The Flemings

Just for my records

2011-07-28T17:23:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not the computer is more accessable to me than a pen and paper right now and I have to document a cute Jonah moment. I put him on his play mat so I could steam mop the kitchen and I heard him fussing, so I went in to see what was wrong and he had dropped the book (it's soft btw) he was "reading" on his face and couldn't figure out how to get it off. He looked so cute waving his arms and kicking his legs and you couldn't see his head at all. What a guy!
That is all,
Tiffany

Well it's about time!

2011-07-28T14:16:00.011-05:00

I know, I know. I said I'd do better about blogging......almost a year ago! You must give me some credit though. At the time I was yucky sick all the time with my pregnancy and all I pretty much wanted to do was lay in bed (or the couch). Well, needless to say, ALOT has happened since then. I became more and more pregnant.And this was at only 30 weeks! Yes, I got huge by week 41 1/2!!!

And instead of getting one of theseWe got one of these!!
Best surprise ever!

I'll save the birth story for another post because I like to make it sound long, but it really wasn't that bad.

So the or the last 3.75 months I have been enjoying being a mommy to the most incredible little man. I will be honest, during my pregnancy I doubted my maternal abilities ALOT! I was scared I was going to do something wrong and mess up a perfectly good baby. But as soon as my little guy came out, I was so in love and just wanted to snuggle him up and take care of him. It's amazing how that happens!! So without getting too mushy, I will just leave my first post back short and sweet. I'll bombard you with pictures of the cutest baby EVER, later.

It feels good to be back,

Tiffany

Hello Second Trimester

2010-09-21T14:39:00.006-05:00

Today marks my first day of my second trimester! I think I'm getting closer and closer to feeling like myself again! I still have moments of nausea but now I can tell myself it will pass. HALLELUJAH!! I don't feel like there has been alot of change yet, but one thing that has changed that has been hard to get used to is that I can't really sleep on my stomach anymore. Somehow every night I end up on my stomach and then I wake up with sore abs.....so sad...I'm a stomach sleeper. Other than that, there's not too much going on. Here are my last 2 pictures from 12 and 14 weeks. There's a bit of a shadow on the wall so it makes it seem like I'm a little bigger...just keep that in mind.

12 weeks

14 weeks

Baby Bumps or Lovely Lady Lumps?

2010-09-13T13:12:00.005-05:00

Well we are pregnant! I am nearing the end of the first trimester and hoping to get into that honeymoon stage of pregnancy. Fingers crossed, but I'm hoping the sick subsides VERY soon. That has been extremely hard to get through, but when things get really bad, Daniel plays me the video of our little nuggets heartbeat, and that sweet sound seems to take the edge off a bit. ;)

We have gotten to see the heartbeat once at 6 weeks, and hear it at 8 weeks. It's pretty cute, I'm not gonna lie. :) Anyway, now that I have something fun to blog about, this will get updated much more often. Here are some pictures of the growing baby and momma. I have to say I'm a little surprised to show so soon (really it just kinda started in the last few days) and I promise I'm not pushing it out.

8 weeks 9 weeks11 weeks

2010-07-13T11:13:00.003-05:00

It has certainly been a while since I blogged. My mom called me the other day and said, "on April 28th you blogged that you would promised to be back soon". Can you believe my own mother would call me out on such a thing?! :)
Well things have been pretty busy since April 28th. We moved, I've been to LOTS of births, I've traveled and seen family and had them travel to see me, I repelled in the Palo Duro canyon, kept a couple of very cute kids for a few days, I've gotten a tan, lost a tan, gone blonde, seen college girlfriends for some fun at the lake, and the list goes on and on. It has been eventful so I suppose I just never felt that the time was right to blog about it all. Next thing I know, 3 months have pile up. One thing that kept me away was that the day we closed on our house and begin to move in, I took a positive pregnancy test. A couple of weeks later I had a miscarriage. I wanted to blog about all the fun things I had been up to, but that seemed like so much a part of my life that I felt like I could just appear on my blog as if everything was all peachy. So when I felt the time was right, I wrote a huge blog about my experience and how it was to grieve a pregnancy. Then I went back and for forth for the last month on whether or not to post it. I won't post it because I don't think I'm ready to share that much, but I did feel that I needed to mention it in all the events because it is now a part of who I am and what has been going on with our little family. I will just say that God has been present and protected our hearts through it all and we have felt so much love from our friends and family around us. Thanks for the prayers!
So, our new house.....we are mostly moved in and settled, but there are always those last few boxes that we're not quite sure what to do with them. Oh well. When we moved in the dining room was an obnoxious candy apple red. It is now a lovely light grey, almost white color. I'm going for a calming neutral space. As soon as we find our cable to the camera, I will try to post before and after pictures of the house. I LOVE the house. We have a heavily wooded creek behind us so the critters are ever prestent. A couple of nights ago I felt my hair tickling my arm and kept trying to brush it off. After a couple of minutes of that I thought maybe it wasn't a hair after all, so Daniel turned on the light and low and behold a spider had been crawling up and down my arm. I haven't slept the same since!!!
In other news, yesterday was Daniel's 26th birthday. He spent the day working and the night at our neighborhood crime watch training. Yes folks 26 going on 80. Just kidding. He can protect me anytime!!!
I really just need to get the camera cable found so I can have a fun post of all pictures. Heaven knows this is long winded and nobody is probably even reading anymore. If you are, you are a trooper! I will be more regular about blogging now!!! I PROMISE MOM!
Well that's all my tiny fingers feel like typing for now, so I'll be back soon with more super interesting things. :)
Happy Tuesday!!!

Our New Home-Sneak Peek!!!

2010-04-28T12:13:00.003-05:00

The front! The back!
Very very soon I will have a much longer post, with updates of our lives from the last few months. I started posting back in November about our "adventure" and God has taken us through more than we ever dreamed or imagined. He is so faithful through good and bad. What an awesome God we serve! Can i get an amen?!?!

Be back soon I promise!

Photography Workshop!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-19T08:30:00.002-05:00

My friend Taylor is offering a photography for beginners class in June! She is a very talented photographer, and if you are looking to improve some of your photography skills, you cannot go wrong with her as your instructor! You can see more about it or contact Taylor through her blog:

http://barefeetcreative.wordpress.com/

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!

Move #2 in the Daniel & Tiffany Nomad Adventure

2010-03-02T16:07:00.002-06:00

So after 3 months of Josh & Suzie's hospitality, we have decided to give them some space and privacy. We have had SO much fun with them. Really. There really weren't many dull or boring moments with that combination of people. Trust me. So here is a little "Ode to Josh & Suzie".
November-
You took us in for the last week of the month and even threw us a welcome party and bought me flowers! Y'all rock!
December-
We had family decorating night and made the house look beautifully festive!
We threw the Christmas party for our class at church! What a fun murder mystery night!
The guys got the girls hooked on Call of Duty
We celebrated Christmas!
January-
We rang in 2010 together and then slept alot the next day.
We did some other things that I can't remember. We did make alot of fires and watch TV
We went to the gym once.
February-
We celebrated my 27th birthday together!
Y'all helped nurse me back to health after getting my wisdom teeth out
Bathroom project-hope you like your new bathroom. We'll come hang that mirror one of these days!

Now we are at John and Bobbi's house for a couple/few weeks. I'm sure I will be blogging about that new part of our adventure soon. So far, we've only gone grocery shopping together.

Friends-Sappy post

2010-03-02T15:52:00.002-06:00

I have great friends. I'll just start by saying that. Seriously, I am so amazed at the people that God has placed in my life over the span of 27 years. Sure there have been a few duds (let's skip over those), but for the most part, WOW. There are friends that have been friends since we were kids (or high school age-that's a kid right?), friends I met in college. Oh boy. College friends. They have loved me through some tough times. They have held me when I cried, and laughed with me until we peed a little. They have driven great distances to be with me when my dad (who I've been missing terribly lately)was sick or for his funeral. Man I can never repay them for that. AMAZING!
Then there are my friends that I have made after moving to Dallas. Oh goodness, these girls are equally special to me, just in the short time I've known them. I never thought I could be so blessed to have so many people that I could be so honest with and love and be loved no matter what.
I'm not sure why all of this has recently popped up in my mind. But it has, and I just wanted to write about them a little. Maybe it's because 2 of them have asked me to be present at the birth of their first child, or because I'm getting older and realizing this stuff. I don't know. But they are all very special to me.
So girls, if you are reading this know that I love you so much and thank about and pray often for y'all!

Why Does God Even Give us Wisdom Teeth????

2010-02-22T09:14:00.003-06:00

I think wisdom teeth are a sick joke. When you have them, they rarely bother you, except for the occasional jaw bite (which only hurts for a couple of minutes) or in my case, bone loss in the jaw...whatever. When you have them out, it seems like bone loss would have been the better route to go. It's awful....AWFUL. Now, I wouldn't say the pain is awful...many people think the pain in the worst part. Not me. The pain hasn't been unbearable. In fact, I haven't even had to take anything stronger than advil or extra strength tylenol. The horrible, awful part is working around these new holes in your head or several days. It is so frustrating. I hate feeling like any bite of food (even the liquid foods) or any drink of anything I have is going to cause dry sockets or excessive bleeding, etc. I know I'm a HUGE weiner and probably no one feels sorry for me. That's OK. I just have to vent. Don't ask why I would voluntarily post these pictures for people to see, but I already, unknowingly posted one to facebook so I might as well just put them out there. This is what you have to look forward to when you get your wisdom teeth out people!

My personal favorite. SO HOT!

I have no recolection of taking these AT ALL! However, Daniel said the first thing I did when I got in the car was go for my phone, take pictures, and post one to facebook. Does that mean I have addiction if I'm doing these sorts of things while in an altered state of mind? Hmmmm...Hopefully it will get better soon.

A Blog for Doula stuff only

2010-02-18T14:58:00.005-06:00

In an effort to keep personal things personal, and Doula stuff separate, I have created a blog specifically for updates on how the new adventure is going. I will probably put the funny stuff on this one to try and keep the other one a little more professional! But you know me, gotta have some funny!

If you want to see the other blog check it out at www.doulable.blogspot.com

This week is almost over! YAY! Except I'm having my wisdom teeth out tomorrow...BOOOO!
It'll probably be a low key kinda weekend full of soft foods and vicoden! Things are looking up already! :)

Me DOULA Oblongada

2010-02-02T14:39:00.002-06:00

Pretty much, for the last few weeks, my life has been completely and utterly full of learing to become a Doula. I am so excited about where this is going.
All of that to say this...if you are looking for a good video to watch on natural childbirth, I might NOT go with "Gentle Birth Choices". The book is wonderful and I have learned alot from it. The video....oh, the video. It was comical. That's about all I can give it. My friend and I just sat and watched it and laughed.
It made people that choose natural, home, and/or water births look like complete weirdo wack jobs....and this was a video ADVOCATING those things. I think they need to make one using people like my friend Allison, or my sister, Mary. These two girls are gorgeous, well "groomed" and normal people. And my biggest plus for them is that they shave their armpits....yes that's right, one of the girls didn't even shave her armpits.....YUCK!!!!!
Anyway, I didn't want anyone to endure the 60 minutes of armpit hair, early 90's molestor glasses, shoulder pads, and beat poets, that me and B did!!

Sweet Sisters

2010-01-18T10:35:00.002-06:00

What better way to celebrate my 100th blog post with a beautiful picture that shows how much a big sister, loves a little sister. This picture is probably my favorite picture from the entire weekend. It was early in the morning, while everything was still quiet. I love how the light hits Kathryn, and how the colors make it look like this could have been a scene straight from the 60's...very vintage....I love it!

What a little presh presh

2010-01-12T14:03:00.002-06:00

All I can say, is I can't wait to get slobbery, little kisses from this cutie....I mean Laurel, not my mom! ;)

Long Time, No Bloggy

2010-01-11T13:24:00.002-06:00

Yes, yes, I realize it's been over a month since I blogged. I have just lost all motivation to be a part of the blogging world. I'm not sure if it's because so much has been going on, or what, but it's been neglected and I've been 100% fine with it.

