Dinner with a Side of History

Tonight at dinner, instead of giving in to the kids insisting on watching something on TV, we left the TV off and started a conversation.

Me: What did you study at school today?

Cutie Pie: We learned about Lewis and Clark.

Me: You did? What did you learn about Lewis and Clark?

Hubby: (Correcting me.) Lois and Clark.

Me: What?

Hubby: LOIS and Clark. (Blank stare from me.) I think it was Lois and Clark...

Me: No, dear, that's Superman.

Hubby: Oh...oops.

Me: (To Hubby) I'm totally blogging about this later. (To Cutie Pie) Please continue.

Cutie Pie: Lewis and Clark set out to find...

Pot Pie: (interrupting) SUPERMAN!

(Laughter from everyone.)

Me: Please continue.

Cutie Pie: Lewis and Clark were two explorers who...

Pot Pie: Peed their pants!!!

(More laughter.)

Me: Please continue. Pot Pie, no more interruptions.

Cutie Pie: Lewis and Clark were two explorers who were sent by Thomas Jefferson to see about reaching the Pacific coast. They had a Native American guide named Sacagawea.

Hubby: Wasn't she an Indian Princess?

Me: I think you're thinking of Pocahontas, sweetheart...

I love having these conversations with the boys as a family. I look forward to every day, asking them what they learned at school. Even though they usually answer "Nothing.", I know they are learning because our conversations are becoming much more informed, much more opinionated. I hope to be able to challenge their thoughts as long as I can, until they are smarter than I am. Then maybe I'll learn a thing or two.

Speaking Of Baptism...

Tonight at dinner, it was me and the 2 younger pies. We sat at our favorite restaurant and had a wonderful discussion about whatever crossed their minds.

Pot Pie: "When can I get baptized?"

Knowing that in their church camp and VBS this is something that is discussed a lot, it didn't surprise me that this is what they decided to talk about.

Me: Anytime you want. You just have to proclaim that Jesus is your Lord and Savior and believe it with all your heart.

Pot Pie: And you have to know one thing about Jesus...like....Jesus died for our sins!

Pumpkin Pie: Well...(if you have never heard Pumpkin Pie say well, you must...he drags it out with a little baby Southern drawl. It sounds like "whaaaaale"...it's hilariously precious)... He can touch power lines. That is one thing I know about Jesus.

Me: Well, Nothing is impossible for Jesus...this is true...

Pot Pie: Who will baptize us?

Me: Our Pastor, Deron. You know, Seth's dad. Or Ethan's dad, Brian. He is a pastor.

Pumpkin Pie: (in complete shock) He passed away!?!?!

Me: NO! No, he didn't pass away. He's a PAST-OR! He's the pastor at Center Cross.

This led into an entirely different and much more somber discussion about heaven. I wish I knew all the answers to their questions. Pot Pie wants to go to heaven, but he is very concerned because he knows (barring some tragic accident) we won't all go to heaven at the same time and he doesn't want to be separated from mommy and daddy. I try to reassure him that being separated is something he won't have to worry about for a long time, but his tears brought tears of my own. Praying and searching for guidance are high on the to do list now.

Spit Take!

In our house, with our three sons, we deal with quite a few conversations about private parts, especially about the appropriate terms to use when speaking of such areas. I try to answer the kids' questions as honestly and appropriately as possible, with as vague and undetailed answers as I can possibly get away with.

Today while riding in the car, all was quiet until Pot Pie asked a question.

Pot Pie: "Mom, what is another name for private parts?"

Me: "Just, in general? Besides just calling them private parts?"

Pot Pie : Nodding yes.

Me: "Hmm...well, genitalia is another name."

Pot Pie: "Genitalia? What language is that?"

Me: "Its the medical term. If your doctor is charting about your body parts, he or she may call your private parts genitalia."

Pot Pie: "Does everyone know this word?"

Me: "Yes. Its a common term."

Pot Pie: "Even the French? Do they know this term?"

Cutie Pie: "Yes, of course they do. It even sounds like a French word!"

