Get Out Your Quarters!

This week I am staying with Reuben in Virginia because Mike is going out of town tomorrow, so I am here until Thursday. I am glad to have somewhere to stay, but I'm a little concerned. Tonight Reuben told me to turn out the lights in rooms I'm not using. (Flashback to living at home with mom and dad) Then, he said he was going to charge me twenty-five cents for every light I leave on in the apartment! This arrangement might prove to be expensive!

Reuben also wanted to give a "shout out" on my blog...so shout out!

Remembering Mom- One Year Later

It has been a year since mom passed away. It has been a year that held a great deal of change for our family. We have experienced loss, struggles, many tears, yet somehow laughter, comfort and even joy in it all. I have come to realize that my definition of family has changed in the last year. Family is not necessarily those related by blood or marriage. Family goes beyond that. Family is someone who shows enough love to listen at any time, let you cry, and encourage and lift you up. Family are those who are not afraid to be real with you - they tell it like it is, even if it hurts to hear it. The weekend mom was hospitalized, I bumped into an old friend at the mall. Since then, their family has been a very important part of our family, and they have been there for Reuben and I in every way possible. I am so thankful God brought them back into our lives.

I am also so thankful for Mike's family. His mom and my mom were best friends, and she goes out of her way to make things special for Reuben and I. She knows how important it is for us to remember her in little ways. Tonight she was late for dinner, and she just said she was arriving "Mary-style." Mom was late everywhere she went! It made us all laugh- it was very true!

Tonight, in memory of mom, we made her famous Lasagna, and had some garlic bread and salad. Mike's dad was working, so he's not in the pictures. Then we enjoyed some Cherry Cream Cheese Pie....yummy!

Our Life As We Know It

Our life as we've known it will change in the new year- there will be an addition to our family. Mike and I are having a baby! I am 8 weeks along, and I am due on January 24th. I went to my first official Dr's appointment today. Before today I had several appointments with nurses, so it was nice to see the Dr. We will be able to hear the heartbeat at the next appointment on July 17! I am so excited!!!

We'll be gone...

We are leaving this morning to go to Tampa to go on a cruise to Cozumel and the Cayman Islands. I am so excited!! We'll be back next Saturday! See ya then....