purple butterfly

grrr

2012-01-18T09:27:00.001-08:00

what the heck blogger?!? why can't i change the font color on my previous post??

It's official

2012-01-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

We have turned in our adoption application. That means that we will start the home study process, beginning with individual interviews and then a joint interview at our house. Which means I have some cleaning, and cleaning out, to do! We are really exciting about this bringing us one step closer to being parents and can't wait to get started with the interviews. So, the fingerprint post a bit back was regarding the FBI and ABI background check we had to undergo. We passed, by the way. So, any prayers you could send our way will be appreciated and I'll keep you informed.

Geo-caching

2012-01-08T19:42:00.001-08:00

yesterday travis and i went geo-caching. if you don't know what that is, it is kind of like treasure hunting, with a gps device. i use this website and their app on my iphone. i was hoping to do this series of 8 caches that are located at the univ of south AL, but upon further investigation we hadn't allowed enough time to do them all. they are located in and around a extensive series of mountain bike trails on campus. we opted to leave the bikes at home (the tires need air again) and decided to walk it. we got to the location where the first one should be, but couldn't find it. we started hiking the first trail and realized it wasn't going to get us where we needed to go, so we back tracked to find another cache that was close by. it ended up being the last 7th cache that we found second. it was getting dark by then so we headed out of the woods and found a couple of more located on/near campus by car. we had a really great time and got a bit of excercise.

after that we went to zorba's and had some great greek food. ran by lowe's to grab something we needed and then went home and finally finished packing away the Christmas tree. slightly ashamed to admit that i still have to finish cleaning up the rest of the decorations, which will have to get done by thursday, since i have bible study at my house then.

i promise there is still an announcement coming, i haven't forgotten, just not quite yet.

Mystery

2011-12-21T20:35:00.001-08:00

I got fingerprinted today. Wouldn't you like to know why. All in good time my dear friends, all in good time.

I'm baaaaaack

2011-12-14T09:44:00.001-08:00

That probably sounds creepy, which wasn't my intention. Perhaps I should have tried something like merry Christmas! Just want to jump back in with this photo.

sunday sermon

2010-09-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

when a sermon can hit on lady gaga and halo reach, and still be awesome you know you are missing out on something. check out Overlook Presbyterian Church

ABC's of me

2010-09-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

since i'm trying (but still sucking) at blogging again, i thought i'd give this a go. got it from ellis' blog over at passmorefun

A is for AGE - 29

B is for BED SIZE - Queen

C is for CHORE YOU HATE - bathing the dogs? i don't really like any chores, but i do them just the same

D is for DOG'S NAME - harper and evey (they are both girls)

E is for ESSENTIAL "START YOUR DAY" ITEM - a nice shower. coffee is nice, but since i don't really drink caffeine anymore, not necessary. i still enjoy my decaf though and we've been having homemade smoothies for breakfast too. particularly nice while it is still so warm out.

F is for FAVORITE COLOR(S) - purple

G is for GOLD OR SILVER - Silver

H is for HEIGHT - 5'6"

I is for INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY - i played flute and piano back in the day, don't really play anything now

J is for JOB TITLE - accountant

K is for KIDS - see "D"

L is for LIVING ARRANGEMENTS - a nice house that is not in any city limits (stupid wacky semmes city limits)

M is for MOTHER'S NAME - mary

N is for NICKNAMES - not applicable

O is for OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS OTHER THAN BIRTH - probably when i had surgery on my throat when i was 1.5 years and when i had meningitis when i was in 4th grade

P is for PET PEEVES - people mispelling queue (as in waiting in a line {queueing up} or "somethings on your queue to be processed")

Q is for QUOTE FROM A MOVIE - "time not important. only life important" "me fifth element - supreme being. me protect you."

R is for RIGHT HANDED OR LEFT HANDED - right

S is for SECRET CRUSH -nobody

T is for TIME YOU WAKE UP - 6:15 on weekdays- not by choice!

U is for UNDERWEAR - definitely, huge fan

V is for VEGETABLES YOU DISLIKE - carrots

W is for WORKOUT STYLE - non-existent =( i'm working on it, i'm just so busy

X is for X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD - teeth, sinuses, chest...i guess that's it

Y is for YESTERDAY'S BEST MOMENT - going to sleep? it was a pretty good day overall

Z is for ZOO FAVORITE - i guess monkeys, oh and peacocks! i haven't been in so long

link in the comments if you do this, so i can learn something about you too!

moment on monday

2010-09-13T19:38:00.001-07:00

"when you walk with God, you're never out of step"

north, south, east, west?

2010-05-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

ever feel like you don't know which way to go because you don't know what God has planned for your life? i need directions, i feel lost.

i just want to be a mom, i want to stop feeling like i'm losing my mind because i occasionally talk to my dogs like they are actually my children. i want to feel complete.

what if God doesn't intend for us to have biological children? what if we are wasting time, money, and heart on fertility treatments? what if his plans for us include adoption? why are we waiting?

i don't know why i'm particularly frustrated today. i'm the type of person who isn't very fond of waiting once i am ready to go somewhere, it applies here too. i've been ready to be a mom for over three years.

we have an appointment with a specialist soon. i'm not sure what to expect, not even completely sure what to hope for. here's hoping for some sort of answer.

had to share

2010-03-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

i've been away for far too long, but today a friend of mine posted something on his blog that i just had to share. so, today i want you to go here and while you're at it go here too and see what he has been experiencing this week.

christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

2009-12-15T19:18:00.000-08:00

please to put a penny in the old man's hat. if you have no penny, a ha' penny will do, if you have no ha' penny, then God bless you!

we are having our annual Christmas feast at work tomorrow so i made a southwestern-y dip (but of course i forgot to take pictures). then i whipped up some snickerdoodle muffins (super easy!!) to take also. when i got the camera out to take pics of the muffins, i ended up photographing most of our Christmas decorations. hope you enjoy! i'm sure i'll be back after Christmas with some more Christmas pics, and hopefully soon with some pics from Thanksgiving.

