I wish I was a great writer or totally in touch with my feelings so I could tell you all how life changing this week has been for me.

I know too many people who have lost loved ones too soon; Husbands, mothers,  sons, brothers, a baby.

My eyes tear up and I get a lump in my throat every time I sit and think about the pain they must be feeling. How do you go on? Why do these things happen? I seriously can’t stop crying. My heart hurts so bad.

I feel so fortunate to have the people I love with me. But, I’m guilty of taking them for granted. How could I do that? Life is so fragile. A loss can happen to anyone at anytime. What if something were to happen tomorrow?  

Anyways… I will not take any person in my life for granted. I’m going to slow down, not get frustrated, listen to people, take time for them, and tell them how much they mean to me.

Just think about it for a moment. A tragedy can happen at any time. Please tell the people you love that you love them and spend some quality time together.

you take the good, you take the bad

Wow. Just wow. TGIF!!! I'm happy to say that Dave and I have survived the most stressful, scary, busy 7 days of our lives together. Every minute of the last 7 days has been accounted for.

We hit a serious low on Saturday morning when we heard Dave’s little brother was shot in the chest. I get the shivers every time I think about it. We are so thankful that he will be okay. I hope they catch the bastard that did this to him. Dave has known 3 people who have died before their time because of guns and now one that could have. If this doesn’t change ones stance on guns I don’t know what will.

You know how people say “bad things” come in threes? Well, it’s true. Obviously nothing can compare to what happened to Cameron, but the blows just kept coming during the week.

Dave’s car broke down on his way to see Cameron. Dave’s step-mom had to actually pick him up on the interstate while his car got towed back to Scottsdale. Not a big deal, right? Well my financial aid got messed up with ASU so I had to pay for my classes this summer. Still not too bad… The mechanic quoted us one price- ouch. Then they found a few more things that needed to be fixed. OUCH. I feel like a true college student after that one. I guess I can take comfort in the fact that we actually had the money to take care of those things.

Wednesday was the hottest day of the year here- 110 was the high. And as luck would have it somehow Zoe got locked in the truck in the hot sun. Long story short, the firemen had to bust out a window to get to her. Thankfully she was okay. And thankfully we were at a friend’s house and they were amazing about the entire thing.

So ya know, we just did all that emotional stuff and added playdates, swim lessons, VBS, camp, and about 20 hours of homework. And no working out so I feel like a marshmallow.

I lived it and I wrote about it now I can put it to bed. I’m looking forward to spending a relaxing Father’s day weekend with my family.

Decisions

Decisions, decisions. Wouldn't it be nice if one would always know what to do and when to do it? Or if big life decisions were as simple as ordering pizza? But they aren't, are they? It's more like ordering at the Cheese Cake Factory. You know whatever you order will taste good, but it's hard to choose just the right thing from their book-like menu. Dave took a job at another company and was supposed to start tomorrow. However, his current company offered him more money and trainning to stay. So he is staying. I'm very proud of him! They really like him and he makes a difference so he likes that. With Dave settled, it's once again time to think about me and Z. Preschool? College? Culinary School? Job? Wait out schooling for another year? Hmmm...

Our December: It's a wrap!

I’ve actually started multiple posts, but have never had the time or motivation to complete more than one thought at a time. We have been extremely busy this month. It’s been a rollercoaster with lots of ups and downs, but mostly ups! In total the girls opened presents 12 times. They are so fortunate to have so many people who love them so much. I just wish it was as much fun to give the girls money for college or classes than it is to give gifts ;o)

My big news is that I can now say I officially weigh 7 pounds less than I did when we moved here. I have been working out at least 5 days a week for an hour. I started taking a Power Cardio class and a Core Conditioning class that have been paying off, so I will keep up with them.

And look at this lovely (too early to be taking pictures mom!) picture of me making a main-dish salad during Christmas. We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Dave has been on vacation since the 23rd which has been really nice. He even got a call on one of his off days to find out he received a nice raise!

And While most are looking forward to 2011, I am just looking forward to Monday. It’s time to get off the rollercoaster that is December and back to routines and complete thoughts.

Happy New Year!

Before and After

we put a lot of love into this house. i'm really going to miss it.

that horrible fan is going to haunt my dreams though ;o)

i don't have a picture handy, but my favorite part of the house is my red walls and white cabinets in the kitchen.

Feelin' Lucky

We are so incredibly lucky! Intuit (were Dave works) said that IBM has 45 days to vacate. Intuit is not renewing the contract with IBM and will be laying off 29 across the country. Hopefully IBM has other places for the others to go. I can't imagine what this news would have been like if we didn't have something already lined up. SCARY!

In the mean time.. Us girls are busy crafting, painting, packing, going to the gym, and when I'm not looking mini tornadoes go through the house.

Pretty Much THE Best Day EVER

I talk a lot about me and the girls on this blog and Dave just kinda fades in the background... He is such a great guy and he means so much to me. He is such a hard worker. He's a dedicated employee, friend, son, husband, and dad.



