Teachers R AWESOME!

Thank goodness for teachers!! I am always very appreciative of the boy's teachers. It just takes a special person to teach, love, listen, referee, be patient, and most importantly exhibit genuine compassion all day everyday! I made these little candy jars for Tucker's kindergarten, 1st grade and current teachers last week just to let them know they were and still are appreciated and also because I know how important chocolate is in stressful situations. :) Little did I know how stressful!!

I have been blessed this week in that I finally have been able to substitute, and 2 of those days have been at Tuck's school with KINDERGARTNERS!! Ohhh, there are no words to express those two days. Most importantly...more unending appreciation for teachers! I also learned that even though teachers give 200%, their reward is that little smile, hug, or light bulb moment when the student catches on to what is being taught. My two days were challenging and exhausting, but the little moments of joy, love and understanding were priceless! I probably learned more in those two days from the kids than they learned from me! Now, if I could just conquer my fear of 8th grade and above I will be ready to conquer anything!!

Have a super day!

Hugs,

K

Happy Anniversary Babe...

Today is our

17th Anniversary

and Brent has been singing that song to me ALL DAY long!!

very cute though...

We were married 17 years ago, outside, at sunrise with the squirrels running around and birds singing in the background. It was a beautiful morning and the sun was shining bright.

My bouquet was made of Gerber Daisies in pink and yellow.

Our reception was a brunch that was topped off with wedding cake layers of

Strawberry (mine) and Italian Cream (his)!

Here we are 3 houses, 2 cities, 8 jobs (mostly me), 3 KIDS, 6 dogs, 6 cats, 5 vehicles, 7 schools, unlimited baseball teams, soccer teams, and basketball teams, 3 football teams (our kids least favorite sport to play), unlimited lessons learned, very few regrets, amazing family and friends along the way and ENDLESS wonderful MEMORIES later!

"Life is an amazing journey, not a destination"

(not sure who author is...)

Hope your day is full of happiness, hugs, and singing like mine!

Hugs, K

(our boys took the pic, pretty good job, huh? this is one of about 4 photos.

i need to crop, but this computer doesn't have photo shop)

B's Baseball Banquet

Last night was Brandan's High School baseball banquet. It was great. I was soooo proud of him. He received the Best Defensive Player Award for Center Field! All the awards were voted on by the boys. The cutie on Brandan's left is Ridge and he received the Freshman Pitching Award. His big brother is a Jr. on the Varsity and received a District Pitching Award. That is Riley on B's right. He is a sweetheart and has the best personality!

This is the Freshman Coach...Coach T. Wallis. He is only 24 and this was his first year coaching.

I think he AND the boys learned a lot about High School ball!

I told them to just ignore me and as you can see they did a great job of it, especially Brandan. The boys all looked so handsome. A Mexican food restaurant in town catered a Fajita Buffet that was very good. The decorations were great! There was also a huge cake. I can't wait to be a part of all the planning next year. The parents are all really nice (I don't know many of the Varsity and none of the JV). It is good to go somewhere and know people now. High School baseball has been way different than we all expected, but I think we are finding out niche now.

He was giving me a hard time about being soooo much taller than me.

I didn't realize it was this much until I saw this picture!

Proud Daddy! Wont' be long before B catches up with his Dad on height!

WE are sooo proud of you Brando!

Keyto and Tuck were with the neighbors. Keyto had his last outdoor soccer game to makeup. He said they tied the other team, which is a good note to end their season.

Have a happy week! I only have today and tomorrow at work before we close. Friday is Tuck's Field Day at school so I will miss the last day the store is open. Probably best!

Hugs, K

FABULOUS FRIDAY

Aren't those adorable?? I found them at Target! My craft room colors are red, pink and lime green. I love the damask and the owl! I am going to use the cup and bowl for supplies. The mug brings a smile to my face each morning at 5 am! It helps to start the day with a smile don't 'cha know?!

Have a fabulous friday!

Hugs,

K

Proud Day

Tucker received the most awesome awards yesterday! The biggest was for Languarge Arts/Reading. He is reading at a level 25!! This isn't even a first grade level. He reads chapter books now! AMAZING! He reads to me every night for about 15 minutes and it is unbelievable the words he is able to figure out. He has a super teacher, Mrs. Thompson. What a smart guy!

