MELODY'S NEW MEXICO BDAY PARTY

For some reason these pics (which I stole off Mel's facebook) could just make me weep...There's my beautiful girl on her actual birthday enjoying her day (which I am thrilled to death she was) without me there (the first one ever in her life I might add) with friends I have never met (except one of them) in a dress I have never seen her in, in her house which looks soo different from the last time I was there (which was over 8 months ago now)....I have beat this to death I know and I am sure most would just love to run and hide from me....But it struck me the other day (in a new way) that she is not a part of my every day life anymore, and she NEVER will be again....and sometimes I get tired of "pretending" it is OK, or seeing sunshine and roses in it all....It just sucks, and makes me sad.....She really does look pretty though I guess, and happy too.....and that cake that Heather got for her is really a stun...such talented people in this world....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANAE

Today July 30, 2009, is my sister Danae’s 50th birthday. She gets to join us veterans who have crossed that milestone already, and learn everything there is to know about that all important decade.

For me, almost 5 years ahead of her on the road, I have noticed a few things that seem to be part of the age. First of all, they all seem to accelerate from here. Year after year flew by until I wasn’t even sure HOW old I really was the other day. In fact, for a while I was telling people that I was 55, when in fact I am still 2 FULL months away from that day. I think temporary memory loss is right at the top of my “how has this happened to me” list anymore…Then, there is the never ending search for my reading glasses, (only to discover them on top my head) my stiff knees, dozing off in movies, hot flashes, wrinkle lines that I know weren’t there the day before, and the inability to eat most spicy foods. However, just in case you might think it is all bad, let me fill you in on a few of the perks… Senior menu’s and senior movie tickets are just around the corner…Grandkids are what make the world a wonderful place to be, and adult relationships with your kids is something that you dreamed about happening one day, and is now a very pleasant reality. There is plenty of time to simply enjoy your husband, read a book, take a nap, or browse on the internet….Retirement years seem close enough now that they loom ahead beckoning you with their promises of travel, relaxation and pleasure. Obviously, all of our lives are very different and I am only describing MY discoveries of life in the 50’s, ha-ha…But I have no doubt for her there will be MANY wonderful memories to be made, and few would ever even know that she has indeed reached her half century marker.

My sister is a very special person to me and one that I treasure and respect. We have shared a lifetime of memories, as only sisters can, and a family that we love in spite of all our occasional craziness. She is someone I can count on to always be there for me, and one of the first I call when I have something exciting to share, or a shoulder I need to lean on. We pray together, shop together, and goodness knows laugh together. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DANAE, and may the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you, now and forever more….

SOME SLIDE SHOWS OF RECENT SUMMERTIME FUN

There were too many pics that I wanted to post, so I created a few quick slide shows for you all to see. One is of Melody's birthday party, one is of our fun days at the beach, and one is of the shower for Melody's friend Joanna. Enjoy....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MELODY JOY!

It was 23 years ago today, July 24, 1986, that Melody Joy made her appearance into this world and changed mine forever…

Anyone who knows me well could tell you without hesitation that I talked about wanting a daughter of my own since I was a very young girl. I longed for the day when it would become a reality, and dreamed of all it would entail. I wanted not only the little girl and all the fun stuff that goes along with that stage in life, but also the woman she would eventually become, sharing all of life’s ups and downs with me in all the ways only a mother and daughter can.. After having had 3 wildish, energetic and active sons, whom I loved to death but also pushed me to the limits of my abilities, I was not very hopeful when I discovered myself pregnant again for the fourth time, that yet another son was not on his way. I was overcome with morning sickness and feeling like I might finally be in over my head….One day as I was praying and asking God to give me strength, I felt He was telling me to look up Psalms 37:4. I did and it says…Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart….From that moment on, I knew my daughter was on her way…

