Getting My Act Together

This has been the biggest summer we have ever had.

First, Alan adopted our kids and fully completed our beautiful family. He is the best father I could ever dream for the kids to have.  He loves them completely and parents wonderfully. The kids love him and are excited to have Cryblskey as their last name and challenge each other to spell it faster.

Second, this is the first year that our kids have had true friends and we have brought different kids home with us almost every night. Lots of sleep-overs and play time. We even bought both kids bunk beds for their bedrooms for friends to sleep on when they stay over.  I love their friends, the world is blessed with soo many kids being raised by wonderful parents.  They are polite and respectful and great at working out problems. A true testiment to where parenting is heading now.

Third, we had an excellent vacation this year. We stayed in New Braunfels with the kids at a hotel and went to Schlitterbahn which is a great water park. Went school shopping and got a new DS for Mat and new DVD players for our home. Then we went to dinner with the family and got to see lovely K'mya and Sydney who just moved to Texas.  Soon Kenny will be here and their family will be complete.  We also camped out in the hotel and watched "The Avengers" and "Soul Surfer" while cuddled up in bed. Love wrapped it's arms around us and we snuggled deep and memorable.

In between all of this we taught the kids to ride their bikes, joined a church group "Run For God", had lots of laughs with friends, went swimming at the lake, got manicures and pedicures, went to the movie theater, made chemical snow and marbles, swam in the pool, skated at the rink, started training for the 1/2 marathon in November, joined the local gym and generally enjoyed the summer.

   

I am soo excited about the coming school year.  I am determined to have my act together this year. I have already made a list on my phone of the days that the school is closed and all the early release days.  And I am going to go and meet the teachers this week.

God is Great and life is starting to fall into place.  Our family is healthy and happy and ready for the beginning of the next phase.  Thank you Lord for all that you have provided and for the happiness that you have given me.

On the Run in Dallas

On the 26th of March my friend Esther and I traveled to Dallas, Texas for the Rock-N-Roll 1/2 Marathon.  This was the first time that I have ever taken a trip like this with a friend.  I picked her up around 8am and drove to San Antonio to catch a flight on Southwest Airlines to Dallas. We packed light (one carry-on bag each) and went through security quickly. Had yummy Starbucks coffee before boarding the plane. Our friends Kristy and Cliff picked us up at the airport and drove us all to the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas.

The Hotel was very "Swanky", as we all loved to call it. Esther and I shared a room on the 4th floor.  The hallway was kind of "Shining"-ish.  But the room was lovely. And, our friend Jennifer (JJ) left some really wonderful baskets for us filled with healthy snacks, drinks, and cards. She is pregnant and couldn't run with us but still went out of her way to make this event memorable. We have the best friends ever.

After settling in for a few, Kristy, Esther and I walked over to the Expo to pick up my running packet and check out all the gear.  There were lots of vendors and if I had lots of money I would have walked away with extra baggage.  But, we were traveling light and decided to walk around downtown Dallas.

Just outside of the Convention Center was a park that hosted a series of large bronze looking bulls.  Of course we couldn't pass up this photo opportunity...



Love the Bulls




Our own Running of the Bulls







Run Esther Run







We strolled through the graveyard of founding fathers of Dallas...



Cemetery of the Founding Fathers



Then we met up with Cliff and strolled down to a place I never even imagined that I would be...  The exact place where JFK was assassinated.  We met a very kind man that took the time to tell us the whole story including the conspiracy theories for the price of around five dollars each.  This is the way that some homeless or poor make money.  He was entertaining and thorough.  I enjoyed his story.



Miguel telling us the story of JFK's assassination.





The "Grassy Knoll"



Teens in the road are where the fatal shot to the head was made.







Building that Lee Harvey Oswald was found in.



Jail that Oswald was held in until he was shot.





After we explored the area some more we all went to Olive Garden to carb load before the run the next day.  We met some friends there and had a wonderful meal and fellowship.  I loved being able to get to know my friends even more.

Afterwards we went to the hotel for some sleep which was interrupted by the sound of sirens moving closer and closer and then stopping very near to the hotel.  I crawled out of bed and look down out of the window and there were: a ladder fire truck, a small fire truck, a fire chief truck, a police car, and two bicycle cops just below us.  Esther and I took a few photos out the window and discussed the fact that there were no smoke or fire alarms going off in the building.  I called the front desk and asked if there was anything that I should be worried about.  The operator said that I would have heard an electronic voice in the hallway (and I'm assuming screaming) if there had been a fire.  There was a poor lady stuck in the elevator and ALL of Dallas' finest were there to pull her out. It is a good feeling to know that if there were a problem, the authorities would all be there to help in a hurry.

The next morning we got up and had a quick breakfast of granola bars and Ibuprofen :) And then made our way to the start line.  There is nothing like being a part of something huge that includes thousands of people all willing to push themselves to the limit for whatever cause is close to their hearts.  There were people wearing shirts to commemorate the lives of loved ones that have battled cancer and others that are just there to challenge themselves and be more healthy.



Our name for ourselves is "Sole Sisters"



Kristy and Esther







My friend designed this hat to support
 my new love of running.

The run was beautiful.  We ran through some fabulous neighborhoods with multi-million dollar homes.  The lawns were covered in lovely flowers and statues of lions.  I was in awe of the area and spent half the run just fantasizing what it would be like to live there.  The day was overcast and around 52 degrees but that is the best running weather. Not so hot that we would overheat.  Although, the further we ran the more we started to feel a slight drizzle and winds.  By the time that we reached the "World Fair" fairgrounds we were soaked, freezing and tired.  Esther and I were pushing through our pain to reach the finish line.  Kristy, who has done this many times, encouraged us the whole way. 

We finally ran across the finish line triumphant and exhausted.

