The Looney Ledbetters

Farmland Adventures

2011-10-11T14:05:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that yet again I have neglected to post in a while. It's hard to believe that it has been eight weeks since school started. Katelyn has gotten her cast off. She started gymnastics. I have become a girl scout troop co-leader. We have discovered that Bailey is allergic to milk. Bailey has spent her first night away from home when we went to the cabin for opening day of deer season. And so much more! This past weekend was beautiful weather for a fall weekend. We decided to visit Farmland Adventures in Springdale. They have corn mazes, a petting zoo, a corn box (instead of sand), pony rides, and a pumpkin patch. The girls had a lot of fun and we found some pretty good pumpkins too! Till next time....

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-16T07:05:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Katelyn's first day of Kindergarten. It is so hard to believe that she is old enough to start school but we were all very excited. No, I didn't cry but it was very hard on Justin which was so sweet yet surprising! Katelyn had a great day! She was exhausted from all the hard work and play when she got home and didn't want to talk about it very much. She was so tired she made herself sick. We completed her homework assignment and watched movies the rest of the night. Here's to hoping the rest of the school year is as good as the first day!

2011-07-27T12:32:00.002-05:00

The last week has been another very busy week. I assume that every day will be packed until school starts in a little less than three weeks. On Friday Katelyn fell off the monkey bars and brok er arm in two places. Today she got her permanent cast. She will have to wear it until August 29th. She is happier with the permanent cast.

Saturday, I worked and we had some fun at Fun City. Sunday was church day and then we ate dinner with Dale, Cathy, and their neighbors who have three little girls. That was a lot of fun! We just don't get to do things with other families very often and we really should!

This week I am preparing for a big audit at work and things are very hectic. I had to take the day off to take Katelyn to her appointment this morning and Bailey to her two month check up this afternoon. Even though these aren't really fun things, it is a nice break and reminds me of my materinty leave days. The stress is weighing on all of us so hopefully things will settle down soon. Needless to say, we are very excited about Vacation Bible School at Center Street Church of Christ starting tonight. It is always a lot of fun for Katelyn and us. And I am looking forward to seeing how Bailey reacts to the puppets.

Haircuts and Kinect

2011-07-13T20:45:00.003-05:00

This week has gone by pretty quickly. This is Bailey's second week at daycare and my second week back at work. Things are super busy at work which make the days fly by. Last nigth Justin worked late so Katelyn and I got our hair cut. She decided that she wanted to go very short since her friends at school have short hair. I think it looks adorable but of course Justin is not as enthusiastic.

Tonight we went for a walk and now we are playing XBOX Kinect. I strongly recommend this for anyone that has an XBOX. There are games for kids of all ages. We love Kinect Sports because of the track and field events and the bowling which is just as fun as the Wii. We have also downloaded demos for Dance Central, Kinectimals, and some Brain Puzzle games that I am looking forward to playing. We would love to have a Kinect party with friends but haven't found anyone interested yet.

We are also looking for a night out but have yet to leave Bailey with anyone other than at school. We have a gift card to go out to Pesto Cafe which I haven't eaten at in ages and would love to go without the girls. Anyone interested?

First Day Back

2011-07-05T20:11:00.002-05:00

Today was my first day back to work and consequently Bailey's first day at daycare. This was miraculously the first time that I left her with anyone other Justin for more than 45 minutes at Sunday school. She was asleep when I dropped her off this morning which made me even more nervous than I thought I would be. I was really worried that she would wake up in a new place with people she didn't know and get scared. When I called at lunch I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was having a great day and seemed to be very curious about her surroundings. She was enjoying watching the other babies, etc. My lunch was not as enjoyable however, since my car battery died when I tried to return to the bank from U.S. Pizza. The day went by very quickly as so many things need to be done by the end of the week! It was a welcome sight when I glanced at the clock and it was time to once again get my babies and return home. Bailey was very happy to see both me and sissy.

I was also able to clean out my closest this evening and box/bag up all my maternity clothes. Justin and I are finished having any more babies so it is time to pass on all of these clothes to another worthy mama-to-be. I was amazed to find that I have small, medium, and large maternity clothes! It's too bad that many maternity clothes are made for such large bellies because I would love to be able to wear some of them again but don't want a stomach large enough to fit in them!

Here's to hoping the rest of the week goes as smoothly as today minus the car trouble!

Black Label Photography

2011-06-23T19:47:00.002-05:00

Almost two weeks ago I took Bailey to Black Label Photography in Rogers. Brian Meredith, the photographer/owner, use to be the leader of the youth group I was in during High School. He know runs a successful commercial photography studio. He took some great pictures of Bailey for me!

What a Year!

2011-06-21T21:04:00.003-05:00

I was discussing blogs with a friend the other day and realized that I hadn't been on my blog in a while. To my surprise it has been a whole year since I posted last and so much has happened. I don't even know where to begin but basically our entire family has changed since my last post. Unfortunately we lost Justin's dad in March and then Bailey Addison was born in May. It has been one roller coaster of a year with many ups and many downs. But we have survived and our new enjoying our newest member!

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago by Mel Davenport (My Picture Says). I am hoping to get Bailey's studio portraits soon and will post more later. She is a great baby but has decided to take after her daddy and be more of a night owl than I have ever been. I'm a little bit tired and I have to go back to work in two weeks. Hope I am capable of doing my job while sleep deprived!

Tour of Texas....Part 4: Port Aransas

2010-05-16T12:38:00.003-05:00

The final stop on our Tour of Texas was Port Aransas. This is a small island beach town just outside of Corpus Christi. There really isn't much in this small town except the fishermen and the beach. When we arrived we decided to visit the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi before going to the island. The aquarium was small but the dolphin training show was a lot of fun and Katelyn enjoyed seeing them. They also had a show with various other rescue animals including an anteater that was really fun.

We only go to spend a couple of hours at the beach before the rain set in. The water was cold and the wind was really windy but we enjoyed picking up sea shells and flying a kite. We also really enjoyed our dinner at Castaways of fried fish and shrimp fresh from the gulf.

Once the rain set in we decided that we were all really tired! It had been a long seven nights aways from home. We decided to head home instead of spending another night in a hotel. Katelyn go to see the beach even though it was a very short stay and we all had a blast on our tour of texas! We are definitely glad to be home though!

Tour of Texas....Part 3: San Antonio

2010-05-16T12:28:00.003-05:00

San Antonio was by far the most fun part of the trip. We had originally planned to visit Sea World only to find out that they were closed while we were going to be there. I was able to find a place called Natural Bridge Caverns that also had a rock mine. Katelyn was in heaven! The caverns were beautiful and the rock mining was a blast! We also enjoyed the riverwalk boat tour and the Alamo. And of course, we always love going to the Rainforest Cafe!

Tour of Texas....Part 2: Austin

2010-05-16T12:16:00.003-05:00

The second stop on our tour of texas was Austin, the capital of Texas. The bank sent me to a conference there at Barton Creek Resort. This is a beautiful golf resort and I would highly recommend it to any golfers out there. There was also lots of fun things for Justin and Katelyn to do while I stuck inside listening to the various speakers. I did manage to get out and have a little fun as well while we were there.

Justin and Katelyn took a nature hike one day and Katelyn really enjoyed seeing cacti up close and personal, a real teepee, and the other various things on the course. We also enjoyed playing "hut hut" golf a.k.a. put put golf for those that don't speak Katelyneese. We sat on the bat-io at one of the downtown restaraunts in hopes of watching the 1.5 million bats that live in Austin with no luck but got a beatiful pencil sketching done. We visited the capital and the Texas history museum. It was very educational and fun!

Tour of Texas...Part 1: Dallas

2010-05-16T12:04:00.005-05:00

The start of our family vacation this year was a short stay in Dallas, TX. We started off at the Nature and Science Museum where they have several different types of exhibits. They have a lot about dinosaurs and animals which thrilled Katelyn. They also have a small children's museum area that is hands on. Katelyn loved milking the cow! That evening we went to Medeival Times to celebrate Mother's Day. Katelyn got her face painted and enjoyed being called princess by everyone! It was a lot of fun and Katelyn was very excited to have started our vacation!

Katelyn's End of Year Program

2010-05-07T20:56:00.002-05:00

Ms. Carol and Katelyn...one of the best teachers ever!

Getting in Line

Katelyn and Emma

Alexis and Katelyn

Tonight was the end of the year program for Katelyn's school. It was so neat to see all the different classes perform their songs, see a great slide show of pictures from the year, and to get Katelyn's award. She had fun and so did we. Tomorrow we are going to Emma's Birthday party and then we are off to Texas on Sunday! I'm sure I will have fun pictures to share when we return!

Happy Easter....

2010-04-04T18:42:00.004-05:00

Easter is always a fun time for our family. We always enjoy spending the day with Justin's family, eat too much, and get lots of candy. This morning Katelyn got up early and started off the day upset because she didn't get to buy me and Justin a present. There was no fooling my child about a silly easter bunny either. She knew that Justin and I had purchased every bit of her easter basket. She did really like all of her little presents though. After church (in which we had a great lesson) we went to Justin's mom and dad's house for pictures. This is a nice little family tradition in which we take family pictures every Easter.

After pictures we fixed a nice lunch and ate unitl our hearts were content. Of course the kids were way too excited to eat much lunch because they wanted to hunt eggs. Justin, Josh, and Jordan hid the eggs for the girls and then they were off to see who could get the most eggs. I have to say it was actually pretty even until Katelyn did a nose dive in the grass and landed right on top of about five of her real eggs and busted them to pieces. She had eggs smeared all over her new play clothes. Anyway, both Hope and Katelyn had plenty of eggs and were happy to go through and see what kind of candy and goodies they had gotten.

After the Easter fesitivities were over, we celebrated Nana and Papa's 50th wedding anniversary. They never had a real wedding cake so my friend Marlaina made one and I decorated it with flowers. It was really beautiful and delicious. All in all, I have to say it was a great day.

So, another holiday is gone and I find myself wondering where the time has gone. It is really hard to believe that this year is already a quarter over with it. Justin and I are contemplating selling our house so that we can buy a slightly larger one, trying to figure out how to deal with a child with asperger's, etc. Life never turns out how you expect it. It is an endless stream of beginning new feats and yet that is what makes it interesting. So here's to new beginnings....

First Days of Spring....

2010-03-21T11:47:00.004-05:00

It generally isn't supposed to snow in spring but we were in for a big surprise this morning! It started sleeting here around 3:30 yesterday and then just kept snowing. In fact, as I look out the window right now it is still coming down. We have lost our satellite signal and have resorted to playing in the snow, taking warm baths, and having some good old fashion family fun! Anyway, here are some pics from our time outside this morning. Luckily Katelyn is feeling much better after a very long week.

Kansas City

2010-03-09T20:24:00.003-06:00

I have been working A LOT lately....and when I'm not working Justin is working to make up for the time's that I have been. So needless to say we were both very stressed out and in much need of a getaway. Neither one of us had ever been to Kansas City other than to fly through so we decided that it would be a nice little road trip. I discovered that there are a ton of things to do with kids in Kansas City so we set off on Friday afternoon to spend some time up there. Katelyn was so excited about spending the night in a hotel that she didn't sleep at all on the way there. She has stayed in a hotel before but for some reason she thought that it was sooooo cool! On Saturday morning we went to the Hallmark home office and went to the Kaleidoscope art studio. This is an awesome thing for kids and it's free! Basically you get an hour to make whatever arts and crafts your kid wants to make and as many as they want to make. There were party hats, crowns, bookmarks, puzzles, painting stations, boxes, books, etc. Of course, Katelyn loved the painting and she did a really good job. Mom and dad thought that the puzzle making was really cool too and even got to make Katelyn one.

Afterwards, we went to the Crayola store and the Hallmark store. Then we went to T-Rex which is one of the coolest restaraunts I have ever been to. We have wanted to take her to a Rainforest Cafe for some time but this was definitely the next best thing. The whole restaraunt is decorated with life size dinosaurs. The one right inside the entrance scarred her a bit but the Build-a-dinasaur definitely made up for it. Afterwards, we went to Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop since th rain cancelled our trip to the zoo. Katelyn wasn't too thrilled with all the sharping a.k.a. shopping so we decided to find something that she would really enjoy before making the trip back home. We found a place called Paradise Park which is really one of the neatest places for kids that we have seen. Similar theory as Chuck E. Cheese but not totally centered around arcade games. There was a ball pit (just so those of you who know me well don't freak out...the balls were cleaned at least once a day but a really cool ball cleaning machine. The kids would through the balls into the bullseye and it would suck them into the cleaning machine and then spit them out!) with tunnels and slides, a block building room, a cooking station, an art room, an outdoor playground, a face painting station, a water room, a tv room, a puppet stage, a pretend room equipped with a real bank vault and grocery store register, a foam ball fight room, indoor bumper cars, etc. It was awesome for both Katelyn and us. It was also the perfect way to end a great trip to KC.

On a side note. We have been put on the waiting list at Schmeiding Developmental Center. They say that we will get an appointment time in 6-8 months to have Katelyn tested for Asperger's syndrome. She is continuing to have a lot of emotional trouble at school and home. In the meantime we will be seeing a behavioral therapist. Please pray that she is able to work through these issues...

Parrot

2010-02-12T20:36:00.001-06:00

The following conversation took place today on our way home from build-a-bear and I thought it was worth sharing....

Justin: We are going to have to start watching what we say around Katelyn because she has turned into a parrot.

