Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!  It has been a great holiday year at our house this year, and I do know how wonderfully blessed and lucky we are!  It's very odd to have two kids so far about in ages.  It's almost like we have two only children.  We have a second grader and a one year old and sometimes I feel like we have one or the other.  It's been tricky to shift my gears from reading and writing and homework to can she feed herself with a sippy cup and a spoon.  Sometimes I think, "Hey!, I've already tackled and conquered that."  Only to remember of course, that while one child has, we still have another to go.  Oh me, on my, why do I mentally move on when reality is still coping with actuality?

This year was a budget Christmas, and it wasn't too difficult because I knew it would be and I planned ahead and started purchasing gifts in early November.  The only problem with pre-purchasing your gifts is that as new toy commercials hit the television, Laney would change her mind about what she wanted.  I found myself thinking, several times, "I hope she remembers she liked that last month!"  Alas, there was nothing to worry about as Laney is a very gracious and kind 7 year old, and Christmas Eve found her saying to herself, while rapidly throwing wrapping paper over her shoulder, "This is the best dream I ever had!"  I'm not sure why she said she was dreaming in the middle of opening the gifts, but I'm going to take that as her dreams were coming true and that toy she got was beyond her imagination.  Lindsay of course, had no clue what was going on, and she carried around her first present for 10 minutes before moving on to carrying around the second gift.

Now that we live far away from my family again, I found myself thinking of them several times and missing them a lot for our Christmas traditions.  Arlin and I don't really have any Christmas traditions because we have usually spent every holiday with either his family or mine.  The years when we haven't gone anywhere in particular, have been very few and so we now have the challenge of setting up our own traditions.  I think it will get better as time goes on, but we found our Christmas to be very quiet and full of baby naps and quiet playing of the DS by Laney.  We ate and ate and watch some movies to entertain the adults, but it doesn't feel the same without a large gathering of family.

While it has been a good year, I am so glad this year is almost over with it's ups and downs and challenges galore.  We are facing froward and moving on at my house, and I'm already planning to see all the good things 2011 has in store for me!  Merry Christmas everyone!

Open for Business

Some how I got to be in this boat ... this tub of business ownership.  I swore when I was small I would never own a business.  Working for "the man" was fine by me.  I knew it was fine by me because I watched my father, who ran his own busineess, deal with the stresses of business ownership, and I wanted no part of any other those stresses!  My husband, had other plans for his life and we've owned more than 4 business.  Each of which has been larger than the one before, more complicated, more financially stressful, and more meaningful if successful.  I thought I would do a list of pros and cons because sometimes I forget the good and the bad of this situation I'm in because I'm too busy just surviving the details. 

I am all about being an employee for the following reasons:

1. I know my paycheck comes right on time, every time, no matter how well I performed
2. I don't have to worry about how my coworkers are doing as far as bringing in money
3. I don't have to worry about how snow days are not equal to income
4. I don't have to worry about paying taxes on other people's income
5. I don't worry about how labor laws take even more of my profits away from me
6. No one assumes employees are "rich" just because they are called an "employee"
7. When I clock out, my work day is done and I can worry about the things that are important to my personal life
8. I don't have to worry about another entire set of bills or budgets, or anything really!

Why I'm not all happy skippy about being a business owner:

1. Snow days eat into profit.  If your shop doesn't open you can't sell anything
2. You have to pay taxes not only on your profit, but on your inventory, your employee earnings, your thought, your hopes and your dreams
3. Everyone assumes you are "rich" and then begin to "borrow" (read steal) things that do not belong to them because you're so "rich" you have enough money to buy more!
4. You have to worry about how the employees treat each other and if they make it a good or bad work envirnoment for each other, if they lie, steal, or cheat on each other, and if they lie, steal, or cheat you OR your customers
5. You have to out smart more than 10 people to out think them, provide before they realize they lack, and to know everything about everything.  You are considered a tax expert, a health care law expert, a city and state law expert, and/or an industry expert
6. You are personally invested in something you have almost no control over -- you depend on other people's actions so much so they have the chance to defeat you before you know it, if you don't stay on your a - game
7. Vacations cease to exist, you are forever tied to a payroll period, a holiday staffing nightmare, a broken phone, a broken computer, etc., etc., etc.
8. The business does not return any investment money to the owner for years! In fact, it often requires a steady influx of personal money.  Such money must be gathered by loan, by credit, or through hard work at a "second job", a full time job, which is acutally the job that pays for the bills and the buiness to keep going.

