Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The "Detail" Up Dates

So you want details...hmmmm. Well, my surgery went really well. The surgeon told me upon waking up that I didn't have a hernia after all, I had a benign tumor call a granuloma that was a roughly the size of a ping pong ball. I am glad to have that out! I am doing really well now that I'm about four weeks out. I did manage to pop an internal stitch last week and that really hurt but wasn't a biggie. My surgeon said that I should take it easy for another week or so and I'll be good to go.

Ari is doing really well. He has a surgery coming up on August 6th to have his tonsils out and his deviated septum repaired. His allergies have been brutal these past few years. He has a horrible time trying to breathe while he sleeps, so having this done will really help him a lot. He is most definitely going to miss being a police officer. We've been talking about him participating in the L.A. Sheriff's reserve program which means that he can still be a cop, but he will only have to work a few days a month. I guess that means that he'll technically be an officer in L.A. which is something I have always said "no way" to, but if it's only to keep his toe in the water a few days here and there, I suppose that I can deal with it, I understand that it's important to him. I think that it would be really hard on him to go from being a cop to a civilian, it's a weird transition. Up here drug arrests have risen 90+ % in the last year, nearly all thanks to Ari "The Stall" Eddy! He simply has a knack for it, that's all there is to it! (For those of you who are wondering what the heck "The Stall" is; he got the knick name for making so many drug arrests in bathroom stalls, where most of the arrestees fought him like kids at fat camp fighting for the last Twinkie!...hence, the name Ari "The Stall" Eddy.) : ) Some of his other knick names are Mohamed Ari and My Sweet Babboo, but I'm the only one who gets to call him that!

We are currently looking for a place to rent in L.A. I simply MUST have our own washer and drier, no ifs ands or buts about it!!! It looks like we are going to have a boarder living with us to help with the rental costs, Ari's little brother Amar. (Ha-ha, I almost got you there, didn't I!?!)
~I think that I am most nervous about our cat Mokee adjusting to the move and a new home. I know that sounds silly, but we lost our first cat Jack when he got out on accident, and I don't think that I could survive that ordeal again. We are most definitely going to get him micro-chipped before we move so that we can track him if need be. I realize that this is a fairly small thing to be worrying about, but hey, that's where I am. : )
~I am most excited for living a normal schedule again. You know, going to bed when it's dark and getting up when the sun rises instead of how we've been living for the past four years! We won't be bats anymore!!!
~Also, because we will be in a teeming metropolis, we will be able to find a home church. (There is only one Christian church up here and they board a lot of people Ari has arrested because of their prison ministry. This has been the reason why I haven't been able to attend as of late. There were these two brother drug dealers whom Ari arrested and one of them assaulted Ari, (in a bathroom,) and tried to grab his gun during the fight. Needless to say, Ari punched the guy's lights out and gave him a major shiner. The brothers were being arrested in the first place because they had held a girl hostage at gun point in an apartment building near ours. Anyhoo, the "free" brother proceeded to come to our door and try to get in using the same story that he'd used to get into the hostage girl's home and also had our home surveilled for the next several weeks. Next thing I knew, they were both living at my church and attending the same meetings that I was...NOT SAFE!!! And they weren't the first, nor the last bad guys to be there. So, I am very much looking forward to having a safe church to attend!!! : ) (Sorry for the super long story of explanation!)

We are looking in to moving companies, etc...saving all the money we possibly can, and in general, preparing for the move and the MAJOR lifestyle changes that will be occurring. I will be working for Ari's mom Alice managing the business end of her Greek restaurant while we live there, and Ari will be going to school full time, which is looking like six days a week and some all-nighters. He will be getting a two year degree in ten months! He is so brave and adventuresome. I don't know if I would have what it takes to follow my dream so fervently. I must say that I am extremely proud of him and very honored to be his wife. I am very excited to help him pursue his dreams over the next few years.

In other, non-move related news; we have decided to try very hard to conceive between October '08 to December '09ish, and if we haven't successfully done so, we plan on beginning the adoption process then. : ) : ) : ) Can you tell that I am thrilled about this!?! We have always planned on adopting a few children and having a few of our own no matter the order of things, so total P.G.O. here, but I am so completely stoked!!! (P.G.O. = profound grasp of the obvious) We are waiting until this Oct. to start trying again because I still have some healing to do from the abdominal surgery I just had. We figure that if I do get pregnant right away, I would have the baby close enough to the time Ari will be graduating that we will be able to swing it. (Tee Hee! I am so completely excited to have some babies finally, it seems like I've been waiting my whole life! Wait a minute...I have!!!) O.K, I know that was some serious cheese just then, but I think that I am entitled to a little. : )

Well, that just about sums up our "detail" up date. I sure hope and pray that all of you, my dear friends and family, are happy and doing well. All our love to you,

Ari & Kristen

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Favorites from the 4th of July


Hannah took this picture and I love it, it is now the wallpaper on my computer!

This year we celebrated the 4th at my Uncle Dan and Aunt Vicki's new home with nearly all of the family together. The only one's missing were Emily and her family. : ( It was a lot of fun to all be together and enjoy each other's company and some really good food. The only other disappointment were the lack of decent fireworks! I know, I can't believe that my pyromaniacal family actually allowed a holiday to pass without blowing things up, let alone the 4th of July!!! : )
Here is Ari on his birthday in May...We got his stuffed shark in on the celebration too! : )
Seth and Caleb, my big brother and my nephew on the 4th
I believe that this is a self-portrait of Caleb on the 4th. We let both Hannah and Caleb play with our camera, and they took some really great pictures! I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised! : )
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Hannah's 10th Birthday Party

I absolutely love this picture of the kids being kids!
Happy Birthday Hannah!!!
Caleb on the slide...I really cannot believe how big Hannah and Caleb have gotten, I think Caleb has grown three inches just since they moved down here in January!

Hannah on her birthday bike! She was sooooo excited to get this bicycle for her birthday, she rode it all over the park that day! : )
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Some Favorite PIctures

Mokee, Eeyore and Kristen snuggled up for bed
My cousin Olivia on Mother's Day/Hannah's 10th Birthday...isn't she precious!?! Ari took these pictures and they turned out so great.
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