OU #1

Thank you Alabama (sorry Georgia fans)!!!! What a great Saturday!! If you do not know yet, you should....Oklahoma is No 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2003 and broke the record for most appearances atop the AP Poll.


We made a flying trip to Ada on Saturday to visit Granny and Bryan had to set up his deer camera and then we high-tailed it back to Norman for some glorious football!!! It was a gorgeous day! The weather was just perfect and the company was too!! We sat behind Brooklyn and Jorge.




Brooklyn is such a sweet, patient friend to me!! I love to laugh with her!!

And yes, I did get my football nachos. They taste so much better at a live football game!! I thought I would just starve myself until the game (I certainly do not need the nachos; they are not the healthiest food :>) ) but Granny had chili cheese dogs when we got to her house!! I am in so much trouble this week. I will have to work out double time!!

Throughout the game we kept watching the Alabama/Georgia score. I just knew we would go to #1 if Alabama beat Georgia. I kept thinking of Laura who is a small Bama fan!!! I was excited for her and wondered how they were reacting!! I'm holding my breath for my Sooners though because we do have some pretty intense games coming up.

I am really trying to weed down our closets and odds and ends we just do not use. I'm either donating them or trying a resale shop or storing the undecided in the attic. As I was going thru my clothes I wondered just how many OU shirts I had. I thought it would be fun to take an inventory!

What an eye opener!!! I had no idea I had this much and I had even forgot about 2 of the t-shirts I had!! Thank goodness they are all different. It is kind of funny and kind of not. It made me realize how much excess I had. I was convicted of the extra money I spent on wardrobe items that were not really needed; just wanted. I told Bryan at the time of purchase I'm sure I felt I just had to have it but in reality there is no way I need another new shirt! I am glad I did this and hope I apply the lesson I learned. I can live without a lot of the material things so many of us have.

Tonight we have Monday Night Football, Tuesday -- Biggest Loser, Thursday -- The Office!!!

Have a great week!!!

Closets and Organization

I have to confess...I may have a cleaning list but that doesn't mean I always follow it to a T. One of my projects that have been on my list for a year (since I switched jobs) was to clean and downsize items in our closet. I have several things I have not worn or have shrunk (I grew!!). Twice a year I take some of my nicer clothes to a resale shop in Norman. I lazied around and didn't take my summer clothes this year so I knew I had to get on the ball to get my winter clothing there.

I have recently had two inspirations or fuel to my motivation: (1) BooMama's Before and After she blogged about and (2) I committed to a charity to pick some items up at my house this coming Monday. So I first started with my closet (I had no idea this was what BooMama did until I just clicked over there a few minutes ago to get her link)! You have to know the closet space in this house is absolutely ridiculous. We totally missed that fact when we bought this house. My closet is so incredibly tiny. I did not take a before picture because it was absolutely, without a doubt, 100% pathetic!! Clothes were everywhere and items were stashed in there. Sweaters were unfolded. It was just in disarray. It got to where I didn't realize what I had and even forgot about some items.

There is a show I've watched on cable and I just cannot remember the name of it. They go into two rooms and take everything out onto the lawn and sort it according to Keep, Sale, Throw Away. I tried to do a similar thing:

I started my project on Monday during some football and I just now finished my closet at 10:15 PM Friday night. Note: I did do work at commercials while watching Biggest Looser, The Office, 20/20 special tonight, and the debates. So I was not constantly at it. Which is unusual for me. I hated dragging this out and having things strewn everywhere but it was definitely something that required a ton of time. Plus how could I miss those shows!!!

My small pile to donate from my closet went from this:

To this:

I just started thinking of things I did not need or had not worn in 1-2 years. Plus I weeded through some of Bryan's clothes and miscellaneous household items as well.

Here is the final picture of my closet. I still need to go get a tote for my sweatshirts but trust me, this looks way better. I can see the floor now. Can I get some sympathy, Please!! You can bet if we move one major requirement is for the master bedroom to have a HUGE walk in closet!!! My dress clothes are squished in there.

Next week I will have to iron and take the clothes to the resale shop and hopefully make some extra cash!!

