Christmas Vacation

So we had a very lovely Christmas. Very eventful!

On Wednesday after work my family got together for dinner and the kids opened their presents. It was nice having everyone together.

Thursday morning, we left for Casey's grandmothers house in American Canyon. We have not been there in a few months and Casey really wanted to see her for the holidays. We enjoyed watching Christmas movies with grandma that evening.

Shortly after waking up and getting ready on Friday morning, family began to arrive at grandmas house. It was wonderful to see everyone and surprising to see how grown some of his younger cousins are now. We sat down to a fabulous feast around two o'clock and enjoyed each others company. By about five the house was cleared out with the exception of my little family , grandma Joan and Uncle Jerry. We again watched great Christmas movies and snacked on leftovers.

Saturday the kids and I got it together and left to visit some good friends. We started with the rather amazing Super Walmart in American Canyon (tee hee, we don't have such large stores in our little corner of the world). We headed from the store to my friend Amber's house. It was so great to catch up with her. She has a son that is a few months older than James and a daugter a year older than Destinee. The kids were anxious to visit as they grew up with her kids. Amber also has two younger boys who I had yet to meet. They were quite adorable and very entertaining. I even had an offer from one of the little guys to move in with them. After spending a good five hours with them it was time to depart. I had one more stop before heading back to grandma's house. And though it was hard to say our goodbyes I believe it is one of many future visits. I then took the kids to another friend Glenna's house. She was so glad to see us and we were glad to see her. We visited and goofed around with her, her husband and son for a few hours. Toured their beautiful home, they are weekend warriors and have put so much work into their property. After sitting down to dinner with them and watching the boys play Wii, it was time to say goodbye yet again. I had a curfew of 10:00 pm at Grandma's house and I better not be late because it was too cold to sleep in the car and too far to get home - LOL! Once I arrived at grandmas' I was greeted by Casey's cousin Spencer, who I have not seen in several years. We all hung out and chatted until it became late.

Sunday morning, we woke up, cleaned up our belongings and messes. Hugged and kissed our family then ventured back home. Once we arrived home and unpacked the car, we visited my mom and Lui to tell of our adventure and then stopped at my ex-sister-in-laws house to see what Santa brought to the little ones. Now I am home and gearing up to return to reality and work tomorrow.

All in all it was a wonderful time and I hope you had a fabulous Christmas too!

P.S. Family pictures are in and will be posted as soon as I get them scanned!

31

In my 31 years of life I have learned the following:

The past - the past is full of several memories both good and bad but never the less they are the makeup of the person you are today.

The present - is just that, a present. A present that we take for granted all of the time. We spend our time thinking of the future; whether it be tomorrow, next week, next year or several years from now.

The future - unknown to us really but we have wishes and hopes for what our future will hold. Sometimes we take steps to get to the future we desire and sometimes our future just happens to us.

My past has been a great book of lessons both joyous and terrible. My present, though as many, not the exact picture of my desired present, is still pretty grand. My future only time will tell but I look forward to watching my children grow and reach for their dreams. I hope to have grandbabies a loooonnnggg time from now. I want to grow old with my husband and take several adventures on the way to our rocking chairs.

Happy Birthday to me and if your reading this you are a special part of my life. You have been part of my past and present and are sure to be part of my future. Thank you for being in my life.

Kids say the darnest things

I was talking with my friend Amber yesterday about blogging and told her that sometimes I am way to negative to write a blog. Among the ideas she gave me was the fact that with her little ones she always has a good story. I decided that this would be a wonderful time to reflect on my kids as babies.

James is now fourteen years old but here is a blast from his past: He used words like doning (doing) and bummer. He used to make his Nana and I watch invisible movies on the windows of parked cars. He liked to say hi to anyone walking down the street. Let me set the scene for his classic story: he had the Buzz Light year and Woody toys from Toy Story and one day he misplaced one. Here is his exact quote "Mom, I lost my Buzz but I still got my Woody." Poor kid, we were rolling on the floor laughing and he had no idea what was so funny.

Destinee who is twelve was quite the little flirt as a little one; some things never change. She loved to dance even to the sound of the vacuum. She said things like "Wood Life" (Word Life, said by John Cena on wrestling), I do for I love you and I not talkin to you. And she always said she would live it up like Mary Kate and Ashley.

Fast-forward to today, my son says wise-crackin remarks all the time and my daughter rolls her eyes and stomps her feet as she goes off to her room.

Isn't growing up a grand experience for all involved!