Why I am happy to be a business owner:

1. I am the boss and what I say goes ... at least until there is a law against it!

Two Kids

I know most of my friends have more than two children, but some have none and some have one just like we used to.  Lately, I've been thinking about the status of being the oldest child.  I am not the oldest child, but I have one who plays one on tv.  She is actually, a really great kid and we can't complain about having her around in the least.  I do wonder sometimes though if she feels like she is getting the raw end of the deal for being the oldest kid.  Laney is 7 now and while she still enjoys hugs and cuddle time, she wants to do it on her own schedule and not when we feel like doling out the love.  Babies are trapped.  They have to let you hold them and kiss them all over, and the best part is they don't know any different.

So usually when I get home from work, I walk upstairs to greet the family.  Laney looks up at me and smiles, and returns to her tv/toy/project.  Lindsay squeal, and comes racing (well, army crawling as fast as she can) over to me with the most excited grin on her little face.  She is downright beside herself to see me and thinks there is nothing better in the world than mommy getting home.  So I have what I would consider a natural reaction, and laugh, smile and pick her up and kiss her little face and head all over.  After a couple of minutes of this, I tell myself to stop, and then I make a concentrated effort to be smiley and lively and kissy to Laney.  She doesn't usually let me kiss her too much, but she does a little.  I know as the kids grow up they cool when it comes to displays of affection (I remember doing it to my parents), but I have this great fear that Laney will see us being so excited and animated with Lindsay that she'll one day think Lindsay has all of our love. 

We tell her in words and are sure to be excited to see her too, but you know how people are about babies.  She says her grandparents like Lindsay better, but I've never heard her ask if we love Lindsay better.  Maybe we are doing something right, but do any of you other parents out there wonder if some of your kids feel your love, and some don't?  Or do you wonder if some kids are jealous of the others?  You know, like thinking you have a favorite?

I Heart Bed Time!

So this is another one of those guilty pleasures I have...I heart bed time.  And by bed time, I mean not only my bed time, but the girls' bed time most especially.  I think it has something to do with the following facts:

1) While the kids are in bed, I will not hear a whiny version of "Mooommmmmmmy..."
2) I will not have to say "Eat your dinner" for the 45th time straight, only to have Arlin get a little crazy look because he's so tired of hearing me say "Eat your dinner", and Laney apparently has not realized I was even talking to her
3) While the kids are in bed, I will not have to worry about who put what in their mouth or any other orafice
4) I will not have to think of ways to creatively entertain anyone while I make the dinner I know they will not eat, at least without the aforementioned 45 reminders to "Eat your dinner"
5) After bedtime, I will not have to to remember to get anyone a drink, to make sure anyone finished their homework, to see if anyone has crawled into the no-touch zone near any plugs/appliances/toilets/etc.
6) And after bed time, and falling asleep of course, they just look so dang innocent and cute I can't help but go into their rooms to look at their sweet faces and little hands and feet, and kiss them a bajillion times so I can remember how they are growing up so fast

7) MOST OF ALL, after bed time, I go by the name Brandy AND I can do whatever I want!!*



*Disclaimer: If by whatever I want equals doing the dishes, folding the last of the laundry, packing lunch for school the next day, hanging up clothes I've thrown on the floor during my haste when coming home from work, paying bills, doing paperwork for the hair salon OR cuddling with Arlin and watching a tv or movie or reading while taking a hot bath before I fall asleep in the tub from exhaustion.  Because while the kids go to bed at 7 and 8 pm, I'm so tired I follow them well before midnight usually.  Makes me feel a little old indeed!

Blog Picture

I love this picture.  The one where Laney is watching Lindsay with love and where Lindsay is staring, just staring at Laney with wonder and curiosity and love too.  These sisters love each other so much.  I think that is the best part of the whole...their feelings for each other.  They love to play together, take baths together, eat together, and Laney gets upset if she misses a night kissing Lindsay before she is put to bed.  I pray they always have that.

Thoughts of a Guilty Conscience

So I have a lot of things I've been thinking about lately, and I thought I would share.  I've realized I actually enjoy things I'm not supposed to, or that society dictates is in appropriate.  I'm going to share these things one at a time over the course of this blog and I hope you don't stone me if you see me in the streets...

