Sister Act, Otherwise Known As Stay Away From My Barbies

How can anyone in their right mind think that mint and chocolate are not MFEO?

My sister, JoAnna, that's who.

And it makes perfect sense that I love mint and chocolate and she doesn't. And that I love black olives and mushrooms. And she doesn't.

And that she loves Lady Gaga. And I think that wearing dead meat as a dress is grounds for detracting musical points.

If you knew us both, you would know that this makes sense.

She has pretty feet. I have two very crooked toes that make me self-conscious during sandal season.

She has a love for dark poetry that as a pre-teen was slightly alarming, but much to our relief it is just a hobby.

She used to give my Barbies haircuts. That made me mad. Then she decided to cut her own hair. That made my Mom mad.

She loves ecclectic music and may be able to sing the Evita soundtrack from memory.

She carved our brother's name into stuff all the time. Only problem was that was that he wasn't old enough to write. Classic mistake.

I'm jealous of the freckles across her nose.

And the natural honey highlights in her hair.

One thing we both have in common is that we love to write. She has recently been given the privilege of writing articles for the local newspaper and I couldn't be more proud. I just ask that she not mention my crooked toes.

We celebrated my sister this weekend and her birthday. I am so thankful to have her as a sister and a friend. Love you, Jo!

P.S. Mint + chocolate = destiny

2011 & Away We GO!

It's New Year's Eve morning of 2010. What am I doing? Sitting in my jammies and yesterday's hair with Bogart (who I guess is also in his jammies too as he is sleeping). Drinking a big cup of Chic'fil A coffee. I finished the chicken mini's about 1.5 hours ago. Yeah, that's right. I had to get up at 6:10 on my day off to take Joey to work because we've got to get to Kristin's wedding on time and he's working! I've got to pick him up at work on our way out. So me and Bogart are just chilling on the couch. And reflecting.

I absolutely LOVE LOVE this time of year. There is something about starting a new year that is refreshing and invigorating! Don't you agree? I get in a crazy organizing and cleaning out mood. But I also get really reflective. 2010 has been a doozy (sp.?)! Lots of love, laughter, some loss, top of the world moments, in the valley moments, its had it all. Here are a few of the things I'm reflecting on from 2010.

1. Year as Married #3. What a blessing! I love my husband more than I ever knew it was possible to love anyone! I am thankful for his leadership in our family and patience toward me when my strong-willed nature comes out. Not that this happens often, but you know, for those rare moments when I am stubborn and selfish. Ha! I kid. This is pretty much all the time. I'm working on it. God definitely refines within marriage. It's lovely.

2. My changing family. Brothers with girlfriends. Sister with boyfriend. Weddings. Births. I get kind of sentimental. To think of how it must feel for grandparents to see the family that they started grow and compound in love with each addition. I love big families, do you?

3. Changes at work. We lost some wonderful co-worker friends for various reasons. I love them so much and it's been hard to see them go. It's like losing a part of your family. I miss them.

4. Life changes. They're coming. I'll tell you about them next week. And no, we are not expecting, but good try! :P

5. Finding a new church home and family. Making new friends. We love it!

6. My wonderfully free 2010 work calender that contained these beautiful photos below:

Truly, could they have picked a more uninspiring turkey?

And nothing says Christmas like a ravenous bobcat staring down at you while you work.

That's an overview. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in 2011! Come what may!

Joey and I are setting our 2011 goals personally and for our family. The biggest change I want to make is for 2011 to not be all about me. My goals all too often fall in the self-focused category. Get a hot body, go the gym, eat healthy, travel, save money, etc. All great goals, no question (maybe the get a "hot" body is a little overboard). But again, they're all about me.

My challenge to both you and me is to get out of our "me" resolution boxes. Maybe you are already way of ahead of me on this one! In addition to the self-improvement goals, add this question: how can I make impact in the lives of others?

It's about time that Bo and I get out of our jammies and pack for our trip so I wish you a blessed and impact-filled 2011! Happy New Year!

Christmas time is still here

Would you believe that we are still Christmasing? Yup! This will make week numero tres. We have my cousin Kristin's wedding on New Year's Eve and then we will be traveling to Crockett, Texas on Saturday to participate in Christmas festivities with my Paw Paw Hanks and family.

