Just in case you want to know...

....here's 100 things about me. I got tagged by Ashley who was tagged by Darby (I totally stalk her blog, but have admited it!)

1. I was born in San Francisco, CA on March 16, 1978 (once again reminded that I'm 30!)
2. I've lived in Vermillion, SD (where my parents started a church)
3. Champaign, IL (Dad in grad school)
4. Boulder, CO (Only for a summer)
5. Huntsville, AL (Most of my growing up years)
6. Auburn, AL (A great place to get a degree - War Eagle!)
7. Tybee Island, GA (Summer Camp Counselor)
8. Madison, AL (with my wonderful husband, Garet)
9. Yes, it was really cold in South Dakota, but we could make some killer snowmen and forts.
10. My parents took us all over the country when I was growing up and instilled in me a love for travel.
11. I've been to 41 states.
12. Most of the ones left are in the pacific northwest. I've got some plans to go out there.
13. I've been to Europe twice - 7 countries.
14. I have two kids
15. Levi is 2 and a half
16. He loves Cars (Lightening McQueen), Diego and Thomas (in that order).
17. We have started potty training - I'll have a fun post about this soon.
18. Kara is 5 months.
19. She cries a lot, but we love her to pieces.
20. She needs to gain some weight - pray for her!
21. I haven't had very many jobs in my life.
22. Babysitting
23. Tutored AU athletes while in college - good times.
24. Had an internship on some government space program - it was a joke.
25. First real job was at Tetra Tech EC (also know as Foster Wheeler and just plain Tetra Tech while I worked there).
26. I was a cost analyst which meant I managed the financial side of our contracts. I loved it, but
27. I loved talking with the ladies I worked with more.
28. Went part time to stay at home with Levi.
29. I considered myself as having a full-time AND a part-time job.
30. Eventually left Tetra Tech and started working at my church.
31. I now head up the Life Group Ministry at my church - talk about a 180!
32. I love it though.
33. We recently went to a conference as a staff (a later post) and I learned way too much about my co-workers!
34. My BFF on staff, Mary (the children's minister) and I stayed up until 3:00 AM talking. What was I thinking?!?! I had a night away from the kids and I didn't sleep! Mary's worth it :).
35. I love working with people now. I still like numbers though.
36. I have this bad habit of finding "projects" for Garet to do around the house.
37. Somehow he goes along with them.
38. We are going on 3 months on our latest project (flooring). Pray for us.
39. We host a Life Group at our house and they have seen our slow pain.
40. Speaking of Life Groups, I absolutely love mine.
41. We are blessed with so many good friends here.
42. They take care of us, and more importantly, they cook for us.
43. We go to the beach together every year - how cool is that?
44. Our group used to be the mwok (married w/o kids group). Now we have lots and lots of kids - we are out of control!
45. Speaking of friends, we have some fabulous friends from Auburn.
46. Garet and I were both lucky to have a very close knit group of friends from the BCM.
47. Our wedding was one big Auburn Party!
48. Garet and I met and got engaged at Auburn.
49. I hope our kids go there.
50. On to my family.
51. I have two parents who are still married (32 years!)
52. Many of my friends have divorced parents and that makes me sad.
53. My parents instilled in me a strong work ethic, but did not instill in me the need to be on time (sorry mom and dad).
54. My brother isn't on time either.
55. He lives in Maryland which is far away and I wish he was closer.
56. He is married to a cool girl named, Kristen (if you know my maiden name, this will make you smile).
57. Kristen is one of the most artistic people I know. I'll have to show off some of her work sometime.
58. Brian is in grad school and Kristen is a teacher.
59. I have 2 sister-in-laws on Garet's side - Kelly & Keri.
60. They are super and really treat me like I'm their real sister - I love that.
61. They are both married to Shawn & Brian, respectivly.
62. I have 3 nephews and 2 nieces on that side. Somehow we got a great photo from 7 kids under 8!!
63. Both of Garet's sister's families live far away too - I wish they were closer.
64. I do not hate my in-laws - I couldn't love them more!
65. From day one, they have treated me like I was their own child.
66. Don & Kathy (Garet's parents) live close, so that is nice.
67. My hobbies are: scrapbooking
68. and researching travel ideas (which I do quite frequently).
69. If you know me well, I've drilled you for vacation ideas.
70. Kara is 5 months old and already been in 8 states if that tells you anything.
71. One of the places we go each year has to be somewhere new.
72. This year we are hoping that it will be the Dominican Republic for my 30th birthday celebration (yes, it will be late). Hopefully it will work out!!
73. I have curly hair
74. Sometimes it gets out of control
75. People don't forget me. I choose to believe it is because of the hair, but I'm probably fooling myself.
76. We hope to have at least one more child - maybe two.
77. It may be through adoption - our friends the Schroders and Boyacheks have opened our eyes to this idea.
78. We don't see ourselves as southerners long-term.
79. We feel led to move west at some point - not sure when.
80. I am an awful housekeeper.
81. I really try to keep up with it, but I just can't win.
82. Garet asked me if I could hire one person, would it be a cook? I said no, a housekeeper.
83. Maybe that's what I'll ask for when I turn 31.
84. In high school I was on the flag corp.
85. I was in my element on the field.
86. I can still do several of my routines and all the tosses. I just can't part with my flag!
87. I played the clarinet for 7 years.
88. For some reason I was good at it - too bad I hated it!
89. I wish I could sing like Michelle Britt. If you know her, you know what I mean!
90. I am going to be a rocker in heaven and I'm going to be good.
91. I should start selling tickets now and then I could pay for my housekeeper.
92. Garet and I love to dance - there just aren't enough opportunities!
93. I played Volleyball in Middle School. I was not good at it.
94. I love working out, but I am not a good athlete.
95. I would change my knees if I could - they bow in and that makes it difficult to run!
96. I skiied while I was pregnant with Levi (I didn't know!).
97. I thought the words to "Take me down to Paradise City" were "Take me down to the very last city". Garet thinks that is really funny for some reason
98. I love to watch HGTV and TLC
99. My favorite show is Amazing Race. I wish Garet and I could be on there!
100. Last, but certainly not least, I love the Lord. I am forgiven and strive to live a life that is honoring to Him. This is a daily struggle, but I press on.

