Can You Say Engineer?

Over MEA I went with the Aragon's to Omaha, Nebraska. It was my idea to go so maybe I should say they went with me but who cares it was fun! Anyway, I didn't realize there was so much about trains in Omaha! We went to see some huge train engines perched on a hill that is a tribute to the railroad system that started there. Well, some people would think that those engines were pretty darn cool but Jonah found something a bit more fascinating. On the wall heading up to the train engines he saw a picture that he said I just had to take for him. Ok, I said show me which one. When he showed me I just thought-that is SO Jonah! He said, "I just like that and I don't know why!" How cute.

There Are Angels Among Us

On Halloween Anna, Elena, Kenan, Cleo, and I went to Camillia Rose with costumes on to go see mom and the rest of the folks. Well, the kids and the dog were dressed up anyway. Kenan was not too happy in his pumpkin suit, but Elena was all smiles as Tinkerbell. They were so adorable. I dressed Cleo up in a pumpkin costume and we made our way around. The people there were all smiles as we walked through there. Some people thoroughly enjoyed the kids and some were just thrilled to see Cleo dressed up-it was so very sweet. One lady stopped me and said, "Oh, I just love dogs!" Cleo went over to her and licked her fingers and let her pat her on the head. People sure got a kick out of us walking around there! When we got up to the third floor I remembered I had a patient that I used to see that now has severe alzheimers that lives at Camillia Rose. I went over to her and she was just blank. I looked around me and all the people in the room had blank expressions, were mumbling, or just vacant. It was very depressing. It's scary to think that some people end up like that. Then I looked around me at all the employees, including my mom, that love these people, take care of them, and give them their best. Thank God for these angels among us.

After my time at the "home" I went to Woodcrest Elementary to help my friend Mel in her first grade class. I didn't count but I believe she has around 30 first graders and of those 30 I believe she said 20 need a little extra help. Wow. Talk about overwhelming. I don't know how she does it! I sat there for a while in her class and had the thought again- these teachers are angels among us. She takes 30 squirrelly kids from a variety of different ethnicities, languages, and temperments and has to teach them all how to count, their ABC's, and all the basics. She has to figure out how to keep the "top" kids interested and the "bottom" kids caught up. What an amazing job she is doing! Go Mel!

Ahhhh... Childhood

Well, tonight Troy and I went over to the Aragon's for dinner. When we got there we were informed that we would also be celebrating the birthday's of Skippito, Storm Trooper, and Puppy Baby. These are Jaron's special stuffed animals. Apparently Puppy Baby is 4 today. Jonah asked him how that could be when we celebrated his 15th birthday last year but Jaron just shrugged. :) Jaron said that we had to sing happy birthday to them and they had to blow out their candles. Anna had bought some churros at Costco to go along with the b-day cookies-what a mom considering Skippito is a Chihuahua. Before we sang Jaron went to find the b-day animals and couldn't find them! Jonah promptly made a sign that said MISSING: Skippito, Storm Trooper, and Puppy Baby and set it on the table. Meanwhile Jaron and Anna looked everywhere and eventually found them downstairs. So, we sang and had treats. I don't think I've ever sang happy birthday to stuffed animals but there's a first for everything. Next, we got gift bags that my sister helped assemble and we went over to watch the animals open their gifts(treasures from the bedrooms upstairs). Then it was time to go on a ride which was sliding down the stairs in a sleeping bag. Jaron said that an adult "had to do it" so I gave it a try. Not so fun as an adult! Then the party was over. It was fascinating how much kids retain when it comes to certain things. He remembered every part to a birthday party. So cute.

House: Well, we have decided to stay in this house considering the market. We are feeling pretty good about it. I cleaned and worked ALL day and I feel that it's presentable now. FINALLY!

Joni is in the hospital for pneumonia so please keep her in your prayers!

I finished the book The Secret Life of Bees for the 2nd time so I'm all set to see the movie-yea!

That's all for now. Have a great week!