This may be a long post because it has been a crazy busy three weeks and I didn't tell you one thing about it. Well, except that we have been doing a lot of traveling. With my moth ball smelling wrapped presents. I don't know what the deal was with my wrapping paper, but it stunk! Literally. You would think I wrapped up an old attic coat and stuck it in a box. Lovely Christmas scent.

The week before last we celebrated Christmas with my Mom's family: the Butler clan. As usual, I forgot my camera. I have actually done this for all Christmas' this year to date. I know, I'm a photographic loser. I did take a few on my phone.

But see how grainy some of it turned out?

Kristin's grandmother Patsy, Kristin and Maw Maw

Kristin's wedding shower was Saturday morning and I was in charge of the cake. That is, completely in charge of making it AND decorating it. Did I tell you I took a cake decorating class in the fall? It was interesting. I'll tell you about it sometime. In hind sight, volunteering to do my first shower cake ever and entering in complexities like transportation and doing much of the work in someone else's kitchen was probably not the most wise idea. I baked the cakes at my house the day before with some issues (another note, one should not try to bake shower cakes that require attention while baking for neighborhood Christmas goodie bags. There are no winners in this arrangement.) Then, I found out the next morning that I left half of my essential ingredients and items in Katy.

So, several trips to Wal-Mart, one gigantic powdered sugar explosion and a few meltdowns later, I did have an iced cake. But no time. There were a few times where I was about to give up and go buy a cake, but I pushed through. I scrapped everything I learned in cake class and just camouflaged all my mistakes with rose petals and sparkly sprinkles. I got there right as the shower began. Everyone said it was a nice cake and the bride wasn't worried about it so that's what mattered. It's one of those things where you know you can do better, but no one else seems to mind but you. :)

Here's a snapshot of my camouflaging:

Ok, ok, I don't mind you seeing it up close:

Let's just say that it's most likely that I will not be the next Ace of Cakes.

We then spent the evening Christmasing with the my Mom's family. The biggest gift hit of the night was when my Aunt Gail (My Grandmother's sister) gave my Mom, two aunts, uncle and grandmother each a big copy paper box to open. As each person took off the top, we saw that the boxes contained linens, photographs and family heirlooms from my Nanny and PoPo, my great grandparents. Needless to say, there were few dry eyes as they pulled out needlework from many generations old. Here are my Aunt Lisa and Uncle David playing a game that they played at Nanny's house when they were little. Nanny's toy room was the stuff of childhood memories.

Aunt Lisa & Uncle David facing off

Next comes Ruston, Jonesboro and Natchitoches, Louisiana. The Perot family Christmases. We had sweet time with Joey's family. Mr. Petey made a huge pot of gumbo which was amazing as usual. Mrs. Kate and I spent time with Grandmama on Christmas Eve while Joey and his dad ran errands. We had a fun time setting the table and getting her house ready for Christmas lunch. Christmas lunch with Grandmama and Uncle Butch in Jonesboro, then off to Christmas dinner in Natchitoches with Mr. Petey's family. Did you know that Natchitoches is where they filmed Steel Magnolias? I got the fifty cent Steel Magnolias' tour from Mr. Petey on this visit. Yes, Mrs. Kate actually took Joey and his brother to audition. Apparently, Joey was too big and his hair was too dark, or something like that. Hmm...what could have been...

I'll have to post the Perot pics when I get them from Mrs. Kate. So more to come.

On our way back to Katy on Sunday, we stopped in Livingston for Christmas with my immediately family.

You want to know something my Dad loves? Bath and Body Works' Warm Vanilla Sugar Moisturizing Hand Lotion. He orders it online. Isn't that funny? So I figured I would save him the shipping and handling.

Mom and Dad

Jo, angel posing

Joey in his characteristic pose with Mom

And of course, we all participated in Dad's Annual Christmas Scavenger Hunt. Dad has been doing this since we were kids. Growing up, we had to work for our gifts. Dad had us jumping through hoops and running all over the place to find our presents. It could be in the backyard. It could be at the church. It could be at the cemetery. There seem to be no real limits. The first year Joey and I were married, one of the clues for Joey's gift was frozen in a block of ice. He had to wait for it to unthaw before he could read the next clue. This is typical of Dad's scavenger hunts. I think he has the most fun out of all of us!

