An Update

So, like magic the holiday season is upon us. And also like magic, it will soon be gone. This season pretty much wiped me out. There was so much going on and happening that I couldn't take the time to enjoy it...I still can't because there's more celebrating this week.
It is hard to describe, but for those who know me, perhaps it will relate. This year, Christmas just felt like another typical day...except, I didn't have to go to work. It's a horrible thought much less the feeling that surrounds this. I am still not in the holiday spirit...yet for the sake of those near me, I played Christmas very well.
I hate the fact that Christmas this year was just another day. Is my faith slipping? Am I forgetting the real reason for the season? Have I lost my mind! I'm afraid I do not know the answer. I know deep down that God is the reason and we celebrate Jesus' birth...I have no doubts about that. I may have lost my mind...
It's horrible because it's a depressed, lonely feeling. It was horrible to tell Josh to his face that I didn't want Christmas this year and that I didn't want to set up a tree or decorate my house or spend time with the in-laws and extended family. It was the hardest thing I've done. Of course, like in the Grinch, it didn't stop Christmas from coming. It came...with bells, whistles, dog treats, goodies, toys, books, paintings, food, fun, and laughter. It came all the same...but it was still just another day.
I think part of it stems from the fact that Christmas is so advertised that it loses the meaning. Couple that with the thought that everyone has to work every second and always be on the go and a person just gets beat. =o(
It bites the big one...I will post more soon and pictures as well.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Seasons of Change

I can't believe we are just 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving 2008! This year has really flown by...even more so, I can't believe it's been a month since my last post.

Fall is by far one of my favorite seasons. It is the time when the weather cools off and Josh stops complaining about the heat and humidity. It is also a time of change. The trees are the most noticable, I think. From their bright summer foliage to the relaxed, warm changing of colors.

I love the two "helicopter" trees we have in the front of our house...they go from an amazingly deep green to a bright orange, then golden orange, to yellow.

Usually, we rake twice during the fall, but our lives have been in full, non-stop gear that we missed the 1st raking. Here are pictures of our fun Saturday last week!

The leaf of a crabapple tree...

You can't read it, but Josh is 6'2" & the leaf pile is 5'10"

I imagine this is how she views the world all the time.

Joshua & Bobbi Scott with Fuzz Bucket, Roscoe, Wiloe Mae, & Aspen

Josh did several flying acts and belly flops into the pile.

My one action shot has to show my belly... :(

Wiloe was so light she had a hard time navigating the leaves, but her sister was ever ready to help her find her way out...much to the disappointment of Wiloe.

Aspen in her winter coat...it was only about 40 degrees last Saturday.

Wiloe in her coat looking like the diva she is...

This was after being out for 2 hours and being annoyed most of the time by her little sister. The aftermath was funny as well!

Life

Well, it's been a while since I have posted anything. I'll try to give updates as my life is not as exciting as most others.

1) I'm now the Assistant to the Vice President of our company. This is a new challenge as he has "separation anxiety"...or so we'll call it. He's the type to try and do everything because at least then he'll know it's done right. I'm helping him to overcome this. He is a great VP and a great friend as well.

2) Josh and I "sponsor" an inner-city boy named Devin who we met through our church...many of you already knew this. However, we have decided to also "sponsor" his youngest sister who is 5 as well. We will begin this on Monday with lessons on the alphabet and how to write the letters.

3) Our friends Jeremy & Amy Otto and Josh & I have formed a very intimate Bible Study group that we have deemed (Becky, I hope you remember this time in our lives) PB2 (squared that is)...Power Beyond Belief. We meet once a week and discuss a particular passage or passages in the Bible and laugh and cry together.

4) Photography is going great. Here are just a few pictures from the KC Downtown Air Show.

This one you can see the orange glow of the thrusters...

This is a good underside picture...very clear...

You can see the pilot & is air attachment in this photo...

It looks like I was above him taking this instead of on the crowded ground...

I touched the colors on this one, but it is one of my favorites!

A Trip Down Memory Lane - CenterFuge

Every time I go home, my mom insists that I bring my old items back with me and like a good daughter, I do...slowly since my house isn't fixed up like I like it. On the last trip home, I recovered some photos by accident that were taken while I was in high school.

Old photos can be fun to look at, laugh at, and they can incriminate us. I hope no one takes to hard to the "way we used to be" before we were "all grown up".

