Ok, Let me see if I can see through these blurry tears to imbed this video I just watched.



I've seen this story several times, about a father who trained for triathlons all because his disabled son had a dream to complete them. But I'm not sure if I've ever seen it as a parent.

Lord, when all is said and done, let it be said of me that I loved my family this selflessly. I'm an imperfect parent without your Grace. Love them through me!

Camp Bonita- June 15th-20th

For the 3rd year in a row all the Baileys (Joseph, Crista, and Luke) Joined the ranks of volunteers for Kids Camp at Camp Bonita north of Ruidoso, NM. This was Joseph’s 4th year actually. He’s the one that got the Baileys on the Kids camp train.

Camp Bonita is a week in the mountains, praising the Lord and loving on kids. It is always TONS of work, but oh so worth it. I love it! I’m already doing the math so I can time it just right to have a baby around the camp schedule. Maybe I’m kidding, if only a little.

Even though Luke is 1 ½, this is how he counts for 3 years:
Year 1 2006: Luke in utero (I was 4 months prego), Year 2- 2007” Luke 7 months, Year 3-2008 Luke 19 months.

You may feel that the prego year didn’t count for Luke attendance. On the contrary! Hiking up mountains, carrying all the camp nurse supplies and wearing myself out taking care of 300 kids--it counts. I was very aware that Luke was there with me.

But, I digress.

This year was especially fun for all of us because Luke really got into playing with the other kids and was very aware of all of the fun. He was a champ! He missed a lot of sleep, but was a real trooper!

He went to Band practice while Mom and Dad rehearsed:


Ate Plenty of dessert:


And rekindled old friendships with Carol who works in the cafeteria. Sweet Carol. She remembered us!
2007- 7 months old (Luke, not Carol)
2008: Luke is 19 months

God did some amazing things in the lives of the kids and counselors.
For instance, in my previous camp nurse experience, there was a slew of illness and injury, to the point where I was overwhelmed and a few ER visits transpired. This year, as all of the onslaught started on the first night, Pastor Randy prayed for healing and wellness over the entire camp. And, would you know it, medically speaking I was pretty bored (compared to previous years)! PRAISE THE LORD! That’s how we nurses like it!

Also, Ruidoso is in the middle of a pretty bad drought. The kids had compassion on Ruidoso and even though it would affect camp activities, they prayed for rain to come. The weather report showed 0% chance of Rain and God was merciful and it rained that day!!


Testify!

That’s my new "Jesus form" of “Holla!” Think it will catch on?

Me neither.

No Longer Scared of the "Big Boy Tub"

May

So, hey, Crista. How's that "documenting your family" going?

Fine, thank you. I've written several blogs in my head. You haven't read them?

Oh. Ok here's the Cliffs Notes.

May 7th: The Baileys packed up and headed to Burleson for my mom's retirement reception. Mom is an elementary school teacher in the public school system. She's served 24+ years to molding young minds and she is fabulous at it! The time has come to leave the public school system behind to embrace the private school sector. We're so proud of you Mom!

On a funny note, the reception honored several teachers that were retiring and the emcee asked for each retiree to introduce their family who had come to celebrate with them. It was really great for my mom to be able to introduce all of us as we were all able to make it, even my dad who had to work extra hard to fly in from Chicago. Well, it came around to one precious lady who stood and said "No one is here with me today, I'm alone." Quickly the emcee repiled "you're not alone, we are your family!" This was met by the crowd responding with affectionate versions of "yeah! yeah, we're your family!" The room soon quieted and from my arms I heard Luke's sweet little voice respond "Yeah!"

May 10th: My Sweet friend Jennifer threw a Mother's Day brunch for her friends. Very sweet!

May 12th. (Deep breath. *gulp*) I turned 30.

There it is. I said it. That's taken a lot of positive self talk to admit openly! Really it didn't hurt that bad. It does sting a little each time I answer the "how old are you?" question or when I check the age 30-39 demographic on questionnaires. I'm sure this pain will dull with time.

I awoke to the smell of Bacon. Awesome, right? JB had gotten up early to make very yummy breakfast burritos and took me and Luke on a breakfast picnic. It was so fun and thoughtful! We fed ducks, played on the playground. Good times.

