My family -- What a cast of characters!

Easter weekend was quite fun for us in the McAlister household. We had to do our egg hunt a day early since it was going to rain on Easter. So we all went over to Meemaw and Papa's house (otherwise known as my parents' house) and had a good ole time. My brother and his family were there (minus Paxton). We watched "I Am Legend" before and after the egg hunt. I've never seen that movie before, and I had to miss parts of it because Mom and I were the ones hiding the eggs. But it's a pretty decent movie.

My kids get all hopped up on sugar whenever Easter, Christmas, and Halloween roll around because we don't let them have a lot of candy any other time. I'd rather their teeth not rot out before they've had the chance to grow their second set. Well, in their sugar high, my kids seem to act extremely different. Alex will just bounce off the wall like any normal kid would. But Reesey seems to get bossier and bossier in her sugar-high state. It's pretty obnoxious. She was even bossing Grandpa Brown around when he was trying to draw her pictures. First she tells him he HAS to draw her a picture, then she tells him it's not right so he changes it, then that one's not right either. She takes the final picture and wads it up and throws it in the trash. Mind you, this is after she's already bossed my dad and Ryan into drawing her pictures and done the exact same thing. She didn't like either of those pictures and threw them in the trash as well. Yeah.

But we did have a good time. We were with family and nothing else mattered. It was nice. We went to church Sunday morning with my parents. My brother's family was there also...all of them this time. The service was nice and the kids were good during their stay in the sanctuary. Afterwards we went to Fuddrucker's in South Tulsa for lunch with the entire family. And I have to say that eating with my nephew, Cooper, is an experience all in itself. He is DISGUSTING! He eats weird combinations of foods. He talks about bathroom functions. He has this sick sense of humor that involves bodily functions and weird scenarios. It's gross. I don't enjoy eating meals with him right now. Really. I love him to death, but it's really unpleasant. Thankfully he's only 8 and this will subside?

My hubby is a different story altogether. He yells at video games when he's losing and thinks the system is "cheating" him. It's ridiculous. He never backs down from a stupid situation either. See him here wearing my niece, Jordan's hat while we were at my parents' house the other night. Lovely.

So there's my family. They're strange, funny, crazy, and bossy. They are also very loving and generous and kind. We're one big happy, weird, silly family. And I love it!

Blessed

With the Recession that we're in, it puts into perspective what we have to be thankful for in our lives. I just found out that a dear friend of mine was laid off yesterday. No warning, no two weeks to find a job. She will get severance pay for two weeks, but she's only got a short amount of time to find a job.

They're starting to make some cutbacks at the Post Office as well. It doesn't seem to affect Ryan directly...yet. But you never know. For now, they're getting rid of managers. And how strange is it that just a few months ago, like less than 6 months, we thought Ryan should go into management to give us some security financially. If he had done that, where would we be? Probably in the poor house or out on the streets. And I'm not kidding. We are a single income family. We can't afford for him to lose his job. And it could happen, just like THAT!

I'm so glad that we listened to God during that time. We didn't pray for God to help Ryan get into the management program at work. We prayed that if this was the door He wanted us to walk through, then He would put the desire into Ryan's heart. And that desire was never there. Ryan took that as his sign that this wasn't something he should do. And I'm so glad he listened.

About a year and a half ago, my family went through some really trying times. I'm not going to get into that here, mostly because it's not the kind of thing I wanna discuss on a blog. But I will say that I am so blessed that things didn't turn out like they could have. Things are not perfect. And they'll never be the way they were again. But they're okay right now. And I'm okay with that. I'd rather have things be just "okay" than them be in the pooper like they were. Life is amazing sometimes. A year and a half ago, our nation wasn't in a Recession yet. But it felt like my family was going through our own sort of Recession. It was hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, or the silver lining in any situation. But we got through it. And I think we're all a lot stronger because of it.

I love my family dearly. They are my whole life. And I'm blessed that God allows me to have the time I do with them. I think I cherish it even more now knowing that it can all be taken away in the blink of an eye.

Snow in March?