These photos are from one of several trips our youth group made to Glorietta, New Mexico during the summer for their church camp. This particular trip, we strayed from our norm which was normal class sessions and a semi-traditional worship service and participated in CenterFuge. CenterFuge was a semi-new thing for Glorietta that involved a completely relaxed, contemporary worship service, and very actively involved class sessions that taught many lessons.

Our first night at CF, we had a general worship session where campers were blowing Skittles out their noses to see who could "blow" harder. We also had mattress body surfing where a camper or two or four laid on a mattress and we surfed it over the crowd in a race. The worship also had a serious side...one such "sermon" was called "Befriend Mingo" and we were taught to be Jesus-like and love and respect everyone. God doesn't make mistakes and he doesn't make trash. That hit home for me because I was always being made fun of (red hair, chubby, freckles, buck teeth). It is a lesson that is hard for our society...it was then and is now. Media teaches our impressionable people who should be accepted and what is accepted even if the point of view is skued.

Our sessions rocked out. Becky and I were part of "The Jefferson's"! We were a very wild bunch of 35 teens to 1 adult. The purpose of the sessions were many and varied. We had to stand on long blocks of wood that held 10 people and pick up a rope and walk as a group...guys vs. girls...to learn cooperation and team work. Girls win...sorry guys! We also had a maze of rope around a tree with someone telling us which direction to go while blindfolded to teach trust and communication. The overall goal was to be loud and "filled with the Spirit". I remember our group had tons of chants and end the end after winning a crazy relay, The Jefferson's were victorious over the other groups!

Memory lane is just that...memories. But those memories can serve to teach and better a person as he/she moves forward in life. I really hope you enjoy these pictures...if so, let me know because I have more "Memory Lane" stories and pictures I can share.


Preston ~ Bobbi ~ Becky
Just covering his ears to tell a girly secret!

Preston ~ Bobbi
Just one of those days where it's like a 12 hour trip!

Rachel ~ Sarah
Yes, even then Rachel shared a seat with her secret crush, Preston...Sarah is laughing at him!

Bobbi
A posed moment of false sleep...I look better than if it had been taken while I slept!

Preston
A momentous occasion as he is awake and you can see his hair!

Elizabeth ~ Preston
What's better than rolling hills and a finger up your nose?

The Jefferson's
Becky & I are on the bottom row right behind the right hand (as you look at the picture) side of the banner.

A Family Tradition Disected - Part I

Well, you've by now been able to read my quicky version of our family vacation. That does not tell the whole story however...

