Just for Grins

The following video is something I watch almost daily just because it makes me laugh so hard. The more I watch it, the more I laugh. It's truly great! It also makes me want to have a little british boy named Charlie. Enjoy!

Texas vs. Colorado Part I

In our house, sports is the talk 90% of the time (Thus, the name of our blog. Named by David, of course). Pre-marriage, I knew that David loved sports, but I had no idea that he seriously breathed, ate, slept and lived sports at all times. I can remember friends slipping in comments about David's love of sports before we got married. Were they warning me? Were they trying to prepare me for a lifetime of talk about fantasy football teams, who got traded, did you see that play, blah, blah blah? Perhaps I should have heeded their warnings! In our almost 8 months of marriage, 5 of them have been spent watching, hearing about, pretending to be listening about football. Now that football season is over, I'm already hearing talk of next years teams and which games we'll be attending. Having grown up not really watchcing football then to having it in your face 24-7, came to be a complete shock to me. My friends warned me...yes, they did. I should have listened because I had NO IDEA how serious this sports thing was.

So now that football season is over (Praise the Lord!), it is now basketball season. And basketball, is the one sport that I truly enjoy. I like to think this makes David happy. It is one sport that I don't mind watching or listening to. Most of you know about my love for the #1 team in the world, the San Antonio Spurs. Other than the Spurs, my other favorite team will always be the Baylor Bears. So when David and I got the opportunity to get several tickets to the CU basketball games, I told David that I would agree only if we could get first dibs on the CU vs. Baylor game. He was happy to oblige and we signed up to buy tickets for 6 games. David has attended most of the games without me, but last night I went with him and some friends to see the CU vs. Texas Tech game. So we started the night off at a place called Skinny Jay's and then we walked over to the arena. In my mind I had imagined this awesome arena packed with CU students. However, it was nothing like I had imagined. Instead, I walked into a completely empty arean with only about 40 CU students cheering on their team. You would think that I could relate to this because while I attended Baylor, I never stayed for an entire game because it was just painful to watch them lose over and over again. But let me tell you, this was FAR worse than any Baylor game I ever went to. When I say no one was there, I mean NO ONE. I was so shocked. David says that Colorado people don't support college teams here. But still......shocked! Needless to say, it was a boring game and Tech spanked the Buffs. In the end, it was a fun night spent with good friends. Next Wednesday we'll be going to the Baylor vs. CU game. Here's hoping that the Bears will blow them out of the water and that they'll bring some entertainment to Colorado!

Not a great picture of us, but it proves we were there. I wore red to support Tech....not because I truly like them,but because they're from Texas. Gotta cheer for Texas, right?

The empty stands.......lame!
The empty student section....VERY lame!

The players.....

And introducing......The Front Range Rockers. This was the highlight of the night. These 5 guys attempted to give us a breakdancing show. Bless their hearts, they were so bad. Maybe they need a new name. Rockers and breadancing just don't go together. At least they gave us a good laugh...and they get an "A" for trying!

Happy Birthday Cole!

Cole Owen Tharp turned 3 today! Sadly, I am missing this happy day. It's hard for me to think about Cole without tears in my eyes. From day 1, I was hooked. Sometimes I think wonder how I will ever love my own kids as much as I love him. I was there the day he was born way too soon. He had a rough start to life and was in the NICU for some time. He was so tiny and we could only touch him through his incubator. He's since made up for his small beginnings and is definitely all boy. I love when her roooaaarrr's like a lion. Or he says, "You be the tiger, I'll be the monster." I love when he calls me Aunt Midge because it's something that only my niece and nephews know me as. And, my heart breaks when he says, "You're far away." But even though I am far away, I know that we will always be close.

This past weekend, he had a birthday party with friends and relatives all there to watch him blow out his candles. I, however, was in Colorado trying not to think about what I was missing. From what I hear, it was a great party. His Jamma (Cody's mom) made him a blue Thomas the Train cake. Most of the icing ended up on the kids and from the pictures they look like the Scots who fought in Braveheart. He got many presents including brand new boots and a shiny new belt buckle and a big wheel (with Thomas the Train Helmet included ). I can't wait to see him running around in his cowboy gear.

Happy Birthday Cole! I wish you many years of health and happiness. I can't wait to play with you soon!

Love always,
Aunt Midge

Look-it...my new belt buckle!

Warrior Cole

Belly full!

Warrior Parker. Cole's partner in crime!

Katelyn's got herself some new wheels while Cole is distracted by the blue icing.

