Monday

Whew! It is chilly here today. Last week was uneventful. I am back at tennis. The ankle is almost normal. I understand it will be weak for awhile so I am wearing a brace. I did lose this morning with my old partner from last year,Stacy Steele ( you rock, girl). We put up a good fight and went to a third a set but it went wrong somewhere between my good serving, my bad returns and the few good net shots. Stacy is one of my fave partners! Our court 2 players lost but we did get a point on court one. This season we moved up after winning the whole thing last season. We are playing harder teams and different ladies but the loses are still hard to swallow. We aren't used to losing! No one likes to lose, anyway!

The kids are funny as ever. Jaxx is constantly working on his sense of humor and Jaya has perfected the "princess" role. Jaxx is attached to his new Cardinal Jersey. The Superbowl Fitzgerald! He is pretty excited about the game.

I took a few moments the other day to myself. I just listened to the kids for a few minutes while I ate breakfast and enjoyed life. Remember...taking time to enjoy can remind you of the little things that are big. I just looked out the window and smiled about how life has slowed down a little and I love it. I love my family and exactly what we worked to have.
As I am typing this, I am listening to Jaya laugh and it is contagious.
Have to go kiss some cute cheeks!
Cortney K.

Superbowl baby!

Wow, amazing! I don't know where to start. Jace and I were invited to the game by Jace's mentor, John Ray. It was the Cardinals vs. Eagles and as the signs say "There is only room for one bird in this nest"!

Everyone in Arizona wanted to go to the NFC Championship game. After all, if the Cardinals won, they were headed to the superbowl. The last time Jace and I were part of something like this was when we were at game the World Series game seven for the Diamondbacks. They won and it was an awesome feeling to be in that ballpark for the celebration. As awesome as that was, this was even better.

The crowd was crazy and it started long before we reached we the stadium. Jace spent Saturday looking for the perfect "game" attire for us. Everyone else was also totally decked out. We had to park a long way away (not good for the ankle) so we walked through the crowds of people. There were some Eagle fans too, but they were sparse. The Cardinals fans were pumped and ready for the game. There were chants, high fives, fist bumps, banter, tail gaters, and signs. Wow, were there ever signs. There was face painting, weird hats, temporary tattoos, and more chants. It was an atmosphere that promoted excitement and anticipation. It took us a long time to get to our seats and settled.Once we sat down the real fun started.

I can't remember the names of this all guys group but they did their thing on garbage cans. If at all possible, they pumped up the crowd more.

This was the crowd before the game started.


A total sea of red and white. The Cheerleaders came out and shook their "cheerleaders" (J-licious word for Pom Poms).
Then Arizona's own American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, sang The National Anthem.

This flag was the size of the football field held by servicemen cheerleaders, volunteers and security.
Then our opponents came onto the field and there was hardly any sounds of cheering, understandably.The fans could no longer hold on to their excitement when it was time to greet the stars of the show! White towels were being swung around everywhere!
Look at these fans! Weirdos!

So, the big introduction began... the flags, the fire and the fans. It was absolutely electrifying!

The players came out and the game was starting. Every fan in the place was standing....they never sat down. Not ever. I, however, had an ankle that was throbbing from the walk and was sitting it my seat. It was fine though because I had a good view of the Jumbotron. If it wasn't for that, I would have been looking at rear ends the whole time. I did stand when we scored or made a great play. I just was in awe of the array of emotions in the stands. The faces were telling a whole story. The team that had not been to a Superbowl...ever! Some of these fans must have been die hard fans that were living vicariously through these players.

I can't find the words to explain the noise. It was so loud that you couldn't talk to the person next to you. Your ears hurt it was so loud and they rang for awhile when we left. The roof was closed on the new stadium so the sound just bounced around in there. This was the same stadium that last years Superbowl was played in, so it is state of the art. It was absolutely beyond words. The game itself was great. We scored in the first few minutes and dominated the first half. We did have a few hiccups in the second half. We fell behind at one point after being ahead the entire time. The Eagles did score and it made the game interesting. Cardinals answered back strong though and we pulled out the game with a resounding win.

The fans emotions hit a new high. There were grown men crying and I am not talking about just the players. The fans, men and women, were crying. The BIG GAME was over and the Cardinals are going to the Superbowl. The cheers were deafening.

The celebration had started on the field!

The stage was being rolled out and the confetti was flying. The players, owners and coaches took the stage. It was a complete and udder testosterone party. The Cardinals were not supposed to win. They have always been the underdog and everyone loves an underdog!

So, when it was all said and done and the fat lady sung... The Cardinals are going to Tampa for their biggest game ever. I can't imagine the Arizona Superbowl parties that are being planned now. The fans that cheered, cried, held their signs, yelled for the bad calls, jumped up and down when we scored, high fived complete strangers that sat around them, and STOOD THE ENTIRE TIME are going to start the real party now.

