Gingerbread Men

The kids were not impressed with the taste of the gingerbread house. They decided that they wanted gingerbread men instead. So, we made more treats.

Best of Friends

Ice Storm

Russian Christmas Party

We were invited to a Russian community Christmas Party. It was at the Circle Cinema. The man that coordinates it had games, gifts and treats for the kids. We went with Joshua's friend, Alex. We have an annual Christmas gift exchange and night out with the boys.

We saw the movie, Father Frost. The boys really enjoyed it!

Parties Galore

We have been blessed to attend several parties this holiday season. I attended a party for the hospital. One of the doctors hosted it and it was wonderful!

Paul's work had one at a local lodge. It was beautiful. We were entertained by the Downings. They are a local group that has performed at Branson.

The kids had their parties at school. They had been out the week prior due to the weather and only went through Wednesday last week.

Resemblences

We received another letter from Joshua's birth mother. I still need to get it translated.

She was kind enough to send us a picture of the hospital that Joshua was born in plus additional pictures of herself. It looks like it is already snowing in Ukraine.

She had mentioned that Joshua reminds her of herself when she was little. I have to agree. She is definitely his mother.

She was also kind enough to send us a picture of her passport verifying that she is indeed his birth mother.

We feel so very blessed to have found her!

ICE, ICE! Everywhere Ice!

Oklahoma was hit with a record ice storm on Sunday night. What a mess!!

We did not have electricity from Sunday night to Wednesday night. We luckily had a place to go to stay warm. We stayed at the hospital for two nights. It was quite comfortable and the kids loved going to eat at the cafeteria. Seriously!

We put the dogs at the vet to be boarded since the house temp was in the 50s. BRR.....

We were able to come back home on Wednesday night, there is no place like home!!!

Paul has the fun job of cleaning up the fallen limbs. As for the fallen fence- we will hire some one for that job!

Concerts

I have wanted to take my mom to a Reba McEntire concert for some time. I just knew it would be something that she would enjoy.

Reba rarely comes to Tulsa. Even though she is from Oklahoma originally, her concerts rarely come to this state. Much to my surprise, she is coming here in Feb with Kelly Clarkson. I called my mom, and much to my surprise- she is not interested since she doesn't care for Kelly's music.

I decided to go anyway! It is going to be a great concert.

A couple of days later, I found out that my favorite Christian band, Casting Crowns, is coming one week after Reba. I called a friend and we have front row tickets!!! Awesome!

Gingerbread house

Joshua had been begging us to buy a gingerbread house kit so we finally did. They had fun decorating but were not impressed with the taste. Next up, gingerbread cookies- stay tuned.

Newest Member

We have a new member of the family. Meet Abby!

I had not planned on a new dog. The kids and I went to Petco one day and I saw a very cute and well behaved dog. The dog was with the Tulsa Humane Society. I went and applied for the dog's adoption but was turned down since they thought it was too small to be an outside dog.

I continued to check their web site and saw that they had a few Shih Tzus come in from a Puppy mill. I met Cutie- aka Abby and fell in love. She was a puppy mill mommy. She was obviously not use to humans. She has really made a lot of progress in learning to trust us. She is really sweet and cute.

Thanksgiving

We spent a wonderful Thanksgiving at Paul's mom's house. Wonderful food shared with the ones we love.

The kids enjoyed decorating Grandpa's and Grandma's tree.

Job, job and job

I am currently doing three part-time jobs. People are amazed but really they don't equal the hours of a 40 hour week job.

I work the 2 12-hour shifts during the week for the hospital. Dwindling hours at home for Dillon International and hours at the fertility center during IVF cycles.

Much to my surprise, after only three weeks, I was asked if I would be interested in working as a manager at the fertility center. I am very torn. I started working there to learn something new, not necessarily to leave my job at the hospital.

Both jobs have pros and cons. What to do?? I told my friend that I would let a fortune cookie decide my fate. Well...."Others want to get to know you better". HMMM....

