The mystery of the bird killer

Brandon (the most incredible husband) bought me a new truck almost a year ago. It looks like this (although this is not mine).....



I love this truck! It has tons of room. And I can put the dogs in the "way back" and their dog hair does not get all over the place. PLUS....when B and I have a family and we need the extra space....we have it!

As much as I love this truck...it does have a down side. It's a bird-killing-maniac, hell bent on destroying our winged friends (no...I don't think I am over reacting). In less than one year, I have been the helpless co-pilot to numerous tweety deaths (maybe 8 birds in one year...that's a lot).

I can not help but wonder if it has something to do with my truck being white? It's not a hybrid....and I do not drive slow...so it's not an extremely quiet vehicle. I drove a tiny Honda (similar to a souped up go-cart) that NEVER executed any birds....so why now? Are birds more daring these days?

Allow me to share the first feathered friend's encounter with my truck....
Brandon and I are driving to the grocery store for a normal Sunday morning task. It's a sunny, happy, LIVELY kind of day.

Me: I love my truck. *naturally*

Suddenly....a group of yellow finch fly right in front of my truck. There must have been at least 10 of them. I am sure I hit one of them.

*I scream....like a heroin generally screams in a horror movie*

15 seconds pass...nothing happens

Me: Maybe we didn't hit them! *with a hint of hopefulness*

Seriously, the second I say that...my little yellow friend must have released from the grill of my truck and smashed into the windshield....right at my eye level. Feathers are flying all over the place. (This is seriously how it happened)
*Of course, we both scream, JUST LIKE they scream in horror movies during the shocking scenes*

That was only the beginning. Since that day, many sweet birds have lost their battles with this four wheeled attacker, my truck.

I have considered driving down the street and honking my horn rhythmically....you know, preemptive strategy? Any suggestions? Anyone else have this problem? Is it the color of my car? Karma? My destiny???

I need this to end, as my conscious can not handle being the co-pilot of this bird-assassinator any longer.

Our answers.....

This blog was written many months ago...and held onto. I have updated it, obviously, along the way. But here is a very small peek into the struggle our hearts have felt for the past months!

I have known since I was a very little girl that I wanted to be a mother some day. Growing up I wanted lots of kids. As a young woman in high school and even college I always said I wanted 7 kids by Jackie Chan (why him? Umm hello...it's Jackie Chan) Having a large family is a dream I have had most of my life, much like many women. As Brandon and I approached this point in our lives we agreed to disagree on the number of children we would have. He wants 2, I want 3-5. We just assumed it would be something that would be worked out on it's own by determining our personal abilities to be parents (like that matters), our financial situations, and how much we even liked our kids (haha).

I guess we never considered the fact that we couldn't get pregnant. There aren't little girls out there having dreams of infertility. Playing "house" where the 'wanna-be mommy and daddy' have to go see specialists just to be a parents. Thankfully as children we don't think that way. Unfortunatlely, as adults.....we don't think that way.... unless we have to.

In the back of our minds, we knew our process wouldn't be easy. We both had a feeling something wasn't exactly right. Thankfully we did not wait longer than 8 months of trying to go to the doctor and get things checked out.

So, here we are, 11 months into trying to conceive. Eleven months...it does not seem that long to those who struggled for years to get pregnant. But, for anyone who has had to wait, 11 months can seem like a lifetime. Each month like a personal let down. It's own little heart breaker....back to the drawing board/waiting game. This struggle isn't something I have kept to myself (although I have not blogged about it..until now). Our families and some of our friends have been through each month right by our sides. Each doctors visit and some of my tears (tears of sadness, but mostly frustration).

And here we are, 11 months of trying to conceive and we finally have some answers. I am thankful we have answers (and we must have some answers, as I promised Brandon I would not post this blog until we knew something for sure).

And here it is...The only option Brandon and I have for our own biological children is IVF ICSI. Basically...in vitro fertilization. It's a mouthful, I know. But, just knowing has brought so much relief to my heart!! Today I am more hopeful than I have been in a long time...and my grin is nearly ear to ear!

And our new journey begins. And I will have to learn to not ask "why us?" I will have to let go of the anger that I sometimes feel for the paths we have to take. This is not a set back, this is our life. This is the way it was planned for us. This is the time to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and attempt to walk with our heads high. Tears are okay, but continuing with our lives is a MUST. That, we know for sure. And we finally have our answers....

