Redeployed

One of my best friends, Ed Johnson, is a member of the Oklahoma National Guard (as well as being an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper). He is a Staff Sergeant with the National Guard/Army and an amazing man!

Ed is getting ready to redeploy to Afghanistan for a year with his unit from Oklahoma. He has been participating in training since mid-February and creating a family out of his new unit. He is coming home for 3 days next week to see his family and have a grand shin-dig celebrating life and friendships! I am incredibly bummed that I will not be able to be home for this party!!!

Today, I asked my students in my "Severe Needs" program to write a letter/make a card/draw a picture for my friend and I told them about Ed. The kids all did a great job of writing notes, although most were "too mature" to draw a picture or add color to the pictures they were drawing...

Here is a card that was made by one of my 5th graders. He is a very straight-to-the-point kinda guy... very sincere, very straight laced...



I love you Ed and I know you will come home to us safely!

Progress... as Promised!

Over Spring Break I created a "Honey Do" list for us to use for our "free time"... We made daily trips to Home Depot for supplies and/or to return supplies. But... at the end of the week, we now have...

A functional dining room table - Ian took the base that we already had, cleaned it up with wood oil, leveled the top, stained a piece of wood, tacked it onto the base and put a large piece of glass over that!

A garden in the front yard- Ian put his new tiller attachment for the weed-eater to work and tilled the side border and the small "garden plot" in the front. We now have a much larger garden in the front yard. We are planning on planting some seeds and bulbs later this week. We had hoped to plant today, but the weather changed and started snowing, guess that was a good sign to NOT plant yet!

An awesome desk complete with file storage and shelves! We use the two two-drawer file cabinets as a base and bought a piece of laminated particle board which we had cut to match the depth of the file cabinets... then took the extra board cut so that we could make 2 shelves that run the length of the new desk.

A clean house- I spent most of the week cleaning house, doing laundry, putting clothes away and organizing. I spent a better part of the beautiful day yesterday in the basement moving my scrapbooking supplies from their tubs and boxes to the desk and shelves! Now we only need to move the bookshelves from their current resting place to a new spot in the basement... that will open up some floor space when we empty the boxes of books!

We only need to finish the painting projects in the kitchen (needs one wall primed and painted) as well as the one spot in the office above the door. Then install the backsplash in the kitchen and I will be a happy girl!!! We also plan on planting a garden in the backyard with flowers and food!!! With any luck we will have a beautiful house for the rehearsal dinner in July!!!

Pictures coming soon...

Big News!

Well this weekend and week have been busy for us! Over the weekend we got the BRILLIANT idea to have our rehearsal dinner at our house instead of at a restaurant. Why, you might ask, would we want to have everyone at OUR house just before our wedding????? Well, we are getting married in a remote location and there are only a few restaurants in the area that are nice, only problem is they all end up being too expensive or out of the way from the hotel. So... we thought we would just host the dinner at our house so we can show off our beautiful home as well as save money! This way everyone we love gets to see our house and what we have done with it and meet our children (Kodi and Buddy) as well as hang out in a comfortable setting. No worries about dress code, no worries about closing time, nothing, nada... We talked it over with Ian's parents and they seemed to like the idea, so now we need to get some catering quotes together and sent to his parents and this portion of the wedding will be complete! Ba-da-bing...

Other wedding related news. The Tulsa reception is coming together. I ordered the post-card invites on Saturday. My dad is getting too excitable about the plans, he has already arranged to have cakes made for the reception (he didn't like the idea of getting a cake from Sam's...) and wants to have food catered in. I don't know what has gotten into him, but alright! I got the cool customized cocktail napkins in the other day for the reception and book 2 (volume 3) of our photo books last week! I am working on making book 3 (volume 2- 2010) now so all I have left to do is our engagement book. I am planning on having the engagement book be our guest book so people can write whatever they want instead of signing on the line of a book that will never be looked at. We have decided on a caterer, we just need to call them back to confirm everything! We are still deciding what we want to do about flowers- order them from Costco and make our own bouquets/boutonnieres/corsages/centerpieces or have a florist do the bouquets, etc and us just make the centerpieces. My final dress fitting is this Thursday and then I will have my entire wardrobe together in one place minus the veil which Ian's mom will receive in May.

