Fireproof doesn't mean that there will never be a fire. It means that your marriage won't burn down because of the fire.

Yesterday Jeremy and I had the chance to have a nice night in just the two of us! Andrew was staying the night with Tess and Jeremy was able to get off of work early. He met me at the gym and then we headed to Walmart for a movie and some stuff for dinner.
We enjoyed spaghetti and watched Fireproof and then had some cookies for dessert.
It was so fun to have that time with him!
Fireproof is a GREAT movie, too! Very encouraging to couples who know Christ, as well as those that do not. The music in the movie was awesome - I remember hearing Third Day and one of my favorite Casting Crowns songs (Slow Fade).
The movie's point was that you will never know how to really love until you understand the love God has for us. A God that sends his only Son to die for the forgiveness of our sins is real love! I know I didn't know how to fully appreciate or love my husband until I had the love of Christ revealed to me. Not that Jeremy and I had many problems before we came to Christ, but I have no doubt they would've arose at some point and we may have found ourselves facing divorce. We will still have problems in our marriage, like anyone else, but hopefully we will remember to turn it all over to God and He can see us through it.

Pre-order Twilight

Click here to pre-order the Twilight DVD from Amazon. The DVD will be released Sat., March 21st according to StephenieMeyer.com.

New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve in Globe at Jeremy's Uncle Mike and his wife Sonya's house.

Erin and Taylor joined us.

Here's Grandma Tassie and Gail.

Here's the prettiest baby ever - Kami!

"Ooooh" "Aaaahhh" "Is the cops coming???" Watching some fireworks out front after midnight.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Well, Santa did make it to our house. Andrew got a stocking full of candy and his Iron Man and Batman toys that he asked for.

This is just the beginning of the piles of gifts he is to receive this day.

Here he is so excited for all the candy!

Besides the pile of toys he opened at our house, here is another pile of toys at Grandma Dawn and Grandpa Randy's house!

Here's Jesus' birthday cake we made for Aunt Kiki and Uncle Steve's house.

Here are the kids so excited to get more toys! (Tess, Jordan, Brad, Aaron, Christopher, and Andrew has his hood on his head).

I should've took a picture of the last stack of toys he received for Christmas, but I just took this picture of his glowing face. I had to buy more toy storage for Andrew's room after this Christmas!

Christmas Eve

I had to work Christmas Eve, but we got off of work at 3:30. I rushed home and got ready for a night out on the town. Kayla and Mindy rented a limo to take us around town to look at Christmas lights. It was a ton of fun!

Andy and Mindy

Donny and Connie

The kids!

Dallas, Kayla, and Kayla's parents visiting from Nevada. This was a surprise to them! They loved it!

Andrew on one of our stops in Chandler.

When we got home, Andrew got to open his traditional one gift (which is always pj's). Here he is as Iron Man in his Iron Man pj's.

Andrew putting cookies and milk out for Santa.

T-ball

Even in our busy December schedule, I decided to sign Andrew up for t-ball at the last minute. He is enjoying it, but he misses soccer.

Andrew swinging at his first practice.

Andrew before his first game.

Andrew's on first base (in the red shirt about to throw the ball home).

After the game he's all smiles!

Church Christmas Production

Andrew's preschool class at the church was asked to help out with the big kid's Christmas Program this year by being the manger scene. Andrew was really excited that he was chosen to be a shepard with his buddy Jade. Here's Andrew as the blue shepard, Jade as the green shepard, Mackenzie as one of the donkeys and Brysen as an angel.

My niece, Tess was the other donkey. Don't they look cute!!!

Here's the chaotic manger scene with a ton of angels! You can kind of see Andrew, the blue shepard back there in the manger.

Here's a little closer look at the blue shepard. Jeremy and I called him Linus - if you remember the Charlie Brown episode where Lucy is going to slug Linus for having his blue blanket during the Christmas Production practice and he wraps it around himself and asks, "you wouldn't hit an innocent shepard would you?"

