Christmas Letter 2010

Instead of sending out a Christmas letter this year via mail, we are sending it via blog.

January:
We finally bought our second car. What a relief for me - the kids and I can go run errands and not be at home all the time. My clinical depression was getting the best of me and I found such freedom and a burden lifted when I had a car. Markus turned 33. Christian, Markus' brother, came for a quick visit and they went to D-Land for the day. Tyler and Abi were involved in StarPak, a Christian Musical Theater group. I went on a 4 day cruise with a dear friend for mom's who have special needs kids.

February:
I turned 33 and went on a 10 day vacation by myself and visited my good friend in Portland, my brother and his family in Portland, my college friend in Washington, and my other college friend in Montana. It was a much needed time of relaxation and reflection for me. Markus was such a supportive husband and watched the kids the whole time and even did a little school. Tyler and Markus went to Big Bear for the weekend for an Indian Guides trip.

March:

Abi celebrated her 2 best friend's birthday's! Tyler spent his days in the pool. I flew to South Carolina and helped pack my sister and we drove back home to California in 4 days! Precious time to bond as sisters.

April:
Markus went to Hawaii for a few days and visited his sick dad. A week later he went to Oklahoma for a Pre-Paid Legal National Conference. We drove to northern California and visited Markus' mom for 4 days. While at her house, we picked up boxes of Lego's that were Markus' and now Tyler spends his days creating.  Abi learned to swim in our pool - a huge accomplishment for her!

May:
Markus and I went to a Family Life Marriage Conference to prioritize our marriage and focus on each other. The kids spent the weekend with my mom. Abi started her weekly cooking class and loved learning the joy of cooking. I started my HMR diet program. Markus and Tyler went to Catalina Island for a weekend on an Indian Guides trip. Tyler had an infected tooth removed by the oral surgeon - what a trooper he was.

June:
We drove to Phoenix and spent a week with the Miller clan - all 18 of us for our annual family vacation. Bonding as a whole family is one of our  highlights of each year. We bought a boat for us to enjoy and had it docked in Newport Beach. We finished our first year of homeschooling!

July:
Markus and the kids spent the week at Mariner's Church for their VBS! I took a pottery class. Tyler spent 4 days with my dad and step-mom. Markus, Abi, and I went to Palm Springs to a Pre-Paid Legal Conference and Markus was in charge of all the lights, video, and audio. We spent a week in Kern River camping with my dad and step-mom. Tyler went to Special Camp for Special Kids for a week and had the best counselor. When we were home we spent it on the boat or in the pool.

August:
Markus and I celebrate 13 years of marriage! Markus spent two weeks in Texas expanding his Pre-Paid Legal business. Markus' mom came to visit us for 5 days and helped me in the garden. The kids and I spent most of the month in the pool. I reached my weight loss goal of 50lbs!

September:
Markus spent another 10 days in Texas. My sister and I went to Women of Faith and was challenged and encouraged by those amazing women! We even got to see my mom as she was recently hired on with WoF. Abi talked us into having a pool party/luau with 35 people complete with stage lighting.. We started our second year of homeschooling.

October:
We packed and moved within two weeks! I spent the those two weeks packing, throwing things away, selling lots of stuff on craiglist, and giving things away. We would be living an even simpler life...we would be going from a 3000 sqft house to a 1000 sqft condo.  We made it! Everything that was important to us fit and even some extras. The kids got all new furniture and a new bunk bed.

November:
Tyler turns 8! Markus and Tyler went on his dream day - deep sea fishing! After several weeks of taking 3000-4000 mg of Advil on a daily basis and then not being able to walk while at the grocery store, I finally decided to see the doctor and I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I then spent the next month on the couch, not being able to really do anything. Heat was my best friend - the only relief I got from the pain. I didn't understand it at all....the wind was knocked out of me. How could this have happened to me? I had just spent several months trying to get healthier and lost 50lbs and now I am stuck on the couch in tremendous pain...what the heck?

December:
Slowly getting back to this life. I'm able to go to one place a day and then spend the rest of the day recuperating. Thankful and better for each passing day. So grateful for a one story home!! God had our lives in the palm of His hand! Ayla, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,  joined our family as an early Christmas gift for us all. She is the sweetest thing you have ever met. She is a 2 1/2 year old that was being retired from her breeder.

Truly praying for you, our family and friends. Hoping you have a blessed Christmas and celebrate the true meaning of this time of year.