Katelyn: Who?

Justin: You

Katelyn: No I'm not!

Tarah: Katelyn wanna cracker?

Katelyn: Yeah! Yeah!

I guess Justin was right in more ways than one!

Long Time No See

2010-01-31T15:34:00.003-06:00

Wow! I got a facebook message from my mom the other day asking why I never update my blog anymore. I hate to say that I kind of shrugged it off because it didn't seem like it had been that long but I decided to post something today since I had some pics to share and realized it has been since October! Sorry for the long delay and lack of updates!

Well since October we have been through way too many things to try to recant what all has happened but the short of it is that Katelyn had a wonderful birthday, we had a great visit with my mom over the Thanksgiving break, we had a joyous Christmas holiday, and are starting off another wonderful year at Ledbetter household. And like always things are crazy!

This week we received about 6-8 inches of snow and ice in Northwest Arkansas. We are usually hesitant to let Katelyn play in the snow because of all of her illnesses. She is on antibiotics right now as well but couldn't resist the pleas to build a snow girl. Justin took her outside and they ended up having a snow ball fight instead after a failed attempt at the snow girl. She looked like she had a lot of fun and wasn't ready to come inside.

Katelyn and her Dora hat (Grandpa Pardy made it for her when she was little and it still fits!)

Katelyn getting Justin in the face with a mini snow ball!

Isn't this a sad attempt at the snow girl? Justin said the snow kept taking up the leaves so they gave up. I bet that I could have made a better snow girl than that!

Punkin patch....

2009-10-17T16:19:00.004-05:00

Katelyn's last day at soccer....it's gotten too cold for her to play.

Cheering on the Razorbacks!

I can't believe that it has been a month since I posted lasted. I guess things have just been too busy for me to post and really not that interesting.... My birthday came and went. It was nice. We took Katelyn to the Tulsa zoo. She had the most fun riding the carousel.

We are trying to avoid germs as much as possible. Today we decided to go to the pumpkin patch that a co-worker of mine has. We had so much fun! Kim, from work, went with us. Katelyn was clinging to her once Kim offered to carry her. There has been so much rain that most of the pumpkins have not turned orange yet but the colors were awesome. We ended up with seven pumpkins of varying shades. One really neat one is green, yellow, and orange spotted. Katelyn loved them all of course and it was very hard to choose which ones to bring home.

More Soccer...

2009-09-14T19:30:00.003-05:00

Tonight we had another soccer practice. They actually got to scrimmage and it was really funny!!! It reminded me of the time my brother and his kids were here and their son Isaac got upset when we were playing XBOX because, "no one showed me how to win." That was exactly Katelyn's mentally during the game. She even broke down and cried because the boys stole the ball from her. She is really going to have to toughen up if she is going to make it this season since there are a lot more boys than there are girls right now. But at least she looks cute while doing it.

I'm Winning!

2009-09-13T09:23:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Katelyn's first day of Soccer. She was so excited! We got up and dressed and went to the soccer fields at Asbell not really knowing what to expect for her first year. There was about 25 kiddos there to play, both boys and girls. They were all so cute in their soccer outfits! There were two coaches so they split up into two groups. We knew one of the little girls in our group but Katelyn made a new friend named Julia. They just moved here so it was a good opportunity for both of them. They played several little games that helped them learn some basic soccer terminology and Katelyn thought it was so much fun! They played the red light green light game. In this game you have to make small dribbles toward the goal when the coach says green light and put your foot on your ball and stop when the coach says red light. Katelyn didn't quite understand the concept of small dribbles so she was one of the first kids to the goal and back. She looked at me and goes "Mommy, I'm winning!" She was so excited and wanted lots of praise. It really is amazing how kids have such a competitive nature!

After practice we decided to make a trip Springfield to the bass pro shop. Justin is preparing for hunting season and we had been trying to tell Katelyn about alligator gar. She was wanting to see one. When we got there however, she was too preoccupied with the swimming turtles to say much about the gar. Justin got several things for his bow and Katelyn got to see lots of animals. We did get her a really cute camo hat that says future hunting princess. I think Justin really wishes that he could take her hunting too someday.

And of course since we were so close to Branson we had to make a pit stop at the Tanger outlet. I was wanting to get Katelyn her Halloween costume early. We went to the Disney store and they had all their outfits on sale. She decided it was between Belle or Jasmin. Since Jasmin was cheaper we went with that one but she really is going to be cute. We also went to Nike and were able to find her a new soccer ball since hers was the wrong size for only $6. I probably should have bought more and sold them on ebay because you can't even buy a soccer ball at Wal-mart that cheap much less a Nike one. Oh well....

Mud

2009-09-09T20:28:00.003-05:00

Justin really doesn't think I should blog about this particularly funny incident but I just can't help myself! Yesterday I was reading my book (like usual lately) while Katelyn was playing with her horses in the living room. All of a sudden she came up to me holding out a dirty finger and she said, "Mommy I've got mud in my but!" I just rolled laughing becuase she really didn't realize what was on her finger! I know that is gross but we are still trying to teach her to wipe properly and that just prooved that we are still a long ways from perfect on that front....

She said another funny thing tonight. For a long time Justin has made fun of his brother Josh because when Josh was little Justin would say, "Let's go eat, shall we?" and Josh would always say, "My name's not Shalwee!" So Justin has been baiting Katelyn to say something similar and she finally did tonight but hers was something a little bit different. He asked the same question but she said, "I don't eat shallwees." Maybe that is a family joke but I think it is pretty funny how kids will answer a question even if they don't know what you are talking about. Maybe it is practice for when they are older. Smile and nod boys....Smile and nod!

On a different note....I have been reading a lot lately! For anyone that really enjoyed the Twilight series I would recommend the Vampire Academy Series. It was way better than Twilight and I never thought I woudl say. We are also looking forward to a new series that starts tomorrow on the CW. It is called Vampire Diaries and is based off another book series. I bought the first book tonight at Hastings and have read the first chapter so far. It sounds a lot like Melrose place with teenage vampires...we'll see. I may be setting myself up for disappointment after Arkansas Author Charlainne Harris' success with the Sookie Stackhouse series and True Blood on HBO. More later....

County Fair

2009-09-01T20:31:00.004-05:00

Tonight we went to the Washington County Fair because it is supposed to rain for the rest of the week. We always make a point to go and see what we got on our entries and to look at all the exhibits, both animals and crafts. This year was the most fun yet with Katelyn but she was definitely more interested in the rides than the exhibits. There wasn't a lot of people there which worked to our advantage. Katelyn was able to ride the ponies by herself, pet both goats and a sheep, and get on every ride without waiting. We had a blast! Then we went to Logan's to enjoy a great meal for half the price of the fair food (After seeing some of the carnies I wouldn't recommend eating at the fair this year!)

My car went to the shop today to finally get the hail damage repaired. We left Katelyn's cd's in my car. On our way home from Logan's she asked to listen to her songs. When we told her that we couldn't because we left them in the other car she decided to sing them for us. We got to hear a wonderful medley of all the Disney songs she could remember from Aladin to Hercules. It was really cute!

Wading in the River

2009-08-23T19:01:00.002-05:00

I promised pictures in the last post and I hold true to my word. This weekend was beautiful and full of picture opportunities. Saturday Justin woke up early and took a quick fishing trip with his dad so Katelyn and I stayed home and took it easy. It is the first weekend in a long time that we did not visit vegetable day (or the farmer's market as normal people know it). When Justin got home we took Katelyn to War Eagle Mill. This was not her first trip and probably won't be the last but it was the first time that we visited the mill when it was warm enough to dip your feet in the water. She loved searching for shells and walking on the slimy river rocks. I remember many weekends spent in those very waters swimming and wading and looking for "special" rocks. We also bought some pancake mix and yankee corn grits while we were there. We were able to enjoy the pancakes first thing this morning before going to church. Our pastor, Jack English has been doing sermons this month on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. A very interesting topic to me as it has personally affected my life. After church we went to Margret's house for a family dinner. Katelyn made some new friends and was able to play out in Margret's backyard for the better part of three hours. She has really enjoyed being outside so much this weekend but all of our allergies are taking a toll (hopefully nothing a few doses of allergy medicine won't cure). I hope everyone has a great week!

Mama, do you know this man?

2009-08-20T19:24:00.002-05:00

We were driving home from Target this evening when Katelyn asked me, "Mama, do you know this man?" I was a little taken a back by the question so I turned around to see her holding up a nickel with the face pointed towards me. I don't know why but I said yes I know that man. And truthfully I feel like I know President Thomas Jefferson up close and personal. Justin and I were talking about this on the rest of the drive home and we realized that during a persons lifetime they probably touch the faces of our presidents more than they do their spouse or children's faces. Isn't that a scary thought!

I will try to take some more recent pictures this weekend and post them for everyone. I have been getting some requests recently so I will do my best to follow through. We don't have anything planned for the weekend but it is supposed to be gorgeous weather so I am hoping that we can all get outside and enjoy it. Justin is still recovering from his knee surgery so Katelyn and I may just have to go to the park and play for a little while. There is a great little park behind the subdivision across from the botanical gardens where Margret lives that is quiet yet fun for Katelyn. We may just make a visit to Margret and go to that park....who knows what the weekend will hold.....

20!

2009-08-07T06:10:00.002-05:00

I recently purchased one of those preschool workbook that is supposed to help your child learn the basics like colors, numbers, letters, etc. to help Katelyn get some extra practice in. She loves it and wants to do color pages all the time now and it has prooved itself useful in the car to keep her occupied. Last night I was helping her with one of the harder pages, color patters. She was doing good in recognizing the patterns like blue, yellow, blue, yellow, blue, ? She would figure out that it was yellow. But she also wanted to count the colored beads and she actually counted to 20 and I only had to tell her one number which was a very big surprise to me because she has always had difficulty counting. So when Justin got home I made sure to tell him what she had done and he asked her about it. He said, "Katelyn can you count to 20?" And she said, "yes!" And he said, "well show me..." And she goes, "20!" She was just showing off and never would count for him but we thought it was so funny. Maybe you just had to be there but it was really exciting news that she was able to do it even if it was only the one time.

Oh today is horsey day at her new preschool and she is supper excited! They are suppose to have a mamma and her baby there so she is wanting to feed them and pet them and all that fun stuff.

Branson Weekend Getaway!

2009-08-02T20:07:00.003-05:00

This weekend Justin and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. I know it doesn't seem like we have been married that long but we have and we wanted to do something a little bit different to celebrate our anniversary and the fact that we have now found Katelyn a new daycare. I know I haven't written about what has happened to several of the families there but to make it short we left Community Preschool and had to find somewhere else for Katelyn to go. Not only did Katelyn leave but I resigned from the board....probably too belatedly but time will tell for sure. If you need more information see last week's Fayetteville Free Weekly for the full short of it. (http://www.freeweekly.com/)

So anyway we wanted to do something different but we were both too busy to plan anything and Katelyn has been dying to go to the Butterfly Palace and "Silly Dollar City" in Branson so we decided to make this our last summer vacation and take her along with us. We have to agree with many of the reviews that we read about the Butterfly Palace being too overpriced but it was still fun nonetheless. Katelyn was scared to death of the butterflys too. This was the only picture I could get of a butterfly. But one funny thing that happened was that a butterfly landed on Justin's shirt and I was holding Katelyn right next to him. When he showed her the butterfly on his shirt she climbed onto a stranger's arm just to get away from the butterfly! It was really funny!After the Butterfly Palace we went to a few craft mall. If you have never been to the Branson Mill you should go sometime. It is a big with various local artists and there is some really need booths there. One guy was carving leather which was something new to me and Justin. His work was really nice! We also went to Spirit of the Dance. We both thought that Katelyn would really enjoy this show since she loves to watch Riverdance on Youtube and loves to watch dancing on tv....(Step Up, etc.) but she was bored with the show. There was a bit too many singing numbers for Justin's taste but it was nice and Katelyn was free!

Today we went to "Silly Dollar City" to celebrate KidsFest one last time this year. Katelyn loves all the trains, trucks, and tractors that you can climb on and all the toys and activities that are set up everywhere. We finally broke down and bought her a "berella" as she calls an umbrella with her name on it. She loved it and carried it for shade the rest of the day. We enjoyed many rides this time. Many more than normal but she got totally freaked out on Fire in the whole and was done for the day so we can home just as it was getting way too hot to be outside. Perfect timing!

Justin and Katelyn pulling themselves up the pole...by the Giant Barn Swing.

Katelyn's words of wisdom

2009-07-11T21:57:00.001-05:00

Today we had a fundraiser for Katelyn's school at the Fayetteville Farmers market, took naps, and went to the NWA Naturals game with Mimi and Poppi. The game was REALLY hot! We decided to leave early because Katelyn was being really fussy but on our way home she decided to share some wisdom with us. In order to make friends at a baseball game you have to put on your "number suit" and go get the ball! We thought it was hilarious that we needed "number suits" to make new friends!

Go number suit Naturals!

Been Awhile....

