I just found an amazing rendition of the national anthem at an Isotopes baseball game this week as my RSS reader popped up this morning. I can’t believe this man’s talent! It gives me chills just listening to it. I’m so honored to have been able to spend just a couple years of my life living in a house with him, going to school with him, and continuing a friendship today.
My in-laws just left to return to Houston after a wonderful nine-day visit. It was so fun to see them, enjoy their company, and watch their expressions as Noah, who was doing terribly when they last saw him, started eating bites of food with his mouth. It was also enjoyable to allow them to sleep in their own room and not have to pull out the cot or set up the couch and have them live out of suitcases in the middle of the floor, since we’re in a new house.
And of course, what visit would be complete without a few projects? We are in a new house, after all. Here are just some of the things we accomplished during their short tenure in Casa Horlbeck:
I’m sure I’m missing a bunch, but that’s already over two projects a day. Not too shabby. We also managed to go out to Hoots, visit our friends in Moriarty, and go for a couple walks to get the daily USA Today.
Boy, were we tired when the week ended, too.
OK not really, I just figured I’d have an Anne of Green Gables moment for a sec. But I am reallllllly disappointed. I got my bright pink dress in the mail yesterday, and it is oh, only 4 sizes too big. The tag says “small,” but it most definitely is not. Here’s how it all went down:
I was so excited when my dress came, I ripped open the bag and threw it on. Then, the moment of truth in the mirror. Horror! The waistband was totally loose and hung four inches lower than it should have. The scoop neck was so large, that if I slightly bent over the whole neighborhood could have seen my belly button. This will not do!!!!
Just then, Sammy came out of his room after having taken a good nap. He drug his favorite blanket behind him and exclaimed I looked “just like a princess.” Sweet boy. Thanks for the encouragement, my son!
Back to the store it goes, though. And the HUNT continues. I may have to resort to locking myself in a room for 5 days so I can sew myself another dress, because trying to find something modest for less than $50 is proving to be a challenge.
The fuschia dress! I ordered it yesterday. Thank you to everyone for playing along 
Here are just a few of my reasons for picking this one.
First, I remembered I have basically the same dress as the purple one! Except it’s black with 3/4 length sleeves. Second, even though empire waisted clothing is very stylish lately, I still can’t help but feel like I’m wearing my maternity clothes. I know an empire waist is supposed to draw your attention up, but I still the drape of the skirt makes my belly look bigger. I don’t want to eat a big meal and then look 4 months prego, haha.
Now I have to decide what kind of fun shoes to wear with it (and hope that when it comes in the mail it’ll look as cute on me as it does on the model).
Oh, and guess what… I found some free coupon codes online and saved myself $8! Sweet.
Mama needs a new knit dress! Should I buy the empire waist purple one, or the fuschia one with the slightly flared skirt? Help a girl out and vote in the comments section please They’re cropped and I’m not sure how to fix it, so click on each pic to see the full view.
We got Scruffy while I was in middle school. We had previously had another dog and a couple of rodents hamsters, but those didn’t really seem to work for us well. What we needed was another dog, and my parents decided to make that a reality for my brother Scott and I.
She was technically more Scott’s dog than mine, but obviously we both enjoyed her so much. We got her as a puppy and went through the house-breaking phase, the sock- and underwear-eating phase, and the “I’m-going-to-beg-by-sitting-up-for-30-minutes” phase.
Even though my parents got her for us, it was quickly apparent that they were breaking their own rules in order to garner affection from the new puppy. Quickly, we realized, that Scruffy was becoming a “Daddy’s Girl” and that the only one who would give her people food was Mom. No matter how hard we tried to stop them and no matter how many times we pleaded with them to let Scruffy sleep in our room, in the end Dad and Mom still had the corner on the market of our dog’s true affections.
We had the fun of taking her on walks down to the local elementary school and then teaching her how to catch a tennis ball and a frisbee in her mouth (although not at the same time). We watched her have so much fun that we were sure she was going to pant the tongue right out of her mouth. She always wanted to go back and do it some more, but we had to made sure she rested too!
She went with us through our high school years and the first part of our college years. During that time, of course, Scott and I were discovering more of who we were as young men and pursuing our studies with a fervor that prevented us from spending as much time with our doggie as we used to, save for the occasional tear around the house or knock-over-and-lick sessions.
Scott and I soon moved out of our parents’ house and moved on with our lives, leaving Scruffy to the care of my parents. She didn’t seem to mind it so much, as she got to sleep a lot and eat Mom’s toast everyday. She enjoyed our visits though, and certainly as Sammy and Noah entered the house, she became protective and would run in excitement to see them, despite the fact that she was usually abused at their hand.
Just this last Thursday, my parents had to make one of the toughest decisions they’ve ever had to make. Scruffy has been mostly deaf for several months and very blind; she had arthritis and cysts all over her body. Although she seemed to be in mostly good spirits, there were several occasions where she was in very evident pain. Life was exceedingly difficult for her now; she’d wake up in the middle of the night and yelp in sheer fright and pain. So my parents decided it was time to let her go.
Scruffy, I will miss your yawns at the expense of Dad’s hands; I will miss your sweet heart and protective nature toward me and my children; I will miss how you would tear around the house when you got excited.
With love,
Mark
If you’ve never seen this short clip before, it’s totally worth watching. We serve a powerful, holy, and GOOD, GOOD God.