Keyto had Student Council yesterday and had to take the roll call. He was very talkative when I picked him up from school, good things are happening! He has been quite the social butterfly lately. Two birthday parties in the last couple of weeks and another one this Sunday. All that along with successful soccer/basketball games makes a very happy Keyto.

We have a parent baseball meeting this Thurs. night. I am very excited to get into High School Baseball. I'm looking foward to meeting and hanging out with the Moms. He will be scrimmaging all day Saturday, luckily the temps are supposed to go back into the 60's by then.

Have a great day!

Hugs,

K

100th Post and a Tribute

Happy 100th post to me! I can't believe I actually made it. Of course, it took me longer than it would most people, but I did it.

I wanted my 100th post to be special, so I want to make it a tribute to my Uncle George.

He is married to my Dad's sister, the Aunt that we celebrated her 60th birthday back in November. My uncle is a son, brother, husband, father, uncle and friend. He has four amazing children and two adorable grandchildren. My Aunt and Uncle have been a very important and active part of my boys lives since the day my oldest was born.

He is very special to all of us. When we lived in Lubbock, he came to practically every one of my boys sporting events. The only time he or my Aunt missed was if they had another engagement or was not feeling well, which rarely happend. They were there rain, wind, blowing dirt, or freezing wind chills. Since we moved here I really miss watching the games with them and my Dad.

The other memory that stands out to me is the time he spent with Tucker. I would call Uncle George to see if he had a little time to watch Tuck while I got my haircut or went to a PTA meeting. He always said yes! He and Tuck have a special relationship as Great Uncle and nephew. I would pull up in front of their house and there they would be sitting in the porch swing just chatting away.

My uncle has been fighting cancer for almost two years now. He is strong and has fought hard. He and my Aunt are on our minds everyday. We love you guys!

I thank you all so much for reading my blog and for the love and friendship. I know you are busy and usually just read and don't comment, but leave me a comment and I'll pick a name for a gift-away. I love to mail little somethings to friends, so leave a little note. I have crafting and non-crafting readers, so when I know the recipient, I'll post the gift. I want to give the commenter something they will enjoy.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Hugs,

K

BLISS

bliss - n : complete happiness : joy syn. - blessedness ; blissfull - adj.

I really love this word. Complete happiness, joy and blessedness is where I am right now. I can feel it deep down and I am so grateful that I am at this point. I know I am here, because I have felt it before and there is a great peace with it. I have a beautiful life with a wonderful husband and beautiful boys (don't tell them I used the word beautiful). I picked the word bliss over content because content gave me the impression of settling and I know that I haven't settled for anything less than what is God given and a blessing.

To celebrate this, I received this ring for Christmas and will wear it everyday. I ordered it from Beth Quinn (link on sidebar). She had the most beautiful jewelry. I also received one of her vintage necklaces that I will post a picture of later on. I am also going to do a little scrapbook of pictures that are blissful to me. I will share those pictures as I take them.

I started this last year after reading this by Ali Edwards. I really needed something to focus on after our big move. My word last year was ACCEPT. I might not have accepted our move completely, but I do believe that focusing on this word, especially when I was down, did help me to eventually "accept" that we were here and to make the most of it and that is what has led me to Bliss.

I have lots of goals and dreams for this next year that I will share with you over the next couple of days. I am also getting close to my 100th post and want to give away something special to one of you.

Thank you for sharing your lives, art and families with me.

Hugs,
K

Edited: Sorry my links don't work to Ali, I don't know what I typed in wrong. You can find her blog by googling her name. Will try it again later. Time to get off work.

Grateful

We had a very nice Thanksgiving last week. I am so grateful that we were able to go home to see family and friends. I always need that about every 3-4 months. Hearing their voice on the phone just isn't the same as seeing them and looking into their eyes to make sure everything is okay. There is nothing like a hug from family. Everyone is doing well and so I felt very relieved. I spent some time with my Aunt Ann and Uncle George, saw my cousin Charlotte who was also home from Dallas (I see her in Lubbock but not much in Dallas, home is always where family gathers and we slow down to enjoy each other), shopped and watched movies with Mom, and hung out with Dad and Renea.

