14 years

happy anniversary babe!

for the fun of it i'll share some pics.  we had the worst photographer, but at the end of the day i'm so thankful i have the pictures.

we opted to do pictures after the ceremony so we didn't see each other until i marched down the aisle.  i remember kind of laughing and my dad had to tell me to slow down.  :)

my dad looks so serious...ha!  he really does like jay.

in the last 14 years, these kiddos have grown up.  3 are in college, 1 is a senior in high school.  ok, who told them it was ok to grow up?

party time.  i have no idea what we were talking about.  probably something stupid like i wish this song would be over so we aren't out here by ourselves.

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

Seriously?!?!?!?

Dear Facebook Friend:

This letter is to inform you that I have decided to de-friend you. While i still consider myself your friend, i can no longer take your political opinions.

Did you know that I voted for Obama? Yep, I did, and i would do it again. I would love to put a big fat Obama sticker on my car, but i don't really believe in putting signage on my car, that as well as being afraid my car might get egged in the church parking lot.

I will be the first to admit that I'm not politically savvy. Sure I do my civic duty and vote and try to educate myself on the candidates and their platforms, but it really hasn't been until this last election cycle that i really, truly investigated and researched and came to my conclusion about my vote. Before that, i pretty much voted Republican b/c of one issue, not because I necessarily support the platform. So basically what that means, is that i don't really support either party, i support the candidate. As a result, if i felt that Obama was whacked i would be OK with saying that, but to be honest I don't. Yet, i do want to hear both sides...maybe i should start a new party...the wish was hies. But man, when you post links to blogs that in my opinion are whacked, i think you have bad motives.

Why are we, this country, in such an uproar over the health care changes being discussed? Goodness we don't even have a bill...they are still putting a bill together. Is it worth people losing their fingers or getting in fights? At this point, i don't think so. Do you really want your president to fail? Really? Do you wish that on people...failure?? What would happen if we focused our negative energy on prayer, prayer for our country, prayer for our people, prayer for our president?

So goodbye my facebook friend, we'll see you later.

Your Obama Loving Friend,

Stevie

36

Thirty Six...thirty six...wow is it true? I'm only 4 years from forty? Yes...today is my birthday...it really feels like another day. We haven't done a very good job, Jay and I celebrating the day of our births...making it a big deal. We do a good job celebrating the Boys...but not so much ourselves. I think it all started out to save some money...and if there are things we truly want we usually go get them ourselves. Regardless, it's something I'm trying to remedy for at least Jay, i can't throw my own party right.

It was a good day...church...lunch @ 54th Street...an afternoon movie mostly uninterrupted...restful...

I kind of like thinking of my birthday as my new years eve. Reflecting on the year past, thinking ahead to the new year. I feel like I'm learning more and more about myself as I gracefully age, at least i hope it's graceful. One thing is that i can't have quiet, for when it's quiet the conversation in my head is non stop. All of this to say I haven't really thought too much about my goals for this year, so when I solidify them I'll post them here. For now, I'll recap 35. 35 you were good and bad, but i know I'm blessed, beyond measure.

1. first to mind is the miscarriage. really struggling emotionally this month. perhaps i use it as a crutch and instead of addressing the real problem, i blame my emotional state on the fact that the baby would have been born this month. Has it really been 9 months?
2. piano lessons...i finally did it. i took a little break as a result of the basement redo that forced my piano into the garage. we brought her back into the house tonight and it was like riding a bicycle. Oh man...so happy to have you home. i should really name her
3. my first 1/2 marathon. i still can't believe i did it. besides bearing 2 children it's the second thing I'm most proud of
4. Consciously trying to live in the moment. some moments are definitely better than others...but really trying.
5. creating memories...not just through things but through experiences. we really accomplished a lot on our summer list. I'll try to post the results in the next couple of days but I'm really proud of us. it wasn't always easy, but we did it and it was worth it.

I will wrap this post up. It's getting late and I know this will be an emotional week..Charlie starts preK tomorrow and Mac heads to 4th grade at a new school. Praying for peace and that we find our way and sense of community with this new school. :)

To wrap up...Thank you 35...overall you were good to me. Watch out 36...here I come.

a day with the animals

Sunday, Chris was playing the final round of the Nationwide Tour event in Omaha. Jay had mentioned going up to watch him play and I decided it would be a great time to finally take the boys to the Omaha Zoo. We woke up before the crack of dawn to start our day. Halfway to Omaha, I honestly thought I might have lost my mind, did I really think this was a good idea? At St. Joseph, MO we stopped for a gas fill up and a convenience store breakfast. Both boys stayed awake for the rest of the drive to Omaha, and let’s just say that I am now a total proponent for the car dvd players. We have one but we reserve it for long drives. Maybe not so much any more.

We make it to Omaha, drop Jay off and head to the zoo. (Of course, we are an hour behind schedule.) Totally ironic that there is a family from our church that is in line at the same time we were. Even though it was a very long morning we had a blast! We saw orangutans, monkeys, snow bear, black bear, polar bears, cheetahs, gorillas, penguins, elephants, rhinos, seals. We rode the sky tram and I admit I’m totally proud of myself that I did it. It’s like a ski lift and I have issues with ski lifts. I was nervous about getting on and off the lift, with managing my bags and a little guy but all was well. We saw almost everything we wanted to see but have built our list for next time.

Let me tell you, come Monday morning, I was exhausted. My whole entire body was tired and felt swollen from the lack of sleep and of course the healthy food that I ate all weekend. Yet while I felts so bad, I also felt good. Even though it wasn't easy, we did it. Most importantly we created a memory...

Of course some pics of our day…













This picture was taken as we were leaving the zoo. We were all pooped.