The Closing of September 2010

Oh the thought that September is coming to a close....sadness that summer is gone and yet the excitement of the holidays is coming. But, before I get ahead of myself, I want to look back...look back at what September 2010 held for our family. I find myself often just running through life, sometimes not recognizing the moment and savoring those precious memories. Life is so busy and it can be months before I stop and think what in the world have we been doing and what memories have we been making as a family.

So, here is what September 2010 looked like for our house....

We went to Chuck E Cheese for a birthday party for a close friend of ours. Gabriel or g-man as we all call him. He is the son of a dear friend of mine who has down syndrome. He is the sweetest little man. It was so fun going to CEC and celebrating another year of his life!

In school, we spent almost 3 weeks studying God's creation. We reviewed each day what God created each day. It was so exciting for me, as the mom and teacher, to share that God created the whole world and that it was once darkness. They both embraced it and enjoyed coloring all the activities that we did to learn all about the beautiful creation that God created with His hands! Also, in school, they enjoyed the pool most days for recess. We are so blessed to have our pool....I love it!

Tyler and I went bowling by ourselves one day when Abi was at a play date with her BFF.  He loves bowling and with anything with Tyler, he can become so addicted and fixated on the idea of doing something. He can never get enough of the idea in his head, which often times proves to be a very challenging adventure for us. He bowled great - scoring over 100 in both games. He loved every minute of it and was kicking and screaming the whole way out. Oh well, at least time was spent just him and mom and hopefully he left with a good memory of bowling.

Abi had a play date here at  the house with her BFF, Molly. They are such two peas in a pod. They could play and laugh for hours. They went to school for a few years together during preschool. And now that moved we don't see her too often. But when they see each other, they have never skipped a beat. I pray this is a relationship they both have for a long time.

Markus was gone for 10 very long days in Texas for work. We aren't use to having him gone for such a long period of time. I don't think it would have been so bad, except he was gone for 8 days just two week prior. We survived and pray that doesn't happen again in the near future. It's much harder on the kids these days and watching your children ache because they miss their dad, just crushes my heart and makes the days harder for me.

While Markus was gone, Abi and I had fun planted some flowers in the backyard. She follows in her mom's footsteps...she loves planting. We found lots of empty pots on the side of the house and filled them with our favorites. Our porch and back yard really smile now and makes me smile when I see them. While we planted, Tyler was swimming and have fun spraying the hose everywhere. Abi would get side tracked and would go looking for caterpillars, her long lost love.

I went to Women of Faith here in Anaheim with my sister, Rebekah. It was so great to go. Thanks mom, for letting us go. (My mom now works for WoF!!)  I was so moved by Sheila Walsh and really want to get her new book about trust. She talked about fully trusting God. One question that I haven't be able to answer is at what point in time did I stop trusting? Trusting God? Trusting others? Trusting Markus? Do you feel a thin veil between you and others to protect yourself? Are you only willing to love and trust as much as your are willing to loose? Some tough questions, that I have yet to answer. A powerful weekend...one I never want to end.

We celebrated Abi's 6th birthday. It was stressing and yet so fun this year for her to be so involved with the planning and decorating. As they get older, it gets harder to not do everything they want, to make their day that much more special. She so appreciates all we did to make her day everything she had dreamed of. Oh to be 6! We are in serious trouble I know in the years to come. Lord, help us. haha.



September you've been good us. Thank you for the memories I can now hold onto.

Abi Turns 6!

My darling daughter, Abigail, turned 6 today! I can't believe it...she is growing up so fast. I love the little girl she is becoming. She has such a beautiful heart, loves to laugh, is very girly, puts up well with her brother, and has trouble keeping her room clean.....

....Side note.... she's been wanted a dog for a long time now, but mom and dad aren't ready to take care of a pet again. So, we keep reminding her that if she can keep her room clean for 2 weeks, then mom and dad would get a dog...so far, after several months we have yet to go one week. I know one day that famous day will come...but until then we are pet free and mom and dad are happy. haha.

Back on topic....

Abi loves the following....laughing, cuddle time, learning, playing and catching all kinds of insects, gardening, taking pictures, dressing up, watching movies, swimming, cooking, wearing make up and jewelry, bling-bling, reading books, singing worship songs to Jesus.

She has been taking a cooking class for the last 6 months and it is so her! She goes once a week for  1.5 hours and cooks all kinds of things. It's a good thing I have become a good cook and enjoy cooking, because she loves helping me with everything in  the kitchen. She even unloaded the whole dishwasher and put everything away and then washed all the dishes in the sink by hand and put those away. It's such a big help....surely I could get used to it! All that money for cooking class is finally paying off. haha.

