Yesterday was the ten year anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Where were you? I was at home, I had just woken up and was watching the TODAY show. I could not figure out what was going on, Scott happened to call right then and I remember asking him if something had happened. I told him to hold on for a minute because they were talking about it on T.V. He said, "Ya something has happened, they just flew a plane into the World Trade Center!" As with many others, I thought it MUST have been an accident, as the day went on, sadly I found out of course that this was no accident.
I went to work, and we watched this horrible day unfold on t.v. until our boss told us to go home, and be with our families. I remember Scott could not come home right away because they put the hospital on lockdown until they knew that we (in Utah) were "safe". I remember being worried about my dad, because at the time, he was still working on base, and there was so much fear and uncertainty. After this happened they heightened security on base so much that it took HOURS for him to get to and from work everyday.
Ten years later, I still watch airplanes in the sky with a sense of fear. I still tear up when I think about how awful it was to see those images on t.v. I can't imagine living close to New York, and having those "images" become more real. I know that I should not judge people (and I really do try hard not to) but I must admit that to see people who look like they are from the middle east, I wonder what they are doing. I used to get so MAD at my grandpa for being so racist toward the Japenese people. Now, though I am still mad, perhaps I understand it a little more. It's hard to remind yourself, that it's not the race that did that, it's the PERSON and that not everyone who is a member of that race, chooses to do HORRIBLE things. September 11, forever changed the way our world is.
Monday, September 12, 2011
It's great to be 8!
Sept. 10 came and went, and Jacob turned 8. For months now, all I have heard him say is how much he wants to ride a horse. Scott and I BOTH being "city" people...I just did not know how to pull this off. I don't know anyone who owns a horse, so it wasn't like I could just call in a favor. I was sitting getting my hair cut and there was a lady sitting close to me waiting for me to be done began talking about her horses. I asked her if she knew where I could take him to do some kind of riding lesson, her response was to send him to her house. She has horses, and her daughter competes with them, I asked her how much she would charge, she looked at me like I was CRAZY! She told me that it would be free and they would love to do it. This woman's name was Kristi, she wrote down her phone number and told me to call her to set it up.
When I called her, she was beyond nice, and told me to bring him on his birthday. I asked her if Zack could come just to watch and of course she said YES! We of course TORTURED Jacob with the fact that we had a surprise that he would find out about on his birthday. He tried to guess what it was, his guesses included everything from a cruise (ya right!) to going to chuck e cheese. The morning of his birthday, we all got dressed and headed out to the "secret location". When we arrived, the boys were confused, we were at the Hooper Arena, we told them that we were just there to watch the competion that was taking place.
Jacob looked at me and for the millionth time, told me he wanted to ride a horse. I told him that I was sorry, and explained to him that unless you owned a horse, you could not ride one, but watching them was the next best thing I could think of. Anyway...long story short, we watche the competiton, and played at the park that was right there and when they were all done with the competion, we went looking for Kristi. Since we had played at the park a little too long, a lot of the horse trailers were gone and we were panicking thinking that Kristi had given up on us and left. At this point Jacob still did not know that he was actually going to get to ride the horse. We were looking for Kristi, and asked a man if he had seen her, he looked down at the boys and said, "Oh you must be the lucky little feller that is gonna learn how to ride a horse today." At that point BOTH boys figured it out and got SOOOOOO EXCITED!
The man directed us to the other field where Kristi had gone and to my complete surprise she had brought not only one, but two of her horses for BOTH boys to ride! THE KINDESS OF STRANGERS NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME. Kristi and her 15 year old daughter Corrin, taught the boys about horses, and then each kid got to ride their horses for about 45 minutes. I seriously was expecting for them to just get on the horse and go in a circle once or twice and be done. Kristi and Corrin were amazingly generous and this is one birthday that Jacob will NEVER forget. Jake LOVED being on the horse, the horses names were Maggie and Lacie, and they were so gentle that Jacob even got to have Emma ride with him. Amazing. Simply amazing that a complete stranger would do something like that.