Pot Pie: "Well, my genitalia is HUUUUUGE!"

And that, folks, is what caused me to spit my drink all over the steering wheel.

Won't Be Able to Look the Mailman in the Face

I love having boys…I really do. I recently purchased really cute t-shirts for the boys and for Sweetie Pie and I decided I wanted to try to find a cool mom t-shirt for me. There's www.boymomdesigns.com that has some adorable shirts for moms with sons, and then there's www.thebombmom.com which I absolutely love (and I totally want one for Christmas….*ahem, Sweetie Pie*). Being a mom to sons totally rocks…however, all of that energy and excitement and creativity can put me in an awkward position sometimes.

For instance, a few days ago, I was in the backyard and noticed the tie to my bathrobe hanging from a tree as a makeshift Tarzan rope. "I should grab that," I thought, knowing full well I'd need it. But one of my little pies beckoned, and I ran off without plucking it down from its perch. And boy did I need it this morning. You see, our mailman doesn't leave packages on our porch, due to a problem with stolen packages we experienced over a year ago. (Short story: I was writing a blog about Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, and some young hoodlum decided to steal what he thought was going to be a package full of good stuff, but really it was a box from the Travel Channel with a few packages of chocolate covered crickets. Serves him right…punk). This morning, as I was getting ready for work, the doorbell rang. I panicked. I was wearing only my bathrobe, and I thought for a moment about not answering at all, but I knew if I didn't, I would have to go to the post office tomorrow to get the package, and I didn't really want to do that because the post office is ca-razy right now since Christmas is next week. So I went for it. I held my bathrobe closed and opened the front door, but as I went to open the screen door, our dog, Perry Pie, started to bark and jump, so I was trying to open the screen door, hold Perry, and get the packages in my hands, all of which left me with no hands to hold my bathrobe closed. Suffice it to say, if getting flashed was on the mailman's "To Do List" today, he could have marked "Task Completed" at 8:30 this morning. Only afterward, I thought to myself, "You could have just told him to leave it on the porch…you idiot." Not only did I feel humiliated, I also felt stupid.

Obviously, if my sons didn't use my things as swinging devices in the backyard, it would have saved me some embarrassment, but I truly love to let them experience life the way they want to experience it. Right now, they are using leftover fence planks in our backyard to create opposing forts, and I adore the creativity that they have shown in their play. Being a mom to my little boys is interesting, hilarious, exciting, sometimes scary!, and it just fills my heart knowing they are growing through these experiences. I am so lucky to have 3 little men to love on, and to teach, and to model a happy marriage to so that when they grow up they will be wonderful husbands just like their father.

Now, I really need to go find that bathrobe tie...

If I Had a Dollar for Every Piece of Chicken...

Tonight at dinner, Pot Pie proudly told us about learning about half dollars at school today.

Pot Pie: Did you know that half dollaws awe fifty cents? (Yup, still speaks with a Jersey accent.)

Me: Yes, I did know that. If you have 2 half dollars, how much do you have?

Pot Pie: Hmm...fifty one cents?

Me: No.....

Pot Pie: Hmmm...sixty cents?

Me: No...If you have two half dollars, that are each worth 50 cents, then in total, you have one dollar, because two half dollars make one whole dollar.

Pot Pie: *Blank Stare*

Me: Look here, at my piece of chicken. Right now, I have one piece of chicken, but if I cut it in half, I have two halves of chicken. If I put it back together, I have....

Pot Pie: A dollaw?

No, son, I haven't found a way to make chicken turn into money.

Church Directory Photo Shoot

I really wasn't looking forward to this. Things are really crazy at work right now, and I am always looking forward to coming home for the night. Today, however, I was not so lucky.

Its time to update the church directory, and tonight was our scheduled appointment. I rushed home after work to find my wonderful husband cooking our dinner. As I went in to pick out the kids' clothing for the picture, I found Pumpkin Pie in his bed, eating some kind of candy that had turned his face green. I was able to get a lot of it off, but not without making it look like he had a large light green healing bruise all around his mouth. Faaaaaaaantastic.

