all about mom.

So, I've been missing my mom a lot lately. I get to see her this weekend and I can't wait. Friday is her birthday even, so this "all about mom" post is totally time appropriate.

In other mom news, she's having surgery today (well actually, right now). On her finger. It's a funny story, really (minus the pain and the surgery parts). She was having some dental issues and was on some pain meds a couple of months ago. While on the drugs, she slammed her finger in the car door (blame the drugs, of course). Because she was already medicated, she didn't notice the throbbing pain, but as soon as her mouth was fixed, her hand was messed up. By the time she got to the doctor about her finger (weeks after the incident), it was all kinds of crazy. Now, they have to operate on it to put it all back together. She thinks it's a pretty silly way to end up in the operating room, but it's a good story, right?

So, if you think about it, throw up a prayer for my mom's finger today.

And lastly, let me brag for a few minutes (hey, it's my blog, I can do that) about my family. Both of my families, actually. My mom and mother-in-law are friends. That's right, friends. Last week Cathy (MIL) invited my mom to join in on a girls week at the beach. Cathy's best friend Marti flew in from Savannah, and they had a blast (well, my mom had a blast at least).

I didn't think much of the situation at first, but after thinking about it while they were there I realized what a unique and wonderful occurrence that is. I am so thankful for parents and in-laws who are friends- by choice!

adventures in childrearing

We babysat Kate this weekend,

and she pulled on David's nose.

(and I have a double chin... sweet.)

She was so sweet and super easy. Though, I have to admit... we weren't exactly sure what to do with her. I mean, she doesn't play with "stuff" really... you just kind of play with her. I loved it, and David thought it was cool that she was content watching basketball (don't worry, Bec. I took her back and played with her. She definitely wasn't neglected.). Harley was soo confused by her. I mean, he's seen her around before, but never without her parents. When they left and she stayed behind, he was totally messed up. They both just watched each other the whole time. It was lots of fun and best of all, Becca and Keith had time to go on a child-free date in honor of Becca's birthday.

too cool for school

Last night we got to have dinner with these people:

(Rev. Matt Pirkle and Dr. Rachel Walters)

Here:

Matt and Rachel came over for a lovely dinner and dessert (awesome brownies by Rachel) last night! I've mentioned them before, but because they are awesome I'll talk about them again. Matt (who we are just getting used to calling "Matt". In camp speak, he was just Pirkle. David still prefers to be just Geyer.) was David's camper in 2005. He was a mere tot at the time, and he's blossomed into quite the young man. Rachel is his awesome girlfriend. She was a camper too, but I'm just now getting to spend one-on-one time with her, and she's so cool. I don't know why they hang out with us because we're definitely not as cool as they are. These kids are wise beyond their years and far more mature than me and David- combined. Regardless, we're bummed that they are both leaving in the fall to go to UTK! We are so thankful for their friendships!

Pirkle... you better comment on this post. I know you're reading this! Comment, comment!

the name game

Check out this cool website that gives you the geographical distribution of your surname in the US. I compared my maiden name and my new name.

Bourke:

• In the US there are 920 phone book entries with the surname Bourke and approximately 3,315 persons with this name.
• The surname Bourke the 10443. most frequent name in the US.
• People with this surname live in 46 states. Most occurrences are in California: 107.
  

Geyer:

• In the US there are 2,953 phone book entries with the surname Geyer and approximately 10,641 persons with this name.
• The surname Geyer is the 3569 most frequent name in the US.
• People with this surname live in 51 states. Most occurrences are in Pennsylvania: 426.

Looks like Geyer is more popular than Bourke. I would have guessed that, though! However, Bourke is much more common in Australia. Check out Bourke, New South Whales.

Things I love about the arrival of spring.

• painted toenails
• open windows
• green grass (or weeds... whatever, the yard is green)
• birds chirping (though I do really hate birds, when they are outside and I am inside, it's all good)
• skirt wearing
• hand-me-down shoes from my boss' daughter (yeah, it doesn't happen every summer, but it has been a highlight of my week so far)
• grilling out
• eating on the porch
• the fact that I don't have allergy problems
• hence, blooming trees
• going on walks

Beth's birthday bash

(Don't you love alliteration?)

