Happy 85th!

Today we went to Thomas to celebrate my husband's grandfather turning the "Big 8-5"!! He is such a special man, and I feel like the world would be a better place if more people were like him. He has lived such a great, healthy life and everyone who knows him, or has heard of him (he is a legendary high school football coach) absolutely adore him. Here is a picture of him and his wife... How cute! His words are so endearing, and he is so sweet to her; even as she battles Alzheimer's. Just a REALLY special, special man!

Other than that, our life is still pretty boring! We are so in love with our dog! Pathetic, huh? At first he was more in love than me, but now I am head-over-heels! I went to PetSmart yesterday to buy him some rawhide treats, and $200.00 later, the sales clerk told me that she can tell I am a great pet owner...sure... I would say that too, to make naive/stupid people like me come back again, and again, and again! S-U-C-K-E-R! ~Amy

Getting Ready for Gavin!

Last weekend we had a shower for our GREAT friends Jarrod & Magan. Little baby Gavin should make his appearance any day now and we can't wait! Between the two of them, they have more siblings than the Osmond's, but we are hoping we get to babysit too... Little Gavin doesn't know what he is in for having Uncle Z & Aunt Amy around... Magan, as always, looks great. She is one of those pregnant girls that you would love to hate! :) So on the topic of Jarrod, little Bo gets to go see him today for his first vet appointment. Yeah, we are a little concerned as he is scared of everything! Thank God my mother does not have to work today, so she can go with me. I will probably have to have a glass of wine at 11am, because I am envisioning a complete meltdown. He will probably lose all control of his bowels, and claw us like a bear. Awesome. He has been so much fun for us. We have completely lost sight of the "The Social Life" that everyone knows because we hate to leave him alone. All in all, that is probably good for us, and our pocketbook! Who know getting a puppy would actually save you money!?!?!

So the elephant in the room... What are our plans for a baby?? We have absolutely no idea. We are still not ready to think about it. It is mentally, emotionally, and financially exhausting! We are hoping that God will just drop a baby in our arms like the folklore of the stork. Do you think that can happen?

One thing is for sure, we will not be moving anytime soon... I mean, what would Bo think of Chicago??? ~Amy

Introducing Bo!

Well, 2010 hasn't started out so exciting... Our New Years Eve was spent on the couch, sick, and house training a new puppy... Here he is:

Isn't he precious!?! We just love him! Who knew puppies were so much work, though? It was pretty cute because I stayed home from work on Monday (because I was sick) and he laid right next to me by his bowl all day:

I tell you what; we just love him!
~Amy

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did! The snow storm, affectionately called “Oklahoma Blizzard ‘09” put a damper on our plans. We were so looking forward to Thursday-Saturday with family and then Sunday to relax. Instead, Christmas ended up being late Friday-Sunday and needless to say, Monday at work has been HARD!

I always give my husband a hard time about his passion for 4-wheel drive. It is more expensive on our insurance, costs more to fuel, and adds about $5k more on the purchase price of a car. Well, after this debacle, I will never complain about 4-wheel drive again! On our way to do our last minute Christmas shopping (Christmas Eve) we were the only ones not getting stuck! We had to stop our car and help people push about every mile! It was insane!!! 2010 Chevy Tahoe 4X4 will definitely be his ½ birthday gift!

Look at the amount of snow outside our back door:
Crazy for Oklahoma, huh?

So, I made my meal for the day after Christmas and we had a lot of food. The beef tenderloin turned out OK, but it was cooked Medium, which I will not eat. I also made a cheesecake with a ladyfinger crust and sides topped with cherries. Very festive! We spent HOURS searching the metro Oklahoma City area for ladyfingers (Only in Oklahoma). Anywhere else; every grocery store would have had them. Guess where I finally found them? Crest, my favorite grocery store. I went earlier on the 23rd to load up on food, but forgot ladyfingers. That should have been the first place we looked the second time around!

I hope Santa was good to everyone, he certainly was to me! Have a great New Year’s Eve and BE SAFE! Talk to you all in 2010! Can’t wait for the New Year! ~Amy

Christmas Bells Are Ringing!