VOL 1

I'm a working mother, and in polite company I say that's not by choice, or even by chance, but as a result of family financial necessity.  I reality, if you were my BFF and we were drinking some tasty hot chocolate and eating donuts together, I'd tell you it's slightly by choice and a little by a personal need to feel intelligent and like someone other than "Mom".  While I don't relish being away from home a lot (read 50 - 70 hours a week), I do actually enjoy working.  I enjoy the challenge of a job that requires me to juggle my separate lives, to coordinate more than the legos and dinner time, more than alphabetizing my DVD collection or color and seasonally sorting my clothes closet.  I feel so guilty about this enjoyment of "work" though - isn't work supposed to be this awful thing where I'm the donkey and my boss is this angry short person who rides in the cart I haul around all day?  I'm supposed to want to stay home and "sleep in", play with my kids and do nothing but watch Oprah right?  I actually enjoy the projects and the days, I feel more productive and like I use at least 50% more of my brain.

I have news for you working thinkers of what staying home means -- it is not always that fun.  You wake up early so your spouse, who works at a "real" job (my thoughts not his), can sleep that last few minutes before the alarm.  You get up with a the babies and the kids, fix them breakfast and listen to endless rounds of "I don't like ______", "Why can't we have ______?", "I don't want to go to school today", "I don't know where my homework is", "Why can't I wear this to school?", etc., etc., etc.  You are the world's master negotiator for your house, determining what to battle, what to let go, what to pretend you don't see, and what to talk to your spouse about later because you're stumped.  You continue through your day with a list of chores (inside and outside), a list of broken things to fix, and meals to create during the in-between "down" time.  You hug the hurt, you punish the naughty, you coordiante the activities of all, and some how you are expected to know where everyone has dropped every item in their possession so you can find it when they want it.  You also get to experience some of the great moments: a first step, a first word, sucessful shoe tying, potty training victories, angelic faces during naps, learning how to eat ice cream cones, first line of report for great days at school, a first boyfriend, etc.  There are some great moments in there during all that laundry and cleaning and cooking, right?!  And while I really love those moments and miss them when I don't see them, that's what they still are to me -- small moments of victory.  Small moments of endless joy.  I'm not so good at abiding my time waiting for a moment or a highlight (you could say I have a short memory).

So I go to work, out of necessity, out of a small personal need to be recognized for my small successes.  A need to see my work in the bright lights, and to bask in my co-workers awe (humor me here).  And I feel guilty, I do.  I'm not wishing away their childhood, I'm not.  I really do LOVE the smiles, the cuddles, the innoncent questions, the simple challenges that don't involve dating or drugs or illegal activities.  Don't hate me because I can't stand endless laundry or diaper changes with a wiggley twenty pound baby.  Don't hate me because I feel like my surrogate dad who told me once that he liked his kids better after they hit their late teens because at that age he could talk in conversations with them.  Don't hate me because sometimes I have a need to be known only as "Brandy" and not just "Mom".

Ha Ha Ha ... Not

So yesterday (I think it was yesterday), I asked Laney if she knew all of Lindsay's name.  Meaning, did she remember Lindsay's middle name.  This was a significant question because Laney is very proud of knowing all of her name and she thinks her name is beautiful and just the best thing EVER.  I wanted to know how she felt about Lindsay's name, to see if it her feelings were the same.

AND then,

Laney says to me, "No".  So I tell her all of Lindsay's name is Lindsay Anne K.

AND then,

Laney says to me, "Why is it Lindsay Anne K.?  That doesn't make any sense.  Her name should be Lindsay Elizabeth K.  Like mine is Laney Elizabeth K.  That would have been better.  And then we could have been twins"

AND then,

I sighed.  Because you know what, I wanted Lindsay's name to be Lindsay Anne K., so there would be part of Taylor's name carried on in the family.  And Arlin wanted Lindsay Elizabeth because he thought that was the only thing that made any sense.  But, he deferred to my decision and since I fill out the forms, or in this case was there to tell the nurse what to put on the form (after making her leave and come back an hour later so I could decide), I chose Lindsay Anne.  Well, now we all can see what a bad decision that was since half the family has already told me how it doesn't make any sense at all, and we should have gone with the Lindsay Elizabeth. 

Sigh.  At least Lindsay's not old enough to vote, so only half the family thinks I picked the wrong name...