That night, the same sweet Jennifer as above helped JB throw a birthday party for me. It was a good night of friends, Sam's pizza and cake. Does it get better? I submit that it does not!

May 16th: Joseph's sister Keri and her husband Chad gave us an overnight date! It was complete with childcare, Outback gift card and a local hotel room. It was fun to go to a movie and a late dinner and linger over coffee and have adult conversation. This was a present for both of our 30th birthdays and we are so grateful. Such generosity!

The rest of the month was a fun mix of dinner with friends, baby birthday parties and a few photo shoots with JB.

And who could forget Memorial Day slip-n-slides with the Hoes family?


It was a good May.

There are the Cliff's Notes. Pop Quiz on Monday.

Luke Tells a Joke

Mas Queso?

My New Favorite Picture

My Boys


And the talent behind the view finder? That's right. Yours truly. Ok, ok, JB set up the lighting, the timing, the background and even edited it, but the glory always goes to the one who pushed the button.

This is my moment. *bask*

An Answer

You are lying in bed. It's dark, the house is quiet. If only you could sleep, but your mind keeps racing around one question. Does it have an answer? Could anyone even know the depths of it?

The Question that won't let you rest:

"What would Delta Airlines' response be should I ever (minimally) be of assistance in helping save someone's life in-flight?"

You can rest now. I have the answer and it came via USPS.



It's not round-trip first class airfare to Hawaii, but it was thoughtful. I seriously wasn't expecting anything other than legal hassle when they asked for my address.

Sleep tight.

Happy Birthday Joseph!

This past weekend we celebrated Joseph's birthday. But not just any birthday. The big 3-0.
How do you create a special day for someone who can read you with just a glance? How do you surprise someone who is always on the lookout?

Well, I think I did it!

I was going for memorable. Thus, the Joseph Bailey T-shirt was created. With the help of a t-shirt genius, Scott, we had shirts made of Joseph. It features a picture of Joseph with a handlebar mustache (which he shaved down from a beard just to gross me out) and the slogan "Thirty, Flirty, and Thriving."

I cooked a huge breakfast and invited friends from our life group. Said friends were gracious enough to get in on the t-shirt gag and purchased their own and wore them to the breakfast as a surprise to JB. It was priceless!

The day of the party, I asked Joseph if he could help me by getting Luke dressed in what I set out for him while I finished up cooking. (Luke had a shirt with just JB's face as it was too small for the text) While I am in the kitchen laughing hysterically, Joseph comes in and says "Crista, who's on his shirt?" Amidst my laughing he exclaims "Is that me?!?!?!?"

I give him a shirt to wear and he appreciates the gag and congratulates me on catching him off guard.

Slowly the rest of the plot becomes obvious to him. First with: "do you have a shirt too?", then: (in embarrassed shock) "who else has one of these shirts?" Finally as people started arriving wearing the aforementioned shirt, he just shook his head in disbelief and said "Holy cow, Crista, you got me."

Insert victory dance here.

Here's some pics so you can enjoy the magic too.

Here's the birthday boy:
Those in attendance at breakfast:
Everyone making the face JB is making in the photo on the shirt
Luke in the Shirt. He kept pointing to the artwork and saying "da da!"

To add to the fun, people were wearing the shirts at worship band practice the next morning and some even wore them to first service at church. Kudos to Todd who wore it the entire morning on stage for 3 services while playing the drums.


This kind of gag really never goes away. For years to come we will be reminded of Joseph in all his handlebar stache glory.

Love you JB!!

It's Me Again

So here’s a u-turn. I’ve been on a 2 year hiatus from blogging because I feel I have run out of fodder as it pertains to my subject matter.

A brief reference:

Previous blog: outrageous/bizarre stories related to my career as a nurse, car owner, telemarketing victim.

New Blog: Document my family. I know I’ll wish I did if I don’t!

I dread knowing that my blog will now be a tad boring and full of stuff you may care nothing about, but to me it will be priceless. I bet your heart does not twitter when my son learns a new word or tells his first joke, but boy mine does! So here, I will document what happens in the Bailey Palace, what the Lord whispers deep in my heart, and a little bit of ridiculousness. You can read along if you’d like, or just visit when you feel the urge to refresh yourself about the adventures of Ms. Miller or Ms. Jones. Those ladies are always a good read.

So buckle up, we’re making a u-turn. And I’m baaaaa-aaack!

