New Ward....New Calling

A couple weeks ago, our VERY LARGE ward was finally divided. We knew this day was coming, but when we all walked into Sacrament meeting on the 15th of June and saw the entire Stake Presidency sitting up on the stand...we all sat down with a lump in our throats...shocked and anxious that the inevitable was really about to happen. It was so sad to hear that our ward was about to be split up. We've been in this ward almost 3 years and whether we realized it or not, the Allen 1st Ward HAD become our family. And it was sad to see so many good families go.

With that said, we are now in the 6th Ward...the newest ward in Allen. Our first week last week was a little daunting. We felt like visitors in our own ward.

But it's amazing what even one week...and a new calling can do.

For so many years I've wanted to serve in the Young Women. Seeing them in church reminds me of the wonderful teenage years (yes Mom, I did just say that)...when so much of your life and dreams are still ahead of you. So I'm so excited that my new calling will be as the 2nd Counselor in the Young Women's Presidency! The President is darling, as are all the other counselors and advisers. I'm honored to have been called to work with these women, some of whom I just met and yet can already sense the beginnings of a wonderful bond. That is what is so awesome about the Church...serving others brings about an amazing sense of unity. I'll be specifically working with the Beehives, which are the Young Women ages 12-14. Darling girls.

I don't know if it was the excitement of my new calling, but my outlook today was totally different than it was last week. I belong in this ward and am needed...and that is a great feeling to have. But more so, I look forward to meeting more people in our new ward and have no doubt that before too long I will feel that same sense of family that was felt in our old ward.

Happy 4th of July!

Who doesn't love the 4th of July?! Growing up in Utah I remember having the funnest 4th of July's ever. My favorites being the couple of times I was able to dance in the annual Stadium of Fire extravaganza at BYU's Cougar Stadium in Provo, Utah. One year my dance group "The Salt Lake Stars" had us dancing around Night Rider's car, Kit (I don't think David Hasselhoff was there) and the other year we were backup dancers to THE JETS! Oh yeah, who doesn't remember "Crush on You!" Loved it. And can I add that last year the Stadium of Fire had Taylor Hicks from American Idol, and this year they had Hannah Montana! Say what!? Then again, some may say that the Stadium of Fire has come A LONG way to get Miley Cyrus, but how many people can say they danced with "The Hoff's" car?! I mean, honestly...

Anyway, this year had to take a distant third in my memory book...can't compete with Kit and The Jets, of course, but the annual Frisco Freedom Festival held it's own pretty well. After a wonderful BBQ at the Rottweilers, Garrett and I dropped off Jeff and Isaac at home (the little guy isn't invited to too many activities these days) and then we were off to Pizza Hut Park, home of Texas' major league soccer team, FC Dallas. The minute we entered the park, Garrett spotted his prize purchase....some glow-in-the-dark stick. $10 later, we were good to go. I have to admit I was happy I had made the purchase after I saw how much fun it added to Garrett's night. Garrett, and his friend Alex, had more fun dancing around the field with their "light savers". I mean back in the day, all we had was a glow-in-the-dark necklace (that lasted all of 20 minutes before losing it's juice...the stick is still glowing strong), so they've come a long way since then.

The fireworks were fabulous if you didn't care that half of the sky was covered by the stadium. Oops, didn't realize that we were sitting a little to far forward. But we didn't care, it's the 4th of July and they are fireworks!

The most fun part of the night for me was seeing how much fun Garrett was having. Life really is so much more fun with kids (unless you are grocery shopping!). This is the first year we have officially taken Garrett to see a real firework show (last year's consisted of sparklers at the condo in Orlando....) and you could totally tell. I also got emotional when I saw all his friends around, having just as good of time. These 3 friends of Garrett's he has basically known his entire life.

Garrett, Alex Barker, Scotty Frederick, and Jaxon Copeland (cousin)

We met Kellie and Ryan when Alex was no more than 5 months old and Garrett was just 3 months old. We met Steve and Jenny weeks before Scotty was born, and of course, we've known Jaxon his entire life...after all, he is my nephew (my brother Cameron, and Anne)!What an amazing friendship these little guys have already. To Garrett, they are all his "best friends!" And this fall will be especially exciting when the three older boys (Alex, Garrett, and Jaxon) will all be starting Kindergarten! I swear they were all just born...which made me think how quickly time will fly and we will be sending these 4 boys off on missions!