Moving Prep

Here it is time to move and I've been busy, sorting, gathering, trashing, selling, and donating.  I've gathered the majority of our things in the basement storage room

I'm now moving furniture to common areas so it will be easier to load the truck.  My dad is going to help us this time so the move will be A LOT cheaper.  Gas money really.  No moving van to rent.  What a dad!

I think we're just about ready to go.  We're back to living out of boxes in a temorary home, but I'm so grateful and excited to be returning to my home and to have the chance to set it up and resume life.  Lindsay's never been to Texas and I know she's going to love it.  Laney's pretty excited and Arlin and I are too.  Next item on the agenda is to land our employment.  We're working on that too.  Millions of resumes out, a phone interview down and hopefully two face to face interviews for me next week.  We're praying for both me and Arlin to get the things we need going and we're excited the Lord is watching over us still.  We certainly couldn't make this crazy life work any other way!

Our Happy Girl

Lindsay is the happiest baby I have ever met.  EVER.  She has a lot of her dad in her.  She's never met a stranger, and she makes you feel like a million bucks.  We're lucky to have her, and so lucky she's in our family. 

She's also a smart cookie and has lately been studying the bars on her crib to figure a way out.  This concerns me as Laney figured out how to jump out of the crib at 18 months.  I hope Lindsay doesn't follow in her sister's footsteps with that.  Have you ever tried to get an 18 month old to stay in a toddler bed?  They don't...

And finally a very recent picture of me and Arlin.  Actually this was his idea, and I'm happy he thought of it.  There's not many photos where we're both together.  I can't believe it's been 8 years since we've been married.  That makes me feel a little old ...

Why You Don't Leave Brandy Home Alone ... or Otherwise in Charge

This is what will happen to you or rather your homes, my friends, if you leave me in your home, alone, and in charge ...

Yep, that's what you think happened.  On a not too windy day, the top half of the chimney blew off the house.  Now how many of you can say that when you were at a friends' house and they left you alone for a bit, you watched their chimney blow off their house?  I bet not too many of you!

In my defense, I called them before it blew off, to try to convince them the chimney was LEANING and about to go.  Of course, being that something like this doesn't happen a lot, they thought I was crazy until, in the middle of my feeble attempts at convincing them, they heard, "Never mind.  There it went."  And I think it was the large crashing noise that convince them after all, not me.

My poor friends.  To their credit, they still let me come over, and even to be in the house alone.  Brave them!

I'm going to add this to my list of things I've seen and experienced right from the Twilight Zone that I don't know anyone else who has...

1. Chimney blew off house while I was watching home for my friends

2. Husband's car accident resulted in 3 months of complete memory loss - yes complete short and long term memory loss, and no he didn't remember me or you

3. 3 for 3 in premature water breaking while pregnant, with the final pregnancy resulting in my water breaking while we were in the ER for Arlin.  At least I picked the location well.  lol

4. Daughter had concussion from falling face first and hitting her chin (yes, her chin) on concrete at ripe old age of 4

5. Snowed out of town during great snowstorm of the year only to finally get back in town and then get snowed in 5 miles from home at a friends' house

I know there's more, but at this point, odd is par for my course and I just can't remember them to post them up here.  Those 5 are odd enough considering I'm only talking about events of the last 8 years.

Here Comes the Laney Bunny

Arlin purchased a bunny costume for the shop.  Laney found it one day in the bedroom and decided to check it out.

Lindsay wasn't quite sure what to make of the Laney Bunny.

A Loss of Innoncence

So Laney is 6 this year, soon to be 7.  Up until now I was pretty sure she was the most helpful, best behaved, smartest and cutest kid around (no offense to you other mothers out there, but it's true).  I've learned this past year, this year of first grade and being six, that there is some type of disease you catch from turning six.  It's a I know everything, I can tell you how to do it, and I'm still a kid so I don't know how to add coins or sets of 3 yet.  It's a very confusing contradictory time in a kids' life and I'm just the mom.  I'm not even the poor kid.

