Free Flying

G and I took a little trip a couple weeks ago to visit my family. Adam came later to pick us up, so to get there, we FLEW!

I strategically packed up all our stuff, which seemed like kind of a lot. We were going to be there for 12 days, so we did need some stuff. Plus, baby stuff just takes up space.

We were flying Southwest, and when we got to the ticket counter, the woman at the desk seemed pretty grouchy. I was a little worried, but she turned out to be wonderful. She even gave Adam an "assistance" boarding pass to accompany us to the gate. Once the bags were checked there wasn't much to manage except G in the stroller, but we gladly accepted her offer.

After we got through security, we made our way to the gate...

and waited...

and waited...

and waited for our plane to arrive. It was finally time to board and find our seats!

I had packed some toys and books to keep G busy since our flight was right during naptime. Little did I know that we would be on a small plane and I wouldn't be able to keep my backpack with me in the seat. A lot of good all that planning did. I quickly grabbed a toy, two books, and his pacifier before the flight attendant took my bag to an overhead bin in the back of the plane. 

The good news is that I didn't need all that entertainment. G was his typical, charming self.

We had a great flight with zero turbulence. And to top it all off, G feel asleep during landing. He never falls asleep in my lap, but he did this time and I had to wake him up to get off the plane! We made our way through the jungle that is Denver International Airport--G loved the train ride--and met my mom in baggage claim.

It was a great first flying experience. Maybe we'll try it again while G still flies for free!

Mom Tears

Listening to movie scores while reading blogs written by missionaries in Africa is dangerous.

Movie scores are, by design, the emotional backdrop to an ongoing story. When that story is the daily trials of a missionary doctor working in Africa, well, let's just say there are tears.

It's no secret that I'm a crier. I didn't used to be this way, but a series of events led to a bout with depression and I've been a crier ever since. Pregnancy took the crying up a notch. And now being a mom, let's just say it doesn't take much to make me well up. I'm not the kind of crier that boo hoos when I don't get my way. I want to be clear that it is not a manipulation tool. I'm the kind of crier who gets weepy over anything heartwarming, tragic, or emotional. For example, the movie UP... oh. my. gosh. ...is the saddest cartoon I've ever seen. I cried at the beginning. I cried at the middle. I cried at the middle again. I cried at what I thought was the end. I cried at the real end. I was a sniveling mess when the movie was over. Another example: when G was a couple months old I read him Love You Forever. Big mistake. He lay there in my arms, this helpless little bundle looking up at me, while I sobbed through the book. What was I thinking reading that story to my infant son?

So back to movie scores. G loves classical music. It's his favorite, especially when he's kind of crabby. He woke up from his nap early this afternoon and was fading fast this evening, so I loaded up pandora to give him some soothing classical music before bed. There were a few channel options, and I landed on movie scores for something a little different than the typical Beethoven and Mozart we usually choose. All was well, G crashed early, and I decided to catch up on some blog reading while dinner was in the oven. And I left the movie scores playing.

One of the blogs I follow is called Paradoxuganda. It's the blog of a "pair of docs," doctors, who have been living and working in Uganda. (Africa is full of paradoxes...catch the play on words?) Sometimes I read every word, sometimes I just skim. I was way behind, so this time I was skimming, until I came to this post.

International Women's Day.

With the movie score from some random film playing in the background, I read about the strength of women. And I cried.

I cried for the women in the blog post. I cried for the women whose stories will never be told. I cried for the women I know. Women who are strong and brave and beautiful. Women who have experienced pain and heartbreak and loss that I will never know, but time and again are joyful and proud and gracious. I am honored to be a woman next to them.

Away

Oh the blog. The long neglected blog. Neglected not for lack of love, but for lack of internet.

I spent the last week and a half with my family. Three days in glorious Colorado and a full week (and a day) in good ol' St. Francis, Kansas.

Where exactly is St. Francis, Kansas? Great question. It is as far north and west as you can go in Kansas without ending up in Colorado or Nebraska. Is there anything there? Another great question. Yes and no. My parents are there. A sweet thrift store is there. An awesome antique shop is there. And that's about it. Lots of wide open space, wild turkeys, pheasants, cows, and wind. Obviously there are a few more things in St. Francis, but those are the highlights.

But back to the long neglected blog and lack of internet. My parents still have dial-up. Well, had dial-up. The provider decided that it was time to force my parents, probably the last dial-up customers alive, into the 21st century by discontinuing the service. They were officially cut off last Tuesday. Therefore, no blog updates from the ranch, not that I would have tried to update anything using dial-up anyway.

It was kind of nice to be "unplugged" but it has resulted in much wasted time since I've been home. Darn you wifi! You keep me from my laundry!

