celebrating saylor's bday by letting the cat out of the bag

My angel turned 6 yesterday! when i knelt in a prayer of gratitude yesterday morning i was so overcome with emotion. i am so grateful for her in our lives. she started not feeling well yesterday and through the night she got very sick and now today is clearly sick. its a bummer to have her sick anytime but right now im worried that this will impeed on surgery plans (and as it always does) makes me wonder if we will land in the hospital unplanned. we did have a little fun party yesterday with 9 of her friends 2 sets of boy twins, and 5 girls. thanks to my generous aunt and uncle, my good friend amy, and my darling little cowgirl storie, we had a successful little pony riding party at the lindon arena that was next to free! cant beat that and it was really fun and memorable for everyone!





the little girl with the crutches is not saylor ... its Ireland. she is as close to saylor's twin as will ever come. they both have SB they are about one month apart in age, they both have blond hair, blue eyes, and the same crutches! and they both love each other! its fun to finally have a friend who understands in the most complete way for saylor and they actually do discuss the ins and outs of SB even at their young age.

ok so the cat ...

so i havent really been ready to let people into my life's goings on as of late. i am not usually that way and to be honest i cant pin point exactly why and i cant even say that i am ready as of right now but the cat is slowly creeping out so i will just let it out and let you in on yet another O'Brien journey that you can follow for in the months to come.

so ... we think ... think ... our house is sold. so let me explain. telling someone your house is sold before the dotted line has been signed is like telling someone your prego at like 2 weeks along! so we have been hesitant. many of you know how badly we need to sell this house. and for those that dont ... well we do. it has become an expense we cannot bear with all the medical bills we continue to acrue. we cant afford saylor and this house and we of course choose saylor!!!! and not implying in anyway its her fault ... it so is not, we just choose that to spend our money on. so its under contract. we received an offer a few weeks ago and we are anticipating the inspection and appraisal today and then should know how solid the deal is. the house is set to close on the 21st of may. we must be out by the 28th.

so your next question ... where are we going if it all comes together? well we dont know yet. we have been looking thats for sure. and we think we have found the "perfect" home for us. meaning its a fixer fo sho! its in good old orem so not going far. it is also bank owned and we have an offer in but no word. forclusures require patience. banks are frustrating to work with. anyhow in the meantime of either getting and fixing the house we so desire or finding a new one we will be going to my grandmothers vacant home for a few months.

so in the next four weeks potentially we are moving (thus all the selling of items .. .more to come BTW) hopefully closing our new home and starting reno's and doing 4 weddings including my brothers, and saylor's not one but 2 big surgeries! all while adjusting to the idea of such things and end of school year chaos ... so you see i am on the verge at every and any given moment of emotional breakdowns. so please please please keep our family in your prayers we really need the added faith and strength a good support system offers.

want some stuff?

so we need to sell off some stuff and declutter our lifes in anticipation of something exciting possibly maybe (more to come) so we need to get rid of ....

2 christmas trees - one is a 7' prelit martha stewart in great condition, the other is a 9' not prelit but gorgeous barely flocked very elegant tall tree. we will give them away to a blog responder for free if you will please come get them.

broyhill white double/queen bedroom set - it includes headboard/footboard & side rails for the bed, a dresser, a cedar chest & a mirror. we would like to get at least $200 for this set.

darling vintage iron headboard/footboard that is painted pink and antiqued sooo cute. we want at least $35 for this.

we also have 2 lovesacs ... one is the big huge one and it is covered with the suede olive cover come and get it! only $75 and the other is a movie sac size and it has a soft blue cord cover $50

air hockey table - loads of fun! great condition $100

nordic track treadmill in great condition! barely used .... of course! $200

a BIG screen TV $100

1 kitchen table .. old skool but free



if your interested in any of these items please email me at audreyobrien@msn.com

celebration!

we have a lot of reasons to celebrate this week! exciting times. this coming tuesday saylor turns 6! every milestone means a great deal to our family and every day with this astonishing little gal is a huge blessing! the other reason ... WRESTLING IS OVER! season is finished ... so demanding and so long its finally over! yeah!!!!

first place

so this last saturday saylor was in a horse show ... or rather competition i should say. we havent had much horse show experience but this was not what we expected at all. it was very competition like and judged and all that. saylor's sweet riding coach sabrina went to great lengths and generosity to make this experience possible for saylor. i dont know that we even realized how much she was doing for us till we got there. kind of made me feel bad. anyhow saylor competed in 3 events, all 3 were young girls under 8. i was so proud of her in the first event because it was all about riding proper and how you hold yourself and the reins and if you can make the horse do basic stuff. she did so much better then the other kids, her pose was excellent and the judges interviewed her and were absolutely smitten! she took first of course, the next event was a double pole race and she took 2nd and then a single pole race and she took first again. it was really fun. i am so proud of her and so glad that she continues to have this in her life!

i heart things vintage

this is one of my most prized pieces of anything material in my home. i love vintage things and this speaks to me! it was my grandmothers and i have always loved it. she passed away last fall and it was the one thing i really wanted of hers ... now it graces my house and i think it does a fine job! i heart vintage sentimental things. thanks grandma :)

less barbie ... more eggs

so i am finishing my 2nd full week of hitting the gym EVERY single day (but sunday) at SIX am. i have a few words to say about the experience. i have been motivated to loose some weight and find me under this flubber suit for a while. but i havent been willing to get out of bed early to do it until recently. for several months i have been hitting the gym like 3 times a week usually while the kiddies are at skool ... not sufficient enough apparantly. so a good friend talked me into this nonsense and the result is this ...

less barbies ...

you know who you are and you know who i am talking about if your not one of them (most of us arent) so barbies are not good for me .... not good for my inner self soul image. at 9am there are WAY more barbies at the gym then at 6am. i think they cant get out of bed that early save a small few of them. and the people that are at the gym that early .... well they dont care and either do i what we all look like at that moment. so not to say i dont like barbies ... I DONT! i think they are bad for the image of a woman/girl but i have a few barbie friends and i adore them ... just not their bodies ... well ok i adore their bodies but its really all around a adore/hate relationship. my body wont do that ... never has never will.

the benefits are many and one of them is the incredible edible egg ...
let me explain the cons first .. there really is only one for me and its that it never gets easier to get out of bed that early for me and i never feel full of energy! i talk myself into going EVERY single morning. but the pro's are so many! first off i get to spend me time doing something for me not for someone else and not at the sacrafice of anothers time, second i get to hang with some great friends that mean a great deal to me, third i feel way better about myself and i think i am finally slowly peeling the flubber away, fourth i have more energy ... kind of, fith the house is usually clean before the kids even go to skool and we get A LOT done in the morning including a better breakfast, something i have never ever been good at and still am not but my kids are getting eggs more often then cereal these days, sixth i get way more done in the day because so much gets done in the morning! seventh i just overall feel way better about life and thats a bit crucial for me these days considering there is so much coming at me to bring me down!

thank you barbies for forcing me out of the gym at your time you have greatly improved my life!

hebrews 12:1-2

"wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith ...."

its been a long hard emotional week. its hard to put into words the fire that is burning in this house. i see now how so many of my thoughts and the thoughts of others inspired to tell me were preparing me for this prompt arrival of saylors understanding that has resulted in many tears, lots of questions, some anger & lots of heart aches .... like really hurting of the heart. i can only pray that i am doing this the right way. she is so amazing. how can one be so extrodinary? it moves me in the hard times, in the easy times, in every time.