Showing posts with label my. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
St Patricks Day Happy Birthday to my Mom!!
St Patricks Day Happy Birthday to my Mom!!
Happy St. Patricks Day!!!!!! Today is Hudsons 1st St Patricks Day! We spent the day with some of Timmys family that came to visit. Hudson had a few St. Patricks Day outfits, 3 to be exact. We didnt get a picture in one because of a blow out ( which we have very often). Brody had a shirt and since all he wants to wear are jerseys and his Uncle Titus under armour ( 10 sizes too big) is was a fight to get him to wear his shirt for a little bit for pictures, but I got them:)





Today is also My wonderul Mamas Birthday!!! Happy Birthday Mom!! She is in Gatlinburg celebrating so we will celebrate with her once she gets home!!
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Friday, December 9, 2016
Welcome! My journey in service dogs so far
Welcome! My journey in service dogs so far
Hi and welcome to my blog, "From Puppy to Public Access"! I suppose you could say that my journey with service dogs began in 1994 when I first applied to a large national service dog organization. I was accepted into the program and told that I would get a dog more quickly if I raised some or all of the necessary funds (between $20,000 and $30,000, I believe) myself.I quickly realized that while I could have raised money for a friend in need, I didnt feel comfortable doing it for myself. After about five years of waiting, another representative of the organization contacted me to let me know that my application had been lost when the regional trainer left and arranged to come to the house to video tape another application. I was accepted again and because I was hoping to get a Standard Poodle service dog, I made arrangements with Ravendune Kennels to donate a litter of puppies to the organization. The new regional trainer told me that would be great but that it wouldnt reduce the amount of money I needed to raise. She also said that there wasnt anyone raising money in the Cleveland area so it could be 7 years before I would get a dog.
In 2004, my health had continued to deteriorate and what were once simple tasks had become more difficult. Since I wasnt hearing anything about getting a dog from the service dog training organization, I decided to research all my options and discovered the possibility of raising and training my own. I spent about 18 months reading about various dog breeds, the ADA portions regarding service dogs, service dog training etc. I joined several Yahoo service dog lists and contacted some local obedience dog trainers. While I wasnt successful in finding local service dog trainers to work with, I decided to pursue a puppy anyway. In the end, my husband, Brent, and I decided to attempt to raise and train my own. Although I had had Standard Poodles my entire life and successfully trained and competed in AKC Obedience with them when we were first married, based on the research I had done, to my surprise, I decided to switch breeds and get a Labrador Retriever puppy instead. I can no longer handle the grooming myself so paying to have a Standard Poodle groomed every 4-6 weeks would have been a significant expense. Labs and Standard Poodles are about the same size but Labs are sturdier dogs and because I use a very heavy power wheelchair, I thought a Lab would do better if I ran over a foot accidentally. Also, I think people recognize Labs as service dogs and generally feel safe and comfortable around them.
So, early in 2006, I started talking to Lab breeders and was hoping to find a puppy that summer. Coincidentally, our daughter,Kristen, was performing at a theater in Shawnee-on-the-Delaware, PA during that summer. A friend of hers mother had a litter of English Lab puppies born at the beginning of June. Kristen was there for their birth and visited them every day. When we went to visit, she convinced us to come see them and although we made no commitments, we named the littlest puppy (and Kristens favorite) on our way home. We returned to bring Shawnees Mountain Laurel (Laurel) home at the end of July.
Laurel didnt have the best natural self-control so we started working on that immediately as well as doing lots and lots of socialization with people, locations and other animals. I had developed a training plan and continue to keep training and socialization journals. We were very fortunate to find a positive reinforcement trainer, Ginger Alpine to work with. Her training facility, Fortunate Fido, was on Clevelands west side, about 35 miles away from our home. Laurel became my "cross over" dog and we started puppy classes when she was about 4 months old. We took various obedience classes as well as pre-sports and participated in play groups. Per my plan, Laurel achieved her CGC (AKCs Canine Good Citizen) at about 14 months and by the time she was 18 months old, she had earned her first rally obedience title (APDTs Level 1).
