Treatment

I have officially started treament for my Fibromyalgia. I am nearing completion of week #1.

After visiting with my Kelley Kennedy, I decided it was time to face my FM and stop dealing with the pain. I have to fix this and beat it. I am not going to let FM take over and keep me down.

I went to the doctor a week ago and asked for a treatment plan. The doctor gave me two meds: 1. Trazodone - an anti-depressant medication to help me sleep through the night as well as to help with my lack of motivation and down spirit.
2. Salsalate - an anti-inflammatory medication to help ease the pain and reduce the inflammation in my muscles.

So far I haven't really noticed a difference in the overall pain and fatigue that is caused by FM. I do feel like I am sleeping better at night and getting more sound sleep. However, the pain and muscle aches have not subsided at all. I know medications take some time, but I thought the pain reliever would be faster acting. I have another appointment scheduled in a month to go back and check my progress.

Please pray that this will help and that I will be able to be motivated again and pain free eventually.

Weekends

John and had a great time away this weekend. On Saturday we went to Oceanside to visit another church and were very sad by the way we were met. It just wasn't a fit for us. It was a long drive down on Saturday morning but we decided to turn right around and head home later that evening so we could sleep in our own bed and get up and go to our church.

On Sunday morning I got to sleep in and go to church at First Pres. Is was refreshing to be "home." John and I really love our church and the friends and family we have made here. It was so nice to be back with people we know and love.

After church we went with some of our closest friends (the Souza, Lofgrens, Sperrys and Emily Van Voorhis) to Zuma beach. It was such a hot day yesterday that everybody had the same idea. We sat in traffic on Los Virgenes and on PCH for quite some time. Little did we know there was a Chumash Indian Pow Wow happening near Pepperdine. I would have loved to go see that but we were on a mission to get to the beach! It was so nice to just lay out in the sun, have great conversation and play a few games. We ended up staying until almost 7:00 p.m. On the way home we stopped in Calabasas to eat at Red Robin which was refreshing. I give props to Kiley for not having a meltdown (no nap and she was still going strong at 8:30 p.m.).

These weekends and times are the ones that make me want to stay in the valley for many years. I don't want to leave these people and this church. If we could just transplant that would be ideal but I know that would never happen. I have never felt like I belonged somewhere like I do here. I miss my family in Washington and Oregon, but I have a bigger family here and besides, John's family is close to us now. This is my "home." It is where my heart is. I hope this process of searching is over soon. It is very tiring and emotional draining. God has a plan for us and we (really I) just need to be patient.

Space

Today I am feeling really down. I am sad and depressed and unmotivated and I don't really know why.

I have been sitting here staring at my computer screen for some time now and I have no desire to do anything. Is there something about my office that depresses me? Is it the space, the color, the drabness or just the fact that I am not thrilled with the work that I do? Am I just not being fulfilled by my job?

Is there something that I can do to make my job (and my life) more enjoyable on a daily basis? Will I ever be motivated and eager to do my work at this job? Would painting my office help? I should go buy stuff that is pretty for my desk.

Maybe there is more behind my unsatisfaction. Maybe there are deeper issues that I need to find and work out.

But for today I am in a slump. I feel like curling up in a ball and crying. Why can't I just be happy?

Sorry

I apologize for my lack of posting. I just haven't felt like there was anything worthy of discussing here. John and I are just in our usually routine of going to work and coming home and John going to class. Nothing exciting in happening in our lives.

As far as the living situation is concerned....it's great. I finally have someone to talk to and something to do while John is studying. I think is a good option for us right now. We really enjoy having a little free spirit running around screaming our names every minute of the day. Adelaide is so much fun and is giving John some practice before we have our own (which won't be for awhile).

Other than that, life is pretty simple.

Alo----ha!

Greetings to you all from the beautiful island of Oahu. John and I are finishing up our wonderful vacation. You can officially call us Island Hoppers. We have been to 3 different islands during our vacation and it has been amazing.

