Husband and Wife sitting on the couch watching an Olympic hockey game:
Wife: I’m still surprised you never got into hockey.
Husband: Why?
Wife: Because you grew up in a really cold place.
Husband: Yeah, well I’m surprised you never got into NASCAR.
Wife: Touché.
So, most of these are of Halley, but these are the pictures I took while in Tucson visting my family, so… they’re still postcards from Tucson!
First, Halley is impossibly cute, but impossibly hard to capture on camera… Here’s an example:
“Look at the camera? I’d rather blow bubbles…”
Yummy fingers.
Hangin’ out with Nana, my stepmom’s mom.
My little brothers, Casey and Will.
My brother David and Dad’s new dog Chester. He’s a bull mastiff and is going to be HUGE.
Dad and one of his chickens… Yes, chickens. I ate their eggs and everything. 
This is Casey, who’s 9 and in third grade. He was adopted at 14 months… He is growing up so fast which is fun and sad at the same time. He randomly calls me once in awhile (which I LOVE) and I still have messages saved on my phone from when he was 3 saying over and over, “She not there. She not there, Dad.”
I was looking for an old picture of him and found something even better… Videos from 2003!
Tell me that’s not adorable. Good ol’ Casey Mac.
And here’s Will who’s 5 (yes, only 5!) He is so cute and all boy. He’s so big, you forget how little he is… He loves all things Batman and Transformers and loves his big brother. Hard to believe just a few years ago, he looked like this…
Back to 2010… Hanging out with Pop Cowboy.
Halley and Mommy. Cute.
But I like this one because she looks like she sees something terrifying. (I guess I don’t know why I think that’s cute, but…)
It was so fun to get together with everyone last weekend! We just hung out, watched movies, and ate big breakfasts (My dad makes the best breakfasts… Eggs, waffles, biscuits, you name it.). My little brothers had a swim meet that was unfortunately rained out—I would have loved to see them in their element. I just wish I could get out there more often—love you guys!
Three weeks ago, I lost my thumb drive. This two inch little sucker might as well have been gold. It contained MY LIFE—my thesis, my papers, all notes and presentations from my last semester of school, research, and most importantly, ALL of the documentation and notes from my students since I started my current rotation in December. I told my sister, “Everything that’s important to me that’s not a person was on that thing…” It’s like losing your laptop.
I didn’t realize it was gone until late into my snow week a few weeks ago. I hadn’t been in school all week, so I hadn’t noticed it was gone. And once it dawned on me… Yowzahs. I tore my house apart, my school bag, everything. I. Looked. Everywhere. I couldn’t sleep. I keep it in one specific place and only take it out for specific reasons, why is it gone??
My don’t-go-into-full-panic-mode-yet-because-it-could-still-be-in-one-place place was my car…which was currently buried under three feet of snow.
(And this is only 2 feet- not the extra foot that came a few days after this was taken.)
So, we got up early the next morning, dug out my door…
And nothing.
[Side note: while tearing the house apart with me, Tyler would randomly find something he was missing. We went through several rounds of, “Look!” (I freeze. I hope.) “My slipper!” “Hey! (I close my eyes. I hope.) That quarter I lost!” “Good news! (I cross my fingers. I hope.) I found that sock!” Until I finally screamed, “Stop doing that!!”]
Devastation.
I was going to have to re-write all of my therapy notes since December. From memory. All of my hard work in school and in clinic, gone. All of my therapeutic interventions and ideas…kapoot.
I put up signs around our condo complex.
I left for California…
Avoided re-writing all of those notes…
Prayed.
And prayed.
And e-mailed my small group to pray (“I know this sounds silly, but…”)
I returned to school this week for my last week of the rotation, dreading having to re-write all of those notes and debating whether I should even tell my supervisor.
And then it happened…
I was sitting in my car this afternoon. I did my usual search, hoping it would magically appear in one of the places I’d already looked a thousand times.
I go to buckle my seat belt.
I see a little black ledge deep between my seat and center console.