We sat down to eat a quick dinner, which is where our the frustrations really started. In between mouthfulls, we told the kids to "Hurry up and eat!" and "Be quiet and eat!", which only caused them to eat slower and talk more. Finally, we knew we couldn't prod them to eat any longer, so we told everyone to exit the table and get changed immediately. Cutie Pie and Pot Pie got changed into the outfits I picked out, but Pumpkin Pie couldn't be convinced to change out of his Mickey Mouse shirt...in hindsight, today probably wasn't the best day to let him wear his favorite shirt to school. We were finally able to convince him to take it off, and Cutie Pie helped him to get dressed so that Sweetie Pie and I could finish, which resulted in the following conversation.

Sweetie Pie: Which shirt should I wear?
Me: The white one with the slate blue stripes.
Sweetie Pie: The collar isn't flat and I don't have time to iron it.
Me: Its not that bad. Just put it on.
Sweetie Pie: Then I'll look like a big DORK. What about the green one?
Me: The boys are all wearing red or slate blue. You won't match.
Sweetie Pie: Well, what are you wearing?
Me: A grey dress. Just wear your silver shirt.
Sweetie Pie: Why are you putting on panty hose? They are only shooting from the waist up.
Me: Well, if you must know, I haven't shaved since Martin Luther King Jr. Day when we were at that water park.
Sweetie Pie: WHAT?!?! That's disgusting!
Me: Hey! Its cold outside!
Sweetie Pie: So? Are you growing a winter coat?
Me: (Fuming) Just worry about yourself and the kids so I can finish getting ready. Can you do that, please?!
Sweetie Pie: *Making Wookie noises*
Me: Ugh!

Finally, we make it out the door and load everyone into the truck. Miraculously, we made it to church on time for our appointment, and even more miraculously, they were running ahead of schedule so we were able to start our session immediately upon arrival.

The first shot of the family went very well. All of us were smiling at the photographer as she waved her little bear at us. She kept telling the boys that her bear was a "bad bear" so they always had to keep their eyes on it. But then, when we moved onto the next shot, things started to go downhill. In the first shot, Pumpkin Pie was in my lap, but for the second shot, she wanted to move him and at that moment, he decided to be a momma's boy and wouldn't move out of arms reach, so she had to plan all of the rest of our family shots around Pumpkin Pie and I being together. These family shots became increasingly more difficult to obtain, because Cutie Pie would make sarcastic remarks about her "bad bear" and Pot Pie would draw his arms up into his shirt, making it look like his hands had disappeared, to which he would react with fake surprise. Finally we were through with the family shots, and we breathed a sigh of relief, but as we were gathering our things, the photographer said, "Now, let's do some shots of just the boys and then just some shots of mom and dad."

I wanted to say, "Seriously? Do you need a reason to take up drinking? Because these boys could quite possibly succeed in driving you to it." But I didn't. I knew she was just doing her job, and so we put our things down and I let her begin the torturous job of positioning the boys for their shots. Cutie Pie and Pot Pie followed direction well. Pumpkin Pie, however, was another story. The poor photographer spent so much time running back and forth between the camera and arranging Pumpkin Pie that she was sweating! She would get his arms folded just right, and then when she got back to the camera, he would move them back down to his side. She would tell him to plant his feet, look directly at the camera and tilt his head, but he would quickly move and give her a perfect profile from the side that would rival any mug shot. Once we finished the kids' shots, we moved quickly through three poses of hubby and me.

And then the sales pitch started. She began to go through each picture to see which ones we liked better, but by this time I was ready to take up drinking, so I quickly pointed out the best shot for the directory and a cute one of the boys because I definitely didn't want to make that poor woman feel like she had done all that hard work for nothing, which in hindsight is probably one of their sales tactics...but anyway, we made it through the appointment fairly unscathed (though I don't know if I can say the same for the poor photographer...). I'm glad its over with, and additionally I am glad that these things only come around every 3-4 years. The only regret I have is not signing in under a false name because now when our children act up in church, everyone will be able to find out who we are by searching the faces of tired parents with three boys in the picture directory...

