And A Merry Christmas To All
Early on Monday morning, after a VERY successful Christmas play performance skillfully directed and performed by Terry the night before, we left for Carrollton. Terry's parents, Rich and Star, and Terry's grandmother live in this thriving city on the outskirts of Dallas. Generally they make the trek here to San Antonio, but unfortunately back in July of this year, Terry's grandmother, Marie, suffered from the
Shingles and they left her very weak, and in almost constant pain. We drove both vehicles to Carrollton, one for the kids, and one for the gifts! And our kids don't even receive that many presents, it's just when you have five kids a few mounts to many.
We stopped at Terry's favourite restaurant,
Cracker Barrel but still made good time there. Traffic was light, I think most people had done their travelling during the weekend. The kids could barely be contained and bounced up and down almost all the way there! Star had done a good job decorating the house, something she hasn't had to worry about for a few years. We FINALLY got the 'littles' to bed and then we made sure Santa visited.
My in-laws asked me for specific ideas on what to get me and I asked for a couple of things, one of which was a renewal to our annual
San Antonio Zoo membership. They provided that, so on Monday we are heading to the zoo. They also gave me gift cards to
Half Price Books, and also to
Ross Dress for Less. Terry bought me a new Study Bible, my last one (also purchased by him) was falling apart.
Terry also got what he asked for - an
Airport Express so we can play music throughout the house and also get better wireless connection. He also received
MSTK3000 Volume 12, and the
Ultimate Superman Collector's Edition DVD's.
So all in all, a great Christmas - here is a photo album put together by Terry of the event:
Smelker Christmas 2007
Just in time for Christmas
I have barely blogged in the last two or three weeks, but I have a good excuse - really I do! As I have shared many times on this blog, I am a freelance writer, working most of the time from home. Occasionally though I am asked to take on a project that forces me to work in the 'real' world and be among adults all day long. One such project came up at the end of November. I saw an ad on
craigslist for a technical writer with experience in Robohelp and Framemaker. I happen to have experience in both so applied. The ad stated it was a 30 day contract so I knew it was short-term. Within 30 minutes of my email being sent, I received a call, and 4 days later I was driving off to
San Marcos a small College town about 45 miles north of San Antonio. The commute has not been bad, I left early enough in the morning that I avoided most traffic and same in the afternoon.
I worked for a small company called DNP Photo. Well, I say small but apparently they are a force to be reckoned with in the world of photolabs, and photo kiosks. I have been in the Info Dev (Information Development) department for the last 30 days working on technical manuals.
Today however is my last day. I have to say this has been one of the most enjoyable contracts I have completed; the people are hard working but easy going. The IT department was on the ball as well. Within an hour of my arrival the first day they had my email set up, all the programs I needed loaded and a phone on my desk.
As I drive home tonight I know I will be thanking God for this opportunity - the extra cash for the Christmas season has come in very handy, and the experience to freshen up on my technical writing skills was wonderful as well.
Labels: Christmas, DNP Photo, freelance writing, San Marcos, work from home
I Did It (one more time)
If you read my blog consistently you'll know that I have been a gestational surrogate twice, once in 2005 and again in 2006-2007. The first time I delivered a healthy set of twins (a boy and a girl) and in April 2007 I delivered a healthy, HUGE boy for a second couple. Count so far - 5 of my own kids, 3 kids for other people.
The babies I carry are not genetically related to me - I could never relinquish a part of me. I was a poor student when I gave birth to Warrick, and if I couldn't bear to part with him, there is no way I would give up a child now at a time where we can afford kids. The babies I have carried belong 100% to the parents who are unable, for a variety of reasons, to carry their baby.
I had planned on the last baby being my final pregnancy but several factors changed my mind. First off I saw my OB six weeks after my last delivery and she teased me that I looked so good, I could have another two or three pregnancies with no problem. That same weekend I travelled up to Dallas to meet the owner of the surrogate agency I have worked with since the end of 2003. When I saw Merritt, the owner, she said, "Oh Cori. Please tell me you'll do another surrogacy! I have the sweetest couple who meet all your criteria and they live only about 10 minutes from you!" I called Terry, who truth be known, had been cajoling me to do another surrogacy just days after Jackson arrived. Of course he said yes and we set up a meeting.
On June 1st we met one of the nicest couples we could hope to befriend. They are younger than us and have been trying to conceive for seven years. At the end of the meeting we both agreed to move forward. As with the surrogacy experience patience is the name of the game. We had some delays but this morning the day finally dawned! The doctor retrieved eggs from the mother on Friday, and today we transferred two really good embryos over to me.
Why do I do this? Here's why:
JacksonAnd:
Twins Turn TwoLabels: embryos, Surrogate