We had everyone over and did cake and ice cream later that night. Of course, as usual, Jacob was spoiled rotten and got everything he wanted, part of his birthday was given to him in July. Scott and I with the help of our parents gave all three of the kids a swingset for their birthday this year. They LOVE it~! My mom and dad also bought the kids a ticket to The Little Mermaid that was playing at Tuachon in St. George. Grandma and Grandpa McCleary took the boys down to St. George for 4 days and gave Scott and I a break! I missed my boys, but must admit the break was nice.
Since this blog is my journal, it's time to write things about Jacob at eight years old.
Jacob is in 2nd grade and has Ms. McBride (who we adore) Jacobs favorite foods are pizza, lasagna, hamburger and rice and EVERYTHING sweet. Jake loves to ride his bike, play at the park and yes...still LOVES lightning mcqueen. His best friend is his brother. Jacob loves the summers because he LOVES to be outside. Jacob does not get into too much trouble except when it comes to cleaning his room. Jacob is a WONDERFUL brother to his siblings, he admires Zack so much and wants to be just like him (even though their personalities are so very different). Jake simply adores his sister and just can't get enough of her. Jacob is a big help and a hard worker (except the whole room thing) He likes to do anything that his dad does, like mowing the lawn or getting on the roof (even though it scares me to death) to fix the cooler or put up/take down Christmas lights. Jacob LOVES to be anywhere with his dad. Jacob has a tender heart and we are so blessed to have him. Happy Birthday JACOB!!!!
When I called her, she was beyond nice, and told me to bring him on his birthday. I asked her if Zack could come just to watch and of course she said YES! We of course TORTURED Jacob with the fact that we had a surprise that he would find out about on his birthday. He tried to guess what it was, his guesses included everything from a cruise (ya right!) to going to chuck e cheese. The morning of his birthday, we all got dressed and headed out to the "secret location". When we arrived, the boys were confused, we were at the Hooper Arena, we told them that we were just there to watch the competion that was taking place.
Jacob looked at me and for the millionth time, told me he wanted to ride a horse. I told him that I was sorry, and explained to him that unless you owned a horse, you could not ride one, but watching them was the next best thing I could think of. Anyway...long story short, we watche the competiton, and played at the park that was right there and when they were all done with the competion, we went looking for Kristi. Since we had played at the park a little too long, a lot of the horse trailers were gone and we were panicking thinking that Kristi had given up on us and left. At this point Jacob still did not know that he was actually going to get to ride the horse. We were looking for Kristi, and asked a man if he had seen her, he looked down at the boys and said, "Oh you must be the lucky little feller that is gonna learn how to ride a horse today." At that point BOTH boys figured it out and got SOOOOOO EXCITED!
The man directed us to the other field where Kristi had gone and to my complete surprise she had brought not only one, but two of her horses for BOTH boys to ride! THE KINDESS OF STRANGERS NEVER CEASES TO AMAZE ME. Kristi and her 15 year old daughter Corrin, taught the boys about horses, and then each kid got to ride their horses for about 45 minutes. I seriously was expecting for them to just get on the horse and go in a circle once or twice and be done. Kristi and Corrin were amazingly generous and this is one birthday that Jacob will NEVER forget. Jake LOVED being on the horse, the horses names were Maggie and Lacie, and they were so gentle that Jacob even got to have Emma ride with him. Amazing. Simply amazing that a complete stranger would do something like that.
We had everyone over and did cake and ice cream later that night. Of course, as usual, Jacob was spoiled rotten and got everything he wanted, part of his birthday was given to him in July. Scott and I with the help of our parents gave all three of the kids a swingset for their birthday this year. They LOVE it~! My mom and dad also bought the kids a ticket to The Little Mermaid that was playing at Tuachon in St. George. Grandma and Grandpa McCleary took the boys down to St. George for 4 days and gave Scott and I a break! I missed my boys, but must admit the break was nice.
