HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, HONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I cannot believe that we are in our final days of 2003... it has been an up and down type of year. It has flown by, that is for sure. I have 4 amazing children that I love and adore and a husband that is the best man in the world. I love him with all my heart. Tomorrow is our 6th anniversary... kind of unbelievable!! We have been together 8 years, which has been just as amazing!! We have had our ups and downs , but mostly ups :o) I would have never guessed that I would be back in Saint Louis, with 4 kids. We have been back in St.Louis for 2 years now.... which is something else that I thought would never happen. Hubby and I both love TX and will go back there someday. 2 years ago my grandpa was not doing good at all and I am amazed and VERY thankful that he is still here! I love the fact that I am back here and with my family and my friends.
This year has had a lot of good times for us and also bad ones, we had a girl that went to our church murdered, we had my cousin go away to Iraq to fight for our country... thankfully we have her back safe and sound! 1 Sister in Law has cancer and another has a tumor on her brain (both are being taken care of by treatments). My father in law divorced his wife of 15 yrs... On the flip side we have had a good year as a family. We have grown closer than we have ever been... my hubby has started his own business and it is going well, we have 4 beautiful children and a love for one another that cannot be matched. The homeschooling is going great, I am very pleased with my kids progress. The older 2 love AWANA's and will hopefully be doing indoor soccer too. I love being back here by my friends... Being by my best friend again has been awesome. We have been friends for almost 20 years!! Bev, another friend that I have had for 24 almost 25 years (we were neighbors and played together when we were babies) Plus all the new friends I have made.. those are friendships that will always be with me. Getting in touch with old friends has also been awesome. I am happy to have several of those back in my life, Andy.. you are the best!! :o)
I have managed to finish several scrapbooks, which is amazing in itself :o) The navy one for my grandpa and the European one for our cousin. Plus lots and lots of pages of my own album. Of course there are many things that we want to work on for next year. We would really like to find a church home here. We have not been able to find one that even comes close to the one we went to in TX... but we know that we will have to find something comperable. We are going to get back down to TX to visit lots of friends and also our church, since we have not seen the new building yet. We want to get out to California to see our cousin and to Chicago to go to Willow Creek church up there. Hubby and I would like to take a hobby up together... he wants it to be golf... so we will see :o)
Of course I hope for a great Baseball season, football season and hockey season... the Rams have already made it to the playoffs, of they can just hang on and WIN it would be great... (I will not mention anything on Sundays game... it was way too shameful to see my guys breakdown like that and especially to the stupid Detroit Lions) The Blues are doing good... keep it up guys :o) and of course in a couple of months we will turn to baseball :o) Lets hope for the Superbowl for the Rams, The Stanley Cup for the Blues and the World Series for the Cardinals :o) That should make my year even better :o) OK, I am off to clean my house! I hope that everyone has a wonderful New Year!!!!

We survived Christmas :o) Actually it was a wonderful time. Christmas eve I made the Capon that my grandparents gave us along with side dishes and a cake to celebrate Jesus' birthday and took some over to my parents. My hubby and brother had a movie marathon of Road Trip and the AMerican Pie movies... then on Christmas morning we were up and opening presents at 8:30 on Christmas morning. The kids had a great time and really enjoyed everything they got. I will get the pics posted at some point, but the computer is acting up and I do not want to chance it yet :o) My parents came over to celebrate with us and then we had a big breakfast, the kids played with their new toys and then we went to my aunts house to celebrate with the rest of the family. That was wonderful. It is amazing to see how big the family has grown!! I FINALLY got to see my cousin that is back from Iraq and we got to sit down and have some time to talk. She had a lot of pics from her time in Iraq and in Egypt. She also had a lot of disturbing pics... the pics you don't see on the news. She had a pic of a suicide bomber who came up to her post and changed his mind and turned around to leave, but someone else had the detonator and he blew up in front of her... Luckily she was not hurt, or anyone else for that matter (other than the guy who was blown to bits) but at the same time it was something that will stay with her forever. It is still amazing to know that she went through that experience.
Her twin brother was also at my aunts, it was nice to see him too. He brought his girlfriend that he has been with off and on for the last couple of years. She is really great, her and I get along wonderfully. She is a year older than my cousin but I think that she has made him grow up quite a bit!! He took his LSATs a month ago and is trying to get into Tulane for Law school and should find out in a couple of weeks... so keep your fingers crossed, or pray :o) He really likes New Orleans and his girlfriend is going to go with him so he is happy :o) I am sure that he will get in.
Hubby and I decided that our Christmas present together was a camcorder so that we could record our family times... so that was our present together and we each got a leather coat... so that was our Christmas... of course we have each had ours before Christmas :o) Which does not bother either of us :o) I hope that everyone else had a wonderful Christmas and that you got everything on your Christmas list!!!