Iowa Trip

December was a very busy month for us. We started out the month with a trip to Iowa with our friends from church. Andy and Mindy are from Iowa and they go back every December to visit Andy's mom. Margaret and Willie have been going back to Iowa the past 2 years and was going to be going for their 3rd time. Jeremy and I and our Pastor Bill and his wife Kelly decided to tag along with them. The guys' mission was to hunt as much as possible. From left to right: Pastor Bill, Willie, Jeremy, Andrew, and Andy.

Jeremy in his (and Josh's) snowboarding/hunting gear.

Here is Jeremy modeling Andy's mom's cafe hat. This is where us women and kids hung out while the guys hunted. Shirley's Home Cafe. Yummy!

Here are the kids: Abbey, McKenna, and Andrew

Here's Andrew on the sidewalk in front of Shirley's house. If you walk just two blocks down, you're at the Cafe.

Andrew and McKenna playing in the snow in the parking lot across the street. There was more over there then in Shirley's yard.

On Sunday, we took a trip to Des Moines to visit my family. We went to church and then stopped by my cousin Kate and her husband, Ben's house. Andrew loved how much snow was on the ground.

After seeing Kate and Ben's house, we headed to West Des Moines to see my Grandma and her husband John. There was just as much snow there and Andrew decided to make a snow angel.

Here is Andrew with his Granny and Papa John. We had a great time seeing everyone and Grandma made a delicious barbecue sandwich lunch with a cherry cranberry pie for dessert!

My Old Lady

by Jeremy

1. Where did you meet your wife? "Is Ron Craig still here?"

2.How long did you date before you were married? It should have been 19 days this way God would have approved of the 20th day activites

3.How long have you been married? 4.5years

4.What does she do that surprises you? Loves me! Pretty craz babe

5. What is your favorite feature of hers? Cara

6. What is her best quality? organization

7.Does she have a nickname for you? BAAAABBBEEEE

8. What is her favorite food? MY orange chicken (eat your heart out Panda)

9. What is her favorite sport? Volleyball… just like bella

10. When and where did you first kiss? First good one was on randalls perfectly swept front poarch

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Dinner and a movie

12. Do you have children? 1

13.Does she have any hidden talents? Farting; just waiting for you to unhide it

14. How old is she? 27

15. Who said "I love you" first? you did and it was nicely set up in a note

16. What is her favorite music? Christian or death metal

17. What do you admire most about her? Right now I must say the bible reading is pretty impressive

18. What is her favorite color? Pink

Birthday Boy!

Look who's 5 today!

Name: Andrew Dean

Born: December 3, 2003 @ 12:13 am

Buddies: Jade and Patrick

(Shown here at his sleepover this past Saturday)


Favorite character: Darth Vader
(Isn't this an awesome cake?! The Darth Vader head is made out of chocolate!)

He had a blast at the park by our house on Sunday for his party!

Favorite Mode of Transportation: Scooter

(He finally has a replacement for the one mommy and daddy left at the softball field a few months ago. Thanks Kiki!)

Favorite movie(s): Star Wars

(Here he is with episodes IV thru VI. Hmmm, I wonder what he'll get for Xmas?)

Favorite Restaurant: Chen's

(He loves the Egg Drop Soup)

Favorite Dessert: Pumpkin Pie

(That's what he chose for his birthday dessert. We had to swing by Safeway before heading home from Chen's)

Turkey Waddle

So, I missed the deadline to register for the Turkey Trot when the cost was $18/person. When I went online to register this week, the price was $25/person. I really didn't want to spend $50 for Jeremy and I to run in it, especially knowing that I could have only paid $18/person.

Jeremy suggested I look up the price for the Turkey Waddle in Queen Creek. It was only $10/person. We decided to do that (and I was excited because it was a 5K instead of a 10K).

Jeremy and I had a good time. My personal goal time was to complete it in 40 minutes. I've never done it faster than 45 minutes. Jeremy pushed Andrew in the jogging stroller and stayed with me. He's so nice to do that, because I know I slow him down so much. He's very encouraging and motivating to run with, too (as I'm sure you can imagine).