A Mother's Love

A mother's love is the staple of life; a mother brings life. She is a teacher, a nurse, a cook, a friend. She walks you to your classroom on your first day of school and cries when she says goodbye. A mother stays up late to wait for you and wakes up early to make sure your favorite jeans are washed. She holds your hand to cross the street and takes pictures of all your events. She kisses your boos-boos and talks to you about your first crush. A mothers love makes you the person you grow to be and endures many heartaches. A mother should see your first step, the day you are married, the day you have children. A mother should never be the first to say goodbye. You make her whole world and without you a large part of her will die.

**I wrote this for you Auntie Veronika, on 12/17/06, the day we lost Brandon. I love you

Family Pictures

So today we went to take the first family photo we have had since it was just me, James and Destinee. I know, I know, long time coming, right? Well let me tell you! I spent most of my morning getting everyone ready to go- what do you want to wear...ok let me wash it, did you eat something, did you brush your teeth, fix Destinee's hair, James leave your sister alone, Destinee leave your brother alone, everyone stop fighting!!! Then we get there early for our 2:00 pm appointment to find that there was a large family in session and another family waiting ahead of us. We patiently waited as the line grew larger and larger. About an hour later, it was our turn! The process went well but while we were looking over our photo proofs there were little ones screaming in the waiting room, a woman came in yelling about how behind they were in the schedule and one of the two photographers headed to lunch (the other had just returned). So one person taking pictures, customers backed up to about six appointments - I will be lucky if I can ever schedule my family again. Hopefully the pictures will be a cherished memory of this wonderful event! Merry Christmas everybody!

The ARTGA Meeting

Yes folks, it is that time again. Time for The Annual Redneck Tree Gettin Association to go out into the woods and find ourselves a Christmas Tree. Sunday was our fifth year cutting down our own tree with our friends Brendan, Dawn and their daugther Cassidy. As always it was a wonderful adventure full for chatting and laughter. We have had the pleasure to watch Cassie grow through our tree gathering days as Brendan and Dawn have watched our kids grow. We had a great time, have a nice tree and look forward to another meeting next year!

Thankful...

Today I am thankful for the time I get to spend with my loved ones, the health of my children, the love of my husband. Today I am thankful that I am a mother, a wife, a daugther, granddaugther, niece, aunt and a friend. I am blessed to be a able to watch my children grow and live a good life. I am thankful that I get to have the next four days off of work and though it drives me nuts, I am thankful to be employed. I am thankful for all of the wonderful food we will be sharing today as well as the laughs. I am so very thankful that my youngest brother is here to spend another year with us.

May we all take the time to stop and be thankful for our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Longest week

So for only being a three day work week, it has been the longest week ever. Isn't funny that there is always a cost for days off. It all started yesterday when I put my flash drive into my work computer to retrieve a document and my computer caught a virus. I guess I picked it up from my sister-in-laws computer the other day. Being that I am one of the computer techs on staff, it has been my job to heal my computer. In order to have the time to work on my work computer and still do my other job at work, I took my personal computer in and installed work programs on it. So there I am with both computers side by side, workin on one then the other.

I also attended a funeral for a clients husban today which made me cry and then to top of my day, I was yelled at by another client. Now I have one day left and my fingers are crossed that it will be a lighter day. I can't wait to spend my time laughing and eating with family and friends!

Turkey Bucks!

I love turkey bucks! In Lakeport we have a grocery store called Bruno's. During the month of November when you shop at Bruno's and spend $50 or more you receive Turkey Bucks. My family easiliy spends over $50 each time we take a trip to the grocery store so we have earned alot of Turkey Bucks. You can then you use the Turkey Bucks towards your turkey purchase. Last night Casey and I went to redeem our Turkey Bucks and bought two 15 lbs turkeys all by way of Turkey Bucks and still have some bucks left over. What a way to save for the holidays.

Party Time

Destinee's birthday gathering with the family was a success. She had a great time and ended up with $100, new boots and an Ipod. Thank you to all that made it, called or posted birthday wishes for her.

Now tonight I am taking her and two friends to see New Moon!

Rockin' Robin

My Robin called me last night. We haven't really talked in several months, not because we were mad at each other but because life moves so swiftly. We talked for almost two hours and it was great. She plans to come stay with me on my birthday weekend which would be awesome. I miss her so much!

She is going to school and seems to be headed in a wonderful direction. I am so proud of her and truly love her!

It is amazing how fast time goes by and sad how the space between family & friends grows. I hope to see and talk to the people that love me and that I love more in this coming year. Life is way too short to waste time.

