Self Portrait

Thanks to our awesome friend Julie Crow for having the patience. desire, and talent to teach art @ Ashlyn's school. Today was Ashlyn's first official art class with Julie and they painted self portraits...I just love this painting!!! Soo sweet.

For Cap and Kate....To Blog or Not to Blog.....

So...I haven't blogged in forever and I don't really have like one great reason as to why I stopped and the cliche reasons don't seem valid enough to write down...BUT I can say that a funny little line will pop into my head, or I'll take a picture that I really want to caption, one of the kids will say something that seems at the moment to be particularly profound, or I'll have a moment where if I don't write down exactly what I am feeling then it will certainly be lost forever......but none of those moments in recent months have been enough to pull me back into spilling my inner most secrets, arguing with myself for everyone to read over the most inane (and every now and then hefty) subjects, or simply sharing what has been going on in my life...BUT...

I miss writing

...it somehow brings a weight to my life, a purpose, a cohesiveness that simply living it doesn't bring....I was standing in the shower the other day and it struck me in the most random moment that I am a writer and then the most underwhelming and sad part......I don't write.

So...I'm a bit rusty, but I'm attempting to get back in the saddle because to be honest...A lot has been going on in my life in the past few months, but I really haven't been feeling it...I've been in a fog and maybe a few words can bring some focus, clarity, and meaning back to me....

lists are always fun so here's a quick one that will catch you up with my life....

1. The Doak family 5 is moving in THREE weeks people....this is a bittersweet move but greatly needed for peace of mind and I have to believe, overall, a GOOD thing.

2. I have been cancer free for TWO years, but if truth be told this is the worst I have felt physically since my surgery....my meds are off and I am very much living life with a daily reminder that I no longer have a thyroid...it sucks and my goal is to physically get back on track...

3. my children are doing wonderfully!! They are all growing into these fantastically witty, caring, and kind individuals who I truly enjoy hanging out with...they are my anchors and I relish every moment with them.

4. I have taken six graduate school credits @ one of the most conservative colleges in the COUNTRY and lived to tell about it....

5. Jason and I celebrated our TEN year wedding anniversary last October. This amazes me on so many different levels...

6. I started going to a new church...well, that's not completely true, but Real Life has grown so much in the past year that sometimes I don't even recognize the place when I walk through the doors. I'm on the fence about how I feel about this...but that's another blog post... : )

7. I got a Facebook account and interestingly enough stopped writing my blog....hahahaha

more depth later, but this is my humble re-beginning...take care ya'll....

Jonas Brothers---Again!

So many of you may remember that Stella met Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers one year ago in Washington DC when our awesome friend Melissa hooked us up with an exclusive meet and greet! We kept telling Stella at that time, "this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and will NEVER happen again," and to "enjoy the moment"...well, we were WRONG and in a major way!!! Last week I got an e-mail from the Jonas Brothers fanclub (Stella is a member) saying Stella had won a meet and greet contest preceding their VB concert! I was shocked and couldn't believe that girl's luck! I was also a little worried since the e-mail said it was only Stella that had won entry into the meet and greet. I wondered how Ashlyn would feel.

We got to the concert yesterday afternoon and after some sweet talking were able to secure THREE official meet and greet passes. Ashlyn, Stella, and me (well, duh) were going to meet the Jonas Brothers!!! We were soooo excited. It worked out that Jay was able to hang out with us the entire time we were waiting in line and he even got to go into the meet and greet but wasn't able to approach the band (ha! the power of the meet and greet sticker, I suppose!!!!).

Some reflections in the meet and greet:

It was short....

Stella was wearing a t-shirt with a picture of her and Nick from the previous summer. Nick and Kevin both commented on the shirt.

Stella "autographed" the picture of her and Nick and gave it to him! It was hysterical.

Ashlyn was completely and was totally star-struck...She kept giggling and couldn't speak! It was the funniest thing I have ever seen!

All of those boys are extremely gracious!

Overall the experience was AMAZING. Stella and Ashlyn are such sweet little girls and we were so happy that they were able to meet their favorite band and have this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity!" ha!! Here are some pics! Have a great week!!!!