New Posts!

It's been a busy week! Here are a few new posts. Be sure and scroll down to read them all.
~jen

My BFF

To Renay...

Thank you for being such a wonderful friend all these years. You are an amazing woman, mom, wife, friend, and Christian. Thank you for your unconditional love and support over these years. Thank you for being the sister I never had. Thank you for being my BFF!!! :)

Love you always...

~jen

Homecoming Week (Part 1)

(There will be many more homecoming posts coming over the next few days!)

Last week Cody and I ordered his girlfriend's homecoming mum. This evening I picked it up. It is beautiful. So much so that the tears started as I was writing out the check. Yes... there could have been tears for the amount the mum cost... but the tears were more for the beginning of so much for Cody. So many moments that he will experience over these next few years. Homecoming is just part of it.

I'm embarrassed now at how the experience affected me. The poor girl ringing up the mum probably thought I was crazy. I'm not crazy. And you know what, I'm not going to be embarrassed for the tears anymore. The tears are apart of who I am. They're not always tears of sadness. Most of the time they are tears of joy and immense pride for Cody. I can't wait to experience the next 2 days with him. Tomorrow is the homecoming parade and pep rally and the homecoming game is on Friday night. I can't wait. I can't wait to meet old friends and new friends at the game and have a great night reliving some wonderful memories of being a Sandie.

Two Words

I have 2 words for you... YUM-O. Let me just tell you that I literally said this after tasting my latest find Monday evening. Apple Dumplings. Someone sent me a link to The Pioneer Woman's website and I found this yummy recipe. I decided that I should give it a try.

Here's the results:

Caden approved.

Here's the link for the recipe.

Apple Dumplings

Consider yourself warned... this dish may become addicting!

~jen

Anniversary Party

For our 15th wedding anniversary we decided to throw a small family and friend party at our house. We had a wonderful evening with old friends, new friends and loved ones. We are sorry that those who live out of town were not able to come. We missed you and wished you could have been here with us.



~jen and mike

Great Date Night

For our anniversary Mike got us tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld last night. When I first found out about the tickets, I wasn't too excited. I didn't quite know what to expect. When you think of Seinfeld, you think of the tv show. I thought... it's just going to be Jerry... no George, Elaine or Kramer? What's he going to do? Well... he's a stand-up comedian. And he's quite funny all by himself! We had a really good time and really good seats! We were about 20 rows back from the stage and could see him quite clearly. It was a little surreal seeing him on stage... in Amarillo of all places.

After the show we went with some friends for dinner at one of our favorite places... Hoffbrau. Yummy. It was a great date night.

~jen

Happy Anniversary

Michael and Jennifer

09.25.93

Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. Wow, 15 years. It's amazing how quickly 15 years can pass by. So many things have happened in those years... 2 beautiful children, many tears, many joys, many laughs, many proud accomplishments, a new home, many worries, many prayers... the list goes on and on. The important thing is we've done them together. We've overcome so much. It hasn't been easy. Some days, it's still not easy. But that's marriage. There's going to bad days. There's going to be days when we don't get along. But, there's many more good days than bad and there's days when we can't live without each other. That's marriage.

I am so proud of all that we've overcome. Thanks to each of you for the love and support you've shown Michael and I.
~jen

Song for the Day

Remember this?

:)

~jen

Just the latest...

It's been a crazy week around here. I can't believe it's the start of another week already!

Here's some highlights of the week:

Last Saturday Caden and I went to the Tri-State Fair Parade. It was a lot of fun. Here's some pics...

Earlier this week we had our Boy's Golf Booster Club meeting. It was great to meet all the players and parents. Cody received his window Sandie. Now our house is officially a marked target for non-AHS fans!

Can I just tell you how proud I am to have this sign in our window? I am so proud of Cody for it. I am proud for Mike, Caden, and I. (Don't get me wrong... it's not that kind of pride like that nah, nah, nah, nah, na... look at me kind of pride... but that feeling that you have deep within you that makes you so proud of what your children have accomplished.)

