The end is in sight

Scott has been on a 1-year probation ever since he finished the Fire Academy last year. Every four months, he has had to take a test to make sure he knows the ins and outs of firefighting and EMS. Yesterday, he took his 12-month, and after 6 1/2 hours of testing, he found out he passed without any problems! He is basically a permanent firefighter for Sac Metro, (probation officially ends Dec. 7). Now, he'll only be let go if he does something completely horrible, which I don't see happening. It is such a load off his shoulders to know that he has a secure job now. He was so excited when he got home yesterday that he could hardly eat his dinner (the missionaries were over, and they were already on seconds while Scott wasn't even half-way through his first helping. He was smiling and talking so much that he couldn't get a bite in - he was completely wired).
SO everyone tell him congratulations! He's been dreaming about this job his whole life, and he finally has it.

Ancestor Wall

I have attempted many times now to create an ancestor wall in my home. However, every time I try to make copies of the pictures, they turn out green, and I am charged a ridiculous amount to print them up. My sister, Susan, always tells me just to scan them and have them printed at Costco for cheaper, but the times I have tried to scan them, either the scanner isn't working or they turn out really dusty looking. So, Scott and I decided to buy a scanner. Now I can actually scan the pictures, edit them, and print them at Costco. I am still in the process of scanning and editing some of the pictures, but the ones I finished turned out so well - they look like brand new photos (they look even better printed up).

My grandfather, Daddy Don (Donald Love), with his sister Dorothy Anne

My great-grandmother, Hazel Susan

My grandmother, Sammie Lou (Never call her grandma, or she'll hit you - no she's not abusive in any way, she just goes by Sammie.)My mother, Martha Susan

My Aunt Nancy, my mom, and my Aunt Betsy (I'm named after her - Elizabeth Jane)

My Grandpa Lloyd and Grandma Aileen (There used to be a big tear in this picture.)

The next step.

The fertility process is such a long and difficult one. I have already had one horrific test to see if I'm "all clear" in the tubal area (Did you know the tubes take up about two inches in your body, and they are about as thin as ribbon dental floss? I was shocked.), Scott's had to take his own test, and today I finished all the blood work I needed to do (they needed to test me for ten different things, so they took five tubes worth of blood, and three of them were the biggest tubes they have - my hand was tingling close to the end, and now, an hour later, my arm is bruised and weak). This process sucks! But at least I can finally make an appointment to see a doctor and move on to the next step - hopefully Clomid.
Scott and I have our ups and downs with this whole situation, but we are still hopeful that we will be able to start a family. We try not to let it overwhelm us and get us down, but rather focus on other aspects of our life to distract us from the stress of starting a family - or the inability to do so. We are so grateful for all of the prayers on our behalf, and we love you all.

Halloween Party

DISCLAIMER:
I'm not as crazy as this post makes me sound. P.S. There are lots of pictures, but hey, I like pictures.

AN IDEA:
My friend Tiffani and I thought it would be fun to throw a Halloween Party. Little did we realize what a big ordeal pulling off a party could be, especially when it's a costume party and there are lots of cute party ideas we want to copy from Southern Living and Martha Stewart (they're not as easy as the magazines make you think).

BEFORE THE PARTY:

As you now know, Scott decided to epoxy and paint the garage last week . . . SO the day of the party, all of the clutter from the garage was still in the living room. Half of the food still needed to be prepared, the paper bats needed to be cut out and hung, the DJ lights needed to be set up, the house desperately needed to be cleaned, and I needed to make my costume. The night before, I made a list of everything that needed to get done before the party started. To make it more efficient, I prioritized the list and consolidated items into "what can I get done in an hour" groups. After doing this, I realized it would take me 11 hours to prepare for the party that started at 7:00 pm. (Of course because I knew I had so much to do the next day, I couldn't fall asleep until after 2:00 am.)

After waking up before 7:00 (this is a rarity for me, so 6:58 = before 7:00), I immediately started on my list. While preparing chocolate cookies in my 3rd hour, my sister Susan called because she needed me to check something really important on the computer (I assumed it must be the status of an order for her at-home-business). I was extremely stressed, knowing that if I didn't stick to my schedule, "crap" would hit the fan. When I exasperatingly asked her what she needed, she said that she needed me to check out two different blog templates to see which one I liked better. . . . Are you kidding me? That's the really important thing that I had to drop everything for? Blog templates? I told her I would check when I could and call her back with my opinion. A few hours later, she called again to see if I had had a chance to check the templates yet. . . . Again, are you kidding me? Templates? I was trying to organize my entire life (or so it seemed), and I only had five more hours left to do so.

Bless Scott. He had to put up with my psychotic mood when he got home from a long day (and night) at work. I let him sleep for a few hours, but as soon as he woke up, I put him to work. However, every time I saw him, he was always doing something that I hadn't asked him to do . . . mind you, he was still cleaning, but it wasn't in the order I had previously assigned, so it completely threw me off my schedule. I was losing my mind! and it finally hit me that I needed food! and a shower! So, I took a break, took a shower, and did my hair (one less thing to worry about for later), but after I did this, I became delirious. All of a sudden, I didn't have a care in the world, and tossed my schedule out the window. I was happy and dancing around the house with my hair so big and curly that if I sprayed it red, I could have been Raggedy Anne, or Annie. (There's a costume idea. We could have been Annie and Daddy Warbucks . . . perfect!)