Anyway, it was a wonderful day spent with great family and wonderful friends. And what a fabulous treat to be a mom to this sweet little boy!

Roto Rooter

About 6 months ago, we realized that our guest bathroom's tub faucet was not working. It would turn on, but only cold water would run. If you turned the faucet to hot, the water would stop running. So I called the manufacturer (Moen) and they proceeded to tell me, that basically...."if you don't use it...you lose it." I guess for some reason these faucets have a reputation of not working if not constantly used. So I asked them to send me a replacement valve, which I've now had sitting in my toolbox for the last 6 months.

At one point, while my dad was visiting, he tried to replace the valve...however, unfortunately, to no avail. Then, with our recent tornado adventure, I made friends with the contractor who fixed our roof and asked him to explain how I could switch out the valve. "It's easy!" he said. "Anyone can do it. Just remember, the most important thing is to first, turn off your main water supply using your church key."

"Ok," I said, "how do I do that and what the heck is a church key?"

I had no idea what he was talking about! But after a short tutorial on how to turn off our main water supply using this infamous key (which...come on, EVERYONE that owns/rents/or even lives in a house SHOULD know how to do), as well as a detailed explanation on how to switch out the valve in the bathtub, I felt like I was ready to go.

So after a long visit to Home Depot with Garrett and Isaac (my version of HELL!) to purchase the mandatory home-owning church key and wrench, Jeff and I were finally set to fix this faucet. (A couple of side notes: First, if this key/wrench is so mandatory....why don't they give you one when you purchase your brand new home?! I mean, come on! They gave me a plunger! And second, if this valve is so prone to freeze up if not used sufficiently, why doesn't the faucet come with a big sticker warning you of the outcome!)

Ok, so enter D-Day: While Jeff was outside this evening doing a few home-improvement tasks (patching up a hole in our mortar, hanging some new plants out on the front porch), I figured I would tackle the tub faucet. "It's easy...anyone can do it!"

I had a tutorial, right!? I can do this!

So I get my church key and wrench, go out front and successfully turn off the main water supply. Step one...check. I'm on a roll. Then I proceed upstairs and begin to take apart the faucet, following exactly the tutorial I was given only days ago. I making good progress and quickly get to the part that I was told would be the hardest, which was to pull out the old valve. My contractor told me that I would have to pull as hard as I could...even to the point that it would feel like I was going to pull the entire faucet out of the wall. Step two....um, no check. I couldn't get the "D" valve out! So I call up the hubby (Bob Villa....not) and ask him to use all his manly strength to pull out the valve. I kept telling him, "it's supposed to be really hard to pull out, so just go for it!"

Which he did...oh yes, which he did. And with all that strength came a loud "CRACK!" Jeff must have channeled Iron Man or something and literally broke off the large metal screw sticking out of the old valve. I was immediately a little worried...but quickly rationalized this little mishap with the fact that it would ALL have to come out sooner or later. So, unsuccessfully, Jeff and I both walked out of the the bathroom...defeated, and thinking....why do we even care about the "D" tub anyway?! It's not like we EVER use it! I mean, come on! That's the reason it doesn't work IN THE FIRST PLACE! UGH!

Anyway, so I tell Jeff, "Just forget about it. We'll figure out a way to fix it later. I'll just go outside and turn the main water supply back on."

Which I did.

And then I remembered...I better go clean up all the loose parts laying around the bathtub. I had stopped up the drain while I was doing my handy work, so I wasn't worried about any of the small screws falling down the drain, but I didn't want anyone going in there (a little ironic at this point) and walking off with the anything.

Um....yeah.... so you know what's coming next. A vision of our success!
Two words: Uh oh.

The best part of all, I just got off the phone with the plumber who can't come until the morning...so if we have to shower or use the toilet, our routine goes something like this: one of us runs outside (i.e. ME), turns on the water, runs back in, does our thing (the whole time knowing that we are wasting gallons of water as the faucet upstairs just Niagra-Falls-it!) and then hurries back outside, turns our coveted wrench, and successfully puts us back in the dark ages...or should I say dry ages, with no running water.

