Planes, boats & automobiles

School is out, summer is here. Finally!



The kids finished school a few days before I could get time off of work. So, as a surprise, I planned to have my dad fly in and spend the week with the kids so they wouldn't be home alone while Darren and I were at work. Dad couldn't come as soon as I'd hoped, so the kids did have one day they spent a part of at home. Dad flew in on Thursday.



Saturday we went to the coast. First we went up to Karl's house to celebrate his birthday. Dad and Darren later went fishing and to the casino for a bit while the kids and I stayed and visited and played cards. At the end of the day Emi & Aaron wanted to stay and play with KJ and Patrick wanted to hang out with Leo. Darren, dad and I went on in to Lincoln City, had a fabulous dinner at Mo's then went on to the hotel room we'd rented.



Sunday morning, Father's Day, we went to breakfast at Pig'n Pancake. Odd name, but the food was pretty good. Darren had a blueberry waffle & I had strawberry crepes. We were going to split it. We each ate half, then traded plates. Darren took a few bites of the crepes and asked for his waffle back. As yummy as the crepes were, I really didn't want to give him back his waffle. It was REALLY good :) Then we went to Devil's Lake. I had rented a small boat for a day of fishing. It kept wanting to rain a bit. After an hour or two, Patrick called and was ready to meet up with us. He has spent the night with Leo & Becky and they were on their way to church. After a bit more fishing we went to lunch at the casino. It was pretty good food and the price was even better. Patrick & Dad went back out on the boat while Darren and I went up to Karl's to get Aaron & Emileigh. It was raining but Dad, Patrick and Aaron went back out in the boat to enjoy some more fishing. So I dropped Darren off back at the casino and Emi and I went to the outlet mall for a little shopping. I got a couple gifts for Sara and a gift for my dad for father's day (besides the day of fishing that he'd asked for). After an hour or so we were totally done with shopping, dad was ready to call it a day and Darren was done at the casino.

We stopped for an ice cream cone and headed back to Salem.

Monday I tied up a few loose ends at work and made arrangements for the rental car. Then I got the house picked up and the kids and I got things packed up and ready for the trip to Idaho. Time to send them off for their summer visit with their dad. One of the most difficult times of the year.

Tuesday I got up bright and early. Dad and I went to get the rental car. We got back to the house and started loading up. We left only 1/2 hour later than I'd planned. For those of you who know me at all, that is an amazing start!

The drive was long but uneventful. We stopped more than I usually do so that dad could get out and walk around. He is still retaining a lot of fluids so needed to keep his blood flowing and move around to keep from getting too much swelling in his legs and feet.

We finally made it. The trip took about 4 hours longer than usual, but all in all, it was an easy drive. As much as I enjoy Oregon, I must say, it does feel nice to be back home.

Patience is not my virtue

Wow! I can't believe that Darren and I have been together for over six years now, and married for two. It's crazy how sometimes life seems to just fly so quickly in some ways and yet crawl like a snail in others. Darren and I have been through so much together that it feels like we've already lived a lifetime together. I have a difficult time remembering what it was like before he came into my life. Then there are those days when things feel so fresh and new, like we just met. Time is so very fickle in it's presentation.

My wonderful niece is about to have a baby...any day...her due date is today but baby is not cooperating. In this case, time is not being very kind. You see, I am on a bit of a schedule. I really can't take a ton of time off of work, so I am very anxious for this baby to come. Don't get me wrong, I will stay until baby comes, it's just I want to be able to spend as much time with baby and helping her as I can. Also, I can't wait to just be there for her, to share the experience of becoming a mother with her, to see her face when she sees her very own child for the first time, when she holds her precious gift close to her heart, the same way her mother held her. I also, selfishly, can't wait to hold this child, myself. This new life in our family, this new gift of joy.

I know babies come when babies are ready. I know it won't "stay inside" forever. But just as it seems the six years since I met my husband have flown by like a dream, it seems this baby is enjoying making us wait. And, as I said in the beginning, patience is not my virtue.

you may have noticed...