The wonderful talk of the holidays and not having any holiday spirit... I have to say that I really have not had that much of a holiday spirit but try to keep things upbeat for my kids sake. I love hearing from friends that I do not talk to most of the year, I love to see the looks on my kids faces when they open their gifts, love to celebrate Jesus' birth and the life that He has given to me and my family. But it is every jacka** in the store that upsets me and takes away my holiday spirit. I still have to go to Walmart for other things, like toilet paper, cereal etc.... I am NOT after the same freakin toy that you want... so leave me alone to do my shopping!!! I already have that toy and it is already wrapped and under the tree!!! Just cuz you suck and are stressed out because you have none of your shopping done does NOT mean you get to be an a** to someone who is just trying to get other stuff!!! OK, done with that :o)
Hubby and I have done some talking and have decided that when we decide to move that we are NOT going to buy in another stinking neighborhood, I want SPACE, I do not want my neighbor to be so close that I can hear their stupid stereo at 1 in the morning, I do not want to be able to hear their stupid car with the stupid muffler that sounds like a freaking 18 wheeler coming down the street that wakes my children at 2 in the morning... I really dislike people, especially the stupid ones that have NO respect for anyone else and thier surroundings... we had some new people move into the house across the street and over one. They have been nothing but loud, horrible people since they have gotten here... Our neighborhood is a nice one, not a lot of trouble, lots of kids, lots of families... not a lot of singles and a few older couples... then these people arrive... with their stupid cars all jacked up, with the stupid muffler, LOUD music in the cars, loud music in their house not to mention they speed up and down the street... remind you, there are a LOT of kids in this neighborhood and mostly elementary age... I hate to sound like an old bitty... but I have to say that it absolutely infuriates me... I do not care til about 1 in the morning when the stupid jacka** decides to revv up his car outside my childrens window and scare the crap out of them waking them all up... Why?? do they think they are cool? Do they think they are so stinkin special that they get to make all that dang noise when people are trying to sleep?? I really dislike people like them... The rest of our neighbors are wonderful, we all talk, we watch out for one anothers homes, the kids go to each others homes... it is just a nice atmosphere... then "these other people" get here... I hope they learn soon or they are going to be very unhappy! :o)
By my best friends request she has asked me to tell the story of my older 2 kids... We have a split level home, the downstairs is completely the kids, their room, ALL their toys... they are required to keep it picked up every day, some days are worse than others, I do not expect it to be perfect but I do expect things to be picked up. Well, my older 2 decided that they did not want to clean it and I gave them a deadline on when they had to have it completed (2 hours) not a bad timeline, in my opinion. I told them if they could not get it cleaned then it meant they had too many toys (which they do) and did not need anything new for Christmas and that I was going to give all their Christmas presents away if it was not done... they did not finish the room, had not even really touched it, so they had to come upstairs and watch me pack all their presents into a black trashbag, hear me call my mom to drop the gifts off to Toys for Tots for kids that would like and respect new toys and not take them for granted and that her grandkids were not going to get any presents for Christmas this year... My mom stopped by and picked up the toys for me (of course she knew what I meant by what I was doing) ... now my children think they are not getting any toys for Christmas... of course my mom just took them back to her house and will bring them back here for Christmas morning, but I have some very worried kids who do not think that they are getting any Christmas presents... :o) They have looked all over the house for their presents, have checked under the tree to see if I have put them back, of course none of it is to be found since it is all at my parents... they love to make comments like "we are going to have an unhappy Christmas cuz we do not get any presents and the younger 2 do" and others like it... guess what... they have kept the playroom clean since then :o) Lesson learned I would say :o)
Everyone have a great Christmas!!!!!! :o)

