Party Time!!!

Success - is the word I would use to describe Miri's second birthday party. I had a great time and I think (hope) everyone else did as well. I am not sure why it was so much more fun than last year but it was. Here are a few pictures of our day!

I did a "wall of color" as our activity. I got some Color Wonder paper, paints and markers and let everyone color on my wall! I think almost everyone participated - big and small.



Miri was really into opening her gifts - I guess Christmas was still fresh in her mind oh yeah we also let her open one on her actual birthday........








Of course I think Daddy enjoyed opening gifts as much as she did! (and playing with them)



The cake came out beautifully - and it was really really yummy!



Miri managed a taste or two before we got to the "Happy Birthday" song!!



All and all we had a great day! Today we have laid low - Miri took a 3 Hour NAP!!!!!! Guess being a party animal wore her out.

2

I can hardly believe Miri is two today! I couldn't help thinking back the morning two years ago when we got to finally meet our miracle - she was so tiny and so very mad about being taken out of her nice warm home into a bright, loud, not so warm room! Like the morning two years ago - this morning we had a pretty mad baby on our hands as well. As we were trying to get out of the door she threw a hissy fit of monumental proportion! Complete with kicking, screaming and my personal favorite running away and hiding behind the rocking chair in her room - HELLO TERRIBLE TWOS!!!


Seriously though, these past two years have flown by. There was a time not too long ago that we often wondered if we would ever have the chance to be parents. All I know is that good things come to those who wait and really wonderful things come to those who wait a really really long time! We are both amazed daily at this sweet little girl who has blessed us in more ways than we ever thought possible.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIRIAM GRACE!

Basketball is dead to me.

I officially give up on the sport of basketball.

Yes. Give up on it. Completely. I will only watch "March Madness" if there's a "Cinderella" team making some noise (and loud noise at that.)

Why the sudden disassociation from a sport from a sports fan? It's simple really. It's painful to watch it in several ways...

• Basketball has become a true "me" sport. One player/ego can make or break a team. See Syracuse in 2003. Carmelo Anthony had all the talent in the world, and probably could have gone straight to the NBA without an NBA-mandated 1-year exile to upstate New York. Instead, he goes to college for one year... and they win a title. After that, 'Melo's off to the big bucks in "the league." Before 2003 - Syracuse was a good team, not great, but a solidly coached team that nobody wanted to play in March. After 2003? Middle-of-the bloated Big East pack. Since the NBA instituted their 1 and 3 rule (must play at least 1 year in college, or stay a minimum of 3 years), there have been a series of players who have gone "one and done" to the NBA. Kevin Durant. Greg Oden. Most schools fall off for a year or two after a sudden departure. A few exceptions (i.e. Texas) manage to recruit to cover the loss of a Kevin Durant. But most leave for the money, eschewing their teams and education for a potentially short career. This detracts from the quality of the game play.
  
• College basketball players think they are in the NBA. It's about showtime. Dunks. Crossover dribbles. Pushing the envelope of the rules. They don't practice the fundamentals anymore. Twenty years ago, a guard that shot less than 80% from the foul stripe was a liability. Now, if he shoots 80%, he's the guy you want there in the last minute of the game. Shooting percentages are waaaay down. Players rely on the long shot too much, and can't even shoot it well. They don't set their feet, square up and hit the shot. They drift. They "kick out" their legs. If any shot of theirs is even contested, they cry "foul!" When I reffed intramural hoops in college, not a night went by when a shooter would exclaim "AND ONE!" if a guy challenged their shot. Learn how to play fundamental ball, and the rest of the game comes to you. Want to learn how to play the game right? Watch Hoosiers.
• Bad gameplay - worse officiating. Even though I only officiated intramural sports through college (I haven't made the jump to the "pros" of local & high school sports yet), I have an educated background on how the game should be called. Officiating today is terrible. They don't call the rules as they are written. They call them as the kids see them during NBA games, which are a farce in themselves (see: Suns/Spurs 2007.) The guys in stripes are woefully inconsistent because there's not a strict and consistent interpretation of the rules between conferences. Southland conference games are called dramatically different than Big XII or Big Ten games. It shows in the tournament in March. Just this last week there were two high profile games (UConn-Villanova and Rutgers-Tennessee (women)) that were decided by poor calls in the last second of the game. Villanova lost when an official judged that one of their players "bumped" a player - a very marginal "bump", more of a "brush" - after a rebound. The game was tied and there was one tenth of a second left in the game. This came seconds after a Villanova player was mugged under the basket chasing that same rebound. One would get 5-10 years in prison for the contact that warranted a "no call." (Villanova lost by 2.) In the Tennessee-Rutgers game, the clock "froze" for about 1.5 seconds in real time with .2 seconds remaining. In that 1.5 seconds, a Tennessee player grabbed a rebound while in the air, came down jumped up attempting a shot and was fouled. If the clock had continued to run, no foul would have been called - the clock would have run out giving Rutgers the win. However, the clock started running after the foul was called, the buzzer sounded, so time did expire - with Tennessee going to the line for two shots and a chance to win the game. Swish. Swish. Ballgame. In last Saturday's Oklahoma/Colorado game, I witnessed a guy travel, then bump into a opposing player - who was charged with a foul. Colorado guy blocked out a Sooner trying to block a shot with essentially a "low bridge hip check" similar to what you would see in a hockey game. No call.

