Monthly Archives: January 2009

Click on the title of the blog post to view the entire entry.


Roller Skating Fun

January 28, 2009 – 6:08 pm

Last winter I took the boys to Roller-Rama for the toddler skate and I pushed them in the stroller while I skated.  This year, the boys got to try skating for the first time on their own!  My friend Lisa gave the boys roller skates for their birthday.  Brady skated for most of the time and I was impressed!  He pushed his shopping cart the whole time which gave him balance.  Tyler tried for a short time, but mainly was happy playing with other kid’s push toys and ride on toys.  I didn’t care either way….it was a great way to burn energy for them! Sara & her boys (the “Doodies”) went also.  Noah skated most of the time too.

These pictures were with my point and shoot camera.  That combined with the lack of lighting in a roller rink makes for some very mediocre pictures, but that’s ok….they still made me smile.

First of all, can you see this video?  Click on this: p1010045  and  p10100352

I guess I’ve never loaded a video into this new blog.  It doesn’t show up showing it directly on this blog (like blogger), but when I click on that it opens Quick Time and plays the video.  (I do have to press the play button over and over though because it keeps stopping through the video).  I’m not sure if each of you can see the video though.  So, someone let me know!




Above & below: Tyler was happy pushing a doll in a stroller, but after awhile I got him on skates finally.

This picture below cracked me up. We realized Brady was at the other end of the roller rink, by himself and he was talking on his phone with his purse around his arm! (Yes, they both still carry “their” purses everywhere with us…and you will ALWAYS find their cell phone and keys in their purse.) I wonder who he was calling? You could just imagine what he was doing…calling daddy maybe and telling him that he was skating?


By Kristi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (5)

Technology, Miracles & a Baby

January 26, 2009 – 12:35 am

First of all, is technically amazing or what? This post is about a dear friend of mine named Gloria. Gloria and I email each other almost every day, sometimes several times a day. We text message each other on the phone often. We’ve shared some of the funniest shortest conversations like when she simply writes me and says “I have gas” (LOL), and we’ve shared some in-depth personal conversations.

The unique thing about our relationship though, is that we’ve never met in person.

Besides the many, many emails & text messages, Gloria & I have only talked on the phone two times. The first time was September 30, 2006, the day I became a mother. And the second time was yesterday, Saturday, January 24, 2008, the day that she (finally) became a mother.

Gloria & I have something in common and that’s what brought us together….over the internet. We met on an IVF (in-vetro fertilization) message board. She joined the message board on March 12, 2006, just a couple of days after she did IVF for the first time. I was the first to answer her post and I had just recently found out that I was pregnant from my IVF procedure. I also emailed her personally, and that set off our relationship.

Gloria & I have very different backgrounds….she’s actually from Tanzania, Africa, but now lives in Texas. We do have one thing in common though…both of our husbands are 50 years old and well, we’re not close to that yet. LOL

I don’t think Gloria will mind if I share her story, but in the almost 3 years that we’ve been friends she’s tried IVF three times. It’s such a tough journey. This past year she and her husband Tracy decided to adopt a baby. It was neat to hear about that journey, especially since I had originally started it myself. Her adoption paperwork was approved and final in late November.

Just about 2 or so weeks ago Gloria & Tracy were interviewed & chosen by a birth mother’s family. And over the weekend, her baby was born and she became a mother! I had 9 months to prepare for my babies, but she only had 2 weeks! Yesterday the paperwork was finalized and she was able to put baby Tragen Cole into the car at the hospital and drive him home.

Gloria texted me on the way to the hospital when Tragen was being born, she texted me a picture of Tragen in the middle of the night after he was born and she called me on the phone while she was driving him home from the hospital.  I was soooo excited!

Gloria, I am so happy for you & Tracy! You are going to be a wonderful mother! You’ve waited so many years for this time of your life and you deserve all of this! Enjoy your special time with Tragen.  I’m also grateful for the internet bringing us together and for your friendship!    