As a teenager, I always wanted one of these signs in my window. I wanted to be the cheerleader, the athlete, to live in the house in the neighborhood that had one of these wooden Sandies. In a way... this is my Sandie, too. I'm still not an athlete... a cheerleader?... I guess you could say I am a cheerleader these days for my boys... and I am so proud to live in a home that has one of these wooden Sandies. Thank you, Cody. One of my wishes came true. I hope you don't mind sharing your wooden Sandie with me. :)

This weekend I had the opportunity to take the JV golf team to their golf tournament in Hereford. It was a great experience. The boys were well behaved, polite, and just a lot of fun. They played well individually and as a team. They ended up finishing 5th. Cody had a great round Friday and a not so great round Saturday... but it's ok. It was his first tournament as a Sandie and I am proud of him no matter how he played! I was able to take some pictures. By some, I mean 200. I couldn't believe how many pictures I took! After editing, I had 178 pictures between all the boys. That was only through about 12 holes of golf. My battery light began flashing so I turned my camera off and saved what was left of my battery until the end of the tournament! Next time, I'll bring my spare batteries and I'll probably need an extra memory card, too! This weekend has got me thinking that I need to upgrade my camera! Here's a few pictures of the boys.

What's ahead for this week... it's just as crazy. I'm working on a mini-remodel of the boy's bathroom, Cody and I are going to go purchase his girlfriend's homecoming mum (just when I thought I was getting over the tears from school starting... now this ... let the tears resume!), our first parent-teacher conference with Caden's teacher is Tuesday morning (nothing is wrong... it's just a meeting on how Caden has adjusted so far to Kindergarten), Mike and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary on Thursday with dinner and a Jerry Seinfeld show, and I'm planning a party for Saturday evening! Whew. I'm tired just typing all that. Now I have to live it!

Another post soon...

~jen

This One's for Cody

New song for the day (turn your speakers on and click Burnin Up under My Playlist). (Never fear Kenny Loggins' fans, he'll be back!)

This one's for Cody. The other night I picked him and his friend Chase up from the golf course. On the stereo in the car was this song. Immediately the boys were yelling, "This is our song!... Turn it up!... No way!... You have this on a CD?... Oh this is so our song!" It was hilarious. We even had to take the long way to Chase's house so they could hear the entire song!

I think there was a major breakthrough for Cody at that moment... I think he realized his mom can be somewhat cool because she likes some of the same music as her teenage son and his friend!

Oh, to be young again.

Just curious, what was your song as a teenager?

(I'll have to think about mine for a day or 2... it's late and I'm not thinking all that clearly!)

~jen



PS... hang on just a few more seconds and Kenny Loggins will be on! You know you love Footloose and you can't keep your toes from tapping and doing a little boogieing in your chair! Everybody cut footloose!

Golf Stuff

Yesterday, Cody and the other members of the AHS golf team were able to assist with the Ryan Palmer Foundation's annual golf scramble/fundraiser. After the scramble, Ryan met with the golf team and they were able to watch him hit on the driving range, handle his golf clubs (they couldn't hit with them, only take a few practice swings), and get some autographs and pictures. Cody said it was amazing to meet Ryan and see a real life PGA Tour player in action. (Ryan grew up in Amarillo and was a member of the AHS golf team.)

Tonight is our first golf booster club meeting. I am so excited for Cody. We've been told that they have an official meet the team presentation and each member should receive their new AHS golf bag and window sign (a wooden Sandie that reads Home of a AHS golfer). We will get an opportunity to meet the other parents and players, and begin signing up to assist with various fundraisers, the homecoming parade, team dinners, etc. I am so excited to get to be apart of this. I love this kind of stuff. All through middle school, the parents didn't have booster clubs to be apart of. I've missed doing the bake sales, parties, and fundraisers! Now it's my time to get involved.

I'll post some pictures of the evening later!
~jen

Song for the day!

(Turn your speakers on!)

Changes in the works...

I am in the process of changing my blog.

~jen

For the Love of the Game

Last night concluded Spirit Week. If you are a local, a Sandie, or maybe even a Rebel (so sorry if you are!), you know that means that the bitter rivalry between Amarillo High and Tascosa High met for a football field battle. It is always one of my favorite games to go to because it is also the opening night for the Tri-State Fair. It's a pretty sight to sit at the game and see the fair lights just over the stadium. (Except for when you are the visiting team, as we were last night... you can't see the fair!) Every once and a while you'd get a whiff of something fried and probably on a stick!

