our pat green weekend..

id like to share a little about our weekend.. but first i need to tell you a little history. a few years ago.. i met boy. a boy who loves music. he loves all kinds of music.. but that doesnt mean he doesnt have a few favorites. we soon discovered that our favorites were not exactly the same... i wanted him to love mine the way i did. and he wanted me to love his too. so we set out on a mission to learn to appreciate those elevated on each others lists. he threw out his copy of songs you know by heart and dove head first into jimmy buffetts real music. on his way..he handed me a copy of he we go. much like the day i met the boy.. it was love at first site. it was instantly apparent to me that when i left texas all those years ago ~ i was missing out on more than just visiting my parents. i was missing out on texas country! so thats how the love affair began. and in dec 2004.. the boy took me to see pat, live, for the very first time.. at billy bobs in ft worth, texas. we had an incredible time that year. we made plans to return to that same show in 2005..and out of that incredible weekend came another boy who stole my heart. (maybe we should have thought about pat when we were arguing for months about his name..) in 2006..with a little baby at home..we decided that we should save our money and our energy and skip the show. we had another christmas party on the same night.. there just wouldnt be time for pat that year. around 11pm.. we looked at each other.. sad that we had not made a better effort to go.. snuck out of that other christmas party and drove to ft worth. we didnt have tickets to the sold out show and we were sure that our last minute efforts would be in vain. as we drove into the parking lot.. we spotted a couple of girls leaving. we got their attn and asked if the show was over. they explained that they were just tired and wanted to beat the crowd. they handed us their ticket stubs and said have a good time. we parked the truck.. ran inside.. found their seats in section A.. and listened to the last few songs. sang along to frosty the snowman when pat came out for the encore in a snowman suit. then we had a drink and toasted that this would be 'our weekend' from now on. sure we will see pat when we can..where ever he is playing.. but this show is special to us.

this year we decided to do everything we could to make it perfect. we signed up for tix to the 4th annual fan club party.. debated for days about what we wanted to have autographed.. and for months looked forward to sitting in section A the entire show (not just the last few songs). my mom came to say with our little boy and his beautiful sister and we headed out saturday morning. our prize for the day would be a rather pricey guitar that we bought just for pat to autograph..and our memories of course. when we arrived at the meet n greet.. we got all of our freebies and a couple of raffle tix. by the end of the afternoon.. when we had both won one of the top prizes.. had our pics made with the man.. and sat thru a private performance! we could have gone home a happy couple! but there was so much more fun to come!! we headed over to the hotel that would be our home away from home for the night. met up with my brother and sister-in-law and a couple of friends. had an awesome dinner.. played a little poker.. and then made our way back to billy bobs for the main event. pat did not dissappoint! it was an incredible set.. not many times in a girls life that she can say she got to hear galleywinter live twice in one day! im so glad we went! it was a great weekend!!! cant wait to do it again next year!!

at the fan club party

out to dinner..

kyle says that new jacket still smells like mercardo juarez

at the show.. nick, jenny, jeremy prine, kp & james

thank you jenny for sharing your pictures!!! ..there will be a pic of kyle and i with pat from the meet n greet.. i will post it here as soon as i rec it from the dancehall! cant wait!!

HERE WE GO!

Now up and at 'em here we go.... I'm off again to the rodeo

And I've sure got a lotta other little things on my mind

One is a song I just started writing

Another is a girl I just finished fighting

She said it was me but Lord I just don't believe her

And if you want to know where I'm coming from

Just sit right there and I'll tell you son

This life I lead ain't as wonderful as it appears

Here I go again just singin' in this dive

Lone Star Beer in my cereal is keepin' me alive

I gave up on Nashville a long time ago

Yeah but here I go Lord,

once again oh here I go

Now I don't need to be too rich

I'm just and old hard-headed sonuvabitch

With my eyes still set on the glory days

Back in the times of the Dukes of Hazard

Listening to Willie and old Merle Haggard

And smiling just a little as I poked along in my truck

Now there's a lot of poor folks in my situation

With years of heartache and frustration

Just kinda watching as their dreams turned into years

Here I go again just singin' in this dive
Lone Star Beer in my cereal is keepin' me alive
I gave up on Nashville a long time ago
Yeah but here I go Lord,
once again oh here I go

Let me tell you folks it don't really matter

That beer drinkin' never made you fatter

It's all those nights on the couch with the T.V. dinner

After twelve years with Copenhagen

I've finally found out that I was mistaken

It's not gonna be something to add some years to my life

And that's why I'm still dipping it today

And every morning I hear mama say

That shit is gonna kill you if the women don't get you first

Here I go again just singin' in this dive
Lone Star Beer in my cereal is keepin' me alive
I gave up on Nashville a long time ago
Yeah but here I go Lord,
once again oh here I go

whats your favorite holiday movie?

