UPDATE

For anyone that was following this blog...yes, I know it's been over a year since my last update. I've started a new one: laurengoestopaschool.blogspot.com about my adventures at PA school. You should definitely check it out...:)

I Wouldn't Want to Get in Trouble!

Lately things have been pretty quiet around here, but I figured that I should update you before I get in trouble (again) for not maintaining my blog :). Dad went out to the oil rigs a few times and made it back home safely, so we are very excited about that! Hopefully he won't have to go back out too soon. I got into yet another small argument with a knife while cutting a bagel and Ryan got into a slightly larger argument with one while attempting to saw two frozen sausage patties apart. We have determined that we probably never should have registered for the really nice, really sharp butcher's block of knives. On the cooking note, we got adventurous one night and decided to attempt homemade funnel cakes! Quite an adventure it was...I was definitely standing guard with the fire extinguisher in hand among other putting-out-fire utensils. All went well and they were surprisingly good! We celebrated my Grandma Baileys' birthday with a small shin-dig at my parents' house...it was very nice and she had a great time. And this one is just for my cousin Ashley-my cousin Shannon is apparently getting married! My family failed miserably in passing along this information! We found out on MySpace, but apparently Grandma and Mom already knew.
So all in all, we're doing pretty well and enjoying the quiet. I'm still loving my job and my volunteering and the golf season is starting to wind down for Ryan, but he has some things in the works for an interim job and for next season. We (and the dogs) are loving the cooler weather because we can finally start going for our evening walks again. The rest of September and October aren't looking so quiet, so we're enjoying it while we can! Hope everyone is doing well and has a wonderful weekend!

Aimee's First Horse Show

Our good friends Tim and Layla took Tim's 2-year-old daughter Sofi to a horse show and invited us to join them. Aimee got to ride a pony for the very first time and loved it! Frosty was the prettiest pony there (many thanks to Layla) and he was the best-behaved. Sofi did so great and even got to trot! I have to admit, Ryan and I had a blast, too! We loved the atmosphere and enjoyed the hard work it took to get ready for the event. We (Layla and I) bathed Frosty, clipped his whiskers, combed his mane and tail, etc. and they even got him a pedicure that week! Who knew it took so much to keep a pony looking so good? Anyways, here are some pictures from the event. Enjoy!

Aimee was exhausted by the end of it!

Me with Aimee and Frosty

Tim, Sofi, and Frosty in competition

The team trotting through an event

Sofi in her adorable outfit!

Aimee having fun

Layla getting Sofi ready

Sofi, Layla, Tim and Frosty...just waiting!

I passed out...again.

For those of you who remember that stupid mole that I had to get removed off my back (again!)...well I got my external stitches removed and as many of you may suspect, it didn't go all too well. It started off great...my incision looked perfect and all 6 stitches came out without a problem-it didn't even really hurt! They got me all bandaged up and gave me my instructions/restrictions, then told me I could leave. Wonderful, right? I told the nurse that I thought it would be a good idea to stay seated for a minute before I left-if you'll remember, last time I passed out at the check-out desk. I think she thought I was in a little pain, not going to pass out, because she said "Okay, well I'll be right outside the door if you need anything, just let me know when you're ready to leave." So she leaves, and I go out like a light. I had that same eerie feeling from when I passed out in McAlisters-I woke up, realized where I was, and knew it wasn't good. It's almost more of a disappointment! I sat there until I could kinda fall off the chair and safely make it to the floor to lie down and as soon as I got onto the floor, the nurse came back in and nearly flipped her lid! Then the usual...water, a fan, and lying on the floor with my feet propped up for about 20 minutes. I got up to leave (now with the nurse's assistance) and my doctor saw me and nearly flipped her lid and made me sit back down because apparently I was still way too pale. The pregnant receptionist that had to catch me last time I passed out saw me and sadly knew exactly what happened, so she sat down to chat with me for a while. She was kind enough to share the previous story with the new office staff... :) Apparently I'm like the only person to pass out (twice) in the dermatologist's office.
So anyways, the stitches are out now and I'm healing up quite nicely. Hopefully the danged thing won't be growing back this time!

