Christmas in the Ozarks

What a great title?!? Actually Christmas, was spent in good ole St. James, MO... but it sounded great! I was fortunate this year to have 5 days off work! That was such a blessing. Those days went by super fast, but it was all worth it, spending time with my family and friends. When I made it back to Olathe, KS, I was exhausted! Bouncing back and forth between all the houses.... here is my journey!



Here is a pic of three out of four grandchildren on the Kaufman side of the family... Brandy, Ashley, and Jessica... along with Ashley's dog Tucker. We are missing my sister, Michelle, who lives in Hawaii. This is the first year, that all of the cousin's were not together on Christmas Eve.



Grandma Jackie always makes Christmas sooo rememberable with all her stories, jokes, and laughter. Here she is with the Christmas tree. This year I bought a mini-camcorder to record Christmas greeting for Michelle in Hawaii. Grandma is talking in this picture, explaining the tree to Michelle via video.



Here are Grandma and Grandpa Hodge outside their home. It is also fun visiting with them as they tell stories of the good ole' days. Grandma and I stay up late at night chatting. This year, Aunt Sandy and I were also able to visit and stay up late talking and catching up.



And here is a picture of my mama...I gave her an 8x10 picture of me for Christmas! I always complain that her house is covered in pictures of her grandchildren, so this year, I made sure that she got a new picture of me to display.

Christmas is a time for family. A time to come together as one. Although my family celebrates Christmas in many houses, I do enjoy getting to see everyone. In a perfect world with no hate, we all could come together as one....but I am beginning to see that for my family celebrating in at least three houses may be the reality. Even so, I am grateful for my family, as divided as it may be. I do love each and everyone one of them. I am so thankful that I was able to go home and celebrate Christmas with everyone.

I am looking forward to 2009! What a great year! New President...go OBAMA! and a world of endless possibilities! Can't wait to see what 2009 brings!

Lake of the Ozarks

Relaxing at the Lake, Weekend with Friends, a Vacation for $100, and Creating Memories that Last a Lifetime... That pretty much sums up my 4 days at Lake of the Ozarks.

I moved to Olathe, Kansas in October of 2003. One of my first friends in Olathe, was Abby Norvell. I met her while wokring at Zio's Italian Kitchen. Abby is one of those people who gets along with 99% of the population. She is very outgoing, non-judgemental, funny, and has a huge heart. Over the past 5 years, she has become one of my best friends in Kansas City. Abby's grandparents own a lake house at Lake of the Ozarks, and for the past 5 years she has invited me to go to the lake. I have always wiggled out of the trips, by making excuses, basically because of a fear of the water, but this year I gave in. (Now, a little background... I am not scared of water. But I know bad things happen at Lake of the Ozarks, and did not want anything to happen to me or my friends. And I almost drowned when I was 7 years old at White Water in Branson, MO..so now you get my drift!)

Anyways, I planned the trip, took a couple days off work, and went to the Lake. It came at the perfect time too. I was able to go before starting my new job! It was so peaceful and relaxing there. It was also great to spend so much time with my friends. Life is so busy that we often run out of time for those we love and care about!


Abby and I on the Lake during our boat ride at sunset!


Getting over my fears, here I am tubbing on the lake. Mike, Abby's fiance, drove very slow and safe!


Again here I am on my FIRST JET SKI EVER! I did eventually get it up to 50 MPH. However I was not crazy on the jet ski like the others. I was safe!


And Becca and I! Becca is my "sister-in-law." Yeah I am not married... But Becca's brother, Eric, is married to my sister Michelle! I met Becca at Michelle and Eric's Courthouse Wedding in Bolivar, MO, in March of 2003. Becca and I re-connected in 2004, when she moved back to Kansas City. She got a job at Zio's. Abby, Becca, and I were the fabulous three and hung out all the time. Of course, we all drifted away from Zio's and the restaurant industry. However, due to being family Becca and I have always remained close. In the past year, we have become even closer. She is one of my best friends in Kansas City also!

~ Praise GOD! ~

Two fabulous PRAISES....

#1 My lovly sister Michelle moved to Hawaii in June. First, they found out that they would be staying in temporary housing until a house on base was available. They looked off base at homes, and they were out of their budget. The Army offered housing, but they did not like the location. When all hope was lost, AMAZINGLY, they are offered Brand Spankin' New Military Housing! Next, she was worried about getting a job, but have no fear, as she just found out that not only did she get a job teaching Kindergarden BUT the school is the across the street. The Third fear is now, who will be their sitter, and not only did she possibly find a sitter, but hopefully will be making some new friends and possiable sitters during FRG meetings. YEAH Michelle!

#2 To much of my suprise, I was offered one of my dream jobs with Johnson County! I am so excited to take on more responsibility and contribute ideas to better the Department as a whole. I thank everyone for their prayers! My life is FABULOUS!

Becky and Steve's Wedding

On June 7, 2008, I had the honor and pleasure of joining one of my good friends Becky's wedding. Becky and I met in 2004 during Training at the Juvenile Detention Center. We became the best of pals almost immediatly. Even though she has moved on past JDC, she is still a good friend. Above is my favorite pic that I took... You can see in their faces how much they truly love each other! Awww.........

