The world lost a great guy...

Last night my father in law had a stoke and died, those are the simple facts. Bill was one of those all around good guys, always with a story or two to tell. We had the privilege of spending time with him on Max's birthday and then a few days later on Christmas Eve.


I made him a western apron for his new BBQ.... He wore it the whole night and modeled it well!
Tim has been wanting a Swiss army knife and we knew Bill would be the "perfect" one to pick one out for him. Here is Tim and Bill when he opened it. Bill later had a good talk with him alone on safety and responsibility...

Here he is with Max, Bill always understood because we only see each other every few months that Max had to warm up to them. After being here for his Birthday a few days before, Max ran out of the house when they arrived on Christmas eve yelling Grandpa Bill and Bana, Grandpa Bill and Bana. He even gave him a big hug as they left.

If there was ever a time that I was with someone and had to think back and say is there something I should have said or did we leave on a sour note this was not one of them. Bill raved all night what a nice eveing it was he gave everyone their bear hugs and it was a perfect night one I will remember forever.

We will miss you Bill....

Somedays you win somedays you....well you know...

I am glad to report today it was a win, even when it seems there are so many things that could be and are going on that are not in the "win" catagory!
I didn't have work today, and while that sounds great it is just a reminder that I need to get another job. I decided to take advantage of the time with Max while Tim and Abby were at school. He had a little bit of birthday money and I thought we would go to the mall and see where that took us. As I was getting ready Jim called from work and asked if I would bring him something he forgot. Max loves to go to Daddy's work because it means a trip to the airport and there are so many things that he loves there! On the way they we drove though Papago Buttes by the zoo, Max exclaimed Mommy mountain! I want to climb it! So we drove on to the airport and we saw the new light rail trains (very exciting) then a large crane, and of course plane after plane. It was a trip filled with ooohhhs and wows! On the way back I decided we would "take a hike" Max was VERY excited! So we pulled into Papago Park, I though hole in the rock would be the perfect "hike". We drove in at the zoo entrance and right away he knew where he was, I thought we might have to take a quick walk around the zoo, but he was focused he wanted to hike! We drove around found a parking place and started up the hill! I asked him to stop to take a picture and he was not going to have that! "No Mommy hiking" He raced up the back of the hill which is mostly stairs out of railroad ties. When he spotted "the hole" he asked' Who made that" I let him know that god and the wind did.
Here he is in his victorious moment!


Here he is with the zoo in the back ground
When we got to the bottom we checked out the pond near the car. He is waving at the ducks. Carefree skipping across the bridge...

We went to the mall and picked out a new "Cars" toy and had fun just wandering the mall. It is interesting to see where a almost 3 year old will take you!

Tomorrow we are celebrating Max's 3rd birthday! I enjoyed today so much, he is really putting his words together and becoming such a little man. I am going to take advantage of this time with him. Max gets the short end of the stick a lot catering to the older kids schedules and activities, it was nice to have a carefree day..... and all day all I could imagine was my Dad smiling from ear to ear to have another hiker in the family!

Winter is here!

I sit here at the computer looking out at the cold cloudy sky, I just can't get warm today! I have my sweats on and fleece vest and I am watching the kids run around the back yard. I had enough time out side today and I tap on the window to signal to stop fighting or some other command...
It is winter in Scottsdale! It is 64 ish degrees as I type this, that is near freezing! I did just have to go outside toi verify this fact for you and I now have goose bumps! For those of you who have never lived in Arizona, there is just no real way to understand. My friend Gena lives in Georgia and freezes there and blames it on being an Arizona girl.
You see when you spend over a hundred days of the summer and fall over 100 degrees it changes your body! When you spend most of month of July over 110 degrees 60 is a bit of a chill! They like to say your blood thins out...(what ever that means) I just think the heat messes with you mind so much that you go a little insane!

The sun has also not been out in two days. This is rare, I guess it rained because there was mud all over the playground at school. I never saw it or heard it, but man I miss the sun!

I hope it is sunny and warm where you are!

It's is DECEMBER!

I love Christmas! I do admitt to getting a little over zealous with it but I do love it! I love buying presents for people. I love wrapping things up, I LOVE to decorate the house. I already have plans for Tim's room to be a Christmas / sewing craft room when he moves out! It will be Christmas all year around!

Sure the economy sucks and the job market well it sucks too. There are a million things to be fearful and dreadful about, they will be here just the same after the holidays too, so I am giving them some well deserved time off!

This is a year to be THANKFUL for what you have and for what you can give or do with your friends and family. There will always be people who have more and people who have less than we do. This Christmas is not about keeping up with the Jones, I am gladley give them a rest each year! They are not all they are cracked up to be!

I have great promise for what 2009 will hold. I hope you do too! I hope you get to share it with all the people you love and hold dear!

May your days be Merry and Bright......

I am going back to school....

I started back at school, I am doing a total do over! I am starting at preschool!
When my hours were cut at my job I needed something to fill just one day a week during school hours. This seemed like an impossible task! Where was I going to find such a job. In walks my "village" most of whom work at the preschool the kids went and will go to. The need an assistant in the monday class! A one day of the week gig, things just have a way of working out!
I LOVE this school, it has always had a special place in my heart. The teachers and the director were not teachers there when Tim first started school but parents of classmate, who became teachers there as other teachers moved along. They brought a new life to the school and it has been fun to watch the program grow evolve.

Going back to preschool has also given me some perspective. The philosophy at the school is to foster independence of these tiny little people. I am helping in Mrs H's class on Mondays when she has 3 and 4 year olds together. There are 14 little people. They sit in cirlce time, they do a craft project to varying degrees of success. They have snack and even pour their own drinks! (this has always been an adventure). We expect a lot of of them, to say please and thank you to acknowledge when we have hurt someone and say your sorry. We don't expect that they are all going to be best friends but we do expect them to polite and courteous to each other. We do have such high expectations of them, I was thinking about this yesterday out loud with another friend, how can we are parents, teachers (not just in the classroom sense) and role models expect our littlest kids, not just at the school but our kids at home to do this when at best as adults we have the hardest time following the rules we have set forth for them.

Be Kind

Say your sorry

Keep your hands to yourself

Take turns

Don't hurt our friends feelings

Put things away

Clean up after yourself

The golden rule and all those great cliches.... that we repeat time and time again to our kids....

Instead we seem to implore the opposite, do as I say not as I do...

Sometimes life lessons are best learned when we take a step back and start over, I think everyone could use a day at preschool now and again to remember, LIFE IS about the small stuff, not a career or new car, but about being a good citizen, saying please and thank you and playing nice in the sandbox of life.