Things have been relatively quiet around here. The Rams won on Sunday and the Eagles lost so we got the Bye week... which is absolutely wonderful. Grant Wistrom had 2.5 sacks on the game on Sunday... which is AWESOME and Bulger only threw one interception and we turned around and got one on them not too long after they got the one on us so no harm done :o) Our team held it together really well this week, I was extremely impressed!!! Both offense and defense managed to hold it together and of course there is the ever important Jeff Wilkins on special teams who is one of the best kickers!!! he is 3 away from breaking a record, which I doubt he will get to do since there is only one game left in the regular season, which is against the Detroit Lions, so that should be a gimme.... (sorry Jeff!! :o) Your hockey team is great... your football team on the other hand.... well, they suck) If the Rams win that game and the Eagles lose then we get home field advantage, which is AWESOME!! We have not lost any games at home since Sep. of last yr... 14 home games won.... that is GREAT :o)
I have been thinking about a conversation that I had with my grandparents... it was political, and I know I am far off from knowing a lot about politics, I know that everyone has an opinion. I want to know why we cannot concentrate on this country.... I know what Bush did in Iraq was a wonderful thing, and I know that there are a lot of other countries out there that need help... that is all fine and good and I think that they should be grateful for the help that we have given them...BUT on another note... our medical system needs a major overhaul, our kids need to be taken off the street, we need to feed the people in our own country and take care of what is going on here, take care of our vets, our elderly, our social services departments, our schools, etc, etc, etc... my grandpa called it Isolationism. He says that if we have it to give that we are required to help, when another country is in trouble.... my question in return was when has any other country ever helped us?? There have been times that our country has needed the help... namely the great depression.. both my grandparents lived through it. Was there any country that stepped up to help us through that time?? My grandpa's answer to that was Europe had also gone through a really rough time and could not help us at the time. Ok fine... we are to be the saviors of EVERY other freakin country and get NOTHING but hatred in return.... why not tell them to help themselves since they hate us so dang much and see how they like that. See how well they can survive then. True, we are not starving like North Korea is... but that is to be blamed on their gov't for taking the food away from the people and tending to their army. SO for once why do we say no to these other people and worry about ourselves? OUr school systems SUCK, our medical needs to be revised and taken care and on and on and on.... I think that medicaid, and food stamps and other stuff need to be looked at again too... There are WAY too many people taking advantage of that system. What is sooo wrong with people going out and getting JOBS??? It is time to make these LAZY people get off their ever loving, WIDENING BUTTS and GET JOBS!! So, it is not a glamourous job... it is still a job and you should DO IT.... I have to admit that yes, I have used the medicaid before, I was 17, pregnant and had no insurance, but I can guarantee that I have paid that back in full and then some!!! It is not there to be abused, it is there for people that need the OCCASIONAL break... what is wrong with people?? Why can't these people feel some self worth and actually DO SOMETHING?? People like that need to be taken off of the welfare system and told to do it on their own and if you fall you fall, pick yourself back up and MOVE on. Ok, sorry.... got a little off subject :o) Just one of those touchy subjects that always gets to me :o)
Anyways... is being an Isolationist so bad?? My grandpa thought that it was a bad idea, and I guess I see his point... but on the other hand... it seems that every other country hates us, they hate what we do but they sure as heck know how to hold out their hands to take from us.. NO APPRECIATION... what is that all about??? Why are we such the bad guy?? Why is it we help them and they still scream hateful things? If someone can give me a valid answer to that I would greatly appreciate it... :o)
On to other things... to my friends and family in CA... my thoughts and prayers are with you after the big earthquake that has hit you guys... Andy, I know you are ok, Ryan, I have tried calling and am praying for you!!! I hope that you are ok!! I do have to say that I am sooo excited that I get to see my friend Andy when he comes home to visit over Christmas!!! It has been 10 years or more since I have seen him and I am very excited!!! I have known him for about 20+ years and he has always been a dear friend to me... too bad he is half Korean or I would have dated him in High School :o) (Korean guys are not attractive, sorry :o) ) Anyways, if I do not get a chance to blog again until after Christmas I hope that everyone has a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS.. do not forget the reason for the season :o)
Oh and another thing... please say prayers for a person who is pregnant and has been spotting... my prayers are with you sweetie!!!