We had a GREAT weekend in Oxford. It was possibly the shortest trip we've made there yet, but it was well worth it. Beth only turns 30 once, after all. Plus, Brianna is growing up right in front of our eyes... well, actually not in front of our eyes, and that's what I hate. We are missing so much by living far away and it makes me really sad!

Here she is... literally growing up!

The birthday girl! We had breakfast and present opening time Saturday morning.

Our favorite niece. Even if she wasn't the only one, she'd probably still be our favorite. Watch our future nieces!

I'll go ahead and brag on Harley since this is the only picture he is in. He was awesome. Perfect in the car. Minus the excited there-are-new-people-and-I-want-to-smell-them pee dribbles, he had no accidents. I think the trip somehow wore him out because this is pretty much what he was like the whole weekend:

For Beth's birthday, we (me, Beth & Nikki) got pedicures! I hate that the picture is so dark, but it's proof that we were there. And that we now have smoother feet.

We ate at Buca di Beppo for dinner with the whole gang (this is just me, Beth & Nikki though).

Ah yes, here's the whole gang! We were way back in the corner, but it was great to have everyone together! I love my Geyer-side family!

Lynn and cutie Matthias

Birthday candles, singing and yummy cake!

It was so much fun to spend Beth's special day with her. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful sister-in-law who is more like just a plain sister. Love you, Bether!

Well, we planned to come back Sunday morning so we could still have part of our day to get stuff done, but we ended up coming home a tad earlier. Cathy (David's mom) was leaving super early to drive to Indianapolis to fly to Sanibel. So, we got up with her! We left Oxford at 3:30 and got home promptly 6 hours later (9:30 if you can't do the math). Yeah, nuts. It actually was nice- there was no traffic, and I slept. I did drive the second half, then David slept. And Harley slept. There was lots of sleeping going on. By the time we got home, we were ready for the day! Luckily for us it was a BEAUTIFUL one! We took Harley to the park and enjoyed the sun (I got the burn to prove it)!

Mattearley is in town (for the whole week!), and David literally put him to work immediately. I'm serious, he walked upstairs with his suitcase and David followed him.

We're thankful he's a good sport (because I'm hoping they get lots done this week).

our famous Mocs

Jimmy Fallon's post game motivational speech

So, even after [quite an ugly] loss to UConn, Jimmy Fallon is still representing the Mocs. Way to be, Jimmy.

a few days late

In my haste to blog about UTC and Jimmy Fallon this week (which you can't really blame me for... how awesome is it that NBC is all about UTC?! We're gearing up for our office viewing party in just a few hours. Can't wait!), I neglected to give you my infamous weekend recap post. So, here it is. On Thursday.

I don't remember Friday. PASS.
Saturday was great! We met up with our some of our favorite people at one of our favorite places. (Sarah, Jason, Matt, Becca [Hart, not Rocha, Hart was in town from Furman, Rocha was out of town in Chicago] & Keith)(Crust). We had a blast as always, which included a riveting game of Catan. David won (though everyone tried to band together and defeat him), and all was right with the world.

Sunday was super, super fun! We went out to dinner at Ichiban with our buds and then had a big ole' party at our house afterwards! Seriously, there were 16 of us I think. The occasion for our celebration? The Towns were in town! It was SO much fun to see them and hang out. Fortunately, it was a nice night so most of the boys sat outside and chatted while the girls did their chatting inside (I don't know where else we would have put that many bodies otherwise).

The girls picture.

The boys picture. A little bit different. Way to not be awkward, RayRay.

(not pictured in these pictures: Chris Scott, Deb Jones & David Nye, Mattearley and Keith)

Obviously something was missing from the girls picture above. Josie and Ellie! They were busy reconnecting with all of their friends and couldn't break away. BUT they want to see us as much as we wanted to see them (ok, maybe not quite, but whatever...) so they came over Tuesday afternoon. They played with Harley and we all chit chatted and took pictures :).