I guess if there is one positive thing about this whole home improvement debacle...it's that I have a much bigger appreciation of water now...especially running water!

PS: Why are they called "Roto Rooter" anyway?

Happy Mother's Day!

I love Mother's Day! And this year was no exception. Church was wonderful (although Garrett would NOT go up on stage and sing...saying that it was only for the "big kids." Hmmmm, funny that the Sunbeams were up there!) and afterwards we had dinner at my favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse (the once-a-year exception to the no-eating-out-on-Sunday-rule!). I was also able to take the day to truly reflect how blessed I am to be the mother of two amazing little boys. They really are my world! And I wouldn't change a thing.
I also want to take this moment to let a few more mothers know how special they are to me.

Starting with my own mom, Laura Copeland, I want her to know how much I love, appreciate, respect, and admire her. She really is one of those mothers that can truly DO IT ALL. She's a great cook, can sew just about anything (have you seen my drapes?!), teach anyone, lead and inspire the masses, play the piano beautifully...and yet is as humble and unselfish as they come. But aside from all of that, she is one of my very best friends. I call her almost every day....whether it's to chat, share my happy, sad and hard days, ask questions, or seek advice, she is always there for me. I value our relationship more than she'll ever know. I'm also so appreciative of her love for the Gospel. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the scriptures are awe-inspiring. She has always taught me to love the Lord and to be honest in all that I do. She encourgaes me to be a better wife and mother, and yet she gives me a sense of self worth only a mother can give. I admire the way she has lived her life; strong and unyielding through adversity, and selfless through times of prosperity. My mom may not be perfect to some, but she's pretty dang close to perfect to me. I love you, Mom!
Another mother that I have grown to love and appreciate is my mother-in-law, Joan Barlow. Over the eight years that Jeff and I have been married, Joan has become such a good friend to me. I love that we are building and strengthening a wonderful relationship, one that is built on respect, service, and love. I have no doubt she would do anything for my boys, as well as for all of her 19 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren! Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. She's not afraid to speak her mind. She loves to have a good time and can make the best out of any situation. She laughs constantly and makes everyone around her feel like an all-star. Most of all, she has been a wonderful mother to her 7 children...and since I am married to one of them, I am truly grateful. Love you, Joanie! To my older sister, Alison....oh, where do I begin? I often say that I would never want to have just one girl, as I can't imagine her life spent without a sister...just as I could never my own. I think that's why we both only have boys! If only everyone could meet Alison and have her apart of their life. She is one of those women that truly makes your life better....and a HELL of a lot more entertaining! We are as different as two sisters can be, but have some of life's greatest (and most hilarious) memories of times spent together. Growing up, she was always my idol and I tried to be like her in every way (except when she chose the pattern for the bridesmaid dress she wore to my brother and sister-in-law's wedding....a picture says a thousand words....and so does the Sunday paper which was shoved into the sleeves as shoulder pads!) ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Alison and her family have been living abroad for the past 5 years (3 in Paris, France and 2 in Shanghai, China) so our summers spent together are cherished and memorable. As a young 12 year old, I wrote a poem for her that pretty much sums up how I feel:

Sisters are more important than life itself...

I've gotten A LOT of flack over the years for that poem, but deep down Al knows it's true. Love ya!

Growing up with 5 brothers yields one amazing thing....lots of awesome sisters-in-law! Angie, Kim, Nattie, Anne, and Cassie...Love you all! My brothers did well and I thank them for bringing you all into my life. Happy Mother's Day! Anne (Cameron), Nattie (Kent), Me, Cassie (Craig), Kim (Kyle), Alison, Angie (Kevin)

To the Barlow gals: Janna, Kelley, Elaine, Jenn, Amy, and Di....hugs and kisses to you all!

And last, but not least, to all my wonderful friends, Happy Mother's Day! And thank you for being such wondeful examples to me. My life would not be complete without you.

