Peaceful Sunday ~

The after Thanksgiving weekend brought some shopping, decorating of both Christmas trees and putting up all the outside decorations... yes we are the obnoxious neighbors, though most on the cul-de-sac seem to be getting into the decorating this year!
We had a fun weekend as I went to Greensboro for Katrina's Annual Christmas party and Chris stayed home and hung out with the guys.... I can say though that I am getting way to old to stay up until after 4am... haha....
Getting excited about Christmas and I need to get some wrapping going and some things taken care of so that I can see what else I need to get.....

More time at home

As soccer has winded down, we are trying to spend a bit more time at home... this has double meaning for us right now as it also means that we are trying to get visitation changed so that Ryan can spend more time at home with him. He unfortunately received some wrong information in regards to his daddy's wants, so I/we took our big calendar and proceeded to use color markers to mark the days that Ryan is currently with us and then showed him how those marks would change... the hope is that by seeing this visually, it will help us understand that all those days without marks, he will be with his mommy... so he can feel comfortable that his daddy is not taking him away from her and so that he can understand that daddy just wants to share him more. He seems to get it and he seems to be fine with it... he has told us in the past that he wants to spend more time here... but its hard at that age... when one parent starts saying things and putting the child in the center, it makes it difficult... this whole process has brought back a flood of emotions for me and some for Trenton too.... we have told Trenton whats going on and let him know that its okay for him to share some of his experiences with Ryan... it might actually help him some. When I think about this, I am so very glad that Trenton's daddy and I were able to make peace and that I was able to be un-selfish and share Trenton the way I do.... its probably one of my better decisions as I see the fantastic relationship that Trenton has with his dad, and I see how much more relaxed he is now than in years past... I only hope and pray that we can reach that with Ryan...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we are all eating at Aunt Janets and Uncle Ronnie's house... grandma and all the aunts, uncles and cousins... only 2 will be missing this year I believe. Its Ryan's first big holiday with the Johnson family... as we were in Kentucky last year for Johnson Christmas, so I hope he enjoys himself.

We have so many things to be thankful for... our wonderful families, our phenomenol friends, we both have great jobs with people we really enjoy. We have a nice home and a cute puppy and we have our health and we have one another.... its good to focus on the good things in life!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

American Legion updates

We helped open the new building at the American Legion post 116 in Fuquay Varina, NC this past Saturday. They had it open just in time to celebrate the Marine Corp Birthday (Nov 10th) and for Veterans Day (Nov 11th). Its a beautiful building with a great bar area... I can see lots of fun times there.....

A special (and late) Happy Veterans Day to all the veterans out there, past, present and future... and also to your families who sacrifice as well. Thanks for all you do!!!!

And time flies by ~

So.. a month later and life has been a whirlwind... I can see where people say that time goes by faster the older you get... ughhh..

The conference in Phoenix was fantastic... very educational, the place we stayed at was beautiful and we got to spend some time with Chris childhood friend David and his family.. they welcomed us in and we had a great time!

Soccer kept us extremely busy until the first week in November when we finished the season with a bang... both boys teams played in the tournament so in total, we had 8 games for the weekend.... yes.. each boy had two games a piece, each day... ughhh.. it was an exhausting weekend... top that off with Ryan's teams pizza party at our house after the tournament... and it took me a week to recover...

Halloween came and went and was fun....School is chugging along... and work is work. My project finally got approved and things will be busy for the next two years or so it looks like....

I have started Christmas shopping and am trying to not stress out about it... hahahaha... those of you that know me well, know that I love Christmas... but the stress of it all does tend to get to me at times!!!

The Spyder got pin-striped and looks great.. it has all of our names on the back of it.. we call it her tramp stamp... hahaha....

That's enough for my quick update.... more soon!

Once again ~

Its Sunday and my day to play catch up.. In actuality I have had quite a bit of time this past week for that, but I chose to read a book instead. It always makes me feel so good when I complete a new book, especially when it around 500 pages and I complete it in two days...
It was a great book, called Twilight and I can't wait to read books 2, 3, and 4!

Chris' trip overall went very well, there was a small accident but no one was hurt and after a tire and a belt was replaced, things were right back on track... luckily his frustration did not get the best of him and he was still able to enjoy himself and not let the accident ruin the overall fun of the week!

Girls night Friday night was a huge success.. there were 13 or so of us total Friday night who got together at Ciao Wine Bar in Cary http://www.ciaocafeandwinebar.com/ Its a great place with a phenomenal atmosphere if you have never been... the wine is fabulous and its just a great place to hang out with friends! The feedback so far has been very good, so I am already starting to think of options for next time.... hahahah!

The boys are doing well though they are not at home this weekend! Ryan tracks back in tomorrow and Trenton is just chugging along... 7th grade is harder in some ways but easier in some ways for him.. .now that he is past the adjustment and 'middle school' experiences, I think its made the year start off sooo much better than last year. I am really thankful for that!

Work is busy and last week was a bit dramatic at work, but overall, it was okay... going to a conference in a week and a half and that should be fun... as part of it, I get to go to Phoenix.... yeah!!! Its a new state for me.. so I am excited!! Chris will get to fly out for the weekend and see me which makes the trip even better!!!!

Today is football and then the hockey game.. and I really guess I should go shower and start getting ready....or we will be late!!!

Updates ~

Its been a crazy couple of weeks around here.

We have welcomed home Jim.. and showed him out to a coming home party night on the town last night! Be sure to ask Jim about it.. I am sure he remembers at least a few details!!! It was a great party with lots of friends, food, drinks and some really good times.. as well as some great photos taken!!

The boys are busy with school/track out and both doing well in soccer. It keeps our weekends busy, but lots of fun. Youth bowling has also started back up, so the early morning Saturdays are definitely back!!!

Chris is getting ready to go to Gatlinburg, TN for a big Spyder Ride with about 50 - 60 other Spyders from all over the country. It should be an exciting week for him. He leaves Tuesday and comes home Friday... he is excited!!

Work is going well... but very busy. I have a couple of important meetings this week gathering last minute information to try to get final approval on my big project.
On a similar note, Jim and I are going to a conference in early October... I am looking forward to it.

I am still getting burnt ~

In mid September ~ what is wrong with this? Two soccer games on Saturday and one on Sunday leads to a burnt forehead and a farmer's tan... good times though!!!