Well, we all knew it was coming, but I don't think we thought it'd be like this. We had a lot of thunderstorms last night and our backyard was a lake, as usual. Today, it was supposed to snow, and the weathermen kept telling us that we'd get a lot of it, but you know we don't ever believe them. Apparently they were exactly right! Here are some pictures from about 10 am.

Well, I hadn't looked outside in quite awhile, so about an hour and a half later, I was on the phone with my mom. Our power had been flickering off and on and I was worried that we'd lose power and be in big trouble. So I called to see if we could hang out with them if it came to that. My mom told me that the roads were pretty bad and that it wouldn't be a good idea to drive out in it, but if we needed to and they still had power that we were more than welcome to come. So, I thought I'd look outside again and this is what I saw:

So, apparently it doesn't matter if it's Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter. We're just gonna get whatever the heck we get here in Oklahoma. Nice. Whoda thunk?

My week back to real life

So, this was my week back to school and somewhat normal life again. No more "sitting at home" and doing nothing. But, then again, I didn't really get a Spring Break since I was sick all week and couldn't do anything. But I just kind of feel normal again. I'm back into my routine of taking Alex to school everyday and going to school myself twice a week.

Speaking of my school, I just figured something out that's pretty ROCKIN'! While my parents were here tonight, I got to looking at the schedule of courses that are offered next semester. While there's not much available for me to take, I will be able to take needed classes. But the interesting thing was, that I may actually graduate in Spring 2010 instead of Fall 2010! Can you believe that? My last semester will end up being 12 hours, but 3 of those hours will be my Capstone, which isn't really necessarily a class at all. So, I'll be done sooner than I thought. Can you believe that?!? I'm so excited! The only thing is that Reesey will only be starting pre-k, not kindergarten. So, I don't know what we're gonna do as far as childcare goes. But that'll all depend on a job that I get...if I can get one then.

Being sick kind of put a kink into things around here. Last week, Alex had his first t-ball practice and I wasn't able to go because I was running a 101.2 fever and didn't think I needed to be around other people. So my mom took him and Ryan picked him up after he got off work. Well, I was hoping to be able to go to his practices this week since I was feeling better. Yeah, that didn't happen either. It rained out practice on Tuesday night and I am in class until 10 pm on Wednesday nights, so I didn't get to go again! I'm really bummed, because I've never even laid eyes on his coaches or any of the other parents. It's awfully strange.

We went to get Alex fitted for his t-ball uniform today. They had brought samples to practice on Wednesday night, but it was too cold and disorganized for the kids to try them on out there at the fields. So, they suggested we go to the place that's going to do the uniforms, "The Scoreboard." They've been in business FOREVER! Seriously. My brother and I used to order our baseball and softball uniforms from this company when we played growing up. Anywho...so when we went over there this afternoon, the man who runs the place was an absolute jerk! He acted like we were idiots for being there getting sized. I mean, come on! Isn't your job to sell uniforms and other sports paraphernalia to people? Don't you think it would be smart business to treat people with respect. I mean, if we didn't HAVE to use this company, I would never go back there after being talked to like I was today. It's not my fault that our team couldn't try on uniforms in 40 degree weather. Who acts like that? I mean, really?

I don't know. Maybe I'm a little sensitive, but I just don't like being talked down to or being treated rudely by people. Especially people in customer service. This company relies on word-of-mouth for a lot of their business and I'll just tell you this: the words that will be coming out of this mouth will not be in praise or complimentary to his company. He'll be sorry. I just hope that he doesn't treat the other parents like he treated me today. It's uncalled for.

Oh, and another development that I thought was interesting: Ryan may get a facebook page! :-) I think it's funny because he teases me all the time for having a facebook page and says that it's ridiculous that people use facebook. And now he's seriously considering it. He actually told me the other day that he wanted me to help him set one up. Now who's being ridiculous?

Catching you up...

December? Really? That was my last blog post? Sorry guys! It's been CRAAAAZY around here! So, what's been going on? LOTS!

