"Couch Church"

Today we listened to the 2 Saturday Sessions of General Conference. What a marvel technology is! We were able to spend time together at home while listening to the words of the prophets and apostles. My favorite talk was from the 2nd session and it was by Dieter D. Uchtdorf. I really enjoy hearing him speak. Perhaps it is because my dad served his mission in Germany and he reminds me of my dad. My friend Emily said her husband refers to General Conference as "Couch Church," hence my subject for today's entry. I learned a lot from the talks today. I need to do better in my daily activities. I really need to read my scriptures everyday...that is a weakness of mine. Tyler is now getting ready to leave for the Priesthood session at the church.

It's been pretty cool here lately. We actually put the heat on last night--it was supposedly in the 40s! Today we made homemade pizza and Peanut Butter Caramel Corn. YUM! When it's cold outside I feel like cooking/baking. We were able to get our master room put together. We have so much STUFF! I hope I can be dedicated to getting the house organized! Anna will begin pre-k on tuesday. Hopefully I can get a lot done while she's in school. Although, I have a goal to walk for around an hour while Anna's at school. I have GOT to exercise and try to lose some weight. I'm sure all that pb caramel corn will help...

Last night I had an enjoyable time at the Scrapbook event. Emily is a consulant for "Close at Heart," I think that's right. I ordered some little blocks to put stamps (acrylic, I think) on them. Melisa, do you know what I'm talking about?? I think I can use them with the snowman stamps you got me. So, I'm excited about that. It was a little pricey and we're pretty poor right now, but my sweet husband let me indulge in that purchase. Aren't husbands wonderful? Well, mine DEFINITELY is!!!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we're back in Ohio!!! We arrived here late wednesday night and were exhausted! The next day we were fasting for a family concern. Combining a long drive + fasting = two cranky, sick people!! (And no, I'm not including Anna, she's doing great!) So Tyler & I are trying to recover from our trip/fasting and hopefully we will feel better soon-for all our sakes!

I bought a wave curling iron. It's supposed to make "beautiful S waves." I must say, I'm quite please with my "S waves." It's funny how just one little change can make me feel so much more attractive. :)

We're trying to unpack and finish organizing the house. Tonight I'm going to a scrapbook evening at Emily's house (a new friend here). I hope it will allow me to relax and enjoy myself. That's it for now!

Gonna Take A Sentimental Journey...

Yesterday Tyler, Anna, & I drove up to Owasso, OK and visited one of Tyler's long-time friends, Tommy. He & his wife, Keeli, have a 3 week-old baby girl, named AnnaBelle. Gee, that name sounds familiar...We had a wonderful visit with them. Then we drove up to Ramona, OK to visit Tyler's brother, Travis and his fiancee, Rhonda. They just bought 80 acres of land that has a newer trailer home on it. Owning all that land made my husband quite jealous! We want to own land someday, although I think that 80 acres is WAY too much for us to handle...

Today we had lunch at Tyler's grandparent's house, Fred & Madeline. They are such sweet people and we really enjoyed our time with them. Tyler decided to give me a clothing shopping spree for my birthday. First I went to Goodies with my mother-in-law, Melanie, & my sister-in-law, Tisha. I found some cute things. Then later I went shopping at wal-mart, and surprisingly, I found some really cute clothes! 28th birthday shopping spree: $175. Having enough clothes to wear and feeling cute in them: priceless.

Tonight we went to visit Mitsuye & Neal. Tyler was friends with their son, Sean, who died in a car accident in september, 1996. Tyler was also in the car when it happened, but he was spared while his best friend died. It's an emotional time for Tyler, being 10 years since the accident. Sean was Mitsuye & Neal's only child, so we try to keep in touch with them and involve them in our lives. They are such wonderful people. Trials are definitely part of this life. I don't want trials--but I'm grateful for what I learn from them.

Tomorrow we are leaving Bartlesville, OK and heading home to Huber Heights, OH. It will be a 12 hour drive. I'm eager to be back in my new house! That's it for today....:)

Almost Famous

Today Tyler & I went to my dad's ward in Guthrie, which is now part of the Stillwater Stake. It was ward conference and I sang "O Divine Redeemer," which my dad requested. I had previously thought I would be singing this to a ward of which I only knew my family. However, due to the change of stakes, all the leadership in the Stillwater Stake were present--I know them all from when I lived in Stillwater!! So that made me a bit more nervous, especially with President Hansen present and all. Plus, "O Divine Redeemer" isn't an easy piece to sing! I had been praying that the song would go well and that everyone would feel the spirit. Heavenly Father truly blessed me and the song went wonderfully! It was a terrific experience for me. My dad says that I now have a following in Oklahoma...