I'm excited for this weekend. Whitney, Katie, Jesse, and I are going for a brief visit to Granny's and then I'm coming home early to go to the OU game with Bryan!!!!! Yes, you read correctly. We are attending a football game together!!! Yippee!!! We are meeting and sitting right next to Brooklyn and Jorge.

Boomer Sooner!!!!!!!!!

6 Quirky Things

Some time back, Heather tagged me to list 6 quirky things about myself. I'm a little late in responding but here it goes in no particular order!!!

1. I like to do my Bible study in blue ink. I write in my Bible in blue ink. The only reason I can think of is blue stands out among black text type. I prefer a gel type ink. But not too heavy or thick so it does not bleed through the pages. I'm particular on my blue pens.

2. This morning I put the gallon of milk in the cabinet instead of the refrigerator!!! I tend to do and say things backwards. I've told Bryan before to please put the plate in the dryer when I mean the dishwasher. He always teases me and says "Sure I will but I don't think that is where it goes."

3. I like to chew only 1/2 piece of gum. I like to think it is because my mouth/jaws are so small that a larger piece hurts, but I'm not sure!! :) I think some may say I don't have a small mouth.

4. I like ranch dressing on just about anything (veggies, pizza, buffalo chicken, mixed in salsa and many other options). And not just any ranch dressing. I prefer the ranch dressing from Mazzios. You can buy it from them in family size!!

5. I do not like it when people chomp ice! I've tried to overcome this as so many people (including Bryan) do it.

6. I have a Weekly House Clean grid/spreadsheet divided into days of the week. I do not like to clean on the weekend so I try very hard to get it all done by the end of Thursday. Not everything has to be done every week. Some items are done every other week!

Please don't think I'm too weird. And I'm sure my close friends and family can name a bazillion quirky things about me!!

Friday Night Bunco

I was invited to be a sub for Bunco last night. I have never played Bunco and thought Bunco was only for the cool and sophisticated people. I was so excited my friend Terri asked me to be a sub. I got to visit with some gals I don't always get to just sit and talk with at church. It was so much fun and lots of laugh. I even won a prize at the end! Not because of my skill. My name was drawn!!! I hope I can be a sub again sometime. Some of the gals laughed at the way I picked up the dice! I used both hands when everyone else seemed to use just one. I tried to work my way into a one handed dice roller!!

The Bunco Group from Friday

Melissa and Emily. Melissa does my hair and I love her!! She is so talented and such a beautiful person. She has such a sweet heart. Emily was the host. She was also in the college class when Bryan and I assisted. Isn't she beautiful! She is so kind and made me feel so welcomed.

Terri Holland and Rachel Holland

Terri is Rachel's mother-in-law and Emily's as well. Terri was the one who invited me to Bunco as a sub. It was so much fun to be with this group of ladies and I'm so glad Terri asked me. Terri is such a godly woman. And I know she prays for Bryan and I. Terri and her husband adopted their daughter Heather, so they have been through that process. Terri has such a soft sweet spirit.

Stacy Cox, Kerri Hardin, and Rachel. Kerri is a cancer survivor this year. God has really shown His power through Kerri's healing. Kerri has displayed such a great attitude and praise and glory to God. Her smile is so beautiful. Her and her husband Tim have set such a great example for Bryan and I to follow as a married couple.

Football, Fun, Family

I'm beginning to see a pattern in my life. Are you? Football and Family!! Could it get any better than this? Maybe you are getting bored with the same things in my life over and over again. I'm not. I'm blessed!!

I have began to make a list of different post subjects in order to add some variety!!! Maybe I'll do some this week.

On Friday night, Bryan and I made it to the first home football game where my older nieces and nephew go! I love high school football games!! Bryan said he would go with me IF we got to go to some basketball games later in the year. Of course I would...crazy question!! Remember his "thoughts" on football this year?? I tried to take the below picture not knowing he was making this face. I told him I would post it on the blog as punishment and as a representation of his "football thoughts"
In all fairness to Bryan, he has had to spend any extra time he has working on graduate work and preparing for a Sunday School lesson and trying to fit in work around the house. So his time is spent wisely. I think he is being very responsible. I just like to tease him about it every now and then.


