We had a fun Mothers Day weekend. The kids surprised me Saturday taking me to The Melting Pot and the Ballet! We got to see Sleeping Beauty and it was so much fun. Sunday we visited Nana for a while then went to my moms. It was great spending time there visiting my family. I so wish we did that more often.

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Grammy gave the kids their first wedding present!

pics from the last 2 weeks

ADRN banquet

Jerry Seinfeld live

Jerry Seinfeld

The Key2Free gala

cool pic of them playing together

It's been a fun few weeks. Our gala went off amazingly well. The place was packed and we sold almost all of the 55 donated auction items for amazing prices. We were beyond thrilled at the results. I managed to win Josh and I some Seinfeld tickets so we went Saturday night. It was THE BEST SHOW EVER! I have never laughed so hard at a stand up comedy routine. It was just soo good.
The kids are good, they're in the middle of finals. Hannah's about to graduate ya'll. And Jordan will never again be a student in my home. By fall classes, she'll be married. :(

Gonna be a wild and crazy summer.

Hannah's senior prom. Can't believe that this was the last formal for our homeschool career. It's almost over y'all. She was / is so beautiful.

 

I really do wish I could tell you about all the exciting things happening in our organization. Not only are we changing lives, but we get to do exciting, fun things involving meeting with the FBI, Ice, Austin and Travis cty deputies, judges, etc.. I Love that aspect of it. I love being part of changing laws and changing education. (And trying to put away bad guys.) I also love the people I work with. God has assembled quite a team of crazy, different individuals, men and women from all over. We have all sorts of interesting people, plus lots of law enforcement types coming to our gala, so if you haven't registered yet, you're missing out!!

I GOT THE JOB!!!!!
I am so excited. I'll probably start next week. I was hired on the spot and immediately went into an all day training with others who were also hired recently. So if you happen to drive by a model home nearby and see my black Lexus out front, pop in and say hello! I will be in a different one each week. It all depends on who has a need for a fill in.

BTW, I'm not quitting our K2F org, it just doesn't require my attention 7 days a week. There are others who handle the 24/7 care of our survivors. And this new job is only 2-3 days a week.

I have a job interview tomorrow morning. Ya'll please pray for me. Asking God to close the door if it's not right for me and open it if it is.
Between college expenses and a wedding, we are tapped out. I'm going to have to actually contribute for a while instead of just spending. :)
The job is for a hostess in the model homes of new home builders in the area. Part time and flexible schedule, which is good for us.

"My baby in the blue bonnets" - Shileen style

So Jordan needed a more reliable car because hers was on the brink of disaster. Being the giving mother that I am, I gave her my car.  :)  And darn it, that meant I needed a new one! After shopping around I fell in love with a 3 year old Lexus. And here it is. My favorite features? Keyless everything. As long as they are in my purse or pocket I don't need them to unlock the car or to turn it on and drive it. Coolest feature ever. It's so sporty, yet quiet and luxurious. I love it.

You're gonna laugh at me, but I don't care. I had to say goodbye to an old friend today. I actually got teary eyed when I set it down by the trash can and walked away. I even came back and stared at it again and let it sink in. This thing has been around the globe with me for 10 of the most eventful, travel filled, adventurous years of my life. It has seen it all. It is broken, torn and worn out, but it did its job well and has been replaced by a pretty new one. I'm actually thinking of saving it, no that's stupid. Why am I so attached to an inanimate object?? Because of what it represents. I am such a sentimental girl.

We would love to see you at our 1 year gala. It's gonna be great, but would be even better with you there!

For Valentines Day Josh got us a package of dance classes, so we started the Cha Cha class last Monday and tonight is class 2. So much fun. I LOVE dancing.

Mexico!

Josh and I spent a wonderful long weekend in Playa Del Carmen (just the 2 of us) last week. It was heavenly. Loved getting alone time with my man.

Hannah played at the Radiant conference this last weekend. She looked absolutely beautiful.

I served at the resource table with these fabulous ladies

In other KTF news: Our first survivor is in our shelter and doing ok. She's fighting every day the urge to run away. (extremely common problem for these girls that are plucked straight from hell) But she is holding on to hope and staying strong. She wants to succeed in this program and in life. We are very proud of her. I wish I could go into all the details about her story and how she came to us, but then it wouldn't be a "safe" place now would it?

Please pray for us and for her when you think of us.

Sorry I've been MIA, just been busy.
*Our shelter is up and running with our first survivor moving in.
*Josh got me a gift certificate for dance classes for Vday and the dance studio had a free day of dance on Saturday so we went and tried out a bunch to see which dance we wanted to commit to. Turns out we will be learning both the Cha Cha and the Tango.   :)  This came after ruling out alot of others for various reasons, including "the count is all wrong, the steps don't match the music", inability to stay on rhythm, boredom, or uncontrolled laughter. This is gonna be so much fun.
*I hired a wedding coordinator for the "day of". It includes help with tying up all the loose ends right before the big day and coordinating all the vendors and the timeline for the rehearsal and wedding day. I am so excited to get this help that weekend. It takes alot of stress off of me.

Wedding Progress:
photographer - hired
videographer - hired
DJ - hired
venue - hired
dresses - ordered (bridal, bridesmaids, mother)
photo booth - hired
save the dates - sent
pastor - booked

Still need:
florist
cakes
caterer
rentals
decor
invitations
etc

tweets from Hannah..

She is an amazing 17 year old, and her posts are highly entertaining. Here are a few of my favorites from the last few weeks..




Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 10

Because briefing Plessy v. Furgeson without my homecat just isn't the same. pic.twitter.com/8Ac6C9pXtt

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 12

Family size macaroni? Yeah. That's cute. More like Hannah size.

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 7

I commented on Volokh Conspiracy and accidentally sparked a massive debate with constitutional lawyers and professors. Fun times.

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 28

Ted Poe breaking out his Constitution! Yeah buddy!! My kinda guy. pic.twitter.com/TVhc86meGm

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 8

Anyone else still giggle like a 4-year old when your shoes squeak from the rain?... No?... .... yeah me either

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  3h

"We don't have inflation because the people are living too well. We have inflation because the gov't is living too well." -Ronald Reagan

Hannah Karnes ‏@ObsessedPianist Protected Tweets  Jan 28

So I was watching C-SPAN while I do physics when I heard the word "unconstitutional." You have my full attention. Go on.