I Still Love Edward (and Jacob)

I went to see the New Moon movie a few weeks ago, and LOVED IT, oh my gosh, it was so good! I just saw my picture of Edward on my page and had to write about it. I thought it was way better than Twilight, but I am not going to let Eva see it.

Love, love, loved New Moon.

December Already????

I just cannot believe that 2009 is almost over! Or that our Christmas tree has been up for over a week now, I'm never this early. Life has been good, really good, and I'm just enjoying everyday so much that it doesn't seem fair sometimes. And nothing has even happened! I just feel really blessed and grateful and lucky to have what I have, my two beautiful daughters, my house, my job, life is good :) And I'm not trying to say everything is sooooo perfect, because it's not, but I am just dealing with things better, and practicing being patient, and spending lots of time with the girls just having fun, and asking for God's direction in everything I do.

Tonight was Family Fun Friday! And we had lots of fun. I wanted to take the girls to the movies, but Eva wanted to stay home and have a pajama party, paint fingernails and watch movies here at home. So that's what we did.

Work has been going very well, the days go by fast, which is nice. I am so thankful to work for a company that is doing good, and my boss is the best. I am so grateful for all of the paid time-off he gave me in May to be with my dad, and he even put me on salary instead of hourly because he said he wanted me to have a steady paycheck and not worry when I have to take time off for the girls. I know I'm lucky but I would like to think that he is too, because I work hard and never take advantage of the benefits I'm given.

I'm also starting a New Year's resolution early this year, and that is to EXERCISE and NO MORE SUGAR. My sister, Becky, and I are going to do it together and are talking about joining the Genesys Athletic Club after the Christmas sugar. Sugar is my nemesis, and I just swore it off two days ago, then a lady at work brought in approx. 300 Christmas cookies for an office of only about 10. And they are the best ones too, all homemade, fudge, frosting and sprinkles. There's no way I can stop eating sugar with those around my desk.

We had a great parent-teacher conference with Eva last month. She's getting all A's, with one B+ (Reading). I am always telling Eva that her education is her job right now, and I know she can do better than a B+ in reading. So I asked her teacher, and she said Eva is reading at a fourth-grade level, and it may be because she doesn't raise her hand enough or participate in discussion (part of the grade). I know how painfully shy Eva is at school, and it makes me sad that it's hurting her grade, but I also know how important it is to be a well-rounded student. Life involves interaction and I'm confident this is something she'll get better at the older she gets. Her teacher said she is doing wonderful and there isn't anything she needs to work on. I know it's because we work with her at home almost every single night. She does hundreds of math problems at home each week and reads every single night. I think it's important to practice the things she is learning at school, even if she doesn't have homework.

Kayla is quite a little smarty-pants too. She's so good on the computer, it's almost scary. She writes her name so beautiful and almost every other letter of the alphabet too. She writes certain numbers, and can recognize all of them. She's much more interested in learning than I thought she would be. She's such a carefree spirit, I thought it would make her restless, but she just cannot take enough in and loves to impress us. And Eva's really good at teaching her things too. Kayla's so excited to start school.

And one more thing before I go, I have the best sister and best brother-in-law, I do not know what I would do without them. Becky helps me with the girls all week long, picks up Eva from school, stays at my house to make it easier for me, she's just always there for us. Well, Dan came over with her a couple days this week and COMPLETELY cleaned out my garage, fixed my one garage door that was catching, and now I can park in my garage for the winter! He also cleaned and vacuumed my breezeway today, and fixed my vacuum (that I didn't know needed fixed). I'm just so lucky that I have them.

A few readings that have really helped me this week:
"Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do."

"I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead."

xoxo

Kayla wrote her name!!!

