Tag I'm It Again!

So I've been tagged again. Well this one is a little different than the last, but here goes.

1. I guess I am an odd bird, because I like odd numbers. My favorite # is 7. I have 7 diamonds in my wedding ring. I grew up with 7 people in my family and 7 is a prominent number in the Bible. When I decorate and hang things on the wall, they have to be in a grouping of odd numbers, Same thing when I scrapbook, I have to have an odd number of photos on the page.

2. I can count to 10 in Japanese so here goes. (not sure on the correct spelling)
1. Ichi 2. Knee 3. San 4. Shi 5. Go 6. Roko 7. Nana 8. Hachi 9. Que 10. Jew
I learned that in the 3rd grade and I have never forgotten it.

3. I worked as an OB scrub Tech for 15 years and helped the Dr.'s and nurses deliver too many babies to even count. I really miss that alot. I would love to return to the Birthing room as that was the best job I have ever had. I can't believe I actually got paid to do it.

4. I absolutely love my church, Palm Valley. Since moving back to Phoenix after being in California for 17 years, I thought we would never find a church where we felt welcome. I love my home team and the awesome ladies in our group.

5. Scrapbooking is the only hobby I have ever stuck with. When God blessed us with Olivia, I started Creative Memories and have been hooked ever since. I am 1 year behind though. I have completed 5 books for Olivia, a wedding album for My Stepson and Daughter in law, My own wedding album and I am currently working on Olivia's 6th year and a memory heritage album of my mom. Olivia also has the scrapbook bug and she has completed an album for her nephew and is working on an album for her neice.

6. I really want to go to Italy, New York, Hawaii, Disney World and yes Colette I do want to go to Ireland too. I also love to go camping and would like to more of that with my family.

7. I hate working nightshift and not getting enough sleep, but the best part is that I met Colette and and we get to work together quite a bit. I love learning all of the Irish names for things. Like a cupboard is called a Press and a nightstand is called a Locker(even though there is no lock on it). The closet is called a Wardrobe and the dresser is called a Chest of Drawers.

I don't really know seven people who blog that Stacey didn't already tag except Susie.
so Susie, Tag you're it!

Fireproof Your Marriage

Rick and I went to see Fireproof last week. Let me just say that I can't stress enough going to see this movie. I doesn't matter if you have a great marriage, a marriage that is kind of just there, a marriage that is run off into the ditch or you may be headed for divorce you and your spouse need to see this movie. I wont give it away, but a book called The Love Dare is in the movie and I recommend getting it.

Camping Trip

Well, it's been 20 years since our last camping trip. Tim, Colette and the kids came with us and we had a fabulous time. As we were driving up through Oak Creek Canyon on the way to our campground, we drove through hail. When we finally chose a campsite, we set our tent up in the rain. It was some intense weather and we were definitely being challenged. We pressed on and proceeded to cook our dinner on the Coleman stove. As you can see by the picture, we had company. At first we were a little freaked out, but the skunks were harmless. The rain continued through the night, but God BLESSED us with a beautiful morning. We took the kids fishing and up to Slide Rock. We had the best time. We are looking forward to our next camping trip and we wont wait 20 years to go either.

Happy Birthday Olivia

Olivia turned 7 on July 27. She had a sleepover with a few of her friends for her party. She of course chose Hannah Montana for the decorations. The girls arrived and went straight out to the pool for a swim. After a while they came in for some cake, ice cream and gift opening. They played some games for prizes and of course a little make up session. Rick and I went to bed, but 3 of the 5 girls stayed up all night. They were determined to make it a true slumber party and stay awake.
The next morning, I went in to tell the girls that pancakes were ready, only to find Olivia completely knocked out. She had a really fun time with her friends. I managed to get her out to the table for breakfast, but as you can see, she was still asleep. It's tough turning 7. Happy Birthday Princess.

In Hot Water

As a result of my knee surgery, I have not been able to swim in our pool because the doctor didn't want my incisions to get infected. It has been over 2 weeks and I finally got the ok from my doctor that I could swim now that the stitches were out. I ran my errands for the day, came home and got into my swim suit only to find out that I was in HOT water. Olivia and I didn't even stay in the pool for an hour. I was able to do a little water therapy on my knee though. Olivia had more fun dressing up our Beagle "Rosie", She is such a gentle dog and is always letting Olivia dress her up...like she has a choice in the matter. You think she was a Build-A-Bear animal.

Knee Update

Well, my knee still hurts. I called the doctor yesterday and he wanted me to come in so he could take a look at it. The stitches look good and the swelling has gone way down. I have been trying to walk without my crutches because the take home instructions said I would only need them for 3-5 days. It was not a good idea. I was limping on my knee and that made it hurt even worse. My doctor has ordered me to go to physical therapy twice a week for 4 weeks. He wants me to stay off it and keep it elevated. When I am up I need to use the crutches. My poor Olivia, she has had enough of her mom being out of commission, she says I can't even go swimming or even cook her dinner. Her life is so rough :0( As far as m knee is concerned, I think I am just expecting too much too soon.