Afterwards, we had a belated birthday party for me at my dad's house. He made weinerschnitzle (spelling?), mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, & green beans. It was a HUGE feast!!! (and simply delicious!) Then came the time for my traditional pineapple upside-down cake, which I have every birthday. My dad had made it from scratch and it looked wonderful! For candles, they decided it would be fun to use sparklers! Little did they know that it wouldn't be the best idea! While lit, the sparklers spread ash all over the cake. They were so upset about it and wouldn't stop apologizing for it. It was an accident and I found the situation rather funny and memorable!

Some Enchanted Evening

Yes, it's true--my husband, Tyler, is here! He arrived around 2pm in Stillwater. Anna & I were waiting outside on my grandma's porch. I've never seen Anna so excited! When Tyler pulled up, she ran to him and gave him lots of kisses, saying "I so miss you, Daddy!" It was precious!

We drove down to Mustang and had a good ol' fashioned Fried Chicken Dinner with all the fixins! My sister & her husband + my brother & his girlfriend were there and we played scrabble in couples. Scrabble is the traditional game in my family. WE CRAVE IT!

I am so happy to be with my husband. It's odd getting back into the whole couple actions. When Tyler is gone, I completely (or attempt to) suppress any feelings in the affection category. Then when Tyler is back, I feel like I have to relearn how to kiss, hug, etc. Am I alone in this behavior? Well, I have sure missed snuggling. I love to cuddle up with my honey bunny. I'm so happy that we're together again.

7 Years Without Him

Today would have been my Stepdad Bob's 68th birthday. He died January 11th, 1999, due to complications of a heart transplant surgery. He was very dear to me and I have truly missed him these past 7 years. My siblings and I have been having a birthday party for him each year, commemorating his life with stories, home videos, memories, and his favorite foods. This year we had hash browns and grilled tuna fish and cheese sandwiches, completed by spice cake which he had on his birthday every year.

As I look back on my life where I was 7 years ago, I cannot begin to understand how I was able to cope with losing a parent. I was 20 years old at the time. It never occurred to me that he might die during his many surgeries that week--when the heart functioned, the liver failed, and vice versa. I know that it was my strong testimony of the plan of salvation that helped me through it. And although it is difficult for me to hear audio tapes of his voice or see him on a home video, it reminds me of what a wonderful plan God has for us and I know that I will see him again.

You may be wondering how my wonderful reunion with my sweet husband went, but alas, he is not here yet. His truck had some problems this morning and so he had to take it to a shop, which delayed his departure. Long story short: He's in Ft. Smith with his brother and will arrive sometime tomorrow around noon, I think. :)

Make New Friends, But Keep The Old...

Today one of my childhood friends, Sarah, took me out for a late birthday lunch. I cherish her friendship-it's the longest running friendship that I have (outside of family). I wonder how many people I was friends with in heaven...do I pass them by while "living my life?" I need to make more of an effort to meet new people.

I spent a couple of hours scrapbooking today. I've made some remarkable progress in the short time I've spent on it. I'm eager to catch up to be current with my pages/pictures. Right now I'm 1 year behind.

Tonight I am playing Settlers of Catan with Coulter and his girlfriend, RaeAnna. It is a fun game and I am enjoying the company as well. Tyler should be back either tomorrow night late, or early saturday morning. I am excited to see him!!!

A Zoo Of A Time!!!

This morning Anna & I packed up our things from my Mom's house (where we stayed the past two days) and drove to Mustang Munchies-where we bought some doughnuts for breakfast. I'm poor and doughnuts are a CHEAP meal! Then I drove over to the Thrift Store which just happens to be next to CURVES-a workout place for women. I found it quite ironic that I was eating an old fashioned buttermilk doughnut while other women (who probaby had a breakfast consisting of grapenuts) were working out. Yeah, that made me feel good.

Anna & I met my childhood friend, Sarah, at the Oklahoma City Zoo. We arrived around noon and walked around until 2:30pm. There were many fun animals to see and Anna really enjoyed it! Her favorite animals were the birds. They had a big cage that we could go into and there were many rainbow colored parrots that would hang and crawl all over you. Anna liked it a lot until one landed onto her head! That made her scream!!! After walking around most of the Zoo, we decided to ride on a bicycle-pedaled buggy. Sarah & I would pedal it to move while Anna sat between us. About 3 minutes into pedaling, we began wondering what we had gotten ourselves into!! The zoo paths weren't exactly level and the hills pushed our leg muscles to the test! Plus, Anna was mad because she didn't get to pedal or steer the steering wheel. So Anna was having a crying fit while Sarah & I were in pain from all the difficult up-hill pedaling we had to do. But-we had fun. :)

We then drove up to Stillwater and visited a friend of mine here, named Becky. She has 4 kids and manages them so well. Seeing everything she does for them makes me wonder if I'll be able to handle more kids in the future. Anna will be 5 in december and I'm quite comfortable having ONE child. I hear that things become more chaotic with 2+! We shall see...whenever that day comes.

