And here are a few more of my favorite pics.
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| I had to put this one in here because it just captures my boys and all their silliness. |
April 28, 2014
Picture Day
Our Stake Primary put on a Temple Day for primary families. It was a
wonderful event and an opportunity to show our children the temple. We
took advantage of being there and took some much needed pictures of the
kids, because we all know how great I am at taking pictures (not!).
My beautiful family - all together.
Doesn't it look like I have twins? People ask me all the time.
I couldn't help it, I had to add two pictures of mister Samuel. I just love the top picture.
Miss Lillian in all of her shoeless glory. Shoes do not stay on for very long with her, even though she loves shoes and has more than I do. (P.S. I seriously can't get over how gorgeous this kid is!)
Ah - this is kid is just so dag-gone cute.
And here are a few more of my favorite pics.
And lest you think we take nothing but great pictures... here's how most of the pictures turned out:
My kids... in their true forms.
And here are a few more of my favorite pics.
April 15, 2014
Wrong Number
A couple of years ago I changed my phone number. As soon as it was connected I started receiving phone calls for a Jaime. There were calls following up on requests for more education. I would tell them wrong number. Then there were the bill collectors. They were a little more aggressive not taking the "wrong number" response.
"This is so-and-so from collections, and we show you have an outstanding balance." "I'm sorry, I believe you have the wrong number." "Am I speaking to Jaime?" "No, you have the wrong number." "What is your name?" "Aubrey" "Could you leave a message for Jamie?" "I do not know any Jaimes." "Are you sure?"
Needless to say, they weren't quite convinced I was not Jaime. They kept calling at different times hoping to catch me off guard I guess. But the weirdest calls by far came from strange men, and let me tell you, there were a LOT of them. One of the strangest sounded eerily like my Uncle Ed. It came in rather late one night and he told me to just come on back to his room when I got there... When I explained to him I was not Jaime he hooted and apologized in a good-ol' boy fashion and told me to have a good night.
The calls finally started to peeter out, but I still get happy birthday texts when it's not my birthday and random phone calls and texts. I mostly ignore them. However, the other day I got a phone call at about 5:40am. I answered it to only have the person on the other end hang-up. Carlin mumbled "who was that?" and I said it must have been a drunk dial. Then I received the following text:
5:42am: Zorry who this
I ignored it.
5:44am: What's yours name
I responded with the following:
5:48am: I'm an irate mother of three young children whom you just woke-up from a rather nice sleep and now it sounds like my baby is awake. I'm assuming I'm not the person you are looking for so please leave me alone. And use proper grammar and punctuation next time.
I thought that would be the end of it and started to fall back to sleep, then:
5:54am: You married
Seriously?! He didn't use proper grammar or punctuation so I didn't dignify him with a response. There is only one natural conclusion concerning this Jaime person - she was a student who racked up a bunch of debt. She panicked and entered the field of prostitution hoping to pay her debts down faster. Realizing that that may not have been the best idea she then canceled her phone and severed all contact with her past life and is hopefully trying to start anew somewhere else.
"This is so-and-so from collections, and we show you have an outstanding balance." "I'm sorry, I believe you have the wrong number." "Am I speaking to Jaime?" "No, you have the wrong number." "What is your name?" "Aubrey" "Could you leave a message for Jamie?" "I do not know any Jaimes." "Are you sure?"
Needless to say, they weren't quite convinced I was not Jaime. They kept calling at different times hoping to catch me off guard I guess. But the weirdest calls by far came from strange men, and let me tell you, there were a LOT of them. One of the strangest sounded eerily like my Uncle Ed. It came in rather late one night and he told me to just come on back to his room when I got there... When I explained to him I was not Jaime he hooted and apologized in a good-ol' boy fashion and told me to have a good night.
The calls finally started to peeter out, but I still get happy birthday texts when it's not my birthday and random phone calls and texts. I mostly ignore them. However, the other day I got a phone call at about 5:40am. I answered it to only have the person on the other end hang-up. Carlin mumbled "who was that?" and I said it must have been a drunk dial. Then I received the following text:
5:42am: Zorry who this
I ignored it.
