We Are Family

This past weekend my sister Jen and sweet niece Trinity were up for a short visit. Trinity goes into my parents bedroom every morning at 6:30 to snuggle in bed with them for a few minutes. On this particular morning Trinity was laying next to my mom and says as she affectionately touches my mom's arm, "Nana, you are my family". My mom responded, "that's right Trinity, I am your family". Then Trinity said with pauses between each, "and Papa.... and GiGi..... and Shel Shel (she pronounces it 'Shaw Shaw').... and Auntie Amy,.... are my family". Think my mom started to cry and she told her, "yes baby, we are all your family and Uncle Eric too and we love you very much".

When mom told me this story I just had to share a post with everyone. Wanted to post the song that my family danced wildly to at both of my sisters' weddings, "We are Family! All of my sisters and me"....

Lately the Best Thing About Driving to Work

The best thing about driving to work in the last few weeks have been the incredible sunrises. I drive about 25 miles straight East on my way to work every morning. A combination of Northern California having some cloud coverage in the Fall and it almost time for the "Fall Back Time Change" has created some awesome sunrises on my way to work. My heart has leaped from my chest with the site a few mornings, it literally has taken my breath away with it's intense colors. I can do nothing but drive and look right into the incredible hues of orange, red, pink, purple, blue and the white of the clouds. God is so awesome with His incredible artistic ability.

When I get to school I ask around if anyone has seen the sunrise and most say that they have not seen it. I tell them they don't know what they have missed and that it was incredible. One of my students did see it and he said it was incredible and he even said it took his breath away. My sister Amy drives some of the same rout as I do but has to go North before she goes East. When I call her on my way to work (I call both of my sisters on my way to work and also my dear Mom) she has not yet seen the sun rise. Finally, yesterday she called after I had called and told me that she was seeing the most incredible sunrise that she has ever seen. Wow, it has been beautiful and I thank God for the incredible sights in the morning, it truly focuses my heart on the King of Heaven and His wonderful faithfulness to mankind.

My Pre-Dawn Alarm Clock

Anyone who has a cat or cats can relate to this post. The rule at my house is that my 2 cats don't get fed until my alarm goes off at 5:00am. Usually, when the alarm sounds with my news station, the kitties come running to make sure I have heard the alarm go off and to get me out of bed to drop some food in their bowls. Some mornings one of my kitties is a hungry monster and starts his rampage to get me up early. He does everything possible to get me up. He stands right in the middle of my shin bone, he purrrrs loudly in my ear, gets up on my dresser and starts to play (or lick or eat) with something, will start fighting my other cat in my room, will use the litter box and not cover up his poop, . . . the list goes on. I have tried many things to discipline him when he starts in because I am not getting up to feed him before the alarm clock goes off. By this time I am wide awake.

This little video clip is some of the tactics that my hungry cat tries to do to wake me up. Thankfully, he has not learned how use the baseball bat that stands next to my bed.

Beautiful Fall

I love the season of fall. God paints a wonderful beautiful picture with His creation. Northern California is experiencing an extraordinary fall. We have had some rain (the hillsides slightly have green fuzz sprouting up) and the colors are beautiful. The mornings are crisp and the days are real pleasant (still in shorts and t-shirt for work).

A couple of weeks ago my Mom, Dad and Grandma went to Apple Hill to celebrate my Grandmother's birthday. It rained the night prior to our day trip. There were big huge clouds and a beautiful blue sky. The colors were incredible. Reds, golds, yellows, oranges and browns lite up the landscape. The groves of grape vines were majestic. They glowed with color and their symmetry.

Some things take my breath away and cause me to give praise to my God and Father for His incredible ability to make things beautiful. Fall and the colors of the season are one of those things that take my breath away.

Mom is Glad

My heart and prayers go out to the people in Southern California during this terrible time of fires and Santa Ana winds. Praise the LORD that thus far only one person has lost their life. I have talked with a few of my dear friends who live in the area. Two of the friends I talked to said the flames came close to their homes and they had their bags packed ready to evacuate if needed but the flames turned away to another direction.

For 10 years I lived in the L.A. area and each of those years had something significant that made national news. Some of my experiences: floods, fires, earthquake, Rodney King, riots/curfew, trial for the police, more riots, O.J. Simpson, trial and acquittal, and El Nino. As any mom would do, my mom worried with each of these and pleaded with me to get out of L.A. The other morning she told me that she was very glad that I was no longer in L.A.

Three Chores I Don't Enjoy

There are 3 chores that I really don't enjoy. Two of them go hand in hand, when I do one I usually do the other. I feel so much better when I have done any of the three. My dreadful list of least enjoyed chores: folding clean laundry, shredding, and filing. Tonight I have successfully done all three of these chores and I feel like a load has been taken off my shoulders.

Need to Talk to You

Yesterday on my way home from work I received a voice mail from my mom that said, "Honey, I really need you to stop by our house on the way home from work so I can share something with you. It should take only a few minutes but I really need to talk to you." Quickly, I called my mom and she was wondering if I could come by and I said I was on my way. I had no idea of what my mom wanted to share with me. My heart just prayed for the details and for me to be calm.

So, I pull up to my M&D's and go in through the door. My cutie-pie niece greets me at the door. That was slightly a shock and was not sure if Trinity was what mom needed to share with me or if Jen and Trin were here to hear what mom had to share with us. I screamed, "Hi my Trinity love!" She went running off to the other room to play hide and seek from me. As I came in Jen told me to go and read her shirt. Now I needed to find her. She was in M&D's room hiding behind their bed. I found her and I said loudly, "Booooooooo! I found you!" She came running up and jumped into my arms to squeeze me and kissed me. She is so precious and sweet. I finally was able to read her shirt, it said,

I am the Big Sister!

So, the big news was that Jen was sharing with the family and the "sisterhood" that she and Joe are having another baby. I am going to be a Auntie again. What a joy and praise to God.

I'm Still Here

Every day thoughts go through my head of what I would like to blog about but by the time I get home from work, errands and other commitments there is no energy to sit down and write. Sometime soon, I will do one big crash blog where I update on everything significant that has happened in the last month. Life appears to be a little more calm for the upcoming weeks. Thanks for being patient with me.