Valentine's Day

Last night, David and I spent a lovely night with about 20 other couples from our church. When we first made plans for Valentine's Day, we made a reservation at the Palm. It's a fancy restaurant that we went to for New Year's. This place has the best steak I've ever tasted! So of course, this was where we wanted to spend our date night. However, our church kept making announcements about having a Valentine's Banquet with other couples from the church. The more we thought about it, the more it made sense. Not only would it save us money, but it would be good time with good friends. And sure enough...it was. I'm so glad we made the decision to spend Valentine's day with our church. All of us had to take quizzes about our spouses. Sadly, David and I didn't score very well. You would think that we would've had the highest score since we were the ones that had been together for the least amount of time. But no, we did a horrible job and I think we tied another couple for the lowest score. David couldn't even remember where our first date was. Oh well. However, the questions asked on the quiz got us talking about things we didn't know about each other. For example, one of the questions was, "As a child, what was your spouse's dream job?" I guessed to be a basketball player for David, and I was right....and he had no idea what I wanted to be. Which seems to be pretty funny because I still don't know what I want to be. My college roommate, Holly, can affirm this since she likes to make jokes about how many jobs I've had in my life. ANYWAY, as a kid, I can remember wanting to be a ski instructor....which is something that David didn't know about me. So, it was just a nice night with great people. They're so uplifiting and encouraging and I love that all of our best friends go there.

Even though Valentine's Day is really just a made-up holiday...I hope that all of you felt love. And I hope you feel that on every other day of the year as well!

The Windy City

Two weeks ago, our family reunited in Chicago for the wedding of my cousin Julie. It was great to see family from both sides and spend time with them even though it was short. As always, there were many laughs and a lot of reminiscing. Some highlights of the weekend included introducing Hadley to all the aunts, uncles and cousins, learning how to do the Soulja Boy and then performing it at the wedding, and Cole got to go snow sliding for the first time. Yes, I said snow sliding because that's what he called it. We can't wait for the next trip.

This is how you pack for a family of 4 with 2 little kids. Yikes!!!

Uncle Woody with Cousin Ethan and HadleyCole's 1st "snow sliding"experience

Cole learns how to throw and smash snow at cousin Kevin

Kerri and Adrian got a moment to enjoy the wedding while everyone else played with HadleyVicki A.K.A. "The Choregrapher" Everyone says that we are exactly alike. However, I didn't get the dancin' gene that she did. I would love to be able to dance like she her!

The Happy Couple. Mr. and Mrs. Jason SluissBrothers don't shake hands, brothers gotta hug. Uncle Dave, Dad and Uncle JimGrammy and Great Aunt Jeanie dance with their favorite partner, Cole. He is a dancin' fool!Katelyn and Great Grandma Drenth

The whole gang together one last moment before we all board our planes and head in opposite directions. Oh how I miss them!

Coming Soon

Trip to Chicago with Pictures...stay tuned!

I love George!

And yes, my husband is aware of my love for this man. He is a man that few respect and love. Many have ditched him because he is not the "popular" guy anymore. My love however, has never waned. I respect him for the position he holds. I admire him for how he puts his faith into practice. By all means, he is not perfect. However, he never claims to be something he's not. He comes from a family deeply rooted in values and faith. He is none other than our President, George W. Bush.

Those who know me well, know that my love for George has been ongoing for many years now. I've read most of the books written about him and will watch any documentary about him or his family. When I was in college, he would often come to Waco so that he could go to his ranch in Crawford (just about 30 minutes from Waco). It was a goal of mine to meet him before I graduated from Baylor. Unfortunately, that dream never came true. So, when I learned that George was in Denver, I was excited at the thought of even getting just a glimpse of him. More than that, not only was he in Denver, but he was visitng the neighborhood I work in. So, when 5 o'clock came, I left work thinking that my dream might come true. The city barricaded the street just a block away from my office. So, I parked my car and stood on the street to watch the motorcade pass by. I chatted with the police officer there who was there to make sure we didn't pull out any guns. Most of the people there could care less about the President and only wanted to get home. However, I had my camera ready and was determined to catch just one moment with George. I waited about 30 minutes to watch him whiz by in his bulletproof car. It was such an exciting moment to think that the man who leads our country was about to pass by the very street I was standing on. After the 30 minutes, police cars and suburbans began to fly by with all their lights ablaze. I started snapping pictures and waited to see the President. Finally, he arrived in his car, American flags waving which let me know which car was his. You would think that I would be so pumped to see my hero, but all I could think about was how lonely and hard his life might be. Though he is surrounded by hundreds of people on a daily basis, I thought about how his own daughters probably can't just call him up on his cell phone whenever they want. I know that would bother me about my own dad. I thought about how he hears constant criticism from his fellow countrymen on a daily basis. I thought about how the weight of not only America, but the world is on his shoulders. And I thought about the upcoming election. My moment with George lasted only about 5 seconds. Though I didn't meet him, I feel my dream was semi-fufilled. I feel a deep sense of loyalty to him and to the office he holds. What a responsibilty that is?!

As I think about this upcoming year, I think about the changes our country is about to embark on. I myself am not sure who I will vote for. To me, there is no clear man who can live up to my expecations of what or who a president should be. I encourage all of you to become educated on who is running and to think about what really is important. To many, George Bush is a oil and war loving, money hungry man and an alcoholic who cheated his way into the presidency. To those people I say he is a humble, faithful husband and father, Christ loving, hard working, ethical man who stands firm on his beliefs. No, he is not the best communicator in the world, nor is he perfect. But he doesn't make excuses for who he is or what he does. You tell me who in the presidencial race even resembles just a fraction of his character?