Thankful Thursday: Building A Family!

Today and Everyday, 

I am Most Thankful for this Family we have built . . . 

 We are so Blessed to have our 4 Great Kids!

I look at them with Awe and Amazement!

 Plus our 2 Wonderful Daughter in Laws!

I am my most happy when we are all together!

 And to think It all started with a Blind Date 

that led to a Wedding;

 And we're still going strong! 

I Love Us! I Love Our Family!

BFF's

 We moved into the house we're in right before my girls started Kindergarten.  At our Church they met Maddie & her younger sister Morgan, and they became fast friends! Their Mom, Tammy and I became friends as well. We spent many afternoons poolside and on outings with our girls. Tammy & I ran a Mom's Group together at the Church. Our kids never went to the same school, and even after we no longer went to the same Church, we stayed close . . .

 

I love this pic of the little cuties!

 Here they are a little bit older.

It's great when you can be friends with your kids' friends parents! We all love hanging out together! Our families enjoy getting together. Over the years we all have spent countless Holiday's together, every Halloween & New Year's Eve among them!

 Ringing in a New Year Together

 Us at Maddie's "Sweet 16"

 One of the MANY Dance Concerts we all went to! 

Girls supporting each other, become Women who support each other!!

 Beautiful Girls and their first Prom! 

It's also great when you find "Couple Friends!" Too many times, you'll meet someone you might like to hang out with, but the husbands might not get along, or vise-versa. But, thankfully that's not the case here.

At our oldest Son's Wedding! 

 Daddy/Daughter Diamondbacks Date!

 Happy Birthday to me! 

Happy Birthday to her!

 Tammy and I do have some things in common; Besides raising Brilliant and Beautiful Daughters! :) We Both love Reality T.V., especially American Idol! And could Fan Girl with the best of them! And we Love Movies, and have seen too many together to count! And have stood in line for Twilight and Hunger Games tickets while our girls were in school! Yeah, we're the "Cool Moms!" Though like all Friendships, we've had to overcome some hardships; namely She Doesn't Like To Read! (I know, right?!) Yet, she will ask me what I'm reading and listen intently as I talk nonstop about Books! Now that's a true friend!

Here we are waiting for one of the Twilight Premiers to begin!

Here's Tammy having her Favorite American Idol, Danny Gokey, sign her Boob! :0

(Okay, it was really her VIP Name Tag, but what are friends for if not to tease you?!)

We really do Sparkle!! 

As do our girls! 

Jay taking the girls out 4 wheeling! 

So, why the Blog Post talking about our 13 year Friendship? Because as long as we've known Jay & Tammy, Maddie & Morgan, they have talked about a dream they have to live on a tropical island. Now a lot of people dream of leaving the daily grind and living on a Beach somewhere, but who really does that? Well, they sold their big house and their boat. Rented a smaller house the past few years till Maddie Graduated from High School. They sold just about everything they had, and actually did it! Yes, our good friends have moved to Aruba! 

 Hanging out together before they leave!

 

 These four little girls are so grown up now!

We are so Happy and Thrilled for them, but we are sad for us. We text (or Facebook Message) and Facetime, but It's hard not seeing them all the time. My boys used to house sit for them whenever they went away. We have dog sat each others pets. Shared Birthday's and Holiday's. Gone to each others School Events. After they shipped what they were moving with them & sold everything else, we had them over for dinner once a week. I've always loved their big square dinning room table that seats 8. Our little table sat just 6, and with us adding 2 Daughter in Laws, we'd have to squeeze around it. Well, that big beautiful table is now ours! We think of them every time we sit at it!

 Dinner in the Square!

 Our last time together in their empty house

The Amazingly good news is that we will always have a place to stay on Aruba! :) It's been a huge undertaking to move out of the country. If you'd like you can follow along on their adventures and learn the ins and outs, and all the things you'd never think of, with a move of this kind on Tammy's Blog. Z Island Life. And we can all live vicariously through them together!

 Just hang up the phone! ;)

 Just don't forget where you came from!

So, now I guess I'll be taking applications for a new Best Friend! :)

A Daddy Of A Day!

My husband and I we're both extremely Blessed in the Dad department. Two Good Men! Two Great Grandfathers to our kids! Unfortunately, they both celebrated Father's Day in Heaven. We Miss them and Love them so much . . .

 My Dad taught me the importance of Working Hard & Playing Hard! And Loving Hard!! Thanks for being the Man you were to all of us.

 

My husband has often said, regarding his Father "I am who I am because of the influence you were in my life."

And It has been one of my greatest joys in life watching this man of mine become the Father that he is! He is the best Dad our kids could ever have!

Here in Arizona we are having record breaking heat! As you can see in the above photo it was 123' degrees in the car. On Fathers Day, the actual temperature was 118'!

 We had a cookout & swim party at our Daughter-In-Law's parents house! You can't be outside here right now, unless you're in the water! I call the above pic, taken on Father's Day; Enjoying the "Donkey Days" of Summer! ;) I hope you enjoyed your day as well and that all the Dad's out there felt appreciated! Happy Father's Day!

Merry And Bright!

