Ari & Kristen

I've joined Facebook!

2009-06-16T15:33:00.002-06:00

Just to let you all know when you check this blog, I am now on Facebook, which I absolutely LOVE! I will continue to up-date my blog and keep it current, about once a month unless there is something news worthy going on. I will do my best to check my Facebook at least once a day, so that will be the better way to contact me for now.

To those of you who have been confused by Ari returning to Colorado to work for the up coming festival; it's just that. We are only going to be there for one week during a festival when the police department needs extra help. Ari is certified as a police officer in the state of Colorado for three years after his last day of work, so technically, he is still a cop even though he hasn't been working as one for the past several months. We will be coming back to Cali and returning to our routine here once the week is over. Since Ari's brother shares the house with us, he is taking care of Mokee for us while we are gone, so I don't have to worry about the house or my Kitty! : )

Well, I guess that about covers it...did I mention how much I am loving Facebook? If you haven't signed up for it yet, what are you waiting for!?! It is WAAAAY easy, it walks you through like three steps and you're good to go. Give it a try, what have you got to lose? : )

As always, lots of love,
~the eddy's

Whew! Where Do I Begin!?!

2009-06-13T21:48:00.002-06:00

Life has completely gotten away from me these last couple of months! Let's see... Um, well I don't quite know what I did, but I hurt my back and was having a difficult time simply walking, so I had to take some "sick leave" with work...thank God that Ari's mom Alice is so understanding and gracious because the some sick leave has turned into over a month! I had to have an epidural of cortisone two weeks ago on this next Monday. : ( Ouch! An epidural, (at least for me) is a spinal cord injection of a strong anti-inflammatory. For this procedure, the doctor has to put me to sleep using what's called "twilight sedation," which just means that I am completely out, but they keep me just "out" enough that I can continue to breathe with out having to be intibated, (no tube down my throat.) Any way, the procedure took about an hour, and then once I was awake enough, Ari took me home where I recovered with bed rest for the first day or two and then slowly eased back into normality. I am still in a fair amount of pain, so I still haven't returned to work! I feel like I'm going to go crazy!!! It is really hard for me to sit still and stuff. Plus, I feel really badly about not working because Alice definitely needs my help at the restaurant. She has been so graciously understanding, I am extremely grateful to her for that. Ari has been taking very good care of me and making sure that I don't over do it around here. God bless him! He has been going to school and taking care of everything around the house too! I am a very blessed and lucky girl. : )

Otherwise life has been busy and stressful. Sharing our home with Ari's little brother is forever challenging, to say the least...basically it completely sucks. I don't want to say too much...to be careful who might read this, and to keep from sinning! : ( Bottom line is that we are constantly having to draw our boundery lines and continuely hold people to them. This becomes very frustrating and tiresome. Tension seems to be thick around our house on a regularly, and that is exhausting. I am extremely glad that Ari is only going to be in school for this one year, and he will be graduating the end of October! As soon as we are financially able, we are going to get a place of our own. It looks like we will be here in L.A. for another year or so, until Ari has regular work in the film industry, and then, God willing we will move back to Colorado or to Washington, where ever God opens the door. It seems like we will always need to keep a small apartment here in L.A. so that we have a place to stay as Ari's work requires. Ultimately we would really love to purchase a home in the Camas/Washougal area, it's just always going to be home to both of us, and it is where we want to raise our children, etc... It is really quite strange to be in such a mercurial place at this point in our lives...we ernestly thought that we would be settled in to our own house with at least one kid and living a "normal" life for all intents and purposes. God has led us on this crazy adventure instead, so we are holding on tightly and doing our best to enjoy the journey, and all that! (what-what!) : ) I must admit that the weather is phenominal and we have thoroughly enjoyed living so close to Disneyland and the Ocean!!! We live just two or three miles from the beach and about a 30 minute drive from Disneyland - where we hold a year-round premium pass! We have quite honestly visited both parks, the CA Adventure and Disneyland proper an average of three times a month since moving here.

Looking ahead - This next week we are flying back to Colorado for Ari to work one of Telluride's festivals for his old department and so that I can visit my friends and family. I quite eagerly looking forward to seeing my mom and my sister! I get to stay with Jess and her husband for most of the week, I think that I will only get to spend one night up in T-ride. Ari is looking forward to "being a cop again." : ) It must be extrordinarilly strange to go from being a "civilian" to being a police officer for a week and then back again. This has been the longest period of time that I have ever gone with out seeing my mom and my sister - over eight months. : ( It has been a really hard and very lonely time for us all, one week just isn't enough!

O.k., I'm just going to put this out there for all of our friends and family: You are all welcome to come and stay with us in our home if you would like a Californian vacation...remember that we are mere minutes from the gorgeous Pacific Ocean, Universal Studios AND Disneyland!!! We have a spare bed room that is just waiting to be filled! : ) (and that part about it being tense around here, well, it's not THAT bad, I don't think any one else would really notice.) :>)

Well, I think that about covers it as far as up-dates go...I will do my best to keep you all in the loop when there is anything news worthy.

Love to you all,

~the Eddy's

Happy Greek Easter!

2009-05-04T01:37:00.000-06:00

Hi everybody! How are you all...I know it's been forever since I've bogged, again! Life is extremely busy just with the day to day stuff, work, Ari's school, etc... So, Greeks, at least the Orthadox Greeks, celebrate Easter a week later than traditional Christians so Ari and I got to celebrate two this year! This picture is us over at Ari's Mom's house where she threw a huge bash for every one. Here is Ari's cousin Ari...yes, they have the same name, but totally different personalities. ( I got the good one!) Then, from left to right, Agape, a family friend, Veta, Ari's Aunt, (my Ari's, cousin Ari's mom.) and then a friend of the fam whose name I don't know. At all the parties, they always end up dancing! It's really fun to watch and occasionally get dragged into...they have even danced on table tops when they are feeling crazy! : ) It's a Greek and middle eastern thing, but it sure makes a party a lot more fun!

This is Amar, my brother-in-law and his girl friend, Grecia trying to stay warm after the sun went down.

Our Friends are Coming!!! Our Friends are Coming!!!

2009-04-02T00:04:00.004-06:00

Hello All! Ari and I are doing great, just working and going to school and enjoying the California sunshine! I actually sunbathed yesterday! : ) For the entire four years that we lived in Telluride, I never once layed out in the sun...I don't even think it ever got warm enough to want to! Needless to say, I absolutely loved it!

Our wonderful friends from Telluride are coming to spend a week with us for their Spring Break with their three children and I can hardly wait!!! Jay and Lisa are our very dear friends that we met while we lived in Telluride. They moved up there in 2006 when Jay had got hired at the Telluride Marshal's Dept. as a deputy with Ari. The first time we met we totally hit it off! They are near our age and they've been married since they were 19! They are Christians and they have three really great kids. Lisa is one of me best friends, she is wonderfully loyal and sincere and she is just plain fun to hang out with! Lord knows how desperately I needed a friend while we lived up there, and He brought me a wonderful one in Lisa! : ) They will be here on Wednesday the 8th and staying until the following Monday. Ari and I are going to take them all over. Of course we are going to Disneyland, to the Zoo, to the beach, shopping at one of the World's larges malls, to down town Hollywood to see the "Walk Of Fame" with all of the stars on the sidewalks and the world famous Groman's Chinese Theater, aka the Kodak Theater. That is the place where the Oscar's are held each year. Ari is even going to drive them all of the way up to the giant white Hollywood sign up in the Hollywood hills!

In other news, Ari is excited about this segment of school because they are specifically studying directing, which is his ultimate goal for future employment, etc... I am so unbelievably proud of my Husband for being brave enough to follow his dream! I knew that he was talented enough to bank our future on him working in the field of directing after he finishes school, but now that I've gotten to see him in action I am really blown away at how amazingly talented he truly is! He amazes me daily with new story ideas and he is very gifted in writing the dialog into the screenplay. Personally, I would find the writing of dialog to be near impossible, what with all the back and forth conversations...trying to set the proper tone for the scene, trying to make it funny or serious, or sad or scary...I would be at a complete loss. And Ari isn't just capable of writing, he is really GOOD at it! I am so impressed and proud! Besides Ari being a great student, he is also such an amazing husband! I really am blessed and fortunate to have him as my Husband and my Best friend.

I am working four days a week at Aliki's Greek Taverna...no it's not a tavern, we don't sell any alcohol, it's just Greek for diner. I have found that I really love meeting all of the customers and getting to know the "regulars." It has been a good thing to have something to do after all of these years being a house wife! : ) (I have been wonderfully spoiled!) Quite honestly, I cannot wait until Ari is out of school and I won't have to work any more! : ) I feel terrible admitting that, but it's the truth!

Say, I just remembered something that I wanted to blog about! Ari and I went for a walk along the beach this last Sunday and to our amazement and great joy, we got to watch a pod of dolphins fishing and playing right out in front of us for over an hour! They gave us a wonderful show jumping and leaping and having so much fun with one another. I wanted to go out and swim with them so badly! There were probably between 12 to 18 of them romping around out in the surf! It was awesome to watch them do these jumps in tandem, perfectly matched as though they'd choreographed a show just for us! It was incredible, I could hardly tear myself away from it when we had to leave.

Well, that just about catches us up for the time being. We love and miss all of you.

Ari and Kristen

P.S. Please Pray!!!

For those of you who know my Uncle Scotty, he isn't doing well at all. He has cut off all of his friends and family, not answering or returning phone calls, etc... and he lost his job at Lowe's about four weeks ago. I have no idea if he is even alive right now because the doctors told him over a year ago that he would die if he drank at all, and he has been on a serious bender since February at the latest, probably before that. Please pray. The last time I spoke with him was four weeks ago. Thank you for your prayers for both he and I...my heart is very heavy and sad.

Here's the Restaurant!

2009-03-14T23:12:00.000-06:00

I've had requests to see some pics of the restaurant and everyday life, etc... so that you can get a better idea of what it's like for us here in Los Angeles. (Honestly, I still cannot believe that I actually live in L.A.!!! Never in my life would I have ever thought that I would live here...any where but here!) Any Hoo, this is the out side of Aliki's Greek Taverna, it's located right near Los Angeles Intl. Airport.

This is the inside, it's shaped like and "L", so this is the long part. : )

This is what you see right when you walk in the door...well, this and my smiling face! : )

Alice and Ari hanging out at the "family table." Strangely, some times people ask if they can sit at our table, which is a little weird to me, especially because the dining room is set up a little differently now and there is only the one table near the front so it's really obvious that it's not for the general populous.

The Restaurant Cont...

2009-03-14T23:00:00.000-06:00

Antonio the Chef, he's quite a character! He has been a chef for Greek restaurants for over 20 years so he totally rocks!!! Every time a new customer comes in, they rave about the food and promise to tell all of their friends about our food...by the looks of it, they have been! We have more than doubled our daily business in the last month!!! It is becoming too much for one chef and one waitress to deal with, which is actually a real blessing since our Ari and I are financially supported by the work I do at the restaurant.

This is Lopez...he does EVERYTHING and he does it well, actually his nick name is the Professor because he knows exactly where every little thing is, how everything works and how to fix things when they don't work! He is one of the hardest working people that I have ever met. Lopez works all day long, sometimes seven days a week doing all of the behind the scenes work that allows the restaurant, the farmer's markets, the on-line olive oil shipping business and the catering to run smoothly and for us to be successful. Besides being a very hard worker, Lopez is a very kind and helpful person. I feel really lucky that I get to work with people that I genuinely like. : )

Antonio and I during a break in the action! : ) Some days it is so horribly busy that I am actually RUNNING to get people their orders, etc...because it's usually just Antonio doing all of the cooking and me doing all of the hostessing/waitressing. I don't know how he manages because he works mon-sat 11 a.m. to 1o p.m. and he is the only Chef we have! At least Alice and I can take turns and give each other days off here and there.

We usually grab a quick meal between the lunch rush and the dinner crowd at the "family table" up near the cash register. Lupe' is the one in the middle, she does a lot of the behind the scenes work to help with the food preparation for the farmer's markets and she has been entrusted with a few of Alice's secret recipes for some of our "specials" we serve in the restaurant. : ) (Seriously, I don't even know any of the family secret recipes yet! Alice keeps telling me that she wants to teach me a few...we'll see.)

Happy Birthday Alice!

2009-03-14T22:31:00.000-06:00

We closed the resaurant for the night and had a very fun time at Alice's (Ari's Mom) birthday bash!!!

From L to R; Grecia-Amar's girlfriend, her little sister Leni, Alice, Amar and our step-neice Jazmine.

Alice and her boys

Ari, Alice and me...I know that I look like a bit of a freak here, I was actually in the middle of a laugh...check out all of my teeth!!! : )

Farewell Our Furry Friend

2009-03-14T21:58:00.000-06:00

Lou Lou our sweet little Guinea Pig; February 2004 - February 2009. Rest in peace my sweet little friend, we will miss you very much and we look forward to seeing you in heaven!

Our New Home

2008-12-21T00:16:00.001-07:00

The kitchen

Our giant bedroom! Seriously, it's huge...it just doesn't translate to film well. : )

This is our master bath...yeah baby!!! I LOVE our tub!!! Again, it is really big, it just isn't looking that way here.