Through May 2009, Laurel and I took 3-4 classes a week at Fortunate Fido and competed in rally and obedience in a number of different venues (AKC, APDT & C-WAGS). We continue to compete because we enjoy it but also because there is no standardized certification testing of service dogs in the United States and getting titles shows that we have continued to train and be "tested". We took agility classes for fun and trained for public access and service dog tasks.
Last summer, Fortunate Fido moved to a location about 50 miles away from us and then my husband took a job with a 35 mile commute. I counted on my husbands help and it became impossible for him to come to class with us so we started training full time at another facility, Canine Affair Center, about 8 miles away from home. We had been taking agility there and now also take a variety of obedience classes too. I have also begun teaching a class there once a week. We began competing in CPE Agility in January.
I attended Clicker Expo when it was in Cleveland in the spring of 2007 and met a number of different trainers, one of whom was Sue Alexander, a behaviorist who specializes in aggressive dogs; is also a service dog handler and a psychiatric service dog trainer. Then in February 2008, we attended Sues first service dog seminar in Guelph, Ontario. Because I still hadnt found a service dog trainer I wanted to work with and I was so impressed with Sues knowledge and ability to communicate, I asked if she would be our trainer. She agreed and we figured out how to work together long distance. In August 2008, Laurel and I passed a public access test Sue administered and Laurel went from service dog in-training status to service dog.
Besides doing a number of typical mobility tasks, when Laurel was about 6 months old, I realized that she was alerting to something I didnt even know dogs could. One evening, she threw herself across my stomach and tried to pin me down. I thought she was just being more obnoxious than usual (she is, after all, a Lab) and I put her in her crate where she screamed! We had never heard anything like it before nor have we since. About 45 minutes later, I developed very severe abdominal muscle spasms. Thinking back, I realized that she had done the same thing at least two times before. I started tracking these occurrences in her training journal and realized that Laurel reliably and consistently alerted to my muscle spasms about 45-60 minutes before they began. Not only does she know when they will happen, she also knows what muscles are going to be involved. Because having her throw herself on me is not very subtle, I retrained the alert so that if she can reach the body part, she nudges it and if not, she nudges my hand. She will continue to do so until she sees me take my medications and then she relaxes.
About three months after I realized Laurel was alerting to my muscle spasms, I had a flair of rheumatoid arthritis in my chest wall (which feels like a heart attack). I quickly recognized that Laurel had a different alert for that and again, after tracking it for awhile in her training journal, I confirmed that she consistently and accurately alerted for that, too.
Last August, Laurel started licking me around my mouth. It was a new behavior and she was very persistent. My husband asked me if I didnt think she was alerting to something. I couldnt think what that might be and since I found the behavior to be pretty distasteful, I untrained it. A month later, my rheumatologists office called to ask if I knew that another doctor had done blood tests in August which showed that my blood sugar was 400. I had developed steroid induced diabetes. Laurel knew and was trying to tell me. I retrained the alert to cover high and low blood sugar levels with the use of a specific toy. She only brings that particular one to me when she is alerting.
Laurels mobility tasks help me save energy, keep me from falling down or hurting myself and certainly help to mitigate the effects of my disability but the alerts have really changed my life in major ways. Being able to take the medications before the spasms start or the rheumatoid kicks in means that the episodes are much less severe and shorter. I used to end up in the hospital in full rigid body spasms and that hasnt happened since Laurel began alerting.
Doing three alerts on top of her mobility tasks means that Laurel is working most of the time. She awakens me at night to alert, keeps track of me all day long and when I leave her at home, checks me over thoroughly when I get back. I began to worry that this was too much for one dog and about a year ago, began considering getting a puppy to become her successor sooner rather than later.
