Updates

I wish I had some fun stories to share or pictures to post, but we have been laying pretty low lately. Summer seems to be flying by. I can't believe its almost August already. Although, I must meet admit, I am looking forward to school starting for Adriana. She gets so bored around here during the day and it makes for a LONG day. I try to get her out and go swimming or take her to Chuck E. Cheese, but there's only so many outings we can afford to do. I'm also looking forward to school starting because I'm going to be a sub teacher at her school. We are looking for ways to earn some extra money, and although this won't be a steady thing, it will still be a little bit of money each month to help out.
Paxton turned 8 months old last week. Its so hard to believe. He is growing like a weed. He is crawling EVERYWHERE! He's seems to be getting faster and faster everyday. Yesterday he starting saying "Ba Ba Ba", its so cute to see his chubby cheeks and mouth trying to talk. He's got teeth trying and trying to come through. I think they are driving him crazy, hopefully they will come in soon.
Ryan is working hard in the hot, hot weather. Unfortunately, work is still slower than normal, but God is faithful to provide for all our needs.
I know everyone is dying to know an update on our cat, Zoe. I guess a couple of weeks ago she got in a cat fight and the other cat sank their teeth into Zoe's backside. This wound was so bad looking and gross, I had to take her to the vet. I actually didn't think it was a cat bite, since I didn't even know she had gotten into a fight. I thought maybe it was a spider bite that was causing her flesh to open up. Anyway, she went to the vet and got medicine. She is doing a lot better. I know a lot of you can rest tonight knowing this. HA!
Well, that's about all for now. I'll try to post something more interesting the next go around.

Our Trip to STL

We got back last night from a short weekend trip to St. Louis. It was filled with sightseeing, visiting with old college friends, shopping and some time with Ryan without kids screaming in the background. We had a blast, it was a great refresher.
We dropped the kids off with my parents on Saturday morning and were on our way. Once we got into the area, we stopped for lunch. Ryan had been begging to stop for lunch for about an hour and a half. We discussed where we should go and settled on White Castle (Ryan's choice). I have always been against White Castle, even though I never actually had it. I thought I would give it a whirl.
This was actually Ryan's first time at White Castle, he had always eaten at Krystal's. This is Ryan's verdict on the food...

This was mine...

I didn't love it or I didn't hate it. I would never chose to eat there on my own, but would go back if someone I was with wanted to eat there.
After that, we headed downtown. We wanted to go see the Arch. Ryan LOVES the Arch. Unfortunately, it was also a Cardinals game that day, so parking was a MESS! We weren't planning on paying for a parking spot, so we found the cheapest lot ($5) and parked. We walked and walked and walked. With a heat index of over a 100 degrees, it made every step hard. I knew it was going to be so hot, so at least I was prepared (mentally anyway).



The Arch was neat to see, and we were going to see about riding in it, but the line to get in, was so long, we decided to skip it. We walked along the river and saw this really cool bridge. It was built in the 1870's. It the Lewis and Clark bridge.

Here's me next to a flooded parking lot. Who would build a parking lot, that close to the river?

The Statue, that is normally in the parking lot. I thought it was funny because the statue looks like he's saying "help me, help me".

Ryan decided to wear the "tourist" look.

The Lewis and Clark Bridge

After we walked forever in the blasting heat, we decided to do something we had never done before. We went to a Casino. They should make our experience in the casino a sitcom. It was something else, let me tell you. We only spent $5 and had NO idea what we were doing. We just played the penny slots and still had no idea what we were doing. We actually had to ask a worker to help us figure out the game. We, of course, won nothing, but it was neat to see. It was in a really nice hotel, and just seeing all the restaurants and shops in there next to the casino were really cool.

When we were getting ready to get out in the heat, with sore feet, we remembered that we parked by the other entrance to this hotel, so we got to take a moving sidewalk, to an escalator, to the door, which lead right to our car. We were thrilled, we didn't have to walk this extra distance. It was fun downtown, but we were ready to go relax at our hotel.

