the newest of babies (what, you're surprised?)

this is riley, the newest addition to the keith/vanzant household. he's an eight month old hyperactive sweetie pie that has captured our hearts. he attacks everyone, including murphie! finally, pierre has someone to play with. although with riley around, we have started to notice that pierre's not the young kitten he used to be.

we've had riley less than two weeks and it already seems we've always had him. he fits in perfectly with all the others. the kitty is still a grumpy old man who doesn't really get along with anyone but fred, but we won't fault him for being old and set in his ways. its very odd sometimes to see a light colored cat sauntering past us...or in most cases, pouncing!

my mom had been wanting another cat since her baby charlie had died a little over a year ago. we were a little concerned with getting another one since we already had so many. but one day justin's mom came over and asked if we knew anyone that wanted another cat. we looked at each other and sighed. of course we did. the only problem we now face is the possible problem of parting with him when the time comes.

these are cruddy pictures from my cell phone in dimly lit quarters. i promise better ones to come! (oddly enough, these show a side of riley seldom seen...)

i was browsing my brother john's facebook profile tonight and came across some pictures he'd posted on his travels.. he's been on my mind a lot lately since he's a naval firefighter in san deigo. i honestly don't know if he's even there right now, but whether he is or he isn't, he needs prayer. keep him in mind as he's only just now 22 and out on his own in the midst of the unforgiving world that offers much but holds nothing.

christina sent me these a while back...i hadn't seen them before...thought some of you would like to see them as well. so much happens in such a relatively short amount of time like two years. can you believe that there are a few weddings and babies that have happened since then? man we're gettin old!
left to right: amy, christina, calista, melissa, crystal, jill, moi

okay so....

they'll never be able to run for office or cook dinner...but who said i didn't have kids...


(notice the glowing eyes in the doorway in the distance...that's fraidy cat fred!)






in case anyone is wondering, female dogs, if not spayed, will have what seems like a period. i have no idea how long it lasts, only that the diapers for it cost me $15!!
she doesn't like them, but she knows that if she wriggles out of it, she'll go right back outside.
as soon as possible, she's goin to the vet!! man am i a sucker. seriously, i told justin a long time ago that i never wanted to have to put diapers on any animal that i had. hah! i'm eating those words as we speak!
(it is pretty hilarious to watch her waddle around in a diaper though, thus the pictures)

because of michelle's nudge...

i thought i'd post about blessings in my life... but you have to get down in the dumps sometimes to notice the good, right? so yesterday, i was on the far north side of okc and i drove by my and justin's old apartment. i started to feel so disappointed and annoyed that things in my life were absolutely not going as i had planned. i did not plan to be married as early as i was. i did not plan to stink at finances. i did not plan to STILL be living in okc. i did not plan to be living in the same home as my mom at 26 WHILE MARRIED. THIS IS NOT MY PLAN!!!!

i was so frustrated that i kept choking back tears as i drove back to the place i called home with my mother and my sickly whiny husband.. (i love him but jeez guys are whiny when they're sick!!) :)

i kept thinking that it wasn't fair, that i couldn't handle all the disappointment that i was conjuring. i just kept thinking about all the bad things that were going on and that had happened. i got worse and worse and worse and finally i couldn't hold the tears back any longer. which is pretty unsafe when you're driving...

and i hate to cry. crying is stupid and it makes your eyes puffy and was ruining my perfect eye makeup job!! so i had to stop. i couldn't. i HAD to. then the Lord brought these verses to my mind: "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. Fear ye not therefor, ye are of more value than many sparrows." (matt 10:29,31)



then i was ashamed. i had SO MANY good things in my life. so what if they weren't what i had planned on having...the Lord knows way better than i do what i need. seriously, he knows what i want too....way before i know what i want.

here are a few reasons i should be happy and trust the Lord so much more:

1. i have a husband that loves me even if i cry about really stupid things....or if i cry for no reason at all
2. i have a job that pays me the monies i use to settle my debts. there are a lot, but i get them covered.
3. i have clothes that fit, and the ones that don't, well, see number 4.
4. i have food to eat. i am not going hungry. you CANNOT see my ribs. even if i tell you you can.
5. i have a wonderful mother who, even when she drives me crazy, is happy to have me at home helping around the house. this is a mutually beneficial relationship.
6. i have friends. WONDERFUL FRIENDS! i have so many Godly friends who don't give up on me and are always there for me in word or in deed.
7. i have a Savior who is full of endless love and forgiveness. it doesn't matter how many times i "forget" about all He's done for me. He still brings all those things back to my mind as if to say "I love you beth, you are dearer to me than you can imagine. I will take care of you, feed you and clothe you. I will be your JOY."

boy, sometimes you really need to write out things like that...He's so good to me even though i'm worthless and constantly throw His blessings back in His face. thank goodness i have Salvation that is independent of me!

