Our gifts

I have finally obtained the most recent ADORABLE picture of Hooper J, Heath's nephew. Hooper is two years old and lives in Oklahoma with his parents (see piano bar post). We are so excited to see him over the Thanksgiving holiday in Colby, KS with the rest of the Stover/Potter families. It is always a good time with good people. I am a lucky girl to have such wonderful in-laws.

We will be staying at Grandpa Smokey's house this time around. This can be a fun, yet scary option - Smokey can drink most anyone under the table and he is a very festive man. Guaranteed good time, but usually I get to leave when its time. But we will be staying in the basement (where the bar is) of Mr. Peer Pressure himself. The extra bonus is Cuddles, the very fluffy, foo foo dog, will be there to entertain me.

Due to the big trip to Colby we have had to ask some big favors of friends, one favor to Dary and Christy to let us ditch a car at their house in order to take advantage of carpooling (thanks guys!), and the other favor (the big one) is to Tanner and Oheema to take care of our pooches. Late notice and all, good friends always come through. Here is the most recent picture that I have taken of the pups, although we (my dad) built this wonderful dog house, during the fall they love to nestle into the leaves from the giant sycamore tree that fall behind the dog house. Don't worry during the winter they LOVE the dog house.

I can't help it - one more picture of Hooper J - beautiful child!

Big Decisions

Today we are placing a bid on a house. I think this cartoon illustrates the massive amounts of confusion we are going through. It is, of course, not your typical situation where we offer $$ to the seller and they counter with $$$. Oh no - we had to make it complicated. We are placing a bid on a pre-foreclosure home. First time home buyers and first time bidding, the perfect storm, and we are jumping in with two feet. But I guess we are better off than the sellers at this point :(


Heath and I are learning so much by the moment, the real estate business is a fierce one. Heath is sure that I have jinxed the whole thing because I have been talking about it non-stop and I have been really excited. Doesn't he know me at all? When I get a new shirt I wear it three days in a row and once a week for the next 8 weeks - I get excited about things! He is such the synic! So here I am - announcing it to the inter web - all three of you! Please pray for us!

Lessons Learned

I will try not to talk much about politics on this site but I couldn't resist for this historical event.

I was raised in a family that did not talk about politics, ever. Growing up I had no idea what my parent's political views were or even if they had any. I have to admit, sometimes ignorance is bliss for a young, small town, Iowa girl. The only exposure I had was when Tom Vilsack ran for Governor of Iowa during my senior year of high school. It was amazing to be a part of his election and his re-election four years later. But I still knew very little about the whole process.

This past year was a big step for me in the right direction of my adult life by becoming involved in the entire election process. Because Heath was so involved from the beginning and because I work in an office where politics are openly discussed I decided it was time.

I learned a great deal about the different parties, the issues, the processes, etc. I had a lot of people encouraging me to become informed and to vote and I owe them a huge thanks. A lot of my political education came from asking questions. People that I trusted to give me the facts in a way that I can understand from both sides of the issues. These people are mostly co-workers and friends (thanks for putting up with my questions!). Is it twisted that one of my favorite things to do is initiate a heated debate between a conservative and a liberal about the issues for my own benefit?

I also did a lot of internet research, including finding those handy sites to help me understand the issues and what was important to me (I know some can be misleading, but I was careful!). I watched every debate in detail (I would sometimes rewind and watch again) and I ignored every negative ad I came across.

I know that I am just one vote, but it is still important (especially in Missouri!). I am so glad that I finally got my stuff together so that I felt confident enough to exercise my right to vote in such an important historical election. It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to tell my children about it.

I also want to say a quick thanks to my dad for chatting with me about it last night, he resisted a great deal but finally I got what I wanted (don't I always Dad!). We had an amazing conversation about the election and it just made me realize how much I am like him and how lucky I am to be his daughter. Thanks Dad!