Country Questions

Ok I was reading (ok trolling) on the Internet and came across the fact that September 15, is the Independence day of Guatemala. It got me thinking should I bring this up with Kiley? Should we bring the flag up and talk about it? So my dear friends any opinions?

Technology

Ok so I have been trying to update but my darn computer keeps kicking me off. it is so frustrating. Ok anyways, things are good on this front. Tonight we will meet Kiley's new teacher. It should be great. I hope it is not too premature but I have been invited to go to Guatemala on a mission trip with my good friend's church group. I am so super excited. They are also planning to go to Africa sometime next year. How cool is that. I am right there folks right there. So much for the long updates. Lots of love.

Welcome Back Potter

Alright so I have been MIA. I have been extremly busy. For starters I became involved in Christ Renew His Parrish at my church. Specifically, I became the lay director. This involved a six month commitment of at least 8 hours a week. Let me tell you it was a very healing time for me. It helped me be a better person. Ok at least try to be. I am learning to heal. It is so cool. Anyways, my tour of duty has ended per say. I am with the group until the new lay director is discern. So I am back. I am back to twittering, back to blogging.
Now I know you want to know about Ms. K. She is wonderful. She is growing up so much. She is bilingual. Makes my heart flutter. She is attending catholic school two blocks from my office. Whoo Whoo. She is not to crazy about it as it just started. I am hoping she will change. If not we have a back up. No worries. Here is a pic.

act your age not your shoe size

I have given in. I totally admit I am a follower of crazy trends. From wearing a pink swatch, puffy bangs in the eighties to now....a twitter account. I know what in the world am I doing with a twitter account. In my defense I am a follower of meet the press so there. :0) Honestly, it just seems like fun. So come on along and follow me. Peer pressure peer pressure... So I had this great post, it was funny, it was sweet it deserved the Nobel peace prize..but alas for some reason I hit the delete button. Where does that leave us. Unfortunately with bad news. My good friend Sharon's young 18 year old son, Matt passed away this weekend. I am really sad and hurt for Sharon and her family. Please keep them in your thoughts. On a happier note here is a video of Mrs. K. She did not want to take her medicine. We thought it was so funny.

Flu

The flu has hit our home full force. With that being said, let me tell you that the Flu has nothing on Kiley. It is like a speed bump to her. Now Brad, poor guy he is walking around like a Zommbie. I wanted to take his picture but he absotulely refused.
Ok so I am a little frustrated with this new addition to our family. Bella has attacked all of my yarn. I mean it guys. I cannot leave yarn anywhere. I cannot work on a project without being attacked. :0) I can not tell you how many times I have had to restart my girlfriends blanket. So torn up was the yarn that I had to use a different yarn. It is not so cute to come home and see my unfinished project in the middle of the room. So that is where we stand today everyone. Take Care,

New family member

Don't get too excited. We brought home a lovely kitty named Bella. She is absolutely a doll. Kiley loves her Bella so much. Here is a picture of her. Cute huh...
My retreat was AMAZING. I was so moved. I was changed forever. If anyone has the opportunity to attend a Christ Renewal Retreat. DO IT!!! It will change you forever.

Ok Ok I have been a slacker. My only defense is that it has been CRAZY over here. First our trip then, the holidays. But now things are back to normal. Or sorta. Brad starts his travel season which essentially means Kiley and I will be on our home for a few months. :0( :0( I have a church retreat this weekend. I am excited it is called Christ Renew. I will admit I am nervous as well. I don't do well in groups like that. I feel intimidated but I know and feel like I should attend. Brad attended the mens version a few months ago and my goodness it made a change in him. I saw so much peace. It effected him so much he led the following retreat which was this weekend. Bless his heart though he was really tired. Now Kiley really misses her daddy when he is gone. This is what I stumbled into when I realized the house was way to quiet.

Cute huh.. Our trip well I've been trying to get the pictures from Brad but he has been hogging them. But here are a few from my phone. They are not so great but you kinda get the jest of it.
Hubby skis very well. Me not so much that is why I snowboard.


This is what Kiley thought of the airplane rides

Times are a flying

I know...I can not believe that it has been a month since I posted. So much has happened...Let me catch you guys up. My my my...Well first MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Our Christmas was great here is a picture of Kiley visiting the man in red



Brad surprised me for my birthday with a vacation. Yes you heard it..A vacation. We went skiing in Montana. Can I just tell you how much I love this man. Anyways. we had wonderful weather. Great skiing. (Actually snowboarding for me) Kiley loved the snow and loved to ski. She just wanted to go fast. I am trying to download the pictures so you guys can see it. It was so cute. Anyways..I just wanted to check in. Tomorrow I will post videos. Take Care everyone..I hope everyone had a blessed holidays.

