Grandma

Just thought I would let you all know that my grandmother passed away this morning. The services will probably be on Thursday and Friday.

Impatience and Grandma

Howdy people! It's been a month and I thought I would just write. Well, let me see...in random order. I bought Jason's ring last weekend. We also went to the OKC Auto Show. That was fun. And we also signed him up for his tux and the rest of the guys' tux. I've scheduled bridal portrait pictures in May. My dress is supposed to come tomorrow. I have my veil and headpiece. Invitations are done, just need to address the envelopes. Need to do a few more things such as thank you cards and stamps....BUT I'm on Spring Break and there will be time to do a few things.... YAY!

I am an impatient person, I have discovered. I guess I really didn't "discover" it, but may have just forgot about it. I, like many people, like to have things perfect. Perfect in the house, perfect in my life with Jason, but sometimes I forget that there are other people involved in my "perfect" life and they may not be at the same place I am and I get frustrated when they aren't!!! I need to remember I have to be patient for them to catch up or me to slow down or vice versa. That's probably the hardest part of being in a relationship, so far. But on the other hand I see people, namely Jason, being patient with me. :D As far as I am concerned he's been so patient with me, it's a wonder that he hasn't gone crazy yet!!! Either he has and hides it well or his pressure cooker takes a longer time to boil. Anyway, the point is that he is the best and willing to work with me, even if I think I'm the only one "working" on life issues. Men and women work differently. Whereas women are multi-taskers, in general, men tend to concentrate on one thing at a time. I read that somewhere. So, maybe none of this makes sense or even relative to you, but it does to me and therefore therapeutic to write.

Other things: My grandmother is doing poorly. She was put under hospice last week. She just doesn't want to eat or take her medicine anymore. She sleeps all the time, has no energy. Very unlike the grandma I used to know. But she's still my grandma and I feel guilty sometimes when I don't think of her the same way. I've been writing a poem about her and I'm not sure it's done yet but here it is. Disclaimer: She hasn't passed on yet.

Grandma

What can I say about her?
She was simply the best
Joyful and laughing
She now is at rest

One of my favorite things
was her carefree view
and zest for life
and her famous "whoo hoo!"

Art and books she loved to partake
Her pottery she didn't want us to break
Her poetry is truly inspiring
and takes me spiraling!

Grandma was, like all Grandmas, soft to touch
but when you did wrong, watch out
you might give a shout
when she took you to Yardstick City!

Grandma was full of energy
and created a lot of synergy
to do all the things she did
for me and her family.

The main thing I learned from her
and that you can be sure
is just to be yourself,
to laugh and play
to make a better day
for one another.

I will miss her.

History, epiphany and happy hearts day...

Well, I had sort of an historical epiphany on Wednesday, I think it was. I was driving to work and I was thinking of why I love history so much and realized it has to do with people, really. I'm so intrigued at how events change peoples' lives but in reality it's people who change peoples' lives. No event in our history has effected or influenced no one. (Is that a real sentence?) Do you get my meaning? I'm not a big fan of when people say, but I'm just one person, what can I do? Every historical event in the world's history began with one person. Seriously, think about it. Eve influenced Adam, Ester influenced a king, Jesus influenced the entire world (one way or the other). Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke of Austro-Hungary, which began World War I. If you think about it, your character, your personality is based on historical events from thousands of years ago and those events will shape your future too. World War II effected my grandfather, his character and because of that event, influenced my father, who in turn has influenced me whether I know it or not. And it's not just one singular event. It's multiple events. Like Shrek said, "I'm like an onion, I have many layers." (Hopefully, I don't stink!) I don't know if you can feel how I feel about history. It's hard to explain but the world's history is about people influencing people and those people making decisions based on that influence positively or negatively. I love it. We are so intricate yet so simple at the same time and that hasn't changed over time. I believe it was like this at the beginning of time as well.

Anyway it was pretty emotional for me to realize that (and I could have been hormonal as well, so....). That's why I went into the education business. I love to teach people the interesting things as well as the important things and try to persuade those bored kids that history from a hundred years ago actually does have some bearing on what they do today. That is my mission in life...so there ya go!

Valentine's day was fun, although the last half of the school day was a waste. Students getting their valentines delivered to them and I'm anxiously waiting for mine which was supposed to be delivered to me too. It's been a long time since I got excited and felt it in my stomach. Ya know what I mean? I've never really had a Valentine's Day where I got something significant from a male (except my father). So this was fun. I got flowers, a teddy bear and some chocolate from Godiva. Seriously...ya can't go wrong with that combination!! I planned a themed dinner of Asian cuisine, and I was excited to cook it. Spring rolls, fried rice, Chinese spareribs, steamed fresh green beans and green tea. I think it was a hit. We also had some sparkling grape juice. Yummy. I wasn't feeling great, but all in all it was a pretty good day!!

Friday was Jason's last basketball game of the season, so I drove up to Sulphur and learned how to really shoot a basketball. Then I sat up in the "pressbox" with Jason while he announced. Both boys and girls won. Woot woot!

Saturday was pretty relaxing. We didn't do a lot. We watched the "We" channel which is having a wedding weekend, so I was pretty excited. I also finished the Save the Date cards, so I should be mailing those out tomorrow. Yippee!! One of my students asked when I was getting married last Thursday and I said June 14th and she said, Exactly four months from today!!" I'm sure my eyes got wide. AAAAHHHHHH!!!! It's less than four months from the wedding!!!! Oh, by the way, I was watching platinum weddings on "We" and I feel really good about how much our wedding costs. Seriously, $40,000 just for floral centerpieces on a couple of tables? Wow! Well, I guess if they can afford it....?

What else, not much else but laundry and, oh yes, the beginning of the NASCAR season today. Well laundry and lesson plans are calling me, so I must depart, for now....

Auf Wiederhoren!!!

Peas and carrots,
Jessica

Mid-February Update and some new finds!!!!!

Hello one and all!!!

Hope you find yourself well. I'm pretty good right now. I'm waitin' on my fiance to come home so we can go eat! He's been battling parents at the always popular parent-teacher conferences. I experienced this last week, so I feel his pain.

