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...
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