We have started working on details for two different bridal showers and I can only hope that Ian can go home with me in June so he can be apart of those (also so we can have a couples event too)... I am extremely excited about seeing everyone in June! We have received quite a few reply cards back in the last month and are up to 39 attendees I think. And of course, me being lil' Miss O.C.D. I have made a master copy of the guest list for all events... Ba-da-boom!

Since is it Spring Break and we are broke, we decided to spend the week together working on projects in the house. We have purchased the wood to put together a desk for me (using our pre-existing file cabinets as base support) so I can not only have my filing cabinets for organization but also organize and store my scrapbooking supplies in one spot! This will also free up a bookcase for books... and unload several more boxes! We set up our DVD shelves the other night and that made a huge dent in the room! Ian has also drawn up plans to fix our dining room table (stain the top piece of wood before adding the glass over it) and has that project going... with any luck we will have the table finished this week, my desk together and organized as well as our gardens started!

Gardens... yea... we are growing up... we bought a lawn mower and a tiller attachment for the weed-eater this week along with flower bulbs and seeds, soil conditioner and fencing... Ian worked like a crazy man yesterday raking all the "decorative" rocks from the border garden between the garage and sidewalk as well as in the bed beside the house... weather permitting we are going to till these areas, put up the border around them, mix in the soil conditioner and plant some flowers! I am super excited about this! We bought colorful decorative Indian corn, miniature pumpkins, miniature gourds, colorful cacti, along with an assortment of colorful flowers in the last two days!

I better run, I hear that it is time to start putting the shelves together for my desk! Pictures to follow sooner than later I hope!

Love and hugs!

March Fun

So far March has been a fun month! We have had one catering tasting, and two flower consults. We have one more caterer tasting this weekend... then to contact our original caterer to get a similar proposal to the other two and make our decision! The florists both said that they would email us the proposals within a week to ten days...

In other wedding news, we finished our invitations last weekend and have already gotten five response cards back!!!! So far only four people are going to attend... should lead to a fun night! :) I am sure we will get more cards this week from other family members... the wedding isn't for 125 days. I realized after we got our first response card back that I totally forgot to put the ribbon on the card to coordinate with the invitation! Oops! Guess I can always add the ribbon now right?

Yesterday we drove to Colorado Springs to spend the afternoon with Jen. It was good to see her after not having the chance to see her for almost a year! Sight seeing in Manitou Springs was fun, even with the horrible wine tasting that we attended...

In other news, Ian has had an in-person interview and a follow up with one company, hoping to hear back from them soon on whether or not he got the job... he has another in person interview tomorrow with another company... Keep the prayers coming that he is able to find a job. Lord knows he wants to find one!

I have also been hired by a home health company based in Denver. I need to contact the other speech therapists to shadow them before I get my first clients since it has been 7 years since I have dabbled in the medical side of my profession, mainly swallowing and some of the more cognitive therapies for post-CVA patients.

CSAP season is officially in full swing and once we are finished with CSAP, we will have SPRING BREAK!!! THEN... 100 days!!!

What a week!!!

What a week I have had! Monday, on my day off, we spent the day Spring Cleaning... vacuuming, shampooing carpets, moving furniture from one floor to the another... only to end up beaten, bruised and incredibly sore... BUT...

It all paid off... the house looks great AND the even bigger news...

MY BOOK arrived yesterday! I made a book, totally eleventh hour, on mypublisher.com that was filled with pictures of Ian and me from 2009 when we first started to date... the book took me about 4 hours to create from uploading pictures from multiple cds/computers/and places to downloading the 276 pictures and 61 page book to the website! I created the book on Feb 9 and received it Feb 23! Not bad at all!!!

http://bookshelf.mypublisher.com/?e=OHm3Q8zJl3TFCSldL124LXSEKhrSgo3r&s=fb

THEN... after a full day at school, I went to South Denver for the beginning of my training for home health services, got home at 7pm... to... a box in my mailbox... a box of what you might ask...

MY WEDDING STATIONARY!!!!!!! They are AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL!!! Thanks so much to Regina Banks with Arjaybi's Stationary in Oklahoma City! (www.arjaybis.com )

Birthday Wishes and More@

Thank you family and friends! Words can not express how wonderful you have each made me feel today with each of your birthday wishes. When I feel like I am not as successful as I should be, or getting enough done at work or making progress like I could or should... I get 100 or more birthday wishes from close friends and old friends alike! I know that I truly AM blessed with such wonderful family and friends in my life!