Grandma Barnes

On Friday my sister and I went up to Little Falls to visit our grandma and of course Mick and Sue. It was a great visit but it's getting tough. She is now almost full time in her lazy boy chair and almost always has her oxygen on. She doesn't feel the greatest. We stayed there about 3 hours and chatted the whole time. She is very open and honest about how she feels about death and dying and very sure about the funeral arrangements and such. I told her it seemed strange to talk about her death and she just said that it's all a part of life and that just as it takes time to prepare for a birth it takes time to prepare for death. It's sad. She also said that she's ready to go-like I said previously in a different blog-and she doesn't know why she's here and that there must me something still wrong with her soul. Something that God still has to make right in order to prepare her for the kingdom. She also said that she will keep reading and keep learning until her time comes. My sister spoke the exact words that I was wanting to say when she said that "maybe you're here for other people" I also said that it has been so great for me to get to know her so much better these past years because for so long she was in NH or CA. I feel that God has blessed me so much with the time I've been given to spend with my grandma. She is truly a servant of Christ, loves Him, and wants the world-especially her family to know and love Christ as she does. She loves to tell me almost every time I see her about how Christ has forgiven all our sins, how much He loves us, and how much He desires a personal relationship with us. She tells me this EVERY time I visit her and I NEVER get tired of hearing it. What I wonder about my grandma is if she realizes just how much I love her and admire her.

Seeing Eye...What?

Troy and I went to my sister's for dinner-thanks Anna-and she told us a funny Jaron story. She really should have a blog page simply for the crazy things he says-but anyway. So, I guess there's a blind kid at his school and he was asking Anna all about it. He was asking if it hurt to be blind and also how blind people could see. Well, Anna explained that sometimes people have seeing eye dogs that help them cross streets, etc. Jaron thought about this for a while and said, "I wonder if there are seeing eye ducks because ducks look both ways before they cross the street." Oh Jaron.

My other favorite Jaron story is when he was doing his homework and the assignment was to write down a question, or something he wonders about. He asked, "Where does fart gas come from and why do I have so much of it?"

Oh the crazy things kids say!

Rainy Sunday

Hello my friends! I have been horrible at updating this and it's been even tougher now that I have a facebook page. Now THAT is addicting! I have mixed feelings about it, but it is fun to catch up with some people I haven't heard from since high school. Then again I think, well, aren't I already in contact with the people that truly care about me? I don't know? It's always fun to have more friends! One can never have enough right?

Updates

Wedding: It was a beautiful day! I felt truly blessed and that the Lord was present for our special day. I surprised Troy by having a recording of a song for him and I was told he got teary-YEA! That was truly a stealth operation because he always seems to know what's going on. I recorded the song "I Will Be There" at a patients house with my friend Melissa playing the piano-thanks Mel! He has a whole recording studio in his basement and he said to just come over any time and we could record it. NICE! So, after Bible study one Monday, Mel and I went to his house and we got right to work. I had never done this thing before but Mel was a pro (she has CD's out with her group called 3PETE) and we completed it in a half hour. It was hard for me to get used to hearing myself that way but after the first take Mel said it sounded good and that it COULD only get worse trying it again and again so we left it at that. I then brought the CD over to my mom's and she was sworn to secrecy. She held onto it til the wedding! Anyway, it all worked out-whew! The wedding was perfect. The weather was awesome and I felt very good about everything. I was very excited my Grandma was able to be there-thanks Whites-and Barb-and that the few family members of mine that could be there were there. I was also so thankful for my sister and Molly who were right there for me the whole day-we had a good time. Abi came up a week early to help and it was like Troy and I had a personal assistant she really helped keep us sane-thanks Abi! Oh see now I'm getting into thank you's and there's just too many people to thank-you'll all have to wait for your thank you's in the mail!:)


Honeymoon: Hawaii was BEAUTIFUL! We had a blast! Highlights were: Sunset at the crater in Maui, Warren and Annabelle's Magic show in Maui, all the beaches, snorkeling, hikes, and the helicopter tour of Kauai-whoa that was fun and scary! We also enjoyed the wildlife-the monk seal, frogs, and chickens-ha ha!

