Hello 2008

A year in review:
I got less sleep in 2007 than I ever thought a person could function on. Anyone who has ever had an infant knows about that magical power to do amazing things on zero sleep that comes over every new parent.
I learned about coupons and bargain shopping. When we switched from a two-income to a one-income family with an extra member, I had to figure out how to stretch the dollar alot further!! I'm still figuring it out.
I also learned about patience as it takes me at least twice as long to do everything as it used to. Just getting the laundry folded and put away is something I have to plan ahead for. When Caelen is napping I have already planned out everything I would like to get done while she's sleeping. I start with the highest priority and work my way down. A great day was when she slept long enough for me to get everything on the list done and actually sit down for a few minutes. I think I had a few of those days......
2007 was less stressful in that having a beautiful baby made me slow down and enjoy every moment.
It's been a social year dispite having an infant. I don't think a week went by without us getting together with friends or family. (Wait, that's not true, we did spend a week alone in Hawaii).
We travelled to Hawaii and Tahoe this past year and have even more trips planned for 2008.
And in 2007 we watched as Grandpa went home to be with the Lord. He will be sorely missed by us all.

A year ahead:
In 2008 we are planning on going to Arizona to visit extended family on Thomas' side in February. We'll be in Kauai in July with Thomas' mom's family. And Colorado with Thomas' Dad's family in Sept or Aug, I can't remember which right now. We're hoping to reinstate Casini Ranch camping this year in the late summer. It will be interesting trying to keep Caelen in the campsite.....
My friend Adria will be having another little boy in February (due the day after my birthday!) and we're so excited to add another child into the mix. Hopefully this year we'll be able to expect another, but with our track record, we'll take it whenever we can get it! :)
I can't wait to watch Caelen go from 1 to 2. I mean, I can wait of course, I don't want to rush it, but I'm so excited for this year and all that it will bring. She's beginning to get some good words and she tries to imitate everything you say. Her best word is Juice, which comes out as "Chuice". I love it. She says, Up Please as "Up bah". and Open as "Oh pah." You kind of have to figure out what she's saying by the context of the situation but she's getting so good at communicating, I know this year will bring a lot of changes for her.

Hopefully we'll be able to stay up long enough to ring in the new year.... or on second thought, hopefully we'll get to bed at a decent hour. Staying up that late is just too much torture these days, and I intend on getting a lot more sleep in 2008!

Saying Goodbye

It's such a bummer that life includes death. My Grandpa is being taken off of the machines that are keeping him alive and given morphine probably right as I write this. My Dad is out in Michigan with his brother, sister and his mom. I'm thankful that Grandpa came around one last time so that his family could spend some time with him and he could see that they were all there for him. I'm thankful for my Dad's sake also.

I thought I'd be OK with it all. When you don't see a family member alot and you know they're sick for awhile, you think you've kind of dealt with the emotions of it. But not until it happens can you really deal with it. I'm not as close to him as his immediate family or as my cousins Logan, Cody and Cameron, but it's still hard, he's still my Grandpa! It's a crying day for sure. I'm sorry him and Caelen never got to meet.

I'll always remember my Grandpa with his funny grin on his face, it was pretty contagious. He was a quiet man when I knew him and a good grandpa. I only got to see him once a year or every other year because we always lived far apart. But he came out for my wedding and I saw him last summer. That's weird that it was the last time I'll have ever seen him.

It's weird that I'll have no more Grandpas.

Please keep the family in your prayers. I love you and I'll miss you Grandpa!

Currently:

At: My parents house
Reading: Power of a Praying Parent
Watching: Love & Respect Video Series
Listening To: Jingle Bellls By Perry Como on TV
Eating: Anything and everything, it's the holidays!
Thinking: About my Dad flying out to Michigan tomorrow
Wishing: It was Christmas Eve
Wanting: Lots of money

Some musings if you will

I'm home alone with the baby who is fast asleep. That's fine with me. She's been sleeping beautifully these past couple of days and my sanity that has been lost for the past year returned in full force with just a couple days of enjoying her long naps and sleeping in in the morning. The best part: she's perfectly well, not sick at all, and very happy! Which makes mama happy. It also let's mama do a few things around the house, so I cleaned up a lot today. The only thing nagging at me is the huge pile of laundry to be put away, but everything else is done and I can begin to relax and enjoy having the house to myself.

My thoughts are often with my parents and my dad's family out in Michigan. My Grandpa has been suffering from ill health for a while and things have just seemed to have gotten worse and worse through a series of unfortunate events. He's now in hospital again and only God knows what will happen tomorrow. It has been incredibly stressful for everyone out there and for my parents who are left to wait for the phone to ring or a text message to come in letting them know what the latest is and if they need to buy a plane ticket. Please pray for them all if you think of it.

I'm sure my blog sounds melencholy, but I'm doing just fine. I'm mellow and happy, but not very talkative so I'll leave you with a picture of Caelen eating her birthday cupcake at Grandma Suzanne's.

Christmas is coming and I'm warm.

holy cow, Christmas is coming! I have three presents under my tree. Two of them are the individual ornaments that I get Thomas and Caelen each Christmas as a tradition. The ornament is either unique to them or represents their year. The other one is a gift I got Thomas back in November. I have two that need to be wrapped and a few things for stocking stuffers. I have no clue what to get anybody else and I have no money with which to purchase the unknown gifts. Ahhhh Christmas.

No worries (Or "No Matters" as my friend's little girl says). It'll get taken care of. It always does somehow.



When you're trying to save money and not running your heater, something funny happens; You aclimate to the cooler temperatures. I've always been someone who runs cold, bundled up when others are hot, but I was in my house the other day in a 3/4 length sleeve in a light cotton material and was very comfortable. When I looked at the thermostat it was 61 degrees in the house. Just a couple days ago I was shopping at Target (not very vigorously mind you) and I had to take my sweatshirt off because I was hot and flushed. Same with dining in Chili's and visiting Starbucks. It's just too warm in these establishments! LOL :)



Caelen is my little copycat these days. She amazes me when she does exaclty what I just did or makes a sound I just made. Like running her toothbrush under the water, putting the sheep on top of the barn, stomping her feet. She's such a good mimicker. She's also climbing all over everything. I think it must be a developmental stage because she couldn't climb on anything just a couple days ago. Last night I was sitting at the dining room table and she was standing next to me and seemed quite a bit taller than usual. When I looked down she was standing on the bottom rung of the chair and pulling herself up on the table! Little monkey.

Going down Grandpa and Grandma's slide