Birthday Girls and a Birthday Brother

Today is my brother and my sister's birthday! Happy Birthday Kelly and Paul! No they're not twins... they were born exactly two years apart... and there were no scheduled c-sections involved. How fun is that?! I can't imagine going through life having to share my birthday with a younger brother or an older sister each year. They are both great sports!

Also, my neice, little Grace Kathryn has a birthday coming up on the 16th as well! She'll be turning 4! The girls got knitted gifts from me so I thought I'd share....

Presenting the "Kelly Bag" and the "Gracie Doll":

Gracie named her doll "Molly"

Kelly didn't

name her bag

but she still loves it!

A close up of the gifts:

And just to keep you informed, Paul got some DVDs which are fun and he likes them, however they weren't cute enough to post pictures of them on the blog.

On Being a Texas Tech Red Raider Living in Iowa

Awhile back I remember telling my mom that I miss Texas the most when I'm in shopping malls. The shopping malls here look pretty much the same as the shopping malls in Texas, except that when you're in the sporting goods stores or department stores they're full of University of Iowa, Iowa State University and University of Northern Iowa stuff rather than University of Texas, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University stuff!
Before I go any further, I must express appreciation towards Iowa retailers for supplying a modest amount of University of Texas and Texas A&M items! That's pretty classy. But I suppose my beloved Texas Tech University just hasn't had a prominent enough place on the map for it to be worth Iowa's while to stock our t-shirts!

When I say this makes me miss Texas, please understand this isn't a complaint. I love Iowa. It's just that I REALLY love Texas!

Well, I was driving to the dentist this morning to get a filling (that is another story altogether-one I don't intend to go into!) When some man in a big Ford F150 whipped around me and cut right in front of me. When I saw his arm fly out of his window I immediately tried to figure out what I did to hack him off, but then I realized his hand gesture wasn't an angry one!! He was giving me the Texas Tech "guns up" sign! Upon closer examination of the back of his truck I noticed not only a Texas license plate but a Texas Tech sticker on his car not unlike the one he had noticed on mine! I ridiculously waved my guns up in the air as a gesture of appreciation and sheer joy of seeing another Red Raider on an Iowa freeway. Shortly thereafter he exited. And I called Darin to share the moment with him.

For ten glorious seconds, I was back in Texas. It felt great.

My Handyman

I married a very handy man. Darin is always thinking up some way to improve, remodel, or add special features to our almost 100 year old home! His most recent project? Fencing in our back yard!

I thought I'd share a couple shots of his final product. I'm pretty impressed with my guy! He's got some talent and I get to reap the benefits of it! Enjoy!

Puppy Love 101

I am in the throws of being "mommy" to my little puppy, Minnie. I never understood people who considered themselves their dog's "mommy" before. But now, having had an 8 1/2 week old puppy in the house for the past three days has brought out a small transformation in both Darin and myself. This little "baby" dog is completely latched on to us. This is the first time she's been away from her litter-mates and her actual mommy and she's looking for comfort from me ALL the time. She really thinks I'm her new parent...


When I thought about that last night, I actually cried (as silly as that may sound).


Okay, so I'm really about to lay myself bare, here. Most of you probably already know this if you know me well but it is possible that it is news to some of you. The past two years have been a difficult journey for Darin and myself. During this time, we have asked the Lord to allow us to become parents, and for now it's appearing that He is asking us to wait. It has been an emotional roller coaster and a lesson in submitting myself to God's will.


And in a very small way, in the last couple of days, two years of bottled up desires to have someone call me (or in this case treat me as) "mommy" have had a chance to be unleashed because of this silly little puppy. I would never compare an animal to a child, please don't misunderstand me... I'm only saying that this has been a small taste to me of what it feels like to nurture and comfort a helpless living being.


And, well... I'm kind of liking it. I 'm considering these past few days as "Introduction to Puppy Love 101".

Minnie Mae

Well, we did it. We got a puppy. Our first pet as a married couple, and we'll just have to see what the experience does to our relationship. She's awfully cute. Here, I'll let you take a look:

Her name is Minnie Mae, but mostly we'll just call her Minnie. And she's a Shi Poo (Shi Tzu/Poodle Mix).

My problem, is that even though she IS an animal and I care far more for people than I do animals, I am very much influenced by cute faces. I tried to put her in her crate a few minutes ago and it was like someone pushed her cry button and it ate me up. Oh dear.... I'm going to have to get a back bone if I don't want the next fifteen years of my life to be ruled by a dog.

And I don't.

We'll just see how this goes!

Our Night at the Fair

I've been living in Iowa now for over four years. And let me tell you, if there's one aspect of Iowa living that I haven't been able to resist, it's going to the Iowa State Fair every year. I never went to the Texas State Fair, and even though I'm sure it's great, I don't feel like I was deprived. But there's just something compelling about the Iowa State Fair. It is woven into the culture here, the way the Alamo, the Riverwalk and the San Antonio Spurs were woven into my growing up experience in Texas.

So, shortly after settling here in Iowa, I decided that "when in Rome do as the Romans do" and started to embrace those few hot days in mid-August that bring in the Fair.

Here were the highlights of my and Darin's night at the Fair this evening:

• Deep fried cheese curds (yum!)
• Butter sculptures of a cow (an annual tradition) and of Harry Potter
• Yes, I did say butter sculptures
• Baby chicks
• A styrofoam cup full of warm chotolate chip cookies
• The big boar
• The big bull
• The knitting exhibit
• Carneys jeering at my husband, daring him to play their games and win me a prize

Below are just a few pictures from our evening... enjoy!



Leave it to me to go to the Iowa State Fair and find SOMEthing that originated in Texas.


I knew you'd have to see the butter sculptures to believe them:






The Butter Cow

The Butter Harry

And lastly, here's a blurry shot of Darin with the big boar.

A New Niece!

Yesterday (August 4, 2007) Darin's brother Dave and his wife Natalie welcomed their first child into the world at 7:22 PM! Darin and I had the privilege of meeting our new little niece about an hour after her arrival!

So, without further ado, let me introduce to you Savannah Ann:

Savannah and Natalie both did beautifully. (For those of you who enjoy baby stats, she weighed 6 lbs 12 oz and measured 20 1/4 " at birth.) She is our fourth niece, however she is the first one to come from Darin's side of the family!

Welcome to the world, Savannah! I can't wait for us to get to know each other better!