Ryan riding on the moving sidewalk.

That evening we made plans with one my best friends, Mindy, to meet up for dinner. It has been 2 years since I had seen her. We met up at the mall and ate, shopped, walked around and visited. It was so good to see her. Mindy, it was such a great time. Thanks for coming out of your way, to see us.

Me and Mindy at the mall.

The next day, was Sunday. We had Rob's memorial service to go to at 3pm, so I planned on having lunch with some of my old roommates from college. We met at IHOP and luckily, they were all able to meet. I was so thankful that all of them drove quite a distance to eat lunch with us. It was a time I will cherish for a long time. I haven't seen them since Charlotte's wedding, almost 3 years ago.

Lize (with her daughter, Faith), Charlotte (with her daughter, Lorica), Ruth, Elinor and Me.

Rob's service was filled with tears, laughter, reunions and old memories. Rob's service was a time of celebration of his life. What a great man.

This trip was made so that I could go to Rob's service. I ended up seeing good friends, getting a break from the kids and having a mini vacation with Ryan. Although the trip was bittersweet, I'm very thankful for it.

The Arch

Married 5 years!

Today is our 5th wedding anniversary. I would like to say its hard to believe, but I really can't. It has seemed every bit of 5 years. I don't mean this is a negative way or anything, and Ryan would agree. We have had a lot go on in 5 years, that we NEVER planned on happening so soon. For starters, we didn't want children until we had been married for at least 3-5 years. Well, I think we all know what the kid count is in our house. We have moved 4 times and I never wanted or dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom. I know that sounds bad too, but it was never a strong desire for me. I wouldn't trade it for anything in this world, but still, life has thrown us some curve balls in the last 5 years. There has been plenty of ups and downs along the way, but God has blessed me with a wonderful, understanding husband who is very patient with me. I couldn't ask for a better daddy for our children, he's the best. Probably the most unselfish person when it comes to his kids. So, while the past 5 years has felt like 5 years, they have been great, and I look forward to another 70.




Our wedding party.


I love this shot, I don't know why.

Right after tying the knot, if you look close enough, you

might still see some sweat on Ryan's forehead. I have never

seen that man so nervous in my life.

Even though it was the hottest day of the

summer and wearing 17 layers of dress

wasn't exactly cool, I love this picture.

We were SO hot.

I know it looks like we have jaundice in

this picture, but we don't, I promise.

We got married right when digital was becoming

more readily available, so unfortunately all our pics

are on film. I have to scan all my pics in,

and I hate that they aren't as clean and crisp

as they could be.

Goodbye to a Friend

This last week, I lost a friend, mentor, ex-boss and teacher. Rob Cornwell, was a great man. I knew Rob through my college, MoBap. He wore many different hats while he worked there. I first met him when he was working in the admissions office. Such a friendly, genuine person. As the years went on, I got to know Rob more and more. I really got to know him my last year there, because I was an intern for him. Rob allowed God to use him to touch so many. Towards the end of my second year there, I was getting ready to lose my volleyball scholarship (long story), anyway, I knew without that scholarship paying for a 1/3 of my schooling, there was no way I would be able to attend there next year. The day I realized all of this, Rob found me in the cafe and sat down and started talking to me. He asked me if I would be interested in running sound for an all girls singing group that he was going to be starting the next year. He said he would offer me a scholarship (that ended up being the exact amount my v-ball scholarship was), what a HUGE blessing. Not only did it help pay for my schooling, but it counted as an Audio Internship, which helped me with my credits. Working in "Faithful" was a HUGE blessing and one of the best years of my life. Those girls and Rob will forever have a place in my heart.