Last night my best friend and I went to see the movie Mona Lisa Smile. It did not get all that great of reviews and I have to admit that there were some weak story lines, but overall I really liked the movie. Kirsten Dunst plays quite the bitch in the movie and does a really good job at it. Julia Roberts and Julia Stiles are both excellent in the movie. I really enjoyed it. I do not think that I would have ever been able to survive the 50's though.... pink chiffon, poofy, pink, long skirts, eewwwwwww.... :o) The previews showed some great potentials for other movies, Adam Sandler has a new one with Drew Barrymore that looks cute called 50 First Dates, Jennifer Garner has one that is called 13 going on 30 that looks really cute, Steve Martin and Cheaper by the Dozen, and the Mandy Moore one called Chasing Liberty. All of them look like they would be great chick flicks. I am sure that I could get my hubby to go to the Jennifer Garner one. :o) And of course the Adam Sandler one. What guy doesn't like Adam Sandler?? :o) It was nice to just get out and have some time to my self. Of course it was a teenager night and every single one of the kids had a cell phone, everyone was on the phone playing games, then in the middle of the movie the lady behind me had left her phone on, it rang and she ANSWERED the freakin' thing and talked for a good 5 minutes... it was annoying to say the least! I managed to bite my tongue, but I was not a happy camper.

Everything else seems to be pretty calm around here. We found out my hubbies great-aunt has Leukemia and has refused treatment. She is 87, is in the final stages of the cancer and has decided that she has led a full life and does not want to go through the pains of treatment. They are letting her go home for Christmas and do not think that she will live all that much longer. So if you are a prayer, please pray for her. Hubby seems to be doing ok with it. I do not think that it has really hit him.
Hubby has been hitting his business stuff pretty hard and it looks like he is going to make it on his own. He is really excited about the prospect of it and loves the thought of being able to work for himself. He had a few clients on the side while he was still working full time and now that he does not have that job anymore he can concentrate fully on his business and really get it going. It looks positive, he is good at what he does and he has a lot of contacts so I am praying that it is going to turn out the way that we want it to. He has a big job coming up in January that has been pending for a couple of months and they have finally decided on a time frame so that will be something else that will come up soon. Who knows maybe after a couple of years I can take some of the classes that he took and work with him. :o) He has talked about it several times, but with the kids so little it makes it hard to think of anything else but the kids and raising them.
SInce hubby has been home I have managed to get a little more time to myself and have been able to visit my grandparents more than I normally get to. It has been great to just sit and talk to them. The stories they have, the life that I never knew... the partying, WW2, my great grandparents that I barely knew... it is soo amazing. To think that my grandparents were quite the partiers, it is strange :o) Then of course our talks almost always turn to politics and after the Saddam thing I, of course, had to stir the pot and ask them if they actually thought that any democratic president would have been able to do it. They said that they thought that maybe they would have but that they would not have gone after Iraq the way Bush did. Then I brought up the name Donald Rumsfeld... I struck a cord with that one. I think that he is a great guy that is a no BS type of person. I respect that and think that we need more of that in the government. They are amazed that I am Republican considering I was raised in an all democratic family. My parents, aunt, grandparents etc. There are a few in my family that do not care about politics at all, they are too consumed in their own lives to really care about anything else. My grandpa has always been really involved in politics and have been friends with the Gephardt family for years. I have even met Gephardt, of course I was a kid and did not know the difference at the time, but it is amazing to see how people change and how my eyes were opened :o) My grandparents feel they went wrong somewhere :o) Well, I am off to finish cleaning my house while the hubby is working with my dad :o) Everyone have a great day and wonderful weekend!!