Since this blog is my journal, it's time to write things about Jacob at eight years old.
Jacob is in 2nd grade and has Ms. McBride (who we adore) Jacobs favorite foods are pizza, lasagna, hamburger and rice and EVERYTHING sweet. Jake loves to ride his bike, play at the park and yes...still LOVES lightning mcqueen. His best friend is his brother. Jacob loves the summers because he LOVES to be outside. Jacob does not get into too much trouble except when it comes to cleaning his room. Jacob is a WONDERFUL brother to his siblings, he admires Zack so much and wants to be just like him (even though their personalities are so very different). Jake simply adores his sister and just can't get enough of her. Jacob is a big help and a hard worker (except the whole room thing) He likes to do anything that his dad does, like mowing the lawn or getting on the roof (even though it scares me to death) to fix the cooler or put up/take down Christmas lights. Jacob LOVES to be anywhere with his dad. Jacob has a tender heart and we are so blessed to have him. Happy Birthday JACOB!!!!
Friday, June 17, 2011
A work in progress!
We took the kids on a surprise trip to DisneyLand! Details will be coming, but we had such a great time!!! Can't wait to have the time to sit down and remember every last detail. Hope a break comes soon!!!
Baseball Confidence!!
Two nights ago I was sitting at Zack's baseball game thinking a million different things, it's been a rough week around here to say the least. Zack's coach came up to me and said, "hey, I want to talk to you and Zack after the game". In my head I have to admit that I was thinking that Zack had done something wrong, and was dreading this conversation. As the game got over and the crowd dwindled down, I walked over to the coach. What he said next completly blew me away! The coach said that he had been around baseball for many years, he has played it, coached it and will watch it any chance he gets, he basically lives and breathes baseball! The coach told me that Zack had a natural talent for baseball and by far out of the whole team, Zack was the most IMPROVED player!! He literally begged me several times to keep him in baseball promising me, that if he stuck with it, and worked for it, he has the potential to be an AMAZING player someday! A few weeks prior to this conversation, Zack got hit by a ball (really hard and right on the bone of his elbow) he cried as he took his base, but then he didn't stop crying, so he had to be taken out of the game for a bit. That was a really bad day for all of the kids because at least 1/2 of the kids playing got hit and cried until they were taken out and replaced. Anyway, that same day, at the next chance Zack got to bat, he hit the ball HARD! 3 runs came in because of his hit, it was AWESOME! Back to what the coach was telling me, he said that kids either get hit by the ball and become afraid of it, or they see it as a challenge and try their hardest to overcome it, and in his opinion, Zack has chosen to see it as a challenge. He told me that no matter what has happened in the inning, Zack is ALWAYS the first to tell his teammates what a good job they did (even if they didn't) and helped give them some confidence. I can see that in my son, he has the biggest heart of anyone I know. The coach said that it would really be a mistake for me to take him out of baseball, because he believed that Zack could accompish GREAT things in the sport. I literally almost started to cry at that point, it is always nice to hear good things about your kids, but this was more then just a good review, this was heartfelt and sincere. That coach will never know what he did for Zack's confidence that day, Zack has had some struggles recently and really needed to hear from someone besides his parents, that he has worth. In all honesty, I needed to hear someone else say it as well!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Some memories and a goodbye.