Wildflower Festival

Last night Jeff and I were able to take off with some of our good friends and go down to the Wildflower Festival in Richardson. It was so nice for Jeff and I to have a "date night"...not to mention the weather was absolutely perfect. It's nights like these that remind me why I love living in Dallas. Jeff and me

Steve and Jenny Frederick

Ryan and Kellie Barker

Ty and Amber Wardell

The festival consisted of live music, lots of food, and a good 'ol laser show highlighting Pink Floyd's The Wall. I swear it's been 15 years since I last saw this particular laser show...the first time being at The (one-and-only) Hansen Planetarium in SLC (does that place even still exist?). The lasers were awesome...considering the fact that we were sporting the ever-so-cool 3D glasses, and the music...legendary. I had forgotten what a big fan I was of PF!

After the laser show, we ventured back outside to hear a few more live bands, with the highlight of the night being.....PAT BENETAR! Woo hoo! We didn't know ALL her songs (considering she's been doing this for at least 30 years now), but for the four classics that we DID know, it was awesome. We rocked out like we were back in high school!At first, the boys were completely against seeing Pat Benetar, so they took off to see Everclear. Needless to say, they came wandering back not too much later, admitting that PB was sounding pretty good in comparison to Everclear. Hmmmm, I guess you CAN listen to "Father of Mine" one too many times! Anyway, from the pictures below...."evidence" I'll call it, you can clearly tell that at least one of the boys was definitely lovin' him some PB! On our way out of the festival, we had to stop and check out all vendors' items. Anything you can think of, they sold! Our favorite vendor ended up being these awesome "Stash Caps." Twenty minutes later we all walked away, happy with our new purchase!

All in all, it was a wonderful night! Thanks, Jenny, for putting this night together for us. I have no doubt we ALL had a great time!

Toto, are we in Kansas?

So....I know it's been a couple weeks since I last posted...err, make that 8 or 9 weeks. But it's amazing how crazy our lives have been around here. Really! If you don't believe me call my mom! I keep telling myself (and others, who I know are just on pins and needles awaiting our latest "low down"...uh, Nattie) that I'll post the needed 10 (at least) postings in order to get me all caught up. It's just not my nature to actually post a current post until I've posted everything leading up to this day...and there is A LOT to catch you all up on (i.e. it snowed here (twice!) about a month ago; Isaac found the Garrett's markers and decided to "Van Gogh" it for the day; Garrett's preschool Open House; Isaac's 2nd Birthday; our visit to the Ft. Worth Zoo; Jeff's visit home over Easter; Easter Bunny festivities; and last but not least...my 7-hour ordeal of waiting in line JUST to register Garrett for Kindergarten (no, not for college registration, just for Kindergarten).

I mean honestly...the list goes on and on and on...and oh yeah, best of all...Jeff moved home! Seriously! He moved back last weekend and is already back to work at Countrywide in Plano. Needless to say, we decided NOT to move to Utah and are staying put in our house for the unforeseeable future.)

SEE WHAT I MEAN!? I have sooo much to catch up on that I just couldn't post out of order. You would all be so confused as to what the heck was going on with the Barlows (to tell you the truth, some days I don't even know), that you would just read this blog in utter confusion.

But that was my mind set yesterday.

As of today, I'm playing with a whole new set of rules.

So with that said....here goes...

Actually, you know what? Let me just start with a short definition and a couple photos. That, in itself, will speak volumes...

Tornado: {tor-na-do} n. A violent windstorm.


This airstrip is located just 200 yards from my house, and runs alongside our neighborhood. The same force that did the destruction to that airplane shed, did this to my house:

Around 4:00 AM this morning, Jeff and I were abruptly awoken to the biggest crash we've ever heard. I jumped out of bed and ran into the family room to see my precious silk curtains sopping wet and literally blowing in the wind. Apparently, one of our huge windows had been completely shattered, allowing huge wind gusts and tons of rain water to come flooding in. My wood floor was covered in glass and water.I was in total shock. And yet totally confused (thanks to my Unisom I had taken only 4 hours previously). When I went to bed not too many hours earlier, the night was calm and peaceful. But when I looked outside to find that my fence was now mostly in individual boards, lying on my porch...I literally felt nauseous, as I finally realized that we had a serious storm raging outside. Sorry the pictures aren't very clear. It was, after all, 4:30 in the morning. But if you look closely, you can see entire portions of our fence, which had become unhinged and flung up onto our porch.