That's when I turned the game off. That's when I turned off hoops essentially for good. I miss the days of Jordan vs. Bird vs. Johnson. All three were fundamentally sound players (notably Bird) and all three played the game with a passion like no other. They all enjoyed playing the game.

Good thing there's hockey and English soccer until the start of Arena Football. Otherwise I'd be pretty bored until then. Oh wait. The Oilers stink this year. Guess I'd better learn how to play kitchen with Miriam or find some time to clean up the yard... if mother nature will quit leaving the freezer door open on the weekends!!!!

RW

New Kitchen!!!!!

Miri's early birthday gift!!

It was a long process to get to this point:

It took over a month of watching store websites to find it available to buy...

Then, it took an hour to pick up at Wally World - even with their "easy site to store" pick-up option thanks to dealing with on-the-job training. As I made my way to the exit where R was waiting, the WM employee pushing the cart that thought it was real kitchen...

"I didn't know Wal-Mart was selling kitchens. How do you get everything hooked up?"

The "greeter" who also doubles as a shoplifting "watchdog" hadn't the slightest understanding of the "Site to Store" system and thought I was stealing the thing... even with a receipt, the assistance of the "slow" employee and the manager vouching for the fact she actually checked the item out. We didn't get home until after 10:00 PM but I wanted to start putting it together right then. R nixed it and said "good night."

After 3 hours of Daddy putting it together, Miriam will be excited to see it in the morning!!!

I am so excited for her to play with this. (stay tuned for kitchen updates!)

Baby Love

Two years ago we were one week shy of a Valentines baby - but she is still pretty sweet…...

Miri and her V-Day loot!!!

Snacking!

"Kissing her new "Doggie"

Although after a day of Hippo this and Hippo that from Mommy and Daddy I think she is convinced it actually might be a hippo (newly named Boynton after some of her favorite books) Hippo Boynton has only left her arms for a bath! Good call Grammy and Pop-Pop!

GYMNASTICS!!!

Today was Miri's first day of gymnastics!!!! I can not believe we are starting this phase of her life so soon - didn't I just bring her home from the hospital?????? Ryan was home sick today (2 ear infection) but was feeling better by this afternoon so he joined us at her first class.

I was in my own little dream world about how this would go (some might call it a delusional state) M would see how fun it all looked and join right in immediately warm up to her teacher, make new friends and by the end of class have mastered the somersault and would be praised for being such a natural, a prodigy, the smartest, most beautiful baby toddler around. Boy was I wrong!!!

I took her into the studio to meet her teacher and show her some of the fun activities she will get to do. All I heard was “no Mama…… Mama get back here…..” But her teacher assured me that once I left it would be better. So I observed the class looking through a window. Miri pretty much screamed all through the warm ups – her teacher held her and danced in place. This really impressed me, I was afraid she was going to hand her back after a bit and tell us she just wasn’t ready. BUT, by the time the kids lined up to march in line M was not crying – until she spotted us through the glass – then she broke down again! Ooops!!! I didn’t realize the viewing went both ways.

After warm ups (the first 15 minutes) they broke off into groups and went to the various stations. Miri’s group (2 year olds) did rope climbing, trampoline, mat time and a jupiter jump – 45 minutes later she was delivered back to us – happy, hyper and wanting to go back next week!!!!

So I did go ahead and sign us up, her teacher said it would be good for her. Right now she is the youngest in the group, but if we continue on through next fall she will be the oldest – so I feel like M will get a well rounded experience (not constantly being the beginner or youngest but having the opportunity to be in a position of a leader later on).

I am going to be more realistic next week – I will be prepared for her to cry but I am taking a book to read in the lobby (hopefully out of site out of mind!) Now all I have to do is find a leotard in a 2T……..

"Oiled Robbers"

"Oiled Robbers."

I muttered those words when I was 5 years old. I was with my mom on the way to her OBGYN appointment as she checked on the progress of my soon-to-be born little brother. The Dr's office was on Lewis Ave about 53rd street, and in the distance you could see the tallest tower of Oral Roberts's latest obsession - the "City of Faith" hospital.

A little background here - we all know old Oral was a manic megalomaniac if there ever was one. Everything revolved around him. The university with his name. The Medical school. And most importantly - his Ministry. The hospital the ministry helped fund was to be his grand achievement. Three towers, each 777 feet tall, all with gaudy gold-toned accents everywhere from the windows to the carpet in the reception halls. Millions of dollars were spent, but somewhere along the line, the money ran out. The first tower isn't quite the full height - 648 feet and 60 stories tall. The other two towers? Well, they didn't quite make it. Both were topped out at between 20 and 30 stories, well short of the intended height. See picture...

