phew....it's been a while

Writing a post when it's been a long time has been hard! It is almost like it has to be something major and so just an everyday post isn't good enough but since I havent had anything really big I've just not put anything up!

Does it sound weird to say I have missed my blogging friends?

I finally just decided that a month is long enough and to just say something. I can't not just go on without saying something on here about a hard loss. I'm sure NO one will notice unless I point it out but I had to erase the part over on the said of my "about me" that said........a father in law that will never be an ex. I didn't think it was right to just erase that from my side bar and go on like I was erasing him.

We lost Grandpa Jack in February and it was much harder than I had expected it to be even though I thought I was prepared. In a way it happened very suddenly, but that was just the accident. Once we knew he wasn't going to wake up, the days that we had to tell him goodbye and to watch my children grieve were life changing. My boys were his only grandchildren and they were quite simply his entire world. They will always have that legacy of love and I will always be his daughter. I don't want to be sad anymore or make anyone else sad I just didn't want to not acknowledge his passing. We miss you Jack and are so glad you are up there with Kathy and showing off your pictures to a new audience!

I thought I was going to continue this, but I am going to end it and start a new one. It just seems right.

Happy Birthday Jesus

Thank you Lord for the best gift of all.

I love the time we have had with family.
I loved seeing how much they appreciated their gifts we chose.
I wanted to take a few moments and remember about the best gift.

We are flying home tomorrow (Jeff & I). The boys are coming home and we will finally get to celebrate Christmas with our small family. Everything is ready and waiting for the excited sounds of the boys as they see their bulging stockings and the early morning wake up to open all their gifts. I wait all year for that moment.

I never updated but we did finish our projects...we strung popcorn and cranberries

I also made the silhouette ornaments and my "S" monogram wreath.

Since I believe Christmas is a frame of mind and not just a day, I am eagerly looking forward to getting home and having my family all around as we drown in wrapping paper and ribbon and watch their precious faces as they see what they are given. I can't wait to drink hot cocoa and apple cider and nibble on Christmas snacks. I'll see you all soon for new years!!

I just had to leave a picture of the view from the back deck of Jeff's house in Mass where we just had a wonderful Christmas with our family. We love you!

wrapped around his little finger

(Davis coming home from school, Jeff in the kitchen doing dishes)

D: Hey Jeff! What is this paper for? Can i have it?
(J looks over and notices it is leftover christmas wrap)
J: OK. What do you need it for? (with D you just never know)
D: It's a surprise!
(5 minutes later he comes back and asks Jeff to sit down)
D: Merry Christmas! (handing him a small "package")
(Jeff opens the package and discovers a quarter)
J: WOW! Are you sure you want me to have this? (Davis is very big on saving and a quarter is a big deal)
D: Yes, I saved it for you.....but there is something more in there too, just make sure you don't tear it.

This is the point when Jeff discovers the true gift. A handmade certificate that says:

World's Best Step-Dad

Could there be any better gift ever? And yes it is proudly displayed on the fridge!

He's a natural

This is so cute I had to post it!!! This is my adorable nephew Drew playing Guitar Hero World Tour with his Daddy in our living room.....ignore the obvious mess from unpacking Christmas presents (yes we have already had 1 of our Christmas's with my family)
even more rockin.....

.......so I can move on

I am making this post because I have been thinking Christmas thoughts and I am playing catch up :)

I have loved seeing all the other "fall" posts and cute halloween costumes on my friends blogs but have been negligent about posting mine.

This is me carving my pumpkin, I don't have a picture of it and it is long ago in the trash :(

I did get a picture of Jeff's pumpkin, it won 3rd place in the carving contest we went to :)

I actually had decided not to post any fall/halloween pictures but Davis has been asking me when I am going to put pictures of him in his costume so here they are...................beware they are a bit scary :)

He has already been a pirate previously so this year he wanted to be a skeleton pirate.

I told him I had never seen a skeleton with dimples :)

He did get sad because he scared the smallest children at the carnival so I'm not sure he will go scary again.

once again.....

It might possibly be that we can't take a family vacation without a missed flight.

I can't decide if it is better when you know you will miss the flight because you are 2 hours from the airport and your flight leaves in 1 and 1/2....you know you aren't going to make it and even though you have called and found out you will be put on standby......you just can't get that knot out of your stomach because there are 5 of you and you are about to miss your flight and you can't help thinking this is a really bad way to start your vacation. As you drive along that dark rainy highway and wonder if the plane you see in the sky is the one you are supposed to be on...........that was us last summer.

This year we were prepared. We had a flight coming home that left at 6 am from Baltimore. We needed to be at the airport an hour and a half early and we also had to return our rental car. We knew we needed to be there at 4 am. We were prepared!

We planned to drive in the night before and stay in a hotel AT the airport.

We planned to get a solid night sleep.

