Us ~ Keeping it Simple

January 2012

2012-02-13T09:49:00.000-08:00

January was filled with packing and moving and fitting in everything else we had going on. To say our move has gone great is an understatement, but it is true. We are blessed and so happy. It's funny how when something first starts out as a bad thing turns into a very good thing. That has happened a lot to us and I'm happy to report this move has been another great change for us.

January was filled with a lot of activity for J and he was able to keep up with everything despite the move. The weekend after returning from Sea Bee Camp we headed out to Tampa for J to participate as an Honor Guard for the Annual Frogman Swim. This event was an incredible Honor to participate in. Each Cadet was given the name of a SEAL that was killed last August. Before the swim took place the Cadets marched out onto Gandy Beach holding a Flag. As each SEALs name was called the cadet came forward, held their flag high and then lowered it at half mast. Each Cadet wore a white bracelet with their SEALS name on it. Joseph was assigned to CPO Nicholas H. Null. The night before the swim he researched his SEAL and even found a facebook memorial page. We posted a pic on the page and the mom of the SEAL has contacted us and is sending J Team Nick Tshirts. He will also be receiving a dog tag with his name on it from his Lieutenant Commander. There was not a dry eye on the beach that day as we remembered all that gave everything for our freedom. May these young men never, ever be forgotten.

The annual school Talent Show was this month and he performed Orchestral Suit III on violin and did a great job. The school band had their first concert and we were impressed with the way the band performed.

J also joined his school Track and Field team and is really liking it. Their first meet is this week.

January was also the Sea Cadet annual Inspection which is a big deal. It was combined with an award ceremony/luncheon and then the inspection where the Commanding Lieutenant inspects the unit and then each cadet personally. It was a really nice day and again we were so proud to watch J in his element with Sea Cadets.

After only being moved in one week we hosted a Superbowl party and another party this past weekend. Nothing motivates unpacking and getting organized like inviting people over. We have some great friends and are happy to share our new home with them. My mom will be coming in March for a long visit and I know she's going to love it just as much as we do... especially the kitchen..

J @home with the ducks he

was blessed to care for even if only

for a short time.

We are once again home, sweet home...

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Christmas, New Year and SeaBee Camp

2012-01-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas 2011 at our current home for the last time. We will be moved in our new home for sure by next Christmas! Aunt Nancy and Aunt Joanne came to visit and it was a really nice, quiet holiday weekend enjoying our last days with J before he headed out on the 26th. We started a new tradition of pizza for Christmas Eve and continued our usual prime rib dinner for Christmas Day and this year J ate it and loved it! I knew the day would come....

December 26th I took J and 2 of his fellow Cadets to Tampa for their Sea Bee Camp. He had a very hard time leaving - more so then when he had to fly alone to go to boot camp. I think it had to do with it being over a holiday and just typical nerves about going away alone and not knowing what to expect. I give him so much credit because he is still very young and one of the youngest in his Unit and at this particular camp he was one of the 4 youngest.

We spent the week getting our new home ready - there wasn't much to do but a lot of little projects such as changing light fixtures, painting, flooring the attic and other changes we wanted to make. I'm thankful my sister-in-laws were willing to give up a week to help us. They are super handy and as I am not, I'm very grateful and Joe really appreciated the extra hands. We didn't make them work the whole time but most of it... We did take time out on New Years Eve to enjoy a really great dinner on the beach. It was made even better when we got a call from J. They let the cadets call home for New Years and it was so great to hear his voice and know that all was well (other than a cold).

On Monday I drove back to Tampa to pick him up from camp and it was just like after boot camp.... he grew up some more! He was dirty and stinky and the hug he gave me was the best! I got the opportunity to take a personal walk around the grounds with the Commanding Officer/Lieutenant. I was in awe at the work these 51 cadets accomplished. They were at a Christian Help Center where autistic kids go to school and they were able to build three stages of an obstacle course that they will use. They also took the kids existing garden and expanded it three times its size. In addition to the building work they did, they also did typical Sea bee training such as CPR, Land Navigation, Combat simulation, night patrols, marksmanship and more. Each cadet was assigned a fake M16, a Kevlar helmet and flak jacket. The M16 had to go everywhere with them... shower, etc. If someone dropped theirs everyone had to do 20 push ups. Apparently everyone dropped theirs at least once. On Sunday they were given the choice of attending Mass, bible study or to rest. J chose the bible study and he said he really loved it and it was very deep. I'm proud that he chose wisely what to do with his free time. J kept a journal that he wrote in each day and I'm so happy because he was to excited to go over each day with us. I can't say enough about how great the US Navy Sea Cadet Program is and how proud we are that our son is a member. J's experience this week was a great one and I'm looking forward to what he will choose for summer!

Christmas Morning 2011

NYE 2011

Nancy, Me & Joanne NYE 2011

Charlie Company - J 4th from left kneeling

Receiving Seabee Certificate with his CO

December 2011

2011-12-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

Here we are a week away from 2011 ending and I didn't quite keep my goal of keeping the blog up to date monthly but I didn't do too bad. So this will be my end of year, catch up the blog, try to cover what I can remember, wrap up post.

My last post was October and we were moving and making big changes in our lives. Well all that is still happening, we are moving and are all really excited about it. It will all fall into place and we have a new home that we are anxiously awaiting to move into.

Speaking of changes, recently a good friend said to me that she was envious that I was so good with change and she didn't have the ability to make changes so quickly. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of that and gave it way too much thought but it was good that I did because I came to some very real understandings about myself and my family. I don't know if I'm "good" at changes but I do know I recognize them and am able to make them even when it's a situation with unknowns and are some times scary. Let's face it, the first thing many people say when asked about change is usually something like I don't like change or change scares me (except the people who voted for Obama but that's a whole different post for a different day) I'm talking personal changes. Most people don't like change. I've learned from a very young age that change can be good and in my opinion absolutely necessary. I have some very big change moments that come to mind, such as a job situation wherein I was offered a job that was very different than what I was doing and my immediate response was no way... too much change, not sure, scared, blah blah. I declined the position for that fear and something shortly thereafter nagged at me that it was a mistake and I should go for it. Long story even longer.... I called back the hiring person weeks after and talked my way into her meeting me and I got a fantastic job that ended up being my career until we moved here and the best job ever in terms of satisafaction, salary and all around awesomeness. I often say what if I hadn't taken that chance and made that change. Who knows. Another huge change moment was picking up and leaving NY which I've blogged that story many times. It was scary and we were told we were crazy but again change that made sense for our situation and although scary, another great decision. Without any more stories or the word change we again are faced with another situation where a change was in order and again scary, we did what we do best... we jump in with all our hearts and all our faith.

Speaking of faith.... Joseph and I finished reading the Bible on Christmas Day. We ended earlier than our planned day of 1/1/12 because we didn't know at the time we started that he would be away at a Sea Cadet Camp. We decided we would finish on Jesus' birthday and doubled up our reading. I can't explain the feeling we both had when we finished. It was amazing and no words could do it justice. I didn't realize how much Joe thought of our project until Christmas Day when he presented Joseph and I with a Willow statute of a Mother and Son and card that was so fitting and a letter telling us how proud he was. We do not exchange elaborate gifts but the gifts I receive fill my heart and this lettter I will cherish, as will Joseph.

That brings me to today, 12/26/11.... Joseph left for a 9 day Sea Cadet Camp specializing in Seabee training. We again packed the seabag and prepared for him to be gone for the first time ever over New Years. The selfish me would have loved to just keep him home and do what we always do which is boating but, oh no, here it is again... more change. It was a little difficult this morning for him and us and this time Joseph gave me his Cross to wear while he's gone and I'll cherish it until I see him next week. He is going to do so much great stuff this week and I can't wait to pick him up next week and hear his non-stop talk about every single minute. When I dropped him off today and watched him have his seabag inspection and then get checked in I didn't expect what happened next. He was preparing to go to his barracks and quickly came over and hugged me. The very nice lady checking them in said.... "Cadet Kowalski, that was a very fine thing you just did by hugging your mamma. No matter how old or what rank you are, you always hug your mamma". I did all I could to hold it together until I got to my car and burst out in tears. He makes me proud every single day. So here I am tonight missing him like crazy but even more so excited for all he will do and learn this next week.

To wrap up my 2011 post I will not focus on the negative or the challenges we face but rather that this year has been filled with many blessings... My mom survived Cancer and for that there is no greater joy, my husband sustained his illness and a major surgery and for that there is no greater joy, my son is a healthy boy who fills my heart beyond measure and for that there is no greater joy, I am loved by many and I love many and for that there is no greater joy. To my family and friends, may 2012 be filled with good health, so much love, much happiness and strength to get you through the challenging times and hey if there are some changes thrown in... check them out, they may be just what you need.

JSK seabee camp 12/11

Twelve

2011-10-07T10:18:00.000-07:00

October 1 Joseph turned twelve. That time is flying phrase is so true. I look at him now and see a young man, not a little boy. He had an excellent birthday and the celebrations are not over yet. This weekend he'll host two friends for a sleepover. My mom, as she has done since we moved here, flew in for her annual two week trip to celebrate and my two sister-in-laws came also. All Joseph wanted to do for his actual birthday was to go to the Zoo to see the Honey badgers. To say he's a little obsessed with them would be putting it mildly. His chosen gifts were a Honey badger IPhone Case, a honey badger tshirt and the complete series of Seinfeld (he has good taste in TV shows). Added to those gifts he received a fancy toothbrush since his last check up showed 2 cavities. He was actually excited about that gift! He also asked to go to his favorite restaurant Trulucks which as he describes, is a place with a lot of pizazz and he's right. We enjoyed our time with my mom as usual and this trip left us with even more meals in our freezer. She added some new recipes and I may not cook for a long while ~ thanks Mom!

Things I want to remember for J's 12th birthday...

This past year you have changed and grown so much. You have made your Dad and I so very proud! Your serious side melts my heart and your sense of humor makes me literally laugh out loud.

As you navigate the pre-teen years you have relied on your morals and values to make decisions. Your not a follower and will stand up for your principles.

You have continued to participate on your airsoft team and recently shot 28 out of 30 with Trap shooting ~ very impressive. You became a U.S. Navy League Cadet this year and have already scheduled your winter training for See Bee camp. Your running for class President at the moment and win or loose just the fact that your running makes us proud! You joined band and are playing the Alto Sax and after so many years of a string instrument your quite the horn player as well! Your musical talent is a gift and to see you and Dad playing together so beautifully is pure joy for me.

You've kept your commitment to read the bible within one year and we are right on track! You've grown spiritually so much this year. Your love for the Lord is strong as well as your faith. You never leave home without your Cross around your neck.

You've had to deal with some changes this year that were difficult and it broke my heart to see you sad because it's against a mother's nature to see her child hurting but I also know that protecting you from any pain will not help you either. You are going to learn from every single experience, good or bad. I sometimes think you are so much older than you are because of how you handle things and I'm trying to be careful to still remember your a kid! This parenting thing is a never ending process and I know I mess up some times but I love you with all my heart and even when you and I get on each others nerves and hey some times we do, my love is never ending.

Happy Birthday ~ xo ~ Mom

one of Josephs favorite quotes:

Always stand on principle... even if you stand alone.

"John Adams"

9/11....

2011-09-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

I am writing this post on 9/12 because I wanted to spend this weekend doing what most did... we honored, observed, remembered and along with that watched our son serve as an Honor Guard. This weekend was very emotional, as is every 9/11, and everyone to come will be. We don't only remember on this day, but the actual day always seems so unreal and the horror of it all being replayed makes it so raw.

On 9/11/01, I was on my second day of a new job as Director of Human Resources for a company called Park Avenue in White Plains, NY. It was not a job I wanted, but took out of necessity as my former company was going out of business. The day prior, Joe had faxed my resume to a colleague at Verizon at the World Trade Center, Tower I. I had decided that commuting was something I was open to again and was anxiously awaiting a call for an interview. That morning our babysitter was sick so my mother was en route to our house to babysit and Joe was taking care of Joseph (who was almost two).  Joe called me to say he thought something very bad was happening to our Country and that he was cancelling his meeting in CT. He told me I should leave work immediately. I did not think that was a good idea since it was only day two and my boss who lived in NY wasn't even in yet.  I did finally leave around 10:00. Driving home was eerie and the roads were quiet. I remember going by the Kensico Dam and saying a prayer that there wouldn't be any further attacks. The rest of the day all of my family gathered at our house and we watched the horror of it all. I remember putting Joseph in our bedroom to watch Elmo so he wouldn't see the news we had playing on TV. We vowed that day to make sure our son would know and understand what happened to America that September day.  We personally knew many who where in the towers that day, some made it out, some did not.

I have been shocked and somewhat saddened to read about and meet children who don't have an understanding of what happened on September 11, 2001. Anyone who thinks our schools should be the one to teach that is sadly doing a disservice to their children, in my opinion. We will always teach at home the history of this great Country we are blessed to live in. That is our job.

Yesterday Joseph was asked to serve aboard the SS American Victory Ship in Tampa, FL.  He was honored to be part of this beautiful Memorial Service and we were proud to watch him do his job.

I recently ordered a Gratitude Journal for my family. It arrived this weekend and just in time. With all we have going on at the moment between selling our home, focusing on finding a new home, arranging for another Mayo Clinic visit for Joe and all the stress that comes with these situations, we cannot forget to be grateful. Especially when we remember all who were lost ten years ago. All the people who no longer have a parent, a spouse, a sibling, a friend. Life is short is a cliche... but it's a reality when you put it in the terms that all these people did was go to work that day...

our gratitude journal

Joseph (far left) with his fellow Cadets

SS American Victory

"Grace isn't a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It's a way to live". ~ Jacqueline Winspear

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy

17 Years ~ August 20th

2011-09-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

August 20th, 1994

I am trying my hardest to keep up and did not want to let our 17th anniversary go by without a post....

My marriage is not perfect (secret, no such thing) but my marriage is perfect for us. We have had our peaks and valleys, so to speak, but being a team is the only way we know how to be. There are no options. We put each other first always. I know that no matter what I have a husband who first and foremost respects me and not just in the typical terms of respect, such as being polite, etc., true respect. That respect along with that he'll be the first to tell me if I'm being an ass or if something doesn't really look good on me, are excellent qualities in a husband and vise versa in a wife.

Over our many years together I have heard Joe say countless times to strangers, friends, family; "Daniella is an angel that God dropped in front of me". Sounds simple and sweet but his words are heartfelt and sincere and he believes that with every ounce of his being. He would also lay down his life for me. Sounds like what every husband/wife should feel but call me a cynic, I don't think everyone has that and I do not for one second take this for granted.

We have built our marriage on strong values, honesty and always putting each other first. When any of those core principals are challenged, we take it seriously and put ourselves and our marriage back on track. I am happy that the times of our marriage being easy have far outweighed the hard.

Here is to our 18th year together and as we head into this year of many unknowns for us and many changes we will face as a family, I know one thing for sure, I have a partner who will be walking beside me and that we share a love that can't be stopped.

Something's telling me it might be you

It's telling me it might be you

All of my life

US Navy League Cadet Graduation

2011-08-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

I survived the week while J was at Boot Camp. Survived but for sure drove my husband and my mother crazy... I may or may not have asked "so what do you think he's doing now" at least 1,000 times. I finally listened to my mom's wise words that "no news was good news"... in this case that was for sure.

On Friday 8/12 Joe and I headed out on a plane (that was of course delayed and caused me major anxiety) to NJ where we were met by my mother who was there anxiously awaiting the next day, just as we were. Delays aside, we were so relieved and happy to be back in the State that our son was in and the State that had been our home for so many years. It felt good.

