Beki's Blog

4.

2011-02-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

When Ezra came along, we became a family of 4.

I had so many questions. How am I going to survive without sleep again? How will Stella make it thru this? How are we going to afford this and our adoption payments? Will Brandon and I ever be able to hang out alone again? What will this mean for our adoption? The list goes on!

I'll never forget pulling out of the driveway to go to the hospital. Stella stood at the window crying. Ahhhhhhh! What a terrible feeling. I was so concerned about her and scared about the c-section. There are many beautiful things about having a baby but there are also a lot of unknown and scary things. I'm about to be cut open and a baby pulled out. I remember praying in the car....for Stella, myself, Ezra and then becoming completely overwhelmed.

A few hours after Ezra was born, my mom brought Stella to the hospital to meet him. She didn't say much and stood around biting her fingernails. She gave him a gift and offered to open it for him since his 'arms were too short' and then asked if he could go live with another family now:) We explained that he would be living with us forever and she thought that it would be cool if he could go back into my belly!

In her defense, this was not the beautiful little Ethiopian sis that we had been praying for. It must have been confusing for her. The first month was a blur. I barely remember these days. Really. I do remember feeling guilty that I couldn't spend more time with Stella and like I was holding and/ nursing this baby boy 24 hours a day. Thankfully some sweet people (Tyler, Julie, Devon, Wes, The Howvers, The Novellis, Brandy, Kate and others) took Stella on some play dates. This helped so much! It gave her something fun to look forward to and allowed me to rest physically and mentally. Also-some amazing people in our lives brought meals for a couple of weeks. Best 2 things ever!!! (Thanks Wendy for organizing the meals and for all of you who fed the Grissoms during this life changing time). I am so so so thankful for our friends and family.

Anyway, it took Stella awhile to get warmed up to her baby bro. In fact, I just asked Brandon when he thought that she really started like him. His answer was....Christmas time:) Stella ADORES Ezra and doesn't like to go anywhere without him. She is really patient and helpful with her baby brother who she calls Ez, brother bear or Ezra pants. I know that having him around adds joy and character to all of our lives. I love our new little addition (who will be 10 months old in a few days) and of course I love my little Stella. She is the answer to a lot of tears and prayers and will forever be my miracle girl.

Thank you God for knowing what is best for our family and for shaking things up a bit.

Starting over

2011-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

A new year. A new blog.

I have clearly done a terrible job keeping up with this and so much has happened in our lives.

A little more than a year ago, Brandon and I got the biggest surprise we've ever had! After years of dreaming about adoption and a full year of actively pursuing this, we found out that we were pregnant. Shocking! It is a miracle that we got pregnant (details not to be shared on the web) but clearly, this was not part of the Grissom plan. I was instantly vomiting and cried tears of sadness and confusion. I was not only worried about the pregnancy because of our complicated history but afraid that it would slow down the adoption process. I had been dreaming of meeting my daughter in Ethiopia and this was.....terrifying. I felt like a total idiot. I mean, I've heard about people getting pregnant during the adoption process but I've never actually met anyone. Seriously, I felt like a moron. Plus, we were making huge payments toward the adoption that would now be put 'on hold'.

I clearly remember being 16 weeks pregnant (still vomiting!) and thanking God for this pregnancy for the first time. I am embarrassed to write this but it is the truth. After fertility treatments and loss, I know how precious a pregnancy is and that adds to my embarrassment.

Two weeks later I was having some complications and had to go into the doctors office. I had an ultrasound and when the tech asked if I wanted to know the sex of the baby...I said yes! Even though Brandon wasn't with me, there was no way I could wait. He understands this about me:) When she told me that we were having a boy, I started giggling like a little girl. I don't know what came over me. I had never really wanted to be pregnant again or have a boy but this was so exciting. I left the doctors office and called Brandon about 4,000 times until he answered. I then made about 20 other phone calls to notify everyone else because this kind of news can't wait!

Then...I started to worry. When I was pregnant with Stella, I did the thing that a new mom should never do. I bought/registered for EVERYTHING in pink! For real. I had about 2 items that could be used for this baby but as always, God provides. Because of great friends and a beautiful shower, our little baby boy has everything he needs.

My pregnancy was relatively calm. I mean, I was sick/tired/hormonal/huge but no bed rest needed. Thank you God for answering prayers.

Ezra Kent Grissom was born on April 19 at 37 weeks. He weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and the first remark made by the doctor was about how big he was:) Brandon and I were completely in AWE at how smooth this pregnancy and childbirth had gone.

We had the hardest time choosing a name. I created list after list. We texted each other name ideas...prayed....read books...and searched movie credits for something that stood out. We loved the name Ezra but hesitated because of terrible reviews from friends and family. We also liked Garrett. Brandon might say that Hank was on the list but it wasn't:) When we arrived at the hospital for the c-section (I was already in labor) we had no idea what we would name this baby. At some point late at night, we officially named him Ezra Kent and felt great about it. He is named after Brandon's Papa Kent who we highly respect.

I ADORE my little boy and from the moment he entered the world he has known my voice. He is a delightful little chunk and I can't believe he is already 8 months old.

I write this mostly for myself as I doubt that many friends/family will even see this. I'm not a great writer but it's so good to reflect. We have a lot to celebrate. 2010 turned out completely different than we had planned and I am so glad. God is good to us.

I'll have to post later about how our sweet little Stella has adjusted to being a big sis and where are hearts are with adoption.

way too long...

2010-04-04T19:58:00.000-07:00

It's been way too long since i've updated my blog. Sorry! It's been a busy few months. We are about a week away from delivering our little boy and we will be a family of 4! We haven't decided on a name yet so i'll keep you posted. This has been an ongoing debate in our house for months. If it were up to Brandon, this little boy would be named Hank Grissom...or Rocco or Gus....or Roger:) We have a long list of possible names and Brandon has an even longer list of unique names that he likes!

Stella is about to be 3 1/2 and is as sweet and sassy as ever. She is very talkative and excited to become a big sister! She can't wait for the baby to be born so that she can go buy him a Spiderman toy! I think she will be a great sister.

Here are some recent pics of her.....

Stella-Easter 2010

Stella-Valentines Day 2010

Stella @ Caitlins Wedding (it was a BEAUTIFUL wedding and so special for our entire family to be involved).

Santa.

2009-12-22T20:15:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, we went out for breakfast and then to see Santa. Stella almost backed out several times but after an hour of waiting-she had the courage to go speak to Santa:)

She gave him a very long list of random items....like a trumpet and a telescope and was so proud of herself when it was all over! Very sweet.

Merry Christmas!

The most wonderful time...

2009-12-20T18:19:00.001-08:00

Our family has had a few days off together and i'm SO thankful! Christmas time with a 3 year is really special and her excitement about the holiday is incredibly sweet.

Stella has loved decorating cookies, handing them out to neighbors, going 'sleighing', drinking hot chocolate, and helping daddy shovel the snow. Everything is so exciting for her! Especially the Christmas lights and holiday cartoons (her favorite is How the Grinch Stole Christmas). Here are just a few pics from the weekend.

Her 1st Snowman.

Working on Christmas cards.

Getting gifts from Uncle Ty Ty and Aunt Ju Ju.

And giving gifts to Uncle Ty Ty and Aunt Ju Ju. She was so excited that she told them what it was before they had a chance to open it:)

We are looking forward to a simple holiday and making lots of memories together. Tomorrow-we go see Santa. Stella doesn't really want to.....she thinks he's a 'little scary'....so i'll keep you posted:) I would love a picture this year. Last year, it ended up being just Santa and I in a blur because Stella was running away. We didn't buy it but luckily Brandon had his phone handy and snapped a crappy shot. Hopefully we'll do better this year!

It's been so long!

2009-11-24T19:13:00.000-08:00

It's been so long since i've updated my blog! It is my goal to do this more often:) So much has happened over the last 2 months.....it's hard to know where to start!

So-I'll start off slow, with some pictures to hi-light a few of the special things we've been doing lately.

1. Stella turns 3! All I can say is that 3......is way different than 2! She is vocal....intelligent....emotional...and completely adorable. I feel like i'm dealing with a kid instead of a baby. She is hilarious and I tell her that she's my favorite on a regular basis.

2. Stella dressed up like a princess for Halloween again this year. She wears a tiara on a daily basis so I guess it was the best choice and I didn't have to purchase a costume! She didn't like the masks/scary stuff this year so we stayed inside most of the day, but she does LOVE one thing about Halloween.......CANDY CORN.

3. Our good friend Scott Bartlow celebrated his birthday and hosted a 2o's themed murder mystery party. So fun! I'm not sure what my face is doing.....but it was a lot of fun!

4. And a special one-Brandon hasn't even seen this picture yet:) Tonight he fell asleep with Stella and I came in and snapped this picture. He is on vacation this week and we are so happy about it!
More updates to come.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

sad day.

2009-09-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

today, patrick swayze dies at the age of 57.

growing up, patrick swayze was always my favorite. i have vivid memories of acting out dance scenes from the movie dirty dancing with my girlfriends and trying to do 'the lift'. i have loved so many of his movies (some pics below).

msnbc writes:
Patrick Swayze, the hunky actor who danced his way into viewers’ hearts with “Dirty Dancing” and then broke them with “Ghost,” died Monday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
“Patrick Swayze passed away peacefully today with family at his side after facing the challenges of his illness for the last 20 months,” said a statement released Monday evening by his publicist, Annett Wolf. No other details were given.
Fans of the actor were saddened to learn in March 2008 that Swayze was suffering from a particularly deadly form of cancer.

