Hard Day

Today is the three year anniversary of the day my Grandmother died, every year I dread this day, every year I think it will be easier and the pain will be a little less but it isn't, in fact I think it gets a little harder.  As each year passes there are more and more big things that happen in my life that I want her to know all about and the little things start to pile up too. Today I sent my husband a text that went a little something like this...."I miss Wel,it hurts right down to my bones.  I miss her more than even I realize sometimes.  I want her to meet and know Avery. I want her to see how smart, amazing, beautiful, and big Jolie has gotten.  I want her to know the women I have become. I want her to know that I have the same work ethic she instilled in my Dad because he too instilled it in me.  I want to be able to call her because I need a pair of pants hemmed or a dress fixed and know she will gladly do it.  I want her fashion advice that she always got from soap operas. I just miss her and want her back.". I cried when I sent that earlier, I have tears in my eyes now but Rich's response made me laughter...he said "What about my socks?". You see she gave him socks for every occasion and any chanc she got and now he doesn't have the supply he once did. But that's just it...she was kind and thoughtful, and such a part of my life for 30 years that the last 3 without her have seemed long and hard. I know this is all a part of life but a part I know I am not fond of. I will never forget the greatest lesson I ever learned from her and my Grandfather, and that is love, not just any love but forever love.  For 62 years while my grandparents were married he bought her roses for Valentine's Day and she loved it, they weren't wonderful and huge but he went out each and every year and brought her flowers. When she passed away the day before Valentine's day three years ago it was heart breaking to sit with him at the funeral home on Valentine's Day and pick out roses for her casket for Valentine's Day. It was then that I learned what love was, it isn't the little fights, or the date nights, or even the hugs and the kisses, it is the until death do us part and then some. It is going through everything together, the good, the bad, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and still wanting to bring home flowers to your love no matter what. It is the until death do us part...they lived it for 62 years and showed my entire family how to love and for that I will be forever grateful but not good memories, quite moments alone, time, prayer, or wishing have made this day any easier.  I sure hope she knows how much I live her and how much I miss her!

Long Weekend

After having a 3 day weekend this past weekend I found myself wishing every weekend was a long weekend, it is so much easier to get things done and still enjoy time with family when you get that extra day. We had a great weekend, it started Friday night with a happy hour event with Rich's co-workers, it was a nice time and I had so much funny putting names with faces of all the people he tells stories from work about.  The kids spent the night with the grandparents and it was nice to have a few cocktails, unwind, and have adult conversation with friends. Saturday we picked up the kids, hung out at home for awhile and then took the kids up to the mall for a little shopping, mall play area time, and a kid friendly food court meal. Rich and I waited to eat and did a little mini date night at home after the kid's went to bed. That was a great time too!  Sunday we did a little cleaning, grocery shopping, and PJ at home time. Then went to my parent's house for a nice Sunday dinner. Monday Avery went to school, Rich and Jolie played a round of golf at the little executive course near our house, she got a new club Saturday at the mall so she was thrilled to try it out with her Dad, and I got to have lunch and shop with my Mom. It was amazing to have some quality time with my Mom and we got some great deals!  All in all it was a fabulous weekend and makes me want TI have three day weekends more often!  Hope yours was fabulous too!

A New Year

Just a couple of days ago we said goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013.  Rich and I didn't have any wild NYE plans this year and even though the girls were on vacation with my parents. We did have a great time though with a great meal at home and the movie New Year's Eve.  I fell asleep early and didn't make it to midnight but in my own way I ushered Ina new year. 2012 was full of a lot of great memories for our family. Avery started preschool, Jolie gratuated VPK and started Kindergarten, Jolie lost her first tooth, Avery started talking....a ton, the girls got bigger and prettier and made their Daddy and I proud! I had a great year....started my job at Coke last January, finished an extension to the sorority house, and wonHouse Corporation award!

Now, I just have so much hope for 2013....I hope for love and peace for all of us.  I hope for the girls to be happy, have fun, and learn much. I hope for Rich and I to continue to build our relationship and find more ways to celebrate the small moments. My word of 2013 will be hope and with it I planto find myself even more in 2013. Happy New Year!

Not really MIA....

