Beautiful Christmas

Sometimes I forget to look at the beauty around me, but Christmas offered a perfect time to take it all in.

Family Room Bounty

View in our backyard--perfect Christmas snow!

Amanda and Wes

Cait and Garrett (Poor Garrett...he was so sick, but he still braved meeting our entire family!)

Always happy Luke and Hannah

My babies...Morgan and Blake

Of course, there are a dozen or so more pictures reminding me of my many blessings.  I thank God for these young people, they truly are my heart.

Wesley Claus Visits

Poor Luke and Blake (aka Hannah and Morgan's boyfriends) Big brother, Wes decided to give them an early Christmas present.

I have to give Luke his props though.  He didn't miss a beat before saying, "You can open it first, Blake."  :))

What goes around...comes back around! :)

I've blogged about one of my favorite young men, Blake.  What I didn't share was that Blake and my Morgan dated a little this past summer.  How wonderful now that they have found one another again!

This weekend, Blake was a real trooper and went shopping with Morgan and me.  After buying Morgan's tree and decorations, the two spent all afternoon decorating.

Blake is over six foot...perfect for tree tops!

Typical Morgan! :)

Blake getting a little tired of being the supportive boyfriend!

Perfect!

Of course CJ had to get in on the action :)

Luckily, Blake has a little brother about CJ's age so he's really good with him 

I'm Thankful For...

     My Thanksgiving was wonderful, and here are a few reasons why...
     First of all, because Wayne made it safely back home from Japan on Thanksgiving night.  Here he is showing Morgan where he was

And CJ got to spend the night twice...which is always nice!

 And I got to see some of my very favorite faces!

Brandi & Jeff

CJ, Amanda, and Brandi

Cait and her BFF (and my 4th daughter), Rachel

Wes helping Hannah with homework, while CJ creates a masterpiece ;)

Mo, Me and My new haircut

My special niece and nephew, Brandi and Michael

Brandi and Corey (with his 'No Shave November' look)

Our newest addition, my granddog, Gracie

Gracie and Daddy

Hannah giving CJ a preview of things to come!

I am so blessed to have these wonderful people in my life!  I love them all so much and every minute I get to spend with them makes me richer beyond fame and fortune!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A rare thing today!  I am cross-posting a post from my 'professional' blog.  I think it's pretty cool that it fits both with my writer side and my mommy side!

I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving holiday in the States!  I have been waist-deep in family and am just now coming out of my food-induced coma. 

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays, but this year it was different for me.  Oh, I’ve always thought about what I have to be thankful for, I’ve always taken my turn at the dinner table to name one such thing, but this year, I finally get it.  I understand what being thankful is.  I understand that I should and now, do, take the time to be thankful every day.  I see the small, seemingly insignificant things we take for granted and I am thankful for them.  Maybe it’s an age thing, I don’t know, but this new-found gratitude fills me so completely I am almost overwhelmed by it. And it’s good.

Making my short list of things to be thankful for this year (just ahead of Oyster Dressing) is being a writer.  I love being a writer.  I love the click of the keyboard.  I love the hours spent researching.  I love the excitement of a new character or plot.  I love the new writer friends I’ve made this year.  I love that they make me feel less alone, less alien-like.  But in my writer life, the thing I’m most thankful for this year is an important lesson I’ve learned.  The lesson, being published is not what it’s all about.  Do I want the novel I’ve worked on for 2 ½ years to be published?  Yes!  But will that change anything?  Not really.  I’m still going to be me.  I’m still going to be a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a friend.  Still, me.  And being a writer has made me a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend.  It has made me a better person.  And that is worth more than a book deal any day.

So, a toast!  To too much food, drink, laughs and hugs this weekend!  To all the wonderful, exciting changes to come in the next year! 

And in loving memory of my sainted Irish grandfather,

“May you always have work for your hands to do. 
May your pockets hold always a coin or two. 
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane. 
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain. 
May the hand of a friend always be near you. 
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.”

My Boy

     Yesterday was a wonderful day!  Wes picked me up at 10 am and we spent the entire day together.  We did a lot of shopping and had lunch then went to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

     Wes is such a great young man, he only made fun of me a little bit when I cried. :)  It was a great movie and as I watched it, I thought about how much Harry and my Wes are alike.  They are both strong and loyal, faithful and true.  They're the guys you can always count on to do the right thing.  To always be there for the ones they love.
     After the movie we shopped a little more, picked up some takeout and went back to my house to watch another movie.  What a blessing to have such a day, and oh, how I love this son of mine.

It's Not Always About You...

Hannah and her boyfriend, Luke are the funniest, cutest couple I've ever seen.  I tell everyone Luke is the male version of Hannah and it's true.  I even think they look alike!

But more than their looks, they have a lot of the same personality traits.  They're both sweet and caring and slightly OCD :)  And they share the same quirky sense of humor.

They are very supportive of each other in the things they share, but more importantly in the things they don't; like when Luke brought Hannah flowers when she was in the school play.

And when she (and I) traveled four hours to watch him run in the state Cross Country meet.