2002.

2009-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Today I received an encouraging email from the Ethiopian team at our agency (Gladney) with some information about the New Year's Celebration in Ethiopia. Today is the the first day of 2002 in Ethiopia. Below is some info on the holiday.......

September 11th is both New Year's Day and the Feast of St. John the Baptist. The day is called Enkutatash meaning the "gift of jewels." When the famous Queen of Sheba returned from her expensive jaunt to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem, her chiefs welcomed her back by replenishing her treasury with enku or jewels. The spring festival has been celebrated since these early times and as the rains come to their abrupt end, dancing and singing can be heard at every village in the green countryside. After dark on New Year's Eve people light fires outside their houses.
The main religious celebration takes place at the 14th-century Kostete Yohannes church in the city of Gaynt within the Gondar Region. Three days of prayers, psalms, and hymns, sermons, and massive colourful processions mark the advent of the New Year. Closer to Addis Ababa, the Raguel Church, on top of the Entoto Mountain north of the city, has the largest and most spectacular religious celebration. But Enkutatash is not exclusively a religious holiday, and the little girls singing and dancing in pretty new dresses among the flowers in the fields convey the message of springtime and renewed life. Today's Enkutatash is also the season for exchanging formal New Year greetings and cards among the urban sophisticated in lieu of the traditional bouquet of flowers.

happy.

2009-08-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

i'm a happy girl. wanna know why? this week, a lot has been accomplished for our adoption! we have rec'd the approval from uscis that i've been waiting on! we rec'd our notarized homestudy in the mail! a few final documents have been submitted for our dossier and we await authentication and then.............the official waitlist!! hope everything goes thru ok and i hope to have great news to share in a week or two.

i know the waiting list just means more waiting but it's been a long road of paperwork over 10 months and this will be a big day for us. another step closer to my little girl.

adoption update.

2009-08-14T13:06:00.000-07:00

i check the mail everyday hoping to find our final paperwork from uscis. it's not here yet! our homestudy agency told us that it would take 60-90 days to receive this. everything else is done and waiting......

when our dossier is finally on it's way to ethiopia, i am going to throw a party!! you will all be invited:)

i recently found this on etsy. there are lots of adorable items, like this one, that are sold for a good cause. i have yet to purchase anything, but i love looking at all of the unique things that are for adoptive families.

a great summer.

2009-07-31T09:33:00.000-07:00

we are having a great summer. other than this chilly weather, it has been fabulous! summer is my favorite season and at the end of every day, i'm a little sad because i know that it means winter is right around the corner. i know, that's kind of weird but when you live in chicago-land this is the cold-hard reality of our lives!

stella recently celebrated a great friends birthday and i thought i'd share a pic with you. it was a lot of fun and as you can tell-brandon is working hard to blend in with everyone else:) happy birthday sydney!

adoption update.

2009-07-05T07:33:00.000-07:00

it's been a little while since i've posted an adoption update. i feel like we are finally getting to the end of the paperwork process! after filing our I600A we received fingerprinting dates in naperville but of course we were out of the state! i had to send in the proper paper work to get a different date-trying to talk to an officer from homeland security on the phone about switching the dates made me want to poke out my own eyes:) the person i got on the phone was reading from a script and using all of this lingo that i couldn't understand. it finally came down to..."do this by mail". both brandon and i had our appointments this week. now we wait....

our homestudy has been submitted to DCFS and they have approved it. i am now waiting on our 171 H to come in the mail so that we can send it on to our agency, etc.....

our dossier is almost complete. once we receive our final homestudy and other important documents we'll put it all together and send it to ETHIOPIA!!

while i'm waiting on these official documents to come in the mail i have a few odds and ends to get done. brandon and i have to watch 2 more training videos, take a cpr class, and make a couple more trips to FedEx and the notary but i truly see an end in sight! it's getting exciting now! july is the 9th month of paperwork......more than twice what i had hoped:). but somewhere in this process i took a breath and re-adjusted my expectations:).

i'm trying to calm myself regularly and pray that everything is working out in the exact and perfect way that God intends. that at the end of this process we'll have our daughter home with us. the little girl that is meant to be a part of our grissom family.

stella already talks about being a big sister. she calls her "baby opi-opia". it's really cute and i can't wait until she has a sister and best friend to pay with.

what was i thinking?

2009-06-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

i loved having a nose ring. not a stud....a ring. when i was pregnant, i took it out for a hospital stay and i've never put it back in. when you are 80 pounds heavier than normal-you don't feel very cool:) anyway, the other day i decided it would be "fun" to see if i could put it back in. i thought it might be a little painful but i was wayyyy wrong. it was VERY painful! tears came out of my eyes and my nose was running just like the first time i got it pierced! in my opinion, it's way more painful than a tattoo. anyway, i got it in. then i thought i looked silly and took it out. taking it out was just as painful as trying to put it back in after 3 years with out it! what was i thinking? i think i'll be without a nose ring for awhile. maybe forever. sorry brandon:) i think you are the only one who likes it!

right there with me.

2009-06-24T19:16:00.000-07:00

this is a picture of brandon holding stella when she was just a few weeks old. he has been an active part of her life from the beginning. when i was trying to get pregnant for years...literally years, he was right there with me. at every doctors appointment, every tear, and every disappointment. when i was pregnant with her, he was right there with me again. for every doctors appointment, ultrasound, test, hospital stay or visit. i was on bed rest for over 20 weeks and in the hospital for almost a month and i never remember him complaining. i remember complaining.....but not him. then when she was born, he was right there with me again. we traded off feedings and took turns changing diapers. now that she is 2, he just loves being with her. he's pretty amazing actually. he is the best young father i've ever seen in action. when we were dating, i knew he was a good man and when we were married, i thought he'd be a good father. seriously, he has blown me away. i couldn't imagine him being any better. any more active or present or loving. brandon, happy (late) fathers day. your girls love you.

bye bye pacifier.

2009-06-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

stella voluntarily gave up her pacifiers this week. her aunt kami works with children in oklahoma and took them back home to a baby who needed them:) every time stella asks about her pacifiers we remind her that there is a little baby in oklahoma who is now happy because she has a pacifier. stella loves this idea- it may sounds corny but we gotta do what works:) we are on night 2 with no paci's and it has been much easier than i thought it would be. what i didn't expect is how sad brandon and i would feel. on night 1, we put her to bed and both felt a little sad that our miracle baby was growing up. we are so used to her having a paci in her mouth and 1 in each hand. for real:) on many occasions, i have seen her with 2 pacifiers in her mouth at 1 time.

she's 2 and 1/2 now....i thought it was time to get rid of the last 2 pacifiers that we could find in our house. i honestly would have let her keep them longer if they weren't such a pain to find for bed/a trip/whatever. i don't know how many times i've been driving down the road with 1 hand on the wheel and the other searching around in the backseat for a paci that she dropped. i also have no desire to spend money on any more pacifiers. tonight as i was catching up on some tv (the hills!!! omg-kristin is back!!!:) i thought i'd scan through our paci pics and find a few to share.

bye bye paci.

6.

2009-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

6 years ago brandon and i packed up our little house in okc and moved to chi-town. i still remember driving away...great friends in the rearview mirror....and butterflies in my stomach.

i can't believe it's been 6 years and i can't believe all of the blessings that we have received over the last 6 years. thank you God.

Tyler and Julie.

2009-05-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

On Friday Tyler proposed to Julie. She said yes! Afterward, he took her downtown to a surpirse engagement party where we were all there to celebrate in style! Congratulations Tyler and Julie! I can't wait for the wedding:)

sweet letter.

2009-05-19T12:41:00.000-07:00

i have been working hard on our adoption paperwork lately. just when i think i have a project done, there is something else requested or sent back to be re-done. after lots of interviews, trips to the notary, emails, and faxes our homestudy is finally being typed up! i sent over a couple more things yesterday via fax to our social worker at childrens home and aid and she said that it's almost done! yes!!! she has to get it approved by a couple of people and then she will send it to DCFS and immigration/whatever department has to approve it next. there is so much info flying around this head of mine-i can't keep it all strait. then we wait for the certified/official copy of our homestudy to arrive in the mail! i'm not sure exactly how long that will take but i'm hoping to have it back by july. i have been told that is a realistic time frame.

i also went to fedex yesterday, my home away from home these days, and mailed out our fingerprints and payment to the fbi.

last night i got home and planned to complete our last big form........our I600A!!!! I was feeling pretty good about myself and my progress lately...........and then i realized that i didn't have any copies of our birth certificates to send in with our I600A paperwork! what!!!!!?!?!?! this is a BIG mistake. almost 7 months ago i requested birth certificates and a marriage license specifically for this paperwork!!!! and i've used them all up with out realizing it!!!!! i started to tear up big time. brandon must have realized this was a big deal because he actually paused the 24 Season Finale and offered to help me. what a good husband:)

after a few minutes of imagining the worst and visiting the vital check website to order more certificates, i realized that the kind woman who is helping us with our dossier has originals of these certificates and would probably make copies for me and fedex them back. she is the bomb so she emailed them to me first thing this morning! she. is. the. bomb!!! KBS Dossiers is amazing. seriously. i'm so glad that Gladney suggested her to us to help us complete our dossier. she has been so helpful over the last few months. luckily the chicago cis field office will allow copies of these certificates now! heck yea! this will be sent out asap. i'm hoping to head to the bank and back to fedex after stellas nap time today.

all that to say, i've been working hard on this adoption lately. and just when i thought that no one was appreciating all of this hard work-i received a little note in the mail from my daughter. my ethiopian daughter! one of my friends, i have a good idea who this person is, mailed me a sweet little note from my daughter in ethiopia. it thanked me for all of my hard work and said that she couldn't wait to be home with me:) how sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! whoever wrote this tried to make it look like a child wrote it, so it was scribbled on, but it was stinkin' adorable. i wanted to take a picture of it for you guys and post it but brandon accidentally threw it away. i went out to dig thru the trash but it had already been hauled away. crap! i wanted to keep this forever!

whoever did this, thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you for making something as mundane as paperwork special. thank you for noticing and for taking the time to be sweet...and sneaky. and to my little one in ethiopia, i can't wait to have you home. you will never know how much much i haved missed you. even before i saw your face.

uncle weezy is coming back!

