So Much to be Thankful For . . .

This is a picture of the Sonoma Valley (where we live) in the fall.  To drive through this little valley right now is a breath taking experience.  The colors of the trees, the vineyards and the moutains are so beautiful.  It's nice to be the passenger in the car and be able to look around and take it all in.  When the fall colors are at the peak of their beauty I always have the conversation with myself, hmmm, "I think I like fall the best!".  Of course I have the same conversation with myself in the spring as the daffodils are sprouting up, the trees are getting their leaves and everything seems to come alive, hmmm "I think I like spring the best!"  But the colors of nature that we are seeing right now are definitely something I am thankful for.

We had a fun little outing the other day.  Mike has been home from work for the whole week of Thanksgiving due to furlough days and the holiday.  So he decided we would go out and take some pictures of him and the kids for their Christmas card.  He decided they would go visit some of our Charlie Browns, Woodstocks and Snoopy's that are still around town and get the pictures taken.

We started looking for Charlie Brown's in 2005 and Mike's boys were 2, 4 & 6 when we started.  Here's a picture of us then:

So, we went back over to the Ice Arena and re-created the picture the other day.  Now the boys are 8, 11 and 12.  And of course Mike now has Benji as an additon since the first picture.  Here's our newest picture.

Look how the kids have grown!!!  We had such a good time!!  Now, of course, you have to see the picture with Benji in it!

Well, this isn't such a great picture but Benji's in it.  Anyway, we had a really fun time, lunch out and a good time was had by all!!!  A day to be Thankful for!!

Our daughter Tina, got here on November 17th and she's basically been sick ever since she arrived!!  As of today she's planning on trying to find a walk in clinic and seeing someone on Monday, hoping of course that she feels better by Monday.  She was feeling a little better on Thanksgiving and was able to see Erik, Seni and the kids.  She also went down to Connie's and saw Gena and her family & Tony and Hayley.  She'd seen Katie a few nights before so she's seen almost everyone.  Jeff's supposed to come up today, by that time she should have infected everyone!!!  I'm kidding, I'm kidding!!  BUT, having her here for the holidays is always something to be Thankful for!!

I have been trying to jazz this blog up forever.  I even bought a program to make it better.  Unfortunately I can't figure out the program but thinking I was going to try and make it look better I worried about losing the almost 3 years of blogs that I've been writing.  Basically it's been a little diary of my life since 2009 when I started it.  I found a site where I could have my blog entries put into book form and decided to do it just to be sure they would be saved.  The book doesn't have any of the side items that I put in but the blog posts only.  I got the book already and am very happy with it.  Here's a picture.



Front cover



 Well, this is one of the "things" I don't like about creativity process of creating this blog.  I cannot get the 2 covers side by side.  So at this point I'll just have 2 large blank spaces and keep writing.

Back cover

So, even though it's frustrating, I don't have time at Christmas to figure out how to do "it" better, so for being able to write my blog I am Thankful!!

Every night as I crawl into bed and get warm and comfy I thank God for his Blessings, which is the same as being Thankful.  So for me, it always starts with my FAMILY!  Kent, Mike, Tina, Erik & Jeff ~ my daugher-in-laws Seni and Paula (her children Kaleb & Santino) and my son-in-law Max ~ my grandkids, Cyrah, Matt, Joe, Zach, Chloe, Benji and Rhone ~ My Mom and Dad ALWAYS, my sisters, Connie, Cathy & Susie, Connie's kids Tony, Gena, Katie, their spouses Hayley (not yet but close), Ryan & Jared, Connie's grandchildren Justin and Julia ~Cathy's daughter Amy ~ all of Kenny's side of the family, his Dad who died an amazing 20 years ago, his Mom, sisters Louise, Diana, their husbands Frank and Martin, my nieces and nephews, Rob, Renee, Rhonda, Marty and Danny and their spouses Craig & Russ and their children who are our great nieces and nephews Alisha, Jeremy, Tyler, Cassie, Amy, Emily and Kylie ~ my cousins, Judy, Janet, Linda, Marti and Christine and their families ~ all of my Grandmas and Grandpas, my Uncles and Aunts and Cousins that have passed away ~ my friends, Sandi, Linda, Yolanda, Marie, Linda Robertson Groobin, Fred, Bill C & Pami ~ not in my family but the service men and women who have put their lives on the line in the name of our country America.  Now, obviously I don't name all of the people mentioned above every night when I'm saying my prayers but there are nights when I come close.  I'm sure I have left someone out or maybe several someone's out but I truly feel I AM BLESSED!!!  And Thankful!!

As the Christmas season approaches, I always try and "do" too much.  I have great plans of things to make, to send, to let people know how special they are to me.  I'm thinking maybe I won't put so much pressure on myself this year.  Maybe I won't become possessed by starting another project and being disappointed because I didn't finish it.  I'll let you know how I do with this, on one hand I'm getting older and a lot slower in everything I do, on the other hand I really enjoy giving to people.  We'll see how it goes.