In the workplace, you hope and pray to make good friends especially when you did not go to high school or college in Kansas City. Above is a picture of Scott Dellaert, Becky Gray Rolf, yours truly, and Mistie Roberts. We were fortunate to all work together and form a great friendship!

This picture almost brings tears to my eyes... Becky and her father have the type of relationship that I wished I would have if my father was still alive. Their father/daughter dance was to the Hawain version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow. FYI: Becky grew up in Hawaii.

Becky's Cake was amazing. It makes me hungry just looking at it! They are such a cute pair!

Lastly a picture of Becky and I. I am truly fortunate to have her in my life. She was so beautiful on her special day!

Leave of Absence

~WOWSER~ Sorry to my loyal advid BLOG readers... I forgot my password and have not blogged in over a month. I promise that I will try to be more responsible and not forgot my password again! To make it up to you, I will post a few BLOGS tonight!

The New Mr. and Mrs. March

Over the weekend, I had the honor and pleasure to participate in a wedding of one of my good friends in Olathe, Kansas. My friend Angie Hilgenkamp married her soulmate Jimmy March. Angie and I met in 2006 when I began my current position. Angie was my mentor. At first we both had reservations about working together but soon we discovered that our "first impressions" of each other were completely wrong. Angie became one of my best friends at work. Not only did she teach me how to do my job, but she became a great friend.

In December of 2006, one of our coworkers introduced Angie to Jimmy. They had a telephone relationship for about a month before finally meeting. They hit it off. I even had the pleasure of joining them on their forth date where we went out to eat, and get our noses pierced. That is Angie and I got our noses pierced. Angie and Jimmy were soon engaged, and got married May 31, 2008. Here are a couple pictures of their special day....



Jimmy plays the Guitar, so it was only fitting that they had a guitar cake. Also Heidi his daughter is learning to play the drums. So they are known as the "Rocker Family."

Angie is such a fabulous friend. When I had my appendix removed, she visited me in the hospital, drove me home from the hospital, visited me frequently, and was such a supportive friend.

Here is a picture of myself, Angie, and Christi.... We were the three ladies of House Arrest.

I thought this was picture perfect! I loved the scenery! It was soooo beautiful!

Here is Cheryl's favorite picture. This is Angie and Jimmy's First Toast together.

Garage Sales

I always use to laugh at my grandma Jackie growing up. She had many garage sales, so many that I think that is part of the reason that St. James has a limit on how many garage sales that you can have a year! :)

And now that I am all grown up, or older, here I am about to have my 2nd Garage Sale. And you know what? They are alot of work. I have high hopes in this garage sale, as I need a light installed in back yard and the electrician stated that it would cost about $150-$175 to install. And due to being a single income family, I don't have the extra cashola for that. I wish that kitty Phoenix could contribute, but he can't.

So, anyways it has been amazing as I have been going through boxes in my garage and closets. I have found letters to/from exes, cards from my family, school work, and many things I had forgotten about. **So here is my official shoutout to my sister*** I found several cards and letters that I have saved from my sister. They have really made me miss her and wish that she lived closer. I even found her engagement pictures... Both her and Eric look so young! Ohhhh and I even found Phoenix's paperwork from his adoption. It was on February 22, 2003. Amazing that I have had him for five whole years!

Well the good ole yard sale starts tomorrow at 7am. And end Saturday at 2pm.... Wish me luck! :)

First Official Blog

Hello and Welcome to my new and latest adventure. I have never been a fan of blogs, but after reading Cheryl Williams (One of my best friends from Junior High) I have decided to start my own. Cheryl has a fantastic blog, and hopefully with her help, she will teach me how to create a masterpiece like hers. Of course I enjoy reading blogs, but I figured what do I have to say that someone might wanna read. So my hopes are that this will be my first blog and with experience this will be a fun site for my friends and family to visit.

I do have My Space and Face book, but those are more juvenile. I feel that this blog will be more of a maturity piece.

Well, at this point in my life I am twenty seven years old, never been married, no kids, and one cat. I do desire to have a family and get married, but I am not going to settle. I just hope that God has a family in store for me someday. Right now I am content with my life. I love my cat and he's just like family. :)

I have a fantastic job working for Johnson County and love what I do. Although my job is trying at times, I hope that I am making a difference in some of the juveniles that I work with. After all, if there was no hope for the challenged youth would it be worth it to go to work day after day? I am very optimistic and believe strongly in kids.

I would say that besides graduating from college, one of my best accomplishments in life is buying a house. I know that I will defiantly blog about home ownership, because I am constantly learning new things. Just this year alone, I have already planted flowers, learned how to thread a weed eater, stained my front porch, and cleaned my gutters. Now to some that is common sense and easy to do. But you have to realize that I am just one person, and that I have to teach myself or ask for help.

Well, I think that I will close my first blog... I know that there will be many more of these to come. I need to figure out how to post pictures, and have all the nifty stuff that Cheryl has on her page.....