Another great day!

Just a quick blog to show some ultrasound pictures from the perinatal doctor visit yesterday. Stephen and I spent about an hour and a half looking at our baby. It was a great experience to see the baby move and "swim" around. The baby is already 8 ounces (the size of a steak) and growing like crazy. We are getting more and more excited to bring a child in to our home as the weeks pass by. Enjoy!

Monday, already?

Stephen and I had a great weekend just relaxing and watching old bond movies. We were able to watch three or four of the first bond movies ever made before the weekend was over. Friday night Stephen had to work, as usual, so I just watched the do it yourself home channel and learned a lot about real estate. Stephen is now on the night shift so we work opposite schedules. I work in the morning and get home at 4. He gets to work at 2 and gets home at 11. So we actually end up missing each other all week.

Saturday we slept in and began our Bond marathon. Our friend Mike celebrated his 28th birthday so we joined him at a small restaurant called "Twin Peaks". I took a few pictures there but the lighting was a little less than perfect. Sunday we headed to church and are getting ready to join the choir for a great year of singing while bringing in the holidays!! All in all, it is Monday! SO Happy Monday!!!

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

I just wanted to share with my fellow bloggers a wonderful society that is helping children fight blood cancers. I work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as the Pennies for Patients Director. The wonderful woman who ran the Pennies program last year is out sick for an unknown amount of time. For the time being, I work full time and have taken over her position. It is a wonderful and rewarding position. I help the schools set up the Pennies for Patients program by putting on assemblies and calling around to get sponsors for pizza parties and pasta parties.
If you are a school teacher this is a great way to give back to the community. I suggest every teacher take a look at the Pennies program just to see how many children have been blessed by the support. I, honestly, did not know a lot about leukemia when I interviewed for the job. In the last three weeks, however; I have learned a life time of knowledge. Leukemia can strike anyone at anytime. There is no cure. While I have been at work the Team in Training has lost some great Leukemia survivors. I am so grateful to have this position and to truly give back to my community. Check out the LLS website if you are up for a little knowledge booster. www.lls.org
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Labor Day and beyond!

I had my camera...no pictures were taken. With that being said, I will just tell a little story about the last week. Stephen and I drove up to Colorado to spend time with Craig and Blair. They took us all over town to find the best food in Denver. We ended up eating at a ranch style restaurant that served food "family style". After eating 500 helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy we headed back to their home. We beat Rock Band and are ready for new songs to be released. Our band "Dorqq" has accomplished some pretty high ranks, so those of you that play, be ware!
After watching some interesting movies and eating late night Arby's we headed back to Albuquerque. Stephen dropped me off at the airport and I headed to good ole Las Vegas to spend some quality time with my parents and older sister Sharla.
We spent the first part of the week doing errands for my parents (Sharla and I) and catching up on missing sleep. We picked vegetables in the garden and made some awesome dinners that I even helped make. On one of our many grocery trips to the store I met a woman named Jennifer while waiting for my Mom outside.
She was tiny, to say the least. I saw her grocery cart filled with groceries, However; I doubt she ever partook in actually eating the food she purchased. While sitting next to her for less than five minutes I learned her life story. I was touched. She is 31 (shocking if you saw her) and has lived with her mother and siblings her entire life. She has never had a boyfriend and may never be able to bare children. My heart pounded with sadness as she told me her story. She has not been to school and lived off social security checks sent to her mom on a monthly basis. She and her older siblings were told they could never make it on their own, therefore; she continues to live with her mother for care.
Jennifer was robbed a life. She was handicapped by her own parents and life circumstance. I may be a little sensitive these days, but this really touched me. WE ARE BLESSED! What are the odds that we will be sent to a loving family that will nourish our every need? What are the odds we will even be sent to the United States? Once we arrive, will we be given to a loving family that will work hard to prepare us to take action on our own, or will we be held back by our caretakers selfish desires?
I am truly blessed. I can run when I want, talk to whom I please, and purchase anything I need for survival. I can provide a loving home for a child and give this child a chance to go out into the world and grow. My parents have given me something more than life, they have given me a chance. A chance to pass on the love they gave me, to someone else. I am so grateful I was born into a family that will constantly respect me and provide a life for me. To show my gratitude to my Heavenly Father and my loving parents, I now have the opportunity to raise a child with the help of my loving husband. Together, no matter the circumstance, we can help this child to take on any life challenge.

Puppies!

For your viewing pleasure! My parents dog, Spot, went a few houses down and found a cute little mate... (both pure breed) so now he has four puppies to share with the world. I got to run down and see them so I took a few pictures for you to check out. They are so tiny. I love little weenier doggies and these little puppies look just like their dad. Congrats, Spot!

I GOT A JOB!

Two jobs, one day! I have been praying that the right job would come along and then two came! I interviewed for the University of New Mexico about a month and a half ago. I felt positive about the interview and was told they would contact me within a week. After two weeks of waiting I figured I didn't get the job. So I went back on the job hunt. I found a part time position working for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of New Mexico. The job fit perfectly into my "baby" schedule only working 4 hours a day and the job ended in February.

Both jobs called Monday and I took the Leukemia job today! The hiring administrator actually said she may have a full time position open if I would like it. Funny how things work out. So my vacation is over on Thursday and I will join all the workers out there. I guess this means a little less time to blog and a little more time to make some much needed cash!

Have fun!

Losing your Best Friend

We walked through fire together. We met when children become teenagers to help each other through the rocky years of high school. You pushed me on my first two and half mile run for pizza only to run with me eight years later at our first 5K. You needed a family that wasn't broken, I needed a friend who could laugh with me through anything. We met through horses to find we had more in common than our interests. We were lost together wandering through years of pain. We saw the light together while bringing light to all others around us. You were my best friend.
We spent countless days playing barbies as teenagers while competing against one another for every horse event possible. We could not be separated. We laughed together. We laughed more than two people should be allowed to laugh in a life time. We swam in green water and painted the pool with high hopes. We spent endless nights on the trampoline. We were happy. We could not betray trust because we were the very meaning and essence of trust. You were my best friend.
We grew up.
Our friendship was more important than distance. Our phone calls brought happiness as we worked through adult problems. You were my best friend. You were there to put me in line as as I worried about boys as I was there to lift you from the burning pain your family provided each time they went back to prison. We slept in our cars together. We walked hand in hand into a free limo ride leading to disaster. We saw true hate and learned to fight against it. We handed food to dissatisfied truckers and laughed as we over heated in the freezer. We drove through the night singing girlie songs of men's betrayal. You taught me to see another side of life. We learned to never give up no matter what the challenge. You introduced me to lust. You were my best friend. We broke our trust.
I never saw how your heart ached for normalcy. You never saw how I ached to be different. You were more than a friend to me; you became family. Our friendship became something that tore us apart. After years of not speaking our friendship has dissolved and we are lost from each other once again.
I miss the laughing. You were my best friend.
Growing up is more than taking on responsibilities and aging. Growing up is change. Change, no matter what happens, can always be for the better. Growing up has taught me how important the little things are and how much I truly miss jumping into anything with out looking first. Growing up means becoming truly aware or who you are and where you are going. I lost my best friend because I realized who I was while she realized who she was. We went in two opposite directions; neither of us looking back.