Our New Home!

2008-12-21T00:11:00.000-07:00

This is the entrance to our town house..."Casa Blanca".

This is the courtyard out side our door...

Here is our living room...it really looks a lot smaller in pictures than it is in real life!

This is our fire place in our living room...we have yet to use it, I think that we are too busy to worry about cleaning it out later! : )

Officer of the Year!!!

2008-12-21T00:05:00.000-07:00

Ari was recently awarded the Officer of the Year for his "exceptional service to victims/survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault" in all of San Miguel County, Colorado!!! He was giving this trophy/award...usually they host a dinner in his honor, but since we had already moved...they just sent him the award. I am so proud of my husband and I am so glad that others recognize how wonderful and hardworking his is. Congratulations Ari, you most certainly deserve it!!!

Merry Christmas Every One!!!

2008-12-11T00:37:00.002-07:00

I promise to up date this blog very soon...I cannot find our camera and it has a bunch of pictures that I have been waiting to post, so hopefully it will show up soon and I can put some pictures up for you to enjoy. : )

Ari was doing some reading for a history class, and this little poem made us both cry...so I thought that we would share it with all of you, it is quite beautiful.

The joy, the triumph, the delight, the madness!
The boundless, overflowing, bursting gladness,
The vaporous exultation not to be confined!
Ha! Ha! The animation of delight
Which wraps me, like an atmosphere of light,
And bears me as a cloud is borne by its own wind.

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

Have a very Happy Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

A Few of Our Last Goodbye's

2008-10-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

Here we are!!! This was a miracle! My entire family hadn't been all together for anything in about five or six years. My Mom had every one up for a BBQ at her place in CO a few days before we took off. It was really wonderful to have everyone there and together to say fair the well.

Also, I was able to spend a few days with Jessica and Rob in Moab before we left...here we are!!! : )

This is one of my best friends Lisa. She lives in Telluride and her husband worked with Ari as a police officer.

And here's Anthony with his friend Rhianna at one of our goodbye dinners. Anthony not only drove seven hours up to help us pack up the moving truck, but he's also been out to L.A. for a visit already!!! All you all have some catching up to do!!! : )

Ari's Last Hurrah!!!

2008-10-08T18:31:00.002-06:00

One of the last nights we were in Tellured, the office held a "Goodbye" party for Ari and these are some of the guys who were there.

They honored Ari with a certificate of service for his time there...Neither of us can believe that it's actually been close to five years there!!!

Moving and Such

2008-09-26T04:32:00.002-06:00

Well, the time has come...Ari and I are moving to L.A. this weekend. We are heading out Saturday and hoping to make the drive in one day...we'll see if I can stand it. It was just yesterday that we got our new home solidified!!! Ari had several places lined up three or four months ago, but Alice, Ari's Mom wanted to "help us out" and take care of it for us, so...yesterday it was! : ) However, the place we ended up with sounds really super great! It's a condo/townhouse, three bedroom, two and a half bath, fire place, yard and patio, two car garage and a dog park near by. (Amar, Ari's brother will be our roomie and he has a dog who will be joining our family.) Anyhoo, it's all inside a gated community! Swanky, huh!?! The place is in Torrence, CA just a few blocks from Ari's church where we will be attending until we find our "home" church. It's also a mile or so from the beach...you know, THE PACIFIC OCEAN!!! Hee, hee, hee! : ) Of course I will keep you all posted as we settle in, and I'll explain why I haven't blogged for so very long...it's a doozy of a tale!!!

Ari nearly died from a surgical related infection and we had to MOVE apartments with only an hour's notice right smack dab in the middle of Ari's worst! Aaaaaah! I'm just glad that it's all over. We had to move to another building because there was a sewage problem...our down stair's neighbors had a sink drainage pipe that had broken and had been draining into our walls for over two years!!! Eeeeew-wah! The smell was unbearable and we are pretty sure that Ari's sinus infection was due solely to all of the horrible bacteria we were breathing in.

I'll give you all the details and up-dates when we have settled in to our new home.

Love and Blessings, Kristen Fairlight

Cute Pics of Us Recovering from Our Respective Surgeries!

2008-08-19T04:57:00.001-06:00

Here I am in the hospital following my surgery in June...I had Eeyore with me through the whole surgery and when I woke up I found him dressed like this by the nurses...apparently he assisted in the surgery!!! : ) By the way, I am nearly completely recovered, if I over do things I can still tell, but I am basically back to normal.

Here is poor Ari the day he came home from the hospital...I got him this stuffed dog to help him recover and he named him Reussoux, (pronounced "Roo-so," it's a french name so I'm guessing that I spelled it correctly.) : )

Mokee has been keeping Ari company around the clock...he's so attentive to us when we aren't feeling well. He ALWAYS sleeps with me in a little bed between Ari and my pillows, but he hasn't missed one night with Ari in the recliner...I think he's on guard duty! : )

Here he is taking a nap during the day when I was up to watch over Ari, he deserves a break, he's been so loyally loving as Ari is recovering.

It has been a brutal recovery for poor Ari-O. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed, the tissue that swells up and makes our noses stuffy was cauterized to shrink it and to repair his deviated septum, they chiseled out the bone to make a proper airway, OUCHY!!! We've subsequently learned that having your tonsils removed as an adult is one of the worst things you can do to yourself! (Oooops.) Ari has been in severe pain since the surgery on the 6th, and the pain meds made him sick to his stomach, so he's been unable to eat much and throwing up whatever he manages to get down, the poor guy. Can you imagine how unbelievably painful it must be to have the raw throat where your tonsils used to be and then throwing up!?! We saw the doc this afternoon and they gave him two I.V.'s to rehydrate him, some anti-nausea meds and some anti-inflammatory meds to help control the pain. He is feeling better tonight, thank You Jesus!!!, and he has been able to eat, and keep down a few things. Yay! I think that this might be the turn of the proverbial corner that we've be anxiously praying and waiting to turn. We both sincerely hope so, that is for sure! Thank you to all of you who have been keeping us in prayer, we sure do appreciate it very much and we've needed them desperately.

Otherwise, uhhh, well, this has pretty much been an all-consuming experience, so there really hasn't been much else going on. We've been on a hiatus of sorts waiting this recovery thing out. Ari is scheduled to return to work this coming Saturday, but we will wait and see how he is feeling. We have some super cool new neighbors, they moved in across from us about two weeks ago. They are a married couple about our age with an 18 month old son named Stone, their names are Shirl and Jason. Shirl and I have hit it off quite well and we've been hanging out nearly every day taking walks with her baby, chatting and sharing our favorite things...basically enjoying getting to know one another. It's really nice to have some friends, FINALLY! : ) It just stinks that it's taken this long to find some quality people, and now we are moving at the end of September. : (

~The other fun thing is that it's Bear Season around here! I swear that I'm the super bear detecting girl wonder!!! I have seen a couple of different bears every night for the past couple of weeks, usually they are breaking into the garbage shed scrounging for tasty treats. Tonight I caught the really big bear breaking into the shed through the little two-by-two ft. door on the side of the shed. The little doors are for easy access for humans to use to toss their garbage into through, but the bear has figured out how to open the latch, and tonight he actually jumped into the shed through it! The doors are rigged to spring shut immediately after you let go, so it snapped shut on him and I thought that he was going to be trapped in there and freak out, but just as the door shut a truck drove by and the bear jumped out backward just in time! It's been pretty cool to watch the bears from a safe distance! : ) I guess that this weekend one of the smaller bears was on the stair of our building halfway between floors two and three, we are on the third floor, so it was VERY close to our door! I'm just glad that I wasn't the one who walked around the corner and got scared half-to-death! It just so happened to be our neighbor, a police officer and he just so happened to have a shotgun with rubber pellets in his hand...I guess he had to shoot the bear in the butt to get it to leave! (Remember, these are just rubber pellets, so no harm done.)

Well, that's all folks!!! Hope that you are all doing well...we miss you and love you!

The "Detail" Up Dates

2008-07-23T03:06:00.003-06:00

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

Favorites from the 4th of July

2008-07-22T06:33:00.001-06:00

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! : )

Hannah's 10th Birthday Party

2008-07-22T06:23:00.000-06:00

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! : )

Some Favorite PIctures

2008-07-22T06:16:00.000-06:00

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.

With Out Further Ado:

2008-06-24T07:39:00.000-06:00

Life has been anything but dull as of late, we have tons of news to share with you all.

THE MOVE:

1) After a lot of prayer, etc…Ari and I have decided to move to L.A. the end of this September so that he can go back to school. I know, I know! There’s a bomb to drop, but wait, it gets better! : ) Ari will be attending L.A. Film School to receive a two year degree in one year for directing and screenwriting. I will be working and supporting us while he is in school. I already have a job waiting for me that provides enough for us to live on and health insurance. We will live in the Redondo Beach area and we plan on being in L.A. for two to three years. I must say that I am really excited to be on a day-time schedule again, to be a part of society on a daily basis and to be so close to Ari’s family…and to Disneyland!!! We are going to be getting annual passes for sure! : ) God has provided everything we felt “needed” to be taken care of before we could even consider taking this HUGE step, and He did it in about two days. It was really quite amazing to see all of the doors flying open for us to follow a life-long dream and a talent. This is one of those things that we would seriously regret not doing at the end of our lives and there is no time like the present!

THE SURGERY:

2) This one is sort of “out of the blue;” (Ha ha ha!) I am having a surgery today at the Montrose Memorial Hospital in Montrose, CO. I have a small hernia at the top of my abdominal scar from one of my back surgeries. Anyhow, it has to be fixed a..s.a.p., and certainly before I get preggers, so today’s the day. Honestly, I just found out that it was scheduled for today, yesterday. I should be able to come home tonight, but it’s a wait a see sort of thing. I may end up staying one night. The surgery is going to be at 2:30 p.m. and it shouldn’t last more than two hours-ish, and I will have about a two week recovery, so it’s really not that bad. My sister Jessica is here to help take very good care of me. : )

THE ACCIDENT:

3) Last but not least! I found out that I required surgery on Tuesday the 17th when I met with the Surgeon. I left the doctor’s office and was driving to the pharmacy looking for a place to park, seeing none available on my side of the street, I went to drive around the block and park on the other side of the street. I was stopped at the intersection waiting for pedestrians to exit the crosswalk with my blinker on to make a left turn . Then the crosswalk cleared and the traffic cleared so I slowly started to make my turn when out of absolutely no where a guy on a bicycle slammed into the front driver’s side panel directly in front of my door!!! It was one of THE most sickening experiences of my life. I can still see it all happening in slow motion every time I think about it. Amazingly the guy was o.k. He walked away from the accident and refused any medical help. My back got jacked up somewhat due to the impact and the very sudden slam on the breaks, but I will be o.k. after some rest and muscle relaxants. Thank God it wasn’t my fault at all! I was doing everything right and legally. They ticketed the cyclist for speeding and illegally attempting to pass a vehicle in an intersection, etc…and he will be responsible for the repairs to our poor Honda Pilot and subsequent my doctor visit. All in all, it’s been one heck of a ride lately!!! The size of the dent he left in our car is really quite astounding! Especially that he was able to walk away from it! Oiy! It’s been stressful to say the least.

So, this is good bye for now. I promise to keep you all posted on our life as it comes. Generally, the giant lapses in blogging are due to a painfully uneventful period of time, during which there really isn’t anything to report! : ) (I hope that you can relate. Otherwise, how very sad!) : ) To sum up; we won’t be moving until the end of September, and Ari starts his school year the end of October. I am having surgery today, Tuesday, June 24th. And I got into a terrible accident with a guy on a bicycle last week, but it wasn’t my fault, thank God! Oh, and we are both basically o.k. Alrighty then, I guess that about covers it. I hope that you are all well and we miss you and love you.

(I promise that I am doing fine! It's just been stressful the past week or so.)

Our Big Fat Greek/Los Angelos 2 and 1/2 week Vacation!

2008-04-27T04:35:00.002-06:00

Hello Every Body...my friends, my dearly missed friends!!! Ari and I just got back from two and a half weeks in L.A. and then four days off at home to rest and recoup before Ari started back to work tonight. We had a major blast! We got a five day park-hopper ticket for Disney and CA Adventure. We went one day with Ari's Mom, Alice and then we got to go with Ari's Brother Amar, his girlfriend Grecia, Ari's Sister Michlien and her boyfriend Omar and we had so much fun being all together in the "Happiest Place on Earth!" : )

Once again, I apologize for the length of time spanning from my last post to this one...it's been and extremely busy last month and a half to two mos. Ari had to work a TON of overtime covering shifts for other's, blah-blah-blah...Lou Lou our Guinea Pig had to have a surgery to remove a cyst and lots of other stuff that I can't recall at the moment! All that being said, I am sorry for taking ever so long to post something, AND, we REALLY needed this vacation!