Family

Ok so my turkey was a sucess. It seems like I actually can cook.. :0) Seriously, not to toot my own horn but the turkey turned out great. Everyone ate it and some even took left overs home. So we called off the firemen.
But I want to talk about family and holidays. Why is it that everyone gets so crazy at the holiday time. I mean really.. my mom came back Saturday and cooked her thanksgiving on Sun., cool..not so much. Why you ask??? Because she flipped out...everything had to be perfect which everyone knows leads to imperfection. The food was over cook, the kids were insane... my sister was yelling at my newphews..My other sister just sat by and watched her kids destroy everything. DH was upset for some unknown reason..We left early which (due to the above) upset my mom..she is still not talking to me. UGH childish...Ok so the motto for me this year is to find the inner peace in this season. I must admit that I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays because of the craziness. I hope to actually be able to do it. Keep your fingers cross. In the alternative I always have the bottle of wine..

Smoke alert

Ok so I am cooking this Thanksgiving for the family. This will be my first time having thanksgiving at our house. My mom is out of town so I volunteered to be the host. I am nervous and yet happy. I love the thought that Thanksgiving will be at my house. However there is a Slight, small detail..I have never cooked a turkey before..I figured it was insignificant..hee hee.. So if you smell smoke or burnt turkey it is probably coming from my house. I would appreciate any tips or receipes..I know that this is all last minute but mom's trip was also last minute.. But that is what Thanksgiving is all about....Unexpected, slightly erratic family and friend times...Happy Thanksgiving everyone.....

Hi everyone..I hope everyone is well. This past weekend we attended and participated in a walk for autism. It was held at Disney Wide World of Sports. We were team Spud. (I don't know why or how my sister came up with the name) The walk was really well done. There was a lot of people. There was food and games for the kids. I applaud the group autims speaks who put on the walk. They really made the walk appropriate for the children with Autism. There were games for the children and volunteers everywhere. Children with autism tend to be really easily distracted. Autism directly affects our family. My nephew Matthew suffers from Autism. He was diagnosed with Autism when he was three years old. He is now 9. Matthew is a sweet, loving and intelligent child. His love for everything shines through. I have sometimes have a very hard time seeing him as I see a blank stare. It breaks my heart. It makes me angry as I remember him before the disease. I remember how alert and social he was. On the other side, I will selfishly admit that I am so thankful that Kiley does not suffer these problems. I have seen how this disease affects the family. It has drastically and dramitacally affected my sister and her husband. It has affected their relationship with their other son, with each other and lastly with God. Everything is struggle. Going to the mall, going to eat..everything. I pray for a day when there is something more we can do for Matthew. I pray for the day that the peace my sister is so looking for comes. Here are some pictures..

This is Matthew! Isn't he beautiful.

This is my other nephew Austin and Matthew

My sister made our shirts. I thought they were cool!

This is part of our Group..DH, Rachel, My sister Camille, and my Mom

So I am trying to stay awake here. I must admit that I have not been sleeping very well. Why..most likely stress. Anyways, I ask for your forgiveness if this post does not make sense. :0)

On Tuesday we met with Angel and her family as they were/are in town. That was so much fun. Zoe, Kaitlyn and Kaila are just adorable. Kiley loved playing on the swings and basically was a daredevil. She was very independent. We are seeing that trend in her. I had a wonderful time meeting Angel and her family. They are awesome. Check out her blog faith's journey continues. (the link is on the side) The work that she and her dh are planning and doing in and for Africa is great. I did not bring my camera (I know sigh..) so I don't have any pictures.

I wanted to talk to you guys about this being three bit. Kiley is definitely acting out. I don't know what is going on. Everything is a struggle. Everything is whining. Everything is no.. She is not sick (thank god) No fevers, no ear pulling, nothing... I mean seriously last night we were trying to get her ready for her bathe and it was world war III. We had already struggled with her to get her to the table for dinner. Then the bathe. Time outs work but it is always going to be this way? I really am using my Yoga breathing techniques. Don't get me wrong she is still sweet and cuddly. I would not give this up for the world. Really she is the best thing that has happened to me. But my goodness I am exhausted from struggling with her. Has anyone have this issue?

Sorry...but Yes We Can!!!

I'm sorry guys I tried and hopefully succeeded and stayed away from politics as much as I could on this blog. However, I had to put this quote down. I loved both John McCain and Barack's speeches last night ...but really this stood out for me..


"..For that is the true genius of America — that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow."

"....This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time — to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can....

So Much to catch up with. I must warn you guys that this will be long. Kiley's birthday was great. It was small with just family and good friends. It was princess theme (as she is all about the princess right now). I bought all the ingredients for pizza and everyone got to make their own. It worked out wonderfully. The kids it seemed to have and really enjoy making their own pizzas. Here are some pictures.











Now Daddy's birthday was two days later. I made his favorite steak and potatos. Here are the two of them on his birthday. Notice the Ariel folks. Ariel goes everywhere with us.

Now for halloween, once again princess made their way to our household. This time Jasmine ruled the day.



Welll I hope everyone is well. We went to MGM this weekend and had a blast. Unfortunately I do not have any good pics. I know terrible mother. Anyways..everyone I will post more tomorrow. Have a good one. Namaste.

