I had a conversation with a couple of my aunts and my mom at Christmas time, and I'm being chastised for not updating my Xanga. How do you tell the people who joined a blogging community just so they could keep up with your college drama, that you in fact, are no longer a member of the community. I know this isn't a serious issue, but I'm making it one. Obviously I need more important things to focus on.

I think I'll write them a letter, er, post tomorrow and explain my decision.

I am making this way too hard.

btw, can anyone explain to me how to do a "strike-through" in blogspot. I can't figure it out.

Home sweet home

So good to be back home, checking banking and blogs on a computer, not a phone. Lots to catch up on, comment on, and post about, after I spend time loving on my dog. And starting a load of laundry. Oy.

Much more later!

Natalie

ees not goood

well, i'll just start here because lots has happened and my thoughts are basically a mess. my mom had back surgery last wednesday. it was some sort of infusion and she has rods in her back now, and she's in pain. however, her pain is relatively mild compared to the nausea. remember when you were little and you stubbed your toe and your parents said they would close your finger in the door and you'd forget about your toe hurting? no? oh, just me. anyhow, the pain pills have made her so sick to her stomach, you really would never know that she has staples in her back. she hasn't been able to keep food down since sunday, and had to spend 3 hours in the emergency room today because she was so dehydrated. she's back home now and sleeping, but it's been a very trying week for her and i know she would appreciate any prayers. once the nausea goes away, she will probably notice the back pain a little more...

on a much lighter note, i just finished watching the episode of dog the bounty hunter when he gets married. it's sad because he found out that his daughter died on the day of his wedding, but really, it was one of the most white-trash weddings i've ever seen. the bridesmaids dresses were tie-dye and the ring bearer had a mullet. i mean really.

we opened presents tonight, and as i'm sure you can imagine, it was enjoyable for my mother. she really was a trooper. i got lots of great gifts, including a pair of coach rainboots, and a kate spade purse. my favorite gift though, was a calendar my mom had made that has pictures of me and aaron when we were growing up. it meant a lot to me because i've never seen pictures of him as a child because he doesn't have any. his mom has a few, and my mom was able to borrow them from her to put into this calendar. it is not near me, but i will hopefully post pictures sometime.

time for rest, as i am on "mom-duty" tonight, and i want to be sure i am available if she needs me.

Merry Christmas to all.

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." - Luke 2:10-12

Not Me Monday!

Honesty at it's finest. I did not have my first Christmas dinner of the week last night and while I wasn't there, I certainly did not eat 4 cookies, 2 helpings of corn pudding, and mashed potatoes with lots of butter. This, of course, is NOT why I'm wearing sweats today. HA! Not me. I did not cancel an appointment today with a part-time job prospect because I want to spend more time with my husband. I will probably not regret that in January, when we are sick to death of each other. We NEVER get on each others nerves. I did not have another appointment cancel ON ME today because parents can't control their teenage children. Nope, that didn't happen here. I don't associate with children who are in control of the court system. That would not be my 1st part-time job.I am not going to go eat a ton of left over food for lunch, from the Christmas dinner we did not go to. AND, OH CRAP, I did not just realize I haven't seen or heard the dog in about 10 minutes, which would never mean he's eating the trash! OH, and I would also NOT like to introduce my littlest bestest friend as a new blogger, and one-day-professional-photographer, aubri. (can i call you littlest? you ARE younger than me, you know!) Check out her site and leave her loving comments, or don't. Whatever. (I would also not be elated if someone could show me how to do a "strike-through" in blogspot. Just saying.) For more "Not Me" fun, hop on over to MckMama's site!

we're going to have little friends over tonight, and i hope i can be better about taking pictures. i've been avoiding the camera because of the extra winter-weight (who am i kidding with that one?!?!) but this is no reason to not take pictures of other people!

abby and mal, run and hide now, because aunt natalie is camera happy once again!!

oh man, she decided to come after all.

aunt flo came into town today. her arrival was expected last week, and i'd started to think she was cancelling on me. BUT, just in time to celebrate some Christmas festivities, she's here! I have a feeling she's going to outstay her welcome.

*fingers crossed that this is her last visit for, well, 10 months.

this blog is about to get incredibly honest

i am not perfect and my life is messy and why not make fun of it while you can, right? i did not wear the same pair of pants to work 3 days last week. they are not comfy and do not look like pajama pants. i'm a professional, i would never! nope, not me. i did not take 7 (count 'em, 7) pregnancy tests last week because my period is late. i would never waste all that money on those tests just because aunt flo isn't here yet and i would just pee my pants if two lines showed up. eh, not me! i did not yell at my husband because he wants me to spend my whole Christmas vacation with his friends. that would be selfish and i, for one, am never selfish. not this girl. i did not buy a training collar for my dog because he bites me all the time, and i did not shock him when he ate my baked potato right off the table as i put the butter in the fridge. that would be nonsense. and as i type today, i do not wish for my husband to feel better, so that we can not sit together and cuddle on the couch and watch ellen. he would never watch ellen, not him. :) more "not me" over here.

re-do please

the video in my last post isn't working. i have marinara on my shirt/dress. the dog smells like baby oatmeal?? well, is this just my day!

i had so much i wanted to get accomplished at work today, and then every time i started a project, someone came along and asked for something else. i know it's my job to help people, cause i'm the quasi-manager, but SERIOUSLY?? you people can do nothing for yourselves. sad.

then i went tutor-ing, and i got pineapple pizza on my outfit. my tutor-ee just laughed and laughed, and i looked like a nerd in front of her. sweet.

now i'm home and duke smells like a baby threw up on him. i find no vomit anywhere, and he's acting just fine, but really?!?!

tomorrow is a new day and i am so thankful.

wordless wednesday, on thursday, cause that's how we roll around here...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!