Well, we got some terrible news about Grandma Hill's cancer yesterday...I know you guys (the 5 people who read this!) are great about keeping our family in your thoughts and prayers, so that's why I decided to share this with you. We will certainly be needing your support.
Grandma's doctor told her that her secondary cancer down her side is actually not a secondary cancer, it's part of the initial breast cancer that, for one reason or another, was not taken care of with the radiation treatment and it has spread. Grandma's kidneys do not function well enough to handle any chemotherapy-the docs told us that 2 treatments would probably literally kill her. So...she has been undergoing another round of radiation, which is still really tough on her. However, the docs really think that with how aggressive this particular type of cancer is, that radiation will just prolong the duration. They don't really have any hopes of actually getting rid of all the cancer for any significant period of time. Without any more radiation, they expect the cancer to invade one of her vital organs within 9 months. She has not informed us yet if she wants to continue radiation or not, but we are leaving the decision completely up to her. So I guess that's that...not really much else to say except please pray for us and for Grandma especially!

Last week went by WAY too fast!

So here's the latest...
I had a mole removed from my back in January and the dang thing grew back! So they had to kinda go under it and remove some of the deeper layers of tissue to make sure it doesn't grow back. So now, I have about 10 stitches in my back. I didn't think I'd get along with stitches, but they're not too bad. I'm about to the point that they're just itchy and annoying now though, so I'm ready to be done with them. And that was my first experience with stitches! I also rechecked my troublemaker thyroid and apparently it's not enough of a troublemaker to take any action, so we're just going to recheck every few months to make sure nothing changes. That's pretty good news! Then, Mom took me shopping on Monday and we had a wonderful time! We also got to have lunch with Grandma and Tassy on Tuesday for Tassy's birthday. Side note...Grandma is doing well with her radiation treatments so far and the endoscopy found 2 stomach ulcers, but nothing malignant...YAY!
Ryan was in Wichita, Kansas last weekend for a golf tournament and he did really well! He shot a 69 (3 under par) and tied with 3 other guys for the last qualifying spot in the tournament. He beat 2 of them immediately in a play-off, but had to play the other guy stroke-for-stroke for 10 more holes! They'd already played 18, and now 10 more, so they were both exhausted. The other guy beat Ry on the 10th hole...he made a putt for birdie and Ryan par'd the hole. He was very disappointed, but knows that he played his best. Poor kid was so tired by the time he got home. We're looking at another tournament coming up on the Nationwide tour in Midland or putting him on the Adam's tour, which would require a little less travel. Who knows!?
As soon as Ryan got home, Goosey started throwing up...12 times in 30 minutes! We ended up taking her to the vet because it looked like she might be throwing up blood. They said that she didn't have a fever and didn't feel swollen, so they gave her some meds to stop the throwing up. Then, they gave her something that (if she had an ulcer or something) would adhere to any wound and keep it from bleeding internally. They said if she didn't get any better, they would run some scans and bloodwork to see if something else was wrong. The meds worked and she's all better! Now, Maverick has some random patch on his chest that we're having to wash off and doctor every day. We have no clue where it came from...it's not like he lives outside or even plays with anyone besides Goose and Tigger. Strangeness...
Hopefully I'll get some pics posted here soon! Mom is holding some from my birthday hostage, so that might take a little while. Anyways, have a good week!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I was under the impression that this year (23) would be...well...kinda boring. I mean, how fun is it really to turn 23? My wonderful hubby had something quite different in mind! We started with dinner at Hibachi, a trip to one of my favorite stores-Petland!, then dessert on the evening of my birthday. This was all my choice and exactly what I wanted to do since I'd had some recent minor surgery on my back. The next day, Ryan had a whole party planned at my parents' house, complete with some surprise out-of-town guests, then a late night out, which I haven't had in a very long time. Not everyone could come, but we still had a blast and I am so grateful for those that could make it. Thank you everyone, it really meant a lot and I had a very happy birthday! Hopefully this is the great start to a great year.
Too bad Ryan, Andrew, and Kelly all had to get up at 6 am this morning after staying up past 2 am! Andrew and Kelly had to head back to Austin to meet Kelly's parents and Ryan had to drive to Kansas for his first Nationwide Tour qualifying event. Please keep Ryan in your thoughts and prayers-we hope for safe travel and that he does the very best that he can! Good luck baby, I love you!