Saturday was a beautiful, perfect day.... We headed to the USCG Base and as we waited for the graduation, we talked to other family members there and we all had such a sense of peace and the happiness was actually able to be felt in the crowd. Everyone there was proud and we hadn't even seen the Cadets yet. Next thing we knew we started to see the graduates from across the field and my mother was the first to spot Joseph holding the Flag for his Company - I at first didn't believe it, but it was him.....

Charlie Company - Led by Joseph the guideon

The Ceremony was so beautiful and the work that these young people had done all week was so clearly obvious. As a Mom I took one look at my son's face and knew that he had a very, very good week. He was beaming with pride. Joseph's Company then received the Honor award for best academics, barrack inspection, personal inspection and overall inspections for the week - Joseph being the Guideon was the Cadet who marched to the Commanding Officers and had their ribbons tied. He marched, he pivoted and he made us proud! I just like saying "look, he pivoted"...

Once the ceremony was over I could not run to hug Joseph quick enough. From the moment we first hugged I knew there was a change in him - he grew up and the little boy we left there was now a young man that had experienced a week that he will not soon forget. He proudly showed us his barracks and where he spent his time - we watched him shake hands and say goodbye to new friends and to Officers and Commanders he respected. He said M'am and Sir freely and shook hands with everyone he saw. We were told by his officers and commanders that Joseph was one of the cadets that did not need to be told anything twice... we were not surprised but we were certainly proud. Watching him graduate was for sure a moment that took my breath away and will remain in my heart forever.

We then went to Uncle Bills for our Celebratory Brunch - Joseph wore his uniform proudly as he made his way into a restaurant he's been going to since he was 9 months old!

He then began the non stop play by play of his week and we listened with all ears..... He was homesick one day but quickly became part of the team and made friends, learned to march (much harder than it seems), did target shooting, fire extinguishing, swimming, pt every day at 4:45, watched the sunrise every day, did work on the USCG Cutter, classroom work for four hours a day, took tests, performed watch duty which for J was until 1:00 a.m. his last night, saw what happened when a teammate did something wrong (the smuggled granola bar made his company loose granola rights the whole week!), they were referred to as the Chewy Charlies, spent the entire week side by side the Coast Guard recruits, they worked hard together, laughed together, came close to crying together, they felt pain together, they also had lots of fun together and they pushed through together and at the end they came out together as US Navy League Cadets - (I know I'm missing some things they did). I will also note that not every Cadet graduated - it's not an easy program and I'm forever grateful for the hard work the Officers and Recruits give to these young men and women. Joseph went in knowing it would be hard but came out saying it was all worth it....

Joseph with Charlie Company

Joseph and Grandma

Joseph with one of his Company Commanders

His bedroom for the week

Joseph and his bunkmate
(aka the granola smuggler ;)

Celebrating

We then had the next 3 days to celebrate and spend in our old hometown of Cape May - I do not have one picture of my sister and family who drove all the way to NJ to see us and celebrate!!!! We were so busy enjoying each other, I took not one picture! They were there though, I promise :) We also soaked in every single bit of Cape May goodness we could. The two J's had bikes and covered all the ground. We also got to visit with so many dear friends who although we have not been back in years, welcomed us with open arms - We needed much more time there but did so much and even have enough taffy for a while :)

Joseph at the Harbor he grew up going to

Grams and J at the Arcade with their winnings

J and J at Sunset Beach with the Atlantus in the background

known to us as "eating horse"

You never really leave a place you love.....

I'm grateful my son's path led us back to a place we all hold dear to our hearts and that he was blessed to start his journey as a young man in such a special place.....

God Bless my son Joseph who has made us so very proud.

Today 8/5/11

2011-08-06T05:15:00.000-07:00

heading off to Boot Camp to become a USNLC

Dear J ~

Today you gave me your watch to wear while your gone. Today your Dad gave you a speech about perseverance and pushing through even when things are hard. Today we hugged as a family and all of us cried. Today I watched you board a plane alone to head out on what will be the first of many difficult things you will do in your life time. Today you took another step towards growing up. Today my heart burst with the feeling of pride. I know that feeling will be even more so next week when we watch you graduate your first training course.

In forty eight hours you will be dropped off at the U*SCG Base for training to get your first rank as a US Navy L*eague C*adet. When you asked to join this organization months back and then went to your first drill you have wanted this more and more. I will be honest, when your CO told us about the boot camp and we then left you alone for 3 hours to get your feet wet, I had some doubts that perhaps you would think it was too much or too hard. When we picked you up you wanted it even more! You have proven that this summer by attending your drills, training your body and your mind. To see you love something so much, is just pure joy!

Next Saturday, Grandma, Dad and I will be there watching you graduate and I hope you feel all the love that we have for you today and always. Stay safe my love and see you soon.

Mom

New York Trip

2011-07-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

Joseph has been home one week and as this is our journal, I don't want to forget one thing....

The much anticipated New York trip for Joseph was even more than he (or we) could have imagined. Joseph and I got to the airport early as we had no idea how the whole minor flying alone thing worked. I could not have been more impressed and put at ease with how J*etblue handled this. We were met immediately with a worker who was expecting J and gave him his Jr. Crew ID and from there it was smooth flying. I had tears, he did not. I'm grateful. On the NY end my Mom was just like me, there early holding her breathe. She did not know what to expect either, but was relieved and joyful all went smooth once she saw him get off the plane. From that second it was non-stop busy. He visited with family from the minute he landed and he could not have been happier! Every call and text showed his happiness, which in turn made it easier for us, the first time parents away from their kid! He went to the movies, BBQs, shoppimg with grams, dinners out, babysitting with AmberJo,(perhaps learned some new words), time just being together and the honor of visiting We*st Point. He must have taken 100 pictures on that day and took in every detail, right down to visiting the grave of the man who wrote Taps, which he and Joe had just talked about. He recalled every minute of the visit to us. My Mom and sister planned this and what a special day! Next up, my mom and J headed out for a road trip to Coop@erstown to visit our cousins and family that he has never met. Another awesome adventure. They had such a great time on a beautiful lake. J learned to water ski and just fell in love with the freshwater lake. He said it was a lot less salty than the gulf!

There was a lot of ground covered during this week, but most important to us was this incredible opportunity for him to spend with family. My Mom and Joseph were great roommates and he said he had the best time. We are so very thankful for my Mom for this week of fun and love! Although we moved 7 years ago far from family, I see very clearly that my son has strong bonds that no distance in the world could break...

As for Joe and I, we had a lot of dates....

up next... Another trip North for J for Se*a ca*det boot camp.

What does home mean to you?

2011-07-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

That is the question I asked Joseph last night. After the usual answers of where we sleep, etc., he said it's wherever you, me, Dad and Boo are.

I was the kid who was born in one house, moved at five and stayed in that home until I left to live with and then marry Joe. Last night I thought about that home. I remember every detail exactly but what I remember more so were the memories... My mom cooking in the kitchen, my grandma living downstairs for part of my life, the parties, the holidays, Friday pizza night, my dad's tinkering in the garage, the window my mother stood at until I came home, growing up with my siblings and the familiarity of my family being in that home. That's all I knew, that's how I grew up.

My husband had a complete different experience. He moved a lot. His moves where due to unfortunate circumstances of loosing his father too young, a mom who struggled to raise five kids and somehow he always had a home. The home where his siblings and mom were. He also remembers each of those houses and tells us stories about all of them. At the end of the day, although there many places, they were all home.

Our son was born in a house in New York and I never thought we would leave but when he was four we did move and we all fell in love with our new house and it's been our home for seven years. It looks like Joseph will not fall into either of the categories that Joe or I did as far as moving goes as we are planning on selling this home and moving in the near future (hopefully someone will come along really soon and fall in love with our house the way we did.)

This decision to move is one that we have come to after much thought and consideration for what will again be a great move for our family and although we know that at first change is difficult and for all of us a bit scary, but for Joseph the most. There have been many tears and emotions. I'm letting him have and feel them all. We have talked and talked and talked some more about why and how it will be better for all of us and that we could be happy anywhere as long as we are together. This of course, is easy to say but as a child, hard to understand. We started to show him some of the houses and areas and as Joe and I are excited about the possibilities and the adventure of it Joseph in turn had a change of heart and just like that turned a corner and is now excited too - that's how this team rolls! It clicked and I'm grateful. I'm fully expecting to see more tears (some will be mine I'm sure) but as parents we have to let our kids some times feel pain and that is ok because at the end of this new road we are on we will find the place we will call "home" and we will be together and it will be part of our story...

~June 2011

2011-06-24T19:56:00.000-07:00

Seven years ago this month we moved to our new home. It wasn't just a new home, it was a new state where we didn't know one person and it was 1,500 miles from most of our family. It was the best decision we ever made and I've blogged many June posts about how we got here. Truly it was a "God" thing and every time I reflect on how it all came to be, that is more and more clear to me. My biggest fear was leaving family. Well thank goodness for Jet Blue and family who still wanted to see us ;) We have been blessed with many visitors in our home. This past week my sister and niece came for a visit and we jam packed their 5 days with what we love to do. I picked them up at the airport and when we got home, we gave them five minutes to unpack and repack to head out on the water to Captiva Island for 2 nights. It was a great two days filled with swimming in the ocean, lounging by the pool, crab racing at the local bar (J's crab took first place again!!) and just spending time together. J and his cousin are very close - they keep in touch more than I even knew about via texting, calls, FB, playing scrabble via the Internet, and I'm grateful for their relationship. They spent every night together up way past when everyone else went to bed and I heard lots of laughing. J got to share his love of Air*soft with her by bringing her to a game and she did great and loved it! We did some tubing and beaching and I can honestly say that I have not laughed, the way I laughed on that tube, in a very long time. We were both in pain from laughing. Speaking of my sister.... What can I say, but I cherished every single minute we shared this visit. We laughed, we talked, we shared, and it's always like I saw her yesterday when we are together. She is a blessing to me and my family and I'm proud to call her my sister. We celebrated A's birthday early and celebrated Father Day. It was a short trip but filled with tons of memories.... D & A ~ thanks for coming to see us and for the chance to make memories.

Heading out after they stripped their winter clothes ;)

22 with cupcakes

Cousins

A & J on the Tube (they didn't last as long as we did)

On Captiva

Ready...

I love this picture

Who's raft?

getting into vaca mode

Me and Donna hysterical

This will only be funny to my sister - I'm posing and no clue what Joe is looking it

Pretty on Lovers Key

End of School 5th grade - Summer Time

2011-06-10T12:49:00.000-07:00

If I was on top of my blogging I would start this post with a picture from the first day of school and one from the last. That's not happening. Fifth grade is over and I feel, as I always do when the year ends, ready for summer. I enjoy having my son home with no set schedule for the most part and spending more time together. I know there are parents that dread summer for the reasons of having to entertain and keep their kids busy. That's never been a problem for us and although I will be more than ready for him to go back on August 29 I will cherish our summer time.

Fifth grade was a good year for J. He maintained his Honor Roll status but math was for sure a struggle. There were tears and many nights that were stressful. I never blame a teacher but I do believe that some children and teachers just don't jive and it could cause for a difficult year. Unfortunately J has had the same teacher for the last 2 years which were critical learning years and to say they didn't jive would be an understatement. We are hopeful next year will be better for him. He will be spending many days this summer re-learning and getting up to speed. Fifth grade was also a year of finding his way with his peers. J has always been an independent child and has never liked being in a crowd. He is not a follower and to quote what he said the other day "I don't really care about being cool".... Those words made us smile. So he didn't fall into the "cool boys crowd" and that was a good thing. He made some new friends that have similar interests and has his first crush on a girl who unfortunately for him, just wants to be friends. I was told by many of his teachers that J is a very polite young man and respectful. I think that will serve him far more than being cool.

On to summer time... we have a lot planned and also enough unscheduled days as well. My sister and niece are coming next week and we are really looking forward to that. It's been more than 3 years since they've been here. We are going to jam pack their visit with all sorts of fun in the sun. Then we will be taking our annual jaunt down to the K*eys stopping on Ma*rco Island, Du*ck Key and Ke*y West. After that J will venture out on his first plane trip alone to NY. He loves to spend time with his family and not living close by has and will always be the hardest thing about living here. So this trip is very important and special for him and he will be meeting cousins he has never met before. This trip will help prepare him and us for his August adventure when he will fly again North to spend a week completing training to become a Nav*y L*eague C*adet. My fears for all this working out are now gone and he is on his way to joining an organization that is incredible and will be so wonderful for him. That week will be hard for me, very hard. We will not be able to have any contact with him at all until we see him on the 7th day when he graduates. I can count on one hand how many nights he has slept somewhere other than with us, so this will be difficult. It will be an intense week of physical training, drilling, marching and all sorts of really great stuff that he can't wait to do. It is the start of us learning to let go and watch him become even more independent and I'm ready, but that will not stop me from worrying and missing him like crazy. In between these scheduled trips we are going to be doing a whole lot of us days... going to the beach without the crowds, tubing and kneeboarding, cooking s'mores on our firepit, swimming in the pool, kayaking, taking bike rides, playing mini golf, fishing and making sure we are in the moment.

I recently had a long talk with a good friend about how bad things are in our Country and how so many people are ignoring it and not paying attention, we talked about how to protect our families from the unknown. I am scared, very scared of where our Country is heading, our economic future and the State of the World in general. Life seems to be in fast forward and I wish I could slow it down, but I can't so what I will do is be present, let the small stuff go, don't worry if the laundry is piling and the floors need to be mopped, we have one life and I don't want to miss any of it..... Here's to the Summer of 2011.

Part of You...

2011-05-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

We knew the day would come. I thought I was prepared for it, but I wasn't. Nothing prepares you for the emotions you will feel when it comes to having to protect and fight for your child. In one phone call I was dealing with our reality head on. In as much as dealing with the reality of what my son would face the rest of his life and the reasons why we were was just too much for me. I held it together until I was alone and then I let every single emotion that I've kept in for eight years go. As I sat alone in my closet surrounded by boxes and boxes of medical records I glanced at some of them remembering each painful appointment. I remembered watching my husband go through Hell and back. Then I found the papers I was looking for the ones that said that my son was also at risk to go to Hell (my word) and back or perhaps worse. It was at the moment when I held those papers in my hand that I snapped out of it, wiped the tears away and said I will do whatever I have to to help my child fulfill his dreams and his goals. He has that right and I am his only advocate. I will never, ever, ever put him at risk to have what happened to his father happen to him. I could never do that, but I will make sure that this small part of who he is, is just that, a small part, part of his story.... not what defines him, not what limits him, not what prevents him from leading the life he wants. It's very easy to get trapped in our own heads and ask why but that will not help nor change the situation. We will continue to walk our journey and deal with what was given to us and figure out what to do with it. In eight years I've never said the words why my husband, why my family and I certainly won't start today. Instead, I will sit down today to fill out the 25 page application for my son to pursue his goals an if it means having to tell his story then I will tell it.....

Cruise 2011

2011-04-19T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last fall we decided that we wanted to take a special trip with my Mom. So this month we set sail on the Norwegian Epic and headed to Mexico. There was a lot of planning and up until the minute we pulled in to the Miami port, I was completely unsure of how this was going to go. I spent far too much time reading reviews but from the minute the luggage was taken from our car and we started the boarding process, things could not have been more impressive and smooth. (Disclaimer: anything that went wrong and let's be honest no vacations are perfect, but in this case anything that did, would be Griswold incidents only - we won't name names on who forgot anything important). I don't want to forget anything from this amazing week so be forewarned this is long and quite possibly very boring ;)

The Epic is an incredible vessel and words can't possibly do it the justice it deserves. It's massive size never left us feeling overwhelmed nor did we ever get lost. We basically knew the ship inside and out very quickly. We went with two cabins and J and my Mom got to be roommates. They had a lot of time together which was very special. They bowled together (grams won), they had a dinner out alone one night and may or may not have gone by the Casino.