Our first clues

An example of one of Dad's clues

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I just thought this one was funny of Tyler and Stephen

Clue hiding place

Dad watching the wheels turn

Another clue found at the old anchor

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There was one clue in the middle of these that I did not get a picture of because it was in the Grecian statues outside of our local library and involved hopping a fence. Leave it to Dad. We all felt like we might get pegged as vandals so my picture didn't come out because I was on the lam.

I think this is the final clue

My final prize was an Anthropologie gift card!!

We look forward to Dad's hunts every year!

One of my most favorite gifts this year were three little cardinals that Mrs. Kate passed on to us from Joey's great grandmother. She made each one of the boys hand stitched cardinals every year. I love them!


We have one wedding and one Christmas left before we truly start the New Year and we can't wait!

I hope you and your family had a very merry Christmas!

Sneak Attack

You know, Facebook is just downright amazing sometimes. The things you find out.

Take for instance the shoes above.

I lost these shoes about a month ago. They are my go-to pair of sneakers. And no, I don't normally use the term "sneakers". I must confess that it's more so I can use the title "Sneak Attack". I am more of a "tennis shoe" kind of girl. Sneakers is a little Beaver Cleaver. But all is fair in a blog and its title.

At first, I thought I just left them in another room. Joey and I had been going back and forth between the guest bedroom and our bedroom because we were redoing our master bath. I thought the misplaced shoes were just product of the chaos. But I didn't come across them in the guest room. Or our bedroom.

Instead, I put on another pair of shoes.

A few days pass. In need of said sneakers, I thought about the fact that I had been in my car a lot. Maybe I took them off there or in Joey's truck for some reason. No such luck.

I put on another pair of shoes.

Another several days go by. They must be under something. As a general rule of the thumb, items that are missing are usually under something, i.e. my keys were under my coat this morning. I checked under the couches, the beds, the tables and Joey's shoes. Apparently, the rule of thumb, or should I say big toe, has many exceptions, especially in the case of missing shoes.

I again, put on another pair of shoes and began to turn with a suspicious eyes to my cohabitants: Joey and the dogs. Being that Joey wears a size 14, I had my doubts. If a second pair of shoes had been missing, I might have checked my canine friends' closets. Although, I didn't take them off of the list completely, I moved them to the positions of possible accomplices to the crime. After all, spouses, children and dogs are often the vehicle through which things are placed on top of other things. Like keys. Ahem.

I thought to myself, surely I will come across them soon. One day we will be reunited. And I put on another pair of shoes.

When getting ready for Thanksgiving travels, I picked up my sneaker search once again with no luck. I posted my laments on that magical social networking tool they call Facebook.

Status and forthcoming comment from my sister's best friend:

Jenny Hanks Perot washing clothes and packing for Thanksgiving travels! Has anyone seen my white sneakers? I'm going to check Joey's feet when he gets home...

Cyndie Are you talking about the white sneakers with the stretchy elastic across the top instead of laces?

Wait, what? "The white sneakers...with the stretchy elastic across the top...instead of the laces."?! The image is coming to mind...


How the heck does she know what my sneakers look like?!

Ah ha!!! Considering that I have not seen Cyndie since I bought these shoes AND considering she is my sister's best friend AND considering I visited my parents house a month ago...

BUSTED!

It's all coming together now.

Sneaker Snucked on left and the sneaker Sneaker Sneak on the right.

Thus ends the harrowing tale of the Sisterly Sneaker Heist. Thank you to Facebook for bringing my shoes to justice. Who knew. And Cyndie, my sister's best friend for ratting her out. And lastly, to Jo, for fessing up.

ZooPuttBat Weekend

That's how I feel, Giraffe. Today was a Monday, let me tell you. I am worn out from the weekend fun and still catching up from being sick. Tonight I should be at Bodypump, but instead I'm recuperating just in case my body starts getting any ideas about being sick again.

This weekend my favorite brother-and-sister-in-law spent the weekend in Katy with us. We went out for Mexican food on Friday night, the zoo Saturday morning, grilled Saturday night, played putt putt golf and watched the boys at the batting cages (our boys of course :P). And of course came back for ice cream.

Just three monkeys hanging out.

Haley & I in the Lion's Den.

Josh waving to the crowd after sinking a putt.