I'm pretty sure she's the smartest three-year-old ever!! (Besides my Eva.) We've been working on her letters this past week quite a bit, and I was drawing letters A through H tonight and having her tell me what they were. Then, I started to draw the letters in her name, and she's so independent, she took the marker out of my hand and wrote her name five times! She was so proud of herself, and I was amazed at how quick she caught on. She even holds the marker really good, and she colors in the lines very good too. What's more amazing is that I always thought Kayla would be hard to teach anything to because she's so carefree and busy. But she's actually a very good listener, and she watches me first and then tries things herself. Eva's so good at cheering her sister on, and telling her that she's proud of her. I'm going to keep encouraging her to write her letters. Milestone: Kayla weighs 29 1/2 pounds and is 37 inches tall. She's already growing out of her 3T pants, her legs are getting really long. Eva is almost out of size 8 clothes, and we'll weigh her and measure her soon so I can post it. Eva's gearing up for her MEAP tests that start tomorrow. I'm a little sad about how easy her math is this year, I hope it gets a little more challenging. I'm lucky to have such smart girls.

My step-dad's parents were in town this weekend from Georgia, it was really nice to see them on Saturday. Paul and I had fun watching YouTube videos together and Louise had a nice time watching the girls play, and rocking Kayla like a little baby. Mom and Mike loaded them up with candy, it drives me crazy, but it makes everyone else happy!

Pumpkins!!

The girls picked out their pumpkins today! It was a little cold out, so Kayla went to the car a little early but Eva managed to pick out the biggest pumpkin I could carry. We went to a place that had lots of different styles and fun colors. Eva's monster pumpkin has bumps all over it, it's pretty neat. We've had a pretty good weekend, and decorated the house for Halloween. Plus, we picked up lots of new markers, construction paper and paints to help keep the girls busy while the weather is turning colder. I seem to have misplaced my camera, so who knows when I'll be posting pictures again. I have lots of pictures on my cell phone, but not sure how to get them onto my computer.

Bad news, I was in a car accident on my way to work this past Monday. I was traveling east on Silver Lake Road in Fenton and a teenage boy was heading west, and turned in front of me, wrecking my new car! I am so thankful the girls were not in the car, that noise and feeling are the worst. And I'm very thankful noone was hurt, but I'm very sad about my car. $8,500 in damages to the front end, I should have it back in another week or two. Meanwhile, we have a cute little red car to drive that Kayla calls "Lightning the Queen" (she thinks that is the name of the main character in the movie Cars).

Kayla is taking a nap in my bed right now, I think she may be catching the cold that I had this week. Eva's complaining of a sore throat too. Gotta love the back-to-school germs!!

I'm missing Dad alot today. I found a picture of him today taken at the Relay for Life in Brighton about 6-7 years ago. He was with his friend Gene, and they were walking in the Survivor lap to kick off the 24 hour event. I remember watching all of the people walking around the track, and being so grateful that the surgeon was able to remove Dad's tumors the year before. Seeing that picture was bittersweet, just because you're a survivor, doesn't mean you're guaranteed the cancer will not come back. It's just such a mean disease. But then, I know we have to be grateful that he did have six years where he was cancer-free, some people aren't that lucky.

A much needed update!

Gosh, it's been a long time since I updated our blog, and so much has happened this summer!! First of all, the girls are doing GREAT and we're having a very nice summer. The only thing that sucks is that I have to work Monday through Friday, but thank goodness for the weekends. I LIVE for the weekends!! Eva and Kayla got their hair cut and I just love Eva's hair shorter. I didn't think I would, but she's so dang cute, she looks good in anything (proud mama). I really need to post pictures. And the funniest part of that whole evening we were at the hair salon was that I discovered little Kayla cut her own hair just the day before!!! I was literally brushing her hair while Eva was getting her hair cut, and noticed all these "layers" throughout K's hair!! At first I thought it was Eva who cut her sister's hair, but Kayla finally confessed and I had the girl fix it into a cute little layered shorter cut. I must admit, Kayla actually did a good job! It looked like she tried to frame it around her face, and she gave herself some really cute bangs, lol! Then when I told Todd about Kayla cutting her own hair, he didn't believe it because there was no evidence. I mean, where was the hair???? It just so happened that Eva was playing in my room the next day and found a wicker basket FULL of little blonde curls....mystery solved :)

We've had a few asthma scares with Kayla this summer, and Sunday she came down with croup. It's just been the worst, I feel so bad for her. I hate the croup, and have never even heard of it before. She had a really barky cough, and a low-grade fever, and it is hard for her to catch her breath when she coughs. The doctor said that it's not to be confused with her asthma, but it's not fun whatever it is. The only thing that seems to give her relief is running the shower and letting the bathroom steam up. That works really good.

