aunt lou comes to town.

today kicks off a busy week.  aunt lou is in town, and we had an open house.  know anyone who wants to buy a home?  have them come buy ours.

time for myself.

over the past few months everyone keeps reminding me to take care of myself.  i usually don't know what to do when someone says that, but today i decided to go to the pool, soak in some vitamins from the sun, and just try to relax.  so that's what haley and i did.

travis and matthew were out of town for the weekend picking up a bike for matthew, so i texted crystal to see if she wanted to take a break from packing* and bring the boys to swim for a little bit.  we hung out at the pool for a while and haley had fun seeing the boys.  after swimming for a bit haley and the boys were hungry so we headed up to steak and shake for dinner.

we didn't get a lot of laundry done, but it was a great weekend afternoon.

*have i mentioned matthew and crystal are moving?  when they first found out we were talking about moving they joked about needing to move, too, because we would all be too far away from one another.  well, as it turns out, they are beating us to it.  crystal put in an application with the bartlesville school system late one evening.  earlier this month they called and asked if she could come in for an interview -- it was the week we were on vacation.  she, amber, and all the kids drove to bartlesville that day so she could have her interview.  by the end of the day, she had a job, and she and matthew were putting their house up for rent.  they had several hits on it within hours of listing it and then had it rented out within two weeks.  at the same time, they found a house in bartlesville that had recently been renovated.  it has a huge backyard, is 7 minutes from work for matthew, about 4 minutes from crystal's school and is within walking distance for levi to get to his new school.  everything just fell in line for them and has been such a testament of what God can do and how everything falls into place when it's supposed to.  i keep reminding travis and myself of this the longer our house sits on the market.  it will sell when it is supposed to.

after hanging out at the pool, i came home and organized sierra's closet.  she's been keeping her room clean since moving in with us again {if you know sierra, you know this is no small miracle}. her room has been clean, but her closet has been a disaster.  i have a silver stand that i'm not able to use right now because we've already started packing up several things. i thought it would make a cute holder for her jewelry, and i think it worked out rather nicely.

sweet oliver.

i felt completely drained after the events of the week and i was battling an awful headache so i stayed home from work to recover.  i went out in the backyard and snapped a couple of pictures of oliver.  the heat was too much for my headache so i quickly headed back in, but i was glad to see this sweet boy's smile.

saying goodbye.

today we said goodbye to my aunt francie.  as i've found with most funerals, it was a mixture of bitter-sweetness. i got to see my aunt jesse's family including sandra, brenda and their husbands and families.  i also got to see my cousin courtney.  i haven't seen her in such a long time and i've been missing her dearly.  she lives in colorado now, and i think her wedding about ten years ago was one of the last times i've seen her.

penni dawn came in from tennessee.  i only get to see her about once a year to once every two years -- which is more than we used to see her.  the last time i had seen her was her mom's funeral.  i hate the idea that the only time we're all going to see one another is when another member of our family has passed away.

the funeral was heartbreaking.  courtney gave the eulogy and it was perfect.  she talked about aunt francie's bunny cakes, which were exactly some of the first memories of mine that came to mind when i first realized she was gone.  she used to make the most incredible bunny cakes at easter.

my heart broke for sonya and brad.  and for sonya's girls.  i think i would have been much like bradley was if i had just lost my mom.  i wish there was something i could have done.

my parents didn't go to the burial and i almost didn't, but karen and penni dawn convinced me.  i think i would have regretted not going.  i hopped in the car and followed penni, karen, and brad in the rental penni had.  when we got to muskogee, i  parked my car at justin and lindsay's house and hopped in the truck with the three of them, and we drove on to sonya's house.  everyone met at sonya's and hung out there for a bit.

all day long we kept getting the question of whether courtney or i am the taller one.  we looked about the same height, but i had one three inch wedges, and she was in flats.   we hung at the house for about an hour and then headed over to the grave site for the burial.  it was one of the hottest days we've had this summer, so the burial was very quick.  they already had the casket in the ground.  since we'd had a service, the local minister just read one verse said a quick prayer, and then let everyone give the final handshake.  it was a little awkward at first because instead of people just taking a handful of dirt, they all started dumping the entire shovel.  it was terrible sounding and made me shudder a little bit. 