I'll share a little about the fun we had later when I'm not trying to outrun G's nap, but for now, here are some pics.

Tennis Anyone?

I have quite a few pairs of earrings. They are usually all in a jumble in a small, leather box on my dresser. It's really annoying trying to find a pair that matches in the mess, so I decided to remedy the problem. My crafty radar is always up, so when someone mentioned that they had heard about using an old tennis racquet as an earring organizer, I was intrigued.

A few weeks ago, I visited an awesome thrift store in town for the first time and scored some sweet thrifts, one of them being an old tennis racquet. I bought some turquoise ribbon to dress up the handle, and to coordinate with the large, turquoise mirror I have on my dresser. Then I nailed it up on the wall and arranged my earrings. I really like how it turned out. I need to find something to hang next to it since it looks a little lonely all by itself, but it's serving it's purpose well (pun intended, ha ha) and looking crafty.

My other jewelry solution is a finger-tip towel stand on my dresser for hanging necklaces and bracelets. It's so handy because all my necklaces are visible and easy to find. Plus, nothing gets tangled.

And there you have it, my two nifty jewelry solutions. 

Epic Fail

I bought a plane ticket weeks ago. G and I are flying on Wednesday, March 9 from Tulsa to Denver to spend time with my family. In checking my itinerary this evening I discover that...

...I actually flew today.

Yep, I purchased a plane ticket for today. March 7. Monday.

Apparently I cannot read a calendar. And I am a total idiot.

Things worked out and I am, indeed, flying on Wednesday, but it doesn't change how ridiculously stupid I feel.

Sincerely,
Feeling foolish

It's Our Anniversary...

Last weekend Adam and I celebrated our five year anniversary. Five years. Wowza! On one hand I can't believe it's already been five years, but on the other hand it feels like we've been married forever.

We celebrated with a fancy dinner...

...and Adam planned a little game (surprise, surprise) for us to play during dinner. No, it wasn't a shady game. It was a reminiscing game. We each wrote down five things to remember--best date, funniest memory, favorite anniversary--and then we drew one and talked about it. It was fun to stop and remember our marriage so far. There were things we had both forgotten about. Here are a few special memories:

Favorite Anniversary--Although we have fun memories from all our anniversaries so far, the first was by far the best. Adam had planned a surprise trip to NYC. Seriously, how do you top that? On the day of our anniversary we did a massive self-guided walking tour of the city. After our hours of walking and exploring, we got dressed up and headed to see Chicago on Broadway. When the show was over (this is where it gets really romantic), we stepped out of the theater into Times Square and big, fluffy snowflakes were falling. It was like a movie. We finished the night with dessert at Serendipity (with zero wait, probably because it was 11:00pm on a Sunday night). I can't describe how magical the whole experience was.

Best Date--This was a tough one for me. We've had some fun dates. So I picked two. There were no rules to this game; I could do whatever I wanted. My first pick was a fun date that Adam planned a couple summers ago. We went geocaching. If you've never done it before, it's actually pretty fun. Basically you use a GPS to find hidden "treasures." We only found one, almost got poison ivy on another, and opted out of walking through the tick-ridden wooded area on the third, but the adventure was what it was all about anyway.

The next favorite date was the night before G was born. We had no idea how our lives were about to change in just a few hours. OK, we obviously knew it was coming, but we didn't know it was coming right then. We went out for a laid back summer dinner. I ate a delicious burger with jalapeno cream cheese (you know, trying to entice G to make his move). Then we went for a long walk (again, trying to get G going). It was just super relaxed and fun and a great last date as a family of two. I wish we had a picture of that night. I guess we do have some pictures from that night, but I'm not posting any labor pics.

Most Fun Memory--How do you really choose the most fun memory in five years? I don't know. But we finally did both agree on one. Spontaneously on night, Adam and I decided to learn the whole Thriller dance. We found a multi-video tutorial on youtube, moved our furniture out of the way, and settled in for a major dance session. It was so much fun. And we took it really seriously, which makes the whole memory even better. By the end of the night, or at least when we decided to quit, we knew the whole Thriller dance from start to finish. To make the whole experience even more bizarre, a couple hours into it there was some sort of police bust on the highway by our house. We noticed flashing lights in our neighbor's driveway and upon further investigation, we discovered a few more police cars parked just around the corner. Adam sneaked out to hide behind the bush in our yard to get a better view while I cowered nervously on the front porch. When we saw the police chase a guy into the trees by the ditch, we scurried back into the house, locked the door, and resumed our dance-fest. Sadly, no pictures of this either. But here is one of us dancing at a wedding several years ago. Dancing with Adam is an adventure!