Monday, November 26, 2012

Maybe the Myans Were Right!

 

At the beginning of this year I did a Blog Post; It's The End Of The World As We Know It! Looking ahead into the year of 2012. Since the Mayan Calender supposedly ends in mid December, people have speculated it means the end of the World. Now as the end of this year is fast approaching, I'm looking back on this year & thinking maybe the Mayans were right! Or should be! 

This has undoubtedly been the toughest year of our lives. It started with me loosing my Mother in March. Now both of my parents are in Heaven, along with my only Sister & her husband. Four very important people in my life. I miss them all the time. 

Financially this has been the toughest year for us as well. I am working more hours than I have EVER worked in my life, at the most stressful job I've ever had. My Husband is working Two Part Time Jobs. The past several years he has been helping out Churches that really need us, but in this economy can't really afford us. (Hence the Part Time) But with working outside jobs, we can't really get plugged in & become part of any of the Churches. That's not what were used to, or how we like it. We want a Church were our entire family can be involved. Where we can have Friends & be a part of each others lives. That just can't happen right now.

For years we have talked about our 25th Wedding Anniversary. We planned to renew our Wedding Vows and have our kids stand up with us. We talked about the kind of dresses the girls would get, etc. My Mom left me her original Wedding Rings & I was planning on having her original diamond & mine set in a new setting. And at the beginning of this year we had the money we could have done it. But life happened, or literally, cars happened to us. My Sons truck blew & was no longer drivable. My Husbands car had a lot of things go wrong with it. My other son bought his first car & then has had some things need fixing in it. We were given a car, which 1st son now drives & has had a lot go wrong with. Even leaving us all stranded in the middle of the desert, where thankfully a stranger stopped & gave us a ride into town. Even my car has broken down. After having it fixed, my husband goes to pick it up & finds it undrivable. Apparently, putting it up on the lift, shot out all 4 shocks, which just added to the cost of having it fixed. It was dropped of at my place of work after being fixed again & on my way home, the check engine light came back on! (are you kidding me!) The shocks had been replaced, but not the casing they were in, so now every time I hit even the smallest bump, it makes a loud noise! At least 3 of the 4 cars Check Engine Lights are on at all times. And no matter how many times they get fixed, or how much money we put in to them, it's never really fixed.  It is so frustrating & has taken all our money. So needless to say, there was no Vow renewal this year. It broke my heart. But We still Celebrated. My Husband made it very special, and maybe we'll do the Vow renewal at 30 years. My girls will be 20 by then. Yikes!

There has been many months this year that bills got paid late or not at all. But we have a Friend who says "If Money Can Solve It, It's Not A Real Problem." :) And though it adds MUCH stress, money is the least of our worries. I've also been battling some Health problems. Changing jobs, meant no Health Insurance for quite a few months. And as soon as I lost mine, I broke & lost a filling in a tooth, dealing with a small, throbbing pain in my mouth. I've had female issues to deal with. And on top of everything in July I started breaking out in Hives. That persist. We are now trying to figure out if they are from an Allergic reaction, (to who knows what) from Stress, or something more serious. I look & feel terrible most of the time. I'd post pictures, but I'm much to vain for that! :)

And this year, a few of our kids have faced some very tough situations, that have sent our Family into Crisis mode. There is nothing worse than watching your kids go through things. This year more than any other, John & I were up, not able to sleep many nights, worrying about & praying for our kids. There have been times we've been unable even to eat. (Which says a lot, since we love to eat!) :) Through it all it has brought us all closer to each other. We really do have the best kids & are so proud of them & love them more than life itself! Our oldest son received his Associates Degree in May & our second son will receive his Associates in December. They now have proof of what I've ALWAYS known, that they are much smarter than I am! :)

So, you see, all & all, after the year we've had, I'd probably be okay with the world ending! :) This being the first Holiday's with out my Mom, I'd like to just skip Christmas all together, (I am thankful that my kids are old enough to understand financial matters & to realize why this isn't going to be a "normal" Christmas for us) And go right to the New Year! Forever the Optimist, as I look forward, I'm dusting off my Highest Hopes that 2013 will be a MUCH better year for Team Forbis!



Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thankful Thursday: Family

Today I am Thankful for our Families!


 Siblings become our first Friends!
Our protectors.


Friends come & go, but,
You can always depend on Family.


They will laugh with you, 
cry with you, 
disagree with you, when you need it!


They might fight with you from time to time, 
But they will Always fight FOR you as well!


Family is the Heart of the Home!


Today is our first Thanksgiving without my Mom. 
It will be tough.
But We will forever be Thankful we have our Families! 
We would not be who we are without them. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your Family!

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Turning 21!

My Baby Boy, Zach
 

Turns 21 today!


 He was such an inquisitive boy.


We've learned as he learned!


So proud of the Man he is becoming!


 Happy 21st Birthday Zach!

He is spending his the weekend up north with his Girlfriend, Kendra, 
who also has her Birthday this weekend. :)
Hope they are having a wonderful time.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Breaking Dawn Part 2


My Daughters & I were so excited, 
the day was fast approaching! 


We bought our Tickets early! 


We watched all 4 Movies leading up to it! 


I arrived about 1 in the afternoon, got a spot in line close to the front!
(With a good book in hand of course!)
Friends & Family Members came through out the day to hang out.


Look close: there are 3 people in line behind me, sleeping under there! :) 


 My Friend & fellow Twilight fan, Angie, 
who was celebrating her Birthday, met us in line.
And brought Team Edward & Team Jacob Cupcakes! Yummy!


You can't see it since it was dark in the Theater, 
but there are 8 of us sitting together!
Then there were 6 others in another row!


Yeah, what can I say, it's a Family thing! :)


There is a shocking Twist in the Movie that is not in the Book! You wont believe it's happening. It's only later that you realize how Brilliant it was! It really is a good Movie . . . The last of the Saga.  And the Moral of the story is: Change Your Decisions, Change Your Future! 


See here, for us, How it all started! Then came the Midnight Premiers! But, it didn't stop there: oh no, We took our adventure on the road! Yes we are Twihards! :) And it continued with Breaking Dawn Part 1! It's kind of sad that its over now! It's been fun & we will always have these great memories of doing this together. Not to mention we still have The Hunger Games (& who knows what the next craze will be!) Stay tuned! :)

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Thankful Thursday: My Family


I am Beyond Thankful for my Family. 
They mean the World to me! 
They are my World!


I am truly Blessed with a Loving and Supportive Husband. 
We've now been married for 25 years!


 I have four Amazing Kids, 
I am so honored and proud to be their Mother. 


For them I am truly Thankful.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Playing Dress Up!

Hope everyone had a fun & safe Halloween. 
It's always fun to play dress up! 


I got to go to work at the Credit Union dressed as Katy Perry! 
With Blue Hair & False Eye Lashes . . . 


& a Smurfette (Whom K.P. did the voice of in the Smurf Movie) T-shirt,
a few older people thought I was dressed as a Smurf, which is okay, 
but when an older person knew I was Katy Perry it made my day!


Katy Perry meet Taylor Swift:
Life Lesson we learned is
It takes a Village to get all of Erica's hair up under a wig!


But, it was worth it, 
she won best costume at her Glee Club's Halloween Party!


Lexi was Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games!
And She "Volunteers as Tribute!"


We hung out with some friends;
Ashley is a Pink Lady! (And you know how I love my Grease!)
Maddie was a Toddler in Tiara! 
So cute & such a great idea!


John, who's not much for playing dress up even got in on the act
He used Kyle's Captain Jake Sparrow costume for work! 
It was a fun day all around! 
And we'll all be eating candy for awhile! :)