Date Night=LOVE

So, Liliana's a big girl now. She had her first spend-the-night.

For the first night in the six months of Lili's life, I spent the night away from her so that Tommie and I could go on an AMAZING date night! I have the best husband...
We drove about 20minutes north to Arvada, CO, to go rock climbing and to play around at an indoor water park-ish/pool at the Apex Center.

It was such a fun night! We had dinner at Qdoba and then came home, ate pina-colada Jell-O and went grocery shopping at 11p.m.!!! Haha, it's so funny how the simple pleasures can be so exciting when you're not stressing about a puppy and a baby. We had a blast. I didn't even cry when we went to bed without our baby at home. I knew she was safe and sound at my parents' house.

Anyway, kudos to Tommie for planning such a fun night. We'll probably end up back at the Apex Center to just play sometime too, we liked it so much. As far as Liliana goes, well, it seemed like she had fun, but boy did she look happy to see us when we went to pick her up this morning! We're definitely doing more of these over night dates. :)

Let's Have A Baby, Baybeee!

No. We're not pregnant again. I know someone who's pregnant for the first time and just found out in the past week. I also know someone who's pregnant and found out about a month ago. And I know about 12-13 girls who just finished being pregnant and now are raising little babies.

It seems like babies are everywhere. Personally, I think most of that is GREEEAT! I love little ones and am enjoying mommyhood a great deal. But I read something a bit disturbing today and I thought it was worth a note:

A TIME Magazine article documented that at Gloucester High School (presumably in New York, on the coast), 18 girls of their 1,200-student school will be having babies this summer. Sixteen of those girls made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. One of them even made a baby with a 24-year-old homeless man.
Here are these girls, young, still kids themselves (I mean seriously, how ridiculous was I when I was 16??!?!), wanting to get pregnant. Apparently, the nurse at the school said more girls were concerned when the pregnancy tests she administered were negative than positive!

The article went on to interview a classmate of these girls who seemed to have some insight into why these young mommies might want babies: perhaps, in a town where broken families of fishermen losing their jobs are the norm, perhaps these girls just want someone to love them unconditionally.

I've watched in amazement as so many stars and celebrities are getting pregnant and I know those are influential people....some of them will be great parents and are pregnant because they truly want to raise a child and to nurture a life. Some though, I think, likely want kids for the same reason that student stated above-they just want someone to love them. I have a dear friend who I fear wants a child for the same reason.

Are people so hungry for love they would misuse another's life to fulfill their own? The sad part is, we look for love in other people far too often...we RELY on love from other people far too often. The love these girls need, the only truly unconditional love these girls need, is the love of Christ and from Christians around them. The love these expectant babies need, coming into a world where there are already so many expectations and hopes put upon them, the love these babies need is the love of Christ.

An interesting story with no simple answers...except that Christ heals. I'm going to pray for these girls, their babies, and those lonely women and men out there hoping children will fill their lives.

Here's a link to the article if you're interested: Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High

My baby was...BORN IN THE USA...

I made Liliana a July 4 outfit this weekend. Her great-grandpa is turning 80 this year and we're hosting him a birthday bash on Independence Day. I thought it would be fun for Lili to be dressed up, so here's what I cooked up with help from a magazine my sister Kendra got me for my birthday:

She loves the USA.

The Cleanest Little Piggy

I saw this story on BBC today and thought it was hysterical:

Mud phobia pig gets its own boots

A piglet scared of wallowing in mud has overcome its fears with the help of some Wellington boots.

Six-week-old Cinders appears to suffer from mysophobia, a fear of dirt, after refusing to join her siblings as they splashed around in the mud.

Owner Andrew Keeble from Thirsk, North Yorks, said his daughter Ellie, 12, suggested kitting her out in the tiny footwear which had been on a key ring.

"Lo and behold they fitted her like a glove," Mr Keeble said.

"She's scared of mud, but her brothers and sisters are quite happy in it.

"We've never come across this before. They are born really to go and explore, but she never really liked going in the mud."

No slaughter

Mr Keeble and wife Debbie, both 42, run a sausage company and keep about 200 pigs on their 1,000-acre farm.

But the father-of-four said there was no chance that Cinders would be slaughtered.

"She's more of a pet really now and she's going to live a very long and happy life," he said.