The town is MAJOR football. In fact, the last Sooner to win the Heisman Trophy graduated from their high school! High school football spirit is so neat. I had so much fun watching the teenagers and wondered...Did I act like that?

Bryan got a hair cut on Saturday and I told him I should post a picture. I've seen several pictures of little ones' "first" hair cut. So why shouldn't I post a picture of his!!! (although it wasn't his first :- )
The angle is so weird! It makes Bryan look like Andre The Giant!!
After the hair cut, we met his mom and some friends of ours for lunch at Texas Roadhouse. The food and company were great. My friend from high school is the daughter of Bryan's mom's best friend. Tracie (my friend) had a baby in June. Isn't he a cutie pie!!
Sunday was a great day in church and a wonderful family day with our cousins! Hasn't the little man changed?!
I think I may be called "Aunt Julie". Bryan and I love this family! Whitney, Katie, and Jesse went to church with us and then came home with us. We had roast, potatoes, green beans. Your traditional Sunday dinner. I held and watched Jesse while Whitney took a little nap. It was my pleasure. Before they left, we "posed" Jesse on the couch!

I'm so blessed to be surrounded by babies everywhere I turn!!!

Special People

Bryan and I have had a very busy 2 weeks. But we would not exchange our availability for anything. We are blessed to get to be so involved in so much of our families.

Do you ever have times when in the midst of such great great joy, there is some sadness. Yet you know you must use that joy and happiness to overcome that sadness? I have had that this past 2 weeks. I have had abundant joy!! Last week was one of the most joyful weeks I have had !! This week has thrown me a slight curve ball though. But I will overcome!!! How can I not when God is on my side, He is good, He is in control, and He sustains me so often with His word!!



Granny went in for a heart surgery on Tuesday. I didn't have time to blog about it but I know there were a few praying for her and I thank you. It is such a nice thing to know you've mentioned it and someone emails you to tell you they are praying. Her surgery was about 4.5 hours. She did well immediately after the surgery (she was pretty much out of it and sleeping). However, her body temperature dropped to 93 and her blood pressure was about 70-80 over something. Too low. And she had some internal bleeding in her groin at one of the entry points. And she had to have a blood transfusion (by the end of it all she had to have 2). She is 80 years old and this was very scary for me. Until you get to the hospital to see for yourself, you don't know what to expect. While I was there, her pressure increased 10 points and I could see a slight change in her color. Last night she was sitting up in a chair and the bleeding had stopped! And she was bossing me telling me to go take care of my husband!! Praise the Lord, our great Physician!! She was so happy to eat and sit up instead of lying flat on her back for 24 hours! Continue to pray for a smooth recovery.

My Granny is very special to me and several in our family. She has always been a grandmother and a mother to me. I lived with her and Poppy while I was in high school and college until Bryan and I married. She has made sacrifices for me, she has loved me, and she has been genuine to me. She knows what makes me tick. She has always been honest to me! No deceit at all is in her. I don't like deception. We are a lot a like. Bryan has called me "Little Peggy" before!! Poppy instilled a strong work ethic in me and a commitment to God. I saw him many times provide groceries for those in his church. He was a servant. As I sat with Granny in the hospital, I reflected on her and my relationship with my grandparents. She has changed physically since my wedding and Poppy is not with us anymore. But I LOVE this picture. It sits on a table in my hall and I see it everyday. I will never ever be able to communicate what they are to me. And I will stand by them always!! My family has had bumps in the road since Poppy passed and I have wished so many times I could sit on the arm of his chair again and he would listen and tell me what to do. I remember Granny had surprised me by wearing a different dress to our wedding than I thought she was and she looked beautiful. Poppy wore a charcoal grey suit and he was smashing!!! When he passed away Granny allowed me to pick out what suit he would wear. I picked out this same suit, shirt, and tie not realizing he had worn it in my wedding until I looked back on this picture after the funeral!!! But I love that because it was my favorite suit he wore!

