Bowden Family Christmas

We left just after lunch to go to Texas to see both of our families. When heading the Dallas way, we stop at this rest stop to take our kids picture with the big Texas. Jackson has definitely grown since the last time we came this way.

My parents gifted us and my sister's family with a trip to the Great Wolf Lodge for Christmas. We have no pictures at the water park because I was just lazy I guess. But it was lots of fun. Jackson went down all 3 slides in the kiddie area. And Katie rode some that she was too scared to do last year. And Collin rode them all! Yay! It was lots of fun!

The oldest 3 cousins all played MagiQuest.

MagiQuest is a scavenger hunt game played with wands that goes up and down (by staircase only, or you lose points) all 8 floors of the GWL. Collin and Grammy were paired up and Katie, Chandler, me and my sister stayed together for a bit.

Collin was able to continue his game from last Christmas at GWL. And he now is a "master magi"!!

This is the GWL made out of Legos. Legoland is nearby in Grapevine and we hope to be able to take our Lego-loving Collin there someday.

We ran into 3 families from church at GWL and 1 family from Katie's basketball team and 1 family from Collin's school.

We then headed to my parents house to celebrate Christmas. Here Matt is introducing Collin to THE CHRISTMAS STORY movie. Jackson watched a bit of it too.

Jackson enjoyed playing with his cousin Chandler's new Lego set.

Katie helped Grammy make some Christmas cookies.

Here is our almost 1 year old nephew, Grayson, opening his stocking.

Jackson also confiscated his cousin Chandler's Leap Pad.

And here is our yearly-you-better-hurry-and-get-in-your-spot timed photo.

Merry Christmas from the Bowdens/McCooks/Moirs!

Let's Explore Oklahoma: Saturdays With Santa

On a recent Saturday we all bundled up and headed to downtown OKC. The kids all got their pictures made with Santa - to go in their Santa Scrapbooks. Yep, as soon as I get caught up. In scrapbook world, I am still in 2009. Collin has asked Santa for a Harry Potter Lego set.

Katie would like Santa to bring her a Razor scooter with pink wheels.

And Jackson could care less. He just wanted the candy cane Santa was handing out.

Oh what fun!

After the photos, the kids went on a scavenger hunt with their passports to OKC. It was great fun. They had to go to 4 different stations and complete the activities to get their passport stamped. After they completed the passports they turned them in for a chance to win a bowl of candy.

After finishing up the passports we played around outdoors at the Myriad Gardens.

It was great fun! It was such a nice, relaxing Saturday.

These stepping notes were in the middle of the maze.

Have I mentioned I LOVE living in a big city? Well, I mean I like living in the suburb near a big city.

Did not make it out on the rink this day. But we plan on going to the ice skating rink here in our suburb when we return from Christmas break. I need to also mention that the events on Saturdays with Santa are FREE. This will go in my Oklahoma Travel Book in the Things to do in the month of December section. Merry Christmas blog friends.

I am an armchair lobbyist.

I met with a Senate staffer today. She writes insurance bills. She will be writing this one now that an official bill request has been put in. :)

I have cleared 2 hurdles.

1. Meet with a Senator and/or Representative. Check
2. Get a bill request. Check.

If you are following the news coverage of this story, you know that the request was only sent in because of media attention and God. It wasn't because of me and my negotiating skills or my speech on how important this bill is and how kids with severe food allergies need this coverage. God did what I thought couldn't happen and He did it through the news media.

The next hurdle is finding an author for the bill. I thought that would be Senator Jolley. It will not be. But I have 49 other Senators out there waiting to hear my speech. And I have 3 weeks to get appointments with them. Due date for the author is January 19.

And then after that there are more hurdles. By the way, I hate running. In 7th grade I ran hurdles and had a fear of tripping over the hurdle and knocking my front teeth out. I feel the same way now. I feel like I am always in fear of getting my teeth kicked in by this process and somehow I am still able to stumble over the hurdles.