This year it seems Laney has a real loss of innoncence.  She has started misbehaving at school - nothing serious, nothing constant, but even to get the "Laney was not paying attention" note was a real shell shocker.  She's started spending time with a confirmed "naughty" girl in her class and a boy who gets in trouble a lot.  I've had the be careful about your friends talk already and I don't even think she understands all the vocabulary words in the sentences I'm using, or following my train of logic.  We've had talks and talks and talks.  And her grades are good when she feels like paying attention.  I know she comes by the talking gene naturally so I'm trying to be patient with that one, but I have to admit I feel I'm at a wall.  AND I'm scared.  I mean, she is only six!?

Can you tell me when kids typically have the loss of innoncence?  At what time does their naughtiness go from cute and annoying to worrisome and stressful?  When should I think she's getting started down the wrong path, and when should I remind myself she's six and this is not her life choice?  I hear bossy, picky six year old girls are pretty standard and run of the mill.  Girls who want to talk to their little girlfriends and who begin to think about having boyfriends (when boys are yucky)... But should I be panicky right about now?

Recent Pics

We been busy since Lindsay has come to town...NICU life, Christmas, New Year's, the great snowstorm of the century, moving, spring, life, the salon.  BUT, we do love our newest addition, and here are some pictures to prove it!

We just love our happy baby girl!

Fitting In

It's been a long time, but we're all due for an update on life.  We have moved.  It's a local  move, but I still had to pack everything up and move all the boxes.  Our place right now is temporary so we're all camping together with our stuff packed away still.  I'm not going to say it's easy, but we've had it way worse before.

Lindsay is 8 months old now.  I can't believe it!  She's sitting and eating some food.  I think she might be one to skip the crawling stage and go straight to walking.  We'll see.  She always wants to be on her feet and never laying down.  She babbles like crazy and she's never met a person who she didn't convert to a Lindsay fan.  She smile and giggles and grins and sparkles her eyes at absolutely everyone.  I love it.  There's nothing like a baby's laugh, giggle or smile to put all things awful into perspective.  I've got some new pics so I'll be sure to post them soon so you all can become Lindsay fans too.  :)  She is finally going to be blessed this Sunday and I can't wait!  At least we got it in before her first birthday!!

Laney's fitting in and doing well at her new school.  She got student of the month last month and while her grades did drop the first 5 or 6 weeks, they're coming back up and she's fitting in.  My only complaint is she's a 6 year old girl and thinks she is everyone's hall monitor.  It's a little annoying to be bossed around by your daughter, but she is cute so that helps.  I think she needs to wear a sign for innocent by-standers though, to warn them of the impending tongue lashing she will give them if they dare to step out of line.  ha ha Poor unsuspecting souls!

Arlin and I are hanging in and trying to roll with the punches.  It's been tricky to say the least.  It's a big ball of stress that gets thrown at us pretty routinely lately.  We've been busy looking for new employment for us, and even busier running the salon. Which is doing well, but definitely needs some fine tuning.  We are riding on highs and lows all the time, it's crazy.  Life is life I guess.  We couldn't predict or expect any of this stuff.  If so, I'm sure we'd run screaming all the time!  ha ha ha

Let's Watch that Ride Keep Going Round and Round ...

Here we are again.  I can't believe, hate to say it, and am ashamed to admit it, but, yes, we are moving again.  God hates me.  He really does.  That or He's like a 9 year old brother and knows what things you hate and brings them up all the time.  I'm back to living out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks, and then into our space again.  A space I am grateful for, a space that was not mine before, but will be for a short time.  My house is in boxes and plastic tubs.  (yes I move so frequently, I have purchased plastic tubs because they hold up better between moves).  I'm working night and day to pack, do laundry and clean out the empty spaces.  Tomorrow will be our last day in our nice big house.  I'm feeling pretty meloncoly about it really.  I'm happy to see the nice big spaces that need to be cleaned all the time go, but I'm also really pained to be moving into a new space that requires readjustments and growing pains.  I mean, I have to figured out all over again where the junk drawer will be and what shelf to put the plates on.  Sometimes it's the little things that take too much brain power and energy.

But even with all that is going on in my life.  All the packing, cleaning, frustration of each individual wondering where their stuff is, there is one thing I can say.  I'm glad I'm moving with my family.  I'm so happy we'll all be together and we're not separated by states and miles and time zones.  I'm happy to have a husband who kisses me good-bye in the morning and means it, and to have a baby that smiles at me when I walk in the room and say hello, and my girl, who gives me good hugs and is the best helper a mother could ever have.  So I say, it could be worse, yes, it could be worse.  BUT Dear Lord, please do not take that as a challenge to see if we can make it through worse.  I'm still tired from this one.  Amen.