One last hiccup in this week was my cousin Eric leaving with the OK Army National Guard. He left Wednesday 9/10 for Ft. Hood, Texas and then will leave in later October for Iraq/Kuwait for 9-10 months. This was a very hard day for Whitney.You know from my earlier posts he and his wife had their little boy last Wednesday 9/3. Whitney and Jesse were able to get to go down into the terminal with him. Please pray for Whitney. This is a very emotional time for her; having a new baby and telling her husband goodbye. Please pray she will have peace of mind. Pray pray pray for Eric's safety and a quick return. Please pray he will be alert. Please pray they will be able to communicate while he is overseas.

Eric, Bryan, and I and now his family are very close! We've experienced a lot together. I was able to tell him bye at the hospital late Tuesday night. I rode the elevator down with he and Whitney and we talked out in the parking lot trying to avoid the goodbye. Of course, I cried buckets. All 3 of us were emotional. I walked back into the hospital crying and headed straight for the bathroom. I just know the receptionist probably thought someone had just died. And I'm so thankful no one was in the other stalls!!!!

I have to place Eric in God's hands and trust God will guide us through whatever this next year brings. God is sovereign. We cannot change God's plan. We must live through it and bring honor to His name in the process.

I Am Blessed with Family and Friends !!!

I cooked Beef Parmigiana for Eric and Whitney and Bryan and I took it over and ate with them Friday night. I had absolutely no problem holding the Little Man while every one else ate. The new parents seem to be doing fine but they are tired!!!

It fascinates me how much he has changed just in 3 days!!

Here is a picture of my favorite men in my life!!

It was a great day Saturday!!! My friend Angela had mentioned these Pop Tarts and I nearly squealed with delight when I saw our store had them!!

So far we have ate North Carolina, Missouri, and Washington! :) There is an OU and I had the breakfast of champions Saturday morning in honor of football Saturday while I watched ESPN GameDay!: OU pop tart and a glass of milk!!!! How can it get any better than that!!

I met some sweet blogging friends for lunch: Valerie, Kristen, and Megan (in the blue). I kind of look like I'm in pain, but I promise I was happy!!! Valerie and Kristen and I have met before but I met Megan for the first time! Megan and Kristen live in the same apartment complex and found that out through blogging! It was so much fun. We talked and laughed for nearly 2 hours!! The food and view was great! It is the neatest thing meeting up with blog friends. We talked about blogs and who we liked and who we wanted to get to know more. And Megan gave me some great blogging advice. I hope I can try it soon! I'm not very technical. Remember Megan, be patient as I try things out! I'm not the brightest light bulb!!

I had to go to my nephew's birthday party later in the afternoon. He turns 2 next week! There were several little kids and lots of toys with noise!! Bryan's mom went with me while Bryan stayed at home to prepare some for his Sunday School lesson and then we all met up at Eric's to watch the last half of the OU game. I took Donna (B's mom) to meet up with her friend and ride home and Bryan went and got SteakNShake burgers and I sat on the couch using a TV tray and watched the Gators and the Hurricanes play. What a great Saturday.....start the day with some college football and end the day with some college football!!!!

Request: Would you please pray for me? For about 2-3 months I have not been sleeping well at night. I wake up at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning and cannot go back to sleep. Today (Sunday) I woke up at 12:45 AM with "stomach issues" and could not go back to sleep. Bryan is still up. So I got up and I'm now finishing up this post. It is now 3:30 AM. I hate that I cannot sleep and we have church in just a few hours. My sleeping patterns are ridiculous. I guess one good thing is I used this time to read through your blogs slowly and I wasn't as rushed as I usually feel! I guess now I'll go make sure our clothes are ready (in case I fall back to sleep and oversleep) and straighten the house so it will be clean for Sunday.

Jesse Ray Pevehouse

My heart is overwhelmed!!! My cousin Eric and his wife Whitney, welcomed Jesse Ray Pevehouse (pronounced P V House) Wednesday evening. He weighed 8 lbs 4.5 oz. Jesse is so adorable. Whitney and Jesse are doing fine.