so, last week i read something interesting on a blog. here's the link.. cara, is one of kyle and kelly's friends from college. we've never actually met.. anyway. she recapped her favorite holiday movies and holiday songs vs her husbands fav's list of like catagories. as i read.. and agreed or disagreed i found myself wondering.. does my husband even know any holiday movies or songs? so that night over dinner (at dickies.. as a side note, i think we officially have more dickies cups in our cabinet than wine glasses - which is saying A LOT!) i brought up the subject. after much discussion.. we came to the conclusion that i was sure we would - not a lot of holiday stuff in his wheelhouse. he did try to say he likes 'those movies with the little kid who gets left behind on the family vacation..' (home alone) and when i asked him about a christmas story (the movie where ralphie wants a red rider bb gun) he said..'not too familiar with that one' -- where did he grow up!? funny enough, i think he decided that his favorite holiday movie is DIE HARD. his argument was 'that was a 'christmas time' movie, right?' indeed it was.. i researched quotes and there are lots of christmas references. but somehow i dont think many people consider 'yippee ki yay mother f*&%?r' a holiday movie. we didnt even get into holiday music.. i'll let you know how that conversation goes. kp..you make me smile!

and another thing..

the pulmonologists office called us back with the results from the cultures they took on thursday.. strep it is not. however, the culture was positive for RSV. seriously? where did he get that??? he doesnt go anywhere.. ever.. poor guy. anyway.. we've finally made it to breathing treatments 3x daily..instead of 4x. we are both very glad to be rid of one! 5 more days and we will be back to the normal 2 and hopefully done with this crazy cough.

diego has been feeling a little under the weather too.

you'll see from these pics that they are very good buddies..

and that korb is not letting this illness keep him down. literally.

he climbs EVERTHING! such a boy.

the little man doesnt feel good..

korb woke up with a runny nose on tuesday.. by the end of the day he was coughing like a little smoker. we increased breathing treatments -- just like the plan from his pulmonologist says -- and then first thing yesterday morning i called to make an appointment with his pediatrician. i wasnt really sure if i should call the pediatrician (dr. e) or the pulmonologist (dr. r).. but i thought i should at least give the pedia a heads up. dr. e didnt have any available appts on wednesday. the person i spoke to at the front desk said that she would have her call me to touch base about his symptoms and possibly call in a rx. that was at 8:05am. by 10:30am when i had not heard back..i called the pulmonologist office. they put me on the phone with nurse..walked me thru a treatment plan for the balance of the day/night and made him an appt to be seen at 8:30 this morning. now.. when the pediatrician finally returned my call around 1pm - i told her his symptoms..just like i had told the nurse..but i didnt share that i had already spoken to dr.r's office. felt a little like i had been cheating on her - weird feeling. anyway.. she basically told me 'tis the season for colds, virus's and the like.. and that unless he had a high fever or symptoms lasting longer than 10 days that we should just ride it out. this morning kyle took him in for his appt with dr. r.. he has a double ear infection..and he after 2 days he is already wheezing deep enough in his chest to increase breathing treatments to 4x daily. he is also sending off cultures to make sure the congestion is just a normal virus and not positive for strep. however, he is starting an antibiotic for the ear infections so either way we are covered. dont get me wrong.. i love our pediatrician. but sometimes i hate the let it run its course attitude! seriously, the poor guy wouldve been running around for 2 weeks with ear infections in both ears! i know there are pediatricians out there that over medicate.. prescribe antibiotics for everything.. but there has to be a middle ground between that and wait and see. just my opinion....

she's a genius!!!

so.. i think its been at least 3 months since i last told you that terry of clarine smith photography is a genius.. but she has made beautiful pics of my family again.. so one more time.. genius!!! im gonna keep some secrets.. for christmas surprises.. but i'll share a few! how could i not? check out jenny's blog too.. i'll let her share pics of her little handsome man! love ya dalt-o!!!

here are the links to the posts of other pics terry has taken... and a reminder that her blog is listed in blogs! terry.. you can see pics there of other pretty people she has photographed. or maybe she just makes them pretty...

session 1

session 2

session 3

session 4

just around the house..

we had a really nice weekend! we got to see good friends both friday and saturday night.. thank you to the cusano's for hosting the murder mystery dinner on friday night! it was so much fun and the dinner was amazing!!! and thank you to aly and paul for having us over on saturday evening! we had a great time catching up! we LOVE the house.. and the yard! its huge! ..we really miss you guys!