...that I've had my blog on private. I had thought everyone who was interested in my blog was already on the reading list...until a couple of friends sent me a message asking for permission to read it.

So, I've opened it back up long enough for this post. If you are not on the reading list, and you'd like to be, please let me know. This goes for ANYONE - as long as I at least recognize your name or family connection, you are welcome here :) I know, for myself, there are a few blogs that I read that the author probably has never heard of me, but they are family of my husband...so I read them to keep him up to date on what's going on with his family; aunts, uncles, cousins, children and so on. I figure, since I have made myself welcome to read about you, I will welcome you to read about me. Although, for the life of me, I don't understand why you'd want to ;o)

This blog will be left open for a week or so. (maybe longer since I am clearly not such a faithful blogger). Then I will be going back to private.

A long time coming

So... where did I leave off? Who knows...

I have the most amazing children! The do so many chores, and usually without complaint. We were having a bbq with tons of family coming over and they cleaned and cleaned and cleaned... not just the regular stuff, but they helped dust, wash finger prints off the walls, winter yuk off of the windows, swept the driveway (where the party was going to be) and so much more! They are the greatest helpers a mom could ask for!

Let's see... since February.... Darren & Emi have each had birthdays. For Darren's we had a bbq and invited his family over. All of his brothers came, his dad and his wife, a brother-in-law, a couple nephews, cousins and, to our surprise, Karl & Kim (Darren's uncle and aunt) were able to make it, too! The weather cooperated and I believe everyone had a really nice time visiting and eating.

The following weekend Emi had her birthday party. The weather did not cooperate for her. It was chilly and rainy. She had a few friends over and they played twister, sang with her karoake machine and just had giggly girl time. Aaron stayed at a cousin's house, but poor Patrick was stuck home -- he wasn't crazy about that, but... Emi had a nice birthday celebration :)

For Memorial Day weekend we had our very first ever family vacation. Now, that's not to say we haven't done stuff as a family because we have. We've been camping and taken road trips, seen sights and so on. But this was our first vacation-type trip. It didn't start off so great. It took longer to get things ready than we thought. We borrowed Leo & Becky's motor-home and drove to Ashland for a field target tournament. Then, when we were almost there we ended up having to call for a "jump or a tow". (Thank goodness for AAA - a WHOLE other story). They were able to jump us and followed us to a AAA approved shop to check out what the problem was. Turned out to be a broken serpentine belt. They were going to charge us nearly $150. But since Darren is such a handy guy, we simply bought the belt for the $40 and the guy gave us another jump, we pulled to the lot next door and Darren changed the belt, himself. Then we were on our way again. While in Ashland we found a park that we all played in and then we went to the range. We camped there. The boys all shot and Emi and I enjoyed the peaceful area -- reading, playing games, watching the match, and just relaxing.

Then we took the long way home, stopping at Diamond Lake to spend a night and day. We cooked over a camp-fire, the boys fished and we, again, enjoyed games and just being outside. On the rest of the drive home we stopped a couple times to fish, but the weather wasn't being cooperative, so no fish for us. It was a GREAT weekend. The boys had SO much fun, which made it wonderful for me and Emi and I had some wonderful mom-daughter time.



Let's see... what else.... well... my health has been...uuummm... not quite right. Docs keep saying nothing is wrong, but it is clear something is (or was -- the problem seems to have cured itself for the time being) -- and it was causing me lots of stress. The medication they put me on made me really moody and I felt like I was going crazy! I am not a control freak, but, when it comes to myself, I HAVE to be in control of me! It scares me to death and makes me quite anxious when I feel out of control of myself. Anyway, I quit taking the medication since it wasn't doing anything anyway. Since then (it's been a week or so) I feel SO much better! Still nervous about what's going on and having to decide if surgery is the right answer, and if so, which one (they are giving me a couple options) -- but for now I think everything is back to "normal" so I'm not going to stress over it.