At the bowling Alley

Our ports were Costa Maya, Honduras and Cozumel. At all three ports J did excursions. Joe and Joseph did the Mayan Ruins tour in Costa Maya and said it was unbelievable. They both have a love of history and this was perfect for them. That day my Mom and I got off the ship and did some shopping but then enjoyed the ship while it was basically empty. We discovered the quiet zone pool area that day which was our favorite spot. In Honduras I did snuba with J - This was not his first time but was mine. I was ready to give up the first five minutes because I was not getting the breathing but I didn't quit and it was amazing. I loved it and could have stayed down there all day. It was a special time that we shared alone together and I'm glad I kept trying. We also explored the Gumbalimba Park which was absolutely gorgeous - the monkeys were by far our favorite part of that day. In Cozumel the guys went on a jeep/snorkel excursion while we stayed at the port and explored the shopping. This was the largest City we stopped in and it was beautiful.

Snuba in Roatan Hondurus

Gumbalimba Park - Honduras

Lighthouse in Cozumel

The food on the ship was excellent from the buffets to the fine restaurants. We ate and we ate some more.

Dinner in the Manhattan Room

Dinner at Le Bistro

If you ask us how the Ice Bar was you may get a few different responses. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. We all agree that it was cold but fun!

We saw the Blue Man Group and Legends in Person - the shows on the ship were of Vegas/NY quality. Although Blue Man wasn't a show my Mom and I loved, there was no denying the quality of the performers. We did the meet and greet with the performers and Joseph was able to get his Lady G@aGa question answered. Legends was incredible and all three of the impersonators (Neil Diamond, Janet Jackson and Aretha Franklin) were as good as the real performers) .

Enjoying the Legends in Person

The ship had rock climbing walls and a water park on the top deck. J spent many, many hours enjoying these features. We attended the art auction and had a hard time keeping J to keep his hand down. There were some amazing pieces being offered.

Top Deck

Auction in progress

just because he's handsome - taken from my balcony looking at their balcony

hanging in the atrium waiting for his 15 second of fame

His final thoughts... Epic time

This was a memorable week at sea aboard the Norwegian Epic.

We created a lifetime of memories.

We saw and did things we will not soon forget.

Now I'm off to edit the million pictures we took and create an album.

Already behind - February and March

2011-03-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

I had good intentions. It's now March (almost April). Seriously where did February go? For us February was a crazy, busy, fun month. We had a great mid-winter break with Aunt Christina, Uncle Den and Vincent. We boated out to Us@ppa Island and had a very relaxing time for 4 days and then did local boating which is always fun. We went target shooting, went to a great Greek Festival and overall just enjoyed each others company. I'm grateful for family who visits. Blogger won't let me upload pictures at the moment :(

So for the rest of this post bullets will have to do... They will be random and have no particular order - whatever pops in my brain for the next five minutes - go...

Excited for my mom's arrival this week
Grateful that her chemo and radiation is over ~goodbye and good riddens Cancer!
Even more excited for upcoming travel plans for Spring Break
Exhausted from the last 3 months of non-stop HOA work. I'm now President - don't be impressed
I've been over thinking parenting far too much
Hoping the values and morals J possesses will always stay strong
There were lots of airsoft games this past month and watching him be part of such a great group of people makes us proud.
J challenged himself and me to read the Bible in one year with an app for our I*phones - we are on day 86. His dedication to this has been incredible. If we miss a day we double up the next. He recently wrote a book report on what we've read so far and he got an A+
Can't believe summer is almost here. Camps are booked, boating trips planned and a very special trip for Joseph is planned. He'll be flying to NY alone - be still my heart. He'll be in great care so I'm really not worried, who am I kidding, I'm always worried. Joe and I are super excited for him though. They have some fun things planned
Still miss cycling but honestly don't think I will ever be able to ride as a sport again - I still occasionally, out of now where, relive the accident and it leaves me shaken. My scars are less visible but will always be a reminder to me of that awful day
I am still loving running - have seen the most results with this form of exercise but with that comes the price of ailments. Have had hip bursitis and had to take some time off. Can't wait to start again
Grateful that we just found out Joe can now go to six month instead of 3 for his cancer checkups

Still struggling with blogging but hoping to find a good groove again....

End of the Year - Start of the Year

2011-01-12T09:16:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for 2011 is to keep this blog up to date. I obviously can no longer post weekly so my hope is to do one post a month. Along with that goal is keep all pictures I take throughout the month organized on my computer by month... this will help with my blogging goal. This post will wrap up our year and the start of our new Year.

2010 was a year that I could look back on say wow I'm sort of glad it's over. I'd rather look at the year with the it could be worse point of view. I'm not always so good at that ~ another goal.

My mother was diagnosed early in the year with Breast Cancer - that just sucked, plain and simple. The women who we all looked at as the picture of health was now facing Cancer. To say that she handled it well would be a complete understatement. I hope to be able to face all my problems with the grace and dignity that she has shown. Fast forward to today and Chemotherapy is complete, radiation is underway and the prognosis is excellent. Joe has continued to deal with new health issues as well this past year and had two big trips to Minnesota. I've never written about the health issues he faces but since this blog is no longer about adoption but more of my personal space on the web and to be my journal for my family, I will try to document these issues as well.  The last scary health issue was in June when I crashed my roadbike and needed 3 hours of surgery on my face and 3 hours of oral surgery. It was as very scary day for all of us and we realize how lucky I was. I've since given up riding and have been running 4-5 days a week.

We had another good boating year with trips to Marco Island, Useppa, Key West, Captiva Island and some fun short overnights locally in downtown Fort Myers.  This past summer Joseph spent 2 weeks at Aqua Tr*ek through school and had a great time. He also learned how to lobster dive in Key West and went Snuba diving for the first time. He loved it and is looking forward to taking scuba and diving courses in the future.

Joseph continued to play the violin with formal weekly lessons and has really grown in his reading and playing. His ability to hear music is a gift for sure. He also got a Mandolin and has been teaching himself how to play that.  Over winter break he went to a local Hospice and played music for the patients. He loved it and I believe he will be using his music to help others throughout his life. He also tried out and made his schools talent show performing a song on his violin. We were very, very proud.

Joseph stopped fencing this past year. It was a decision we all agreed was for the best.  In place of that he joined a local A@irsoft team and has found what he loves best.  The team is excellent and has taught him so much about discipline, honestly and team work. The teams motto is "Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say and ALWAYS be Honorable". These words are the basis of our parenting so we are thrilled for him to be part of such a great organization.  There is also a youth group that is part of it and he is mentored by some amazing guys and we have seen him grow in many ways since joining. This month he will travel to the East Coast to compete with his group.

2010 our family grew through challenges we faced financially, healthwise and personally. We again learned so much about ourselves and throughout remained a constant team. If I had to describe what I value most about my small family is that we are truly a team.

The world is changing and the direction it is heading scares us but we will remain true to ourselves, stand up for what we believe in and love our family and small group of close friends fiercely in 2011. Here's to 2011 ~ Cheers!

Goodbye 2010

2 peas in a pod

reading

Talent Show 2011

Pam and I on a sunset cruise

Sunset cruise on our friends boat

warming up for airsoft

~Ten Years December 14

2010-12-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago my family and I said goodbye to our husband, father and grandfather. TEN YEARS.... Joseph was one, we were living in NY, I was working, my mom still lived in their home, my siblings lives were all so different then as well.... Ten years and so much has changed for all of us. Where we all live, jobs, finances, health issues and so much more. What hasn't changed is that every single day we all miss him and wish that he was with us the past ten years to share in the things I just mentioned and to be part of all of our lives, the good and the bad. My Dad would have celebrated with all of us on every achievement and been there to support us through the bad times in a way that only he could. Missing him will never, ever go away. Celebrating the great man I was honored to call Dad is what I will do on December 14.

Blogging?.... why yes I am blogging

2010-11-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Where to start.... well how about at now! So they say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - oh come on, what fun would that be? I was fortunate, blessed, (insert any other word for being totally happy) to have spent 5 days with my mom and cousin/aunt in Las Vegas last week. To say it was an incredible trip would be an understatement. I was not a mother or a wife for almost 5 days and that is the role I love most in my life but it was good to not be those for the time away. I was with my Mom so I was still a daughter but more than that I was with 2 women who were like friends. We laughed, we ate, we drank, we (they) gambled, we shopped.

Back in March when my Mom was diagnosed with Breast Cancer - all of my families lives changed. Although the outcome (Thank God) was a good one, I was certainly aware that it could be different. Thus, Vegas.... I decided to try to convince my mom that her and I should take a trip there. It was a place that she and my Dad had gone and loved and I remember talking to him before he died and telling him that I would go there one day with her. I felt strongly the time was now. Thank goodness she tolerated her treatments so well and we were able to do it. Things I want to remember....

The three hour time difference will never be accepted by my 2 travel mates
At 3 a.m. it's really 6 a.m
Don't go to a State with a three hour time difference during daylight savings weekend - the time was never really clear to me
Buffets and/or Boofets can be fabulous
Watching other people gamble is just as entertaining as doing it yourself ;)
Going to the shows were a special surprise that were incredible.
Drinking at 7, 8 a.m. or any other time of the day is completely normal in Vegas as are drinks that are so big they look like 10 people can drink them
Having a suite is well fabulous - 2 bathrooms, robes, down comforters - who can complain

I know I'm missing pertinent highlights but I'll always remember the trip as one that was awesome. I'm grateful and will forever cherish the memories we created.

Well there I go... back in the blogging game. I will be keeping this up to date. It is, afterall, the only journals, photo albums I have. That felt good!

Update via Bullets

2010-02-10T19:41:00.000-08:00

Pic above (which I'm having trouble maneuvering) Joseph with a huge, sincere smile (so rare!!!) with his beloved Ms. Boo and my beloved bike Pierre.... Love her.
Trying to get in the groove of blogging again.
I am completely over this winter - it's been the coldest in the 6 years we've lived here. Yes I know 60 is warm to most of my friends and family but lows of 39 - completely abnormal for here.
This weather is interfering in our Boating life!!! We were supposed to be on the water this weekend and I'm not upset it was canceled - weather will not get out of the 60's the entire weekend. So much for Global warming.
Enjoyed a great visit with my bro and sisterinlaw who by the way has a GREAT BLOG - GO CHECK HER OUT..... Http://christinahearts.blogspot.com/
Saw a horrible cyclist accident last week and cant' seem to shake it. It makes me so sad. I have rode every single day since and it's made me more aware - I needed to push myself the first day back out but I'm glad I did.
J has been fencing for a year and a half and is loving it. He is committed and is now learning how to ref a match. He never complains about going even on the days he has so much homework.
Speaking of homework.... lots of it this year.
J got his first cell phone (thanks Gma!!!) and he's loving it and being completely responsible with it - He actually said he didn't even want to bring it to school and leave it in his backpack because it wasn't necessary. Like father like son.
J is loving and doing so well with his new violin teacher. It's amazing the progress he is making with her.
We went I*phone and we'll never go back... love love love... although many things I complain about as well... no control over files has been hard for me and Joe being die-hard htc users who are having serious withdrawal from control of our files but the good has outweighed our issues.
I just won a very, very, cute apron from http://thepreppypinkolive.blogspot.com/
Well for a first post out of blog hiatus... that's all I got.

Blogging again...

2010-02-04T18:51:00.001-08:00

I haven't blogged since October and I miss it. I have tried... I have many draft posts but have not hit publish. I am not sure why. I know it's a combination of things, such as this blog was created to follow our journey to a little girl in China - that did not happen. Along that journey I enjoyed blogging about our simple life... although all along, the journey to China was the premise. When that changed I just found it really hard to sit and write. So with a little help from my sister-in-law who turned me on to how to change the look of the blog, I'm hoping this will be what I need to blog again ~ that and my Mom said to me the other day.... "I really miss your blog". So I'm back to blogging... This template is just a test - it will be changing as I learn.

October 2009

2009-10-13T09:40:00.001-07:00

10 years old

Another most has come and gone.... I'm really having a hard time keeping up with the blog. Not sure if it's a time thing, a desire thing or what. We will see.

This month we celebrated J turning 10! Wow. Joe and I spent the last month taking all of our vcr recordings and making a CD for him. It was very emotional for us to watch from the sonogram stage, to minutes after his birth (big thanks to my sister for actually videoing those moments). I loved watching him through all the different stages to where he is right now - a handsome boy on the verge of being a tween. I usually write him a post on his birthday and I feel bad that I did not do that this year. What can I say about him... he is a special boy that makes us proud. He is our world.

My Mom came in to celebrate with us, as she always does. We had a fun two weeks with her but the time went so quickly. We saw a Be*atlemania concert and an incredible rock violinist, David Garrett. Joseph's Aunt Nancy came over to celebrate as well and we got to spend time with my nephew/j's cousin DJ who recently moved here.

My Mom was a cooking fool as usual and we are forever grateful for the freezer filled with food made with love. Gosh how I wish I had gotten the cooking gene but alas, it went to my sister and my brothers.

We have been land bound since September which means it's time for a boat trip. School is closed for a long weekend so we will be on the Gulf come Friday to enjoy the cooler temps we are supposedly getting this weekend. It's been hitting 93 every day and well, I'm ready for the high of mid 80s. We had our annual visit to the pumpkin parking lot. J is beyond excited for Halloween. He says it's one of his favorite holidays - must be an October birthday thing. This is the first year he is making his costume and it's going to be fabulous. Pictures to come when I do my November update I suppose :)

*pics completely out of order but I have no time to fix it*

10th Birthday with Aunt Nancy

Still won't smile - even with Grams ;(

which one to pick...

hmmm, a bit different from the pumpkin patch I'm used to
Pumpking Parking Lot 2009

David Garrett - awesome!

at the DG Concert - I think he smiled!

a motley crew for sure

10th Birthday Pool Party

Another catch up.

2009-09-09T18:48:00.001-07:00

I am sensing a pattern here... hopefully I will start to keep up better.

So what's been happening here...

J started 4th grade on the 1st. He is loving it. He is now switching classes throughout the day and has a locker (without a lock but still a locker).
He has started violin lessons with a new teacher. Ms. N is incredible and he is doing so well with her.
We needed to decided if he should tryout for our local youth orchestra this year. His new teacher felt J was ready but after deciding how much would be ok for him to handle, we all decided he should wait til either January tryouts or next fall. I've always been a firm believer in not over scheduling. We will re-address this in the winter. I know it will be a great experience for him but I want to make sure it's the right time.
J will compete in his first Fencing Tournament this coming weekend.
We've already had our first long weekend of the school year and we spent it on Useppa Island. It was, as usual, another fabulous time.
Joseph finally, finally won a trophy during the fishing tournament. He caught the final fish of the day and that was a category - yippee, woo hoo, doesn't seem nearly enough to express our excitement. He's been in six and has never won. We have some major cheaters at these tournaments and it's so frustrating to explain to your child why this goes on. So for him to win fair and square, well it was awesome!!! The trophy is proudly displayed on our boat.
After much debate, we all agreed to change the name our new boat came to us with (Sea Therapy). It will be called Higher Powered II. We performed an official name changing ceremony tonight. We removed the name 'Sea Therapy' from everywhere it's ever been written, put it in a box, burnt the box and threw the ashes in the canal during an outgoing tide. We said a little prayer, held our hands together on the boat and will hope we did this all right. There are lots of rumors of bad luck with name changing so trust me, we were not taking any chances. The new name will go on the boat on Friday... We are hoping the sea Gods are good to us.