we also enjoyed quite a lot of quality family time with our munchkins this weekend. kyle went to the game on thursday night (cowboys vs packers - yes, i know, we are all jealous) then he took the day off on friday to make it up to me! he was a big help around the house with the kiddos on friday.. well, mostly with the little baby. seems he had forgotten how much fun it is to nap with a newborn. they snuggled on the sofa for hours. and he says he doesnt want another one.. when kennedy got home from school she was very excited to see daddy already here. they had some quality wrestling time in the play room and i caught a few quality pics of the action.

first things first.. our little romo!

so cute! i love it!

let the wrestling begin!
somehow daddy always seems to win..
i think tickling might be cheating?
dont worry sister.. baby romo to the rescue!
wait.. where'd she go???
sister! this is not what i had planned!

thanksgiving..

just a few pics from our thanksgiving holiday.. kyle's brother keith was also at his moms for the day with his precious little girl aspyn. she is totally adorable! she and korb played together so well! ...my guess is much better than their dads ever played together!

korb also got to spend lots of time with his buddy dalto. dalton..of course..but for some reason korb likes to say dalt-o better! theyve gotten to play together 2 weekends in a row! but somehow the only pic i got of them is all 3 in the bathtub. really cute.. but not sure if i can post it. have to clear it with kenners first! however.. last weekend my friend terry of clarine smith photography, ( www.clarinesmith.com ) who ive bragged about many times, accompanied all of us (dalto's family and korb's family) to downtown mckinney for a photo shoot! it was so awesome.. she's the best. there are a couple of pics up on her site right now and as soon as the rest are finished i will share them too! cant wait...

im a bad friend..

so.. im a bad friend. back in october i went to my friend alyson's bachelorette party. and i promised to get the pics developed and posted before the wedding.. which i didnt do. then i missed the wedding due to this miserably crap of an illness that i cant seem to shake! worst friend ever, i know. anyway.. this is my formal apology. and i finally got the pics developed and photo-shopped them as much as possible. disposable camera + scanning them = very poor quality! but they are very fun to look at! i added them to the post. enjoy!
http://jammi-kyle-kennedy-korbin.blogspot.com/2007/10/congrats-to-aly-and-paul.html

happy birthday daddy!

today is my daddy's birthday! im sorry we couldnt be together for your birthday, dad, but i hope you have a wonderful day just the same! miss you lots.. love you even more. enjoy your special day!

another day..another antibiotic

i cannot believe this is thanksgiving week.. i have to admit ive been a little whiny and not so thankful lately. i think ive been sick for like a year.. or a month.. but a year sounds better. ive finished one round of steroids (prednisone..not 'the juice') and a 10 day supply of antibiotics.. only to start another antibiotic today. cant seem to kick this crazy cough. but after blood work, other tests and an MRI - i officially just have a serious amount of congestion. and nothing more! well.. a little more, a herniated disc in my lower lumber - but that is definitely not making me cough. i actually think i have a new cold on top of the 'serious bronchitis/walking pneumonia'.. who catches a cold while on other medication? anyway.. the point is im totally gonna live.. and i do have SO much to be thankful for!

the little kid left for her fathers this morning.. she had the entire week off for the holiday. so even tho i have to share her - which is harder than you might think - at least we got to spend some quality time together monday and tuesday. we cleaned her room yesterday.. usually a total beating.. but we had a really good time. it was our afternoon nap project. she was reasonable about getting rid of some stuff and she even did the vacuuming herself. have i mentioned lately that she is growing up too fast? im thankful we get to spend so much time together.

the little man is sooooo smart. im sure every mom counts their little person as a genius- so i, nor he, are any exception. but i have proof! just today i shh'd paula and he put his finger to his lips and shh'd her too. he said.. shh- baby. it was too cute for words. he has also added quite a few new words to his vocabulary. in addition to putting words together like 'bye bye kay kay' (kay kay is kennedy's friend kaylee) we've been working on food words and my new favorite is pickle. and mato (tomato). and cracker. honestly, theyre all cute. im thankful he is a part of our lives and that he makes me smile everyday.

i love my job. its been almost a year! 10 months.. and i can still say that it was the best career decision ive ever made. there have been moments when ive doubted that... and running your own business isnt always easy. especially when you take care of peoples babies and you cant help but let your heart get involved. but i am thankful that i dont get up everyday dreading my work and that i am blessed with happy healthy smiling little faces to spend my time with.

