We Are Family...

Today went to my cousin's house to visit with them. My Aunt is in town so we got to see her too. My sister and John were there as well. The girls love visiting with everyone. They are a large group when all together but usually very well behaved. All together there are six girls and two boys. Gavin is the newest addition. As with all the babies in this family he is very cute. Today was the first time I got to meet him and I look forward to watching him grow. Now speaking of growing - Sami is not the oldest. As a matter of fact Vicky and Jade are both older than her. However you would never know it by her size. She is by far the tallest. And Nathan is growing too. No more curls! He is now a big boy with his big boy haircut. Even though we live close by our schedules don't allow us to see each other as much as we would like. But today was fun for everyone. We look forward to doing it again soon.

My Grams

Today is the one year anniversary of my Grandma's passing. It doesn't seem like she has been gone that long already. Probably because I think of her everyday. I know she is keeping a close eye on those she left behind. I feel her with me always. My Grams and I were very close. She took great care of me not only when I was little but also when I was stuck in bed with morning sickness both times. She was Sami's best friend. On Wednesday a friend of Samantha's came up to me and told me how she is always talking about her Gigi. Both girls were very lucky to have her for as long as they did. My Grams had great faith and had a strength inside her like no one else I know. She passed that on to her grandchildren. For the last 8 years or so she lived here with my parents so I got to see her all the time. We would go shopping and out to lunch. After she got sick I would help get her to her doctors appointments. When she made up her mind to go on she had the nurse call me in first. Gram told me she thought I would be able to handle it better and would then be able to help my Mom and Aunt deal. I felt great pride that she thought so highly of me. I also know that she is the one who taught me such great strength. The night she slipped away was the most beautiful night of my life. Earlier in the day she had said goodbye to all the great-grandkids and Scott. That night Rich, April, My Mom and Aunt, my Dad and myself were gathered around her. She spoke with each one of us. She never said goodbye. She simply told us she would wait for us in Heaven and when it was our turn to come she would be there to greet us. She told us how beautiful it was there and how handsome Jesus was. And then she was gone. It was all so peaceful. To this day I can still feel her soft gentle hand on my cheek. I can see her beautiful smile. And as I said before I know I am who I am because of her. I love and miss you Gram and I'm looking forward to seeing you in Heaven one day.

It's cookie time!

Every January a very special thing happens. Girl Scouts and Brownies all over the US sell cookies. This includes Samantha and Meaghan. This is Meag's first year to sell cookies. Although she can take credit for half of the cookies Sami sold last year. This year there is a new sugar free chocolate chip cookie and lemon chalet cremes. As always there are thin mints, trefoils, do-si-dos, samoas, all abouts and tagalongs. Each box sells for $4.00 a box. I know it is hard to buy from the girls when so many of you are far away. But if you really want them and don't have a "supplier" we are happy to ship them to you. There is another way to help the girls meet their goals of selling 110 boxes each. Operation Thin Mint allows you to purchase a box of cookies that is sent directly to deployed military troops. So far the Girl Scouts have been able to send 1,086,157 boxes of cookies. When you are so far away it is wonderful to get a taste of home. Scott has received many boxes this way and has always appreciated it. All Operation Thin Mint purchases are tax deductible as a charitable contribution. So if you are interested just leave me a comment and I will be in touch with you.

San Diego Super Chargers!

So today was Charger Spirit Day at school. At least 99% of the kids wore their jersey's or Charger colors. Meaghan was lucky enough to still fit into her Charger cheerleader outfit. For Samantha I had to go to the mall and buy something. This was not an easy task. The day after 7th grade decided on our spirit day the mayor announced that it would be spirit day for all of San Diego. Samantha ended up with an adults large sweatshirt because everyone was sold out or had very limited quantity of Charger gear. The most disturbing thing about this is that the adult large sweatshirt isn't as big as I thought it would be on her! She seriously needs to stop growing. Anyway, San Diegans are very much behind their sports teams no matter how they are doing. However I do believe after my shopping experience yesterday that the last few non-sports fans have changed their minds and jumped on the band wagon.