2009-07-07T16:37:00.002-05:00

Well it has been awhile and I apologize for not writing more. Several friends have begun telling me about the various blogs that they are following and how great it is when those writers update every day. I really don't know how anyone can get anything done if they are blogging every day but I will try to do better. I can for sure try to keep you updated on my Always Fit Challenge sponsored by KNWA. I weighed in on Thursday for the start of the contest and have been busy ever since but am already starting to reap the rewards. I unofficially weighed in last night (I got to sneak in to use the official scales though!) and have already lost 2 1/2 pounds since Thursday. I am so excited! And I hope that Justin and I will both make some changes from this challenge that will last a lifetime. Today we did our initial photo shoot at the gym. I thought we would just show up and take some photos and that would be it but no! They actually video taped us working out. Uugh! I was on my lunch break and I think I got a little too sweaty to go back to work but I had no choisce. You can check out my tv interview Thursday at 6:45 on KNWA. Lucky enough for my co-workers I had to leave because Katelyn got sick today...So at least one good thing came out of a bad situation. I took her to the doctor and he thinks that she has the croup again. Anyway, I hope that she gets over it soon enough.

I also wanted to let everyone know about the fundraiser that Community Preschool has coming up. We are hosting Kidz Korner at the Fayetteville Farmers Market this Saturday, June 11, 2009 from 7-1. There will be games (such as a life sized Operation game), grafts, and gifts for purchase. We would love for everyone to come out and show their support for our organization!

More Tutus and Tap Shoes

2009-06-17T06:54:00.004-05:00

Last night Katelyn acted so much better than last week. She was chosen to be the class line leader and I think that really helped her be a better dancer because she was really paying attention to the teacher instead of playing. She still isn't as coordinator as some of the other little dancers but she is so much fun to watch!

Just Wondering....

2009-06-13T18:28:00.002-05:00

Much to many people's happiness, Justin and I have been thinking more about when we want to have a second child. During these conversations I often find myself puzzling over just how people lived with so many children in such small houses in years gone by. As most of you know we currently live in a three bedroom one bathroom house that is cozy but really not that small. I just wonder how people were ever comfortable in the same living conditions with more children. We are cramped! We think we have decided to purchase a storage building in order to move many of Justin's hunting items such as the four-wheeler and the lawn care equipment out to the building to free up more practical storage room for Katelyn's outgrown clothes and toys. Heaven forbid we get rid of them and then need them sometime in the future. I just hate the fact that we only have one bathroom but I have come to the conclusion that if other families have done with less in the past surely we can live with one bathroom!

It all comes down to something that I heard on Opera's Spending diet show I guess. You just have to be happy with what you have instead of buying things you think will make you happy. Justin and I have decided to be happy with what we have regardless of whether we have another baby or not. We just have to figure out what to do with all the extra junk that is driving us crazy instead of making us happy. Please let me know if you have any good organizational ideas!

Golf and Dance

2009-06-09T20:14:00.005-05:00

Katelyn experienced two big firsts since the last time I wrote almost a month ago...boy does time fly by these days! The first one was her first minature golf experience. SHE LOVED IT! She would make a great hockey player. I took a video to share but it is sideways. I'm posting it for your enjoyment but don't hurt your neck....sorry!

Her second big first was her first day of dance class. She is taking dance from a little studio called Tutus and Tap Shoes on Tuesday nights. Tonight was the first night and she was so excited to go but she didn't behave very well while we were there. She was also thrown off a little when everyone started tap dancing at the same time. It was quite loud. I took her because Justin had to work late and I found out that the parent's are only allowed to watch on the first night so I felt horrible that he didn't get to watch her and that my batteries were dying on my camera and they didn't take very good pictures. Here are a couple cute ones though...

Wedding Pictures finally....

2009-05-12T20:20:00.006-05:00

I know I said I would post some pictures from the our trip soon but it has turned into a long time. Brittany is back from her honeymoon and has already created a new photo sharing site for the hundreds of pictures that she already has. I feel like I'm falling behind but we have been so busy with Justin's birthday, school functions, and Mother's Day that I just didn't have time until tonight while Justin and Katelyn are both occupied with different movies in separate rooms. It is actually quiet in our house for once! So here are some of my favorites from the trip....

We went to Katelyn's first birthday party for a friend from her preschool. The idea was really cute because the mom invited all the girls and asked them to dress like princesses. We still had Katelyn's flower girl dress so we did her hair up, painted her nails, and she put on her "princess" dress before going. They had so much fun jumping on the bed, playing games, eating games, and hiding in the closet! You never know what they will enjoy!

American Idol House Party

2009-05-02T11:29:00.002-05:00

I know I haven't posted since I got back from Florida and I promise that I will post some pictures from our trip but I just have a minute right now and I wanted to share that I was selected to host an American Idol House Party on May 19th for the finale! I am an avid American Idol Watcher as are many people from my work so I am super excited about this opportunity! You can visit my house party page at http://houseparty.com/party/137907

It is going to be a blast! There should be a 2010 Ford Fushion at the party for everyone to look at as well. Let me know if you would like to come!

Easter and All that Jazz....

2009-04-12T17:15:00.006-05:00

Tuesday night I was lucky enough to go see the Comodores. I know that they were a little before my time but no one says that a girl can't enjoy a night on the town. Justin was kind enough to watch Katelyn and I went to the concert with Marivel. We had a good time. We just wished that Lioneld Richie had been there. Friday I took most of the day off to spend at Katelyn's school party. They changed the time to 9:15 and moved it indoors because of the weathers. I regret that I didn't get any pictures but it was really cute to see all the little kids looking for eggs in their classrooms. They all got little treat bags with lots of little toys since they don't do candy at this school. The kids really loved it and they got to eat real easter eggs. I was very surprised that Katelyn ate more eggs than anyone else.

Yesterday we went to the Church's Easter egg hunt and then to Mimi and Poppi's to paint easter eggs. This year has been so much fun with Easter because Katelyn actually knows what is going on. She wanted to visit the Easter Bunny at the mall. She can't stop hunting eggs. And she loves to paint them. At the Church party a family there also brought three ducklings. Katelyn loved them. Below are pictures.

This morning we got up early and noticed that the Easter bunny came to visit us. For weeks we have been visitng a horse named Snowflake at the Hastings animal corral (this is a large tower filled with stuffed animals in the children's book section). She would talked to her and tell her she loved her and all that stuff. One day last week she noticed that Snowflake was gone and she was so upset. So of course this morning when she found Snowflake in her easter basket she was very excited! She was very excited to put on her gorgeous princess Easter dress that Nana and grandpa Pardy sent for her. She looked so cute!

A Normal Child!

2009-04-02T19:32:00.002-05:00

We went to Children's this week and got some really great news! Katelyn is normal! I know that sounds funny but really her swallow study was the best yet and they even told us that she could resume a normal diet and be weened from thickeners! We are so excited and so is she. The first day back to school she made three trips to the water fountain during outside play. She loves the freedom! I guess that this has made her appreciate the little things in life!

This weekend is the preschool's yard sale. I have somehow ended up as the Fundraising Chairperson and have so many things going on right now. We have a pricing party tomorrow night to sort and price all the sale items and then the sale starts bright and early (7) on Saturday morning. We are doing a change drive and have several other fundraisers in the works. This school has been so great for our family that we want to help it survive through some tough times they are having at the moment.

I hope to post some new pictures as soon as I can. I have been too busy to even take any and we really haven't gone anywhere interesting. I did go to jail for MDA yesterday but Brittany an I managed to post our bail of $3200. Thank you to everyone that pitched in! We both really appreciate it. One thing I learned is that a fundraiser for the local police department for car cleaning supplies might be in order! :)

Whooping Cough

2009-03-11T16:44:00.003-05:00

I'm sorry it has been so long since I posted. Katelyn and I were sick for an entire week. We thought that Katelyn had bronchitis but apparently she has whooping cough. We thought that this disease was pretty much extinct but it turns out that you aren't fully immunized until you have had your four year old shots which she won't get until the end of this year. We were not aware that she had whooping cough until yesterday. She has been coughing so much at night that I haven't been sleeping and then all day long she will clear her throat constantly. It gets on my nerves since I am so tired. So I decided to take her in and after a strep test and a chest x-ray they finally tell me that she has whooping cough. They said I could continue to take her to school as long as she isn't throwing up or running a fever so to school she went today. I finally got a full nights rest last night thanks to the medication the doctor gave her. I was so appreciative! This weekend since we didn't know she was that sick we went and ate dinner at Dale and Cathy's house. The family that moved into Dale's old house have a two girls age two and four. We took some toys to share with them and the three girls had so much fun!

I have to go to the preschool for a staff meeting (no I'm not a staff member but they want the board members there tonight as well) so I will write more later...

Valentine's Day

2009-02-23T10:21:00.004-06:00

I realize that it is a week later but I had some cute pictures from Valentine's that I did want to share. We had a pretty good Valentine's Day. The bank delivered Chocolate Roses to it's customers. Brittany and I did most of the delivering but it was a lot of fun. The teachers at Greenland Middle School seemed to really enjoy our treats and we really enjoyed their enthusiasm!Justin had promised Katelyn that we would go to the zoo as my previous posts explains. However, when we woke up on Saturday morning it was way too cold to go to the zoo so we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium instead. Katelyn loved looking at all the fish.

And the sharps....of sharks for those of you that don't speak 3'lish!

She may be a big girl but she doesn't quite measure up to this aligator gar! We saw so many neat things at the aquarium! There was a giant turtle skeleton, jelly fishes, and of course her favorite were the sea horsies. We had to buy one of course and she carried it around for days afterward telling her other horses that was their mommy because horsies like to swim. We also saw an alligator statue that looked very realistic.

No! Not her foot! Katelyn saw a bigger girl stick her foot in the mouth for a picture and of course she had to immitate!

Some of you may have realized that this was posted in the middle of a Monday morning and wonder why I am at home. Katelyn now has bronchitis so we are home watching movies today after a quick trip to the doctor and pharmacy this morning. She doesn't act very sick but it coughing a lot. Please pray for a speedy recovery for mine and Justin's sake....we are both exhausted from not sleeping. More later.....

Recovering

2009-02-10T17:37:00.003-06:00

Things are slowly getting back to normal around here. We have spent many days and nights working on the debris in our yard. We spent several nights in the Landers McLarty Nissan showroom trading in my car for a newer model. I have to admit that there are more bells and whistles on this car than any normal person needs but it is a very nice car and I am pleased with our negotiations. We have come a long way since our first big purchase fiasco before our marriage.

We tested out a puppy this weekend that Katelyn called Bear. He really did look like a teddy bear so the name was fitting. Unfortunately, not even two hours after we brought him home she had an asthma attack which prompted us to take him back. She wasn't as upset as I thought she would be but I guess she knew that the puppy had made her sick.

Other than the clean up and the normal daily functions we haven't done much of anything. I am going to a pampered chef party tonight at Brittany's house. We are hoping to go to Tulsa to the zoo for Valentine's Day. Katelyn is really looking forward to this and is wanting to ride the choo choo train. If anyone is interested the zoo is offering half price admission through out February and there are no parking fees this month as well. We will all be able to go for $10 which is great for a whole days activities.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ice Storm 2009

2009-01-31T15:00:00.003-06:00

I have stolen the infamous title the news crews are calling our most recent and catastrophic weather event, Ice Storm 2009. This was the worst ice storm that Justin and I ever remember and the first time that such a weather event has personally effected us in such a way. We are both pretty devastated. The weather event started on Monday when school closed early and I had to pick Katelyn up from school early. We were lucky enough to have power that evening but the damage on the following day made up for that. Justin called me about noon on Tuesday and said that the limbs were starting to fall out of the trees and he wanted to know where I thought a safe place for his truck would be. I laughed at him because I thought he was overexagerating. Little did I know that those limbs were the size of small trees and that they were falling all around us. By the time he picked me up from work and we made it home the damage was pretty bad to our cars and the police came around our neighborhood and told everyone that they had to leave because it was too dangerous for us to stay. When we returned two days later you could not even see our house from the street! Luckily our house escaped with minimal damage. There is one spot on the roof of our porch where a limb has loosened the siding and our fence has been knocked down but other than that there is just a lot of debris to be removed. We are still not sure at this point if any of our trees can be salvaged. The worst damage was done to our cars and I have kicked myself everyday since the abovementioned phone call that I did not tell him to move his truck somewhere away from the trees. His truck's antennae was knocked off and there are dents and scratches on both fenders and the hood and his front windshielf has a huge crack. My car is worse with a huge dent in the roof with the paint peeling already, several dents in the hood, fenders, and truck, a broken rear windshield, the driver's side rearview mirror was knocked off and a tree limb was shoved into the vent between the front window and the hood of the car. We take them to the adjuster's on Tuesday but think that there is a possibility that they will total the car since roof damage is so hard to fix and the car is not worth a lot anyway.

We were able to get power yesterday afternoon even though SWEPCO told us it would be Tuesday. We were more fortunate than our neighbors as they stopped the line at our house and more fortunate than Justin's parents as it may be two weeks until they have power again. Kim's mom and dad brought them a generator so they can keep their freezer/refridgerator going through all of this. As I type this Justin is out (with bronchitis I might add) using his new "toy," a chainsaw, cutting up limbs as fast as he can. The insurance company told us not to touch anything until an inspector could come but the cleanup must be done and it really is too dangerous to stay in the house without doing some damage control. There are still limbs all over the neighborhood that are still falling due to the thawing conditions in this sixty degree weather. Justin is trying to remove these types of limbs from our trees so that no more damage is done to our vehicles. We are leaving my car at the apartments down the street for now just in case. Please pray for everyone in Northwest Arkansas that was effected by this storm!