Ari and I were able to stay with his Mom in Redondo Beach, so we got to visit the ocean several times. We even had one day of 93 degree weather, and it was snowing back at home! Yes, we still have several feet of snow on the ground, but it is beginning to recede, thank God!!! We have had the world's longest winter, no joke! I know that we have had over 30 feet of snowfall this year, and it feels like it! : )

Anyhoo, Ari's Mom lives next door to her brother, (Ari's Uncle and his five boys, as well as Ari's Yaya, a.k.a. Grandmother,) and Michlien, (Ari's Sister) lives in the house in front, so we pretty much got to see everybody as much as we wanted, and then some! : ) Also, we went to Medieval Times and took our Nephew Andrew, and Ari's cousins, Lefteries and Christos, with the help of Amar and his girlfriend Grecia. I had never been to Medieval Times before, and the last time Ari went, he had the paramedics called in to administer the Heimlich maneuver to him as he was choking on a chicken bone!!! He kinda missed the majority of the show after that! : ) We had a ton of fun and I lost my voice cheering for "our knight," who almost won the whole tournament, but yielded to the reigning prince at the very last second. (Oh the drama of it all!!!) : )

Adding to the Medieval fun, we went to Disneyland for four days strait. After that, my voice was barely squeaking at all! By the fifth day of the "Disney-mania," my back was completely shot, I had no voice, Ari was feeling dizzy simply sitting on the couch and I had to literally crawl up the stairs that morning...Ari made the tough but wise decision to stay home, rest up and give the remaining days at Disneyland to his Nephew. I was very sad, but my back really needed a break!

So, we're home now and looking toward a busy summer season of all the stupid Telluride festivals. The festivals begin in May and go through the end of September, and during that time no one is allowed any time off because it's just that busy around here for the po-po.

Lots of love to you all. I trust that you are doing well and I want you to know that I think of you quite often, I promise.

Ari&Kristen

All the Crazy Rides!!!

2008-04-27T04:19:00.000-06:00

Going up Big Thunder Mountain...

...Summiting the top... : )

...Holding on for dear life and loving every second... : )

Whew, we made it and it totally rocked!!! : )

We wear a lot of hats on vacation...

2008-04-27T04:16:00.000-06:00

Our Disney fun

2008-04-27T04:13:00.000-06:00

A is for Ari...

This is my favorite picture of them all...just look how happy I am! : )

Eh-Hem! It stands for my middle name, Fairlight! : ) That's right people, I knew what you were thinking!!!

2 and 1/2 weeks of L.A!!!

2008-04-27T04:06:00.001-06:00

Michlien, my Sister-In-Law, Grecia-my Brother-In-Law's girlfriend and me!!! (Oh ya, we're in Disneyland, of course!)

Ari and I with Omar-Michlien's boyfriend, Michlien, Grecia-Amar's girlfriend and Amar; in Disneyland!!!

Ari, Omar and Amar...yes, we did get pulled over on the way to the airport and searched!!! No, seriously, we really did.

Please Check This Clip Out!!!

2008-02-26T04:04:00.006-07:00

Hi there friends and family!

My parents sent me a link to a clip that is so completely worth checking out. I sincerely hope that you will take the few minutes out of your day for a good laugh! Just copy and paste the address below to your address bar and press enter...it should take you to it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48

Make sure that you have the volume up too, the music that accompanies the video clip totally adds to it! Other wise, simply go to www.youtube.com and search "This Dog Really Loves Snow, Bailey the Unknown Reindeer," and it will pop right up. Enjoy!!!

Lots of love to you all,

~kristen

Newest Night Time Snow Creation

2008-02-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

So, hopefully it's obvious what/who this is... : ) Come on, sing it with me now; "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!" : ) I get restless and bored at night sometimes, being the only people up at such odd hours and all, so I go for walks. I'd say we have about four feet of snow on the ground, but we've gotten approximately 15 ft of snow so far, and it's still coming! With all this fresh snow just waiting for some one to do "something" in it...I just can't resist! (Hey, at least I don't make any of it yellow!) Plus, there is a daycare center next door so it's extra fun to make stuff in the snow just outside their door. It's kind of like being the first person on the beach in the morning...you have this giant fresh pallet waiting for your artistic touch. : )

Tonight was my Birthday Dinner Night. Ari took me out to a very nice Italian restaurant called Rustico in Telluride and our friends Anthony and Christy, and Jay and Lisa met us there for a very nice meal. The wait staff know us and they always treat us extra well, but when it's my birthday, they go all-out! : ) They comped us at least $50 in "extras," brought me some excellent Tiramisu and sang me an Italian version of Happy Birthday. I had a lot of fun but poor Ari hurt his back pretty badly right before we had to leave for dinner. He was barely able to turn his head to visit or read the menu. : ( I have been taking extra good care of him tonight...I sure know how badly back things can hurt. It makes me a great nurse, I'm deeply empathetic after all. : )

My Birthday Flowers & Mokee

2008-02-05T20:04:00.000-07:00

These beautiful flowers were a birthday gift from my wonderful Mother-In-Law Alice. Aren't they GORGEOUS!?!

Mokee was very intrigued by the strangely colorful and fragrant foliage, so he had to check them out! : )

Here he is admirering them like a floral afficionado giving his nod of approval.

I think that he was enjoying them nearly as much as I was!!! Thank you Alice, I love them and I love you!

Happy Feet!

2008-01-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

I know that the floor mat says feet twice, but it looked lopsided otherwise. This basically sums up my mood for the last week or so. We've been slammed with over six ft of snow, and there is more on the way! I it's a good thing that I LOVE snow! Last night we had a major blizzard. It was dumping snow so hard that I couldn't even SEE the building that is less than 50 ft from our window, I loved it!

Here is my snow kitty! He did turn out rather nicely, but he didn't photograph all that well. I promise that he's really cute! : ) A dorky "fun fact;" the Colorado snow RARELY sticks together because it is so powdery, so instead of making a traditional snowman, etc...I just sort of draw/stamp them into the snow...plus it's a lot less work!

I made sure to leave a ton of smiley-faces all over the place...I'm sure that some poor bloke will be extra tired and grumpily heading off to work, finding all of these smiley-faces are going to make his morning just that much worse! Sometimes having a super cheery person around when you are feeling extra grouchy just compounds it all! Maybe I'm wrong. (I sincerely hope that I am!) Perhaps it'll turn his whole day around just by seeing smiling faces every where he looks! : )

O.k., here's the one that didn't photograph well at all, but I promise that it's a really cute snow bunny! (He's even got himself a belly button!) : ) I sure do love you all and I am so blessed to have friends, near and far that care about my goofy midnight snow escapades! I pray that all is well with each and every one of you and your families too.

Lots of love, Kristen

Fun in the Snow!!!

2008-01-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

I was bored early this morning before we went to bed so I decided to go out and play in the snow. There is a day care center in the building next door to us, so I thought that I would make some fun pictures in the snow to greet the kids as they came in today. It was fun!

Here is one of my favorite snowman...I made several, but he most certainly got the best nose! : )

Here I am, hard at work making a snow angel on the side walk, the entry way to the day care!

Ari had me pose with my handy-work. I believe that this is one of seven or eight snow man's I made. I was a busy girl!

And HEEEEEEEERRRRRRRE'S Ari!!! He looks so extra adorable that I can hardly stand it! We've gotten at least six feet of snow over the last week and a half, so I figured that I'd best make something of it! : ) I can just imagine the fun the kids are going to have on their way into to "school" this morning...I kinda wish that I could spy! : )

My New Pantry Doors...

2008-01-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

...Among other things! : ) Before these beauts, we had some super ugly, dark fake wood ones. So, sorry to bore you with this silliness, but I happen to be extremely excited about my gorgeous white pantry doors! They brighten up the whole kitchen, don'tcha thing!?!

Here is my fruit/veggie that I found to be quite esthetically pleasing, so you get a picture of it! : )

Here's one last shot of our lovely new kitchen's pantry doors...I promise to try my best not to post about such superfluous things again. You have my word on that...at least for a while! : ) I really LOVE my kitchen, small as it is. It is just perfect for us, just enough room for two people to cook and bake together. (I just realized how small it actually appears in these pics! I swear it's not THAT small!)

Ah, the TRUE brother/sister relationship!

2008-01-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

I absolutely cracked up laughing when I begged them to let me get a picture of them in front of Chuck himself...finally they sat down, and all on their own, they hugged, and then promply pushed eachother away! I was so glad to have captured the moment on film! : )

Hannah and Caleb...my neice and nephew now live in Colorado with the rest of our family. It's still so strange, it hasn't really sunken in yet. We sure did have a lot of fun with them on Thursday and we can't wait to do it again!

Chuck E. Cheese!!!

2008-01-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

Seth, Tess, Hannah and Caleb have moved down to Grand Junction, CO! So, Ari and I spent a day with them at Chuck E. Cheese's and we had an absolute BLAST!!!! Ari is so great with kids...I don't know if it's because they are his neice and nephew, I think it's just kids in general, but he's a hero of mine, that's for certain!

Snow and Life

2008-01-09T15:24:00.000-07:00

...I guess that about sums it all up. We are going on at least four feet of snow in the past two to two and a half days, so that is really fun! I love it, keep it coming! (just not the cleaning off the car part.) : )

Otherwise, stuff has been really quite normal in our lives, it's just there has been a LOT of crap with my Uncle. So, when you think of us, please pray...I know that I really need it. I don't really know what else to say for now.

I love you all.

The Best Christmas Present EVER!!!

2007-12-31T17:53:00.000-07:00

I got to go ice skating with my sister Jessica! It really was one of those glorious moments that one only gets to experience a few precious times in one's life. I did my best to soak it all in. It has been over seven years since I have been able to ice skate. Ice skating was one of my most favorite things to do in life before my back would no longer allow it. I began skating at the age of two on our pond in the winter when it would be kind enough to freeze over enough to bear our weight. Anyhow, this was such an amazing moment, I still cannot believe my blessed self. Thank You Jesus!

Here is Jessica skating up a storm, skating backwards and twirling!

And here we are...I'm actually tearing up because I was so rapturously happy to be DOING one of my most favorite things!

Seriously, you HAVE to see this pic!

2007-12-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Mokee made some new friends...as soon as tigers and lions come on the screen, he's glued...he kept putting his paw up to touch their faces and make friends...Isn't he cute?

I know that I already posted this, but I got the feeling that you might have missed it! : ) We can't have that now, can we!?!

For all of my friends, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It is our prayer that you and your families enjoy a Christmas filled with peace and joy, and a New Year's full of blessings that will find their way into your lives all through out the year to come. Merry Christmas and a Happy and Blessed New Year!

Again, I apologize for taking such long pauses between posts. Things are still crazy with my Uncle in WA and I have been co-ordinating via phone calls for days now. Please pray, he's not doing well right now and he needs to get into an in patient treatment facility...everything is ready and available, now he has to make the choice to live.

Otherwise, we are great! We have been absolutely LOVING the snow! We got about 12 to 14 inches last Saturday alone, and we are expecting another dump of snow tomorrow, and the forecast says it's going to keep up all week long! : ) (I am aware that I over use exclamation points, but that's just how excited I am about it all!) : ) Christmas is at our house this year, and it's going to be a quiet affair with Jessica and Rob, Mom and Dad, Ari and me. Mom and Dad are bringing us a tree on Christmas Eve from their property! I think that is so cool! Plus, we all get to decorate together as a fam...I am really looking forward to having a low-key Christmas with several of my most favorite people in the world.

Can you guys believe that it's almost 2008? I am sort of in shock over how quickly time seems to go the older I get. People used to tell me about the time phenom when I was younger and I blew it off, as if to say, "that will never happen to me." Ha! Now I'm the old person saying, "I remember when I used to change your diapers" to poor teenagers, okay, college students! : ) I'm telling you, getting old is not for the faint of heart! Strange things begin to happen. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not that old, it's just sort of sinking in that I am in my thirties for real now. : )

Lots of love, peace, joy and blessings,

Ari and Kristen

Disneyland!!!

2007-11-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the rest of our vacation photos; we were in Disneyland on Halloween, a lot of park goers were in costume too, it was a lot of fun.

I am sorry for the delay in posting. I have been out of town with a fam. emergency, but everything is fine now and I am sooooo glad to be HOME!!!

Here is Amar, Ari's little brother, and I just off of Splash Mountain where we got soaked! It's a good thing that it was such a hot day, or we would have frozen!

Amar, Alice, and Ari with the extremely late White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. (Alice is their Mom, isn't she gorgeous!?!)

Disneyland and Dress up

2007-11-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

Ari and I with the White Rabbit

As you can see, we like to dress up in all of the funny hats that they sell. Here we are both wearing the "Jack Sparrow" dreds, and I must say, we both look FREAKY! (this is my rendition of a drunken sailor, Ari's is just plain scary!) : )

Mokee and his Friends!

2007-11-25T16:05:00.000-07:00

Ari and I were given an early Christmas present, a giant LCD flat screen t.v. (It still feels like waaaay too much!) Anyway, the minute we hooked it up and turned it on, Mokee became extremely interested in any and all animals on the screen. He began by stocking a bird in a tree on screen, and he went crazy when the tigers came on! He sat in front of it for the whole show and kept putting his paws up trying to touch their faces...it was so cute! The poor guy, I think he's lonely! : )

I am sorry for not blogging for a while. I have been gone for the majority of five or six weeks: First, Ari had training in Grand Junction, CO, (driving) for the week of Oct 16th, then we came home for a couple of days and left for our vacation to L.A., (driving) and a handful of theme parks, (driving) for two weeks. Then while we were still in L.A., there was a family emergency in WA concerning my Uncle. So, I was in L.A. on stand-by to fly up at a moment's notice. Eventually, we drove back home on a Friday, and I drove out for WA with my Mom on the following Monday. I got back home on the 21st, the day before Thanksgiving, and needless to say, I am exhausted!

