1 Year

Dad

I love you

1 Year now...

It's been 1 year since I joked with my dad...

Since I saw him smile at his last grandchild...
(she was not quite 2 months old yet - his eyes lit up and danced as she laid on his chest... sharing each other's warmth. Dad always loved babies.)

Since I helped him get a drink of water...

Since I watched him laugh...

This was the last week I saw my dad alive.........


I miss you dad . . .

Happy 4th Birthday "Tinker Bell"

Yup! Another birthday! This time it's Tinker Bell's turn. She gets to be a BIG 4 year old!! WOOT!!

Here's a short trip through her life:

Birth ~


1 Year Old ~


2 Year Old ~


3 Year Old ~


4 Year Old ~
I asked her to go stand "there" and pose for a picture. She gave me this (and more)....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINKER BELL!!!
You sure are a fun daughter!

Quindecennial Anniversary

Quindecennial

What is that huge word you ask?

15 amazing, crazy, silly, artistic, photographic, stressful, fun, happy, sad, euphoric, creative, healthy, sick, quick, eventful, boring, exhaustive, rejuvenating, educating, blessed, loving, awesome years together!!!!

(and... he still thinks it's funny to pinch my bum while taking a picture)

HAPPY 15th ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY TO OUR "SQUEAKY"

Our baby isn't as much of a baby anymore. Today she turns 1!!! I can't believe how fast this year has flown. I have enjoyed having her so much that I forgot to experience time.

She's been a blessing from the start. Such a beautiful little baby (2 days old).

I love to watch my children grow up. I love watching them learn and get excited about the simpliest things.

She has a smile that lights up the room and eyes that shine with her sweet spirit. She finds joy in finding things that I have learned to overlook.... a ant crawling on the floor, the speck of fuzz on the sofa left by the blanket, the tiniest piece of paper even the vacuum cleaner might not catch.

A couple days ago she was fussy for an hour. I finally poked my finger in her mouth to check for any new teeth. When I found that #8 tooth decided to finally show up she laughed and clapped her hands at my discovery. It was as if she was saying "Wow! It's about time you found it! I was trying to tell you it was there!"

Here are some pictures from a fairly recent photo session I did with her one morning (she's still in her jammies).

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SQUEAKY!!!

Space - The Final Frontier

I LOVE Star Trek!!!!!

When I was a kid I would have thought someone must have been severely delusional if they attached that statement to ME.

You see.... I am the youngest kid (a girl) and I grew up with 2 brothers. We are very close in age. They are 1 and 2 years older than myself. When we would play (anything) together we were typically split up into "teams" - intentional or not we ended up this way. The brother in the middle is deaf. Sometimes the oldest brother would overlook the deafness and want to play with his brother for the sole reason it was another boy to play with. Other times the deaf brother would be "cast off" and be teamed up with the little sister because it was easier to play the way he wanted without these 2 speedbumps.

I was often frustrated with one or both of these brothers. I was quite a tom-boy and I did like to play with match-box cars, cap guns, my dad's tools, etc... I played on a baseball team for 2 years (girls only team) and loved to go camping, to Luke Air Force base for the air shows, loved car shows and loved "programming" our Commodore Vic20 computer when we finally got one.

My brothers had Scouts and I would get so frustrated that I couldn't get to do the fun stuff they were doing and get credit for it like they did. For example. One year my dad let me make my own pinewood derby car. He was one of the scout leaders and his job was to weigh the cars and get them to the correct weights. When all the racing was over and the awards were handed out I got to race my car. I was so frustrated to race against the top winners (the guys who got the real shiny gold pinewood derby shaped trophies) and my car was nearly a full foot in front of theirs with every run. THEY got the trophies... I wasn't "allowed" simply because I was born a girl.

This never ending list of frustrations kept building up from day 1. Because of this I found that I would often "choose" to be the opposite of anything male related. My mom spend most of her time in the kitchen so my dad and brothers typically ruled the television. They loved to watch baseball games, football games, westerns and war movies. I use to roll my eyes every time any of these programs would come on tv.

It was one of the times I was being overly frustrated with my brothers for something (who knows what or why) when I decided to hate everything they loved. I hated westerns and army movies (don't get me started about John Wayne), sports on television and basically anything they liked. One day a new (to us) show came on and I KNEW my oldest brother loved this show because he could recite the opening monologue...

