loud!! One very major highlight and interesting note is the fact that Guyla lives literally about 2-3 blocks from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait until the next time we meet. We talked about meeting and walking the trail near our house. I wanted to take many pictures but I didn't want Guyla and Kim to think me too strange on this first meeting. I nearly forgot to even get a picture but I knew I needed to so Candy could see it. Sorry, Kim had already left before we took this picture.

We made plans for all 3 couples to get together soon and have our husbands meet. Kim's husband likes to hunt and Guyla's husband shoots guns, so Bryan will be happy!!!!

Wednesday was Brooklyn's birthday. Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!!!!! Her mother-in-law's (who is my boss) birthday was Thursday. The Gorton family (parents, sons and their wives) went out to eat with no children on Wednesday night and I offered to babysit for Jorge and Brooklyn. I had a fabulous time!!! I didn't get any pictures of Stella (sorry Brooklyn)! But we had a joyous time. We swung around, plopped on the couch (sorry Brooklyn), "body slammed" on the bed (sorry Brooklyn), and any other bad habit I should not have done!!!! :) I promise I didn't literally body slam them. I just picked them up high and gently laid them on the bed. They just thought I was slamming them. I promise. I bet the parents who just read this are so nervous now!!! Sorry!!!

The girls were great and Boston spent a significant amount of time in the swing. I'm thankful for the man/woman who created the swing!!! It saved my life on Wednesday. It was an honor to watch these sweet ones. They really are like family to Bryan and I.

I kind of wonder if Boston was thinking "Who is this crazy lady watching me?" He looks a little scared!! But isn't he precious!!!!!!!!!

Ava "painting".

We had cake and lunch for Judy and Brooklyn at the office yesterday.

My cousin James has been visiting from Texas. This evening we are headed down to Ada for a family reunion tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't seen my cousins since Katie's birthday.

Mt. Vernon and Annapolis, Maryland

This is the last of our whirlwind vacation blogs...promise!!! We were going nonstop. Oh how I miss it but I seriously think I could not keep up that constant pace.

On Saturday 7/5 we drove to Mt. Vernon and we loved it!!! We stood in line 2.5 - 3 hours to tour George Washington's home.

We want to go back some day because due to time we missed seeing some of his gardens and demonstrations they were giving. There was just so much to see. They had a tour based on the scenes from National Treasure 2 but it was sold out when we got there at 12:00!! It was very moving to view his bedroom and see the actual bed he died in. We could not take pictures inside the museum.
We also walked down to his tomb. We hate to say seeing someone's burial place was the highlight but we felt very honored and privileged to see the place where the 1st President of the United States was buried. Our trip was full of so much history! We live in an amazing country and we have had amazing leaders!!
There is also a very nice museum/visitor center at Mt. Vernon that have several relics and displays pertaining to George Washington, his home, and presidency. We saw some of his clothing. It was amazing. But once again, due to time, we cut our visit short. We have to go back!!!


Yet again, Bryan saw someone he knew from Oklahoma. As we were leaving the visitor center I heard him say "Fancy seeing you here." I thought he was talking to me as I walked out of the bathroom!!!! Nope. It was another guy (different from the one in DC) that he had a class with at OU. I'm telling you, it was crazy!!! We just laughed and laughed that he ran into someone he knew 2 days of our trip all the way on the east cost!!!


This was outside of George Washington's home toward the very end of the day. We had taken a break on the beautiful lawn. Do we look tired or what??!!

On Sunday, I just did not think my leg could handle a lot of walking in DC again so we drove to Annapolis, Maryland to see the US Naval Academy and other sites. I believe one of the things it is known for is their chapel. It was very nice and ornate inside. My pictures did not turn out but the stain glass was gorgeous. This is taken inside the dorms where the "recruits" stay. The art work was amazing. So beautiful. There was also a fresh class of Plebes there. We were able to see them marching. They had only been there 5 days and looked scared to death!!

I had to take a picture of the Olympic sized swimming pool at the academy in honor of Granny. She swims everyday at the college in Ada. This pool below is slightly bigger than what she is used too!!! It went under the stadium seating!!! I so would not make it at the US Naval Academy considering I only can swim on my back!!!!!

This football is from the first Army/Navy game.

You probably know they have a HUGE rivalry!!! Bryan was in the Army National Guard early in our marriage. I told him his Army guys need to pick it up!! Go ARMY!!!

View from the back of the Naval Academy.

I LOVED Annapolis!! We want to go back again!!!
A police officer volunteered to take our picture with the harbor in the background. I promise I didn't even ask. She said she was from a large family and knew how important pictures were. I loved her!!!! I truly did not pressure her to take our picture. I think Bryan let her take the picture due to his fear of being arrested if he didn't allow her to take it!!!
We enjoyed seeing the Naval Academy and Bryan remembered there were a few scenes from the movie Patriot Games filmed there. When we got home we watched the movie and Harrison Ford walked through the exact same gate we did!!! We were pumped!!!!

Annapolis has a really neat downtown near the harbor. We ate great seafood and clam chowder for the 3rd or 4th time!! This was our last full day of vacation and we wanted to get in the last of the seafood and clam chowder while we could. This was the view from our restaurant. We ate upstairs.