Sorry my posts have been so sporatic... hubby has been working from home and hogs the computer so I have to wait for him to finish his time on it then by the time I get around to it I do not want to do anything :o) Things have been pretty quiet. Hubby has been working on his business plan and hopes to have some friends of his look it over and help him out with him starting his own business. He is really excited about working for himself, it is just the startup cost that is getting to us. He has a lot of connections to people around here and has a lot of friends with connections so it should not be too hard to bring in business... now it is a matter of $$ and time management.
For the most part I love having my hubby around the house... other times he upsets my daily routine and drives me NUTS!!! I tend to get a little crabby while I am cleaning... I like to get it done. Not stopping to do something else, not taking a break... just like to get in there and get it done and do NOT like to be interupted.... well, hubby LOVES to take breaks to check E mail, to play on the PS2, comes over to me to get hugs and kisses, etc... I do not mind that he does these things but I HATE it when he expects me to do the same... it is really ANNOYING. I am one that likes to lock myself in the bathroom or whatever room I am in, and clean it from top to bottom with no interruptions, no breaks or anything else, just get it done and over with.. and when hubby starts begging for attention I tend to get crabby and pissy. For some reason he thinks that I need to devote my time to him... well, I do not have the time to devote to him when I am cleaning or whatever whenever he wants it... REALLY ANNOYING!!! WHY WHY WHY??? we could be sitting on the couch together watching television and I decide to go and get something done around the house.... then all of a sudden there he is wanting attention. complaining that I never pay any attention to him... WHAT????? We were just sitting together and all of a sudden I do not pay attention to you??? UGH!!! MEN!! :oS Then he gets angry with me for getting grumpy and wanting to get something done around the house!! OK I am done :o) Just men... they are sooo strange :o)

The kids are getting really excited about Christmas. All the presents are under the tree, all the stocking are full.... so now it is the waiting... :o) This is a thought for some of you.... A friend of mine told me about a tradition that she does with her kids and since then it has been something that we do with our kids....On Christmas eve we bake a cake. We celebrate Jesus' birthday and we discuss the TRUE meaning of Christmas. It is something really cool that we really enjoy. Sometimes, Christmas gets so lost that we lose the true meaning of it and it is awesome to remember that on Christmas eve and to talk to the kids about it. They are so caught up in their presents and everything else that they lose sight of the true meaning... so it is nice to remind them and celebrate it. My best friend did it with her niece and nephew last year and they loved it too... just a cool little thing to do, and you get to eat cake :o)

On another note... a friend of mine that is a first grade teacher had a little girl in her class last year that had Leukemia... they had a bone marrow drive a few months ago to try and find a match for her, turns out her brother was a close match and they did a bone marrow transplant.... well, the other night she passed away... my friend is really upset, she was close to this little girl and her family and was devestated that she has passed away... then a girlfriend of mine that is a director at a daycare called me and told me about a girl that we were friends with in school had her kids taken away for malnutrition, the 2 kids were in foster care and the courts decided to take the kids away for good and the foster parents decided to adopt the children, well, the girl ends up pregnant AGAIN and the courts were going to take that baby away after she had it.... that was about 6 months ago... the foster parents were pregnant and decided that they could not handle having 2 babies at the same time plus 2 others and declined taking the baby that the girl was pregnant with....they were going through the processes of adoption (which has been quite a process) and yesterday they went back to court and the judge ordered the kids be given back to the girl since she now had a job and an apartment.... how screwed up is that??? The bio mother has not seen her kids in quite a while... at least 6 months, the kids are happy and healthy where they are and all of a sudden because the girl has a job and an apartment she is able to care for these kids? Not to forget the fact that she has a third that is due any day now... what is wrong with this picture? Because she has a job and an apartment.... that does NOT make her a fit mother... heck, her kids were taken away because she was not FEEDING them... how basic is that??? But, I guess because she has a job and an apartment she is all of a sudden an able parent.... and of course the fathers to these children are not around... the one that fathered the older 2 is in jail... wow, what a great roll model, and goodness only knows where the other father is.... sucks... I am sure that she is living on the welfare system sucking it dry.... UGH... ok, I am done now.... just amazing how things turn out...

Thank God!!!!! Saddam Hussein has been captured!!! I was reading my book this morning when my mom called and told me that he was captured... of course we turned on the TV to see what was being said about it... what a nasty, horrible man he is...Our troops are the best, congrats to you for catching this evil man!!! As for you stupid democrats....YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD THE BALLS TO TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS!!!!!! Congrats to you, also, Mr. President for being persistent and not giving up. But, I have to say that most of the thanks goes to the troops... God Bless you all and CONGRATUALTIONS!!!!

