out with the old...in with the new

     well its a new year and we all have to look back on 2010 and figure out what kind of year it has been...has it been exciting, boring, horrible, great?  then once you figure that all out you have to look ahead to the new year and see what can be better.  we grow older, our kids get bigger, and our bills seem to mulitply...catching up from christmas and the holidays, figuring out what to get rid of and what to keep....

    our decorations are down and the house is back to normal, the kids are going back to school and elizabeth is growing like a weed....


     do you make resolutions?  i do...i write them down, stick them in an envelope and tape it to december of the following year on my calendar....this years will be as following...

    1.  get into shape (isnt that always one?)
    2. eat healthy
    3. grow closer to todd and my kids
    4. get to detroit more to visit my family
    5. get to vicksburg more to see the zellers
    6.  get in touch with the ontis family and start a relationship with them
    7.  forgive and forget those who have shit on me in 2010


     so how many will make it?  we shall see next year...all i can say is that 2010 had its really dark, shitty moments but i tell you what it was a great year all together, i got married, my husband had a great year at work and my kids were here more than they have ever been.  kaila is doing great in school and her teacher has so many nice things to say, liz is talking lots more, she knows how to count to 11 and she knows her colors and shapes and she is only 2....bradley is doing much better with his reading and math and strives to be better than ever, he really likes to read and get his math under control...todd has grown as a father and a husband and he is doing so well at work that we dont see much of eachother but that is the reason there is food on the table and lights in the house...

     so things can only get better right?  i hope they grow in such a positive way that 2012 cant get much better!!

    thank you to the zellers, the vaughns, todd, and the kids for making 2010 a great year and i hope for better in 2011....love you all and thank you so much!!

its gettin better!!

    well i can say that this weekend so far has been wonderful.  bradley and i played our new Wii games together while todd erected (tee hee) a kinetix roller coaster for bradley to play with, Bradley was supposed to be helping but he was too excited to sit still long enough to put much together.

     this week has been super busy for todd and i have taken each day as its own.  i took advantage of each day and made sure he had nothing to do when he got home knowing full well that the man was going to be super tired after being all over the state of michigan in just 12 hours or so.  we just got a brand new 2010 Escape two weeks ago and it already has over 2000 miles on it.  my goal this week was to make sure he could just relax when he got home and he has.  i cant tell you how wonderful it is to hear him say "i could never do it without you", "if ive ever needed you to be there for me its now, and you are, i appreciate you more than you know", "youre spoiling me babe."  that is the best christmas gift i could ever get! 

     my grandfather is doing well, he finally got of of ICU at Mt Pleasant hospital, then just down the hall...he was there for quite awhile but the doctors cleared him of his pnemonia and took him off the antibiotic IV drip.  he is at tendercare right now in clare rehabing his hip and luanne bless her heart is working on getting him a chair and a bed that will make him so much more comfortable and easier to live, i cant wait for him to get home!

     i have so many things to be greatful for this year and i think that marrying todd and our families fusing together, bradley and kaila have new aunts, uncles, grandma's and grandpa's to get to know and love...im thankful for kaila's great job at school and being a wonderful daughter, bradley's HUGE heart, being able to spend as much time as i have with my sister and family in detroit we have all gotten a lot closer over the last year....and lastly i can say that i am most thankful for our health, our home, food in the fridge (and my knowledge of how to make it taste good and keep it healthy), propane in the tank, gas in the cars and all the little things we take for granted everyday of our lives...this is the time of year to say thank you and i love you....so to all whom i am grateful for and for those who i can say im not so grateful for....i love you and heres to new beginings...

i need a good shot....of xmas spirit

     i think that this time of year is the best.  driving down the road and seeing so many people's lights lit up on their houses.   it amazes me every year how i get all sentimental and "jolly" i guess you could say...im thankful the snow is minimal and it hasnt gotten really bitter cold yet during the day.

     my husband tries his best to make sure that our house is my "winter wonderland"  our first year here we went kinda crazy at Bronners and the house was lit up like a ferris wheel at night.  we bought villages ( a new collector tradition for todd), started my smore ornament collection, and our snowman tradition.   that year was the best, todd really enjoyed decorating and was in the spirit 100%...the next year was a little more organized but held the same feeling of home during xmas.   this year, i guess our hearts just arnt into it as much.  i see the decorations but i dont get that warm fuzzy feeling i did the last two years.   elizabeth thinks its fun and we do it for the kids...i just wish that we could find whatever it is that we need to get into the holiday spirit.  you only get this once a year and only for a short time...to me its a time for family, friends, and letting them know how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate them.  

    todd is SUPER UBER busy at work right now and that is great but he is so distracted most of the time because he doesnt shake his day for a long time when he gets home, if he shakes it at all, we have a very needy, tempermental, bossy two year old and she is having the time of her life right now with all the new stuff going on....when it snowed the other day she stood at the door and stared, hypnotized by it falling, i cant wait until she can get out and really play in it, we have LOTS AND LOTS of yard to play in and todd and i like to cross country ski along the runway...

     elizabeth is espically trying right now, we are trying to potty train her to no success, we've tried jelly beans (if you know elizabeth she loves ANY kinds of beans...), we tried positve reinforcement, stickers for reward...but nope..."liz you wanna go potty"  "no mama...i fine".  she is super mean to kaila and it breaks my heart everytime kaila cries becuase elizabeth was really mean, she wants nothing to do with her right now and she is very blunt about it.

     this is also the time of year when you see how much you mean to others...not only do i try to let loved ones know they are loved but i like to feel it in return...well to those who know what catagory you fit into....are you the one who i know thinks of us or the ones who we know want nothing to do with us....yup xmas is the time of year for family, love, kindness, selflessness.....peace...i will make sure this is the tradition my children live for and teach their children and if you dont want a part in that...thats your loss...