I love all of these girls!

I'm sure we did other stuff this weekend too, but if I don't take pictures of it, I don't remember it. I do know that Matt was in town for a few days, and David resumed classes after his spring break hiatus. We're going to Oxford tomorrow and we're SO excited. I am a little (ok, a lot) nervous about 6 hours in the car with the dog. Any canine travel advice (other than don't have a dog or don't take the dog... that talk is getting annoying)?

In case you forgot... GO MOCS!

Mr. Belding- our claim to fame.

This is just getting insane. Seriously.

That's boss.

Mocs Madness continues to sweep across the country!

Did you know that this is the 10th trip to the Big Dance for the Mocs, the most appearances by a SoCon school since the Mocs entered the league in 1977-78.

Thanks to the segments on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, UTC and our Basketball Mocs are receiving a lot of attention. We are picking up a lot of fans across the country.

Can't make it to Philadelphia for the game?

We will be showing the game in the University Center auditorium Thursday afternoon. The doors open at 2:30 p.m. and the game will get underway around 3 p.m. Free refreshments in the lobby. Wear Blue and Gold and come out and cheer for the Mocs.

OR

The Office of Alumni Affairs and the Athletics Department invite you to attend a television viewing party beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 19, at the downtown Buffalo Wild Wings. Enjoy the game on three large screen televisions while enjoying $0.60 boneless wings. Happy hour also begins at 3:00 p.m. and includes 50 cents off selected beverages.

If you are planning to attend, make sure to get there early and wear your Mocs blue and gold! There is no charge to attend the viewing party. Fans will be charged only for food and beverages.

Come celebrate our SoCon champions as they compete on the big stage.

GO MOCS!

(courtesy of Chuck Cantrell and our Raven email system)

Don Juan of the SoCon

A train to victory

You HAVE to watch this... Jimmy Fallon cheering on the MOCS!

nail gun incident

David coerced Keith into spending much of his weekend at our house working on the room project. Keith was bitter about a weekend lost, and he shot David in the neck with the nail gun.

David almost bled out, but we were able to get a tourniquet tied in the nick of time.
Keith laughed an evil laugh. Bahaha.

... or David stepped on a red pen, busted it, then put it over his ear for safe-keeping.

cousins.

My cousin Mary posted this picture on facebook recently, and I LOVE it. This is the first time ever that all 14 cousins on my mom's side of the family were in the same place at the same time. Ironically, it took 14 years for that to happen (my brother is the youngest of the bunch and he is 14 here). Unfortunatley, it was at our grandmother's funeral.

We do look like we're having fun, though!

First of all, what a good looking group, if I do say so myself :). No compliments to me, but I have a beautiful family! Secondly, it's amazing to think about family. This is a subject of great intrigue for me. Obviously my mom comes from a large family (she's the youngest of 6), and that provides a diverse group of people and lots of fun times. Everyone lives all over the country (and world) and has unique lives and stories. Thanks to facebook we're able to stay much more connected than we have in the past, and I love that.

If you've ever been stuck with me in for several hours, you've probably heard me tell you all about my family (mom's side). I love telling people about this fun group of people. Maybe it's because my life is pretty boring and all combined, we're a pretty interesting group. Maybe it's because I just want to know more about each of these people and I cling to what I do. Probably some of both :)

