Thanksgiving - in short

Excellent dinner with great family and friends sitting outside on a beautiful winter day - 80 degrees.

John receiving his first "car bib". Yes, car bib.

Gorgeous drive home.

Giving Thanks

A celebration of what we have - in love, in friendship, in camaraderie. A moment to forget about the items, the things, the wants - and be happy with what is real. For me, all that is real, was given to me. Sometimes because I asked for it, sometimes out of love and sometimes (most times) when I did not deserve it. All that was given to me, all that is real, has come from God. So, today I give thanks to Him. For my family, my friends and my acquaintances. My health, my safety and my faith.

Today I wish you a happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are filled not with turkey and gravy but with peace and love in what you have.

Sister Laura

Yesterday was my Sister Laura's birthday. I vividly remember the day she was born. 3 of my siblings were born at home but Laura's birth is most memorable to me. My mother had hired a midwife and as she labored upstairs the rest of us kids watched Dr. Doolittle on TV downstairs. She started labor in the early afternoon and Laura was born that evening. When the time came we all went upstairs and watched. I remember it being a little frantic because the cord was wrapped around her neck but the midwife was able to correct that quickly. The lights were bright and the mood was so happy! My mother looked like this was something she did everyday. After the cord was cut and Laura was cleaned up a bit we were all allowed to hold her. She was beautiful. My mom was able to get dressed and come downstairs for pizza and we celebrated Laura's first birthday.

Laura is now 29 and just this year was married. She has accomplished so much in her life and has also been through some major trauma. I hope this year is the beginning of a calm and peaceful chapter for her where she can continue to grow. Happy Birthday Laura! I love you!

Crazy Weekend

As a spur of the moment decision John and I went down to Ventura Friday night to meet his surfing buddy from Costa Rica and his wife. The kids both happened to have overnights planned and John's friend Joe really wanted to see him. It was a short trip but ended up being really fun. I was very reluctant to go because I knew that I would be hanging out with Joe's wife Holly the whole time while the boys surfed and I had never even met her. Turns out she was really fun and reminded me a lot of my good friend Sally. She was tall (as tall as me) and loved to eat and laugh (my kind of girl). We had great mexican food and this strange restaurant that had Elvis pictures all over the walls and bras hanging from the ceiling. The drive back home was one of the most beautiful I have been on. The sun was just right and the grapevines were full of color - everything looked crisp and right out of a movie.

Sunday our neighbor from across the street brought some tri-tip steak over so John fired up the bbq and invited a few more neighbors over. People kept bringing wine and we kept drinking it. 5 hours and 9 bottles of wine later we were all ready to call it a night. Let me tell you, getting up at 5am this morning to teach a class was not very fun. Hope your weekend was good!

My Future

will most likely include two of these bad boys. Isn't that a nice bit of info for my 40th year. Doc says probably in the next 5 years or so. I have low tone hearing loss that is probably genetic. So ya'll better start learning sign language because I am not sure how I feel about wearing these things. The good news though is that I can always claim I didn't hear something and go ahead and do whatever the heck I want ;)

The Book

The book John made me for my birthday of my blog came in the mail and it is SO cool! A nice hard backed book and the pages inside look great. Next time you are at my house you will have to leaf through it! Thanks John!

They might be getting a little old for the pumpkin patch but I don't care. I love the pics I take of them every year as they grow up. I wish I could hold them at this age a bit longer. I am loving it!

Julia's birthday

We spent the last week celebrating Julia's ninth birthday! She wasn't feeling that great but managed to have a good time anyway. We took a mini trip down to San Diego and stayed at a nice hotel that had wonderful waterslides. The kids spent a whole day going around and around and I sat on a beach chair with towels covering me ( it was freezing ) and watched them. We drove over to see the house we lived in when she was born. She was thrilled to get the one gift she really, really wanted. An ipod. Yes this nine year old girl got an ipod - we were not going to do it but considering that she loves music more than anything else in the world we thought this time it would be OK.

Julia, you are growing into such a wonderful young lady. I can't believe how quickly you are growing up. I love watching you as your mind grows and your creativity thrives. Keep reaching for what you love and make all of your dreams come true little girl. You will always be my baby. I love you! Happy Birthday!

Here we go again

I picked up Julia from school early today. Fever, runny nose, watery eyes, sore throat. Her birthday is in 2 days and she has not been healthy on her birthday in probably 5 years. Keep her in your prayers.

Friends

Good times!

Praying Mantis

Jack in the Box - Jack

Barbie

Martha Stewart and Bob

Edward and Bella from Twilight

Mary Kate and Ashley

Zoolander and Edward