Mom and I stayed with my Uncle, her little brother, for a week. Since we were there for him, it wasn't any kind of vaca, so I didn't get to see many of you. We did manage to see Tess and Seth and the kids, which was so wonderful. I cannot believe how BIG Hannah and Caleb are. Caleb has grown up a lot...he's a a full-blown boy, no more baby there! Hannah is going to a new school and she is absolutely loving it! She has always been such a social person, so she is simply blooming...it's really great to see how happy they both are. I wish that I could have spent time/more time with each of you, but I know that you understand that I was there for "work" not play. : ( Uncle Scotty is doing well and improved by leaps and bounds just in the week that we were with him.

As you can well imagine, I am soooooper glad to be home!!! Rob, a friend of ours who is in the Army and stationed in Colorado Springs came to our house for Thanksgiving and spent the weekend with us. We also had our friend Anthony over for Thanksgiving dinner. The rest of my family all gathered at my Parent's house...I felt badly missing that, but due to all of my travels, everyone understood why I didn't want to turn around after 23 hours in a car the night before and drive the four hours it takes to get there. (And that's just one way!!!) Uhhhg. Seriously, I don't want to spend more than ten minutes in a car for about six months! : ) The good news is, I probably won't have to.

Today, Sea World!

2007-10-28T00:37:00.000-06:00

Shamu and friends...

...watching from under the sea...

...completely drenched and loving the tide pools! We also went on the river rapids ride and I got the worst of it! I, niavely, thought that I wouldn't get THAT wet, boy was I wrong! : ) I had to buy a new pair of pants to wear for the rest of the day! : ) (from the water on the ride! It wasn't that scary!!!) : )

Shamu!

2007-10-28T00:31:00.000-06:00

Yippee!

Our nephew Andrew and Ari's cousin's from Greece; Christos and Lefteri...

...Getting soaked and loving it!!!

Universal Studios

2007-10-28T00:22:00.000-06:00

We made it, we finally made it!!!

And we made some stinky friends! : ) Beatle Juice plopped right down next to me and then he started spouting off silly puns. Well, little did he know, he'd met his match in me!!! Certainly, my Dad could have punned him under the table, I just held my own. I as - "salted" him with a pack of table salt, he told me to "fork off," brandishing a plastic fork; then I grabbed a few ice cubes and told him "I only had "ice" for him. He walked away laughing his head off! Lame, I know, but most of you know the "Upson Curse." What could I do? : )

Universal Studios

2007-10-28T00:12:00.000-06:00

Whoa! That's one big fish! (Yes, we know Ari's a cheese ball, and we love him for it!)

Top 'O the Mornin' to Yeh!

Ari and his Mom...look at her makin' "eyes" at my man!!! (I suppose it's o.k., he was "her man" long before I ever met him! She sure thinks the World of him, as she should.)

Universal Studios

2007-10-28T00:07:00.000-06:00

Awwwh, ain't we cute!?!

Ari's personal hero! (Sponge Bob, that is!)

Oh My Gosh!!! Run! That green guy looks ticked!!! : )

The Increadible Journey to L.A.

2007-10-25T19:34:00.000-06:00

So, we left on Monday morning and drove through Moab, UT to drop off Lou lou, our guinea pig at my Sister's for the week. We then drove the 70 to the 15 N and we made it all of the way into CA on the 15 before being stopped about an hour away from Ari's Mom's by the monstrous California fires! They really are soooooper bad, it's been kinda scary.

The freeway was shut down, all of the freeways were shut down. It was 10 p.m. west coast time, all of the hotels, etc...were full and we were completely stranded. We had to park on the side of the road between two semi-trucks and sleep it out, hoping that the roads would be re-opened at some point the next morning. I made a nest in the back of our trusty Pilot and Ari sat watch in the front seat, reclining enough to sleep a few hours at a time. The roads finally opened around 6 a.m. and Ari resumed the drive. In the night the fires had come extremely close to us, AND there had been hurricane-force winds that had gusted up to 100 miles an hour! I feel like we were in a flipping wagon train back in the olden days or something! Sheesh! : ) In the morning we could see several burnt out cars and trees, as well as about six semi-trucks that had been tipped over on their sides by the hurricane winds, it was crazy! Ari said that it literally looked like a war zone.

Thankfully, we are here now and having a great time. Today before the Tar Pits we even stopped by the tattoo shop that they film "L.A. Ink" at on TLC...they were filming at the time and politely asked us to go away. : ) I didn't want a tattoo or anything, I just have this weird fascination with seeing famous people.

I will post more later...Universal Studios tomorrow! : )

P.S. It's been between 90 and 100 degrees out here! There's a giant climate change for ya! We had to dig our car out of eight to ten inches of snow before we left, and it was still coming down!

Lunch in Venice Beach

2007-10-25T19:32:00.000-06:00

Sunset through a palm tree, just the way I like 'em!

Ari with his Mom, Alice and his Brother, Amar...I love how happy they look in their eyes.

O.k., I swear just after I took this picture we saw three dolphins frolicing in the sunlight on the water! Alice and I watched them playing for about 15 minutes, it was completely awesome! This was the first time I have ever really seen wild dolphins, I was giddy with glee! : )

Mmmmmm, yummy! The La Brea Tar Pits

2007-10-25T19:20:00.000-06:00

Poor little Elephants stuck in the tar! : )

And here we have The Tar! I guess it just bubbles away like that all the time, actually, it was pretty cool.

Beatiful sunlight reflected in the tar...Yum.

La Brea Tar PIts

2007-10-25T19:12:00.000-06:00

Here I am with a bear? I am guessing that he's some sort of prehistoric bear, or something...

Here I am with Ari's brother, Amar...and the bear! : )

Our First Snow of the Season...

2007-10-13T18:10:00.000-06:00

...well, at least at our elevation. It's snowed on the Mt.s across from us a few times, but this is the first time it's falling and sticking on our terrafirma.

I hear that we are expecting an accumulation of 10 to 16 inches tonight!!! I can hardly believe it's snowing already...we're not even half way through the month of October! Isn't there something a little bit wrong about that!?! : ) Actally, to be honest, I love snow and I am completely geeked that it's here already. Wasn't it technically just summer like two weeks ago? Oh well, I say bring it on!

And here we have our lonely little candle tree...as you can see, it's definitely been "blown out." It's funny because all of the surrounding trees still have most of their leaves. (Just is case you are wondering what in the world I am talking about with the whole "candle tree," just scroll down a few entries and you'll see what I mean.) : )

Third Wedding Anniversary & Disneyland, here we come!!!

2007-10-09T14:42:00.000-06:00

Our third wedding anniversary is on October the 16th, which unfortunately this year, will be spent in Grand Junction, CO at a police training class...However, we will soon take about two and a half weeks off and drive through Vegas to L.A., Disneyland and the beach! Yippee!!!

Most of you know, Ari and I are big kids and we absolutely LOVE Disneyland and we've gone at least once a year since we met six years ago. We also spent our honeymoon there!!! : ) Hawaii is always our first choice, but financially, Disneyland works out for us every time! We'll make it to Hawaii one of these days, and in the mean time, we are going to keep on having fun at the "Happiest Place on Earth!"

Due to our need to "get out of Dodge," away from work and monotony, we are attempting to "change it up" this year. On the way to L.A. we are going to spend at least one night in Las Vegas so that Ari, (who has a life-long, fascination/obsession with sharks,) will be able to see the Great Hammerhead shark and the aquarium at the Monterey Bay Resort. The Shark viewing has been on our "list" for several years. Apparently the "great" sharks, i.e., great white, great hammerhead, have never been able to survive in captivity before...so, we are excited to get to see a Great that has been thriving in Vegas for several years now.

(Somethings are just strange to have in the desert, for instance; shark aquariums and sea food restaurants. Perhaps it comes from growing up in the NW so near the ocean, perhaps it really IS weird, but either way, Ari and I simply refuse to eat any sea food while living in land-locked Colorado! Other friend's and family see nothing wrong with eating fish, and swear that it is freshly frozen and flown in daily...I still don't care.) : )

Most of Ari's family that lives in the U.S., live in L.A., so naturally family visiting is always part of our Disney holiday's. This year we desperately need a good vacationing for our sanity's sake, so we are going to attempt to do a lot of "touristy" things and spend lots of time at the beach. It's been a REALLY long and difficult year for both of us. I was in recovery from my back surgery, eight months of which, I was very dependant on Ari for most everything, bless him. He handled most of the house chores and had to do all our laundry, and this is all on top of his regular, super-stressful job. We are hoping to go to Medieval Times Restaurant, (which will be my first time) certainly we will go to Disneyland/CA Adventures, we may even try for Universal Studio. We plan to visit Venice Beach, (a crazy little microcosm of rollerskating, break dancing/pop 'n locker's, muscle beach work out pits, and tons of local artisans toting their wares.) Santa Monica Pier would be fun too... it has a year-round carnival; rides, funnel cakes, elephant ears and more! Perhaps we'll swing through Beverly hills/Rodeo Drive and Hollywood; the Walk of Fame/Grauman's Chinese Theater, where they hold the Oscars every year. If we go, we are most definitely going to brave the Hollywood scene at night...which is a unique and slightly frightening experience, but you absolutely CANNOT beat the people-watching! : ) Talk about a strange little microcosm!!! It sure isn't the super-swanky, romantic, glamorous place you've always pictured, or what you see on Oscar night!

Most certainly, we are headed for a fun-filled vacation/anniversary! I hope and pray that we will be able to enjoy each other and ourselves, and that we will not feel stressed by obligation or over-planning. All we really HAVE to do is visit Disneyland and visit the family, every thing else can be left to spontaneity, feasibility and the all-important "fun factor!"

We will stay in-touch with you all via blogland...Ari will be bringing our laptop along with us, so we should be able to post pics and anecdotes along the way! I'm sure that I will post something between this and when we leave for L.A.

Chunks of Love to Ya Bro! : )

(Don't be afraid..."chunks of love" is an old joke between a few of my friends, and it would take WAAAAAY too long to attempt an explanation.) : )

Attention George X. in Greece!!!

2007-10-08T05:45:00.000-06:00

Hi back!

I got your messages and I have tried to e-mail you at the hotmail address that you left me and it has been returned several times. Is there a special country code for Greece that I need to enter? It would be so great to be able to communicate with you and your family via e-mail, so I'd really love to hear back from you. Hope that all is well with you and your family. Please tell them that we send our love and that we are planning a return visit with Eliki, Amar and Michlien next summer, God willing! : )

~Ari and Kristen

Sunlight on the Mountains

2007-10-07T16:15:00.000-06:00

Well, as you can see, It Snowed!!!

2007-10-02T09:27:00.000-06:00

Here is our candle tree this morning...it snowed last night on our mountains!!! Isn't it glorious!?! I wish that all of you could actually come here and see how amazing this place is for your selves...you are all always welcome in our home! : )

Autumn in Eddyland!!!

2007-10-01T03:55:00.000-06:00

This morning I noticed an old friend was back and I had to take a picture of it's (very) short-lived glory.

We call this our candle tree because it is so tall with absolutely no branches or leaves until the very top, making it look just like a birthday candle. I'd guess it to be around 60 feet tall. It is an aspen tree and this time last fall Ari and I had just come home from my surgery and post surgery stay with my Parent's. It had been nearly six weeks since we'd been home and here, right outside our living room window, this little tree was waiting to welcome us back. My sister Jessica had come up to stay with me and help for that week. She and I called it our candle tree and we fondly watched it turn bright yellows, firey oranges and reds, and suddenly, all in one windy day, it lost all of it's leaves just like some one had blown the candle out. We made sure to make wishes! : )

It is so gorgeous up here this time of year! The aspen leaves are spectacular, these intense splashes of color against the dark grey mountain faces, some of their peaks sprinkled with the stark white of freshly fallen snow. Creation literally takes one's breath away around here. I am forever choking back tears and singing praise and glory to God for the beauty He has given us to enjoy. At times I feel like this particular tree, this flower, or the way the sun is highlighting a certain mountain peak for just a few breif seconds, I feel like God did this one little show of His glory just for me, as if to say, "Hi, I love you and I haven't forgotten."

The View from the Ground

2007-09-16T03:43:00.000-06:00

These are pictures of the town of Telluride as seen from the top of the ski lift/gondola.

This is the town that we live above and that Ari works in...We live at the top of the ski runs, the town is at the bottom. And, I promise that the angles aren't off at all, it really IS that steep! Luckily, I have never skied here...Honestly, I don't think I am good enough to survive these runs. Mt. Hood looks VERY tame in comparison, even the mountain that I skied in UT wasn't this intense!