2009-05-15T10:14:00.001-07:00

in less than a week wes will be back in illinois!!! the grissom family is very excited. he is our family. funny fact-i met wes while on my first date with brandon. they have pretty much been inseparable since then. good thing i like him too:)

stella and i enjoyed looking at old pics today. wes-you need to thank me for not posting any embarrassing pictures of you on here.

i love dolly.

2009-05-12T10:20:00.001-07:00

i have always liked dolly parton:) now i like her even more because she started something called.....dolly parton's imagination library!! it gives kids a free book every month until they turn 5 years old! awesome huh? yesterday we were at the elgin library (btw-it's a great place to hang out!) and i saw the flyers. this service is being offered, in partnership with the united way and provena st. joseph hospital, to kids in the elgin area. if you live nearby, stop by the library and fill out the card. the librarian also mentioned that it's possible to sign up online but i haven't tried that yet.

thanks dolly.

hey marg.

2009-05-11T19:37:00.000-07:00

i saw this woman at the airport last week. do you watch csi? if so, you'll appreciate this. i looked at her....and looked....and tried to think of what i'd say if i spoke. then i didn't say anything. i just smiled:) marg, you can thank me later for respecting your privacy. tell gil grissom that beki grissom says hello. you da bomb.

prague.

2009-05-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

stella and i are in oklahoma for almost 2 weeks! tonight we went to a carnival in brandons home town (prague, ok) and tomorrow we will enjoy KOLACHE FESTIVAL! here is a pic of us tonight and trust me............i'll have some great pics to share after kolache:)

home inspection.....check!

2009-04-23T22:23:00.000-07:00

my hubby and i are in the middle of a hectic week. brandon is leading worship for willow's shift conference and we are in crunch time as far as the adoption goes. we have completed 5 lengthy interviews for the home study in the last week and a half. did i mention that most of these interviews were held in rockford? that's about an hour drive from us. it's been a great process but very time consuming. today was the final home inspection and parenting interview!!!! our social worker was here for almost 4 hours and completed a ton! now we wait.......for her to type it up and for the proper authorities to approve it. it may be july before we have the certified/final copy. i'm praying it happens quickly:) childrens home and aid has been wonderful to work with. i have been very pleased with the process of completing the home study and our social worker was amazing. she has been doing her job for almost 10 years and is a pro! stella enjoyed having her over today and really liked talking about getting a baby sister! btw, she has started to call most people her brother and sister. so sweet:) OH-one funny thing happened today. at the very end of the meeting our lovely social worker asked to use the restroom. as she was walking away, stella looked up from her coloring book and said "mommy, she's gotta go poop". i hope she didn't hear her say this!

we also have to complete all adoption training this week so that the home study can be finished. i kind of dropped the ball on this for a while. somehow this little piece of paper got lost in my very organized folders of information! so, we've been watching videos on a wide variety of topics and taking some good ole quizzes. we've done 7 hours worth of training so far (in person and via the web) and have 5 more to go before brandon leaves the country soon. it's actually been really interesting to spend more time learning about ethiopia and adoption.

we have 2 more important items to complete this week. a document that goes to immigration for approval (I600A) and fingerprinting so that we can get fbi approval. it's a little overwhelming:) the lingo is confusing sometimes too! i am constantly doing, re-doing, emailing, faxing, and fed-exing forms somewhere. i feel like i'm a pretty organized person and i'm struggling these days. the last time i took stella to fed-ex/kinkos with me, she somehow got 2 packages of candy open (in like 3 seconds) at the counter while i was talking to the employee. so i had to buy them! and i was so stressed by the time we left that i had to eat them:)

we have been plugging along since early november (nearly 6 months) and i am finally starting to feel like things are getting done! yah!! i can't wait until i can fly to ethiopia and meet my new daughter. i'm praying for a smooth process............and a quick one. a girl can dream.

celebration of hope.

2009-04-19T13:33:00.000-07:00

our church does something each year called the celebration of hope. the text below explains what it is, why we do it, and how to get involved. tomorrow is the first day of the 5 day food and water challenge. it will be extremely tough for me to go a week with out diet coke. i know.....i'm lame. hearing the messages leading up to celebration of hope have been inspiring and educational. if my excitement about adopting wasn't already through the roof, it is now. i am proud to be part of a church who is serious about understanding and providing for those in need.

Celebration of Hope 2009: Hunger and Thirst
We live in a land of plenty. Despite economic events of the past year, most of us still have a place to live, a car to drive, and food to eat. And that’s just the beginning.
We’ve got computers and cell phones, back yards and barbecues, closets near capacity, and store after store ready to sell us more.
That changes our perspective.
Surrounded by abundance, housing becomes a matter of status, not shelter. Clothes are deemed unusable because of style, not wear. Water flows freely in long hot showers or summer slip-n-slides. Food becomes entertainment, consumed as a backdrop to social gatherings.
But there are many places in our world where morsels of food and sips of water are a matter of life or death. Every day, hunger claims the lives of 16,000 children. More than 5,000 children die from water-related illness—every day.
Hunger. Thirst. Life. Death.
You can bring hope.
What Can We Do?
During Celebration of Hope 09: Hunger and Thirst, we have an opportunity to come alongside people who live with hunger and thirst by participating in three challenges:
We Stand: 5-Day Food and Water ChallengeWe will take a stand against global hunger and thirst by participating in the 5-Day Food and Water Challenge.
We Serve: Meal PackingWe will join with others to pack 4 million meals, and serve children in Zimbabwe who are in desperate need of food.
We Give: Solutions to Hunger and ThirstWe will give to those who hunger and thirst by providing funds for food and clean water solutions.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirstyand you gave me something to drink...
Matthew 25:35(NIV)

liberty.

2009-04-18T19:52:00.000-07:00

we've had a lot going on lately. thought i'd show you a few pics....

stella turned 2 and 1/2! we celebrated with some birthday cake and balloons. we kind of threw this together but stella couldn't tell:) you probably can by the looks of her cool birthday hat.

we went to the elgin easter egg hunt. oh my!!!! thousands of kids......pure chaos. this kind lady dressed up like the easter bunny and handed out treats to the kids. stella was kind of scared.

easter family pic after church.............and just before our traditional and very competitive egg hunt at the farmers:) congrats to the grissoms for gathering the most eggs this year. julie was a great addition to the team. congratulations to the bartlows for finding the golden egg! you da bomb.

stella went bowling for the first time:) anna-thanks for helping stella and her friends figure it all out.

adoption update: brandon and i have been completing the necessary interviews to finish our home study. 4 interviews complete in less than 2 weeks. we have our final home visit on 4/23. brandon and i are also finishing up all of our training hours. i just purchased $150 worth of training videos tonight and hope to watch them and take all of the "tests" this week.

baby name update: i'm leaning toward the name 'liberty' this week. my list is 100 miles long so you'll have to wait to see what we land on:)

you know you are a mom when....

2009-04-05T12:51:00.000-07:00

after having stella life has changed so much. the first few months after she was born were beautiful, exhausting, and a blur. as much as i tried to soak in every moment with her....i know that i have already forgotten some special things about that little 5 pound baby girl. my mother in law used to laugh at me because i would just rock and look at her for hours! literally. i would still do this if stella would sit still long enough:) anyway, that first year is full of all kinds of "firsts" and so many changes. she was constantly changing and growing. there were days that i would walk into her room after her morning nap and swear that she had changed in that very short amount of time! but anyway, once she became a toddler it was a whole new ball game. sometimes i would catch myself doing or saying something and think.....wow! i am really a mother now! i have been having a lot of these moments lately. here are a few personal examples from the last few weeks....

you know you are a mom when:

1. you are out with friends and realize that you have a diaper/pull up in your purse. not in your diaper bag...in your purse. i know-i'm way cool.

2. you dig in your purse for lip gloss at work and find a random pacifier or small toy. in my case-a small "barbie" from a kids meal.

3. you have crayon on your couch and you are too tired to do anything about it for days. or weeks.

4. after dropping your child off at "school" you drive for at least 5-10 minutes before realizing that you are still rockin' the elmo/veggie tales cd that your kid had requested earlier.

5. you are embarrassed when new people get into your car because you for sure have to move goldfish crackers, random banana peeling, or something disquisting that you would have never allowed before kids. or 15 sippy cups. not really 15 but you get the point:)

6. shower or bathroom time=personal time.

i could go on but i'll spare you. btw-these are all wonderful things. i'm not complaining, just saying it's different.