Haley concentrating.

Joey and I knew a little secret about the course. He made me keep quiet about our "trick" and let our competitors go first. Such a wonderful host.

Great weekend! Couldn't be more blessed to have married into a family with these two!

An Entire Weekend of Eating

Whew! This weekend was busy, but fun! My family was in town. It went a little like this:

After work on Thursday I drove to Humble to meet Dad for the Mom Exchange. Ok, I didn't exchange anything, I just got Mom. We had a great time catching up on the drive and got back just in time to hang out with Joey for a little bit before turning in.

Friday morning as I left for work, Mom was moving back the coffee table to make room for her P90X workout. Yes, my Mom is doing P90X. This is crazy considering that last year my Mom couldn't walk further than more than 50 feet without being in pain. Her joint pain used to be debilitating until she started on our wellness program through my company. The bioidentical hormones have really changed her life. I can't believe she's doing P90X. I'm so proud of her!

We went to my favorite authentic Mexican cafe, grocery shopping and watched this week's So You Think You Can Dance DVR'd shows. My sister, JoAnna, came in on Friday night and we all went out for Mexican. Yum-o. The next morning we made migas together for brunch:

This is Jo makin' migas.

We headed to Katy Mills after the miga fest, where I proceeded to buy a pair of shoes. This is often the result of a mall trip for me, so it really comes as no surprise. My Dad and grandmother joined us Saturday afternoon. I know, the staggering of family members is a little strange. What can I say? We like to spread the love. Did I tell you that my grandmother is really spontaneous? Yup, she just picks up and goes. I'm so glad she came!

And what did we do next? Prepare for the next meal, of course. At my Dad's request, we made a home-cooked meal. Brie-stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer, homemade macaroni and cheese, salad and grilled steaks and chicken. With apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Yum-o.

Here's Mom stuffing those delicious little mushroom babies with brie. To die for.

Look at this deliciousness!

Do you know what this means? I will not be eating for the rest of the month. Ok, that's already not true, but I'm just saying that I can probably put that loaf of bread on my hips. Was it worth it? Heck, yes.

What is the summary of this weekend? My family likes to eat. Correction, LOVES to eat. And I love my family. We love each other and we love to eat. Yes, that about sums it up.

In Love & In Like

See this guy? I'm in love with him. In fact, I didn't really know that it was possible to love someone so much, but I do. But here's the deal: I also like him a lot too. Someone who is incredibly wise and has had an amazing, long, happy marriage, once told me that "It's important that you love the person you marry, but it's doubly important that you like each other too." I think that's completely true. Joey is my best friend. I like'im A LOT.

Here are a few things I both love and like about my husband. Some of these are more likes than loves, but I'm going to lump them all together.

First and foremost, he's a Godly man. One of my favorite times to catch a glimpse of my husband without him knowing is at night in bed when he's propped himself up on his elbows reading the Bible and taking notes. It's a good feeling to know that the guy who leads our family leads based on God's word.

Secondly, he leads. He makes decisions and doesn't question them. If you know me, this is the perfect complement to me as I am not a fan of making decisions. Although we sometimes disagree, I do trust him completely. I don't care if you think you don't need anyone, security is a nice feeling for any woman. There's just something about being taken care of, it may not be a necessity but it's a luxury.

He's crazy strong and athletic. To me, my husband would fit perfectly into the character of Braveheart or Gladiator. Sometimes it weirds me out that I married this. How is this possible? I walk into the weight room at the gym and see the cute guy who's lifting insane amounts of weight and think, "Wait a minute. That's my husband." Weird. But good. Very very good.

He's a softie. See despite the above, he is tenderhearted and generous. He is loyal to his family and friends and would give his very last dime if any one of them were in trouble. I love this.

He sometimes has OCD tendencies. He only buys one type of pen. In his journal he only writes on one side of the page because he says its more neat. The clothes in his closet must all hang one direction. I've caught him re-tucking the sheets of our bed after I've made it because he likes the corners tucked just so. This all tickles me and makes me love him more. I like knowing these little things.

