Day of Many Anniversaries...

Perhaps, a scrapbook, if I may...

Cheesecake...say it like you're pissed! The left lane is for passing, the right lane is for traveling! The Udderball! MSG! Jungle Boogie, Miami Beach, PB Gatherings, New York City, Waiting for Hampton, Inverted runs, sneaking an entire bottle of champagne into MSG (go Joe!), attempted Esthers, Bob and Kathy, Shannon and Courtney, Ann and Rob, and anyone else who may have inadvertantly made our New Years Brighter..Thanks for all the memories!

"Grandchildren are a gift from God. They are God's way of compensating us for getting old."

That's what the plaque said that we gave to Joe's parents last night. We waited until after the annual tree trimming event. Dinner was nice and long, tree trimming was nice as usual..and once the train was in place and Joe's family sat around basking in the glow of the Christmas tree, we presented them with the plaque..We told them it was a very special Christmas present that they had to open together. They dug through the gift wrap, and as they read the plaque, it took a few minutes to hit them. I experienced a high last night that can only come with seeing that kind of reaction. It's totally different than when you get engaged..A first grandchild! Absolutely amazing! Of course, my mother-in-law cried, and my father in law broke out the 12 year aged Jameson..We outright blew their minds! it was truly a perfect evening!

I can only imagine what today will bring as we bring the news to my family!

Merry Christmas everyone! I know I got what I wanted this year!

A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on. - Carl Sandburg

How appropriately fitting. Joe and I are still basking in the glow of it all. We still can't really believe it, and I even bought a new stock of Dollar Tree tests today, just to be sure. My first OB appointment isn't until January 15th, but I truly believe this happened for a very good reason to us. The last 8 months just weren't right..and now is the time.

I told a few people at work, and we are saving the news for Christmas with our families..so if your PART of that..SHH, it's a secret..let us tell it in our own way...apparently, I've got a bigger readership than I realized! It even spans continents!

Right now, I'm mortified that the extreme fatigue is going to set in. I'm trying to get all of my Christmas presents finished and wrapped, as with many homemade gifts this year, I'm really proud of myself..all of my arts are being represented! A few of Hillary's Wee Wonderful dolls to finish up, or at least the clothes for them! Then I'm officially done!

Please keep us in your thoughts in the next coming weeks..

Miracles DO Happen...

Just when you've given up..when you were told by a professional that chances are SLIM to NONE..when your mind is consumed by more pressing issues..and the timing just isn't right..guess what happens?


yup! that's right kids! I'm pregnant! And yet however early..I told the whole world 8 months ago we were trying..so why not tell you that we've reached success..Please keep us in your good thoughts! 40 weeks is a LONG TIME!

Getting Ahead...Falling Behind

I can list a thousand things I could be doing right now outside of playing Zelda on the Wii..and I think I'm going to go do them! I felt like I was ahead this year..all decorated just before Thanksgiving (shh, don't tell anyone!), started shopping quite early...and then I was slammed with the news of my father....and here I find myself, not ahead anymore, but not quite behind..and I'm just dragging..someone even told me at work today that I just *look* sad..yeah well..what holiday is worth having anymore? Of course, there will always be Fourth of July..which is, perhaps, my favorite holiday..because Christmas and Easter are now officially laden with deathly scars!

None the less, I trudge on..

At least I've got my studio space..of course, I'd like that to not be studio space anymore..and perhaps be a babies room...but that doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon either! So I'll drag myself up there..and pull it together..at least I can get something done tonight..

Perhaps, tomorrow I'll be cheerier!

A Fresh White Blanket



Perhaps my mom and dad are looking down upon us laughing right now..torturing us with early snow for the season, but alas, it seems that winter has set in.

Where do you even begin?

28 years..1 house...2 grown children..Where do we even start to begin? My brother and I headed up to my Dad's house on Sunday with the intention of collecting anything we felt was valuable. At first, I thought there would be certain things we'd take..but we also had to take the DVD player, and the computer, and the camera...you know, the EXPENSIVE stuff...no..no..that's not what we ended up with. Of course, we took the paperwork puzzle..but we took things like jewelry boxes (even though most of the jewelry inside isn't worth much of anything at all!), plants, heirloom pieces, things like that. To us, those are the valuable things. You can obviously replace computers and dvd players, but you can't replace my mom's Suzy doll that she grew up with. You can't replace the handcarved wallhangings from Colombia that were always in the hallway or even my entire collection of baby teeth (however bizarre that might sound! I know who the tooth fairy really is and I've got proof!).

It's going to be a long haul...and not so much physically, but more mentally..to just get through that house. It's our house..and although I may have let go seven years ago when I moved out, it's still the house I grew up in, and everything is still the same.