ADOPTION UPDATE: i finally heard from childrens home and aid on friday. our clearances were received from the state of illinois and we are free to move on with the remainder of our homestudy process. i'm trying to schedule 2 appointments for next week. i want to get this done before brandon heads off to germany and prague at the end of the month. i have been working on randon docs for our dossier as well and hope to have those completed this week. i feel like things are picking up again! finally!!

update.

2009-03-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

i am scheduled to get my wisdom teeth out on friday morning. i have been dreading this so much but last night as i was trying to get stella back to sleep for the 3rd time, i started to look forward to this.......because my husband is going to be home and i am going to SLEEP ALL DAY! maybe the next day too. i know it's crazy to look forward to having minor surgery so that you can sleep but motherhood is hard people! judge me if you must:)

it has been a while since i posted. so i thought i'd give you an update on each of us:
beloved stella-is cuter than ever and is getting pretty good at using the big girl potty. any time we are home, she is wearing big girl undies. she is very confident and sassy these days. i love that about her, but i have to say that it's been a little tiring lately. lots of time-outs happening in the grissom house:) she'll be 2 1/2 next month and according to steph, this is when it gets tough. 3 is the new 2?!?!
brandon-was busy leading worship at the willow creek childrens conference last week but was blessed to end that busy week with a visit from the vannort family. he was pretty excited to have lunch with his friends at texas de brazil! i am a salad bar kind of person so i don't think i got the full experience. although the joy on their faces was hard to ignore:)
me-just tired. you know what-stella is napping right now and i think i should be too! i never take a nap so this explains how tired i am.

peace.

adoption update: we are doing paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. waiting for the state of illinois to complete our background checks and we can move on to the next level of our homestudy. i finally got my passport last week and completed some more docs for our dossier. when we get stressed about it-we like to think of baby names! still nothing solid. our list is very long these days!

oz.

2009-02-22T19:57:00.001-08:00

most 2 year old kids love dora or elmo but my little girl LOVES the wizard of oz! she asks to watch this movie every single day. probably about 5 times a day:) she has the entire movie memorized (except the scary castle scene that we don't let her watch) and does all of the dances. pretty amazing for a 2 year old huh?

last night my work had a gala and the theme was from the movie the wizard of oz. we brought home a huge cardboard cutout of glinda the good witch and a doll. stella loves her! i think she'll be set up in our living room for a long time:) i have already used it to scare brandon once!!

she sleeps with a little dog she calls toto and she has now added the little glinda doll. i know, she's cute!

2 posts in 1 day.

2009-02-15T20:55:00.000-08:00

2 posts in 1 day?!

sources say that mandy moore and ryan adams are engaged. more proof that brandon and i were meant to be:) 1 of my favs and his combining.....this isn't the first time it's happened. word.

i can't wait for summer.

2009-02-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

one day last week the temp reached 64. it was beautiful! it was the nicest day we've had in a long time so we went to the park. stella loved it! of course it's freezing cold again but for 1 day we had sunshine and a taste of warm weather! i can't wait for summer.

ode to steph.

2009-02-10T11:26:00.001-08:00

i was blessed to have my best friend in town for the weekend. 1 weekend isn't long enough! stella really enjoyed having aunt stephanie here too and they really bonded over this trip. stephanie can get stella to bed faster and earlier than i can.....which is pretty amazing if you know my kid! she's got skillz.

stella was sick during the visit so we spent a lot of time at home but we did get a girls day out and topped it off with a late night trip to target-of course. see the hi quality photo taken with my phone below:)

adoption update: i sent another packet of info/docs to gladney yesterday. i think i've almost completed all of the paperwork for my file at gladney. i am waiting to hear back from our home study agency (childrens home and aid) regarding our next visit and i have a jumbo file of documents ready to send to kate at kbs dossier-who will be helping us complete our dossier.

we are all done with visits to the doctor, notarizing documents, and preliminary paperwork..... i think. now we need to focus on our homestudy and dossier! i can't wait to get all of this done. i have been spending a lot of time reading adoption blogs and thinking about baby names. my excitement is really growing. i feel like God is going to bless us big time and i can't wait to become a family of 4!

mommy wars.

2009-02-01T15:23:00.001-08:00

i saw this book on another blog. it looks really interesting. have any of you read it? i would really like to check this book out.

the puter.

2009-01-31T12:19:00.000-08:00

we video chat on a regular basis with brandons family. this is very normal for stella and every time we open the computer (or puter as stella calls it) she asks to see grandma and papa. this way stella can talk to them on a regularly basis and even if we go months without physically seeing them, it doesn't feel that way to her. what a world we live in! i still remember getting handwritten letter from my grandma. i can't imagine granny opening up a mac out on the farm and chatting with me while i eat dinner:) below is a snapshot of stella talking to grandma and papa. she loves to play peek-a-boo with them and show off her toys.

i need africa more than africa needs me.

2009-01-29T19:58:00.001-08:00

git r dun.

2009-01-26T21:54:00.001-08:00

yep-i quoted larry the cable guy. i don't know if i spelled it correctly but does it really matter?:)

at 8am today brandon and i headed back to rockford for a 4 hour adoption training. we were kind of dreading it BUT it was really helpful and fun. it was so nice to be in a room with new people-no connection to us or our church-just a diverse group of people talking about adoption and getting to know each other. it was pretty interesting and got brandon and i thinking about a lot of new stuff. thanks devon and erin for taking care of our little stella so that we could complete this training! 4 hours down....

then brandon headed over to the doctor to get his physical and bloodwork done. i have some funny stories about each of these experiences-if i see you in person, i'll share:) i don't want to be typing a novel on this blog thingy.

it feels like we had another full day devoted to completing this adoption and yet we have so much more left to do! we'll get there.

do you live in oklahoma?

2009-01-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

if so, you should check this out. trust me-if i lived there, i'd be there. 2 of my favs.

adoption update: i completed my doctor visits this week (blood work, annoying paperwork that the doctor couldn't seem to get right, tb test, physical, etc) and brandon will have his on monday. we are still working on general paperwork, which i hope to finish soon. i had food poisoning this week so i basically just tried to survive. i didn't get much else done but today i'm feeling a little more energy and excited to get some things organized!

the inauguration of barack obama.

2009-01-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

no matter who you chose to vote for (btw-no one knows who i voted for. not even my dear husband who thinks he has me all figured out:)), it's hard not to see the beauty of what is happening in our country today. i'm watching the "pre-show" of the inauguration this morning as the obama family follows the same traditions as other presidents have since 1933 and i'm finding myself feeling a little emotional about it:) if you know me, this is not like me. i'm not passionate about politics and i'm not usually emotional but the idea of our country changing for the better is......pretty amazing. today is historical. today will be a day that children read about in school for years to come. i hope that we will welcome our ethiopian daughter home in 09-the year obama came to the white house. can't wait to see how it all turns out......

rockford.

2009-01-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

today brandon and i made the first of 4 trips to rockford to meet with a social worker at children's home and aid. since gladney is located in texas we had to find an agency nearby to complete our homestudy. which is more paperwork, interviews, home visits, etc. anyway, our good friend sarah came over this morning (thanks s!) to watch stella so that we could head up to rockford for this. it was one of the best 2 hour long meetings that i have ever been in. the staff was kind, intelligent, and excited to work with us! all good things to say about childrens home and aid. now i'm going to do more paperwork!!!!

kate comes to willow.

2009-01-10T21:55:00.000-08:00

our church will have kate gosselin from the television show jon and kate plus 8 at our services on jan 31/feb 1. i am excited! i admit, i enjoy the show. should be good.

cuteness.

2009-01-08T22:16:00.000-08:00

today was a good day. i got to spend all day with stella and then the evening with friends. while the boys watched the ou game-the girls chatted away and made a sonic run. fu-uu-un. i am so glad that algonquin now has a sonic! if we ever get a taco bueno i will go crazy!!! i love the chicken chilada platter. yum. if any one from taco bueno is reading my blog:) please open one up near elgin. i can promise that you will at least have 1 regular customer. well, maybe. i'm really trying to eat healthier these days. well, if a taco bueno opened up near us........i would totally eat there all the time! so much for lookin' fine in 09! but since there is no taco bueno here, i can stick to my diet.

i took this pic of stella girl during bath time today. cute or what!?!?! you would never guess that she is sick.

happy friday!

november?

2008-12-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

we had a wonderful christmas with the grissom family this year. we had a lot of snow, a lot of singing, and a lot of laughs! we also had a steady stream of visitors stop by for the party that is our house (thanks jonny p for singing some garth for us-and wes for throwin in some merle:)) and a bday party for jesus. my husband called me a dork for this-but i think it's a sweet memory for my stella.

if you know me well, you probably know that i sometimes get restless and want to move out of this house. or out of this area. get a smaller place. a town home with no yard work or a house near the church. just make a change. but then i think about how many people visit here on a regular basis and feel welcome. this is the first home we have ever owned and i am so glad that we have enough dear friends and family to keep hotel grissom hoppin'. if you know us-you know that you are always welcome here. heck-you probably already know our garage code and most of our neighbors:)

after a great holiday, stella and i loaded up and headed to grand rapids with brandon and his band. this was a fun trip because all the wives and kids were able to join the guys for this conference. it was a lot of fun and stella and i really enjoyed the beautiful hotel, food, and swimming pool! stella got pretty good at helping the guys sell cd's. check it...

i have kind of taken a break from the adoption paperwork for the week. most of the people at the agency are out for the holiday anyway. i'm trying to do a step or 2 at a time and not freak out. it is really a lot of work! i can't wait until we have our beautiful ethiopian daughter home with us. that is the light at the end of the tunnel. on a side note, i am putting in A LOT of time thinking about baby names. whatever we choose has to work with her birth name but i want something special to go with it. got any ideas? i recently heard the name november in a jon foreman song and loved it. i need to get brandon on board with it...

merry christmas.