Tyler will be here on friday! WAHOO! I only need to get through tomorrow and then friday! (he'll arrive late friday night!) I'm ready to be with him again. It's difficult to strengthen your marriage when you're separated. I'm so grateful that we have the gospel to guide our marriage--it brings us so much happiness to know that we can be together forever.

A Would-Be Zoo Trip

Anna has been looking forward to a trip to the zoo with myself and my childhood friend, Sarah. Today was the day! I drove down from Stillwater and Sarah met me there at 5pm. To our dismay, the zoo closed at 5pm. Poor little Anna. She was quite upset! However, we determined that we can reschedule to wednesday morning. That seemed to cheer Anna up.

Tyler is ready to finish up his training. I really think that he should be let go early, they don't seem to have enough to keep him there. Today he was done by 3pm. I asked him what they have planned for him until friday, he said not much. However, the AF pays him to be there. I guess I don't object to him sitting around and being paid for it--I just wish it was with him sitting around here with me! *wink*

I enrolled Anna in pre-k today, in Ohio. She will start a couple of days after we return home. She is ecstatic! It will only be mon-thurs, for a couple of hours in the afternoon-but the bus will pick her up & bring her home! No complaints here!!! I am eager for her to make some new friends, she seems lonely being the only child.

Many of my friends are pregnant right now. I am so happy for them, I just wish I could join them. I would love to be experiencing morning sickness--because then I would know that Anna wouldn't be an only child anymore. I'm hoping that when we do become pregnant that it will be twins--Tyler & I are so ready for another baby, it'd be better for us each to have one to hold!!! :) We plan to meet with a fertility specialist when we go back to Ohio. I hope that they will be able to help us in our efforts to grow our family.

Happy Day, All Is Well

Well, Anna & I went to our old ward here in Stillwater. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it! Old friends were happy to see me and said how they missed me being in the ward and my singing voice, etc. I was happy to be with them, which makes me feel silly that I was worried about it! (See previous post)

After church, I went over to visit my good friends Nina & Scott. They have 4 chickens in their backyard! They get about 3-4 eggs per day! What a fun idea! Tyler & I are actually thinking to get a puppy when we return to Ohio. Perhaps the puppy would like some chickens to run after??? Hmmmmmmm.

We've had a goal to someday live on a farm. I know that probably sounds really hilarious to some of you, but I like the idea of returning to a more healthy style of eating and having some good ol' fashioned work--like milking a cow, tending a garden, making butter...etc. I don't know if we'll ever achieve this goal, but it's a fun thought.

Lonely, I'm so lonely

7 days until Tyler will be here. I suddenly feel so lonely without him. This whole time (about 8 weeks) I have just been trying not to think about him being away, but now that it's so close, I can't help BUT think about it!! I guess I could only fool myself for so long...

As I type this, Anna is singing "Search, Ponder & Pray." She learned it in primary a few weeks ago. I love hearing her sweet voice singing. (And she's on key too!!) Tomorrow we're going to our old ward in Stillwater. I'm excited to go but for some reason I've been dreading it--perhaps it's because I already said my goodbyes to everyone and moved to another state to make a fresh start...and that was only 4 months ago!!! If it had been a couple of years, then I would be fine with it. But 4 months?? It just seems odd. Is there a doctor in the blog world who can analyze this for me?

Scrapbookin' Fool!

Well, after a 2 year hiatus--meaning I was in college full-time for the past 2 years--I have been able to return to my hobby of Scrapbooking! I'm only 2 years behind (imagine that) and am trying to catch up asap! I also have the pictures of 5 of my siblings + my husband's childhood to do. Then I thought I would make a scrapbook specifically for Tyler's experience in the Air Force. So, I have a feeling that I will be scrapbooking for some time...anyone else think so??

My Grandparents were given a heart attack (not literally) by their children & grandchildren. If you're unfamiliar with this-it's when you cut out hearts from construction paper and write nice little thoughts on it, then tape them on a door or wall. Well, my grandparents had over 100 hearts! They were very touched by the nice things written especially for them. My grandma bought a scrapbook to put them all in--keep in mind that I'm the ONLY person in my family that scrapbooks--so guess who will be helping my grandma scrapbook the hearts???? ME!!! And I'm really excited to do it with her! Some great bonding time! :)

So, for the next week, I will be doing LOTS of scrapbooking, which I actually find relaxing, in addition to cross stitching. What are your relaxing hobbies?

Missing My Honey Bunny

Hello all. In 8 days I will see my sweet husband. I'm so ready! Poor little Anna is really longing to be with her daddy. She has been crying the past two days saying she wants to go back to Ohio and see her daddy. She doesn't realize that her daddy isn't there-he's in "Amabama." I think that she associates him being in Ohio because that is the last place she saw him.