I was suppose to let the center know my decision by today. Last week's meeting at the center between Office Management and the Docs to discuss the position and salary was canceled due to the ice storm. The office manager said that she was really studying the position since it will be a new position. They will hold a meeting Monday. I am starting to wonder if they are looking at different options that may not include me. Who knows. I guess if it is meant to be then it will happen.

Awesome Movie~~~

'Bella' receives critical acclaim while literally saving lives
By Michael Foust
Dec 6, 2007


NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)-Movies often are judged on their entertainment value, but one particular low-budget film gaining steam in theaters is being judged on something else-the number of lives it has saved.

It's a bold claim, but one that "Bella"-a pro-life movie that surprised film observers by winning the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award-apparently can support.

"It's been amazing," lead actor Eduardo Verastegui told an audience in Nashville, Tenn. "We've received so many e-mails and letters from young ladies who just days before were scheduled to have an appointment to have an abortion, and after they saw 'Bella' they kept their baby."

But "Bella" is making headlines for other reasons as well. On its opening weekend Oct. 26-28, it finished second nationally in per-theater average, finishing behind the horror flick "Saw IV." "Bella" opened in 165 theaters that weekend but ia now showing in more than 450 theaters passing the $5 million gross mark, according to figures at BoxOfficeMojo.com. By comparison, another recent low-budget film, "Facing the Giants," grossed $10 million during a 17-week run.

Despite the fact it's been in theaters now for more than a month, "Bella"-rated PG-13 for thematic elements and brief disturbing imagery-still ranks No. 1 among all movies on both The New York Times' reader's review poll and Yahoo user's poll. Fan reviewers at the movie Web site Fandango.com have it at No. 2.

The movie's story follows a young unwed pregnant mother, distraught over her situation. A co-worker, played by Verastegui, befriends her and helps her cope.

"Bella"'s recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival put it in the same company as "Chariots of Fire" and "Hotel Rwanda," both of which won the same award. It was made for a reported $3 million.

"This is not "King Kong" or Spiderman," Verastegui said. "It's a small-budget film-a little film with a big heart. The only way this film is 'flying' is by word of mouth."

It's also been helped along by several pro-family organizations. Focus on the Family has promoted it as has the Family Research Council and other pro-life organizations nationwide. It's even received high praise from secular reviewers who have applauded, among other things, the performances, screenplay and cinematography.

The movie impressed veteran movie producer Stephen McEveety ("Braveheart," "The Passion of The Christ") enough that after seeing it, he signed on as executive producer to help promote it.

"Bella" is the first film released by Metanoia Films, a new company formed by Verastegui and four other partners. Verastegui himself is well-known in Hispanic cultures, having starred in Spanish soap operas and even being named one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in People en Espanol. But after taking the lead role in the U.S. film "Chasing Papi," Verastegui had a change of heart as to his involvement in edgy productions. Metanoia Films subsequently was formed.

"In my opinion I was poisoning our society with the projects I was involved 'with'," he said. "One day, I made a decision, made a promise to God that I would never use my talents to do anything that will offend my culture, my family. That's when I had this conviction to open a production company to produce films that will have potential not only to entertain but to make a difference."

Verastegui, one of the movie's producers, said he wanted to make films so clean he could "invite my mother or my grandmother."

"At the same time I was so passionate about promoting the gospel of life, the sanctity of life-to show in a very subtle way and a very artistic way why life is sacred, life is a gift from God," he said.

The movie certainly has filled that life-affirming role. About 18 months ago, Verastegui learned of a young man in Miami whose girlfriend was pregnant and had made an appointment to get an abortion. Verastegui talked them into cancelling the appointment, went to Miami and showed them an early version of the film. The woman decided to keep the baby and named her Bella.

"Even if 'Bella' doesn't sell one more ticket," Verastegui said, "I rejoice in the Lord for Bella and for many other babies . . . who are around because of this film."

First Day of Job

I went to my first day of work at the Fertility Center. Like most people, starting a new job causes a little bit of anxiety. I really didn't feel anxious this morning.