Married Life: I'm still going through things and trying to get settled. The cats have finally adjusted and have even made themselves useful by catching a mouse. Cleo has longer days alone but she has a whole laundry room instead of a kennel so I think she's happy about that. Well, I think that's all for now.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, I'm all moved in-yeah right! My stuff is all here and I'm trying to get it somewhat situated. Moving day went well yesterday thanks to some powerhouse lifters-thanks go out to my neighbors Stephanie and Jake, Jake, Paul, Joe, Dan, Troy, Joni, Mom, Dad, and of course the many moving days with my sister Anna and her 4 kids. Many thanks for all the help! I'm here in Troy's beautiful house and feel really good about it all.

My closing is tomorrow. Good-bye 2530! It was real.

Moving Day!

I can't believe it is finally happening. It's like a dream and a nightmare all at the same time. I am moving out of my house tomorrow. The house that I have loved for the past 8 years. My first house ever! The house I was able to afford as a newly single lady and the house that had a great yard for the dogs and was easy to clean in about an hour. The house that took A TON of work and that I (with the help of many others) put A TON of work into. The remodel, the painting, the landscaping-oh my! And now it's all over. On to a new chapter. On to a much more beautiful and bigger home. On to a home with a much more manageable yard and a home with THREE bathrooms-hurray! On to a home with the biggest bedroom and attached bathroom-I've never had that-oh, and a walk-in closet! Exciting! I'm excited for the time when all my stuff is where it fits and it feels like our home and not Troy's home. I'm excited to walk Cleo around a new neighborhood, down to the lake, and to take the kids to the nearby park. Life now feels in fast forward. It was rolling along at a steady pace and then WHAM-it's full speed ahead-WHOA! It's going to be an exciting ride.

Well, well, well

House: Well, my house has sold as I've already said before-praise the Lord-BUT now I have to get a few things sorted out according to the inspectors. I have to have the well sealed(I didn't even know there was one on the property), the furnace inspected and cleaned, and some outlets changed out. I guess not too bad-except for the well deal.

Wedding: Plans are coming along quite nicely. I had my dress fitting on Friday and that went well, picked out our guestbook, and did some shopping for other things. It's a lot to think about but Troy is a BIG help!

Other misc: My niece and nephews slept over last weekend and we had a blast. Those kids are so much fun! It was the last sleepover at Aunt Beth's and they are all sad. Some things that I didn't know were tradition for them at my house but are is reading Molly Lou Melon, and Walter the Farting Dog. Jonah also LOVES to listen to my IPOD and his favorite song is Otto Titsling. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it so I've never said he can't listen to it but I was looking at the music plays and he's listened to it about 40 times! I wonder when he'll start singing it around the house. Ha ha! Just Jonah and Jaron slept over Sat. night and on the way to some awesome fireworks Jaron said, "I know a rule that can never be broken!"
Aunt Beth, "What is that?"
Jaron, "You must always love God."
Aunt Beth, "Yes, that's true, what made you think of that?"
Jaron, "My brain just told me that."
Ha ha-those kiddos are cuties!

My dad turns 60 tomorrow so we had a party to celebrate on Sat and it was a nice turn out despite the weather.

My Grandma turned 88 and my dad and I went to see her last Tuesday and my dad hired a guitarist to sing and play old songs for her. It was GREAT! A sad part was that he sang "I'll Fly Away" and I overheard my Grandma say to the guitarists wife, "Oh, I just had a dream about this and it was so exciting and wonderful" Verna Barnes is ready to meet her maker. She is excited to see Jesus face to face. I gently reminded her before we left that we love her and while she's here she should try to make the best of every day. That was my incredibly selfish way of saying-I want you to come to my wedding!!! She is one amazing lady whom I have loved to get to know so much better over the past few years. Praise God!

Enough for now. Peace!

Is Anyone Out There??

Does anyone read this blog? Just wondering! :)

Happy July!

House: Well, I have good news! I sold it! It has sold, I can't believe it! I thought it would take a year! I guess when you're practically giving it away it changes things a little bit. Closing is on August 11! Whew-check that off the list!

Wedding: The last month has been a blur. We made our invites, sent them out, I found my dress, we booked our honeymoon, we booked the caterer, rented the tent, chairs, etc, picked out the flowers, bought other flowers, and started planning the party favors. Whew! July here we come.

I'm exhausted just writing that. More updates later.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts!

Here We Go!!!