2008-12-18T17:39:00.001-08:00

brandon and i are pretty excited about christmas this year. we are hosting and to get us prepared, we have been watching lots of christmas vacation. i'm clark griswold in this relationship. i have a christmas schedule typed out and the activities begin as soon as the grissoms fly in on tuesday!!!! sledding, shopping, christmas service at willow, cookie decorating, caroling, family movie night......just to name a few of the items on our list:)

some facts.

2008-12-11T21:18:00.001-08:00

i have been reading international adoption blogs lately and i just read these facts on one of them...

-------------------------------------------------------------

Did you know?

only 24% of households have access to safe drinking water?

over 28 million children will die this year from curable diseases?

over 17 million children will die from malnutrition and starvation this year?

1 out of 6 children in Ethiopia die before reaching their 5th birthday?

the average Ethiopian makes $110 dollars per year?

per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa?

in Ethiopia, there is one physician for every 40,000 people and one nurse for every $14,000 people?

road trip 08.

2008-12-10T19:09:00.001-08:00

tyler, julie, and the 3 of us loaded up a mini-van and made the long drive back to oklahoma for thanksgiving this year. i was pretty nervous about traveling with a 2 year old but she was an angel! honestly, she barely cried at all. it was 14 hours each way and i probably whined about being in the car more than she did:) i didn't do a great job of taking pics but here are a few....

ty-ty, ju-ju and stella. as you can tell, tyler is working very hard to keep stella entertained! just kidding-uncle ty-ty is fantastic and stella loves being with him a lot.

somehow my family went from 0 kids to 7 kids very quickly! it was a fun thanksgiving with 7 kids under the age of 4. here are a few of the kiddos, including my niece mckenzie (in my lap) who i have blogged about before.

the grissom/friskup family.

before dinner kaci tried to throw brandon off the golf cart. she finally did! look at the scenery.........beautiful!

we were so happy to see some dear friends like caiti, alex, steph, natalie, tyler h, terry, weezy, the auld fam, and so many more! we miss ya'll. we were also sad to have missed some of our great friends this trip:( a few days is just not long enough...maybe next time.

to finish off the trip brandon, tyler, jon, wes, and shane headed off to stillwater for the ou/osu game. brandon LOVED it! i hear the osu fans didn't like him much:) i happen to be an osu fan...

BIG NEWS!

2008-12-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

We are adopting from Ethiopia!!! The process has officially begun and we are so excited! We have been exploring this for several years and feel that this is the perfect time to proceed. In November we decided on an adoption agency, Gladney, and received an application. Of course I completed that on day 1 and mailed it back:) I received a call from the agency less than 2 weeks later and on Friday (12/5) we had an hour long phone orientation/interview. The staff member from Gladney was wonderful and not only agreed to work with us but explained the entire adoption process in detail. I have a million things to do and A LOT of paperwork to get done asap.

Tomorrow I hope to complete a 2nd application for adoption, immigration forms, contact an agency in the area to set up a home study, request certified copies of birth certificates and our marriage certificate, get a passport, and head to the bank to discuss the best way to pay for this beautiful thing!

They say that the adoption process usually takes somewhere between 10 and 15 months. So, I'm hoping and praying that this time next year i'll be posting pictures of our 2nd little girl!

Stay tuned......

it's here.

2008-12-06T09:56:00.000-08:00

we returned from okc to find snow......and it's pretty much been snowing everyday since then. it's official-winter is here. we've had fires going regularly and hats and gloves everywhere! it's kinda fun for now but i'm sure it will begin to suck really soon.

stay tuned for pics from our thanksgiving trip and some VERY BIG news.

she's 2.

2008-11-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

isn't she adorable?! who do you think she looks like? i've been hearing a lot lately that she looks like brandon...

happy halloween.

2008-11-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

we were very lucky to have a nice day for trick-or-treating this year. i am a slacker mom so instead of buying/making stella a costume, we used her princess dress up clothes (thanks mimi!) and threw an outfit together a few minutes before walking out the door. check it...

stella and daddy

this was stellas very first try at trick-or-treating. she ran away quickly!

she finally figured out how it worked and couldn't wait to unwrap each piece of candy given to her! because of this, we only went to 3 houses and it took forever. OH-she was so cute and wanted to wear these sunglasses. they kept falling down but she wouldn't take them off:)

family pics.

2008-10-25T14:20:00.001-07:00

we recently had some pics taken by a great photographer named sylver. it was so hard to get stella to cooperate but sylver still got some great shots! check her out at: www.sylverstudio.com

i suck at this.

2008-10-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

i officially suck at blogging. sorry about that. here are a few pics to update you on what the grissoms have been up to:)

lots of fun trips to the pumpkin farm! stella and sierra had a great time there on this day:)

we headed to the new kids on the block concert with the bartlows.

there was a SUPER fan sitting in front of us. she had dolls and everything-so we asked her to use a vintage button for a photo:)

stella turned 2! check out this awesome cake juju mad for her! it's from stella's favorite cartoon called Miss Spiders Sunny Patch Friends.

bff.

2008-09-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

stella and her bff, sierra, were together all afternoon. they played, painted, read, sang songs, pretended to be dogs and cats, tried to rub lotion all over their baby dolls, and anything else they could get into! they have a lot of fun together and i am so glad that they are able to spend so much time together. i have hundreds of pictures of them together and i can't wait until they are teenagers and we can go back through them all!

they are 6 months apart.

fishy judy

2008-09-08T13:12:00.000-07:00

last weekend we had 4 days off together. we had so much fun! we went to a water park, stayed overnight in rockford, had a cookout, and got a pet! check it out.....

the grissom family portrait.

after a long afternoon at coco key, we went out for dinner. rockford has a TEXAS ROADHOUSE! we waited over an hour for a table-but it was so worth it! stella even danced with the waiters.

stella is ready for the kiddie water park :)

introducing our new pet..........FISHY JUDY!

fishy judy is named after brandons grandma. brandon actually wanted to name stella judy but we couldn't agree so he named the fish-judy. stella loves her. i hope i can keep this thing alive!

hilights

2008-08-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

it's been awhile since i've posted. a lot has happened over the last month. here are some picture hilights:

stella got a dog! (our neighbor gave her this-it's brian from family guy. she loves her new doggie. me-not so much)

brandon officially works for axis now. we were excited to spend some time in madison with the staff. stella loved the boat-even when it broke down!

wes moved to oklahoma. here is a pic of us in front of the uhaul just minutes before he pulled out of town and we all broke down sobbing.

mimi came to town and got stella a new car! sierra likes driving it and stella is content being her passenger. i am saving all these pics for when they are older!

my best friend stephanie came to visit. we had a lot of fun! lots of time spent downtown, sleeping, swimming, watching tv, talking, and getting make overs!

we hosted sarahs 21st bday. it was fun! julie made this beautiful cake and during our song-the "s" caught on fire. it was hilarious!

bursting into flames....

it has been a great summer but i am looking forward to fall. it is really beautiful here and we will be celebrating stellas 2nd birthday on october 6. i have got to plan a bday party soon! i'm thinking about chuck e cheese or goeberts pumpkin farm. or the grissom mansion located in elgin.

remember jiminy crime?

2008-07-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

we have had some great opportunities over the last month to be with some of our closest friends.

first, we had the wheelis family visiting from albania. it was wonderful to be with them! their twins, tyler and austin, are big boys now and we were so excited to meet jadyn (pic below), the newest addition to their beautiful family. i encourage you to check out their blog. the work that they are doing in albania is definitely inspiring. i loved hearing about life there!

then we went to tyler and katies wedding. it was a gorgeous wedding! there, the fellas from jiminy crime spent a little time together. they haven't changed a bit over the last 5 years:)

then came girls night out 08-with 2 of my best girlfriends, cait and steph. we got babysitters, dressed up, and went out to a girly movie. it was fuuunnnn!

the cherry on top was a visit from brandons parents and grandparents to surprise tyler on his birthday this week. tyler was blindfolded and brought to our house (after a special day at the lake) to be surprised by gobs of his close friends and family. it was a great party! happy birthday tyler.

enjoy some snapshots below......

stella and jadyn reading books together.

tyler and katie huskerson

the guys formerly known as jiminy crime

my homies

my mother in law wanted a picture with her sons and all their hot friends:)

stella @ 20 months

2008-06-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

how would i describe stella? wild, strong-willed, hilarious, expressive, very beautiful, difficult at times, charming, talkative, and full of energy! oh--stubborn and angelic. oh--and fearless.

the older she gets, the more i can see her personality more clearly. i am usually exhausted when i am with her alone for long periods of time and then when i am away from her for more than a couple of hours-i can't wait to get back to her. she is a demanding toddler but i wouldn't have it any other way. she has ALOT of personality and i can't wait to see her grow up.

changes.

