I Think We're Too Old For This

What, you might be wondering, do I think we are too old for?  Well, let me tell you about last weekend.  We started the weekend with a trip to Hastings (for CD's because we're old and still like CD's) followed by some yummy Swick's pizza.  Shortly after we returned home, Ben and Kim arrived for the weekend.  We stayed up talking for a little bit while the dogs played (Rufus has a huge crush on Kim's dog, Scout), then called it a night around midnight.  

Saturday morning, we woke up eagerly awaiting the OSU vs. Missouri game.  We all went to Eskimo Joe's where we met up with our friends Jen and Travis to watch the game.  After the game (which we won!), we had to check out the new Joe's Clothes.  It's very different from when I worked there back in my college days.  

That's why I love him!  He's willing to play along with my silly picture ideas (most of the time :). 

We then loaded up the dogs to go camping.  It was perfect weather for camping!  Kim and I stayed up way too late talking after the boys pansied out and went to bed early (if you call 10 early).  We woke up Sunday, ate breakfast, played with the dogs, ate lunch (Do you see a theme here?  We ate a lot of food.) then packed up.  After Ben and Kim left, Sam and I hit the bike trails.  I don't have any pictures from this adventure because Sam broke a chain a little less than a mile in so we had a to turn around and walk our bikes out.  While walking out, Sam twisted his ankle.  I felt really bad for him.

Kim is a fire master (even though Ben want's to take the credit for this one ;)!

Do you see Kim's (mansion) tent on the left?  Do you see our (shack) tent on the right?  Can you guess what's on my Christmas list?  We need a bigger tent if we plan to continue camping after we get kids ;).

Kim, the hand model, showing off her perfect s'more.

I don't know why, but this picture of Rufus makes me chuckle.

Oh how the dogs loved running on the shore!  Poor Rufus had a hard time keeping up with Bella's long legs and Scout's young dog energy.

Look at those ears!

Now, you might be thinking that seems like a fairly reasonable weekend, but we didn't stop there...  We got home from camping about 3pm Sunday, quickly showered, and jumped in the car to drive an hour to Frontier City.  For those of you that don't know, Frontier City is an amusement park in Oklahoma City.  We've been talking about going for a while and finally decided to set a date and do it (we hadn't been since when we were dating over eight years ago).  We met our friend Aaron there and had a blast riding rides (including the log flume which I was assured wouldn't get me wet), watching the wild west show, riding more rides, and people watching.  We finally headed home a little before 10 thoroughly exhausted.  

This is the only picture we took at Frontier City.  

There you have it, our crazy, busy weekend.  Our goal was to go to bed early every night this week since OSU's homecoming is this coming weekend (translation ~ seven additional people staying at our house with multiple events/festivities every day).  It's going to be a blast!

Tuesday {Ten} Random Pictures From My Phone

I have a bunch of random pictures on my phone, so I decided to share some of them with you today for my Tuesday Ten.

1.}  I had to make a couple of these creepy cute cats after I saw them over at This Mama Makes Stuff.  I loved them so much I made them the next day!  They are ceramic cats (from the thrift store) spray painted black with red glitter glue eyes.  The best part is that for less than $4 I have two new Halloween decorations!

2.}  When I was at the thrift store looking for ceramic cats, I scored this whole pile of awesomeness for $2!

3.}  This is proof that my mother-in-law loves me.  Last time we went up there, she had peanut butter pie waiting on me!

4.}  We made ricotta cheese the other day.  While it didn't taste bad, I think we will leave the cheese making to the experts.

5.}  A little while back, Sam had to go on a business trip.  While he was there, I texted this picture to show him what he was missing out on at home.  Yes, I was on Pinterest while watching Project Runway. 

6.}  When my grandma got a new vehicle, she asked the dealership to move her front license plate over for her.  Can you believe that they put it upside down!  To the person who did this, I realize that you are probably an OU fan, but the man buying this vehicle as well as his son and three of his grandkids actually went to school at OSU.  Have you ever even been to the OU campus for something other than a football game?  That being said, the funny thing about this picture is that my grandma drove around like this for a couple of weeks before I noticed and pointed it out to her. 

7.}  Ben, my brother-in-law, gave me this card the other day.  How often do you see a Boston Terrier and Great Dane together on something?

8.}  I'm sorry about the quality of this picture, but I had to include it.  While I was sewing the other day, I looked up to see Rufus laying on Bella.  I snapped a quick picture with my phone before getting up to go grab the other camera.  As suspected, Rufus promptly jumped up and followed me.

9.}  This was Bella's face when we pulled up at the camp grounds the other night.  If that's not a happy dog face, I don't know what is!

10.}  And lastly, we'll do anything for a laugh around here.  Every time Sam would nod his head to make the lamb move, both dogs would start barking.  It was entertaining to say the least.

There you have it, this week's Tuesday Ten.  I hope you enjoyed looking at my random pictures!