Here is a picture of baby Tragen and a couple I found of Gloria & Tracy from a vacation this summer when they renewed their wedding vows.

By Kristi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Jay-Jay & Cat-Cat’s Visit

January 22, 2009 – 10:46 pm

While Dave was at the inauguration events, my friend Beth and her two kids from Chicago came to stay with me for 3 days. Beth was one of my best friends when I lived in Atlanta. We went to the same church and served in the youth group together. Ironically I moved to the Detroit area and she ended up moving to the Chicago area. So now we are in driving distance of each other!

You might recognize Jacob & Catherine from the pictures on my photo blog. Here are some snapshots of the 4 kids. Tyler & Brady called Jacob “Jay-Jay” and they called Catherine “Cat-Cat”. Tyler cried his eyes out when they left too. They LOVED having them here. Oh Beth, I let the boys have the last bowl of fruity pebbles today and they both looked at me and said “Cat-Cat-cereal”. They remembered that it was Catherine’s favorite cereal while she was here.

We did lots of fun activities with the kids. And Beth and I had a great time chatting until midnight each night after the kids went to bed. As it often goes, I have pics of the kids, but none of Beth & I. Darn! Thanks again Beth for making the 4 hour drive (in a blizzard on the way here). It was wonderful having you here!! I miss you a lot!

You’ll notice we had lots of fun with the Wii…mainly playing the guitar, drums and singing.

By Kristi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Cars & Politics

January 20, 2009 – 5:36 pm

First, I have to mention, that I’ve been watching the Inauguration Events on TV all day and I’m wishing I was there. Can you believe I turned down the chance to go? Dave is there right now! Yes, he’s there witnessing history this week. He said it’s packed down there. Well, that’s obvious from what you see on TV! I can’t believe the amount of people. Dave had good “seats” to the inaugural parade, which I’m watching right now, so I hope he’s outside freezing his butt off and watching it.

Also, our son-in-law, Lance (Aubrey’s husband) is there right now too. He’s in the secret service and is part of the protection for today. Aubrey said that Lance’s shift today was from 2am until 6pm…that’s 16 hours out in the cold. But what an awesome opportunity. As a reminder, Lance was on Obama’s personal protection for the past couple of years during his campaign. Very exciting!

I thought I’d post a few pictures from this past Friday night. Dave & I got to go to the annual North American Auto Show’s Charity Preview. It was $400 per ticket towards charity and was black tie. It was a unique experience and we had a good time.

This car that I’m standing in front of costs a 1/2 million dollars!! Don’t ask me what kind of car it is. I forget. But I had no problem remembering how much it cost.

Do you recognize this guy? It’s Ross Matthews (”Ross the Intern) from the Jay Leno show. He was also on Celebrity Fit Club. We were invited by the Children’s Hospital to an after party, which was held in a spa. We were even given slippers to wear during the party, along with fit rubs, massages, food and drinks. Ross was at the party and he stood and talked to Dave & I alone for about 15 minutes. Such a nice guy! I was a bit celebrity star struck, but managed to stay calm. LOL. I also passed the actor Jeff Daniels and stood next to him for a few minutes but didn’t dare take out my camera and snap a picture of him.

By Kristi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Facebook Frenzy

January 16, 2009 – 12:26 am

Is anyone else addicted to Facebook? I signed up on Facebook over a year ago, but never did much with it. Last week someone from my High School found me and added me as a friend. That prompted me to change my name so it included my maiden name. Then people were coming out left and right! It was crazy. Then my friend Cindy from college teaches me how to search for people and started throwing out names from the past….you know, fraternity guys, sorority girls, guys we loved and guys we loved to hate, etc. LOL. Anyway, I’m proudly up to 85 friends and can barely keep up with all the messages I’m getting. I’ve reconnected with old friends, old flames, ex-family members, friends from my years in Atlanta, etc. WOW! What fun. And so addicting! Isn’t technology amazing??

Does this new addiction explain why I haven’t posted as much on my blogs lately??

By Kristi | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (3)