Whew! It took Ashley 2 hours and me 20 minutes - I have way too much useless info in my head at any given moment!

Now it's my turn...I tag Jan (because I know she will do it :), Wallace (because he lives in Ireland), Dan & Ellen (because they are my new neighbors, but are probably too busy packing), and Bill & Melodie (because I know they will have at least 100 things to share about their trip!).

We really need help in the kitchen

Tonight we had the meal for Life Group. I decided to make little pizzas (the ones where you use biscuit dough). They are super easy, super good and people can make their own. Perfect, right?

Take 1: While I was at church, Garet pressed out the first pizzas. I came home and they were still cooking. I opened the oven to see how they were doing and smelled smoke. We reasoned it was the cheese burning. A few minutes later, it really smelled like smoke. So, 14 pizzas burned. Our Life Group takes pity on us and eats them anyways (we are family!).

Take 2: Alison decides to make the next batch. I quickly press out the pizzas, put on the toppings and stick them in the oven - deciding on 5 minutes this time. Our group decides to start our lesson since the process is taking forever. About 20 minutes later we realize that the buzzer hasn't gone off. Garet checks the oven...4 hours and 40 minutes left. I set the alarm for 5 hours instead of 5 minutes. These are not salvageable.

Take 3: Garet is going to redeem the situation. He presses out 8 biscuits and sticks them in the oven. Heather notices (but doesn't say anything), that Garet didn't put anything on the pizzas. He realizes it later and we are able to salvage this batch. By this time everyone is full on cookies, however, and no one eats them. At least we can make cookies!

So, this is why we have people in our Life Group that can cook - we would never make it otherwise! Here they are (minus myself, I'm taking the picture, and a few others).

To our Life Group: Thank you for putting up with our fiasco of a dinner tonight and braving our home (aka the construction zone) for the last 3 months! You are truly good friends and special people to us!!

Life Motto

One thing I really liked about my previous company were the annual reviews they did on us each year. For many people, it is just a process to get a raise for the next year if x, y and z goals were met. It may have been my supervisors, but for whatever reason, I got the good, the bad and the ugly. Rarely do we get someone to be completely open with us about how we are doing and so I am very thankful to my previous supervisors for being so honest with me - I loved the feedback. I feel that it made me a better employee and even a better person.