Day One was quite an adventure in and of itself. We planned to leave Kansas City by 8 a.m. Friday, June 20, 2008. My inlaws stayed over...Barb, John, and Andy. They were supposed to arrive around 7, but made it more like 9 p.m. They forgot a lot of things at home, but Josh and I refused to go back for them...they live 20 minutes away and we could do without! Andy washed and packed the camping dishes and cleaned the camping stove that goes in the trailer. Barb packed and repacked her suitcase, snack bags, toy bags, etc. John watched TV and fell asleep sitting upright (This happens to be an apparent favorite pasttime of Barb and John as they both do it and it can be rather hilarious.) Josh got the tent ready and helped back the brown food tub with our nonperishable foods. I was busy packing our other brown tub with everything from fire starter sticks and matches and torches, to Kool-aid and string and first aid supplies and also packed the pet stuff. We were up until midnight, but fairly sure we had it all under control.
(Now, I'll be honest. The week before we left for vacation, Josh was out of town and my dad and brother both called and told us repeatedly not to forget the tags..."Don't forget the tags for the trailer...you'll get nowhere without them." We also had to take the truck back to the mechanic because our "Check Engine" light came on again, just after they "fixed" it. He said, a jinxing mix of words to be sure "If the yellow light comes on again, you'll be fine. But if a red light comes on, just turn it off right then and pull over. No sense in tearing up this fine truck. Just turn it off and pull over if it comes on red.")
We left our house loaded up full...with everything we were pretty sure...around 9:30 in the morning. A quick trip through McDonald's drive through (practically our whole order was wrong) and then out of town we sailed. It was a small sailing vessel...6 large adults crammed into a Dodge Ram 1500 with 2 cats (14 pounds and 6 1/2 pounds) and 2 dogs (17 pounds and 6 pounds) all roaming about.
We drove and drove until we reached Topeka, a whopping hour down the road. We stopped for refreshments and a potty break. Right before the decision to stop, the light bulb came on in my head...we had forgotten one of the most important items ever and we just had to go back for it. I'm sure you can guess what it was...the tags for the trailer. The dialog went something like this:
Bobbi: We have to go back...it would be horrible to go on. My Dad and brother would never let it down...especially after calling us all week to remind us.
Josh: I don't want to spend an additional 2 hours on the road. We're already behind schedule and won't make it to Colorado in time for pizza. I just don't want to go back. (Mind I said it was an hour from KC and then an hour back to Topeka.)
Barb: So don't. I say we just go on. So we may get a ticket or maybe 2, but it won't be that bad.
Josh: Bobbi, you have your cell? Call the Liscensing department and see if they can fax the documentation.
(After a call to warn my mom and get her fax number, I call the KC location and get redirected to a 2nd number in KC which then tells me to call Jefferson City as they cannot fax it because they are not allowed. I call Jeff City just to be told that we would have to reregister and pay all the fees again and if we did that, they could fax a receipt, but nothing more. I, being to my boiling point because my husband was listening more to his mommy than his wife, tell the man on the phone who was droning on now "I'll just register in another state and have the tags today. You won't get my money because you, sir, do not know good customer service." I hung up and glared at Josh.)
Josh: No luck huh?
Bobbi: Nope, we have to pay the fees again. Let's just run back and get it. It'll be faster and safer that way.
Josh: No, we'll just go on and if we get a ticket, we get a ticket.
Bobbi (fuming by now and exploding as I explain): A ticket? You think we'll only get one ticket. You're talking about cops in Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, and not to mention different sides of the state in all of them...means different tickets. What about the Park Rangers in each park we stay out or the sites we see or the places we visit while we have the trailer. I say we're looking about about $500 in tickets easily, not to mention the possibility of appearing in court in the itty-bitty towns who won't accept a faxed or mailed proof of current tags! Do you get the picture! Let's just go back.
Barb: You're blowing this out of proportion.
Bobbi (trying to suppress rage): It's 2 hours or over $500...I'll take 2 hours.
Josh: She's got a point. We'll just go back.
Barb: Leave John, Andy, the dogs, and me in Topeka then...We don't need another 2 hours in the car.
We load up and try to find the park across from the Zoo, but get mixed up and after an additional 30 minutes added to our 45 minute stop and argue time, we've wasted an hour and 15 minutes. We drop the gang at the rest area in Topeka and Josh and I hit the road to get the tags.
Just west of the middle interchange in Lawrence, I notice the temperature gage is souring through the roof and next thing we hear a slight bang (like driving over a pop bottle at 70 MPH) and then the RED light comes on! We pull off the middle ramp and stop just before having to pay for the toll to exit. Josh pops the hood and gets out in a hurry...What can it be now! As if this isn't the perfect start to a perfect vacation!
He tells me to get out of the truck...The serpentine belt is shredded, torn, jammed, and hanging off the truck! This is just great! A great day to start vacation!
The tow truck arrives an hour later after 2 state patrol troopers stop to check on us and the cats. The tow truck was late because disbatch gave him the completely wrong address! D'oh! He pulls off the serpentine belt and checks the water pump...it's jammed. Great! Now we have a bad serpentine belt and a jammed water pump...both need replaced and it's 12 noon...so much for 2 hours.
He tows us to Westside 66 in Lawerence where the owner takes a look..."Welp, the serpentine will need replaced and so will the water pump. That's a good 4 hour job at the quickest." "Can you get us in today...we're on our way to Colorado and don't know anyone here. We're from KC." "Well, we're full up here, but let me see about our other location." (The tow truck is gone...this would mean a new tow truck and money and time.) "We moved some things around here and we can get you in today. It'll be about 4 hours, but we can get'er done for you." (We were overjoyed and very thankful. Looking back on this, it was a Godsend to have to go back and be stuck in Lawrence with the family safe at a truck center than to be 45 minutes west of Topeka in the middle of nowhere on a Friday afternoon.)
Josh and I roamed around for much of the 4 hours. Both of us got severe sunburns...especially on my shoulders, arms, neck, and face...this resulted in blisters and peeling 2 days later.
Once we were back on the road, we scooted home to get the tags...this was no easy feat. Josh thought he left them on the coat rack near the front door, but couldn't remember if he left the littler sticker attached to the receipt or if he took it off the receipt...1 1/2 inches by 1 1/2 inches big is the size we were looking for. We tore the house apart and I was near tears. "God, I have no idea where the stupid tags are, but we need them. We don't have time to turn the house completely upside down and it's just a small favor. Please, Dad, help me or Josh...help us find the tags within 10 minutes so we can hit the road...please Father." Literally 2 minutes later, "I GOT THEM. I FOUND THEM. LET'S GO. COME ON, BOBBI, I'VE GOT THEM!" They had slidden down between the coat rack and the wall.
The rest of the night to Colorado was uneventful, but we arrived at 1 a.m...too late for pizza and all of us dead tired for a bed.