$4.99 Haircuts

2009-01-17T15:16:00.003-06:00

I have been saying for quite awhile that I wanted to cut Katelyn's hair again because it has gotten so tangled and nasty. Last night we were driving by the Harp's on Wedington and noticed a sign for a new hair place advertising $4.99 haircuts. We pulled in to Great Clips and decided we would all get a hair cut for that price. It was great! Katelyn now sports a shoulder length bob, my hair feels so much lighter, and Justin loves freshly cut hair. There's not much to his doo so it doesn't matter where he gets his hair done. I really would recommend it to anyone that needs a quick trim!

I am looking forward to having a day to myself on Monday. Justin has to work and Katelyn has to go to school but I don't have to go anywhere! I am really excited! Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day to everyone!

Back to School

2009-01-06T19:19:00.002-06:00

Katelyn's preschool follows the same calendar as the Fayetteville public schools. They have, therefore, been out of school the past two weeks. We are fortunate that Justin's mom is able to take off during times like these to watch Katelyn. Yesterday was back to school. It was as awful as I had expected! Katelyn wanted mimi and not her teachers or friends. I finally just had to leave her there crying. I felt so bad but what can you do. This morning I had to help open the bank so I asked Justin to take her. He accidentally forgot her stuffed animal for nap time and she was devastated. He also had to leave her there crying. Just pray that the rest of the week goes better!

Another quick note! Please pray for some answers on Katelyn's Tefra case. They have informed us that she is probably not eligible for the Tefra any more due to the fact that it is time for review and she has not been sick enough recently to qualify for it. I was not able to provide the necessary information to them before the holidays and was told that her case was closed. However, they have charged us for the month of January so we are hoping that the case is indeed still open and that we still have a chance of keeping it. We agree that she has not been sick lately but the fact that she still has to undergo another swallow study and see the ENT at Children's at the end of the month and is still in her occupational therapy every week will be enough to use up our financial resources. Again, I just ask for your prayers for some answers on this issue. Thanks!

Long Time Coming...

2009-01-04T18:06:00.008-06:00

I realize that I have not posted for a very long time, almost a month. Things have been very crazy around here with graduation, Christmas, company, new year's, birthdays, etc. I suppose the first thing I should mention is that I am so grateful to everyone that came to graduation or sent a card of congratulations! The event and the after party was wonderful! The ceremony was long and very hot but I wouldn't have missed it for the world! Here are a few pics...

My mom visited with us from the Friday before graduation until Christmas Eve. We went to Terra Studios (the home of the famous bluebirds), the Ozark Mountain Smokehouse, and a little bit of shopping while they were here. And of course, at a lot of food! Christmas Eve Katelyn and I did our traditional birthday cake baking for Jesus and I made Chili for everyone. We opened our gifts and had a blast watching Katelyn. This is the first time I think she has really understood the gift thing about Christmas. As most of you know she is obsessed with horses so most everything she got was horse related this year. She was in heaven!

My mom got Katelyn a horse that is made by the same company as the American Girl dolls. Katelyn was so excited when she opened it up. And of course, the only thing to do with a horse is ride it.
Christmas day was spent with Justin's family. We all received so many gifts! We truly are blessed with a wonderful and caring family. The weekend after Christmas we went with Justin's mom, dad, and brother to Branson. We made a quick stop at the Bass Pro Shop where Katelyn took her picture with some elk.

And then we went to Silver Dollar City to ride the Choo-Choo Train. When we got to Branson that morning it was in the 60s and by the time we left Silver Dollar City it was below freezing and snowing. Katelyn did well despite the cold and we all had quite a bit of fun. We rode the choo-choo train, the tea cups, saw the living nativity, watched the Christmas parade, and other things. I had never gone to see the lights before and it was everything I had ever imagined. I definitely recommend it next year to anyone that has never been! Just try to go when it is warmer.

New Year's Eve I had to work all day since the last day of the year is always very busy at the bank. When I got off I was trying to make arrangements to get Katelyn from Mike and Kim and I found it hilarious to know that she thought Kim was a meany since she had to go home. I told Kim that if she didn't care she could just take Katelyn to church with her and we would go out to eat and to the movies. I have been wanting to see Twilight so bad since I read the whole series of books in a week. I was not disappointed but am anxiously awaiting the second movie. By the way that the movie ended, there has to be a second one. We went to the church afterwards intending to just pick Katelyn up but ended up staying and playing with the teens and their parents until around 12:30. It was a nice way to ring in the new year. We've done other things since then but I figure that this is a long enough blog as it is. Just one last thing.... Happy Birthday Nana! Today is Justin's grandmothers birthday. We celebrated with her yesterday but just in case she reads this one last birthday wish!

Needed Links

2008-12-12T16:49:00.003-06:00

A few people have asked for directions to the graduation ceremony. Here is the link to jbu's site for directions to campus: http://www.jbu.edu/about/directions/.

There is also a site for streaming video of the ceremony for those who can not make it. I'm sure it's not as exciting for you as it is for me but here it is: http://eagle.jbu.edu/services/graduation/

We're off to do some more Christmas shopping. I promise to write more soon!

I am Thankful for Bear....

2008-11-25T16:25:00.002-06:00

Today was Katelyn's last day at school before Thanksgiving break. They had a small Thanksgiving party and did crafts related to the pilgrims etc. They made these adorable Indian Headbands (little did they know her true heritage). Anyway they made these "My Thanksgiving Books." Here are the answers on the pages of her book.

I am Thankful for..... Bear
My family.... Mommy and Daddy
We will eat.... Apples, Green beans, and Chicken

Boy does she love chicken! Just thought this was cute...

The last one to go...

2008-11-24T22:07:00.004-06:00

Well...I know some of you are wondering if I finished my capstone presentation tonight or not. I went all night not knowing if I was going to have to wait another day to finish the final presentation but he picked me to go last tonight so I am now officially done with everything for graduation! I think that the project and the presentation went over well so I am excited to see my final grade whenever that becomes available. I just had to share my excitement! 26 days till graduation!

Turning three-four...

2008-11-23T17:24:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we had Katelyn's birthday party. She doesn't get that she is three now. She did tell Justin that she was three-four and she told me that she was turning old. But that's okay...we had a fun time with just some of our family. She got a lot of really cute gifts and has had a blast the rest of the weekend playing with them. Marlaina did a great job on the cake and may have future business from our family if she so wishes.

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and finished my project. I am still waiting on Marivel's corrections to my reflection paper so I will have to make a few last minute changes tomorrow and then print everything off and put it on a disk and then I will be done my senior project. It is really hard to believe that it is almost over. I mailed out my graduation announcements on Friday so let me know if you didn't get one and you would like to have one. I don't really trust the postal system that much and I have the nagging feeling that I forgot someone since I can't seem to remember anything lately.

Thank you for saving my life daddy!

2008-11-17T19:09:00.002-06:00

I was a busy lady this weekend. I've been cleaning since Justin left for the deer woods Friday afternoon. I washed and ironed the curtains in our bedroom, washed all the bed linens for our bed and Katelyn's bed. Katelyn and I cleaned her unbelievably dirty room (seriously, I wish I had pictures to send to the KNWA uggliest room contest. It was that bad!) You can actually see the floor in there now and all of her clothes are hanging in her closet. I also did all of our laundry that was hopelessly behind thanks to our busy lives. I cleaned our living room and kitchen in preparation for the Thanksgiving company. Anyway, needless to say we were very busy. We did take a moment out of our cleaning frenzy to visit storytime at the Fayetteville library on Saturday morning and Katelyn liked it. She liked playing with the puzzles more than the storytime but she always enjoys our trips there. We checked out several horse books that she has enjoyed flipping through several times since Saturday.

We also made a short trip to Rudy, AR yesterday to Crockrum's Meat Processing. Don't get too excited...Justin did not kill another deer. His friend Denver did. It was an 8 point. I was supposed to be studying but it was such short notice that we all just jumped in the car and took off. Regretfully, I did not spend enough time on my senior project to get rid of the nagging and stressful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I did find a great clip on YouTube for my presentation today however. This helps a little bit.

Anyway, you may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with cleaning and deer processing. Well, this is how it ties in even though I am really embarassed by the beginning of the story. Truthfully, our kitchen table is the first thing inside the door from our garage. Our washer and dryer are in the garage so when you get the clothes out of the dryer they tend to end up on our kitchen table until someone has a chance to fold them or unti they get worn again. Many clothing pieces have been lost in the humungous mound of clothes. Anyway, on my cleaning spree this weekend I was able to tackle the mound and rid our kitchen of it. We ate dinner at our kitchen table for the first time in months. (Isn't that awful?) I made breakfast for dinner including hash browns, sausage links, and french toast with chocolate milk. We were enjoying our meal when I saw a lightening bug fall off the ceiling and crawl across the table towards Katelyn. Justin jumped up and starting swatting the bug every chance he got. By this time Katelyn was hanging on to my arm for dear life. She is terrified of bugs. Justin killed the bug in her chair and swept it up before she could see it. When she discovered that daddy killed the bug she said as seriously as possible, "Thank you for saving my life daddy!" The rest just speaks for itself....

Pictures

2008-11-15T09:30:00.003-06:00

Every year I get more and more lax about family pictures. The first year we had Katelyn family pictures was a big deal to me. The second Christmas was about the same but last year I let Justin wear jeans to avoid that moans and groans associated with this yearly ritual. This year, he has been in the woods so much lately that I just decided to forego the family picture shoot and just get some pictures made of Katelyn since it has been since Easter. Those of you that know me well, will be amazed that I have actually stayed away from a photographer for that long! But it is true. I actually let our JCPenney portrait membership expire so I decided to use a coupon for a free sitting fee at Sears last night. The pictures were okay but it took forever! I don't know how anyone with a screaming kid could stand it! Katelyn was very calm and played with their busy beads the whole time so it wasn't too bad. But two hours! Anyway we got a few Christmas shots and a few birthday ones. I had never had her picture made with the big numbers they have so we decided to do that this year. She is such a ham!

Late Nights and Ponies

2008-11-13T21:02:00.003-06:00

I have been working some long hours this week because I won't be in the bank tomorrow. I am going to take a CPR and First Aid course at the local Red Cross chapter. This is the last credit hour that I needed to graduate outside of the JBU Advance Program and of course I put it off until the very last minute. Our last night of class was Tuesday and it was such a blessing! The chaplain came and spoke about making time to write a list of the things that we are greatful for this Thanksgiving and I wondered if everyone who reads this blog would post a comment about the things that they are thankful for. Katelyn and I are going to make leaves and write all the things that our family and friends are thankful for and paste them on the trunk of a tree for Thanksgiving. I think that this will be a great tradition for our family to begin this year.

During these late nights Justin has been very good to pick Katelyn up and keep her occupied until I come home. Tonight they watched Madagascar, Fu Fu Panda (a.k.a. Kung Fu Panda) and a Bug's Life. They also played Spiderman on the XBOX 360. I don't know what it is about Spiderman but it seems that all kids love this game! I remember when my brother was moving to Florida from Oregon his kids loved this game as well!

I finally gave out the invitations for Katelyn's third birthday part tooday! This is so unusual for me since the last two years I have had her birthday party planned months ahead of time. This year I have been so bogged down with school and work and not feeling well myself that I haven't had time to even think about her birthday party. I was so late that another little girl who has the same birthday already planned a party at Chuck E Cheese for the same time. That is okay because it will be easier to deal with mostly adults instead of children. But Katelyn still wanted to have a My Little Pony party so that is what we are doing. Marlaina (a girl that I work with at the bank) is a great cake maker and she has agreed to make the cake for me. The ideas that she is coming up with are really cute and I can't wait to see the final product! I will be sure to post pictures for everyone to see who can't make the party!

When things don't count....

2008-11-07T18:58:00.003-06:00

Obviously from my last post I have prided myself in getting good grades while at John Brown. I recently discovered that I received a 7 out of 10 on a progress report that was due last week on my senior project. The instructor stated that there was no evidence of my reflection paper turned in. I have responded to him and questioned his grade because the reflection paper was turned in and it was over half complete. This was more than many other students in my class. Please pray that he is willing to change my grade since I sent proof in my email that I did turn in the paper. I would hate to miss those points simply because he overlooked something in the dropbox or because the technology we are forced to use did not work properly.

On another note....I thought that tonight would be a great time to do a little early Christmas shopping since there are many Veteran's Day sales and Justin is the deer woods. Katelyn and I set out for Old Navy and Kohls. She always begs for a ball or toy from the little machines at Old Navy so that was the first thing we did when we got there. I really thought that this would occupy for awhile but she just was not in the mood to shop tonight. So if anyone sees any good deals please post a response to this posting and I will try to convince her to go again tomorrow. Many of my gifts this year will be homemade but I still need to pick up a few things since my mom and Hardy will be here this year.

The other thing that has been on my mind has been the election. I am by no means qualified to host a conversation about the recent election. This was the first time in probably more than half my life that I did not keep track of the daily news and really know the platforms of the candidates. I am even embarassed to say I voted to re-elect Mayor Coody simply because I didn't know who any of the other candidates were. But somehow I still came away from this election feeling as if my vote and the vote of many of the people in the nation did not count. I somewhat understand why the electoral college was created when the foundation of our nation was laid but I do not understand the purpose that it plays today. It is hard for me to feel as if my vote matters when the electoral college votes and the popular vote were so totally different.

It just hurts sometimes when it seems that things don't count....