I had one really awful year around 2004. Mostly due to inexperience, but still my fault, I messed up on a contract, bad. When it came time for my review, my supervisor sat me down and said that his assessment of me was this: "I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught" - a quote by Winston Churchill. I have thought about this many, many times over the past few years, because it is me to a T. I have no problems running full force into the great unknown and learning things for myself (tripping and falling) along the way. I'm hoping now that I'm older (ie: in my 30s!), I slow down and listen to people more. I'll still be me, but maybe I won't stumble so much along the way.

Curly Hair?

Probably the number one question I get about the kids is: "Do you think they will have curly hair?". And my answer is always, "Probably, it is a very dominant gene in our family". How dominant you ask? Well, let me back up a few generations.

It all started with my Grandpa Irwin (I'm sure it started before then, but that's where I came in). He has 2 brothers and a sister - all 4 of them have/had extremely (and I mean extremely) curly hair. Here is a picture of my Grandpa with his two girls (my Mom and Aunt) and their families. That's me in the lower right hand corner.

So, on to my Mom and Aunt Ruth Ann. Although they have tried over the years to keep their curly locks more straight, there is no denying that the curly headed gene was passed on to them. Here they are at my brother's wedding:

Next, my Mom had my brother and I and my Aunt had twin boys. All 4 of us have curly hair. But, what makes this story even more unique is that my twin cousins are half Chinese. Have you ever seen a Chinese person with curly hair? They exist - my cousins are living proof. If that isn't a dominant gene, I don't know what is. Here is a picture of the 4 of us with our spouses at Brian's wedding:

And a more recent one of us in Maryland last month:

Since you can't see the boys hair as well in these pictures, here's one that shows off their curls. Does anyone else think it is strange that there is a bouquet of flowers in front of them?

Now, there is a caveat to all this. My hair was straight until I got what I affectionately call "The perm that never went away". I actually think it had more to do with puberty than the perm, but anyways.

Curly hair has been fun. For whatever reason, people never forget you. I remember a lot of people, but way more people remember me. People even think you are twins with other people who have curly hair (even if they are half-Lebanese!). That's a post for another day.

Now what

So the day after I post about Google Reader, Tony Morgan goes and posts this. What's a girl to do? What do you all use?

In other news, it was an exciting day for our friends, Jim & Jaime! I can't wait to post more about them in a few weeks!!

In case I'm not the only one who didn't know

I've been a blog reader for a few years now, but really just hard core in the last year. I have all my "must reads" saved in my favorites folder. Every day I would click on them one by one...until two weeks ago when I learned about my new best friend: Google Reader. (Thanks Tony Morgan) If I'm the only one new to this, then you can just ignore me, but if you were in the dark like myself, then let me enlighten you!

Google Reader lets you add your favorite blogs to a "reader" list. Every day, I simply sign in and it instantly tells me which of "my" blogs have been updated and then it posts the update right there on the screen. Now, why didn't I think of that....or at least realize that someone already had. I must have been too busy clicking away from one blog to another. I hope this makes your blog reading a little more enjoyable.

Finally, I've asked Garet to guest blog (in other words to write some of his poetry!). He says he needs to be "inspired" to write, so let's help him out...any ideas?? He's written poetry about Levi's poop, so there is nothing too far fetched :).

Isn't she the cutest?

Today our good friends, Bill & Melodie, are leaving for Guatemala to meet for the very first time, Fernanda. They have been on a journey for several months to adopt this little girl who turns 2 in just a few days. Happy Birthday Fern!!

This journey has not been without its ups and downs. Guatemala has had some governing issues over adoption and little Fern has had some abandonment hearings. While they do not have a solid date, we are all praying that they can bring her home soon! We sent some pictures of Levi & Kara with them in hopes that she will recognize them when she gets here - how cool would that be?

It has been such a privilege to be a part of this journey with the Schroders and it has really opened our eyes to all the children that so desperately need parents in this world. I can think of no two better people than Bill & Melodie.

We are praying that they have an Internet connection while they are down there so we can be a part of the excitement. Join them on their journey and pray that all the paperwork, hearings and money falls into place quickly. Have a safe trip guys - give our love to Fern!

PS: Here is the link to the orphanage where Fernanda is: Amor del Nino

What happened to NYC?

Several people asked me about this today....

