Happy Birthday, Brandon!

My sweet husband is turning 27 today. He is feeling all sorts of old and is really cracking me up. I have felt at least 10 years older than I am ever since I had the girls, so I'm kind of excited to be getting older. Brandon, on the other hand, doesn't enjoy it. It's hilarious to watch him wince when I mention his age. I should try and capture it on film.

So here's to you, my sweet man. I thank God for you and all you do for your girls. We love you!

  

  

       

  

  

I know these were a hodge podge of pictures, but every one of them has their own special story and means so much to me. He means so much to me. 

Happy Birthday, Bran!

House Guest

Here's the deal. Brandon made, in his words, and "executive decision" last week and we are switching over from DirecTV to Dish Network. We were able to get a bundle deal though our phone company and will be saving $80 a month! $80!!! That's insane. Anyway, in order to do so we had to have Dish come in and install their stuff and then have DirecTV come take their stuff away.

Well.

My phone rang at 7:15 this morning. It's the Dish man and he says he'll be here in half an hour to start the installation. I told him I'd be taking my girls to school at that time, but would be home by 8. He said he'd just wait in the drive. And he did. I was excited. When things like this happen I'm usually stuck at home waiting on the people to show up. They're usually not waiting on me. I just knew his service would be just as prompt as his arrival.

Wrong. 

Friends, as I type it's after noon. He has been here four hours and counting. And... He's. Still. Working. I'm about to go insane. I can't get a single thing done because he's moving from room to room and I don't want to keep bumping into him. I've been chilling out in my room. Oh, except for when the Pest Control man came and did our quarterly spray. So I had TWO strange men in my house AT THE EXACT TIME!! I could have been killed by two different men today. So scary, really. 

Since I was stuck in here I figured I would do a little updating on the blog. I wish I had wonderful and profound things to say, but I don't. Brandon and I had a nice, quiet Valentine's Day. The girls had a long weekend and spent a fabulous time with Grammy and Grampy. Dad got a puppy this weekend and the girls fell in love. He's a Great Pyrenees and his name is Boy. Such a little love. I'll get pictures on here soon. 

In other, completely random, news....The hair is ok. I realize the previous post was a little dramatic. I'm learning how to fix it and am learning to enjoy it. It was supposed to be an easy style, but it is definitely high maintenance. 

Alright, I have to go spy on this man in my house. I think he went back outside for ANOTHER smoke break. Gotta find the Lysol!

Changes in vision

Two years ago Caylee didn’t pass her vision test at school. I was a bit freaked out since we had only lived here six months and I had no clue what optometrist to take her to. The only option I had was to look in the yellow pages for an optometrist that took our insurance. And how, might you ask, did I decide on who to use? Simple. Whoever had the biggest and prettiest advertisement space was who I called! I figure if they are proud enough of their work to take out a full page ad, then they should be good. Well, the lady was fine, but a little too “out there” for my liking. She prescribed Caylee some reading glasses but said she would probably outgrow the problem and be just fine. She was right. Caylee has passed the last two years and no longer needs her glasses. But look how cute she was…

I have been expecting to get another letter from the school regarding Caylee, but it was a surprise when the letter came and it was for Baylee! Then it all began to click...

- the closeness she needs when reading 
- her favorite spot in the house is the closest spot to the tv
- when she's allowed to watch something in her room, she pulls her chair right up to the tv.

Bless her little heart, she was BLIND!

I had gone to a local optometrist last year and really enjoyed him. So when they called to confirm my yearly appointment I asked that Baylee be seen with me.

I can't tell you how awful I felt when she was in the pre-screening area. Guys, she couldn't read the top line! They didn't have the huge E, it was just a poster with different sized letters. I wanted to hug her sweet neck right then and there and tell her how sorry I was for not catching this sooner! Oh, and as we filled out the paperwork, she also informed me (for the first time) she had been having double vision! Sheesh! 

So today Baylee went to school with her brand new glasses. She had the weekend to adjust and was so excited to be able to see things far off. And another thing, people can now tell the girls apart!

Does this make me a bad mom?

I just tried to bribe my children with an ice cream cone. All they had to do was say "Boomer Sooner" to their principal when he opened the van door this morning. And when I noticed that wasn't quite doing the trick, I upped the ante to a Sonic Butterfinger Blast. Baylee considered it for a moment, but Caylee wanted nothing to do with it. And for girls who barely get a "Good Morning" out to the man each day, I knew it was a long shot.

So they didn't participate verbally, but they can't hide the fact that they're wearing their OU t-shirts and OU hoodies!

And how much do you want to bet they ask for that ice cream cone or Blast when I pick them up?! You snooze, you lose, girlies!

Needless to say, the van was quite full of laughter this morning. 

Family photo

I finally had the opportunity to go through our Christmas pictures today. With the craziness that is the holiday season and having to adjust to a new computer, today was the first day I had to sit down and see what memories we captured. And to my surprise I found this jewel.

Somehow we managed to capture the essence of everyone in our family. Let's dissect it together, shall we?