Distinctions

2008-11-04T16:29:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note before heading off to class tonight. I was informed to today that I have been cleared for graduation and that I will be graduating with distinctions. This is so exciting! I had no idea that I would be eligible for graduation with distinctions. JBU does not allow you to graduate with latin honors unless you have at least 60 hours of credit from their university. Therefore, it is almost impossible for an advance student to reach latin honors. Graduating with disctinctions is the Advance program equivalent of latin honors. I was just really excited and decided to share this everyone.

Monday already...

2008-11-03T18:01:00.003-06:00

This weekend went by so fast and I couldn't hardly believe that it was Monday already when I woke up this morning. Justin and I did something that neither one of us had ever done before yesterday. We showed up at church before anyone else yesterday forgetting that it was daylight savings time. We thought we were doing good since Katelyn had spent the night with Mimi and Poppi on Saturday. We got ready and went to Taco Place for breakfast and didn't realize what we had done until we pulled in the parking lot and no one was there. I mean NO ONE! It really was an eerie feeling until we realized that it was November and daylight savings time had taken place. We decided to go home and eat and rejoined society a little bit later.

Katelyn has discovered the beautiful fall leaves. I'm sure that she had noticed them in the past but was always too sick for us to spend much time outdoors when the leaves were changing. This year she is excited to pick them up and thinks they are as pretty as flowers. She likes to show them off and carried one all through church and then to lunch afterwards.

Tomorrow is the class before the last class! I am so excited. I can finally see the end in site. My cap and gown arrived last week in the mail and I have actually not tried it on. I had imagined I would rush home to find it on the doorstep, I would put it on, and I would wear it around the house. After all the cap and gown alone cost me almost $40. This is however a small price to pay when compared to the cost of the piece of paper I'm about to recieve but I wanted to get some wear out of the ridiculous outfit one must wear in order to walk at graduation. I hope to try it on and get a few pictures taken to include with my invitations. Hopefully these will go out in the mail at the end of the month.

I'm a Dress Mommy!

2008-11-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I volunteered at Katelyn's school for their Halloween Carnival. All of the kids brought their costumes and we dressed them up and had a small carnival outside. When all the kids were showing me their costumes and telling me what they were Katelyn kept saying, "I'm a Dress Mommy! Look at me..." I think she was just a little jealous at all the attention I was getting from the other kids. She didn't like the fact that they were also calling me Mommy. But we were paired up with two other little girls from her class, Alex the witch and Emma the pumpkin in order to go around and play games. They had face painting, a duck pond, a sand dig, a bean bag toss, go fish, basketball, pin the broom on the witch, and a cake walk. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun until it started raining. Emma and Katelyn got cold so we went inside while Alex stayed with her mom and read stories. They laid down for nap and Katelyn didn't really seem to mind that I left her there the rest of the day.

Last night we went to a few houses trick-or-treating and she got more candy than we know what to do with. But we all had fun and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with Dale and Cathy of a chicken tamale bake from Cooking Light that was really good. Cathy also loaned me a beautiful oil painting to hang in my office. I am so excited about decorating!

Here are some pics for you to enjoy....

Tarah Talker

2008-10-27T20:55:00.002-05:00

Many of you may not know that in elementary school kids used to tease me and call me Tarah Talker. The other night in Ethics class we had to think of a word that began with the first letter of our name that we thought described us. The only one I could think of at the time was Tarah Talker. It's kind of funny how things come full circle isn't it? As long as you can remember you hate being called something and then one day you call yourself that. Brings real meaning to the idea that if you constantly tell a kid they aren't worth anything they won't amount to anything. That's really sad.

On a brighter note there are only three weeks left of actual class. I have received my graduation announcements and am really looking forward to the next month being over. The last night of senior project presentations is November 25th, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Crazy Tarah is also planning a Barnyard Birthday bash for Katelyn on the 22nd so that will probably be a stressful weekend but well worth it.

It's time for bed so I better get going. Katelyn isn't even in her jammin's yet. Isn't that cute? She comes up with the cutest names for things. Oh, one more quick one. She loves to eat box sticks. This is what she calls french toast sticks from Sonic. We aren't sure where that one came from.

P.S. If anyone is looking for birthday ideas.... anything horses! She is in love with ponies, horses, horse barns, anything horses. Not sure why but for now it is okay. I just dread when she realizes that we could actually have a real horse....

Fall Festival

2008-10-18T19:59:00.005-05:00

We just got home from our Church's fall festival. We had to miss it last year because Katelyn had just had surgery and had strep throat. We were excited to participate this year and Katelyn had a lot of fun. I had to work all day and got home just in time to fix her hair and get her ready to be a princess. She likes the movie Snow White and picked out this costume herself. Isn't she darling?!?! She got to go fishing in the haunted pond, the bean bag toss, the cake walk, and the candle shoot-out plus go trunk or treating. We also had some great snacks afterwards. The teens at the church always do a great job of hosting the fall festival for all the little kids. We really appreciate it.

Our Princess Katelyn and Mommy enjoying the festivities
Bob the Builder a.k.a. Uncle Josh and Snow White a.k.a. Princess Katelyn

Movin' Up

2008-10-18T07:03:00.002-05:00

This week was a big week for some of us at the bank. Not only are we switching softwares and processors for the bank but a few people are switching positions, me included. This was an unexpected move since I was not anticipating my promotion until closer to graduation time but I am really excited. I will be moving into more of a compliance/auditing and managerial position. This is what I was hoping for and I am also really excited to move into my first office that doesn't have to be shared. I look forward to decorating a little as well. I have to be at work in less than hour so I better go but please pray for Justin's dad, Mike. He woke up the other morning with all of his joints swollen and stiff. They are waiting on blood work to discover the true cause but think that it might be a blood infection. Please pray for healing.

I'm the Princess

2008-10-13T18:16:00.007-05:00

Well we are finally back from Tennessee. It was a very long weekend. My uncle Dennis took us to Wasabi Thursday night which was wonderful. It was Katelyn's first time to go to a place where they cook at your table like Shogun and she was really scared of the fire. Friday was the rehearsal for my cousin Angela's wedding. While helping to decorate their unity candle table I fell off the stage and twisted my ankle (luckily everyone else was enjoying the rehearsal dinner). Early Saturday morning we took Katelyn to get her hair done. It was gorgeous but they scheduled her appointment at 10:00 a.m. even though the wedding wasn't until 3:00. It looked okay though.
We visited with my Mimi and my aunt Karen and uncle John in between the hair appointments and the pictures. When Katelyn put on her dress she looked so pretty! She kept saying that she was a princess. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was nice.

My cousin Cari and Katelyn
"What a lucky guy!" The groom and the attendants
Angela and Billy cut the cake with Katelyn first in line.Katelyn thought they were going to cut her a piece and you can see she had her fork ready to dig in. We also went shopping and got some nice things for Katelyn. On the way home Margret was saying that Katelyn was a turkey because she was being silly about something and Katelyn said, "No! I'm the princess!" It was a weekend of spoiling but nice. I am definitely glad to be back home though. As with all good things they must come to an end. Unfortunately, Katelyn let my mom's dog, Lexi out of the house yesterday and she was hit by a car. Katelyn was so upset because my mom was crushed! Lexi had been such a good companion for my mom and she was so good with Katelyn. Katelyn just didn't understand what was going on and it was hard to keep her curiosity at bay while my mom could grieve. Please pray that the Lord will bring healing and comfort to my mom and Hardy both.

Half a Century and Counting....

2008-10-07T16:53:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last published. Time has really flown by since we have been so busy. Katelyn has had pneumonia again and I am down to one class and a senior project before graduation. My senior project is pretty much done other than a reflection paper and a presentation. I also turned 25 this week and have enjoyed our new Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit. I have lost almost 2 pounds since we got the "game." I have had several wonderful birthday dinners and lunches from friends and family. Last Friday night Katelyn and I went to Margret's for Spaghetti and pineapple upside down cake. This is her playing with Uncle Jerry and the mailbox.

Anyway, Justin was in the woods but didn't see anything. I always hope that he will get a deer early in the season so that it isn't such a big deal. Well I have to get to class so I will try to post more when we get back from Knoxville this weekend. Katelyn is a flower girl so it should be a fun trip!

Catchin' Up...

2008-09-03T07:35:00.004-05:00

We have been so busy lately and I apologize for not updating the site in the last few weeks. We have done fair things and been busy with school and work. The fair was great even for Katelyn. She won a blue ribbon on her ice cream bowl, watercolor, and puppet and a white ribbon on her basket. Justin and I also entered things and did well with those as well. I am taking several of my items on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state fair next week. School is also going good right now. Somehow I managed an A in Statistics and finished up on Marketing last night. Two classes left and then GRADUATION! Katelyn's school is also going well. She is learning new things all the time. She has a new teacher who is also great. Tonight is our first School Board meeting so I am excited to go and meet some of the other parents. We met one of the parents at the fair and I see her almost every day. Her daughters name is Emma and Katelyn really likes her. I'm glad that she made friends so quickly at this school.

Saturday we went and had Katelyn's hair cut for the first time. We just decided that it was time for a trimming because she had never had it cut and she is almost three years old. We didn't want to cut much off the length since she is going to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding and they want her to wear her hair in a sort of pony tail with curls. This was also a bit of a trial run to see how she would do getting her hair done. She did great and she really enjoyed sitting in the big chair all by herself.

This was before she had her hair cut.

Don't worry bout it mama!

2008-08-14T20:42:00.002-05:00

Some personal things have been going on lately that I won't get into to on here but I did think it was funny today when Justin and I were sharing our days with each other that Katelyn ran up to me and said, "don't worry bout it mama!" She is so carefree and loving!

They have released her from Speech therapy with ongoing goals and she did much better this week in her occupational therapy. We are really excited with her progress. Her last ST evaluation showed that her articulation was equivalent with a 3 yr. 10 mo. old! This is incredible considering just a year ago she was 5-6 months behind. Praise the lord for this healing!

We are preparing for our exam at the bank and many other stressful projects. I am looking forward to my vacation in October (for my birthday) to see my mom! I can't wait and I'm excited that Katelyn gets to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding. I just can't believe that flower girl dresses cost as much as my wedding dress did!

We are also preparing for the Washington County Fair. Fair entries are due this Saturday and then my baked goods will be turned in on Monday. Wish us luck as Katelyn and I are both entering multiple items in the fair. Hopefully our winnings will be a good addition to her college fund and savings account. More later....

Clownin' Around

2008-08-07T17:09:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I have been very busy canning and preparing for the fair. Katelyn is doing wonderful at the new preschool and we are loving that they send art home every day. We went to Little Rock on Monday and saw the GI doctor. Didn't say anything new but we did find out that she has been discharged from speech therapy unless she starts having problems again this fall/winter. The speech therapist has created goals for the teacher and is checking in with them periodically to make sure that they are following her diet and thickening restrictions. This weeks unit is the circus. Yesterday they made lions and today they made clown hats. Here is a picture for you! I just love it!

Look Mommy! I not wet....

2008-07-17T21:06:00.002-05:00

As I was posting the last time I was unaware that Katelyn refused to put on her night time pull up and was sound asleep in her nice clean bed unprotected from a bed wetting experience. I probably would have woken the sleeping monster simply to change those pants but Justin let me sleep soundly without a clue of the grim possibility that I would have to wake up in the middle of the night to change sheets. However, when Katelyn awoke she said, "Look Mommy! I'm not wet!" At first I was like okay because it is normal that she doesn't use her pull up in the night but then half asleep I realized what a big accomplishment that was. I'm still not ready for her big girl panties every night because I am tired enough as it is with everything at work and all the other normal Tarah duties but I was really excited to see the first dry night come and go.

Another first was her first occupational therapy session today. We came to find out that Cross Therapy is highly recommended by Katelyn's beloved pediatrician and were much happier with the responses they have given us as compared to children's therapy team. I realize that CTT has done wonders with her speech therapy but were unhappy with the scheduling situation and lack of communication by their OT staff. Katelyn enjoyed her "play" time with the therapist and we are looking forward to discussing her goald further next week. We are supposed to learn how to "brush" her which is part of the Wilbarger method. Here's a good site I found about this method: http://www.pbbkids.com/the_wilbarger_brushing_protocol.htm

On a side note....I have been slowly preparing crafts for the county fair and to sell at an upcoming craft fair. If anyone is interested in seeing what I have so far or is interested in helping with a craft fair booth, let me know.

Have a great weekend if I don't see or talk to you before then!

Great news!

2008-07-15T22:28:00.005-05:00

Don't get too excited by the title...I know that some people are wishing that Justin and I would have another baby but this isn't that kind of great news. The exam is over at work and I made the Dean's list for the second term. (I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I didn't make the President's list like I did in term 1 but this is still an honor with all the other things I have taken on this term). Things are looking up right now. I have started my senior project and hopefully things will be back down to a low roar at the bank for awhile.

Katelyn has still been coughing a lot since our trip to Branson so I took her to the doctor today. He seems to think that it is those non-existent allergies again. He gave me some samples of a different allergy medicine to try and if that doesn't work more antibiotics. We are really going to try to keep her off those until we can see the GI doc on August 4th though. Even though she hasn't felt well her and daddy can still have fun!

These were those squish pillows that were so popular a few years ago. They make great mushroom hats!

Katelyn met two milestones in the last week. She was invited to her first birthday part and it was decided that she gets to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding in October. This will end up being a milestone for me too because I will have to drive to Knoxville with Katelyn by myself. Luckily it is a holiday weekend so I will get to stay longer with my mom.

Happy Belated Birthday to Hardy!