P.S. The picture was a little present from Joseph.

Sheesh

So..funny story….
I went to a Life Group meeting last night which also happened to be a potluck dinner. I was wearing a maroon maternity shirt, as I am building quite a bump.
I walked out of the restroom which was next door to the playroom where the children were playing.
At that time I overheard one of the girls say in disgust to her friend, “Did you see the lady in the maroon shirt with the kinda fat tummy? She was eating a cupcake!”

Guess she didn’t know WHY I had a “kinda fat tummy” I should probably still lay off the cupcakes, though!

Conspiracy Theory

I try not to practice paranoia, but I think there is a largely neglected conspiracy in the Universe. I have not heard of any research grants for this, nor have I really met anyone in a panic to push legislation to initiate them either.

I’m talking about the alternate universe to where all spare socks go. I have no less than 20 single socks-very cute socks in fact-that are absolutely useless to me. I’ve turned every couch cushion, searched under every bed and cleaned out all the drawers at one point or another, only to end my search dejected and confused.

I’m afraid to buy more socks. What will keep those from falling prey to this unseen danger?

I just wanted to raise awareness.

Hats are Dropping

They say in pregnancy, the surge of hormones can make your emotions sway from one extreme to another. They (whoever “they” is) say that it makes you cry at the drop of a hat.

Now, I submit that I am immune to this and that every time of the 5 times I cried yesterday was for a completely rational reason. Even the biggest grouse would have reacted the way I did.

Well, maybe not. I cried at 3 email forwards, a pharmaceutical research company commercial, and Deal or No Deal. But that Howie Mandel is a really touching guy! The contestants have to make really hard decisions! It’s gripping!

I know, even though I’ve spent my entire life trying not to be, I’m nothing more than a statistic.

Exasperation Defined

I am trusting. That is different from naive. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps that is why I believed the telephone survey guy when he asked for a moment of my time.

Webster says a "moment" is : 1 a : a minute portion or point of time : INSTANT b : a comparatively brief period of time.

I asked this man what was his definition of a "moment". He replied that he only required 3 minutes. THIRTEEN minutes later I had answered every invented useless question related to taco establishments.

He asked me if I had ever eaten at an establishment named "Baja Fresh".
I answered No.
The very next question was "Do you like Taco Bueno or Baja Fresh better?"
My answer: "I don't know what Baja Fresh is"
Next question: "How would you rate the cleanliness of Baja Fresh versus Taco Bell?"
My answer: "I don't know what Baja Fresh is"
Next question: "Do you eat at Baja Fresh a. one time a week, b. 2-3 times a week, c. 5 times a week, d.--"
I couldn't let him finish. "Seriously, I can't answer any questions about Baja Fresh"
"Ok Ma'am, I'm sorry. Now, would you recommend Baja Fresh to your friends?"

What I do recommend to my friends is to hang up if the survey guy asks you for "3" minutes of your time.

The "Not-So-Easy-Button"

Is life getting too easy? I just used a calculator for double digit addition. I think that the key to preventing the demise of our intellect in the society of the “easy button” is to implement a “not so easy button”.

What if your calculator refused to solve simple problems? The readout would say…. "Duh. Do it yourself!"

What if the TV remote control did not work at close range?

What if your car went into “penalty phase” after you drove less than ½ a mile to a destination? I drive 2 blocks to the gym to work out.

What if email only allowed “x” number of correspondences before a face to face or “real letter” was initiated?

Nah, I like easy.

Is There a Doctor in the House?

There is at my house!

Congrats to my husband Burrojoe for passing his dissertation defense on Friday!

Now he's Dr. Burrojoe.

He's brainy AND Cute! Beat that ladies!

Cars are no longer People

And the saga continues again...(and then abruptly ends. Then begins, then ends.)

Summer 1997-In comes the 1992 Silver Mitsubishi Eclipse originally named Joshua after my favorite U2 Album, Joshua Tree. You know how God changed people’s names in the bible to better suit them? That is why I changed the name of this car to "Saul of Tarsus". This is because he was persecuting Christians---me especially.