Let's see...I think I will start off with my new finds. Well they aren't exactly new but they are to me. First, E.S. Posthumus is a pair of brothers who create this INCREDIBLE music but the only problem is they had only one album out for like a century!!! They kept telling us fans that there would be a new CD coming out very soon. Well it sorta dropped off my radar for awhile and yesterday I got an email (I'm on their list :) saying they had finally released it!!!! OH MY GOSH!!!! So I bought it today and am listening to it right now and it is heavenly, literally. The sound is like heaven if I could actually describe it like that. E.S.P. is orchestral in nature and chorale and world beat and contemporary all at the same time. It sounds weird, but I promise you it works!!! You probably have heard some of their stuff, you just didn't realize it. For you sports fans, they composed the theme song to the CBS NFL Sports (Rise to Glory). Also, if you watch the TV show "Cold Case", the theme song is called Nara from their first CD. They also have quiet a few movie previews showcasing their music such as Spiderman 2 and XXX: State of the Union. Yes, I know way too much. I don't care!!!

Artwork for the CD

Ok so go check them out!!!

The other two finds is actually what I thought was one person, Brett Dennen. He has awesome music with a great message. It's perky and folky and that genre makes me happy. His most popular one is Ain't No Reason. Well I got him confused with another artist who is on the new Kia Spectra commercial. Can't Get It Right is the song and Joe Purdy sounds very similar to Brett Dennen. So I'm going to have to invest in both these artists soon.

Those are my new music finds!!! Yay!

As far as my other life. It just seems like I go to work and come home, eat and veg. That's pretty much it but there are other things I've been doing too. Here they are in random order.

• Patrick called me from Iraq on Tuesday! YAY!!! He seems to be doing all right, considering. He didn't talk much and so I rambled and that probably helped him just listening to "normal stuff." I hope so.
  
• Mandy and the girls went to see Drew at Ft. Hood, TX where he is stationed. It sounded like they had a good time!!!
• I've been getting some wedding stuff done, like printing out Save the Date cards, which hopefully soon will be mailed out!!! I've also been actually printing out the invitations. Now if I just can get the addresses of the people I'm supposed to invite!!! MOM!!!!
• School is fine. We are definitely back in the swing of things. Waitin' for that Spring Break!!!
• Updating my iPod as I type....
• Dad came for a visit and we went to Turner Falls, bought and ate some fantastic fried pies off of I-35, and went through the Arbuckle Wilderness (tour of the exotic animals in your car). No exotic animals in the car, just drove through their habitat and feed the ones roaming around like the camels, deer, burros, geese, ostrich (very greedy) and so forth....very cool!!!!! It was like I was a little girl all over again.
  
• I've started waking up at 5:30am to walk on the treadmill at the apartment complex. I've gained SEVERAL pounds since I've stopped swimming. I'm also trying to cut down on the portions of what I eat. Since I've started walking, I have noticed a slight change in the way my pants are fitting, so that's encouraging!!! It's incredible that I can even get up that early but apparently I can!
• What else...nothing much else that I can think of at this moment...

If I think of anything I'll let you know!!!

Love ya'll and happy Friday (tomorrow)!!

Peace and Love,
Jess

December Wrap up and a Brand New Year!!!

Happy New Year folks!!! It's been awhile since I've blogged but, hey, I've been busy, dang it!

Let's see, let's see.... December was a blur. Semester tests for the kids and basketball homecoming AND dance. Let's just say that 6th-8th graders are funny to watch. Semester tests rolled around and it was crazy trying to figure out who was exempt. It was sorta nice though, not as many students. HOWEVER, I took one of my students to the principal's office for the first time. Anyway, the day after semester tests is basically a free day. The students can show up if they want to, it doesn't count against them. I thought I would be cool and bring some movies to school and let them choose what they wanted to watch. I thought Star Wars would be a number one but nooooooooooo, it was SpongeBob SquarePants that they wanted. WOW!!! In the afternoon some the high school students brought their XBOX 360 and played Call of Duty. That was fun to watch. So when the last bell rang it was like being free of something and I skipped out to my car and drove merrily home. I baked a lot of cookies.The next day started our Christmas activities. We got packed and wrapped last minute presents and headed out to Comanche, OK to Jason's sister's place. We all piled in to their new van and took off for Wichita Falls, TX to do some shopping and it was crazy!!! But I enjoyed it. We ate at Olive Garden and had fun with our waiter. Drove home and fell promptly to sleep. The next day, I'm not sure what we did. We did go to Wal-Mart, twice. Also went to see National Treasure. Very fun! The next day Ruth got the boys and we went to church. The boys are always fun and we have a good time together. We played video games (Star Wars Lego).
We actually had Christmas on Christmas Eve morning and it was a blast. I thought Devon and Bryce were going to pass out. They got a Nintendo DS and they were pretty quiet after that. (Preoccupied, ya know). I made a haul, too. Da ng, I love Bed, Bath and Beyond!!! Our gifts we gave were our engagement pictures. I think that went over well.

TC in a Reindeer outfit eating my chocolate tin!!!

We drove back to our apartment that night and got ready for the next leg of our Christmas vacation on Christmas Day by doing laundry and what not.... The next day we drove to Fayetteville and spent time with Mom and Aunt Becky. Mom was having some outpatient surgery the next day so that's what I did. That night when Mom was all tucked in, Jason and I moved our headquarters to Dad's house and stayed there for the rest of the time. We were anticipating Pat's arrival for R&R on Saturday but had no clue when he would arrive. We actually got an update from him pe rsonally while he was in Ireland so we knew he was at least out of the Middle East on Friday night. In the meantime, Mom and I went to David's Bridal and ordered my shoes and got some swatches of the bridesmaids dresses while Jason went to Best Buy. Patrick arrived about 5:25pm at XNA regional airport and we were all there to greet him. It was awesome. That evening Jason and I went over to Drew and Mandy's to watch UFC on paperview. It was interesting. But it was really fun to be with same age people (even if we were the oldest people there). Pat and Alex stopped by and one of Drew's co-workers was there. However the girls had already gone to bed....dang...I really wanted to play with them. But oh, well. We were going to see them the next day.

Patrick arriving home. YAY!!!

Apparently Drew had a little too much to drink that night (after we were gone). We'll just leave it at that. Sunday was the big Christmas/Birthday shindig at Dad's. It was fun. Lots of wrapping paper. Here are some photos.

Emma, that's for catching butterflies, not Emmas!!! See, Alex is doing it right!!!