Such a productive weekend! We baked cookies yesterday with my aunts and little cousins while listening to Christmas music, and it has me really excited for having kids one day and being able to start our own traditions.

Baby Andrew slept the whole time!
Aunt Heather made enough cookie dough on Friday to make 6 dozen cookies. We ate a bunch of the dough though, and ended up with about 40 cookies. oops.

Grace and Veronica were mostly responsible for eating all the dough.

Aunt Jen told me it was time for Senior Pictures.

Master cookie decorator, Heather.

Every present in the house is wrapped (!) and under the tree. 3 more presents to buy, and we're DONE! Such a great feeling of accomplishment, seeing as how I'm usually finishing up my shopping on the drive back to Ohio on Christmas Eve.

Took pictures of Duke today to send out with our Christmas card, and just have to get them printed and picked up soon to get them out in the mail. I'm not usually this far behind on the cards, but we couldn't decide if we wanted a whole family picture, or just Duke. We settled on just Duke and I'll post the picture after the cards go out.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition on next, must go!

A baby changes everything

I wish the title of this post was about me having a baby, but it’s not. It is about me, though. And you. All of us.

I recently bought this song off of iTunes, and if I could figure out a way to share it with you, I would. But the best I can do is share the lyrics, and hope that you’ll want to download it too, because it’s become one of my favorite Christmas songs in the brief time it has been out. (so cliché, right?)

A Baby Changes Everything by Faith Hill

Teenage girl, much too young/Unprepared for what’s to come/A baby changes everything

Not a ring/On her hand/All her dreams and all her plans/A baby changes everything

The man she loves she’s never touched/How will she keep his trust/A baby changes everything

And she cries, oh she cries

She has to leave, go far away/Heaven knows she can’t stay/A baby changes everything

She can feel it’s coming soon/There’s no place, there’s no room/A baby changes everything

Shepards own, they got their own/Star shines down…

Choir of Angels say/Glory to the newborn king/A baby changes everything
Everything, everything, every day
Hallelujah!

My whole life is turned around/I was lost and now I’m found/A baby changes everything


Who knows, this post is probably more fitting for Christmas day, but on this Thursday, December 4, 2008, I hope that you realize THIS BABY changes everything. I know He does for me.

Luke 2:11-12 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

Thankful

Okay. So before yesterday, I had a bunch of stuff I wanted to post about. Like that Thanksgiving was great, but we got a couple pictures taken, and the box in the back of this picture has sparked massive Facebook commenting, even from people who aren’t in our family. And apparently, my uncle Tony is Mormon, but I thought he was catholic, so I really missed something that day.

(You may have to enlarge the picture to see the box of Bud Light in the background. Or not. You do not, however, have to enlarge the picture to see that, as the oldest grandchild, I am 8th in height order.)

The annual day-after-thanksgiving shopping trip went off without a hitch. We went to Wal-Mart on the south side of Fort Wayne, which is scary, but no one got trampled so we were lucky. No, really, that incident is very unfortunate because there wasn’t anything there worth someone’s life. Moving on.

We drove the Donny and Tesia’s for the rest of the weekend, and they announced their pregnancy! It’s very exciting for them because Tesia has been told that she can’t have kids. She is taking extra good care of herself, and preparing for little fingers and little toes. We went with our friends to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, and then brought the now 6 year old birthday boy back to their house for a sleepover. Trae either had too much cake, or a bug, because he was sick all night long. I am terrified of vomit (so much so that it was reason I changed my major from education to P.R. but that post will come later) so I ran in the other direction, while my darling husband sat with the sick boy in the bathroom. He is going to be such a great dad. Of course I felt sick for the rest of the night, although I was sure it was all in my head.

Still with me? Cause this is where it gets real sucky. Aaron was on his way to class and I was on my way to tutoring in Hobart when he called.

“Hello?”
“HI. I’m okay. Really, I’m okay."
“WHY WOULDN’T YOU BE OKAY?”
“Well, I was driving and I hit a patch of ice and went into the ditch.”
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? “ (lol, right?)
“The truck is flipped and..." (I stopped listening here and started FREAK.ING.OUT.)
“Where are you? Are the cops there? Are you okay? Are you still in the truck? I am on my way. I love you. I love you. I love you”
“I am fine, there is someone here to get me out. I will call you back.”
“GET YOU OUT?????? WHAT IS GOING ON??”

CLICK.

And I pulled up to this:

And my darling husband was standing on the side of the road talking on his cell phone with nothing but a scratch to show as a wound.

So needless to say, there was much thanksgiving last night, in a non-turkey eating, Bud Light drinking way. We are thankful for God's protection over Aaron, and the others out driving last night.

This post lacks eloquence, which I can only apologize for, but I had all these thoughts I wanted to get out, and this is how they landed.

Thanks for checking in.