Wedding: Yea! We decided on stuff! We are getting married August 23, 2008 at Troy's sister Sandy's house. We have to keep the numbers down because it's at her home and that's going to be the hardest part for me. We have the caterer, the place, and the pastor and are very excited that we are getting married this year. It is very short notice though-oh well, I guess that's just how we roll. Tonight we are going to figure out invitations and this weekend hopefully get those going and get the honeymoon all booked and ready to go. Troy is really good at this organizing and planning stuff so I'm just going along with what he says and trying to keep up! Talk about a little role reversal-I love it! Thanks to all you that put up with all the date changes and the not knowing what we're doing stuff.

House: Still no news...blah!

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's June Already!

Well, hello everyone-long time no write I know! I have a few people I know that read this and I appreciate it!

Wedding: Well, for now...Hawaii is out. We are re-thinking the whole thing due to responses and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I think that the honeymoon there will be fabulous! So we are now thinking about a small wedding with around 60 people. This means that a lot of people won't be there but hopefully they will all understand that we had to draw the line somewhere. Who knows what will happen though because it is only June-AGH! We are thinking October 11 of this year so we'll see.

House: Lots of showings-no offers. It has now been 4 months on the market. Keep your fingers crossed please!

Welcome summer!

Rainy Day

Hello all!

Wedding: Well, I don't really want to talk about it-that's how well it's going. Frustration galore.

I have exciting news though. Molly had her twin boys Wed. May 7th at 5 a.m. Parker Jay was 5 lbs 8 oz and Braden Paul was 5 lbs 2 oz. Molly had a C-section and is doing really well. She's pretty sore but is doing well with the pain pills. Braden is doing amazingly well. His weight has dropped down to 4 lbs 14 oz but he is eating well and they think they will be able to take him home tomorrow. Parker is not doing as well as his brother but he is doing ok as far as premies go. He was the heavier one but he was having a hard time breathing and thus not eating so he's now on a feeding tube and has an IV of antibiotics to try to eliminate the fluid in his lungs. They think he will be able to go home in a week or so. My first reaction when I saw the boys was that Parker looks like an Abrams and Braden looks like a Youngquist. They are so tiny and probably the smallest babies I have ever seen considering my sisters kids were 8 lbs 11 oz, 10 lbs, 9 lbs 4 oz, and 7 lbs 14 oz. Tiny little boys! I'm bummed though because I haven't been able to hold them yet.

Other exciting news: I finished my picture a day for a year! Whew! It's actually pretty fun to look at because Kenan was 1 month old when I started and a year old when I finished.

House: Still no takers. Bummer!

Have a great day all!

Holy Hannah!

Wedding Drama

Well, so it begins. I am so grateful for the support I have received thus far with my announcement of the Hawaii wedding. It has been a VERY difficult thing for me to plan and think about-why you ask? Well, because of my desire to please everyone, as well as myself. I have this picture in my mind of this Hawaii wedding and it's what I want and people have been telling us to go with what we want and so that's what I'm trying to do. I already have guilt about it though. Why? Because it's a immediate family only thing and it's going to be difficult for our immediate families to be there. Why couldn't my dream be in a more financially realistic place like Craggins or at Lake Harriet-I don't know. It's a dream...who knows. I also want to clarify that it's Troy's desire to have a small ceremony and make it special just for us so the HI wedding sounds good to him too. Oh my. I actually thought this destination wedding would be easier then the big traditional wedding. Ha ha! I feel as though feelings are getting hurt and I don't want to do that! Oh my...so that's how I'm feeling right now.

Funny story...I had a patient that told me a funny story about her grandson. He was around 2 or 3 and had a nuk in his mouth when she was driving him home from daycare. Well, she almost got in a car accident and she said "SON OF A..." and her grandson, from his car seat in the back, takes out his nuk and says, "BITCH!" and puts his nuk right back in. Ha ha ha!

So I had to tell her the story of when I was changing Jonah's NASTY diaper (a grandma diaper) and I swear I must have used 20 wipes it was so gross and I got him all cleaned up and dressed and he said to me, "I feel like a million bucks!" It was the cutest thing ever and made the whole experience much better!

Have a great day everyone!