Jason and I came back on Monday. Happy New Year!!! Jason was not feeling well at all, lots of congestion AND he had to go back to work on the 2nd. :( While Jason was at work I played my Christmas gift, Age of the Empires III. It's awesome!!! and I just piddled around the apartment not really doing much of anything. I did finally take down all the Christmas stuff...the apartment looks bare now. OOOOhhhhhh!!! I got a really good handmixer for Christmas and I used it to make some terrible chocolate cake, but the process was fun. By the way, as much as I like to watch Iron Chef America....I am NO Iron Chef. Just don't have the knowledge... Oh well, I'll just watch it. It's the weekend now and I must get some lesson plans together for next week!!! and psyched up for the semester. I think it's going to go extremely fast and then extremely slow too. We'll see... The countdown continues to the big wedding day!!!! June 14th if you forgot already.

Hey, how did that get in there!
That is a mistletoe picture, so we just had to, ya know, kiss!!

Peace to you and hope you had a wonderful Christmas.

Irony, Wedding stuff and it's getting cold!!!!

Well, let's see. I had a great time during Thanksgiving. Good food...yum yum. Got to talk with Pat!!! He seems to be doing ok. You know, it's not all that fun or even exciting, what he's doing. Maybe on occasion. He's looking forward to receiving some packages and coming home for R&R and see family AND Beowulf (his Siberian Husky). I don't think he's going to reenlist when his time is up ;)

What else...the irony? I don't know if you read my last blog but it had to do with death and how desensitized to or how we move on from it. I found out the Monday we got back to school that one of our senior students was killed that Sunday afternoon in a car crash. Talk about a wonderful way to start the week. Needless to say the week was not all that productive. I only had Justin in class for a couple of weeks before he requested 7th hour to work instead. But I have Justin's girlfriend in two classes and juniors who were majorly effected. I went to the funeral on Thursday. It wasn't pleasant. I really didn't know what to do when I heard the news. I felt like crying but I really didn't know him personally but I had a few interactions with him just because the school is so small. He told me one time he wished he could have stayed in my class (Ancient History) and whenever I saw him he was always bright and cheerful. There isn't really any profound thing to say after a kid/student/child dies like that, you just can't. Just cherish the time you have with your friends and loved ones. You never know when it will be your last or someone else you love. This isn't the thing you wish on students to learn how fragile life is, but I sure hope our students realize it.

The other bad thing that happened last week was that I got sick and I mean 100 degree fever sick. It started about noon on Monday with major headache, aches, hurting throat... Well the next morning I woke up and there was no way I was going to school, which stinks because then you have to take care of your lesson plans for that day and call the school for a substitute and then pray that your kids behave. Well of course some didn't...(another story). Anyway, I was fortunate to get into the doctor's office early and get a shot in the behind to help speed up the getting healthy process. Dang, it hurt. I'm still taking the huge pink pills. It really helped though. I was feeling much better that evening. Jason was so sweet and helpful. He even said he would stay home with me. Awwwww! He called and checked on me after work and asked if I needed anything. :D I'm so lucky!

That's about it except I ordered my wedding dress on Saturday!!! After I paid the bill, it hit me that it was done!!! I got so excited!!! Ruth, Jason's sister, went with me and that was fun...a lot better than going alone! We went down to Denton and had some lunch, Pei Wei, as a matter of fact and it was SOOOOO GOOOOOD!!!!! (We don't have wonderful Asian food here in Ardmore.) Anyway! It was a good day.

It's finally getting cold!!!!! No sweating but now Jason hears, "I'm freezing!" "I need my jacket!" "Where are my slippers?" etc... while he is just in heaven. He's a cold kinda guy. Weather that is. I like it too because I like to be wrapped up in blankets... Anyway, I'm looking forward to that first snowflake!!! Come on winter, bring it on!!!!

Peace to you and yours and be nice in the stores!!!

Love,
Kitty

Death....and being courageous!!!

How's that for a title!!!

Well this is a blog sorta in response to a blog written by an excellent writer who should be doing it for a living....

In general, the blog was about hearing about death and then moving on from it. Especially when it personally does not effect us.

I think we are so flippant about death sometimes, is because it wasn't us. "Perpetual care and perpetual denial today." When Drew was in Iraq, and now Pat, I rarely watched the news but when it was unavoidable and I heard that some soldiers had been killed, I sorta stuck around to see where and who. I remember distinctly one time when I found out the latest batch who had been killed were British I was so relieved it wasn't Drew; then I went on. But a few hours later, I just broke down and weeped for those soldiers whom I flippantly passed over. Not because they had died exactly but about my attitude when I found out I didn't know who they were.

Yes, we are to move on and live life fully. I recently sent Patrick a package with a recorded message from me, and I read him two verses.

Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

and

Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

The same should apply to us. Why not live courageously and boldly even, no matter where we are. Look who is on our side!! It seems to me a "duh" statement, but so hard to live by. We...or, I get so caught up in the "woe is me" attitude and that is just not pretty to be around, let me tell you. I usually get despondent and isolate myself, without turning to the one being who can actually do something about it. Or I forget what He has already done for us and is still doing for us. I get too comfortable in my own pain and wallow in it. It's hard to climb out of that sometimes. And even when I know the solution to the problem, I find it very difficult to just reach out for the very easy, ergonomic step ladder that is right there for me to grab. See, it's even easier for me to write about pain than write about Jesus, our Savior who is the ultimate healer and protector. That's why there are so many songs that are wonderful that deal with pain and not necessarily the solution, or the solution is not a wonderful one: drinking, drugs, sex, death, even. We can totally relate. Well I can't really relate to "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd, except that I have been comfortably numb but not because of drugs...but it sure is a cool song.

ANYWAY!!!

Enough! Let's talk about being couragous!!! Why not!!! Beautiful things happen when you are couragous. Like the first time someone says, "I love you," to another or giving a helping hand to someone you dislike. Those are personal, how about taking a personal couragous step with another and changing history. As a history teacher, I see many of America's leaders who were couragous to fight against tyranny, otherwise we may be talking with a different accent right now. Samuel Adams comes to mind and Thomas Paine (sounds intellectual, right? well we just studied it in US History...don't get me started). I am amazed at what it took for people to speak out for what they believed in, such as Thomas Paine who wrote Common Sense. In his own "blog," he wrote that is was "duh" not to break away from Britain and that historical document was the precursor to the Decleration of Independence.

This may sound corny but you should try "breaking away" from a life filled with such a careful life...if that makes sense.

Jesus said, "I have come so that you may have life, and live it to the full." (John 10:10)

Wonder what that means? Maybe it means we need to quit tip toeing around and actually live. Experience life...fall in love, go to school, have a career, travel, be with friends and family and don't get caught up in petty issues that we think are huge drama.