Christmas 2009

snickerdoodle breakfast muffins

1-½ cup Flour
½ cups Sugar
1-½ teaspoon Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg
⅛ teaspoons Salt
1 whole Egg Beaten
½ cups Milk
⅓ cups Butter, Melted

In a mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Add egg, milk and butter. Stir until just moistened.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Sprinkle a little cinnamon/sugar mixture on top. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes or until done. enjoy!

wow

2009-11-09T21:36:00.001-08:00

just wow, not sure what else to say. a friend had linked this blog post on twitter "feeding the hungry" if that story is even remotely true (i haven't done any digging, but i don't have any reason to doubt it) then i am just blown away. how ridiculous is that?!? with so many people wanting this health care bill to pass, i just can't believe someone is pitching a fit over a church helping people out. no one is forced to help this church, i'm sure the church would love to accept help from those who WANT to give, but it certainly isn't mandatory. and that is over FOOD, not healthcare.

slow

2009-11-09T08:57:00.000-08:00

it sure has been slow around here, only because my life has been anything BUT slow. and with an already busy week ahead there is a tropical storm "bearing down" on us. i'm not particularly worried about it, but it will be a nuisance. i have two cakes to bake this week (i'll do my best to take pics so i have something to post) and i haven't gone grocery shopping yet. also, i still have a couple of stops to make this week preparing for a visitor this weekend (not of the V variety, luckily). had a pretty busy weekend this past weekend, did a bit of christmas shopping (just ornaments, i'm not that on the ball). had dinner with some friends and visited my grandmother yesterday. planning (hoping) to hit christmas jubliee this thursday or friday (when i'm off work, woo!)

ok, well this was about the most random post, but at least it was a post.

giveaway!!

2009-10-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

ha! sorry, not me, 'provident woman' head on over. you could win some (what i'm sure are) awesome honey products. provident woman's husband is a bee keeper and she makes lip balms and lotions. how neat!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

2009-10-15T12:08:00.001-07:00

Each year, over half a million dreams are shattered. Out of 3.3 million babies born alive, some 30,000 die during the first 28 days. Another 39,000 babies are stillborn. Miscarriage occurs in fifteen to twenty percent of pregnancies, while ectopic pregnancy occurs in one percent. This day effects so many people. I f you have never yourself lost a baby, surly you know someone who has.Today is the day to honor those babies, so I am asking you all to do that today, sometime, some way.
If you yourself have lost a child/ren allow me to honor your sweet baby today by leaving a comment and tell me a little something about your precious angel. I'll start. If you want to leave a message of support for those mommies and daddies that have lost precious babies do that in the comment section too.
~~I'll be praying for you today.~~

p.s. i reposted this/copied from http://whenhellomeansgoodbye.blogspot.com/ sorry kate, i should have put this the first time

re-post

2009-08-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

this is a link to a blog i'm subscribed to, it is a news story from a dallas. it isn't easy to watch, i cried through almost all 10 minutes of it, but is a perfect example of God's love and why i do NOT agree with abortion.
4tunate

busy weekend

2009-08-03T21:46:00.001-07:00

this was the cake i made for my grandmother's birthday lunch. i forgot to take pictures during all the prep work, so this is the baked cake.

and this is the icing being made

and this is what this super yummy dessert looked like right before we cut into it!

this is my dad and the back of my grandmother and aunt.

this is my mom, her sister, and her mom

travis and my cousin's husband discussing politics

i had to cut short my visit with my family to go to a youth event that afternoon and then babysat for some friends of mine that evening so they could go hear the band her sister-in-law is in at a local restaurant. to finish out the weekend travis cut the grass sunday afternoon and monday morning i found 4 huge ant beds in the yard. those ants were busy last night, here are a couple of pics. good thing the exterminators called to set up our quarterly spraying today!

news

2009-07-22T20:02:00.000-07:00

!!!WARNING!!! the post below isn't exactly happy, it is about the loss of our first child. i had been in the process of writing it when we lost our baby, so i finally finished it.

this post has been awhile in the making. i wasn't ready to share, but didn't want to forget it all either.

JAN 2 - my birthday!! woohoo, no work, just chilling. oh yeah, and after almost 2 years, we are finally PREGNANT!!! i can't believe it, it seems so surreal. i mean, why after all this time would things finally work? well, other than the drugs and procedure we took/had to get pregnant. plus, i have no symptoms, sooo...hmmm. hoping for the best, i decided to go ahead and test this morning, b/c it would make the best birthday present ever! and if it was negative, i would just wait until monday and test again. i was hoping to get the first blood test today, but the dr wasn't in. so, monday it will be. so, here's hoping for a good hcg number and then doubling numbers on the second test!

i'm 4 weeks pregnant, only 36 more to go. about 250 days. our little lamb is the size of a poppyseed and in the coming weeks will start developing all of its major organs.