Brandon - Ever the techno-freak that he is, he is the one who took this beauty. In his closed fist is the remote to the camera. He had the three of us in position and all he had to do was slide right in. In a house full of girls, that seems to be what he does best. He adjusts to the needs of his girls on a daily basis. The poor man is highly out-numbered. He's also higher than me in the picture, portraying how he is the head of this house (after Christ, of course).

Cari - I'm safely nestled beside Bran and behind my girls. That's my most comfortable spot in the world. In this picture you will notice my hair is pulled back and I have a camisole on. You will most always find me like that. If I'm home, the hair is up and out of the way. And I always wear a camisole. Mostly because I have no boobs and most shirts are too low for me. See that smile? Yeah, it's true and genuine. Love it.

Baylee - First of all, let me say this. That girl can not take a bad picture. She is the most photogenic girl I have ever known. It seems the older she gets the more natural it comes to her. She's my sweetheart and it shines in this picture.

Caylee - My little nature girl. The wildness of hair hair is her to a T. She is crazy and absolutely hilarious. And seeing that she never gives us a real smile in pictures, I am so pleased she was at least trying in this one.

I am so glad I took the time to look through these pictures today. I wonder what other jewels are out there?

Year in review

This has been quite a year. God never ceases to amaze me as He is so gracious to our family. Compared to years past, this was a quiet year. We were blessed with a peaceful year as we continued o adjust to life here in Arkansas. Someone told me the other day that I looked different. They asked if I was pregnant, there was apparently some sort of glow. But I'm not and I know what it was they were seeing. It was happiness. It was love of life. I can honestly say this is the happiest I have ever been.

Here are some of the highlights from the past year:

1. Forgiveness

Early in 2008 I was able to finally release all the guilt I had been holding in. I carried it around for seven years and I finally let it go. It is so freeing to not be ashamed. Praise the Lord for the people He put in my path to get me to this point!

2. Crazy Arkansas weather

We had a nice amount of snow that fell on March 1. It made the girls laugh so hard that our one and only snowfall was in March. We had a snowball fight, made a snowman, and laughed, laughed, laughed. We also spent many nights watching tornadoes. There were tornadoes all around our town this year, but we were always sparred. 

3. Friends

We have been so blessed. God has brought some amazing people into our lives. We aren't just acquaintances anymore, but we have formed lifelong friendships with some dear people. We laughed, hosted parties in our homes, and made wonderful memories. We also mourned over miscarriages and grieved with dear friends who lost a baby at birth while her twin sister held on to life in the NICU. Through it all, God brought us all closer together.

4. Horse camp

I never imagined I would be the mother of horse lovers, but I am. The girls went to a week long horse camp and loved every minute of it. They learned to ride Western and English, shoveled poop, cleaned stalls, and loved on all the horses. They would live there if I let them.

5. Summer in Oklahoma for the girls 

They learned to ride their bike on Grandpa's three acres. What an accomplishment! Now they're riding fools! They helped Dad take care of Grandma Arnold and Mom take care of Grandma Faye. Such sweet memories they will have. Fishing with Grandpa and of course swimming every day. If only Grammy would let them get her hair wet!

6. School

This was the first year the girls were able to return to the same school that they left in August. And what a blessing that was! It definitely made the first day of school much easier. 

7. New rides

We were able to get a new van this year - a dream of mine had finally been fulfilled! We said good-bye to our sweet Blackie - the vehicle the girls grew up in. I cried as we took our final ride in him. I looked at my seven year old girls and saw them in their car seats all those years ago. The milk stains on the fabric say it all.

8. Mexico

Brandon took his first plane ride and it was an international flight. He enjoyed his time and savored every bite of food. He fell in love with the mountains and brought us back some amazing goodies. (Mexican cheese!)

As this year comes to a close, I'm excited to see what 2009 holds. 

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  ~Ephesians 3:20-21

Still here...

I have been a very unfaithful blogger. And I am sorry.

I went through this phase where I felt I had nothing to write about. I should've just sucked it up and wrote about our daily lives. Things were kind of hectic, I suppose. We had Thanksgiving, school Christmas program, church cantata (which required an insane amout of practice through the week & two performances on the weekend), Brandon was gone to Mexico last week, and the girls missed two days of school because of ice. And now, I can't even believe I'm writing this, but it's only one week until Christmas. I just finished wrapping the girls' presents - except for their bikes which are hidden in the attic.

Oh, and let me tell you something else. Something so tragic I'm unsure what to do...

Our computer crashed!

Long story, but it crashed. We were able to get it back on and thankfully all our pictures are safe and sound. But everything else uninstalled and it's a nightmare. Bran's home for his Christmas vacation so I'm using his work laptop because no matter what we do, the internet will not work.

All of this to say, I'm alive and I still want to be a blogger. I'll be back after the first of the year. The girls get out of school tomorrow and then we'll be heading to Oklahoma on Monday. This weekend is all about our Christmas here as a family of four. Sugar cookies to bake and memories to make!

Merry Christmas, everyone! And I'll talk to you all next year!