I surprised myself and only walked once when my side cramp was excruciating. And I only walked for a few feet because I realized it wasn't helping the cramp go away so I might as well run it off. Plus, I was worried if it went away while I walked, it would be back when I started running again.

Well, Jeremy really pushed us to run hard to the finish line and when we ran across the finish line they yelled out 37 minutes 47 seconds! Yay!

I really enjoyed the event and the weather was great. It rained all night, but the clouds disappeared when we showed up at the school and the air was nice and crisp. It felt so good with the cold breeze in my face.

Of course, I forgot my camera, but I was emailed a link to the segment Fox 10 did on the event if you want to watch it. Turkey Waddle

Summit Entertainment announced today that the studio is officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON (Nov 22 summit-ent.com)

That's exciting! How am I suppose to wait for this now?! I can hardly stand the wait until Friday to see the movie again and have Jeremy see it!
I enjoyed the movie very much. It is not as good as the book and I would highly recommend reading the book over just seeing the movie, but I think the movie would be enjoyed without reading the book. It's hard to tell though - I'm biased by the book I think. There were some things I didn't like about the movie, but I don't want to spoil any part of it for others that may not have seen it yet. I have heard it's better the 2nd time seeing it so I'm counting on that!
I was really glad I went to the midnight showing. It was a fun experience and I had a great time with all the girls. Mad props to Selene and her mom, aunt, and cousins for saving us 12 AWESOME seats! Also, more props to the manager of AMC who allowed 7 of us girls to swap out our tickets to get into the theatre Selene was in without looking annoyed at us at all! Fun times I tell ya!

Lupe, Selene, Victoria, Mindy, and Cherish

Paula, Christina, and me. Yes, that is a 'Team Edward' shirt I am wearing...

After seeing the movie again, I will have a better critique on it (don't worry - I'll warn if there's any spoilers).

Crazy Dayz

I've been busy!!! (That's in response to my husband's comment on the previous post).

I have been loving my busy days at work (and at home when I'm working from there), but it means rare occasions for updating this blog. *tear*

Since the next couple of weeks are not busy enough, I have committed myself to the Turkey Trot 10k on Thanksgiving with Jeremy. I am trying to prepare (that means doing my regular 4 days at the gym alternating the stationary bike and elliptical machine). I know that may not help my running, but I really dislike running on a treadmill. It may be because I run and run and go nowhere, I stare at the time all the live-long-run (and it drags by), and I get super sweaty and it's gross. So I will run the blasted 6 miles this Saturday around our neighborhood to see if I don't die, and if I don't, then I will be doing it again on Thursday (if my legs can still function). I'm scared.

I am spending tomorrow night (at midnight) with some friends at the theatre for Twilight. I know you just thought to yourself, "nerd," and it's true (I admit it - OK?). I really loved the books and am so excited to see it come to life onscreen. I'll let you know what I thought of it, but I'm sure it'll be something like, "It was great, I loved it, I'm dragging Jeremy to it so I can see it again." Yes, I heard you say, "nerd" out loud now!

Then I am spending Friday and Saturday scrapbooking and making Christmas cards. Yes, both days, all day. Nothing else (except eating - oh and killing myself on the run Saturday am).

OK, now you're updated!

The Haps

Andrew probably had a point in regards to my last post. I have been sick for a month now, I think. Sometimes it seems like it's going away and then I'll have a day that I don't want to get out of bed and all the stuffiness and gunk is back in my head and chest. I'm kind of remembering that this happens to me every now and then and when I finally go to the doctor, they say it's Walking Pneumonia. I made an appointment for tomorrow so hopefully they will give me some antibiotics that will kick this out of my system. I'm sick of hacking up a lung and blowing my nose!