5:44am: What's yours name
I responded with the following:
5:48am: I'm an irate mother of three young children whom you just woke-up from a rather nice sleep and now it sounds like my baby is awake. I'm assuming I'm not the person you are looking for so please leave me alone. And use proper grammar and punctuation next time.
I thought that would be the end of it and started to fall back to sleep, then:
5:54am: You married
Seriously?! He didn't use proper grammar or punctuation so I didn't dignify him with a response. There is only one natural conclusion concerning this Jaime person - she was a student who racked up a bunch of debt. She panicked and entered the field of prostitution hoping to pay her debts down faster. Realizing that that may not have been the best idea she then canceled her phone and severed all contact with her past life and is hopefully trying to start anew somewhere else.
April 2, 2014
Anxiety
I'm a little anxious today. Why? Because today we have a moderate risk for tornadoes. Yep, this seasoned Oklahoman who has been through 18 years of tornado seasons in the state that receives the most tornadoes in the world is finding herself all tied up in knots.
The past few years I have seen tornado after tornado and I SWEAR they are getting closer to me, to my house, to my family. Every year I am glued to the TV because not only do I worry about myself but about my family and my in-laws and my friends scattered all across this state. Mostly I handle it with a mix of excitement and nerves. There is nothing more awe-inspiring and humbling than the weather in Oklahoma.
But this year is different. This year I'm suffering from a little PTSD from last year. This year I have three kids to protect. This year I find myself close to tears and fighting the fear. The fear from last year. And while I've mentioned last year briefly I have never said what happened. Well, now I'm ready to because I need to talk, or write. Whichever.
Here's how it went. Jacob was two weeks old. To the day. Which means I was two weeks post-partum from a c-section. I was home alone because my SIL Heather had decided to go home and try to get a few things done that afternoon. I saw the storm pop-up on the radar and I called Carlin and asked him to pick-up Samuel from school and come home early. I was near tears so Carlin felt it was his duty to calm me down and reassure me everything would be okay. "You're right," I said. "I am just a little emotional is all." Everything will be fine.
But it wasn't and the sirens went off and Carlin had to get off the phone with me and take shelter and his workplace and Samuel's school went on lock-down. And I am watching the news as Mike Morgan from channel four says there is a confirmed tornado on the ground and it's headed straight for the plant my husband works at and it has gone from nothing to an F5 in minutes. I'm holding my baby and my three year old is running around the house naked and now Mike Morgan is saying the tornado is a mile wide and now both of my sisters-in-law are in the direct path as well as my husband.
I call Heather because she is from Idaho and this is her first tornado season and Mitchell is at work and I say "get out of your house Heather." "But where will I go?" She says. "South," I say. "To my house or just keep driving." And she says, "Mitchell said I will be fine and he'll let me know if I need to leave." Now the tornado is barreling into homes. The helicopter pilot's house is getting hit, the news anchors' homes are getting hit. The movie theater, schools, workplaces are being evacuated. And now my SIL Samantha is calling to ask if I'm okay and I'm confused because yes, I'm fine but is she at work? That's when I hear yelling in the background and she says they have to get in the safe.
And that's it. That's the last I hear from my husband and my two sisters-in-law. The tornado is taking out cell towers. My baby wants to eat but I'm so stressed no milk comes. The sirens are going off and I'm in the closet trying to feed my baby and my 3 year old is running around naked because she thinks now is a good time to change her panties and someone is pounding on my door and I'm trying very, very hard not to cry. Surprisingly my Mom and Dad are able to get through to me, but I'm a mess. I reassure my Mom that Samantha was in the safe (she works at a bank) so she should be okay. But what about Carlin? What about Heather? I watch as the tornado makes a slight adjustment to the north and misses Carlin's work and according to the map Heather's house. But I still can't get through to them and now it's hitting more houses. Homes of friends. And schools. Samuel is stuck at school, I can't get to him. And my heart can't take it. The tears start and won't stop.
Hours later Carlin makes it home, Samantha makes it home, we are able to get through to Heather, she's fine and finally Samuel makes it home. I'm still watching the news and even the professional news anchors are struggling to keep it together. The worse part of it? The risk for severe weather won't go away. We have two weeks straight of apprehension, nervousness, dark skies, rain and finally another F5 tornado, the largest ever recorded. That storm dropped smaller tornadoes all over the city, hitting Carlin's work and causing power outages.
