Goal to get back to blogging....

It's been a really, really long time since I've posted.  A lot has gone on in the past year and a half since I've posted.  I've got a teenager now who's starting Junior High next year.  I've got two swimmers and the one who originally was my swimmer, is now playing basketball. I burned my foot in April and haven't gotten back into a workout routine.  I love food and let's face it, I've put on a few pounds since my injury!

 We've settled into our house, but still constantly working on it.  I'm going to make a commitment to myself to get back to blogging.  I don't know if any one is going to be reading this, but I do know I miss having a place to share the happenings of my life, a place to share favorite recipes and a place to look back on things that have gone on.  If you're visiting, please let me know.  I guess the most important thing for me to post today is that I want to be real on this blog.  I want to share the things in my life that are good and bad.  Life isn't always easy.  I find that when I'm on Facebook, everyone posts all the good stuff in life and it makes me feel like I'm lacking somewhere.  I want whoever reads this blog to know that life isn't easy for me. I have a husband that works 60-80 hour weeks.  I have kids that fight like crazy.  I have days where I feel alone and sad.  I have days where I'm on top of the world!  I am a stay home mom, who loves Jesus and am a constant work in progress.  I'm glad you're here and I hope to share some of life's experiences with you.  

So, with that said, here we go...I'm going to work hard at blogging again!

Don't take anything for granted....

Life has been very sad lately.  I realized so many things these past few weeks.  Life is not easy.  It is not simple.  But, it is a gift.  A gift to be treasured daily.

In the last month I have had a lot of sad things happen...my mom got diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer. We are so thankful that is was detected early and the tumor was removed successfully, her lymph nodes came back clear, but she needs to go back and have more tissue removed this week.  She will begin her radiation in a few weeks.

10 days ago, my friend from high school passed away suddenly.  She suffered from seizures and had multiple seizures while she was home alone.  Her boyfriend found her several hours following the seizures, and she just couldn't be saved.  I hadn't spoken to her in many years, but it was still sad news for me to receive and process, we are only 37 years old.

Yesterday, my sister lost her best guy-friend from high school, Greg.  She visited him just a week ago.  He was battling Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS).  He was only 40 years old.  Although we knew this day would come, it was sad to hear.  This debilitating disease slowly destroys the motor function of the central nervous system, the mind remains fully aware.  I know Greg was freightened.  I know he loved my sister.  I know he loved life.  It is just heartbreaking.

Life is just fragile.  Life is to be treasured.  Don't sweat the small stuff.  Don't waste time worrying about the little things in life that don't matter.  Take each day to tell those you love how much they mean to you.  Life is but a vapor...it can vanish away in a minute.

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:14 KJV). 

True

I recently had lunch with an old friend.  We sat there together and shared all that is going on in our lives.  We enjoyed soup and sandwiches and shared deep things!  We shared honestly.  We laughed together.  We were real and honest and raw and true.  It felt great to be with her.  I love when I have lunch dates like that.  I love it when I can be myself.  I love when I'm listened to and when I can listen.  I know she stalks this blog, so if you are reading, my dear friend, please know how much you are LOVED!  How much you mean to me!  How special you are.  Thank you for who you are!

We are living it up!!!!

We moved into our house this past June after 2 months of scraping ceilings, painting and installing hardwood floors into our 1968 home.  We were so happy to be in a home that had the potential to be our "dream" home.   Here is what our home looked like when we did our walk-through....

The neighborhood is A-MAZING!  We love our neighbors and have been welcomed so lovingly.  I feel like for us, being on Southern California, hospitality was lacking in our old neighborhood.  We had a few neighbors that were like family, but when I say "few", I mean like 3.  But when we moved, every neighbor on our block stopped by to introduce themselves, brought us flowers, baked us cookies.  It has been wonderful for our family.  We love our new community.

In August, we had a pipe-burst and our home was flooded.  Flooded to the extent that we had walls that were down to the studs.  It was heart-breaking to see our home torn up.  It was a difficult time.  We were entering our house through the master bedroom and using our laundry room as a make-shift kitchen!  It was hard on the kids.  It was hard on Jeff.   And it was hard on me!  It just seemed like chaos all the time. Trying to do the kids homework and juggling the countless number of sub-contractors coming and going from our house!  Here is a little of what we were going through:

After two months of chaos...we finally got our dream kitchen!  In reality the construction portion was only 2 months from start to finish.   I was able to see my dream become a reality.  We had an amazing contractor (Markei Contractors) and Jeff and I picked all my favorite things. We are so happy with the outcome and look forward to living many years here in our dream home!

I see a light...

It's been a long road! August 3 we had a flood and our house was turned upside down. I was sad and overwhelmed. Here we are today....1 week out from completion! Enjoy this sneak peek at our new kitchen.