The Path We're Taking

As many of you know, yesterday was our final appointment at the fertility clinic.  (Well, it was supposed to be... they forgot to tell me that they needed fasting bloodwork since I'm finished with the study.  I'll go back for that Friday.)  The results were as we expected (negative) and I'm happy to say that we're both pretty ok with where we are in life right now.  Yes, it's a little sad to think that I will never be pregnant again (I know some of you are saying, "Don't say never," but we're trying to be realistic and know that there is a 99% chance it won't happen).  At the same time, I'm excited for the next step in our journey.  I'm eager to put all of our focus into adopting a couple (or few ;) kids without having to worry about if we might be pregnant and how that will effect everything.  I'm ready for whatever God has in store. 

Hooded Bath Towels

At one of my baby showers for Aubrey, I received a home made hooded bath towel.  Many people in the room told me "she makes the best hooded towels" or "you're going to love that towel," so I decided to use it as a pattern to make my own.  I've seen a few hooded towel tutorials floating around blog land, but none as easy as this one.  At the request of a friend, here is a step-by-step of how I make my hooded bath towels.

 

 

 You need a few simple materials.

1 towel

1 washcloth (they didn't have any washcloths in the color I needed, so I used hand towels cut in half)

material for initial (if you want)

Heat Bond (if you want)

sewing machine and thread (duh)

If you are using hand towels (like I had to), start by cutting them in half.

Fold your hood piece in half hot dog style (if you are using a washcloth, you can fold it either way, just determine where you want your stripes on your hood) with right sides together.  Sew one of the short ends closed.

Fold so right sides are facing out.

 

Find the middle of both the long side of the towel and the bottom side of the hood.  Match the middles and pin right sides together.

Sew along the bottom of the hood to attach it to the towel.  Congratulations, you made a hooded towel!

I like to add initial appliques to mine.  To do this, I simple attach fabric to the towel with Heat Bond. 

 

You can stop here, but I like the finished look you get when you sew around the appliques with a zig-zag stitch.

Now, just make a couple more and you have perfect gifts for a sweet little newborn boy and his two big brothers. 

Walk For Life

Yesterday, Sam and I participate in the Walk for Life benefiting Stillwater Life Services.  I promise, we don't just look for walks to participate in (this was our second one in as many weeks), they were both causes we feel passionate about.  We've always been pro-life, but going through the adoption process puts a whole new light on it.  The only way that we will have a family is if our children's birth moms choose life for them.  I realize that we are adopting through DHS, but the fact remains, they still chose life.  To my friends that chose adoption over abortion for their children many years ago, thank you for giving them a chance to live.  Thank you for helping make a couple's dream of having a family possible. 

I'm not sure how many people participated in the walk, but it was a record turn out!

A huge thank you to all of these businesses that took a stand and said they are pro-life!  My gynecologist was the only one in town to support this cause, I think that's proof that he's the right doctor for me (he was even at the walk). 

I would like to finish with a quote from yesterday, I just wish I could remember who originally said it.  It is, "I'm pro-life because God's God and I'm not." 

One Way or the Other

Last week, we completed our final treatment as part of the fertility research study.  We won't know if it worked until next week and I'm a little anxious to find out.  I'm not anxious because I want a certain result, I'm just ready to be finished with all of this.  Fertility treatments are emotionally and physically trying and I'm ready to not worry about it anymore.  I'm ready to know if we are taking path A or B to parenthood instead of straddling the "y" in the road.  I feel like the last couple of months we have been moving forward with a foot on each path, stretching our legs farther and farther apart, wobbling as we begin to lose our balance in a split like state as we try everything possible to become parents.  Although it might not happen right away, we could potentially get "the call" from DHS any day.  I'm ready to know that we are either pregnant or not going to get pregnant as that will effect how many children we are willing to accept.

I'm not saying that we will never be back at the clinic.  In fact, if the DHS adoption doesn't move quick enough for us we are considering going back for embryo adoption (our clinic just started an in house program, they are just waiting for embryo donations).  I'm just ready to be finished for a while (pretty much, the only time that we haven't been going to the clinic in the last 2 1/2 years was part of my pregnancy with Aubrey).

I have one request, please continue to pray for us.  Pray that we are at peace with whatever result we get Wednesday.  Pray that our family grows sooner rather than later.  Pray that God guides our decisions on this journey to parenthood.

The Rest of the Weekend

I know I already wrote a post about the memory walk this weekend, but that's not all we did.  As most of you know, the memory walk was held in Cherokee which is really close to where Sam's parents live.  We decided to go up to their house on Friday evening so we wouldn't have to get up as early Saturday morning.  On the way there, Sam noticed what he thought would be a great photo.  We had to turn the car around and park in the gate to a field, but I think it was worth it.  What do you think?

Can you believe that this picture is unedited?!