JAN 5 - took another pee test this morning, because what else was i going to do with it? went in for my blood test today and waited hopefully for a call from the dr's office. the nurse had told me that they may not have the results back until in the morning, so once i left work i figured i would just have to wait some more. surprisingly the phone call we get at 6pm is from my dr himself! he says that my hcg is around 350 and he is very pleased with that number. he told me to start taking my progesterone (which, btw are these funny ball shaped pills that look like candy, not kidding) twice a day instead of just once and that his nurse would call me the next day to schedule my first ultrasound in a couple of weeks!!! i was very happy to hear more good news and mostly relieved that it wasn't all a figment of my imagination.

so, i guess you want to know how we told the fam. well, since friday was my birthday, i kinda expected that we would go to dinner with my parents, but no invitation was forthcoming. we had been out at lunch time and had gone to moe's (yum!) so we just had leftovers at home. i decided as one last not healthy eating hurrah and because it was afterall my birthday, that we should go get some dessert. as we headed home from baskin robins i called my parents, i figured we would just stop by to show them some "cool" pictures i had taken, but they didn't answer. i called my dad's cell phone and it turns out that they went out to dinner without me. =( we went home and i was somewhat sad that i didn't get to tell them. the next day (saturday) i went to see my great aunt and spend some time with my best friend elizabeth (whom i told, she was very excited for me!) and travis went to see one of his friends in mississippi. when i left visiting my friend my phone showed that my parents had been trying to call me, so i called and they invited us to dinner, but since i was the only still in town, it was just me. i headed to their house and watched them finish taking down their christmas tree and then handed my mom my camera to check out my neat picture. she figured it out immediately and was so excited, as was my dad. they were both cute about the whole thing! later that night i caught my brother on chat and sent him an e-mail with the pic, he was over the moon excited also. can you feel the love?

travis didn't let me send the pic to his mom for a couple of days, and then he wouldn't even tell her to check her e-mail. to quote her reaction "i can't breathe, i'm going to have a heart attack!" needless to say, she was very excited also.

JAN 6 - the nurse called today to schedule my appt, i didn't get a choice, she just told me that my ultrasound would be on jan 23 at 8, my appt with dr p would follow, and a blood draw before i leave. kinda stinky that i have to wait until the end of that week, but that also happens to be travis' b-day! so, we've decided to just take the whole day off. now, for a 2.5 week wait.

JAN 10 - 5 weeks today "appleseed":

Your embryo (looking kind of like a tadpole) is starting to form major organs (heart, kidney, liver, stomach) and systems (nervous, circulatory, digestive). Baby's presence in your uterus triggers production of hCG (the hormone detected by pregnancy tests)... which triggers production of other hormones like estrogen and progesterone... which trigger all those great symptoms you've probably been noticing!

only, i haven't really had any symptoms, except the horrible boob pain which started new year's night. fun stuff, but i'll gladly take it to finally get and stay pregnant. our little appleseed could quite possibly have a heartbeat now. how cool is that? only the size of an appleseed and have a beating heart! God is certainly amazing. tic toc, still almost a full two weeks until the ultrasound. i'm perfectly happy to be one of those strangely blessed women (like my mom) who really don't experience the yuckiness the first trimester tends to be for many, but an occaisional symptom would be reassuring that things are still going strong done there.

JAN 17 - 6 weeks today "sweet pea":

Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate.

i can't believe our sweet pea is a quarter of an inch long! really nothing new to report, still not much in the way of symptoms. the boobs still hurt and there is some tiredness. the closest thing to classic symptoms is the burping and a bit of heartburn. my mom says she was never sick with me and only for a week first thing in the morning with my brother. so, i may just luck out. of course, another friend of mine said that she could time how far along she was because the moment she turned 7 weeks she was as sick as a dog.

you know how when you get a new phone or new car, suddenly you see them everywhere. naturally now that i'm finally pregnant, i know 4 other ladies who are too. there are two more that i'd really like to join me on this wonderful journey and hopefully it will happen for both of them soon. to finish, when i sent my brother an e-mail telling him about what was going on with his niece or nephew this week, he sent me back this picture and ask was i having a seahorse. i told him that i was. how cool is that, you can see the heart and brain, where the eyes will be, just amazing.

JAN 22 - tomorrow is the big day, our first ultrasound. i've been kind of anxious. mostly excited, a little bit nervous. i know that the baby itself won't look like much more than a little blob, but i'd really love to see it's heartbeat. i want to be measuring on schedule and for everything to be perfect. i know we don't always get what we want and for people who struggled to get pregnant, finally getting pregnant doesn't suddenly mean that everything will go fine. we (my friends emily and patrick and i) are throwing travis a surprise 30th birthday party tomorrow night. i'm pretty excited about that and hope all goes well. my brother and his girlfriend will be coming home tomorrow too, so i'll see them on saturday. anyway, i just don't know how i'll be able to stand myself until 8am tomorrow, but i'll make it some how.

JAN 23 - yay! everything went fine and there is a little blob in there (this is what travis called it the other day, and my mom doesn't like us to call her grandchild that. however, that is what it looks like at this point, a wonderfully perfect blob) i really wasn't even nervous, other than we didn't get there a few minutes early like i wanted to. we saw the blob pretty quickly and could see the flicker that was the heartbeat. then she (the tech doing the ultrasound) told me to be real still and she would try to play the heartbeat and measure it for us. and it was AMAZING! not quite the beautiful, teary eyed moment i thought it might be, but SO COOL none the less. she showed us the yolk sac with the baby (the yolk sac is way bigger at this point) and told me that the baby is measuring 5 weeks 6 days. so, we'll be in a holding pattern at "sweet pea" for another week. then she took a few more measurements for the dr. she printed us a few pics and burned us a cd, then we went to meet with the dr. he was very happy with everything and assured us that due to how tiny they are and that a mm difference in measurements would mean a difference of 4-5 days that it was ok that i was measuring behind where we thought i would be. and to be on the safe side (that is the side i like) he is bringing us back in in two weeks for another peak and measurements. so, i'm breathing easier-ish for now. and will have much relief and probably open the floodgates (of letting people know) if all goes well at my next appointment. now a two week count down until feb 6. and without further ado, i present "the blob"

FEB 2 - reached 7 weeks over the weekend "blueberry":

Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place

i e-mailed my brother this week's update and this was his response: "haha you now have fruit inside you! lol the fruit of your womb" how cute is he? apparently he has already asked my mom about 20 times in the last week when my appointment is. i also told him the other day that the baby is due the day of the first troy home game of the 2009 season against UAB. he called to tell me that it was unacceptable and that something would have to be done. lol i thought it was hilarious, of course my mom ruined it by telling him that due dates don't really mean anything.

travis told me the other day that one of the happiest moments of his life was right after i found out i was pregnant and jumped on the bed to wake him up and tell him. awww, isn't that sweet. i'm still feeling fine other than being tired and sleepy. particularly today because we went to a super bowl party last night and didn't get home until after my new bed time.

well, there are only about 87 more hours until our ultrasound and i think we are both getting excited. i still have a little apprehension after getting low results on some of my blood work last week, but the dr increased my medicine, so hopefully everything is fine. i also picked up my prescription for my prenatals today. i think they are the ones i tried the sample of last week, i'll try to at least get through most of this month. however, if they are the same ones, they smell like vanilla, and i don't know if i can take them. yuck! well, i guess that is it until friday, say your prayers!

FEB 6 - "the ultrasound" - i have decided that fridays, first thing in the morning, is the worst time to go have an ultrasound. we got there a few minutes early, no one else was in the waiting room and no one was at the desk either. we just waited. slowly people started filling up the waiting room, mostly older ladies in for bone density and mammograms. and one couple who was quite pregnant. finally a staff person showed up at the desk. about 25 minutes after our appointment time the other couple (that showed up after us) was called back by the ultrasound tech that i like. i was a bit aggravated that i was having to wait longer and would get another tech. *sigh* oh well. a few minutes later a tech came from the main office to get us from the ultrasound waiting and took us back to a ultrasound room in the main office. i was excited to see what changes our baby had gone through in those short (and long) two weeks. i had been scouring the internet for pictures of what our baby might look like.

then she started the ultrasound. she found the baby right away, and it definitely looked different; it was bigger and had a more defined shape. she measured and said the baby was measuring 8 weeks. almost immediately though i knew something wasn't right, i couldn't see the flicker of the heartbeat. i tried to imagine that it wasn't true, but when she took another minute or so to keep looking and never said anything, i knew my fears were confirmed. i didn't start crying until she said that she was so sorry, but that she couldn't find a hearbeat. my world was shattered. the baby that we had, for two long years, been trying and hoping for was gone.

the tech lead us the the dr's office where we had to wait to talk to him. we had to wait probably 10-15 minutes on him to finish with other patients. we cried and hugged and sat in awkward silence, i think we both apologized. i think deep down i had known something was wrong, just the day before i had told a lady at work that "i give up on feeling pregnant" i hadn't had morning sickness, and some of my other symptoms kind of came and went. i didn't know how to feel and i didn't know what to say, i just wanted to crawl under the covers and sleep for a long time. i guess i knew that everything would eventually "be ok", but it didn't really matter at that time.

dr. p came in after 10-15 minutes, and told us how sorry he was. he reassured me that sometimes there is just something inherently wrong with the baby that it can't grow past a certain point and that it was nothing i had done. he also said that because the baby was measuring 8 weeks it had happened within the last day or two. then we had to talk about the next step. he recommended that i have a d&c (dilation & curettage). he said it wasn't necessary, but with the amount of tissue that would be involved and that there was no way to determine when i would miscarry on my own or how long it would last, that it would probably be better. although i was fully on board with this idea, just wanting it to be over, my head started spinning. i wanted to make sure travis understood and was ok with this, i wanted at least one of my parents to be able to be there with travis. per my usual nature, my thoughts immediately flew to calling my dad and telling him he would have to cancel anything else and be there with travis. (it is much harder for my mom to get off work, but i knew she would) fortunately though, i was given a choice and asked them to check with the OR and see if they could do the d&c on saturday morning.

after arrangements were made we left and headed to get travis' oil changed, it might sound odd, but it still needed to be done and we were already in seperate cars. of course as soon as i get in my car i realize that my phone was vibrating. it was my mom. i wasn't ready for this but answered the phone anyway. "hey" "hey *voice cracking*" "is everything ok?" "no, the baby didn't have a heartbeat" what can a mother say to that? of course she said she was sorry, i told her when the d&c would be, and that i still wanted to have dinner with them that night (at least i think i told her all that at that time, but who knows) (once again my subconscious had watched out for me, i had wanted to fix soup and have some people over for dinner, but i was just too nervous about planning anything for that night, so i planned dinner with my parents just in case something went wrong). so, we had dinner with my parents and went to bed early.

FEB 7 - got up early to be at the hospital at 5:30. i won't go through all the boring details, but there is no one there to register people at that time in the morning and the woman in the ER didn't know what to do with us. eventually i got registered and taken to pre-op waiting, and of all things i had to pee in a cup so they could do a pregnancy test. thanks for that one. eventually after getting an iv and waiting and waiting, i got taken back.

as soon as i awoke from the anesthesia i just started crying. i wanted to go home, i didn't want it to be true. after about 10 minutes they let travis and my parents come back and we eventually left. my dad went and got my prescriptions while we got breakfast and met back up at my parents' house. after breakfast travis and i went home and i tried to sleep, even on painkillers i couldn't sleep. eventually we went to the library and rented some movies and went and got ice cream (my throat was sore from being intubated during surgery).

i called my pastor that night, talked to her for a few minutes, and ask that she share our prayer concern with the church.

on sunday my best friend came down from birmingham to spend the afternoon with me, this also gave travis a chance to visit a friend. we spent monday at home, rest and recovering. some friends from canada sent us flowers and we got cards in the mail. slowly we got back to our lives, not the ones we had begun to imagine having, but the same life of living with infertility and childlessness. as the due date for our first baby approaches i'm reminded more often that not only do we not have our baby, but we aren't even pregnant again yet. i know that if it is his will, God will provide us with a child, somehow, some day.