I still can't get over the devotion of fans that have not ever met these players or coaches, yet feel so strongly about them. They invite this team and their stafff into their living rooms every Sunday, during football season, and they feel that they know them. They relate to them through their interviews, their real life tribulations, and the love of the same sport.

The men that played ball but never got to the NFL, the women that take their sons to football practices and games all week, the boys that can't wait to show a scout that they have what it takes to play in the NFL, these are the fans. They only need the one thing in common that they love....Football!

This is the stadium after all the confetti fell.
The fans were still all there. No one wanted to miss a minute of the elation from the win.

As, we left the stadium and started our trek back to the car, it was another party. Fans singing, clapping, jumping, and high fiving EVERYONE THAT WALKED BY. I needed a serious dowsing of antibacterial gel. All I could think of was how many germs I must have on my hands. I finally pulled out my gel got my hands clean only to look up and find more people with their hands up. You don't want to leave them hanging and as much as you don't want to you, you slap 'em up high. After all of us had cleaned our hands once. We just decided to wait til we got to the car to try again. Jace and I found a peddle cab so that I didn't have to walk again so that was great. When John and Gloria got to the car, we tried to leave. It took forever to get out of the parking lot but we were enjoying all the celabratory tire burning, honking and yelling out of the car windows.
All in all, it was a fantastic experience. I never saw one person out of hand. There were so many people but everyone was respectful and friendly. It was something that we won't ever forget and are so happy we were able to be a part.

Thanks, John and Gloria, it was great company and a historical event to experience. Now, I am off to start the planning for OUR Superbowl party!

Cortney K.

Progress Update

Does the theme music give it away?? Pink???

There are still a few things to hang and add but the kids rooms got painted this weekend. I am really pleased with how they turned out and am glad I went with my instinct on color choices. I found out that I am not a bad painter either. The trick is to have all the right tools at your fingertips. Then you don't get frustrated and it turns out well. Here are some pics I took on Monday of J- Licious just sitting in her room before school. She loves the new color too. I mean, after all,what's not to like about pink?

Jaxx's quilt came today so here it is. I love the way all the colors work together but still have some decorating to do.

Now, after seeing this picture, I realize that I need to do something about the curtains too.

I won't share my ideas until they get finished. He loves all the teams on his quilt and he is all jacked up for the new Little League season to start. We will be in a new league now and this one is where Jace grew up so Jaxx loves that idea.

A few last pics of Jaya's room.

I hand painted roses and garland on these pieces of green furniture before Jaya was born and this color really helps show them off much better than the old color! Jaya has a little white tree that is trimed with the appropriate upcoming holiday trim all year round. I love the lights!

I still have to paint the kids playroom after my touch up didn't work out so well but I sprained my ankle on Monday and no painting or anything else will be getting finished in the next few days. It looks really bad but I am sure I will be back on the courts by this weekend. I was taking a lesson on Monday after my match (that we won) and I rolled it. It hurt pretty bad at the time but has gotten much better. Yes, it is black and blue and my foot kind of runs into my toes but it really doesn't hurt to much. I have a sleeve to wear when I start to play tennis again so I don't roll it again while it is weak. I have a high pain tolerance too so maybe it would be hurting someone else. The women in our family are tough, we don't get knocked on our "honey buns" (J-licious word) to easily.

Even the good foot looks bad in this picture which just proves my point that it looks worse than it is :0

Other than this stuff there is nothing much to report. Hope to get some more painting done this weekend. Of course, we will be watching the Cardinal game!

Go Cards!

Cortney K.

Paint!Paint and more Paint!

I don't know how I got on this kick but is has been nothing but painting goin' on here. I am either thinking of paint, looking at paint, or painting. I am usually not a girl that second guesses herself on much, nor really needs anyone else's opinion but I definitely have on these choices. Here is the problem, I know what color I want in my head but then when I go to match in at Home Depot there are way to many to try to match to the one in my head. I mean, do you know how many shades of just white they have?????? Amazing. So, I was inspired by the kids quilts and have wanted to paint their rooms to better match the new quilts. Jaya got her new quilt for her birthday. Do you remember the one I posted when she got her "big girl" bed? http://projectjohnson.blogspot.com/2008/09/thats-what-dreams-are-made-of.html

Well, I thought I wanted to match that pink when I tried to find the match...it looked to "rosy" to me. All the light pinks looked to bubble gummy so I decided on the deepest pink that you see on the pink card. It seems like it will be pretty dramatic and am wondering if I should go with the middle color. I guess I will paint a little and see what it looks like. I love paint, if you don't like it, it can go away with another color ;) Just paint. (hmmm, did you get that stepmother?)