Find a Happy Place

We have been on a Nemo kick lately. My favorite part of the movie is when Darla comes and starts pounding on the fish tank and the star fish starts chanting "find a happy place ...find a happy place". I think we all have days like that. Today is one of those days for me. Most what could go wrong has gone wrong. We try and we still get beat up. What can we do other than get up so I do. I will stop now...everyone together with me.."find a happy place find a happy place".

Happy Birthday Sweet Kiley

Kiley:
My baby girl. Sigh...You are three today. I can't describe how quickly it seems that time has past. It seems like just yesterday we were holding you for the very first time. Kiley I cannot tell you how much your daddy and I love you. I love you so much. I love you like french fries love ketchup. :0) You are the smartest girl I know. You laugh so much. You love making silly faces. You talk constantly. At this time you are crazy about Nemo and Jasmine. You are getting the potty training down pat. You are so loving it melts my heart. Everyone adores you. You adore your titi Camille and cousin Austin. Your Uncle John is really your play buddy. You think he is the best thing (especially because he takes you to Twisty Treat). You eat everything but absolutely love your nemo snacks. Every night you have to lay on the couch with me before you will go to sleep. I cherish these times. Please don't forget them. I know I won't. While we lay there you always put your little hands on my face and gently pat my cheeks.
My wish for you today is that you always see each day as an adventure. That you cherish and enjoy this adventure. I am so thankful to have you in my life. I pray for your first mom today. I send her warm, kind, and grateful energy. I hope she can feel how well you are doing. I wish/ pray that you feel the love your two mommies have for you. For we both love you so much. I am sorry for the mistakes that I have already made. Mommy is trying. I hope that you grow up seeing and believing how wonderful you are. For you are. You are perfect my little one (mijita). Tonight we will have a family dinner and tomorrow a party to celebrate you. Mucho Mucho Amor..

Poopy call

Ring.. Ring..
"This is Dennise"

"Mommy"

"Hi Baby ..I love you"

"I poop in the potty"

"You did ..that is so rockin cool; I am so proud of you"

"I want princess panties"

Oh Lord...where did you think we went last night...At our school when the kids poop in the potty they get to call their mommy or daddy. It was really cute.

Welcome Back

Hi everyone..I've been away a little bit. Seems I needed to take a little visit to the hospital. No worries I am Ok now. I was admitted for a few days seems my heart needed a little TLC. Anyways, the worst part about it was Kiley. More like the being a way from Kiley. Ok more specifically, I being away from her. I missed her terribly. It is funny how your perspective changes when you are a mommy. Before I would not give it a second thought being unwell. Honestly I could care less. But then we had Kiley..Things change. Now I have a responsibility. The thought of not being around Kiley or healthy enough to run around or chasing after her was not Ok with me. Brad, bless his heart, brought her as often as he could. Kiley was terrified at first as she hates doctors. Few minutes later she was running the ward. Seriously the nurses had her with them. My mom was terrific and took care of her while I was down for the count. So I add this to the changes I see that motherhood has done to me. I now take my medicine as prescribed, follow up like I am suppose to..essentially try to do the right healthy thing. Here are some pictures.

Selfish

I realized today how selfish I am. I am ashamed. My office currently is in very close proximity to the "bad area" of town. On my way to work today I had to stop for gas in the very bad area of town. I never stop at or in this area. Every town has that area. Anyways, I was on high alert. BTW what is up with the gas prices at the bad area being so high. I could not believe it. The gas was like 10 cents higher. As I was saying..I went into the shop to get a Krispy Kreme donut (drool now) and my coffee. As I was walking out I noticed that I kept my eyes straight ahead. When I say straight ahead...I mean straight ahead. Lo and behold this gentlemen walks by me and smiles at me. Did I see the smile..no..rather I saw the sign in his hand asking for money. Did I return his smile? No...Did I hear him wish me a blessed day. No..not until I got into my car did I realize his greeting... what a mistake I made. How can I claim to want and be upset with poverty when I cannot respond to a poor individual at the gas station. How can I teach Kiley to be compassionate when I cannot show compassion to an individual by wishing him a good morning. I know we have to be aware of our surroundings but we must be compassionate. So how do we draw the line.

Grandparents Day

Today was Grandparents Day at school. It was so cute. Kiley loved having her Abuela at school. I dropped them both off and took these quick pictures with my phone. My mom said that Kiley did not want to play with the any of the other kids she only wanted to be with her. Too cute huh. I have a good relationship with my grandmother so it makes me my heart flow when I see how close Kiley is to my mom.

Ok so there are some big changes going on in my work. I just signed a new lease. In addition I am Of counsel with a bigger firm in my town. I am excited and yet very very nervous. I needed to do something to increase buisness and I believe this is a great way to start. Send me good thoughts everyone.
So lets see I would love to discuss politics but I think I am too emotionally involved. Lets just say I will be taking the day off with my good friend and going to the movies so I don't have to hear about the results.