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Wednesday, December 7, 2016
My Story about PRK
My Story about PRK
I had PRK almost 2 years ago and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made! I went in for my consultation the entire process was explained to me and really helped to calm some of my fears. The day of the procedure was easier than ever expected. The staff was amazing and walked me through every step. They talked me through the procedure and it was done before I knew it. My vision was better almost immediately after. I was personally called by the doctor later that day to check on me and answer any questions I had. My doctor saw me through all my post-op appointments and continued to follow my progress. My vision is 20/20 now and I could not be happier!
Jen L.
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Monday, December 5, 2016
My life Lately
My life Lately
My life lately has been wild, crazy, hectic, exciting, wonderful, amazing, fulfilling, busy, fun, and blessed!!!
Having two children is alot different than just having one but in a good way!! My days seem a little more hectic and crazy and I may not have a minute to sit down or ever get peace and quiet but I wouldnt have it any other way. This is the life I dreamed of, I always dreamed of having my own children and a full, loud house. I imagine that in a few years when Hudson gets a little bigger it will really be a wild house with two boys! We have all adjusted well to having sweet Hudson in our family and we dont remember our lives before him now. I may not always be dressed every day and I may smell like spit up the majority of the time and my yoga pants are my best friend but I wouldnt want it any other way!!!!!!!
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I had my 6 week post partum check up last week and this is what I saw next to me. I remember my first visits when I had some minor complications and each visit when I felt that relief when I heard his heartbeat and I felt so blessed as I had my healthy baby boy with me. |
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| A little Easter sneak peak for my boys! |
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| Brody and his baseball bunny Max, from build-a-bear. He had to get a picture with him since he was wearing his baseball jersey too! |
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| Hudson is sweet dreamin |
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| Hudsons 1st pair of Keds |
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| Hudson Trent |
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| Hudson throwing his arm up, this is how he lays alot! |


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Sunday, November 20, 2016
Oh My Girl comes back with Windy Day
Oh My Girl comes back with Windy Day

Article: Oh My Girl Windy Day, clarity to female emotions
Source: Sports World via Naver

1. [+318, -9] Oh My Girl fighting!!
2. [+281, -11] Oh My Girl always gets pretty music videos and great songs... and the members look like such dolls ?? Jiho and Hyojungs vocal tones are great too..
3. [+237, -8] This is their prettiest music video yet
4. [+227, -10] Twice fan here, I really liked Two Steps but songs of this style are great too! ??? Good luck, Oh My Girl!!!
5. [+66, -3] They have such great songs, why arent they more popular ?? Do well Windy Day ??????
6. [+60, -1] ??? The song is daebak fresh ?? I think the best idol song release recently, its definitely going to climb the charts!!
7. [+54, -0] Something about the song makes you keep listening to it... highly addictive
8. [+64, -4] Oh My Girl hasnt had a bad release yet ??
9. [+52, -0] Songs awesome ?? WM may lack in some areas but they always pick the best songs
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Thursday, November 17, 2016
My Grandmas 40th Day
My Grandmas 40th Day
Thank you to everyone who left kind words of sympathy on my grandmothers death. Yesterday was my grandmas 40th day since her passing. May God bestow my grandmother eternal joy in Heaven.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/HeartofRachel
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Tuesday, November 15, 2016
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth
Matthews other top front tooth fell out early this morning (he pulled it out at 4am), so he now has an even bigger gap at the top of his mouth giving him a dracula-esque appearance. His bottom two adult teeth have been through for a while now, and his other top front tooth has started to put in an appearance although is so far only poking slightly through. Hes now had five of his baby teeth fall out, the same number as his friend Isaac who lost his fifth tooth yesterday.
This evening Matthew told me that three girls in year 1 are in love with him - Charlie, Gwen and Amelia - but hes not in love with any of them because he likes Seren from year 2. Matthew used to like Charlie last year, but she was in love with Jimi - I cant keep up. Its a bit like some kind of teen soap opera for six year olds. Its good to hear that hes popular, though. Apparently he was lying on the floor and the three girls were trying to pick him up.