2015

A Year of Grace 

And for us, a Year for Change. For starters, John has switched careers. Yes. Though he is still involved in Worship & playing music in Church, it is no longer his full time vocation. He is now a Chaplain with a Hospice company. Having gone through the end of life with family members, we know the importance of encouragement at that time. And Bonus, we are Blessed to once again have Health Insurance due to his job! He continues to love to cook and try new dishes. And I love to be wined & dined, so it's a Win Win situation! :) We took a trip this Summer to visit John's Sister & her Family in Lake Havasu City and had a Great time!

And since we are no longer employed by a Church, I began to look for Ministry opportunities in other ways & places, and I now volunteer at least once every month with Dress for Success. A great organization that helps underprivileged women get back on their feet. I really love that it is Women empowering Women! I am still working as an Area Merchandiser for Vanity Fair Brands. I also started a Book Club along with my Nieces, Daughters & Daughter in Law. We call it BookFinks BookClub! It has been fun to pass along my love of Reading to the next Generation! And anyone can join, you don't have to be a family member. So, join us anytime!

Kyle, our oldest, has been married for just over a year to Katie, who just fits right in with our Family! They are a hard working, fun loving couple. They live in Tempe, Arizona, so we get to see them on a regular basis. They love to travel and have two cute Dachshund Puppies (or Wiener Dogs) Kyle is a Barista and has recently picked up a second job as well, and Katie is a Nurse at Phoenix Children's Hospital. They are both involved with Leading Worship as well. In September they drove me to Las Vegas to reunite with some of my Cousins. It was great to see them. 

Zach has had an Epic Year! In May he Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences! He then moved up to Northern Arizona for an Internship with the Arizona Department of Game & Fish, they are working on making his Internship position permanent. He is also working at an exclusive Resort. And just last month he got Married!! Kendra & Zach had been dating for over three years, so she's been part of the Family for quite some time. She's a sweet girl, and teaches Preschool. They Lead Worship at their Church as well. It's about a 5 hour drive to where they live in Page, AZ so we don't get to see them now as much as we'd like. People are putting wagers on which of our sons will give us our first Grandchild. ;) So stay tuned! :) 

Believe it or not, our girls are High School Seniors this year. I can't believe it myself! Help! I am not ready for my nest to be empty! In October they turned 18! How did they get older and I didn't?! The three of us have been Vegetarians now, for over a year. So if you're wondering Where's The Beef? It ain't here! Erica is in the Top 3% of her Graduating Class! In January she started her first job at a Boutique called Apricot Lane. Within 4 months she was promoted to a Key Holder. She plans on becoming a Sign Language Interpreter. And believe me, what she decides, she makes happen! 

Lexi is in Cosmetology School, even while going to High School. She continues to play the Flute and was in Leadership in her schools Marching Band all 4 years of High School. She just got her first job at Bath & Body Works. And every time I go in there (which if you know me, you know that's a lot!) I've have one of the Managers tell me what a great job she's doing, or how they wish all their new employees were as good as she is. I said "Well, I can't raise everybody!" Haha!! 

We have truly been Blessed. And are so Proud of each of our Kids. And it's exciting to watch our Family grow with the addition of our two new Daughter in Laws and all they bring with them. Our Dog's Tinkerbell & Luna continue to add Joy to our Lives. We're Thankful for good Health & Jobs we enjoy. For Friends and Family to Celebrate the good times & help us through the tough times. God has truly shown His Grace towards us. And we Pray Health & Happiness throughout the New Year for you and yours. 

So, from Our Family to Yours . . . 

 

 

 

A Very Merry Christmas

And 

A Happy New Year!

Thankful Thursday: Family Traditions

 

I have a Tradition here on The Blog, where every Thursday during the month of November, I talk about something I'm Thankful for! There is so much to be Thankful for, when we take the time to stop and reflect. And It's got me thinking about other Traditions we do . . .

 

When you Marry someone & become a new Family, you have to take Traditions from both of your Families & combine them together. And then it's fun, as you become a Couple, and then Parents, to come up with some Traditions of your own!

 

Some of my Favorite Family Traditions happen around Holiday's; Since our Children were little, for Valentines Day, we would have a "Fancy" Family Dinner together, complete with Candle Light, & Give Sweet little gifts (John & I would save our Valentines Date Night for another day, to spend Valentines with our kids) and our kids always look forward to it! For Birthdays, we might not have always had a lot of money to spend on big gifts or party's, but we always made it special! I've always thought the biggest responsibility of Parenthood, was to create Great Memories for your Children! There are Fireworks on the 4th of July! And Carving Pumpkins in the Fall! And on Thanksgiving, we have certain foods we Have to have, or it's just not Thanksgiving! :) And I like to go around the table and tell what we're Thankful For! And then, getting up really early on Black Friday to go Shopping is so much fun, and the perfect way to start off the Christmas Season. 

We have a lot of Christmas Family Traditions: Decorating! Baking Cookies, using my Mom's Recipe! Watching Christmas Movies as a Family! Looking at Christmas Lights! Reading The Christmas Story out of The Bible on Christmas Morning! And my Favorite Christmas Family Tradition is that for every year, since my Children we're born, we have had our kids' picture taken with Santa Clause! I have 2 Photo Albums full of the Photo's. It's so much fun to look back through all the years of pictures! And the miraculous thing is my kids still do it! That's right, they are now 18 - 25 years old & every year we still go, to keep up the tradition, and get our picture taken with Santa! My Heart is as full as these Photo Albums! What are your Favorite Family Traditions?