I am sorry that I cannot post any pictures this round. John's computer isn't working with the internet here at the hotel so I have to use one in the lobby (and pay for it too).

We first arrived on Tuesday (after being up for more than 36 hours with the plane ride and the time changes). We got here at about 9:30 in the morning and had the whole ahead of us. We picked up our beautiful car, Ford Mustang convertible, and headed to the hotel. We thought we were just going to leave our bags and go, but a room was open for us. We had planned on a standard hotel room with no real view or anything special, but upon arrival we were offered an oceanview room with a king bed. Needless to say, we took the upgrade and we are glad we did, minus the screaming child that cries most of the day. The room is great and the view is amazing. That day we decided to get settled and get some lunch, take a nap and then go out for dinner. We had lunch at the infamous, Cheeseburger in Paradise and dinner was at Duke's at the Outrigger Hotel. Good times.

Wednesday, yesterday, we headed out early in the morning for our day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is on the other side of the island so we left around 9:30 a.m. and took a nice leisurely drive around the island. It was great to have the top down and the wind blowing in my hair. We stopped along the way to take pictures at different view points and just took our time. The speed limits here are ridiculously slow. The fastest one I have seen is 50 mph. The center was great. You walk around through the different villages (Tonga, Tahiti, Aoteroa, Hawaii, Fiji, Samoa) and see the presentations about their culture. Most of the presenters are actually from the islands or their families are from them. We also got to see a canoe pageant where they dress up and get on canoes and go down the little river. It was pretty cool to see some of the more formal outfits of the different islands.

John has been looking for a ukeleile (I don't remember how to spell it) since we have arrived and yesterday we found a small shop inside the PCC. It was really cute. An old man, that works there, was trying to give John some information about them. He was so helpful, but there was a gentleman that knew more. His name was Uncle Benny. He has been at the PCC for over 30 years and the kids all call him Uncle Benny or "Ukeleile Man." He taught himself how to play and doesn't even read music. He is so amazing. He sat and talked with John and gave him a little lesson and of course then John had to buy one. Unlce Benny was the Master of Ceremonies at our Luau and told us to find him when we came to dinner, so we did, and thank God we did, it was amazing. Uncle Benny gave us front and center seats at the dinner. We got to see the show from up close and personal. They have dancers and singers and they even bring the pig out of the ground right in front of you. It was a great day made even better by Uncle Benny. He even bought us a picture that we took with him and signed it and gave us his email address so John can email him with questions on how to play this new instrument.

Today we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. It was tons of fun but the company was a rip off. More to come on that later. My time and money are running out.

Just a few more days to our vacation. I might not post again until we get home, but keep checking back.

Aloha and mahalo!!

Pictures from Japan

Angel fish at the aquarium.

Puffer fish (or a relative of it).

An ugly fish, but brilliant colors and awesome blue lips.

John standing under the big tank with manna rays.

Me and the sea turtles.

Pretending to lift the Niya-Thiya cave rock that causes pregnancy.

The YYY Resort on Ie Island provides pajamas and slippers for their guests. Of course I had to model them.

One of the cool plant sculptures at the Ocean Expo Park/Churaumi Aquarium.

John at the Ie YYY Resort.

Mt. Guzuko - we hiked to the top.

Self-portrait at the top of the mountain.

A traditional Japanese toilet. I only saw these by the mountain on Ie, but I know they have them other places. Usually there is a "western" toilet at the very end.

A view from the Wajee overlook. We first drove down that road you can see.

Torii Beach lifeguard tower.

John's nasty sunburn. He chose not to heed his wife's advise to use sunscreen.

A shot of the memorial walls at Peace Memorial Park.

John and I and the shishaa dog and a dog dressed as an isa drummer.

Puffy Snow is kind of like shaved ice/ice cream. I didn't have any but it looked good.

Itsuka-yooka (Days 5-8)

Ok, so I am just going to give you a run down of the past few days and then I will just post a bunch of pictures from our whole stay here. Sorry for the lack of posting since we have been here. The past few days we have been staying on another island (which you will read about in just a few minutes) and haven't had access to a computer or the internet.