Amazing Love (Charles Wesley)

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Savior in my heart.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

babies!!

i promised pictures of murphie WAY BACK...so here they are. murphie is the small beagle/terrier mutt and william is the big german shepherd mutt...they're so cute!

here they are being sweet...


and here is the epitome of william looks...big, dumb, lovable...he's so silly


here's murphie doing a belly crawl..she rarely does this and its so cute!


lord william buckley, esq.


the ball is about as big as she is!!


as you look at this next picture, imagine william's tail wagging so hard that his butt moves quickly from side to side...that's what he's doing there!!



i'm such a cat person, i never in a million years thought i could like two dogs so much!!

silliness

ug. so a few minutes ago, i went to put some dressing on my pasta. the lid wasn't on well. i didn't know. there was balsamic dijon ALL OVER THE PLACE. its thick and dark and it won't just wipe clean. if i was at home, one of my five or six living mops and vacuum cleaners could have helped. but i'm at work! so now there are TONS of paper towels in the bathroom trash that are covered with a dark brown slimy substance. it does make me happier to think about what patients will think when they see it. makes the mess, the cleaning, the frustration worth it. man i'm evil.
reminds me of the time that i put trash in a box and layered the trash with wilted rotting spinach leaves and crumbled pringles. i taped the box up and took it over to lenscrafters and told nathan the manager that i had accidentally recieved and opened a shipment meant for them.

of course he wouldn't open it because of past experiences with boxes that i've taken them. no i dont' have a reputation. plus, they started it by putting poly swarf in my trash can!!! (poly swarf: the waste generated by surfacing polycarbonate eyeglass lenses. it is either wet and nasty or dry and nasty) nathan forgot that i had trained in his lab years back and actually knew what it was...they were hoping someone here would just be confused. but no, they started a war. i put handful after handful in a box and stuffed it to the point that it would bust open if jostled and it would get all over nathan's suit. and it did. haha i'm quite proud of how juvenile i can be, aren't i?

happiness vs. joy

why do people (ie preachers) warn you to be careful of what you ask from God? i think its silly and it simply scares people from asking God for something they so desperately need. for the longest time, i have only asked God to help me in little things like, help me to be safe on my way to work, help me do well on whatever....well, i've been scared to ask for Him to do what is necessary in my life.

at the wichita conference this weekend, we spent some time on joy. i learned that happiness is happenstance and joy is lasting. suddenly, it all made sense to me. sure, i could be happy about a million things that i had going on in my life, but they're all so fleeting. yay! i have chocolate! but ooh i'm so sad its gone in 30 seconds! i had happiness to a certain extent, and was afraid to make changes in fear that it would bring about unhappiness.

but the Lord gives us joy. and no matter what is going on in our lives, no matter what lessons we are having to learn or what consequences we are having to reap, we can have joyful confidence. that this is all in our Heavenly Father's perfect plan for our lives and when we get to heaven we'll not be ashamed that we squandered the life He gave us.

Ecclesiastes 11:4 He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.

how foolish am i to think that my plans are better than the Lord's? how foolish am i to think that my happiness depends on me NOT asking the Lord for what he wants from my life? i have been missing out on blessings and joy because i have been so confident in my flesh. i am so sorry in my heart of hearts for this. BUT i know that the Lord is gracious and forgiving and i have a clean slate because of His gift.

Psalm 62:5-8 My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

i am ready. now i pray that i really am. i have to remember to think supernaturally instead of having my human fears. yes, this will bring conflicts and it will not be easy, but the Lord has a plan for this. i will be able to handle everything with His mercy. if you are reading this, please pray for me and my marriage and everything else in my life, as things are about to be turned upside down. pray that i will hold onto the joy of the Lord and that i will draw from his strength as i have none.

the beginning

so it hardly seems right that i start a blog considering i have no children with which to blah blah blah about, BUT i do have lots of ANIMALS!!!! so beware, you all have children, i will BOMBARD you with pictures of my babies! and you will love them as i must-er-of course love your children. as justin and i have no intention of having kids now or anytime in the near future, we have three cats and two dogs. and how, you ask, is that managed sanely? well i'm glad you asked. its not. one must clean the litter pan once a day. oh wait, that was singular. one must clean the litter panS once a day. although one is automatic, so occasionally i'm able to wait to tell justin to clean that one out till the next day. food and litter are serious expenses, but very much worth it. vet bills can be a pain, but eh, we survive.



"The Kitty" is the oldest of the bunch, and was originally justin's pet. i've fully adopted him now, but i can't help but feel a bit less loving to him than the cats that justin and i've gotten together. he's nice and all, but he's justin's cat. that's all there is to it. he's about 4 years old and by far the least problematic of the three.



fred was the first addition to our family. calista brought down two kittens, one for me and one for my mom. we kept the one that we thought was a boy and gave the other (that we thought was a girl) to my mom. turns out we were completely wrong, but we did in fact name her fred AFTER we knew she was a girl. i think its cute whatever anyone says.



then we stole pierre. yes, i pilfered a feline. he wasn't in a good place, living with drug dealers and such. but i did reap what i sowed when he began peeing all over the place and also broke his arm. about two thousand dollars in vet bills later, he has a pin in his arm and its healed completely, and he finally was fixed after three surgeries and no longer pees on things. for the most part. he is my favorite as he sleeps with me and cuddles me in the mornings. he's more than worth what we've paid for him.





justin had been bugging me relentlessly for a dog. we had lived in apartments for about a year and a half and there was no way i could handle a dog with three cats. but we moved back in with my mom to help her out, and it just happens that she has a HUGE backyard. i finally gave in and thus we adopted lord william buckley esq. he's a german shepherd mixed with who knows what. he's nearly a year old now, but so big that i forget a lot of the time that he's still a puppy.

then about three weeks ago, we got the latest addition. her name is murphie and she's a jack russel terrier/beagle mix (we think.) she's older than william, but not by a whole lot. she's so small that she can walk right under him to start gnawing on his knee. (can i say that a dog has a knee?) she's completely hyperactive, but at least william has a playmate. i'll take her to the vet next week most likely. unfortunately, i don't have any pictures uploaded from the camera yet. don't worry. it'll happen.

so now that everyone has been introduced to the vanzant babies, i feel i have accomplished fitting in. its late and i need to get into bed. so i'll try to keep up with this thing, and with christina on my back, i'm sure i'll make a half way decent attempt. but no promises! the end.