As Ashley Says...G-Ma!

Grandma Hill went back to her oncologist to discuss all the test results and to set up a treatment plan on Wednesday and here is the run-down...the breast cancer is gone, YAY! They're going to treat this new secondary cancer by radiation only instead of surgery plus radiation, which is also good news. The doc wants to do a scope to make sure that this secondary cancer isn't involved with the linings of her stomach or intestines in any way, but other than that, we're very optomistic! Radiation will begin Monday and the scope should be next week, too. Please keep her, Grandpa, and all our family in your prayers!!

The Good News and The Bad News

Ok, good news first...I feel all better! I'm completely back to my "normal" self :) We're still going to recheck my thyroid and make sure it's not being a little troublemaker, but all else is well...with me.
The bad news...mom has a sinus infection yet again and the antibiotic makes her feel really goofy. The worst part is that this is about her billionth sinus infection and some of them are getting to the point of being resistant to some antibiotics, but she's really sensitive to meds like I am and doesn't have a whole ton of options with them.
And the really bad news...Grandma Hill's cancer is back. Here's the odd part, it's not the breast cancer she had last time, but some type of secondary cancer that has spread all down her side. She meets up with her oncologist again on July 29th to set up another plan of treatment and get some more details. I'm pushing her to get a second opinion just to make sure that an unbiased professional agrees with her diagnosis and plan of treatment. On the other hand, Grandma Baileys has developed a nasty habit of leaving her house on her own. She doesn't drive and has now twice wandered out of her house. The first time, she barely made it down her street. Now, she doesn't live in the best of neighborhoods so it's definitely dangerous, but thank goodness my aunt was coincidentally driving down the street to Grandma's and saw her. She picked her up and took her home. The second time she left (just a few days later that week), Grandma made it down a very busy street and to a shopping center. Now for the REALLY scary part, she got into a car with a stranger. Seriously, thank goodness that woman took her to the police station and they called my dad and aunt. My Grandma was actually really ticked and thought it was all their fault. We're trying to decide what to do because it's obviously dangerous for her to be home alone, but she doesn't want to live in any type of assisted living facility and can't live with any of her own children. What to do? Any suggestions are welcome...
Please keep us all in your prayers and have a great weekend!

And Back to the Doctor...

So yesterday was my appointment to follow-up with my family doctor after the fun ER visit. Tell me if this isn't a typical "Lauren" scenario...
The good news is that Ryan took me and we both really liked the doctor. She was really sharp and explained everything to us! I haven't had a primary care doctor since my pediatrician, so I was hesitant with the whole situation. Anyways, she asks for my story again of what happened with the ER. I tell her (I should have just printed the blog entry...) then hand her the reports from CareNow and from the ER. She looks at the reports with an odd expression...and tells me that I didn't have a high WBC count! Now, I had never looked at any of the reports-you don't really like to read small gibberish print when you have a migraine and I wasn't in the mood to double check the ER doctor's reasoning. My new doctor showed me on the report where my results were and where the normal range was and sure enough, my counts were totally normal. Stupid CareNow. Not a single thing on the CareNow report was out of the normal range. Even my "fever" was only 99.1. You know what that means? ALL I HAD WAS A STUPID MIGRAINE! And instead of giving me some imitrex or something, the CareNow doc gave me Norco which is a very strong pain reliever. It was also probably the cause of my fainting episode in McAlister's later that night.
So on to the ER reports...did you know that stress (such as passing out) can elevate your WBC counts? And that nearly everyone has traces of bacteria in their urine? So that means...NO INFECTION (bacterial or viral), NO UTI. And oh yeah, I was not dehydrated. The only possible reason for needing the IV fluids would have been to help flush the Norco out of my system, but that's not the reason they gave me for needing the fluids!
In short, I didn't need the Norco and it probably caused my passing out. I needed some Imitrex or something else for the MIGRAINE. The passing out most likely caused my lab results to be a little off in the ER, so I probably never had any virus or infection, so the week of antibiotics that made me feel like crap were probably completely unnecessary. :) Ain't life grand?
My new doc drew some more blood and is going to run some more thorough tests and recheck for the UTI, but said she doesn't really think anything is wrong anymore. There's a small possibility that my thyroid might be having some issues, but that isn't a very big concern. I'm relieved that it's nothing...but at the same time, I'm totally frustrated that I had to go through all that and take all the unnecessary meds! Arg.