Here are some pictures of our "time well spent".

A Family Tradition

It may be known by some of you that every year (or almost every year) the Scott Family takes a "little" vacation. Now, when I say the Scott Family, I suppose I should clarify as it seems to fluxuate as with any family...Joshua, Bobbi, Andrew (Andy), Barbara (Barb or Granma Barb), John (Granpa John), and my niece Layla.
This year's trip encompassed 2992 miles in our Dodge Ram 1500 with our pop up trailer and six people fit snuggly inside like sardines. We travelled through 7 states (if you include the starting state of Missouri) and saw sights of Garden of the Gods; Pike's Peak; Agate Fossil Bed; Fort Robinson; Scotts Bluff; Chimney Rock (from a distance); Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, South Dakota; Spearfish Canyon; Mount Rushmore; Custer National Park; Crazy Horse; Sturgis; Wall Drug; Deadwood; The Badlands; Sioux Falls. We also crossed numerous rivers, streams, and creeks, swam in two lakes, went without showers for 5 days (imagine sunbaked sardines...good thing the windows were always rolled down!), ate Taco John's twice, paid bookoo bucks for repairs to the truck and gas, and had a jolly good time.
Two persons got sick. Andy had a terrible migraine the day we arrived at The Badlands and took some asprin and went to sleep. Bobbi took a severe soar throat the same evening and vomited twice. The doctor has confirmed I will live...but I'm on heavy meds for the next 2 weeks to recover. (It is not at all what I wanted for vacation...severe soar throat, vomiting, shakes, chills, fever, lack of sleep and food/drink due to my throat and now I have to use another day of PTO because I'm contagious.)
Anyway, I'm off to make some chicken noodle soup and then go back to bed. I will hopefully be awake later or tomorrow to post a few pictures...my laptop will not let me post a lot because it hates my camera software.

Lucky Lucie Goosie

Anyone who knows me knows I love animals...all kinds. They would also know that I wanted to be a vet, but couldn't afford to go to Vet school and chose business instead. They would also know that I believe God puts individuals in certain situations to assist when He sees fit. Last night was one of those nights.

Josh and I went out with our friend Burnie and his fiance Starla for some ribs and miniture golf. During the golf game, we made teams and whoever lost had to buy Foo's Ice Cream after the game. On the way to Foo's driving a way we do not normally take, we noticed and injured goose. We were in Burnie's car and of course he would not stop. However, I declared that after Foo's when Josh and I were dropped at home, we would see if the goose was still there, and if so, bring her home for the night so he wouldn't get eaten by any animals.

Well, she was still there. We had a blanket and our large dog kennel. Josh shook his head and said it would never work, but I knew it would. I tossed the blanket over Lucie's head and carried her to the kennel (this allows them to calm down so they don't injure themselves or the human assistance.

We were tailed home by a car. Josh went to talk to them because the stopped one house short of ours. They were none too happy with us and started yelling and cussing at Josh. Josh explained that I was an animal lover and I couldn't stand leaving the goose there to become dinner for some animal so we brought it home. This calmed the older couple down and they explained people had stolen their neighbors fowl before and thought that that is what we were doing!

Anyway, it all worked out as Lucie does not belong to their neighbors and the animal control will come out to pick Lucie up and get her taken care of...I like happy endings!

Lucky Lucie Goosie - full view

Lucky Lucie Goose - Profile shot

Suspected bum left leg - keeping her grounded and at danger.

Working Hard

So, a quick update in my busy little life...
1) I am transitioning into a new position at Heartland Services (www.heartlandsi.com). That position is the Assitant to the Vice President. It's a great honor and something that has been buzzing around us "oldies" since I first became full time 4 years ago. I am excited about working with Shannon because he reminds me of Josh in personality and humor. This should be exciting.

