Monday, July 11, 2016

~JOURNAL~

My blog has been neglected and is about to change a little. This will now be a family journal that I may or may not be regularly posting on. I am no literary genius so it will probably have a lot of grammatical errors and run on sentences.  I have not proven to myself that I can keep an ongoing journal and have some guilt about this. With a mother and grandmother who seem to have been wonderful at recording their lives/history I know there is a place inside me to do this and I will do better! I was laying in bed the other night just thinking about life and where we are in it. I was overwhelmed with the feelings of gratitude and felt the urge to express this gratitude in writing so I might be able to look back on it and remember these happy times. In so many ways my life is exactly how I hoped it would be! How is that? I have an amazing husband and children, extended family and friends and too many blessings to count. I begin my blog journal by talking about these people and the blessings of my life right now - first off - The Husband!

Chris- 
Things are about to get cheesy. But hey, if I can't write down in my journal how I feel what good is it? So here it goes.. If it sounds to good to be true, don't worry, we have worked long and hard to get to where we are. 
My love, my best friend, the perfect snuggler (and everything elser ) My main man. The guy who calms my nerves when I'm stressed, who makes me laugh every single day. The guy who is SO dang good at doing the 'little things' -  He supports me in my schooling and in all my dreams really. He trusts me as a mother. He is so great to just talk to with his great intellect and wisdom. He is profound and says some of the most thought provoking things. I feel like we have very distinct roles in our marriage and that creates a beautiful balance. Chris is a fabulous father! He talks to and snuggles our girls, he works along side and wrestles our boys. He assists the teens with their independent living skills and because he works in a residential facility, he just gets it. He understands how to communicate and why its so important for us to do this important work. I love how Chris has worked hard to love what he does for a living. As the years have gone by he has picked up jobs and careers really and kept them. He worked in Jewelry when we were first together and has kept a diamond wholesale company every since. He worked in loans and has kept his licenses so he can continue to help people that way. He went to law school and now works as an in house attorney and HR manager for Telos, a residential treatment facility. He is balancing a lot and I feel grateful he is a hard worker and great provider. There is so much I could say about my life parter and eternal companion. We have had some really rough patches at times (as many couples do) but we have fought for each other and grown into a greater love and appreciation for each other. I am so grateful for a husband who tells me I am beautiful, laughs with me, holds me and supports me in all that I do. I love you Chris. 

More recently we have discovered the love of traveling together. We had a honeymoon baby with Cozette so there was not a lot of time or money to travel for those years of having kids. I never felt very comfortable leaving little ones and now that our youngest, Anson is 4 he is thrilled to see the back of us and play with Grandma Mickee for days! Our traveling began a year ago when I decided I wanted to go to Disneyland, just he and I. We had a blast! We also spent time at the beach to balance things out. We then planned the most amazing weekend in New York where we saw amazing shows, ate fantastic food and spent time with some of our favorite people, Barry and Brittany and Clover and Louis. It was really the time of our lives!! More recently we took a trip to Denver to see our good friends Treana and Lawren and are planning a trip soon to Zions national park.


He works hard and plays hard and we have a lot of fun dating each other. Our latest craze has been because we are in a different stage in life. Cozy is old enough to babysit, Anson is old enough to not care if we leave and loves having grandma Mickee come stay the night. He and I have started traveling and we LOVE it! This year we went to California to do Disneyland with out the kids. SO fun! We went to New York and had the most magical few days being with our best friends and meeting up with Clover and Louis to watch musicals and eat the tastiest food. Seriously one of the funnest times of my life. We took a weekend off to visit friends in Denver and now we are planning our next trip for my birthday to Zions or Bryce Canyon to hike and be in nature. 


 I have 4 beautiful biological children with amazing personalities and different genders which makes life interesting and fun. I have 2 foster teen daughters and love being able to help refugees and give in a different way. (I will not mention my foster daughters in this post because we are asked to not post on social media about them) I have learned so much through taking in the girls I have. We have had 5 girls in our home and have blessed to have them in our home. 

I have felt like with each of my children, God has sent me this miraculous gift that has brought me so much joy! The spirits He has sent me are strong, gifted and amazing little beings. I love watching them grow and getting to be a part of the process.