I walked in and waved to the two receptionist (whom had no clue who in the world I was) as I walked on back to the IVF office. It is amazing what people will let you get away with if you act like you know what you are doing :)

All the staff that I met were very nice. We did recovery of three patients and I was out of there by 1:00 pm. What an easy day! It is a very laid back, relaxed environment. The patients are there by choice so they are in a fairly good mood.

I think I am going to really enjoy working there!

Funny story-- last night I dreamed about hunting Easter Eggs with a class from the kids school. No matter, how many we picked up, there were always tons more to pick up. Weird huh? Think it has any thing to do with the fact that I am recovering people after Egg Retrievals??? May that be a sign of lots of eggs retrieved from my patients!

Quote of the week

You're never as old as you're going to get.

Photo For Friday- a little late

A time of giving.....

I am trying to teach the kids the value of giving their time and money to others in need. Not an easy lesson to teach in this age of give me, give me, give me.

We went to The Hospitality House of Tulsa and helped decorate the units for Christmas. The Hospitality House provides free housing for families that have sick relatives in Hillcrest Medical Center. The families are usually from out of town and have no place (unless they pay hundreds a night for a hotel room)to stay. They are also within walking distance to the hospital. A lady from our church founded it and our church helps out when we can.

We also went and bought items for the Shoebox Ministry. We filled two boxes (one boy and one girl ages 5-9)for children overseas that will not get a lot for Christmas without donations. We made sure that the kids did not buy anything for themselves during our shopping trips for the gifts. It was all about buying for someone else. We prayed over the box, wrote notes, sent pictures and dropped it off at the church this morning. It was nice to see all the boxes piled high on the table this morning.

Young Rembrandts

The kids are taking Young Rembrandts drawing class this session. We wanted to do it last session but there were not enough signed up to make a class. This session, they have 15 kids in the class. Joshua loves it and has been taking the classes since first grade. Delaney had her first class a couple of weeks ago and here is her picture. Pretty good!

Girl Scouts

Delaney has been wanting to join Girl Scouts since Joshua is in Boy Scouts. I finally tracked down a local troop for her to join. She is officially a Girl Scout Daisy. She has a meeting each Friday night and loves it!

Halloween

We went over to a friend's house for Halloween. Her neighborhood has a lot of young kids and is very active on Halloween night. The kids literally ran from house to house and were finished in about 45 minutes. They were complaining because their baskets were getting too heavy! Poor things!

I met another Dillon mom that is a friend of my friend. It was really cool to talk to her daughter that just returned home from a birthland tour. It was neat to get the insight from a young girl rediscovering her roots.

New Job

Call me crazy but I have accepted another job. I will continue to work two days at the hospital during the week and also work for Dillon from home.

Every third month, I will be working recovery at Tulsa Fertility Center. I will work about 4-5 hour days on the weekends and some during the week. Why? you say...

During one of my post-op visits, I decided that it would be cool to learn something new. During our infertility treatments, I always thought it was a fascinating field of medicine. So, why not learn something new. I have great empathy for the patients going through infertility. It was probably some of the hardest years of our lives. I think I have great compassion to offer to these patients.

Pumpkin Patch

We took our annual trek to the Pumpkin patch. The kids had fun in the maze in the hay house. I held Delaney's hand so she could go through it without being too scared. Joshua loves it. Delaney prefers the pony rides. Imagine that!

OKC Weekend

Delaney has been wanting to see the My Little Pony show live. I found out it was coming to OKC so I went ahead and got tickets in case it wasn't coming to Tulsa.

We went this past weekend. I didn't tell Delaney until we were at the door of the convention center as she tends to be a nagger. She was pretty surprised and excited.
She loves her My Little Ponies!

We went to the zoo beforehand then we went to the riverwalk to eat. We ate at Bourbon Street Cafe. The wait staff were dressed up in costumes. They were quite risque. Delaney asked me why the "nurse" was only wearing a shirt and exclaimed, "Mom, I see her underwear!".

Oh Boy.....