Anyways... back to the game... we one! Blow Sand Blow! It was one of those games where you just had to have a little faith in your team and not give up. And we didn't give up. We won. It was great to see some familiar faces, of course I spent the whole night trying to figure out the names that went with some of those faces! It was a great night that brought back so many memories!

Here's some pictures of the night:

"S" is for Sandies and Steelers! It's nice that our

Steelers' jerseys and hats are the same colors as the Sandies!

A proud moment for me. Can you guess which one is Cody?

(Just in case you can't... he's the "S")

Such manly freshmen!

The anticipation.

Caden waving his Sandie Spirit towel.

(That's a blue piece of bubblegum in his mouth!)

Blow, Sand, Blow!!!

The final score!

~jen

How He Loves Us

Today is a day of remembrance. Today is a day of renewal. Today is a new day.


There are so many wrongs in our world right now. So many worries. So many struggles. So many things that don’t make sense. War… corruption… poor economy… natural disasters… heath care… terrorism… poverty... the list goes on and on.


Put all of that aside for a few minutes. Take 10 minutes of your day and just listen. Scroll down to the lower right side of the page to "my playlist" and click on How He Loves. Turn on your speakers and listen to this song. (Hopefully the link will be working and you are able to hear Kim Walker’s live version of How He Loves. If not, click here to see the concert.)


Have a blessed day. I love each of you.
~jen

He is jealous for me

Love’s like a hurricane, I am a tree

Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory

and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me

Oh, how He loves us so

Oh, how He loves us

How He loves us so

Yeah, He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves

So we are His portion and He is our prize,

Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes

If grace is an ocean we’re all sinking

So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss and my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don’t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way

That He loves us,

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves

He loves us,

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves

Cause He loves us,

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves

Yeah, He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves us

Woah, how He loves

Reflections on the last 24 hours...

Right about this time last night I was pacing the living room waiting for a phone call from our dentist. For those who haven't heard, Caden was involved in an accident (non-automobile) yesterday which resulted in a broken front permanent tooth. You can only imagine my horror to see my precious child's smile forever changed. He was missing almost half of his tooth. I could see up inside his tooth. Thankfully he did not damage any nerves and was not experiencing any pain. Our dentist was gracious enough to offer to take a look at Caden's tooth. We arrived at his office at a little before 10:00. Caden was such a trooper last night. He did a great job of following the dentist's instructions. Since it was only the dentist there at the office he asked me to assist him. It was great to sit there right beside Caden and watch the dentist take a broken tooth and "make" that tooth somewhat normal again. The procedure was mostly pain free. I think the only time that Caden whimpered a little was while the dentist was smoothing down the temporary bonding material. Both Dr. Browning and Caden did a great job. I am so proud of my brave little boy for doing such a great job last night. And I am so very thankful that we have a dentist who was more than willing to meet me last night.

We got home around 11:00. Caden immediately went to bed and did fine through the night.

We returned to the office this afternoon for x-rays and a follow up with the dentist. The x-ray of the tooth looked good. At this point it appears there is not any damage to the root of the tooth. I was really worried last night because his tooth was a little wiggly. It's something that we will have to watch over the next several months, just to be sure the root remains intact and healthy. Dr. Browning did a little more work to the tooth today, smoothing it out some. It appeared less noticeable, a little less fake, this afternoon. We will return the last week in October for a permanent fix. The process will be much more invasive and will take a few hours to complete.

I feel a little better today. I took time this morning to visit with Caden's school teacher, the school nurse, and Caden's speech therapist. I made sure that Caden knew his tooth looked perfect and that his smile was just as beautiful as before. Even though my heart was breaking for him.

Caden has struggled with his speech for years. He's been made fun of, he's experienced the frustration of not being understood. I've heard him say "never mind" too many times because someone can't understand what he's saying. I've heard too many people say "I can't understand what you are saying" or "you talk funny" to him too many times. I don't want him to be made fun of because now on top of the speech issues, his tooth looks a little... different. I know that a more realistic looking tooth is coming, we just need to take some time to let the natural tooth heal and rest.