However, I've got something really fun planned for the month of February. I'll give you a hint and you can try to guess. (actually, my guess is that the only people that read this blog, I have already told so this might be anticlimactic). Either way, here goes:

~I'll be living the ranch life for a few weeks, with my very happy husband, without leaving the comfort of {our} home.~

I use the {} because we are still acting nomads, so who knows where we'll be by then....but it won't be a ranch.......

Happy Guessing!

And last, but not least....I am an aunt for the 10th time!!!!!

Laurel Hope McNeil made her entrance last night at 5:43pm. She weighs 7 lbs and some oz (I can't remember :)) and has a head full of beautiful hair. I hear she's a beautiful little sweetheart and if these kids are any indication, my sources aren't lying.....

XOXO

Christmas Time at the Flowns-Sneak Preview

2009-12-06T22:12:00.001-06:00

Let's Call him Joss:Part 2 "The Story"

2009-12-02T13:31:00.002-06:00

Since, clearly, Kylea is the only one brave enough to take a stab at what happened in this picture, I'm just gonna go ahead and tell you.

Tuesday night Daniel was helping our hospitable host with some last minute things around their house before Thanksgiving company arrived. As the boys were slaving away in the dining room to finish the crown molding, the girls were relaxing on the couch. Then Daniel decides to take a break, while "Joss" cracks open a new tube of caulk to fill the nail holes with. All of a sudden we hear "what's wrong with this thing? Why won't it open? What the.......OH MY EYE!!" Yes, "Joss" had exploded the tube of caulk into his eye and down his face. Daniel read the label and it said to flush the eye for 15 minutes. Well instead, "Josh" yells for his lovely wife to get his snorkle gear, and proceeds to dunk his face in a bowl of water. If you know him, the story is even better. If you don't know him, you should.....

Please keep checking back for more "Adventure" stories!

The New Adventure:Let's call him Joss

2009-11-25T11:32:00.003-06:00

.....You know....to protect the innocent! So as many of you already know, we have embarked on a new adventure called "living with friends". There are those that think it's awesome, others that think it's weird (I don't care btw), and still others that think it's going to end up like some awful crash that you can't look away from. Come what may, it's a decision that has been very prayerfully considered by me and the hubster, and feel that God is leading us somewhere with this "detour"! These are amazing people that have showered us in their generosity and true friendship. (There is no lack of those kinds of people in our lives!!!!)

As a disclaimer, you must know I have their 100% full cooperation and support to blog about what goes on, on a daily basis in the house of "Flown" (Fleming+Brown=Flown)

With that in mind, I'll leave you with a snippet of what has being going on the last few days.

I won't tell you the story, because I think I'd like to hear what you think this might be about....(both of you that read this-Oh and Susan you aren't allowed to answer since you already know! Sorry!!) So, if you'd like, comment with your interpretation of the following.......

Letting Go

2009-11-09T16:07:00.003-06:00

Our Preacher at our church is starting a new series called "Faith Encounters" and yesterday's lesson was titled "Inside Out". As Gordon began his lesson he emphasized this point of letting go. He said in order for us to let God do what He has planned for us, we HAVE TO LET GO!

This has been something that I have never done well. I like to plan, and make lists, and know exactly how much money I've got in the bank, and where I'm going to be for the next 8 weekends, etc. Letting go is not my idea of fun. Until now.......When Gordon made that point yesterday, Daniel leaned over to me and whispered "you are letting go". That felt good for someone to notice that I'm making progress. I've been working on a few things in my life and letting go of my past, letting go on daily basis and just living in the moment, and letting go of my "perfect future plans" are just a few of those things.

Example: Daniel and I found a house that we loooove and really want to grow old in. Well, we already own a home and besides that I just paid off my student loan, so we don't have money for a downpayment. Past me would have said, "we don't need that house, we've got one. Plus, I don't want to pack and move and worry, blah blah blah. BUT, present me said, "sure let's put our house on the market and just see what happens. Little did I know future me would say, "what our house sold in 6 days? Awesome! Sure let's move in with friends! So that's where we're at now! I keep calling it our adventure, because I feel like this whole thing has been nothing less than God trying to work something in our lives, our marriage, and maybe the lives of the people who will endure our presence in their homes! :)

So, we will see where this takes us. I look forward in a few months, to looking back at this, clearly not knowing exactly what is in store now, and seeing how God has worked.

PS: Funny story...at our CHURCH Halloween party, someone found a receipt for Guiness in my bag. I'll never live that one down, and that's OK because it was really funny!

PSS: Gotta send a quick shout out to all my panhandle peeps: Amber (what what) Hannah, Gracelyn, Taylor and Dud ( I didn't want anyone to feel left out!!) But mostly Amber, because I think she's the only one that reads this!!

Fall stands for Fun & Family

2009-10-27T15:35:00.005-05:00

This past weekend we went to Arkansas to visit Todd & Mary and the kids and we had so much fun just chillin'! Saturday morning we went to watch Ethan's last football game of the season. He is so awesome! He's really gonna be great the older he gets! (I'm pretty sure he was the best one out there)Kathryn and I got a little chilly in the brisk morning air, so we snuggled under some blankets!Daniel got some "formal" pictures of E all suited up in his uniform. I love this kid sooo much! Then Kathryn and I had a little shoot of our own on the streets of Eureka Springs, AR. Don't worry, those streets are full of freaks, so we just blended right in. Also, she wanted to match so that explains that.After a fun filled day at Eureka Springs, we drove to the "Big Jesus" statue out where they have the passion play. There is a big hill there and the kids entertained themselves for close to an hour. As you will see, so did the adults.....

Nice rolling sequence of EDizzy EyesMy sweet little KathrynAnd now for our fun. This one is by far the tamest of them all. I think "blue steel" was even busted out at some point.Me and my boo. Man I love this guyDaniel took some maternity pictures of Mary. They were very informal so I'm really impressed with how they turned out. I think they are beautiful and I really can't wait to meet the little person inside that belly! It kept kicking me in the hand at church on Sunday. I can't imagine how amazing it will be when it's my baby kicking me.

GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!Three very loving hands, love on little baby in tummy or as we named it this weekend, Crazy Horse. Don't ask

Arkansas Weekend

2009-10-26T16:23:00.001-05:00

This is what I've been looking at for the last couple of days! How amazingly beautiful!

I have become a terrible blogger.......

2009-10-19T16:54:00.002-05:00

That is all.

Oh and we're putting our house on the market, if you know anyone that wants to buy a house.

More Crafting....

2009-09-18T16:51:00.003-05:00

Since I'll be a bachelorette for the weekend, I figured I'd spend it crafting & gardening. By the end of the weekend I hope to have made these.....

and to have planted these (mums)........

Fall Wreath

2009-09-16T08:54:00.005-05:00

While Daniel was at photography class last night, I decided to get crafty! I saw these adorable wreaths on an etsy shop that I knew I had to have, but didn't want to pay $50 for. So I went and bought some things to make it and got started. FYI, it took FOREVER to roll this thing in yarn. Anyway, I'm pleased with it, in general, but would like to replace the flower with several, cuter, maybe felt, flowers. Other than that I like it. Also, the pictures were not taken by Daniel (it's quite obvious) as they are in terrible light and all together not that great. I just didn't want to say he was in photography class, and then let anyone believe these pictures were his work. HA!

Our other little projects have been some old furniture that we recently got. We are creating a little sitting area in the "formal living". We are not very fancy so we wanted it to be a little more vintage. The orange couch is the couch we found in our warehouse at work. We brought it home and cleaned it up and are in love with it. We found the chair on craigslist for way cheap, so we snatched up as fast as we could. We got another one from the same people, but it still needs quite a bit of work, so it's in the garage.....sanding is on the to do list. The piece of furniture you see under the chalk board in an old record player from the 60's. My grandparents gave it to my mom when she was a teenager, and they have passed it on to me. I will love it forever!!! The space is not finished, as we will add some artwork, new pillows on the couch and hopefully a round area rug. (If I can find one I love)
And quickly a little shout out to my dear friend Susan. She has a TON of old sheet music and magazine articles (like from the 20's!!!!!) and she was sweet enough to let me sift through and pick some that I liked. The framed picture of the cute vintage clock is my favorite one! Thanks Susan!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday! We're halfway to the weekend! YAY!!!!!!

Fun Weekend

2009-09-11T16:14:00.005-05:00

In a little over an hour Daniel and I will be embarking on an ever so eventful roadtrip down south with our good friends Scot & Taylor. We are very excited about it and if you need us, we will be HERE! (For some reason I can't get the link to work correctly....oh well!!)

www.stagecoachbedandbreakfast.com

A different kind of Birthday Post/Talley Family Reunion

2009-09-08T15:48:00.007-05:00

Being the proud Aunt that I am, I have to announce first things, first. This past weekend at my family reunion, 2 of my nephews were baptised!!!!! I was so proud of Jakson and Landon, and THRILLED that they chose this special weekend to be "reborn". My brother baptised them and so it made it a little emotional for our family, because it was so precious. OK OK anything I say is not really going to do it justice so I'll just show the sweet little pictures.

Here is my brother taking their confession....I promise they were happy

Family picture (minus Shae) before they were baptised

Landon pre-dunk

Landon post-dunk (and also when I lost it. What can I say I'm an ole sap)

Jakson pre-dunk

Jakson post-dunk

The whole weekend was just wonderful. It was so nice to be with family and tell old embarrassing stories. I also love to watch my cousins that are my age that have babies. It is really sweet and also really funny to watch them as mommy's. I'm sure one of these days they will get to laugh at me when my child is running away from me/knocking things over/crying over dropped suckers/etc...

Speaking of babies, how cute is my pregnant sister.....

Look at her cute little baby bump! You can see it more from the side, but she wouldn't let me take any of those.....hmmm. Todd, my sneaky brother-in-law in the back, sister Hannah (wow that is a mouth full) came and spent Saturday night with us. She is one of the most fun people I know and I love getting to see her! (That's her in the picture :))

I always get sad when the Talley Family Reunion is over. And this year was no exception. HOWEVER, I was glad to get home and take a shower in something bigger than phone booth, that was not in a community bathroom. Urgh is all I can say to that!

Well I don't want to give away all my pictures in one post, so I'll close this one out. But I did want to share my wonderful news with my friends! I hope y'all had a great and restful weekend!

I am the proud new owner of...............

2009-09-03T14:08:00.008-05:00

This!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In ivory!!!!

Well not yet technically, but it should get to my house later next week! I will take more pictures of it in my house!! YAY I can't wait to get it!

P.S.

I got the employee discount

Tada!

2009-09-02T13:34:00.003-05:00

I'm sure you've all be anxiously awaiting the 4th year anniversary picture that I promised you. Well I aim to please so here you go! This was on our way to dinner and are the only 2 picture we got of the entire day! Daniel likes to make cool faces.....Happy Wednesday!

Fun with Family

2009-08-28T16:21:00.005-05:00

Last weekend I had such a blast with my sister and her in-laws that came to town. There was ALOT of giggling that went on. Saturday was one of those amazing weekend days that seem to go on forever. Usually the weekend days are short and the work week seems long, so I felt very fortunate to have experienced this. Daniel and I woke up and ran, and then my sister, Mary, and I went to get breakfast for everyone. We proceeded to spend the rest of the day laying by the pool and enjoying the sunshine!My gorgeous sister with her two kids....and her little baby bump behind the raft!Ethan, saving someone from the shark (Daniel)Chillin with a homemade popsicleMy little cutie pie hubby!Sweet girls. The baby is my brother-in-law sister's baby. She presh!

Another wonderful part of last weekend, was that my brother and his family came up to Grapevine to stay at the Great Wolf Lodge for their end of summer vacay, so we met them Saturday night for dinner. We had just a great time hearing about their trip to Paris, and the late night tour of the GWL they gave us. It's a neat place, but there are so many unsupervised kids ( like really small children) that it stressed me out a little.