Cozette
 My Teen! Stilly trying to get over that. Where have the years gone? We got pregnant with this firey redhead on our honeymoon! This was not the plan per-say but there have been so many moments where I have felt grateful that we changed our minds about when we would ‘start trying’ for a baby. We decided to put it in the Lords hands and walla – fertile as a turtle! Ha! Cozette came into the world a clever old soul. She was two years old shouting, “I need a shoe horn!” so articulate and never once put her shoes on the wrong foot. She just gets it! Now, as a teenager she is wise above her years and has this fabulous sense of humor and sass about her. She is a child that I understand well. I think because I see a lot of me in her (don’t tell her I said that) She wears her thoughts and feelings on her shoulder. She has integrity and a strong sense of what is right and wrong. We love her red hair! And can only assume it came somewhere from Scotland since that is where we first met and also where we conceved her. That red hair has come with allergies and skin problems that she would have like to have avoided in life but I think those problems have taught her compassion and how to overcome struggles from a young age. Cozette is on the debate team and watch out because she knows her stuff and isn’t afraid to tell you. She gets straight A’s and always has really. She loves theater, choir, and has just sampled a bit of track and likes the running. Cozette can be found up way past her bedtime reading a book. I love that about her. I didn’t discover the joy of reading till I was in my 20’s so seeing her love it so much makes me beam with pride. She has a great fashion sense and has been into doing hair tutorials on instagram. She loves being old enough to have a phone and is found skyping her best friend Lucy on a daily basis. Cozette loves to bake! There really isn’t a thing this kid can’t do. She bakes wonderful bread and cookies and keeps us all happy on a Sunday when our sugar tooth kicks in. Cozette loves to socialize and talk about things that are probably too adult for her. She is nosy like her mom and is sometimes around the corner listening in so watch out! I love her strong sense of self and she is the perfect fit for the oldest child. We rely on her a bit too much but she doesn't seem to mind being the boss and has a great work ethic. Every one needs a fiery red head like this amazing daughter of mine. 


Elias
What a kid! He is one who has always been easy going, loving at great and just about anything he does. Elias is an athlete. He can play any sport and do it with ease. Soccer is his sport of choice and he plans to play for Chelsea some day and can often be seen watching soccer with his dad. I have loved being a ‘soccermom’ and Elias is so fun to watch. His skills and ball control are amazing! This kid is smart! He is in the A.L.L. program at school for the gifted kids and still manages to get the highest scores on most tests. He scored in the 99th percentile for cognitive thinking on his state testing. He also has been responsible with his studies and sports and shows excellence and detail in most that he puts his mind too. Okay, maybe I think my kids is perfect but you really got to meet this guy! People really like him. He is a leader among his friends and fellow soccer players. He has a great sense of humor and a ton of integrity. He is gentle but if he needed to, he could kick your butt. He has a growing sense of humor. Often Chris and I will look at each other and giggle at something he has says. He is a go getter! He doesn’t mind hard work and is often found doing yard work and helping his dad lift something heavy. He and I have run races this summer and he seems to win them all. He loves green chili inchilatas and ice cream and pretty much has hollow legs. Elias has beautiful blond hair and only ever tans. He has bright green eyes and a small dimple on his left cheek. He is a charmer and will always have the love of his mother!





Aurora
I always ask myself how I got so lucky to have Aurora. She has a different temperament to me and I love that about her. She has a smile that beams! And she is super easy to make laugh. I LOVE her laugh! Aurora is naturally nurturing. She will make an amazing mother some day. She reminds me of myself in her love for playing with barbies and her sentimental ways. She is the daughter I am keeping my wedding dress for. Aurora is an artist! She can sit and color for hours. She has a special relationship with her grandma because of this. I think she is the kid my mom wanted me to be. Ha! Aurora’s teachers have told me she is a popular kid in class. She can make friends easy and always has many friends. She loves to play! Aurora appreciates beauty. When I have dolled up her room it is not wasted on her. She loves to watch me put my makeup on and pick out my outfits. She wears her many dresses and shoes with confidence and is often asking me if I will curl her hair of do her nails. Such a girly girl!! She is feminine, fragile and easily freaked out. She really is sensitive. Pulling a tooth is such an ordeal with her! She flips if she see’s me pop a zit or if a spider is anywhere near her. My mom reminds me that I gave her the name Aurora so I should have been prepared for a princess. Aurora is a daddy’s girl. She will often ask him before me if she wants something because she know’s he will likely say yes.  Aurora is a great student in school. She is so responsible and on top of her tasks. She loves her dance class and can often be found singing. Aurora is a snuggler! She probably hugs me 10 times a day. She has so much love to give! I think that is one of her spiritual gifts. I hope she never changes.







Anson

My little man. This guy is so obviously the youngest. He had a binky till he was 4 years old! I still snuggle with him at nap time and sing him songs. Anson is a pure joy! He entertains us all. His smile is contagious and his giggle is the cutest thing you have ever heard. Anson is a loving person. He often hugs his sibbling’s and every now and then he will out of the blue say, “I love you mom.” Melts my heart. Anson loves to wrestle his dad, play with cars, run through the sprinklers, eat snacks and jump in my bed to have a short snuggle. He has always been a kid on the go! He loves to run and jump around and that kicks off his asthma more than I would like. But I can’t and wouldn’t want to break his spirit. This kid is a light in our family. I love watching him grow up and figure things out. He makes sure we all know, “We don’t say stupid or shut up.” Which makes us giggle sometimes because he has a hard time not saying those things. Anson is my only brown eyed child, and If I am honest, I was hoping to get one. He looks the most like me but I also think he has some of my personality traits that drive me nuts. Lol! He is a classic youngest and I have spoiled him at times which can drive Chris and the other kids nuts. I am so glad we chose to have one more child when we were considering being done. He has been a gift and a true blessing to our family.