First day of 4th Grade

Name changing ceremony

Fishing tournmanet September 2009

Proudly accepting his trophy

Isaac Walton Fishing Tournament winner

Ms. Boo watching Joe bait a hook

Ms. Boo loving the new boat - she has her spot

Joseph enjoying his Island time

Love this picture

Playing a spy game with his friends

Joseph and Madeline having fun

Where did the Summer go?

2009-08-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

I've let my blog get way way behind. It is the end of August and it seems like I was just blogging about the last day of school. I'm overwhelmed with photos that need to be organized so this post will be my Summer 2009 catchup since school starts Tuesday!
July and August were filled with lots of family. My brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece arrived from Budapest in July and spent the entire summer in the USA. They spent about 2 weeks of their visit with us here in Florida. We have not seen them in 3 years but Joseph and Cari picked up where they left off and it was a great visit.
My Mom arrived for a visit at the end of July and we all headed to the other Coast of Florida for the first every family reunion for Joe's family. It was so much more than any of us could have imagined. It was a wonderful time and my 2 sister-in-laws did an absolutely fabulous job putting this together. Joe saw cousins and family he has not seen in a long, long time. Joseph got to meet cousins, aunts and uncles and it was a great time.
During this time (it's all a big blur right now) we sold our beloved boat which we realized now was beloved but easily forgotten now that we are in the right boat for our family. After lots and lots of looking and driving we have found ourselves in our new home on the water which will soon be called the Higher Powered II. This boat give us a lot more room - Our bedroom and Joseph's bedroom are full staterooms and the salon/kitchen, etc. are all much roomier. My brother and Joe took two days to get her across the State and we spent much of July getting her seaworthy :) My mom was here for the maiden voyage and we had a great time on Captiva Island breaking her in. Unfortunately all my pics from this trip are on a memory stick that went bad... I did upload to FB so I'll need to try to get them back. Trust me we had fun.

We took a short trip to Useppa Island last week to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary and were all really happy to be back on the water doing what we love to do and what we do best....

Well that's it in a very small nutshell. It's been a busy summer.

We made memories, we dealt with our heartache of our decision to stop our adoption, we stayed a team, we cried, we lived, we loved and we laughed.

Every chapter in our lives, even the painful chapters, teach us and make us who we are today and are part of the story of us.

Next up - 4th grade for my boy.
*pics are completely out of order from making any kind of sense*

One pic I salvaged from our Captiva Isl. trip

Grams & Joseph cleaned up :)

Me on the HP II

Family Reunion 2nd Cousins We called them Mutt & Jeff
No caption needed :)

Cari and Joseph - July 2009

Night time fun at the beach

Moving On....

2009-08-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

just me and my kayak leaving our canal

me and Boo out on our nightly walk being silly

the rainbow we saw on our walk It's been awhile since my last post and tonight my BFF Alice said "you really need to update your blog".... Well here it is Alice ;)

I first must thank those who have been so supportive to us during this very difficult time - it means so much to us. We have appreciated the support and love we have been given through calls, emails, comments.

We have had family visiting since July 10th so that has really been the main reason for the lack of updates and the fact that my blog is different now.

I have many, many photos and recaps to do to keep my blog/journal current but tonight is not the night for that. I thought about not blogging anymore but I want to blog. I enjoy looking back at what we have done and I'm certainly not good at keeping a written journal anymore, so blogging it will be. Joseph even asked if I would still be blogging now that we weren't adopting anymore - so for him I will continue. I will do a major recap soon.

The kayak photo was taken today when I decided to take ours out for a spin. It was good... very very good. I spent about 2 hours out by myself. It was just what I needed to recharge. I soaked in every second of beauty I was surrounded by. I let myself feel the pain in my heart. I also gave so much thanks to the life I have.
I reminded myself today that "man plans and God commands"....

Decisions....

2009-07-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

This is definitely the most difficult post I have written in the 3 years since I started this blog. I've typed, deleted, retyped, deleted.... No matter how I type it, it hurts so I'll do it simply.... We are no longer adopting from China.

This was not a decision that was easy for us. It was one of the hardest we have made in our 15 years of being married. It is was is best for our family.

I'm grateful for this journey that led me to new friendships and I'm grateful to have blogged about our life for the past three years. I have memories and photos I would not have preserved.

I will continue this blog for our family but obviously it will be different. I thank everyone who I've met on this journey and I thank everyone in advance for understanding how difficult this decision has been for us and for the support during this difficult time.

4th of July 2009

2009-07-06T18:32:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July weekend started on Friday for us with more New York friends who were in town and came for a visit for the day. They wanted what we call the fifty cent island tour and I always throw in the Gilligan's Island song.... I know I'm funny. They had a lot of fun - they got to see manatees and dolphins, they got to help out a fellow boater who was stuck in our canal. They said it was the most fun they had the entire week they were in Florida - wow I guess we are entertaining :) The kids who were all around Joseph's age grilled me about the stores we have here and they were so surprised we have them all - I think they thought we were living on some strange planet.

The Fourth of July was spent with a group of our neighbors on their boat for our towns firework display. We headed out before dusk and shared appetizers and drinks while we waited for the sunset and the fireworks. They were absolutely spectacular! We had so much fun. This is the first time we have been home on the fourth of July. Since moving here we have either been North or away boating... The lack of overnight boating will hopefully soon be over for us.

J saying no pics of me our NY Friends kids - Joseph had so much fun with them

helping tow the stranded boater

The way I find Joseph very often lately

on the phone with his friend playing boat or flight simulator,

eating and with Ms. Boo next to him awaiting sunset

Hope everyone had a safe and happy fourth of July.

Speaking of safe, I was contacted by our newspaper today to be interviewed about my involvememnt with M*ADD. They wanted my thoughts on the decrease in alcohol related fatalities in our County - My thoughts are that it is good news but we still have work to do to get the numbers even lower. M*ADD also believes that the horrible economy we are in has to do with the decrease in fatalities and that once the economy gets better, the numbers will increase. I will continue to do whatever I can to keep those numbers down. That was my shameless plug to whoever may read this to support your local MADD Chapter ;)

Catching up....

2009-07-02T19:55:00.001-07:00

I'm trying hard to keep up and time is just flying by. So here we are in July already. This post will be mostly photos to keep me up to date.... since my last post we have begun our Summer. We had a visit from Dennis, Christina and Vincent. We had a great time with them and the boys seemed as though they had just been together last week, not two years - that's family :) The guys did some dinghying - we'll leave it at that and not speak of the downpour that led us girls to picking up the smaller guys so the bigger guys could get that vessel home ;) We had some firepit fun, late night swims, friendly family feud games (we let them win but shhh!!!)

We had a wonderful visit from a very, very, dear old friend, Ron.... Ron and Joe worked together for, well forever at the phone company (that's what they like to call it ;) Before we moved we would get together with Ron and Anna often and always had so much fun. I wish Anna had been here also but soon, I hope, we'll all get together. It was so great to spend time with him and hear about his beautiful girls who have grown up so much since we moved.

Joseph has begun his 2 week summer camp program which he is loving. He comes home loaded with sand and sun.

Joseph has also continued Fencing - he is now in the Advanced Group and doing well. We are so proud of his commitment to this sport. Even after a long day at camp when he's tired, he's ready to go and Fence. We are proud of his commitment and loyalty.
Next up - Joe's brother and family and my Mom....

Adoption update - we have recently hit the our 32nd month LID... still scared and unsure but holding on to our faith....

I missed you Boo

After a long day at Aqua Trek

Den taking the Scooter Machine for a spin... Me and Christina

Figuring out a plan

some late night pool fun

Boat Ride...

Working on Stairway to Heaven

J's idea of a good picture ;) Joe & Ron -

old friends/good friends always Fencing

Summer time....

2009-06-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

It's officially summer vacation here in our house and we are loving it. We spent our first few days just enjoying not having a schedule. For me, it's been good to be able to get up super early and do my cycling while everyone is still asleep. This time of year it is definitely a plus to get out there early and beat the heat. I was able to do 22 miles each day I rode last week. I had one day I had to call for backup when I got a flat (again). I have the gear on my bike to change a tube but unfortunately I didn't have a clue how to, so thus the call. I must say that cyclists are the nicest people. I had 3 people stop while I was waiting for Joe and Joseph to rescue me.

We recently purchased a cute propane "fire pit" and we have been loving it. Joseph looks so forward to our fire pit nights. We have been roasting marshmallows, making smores and hanging out talking around our pit. I love it and can't wait til the temps drop below 70 and I'll be able to keep warm ;)
We have not been boating recently which makes us all a little out of sorts but we have new and exciting stuff in the works for our boating world. We did manage a pontoon day yesterday and that was just what we needed. No camera, no pics. Joseph brought his buddy Chan and we went to one of our favorite islands with a nice current so the boys were able to "surf". The water temps are up in the high 80's in our part of the world so your not jumping in to cool off this time of year, but we love it. I remember so clearly not being able to go in the water in Cape May because it was too cold even in July so no complaints from me. I was happy to float the day away on my noodle.

We are gearing up for summer family time soon. Next week my brother, sister-in-law and nephew are making a stop over on their vacation, then my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece from Budapest are coming to the USA for the entire summer and will spend a good part of their time here with us. My mom is also coming for a visit and will attend Joe's side of the family reunion. I am looking forward to all these visits. We are usually visited during the winter months but this year was very different, everyone decided to wait til it was really hot to come - thank goodness for the gulf stream breeze is all I have to say on that.... Joseph will also be fitting in a few weeks of camp - marine biology themed camp which is so him and he is very much looking forward to that.

The pictures are completely out of order and I'm too tired to fix them....

yes that's chocolate on his face

I love Joe's expression - pure happiness

yum, Mikey likes it

just a bit burntI love our fire pit nights

Crossing the Courtyard.... 6/9/09

2009-06-10T18:40:00.000-07:00

Accepting his Certificate and Award from his Headmaster

Proud DadYesterday, Joseph "Crossed the Courtyard" at school. He is done with the lower school and will now move on up.... So far we have watched him "graduate" preschool, we have watched him "graduate" Kindergarten and now he completes another milestone. I'm sentimental, I cry easy, I get choked up. All of the prior events have brought tears to my eyes and this event has also brought me to tears. They are not sad tears. They are happy, proud tears. My boy is growing up faster than I can keep up with. I remember holding him in my arms for the first time and being so very grateful to God for letting me be the parent to this beautiful, perfect little boy. So here he was, as proud as can be, and we could not be prouder for him. He is our joy, our laughter, our hearts....

Joe, who made fun of me before the ceremony when I said "I think I may cry at this" was in tears himself when they played a video of pictures of the kids throughout the year. I looked over and sniffed right along with him....

~~~

Dear Joseph,

You have now completed 3rd grade and are about to leave the comfort of the lower school that you have been going to for 3 years. You will now move on over to the intermediate school.

This year you have made Dad and I so very proud. You took your school work serious and at the same time enjoyed school. You love your school as much as we do and you are so proud to be a student there. You are part of a very special community and you recognize that. I watched you get excited throughout the year as you were an active particpant in 3rd grade.

The head of the lower school recently stopped me and said "Joseph is such a consciousness boy, you should be proud..." I am.

Love,

Mom

Randomness

2009-06-07T12:46:00.000-07:00

We had a very strong wind storm come through today while we were walking at the beach

These are considered serious waves for SW Fl :)
In 2 days Joseph will "Cross the Courtyard" - he will leave the lower school and enter the Intermediate school for 4th, 5th and 6th grade. I know I'm going to cry at this event :) I can't believe school is over in 2 days - this year really did fly by.

The reality of adoption seems further away than ever for us. We are over 3 years since we started the process and the update from our agency is grim. They do believe the wait will continue to grow and may reach 48 months and even surpass that a bit. (their words).

The families that recently traveled (who I have so enjoyed following their journeys) waited 36 months from LID to match - this past month the CCAA did 6 LID days and now we find out that those 6 days were actually 2 months worth of referrals and they are not sending a June batch. It absolutely stinks for lack of a better word but it is reality. I'm past believing in a speedup. I don't see it nor does my agency. If someone told me today that at 36 months you'll be matched, I would be thrilled - had someone told me that when we signed up, I would have been sick. As I look back, I just keep seeing that as the wait times lengthened, we were told 18 months, 24 months, 36 months and well here we are today with the perhaps 48 months. I know that nobody knows what will happen and maybe that's what making me so angry about it all. I just wish that someone at the CCAA could be completely straight up and give us an accurate time frame but perhaps even they don't know. Life changes so quickly and who knows what each year that we wait will bring us. We are not pulling our file, we are just sad and trying to be realistic.

Over 3 months ago we submitted our Medical Checklist for a waiting child as we felt so strongly that our daughter was perhaps a "waiting child" - even that possibility doesn't seem real to us anymore. Our agency handles this program differently than other agencies and as we like the way they do it, it certainly doesn't make it a "faster" line - and that was never our intent anyway.

I believe that what is meant to be will be.

I'm grateful for the good things that we have as a family and as sad as the above makes me, I will continue to look forward and see where our next chapter brings us.

I'm married to the best guy in the world - he is my strength when I don't think I have any left.

I'm going to live for today and try to keep everything in perspective.

My next post will be about my sweet boy moving on up...

Memorial Day 2009 ~Useppa Island

2009-05-25T19:47:00.001-07:00

First and foremost - this weekend we gave much thanks to all the men and women who serve, have served and have given their lives for our freedom. We never, ever forget what these fine men and women have done and continue to do for us. Memorial Day and everyday - we should always be grateful.

This weekend we went to a very familiar place. I thought to myself as I sat down to write this post, how do I write about a place that I've blogged about so many times? Isn't it the same as all the other times? The answer was no, it wasn't the same as any of the other times and yet nothing about the island changed. Every experience is different no matter if the destination is the same.

We have been in what I like to call "reorganizing" mode in our family. Like many many others in the world we are re-prioritizing, re-thinking, re-evaluating.... This weekend was just what all of our souls needed. We got on the Island mid-day Friday and the familiar Island people were there or in the process of getting there. The kids (Joseph brought his friend Chandler with him) were off the boat and out and about from the moment we docked. My first thought was that it felt good to be there - so very good. What was very interesting was this trip as we spent time with our usual island friends our conversations had a very consistent similarity... such as... how important boating was to their families, how at the end of the day, being on the water and being together in close quarters was why they boat, that it didn't matter the size or type of boat, it was the family time and the water that mattered. We heard over and over the phrases "hunkering down, faith, believes, what is really important in these scary times, family matters, values..." and on and on the conversations we had were about family values and morals. Just what we needed to recharge.

We were both blown away at the intense feelings we both were having about our priorities and our family after this long weekend.

So yes, we went to a destination we've gone many, many times but the experience this time was completely different than any other time.....

and there off...
fishing tournament
Joseph's 1st catch - no win for him but Chandler won smallest fish :)

who needs Sea World - we had dolphins jumping for most of our ride Useppa Sunset - never get tired of this
Useppa Island kids...
More Useppa Island Kids having fun
Boaters
Useppa Island Kids still having fun...
Taking the "Oath" before the fishing tournament

May 2009 - NY'ers come to visit.....

2009-05-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

"Just give them some sand and water and they are happy....."

That is how Joe described our most recent visitors - my sister and favorite brother-in-law ;) They came for a visit last week and seriously every day we went to the the beach. Now we did it different every day and that is the beauty of where we live. Going to the beach is easy and it never has to be the same. They were barely out of their long pants and we had them at the beach for lunch and left them there for the rest of the afternoon. The rest of the week we took the pontoon to Sanibel Island for some tubing and fun in the water, we drove out to Captiva Island to Tween Water for a day of resort/beach fun, the next day we did another part of our beach and rented chairs and umbrellas and did the lounge day while Joe dingy'd there to meet us. It was fun for us to pretend we were tourists too! We spent much time on what my sister refered to as the Lido deck (a/k/a as our lanai). We drank margaritas, soaked in the hottub and had a fabulous time together. Joseph enjoyed having them too (even tho he was stuck in school most of the time) especially when we kicked their butts playing Family Fued. Oh and by the way Joe (my bil) Ms. Boo did not eat another dog - she is just fluffy.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mother's Day 2009

2009-05-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

I've been giving a lot of thought about being a Mom. I think about my own mother. I think about all the times I thought "I'm not going to do that to my kids...."

The following is my gift to my Mother....

Dear Mom,

I'm sure your thinking what did she mean by that. Let me explain. Growing up there were times that I said those words. Now I find myself doing the same thing and saying the same words that I swore I would never do or say.

There were times that stand out so strong even at the age of 40 and they come in to play very often as I find my way at being a Mom.

Saying No : There were the times you had to say no that I couldn't have something - although at the time I wanted it more than ever, you saying no taught me that things don't always come so easy. This has been a valuable lesson to me throughout my life. I'm sure at times you could have bought what I was asking for, but showing me that working for something was far more important than giving into my current whim. The memory I recall very clearly was wanting Jo*rdache jeans that were $20.00 at Epsteins. Being a Mom myself now, I certainly struggle with this but remember how this lesson taught me to go and work at a young age and to work hard.

Dealing with what you have: There were also the times that you truly couldn't buy me what I was asking for - I never knew why. We had what we needed and you managed our family budget like the best banker out there. You worked with what you had at the time and our family never knew the difference. Food and drink were abundant.... Family and friends were always welcome. Our door was always open and there was always more than enough to go around, despite the money situation. Money did not buy love, health or happiness.

Sayings: Then there were the sayings you said that I never understood, but I swore I wouldn't say them to my kids.... Well here I am saying things like "better you cry than I cry".... That's my all time favorite and I have used it and I will continue to use it. The first time I said it, Joseph looked at me and said "what?" I actually caught myself by surprise but realized how true those words are. I would much rather Joseph cry at being disappointed for something he can not do than I cry for something that could possibly harm him by doing it. The memory I recall for this famous saying of yours was when I was 13 or so and wanted so desperately to go ice skating on Friday nights at Murrays . Oh how I begged, cryed and screamed. You held strong to your belief that I was not ready and you were right. That saying went on and on through my teens.... you were always right.

Your zero tolerance policy: In our home for certain mistakes, there was zero tolerance. I didn't get it at the time. I get it now. We have already told Joseph at the ripe old age of 9 that we too have a zero tolerance policy for certain mistakes - he knows what they are and he knows that we are serious.

Consequences: That was always a big one! There were consequences in our home for our actions. At the time, I didn't like them but now I see how important they are. We have been using the word consequence since Joseph was old enough to say it something like "con- a -qence". He now uses it in ways such as "well there will be a consequence if I did that...." I laugh and think of you every time.

Conventional family: We weren't conventional at all!!! I'm so happy for that. We had breakfast for dinner, we ate cereal when we didn't like what was being served, I brought in store bought brownies for the bake sale... You stood up for what you believed in even when it wasn't conventional. You spoke your mind (still do) even when it wasn't what others wanted to hear. It showed me that we weren't like everyone else and that we were our own persons. We have been telling Joseph since he was old enough to speak to "be your own person". If you say to him now at any given time, what should you be, he will answer... your own person. This is important - conventional and conforming isn't always the best way... I love that he gets it already.

So today I sit here thinking of myself as a Mom. I find myself holding on to the values that you taught me. The strength that you showed me. The love that you gave me. You (nor I) were put on this earth to be our children's friend (although now that's what I consider you). You and I were put on this earth to raise our children to be good, honest, loyal, hardworking, adults. You succeeded.... I hope that I will too.

I love you

Happy Mother's Day 2009

What did she say?

2009-04-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

So when we picked up J last week from school (this particular day it was Joe and I) he got in the truck and we had our usual after school talk - how was your day, blah, blah, blah - my usual 20 questions :) happened and then all of a sudden J yelled "oh something really bad happened today".... hmmm.... Here was the conversation.....