SO, since this is my blog and you're a captive audience (if you choose to read...), I guess you're stuck with me. That means, here we go... the cousins:
(starting from top left)
Jed- just finished law school, lives in Southern California with his girlfriend Jackie (who trains animals at Sea World!)
Charles- the oldest cousin- artist living in NYC with his wife and two adorable kids, Louise and Nathan
Sarah- lives in DC and is getting married to Chris this summer!
Kim- lives in Atlanta with husband, Jamie, and two adorable kids, Amber and Tyler
Steve- lives in Iraq, does something that I have never understood regardless of all the times he told me, West Point grad, swimmer, Army guy and mathematical genius
Greg- my bro! the youngest cousin- lives in Georgia, junior in high school, aspiring broadway star
(bottom left)
Greg- (no, I'm not retarded, we have two Gregs. I always wondered why my mom did that...) married to Donna, CPA, lives in Columbus, Ohio
Mary- married to Scott, adorable daughter Reagan, lives in Jacksonville, FL- the beautiful singer at my wedding!
Kelly- lives in New Jersey with her husband Bryce and two adorable boys Ben and Leo
Eliza-lives in Hawaii, getting married to her boyfriend Zach (Darling) this summer
me- duh.
Ashley- my sis! lives in Birmingham, graduating from Nursing school in May
Kevin- senior in high school in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Lisa- married to Bruce, pregnant with Baby Christofferson, lives in snowy Minnesota

I would never guess at ages because I would botch it all up. I know there are a couple of groups that are the same age though. Lisa, Kelly and Kim were all born the same year. Mary, Greg, and Sarah I think are close too... maybe.

Anyways, I know this is nothing profound or earthshattering, but it is something that has been on my mind lately.

I love my Buckley family!

love these two

time

"Since time is one immaterial object which we cannot influence- neither speed up or slow down, add to nor diminish- it is an imponderably valuable gift."

Maya Angelou

again

I've been sick again. It started Sunday, and I'm still feeling yucky. What is going on, you ask? Who knows... maybe gastroenteritis (stomach bug of some sort)? maybe my problem from a few weeks ago progressed? We'll just have to wait and see (and pray for the former).

BUT- before I got sick, it was a good weekend! Lots of basketball at McKenzie Arena (Mocs are going to the NCAA tourney!!) and a quick trip to Bham with Deb where I got to hang out with Ashley!

David and Chuck watched 6 games in 3 days!

Back at work today... still feeling, guess what, puny.

Pictures on Becca's blog!

"calm down, Emily"

If you haven't already heard (which is unlikely if you're on facebook), SARAH AND JASON ARE ENGAGED! Yeah! They are some of our closest, best friends (posse, remember?) and David and I are so, so thrilled for them.

So, I have to tell you how it happened (from my end. Sarah will tell you how it really happened.). We had a fun Thursday night planned out and ready to go. Jason was going to help David on the man room project, and Sarah and I were going to take the dogs (yep, the ones that hate each other) to the park to play. I was really looking forward to that part because yesterday was the beginning of this beautiful warm weather, and I just want to spend every moment I can outside. Then we were going to have breakfast for dinner. Sarah and I were pumped. So, I got home to David telling me that our plans were changing [honesty: my first thought was that he had changed our plans to do something fun and unexpected]. He proceeded to tell me that Jason was proposing AND I. FREAKED. OUT. Seriously. I just had to catch my breath all over again. I was screaming and crying (yeah, I know, a little over-dramatic). It was a little much for David, but I was so, so, so excited for Sarah (and Jason, duh). (Are you sick of me commenting under my breath in parenthesis yet?)(Get over it.) So, I darted around my house changing clothes, fixing my hair- acting foolishly like I was the one about to get engaged- but I had so much nervous/excited energy I just couldn't contain my self. Then, I ran some important engagement-related errands, baked a cake, in fact didn't neglect the dog nor the outdoors and went on a walk, drummed my fingers on any solid surface (ok, I wasn't really that bad), etc. Becca and Kate came and helped us pass the time until 9pm when we celebrated with the future Lawhorns at the future Lawhorn residence. Becca has all of the pictures, and I'll be sure to share them.

In all [calm] honesty, Sarah and Jason are such a beautiful couple that God is using in exciting ways. We are so blessed to be their friends and the people who get to walk alongside them through this process that we've just finished, and be a part of their new lives as a married couple.

We love you guys!

canine love

Every year at Samford University Cumberland School of Law, Rascal Day was something all Samford students looked forward to. Granted, we never knew what it was about (I always called it "bring-your-dog-to-law-school day")- in fact, I just learned- but it was a fun experience. My friend Ann Wade is Samford's official photographer and she posted these fun pictures today.