Some news: I will be working a little bit more. I've taken over my co-workers job in the accounting department so I'm a one-man-show now. I normally work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8:00-5:00 (24 hours a week), but I am going to add another 4 hours on Tuesday and another 4 hours on Thursday. This will entitle me to full time benefits such as holiday pay and vacation pay. The real benefit is that I can work Tuesday and Thursdays from home. They gave me remote access so I can bring work home with me and bring it back the next day. Nice, huh?! This will be my first week working these hours and I'm excited to see how it goes.

Jeremy and I are headed to the Cardinals game tonight (versus the 49ers). A large group from our church is going so that should be fun in itself. My co-worker was going to go to the game, but decided to sell her tickets at the last minute so she is letting me use her clothes for tonight. She's got a jersey, jacket, socks, and red Crocs for me to wear! I'm all set!! I'm really happy to not have to wear my work clothes to the game.

My cousin Josh got married on Saturday and it was a great wedding! Very fancy and sophisticated! They got married in a castle in Chandler. Kristina is such a sweet girl and I know that they will be so happy together. It was fun to see my family and watch Andrew dance around to the fast songs. He also had a chance to dance with Kristina for the money dance. He looked so handsome. My cousin Ashley said, "Can't you just picture him at his wedding?!" I was like, "NO!" Although, the way time flies, it'll be here before I know it, I'm sure!!!

I don't have any pictures because I reverted back to my old self. The one that doesn't take any pictures of anything!

We had Andrew's last soccer game, Tess's soccer game, Jeremy's mom's birthday picnic, and the wedding in one day and no pictures to show for it!

Plans are finally coming together for our spontaneous Iowa trip in December. I will be sure to take pictures of that! In the meantime, you'll be lucky if you get any from Thanksgiving, but I'll be sure to have plenty of Andrew's birthday.

Where Does He Come Up With This Stuff?

This was my conversation with Andrew this morning before leaving the house:
Andrew: (coughing)
Me: Andrew, you sound like you got sick.
Andrew: That's because you gave me too many kisses and now I'm sick!!!
Me: Oh! I was thinking it was because it's 68 degrees in our house and you don't sleep with your covers on.

Finale

Well, to end my previous story. I never got a call back and now I can see what must have happened. Deb was a Democrat and anyone who called that was registered a Republican was told they were inactive and had to be transferred to Voter Registration for a "call back." However, we never get a call back and therefore sit and home and not vote. Her plan succeeded and therefore Obama won. I'm sure she's happy with herself. Hmph.

Race to the Polls

Not for me. I just called the phone number for Pinal County to see where the heck I'm suppose to go to vote. (I didn't know you couldn't go anywhere) and, after waiting for 12 calls ahead of me, a woman (Deb) said I had to go to precinct 87 in Copper Basin. OK, I know where that is. I'm off.
Not so fast! Deb than tells me it shows I'm inactive and she needed to transfer me to Voter Registration department. I get a voicemail. I'm not sure if that is the right department so I just left my name and phone number and said I was apparently inactive and I guess I have to get that changed.
So, I'm wondering if that was what I was supposed to do, so I call the phone number back and after 17 calls I get Deb again. She says that I was correct to leave my name and phone number. She says they are busy, but should get back to me soon. I asked if I can do anything online to change my status and she said "at this point, no."
So I wait for the call back.
To be continued...

Halloween Fun

Yesterday was a hectic day! I had to work and it was a busy, busy day! We had a nice potluck for lunch, but the rest of the day was pure chaos! Everyone wanted to leave early, but work had to be done so we left at 4:30; only half hour early. I picked up Andrew and we headed home.

Jeremy had planned to make a dinner for his co-workers while I was going to go trick-or-treating with Erin and her kids. We had a nice time and it seems there were just enough houses in our neighborhood to fill up the kids' candy buckets before they were too exhausted. We enjoyed a nice (but late) dinner and some ice cream.

The trick-or-treaters: Quinten, Barrett, Jill, AJ, and Andrew

Darth Vader

Andrew's Darth Vader pumpkin for school. He carved it with Jeremy's help and painted it all by himself. I did the white crayon.