What actually happened was that we had so much fun the day before we just couldn't get to the hotel early! Of course if we are driving through Philadelphia we HAD to take time and run up the steps at the Musuem of Art and pump our fists in the air like Rocky! And oh yeah.....we HAD to find out who made the first philly cheese steak and go try one! (even if we did have to drive around until we could find an internet signal to research this information and THEN drive around a 2 mile circle for an hour until we located the place)

We finally made it to the hotel and in bed at midnight. I knew that 3 1/2 hours sleep wouldnt be much so I made sure we were prepared. I pulled one change of clothes out for each of us and the dirty clothes bag and left the car packed. I set the hotel alarm clock AND my cell phone alarm for 3 am thinking I would be up first and be prepared and ready to hustle 3 boys and a husband out of bed and into the car by 3:30ish.....we would NOT miss another flight. I kept waking up with that feeling "its been 3 hours"......it was 1:30.....then it was 1:56.......then it was 2:15........I called the front desk and requested an emergency wake up call for 3:30 thinking that I would just cancel it when I got up at 3. I went back to sleep knowing all would be OK.

I woke up.....I felt really rested! I laid there for a minute trying to remember where I was......I looked over and saw the hotel curtains and my heart started pounding as I realized.....I felt REALLY rested. I dreaded looking over to see the red lights on the clock tell me it was 5:30!

Yes

5:30

Our flight would be leaving in 30 minutes

They had just started boarding "our" flight

I had 4 sleeping family members, 8 pieces of luggage and a rental car and my flight left in 30 minutes!

We had done it again! I took the laptop and snuck into the bathroom.......there was no need to panic anyone else until I had a new plan to reassure them with. The website tells me there is a flight at 8:45. I make a quick call and find out they can put us on standby but they can't offer me confirmed standby and the flight is "pretty full". I shut it all down, wake up the family and loaded us up within 15 minutes.

We got to the airline counter and they told us they would check our bags on the 8:45 flight and if we didn't make it they would be waiting for us in Dallas when we eventually got in. THEN she tells me that since we are on standby we might not all make the same flight but they would make sure the 2 children got to fly with adults.......WAIT........2 children? I have 3! That is when she tells me that since Travis is 13, he is considered an adult and if they can't put 3 of us on a flight and only have room for 2 on each.......he might have to fly alone. Can I tell you that he handled this news much better than Mom? The thought of my BABY flying 2000 miles alone on a 3 hour flight was enough to give me heart failure.

We go through security when I am "randomly" selected for a more thorough check and because I have children with me they must also be checked. It doesnt matter that we have missed one flight and are racing to catch another......it REALLY doesnt. We have 5 carry-ons between the 4 of us and they must EACH be gone through systematically and the boys look at me with big round eyes as this stranger pats down their Mom the way they have only seen in the movies with criminals. As we hurry off to the gate I ask the boys to pray with me......I tell them just to pray that God makes the rest of our journey smooth.

You might have noticed I said 4 of us..........that's right. The airport security had an issue with Jeff's ID. They tell him that he will be detained and that he needs to go through "evaluation" that could take 20 or so minutes. They let him know this will be an FBI check. He settles in to wait........then comes the questioning......they know everything about him! They ask him about the make and model of our car to "test" him that he is who he says he is. When he says that it is parked at a hotel in Dallas they nod knowingly and say "yes we know". About that time the supervisor comes in to approve him getting on the flight. This man realizes they looked at the ID incorrectly and stopped him for no reason. He apologizes. Unfortunately since the process has been initiated and he was already detained, they must finish the check.

Can anyone guess the color of his face when he finally met us at the gate?

Guess what happened next? The gate attendant calls us up and tells us that she is very sorry........she can't seat us all together. WHAT? We are on the same flight? We will be home together? Sitting together is the least of my concerns as I give her a big hug and she laughs at the tears in my eyes. We have 2 seats together and 3 seperate. We decide one of us will sit with Davis since he is youngest and he picks Jeff......big shock! We get on the plane and I walk Michael back to his seat in the rear of the plane.....he is a little nervous but since he has a window seat I remind him just to look out the window and pretend he is all alone. I settle into my seat when the flight attendant taps the guy next to me on the shoulder and tells him about this WONderful seat in the rear of the plane with a window and lots of room and wouldnt he like to trade?......I then see Michael standing at his elbow and am overjoyed when the man says of course he would trade and Michael buckles in next to Mom. Our flight lands early..........our luggage all arrives..........we get a ride to the hotel and don't have to pay for the week we parked there as arranged.......we have an easy drive home and my parents have dinner waiting.

Don't tell me God doesnt answer prayers.........even if it does take his children a while to remember to ask him.

Next year? I'm also researching the flights after each of ours...........just in case.

Lost blog 1

I have been behind on my blogging and so I’m using my vacation to play catch up.

A couple of weeks ago we had some family come to visit and I didn’t get to post the pictures.

My cousin Kirstie and I are really close and I love getting to spend time with her NOW. I say that because I didn’t always feel that way. I was the first child born in my generation (on my Dad’s side). All the others after me were boys……I was the only girl and I loved it! I will admit to being a little spoiled….for 20 years. That’s how old I was when my Dad’s youngest brother had a daughter. How dare he! Didn’t he know that I was the granddaughter! We didn’t need another one. Yes…..I was 20……but I am ashamed to admit that I did have a few of those thoughts. It didn’t take me long to change my mind. I realized we had that special relationship in common……and yes she is spoiled also.