This is the sun setting on the other side of us...the mountain peaks at the far left of this pic, (the one below,) are called The Wilson Mountains, it just so happens to be the mountain that is on Coor's beer ...(so I've been told anyway, I cannot stand beer!) You should see The Wilsons with snow, it's breath-taking...I'll have to post it again when the snow returns, NEXT MONTH!!! No, seriously, we get about four months without snow covering EVERYTHING...July through Sept. I'm trying to squeeze as much sunshine in as possible!

Good Fun!

2007-09-16T01:31:00.000-06:00

Yippee!!! We are (hopefully) going to go flying with a pilot friend of ours in his private plane today! This past weekend is/was the last festival of the season called "The Blues & Brews" so Ari has been working a lot of over-time. Also, during the biggest festivals, police officers from all over come and help work the event because the population jumps from about 3,000 or 4,000, to 15,000 to 20,000! Anyway, one of the officers that has worked with Ari for the past four years is from Aspen, CO. He is a pilot and he flies his plane here every year, and this year he has invited us out for a flight.

Now, this is exciting enough as it is, but what you should know is that the air port is built on a mesa...a table top like area on the side of the mountain, so it just drops off at the end of the runway, about 500 ft. or so...Oh, and the runway is bowed in the middle, so that the runway looks like a smile when you look at it from the side, which of course adds some extra drama and excitement to the whole take off and landing! Ari and I have been dying to get to fly out of this air port, so we are both anxiously awaiting this excursion. I must say that I am a little nervous to fly in a small plane this high up in the mountains...for those of you who don't know, we are already at 10,000 ft. elevation! We'll keep you posted. I am going to take our camera and I will try to get some postable pictures for you all.

Super Good News!!!

2007-09-01T20:57:00.000-06:00

On Thursday night, I finally got a call back from my endocrinologist and he explained to me what’s going on with the thyroid issues in my neck. Everything that I had researched on the internet and in my anatomy and physiology book was telling me that I was going to have to have surgery to remove the tumors in my neck, and I was trying REALLY hard not to freak out. Anyway, the Doc told me that the tumors are small enough right now, that we don’t need to worry too much about them for a few years, and that my thyroid levels can likely be controlled by medication. . . AND, the really super-good news is that we can get pregnant as soon as possible! I found out that my thyroid functions have been failing, and that is most likely why we haven’t been able to conceive yet. I should be good to go in four to six weeks; that’s how long it will take us, (my Doctor and I,) to get the thyroid medication levels figured out and balanced in my body.

Honestly, I don’t think that the whole meaning of this has really sunk in yet…I have had symptoms of thyroid problems since I was a baby. My heart rate has always been very rapid and my heart often skips beats. Then, when I was two or three, I started to get inexplicable chest pain. I have also always naturally eaten like a bird. (It’s been really strange for me lately because I have been eating like a horse, craving food like a mad woman!) My Dad said that I am most likely just now getting a “normal” appetite…I must say that it feels quite strange to be eating this much. Mostly, the enormous relief of not needing surgery, again, FINALLY resolving several perplexing life-long issues, and not having to wait a year or two to start having babies, is HUGE! It sounds cliché, but I don’t think that I have ever felt like a bigger weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I don’t really know how to process it all, it is such a ginormous answer to so many prayers. . .

. . .thank you so much for yours. : )

Lou Lou!

2007-08-30T05:56:00.000-06:00

O.k., please bear with me here; I am painfully aware that because we have yet been blessed with children, our pets are kind of our focus--oh, who am I trying to kid??? They are completely spoiled and they are totally our babies! But isn't Lou lou soooooooo sweet and cute!?! How could anyone ever deny a face like that? : ) Every time she looks at me like this I melt, and whatever she wants, she gets.

By the way, I am feeling rather sheepish for posting this and being so mushy about my guinea pig, but that doesn't matter enough to change anything...She will forever "have me at hello" with this face. (I really am sorry for that last line there from "Jerry McGuire", I know, it's completely aweful, shameful really.) I promise here and now, that I will refrain from using that quote ever again on this blog. : )

Gabriel Elias Brinkley, born 8/19/07, Right on his due date!

2007-08-21T20:09:00.000-06:00

Jed and Emily working hard. Isn't this the sweetest picture? Jed, Emily's husband, was incredible! He didn't leave her side once, and it was a LONG haul!

I got to be there for the whole thing... by the time the baby was born, I'd been awake for 30+ hours. This pic is right toward the end of Em's labor. She was at the end of transition and almost ready to push. She was in intense pain, I don't know how you ladies do this!?! You are amazing!

And here he is, Gabrial Elias Brinkley!!! All Eight pounds, 13 ounces and 20 and 1/4 inches of him!!! He is such a beautiful baby and he is coming into a really wonderful family with a big brother and a big sister who love and adore him, and parents that will do anything to get their children what they need and usher them into their destiny.

It never ceases to amaze me how completely present God is at every birth. I felt like the very hands of God were coming down from heaven and reaching through Emily to bring Gabrial to this world. It is always amazing. It sort of feels like you are walking on holy ground, God's presence is so tangible...I am still in awe.

TO THE BRINKLEY FAMILY:
Emily, you ROCK! Jed, you are incredible. Big brother Daniel, you are such a joy to be around, I have loved getting to know you and I think you are really great! You are such a good big brother and I am so excited for you having a little brother now...you are going to be able to show him all the cool stuff and teach him all sorts of wonderful things. My sweet Olivia, you are such a great person and you are going to love being a big sister. You are going have so much fun playing with Gabriel when he gets a little older. You guys are going to have a very special friendship. I love all of you and I am praying for rest and peace, that you will all gently ease into this new life together. Now your lives are truely blended. Grace, Peace and supernatural rest to each of you.

You have to read "The Craziest Story Yet", I promise, it's worth it!

2007-08-18T02:08:00.001-06:00

These are all the same bear

2007-08-18T02:02:00.000-06:00

I just changed the lighting, etc... so that you can see them a little bit better.

P.S. This little guy was around 400-plus pounds - He was HUGE!!!

The Big Bad Bear

2007-08-18T01:29:00.000-06:00

This not-so-little bear had been a little naughty, so he was trapped by the forest service. I got to get right up to the cage and take several pictures. There were a coulple of times when he huffed and lunged at me, but I was surprised that he was as calm as he was. They had put a five gallon bucket filled with watermelon and apples, pears, grapes, peaches, etc...It sure did the trick, plus I think the bear really enjoyed the variety...he ate it all!

I know that the pictures aren't perfect, but you can see his big ol' head! This is a bear who has obviously been caught in a trap...Sucka!!! They caught him because he has been breaking into houses and he did a lot of damage to the kitchen of some poor rich people's vacation home that they come to maybe once a year. Those poor, poor rich people! (Sense the sarcasm.)

O.k., there is nothing to say that this is the same bear, innocent until proven guilty, right? But I have the best bear story EVER!!! My next door neighbor Dan who works for Mt. Village P.D stopped by our house tonight and told us the best story about a call he'd gone on last night. He got a call to a home, and the home owner said he had to walk Dan through it step by step so he'd really get it. So I'm going to tell it the same way. : )

This guy had spent the previous evening making cupcakes with blue and yellow frosting for his son's birthday the next day. When he had finished, he set the cupcakes on the windowsill to cool in the open window, and forgot all about it. Now, I can tell a lot of you can already see where this is going, but I promise, it fets better, just wait! : ) They all go to bed and sleep through the night. The dad was the first on to get up, so he ambles into the kitchen for some coffee. Just then he sees a 400 lb bear in the middle of his kitchen, sitting, like a person on the floor with his legs strait out in front of him, with the tray of cupcakes sitting on his lap. He, (the bear) had blue frosting all over his face, in his ears. Can you believe that!?! Dan, my cop neighbor, said that the bear had gotten frosting all over his paws as well, and that when the home owner walked in, the bear was liking the frosting out from between the toes of his front paw! The guy said, "shucks, the bear should have figured out our remote, at least then he could have been watching something while he had his breakfast!" : )

Isn't that the cutes bear story EVER? ; ) I just loved the image in my head when I heard the story...it's just so dang cute! He was sitting down like a civilized bear should, with his legs stretched out in front of him and a pan of cupcakes on his lap, frosting all over his face and paws. By the way, the bear quickly ran away and didn't eat anyone or any thing like that. So now he is known as the "Cupcake Bandit", may he live forever!!! After Dan the neighbor finished the bear story, he said that if he got a bear trapped tonight, he'd come get me in his police vehicle and take me up to see the bear! : ) Yippee, it was so much fun, not as much fun as the other night with Ari, myself, the bear and the large orange traffic cone! : ) You will have to read the other bear story on our blog to get that joke! : )

Quick Emily Up-date

2007-08-16T04:21:00.000-06:00

Emily's labor slowed down and eventually stopped, so she gave it up for the time being...she isn't technically due until the 19th, so they were ''wishfully thinking" on that one. I really feel for the girl, she is hugely pregnant, and remember that she lives in the Colorado desert. It is over 100 degrees F for months in a row out here! The poor girl, she has been virtually living in the wading pool in their back yard! : ) Keep her and her family in your prayers, they can use all the grace they can find...her husband, Jed, is returning to school in a few days, so she will be on her own with a three year old and a new born for most of the time. Anyway, there's your up-date, and we'll keep you posted.

P.S. When you have the time, read the last few of my written entries, they are QUITE entertaining, I promise you won't be bored. : )

The Craziest Story Yet!!!

2007-08-11T21:32:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday evening Ari and our friend Anthony and I were driving to Montrose, the nearest town for restaurants and grocery stores, etc…And you will never, in a million years, guess what happened!!!

(By the way, I initially wrote this as a statement for the Sherriff’s Office so please forgive me for being dry and deliberately factual. There are several points I make in this that I would never have included had this just been for my blog.) : )

We had just turned onto the main highway and gone about three miles when we had to slow suddenly for a black Jeep that was turning left onto a winding country road called Brown Ranch Rd. We were probably fourth or fifth in line toward the back of the line of cars when we heard shots being fired from the black Jeep into the line of cars. Ari was driving, I was in the passenger’s seat and Anthony was in the back seat behind Ari with his window halfway down. Ari had to slam on the breaks hard and swerve sharply to keep from hitting the car in front of us who had just gotten shot. In the midst of all the craziness, we were shot about three times, and at this point we weren’t sure if it was a real gun or a paintball gun. The shots sounded like a real gun firing. Then, as Anthony’s window was partly down, the group of guys in the Jeep shot directly at Anthony and missed hitting him in the head by a fraction of an inch. Now we knew that they are shooting us with paintballs. When the paintballs hit the cars, they hit with an amazing amount of force and they sounded like they could be a .22 bullet, possibly buckshot, or perhaps a strong pellet gun.

After firing multiple shots at multiple cars, the black Jeep sped off up Brown Ranch Rd. Immediately, Ari turned left up Brown Ranch Rd to catch up to the black Jeep to at least get a license plate number. As we wound our way up the steep and narrow road, we caught up to them about ½ a mile up the road. There were no plates on the vehicle, they had removed them on purpose and they told us later that they had placed the Jeep’s license plates in their glove box.

Anyhow, as we caught up to them, Ari began flashing the headlights, honking the horn and yelling for them to pull over. Both he and Anthony were shouting that they were off duty police officers from Telluride. During this, I am on the phone with 911 explaining that we are being shot at by four guys with paintball guns in a black Jeep with no license plates. At this time the guys in the black Jeep had probably shot our car five or six more times while we were following them trying to get them to pull over. I had been disconnected from 911 at this point, so I redialed and that is when all hell broke loose. They fired over 20 shots strait at Ari’s face. I’m screaming, completely terrified that the windshield is going to break, that they are going to start shooting at us with real guns. I was hunched down as far as I could get in my seat and still have on a seat belt. They had plastered over 20 shots right in front of Ari’s face and the paint was very thick, you could not see through it at all. Finally, They guys in the Jeep realize that they’ve messed with the wrong people and they start to slow down, and quick thinking Ari takes the opportunity to pull our car in front of theirs and force them to stop by cutting them off. During the time the guys were shooting all of those rounds into our windshield, I had grabbed my purse, found my keys and unlocked our glove box where we keep Ari’s gun when we travel. I got the gun out and placed it on Ari’s lap, just in case…I had know idea how bad things were going to get. Anthony took the gun since Ari was driving.

Immediately upon stopping the vehicles, both Ari and Anthony jumped out of the car and start screaming that they are off duty police officers from Telluride and saying that they had better get out of their car and lie face down, hands above their heads on the pavement. I didn’t see most of this happen, I only heard it as I was terribly shaken, freaked out and still speaking with the 911 dispatcher…I was still scrunched down as low as I could get in my seat. I did see Ari physically helping one guy out of the Jeep as well as Anthony doing the same with another of the Jeep’s passengers. Anthony had grabbed Ari’s gun before they got out of our car and from what I could see, a couple of the guys were trying to make a run for it and they were being very---well, they weren’t obeying the verbal commands to get out of the car, so Anthony used some force to remove one of the guys. Ari and Anthony kept the guys all face down on the ground and started calling in the guys information/I.D to their dispatch. At this point the San Miguel Sherriff’s were on their way. As this was all happening another vehicle drove up on the scene and parked behind the black Jeep. It was a new model Jeep wagon, deep red, the driver was a middle aged man with two little kids in the car with him…he had obviously been shot at as well. We could see several spots where his vehicle had been hit by paintballs. Within a few minutes of stopping the chase, I got out of our car while giving info to 911 over my cell phone. I could already feel a significant increase in lower back pain, nerve pain down my right leg and muscle spasms in my low back and between my shoulder blades.

