happy birthday to you!
happy birthday to you!
happy birthday dear nanny,
happy birthday to you!
you are amazing. i love you so and i couldn't ask for a more wonderful grandmother. you bless me beyond anything i could ever explain. thank you for all that you are and all that you have ever been to me. i don't know what i would do without you.
i love you more than anything,
granddaughter
(no...i'm not pregnant)
about a month ago, michael and i noticed a bird flying in to our porch with twigs in it's mouth. i noticed the bird was putting these small twigs on top of my golf bag between some clubs. umm...that doesn't mean i don't use the bag...but i don't so i won't make excuses.
anyway, after we noticed the initial building, michael decided to help out. he took all of my clubs from my bag and they now lay under our bed. he rigged a paper plate shelter with one on the bottom and two on the sides for wind protection. he attached the paper plates together using band aids. the plates sat in the top of my golf bag for a few days.
a week or two later, michael and i ventured out on the porch and low and behold, an entire nest was resting in the beautiful white shelter.
a couple of days later...eggs.
a week later...babies!
these babies have been living on our porch for about a week and each time we let jules out, you can hear the mama or daddy bird squawking from a nearby tree. we can also occasionally witness dinner being brought in. mama or daddy will rest on the tire of michael's bike before flapping up to the nest with worms or caterpillars.
i told michael that he would probably regret his help once these babies were big enough to chirp early on saturdays but not big enough to fly away from home.
either way, right now, the babies are sweet and during this process it's fun to have such a, well... bird's eye view.
michael heard from our house people the other day. they were shooting for the close date to be july 2nd! holy moly!
the only thing is that we're going to be driving across the middle of the country for that week while we attend amy's wedding in colorado and then scotty's wedding in arkansas...4 days apart.
they changed the house date to july 9th. how exciting is that?!
the house is looking really good. the siding is up on all of the sides and we're waiting on the rock for the front. the ac ducts are in as well as the windows and doors. the plumbing is in and the shingles are on the roof. the trim is painted a great color. i didn't remember what i'd even picked until i saw it up. it looks good. who would've thought?!
70 days to go...
in the next 2 months, i will be traveling almost every weekend. i have showers and weddings and weddings and showers and mother-daughter teas and birthdays and who knows what else...
it's gonna be crazy and it's gonna be expensive. i hope our budgeting will not fail us. it would hurt if the price of gas would drop just a smidge. this is nuts!
the bad thing about all this travel is that there won't be much time for relaxing or rejuvenating. the good thing: well, i'll get to see my family and friends, i'll get to shower them with gifts and love, i'll have less time in my apartment and the time that it takes to get in the house will fly by (i hope).
i don't know how i'll feel in a few weeks, but right now, i'm looking forward to the road ahead.
we've started to see a lot of progress on the house and it makes time feel like it's moving so much faster. from the time that we signed the paperwork to the time that the builders actually started building felt like forever. at this point, i think i might actually be able to make it 3 more months in this apartment! :)
when michael and i checked out the house on sunday afternoon, the first floor was framed. this is what we pulled up to on wednesday evening. a framed second floor!
a framed second floor plus sheet rock going up on the outside with a couple of windows.
on friday, after michael played golf, we drove by for another check...i think it's looking like a house!
a close up view.
a view of the back. those three windows look into the master bedroom and the two windows to the right, the family room.
this is a view of the inside second floor. michael is standing in the game room. to the left is a bedroom that will probably be our office. there's another bedroom further back and left. straight back from the stairs is the bathroom. what you can't see is another bedroom to the right.
view from the gameroom. what a sunset!
this is the view michael wants to see from his office. this is also the view i want to see when i'm rocking a baby to sleep (no...not pregnant). i wonder who will win...;)after church on sunday, we drove out to look at our house. we talked about how silly it was that we were even going because it would probably look the very same. the foundation had been poured and set and the framing was supposed to start on the 14th.
we turned the corner and were both very shocked to see our first floor framed out. it was so super exciting! we got out and walked through the house. it's amazing how small a house can look with only cement and a few 2 x 4's. how on earth do walls make a space look bigger?
anyway, we (ahem, michael) apparently had the date wrong. i think they may have said they would be finished framing by the 14th.
HOW COOL IS THAT?!
(isn't it weird sometimes how an incredibly normal word can look so incredibly weird? maybe it's because i've had kids read HOW in so many different ways today...scary. don't worry, it was during tutoring not during my regular class...:) )
yea-so i think time might start speeding up a little bit now that our house is actually starting to look like a house.
now, if i only had some red slippers. there's no place like home. there's no place like home.
a few weeks ago, after a trip out to see the progress on our house, michael drove by a church. after all of the visits to the large churches, we decided that a smaller church might be the thing for us.
this past sunday, we walked in to cross mountain church. it is a growing, but still not huge, non-denominational church. the church has two services on sundays and runs around 300 people. we were greeted as we walked in and handed a bulletin that reminded me of the ones my mom prints at saf. my heart immediately began to feel lighter.