Family Cuts!

Check it out!  Our new business made the local paper.  Hard to believe we own a hair salon, but the adventure is fun.  :)

Making the cut as a brand new hair salon

Standing out from the crowd

POSTED: January 24, 2010 

"Making the cut as a brand new hair salon"

Article Photos

By Jamie West
Journal Staff Writer

MARTINSBURG- The new Family Cuts hair salon on Foxcroft Avenue by the Martinsburg Mall has a few highlights that customers might not find at a typical salon. One of those highlights is its televisions - and lots of them.
The salon has a small flat-panel television in front of all eight client chairs, so customers can watch or discuss their favorite programs with the friendly stylists, or parents can get some help from SpongeBob to soothe children who are startled by the notion of a haircut.

The store also has a big screen just above the children's play area, another feature that owners Arlin and Brandy Kethley incorporated to provide a sense of togetherness and comfort - hence the term "Family" in the business' name.

"The one thing we wanted to do was not be an ordinary hair salon. We want to give our customers the best experience we can give them, " Arlin said.

Televisions aren't the only feature that makes the salon stand out, though.

If anyone noticed a monkey and werewolf lumbering along Foxcroft Avenue last month, consider Family Cuts the guilty source. The shaggy duo held up a sign advertising the business, drawing the attention of many drivers. Arlin said some people even stopped to get pictures with the costumed critters.

"We're all about creating a fun environment for our stylists and a great environment for our customers," Arlin said.

The hair salon, which opened on Dec. 5, was the brainchild of the Kethley's, who originally owned a construction business. After moving to the area two years ago, they wanted to change their business outlook. The pair desired to operate a place that was more involved in customer interaction, so they looked into buying a hair salon franchise.

However, the thought of being limited in their choices to promote their business eventually swayed them into creating a foundation from scratch.

"We just figured we'd go ahead and do something ourselves, to be able to serve our customers the way we want to serve our customers," Arlin said.

With that, Family Cuts was born. The salon currently employs eight experienced stylists: Jenny Philbrick, Annie Smith, Misty Ends, Tara Locke, Debbie Sherman, Jess Dorsey, Angel Bowers and Michele Wilson. Each employee brings between five to 20 years of salon experience, Brandy said.

"We have such a great group of stylists," she said.

Family Cuts is a Paul Mitchell Signature Salon and offers their color products. The salon also has Paul Mitchell educators who come in and train the stylists on the latest techniques of hair cutting and coloring.

The business offers, but is not limited to, natural hair colors.

"If someone wants pink, blue or green hair, they can have pink, blue or green hair. You don't get that anywhere else around town that I know of," Brandy said.

"We are willing to do anything customers want us to do. We can offer things like bridal packages, or if you want to have a Mary Kay party or mom's day out party, we can do any of those things. We are willing to accommodate our customers," she said.

Rates are also competitive, with a general cut and wash costing $14. Kids' (10 and under) cuts are $10, and a general hair color is $45.

The store's hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. It is closed on Sunday. The early closing hours and Sunday off is so stylists can enjoy time with their families, Brandy said.

The business plans on getting a Web page up and running soon, which will feature coupons and client testimonials.

Arlin and Brandy both firmly believe in the importance of customer satisfaction. But as they have proven, there doesn't always have to be a traditional method in achieving that.

Not convinced? Just think of the last time a business has used a werewolf, a monkey and a talking yellow sponge with square trousers as marketing tools.

My Neighbor - or Ode to Becky

This is a picture of my neighbor Becky. She is the best lady a a girl could ever have for a neighbor. I've lived in a lot of cities in a lot of states around this place and I know very few of my neighbors until now. I didn't think anyone took the time to get to know the people around them any more, certainly not to know their neighbors. Becky proved me wrong though. I so grateful her family introduced themselves to us that day we moved into the neighborhood. I don't know if I've ever had a more attentive friend. She knows my likes and dislikes and my needs and she always seems to be there in person or on the phone just when I need her most. Not too pushy, but pushy enough. We've received countless of homebaked goodies, invitations to backyard bar-b-ques, childcare, rides to the hospital, rides home from the hospital, milk from the grocery, you name it and Becky's probably done that. She's awesome, and Becky, in the words of Laney, YOU ROCK!