Work is going really good for me, I'm very lucky to be paying my bills during this tough economic time and I literally have the best boss in the whole world (no, I'm not being a suck-up, he doesn't read this!!) I also bought a new car right after my dad passed away. My brother, Rob, said that my dad's only last request of him was to help me buy a new car. My dad and I always talked about going to the dealership together. He was a great haggler, and always looked out for me. I am his only single daughter, and he was always doing things for me and the girls. I have to stop now because I'm still having a really hard time with my dad being gone. I bottle all of my feelings up to get through my day and they get out at any thought or mention of him, and it's really painful still. I talked to my brother, Brian, the other day and just broke down. Talking to my brothers is like talking to my dad, and I miss him so much it hurts. The girls and I go to the cemetary and just sit on his grave to be close to him. Eva has a very hard time with it still, too, and says how much fun he was and how she misses his songs and that no one else in our family can play the guitar as good as Grandpa. She's right. We listen to the Pacemaker's CD (dad's band, he was the only guy with three women, of course!) and it feels good to hear his voice. I love him so much, and everything reminds me of him, everything good, that is. I truly did have the best dad in the whole world and I miss him so much.

Eva Diva is working hard on her multiplication tables this summer. And her cousins introduced her to Wizards 101 which is an awesome MMO game for kids that is very similar to World of Warcraft, and the best part, it's free!! It doesn't take that long to download, and it's so fun to login and play, little Kayla even created a little character to run around with. And another good part, they have features setup to ensure privacy and safety for kids. It's so cool because they run around the city with other kids from all over the world! They are not allowed to login without a parent present, but that's true with their Internet use altogether. My sister watches them while I work, and I won't even let them be online with her. I'm not overly strict by any means, but this is one area where I draw the line. She is also only allowed to visit the sites: NickJr.com, Disney.com and Webkinz. Mean mom, I know.

Best Dad in the Whole World.

My dad passed away on May 17th. It's the hardest thing that I have ever had to deal with, ever. It's hard to type the words right now. I am still waiting for the hurting to stop, the empty feeling to go away. How do you get over losing your father? The best dad, the best grandpa, the best friend anyone could ever ask for? He was truly the center of our family, the glue that held us all together. He was amazing. He loved music, loved dancing, and loved singing and he was the happiest when we were all together, especially his grandchildren. His wealth was his family and everyone who met him knew it. The love that radiated from that man was hard to miss, but watch out if you messed with one of his daughters! I have had a hard time getting back to my blog because I knew I would have to start out with Dad's death and it's just so hard right now. I'm going to leave it alone right now and, at some point, come back and post more. There have been two deaths in my immediate family, Dad and Wes (Iraq 2005), and both passed away on May 17th. Our family will never be the same. My only hope is that Dad felt loved and knew we did the best we could at the end. I am so thankful to have had the best dad in the whole world.

Happy Easter....almost!!

I was just reading back through some of my posts, and I'm missing my blog! Soooo, here's an update. We've been busy, but we're always busy! My sister and I figured that out the other day, even though I complain that I'm too busy all the time, I actually enjoy having lots to do with lots of things going on. So, I'm just going with it now, and realize that I'm never going to not be busy and enjoy the chaos! ANYWAYS, the girls are GREAT, my job is going very good, and SPRING IS HERE!!! Well, it's sunny today at least. Eva calls it Spwinter because it snowed just a few days ago, but we're hopeful all that is over. Kayla is yummy as ever and sassy as ever. We've got a busy Easter weekend planned, and are actually on the way to my cousins, Greg & Stephanie's house for the day. And tomorrow, we'll be going to my dad's for the day after church. I call holidays the "Family World Tour" because we're always going to so many places to be able to see everybody. I just wish we could all get together in one place! But I'm lucky to have such a big family, so I'm not complaining. Happy Easter!!