One of the major things that I am thankful this year is that my husband, Kenny, is back to his old self again.  He can be grouchy and aggravating and seemingly cheap and those things are all part of who he is but he also is nice and caring in ways that aren't going to get much attention.  So, after a long year of recouperating, he's BA-A-A-C-K!!!  I am Thankful!!!

I hope everyone that reads this blog had a nice Thanksgiving and enjoyed the long weekend.  Now we all need to gear up to get ready for Christmas!!!

My thought to leave you with today is:  Start a gratitude journal, find 2 or 3 things to be thankful for every day and write them down.  You'll be surprised at the things you take for granted daily that actually make you smile and makes the day a better day, writing them down helps you to appreciate the little things in life!!!! 

Until next time . . .

Time flies when you're having FUN!!!

Someone very close to me pointed out last night that I had not written a new blog post since July 5th. He (Mike) pointed out that a lot of things have happened since July 5th. Chloe turned 8, Cyrah turned 16, Joe turned 11, Rhone turned 1, Matt started Middle School, our niece Katie got married, Joe joined the basketball team and played in all 7 games, Kenny and I went on a couple of trips up to Redding and one trip to Reno, my pumpkin season came and went and miracle of all miracles ~ I finally got my ipad 2!!! Life Happens!!

I haven't even been to my blog in so long that the whole format has changed, I have absolutely no idea of how this is going to look when I press the publish button. So, where do I begin. Our little Chloe girl turned 8 on July 26th. She started 3rd grade in August and continues to be a happy little girl with a funny sense of humor, a big smile on her face and has already went to her first concert - Selena Gomez! She's also got Bieberfever! She loves Justin Bieber also, so she's growing up way to fast!

Here's a picture of Cyrah, just after her 16th birthday. It seems we hardly see her anymore, she's busy with school and her internship at the Academy of Sciences Museum in San Francisco. They have a wonderful intern program and Cyrah's has gone to some pretty cool places as a result of her involvement in the program. She wanted a car for her 16th birthday but didn't get one. She wasn't really expecting one, I think it's good to DREAM BIG!

Next on our list is our niece Katie's wedding on October 1st. Everyone had the day saved since January I think. Katie married Jared Kinzel on a cloudy day that blessed us with no rain. It was a beautiful wedding and Katie was a beautiful bride. The ceremony was short, sweet and to the point. The reception was lovely, the cake delicious and the dancing, so much fun!! Here's a picture of our beautiful Belle!

Hard to believe but our Joe Joe boy turned 11 on October 3rd. He's in 5th grade this year. Has a man teacher who also happens to be the basketball coach and is doing very well in school. He was chosen to be his class representative on the Student Council and he goes to the meetings and reports back to his class. Joe decided to go out for the basketball team and made the team. They had 7 games and Kenny and I attended every one. Joe did well, made 5 baskets and learned alot. He's still very quiet but apparently it drives all the girls crazy and they are constantly harassing him to talk. Of course, he LOVES that attention (although he will deny it). Here's his school picture.


Time really does fly when you consider that we just had Rhone's 1st birthday a couple of weeks ago. Erik and Seni had a nice birthday party at Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge for Rhone's birthday. Unfortunately he wasn't feeling that great and Grammy did not get even one good picture but this is one cute little boy. He's just starting to walk, still holding on but I'm sure walking all over the place is just days away. Actually, we're pretty lucky, all of our grandkids are all very cute.

I'm not too crazy about this new format, I don't like all the blank spaces. On the old format I could type stuff in those spaces, but I'm going to keep going, I'm not done yet!

Now who have I left out??? Well, it looks like my Matty boy, oh, I mean Matt, Zach and my little Benji boy. Matt started the 7th grade in August. Oh, my gosh, I was so nervous for him. The night before school started I had to give myself a good talking to and tell myself, if I know anything I know the first day of school at a middle school. In my vast experience in that area, I can honestly say, we never lost one 7th grader. Oh, of course 7th graders got lost but they always found someone to help them on their way. And that's exactly what happened with Matt. No one dumped him in a garbage can, he did get lost but someone helped him and now 9 weeks later he's an old pro at Rincon Valley Middle School. He's doing great in his classes - 5 A's 1 B - riding his bike to and from everyday and really doing well.
Zach is in the 3rd grade this year and has a lot of friends to play with, they love to discuss baseball, he's doing well with his grades and him and his 3 brothers take martial arts classes every day after school. In his martial arts class he's in a class with Matt and he really gives it his all, he is soaking wet with perpiration when he comes out of that class. He's also in Cub Scouts, so he's a very busy little boy.

Last but not least is my little Benji boy.