Eventually, the medical school ran out of money and lost it's accreditation leaving Oral and the family a gold, er, white elephant of epic proportions. Since then it has been leased out to a myriad of ventures from The Cancer Treatment Centers of America, telemarketing firms (CFS anyone?), architecture and engineering firms to wedding receptions on the top floor of the tall tower. (Note floors 58 and 59 - off limits to the general public... that's Oral's lair... er, office.)

Back to that day in the hot summer of 1980... as we crested the hill and the top of the City of Faith came in to view, I exclaimed to my mom: "LOOK MOM! OILED ROBBERS!!!!"

Mom choked back a snicker that as a five year old, I did not understand. As I grew older and more cynical, I came to realize that my innocent comment that day was so true. Little did I know how true it was.

First, In 1987, Oral made his infamous plea to the masses - "I need $8 million dollars, or God is calling me home." Uhhh... yeah Oral - this plea coincided with the closure of the hospital (that was some $25+ million in debt.) Twenty plus year later, you're still alive and kickin'.

Over the years since then, things were quiet, relatively speaking. But in the last few months, things started to simmer.

First - the accusations of members of the Roberts family funneling money from the ministry to their own expense accounts surfaced.

Then came the lawsuits by three former professors who "blew the whistle" on the family funds funneling. They were canned for "insubordination," hence the wrongful termination suits. (Note - at least one prof is now teaching again at ORU after a settlement last month.)

Now THIS. We're talking Billions that have been funneled from the ministry to the Roberts family and other university/ministry board members. Board members who until Hobby Lobby founder Mart Green's conditions for a $70 million dollar gift to the university required their resignations, were serving as board members for the ministry and as members of the board of regents for the university. If all of the accusations are true, imagine the legal ramifications of bilking millions of people who thought their money was going to ministry activities such as feeding children in third world countries or funding education grants.

Methinks the IRS will be in town shortly to conduct a full audit of everyone's ledgers, especially since the university reported a nearly $4 million shortfall in their 2006 filing with the IRS.

As Sarah knows - I believe in God, Jesus Christ, the Ten Commandments, etc. I believe in doing what's right. But I cannot stand evangelical ministers. Especially the ones who want money so they can "serve god better." I don't believe in tithing either. I'll give to the church out of kindness, and as long as I know where my money is going.

I remember a part of Bono's monologue in the live version of "Bullet the Blue Sky" (off the Rattle & Hum CD) that sums up my thoughts about this whole mess:

"...I can't tell the difference between ABC News, 'Hill Street Blues' and a preacher on the 'Old Time Gospel Hour', stealing money from the sick, the old. Well the GOD I BELIEVE IN ISN'T SHORT OF CASH MISTER!"

RW

About a Kitchen

Why is it so hard for us to make a decision on getting big gifts for Miri??? With her second birthday quickly approaching we are in gift mode. A play kitchen is something I know she will love and use. But which one to choose…… I would love to get her a PBK set but 1. it will run about $600.00 (no way for a kids toy!) and 2. it is 2-3 different pieces and of course space is an issue!!! So at Christmas Ryan and I found this one http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2310847 at TRU and it would work, but I am not totally into the plastic look, after all even though this is a toy it will be very visible in our very small house – I would at least like to look at something pretty! After doing some research online I found this kitchen http://www.kidkraft.com/catalog/53101-0059.asp and I think it will be the best choice. Unfortunately it is “OUT OF STOCK” at the 2 major retailers I feel comfortable purchasing from via the internet and from these websites it appears that it is not sold in stores except in specialty boutique toy stores that raise the price because they can……

AFTER-MATH

So we (along with most of Tulsa) are still dealing with picking up after the ice storm that hit in December. Ryan, Miri and I just spent the morning in the back yard picking up branches - and we still more to go! I am amazed at the destruction that occurred in a few long hours of ice breaking trees. I am also amazed that we were not seriously hurt. The storm started very early on a Sunday and by Monday trees and branches were cracking like crazy. Me in my brilliance got the camera to take pictures with the branches falling all around! Today Ryan and I pulled up several "twigs" that were impaled into the ground 10" or so deep. Even one of those "twigs" hitting someone would have caused serious damage. At my parents house they and the neighbors had to get out at least three times just to clear the common driveway they all share so trips to the store, work and other necessities happen. We are extremely blessed to have made it through the storm without any major issues.

Will Rogers was right!

"If you don't like the weather, wait a minute it will change."

On Thursday, it snowed. It was 48 today. It will be nearly 70 by Monday. Oh, and the weather geeks at the NWS office are saying another round of cold & wet by the middle of next week. No wonder Sarah's sinuses are going haywire and Miriam's little voice has more gravel in it than country creek wash.

Spring's coming soon - I just hope we don't get a late freeze like last year which killed off our (then-thriving) roses like the pic to the left.

Miri's second Bithday Invite

We are well underway on pulling together a party for Miri!!!

I can't believe that our little princess is almost 2!!!!

Hello World

Welcome to the Wilbanks (Tulsa branch) family blog. We started this blog to keep friends and family updated on the goings on in our lives. And of course to keep everyone up to date on Miri's latest and greatest.