I was planning on having a big blow-out party in NYC with some Auburn friends for my 30th birthday. It was going to be great - everyone was pumped, we were all going to fly-in and have a fantastic kid-free weekend together. However, when I sent out the follow-up e-mail, only the Canada's could commit...and they really couldn't commit to a date because of Jason's flying schedule (everyone fly Continental).

So, we decided to rethink our plans. I've been a little drained lately, so I decided I wanted to go somewhere that I didn't have to go, go, go and might actually feel refreshed when I got home. After polling some friends, I chose the Dominican Republic. We've had two fantastic reviews from friends at the following 2 resorts: Excellence and Paradisus. If you have any knowledge of these two resorts, please let me know! I'm leaning towards Excellence because it is adults only. The only caveat to this whole trip is our frequent flier ticket situation. We are hoping Garet's "Gold Medallion" Status will help pull our little trip through.

In the meantime, if you have any recommendations for stress-free vacations, I'm all ears if the DR falls through.

I'm still up for a NYC trip whenever everyone wants to go!! I'll plan it if you don't leave me hanging :)!

Martha Stewart would not be proud

"He is not here; He has risen, just as he said" - Matthew 28:6a

Sunday mornings are always crazy around our house - if we get to church on time, it is a miracle...and I'm on staff - how sad is that?!?! I keep telling myself that it will get better when the kids are older. :) Anyway, we had a great service this morning and I have throughly cherished my time with my church family lately since we have missed so much being out of town and sick. We are starting a church-wide series next week that will be incorporated into our Life Groups called "No Perfect People Allowed". I've spent a lot of time preparing for the next few weeks and I can't wait to see what God has in store for our church through the messages.

Well, I've read up on all my friends blogs today and most include cute little Easter pictures of them and/or their children. That was my plan today, but as I learned taking Levi's Christmas Picture in 2006, you can have NO expectations when it comes to toddlers because it just causes too much frustration. So, here it is in all it's glory....the kids Easter Pictures:

Kara pooped all over her cute little dress (and me), and yes, that is chocolate all over Levi's face. Levi also got some "Cars" crocs which he insisted on wearing to church today. I'll have to post a picture of them later.

So, this picture turned out pretty cute.

Finally, here is our Easter Dinner! We are gladly accepting invitations for Easter Dinner next year :).

Congrats to David & Megan!

Tonight we attended the wedding of our friends, David & Megan. David and Garet work together, but also Mountain Bike together when they can. The reception was at the roundhouse and it was absolutely beautiful. And David, thank you for having chocolate cake!! Yum!

Garet & David's co-workers - Alan, Angela, Alex, Judy & their dates.

The Easter Bunny isn't for everyone

All day today, Levi was so excited about an Easter Egg Hunt we were going to at Garet's work. That is until we got there, saw the Easter Bunny and he started crying. In all fairness to him, it was a pretty scary looking Easter Bunny. We decided to not tell him the Easter Bunny was coming to our house tonight so that he would sleep :).

Brad & Harrison, Garet & Levi - waiting for the start of the Easter Egg Hunt.

Our Kara

We often call Kara our "emotional" child. Nothing is ever low-key for her...when she is happy, she is super happy, but when she is mad, she is super mad. Levi has always been a consistently happy/wild child, so when Kara came along, she threw me for a loop.

It all started the day we found out we were pregnant. Having just experienced a miscarriage, we were more than thrilled, until I threw up. Nothing about my pregnancy with her was easy - sickness, a mis-aligned pelvic bone and severe sciatica pain all led to a very long 9 months. I was ecstatic when my doctor let me be induced at 38 weeks in hopes of a "smaller" baby. Kara weighed in at 8 lbs - no preemie. The first few hours after she was born was up and down - the doctors went back and forth on whether or not to take her to the NICU - her lungs were too "sticky". Then they found a hole in her heart, then she was jaundice. It was literally one thing after another. Thankfully, she fought through all those issues and was able to come home with us a few days later.

After bringing her home, we had some good days and bad days - did I mention she is emotional? We had almost forgotten about the heart issue until her 4 month check-up. The doctor said, "I still hear the air moving through the heart". I was devestated. The "hole" was supposed to close up within a few weeks of her birth! So today, we met with the pediatric cardiologist. After doing an ultrasound, he concluded that she is OK. Thank you Lord!

We still have some things we have to work through with her...she measured in the 90% in height, but only the 15% in weight - not good proportions according to the doctor. So, we are being agressive with feedings and adding more solids early - hopefully she'll get some "thunder thighs" by her 6 month check-up!!!