Although he's not so little anymore. We are doing Wednesdays with Grammy again this year and we have fun together. He cracks me up constantly. These are some of the things Benji says to me with a twinkle in his eye. "Grammy, you just not very smart" (while I was trying to play a video game with him), "Grammy you are wasting my time" (I was trying to show him something on the computer and he knew his time over here was running out). He continues to be a bright, loving, happy, funny little boy who can count to 49 in Japanese, LOVES his martial arts class, works on school work every day with his other Grandmother and can keep right up with his 3 older brothers.

WE ARE BLESSED!!!

Last weekend we had our big pumpkin harvest. I ended up getting 26 pumpkins out of my plantings. Erik & Seni brought Chloe and Rhone up and Mike's kids were here so we put all the pumpkins on our backyard grass and the kids picked a pumpkin and then Erik helped all of them carve pumpkins. It was a beautiful fall weather day and the kids had fun but they only took 1 pumpkin a piece, so I still have 20 pumpkins out on my back lawn. I think I might pass on that idea next year!

Today, is November 3rd, my Mom and Dad's anniversary. Sixty-six years ago today they went to Reno from the Bay Area (can you imagine how long that drive must've been back in 1945?) and tied the knot. I don't have a picture that they considered their wedding photo but I think Connie has one and I'll go scan it and hopefully figure out how to get it into this blog.

I did mention that Kenny and I had traveled to Redding a couple of times in the last couple of months and we had fun going to a couple of Shasta College football games. Our niece Renee is married to Craig Thompson the head football coach at the college. One game was a blowout 48-0 and Shasta was on the wrong side of that one and the next game they won with 2 seconds left to go 30-27. We had a good time, got to see Kenny's sisters, his Mom, and nieces Rhonda and Renee and their great kids Alisha, Amy, Emily and Cassie. The missing person was our great-nephew Jeremy. I think I mentioned in a previous blog about Jeremy joining the Air Force and going in after his high school graduation. Well, he just graduated from whatever the Air Force calls basic training. His Mom, Rhonda, his sister, Cassie, and his Grandma, Kenny's sister Louise, had just returned from Texas when we were up there and we got to hear all about Jeremy and how he's doing. I'm telling you it gave me a little more meaning when we rose to hear the Star Spangled Banner, with our hands over our heart knowing that our Jeremy is one of the servicemen that has joined up to keep us safe from harm's way. I'm really proud of him, as is our whole family.

I did finally take the plunge and got myself and ipad2. I've wanted one since they came out but I really couldn't justify the cost of it with what it can do for me. Really, I still can't. But I got it anyway. When I retired the school district gave me 3 payments based on my salary and years of service as an "incentive" to retire.
LIKE I NEEDED AN INCENTIVE!!!
But of course, I took the money, and this year was the last payment and I wanted something to commemorate that, so I got an ipad 2.

So I've been doing a little painting and some sewing to keep myself busy. It's incredible how slow I am and how I can find anything to get me off track. But I still really enjoy the creative process so I'll just keep doing it even if it does take me forever. Here's a picture of one project I have finished and 1 that I'm in the process of doing.


I saw a program on 20/20 the other night and it has really stayed with me. It was a report that Diane Sawyer did on the Lakota Indians and the people that live on the Pine Ridge Reservation. She documented the people for a year and a half. The conditions that these children live in are deplorable, and of course, alcoholism is rampant which affects everyone in some way young and old. But these children have such hopes and dreams and alot of them are learning the Lakota language and the tribal dances so they don't lose their heritage.
It made me think of rich people who choose magnanimous ways to help other countries. To help their children to health and education. And yet the Indians, for the most part, were our first Americans and the Government treated them horribly. Cheated them out of their land, put them on reservations and forgot about them. Now if you know me you know that I am not a political person but I thinking my attitude on this might make me a bleeding heart liberal. Put any kind of name on it you want but I actually found a link on the 20/20 website and followed it and I think that I am going to contribute some money to this cause. My little pittance of a donation won't really help anyone but you know what, I will feel better. This story touched me. I don't know if it's because I've read a lot of history books concerning the plight of the Indians but I feel now that I know about these people and I cannot act like I don't know their situation.
I will now get off my soapbox!
I had absolutely no reason to share how I feel about this situation with you but I can and I did and I like that I wrote about it!!!

I think I've caught you up on just about everything, I'm not really sure how this post is going to look. I certainly don't like the format that I'm typing it in. As an update, Kenny is feeling and doing much better!! Back to his old cantankerous self!!! This winter will be much better than last year for him. He HATES winter! Oh, Tina will be coming home for a visit in a couple of weeks and we all look forward to that. I'm going to try and figure out this format and try and put some more pictures on but who knows if I can!

Thanks for taking the time to read this, it is awfully long, but want you to know I appreciate you taking the time!

A thought to leave you with: As the winter weather starts to settle in, read a good book, write a note to a friend, look at your old pictures and figure out a way to use them. Keep busy!!

Until next time . . .