OK. Enough...go out there and live.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Satisfied

Thought I would just write something. I'm deeply satisfied and I didn't realize it until just now. It's fall (and I LOVE fall). Thanksgiving is right around the corner and it is my favorite holiday. I am blessed with a wonderful family and brand new family through Jason. I like who I am...granted there are a few things I'd like to change about myself, who doesn't?

My life has been strange, interesting and so much fun. Sure, there has been some major drama in my life, who hasn't? I can't wait to see what is in store for me in the future. It's exciting.

Today I didn't have to go to work because we had parent teacher conferences until 9pm last night. They went really well!

I haven't done much today except play my Age of the Empires game on the computer. I did write some letters and make an eye doctor appointment. I'm about to actually clean up and go give blood too.

Just thought I would give a shout out that I am blessed. Take care!

Jessi

Random things....a lot has happened in a month!

Well I was typing a blog yesterday and I accidentally closed it out and lost it all....ugh! I was almost done and had a LOT of stuff typed so I'm going to try again.

1) I felt terrible Friday. I ached all over and throat hurt and a headache and just was miserable. However! I had already taken the day off so I was at home and feeling terrible so that made me feel a little better. :)) Make sense? Well I did nothing that day except sleep, get a free flu shot (my first ever), watch a little TV, slept some more, played on the computer and cleaned the apartment. Jason's Mom came for a visit! The bad thing about sleeping all day is that you (or in this case I) wasn't able to go to sleep until around 1am, which sounds not all that early to some of you, but it's really late for me, OK!!! I don't know if I had a reaction to the flu shot or if this was left over from me feeling terrible Sunday through Tuesday earlier this week. ?

2) The previous day (November 1) was Jason's birthday! So we went to OKC and saw Jeff Dunham in concert. He's a comedian ventriloquist. If you know who Walter and Peanut are...they are my favorite characters! Jeff is really good too...it's like there are actually two different people standing up there. He's really great! Afterwards we went to one of Jason's favorite places to eat. Buffalo Wild Wings. Yummy! It was a great evening because Ruth and Cliff was able to come too.

3) Let's back up a little bit. School had a fall break. YAY!!! Started on a Wednesday and it was really needed. I went and got a haircut (desperately needed), my toes done (and I was in the chair for like and hour!!!) (so maybe my feet were in not so good shape), and I got my nails done too. This is one of the great things about living in a smaller town. It's a LOT cheaper to get these things done. :D Anyway Wednesday was wonderful. I got to rest and relax. Thursday Jason (who also had fall break) and I went to McAlester to pick up his parents so we could go to Fayetteville so the parents could meet! Aaaahhhh!!! Nah, it was awesome!!! They liked each other, we ate catfish, enjoyed the scenery, grilled and visited. What more could you want?

4) Ok, so now I'm down to 3 cheerleaders to sponsor at the high school level. Grades and infighting have narrowed the field so to speak. This is fine with me! It's ridiculous to see it happen. Obviously their priority (as they say) is not cheerleading. I tell them and my classes that whatever you do in life you are going to have to work with people you don't like and you are going to have to learn how to deal with it. Either you will do it badly and be miserable or find a way that will work without being mean or, hey, positive! They just don't get it....yet. They will find out the hard way, some of them. I was really disappointed on Thursday with one of my classes for ganging up on the bully during a review game. Which may or may not have been ok, but I didn't want them to. I told them their attitudes they form as a kid will not necessarily change when they become an adult. Their actions today will most probably be what they do as an adult. I don't know if that got through to them but they sure did quiet them down!

5) Halloween Carnival for the school. Because I am the sponsor of a club and co-sponsor of the junior class...I had to help manage three booths for the school carnival. The only good thing was that the junior class didn't have to think of a booth to do. The junior class always does the concession stand and bingo, which are probably the hardest things to manage. The cheerleaders decided to do a Goldfish ping pong game where you bounce the ping pong into a bowl to win a goldfish...well they didn't listen to me when I said they had put way to many goldfish out. All the goldfish were won half way through the carnival and so we made not even $100 dollars. (rolling of the eyes). However! I had fun because Jason came with me and helped out and it was nice to interact with the kids and see everyone dressed up. (kids that is) I dressed up on Halloween day as...you guessed it, a pirate....they've never seen me as a pirate and I had the costume...so what they hey!!

6) Want to ask for some prayer!! My Mom is not feeling all that well right now. She fell about a month ago at school and hurt her hip. She's been going to physical therapy and had an MRI last week to check it out because it really wasn't healing. She's having some other difficulties as well as missing Patrick. She's by herself and is pretty lonely, I think. She does have Beowulf, though! (Patrick's dog).

Also be praying for my nieces, Alex and Emma. They are having some balance issues and Drew and Mandy are taking them in for tests to see what the actual problem is. For Alex her feet were formed a little awkwardly and needs to have surgery...again...which wasn't a big surprise. Next week on the 14th is her surgery. This time it's going to be difficult because she's a big girl now and when she had her other surgeries she was a baby and really didn't remember it. This go around may be a little more difficult just because she's been able to walk for awhile. Pray for Drew and Mandy too as they are the ones taking care of those sweet girls!!! I just can't get enough of them!!

Pray for Pat as he is in Iraq. He has two jobs and one of them takes him away from the other. Apparently his "buddies" think he's shirking his duties and they are giving him a hard time. It seems, though, it's getting better. His specialty is Military Police, so you know that's going to be stressful!

7) What else? I really can't think of anything except that Jason and I are going to get our engagement pictures taken this Saturday! Yay!!!

Wow! Not writing for a month is not the way to go....I will try to write more often. See ya'll later....hopefully there will be some pictures to show off!!!!

Later taters,
Kitty

Some Highs, Some Lows

First off....why do women shave their legs? Who came up with this idea? Yes, it feels nice after long hours in the shower, but it seems only for about an hour then you can feel some hairs saying "ha ha you missed me!!" and then the others are already growing back. Ugh! I do it anyway.

Last week was Jason's homecoming for high school. Monday was geek/nerd day and when I asked him why he wasn't dressing up, he replied, "because I'm a geek every day!" True...he is a math teacher... However, he did dress up Thursday for Rock Star Day and this is what he looked like:

My Rock Star (wannabe ;)

So that was the funny of the blog. Now on a more serious note...

