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 :)

Kayla's Famous!!!

Kayla made it on the front page of the newspaper on Sunday! The girls and I went to the Linden Holiday Happenings a couple weekends ago. While we were waiting for the parade to start, we walked around to look at all of the ice sculptures and a Tri-County Times photographer took this picture of Kayla standing in back of an eskimo ice sculpture. 12/14/08 Here's the link to their website, her picture will be on it for a little while. We're so proud of her :)

http://www.tctimes.com/articles/2008/12/19/news/doc4942e5a607335101785691.txt

Fall Party at My Dad's House

We all went over to my dad's house the weekend before Halloween this year to celebrate the holiday and the fall weather. All of the kids wore their costumes, we had a hayride, ate chili and elephant ears. It was so much fun, I love being with my family more than anything. Tracy sent Dad & Helen an autumn flower arrangement and we decided to gather around it for a picture to send to her. It was pretty funny how many people were piled into Dad's spare room!

Dad & Jessica

Alise & Jonathan

Kayla & Jessica have a little rivalry going, it's pretty cute :)

Hayride!

Scary Halloween pictures :)

It's Election Day!!! I've been so excited all day about the election. I voted at the Baptist church in Linden on my lunch break and took Eva there right after school to see how our voting process works. I feel so patriotic and proud and feel very lucky to live in a country where we can choose our leaders. I made my choice and now I'm just watching and waiting! Eva's so cute, she voted for John McCain in her class today, but then she kept singing about being a Democrat :) Kayla doesn't have a clue that a historical election is taking place today, but she's pretty cute too. We ate at the Fenton House tonight and it was a beautiful fall day today, very warm and sunny. Life is good........

I love this website: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." - Thomas Jefferson

Happy Halloween!

Singer/Actress Demi Lovato - Eva's costume is pretty much wearing her regular clothes!

Scary little ghost :)

Right after we dyed her hair for Halloween

We had a great Halloween! It started off with a party at my dad's house last Saturday night and then trick-or-treating on Friday night. Eva was Demi Lovato from Camp Rock, and Kayla, well Kayla had a few different costumes. She started off wanting to be a butterfly, so I bought her wings. Then she fell in love with being a ghost, and then my sister Jaimi gave us a strawberry costume! She was the butterfly and a ghost last Saturday, but trick-or-treated as a cute little strawberry. Here are some pictures of the girls in their costumes. More pictures of the party to come.......