we walked in and were thankfully not ushered to the front by a smiling, nodding man holding two fingers in the air. whew! :) we sat on the back row and watched as people filled in the chairs ahead of us. michael was startled by friendly hands on his shoulders. the pastor greeted us warmly and thanked us for coming. he told us to feel free to hang around after service if we had any questions about the church. then the music began to play. the first song, we knew. the second song, we knew. in fact, we knew every song during that worship service and surely felt the presence of God. it was such a wonderful feeling. time was set aside for 6 children/youth baptisms. there was a "turn around and shake someone's hand" time and then the preaching began. there was an outline for filling in the blanks (although i was a little confused because the words that fit in the blanks didn't all start with the same letter...hmm), a projector that showed the verses and a pastor who taught, not only read from his notes. the service ended with a call for salvation, rededication, or prayer needs. we left with a handshake from the pastor and a visitor's gift, including a nifty little coffee cup.
in the bulletin was an announcement for a ladies get together on monday night. i wanted to go but was so nervous to call the day after our first visit to the church. i have to admit, it felt a little desperate to me. however, after some prompting from michael and jenny, i called the number in the bulletin and asked about the evening. i was invited warmly and told the girl that i would be coming. most everyone there was in their late twenties-early thirties and was already a mom. most of the babies were under four years of age. they treated me like an old friend. several of the ladies mentioned how brave i was for coming after one visit and i joked that i was just desperate. they all laughed and i prayed they would never know i was serious! ;) i left there with hugs and hopeful "i guess we'll see you...sunday?!"s it felt pretty good. i think that if we do continue to go to cmc, and none of these ladies become my close friends, we will at the very least, hang out once a month at these girl's night out and enjoy each other's company. i do hope, though, that it becomes more than that.
michael is thinking of playing in a golf outing with the church on saturday. i'm sure it will be so difficult for him. :) we'll try cmc again this sunday and see how it goes. i'm just thankful for a place where God is felt and honored. thank you, Jesus.
my baby brother matt has a beautiful fiance mandy. they were in san angelo this past weekend, as was i, for their wedding shower.
it was absolutely beautiful. the decorations were great, the food was great, the company was great. i was so pleased with the turnout and the support for this sweet couple.
while they were there, m&m got their engagement pictures taken by sprinkle of grace photography. the pictures are awesome and i think have, so far, made most of the people who have seen them cry like babies.
i am so happy that my baby brother will soon be as happy in marriage as i am. plus-it will be with one the sweetest girls in the world.
good choice to both of you, m&m! i love you and can't wait to see you on your wedding day.
If you're bored and have nothing better to do, try this:
1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Rastus Cherokee
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Chocolate Mint Running
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Green Dog
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Jo Odessa = J'Odessa
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name):Kotky
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Blue Fuze
7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Boyd Floyd L.D.
8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy): XOXO Grapefruit
9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Brown Bakersfield
10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Spring Peony
11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now): Grape Tee
12. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Banana Oak
if you recall, i'm not the happiest person living in this apartment. there are just a lot of annoying things that i am ready to get rid of. i know that in several posts i have mentioned my really annoying sink that sprays everywhere. i mean everywhere.
well, last night i begin the stupid process of dishes. now, michael and i have a dish right on the counter where we put our keys and stuff like that. michael usually lays the mail there as well, no matter how many warnings i give him. i say again, "honey, remember, you can't really leave the mail right here because the faucet splashes water all over the place." i move the mail to the table. i stood at the sink loading the dishwasher and then washing all of the pots and pans for about 20 minutes. michael walks over and starts to talk to me and i start throwing a fit about the water.
"just look at me! this is ridiculous! i have more water on my shirt than anywhere else!"
at this point my darling husband suggests that he will fix it. now, to be honest, i didn't really want him messing with it right then. i mean after 20 minutes, i was ready to get those last two pots out of the way and be done with it but he stuck a knife up there, popped out this little screen and the water began running beautifully smooth. he turned off the water, looked back up the tap, noticed there was still anther screen (which he left there), turned the water back on and grinned at me proudly.
now, i guess anyone else might be happy about this. i, however, have been washing dishes this way almost every night for 7 1/2 months. not only that, but last night is not the first time i've mentioned the crappy faucet to my darling husband.
now you tell me why that man didn't just offer to that 200 days ago.
okay, all joking aside, i am really happy michael is caring enough to have at least fixed it before we moved out. thanks, babe! you're the best! :)
thanks for the friend making tips. with the comment count at this point i think i got exactly what i asked for: a 12 step guide for making friends.
i don't know when i'll actually make friends here, but one thing i do know is that chicken fried steak sounds really good (man that paula dean sure knows how to cook! chicken fried steak and biscuits with gravy). um, just kidding. one thing i do know is that i have a ton of friends that are more than precious to me. thanks guys, you sure know how to make someone feel taken care of.
i agree with every suggestion. i know i'll feel better once we're in our house. in fact, our neighborhood seems very friendly. we see people out walking all the time and the other day when we were out checking out the progress, michael saw the couple that bought the house next to ours. he says the guy looked to be about his age, so i think that's good news. i also know that being in a church and finding a young marrieds class will be the key. also, with all the suggestions to take a class...where do i look for a class like that? maybe michael and i will take ballroom dancing. that could be fun! :)
despite how miserable i may have sounded in my last post, things really are going okay here. things are good and most days i feel fine. you know, just being a woman occasionally brings about an emotional moment or two. that is exactly what happened on that particular day. i'll let you know what happens tomorrow when michael is actually gone golfing. :)
love ya!