This last week my great aunt Nedra passed away. My mom and dad are still gone so it was up to Kristin and I to attend the funeral (I would have anyway). I loved my Aunt for so many reasons, she had FIRE RED hair (just like me) and a personality that is unforgettable. She was a sister to my Grandma Hodge, who I was VERY close to and very much alike. The funeral was beautiful but so emotional, I think that I cried harder at that funeral then I did at my own grandma's. Even as I sit here, I am tearing up thinking about it. I think part of the reason that it was so hard is because I must have felt safe to cry. With my mom not being there I think in some small way I felt like I didn't NEED to be strong, I know it's crazy but ever since my sister died, I feel like I need to NOT let my mom and dad see me cry, because it only makes them cry and I HATE to see them hurt so bad that they are crying. I also feel like at my own Grandma's funeral there were so many emotions that went along with that. She had dimensia and alzheimers, so at the time of her death, she hadn't really been her true self for quite a while. Listening to all the stories at my aunt Nedra's funeral reminded me so very much of my grandma. Here is why I loved her.
She wasn't your ordinary grandmother who knits or makes anything really, but she would make sure that I had everything I wanted!
She ALWAYS had chocolate...ALWAYS, in fact, chocolate was a food group to her. We could go to a restaurant and she would pick at her dinner, but the minute desert came so did her appetite!
If kids were being mean to her grandkids, she would tell them that she would beat them with her cane AND SHE MEANT EVERY WORD!!!
She was funny, she always could make me laugh.
She yelled at the cops when they pulled her over...something that I have been known to do.
She was a dreamer! We always talked about getting a red sports car and driving anywhere we wanted to go. It should be noted that the first car I purchased for myself, was red.
She ALWAYS made microwave popcorn before going to bed. To this day stale microwave popcorn is SOOOO good!
She loved to drive. It really was hard to watch her abilities leave her, and then to finally see my mom take away her license.
She always wore bright red lipstick. Always!
(After she died, when we got to the mortuary, something just wasn't right, as soon as I saw her, I turned around and asked the mortician if they had any different colored lipstick, (they had put a pink one on her and it just wasn't right, much better after they added the red)
She called me Missy. There are only 5 people in the world who call me that. Both sets of grandparents, and my DAD!
She always believed that she would win the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes!
She LOVED to gamble, but only at the nickel machines. Before her and my grandpa died I got the privelage of driving them both to Wendover, it really was one of my funnest trips.
She was a great listener. Any time I needed to talk about ANYTHING, I talked to her, I still do sometimes.
Any cat my mother ever owned she named Hermie, my mom's cat's were never named hermie. Maybe she just couldn't remember their names or maybe she just really liked the name Hermie.
She loved getting strawberry milkshakes at McDonalds, they were the cure all!
She would buy a present for Christmas or your birthday, but by the time it came around, she had forgotten all about it, and bought more! Something that I also have done.
She called sunglasses her dark glasses.
She was not afraid to tell someone to go to hell! Something I also have done, on more then one occasion :)~
She would tell people that she was taking them out of the will, but never me for some reason, I was always in the will.
When things got expensive, she would make comments like, Oh C'mon, I've got money Bud hasn't even spent yet! (I guess she figured since he wouldn't spend it...she would and she did)
She loved to go for a ride, it didn't matter where you were going.
She always made me and Amy and Kristin sing Love one another while she hummed along loudly and out of tune!
She loved to listen to Kristin play the piano, (So do I)
She was fun. I loved her, I still do.
Being at her sister's funeral last week, just reminded me so much of her. Many of the stories they told, included her because they were close. And when they got together...oh how they laughed!!! And they laughed so hard, that it didn't matter if you knew what they were laughing about or not, you couldn't help yourself but to just laugh right along with them.
Early last week, I had a dream. When I woke up, I realized I had been crying in my sleep. In my dream, Emma and I were sitting under a tree at a park watching the boys play. I was just talking to Emma and I looked over and saw my grandma. She looked just like I remember from when I was really little. In my dream I remember her just watching me play with Emma. I remember hearing someone calling her name, she looked at me one more time and smiled, then she got up and walked away (without her cane.) As I mentioned before, I had been crying in my sleep. I miss my grandma, I miss her for all of her funny quirky things that she said, and I miss her because she loved me. Every single time I was with her, I knew I was special. I hope that she is having a great reunion in Heaven with her sister, and also mine.