Saturday morning, Sam, his mom, and I drove to the memory walk (which you can read about here) while his dad loaded their pick-up and headed to Stillwater to meet Ben and Kim (Sam's brother and his girlfriend).  As soon as the memory walk was over, our crew headed to Stillwater also.  Sam's parents have a friend with four awesome tickets and an even better parking pass that he wasn't using this weekend, so he gave them to Sam's parents.  Sam, Susan, and I arrived in Stillwater about 30 minutes before kick-off, so we decided to park downtown and ride the shuttle to campus.  This turned out to be a great idea that we will use again!  We parked right next to the bus stop and they dropped us off at the stadium.  We had a blast at the game (even though it rained like crazy)!

 Not the best picture, but it's pretty much all we have from that day due to the rain.  I'm pretty sure we were the only ones with any kind of tailgate in that parking lot.  (Yes, that's Gallagher-Iba in the background!)

With the hubs before it rained.

Waiting for the shuttle with Kim after the game. 

My final picture for today is good for a laugh or two (or maybe I just have an odd sense of humor :).

Three things about this picture:
1.  Ben got a little sunburnt.
2.  Ben was saying (and motioning), "Just from the waist up."
3.  Look how prepared I was.  I have my H2no jacket on, Ben's poncho in a pack around my neck, AND an umbrella!

Walking in Memory of Aubrey

Next week is baby loss awareness week.  I won't write a lot about it because I figure I talk about Aubrey enough on this blog to bring awareness to the baby loss world, but I would like to tell you about the memory walk Sam and I participated in on Saturday.  The walk included a guest speaker, balloon release, bake sale, silent auction, and the walk itself.   The purpose of the memory walk was to raise money to provide baskets to parents who would otherwise leave the hospital empty handed.  Each basket includes a cute outfit, blanket, stuffed animal, and picture frame among other things an angel parent might need/want. 

The guest speaker told the story of her four year old daughter who battled cancer for 19 months before passing away.  Her story helped show us that we are truly doing the right thing by donating to St. Jude in Aubrey's name.  We might have lost our daughter, but we didn't have to watch her suffer. 

We sent notes to our angels via balloons.

Sam and I were talking about the balloon release, and we decided that it is kind of like the angel babies themselves.  You hold them for a short time then release them knowing you can never get them back.

This is one of the baskets ready for the hospital. 

I have to say that my friends are amazing!  When I put on facebook that we were going to participate in the memory walk, many people asked how they could help.  My friend, Amber, made precious bracelets to include in the hospital baskets and my Highland Park family (the school where I used to teach) all pitched in to make an amazing basket for the silent auction.  It was so awesome that we ended up breaking it up into two baskets to raise more money!  One of my former co-workers from Highland Park who's parents live in the area where the walk was held, even came by to remember Presley (another angel baby who's mom hosts this event) and Aubrey. 

The larger of the two Highland Park baskets after we split them up. 

The smaller Highland Park basket.  

Mandy, Sam's cousin's wife our cousin, made a couple of Scentsy baskets too.

Over all, it was a great day!  Not only did we remember our sweet Aubrey and raise money for a great cause, I was able to meet other angel moms and hear their stories as well as share Aubrey's story. 

Tuesday {Ten} Halloween Candy

For this weeks Tuesday Ten, I've decided to do a round up of the best candies for Halloween.  Some you might agree with, some you might question, and you might feel like I left some off (my husband doesn't understand how I don't like Kit Kats).  

1.}  Sixlets ~ These are my all time favorite Halloween candy!  The only problem with sixlets is that they are hard to find throughout the rest of the year.

2.}  Reese's Pumpkins ~ Actually, I love all of the Reese's shapes (eggs are the best!) because the peanut butter to chocolate ratio is better than normal Reese's.

3.}  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups ~ Yes, I am listing these separate from Reese's shapes.  They have peanut butter and chocolate, does it get any better than that?!

4.}  Snicker's ~  I don't think this one needs an explanation, it's hard to beat a Snicker's.

5.}  Twix ~ Cookie, caramel, and chocolate... perfect for when you want a little crunch.

6.}  Candy Corn ~ I know some people will disagree with this one, but I love candy corn (especially the pumpkins) and the fact that it is only available for a short time each year.

7.}  Peanut M&M's ~  I have a confession to make.  In college, when I stayed up too late studying and had a test to take, peanut M&M's were my go to vending machine snack.  I figured they had sugar in the chocolate and protein in the peanuts.  That's a good reason to eat them, right?

8.}  Tootsie Rolls ~ This is another one that I'm sure many people will disagree with, but I love them.  I also like the flavored tootsie rolls you sometimes get around Halloween (orange is the best!).

9.}  Laffy Taffy ~ I know, I'm crazy for putting something that's not chocolate on this list, but sometimes you just want something fruity.  I like all of the flavors except banana (that's my husband's least favorite too). 

10.}  Milk Duds ~ Chocolate covered caramel, mmmmm!

There you have it, my top ten Halloween candies.  Feel free to leave a comment with your favorite candy, maybe you are thinking of one that I missed.