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Tuesday, November 8, 2016
My kid is THAT kid
My kid is THAT kid
We enrolled the kiddos in swim lessons this summer and they started last night.
Tylers in the parent-child class so Joels been in the pool with him. Hes done ok in the class but gets pretty cold before his 30 minutes is up. And hes not too interested in following directions (sound familiar?).
Lily on the other hand......yeah shes not that in to it. Last night she never cried but she just stubbornly sat on the side of the pool and didnt do ANYTHING. They kept trying to encourage her but she just wasnt having it.
Tonight, before we ever left the house, she told me she didnt want to go. "I dont like swimming." Bull-larkey! "You like swimming and I paid and youre going and its gonna be fun!" Am I the stereotypical parent, or what?!
We got there and she proceeded to cry, scream even, for the next 25 minutes. The other kids are like, "What is her DEAL???" For the last 5 minutes, she did stop crying long enough to do ONE of the things they asked her to do. Sigh. Maybe tomorrow will be better.
In Lilys defense, sometimes shes a total rockstar in new situations. Yesterday we made it back to the dentist for her first real appointment and she did awesome....The only thing she was a little skittish about was sitting in the chair by herself. She sat on my lap while they cleaned and then checked her teeth. But she did everything they asked her to do and was super cooperative. Good girl!



In Lilys defense, sometimes shes a total rockstar in new situations. Yesterday we made it back to the dentist for her first real appointment and she did awesome....The only thing she was a little skittish about was sitting in the chair by herself. She sat on my lap while they cleaned and then checked her teeth. But she did everything they asked her to do and was super cooperative. Good girl!
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Friday, November 4, 2016
My LASIK Story of Life
My LASIK Story of Life
My LASIK story began since I had been wearing glasses since I was 7 years old and I HATED them! I was significantly nearsighted and was mortified at how obnoxious my thick lenses were. I remember getting ready for my Homecoming dance trying to put mascara on behind my glasses was such a pain! I finally tried contacts when I was 17. I was so happy to be rid of my glasses except that I was a terrible contact lens wearer. I put myself at risk for so much sleeping in my contacts, wearing ripped lenses, using old solutions or just plain water to store them my eye doctor was constantly after me to be better with my eyes. I finally decided to schedule my surgery with Dr. DAmbrosio. I had a consultation exam that was very thorough and all my questions were answered. My mom came to surgery with me and watched my procedure on the TV screen. I remember being told by a nurse to look at the target light, except that target light seemed so big and blurry without my glasses on. As soon as the procedure was over, that target light became very clear. I sat up on the surgery bed afterwards and could see out the window to the waiting room. My mom was crying. I asked her through the window, Why are you crying? She started to laugh and cry a little more. I came out and she said, At first, I cried because youve been wearing glasses for 20 years, then I cried because you could see that I was crying from the bed! For months after surgery, I found things that I was no longer hassled by in my day to day life. I didnt have to hold shampoo and conditioner bottles up to my nose to distinguish between them in the shower. I didnt have to pack a separate bag for my glasses, contacts, solutions and containers when traveling overnight. I could fall asleep watching Red Sox games on TV without crushing my glasses in the middle of the night. I could wear mascara and SEE to put it on!! Most importantly, as my parents pointed out, I was safer. It wasnt until after my surgery that my mother told me how, if there was ever a fire or something in the middle of the night, she worried about me being able to see to get out of the house safely. Because my vision had been like that my whole life, I never thought of it that way. LASIK surgery was easily one of the best decisions I made for myself.
Jenny E.
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Thursday, November 3, 2016
Two of the Most Important Firsts in my Assistance Dog Journey to Date
Two of the Most Important Firsts in my Assistance Dog Journey to Date
Ive decided to participate in an Assistance Dog Blog Carnival developed by Sharon Wachsler at her blog, After Gadget (http://aftergadget.wordpress.com), with this post being my first entry.
According to Wikipedia, "... a blog carnival is similar to a magazine, in that it it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule ..."
