Give Me a Break!!

Today has surely been one of "those" days. I received news about some INSURANCE problem of mine that to be quite honest, felt like a death sentence when I received it. My students were rude, hurtful, and right out mean to my student teacher and because their mine, I feel responsible. A friend of ours found out she has stage 3 cancer. She's a single Mom with two children to raise. AND...the weatherman said it's going to be in the 50's tomorrow with wind and strong storms!!!! Are you kidding me????? Don't ruin my Friday too!

A day for us girls...

Yesterday I got to hang out with a very good "friend". We went shoe shopping and let me tell you, I love shoes but my "friend" was in heaven. After we picked up some new shoes, we went looking for "workout wear". While we were at Academy, my "friend", who by the way has the cutest little body, discovered 2 very adorable swimsuits. After a whole lot of shopping at Academy, she fell a little short at the cash register (she only had $1) but I was happy to pick up the rest of the tab. When we left Academy, I was going the wrong direction and decided to cut through Resthaven Cemetary. Boy...did I make the wrong move! My "friend" decided that the flowers were so beautiful there, she could pick one for a teacher friend of hers. I wouldn't let her but I also learned not to use the cemetary to turn around in.

All that shopping had made us hungry so we called another friend of ours to meet us at Zookini's. The three of us enjoyed a nice dinner and just had "girl talk". You know..the things you do amongst "friends". After we relaxed our feet for a little while at home, my "friend" and I ran to Target and would you believe, she found an outfit there too? As we were leaving Target, we were walking to our car and my "friend" looked UP at me and said...."I love hanging out with you"..little does she know, I can't think of anyone else I enjoy having a girls day with either! I want to share a picture of my friend with you because she is beautiful...inside and out. She is free spirited and loves life and makes me laugh on many occasions. She also keeps me humble and has improved my prayer life because sometimes, she can be a little stubborn. But, all in all, I thank God daily for blessing my life with someone who I know I'll be able to call my "friend" for a very long time.

Spring Break 2007 - A wonderful time!

We have returned from our trip to Cloudcroft. It was absolutely wonderful. Very relaxing, many moments of laughter, and a moment or two of worry just to keep us on our toes.

Our cabin was way more than expected and if anyone ever travels to Cloudcroft I would highly recommend this place. We arrived Saturday evening and withing a few minutes, Clarissa was dancing around, jumping up and down, saying "THIS IS AWESOME" and "I'M SO EXCITED". We drove into town and grabbed a quick dinner and returned to the cabin. Sunday was interesting. The day started out with beautiful sunshine. We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast by Chef Sal and shortly before noon, we had a light mountain shower. The kids enjoyed sledding down the hill that morning before the rain. At noon, Sal went into Cloudcroft (6 miles from the cabin). By 12:15 it was snowing so hard that I couldn't see across the mountain. It was thundering and lightening also. At 1:30, Sal had not returned. Our Explorer is not a 4 wheel drive so I was a bit concerned. I put on my shoes and decided I would take the trecherous walk to the neighbor's house and call the local Sheriff's department to look for him. While I was preparing to leave, I heard Clarissa praying that if "Sal dies, I would be sad. Please don't let him die." Well...that was comforting. Within about 5 minutes, she runs through the cabin yelling "HE'S ALIVE! HE'S ALIVE!". Yes, her Daddy had returned. He couldn't pull the truck into the driveway because it was an incline but nonetheless...he was home! We ended up getting about 3 inches of snow and the kids built a snowman/woman/thing. Monday they predicted more snow and so we just hung out at the cabin and the kids loved playing in the snow.

Tueseday we ventured down the mountain to White Sands. I have always wanted to visit there and must say that I was awestruck from the moment I saw the place. We had so much fun! EVERYONE took part in sledding on Tuesday! We hated to leave to come home but once back, everyone agreed that it was nice to be home. Sal and I realized on the way back that our work places were not mentioned one time while on the trip. How nice to completely get away from it all. I have posted pictures on my Flickr stream and would invite you to share in our wonderful trip. We can't wait for the next opportunity and adventure! Family time is a wonderful time!

And We're Off!

Well, not exactly but today is the day. We've had this trip scheduled for what seems like forever and Spring Break is finally here. We hope to be on the road within the next few hours and then we're off to Cloudcroft. Both kids were awake BEFORE 7:00 this morning. I think they may be a little excited! Well...I must finish packing before Clarissa does it for me! Happy Spring Break!

I am so blessed!

Happy Birthday to me! As I celebrated my 41st birthday today, I have taken a moment tonight to reflect a bit. I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. This morning, right before I turned on my blow dryer, I heard my precious princess say "Happy Birthday Mommy" in a very sleepy voice. It was a wonderful thing to hear. Soon I was met by my son and husband with a present and card. I love them, all three of them, so very much. I went to school and was met with well wishes from my students. They're so cute! I work with such wonderful people. One of my dearest friends gave me the coolest bag with some "girlie goodies" in it! Those of you who know me know how much I LOVE bags and purses. My wonderful sister called me, text messaged me, emailed me, and blessed me with yet another cool present. She is persistent!

Well...during the day, my students CONTINUED to wish me a Happy Birthday, some at very inopportune times but nonetheless, it was sweet. As I was on my way home from work, I received a phone call from my principal and assistant principal, singing Happy Birthday to me. They're so cute! While on the phone with them, my Mom called to tell me that she just couldn't believe her BABY was 41!!! Yeah, well me either but that's how the math plays out!