The young saddleback has been chosen by the couple as a mascot for their campaign to raise money for the Farm Crisis Network, which supports struggling farmers.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/7448006.stm

Published: 2008/06/11 11:20:28 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

Sketch. Definitely Sketch.

So, last night, after a wonderful dinner with my parents, Kristin, Mike and me and Tommie (plus Lil) went to the dollar theater to see the movie "21."

We paid $1.75 each. It was awesome.
Except we don't know how the movie ends.

With 30 minutes left to go, the movie just stopped playing and the lights came up like it was over. After someone finally went out to get one of the ever-so-helpful employees, one of them came in and said there was a malfunction and that we could get free passes from him.

Much to our surprise, after we got our free pass and exited the theater, there were about 150 Indian people in line outside of our theater-no joke. They all were waiting to enter and I guess see a Bollywood film on the big screen. Apparently they rent out the theater once a month or week or something.

So, it seems as though they stopped our movie early and KICKED US OUT!!! so they could watch their movie! ha!!! Is that not the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard!

Anyone know how the movie ends?

Funfetti Cookies

Funfetti Cake Mix + 2 Eggs + 1/3c Oil + 375 degrees for 7min. = Incredible Goodness You Cannot Yet Fathom


Do this. Be happy.

Holy Cow! I'm related to them?!?!

Congratulations to my younger brother, Grant, and his wife, Brittany on their ONE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!

To celebrate their happy marriage, they donned their wedding garb and had an "amateur" photographer friend of theirs take some more casual shots than the ones they got on their day. What came from that shoot are out of some sort of fairytale. I have to say, it took all of my resignation to not go straight to my closet to see if I still fit in my wedding dress! What a great idea though, one I'd love to do myself if Tommie and I ever get the time or the talented friends willing to do the shoot...hint...hint...

Also, couldn't my beautiful sister-in-law be a model? This shot is absolutely my favorite and I think should be hung in their house...I can't believe how gorgeous she looks!!!

It's also two days past the FIVE YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY of my oldest sister, Kendra, and her husband, Josh. So congratulations to them as well! I don't have any pictures of them in their wedding garb five years later, but I do have the pleasure of telling you that for their celebration, they are in the Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco and then off to Spain for three days for a special celebration. I'm sure I'll have some fun pics to share of them after their trip.

I can only hope that as Tommie and I come up on our second year anniversary we have such inspired ideas to celebrate. :) We certainly have a few more blessings to celebrate this year.

So, here's to happy marriages everywhere, especially in my family!

May God bless your unions with understanding of each other, love that spans differences and joy that demonstrates how God has blessed you. May the Holy Spirit bring you peace as you look to the future and to each other. And may Christ, who holds all things together, continue to bind you in a love that contradicts all the world tells us is possible.

A Lovely Weekend

FRIDAY: Set up for Tommie's Indiana Jone's party at my parents' house with Lili and then had lunch at Whole Foods with Kristin. Yummy. Tommie and Mike went on a 4 mile hike with Maple. Her 6" legs had quite the time with them. Then we hung out with Kristin and Mike that night and played the Wii and watched Juno. Both were good.

SATURDAY: Had a really nice morning just hanging out...until we played Scrabble and I was a poor loser. Oops. Got over it, went to my parents' to finish setting up and Tommie went to hang out at Caribou Coffee. I curled my hair, put on lipstick and looked the part when everyone got there at 6:30 amid the tiki torches and golden idols strewn about at my folk's place. It was an awesome party and we watched Temple of Doom and put together a Legos Raiders of the Lost Ark scene. Also, we practiced hitting golden idols with a whip, until the whip broke. That's right, it broke because we're so awesome. Also, Maple was BEYOND sore from her hike the previous day and barely moved, eve to collect scraps and crumbs...anyway, it was an awesome day.

SUNDAY: Tommie and I sang at church with the band and my parents and Kristin and Mike came because Liliana got dedicated! It was a lovely service and it was a special time to remind ourselves that Lili is God's first and we are her caretakers...Then we celebrated Mothers' day together at Three Margaritas Mexican Restaurant. Afterwards, Mike let me ride on the back of his motorcycle on the way to LifeGroup. Kristin and Mike came and we had a really nice time hanging out with our lifegroup and eating Indonesian food prepared by one of the members who lived in Indonesia growing up. It rocked.