Day 5 (Friday):

• Snorkeling at Maeda Flats (very cool place with tons of bright colored fish)
• Peace Memorial Park- this is a park to remember those fallen during WWII. There are many walls that have built with the names of all the people who died. We also went through the museum with an audio tour which was very interesting. It was great to get the Japanese perspective on the war. Very touching and moving, sad really.
• We ate at a McDonald's on the way to Kokusai street. It all tastes the same, but they have cool little trays that hold your food and your drinks all in one, and they use plastic shopping bags instead of paper bags.
• Kokusai Street (International Street) - a ton of shopping and food. This is the main place where we bought our souvenirs and knick knacks. They even have a couple of streets that are underground. It is very interesting to see the shop owners on theside of the street trying to get you to enter their shop and buy their products. Even the people from the restaurants are on the street passing out menus and coupons even I think.

Day 6 (Saturday): We left this island and took a ferry to Ie-jima (Ie Island). It is a very small island just North of Okinawa Island. We stayed in a very nice cottage at this little resort. I guess it was a Labor Day special package because our meals were included. Once we got to the island and got all checked in, we rented a car and went about touring the 7 mile wide island. Here is what we saw:

• Mt. Guzuko - we drove as far as we could and then John and I walked up about a thousand stairs (I have no idea how many there were really, but it was a lot and my legs were killing me) to the top of the "Mountain." What a fabulous 360 degree view of the island as well as Okinawa.
• Niya-Thiya Cave - This was a cave that 1000 people lived in during the war as a shelter from the soldiers and bombings. In this cave there is a stone that they say will cause a girl to get pregnant if she lifts it. John would hardly let me get near the thing and threatened my life if I actually picked it up. I don't know if it is true, but that is pretty interesting. The Japanese people are very superstitious and who knows if it could have or would have come true (I just pretended to pick it up).
• Wajee (a spring) - we drove all over trying to find this thing. We even drove all along the old air strip that the US Military used during the war. I don't know if we were supposed to, but we wanted to get to the other side of it and the rode next to it didn't go far enough. It was definitely an adventure. We got to this really lookout and saw the beautiful waters and cliffs of Wajee. The rode was very windy and narrow (of course) but we made it down and back up without getting into an accident.
• GI Beach - We have no idea why it is named that, but we assume that is where the soldiers used to go for relaxation during the war. This beach is beautiful and hardly touched it seems. There was a group of locals down on the beach on their hands and knees basically cleaning up the beach from debris and trash. So cool that they care so much for their island and for the waters.
• Ernie Pyle Memorial - We didn't really stop at this place, but we did drive by it really slowly. Ernie Pyle was a great journalist during the war and was following around a unit that was fighting on Ie Island. During the war he was killed and in the same spot where he died, they erected a memorial.
• Dinner at the resort - they have three options for dinner, BBQ, Japanese and Western. This night we all chose the BBQ. They have these patio tables outside that have small round BBQs right in the middle. The staff bring you your plate of food and you do the cooking. It is pretty cool. We had every kind of meat you could think of: beef, chicken, pork, white fish, and prawns. They also give you a bunch of veggies and mini baked potatoes. A great experience, but a lot of work.
• Bar - after dinner and a little chill time, we headed to the bar at the resort to play pool and have a few drinks. While we were there playing, these young Japanese guys asked Liz and a couple other ladies (in their early 40s) to take a picture. At first the ladies thought the boys just wanted their picture taken, but then they soon found out they wanted the ladies to be in the picture with them. It was a hilarious sight. The ladies were flattered and the guys just thought they were the coolest. It was definitely interesting.