Although I had a 12 hour day at work between teaching, professional development/staff meeting and induction class, I had a marvelous day with such sweet students! Although I have felt like I am not truly part of the family at my building, I had a lot of wonderful, heart-felt wishes for a happy birthday from my co-workers. I miss my Zebra family so much on days like today... I had messages from almost all of my former co-workers from Claremont. You mean the world to me, thank you.

To my Zebra family. Words can not describe how special you have made me feel, not just when I was a member of the Claremont family, but since I moved. You continue to make me feel like a TRUE Zebra. I miss you all and am so glad that I have such wonderful friends like you in my life!

Another update... I finished another of my goals that I had created last year... I finally created a book about me and Ian for 2009... AND I managed to save $45 in the process! I am hoping to have all of my pictures uploaded and on a cd/dvd from Ian's computer when the next special comes up from Mypublisher! I should get my book this week!

Also in terms of goals completed from the list of 101 things I wanted to complete in 1000 days... I am engaged, almost have my wedding planning finished... I will find the list of goals that I made last year (365 days ago) and will update them this week!

Happy Valentine's Day and mid-February to all of you and THANK YOU again for making me feel so loved and special!

Saying Good-bye is hard to do...

This month, I have had 3 friends have to say "good-bye" to very important people in their lives. Well I take that back, it is more than 3 friends, so I should say 3 families...

January started with a Hallelujah Moment for Gran I. The Reynolds/Blakemore families celebrated the rich and long life of Ida Pondarae Reynolds on January 3, 2011. Gran I was 99 years and 4 months old. She was an amazing woman and I feel blessed to have met her and to have had her in my life as a role model for 26 years. Her legacy will live on in her wonderful grandkids, great grandkids and GREAT GREAT grandkids who also had the joy of knowing her.

A week later, my friend from TU, Whitney Baab Bennett, along with her family said "good-bye for now" at a life celebration for her father. Whit's dad had battled cancer for a little over 2 years. That road was a long and arduous road for the entire Baab family. About the time that they thought that Bud was in remission another scan would state the opposite. Throughout the entire ordeal, the Baab family stood firm in their faith and knew that their father/husband/grandpa was in the hands of God.

This week, I saw on facebook that another of my close friends, Crystal Smith Lattimore, had lost her father. Having grown up at the Smith house throughout my childhood, I knew the pain that Crystal was feeling. Crystal and I were always super emotional and super close to our families. Like the Baab family dealing with cancer for 2 years, the Smith family has dealt with heart problems for the last 15 years or so. Through all the hospital visits and stays, Crystal and her wonderful mom, Lavetta, always stayed firm on their faith that Lonnie too would be taken care of by his Lord and Savior.

Although I haven't lost one of my parents, I think I have an idea how my friends are feeling right now. LOST... maybe not right now because they are unreeling from the adrenaline filled roller coaster of ups and downs and exhaustion from the last months of hospital stays, they will feel lost and alone sooner than later... I am impressed by the displays of faith that all the families mentioned above have shown through these times of trial.

I have had my faith renewed by the love and devotion shown by the families of the ones lost this month. I pray that they will continue to feel the calming presence of their loved ones when they hit bottom and start to grieve for their dad and grandma. I ask that my friends continue to pray for these families (Reynolds/Blakemore, Baab and Smith) for strength and comfort in the days and weeks to come.

Pining for the Good Ol' Days...

Who remembers the tv show "Cheers" where the opening song went something along the lines of "We all want to go where everyone knows your name..."

I pine for being in a place where everyone knows my name... and everyone worked together for a common cause, the common good of our students. I didn't realize what good thing I had at two of my former places of employment until the last 6 months. Let me start from the beginning...

Fort Worth... my first job after college. My first year was full of struggles, what person has an easy first year teaching right? I had teachers say that they didn't think that I was a professional because I was young... I was inexperienced... I was new to the state and/or district... I was the same age as their children, and Lord knows that their grown children are NOT professionals... but things worked out, I persevered. I made it a point to do my job and do the best I could at everything I did. I changed schools my second year for a position I was stoked to be offered! I was going to work at the Regional School for the Deaf in my district! I was going to put my love for working with children that are hearing impaired to use! Unbeknownst to me, my principal had other ideas for my future career... she made it a point to make my life a living HELL, literally. I moved back to my first school for my third and last year in Texas. I loved being back with my kids and with the staff that respected me and came to me for consultation, regardless of my "inexperience." I had an amazing support system in Ft. Worth... I could call any of the 70+ SLP's in our district for advice, had access to just about any standardized test or materials I could think of... had team members who wanted to help each other learn, grow and become better teachers. People who cared about each other and about the future of our kids... who worked together to come up with interventions to help our kids... who actually listened to other professionals when they asked for advice and suggestions.

