A Vanished Friend....

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end,
Yet the days go by and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone.

And I never see my old friends face,
For life is a swift and terrible race,
He knows I like him just as well,
As in the days when I rang his bell.

And he rang mine but we were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name.

"Tomorrow" I say! "I will call on Jim
Just to show that I'm thinking of him",
But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes,
And distance between us grows and grows.

Around the corner, yet miles away,
"Here's a telegram sir," "Jim died today."
And that's what we get and deserve in the end.
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Lacie, I am so sorry I became that "around the corner friend", who thought of you often but never took the time to call, or to let you know how much I adored you.  I've known you since you were 7 years old, and your laughter and your unique way of looking at the world were contagious.  Your love for your family has made quite an impression on me.  I will never forget you!  Thank you for being you, an amazing free spirit who was too good for this world.  Rest in peace, sweet Lacie.  Love you mucho!!!!

SOCCER!!!

Yes, I am soooo behind! I am working on catching up, but in the meantime, I just had to share these videos of Drew playing his very first soccer game, EVER! Tell me, do you think I have the next Beckham on my hands? Either way, this mama couldn't be ANY more proud!!!! Way to go, Drew! (Owen plays tomorrow, and I will try to catch him on video as well so stay tuned!) ps: I am in no way a professional videographer, so please ignore the shakiness and the ridiculous shouts of joy from me, ha!

Happy Birthday to the United States Army!

Today the US Army turns 235 years old! In case you were wondering, that's a whole year older than the United States itself! Let's not forget our Nation wouldn't even exist had those very first individuals not rallied together and organized themselves into an Army to defend their right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Here's to the Army, and the hard-earned freedoms they protect!

The short version......

Yep, it's been awhile! A whirlwind more like it! Since I last posted, I have been to San Antonio to see Andy graduate Combat Medic School, spent Mother's Day with my mom and my dear friend from very early childhood who lives in Las Vegas, celebrated preschool graduation with Drew, long-distance celebrated Andy's graduation from Airborne (or "jump school"), watched countless end-of-the-school-year programs, celebrated my little brother's birthday, had a nice visit with my Dad, studied like a crazy woman for an up-coming final, watched Shelbie lose her two top front teeth in a 24-hour period, found our dog a new home, and soothed the baby when he fell and chipped his two front teeth. PHEW!!!! That might not sound like much, but I am exhausted!!!!! thankfully, my final is soon and these 8 hour school days will hopefully slow down just a bit. Although, probably not! I need to squeeze two more classes into the next two months to stay on target. Wish me luck, and if I'm scarce for awhile, you'll know why! ;-) whoever called them "the lazy days of Summer" obviously didn't have four kids and a crazy school schedule!!!!

Pretty funny!!!

On Sunday, Van was so worn out from our Spring cleaning fest that he couldn't keep his eyes open during dinner! I was fortunate enough to grab the camera in time!

Yellow Belts!!!!

On Saturday, Shelbie and Owen tested for their yellow belts in Tae Kwon Do. I was so proud of them for getting up in front of all the other parents and doing their thing! Basically they all went out on the mats, stood in front of the Grand Master and two of their school Masters, and demonstrated their skills, including breaking a board!!!! I was nervous for this part, but they both succeeded on the first try!!!! Way to go Shelbie and Owen, we are so proud of you!!!!!






Sorry there are not more pics, but Van chose this day to become the epitome of "terrible two" even though he is NOT two and well, you can imagine!!!!!

Happy Easter!

Well as usual I'm a little behind but better late than never, right? Easter was a bit different this year..... for one, Daddy wasn't here to participate and we definitely felt his absence!!! Two, it was snowing the night before so the Easter Bunny hid the eggs INSIDE for the first time!!!! I have a hunch that my early bird, Shelbie, scouted them all out before everyone else even woke up! Little stinker had an overflowing basket before Owen even had three eggs!!!! Nonetheless, fun was had by all the littles and we divided the candy eggs equally among them. Later that afternoon we headed over to Josh and Whitney's and had another egg hunt. This one was FUN!!! Aunt Whitney made sure that each child got to find 12 eggs, and Drew being the smallest of the "big" kids, got a bigger size so all the others knew if they found a big egg to leave it for Drew! For once he wasn't left behind or frustrated that he wasn't getting any eggs!!!! Vance and Mason had the big size too and all their eggs were in the living room. Funny thing about these two, once they each found about three they were satisfied and just wanted to open them! hahaha!!! It was a great day! Here are some pics of the fun!