California Introduction

Last week, I had the privilege of taking my husband and son to my hometown.  We spent a week living in the Disneyland Hotel.  It was beyond words!!!  Watching Jason and Holden at Disneyland was so exciting!  Holden go to go through the Jedi Training and fight Darth Maul!!!  It was sooo great.

This is a photo of me with the children of my closest friends!!  From Left to right...Noah, Matt, Baby Sarah, Hannah, and Andrew.  And of course my dear Holden.

At this point we have been home for 2 days and I can barely move from the couch.  It was so much fun!  Here are a few photos just to show off a few of my favorites!!

These are my cousins, Christina and Lauren,  my niece, Briana, and Holden and me.

On our first morning at Disneyland, we had breakfast with Goofy!!!

Spring Break with my Son!!!

Isn't he handsome???

This year as Spring Break approached, I knew it would be different.  For the past two years, whenever Holden and I have time off together, I get a little nervous.  I don't want him to be bored.  I don't want my patience to run out.  I want him to feel loved!  

This year, I think I succeeded in some serious bonding.  Holden is such an amazing young man.  He is so eager to please and be loved.  He is also growing into an independent young adolescent.  It won't be long before "hanging out with mom" will be totally uncool.   

The first few days of Spring Break, we did absolutely NOTHING!  We did watch The Price is Right together daily!  Due to Holden's broken arms, we were limited to non-physical activities.

Then on Wednesday, we packed up the car and took off for Austin.  Elena came down with Matthew and Alex and we hit the road.  It was a short two day trip, but we had so much fun!  

Our first stop was at the Inner Space Caverns in Georgetown, TX.  Ya see, Holden is in the 5th grade, so he will be taking the TAKS Science test.  On the mock test he recently took at school, he missed the one on how stalactites and stalagmites are formed.  So, of course, I had to take him to experience it first hand.  It was so much fun!  We saw tiny bats and amazing displays of God's artwork.  

I looked up references of caves in the Bible and almost all references refer to caves as places to hide-sometimes from the enemy and other times from God.  That doesn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was that in Isaiah 2:19 it states that men will hide in the caves from the LORD and the "splendor of his majesty" (NIV).  The Message says "his dazzling presence".  Obviously there is no hiding from God, but while we were in the cave all I noticed was that the cave is FULL of his dazzling presence!  The artwork that he creates in the darkness...wow...as I typed that I got goosebumps.  God's beauty is totally evident in the darkness of the world!!!  

Later that evening, we went back to the hotel and the exhaustion in all three boys was very evident.  Holden was annoyed by everything.  Elena pointed out to me that she always knows when her boys need a little more attention.  So on Thursday I made it a priority to give Holden the extra attention he needed.  As we toured the capitol building, I enjoyed just being near him listening to the guide and looking at the building.  

After the capitol tour, we went to Alicia's to have lunch with her and Greg.  They took us to an AMAZING burger joint called Phil's Ice House.  They had a playground and an ice cream shop.  We spent a couple of hours there just eating and playing.  

"I'll Just Ask Ro"

Tonight Elena called me to tell me something sweet Matthew said about me.

I had no idea what to expect, but what she told me brought tears to my eyes.

She said she was talking to him about marriage.

She told him that it was important for them to talk about what makes a good marriage.  Since Elena is a single mom,  he doesn't get to see marriage on a daily basis.  

Matthew said, "If I have any questions, I'll just ask Ro."

I AM RO!!!!!

WOW!!!  You have to understand why this means so much to me!  When I found out Elena was pregnant was Matthew, I was one messed up puppy!  My divorce from Sean had only been final for a few months.  And I was a wreck!  I surrounded myself with godly women at church and built a new life for myself that I have to admit was pretty good.  I was making STUPID decisions in some areas of my life, but I grew to be a fairly independent woman.  

Matthew and Elena moved in with me while Matthew was 3 years old!  We all lived together for a year!  It was so fun!  Then two and a half years ago I met Jason.  Matthew and Elena sat in the front row and watched Jason and I get married.  