Picture!

Here's a picture that Ryan took during my visit to the ER on Thursday...do ya like my new wires?? Those were for the EKG! What a mess...

A Little Blog-Happy and A Little More Crazy!

Some of you may be wondering "wow, what's gotten into her?" here lately because I've actually been updating the blog. The real deal is that this is basically all I'm allowed to do! Here's a little more crazy for you...this one is really long, sorry!
This past Wednesday while at work, I started to get a headache. Nothing out of the normal, right? I put on my glasses and take 2 Tylenol, that should take care of it. Well 2 hours later, the pain has intensified and it's developing into a migraine...sensitivity to light and sound included. So I take 2 Excedrin migraine, head to lunch, and take a 3o minute nap. In the past, that procedure would have easily taken care of it all. Well I wake up from the nap, and still have all of my previous symptoms alongside a new one-some severe nausea. I head back to work and inform my supervisor that I don't really want to vomit all over my patients and co-workers, so I'm going to head home for the day. After all, it's already after 3 pm, so we're pretty much done for the day anyways. I get home (somehow...) and head straight to bed. I got in a 2 1/2 hour nap, wake up, and still have all of my symptoms. Now this is abnormal...I've never had a migraine this bad and have no idea what brought it on. So I call the nurse hot-line through our insurance company...they instruct me to try a few new things and if that doesn't work, to get to a doctor. So we try alternating hot and cold compresses on my forehead and the back of my neck and Ryan massaged the back of my neck and shoulders to make sure that muscle strain wasn't causing the pain. I couldn't take any more medicine because you're only supposed to take 2 Excedrin migraine in 24 hours, and I did that at 1:30 PM, but the alternative treatments did help somewhat. It all helped enough to get me to sleep for the night.
I wake up the next morning at 6 to get ready for work...but I still have this stupid migraine! I call in to work and head to an urgent care facility because now, we are totally out of the realm of normal. Doc starts asking me all of these questions...then tells me that I'm running a fever. What? Then says he wants to run some blood work to check for an infection along with some other things. Everyone knows my LOVE of needles (sarcasm)! So I desperately tried to put this off and got the doctor truly annoyed with me. They stuck me despite my best efforts. Doc comes back a while later and says my white-blood-cell counts are really high, so I must be fighting a virus or infection of some sort. Since I don't have any signs of an infection, he suspects it is just a virus and that the virus is causing some inflammation and therefore my bad headache. He also tells me that the counts were so high, that he was concerned about mono. Now...I've had mono before and once you have the mono virus, you ALWAYS have the mono virus and it can flair up at basically any time. CRAP. I don't want mono again! Turns out the test was negative, but the elevated counts are still concerning. Doc sends me home with explicit instructions-fluids and rest. And he gives me some pain meds for the severe headache so I can get some good rest.
Wow, did those pain meds work. I was OUT. I took one nap from like 11-1, and woke up with the same stupid headache. So...as instructed...I take another pain pill and nap from about 3-7 pm. When I woke up this time, no headache! OMG, I'm ecstatic! I really figured that the rest and 2 liters of fluids had made a huge impact. I was finally not nauseated and wanted something decent for dinner. Seeing that I was feeling better, Ryan agrees to go to McAlister's for dinner so I can get some soup and a simple sandwich. We get there...all is well. I obviously can't drive (being on the pain meds), but did fine on the drive. I ate my cup of soup and kept that down, but I was full, so I didn't eat the sandwich. We're just sitting there talking...enjoying being out of the house! I started to get a little light-headed and was having some trouble focusing, so I pulled my legs up in the booth and leaned back against the wall...I told Ryan what was going on and neither of us seemed too concerned at the moment...just rest a minute and I'll be fine. That's all I remember. Apparently after that, I completely lost consciousness and went limp...then my entire body started shaking. The shaking was hard enough to kick my sandals completely off and Ryan had to hold my head so that I wouldn't hit the wall or the table. Neither of us know how long this went on, but when I came back to, I could still feel myself shaking uncontrollably (kind-of like have the chills really really bad) and didn't really know where I was or what happened right away. I felt like I'd had a nightmare and Ryan was trying to wake me from it or something. When I realize that I was still in McAlister's, I knew something bad had happened. Ryan pretty much carries me out to the car and we head back to the urgent care facility...but they wouldn't take me because of the convulsions and instruct us to head straight to the closest emergency room. So we do and they take me back right away ( I tell ya, I get the treatment at the ER! Between this and the steak-knife inicident...they always get me in right away and Doc is usually right there waiting on me!). They actually put me on a bed in the hallway because there weren't any open rooms, but needed to start the work-up immediately. We still had the test results from that morning, so we show them to the ER doc and he orders more tests...EKG, lab work, urinalysis, CT scan, etc. Everything appears normal except the lab work-still have that high WBC count. We were in the ER until after midnight...come to find out, I was allergic to the codeine in the pain meds that the urgent-care doc gave me and this was basically an allergic reaction and I was very dehydrated-very odd since I'd had 2 liters of fluids that day. They hooked me up to an IV and gave me even more fluids to help get the codeine out of my system as quickly as possible since it had been 9 hours since my last pill. New instructions-still all the fluids and rest I can handle, but no more pain meds and a new prescription for an antibiotic instead. And oh ya...I'm not supposed to do anything since I'm at risk for losing consciousness again. So Ryan has had the joy of babysitting me since then...if you can't tell, I like to keep him on his toes! I'm supposed to go to my primary care doc in about 10 days and let them do another work-up to make sure everything is still ok. So that's my latest crazy...I'll keep you updated!