I know it appears as though I have been totally MIA but I have at least been posting on Twitter, so if you follow me there you know my life has been crazy. I have dealt with a sinkhole at my house, a crazy job, a few illnesses of the children and MIL, Jolie starting kindergarten, a crazy job, adding an addition on to the sorority house, did I mention the crazy job?  I know work isn't everything and as much as I try to stop and smell the roses I am consumed with work. I really swear I am going to change that in 2013. But we had a fabulous holiday and hope you did as well. I promise to try for more regular post, we'll see if I can do it!

Great Weekend

Rich and I have made it a point to start doing more on the weekend to get the kids out of the house and doing more. So this weekend on Saturday we took a family trip to the mall. We started in Dick's getting Jolie signed up for cheerleading, she is so excited. From there we walked around, browsed a few stores, I bought 2 shirts at Macy's one orange and one blue to gear up for football season. Then we took the kids to the play area to run and jump and have fun, they lived it. We then ate lunch at the food court. After that we came home for naps and I straightened the house up a little. Jolie then went for a sleepover with my MIL. Rich and I enjoyed watching an exciting, extra innings baseball game. And then we went to bed! Today Rich played golf this morning, I am so glad he got out with the boys for a little while. While he was gone Avery and I hit Tarhget for some random stuff. Then it was nap time. After nap Rich was back and we went to the pool with the girls for a little while. We got about an hour of swimming in before the weather moved in. Then it was a quick bath for the girls and then the girls and Rich watched a kids movie while I cleaned the kitchen, made dinner and wrote this post. It was a great weekend! Now we are back to it all tomorrow and a super busy work week.

When it Rains it Pours....

So I have been meaning to write this post for well over a week and this is the title of the post I had in my head, although now it is not only fitting to all that is going on in our lives but also to the weather outside. The last two weeks have just been one crazy event after another. It started two weeks ago when we made some changes in positions and titles at work, it was a crazy few days but the good part is I still have a job with the same pay I had, I breathed a sigh of relieve there. Then it was the construction starting on our house to fix the builder defect we have lived with for 7 long years. Next month they will start drilling to repair the sinkhole we have at our house. Last week Monday, I came home from work to discover our AC has not working, super long story short it turns out the construction crew covered our AC unit and it couldn't get enough air so it blew up the capacitor. At 10:30 that night someone was here fixing it. My MIL has been in the hospital for 10 days as a result of her ongoing battle with COPD. My husband has been dividing his time between time with her and time at home, thank goodness he has been off work most the month. At the same time Rich's mom went to the hospital Jolie had her tonsils out. She has done great and should be fully recovered by Friday of this week, that will be her 2 week mark. There were a few rough days with her and some heart wrenching moments of her crying in pain but we are much better now. Avery has been good except for some reason last night when she wanted to play from 11:30 pm until 5 am, it was a long night. Thank goodness my husband took most of the time with her and I got the tail end. Needless to say we were moving super slow this morning, I am on vacation this week so at least I wasn't hearing the alarm this morning at 4am like normal. Yesterday I bought a new car so that was half the day in a car dealership but I will say going in the rain did proof beneficial as I got a great deal on a car I really like. I got a Chevy Equinox and it has the new car smell that makes me so happy, wish you could bottle that smell, the car wash has an air freshner called new car but it just isn't the same! While we are talking about shopping we also bought a new TV for our living room, that was Rich's Father's Day gift that he now refers to as the son he never had, too funny! I went furniture shopping on Saturday morning and got a console to put the TV on and to hold the equipment that goes with the TV, it is so nice, it has sliding doors and drawers and matches our other pieces well. We are going to do a little more rearranging this week so I plan to make a trip to Ikea later this week. The rest of the week I plan on cleaning up and cleaning out my house. With as busy as I have been the little things have been neglected so this is my chance. As you can see it has been a little crazy around here. The weather outside feels just like the storm of events that have been going on within our four walls.

Happy Father's Day

I am so lucky that I have an amazing father. Growing up my Dad loved me, went to tons of dance recitals and sporting events, and shaped me into the women I am today. My father instilled in me family values and a hard work ethic. Today my Dad is still there for me with an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and good advice whenever I need it. Happy Father's Day, Daddy! My girls are also fortunate to have an amazing Dad. My husband is the best Dad I could have asked for, my girls adore their Dad and he adores them. The three of them play together, read together, and give the best hugs to each other. I thank God daily for my husband and the father he has become. Happy Father's Day, Rich! I love you!