Just when I ready to give up, quit, have peace with how far we came, feel like I gave it my all, etc. I find myself on the other side of that hurdle. And I'm looking at the hurdles in front of me and they seem large. Very, very large.

Bill writer is nice. And very smart on insurance law. I like her. She goes to Jazzercise. And because of that I think well, she must be normal then.

I'm seriously missing my old life. Before bills. Before meetings with Senators and Representatives. When I didn't really care or know what was going on during the legislative session. Now I cannot NOT know any more. I have become an armchair lobbyist.

Collin was sent home from school (for the 3rd time this year) with pink eye.

He didn't have pink eye and he didn't the other times either. But we enjoyed an afternoon at the Cowboy Museum or the National Western Heritage and Cowboy Museum if you want to be official.

I tried to get a picture of my 3 in front of the cowboy Christmas tree and it wasn't happening. Jackson would have none of it.

Jackson liked it much better when we visited Prosperity Junction - the old 1880's town. This day the museum was letting kiddos sit in the wagon!

We found our favorite longhorn! He is buried (I think) here. Good old Abilene. The Cowboy Museum grounds are SO beautiful in the fall. We loved walking the paths behind the Children's Corral. And I was blessed to have a day out with the oldest along. And also blessed that he did not have pink eye! :)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of the Black Forest

Collin was super excited to be cast at "Little Banjo" in this performance.

Here is the makeup room. Collin did NOT like putting on makeup but said, "It's just one of things you HAVE to do when you are an actor." That made me smile.

He especially hated the eye liner. And it was so difficult to remove that he kinda had an Adam Lambert look to him at church Sunday morning.

Once the kids were costumed and makeuped they went to the green room. Here they played some warm-up games and group games until it was time for the show.

All practices were closed so we didn't see any of them. Collin broke the news that Snow White would be kissing him on the way home from practice one day. He said, "Now Mom, don't get mad. But I am going to get a kiss in this play. And it says it right in the script so please don't go talk to Ms. Susan. Just let Snow White kiss me." I said, "Where does she kiss you?" Collin said, "On my head." I said, "Well, let me think about it. (Pause and smile) Ok. This ONE time will be fine."

Little Banjo

He loved getting to sign autographs! He wrote his first name and some music notes under it - because he sang all his lines.

Katie made a banjo at school on Friday and wrote on it "Little Bango" and wanted to take it to the show and play it in the audience. Sadly, she did not get her wish.

My nephew Chandler, my sister Serena, and my mom and dad AKA Grammy and Poppa. Matt stayed at home this night and watched Jackson and Greyson.

Between shows on Saturday the cast met at Steak and Shake and ate an early dinner. I've never enjoyed that restaurant more. Collin kept popping over the big kids table to talk to the evil queen. I asked him later if he thought that he might have a crush on Katie - the evil queen. He said, "No mom. She's my really good friend. I've known her since I was like 5." Smile.

Collin's fantastic 3rd grade teacher (who is also our next door neighbor) came to the show. YAY!

Matt's parents AKA Pops and Jarre came up for the big show too.

And my friend Sarah and her son went on standby for tickets for the last show and got it! Collin was thrilled that a friend got to see his show! And this photo is proof as to why my child got to play a dwarf!

Collin had fun at the cast party. They ate pizza from Cheezies and had cupcakes that were iced like apples from I don't know where but a fancy cupcake place and root beer and chips.

They all watched the movie of their performance. It was fun for me to watch them watch their show. Sometimes they would all break into song on Collin's lines and then they would stand up and do one of the group dances. And the general commentary was funny to listen to.

Then they went down to the theatre and watched....

"The Joe" juggle. Yes, my friends, this 12 year old boy juggles very sharp sword like thingys. "The Joe" ran lights and sound for the show.

Then they played games. Here is where you suck up a lima bean on a straw and take it across the room.

And then they had to thread yard on a spoon through everyone's clothes. That was interesting! The little boys in the show had NO idea that maybe they shouldn't help their friends that were girls get the spoon through their shirts and pants. Yes. Very interesting.

