Death

Death never gets easier.  You would think as you grow up, it might get a little bit easier to handle, but it doesn't.  It seems like we are always surrounded by it.  While it may not be someone we know personally, it seems like the news is always reporting the death of a famous person or you know someone who knows someone who has passed away.
When I was sixteen, one of my friends mom passed away on new years day.  2 weeks later my best friend was killed in a car accident.  2 weeks later a relative passed away.  As a 16 years old, this was tough.  Actually it was HORRIBLE.  With God's help I made it through to the other side.  This was the only time I can remember having to attend 3 funerals in a matter of weeks, much less a year.
Scott's grandpas passed away about 6 months before we got married and my grandpa passed away 2 1/2 years after we got married.  Those were the only 2 deaths we had been through since we had been dating or married.  
Then in December Scott's great-aunt passed away.  She was just shy of 98 years old and this was the 1st major death in Scott's family since he and I had been married. 

About 3 1/2 weeks ago Scott's grandpa passed away.  Having to attend 2 funerals within just a few months for 2 people who were deeply loved was heartbreaking.  

Friday I found out a friend from college passed away.  While it is not someone I have seen or talked to in a while, it was someone who I would still run into from time to time.  He used to attend church at the same church I go to and he would play on the church's basketball team.  In college, I hung out a lot at the fraternity house he was a member of and he was even my date to our sorority pledge dance my sophomore year.

Alpha Gam Pledge Dance 2000

I don't know the details surrounding his death.  He was diabetic, but I have no idea if that played any role in whatever happened.

I know they are all in a better place now, completely healthy with healed bodies, but it's still hard and they will all be missed by many.

Haircut!

Last week Oliver got a much needed haircut for the summer.  I was a little paranoid b/c the last time he got a haircut, they decided to shave the tips of his ears so they would stand up.  After seeing him with floppy ears for 5 1/2 years, it was funny to seem them standing almost all the time.  Luckily as his hair grew, his "radar" ears as I began to call them finally laid down again. 

Here is the before.....

And here is the after.........

And I thought this picture was too funny not to share.  I found an old pair of dress up glasses at my mom and dad's last weekend and decided Oliver should try them on.

Mother's Day 2012

One of my friends found this on a blog and posted it on Facebook yesterday.  It is perfect for Mother's Day and I just had to share.

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

As I made it through Mother's Day yesterday, I thought to myself how different it was from last year.  Last year I couldn't bring myself to check Facebook or to even go to church.  I'm pretty sure I cried on Mother's Day.  This year not a tear was shed.  I went home for the weekend to spend it with my AWESOME Mother.  I checked Facebook periodically throughout the day as normal without feeling like I had been punched in the gut and I even went to church and didn't feel awkward. 

While I am still struggling to get pregnant, maybe this year I have a new sense of hope.  Yes we tried IUI twice and it didn't work.  Yes I was beyond frustrated with the doctor's at the fertility clinic, but a couple of weeks ago, I found a new doctor that is willing to try to help me get pregnant.  I have to drive 2 hours to see him, but he is my mom's bosses brother-in-law.  He's not an RE, but he is more than willing to help me find some answers.  I met with him on Friday and unlike so many doctors that don't really spend time talking with you, he spent almost an hour with me.  Scott and I have decided to try laparoscopic surgery to see  if I have endometriosis, or one or both of my tubes have become blocked since my HSG almost 2 years ago, or to see if there is anything else wrong inside that causing me problems.  Keep us in your prayers as we continue to look for answers.  My prayer is that God will lead me in the right direction with HUGE flashing signs.  I hope that I do not miss what He is trying to tell me.

Celeb Dress Disasters

I love looking at pictures of celebrities all dressed up.  I love looking at red carpet pictures from the Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, etc.  I assume that every celeb likes the dress they pick out to wear and I often times wonder "What in the world were they thinking?!?!?"  As you may know, the Met Costume Institute Gala was the other night.  I having been looking at pictures of all the celebrities over the past couple of days and while there were plenty of gorgeous celebs, there were a few that were just plain awful.