(the voice of Captain James T. Kirk) Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before.

Well, if my brother loved this show so much... I MUST hate it. I refused to sit down and really watch it. It was on when I was in the room but I found it easy to make fun of the drama of Captain James Tiberius Kirk with his "hurry up and wait" type of speaking. I would reprimand myself if I discovered that I had enjoyed the episode that just aired. I would secretly imagine myself as one of the characters - typically one of the multi-colored vampish women who seduced Captain Kirk. I wished I could be the one girl alien who could ruffle the stoic exterior of Mr. Spock.

Many years passed and I had swept Star Trek under the rug. Life continued and the show had come to an end. Then one day a deep sexy male voice with an accent I found intoxicating came on and the all too familiar monologue came wafting out the speakers of my television.

(the voice of Captain Jean-Luc Picard) Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone before.

The old feelings of "I MUST hate this show" immediately surfaced. But, that voice.... was so different. Hey, wait a minute, this Picard guy didn't talk in a "hurry up and wait" mode. Matter of fact his voice was like nectar - pulling me in and holding me captive. No one was regurgitating the same phrases "I'm giving her all she's got Capt'n!" or "I'm a Doctor Jim, not a ___(put ANY word here)!". They actually had more than 1 woman in the crew. I decided this new show needed some investigation. When I discovered that my brother HATED this show (he was Uber loyal to Captain Kirk) I (of course) decided that this was the BEST SHOW ever!!!! I was able to create my own relationship with the characters separate from my brother. I quickly discovered this was an amazing show with quite a lot of depth to it. It provided me several scenarios that made my brain hurt (alt. universes etc.). The women were not all blue or green. Matter of fact they actually got to wear clothes and have brains.

I have since watched every Star Trek creation weather done as a first-run or a rerun. Only one exception to this... the more recent series "Enterprise". I eagerly awaited it's airing. A little skeptical since they were pulling a "Star Wars" on us all and going back to when space exploration was new (prior to James T. Kirk). After watching the steamy and unnecessary decontamination episode I decided that this new show was trying for the shock value and not sticking to the typical Star Trek formula that worked so well. I quit watching... the show continued for 4 seasons... I didn't watch. I don't know what planets they discovered, what adventures they went on, who they shared technology with.... Bummer. I'll keep the sweet memories from the other shows in my mind.

The Original Series (80 episodes)
The Next Generation (176 episodes)
Deep Space Nine (173 episodes)
Voyager (170 episodes)
Enterprise (98 episodes)
There are TONS of movies and a few other spin offs that I've left off this list.

Let me say it again.... I LOVE STAR TREK!!!

Sharing

Sharing...

–verb (used with object)
3. to divide and distribute in shares; apportion.
4. to use, participate in, enjoy, receive, etc.,

–verb (used without object)
5. to have a share or part; take part (often fol. by in).
6. to divide, apportion, or receive equally.

Sharing is generally a good thing. As children we are taught to share our toys. We are told to share our food, a seat, a table. As adults we hope others will share the wealth, share the love, and get our fair share.

There are times when sharing is not appropriate.
- Sharing answers for a test.
- Sharing the blame when only one person is guilty.
- Taking a share of credit for work that you did not do.
- Sharing your ABC gum
- Sharing your opinion at inappropriate times




My 3 year old LOVES to share.
She is doing her best to share every cough and sneeze her little body can produce.

Thus far she has sucessfully shared with her older brother.

Let's see if he knows how to share like she does.

My Mom

Having my mom around is very therapeutic. When I saw her this summer it was under some pretty stressful circumstances. (Dad's illness and passing).

I can feel a piece of my heart relax and I swear it grows when she's around.

Last night I gave my mom a perm and a haircut. I have been privlidged to do this since I was a teenager. I REALLY enjoy having my mom "captive" - all to myself for several hours. It also makes me feel really good to know that mom will have a bit of spring in her step and a quick smile on her face because she feels better about how she looks.

One thing my husband mentioned was that I get really giggly when my mom is around. We do tend to stay up late and it's easy to get giggly around mom.

Have I mentioned how much I love my mom?