Day 7 (Sunday): We took the ferry back to Okinawa Island (Motobu Port) and drove our car to Nago to the Churaumi Aquarium. This aquarium is pretty cool. They have a few big tanks with some really neat looking fish. It was just an aquarium, but the fish were amazing, such bright colors and all shapes and sizes. The aquarium is part of Ocean Expo Park (which is gigantic) but we didn't have the time and didn't feel the need to see the whole thing. The grounds are amazing, beautiful structures and really cool plants that make up different sculptures (like crabs and birds). After this we drove to the Nago Pineapple Park (mom you would have been right at home and in heaven). They give you a little tour indoors of the different kinds of pineapple plants and palm trees and some other flowers like Hibiscus and Anthurium. For the tour you ride on these little automatic pineapple cart and they have a MP3 player that plays a recording telling you about the different plants you are seeing. Once you finish the tour, you go inside and you see the factory where they take a whole pineapple and can it. It is pretty cool to see how they get the outer skin off and get into the can and seal it all up. From the factory, you go down into the store part and you get to sample everything from wine to cake, pie to chocolate (everything in pineapple flavor). The wine is pretty good, sweet. My favorite was the pineapple pie. After we got back on the ferry and headed to the resort we attempted another snorkeling adventure, but were unlucky. It was too dark outside and there was no coral for the fish to hide in and around. We didn't really see anything special. Before dinner we took a walk on the beach and John started his seashell collection. Yes, I said John started HIS seashell collection. He is just like his mother in that regard. It was funny. He just handed them to me and said we could put them in a vase or something when we got home.

Day 8 (Monday, Today): We got up this morning and packed our bags to head back to Liz and Jeff's apartment. We couldn't leave the hotel until 12:30 but we had to check out by 11:00 a.m. so we went back down to the beach to continue or shell hunt. This time John and Liz were on a mission to find the big clam shells. Liz has only found them on this beach and boy did we find some. It was awesome, I even got into finally. We walked up and down the beach along the water's edge searching for clam shells, sea glass, and shells. It was very relaxing. It even started to rain and we just continued walking. Once we got back to our car in Okinawa we started the drive home and made a short stop at Manzamo Beach. It is supposedly a great lookout point over these large cliffs, but it was very overcast so it wasn't that great, but it was still amazing to see some of the rocks on the cliffs and this large hole in the middle of one cliff. While we were there taking pictures it started to rain and pretty heavy rain too, but we survived, it was very short lived. They have some really cute vendors there so bought a few last minute gifts for people and for ourselves.

All in all, this has been a great adventure. We have enjoyed our time here and really wish we could stay longer. Jeff and Liz are great tour guides and planners and are so generous. It is nice to have such great in-laws. I have to get going to start packing all of our clothes and souvenirs but I will post pictures as soon as I can.

We will be in Hawaii for the next 5 days and returning to California on Saturday, September 6th. I will try and post pictures on MySpace, Facebook and SnapFish when I get back.

Konbawa!

Japan Days 2-4

Here are some quick updates.

Day 2:
We went to Zanpa beach and went snorkeling in the morning, followed by wonderful massages at this really cute little spa place. After that we went to this sushi restaurant where the food goes around on the conveyor belt and you pay by the color of the plates. We also went to the mall and to this little shopping area (it kind of reminded me of Oceanside).

Day 3:
We visited the Kadena Air Force base, where we went to the Commissary (it's like a department store). That is where most of the American soldiers and their families do their shopping because everything is from the states but the prices are a lot cheaper. After that we went to this really cute little cafe/shop for "Okinawa's best grilled cheeses." They were very good and the lady that owns the shop is very nice (I think she was Thai). We met Jeff at work for a few minutes to see his office and we even got a behind the scene's tour of where the soldiers get their gear and where the food is stored if they go to combat. If I am correct, Jeff is in charge of sending things out if the troops get send somewhere. After meeting Jeff when he got off work, we tried to go to Maeda to go snorkeling again, but the conditions were awful. The tide was way high and the wind was making the water dangerously choppy so we decided to go out to dinner. We wanted to go this really cute place called Jam's (sort of like Benihana's) but when we got there they were completely booked until 9:30 p.m. We asked the host for his recommendation of another restaurant and it was fabulous. We walked right across the street and down this alley and out popped this great restaurant with a live Okinawan band. The food was very cheap and gourmet and the atmosphere was priceless. It turned out to be a great night. For the past few nights we have been staying on the Army base (Torii) in these little cabins near the beach. I am not really sure of the reason, but we are having fun none the less.