Jakson, Landon and Shae at dinner. Landon was pretending to be a pirate with a wooden arm.Since there were so many of us, we had home church. I love regular church, but am always uplifted by worshipping at home with family. I guess it just makes me realize how blessed Daniel and I are to have family that loves the Lord.

Above: Mary, Jenn, and Shae after church

Shae and Ethan waiting to leave for lunch. They're so cute!

Jakson is getting so big! I love this kids to pieces!

Ode to Avery

2009-08-21T16:36:00.005-05:00

What would my blog be without another Birthday?!?!?!

Today, my sweet niece Avery turns 9!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Avery, you are just a spunky little diva lady! I love that about you so much, because you don't let anyone push you around. I love, especially, that you use that spunk to stand up for what you think is right! We are so proud of the little lady you are becoming and we love you so much!

~Uncle Daniel and Aunt Tiff~

What a good big sister!

Girls Day 2007

Girls Day 2007....I love these little ladies!Avery being silly for the camera when we visited them in IrelandYonna helping Avery open a Christmas present.

We love you sweet girl!!!!!!!!

Ladidadida

2009-08-21T16:15:00.003-05:00

Well Daniel and I had a fabulous anniversary weekend last weekend. We spent all day Saturday just doing fun stuff that always want to do, but don't always get to. We started out by going to Whole Foods for breakfast...mmmmmmmmmmmm I LOVE their fresh fruit! Then we drove through some neighborhoods in Allen to see what they were like. We're not really looking to move anytime soon, we're just curious. After that we went shopping at the Allen Premium Outlets. The only stuff we got was new workout cloths. I learned the hard way last year, to not train for a half marathon/marathon in cotton shirts.....heavy! So they had all of their LIVESTRONG gear on sale at the NIKE outlet, so we got some stuff there. After that we were a little tuckered out so we went home and rested before dinner. Now, you'd think anniversary=romantic dinner right? Well we ate at BJ's Brewhouse because Daniel loves it soooo much. It was his special treat! PS: I do have pictures, but no cord to upload them, so they might come later

Sunday I got to spend the entire day with a couple people I don't get to see very often. After Church we went over to my Uncle Gary and Aunt Pat's house to eat lunch with them because my cousin Toni was in town. She lives in Oregon and was just down here visiting. You don't have to be around either one of us for very long to know we love to talk. Sooo when you get us together, it's like blahblahblahblah. I loved it! Then Sunday night we met Jaime (my college roommate and kindred soul) for dinner. We had a great time catching up, and I always love spending time with her!

My sister and her family and her husbands family are all staying with us this weekend. We have so much fun when we're together and I love any opportunity I get to see them! Speaking of my sister, she is quickly approaching her 5th month of pregnancy. At the 4th of July she didn't have much of a bump yet, so I'm waaaaaaay excited to see her little (or not so) tummy!! She's cute! All these precious babies that I get around just make me want one so bad I can hardly stand it! My time will come soon. I do find myself browsing online for things like cloth diapers, birthing centers, crib bedding, nursery designs, etc....alot lately. I'm just so excited to be a mommy!!

Hopefully this weekend I can find my camera cord and post some pictures of last weekend and this weekend. Blog posts are sooooooooooo much more interesting with pictures, don't you agree?!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-08-13T12:30:00.003-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my honey bunny! These last 4 years have been such a fun time for me and I love being your wife and I can't to be your baby momma! ( I had to break up some of the mushymush) I love you so much! Our very first day as husband and wife!One year of being married!

Two years of being married! Three years of being married!

No picture yet of year 4, but I'll make it happen!

Good Weekend

2009-08-10T15:54:00.002-05:00

After what was a bit of a stressful Friday, the rest of the weekend turned out to be pretty good. My mom is doing a lot better and spent this weekend just takin it easy. She goes in for some tests tomorrow, so please keep praying for that! She insisted that we keep our plans for the weekend and go on down to Houston. We spent some good times hanging out with Daniel's parents and I had a wonderful time at Katie's baby shower. I managed to have so much fun, that I didn't snap one picture the entire time. Go figure.

We've got a really busy next few weeks planned and I'm looking forward to every bit of it. Next weekend (the 21st) my sister and her family are coming in from Arkansas. I of course can't wait to see her baby bump along with the rest of the clan.

On the 17th I'm starting my next round of training for my next running extravaganza. I was really hoping to finish a full marathon this year, but I just don't think my little knees will be able to handle it. Hopefully they will make it through another season of training. We shall see.

On another note, I found this quilt at Anthropologie that I'm madly in love with, and I keep telling myself if I get it, I will sleep like a wonderfully relaxed princess every night. Unfortunately it's kind of pricey, so I might have to save up my "fun money" (thanks alot Dave Ramsey) But, seriously it's gloriously glorious and at some point I must have it!

That is all for now! Toodles

Please Pray!

2009-08-07T15:08:00.002-05:00

My mom had to go to the hospital today because she started feeling really bad at work. It turns out only 2 chambers of her heart are working. They said that increases the risk of getting blood clots, but they think they could control that for the time being. She was given several different medications to get her heart beating correctly again, but still has to go in next week for several tests and to see if she will need surgery. This just kind of scared me a little bit, because I just worry like that! Anyway, if you read my blog, please pray for my momma! Thanks!

Pictures/My friend Taylor is AMAZING!

2009-07-21T16:40:00.002-05:00

That's right! Taylor got a shout out in the title!

I wanted to make sure that it was clear my blog isn't turning into a birthday tribute to children!

This last Friday night Taylor did a photo shoot with me and Daniel. It was so much fun. Partly because it just was, and partly because Taylor is so fun to be around. Anyway, I didn't know if she would really like me copy and pasting her pictures on my blog, so I'll just put a link to her blog.

http://barefeetcreative.wordpress.com/

There are some more on facebook too, but you get the point. She is so talented!

Happy Birthday Landon

2009-07-19T09:31:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Landon! You are such an amazingly energetic little guy! Although, you're getting ot not be so little! You are such a precious guy and I am so honored to be your Aunt! You have a wonderful personality and are such a little leader in the making. We love you so much!

Uncle Daniel & Aunt Tiff

How could I not post this one?! It pretty much sums up this little firecracker that is so full of personality and hilarity (is that a word?)!!He is following in his big brothers footsteps in his love for UT

Cuuuuuuuute!!

Best cousins! Can't you just see their little brain cells dying from all the video games?

The kid behind him, in the green, is the top runner in the state in his age range and Landon was beating him! In the end he was a close second, but he did an AMAZING job! (PS he ran that mile in under 6 1/2 minutes......just to give you some perspective)
I love this dude to pieces!

A Day Late and Dollar Short

2009-07-10T16:47:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was my Jakson's 12th Birthday! I'm a little late (I'm really late on getting his sister whose birthday was June 20th!! EEK)

Happy Birthday Jakson! You are getting so old and grown up! I'm so proud of what an amazing nephew, son, big brother and young man you are! I love you to pieces little dude!

He loves UT

What a cutie!

Giving a good ole back scratch....they look so happy! haha

Jakson beating a girl in the Abilene Turkey Trot

Sorry dude, I just thought this was too funny!

Being a good big brother!

Another one that was too funny to pass up! Are you hot??

Jakson and his daddy's heads watching a baseball game

We love you so much Jakson,

Uncle Daniel & Aunt Tiff

Catch Up

2009-06-22T12:14:00.002-05:00

Boy have I been a blogging slacker! Work has been so crazy that I just haven't had the time or energy to come up with anything. So since my last post the Prestoncrest "Honeymooners" kick ball team got second place in the league! We had so much fun and we are so proud of our trophy! Oh yeah we got a trophy baby!

In more recent news, my sister and her family drove down from Indiana, on their way to Abilene, and spent the weekend with us! We had soooo much fun! I love her kids and her and my brother-in-law too (don't want to leave him out). Holly and I spent all day Saturday shopping for her some new sassy clothes for her 20th high school reunion. We found some majorly fun stuff and she's gonna be a 10! Her kids spent all day Saturday in the pool and if you know them, you know that they have fair skin and red hair. They were sunburned into oblivion, even after the sunscreen (spf 50 btw) that we applied. Poor babies were begging me to put aloe vera on them all night!

Another random story. This morning on my way to work I was listening to 98.7 KLUV and they were talking about this a cappella group from Slovenia who sang "Africa" by Toto and after they played the clip the hosts started talking about how they wish ACU Sing Song was more like that. WHAT?!?!?! You mean people actually know what that is? Then I started daydreaming about them saying that the most incredible Sing Song act of all time was this scrawny little girl that sang "One". Yeah right....I woke up from my daydream and was running a red light...whoops! Anyway I thought that was fun.

Last but not least, I wanted to honor my dad for Father's Day. I know it's the day after but I was timid about doing anything around that, because some people find it uncomfortable to talk about that. I don't. I love to talk about my dad and I find it very healing when good friends listen to me talk about him! So please don't find this a "downer" subject. Everything I write is with pure joy! I've had a hard time with Father's Day the last couple years and found myself getting jealous of people around me that celebrated it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't do that a little bit yesterday. However, wallowing in self pity is no fun, and seeing as how I had an AMAZING dad, I think I should still honor and celebrate him on that day ( i just get out cheaper because there is no gift! HAHA) I will say, though, that I'd be hard pressed to find someone anything remotely like my dad. He was funny, energetic, caring, loving, selfless and above all Godly. Growing up I remember how EVERYTHING in our house revolved around a biblical lesson and it drove me nuts for some reason. Now I cherish that because it molded my life before I even knew it was happening. At the time I may have let it go in one ear and out the other, but I remember that stuff now and hope to pass that on to my kids. There are alot of things I learned from my dad that I want to pass on to my kids and alot of daughters don't get to say that! One of the things that I loved most was how he said God is good ALL the time. Not just when you are getting your way. The example that he set in good times and in hard times is something that has gotten me through a lot and is probably the reason that I found a closer relationship with Christ after he passed away, instead of turning away from Him. I could probably go on and on, but then I wouldn't get anything else done all day! I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day even if your Dad is no longer with you. It's nice just to remember them and honor them for the great people they were!

I Feel Like a Kid Again

2009-06-02T11:16:00.002-05:00

I have some sort of growth on my eyeball. Yes, you heard correctly, a growth. Yuck! Apparently my contacts irritated it to the point of infection without me ever even knowing it was there! I noticed last night when we got home from our kickball double header (which we rocked by the way! in yo face!!) I noticed my eye felt kinda heavy so I was just staring at myself and noticed this weird thing in my eye. Daniel forced me to make an emergency appointment with the eye doctor and ouila....a growth. So for the next 14 days, I will be in my glasses (which explains the title of this post), using antibiotics and steroids, and cataract sunglasses! YAY!!

Memorial Day Fun with Family

2009-05-28T15:07:00.005-05:00

I had the pleasure to have a road trip with my mom this past weekend to Rogers, AR to spend Memorial Day weekend with my sister and her family. First of all, it has been forever since my mom and I road tripped! It was such a blast and I'm not kidding, we talked and giggled so much, we were hoarse by the time we got to Mary's. It was a great time! Saturday when went to Eureka Springs and Blue Springs Gardens. It was so pretty! You'll see why they call it Blue Springs in my pictures. It was beautiful and I had such a wonderful time with family. (Daniel was at a golf retreat with some High School/College buddies) After a very eventful Saturday, Sunday we went for the low key approach. We went to church, had brunch on the back porch and then made our way out to the front porch to enjoy the beautiful day and watch the kids play! They are so sweet and fun to watch. I hope mine and Daniel's kids are half as sweet as Kathryn and Ethan. Enough with the chatter, here are some pictures!

We're all so photogenic-Picnic at Blue SpringsSweet little Kathryn! I will never get enough of these hugs!And this is why it's called Blue Springs. It was so pretty! Kathryn and Ethan

Mom, Me, Kathryn, and Mary in the gardensMom found this big stick in the gardens and picked it up and started acting like Moses. Who would have thought at this age, that your parents would still embarrass you?! jk I think she's cuteLittle cutie at BrunchTodd & Mary at brunchThe other little cutie, at Brunch! I love watching little kids sleep. I think it is so precious! I guess we tuckered him completely out and he fell asleep on the front porch.
So did Mom!

