Respect the Runner

I don't enjoy running. When I was in high school, I played soccer, and that requires a lot of running. But there was a distinct reason for the running. Run to cut off the opponent, run to keep the ball in possession the ball, run to dribble the ball down the field, run to get in position to pass the ball, run to get in position to receive the ball from a pass, run to score a goal. There were a lot of reasons to run. And I did it. I ran my little hiney off. And I was fast. ("was" being the operative word) During training season, we ran a lot, and I just hated it. Sure it improved my endurance and speed, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it.

The winds of change have come and gone, and I have not changed my opinion on running. I still don't like it. My opinion of runners has changed however. Before, I thought people who liked running were crazy or plain stupid. But now, I have a deep respect for runners. They aren't stupid. In fact, they are amazing. I am so impressed with my friends who are runners, who sacrifice sleep and time to discipline their bodies to run great distances. My soccer days are long gone and I hadn't run over a mile in quite some time. And then I hear of my friends running 1/2 marathons and marathons. That's crazy and so incredibly impressive to me.

Because of that, I'm joining the club. I have been "running" for two weeks now, roughly 4 times a week. At first I just ran a few blocks. But now,I run a 5k circuit at least 3 times a week and I do a 5 miler with my friend (thanks Danette for pushing me). I can say that running without a stroller shortens my time by quite a bit!I want to do the Provo River 1/2 Marathon in August. I need to make sure I can still register, but if I can, I'm doing it. I'm not sure if I will ever be able to consider myself a runner and put myself in the ranks of those of whom I marvel. But, I can try -- and in the meantime, I run.

Birthday Party Fun!

I asked Marcus what he thought of when he thought of Samantha. He chose words like spunky, determined... I can't make a cake out of that. How do you make a determined cake? He then said, "She's our little star." I was going to make an actual star, but then decided a stencil with stars on it would suffice.

Birthday picture with Daddy.

Birthday picture with Mommy.

Fun new clothes!

Mmmmm cake!

I'm a Teacher!

(Samantha's birthday pictures will be coming. Stay tuned...)



In the attempt to get "organized" I have started packing up some of our stuff for our move in August. While going through some papers, I came across my teaching license which stated an expiration date of June 30, 2008. That was about a month ago. Though I'm not currently teaching, and probably won't be in the near future, it's important to me to keep this license current. I worked hard for it, and I loved teaching. So if it were to just expire, to me, it would be like my time, energy, and love that went towards teaching, would, in a sense, vanish. Silly, but the point is, I want to keep it current. Plus, if I were to ever privately tutor, I could charge more money because I would be a licensed teacher.



I quickly looked up what I need to do in order to renew my expiring license. I was discouraged. I was pretty positive that I didn't have time. But I pressed onward. I made a few phone calls, took an Independent Study class online (which I completed in 3 weeks and got an A- in...phew), and attended a Writing Workshop on BYU's campus. The class and workshop gave me the extra points I needed towards my renewal.



Today I drove up to Salt Lake City to the Utah State Office of Education and they renewed my license on the spot -- with 6 days to spare. So, though I don't currently teaching, according to the state, I can still say "I'm a teacher!"

Birthday Girl

Today Samantha turns 2 years old. I cannot believe that only two years ago we were in the hospital, after months of anticipation, holding our perfect little miracle. She is a beam of light in our home. The room lights up when she smiles or giggles. Her laughter is infectious and her spirit is incredibly tender and sweet. Samantha's drive and determination to accomplish whatever it is that she wants is so admirable. She teaches me everyday. I feel blessed to have such a wonderful little lady in my life. At least once a week we are stopped by people who know Samantha somehow. On Saturday, it was by a woman who gives Samantha her shots at the Health Clinic. I didn't recognize her, but she sure recognized Samantha. There are plenty of others. I have to say, at first I thought that it was easy for them to remember Samantha because she looks so different from other kids. But with the progression of time, I have come to realize that there is much more to Samantha. We've always known that -- but my realization was that others see that too. They feel her spirit. They are drawn in by her smile and her engaging big blue eyes.

I love her completely and with my whole heart -- and because of Samantha, my heart is much bigger than I ever thought imaginable.

I love you sweetheart!

Happy Birthday Punkin!

You're our little star!

Father's Day

What a great Daddy!

Take it From the Pro

Having adopted one child, I, as the Adoptive Mommy Pro, am quoted in an article about baby showers for the adoptive couple. I had a rather lengthy discussion with the author of the article, and this is what made it in. Sure it's not much, but it's pretty fun to be quoted! Check it out. (By the way, if you are planning a baby shower, this article gives a ton of fun/different ideas for various situations.)

The following link is just to the part where I'm quoted, but you can view the rest of the article if you are interested -- you have my full support.

http://www.babyzone.com/pregnancy/baby_showers/photos_baby_shower_guide/9

On Birthmother's Day, the day before Mother's Day, we joined FSA (Families Supporting Adoption) at Provo High School to help promote adoption. We just happened to get a family shot with Cosmo too!

Our sweet little Callie in her Sunday dress and a "pretty" in her hair.

Free Vinyl Wall Art

Friends, have I got a great deal for you. Check out this website: http://www.vinylwallart.com. See for yourself what is available at this great site. She has the cutest vinyl decals. They aren't your typical quotes on the wall, which are great and I do love them. But these have a touch of pesonality that I really find appealing.