I started another semester at school. After this one, I've only got three more to go! Can you believe that?!? School is going great, but I've been busy busy. I've been hanging out more with some of the girls from my classes. Joy and Carissa are the two that I've developed quite a friendship with and I'm so blessed. They are both great Christian women who inspire me to be a better student and better friend. Joy is a couple of years older than me and she's married to her hubby, Billy. They've been married for 12 years! So sweet! Joy's sarcasm rivals mine, so look out!! And Carissa, well she's a young'un. She's only 22, so she's got her whole life ahead of her. :-) She is actually graduating this semester, and I'll miss her in classes, but I'm glad that we've all gotten so close this year. It's made school that much more enjoyable. We'll keep in touch after she's gone. We have a standing Girl's Night that we will definitely have to keep up.

I'm going to Oregon for a week this summer. It's for school, but it'll also be a nice little mini-vacation. We're going to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, OR during the first week of June. I'm really excited and blessed to be able to go. My favorite professor at school is the one who's leading this excursion, so it'll be that much more enjoyable. I just can't believe that it's already this close!! Pray for me when we leave. I don't enjoy flying. AT ALL! I'm actually terrified, if you didn't know this about me already. So it'll be difficult. And I'll be by myself (sans family) on the plane, so I'll be extra nervous. So, keep fingers crossed and utter more prayers for me on May 31st when we leave and June 6th when we head back.

Alex is starting t-ball again this summer. He's already had his first practice, which I had to miss because I got sick...again! He's really excited and so are we. We're on a different team this year, but I think it'll be good. He's still going to wear number 1, but this year his team is the Tigers. Orange and black! He's so excited. He's also doing extremely well in school. Like he wouldn't. :-) But he did have trouble one day, leaving the class without permission. That's automatic "move your clip to red" time. He has since been grounded from the video games for an entire month. It's been torture for him, but he's gotta learn. We've had no more instances since then, so I think he got the picture.

Reesey. Yeah. Well. She's been a bit of a handful. If you don't know this already, she's been a terror. She's Bernice re-incarnated, so I've been told. Bernice would be my great-grandma Bernice Bailey. My parents always told me that I had hints of her in my personality, but my dad finally admitted that Reesey is Bernice. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Reesey is sweet and loving, just like Grandma Bernice. But she's also the most stubborn thing in the entire world, also just like Grandma Bernice. I love her dearly, but I can't take much more of her little "diva" attitude. It got so bad that I had actually threatened to take everything out of her room. And when I say "everything" I mean EVERYTHING! And I did it. She pushed me too far and I took every dang thing out of her room. The only thing in there was her bed, blanket, and pillow. She didn't even have Bunny (her buddy since the day she was born). And that night, Daddy had the kids by himself, and she pushed him too far, so he took her bed away. She only had the mattress, pillow and blanket. She has since started to earn things back, one at a time. I think she finally got the hint that she does not rule this house and she doesn't decide who does what, when things get done, and who is in trouble. She's not the parent, however much she wishes she was. Battle one: Score Momma.

I got Bronchitis...again. I got sick in January, right before school started. And I thought that would be my illness for the year. Apparently not. I got bronchitis again this past week, which was supposed to be my Spring Break. Yeah, fun. I'm just now beginning to feel like a human again.

My best friend, Meg is pregnant! She's been wanting this forever! They weren't sure if they'd be able to have a baby, since she has endometriosis (sp?) and pregnancy is always difficult with that. She's amazing and she and Andrew are going to be fabulous parents! I'm so excited for her to experience what I've been lucky enough to experience myself. Motherhood is a blessing and pregnancy is a joy, even when it doesn't seem like it. Love you, Meggles!!

So, that's what's been going on in our world these past few months. I'll do better about keeping this more up to date. Sorry for it being so late this time around. Promise, it won't happen again.

My, how time flies

Wow. I can hardly believe that it's been almost 7 years since I met Ryan. And the weird thing about all that is that we got married a year (almost to the day) after we met at that birthday party. So many things have happened and changed over these last years. I have gained a whole other family whom I love dearly.