After my grandma passed away, I decided I needed to be closer to my family. I was missing too much of my nieces lives. I got a job in Claremore. A SMALL town in comparison to Tulsa or Fort Worth! The district superintendent knew each of the teachers that worked for him and he personally signed each contract, not a stamp used by a secretary! The staff at my school was (and still is) AMAZING! The Zebra family was just that... a FAMILY. Everyone supported the other and truly were friends and professionals. I am still friends with most of the staff that I worked with in Claremore. Our building oozed professionalism, friendship, loyalty, and unity. We were ALL Zebras, from preschool to 4th grade. We all lived by the same code of conduct... from how we walked in the halls to behavior in the cafeteria.

Then I moved to Colorado... I am still searching for a home where I feel like I am part of the professional community as well as part of the family. Last year in the Aspen Valley I was trusted about as far as my students could throw me professionally speaking. My every recommendation was questioned and doubted by teachers, parents and my supervisors. Leaving the valley was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life... which brings us to the present day...

When I was hired for my current job I was excited! I had a principal who was young and enthusiastic about her job and teaching. The district was going about teaching students in a new way... rather than focusing on grades they were looking at what level the kids are working at and filling those gaps and moving the kids up through various academic levels. The downside to this plan is that the classroom teacher is still responsible for teaching grade level materials and state standards as well as the various level learning targets, which may or may not be on grade level. As an SLP, I have a broad scope and sequence for what I can teach. I can work on oral language, articulation, fluency, voice, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, oral comprehension and writing. When I say writing, I am referring to the parts of writing such as the grammar, semantics, and structure, NOT the formation of handwriting... I wish I could say that I am as stoked about this position as I was 4 months ago... I am becoming frustrated by the politics and lack of support, or at least the feeling of no-support from all levels.

When will I find my dream job? The one that I feel like I am accepted and am one of the family? The one where the other professionals support each other and trust the other? A job where I am able to do what I am trained to do and do best? Where I can support the various grade level teachers for literacy development? Where I can actually collaborate in the classroom and have teachers truly WANT me in their classroom for assistance???

Why can't I be a ZEBRA in Colorado with the material/assessment support from Fort Worth???

Our "lil man" Buddy

In October we adopted our son, Buddy. Kodi needed a playmate when my parents left with Zoe so we went on a search to find a friend for her... after deciding to save our money and keep looking we went to a bridal show and on the way home stopped at the pet store in the local mall. Little did we know we would leave with our son... Buddy was then a 5 month old Yorkie trapped in a little cage all by himself while all the other puppies were being looked at because they were between 8-10 weeks old... Here are some of our first few days with our growing family...

Introducing Buddy to Kodi... She wasn't too sure of him and vice versa!

Sisterly love... Kodi giving Buddy some puppy kisses to show that she loved her new brother!

His toy was almost as big as him!

Sleepy time... our dogs love to snuggle up together!!! Even the first night we brought him home!

He even likes to snuggle with momma... although at the point of this picture he was almost sitting on my head!

Our little Mini-Benji!!!

Reflections...

It is the new year and the perfect time to reflect on life and how things went in the last year and what we want in the upcoming year... so... here I go...

I am a very caring person who trusts instinctively and who tries to do whatever I can for other people... since Ian and I started dating and more recently got engaged, it has become more obvious to me that some of my "friends" are not as good for me as they seem... I have "friends" that say that they are happy for us and are supportive of our relationship, but don't show it... We have some friends who are so in "shock" that we are getting married that it shows in remarks made on social networking sites. These are the people that I don't need in my life. I need people that are going to be supportive of me and my future. Supportive of the choices that I am making in my life and who actually care enough about me and our friendship to return calls and texts, who actually send an email just to see how things are going, not send mass emails as their way of "keeping in touch."