We ended our last vacation day with Eric and his family! We ate a nice dinner with them in Aberdeen, Maryland. We enjoyed our time with Eric and really tried to make the most out of it. If he is deployed to Iraq, this may have been one of or possibly the last time we see him before he leaves. We just don't know his schedule yet. I'm so glad we had a lady take our picture together.
Bryan and I made a mad dash back to Gettysburg Monday morning before catching our return flight. He picked up some officer buttons and I bought an "aged" American flag.
I saved this picture for last. It was taken on Monday in Gettysburg right before we made a beeline for the rental car place and the airport to catch our flight.

I found the army hat in Annapolis Maryland in a souvenir shop. Since Bryan was in the OK Army National Guard, I felt he had to have it. And we found it funny that we bought an "army" hat in the town that is home to the US Naval Academy. I LOVE BRYAN HASKINS!!! This picture just makes my heart skip around!!!

The End!!!!!

4th of July in DC -- (I'm almost done with vacation pictures)

Are you tired of my vacation yet?? Thank you for putting up with my posts. I know if I do not record this somewhere, I will forget some of the wonderful memories we made. I only have this post and one other left to do and then I will be back to the normal every day happenings of my life. Yippee!! Don't get too excited! :)

The 4th of July in DC was another amazing day on our vacation. It was very rewarding, very hectic, very tiring, and very enjoyable all in one! We spent the whole day with my cousin Eric, his wife Whitney, and his step daughter Katie. The city was very crowded and there was heavy security. It was neat to say we were in our nation's capital during Independence Day but we will probably never be there on a major holiday again. The security blockades kept you from seeing several sites up close, i.e. the White House. The Mall was fenced off and there were security checkpoints to even get onto the Mall. I'm not complaining. I'm thankful for the security. It just made it a little more inconvenient to navigate to the various sites. Still a great day for Bryan and I though. We did a ton of walking and my leg was not doing too well on this day. My ankle was swollen so much the skin cracked. I couldn't wear my support hose because I had a heat rash and razor burn!! But I still was thankful I had two legs to walk on and my wonderful, adorable husband was very patient and very concerned. The next morning he got up early and drove to a pharmacy to pick me up some burn cream and then some medicated powder to put on. He was an angle!! Thank you Buddy!!

Enjoy the pictures! I'll try to keep the narration to a minimum!! :) Wish me luck!!The Washington Monument was even prettier at night.Our next stop... The World War II Memorial. This was new since we had been there. Bryan and I both really wanted to see this. His PaPaw was in the Army during the War and my Poppy was in the Navy; both in the Pacific area.
Bryan was pointing to an area where his PaPaw fought in the War, New Guinea. His grandpa saw some major combat.There is a wall of stars in memory of the service men who died in the war. The gold stars reflect in the small pool. It is hard to see in the photo but it truly was beautiful.

After the WW II Memorial, Bryan and I visited briefly the Korean War Memorial and then met Eric at the Lincoln Memorial. The Korean Memorial was beautiful. Statues were strategically placed throughout the grounds and faces were seen in the granite wall.

My older sister really admires and loves Abraham Lincoln. I wanted her to be with me and experience this trip so badly. I took a lot of pictures for her (I won't put them all on the blog). She is going to have her Elementary Ed Degree next Spring and I kept thinking she could use them somehow, somewhere.

Above: View of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.

Our little family at the Lincoln Memorial. I loved it that Katie wanted to stand by Bryan and I!!!:The Vietnam Wall. This photo shows the start of the wall which appeared to me to be in the middle. The names are listed in the order the men/women were killed.

We accidentally came upon a parade on our walk back to find something to eat. Which by the way...I had the best chili cheese dog from a vendor ever!!! It was delicious. Expensive, but delicious. Bryan and I each had a chili cheese dog and one water and it costs us $11!!! Not your Sonic Chili Cheese Coney price!! :)Due to security on the 4th, this was as close as we could get to the White House! Another tid bit, while we were walking through this park/lawn, Bryan came up missing. We all looked back and he was talking to someone!!! He had ran into a guy he knew from Norman. Bryan had taken a few graduate classes with him!!! Hilarious that we came all the way to DC and Bryan ran into someone he knew!!! The guy was playing frisbee with the tour guide we had at the capital!!

Do these guys look tired or what!!! And we were still 5-6 hours from the fireworks!!!

The temperature cooled off somewhat. We had road the subway into Arlington to grab a bite to eat and I picked up a thin long sleeve t-shirt to wear. Then, we went back into DC and found one of our many spots (we moved at least 3 times) to watch the fireworks. It rained on us some, but I didn't get too wet because I stood under a tree which could have been dangerous if it was struck by lightening!!! The light shower felt kind of good though!!

Pre-Rain Photo Shoot:

During Light Sprinkle Photo Shoot (I love Bryan's face in this!!! He was being silly!!!):And now ladies and gents (there's only a few gents who read my blog) I present to you the few shots of the fireworks! These were the best I had. It was glorious to watch and hear!! There was constant fireworks and booms!!!Bryan made us all leave a little early and we watched the finale as we walked down the street to the subway station and I'm so glad he did. This is what we encountered when we got to the tunnel. The police had to monitor the number of people going into the subway.When the people took their umbrellas down, we were splattered with water. But it was so humid and hot it felt great!!! We were so very thankful to get into the subway tunnel and then we waited for about another 30 minutes to get onto the subway. It was crowded and nerve racking but we are still glad we had the experience. Now we know what to do and what not to do and when to do it or not do it!!!