~~~~

J: Z*..e told me at recess today that there is no such thing as G*od

us: and what did you say?

J: I told her that yes there was and He is real!

Joseph then explained how he told her in his words all about G*od.... (as he understands and believes)

us: what did she say then?

J: She said that I was wrong and there was no G*od

us: hmmm....

J: I told her that I know he is real and we even named our boat after Him.

us: oh?

J: Then Z*e asked me if we named our boat "G*od? I told her no we named it "Higher Powered" because there is someone more powerful than us and it's G*od.

That's my boy...

Weekend.... April 2009 and 30 Months LID

2009-04-26T16:29:00.001-07:00

I have not been good about keeping track of our LID but tomorrow is 30 so I want to acknowledge that not a day goes by that I don't "keep track" of our wait. It is what it is and we will continue to keep on keeping on...

I thought that today's post may have me using my new digital scrapbook pages but time did not permit. Maybe next week....

This weekend was one of those weekends where I am asking myself on Sunday night - where did the time go. It was a perfect weekend... Nothing spectacular happened, we didn't go anywhere special, we didn't entertain or have guests. It was a "just us" kinda weekend.

Saturday was a really "just us", minus the kid day. Joseph spent the day with his best friend Chandler and they went roller skating (yikes!). I wish I had pictures of those two skating. Joseph came home that night saying his whole body hurt from falling.

Joe and I decided to take our beloved barge (our pontoon) out for a much needed ride. We had a great day - we anchored out at a favorite local spot and went on to the beach for a picnic lunch. We walked the beach, swam in the Gulf, listened to a great band that was playing at one of the hotels and just enjoyed each other. Then we came home, swam some more in our pool and went out to dinner at a local restaurant. Didn't bring my camera, so no pictures from this day.

Sunday we rode our bikes to have lunch and then play mini golf. The weather was great - high 80's with a breeze. We then decided to keep on being sportsman and we pulled out the very cool new pitching machine we recently bought and played some ball. For all that know us in real life or anyone who has read this blog, knows that we are not the biggest sports people. Well, we are not "traditional" sports kind of people. J doesn't play soccer or baseball and we don't follow any sports on TV. We are most definitely outdoors people and most days find us as a family out boating, fishing, playing mini golf, trap & skeet shooting, swimming, knee boarding, bicycling.

As for sports J is coming into his own - this past year he decided to take up fencing and loves it and is doing very well. He has also become more involved with Skeet & Trap (which yes is very much a sport :) and is quite good at this as well. My point in this ramble is that even though J doesn't participate in "traditional" sports we want him to know about all sports and be able to participate with some knowledge, thus the pitching machine. We are all having a ball with it. I personally stink but had a lot of laughs trying.... (no pics of this activity either - thank goodness:)

Pics and a very Happy Birthday....

2009-04-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

My slideshow from the post below is not working. Here is another one that hopefully will work. It will also be my Mom's Birthday by the time this posts so a big Happy Birthday to the best Mom/Grandma/Mother-in-Law walking around :) Miss you, love you and here's some pictures for ya :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Spring Break 2009 - Across the State

2009-04-19T19:03:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2009 is over and I here I sit in front my computer trying to remember every second of it. So I blog....

Your forewarned that this will be long and probably boring to most, but I am going to blog this in a day to day format. This blog, as I always say, is going to be for my family to look back on one day. I know that Joe and I have snippets of our childhood in photo albums, but I think it will be great for our children to have all this documented. We have written Joseph a letter on each of his birthdays over the past 9 years, but this journal will fill in the rest of the year where the memories fade....

April 9, 2009 ~ Today was the first day of our trip. The plan was for us to go across Lake Okeechobee to Singers Island (taking 2 days) and return the same way..... The boat was packed and ready to go. We left home about 11:00 a.m and went through 3 locks making our way to Clew*iston. We saw lots of alligators on the last part of the way into the Marina. We docked about 5:00 p.m, and headed to the outdoor Tiki Bar/Restaurant that was preparing for a night of Karaoke. Joseph had been mentioning wanting to try it but neither Joe nor I thought he actually would. Well, he did.... He got up in front of a whole lot of people and sang Cr*azy Train and did awesome. He even got a standing ovation. What a fun night. Joseph even shocked himself we think :)

April 10, 2009 - We left Clewi*ston about 10:30 a.m. We had less miles to cover this day but unfortunately all of us forgot about the slow, slow, slow ICW.... We crossed the Lake which was beautiful (skinny but beautiful), went through 2 more locks but then struggled with the slow zones on the ICW. It seemed that as soon as we got to a 25 mph zone, we were forced to slow down due to a small boat, sailboat, etc. and the 25 mph zones were far and few between. At one point our paper chart flew out the bridge window and we both said "that's probably a sign...." We arrived on Sin*gers Island about 6:00 p.m and encountered one of our worst docking experiences ever. We call this day the drama day.... There was such a serious current that was called an 8 by the folks at the marina. It literally looked like a boiling pot of water. After a very long night of docking and eventually moving locations we settled in but knew that night we would most likely need a change in our course.

April 11, 2009 - Everything looked better in the morning :) Aunt Joanne and Aunt Nancy made there way over and we decided that we would spend the weekend but on Monday would be leaving and not going home across the lake. We read our charts, called our Captain friend and decided to return home via Sou*th Beach Miami, D*uck Key and home. We wanted to enjoy our weekend with our family for E*aster and we did. Joe, Joseph & Joanne dingy'd around. Aunt Joanne is a good sport :) The Aunts thought of everything and even bought a dozen hardboiled eggs and some P*aas. We spent the night coloring eggs on the dock. It was that night that Joe and I decided that the good certainly outweighed the bad. I spent a good part of that night laying (lying?) in the grass with Joseph looking at the stars.... It made the rough stuff disappear....

April 12, 2009 - Easter Day - Joseph awoke to 2 beautiful baskets the EB had left :) He also left lots of hidden eggs. We had a nice day - more dingying for the 3 J's and Aunt Nancy and I shopped for dinner and some other "essentials". We bbq'd and spent our last night together before heading out.

April 13, 2009 - We were up by 7:00 a.m. and gone by 8:30 - that's a first for us!!! Can you tell we wanted to leave. We had a rough start this morning as we entered the Atlan*tic - high seas that had us all re-thinking our plan. We stayed course and the seas died down a bit and we made our way to Mi*ami in about 3 hours. We arrived at the mega marina Mia*mi Beach Yacht Club. It could hold 400 boats with some as large at 250' but it was big and not at all what we were used to or preferred. The docks were gated and everything was so far away and the big tall buildings were freaking me out and I had to be told about 100 times "we are not city people". We had fun anyway. Joseph loved taking the binoculars to people watch. We enjoyed a home cooked meal (thanks to my mom) and settled in.

April 14, 2009 - Again, things looked better in the a.m. We walked and walked over to the dockmaster's office and asked what we could do locally. He suggested we take the dinghy to Jun*gle Island - perfect... We headed off for the 20 minute ride and loved looking at all the beautiful mansions. We then enjoyed a day of monkeys and penguins. Great place, lots of fun. On the way back, we found a little island/beach that we stopped at to swim and explore. That night we decided to try the restaurant at the marina called Te*xas De Br*zil. We had never been to a Br*azilian Steakhouse. We enjoyed it - way too much food but very good and lots of fun. Nothing for J to eat but Joe, being the dad that he is, snuck out to the deli next door and got him some cheese, apples and a cookie :) Such a good Dad....

April 15, 2009 - We assessed the weather when we woke up and decided this was our window (according to NO*AA) to make the next leg of the trip to D*uck Key. We were out of there... About 3 hours to our familiar H*awks Channel. I must note that Joseph stayed on the bridge for this part as well as the trip from West Palm to Miami - he decided he "needed" to stay up top til he knew the water conditions. Even when this trip was calm, he still chose to stay up top. He took a huge interest in the navigational tools we have and taught himself so much - at times he was a back seat driver but we both appreciated and were proud of him. We arrived at just about 4:30 and were all so happy to hear a familiar voice on the radio of the dockmaster we know - this is about the 7th time we have been to Haw*ks Cay. We had an uneventful docking, which is cool, because this Marina is known for their crazy current. The current Gods decided to give us a break :) We had a nice dinner at the dock restaurant and spent the night fishing - Joseph gathered quite the crowd as he hooked a huge T*arpon and hooked a whole bunch of kids that wanted to see his bait. Fun night....

April 16, 2009 - Snorkel day - we took the dinghy to C*offins Patch and got there just in time to snag the last mooring. Joseph and Joe had a blast snorkeling while I watched and took pics and video.

April 17, 2009 - We signed J up for SN*BA but the winds were too strong and the boat didn't go out. It turned out to be a fun day anyway. We had met another boating family that had an 11 year old girl and 5 year old boy on board. Joseph and Victoria became 2 peas in a pod for the next 2 days. They covered the resort and did everything they had to offer. They Kayaked, played hockey, competed in the watermelon eating contest, pained coconuts, face painted, shell painted, did kids night out, explored, fished and just hung out together. We enjoyed a nice dinner with the adults while our kids stayed out later than us :)

April 18, 20009 - We were supposed to leave this day but again our weather was looking better for Sunday so we stayed.... So glad we did. Joseph spent another fun filled day being a kid. We swapped parental duties with our neighboring boaters and in the afternoon Joe and I took the Dinghy for lunch to a fun placed called Sparky's. That night we cooked our last homecooked meal (thanks again Mom!) and Joseph enjoyed the Kid's Club.

April 19, 2009 - Homeward bound. We were up and at em' - we didn't rush because we were hoping to have the winds behind us from the South and we did. We fueled up, pumped out and were on our way.....

Some things I want to remember that Joseph said on this trip....

"Please Dad, don't sell the boat, it's what we do."

"On a scale of 1 - 10, I give this day a 9 trillion."

"I'm 9, don't you want me to be a safe kid? That's why I worry!"

"I love my life."

"I guess the bad days make the good days even better."

"We are beach people Mom, not City people but it's fun to people watch."

"I want to learn, just show me and I'll help".

"This was a great trip"......

Yes Joseph, it certainly was.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Long over due randomness...

2009-03-26T09:48:00.001-07:00

I have not been keeping up with the blog like I used to. I have a ton of photos that need to be sorted and I am not happy that I got behind with those. I am finally going to get into organizing my photos through digital scrap booking. Looking forward to this! I also need to get better at using my SRL camera. I have watched the videos, read the books, experimented and I still don't get it. My photos are never really good. I am going to look into an online course I can take. If anyone can recommend someone for this, I'm all ears....

We have lots going on in our little world. We continue to keep busy (1 and 1/2 years later) continuing the fight to keep our waterway safe for boaters and manatees and navigable for everyone in our community. It absolutely amazes me (why I'm not sure) what a person with a lot of money thinks they can get away with. Hearings adjourned, experts with no expertise - just a few examples. We will continue to stand up for what is right and teach our son a good lesson in the meanwhile.

Our path to our daughter seems obvious now - I know I'm being vague but let's just say we are all good on the adoption front. Not good with the wait, but at peace :) I've got some peeps I'm just waiting to see meet their daughters. I'm hoping the next time we are on Mar*co Island, we are meeting a certain little sea star....