I read in the news yesterday that the US is banning countries that did not help with the Iraq situation... and I have to say GOOD JOB!!!! It is about time that we stood up to the countries that want, want, want... but do not want to help in return!! They oppose the war with Iraq but want to be part of its rebuilding?? What sense does that make other than for their own profit and it is about time we put our foot down and say NO!!


This is something that I have recieved via email several times and really think that it is worty of posting...... Thank you to all our armed forces for doing what you do for us....

Twas the Night Before Christmas

TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.

I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.

I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF A FAR DISTANT LAND.

WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.

THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
HIS FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.

WAS THIS THE HERO OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.

SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.

I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
"SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY COUNTRY, MY CORPS."

THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.

I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, "CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE."
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
"MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND, AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT."

This poem was written by a Marine stationed in Okinawa Japan.

And for others here is a link that one of my girlfriends sent to me... it is a neat page...

The Rams won... how awesome is that?? We have our playoff position and that is GREAT!!! It was a rough game, which really surprises me!!! We should have been able to beat them easily. Aeneas Williams is an INCREDIBLE player and a lot of kudos goes to him!!!! There were 2 absolutely HORRIBLE calls by the refs last night. The one man needs to go away, and needs to go away NOW!!!! One of the crappy calls he made cost us a touchdown. The other one did not hurt us all that bad but it flat out sucks that those are plays that cannot be challenged. We did hurt 3 of their guys, which was strange. Especially since the Rams are not out to hurt people.... most of the teams in the NFL outweigh our guys by 100 lbs... so to see that we did that sort of damage is strange. The Defense had issues with holding them, and if it were not for Williams and his touchdown and for the interception we could have lost that game! Bulger did a better job of not giving the ball away :o) Which is a relief :o) It was a good game all the same and I am EXTREMELY happy that we have made it to the playoffs.
My cousin is FINALLY home!!! She did sign up for the reserves for a year, which really surprised a lot of us. When I talked to my aunt she was really going back and forth on what she was going to do. She does not know if she can hack it as a "civilian" and she feels sort of like she deserted her friends in Iraq. Especially her boyfriend. He called her about a week ago and told her that there was a road side bomb and that it got the truck in front of him and that there were people shooting at him, they busted the windshield, and there were a lot of bullet holes in the side of his truck but he did manage to escape any injury... the person in front of him was not so lucky. Needless to say she is rather upset by everything, especially with him still there and going to be there til April. From the way it sounds her boyfriend is going to move to MO after he is done with his time. It is going to take some getting used to with my family since her boyfriend is black... but frankly, I am happy for her. She loves him and he loves her and took care of her in Iraq, takes good care of her... I cannot say that I could ask for more! I am happy to have my cousin home and if she decides she wants to marry this guy... more power to her, I am happy for her :o) Of course the rest of my family is not as happy about it, my grandparents and I talked about it for a time and they were surpirsed by my answer, they thought that I would be upset about it....I think that they will come around and I think that they will accept her no matter what... it will just take time :o) I have a SIL that married a black man... I LOVE him to death and her marriage has lasted longer than either one of my Father In Laws or Mother In Laws... plus I have a beautiful niece and nephew :o)
OK, I am off... everyone take care!!! :o)

This is something a friend sent me.... it is usual pass it along Email stuff... but it really does make you think :o)

Read Each One Carefully and Think About It a Second or Two



1. No man or woman is worth your tears, and the one who is, won't make you cry.
2. Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
3. A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart.
4. The worst way to miss someone is to be sitting right beside them knowing you can't have them.
5. Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.
6. To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.
7. Don't waste your time on a man/woman, who isn't willing to waste their time on you.
8. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the person, we will know how to be grateful.
9. Don't cry because it is over, smile because it happened.
10. There's always going to be people that hurt you so what you have to do is keep on trusting and just be more careful about who you trust next time around.
11. Make yourself a better person and know who you are before you try and know someone else and expect them to know you.
12. Don't try so hard, the best things come when you least expect them to.
13.Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll still land among the stars.
14.Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark; professionals built the Titanic!
15.When you were born, everyone around you was smiling and you were crying. Live your life so that when you die, you're smiling and everyone around you is crying