Circus and Not a Circus

2008-07-07T16:43:00.002-05:00

On Saturday we went to Branson. It was definitely a much needed get away. You would think since we took a vacation this year that we wouldn't want to get out of town so bad but it didn't really feel like much of a vacation when we went to Florida. I guess because we came back feeling so crappy from the sun. Anyway...So Saturday we took Katelyn to the matinee of the New Shanghai Circus' presentation of the Acrobats of China. This was a fabulous show! In fact it is my favorite so far but coming in a close second is Legends in Concert. You can visit the website at: http://acrobatsofchina.com/en/. We were able to get front row seats and Katelyn's eyes were glued to the stage the whole time. There was death defying feats and fun rhythmic dances and soft ballets. It was really nice and I would totally recommend this show to anyone going to Branson anytime soon. We also did some shopping and discovered a secret. All the evening shows start at around 8 so this is the time to shop in Branson. Most of the stores don't close until 9 so from about 7:00 to 9:00 the stores are almost empty. We found some great deals on fall and winter clothes for Katelyn. And the doting mother that I am I didn't even buy anything for myself until I got home. It seems that everytime I go shopping Katelyn gets the better end of the deal. Anyway we went to Springfield to the Bass Pro Shop yesterday. I guess that Katelyn didn't sleep well and I know that she wasn't feeling well. She was in a horrible mood and was really rather hard to keep up with so we didn't stay there for very long. We decided to just come home and I was able to get some alone time at the mall and grocery shopping while Justin watched Katelyn.

Today Katelyn went to her new big girl school. This is the not a circus part of the title. It was so nice to drop her off at a school that was not chaotic with peopple everywhere. Her teacher was great and let Katelyn pick out her own cubby and hook to hang her backpack. She introduced her to another little girl and they just hit right off playing while I talked with the teacher and the cook about some last minute questions that they had. She had no accidents and they said that she did great for her first day. I am really excited about this place and think that it is going to be an answer to prayer! The cook really is a sweet lady. Her granddaughter is Katelyn's age and recently moved to New Jersey. Miss Anna really misses Bella and was telling her daughter about Katelyn who said that God provides in your time of need. Miss Anna has decided to make Katelyn her special girl until she can see her own granddaughter again. Isn't that sweet?!?!?

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T17:49:00.003-05:00

Today we got to swim with Justin's Nana and Papa and his two much younger cousins, Jordan and Hope. Katelyn really likes to play with the bigger kids and had fun swimming. She didn't like swimming as much as they did and we took a nap while watching Peter Pan. I can't wait to see how she reacts tonight with the fireworks!

Big Girl School

2008-07-03T16:51:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not sure what I will tell Katelyn when she actually goes to big girl school because we told her that the preschool she is starting on Monday is her big girl school. We went to visit this afternoon and it went over well. When I picked her up from her daycare I told her that we were going to her big girl school to meet her new friends and her new teacher and she was excited. All the kids knew she was coming and they introduced themselves and told her how old they were. She was very excited and took off playing with them right away. I was really happy to see this. I am a little concerned how Monday will go since it will be a stressful day for me anyway. Our FDIC compliance exam starts Monday and exams are always stressful on everyone around the bank. I have been preparing for this for over a month so I am really hoping that all goes well.

We are going to Branson this weekend. We aren't sure yet if we are going to Silver Dollar City or not but do want to. I will make sure to post some pics when we return. Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

Yeehaw! Ride 'em cowboys!

2008-07-02T16:50:00.003-05:00

We took Katelyn to her first (and I must admit my first) rodeo last night. It was so much fun...a little on the warm side but definitely fun! The bank is a sponsor this year and so we were able to get free tickets for Justin's mom, dad, and brother and for the three of us. It was a nice and inexpensive outing. Our main purchase was this lovely pink cowgirl hat for Katelyn. I think it suits her perfectly. Pretty in pink! We arrived around 6:30 so that we could watc the Muttin Bustin. This is where the little kids around age 4 and 5 climb on a sheep and ride it as far as they can go. A girl won for the night and she did a really good job. Katelyn wanted to ride to but mommy isn't ready for that yet. I told her maybe in a couple of years. I'm thinking it took me 24 years to make it to a rodea...maybe another 20 or so until I want to watch someone I know, especially Katelyn actually be in the rodeo. Anyway, there was a touching speech about our freedom and what the flag stood for and a great grand entry parade with the Rodeo Rounders (the pretty girls on horses). It was great fun and I would suggest it to anyone who has never been before.

Play Ball!

2008-06-24T16:33:00.003-05:00

We took Katelyn to her first baseball game last night at the new Naturals stadium. It was a lot of fun for the whole family. Mike and Kim were given four tickets by someone that works down the street from them and we are all able to go. It was nice that Katelyn did not require a ticket. The Naturals beat the Traveler's. When we left the score was 8 to 1.

Oh by the way! Katelyn is doing really great with her potty training. She has not had an accident since last Wednesday which means that tomorrow will be a whole week of perfect pottying. We are so proud of her! She gets to start her new school on July 8th -- two weeks from today! We can't wait!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

2008-06-14T14:04:00.002-05:00

We discovered on Thursday that Katelyn's daycare is moving to Johnson. This is very inconvenient for us and would end up costing us much more in gas each week. We made the decision that we would try to find a better preschool that was more convenient. I was lucky to find a preschool on my way to work that is even cheaper due to parent involvement. It appears to be a great school and has been in business since 1975. They are much smaller with only 28 students and I hope that Katelyn will learn more and will get more personal attention than her current situation provides. However, this new school does not accept children that are not potty trained. Diapers and Pull-ups are not allowed. I went straight from my visit to the new school to take Katelyn shopping for big girl underwear. I let her pick them off the rack, put them on the check out counter, and discuss her situation with the store clerk. The clerk was very understanding. She even gave Katelyn her own shopping bag for her new big girl underwears and gave her the receipt as if she had purchased them herself. It was a big day for her. We decided that night that there would be no more pull-ups except at night because she has still had a few nights with very wet pull-ups in the recent past. However, she made it all day yesterday at school without any accidents! We were so excited and she knows no that she's a big girl. She went and spent the night with Mimi and Poppi last night and didn't even want to take her big girl underwears off to go to bed. They had to put the pull-up on over her big girl underwears after she went to sleep. It was a big day/night for us with two big milestones at one time. This was the first full night she had spent away from both of us. It was kind of nice but definitely weird to not have a toddler in tow. We ended up spending most of the night shopping for father's day gifts and toys for her. She is in a very big learning stage right now and really wants to play with flashcards, read books, and do art projects. We hope the new preschool will help her get a head start before school.

The Date is Set...

2008-06-10T16:42:00.002-05:00

So I finally discovered that the graduation date has been set. I will officially graduate from John Brown on December 20th. This ends up being really cool for me because this means that my mom and Hardy get to be here for Christmas. This will be the first time since before Justin and I got married that I have actually gotten to celebrate Christmas on Christmas day with my mom! I am so excited since this is such a rare occassion. Plus I will be really excited to get graduation over with. I imagine we will have a party and everyone will be invited. You guys know me and parties! :)

On the otherhand. Things have been relatively quiet lately. Katelyn has not been sick but my car has. We had to replace the battery and the alternator this weekend. I was able to get some homework done while I was stuck at Sonic on Saturday so that was okay. I have a final tonight so I have been studying for that but mostly Justin and I have been working. We have both been working overtime lately. I don't expect that to stop for awhile either so I guess for now we are just used to it.

Maybe we will do something fun this weekend so I can post some new pictures. I imagine we will since Sunday is Father's Day. Justin's grandparents are coming up so I bet we will have pictures from that. We really appreciate this since we can't afford to drive very many places lately with gas prices the way they are. I'm sure that everyone is feeling that pinch in the pocket.

The Newest Old Couple we know...

2008-05-31T20:21:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was an exciting day for us. Dale and Cathy were married at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville at 4:00. It was a small but beautiful ceremony that was very intimate. Cathy's dress was gorgeous. Katelyn was of course a handful and did not like when the priest took Dale and Cathy up to the alter. She wanted to go right along with them. But the priest read some very nice scriptures and it was a very happy occassion. Of course the food afterwards at Bordino's was to die for. Dale and Cathy always have impecable taste when is comes to fine dining. It was a great time to visit with everyone but our favorite part was back at not Dale and Cathy's house for cake and champagne. It was really nice to get to know some of Cathy's family. I just wish I hadn't stuck my foot in my mouth from the start when I asked said to Cathy's sister, "Oh you must be Cathy's mom." I just didn't see her mom there...I don't know what I was thinking but I felt soooo bad! Anyway, here are some of the pictures. The rest can be viewed on my flickr account.

Justin's Big Fish Story Photos

2008-05-31T20:15:00.003-05:00

ER's and Big Fishes

2008-05-27T16:51:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted since early last week but it has been really hectic around here. Last Thursday Katelyn's school called and said she was running a high fever so I ended up taking her to the emergency room as per the instructions by her doctor. She had an upper respiratory infection and a urinary tract infection. She is doing better now and over the long weekend we went fishing again. We took her out on poppi's boat and she had a lot of fun. Poppi tried to help her catch a fish but no luck there. Yesterday it rained but Justin and his dad went out anyway. Justin caught a five pounder! This is a really big fish for Beaver Lake. I will try to post a picture as soon as I can. I have class tonight so I have to cut this short. Hopefully we will have a healthier week as we look forward to a weekend full of a wedding and lots of other fun things! Have a great short week!

Painting and Fishing...Two Different Worlds

2008-05-19T19:44:00.004-05:00

Well we had a good weekend. It started off with a bang. Justin, Katelyn and I went to Venesian Inn for my mother's day dinner and then went to Different Strokes Pottery for some painting fun. This really is a neat place to go and spend some time painting your own pottery or creating a masterpiece for someone else. We did a little bit of both. Katelyn really enjoyed painting! I wish I had a camera but perhaps when we pick up our pieces this weekend I can post a picture of the finished product. Saturday we did things around the house which really needed to be done but still did not catch up on house work or laundry. I'm feverishly doing laundry tonight to try to get caught up on that. It just seems to be the endless mound. Anyway yesterday we went to church and then took Katelyn over to the Fairview Gardens duck pond as we call it by Root Elementary on Mission. She loved feeding the ducks.
We saw several people fishing and decided to give it a try with Katelyn. She was really excited so we bought her a Dora fishing pole and some worms and headed out to Lake Wedington. We didn't even get a bite but it was fun. She got bored after about an hour and a half but we stayed about three hours total. She like it so much that we invited Denver to go with us this evening to Lake Fayetteville (this is much closer to our house and less of a chance of car sickness for me!) Denver is living the life of bachelor for the next two weeks because Brittany is at LSU's Graduate School of Banking. We are making sure that he is well taken care of and has plenty to occupy his time other than studying for his insurance exam. Here are some great pictures from this evenings fish.

Test Results

2008-05-16T16:50:00.002-05:00

We got the test results back from Katelyn's two day trip to Children's. Everything was normal except that she does have reflux. They switched her medicines and hope that it will help out. She seems to be feeling better from her ear infection now. We are going to celebrate Mother's Day tonight since my legs are finally feeling better. I'm not sure what the plans include. I will make sure to update you all a little later.

P.S. I know that I made a big typo on my previous posting when I said sleep dreams instead of sweet dreams. Does this even begin to tell you how tired I have been lately? Seems like I needed a vacation from my vacation! But I'm looking for positive things to brighten my days and keep me going...Justin and I only have 15 more car payments before his truck is paid off and I only have 6 more months before I graduate! We hope to buy a new house once these two things are accomplished! :)

Beach Pictures

2008-05-16T16:46:00.002-05:00

Back to the Real World

2008-05-14T21:37:00.002-05:00

We are back from vacation and I'm sorry it has been so long since I last updated but we have been a little miserable with sunburns and ear infections. I found out that I made an A in my managerial accounting class last week before the trip to Florida so that is really good news! We started the last class of the second term last night. My sunburn/sunpoinsoning is finally starting to heal but it itches like crazy! If you go to Destin this year make sure to buy more than a 30 spf sunscreen and make sure that you put it on well! Luckily Katelyn did not get burned....she would have been miserable. I will try to post pictures tomorrow if Katelyn sleeps tonight. I'm too tired to do so right now. Sleep dreams!

Swimming in the Ocean...

2008-05-06T08:28:00.002-05:00

Sorry I never updated about the tests last week. Justin and I have both been sick and trying to get things taken care of before our vacation. We won't know any results until May 14th but so far they think that everything is pretty normal. We were able to come home on Thursday afternoon. Friday we celebrated Justin's birthday with his parents and brother. We ate Foghorn's and it was really good. I tried their catfish which was good but not anything like Catfish Hole. We didn't do much this weekend but I did make a shopping trip to gather all our last minute supplies for the trip. Yesterday I took two DANTES tests which if I pass will give me 6 much needed credit hours for graduation. I think that I probably passed because you only needed to get a little less than half the questions right and I think that I knew at least half of the questions. Anyway today I have a final so I am studying and packing. I also want to get a pedicure. Katelyn is at school but I told her that I would pick her up early so she can practice swimming in the ocean. This is her new thing because she knows that we are going to the beach tomorrow. She gets in the tub and roles over on her belly and kicks her feet and this is what she calls practicing swimming in the ocean. It really is cute but I don't know that it is much practice for the real ocean. She is so excited and so am I! I took my car and got the oil changed and washed it yesterday. I just wish I didn't have class tonight so we could leave tonight but I know that I must go take my final and Justin needs some time to relax before the 10 hour drive to Destin. I promise to post some pictures when we return! Have a great week!

