Morgan's Outtakes . . .

Here is Morgan singing her A,B,C's:

"A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,VUT.... (which comes out like "But" & doesn't sound good coming from a 4 year old.)

Picking Morgan Up From School:

"Mom, when can we go to Chuck E. Chex Mix?" (aka: Chuck E. Cheese)

Morgan & I are working on laundry:

"Mom, I'll show you how to play Star Wars & I will be Princess Layers." (aka: Leia)

25 Random Things About Me

1. I don't do States, Capitols, or Multiplication so I really stink at Trivial Pursuit. I am 99% sure that I have dyslexia which makes me get numbers backwards. The good news is that this dyslexia makes me really creative! (Too bad I didn’t know about dyslexia when I was a kid that really could have helped me in school.)
2. If I didn't have Owen to keep me sane, I would adopt every child, every animal, every teenager, and even random people down on their luck. They would all live with me in my house. Do you remember the nursery rhyme "There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do..." that would be me!
3. My favorite job was working for Dr. Reynolds as a vet tech. I would still be there today if we lived in Cookeville. I guess you don't see many 50 year old vet techs so not sure how that would have worked out in the long run. The worst job I ever had was being the director at an animal shelter…very sad. :'(
4. I LOVE driving really big SUV type vehicles. I hate driving small cars. I think I have "short dog" syndrome so I have to be sitting on the back of the couch all the time. My ultimate vehicle would be my Expedition as a stick shift!
5. If you went with me to Kauai, I could drive you to any place on the island, I know it by heart! I've gone there 7 times, my girls have been 6, and Owen has been so many times he can't keep count.
6. If I could look like anyone it would be Nicole Kidman or Meg Ryan. The closest I came to Nicole Kidman was having a friend, Polly Harrell. She was tall with beautiful curly hair. When we stood beside each other we ended up looking like Mutt & Jeff, total opposites. It was very funny!
7. I was married when I was 19 & Owen was 21. Yes, I'm proof that young marriages can work with a lot of hard work. However, my girls wont' be allowed to be married until at least they are 28! ;)
8. At least once a month, I think about my dog Percy who ran away 5+ years ago. She was such a happy soul. She is the only dog that I knew that broke her tail by wagging it too hard because she was soooo happy. She is an inspiration on how you should live your life!
9. My favorite food is Roast & Noodles. The only person who can make it correctly is my mom.
10. My favorite drink is cream, sugar, and a little bit of coffee. Oh, and SWEEEEET Tea! I would take a sugary drink over dessert any day of the week.
11. When I was pregnant with Maddie I was sick for eight out of nine months. My cat, my two dogs, and I would curl up in the sunny area on the floor to take our daily naps.
12. For some odd reason, I can't recall memories that are vivid for other people. My mom will ask do you remember when you kid and… or Owen will say remember when we were at…… all I can say is "nope." Guess that means I can't hold a grudge for too long – ha
13. When I was 16 I drove a black pickup truck. One night coming home, I fishtailed my truck, went airborne over a ditch, missed a telephone pole, busted through a privacy fence, jumped a pool, and landed in the middle of a swing set. My truck's nickname from then on was "Wave Runner" and yes this is a true story.
14. My sister, two neighbors, and I were almost kidnapped catching fireflies. Thank the good man up above that my parents talked to me about not going with strangers. Police and search dogs were called out to comb the woods but he was never found.
15. My favorite spot in my house is my computer chair. Too bad I need a new one that is softer on the hiney.
16. I am a total rule follower!!! This fear has kept me from getting in trouble at school, ever being tempted by illegal substances and driving the "Super" Chaffee Expressway.
17. I am not a procrastinator. In fact I would classify myself as the total opposite and lean more towards the "majorly obsessed to get a project done" type person.
18. I'm always cold and love my heater which sits beside my computer chair (see #15). This is a constant battle between Owen and me. I would tell every young couple that they should find out what temperature the other person likes to keep the house before you get married!
19. I always sleep on the left side of the bed. I hate any type of light when sleeping. I am the crazy person running around putting towels over televisions to block the little red glowing light when we stay in hotel rooms.
20. I've slept in the same bed with my mother-in-law more than I have ever slept with my own little girls.
21. My favorite place to shop is Etsy.
22. If it were up to me, I would sell my house and live in a tee tiny house so that I would never have to pay another bill as long as I'm alive. Again, Owen keeps me sane on things like this.
23. I never realized that having kids would include laundry, shopping for groceries, cooking, cleaning, cleaning, more cleaning, picking up, cleaning, oh and cooking. I'm still trying to learn to cope with this new revelation. I'm not sure that I will ever get use to this.
24. My sister and I were not close for a long time, now we are awesome friends. I love her passion!
25. If I wasn't afraid or selfish, I would pack up my family, move to Ecuador, and work with the Hacienda of Hope. I think Cathy is amazing for doing just that!
26. Bonus: Sometimes I leave the refrigerator door open just to see how long it takes Owen to come behind me and close it. (That is high on his pet peeve list and usually will be closed in a matter of seconds.)