my parents make me proud. as long as weve been together we have always rotated thanksgiving and christmas between our families gatherings. the 2007 calendar says thanksgiving=palmers & christmas=shoffners. but seeing that christmas falls on mon-tues creating a long weekend & a possibility to see both families.. and in the true jammi-spirit of trying to do too much in too little time.. i came up with the idea of inviting both families here for thanksgiving. ya know .. since i have so much time on my hands to cook and clean on my one day off. not to mention all that extra energy in between coughing.. anyway. i pitched the idea to my dad and he quickly reminded me that he and my mom have been serving thanksgiving lunch at the childress county jail for as long as i can remember. i quickly argued that he could at least try to find someone else to do it. he told me they were counting on him.. and that i should just stick to our original family plan..even tho that means my parents will actually eat their thanksgiving lunch alone. they are committed to serving the community.. and i am very thankful to call them my parents.

i am also very thankful for my inlaws. and not just because i dont have to cook and clean for thanksgiving! i am thankful they have always been so welcoming of me. and i am thankful that they make time for our children. korb and kennedy love them very much! they are special people and i appreciate them very much.. all 3 of them!

im thankful for the friends weve been blessed with..

its awesome to have new people in your life to get to know. we have a few new friendships 'blossoming' and their company has been so much fun over the last few months. im thankful were not too old to make new friends!

its awesome to have friends in your life that you can neglect, for lack of a better word, even if they are down the street, and then pick right up where you left off. im thankful for those friendships and the occasional friday night reminders that they are still alive and well!

the usual suspects, as they are fondly known, are always there for us! the mincheys and cardwells have definitely become our 'family' in the last year. we rarely make it more than a few days with out getting together and it has become so comforting to us to know that we can depend on them when we need a laugh.. or a cry.. to celebrate a small victory or moan about a battle lost. its good to have close friends. im thankful for them.

and speaking of friends.. over the last couple of years kyle and i have been able to grow a friendship with my brother and sister in law that i am very proud of. i know.. theres a automatic relationship there.. and not always something you think about..but we have worked really hard to figure out where and how that relationship works best for all of us and that makes it so much better. we could just take for granted that we are family and go from there - but instead we have thought thru each personality and created something special. i am thankful that we are really friends..not just family!

and finally i am thankful for my loving husband and best friend. he makes the world go 'round for me. love you kyle!

and in regards to the little man...

there are so many new things i could write about korb.. he learns something new everyday! yesterday he found his ears. he walked around all day pointing to his ear .. and mommys ear .. and his friends ears.. pretty cute. there is one thing he has learned that makes me a little sad. the days of the open-mouthed-baby-kiss are over. thats right. the little man has learned to pucker. its really cute -- but it does makes me a little sad. where has my baby gone?!?!

these are just some pics from around the house.

i realize some of these are a little blurry but they are still priceless. kyle almost always has a toothpick in his mouth after dinner.. and korb always wants it.

this is the game.. he will try anything to get it.

and it makes him so happy!

the reddicks came to visit for a little while on halloween.. this is the only way we could get gracy and korb both to look at the camera. stuck in the wagon.. SO CUTE!
not sure what was going on here.. but korb has definitely invaded any tv watching time that daddy and sissy used to have for sure!

i call these.. fun with the halloween candy bowl.

it has provided hours of entertainment.
in the bowl..

trying to get out was difficult..

lets try climbing on the bowl..

thats what im talking about!

whats going on with the little kid...

...something has happened everyday for more than a week that i need to 'document' and i cannot find the time!!!!! but im feeling better today.. still coughing a lot.. but feeling better so im gonna make the time for at least a few things! for starters.. a halloween story i would like to remember.

kennedy has a new friend.. she lives down the street and they have been attached at the hip since they 'found' each other. knew each other from school - they are both rje second graders. but they had no idea they lived on the same street. theyve spent every waking moment (that we will let them) together for the last 3 weeks. dont get me wrong.. they argue like most 8 year old girls. but they seem to work thru their disagreements and get on with hanging out pretty quickly. there's a point here.. i promise. kaylee is diabetic. she was diagnosed in kindergarten. she has to check her sugar and give herself (or mommy has to do it) a shot every time she eats. so as you can imagine..halloween isnt a lot of fun. her parents told her last year.. and every year to follow i guess, that they would give her .10 cents for every pc of candy she got while trick or treating. pretty good deal. well, her mom told me that after walking the neighborhood kennedy and kaylee and one other little girl were hanging out.. counting their candy and just checking out their goods when she heard kaylee tell kennedy to 'stop'. 'stop what' her mom asked. kennedy is throwing candy at me! she asked her why she would do that and kennedy replied that she was giving kaylee all the candy she got but didnt like.. so she would get more money....pretty good friend.
btw..she was a diva cowgirl. super cute costume. silver fringe..white cowboy hat. i didnt get pics that night because she was in such a hurry to catch up to her friends. and she took off her costume before coming home. but kaylee's mom said she got a few good ones. i will try to get them from her.