travis wasn't able to go with me today.  he's only recently gone back to work full-time, and still has some days he's not able to go in.  having missed so many days, we just didn't feel like he should ask his boss for a day off to go with me.  i didn't think i would need him so much today, but i really wish he could have been there.

after the burial, we went back to sonya's for just a few minutes before driving over to arkansas {the closest town} to grab dinner.  aunt joyce and courtney had gone home, but sonya and her whole family, bradly, karen, penni dawn, tiffany and her boyfriend, uncle chester, my aunt's good friend lisa, and i all headed to dinner.

on the way back through muskogee to get my car, we pulled up to this little cutie.  my heart melted {the little bit that hadn't already melted in the oklahoma summer heat}.  penni dawn hadn't gotten to meet him yet; lindsay was still pregnant the last time she was here.  she also got to see lindsay's cute belly with this new baby.  none of us stayed long because we were afraid of becoming parker's next target, and because we were just completely exhausted from the events of the week.

at the end of the day, i am so grateful i went and had this precious time with my cousins.

two celebrations and a loss.

things have been so busy lately.  i feel like our calendar is packed to the hilt.  we try not to double-up on holidays in my family, but we haven't been able to do so lately.  we had to team up dad's birthday and mother's day. this past weekend we teamed up my father's day and my birthday.

on sunday karen and dave came to spend the day with us in muskogee  mom and justin whipped up a great spread for everyone.  we started out with a great meal and lots of laughter.  everyone around my mom's dinner table will probably always be one of my favorite times.  this time we used the table as a buffet and ate in the living room, but after lunch we cleared the table and started playing games. 

we had a cherry birthday cake mom had made {it was delicious}. i got to hear plenty of "fire" jokes since my candle count is starting to get up there.

we had finished cake and were playing pictionary when we got the call.  we knew aunt francie had been put in the hospital on friday after suffering a massive stroke, and karen got a call during lunch that she wasn't doing well ... but as we were playing, she got the call that they had taken her off all the machines, and she had passed away very quickly.

i wasn't expecting that.  at all.  yes, i knew she was sick.  yes i knew the stroke wasn't good.  but death.  i wasn't expecting it.  i wasn't ready for it. she has been hospitalized before and pulled through {but i guess most of us have}.  i started crying and had to leave the table.  travis was already in the back den lying down so i was able to go straight in and just sit with him.  i told him what happened and he just held me and let me cry. 

karen started crying before i left the room, and the room got incredibly quiet.  justin and sierra don't really remember aunt francie, and haley of course has never met her.  mom and dad were both really sad, but karen i were the most visibly shaken.

once i got past the initial shock of her being gone, all i could think of was my cousins sonya and brad.  they are so close to their momma.  i dread the thought of losing my parents; they are both so young to be telling her goodbye.  i can't imagine what they must be going through. 

before i left the house, i was able to give my parents and karen and dave the picture that i posted of my dad and his siblings -- the one i had taken from my aunt francie's page just a week or so ago. 

i know i've asked for this a lot, but please continue to keep my family in your prayers -- and please specifically pray for my cousins sonya and brad and my uncle chester.  

happy housewarming!

this weekend we got to celebrate with our friends jen & court.  earlier this year we found out they would be building a new home.  we got to watch the progress of the house online through facebook, instagram, and jenny's blog, but we hadn't gotten to see house since it was finished.

on saturday, they through a fabulous fiesta to celebrate their new home.  i didn't snag very many pictures, but jen's friend ashley snagged these two with jenny's camera. {i wish i was one of those girls who can pull off a fabulous ponytail, but i just can't.  don't judge me. it was way too hot to have my hair down.}

we had such a good time eating tacos from the taco stand in their backyard, watching all the neighborhood kids on the bouncy house slide, and catching up with jen and court.  their new house is beautiful and very them.  i can just see them living there.  i'm so excited for them and can't wait for many more celebrations in their home. 

sweet nephew of mine.

look at the cute pictures that showed up on my phone earlier today.  parker was hanging out at papaw's land with gran-gran and papaw today.  gran-gran sent justin, lindsay, sierra, and me these cute pictures.

it always amazes me how much he looks like justin when justin was that age.

i love this boy.

after all the fun in the sun, he had to take a nap in the air conditioning with papaw. 

dinner's at 6.