Once San Miguel deputies arrived on scene, Ari and Anthony told them what had happened, they also had me give a written statement. I know they also spoke to the other victim in the dark red Jeep. After that we were free to go. I was in a considerable amount of pain by then so we decided to go to Montrose Memorial Hospital to get me checked out. They took x rays and said that the fusion was fine, but that the muscles and nerves were stained and that it was going to take some time for the inflammation to go down and for me to heal up. To help with the pain, they gave me a shot of morphine and torridol and gave me a flexaryl tablet to take. They sent me home with some vicodin and some flexaryl to get me through the night until I could see my regular doctor. I am still sore all over, especially my neck and shoulders, my low back and my right leg. I have to say that was quite possibly one of the most terrifying experiences of our lives. I am still very upset by the whole thing.

As it turns out, the four guys in the Jeep did have a loaded .22 rifle and a 10 inch blade hunting knife, as well as an additional, fully loaded paintball gun. They also had drug paraphernalia. None of us searched their vehicle because that is something that the responding officers do…those are just the things that were in plain sight. Scary!!! If we would have crashed, if one little thing had gone wrong several people could have been seriously injured and probably died. We were later told that 911 had been getting calls all day from all over the county with complaints of these four guys in the black Jeep doing drive by shootings with their paintball guns. Also, while we were still at the scene, one of the deputy’s told us that a truck driver had just called in the same time we had saying that he’d been shot in the head…he was just two cars in front of us on the highway when they first started shooting at us. If the truck driver had lost control, or something worse, it would have been a horrific accident.

I was told by the Sherriff’s office that three of the guys are over 18, and one of them was 16. I know for sure that the three over 18 spent the night in jail and bonded out the next afternoon. Their initial court hearing is on September 11th at 1:30 p.m. and I plan on testifying against them.

The Bear Encounters

2007-08-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

I got to go on a ride-along with Ari last week and he took me out on foot patrol to go on a bear hunt!!! : ) As I mentioned in one of the earlier posts, the bears really love to come into town and knock over the garbage cans and do what ever they can to pry the locked lids off to get to the “food.” There have been a couple of times over the past two weeks that we have seen at least two different bears, at different times, right below our livingroom window. It's fun to watch them, especially because we are on the third floor! : )

Anyway, Ari and I are walking along one of the quieter streets down in Telluride, actively looking for bears…and suddenly, Ari whispered, “There he is!” Sure enough, there he was, just about fifteen feet away from us, all 300 pounds of him, just looking at us. : ) It was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever gotten to do! We followed him, giving him plenty of room, of course.

As we were following the bear, some lady in a car nearly hit me…it was kind of one of those, “I see you, so I’m going to speed up and pretend like I’m going to hit you on purpose, and then slam on the breaks because I think it’s really funny” type things. Anyway, needless to say, Ari went over to make a contact with her, and sure enough, she’d been drinking, so while he was dealing with her, I got to watch to bear as he toppled another giant garbage can over and then proceeded to jump up and down on it trying to pop the lid off. I stomped and clapped and yelled for him to go away…I am told that usually works…and it seemed to. I know it sounds like I am insane, but it’s so incredible, you can hardly help yourself, it’s quite surreal.

By then the bear gave up on that garbage can and ambled over to a dumpster that was locked up inside a ten foot high cedar fence enclosure. The bear then started to rip the boards off the fence until he could reach the lid of the dumpster and he flipped the heavy lid open like it was a paper plate! They are so unbelievably strong! By this time, I was about ten feet away from him. On my walk over I had grabbed a large orange traffic cone, it was the only thing around and I figured it could help me make loud noises to scare the bear off…well, it eventually worked. There was a tense moment when the bear was staring at me considering whether or not to eat me. Ari later teased me that the bear was saying to himself, “ I could totally take that girl, she'd make a great snack; except for that stinking traffic cone!!! They get me every time!”

In retrospect, I probably wouldn’t be quite so brazen, but it was still the coolest things I’ve gotten to do in a long time!

Emily's Baby Shower

2007-08-11T18:59:00.000-06:00

Em with her big, beautiful tummy and her super fun big pregnant tummy cake!!! Frm L to R;Great Grandma Norma, Grandma Vicki & Great Aunt Kim
And Here is the lovely Auntie Jessie, actually, Jessica and I are the baby's super-great second cousins, but who's counting!!! : )

Kristen Up-date

2007-08-11T18:40:00.000-06:00

Hello Everyone!!! How are you all doing? My sincerest apologies for not having posted a new blog up-date in ages. Life, as you will see, has been quite interesting ever since early spring.

O.k., well, I guess I will just jump on in here: In late Dec’06 I had a CAT scan to find a blood clot. The good news is that by the time we had driven the two and a half hours through a blizzard, the blood thinning medicine they had given me at our urgent care had worked and dissolved the clot. The not so good news is that I later got a phone call from the radiologist at the hospital saying that they had found a small tumor/growth on my thyroid gland and that I needed to see my doctor right away.

The “official” name for what they found is Thyroid Nodule, and all of the research that I did on-line and through my Dad and Mom, etc… all said that they are almost always completely benign. I did go and see my Dr. and she did some blood tests to check my thyroid functions, etc… and then she said that she wanted me to see an endocrinologist in Grand Junction as soon as possible. This was in March, and the endocrinologist couldn’t see me until July 16th! So I had to just let it all rest in God’s hands and not allow myself to dwell on it. By the way, the symptoms are waves of inexplicable anxiety, sleeplessness, and unexplained extreme fatigue. I guess that the growth can cause the thyroid gland to way over produce adrenalin at times and then stop completely; hence the anxiety/exhaustion. The anxiety hits me at random times. Frequently it will wake me up out of a dead sleep. It is completely physiological and not psychological at all, it’s not that I am terrified of being attacked by a T-Rex, so I start hyperventilating. It actually feels like falling over backwards in my chair, but I never land, it feels like I am falling backwards into space. I know that sounds strange, but that’s the best way that I can think to describe it.
To make a long story a little shorter, I saw the endocrine Dr. and he said that he wanted me to get a biopsy done that same day, so he immediately sent me over to the hospital in Grand Junction for a needle aspiration biopsy. That, by the way, was one of the most uncomfortable/painful things I’ve had to go through with out sedation! I was there all by my self and it was rather scary. The biopsy came back, (three weeks later!) that the growth’s tissue is “normal.” Thank You Jesus! However, it is still causing all of these bizarre symptoms and it is likely the reason that I haven’t gotten pregnant yet. So now I have to get another set of blood tests, then get a scan to confirm the diagnosis and then get the tumor removed. I know that I know that at the beginning of this calendar year, God gave me a promise that this was my year for complete healing, and I believe it with my whole heart…this is just one more little bump in the road. Once I get past this, it’s going to be smooth sailing. I have an inexplicable peace about it all. I suppose that is what Paul meant by the peace that surpasses our understanding guarding our hearts and our minds.

So, that’s me…Otherwise, life is pretty good, my back is getting better all the time. I have been able to be much more active and enjoy some of the Summer visiting my Parent’s at their new house on 40 acres and visiting my Sister and Brother-in-law in Moab, UT…the other exciting thing is that my Cousin Emily is having her baby today or tomorrow!!! She and her new husband are so excited to welcome a baby boy into their family! They have chosen Gabriel for his first name, and I think maybe Lewis for his middle, but I’m not sure about that one. They are at the hospital right now walking and hoping that things will happen sooner than later.

Here's a great example to see just how bored I've been

2007-06-23T02:36:00.000-06:00

Poor, poor Mokee! I really did get bored enough to torture my cat and put him in a dress.

I love his expression here, you can totally see just how thrilled he really is to be wearing my old baby dress! : )

Twilight, dawn over the Rockies

2007-06-23T02:32:00.001-06:00

Of Course these don't quite translate the majesty of the morning, But you can at least see what I was attempting to describe

For some reason, I couldn't find the right mode on our camera to capture what it REALLY looked like, but these work.

What!?! A New Post on the Eddy's Site????

2007-06-23T01:36:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I know it's been a very long time, and I really am sorry!

Ari is working hard this week and weekend, we have a giant festival in town with all sorts of people coming and camping out for the fest, parking all over the place and basically swarming our small town. The population grows from two thousand to 15 to 20,000 people. I pretty much hole-up in our house and lie low, going out in public only when necessary. Poor Ari isn't so lucky. He has to work a lot of over-time this week during a grave-yard shift...Now he goes to work at Nine p.m. and gets home at 7 a.m. I miss him, a lot! He doesn't even get a "lunch" break to come home for dinner with me, we are lucky to get in one phone call! : ( I think his top stats are six arrest in one shift, (that may not seem like a lot for you, but for our little town, and during this festival season there are at least 30+ additional officers who come in from surrounding communities to help work during the biggest festivals). So, with everyone else getting several arrests a night, it's right crazy-busy! I will be glad when this week/weekend is over!!! Up here, literally all summer long, every week is some new festival; music, film and otherwise, and then they manage to make the weekends a different festival. Needless to say, the festival season is jam-packed all summer long until late Sept./early Oct. Whew!

I am feeling better all the time. My back is doing very well and I am on the least amount of pain medication that I have been on in five or six years...that means that this surgery REEEALLY made a HUGE improvement and I am hoping that I will be able to go off all pain meds completely! I only have to take one pill in the morning and one at bed time!!! For those of you who don't know, I have been on meds since 1999 and I was taking three to four pills every eight hours, so this really is a BIG deal! Thank You Jesus!!!

The "summer" has seemingly started here. That means that durning the day it may get up to 74 degrees F!!! Whoooo Hooooo, we're partying now! : ) at night it still gets down around 45 degrees F...last week it was below freezing at night...the sprinklers came on and then all of the grass was completely covered in sheaths of ice...it was really beautiful. Since Ari is working so late into the morning, I have been blessed with getting to watch the sun come up over the mountain range that I look at out all of our windows...in the twilight, with the mountains just softly back-lit by the approaching sun rise, stars are still dotting the sky...it really is enough to take one's breath away! I tried to take some pictures, we'll see if they turn out...I will post them. We are so blessed to live in such and amazingly, indiscribably beautiful place. I wish that I could share it with each of you...it's like one of the moments in your life you know that you are going to remember forever; just how you were feeling at just that moment, the glory of our God in His creation being poured out just for us to enjoy right that minute. It feels like you are the only one in the world, and that you are so lucky that God chose to let me see something so amazing. Well, didn't I just wax all phylosophic on you all! : )

We are still planning on a Hawaiian vacation in early Oct...end of festival season, AND our third anniversary! By the way, we are so loving being married! We are still just as happy, if not happier now...I think that when it's good, it's really good...so we are very happy with our little family and praying to expand it when I am healthy enough and God's timing is perfect. We are also really hoping to move outta here, preferably back to the NW, in the next year or so...again, we are waiting on God for that one too! : ) Boy, it sure seems like life would be so much easier if our timing could also be God's timing! Somehow I know that it's much better to just wait and trust...it's always seemed to work out for the best when we've waited on God's timing for things in life, so we are more than willing to be patient for God's First Best! : )

I love you all and I miss you very much...Robin, I really missed getting to see you while we were in the NW and I would love it if you called me some time when your boys are sleeping and you have a spare minute...I am afraid to call you, I don't want to wake anyone up, or catch you in one of "those moments" when you don't want to speak to anyone...you know what I mean. So, give me a call. I miss you and I want to hear all about Judah and how you all are, etc... Leah, you could call me to, Missy! I haven't been able to get a real phone call with you forever!!! If and when you are ever up late, call Kristen!!! Especially these next couple of weeks, I am really lonely! : ( Jonesy's, a phone call would be ab-fab too! Heck, since I'm on the whole "shameless plea" thing, Corrie, Amy...give me a call! I would love to hear from you, very much! Seth, Tess, Hannah and Caleb, pick up the phone; I miss you!!!

At Our Favorite Beach, Arch Cape, OR

2007-04-25T00:04:00.000-06:00

Our Trip to the Portland Zoo

2007-04-25T00:02:00.000-06:00

Spring Road Trip

2007-04-14T18:00:00.000-06:00

So, here we are in Pendelton, OR and we just got done with Joseph Jurado's wedding. He and Ari grew up together in L.A. and then they were roomies in collage at Warner Pacific in Portland, OR. Anyway, Joseph is a youth pastor here in Pendelton and he finally met his match in Candace. Ari was their best man. I didn't really know anyone beside Joseph and a few of his family members, so I felt a little awkward, but it was a very nice wedding all in all. We are both glad that it's over though, we are super tired!!! We are going to chill out here for one more night of sleep and then take off.

We are headed to Vancouver, WA tomorrow and we will be staying with my Uncle Scotty for a few days. I am really hoping to catch up with Leah S. and we are planning on taking my Neice and Nephew to the Portland Zoo for a day!!! I can hardly wait, it's been years since I've been to the PDX Zoo!!! After that, we are headed down to the Oregon coast for a few days of alone time...a little peace and quiet, long walks on the beach and exploring tidal pools, you know, all the good stuff about the beach...maybe I'll even talk Ari into to going shopping for a few hours!