A 13 year old school mate and friend of Patrick and one of our nephews died a couple weeks ago. "They" are not saying if it was an accident or an "accident-on-purpose", but either way, the boy took his own life. It hit the kids VERY hard. And it hit me hard, too. At the memorial one of the teachers said the boy didn't think he had any friends, but there were SO many kids there to remember him, so many cards and posters and sentiments for the family. The boy was having such a hard time and didn't realize how many people cared about him. That is SO sad to me. How, not only someone can feel that alone and helpless (because I have felt it myself, recently), but for them to not realize how many lives they affect, how many lives they touch each and every day. I mean, I never even met the boy, but he touched both me and my family. I know what it feels like to want to just curl up in a ball and die. But I also realize that my children and my family would be devastated if that were to happen - and that is what keeps me going. But for a 13 year old child... How do you reach them? How do you make them listen and hear that it REALLY isn't that bad -- life is that hard for everyone at that age... how do you make them realize that drugs, dropping out of school, gangs, and even taking your own life -- all of those things aren't worth it... that they will get older and look back and realize it was normal to feel the way they were feeling and that many, many, many other children feel the same way. That they are not alone... how do you make them see? It is so sad. It makes me remember to love my children harder, scold them softer and open my eyes and ears wider...

The school year is winding down. Patrick & Emi are preparing for their final band concert. My dad is going to come for a visit after school is out (shhh... the kids don't know -- we are surprising them) to stay with the kids while I work, before we head to Idaho. The kids are getting antsy... they want to go to Idaho to see family and friends, but aren't crazy about the idea of having to spend the entire summer with their dad. Things around home start getting tense, the kids bicker more, complain more and over-all have a hard time. I don't even think they know or understand their feelings. I've figured it out because the pattern is so clear -- everything is fine until 2 or 3 weeks before a visit -- but once they are there, it is usually ok, for the most part and they have a fairly, reasonably good time; all things considered.

I am excited for the trip to Idaho. Besides getting to see my family and friends that I miss so much, I get to be there when my niece has her first baby (it better be on time! :D ) and we get to do all the fun wedding planning/shopping/baby stuff. I am going to be a "gramish"! You know, a grandma-ish ... my sister passed away as did my mom (like you didn't know that) and I had always promised my sister I'd take care of the kids if anything ever happened to her -- so now I am my niece's "mom-ish" so when the baby comes I get to be a "gramish" :D I can't tell you how excited I am! I know I have step-grandchildren, but it's just not the same. For one thing, it is unlikely that I will ever get to even meet any of them, and even if I did, they live so very, very far away, I wouldn't likely get to know them. My niece's baby, on the other hand.... well... let's just say I can't wait!

Yesterday Patrick & Emi had their first official Holy Communion. They have been working hard over the past several weeks to complete the First Communion Class. They had homework to do and thing to memorize and recite (or write out - which ever they chose). Their hard work paid off and they both passed the class along with 1 other boy. The class started with 5 and only 3 finished. Anyway, they have completed that milestone at church. This fall Patrick will start Confirmation class. He will learn a lot and I'm sure he'll enjoy it. I'm not sure if Emi will be taking that class with him or if she has to wait a year. I'm not going to worry about it right now since it doesn't start until the fall and they are getting ready for their summer in Idaho.

Today is our 2 wedding anniversary and this week is our 6 year together anniversary. I can't believe how time flies. When Darren and I met I never thought this is where we'd be. Heck, when we first met the only thing I was interested in was a date. I didn't even want a boyfriend. I just wanted some adult distraction -- someone to watch movies with, go out to eat... just generic, casual, platonic, innocent, friend, date kind of thing. An adult to hang out with during the times that my kids were with their dad so I didn't have to spend so much time alone - 30 miles from anywhere. And here we are - 6 years later, married and happy. Actually happy. I never thought it would happen. After so much bad luck, I had figured it was just a fantasy in my mind, never to be a reality for me. Boy was I wrong.

I'm not saying we haven't had our ups and downs, because we have. The road has often been rocky, with giant sink holes and boulders in the way. But, so far, we have conquered all the challenges and made our way around the road-blocks. Sometimes we pull against each other, but somehow we always end up leaning on one another and we make it through; getting stronger all the time.

So...that's about it. Nothing exciting. Just an ordinary life. Until next time...
Don't take a single second for granted...