We are now back home safely and almost rested from our big weekend! I am already looking forward to the next time we are together!

Happy Birthday Jack!

2009-05-22T08:54:00.004-05:00

Happy Birthday Jack! I hope you don't have a terrible case of the terrible two's! Uncle Daniel and I hope you have a wonderful birthday and we love you soooooo much! (You're so cute you're the one that gave me baby fever!)
I love you little man!
Uncle Daniel and Aunt Tiff

This is Jack! He's 2 years old today and the baby of 4 children. Yes, my sister has 4 children....a small army, some might say!

This is Jack all bundled up in the chilliness of Ireland

This is the Christmas I fell in love and decided that I wanted to be a mommy with all my heart! Look at how presh he is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eating out in Ireland

Oh my word, I could eat those cheeks for breakfast!

Before a big day of sightseeing in Kinsale, IR

After a big day of sightseeing in Kinsale, IR

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

The Adventures of Hans Peter van Aarkel

2009-05-20T14:25:00.004-05:00

Meet Hans Peter van Aarkel. We bought him in the Target dollar alley before our trip. We figured we needed something little, fat, and cute to take pictures with on our trip, and since we don't have a baby......TADA.....enter HPVA. Granted, I wouldn't shove my baby in the bottom of a completely overloaded purse, like I did this little guy, but he was a good ice breaker none the less. This is him on our kitchen counter before departing for Europe

What's that you say HPVA? You're excited about the trip? Me too little buddy! (Why is everything in blue and underlined?? Oh the mysteries of blogger)

Hans Peter was very hungry when we got there and he really wanted to try something different....so we went to Burger King....and he stood on his burger

Here he is with some lovely Dutch "art"

It was quite a bit chillier in The Netherlands than it was in Dallas, so after a long while walking and seeing everything another country had to offer, HPVA decided he needed some warmth and a pick me up. So he ordered a very manly cappaccinoBoy did he get us some looks in Keukenhof! Here he is after escaping my purse and climbing a tree.

Don't even get me started on this one....the little stinker almost got us kicked out! Can you see him? He's on the toe of the clog

Sideways and I'm not sure why.

Here he is at the Arc de Triumph.....I bet that's what Napoleon looked like in front of it too!

Last Thursday=Paris ; Today=Work at a desk

2009-05-07T11:25:00.005-05:00

Exactly one week ago today I was making this face...Because I was entering this Country...And driving by this caberet....And going to see this.....
And this.....
There are so many stories and memories from this trip that it's hard to narrow down what parts I want to blog about. So this is the first of many postings you will see.

Just checking In

2009-04-24T17:20:00.003-05:00

Well this week has been CRAZY so this is only a post to say that, pretty much! AND to say the next posting will be from somewhere in EUROPE!! Doei (Dutch) & Bonjour (French) for now!

Easter and Mary's Birthday Weekend 'O Fun

2009-04-15T08:51:00.005-05:00

We had such an awesomely fun weekend full of family and friends! What more could a girl ask for?! I have never had so many people to entertain at my house before. Saturday night was crazy but so fun. We threw my sister a birthday party, as her birthday was on Easter. We wanted her to have a day that was all hers! I think she had a wonderful time as did everyone else!

The Girls! Me, Mary, Kathryn, and Shae (please excuse the kitchen....I had just fed 20 people)Granny with 2 of her GrandaughtersHolly sent Mary some Pumpkin Butter and Mary was very excited. This is the calmest of the 12 pictures I took of her! She was really cute and excited!All the kids opening their Easter baskets on Sunday morningDaniel, Me, and Mom all gussied up for churchMy brother Thomas, Jennifer, Jakson, Landon & Shae (I could not get them to smile normal)Ethan & Shae. Couldn't you just spread them on toast and eat them?! SOoooo cuteLittle Miss Priss, Kathryn and Emily

Hunting Easter Eggs

If you recall, it wasn't very warm on Easter....and now Landon has strep throat. I'm not kidding

Rocking way hard Sunday night!

40 Days

2009-04-14T08:55:00.003-05:00

For the last 40 days I have been doing the "Love Dare" challenge to Daniel. It has been an incredible 40 days. I was certain that he had figured it out a while back, but he says he was completely surprised when I told him about it.

When I started the book, I was just hoping to do some nice things for Daniel and maybe get some nice things in return. Boy did I get more than I signed up for! It started out by doing nice things, which I expected. Then the dares slowly developed into personal dares to change your heart and your thinking. Then again, it stretched even further to challenge you to develop a deeper relationship with God. I did not see that coming. Needless to say, the last 40 days have challenged me beyond where I thought I would go. They have taught me that I am selfish, judgemental and harsh (don't let this get you down, it gets better). It also taught me that Jesus came to save me from all of those things! It taught me that I need give more to others and think less about myself, that I need to leave the judging to the Almighty, and that I, as a Christian wife, am called to do all things with love. Not the kind of love that feels good, but the kind of love that serves and forgives when it doesn't want to. The kind of love that Christ shows us EVERY DAY! To be honest, I didn't think I was capable of doing this. It was calling me to make changes is almost every aspect of who I am. I have always been stubborn and I LOVE to get my way. For 40 days I've had to say no to these things on a regular basis. And guess what?! It hasn't been hard! It has actually made things greater within mine and Daniel's marriage and also with my everyday attitude to people in general! I have learned to stop and say a quick prayer for patience and understanding when I'm in an irritating situation, which in turn makes everyone happier!

Most importantly the 40 days has taught me what it mean to love unconditionally. While I still may not grasp the whole concept fully (I'm still pretty young and have ALOT to learn), I do think that I have found the right track in letting the one's I love know that I will love them without conditions or agendas. Christ has shown us this kind of love and I believe we are called to pass that on to others. And let's be honest, don't we all want to be loved that way? It's got to start somewhere!!

Last night as I gave Daniel the book with all of my thoughts and prayers from the 40 days, I had that feeling like you get after Church Camp. You know, the feeling that you have experienced something life changing and part of you is sad that it's over. I assured Daniel that what I learned and practiced isn't over, but I put so much emotion into this book, that it was almost hard to let go of.

So, if you have debated on whether or not to try this dare, I say DO IT! You will get much more than you bargain for.....in a GREAT way!

Today's Big News Story

2009-04-10T10:43:00.003-05:00

So this morning I'm watching the news as I get ready for work ( yes we have to work on Good Friday....grrr....). Anyway, the following story caught my attention...

Recession News:
Men's Underwear Sales down 2%
Donut Sales UP!

Does anyone else think it's weird to put these 2 things together. It's like saying "Oh yeah America, you're a bunch of lardos that don't wear clean underwear, or underwear at all for that matter"

Whatever, I just thought it was weird!

Ode to Grant!

2009-04-08T08:11:00.004-05:00

Grant,
You are practically a man now! 11?!?! WOW! Uncle Daniel and I love you so much! You are such a sweet blessing to this family and you have created some very special memories! We loved getting to come visit you in Ireland last year and having you show us around! Another special memory is when you got to stay up with us for New Year's Eve this year.....that was fun huh?! ;)
You have such a sweet spirit and a tender heart, much like your pee-paw! He would be as proud of the sweet boy you are, as we are! We hope you have a wonderful birthday and we love you so much!!!

Uncle Daniel & Aunt Tiff Grant playing on the beach in Ireland
Grant and Avery in front of the Mona Lisa
(Avery is really Frenching it up! Don't you wish these kids could do something cool for once?!)

Grant being very brave and kissing the Blarney Stone

Getting ready for a big day of sightseeing in Ireland

What. A. Ladiesman.

What a sweetie!

Grant, soon you will want to kill me for putting pictures like this up, but you look so sweet and are being such a good big brother!

So excited to get Christmas presents!

Thomas turns 40!

2009-04-03T08:37:00.004-05:00

Like I said last week, I went to Abilene last weekend to celebrate my brothers 40th birthday. The big challenge of the weekend was fighting the wind for almost 3 hours. Yikes it was bad! But I got there safe and sound to surprise Thomas! I love surprising people so I probably enjoyed it more than anyone! It was so nice to just spend the day enjoying the company of my family and helping Jennifer get ready for the party! The Birthday Boy resting up for his big party!Granny was making sure everyone did everything correctly!Mom & JenniferMr. CoolLandon! I love his energy! Most of the time!Wow! That is ALOT of candlesAnd even more smoke!Mom's amazing Mocha Raspberry Cake.....mmmmmmmmmmmmFor his birthday, all of our family gave a memory or something they respected or admired about him to add up to 40 of them. This was him opening it. It was a really sweet moment! Sometimes Shae likes to pretend she is a puppy. This is her version of a puppy eating cereal.

It really was such a wonderful weekend with family and a great time celebrating the birth of my very old brother! jk

Hope everyone has a happy Friday! I'm so glad it's finally here!!!!!!

Scatterbrained Much?!

2009-03-27T15:30:00.006-05:00

I've gotten really bad about this whole blogging thing. I used to do it so regularly and now....now I'm doing good if I have a new post per week. It's not even so much that I don't have anything to write about, it's just I can't figure out how I want to say things, so I just don't say anything. What a pickle!

So we decided to have our pool redone. Well when I called the pool company they were like "oh yeah it'll only take a week and a half or so"......that was a month ago. So we still have this erie looking hole in our backyard. Much of the backyard/garden are coming together very nicely, but not the pool which is the majority of the yard. When the pool gets in I will post pictures of the whole project. My cannas have started coming up and my moss is out of control! It looks pretty! Today after work we are going to look at some outdoor furniture I found on craigslist! I may have to make some new pretty pillows for it, but as a whole it looks pretty nice! I'm really excited to see it in person and see if it looks as good as it does in the picture! OH how I can't wait to sit outside on the loveseat with a cup of coffee and enjoy a beautiful spring morning!

In other house news, I got a new bed last weekend for our guest bedroom! It is beautiful and it really makes the room alot more cozy. I even bought some white sheer curtains to put around it so it's extra dreamy! I know, now you want to spend the night at my house don't you!? My sweet Daniel put it together for me even though he had a lot of other stuff to do, just because he knew how excited I was to get it up in the room! He's a keeper!We also bought a little antique dresser from our friends Scot & Taylor last weekend. I love it! It has so much character and makes the guest room feel even more comfy cozy! Man, I don't have any pictures of that either!

In other news, I'm going to Abilene this weekend for my brother's 40th birthday party. I know, right....a 40 year old brother?! yowza! Anyway, Daniel has to stay home and work, but I just had to go and celebrate with my family! We will miss you boobear! (are you gagging?!)

Ok I'm ready to get out of here and start the weekend. Daniel and I have a date night tonight to Steve Fields in Plano...should be delightful!

Happy Weekending to All!

Ode to Kathryn

2009-03-20T08:12:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Kathryn! 9 is quite the milestone and next year you'll be in double digits! Ahhh you are getting so big! We are so blessed to have you as a niece and love every minute we spend with you. I can't wait to see you soon and I hope you have the most fantabulous birthday EVER!

Last year for her birthday at the American Girl Store
Dinner at American Girl Bistro with "Emily"

Talley Family Reunion 2007
At Dudley's farm for the 4th of July
Givin some major sass!

Best Cousins Forever!

I love this picture! Isn't she beautiful?!

We love you,

Uncle Daniel & Twiggy

Ode to St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T16:55:00.002-05:00

Happy St Patrick's Day Everyone. These are a few shots of Ireland, which I miss and love! I wish Daniel and I were there now!
Cheers,
Tiffany

TGIF

2009-03-13T13:37:00.002-05:00

I know you're all thinking it! It's Friday yayayayayay!! Is anyone else inspired by this Texas weather to tell your boss you're sick and go crawl back into bed? I would probably say "Hey I'm sick" while thinking to myself "of not being asleep at home"

Anyhoo, I'm definitely ready for the weekend.