I am really hoping to see every one that I love and miss while I am home for a visit, so we are going to do all that we can to make sure that happens. Give us a call on our cell phones if you want to hook up sometime in the next week or so. Much love, The Eddy's

Our Friend Joseph gets Hitched!!!

2007-04-14T17:58:00.000-06:00

Ari's the best man...helping Joseph keep his cool as he watches his bride walk down the aisle

Awwwwwh, just look at all the love!!!

And here is the happy couple; Mr. Joseph & Mrs. Candace Jurado!!!!!! Congratulations you guys, have fun in Hawai'i!!

A New Post for a New Day!!!

2007-03-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

How are you all doing out there in bloggerland? I have been inexcusibly abscent from the blog world as of late, apologies all.

Ari and I are doing well!!! Hallelujah! I have been feeling better and better each day and gaining energy as well. It's amazing how much you can miss something like having energy! I suppose the old adage is apropo, "you don't know what you've got til it's gone!" : ) It has been nice to be regaining some sense of normalicy in our lives. Ari has been such a wonderfully understanding, patient and caring husband. I couldn't have ordered a better husband. You know what I mean, if I had ordered a husband built to my specifications, I don't think that he could even hold a candle to my Ari. : ) Okay, if you stop gagging, I will stop gushing! : )

We are heading into an extra long weekend for Ari and we are planning a trip down to Fruita/Grand Junction for three days and two nights of R & R. My parent's have suddenly and recently sold their beautiful home in Fruita and moved out to the country on a 40 acre farm on the mesa Monument just above Fruita, CO. and Ari and I have not seen it yet. We are going to visit them and check out their new digs, as well as meet their newest addition to our family; a nine week old Aussie puppy named Zoey! We are also looking forward to seeing a movie in an actual, real-live theater! (We don't have one with in a hundred miles of where we live.) And, there is an actual real-live shopping mall there too!!! : ) (I know that I am excited by the prospect of shopping, but I can guess Ari is a little less so.) Oh well, it is going to be really nice to get away, get out of dodge if you will and have a big change of pace.

Soon, we are hoping to have Ari's brother Amar come and live with us for a while...he'll probably get here late March, early April. We are both really looking forward to having Amar stay with us, and it will be really good for Amar to get out of L.A. and get a fresh start far away from all of the things that one gets tangled up in and that have a way of keeping one from growing and moving forward. Also, Leah S. might be able to fly up and spend some time with me!!! I must admit that I am WAY more excited to get my Leah, but that's because she is my second oldest friend and I have not seen her for nearly three years. Plus, Amar isn't really into letting me do his hair and make up and he never lets me borrow his clothes! : )

Also, we are flying up to the NW, for sure this time, for Ari's best friend's wedding in Pendleton, OR. Some of you may remember Joseph form our wedding, he was a groom's man; He is a quiet guy with dark brown curly hair and he is a youth pastor up there in Pendleton. Anyway, he's getting married on April 14th, so we will fly in to PDX sometime a few days before the wedding. We will be staying with my Uncle Scotty, (I can't wait!) for a few days after the wedding and visiting our friends and family. We are also planning for a few days at the beach!!! I am so looking forward to that time, I can hardly stand to wait for it to get here! Well, it's bed time for Francis!

Good night All,

Kristen

P.S. It's really waaaay past my bedtime and I didn't proof-read this, so please excuse any typos you my encounter. I promise to proof it and ammend any errors with in the next day or two!

Meningitis Stinks!!!

2007-02-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

Well, at least I have been able to find out a little bit more about the type of Meningitis that I have. When I first got the diagnosis there was next to nothing on the internet, and now I am finding things that say that there are a few people who have been cured from the Mollaret's disease...for some it took an entire year of in-hospitial I.V. treatments...So, at least there is some hope that I won't be this giant sick lump in my recliner forever!!! : ) I have been sick since the middle of January and it's getting really old! Today I had a temperature of 104! Yuck, yuck, yuck.

Ari made sure that I had an amazing birthday this year. My Sister had left me with a bag full of presents and implicit instructions for them to be opened on my birthday!!! So, when Ari came home from work at 3a.m. on the 5th, we were reading in bed and talking about when I should open my gifts...anyway, since it was technically my birthday, I ended up opening the gifts right there in bed. Jess and Rob gave me an increadible GIANT unabridged dictionary!!! I know, I am a complete nerd, but I have been wanting a decent dictionary for years! Over half of the words that I look up the definition for, were NOT in the pittiful excuse for a dictionary that I had, so this is super great! Also, I got a new calendar of the Greek Islands, which I LOVE, and a few other very thoughtful things...and then Ari gave me his gift. He was so cute with it, I haven't seen him be this nervous about something he had made/created since he played and sang me his song for our proposal! Ari had begun writing a story for me for my birthday, and while it's not quite done yet, it is wonderful. It's a children's book about me when I was a little girl and the adventures I go on in dream world with my faithful side-kick, Mokee my cat! When he was reading it to me, I got tears in my eyes. I must say that this is the very best gift that I have ever gotten! I can't wait until the story is finished and I can share it with some of you.

Since Ari had to work on the actual day of my Birthday, we had planned that the next day we would go out to a very nice restaurant up here in Mt. Village. We got a dressed up and asked Anthony if he wanted to come with us and right before we left, Ari's mom called and told us that dinner was on her! Wow, as soon as we walked in the waiter recognized Ari and Anthony and ushered us into a table. They all had thick Itallian accents and treated us like we were the most important people in the world! They asked why we were there, and Ari told them it was my birthday. Next thing we know, they brought out a champaigne for each of us, on the house, and proceded to treat us like royalty! The food was the best I think that I have EVER had, and that's honest! Ari got a $60 steak that was worth every penny, Anthony got Hawaiian Sunfish, I took his word that it was delicious, and I; well, we all started with an appetizer of fresh mozzerrella slices, fresh tomato and fresh basil with french baggette bread, olive oil and balsalmic vinigar...YUM. Then I had a ceasar salad and got a cream fettuccini alla planna....Oh my goodness, yummy. Then they brought out a $50 bottle of wine to go with Anthony's meal, and then they camd out, three of the male wait staff and sang me an Itallian birthday song, it was beautiful and they had a dessert for me with a lighted candle. The service was impecable, the food was extraordinary, AND then...they brought out the bill; they had comped the champainge, the bottle of wine, the appetizer dish and my entire meal, including the little dessert at the end!!!! I still cannot believe it! This was really and truly my best birthday yet! We left our waiter a giant tip because he completely earned it, and because the bill was about half what we expected it to be! It is fun to live life well once in a while, even if we all know that we are just pretending, or practicing as I like to say!!! : ) I always said that I was born to be royalty, no wonder I have always had such expencive taste! : )

I felt very loved and very well taken care for my birthday this year. I must admit that there is really no denying things, I am really and truly in my thirties now. (of course I am not super excited about that, but nothing can be done about it, so I'm going to enjoy it and thank God that I am no longer in my twenties!!!!) It's all sinking in that the thirties aren't going anywhere...as long as I can have a baby in the next few years, or at least adopt, I will be just fine.

Love to you all,

Emily's Wedding!!!

2007-01-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

Em's dad walks her down the aisle...she looks so happy! By the way, she married Jed Brinkley so she is now Mrs. Emily Brinkley!!!

Jessica and I were her two bride's maids and we got to wear the most amazingly beautiful dressses.

The night before the wedding Jess and Em stayed at my house, (the wedding was about 45 minutes away, just one mountain over from us in a lovely mining town called Ouray, CO.) We made all of the bouquets and boutonieres for the wedding and tried on our dresses and did all of the girly type things usually done the night before a wedding. It was a lot of fun!

Emily Got Married!

2007-01-29T04:52:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Jessica and Emily came up and spent the night at our house and we did all of the last minute things that needed to be done before Em's wedding. Ari had to work that night, so we didn't have to worry about driving him crazy with all of our silly girl stuff! We made all of the bouquets for the bride and bride's maids, a.k.a., the three of us, and we made about 15 boutenieres for the groom and his men and the two families. We used red and white roses and just a touch of baby's breath, everything turned out so beautifully, especially Emily's bouquet...it was 36 white roses tied up with a ribbon, so simple and so elegant!

Emily and her new husband Jed are so happy! We are really happy for them and for their new family. Jed has a six year old son named Daniel from a previous marriage, and of course, Emily has Olivia who just turned three. I know that they will love and support each other for the rest of their lives...this is such a great end to singlehood, and a wonderful beginning to marriage and family for the four of them. Many, many blessings for the newlyweds!

I have been really sick with the meningitis for the past few weeks, so I was pretty worn out going into all of this. It was, of course, worth it all, but by the time the wedding was over, I had been awake for more than 36 hours and I had started the day with a temp of 103! Ari had to take me home early from the reception dinner. By then I could hardly keep my eyes open and I had nearly fainted a few times during the ceremony...Thank God that no one noticed! I kept thinking about Chris W. cousin nearly fainting during their wedding, and I was praying that it wouldn't happen to me. : )
Sweet Ari brought me home and ushered me around the house getting me ready for bed...I was completely out of it. I fell asleep around 8 p.m. on Saturday and I woke up around 6 p.m. Sunday night!!! And I still feel completely exhausted, ugh! When I got up today, I still felt like I could go on sleeping for ever. (Perhaps I need my Prince to come and kiss me to wake me from this wicked spell!) It wasn't that I had a ton of responsibilities for their wedding. I was in charge of doing Emily's hair, and Jessica's and my own. We had the flowers to do and the decorating of the church, which was minimal...lots of candles and little white lights. And of course there were some little things to help with, but it really wasn't much, especially considering the fact that this was a wedding!!! I think that I was just so sick going into it all that all of the extra activity really did me in. So it's back to bed for me! I think that will pretty much be my week! : )

~Much Love

Hi there

2007-01-15T03:50:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy!!!

Wow, the blogging world seems to have crept to a near halt during the holidays with everyone being so busy and all!

Not much new here, but I did want to post a little something so that everyone knows that we are still alive and everything. : ) Somehow I caught a cold, and of course it's never just a cold with me, so now I am just plain old sick. I am seeing my regular doctor today to see if there is anything I should be doing differently to help me get well again. (It's not a big kind of sick, just a fever and headache.)

Christmas in L.A. was fun but completely crazy and unlike any holiday I have ever experienced before. (The palm trees and all.) It was really nice to get to spend a holiday Ari's family, his mom especially. We figured it out, and we don't think that Ari had been home for Christmas in nearly ten years! It was more than about time. : ) New Year's Eve was a quite one for me, Ari worked and I got to watch fireworks from our livingroom window. We have had a lot of snow the last several days, but it's never enough for me! We are expecting some more snow here in the next couple of days. I'm hoping for a few feet of it!

Lots of love to you all

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

Ari had to work tonight, so I was all tucked in for a cozy night watching movies when I was suddenly surprised by a large firework's disply right outside our livingroom window! I felt like the fireworks were just for me...then I looked down and saw this in the snow below our window! Now how's that for a great start to the New Year!?! : )

Christmas Morning

2007-01-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Ari and Alice handing out the presents... ...Amar and Lefteris, (brother and cousin,) I love this photo...
...Amar looking quite pleased with his gift of a super-delux video game chair to go with his 360...no, these guys aren't spoiled at all!!!

A Few Christmas Pictures...

2007-01-01T00:21:00.000-07:00

...Alice and our Nephew Andrew opening gifts... Ari is SOOOOO spoiled! I can't believe he actually got the Xbox 360!!!
Well, it's all good now, I just opened my gift, diamond earrings!!!

Merry Christmas from the Cop and his Wife!!!

2007-01-01T00:15:00.000-07:00

The Police Department Christmas party at the Chief's home.

Merry Christmas!!!

2006-12-16T22:48:00.000-07:00

This year's Christmas adventure. . .is going to be in sunny Los Angeles, California! : ) Ari and I are both really excited to get to spend Christmas with his Mom in L.A. for the first time. I must admit that leaving all of this wonderful, well, Winter Wonderland that we call home, and heading for palm trees and 70 degree weather feels a little odd! Originally, we had thought that we might spend the holiday with Alice, Amar and Michlien, (Ari's brother and sister,) and Andrew, (Our nephew.) But we soon realized that we would need to fly instead of drive, due to my back still healing, etc... and we are a little tight on money. Also, we have a friend who is in the Army and is stationed in Colorado Springs who was planning on coming over to spend Christmas with us. So, we had settled on staying in Colorado and doing all in our power to spend next Christmas in L.A. On Wednesday, Alice called and said that her husband had to fly back to Greece emergently to be with his ailing brother, and that she was going to be all alone for Christmas. : ( We called our army friend, Rob, and asked if it would be o.k. to change plans so last minute, and of course he understood. (Beside that, he had a new girl friend and he had secretly wanted to spend Christmas with her instead.) Sweet, Wonderful Alice helped to get us a flight and we leave on the 20th!