My baby boy had to go back to the doctor on Friday for his second flu shot... then on Saturday he comes down with CROUP AGAIN... I am thinking that the flu shot is a BAD idea!!! He was not really bad on Saturday which is a good thing and he was doing pretty good yesterday but today has been pretty bad and I am sure that I am in for another sleepless night. Hubby called the doctor for me last night because of it and he said that 1 in 20 kids get sick from the flu shot and since he is sick he is prone to get croup... gee thanks... We did the usual treatments of hot steamy bathroom and alternated it with the cold air outside and had the cool mist humidifier close by his bed and a pillow to prop him up on... That helps him temporarily but it is just horrible to hear how my poor baby has to breathe!!!! I am thinking that is the end of flu shots for my baby!! There is no medicine for it, just pure misery, unless they get so bad that they have to have a steroid treatment or the other treatment. UGH!! Ok, that is enough of the complaining. :o)
My grandpa invited me to go to the Sunset Hills Christmas party with him on Friday night and since my best friend had no plans for her birthday that night I decided to go with him. It has been a LONG time since I have been out on a date with my grandpa and I LOVED it :o) When I was a little kid we did everything together, baseball games (LOTS of those), zoo, museums and much much more. I have always been his favorite and have always been the only one of the grandkids to go do things with him, so I was really excited that he invited me to go along with him... just like old times, the only change being I was the one to drive and he was the passenger :o) It was at the Country Club in Sunset Hills, it was beautifully decorated with lots and lots of food and an open bar. We were big partiers... he had an O"douls and I had soda :o) The age group was a lot older than I was but the conversation was good. I met the mayor and several of the Alderman's for Sunset Hills and for Crestwood, met a man that builds million dollar homes, the Chief of Police and Lieutant and just lots of really nice people. Of course most of that area is Democratic so I had to bite my tongue being that I do not agree with many issues and being that my grandpa is also democratic :o) It was really great and I loved spending the time with him.
On Saturday was my aunts 50th surprise party and that was a HUGE FLOP. My other aunt is rather preturbed at my other aunts hubby for dropping the ball on the whole thing. He was supposed to get my aunts friends to come to the party and NONE of them showed up. Some saying they had NO idea about the party and others having other things to do. Since he did not tell them til a couple of days before the party. Needless to say it was a sad situation. She got a guitar for her birthday and was rather dramatic about the whole situation. Oh, well :o)
Sunday was rather uneventful, we put up the tree, finally, and decorated and rearranged some furniture to fit the stupid thing in the house. My hubby and his Christmas tree :o) Presents are wrapped and under the tree and I am pretty much done :o) The family has decided that our house would be the preffered house to have Christmas at this year, so I am going to have to do some other rearranging to fit another 25 people in here for Christmas day, we will be cozy, but I am rather excited about it :o) I love having parties and having family here so it will be a lot of fun... and that means that I do not have to travel on Christmas day :o) Whoo hoooo!!!
Tonight is the RAMS/browns game.... I am soooo excited!!! ROOT FOR THE RAMS!!!! :o)

Last night hubby and I went to the much awaited Hockey game!! Blues vs. Redwings!!!! We had AWESOME seats and the game was incredible!!! I ended up wearing beer on my butt in the first period from the girl sitting next to me, other than that it was just an awesome game. I absolutely loved it and would Love to have season tickets to them. I was really hoping that the Blues would win this game... but they did the second best thing and tied them. There was only one memorable fight but that is ok, it was close enough to see and I did add pics of it to my pics area. You can also see how awesome out seats were. The only thing that sucked about our seats was we could not see down to the other end. But it was awesome when they were right in front of us. For some reason Blues players do not like Chelios... #24 on the Redwings team... they were constantly screaming "Chelios YOU SUCK" Not quite sure why... but whatever :o) The fans also really dislike the Ref Fraser. He is a stupid ref if you ask me. He does not wear a helmet and he makes shitty calls. Or LACK of calls. Of course 2 of my all time fav players were there. They are on the Redwings team but that is ok. Brett Hull and Brendan Shannahan. CUJO did not play but that is ok :o) It was still an awesome game and I was just happy to be there!!! Hope you all have a great day!!!!!