Angel: “Could that be it?”
Devil: “No, you’ve already searched there. It’s just a plastic part to your seat.”
Angel: “You should look anyway.”
Cram my hand down there. Wiggle fingers around.
IT’S LOOSE!!
THAT’S IT!! I KNOW IT!!
I’d know the feel of that thin piece of plastic anywhere…
I screamed
And screamed.
And screamed.
And smiled.
And screamed, “THANK YOU GOD!!”
I called everyone I knew I’d told about this. And no one answered to share in my celebration.
I drove home and every 30 seconds let out a loud, relieved “Ahhhhhh.”
And turned to the Christian radio station because it was ThankyaJesus time.
I know this may sound frivolous, but I can’t describe with words how relieved and happy and thankful and JOYFUL I am that I found this… I’d given up hope and conceded that God was just trying to teach me a lesson.
I know people fight bigger battles everyday…like illness, abandonment, disability. But I still want to see God’s work and blessing and answered prayer in the little things. And I wanted to document this event which will seem insignificant to me later, but really is such a blessing!!
Yay for Jesus! Yay for thumb drives!
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, "Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
– Luke 15:8–10
I haven’t shown y’all any pictures of Little Miss Halley Walley lately… Sleeping babies are already cute, but falling asleep sucking on your finger and clutching a blankie? C’mon…
Thanks for being impressed that I even blog on vacation, Jess, but it doesn't look like I've been quite as successful since my last post! It's been a busy week here in Califor-eye-a.
Monday was great- Linds and I headed to Pasadena for some light shopping and heavy eating...
World’s collide: I drove by Tyler’s company, which is based in Pasadena. When I texted him where I was, he said, “Seriously??” I think he was worried I went inside…
Last year we hit up Dots in Pasadena… This year: Polkatots. Maybe next time, Lotsaspots?
And of course a stop by the FOTB house (Father of the Bride..duh). It wasn't quite as breathtaking in person. I think it’s the landscaping, no?
Tuesday we drove down to San Diego and lunched at Hotel Del on Coronado Island. Gorgeous. I think feel at home anywhere near a marina... And it was SO. HOT. But I dared not complain...
We also went to Balboa Park and tried to get into some museums. Also beautiful, but not free. So we just walked around. Something about us not being San Diego residents. Whatev. 
THEN (wait til you hear this) we stumbled across this boutique that was going out of business and EVERYTHING was $8. Jeans. Dresses. Everything. I bought two very cute dresses… I’ll show you whenever I wear them.
Wednesday I had the day to myself and it was gorgeous yet again so I took the ferry back to Coronado. I just spent the day walking around and laying on the beach and the night drinking margaritas and mexican food with my classmates. I dare you to plan a better day.
Thursday and Friday have been my conference days, so I’ve been getting all geeked out about things like running strides, ground reaction forces, pediatric outcome measures, and free pens. I did not take any pictures. And I know you’re dying to hear all about it, but I don’t think my fingers could handle what’s in my brain right now.
For now, I’m in Tucson for the weekend spending time with my brothers (Casey, Will, and David), sister (Becky), Halley Walley, and my dad and step-mom Jodi. It’s been an awesome week—friends, family, sun, and learning…. I am satisfied.
Wasuuuup, readers! Greetings from warm, sunny, I-can-see-the-concrete-because-there’s-no-snow-on-the-ground, palm trees everywhere, I-wore-a-TANK-TOP-today California (Did I mention it’s warm?). I have a physical therapy conference in San Diego this week, so I decided to fly into LA a few days early and spend time with my best friend Lindsey and her husband Patrick, who live around Pasadena. I did this same routine last year when the conference was in Vegas and we had a great time, so I was excited that we could work it out to do the same thing this year.
I got in last night and we headed straight for The Grove to walk around and have dinner. There were endless options, but we finally decided on a Greek restaurant. I had a lamb gyro and even ate olive bread. (Okay, so I picked out most of the olives… But the bread was good! Me = not a fan of olives.)
