The Military Wife

Mike sent me a beautiful plaque in honor of our anniversary. The story written on it was about God creating the mold for military wives. I thought it was so sweet I wanted to share it with everyone else! He is such a thoughtful husband and I can't wait to celebrate our anniversary with him once he gets home~

The Military Wife
The Good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was in his sixth day of overtime. An angel appeared. She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What is wrong with the standard model?"
The Lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both mother and father, be a perfect hostess for four to forty with an hour notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheefully even if she is pregnant or has the flu, and she must have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head. "Six pairs of hands? No way!" The Lord continued..."Do not worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so that it can swell with pride in her husband's achievements, and be large enough to say 'I understand' when she doesn't and 'I love you' regardless."
"Lord," the angel said, touching his arm, "Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."
"I can't stop now," said the Lord. "I am close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from a pier or depot, and understand why it's important for him to leave." The angel circled the model of the Military Wife, looked at it closely and sighed.
"It looks fine, but it's too soft."
"She may look soft," replied the Lord, "but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. I am not surprised it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model."
The Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of confidence. "What you see is not a leak" he said, "it is a tear."
"A tear? What is it there for?" Asked the angel. The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, lonliness, pride, and dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."
"You are genius!" exclaimed the angel.
"The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."

American Bulldog Property Laws

1. If I like it, it's mine.

2. If it's in my mouth, it's mine.

3. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.

4. If I can take it from you, it's mine.

5. If it looks like mine, it's mine.

6. If I saw it first, it's mine.

7. If you have something and put it down, it's mine.

8. If I chew something up, all of the pieces are mine.

9. If it's edible, it's always mine.

10. If it's mine, it must never be yours.

11. If it used to be yours, get over it.

12. If it's broken, it's yours.

Food for Thought...no really, someone take me out to dinner

One of the professors weighed our books - they came out to a grand total of 42.2 pounds.
To put it in perspective, that's 40% of my entire body weight. This being a lawyer thing had better be awesome!

Memorial Day and the Beginning of the End

In honor of Memorial day I turned on the sprinklers in the backyard and let Jake play. He loves water! And sorry for the "rear shot" at the end of the video hahaha, it was unintentional, I promise.

After graduation I began packing up things around the house to get ready for our move to California. It is finally starting to feel like Mike is really going to come home and we are really going to be a family again. Typical to my mild OCD nature, I have been vacuum packing just about everything we own. One of my professors was talking about how roaches can get in boxes that moving companies use. That's all I needed to prompt my hazmat preparations. (Mike's favorite OCD issue I have is people breathing my air...just ask any of my college friends, haha).

Tomorrow I start my bar prep course. I have been trying to get mentally ready (studying is like a marathon for me), but I have to admit I was not prepared for what I found when I picked up my books this afternoon. There are 8 books I must read and memorize. The books stand at a height of 14 inches. That's right INCHES. I took a picture:

Less than 60 days. It is going to be a nightmare! By the time Mike gets home I wonder if I will even be able to hold a normal coversation. My brain may be mush by then.
This morning Jake had his final vet appt (we hope!) before we move. He got all his shots and a checkup. We also got a sedative for the LONG drive and our rabies certificate because we will be traveling across state lines. Now all we need is Mike to come home! Each day feels like a million years without him. I can't wait to have my best friend and confidant by my side again. He is my rock.

I ask for prayers that Mike's last few months in Iraq will be peaceful - and that I won't lose my mind while studying for the bar! Have a blessed week everyone :)

Happy Mother's Day!

In honor of mother's day, I thought I would dedicate this blog entry to my mom.
Ma, thanks for being such a great mother! I have so many great memories of you. The choices you made in living your life have shaped many aspects of my life.
Growing up my mom had 2 favorite television shows she would ALWAYS watch. Perry Mason (about a criminal defense attorney) and The Big Valley (a western). Mom, your choice of television shows may have been the biggest influence on my life. I must have subconsiously thought there were only 2 interesting jobs available for adults: a criminal defense attorney, and a cowboy. Frankly, after seeing that episode of Big Valley where Jared contracts rabies from some scary animal and foams at the mouth, it is no surprise I chose to be an attorney instead of a cowboy.
And yet, it wasn't a total waste. I use the wrangling and roping Big Valley taught me in dealing with my 95 pound American Bulldog on a daily basis.
I guess what I am saying is, "thanks mom."
AND I'm glad CSI wasn't around when I was growing up. I might have ended up being a medical examiner instead. Gross.

Top 10

In honor of the end of law school (finals start Tuesday!), I have decided to list my top 10 favorite moments from law school:

10. My study buddy Heather - at the last minute - saves me from setting the school wide fire alarm off when I almost walked through the emergency exit door.
9. My cell phone goes off in Judge Spurlock's lecture.
8. My friend Adam saves me from getting run over by a speeding car in front of the law school!!!
7. The day I choked on water so badly I LITERALLY couldn't breath. It was during a lecture and I was 1 second away from jumping up in the middle of the lecture and making the universal sign for choking when I coughed it up...which was still really embarassing!
6. After being called on like 40 consecutive times (despite the professor claiming he used a random name generator) I blew up and and yelled, "I have no idea what the answer is! Why would I know the answer to that!?" I was the class hero that day.
5. Professor Alton, during roid rage screaming, "Did I say questions were welcome?! No one raises their hands! In fact, sit on your hands!"
4. Professor Alton, later the same day, verbally abuses a student so badly the student leaves class. Alton then follows up with, "Anyone else??!!" I almost cried! It was crazy!
3. Heather saves me from getting crushed between the movable bookshelves when the safety sensor doesn't trip!!
2. Getting to go to Washington DC to see the SUPREME COURT!!!
AND....drum roll please, the most memorable moment of law school is:

1. Civ Pro final review - this one is for you Heather! During a boring lecture we were looking at pictures of interesting tattoos online - I thought I was looking at a tattoo of a clover on a VERY hairy chest. I thought the tattoo artist had just shaved the area where he was putting the tattoo. I said "Hey Heather look at how hairy this guys chest is!" When I turned back to look at the picture, I realized it wasn't someone's chest. It was, ahem, male genitalia. I gasped and we laughed so hard we cried.

Yikes

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. To say the last couple of weeks have been stressful is an understatement!

First, I got home one day and had no electricity. After spending 2 hours on the phone with TXU (if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all) they informed me that someone had called in a requested a new account at my address and so they cut off my account to start the new account. OK. The electricity was supposed to be on by midnight that night and when it wasnt I was forced to spend another 2 hours on the phone yelling and screaming about the "seering injustice" I had been a victim of by the electric company. They finally agreed to refund the groceries I lost in the process.

Second, the next day on my way to school I was in an accident. I hit my head pretty hard and twisted my neck badly but I was able to walk away after the accident. My head hurt for days! My car was not so fortunate...$6,000 for repairs. Thank goodness for insureance. A day later I got a letter in the mail informing me that my model of car was being recalled due to unsafe head injuries to driver's in accidents. Wow! Could have used that recall a week earlier...would have saved me some pain! Class action, anyone?

Third, my dog got sick. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but cleaning up a variety of liquidy things is not pleasant. 2 vet appointments, one hospitalization and two sleepless nights later my stress level is through the roof. "My dog is sick" is not a compelling reason for being late to work and class. Fortunately, "explosive diarrhea" is.
All of this has been occurring in the last 2 weeks of school...finals approach! This time of year is crazy stressful anyway.
All I can say is I am counting down the days until my husband comes home. I am an independent woman...but I am feeling like taking a 6 month vacation when Mike gets home!