Happy Birthday Andrea !

Remember on March 2, when I was writing about my daughter Kristi and I said that I was lucky to have added 3 kids to my life when I married Jeff? Well, this is Andrea - she's the middle of those 3. Today's her birthday and she's 25. Andrea is and always has been the peacemaker in our family. She is very much a "glass half full" type of person. She tries very hard to always be positive and look for the good in every situation. She's fun-loving and happy and a joy to have around. She's also a talker. When she was a little girl and her dad and I would take her back to her mom's after weekend visitation, she would start asking questions and talking the minute we got in the car and keep going until we got to her mom's house - 30 minutes away! We would occasionally nod or answer yes or no, but we didn't have to participate in the conversation too much! We still laugh about that. Andrea is friendly. Everywhere she goes she makes a lot of friends. People gravitate towards her and she makes it easy to become her friend. Andrea is a sweetheart and I'm so glad to have her in my life. Happy Birthday and I love you!

So Blessed . . .

Today I'm feeling really lucky and really blessed.

Before Jeff and I moved to Oregon we owned a hot dog cart. He LOVED working the cart. He loved interacting with all the people. And he is a man that loves to feed people. So a hot dog cart was right up his alley. When we moved, we sold the cart to some friends of ours. When we found out we were going to be moving back to Arizona, our friends asked if we'd like to buy the cart back. It was more work than they wanted. We jumped at the chance and so Jeff has been at the baseball fields faithfully supplying concessions to the Chandler American Little League crowd. Last night, he called me with such panic in his voice it scared me from the get go. He asked if I could help him find someone to work the cart because he needed to get to the hospital. Apparently he was having chest pains and wasn't feeling well at all.

A little family background information - Jeff's maternal grandfather died at 49 of heart disease, his maternal grandmother died at 51 of the same thing. Jeff's mother died at 56 and Jeff's sister, Susan, died at 39 both of heart problems. To say the least - there's a bad gene pool there. Luckily, I am married to a man that is very good at taking care of himself - not overly so, like a hypochondriac, but he's smart about listening to what his body tells him and right then it was saying "Get me to the hospital!" He got some nice man to fill in at the cart and drove himself to Chandler Regional Hospital. When hospital staff think you're having a heart attack, they tend to get you in to be seen and start tests rather quickly. The EKG came back fine, the CT Scan came back fine, but the blood tests to see how much calcium is in your arteries didn't come back fine so this afternoon he had an angiogram. The doctor found 2 blockages, but thankfully they are not bad enough to require surgery. Jeff can manage them with drug therapy. Now his challenge is to lay flat on the hospital bed for 6 hours while the angiogram site heals so that he doesn't bleed out. For a man with Restless Leg Syndrome, that will be a challenge.

So, what about the man watching the hot dog cart you ask? Well, my son-in-law Dan called his brother, Adam and Adam went down to the cart and packed it up and took it back to where Jeff stores it. Adam said there were the nicest people there just running the cart and taking money and basically filling in while Jeff was away. People are good.

I am feeling lucky and really blessed -

Because there are good people in the world like the ones that ran the cart without even knowing what was going on, they protected Jeff's stuff.

Because there's people like Adam, who drove about 15 miles one way on a Saturday night to pack up someones stuff and take care of it for us.

Because there are kind, capable people called "hospital staff" who got my husband the care he needs quickly and efficiently.

Because I've had so many phone calls today from people checking on us and seeing what they can do to help.

Because I have the Priesthood in my family and my husband can have a blessing.

Because my husband is going to be o.k.

I love you, honey.

Home Inspection

So, we had our home inspection this past week. I was really nervous about it for some reason, which is a little crazy since our home is all of 3 years old. What could go wrong in 3 years right? Well, in my mind - and probably in reality - a lot, so I worried because we all know that worrying will fix anything! I worried and I cleaned. Man, did I clean! Top to bottom and side to side. Inside and outside. This place sparkled. Still, I worried. I think it must be in the genes. I come from a long line of worriers. Sometimes, it seems, the women in my family look for things to worry about.
The inspection man came - 15 minutes early - and began. He got out his ladder and his computer and his other various tools and went to work. I finished putting my make up on. My realtor came with the buyer. Such a nice man. He owns a grass seed company here in the area - grass seed is huge business. I currently live in the "grass seed capitol of the world." No, really - I do. He tells me that he and his wife love Arizona. They go down there twice a year on business. He'd like to live there 6 months and here 6 months. I don't tell him that that's my husbands dream as well. I put my shoes on, grab my dog and walk down to my sister-in-law's home one door away. I should only have to spend an hour or so there. Not that it's bad to spend time there - I enjoy it, but I don't want her to feel like she has to entertain me.
Ha! 3 hours later the inspection man is starting to put his stuff away and get ready to leave! 3 hours!! Now I'm really worried. He could find a lot wrong in 3 hours. Granted my home is large - 3900 square feet, but really - 3 hours???
So as he's putting his stuff away I strike up a conversation. It goes something like this -
Me - "So, you were here a long time."
IM (Inspector Man) - "Yep. I try to do a thorough job."
Me - "Did you find a lot wrong?"
IM - "Nope. nothing."
Me - "Nothing? Really?"
IM - "Well, one thing."
Oh, here it comes - the reason I worried. I KNEW it was justified. I KNEW he'd find something!
Me - "Really. Something major?"
IM - "Nope, just the A/C filter in the family room. It's dirty and needs a good cleaning."
Me - "A filter?? Can I hurry and clean it now so you don't have to put it on the report?"
IM - "Nah - it'll give the buyer something to read. Besides, he needs to feel like he got his money's worth with the inspection." IM says with a smile and a wink.