From the Hospital....

2008-04-30T11:53:00.002-05:00

Isn't this cool that I can write this while sitting on the hospital bed with Katelyn right next to me. Children's hospital is definitely high tech. We are going to be staying overnight in room 5E-08. You can send her an email from the website www.archildrens.org. They did the scope and everything was normal. We are staying overnight for the ph probe so see how often she refluxes and then they will do an upper gi in the morning. Will write more information about this all at that point.

Happy Dirt-day Old fart!!!

2008-04-28T20:46:00.003-05:00

We had a great time this weekend! It was nice to relax after such a hard week last week. Saturday I did have to work at the bank in the morning but then we went to the Gentry Safari afterwards with Marlaina, Brittney O., Lee Beth and her mom and little girl Finley, and Brittany T. and Denver (these are all people connected to the bank one way or another). It was a lot of fun. We took a picnic lunch and then walked around to see all the animals. Afterwards we did the drive-thru safari. This was a lot of fun with just us girls and there were a lot more animals than when Justin went with me and Katelyn a couple of months ago.

Sunday was the most relaxing because we didn't do anything all day except go to Sam's and visit Justin's mom and dad. She made a roast and we ate lunch about 1:30 or 2. It was delicious and late enough that I didn't have to cook dinner last night which is always a treat.

Tomorrow is Justin's birthday. I feel safe in saying (because he doesn't read this blog) that I am really disappointed that the portable dvd player I ordered from ebay for his birthday isn't here yet! I don't know what I am going to do tomorrow if it doesn't show up! We certainly don't have the money for me to go buy him another gift. I guess I will print a picture off of ebay and stick it in a card. I am sure he will understand. So if you talk to him wish him happy dirt-day! That's what Katelyn calls it and he also taught her to tell him he's an old fart. All that gray hair makes him feel old I think! Boy am I lucky so far... :)

Long week yet again...

2008-04-24T17:36:00.002-05:00

Well this has been a long week again so sorry that it has been since Saturday that I last updated. Katelyn's ear tubes have fallen out and she has fluid built up in one of the ears already. We have been to a family doctor and an ear, nose and throat doctor this week. After taking off early two days this week the doctor finally decided that they should give her some medicine. She is on an additional antibiotic to try to kick this before the tests are run next week.

Yesterday I went to Springfield, MO with another co-worker, Beverly for a Security Conference. This wasn't really much of a conference but a chance for them to do an extended sales pitch. They did have some neat ideas but I was ready to come home. Once we were back to Fayetteville my brakes pretty much went out. That horrible metal on metal sound is never pleasant. Luckily Justin's dad could loan us the money to get these done until he gets paid tomorrow. Seems like it is one thing after another.

Two good things going for me today: 1) This beautiful weather regardless of the rain is so nice! 2) I was able to eat lunch at JD China today for $0.74 because we had accumulated enough customer appreciation coupons for a free lunch special! I was so excited and it really hit the spot after eating at home and work all week for dinner and lunch.

Posting will be a little sporadic the next two weeks as we go to Children's next and then to Florida the week after next. However, Katelyn and I are planning a trip to the Gentry Zoo with some girls from work so I will try to post some pictures from that this weekend. TGTF! Thank Goodness Tomorrow is Friday!

Fugitives Captured & Present Screams....

2008-04-19T19:21:00.007-05:00

Thursday was jail day for Muscular Dystrophy.

Friday we received a gift from my Aunt Karen in Tennessee. She sells Tupperware and the gift was a wonderful snack set of Disney's Cars. Katelyn, as many of you know, wants to watch Cars every day. Justin and I have been searching for a replacement Disney movie that she will enjoy as much as Cars with no avail. We seriously need a break from cars. The closest thing so far has been Ninja Turtles which I think is horrible because it is all fighting. But I guess for now it's a break none the less. Same goes with presents as it was for her birthday. She squeals with delight at pulling out the tissue paper! It was much fun. Here are a few pictures.

Beautiful Blooms

2008-04-16T18:37:00.007-05:00

Today was a good day for us. We grilled hamburgers and played outside for awhile. Katelyn had not been able to use the wonderful swing set that Justin's nana and papa bought for her last year because of her runny nose and illnesses. This year we hope to get lots of hours of fun out of it. She already asks about it when we go home every day. She also likes to ride her Dora bike that she got for her birthday.

Today Brittany and I both reached our goals for MDA. We also both went over. The last totals today were $1,722.50 for each of us. This is amazing! Thank you to everyone that donated!

The trees around town are starting to slowly turn from blooms to leaves. This was one of the last of the trees in our yard to bloom. Isn't it beautiful?

Starvin' Marvin'

2008-04-14T19:42:00.002-05:00

Katelyn has moved on to a rebellious stage of not eating. I don't know if it is a rebellion against her new diet or if it is because she doesn't feel well. This weekend she didn't each much more than a dozen donut holes and a hot dog and that was all on Saturday. Today she did a little better because I made her take some bites of tortellini. She thinks it is ravioli and she likes them she is just refusing to eat anything. I am still trying to get her to eat dried fruits. Today she tried raisins again and tried a dried apricot for the first time. She licked it a bunch but never would take a bite of it.

We saw her PCP today. He thinks that she does have allergies that do not show on the testing for whatever reason. He gave us some samples of allegra to try since she is old enough to try some different allergy medicines now. Hopefully this will dry her up without a new antibiotic but he did prescribe one for later in the week if this doesn't get any better.

Isn't it hard to believe that it was spitting snow flurries yesterday and we are going to the beach in two weeks? I hope it gets much warmer between now and then!

Hurtin' Turkeys

2008-04-13T09:24:00.002-05:00

Justin left to go to the cabin in Pettigrew for the weekend and left Katelyn and me for a girl's weekend. I had to work at the bank yesterday morning and then worked for Dale for about an hour and half. The rest of the time we have been watching chick flicks and we made a short visit to Margret yesterday evening. Everyone we have seeen will ask Katelyn where Justin is. She always says he's hurtin' turkeys. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't even seen a turkey yet. That's okay with me because he would expect me to cook it somehow if he got one and I have no idea how to fix a wild turkey.

She is having trouble breathing this weekend and possibly has another infection (her drainage is lime green). So we are just hanging out and trying to rest so that she is hopefully doing better really soon. I look forward to Justin coming home for a break from the devil medicine.

Withdrawals....

2008-04-10T17:46:00.002-05:00

Katelyn disappeared last night for a little while and when I found her she had stolen an Oreo from the pantry and gotten it everywhere! Oreo's are one of the things she is not supposed to eat. So I guess she is having either cookie or chocolate withdrawals or knowing her maybe both.

An Occupational Therapist is giong to see her a week from tomorrow to evaluate her for sensory issues and to see if she needs any occupational therapies. This will be interesting as well.

I'm still behind on my Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Brittany and I were able to sell $147 worth of raffle tickets today at the Washington County Court House. This put us both right around $1,100 each. We are still about $500 away from the bail set by MDA. We must raise this money before next Thursday. Please click the link above if you wish to donate. They will bill you later if you that's what you desire to do. Thanks for everyone's help!

Really Long Day

2008-04-08T22:21:00.002-05:00

Kim and I left early this morning and headed to Little Rock in the rain. It was raining cats and dogs all the way past Ozark. It really delayed us on getting there by 10:30 but I made up some time time from Russelville on. We did get a little lost once we were in Little Rock because the building was not clearly marked at the road. Anyway, the doctor's office was not clean at all and we had to wait from 10:20 until 1:00 to actually see the doctor. We were not impressed at this point but I really liked Dr. VanLanthem. She was very nice and took the time to explain her concerns, the procedures that she wanted to perform, and the possible side effects of the procedures. So here's the lowdown of what she plans to do on April 30th: 1) She wants to perform a esophageal scope to look for any ulcers or scaring from Reflux 2) She wants to do an Upper GI to make sure that all of Katelyn's anatomy is correct and that there aren't any underlying problems down there since this has never been looked at 3) She wants to do a small biopsy of the major areas from the upper GI and scope to allergy test. She says that some foods will not show an allergic reaction on the blood work but will when in contact with these tissues (This may explain her shell fish reactions!) 4) Last but not least she wants to monitor her overnight with a PH balancing test that will record every reflux, how long it lasts, and how acidic it is. She seems to think that this could really be a big part of Katelyn's problem. She says that Dr. Bower (Katelyn's ENT) sends her a lot of patients like this that don't have clear cut signs of aspiration on the swallow study and this can sometimes be a part of their problem. So we are all very hopeful that something will come of this.

We ate lunch in Conway at Cracker Barrel. This was the first time I have seen Katelyn actually eat a hamburger. She didn't eat much today because I didn't have any snacks she could eat with the new restriction so she was really hungry. I think she would have eaten just about anything! She made sure to tell the waitress that she needed cheese though. She probably would have thrown a fit without the cheese. She told her at least five times that I remember. After we ate we hurried back to town because I had class tonight. I just got in and wanted to update so everyone would know what was going on. Will write more later. I'm too exhausted to think of anything else tonight.

Back Again...

2008-04-07T20:36:00.002-05:00

Well we are back to Little Rock again tomorrow. It is becoming like our second home. When I called Katelyn's doctor to get a referral to the GI doctor they called back in less than an hour and asked us to be there tomorrow at 10:30. This is not a doctor at Children's but a private practice. The ENT had recommended them so that was nice. Unfortunately Justin is not able to go with us tomorrow so his mom is going instead. It is nice that she is able to do that because that would be an especially long trip with Katelyn alone. The list of meltable solids is a little longer and less manageable than I had originally expected. I'm not sure what Katelyn is going to eat for breakfast because she can eat no cereal or thawed out frozen pancakes or waffles. She doesn't like pop tarts and the teacher said she isn't eating her nuffins anymore. I made a smoothie this morning but she didn't drink it because it was still sitting there when I went to pick her up this afternoon. I guess we will figure something out with a few trial and errors.

Modified Diet and more...

2008-04-06T08:14:00.002-05:00

Sorry it took so long for me to update you on our Children's visit on Friday. We were detained by some by the tornado that went through there Thursday night. Traffic was horrible (almost at a standy still) all the way from Conway to Little Rock and we were worried that we wouldn't make it on time. Surprisngly as soon as we checked in she was called back. The swallow study took less than 45 minutes. I guess it helps that she actually cooperated this time thanks to Ms. Amy and Ms. Paige's quick thinking and months of preparation. They took pictures of Ms. Amy in the swallow study chair drinking her drinks and getting her "big girl" pictures made with the BIG camera. Katelyn was definitely more prepared this time than last. Unfortunately, there was still very deep penetration with her thin liquids. And medium penetration with meltable solids. They didn't see her aspirate but they aren't convinced that she doesn't. Given her history it is failry obvious that she does. So we must modify her diet even more. We are supposed to avoid the staples of toddler-hood. No more cheese puffs, crackers, vanilla wafers, or any thing that when chewed a couple of times is more of a liquid substance than a solid. We are also supposed to give her dried fruits instead of fresh fruit when possible because of the liquid content in this type of food. They say this is a minor change to her diet but for those of you that know how picky Katelyn is will appreciate how concerned with are with finding her things to eat. They say that pasta and meat are great foods for her. Good thing she loves mac and cheese and chicken!

Yesterday we went Devil's Den and went four-wheeling. Katelyn loves "bicycle" riding! We asked her if she wanted to go yesterday morning and of course she did but when Justin went outside to load up she thought he left her here and she threw the biggest fit. It was kind of cute! I packed us a picnic lunch and we headed off about 10:00. We rode about 5 mph on a three mile trail stopping a little over half way to eat. When we got to the end of the trail none of us were ready to go so we turned around and headed back. We found a pretty waterfall to stop and look at but the turn around was a little too much for Katelyn's first time out. She was trying to stand up and sitting in all kinds of strange positions before we made it back to the truck. It was weird to us that we didn't see anyone else the whole time we were out. And the only deer we saw were on the sides of the roads coming and going.

We also ventured to Rogers yesterday to Gordman's grand opening. I have to say that for a grand opening there weren't any special deals. I did get a pair of shorts and a tank top for the beach in 3 weeks! It's hard to imagine it being warm enough for the beach since it is 50 degrees as I write this. But my mom assures me that it normally is.

Slow News Day

2008-04-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Today is a slow news day per say. There just isn't much to report but I am enjoying venting through this blog a little. I worked really late today. Greenland Schools was having a Math night so Kevin, Brittany, and I went to help make hamburgers and hot dogs for all the families that showed up. It's nice to help out in the community a bit but after school Tuesday and working for Dale yesterday made for a long day/week. Today was sort of like Friday for me because I don't go to work tomorrow. I don't know if a day at Children's is considered a fun day but the tension at the bank lately makes me wonder if a day at Children's is better than being at the bank?

I've been contemplating more and more what I want to do after graduation. I really enjoy banking but it seems like there should be more to this profession....

Okay...so on to an update on Katelyn's ever growing vocabulary. We went to McDonald's for dinner because I worked so late and then Katelyn only wanted chicken for dinner. In the happy meals right now come these different pieces of jewelry or accessories related to the Disney princess characters. The one she got tonight was a Belle necklace and when you open it up it has some solid perfume. Katelyn opened it up and said, "this smells like dog poops!" At least she doesn't know that crap is the same thing. The other really funny thing that she must have learned from Justin is to call people a dufus. Justin calls people this in the midst of road rage and now so does Katelyn. It may not be nice but it sure is funny to hear her say!