Pillow Talk

I am convinced that if anyone were to overhear our conversations in bed, they might be inclined to think that my husband and I are a little kooky...I'm not sure if its the combination of his shear exhaustion and my sleeping pills or what, but we usually end up laughing hysterically with tears in our eyes.

For example, tonight as I was checking my email one more time before bed, I mentioned a particular emailed report at work...

Me: These charge stat emails always 'eff up my email.

Sweetie Pie: 'Eff up? How do they mess up your email?

Me: I don't mean they mess up. When I say "'eff up" I mean "fill up"....yeah, that's what I mean.

Sweetie Pie: (between stifled laughter) What? 'Eff up means fill up?

Me: Yes. That's what I mean when I say it.

Sweetie Pie: So...tomorrow night when we're cooking dinner, can I tell you to "'eff up a pot with water"?

Me: (roaring in laughter by this time) Yes, and I'll pretend I'm Rachel Ray. I'm going to 'eff up this pan with EVOO.

By this time, we were both laughing so hard we could hardly understand a word the other was saying.

I thank God every day for a spouse that can make me practically pee my pants from laughing so hard on a daily basis.

Trip to Walmart

Do you have any idea what a trip to Walmart for this family of 5 entails?

We usually try to follow a few set guidelines when we go to the store together.
1. We don't go on an empty stomach. Tonight we ate a yummy meal of lobster and shrimp bisque from Bodean Seafood Market, as well as some of their delicious crab cakes. We just brought them home, heated it up, and had a scrumptious meal right in the comfort of our home.
2. We try to go at a time when the kids are not too tired, so there is no gratuitous whining.

On the way to the store tonight, we played some of our favorite travelling music from the greatest hits collection of Veggie Tales. The Hairbrush Song seemed to get Beau riled up, as he proceeded to yell out the end of every line.

"Oh, where is MY HAIRBRUSH?
Oh, where is MY HAIRBRUSH?
Oh, where, oh where, oh where, oh WHERE!!!!
is MY HAIRBRUSH?"

At which point, Clint looked over at me and said, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
But by this time, we were almost there, so we decided to just go for it.

You know, it seems like we get up the courage to take all 3 kids to the store with us right after we forget about how difficult it was the last time we did it. Usually, I only take one child with me to the grocery store...usually that child is Pot Pie. Most often, we pretend like we're on a show like the Crocodile Hunter, and we "hunt" for our groceries.
"Look! Over there! (really bad Australian accents...Pot Pie's is better than mine.) I have spotted the marshmallows. Sneaking up on the marshmallows so we don't give them a fright. I've got them!" You get the idea.

But not this time. This time I gave each child a task to do while we were in the store.
"Cutie Pie, get me 2 white onions."
"Pot Pie, get me 6 of the biggest potatoes you can find."
"Pumpkin Pie, do not try to go head first out of the cart."
This game worked...in the produce aisle. Once we moved onto dairy...not so much.
By the time we reached the freezer section, Cutie Pie is chasing Pot Pie through the aisles, calling him "POOP!" as Pot Pie stops and does a little booty dance, as if to say, "You can't catch me!" and then he takes off again just before Cutie Pie gets to him.