Beautiful Day

Greetings everyone! I'm not sure how often people actually read this blog, but I think it's kinda fun to write it so I'll keep it up for the time being.

Wedding update. Well, everyone's probably dying to know how my wedding research is coming along...Anna and I did go to the wedding last weekend in the American legion and I realized that style was not for me. However, I did learn that it is so important to have a wedding that is meaningful to us and "is just us" that it sent me on a mission to figure out what is "just us". Well, Troy and I have been talking and every time we talk about what we really want the beach always comes up. We spent all day Friday researching, discussing, and talking about all the different wedding scenarios we could have and the one that made us both excited every time we brought it up was the small beach wedding idea. So, for right now the plan is to get married on the beach in Hawaii at sunset and go on our honeymoon from there whether it be on a cruise around the islands or at a resort. We have to talk to a travel agent and figure out all the details. We are both very excited and hope everyone is excited for us too.:) Yes, we know it means that most likely only our immediate families would be able to come-and maybe even only a few members of our immediate family, but it is what would be "just us" so we're going for it. Let the planning begin! Whoa!

House update- Showings but no offers. :(

Troy is out raking my yard so I better go help him. What a guy!

I Can't Believe it's Snowing

Well it's the end of April and I woke up to let Cleo out and there was about an inch of snow on the ground. I think I can speak for all Minnesotans when I say that we are sick and tired of winter.

Updates

House...My realtor called yesterday and recommended I lower the cost of my house AGAIN. So I said ok. This is a really depressing real estate market. Oh well, please keep your fingers crossed.

Wedding...After talking to patients all week and quizzing them about weddings-when my fingers are NOT in their mouths thank you very much-I have heard about a Florida beach wedding and a wedding/party wedding. I was even invited to come "spy" at the wedding/party wedding. It's at the American Legion and they are getting married there and then having snacks, drinks, and a live band. The bride basically just wants a party-which sounds good to me, so I thought I would go and do some "wedding research". Anna said she would join me so we will go spy tonight. The bride did tell me that it was either going to be very tacky or very fun but that I was only allowed to tell her that it was great. Hee hee. I thought that was cute.

Family...Things are good. I talked to my pa yesterday about the house. Spent time with my sister, Jaron, Elena, and Kenan on Friday. When I got over there around lunchtime Elena didn't have a shirt on and when I asked her what happened to her shirt she told me she spilled sugar on it and it was dirty. Kenan is pulling himself up on things, but is not walking on his own. After Jaron and I played Star Wars on XBOX-well I was so bad he wouldn't let me play-we had story time and he read me 2 books. He is excellent at sounding out words-I was very impressed. Then we had movie time and popcorn and that's when Jaron said..Mom will get it for us she's our servant. I was floored and got upset at him but Anna was laughing and I don't think he knows what he's talking about. Jaron is a clown and is always trying to make people laugh. Jonah got home from school and said he had a good day. He is one sweet, quiet kid that LOVES his laptop computer-yes he is 7 and has his own laptop.

Well, that's all for now.

Oh one more thing. I got this combing tool called the furminator because I have 3 pets that shed like crazy and it's the coolest thing ever. I could not believe the amount of fur that was coming off of my pets and Lucy (Aragon's dog). I highly recommend it!

It's April Already??!!

Wedding...Wow where has the time gone? Troy and I met with a caterer today trying to get ideas and prices. They said-like everyone else we talk to- that we must decide on a time and a place. Sounds simple doesn't it? For us..not so easy. We are still trying to decide what type of wedding we want. Maybe we'll end up eloping to Vegas...hee hee...

Houses....2 showings today so please all be crossing your fingers and toes. Thanks!

Work...So many teeth, so little time. Trust your friendly dental hygienist when I type this-FLOSS! :)

Family...I have no clue-not a single one of them answered their phones today. Not kidding-not a one!

Misc...Troy and I went for a walk yesterday and found a mother duck sitting near her nest of eggs. It was so cute and I got a picture. So tonight I grabbed some old stale bread and we went to feed her and check up on her. Troy saw the devastation first. Oh my....all that was left were shells. It was VERY sad. We went looking for more ducks to give the bread and found 3 bats flying through the air-very cool. Anywho... I dropped the bread in the water for the carp.