The past 11 months we've driven by the tornado path. We've seen the piles of rubble, the clearing away of the debris and the rebuilding of homes and businesses. The post office has been rebuilt, the hospital which was completely demolished is now under construction. And now we are gearing up for another tornado season. And I'm not sure if I will be able to handle it this time. I just have to remember I'm strong, I'm Oklahoma strong.
The past few years I have seen tornado after tornado and I SWEAR they are getting closer to me, to my house, to my family. Every year I am glued to the TV because not only do I worry about myself but about my family and my in-laws and my friends scattered all across this state. Mostly I handle it with a mix of excitement and nerves. There is nothing more awe-inspiring and humbling than the weather in Oklahoma.
But this year is different. This year I'm suffering from a little PTSD from last year. This year I have three kids to protect. This year I find myself close to tears and fighting the fear. The fear from last year. And while I've mentioned last year briefly I have never said what happened. Well, now I'm ready to because I need to talk, or write. Whichever.
Here's how it went. Jacob was two weeks old. To the day. Which means I was two weeks post-partum from a c-section. I was home alone because my SIL Heather had decided to go home and try to get a few things done that afternoon. I saw the storm pop-up on the radar and I called Carlin and asked him to pick-up Samuel from school and come home early. I was near tears so Carlin felt it was his duty to calm me down and reassure me everything would be okay. "You're right," I said. "I am just a little emotional is all." Everything will be fine.
But it wasn't and the sirens went off and Carlin had to get off the phone with me and take shelter and his workplace and Samuel's school went on lock-down. And I am watching the news as Mike Morgan from channel four says there is a confirmed tornado on the ground and it's headed straight for the plant my husband works at and it has gone from nothing to an F5 in minutes. I'm holding my baby and my three year old is running around the house naked and now Mike Morgan is saying the tornado is a mile wide and now both of my sisters-in-law are in the direct path as well as my husband.
I call Heather because she is from Idaho and this is her first tornado season and Mitchell is at work and I say "get out of your house Heather." "But where will I go?" She says. "South," I say. "To my house or just keep driving." And she says, "Mitchell said I will be fine and he'll let me know if I need to leave." Now the tornado is barreling into homes. The helicopter pilot's house is getting hit, the news anchors' homes are getting hit. The movie theater, schools, workplaces are being evacuated. And now my SIL Samantha is calling to ask if I'm okay and I'm confused because yes, I'm fine but is she at work? That's when I hear yelling in the background and she says they have to get in the safe.
And that's it. That's the last I hear from my husband and my two sisters-in-law. The tornado is taking out cell towers. My baby wants to eat but I'm so stressed no milk comes. The sirens are going off and I'm in the closet trying to feed my baby and my 3 year old is running around naked because she thinks now is a good time to change her panties and someone is pounding on my door and I'm trying very, very hard not to cry. Surprisingly my Mom and Dad are able to get through to me, but I'm a mess. I reassure my Mom that Samantha was in the safe (she works at a bank) so she should be okay. But what about Carlin? What about Heather? I watch as the tornado makes a slight adjustment to the north and misses Carlin's work and according to the map Heather's house. But I still can't get through to them and now it's hitting more houses. Homes of friends. And schools. Samuel is stuck at school, I can't get to him. And my heart can't take it. The tears start and won't stop.
Hours later Carlin makes it home, Samantha makes it home, we are able to get through to Heather, she's fine and finally Samuel makes it home. I'm still watching the news and even the professional news anchors are struggling to keep it together. The worse part of it? The risk for severe weather won't go away. We have two weeks straight of apprehension, nervousness, dark skies, rain and finally another F5 tornado, the largest ever recorded. That storm dropped smaller tornadoes all over the city, hitting Carlin's work and causing power outages.
The past 11 months we've driven by the tornado path. We've seen the piles of rubble, the clearing away of the debris and the rebuilding of homes and businesses. The post office has been rebuilt, the hospital which was completely demolished is now under construction. And now we are gearing up for another tornado season. And I'm not sure if I will be able to handle it this time. I just have to remember I'm strong, I'm Oklahoma strong.
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