The Crazy Things That Happen Around Here...the FINALE!

Ok, so Wednesday, I almost got picked up by the tornado. Thursday, I got to swim out to my car in the parking garage, then evacuate the entire clinic due to gasoline fumes...along with a fantastic asthma attack. Friday, the finale, I broke my stapler, my scissors (while attempting to fix the stapler), and my computer/scanner...all before 9 am. I was already so done with this day! Thank goodness it was already Friday!

The Crazy Things That Happen Around Here...Part 3

As if my run in with the tornado and having to swim to my car weren't quite enough...my afternoon got even more interesting. After my eventful morning at work, I took lunch as usual and was going to try to get a quick nap in or something to calm myself down. I went into the break room and started eating on my lunch and talking with some of the nurses when one of them goes "Hey, do you smell that?", and not meaning what you think! I was like ya...that kinda smells like gasoline! We discussed it for just a little while and decided that maybe some oil or something got stirred up in the parking garage as it was flooding and maybe the smell was just stronger than we were used to, but nothing to really worry about. We keep eating and chit-chatting when I hear an abnormal amount of noise in the hallway. I poke my head out the door to see what is going on and see ALL of our patients in the lobby! I mean, they have on their gowns and still have IV's in! The nurses have on gloves and are still attempting to administer the chemotherapy treatments...in the lobby! Then I smell it...the ridiculously strong smell of gasoline. We all drop everything and bolt out of the break room because this is obviously a situation we have on our hands. Everyone is grabbing masks (for the patients and employees) as we evacuate the entire clinic. Valet is pulling around cars as fast as they can, the nurses are trying to keep the patients safe and stable, and everyone else is grabbing chairs, pillows, masks, and juice and crackers for the patients because it's starting to get to some of them. One of the doctors even had to be carried out because she was so light-headed. The medical assistants (in masks and all...) are calling patients to cancel their appointments for the day and let them know what's going on. In the midst of this, I quickly realized that I did not get a mask on quickly enough and the fumes have definitely done a number on my asthma...yup, here comes the attack! I drop what I'm doing and head straigh for my desk-that's where my purse would be with my emergency inhaler in it. NOPE. Remember...I was at lunch. That means I have to run the gauntlet of patients, care-givers, and maintenace crew to the break room as I'm wheezing and crying and probably turning fun colors by now...attempting not to cause any concern to anyone who might see me. Of course, that doesn't happen and now I have a nurse following me asking questions...it's kinda like when the dentist asks questions while his hands are in your mouth...I really wanted to say "I CAN'T BREATHE=I CAN'T SPEAK!". It seemed like forever long, but I finally made it to my inhaler, rip my mask off my face (which got caught in my ear-rings, so I ripped those out of my ears along the way), and finally get some sweet relief. Once I could finally speak, I looked at the nurse and said "No, I'm not okay, I can't breathe, and yes, I have asthma." At that point, I was escorted out of the building to get some fresh air. All of the patients were cancelled for the day, sent home, then the workers were asked to leave so that maintenance could get the situation under control without the risk to the clinic staff or patients.
