12 Years Old!

My only daughter is twelve years old!  She's been very excited to hit this milestone, to enter Young Women, and start babysitting.  Carly loves the idea of speaking French and living in Paris -- thus the cake theme.  She also received a huge print of the Eiffel Tower to hang on her bedroom wall.

It was great to have the family over for a birthday dinner of spaghetti, french bread and salad.  

Cousin Kristina and Cousin Tim

Grandma Martinez

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Linda

Father and Daughter

Video game time with the 2nd cousins

Carly has matured so much since her last birthday, and I've enjoyed seeing her grow and change.  I'm so proud at the young woman she's becoming -- honest, joyful, talented, caring and helpful.  I can imagine what kind of girlfriend, wife and mother she will be.  It's my joy and sadness as she continues to grow away from being my daughter into what she will become!  I miss her already.


Happy Birthday Carly!

Birthday Thoughts

Another birthday has passed me by, and I've marked my 46th year. My joints are deteriorating, my eyes are giving out on me, and I'm starting the dying process.

Okay, it's not that bad. Yes, there are things I now mourn -- the loss of a body that can play volleyball, can ski, can do a cartwheel (yes, there are times I think about doing cartwheels!), that can wrestle on the floor with a 1-yr-old. There are many things, however, that I still can do. I can make cookies with my daughter, give my husband a hug, I can listen to my boys talk to me about video games, and I can feel thankful.

This year I'm especially thankful for my family. I watch my children grow as they seem to tower over me, and I often get the I'm-smarter-than-you-are looks from them. However, they also give me great joy and pride. They are reliable (some more than others), happy (more often than not), and show love to each other (at times)! I love spending time with them, and often miss their toddler selves that needed my protection and guidance.

My husband continues to excel as a father, a husband, and a provider. He's really matured into such an exceptional spouse -- since I "robbed the cradle" by marrying someone five years younger, I actually have witnessed his maturity! I'm proud of him and all his efforts to make me happy.

Happy Birthday to me. I'm going to try and rejoice in successfully obtaining 46 years on this earth, and commit to living a more joyful life this year!

Patriarchal Blessing

Grandma Vogt made a quick weekend visit from Utah to be here to celebrate Gabe receiving his Patriarchal Blessing. It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness this special blessing from Patriarch Coleman! I am so proud of the possibilities of blessings in Gabe's life if he continues to follow a righteous path.

We also took the opportunity to take some family pictures! The kids are changing so quickly and only when I look at photographs does it occur to me that our whole family is almost the same height!

Water Heater Horror!

On President's Day, we returned from the movie theatre to discover that our water heater died. It burst it's seems and leaked hot water all over the floor of our garage. I'm disgusted at myself for allowing our garage to maintain it's clutter -- including boxes, papers and books on the floor, that are now ruined. Most of the containers holding precious photos, Halloween costumes and holiday decor are plastic, so they remain safe. And most of our food storage is on shelves that are off the floor.

I do feel blessed, however, that our water heater is in our garage, instead of in our house. I can't imagine the damage that would have been done to our flooring/carpet, furniture and walls! I also am very thankful to our contractor friend, Ray Hemming, who dropped everything and met us at Home Depot to buy a new water heater and helped up replace our old one.

These are the woes of home ownership... dealing with repairs. Ugh.

Happy New Year!

Fireworks at the Space Needle, Seattle WA

We spent our New Year's Eve at home enjoying games, movies and food - lot's of food!

A YEAR IN REVIEW:

Gabe turned 16 yrs old. He got braces. He can now date and will learn to drive this year. He's taking Japanese at school.

Sam is now taller than I am. He was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. He likes to play video games and watch tv.

Carly got glasses, matured beyond belief, and continues to do well in school.

I earned my Associates Degree (finally), deal with arthritis in my knee, and serve as the nursery leader in our ward.

Daniel continues to work with Boy Scouts/YM, the ward choir, and officially became the Assistant Chief (and acting Chief) of the Respiratory Care Department of the VA-Puget Sound Healthcare System.

Can't wait to see what the coming year brings our way. Welcome 2012!