POEM

Here I sit in Houston, at the Double Tree.
In the business center, the computer and me.
I left my makeup bag at home yesterday
I look like a zombie (a pale one) today!

The guy was nice enough to drive me to CVS
so that, at least I will not feel like such a mess.
I am thinking of heading over to the pool
I have no swimsuit, but a tshirt with a ghoul.

I will wear my ghoul pants and shirt, with pride
It might be nice just to sit outside.
I am heading to Miami and then Atlanta tonight,
And just at Taco Bell, so my ghoul pants are tight.

Can you tell that the hotel is not close to much?
I am just passing the time by blogging and such.
The best part of this trip has been the cookie, so far.
That is why I love Double Tree, it's even better than the bar!

New Tricks

New high chair. Diggin' it, for sure!
The rice cereal is coming very soon. Probably Friday night, so that Brandon is able to witness the first time food, too!

This video of Gates is hard to see. She is thumping around on her hands and knees. It is pretty cute. (to me anyways.)

I am back from my first 3 day trip. I had a Mexico layover, which I was bummed about b/c I could not call home. Except, I did call home 3 times... can't wait to see how much it cost!
The trip was fine, and I watched 2 dvds. Baby Mama, which is pretty good, and Entourage, which is always very good...

I just came home from LA. Ben Savage was on my flight. I guess the Boy Meets World money is gone, because he was in coach. He and his mom, or maybe he married an older girl???

The mom gave a little attitude, but I told her, "Chill lady, you're in coach." I only said that in my head.

I missed Gates a lot. I also missed Brandon. He did a good job, and the house is even clean!!

Stroller Skating!!!!

Today, Jenny, Katie and I went stroller skating. It is at a skating rink and consists of a bunch of moms (and one dad) pushing their babies in strollers round and round and round... We had been wanting to try it since Jenny saw it on another blog. Lo and behold, we saw the blogger, a quad mom and all her babies (and her neat stroller) there... celebrity siting, for sure.

It was a blast! Here is Jenny getting ready for the rink.

"wow, mom this is great"

That's right, I took skating in college.

Katie and Jenny pushing Jacob and Keelan. Check out those skates. We decided they were probably from when we were in high school...

Katie had some sweet moves. She can turn and everything.

Hopefully, we can go back soon. Maybe we could even have a playdate there, it really was kind of neat.

Holy Baptism

Today was a perfect day. Gates was baptized in a beautiful church service this morning. The last hymn was one of our favorites, one that we even sang in our wedding, one that seems to pop up on many special days. She was joined by all of her family and very special friends. The baptism is so special and I am so proud that she was able to be surrounded by love today as she begins her Christian life. I was a little nervous that the Bishop would get her name wrong (I was baptized Molly Anna) he got it right, though. She did not cry, and she seemed to like all of the action! It is also her 5th month birthday, which is amazing to me. These 5 short months have been the best of my life, for certain.

Grandear and Bopop with Gates in the backyard.

The Oakleys. Dee Dee, Gates and Pop, Brandon, Tucker, Peyton. Gates looks like a tiny little thing with these guys! (so does Donna)

Grandear and Gates. The bonnet did not last very long... The dress is so beautiful, and was a gift from Susan.

Bo Pop and Gates

Brandon and Mallie Jennifer and Mark, with Gates. Jennifer and Mark are Gates's Godparents.

with the Bishop

Brandon has a beautiful head of hair, unfortunately you can not see in this pic.

9-11

This day brings tears to my eyes. Anytime I think of what happened 7 years ago, I am overcome with emotion. The other day I was talking with some friends about 9-11. One such friend likes to watch the movies and shows, subjecting the attacks. One friend does not like to watch any of that at all. It is interesting to me, the effect that the attacks had on people. I have never met a person yet that was not greatly affected by what happened.

I am sure it is something that stopped time. Everyone can tell you exactly what they were doing when they heard the news. Some people could tell you what they were wearing and who all called them to make sure everything was ok. I was off from work that day. I lived with Courtnee, another flight attendant and very good friend. She was also off of work. We had just transferred to DFW from Boston, and of course were concerned about our Boston based flight attendant friends. I will NEVER forget all of the calls that I got that day. I will also NEVER forget that my cell phone was turned off and I was not at my own house, so my parents could not locate me... They were worried.
I remember watching with horror the planes and the crash of the tower. I remember calling the AA number with friend's names to try and make sure everyone was okay. Courtnee and I were together, making calls. When we called about one classmate and friend, the counselor said, "I can not confirm if she was on the flight." With all of the others she said, "they were not working that flight." Basically, we concluded that our classmate, Jeanie was onboard flight 11 from Boston to LAX. It was shocking. When the final lists came out in the media, as well as AA, I had flown with several of the BOS f/as. Boston is a small base, everyone knows each other. It is much more friendly, and comfortable. In DFW, I rarely see the same face twice. Boston is different.

As much of an outsider as I was to all of this, I felt so close. I felt (like everyone, I am sure) that I was attacked. Still to this day, I am in disbelief of what happened to our country. I am amazed that anyone, much less many, were sick enough to plan and execute such a mass terror. I pray for those families that lost their loved ones. I pray for the souls of the lost ones. I pray that this sort of thing never happens again.

September Playdate

Today many friends came to visit! We had such a fun time. Everyone is growing so much

Gates thinks Jack is so funny! These two are about a week apart in age.

Group picture. Jacob and Keelan, sitting stealthily on the back of the sofa. From L to R... Gates, Hudson, Callie, Jack, Darius. More boys than girls this time!