Speaking of boating, we are gearing up to be on the water for 10 days. We all start to get a little twitchy when too much time goes by - this family needs their water time. This trip will take us 2 days including 5 locks each way. That's assuming all goes as planned. I say this because we took this trip before in August 2006 - we were brand spanking new to the adoption journey and I guess to boating - :) We weren't even LID!!!! Funny to look back at the archives of this blog and read about the trip. Well funny and the reaction of why are we doing this again? Just kidding - we did the trip when a) we were total newbie boaters b) the lake had just gone through 2 major hurricanes - Charlie & Wilma C) we had a different boat, which we kindly refer to as, well never mind.... D) did I mention, we had no idea what we were doing? That trip, with as many problems as we had, taught us ALL so much! During the bad stuff, you know getting stuck, waiting for se*a tow, blah, blah, blah I swear there were conversation of either we are selling this boat or we are getting divorced! We are still together and well the boat, we sold it but got another.... We now have over 550 boating hours with just us running our boats and we are comfortable and confident. That's not to say, things won't come up - they always do... but we are comfortable and that's what matters. When we make a mistake or something goes wrong now, we are good with it.

I continue my love affair with Pierre, my pretty bike. In all seriousness, I am addicted to cycling for sure - I try to go at least 5 days a week and never return home with less than 20 miles. I have gone into a cycling shoe and will start "clicking" into my pedals next month - I've been afraid to do this but feel ready now. My next tune up will have me clicking.... Oh no, I hope I don't fall...

Well I guess for all my non-blogging, I've overdone myself today.... I leave ya'll (I'm officially a Floridian :) with pics of my 2 favorite people doing what they love.....
Playing the piano - no need for help from his Dad - he'll just teach himself - and he does :O

Practicing for the Talent Show

Building a lego kit and Joe building the Cess*na

They are like 2 peas in a pod

Practicing taxiing (sp?) before we take it to an open field with no trees

I just love this pic of my boy being himself

Playing, using his imagination and just being him....

Sort of catching up and Talent Show

2009-03-21T19:29:00.001-07:00

Trying to catch up my blog with very little time so here goes....

My family appreciates all the prayers and good thoughts
My mom is here for a quick visit
Joseph auditioned last month for his school talent show and made it. 22 children made it out of 50 that tried out. He was happy as were we.
Being part of the show was great for him. It was the first time he was part of a school event like this. He had rehearsals a lot! He had to be back stage during the show and he LOVED it!!! He was with kids from K to 12th grade and he had a blast. After the show he was part of the tradition to go to Col*dstone.
We love our son's schools. The kids are great and for us, not seeing a bunch of kids that look or act like "gangtas" is a blessing :)
I'm grateful my mom was here to see him perform.
Our adoption journey has been heavy on our hearts and minds. All is good....
We are getting excited for our big boat trip next month
The weather has been fabulous - steady lows 80's every day just the way we like it
We went to the 29th annual A*irshow today - fantastic! The Blu*e Ang*els are amazing

Too tired to write more but wanted to get this video up of Joseph performing. Joe accompanied him on the piano (note they had matching outfits). I know it was so very special for Joe to perform with his son. After being a performer for most of his life, I think this "gig" might just have been his favorite....

A Request....

2009-03-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

One week ago, my sister-in-law, Christina (who I've blogged about so many times :) was rushed to the hospital. She is 32 weeks pregnant. After one week of careful care and monitoring she is resting now at home. Christina, my brother, Dennis, her family and our family are holding on to our faith during this very difficult time. Their unborn child has been diagnosed with Hydrops. Below is the email my brother sent out and I'm posting it here to ask all of you to please take a moment and either pray for them or send a good thought their way.

...."Christina was released from the hospital today, the doctors told her to come home and rest, they will send nurses to our home to monitor her twice a week. The longer the baby stays inside the better chance of survival. We have been reading so much about hydrops and there are many stories from around the world. Both good and bad,, we hope that our child is one of the fortunate ones to survive. We know this will be a tough road ahead but are ready for any challenge. Please keep praying for us and think good thoughts. Christina feels OK aside from being very bloated from the excess amniotic fluid the baby has collected. I would just like to mention that all the calls and visits were very much appreciated and will not be forgotten...

From me and my family - I thank you.

Winter Break 2009

2009-02-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

For now I am going to hold off on going password protected. We will see how it goes and if I do, you'll get an invite. You know who you are :)

Catching up - The winter is moving along quickly and we have been enjoying it, despite my complaints of the cold weather. I am been keeping really busy with my volunteer work with M*ADD. We are putting together an event to honor our local sheriff's who have made more than 100 du*i arrests this past year. It's been fun to be doing work that involves organizing and planning. I love it and I get a lot of satisfaction since it's for such a good cause.

We've been keeping up with sk*eet shooting while the weather is still good for being outdoors all day. For our "ski" week we, of course, went boating. We spent the week on Ca*ptiva Island. I'm in the planning stages of a big trip we will be taking in April with the boat. Sure seems like school is closed a lot, doesn't it?

Not much else to blog about, waiting for the rumors to begin for the next batch of referrals. I have no expectations at all so I can't be too disappointed. I am super excited for my March friends who are up.

*For some reason you have to click on the speaker on the slideshow to hear the music - it's a good song so turn it up

27 and this and that....

2009-01-27T10:17:00.000-08:00

I have not been keeping track of our LID anniversaries on the blog for awhile. In my mind, I know every single day to the minute we've been waiting for Mimi. Thought I would do a post for this one. It's not going to be cheery so be forewarned :) This last months batch, I, as well as probably every other person in the process, was blown away with disappointment. Not sure why I let myself actually believe the ridiculous rumors, but I did. I let my heart go to a place that I've been trying to avoid. I have never felt further away from this journey having a happy ending than now. It's just how I feel. I am trying very hard to stay in the now. Moving on. Keeping the faith but preparing for detours and disappointment.

What else, oh Joe bought us all some really neat t-shirts to remind us that we don't always need to be so politically correct. I am starting to hate that term by the way. We are who we are. Now more than ever we need to remember that.

This has been the coldest winter for us since we moved here almost five years ago. I know it's a lot colder in other parts of the world but for us, the cold spell got old. I am happy to report it has passed and we are back to our normal average temps of 80 for this time of year. We've spent a lot of time doing skeet and trap and I've been keeping busy with my cycling. I have rode almost every day since I bought Pierre home (yeah go with the name) with the exception of maybe 3 days. My longest distance has been 25 miles. I will focus on more distance and speed. The best part is I absolutely love it. The days I don't ride, I miss it. When I first started, I would stop for a quick water break and take a picture with my phone and send it to Joe. There are beautiful sights around here so I knew he would love the pictures - example seeing the Gulf of Mexico as I rode over the San*ibel Island bridge. Anyway, one day I didn't send him a picture and when I got home he asked why I didn't send one - I really had no answer. He was so cute, he said "please send me a picture every ride so I know where you are and you are safe". Oh I know so romantic - love that guy! My rides are never the same and the way I go is never the way I come back so to air on the side of safety, I'll send a picture every ride.We've also been enjoying our oranges that are finally in full bloom. Nothing better than fresh squeezed orange juice, well maybe fresh squeezed lemonade. We have both so we are good.

Pierre on a break

Learning a new song

new t-'s

enjoying fresh squeezed orange juice finished PT 109 Model

Weekend

2009-01-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

For the past 2 weekends we have been keeping busy with trap and skeet shooting. Joe used to trap and skeet many, many years ago. This was the first for Joseph. So we headed out toward the Ever*glades to a beautiful range. The weather couldn't have been better for this sport. Josephs first time and he hit 11 out of 25 -very impressive :) While we where there and got to talking to some of the regulars we were fortunate to meet a man who is a world champion trap and skeet shooter. He offered to give Joseph a lesson the following week. So yesterday we headed back and Joseph had a great time. He did really well and was able to shoot 2 rounds and hit more than half. He learned some great pointers from Coach Jack and since Joe was a little rusty on his skeet skills, Coach Jack gave him some pointers as well. Joseph proudly wore his NR*A lifetime member pin.

On the adoption front, the rumors are crazy this month. Waiting anxiously to see how far this next batch of referrals includes.

Proud Dad

Proud Mom and proud NR*A Member

New Year, New Ride, New Violin, etc.

2009-01-08T17:16:00.001-08:00

I'm trying hard to keep up this blog as my journal. I realized the other day my written journals have been totally neglected so I must keep this up.

Just before Christmas Joseph's violin teacher informed us that he was ready for the next size, which is the 1/2 size - 1 more to go until full size. When you get to this size it's a big deal - he had to be fitted, a violin had to be found and it had to be the right one for him. We found one and it's been great. What a difference in sound and it's absolutely beautiful. In the coming year, he will be working toward trying out for a youth group called Symphonetta. With diligent practice and hard work, he will have a shot. Joseph still continues to play guitar, bass and piano without formal "lessons" other than with Joe which he doesn't even realize is a lesson. I know he is starting to appreciate the gift of having a very talented musical dad :)

Next - new ride. That would be me and it's not a car. It's a bike. A while back I gave it a go at running and I loved it but running did not love me. Shin splints, heal issues, not good. I decided to take my bike out alone one day and explore the many, many paths that I discovered and it was great. I could get up my speed and really work out. It was even better when I installed an odometer that kept track of mileage, speed, calories, etc. Serious motivator. I found myself wanting to go further and further and got up to 20 miles a ride going at a good clip. The problem was I was riding on a cruise bike (which I love) and will not get give up. It's a Tow*ney E*lectra and is a great bike. Here she is... problem is that it's not a road bike and not made for what I'm trying to do.
So thanks to Cra*igs List where I was able to sell our clothes hanger, I mean treadmill, I was able to buy my new best friend. She is so pretty and I would love to give her a name but the only one that comes to mind is Pierre and that's not really a girls name and this bike is a girl - the picture does her no justice. She is a pink color with a bright white seat and handle bars. She is a serious road bike. I even had to buy serious road bike gear which means padded bike shorts (not a look but definitely comfy). I picked her up today at the store and rode her home the 10 miles. Took a little getting used to - different gears, different seating but I loved it. Here she is.... The picture is not great but I took it with my phone.

I almost forgot - and here's Charlie our newest pet
I hope everyone is having a great start to 2009! I never end a year and think thank God it's over - I don't know why, it's just not what I do. 2008 had some really, for lack of a better word, sucky moments for us, but far more excellent times. Those are the ones I have to be grateful for and those sucky ones, well I rely on my favorite quote -

"what doesn't kill us, makes us stronger"....

Here's to a New Year filled with whatever comes our way.

Christmas 2008 - New year 2009

2009-01-03T13:15:00.001-08:00

We are finally home, Christmas put away, pictures downloaded off my cameras and I am at my computer alone. I need to catch up this blog so it will make some sense when my kid(s) look back some day.

We spent Christmas at home with Joseph's Aunt Nancy, Aunt Joanne and his cousin John. We had a wonderful Christmas. Santa was good to everyone. I was thrilled to get my very own pet. His name is Charlie and is a Be*ta Fish. He is red and very pretty.

We headed to Duck Key after Christmas and spent the past week there. We have gone here many times before and we always love it. This trip our Maryland friends went with their boat as well. We had an extremely rough ride going - we had high seas the entire trip which ended up taking 7 hours. Once we were there though we all had a great time. To say we love boating, is definitely putting it mild - even through the rough parts of it (which there are) so much can go wrong and many times it does and many times it doesn't. At the end of the day when we are on our boat, there is nothing better. The good to us, always outweighs the bad. Our ride home was fantastic and smooth the entire way. We made Joseph stay up on the bridge for awhile until we were sure it was going to be smooth and he said to us I'm glad we had a rough ride because it makes the good rides even better. This child definitely has sea legs :)

So here we are in 2009. I have no resolutions, but definitely have some goals. Joseph is starting to learn German through R*osetta Stone and asked if I would learn it also - that's my first goal - to learn German. There are more but those are just for me :)

I was thrilled that the CC*AA sent out another batch of referrals before the year end. February is done. What this means for us, who knows. I'm excited to watch so many families coming up next.

I wish everyone all the best for 2009. health, happiness, peace and lots and lots of babies home to their families.

** The music is automatically off when you click play - if you want it on, just click on the speaker

And the Stockings were hung

2008-12-21T11:41:00.001-08:00

This will be my last post for 2008. Family coming, Christmas to be celebrated, New Years to be rung in. Last year at this time I wrote this letter to Miranda. An entire year has past and my thoughts, well they are exactly the same. I am sad to say that the entire year only 2 months of LID's were matched. We are not close but we are still hopeful. We will see what 2009 has in store for international adoption. This year was filled with many blessings for us. We had many visitors, we traveled, we watched our son grow and change, we faced obstacles, challenges, fears and we stayed strong and stayed a team. We will say goodbye to this year and welcome 2009 for all that is in store for us. Family will be here for the week and then we will be heading South to ring in the New Year on the water - I can't think of a better way. I wish everyone Happy Holidays and Health & Happiness in the New Year....

To my family who I will not be with this year - we miss and love you all.