I think it is so sweet that he thought of me when he thought of a good marriage!

Thanks Mattie!  I love you!

Christmas 2008 Memories

There are only 2 more hours left of Christmas 2008.  Jason is in the living room watching a movie on his new Blu-Ray player, and Holden has just given us kisses and headed off to bed.  I am sitting at the kitchen table admiring my amazing family as we wind down for the evening.  The last two days have been a whirlwind of excitement.  

Christmas Eve began with a marathon of a last minute trip to Lowes and a day full of cooking and cleaning.  Holden and I worked together to make the house look nice for Jason's dad, Greg, and Angie's family.  And it looked fabulous!  Holden is such a great help around the house.  He is going to make a fabulous husband someday.  At one point during the day he said, "I'm so glad I have a mom."  I dropped what I was doing to give him a big hug and kiss.  I said, "Me too!"  What an angel!

Jason's dad was the first to arrive and filled our evening with stories.  We all ate too much food, the boys played video games, and the growns up sat around visiting.  As the family photographer, I spent my time snapping shots as often as possible.  This was our first Christmas in the house, so I jumped at the opportunity to be the hostess.  Even though it was hard work, it was worth every minute of it!  I loved having my family sitting in my living room laughing and talking.  

After everyone left, we promised Holden he could open one gift.  I gave him and Jason new pajama pants.  Holden's have Homer Simpson saying "I'M SO SMRT!"  Jason's have Dr. Pepper all over them.  I got some great pictures of them posing together, but I have been threatened with severe punishment if I post them anywhere online.  So just use your imagination.  Here is Holden with them pulled way up...they were too long!  

After we put Holden to bed, Jason and I did a few last minute things and crashed.  Before I fell asleep, I had a little talk with God.  The last few weeks I have spent time being sad and angry about not having a baby, but last night I spent time thanking him for my amazing husband and beautiful son.  I will always want to a baby, and I know those sad and angry feelings will return at some point, but right now, today, I am so thankful for the family I do have.  

I woke up this morning at 5:30 a.m. to Casey, our beloved cat, leaving us gifts all around the living room.  Cat puke for Christmas...woohoo.  I tried to go back to sleep and had just started to doze off when my precious husband reached over to hold me.  He told me Merry Christmas and wrapped his big arms around me.  What a way to wake up on Christmas morning.  I told him how much I loved him and dropped a few tears of happiness.  

At 7:00 the madness began!  Holden dug into his stocking and opened the box containing his 26" flat screen television.  Big gift for a little man!  He was very excited!  He ripped open all the other gifts between exclamations of delight!  He definitely hit the jackpot this year!  I always seem to go a little overboard.  I had to force myself to stop when it came to Jason this year.  There were so many things I wanted him to have.  It's a good thing his birthday is less than two months away, so I can finish shopping.  

After breakfast, I was able to get in a much needed nap!  Then we got ready to go over to Jason's mom's.  It was so much fun.  Again too much food, but so yummy!  After eating and opening gifts, the adults sat down to a game of Trivial Pursuit.  Men vs. Women.  Oh man did they kick out butts!  It wasn't even close!  But is was so fun!  

Now we are home again, with evidence of the fun all over the house!  Jason is still watching his movie, and Holden is sound asleep.  Tomorrow we begin a new adventure of welcoming a dear friend of mine and her family from New Zealand.  I can't wait to see them.

I can't believe sometimes how much God loves us.  He has truly blessed this family.  I know there were many times today that we all got caught up in "Christmas" and forgot the true meaning behind this day.  So I write this as a reminder to myself that today we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus the Christ.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!!!!!!

My PRECIOUS GEM!!!!

Tonight at church, I was picking up Holden from the children's department, and I was talking to a lady that was in my summer bible study.  She works with the children on Wednesday nights.  She saw Holden wave to me and asked if he was mine.  When I told her yes.....her response was "Oh he is such a GEM."  

