Snow and Ice was just so nice...

God always knows just what we need, after a kinda crazy week last week I got to enjoy two snow days to relax and replinish. My work was cancelled yesterday because of the roads and today because of no electricity, we will head to Tulsa this afternoon to celebrate Pop's life and comfort my mema and mom. It was so much fun to have my little neices over, burn holiday candles and listen to Christmas music since the satellite was out. We've had electricity this whole time which I am very thankful for since alot of people do not. Hope you are staying warm and safe too! Here are some pics of our iced in fun!

S'mores!!

ICE!

Dance Party!

of course there was lots of time for snuggling

Our new tree!

saying goodbye...

My pop died today, This week I've felt like a ping pong ball between OKC and Tulsa. We came to realize he was in his final days here with us. I saw things this week that will forever be in my heart and precious memories that I will be able to cherish always. The hardest thing this week was to watch my mema say good bye, How do you say good-bye to someone you've been married to for 66 years? I rejoice and I hurt all the same time. About a year ago after Ryan's grandmother's funeral I heard his grandfather say these words, I wrote them down as soon as I got home because I knew I would want to always remember them just as they were spoken, so simple and so meaningful, "Goodbye is always hard rather its just down the road or forever". Here is one of the most recent pictures my sister took of him which is just so perfect for remembering him.

Have you heard!?

If you missed the news lately something amazing occured. As an Oklahoma girl born and raised and a country music lover I took much joy and pride in this news: Garth Brooks passed Elivs to have soled more albums than any other solo artist in history! The only thing ahead of him at this point is the Beatles. A country boy from Oklahoma is one of the most powerful music influences ever! That amazes me. Small side note, when working at toy store in Tulsa once, Garth and a family member checked out at my register while he was doing some Christmas shopping. So thats my small brush with musical greatness and may I add I am a big fan of his example of taking a career break to finish rasing his kids, this guy has his priorties in line too! Here's a link if you want to read more:




http://www.cmt.com/artists/news/1573564/20071105/brooks_garth.jhtml

Wedding Weekend

This weekend my dear friend David got married. He has been one of my best friends since about Sophomore year of OC. He is one of those great friends that you just click with right away. I wish him all the best because he certainly deserves it, he is one of the most kind hearted and funniest people I know. My favorite thing about my friendship with David is we share the same sense of humor and he always gets my jokes right away. I wish them all the best!! It was also so much fun to get to spend the weekend with friends. I needed this fun time to just relax and be with friends after my long week of training. I hope your weekends were also relaxing and replenishing.

Most of the gang

My friend Katy that makes cakes made this awesome grooms cake.

David and his Groomsmen

Me and one of my dearest friends (also sister of the bride)

Why most people are wrong about my job.

This week I am in an intensive training learning a new therapy model. This particular model is very researched based so we know it has great results with parents and young kids, so I am excited to learn and implement it in my practice but its wearing me out this week!! This training process starts this week with an intensive training and the training will continue in other ways with consultation and video taping my sessions for a year. Any time your growing and stretching yourself its tough but I think the end result will be well worth it to be a more effective therapist and to supply more effective treatments for the families I see. but I still sometimes wish for that magic wand that would be make it all better instantly but I know there is real value in the struggle. I have come to realize through the process of therapy an external fix is not as meaningful or rewarding as an internal transformation. The most common response when I meet new people and tell them what I do is something like, 'that must be so depressing'. I have certainly been in the field long enough to have horrible days, to face incredible challenges and to bear witness to terrible pain and suffering but what a joy that trumps all of that to be a part of that internal transformation. You see all that pain would still be there, I just get to be part of solution, part of the healing, part of the helping but I can't do any of it for someone, only with someone. (wow doesn't that translate spirtually too! I think I know why God doesn't just step in to fix things for us, our struggle is our growth, our transformation.)

Have a great week! I will post again after I get through this week :0)

Halloween fun!

Well Halloween is not my favorite holiday. However, I do enjoy some of the festivities and it was a great reason to have a party with friends. Here's some fun cupcakes I made to take to the party and my pumpkin I painted.

yay!

P.S. My hubby is home from chicago!!! Sometimes one week can feel like forever!

What are we gonna be in for!?!?

Okay so I had some warning of my husband being somewhat of a problem child during early childhood. His mother has jokingly warned me about this by talking about how he was the kid that always cried when dropped off at bible class and how she had to buy a book called 'the strong willed child'. Well this weekend she brought up a file she had of all his old medical records which date back to infancy. This was enjoyable reading for all and nervous reading for one. I wanted to put a pic of one particular entry so you would know I am not making this up. There were several repeated words and themes throughout the records "picky eater" "Hyper" but one entry tops them all the doctor actually wrote in his medical record parents want to "discuss his personality", "Spends all day screaming and spanking and nothing works" and "parents are going crazy". Hope this is not a preview of what might be in store for us!?

Dog Lover

Well I use to be one of those people too, who got annoyed by people who dressed up their dogs, who treat them like their children, who seem to loose total perspective on the role and function of dogs in our lives. However, this will come as no surprise to those who know me but I myself am a crazy dog lover now. This transformation began about two years ago when I became the caregiver for an adopted puppy who has become part of our family. I am currently reading 'Marley and Me', this is a great story about this process that makes me smile to think about my own experience in loving my dog and having hard time remembering what life was like before we had her. I do think dogs are one of those great little gifts God gave us that enriches our lives in small but meaningful ways. A 7 year old said it best, "You just feel better after you pet a dog". So I am coming out of the closet on this one, I am a crazy dog lover!

So here's a top ten of what I love about life with my pup!

10) Puppy days

9) watching her swim

8) Snuggly naps on the couch

7) Fun games we play

6) unconditional acceptance and love for her mom and dad

5) The sweet way she waits up for Ryan at night

4) Boundless excitement to see us

3) Lazer running

2) Getting to see a parental preview of my husband and myself

1) Never having to feel alone

So here's my Blog

So I think I will give it a go. I enjoy writing and I enjoy reading other's blogs so this might be a fun way to express myself and share my life and my thoughts with others. I enjoy reflection and this will be a great way to reflect and annalyze the happenings in my life. I love my husband and I love how hard he works for us but that lends itself to long hours and lots of trips away so this might be a good thing for me as I find myself trying to find productive but relaxing things to do with all those hours after a long day of my own work when he is away or working late. I am the girl who didn't even know what a blog was till after college, so thats why its taken me so long to get on this wagon but here I am.