After the race we rushed back to the hotel, showered and packed, and rushed to the airport.  We bought Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and coffee before getting on the plane back to San Antonio. We were triumphant, sore and tired. 



My medal.



Esther and I on the flight back home.



This was by far the best and most fulfilling adventure I have ever had with my friends.  I could not have asked for more fun, excitement and companionship than I had that weekend.  I will forever remember it.  Thank you my loved ones for being so supportive and for my friends being so ready for an opportunity to better ourselves and share in the struggle. 

Child Logic That Proves Santa Exists

Last night Lorelei told me that some boy at school said that parents really give all the gifts under the tree. But, Lorelei said that there is no way because Mommy could never have afforded to buy that Barbie house that she got last year. Thank God for Daddy-Santa for buying that for her and keeping the magic alive for another year. I'll be kissing "Santa" under the mistletoe for that one ;)

Cold Weather Creativeness

I love when the first few days of cold breeze moves into my year.  I instantly feel inspired and creative.  I've been doing a lot of art swaps on Swap-Bot which is a pretty cool site that gives you the opportunity to swap your original artwork for someone else's art anywhere in the world.  People post their idea and you can sign up for it or not and then you send your art to your partner by the due date.  It's fun to receive new art and correspondance in the mail, especially living in a border town where there isn't much to do.

Another swap site is ATC's For All.  It is basically the same thing and I always get incredible art from people on there. 

On another note, I am two weeks away from the Rock-N-Roll San Antonio 1/2 Marathon.  I'm excited and nervous.  I just found out today that there are going to be around 10 people there to cheer me on.  Which raises the pressure in a good way.  I'm going to be nervous to walk any of it in case someone I know sees me and I want to show everyone how determined and tough I am.  I want my kids to be impressed and inspired to challenge themselves more and more often.  At 6 and 8 they have both completed two 5Ks each.  I am soo proud of them for taking the challenge for themselves.

This is going to be a great month for me.

Soccer Mom

For the first time in my life, I feel as if I've entered into the world of "normal" mom-hood.  I've completed a whole season of soccer with my son. 

It's been fun.  I've watched my son progress from the little boy in the defense of the goal, who is looking for any butterfly or small ant mound to explore, to the boy who is running up and attacking the ball before it gets into the goal.  He's made some really good friends and learned that it's okay to be aggressive.  (With me standing there nudging him in the arm and telling him the cheerleading chant "Be Agressive, B E agressive".) 

I've realized that I love to be the one on the sidelines yelling at the kids.  I love telling them to, "Attack the ball!", "Steal it!", "Go Go Go!", "Good job!", "Walk it off!".  I was never really into sports, but I'm totally into sports that my kids are in. 

I loved the game where my son took a ball in the groin in defense of the goal.  All the mom's around me were like, "Ohhhhhh".  And then he took a few slow steps and walked back to his position and all the mom's were like, "YEAH!!"  Such excitement and wonderful feelings.  His team made it all the wait to the semi-finals and lost to a really good team.  But, I'm excited to say that the other won by around 3 points over us, when they usually win by 10 or 13 points.  Our team was doing really well keeping them from scoring and I am soo proud of them.

Living in this small border town of Del Rio, Texas has been really fun.  I've met some other really cool moms that have shown me what it is to juggle being a mom and having a career.  Thank God for bringing me to this border town and showing me a little more of what I can become in the long run.

Finger Painting Madness

Today, my children are on punishment and spending the evening in their beds for various misdeeds. So, I am spending the evening with my loving little nephew Nicky. He's great at cuddling and loves his shapes and playing with the kitties.
First we had dinner together (he totally loves my grilled chicken and can't stop eating it). Then we went for a walk to the playground. A friend of mine was hanging out there with her two kids, one of which is two months older than Nicky and got a new ride. A small electric John Deere tractor, and new boots to match! Nicky and him were racing down the slides together and having an awesome time. Then Nicky decided he wanted to try the tractor. I got him on the seat and showed him where to put his feet. All was great until he pushed on the pedal and the dang thing started to move. Then he jumped off the seat and ran about 10 feet like it was a fire ant pile and they were coming after him. He stopped, gradually turned around and slowly meandered up to the tractor and leaned on it admiring the boy's new ride.
Then, we went home, and I decided it might be fun to finger paint with him. He's very creative and give him a crayon and he can do pictures rivaling any Picasso out there. But finger paints....Nah! He dipped his hand in and then picked it up and looked at it and was like (In my imagination cartoon funny voice), "Holy Crap! This stuff isn't coming off! Holy Crap Aunti Jen! This Stuff Isn't Coming Off! HELP ME, HELP ME!!!" Which in real life was this not soo funny scrunching up of the eyes and sudden whimpering that wouldn't stop. So I took him into the bathroom and started the bath water. Then, I grabbed his shirt and proceeded to take it off over his head. Which unfortunately, as I was taking the shirt off, smeared across his belly and face. So, not only was the mysterious substance not coming off but the infection was spreading!!!!
A bath, clean clothes, potato chips with Uncle Alan and some cuddling later, all is well in the world. And just like the tractor...he turns slowly, says a few words and inches towards the paints. Maybe we will baby step him into it :)
I love my nephew, tonight has been fun.

Happiness in Marriage

I have found a great amount of happiness in marrying into the Cryblskey name.  It is not a common name, but it is one that I am very very proud of.  Alan, my husband as of March 13, 2010, is loving and generous with his time and attentions.  He is very aware of emotions in those around him and will set aside his personal things to show love and understanding to anyone who needs it.  I greatly appreciate this in him.  It is not something that I have found in many people and it is a true talent of the heart.  His mother is like this also.  So, it must run in the family and I hope I can learn to show this as well as they do.