Why do people live off of drama? What is it that makes us stop in our tracks and watch a car wreck or unrealistic soap operas? Sometimes I have to deal with a little drama that seems senseless to me. I am the cheerleading sponsor for Thackerville High School and on occasion the girls can't seem to focus because of the latest boyfriend break up or argument with each other. As my Mema used to say, "Why can't everybody just do what they're supposed to do?" However, even she wasn't immune. She loved watching the Muarry Povitch Show. But I do enjoy the cheerleaders, they sometimes make me feel old, but usually make me feel younger than I am...they make me laugh too!

The THS Cheerleaders!

I should mention that because I'm "in charge" of the cheerleaders, I'm also in charge of Homecoming. Yeah, that's right. Homecoming! We had the coronation and everything and I was the one who got to announce who the queen was. Way big deal! It was fun but highly stressful.

What else.

I got a call from my Mom last Thursday that my great uncle, Clyde Hogan, had passed away. He was my Mema's brother who lived in the same city as Mema and Papa. So we had a lot of interaction with him and Aunt Di. He lived to be 92 and was still very enthusiastic about life. Even after he had part of his leg amputated due to an infection. He was looking forward to getting his prosthesis. His attitude was what stands out to me. Always smiling and very very smart. He was funny too. Uncle Clyde told me a lot of stories about him growing up in Conway, AR and also OK during the depression with his other two brothers and my Mema. One in particular was when he was working out in a yard for someone and grew to be very tan. He got so dark that several people wouldn't have anything to do with him because they thought he was black. I'm not sure what his reaction was but I do know he believed in equality and fairness and was a humble person. He did a lot in his life and most of it was for other people. The funeral home did an awesome slide show of Uncle Clyde too.

Click here to read his obituary and watch his slide show. Even though you may not have met him, you can tell from his obit that he was an outstanding man!

I went to the graveside service in Conway yesterday. It was a long trip to and back again but worth it. It is good to see family even when it is for celebrating someone's passing. I suggest you read my sister-in-law's blog about Death and Dying and family. Very good insight. Check it out here.

The last thing I'll talk about is what I got when I got back home from the funeral. Jason's mom was in town and they both went shopping in OKC yesterday. When I got home Jason asked me to bring him what was under his hat in the kitchen. It was my wedding ring. Aaaaahhhhh!! and it wasn't the one that we looked at earlier! It was even better! It's white gold and a princess cut solitaire. He also bought an enhancer to go on the sides. *sigh* Here's a picture:

:)



In its box.

He did a good job, didn't he!!!

Last thing:

Please keep my Aunt Becky in your prayers. This is the daughter of Uncle Clyde. She lost her sister several years ago to a pretty terrible battle with cancer. And also their mother passed away several years ago too. Aunt Becky is the only one left of that part of the branch so she's feeling a little lonely. I would also have you pray for my mom who is still dealing with some health issues including a sore hip from a fall a couple of weeks ago. Keep Patrick in your prayers too while he is in Iraq!!!

Next blog will be about the meeting of Jason and my families in a couple of weeks. This should be a good time!!!

Later taters....gots to grade papers!!!
Kitty.

Post Script

I totally forgot to mention that I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It was awesome! I had to reread The Half-Blood Prince first so I could remember what was going on. I forgot a LOT of stuff. I read the last book sooo fast I couldn't take it all in. I almost cried too. Seriously! I think I drove Jason a little nuts a little earlier this week with my small obsession. I'll just have to reread it a little more slowly in a couple of months.

Just thought I'd share!!!

Wow, One Month!!!

Hello, people!

I have come up and out of the gray to greet you (at 6:34am)!!! This is almost the only time I can do my blog!!! Yeah, I'm that busy (it seems, anyways). What's happened for a month?

• Parent-teacher conferences. Interesting and for the most part enjoyable. I got to meet a lot of the parents. So, that was good. AND the next day, we didn't have school. Double YAY!!
• Went to Lefores, TX for Labor Day weekend with Jason and met some more of his family. Uncle and cousins. Had a good time with their kids and jumping in the bouncy castle, ping pong tournaments and later playing poker with the adults! (There were a lot of kids there.)
  
• Have gone to three football games with the cheerleaders. I have to say I like it. Except the bus rides for away games. Yikes!! It's jr. high and high school band trips all over again!!!
• Goodness, what else? = School
• I was invited to a PEO meeting!!! PEO is an international organization for women who help women in furthering their education. There are chapters everywhere and belonged to one in Waco and now have met more sisters! So fun!!! It's a fun deal.

Slowly but surely we are meeting new people in Ardmore. Most of our time is spent either in Thackerville or Sulphur (where Jason teaches). I've been to one church here in Ardmore and am planning to visit others but if I could just get in a free Sunday....

I've been in contact with my brother, Patrick who is in Iraq since the beginning of September. He is doing well and seems to be the responsible one in his unit (go figure). His true colors shine now! His unit is a military police unit doing police like things and helping out the Iraqi police. However, his punctuation and spelling in his email has not improved. :D

I'm really looking forward to our fall break in October. It looks like I'll be sleeping in and watching a little TV. It's also the weekend where my parents and Jason's parents are going to meet for the first time!!! This will be fun!!!

Oh by the way, I watched the premier of Kid Nation last night and it is now my favorite TV show before The Office comes on NEXT week!!! :D The kids are running their own pioneer town and have to figure out how to organize themselves and survive. It is soooo cute and I was rooting for them the whole hour. They were very good to encourage each other!

Well I really got to run and dry my hair and then go to school. I will write a little more when I get the chance!!! Hopefully sooner than later!!!

Love,
Kitty

PS: GO HOGS GO!!!!! Beat Kentucky!!!

Sleepy Time!!

Ok, So this is the first weekend where I've been able to sleep in, and boy, did I sleep in. A lot has been going on to make me so tired!!!

Started school last Thursday, August 9th. First day was good and so was Friday and now I'm through the first full week of school. I'm having a blast and I love the kids. However, there will always be one or two or three kids that is going to test me and they already have!!! But so far so good. I think I've handled it in an appropriate manner. I'm sure if I haven't, someone will let me know.

I gave an open book/note test yesterday on Ancient World History. Fun!! All my other classes have tests on Monday. I'm still in the organizing phase. It's going to be tough for awhile getting together all my resources and thinking of ways to teach that are not just worksheets. But I do have a projector that hooks to my computer so I can do some internet stuff and powerpoint presentations too!