I know I've totally been a slacker at blogging lately. It just got to the point where I had plenty of stuff going on, I just didn't really know how to blog about it. I guess you could say, I was having trouble collecting my thoughts into coherant blog posts. So now you know why I've slacked (not as much as some people though.....Taylor are you there??? ;) jk)

We got our new stove on Monday! One of Daniel's highschool/college friends' parents got a new stove in their house so they have us theirs!! I am so excited because for one, we've needed a new stove for forever!!!! And for two, it was FREE!!! So even though I'm fairly certain they will never ever find my blog, I will give them a shoutout for their generosity! So thank you Larson's!!!! When we get our molding up around our lights I will take pictures of our kitch to post! It's come a long way...we could still use new countertops but I'm fairly certain no one's giving those away for free. ha

Well, I'm having trouble again collecting thoughts and writing them out in an organized manner, but I just needed to get a post up and get back in the game! Have a great weekend everyone!

My HOTT (with two t's) wife is awesome

2009-03-09T11:03:00.002-05:00

My lovely sweetie, tiffany...

(I wrote this on my photo blog but i want to put it here also so more everyone will read it)
I've had a stressful week or two at work and today wasn't any better but when I came out of my sales meeting this morning, my pretty wife surprised me and bought me a GPS! saa-weet! She made me feel so good and loved that she would try and cheer me up like this! The GPS is friggin sweet, dont get me wrong, but I'm more happy I have such a loving, caring honeybunn that takes care of me when i need it. thanks boo for keeping me sane (and putting up with me when im difficult during my busy times at work).

man, i didnt know i could be so mushy.

Garmin nuvi 255w

Just because I like this story.....

2009-03-04T13:34:00.002-06:00

Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors

Joseph was out in the fields, helping his older brothers feed the animals. There were cows, sheep, goats, and just about every other kind of farm animal. There was a lot of work that needed to be done and everyone had to lend a hand.
After the chores were finished, they went home to eat a nice meal. They talked about the events of the day. Then Joseph's father called Joseph away from his other brothers and handed him a gift. Joseph was very surprised, because he had not expected this. Carefully, he unfolded the garment, put it on, and tied the belt around his waist. It was the most beautiful coat he had ever seen, made with lamb's wool which had been dyed with all the colors of the rainbow. Joseph's eyes were glowing with pleasure because of this beautiful gift his father had just given him. He rushed into the room where his brothers were talking. "LOOK!" he cried out excitedly. "SEE MY NEW COAT! ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL?" he exclaimed.
Joseph's brothers were not as happy about the coat as he was. In fact, they were ANGRY. They were jealous because they thought their father loved him more than them. They were so jealous that they hated Joseph and couldn't even say anything kind to him.

Joseph didn't let the attitude of his angry brothers upset him. He was happy and slept peacefully. The next morning, he gathered his brothers together. "I want you to listen to this dream I had last night," he said to them.
"We were all in the fields, bundling wheat into sheaves. My sheaf of wheat stood straight up. All of your sheaves of wheat bent over as if they were bowing down to mine."
The brothers listened impatiently as Joseph was telling his dream. "Do you actually think YOU are going to rule over us, and WE are going to bow down to you?" they asked with a smirk.
Imagine their surprise when Joseph said, "Wait! That's not all! I had another dream. In the second dream, the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me!"
This made the brothers even more angry than they had ever been. "How can you possibly think that your mother, your father, and all of us are going to bow down to you?" With that, they left Joseph standing there, and they went off to the fields to do the work for the day.
While they were working, they were discussing Joseph, his new coat, and his dreams. The more they talked, the more ANGRY they became. "We have got do something about that foolish, dreaming, young brother of ours. We already knew that our father loved him more than the rest of us. Then he received a new coat that he just wants to show off. Now he is telling us about these ridiculous dreams. We need to come up with a plan to get rid of him."
The brothers talked, argued, planned, and schemed, first one idea and then another. Finally one of them said, "Let's pick him up and throw him into that deep pit over there until we can decide on a better plan." So that is exactly what they did. They took Joseph's beautiful coat away from him, and then threw him into the pit. They all sat down to eat their lunch, happy that Joseph wasn't eating with them. Now they didn't have to listen to his foolish talk about all his dreams.

While they were eating, they saw a caravan of camels in the distance. As the camels came closer, they discovered that the men were merchants from the country of Midian. The brothers thought, "This is even better than we had hoped. We can sell Joseph as a slave to these merchants. Then we will divide the money among us." They went to the pit and helped Joseph out of it. They sold him to the Midianites. They were pleased with themselves until one of them thought, "Oh, no! What are we going to tell Father?"
Quickly they thought of another scheme. They killed an animal and put some of the blood on the beautiful coat. When they showed the coat to their father, he immediately thought that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. It was a very mean trick these brothers had played on their father. He was sad for a very, very long time, because he thought Joseph was dead.

The Midianite merchants found that they had made a good choice in buying Joseph from the brothers. He was a strong, healthy young man, and they were able to sell him quickly to a man named Potiphar, who was from Egypt. Potiphar was a captain in Egypt and knew King Pharaoh very well. He was a wealthy man with a very large house and many servants.
Even though Joseph was far away from home, he never forgot the teachings of his father. He never became angry with his brothers for treating him so badly. He was righteous and honest in all his dealings, and he loved the Lord very much. The Lord was with Joseph and helped him to become prosperous. Potiphar noticed what an outstanding man Joseph had become and honored him by making him the ruler of everything in his house. With Joseph in charge, Potiphar became even more wealthy, because the Lord was blessing HIM because of Joseph.

What is wrong with these people?!

2009-03-03T13:31:00.002-06:00

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/29478274/?GT1=43001

Fireproof

2009-02-24T08:30:00.002-06:00

I wish there were more movies like this! I've been hearing so much about it from pretty much everyone I know and had been wanting to see it for a very long time. Finally, we rented it!!! (They have it in the redbox things!!!!)

I really believe this is a movie that everyone should see!!!! Whether you are happily marriage or on the brink of ending a marriage, this movie is so inspiring. There is a scene in the movie where Caleb's (Kirk Cameron) dad was trying to reason with him to fight for his marriage. Caleb looks up at his dad and says (paraphrase) Do you know what it's like to keep showing love to someone who keeps rejecting you? That is an extremely powerful statement. Not only do they use the phrase to show the example of Jesus, but also how that is what you HAVE to do in your marriage. Now I knew when I got married that there would be hard times, but when those hard times came up, sometimes I had no idea how to handle it. You handle it with an unconditional love for your spouse, because that is the kind of love Jesus shows us. In Ephesians 5:25 it says "husbands love your wives as Christ loved the Church"...I've heard this my entire life and even saw my parents live it, but am just now realizing how romantic that is. My word, for a husband to love his wife that much??? It's what every woman wants whether they know it or not!

It is such a powerful thing that in this instance, the husband showed that kind of love for his wife and it actually caused her to give her life to Christ. WOW!! It's a great example for couples who have a spouse that has either no faith or a lukewarm one. I was blessed to find a good Christian man (and he says the same thing about me except not a man), but I have a feeling if we each did the love dare, it could just be overwhelmingly wonderful!!

So whoever got fed up enough with the state of our marriages, and decided to make a movie on how to start turning things around....Thank you!

Ode To Ethan

2009-02-20T08:00:00.005-06:00

Ethan is one of my precious nephews! Today he turns 6! I can't believe how big and grown up he is getting. At the risk of sounding like the old cliche aunt....It seems like just yesterday we were driving to Happy to spend a whole week with you! I couldn't wait to meet you! I am so proud of what a wonderful little man you are and I love being your aunt! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ethan! We love you so much!
Uncle Daniel & Twiggy

This is the first picture I have with Ethan after he was born....he seems to like me....ha! At the Texas State Fair enjoying the totally awesome car show!

Such a man's man!

This is so precious to me! I love seeing little boys/girls wearing their parents bigger clothes!

Doin' what he do.....bustin' a move

Ethan and Uncle Daniel being silly

Making sandcastles at the Texas State Fair

At a Rangers Game last Spring

This is a blog repeat but so worth it! He and Kathryn were special waiters for "Cafe Coffee"

This was priceless! He got to meet a Stormtrooper at the 4th of July at Dudley's. I've never seen anyone more excited about anything, ever!!!!!

I hope everyone has gotten to see, through these pictures, what an incredible blessing Ethan is to our family!

I'm Baaack

2009-02-16T07:59:00.002-06:00

Yes I'm here. I found myself in a place where I had alot to blog about, but wanted to wait until I had pictures to go along with it....then I never got the pictures on my computer....therefore the no blogging vicious cycle. I promise I will add something really awesome, really soon!

Completely Annoyed

2009-02-05T11:08:00.002-06:00

I try not to use my blog as a place to unleash my anger, but since Daniel is not here today to vent to, I must! It all started this morning when I was sitting around with my co-workers and just happened to mention how boring being home without Daniel was last night. The the following argument is the result of my comment. A guy I work with said since his wife was out of town as well, we should hang out. I quickly responded with "ummm no that's really inappropriate". Then things got really heated. He wouldn't drop it so we both started looking for people to back us up. Well he found 3 and I found none. This quickly became a very unbalanced arguement. Had Daniel been there with me, he would have had my back 20000000000000%. When we got married we came to a mutual understanding that I would not be alone with another guy and he would not be alone with another girl. I guess I made the mistake of assuming that this was what everyone did. Well, it soon turned ugly has one guy said "y'all must have trust issues"!!!!!! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?! You've got to be kidding! I bit back that it wasn't about trust it was about respect for each other. Long story short, I just got made fun of for about 15 minutes for this. I know this is all over the place and not well written at all, but I suppose that is what anger does to me! Work today was hard enough with all the stress going on....that did not help! Urgh!

Things I Miss......Part 1

2009-02-04T16:27:00.007-06:00

I stumbled across the folder on my computer with all of my pictures from this past year. It made me realize there are a few things I miss. They are as follows..........

1)Ireland

2)Ireland

3) Carriage rides in Ireland

4) The beach
5) Dud's Farm and this view!!

6) A clean, blue pool
7)All my sweet little bebe's (2 are missing here because I cheated and went back like 3 years to before they existed. I just had to post this picture!)

Smiling Is My Favorite

2009-02-02T12:06:00.003-06:00

Really it is! And boy howdy did I do alot of it this weekend...This weekend my best friend growing up came and spent the weekend with me, along with her mom and daughter! We seriously had the best time. I love having friends that you can not talk to for a month and just pick up right where you left off. It was so much fun and I still can't believe she is a mommy! A phenominal one at that. She was sharing with me about motherhood and her's and Italo's (he's from Brazil) vision for their children's futures. Their kids are going to be so blessed by the parents they are born to!!! It was so funny on Friday night Allison and I laid in my bed giggling like teenagers again until 2 in the morning, when my hubby came to bed and her little baby whimpered in the other room. It was quite different from being teenagers!

On another note our new preacher started yesterday. Loves it! He was funny which I love so I felt that it was the beginning of a beautiful future for our church. His message yesterday focused on emptying yourself to let God reign in you. It really inspired me. A couple of weeks ago I was moved to silence the noise and listen for the still small voice, and now I am challenged to empty myself and let God move and mold my life where he wants it. It's not easy, but at the same time I am finding so much comfort in the fact that I will let Him lead me instead of worrying about making my own decisions. It's freeing! I could go on and on about this, but I'm afraid my words wouldn't really convey my thoughts or feelings so I'll just leave it at that! I hope everyone has wonderful what's left of Monday!

I'm Gonna Get my Mac On

2009-01-27T16:15:00.002-06:00

No I'm not inappropriate....I'm going to see FLEETWOOD MAC!!!!! I went ahead and just splurged and bought tickets. I figure I wasn't going to win them so I might as well buy them before they sell out. One of my college friends and fellow Fleetwood enthusiests, Danielle, and myself are going to see them! We are so excited and April 30th seems so far away!