paint party

2009-07-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

what a great way to spend a friday night!

mother/daughter brunch

2009-04-18T18:42:00.001-07:00

mother/daughter brunch 2009

here is a link to the pictures i took at the mother/daughter brunch at my church. this is the second time this event has been hosted and the second time we had a wonderful spring fashion show. several women in the church were each asked to decorate a table with. my mom and i did the one with colored roses, the 3rd table pictured. we used my great-grandmother's china which now belongs to my mom. men of the church served us that morning and the food was wonderful.

still working on a post and will definitely being posting some more pictures this week.

nom

2009-04-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

these are from about a year ago, but cute. so, i thought you might enjoy them.

been a long time

2009-04-17T07:04:00.001-07:00

i know it has been quite awhile since i've posted much of anything. there has been a lot going on in our lives this year, i haven't decided what of that i want to share yet. BUT... since i've updated my photo slide show on the right ---> with spring pictures, i figured i need to put something else here instead of pictures of my fall project. since i can't access anything like that right now, i'll just let you know that i'll be attending a mother/daughter brunch tomorrow at my church. i WILL have pictures. mostly because i've been asked to assist my dad with the "portraits" and take "party pics". several women of the church have been asked to set a table for the brunch. my mom and i will be doing one and i'm excited to see all the other beautiful tables! there will definitely be pics of those on here, i'll probably just link to my picasa album of the other pics. i'm not cool enough to know how to set up albums on a web-site like my dad. speaking of which, he has more really cool pics up, you should check them out at http://www.elmersellers.com/ He has been working on portraits and i'm sure he'd be interested in doing more if you need new family pics. with spring here in full force he and my mom have been journeying to dauphin island to go birding, he's gotten some great pics there and at their house too. that's my update for now, look for some pics to come soon.

older pics

2009-02-04T13:52:00.001-08:00

these are some pics of a sewing project i did back in the fall and a few my dad took of travis and me in New Orleans when we went to the New Orleans Bowl in December

more pics of the "kids"

2008-12-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

harper and evey

more fun pics

i know, i know

2008-08-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

hello, my name is amy, and i'm an on-line comic and blog addict.

now, that we've gotten past that, we can get down to business. i know i need to post some new pics, and i had actually had an idea for a new project since i was done with classes, but life got in the way. so, you may be saying "blog addict?!? yeah, right!" my response would be "reading, not writing =)" so, the point of this post. there is a blog i happened upon awhile back, "Whoa, Camel!" , that i found shortly after the writer was diagnosed with a particularly nasty form of leukemia called AML. so, i read about her treatments and her remission. her first recurrence, and remission again. unfortunately, she posted today that it appears to have come back for a second time. the survival rate is pretty low to begin with, but with a second recurrence, things don't look good. she is young, she has a husband, and even more sad, she has a little boy. one of the things that sparked my interest was when she posted about the elders from her church coming to lay hands on her and pray for her healing. i loved that she believed in God, i loved that she wasn't afraid to share this part of herself, i loved that her church was doing this for her.

the minister at my church left the end of june to go to wisconsin to start a new ministry (you can read about his journey here ). as an elder/spiritual leader (a seemingly unlikely title) in the church this has been a difficult time. when he first told the session (elders) that he was leaving, i punched him. yes, i assaulted my pastor. of course, he let me, and no, it didn't really make me feel better. i cried the whole way home. his wife was in our women's bible study and i felt like i still had a lot i could learn from him. but as a church we are trying to move forward, we have recently hired an interim minister, and i'm very excited about her coming. i think i can still learn from doug by reading his blog and thinking about what he has to say, and trying to push my fellow elders and our congregation to be more like Christ.

passionate obsession

2008-05-21T08:14:00.000-07:00

passionate:
1. having, compelled by, or ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling; fervid: a passionate advocate of socialism.
2. easily aroused to or influenced by sexual desire; ardently sensual.
3. expressing, showing, or marked by intense or strong feeling; emotional: passionate language.
4. intense or vehement, as emotions or feelings: passionate grief.
5. easily moved to anger; quick-tempered; irascible.

obsession:
1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.
2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.
3. the state of being obsessed.
4. the act of obsessing.

blessings

2008-05-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

although most people would be hard pressed to find any blessings in having a grandmother who is a bit on the "confused" side, i have. i just talked to a woman at work who's father is senile, and this has caused him to be verbally abusive. apparently he was really awful to her this morning and she is upset, and understandably so. i don't know what he was like before, but since her mother died she has taken care of her, and now he cusses her out and says terrible things. and i know another lady who's father picks on her kids because of his dementia, he doesn't know when to stop and it upsets her kids. this, of course, breaks her heart. who wouldn't want their kids to love their grandparents?
i am fortunate in that my grandmother's confusion only causes her to forget things, ask the same questions again and again, and occasionally take a little trip back in time. she does every so often give my mom a guilt trip about not going to see her. my mom makes it up there at least every third week, but often every other week.