Day 4:
BEACH!!! We spent the whole morning at Torii Beach (on the base) just laying out, reading, and relaxing. Now we are off to the cabins again and then we are going back to Jam's (this time with reservations) for dinner.

We are enjoying our time here and are looking forward to Hawaii. Love and miss you all lots!

Day One in Okinawa

Konbawa from Okinawa (good evening from Okinawa). We started the day off by sleeping in a little (only till like 7:00 a.m.). John's mom, Liz, took us to the light house by their house at Cape Zanpa.

After taking a look at the light house we went over to the other side of the "park" and took some pictures with the shiishaa dogs.

On our way to Torii Beach we stopped at this little gift shop/bakery/cookie factory. The biscuit looking cookies were very tasty. They sort of tasted like peanut butter cookies. We met Jeff on the base where he works to pick up our snorkel equipment. If you rent on Monday, you pay for one day and you get to use the gear until Thursday. Pretty sweet deal. We also found out that the SCUBA locker is closed this Thursday so we get to keep it for an extra day. We are planning to go snorkeling quite a bit this week.

From there we split off, girls together, and guys on their own. Liz and I went to Starbucks and got a really cute little Okinawan coffee mug and drinks and then went shopping at this really cute little strip mall. She was so nice, she even bought me some new clothes. I think she has always wanted a daughter to spoil and I don't really mind being that. I have great in-laws! From their Liz and I headed to this great little spa place called Feliz Salon where we got the best pedicures EVER! These young girls were great and the massage lasted forever, no timers either. While the girls were getting pampered, the boys went snorkeling at Cape Maeda and saw some great fish. They were even able to go swimming into this sweet little cave.

We joined back up at Liz and Jeff's pad and headed right back out to this cute place called Ryuku Mura. It is like a traditional Okinawan village. They had all these really old Okinawans doing the work like their great ancestors once did. While we were walking through the park we stumbled on a cute little show. Here are some pictures of the dancers and drummers we saw.

We also got our picture taken dressed in traditional kimonos. John made a very good king. It was bloody hot with those kimonos on.

From the park we went to Okinawa Hollywood and Malibu Beach. It was nothing to write home about, but I thought it was pretty funny. At the top of this little hill they had the Hollywood sign with a small replica of the Statue of Liberty. I think they got their American states jumbled together.

We also went to this little market on the way home to just see the traditional foods and fish market. Now we are just hanging out at the house relaxing and drinking some beer. Oh, speaking of beer, I forgot to mention the Habu Sake that we saw. The Habu is one of the most poisonous snakes and they fight them against the mongoose. What is really odd, is when they make alcohol with the snake in the bottle, Habu Sake. It is disgusting, but I guess a lot of people think the Habu snake has a lot of health benefits (also similar to viagra). We didn't buy any, but I did take pictures of it.

Today was a great day, but I think tomorrow is going to be better. Liz, John and I are going to go back to Zanpa beach tomorrow morning and hang out and maybe snorkel a little bit and just relax on the beach while Jeff is at work. Liz has also scheduled a couple's massage for John and I tomorrow around noon time.

Sayonara and oyasuminasai (goodbye and good night). More to come later.

WE'RE HERE!!

We are officially in Japan now! It was a long flight from LAX to Tokyo but we survived. We had a long wait at the Tom Bradley International Terminal where we actually saw some guy get arrested.

It is now 11:00 p.m. and I am ready to sleep. I will try to keep posting things as our adventures in Okinawa continue. Stay tuned.

Sayonara.