Dear Eva and Kayla

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life,
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today,
and creates a vision for tomorrow.
-Melody Beattie

"Life's not about waiting for storms to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain."

When I read these passages on gratitude this morning, they really hit me and I want to share them with you girls in hopes that they help you too one day. May you both always find peace and contentment with what you already have, and not be too frustrated with what you don't have.

Kayla Turns Three Today!

We love you K!! I can't believe you're already 3, Happy Birthday!!!

Three years ago today I gave birth to my beautiful Kayla. My doctors scheduled a Cesarean section one week before my due date, it was an early Friday morning. I was supposed to have her first thing that morning, but there were a few moms that needed emergency care so we had to wait for a few hours. My mom, my dad, Becky & Dan, Mike, Helen, and of course Eva, were all there at St. Joe’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. Just before 11:00AM, I had a very quick and easy surgery. I felt a lot of tugging and pressure, and then heard the screams! Kayla came out screaming, which is so unlike her personality because she was just the best baby. But she would not stop screaming! She was all purple and her face was scrunched up and I was……in love. It took the doctor about twenty more minutes to put me back together and then we were moved into our room where we stayed for the weekend. Everything about my pregnancy with Kayla (and Eva too) went great. I felt great too, the whole time. Well, I did have morning sickness with both girls, but nothing too bad at all. For Kayla’s first year, she truly was a dream baby. From about 6 weeks, she slept from 7pm – 7am every single night. She was such a happy baby ALL the time, she went to sleep happy and never woke up crying – I would just hear her playing with her feet and talking to herself in her crib. Eva was totally IN LOVE with her baby sister and loved carrying her everywhere. She noticed and celebrated every milestone, even the tiny things that only a parent would notice and care about. As Kayla turned two, she was super tiny and kind of fell off the weight charts. She loved her bottle and I finally got her off of it that fall. She also broke her leg when she was two! At the end of August and for the month of September she had to wear a cast. She started dance class right after her cast came off, and we also found out that she has asthma that year. But she really did have a good year and went from a baby to this tiny little princess who loves dresses, make-up and her cozy soft blankies. She also turned into a “normal” toddler and now absolutely HATES everything to do with sleep! We celebrated her birthday at my dad’s house on Saturday and my mom’s house today and she got lots of presents from everyone. She got a playhouse, tons of clothes, a racecar track and a make-up kit (her favorite). I still cannot believe our little Kayla is three years old! And Eva turned exactly 8 and a half today too, so we just had to celebrate her half-birthday too!

Good Week So Far :)

Nothing extra special to report, but it’s been a good week so far. Last night we went to Jordan’s 13th birthday party at Rob & Alise’s house. Is my sweet niece really a teenager?! This is crazy, life really is so cliché isn’t it? Time really does fly by, and kids do grow up way too fast, and I’m getting old!! I love it though, I don’t want my girls to ever grow up, but I am looking forward to getting closer to them as they get older and having great talks with them, and going shopping together. I mean really shopping, not the kind we do now, with Kayla screaming the whole time and hiding in the clothes racks, and Eva talking her into doing things she shouldn’t, like running away from mommy. Yes, I am THAT mom at the store that can’t control her kids! They always talk me into the big huge shopping cart that fits two small children, and they never sit in it! They’re always running around and touching things they shouldn’t. That is why I have started grocery shopping on my lunch breaks, that’s been a wonderful solution.

Because Kayla’s birthday is next week, I want to make sure I report her milestones as she turns three. She’s almost three feet tall! And she weighs around 27 pounds. She’s still a tiny little thing, but her feet are huge! She wears an 8 ½ size shoe and fits perfectly into 3T clothes now. She drags around a “cozy” blankie everywhere she goes, we have about 7 of them in every color. She is pretty much potty-trained but I still like to put a pull-up on her at night. She’s wonderful, funny, and has a sparkle in her eye when she smiles that melts my heart every time.