Young people are sometimes (most times) so consumed with fitting in and conforming.  It's nice to see a young couple who not only march to their own beat, but actually embrace the things that make them different.    I am super proud of them!

Times...they are a'changing...

My oldest daughter, Cait has always been a source of pride and joy to me.  She is one of the most unique, thoughtful, caring, beautiful young women I have ever known.  She's always had a great sense of humor, but more importantly, she has always been able to laugh at herself.  This is Cait and Hannah when they were about five and four, respectfully.

Since the days when all she had to worry about was who got to ride in the Barbie jeep next, she has been through a lot of the same troubles any teenage girl goes through.  Good times, bad times, sad times, happy times, and she has always conducted herself like a true Christian.  (More times than I, actually...you know how evil you can become when someone hurts your child).  

The past couple of months especially have been hard on Cait.  As I've blogged about before, she has had to make some major life decisions and like any leap of faith, she didn't know where she was going to land.  Well, now we know.

Yesterday, Cait received her official letter of acceptance to her #1 college choice.  Though we knew she was accepted, there's just something about holding that piece of paper in your hands welcoming you to THE HILL.  

And, on another note, I have seen her beautiful heart mend miraculously over the past few weeks.  She is definitely moving ahead.  The only question now is with whom.  She has so many young men vying for her attention, I find myself asking her over and over, "Now, which one is he?" and "He's the one who..." :)

Of course, as with any young life, the future is full of uncertainties.  But one thing I know for sure, Cait will always make her Momma proud.  Love you, Cait!

Mom and Mo's Excellent Adventure

Our house has always been the one teenagers migrate to and through the years we've seen a lot of kids come and go, but in the midst of it all, we've had some of those special kids who just seem to come in and never leave.  :)  The ones who fit in so perfectly with our crazy family, I sometimes forget I didn't give birth to them.  These two young men are a couple of those kids.

First there is Bobby.  Bobby is one of Hannah's best friends and has also become one of Morgan's.  Morgan and Bobby are hilarious together.  They're silly and funny, but one thing I know for sure, Bobby always has Morgan's back.  No matter what, this kid would lay down his life for his little MoMo.  (Although he calls her his wife too, because she nags him so much!)

Another one of my favorites is Blake.  Blake came in as a friend of Hannah's boyfriend, Luke, but quickly won us over.  He is one of the sweetest kids I've ever met and has the biggest heart.  Blake is smart and witty, and incredibly kind.  He's the type of kid who just makes you glad you have kids his age so you can be around him.

Bobby and Blake play soccer for our high school, so this weekend Morgan and I headed out, just the two of us, to watch them play in the state championship game.

It was a long drive, but filled with lots of laughs and smiles and really good conversation.  I love spending time with Morgan.  She is smart and funny and loyal and true.  She thinks about things most fourteen year olds don't, things like what's going on in the world, what she can do to make things better and her place in all of it.  But she definitely has her goofy moments too.

Morgan has great friends.  Like her very best friend, Drew.  I had to tease Drew about his hat at the game, but he was smart for wearing it, it was COLD!

In the end, our team lost the game, but I couldn't be more proud of "my" boys.  They had an amazing season.

And thanks to them, I got to spend a wonderful weekend away from writing and deadlines.  I got to stay in a luxury hotel and eat cheesecake in bed.

But most importantly of all, I got to spend time with my Mo, and that's the sweetest thing of all.

Funny Kids

     I have to admit, Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I hate it.  It's ugly and scary and exhausting if you have little ones.  But this weekend Wes and Amanda hosted a cookout for the cooler set (aka, Wayne and I are too old to be invited, lol).  And I had to share some of the photos I stole from their Facebook pages.
     First, this is my niece, Brandi, who is always good for a stomach muscle-straining laugh.  I know this is totally socially unacceptable, but it was too funny not to share.

And when I saw this picture of Wes, I got a little upset because he shaved his head again (the boy has gorgeous hair, but insists on buzzing it at least three times a year)

But then I realized he was dressed up as someone.  His best friend (and one of my favorites), Mark, who happens to work at Home Depot.

And I had to include this one of Cait (who has now joined the ranks of the supremely cool), Kyle (another one of my favs) and Cait's friend, Josh (who is quickly working his way up the favorite list)

Happy Halloween!

CJ in his cute dragon costume.  As you can probably tell, I love him, too, too, too, too muches!!

SHE'S GOT THE FEVER...I'VE GOT THE MONSTER

     I think we all know of Morgan's crazy obsession with all things Justin Bieber.  She is madly, deeply in love with the superstar and I have to admit, after seeing him live, I definitely see the attraction.  He's a cutie patootie!  But after hearing he was releasing a book?  Well, the old green-eyed monster raised his ugly head.  I mean, I've spent almost two and a half years writing my novel and this little punk releases a book in a matter of weeks?!?  Where's the justice in THAT??
     I did, however, refrain from shredding the posters that adorn Morgan's room, and as you can see, there was plenty of temptation.

       So, knowing how envious I was that this kid is now a published author, what does it say about me that I ran right out and bought Morgan the book?