...on my mind

2008-05-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

there have been a lot of things on my mind lately. with travis having surgery last week, his well-being has been forefront on my mind. does he need more medicine, something to eat or drink, is he hurting? (which reminds me that i forgot to remind him to take his antibiotic this morning). and work has been a bit hectic too, so there is some more of my time taken. since i'm taking this photography class (that has assignments) i've had to also think about getting my pictures taken and printed. along with various friends who have stuff going on in their lives, i think about them too. or people i have talked to in awhile. then there is the household chores and finances that i'm responsible for, and taking care of the dogs. (whom i've come to appreciate more recently, even when they aren't behaving) and my friend with the (hopefully) budding romance, i wonder how it is going when they are "out." i think about my parents and brother, particularly when they have something specific going on. (glad your test went well! go get your license renewed) and i think about travis all the time aside from his surgery. how is his day going? is he busy? is his cube neighbor being annoying AGAIN? i think about God and do my best to pray daily, and also read my bible. i think about my church, and sometimes the pastor. i wonder sometimes if i miss opportunities to reach out to people. since i wasn't listening/watching, and missed the opportunity, will someone else tell them about God? i wonder if i'm doing enough to deepen my relationship with God, have i decided to trust him again yet?
wow, it is amazing that i can get anything done with all that running through my head.

"3"

2008-05-06T19:23:00.000-07:00

assignment # 2

2008-05-04T19:20:00.001-07:00

"smiles"

"curves"

"pets"

"red & blue"

"3"

coming soon

2008-05-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

i thought i would fill you in on what this week's assignment has been, maybe build some anticipation for this weekend's post-class post.
1. smiles
2. curves
3. pets
4. red & blue
5. 3

it is going ok, so far, still a couple to finish off, then pick, "clean up", and print my pics.

as promised

2008-04-27T17:36:00.001-07:00

"self-portrait"

"still-life"

"blue"

"night photography"

another "blue" one i liked

more "night"

???

2008-04-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

i've gotten into reading some good blogs lately, and the people who write them are very good writers and always seem to have something to write about. then i try to think of something to add to mine, so it doesn't completely fall to the wayside, and i always find myself at a loss. much like now.
sure, there are some things in my life that it might be cathartic to blog about, but i'm not entirely comfortable putting it out there, knowing some of the people who know that this is my blog. and there is definitely always something going on in my life, just not always interesting.
i'm taking a photography class right now that has "homework" assignments. this weeks subjects were: "night photography", "self-portrait", "blue", and "still-life". my dad and i went and did the night pics sunday evening, i think mine turned out pretty good (i'll post what i end up turning in). i've tried the past two nights to work on "self-portrait", but i have to say i'm not a big fan of having my picture taken. the lighting hasn't been good, so the color in the pics isn't very good. there a few, that with some cropping, i would probably like ok. but it is just so akward taking pictures of yourself. really, why would i want to do that? and have you ever tried to make yourself have a "real" smile? it isn't easy. then you have to look at the pics, and of course it's "my cheeks are fat, my eyes aren't even, i have a big nose, is that a double-chin?" how is this at all fun? my dad managed some pretty good ones of me back in the fall, look back in the archives, i think i posted them.

remote

2008-03-11T07:45:00.001-07:00

i bought a remote for my camera last night and played with it a little bit when i got home from class. stuck my camera on the tripod and played with shutter speeds just to see what i could do, i'm pretty happy with how these turned out considering i didn't do any research on how to take these kinds of pics. please click on the picture to be able to see them, the really bright sliver at the bottom was all that was "visible" in the sky.

today

2008-03-06T12:52:00.001-08:00

please keep jajuan's family and the students and faculty at davidson in your prayers. this is a very sad situation. while it is a relief that no one else was physically harmed, there were many students who witnessed this young man killing himself.

some recent pics for fun & for class

2008-03-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

just a taste of what i've been doing lately, check out my full albums here: amy's picasa albums

2007-11-09T07:13:00.001-08:00

LAST DAY!!

2007-11-07T20:30:00.001-08:00

1 day left

2007-11-07T04:47:00.001-08:00

2 days left

2007-11-06T07:49:00.000-08:00

3 days left

2007-11-05T07:11:00.000-08:00

4 days left

finally

2007-11-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

so, i finally got around to getting new bedding today, therefore i finally got around to taking some new pictures of the house (after we've moved in). also, some new evey pictures.

the dining room (well the clean part)
the kitchen sink
the stove & fridge
the tv in the den (and some mess)
more of the den (and more of the mess)

the french doors and evey's kennel

the computer room (and "the monitor")

guest bath

our new bedding

our bathroom, obviously the messy side is mine

more of our bathroom (and our new towel racks my dad helped us hang)

evey checking out some of "the mess"

"smiling" for the camera

chewing on her bone

more old pics

2007-10-15T10:46:00.001-07:00

some of you have seen pictures from a previous work picnic that was pirate themed, this year the theme was "gods and goddesses of the three-mile nile" (three-mile creek runs behind the hospital where i work). i decided to make my costume this year, yes, with a sewing machine. it turned out pretty good, so here are a few pics from the picnic in may. it rained, so i didn't get many good pics.

me

me & my dad (he makes a good caesar)

some decorations

2007-10-15T10:28:00.000-07:00

update: no, i still don't have any new pictures of the house, i have yet to unpack the charger for my camera. but the fence should be finished today or tomorrow, we are working on getting the computer room put together, and i'll definitely get some pics this
week.

in the mean time, here are some older pics i took of flowers at my parents house. enjoy.

it's been awhile

2007-10-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

with the move and football and a crazy life i just havne't had time to update lately. but i received a complaint. so to pacify for the moment until i can get some more pics taken and off my camera, here are some pics my dad ( http://elmersellers.com/ ) took for his photography class.

me

jonathan, my brother
jonathan's girlfriend's nephew (brock)

kim, jonathan's girlfriend

she's getting big!

2007-08-23T06:45:00.001-07:00

chasing her tail, this was HILARIOUS!!

last of house pics

2007-08-17T10:48:00.001-07:00

master bedroom with walk-in closet

master bath

master tub (with jets!)

house pics # (i have no idea)

2007-08-17T10:46:00.001-07:00

laundry room

guest bathroom

bedroom 1 (bedroom 2 looks the same)

even more house pics

2007-08-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

look up the hall to the front door, from the den

part of the den and back doors

the 2 car garage

more house pics

2007-08-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

kitchen pic 1

kitchen pic 2

from the den, through the kitchen looking at the dining room

welcome to our happy home!