Bryan and I have a house full and it was a very long day for Bryan between work and last night but I kept Bryan up until nearly midnight last night talking about my day and all that transpired. And then I woke up at 4:00 this morning (it's 4:45 now) thinking about the new baby and just how I could communicate my heart in a blog post. I even had a hard time trying to tell Bryan without crying or getting flustered or just babbling!! So don't say I didn't warn you.

I know so many of you prayed for me yesterday and leading up to yesterday and GOD was there! I had a great peace. I was so blessed to have Katie stay with us. Her presence soothed my heart and took my focus off myself. She is such a wonderful child. I took her to school yesterday morning and then picked her up around 12 noon to head to the hospital. Her mom wanted her there to be with so much of the family that had come in for the delivery. It is the neatest feeling to drop a little child off at school. I loved it!! My heart was just bubbling over at 9:00 yesterday morning. My day was to get even better!!!

My cousin Eric and I have shared quite some times together; some great and some not so great and I consider Bryan, Eric, and I pretty close. Eric stayed with us for nearly a year while he was in Officer Candidate School. When we were younger, Eric and I were fairly close for cousins. We would write back and forth and share many thoughts and feelings. I know Bryan and I both think of him more as a brother than a cousin. I am so proud of the wonderful job Eric has done. God has blessed him with great things over the past 2 years. This morning I remembered this picture of Eric and I as children and I had to post it with these others. I love how it displays the process of life and our family.

Mid 80s

September 3, 2008

Yesterday, prior to Whitney's delivery, Eric called me over to the side. I can still see the look in his eyes and he asked me if I would want to be in the room with he and Whitney once the baby started to arrive!!!!!! This caught me entirely off guard!!! And of course, as I tried to respond to him I cried like a nimcupook!!! Earlier in the week I had mentioned how I was so thankful to be a part of my sister's delivery process because I will not experience that process myself. I was trying to encourage him for his time to come telling him He will have joy unspeakable and there was nothing too queasy about it!! Eric remembered me saying that and he wanted to offer me another opportunity if I wanted to. This was the most remarkable, generous, unselfish, most loving act Eric did for me. I will never be able to put into words or communicate to he and Whitney how I felt and still feel. Eric can become a very private person. I had no idea he was going to ask me that yesterday. I just didn't expect it and I was not about to ask. That is such a sweet, precious time for a couple and for them to allow me to be a part of that is just amazing. The only people in that room was Eric, Whitney of course :), myself, the Dr., and the nurses. I was so afraid family would be upset I was in there but Eric said he was calling the shots and it was his call.

I stood by Eric's side as they prepped Whitney. The feelings, electricity, adrenaline in the room was amazing. Eric stayed very cool and calm the entire time. He didn't make light of anything. Externally he seemed very balanced. I had every intention of standing right by his side and he was at the far top of the bed. I told him to scoot down a little though so Whitney could see his face. As the moment drew nearer, the nurse said one of us had to help hold her leg and Eric looked at me and said he would rather stay where he was at. I totally was not prepared for that. I had never been that close with my sister. But I did my job and looked at Whitney's face and tried to focus on her, the monitors, and Eric. I want to respect some of their privacy so I do not want to go into too much detail. This was amazing for me. I did not expect at all to be that much a part of the process and I could feel in her muscles and expression how hard Whitney was working. This is not something anyone just does for fun (unless you are a nurse) and I know this was a chance of a lifetime for me. Being with them I think will help me each time I struggle with not having the physical experience myself. I can relive these moments with them. I feel so much more connected with Whitney. Almost as if a bond was formed in that room between she and I and I mean that quite seriously.


My cousin has grown into an amazing man! I am so proud of him! He has been great to his wife and he is wonderful father. I loved hearing him talk to Jesse. He held him like a pro and was so loving. I could write on and on about how he looked, how is eyes looked when Jesse was born, what he said immediately after the doctor "assisted" Jesse out, how Eric lovingly treated his step-daughter Katie, the sweetness in his voice, the loving encouragement to Whitney during the hard labor, how he was on a coffee diet the entire day and didn't eat anything because Whitney couldn't and on and on. But I know this post has to end sometime. It is early in the morning but I will try to attach some pictures. I didn't get a good picture of Bryan because it was crazy and crowded before we left but you should have seen the HUGE smile on his face when he saw that baby boy!!!!