I can honestly tell you that Melody has truly brought me nothing but joy and happiness since she first arrived. As a little girl growing up, she was just so easy. Obedient and eager to please me, she wore the little dresses and things I made for her and let me do her hair up in ribbons and bows even though she was a total tomboy at heart, haha…As she grew older her interest in ALL sports grew and eventually we found ourselves so involved in her world of sports, it dominated a lot that we did. She played on a travel softball team for years, and we covered a lot of the country going to her various tournaments and games…What a fun time in life that really was….But eventually she gave up softball as it took way too much of her time, and settled in a played only volleyball for her last couple of years of high school. As a teen-ager Melody and I enjoyed a closeness that I think most women dream of having with their daughters, but I’m not sure many enjoy. We talked for hours on end, and she seemed to not only truly listen to my advice and guidance, but shared most of her hopes and dreams with me as well. I think I was definitely the first to know of her love for Mike, who was to eventually become her husband. Her college years went by so quickly it seemed, and shortly after graduation she married and moved a thousand miles away from me. This last year has definitely been a year of lots of adjustments for us both, but I think we are well on our way to this new way of life…She is very happy with her husband, and has been busy teaching and learning how to be a good wife, and is now going to go to graduate school in the fall.
I am soo proud of Melody and love her with all of my heart…I pray the Lord blesses her and makes His face to shine upon her now and always…HAPPY BIRTHDAY my beautiful girl and may God Bless you always and forever…..mom

CAKE PICS...

I took these pics off of my daughter's facebook page because I couldn't wait to show off how DARLING this cake was....Just so you know Kristi, she has had 17 comments (so far..and she just posted last night) on how cute the cake was! Her caption under the pic said..I couldn't bear to cut it! haha Because there were sooo many comments Melody posted one telling everyone about your cake blog page, so again, who knows what might come of that, as my daughter's page is hit a lot. She has a ton of friends... The other pic is of my daughter Melody (in the brown dress) and the other hostess Amanda...the theme of the shower was baby safari as that is how the gal decorated her nursery....Now, if I just get to the rest of my pics...sigh.... Just so you know, I had some better pics at different angles on my camera, but you can see it pretty well on her pic, haha

THANKING JESUS

Well, my week with Melly is over. I dropped her at the airport early this morning and watched her walk off pulling her suitcase behind her, and drove away blinking back my tears. It was a REALLY good visit. We managed to squeeze so many things into our time that I am actually kind of tired, but in a good way. The shower for her best friend Joanna came off really well. Everyone had such a good time. Kristi's cake was a BIG hit, it was just so darling. I wanted to post a picture of it with this story, but I forgot my camera at Jimmy's house yesterday much to my horror, so I guess I will not be able to post any for a while...Her birthday swim party on Sun was also a good time, and the kids all lived in the pool for the day, (while a lot of us adults watched them through the sliding glass doors, safely inside where it was cool haha). It was such a hot day... I love when all the cousins get together and enjoy each other so much...Again, good pics, but not much I can do....Monday we headed down to San Diego to spend the day with Jimmy and his family at the beach. I managed to burn myself in a couple of weird places where I missed putting on the sun tan lotion apparently, but it's not too bad so I guess I'll live. How I love the beach...It was REALLY warm down there, but I drug my chair down to the water so that my feet were splashed with every wave and it was wonderful, and my grand kids got the biggest kick out of it as well...haha They looked adorable in their little suits and ran and played in the water for hours. How blessed we are to live where we can go to such a wonderous place on a hot summer day. Should I mentioned I can't post the pics from this day either?? haha I am going to have to go through my usual "Mel withdrawals" I suppose, but I am grateful for every minute we had. She doesn't know for sure when she will be back, and I am afraid it might be a while, as she is starting graduate school in August. I am very excited for her to do this, and I will focus on that. Again, it is getting easier every time I see her walk off knowing I won't see that face or hug that girl for quite a while, but I haven't managed to completely settle in with it all just yet this time. I know I will get there just like I always do, but I do hate this part...But!! on a positive note, I lost 4.8 pounds this week!! I was soo thrilled to have my hard work pay off. It made watching everyone else enjoy all the delicious looking treats at both the shower and the birthday party (while I tried not to be too envious) well worth the sacrifice...That makes 13 pounds total for my first month on....yeah.....soo much more to go, but I am happy I have managed to at least make this start...one day, one pound at a time is all I can do, and I hope I won't dwell on all that I still have to lose. Sooo, I am thanking Jesus for the time with my daughter and the rest of my family, and for the strength to push myself away from the table, haha.....