According to Sharon, the plan for the Assistance Dog Blog Carnival is to hold it quarterly, guest hosted by a different AD-related blog each time with After Gadget the official home/principle organizer. There are hosts arranged for the next three carnival editions but I have volunteered From Puppy to Public Access for some time after that.
Anyway, the theme for this first carnival is "The First" and what jumped out at me were two of the most important firsts that have occurred in my assistance dog journey so far - the first time I realized that Laurel was alerting me to a medical condition (when she was about 6 months old) and the first time Hardy alerted me on his own (when he was about 3 1/2 months old).
I have written about these firsts in this blog before and I talk about them all the time. In fact, Laurel and I are part of an article in a local magazine in which I talk about how much her alerting has changed my life.
After being on the waiting list for a national service dog program for about 12 years, out of desperation, my husband and I decided to try raising and training my own service dog. Since I use a power chair and have difficulty picking things up and making various body parts work, I planned to train the typical mobility-related tasks. The only types of alert dogs I knew about were for epilepsy and diabetes. July 28th, 2006, we brought home an 8 week old female, yellow English Lab from a very small breeder in Delaware-on-Shawnee, PA, who has since retired. From the very beginning, it was obvious that Laurel was a very intelligent, talented, energetic, enthusiastic (read challenging) service dog prospect who didnt have tons of natural self control. She was our first Lab and we worked on teaching her self control from the start. So, one day when Laurel was about 6 months old, when she threw herself on top of my abdomen and kept me pinned down, I just thought she was being more obnoxious than usual and put her in her crate. Once in there, she started screaming ... making a sound wed never heard before and havent heard since. My husband came racing from upstairs and it made quite an impact on us so that when I started having very severe abdominal spasms about 45 minutes later, we wondered aloud whether there was a relationship between Laurels behavior and my spasms. I noted it in her training journal and did some research, where I was able to find a small amount of information regarding dogs who did alert to peoples severe muscle spasms. Also, in thinking back, I realized that there had been two other incidents when Laurel may have tried to alert me to spasms. I have no doubt that if I had continued to ignore or punish Laurel for trying to tell me what was going to happen, she would have stopped. Im grateful that she was very dramatic and persistent and that I was able to recognize her efforts. She has proven that she not only knows about 45 minutes to an hour before I am going to have spasms but she also knows what muscles will be involved. As anyone who has severe muscle spasms knows, the ability to know and take my pain medications and muscle relaxants before they start is huge - now they tend to last hours instead of days or even weeks! By tracking her alerts and the outcomes, I determined that they were predictive and reliable. And then I trained her to be somewhat more subtle about it. If she can reach the body part that is going to spasm, she can nudge it and if not, she nudges my hand. Laurel also developed alerts for rheumatoid in my chest wall (which feels like a heart attack) and knew last summer, before I or my doctors did, that I had developed steroid-induced diabetes. Although Laurel is only 4, because she wakes me at night, interrupts whatever she is doing during the day to alert and generally keeps track of how Im doing; that, combined with her other tasks, time for training and time to just be a dog keep her very busy.
Seeing how hard Laurel works and how responsible she feels along with the belief that the best chance for my next service dog to do the alerts is to learn from Laurel encouraged me to consider getting my next service dog prospect sooner rather than later.
At the beginning of June, my service dog trainer, Sue Alexander, temperament tested some Lab puppies for me and although I was looking for another yellow, I brought home a handsome 8 week old chocolate boy we named Hardy. Coincidentally, this summer I had a flair of the rheumatoid in my chest wall so Laurel was alerting quite a bit. One time when she was alerting, Hardy came running up to play at which point, Laurel made it very clear that she was doing something serious and it wasnt playtime! That really got Hardys attention and he began carefully watching what she was doing; by the time he was about 3 months old, he started mimicking her alerts. Then one morning, Laurel alerted while Hardy was outside in the yard and when he came back in, he asked to come up on the bed with me and immediately alerted on his own. The next day, he actually alerted before Laurel did so I had some confidence it hadnt just been a fluke before. Although the flair stopped (for which Im grateful), Hardy has alerted appropriately several other times and just recently joined Laurel in alerting for muscle spasms. Obviously, weve also worked very hard on socialization and basic obedience and he demonstrates a lovely temperament that should allow him to become a public access service dog. There isnt much known about dogs that alert to less common medical problems so I am very grateful: that Laurel not only knows something is going to happen but chooses to share that with me; for the first time I realized what she was doing and that she is teaching Hardy the same skills.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016
My Tuesday Thoughts
My Tuesday Thoughts
My Tuesday Thoughts....