On my drive (swim) home, I quickly realized that our garage was not the only place that was flooded...wow, those must have been some serious storms that passed through! Dang you joint-safety-commission-regulations for taking away my windows... Anyways, the road I usually use to get to the highway was closed due to extreme flooding, so I head north to the next street which appears useful at first...then, when it's too late to turn around, I see the lake ahead of me. At least I wasn't the only one! We were all literally going to sink or swim! The water got increasingly deep as I edged toward the highway...couldn't see the painted lane dividers anymore, then couldn't see the curb. The water was over the running boards on my SUV and it got to the point that I didn't want to stop because I was afraid my car would flood and stall. I did eventually make it home and my car never stalled...so that's good. I headed straight for my nebulizer when I got home, then took a nap! Everyone I knew instructed me to just stay home because bad things seem to happen when I leave. Ah, finally the end of that day!

The Crazy Things That Happen Around Here...Part 2

So the morning after our little tornado incident, I'm getting ready for work and the news keeps saying something about it raining...whatever, there's not a cloud in the sky! I'm a little shaken from the previous night, but nonetheless, ready for work. I can't really see out any windows at work, but I could certainly hear when the storms did indeed start to pass through, and they must have been torrential! Our patients kept telling us about them, too. When I finally got to peek outside, it really was as bad as they were saying! I start to notice employees running through our clinic, which is quite abnormal. Then...I hear something about our parking garage flooding! What!? Seeing as my car is on the very bottom level of our under-ground parking garage, I understandably start to panic and join the masses running towards the garage staircase. As I'm on my way, I was informed by maintenance that the garage was indeed flooding and the elevators no longer worked because someone took them down the the garage and brought back up about 1 foot of water! Sure enough, there's about a foot of standing water all through the garage! I'm talking to maintenace and they thought at the time there might have been a drainage line clogged, so they didn't really expect it to get much worse-they thought it would be fixed soon and all would be fine. I go back to my desk and continue working with that thought. Well surprise...maintenance was WRONG. I get an email from our emergency notification about the flooding and keep hearing "it's now or never..." from the staff. When I go to check on my car again, I was informed to either get it out of the garage now or it would probably be lost due to damages. Lo and behold...the water is now above my knees! I roll up my pants, take off my shoes and socks, and proceed to swim out to my car...hoping it will start. DISGUSTING. The water was as dark and murky as hot chocolate. I get to my car, open the door, and the water is high enough to wake onto my floorboards! Again, ew, now my car has stinky water damage. Amazingly, my car starts and I drive my little boat out of the garage...almost running over some chick that was jacking around in the middle of the way taking pictures. I was like, look honey, my car isn't stopping because then it would probably flood and not start back up! So you're gonna either move or get knocked out the way! I seriously thought the waves were going to just take my car and me for a ride...but thank goodness we got out safely! I had to park outside my building and just run back in while it was raining...still in my lack-of-shoes and my pants rolled up above my knees. When I get back to the clinic, I head straight to the bathroom, hop up on the counter, and attempt to wash the ICK off my legs! It was quite a site...and I thought it was over...I was very sadly mistaken.

