THANK YOU!

Once again, thank you (thank you, THANK YOU!) for all of the positive feedback we've received through the blog, facebook, emails, etc. I'm overwhelmed by the kindness shown to us not only by close friends but also by those of you who took this opportunity to introduce yourselves to me. I am so grateful for the optimistic and inspiring stories each of you candidly shared. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm typically not much of a crier but I had many tearful moments this weekend. It's an amazing and humbling feeling to know there are so many of you who care for us and are praying for our future. I've always wondered who took the time to read our blog--our story--and it's nice to know I have other followers besides those who share my maiden name. :)

My good friend Emily asked if her bridesmaids could meet up this past weekend and brainstorm her upcoming wedding. Seeing that two of us are in Tulsa, one is in Kansas City and Em is in St Louis, we realized the central location was none other than Shoji Tabuchi's stomping grounds: Branson, Missouri. After the job situation, I'd thought about backing out of the trip but am so thankful I decided to go. It was so nice to see the girls and was yet another reminder that life is good (great, even!) and I am very fortunate. We stayed up late both nights and it felt like we were in suite B at the Delta Gamma lodge once again. Except this time we didn't have to hide the wine. :)

Do you know what tomorrow is? Let me give you a hint.



(I'm totally going to ask him where he got his jacket)

Oh yeah. It is going to be amazing. Lisa and I have been counting down the days. She is a Billy Joel fan and my heart belongs to Elton. We are going to be a fabulous combination.

A piece of advice to all of you out there with kids (or in my case, pets): They really do watch what you do and learn your habits--good and bad. But mostly bad. Ask my mom or Michael and they will both tell you that I love when someone plays with my hair. I will be the 45-year-old woman who still lays her head on her mom's lap if it means she'll play with my hair. Who cares that my mom's hands might be arthritic or that I might have my own child who is old enough to drive himself/herself to school, I LOVE it. I get very frustrated if either of them plays for a bit and stops, so I will tap their hand (or face, or arm) to remind them that I am still there and am expecting attention. Last night I found out what it feels like to be in their shoes, and I didn't like it one bit. I was comfortably sleeping when I heard a strange noise. It was Thumbs, who had taken "invasion of personal space" to an entirely new level. Add that to her plus-sized physique and I thought I was being attacked by a grizzly bear. I briefly scratched her back and the strange noise turned into ridiculously loud purring. Just as I started to fall back asleep I felt her paw tap my face not once, not twice, but three times. "Wake up, mom!" I groggily opened my eyes and saw her staring at me with a "You've got to be kidding me" look. I scratched her back for another minute and then it was back to dreaming about Elton and his red piano. Before I knew it, "tap, tap, tap" on my face AGAIN. This happened four times, people. FOUR TIMES. As I was thinking, "Seriously Thumbs, you could not be MORE annoying," I remembered doing the EXACT same tap dance to Michael before I fell asleep last night. Tap, tap, tap. Little did I know the furry beast memorized the entire encounter so she could give a repeat performance at 3 am. Unfortunately for her, I'm not as nice as Michael so she never saw the part where the annoying subject gets booted from the bed. Lesson learned.