2007-08-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

so, our offer was faxed to the sellers at 9:55 wednesday night, they signed it and faxed it back by 8:42 thursday morning!! YAY us!! so, now we just have to get all the financing wrapped up and we'll close sometime in the last two weeks of september!

this is a shot of the front

the dining room

more Evey

2007-08-15T10:51:00.000-07:00

the great house hunt

2007-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

so, there was one house we had really wanted in Pinehurst (off Airport), but when John (our Realtor) called to get some info so we could make in offer, they had just gotten a contract with some buyers. There was great lamenting ;) Travis was pretty upset, I recovered quickly.

Then, it took me a couple of days to put together another list of houses we wanted to see, I e-mailed him Friday afternoon and then called him Saturday morning b/c I hadn't heard from him. He was just getting to the office would check out my list and give us a call. When he called we ran out in the thousand degree heat and went to look at about 5 houses. Collectively the houses could be described as a pile of dog poop that someone had vomitted on. (nice image, right?) After the last house John said, let's get something to drink, go to the office pull up so new developments (we had told him that we would consider moving further out if none of those worked out) and then go check them out.

so, we went and checked out a several brand new houses in Franklin Estates. Once of the floor plans was similar to the house in Pinehurst, but wasn't split bedroom and it had a 2 car garage!! So, we made plans to take my parents back out there on Sunday and will be writing up a contract either today or tomorrow. Preparing to make an offer feels really good, I'm a tiny bit nervous, but mostly b/c I've never bought a house before. So, if everything works out I'll post the pictures.

i can fly!

2007-07-18T12:01:00.000-07:00

my name is evey

2007-07-08T13:16:00.001-07:00

letting go

2007-06-18T10:57:00.000-07:00

a friend sent this in an e-mail, it spoke to me:

If moving over 2000 square feet worth of belongings into a 1300 square foot apart any positive spin at all, I think I may have found it. At least I am willing to let go of a few things.

While trying to get the apartment ready and make it as comfortable for Nicola and the children as possible, I find myself willing to let go of some things. I've thrown out a few worn out blankets, old shoes, mix-match dishes and hopefully the children won't notice some missing stuffed animals and broken board games. The question that continues to come to my mind is "Why was I holding on to this?"

Now there are some things I am just not about to let go of. A photo of my son with a former president still has a place of honor. My wife will not be without her favorite blanket while watching reading and sipping tea. The girls will have their doll house in a prominent place. The balcony will be my temporary "art space" until our budget allows for a house again. The box full of Happy Meal toys? I don't think so. The old chair I bought at a yard sale three years ago and still haven't refinished? Can you say "donation"? It is simply a time that we must clear our lives of some of the junk we have allowed to stack up.

There are other areas of inventory that we should be looking into as well. Am I holding onto resentment toward someone that I should have let go of long ago. Am I holding onto habits that are not good for my physical, emotional or spiritual health? Maybe it is a good thing to have a move forced on you now and then. Maybe it shakes things up to the point that you see a few things you don't need anymore.

So if you aren't going through a physical move just now, you may be going through and emotional or spiritual move. Don't spend too much of your energy holding on to things you don't need. Consider letting them go.

Now, I need go decide what to do with a few other items....take care.

why is it so hard for us to let go of things? especially those of us lovingly referred to as "pack rats?" now, i do come by my tendecies honestly, both my grandmother and my dad are pack rats. but some of the things we keep, why? the reason i often give my self for keeping something is that it sentimental, it is from an event. so, obviously, to be able to remember the event i must keep junk stashed around my house. right? maybe a memento or two would be alright, but i feel the cleaning bug coming on. if i've got pictures of a trip, do i really need a brochure from EVERY place i visited in DC in 8th grade?!?! i don't think so. it won't be easy, but it can be a fun walk down memory lane and a chance to finally clean some stuff out.

and perhaps once there is some more space in my house, i'll have some time to stop and consider if there is anything in my spiritual inventory to get rid of too.

new creation

2007-03-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

what does that mean? on earth (as opposed to in heaven) what does it really mean to be a new creation? is there a switch that flips suddenly when you accept Christ into your heart, do you suddenly become a different person? most people would probably say no. i've been a "child of God" since i was very young, and i still struggle every day with sin. recently i had time to reflect on "obstacles" that are in the way of my relationship with God. there are two ways to look at this 1) what sins are you committing that are therefore obstacles to your relationship, 2) what things hinder your relationship with God, that are therefore obstacles? generally during our prayer of confession at church i have a "hard" time coming up with "sins" i've committed that i need to ask God for forgiveness for. recently i had started asking forgiveness for not spending time with God, realizing that we are commanded to, and that i wasn't. i have been reading the bible daily, but still find it difficult to pray (especially in earnest) and even harder to listen to God. well, this weekend when it was put to me to examine what things are obstacles to my relationship and that those too were sins, the list started to get quite long. first i tried to blame my inadequacies on time and my husband's lack of enthusiasm. but as i continued to reflect on my attitude and my actions, i realized my husband had little to do with it, and my unwillingness had everything to do with it. the only way to be a "new creation" is to put forth the effort to change your attitude and your actions, and to ask for God's help, because we can not do it alone. that isn't to say that a new attitude will get you into heaven, only God's grace can do that, but true acceptance and love for Christ should cause you to want to make changes in your life. and when we get to heaven, we will be new creations.

turkey day '06

2007-01-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

i know, i'm behind

finally

2006-07-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

so, i took my final last night.