What a feeling!!!    

"He looks just like you!"

That is the statement I heard at least a half a dozen times last night!  

Last night, I took Holden with me to our Fall Carnival at my new school!  We spent the first hour playing games and winning candy!  As we walked around, all the new teachers in my life got to meet Holden for the first time.  Most of them don't know that Jason and I have only been married for a year and a half.    They just know I am married with a 10 year old son.  

It was awesome to hear these words over and over.  "He looks just like you!"  Holden would just look at me and smile, and I would get that warm fuzzy feeling in my tummy!  I just smiled at them and said, "Yes, he does, but he has his daddy's blue eyes."  

In the car on the way home, Holden and I were talking about it.  Holden said, "Even though it is politically impossible."  I just chuckled and said, "No it isn't impossible.  It was all part of God's perfect plan."  Holden just sat in the back seat and agreed with me.  Then he asked me what if he didn't look anything like me.  I told him that wouldn't matter "you're still my son".

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him."    1 Samuel 1:27

The Last 48 Hours

It is October.  That means the weather will start to get cooler.  Candy will sell by the ton in the stores.  We will mow our yards for the last time until April.  Plants and trees will start to lose their many shades of green.  Pumpkins will decorate the entryway of every grocery store.  People who are fashion conscious will start to put away their pinks and blues and bring out the browns and oranges.  I even put away my yellow summer bag/purse.  And last but not least, I come down with a pretty severe case of bronchitis!!  

This year is no different from all the rest.  Two weeks ago I started feeling it in my throat.  It slowly turned into the cough that has become all too familiar this time of year.  Unfortunately it doesn't go away.  It usually lasts several months.  For the last two years my bronchitis has turned into pneumonia.  Two years ago it was the week before Christmas, and I spent my first Christmas with Holden and Jason sicker than a dog!  Last year I woke up on Thanksgiving morning with a 103+ fever.  I didn't even get to go to dinner with the family.  It was very scary because I don't remember ever being so sick.  

So Monday and Tuesday as my cough progressed to a painful, almost-wanting-to-cry kinda cough, I knew I needed to go to the doctor.  I wanted a chest x-ray early to make sure we caught any pneumonia early.  Well, the doctor came back into to the room and said, "There is no pneumonia, but we did see two nodules on your lungs."  Okay, at this point Holden was sitting in the room with me doing his Math homework.  So how do I react to that in front of him?  I wasn't instantly freaked out, but I didn't quite understand what that meant.  The doctor said she wanted to get a CT scan to have them looked at more carefully. 

As soon as I could talk to Jason, I told him.  It didn't even dawn on me that he would start to worry.  I was talking to Teresa when Jason called me back and told me he was going to take the day off to go with me.  At first I thought, it is just another x-ray, you don't need to go with me.  But Jason had already made up his mind.  I think this is when I started to realize that this could be something serious.

Ok let me preface this with, my husband is absolutely the BEST husband in the world, but for the last 48 hours he was Super Husband!!!  Yesterday he cooked breakfast AND dinner for me!  While we were watching TV he rubbed my back, and I actually fell asleep in my husband's arms!  Which I have to say, would be Jason's preference every night, but I am a don't-touch-me-while-I-sleep kinda girl.  

Last night, I did the thing you should NEVER do when you have a medical scare.  Read everything on the internet about the possibilities.  Of course, our biggest fear was the "C" word.  I have to honestly say, I  knew that no matter what it would be okay.  God gave me a peace that I didn't quite understand.   

Today the doctor called me today and it is not "C".    Just a couple of granulomas.  Something about a dust particle and a wall of tissue to prevent the dust from getting further into my lungs.  There is no need for any follow up treatments or anything.  

As I read everything that I just wrote...it doesn't do justice to the experience Jason and I have had the last two days, but ....what a roller coaster ride!   What did I learn?  That I have the most wonderful husband in the world!  I love this man more than I could possibly explain in words in a blog.  And even better...he loves me too!!!!