2008-06-15T16:42:00.000-07:00

we have had a big summer around here and i am exhausted! i'm trying to think back on everything specifically but it is really hard to remember it all. it has honestly been a whirlwind! starting last weekend---
1. brandon took part in the funeral of a friend.
2. brandon officiated a wedding on the same day.
3. brandon left the wedding early and went to the e.r. for the 2nd time that week.
4. brandon spent the night in the hospital.
5. i stayed with him-arranged childcare-packed-got meds-etc. thank you to the palmer family for watching stella all night! we love you very much!!!
6. brandon came home and vomited everywhere.
7. i cleaned it up.
8. brandon has layed around unable to do much all week.
9. i have cleaned up lots of yucky stuff, worked when i can, taken care of stella, etc.
10. oh-it's also been brandons bday, and fathers day. stella got him grand theft auto (the new one) for dads day. and a card in spanish that i think said happy fathers day papa(she picked it because it had a picture of a fish on it and she really likes fish) and a rose. which she played with and beat down pretty bad before we actually got it to him. but it was really cute anyway.

this weekend brandon returned to work and he and wes announced some big news at elevate. at the end of the summer, both will be transitioning off of the elevate staff. brandon will be moving to the axis ministry at wccc and wes will be returning home to finish school and spend some quality time with his family. brandon and i have been in prayer about making a change for over a year and we both feel a lot of peace and excitement about this. axis is an amazing ministry within our church that is designed for people in their 20's. they are doing some really exciting stuff in their communities and i can't wait to be a part of it! more to come on this.....

but, and this is a BIG but, i am going to miss wes so much. brandon has already had a breakdown and cried like a little girl! sorry babe, you did:) i fully support his decision and i know that he is doing the right thing, but he is a part of our family and for the last 4 years we have all been inseperable. what is stella going to do without her uncle weezy!!?!?! she adores him. calls out to him from across the church, stares at him all the time, and giggles alot when he is near. we will have to visit as much as possible! and pray that we are able to live close to one another again soon. it may happen--you never know:)

it is an exciting time but it is also one that is filled with sadness. you know how change is.

ladies and gentlemen.............

2008-05-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

well, i don't have anything too exciting to report on this blog entry. i just feel like i haven't written in a while.

-we had a great memorial day cookout over here. it lasted until about 2am and was an absolute blast! pics to come....

-oh, brandon said the funniest thing in his sleep last night!!!! i hope he doesn't mind if i share :) in the middle of the night i woke to him saying in a loud voice "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN..........MR. TOBY KIETH!!!!"

-i have really been digging the Supernanny lately. i'm actually watching it right now. i have a very strong willed toddler so i try to catch it when i can for some ideas. i also really like jon and kate plus 8. that's the bomb.

life has been pretty good lately. i am REALLY looking forward to summer and i hear that we are going to be getting some warmer weather over the weekend. i think it got up to 60 something today which is ok, but seriously, it's almost june and i wore a sweater to work! suck.

brandon is milwaukee tonight working and i am planning a very awesome night of laying on the couch and watching tv. stella is in bed and i am in my pajamas gearing up for the main event! it doesn't happen often so i am going to enjoy every minute of it!

oh-i spoke to soon. i hear stella crying.....

what the heck!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

seriously, it is cold here. it was in the 40's today. it is almost june...what the *&^%&^%^%!!! it really makes me angry. when is it going to warm up!?! summer, are you ever coming?

i love em!

2008-05-14T20:36:00.001-07:00

i recently got to see some of my favorite kids. check it...

camden bek --- the sweetest baby i've ever met. seriously. must be his name ;)

beautiful harper -- she looks like her mommy. who i love alot!

boston and carter (with stella ray) --- my boys! i secretly hope that stella will grow up and marry one of them someday...well, it's kind of weird to think about now but i guess you never know! they are kind of like family to me so it could be very weird or very special...hummmmm.

5

2008-05-14T16:07:00.000-07:00

our good friend scott rubin reminded us that 5 years ago today we rolled into town. i had just graduated from college a few days before we left okc and brandon was scared to death to begin his new job at willow.

now- there are 3 grissoms instead of 2, i've finally found a job that i'm passionate about, and brandon has been blessed with a group of musicians and friends around him that he adores. oh-we've also been blessed with some additional okies joining us here in the chicago-land area. 3 more moved into town this week! it's pretty special.

it has been a tough 5 years for me but it has also been 5 that i will never forget. i feel like my world, and my compassion for people, has expanded. i have grown used to the weather here--kind of:) and i love our community. stella is a lucky little girl. the first few years that we were here, i honestly didn't think i would make it.

i still miss home occasionally but after 5 long years, i am content here. i am thankful.

old nuggets

2008-04-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

a gross thing happened today. let me tell you about it....

i rushed out of work to pick up stella at willow (of course i was running late) so i quickly got her settled in the car and hit the road. i was driving, and returning emails, when it hit me that stella was being more quiet than usual. i looked back and could tell that she was eating something. so what did i do? i stuck my fingers in her mouth and pulled it out to see what it was (moms do this crap all the time and don't even think about it :) ) wanna know what it was? it was......an old chicken nugget.

it was definitely more than 3 days old. could have been older than that because i can't remember the last time she ate them in the car. gross!!!! i then grabbed what i could and tried to throw it out the car window BUT i didn't roll the window down first! so, little chunks of it got all over my car! what?!?! i then pull over and dig out baby wipes so i can clean everything up. including her mouth. it was gross but i'm sure she'll be ok.

anyway, i drove the rest of the way home thinking about how different my life is now. i feel like a real "mom". i like it. it's beautiful, messy, tiring and fun.

sylvers da bomb.

2008-04-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

i recently met a photographer named sylver, who has a studio in crystal lake. so i took stella there this week. she is wonderful!!!! a wayyyyy better experience than the places i have used in the past but hey---i use the free coupons that come in the mail:) anyway, i highly recommend the sylver studio to you if you ever need a photographer. she took lots of beautiful pictures (even though stella was not cooperating!) so i thought i would share just 1 of the many that we have to choose from.......

enjoy! oh, i know--she is beautiful ;)

the partay!

2008-04-20T07:37:00.000-07:00

brandons cd release party went really well. it was so much fun to have so many friends together in 1 place! of course i forgot my camera but luckily-i always have my phone handy! here are a couple of pics....

below is a pic of all the female okies that have moved up to chi-town so far. we just all happen to be brunettes..........funny! brooke and i have been asked twice this week if we are sisters. i take it as a compliment :) i just think people are thrown off by the large crowd of okies that we have up here. it is strange but god is good!

the best manny ever

2008-04-17T09:55:00.000-07:00

uncle ty-ty (tyler) picks stella up every wednesday and babysits her until i get home from work. this week, he took her outside at willow to play. one of our good friends, todd, happened to be close by with a camera. cute huh?

check it out..

2008-04-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

now, what kind of wife would i be if i didn't pass this very important info along to you?! brandon and the guys have finally finished their new project and it is good! scratch that-it's great! i'm not just saying that to be polite either. if you know me-you know i wouldn't ;)

so, if you live in illinois-come hang with us on wed night for the cd release party.

btw, stella loves this cd. i took pics of her listening to it for the first time (which i'll post later) and she was so excited! she was swaying her hips back and forth yelling "daddy"! something else very important for you to know- stella is on this cd as well!! you'll have to listen close to hear her "talking" about jesus (or something...) at the end of one of the songs. it's cute.

i hope to hang with you on wed.

chuck

2008-04-03T13:32:00.000-07:00

so, i just finished up a visit with a very nice police officer who looks out for this part of town. we've been having some increased gang activity in our neighborhood lately and they have been marking their territory. most recently, our fence and sidewalks.

it's creepy. i thought i heard something hit the house last night while i was home alone. i turned on the backyard lights, looked around a bit, and tried to forget about it. turned out, it was an empty bottle of spray paint hitting the house. ooooohhh. as if i'm not paranoid enough-this kind of stuff happens.

our neigbors are wonderful and i love e-town. i just hope this doesn't continue. i did get a very interesting lesson on the gangs in this area and the history....see-you learn something new everyday.

also, i broke up a fight the other day. looks like i'm a regular chuck norris these days :) who btw is from wilson, oklahoma. where i lived as a little girl!

easter 08

2008-03-27T19:52:00.000-07:00

hey peeps.

we had a wonderful easter this year and i thought i'd pass on some pics (in no particular order)

here's the gang over for lunch...

brandon, beki, and stella at church (of course we were late-but we made it!)

stella eating some chocolate out of her easter basket-and wearing her new shades....

stella-17 months

so, i was hoping that spring was on it's way but it's currently snowing outside :(

this is the time of year when i really get sick of this weather. the weather has been the hardest thing for me to deal with here in chicago-land but i think it's finally getting a little easier for me. we are about to celebrate 5 years of living here.....can you believe it?!?! it really has gone by fast. i wonder if we'll be here another 5? in the beginning i would have said no but it is really starting to feel like home. it's strange to think that this is the only home that stella has ever known and that she was born here. i guess i consider her an okie but i guess she really isn't. luckily, our okie clan is growing so if i'm lucky, she'll grow up with a little accent :)

cool cuts

2008-03-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

brandon has the weekend off-which almost NEVER happens, so we took stella for her first haircut today. she has really thin hair, but the back had grown so long that it looked like my little baby girl had a mullet:) so we headed to a place called cool cuts. it's just for kids and although it's way over priced, it's fun for the first hair cut ever! she had the pleasure of driving a car and watching elmo while she got her haircut.....

she felt so relaxed she pooped while her hair cut was happening. i felt bad for the lady.