I know that I have plenty of friends that are supportive and encouraging of the choices that I am making and who truly want to be part of my life. For those that have not shown their best sides in the last 2 years, I am sorry that it has come to this, but I don't need people who pretend to be supportive of me and when I need you the most for support (be it during times of crisis or happiness) you are MIA or otherwise too busy to show your support. I need friends surrounding me that when they say they are excited about something they show it by actually returning calls/texts/emails, who actually want to take the time to see me when I am home, even for a quick trip... I need friends who aren't so wrapped up in their lives to remember to think of others.

For those of you who are those friends to me, thank you for your love, support and encouragement. I know that there are people out there that are not supportive of mine and Ian's upcoming marriage for various reasons, but we are getting married and we are happy about our upcoming union, so basically deal.

These are reflections from Tracey Barnes... soon to be Stiller

2010... oh what a year... 2011... I welcome you!

What a year 2010 was! I finished my first year teaching in Colorado and changed jobs as a solution to my stressful and unhappy situation. I moved myself and Ian across the state for a new job that I was incredibly excited about... Ian and I got engaged on a very spur of the moment moment! We started planning our wedding and have had a lot of success with planning our wedding...

There has been a lot of heartache and worry in 2010... my extended family (the Blakemore/Reynolds family) endured more pain, heartache and stress than one family should have to in a lifetime and somehow still managed to end the year with a smile on their faces and celebrations of the life of a very special woman who went on to heaven on Dec. 30, 2010.

Yes, our dear and precious Grandma Ida went on to heaven to be with her Lord and Savior after 99 years on this earth. I am heartbroken, as I never thought of life without her, but I am happy that she is no longer suffering and in pain and that she is in God's hands now. I am saddened that she passed away on the day that Ian and I left to drive back to Colorado after an extended stay in Tulsa.

2011 promises to be an amazing year... We are finishing our wedding plans and will be married on my late Grandma Alan's birthday... discussions are already taking place on when we want to go on our honeymoon and where... not to mention when we want to start a family... our growing family with Kodi and Buddy... potentially a new car for me (I need something that we can put the dogs in when we travel)... and making life changes for the positive...

Pray for us as we continue to grow and make plans for our wedding... and as Ian attempts to stop smoking and drinking any alcohol... (I am thinking that I should not ask him to make me drinks now...) and for making new friends and realizing, although painful as it is, that not all of my friends are good for me.

Welcome 2011... I look forward to eventually posting pictures and updates on my goals of 101 things to do in 1001 days...

Updates Coming...

Hey gang! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving here in Westminster and have pictures to show for it! Just the pictures haven't been uploaded yet... I flew home Monday night and spent 60 hours in Tulsa with the family before flying back to Colorado for the rest of the weekend with the boy and dogs!

Tulsa time was fast and furious! Mom and I did a little Christmas shopping, a little wedding stuff (setting up the tuxes) and a little cooking... had lunch with Davie and some more shopping with the girls! Kenzie and I made the pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving and we all watched a movie before going to bed. Kenzie being the "Aunt's Girl" that she is, kept me up until almost 11:00 talking about school, dance, soccer, life, love, the meaning of life, seeing Ian again at Christmas, her birthday and everything else under the sun! Finally she fell asleep and I was able to get comfortable and fall asleep myself before being woke up at 5 am by mom! While in Tulsa, the weather was balmy and warm... to the point of wanting to ditch the long sleeve shirt and wearing only my tank top while out running around! Arriving back in Denver I found temps in the single digits...

Ian was amazing as he prepared the turkey, I made the pumpkin pie, then we together cleaned house and made the rest of our first dinner together (last year we had dinner with cousins and they cooked...).

Pictures will be posted soon of our turkey and dinner...

Wedding Updates

Hey gang! A lot has transpired over the last month since I last blogged... since we announced that we were engaged on Sept 5, 2010 we have made a lot of plans for the wedding!!!

Engagement ring/wedding set: selected, stone paid in full...

Date set: July 10, 2011 - my grandmother's birthday in her honor

Location: Evergreen Lake House, Evergreen, CO

Colors: Serene (slate blue), silver with pewter accents

Bridal Party selected: Maid of honor- childhood friend Sasha Trantham

Bridesmaids: Kelly Titchner and Syrina Barnes, Ian's sister and my niece

Jr. Bridesmaid: McKenzie Barnes, my niece

I can't post the Groom's party yet as they have not been asked personally... their names will be posted soon...