So let me back up a little. Last weekend Jason and I went home to Arkansas to visit family, in particular, Patrick. It was his last farewell before being shipped off to Iraq. He actually left on Wednesday and arrived in Kuwait yesterday? Pray for him and his unit's safety and courage. So Saturday we had a little party and it was great. I got to play with my two nieces while the guys took naps :D Actually earlier that morning we all went over to Grandma's house. Dad is going to try and sell it. Grandma is now in the nursing home and needs 24/7 care. We went over to her house to "divvy up" everything. Which was hard, because Grandma wasn't there, yet she hasn't passed away either. It was weird and sad but good at the same time. Does that make sense?

Sunday, Jason and I left for Ardmore, OK, but not before going to see Grandma. It was the first time I had seen her in the nursing home. It was tough, but she knew who I was!

So, here are some pictures from several things:

1. Farewell dinner with my gals
2. Me holding Ben (Jennie's baby) for the first time
3. Moving pictures
4. Lewis and Heather's wedding
5. Pat's Party

The Gals


Me and Ben



Lewis and Heather



Me and the moving truck all loaded up!


Play time with Emma


Call those Hogs, Alex!!


Drew looks good in pink!


Me and my sweetie!


Me and my bros!


Yes, that is a squirrel on the cake with a MP baret on it's head!


Great pic of Mom and Pat

The Big Move and The Job!!!!

Holy Molyrama!!! There has been so much going on and I stubbed my toes today!! Where to start... well first of all check out this video blog...my last with Mary Beth :(

and then this one:

Ok, sooo now that was really a recap of what has gone on previously but I just wanted to make sure you knew what was going on!!!!

OK!!! The Big Move!!! Thursday 26 July was my last day at Dr Pepper Museum. It was extremely sad and that's all I have to say about that.

Friday, went swimming one last time with Anita and then packed packed packed and then Sammy and I went to get the Budget truck for all my crap (and I had a lot of it too!!!). I took Sammy to lunch at Bush's Chicken and it was extremely good.

I don't remember actually what I did after that except pack pack pack and for a break I watched Pride and Prejudice. It was great. Ok, the next day I packed some more and waited for the guys to arrive which they did and started moving my junk. They were awesome. Got it done in about 1.5 hours with a lot of sweat! Thanks Mark, Lewis, Chris and Mr. Havens!!! Ya'll rock! Anita and Joy came after them and cleaned my apartment. It was amazing. I have such great friends. Thank you so much!!! THEN Ruth, Cliff and all their boys came to actually drive the truck and help me move into the apartment at Ardmore. Cliff actually got there before Ruth and I did and that's ok with me. I had a good time taking turns driving with the boys. :D

Well, I'll tell ya, I took two showers that day, one with my own sweat (that was involuntary) and the other right before I went to bed. Whew! What a day! Jason's mom was at the apartment too and that was great. We all cooled down for a bit in the pool with Cliff's sister and her husband and kids who live in Ardmore.

So the rest of the week was basically spent unpacking and organizing all while my Mom came for a visit to help unpack and set up my school room and reserve the wedding chapel!!!! JUNE 14th at 1pm. WRITE IT DOWN!!!

Saturday I went back to Waco (which was weird, by the way) for Lewis' and Heather's wedding. It was nice and I got to see some friends.

It was nice to sleep in a little on Sunday before starting the work week!!! Dad was in Dallas helping Alison's son move so he came up on Sunday and checked out the apartment and took Jason and I out to lunch. Thanks, Dad!!

TODAY was my first day of work and it was pretty good. One hour with all the administration and then time in my room getting all my resources together and then an In-Service about Special Education then more time in my room and asking the principal some questions. Hey!! We get our own laptops!!! Cool!!! I also met some of my students who are also cheerleaders, which I am sponsoring this year!!! Oh my goodness what have I gotten myself into!!! I don't know but I'm sure I will blog about it not this weekend but the next when I get a break! Pat will be in Fayetteville before he leaves for Iraq and Jason and I are going up to see him. :|

All right people, peace out and keep cool!!! Whew! It's hot!!! But, it could be worse!

Claudio & Star Wars!!!

O-M-Goodness!!! Saturday was just pretty darn awesome, I must say. Mary Beth and I went up to Dallas to the Vans Warped Tour just to see Coheed & Cambria. This is a band that MB introduced me to and it turns out I really love them. They are pretty unique, that's why MB and I like them so much. The lead singer/guitarist is Claudio Sanchez who writes all the songs based on a science fiction storyline which he also writes. There are comic books that go with the story. It's really complicated to understand. Sometimes I don't even understand it! So I drove us up to the Smirnoff Music Centre and we parked and went in. Now you have to understand, MB and I were in the minority of the population who went to this type of venue. A lot of emo/goth kids, weird looking clothes and tattoos and perhaps some maryjane was present and definitely alcohol. No, I didn't inhale. It was an interesting experience and it was cool to see a group of people be able to express themselves without other people thinking them weird. Do you know what I mean?

Vans Warped Tour has like 30 bands that play short concerts. We wandered around the main area and couldn't find any information about C&C. What we didn't realize was that around the corner and in the back of the main venue were more stages and all the merch tents. Duh!!! Glad we asked somebody. It was a good thing C&C started at 2pm instead of the 1pm we thought. In the meantime we bought some merch, namely a T-Shirt. I wore it yesterday and already got a comment on it. Sweet.

It was really hot on Saturday and the area around the stage was level so, myself being shorter than the people there had a difficult time seeing Claudio unless I jumped up and down. I did get several good pictures by holding up my camera. Check it out!!!

Merch tent


Before the concert and before the sweat


Concert just beginning!


Travis on the left, Claudio with the hair

Ok. The concert was over about 2:30 and we left high on adrenaline and were walking to the car. I said, "Wouldn't it be cool if they were walking in the parking lot too?" Not 5 seconds went by and MB said, "There's Claudio!!!" We may have chased after them a little bit. I was too in shock to say anything except motion with my hand that we wanted a picture. I thought MB was going to have a heart attack. Alas, we were not able to get a picture with them, but MB got a picture of them walking away from us. :D

So close, yet so far away!!!

*************************************************************************************

STAR WARS

After sitting in the car calming down and cooling down, we drove over to Ft. Worth to the Science and History museum to see the Star Wars exhibit. It was awesome...

It had the costumes and models used in all six of the films...let's just say, I was in heaven. We were soooooo tired though. You'll just have to look at the photos:

Landspeeder


Sandpeople


Bantha and Luke Skywalker model


Me and Yoda hangin'


Cool lightsabers

After the exhibit we went and ate at Lucile's on Camp Bowie Blvd. Good stuff.