our pretend fireplace

(ignore the dust :) This is Fred

8 Years - We miss You Dad

2008-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here we are 8 years later. Still miss him so very much. Still talk about him, remember him, celebrate him. Still wish he was here.....

~~~~~

EULOGY FOR SANTINO DIMELE

My father was the strongest man I’ve ever known. Ironically the illness that came over him made him so very weak. Weak physically perhaps but he remained strong in every other way. His heart, his loyalty, his love, his respect -. all of these things were steadfast and strong. I believe that in the final days of his life the affliction was a cold, hard sojourn into his spirit. As the traveler through this ordeal he was stripped of all of his choices but one, which was how much of his soul he would surrender? When he first began his fight with this mysterious illness, he was consumed with fear. But through the grace of my mother and his family he was able to regain sense of himself. And as I read these words I believe my father would want everyone listening to know that he is at peace. I also know that he would want me to thank my mother for her strength and prayers and to my entire family for their love and support. Finally, I want to thank my father on behalf of my siblings and I for being the man that he was. Not because he was our father but because I know it to be an absolute certainty, Santino DiMele was the finest person we have ever known. Though he is gone, I know his love will reside in all of our hearts to be passed on down through the generations.

“Love is the immutable force that exists beyond all of life’s dangers."

DAD's slideshow

Christmas Spirit....

2008-12-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from Us

2008

Annual Boat Parade

Joseph hanging the Miranda & Joseph Ornaments

Ms. Boo looking cute
Picachoo says Merry Christmas
Hope everyone is getting into the spirit. We kicked off our holidays last weekend with the annual boat parade which is always lots of fun. We didn't enter, just watched then walked around our "Times Square" and enjoyed all the decorations. Next up we will go to our Christmas Pageant at Church which is absolutely spectacular. Joeph has been involved in a lot of community projects at school. Today they are singing at our Na*tions Association home and will be making stockings for children this week. I love for him to give back and understand that it's not all about getting. We are getting in the spirit here in our house and the only thing missing this Christmas is one little girl. How we hope this is the last.

Fencing -

2008-12-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Joseph began fencing about a month ago. The first few weeks were all about the rules, form, foils, etc. Last night was the first night they got to wear their gear (if that's what they call it) and he had his first "match". It is an exciting sport to watch - Joe and I don't completely understand all the rules when the judge is calling the match but we are starting to get it. The quality of this video is poor - we took it with our cell phone - where is the Flip when you need it? Anyway - wanted to capture this first. Joseph is on the right. I swear the outfit weighs more than him.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-01T06:14:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving 2008 on Us*eppa Island. Our Maryland friends moved their boat down here so they followed us and spent the beginning of the week with us. The island was packed by Wednesday and we barely saw Joseph during the days once his island friends arrived. He was off on his bike all day. I say it all the time, but we are so fortunate to be able to spend time on this island because it reminds us so much of how we were when we were kids - out all day and safe. We spent a lot of time on our dinghy going over to our other favorite islands, Boc*a Grande and Cay*o *Costa. This years fishing tournament was lots of fun - Joseph didn't win but certainly was a better sportsman this year. We want him to win graciously as well as loose. There were some cheaters from cheatersville but we learned from them as well. It's amazing what some parents will do for their kids. To us if you don't win it fairly, you didn't really win.

We gave much thanks this year and will continue to be grateful for all our blessings.

Every little thing is gonna be alright....

2008-11-20T15:39:00.000-08:00

Says Bob Marley.....

Seriously, I'm out of my funk with blogland. I have regrouped and have found my happy place again. The wait, well that still stinks, but it is what it is. Not a thing I can do about it so I will move on and move forward and we will wait and we will wait. I'm sure there will be ups and downs and good and bad days about it. I will hold fast to our dream.

We are 3 days away from hitting the water and that always makes me happy. We will give thanks, oh will we give thanks - so much to be grateful for this year. It is our tradition to each make a list for what we are thankful for and we must reach past the usual things. It's always fun to see what we each come up with.

These pics have nothing to do with much other than I am so thankful for him....

my beautiful son

with his bass and guitar

He makes the exact same facial expressions when he plays an instrument as Joe does when he play the piano

Birthdays and a Break

2008-11-14T19:11:00.000-08:00

First and foremost I wish my sister a very, very happy birthday. I wish we were together to celebrate but you are always with me no matter how far apart we are. I also want to wish, in advance, my best friend Alice a very happy birthday - you are also always with me in my heart. I would be lost with out both of you.

I will not be blogging for a while. Need a break and will return after Thanksgiving to update my blog which is in the end my journal for my family. Too much ugliness going on lately in this arena and I'm just not up for it. This was never meant to be something that made me upset but lately it has. So I will follow my friends who I have always followed, I will continue to read and comment when I can but I need to remember why I started this blog to begin with.

I wish everyone a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.

2008-11-11T10:46:00.000-08:00

I have nothing, absolutely nothing to blog about but was tired of seeing Halloween at the top. So some bullets....

Speaking of nothing - 2 measly days of referrals = nothing much. Seriously, I'm not even going their with my emotions this month. I am in the removal stage I think. Can some others who are ahead of me in line please tell me if that is what they felt when they hit the 2 year mark with absolutely no end in site. I am although, extremely excited for the next few months of referrals because I have some blogs I've been following for a while that are coming up to their turn - yippee. I'll put my head out of the sand to celebrate their happiness.
I have a great gyne*cologist story that involves my doctor taking a cell phone call in the middle and I mean middle of something that was rather important to me - yup I could not make this stuff up. I promised my mother I wouldn't blog about it. This doesn't count because I didn't tell the entire story. I will say, SO NOT GOING BACK TO HIM. I have the courtesy to turn my phone off when I go into a doctor appointment - I think the same should be given in return to the patient.
I am happy to be back on my bike again and back up to 20 miles for my ride.
The snowbirds are back and the traffic to the beach is backed up past our street. That's good since they were predicting a bad tourist season.
Joseph is finally done talking politics at school.
Joseph is enjoying fencing.
It's getting harder to figure out what to buy him for Christmas - he is even having trouble writing his list. Growing up or has way too much stuff. I think both.
I believe my NY accent is getting less - I said ya'll and orange (pronounced the Floridian way) all in the same day.
Loving the weather - low 80's during the day, no humidity and 60's at night. Love it. Your blood definitely thins after living down South - the nights I do complain that I'm cold. I was thinking of buying Uggs but think my feet would go into shock.
We have mucho Meyer lemons and oranges this year - very happy about that.
Looking forward to Thanks*giving week where we will spend almost an entire week on the boat. That makes me very happy.
This was boring - Hope the gyno story made someone laugh.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Better late than never - I needed to get these up before I find myself sorting through my Thanksgiving pictures. Halloween 2008 was a blast for us. We headed out to one of Joseph's friends' house. The community he lives in was one big party. Lots of candy and lots of fun -

Boo!

The Day After

2008-11-05T09:50:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to seeing what our new President will do for our Country. I'm anxious to see the change that everyone is speaking of. I personally am sad that Senator McCain did not win this election, but will respect the decision that was made by our great Country. What a privilege to be able to vote. I will teach my son to respect who is in office even though we have different views. We will continue to teach him to feel strongly about his believes. We will continue to teach him, as we always have, that ANYTHING is possible as long as you work hard. I didn't like that he asked me why people were screaming that now they would get free gas and homes. That is not what this is about. Not at all.

We will move on.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

Did You Vote?

2008-11-04T03:31:00.000-08:00

Get out and Vote today!

Confession from a curly haired gal

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

I confess that I have envied all of you out there with the beautiful straight hair. Oh how I have envied you all. With your smooth, shiny locks that make me want to just touch your hair. I would dream of straight hair. I would attempt to straighten my curls. Yes, I could take the round brush and the gels and the flat iron but never could achieve that smooth, straight look. NEVER. That is until yesterday. The hair gods have answered my prayers.

I had a treatment called Ker*atin Co*mplex done. It is not a relaxer but a protein treatment that has not made my hair permanently straight, but for the 72 hours (until I can wash it), it will be straight. When I wash it my curl will be less frizzy, less course and more manageable. If I want the straight look tho', I can achieve it in a lot less time and actually get it to look straight. It should last for 4-5 months. So for the past 24 hours, I have been touching my hair like crazy and looking in the mirror - okay it's been a long time I've had these curls - let me stare a bit. I never realized what I was missing and now I know.

Well there you have it, I confessed.

2 Years

2008-10-27T05:16:00.000-07:00

they were out of pink so blue it was for Chloe

Today is 2 years that our file was logged into the CC*AA. One year ago I wrote this post. I seriously in my mind did not think that we would reach the 2 year mark and still not have her home. Two years seemed like an eternity. It still does. There is nothing we can do but wait. This has been a test of patience for us and a test of faith. We have faith and believe that we walked down this path for a reason. The monthly LID's are not as fun for me, but we continue to mark them as steps closer. Joseph always remembers the 27th and he remembered today that it was 2 years of our LID and also 2 years we lost our precious pup CHLOE. He asked if we can get a red, yellow and pink balloon, like we did for our one year, we will release them so they can go to heaven. We will do that later today.

We will wait for you, Miranda Rae, as long as it takes

~~FOR MY MOM AND SISTER - IF YOU CLICK TO WATCH CHLOE'S SLIDESHOW, YOU CAN TURN OFF THE OTHER MUSIC AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE. PRESS STOP :)

Pumpking Parking Lot 2008

2008-10-20T09:29:00.001-07:00

It's that time of the year again - our visit to the pumpkin parking lot. We all agree that we miss N.Y. for our annual pumpkin picking. We make do with our pumpkin parking lot at Church.

Happy Fall

USCIS Update and ramblings about nothing

2008-10-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

Great news -Our agency emailed us to let us know that if you have not let your 1-600A expire, you will be grandfathered (it was much more detailed, but you get it). Thank you to everyone that I emailed to help with this cause and to all of you who then forwarded it to your own peeps. It obviously paid off.

~~~~~~~~

My knee still hurts like heck - thought there might be an infection brewing but it looks better today.
It sucks not being able to walk and bend your leg - It's getting old
I miss exercising - yes seriously I do.
We are now a one car family - an almost 3 year old car with just under 12K mileage. Think we us it much?
The next car we buy will be at least 40 years old - do you hear a new hobby in my 2 guys future (far off future).
When the man came to take our car I asked him if he would be keeping it in a garage and then went on and on about how nice my husband kept it. I think I may have sounded a little bit obnoxious. I didn't mean to and I don't even miss the car it just came out. I think I might have said can we visit it if we are in Sar*asotta. Not sure what came over me. Who visits a car?
Only living in Fl*orida would you own more boats than cars
We had an invite to a "formal" event this coming Friday and I have been trying for 2 weeks to get one of our two sitters to commit. Neither can do it but took forever to let me know and they let me know via text after I left yet more messages - does anyone speak anymore?
Some teenagers are not that interested in making money - they would prefer to go out with their friends.
I couldn't see wearing high heel shoes when I can't bend my knee and my black dress with flips wouldn't look so classy, so I'm not that disappointed
I can't wait for the election to be over - In the last week I have had 3 different occasions where people who are voting for a different party than I, and I didn't know them, say something to me. I sport a bumper sticker. Never in my life of driving have I had a bumper sticker before. Joe's license plate on his new souped up super scooter was bent and I swear it was done by someone because of his small sticker. That is nasty, as is voter fraud. What makes our Country so great, is that I get my vote and you get yours.
Speaking of politics :) I guess kids in third grade discuss it too - Joseph was asked by a girl in his class who HE was voting for (so cute) and he answered. I forgot to give him the we don't discuss politics or money speech. Well this little girl said some pretty nasty things (and I don't mean about actual issues) to Joseph. He was the bigger one and didn't continue the discussion. He told us she wasn't even talking about things that had to do with the election. Again nasty.
I have used the word nasty too many times so I think that is all I have to update about.
Again, thanks to everyone who took time to go to the petition and sign it.

Is Friday the new Monday?

2008-10-12T16:05:00.001-07:00

My Friday definitely felt like a Monday.

At the 19th mile of 20 on my bike ride, I wiped out on a pile of wet grass cuttings and spun out something fierce, causing me to fly in the air (says the lady who I was trying to avoid). My knee is badly cut but nothing shattered or broken (very grateful for that). I am walking like I have a wooden leg (says Joe and Joseph).

After Joe was called and came and picked me up off the sidewalk (I was 1 mile from our house) and he hauled me into my truck , I watched him try to get my beautiful bike, which seemed to have been mangled, into my truck, all the while begging him to bring it to the bike shop*, while he insisted I needed peroxide poured on my open wound immediately- surprised you all didn't hear those screams. He cleaned me up and suggested I rest - yeah not happening. For those who know me, know that I don't do resting very well. I am picturing ALICE right about now remembering when I had chicken pox and would not stay home from work. I digress - the rest of the weekend was spent with me hobbling trying to keep up with our plans which were not that much - we had no boating plans but we did venture down to our beach for the annual P*irate Festival. Always a fun time. Joseph got to meet his soon to be Fen*cing instructors and as I mentioned, I hobbled around. The 2 men then washed, waxed and cleaned out Joe's car preparing it to sell. It must be a guy thing but they just love washing cars. Me, I would much prefer the drive through car wash with the good gift shop at the end.

So I'm sitting here hoping my Monday is much more like a Friday.

*I did get my bike to the shop that afternoon and yippe they called Saturday and it's as good as new. I'm guessing it will be a few days or so before I can get back on but I'm happy it's all fixed and yes I have a new shiny, helmet I'll be sporting too :) Biking is a new form of cardio for me - it's much easier on my feet, etc and I L.O.V.E. it - I also just discovered that right outside our street are bike paths that go for many, many miles throughout the entire County. I'm completely annoyed that I have this setback - good sign that I do really enjoy it. I've been increasing my mileage and speed each day over the past 3 weeks and can not wait to get back on my bike.

My house is quiet.....

2008-10-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Not that my mom is noisy or anything but after she leaves, the house does seem a little quieter.
By now mom, your in the air heading north - we miss ya already.

some highlights for me to remember

I am glad we got to fit our tea house visit in - our visits there are special to me
I am glad we scored some new clothes on sale
I will never drive to school and see the goats and not hear you say "ooh look at all those dogs"
I don't want to know what Joseph is doing in your room before he goes to bed
My sister worries enough for me and my entire family
My mother has very very good intuition
I think I have it too but I tend to ignore it - learned that this visit
I don't think we'll ever hear Elvi*s and not think of my sister-in-law - Aunt Nancy
We are both so over politics and debates - even tho' she fell asleep on the last one
we will not be playing scrabb*le with Joe without a dictionary
My sister really wanted to catch a snook (pronounced schnook by her and my brother) but she didn't :(
My sister is a good sport and will do or go anywhere - got me out of dinghying

Our visits mean the world to us

Happy 9th Birthday Joseph

2008-10-01T14:50:00.000-07:00

THEN

NOW

~TODAY, TOMORROW AND ALWAYS
We love you. Happy 9th Birthday

Quick catch up....

2008-09-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

My mom and sister arrived last Wednesday. We've been busy. We headed out on the water on Friday and just got back today. Spent the long weekend on U*seppa Island on our boat. The first few hours on the island was like having the city mouse come to the country. Seriously - it was. The city mouse (my sister) caught on quickly how to live on an island with no cars and at times, no other people but us. My mom, who is a pro now, showed her the ropes. We had a great time. I have many photos to download but here are just a few.... We have one more day with my sister - my mom stays another week. Joseph turns 9 on Wednesday. Busy, busy - will catch up again soon.

They arrived

Now she understands why he can drive the golf cart
Alone on an island - just like Gilligan's

Halloween and Hopes and Dreams

2008-09-20T19:18:00.000-07:00

Let me start this post with the fact that we are late in having J's halloween costume purchased and already worn for the past 5 months. Being an October baby has given Joseph the ultimate love of Halloween. Since he was able to choose (which began at age 2 with his Eyore costume) he has chosen every costume and we have purchased it at least by May - we get our moneys worth - he wears them til Halloween and beyond. Well here we are in September with no costume. We headed out today to the Halloween store and after many, many costumes he chose a soldier costume which brings me to the Hopes and Dreams part of this post.

I mentioned last week about J telling us he wants to go into the Arm*y - yes he is 9 and of course his dreams and goals may change. Joseph was given an assignment to write what his hopes and dreams are at the begining of the school year. Thursday night was back to school night and at the children's desks were their projects. Joseph wrote that he would like to "go into the Army and serve his Country..... My Grandfather served...." etc. There was much more written but I don't have it to take from so that is the gist. Our hearts were filled with pride and love when we read this. As I walked around the room another mom approached me and said "I just read Joseph's paper, wow, I guess your going to have to go home and have a talk". I looked at her truly not knowing what she was talking about and asked her what she meant? She answered "well when our son told us he wanted to go into the Army, we sat him down and told him in no uncertain terms that that was NEVER going to happen". Me, now with a very annoyed look said nicely "well we are very proud of Joseph's dreams and support them and by the way do you actually have a list of careers that are appropriate?" My sarcasm fell on deaf ears - she is a plastic surgeon and that is a wonderful, lucrative career but damn her for telling me my son's dreams of serving our Country are not acceptable in her world.

I am proud of what my childs hopes and dreams are today - yes they may change but they are real to him today and that is what matters.

Boating and Biking

2008-09-14T15:54:00.001-07:00

The one thing we all missed most about not going to C*ape M*ay this past summer was bike riding. We love our bikes. We would ride everywhere there - to the beach, to restaurants, to shop, to friends or just ride to ride. Where we live now is a bit different. We can ride our bikes but it's not the same. But.... San*ibel Island which is the next island from us has great bike paths and is a bike riding kind of town. So, we load up our pontoon boat with our bikes and we go. It's a lot easier and much more fun to take the bikes by boat than by car. Today we combined two of our favorite things to do - biking and boating.

Ready to go
We are off

a sign in our favorite island book store

just like his mom

Boating, biking and a third "B" - books. I would live in a book store if I could and we can never pass one up. I love the big mega stores but the smaller book stores are what really gets me. They are so cozy and I feel like I can stay forever. Today was no different.

In case anyone is interested in a really awesome bike - we ride this type of bike now and love, love, love them...

TOWNIE

My Friday rambling thoughts....

2008-09-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

My dad in Mannheim Germany - 1955

I finally have a scanner - yea I know welcome to the world. Anyway this is one of my favorite pictures of my father when he was in the Army. He was so proud of his Country and Joseph cherishes the few pictures we have of him while he was stationed in Germany. Joseph told us last night at dinner he thinks he will consider going into the Army (along with being a marine biologist and an architect). I know he's only nine but I love that he loves his Country as much as my Dad did.