Then, we slept...and woke up this morning knowing our weekend was VERY full...we need a nap. But Tommie's dad is coming into town today and will be here until Friday morning...so maybe next weekend's update will say: slept.

Ever Been Angry...

...and not really known why?
...at the game of Scrabble because you have 5 of the same letters and your husband seems to be a word magician?
...at no one in particular and everyone in general?
...for continuing intervals for weeks on end, as if in a general fog for a few weeks?
...even though you know you shouldn't be?

Ever think maybe God isn't doing it when you ask him to help you stop?
patience...love...joy...peace...
...time to stop being peeved.

Inspired By Emily-My Life on Film...

So, today, Emily Thompson had a post on her blog about who would play the various characters in her life if there was a movie about her...In honor of that blog, I give you, Alisa's Life:


I've been told I look like Shannyn Sossamon.
But I have doubts about whether or not she could capture the complexity of my character. :) In addition, I've also been told I look like Angelina Jolie. So, clearly, if I were going to pick between the two, it would have to be our dear friend Angie. Besides, she'd do a better job portraying all the different sides of me, I'm sure.

That being said, I think the only person I could choose to play Tommie would have to Brad Pitt...simply because he and Angie just go together and Tommie and I just go together. We are so very similar in real life too that I think it would be very believable. In fact, just to make my point, I'll post a picture that I know will just totally remind you of me and Tommie, cruising around on our efficient motorbike:
Okay, so the two most important choices have been made...:)

For Kristin and Kendra, I found the perfect fit. Well, actually, I was just thinking Zooey Deschanel for Kristin and it came up with a pic of her with Kate Bosworth, so Kate can be Kendra. She's blonde!

For Mike and Josh, the respective mates, I have no idea...I'll take your suggestions on those...


Grant and Brittany clearly must be Matt Damon and a long-haired Katie Holmes. In fact, this picture makes me think that Brittany would probably look good with long OR short hair...ha.


I know I ought to choose someone for Liliana, but I just don't think that'll happen, so instead we'll just let her play herself. She knows herself best anyway.

Finally, for Mom and Dad, I choose Antonio Banderas without the accent for my Dad. (which makes me think...maybe he'd look good with long hair too???) And I don't know if I should choose someone for my mom since she dislikes so many actresses, :). But for the sake of it, I choose Ashley Judd.

So what do you think? Wanna see my movie?!

Sadness...and Happiness.

I broke our camera. :( This is a sad event. It is not the saddest event it could have been though. Despite the screen being incredibly screwed up and unable to show you pictures or where you're aiming, after a brief experiment I found that I can still take pictures that function...I just can't see them until I load them on a computer. So it's kind of like the old days of film pictures-when you never knew if you took a good pic until you got it printed.

Anyway, I shut it in the door of Pilot as it was falling out...a double badness. We'll see what the Bozich Budget says about a new one...But until we get a new one, I'd say the pictures are likely to be more rare (or just off the web) on my blog. Sorry for the disappointment.

In the HAPPINESS arena, last night Tommie played a "Down With the Deficit" concert at our church. Like many churches nowadays, we are a bit behind on our budget. Tommie and our worship leader, Drew Collins, decided to do something to try and help by playing a benefit show. They charged $5 at the door and took a love offering in an effort to raise money that went straight to the church. It was a great success! We raised quite a bit of money and had such a great time! Both of the guys played original music that was phenomenal. The soundguy for the night also recorded everything, so you might be able to hear this fun show in the near future! yay for John.

Drew's wife, Sarah, sold some cards that are adapted from her paintings and donated 50% of her profit to the budget and Tommie gave $2 of every KELLEEN cd sold to the budget also. Some of our Starbuck's friends also sold $1 lattes at our little coffee bar...though I'm not positive that was going to the budget. Anyway, it was fun to see people use their "talents" for the church and to believe that God just might be providing for us with "talents" that can also provide monetarily. It was great.

So, sadness to happiness, a good weekend overall.

IT'S ABOUT TIME:

1. That I POSTED another blog! Sorry for the delay, things have been really crazy since we got back for Marshall's wedding.

2. That I GOT MY PHONE BACK from when I left it at Marshall's house at the wedding...He and his sweet wife, Patrese, were kind enough to send it back to me.

3. That WE SOLD THE SATURN! We've been wanting to go down to one car (our Pilot) so that we have less $$$ on the insurance and don't owe my father any more moola. We sold it yesterday after it being on the market for only about 3 business days! God is so good to us.