The Crazy Things That Happen Around Here...Part 1

Ok, this story is from like 3 weeks ago, so I'm sorry it took this long to get it posted!
It all started on a Wednesday night...I got off work as usual and headed home to let the pups out to potty. The skies were pretty clear and it was hot as normal for a June evening...that becomes important later! So I let them out and grab my stuff to head out to our church class where I was meeting Ryan since he played golf that afternoon. The drive is about 20 minutes, and as I drove, I noticed that it started to get cloudy. When I was about 1/2 way there, I noticed that it also started to get windy and cooler. When I was about 5 minutes away from church, Ryan calls me kinda flipping out going "where are you!?". I start telling him and he tells me to either get there quickly or turn around and go home because the tornado sirens are going off! I get there and can barely park my car because it's bouncing in the wind! We run inside and get into the stairwell with everyone else. It's crazy windy (estimated wind speeds were around 70 mph), raining, and of course...the sirens are still going. When they finally stop, we found that water is leaking up through the floor and floorboards in about 3 places in the halls of the church and school, so we're running around with the pastor, his wife, the kids from the camp that day, and the people from our class all trying to mop up the messes and keep them from spreading. Our class is supposed to start at 7 and by the time we got everything and everyone situated, it had almost stopped raining, and the storm had pretty much passed...it was 8:15, so needless to say class was cancelled for the evening. Once we got dinner and got home, there was no more storm to be seen and the weather was pretty much back to normal...crazy Texas weather. This incident in itself isn't what made these days crazy, but it certainly played a part! Keep reading!

God Must Have a Sense of Humor...

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but Grandma says this kind of stuff only happens to me! Here's what happened...
It was a rare occasion the other day that I came home from work and Ryan wasn't home yet. I had about 2 hours until I had to leave to meet him up at church, so I decided to do something that he doesn't really enjoy doing-I went for a walk! Yes, it was over 100 degrees outside and for some reason, I felt like being a sweltering idiot that afternoon. So I put on my sunscreen and hat, got my nalgene bottle all full of ice water, and headed out the door with my phone in hand-just in case since Ryan wasn't home. It was really hot, so I was taking it a little slower than normal but I was actually really enjoying myself! So I start out in the hot and direct sun and expected it to be that way the whole time-afterall, it's mid june and the forecast didn't have a cloud in the sky! I got about 1/4 of the way through my walk when I noticed that it wasn't as sunny...odd, right? Sure enough, there's a cloud overhead! It was kinda creepy-it was the only cloud I could see in the sky and was always right over my head as I walked...it was moving with me. Oh well, I enjoyed the shade! Then, strangely and unpredictably, it barely starts to sprinkle...hahaha God, that's cute. I chuckled to myself when I thought about the absurdity of what was happening and kept going. The forecast didn't have any clouds in it, nonetheless a chance for rain, so how bad could this really get? It was not worth cutting my walk that short...I'd only been out for about 15 minutes. When I got to about 1/2 mile away on the other side of the apartment complex, the clouds opened up and it started just pouring! I tell you, I could not find a tree quick enough! It was totally out of nowhere! Again, how bad can this get and how long would it really last? So, I park myself under the tree and continue listening to my music...enjoying my unexpected rest. I even tried to take a few pictures to show just how bad it was because it was by no means just sprinkling anymore! Anyone who knows me well would tell you that I would walk home in some light rain any day of the week, but it was POURING! I called Ryan, who was out on the golf course, and he said that he could see my cloud, haha! After 30 minutes of this crap, I decided to just suck it up and run as fast as I could the 1/2 mile home. I tried to hide my iPhone as best I could from the rain, and booked it home! My hat was dripping rain in my face the whole time and my shoes were sloshing about the whole way...there was no hope of only getting "a little" wet-I was totally drenched and dripping from head to toe. I was sure that even my phone and headphones were toast because there simply wasn't a dry spot on me and that run was just too long. When I got home, I could wring out all of my clothes and had to put my shoes and hat out on the patio to dry...even my hair was just dripping wet. I dried off, changed, and tried to save my poor phone and headphones that I seriously thought were dead. As it turns out, yes, this was like the only THUNDERSTORM that popped up that day! The thunder and lightening actually scared Maverick and the temperature dipped into the 60's for a few minutes! By the time I got myself taken care of and called Kelly to tell her about my story, it was time to head out to church. When I stepped out the door, it was back to 100 degrees and sunny...everything had passed. Again, that's really cute, God. He must have a sense of humor...oh well, I got a laugh out of it all and have a story to share, so I had fun!