We have set up consultations with a florist/decorator and have ideas for our flowers already... Have some awesome ideas for our cake, just need to schedule a consult with the company we like... And have narrowed the caterers down to two already... the hard choice is going to be the photographer, which we have narrowed down to 4... We have found that there are several hotels in the Evergreen/Golden area all of which we need to check into for room rates and etc...

Now we have to find a place to have a reception in Tulsa for the family members that are unable to attend and the friends that we are regretfully unable to invite to the wedding due to financial restraints and occupancy at the location.

I am thrilled that we were able to order our dresses for the girls before the color (serene) was discontinued by David's Bridal... found out the hard way that the color that Ian and I fell in love with was going to be discontinued on Nov.1... I am SO glad that everyone was able to get their dresses ordered in time so we didn't have to change colors!!!!!

Thanks for all the loving support and continue to keep up to date with our wedding plans and adventures here on this blog and also on www.theknot.com couple search either of our names and you will find our webpage on theknot and also our other webpage!!!

One month later

Just one month ago Ian proposed... oh what a month we have had! We have already set our date, assuming that we can get a location for the time that we are looking at, picked our colors (Serene and silver) and know pretty much who we are going to ask to stand up with us during our ceremony! We have bought our invitations/response cards and started looking at wording for those... I've found a dress to wear for the reception and Tulsa party, not to mention on our honeymoon... oh and we have my formal wedding dress and veil already in place... we have had a productive month! At the rate we are moving, we should have just about everything in place before Christmas...

Below are pictures that we had taken in August in Breckenridge, Co... we decided to go with the black & white because the color pictures need to be touched up too much... We hope you enjoy the pictures, these are some of our favorite shots.

A nice family photo... too bad Ian isn't smiling in this one...

Walk along with me... down the long and windy road...

Love this shot!!!

Yet another update on my To-Do list

Back in Feb I had a post 101 Things to do in 1001 Days.

I have a few more updates for this blog... Since I posted I have started several things on my list...

For starters... I'm engaged and planning a wedding... the married part will be completed this upcoming summer... We have closed my storage unit in Oklahoma, as well as painted Kenzie's bedroom and decorated it for her... I even started organizing the room too!!! I opened (and closed) my bank account in Colorado, and am even getting ready to close my other account in Oklahoma that I can't access from out here!

I'm not sure what else I have met on the list... but those are a few of the accomplishments from my list!!!

I said YES!!!

For all my readers that have heart problems, you might want to sit down before you read this post...

You sitting down yet???

Ok good... I'm ENGAGED!!! Saturday night (Sept 4) Ian and I were talking over dinner and he proposed! Well that is the abridged version... the full version goes something like this...

We have been talking about marriage for the past few weeks, not just talking, but like REALLY talking about getting married. From sharing links of rings and discussing where we want to get married and who we will be inviting to colors and dates! So Saturday night, while eating dinner we were talking about our wedding ideas and I (being the emotional one) became all sorts of teary-eyed while talking about things I'd like to have happen and it became a realization that I will be planning my wedding without the assistance (or pressure whichever might have been) of my grandma! One date that we had been considering was my grandma's birthday and after telling Ian why I was teary-eyed he decided that my grandma's birthday was the day we would ultimately tie-the-knot.

So... me being me... I announced that he could propose to me without having a ring, a concept he had apparently never thought of before... then quietly I said, "Just ask me..." to that, Ian turned and...

...took my hands and started saying all the right things then to my amazement, he stopped!!! Just stopped mid-sentence, making me wonder if he was merely joking or not, then he got down on one knee and continued saying all the right things... when he finally asked me if I would marry him my head was buried in his shoulder and I was crying.

So... after talking to my dad the next day, we finally started telling people the good news! It will be "official" once he gives me my ring... until then it is "unofficially official".

More details to follow soon!!!

Picture Update Summer 2010

Many of my friends do Wordless Wednesday blogs... however, it has been so long since I have posted pictures that words are needed... These are pictures from Mother's Day 2010 in Tulsa with my mom and the puppies through my summer trip home June-July...

Mother's Day Puppy Playtime... Kodi figured out that she could stand on Zoe's leash (something she has done since she was very little) but she added the concept of grabbing the middle of the leash with her mouth and pulling Zoe to her!!! One way of making another dog stay and play with you! (Kodi is my black dog and Zoe is mom's silkie)

June 2010 - Me and the girls at the Missouri state capitol in Jefferson City. Kenzie wasn't too thrilled to be going here so she was pouting with the best of them!