He made Mother's Day such a special day for me. He knows that I like to plan, so I got to plan the entire day! I had breakfast in bed (thanks to Kayleigh), a morning nap, home-made orange-blueberry muffins (thanks Dave and Zoe), recived a 4-in-1 cake stand, and a wonderful boquet of flowers, took the kids bowling and I kicked Dave's a$$, packed some boxes, watched an episode of Private Practice while the others took a nap, and ate a nice meal at a nice restaurant. At dinner, a grandma came over and complemented me on how well behaved my children were. SCORE!

I am such a lucky lady. My husband and my girls made me feel so loved and appreciated today. Thank you family!

Enjoying Spring

In the midst of all the craziness we do find time to enjoy things :) Lately, it's been enjoying the weather. We've had a few picnics in the park with friends, played with super soakers with the neighbors, a trip to the Desert Museum with Grandma Jan and Dave's neice, Racquel, planted herbs and flowers, and took a family bike ride to the park.

It's so nice to see our bikes parked outside rather than the garage.

Great Love

There is nothing more in this world that I love more than my family. So precious.

Other People's Junk

I'm so thankful for other people's junk (yard sales, craigslist, and ebay). We have a lot of other people's junk in our house and I'm proud of it! Today in particular I'm thankful for an amazing $6 find. Cinderella that lights up and sings, her carriage, and her horse. I've waited a month before giving it to the girls. They deserve it today- they are playing so nicely together and they are letting me get some housework done. Yay!

And I can't forget the best deal. A perfectly good Electric Barbie Jeep for $25! We couldn't pass that up!

Community

I am thankful to be apart of my community. Gladden Farms is about 20 mins from anything- even a grocery store. When we first moved here we were promised stores and schools, but that went down the drain when the economy did. Anyways. I'm thankful for what we do have here. A library, never busy post office, schools, lots of parks, trees, grass, and no light pollution.

Coffee

I've missed a few days, so these aren't as thoughtful as the previous. But, I'm thankful for coffee. I've been drinking it since I was about 19 or so. 10 years later I like it even more because I can afford to experiment with styles and flavors. On Saturday Dave and I stumbled apon International Delight's Chocolate Mint Truffle. It's the perfect addition to my coffee this holiday season!

My Tucson Mom Friends

I'm obvoiously thankful for ALL of my friends, but today I'm especially thankful for the Mom's I've become friends with at Kayleigh's dance class. They make being a mom and wife a little easier. We talk about kids, husbands, shopping, life, and whatever else. We all have two kids which is nice too. Anyways... Today we were invited to a Pajama Jam breakfast playdate. It was Awesome for the 7 moms and 12 kids :) I'm going to be smiling about that one for a long time.

Sisters

I'm thankful for my sisters. They are always there for me when I need them. They call Dave Brother. They love my kids and I know that in their care Kayleigh and Zoe would be well taken care of.

Here we are during our reproduction of The Golden Girls "Yes, we have no Havanas."

For Katie's Golden Birthday the entire family particiapted in the play. We had scripts, props, costume changes, and a film crew. It was so silly and so much fun!

Esplin's

Today I am thankful for our next door neighbors. They are great people who are rasing three cute and wonderful children. They are kind, generous, fun to be around, and the type of people that I trust with my children. Our lives are better because of them. :o)

Da Dave

I am so very thankful for my husband. I'm thankful that he is a hard worker and goes to work every day to ensure we can enjoy the things we have and do. I'm thankful that he is such a good Daddy. He loves snuggling with the girls while they watch TV or a movie. Kayleigh always requests that Dave read her poems from A Light in the Attic before bed. And of course I'm thankful that he is strong enough to be my man!

This is a typical reaction I get from Dave when I plant one on his cheek.
Here we are in Alaska this past May.

And here we are winning the Not-so-Newlywed Game show on the cruise.

In Laws

Yes, I am thankful for my in-laws! I really lucked out that Dave has two sets of parents that I'm comfortable being myself in front of, whom I love and respect, and that love me too! :)

My mom

I am so thankful that my mom is my mom. She is a constant inspiration to me whether she knows it or not. Like most people, when I was a kid I would always say that I didn't want to be anything like my mom. Now, I hope that I can be as good as she is at being a mom, friend, and mam-maw. Thank you mom for everything you do for me and my family. We all love you!

nutty for nutella

Obviously my "I'm thankful for..." is in no particular order....


I'm thankful for Nutella. Yep, I'm thankful for a hazelnut chocolate spread :) I'm so excited about it that I eat it at least two times a day. What's my favorite way to eat nutella? For breakfast on cinamon raisin bagel. And also after the kids are in bed I get a teaspoon full and lick it clean. Tonight Dave gave me the fantastic idea of using it on a pretzel. I don't know what took me so long to try it. Well, yeah I do... I wasn't going to spend $4 on something I've never tried before, but I did and I'm so happy about it! So, please give nutella a try. It's fantastic!

Thankful

My facebook friends inspired me to do this. Everyday until Thanksgiving I'm going to write about something I'm thankful for.

Today I am thankful for my girls. They make me crazy, make me do silly things, make me smile at their excitment, and make me love them a little more each and every day. I'm so blessed to have these beautiful girls in my life.