2) Today I had my review for Heartland. I will post parts of it later and how I did, but it was a good review and it came with a raise. You can never argue if they're going to pay you more money and say you did a good job.

3) Fuzz-Bucket went to see the vet for the first time since we rescued him. He is now a eunuch and has had his front claws removed. The vet really frustrated me though! The receiptionist told Josh Friday morning that Fuzz would be ready by the end of the day. Josh shows up and she says that they have to keep him overnight, but they'll be open til 6 p.m. Saturday (which is great because I had to work). I go to pick him up at 4 and was told they closed at 12 and I'd have to wait until Monday...this because they could not verify that I had paid for the procedures. Which is quite hilarious because they misscharged Josh Friday for someone else's pet, had to do a refund to our card (which takes 4-5 days to appear back in our account), and then recharged our card the right amount. Needless to say, we were down over $500 and still didn't have our cat back! But he's home now and doing great...our little "Insta-purr"!

4) We are in the works of planning our 2 week vacation for this summer. We will be traveling to Acadia National Park in Maine, down to DC and then home again. Keep an eye out on this blog for our miniseries "Vaca with the In-Laws and Such". It should be good...a few stories and a few pictures.

5) Tomorrow night we will celebrate Andy's January birthday. He chose to go to Garozzo's Italian Restaurant. It'll be really yummy. We had to cancel Volleyball to make it work though...so instead of getting the MUCH needed exercise, I will be chowing down on pasta and Italian desserts! Happy Belated Birthday, Andy!

6) Spring time is just around the corner and with that comes lots of yard work. We have some flowers in bloom (pictures coming soon) and gardens to cultivate and glean. Also, with the change of weather, there will be some friends in town. Jason and Jana will be coming to visit us in May. I will have pictures of them and our fun time spent together after their visit.

Well, there's the quick story of my life. No childern, no big plans, but everything is in God's hand on this in. We glorified him with our work for him and he has answered our prays. Praise be to God for guiding us through our journey.

Pet Pictures

These are just random acts of petdom.


Intense focus...


Listen, Kitty, I might be smaller than you, but I'm ferocious!


Kitty night vision?


I am NOT vertically challenged...he's just holding the toy too high!


I might be the old man around here, but I can be a playa.


If I were really like this, I'd sell for millions, baby!


Honest, Ma, I wasn't gonna mess with the flowers.


On 2nd thought, they smell very funny...


Young pounce done in by old tailer!


I'm Italiano for a reason - Whatcha want?


I'm feeling tense with that thing looking at me!

Pets Galore

So, since we got our new gadget, I can actually take good digital photos and upload them for all the world to see. Anyways, here are some photos of our pets in the order that we actually owned them. Enjoy!


Wiloe Mae (aka Lil Bit) - female - 7 year old long hair Chihuahua


Roseco Roscisimo - Male - 9 year orange short hair tabby


Aspen (aka Big Bit) - Female - 2 1/2 year old Jack Russell Terrier
Aspen was rescued from Wayside Waifs.


Peaches - Male - age unknown Betta



Goliath - Giant White Snail


Blueberry Muffin - Male - age unknown Betta


Fuzz Bucket (aka Fuzz or Fizzle) - Male - 8 month old long hair tabby
Fuzz was a stray picked up in Lamar Colorado

Digital Canon Rebel XT

So, yeah, maybe I'm spoiled. But don't I deserve to be spoiled once in a while? We finally got the camera and like everything in my life, there's a story to go with it...

We originally ordered this professional SLR over our Thanksgiving hiatis in Colorado. The camera was on backorder, but was to arrive right around or very shortly after Christmas. It never showed up. Upon further investigation, it was found that the company we had bought it from had sold out to another company. This infuriated and frusted both myself and Josh as the company didn't even both to tell us. Furthermore, the new company didn't even call to confirm that they had our order and it was still on backorder.

I found it to be a ridiculous cycle as we were seeing other sites selling our camera and it was in stock. Why couldn't this company get us what we wanted? Needless to say, in the middle of this month, we placed our order with the trusted KEH (http://www.keh.com/) folks. The camera was to arrive in one week. I had to wait again...but KEH succeeded in getting the camera to us in 3 days!!

So, short story long, we got our new professional digital Canon Rebel XT and have been playing with it all week.

P.S. It's the best professional SLR to have if your seriously into photography as a job or hobby.