so earlier this week, i just lost it at work.  i went into a room and just cried.  yes, we are blessed; yes, things could be worse; but holy moly, the past eight months or so have been hard.  we've had loss after loss, change after change, migraines, crohn's, a kid, the list goes on.

i'm the type of person who likes to feel like i have things all together, and most of the time i do, but lately i've just felt snowed under.  yes, i'm keeping everything together, but i couldn't begin to tell you how i'm doing.  except for the grace of God.

when i was so upset i called sue.  i told her that fixing dinner at night had become a crippling task.  even though i love to cook.  making a decision about where to go eat at night was even too much.  if i asked everyone where they wanted to go and they wouldn't pick i would just want to cry.

so, she suggested i see if there are any places in tulsa that prepare meals.  i never dreamed of something like this, and when i first started researching it, i was afraid it would be too expensive.  there was a place in edmond that she suggested, and she would even be willing to meet me 1/2 way to deliver it to me.  it was going to cost a small fortune.  but i was desperate so i didn't give up.

i kept looking and came across dinner's at 6.  {it was at this point that the heavens parted and a host of angels started singing} ahhhhhhh. and they are incredibly reasonable.

we get to order 15 meals that feed three people.  we pick them up, and they are all ready to go.

this isn't the best image, but i took a picture of my computer so i could send the menu to travis and see if he thought what i had chosen looked good.  we pick up our first order tuesday.  i can't wait!
 

travis's trip to the er.

we came home last night, and travis just wasn't feeling well. we waited it out for a bit, and then finally had to head to the hospital.  we went to st. john's by our house.  it's just right around the corner and is so much more conveniently located than st. francis at 61st. 

he was just in a lot of pain.  the blood has never gone away, but we started seeing a lot more of it over the past week.  i was so nervous that our trip to mexico caused this, but dr. volak cleared him for it and really thought he would be ok.

it may sound silly, but we love st. john's hospital.  it's incredibly clean, the staff are some of the nicest people i've ever met, and everyone is very attentive.  they immediately got travis into a bed and started on a bag of fluids and pushed some dilaudid.  he started feeling better and was able to rest.

they took him back for a CT scan {and i started wishing i had gone ahead and grabbed my pull-over.  it was 100 degrees outside, but pretty chilly inside the hospital, so even though i was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved t-shirt, i was a little cold.

we waited to get the results of travis's scans, and the dr. was pretty alarmed when he saw it.  we had given him travis's history but he said he had never seen a scan that looked that bad, so he called adult gastroenterology for a consult.  he was able to talk to dr. clark {the very first doctor who saw travis} so he was familiar with travis and told him this was to be expected.

the hospital pushed another dose of steroids (120! -- he's still on 30) and started him on an antibiotic.  they also asked that he get into see his GI before the end of the week, so he'll be following up with volak before the end of the week.

thanks for thinking of us!  people have said they didn't realize he didn't still feel well.  i don't really post about it when we're not at the hospital because it's a lot of the same thing every day, but he's really not a whole lot better than the day we came home from the hospital the second week in april.  i have slowly seen tiny improvements, and right now i'm taking the small victories.  so again, thanks for continuing to pray for him and think of us.  

sunday morning breakfast.

this morning, sierra, haley, travis, and i went and had breakfast with matthew, crystal, levi, and asher.  we decided to grab breakfast with them kind of last minute, but i was glad we decided to meet up with them.

we went to ihop and had kind of a long wait, so i snapped a picture of two of the cutest guys in the world while we waited.

after breakfast we went and watched man of steel at the theater.  the loves couldn't join us, but our household went, and we had a great time.  travis and i have been dying to see the movie, so i was super excited to go.

sierra and haley went and ran a few errands after we got home, and we spent the rest of the day doing laundry and getting ready for the week.

land in bartlesville.

well, it looks like it's happening.  it looks like we'll be making the move to bartlesville.  we've been going back and forth negotiating on a piece of property just north of town; it's about ten minutes from the office.  we're finally moving forward on a contract {we were actually in the middle of negotiations when we left on vacation}.

travis and i went and walked the property during the week a while back.  then a few weekends ago we brought haley out and had her walk it with us, too.  today we took travis's parents out to check it out with us.

while i don't fall down with excitement over the idea of moving to bartlesville, i really do like this property.  it reminds me a lot of the land my brother and i grew up on.
 