TIME WITH MELLY...

This is just a quick update of what has been happening this week....My Melly arrived on Tues. afternoon, and as usual her trip is flying by...We have been having such a good time...We talked and chatted the afternoon and night away on Tues., to include a STRONG discussion and disagreement on the amount of time she would stay. I guess we agreed to disagree....I really do understand where she is coming from....I guess she is young, she is in love with her husband (and dog haha) and a week away is about all she can bear. She wants to spend her birthday with him...In some ways I take comfort in this KNOWING that she is quite obviously happy with Mike NO MATTER where it is that they are living and how far away she is from all of us...because I know she was as disappointed as I was that she would miss all the other plans....Sooo, as I result we are squeezing everything I wanted to do with her into the few days that we do have. Wed. was a great day....We very leisurely had our breakfast and then dressed and headed out for some shopping. We got her birthday presents (clothes of course, haha) and had a good time doing it. I wondered at the time why it is I enjoy doing this so with her, and why I have really missed it. I guess I am just flat out entertained browsing through cute and modern and YOUNG clothes and then sitting in a chair as she models them for me....I guess it is because everything she tries on (well, almost everything) is sooo darling on her and I re-live my youth through her or somEthing, haha....Anyway, after our shopping we lunched at one of our favorite restaurants (though I did have to bring along my Jenny Craig) and again we took our time and chatted non-stop. After that we went and saw the movie the Proposal...I was waiting for her visit to see this movie both because it is the kind we have always seen together, and because Jeff doesn't usually like "chick" movies...though, he will see them with me and not even complain, if I will see his "neck snappers" (just what I call shoot em up action movies) with him and return the favor...haha....After the movie we headed home to regroup a bit and got ready and met Jeff and John for dinner at Macaroni Grill. Again bringing my Jenny Craig (I simply order a salad and steamed veggies and bring my little box which so far has not seemed to have been a problem at any of the restaurants I have done this at thank goodness) it was a great time...We finished the evening off watching When Harry Met Sally in our PJ's....Mel had been in the mood for that movie for a while but her video store doesn't carry it for some reason....then Thursday we headed down to Newport to get our hair done with Jessie...That, while it was long, was as enjoyable as ever...by the time we got home it was time for dinner and after dinner Mel headed over to Ben house to visit Ben (Mike's best friend) and Tim for the evening.....Yesterday our day started early as we began the baby shower preparations. Paper goods, food, gift, prizes, etc. etc. etc. To include picking up the cake (I will post pics later) which was DARLING (thanks Kristi) I LOVE giving parties and doing all the preparation work for them, and have actually done quite a few....Mel is both a rookie, and if she is being honest, not really into it...She just isn't enough of a shopper to really enjoy it. But she moved along really well, haha....Amanda was with us as she and Mel are co-hosting this event. Her mother was with her as well and was helping out too. I went home around 4 to make all the candy (which unfortunately I did sample just a little bit, I am soo weak, hope it doesn't keep me from losing this week) and get together the name tags and favors...Amanda and Mel went back to Melody's husbands grand parents house (where the shower is taking place) to begin making all the food. I would have bought the food already prepared if it had been me, but that IS more costly, and they are young and somewhat naive. haha....I have a feeling they were in for a LONG night....Melody and Amanda spent the night there so they could just keep working, and I will join them around 9:30 this morning to help...the shower starts at noon....I have a feeling it will be a LONG day but I am looking forward to it. I am anxious for some reason to watch Mel in her world...Tonight we are going to dinner with Mel's in-laws which I have a feeling she and I will be quite tired for (and I might skip as I am getting tired of my little dinners which I have to eat cold at restaurants) and then tomorrow is her birthday party. Jeff will have to food shop and prepare for that today as I am not sure where I would work it in. I have made my list for him and he is such a big help to me I wonder frequently what I would ever do without him....Mon we are heading out to San Diego to see Jim and his family who can't make it to the birthday party. Being a minister, Jimmy is ALWAYS busy on Sun. as he does both the morning and the evening services....and then tues. morning she heads home....We will have squeezed A LOT into these few days, and yet somehow I know it will not be quite enough. I miss her soooo much....I guess I am still waiting to not feel like a part of me is missing when she is soo far away, but it hasn't happened yet....I REALLY hate it....but, for now she gets to visit A LOT and I am grateful. I am also grateful to her husband who has soo obviously kept her happy and well cared for...Well, I'd best get busy on this day...I'll probably post again after she is gone and things settle down some....and in the meantime, I intend to enjoy this time with my Melly....