Your Random "Lauren" Story For The Week!

Ok, so here recently I discovered that I was in desperate need of a new toothbrush...simple enough right? Simple solution-go get a new toothbrush! Well, apparently I have been living with the Flintstones in the stone age. Last time I had to purchase a toothbrush, there were very few (and simple) options...hard or soft bristles, what color, and which brand you preferred. Some of the fancy ones had little blue bristles mixed in with the white, but I've personally never found a real use for them...just fun I guess. This time, I swear I spent 30 minutes looking at the HUGE selection of stinkin' toothbrushes! I thought Ryan was going to kill me! Yes, there were many different colors (no longer just blue versus pink...that would be too easy!), but now you could choose from hard, MEDIUM, or soft bristles, there were all sorts of shapes and sizes...and once I found one that I liked, it didn't come in a color I liked! Then there were ones with "brightening stars"...what? Some had bristles pointing every which way and bristles of all sizes that apparently perform different functions. And that was just the manual toothbrushes! Then there's the world of battery-operated toothbrushes...and that's a whole other blog in itself. I've never felt so dumb-founded...all I wanted was a stick with little bristles on the end so I can clean my danged teeth, why must this be such a difficult decision? Next time I think I will treat it like "pin the tail on the donkey" and have Ryan spin me around in circles and see which toothbrush I manage to rip off the racks...THEY'LL ALL CLEAN TEETH! That was a very unnecessarily long trip to the store...

Our New Church

When we moved back to DFW, we made it a priority to find a home church where we could really put down some roots and be involved. Surprisingly enough, Google maps led us to Crown of Life in Colleyville and we've been there ever since. I say surprisingly enough because it was the first church that we visited once we moved back and it isn't close, so we're not really sure what prompted Google maps to pull it up first. One way or another, we're extremely happy that we found it! We officially joined the church on May 17, 2009. They had a wonderful orientation class where we met some very nice people and it helped us get connected. We joined a small devotional group and are going to a class on Wednesdays where we have met even more great people! On top of all that, Ryan volunteered for the basketball camp and vacation bible school. I will probably start helping in the nursery or helping with large events here soon. We couldn't be happier and feel so very blessed.

Here is a picture on the day we joined the church with Pastor Dave and his wife Ann.



And here is a pic from the basketball camp this past week. Look at Coach Ryan, isn't he so cute!!

More Pictures!

We celebrated the anniversary of Aimee's adoption this April! Mom, Dad, Aimee, Ryan, and Cheryl took the day off and went to the zoo. Lee and I were stuck at work...boo! Here are some pics from their day of fun!

Ryan was behind the camera the whole time, so here are some pictures in his honor!