Tired!!! Good Day!

ENGAGED!!!!!!

OMG!!!! I'm ENGAGED!!!! Yes, folks, you heard it right. Jason asked me to marry him yesterday! What a wonderful proposal he made!

Utterly speechless are the words that came out of my mouth when Jason drove down through the rain from Oklahoma to the museum to propose to me. I, of course, said yes and we will live happily ever after!

Here's how it went down:

Jason got to the museum and called for Mary Beth and she came down stairs (I was in another building). She saw he had flowers and asked him if he was there for the reason she thought and he said yup. Mary Beth ran upstairs and got the camera and ran into Joy and told her what was happening. So Mary Beth led Jason over to the other building where I was. She opened the door and I thought to myself, were we supposed to take pictures of something? MB had the camera around her neck. Then Jason came in behind her with this beautiful bouquet of flowers and according to some my eyes got as big as saucers. I kept on saying what are you doing here (clueless at this point). He said Happy Birthday! and gave me my flowers and I'm ogling them. They are beautiful. But I told him it wasn't my birthday and he got all upset because he drove all the way down to Waco on the wrong day!! I kept on telling him it was ok but he wouldn't hear of it. What he said was: "The only way I can say I'm sorry and mean it is on one knee." When he did that the light bulb came on and I realized what he was really going to do. Of course I turned red and started tearing up. He said: "You've depended on me and I've depended on you and I want us to depend on each other for the rest of our lives so that when we are old we can change each other's depends! Jessica Harris I love you and will you marry me?" This speech is very classic Jason. I said yes and we hugged and hugged and kissed and it was awesome! I did get a ring! Jason's class ring from high school, so I guess this means we're going steady for reals! He's working on getting the perfect ring. It was about 3:00 so I said I was going home and call everybody. We did and then went to dinner with Angie and Chris at the Olive Garden. It was great. Perfect ending to a day that actually started out pretty yucky. It's been raining pretty much off and on for about a month and impeding our work. But who cares now right?

We are looking at either December 2007 or June 2008 to get married but nothing is in stone. We will let you know as soon as we know!

The proposal


The answer


More hugs


The flowers

Remember Your Freedom!!!

Just wanted to send out a reminder to remember your freedom and how you got it! We are free because of the men and women who stood up for the rights we deem necessary as human beings.

Since I am a movie buff, I thought I would recommend some movies to watch that are inspirational (to me anyways).

• 1776 (a musical but very very good)
• Glory
• We Were Soldiers
• The Patriot
• Saving Private Ryan
• Patton (One of my Dad's favorites)
• A Few Good Men
• The American President
• Black Hawk Down
• Hotel Rwanda (heavy heavy movie but all need to watch)
• Sands of Iwa Jima
• Tora Tora Tora
• Memphis Belle

There are others out there but I haven't seen them all!!

Thanks to all those who have served and are serving your country, no matter where you are!

Times, They are a Changin'...

Howdy ya'll. Long time, no write!!! It has been absolutely crazy in my life! So much has happened I don't even know where to start. Well let me start with the end of May:

Memorial Day weekend:
I had a WONDERFUL weekend in McAlester, OK at Jason's parents and Jason, of course! It was very relaxing and I DID NOT want to leave. It's nice to have someone take care of you and grill for you everyday! I TRIED to help, but they are the kind of people that won't let you do that.

Then, honestly I don't remember even when I got the call but, Thackerville School District called me in for an interview for their social studies position at the High School. Awesome! I was very nervous but, once again Jason's family did an awesome thing for me. Ruth, Jason's sister, spent the night with me in Gainesville the day before the interview and just gave me some moral support while I was at the interview. It was very much needed AND I got to see TC for the first time (Jason's nephew)!

After feeling like I was going to throw up at the interview, I settled down and actually had a good time, especially after I saw the superintendent and principal in shorts and Hawaiian shirts!!! LOL! The interview lasted about two hours and I got a tour of the school and "my room." I also helped a couple of people with computer problems. Kudos to me.

The principal said I would hear from them at the beginning of the next week. Well I hadn't heard from him and hadn't heard from him until that Friday I believe. The superintendent called and asked me to interview with the school board. I said of course.

The second interview was not as scary as the first and we had homemade butter pecan ice cream. Not bad!

SO I have a job in OKLAHOMA!!! WHERE MY BOYFRIEND LIVES!!!! But it gets better. While my stomach was churning over and over about taking the Thackerville job, Jason and I were trying to get jobs in the same area. Jason interviewed at Sulphur, OK about 30 miles of Ardmore which is 30 miles north of Thackerville. Well, Jason got the job in Sulphur and I got the job in Thackerville and now we can live in the SAME city. Yippeee!!! Ardmore will be the location and we have found a very very nice apartment complex. Really nice. I'm looking forward to living there.

SO that means I will be leaving for OK on the 28th of July.

Then I freaked out a little when I found out that school starts on August 9th. AUGUST 9th PEOPLE!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!! So I immediately went to to the education supply store and refrained from buying anything but looked intently at it all. I love supplies.

This past weekend:

Friday I went to Thackerville to pick up some paperwork, insurance, school calendar, employee handbook, and old school books, just to get an idea of what I would work with. Cool. Then I met Jason in Ardmore and looked at the apartments. Nice. Then went up to OKC to take my last OSAT test for certification (cross your fingers). Overall the test went well. I was relaxed and rested. As always, though, the essay sucked. I hate essays.

Well now that changes are coming my way, I will point out that they are exciting and scary at the same time. Exciting because it will be different and I will get to see my sweetie everyday, but scary because it will be different and something I've never done before. I've never been in such a serious relationship before. I have learned a lot about myself. Some good and some bad. But I have learned that having someone you can talk about anything to without the fear of rejection and feel safe doing it is a wonderful feeling. Dealing with conflict is very hard for me. I let it build up and when I release it, it can hurt people. I do not like to hurt people. I want everyone to be happy. In no way am I an expert in managing conflict, as some of you may know, but I'm trying and like I've said before, it's a life long process.

Some people forget that and want life to be easy. We all do, but we forget that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness takes work.

Happiness

Let's work at it people....don't give up! I'm not!!!

PS: Mary Beth and I got tickets to the VansWarped tour in Dallas! Coheed & Cambria will be there!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!

The Keywork by Coheed & Cambria

PPS: I HAVE TO START PACKING!!!!!!

Rood dood dood dood doooo, Big Tuna!

If any one get's the quote above, you ROCK!!!