Kara, Phoebe, Allison, Rob, Renee and Me--"Faithful"

After my year in "Faithful" I never lost contact with Rob. The last time I saw him was 2 summers ago, when me and Ryan were in STL for a vacation. We ran by the school just to see Rob, his face would always light up when he would see you, made you feel so special. I cherish those times with Rob, such a sweet, godly man.
About 6 months ago, Rob was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. He did several rounds of chemo to help control the cancer. A little over a week ago, him and his wife posted on Facebook that he went to the doctor and found that he was cancer free! The family was so excited. A few nights later, his wife, Missy, found him laying on the bathroom floor, unresponsive. He had suffered a massive heart attack. He was declared brain dead from the lack of oxygen to his brain. After several tests, they decided to take him off life support. We rejoice in the fact that he was a Christan, so we know he is in a better place, but are sad because we know that we will never see his smile light up a room anymore.
He was young, 44 years old, leaving behind a wife and 2 young adult children. He touched so many lives. I can only hope that I can leave half a legacy as he has left. We love you and will miss you deeply Rob!


I love this picture of Rob. Its so him. This picture was taken by his sister just a few weeks ago. You would never believe he was going through chemo at the time. Nothing got him down.

Fourth of July Weekend

Warning: Picture Overload (I like it when people post a lot of pics on their blog, but this may be a bit much, and trust me when I say, this isn't even half of them.)

Well, the fourth was a fun weekend for us. We were suppose to go down to Alabama this last weekend, but because of Ryan's job being so slow, we just couldn't swing it. We ended up having a great weekend. On Friday night, we got invited over to our friends, Kevin and Hilary's house for dinner. They have a son, Zach, who is just a few months older than Adriana, so they have a blast playing with each other. We had a wonderful meal, and then let the kids play in their kiddie pool. They had a good time swimming like fish and splashing. After swimming we shot off fireworks. They were more for the kids, so they were like smoke bombs and snakes, but it was fun seeing their excitement. We had a great time, thank you Kevin and Hilary for dinner, it was a blast!
On Saturday, my dad's sister, Leasa and her family were here for a quick visit. We had a great time visiting with them, its been almost 2 years since we have seen them, so it was fun catching up.
(I'm bummed that I didn't get any pictures of going over to Kevin and Hilary's or of Leasa and her family). Here are pictures of Paxton and Adriana on Saturday though.

I made this little tutu and hair bow for Adriana.

She looked like a little firecracker in it!

My sweet boy.

Couldn't get them to sit closer or to smile and

look at the camera at the same time, this is the

best I could do.

Later on Saturday, we decided to head over to this little place near by, that has mini golf and go carts. We went there last year when Ryan's folks were in town. We always have fun there, its cheap and very family friendly.

Paxton and Mimi watching the

golf game.

Adriana running amok. She got bored REAL

fast with mini golf.

"Tiger" Bowen playing like a pro.

Mimi making one of many shots.

Dad golfing with Ryan's close

supervision.

The next day was Sunday, the 4th. We went to church and planned on going over to my parents house, eating lunch hanging out and going to watch local fireworks. We had a great time. Here are pictures after church, in front of Mom and Dad's house.

I like this picture of my dad and Ana.

Mimi and Pa with their babies.

That night, when we went to see the fireworks, they had tons of things for the kids to do. We went there last year, and had a great time. The fireworks were good, but nothing like last year. Paxton wasn't scared, but was so tired, he could hardly stand it. I'm kind of glad they didn't last too long, we had us some tired babies on our hands.

We had a great 4th weekend. Sorry we couldn't spend it with Ryan's family but kept them close to our thoughts that day. We kept thinking about how they were here last year for the 4th and what fun we had.

Hope everyone had a great weekend full of great memories.

I like this shot of them.

Ryan and Paxton, almost in matching outfits.

A fairly good family picture. I wish Paxton's

eyes were open, but still not bad.

Paxton's Pictures

Well I FINALLY got Paxton in for his 6 month pictures (at 7.5 months of age). I have been trying for weeks to get him in, but every time I call to make an appointment, they were booked, so anyway, I finally got them done last week and are very pleased with how they turned out. Here is a link of his pictures. He was in a great mood and really liked the lady taking the pictures, a double bonus and a huge sigh of relief. Enjoy!


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