After five days with a wicked sinus infection and meds that make me feel awful, I actually felt well enough to work out this morning. I had so much energy I decided to start the playroom project that has been hanging over my head all summer. I started in J's room and started weeding out "stuff" he no longer needs or plays with. I worked my way to the guest/grandma/eventually to be Miranda's room. Big mistake there. I spent an hour going through the "stuff" she now has. I spent a lot time looking at all her things and imagining the day she will finally come home. I had my first dream about her 2 nights ago. In my dream there was our daughter, maybe 18 months or so. I have been asked recently about how old our daughter will be and obviously nobody knows the answer to this. Our petition requests 18-24 months, our homestudy says 0-36 months based on our ages. We don't really care. After the good cry in that room, I made my way to the playroom. I feel so good after a massive clean out. I'm ready for the weekend.

I'm taking a break from the news this weekend. The editing on some broadcasts really annoys me.

I'm so glad it's the weekend. I hope everyone in Ike's path stays safe.

September 11

2008-09-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

Another year. We can never forget all that lost their lives.

Weekend

2008-09-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

After kicking the weekend off Friday at Se*ars for most of the day ordering a water softener system and realizing that they have the same dishwasher I've been waiting for almost 5 weeks for from L*owes, and I can have it on Tuesday with the water system, I knew it was going to be a good weekend :) It's the little things that make me happy.

The weather this weekend could not have been better - there has not been a cloud in the sky and not a drop of rain came our way. I know there are many parts of the world dealing with the storms and I feel for them - I know the feeling of having those storms looming. It looks like we are going to be dodging Ike this week (I hope). For all in this ones path - I hope it dies down real soon.

Saturday was spent at our local Flea market - always a good time there. I scored me a brand new helmet for our scooters for more than 1/2 off what Joe just paid for his new one at the scooter store. We (Joe and I) originally were wearing helmets that only covered half of our heads - we are now all sporting full head helmets with shields (Joseph has always had this type) - I'll spare pictures of this since when I tried it on and asked Joe if it looked good his answer was "nobody really looks good in a helmet" - I must agree but safety first.

See - nobody looks good in a helmet

After all the fun at the flea market we headed to H*ome De*pot to buy some red lava rock for our landscaping - our gardeners use mulch but we prefer the rock so we have to buy our own. We bought 12 bags - didn't cover it. I went back for 20 more. So after loading 32 bags of red rock and unloading and distributing it - we had had enough fun for one day. We played about 5 games of Bl*okus and I must admit, I stink. I'm challenging my guys again tonight to see if I can win at least once.

All this good weather had us out on our pontoon today for a day of beach fun.

Joseph made this handprint for Joe's birthday in 2001 - It was starting to get buried under the red rock but we found it.

the perfect day Good times

Watching dolphins on our way back home

School Year 2008-2009

2008-09-04T08:16:00.000-07:00

First day of school was yesterday - 3rd grade. Can not believe it! The picture stinks b/c I was using my waterproof camera and the settings were all wrong but Mr. worrier wouldn't let me run in and get my Son*y because he didn't want to be late. He was the first one in his class. He is so like me when it comes to being punctual and is so not like Joe who is late for everything. For some reason yesterday was harder for me than any other grade he has started. Not sure why. It just felt strange all day not to have him around. I'm over it now and am excited for this new school year. He will begin Fencing next month and get back to his violin lessons next week. I worked out today after too much time off. I was in the parking lot of the gym but decided to run instead. It felt great even though I had to go back to my 3/3. Run 3, walk fast 3 but I did run completely up the bridge which hurt but felt great at the top. Total for today was 4.5 miles.

On the adoption front - referrals came out just 22 days after the last batch and they matched 9 days. They are now through February 9, 2007. Wow - the number isn't huge but it's on the larger size for what has been the norm lately. The 22 days since the last batch has me happy. If they bang them out every 22 days then it very well can be a speed up. I hate to get my hopes up but I can't help it though. It seems real again. So many peeps I follow are very close to their referal. Can not wait to see so many on this endless journey finally see the face of their child. Then of course, that means we are even closer to seeing our baby girl.

Marco Island 2008

2008-08-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

For our last hurrah before school and a schedule begin this week, we headed South of us to M*arco Island. What a fantastic and beautiful island. We dinghy'd all over and had a great time. We also had the pleasure to finally meet up with

Tracy & Company. We have tried for the last year to meet up somewhere with our boats but have never been able. Can I just tell ya that this family is just like they are on their blog. Tracy is as funny in person, her boys are even cuter in person and her hubs is as nice and funny as she describes. I have to publicly apologize for the behavior of Ms. Boo. For those who know Boo, know that she loves people and gets super excited for at least 10 minutes of meeting someone, but this night she never stopped and she never calmed down. She absolutely loved Weston and she seriously licked Jason so much I was embarrassed. They were very gracious and seemed to really like her :) Joseph loved meeting her boys and Cole and Joseph were fast friends. It was nice to finally put voices to the faces of a blog that I have been following since 2006. It was great to meet you and look forward to eventually getting to your island.

They didn't know which camera to look at

Too much cuteness :)

Me and Sea Star

Would have been the perfect Christmas Card

Do ya think J was having fun?

22 Months LID - one day late...

2008-08-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

I didn't forget our LID, just didn't have great internet access yesterday. Today it's better.

I have stopped trying to figure out where we are in the wait. We don't know and that's reality. We don't know. Today we took our dinghy over to a little island that has a very cool unfinished home. Joseph thinks it looks like it's from St*ar W*ars. I have to agree. Anyway, while there exploring and snorkeling we met 2 couples who were locals. One women had just gotten back from Ch*ina (not for adoption but for vacation). She also has 3 adopted grown children (domestic) and boy did she give me a talking to! She renewed my faith, she gave me a talk that I really needed and I don't even remember her name. I may never even see her again but our lives met today and there was a reason.

~Miranda Rae - we are here still waiting on this August day. We are on our boat imagining what it will be like with you here with us. We are here... we are waiting and we are praying for you.

August Update

2008-08-24T11:26:00.000-07:00

This picture has nothing to do with this post but I just love it. He looks so serious and his fingers look so long.

Thanks to everyone who sent good thoughts our way during TS F*ay. For us we had heavy rain and about 60 mph winds gusts on Tuesday and the rest of the week was on and off rain storms. With the drought we have had, the rain was welcome but we were glad it's over now.

Ten days til school starts. I'm excited for our lives going back to a schedule but will just as much miss having Joseph around all day. He's excited to start 3rd grade and has his new clothes and backpack ready. This will be his last year in the lower school and will then move to the next building on his campus for 4th - 6th grade at the intermediate school.

I am really looking forward to cleaning out the playroom once J is back in school. I'm torn about a few big items that he no longer plays with but thinks we should keep for M.

I bought myself a Papasan chair for my bedroom lanai. I love, love, love it. This is my little space in the house that is completely mine and I enjoy going out there to read at night. The sunset from this room is amazing. I can never get a good picture though because it's has screen around it. Joseph has also taken to the Papasan and does his nightly reading out there now too. So comfy.

We will be taking our last summer boat trip this week. Heading to a new location and are looking forward to it. It's amazing how antsy I get to be back on the water after a few weeks of being on land.

August 20, 1994

2008-08-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

"I, Daniella, take you Joseph, to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.

This is my solemn vow."

These were the words we spoke to each other 14 years ago today. They are traditional vows - nothing fancy - perhaps even simple. But they are not simple. They are deep and strong.

We took each other that day to be husband and wife to have and to hold from that day forward - we have.

For better, for worse - We have covered that. There have been far more better days than worse but even on the "worse" days, we have had each other.

For richer, for poorer - Check. We have rolled quarters to get through some times and we have had more than our share at other times. Through both, I have never wanted for anything. Our love has always and will always be what makes us "rich".

In sickness and in health - Check again. Our health is most important and we both know that and never, ever take the healthy days for granted. We know how quickly they can be taken from us.

To love and to cherish - Yes we do. I know we always will.

Until death do us part - and beyond....

Yesterday, today, tomorrow, forever... I will love you.

*********

It might be you, I cross my heart

oxox

**The song playing first, "It Might Be You", is our song. For our wedding song we chose "I Cross My Heart" (second song). Both songs hold a special place in my heart....

Tropical Storm Fay

2008-08-18T14:17:00.000-07:00

Tropical Storm Fay is heading our way. Last we checked our radar she was about 150 miles from us. It's still a tropical storm but we have prepared for it to become a hurricane. We have lived here four years and we have learned to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Once the rain and wind are here you want to be done preparing.

We spent the morning securing the boats and clearing everything off of our lanais and property. You don't realize how much stuff you have til you have to bring it all inside your living space. We did our last food run and are now just going to wait it out. If we loose power we will move onto the boat and run the generator. Through all of the last few storms, Char*ley and W*ilma , we didn't loose our power for too long and I think that has to do with the fact that the US Coast Guard base is right out of our canal.

Our tortoise, Addie, is inside now and Joseph decided that he should catch Brody and put her in a cage until the storm passes. He did this on his own and made sure his cage (which we have so many different sizes and types) had sand, a rock, a branch, water and he gave her a worm. Not sure where Brenda is but Brody is safe. I know my mom was worried about him.

We are safe and sound and will be back to our regular scheduled program of our lives once Fay leaves town......

To all my friends in the path of Fay - stay safe

Random Stuff - August 08' and the Crazy Train....

2008-08-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

Song explaination: THIS SONG WAS PICKED BY JOSEPH AND YOU'LL READ WHY AT THE END OF THE POST. IT WILL GROW ON YOU AFTER A WHILE IF YOUR NOT A FAN OF O*ZZY...

So the word on the street is not too many of you like Brody. Well a few of you thought he was cute, so thanks but for all you non-reptile lovers, you really need to give them a chance :)

My mom left today and guess what I overheard her saying... "bye Brody, see you when I get back". Yeah, I think she liked the little green guy and the girlfriend he's been bringing around too. We have named her Brenda.

This last week with Grandma was fantastic - her and I were on our own for the week. Joe was out of town and Joseph was in Sea School during the day. We had a lot of fun relaxing and just being together. I turned her on to some good books that she couldn't' put down and I'm sure by the time she reads this and has landed, she will have finished book 2.

The following is a conversation Joseph had with my mom the other night.

J: You know Grandma you need a mate.
G: What? What do you mean?
J: You know a mate. When your a kid, like 3 or 4 you call it a friend. When you are my age you call it a girlfriend/boyfriend. When you are my Mom and Dad's age you call it a husband/wife. BUT when you are your age you call it a mate and you need one.

Hmmm.... Not sure she's looking for a mate but hey you never know.

Sea School was a huge success. Joseph got to surf, snorkel, dive and just spend lots of time in the water having fun and learning a lot. He did things this week that he would never do with us or would complain about I should say. Each day we saw him grow just a little bit. I'm so glad he had the opportunity to attend this class for a week. He has also been working hard at his guitar/bass playing. He taught himself the song Cr*azy Tr*ain by Ozz*y this week and insisted it be on the blog. It will stay for a day or two but then, it's got to go.

To my mom.... The 3 weeks we have spent together have been wonderful. We love having you here and truly miss you when you leave. I'm glad that your coming back in a month and not just for the cooking....
oxoxo

Our newest pet

2008-08-12T16:49:00.001-07:00

Meet Brody. This little guy has been staying with us for about 3 weeks or so. He is on our lanai in this picture but he is not there all day. He leaves (not sure where he goes) and he always show up in the morning for breakfast and then at night for dinner and sleep. His normal spot is in my candle which is next to this light. Here he is just posing for me because he's cute :) The entire back of our house is enclosed with a pool cage. He has had opportunity to get out because if he hops on down to the pool area there is a door there that is opening all the time and sometimes even left open. I know he doesn't want to leave though because he has it really good here. We feed him crickets and meal worms and I don't think he's going anywhere any time soon. My mother is completely flipped out that I'm feeding a random frog in addition to all our other pets. Tonight I really thought the picture below was going to put her on the next plane home.
He likes to sometimes have his dinner out in the kitchen while I clean up. I honestly think my mom likes all of the pets we have even though she says she doesn't. I have personally caught her looking for Brody and I may have even seen her talking to Picachoo. She still refuses to let Boo come on her bed even though I know she loves her. By the way, does anyone think it's rude for a person (my neighbor's boyfriend) to see Boo and say "wow she got fat?" I think it is. My response was "we like to say she is fluffy" and then he proceeded to ask me if that is what we say about him. I didn't answer. This particular person is no skinny minny either. Some people are so rude. Time to go to bed because we are so tired from sitting in the sun all day.

Do good things come in little blue boxes?

2008-08-08T19:58:00.001-07:00

Yes they do. My sister sent the above little blue box for my birthday (I know, does it ever end with this birthday stuff?) Saying I love it, doesn't seem enough - I do and I love you even more. Thank you. Now when the heck are you coming - I keep thinking your going to pop up somewhere? Come on, try to surprise me again.... miss you xxoo

Thank you Donna, Joe, Phil & Amber Jo

Captiva Island 2008

2008-08-07T09:07:00.001-07:00

We spent my birthday weekend on our boat on C*aptiva Island. We had a fabulous time doing a whole lot of nothing. Well not exactly nothing - we did get up every morning and put on our usual attire of a bathing suit and went to the pool and/or beach. We also got our arses kicked by Joseph with every game we played. My mom needs to remember that Pres. Madison is not on any money. We also all need a bit of help with our states. I also would like to report that my husband thinks he is the master at scrabble. I'm getting a dictionary to keep on board.

I got to say goodbye to my 30's and hello to 40 with 3 of my favorite people and Ms. Boo. Nothing better. I was spoiled with some wonderful gifts - it was my year for necklaces - Joseph bought me a beautiful starfish necklace and some fine smelling candles. My boy knows what I like. He loves to go shopping for others now which is big - he is getting that it's not all about him. He even spent his own money. I got some comfy new Hu*e pj's which I wish I can live in and new tops from my mom and just now Mr. D*HL bought me a beautiful Brigh*ton bracelet from Alice - thanks my friend. Grams is here for another week. Next week her and I will be on our own for the most part (I sense some shopping is in order). Joseph will be starting a week of sea camp that is themed manatees - so him. We have a manatee family living in our canal. The mom gave birth last month. Hope everyone is enjoying August.

I know we are.

Joseph began his next string instrument today - the Bass. He now knows 4 instruments (3 are string) - Sounding good already

Just telling the truth.....

2008-07-31T15:04:00.001-07:00

So my Mom arrived yesterday and as she is unpacking, I spy this beautiful red box, and I gush "for me...." She explains that my sister (in-law) - officially dropping the ending now, sent this for my birthday (which as I have said over and over this past 6 months is Sunday). So I look at it and I look at it some more and then well you know the rest. I opened it. This picture does it absolutely no justice. I just couldn't get it any better but believe me, it is beautiful and I love it. It says sisters in Chinese on one charm and in English on the other. P.E.R.F.E.C.T. (click to enlarge it). Now don't act all surprised, that I opened this 4 days early. I have admitted numerous times that I have unwrapped gifts and re-wrapped them. I am just telling the truth....

CHRISTINA ~ Thank you from the bottom of my heart ~ xoxo

We are setting sail tomorrow for a few days. Need to say goodbye to my 30's. I hear 40 is the new 30 and that it's just fabulous.....

3 Word Sunday and LID

2008-07-27T06:13:00.001-07:00

My Dad would have been 74 yesterday. We always celebrated our birthdays together as we are just a week apart. Happy Birthday dad - I know you are watching over us. This picture was taken at Joseph's Baptism in December 1999. He died one year to the day after this was taken. He was so proud in this picture. He loved that Joseph had been given his name, Santino, as a middle name. Today also marks our 21 months logged in.