While I am updating milestones, I must mention Eva too because she is going to be exactly 8 ½ on Kayla’s birthday (something that we’ll have to celebrate too of course). Eva weighs 67 pounds and is around 4’3” tall. She wears size 2 shoes and pretty much a size 8 in clothes, I just love her in jeans. She is growing out of Hannah Montana, but she still likes the Cheetah Girls and Jonas Brothers. She’s a daddy’s girl, loves to play Rock Band, and loves to read. She’s sassy, very helpful and giving, and is wise beyond her years. She is the best big sister, and will always be my “baby”.

I love you, girls!

Feeling Better

Eva was feeling lots better today, so that made Kayla feel better today too. I kept her home from school because I thought it would be best if she rested and drank a lot of water. When I came home at lunchtime to see them, Kayla had already bit, hit and punched Eva in the eye this morning and both were wearing very pretty dresses. I asked Kayla why she did that to her sister, and she said, "because I'm crabby!" with the biggest smile on her face. Eva does a really good job of just taking it and not retaliating, but I know the bigger Kayla gets, the more Eva's going to want to hit her back. Don't get me wrong, Eva does her share of provoking her sister, but she's just sneakier about it. There are way too many emotional women at our house! They both had dance tonight, and I'm so glad it's Friday tomorrow!

Little Eva's Not Feeling Well

Yesterday, we had to take Eva to the doctor's because her stomach was hurting her very bad the whole morning, and it was making me nervous because she wasn't throwing up or running a fever. Then, the fever started. And the doctor told us she has a urinary tract infection, my poor Eva. I had them when I was little quite a bit, so she's not very happy about those inherited genes! But what I am most concerned about is that our family has a history of serious kidney problems. They usually do not end up causing problems until early adulthood, but I am going to be as proactive as I can and keep my eye on her. Oh and, of course, Kayla was "sick" yesterday too because Eva was :) She had a stomachache too (not) and needed "medicine" too. I think someone is used to being the baby and getting all of the attention! But we babied her anyways and it was seriously like I had two sick children yesterday :) I am so thankful that the company I work for believes family comes first and I am always able to take the time off to take care of the girls. I am sure tomorrow will be a better day for Eva.

Sweet Surrender

I know I have an idea of how I would like the day to go, and what I need to get done today, but I also know it will not go the way I expect. It is going to go according to God’s plan, not mine, and I need to be ready for what comes today. God, I know work is going to be busy, and I probably will not be able to finish everything I need to get done. But please help me to put my co-workers first, and be kind and helpful to them. I know the girls are not going to listen to me today, and they will probably argue with each other many times today, but please help me to be patient with them, to realize that they are just being kids, and to build them up while I am disciplining them, and not tear them down. God, please guard my tongue today. I am up for the many challenges that today brings because I know You will be with me and will give me what I need.

Fire in Fenton

An apartment caught fire early yesterday morning in Fenton. Thankfully, noone died but the whole building was destroyed and everyone living there lost everything they had. The girls and I went to the complex this morning to drop off some things, and it was just very sad. There were lots of donated items and it was very nice to see everything that people had brought in. But these people need furniture very bad right now. I saw a young guy in the leasing office this morning that I had met a few weeks ago when I was moving out of my apartment. He is part of a church missionary group and he came to my apartment door and asked if I needed help moving. He was so nice, and he remembered my name when I saw him this morning. I found out that they lived in the apartment building that burned down and they lost everything too. And they were there volunteering in the office this morning, offering their help to the other people that lost their homes. He even offered to help me again with anything I needed. My heart just goes out to him and his friends. Eva and I also learned this morning that Kayla is not into sharing or donating just yet. Eva put together some stuffed animals this morning to donate and when we were in the leasing office today, Kayla saw her stuffed snake and totally freaked out! The lady there gave it back to her, and Kayla was all smiles again. She doesn't quite get it just yet, but it was pretty funny. If anyone out there reading this has any furniture they would like to donate, please let me know.