He's smart. I don't care what he tells you about school not being his forte, the guy is smart. He is incredibly wise when it comes to making financial decisions. He is able to keep on top of all the crazy politics that go on in the world and has the ability to really assess the key issues and cut through the fluff. He could argue his reasons for believing in creation rather than evolution with Stephen Hawking (ok, maybe I embellished, but he could have a serious conversation with the guy on the topic). Oh and he can do lots of math in his head. That for me does it. I always envy folks who can do math in their head.

He likes decorating. I'm not kidding. He actually cares about the color of the curtains, paintings on the wall and such. This can be both a blessing and a curse, in that sometimes we don't agree but I love that he cares.

Lastly, he always lets me know that he loves me. Always. I never have to wonder. This is a gift.

Why am I telling you all this? Because Joey's birthday was on Friday and there was no way I could not do a post about how much I love this guy. So there you are.

Oh, and I successfully made an Italian Cream Cake for Joey. It's his favorite and I was trying to be super wifely. It was successful in that the end product was a success. However, I messed the recipe up twice and had to empty two bowls of batter and start over. That's love, a girl making a cake three times.

Not too shabby if I don't say so myself!

Word To My Brothers' Girlfriends

Dear Future Girlfriends of My Brothers,

There are many things that I would like to say to you, but I'm about to focus on some the best advice of your life - or at least your life dating one of my brothers. It is small, but very important. There is one thing that you must wear at family functions. It's not a huge deal in the scheme of deals, but it says a lot about you. Or should I say it reveals a lot about you.

It's called 'clothing'.

What does not constitute clothing? That which shows anything of which you have pairs, and I'm not talking limbs or facial features, but rather the stuff in the middle - this is not clothing. If your bra straps become the most visible part of your top - this is not clothing. If a wet suit leaves more to the imagination - this is not clothing. Garments the size of postage stamps - this is not clothing.

Yes, I know you're in your physical prime. Yes, I know my brothers are cute. Yes, I know you want their attention. Yes, I have been in this position. Yes, I know you're a smart girl.

Hence, I know what you're doing. And so does my mother. And my sister. And my grandmother. And even my dad. We're all over it. It's not so subtle.

Sincerely,

A Loving & Very Protective Older Sister

P.S. I am approving that a current GF is wearing actual clothing. This is just an address for all of those in the future based on past experiences.

Officially Pomped & Circumstanced

DISCLAIMER: PAY NO ATTENTION TO THE GIRL IN THE EXCESSIVELY RUFFLED GRANDMOTHER DRESS. FOR MY SAKE. PLEASE.

Ok, I know you saw it. It was bad, I know. Let's move past it. Please put all of your attention on the little guy in the middle. That is my baby brother, Stephen. I hate to say it, but I still think of him as being not much older than he was in the picture. But, this is apparently not the case as my BABY brother graduated from high school Saturday!

That's crazy talk! To me at least. But then again apparently he's also cemented in his mind the image of me in the grandmother dress as he thinks I'm ancient. And so not cool. Ahem. Well, back in the day mister...ok, let's not kid ourselves, this has term has never really applied. Reference point: the excessively ruffled grandmother dress.

Anyway, I'm so proud of him! He graduated #8 in his class, the highest of all of us kids. Congrats, Stephen! A whole passel of my cousins graduated alongside him this weekend as well. Congrats to Bryan, Derek and Jonathan!

And there he is, the graduate.

The proud parents of the graduate.

The proud sister of the graduate. (NOTE: sans excessive ruffles)

And the Mom who doesn't want to let him go. You can tell he loves it.

So from the Girl in the Excessively Ruffled Grandmother Dress to her bab...excuse me, to her college bound little (couldn't help it) brother:

Congratulations! I am so proud of you! And I love you!

Multiple Nicknaming Disorder (MND)

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.

Juliet got it right, but one can have so much fun with names.

I have this thing with nicknaming the people I love.

I think I might get this from my Dad who has several nicknames for each person in our family.

If you must know, his nickname for me is Kit. Or Kit Kit. Or Kit Whiskers. Don't ask. It doesn't make sense.

Or Olive Oyl. Oh geez, that one sadly made sense and made one tall, gawky, self-conscious teenager mad growing up.

I at least developed hips. Maybe not the upper half of the development, but the hips are there. Sadly.

Anyway...