Annual pictures on the diving board at Ana's house. I could go through my pictures and find the three girls on the diving board since Ana and Kenzie were about 2 years old! My how they have grown and become such beautiful young ladies.

Me with Ana and Kenzie, yet another picture that I could go back through the archives and find dozens of previous years!!

Kenzie and Ana. These two remind me so much of Ana's cousin Jami and me growing up! See each other once a month or so but always the closest of friends!!! (Even today Jami is one of my closest friends!!!!)

Friends Forever... something we declared in 1989/90... who would have thought that we would still be friends 21 years after we met in elementary school at Bell...

Me and my precious nephew Dewayne. He is a very special young boy that is overcoming so many obstacles in his life!!! I love him so much and wish that I could spend more time with him and his mommy!!

Fourth of July with my "Soul Sister" and nephew! Another of my best friends... we met at Booker T in the band... and the rest is history as they say!!!

Me with Syrina and Kenzie after the tour at Blue Bell...

And speaking of Ana's cousin Jami... here she is with her daughter Rylee, son Jace and Ana after our tour!!!

Darby 1996-2010

(Pictures to be posted sooner than later)

What a month this has been for me... My dad and I loaded up all my stuff from storage in OK, said goodbye to my nieces, mom and all our dogs... little did we know we were saying goodbye to our dog Darby for the last time...

We got Darby when we went to Montana in 1996 as a playmate for our dog Luke, who was getting old (he passed away 2 years later). We drove all the way from Kalispell, Mt to Darby, Mt to look at this puppy that we "might get..." Yea... mom was DETERMINED to get a dog "from the mountains" while on this vacation!! So needless to say, Dad and I had already named the unseen dog, Damned Dog from Darby, or just Darby for short. We bought the puppy, who proceeded to be carsick from the moment we put her in the car until we got home 2 weeks later.

She turned out to be the sweetest, docile dog ever! She played with Syrina when she was merely 2 years old and never once knocked her over! She played with Kenzie when she was a toddler... she was a great dog!

Well after 14 years of life with my family, darby went on to be with Luke on Thursday, July 22. Kenzie was crushed as you would imagine... our neighbor took care of the burial for us as dad was in CO with me and mom had left for work... he made it look like a real grave and even added a "headstone" from our field. The girls wanted to get a marker for Darby so that they can visit her grave, so mom being a good grammy took the girls to Michael's/Hobby Lobby and bought a cement steppin stone kit to make a stone in her honor.

Kenzie is dealing with the loss of Darby very slowly. Mom said that she went out to the grave to put flowers out there on Thursday and went twice on Friday... made the memorial stone on Friday as well... now to make a memory frame...

Thank You Note

Some of my friends post pictures without words on Wednesdays... I couldn't wait until Wednesday as I will be unloading my stuff into my new home in Westminster, CO... so...

Rest in Peace Sweet Angel

Today we celebrate the short life of Zoe, a student that I had the honor to work with this past year. Zoe's mom had been told that Zoe probably wouldn't live a month after she was born, and yet this January we celebrated her 8th birthday... She passed away in her sleep sometime in the night of July 10 and morning of July 11.

When I first read her background, my initial thought was honestly, what can I do to help her?? But she helped me more than I could have ever helped her. Her and her mom... Her mom is a wonderful lady, full of ideas that can help any student, regardless of their abilities. I had loads of ideas of how we could address the needs of Zoe, but no ideas as to how to implement the ideas. Our amazing OT came in and created a program for Zoe and implemented a lot of the ideas that I had!

Zoe couldn't talk using full words, but she could vocalize... you knew when she was happy by her squeals and her smile... when she was in pain by her facial expressions and when she was comfortable. We worked on using various vowel sounds and using a switch to control a toy...

I will never forget the lessons that I learned from this little girl... how every student in her class was touched by her presence... those students in her class learned how to love and respect a person with disabilities.

I have always been told that I will have the misfortune of seeing my students/patients/clients pass away, but I never thought it would be 6 years into my career. Although I am sadden beyond words, I am comforted knowing that Zoe will not suffer any more and that she is in a better place... it is also comforting to know that her precious mom will be able to continue to show her love for children with disabilities and keep Zoe's memory alive.

I can only hope that right now, Zoe is in heaven chatting some angels ear off and running and playing like she couldn't do here on Earth. She will definitely be missed by everyone that knew her!