Back from the brink

I've received orders from Sally to send out the good news that everything is going well! Surgery day was a bit scary, and turned out to be longer than planned, but Sally has come through like the champ that she is. The nurses kept commenting on her low heartbeat, especially under stress. Nurses would say things like, "that's the runner in her doing that." Everyone should be proud of your friend/family/loved-one that Sally is. She is so incredibly strong and she is an inspiration to me and those around her I'm sure.

What Sally chose to do was a complicated decision. It made me very happy and proud of her seeing her resolve leading up to surgery. But what is even better than being with her through her research, decision making, and planning phases, is seeing the point of view she now has after going through the biggest hurdle. She 100% feels that she made the right decision. Even though she knew what she was getting into, there is no way to really know how you'll feel after going through something like that. I could not have married a stronger woman and mother for the girls.

So without further adieu, here's some tangible proof of the current state of Sally. Looking good, huh?!? On behalf of everyone who knows and loves Sally, thank you for being such a good friends and family to her right now.

Just before going in.

Ashlyn wanted to rest with Mom.



Who's the ugly guy messing up the picture?

Plenty of love to go around at this house!

Time for hospital discharge!

We love you Sally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dog days of summer

Summer is always so much work!

Here's Ava navigating on her own terms.










Floating on your back?!?











We're going to have to be a dog family. We babysat Meiko for a weekend and it was a big hit. We kept asking Ava if we should get a dog. Her answer: "We already have one." It was disappointing for her when Meiko disappeared.












Mmmmmm! Cold cereal in the morning.

A work in progress.

Hijacked!!!

Sally got a job and has given up on blogging... so the creative responsibility torch has been hijacked! Just a quick update. We went to the zoo. Ashlyn got her hair cut and couldn't hold in her pride. Remember hole in the rock? Ashlyn doesn't grasp the concept yet of a slippery slope and the effects said slope has on a stressed out Dad. Dangerous times..... Ava loves snow cones, but Mom loves them more!

I got a job!

I start working at Countrywide on Monday! I'll be on the opening team, which means I help start the loan process. It's supposed to be very repetitive and boring and I'll be in a cubicle. I'm actually pretty excited. I'll have to dress up a little for work! I think Corey's more excited about that than me! That means I won't be wearing a ponytail EVERY day! At least not at first! The girls will be going to Mary's house, which Ashlyn is practically fainting over! She'd move in with them, if she could! It's part-time, so it hopefully won't be too upsetting for the girls.

I had my 10 year high school reunion last weekend and went with my good friend, Valerie. It was fun, although I think the 20 year reunion will be more interesting (Tom will have to let me know if this is true, I think his is this summer). After ten years, people don't seem all that different. It was fun to visit with Valerie and I can't wait until she gets married! They are in the process of looking at buying a house and they are looking far, like Peoria! I tried to tell her my neighbor's house is for sale, but no dice! That's all fun stuff coming up for her! I'll be so excited when it's her turn to have babies! She's going to be an awesome mom, and it won't be all too long before she's at that point!

Corey has been working a little more, which is a good thing for him. That means there is enough work to keep them in business! I haven't gotten to a football game in a few weeks so I'm glad I get to go to tomorrows game. He's devastated over the Sun's playoffs performance, so please don't bring it up! Hope everyone is doing better than our basketball team is!

*The pictures are from my reunion, painting with Ava, Madilyn and Trace, the splash park at the Zoo, and Me, Mary and Tami celebrating Mary's birthday (Happy Birthday, Mary!).

A good read! Just thought I'd pass it along!

My friend, Becky, got me a book for my birthday that was very special to me. I started reading it right when I got it and have been slow going through it (for those of you who don't know, I'm a greedy reader and don't usually take more than a day or two to read a book) but am very impressed with it. It was just featured in Newsweek and has been getting a lot of press. It's called, "Pretty is What Changes" by Jessica Queller. I am almost done and will be passing it on to Bob next, but if anyone else wants my copy to borrow, let me know. The author is in a different situation than me, but I found it helpful to read her story. It's full of information in a very honest and intelligent way. The author is VERY smart! Let me know if anyone gets a chance to check it out!

Pat's Run!

I just got back a bit ago from Pat's Run and I couldn't be prouder of Mary and Tami! They did so great! It was awesome to see them cross the finish line with HUGE smiles on their faces! The official race results can be seen at http://www.patsrun.com/ or http://results.active.com/pages/page.jsp?eventID=1472467&pubID=3

They both finished with a pace of 9:50/mile! My first race, I had a 12 min. mile and it stayed that pace for forever! They are too fast! It was so nice to see Becky at the finish line. She pushed her THREE kids in a triple jogging stroller! I'd have a hard time just walking the block with that kind of resistance! I don't know how she does it! The weather was beautiful and I'm so glad we all did it! Corey and Ed, Tami's husband, met us at the finish line with the kids. There should be awards for spectator support! They have a pretty challenging job! Why don't they get a shirt? Maybe I'll have to get one made for Corey. Any design ideas? Well, good job at Pat's Run!

I also made a cake for my nephew's birthday party tonight and tried out my friend, Valerie's, fondant recipe. It's actually yummy! It tastes like a tootsie roll! It's supposed to be a barn, if you can't tell! They are having a farm theme in light of all their new animals (sheep, goats, chickens, pigs, turkeys...and so on). I am pretty happy with how this one turned out. Thanks, Val, for the recipe! Yay for all that Crisco!

Happy Belated Easter! And March update...late!

I've been pretty busy so I just haven't blogged. We had Corey's parents visit over Easter and had a really fun time! We loved seeing them and also got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa "Grape" (that's what Ashlyn calls Corey's grandparents!). We had a fun easter egg hunt with the Babb's and Grand-Bob had fun pushing Ava around the backyard in the jogging stroller. Landen was so funny! He'd find an egg, open it and ditch it if it was chocolate! I was right behind him to scoop up his unwanted eggs. Hey, somebody had to do it! We also got to celebrate Grandma/Cheri's birthday, which was really nice.

Corey's back to playing football and is LOVING it! His team is really awesome! Check out their stats at www.cutyourmullet.com

We have the Babb kiddos for the next week while Mary and Tom go to a wedding in SC. Ashlyn is SO excited to have Landen "come live at our house for a week!" SLUMBER PARTY!

I had a job interview last week at Countrywide and hope to start working with Corey starting in the middle of April. I was so nervous at the interview that the guy who interviewed me told Corey I made HIM nervous! YIKES!

We have the Pat Tillman run on the 19th and I'm excited that Mary and Tami are running in it! Anyone else in? 4.2 miles! For a good cause! Run into Sun Devil Stadium! Come on!