oli stayed at grandma dee and grandpa steve's house today.  we wanted him to have time to run around and play at stretch his legs.  their yard is much larger than ours and their neighbors care much less about oli barking, so we try to take him there when we can.  conor came with us, though, and had a great time exploring.

we finished up our walk just in time for a big rain drop to splatter on the windshield.  conor was excited to cuddle up next to his grandma for a little nap.

steve and travis both decided they weren't feeling well and wanted to get home quickly.  dee and i were really hungry, though.  there was no where to stop on the way out of town except for mcdonald's {disgusting} but we knew it would be quick.  the girl in the drive-through asked for our order, travis gave the full order and then the girl said, "ok, can you tell me your order again?"  the rain was coming down like crazy and blowing all over his arm, face, and the side of his body.  i really couldn't believe it.  it was pretty funny.  we ended up with food that we didn't order, but we were just glad to have food in our bellies and be back on the road.  we were afraid oli was going to be a muddy mess by the time we got to muskogee, but it turned out it wasn't really storming there {thank goodness}.

here's a picture of my sweet boy sleeping on the way home.  isn't he precious? 

my dad's family

i was on my aunt francie's facebook page today and saw she had this picture as her cover photo.  i just loved it.  i'm not sure when it was taken, but i think it was taken at my mamaw's funeral.  it's definitely at my mamaw's house across from the park in salina.

these are all of my brother's siblings.

starting in the back, from left to right is my nanny {aunt penni}, aunt joyce, aunt francie {frances}, and aunt winnie.  on the front row is my dad, my uncle doug {miss him} and my uncle ken.

we never see the kids all together like this ... and now, we really can't since my uncle doug and my nanny are gone.  i don't know the ins and outs of why these seven couldn't all get along, but i miss being younger, when they could all be together with a smile on their face {well most of them}.

some of my most favorite memories from growing up include driving to salina and to broken arrow to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  i never saw uncle ken much, but the rest of my aunts and uncles and their kids were around for much of the time i was growing up.  my brother and sister somehow don't really have many memories of any of them and that makes me sad.

i'm grateful for my family and the time i've spent with them, and love coming across pictures like this.  hopefully we'll find a way to have times like this all together again.

headed home: mexico vacation day 7.

the 5th was our last day of vacation.  big storms rolled in last night {to the point that i was a little nervous we were so close to the ocean}.  it was still rainy and gray in the morning.  we packed and then went to breakfast with nick while kate stayed in the room.  i wish i had taken my camera with us because the storm had done so much damage to all of the thatched roofs.  i can't imagine what the upkeep must be like on all the buildings during this tropical storm season.  the lobby entrance is so impressive, but i was never able to capture a picture that did it justice. 

after breakfast travis and i just watched movies in the room until it was time to go to the lobby to catch our ride to the airport.  it was while we were waiting that i discovered they offered free wi-fi in their lobby. what?? how did i not know this all week?  i would have kept myself entertained in the lobby on some of the rainy afternoons.  ah, well.  a week unplugged was good for me.   

we snapped a few last  shots in front of the airport before heading off on a two hour drive to the airport.  as we were pulling away from the resort, i was able to get a few pictures on my phone of some of the damage from the storm.  they're a little blurry since we were driving.

our ride actually turned out to be a little shorter because there were no other pick-ups on our way in.  it was kind of nice just the four of us.  but also a little nerve-racking because there were militia-style police everywhere.  they had automatic weapons strapped around them and in the backs of their trucks, manned. 
  
we grabbed lunch at margarittaville in the cancun airport.  nick and kate ordered large beers, and they don't joke around in margarittaville. check out the size of these bad boys.

these are the last two pictures from our vacation.  after our lunch, we headed over to buy last minute souvenirs and snacks for the trip home.  kate purchased some organic gum ... and the four of us decided we're just not that green yet. 

dallas to tulsa was our last leg of the trip. we had appetizers at TGI fridays in the airport.  when we first booked the trip we wanted to make the most of our last day on vacation {not knowing it would be rainy}, so we got home pretty late.  haley was still staying in muskogee so we didn't have to worry about picking her up late or anything like that. 

our time away was fun, but travis and i were both excited to get back to our own bed.  

now i'm looking forward to planning our next trip ...