She hadn’t been to visit in years so this was a really special weekend. We had a TON of fun shopping and playing Mario Party on the WII. We also played Putt-Putt and I schooled everyone on the go-kart track J Here are some of the pictures of us getting ready to race.

We made it!!!

We are in New England for our vacation :)

We are spending the week with Jeff’s Mom here in Western Mass where Jeff grew up.

We got a good deal on tickets into Baltimore and THOUGHT we would get tickets later for a flight from there to Hartford, CT where we usually fly into. Due to the rising gas costs lately tickets are through the roof and when you need to buy 5 of them it really adds up! We decided that the cost of the one tank of gas needed to drive from Baltimore was better than the cost of 5 airline tickets.

SO…...we drove up yesterday from Baltimore and I loved the drive (except the part when the highway turned into a parking lot and we sat on I-95 for 2 hours) The boys couldn’t believe all the states we drove through! We only drove 350 miles…..at home we would drive that just to get to Dallas and would drive even farther to go to Houston or Corpus and never leave the state. Yesterday we drove through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Massachussets…..7 states in less hours than that! I LOVED the view from the window…..all the trees and green. The best part for me of course was New York. We didn’t stop but even driving through was nice for me since I got to soak up just a little bit of my favorite place. We are going to spend some time there on our way home so I am looking forward to that :)

Here are a few pictures of the beginning of our vacation…….the journey to Mass.

This is at the hotel, just before the shuttle took us to the airport.

If you are wondering why they aren't waking up for the excitement...it WAS 4:30 am.

Davis was SO excited to get his luggage all by himself..look at my big guy!!

I'll keep you updated as we enjoy our week :)

I hope you are having as much fun as we will be :)

Here we go again!

I wish these were my suitcases!

I love the look of these and I would just be so proud to see them going round and round at the airport with all the fancy new ones :) I actually got a new suitcase recently that I am so excited about from a garage sale.....for $3!!!!!!! It is kinda carpet-baggish it is navy and it has a combo number lock on it and is so old fashioned but in GREAT condition. The interior is red satin and I just love it. This is my first trip with it and the kids just think I'm crazy to want to take it along while they have all the new luggage loaded up. Jeff gets it though and just chuckles as he walks through when I am packing because I am special (at least that's what I tell myself he is thinking)

We are going on vacation....yay!!!! Jeff is from Massachusetts so we have loaded up the 5 of us and are ready to go! We will be leaving tonight and be gone through the next Sunday so it will be a nice long trip and we are trying really hard not to pack it full of too much activity so that we get a REAL vacation and not come home exhausted. We are flying which is always an adventure with 3 boys but at least they are older so it isn't bad and sure beats that long drive :) I am hoping to actually post some of the blogs I have been wanting to get done for a while and just didn't have time. Wish me luck!

Happy anniversary David & Kelli

I wanted them to have their own post. David is my brother. Growing up it was just the 2 of us and I never missed having a sister until I became older because he was just so much fun. We had a few skirmishes I guess, but in general we got along so well and were really great friends. He is pretty cool :) He is so great he even gave me the sister I always wanted when he married Kelli. She is such an amazing wife and mother and is so multi-talented that I envy her.

When we considered getting married on this day, we had to talk to them first. After all.......the day belonged to them already. They were so gracious to share this day with us and I will never take them for granted. We were very happy to dedicate their "song" to them at our reception and I wanted to show these beautiful pictures of them dancing to it because when I look at them I see their love radiating.

Happy Anniversary you 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can see their continued love story here: http://www.davidandkelli.com

What I want to be when I grow up

Aren't they beautiful? They are my grandparents, my Mother's parents. I really want to re-create this picture with Jeff.

I find myself thinking so much about enduring love lately. I am approaching my anniversary and I will admit to something. I used the think there was a "recipe" for enduring love. I used to think that if I could ask my grandmothers, and my Mom and other people I respected what worked.......then I could do it and I would have what I always wanted, to be married and in love forever and ever. It didn't work that way for me. You may or may not know, but I was divorced after 10 years of marriage. I have learned some things since then. I'm not sure I'm ready to blog about that stuff yet, but I will say this........I am so happy now and I feel so sorry for the young me that didn't have a clue that sometimes I wish I could go back in time and tell her a few truths. But then I wouldnt be where I am now, looking forward to Jeff & I's 50th wedding anniversary (ok..so it is 48 years away)

What I wanted to talk about is this.......the legacy of love I have been given. Now I look at my examples of enduring love and the lesson I learn is so different!! That is because they are all so different......

• I look at my parents who have been married for 37 years and I feel warm and safe and I learn to put God and each other first in my marriage.
• I also have my Granny and Grandad shown above who are neither one with me anymore on earth but who gave me a completely different picture of enduring love that taught me about having a servants heart.
• My Grandma (on my Dad's side) has been married to Hollis for over 25 years now. I learn the importance of being married to my best friend and what companionship can bring to my marriage. I'm also blessed by her continued love for my Papa and their marriage that also lasted over 25 years.

I see these examples all around me and I am blessed that they have shaped who I am and they have also helped shape my marriage.........thank you. I love and honor you.