I am so ready for Christmas! This year has been so awful, I am ready for the holiday that brings us the most joy! We have the tree decorated and it is BEAUTIFUL! (A little overwhelming, though...1500 lights!) I am about 99% done with Christmas shopping and ready to start cooking. This year I am hosting the families on the 26th. We have been going through my grandmothers old recipes and let's just say, if you are hungry on the 26th, stop on by! So far we have so much food picked out, I hope our grocery bill isn't more than our car payment!

Here is my last rant of the year... I read an article about a classroom in Florida that put up a Christmas tree. Apparently now, the ACLU is suing the school because a non-Christian student's parents found it offensive. Wow... Is this really what our world is coming to? Speaking from the Christian perspective, when did a Christmas tree define Christianity? ABSURD! I can hardly stomach these people and this is coming from a pretty open minded person! I mean, if I went some where and they asked me to spin a dreidel, I totally would; how fun! Does that make me Jewish??? No... I would light a kinara too!! Does that make me an African? Whatever happened to peace? Why must people fight so hard for symbols? I don't understand it! It drives me crazy! Anyway....

I hope everyone has a wonderfully blessed Christmas and I will talk to everyone in 2010!
MERRY CHRISTMAS! ~Amy

Wait... What's My Name, Again?!?

Where to start…
For those who don’t talk to us on a semi-daily basis, you probably don’t know the whirlwind that has been our life for the past 30+ days.

I found out in late October that I have an autoimmune disease called Sjogren’s Syndrome. Fun. Sjogren’s is basically a disease that attacks your glands. Can it be deadly? Sure, but rarely. As if we haven’t had enough on our plate this year!!! 2 failed in-vitro’s: check; Death of a grandmother: check; Diagnosis of a disease: check. Oh, but wait…there is more! On November 18th, I received a call at my office from my dad’s best friend. My dad was in critical care due to kidney failure and sepsis. Awesome. We left immediately and drove all night (16 hours) to Phoenix to be with him. It was touch and go for several days, but luckily the doctors worked their magic and he is now at home. We got back on November 23rd, to pack our bags and leave the 25th for Chicago. Exhausted? Yes. Do I need a maid to clean my house? Yes. Is Christmas really in 23 days??!!??! Yes.

So needless to say, we officially hate 2009, and are ready to see 2010! My husband's friend Russell, who is hilarious, keeps thinking of mottos for us like, “The Bradt’s Win in 2010.” Friends. That is what keeps us going. I know I am a broken record, but Gosh! We are SO blessed! So, with all of that said we are thinking of a fabulous way to ring in the New Year; a fresh start, if you will. Any ideas?

One thing is for sure regardless of the year: The Bradt’s love Christmas! My house is so decorated that my mother’s first reaction walking in was, “Wow! This looks like a Christmas store!” Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Not sure…. Anyway, last night we went and picked up our fourth, yes that’s right FOURTH Christmas tree. This is the big one, though, you know, our “main” tree. So we loaded up the Tahoe and headed to TLC (our favorite nursery) and found a Noble Fir that we loved. Sure, it was big, but not that big, right? WRONG! See below. Our tree (affectionately named Milton) is so big that it completely drowns our living room. Go big, or Go Home!!! ~Amy

Is It Really Almost Christmas???

So not only did the Summer of 2009 fly by, so has the fall! I cannot believe we are 50(ish) days away from Christmas! I do love this time of year though. My husband is so excited as well. This will be the first Christmas in our new house, and he is ready to, "do it up right!" I am picturing something like this:

with an electric bill to match!!! Not to mention, I was making my annual Christmas card list and we are over 100! I am turning into my grandmother!!! I used to always tease her about her list, I think when she passed away, she was hitting 250! Oh well, I would take 150 over 15! Blessed with people you love is never a bad thing!

Anyway, I can't wait to start decorating the house! I have a problem, though, my routine is decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving, but this year we will be in Chicago. (No, not to just check it out, that is where my family lives!) We are going to go downtown on Saturday to show him the ambiance of Christmas downtown. It is amazing! We are also going to check it out and see how we feel. Mom just put the house on the market, so our time to make a decision is near! Speaking of, we were out at my husband's grandparents house last night and met a couple a few houses down that recently adopted a sweet little boy, Hudson. I love that name... Anyway, they went through the process with me and showed me their portfolio, and that option is also weighing in. SUCH a big decision!

Have a great week! ~Amy