Addiction

I am trying it again. Not drinking soda that is. On Monday night, after Bible study, Dustin Rhoads came downstairs and was chatting with the ladies and I about his diet and some other things. I don't know how soda came up, but we both mentioned that we needed to cut back on our caffeine intake because we are both addicted. Well cut back we did. Both Dustin and I decided then and there that we were going cold turkey. I have done this once before during Lent one year and it was pretty painful. This time I am not quitting for just a short period, but hopefully for good. Yesterday wasn't too bad. I did end up with a really bad headache, but I pushed through it. Here we are at day 2 and I am feeling confident in my ability to quit and help motivate Dustin in his quitting. I will keep you updated on my progress.

John and I are very excited for our upcoming trip to Japan and Hawaii. We talked to his mom, Liz, last night and got all the details that we needed for our travel. After talking to her we decided to go to weather.com and check out the "local" forecast for Okinawa. It said 90 degrees, but feel like 104 degrees. That sucks. I hate the humidity. Oh well, we are going anyways. Oh ya, I forgot to mention there was like a 60% chance of rain with scattered thunderstorms for everyday that we are there. YAY! Oh well, we are going to have to push through the rain because I want to see things. I am not going just to sit around their house and not see any of the country.

I am also very excited for the Hawaii portion of our trip. We are stopping there for 5 days on our way back to Los Angeles. I want to show John my family's old stomping grounds and a few of the main highlights (like Pearl Harbor and the Polynesian Cultural Center) but I also want to just relax on the beach and enjoy being alone with my husband.

I will try and post while we are in Japan, but don't get mad if I don't. See you in September!!

New House

We made it! We are finally all moved in and pretty much unpacked. We are not online yet at "The Mouth" (our new name for our house). The Dish Network guy came out yesterday and was wonderful. Props to Dish for great customer service. He even gave John and Amy a tutorial on how to use the new remotes and a few main features of the network. Already so much better than Time Warner, sorry.

The move day was a huge success. Thank you so much to all those who helped us. I think we had somewhere between 16 and 20 people helping us at the 3 places. Our friends are great and we made the move in half the day. By 2:30ish all our furniture and boxes were at the new house and we were already beginning to unpack boxes. A special thanks to the ladies who put together our kitchen, that was fantastic (although I am still trying to find a few things).

Our first few nights in the house have been good. We haven't heard Adelaide screaming in the middle of the night or even in the morning. I think it is because we are running our fan in the bedroom and it is pretty loud, but whatever works. On Sunday, we had our first dinner as a family. Amy made baked potatoes and Justin made his family's green beans and linguica.

It has really been nice not having cable tv for the past few days. While I do miss having the down time, we have really been productive and have actually had some conversations. I am sad that I have missed some of the olympics, but I was able to watch some of the tandem diving last night with Amy.

Here are some pictures of the new place (before we moved everything in).

our bedroom

our living room

the front of the house from the sidewalk

The Happs

Here is what is happening in the life of John and Val:

1. Camping this weekend in Ojai with friends
2. Hollywood Bowl tickets on Sunday (reggae fest)
3. John begins another 2 week intensive at Fuller on Monday
4. Val will be packing away during the week
5. Dinner with the Youth Elder and other paid ministry staff
6. Move to our new home on Saturday the 9th (come help if you can)
7. Pack our suitcases again for Japan
8. Fly to Japan on the 23rd of August and return on the 6th of September

Somewhere in there we also have SURGE events and another night at the Hollywood Bowl. Our lives are crazy right now. I think John is getting a little stressed out with all the packing and moving and doing things and having to be in school and write papers.

It is very fun to be able to hang out with friends for once, but it is just a little bit too busy for our taste. Hopefully we don't lose sight of each other in the hustle and bustle.

Got to get on the road. See ya!

Brain Freeze

Don't forget to stop your local 7-11 for a free 7.11 oz slurpee tomorrow, 7/11. You gotta love free stuff.

I am excited for Rachelle and AJ's wedding on Saturday. We had so much fun at Karen and Dan's and are ready to party again.

Yay, I made it. John comes home tomorrow!! It reminds me of a song, "I'm a big girl now!" Haha.

That's all for today.