God is so very good to me. I am so undeserving of the wonderful blessings and opportunities He gives to me. I praise Him this day for yesterday! When my heart was heavy on Tuesday He knew, He knew what He had in store for me on Wednesday!!! Hallelujah!!!

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed being there!

I helped Katie buy some flowers for her mom to give to her before Jesse was born. Katie was pretty excited to finally be a Big Sister. She said she had been a little sister for a long long time and now she will finally be the Big Sister!!The Pevehouse Family -- September 3, 2008

Eric and his brother Jared

Eric and His Parents

My wonderful, patient husband, Bryan!!!!

Family, Fun, Football, Frazzled

My older sister, Jennifer, was brave on Friday and let her daughter, Rachel, have a slumber party for her 11th Birthday!!! We joined in on the festivities for a while. Her house was so loud!! It was hilarious!!! Pre-teen girls say and do some funny things.

My niece is in the plaid shorts and black t-shirt. Katie makes up the front row.

Bryan had the great idea to buy Rachel roller blades for our present! She really loved them. Jennifer tells me she has been living in them!

Whitney, Bryan, and I went together and bought Eric a gun for his graduation gift. I think he really liked it. A great blog story would have been the chaos I had in buying the ammo for the gun. I went to Academy all by myself and it stressed me out!!! I won't even try to write out the details.

Between Bryan's football philosophy for this year and him closing his eyes in pictures, I'm about to bonk him on the head!!! We took this picture out at my sister's. I know it annoys Bryan and Eric but I want to have as many pictures in my vault as possible before Eric leaves for Kuwait.

Eric got back into town on Friday afternoon. He drove all day Thursday and all night from Maryland. He never stopped to sleep!! I kept Katie on Friday night so Eric and Whitney could have some time to themselves. Katie and I had fun and we entertained ourselves in various ways. We played with the timer on my camera and Katie fixed my hair for the pictures!!! I kept my hair like this all day Saturday (we were together most of the day) so I wouldn't hurt her feelings. I felt like a frizz head but that's is okay. She thought it looked great. I even wore it to Panera Bread like this!!! I drove Katie and her MiMi down to Ada on Saturday and we did a little shopping before visiting Granny. I picked up 2 shirts with OU insignia, etc on them. I need to inventory my OU gear to see how much I have. I think I may have enough shirts to wear one every day of the week! I may need to go on restriction.

I did get to watch the game on Pay Per View thanks to my in laws. However, there was a 1 1/2 - 2 hour delay due to weather after halftime. I'm glad I got to see them play. It is hard to tell their talent when they play such an awful team. The Sooners whipped up on them!!

You gals made Bryan a little nervous! I so wish you could have seen and heard his reaction to my blog and your comments regarding football!! He said he was going to blog my follow up. But I think he may have backed out! In his defense, he does have quite a lot on his mind this year. And he is trying to be more responsible with his time and finances. Don't think too terribly bad of him. He still loves OU and always will. We did snuggle on the couch last night!!!! So I'm almost to the point of signing a Peace Treaty!!

PLEASE PRAY: I do covet your prayers over the next few days. Whitney (Eric's wife) is scheduled to be induced Wednesday morning. Please pray she will have a safe delivery and she and the baby will be fine. I am feeding Eric's family and my family at my house on Wednesday night. It will be fun, loud, and a little work. Please pray for my patience, loving kindness, and physical strength. I would also ask you pray for my emotions. I saw my friend's baby this past weekend and I will be excited to see Eric and Whitney's when he is born. It is when I have been around several newborns that my emotions waver and I feel like I must keep my emotions under control these next few days. Please pray I will be mindful to be grateful for what I have and not ponder on what I don't have. Please pray I don't cry at the hospital!! I'm also keeping Katie for 2 days. Please pray she goes to bed easily and I can get her to school and pick her up easily. OK.....I'm done....for now! :)