Here are a few of my favorite bad dress pictures.....

Happy Thursday!!

CrossFit and Weekend Wrap-Up

• Friday night we went to CrossFit.  It was 1st Friday which means everyone gets to pick the HERO or Girl WOD they want to do.  I am not sure what I was thinking, but I picked BLAKE which is
• 4 Rounds
• 100 ft walking lunges with a 45lb plate (I used 15lb plate and actually tossed it after the 2nd RD)
• 30 box jumps (20")
• 20 wall balls (14lb)
• 10 hand-stand push-ups (I use a box when doing these)
• I finished in 28:25
• We cooked dinner at home and called it an early night.
• Saturday morning we went to CrossFit.  It was a team WOD (teams of 2) that consisted of the following
• 200m sprint relay x 3 - each team member ran 200m 3 times and only one person runs at a time
• 100 sledge hammer strikes**
• 200 sit-ups**
• 100 pull-ups**
• 200 KB swings**
• 200m sprint relay x 3 - each team member ran 200m 3 times and only one person runs at a time
•  **Only 1 person can be doing an exercise at a time.  The other person has to hold a 25lb plate
• Scott and I were partners and we finished in 38:35 (A picture of the WOD is put on facebook after each workout and the caption on this workout was "Partner Relay Hell." 
• After the brutal workout, we celebrated Cinco de Mayo with some Mexican food @ Cactus Jacks, I made a batch of cookies, and then we spent the rest of the day at a crawfish boil at a friends house in WLR.
• We were pretty lazy on Sunday, but Scott did get in the swimming pool to vacuum it.  It's hard to believe that the pool water is already in the 80's.  I think this is the earliest we have gotten in the pool and not been freezing to death.  We headed to church Sunday night and then out to eat @ Buffalo Grill.  We usually do our grocery shopping on Sunday, but we didn't need much so we just stopped at Wal-Mart on our way home Sunday night to grab a couple of things to get us through.
• Mondays are my least favorite day of the week.  It seems like I always have a hard time going to sleep on Sunday nights so I am always extra tired on Mondays.  I showed up to CrossFit on Monday hoping it was going to be a strength day or a workout that wasn't going to be BRUTAL.  It was 90 degrees and HUMID outside and if you didn't know, CrossFit boxes don't have A/C or heat.  Below is the WOD from Monday which the trainer had titled "Steck-Con Delta."
• Row 1000 meters
• Then 5 Rounds of the following 3 exercises:
• 30 wall balls
• 20 box jumps
• 10 burpees
• Run 1000 meters
• I finished in 33:50

Happy Tuesday! 

Life Lately...

It seems like every time I think life is about to settle down for a bit, something happens.  I guess that's just the way life goes.

• Heaven gained a great man last week.  Scott's grandpa passed away on the 24th.  He was 85 years old.  He had been in bad health for a while and why he will be missed greatly here on Earth, I know he is in a much better place now.
• We decided to open the pool on Sunday.  It has been a week long ordeal trying to get the water cleared up and the debris vacuumed up.  Of course is poured down rain the day after we took the cover off, but we are almost there.
• In the past 2 weeks I have pulled a muscle in my left arm (I assume this is from doing 58 pull-ups with a smaller band than I am used to using at crossfit) and I have mat burn (is that even a word?) on my right knee from burpees.  I am accident prone, what can I say?
• Our lawn mower, which is just under 2 years old is on the fritz.  I am hoping that the problem is really that Scott overfilled it with oil and not that the motor is trashed.  Crossing my finger's we won't have to buy a new one.
• The only thing planned for this weekend is a crawfish cookout tomorrow with some of our friends.  It will be nice to have low key weekend.

Happy Friday!

Belated Birthday

Does forgetting your furbaby's birthday make you a bad parent?  I'm pretty sure I won't be winning any awards anytime soon.  I am not sure how I let it slip by, but this guy turned 6 on April 18th and about 4 days later we remembered that he had had a birthday.  Guess it's a good thing he doesn't know any different.

Happy Belated Birthday Oliver!