they gave us a cute little packet with a picture and her first hair trimmings. i can't wait to put it in her baby book!

i'm off to do some very important work now. i have to get caught up on LOST!

we had a big weekend ya'll

2008-03-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

we had a fun weekend! grandma debbie was here for a couple of days and then we headed over a friends house for a southern themed potluck dinner and hoe down! the food was good and every couple looked awesome. i planned to show more pics but it's taking forever! here's a few to give you an idea of how we roll...

me and my little-un...i tried to put some brown make up on her face to make her look dirty, but it doesn't show up that great :)

the farmers...i love shanes outfit and wendys big hair! he is pretty much dressed like mike grissom:)

then stella sported her new hawaiin girl towel. she loves it! brandon kept calling her a little jedi.

another hi-light of the weekend is that baby margarita has entered our life. grandma debbie, or "debbie" as stella calls her, bought stella a new little baby doll that she loves! she totes her around, feeds her a bottle, takes off her diaper, and drives her around in the stroller. it was a great purchase! a pic of stella and her baby margarita will have to come later...

my fav

2008-03-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

i have NEVER before watched a full season of american idol, until now! i don't love the show, but i have a favorite this season. DAVID ARCHULETA. i think he is the best singer and just about the most adorable kid i've ever seen.

he is 17 years old and brandon and i are cheering for him. have you watched it???? you should check it out-or just tivo it one week and then skip to this kids performance!!! he is good.

my mom-in-law was in town this weekend and we enjoyed a nice evening on the couch watching idol. she likes him the best too...

the camera is back.

2008-03-04T20:39:00.000-08:00

last time we went to okc, i left my camera there. my best friend steph was kind enough to mail it to me and i got it back this week. i've taken about a million pics since then! here are a few of my favs....

brandon (with NO beard--he says it was turning grey), chris, and erica. brandon officiated their wedding this weekend. it was his first one and he did an amazing job!

tyler and i went along for support...

tyler and stella recovered the next day by watching some tv....

brandon took some cute pics of stella....

then she watched some more tv with sierra! notice barney on the tube :)

this is cute...

2008-02-21T10:55:00.000-08:00

my friend anna took these cute pics on new years eve. i just ran across them again on facebook and thought i'd share...

the second one is stella singing "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands. if you're happy and you know it, then YOUR FACE will surely show it...)

i know. she is adorable :)

we have a toddler.

2008-02-20T15:27:00.000-08:00

stella is 16 months old now and has officially left the infant stage. it feels like we have a real toddler in the house now! she is really developing a personality and is fast!!!! the other day she got her hands on a scented plug-in and managed to eat some of the smelly-good oil out of it before i caught her! i called poison control for the very first time and i have to say, they weren't that helpful. she was fine once i cleaned her up and gave her something to drink.

she is really starting to talk alot and her new thing is calling me.... BEKI! i guess she heard it so much that she picked it up. then, it got such a rise out of me, she's just continued. brandon thinks it's hilarious but i'm constantly coaching her to call me MOMMY.

these days stella is all about:
1. playing with any kid that will let her! especially sisi
2. daddy (she pretty says "daddy" all day long and roams the house looking for him:))
3. going bye-bye (she gets bored and heads strait for the door saying and waving bye bye!)
4. trying to climb under baby gates to get to the basement (very dangerous!)
5. laying on her elmo couch and watching blue. she also loves elmo and miss spiders sunny patch
6. all dogs
7. giving kisses. which is really great now that she has a horrible runny nose :)
8. touching my nose and eyes
9. babies! we got her a little stroller too and she piles it up and pushes it all over the house:) when we can't find the remote, it's usually in her baby stroller under about 4 baby dolls, pots and pans, sippy cups, dvds, and anything else she can find!
10. grapes! this is her newest love. i have always been afraid to give her grapes because i didn't want her to choke (i'm kind of crazy about that) but brandon gave her some recently, and she is in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she also really loves ducks and can finally say (uncle) ty-ty! it's really hard for her to say but she is finally attempting it.

some good news-my friend kim, who i have known since the second grade, just had a little baby boy named hunter. well, a big baby boy! he weighed 9 pounds and 8 ounces. he is adorable. congatulations kimi!

the weirdest thing..

2008-02-15T16:34:00.001-08:00

it is so cold here. really really cold and because of this, the weirdest thing happened to me the other day.

stella and i went to target and when i came out to the car, i noticed a little ice on my windows. so, i got out of the car with my cool scraper dilly and started to scrape..........but nothing! i then realized, the ice was on the INSIDE of my windows! so i scraped off the thin sheet and drove off.

weird huh? have you ever heard of this?

home sweet home.

2008-02-07T19:14:00.000-08:00

we had a great visit with friends and family in oklahoma and enjoyed some warmer weather and sunshine for a few days. all 3 of us are glad to be back home-even with piles of snow everywhere!

the bartlow wedding was beautiful and sonic never fails! stella got an ear infection on the first day we were there so i pretty much hung out at the house with her the entire time (thank you hiett family for letting us live with you for awhile and make a mess!) but then something awesome happened...............aunt kami came into town and let mommy go out and play!!! stella can't quite say aunt kami, so she calls her "mammy". it is adorable! kami is like.....the baby whisperer. all kids love her and she can sing any kid to sleep. brandon got emotional talking about watching his sister take care of stella. very sweet.

2 of my closest friends have little boys that are 2 years old. boston and carter. stella loves them! i don't think they like her following them around that much but she adores them! all 3 of them have oct. birthdays and are 1 year a part. when i was at home during christmas we took the cutest picture of the boys in their buzz costumes. check this out....

headed to okc

2008-01-29T16:08:00.000-08:00

the fam and i are headed to okc tomorrow. we are looking forward to brooke wilson and scott bartlows wedding on friday!

other news-i chopped all my hair off. stella started saying poo poo and mimi this week and brandon is almost done with the first 2 songs on his new album. he's been in the studio ALOT this week so i'm really looking forward to a little family vacation.

here are some things i can't wait to do in okc:
1. see all the friends and family i love there. especially camden and harper for the 2nd time in their life!
2. eat at taco bueno
3. get a blue coconut cream slush from sonic
4. get a cappuccino chunky chocolate shake made with skim milk from braums
5. go to UCO and get stella a little tshirt from our college

these are just a few things i'm looking forward to but it should be alot of fun. i'll take some pics to share!

heat wave.

2008-01-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

brandon and i were just watching the news (i know--not a very exciting friday night!) and the news people (i don't know what you call em) were going on and on about how much "warmer" it is today. here is the weather right now:

Light Snow 20°F

the other morning i woke up and the actual temp was -4. so it felt like -15 or something awful like that. I guess compared to that, it is a heat wave. sick. I still can't believe that I live in a place where 20 degrees is a relief!

brandon picked up a hitch hiker the other morning on the way to work because it was like 2 degrees outside and he was afraid she wouldn't make it! it is dangerously cold up here. but he said she looked like our grandma judy so i bet she was really cute.

brandons latest project.

2008-01-21T21:02:00.000-08:00

brandon and some of his close friends are working on a new album. they are hoping to have it completed in march. so far it sounds really good. and i'm not just saying that. i am his biggest fan but also his biggest critic. the guys that play with him are some of my favorite people in the world. you can check out more at www.myspace.com/brandongrissommusic

we stopped by the studio tonight to see the guys. we couldn't stay long because stella wanted to destroy everything she could get her hands on! she sure does love music though. i wonder where she gets that....

I'm reading a book.

2008-01-17T19:50:00.000-08:00

I'm reading a book by Tom Davis called Red letters: Living a faith that bleeds. Check out his blog and books at www.cthomasdavis.com I highly recommend it.

So far I have learned alot more about the crisis in Africa and I have been spending some time thinking about true compassion. It's a word that I think about everyday. Between my work and my family, I am constantly wondering how Jesus would deal with the situations that I am dealing with. I'm sure i'm completely sucking it up but I am hanging in there.

One thing I ran across in this book is Etsy a place to buy and sell items that are completely handmade from around the world. It is really cool. You should check it out. Especially if you like finding unique items!

my little cowgirl.

2008-01-16T18:19:00.000-08:00

it has been a busy couple of weeks and our internet was down so i haven't updated the grissom blog in awhile. sorry about that. life has been good though. it is getting REALLY cold here again and i guess it's going to be in the single digits this weekend. great.

one funny thing that has happened since christmas is that uncle tyler and stella both got cowboy boots (see below) and they basically look like twins :)

stella can barely walk in hers but it was still really cute. of course she had to ride her zebra in the boots! thanks aunt kami. she still really loves this toy!

update on my bro:

robert is doing much better. he had surgery on his neck last week. the doctors took some bone from his hip and put it in his neck. he was in an incredible amount of pain for a few days after that but he seems to be feeling much better and was up walking a bit yesterday. thanks so much for your prayers. i know he needs them.

Aunt Bek is good luck!

2008-01-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, today I was on the phone with my Best Friend Stephanie and her son Camden rolled over for the first time! A couple of weeks ago I called and Harper rolled over for the first time! I think they can hear my loud and crazy voice coming from the phone and they get so excited they are trying to get to me! :) Just kidding. But it is pretty neat to hear their mommys reaction to them doing this for the first time.

I love them and I miss them so much. Here are some pics that I took from Trae and Steph's blog to share.

Camden Bek...

Harper...