In the checkout line, the lobster bisque seemed to catch up with my husband, who developed a very bad case of gas. So bad, that I'm certain the checker in the line over had tears in her eyes. Cutie Pie said, very loudly, "What's that smell?"
Pot Pie, sniffing his father's behind, said, "Its Daddy!"
The groaning commenced.
Luckily, our checker finished up quickly and we made it out to the truck. My husband loaded the groceries all by himself, while I corralled the kids in the front. After he finished, he loaded up into the truck, and, as if he were saving it for that moment right after he shut the door, again let out a burst of noxious aroma. We are both so stricken by the horrible smell that we simply take off, attempting to get home as quickly as we can.
Cutie Pie, who doesn't always catch on very quickly, said "What is that smell?"
Pot Pie, again answered, "Its Daddy."
Cutie Pie asked, "Where does it come from?"
To which Pot Pie replied "His butt."
To which my Sweetie Pie replied, "Where do you think it came from?"
Cutie Pie, in a quick moment, replied, "Your face!"
Suddenly, the quiet one, Pumpkin Pie, jumps from the car seat he was not belted into and does Pot Pie's booty dance. We scold him for not speaking up about his seatbelt, as that is a very important job we have given him, but after we get him buckled, we turn around, look at each other, and burst out laughing, because what else can you do when you make such a potentially fatal mistake? That's just the way we deal with things, I guess. The rest of the ride home is filled with the kids singing their very favorite songs, loudly, and with Pot Pie getting scolded for adding in the words "Poop" and "Pee" to the lyrics of the songs.

When we finally make it home, we unload the truck, which only results in Pot Pie doing a face plant into the tailgate once, and after everything is put away, the kiddos go to bed, and my Sweetie Pie and I make a pact, once again, to never, EVER, take all of our kids to the store.

Obama Speech

Today at the boys' school, the teachers were given the option to show the President's speech in class. Since it was aired at 11am Central time, it seemed to me to be inconvenient because some students were already at lunch. I didn't speak with Pot Pie and Pumpkin Pie's teachers about the speech. For Pre-K and Kindergarten students, the speech seemed to be a little long and lost on kids who aren't entirely sure what a term paper or a science project is.
I did inquire into whether or not Cutie Pie's teachers would decide to show the speech in class. Unfortunately, they didn't have the proper equipment with the right connections in order to show the speech in class. If they had, I would have gladly come to his school to watch the speech with him, so that he and I could discuss it. From what I read in the speech once it was finally released, there was nothing that we don't already try to enforce every day. We are always telling the kids that they need to work hard, stay in school, be good leaders, and set goals for the future. Obama's message about personal responsibility (something that I feel he should be encouraging to everyone, not just our kids) is the same point we try to get across to them at all times. Therefore, Sweetie Pie and I decided that we would show the speech tonight to Cutie Pie. We both had read the text of the speech, and saw no reason not to share it with him.

After he watched it, we both asked him questions about what the President had to say.

Us: "So, what was the President telling you?"

Cutie Pie: "Uhhh...to be nice?"

Close, but not quite.

Us: "What else?"

Cutie Pie: "To work hard! And.....get good grades!"

Us: "Right. What else?"

Pot Pie: "To get POOP grades! BWAHAHAHAHA"

Us: "(Sarcastic) Hilarious. What else? And Pot Pie, don't say Poop again!"

Cutie Pie: "To be good leaders and set a good example. And to go to college."

Us: "Excellent. Who does the President say we will help if we work hard and succeed?"

Cutie Pie: "Uhhh...Jesus!"

Because, when in doubt, Jesus!!!

Us: "Well...how about our country?"

Cutie Pie: "Riiiiight....our country. America!"

Us: "Right!"

Cutie Pie: "Can I have something to eat?"

Because that's how all of our conversations end...

My Most Influential Role Model

This weekend marked a very big event in our family. It was an awesome reunion for the Wegley (pronounced just like it looks) side of the family. All 40+ folks gathered at Kiddie Lake in Okmulgee, OK for some yummy BBQ, family memories, and just good ol' fashioned fun. It was great to see all of my family....


Including my beautiful sister and her darling little girl...

My too cool brother and his gorgeous wife...

My crazy Daddy-o! (That shirt is money, pops...)

And my littlest sister...

And littlest brother...

It was a chance for our boys to play with their cousins and their Aunts and Uncles above...

And of course, photo ops were taken advantage of...

Here's my boys with my grandma, their great grandma! And let me just say, that she is one GREAT grandma!