It's A God Thing

About 2 1/2 weeks ago I mailed a package to Colette in Ireland. Inside was a prayer journal from our home team, some Cd's I put together with songs of comfort for Colette and her family , and a book called the Season's of Grief. I know exactly how Colette is feeling right now as I have lost both of my parents. I have peace knowing they are with our Lord, but the sadness just never goes away that they are not here with me. Well, Colette finally received the package. I guess they deliver packages over there by bicycle(not joking!). Her brother was finally able to download the Cd on to her mp3 player. Backing up just a little bit, before her dad died, she and all of her siblings were around his bedside singing to him his two favorite songs: You Lift Me Up by Josh Groban and Wind Beneath My Wings. Colette was finally able to listen to her mp3 player and the first song that came on was You Lift Me Up. She began to cry knowing they sang this to her dad before he passed away. The mp3 player was in shuffle mode and the next song that came on was Wind Beneath My Wings. This was a "God Thing" for those two songs to be on that Cd. Her sister asked her if she asked me to put the songs on the Cd and Colette said we never spoke of it. Her siblings couldn't believe the prayer journal and that is was so awesome. Next, Colette signed up on an email list to receive daily emails from a grief website. As she was reading the book, she realized that the emails were exactly from the book. Another God Thing. It's amazing how our great God takes care of his children. Please pray that God will continue to work in Ireland through Colette and her sister Therese to bring her mom and siblings to Him.

Lonely Summer

Olivia announced to Rick and I the other day that she hates summer because it is so lonely for her. This breaks my heart. Her best friend who lives next door spends the whole summer in Iowa with her grandma which leaves her with no one to play with. Unfortunately for her I work night shift and she has to find things to do so I can get a little sleep when I get home in the morning. Lucky for me, she is a late sleeper. Finally when she can't stand it anymore, she comes in and says "MOM WAKE UP, I NEED SOMEONE TO PLAY WITH." A girl can only watch so much Disney Channel and Sponge Bob Square Pants as well as play her games on the computer. She is getting very creative at her craft table I must admit. She is learning to use her camera that she got for her birthday last year, she has good shots and some well lets just say they are blurry. She is trying though. Here are some of her masterpiece photos.

Knee Surgery

Well, I go in tomorrow for surgery to debride the meniscus in my right knee. I have had this done before on my left and I thought that it would be a breeze since It was going to be arthroscopic. Back to work in 1 week NO PROBLEM right? It hurt so bad, I was out of work for a month. This time I am going in with eyes wide open. I know it will be very painful. The silver lining is that I will be able sleep at night while I am off work. Right now I am calm about the whole thing, but tomorrow I will probably be a little more nervous. I will be hungry for breakfast, nothing to eat or drink after 4:00am. I can normally skip breakfast and not be too hungry, but just because I can't eat I was be starving. God will be with me as I go into surgery and He will be singing over me as I drift in anesthesia sleep.

Get Smart!

If you ever grew up watching Get Smart with Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, you must go see the new Get Smart Movie. I went with a group of Friends from church and We laughed through the whole movie. Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway are excellent together. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I am glad I went. I give it 5 stars.

Tag I'm It!

Well Susie, Here goes my Tag

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. The Great Hot dog Experience
2. Shift Manager at Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers
3. OB Scrub Tech
4. HUC (Health Unit Coordinator)

Four Movies I've Watched More Than Once:
1. Grumpier Old Men
2. Finding Nemo
3. What Women Want
4. Surf's Up

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Michigan
2. Arizona most of my life
3. California for 17 years
4.Albuquerque, New Mexico

Four TV Shows I watch:
1. Survivor
2. CSI New York & Miami
3. Big Brother
4. HGTV, Too many to list

Four Places I've Been:
1. Mexico
2. California
3. Colorado
4. Texas

Four People Who Email Me Regularly:
1. Colette Martin
2. Susie Day
3. Kelley Munoz
4. Judy Orosco

Four of My Favorite Foods:
1. Italian
2. Mexican
3. Filet Mingon
4. Sauteed Mushroom Burger

Four Places I would Like To Visit:
1. Italy
2. Disneyworld and their private island
3. New York
4. Hawaii

Four Things I'm Looking Forward To In The Coming Year:
1. Getting Back Together with my Bible Study Chicks
2. Celebrating Olivia's 7th Birthday
3. Turning 45
4. My knee Getting Better

Four Friends I'm Tagging:
1. Colette
2. Judy
3. Aunt Nora
4. Sara

Our 1st Vacation

After a lot of indecision about where we should go for our vacation, we decided on a Carnival Cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Olivia was especially excited because the had a twisty slide on the ship. When we finally go our luggage, she put her on her swimsuit, climbed the steps to the slide only to find out that she wasn't tall enough to go down it. She started off her 1st cruise disappointed. She did have a blast at all the Camp Carnival activities they had on board though. She never once went in the pool. Our 1st day at sea was overcast and sort of cold. The next day we woke up in Cabo where we hung out on the beach and shopped in the flea markets there. Our next day at sea was overcast in the morning but is got sunny mid day. On the way back to San Diego, the cruise sponsored a Susan G. Komen On Deck For the Cure Breast Cancer Walk. I walked for my friend Susie Day. When we arrived back in San Diego, we spent the next week with Shane, Kelley Ayden and Layla. We took Olivia and Ayden to the beach, went to Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm.
I wonder where we will go for vacation next year. Rick still has a few vacation day this year so I think we are going to go camping and fishing.