Destinee turns 12

So Thursday, November 19th my baby girl will be 12 years old. Though she is only turning 12 she seems more like 15 - well into her teenage attitude. Destinee was born on November 19, 1997 after much anticipation. She has always been active and her entrance into this world was no different. In a matter of a weeks time she managed to move from birthing position into heading out feet first. After several attempts on that very day to move her back into position, it was decided that she was stuck under my rib and would need to be C-sectioned. Once the decision was made, I was prepped for surgery and she was born within five minutes of prep. I then had to wait a few long hours to hold her as my body regained feeling. While waiting for that moment, James was introduced to his baby sister which he loving stated "Yes, I got a pink!" From that day forward she was known as the little girl who did cartwheels in mommy's tummy. She is growing into a beautiful young woman and I hope she reaches for the stars but will also plant roots in her life. I am lucky to have her and I love her. Happy Birthday Destinee!

Casey has a new job!

I am so excited because Casey got a new job. In the past month he has had issues with his current supervisor and one employee. Since that time his hours have been reduced to about fourteen a week. He put six years in with this company and has always been a reliable employee yet this is how they treat him. Since he is not getting the stability he deserves, he started looking for a new job. The search has been a tough one but it finally resulted in an opportunity.

He has been offered a position as a Maintenance Supervisor with an apartment management corporation. He will be starting at less pay but will actually be making more money and he will also have benefits.

It couldn't come at a better time with the holidays nipping at our heels. Now to find a better place for me :)

An ode to my mom

I must say that though as a child the relationship I had with my mother was rather strand, she has been my rock as an adult. She has watched me grow as any mother would but I have watched her grow just as much. She went through many trials in her life, a good portion a failure but with more sucesses than she will ever know.

I want to thank her for always answering my calls, listening to my rambles, drying my tears and sharing her experiences. I would never change the past as it has brought us to where we are. I appreciate your help and think you are a wonderful grandmother. I hope that I have the same qualities for my daugther that I find in you.

Never doubt that you mean the world to me and that I love you!

Call your mothers and tell them that they are important to you because as I have learned from my hubby....if you wait too long, you may not get the chance. Life is short and unspoken words are seldom heard.

Have a great day, especially you mom!

Back to work

So I wasn't sure how much of this I was going to share but in the hopes that I am not alone, I figured I would go ahead.

Today I anticipate heading back to work after being out for four days with a total of six days in bed. I got really sick on Thursday and was diagnosed with Quincy which is an abscess on my left tonsil. It is very painful and I had difficulty talking, eating and even breathing for the past few days.

I have been sick quite a bit this past year and truly believe my body is trying to tell me something. I am too stressed and worry way to much. I need to slowdown and mostly I need to make changes in my life. I love my family very much but the teenage years are terrifying. I need to find an outlet as my kids are growing fast and do not spend the same time with me as they used to. As far as work, they are wonderful people and it is a wonderful place to be if you enjoy accounting. I am learning very much but something is missing. I am still not sure what I want to be when I grow up but I need to reach for it, whatever it may be so I can feel satisfied in the career department.

I believe that I suffer from some deep emotional issues that cause me a great deal of depression. Goes to show you can be well adjusted and feel that you have moved on in your life and still the past can rear its ugly little head.

So though you probably thought you were going to read about me heading to work after a fabulous vacation or something of this nature, I hope that it helps someone somewhere to know that we all spin alittle out of control every once in awhile.

Have a wonderful day!

Introductions

So after reading through a few family and friends blogs, I thought it would be a great time to start my own. I hope this blog is a great place for sharing, laughter and alittle healing....

I guess I will start with a bit of a background on my family. I am a wife and mother, I work full-time and am known for worrying way to much about the things I can not control. My husband is hard-working plumber who is very even tempered and loves to play xbox. I have a teenage son, James, who is adjusting to life as a high schooler (better than his mother is). I also have a pre-teen daugther named Destinee. She is gorgeous and so much trouble. We live in a little town called Lakeport in California with our two dogs Max and Chopper.

Life has been a journey for sure and though it is very fruitful it really has been bumpy. I started out as a young mother who could not make her marriage work with the kids dad. I was very lucky to have Casey come into my life after a devastating split from my high school sweetheart. Casey is a wonderful man who has become a large part of our home and hearts. It isn't always easy meshing a premade family like ours as well as making an adjustment to a move from Napa but we seem to be coping well.

Cheers to a new venture in this blog!