No worries

I am still alive! Although I have not posted anything new in 10 days, I do promise to have some updated posts in the near future!

As of right now...
Brandon and I are enjoying the new series Life!
I was a huge fan of Planet Earth....and Blue Planet! So...naturally, Life is right up my alley! Although I still cringe at some of the predator moments.

What's the deal with these new Volkswagen commercials? Weren't we all raised to only slug another if it was a VW Beetle or bug? I don't think our arms will fare well if we slug one another EVERYTIME we see a VW. So..consider this your fair warning. If you slug me over a VW station wagon or passat....I am likely to haul off and knock you off your block. Or...at the very least...pretend to. Consider yourself warned.

Game #1, Known from here on as "Thanks for the ego-boost"

Rules are put in place to keep sports fun, controlled, and safe. Without rules...chaos can occur.

Generally...rules keep us from getting hurt. Did you know there are actually rules that keep your ego from getting hurt? Yep. It's called the "slaughter rule." (I know...classy name) The slaughter rule happens when one team is winning by an insane amount of runs. (Just an example 23-3....just an example) Basically it's a time saver. One of those...there is no way in heck you can come back to win this game, so let's just get it over with already...kind of rules.

The Inglorious Batters took the field last night for our debut softball game. Did we win? Did we "slaughter" the other team? Hmmm. What we did DO....we had LOADS of fun. In the parking lot. After the game.

Below...Drew, Samantha, and I- celebrating our first game and learning the valuable lesson that winning isn't everything. And when you lose...cold beer clearly helps!



And for the record...
They might as well call the slaughter rule the "pity rule"....because I didn't feel like my ego was shielded at all. In fact, I find it more embarrassing that they "felt so sorry for us" they went ahead and ended the game. The Inglorious Batters may not be overflowing with natural talent...but thankfully we each have an unusual amount of confidence! So..should this occur again, hopefully we can make it through. With our confidence....and cold beer (which are basically the same thing..right?).

Oh my gosh...It's April!

First, Happy Easter to all!

Second, a one day early Happy Birthday shout out to JoElla! Tomorrow she will celebrate her 28th (OMG) birthday! And for these brief few weeks....we are equal in age (you could almost say I am younger...ok no, you can't). So...no "old lady" jokes until May! TAKE THAT!

Today I returned to Cokesbury United Methodist Church. I started attending Cokesbury about 6-8 months ago, but have not been in quite a while. I am so thankful that I not only got my act together this morning so that I could return, but that I attended today's Easter Worship! One of the best things about Cokesbury's West Campus (the location I attend) is the music. Contemporary services have come a long way over the years and are truly a complete 180 degrees different from the style of service I grew up attending. The music during this service can take your breath away. Guitars, harmonicas, drums, saxophones, electric guitars...and I kid you not, today there was a cow bell! It took all I had to not stand and say "I need more cowbell! MORE COWBELL!" When I decided to start looking around at new churches, I had already convinced myself that I would not enjoy a contemporary service. Why? I have no idea. I am so grateful that I gave Cokesbury a chance. I love it there....it's a church that gets me. And people my age. And younger people. Even if you are happy with the church you attend, give a contemporary service a try...just to see! Maybe it's not your thing...but I guarantee you will be grateful for the experience!

We have been doing a lot of work in the yard the last couple of weeks. I went against my better judgement and started filling in some of my flower beds with flowers. I am keeping my fingers crossed we don't get another hard freeze. These 80 degree days are a real tease...but hopefully the warmth will continue. This afternoon I plan to trim the hedges in our front garden. This should be interesting since I don't normally do this. I am taking it on myself to complete this task...without my husband's knowledge.

Brandon is unaware of my afternoon activity as he is on his first long motorcycle ride of the season. And as motorcycle weather approaches, I begin my season of extra prayers and breath holding. I am rarely concerned with Brandon's actions or driving on the motorcycle and more concerned with other drivers who are NOT accustomed to paying attention to riders! Safe travels B! And hopefully you don't come home to butchered hedges! Maybe I should do some before and after pictures?? The can be submitted as evidence in the future if needed!

Enjoy this day! Rejoice!
And Love one another!

UPDATE: I wish I could say that Brandon got home earlier than expected (although he did) and this was the reason I never trimmed our hedges. The truth, though, is that I went outside and took a long hard look at our shrubs. It was more than I wanted to tackle....and instead, decided on spending my time on the back porch painting my nails! Oh well...still time well spent!