Goodnight and I will update you all on her trip to Children's tomorrow when we get home.

34 classes to go!

2008-04-01T21:49:00.002-05:00

Tonight was the final for my Financial Mathematics class. There are only 34 more classes until we graduated. I am looking forward to the end! The next class is Accounting. It should be interesting since it is about Financial statements and stuff like that that.

Today was April Fool's...I was never able to come up with anything to get anyone. I never did really understand what the point of April Fools was. My friend Brittany pulled a good one on Kevin today. She told him that Mr. Lion needed him to call him about some land for sale in Eureka Springs. She gave him the Tulsa Zoos phone number and he called them! Can you imagine calling the zoo and asking for Mr. Lion? Brittany said that the zoos ask for donations on April Fools because they get so many calls like this. I thought it was really funny!

I have been trying to teach Katelyn her name. She has known for awhile that her name is tatelyn as she says but I want her to know her full name in case she ever got lost. So each day in the car on the way home from school we talk about her full name. Today I told her that Justin's name is Justin Ledbetter and that my name is Tarah Ledbetter and her name is Katelyn Ledbetter. She sounded like she knew what I was talking about so I dropped it for the day. Justin called and said that she is now calling him Daddy Ledbetter and me Mommy Ledbetter! She is so smart!

Well Justin just called and said he is on his way home from his mom and dad's. Her car still isn't working. I hope that this get fixed soon. I know what it is like to not have a vehicle. I guess I better go prepare for Daddy Ledbetter and baby Ledbetter! Sweet dreams!!!

There's no place like home....

2008-03-31T18:26:00.003-05:00

We just made it home after a not so breif stop in Springdale to pick up Justin's truck from his parents. Traffic in NWA is just awful! This weekend was a lot of fun. Saturday after a short visit with my mamaw at the hospital, we went to Pigeon Forge and did a little shopping before it started raining. We then went and ate at a restaraunt called the Peddler. They have a fabulous salad bar with smoked oysters and wonderful other salad bar fixins. We were able to sit at a table that overlooks the river in Gatlinbug. It was beautiful and Katelyn was somewhat well behaved through the meal. Sunday we spent mostly with family. We ate lunch with my mamaw and my mom's twin Rita. We met my cousin's Angela's fiance, Billy and then went to see my dad's side of the family. They live on farm and it is always fun for Katelyn to experience these new and exciting things. This time they had two horses which she loved feeding. And she finally learned that riding four-wheelers is a fun thing instead of scary thing.

It's just amazing as a parent to see how in such a short amount of time this person who depends on you for everything learns their own independence. It is such an amazing thing to witness a personality spawn from nothing into something as fun and amazing as Katelyn's. I was telling Justin (as Katelyn slept) on the way home that this was the easiest trip we have made with Katelyn yet. Her burst of independence, while hard for mom to take at times, has really made her that much more fun to be around. She can eat dinner with us now instead of one of us feeding her. She slept on a pallet on the floor instead of the portable crib and she slept all night long. It just made things less stressful for us (though probably not for my mom!) and much more fun and relaxing. For those curious traveler's who may go East sometime in the near future: 1) In Knoxville there is a great used bookstore called McKays right off the interstate that has some great bargains. Not everything is cheaper than Hastings but I was able to find Goldenbooks for 55 cents. This is a great deal for a little girl who loves to read and be read books! 2) Gas is pretty much $3.09 to $3.19 every where from Fayetteville to Knoxville and a little farther East. However, we did see gas for $3.05 in Conway today. We had to stop there and let Katleyn play at the Burger King's indoor play ground. Those places are disgusting so you better believe we did some disinfecting. But it was nice for her.

Anyway, enough for now but here are a few pictures from this weekend's visit.

Over the River and through the woods....

2008-03-29T09:22:00.002-05:00

To Nana's house we go. We made the long journey to Knoxville the past two days. The Mississippi River was still flooded. You could see roads that were completly flooded over by the signs. It was amazing the difference from the White River in NWA to the White River in Eastern Arkansas. We stayed in Jackson Thursday night and the hotel was twice what we expected to pay. It was really nice though. We had two double beds which aren't really large enough for all three of us to sleep in. So I slept in one with Katelyn. However, she can't lay still when she sleeps and at some point in the night she rolled off the bed and fell hard on the thinly carpeted floor. It took a while before she was able to go back to sleep in between Justin and I. This made for a long night! Luckily, Katelyn slept most of the way to Jackson and then most of the way from Jackson to Knoxville yesterday. But she was really glad to get out of the car when we got here. My mom took her for a walk while Justin and I went to get some lunch and Katelyn told her that she wanted to go swimming when she saw the swimming pool. It's too bad that it is way to cold to even be outside today (it is only 48 degrees right now). I guess visiting my mamaw and some shopping are in store for today. No plans for tomorrow. We should go to Maynardville to visit some of my dad's family. Will write more when we return home probably.

Not so good news....

2008-03-27T05:48:00.002-05:00

My mom called yesterday and her mother, my mamaw, is in the hospital. They say she has congestive heart failure and some spots on her lungs that may be lung cancer. We were suppose to leave this afternoon to go and visit my mom for her birthday weekend. It looks as if this may not be the funest trip we've had. But I am glad that we were already supposed to go there so that we can visit her if things take a turn for the worse. It's hard to think about things like this for me. It brings back so many memories of my dad that are really hard to think about. It's amazing that six years later I still want to pick up the phone sometimes and call my dad to tell him something about Katelyn. But I just think that he is probably somewhere experiencing more joy than we can even imagine!

On the up side, Katelyn is doing much better. The only time she has any breathing problems now is when she cries for too long. She got hurt last night and after she cried for a while I could hear the rattle returning and she was really out of breath. Once she calmed down she was doing better and she sleep most of the night. I think she had a bad dream about 4 o'clock. I was able to enjoy her new bed for a while before she went back to sleep.

Happy Easter!!!

2008-03-23T18:08:00.005-05:00

Look what I found mommy! Candy!

Now I have glasses just like mommy!

Isn't it funny how the simplest things can occupy a child?

What a princess!

Driver! Take me to Mimi and Poppi's House!

The Ledbetters

Happy Easter Everyone! Today was interesting with the hyperactivity that comes from her medicine and the added sugar from the candy. First thing this morning while we were getting ready Katelyn found the bag of eggs she received from her easter egg hunt yesterday and proceeded to eat as many jelly beans and chocolate coins as she could before we discovered her. Then we had to give her the Easter basket I had made which of course contained more candy. (I don't know what I was thinking when I bought all the candy! I must be insane!) Anyway, her easter basket contained blue hello kitty candy lipstick which tastes wonderful but doesn't look so good on a white princess dress. Mommy had to clean that up before doing anything else. But all in all we got some wonderful pictures and had a great time visiting with Justin's Nana and Papa. Oh by the way! Isn't Arkansas beautiful in the Spring time. I know that the weather out today doesn't feel like spring but look at our tulip tree!

What a Ham...

2008-03-22T20:25:00.005-05:00

We went to Mimi and Poppi's house this afternoon to dye Easter eggs and hunt a few. We decided to do this because Katelyn was breathing well and it is supposed to be cooler tomorrow. She was such a ham! Every time she saw the camera she would pose and smile really big. She loved dyeing the eggs! And she did a good job not getting the colored water everywhere. We tried something new that Kim saw on Good Morning America or something where you put rubber bands on the eggs and then dye them. They turned out really neat! It leaves lines and then you can color them a different color and the lines show up. It was really pretty. We only hid the plastic eggs today and there were really too many of them. It was windy and a little chilly by then. By about half way through she was breathing really hard again and we had to rush through the rest. A few pictures are down below. She did enjoy opening the eggs and eating some candy after her breathing treatment though. But like every kid that eats too much candy she got a belly ache. I'm sure this will happen again tomorrow. We went and saw Margret and Helen after that and Katelyn got an Easter basket from her great aunt Karen and a big Easter bunny that is so soft from Margret. Helen also gave her a handful of change that went into the ducky bank as soon as we got home. It was nice to get out and see a few people since we have been pretty couped up the past week. It may have been a little too much too soon....

Me do it!

Oh! Here's anutter one!

Boy is it windy!

Back to work...

2008-03-21T06:37:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm going back to work today. The shop is closed for Spring Break today so Justin gets to stay home with Katelyn. I think she is started to feel better but she doesn't really sound much better breathing wise. I am debating calling the doctor's office to see how long I should let it continue before they reevaluate the situation. However, Dr. Lovell and his nurses were yesterday and they are off today as well. I know that the clinic has other good doctors but none that are familiar with Katelyn's history. She ran a small fever yesterday but by the evening it was gone.

I got a break last night when Kim's parents stole Mike and Josh away to Pettigrew. She still had not found an Easter dress so we went to the Promenade in Rogers. That was the first time I was able to shop without Katelyn in a long time and only the second time that I got to shop at more than one store there. I was a good girl and only bought a new pair of slippers to wear to work that were on sale. I am trying to save my money to go see my mom next weekend. I hope that Katelyn is all better before leaving on that trip. Allergies always seem to bother us all when we get back from there.

Well we have made up our minds that she can't go to school definitely until Wednesday and probably not until we return from my moms. We don't want to run the risk of her catching something else before we leave on the trip Thursday. This also means that she will miss Easter Sunday church. Her beautiful dress will have to wait for another day. I think I will dress her up anyway and take some pictures with Mimi and Poppi when we go eat some wonderful food with them.

I'm off to deliver boo-boo bunnies to the daycare as promised. I hope they save Katelyn a treat bag at least since Kim and I went to all the trouble! Have a great day and probably a great weekend!

Long Week

2008-03-20T09:34:00.003-05:00

Well it has been a long week. Today is my third day home with Katelyn but she still is wheezing and coughing a lot and I just don't want to leave her. I am also very tired and don't think I would be worth much at work. We are doing breathing treatments very regularly but they don't make the wheezes go away. We ventured out of the house last night and visited mimi and poppi. I was very lucky that they fixed dinner for us while Justin helped his dad with one of their vehicles. That appears to be a few days job because they weren't able to fix it last night. Katelyn did well at their house and then fell asleep shortly after we got home. She slept in her own bed all night. It was wonderful! She really has been such a trooper through this whole ordeal but I guess by now she is probably use to all the medications and the not feeling well. We knew yesterday that she was not feeling well because she said she didn't want donut holes she just wanted to go back to bed. For her to say that just broke my heart! Today was a different story. She NEEDED a hot dog! That is her new favorite food by the way. So what the heck...I gave her a hot dog. If she will eat anything on this medicine so be it. Here are some pictures her taking her meds. You would never know she was sick by that adorable smile!

Cough, Cough, wheeze, wheeze

2008-03-18T19:34:00.002-05:00

Well I took Katelyn to the doctor yesterday because she was coughing way too much. She didn't sleep at all on Sunday night. Dr. Lovell said that she was having an asthma attack. He prescribed some medicine to help with the cough that had codeine in it and the pharmacist was concerened that this medicine would slow her breathing too much. So we didn't get the medicine and got her coughing under control with the asthma medication. However, during this time her asthma symptoms worsened and she was having fast labored breathing and the wheezing could be heard every time she breathed. She also started running a fever of 103. So we went back to the doctor today because the pulmonologist is on Spring Break. We love Dr. Menedez but she sure does have a strange schedule for a doctor (It must be nice!). They did a breathing treatment and then sent us for chest x-rays. All that these showed were viral asthmatic material in her lungs, not pneumonia. Whew! We were glad of this but they are treating the same as the pneumonia. She is on inhaled and oral steroids, a stronger antibiotic, and her normal medications. She is wired! We decided that since we both took the day off to rest we would do something to hopefully help her sleep tonight. We purchased a twin size bed from my friend Brittany and I picked it up over the weekend from Huntsville. We set the bed up today and she is in heaven. She actually wants to go to her room and to lay on her bed. We are hoping this will get her excited about going to bed. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Justin's mom has agreed to watch her tomorrow because she definitely can't go back to school until she doesn't wheeze. I don't trust the new school enough yet to take care of her the way that she needs right now. It's so sad because she has had to miss so many parties at school and she missed her St. Patrick's day one yesterday. And it is looking as if she might miss her Easter Friday as well. Justin was giving me a break to update this since it had been since Thursday but by the tugging on my leg and the whining for mommy that I hear I am assuming that my break is over. I will try to post pictures of her new bed as soon as I get a chance. Please pray for a speedy recovery and for some much needed sleep! Thanks!

Happy Birthday Josh!

2008-03-13T20:07:00.002-05:00

Today is Justin's brothers birthday. Josh turned 17 today. We went to Chili's for dinner to celebrate and I tried something new that I have to share with everyone. I got the fajitas that are chicken with cheese and mushrooms! They are soooo good!!! And there was enough for me to have for lunch tomorrow too. It was delicious! We are waiting for Katelyn to put 17 candles on Uncle Josh's "dirtday" cake. I told her that we were going to celebrate Uncle Josh's birthday and she said, "Thank you. I need to make him a dirtday card!" It was so cute! She really is empathetic and caring!

Tomorrow we are having our first breakfast at the bank for MDA. Pray that all goes well. We have already sold $150 worth of raffle tickets since yesterday afternoon so that is good!