Also, I am still sitting here at work as I watch the ground slowly turn to ice, as "the man" has left to avoid bad weather..........this is why I don't like "the man"

Vox Dei

2009-01-26T16:10:00.004-06:00

Vox Dei was the theme of the church camp that I went to in 2000. It means the voice of God. I've never forgotten one of the activities we did that made this theme really sink in. All of the leaders lined a hallway and waited for all of the students to walk down this hallway. As we made our way down this long stretch they yelled things at us. True, false, nice, mean, encouraging, hurtful, etc. Whatever they could think of they yelled. When we had finished our journey down this hall we turned to go outside and walk further, and further away from the noise. When we came to the end, the speaker gave us a lesson about the still small voice in the midst of worldly noise. Of course my retelling doesn't do it justice at all, but it was a very powerful activity with a very powerful point.

Now, I fastforward from 2000 to last week. Our Wednesday night lesson at our small group was about silencing the noise and listening for the voice of God. After spending only 5 minutes in silence listening for this voice, we discussed how we felt. Almost everyone in the group said they could not turn off their minds.....myself included....now fastfoward from last week to yesterday. Our sermon at church had a lot to do with shutting out the distractions of the world and listening for the still small voice of God to lead you into a ministry where you could really use your gifts. We also spent a moment of silence listening for this "voice". Now, I am a bit skeptical that a 2 minute moment of silence can really speak to you about where you should be going in life (I suppose anything is possibly though).

All this to say, do you think God is trying to tell me something?

Go Your Own Way

2009-01-23T09:27:00.002-06:00

So, Fleetwood Mac is touring for 2009! This makes me one of the happiest people you will ever meet. As many of you know, I may be the biggest FM fan of all time. Last year this guy wanted to quiz me on this, and began asking me very detailed questions about the history of the band. I knew them all and made him feel stupid...it was awesome! I saw them in concert back in 2004. My dad bought me and Daniel tickets and it was one of the best nights of my life! I have been trying all morning to win tickest on all the radio shows, but with absolutely zilch success. So wish me luck in my venture to win tickets.....even though I will just buy them if I don't win them.....but I'd rather win them!!!!

My weekend in a nutshell

2009-01-19T15:48:00.002-06:00

I got to see Jaime!!!! As usual we had a blast. For those of you who don't know Jaime, you should! She is one of those infectiously bubbly, fun, super-people! Seriously, we laughed until it hurt for pretty much 12 hours straight. I do not have one picture of the entire rendevous, as I had promised, which makes me really sad! None-the-less, we had a great time. Other than that, I laid pretty low.

I have a fun little date night planned for tonight. I'm going to surprise Daniel with a yummy dinner and "Once". It's a movie.....one of our favorites, in fact. I gave it to him for Christmas and we just haven't had time to watch it so I thought I would bust it out tonight with special food! I found a recipe on www.marthastewart.com...... if you like asian food you should try this.

Chicken with Ginger
1 three inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup sliced scallions

1. Soak ginger in cold water for 10 minutes; drain
2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches; 6-8 minutes. Set aside
3. In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, garlic, stirring until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3-4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat and add scallions.

*Servce over chinese noodles or steamed rice.....ENJOY!!!

Workin for the Weekend

2009-01-16T15:45:00.002-06:00

It's almost that time! Time for the 5 o'clock bell to ring! Even as I sit here at 3:50 I feel like the ticking of our office hall clock is taunting me. Like it's saying "ha you have to sit here for another 3600 ticks". Grrrr! OK enough complaining, it's been a fairly good week and I shouldn't belittle it but acting like such a baby. Plus, tonight we are going ice skating with our class from church and if you know anything about our class from church, you know fun times are sure to be had by all (aka: a lot of laughing at people when they fall down)

Another super duper thing is that my friend Jaime is coming in tonight from New York, for the weekend! Let's hope it goes better than last year's MLK weekend trip when she turned into an episode of "House". Yikes! I will make sure and take an abundance of pictures!

Well I feel like things are pretty low key right now so there's not too much to share. If anyone has heard any new great music lately, please let me know....I feel like I've hit a wall of the same old stuff (which it's good stuff, don't get me wrong).

And here is something in honor of Jaime coming........

Soundtrack for the Weekend:

Regina Spektor: Begin to Hope

2009-01-14T08:52:00.000-06:00

It is a sad day for my music collection. Ryan Adams has announced that he is not going to make any new music. Not really sure how long that will last, but it saddens me for the time being. It's no secret that he's my favorite so I will mourn this loss.

*mellowdrama added for effect

Excitement

2009-01-13T10:34:00.000-06:00

Today I got really excited about our new preacher that is coming to our church. Why, you may ask? All because of his blog posting from yesterday (January 12 for those of you who may not read this until several days from now). This is what he had to say......

Revival fire
Revivalist preacher Gypsy Smith used to ask his audiences, “Do you really want to see a revival begin?” When they responded, he would reply “. . . go back to your home and draw a circle three feet around in your bedroom. Then get down on your knees in the middle of it and ask God to convert everyone inside that circle. When you do that, you are experiencing the start of revival.”I get worn out by well meaning Christians who complain about the sinfulness of our culture (TV, politics, internet, etc.). Guess what? The culture acts like an ungodly, semi-Christian, biblically illiterate culture is supposed to act. It’s easy to bash a worldly culture. I am more worried about what is going on in my heart and mind than “out there” in the culture.“Lord, start revival in my heart and mind. Convict me of my sin. Empower me to break the enemy’s hold in all points of my life. Fill me with your love and grace. Send me out to serve this broken world. Amen.”

I am sometimes guilty of judging those who are "worldly" and saying "oh if they could only change", when at the same time I allow sin into my life and my home. I may, sometimes, talk in a way that is less than respectful to my husband, or participate in gossip....the list could go on and on.

Maybe if I worry more about transforming myself, I then can show love and change to others.

That's why I am excited about our new Preacher!

Today's soundtrack: Coldplay-X&Y

Ryan Adams-Cold Roses

I guess it could be worse

2009-01-09T14:18:00.000-06:00

To my fellow Call of Duty wives,
Technically, yes, there are worse things than this game. That is a fact. However, I'm not yet sure what those things are, yet.
Ciao,
General Flemings' wife

yummy yummy in my tummy

2009-01-06T13:41:00.000-06:00

I got one of these after lunch today and it was fabulous! I wanted to go to Target but Daniel didn't so he promised me Starbucks as an after lunch treat. I saw this, thought it had a funky fresh name, and ordered it. It was so worth venturing outside of my usual coffee order, and it was probably better for me too! It's been a good day! The sun is shining!

Dreary Day

2009-01-05T14:16:00.000-06:00

Man what a dreary day it is outside. I'm so glad I spent yesterday cleaning the house and doing laundry because tonight I want nothing more than to go home, put on my pj's, order in chinese and watch movies. It is so cold and has not stopped raining since I woke up this morning. I do love these kinds of days because they are so cozy, but I do not like having to be at work during them, because my head feels like a bowling ball. (heavy because of sleepiness)

Also, Daniel is not feeling well today, so that's a big bummer. I was sick Friday and Saturday and I'm really hoping he didn't catch what I had. Yuck!!

So I find it quite interesting to hear what people's New Year's resolutions are. I, personally, do not make them, as I find them to jinx whatever it is have resolved to do or not do. However, I really like to hear about other people's. If you'd like to share yours, I'd love to hear about them.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work. Everybody stay warm and dry!

Toodles!

Christmas

2009-01-02T18:44:00.000-06:00

So I'm still trying to catch up on sleep due to all the fun we had over Christmas and New Year's. We did a lot of traveling, but it was so worth it to get to be with both sides of the family. We started out in Houston and enjoyed an 80 degree Christmas Day. We had so much fun with everyone from the Freeman side (Daniel's mom's side). We got to spend some time with Dusty, Julie and Kate before they move to New York. Kate is so smart I can't believe it! After a good coastal Christmas, we traveled west to Abilene. It was the first time in almost 2 years that all of us have been together at the same time and it was so fun. I honestly haven't slept in almost 2 weeks! OK OK enough of the yapping, here are pictures of the fun!

Daniel's most prized Christmas GiftHow cute is this face?!?

Nannie had too much Egg Nog on Christmas Day

I guess I smelled like ham

Gary & Karen's Christmas Tree

Scott helping out in the kitchen

Nannie eating alone

The whole fam

Now on to the Talley home.....we made all the kids tell a joke before we'd give them their presents

Ethan showing us where he lost his tooth8 going on 30

Claire Bear
I've never met a kid that loved Christmas more than Grant
I promise you I have the cutest nieces and nephews

My mom made all the little girls matching outfits for them and their American Girl Dolls. Cutest thing I've ever seen! We went to the nursing home on New Year's Eve to visit some ladies that we grew up with and the girls wore these outfits. The ladies in the nursing home just went crazy when they saw them. It was so precious!!

This is for you Kylea......my 8 things

2009-01-02T10:00:00.000-06:00

8 Things I Did Today…(these are from yesterday since it's still early and fairly uneventful!!
1. Woke up smelling my nieces poopy diaper
2. Had breakfast with my family
3. Cleaned up my mom's house a bit
4. Drove from Abilene to Dallas
5. Rented a movie
6. Laundry
7. Tried to catch up on everyone's Christmas through their blogs
8. Gladly went to bed!!
8 Of My Favorite Restaurants…
1. Cheesecake Factory
2. Rudy's Barbeque
3. La Madeline
4. Texas de Brazil
5. 3 Forks
6. La Hacienda Ranch
7. Spring Creek BBQ
8. Johnny Carino's
8 Shows I Watch(ed)…
1. The Office
2. Heroes
3. Whale Wars
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. The Soup
6. House
7. Dirty Sexy Money (please don't tell anyone)
8. America's Next Top Model
8 Things I Wish For…
1. To be a mommy
2. Good health for everyone I know
3. To finish a full marathon in 2009
4. A trip to Europe for my 5th Anniversary
5. A conservative President
6. A tan
7. Our pool to miraculously fix itself
8. Wood floors in my house
8 Things I Look Forward To…
1. Being a mommy
2. The next time my whole family gets to be together
3. Summertime...warm weather and beach vacations!! AMEN AMEN!!!!
4. Starting to run again for my next half marathon (believe it or not I do look forward to this!)
5. Sleeping In this weekend
6. Date night with Daniel
7. Paying off my student loan!!!!
8. Spending time with old friends and my new ones too
8 People I tag: I don't think 8 people even read my blog.................

Check back later for Christmas and New Year's pictures!

“10 Things Science Says will Make You Happy.”

2008-12-17T08:31:00.000-06:00

Read the original article here: “10 Things Science Says will Make You Happy.”

The list, paraphrased, is:

Stop and enjoy the present. (matthew 6.34)
Don’t compare yourself to the Joneses. (exodus 20.17)
Don’t obsess over money. (1 tim 6.10)
Aspire to leave an imprint. (john 10.10)
Be intrinsically motivated on the job. (colossians 3.23,24)
Build a supportive network of family and friends (hebrews 10.24,25; e.g. early church)
Act optimistic even if you have to fake it. (romans 12.12)
Gratitude, baby, gratitude. (1 thessalonians 5.18)
Exercise is all good. (1 corinthians 6.19)
Givers gain. (acts 20.35)

My first half marathon!

2008-12-15T13:04:00.000-06:00

Well I made it! After 3 months of training, I finally crossed the finish line! It was the most bittersweet moment I've ever had. I was so emotional about finishing so I was trying not to look like the crazy lady out there. I was so happy and proud to cross the finish line, but my body was in so much pain, I wasn't comfortable standing, walking, sitting, laying, etc.....Everything hurt! But it was over and I got to go home and eat roast that I had put on the night before and take a nap under my new snuggly blanket! The pain is still in effect today, but I'm adjusting to it I guess as I don't notice it as much. I think next time I do a half or especially if I do the full, I will take the next day off work. It has been so hard to be alert and moving around today. I want to still be in bed eating and watching movies! My sister-in-law, Whitney, and I are trying to convince Scott and Daniel to train for a half and we'll all run it together. I think that would be really awesome, but feel like I haven't been a very good example to him of what it's like! haha

Well enough yapping, here are some pictures of the day!

Ready to go!!