Dad's nicknames are never a play off of one's real name. Oh no. They're too unique to be an offshoot of a name. Although Kit and Olive Oyl are familiar to the ear, many of his nicknames sound more like a name for a Dr. Seuss creature. For instance, someone in our family was referred to as "Spadook" for at least the first five years of life.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times my Dad called my Mom by her given name. And this was probably in reference to a Census Bureau question or something similar. If Dad calls you by your real name, it's serious business.

And here I am. I do the same thing. My sister's nickname 'Joey' had to be abandoned after I married a real 'Joey'. She is now 'Jo'. I won't list the nicknames for my brothers as I would be excommunicated from their world if I mentioned the embarrassing nicknames I've had for them since they were little. Or my fun nicknames for Joey which are endless and constantly evolving. I won't go there.

But I will give you a little insight with my dogs: Bogart and Gus. Joey has cautioned me in my use of multiple names for our dogs and fully believes that Bogart has no idea what his name is because I never call him the same thing twice in a row.

Here are a few of the most frequently used nicknames (FUN):

Gus: Gustafer, GusGus, Gusser, Gusarooney, Gusaroo, Gustafari, and Gustave (this is when he's being suave).

Bogart: Bo, BoBear, BoBaby, BoBuddy, My Little Bofriend, Bozer, Mr. Bo Jangles, Bomaniac, Boger Bear, Bowie, Bozer Bear and Bogie.

What is it with all the 'bears'? I was recently informed by a co-worker that her childhood nickname was BoBear. So I'm not alone with this little naming convention.

So there you are. If I call you something other than your given name, know that you are loved.

The Sound of Music

I have to share this story with you. It's personal. Have you ever had a particular prayer that you're fully aware that you may be praying for the rest of your life? This story has dipped down into my prayers.

It's a conversation that my Mom had with my Dad last week. She shared it with me after the fact.

But first, to understand this story you must understand a little about my Dad. To understand someone, you have to find out their loves. What gives them joy?

For Dad, it's always been music. I've never seen him more at ease than when he's listening to his music.

Dad is music for me. Music is a part of his identity and he's the reason why I love it so much. It's Dad. He majored in Voice in college and music was always in our house growing up. Both Mom and Dad sang, played both the piano and guitar and Dad a few additional instruments such as the bass.

Dad had a gift. He had a knack with any instrument he picked up (except the drums, I'm guessing for the same reason he's not a dancer) and could play or sing anything if heard once. I'm not claiming he was Mozart, but God gave him an ear. I remember once, Dad trying to explain the beauty of music to me. He said it's math you can listen to.

As math has never been my forte, it's a miracle I didn't stop listening at the sound of that word. Dad's passion rubbed off on each one of us kids. My favorite was when Dad and I would drive to Huntsville for pitching practice. It wasn't the practice I liked - it was the ride with Dad.

On our way home, he would roll down the windows and I would drink my Sonic-sized cherry limeade while Dad provided commentary for every song that came on the oldies or classic rock station.

Have you ever met someone who was so excited about something that it was just downright contagious? That's how it is when Dad talks about music.

He even has a favorite chord. It's in the song, Green-Eyed Lady. He would play it on the "piano" that was either an empty seat or the lucky individual's thigh who sat next to him in the car for surprise effect. This was just part of a road trip with Dad.

To this day, I know some of the most random facts about old music such as that the singer of "96 Tears" officially changed his name to "?" and that "Yesterday" was originally titled "Scrambled Eggs". Because of Dad I know at what point the Beach Boys came in too early when recording "Good Vibrations". These will all come in handy one day in a game of Trivial Pursuit, but more importantly, they've become musical memories attached to my Dad.

Then Dad lost his hearing. Meningitis leaves many victims completely deaf. We don't know how much of it was the illness and how much of it was just plain old hearing loss that comes with age - but Dad is mostly deaf. I'm not using the term 'deaf' loosely. He really can't hear. He's lived the past couple of years in an almost completely muffled world. He's tried a few hearing aids here and there, but they haven't really been able to help.

He can't hear the music like he used to. It's like a painter who loses his sight. I think this is why he still loves the classics - he has memorized their sound in his mind so he can fill in the gaps with his memory. He doesn't need to listen to them to hear them, if that makes sense.

There was one night when I was in high school that Dad's hearing miraculously returned. Mom was asleep and Dad was at the computer. Tears were streaming down his face and he told me it was crazy - but his ears had opened up.