The boys played some basketball with Grandad. You may not be able to see from these pictures, but it was a little more like football. I love these pictures of the boys with my Dad. They were having such a great time!

Hope you had a great day today. Mine was soooo busy at work. Everyone needs their stuff done RIGHT now! I am working on 3 weddings, many Christmas parties, and some forms. But...one of my favorite customers came in today to bring me a beautiful poinsettia. This lady and her husband are so adorable and they just make me feel good about myself and what I do everytime I see them. They tell me how blessed they are to have found me (I have done alot of detailed work for them), but they just don't realize how they brighten my day, especially when it is as busy and demanding as it is right now.

Well, better get to bed. Busy day tomorrow. Keyto has his Band Concert tomorrow night. I am ready to hear some live Christmas music.

Hugs,

K

In HONOR and MEMORY of

our family, friends and all the other Brave Americans who have served our country: my grandfather, Jack Yates, served in WWII; Brent's grandfather, Howard Stroud, who also served in WWII; Brent's SDad, Richard Sivage, who served in Vietnam; my uncle, George Sanders, who served in Vietnam; and Jesse Rodriguez, one of Brent's good friends, who served in Desert Storm and in Iraq (twice).

Today at Tuck's school they had their annual Veteran's Day program. This is something they do every year to honor the Veterans. All 650 kids + Parents are in the Cafeteria! It is an amazing and awesome program. Some of the songs they sang were "Star Spangled Banner", "Armed Services Medley" (all service members were to stand when their branch was played), "Marine's Hymn", "Old Navy", "O Flag of our Union" (1st grade), "I Love My Country" (1st grade), "God Bless the USA" (all). There were many more songs, musical instruments, and poems read. We also received a new flag- POW/MIA (black one on the left) that was donated to the school by the DFW National Cemetary and Staff. TAPS was played while this flag was being presented.

The ceremony ended with the "March to the Flagpole". All the students walked in single file out the cafeteria around to the front of the building and dropped their loose change into a silver bucket. This money is donated to a Veteran's Organization. Some students from the High school were there playing the trumpet and stare drums.

I couldn't help thinking about our service men and women and what they were doing right at that moment. Where were they? Who were they talking to? Were they in battle? Were they scared? Did they feel appreciated and loved? I hope that they can feel the love we send them by prayers, care packages, notes, emails...

I also think about the Moms, spouses and children of these brave Americans. I hope that they also feel our respect and love.

I hope all of you have had a day of peace and joy.

God Bless,

K

My Handsome Boy

What a great smile! It warms my heart and this is the smile I get every morning when I go into his room to get him up for school. I turn on his Backyardigan CD about 6:15 and then go in at 6:30 to smooch on him and rub his back to wake him up. I love this morning routine and will miss it when he eventually gets up on his own like his big brothers.

This is his 1st Grade School Picture (he didn't wear his glasses because they were so crooked and his new ones weren't in yet).

Hugs,

K

(ps. to family...don't expect pics from the two big ones...B didn't tell me until we were walking out the door and I couldn't find a checkbook and Keyto just didn't turn in his money because evidently they never asked for it...hmmmm

It's My Anniversary!

One year ago today I went back to work after 12 years of being a stay at home Mom.

It was one of the hardest things I have ever done (not a decision I had a choice in) and I still wrestle with it everyday. I get tears in my eyes every Monday morning when I drop Tuck off at school or think about missing their "just after school excitement" when telling what happened at school that day. I miss having lunch with them (I too far way to drive in).

BUT...I work for the best boss a Mom could ask for! She has a college age daughter of her own and has worked there for 12 years so she understands. Not once has she ever denied my request to ask off or been put out when I have asked. AND I really enjoy what I do. It is creative and I work with my hands. Last, but not least all the people I work with are enjoyable, honest and respectable. I feel very blessed to have found this job and that Lynn and Melissa (owner) gave a Stay at Home Mom with no local references a chance.

Have a great day!

Hugs,
K

Very Blessed

Just wanted to post how grateful and blessed I am in my life. I thank God for my family, our health, friends (near and far, old and new), our jobs, our home and the LOVE and JOY in our hearts. I love being a wife, MOM, daughter and friend. I love you all...

I wish you a day of laughter and the feeling of love from those close to your heart and those who are just passing through.

Hugs,
K