You know how sometimes people marry and their in-laws are crazy? Or that their family doesn't get along with their in-laws? Well, I guess I must be the exception to that rule. My parents and Ryan's parents get along great. Even my grandparents get along well with them. It's like when we got married, my family took Ryan in as one of their own and Ryan's family did the same with me. We both know how incredibly lucky we are. And I truly wish that for everyone. I've heard horror stories about in-laws. Thankfully I haven't had to experience that...and am wishing I never have to.

So, what's different six/seven years later? Well, first of all, we have TWO kids. And they're the best kids ever. Now, maybe I'm a little biased, but ask anybody. Surprisingly they're incredibly well behaved (with just a few minor missteps like every child) and really loving kids.

Alex is my little "people pleaser." He wants everyone to like him. He's such a sweet boy, too. And really tenderhearted sometimes. But we've grown to love that about him. He's emotional just like his Momma. He's sincere and genuine with his feelings. I couldn't ask for a better son, really. I hope he stays this sweet his whole life. I'm thinking he will. :)

Reesey is vastly different from her brother. She couldn't care less if she pleased anyone or not. Now, she's not a mean girl by any means. She just knows what she wants and if people don't like it, oh well. She, like her brother, is really loving. However, she reserves that for specific people, which makes your relationship with her all the more special. She's so funny. She cracks me up on a daily basis! She even makes Alex laugh, which I find quite amusing and sweet. They are each other's best friends, and that makes me so happy. They like to play together and they get upset when the other is hurt or frightened. Alex is very protective of her. It's too sweet!

When you marry somebody, I don't care if you dated for years or just months previous, you learn more about them than you knew before. And while I knew that I was supposed to marry Ryan on that night when I first met him, I had no idea who he was as a person. And getting to know him over the year that year, I grew to love who he was inside. He truly is my best friend. We've been through a lot in our short marriage, but it's all been so worth it. It's made us better parents and better to each other. He's the greatest person I know and I'm so lucky and grateful that God put him in my life.

A lot of people wouldn't have lasted with all the obstacles we faced. There's a Faith Hill song, "A Baby Changes Everything," that speaks of what Mary went through when she was pregnant with Jesus. Now, I know that I'm nowhere near on that level. Don't think I'm trying to sound like I am. But I do know that a baby changes everything. Sometimes a baby changes things for the worse for some people. The stresses of a baby and a new marriage can break a couple. Or they can make them stronger than they ever thought. We were fortunate to be in the latter category. The circumstances leading up to my marriage and birth of my son were not ideal. But I honestly wouldn't change anything. Because changing one thing means that I'm not happy and content with what God has blessed me. He knew we could handle it. He knew how we'd turn out, even if we didn't.

I love Ryan more than anyone could ever know. He is everything in my world. And I cherish the relationship we have. We fight, we laugh, we cry, we yell, we tease, we love. All of it makes for one great marriage. We are not perfect and I'm so thankful for that. Because it makes us aware of what is around us and what could have and probably should have brought us down when we were at a really low point in our lives. Satan tried to break us. He threw up obstacles and people said and did things that were wrong and horrible. But we overcame them and we're stronger for it. And happier.

Trick or Treat! Smell My Feet!

Halloween was a blast in the McAlister household. We went to a really nice neighborhood behind the football stadium here in Owasso. We went there last year and went to just a few houses after we'd gone to one of the local churches. But this year, we decided to just go to houses and trick-or-treat door to door. It was so great!!

Alex was dressed as a Clone Trooper from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Reesey went dressed as Snow White, of course! They were soo cute!!

When we were at one house, this older gentleman said, "Wow! That's the biggest smile I've seen all night." He was talking about Reesey, and he was right! She was just all smiles all night. When we were at another house, there was what looked like a dummy leaning up against the front entrance and another guy was handing out the candy. Alex asked the guy if that was real and he said no. Then the guy moved and yelled BOO! Alex about jumped out of his skin! So did Ryan and I. And what did Reesey do? NOTHING! Didn't even phase her. The guy asked if that scared her. She said, "No. I'm not scared of anything." And apparently she isn't. :-)

So that's how we spent Halloween. It was super fun!! Maybe next year Ryan and I will dress up too. We'll see.