HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY TO DESMOND!

We celebrated Desmonds first birthday on Monday with the perfect "kids" meal, grilled cheese, apple sauce, and chocolate cake and of course presents! It was a fun evening at home. What a blessing this year has been! Watching Little D grow and develop different skills is awesome. He was taking steps at nine and a half months and is now moving on to learning to run. I think it has something to do with trying to keep up with his big sister Cali.
One of my favorite country song is "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. In fact it is the ring tone on my cell phone. If you don't know it, it goes "Don't blink just like that your 6 years old and you take a nap, and you wake up and your 25 and your high school sweetheart becomes your wife. Don't blink you just might miss your baby's growing up like this are turning into moms and Dads......
I remember taking Dustin to the doctor for a check up to play soccer. He was probably 14 at the time. There was this adorable little guy about 2 years old running around in the waiting room. He was a little blonde-haired brown-eye inquisitive cutie pie just like Dustin was at that age. The mom seemed alittle frazled trying to keep up with him. We struck up a conversation and I recall telling her not to blink or the next thing she will know, she will be bringing him in for a high school soccer check up.
And now Dustin and Jessica have kids of their own taking them in for check ups. It goes by so fast.
The point of that story is to appreciate every second of every day that God gives you. They all have a purpose in your big picture and are all a gift. How does that saying go about yesterday is gone thats why they call it the past. Tomorrow isn't here yet, so it is the future. But today is a gift thats why it is called the present. I probably messed that up but you get the point.
Have a blessed and memorable day!

I have the most amazing husband! Last week end Tom was off work Thursday through Sunday. We were supposed to work together on painting the kitchen, hall, and family room, as well as other prep work for the remodel. I had gotten a phone call that a friend of my parents, Jim Rodamer, from the Bay Area had passed away. Jim was a wonderful family man, friend, and neighbor. We moved in down the street from him and his family when I was in fourth grade. Anyway, Tom stayed home and got a lot of the work done while my sister and I drove up to Fremont for the funeral. He knows me more than anyone else in this world and I thank him so much for his wonderful understanding of my need to go.  The funeral was such a joyous celebration of Jim's life and his love for family and friends. 

While I was gone the kitchen cabinets were delivered. An inspector came out on Monday and opened all the boxes. We have great news, most everything was intact. There are only two drawer fronts and one door that need to be replaced, none of which will delay the installation! We are right on schedule and should start installation on Feb 24th. 

The other news of the week is that Cali Started pre school on Tuesday! It was a good day for all. She loved school. Jessica and Dustin dropped her off in the morning. She was being very brave and "barely" got a tear. When I went to pick her up, She didn't want to leave! She was so excited to make new friends. At home, Desmond and I got one on one time. Oh my gosh it was fun to get him all to myself!  He is so sweet and on the move..... he's been walking for about 4 weeks! I will get some photos of him up in the next week... promise.

So today is Wednesday. I watch Cali and Desmond on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. Wednesdays are Cali days because she gets to bowl on a league after her nap. She is so adorable with her bright pink ball and black and pink bowling shoes that Mom and Dad got her for Christmas. Each frame she throws her ball down the lane, looks across all the other lanes for any of her new friends, does a little dance to the background music, and wanders back to the seats. All of this takes about 5 minutes. After she has had a seat, her ball finally hits the pins! Kids are awesome. She doesn't care if it gets 1 or 10 pins (they have bumpers so she is always guaranteed at least 1), she just enjoys the game!  I think we as adults could learn a lesson from that, what do you think?

As promised here are some of the photos from the race. Now if I can remember how I did this tomorrow, I will post some pictures of the rest of the family!

THEY DID IT!!! Honestly, I never thought much of running as a sport. A few years back Tom and I got to watch my cousin, who is also my dear friend, Denise run and complete the Rock and Roll marathon in Phoenix. It is amazing to watch runners come across the finish line. People of all ages, some smiling, some crying, some get rubber legs and become very wobbly, and others just stroll across. However they get there, they get there!  I am in awe. There is no way I could walk 26.2 miles or 13.1 for the half, let alone run. Today was equally as exciting, well, maybe even a bit more because it was my baby girl and the love of her life running the race! I had the perfect spot, right at the finish line. What a thrill to watch them cross under the blue banner that read F-I-N-I-S-H! First Amy in just under 3 hours, pretty good for her first half marathon. Then Chris in just over 5 and a half hours. His time and the fact that he even finished were great considering he has a stress fracture in his foot! I still am not sure how much of a sport running is, but the determination of the runners to finish the race is where the thrill comes in. Way to go Chris and Amy!!! I managed to get pictures as they finished. My sometimes patient but always accommodating son, Dustin is going to teach me how to load them on the computer and on to this blog (he keeps telling me to take a class but I kind of like learning from him). So hopefully you will see them soon.

So early I said that I was going to Huntington Beach to support Amy in her first half marathon. I have a correction. I am going to support Chris with his run in his first marathon and Amy in her first half marathon. This all started because of Chris' position at CBU. He organized a group to run in the Surf City Marathon. As he was training, Amy started running the maintenance miles with him. After a while she decided, since she was training anyway, she might as well join him in the marathon. Well as it turns out, she was to late for the whole marathon so she's running the half. As for Chris, please keep him in your prayers. He now has a stress fracture in his foot but is determined to run with his team.   I am excited to watch them both! God bless you guys! I pray that he carries you both safely across the finish line!

Here we go

OK y'all I am new to this blogging thing so be patient with me please. Not sure anyone is going to read this but I thought it would be a good way to journal the craziness of our lives on Merrington Pl. Wow that sounds like a title for a lifetime TV special. 

We are in the beginning stages of a kitchen remodel. So far it has been fun picking out cabinets and granite. Tom put up new can lighting last week. I love being married to such a handy man! This week I emptied the cupboards. I had no idea how much "stuff" I had accumulated. Well I did but don't like to admit it! Thursday Tom took down the upper cabinets. Today we had some guys come remove the acoustical ceiling in our family room and retexture it. Now it is just waiting for a coat of paint. Dustin has volunteered to help with that. Our new appliances (range, microwave, and dishwasher) came this afternoon all intact and on time...yeah. 

So as you can tell it is a busy time here. They say this whole process could take 4-8 weeks. I am very excited and a bit anxious about the whole thing. Cooking meals will be a challenge but I think I'm up for it. Will keep you posted as we go. 

Tom is on the evening shift this week so I am going out to dinner with Dustin, Jessica, and kids. I love that we share a home together. Getting to watch the grandkids grow daily is so fun.

Tomorrow I am heading to Huntington Beach to give support to Amy. She is running a half marathon, her first ever! Go Amy!!