Motivation

My apartment is a disaster and I know I need to clean it, but it is so overwhelmingly dirty I don't know where to start. It has been bothering me for a few days now but I have just been too tired to do anything about it. Hopefully I will get the motivation to clean it and surprise John when he comes home Friday.

The One

The search continues. The Souzas and the Bowlings are still looking for that perfect house to move into. We spent most of the morning on Friday driving around the valley with our realtor (who is great, and does all the work for us) looking at multiple properties. We have a few that we really liked and they have fallen through and we are still waiting to hear back on another one in Granada Hills that we like.

This process is really frustrating. I can only imagine the stress and energy house hunting takes. I just want to find a place that is going to work for the 5 of us and move in and start this new adventure. I am ready for some big changes in my life.

Please pray that we find something and find it quick (if it is God's will for us). :)

Rest, Relax, Recuperate

I am sitting here in my office dazed. Do you ever have those times when you are driving from point A to point B and upon reaching point B, you really don't remember how you got there? That is my morning.

John and I were housesitting this past weekend (for people that don't like to share their house with others) and today was the final day. The family was coming home around 8 a.m. so I decided to be safe, so I left around 7ish. It was horrible. I couldn't sleep all night, I woke up every hour or when the dog would move and her collar would jingle. All I needed was some good solid sleep. Our lives have been so busy as of late, and I am feeling weary. I just need to slow down and relax and sleep well for a day or two.

When will it ever get easier? Here is what I mean, everytime John leaves for a trip with the middle schoolers, my fear and anxiety skyrocket. I don't know what my problem is. I can't sleep and I have to stay up forever so I that I fall asleep without thinking or trying. I don't know, I think I am afraid of someone breaking in and killing me in my sleep while John isn't there. Maybe I have watched too many crime scene shows or cop shows. It usually gets better as the week goes on, but man, last night was horrible, the worst night of sleep ever I think.

This past week was busy with housesitting, getting ready for Karen and Dan's wedding, the actual wedding, getting John ready for his houseboating trip, buying supplies for me for next week for my trip to Rock n Water. Hopefully this week will slow down and I will get some much needed and, I feel, much deserved rest.

Heal Me

Please pray for me. I have started a nasty cold and I feel like crap. My head feels like it is going to explode and my nose is raw from blowing it so much.

My mom flys in tomorrow evening! I am SO excited to see her for the weekend. We have a lot planned, so hopefully I will be feeling better.

Thanks.

Long Weekends

Back at it! I love having long weekends. It's too bad that this Memorial Day Weekend was jam packed. Here are just a few things that we did:

• PAINT the Lofgren's rental house
• Go out to dinner with John's dad
• PAINT the Lofgren's rental house some more
• Watch the UFC fight (it was alright, nothing special)
• Church and then PAINT the Lofgren's house some more
• BBQ at the McIntosh's ranch, so much fun driving the GATOR!!

It was a great weekend, just a long one and not that relaxing. Thank you to everyone who helped in celebrating John and his 28 years of life. We had a blast.

A Taste

WE SURVIVED!!! John and I spent the weekend taking care of three youngsters (the Pennington clan). It was a lot of fun to play mom and dad for a couple of days but sobering at the same time. We are totally not ready to be parents. I know that parenting doesn't mean running into a house with three kids, but still it was difficult to say the least.

On Friday night as soon as we got to their house we got the kids ready to go to a birthday party at Skateland. It was a ton of fun and made me realize how you really can't think about yourself for more than a minute or two. As soon as we got there the young girl came out in me and I just wanted to skate, but instead I had to hold the hand of Tiffany (age 2) and slowly make our way around the edge of the skating rink. She had so much and so did I. I was able to see the excitement in her eyes and then so quickly the change to fear as she nearly fell on her bum.

Let's just say that John and I are pooped. We came home this afternoon and both fell asleep on the couch watching television for awhile and then discussed our feelings on parenting and parenthood and if we were ready or not. The consensus was NO, we are not ready right now.