CIRCUS

The day started off good and just kept getting better....Joe arrived at our house ON TIME with his 3, Lindsey, Jeffie and baby Cody, all dressed and ready to go, having dropped his oldest off at football practice on the way...anyone who knows Joe knows, this was miracle number 1...haha He got a little help from Leah the night before so that everything was organized, but still!! We headed out with the car full of excitement and the journey began...Forty minutes later we met up with Larissa and her 3, Capri, JD, and little Tella and had lunch at Carl's junior...20 min. later we were on the road again and arrived at the Staple center, quickly parked, unloaded our pack of very young children and quickly entered our "box" seats just as the show began....miracle number 2....I am not sure which one of the kids were more excited. Capri and little Jeff both very quickly decided to sit on Grandma's lap for the show, which made mine the best seat in the house...haha I got to hear all their little reactions to everything that happened and their squeals of delight as well. JD alternated between Grandpa's lap and the seat beside me....Tella and Cody both promptly pooped, haha, so Larissa and Joe headed out to handle that...and then the sweet babies settled in and dozed through the remainder of the show....The elephants and tigers were easily the biggest hit with our group, but the zebras and the dogs were a close second....For me, being able to sit and enjoy my grand kids as they laughed, cheered, danced to the music, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves was priceless and a memory we will all no doubt share for a while...Grandpa got them all cotton candy (what's a circus without cotton candy?) and they all gobbled that up without a single mishap and didn't even seem to get more electric from the sugar intake, haha, definitely miracle number 3....As the circus came to a close and we headed for home with all the kids dozing in the car, I was once again struck by just how fortunate I am...I just can't think of a better way to spend my day then surrounded by all my youngest grand kids, each unique and special to me in their own personal little ways...This is such a wonderful season in my life, and I am sooo thankful, my cup surely runneth over....

July 4, 2009 Fun

Jeffie's "view" for the show

Cody loved the fireworks!!

Grandma closed her eyes...

Evan, Jeff, and Joe kicking back before the show...

So let's get this show on the road...

Such a big boy...

Cody is sitting on his own now!!

Jeffie jumps in to daddy..

Pretty Lindsey being silly...

"Posing" on the waterfall on the 4th of July at Joe's house...


I had put together a darling little slide show to display these pics, complete with music and fake fireworks, but couldn't get the thing to ever upload, and so I gave up..I think it had something to do with the fact that I use the lap top from Jeff's office now...Anyhow, the day was nice...It started with swimming and a bbq at Joe's house...I had to bring along my little Jenny Craig dinner, but I added fresh watermelon, an ear of corn (no butter of course, haha) and Anna's home grown tomatoes, (sooo yummy) so I had nothing to complain about....The crowd at the high school was the largest I have ever seen, but we got good seats anyway, and thoroughly enjoyed the show....We wondered how little Cody might do, but he never batted an eye, "Oh, we're watching fireworks now, how nice," seemed to be his attitude...haha I love the 4th of July, and this year was no different...