Well, we decided to leave on Wednesday instead of on Thanksgiving to allow a little more time with the family. We left around 2 in the afternoon, we knew it would be a long hard trip but did not anticipate our beginning... we almost turned around and came home and said to heck with it! We did not manage to get out of town for another hour. The kids were hungry so we had an early dinner, which was fine, the laptop we took for the kids to watch movies on was screwed up so we did not have a tv on the way down, which actually was not as bad as we had thought it was going to be. My youngest daughter stuck a sticker in her ear so we had to stop and dig that out (NOT FUN) which I thought we may have to turn around and go to the hospital for that little stunt, but luckily I had a scrapbooking tool that I got it out with... We finally manage to get out of town and stop in Tulsa on our way. My Father in Law lives there and we wanted to stop in and say hi. We arrived there around 11 so we did not stay long. Just long enough to let the kids out to go to the bathroom and visit for a few minutes. My FIL is a wonderful person and I really love him... he is on the eccentric side, but is still wonderful. He told us a few months ago he bought an old Caddilac from an Estate sale and had to show it off... then to top it all off he comes out with this hideous PURPLE felt hat, that he wears when he is DRIVING HIS CADDY.... He is such a goof!!! My SIL was also over there to visit for a while, which was a nice surprise, we did not think that we were going to see her.
We finally get to Texas and hit FOG from the Texas state line all the way to Dallas, which really sucked!! It probably cost us at least an hour, luckily the kids slept the whole way there and we did not have any other issues. We finally arrive at my MIL's at 4:30 in the morning. We visited for a few minutes and finally managed to get a few hours of sleep before our kids were up for the morning. Thanksgiving day was a pretty lazy day for us. We did not do too much, hubby was really tired, as was I and the kids were getting adjusted to their new surroundings, which the baby never did adjust, he was pretty much attached to hubby, I or one of his siblings the whole time. He pretty much had nothing to do with my MIL, SIL or granny, which is very sad, granny wanted to hold him so bad but he would not have any of it. Granny is 91 almost 92 years old and was very confused by everything going on around her. She did not know who we were while we were there. She did not know my hubby at all which really hurt him and of course had no idea who I was or who the kids were. She is a lovely person and I love her a lot. She was so fiesty just a few years ago and to see how much she has deteriorated in such a short amount of time is very sad.
We had hotdogs on Thanksgiving :o) The kids got to open their Christmas presents from my MIL and got to open our presents. Then on Friday my SIL was coming in from Tulsa. She decided to stay and have Thanksgiving with her sons father and son on Thanksgiving and come down on Friday so that we could all have Thanksgiving together. She finally arrived around 6 that evening. We took my BIL out shopping on Friday mid-morning for his Christmas present since we did not know what to get him, he picked out a PS2 game and a controller for his PS2. The stores were not too crowded so that was nice. My hubbies uncle and his girlfriend and his daughter all came over to visit, which was great. I love my hubbies uncle and cousin they are wonderful people. So we finally had Thanksgiving dinner on Friday evening and
it was a great meal. My MIL made the Turkey and the rest of it she ordered in from Boston Market. (I will not leave any negative comments about that issue...) We filled ourselves with lots of food. :o)
Then on Saturday we went out to my MIL's husbands sons house for another THanksgiving dinner. We got to meet 3 of his 5 kids. They all seemed ok. They really did not talk to us, we felt out of place, but that is ok it was an experience and we lived through it. They have a GORGEOUS house out in the country with 75 acres. The kids had a blast playing and loved all the land to run around on. The food was wonderful and we enjoyed being out in the country playing with our kiddos. We left a few hours later and just hung out at my MIL's for the rest of the night and left early Sunday morning. I will post pics of our trip. We had a lot of pics so I will just post some of them. That was about the extent of our trip. We did stop in TUlsa on our way back too and saw my FIL again and he will hopefully be up in a few weeks to visit. He loves to go to the boats and gamble so I am sure that he will enjoy that part of his visit too :o)
I just have to say I am EXTREMELY happy to be home, my kiddos are a lot happier. I LOVE having my bed and having my own home... it is soooo much better than traveling :o)

One last thing... CONGRATS TO KRIS!!!!! She is expecting her third baby... congrats to you sweetie!!!