Now I have to say that I'm usually pretty calm under stressful and chaotic situations...but this morning, I had absolutely no idea how to act or what to do. My immediate reaction was to see if the boys were ok. So I ran upstairs as fast as I could...luckily to find that they were both still fast asleep, completely unaware that we were in the middle of the biggest storm of our lives. We all sleep with small fans in our rooms, which are so good about covering up any outside noise...hence the reason Jeff and I didn't hear the sirens going off down the street, nor the crazy rain, wind or hail that started this whole storm...probably a good 30 minutes before our window even broke. For once...darn those fans.

After I knew the boys were ok, I felt that it would be safer to keep them in their rooms so they weren't downstairs walking around all the glass and water. My second thought was...oh my gosh, I'm trying to sell my house! What if my shutters and wood floors are completely ruined?! We DO NOT need this right now! So Jeff and I quickly began mopping up as much water as we could off the floors and the shutters. It was difficult as there was so much glass. Not only had my window shattered, but the wind had also blown over a huge glass vase I had on my fireplace mantle, and a large pot that was sitting right under the window that broke. Furthermore, I could see glass shards glittering in the light, all over my shag rug and couch. It was a mess.

Anyway, not too long after, the winds finally began to calm down and the rain soon stopped. It was still pitch dark outside, so we couldn't really assess the total damage to our house...or our neighborhood. But later this morning, with helicopters constantly flying right above our house, we ventured outside and saw the damage, first-hand:

A good look at the total damage.Our poor roof...missing siding and tons of shingles.Fences were hit the worst around here. Especially the really nice ones (i.e. those with electric gates, steel poles, etc.) Luckily for us, we have a totally cheap fence that we've been wanting to replace ever since we moved in. Now I guess we'll be able to! Our back yard, post clean-up; two-thirds of our fence is totally gone.Notice the house right behind Garrett; it is literally missing its chimney now. This house was finished probably two months ago and the owners are already having to rebuild their roof.Some of our neighbor's fences:When we first ventured out this morning, this electric gate was completely unhinged from it's steel tracks and was blocking the entire alley way.

For those people that had anything in their backyard, including trampolines, play-yards, grills, or even dog dishes, it was entertaining (after the horror) to say the least, to see the end result of how (and where) it all landed:This trampoline belongs NOT to the home owner who's yard that it finally rested on, but actually belongs to the house across the street. So not only did it jump the fence, but it also jump the street, too! Our next-door neighbor's dog-dish...they live to the right of our house, which is the one with the red for-sale sign out front. This dish started in their back yard and yet, this is where we found it. It must have blown literally 100 yards down the road.

A few months ago, our realtor told us that our backyard would look much larger if we removed the HUGE trampoline that we had back there for the boys. They very rarely used it (isn't that usually the case?), so we sold it to Jeff's brother (who lives 3 doors down the street) for $125. Sorry to say (for them, at least) that this is the current status of their purchase:The steel poles had literally shredded away from each other, and not even at the seams!

It's amazing that these enormous flying objects didn't do more damage to the houses or cars ALL around them. They just flew through the air like garbage bags! Over fences and across streets.

The road signs and flag poles simply bent into 90 degree angles; and the poor trees were snapped in half as if they were toothpicks:

This is one of my favorite pictures. Even the bunny came out to see what had become of his world:

At the entrance to our neighborhood is this huge metal "sculpture" (not sure what else to call it). It's shaped in our neighborhood logo which looks like a water fountain. When we drove out this morning we saw that it had been bent and torn apart.

In the picture below, just to the left of the entrance, you can see nothing but green land. That is the where the news picture was taken that I first posted above: Kitty Hawk Airport. It's a small, private airstrip that our neighbor owns for his private planes.Our storm was light years away from the likes of Katrina or Rita, and yet there was still, I'm sure, hundreds of thousands of dollars of destruction and so much debris and garbage to clean up. It's amazing what Mother Nature can do!

In the end, even after a terrifying night, I still have so much to be grateful for. For one, my little family is safe and unharmed. We still have our beautiful home, amazingly, in-tact. After 6 weeks of being in Utah, Jeff was home in time to give me comfort and help during a very scary time. That is something I know Heavenly Father was mindful of and he truly watched over all of us.

Thanks for reading! We're off to survey some more damage to the neighborhood. If we find some great photo-ops, I'll add them tomorrow. As for tonight, wish us safety and good dreams that don't include the Wicked Witch of the West!