Thank you to all of you who have prayed for her over the last few weeks. I have much to be thankful for - especially on this Good Friday as we remember the One who made the greatest sacrifice for me and you.

When we are at home too long...

...we start getting creative.

Weekend in Detroit...

This past weekend we drove 10+ hours to Detroit to visit Garet's sister, Keri, and her family. We picked up Garet's sister, Kelly, and her kids in Nashville along the way - the more the merrier! Having 3 adults and 4 kids in one vehicle actually went fairly smooth - whew.

On the way up, we spent the night with Garet's Uncle George & Aunt Becky. When we arrived, Levi promptly said "This is the wrong house". Someone was ready to see their cousins. After cookies, milk and toys at the house, Levi concluded that "I do like this house". So, George & Becky, thank you for putting up with all 7 of us!

We arrived in Detroit on Saturday afternoon. It was nice to spend time with family and we also celebrated my nephew Brannon's 8th Birthday - Happy Birthday Brannon. Here he is with a Bionicle we got him (that's the "in" thing for 8 year olds if you are looking for any gift ideas).

Sunday was my birthday, you can read about it here. Monday was St. Patrick's Day, so we all decked out in green to avoid pinches from all the cousins. The kids looked so cute in their outfits. For lunch we went to Caesar Land (like Chuck E. Cheese) and Levi had a blast. He got to the top of one of the slides and proudly exclaimed: "Don't worry Mommy". He knows me too well. That afternoon I needed to fill my IKEA need, so my sister-in-law Kelly and I went since she had never been. IKEA once again came through for me and I ended up with several things I really had no need for...one of which is an indoor swing. I'm sure there will be interesting stories to go along with this! We topped the evening off with an Easter Egg Hunt. Levi was pretty excited about the M&M's. He ate them all in one setting.

Tuesday Morning we left and drove the entire way home to Alabama. The kids decided to sing "I get my kicks on route 66" and "I like to move it, move it" over and over and over again. It was quite entertaining. We also managed to somehow leave Levi's tennis shoes in Nashville - we were tired!

I can't finish without thanking Keri for all her fantastic cooking! As a non-cook, these trips are so worth the home-made cooking we get :).

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This is a few days late, but I had to post these pictures for my friend Wallace who lives in Ireland!

The Inevitable has happened...

...I'm now 30. Today has been an average day. We are in Detroit visiting Garet's sister, so we went to church with them, but they buzzed us because Kara was crying. We then headed back to the house for sphaghetti & meatballs. I missed most of the meal because I had to feed Kara and then she wouldn't stop crying. I requested chocolate cheesecake for my dessert and it was delicious.

The kids both got me gifts...Kara got me a Shawn McDonald CD and Levi got me none other than a "Sally" car from the movie Cars. I wonder who is going to play with that one. :) My real gift is coming soon...a trip to the Dominican Republic - I can't wait!

This afternoon, Garet went with me to do a little outlet shopping. We only found stuff for Garet and Levi, but I still enjoyed it, although Kara cried through most of it. Tonight we went out to Applebees - all 7 adults and 8 kids. We met up with our friends Jason, Lindsey and Lakyn and they really helped make my birthday enjoyable. Of course, Kara cried through the meal (are we sensing a pattern here?!?!)

We just put the kids to bed. As I was kissing Levi good-night, he reached up and touched my hair and said "I like your hair mommy". I thought that was so sweet until he said, "It looks like a bird". I'm not sure how to take that, but I love him anyway.

So far 30 hasn't been that bad. It has mostly involved Kara crying, but we'll get through it. Thanks to everyone who wished me a "Happy Birthday" today!

Mourning the End of a Decade

This is it - today marks my last day in my 20's. Tomorrow morning I will officially be a "Thirty-something". While I know that I have a lot to look forward to, I will miss all the fun I had in the last 10 years. Here's a brief recap:

• Started dating Garet
• Got Engaged
• Graduated from Auburn (BS Applied Math, Business Minor)
• Got Married
• Started my first real job (Tetra Tech)
• Made 2 trips to Europe and visited about 7 new states
• Became a Mom (Levi)
• Had a Daughter (Kara)

While I don't think I will ever pack as many "life changes" into one decade again, I'm sure each one will have a unique story of its own. I'm looking forward to sharing the next one with you!