She wasn't your ordinary grandmother who knits or makes anything really, but she would make sure that I had everything I wanted!
She ALWAYS had chocolate...ALWAYS, in fact, chocolate was a food group to her. We could go to a restaurant and she would pick at her dinner, but the minute desert came so did her appetite!
If kids were being mean to her grandkids, she would tell them that she would beat them with her cane AND SHE MEANT EVERY WORD!!!
She was funny, she always could make me laugh.
She yelled at the cops when they pulled her over...something that I have been known to do.
She was a dreamer! We always talked about getting a red sports car and driving anywhere we wanted to go. It should be noted that the first car I purchased for myself, was red.
She ALWAYS made microwave popcorn before going to bed. To this day stale microwave popcorn is SOOOO good!
She loved to drive. It really was hard to watch her abilities leave her, and then to finally see my mom take away her license.
She always wore bright red lipstick. Always!
(After she died, when we got to the mortuary, something just wasn't right, as soon as I saw her, I turned around and asked the mortician if they had any different colored lipstick, (they had put a pink one on her and it just wasn't right, much better after they added the red)
She called me Missy. There are only 5 people in the world who call me that. Both sets of grandparents, and my DAD!
She always believed that she would win the publishers clearinghouse sweepstakes!
She LOVED to gamble, but only at the nickel machines. Before her and my grandpa died I got the privelage of driving them both to Wendover, it really was one of my funnest trips.
She was a great listener. Any time I needed to talk about ANYTHING, I talked to her, I still do sometimes.
Any cat my mother ever owned she named Hermie, my mom's cat's were never named hermie. Maybe she just couldn't remember their names or maybe she just really liked the name Hermie.
She loved getting strawberry milkshakes at McDonalds, they were the cure all!
She would buy a present for Christmas or your birthday, but by the time it came around, she had forgotten all about it, and bought more! Something that I also have done.
She called sunglasses her dark glasses.
She was not afraid to tell someone to go to hell! Something I also have done, on more then one occasion :)~
She would tell people that she was taking them out of the will, but never me for some reason, I was always in the will.
When things got expensive, she would make comments like, Oh C'mon, I've got money Bud hasn't even spent yet! (I guess she figured since he wouldn't spend it...she would and she did)
She loved to go for a ride, it didn't matter where you were going.
She always made me and Amy and Kristin sing Love one another while she hummed along loudly and out of tune!
She loved to listen to Kristin play the piano, (So do I)
She was fun. I loved her, I still do.
Being at her sister's funeral last week, just reminded me so much of her. Many of the stories they told, included her because they were close. And when they got together...oh how they laughed!!! And they laughed so hard, that it didn't matter if you knew what they were laughing about or not, you couldn't help yourself but to just laugh right along with them.
Early last week, I had a dream. When I woke up, I realized I had been crying in my sleep. In my dream, Emma and I were sitting under a tree at a park watching the boys play. I was just talking to Emma and I looked over and saw my grandma. She looked just like I remember from when I was really little. In my dream I remember her just watching me play with Emma. I remember hearing someone calling her name, she looked at me one more time and smiled, then she got up and walked away (without her cane.) As I mentioned before, I had been crying in my sleep. I miss my grandma, I miss her for all of her funny quirky things that she said, and I miss her because she loved me. Every single time I was with her, I knew I was special. I hope that she is having a great reunion in Heaven with her sister, and also mine.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
$ales!!!
I have decided that next to Thanksgiving...this is my FAVORITE time of year! Christmas has come and gone and things get back to normal. The stores are clearing EVERYTHING that I need out in preparation for the next big thing...which for me, means SAVING!!! I LOVE buying things on clearance! I just went shopping and purchased enough clothes that if I needed it to..it could be her entire winter wardrobe and I only spent about $40.00~ I never have done this with Zack and Jacob because I am never sure what their sizes will be from year to year...but I really may have to just take the chance, bite the bullet and try it, It should at least work for ONE of them right? I was able to buy a $40.00 coat for Emma for about $10.00 (which still was kind of expensive). I LOVE knowing that I am set for Emma's birthday if I need to be, all she would get is clothes...but she will only be 2 and at that point in life I really don't think you care what you get. I did this last year also and it was such a relief to look in the bin under her crib and realize how much we HAD rather then how much we NEEDED to still get!
