2009

What can I say about 2009? It has definitely been a year that I won't ever forget! It certainly has been a year of loss, grief and sadness on many levels but I was also presented with opportunities this year that were wonderful. I made the decision to move back home which provided me so much time with my mom that I am eternally grateful for! I have seen my relationship with my extended family grow. I feel very blessed to have an uncle, aunt and cousins that care so much about me and my girls! We now are able to share events and experiences that we never had in the past and that means so much to me. I feel I have grown a lot this year. I have found strength that I never knew I had. I must have learned that from my mom because she was one of the strongest women I have ever known. The changing of the calendar won't take away the pain or the sadness that I am feeling but I am encouraged by the future that it will bring. I am excited to see what is in store for me and my girls! 2010 won't be an easy year but with my friends and family standing by me I will be able to make it!

Hard Times!

The last few weeks have been so difficult! I am so grateful that I was able to spend the last 10 months of my mom's life with her and I will treasure every minute of that! Words can't begin to explain how much I miss her, especially on days like today. Mia had surgery on her eye and I know her guardian angel was watching over her. Maybe it's a little selfish of me but I just wanted my mom there holding my hand letting me know it's was going to be okay. Mia is doing okay but I just want to call my mom to make sure that I'm doing everything right. Mom just knew what to say to me to ease my nerves and to encourage me.

Fall Photos

A couple of weeks ago my friend Mike took some pictures of my family. It was real important to us to get family photos with my mom. I love how they turned out! Mike did such an amazing job capturing my mom's beautiful eyes. I will treasure these forever! The fall colors look amazing! There are so many good ones I don't which ones to choose. I wonder who my girls look like or myself for that matter?

Seven

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl!!!
My beautiful baby girl turned seven today. Where has time gone? I have been truly blessed to be her mom! She is such as smart, kind, loving and wonderful little girl. It seems like yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital. This has been a difficult year for us on many levels but she has been amazing! She thrives at school, she is friend with everyone, she is the world's best big sister and most of all she is a terrific daughter! I love her so much!!!

Snowflake and Kitty Cat

Hailee and Mia outside my parent's house before the big trick or treat adventure.
Hailee and some school friends at the school Halloween Party.

In August, Hailee came to me and said, "Mom, I would like to be a snowflake for Halloween". Um, okay. So began my search of how to make my daughter to become a snowflake. I took a dance costume she used a couple of years ago and sewed some fuzzy, white trim to the bottom of it. Then knowing how cold Halloween can be in Spokane I decided to add warmth to it by throwing on her Cinderella cape. I glued a snowflake over the top of Cinderella's head to make it snowflake worthy. We added a homemade snowflake wand and an ice crystal crown. There you go, a snowflake or snow princess. Mia on the other hand was easy, Kitty Cat costume from Old Navy. Piece of cake! It was another fun year of trick or treating.

Wedding!

The beautiful bride!
The girls sing Taylor Swift to all the guests.

Who needs to hire entertainment when there are eager girls who love to be the center of attention.

The ladybug purse completes the look!

This is the only picture that I got of the couple.

My best friend, Stacy, got married Saturday to a wonderful man, Mike. Despite a lot of rain before and colder than normal temperatures they day turned out beautiful! Mike's parents have a wonderful home on a lake and the ceremony took place on the dock with all the guests looking on from the beach. Stacy looked beautiful as did her daughter Koryn. I had the privilege to make their wedding cake which was a little challenging but I was pleased with the results. All in all, the day was wonderful and I wish the new family all the best!

To Preschool We Go

First Day of School!
I love how her backpack is almost as big as her.

Using a "magnet glass".

At circle with all her new friends!

Mia started preschool this week and she was so excited! Especially since she could take her new backpack! Parents attended the first day to help with the adjustment. I think Mia could care less that I was there. She had so much fun exploring and meeting new friends. I love how she is so confident and jumps right in! She is a lot like her sister that way. I hope this is a trait that will stay with both of them for a very long time!

Horse Play

Hailee always finds a reason to strike a pose.
Mia's idea of posing :)

Maybe I should invest in some proper boots for horse riding.

All we had were rain boots.

Hailee is tired of being lead around.

She is ready to take off on her own!

I took the girls out to my Aunt and Uncle's house this last weekend to see their horse, Spinner. Hailee has always loved horses! She loves riding them, feeding them and brushing them. I have even found her having on hot summer afternoons, sitting by herself having conversations with Spinner. She is so sweet! Mia on the other hand has been terrified of horses. Last summer she wouldn't walk past a window in the house if she could see the horse let alone go near it. That all came to a screeching halt last weekend. Mia decided that she loves Spinner too. She helped brush him, help lead him and rode him. She looked so small up on that big horse but she loved every minute of it! I don't know but there might be horse lessons in our future. When we were driving away Hailee said, "Mom, when I grow up I want to live by Aunt Peggy so I can have a horse too." I love that girl!

Fall Soccer

Nothing feels more like fall then being on the soccer field on Saturday mornings. After my many years of playing it's now my turn to cheer on my own little soccer star. Hailee's first game of the season was last Saturday. She is doing so great! She scored two goals and assisted her fellow, "Red Roses" teammates on a few more. We lucked out that the day was sunny and warm which I'm sure won't be the case for all the games. The pictures didn't turn out so great this time because we were looking directly into the sun, I'll try next game for more.

1st Grade Already!

It can't believe my little girl is a 1st grader! She had a great first day! I'm so excited where this year will take my wonderful daughter. I am looking forward to all the books she will read to me (and her sister), all the fantastic stories she will write, the creative crafts she will bring home and most of all seeing her love of learning grow day by day. Oh what a year we will have!

Mia's Photo Shoot

My good friend, Mike, took these amazing photos of Mia. They turned out so cute! I can't believe she is getting so grown up. He's going to do family pictures this fall and I am so excited to see how his talent will be displayed!

Mia's Birthday Parties

Mia's Unicorn

Hipity-Hop Fun!!!

Riding her new scooter.

Mia and her friends.

Don't you just love that face!

Mia models her new backpack that Mimi got her.


(Sorry the pictures are a bit random!)

Now that we are in Spokane we have the opportunity to celebrate birthday's and other occasions with my family. My family has been so important in my life and it means so much that my girls are able to have these experiences as well. So this year we had two birthday parties for Mia, a family party and a kid party. Twice the parties, twice the fun!

The family party was at my cousin Terri and her husband Pat's house. Mia and Pat share a birthday so we were celebrating him as well. We had a nice BBQ, the girls swam in the pool and enjoyed the first of two unicorn cakes that I made for Mia. She has been talking about having a unicorn party for about 6 months now. I didn't even know she knew what a unicorn was until she announced that was what she wanted for her birthday. Trying to find birthday items that have unicorns proved to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated. But being a mother who doesn't want to disappoint my 3 year old, I made it work and she loved it!

The second party was at, Jump N-Party, which is full of inflatable jump houses and slides. There was about 10 kids and they all had a blast! Mia jumped, ran and slid down the slides for an hour straight. So much fun! All in all, turning three turned out to be a lot of fun for Mia. She has been blessed with spending so much time with a lot of wonderful family and friends. We look forward to many more birthday's to celebrate!