Unfortunately, Caden will always have issues with this tooth. It will have to be updated throughout his life. He will always have to be careful about what he eats; nothing too hard, or too chewy. He will always have to wear a mouth guard for athletics. There will always be some precautions that will need to be taken.

I know it's just a tooth. It's not like he lost an arm or has some serious disfigurement to his body. It's just a tooth. But, it's my baby's tooth. It's my baby's smile that's changed. It's just going to take some time to let the events of yesterday go and realize that he's ok, he's the same little boy who makes me laugh and smile, he's the same little boy who drives me crazy sometimes, and his beautiful smile still exists and still warms my soul.

So, here's what I ask of you: (1) Please say a little prayer for Caden. Pray that his tooth will heal, that he will not experience any self consciousness about his new smile. Pray that the process for the permanent bonding will be as pain-free as possible. (2) For family members and friends who see Caden often, please let Caden be the one to tell you about his tooth. I asked him when I picked him up from daycare if he told any of his friends at school what happened and he said only a few. Even though he's just 6 years old, self consciousness has already started. I'd urge those of you with small children to remind your children that we are all different in some way, but that's what makes us special and unique. Encourage your children to always follow the golden rule, to never make fun of someone just because they can't talk right, or their smile doesn't seem quite right, or because they are missing an arm, or mentally challenged... the list could go on and on. It seems I've taken the topic of this post somewhere else... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've learned a valuable lesson out of all of this... no matter the outside, what truly matters is what's on the inside. Caden's still the same Caden. His smile may never be quite what it was before the accident... but it's ok. He can still smile. That's what matters. He still is just as beautiful to me today as he was yesterday.

~jen

Come and gone

The first week of school has come and gone. Hopefully for everyone, so have the first week jitters and worries. Both boys have done remarkably well adjusting to kindergarten and high school. Caden had a wonderful first week. Today marked a new milestone, he entered the school all by himself. We walked together across the street to the front sidewalk and then I let go of my baby's hand and watched him walk into the front door with such pride in his steps because he was a big boy going into the school all by himself.

Cody also had a great first week. He played well last week each day that the golf team went to the course. He still doesn't know where he will be placed (either JV Black or Gold). He went to his first Friday night football game as a Sandie and sat in the student section at the stadium. He said he had a blast. I know there will be many more firsts for him this year and I can't wait to experience them with him.

As for me, my first week of school jitters have subsided some. The emotions are less raw, a little less tearful these past few days. I am still searching for a babysitter, so please continue to keep your ears open and pass along my name and number if you know of someone who is interested. Thanks to friends and family who have offered to help watch Caden while we search. We couldn't do without you. Sometimes I think there is a little truth to the saying..."it takes a village to raise a child"!

Hope all is well with each of you!

~jen

Computer issues

Our home computer decided to not work Saturday. It's been hard to not have my computer! Luckily Mike has been kind to share his laptop with me so I can at least get my blog and email fix! It's amazing just how addicting these little computers can be! I took our computer into Best Buy yesterday and one of their Geek Squad guys was able to quickly diagnose our problem, a faulty power supply. He said it is something simple to repair, so the computer should be fixed later today. Whew. I don't know how much longer I could go without our computer! :)
~jen

My big boy

A sign Caden is becoming a big boy...

...when he tells me that he doesn't want me to put little love notes in his lunch box anymore.

He's a big boy now and doesn't need notes. I went ahead and snuck one in his lunch box this morning. It wasn't a real note, it was just a smiley face. When we got home and started to look through his daily folder, he looked at me and said... "mom, I said no more notes in my lunch box!".

Ouch... straight to the heart.

~jen

First Day Pictures

We all survived today... the boys more than me. It was a very tearful morning. I kept myself busy with a trip to Hobby Lobby and lunch with a friend. A little shopping therapy made the morning a little better. :)

Caden said he had a "great" day and his teacher is "very, very nice". Cody said his day was great. He even indulged my request to tell me all about his day, starting from when he walked into the commons to get his final schedule to the end of his last period! He gave me the class by class report. It was wonderful to hear all about their day.

~jen