I love homeschooling her because she is just the best student ever. She loves "going to school" and is so eager to learn. She is dying to read, so we are working really hard on that. We are very close. She isn't very strong with her numbers, unlike Tyler, but today we counted to 100! It was a joyous moment for me. She is also learning about money; how you can turn all those coins into "green dollars", how checks are money (thanks to Grandma and Grandpa). She loves to spend money, what girl doesn't, but also trying to teach her about tithing and saving...both are hard concepts to digest.

Abi just learned to swim a month or so ago...yes we do have a pool, but she just wouldn't take the leap and try on her own. She tends to be very timid and has a hard time reaching out and being brave....not a risk taker in any sense of word. So finally one day she decided to give it a try and swam across the whole pool by herself. Two weeks later, she is diving all the way picking up dive sticks and the nuts/peaches that fall to the bottom. Mind you, we have an 11 foot deep pool! She has turned into a mermaid overnight! It's so exciting to sit back and rejoice with her in her accomplishments.

She has a very funny sense of humor. She told me the other day that she wants to stay 6 years old and not be old like me...well thanks dear! lol! When Markus tells her that he loves her, she jokes back with him and says she likes him too! She decided one day to start asking Markus when he came home from a meeting or work - well, dad, so how was your day?!?!

Here are some pictures of her first 6 years of life....

Britt Nicole - Walk On Water

Special Camp

It's been awhile since I posted anything and my mind is racing of all the things I want to share....

But first on the list is Tyler and his week at Special Camp for Special Kids.

He was so excited each day for the new adventures he would undertake...he could hardly sleep, yet was so tired from each days activities.

Each day special camp goes on a new adventure. This year they went to Boomers, the beach, Chuck E Cheese, Knotts Berry Farm, San Diego Wild Animal Park, visited the fire station, and bowling. I get tired just thinking about all those activities.

He had a special friend all week who was so great with him - Noelle. He could never remember her name, but loved hangin' with her nonetheless!

On the second day of camp, Abi really was wanting to go to his camp and asking questions why she couldn't go. Trying to explain to her that it's for "special" kids with "special needs". And reminding her that she went to cooking camp and Tyler couldn't go to her camp. Luckily it all work out. LOL!

Tyler & Noelle

Noelle gave him the Best Bear Hunter Award for the week. He would get up in the front of the bus everyday and lead the group of campers and counselors in the Bear Hunter song.

So grateful for such a wonderful opportunity for Tyler to experience!

From the mouths of babes...

Girls don't like getting old....no matter what their age!

Yesterday, Abi found some spots on her know and freaked out.

"Mom, what are these?!!"

"Those are pimples, dear."

"No Mom!!!! They can't be!!"

As she was now crying.....Abi said.... "Mom, I can't be getting old. Being old is not okay!!!"

Oh the mind of a five-year-old girl and oh boy, have we got a tough, long road ahead of us. LOL!

Markus and his great humor sat her down and began to tell her the facts of life, the process of growing up, and just how life goes.

Needless to say it didn't really help the situation because she was so focused on not wanting to get old.

It made me smile, none the less!

Amazing!

I really can't explain to you how amazing I feel....I have never felt this way ever in my entire life!

I feel so accomplished. I feel so proud. I feel just plain amazing...like flying on clouds. I can't tell you how amazing I feel. I feel like I can conquer anything. I feel so strong...emotionally.

This week, something changed. I'm quite sure what it is. Maybe, it's that I can really now see a difference in me and really feel different. I feel lighter. I even had to get those "thin" clothes out the garage that I've kept, knowing someday I would fit into them again. I have lost a little over 30 lbs in 6 weeks. I also have dropped 2 pant sizes! Wow...what a difference! My clothes aren't tight...they are actually pretty loose.

I am a third of the way to my initial weight loss goal! I've made it and I have the energy and drive to keep going. I'm making this ridiculous liquid only diet work for me! I signed up for Curves this week and have really worked hard. It just feels amazing!

And after 10 months of being away from my hair dresser; whom I have been going to for over 9 years, gave me a new hairdo. I'm 75% blonde! It feels amazing. I've never been this blonde in my life before and I love it. I love how it makes me feel. I feel so light and pretty.  It is an outward expression of how I'm feeling on the inside.

Trust me, this hasn't been an easy road. I hate exercising. I am not good at giving myself priority. But, I can finally say that I am starting to like to exercise. I am feeling and seeing the results of all my hard work and boy is it worth it all! I'm so excited to see what the next few months hold and how my body continues to downsize and how I become the new me!