My Brother

2008-01-02T11:09:00.000-08:00

Well, as if my family didn't have enough craziness going on, we found out yesterday that my little brother Robert was hit by a car. Apparantly, he was down in Bricktown OKC celebrating New Years Eve and got seperated from his group. He can't remember anything but he showed up in the ER around 2am. We think he was walking back to his car that was parked pretty far away and was some how hit by a car going approximately 35/40 miles an hour. His neck is broken and his right arm and leg are shattered.

The doctors have already done 1 surgery on his leg. They are watching his neck very closely to see if they will need to go in and insert a metal rod. So far he has some movement and can talk, sort of. The doctor said it is miraculous that he isn't completely paralyzed. They have never seen anything like this before.

So, can you please say a prayer for him? I'll keep everyone updated. So far, everyone is amazed at how well he is doing. My brothers biggest concern is getting back to work so he won't loose his job and he can continue paying for his new apartment that he moved into on New Years Eve! I am anxious to see what the police report says when it is released and if my brother begins to remember anything soon.

Sweet Home Elgin

2007-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

We are all back from Oklahoma now. Stella and I flew in late Sunday night and we are trying to settle back into a normal routine. Tyler and Brandon made the 12+ hour drive so that we would have a car in Oklahoma and a way to get all of Stella's toys home this year. I spent some extra time in OKC so that I could see my best friend Stephanie and her 3 kids. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me when I met the twins for the first time but Steph did. Click here to view her family blog and see some of the cutest babies in OKC!

I stayed with Caitlin and her son Boston while there, who I love dearly, and the kids had so much fun together. We took all the kids to Chuck E Cheese one day and it was a load of fun. I couldn't believe how much Stella and the boys loved it. Stephanie and Caitlin both have 2 year old boys who are 3 weeks apart. Their names are Boston and Carter. They have so much fun playing together and Stella likes chasing them around. I wish we could all play together every weekend!

We had a really good trip and it was great to be back for awhile. We spent some time at New Cov and enjoyed a great lunch with Kevin Harwi and the gang. Then we drove south to see my fam. Ok, I was wrong. Stella hated Santa! My step-dad dresses up like him each year to hand out gifts and Stella was screaming before he even got into the house. See pic below.....

I got to spend a day with my beautiful niece McKinzy who is currently in foster care in Oklahoma. For everyone who has been a part of this journey with us and who prays for Kinzy regularly, thank you very much. She is doing really well and is THE happiest baby that I have ever seen. No kidding. I met her foster family and they are very kind. I'll keep everyone posted on what is happening.

Then we headed off to the Grissoms. We always have alot of fun with Brandons family and we love staying with Papa Kent and Grandma Judy. They are so sweet together and I love watching their "traditions". Like how Papa comes home for lunch everyday to play a game of cards with grandma or every night when they eat a bowl of peppermint ice cream together. Sweet things like this. Oh, everytime we go to Grandma Judy's house Brandon breaks something. This year we were setting at the table talking and his chair collapsed :) See pic below... Tyler broke a table this year as well. These boys don't know their own strength! I also got to spend some quality time with my fav sis Kami. I always love that and I wish I could see her everyday.

It was a great Christmas. I wish I could include all of the funny pics and things that happened but that would take way to long! I can't wait to go back soon for Brook and B-lows wedding. That will be a memorable trip!

Stella and Santa.

Kinzy Marie.

Brandon laying on the floor after his chair broke.

Stella and Boston at Chuck E Cheese.

Grandma Debbie and Papa Mike got Stella this car for Christmas which she loves almost as much as the bounce and spin Zebra that Aunt Kami gave her! She is sitting in this car watching a cartoon as I type.....

Well, I had hoped to post more pics but for some reason this isn't working properly. More pics to come later.......

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-17T22:17:00.000-08:00

As of this week, Brandon and I have been married for 6 years! Our anniversary is technically on the 22nd but since we will be unable to celebrate on that day, we went out on a date tonight. 2 very kind and generous friends, Sarah and Dana, came over tonight to babysit Stella so that we could go and enjoy ourselves. We went to dinner and a movie, which rarely happens, so it was great!

We also took Stella to see Santa today but just before we walked up they CLOSED the gate! I guess Santa needed a dinner break or something. :( We'll have to try again another day. I can't wait to see how she reacts to him. I think she'll try to pull his beard off!

Here is a little picture of Stella trying a Candy Cane for the first time. Merry Christmas!!

Stella's BFF

2007-12-10T10:49:00.001-08:00

Well, it has been a busy week! Seems like Christmas is around the corner. We've had a party for my work as well as Brandon's work

and I am hosting my first baby shower today for my friend Tracie. I'll let you know how it goes! I'm not the best at that kind of stuff but i'm actually having fun with it. She is having a little girl soon and this is baby #4 in their fam.

We also had Stella's BFF over a couple of times. Her name is Sierra. She is 6 months older than Stella and we spend a lot of time with her family. It's nice to see them grow up together and now they are both really developing their personalities and enjoying each other. Sierra likes to play 'mommy' and try to get baby Stella to sit on her lap. Stella doesn't always play along but sometimes she does:) It's really cute. This week they were reading together and dancing. I love taking pictures of them so that one day we can look back at all they've done together and how long they've known each other. I took a billion this week so I'll only post 2 on here today....

Here are the girls getting ready for bed and enjoying a night time bottle together. They like to rest their feet on each other alot.....

Then they would take a break from laying down and sit up and watch eachother...

They are both really sweet. Erin, Sierra's mom, has passed on alot of good info to me since she goes through everything a few months before I do. It's been really helpful.

Well, I'm off to get ready for the baby shower. BTW, I made chocolate covered strawberries today for the first time!

Baby it's cold outside!

2007-12-03T19:10:00.000-08:00

Baby, it is cold outside! Winter is definitely here and I don't think there is any going back now. It is such a pain to bundle Stella up every single time we go out. We all hate it. Here is a picture of her and daddy heading out the door on Friday to go to Promisetowne.

I will say that having a kid has helped put me in the Christmas spirit this year. For the last few years the holiday season has been a little blah but i'm definitely starting to feel the cheer! We have to get our Christmas lights up outside this week and take Stella to get a pic with Santa. I love hearing Christmas music and i'm really looking forward to our trip back to Oklahoma for the holidays. I am really excited to see my best friend Steph and meet her new twins. I am bursting with excitement to hold Camden and Harper and kiss their big bro Carter! !!!!! You will see pictures of that moment for sure!!!! I'll take a million pics to share! One of the hardest things about living away from close friends and family is missing their kids grow. I guess that's just part of life.

I just returned from a Womens Retreat in Wisconsin (I guess that's what you could call it..) so it has put me a little behind on the blogging but I assure you that i'll keep updating this! I kind of like it....

3 Men and a Baby

2007-11-28T18:14:00.000-08:00

I had a little problem getting my post published yesterday but I finally figured it out!

Stella did some of her favorite things today, so I thought i'd share them with you.

After eating some very messy meals she took a bath, which is her absolute favorite thing to do and will keep her happy for long periods of time, and played a little Basketball. She has gotten really good at it!

The Lynch Family gave her this microphone for her 1st birthday that records and plays music. This is her favorite toy right now and she really loves dancing along with all of the music! she has also figured out how to change the songs and work the buttons.

We practiced WALKING!!! She has taken a few steps here and there over the last few weeks but yesterday at the Yaccino's she took alot of steps!!! Of course I missed it because I was at work, but Brandon told me all about it.

Uncle Weezy finally returned from Oklahoma! Stella only says a handful of words and "Wes" is one of them. She is a huge fan. We have been trying to teach her to say Uncle Ty-Ty as well but she just mutters a sound that is similar.....she'll get there...OH-SHE DID START SAYING JESUS THIS WEEK. IT'S QUITE ADORABLE. During her bedtime routine I usually sing this song that has the name Jesus in it, so she started saying it! It's so sweet.

Then we had the fella's over for dinner. Stella absolutely loves each of these guys and we are so lucky to have them in our family and close by. She is growing up with some amazing men around her on a regular basis and she is very fortunate to have these individuals in her life. I have trusted each of them to babysit her on several occasions so that tells you how higly I think of them!

So, that's basically what we did today. I hope you enjoy the updates!

Thanksgiving 07

2007-11-26T13:40:00.000-08:00

Brandon and I have had more days off together lately than we've had all year! It's been really nice. We've taken Stella to do some fun things, hosted Thanksgiving 07, slept in, put up the Christmas tree, and Brandon has played quite a bit of Halo. Yuck. I'm not a fan of Halo but I wish I was. I actually used to be part of an underground group called W.A.X. Which stands for Women Against Xbox :) Not really......well, kinda:) My friend Sarah and some courageous women before me paved the way...

In our spare time this week, we decided that it would be a good idea to start a blog. For friends near and far and for our family members that reside in Oklahoma. So, that's what i'm going to do!

Feel free to read up on the Grissom family and see what we've been up to.

Here are some hilights of the week.

Stella helped daddy put up the tree! We had to keep her from putting everything in her mouth..

We ate out!

We played at the library! Elgin has an awesome library and play area.....

We hosted Thanksgiving 07 for all of the Okies who now live in Chi-town and Brandon made his first Turkey! He definitely quoted 'Christmas Vacation' before he cut into it....

We spent the week dog-sitting for the Yaccino family and Stella loved crawling into Cody's cage...

Well, I better take a break for now. I don't want to over do it on day 1! More updates, pics, and videos to come....

Bek