4. That WE SELL OUR HOUSE IN DUNEDIN, FL. Tommie's house in Florida FINALLY has a closing date. It will be sold on May 8, again, PRAISE GOD!

5. That I GO GROCERY SHOPPING! Yes, today I'm going to be going because we have nothing to eat and I'm tired of making up weird stuff to eat just to get by...King Soopers here I come.

6. That TOMMIE TURNS 25! That's right, starting Saturday, we'll save some more money on our car insurance and celebrate his 1/4 life. Also, shoutout to Katie who celebrates manana. The Indiana Jones party is also coming up, so that rocks.

that's all for now folks...I'll be posting more regularly again now that things have slowed at least to a speedy pace instead of lightning fast. ENJOY!

One cell phone shy of a full family...

We're back! We even came back with just about everything we left with, all except my cell phone, that is. I left it in Marshall's guest room. Since Marshall and his new wife, Patrese, are sunning themselves in beautiful Jamaica and won't be back for another few days, I'll likely be without a phone for at least that long...oh well!

As you can see, Tommie had a lovely time playing Hannah Montana with our young friends.

Marshall's wedding was beautiful and I'll post pics from that tomorrow. Today is devoted to our Trussville friends/fam, the Richards. Thanks to Dawn for the following lovely pics:

Tommie, Lili, Alisa, Dawn, Kurt
This is the best picture of our family that we have to date! Yesss!!!
And finally, our favorite little girlfriends, Kyler, Lili and Whitley! Thanks for babysitting.

Aaaaand....We're Off!

The day has finally come for us to see our dear friend, Marshall Bee, get married! We'll be attending his wedding on Saturday in lovely Birmingham, AL. We'll also be staying in town for a few days to catch up with some friends and for me to actually meet my boss in person. That's right, after I moved, I got a new boss who I've never actually met. It should be a blast.

So today, after waking up to a world of winter white, meaning 2-4 inches of SNOW, we've rushed around trying to get the house clean for an easy return, things purchased at various stores to make that happen, get the family laundry done, family bags packed, Maple taken care of and everything else to make this an "easy" trip.

Moral of the story?
Nothing's easy when you have a baby and dog. But that doesn't necessarily make it not worth it.

Anyway, we're turning our eyes to the sunny skies of Birmingham and lamenting the fact that the weather forecast predicts rain for all the days we'll be there. Regardless, it will be a city without snow and maybe we'll even catch a wicked thunderstorm-something I've been hoping for for a while.

So goodbye cold wetness, hello warm wetness. Save us a spot, we're on our way to... the Magic City!
(and yes, that is a jab at Birmingham's motto...there are like seven other cities called "The Magic City." Could we not be more original?!) Lovely Birmingham, Alabama. (or as I prefer to say, "ab-a-la-ma" just try it. you'll love it)

Rocky Mountain High...

1. Tommie's mom came for a visit this weekend. Though it was a month early, we celebrated Tommie's birthday on Thursday with a trip to REI (think hiking goodies for the husband) and ended up with a new camping hat and camping stove with necessary accoutrements for the man. Overall, I would say he's well on his way to celebrating 25 wonderful years on earth...for his real birthday on May 3, we're planning an INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL party-complete with costumes and fun food. It should be awesome. Be there if you can be.

2. Liliana of course got spoiled beyond all good reason by her wonderful grandma. She got more clothes than any little baby needs, which made her mommy ever so happy. That means I have to do less laundry! She also got an opportunity to put her butt-print on a plate. Her "print" will then be transformed into an elephant by one of Tommie's mom's friends and sent back to us. Kristin suggests that we then use the butt-print elephant plate to serve Lili's birthday cakes from now on. I think it's a wonderful suggestion. Pictures of the finished product to come, certainly.

3. On Saturday, Tommie, Janie, Liliana, Maple and I all went back up to Estes Park, this time to HIKE! It was a gorgeous day and couldn't have been better weather for our adventure. We went to a little spot of the Rocky Mountain National Park that you can hike around in for free and hiked, had lunch and had an overall great time. Tommie carried Lili in her swing, which seemed to be just fine.(Yes, in case you were wondering, that's Tommie's new hat. Feel free to tell him what you think...) Unfortunately, the long hike, wind on her face and the two bits of sausage I had for breakfast and then dinner on Saturday meant that Sunday was one of the worst days Lili has had in recent memory. Think insane crying for no apparent reason for hours...no quite colic, but enough to make you feel for the parents of kids who have it! I'm pretty sure she was constipated, if you want to know the truth...anyway, she's feeling MUCH better today, and I my slight doubts about having other kids have all but disappeared today. :) However, the second picture you can see how crazy she and her hair look today after such a nutty day yesterday.