Dogs are always welcome at my office. If I hear the ladies oohing and ahhing downstairs I know it's either a dog or a baby. I brought Harley to meet everyone, and he was a wild animal (which is not a big surprise, I guess). Matt brings his dog, Buster for an occasional visit. Most recently, Ruth Holmberg (former publisher of the Chattanooga Times and donor to UTC, her grandfather owned the New York Times) brought her dog to a meeting in our office. That one was a little odd, but I'm glad to work in a dog friendly place!

I'm a bona-fide Tennessee resident!

favorites

So yesterday I was going through all of my old facebook photo albums and tagging people who weren't tagged. Included in those people were my mom and dad. My mom has been on facebook for a while, but my dad just jumped on the bandwagon a few days ago. It's hilarious to watch him learn all about it- he's totally hooked. Be his friend (Andy Bourke)!! He'll be so happy!

While I was looking at my pictures I noticed that I have SO many "favorite" kids. Seriously. I have been so, so blessed to be a part (literally, that's how it feels) of so many different families over the years that have loved me like their own.

There are two families in Chattanooga (that I've talked about a ton already, I know), that have gone above and beyond. Between the Jenkins and the Bryants, David and I have experienced more hospitality than we could imagine. They have opened their homes to us countless times- and before we got married, for weeks on end. We feel such a strong calling to be hospitable, and so much of it is a result of these two families.

Unfortunately, life is busy. We feel like we saw the Jenkins and the Bryants more often when we lived out of town than we do now that we share a city! We do try to see them as much as possible, and fortunately for us their kids are involved! One thing we've learned this year is that sporting events are a great way to keep in touch.

Saturday we watched some Upward basketball. Riley and Ella Harrison (another family that loves us so much and is a HUGE blessing) were all-stars on the court:

... and Laney and Ellie Jenkins were all stars on the sidelines!
Last night we went to John Bryant's first lacrosse game of the season. They slaughtered the Signal Mountain Middle School team (literally, the score was something like 19-1), and John had his first game as goalie! He did such a great job!

After the game we went to dinner at... Amigo's of course! It was Hayden's (11th?!) birthday, so it was her pick. We brought cake and had so much fun.

We are so blessed.

posse

Saturday night the gang came over for "BYOM" dinner night. I wasn't feeling up for cooking, but the boys (well, my boy at least) are always ready to grill out. So, everyone brought their own meat and we let them at it. The food was super yummy and the company was even better!

David and Keith thought it necessary to model their cook-attire... (ignore David's chest region... they never grow up, do they?)

And, I don't want to steal Becca's thunder, but I do want to give her credit... she made the apron David is wearing! It's a gift, so don't tell Jessica... dang... Becca do you want me to take this down?

Also, (and Sarah just blogged about this too... read it HERE there's a super cute picture of Harley!) Sarah brought Dash over! We envisioned sugar plums dancing... oh wait, wrong vision... playful doggies! That's right. Unfortunately, Dash didn't take so well to Harley's hyper-activity (go figure!).

Boys and their cute, little doggies. They love them. Really! They do!

From these pictures you can't really tell how much these dogs hated each other... sweet!

Don't worry, we haven't given up on making them be friends. After all, they are destined to play together for the next, oh 14 years of their lives (and only that short of time because they won't last longer than that). We'll try again.

And... just because she's the cutest thing... well, ever.
Don't you want to just pinch those cheeks?! I do. A lot.

OH- and we finally taught the last member of the posse (can I can I call us that? ok, good.) to play Catan. Becca was resistant from the beginning, but SHE WON! It actually works in all of our favor because now she's excited to play again.

buds

David has lots of these.

Buddies. Pals. Comrades. Amigos. Friends.


Call them what you will, but know that Mattearley is one of them. Now, let me take a moment to clarify. His real-life name is Matt Earley. Sargent Matthew Thomas Earley. Staff Sarg according to Dave. We often confuse people, because we typically refer to him as simply "Mattearley". It just works, doesn't it?