I have about EIGHT loads of laundry to do, some fudge to make and refridgerate for an hour, before the annual Christmas party for the Marshal's deptartment, and wrap our gift-exchange gift. And then I have to pack for myself and Ari, plan for and find some one who can take care of our cat and guinea pig, etc...! Oh, and I have to finish Christmas shopping and wrapping presants, shipping presants, and on and on it goes. This year will be very interesting, needless to say!

I have never had a near-tropic Christmas before. I am really looking forward to getting to spend Christmas with Ari's mom and siblings, it's going to be great. We will post some pictures soon. Merry Christmas to you all! Remember to slow down and enjoy all of the craziness because you never know what the next year will bring. Take time to stop and smell the poiencetias! : ) Time goes by so quickly and it's not showing any signs of slowing down the older we get. (I'm not saying that we're "old," mind you.) But you know what I mean. Merry Christmas to my wonderful Friends and Family. We love you all and wish you a Christmas full of PEACE, JOY and WONDERMENT! We pray that God will bless you through out the new year to come.

With lots of Christmas Cheer, Ari and Kristen

My Dad and Uncle Dan

2006-11-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

Uncle Dan is on the left...my Dad is in the beard! I don't think he's had a beard in over ten years...he's looking rather dapper, if I do say so myself! : )

Here's One of the Cutest Pic from Thanksgiving

2006-11-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

Emily and Olivia at Thanksgiving dinner...isn't Olivia a complete doll!?!

Happy Birthday to Nearly Half of My Address Book!!!

2006-11-27T03:24:00.000-07:00

Say, Happy Thanksgiving!!! Happy Birthday to: Emily, Pastor Scott, Robin, Lynne J., Amar and Rob...(some of my most favorite people in the world! And, they all happen to have birthday's withing a month of eachother!)

O.k., now that the birthday shout out is over, I am sorry that we haven't been on here in a few...our lap top has been off line for some inexplicable reason...and, I am so lazy that I didn't go the eight feet from my recliner to the computer desk and post on it! Well, to be quite honest, it was a combination of laziness and my back has been hurting a lot more since Thanksgiving...I think I over-did it making a giant batch of mashed potatos, a green salad and giving my (nearly bald) Dad a hair cut! Sheesh, that's sad! (Not that my Dad is nearly bald, the fact that those three fairly simple tasks were enough to put me out of commission for a few.) : )

Ari has been having to work an extra day a week for the past few weeks to cover for a co-worker. Thankfully he had Thanksgiving off this year! This is the first time in the three years at this dept. that he has had a holiday off, it's about time!

My family all met in Fruita, CO where my Parents and my Aunt and Uncle and my Grandmother all live...My Sister and Husband live two hours away, in Moab, UT, my Cousin Emily, her daughter and Em's new fiance' live ten minutes away in Grand Junction, CO and Ari and I are three hours away in the Mountains. So, the majority of our fam. converged on my Aunt and Uncle's house and enjoyed a very nice dinner and very pleasant conversation. We were all very thankful! : )

Nothing much to report...we have gotten a little more snow this last week, but it's still not enough! You might think that I'd have my fill of snow by now, living in the Rockies and all. I am a total snow junkie - always have been. So far we have only had enough to open the very top ski runs, way up above 10,000 feet elevation. We live at about 9,200 ft., smack-dab in the middle of a ski resort. It was a HUGE adjustment moving up here from sea level, let me tell you! Truthfully, we moved from sea level to around 5,000 ft. and lived there for a year before we sojourned up to these lofty heights, but it still kicked our butts. Ari lived up here about five months before I did, since his job began before we were married. Every time I would come up for a visit I would get really bad head aches, nose bleeds, and just walking from the room to room would leave us a bit out of breath! The air is a whole lot thinner up here and it actually makes people sick enough to have to go to the hospital! (Visiters.) Living at a high elevation effects metabolism enough to make Colorado the thinnest State, and it's been reported that the higher you live, the lower birth weights are for your babies. Crazy, huh?

Well, like I said, there really isn't much new around here...We are hoping to get our Christmas tree this week! : ) I can't wait, I completely love decorating the tree and the house, and I love the way a pine tree makes the whole house smell so good! Usually, we get our tree on the way home from Thanksgiving, but we had a very full car with all our left-overs...yum. : ) I'm kidding.

I will try to get some pictures up soon! Love you all and we wish you all very happy holidays!

Isn't it Ironic, don'tcha think?

2006-11-18T06:31:00.000-07:00

I took these pics in L.A. in the middle of a very industrial area...I thought that the irony was quite thick; First of all, the whole "Keeping it Real" phrase was histerical, but then you add on the statement, "From the 'Family Farm' to the Family Table" with the whole thing being viewed through, not only chain link fence, but chain link fence topped with barbed wire!!! Mmmmmm...can't you just taste the wholesome goodness despite the enveloping polluted chemical fog? : )Keep in mind that this billboard is located in the heart of a very desolate, bleak, dingy, concrete everything, power lines every where and industrial and factory buildings surrounding you as far as the eye can see! Perhaps the irony is more striking to me, having grown up on a farm, milking cows every day...I just hope that the rest of you find this at least slightly amusing too, otherwise I am going to feel just that much weirder for having brought this up! : )

Farewell to Jack

2006-11-16T04:20:00.000-07:00

Jack, we love you and miss you and wish you a very happy life where ever you are. You will forever hold a very special place in our hearts and we'll miss you every day that we are apart. We hope that where ever you ended up, that you are happy and safe and enjoying your sweet little kitty life. May you continue to keep those around you continually entertained. You were a wonderful cat, the best, and I can't believe that we have to say good bye for this life...see you in the next one. We love you.

You have to check this out!

2006-11-12T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's stinking hilarious!!! Go to www.youtube.com and then type in the search bar "Dog Shock collar on human man," hit search...you should get a pic of a 20 something man in a white tee with a goatee. Push play and laugh away! I cried, I laughed so hard, enjoy.

Oh So Cute!

2006-11-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

Here's our little Mo-Mo snuggling with his teddybear...He's just too dang cute...and yes, we know we need to have a baby - and quick - because this is getting out of control! : ) But he's still super cute. If you look closely, Mokee is giving his bear a kiss in this first pic.

Happy Birthday Emily!!!

2006-11-09T20:10:00.000-07:00

This is a Happy Birthday message for my sweet cousin Emily...We hope you have a super fun and exciting day...be sure and let me know if you have any NEWS???? Hint-hint... : ) I love you so much and I am so happy for you and for where you are in your life...May God keep right on blessing you the way that He has, and then some!

love, Ari and Kristen

Hee hee hee!

2006-11-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

Ari as Deputy James Garcia from the Comedy Central show, Reno 911. For those of you who have seen this show, firstly, I am truely sorry, but secondly; doesn't he look JUST like that guy!?! We got a little crazy while I was giving him a hair cut really late at night, well, actually it was probably like 6ish, a.m., but that IS really late for us. : )
You'll notice the fine touches of the super cheap sunglasses, the camouflage background, the bullet proof vest, being worn ON THE OUTSIDE, and best yet; the requisit "Cop Mustashe!" : )

Mokee the Fruit Bat! : )

2006-11-09T04:27:00.000-07:00

Here they are...

2006-11-09T04:17:00.000-07:00

...my two favorite guys! Aren't they sweet and snuggly?! Musta been a lazy Sunday afternoon nap day. Oh, who am I kidding! It was just the other night on Ari's first day off for the week. Most of you who know us, know that we sleep during the day because Ari works nights...and, if I didn't keep the same schedule, I'd hardly ever see him. Not so good for the marriage!

So, the pic is gone now...

2006-11-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Ya'll,

To Sabrina, I don't know if you'll get my comment since I left it under the photo of my scar which I just removed, so here you go; I said, "It's always nice to hear that you look like a giant butt crack!" : ) (For those of you who missed the pic that has been removed, it was of my back, the surgery scar about a week after the surgery.)

So that's about all, I just wanted to reassure those of you who gross out easily, that I am a woman of my word and the photo is gone! Ari is on his second of his three days off of his work week. We have been on a homemade macaroni and cheese kick for days now...we've made two, double batches in two days! What's even worse is that it's all nearly gone! : ) In our defense, we did have company over both nights, so at least we had some help devouring the cheesey goodness. Well, that's all for now...

See you soon, Kristen Fairlight Eddy

Sorry if I've...

2006-11-06T00:52:00.000-07:00

...disgusted some of you with that picture. I have promised to remove the picture of my back post-surgery by Oct 8th, so you don't have to look at it forever! : ) I just had a follow up with my surgeon last Thursday...it went okay, I guess. I was a dissappointed by the progress I am making, or lack there of. He took some X-rays and said that he couldn't really tell yet whether or not the bone graft had "taken." The last time I saw my Surgeon he had said that by this appointment I should be far enough along in my recovery that I should start physical therapy...no such luck. My Dr. didn't say things looked bad, things are just taking more time to heal. Also, there is still the chance that my body could reject the bone transplants, good fun. So, physical therapy is now pushed back another two months and I am still on all the same physical restrictions that I have been on since coming home from the hospital. : (

It has been really hard for me to be patient and to keep being "good" with resting and taking life V E E E E E R R R R R Y Y Y Y slowly. Plus, I feel like everyone is expecting me to be all better by now. "Normal people" need a month to six weeks after a regular surgery and then they are back to their old selves, well not for me. As we all know, I am not "normal people," and I didn't exactly have a regular surgery either. I guess we'll all just have to be patient because it's gonna take me a WHOLE YEAR until I am ready for full duty life. I remember with the last back fusion I had, I tried to return to work and school six months post-surgery and it was way too early. I ended up getting really sick and my back never really got any better...hence this surgery I suppose.

If I had to guess, I would say that I am the one who is expecting me to get better quickly, not the rest of the world. Some how it's easier to allow myself to think the "pressure" to get well quickly is coming from "everyone else," than it is for me to admit that it is o.k. for me to need help and be dependant on others. I have to remember that this is about me not feeling worth being a bother to the people around me. Therefore, I have to hurry up and get better, otherwise people are going to become annoyed with me and won't like me any more. Isn't that stupid?! I guess that that part of my soul that is being saved daily is always in search for my selfworth. (Of course I KNOW where my selfworth comes from, it's just hard to walk it out daily.) I remember during the Search for Selfworth series in M.C., someone said that God would love me just the same if I were a world-wide evangelist, saving thousands of souls, or if all I did for the rest of my life was sit on the couch and eat potato chips. I guess I am putting that statement to the test a little bit! : ) It is harder than you would think to feel valuable when you aren't able to DO anything. I must remember that God creates human BEings, not human Doings. It just goes against everything the world and my head says...So, anyway, that's where I'm at these days. : )

Sometimes I think that this blogging thing is a bit like therapy! : ) Sorry to get a little deep on ya', I know that for the most part, people check blogs for the happy, nice news about their friends and aquintances, but with me, you get the whole enchalada! : )

I hope and pray that everyone of my friends out there in Bloggerland are doing well and enjoying the autumn season. I was so excited for Halloween this year...to tell the truth, I always am...but anyhoo, the past couple of years I would get dressed up and hand out candy to the kids from our apartment building, etc... The first year we lived in a different building and we got several trick or treaters, then we moved. Last year Ari and I both got dress up; he was a Starbucks Barista and I was a Hillbilly in overalls with a straw hat with exaggerated freckles and pig tails...we had two, count 'em, two trick or treaters the whole night, and they came together! : ( So, this year I had a bunch of candy, but I didn't dress up, I just lit some candles in the window to let people know we were home, etc...NOT ONE STINKING KID THE WHOLE STINKING NIGHT!!!!! Not even our faithful stand-by neighbor girls. Boy did they miss out, the Snickers bars were delicious this year! : ) Of course the Snickers bars are nearly gone already!

Well, that's enough outta me... As I was saying, I hope and pray that all of my dear friends out there in Bloggerland are doing well and enjoying this autumn season! It's always been my favorite time of year. I love it when it's super clear and sunny, but cold and really windy with leaves dancing on the breeze. I always feel so alive inside on days like that.

All My Heart, Kristen Fairlight Eddy

Ari and Rob K.

2006-10-27T04:26:00.000-06:00

Here's a pic of my gorgeous husband and his friend Rob who was visiting us on leave from the Army...He has recently returned from Iraq. It was really great to see him again, the last time we saw him was in WA the night before he was shipped off to boot camp and that was back in '01. Thank You Jesus that he's o.k. and that he made it home safely! This picture was taken this summer, I am posting it now because I have had a few requests for a picture of Ari...He's the one on the left! : ) I'm getting all mushy just looking at this picture, he's so cute, and beside the cuteness, he treats me like a princess. He has been my rock through this surgery...carrying me up and down the stairs to our apartment (we live on the third floor), helping me do just about everything around the house and NEVER complaining or getting frustrated. Everytime I thank him he just says, "For you, anything." It reminds me of The Princess Bride when Buttercup asks her Westley for something and he says "As you wish," but what he really ment was "I love you." Aaaaaw, so sweet...I think I'm getting a toothache! : )

Wow!

2006-10-27T03:49:00.000-06:00

This is the result of the snow's hard work, isn't it amazing? : ) This was our view tonight out our living room window right before we left for church. We truely do have a "million dollar" view.