He was listening to music. Dad and I stayed up until two in the morning looking up every song he could think of. He wanted to get it all in. I can still see his face glinting with tears looking at the screen with the biggest smile of joy on his face. It was his music.

The next morning his hearing was gone again. From that day on, I prayed that God would give Dad another miracle and restore his hearing.

I haven't heard my Dad sing, and I mean really sing, in more than 13 years.

I've related this just so you can understand my Dad. Now to the conversation I wanted to share.

When Dad came home from work last week, Mom noticed that there was something about his voice that didn't sound right. So she asked about his day. Dad said "I had a great day!"

"Well, are you feeling ok?" - "Yeah, I feel great!"

"You sound different." -"Well, my throat's a little a sore."

"Maybe you're getting sick." - "Oh no, I'm not getting sick. I know what it's from."

"Well, what's it from?" - "Singing."

And that's when Dad told Mom that he sang for two hours straight in his truck with the windows rolled down.

This was the day Dad was able to wear his brand new hearing aids. And get this, they actually work. I can't tell you how much joy this story brought to my heart.

Dad has his music back. And that's music to my ears.

My First Valentine

Valentine's Day makes me reminiscent. I celebrated Single Awareness Day for 25 years of my life and have only embraced true Valentine's Day for the past three years. That's right, Joey was my very first Valentine. Well, except for my Dad.

Not a super outwardly affectionate guy, my Dad has always been really good at Valentine's Day. Call him St. Valentine - it's his holiday to shine. Since I was a little girl, Dad has always gotten Mom, my sister and I flowers, chocolate and a card. The card has a theme: cats. Cats holding Valentines, real cats, cartoon cats, cats saying 'I love you'. Cats. It's been Dad's theme for at least the 20 years I remember. I guess nothing says I love you like a Valentine's Day Cat Card. These cards followed me into college and came to my house with strange return addresses such as "Merlin B. Snickleman Esquire" or something equally bizarre. That was my Dad's calling card - weird, impossible-to-be-real names.

I may not have ever gotten flowers from anyone else, but Dad always came through to make me feel special and loved. I really appreciate that now.

See, I was a Valentine's Day Cynic. I had two choices: I could pine away on the idea of not having anyone to share the holiday with OR I could try to detest Valentine's Day to the nth degree. Always the mature one, I chose the latter. Oh yes, I dreaded Valentine's Day. All the sappy cards, commercials, etc. I was the ultimate Valentine's Day Hater.

Despite my cynicism, I always looked forward to Valentines from my Dad. There is something foundational about a little girl knowing that she is loved by her father. Something that makes her feel secure. It sticks with her through broken relationships or in the absence of them. It's never been a void left to fill and I have Dad to thank for that. Dad wasn't just giving a Valentine, he was giving me stability and a sense of security.

The day that I realized how much I loved getting Valentine's flowers from my Dad was the day they stopped coming. That was last year, mine and Joey's first Valentine's Day as a married couple. I guess Dad figured that he had passed the baton and now it was my husband's chance to step in.

I absolutely LOVE Joey and love that I get to share these moments with him now. But, I do have to say that he has some pretty big Valentine shoes to fill. After all, how can you top Valentine's Cat Cards?

Hanging Out With The Adams

I mentioned that we stayed with Joey's family for a few days in Prescott, AZ. So, let me introduce them!
Here's the breakdown -
Lindsey:
Leslie:

And lastly, Rosser, who never let us take a picture without making a goofy face!

And of course, I think you can figure out which is Uncle James. They were incredibly generous and such gracious hosts. They showed us around town, took us to their favorite restaurants, and on a hike through the Prescott National Forest. Ok, I don't think it wast the Prescott National Forest, but it felt like it! With Lindsey as our leader, we hiked to Frog Falls, which turned out to be more of a pool this time of year, but it was beautiful nonetheless and gave the Cityslickers a taste of the outdoors.

Joey, Uncle James, and Rosser went shooting while I, well basically got in the way. :)


Can you believe this is the view from their HOUSE?!



Here are a few shots from the hike:

Remnants of Frog Falls

Joey proving that you can still check on Fantasy Football in the middle of nowhere

We had the best time hanging out with these guys and can't thank them enough for opening their home to us for a couple of days! Thank you!