Today has been a non-stop game of Settlers of Catan. Have you played it? My brothers Evan and Coulter are as addicted to it as I am. I love to play games. My favorite boardgame is Settlers, my favorite card game is Hand & Foot.

It's hard to believe that I've been in Oklahoma since mid-July. This trip will be a total of almost 10 weeks! I have enjoyed it thoroughly, but I must admit that I'm ready to be with my husband and back in Ohio. It's fun-having a fresh new start in Ohio.

Temple Trip

A good friend of mine, Jesi, gave me an excellent idea on how to teach children about the importance of temples. She has two young children, the oldest is 4, and she took them to the temple grounds and taught them about the temple. Up until now, we've only discussed temple marriage with Anna. So, I decided that I am going to take Anna to the temple this week. I told her that we are going to somewhere special on tuesday. She asked "Where?" I said, "I'm going to take you to the temple." She said, "Oh! So I can get married??" It was too cute!

"Quit Your Job & Let's Go Bowling!"

This evening I witnessed an incredible event: My Mom bowled!!! No less incredible is the fact that she bowled WELL! So during those infrequent trips to the bowling alley during my childhood, my mom was holding out on me!! (I never saw her bowl) She also informed me that my grandparents received trophies for bowling! Learning this, I went into my first game confident that I would do well. And I did! My first game was 165-the highest I've ever scored! Yes, I thought, I was BORN to do this. The next game, I scored an 85. hmmm, I thought, maybe I wasn't born to do this? It was fun, nonetheless. Have any of you found out that your parents did something well and you didn't know about it??

Most Likely To Be An Opera Singer

Everyone remembers those appropriate awards that we received in high school. I was awarded to be an Opera Singer. I have recently found a musical group which suits my style in music perfectly--It's called IL DIVO. Have any of you heard their music? It's phenomenal! Listening to them sing makes me want to pursue music more than before, probably because I didn't think my vocal talent would be desirable to the public. However, their success gives me hope. 3 of them were classically trained, like myself. Unfortunately, I don't look like them-not to mention I'm a woman!!! (it's a group of 4 men) ha ha. I recently went to a counselor and he encouraged me to do more with my singing. There's nothing like being encouraged in an area that I've always dreamed of pursuing! Have any of you decided that you would pursue a life-long dream? Success? Failures? Anyone??

Frasier

Are you familiar with the tv series "FRASIER?" Well, I am becoming familiar with it--if not overly obsessed. I am actually a big fan of SEINFELD and I was quite content with that, until my Mom bought all the seasons of FRASIER. During my stay here in Oklahoma I have decided to go through all the seasons. I am now on season 6--I'm beginning to feel like I am now part of this tv series!! That's what I get for watching 2 1/2 hours per day! Have any of you had a similiar fetish??

"AMABAMA"

I want to share a cute dialogue that occurred this afternoon. Today my mom & Kent were talking with Anna. They asked her where her daddy was. She replied, "He's in Amabama." "Oh, Alabama?" they asked. "Yes, Amabama." "Oh, and is he making lots of money there?" "No, he's only making a little bit of money." Quite cute, eh?

Birthday Girl!!!!

Well, it happened. I turned older this year. I am now 28. Just writing that makes me cringe...I somehow hoped that I would remain 25 for a while...you know, for about 30 years or so. On my birthday (september 1st) I awoke and prepared strawberry crêpes--a traditional birthday breakfast in my family. I scrapbooked for a few hours and then played my favorite game: Settlers of Catan. My brother, Evan, has a birthday on Sept 10th, so we had a combined birthday dinner complete with 2 birthday cakes--my traditional cake is pineapple upside-down cake. It's so yummy!!!

For my birthday, I received some wonderful gifts: A Kathleen Battle CD, 3 IL DIVO CDs, a book on President George Albert Smith, salt & pepper shakers (the ones you can grind the pepper) and a lovely black purse.

One sad thing is that my husband, Tyler couldn't be here. However, he wrote me a wonderful poem and then called from Alabama and had his flight sing "Happy Birthday" to me. It was super sweet! It was nice to be with my family for my birthday--if I'd stayed in Ohio I would have been all alone. Birthdays are just a nice day to feel special and I have certainly felt that way. Thank you all!

Pedicure anyone?

Well, I had my first pedicure this past week. It was quite the experience! I have never done anything like that--you know, the whole pampering notion--but I must say that I enjoyed it. However, I felt badly because I enjoyed it while another person had to actually GIVE ME the pedicure. Did they enjoy it?? Probably not. *sigh* Now my toes are pretty!!! If I knew how to upload a picture, I would post one of my pretty toes. Until then--just imagine how lovely my metallic orange nail polish looks...