It isn't the exact color but it is the closest that I liked. The camera flash throws off the true color so it is hard to capture. So, I got it mixed today and am going to start that room tomorrow but now I am starting to chicken out. I LOVE color on the wall, but for some reason I am not sure if this will be to much. I guess I will report more in the next few days. I am totally fighting the urge to paint it hot pink, lime green and throw a bunch of zebra accessories in there. I love love love that combo but it seems a little more for a grown up girl. Lord knows that will happen soon enough so that color palette will wait, of course, by then she will be old enough to tell me "no".

Then on to Jaxx's room. Jaxx has had the same quilt and bedding for about 4 years since he was in a his " big" bed when he was about 16 months. It is baseball but a little elementary looking. I have had my eye out for something a little bit more grown up and here it is...

These are the pics from the catalog. I wish I could just have the catalog set people come here :O

It fits the bill perfectly. Not only is it baseball but we ordered the National league so it has his two favorite teams, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks. Papa works for the Rockies and we love the D Backs so it is perfect. Jaxx's room is a pale yellow that was on the wall when we purchased our house. I never changed it because it was o.k. for a little boy but it too looks a little childish now. Well, the quilt is on backorder so I don't have it here to match but decided on a light tan and will use some red somewhere to pick up some color. I am selling Jaxx's old one to offset the cost of the new one. So, I painted Jaxx's room today (until I ran out of paint). I have one wall left. I went with the color that is in the middle of the tan paint card. If you look at the second picture of Jaxx's quilt, they show it with a very similiar color so that will give you an idea.

It is sort of a non descript tan which is so far from my normal love of color but I think it is the best to go with considering the inspiration. Again, the color that you are seeing does not look like the same color I am seeing in person. You will just have to take my word for it but it is a light tan. It looks good on the walls but almost a little boring. I am going to have to paint a red something...somewhere. I will have to report more on that later too.

Yesterday, I went around the house and touched up all the nicks and fingerprints that happen around here and especially after the move. Well, the kids playroom touch up didn't go that well. The paint on the wall and the paint in the can were off, maybe due to sun fade but now I have to paint that room too. It looks so yucky with these spots of the wrong color randomly around the room. I am not looking forward to painting that room since it is just going to be the same color , there is really no reward at the end.

That is all the painting for now. I did paint our "flex" room last week. It turned out great. I want to paint our master bathroom but just can't put my finger on the color yet. That will be the last thing to paint. Then I want to go around and touch up the baseboards and trim. They are white, now what was I saying earlier about white????

Cortney K.

And you thought blogging was stupid?

Not that I will be getting any job offers from MY blog but some people are....
http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-1751-Job-Search-How-To-Job-Search-This-Year/?sc_extcmp=JS_1751_home1&SiteId=cbmsnhp41751&ArticleID=1751&GT1=23000&cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=095751c8a4484276986c8cbcfab70e9b-284750936-R5-4

Just thought it was interesting, since I have people ask me what is the point of blogging? Here is a new reason to blog!
Cortney K.

Jett Travolta

Well, tonight I was going to talk about our week and post pics but it all seems so unimportant on the news about Jett Travolta.

I know this is someone we have not met but it just hits you hard when you read about any family losing a child. This is unspeakable and even the written word can not describe how this family must be feeling. A family that, for all intensive purposes, seemed to have it all and yet they have dealt with a child that has had special needs his whole life. They chose to quietly shelter him and love him for who he was born to be. His father found him to be a person he wanted to be around as often as he could. He took him all over the world with him, not because he was his child but, from the looks of it, because he was his friend. The Travolta's attorney said that their love was "tangible" when you saw them together. How many people would describe your "love" for them "tangible"? That is a pretty strong statement and yet in this picture it seems like just that.

A son holding his father. A son that will hold his father no more ,on this earth, but constantly and forever with his soul.

Seeing parents lose a child has always seemed unnatural but has hit so much closer to home when you have your own children. You are so exposed by this tiny human that grows up with the knowledge that you love them but not the understanding of the true expanse of the love. That everytime they are out of your site, they take a part of you with them that is not back in its place until you see them again. If that time doesn't come the piece is forever gone and never to be replaced by anything.

My tiny life, joys, let downs or accomplishments feel very inconsequential (sp?) at this time. This has once again reminded me to slow down, stop this crazy ride we call life and read to my children, snuggle my children, and tell them again what they mean to me.

I have been taught that God must feel the same way about all of us. He actually knew his son would be crucified for the saving of all his other children and yet still had to suffer through it. That is tangible. So, tangible that it reminds you to step back behind him and let him guide you. He has your best interest just as you do for yours.

God works in odd ways and we must listen carefully for his cues, as they can sometimes be almost silent.

I love my family and want to tell all of you, "I love you" . My heartaches for the loss of the Travolta's family, as it has the losses that my family has suffered. It just doesn't seem like it should be liveable and yet God tells us he is here to gently show us his purpose.

The kids will start to school again tomorrow and I will post an update in a week but until then, remember how fast these days go and linger as long as you can.

Cortney K.