4. After such a nice weekend with glorious weather, I was mildly surprised to wake up to snow flurries today. Colorado is so crazy in the spring. It's probably going to warm up again mid-week, but it's still funny to see snow. It's not deterring Maple from staying most of the day out on the patio either.

5. On Friday we head out to Birmingham to take part in wedding festivities for our good friend, Marshall. He's marrying his lovely bride-to-be, Patrese, in Jasper, AL and Tommie is a groomsman. In fact, we are singing a song in the wedding...speaking of which, I should go practice that song. So, more updates later!

Estes Park

Well, hello, all of you faithful readers! Let it be known, Colorado is gorgeous!

Tommie and I took a nice little drive up to Estes Park, Colorado, on Saturday and had an incredible time. The weather was beautiful. It hailed for about an hour, then was sunny the rest of the day.

Here are some shots from our adventure:

Originally I thought this picture was an amazing example of the Colorado sky. Then I realized it's just the blue sun-protector on the windshield. Oh well, at least it looks cool...
I thought the clouds in this one, headed into Estes Park, were amazing. It looks so haunting.
This was just a lucky shot out my window that happened to catch the Estes Park sign.
I'm treasuring this picture because I'm usually the one taking them, so there aren't many pics of me and my little girl. This one will make up for that for a while.She may look like me a lot of the time, but there's no doubt that Liliana is her daddy's little girl. I think they look alike in this shot.
Yes, Maple got to come too. She loved it, and slept VERY well that night! Altitude will do it to ya!
Tommie says this could be a Prius or Element commercial. I think he's right. The mountains are in all their splendor in this shot. It was such a beautiful day even though it was mostly cloudy.

And finally, courtesy of our daughter who has just figured out she has a tongue, Liliana bids you farewell dear friends, and beckons you to visit our fair land.

I learned to make online surveys. Now you can learn to take them.

click here

trust me. it's so fun that if you don't take it, you'll be sad.

The Meaning of Life

-I'd like to move out of our condo into a nicely sized house, one big enough to have a party at.
-We own our condo and that means we have more money to share, invest and just plain give away.

-I'd like to live abroad and research some mysterious written language...kind of like Maya.
-We're in the perfect place right now for our daughter to have family and for us to waork alongside the amazing ministry our church here does.

-I'd like to have a more glamorous job and to be busier at what I love.
-What I do now is challenging me in ways I've never experienced before.

-I'd like to have a new wardrobe with tailored clothes and hottest fashions.
-I'm learning to be creative with what I have and I'm getting really good at sewing.

-John 12.25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
-Acts 20.24However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.

Breaking Out

.paying homage to Kallie, I will use periods to denote the various topics in this post. :) (love you!)

.Tommie played an open mic last night at a place called Swallow Hill Cafe near Denver University. It went great, despite him being second to last. He even sold two or three CDs! Great job honey! He's also playing an open mic tonight. It's his way of gearing up to play shows in the coming months.

.Maple is slowly dying from cabin fever. Okay, so that's not true, but she is REALLY dying to get outside. Thankfully it's been warm, but I'm hearing rumors of more snow this week. Hello, Colorado.

.I'm addicted to some books a friend recommended. Yes, they're the slightly corny Christian-romance type, but they're definitely good enough to have me hooked. Check out Dee Henderson's "The O'Malley Series" at your local library. You won't be disappointed.

.In response to my constant reading, Tommie is reading Clive Cussler books like it's his job. They are also fantastic books I would recommend.

.One of my friends from high school is in Denver this week with who I think is probably going to become her husband sooner or later. We are having lunch tomorrow and I'm psyched! Yay for long friendships.

.Lastly, Tommie and I made an ate falafel twice this week. We decided we really like it...give it a try.

Hysterically Wonderful

My grandmother made this outfit for Liliana. I think it's adorable. Tommie thinks it's cute, but a little much. We settled on: hysterically wonderful.