We stopped for coffee before heading to West Hollywood to catch a show at the Laugh Factory. The show was GREAT. We had to wait for awhile to get in, but once we did we had great seats and great wine with which to enjoy the show. There were rotating acts, new guys coming up every 10 or 15 minutes. We were having a great time and then the emcee announced the next act: Dane Cook. No one had any idea and the crowd went nuts. He was half funny, half crude, but we were so excited about our surprise guest that we laughed at all of it (sort of).
[Side note: people with disabilities are such a target at comedy shows! Even though a lot of it was funny, as a therapist I was so conflicted in laughing! I don’t know which was worse—the sexual stuff or the handicapped stuff…]
Anywho, we had a great night out. By the time we made it home, it was 5 am my time and I was EXHAUSTED.
Today, Lindsey and I woke up and enjoyed a nice run through Glendora with their dog Bailey. We had lunch at the Corner Bakery (on the patio, no less…I can’t stop talking about the weather!) and then saw Valentine’s Day. (We thought it was great—everything you expect out of a romcom, despite what we read in reviews.) We walked around outside and enjoyed some frozen yogurt—I had NON-FAT cake batter yogurt…how is that possible? It was delicious… Lindsey and Patrick cooked steak, mashed potatoes, and asparagus for our romantic Valentine’s dinner and now we’re watching a move… A great weekend so far! I just wish Tyler were here with us.
I pulled out my computer to write this blog and out fell a sweet Valentine’s Day card from my hubub. Isn’t he the cutest? (Happy Valentine’s, babe)
Tomorrow, we have a girl’s day planned full of (in no particular order) running, shopping, cupcakes, and Mexican food in Pasadena. Happy Valentine’s Day, readers. Enjoy your President’s Day tomorrow… And DC, enjoy that snow you’re getting tomorrow! Muwhahahaha…
(The “C” is silent)
I’ve been getting crafty lately… I feel like I’ve always been a “crafty” person—I love do-it-yourself projects and I get an odd thrill when I find something I like in a store that I know I can make myself. But I haven’t acted on my inner craftiness in awhile…
I always see cute kids stuff on all of these blogs, but we don’t have any churns yet, until I realized… “Oh yeah. I can make stuff for my nieces and nephews!” This glaringly obvious revelation occurred to me in December and a monster was made that day… It’s hand-made, personalized, and inexpensive! How can I not do it?
This a birth plaque I made for my nephew Grant for Christmas. The handwriting is not so awesome, but it was my first project… Cut me some slack!
And a stool for nephew Cohen, who’s 2 and we figured wants to do all kinds of big kid stuff, but just isn’t tall enough…
And then Little Miss Halley, who you all know!, needed a keeper for all of her barretts, so Aunt Kathryn to the rescue! (These wooden plaques are .57 cents, the letter is another .50 cents, and then ribben is $2 a spool, but it goes a long way…)
This is another barrette keeper I made for baby Ava, who is due in April, as part of her baby shower gift. There’s another one in the works for baby Stella, who is a friend of Little Miss Halley.
Then, thanks to Rachel for sharing her iron-on ideas on t-shirts and onesies, I spent about a million hours making different monogram and label designs for Halley. These are just a few. I’m going to print them all off and let my sister pick out what she wants. And with 3/$10 onsies at Old Navy, Halley could have a whole new wardrobe! But no argument, she will be wearing that cupcake one next weekend.
And lastly…that canvas I showed you a few weeks ago. I saw a similar plaque in a boutique gift shop and said, “Hey, I can paint that!” It is not supposed to look perfect (yes, Tyler, I mean for that fork to look like that!), though there are a few things I’d change if I could. I was originally going to paint it on a wooden plaque, but couldn’t find the right size and they had these canvases, which are a little too big, at Michaels for $3 so I went for it. Some lucky relative will hopefully have this in their kitchen soon…
Anywho, thanks to my snow week, I’ve had plenty to do lately! But enough of crafts… I’m off to pack for my trip to LA tomorrow! Bring on the sunshine!