Morgan's 4th Birthday Party

We had a family, dress up, tea party for Morgan's fourth birthday. Morgan fell during her grand entrance and got a little embarrassed. I had to keep it in the video because it was such a memory. This was such a wonderful day!

12 Lessons in 12 Years

Looking back over twelve years of marriage, I can see I've gotten a lot of things right and I could have improved in many ways too. Here are the top 12 lessons that I have learned or am still working on…

1. Accept Criticism: Everyone says "you just know" when it is the right person. Listen to yourself because it is so true. Even though I've changed over the years, I could not have found a better person that has inspired me to grow, encourage me to stand strong, and let me know when I should back down. Here is my lesson learned: The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism. Be open, be honest, be accepting and realize it is better to be "saved" rather than ruined.
2. Write It Down: We spend so much time & energy planning for our wedding day yet we leave out the planning of the rest of our lives together. If I got a "mulligan" (Yes, Owen will be proud of the terminology), we should have taken the time to write down goals for our future. Here are some of the things that would have been discussed: How many kids are we going to have? What are the top 5 things we want our kids to leave our home knowing? What will your chores be in the house? Who is cooking, how much can we eat out, who does the shopping? How much are we saving for retirement? How will we spend the holidays? What are your pet peeves? Where will we live in 10, 15 or 20 years? Do we agree on a budget? What would your plan be if you got cancer? Do you like the house to be hot or cold? I know that some of these are trivial questions yet other questions and/or answers have the potential to change the course of your life. Dave Ramey says in his book More Than Enough, "Only about 8 percent of Americans have clearly defined goals and only 3 percent write them down. It is no accident that only 3 percent of Americans retire wealthy." I would say the same philosophy applies to the success or failure of a marriage.
3. Define Instead of Simply Repeating: I would have changed my wedding vowels (and taken them more seriously). Here would be what I would have said: I, Casey, take you Owen to be my husband, my partner in life and my one true love. I will cherish our friendship and love you today, tomorrow, and forever. I will trust you and honor you. I will laugh with you and cry with you. I will love you faithfully through the best and the worst, through the difficult and the easy. What may come I will always be there. As I have given you my hand to hold, so I give you my life to keep. For where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. And where you die, I will die and there I will be buried.
4. Complete The Cycle: I've learned that love (like life) is a cycle. Sometimes you "love" each other then there are times when you just "like" each other. However, it always circles back to "love" so don't call it quits before the cycle is complete.
5. Work Hard: It is so true that nothing ever comes to one (that is worth having), except as a result of hard work.
6. Welcome Home: Your spouse should look forward to coming home rather than dreading the arrival. Even if it's a rotten day, I need to remember to greet Owen with a smile just so he knows I'm glad he ALWAYS COMES BACK. (I'll have to learn this lesson from Sophie our little dog. She is always so glad to see him!)
7. Don’t be a Chihuahua: A lesson for us ladies....your husband needs his armor shined and his sword sharpened, not a Chihuahua barking around his ankles reminding him of his past failure.
8. Laugh: It is better to learn to laugh through life rather than cry your way through.
9. Go To Bed: It's ok to go to be angry because sometimes you just wake up in a better mood!
10. Make Incompatibility Work: Remember that what counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.
11. Practice Makes Perfect: Marriage, ultimately, is the PRACTICE of becoming passionate friends.
12. Become Embers: Some start to complain when the spark is gone from their marriage. Remember that a spark lasts only a second. It lights a fire. When the flame burns down, you are left with the hottest part of the fire, the embers, which burn the longest and keep the fire alive.

(Happy Anniversary Chuppy Luv)

Note: Some of these lessons are my own thoughts some of these are reflections of good advice that I have heard over the years.