And then they played Honey, If You Love Me, Please Smile. Collin tried to get his director Ms. Susan to smile. She didn't break.

Double birthday festivities

My political life is a bit overwhelming to me...

and I'm mentally exhausted by it but here is an update.

Met with Senator Clark Jolley to discuss the lack of coverage by insurance companies on amino acid-based elemental formulas. Great meeting. Like the man. He WAS LATE to our appointment!! Like 30 minutes late!!! But I forgave him quickly :) when he said, "Let me research this and I'll get back to you in 2 weeks. Sounds doable."

The next day one of my "lobbyists" told me that because my meeting had gone so well, he had set up a round table discussion with Jolley and some health care professionals to discuss how effective these formulas are for other patients (not just kids with severe food allergies) and did I want to come? Of course I want to come!! When is it? Thursday. Um....ok...I'll make it work.

Wednesday, day before meeting, 5:00pm, we are on the way out the door to go eat at OC. "Lobbyist" calls me to say that he has been pulled "off the case from the headquarters in Washington." Huh? "I'm not a registered lobbyist." Oh. What does that mean? "I can't speak to a senator or representative on behalf of my company. I can't encourage you or discourage you from attending the meeting. I can't encourage or discourage any HCP (health-care professionals) from doing that either. I won't be in attendance tomorrow. I'm so sorry. And off the record - go get them!" After I hung up, I sat down and cried.

My dietician friend call shortly after my crying spell and says she's still going and she will be prepared to talk in place of lobbyists. Previously we thought we would just go and look pretty and listen to all the doctors and nurses and dieticians talk. I felt better.

Thursday: drive to pick up 80 year old doctor and take her to the capitol. Meet 6 other HCP women and we squeeze into Senator Jolley's office and they begin talking. Senator Jolley starts talking code: PCCP and Title 36 and other stuff and I nod along like I totally get when he's talking about. At the end of the meeting he asks me to get in touch with 2 Senate staffers.

Monday: I call 1 Senate staffer. She tells me that if he asked me to call her then we are WRITING A BILL!!!! December 9th is our due date.

In most recent news....Representative Grau called to tell me that my insurance company would be denying our appeal to insurance companies first denial. So we will begin the process, I think, of a "2nd level appeal".

In other news: #1 Senate staffer has told me she will be letting #2 Senate staffer do the writing of this bill (with my finishing touches of course) because #2 deals with insurance and #1 deals with health and then "IF Senator Jolley decides to sponsor the bill, we will move forward in January." What? When did we move to IF?

Believe me when I say that I have political highs and lows about every Monday/Wednesday/Friday since I started this whole thing. Some days I really want to quit and go back to my regular life. Some days I really feel like fighting.

Right now I feel really glad that we can make sacrifices to afford this $$$ amino acid-based elemental formula and I still fervently pray that Jackson will grow out of all food allergies. He gets retested in February!! :) He DID lose weight again, but we are staying the course on his current eating plan with dietician at Children's in Dallas. He had a really sick month in October so we are chalking it up to that and moving on.

When feeling discouraged about the political process of getting a bill going or having my appeal denied, I try to remind myself that Moses got a NO 9 times from Pharoah before he got a YES! And then after that YES, Moses was chased. And God did provide.

And when I was feeling like quitting this whole crazy thing on Thursday, I got an email from a person I made contact with regarding supporting my bill. She and her group got the "epipen bill" written for the state of Oklahoma (I did not even know we had an epipen bill). Anyway, I'm meeting with her next Wednesday. She said it was quite a process to get it done. I told her I that I felt "processed" already. But God knew I needed a little push to keep going and so he gifted me with my new friend Cami - the epipen bill author. God does provide.

Now you are updated on my political life. I absolutely know that I am gifted in being a teacher and I could never and should never go into politics. I've said it. Now someone hold me to that when I get another crazy idea.