She's the coolest grandma anyone could ever wish for! I hope to be just like her, forever. I cherish the memories of staying with her when I was growing up...waking up to a breakfast of biscuits and chocolate gravy (something I can't get my own children to realize the delectable awesomeness of...), knowing dinner was always going to be on the table at 5, learning to crochet, watching her as she worked tirelessly at the church and the school, as well as her full time job...the quintessential working mother. She raised daughters who are amazing women who work hard and completely enjoy everything life has to offer, who can be described as fantastic mothers themselves. She raised sons who are devoted husbands and fathers...one of whom is especially mine...a wonderful dad who loves all of his kids with every ounce of his being, the ultimate cheerleader, a great listener, who gives all he has to give, and then some. All of my grandma's children are Christians, who take care of their responsibilities and love their families unconditionally. I hope and pray that I can raise my children to be the same way, and that they will love and respect me as much as we all love and respect her.
To my Grandma Norma...you've made a bigger impact on my life than any other person. I love you dearly.

It's the Little Things...

Last night, the boys and I were sitting on the couch, just before bedtime, playing a game of "Telephone". You know the game, where one person whispers something in another's ear, and when it gets to the last person its the never the way it started. Sweetie Pie walked in and joined our fun little game.

Sweetie Pie whispered in Cutie Pie's ear: "I am in love with mommy."

Cutie Pie giggled, and whispered in Pot Pie's ear: "I am in love with mommy."

Pot Pie rolled his eyes and said in my ear: "Luke is in love with you."

It was the cutest thing ever!

Convo with the Hubs

Yesterday, we had a full day, though we hadn't planned for it to be that way. I slept in because I was a little tired from working at Habitat for Humanity during the day Saturday followed by a late night with some good friends, so my husband made me a yummy brunch. After a day of shopping together as a family, we got home with our groceries and a couple items we've been wanting for the kitchen. We made dinner and then relaxed as a family. After the kids went to bed, Clint started folding laundry while I cleaned our room and rearranged the furniture (AGAIN). By the time we got in bed, it was well past 11pm. As Clint was drifting off to sleep, the following conversation ensued...(Conversation may be edited to preserve my husband's image as a caring supporter and protector of our family)

Clint: *snore*
Misti: What's the heat set on?
Clint: *yawn* I don't know...
Misti: Do you think its a little warm in here?
Clint: Yes...its nice.
Misti: Maybe you should get up and check...I don't want the kids to burn up and sweat and then get cold and freeze....
Clint: Kiss my butt. You get up and look. (starts to snore again)
Misti: Hey! (slaps him on the arm) Did you lock the van earlier?
Clint: Huh? What? I don't remember...
Misti: Are you serious? My purse is out there!
Clint: So... (Beginning to snore again...)
Misti: Clint! You need to go out and make sure the van is locked!
Clint: What? Oh come on! Where's the clicker?
Misti: (sheepishly) In the van....
Clint: You've got to be kidding me. You go check it.
Misti: NO! I'm not dressed. You are...go out there and check it.
Clint: *furiously throwing back the covers* This is ridiculous.
Misti: Can you check the heat while you're up?
Clint: Kiss my butt!
Misti: (After Clint gets back into bed) Was it locked?
Clint: Yes it was. Not only did I get out of bed for no reason because the van is locked, but its now raining outside.
Misti: (again...sheepishly) I'm sorry...I love you...
Clint: Kiss my butt!

Wuv...Twue Wuv

Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts…

First, let me preface this with a brief history.

It was October 29, 2000…I was sitting in my dorm room at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, chatting with some friends on CollegeClub.com. (It was a rudimentary version of what would become the likes of Myspace and Facebook.) A chat request came from someone named Hatchet69.

Hmmm….sounds like a perverted serial killer, I thought to myself…but basking in the anonymity of the Internet, I accepted the request anyway.

I don’t remember exactly what we talked about, but I do remember enjoying our conversation…I don’t know why, but I felt drawn to this faceless individual. We hadn’t even exchanged pictures, but by the end of the conversation I had agreed to meet him for dinner.