wasn't too bad.

then the 4 of us that had studied together went out to

eat, drink, & celebrate!!!

so, now we wait and watch for grades to be posted. only 136 days left until gradution. i've got one more class (legal & ethical environment of business), which should be pretty interesting. so i've got until aug. 21 to play and work on some of my personal projects! it should be nice.

my grandmother's birthday is this weekend, but she was in the emergency room last night, and one of her sisters and nieces is coming to visit this weekend. my mom is mad at the doctor because he told the assisted living place to send my grandmother to the hospital, but didn't admit her. so my mom took her back to the assisted living place at 9 last night (which is about 45 min away). my mom wasn't upset by having to take her back, but why did he tell her to come to the emergency room, if he wasn't going to do anything?!? and now my mom is frustrated because she doesn't know what she should do about this weekend, we were all going to go out to eat, but now she isn't sure that is a good idea. but she doesn't know what to fix for 12-16 people to eat. and she doesn't "technically" know that our aunt and cousin are coming to town. she only knows because my grandmother actually remembered to tell her. she asked my uncle about it, but he wasn't really helpful. plus, this aunt has tried to give my mom a hard time about my grandmother being in an assisted living place anyway. but my mom is doing the best she can. of course, i told my mom she should just pretend she doesn't know about our aunt and cousin coming and we can go get mammaw and do something with her. then i said that was petty and mean. but it was how i felt.

The End. (almost)

2006-07-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

so, tonight was the last night of class. exam is tuesday, with two study sessions before then. it was boring as usual. the man just does not make stuff interesting. it just seems to be especially difficult after a long day at work following several other long days at work (and the study session last night), which all followed way too short a weekend. hopefully this weekend will be a bit better.

my best friend and her husband are coming home (yay!).

i think i'm mostly just tired and i want to vegetate my brain, just a little. which means i should probably be getting ready for bed instead of sitting here writing this. plus, for now i don't want my husband to read this, and he is sitting behind me. i know that sounds bad, but i promise it isn't.

the rolly polly

2006-07-19T21:30:00.000-07:00

so, after having gone to study-group and talking to my friend/classmate cosmo, i've decided that dr. chang is only mostly soul-less. so, dr. chang is often wont to blah-blah about absolute nothingness at the beginning or end of class, heck, sometimes in the middle of class. when he begins his pointless ramblings, i usually just tune him out. yesterday he was blah-blahing about what he should do about a student who wanted to take an incomplete in the course, should he curve their grade and give them the same final the rest of us would take, blah-blah-blah. of course, we had no clue who (or what) he was talking about, someone said that if the other student had been attending class and participating, give them the curve and someone else said she didn't care if he gave them the same exam, we are after all graduate students. if someone is stupid enough to tell someone else what is on the exam, they are just hurting their own curved grade.

so, my friend cosmo had missed class last thursday and then arrived late yesterday, i didn't think too much of it, just wondered what was up. so after class i asked cosmo where he had been. he told me that last wednesday his brother (that lived with him) and died in his sleep. come to find out, cosmo's mom, step-dad, other brother, and one sister were all on a cruise in Greece, and his other sister lives in Louisiana, so he had to pretty much deal with everything on his own, including telling his grandparents. :(

i felt so awful for cosmo, i can't imagine the pain and heartache. so, you've probably guessed by now where this is going. that's right, dr. chang was talking about my friend cosmo at the beginning of class. when cosmo had first talked to dr. chang and asked to take an incomplete to have some time to grieve (and clean his house, he's been staying at his mom's b/c his brother's stuff is all around his house) before having to study and deal with taking a stupid economics final. so, dr. chang decided to be a total *bleeeeep* and told cosmo that if he took an incomplete that he would have to take an exam that no one has ever passed, and would not be included in the curve. ?!?!?!!?!?!?!? i was soooo ticked off last night, not that i've really liked dr. chang all semester anyway. fortunately though, dr. dickens, cosmo's professor for finance (which he was also taking this summer) is being totally cool and helpful and letting cosmo take an incomplete. so, cosmo came and study with sharon, Nancy, and me tonight and will study with us on Sunday and Monday too. Then we will have the exam on tuesday and none of us will have to look at dr. chang again.

p.s. when i was so ticked last night, i said dr. chang would come back in his next life as a mosquito, but after straightening some stuff out, it upgraded him to a rolly polly.

2006-07-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

cliche

2006-07-19T07:35:00.000-07:00

so, i guess this is where i introduce myself, right? see? i told you this would be cliche, or lame, you choose.

so i'm 1/2 a DINK (double-income-no-kids). i'm 25, married to a wonderful man, have a good job (although stressful right now because i just got a promotion), i'll finish my MBA in december, and i have to absolutely adorable cats (that i'm allergic to).

i live near the coast, you figure out where that means. i'll give you a hint, i'm a GRITS.

so now that this has gotten pretty silly, i'll publish my introduction and come back later with the dirt i really want to post.

purple butterfly

grrr

It's official

Geo-caching

Mystery

I'm baaaaaack

sunday sermon

ABC's of me

moment on monday

north, south, east, west?

had to share

christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat

wow

slow

giveaway!!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day

re-post

busy weekend

news

paint party

mother/daughter brunch

nom

been a long time

older pics

more pics of the "kids"

i know, i know

passionate obsession

blessings

...on my mind

"3"

assignment # 2

coming soon

as promised

???

remote

today

some recent pics for fun & for class

finally

more old pics

more posts

it's been awhile

she's getting big!

last of house pics

house pics # (i have no idea)

even more house pics

more house pics

welcome to our happy home!

more Evey

the great house hunt

i can fly!

my name is evey

letting go

new creation

turkey day '06

finally

The End. (almost)

the rolly polly

cliche