I saw a coat for the boys at Shopko that was normally $115.00 on sale for $50.00! I could go and get two coats for cheaper then the original price of one! Isn't that exciting??? It is to me!
I saw a coat for the boys at Shopko that was normally $115.00 on sale for $50.00! I could go and get two coats for cheaper then the original price of one! Isn't that exciting??? It is to me!
Monday, January 10, 2011
NO REGRETS!
Sometimes I wonder where the time goes and why it must go so quickly!! Today is the 10th of January....and my Christmas tree still stands in my living room. I really am not normally one to keep it up this long, and if I had my way, it would not be there! Life it seems, just gets incredibly busy at times and right now, we are in a busy time! With Emma ruling the house during the day and Zack and Jacob's crazy schedules ruling our evenings, it seems as though NOTHING gets accomplished! I am having way too much fun enjoying Emma while I have her all to myself during the days. I know that this time will go much faster then I want it to and I don't want to look back and have any regrets! When I had the boys it seems like such a blur looking back on it all. When Zack was born I was only home with him for 6 very short weeks before returning to work. I did not want to go back to work but at the time we felt like we could not afford for me to stay home. We got ourselves into a routine and had just started adjusting and what seemed like 2 seconds later I was (unexpectedly) pregnant with Jacob! Zack was just barely 4 months old when we realized I was pregnant. After struggling with infertility, any child that comes into our lives is an added blessing. We were scared to death wondering how we were going to manage with two babies under the age of 2 but somehow, we did manage. We just don't remember how LOL!!
The things that I see Emma do and just the time I get to spend with her one on one is so precious to me and I feel so blessed to be able to have this time with her. I kind of feel like the boys got cheated a little because with both of them running around, there was a constant chaos (there still is sometimes). When Zack was little tiny, I was pregnant with Jacob, so my energy was probably lower then normal, then when Jacob came along and Zack was STILL not sleeping through the night I REALLY had no energy! I was literally going from one baby to the next all day and all night long (I really don't know how mom's handle multiples) We were in survival mode, just trying to make it from one minute to the next. Now having Emma, and knowing in my heart that she is the last baby we will have, I am choosing to ENJOY my precious time with her! So...for now, my Christmas tree can stay in my living room, and the laundry can continue to pile up because these moments will be gone far to fast. Homework WILL get done, Zack will have a ride to scouts and back and Zack and Jacob WILL be at all of their basketball practices and games, and if you happen to come to my house...hopefully you will understand why my tree still stands...fully decorated~
The things that I see Emma do and just the time I get to spend with her one on one is so precious to me and I feel so blessed to be able to have this time with her. I kind of feel like the boys got cheated a little because with both of them running around, there was a constant chaos (there still is sometimes). When Zack was little tiny, I was pregnant with Jacob, so my energy was probably lower then normal, then when Jacob came along and Zack was STILL not sleeping through the night I REALLY had no energy! I was literally going from one baby to the next all day and all night long (I really don't know how mom's handle multiples) We were in survival mode, just trying to make it from one minute to the next. Now having Emma, and knowing in my heart that she is the last baby we will have, I am choosing to ENJOY my precious time with her! So...for now, my Christmas tree can stay in my living room, and the laundry can continue to pile up because these moments will be gone far to fast. Homework WILL get done, Zack will have a ride to scouts and back and Zack and Jacob WILL be at all of their basketball practices and games, and if you happen to come to my house...hopefully you will understand why my tree still stands...fully decorated~
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