My day ended with dinner with the family and a friend, who went way out of her comfort zone to join us at a Japanese steakhouse. It was topped off with a surprise cheesecake and singing by the wait staff.

All in all, through all the cards, call, and gifts from friends and family, I realize how very blessed I am. Even though there were those who claim to be so very close to me that I never heard from today, God revealed to me how many wonderful friends I have in my life and how adorable and loving my entire family is.

I can only pray that God will give me at least another 41 years to enjoy this grand 'ole life because I really do have a great one!

Happy Birthday to me!

Time Flies

Well, it has been a while since I last posted. So much has happened since then (I guess that's why it's been a while!). Let's see....Clarissa had her party on the 17th and it was absolutely wonderful. A princess party for a deserving princess. She loved it and so did we! The 20th was TAKS testing and that was quite a day! My last tester finished at 5:05 and considering that we couldn't sit down and had to actively monitor......my feet were KILLING me at that point! I came home and found my happy face because that day was also the day that Clarissa actually turned 6. We took her to O'hana Japanese Steak House for dinner and we all had a ball. Unfortunately, on that day, my parents lost someone very dear to them.....their dog Shorty. He had been a member of our family for 15 years and helped my parents through the death of my brother, my Mom's cancer diagnosis, my Dad's heart problems, not to mention, he helped them welcome the birth of my two children and three great-grandsons. It has been a very sad time for them and in turn for me. I didn't tell Jonathon and Clarissa until the 21st and Jonathon took it very hard. Clarissa has been asking a whole lot of questions about death and tells me that she doesn't want to die. I know it's a scary thing to understand at the ripe old age of 6. Jonathon had a gymnastics meet this past Saturday and I am proud to report that he brought home a silver and two bronze medals. I am so proud of him. I love watching him compete and my heart swells when I see him on the medals stand. We have now started a new week and tomorrow is already Wednesday! Wow.....where does the time go?

All I know is.....I have ELEVEN days until my family along with my Sister and nephew embark on a vacation together to the mountains. I can't wait. We plan on doing absolutely nothing that requires much thought! Her life is extremely busy as a successful business owner and I will have probably received our TAKS scores back right before we leave and God knows...I'm sure to need a vacation after that news! Not to mention....sometime in the next 11 days, this ole' gal will turn 41! I remember when that seemed so old! All I can say is.......time flies!

February 13, 2001

Wow! It is so hard to believe that it's been six years! Six years ago today my husband walked into my office and shared some news with me that changed my life forever. Now, please know that at the time, it was the busiest day at my office that we had had in five years. We were going through a NATIONAL audit and I was extremely stressed. He strolled in and said "Let's go to lunch". I thought he'd lost his mind! I snapped (as I'm sure you can imagine) that I was too busy to go to lunch. He soon got a very serious look on his face and said "THEY CALLED". They? I didn't have a clue who he was talking about. He said it again and stared deep into my eyes. "They???? You mean....the baby?" Yes, the baby. Jonathon had been praying for TWO years for a sister and now the adoption agency had called! Sal said the birthmom THOUGHT it was a girl and I said I KNOW it is. "So when is she due" I asked. Sal replied, the 27th. Still not all together, I asked the 27th of what? He said THIS 27th. My head felt like a tornado was in it. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! We were expecting a baby in TWO weeks! Well, those of you that know the rest of the story know that our little gift came ONE week later!

I'll never forget going online that very evening to purchase her bedding - even though we didn't have a nursery put together. I wanted the "girliest" thing possible and found it. White eyelet with BIG pink satin bows. We already had a name because her brother had told us what it would be....Clarissa Faith. There was so much to do to prepare for her that I really had no idea where to start. All I know is, I did good to function.

The week that followed included meeting her birthmom. We drove to Abilene and had lunch with Cristina at the Spaghetti warehouse. I felt so grateful to her but had such a sadness for her. She had lived such a hard life. I remember leaving Abilene and praying to God to protect my baby. MY baby.....wow! No one knows what it is like to adopt unless you've been there. My baby...I was driving away and leaving my baby in another woman's womb and trusting her, whom I didn't even know, to give her life. Truthfully, it is an emotional rollercoaster that is not for the weak of heart but it is worth the ride!

When we returned home, we finally told Jonathon (this was on a Friday). He couldn't wait! We finished out the week trying to take care of things at work and then with rocket speed, prepare our home for our new daughter. Well, the week went by quickly and sure enough she came early.

As I reflect back, since that time, I have always seen February 13 as a special day. It is the day that my life was changed forever. I think about where God has taken us during these last 6 years. Clarissa.....what a blessing it is being her Mom. She makes me laugh, cry, pray, and watch in awe as she develops into her own little person. Has it been an easy six years? Absolutely not! Would I trade it? Absolutely not! I often joke that my laundry hasn't been caught up since that day in February 2001 when they called us and my life went into a whirlwind. Well, tonight it is still in piles but she is growing up, right before my eyes, and one of these days.....I'll get to the laundry. Until then.....I'll continue to thank God for that call that came 6 years ago today and for Cristina, who saw in us, what she wanted for this little girl.