Well, Mattearley is in town! Actually, he's on his way out of town, but don't worry- he'll be back. He'll probably be a regular visitor over the next couple of months, and we're thrilled! He is marrying the lovely Arrington Pell on April 17 and he has tons of changes in the works between now and then! He has served for almost 6 years in the Marine Corps and has completed two tours of duty in Iraq. He was David's college roommate for all 4 years, and they love each other.See? Can't you just feel the love?

My dad, being the proud Marine that he is, was thrilled to know that David's bestest good friend was a fellow Marine. While Matt was serving overseas, my dad was faithful to write him (even though they had never met). That is one thing I really treasure about my dad. He is so thoughtful.

Matt was in our wedding:

And David has the honor of being in his next month. We love Matt and can't wait for the Earley festivities!

new study

Last night I began a new chapter of my life, I'm sure.

Last week at "Bible" study, Stephanie Blackiston came to talk to us about the delight of loving your husband and working in the home. I had met Stephanie briefly (and had been stalking her blog a little), and I knew we were in for a special treat.

Tuesday was long, and I was drained by the time I got to Becca's, but I was energized when I left! Steph has an amazing gift to share the Word and encourage women in their faith, and I was so blessed to be a part of that for just a few short hours. I cried virtually the whole time because the Lord really used Steph to speak to my heart exactly where I was/am. She challenged me (and simultaneously encouraged me... how does that happen?) in ways I haven't been challenged. She spurred me on.

Like I said, Stephanie has an amazing gift and she is using it by "hosting" her second Conference Call Bible study with women from around the country. We had our first call last night, and it was incredible! There were 35 women! Here's the link to her blog post about it: http://livininaboysworld.blogspot.com/2009/01/growing-in-grace-and-knowledge-2.html (you should read her blog just because, even if you're not interested in the Bible study).

It's a 9-week study about discipleship. After the call last night, I know so many of you girls that would love this study, so I wanted to tell you about it! I got in on it pretty late in the game (like, yesterday), so time is running short... if you're interested you should order the book... today. I'm sure she'll do to more in the future, but I'm SO excited about this I want to tell everyone!

You can call (218) 339-4399 (240122#) to listen to the recording from last night's call if you are interested (and every week is recorded if you just want to listen to them).

Like I said, the study is on discipleship- which is an area of my life severely lacking. I'm praying for that to change, and I am confident God will answer that prayer. Steph had a guest speaker last night, Suzy Downer, who was amazing. She referenced this verse that has been stuck in my thoughts all day...

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8- But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.

I want this to be true of my life!

This is my story!

This is my song!

Praising my Savior, all the day long!

puny.

Sorry, once again, for my lack of blogging last week. This time I actually have a semi-legitimate excuse (not that anyone out there in the blog-o-sphere is chomping at the bit for new tid bits of Geyer life, but still).

The short version: Wednesday I started feeling a weird pain in my side that progressively got worse. Thursday was spent at 1) my doctor's office, where he determined that it was probably my appendix and it would need to come out asap; 2) Chattanooga Imaging for a ton of water and sprite and a CT scan; 3) A surgeon's office who read my scans and determined that it wasn't my appendix, but an ovarian cyst that had ruptured. That was actually really good news! It meant the pain in my side will last for a couple of weeks, but that no surgery (or even medicine) is necessary! He gave me some crazy drugs for pain (which I have stopped taking... it made me feel like I was full of tingly lead) and sent me home to rest. And rest I did. I spent most of the weekend napping on the couch or in the bed. But now, after 2 days off work (and Thursday was the worst possible day I could have had to take off work... fortunatley, my amazing co-workers were so helpful!) I'm back in action. Kind of. I'm feeling fine (pain in side is still there- but only when I'm standing, so sitting at my computer is no problem), just a little puny.

A side note: Harley was so great! He seemed to know that I wasn't feeling well, so he napped most of the weekend along with me! Considering that he's a pretty hyperactive dog, this was quite a feat. He made it much easier to be sicky.

Another side note: David was so great! But, of course you already expected that :)