here they are at an ashley tisdale concert last thursday at stonebriar mall. it was crazy.. a whole post that i will not be writing!

here are a few more pics of kennedy.. aka the little kid.. around the house. i feel like we dont photograph her enough anymore. but when i get out the camera..she says 'seriously mom..im not doing anything'. growing up way to fast!

happy birthday ava grace!

i cant believe its been an entire year since that chilly sunday morning when i got the call that 'today was the day'. not that the experience is mine.. its totally kelly's story! but i wanna tell it from my perspective. ...i had been spending every spare minute i could with my friend kelly. i was on maternity leave and she was preggers. she was on bed rest..in the hospital.. and i could not bare the thought of her sitting up there by herself all day every day. so almost daily korb and i packed up and hung out with her. by way of chick-fil-a, of course. i had put off going back to work as long as i could.. monday the 6th of november was d-day. i had planned to pick my mom up on sunday afternoon. she would be babysitting the little man so that i could continue my career (see how long that lasted ;)! but i was really stressed that i was gonna miss ava's birth. after taking almost 12 weeks off i couldnt very well tell my boss that i needed another day..at a moments notice..cause one of my friends was having a baby. the answer would not have been good. so i was sure that i would just have to wait by the phone.. and pray that the news was all good whenever she decided it was time. after all she had only been 'cooking' for 34 weeks. and tho kelly had been on bed rest..all had been pretty uneventful. the fluid was low..but not any lower that it had been. she could have made it to 36 or 38 weeks. it was just a judgement call on the part of the nurse or sonographer of the day. i left home late morning on that sunday to drive to wichita falls. i had been in the car for about 20 minutes when kelly called. it was time. the c-section was scheduled for mid afternoon. i immediately called my parents. hysterical of course. it seemed too early. and i was gonna miss it! like there was no other option.. my mom and dad told me to turn around. go straight to the hospital. i argued that i HAD to go to work the next day.. and i HAD to have a sitter. they told me that they would figure it out. just to go be with my friend. i love my parents. so thats what i did. i called kyle.. told him i was on my way to the hospital and i would keep him updated with any news. i did not call kelly.. just showed up as quickly as i could. and thank goodness.. they had decided the situation was too dire to wait til mid afternoon. they were about to take her back when i arrived. we had a good hug..and cry..and then i waited. with kellys parents of course. and aarons mom. kate and rob were there too. it seemed like forever.. but then came the proud dad to show off video of his little miracle. crying and breathing on her own! what a blessing that was.. it was amazing to be able to be there. i know that she didnt know i would probably miss it if she waited one more day but i like to think she did. and what a blessing she has been every day after that for the last year! i love her very much!

our halloween..

seems like halloween is turning into one of those holidays (like birthdays) that last a full week. we had a costume party last friday night and it was so much fun! the evening before kennedy and kyle carved pumpkins for decoration.. they had such a great bonding time! it was very cool to watch. and watch we did.. korb and i did not get our hands dirty! we did have a little dress up fun, tho. he tried on all of sisters old costumes.. well, i sortof made him try them on..but he had fun! he was a rainbow carebear.. a honey pot.. a pumpkin.. and next up was a princess. but daddy drew the line there. and he refused to let us take pics..not sure why. korb was an adorable carebear! anyway.. it was a fun night!

one pumpkin down and then the little man had to go night-night.

daddy and the little kid finished the second masterpiece..on friday, we all got our costumes on and got ready to "party, party, party" (thats a gracy reddick quote). there were 6 couples here and everyone played along with the costumes required theme. it was so much fun to see all the babies! i say we keep up the tradition!

the princess..and the frog

spartan cheerleaders..and the frog ???

ugly betty.. and the frog ?? the frog was in a 'hold me' mood for sure.

ugly betty.. I LOVE IT!!

the shrek's ..and the cutest little lady bug in town.

the carter family farmers!

what's gonna work? team work! kanuth's were awesome wonder pets!

the degele's!

doodle bop mo!! aka caden degele..

most of the babies.. except the frog. somebody was probably holding him. kennedy loved christy's wig.. and lipstick.. and flower.. and basically christy in general! thanks, christy, for being so good with her!

tonight we went to the fall festival at kennedys school.. but somehow i forgot my camera. loser! oh well.. tomorrow the kids will get dressed up yet again for trick or treating. ill take lots of pics. .. and of course kennedy will have on her real costume. just like last years chickens..the princess and the frog was the theme mommy chose for them. you'll just have to check back to see what she really wanted to be!