I learned very quickly it was a bad idea to buy a car from a man named Sam who knew little English and operated out of a building the size of a snow cone stand. Also, a valid reason for choosing one car over the other was not that it had a cooler CD player. That aside, it took 3 engines, 2 timing belts, 3 radiators and a myriad of other things to go wrong with it before I had finally had enough. My sweet parents had to finance all of the above as I was a poor college student, so they should be bitterer than me.

I can count no less than 15 places in town where I have broken down. It seems like all of the places I broke down were abandoned hotels, Adult book stores, dark, scary gas stations on the bad side of town. Once this car broke down simultaneously with the onset of a stomach virus. Bad Day.

Now with the spirit of optimism, I would like to point out, that through these experiences I met some wonderful people...among them Benny the mechanic, his wife and (before Benny took charge of the repair) the other random people that would wait at Pep boys during my several hours there. That's where the sweet fluffiness ends.

When Joseph and I finally traded "Saul of Tarsaus" in, we were less excited about our new car purchase than getting rid of that car. We laughed like little children all the way home!

It was after this car that I stopped naming my automobiles. If they were going to let me down this much, I could no longer trust them or be respectful of them, so they became just another piece of machinery to me. Sad, that I had to become this way, because the 4 cars after that were super dependable and don’t deserve my indifference or wrath. Sometimes life (or a car) jades us beyond repair, no mechanic pun intended. But that’s just the way it is!

Cars Cars and more Cars

So the car drama continues.... 1995-1997 Black 1992 Chevy Cavalier named Job. Job earned his name for all the trials I put him through and he still remained faithful. He was quite possibly the most dependable car of my teenage life. Until John Cathy wrecked it coming back from Sigma Alpha formal. Not bitter, but my car dependability life suffered greatly after it.

Spring 1997 Blue and rust (all natural) colored 1985 Honda Accord. Named appropriately P.O.C.O. which stood for Piece-O-Crap-O. However annoying that you had to fill the tires every time you drove, POCO had his charms and served me well for the short time I drove him. For instance, how loveable is a car that had power lock (singular). The back left passenger door was the only one that worked when you hit the power lock button. Very convenient for that passenger, not so convenient for the others. POCO was actually a loaner from my brother, so thanks Brad!

This is the mundane area. Sweet memories for me, probably a pretty boring read for you. I would hate to skip these cars in my brief history of cars, as they played a role in the feelings and drama to be unfolded in the next blog about Saul.

So all of you who have been praying for patience, consider me a tool of the Lord and this blog as your first trial!

Cars are people too

A car can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I’ve learned in my short 12 years of driving that this can be true. I think car ownership has possibly even jaded my world view a bit. I’m not near as trusting as I was at the tender age of 16.
And thus begins a brief history of my automotive life.

We'll start with the first car and gradually continue.

1994- My first car was a blue 1987 Mazda. I named him Melton. Melton seemed like a chariot of freedom but strangely he smelled strongly of gas. I asked my dad if this was odd, as I had splitting headaches from the fumes every time I drove. I’m not just talking a scent….I’m talking OVERWHELMING stench of gas. A year later, when looking under the hood of my car, my dad noticed that gas was actually spurting on the engine. Amazing that I’m alive

Another adventure encountered with Melton:

Suprisingly modern for its age, Melton had a full digital dash; digital odometer, spedometer, gas tank readout. Typically you can depend on such gages, but with Melton, you could only depend on them if the temperature out side was 90 degrees or higher. Needless to say, I got everywhere VERY quickly (it's not speeding if you don't know how fast you are going, right?) and I ran out of gas OFTEN. Seven times? Now don't judge me. You may have run out too in these circumstances. Or maybe not. It did get to where I would call home from some strange place (pre-cell phone days) and say "guess what?" to which my parents would immediately ask "AGAIN?"

I may be the only person on record to get grounded for running out of gas.

I guess that all of us can't be in a hall of fame. But maybe this is mine.

stay tuned for the adventures with Job and Saul.

Kinda fits the "Optimist Club Title" donchathink? (aka...I'm so predictable!)

Your Candy Heart Says "First Kiss"

You're a true romantic who brings an innocent hope to each new relationship.You see the good in every person you date, and you relish each step of falling in love. Your ideal Valentine's Day date: a romantic dinner your sweetie cooks for you Your flirting style: friendly and sweet What turns you off: cynics who don't believe in romance Why you're hot: you always keep the romance alive

What Does Your Candy Heart Say?