Then, go to this blog -- http://www.creatingcupcakes.blogspot.com/ -- and look under her entry titled "Everyone Can Win Giveaway" for more information. If you put something on your blog about her store, and email her your link, she'll send you your choice of

A) your color choice(s) for two small monkey decalsor
B) your color choice for a set of bird decals (one color for 3)or
C) your color choice for a small rocket ship decalorE) either olive green or apple green small fun leaf decals

Does it get better than that?! No I tell you. Check it out ladies! You only have until June 12.

I Feel Bad About This...I Really Do

So, as I was putting up the last post, Samantha was screaming in her crib, and I feel bad about this, I really do. Here's the deal (and Danette, I know you get will understand this), I can no longer have a child who doesn't sleep. I just can't. I'm spent -- emotionally and physically. There comes a point when a woman needs to sleep!



Samantha always had had sleeping problems, but we had gotten through it. She was at the point where she was sleeping through the night. Then, when she was 7 mths old, she began her seizures. This completely changed everything. I'm speeding through our seizure history here, but the seizures got so bad that we had to sleep with her; at least that was the only way we felt comfortable about the entire situation. We had to be able to stop any "big" seizures, and the only way we would know if she was having a "big" one, is if we saw or felt it. Well, Samantha decided that sleeping with us was the best way to sleep.



We have done this so many times, reteaching her to sleep on her own, fall asleep on her own, and be a happy restful child. But each time she had another seizure episode, we went back to square one and it was worse. The older she gets, the more determined she is to get what she wants.



Her seizures have been under control, thankfully, for over a month now. Marcus and I have discussed starting this process over again, but I was hesitant. I told him I didn't want to start until we could be consistent, and I wasn't feeling like I could be consistent. I hate hearing her upset. It makes me sad. I can just imagine her in there as she screams, thinking "Why? What did I do? When did things change? Mommy. Mommy! Mommy?" It's sad.



But, today is the day. I can no longer do it. Last night, I literally slept approximately 3 hours. I can't do that, and neither can she. So if it takes a week of screaming, I can handle it, and so can she. Samantha may have a small brain, but she's a smart girl. She'll figure out that it's time to sleep. Her body will tell her that. We have the ear plugs handy, right on the night stand, so we can take turns each night getting a good night sleep during this process. I say I get the first night of peaceful sleep. If anyone has any better ideas that don't seem so emotionally abusive, I'm interested. In the meantime, I'm going along with my sister's plan, and what we've used in the past. Hopefully, this time, no medical emergencies will interfere with this working long term. Sweet dreams to all...maybe it is just a fantasy. I'll let you know.

Something Old Turns to Something New

I always have a project I'm working on -- some large, while some are on the smaller scale. Marcus, I'm sure, loves and hates this about me. He loves the enthusiasm I have for it, but the unfinished projects can get frustrating. I've worked really hard on that, and I have to say, I'm better. I try to only work on one thing at a time.

This time, it was a new dresser. I realized with 2 little girls, I just didn't have the dresser space that I needed. While I was in Michigan, I searched craigslist everyday -- and I finally found a dresser, for $30, that I felt would work perfectly. I didn't want to just paint it, so I went online and looked for fun ideas. When I got to UT, I checked it out, and feeling quite satisfied, I bought it. My finished product was a combination of some of those ideas I found online.

The dresser started like this. It was in great condition with 3 smaller drawers and 4 deep drawers. Obviously it needed some work, but overall, good condition.

The dresser top did have some issues though. A part of it was damaged and I wasn't concerned about the cosmetic factor as much as the safety of it. What if, as Samantha stumbles by, she knocks the corner and takes a gash out of her head? She's already had enough done with her head...let's avoid any further surgeries. And this problem has much more potential to do damage than a normal corner.

To fix it I, with the help of my neighbor, ripped off the entire front molding and replaced it with a cute, detailed molding I bought at Home Depot. Then I filled in the missing wood with some putty; when it dried, I sanded it down. You can't even tell there was a huge chunk of wood missing.

Next, I painted the top a light brown and the rest of the dresser pink. For the dresser drawers, I found this super cute scrapbook paper that I absolutely fell in love with -- simple but cute. I measured it all, cut the paper down to size, and antiqued the edges with a stamp pad. Then came putting it on the dresser drawer.

Now I had never done what I was about to try, so I admit it took me 4 tries and just when I was about to give up and just paint it, my neighbor, with her expertise, showed me how it's done. We put glue all over the back of each piece of paper. Once it was pressed in place, we put a coat of clear paint over it. That sealed it in and the bubbles were minimal. If bubbles did appear, it was easy to push them back down. The trick is putting the glue ALL OVER the back. You can't miss a spot. (And Elmer's doesn't work here folks. I tried. It's too wet of a glue. There is a glue that we used that was similar to Modge Podge, I think it is, that you can get at any craft store.) Once everything was dry, I had to figure out what to do with the knobs. They were silver. I wanted to avoid buying new knobs (which are relatively inexpensive) and I wanted them to match. So, I dipped them, one by one, in the brown paint like fondue. And here is the finished product:

I'm pretty happy with it. It was fun and I think it turned out great, if I say so myself. And here, my something old and rough turned into something new and girly for Samantha and Callie to share.

Scott and Annie Green -- A Wedding Story

Callie in her dress that she wore to the temple. What a cutie!

Scotty and Annie just out the temple doors.

Samantha patiently waiting for her turn with the photographer.

David and Samantha at the Oakland Temple.

Our little family of four.

Scotty and Annie cutting the cake (that her sister made!).

Holla'!!!!!!

Our gangsta girls. Holla'

Bumpa -- Promoter

Callie -- lead vocals, keyboard, guitar, tambourine

Sammy -- drums, bass, dancer extraordinaire