-- The Hubby had to go on a little business trip so Brody and I took him to the airport early this morning. Poor little Brody got sick 2 times on the way, but seems to be better now. He slept the whole way home and has been fine since and has been eating. Thought it was a bug or maybe he just got car sick ( doubt it, he never does)?
--Not a good feeling when your husband texts you and tell you that his flight is delayed because they cant find anyone to fly the plane, then proceeds to tell me once they do that the pilot looks about the age of my younger brother (14) plus the plan is overloaded and overweight, he wanted to bail right then and there. He made it safely to point B, and is waiting on his next flight.
-- I am really wanting to put up my Christmas decorations!! I am making myself wait though until Thanksgiving Day and then I am blaring the Christmas Music and going to get my decorating on!
-- I am so ready for Hudson Trent to get here!!! It will be here before I know it and my life will once again change completely but I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!
-- I have been craving ICE like crazy, as a matter of fact I am chomping on some now and would realy love a big cup of sonic ice right now. My DR. called on Friday and my Glucose was good but my hemoglobin was low (iron) that tells me why Ive been craving Ice.
Now I am going to dump all kinds of Iphone Pictures..........
My sweet boy!


I think I forgot to post but my sweet sister Lindsey got engaged 2 weeks ago when she and Robert went on a trip to Cali!! I am so excited and happy for them! He helped a jeweler out of Lexington make her ring and it is a natural Sapphire and it is just gorgeous! He even made the cute box it was in!


My husband has a problem... he takes a bottle of water to bed almost every night and never drinks it all or throws it away.. I let it go to see how long it would take for him to throw one away. He never did.. I did.






-- I am so ready for Hudson Trent to get here!!! It will be here before I know it and my life will once again change completely but I cannot wait!!!!!!!!!!
-- I have been craving ICE like crazy, as a matter of fact I am chomping on some now and would realy love a big cup of sonic ice right now. My DR. called on Friday and my Glucose was good but my hemoglobin was low (iron) that tells me why Ive been craving Ice.
Now I am going to dump all kinds of Iphone Pictures..........
My sweet boy!
I think I forgot to post but my sweet sister Lindsey got engaged 2 weeks ago when she and Robert went on a trip to Cali!! I am so excited and happy for them! He helped a jeweler out of Lexington make her ring and it is a natural Sapphire and it is just gorgeous! He even made the cute box it was in!
My husband has a problem... he takes a bottle of water to bed almost every night and never drinks it all or throws it away.. I let it go to see how long it would take for him to throw one away. He never did.. I did.
Too cute! My 3 boys in their matching PJs from Gram!
Friday night was the Blue & White Basketball game and my brother in Law had these awesome Titus Heads made for the boys to hold at his ballgames, they were a hit!
Brody going to Grams house with his backpack of hot rods in the back, of course. He takes his backpack of hot rods every where we go!!
My Two Boys!
27 Weeks!
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Monday, October 31, 2016
My Dream House
My Dream House

I walk by this house on my nightly walks with Shepherd. Last night, I stopped, picked up my phone for the first time in forty-five minutes and snapped this picture. After, I pointed the stroller towards it and pointed it out to him. I told him that one day I would buy this house. We would live in it and take good care of it. As we started walking away, I told him that he and his future siblings would play on the lawn and run through the sprinklers one day. Even if he was 16 years old. Id make him do it. Because Im a good mother that puts his needs first. And he needs the memories of running through the sprinklers at this house, regardless of age.
