Finally

Every year I ask. Every year for the last nine, it hasn't happened.

On the tenth, it did!

My mom, Ruben, and kids came to our house for Christmas!

The last time we were all together was five years ago and M wasn't even born.

It was so nice to spend quality time with all of my favorite people.

I feel so blessed to have had this opportunity.

It was a  MERRY CHRISTMAS  indeed

Lucky

Lucky. It's a word I've heard thrown around quite a bit lately.

On Saturday, J told us he was SO lucky because just that week on Thursday he had gone to his friend's birthday party. On Friday he went to a picnic where he got to play with a bunch of his friends, and that evening he was going to our neighborhood's block party.

Last week was M's first week of school and J's first full week. It was also the first week for fall sports. We were busy! So busy, in fact,  that M decided to get a nap in before making her soccer debut.

LUCKY!

The picnic that I speak of was the annual HAP picnic. I'm a co-chair this year and had the opportunity to introduce myself to the Kindergarten parents at Curriculum night earlier in the week. In my push to get parents to volunteer, I spoke of the feeling of community that we have at Hansen. I told them how on M's first day of school she was greeted by several of the staff there, of how I feel that they are always safe behind those walls. I love the HAP program. I love that the kids travel together through the years. It's a great fit for somebody like J who is socially-challenged. It presents the opportunity for him to build great friendships without much of an effort on his part. I feel very LUCKY to have gotten in, and I feel lucky that  M got into the preschool program there.

Saturday was our first annual neighborhood block party. There was a great turnout. The adults ate and drank while the kids ran around and planned for a talent show. As we were wrapping things up some of the other neighbors and I were talking about how awesome our neighborhood is and how LUCKY we were to have stumbled upon it. 

As it turns out, the next day my mom ended up in the hospital. She had a sinus infection that went haywire; her blood pressure went sky high, her potassium and sodium levels low, and five days later she's still there.

I don't always feel lucky when these things happen. I stress about not being able to be there with her; get angry over the shabby phone lines that won't go through to her room; annoyed at the nurses that don't seem to be doing much. But, she's lucky to have family and friends there that never let her down. They call and visit and keep her stocked with the things she needs.

 I'm LUCKY to have the best mom in the world still here.

And I'm lucky to have my two beautiful kids....

They keep me busy when I need it most. They keep my body moving, my mind occupied, and my heart full of love.

Picture Perfect

I had the pleasure of having my mom in town today. We dropped M off at preschool, went to Macy's; I got spoiled as usual by her. We picked up M and went to Applebees.

A few hours later, we met D at Fujiyama. We had a wonderful and entertaining dinner. The kids were generous in their choice of a gift.

Dessert came next...an ice cream cake at home.

.......................................................................MY BIRTHDAY

It was a picture-perfect day.

30 Days of Thankful

Last November our family worked on a thankful turkey. It was a simple concept where each day we'd paste a feather encrypted that for which we were thankful onto the body of a turkey.

(Read about it here).

This year I had a similar project in mind. I thought we'd do a wreath full of thankful leaves. It was a great idea except that I didn't get the leaves cut out in time. And then a week into the month when my mom got sick and almost went into a diabetic coma, I just threw in the towel.

However, I was and still am very thankful -- for a lot.

So, in honor of the 30 days of November, here they are:

I am thankful for......

1. The unconditional love my children share with each other

2. A Saturday morning all to myself

3. Faith Formation at church where both J and I have the opportunity to learn more

about the religion that has guided me throughout my life

4. Dim sum with the family on a Thursday

5. The bruise on my mom's face because that means she hit her face and not

another more serious spot on her body

6. The strength God bestowed on my mom to be able to crawl to the phone and call my Tia after the fall off the bed that caused said bruise

7. My Tia and Tio

She for getting to my mom in a jiffy and driving her to the hospital, and he for staying with her after she was released.

8. The means and opportunity to leave a few days early to be with her and the peace

I felt listening to her snoring in the next room

9. My Comadre Roseanna who despite short notice, a late hour,

and a stitched up finger was able to pick me up from the airport

10. Sacramento

Because being there pulls me back into the idiosyncrasies of my heritage and all the beautiful traditions that keep me grounded and are a constant reminder of where I come from

11. Seeing my brother

12. The joy I felt seeing my Tia Eleanor walk into my childhood home and the fact

that it was full of family on a Tuesday afternoon

13. Finding my wedding band after it had been MIA for 8 days

14. My hubby, who carries more than just the weight of his daughter on those shoulders

He keeps us safe, provided for,

and laughing


15. The extended family God gave me

16. And the family that by His grace I was lucky enough to meet
and embrace as my own (see No. 9)
17. The wonderful food we ate at Thanksgiving
18. Two awesome days in San Francisco visiting with yet more family
19. The twinkle in My Tia Chona's eyes and the remission that put it there

20. My mom
I'll leave it at that -- to elaborate would take too long

21. Being reunited with my family after nine days of the genders being
divided in two different states

22. Wishes coming true
D's to indulge in crabs and an Anchor Steam in SF

and J's to ride a cable car

(Really thankful that I could stop him from jumping off and into the street to retrieve the stuff that spilled out of my purse....yeah, that's a story in itself all right)

23. My niece

24. My nephew,

who despite all the challenges he's faced in his short life, still manages to smile (sometimes)

and make others do the same

25. The way the gaps of both distance and time close when the cousins are together and

the joy it brings to their days

26. The doctor that gave us the good news on the day before I left

that my mom's tests all came back negative;

that she's in good health; and that she's able to resume her normal day-to-day activities
27. My friends

For opening their homes and their hearts to me and my family

and for giving me the peace of mind of knowing I can ALWAYS count on them

28. My cozy home and comfy bed that were so nice to return to after two weeks away

29. Late start days

Especially after getting home at midnight

30. The opportunity to be here once again with so much to be thankful for

My Mom

My mom has made me laugh,

wiped my tears,

hugged me tight,

watched me succeed,

seen me fall,

cheered me on,

kept me going strong,

and DROVE ME CRAZY at times

Moms are a promise from God that you will have a friend forever!

Put this on your status if you love your mom,

whether she's here with you, or in Heaven.

AMEN!

This is something that's going around on Facebook. I not only put it on my status, I wanted to put it somewhere more permanent. I am so grateful for all that my mom has done for me, my brother, and now my kids. I love her with every part of my being and cannot imagine what my life will be like after God calls her home.

I said at my rehearsal dinner speech that if I could be half the mother, wife, and woman she is, the people around me would be very lucky.

I'm still trying ~ She has some really big shoes. And I have no idea how I'm going to fill them.

Today

Today she is 77

I am 44

33 years

two states

540 miles

and what sometimes seems

like several lifetimes separate us

But none of that matters

because at the times I've

needed her most,

(Wedding dress shopping in Phoenix -- Oct '02)

(Meeting J, again in Phoenix -- Jan '04)

(His baptism in Germantown, MD -- Jul '05)

(Meeting M in Olympia -- Oct '08)

she's always been there.

I wish I could do the same for her.
The guilt sometimes consumes me
to the point of tears.
But that's a story for another day.

Today is her birthday.

(July 2, 2003 -- the last time we celebrated her birthday together)


So today,
let's just celebrate her!




Feliz Cumpleanos, Madrecita Linda!