Well I haven't written in a very long time. I've been very very busy. Wow, May 8th was the last time I wrote! Well let's see, the major thing is that I was in a wedding last Saturday. For anybody who has been in a wedding who is a girl, you know that it can be stressful and a lot of work. I think I'm still recovering! However, the whole experience has taught me what to do and what not to do when I get married. Anybody who knows me will know that I will have a list for everyone involved and the list might be laminated. I'm just saying... :D The one thing I wanted to comment on specifically was about women in general. There were two occasions where I received a manicure and pedicure for the big event. I love getting pampered just because I rarely do it. I'm not a huge talker but I can carry on a conversation, but what I really love to do is listen. I loved listening to the women around me talking and gossiping together. Yes, gossiping... We all do it (yes guys do it too, you can't deny it!!!) but girls are professionals at it. However, when I was listening to the women around me I felt a sense of comraderee even though I didn't know them. It was nice, I felt a part of something and I felt like this was part of what being a girl was all about. Not gossiping, mind you, but talking and sharing experiences. The way men and women communicate with each other is totally different and it's hard to learn sometimes. I will admit that I don't understand sometimes why girls are the way we are and why guys are the way they are. God had something in mind, I'm sure. I guess, if I think about it, so we can say... "what are they thinking?" ...and for the guys... "I will never understand women!!" Maybe we aren't meant to!!???!!!

On being maid of honor for your friend...OMG! It's a lot of work! I was totally drained Saturday evening!!! and took a very long nap on Sunday. I have never run around so much BUT I must say I was glad to do it because it was beautiful and wonderful and exciting to see two people in love commit their lives to one another for the rest of their lives.

Chris & Angie...aawwww!

Also, I loved getting my hair done. That was really nice and actually very relaxing. HOWEVER!!! I had someone do my makeup and that was fine and I think I looked ok, but I usually don't wear a lot of makeup. Mascara and lipstick. Well it was the whole works on this gal and I literally didn't recognize myself. I will say this. I had a lot of compliments on my appearance and I felt beautiful because of it.

Jess & Angie

Random thought: Guys with rings on their fingers are sexy... I don't what it is but there ya go... A young Jerry Lewis with that ring on his finger....yummy!

Also, just because I've been surrounded by people getting married, an observation is that guys don't seem to participate in the wedding planning (but I know one who is very much a part of it) and that's fine but remember guys, it's your day too, but you can't complain about it if you don't get involved!! Anyway, Lewis asked me why the wedding is such a big deal to us (girls) so I thought about it.

• We get to be a princess for a day
• We get to declare our love for our prince publically
  
• We like dressing up
• We like to party
• We love details
• We get presents
• From an unconscious and sociological standpoint, we can prove (or disprove) how, we as future wives, are organized and detailed and how we can pull off something as important as a wedding.
• Yeah, we know the ceremony lasts 20-30 minutes...who cares?
• I'm sure there are other unconscious reasons we like it but because they are unconscious, I can't think of them right now.

So that's the wedding week/end.

Work related. WE ARE FINALLY MOVING STUFF!!! We have been waiting patiently and yesterday was the first day we got actually move collection items from one building to the other. It was emotionally magnificent. We've got a lot more to do but we are excited about it because, as collections people, we get to organize stuff. We are professionals at it and we love to organize!
I'm tired and my feet hurt but it feels good. I've been productive!!!

On another note...I also pulled a klutz moment this morning. It rained last night and this morning I slipped and fell straight down on my knees. Wow, that really smarted!!! In return I received a very nice knot on my right knew, which looked like a very large abnormal grape. It's better and the swelling has gone down a bit.

OH!!!! I can't believe I forgot to tell you this!!! I received my test scores from the last two OSAT tests I took in April. I PASSED!!!! I found out Friday and was soooooo happy. I can't tell you how happy I was. I seriously thought I was going to fail the US History/OK History/Government/Economics test. It turned out that I scored highest on the government part...ugh! Not my favorite subject, however, while I was studying everything, it was like studying something new and really really interesting. I've always have had a passion for history but you know, when you are a kid, who cares!!! Now that I've "lived" a little, history is much more interesting... ANYWAY!! I just have one more test and I can get my teaching license in OK. I've applied for several positions...and will be applying for several more. Pray that I will get the right one!!!

Ok that's it for now...my fingers are tired!! One more picture of Angie & Chris at the reception!

Hiiiiii YAH!!!

War

Preface: My writing may be random...just my thoughts as the come to me.

"War. What is it good for, absolutely nothing...good god ya'll."

Well, anyone who knows history should know that war is inevitable. War is bad and war is good. Your life would be different if there was no war. Think about it. A lot of our technology has been derived from war because someone is thinking of new ways to kill people. I'm serious!

My brothers are in the Army Reserves. Drew has been to Iraq and back. Patrick was called up to go last Wednesday and he leaves for training this Thursday. I went home this past weekend for a visit because we don't know if we will get to see him before he actually goes over. It was a good visit. We did normal brother/sister stuff that Pat and Jessica do. Bond over movies and books and music. Goofy pictures are on the way.

When Drew left for Iraq I was depressed and had nightmares. I got to go to his farewell ceremony and that was pretty awful but I was very proud too. I'm very proud of Patrick too. They both signed up for the army, and even though it's been a hugely crappy deal, they are doing their jobs.

I respect anyone who has gone to war or has served in the military. Men have a mental capacity that I can't comprehend. I can't really speak for all women and their mental capacity but I can speak for myself in this respect. I don't know that I would be able to be in the military and fight for my life or for another's. My hope would be yes, I would do this for another. My mental capacity includes a lot of emotional drama with some logic and reason in there somewhere like salt and pepper...just for flavor.

What it boils down to is this. My concern is above all else my brother's safety. But I am concerned for his mental/emotional health. I will never know what all Drew has gone through but I know some of it and it is hard. I think he has become a better man because of it. At first I didn't want Pat to have to suffer what Drew has suffered but then I realized that everyone must go through some type of pain and suffering; some just go through more than others. This is what shapes us. If we never suffered, think of what life would be like. Purposeless, shallow and boring. We would never know what joy is. When it comes to suffering there are two options: give up or work through it. My prayer is that John Patrick Harris will work through whatever he faces in the year to come, learn from it and become a better man (or little brother, whichever the case may be).

Didn't say it would be easy...it never will be.

Pat is in the 603rd Military Police Unit.

That's all the time I have for now.

John Pat and Drew

Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
Winston Churchill