Its funny how a house can make you envision what you want your future to look like. I can see my family in this house. I can see the Christmases and birthday celebration. I want that life. I want my home to be as welcoming as this one seems to be.
It doesnt help that one of my sisters dream house is across the street and a few houses down.
That would just be the cherry on top.
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Saturday, October 29, 2016
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
My 28th Birthday and 10 Year High School Reunion Im old
My 28th Birthday and 10 Year High School Reunion Im old
I turned 28 this year! I feel old and like a kid, all at once. We celebrated my birthday on the 6th, because Bryan had worship practice on the evening of my actual birthday. We had all of our immediate family and close friends over for a little barbeque. Totally last minute. Bryan actually planned and invited everyone with only about 24 hours until show time. But almost everyone came and it was extremely low key. Just my kind of party!
Bryan asked what I wanted for my birthday and I said that it would be amazing to start my day with a crumb cake doughnut and a Java Heaven coffee, have lunch with him and Shepherd on my break, and then go see a movie that night. That is exactly what happened! Bryan got up and took Shepherd to get the doughnuts and coffee while I got ready and then brought my Cisneros tacos for lunch! He also gave me my birthday gift - tickets to see Britney Spears in Las Vegas in a few weeks!!! If I hadnt been at work I would have been squealing with excitement.

I made plans for the night of my actual birthday to go out to dinner and a movie with my sisters. We went to Tommys in Visalia (their calamari is amazing) and then went to see The Intern at the downtown theater. It was so. stinking. good. I loved it. Robert De Niro was incredible in it. He kept reminding us of our Dad. Anne Hathaway did a great job too!
I dont have a lot pictures from the actual day, but I had an amazing birthday this year. It was sweet and simple with lots of family time!
The next day was my 10 year high school reunion, which I made Denise come up for! I havent gone out with Bryan in so long, it was so great to have a proper date with him. I like that guy. :)




I saw a lot of old friends and caught up with a few I see on social media and not in real life. It was great to hear everyones stories! I didnt get many pictures (the three bottom ones are from Denise) because Ive really been trying to stay off my phone and be in the moment at events. This is good, but it also means I capture less. Im still trying to find the right balance!


I had such an amazing week, but it wasnt over yet. My Sprinkle was just two days away and it really put the cherry on top of the whole week!
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Sunday, October 16, 2016
My Husband Needs to Take up Blogging
My Husband Needs to Take up Blogging
Every now and again I get a hold of Joels phone and see that hes taken all sorts of cute pictures which were either just not included when I first blogged about something or I never blogged about it at all.
Several weeks ago, the Indiana Bicentennial train was parked in Columbus for a couple days so we took the kiddos to check it out. They both thought it was pretty cool. There were a few tents set up with artifacts and some animals pelts. Lily was SUPER interested in that stuff. She was asking all kinds of questions and wanted to touch all the furs and know what kind of animal they came from. Which was shocking since she normal doesnt like to touch that kind of stuff.
We went to my cousins wedding a several weekends ago. Joel got a couple cute pics of the kiddos. The one in the dark.... thats Tyler standing out with all the single men waiting to catch the garter belt. He stood out there a long time (it took a bit to get people gathered and go through the whole ritual) but eventually realized he was standing there without me and came running back.
One night while watching TV, Lily had piled up the couch cushions and made herself a little chaise. It was pretty cute. Joel tried to get her to pose and it wound up making her look a little awkward....
We had Jacksons 5th (what?!) birthday party a couple weekends. ALL the kids were obsessed with this little electric 4-wheeler. If I heard "My turn!" once, I heard it 345 times. At first, I rode with Tyler because he didnt quite have the hang of the "gas" pedal. But he eventually got it on his own and kind of had everyone on edge. At one point he literally ran over Kenzie (she was unphased) and nearly rear-ended Moms car.
And thats all. For now.
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