When I still had knees
A little sleepy, but ready to go!
Starting to get a little nervous
Action shot at mile 13 just .1 more to go!!
Haha do you see me? I got really excited when I saw Daniel!!!
So tired and so glad I'm done running for the day!
Don't worry I had walked around a little and stretched before I let myself crash against a wall
Feelin' the runner's high with my medal!
Runner's got free leg massages after their race! It was obviously my favorite part!

My other favorite part of the day was the cake that Daniel let me buy from Corner Bakery for a job well done. I don't have a picture of it, but believe me, it was AWESOME!!!!

So long story short, I've done one....taking a break.....start back up in 2009 for my next one!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

2008-12-10T14:31:00.000-06:00

This is best blanket I've snuggled in, in a while! Daniel let me buy one Monday night at Restoration Hardware if I promised to not use it until after Christmas. I'm hoping that I can act pitiful enough Sunday after the half marathon, that he will let me come home and snuggle up under it! Anyway, you should look into getting one! They're amazing!

We've pretty much finished up all of our Christmas shopping and I even have our tree full of presents! We are having a progressive dinner with a couple of our friends tomorrow night and by then the house will be completely decorated inside and out. I will take more pictures then, but this is all I have of our tree thus far.

It's cold here and now feels like Christmas. I think it is going to be short lived though. Sunday it needs to be warm and then after that I don't care!!!! I love this time of year!

Good Message!

2008-12-05T16:44:00.001-06:00

http://iamsecond.com/

Belated Gobble Gobble

2008-12-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

Oh what fun the Holiday's are with family. Thanksgiving just made me that much more anxious for Christmas to get here!! I had so much fun with my family....all the running, eating, footballing, visiting, laughing....well you get the point. We left for Abilene Wednesday night after work. Ugh traffic was awful. But we finally made it there safe and sound. Thursday morning Thomas, Jenn, Jakson, Landon, Shae and me went and ran in the Turkey trot.

Here is my pre race action shot. Mom looks excited!

Who says you can't find beauty in Abilene. What a great view first thing in the morning!

Look at those trees! God's creation is amazing!!!

Thomas finished in 18 minutes! That was like a leisurely stroll for him

I finished in 27 minutes. I realized after the race I was so slow because of that sweatshirt....and the horrible allergy attack that ravaged my head about 10 seconds after crossing the finish line.

The Thomas Talley's pre race pose

All of the runner's after our races!

That afternoon Mom, Daniel and I drove out to Winter's for the Bahlman family reunion. It has been on Thanksgiving Day for something like 30 years. We eat Bar-B-Q.....for Thanksgiving dinner. At least it is good.....actually the best I've ever eaten. We had a good time visiting with family and singing till we could no longer make noise.

Me and Granny

Granny, Aunt Pat, Mom, Aunt Doris and Me

Daniel enjoyed the many photo ops that the trip to Winters presented. The next few picture are pretty common sights that I grew up around.

My mom spent most of her growing up years in fields like this picking cotton. We just had to stop and capture the view!

Me and Mom putting up the Christmas tree on Friday night

Right before the picture took Daniel told me to look surprised. What do you think? Mission accomplished?

Ah, West Texas sunsets!

And now for the biggest news yet. Saturday I ran 10 miles in 1 hour and 28 minutes! I was so excited. I now feel like I can confidently tackle the half marathon that is now less than 2 weeks away!! After I finished my run that morning, we went and watched the ACU football game. They suffered their first loss and it was freezing cold, but I'm glad we went. It felt good to be there.

Last night Daniel and I decorated our house, so you can be sure there will be pictures up soon of our night o fun!!

2008-11-25T14:59:00.000-06:00

This past weekend my sister and her in-laws came in to town for the Cowboys game on Sunday. Anytime, I am with the McNeill clan, I can be sure that by the time they leave my abs will have had a serious workout (you know, from all the laughing). Long story short we had quite a bit of fun.

If you know me at all, you know that I have a small army of nieces and nephews. They make my world go round! I got the pleasure of spending this weekend with two of them. We had such a special time on Saturday morning as they had their grand opening of "cafe coffee". They made a sign and hung it in our kitchen and handed out coffee and muffins to everyone for breakfast. They were such big helpers that the big spenders in the family even tipped them for their good service!

Ethan really wanted to play the part so we found him Daniel's aTm chef hat and apron. What a vision in maroon!!!

Here is Kathryn getting some water out of the fridge. Who drinks water for breakfast? Especially at Cafe Coffee, the best coffee in town!

The biggest news of the weekend was definitely when Ethan hit his first really big milestone.....other than walking, talking, starting kindergarten and eating whole pizzas. He lost his first tooth and got his first visit from the tooth fairy! He was so excited and precious that it brought a little mist to my eyes. I'm such a sucker!

This next weekend we'll be with 3 of my other kids.....well my brothers kids! I am looking soooo forward to having a few days off work and hanging out with family. That might be my favorite thing in the world! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and is safe traveling!!!

Has it really been a week?

2008-11-20T14:30:00.000-06:00

I really do want to blog more than just once a week, but the week seems to go by so fast that I always feel that I just posted something. Oh well, enough with the excuses!

Last night I went to see Coldplay. They are just phenomenal! That's really the only word I can find to describe them. I am really sad that I don't have any pictures to document it. Our tickets said in all caps NO CAMERAS OR RECORDERS. So, since our only camera now is worth more than a pot o gold, we did not risk taking ours. However, I think we were probably the only people in the entire AA Center that did not have a camera. While Coldplay was fantabulous, I certainly had my reservations about one of their opening acts. The first band that went on was actually pretty good. I really enjoyed their pedal steel. Then, this other techno sort of thing came on. The "music" he was making was ok. It kind of reminded me of Enigma. BUT, he did this weird psychadelic video thing with it. Just to let you know how weird it was, Daniel's exact words were "who sits at home and dreams up this crap?" It was just weird.

In other news, we are going to finish our kitchen lighting project tonight. We had 4 total to install and have done one, leaving us 3 to do tonight. It should make the kitchen alot cozier and alot less flourescent. Speaking of cozy, it is supposed to get really cold tonight and I think I'm going to make Daniel make a fire in the fireplace.

Another home project we are going to tackle (after the Holidays) is replacing the floors in a few rooms. I think we will do wood in the kitchen, dining, formal living, and entry. If anyone has done this before and has some great DIY advice, we'd love to hear it!

So my half marathon is about 3 weeks away. I really hope I'm as ready as I think I am. I guess I will find out this Saturday as I have a 12 mile run ahead of me. The weather will be quite different from what I'm used to running in, but probably more along the lines of what the race day weather will be like. I just really need to work on being calm about the race and not getting so nervous to just run. I'll keep you posted.

I apologize for all of the rambling as you probably have not made this far into the post due to boredom. If you have read this though, thank you for your interest!

Ode to Claire!

2008-11-14T08:10:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!

She is receiving an "ode" because I missed her 1st Birthday because I was at an Aerosmith concert! Therefore I'm trying to make up for it 2 years later!!

Claire is the sweetest hearted little thing you will ever meet! She continues to steal my heart everytime I see her! Enjoy the pictures of this sweet little angel.

Claire, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and Uncle Daniel and Aunt Tiff love to pieces and pieces!!!

What a Week

2008-11-07T08:50:00.000-06:00

It has been quite a week hasn't it? So much so that I couldn't even figure out what to blog about. Where do I start? Perhaps I could start with how much fun we had last weekend....we were smurfs for Halloween. We won best overall costume at our Halloween Party, but I think it was a pity win because I yelled our names to be nominated to be funny and then everyone was like "well they did paint their faces". I guess a victory is a victory....although I feel that I cheapened it with my nomination. Before our party we went and early voted. We made a lot of new friends as people were eager to talk to us, children wanted our autographs, and some old British man said he wanted to hang me on a wall like a picasso painting....creeeeper

And with my victory on Friday night and all that standing in line to vote, Tuesday night I, and many other Republicans were defeated. It was a sad night for me. I didn't sleep well and boy was a grouchy at work on Wednesday. I feel alot better now after realizing that the fate of our country is not in the hands of me, John McCain, Barak Obama, George W or anyone else. It is in the hands of God and find alot of comfort in that.....no matter the outcome.

On another note I am still training hard for my half marathon on December 14. I am starting to get a little nervous about it. I think it is just nervousness due to the unknown. I've never ran in any sort of race like this so I'm not quite sure what to expect. Speaking of....a quick shout out...Bonnie I hope you read this entry because I know you are running the white rock half and I was going to ask if I can run with you? Unless you have some rediculously awesome time and then, nevermind.....I will not be running that fast.

Lastly, I want to ask everyone to pray for a friend of mine. My friend Taylor called me last Friday with news that her mom had been diagnosed with colon cancer. Since that time, they have gotten a fairly good report that they removed all the cancer, but will still do chemo for several months just to make sure they get it all. Cancer is a scary thing and to be real honest it gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I really just want to ask everyone (whether you know Taylor or me at all) to pray for complete healing for her mom.

I hope everyone has a great Friday and wonderful and safe weekend!

New pictures with the new D80!

2008-11-03T15:31:00.000-06:00

Daniel here - i think this is my first actual post to this thing. I've been having fun with the new camera - although i still have a LOT to learn about how to use it. here are a few shots i liked...

Just so the title of the last post isn't the first thing you see!

2008-10-27T15:06:00.000-05:00

I had a great weekend with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. All the guys went to the panhandle to hike/camp so the girls came and stayed with me. We really did have so much fun and we laughed so hard. At one point I had laughed so hard that I couldn't breathe and this slipped out...."phew I need a cigarette". Karen (mother-in-law) proceeded to laugh even harder. I then assured her that I don't smoke. Daniel took our camera so I don't have any fun pictures to post of our time together. I did get a new beadspread. After Daniel was sick I was so concerned about the germs on the bedspread but it was a dry clean only. Then I found a gorgeous quilt that was the same price as having my existing one dry cleaned. So I bought it!

I think these blogs are starting to sound more like "Dear Diary"

I have to run again today after taking a few off and it's probably going to hurt. Wish me luck!!!

Stomach Flu

2008-10-21T09:58:00.000-05:00

It runs (pun intended....sorry for being gross) rampant in our house right now! Please pray that I don't contract this virus as I will have a house full of company Thursday-Sunday. I would really put a kink in everyone's plans! Plus it would really put a kink in my training! Yikes....needless to say I've been staying in the guest room since Sunday with my can of Lysol! Hope everyone is having a happy and healthy Tuesday!
Muah

One Fun Filled Weekend

2008-10-13T20:01:00.000-05:00

Captain's log:
Friday night: Very strange

Saturday morning: Did not make it 7 miles.
The blame is three fold
1. Try to run 7 miles on 0 caloric intake
2. I had 3 pounds of water attached to my back (camelback)
3. I had nightmares all night about the run.
Seriously I did. I dreamt (?) that I was running it with my sister Mary and she was really fast but I literally went faster running on my hands. (I don't know it was a weird dream)

Saturday afternoon: Went fabric shopping with Taylor & Susan. It was fun. We got fabric to make stockings for Christmas!

Saturday night: Ryan Adams
Quite possibly the greatest show I've ever seen him play. It was fantastic, he was fantastic, the cardinals were fantastic, everything was fantastic! Except the guys sitting in front of us. Talk about huge dorks. You won't find bigger one's. Everytime the band would start playing they would play air drums with it, cheers their beers, and then proceed on to give each other high fives.

Sunday: Picnic with friends.
We picked up some goodies at Whole Foods and had a picnic with Scot & Taylor. These pictures are the result!

Brother/Sister High School Senior Photo Shoot

My idea of a Sunday afternoon post picnic bicycle ride!