The living room before (this doesn't really even show how bad it was).

The living room after - Scott is setting up the DJ lights.

About an hour before the party was scheduled to start, Andrew and Tiffani showed up to help with last-minute preparation. By then, I was much more normal. Andrew and Scott finished hanging up the bats while Tiffani and I set up the food. We were ready for the party to begin.

THE PARTY:

As couples arrived, we took their pictures (kind of like prom - minus the props - well, I guess we did have bats hanging behind them). We talked and got to know each other better, ate, and played games. We started by playing charades - we divided into two teams (boys - black balloons vs. girls - white balloons). We set the timer for five minutes, and whichever team popped the most balloons and acted out or sculpted (with clay) the most items on the pieces of paper, won. (The boys kicked the girls' butts - I think they cheated.) After that, we played "Signs," a game that's too complicated to explain. Overall, the party was a success.

The back of my scrubs said "Psych Ward," and one eye is dark while the other is bright (I wanted it to look like I had bi-polar disorder, but it just looked like I got punched by a patient).

Andrew, Tiffani, and their little boy Carson. It was Andrew's birthday, so it was especially nice of him to consent to wearing a dress on his special day.
The boys hanging out from left to right: Josh (who's hiding Ben), Scott, Andrew, & John Leslie, Catherine, & Tiffani

From left to right: Cherrie, Brandon, Lindsay, Baby Zoie, & Rob The Party Planners

THE GUESTS:

Catherine & Josh

Susan & John Ben, Baby Sara, & Leslie Robin & Eric Lindsay, Baby Zoie, & Rob Randy & Cherrie (Randy was a 3 Musketeer, but nicknamed himself the gay pirate.)

Tammy, Baby Dillon, Baby Maddie, & John
Crystal, Brandon, & Baby Hailee

Love Thy Neighbor

Yay!!! Scott finally epoxied our garage floor! Before we moved into our house, I kept telling Scott that we needed to paint and epoxy our garage. I wanted it to get done before we moved in, so that things wouldn't collect in the garage, making it improbable that the project would ever get done. This weekend, after living in our home for six months now, Scott cleared our buildup out of the garage (it is now cluttering our living room) and epoxied the floor. Our neighbor, Allen, came over, took the paint brush from me, and helped Scott finish the floor.

Scott sprinkled little paint chip things on the floor (he wasn't trying to be artistic - they came with the epoxy kit). In one corner of the garage, he spelled out "Scott Liz '07." He figured since we can't put our hand prints in concrete, we can at least have our names spelled out on the garage floor in paint chips. (I forgot to take a picture of our names.)

After they finished, Allen basically commanded Scott to go to Home Depot the next morning, pick out paint, and he would be back later in the afternoon to help him paint the garage (Scott was planning on putting everything back in the garage and then painting at a later date . . . when I say later, I mean never). I was SO excited that Allen was willing to help us. The next day after picking out paint, Allen and Scott painted the whole garage in 4 1/2 hours (that includes taping and cleaning up).

Allen's incredible. He didn't even need to put tape around the doors or lights on the ceiling. He just painted right up against them without getting paint on them. As if that wasn't enough generosity, Allen then helped Scott move our old entertainment center out of the house and onto a trailer heading to Good Will, helped Scott pick up our washing machine (which weighs more than a truck), so Scott could put rubber pads under it (this was extremely important because any time the washer goes into spin mode, it sounds like a freight train rolling through our house), and offered to help us install storage units on the ceiling of our garage whenever we're ready for that project. We are so lucky to have such an awesome neighbor.

Move over Martha Stewart

While taking care of my grandparents in Danville a few weeks ago, I thought it would be a fun idea to surprise my mom and dad with the arrival of autumn for when they came home from sunny Mexico. I called my sisters(-in-law) to see if they wanted to bring their kids over to make pumpkin people (I saw the idea in Martha Stewart's Halloween magazine). Steven and Amy had to pass on the project because their kids were driving them crazy, but Brad and Rachel came with their three kids.

Brad preparing to add the carrot nose to Sammie Lou 2 - or 3 (made for their baby girl who's named after my grandmother, Sammie Lou 1).

Our completed family. The head next to me represents the partial body of Steven and Amy's little girl Lily. Since they weren't there to help, their pumpkin person didn't get a full body (Rachel is making the head in the picture above). Scott and I made the dog.

Cole and Drew were in charge of collecting leaves, twigs, rocks, and flowers to accessorize the pumpkins. I have to admit, our pumpkin family looked just as good as Martha Stewart's, and our dog looked even better.

This is a wreath that I made for Scott's and my front door. I was so sick of our home looking so bland from the outside. I think that the wreath turned out dang good! I was so surprised that I actually made it. Move over Martha Stewart. You've got some competition.

What have we been doing lately?

Now that summer's over, it seems like there is less to blog about . . . either that or I'm just lazy.

I guess I can start by saying that Scott went to his first pro baseball game (at least the first one he can remember).

Oakland A's vs. Seattle Mariners

We sat right up front. I think Scott thought it would be more intense to watch than it actually was. We still had a great time though.

Scott has also been playing some softball of his own. He plays on his Fire Department's team, and so far they're kicking butt.

Another reason I haven't been blogging. This is how I spend my time on Scott's days at work. I have to entertain myself. (I guess it's true that you really do learn something new every day. For instance, I never knew I could make a fish face before.)