Merry Christmas!

The Holidays were very good to us this year. A week before Christmas, Rodney's parents and brothers came into town for a Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner with us which, of course, was yummy! On Christmas we went to my brother's bar and grill for Christmas dinner and then on the 26th we had a BIG family dinner at our house. It's nice to be close to family for the holidays and we really enjoyed ourselves and I think Mom was never far from everyone's mind but, I'm proud of us all for getting through it for her! She WAS Christmas for all of us and we definatley missed her!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Tristan get's his favorite movie.. BOLT!

Airplane from Grandma Hanson

Rodney, Tatum and Tristan at work!

I think Tristan likes this one! haha

Tristan get's a Leapster 2 for Christmas!

My Christmas presents!! :c) Santa spoiled me this year!!

The pile of Christmas presents on the 26th

notice that all of our decorations had to be at the top of the tree this year...

Tatum is sooo excited to get Snow White....

....THANK YOU soooo much Pappy Rich!

Wii games for Rodney Jr.

Paige gets a Pens jersey from Pappy Rich

Tatum shows Pappy Rich his golf outing gift

Santa Claus was a sneaky Claus this year and didn't tell Mrs. Claus everything the kids were getting this year... I thought Rodney Jr. was getting a Leapster 2 for Christmas but Santa Claus was so worried because all Rodney Jr. asked for was a Nintendo DS. Needless to say, Mrs. Claus was surprised when Rodney Jr. opened a Nintendo DS and Tristan opened a Leapster 2!!

Santa Claus did most of the spoiling this year but he was excited to get tickets to see Jeff Dunham this January and we are BOTH excited to plan that night out!!

An Early Christmas Present

This Christmas we got the pleasure of getting a brand new, FREE puppy! I was NOT all for this idea but, Rodney won on this one and I'm glad that he did! Jet is a Pitt Bull puppy, about 4 months old, and he is the SWEETEST little dog ever! He proved to be a Christmas present for each of us! First, Doobie, she wasn't really sure about him but after an hour of relentless licking and pawing by Jet, Doobie was won over! The kids were upset at first because they thought he was their ONLY gift and it's not what they REALLY wanted. But, as soon as they realized that Santa was coming back on Christmas Eve, they started to pay more attention to him. Rodney gets the Pitt Bull that he's ALWAYS wanted. And I get my vacuum cleaner... FINALLY! Doobie is too scared of our kitchen floors to clean up the mess after the kids are done eating but Jet is always RIGHT there to do the job!! YES!!!

Welcome to the family Jet!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Tristan!

On the 21st of November we celebrated Tristan's 2nd Birthday. (Actual birthday was the 23rd). We decided to keep this birthday small with just the immediate family. Of course, everything is always done last minute with me so I was still decorating the cake when the guests started arriving. (Sorry Tristan, it could have been SO much better!) He had a great time and so did we!

The monkey cake for my lil' monkey!
He didn't look too sure about everyone singing to him and he almost kissed the candles when he blew them out!

I don't know what prompted the hug but I'll take it!!

Love his face! Even when it's dirty!

Tristan, Grandma Karen, Tatum, Great Grandma Jane, & Rodney Jr.

His favorite thing in the world... Dum Dums!!

He's showing everyone his new fork and 'poon.

Tristan gets some help from Pappy Rich

And Tatum gives Tristan a ride in his new truck truck

720 Hours

It has already been one month since my mom passed and it's still so hard to believe. It's getting a little harder for me because I'm starting to move from the memories of her being sick, (which helped me get through), to memories of her being alive and smiling and doing so many things this time of the year. I try to make it easier for myself (being a military wife) by pretending I'm just half way across the world and that she's only a phone call away. But then reality sinks in and it SUCKS all over again. "Sucks" is the word my sister and I like to use to best describe this situation. They say everything happens for a reason and in relation to my kids, I always have moments where I think I'm crazy for only being 26 and having three kids. But I am SO HAPPY that my mom was able to know each of my kids and had a chance to LOVE THEM with all of her heart as long as she could. We sometimes worry that the kids will 'forget' her but I'm starting to think she made such an impression on them that she will never be gone. She is still very much a part of the kids everyday conversation and I'll make sure it stays that way. "Miss you Mom"
On a lighter note... Life has moved forward as it always does and we have been very busy this last month. I had to photograph a wedding my mom had booked on Halloween so the week before, we dressed the kids up for Halloween and took them to the Pittsburgh Aviary for thier Halloween special. I was only upset that Tatum didn't get to see a peacock there. On Halloween, I went off to do the wedding and Rodney dressed up the kids to see their Grandma Jane and Pappy Ed and then to see PapPap Nick. They didn't get a lot of candy which was fine by me but, they got enough to make them happy!

Rodney Jr, Grandma Karen and Great Grandma Liz

Rodney Jr. looking at the penguins with Grandma Karen

Princess Peacock (Tatum), Mater (Tristan), and Spiderman (Rodney Jr.)

No More Pain

When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth, you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~Kahlil Gibran




After a year of struggle, my mom has lost her battle with Cancer. Thank you for all your prayers, love and support through this journey. She will be missed by so many people for being such a wonderful person. Her smile and laughter will forever be in our hearts. Find comfort in knowing there is no more pain, and she is now in Paradise.

BREATHE

Prayer is exhaling the spirit of man and inhaling the spirit of God. ~Edwin Keith

Change of Plans

Just an update... again... looks like my mom will not be attending the Cancer Center at this time. I will try to keep everyone updated and please, keep on praying!

Thank You for the Prayers!!

Just an update.....! My mom is going to the Cancer Center in Philly! YEY! She goes next week for a 3 day evaluation!! Keep on praying!!

Prayer for Fran

A little update on my mom.... We are currently trying to get her into The Cancer Center in Philly or Chicago. They are currently checking to see if they accept her insurance and we should know something by today or Monday. So far this center has been wonderful! They have offered to pay for two roundtrip airfares for my mom and a caregiver, just so she can go there and be evaluated. It is a four day process of complete workups. Please pray that my mom can get into this cancer center and that it proves to be as wonderful as we are hoping!

Getting To Know Guam

Although I am happy to be back to civilization, I do have to admit that Guam was "home for a while"...

Rodney's First Day of School

Thursday was Rodney Jr.'s first day of Kindergarten. We're all really excited that it's full day but only Rodney Jr. was excited about riding the bus. I was a nervous wreck! But, it has been smooth sailing and he's having a great time!!!

He looks so little!

We left the windows open one night and we all woke up FREEZING!!!

Daddy helping Rodney Jr. with his homework.

Cheese!!

Happy 4th Birthday Tatum!!

Today is Tatum's 4th birthday!!! I can't believe that my little girl is 4 already! On Sunday we had a party for her. It was her first REALLY big party. About 30 people came and she was SOOO excited to see all the presents that came along with the guests! She got a whole new wardrobe for the year!!!

Thanks Aunt Jen and Uncle Frank for taking the pictures!!!