Thankful

On this Thanksgiving eve, I thought I would do a post to capture the things I'm thankful for right now:

My Lord and Savior...thank you for loving me unconditionally even with all my faults

My hubby


My kiddos..seriously how did i get so lucky?


Coffee..latte from Starbucks, dunkin donuts for home brew delish


My camera...that allows me to capture moments...both big and small.

My health, my family's health...enough said


These two...my mom & dad


Happy Thanksgiving!

NCYC 2009

Last night I had the opportunity to help out at the NCYC (National Catholic Youth Conference)that is being held in Kansas City this year. I walked away with an energy that I haven't felt for a long time. How could you not though, surrounded by 20,000 youth and adults, all who believe in the same thing; who love our church but more importantly love our God.

Memorable quote: There is nothing, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, sports, hobbies, friends that will fill the hole in your heart that is meant to be filled by Jesus.

Amen.

A night in Kansas City (Power & Light, Sprint Center, Bartle Hall)
stress trying to find the parking garage that was free but couldn't due to blocked streets
stress from showing up 'late' for my scheduled volunteer shift due to parking issues
spending the evening with 20,000 + youth, adults, proclaiming Christ Reigns...PRICELESS

Things that make you go hmmmm....

3 1/2 hours in a specialists office with Charlie

4 different doses of peanut butter over that 3 1/2 hour period

Time spent reading, watching movies playing bouncy ball in a confined room with an active 4 year old

No reaction to Peanut Butter, no more epi pen, no more Benadryl

Total expenses for the day $1400

Seriously...the dude won't even eat peanut butter now that he can. He finally tried a Reese's peanut butter cup and he didn't really like it. While my insurance will cover the costs of this visit to the allergist it's absolutely insane and ended up being almost 5X more what the hospital said they would charge us. Yes, I double checked with the hospital after we received a bill for over $700 for a consult visit..10 minute to gather the information they already had on Charlie's case...

I am plain FRUSTRATED!!!!

And a picture because a post is always better with a picture:

Blushing

Charlie brought this home from school today....




I'm not sure about the word 'fantastic' but I'll go with it.

A Day at the Zoo

Saturday we had the pleasure of meeting Stevenie, Nicole, Debbie and sweet baby Tillie at the Zoo. This was Charlie's first trip to the KC zoo and it was a perfect day…I mean absolutely perfect. The temp was high 60's, low 70's…yes in November.

Some things to note:

• 20 minutes is too long to wait for a cool refreshment and snacks from the zoo snack bar
  
• One should not wear flip flops to the zoo
  
• The KC zoo is big, lots of walking
  
• Char loves penguins, I never thought I would hear the end of the fact that our zoo didn't have penguins
  
• Mac was much more interested in following the game (KU vs KSU) on my blackberry than the zoo
  
• Baby Tillie is gorgeus and so good, one of the best babies I've ever been around
  

Pictures from the day

Visions of a Parade

Good ol Neewollah! Seriously there are now words. Always a great weekend spent with family, great food, bright colors, simple yet wonderful.

Waiting for the parade


The only way I ever get in a picture





These bikes were pretty cool.


I was really into the bands this year.




Trick or Treat