2008-10-08T15:27:00.000-05:00

We got a new camera this weekend! It is beautiful! Actually the pictures that Daniel takes with it are beautiful. He has really been wanting one for a long time as photography is huge, but lost hobby of his. For two years we have been debating him using his film camera and making a dark room in our house, or buying a digital SLR. Well we went with the digital SLR (Nikon D80). He has been surprising me with flashes around every corner so it's been like papparazzi around our place. Last night, however, I did not appreciate it very much! ;) We went out to Arbor Hills Nature Preserve (my favorite place to run) and he took some great pictures. Until mile 5 of my run when he caught sight of me from across a pasture. It was not pretty. Speaking of my run.....I became very aware of my left knee last night. Up to this point I have no pain when I was running, but last night it was definitely there. I'm pretty sure it was the steep incline that I ran, but man it still hurts today.

I feel like I started this entry with stories and fun information, but somehow throughout my typing, I lost it! Eh....

All I do is run anymore

2008-10-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

I did a 4 miler last night. It was still a little hard, but I found some ways to cope. I tried to imagine that is was as easy for me to run as it was to watch those marathon runners at the olympics. Granted they were on like mile 17 when I watched them, but they still made it look easy. I also found a steady breathing pattern that realllllly helped! I noticed when I broke away from it, I started feeling worse. Anyway I ran it in a little over 34 minutes (and it was technically like 3.8 miles). I'm glad I hit another goal, so on to the next one!

I fell in love 7 times last night

2008-09-30T09:31:00.000-05:00

Just a disclaimer: If you are not that into music this blog will bore you extensively.....
Please do not get the wrong idea about my title. You all know and Daniel knows he is my one and only (cheese please), but musically I really did fall in love 7 times last night. We went to see Iron & Wine and The Swell Season at the Palladium Ballroom last night. In total I saw 8 musicians and only fell in love 7 times....why you might ask? Well one of them I had seen in concert before so I already had high expectations of him. (Sam from Iron & Wine).
So back to the first time I fell in love.....Sam played an acoustic set with just himself on guitar and this guy Rob. Now Rob is the man, just so you know. I haven't seen someone with his abilities.....maybe ever. Not only did he play to perfection on the piano, acordian, and slide guitar, he played to perfection all of them simultaneously, all the while watching Sam intently to make sure everything was in perfect sync. It was amazing to watch. It made me wish I was like Sylar from Heroes and could steal peoples powers from them! (I think I'm teetering on the edge of fan to creeper)
Moving on to the second and third round. Just when I think Rob can't be topped in musicality (which is still questionable), Glen and Marketa took to the stage. Glen being the energetic and charasmatic performer that he is had me from the first note. And Marketa, oh my word, is the cutest thing I've ever seen. So of course they were amazing.
Then the rest of their band joined and each one seemed to just keep adding something incredible to the music. There was no pretentiousness anywhere on that stage. It was a group of 6 phenominal musicians having a blast together, doing what they love. They even had fun with the audience, which is rare. By the end of the night I didn't care (well I did a little) that my legs and back hurt so bad from standing, because their performances blew me away.
I would post a video but the sound on my phone is just awful so I'll see what else I can find. Just in case you don't know who they are at all, I will post a video, but it is not from the concert.

I went to bed happy last night!

Why do I have to find a new title everytime I want to make a new Blog Post

2008-09-24T15:25:00.000-05:00

There are several things I want to put in my blog today so it's what you might call "hodgepodge"!

First let me start out by telling you about two somewhat connected stories. This past weekend was our 25th Anniversary Party for our Company. It was great! Daniel was in charge of the whole thing, so needless to say he's been scarce for the last couple of weeks. Well at the last minute our boss surprised him with a weekend away at the resort where the party was held. Seeing as how the party was at the Gaylord Texan, we were very very thrilled! It really was like a second honeymoon except we had to work a little. If you have never been to the Gaylord, it is GORGEOUS! When they took us up to our room our bell boy opened the door and said "welcome to your executive suite Mr. & Mrs. Fleming". I knew right then I was way out of my league. So the room was gorgeous....well technically it was 3 separate rooms....and they were all gorgeous.

Me in the bedroom part of the suite. It had cute little French Doors!!

a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_HavGSkU4oDg/SNq00cWeN0I/AAAAAAAAADI/PKC2wbUfkmU/s1600-h/Gaylord.jpg">
The Dining Room section of the suite. It had French Doors that went out to a balcony that overlooked a replica of the San Antonio Riverwalk!!

On Saturday night we had our big celebration! Daniel did a really great job with the whole thing. I'm so proud of him!!

The Gaylord Hotel

The Gaylord Hotel

Me and Randy White

This leads me in to my next bit. Taking off the weekend when training for a marathon=pain. Monday and yesterday hurt so bad!! Even with my new, fancy shoes!! I finished my run each time but it just hurt a little more. Today I'm going to do body pump for some strength training. My legs get tired way before the rest of me so I'm gonna build those little suckers up! Plus, the gym membership that we paid for that ripped us off is over by Tyler and Susan's where we have small group on Wednesday's. Soooo it all worked out!

And last but not least....I saw this on the news last night and thought it was great!

If I had a dollar for everytime a banana chased a monkey and they BOTH go to jail......

New Shoes

2008-09-18T10:35:00.000-05:00

Last night I came to the realization that I'm going to have to buy new running shoes. Mine are ok for short distances on a treadmill, but when it comes to long hard (that's what she said :)) running, I need something better! I did pretty well last night. I really only felt like puking for about 5 minutes after my run instead of an hour! I also ran longer with a better time. At this point though I don't think I should be as concerned about time as just not dying!! I met these people on the trail who were walking....downhill as I was running....uphill. They sarcastically said "so what's it like" and I thought I might be incarcerted by the end of the night on battery charges. HA! No I really love this though. I feel so good about myself after my run! We'll see how new shoes help!

On another note my in-laws have spent the last two days with us and it has just been wonderful having them. They were here because they lost all power for several days because of Hurricane Ike. (They live in Houston) So even though it wasn't under great circumstances, it was a nice visit. She would probably kill me if she new I was about to tell this story, but I have to. We watched Baby Mama last night (very funny BTW) and in the end where Angie is in labor and saying what it feels like to be in labor, Karen started laughing so hard she was crying. I've never seen anything like it and of course it got the rest of tickled so we all just sat around laughing (more at Karen than at the movie). Seriously though, it was great and I was sad to see them leave to go back home! Come back soon Fleming's!

The Marathoner

2008-09-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

I've started training for a marathon! Well technically right now I'm only training for a half marathon but then the marathon will be next. You may be asking yourself "why would anyone ever want to run a marathon?" It all started with feelings of anxiety. Lately I have been feeling anxious and just overall crazy. So I thought what better way to whip myself into shape than to start intense training and cutting bad food out of my diet. I got completely mentally prepared before I started all of it, because I commited to myself that I would not quit after it got hard. So to make sure I could really commit to it, I prayed about it and asked for the strength to do it. Well it turns out even when you are mentally prepared, it still hurts! I really am getting the runner's high though so it really and truly makes the shaky legs, burning lungs, and runny nose worth it.

I say all of this because I would really like to blog my marathoning experience. I don't know that anyone really even cares, but I think at the very least people that read this might hold me accountable. You know, ask me if I ran my full 15 miles this week, etc.... (i've got 10 more miles for the week, but it is only Tuesday)

So far all I can really write about the experience is that it still hurts and I've got my work cut out for me! But boy howdy when I can cross that finish line several months from now and say "I just ran 26 miles!!!" It'll feel soooo good!!!

Oh and I found the best place to run. It kind of stinks because a lot of it is uphill but it's gorgeous. It is the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve and it really is a great place to run or ride your bike, etc....It's my happy place!

Charles Gibson is an idiot

2008-09-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

There I said it. I usually try to refrain from using harsh terminology against people I don't know. You know I try to think of them as "someone's dad, or grandpa" and I would never want anyone talking like that about my family. However, as I watched his interview with Sarah Palin this morning my blood really started to boil. I could not believe how irritated he looked he sounded as he asked her questions and awaited her responses. If you didn't get a chance to see it you can check out a very small portion below.....

I think if I were him I would try to be a little less obvious with my personal feelings about who I was interviewing and tried to be professional. He sounds annoyed, he is condescending, he looks at his watch while she is talking, etc. I think he just looked like a jerk and she held her own!
Palin 1
Liberal Media 0

RNC

2008-09-09T08:23:00.000-05:00

Last week as you know was the Republican National Convention. Some of it I watched, some I didn't. I wouldn't say that up until this point I was on the fence about who to vote for. To be real honest I didn't really care too much for either Presidential candidate. Until Thursday night. As I sat on my bed watching John McCain's speech, I became more and more moved by what he was saying. By the end of the speech I was balling, standing on top of my bed saluting, and very proudly saying "nobody better mess with our country!"

2008-08-21T15:47:00.001-05:00

3 Years

2008-08-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

Daniel and I just celebrated 3 years of marriage on August 13. It's pretty exciting, I know. Since our anniversary was on a Wednesday, we decided to wait until the weekend to actually celebrate. It was one of the best days ever! It was just so nice and relaxing. I couldn't believe that I slept in until 10:30. I don't think I've done that since High School. We then proceeded on to Whole Foods where we had a lovely breakfast and then some shopping. My very most favoritest part of my day was going to McKinney. We went antique shopping which is what I find to be my cup o tea! I had never been to McKinney before it is such an adorable town! Needless to say we had a great time. We finished off the evening by jumping up and down on our couch yelling "go go go!!!!!!!!!" as Michael Phelps and the other US relayers raced to give him a record breaking 8 gold medals in one olympics. That guy's a machine!! Daniel now wants to start training to be an olympic swimmer! That should be interesting!

It really is amazing to see how you change (individually and as a couple) in 3 years. Alot has happened that will change anyone, much less two young newlywed kids.
I hope the next 3 years are a little less eventful (probably not since there will most likely be kids involved), but we'll see what happens!

Some people......

2008-07-31T10:13:00.000-05:00

So there is this guy that I work with. He's around 50...ish and single. Over the past year or so he has dropped probably close to 20 pounds. So he goes to the doctor and his doctor tells him he has a horrible diet and needs to start eating healthier and more regularly. Well, this guy pretty much can't take care of himself at all, so I volunteered to help him with some meals. (He said he'd pay me a monthly stipend for buying his food) So it all started out healthy and wonderful, except for his incessant complaining about how the food was not greasy enough. So after a couple of weeks of complaining and me seeing no money, I stopped bothering. Then this morning as I walked by his office he says to me "Hey Tiffany I brought you breakfast this morning, just like you've been taking care of me". (which was nothing)
Is it just me or is that incredibly rude?!
I will refrain from saying what it is that I'm really thinking!

2008-07-16T15:40:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend was such a wonderful time! Saturday was Daniel's birthday so he work up and went golfing with one of his buddies from church. While they were out, I went and picked up my mom and we went and bought Daniel ROCK BAND!!!!!!!!!!!! I wanted to get it all set up in the living room, ready to play, when he got home from golfing! After getting it set up I called him like 20 times to see when he was coming home and then I stood by the door and waiting for him for about 15 minutes. The look on his face was so worth it!!!!!!!! Needless to say we've been really busy rock banding!
Saturday night we ate at Steve Fields' Steak and Lobster Lounge in Plano. Oh my goodness it was so delicious! We were all kinds of full when we left! So all in all it was a great fun weekend!

2008-07-11T08:53:00.000-05:00

Well after an exhausting July 4th weekend at the farm, I am just now regaining the energy to type! We had just a fabulous time with old friends and made some new ones! We did alot of four wheeling, repelling, hog shooting, rock banding, water ballooning, and over all good timing!

Since then, it has been hard to catch up on sleep. Tuesday night we went to a Ranger's game that ran long due to an hour rain delay. Wednesday night we good timed it when Scot & Taylor after small groups (QT's summer of love) and last night we had a 9:45 softball game with our church league. It was our first loss and it was devastating! I personally contributed nothing to the game, but hopefully things will get better for next week! I am competetive but I mostly just really enjoy being out there with everyone!

My mom is flying in this afternoon from her two week vacation in Ireland. I am really looking foward to hearing all about it!

Tomorrow is Daniel's birthday and I've got something really awesome planned so stay tuned for details and pictures!

To anyone who reads this today.....HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!!!