A filter - a lousy filter stands in between me and a perfect inspection. I'm so happy it wasn't more!! I know it's because I took the time to worry about it. Yep, that's it.

How did you turn out like that?

Chad, Ryleigh and I are in the car on the way to the new Hannah Montana movie. Chad surprised Ryleigh with a late birthday gift and took her to the movie on opening night! I know, he's a great uncle and very thoughtful.
We are discussing sweets, in particular chocolate. Chad asks me about our families sweet preferences. I tell him that Tyler loves anything chocolate, Justin doesn't like cake, Grandpa Ken doesn't eat chocolate for whatever reason. Chad says he doesn't like chocolate - it's yukky.
Ryleigh and I lament how anyone could NOT like chocolate. It's unAmerican. It's abnormal. There were a few seconds of silence and then Ryleigh says,

"Chad, how did you turn out like that?"

Yeah - how DID you turn out like that?

Thankful Thursday - on Friday...

So much to be thankful for this week!
1. We sold our house. Of course it "ain't over, til it's over", but I feel really good about this. Our home is officially in escrow and we close June 8th. There's light at the end of this really long tunnel.
2. I have some resolve back to loose those last few pounds.
3. It's rained a little, so our grass is starting to get green.
4. Chad got his first ever triple! And his team won all 3 of their games this week. O.K., so it was South Albany - but we'll take a win where we can get it.
5. Jeni and I remembered that Jeff and I own a propane space heater! Only those of us in Oregon can appreciate that, I know, but here goes - we took it to Chad's game last night and it kept us toasty warm and happy. It was FREEZING last night and watching baseball in the cold and wet is a serious drag. Can't do anything about the rain, but the cold is another story!
6. Clean cars. Chad washed my car for me and vacuumed it out. Don't cars always drive better when they're clean?
7. We kept all our boxes from when we moved here, so I don't have to buy boxes to pack my stuff!
8. I shredded Jeff's divorce file - FINALLY - and it's given me enough shred to cushion a lot of fragile items. I do mean A LOT. Like 3 green garbage bags full.
9. Primary songs. I love primary songs. The choir sang several primary songs during last weekends conference. It was so cool.
10. Days off of school. Anyone that knows me knows that I am not really a girl that loves schedules. So when we don't have to get up at a certain time and don't have to be showered by a certain time and don't have to be in our car on the way to school at a certain time - it's a great thing.
What are you thankful for?

Happy Birthday Greg!

This is my son-in-law Greg Royal. He's married to our daughter, Andrea. They've been married 3 years and are still fun loving newlyweds. Actually, now that I say that, I think they will ALWAYS be fun loving newlyweds. How can they help it with such happy go lucky personalities. Greg has been a wonderful addition to our family. Jeff and I have often said that we could not have picked a better husband for Andrea if we had hand picked him ourself. Greg is hilarious. He is king of the one-liners. Don't try to out do him in this department, because he will always win. He's going to college right now - studying plants. He wants to work in that field someday. I am very happy about this because if you know me, you know that I LOVE plants and if I can have an expert on them in the family - all the better. Greg is easy going and fun and most of all, he loves Andrea so much. He is such a good husband to her - so kind and patient and calm. He keeps her grounded and makes her happy and that truly, is all a parent can ask for.

Thanks Greg, for putting up with our crazy family. We love you!

Thankful Thursday

I am Thankful that -
1. My children (Jeni and Dan) had a great time in Arizona, but in the end, did come back for their other 3 children! (Not that I wouldn't have kept them, but MAN - I was tired by the end of the week!)
2. I lost .8 at Weight Watchers this week. I had gained the previous 2 weeks - so maybe I can keep up the momentum!
3. My husband's business in Arizona is getting busier.
4. Chad had a GREAT game yesterday. He went 3 for 4, with 4 RBI's and no passed balls behind the plate! His team won 11-7!
5. We have a couple of families that are VERY interested in our house. (Please, please, please...)
6. I have a great colorist that makes me look a little less like a grandma every 6 weeks. :)
7. It's April. That means several things - the rain is closer to going away, school is closer to being out and I am closer to moving to Arizona.
8. I can make chocolate chip cookies anytime I want.
9. Rusty is happy in his new home.
10. I have drugs for migraine headaches.

Baseball season is here!! (or is it?)

I'm not sure actually. It seems that it is. The calendar tells us that as of yesterday we are in our official "season" of games. My enthusiasm tells me it is. I've been waiting patiently since last summer for games to start!
However - Oregon weather is not really what I would consider baseball weather. At yesterday's game I had on my long sleeved CHS t-shirt, my black hoodie and Jeff's heavy jacket. I also wore gloves and my heaviest socks with heavy boots to keep my tootsie's warm (they weren't really that warm). As if all that wasn't enough, I was wrapped up in one of my heaviest blankets and had Ryleigh sitting on my lap to try and keep the two of us warm. Yeah - nope. Didn't work. The wind was blowing and it was FREEZING outside!! Dan finally had to take Livy and the boys homes because she was so miserable. Her hands were like ice-cycles (is that how you spell that? WOW - I'm old!!)
We have another game today and it's the same weather as yesterday. Dang!! I really want to be watching baseball in my capris and flip flops!! Sunshine - where ARE you??