Sleeping In

Rarely do I get to sleep in. Today I went back to bed after josh took the kids to school. Usually if I make this decision I'm choosing to deal with the consequences of whatever jaely decided to get into/draw on/ eat while I'm sleeping. Today she crawled back in bed with me. I woke to this.

Best day ever :). 

Broke both bones on his arm!

Jacob leaped off a platform for a bar, missed, fell, broke his fall with his left hand and... 

X-rays are in!  

Going into surgery.

Post surgery photos:

Santa 2013

I missed the first two seconds of the the conversation but jaely starts off by telling Santa she wants a "bow tie that spins..."

This girl always surprises me.

Me: Come on Jaely. It's time to go see Santa. 

Jaely:  is he real

Me:  yes of course

Jaely: does he walk?

Me: yes

Jaely: yessss! I knew it!

Me: what are you going to ask Santa for?

Jaely: a bow tie that spins around in circles 

James in Regards to the Taste of Coffee

It's not ice cream good, but it's not asparagus bad. 

Crushing Creativity

I'll too often we crush our kids creativity.  I'm guilty of crushing mine. Just today my daughter wanted to bake a cake, so she pulled together any ingredients she could find.  Strawberry milk, leftover from Starbucks, water, donuts, and bread. It wasn't until she wanted and egg that she can ask for help.  I rushed out into the kitchen with soap all of my hands from cleaning the bathtub and this is what I found.

I freaked out and grab the bowl to dump it as soon as possible so that it wouldn't be spilled and then I'd have another mess to clean.  Then I became overwhelmed with the sense of guilt because I feared I crushed my daughter's sense creativity. I apologized immediately. Then we decided to bake a pretend cake made out of donuts. Candles and all!  She was so excited it was the first thing she told the boys when we picked them up from school. 

The Empty Pot

After carrying these seeds in my wallet for the last year and a half, I finally decided to plant them. My family moved to California over the summer. This has been a long time coming decision, as my husband has been commuting every other weekend from San Fran to AZ since June of 2012.  This is our third move in 5 years when our home foreclosed on us in the spring of 2009. It was shortly after that, the plant that was in this pot from our very first home died and our marriage struggles began. In the fall of 2010 I lost my childhood friend, and then a year and a half later, Shannon. Shortly after Shannon my husband moved to the Bay area after struggling to find work in Phoenix. The empty pot moved from house to house with us and then finally to California where my marriage after a long year apart has started to heal.  Nikki Rollier gave me these seeds in April of 2012 after I missed Shannon's services. I have stared at this pot since that day at the cemetery with Nikki with every intention to plant Shannon's seeds in it. But it wasn't until I knew I was moving to California and our family would be together again that I felt the time was right to plant them in that empty pot. Two weeks ago I did just that and on my tenth wedding anniversary last Wednesday the first little sprout emerged from the soil. This pot with these seeds is symbolic to me in so many ways. It not only keeps Shannon's memory alive, it keeps my friend Diana Sciola alive, and breathes life into my marriage for me. Shannon was always looking out for everyone's best interest and she is still up there looking out for mine. I love you Shannon.

Olive You Girl

Perfect fit to our family. I'm so happy we have her!!