Link to an article:
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2009/02/fire_at_silver_lake_hills_apar.html

Happy Valentine's Day!

Presents!

We spent the morning making candy iPods,

gotta love Eva's Irish flair!

They "listened" to them all morning :)

I love you so much, Eva & Kayla, Happy Valentine's Day!!

Love, Mom
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Pictures from Super Bowl Sunday

The girls and I spent SuperBowl Sunday together and we had such a fun night. We baked a football cake and the girls decorated it with their Playmobil people for Arizona and Pittsburgh. And they took a shower together before bedtime. It was Kayla's first shower! She kept saying, "Mom, this is so fun!" and it took her until her second shower to realize that she did not have to bend all the way over to rinse her hair. They love taking showers together now. And afterwards, I braided their hair so it was all wavy the next day, here are the before and after pictures.

So busy!

January really flew by for us and so much has been going on, good things and not-so-good things. Our very special Aunt Becky passed away a couple weeks ago. She is the aunt that my sister Becky is named after, and Eva’s middle name too. It was very sad and I’m sure extremely hard for my dad because it was the first time he had lost a sibling. We’ve been very fortunate on my dad’s side, he has a very large family, but Aunt Becky’s health was failing her and it was just very sad to get the news. More bad news (I’ll get it all out first), Dad has not been feeling very good lately and I’m really scared that his cancer is getting worse. He had a small medical procedure on Friday, so maybe that is why he has not been feeling well, but it just makes me scared. I hate cancer and everything about it, and I especially hate it that my dad has to suffer like this. He has fought for so long, and I know the last thing he wants to do is give up. But how long can you keep fighting when you feel so sick all the time? I still believe a miracle will happen to him though, I really do. More bad news came on Thursday, and it was because my mom was drunk again, and I think my step-dad is just fed-up with it all. FINALLY! That poor man has been more than patient as far as I’m concerned, but because I am going to try to be positive and believe that my mom is not going to drink again, I’m just going to stop here. But it got really bad on Thursday and the last thing I would have wanted to be doing was picking her up off the floor. Alcoholism is so complex and so sad and the damage it does is deeper than the alcoholic realizes. Now for the good news! The girls are great and sassy as ever, and we moved! We got a great house in Linden, with a huge yard. We love it, and there are deer and wild turkeys in the backyard every single morning. It’s exactly what we needed and I’m going to have a big birthday party for Kayla as a house-warming party next month. That’s all for the good news, but it’s enough, the girls are healthy and we’re just very happy and looking forward to some much needed warm weather!

Inauguration Day!

Barack Obama is now the President of the United States of America! If it weren't so cold out, I wish I could have been there. Washington D.C. is one of my most favorite places to visit. I feel so proud and patriotic when I'm there. It is also where my sister Becky received a kidney from my brother Rob several years ago. It's hard to watch the Inauguration coverage and not want to be there in the middle of it all. I want the girls to be a part of it too. I am excited for this new hope that President Obama is bringing to the White House and to America. And I feel that the most important thing we can do for our country is to be unified and supportive of our leaders, especially our President. We all need to do our part. Goodbye President Bush, thank you for your service!

A much needed update!

I know I haven't posted in awhile but that's because I am still organizing ALL of our pictures from the holidays, and we just had such an awesome Thanksgiving and Christmas, I don't want to miss posting anything. Since I forgot my camera on Thanksgiving at Dad's, I need to copy over the CD my brother Rob gave me with theirs. And Christmas was just the best, there were so many of us packed into Dad & Helen's house! But that's why I haven't posted in awhile, and now it's going to be a huge job, but I'm excited to get everything up on our blog soon. And for all my brothers & sisters in Texas & Arizona, it's -5 degrees in Michigan today!! The girls and I have been having a wonderful 2009 so far, lots of exciting things have been happening, and we've just been busy trying to "keep on keepin' on"! - an old friend of mine used to say that and it always makes me laugh, kind of with a southern gansta accent :)