Fast forward 23 hours…there I was, pulling into the parking lot of Del Rancho, thinking to myself, “WHAT AM I DOING? No one even knows what I’m doing or where I am. This is the stuff that Lifetime movies are made of. I’m going to be just another dumb girl statistic! STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!”

I took a deep breath, got out of my car, and out of this huge black pickup truck hopped a cute guy in black Wranglers and with a shy smile. There was an awkward moment where I was trying to figure out if he was Hatchet69 and he was trying to figure out if I was NSUTheaterGrl. We laughed nervously and went inside. Over dinner, the awkwardness subsided, and we were soon having a good time. After dinner, we went looking for a movie, but couldn’t find one, and I mentioned the Haunted Castle. The 20 minute car ride to Muskogee was nice. We sat on opposite sides of his truck with the middle console down…I rested my arm on it for a moment. I wanted him to hold my hand, and was engrossed in thinking about moving mine closer to his when he grabbed mine. It caught me off guard and I yanked my hand back to my lap in reaction. He sheepishly shrunk back over to his own side, and for the second time that night, found myself saying in my head “STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!”

I have always been a fan of scary attractions, and he wasn’t about to tell me that he didn’t like them one bit. When we entered The Castle, he wrapped his arms around me and held on tight the entire time. He was unbelievably scared, but didn’t want me to know, and there was no way I was going to let on to him how obvious it was.

After The Castle, we weren’t ready for our date to end. He shyly asked if I wanted to meet his grandma and grandpa. I thought his request was absolutely adorable, and so we drove out to Ma and Pop’s house. We visited with them for awhile, watched some bull riding, and then headed back to my car, neither of us ready for the night to end.

When we got back to Del Rancho, it was close to midnight. I had class the next day, and he had to be at work in Broken Arrow. Still, the impending fatigue we were going to feel the next day couldn’t get either one of us to leave any faster. We sat and talked for a long time that night, and then one of us would remark on how late it was, only to end up talking about something else, until we realized it was 7AM.

The rest, as they say, is history. Four months later, we were engaged, and three months after that, we were married. Now, eight years and three kids later, we are still going strong.

I feel so blessed to have found such a wonderful person to spend my life with. He’s my rock, my best friend. He can make me laugh, even when I’m frustrated with him. He works hard to provide for his family, going in before everyone else to get off in time to pick up the kids from school so that they don’t have to go to after-school care. He has a handsome smile, a kind heart, and beautiful blue eyes that still make me melt. When he sends me an email during the day, or text messages my phone just to check in, I can still get butterflies in my stomach because I am so happy to hear from him! I love him more today than I ever could have imagined that night back in the parking lot eight years ago…

The Birds and Bees (Preschool Version)

Yesterday, my little sister gave birth to her daughter, Dallie Marie. Our family of five made the three hour trek to see her for the first time, and the time in the car allowed for an interesting question and answer period.


Luke: Did Aunt Kalee get married?


Me: No...(dreading the next question)


Luke: Then how did she get pregnant?


Me: Uhhh...(thinking fast) Well...hmm...(look at Clint, who just smiles and shakes his head, then I give up) She just did, sweetie...(Praying he'll drop it and ask me anything else!!!)


Luke: What is her name?


Me: (Thank you, God!) Her name is Dallie.


Beau: I've never heard that name before.


Luke: When is her birthday?


Me: Today!


Luke: Today? Why is today her birthday?


Me: Because this is the day she was birthed.


Luke: Birthed? (Sounds like Burfed)


Beau: Barfed?


Me: Yes, Aunt Kalee gave birth to her today.


Beau: Aunt Kalee barfed her?!?!? GROSS!!!


Jackson: Ew, YUCK!


Nevertheless, it was a fun trip, and here are some pics of my new niece. The first one is of my future sister-in-law, Andrea, holding the baby. The second one is of Luke looking at the baby as Kalee's future mother-in-law holds the baby, with my little sister Diamond next to her. The last picture is of Dallie. She looks just like our cousin Chelsea, who is the daughter of Aunt Billie Jean and everyone always says Kalee looks like she could be Aunt BJ's daughter!