Another kind of countdown begins...

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing, but you never said you'd stay forever...

Taylor Dane's 'Love will lead you back'

I must say this was hard. Since returning, I've felt out of sorts. I understand that this mission is important. I understand Gage is doing what God wants and he will be blessed for it. I have no doubt. At the end, he couldn't wait to get to the MTC.
What is hard is having him so far; knowing I can't jump in my car and be there for him; not being able to talk to him when I want or to hear about his day; not to be able to hold him and have him kiss my check or have him tell me thank you a dozen times a day for so many little things he acknowledges I do for him.
I miss my baby boy...I miss the young man he's become... I'll miss him fiercely everyday... I love you Gage and will pray for you every minute of the day. I trust God will be there for you and with you and am envious of that. Is that a sin? To envy God?
I don't know, but I do know that He loved me enough to send this incredible boy in my life and I know He trusted me enough to raise him and prepare him for this moment of service; to return Gage back to Him. Our children are never really ours and this was the wake up call to that fact.
Thank you Heavenly Father for loving me so perfect enough to trust me and forgive me for being so imperfect...
We've spent months counting down for Gage to leave to the MTC and since this morning I've started counting down for his return. As Miriam reminded me, 'It's only 4 General Conferences until he returns.'

and the countdown begins...

These pictures were taken at Sears studios by the prompting of my visiting teacher... Thanks Kat :)



My oldest child will be leaving on April 13th to the MTC in Utah. Bobby and I are blessed to be taking him out there on the 10th of April. I will enjoy spending quality time with him before he leaves. I am so proud to call this young man my son.



Thank you to everyone who have been so supportive to our family. We wouldn't be here without you all!!!!

My Favorite things... Brandy's Challenge!

Well Brandy, I'm taking your challenge!!! Here's her link to her blog in case you want to enter her contest...

http://millerandbrandi.blogspot.com/2011/03/reminder.html
or look down the right side of my blog under blog list to find hers!


1. My family...
This would have to be my favorite thing ever... my fam :)


2. Handbags...
I have a handbag fetish. I have way more than I could use in a 10 year time span, but I think it is one of the easiest accessories to change and it is so practical.


3.Clorox Toilet Bowl Wand...
How could this beat out Brimfield??? I'll tell you this is the best invention EVER!!
You don't have to store a yucky, wet wand. You put a pad in the end of the wand (which all ready has the cleaner in it), you don't even touch it, and clean your bowl and throw the pad away with the click of a button... SWEET!


4.Brimfield Antiques show...
A friend of mine introduced me to this place several years back and I've been hooked ever since! It is an outdoor show that boasts about 5,000 dealers. They have 3 shows every year in May, July and September. They say if you can't find it at Brimfield, it ain't out there!


5. Butterfingers!
This is by far one of the best candy bars of all time!!! Chocolate, peanut butter and crunch... doesn't get any better than that!


6.Paraguay...
I know this is corny, especially since I've never been there, BUT, my son will be going on his mission there in a few short weeks and I've done so much research that I feel I've all ready been there. I will be thinking much about this place over the next two years!


7. Asics Running shoes...
My husband bought me a pair last year when I started working out, and they are truly the best sneaker. I never enjoyed exercising, but these sneakers make my jog and workout much more comfortable.


8. The Day the Falls stood still by Cathy Marie Buchanan...
This book is about Niagara Falls in 1915. The author does a great job mixing facts about the town harnessing the falls to bring hydroelectric power to the area and a fictional love story about a young, sheltered girl and the town's local hero. It is very romantic both the young couple's story and the way she describes the fall's haunting power to attract and mesmerize people throughout history.


9.Living Proof hair treatment...
This is an incredible hair product for people who suffer from frizzy hair. I have to use a lot of it, but it's worth every penny. Guaranteed great hair day!


10. The movie Knight and Day...
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie! I don't know if I was just in a silly mood that day, but I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. My sister thought I was a little nuts, but I still thought it was a fun movie!!!!

Melisa's ornament exchange

I wanted to post this group picture because of few of you have asked for copies and I figured this way you could just copy it off the blog instead of waiting for me ;)
In case you are wondering why I included a picture ofBarbie holding a star... One of my sister's kids thought it would be cute to hang an ornament on her. She was just sitting on the floor, in that position, waiting:) It was just too cute to pass up. I was supposed to make copies of it to attach to the "thank you for coming" cookies my sister baked, but I dropped the ball.
Barbie did attend the party... she was on the kitchen floor by the door... just waiting to be noticed. So here's to you Barbie... Merry Christmas and Merry Christmas to everyone who was able to attend!




From left to right back row:
Charlene Pellitier, Mercedes Mejias, Noel Metzger, Barbara Hale, Kertsi Cobb, Lucy Willingham, Janel Long, Joanne Rousseau.
Middle: Karen West, Jennifer Baird
Front: Becky Cousineau, Amber Jensen, Lisa Holland, Kimberly Lewis, Marcia Long, Gail Mejias, Gabrielle Mack, Leena Mack, Melisa Yeager and Mercedes Ackerman.

New Beginnings

Talk about time flying. Rocquel will be moving into the Young Woman's program this year which means that she is a, well, a Young Woman :) The program has a tradition of welcoming the new girls with an evening called New Beginnings. This is where the new girls are given information on what YW's is about and what to expect. Mercedes gave a brief talk on Roci; who she is and her likes and dislikes.
I could tell Roci was nervous, but deep down she is so excited to be moving out of Primary. She's at that age where she feels like she's too old for some things and frustrated that she is still treated like a 'little kid' although there is a part of her that still craves it. I remember those feelings all too well.
Mercedes is plugging along with her Personal Progress and has almost completed the requirements in order to receive her YW medallion. Personal Progress is a series of projects and challenges that require many hours of service projects and scripture study and I'm proud to say that Mercedes has worked very hard to complete it. She has always had that innate drive to do whatever she sets her mind to.
Congratulations Rocola and I'm so happy Mercy will still be there to show you the ropes and watch over you. I am also thankful that you have these programs. I know they will make a huge difference in your lives.

Here's a group picture of the Young Women's class... they are gorgeous!

This is Sister Hatch, the YW Leader, with the Bishop and Miss Rocola

I guess the bishop decided he needed to do some bench pressing although his form is a little weak... :)


Congratulations Roci and be sure to watch your sister. She does love you!

First day

Aalyia and Kaleigh moved into Senior Primary and were fortunate enough to have their teacher, Sister Hale, move up with them. This year is their baptism year and they are excited!



This is Caleb's first big day in Primary. He is beaming just like the Sunbeam he is!

Life is beautiful...

May we remember to just be...






These are the moments I'm thankful for. They remind me that things are the way we perceive them. Happy or sad, we make our reality. These kids are in the moment enjoying all life has to offer them; just having fun. No regrets and no worries for the future. They are happy because they choose to be.
Thank God for these tender reminders of love, life and blessings we don't deserve but are given freely.

Time for change... I think

I am not fond of change unless I'm in control of it. I need to want it, not feel like I'm being forced into it.
Recently my Sony 200 disc CD changer died. It happened Christmas day. I've had it for about 15 years and it's been my little jukebox. I called a repair shop and it will cost $50 to look at it. The money will go toward the repair... if it can be fixed. The gentleman may not even be able to get parts for it and if he does, it may not be worth the cost. I found another CD changer, 300 disc, for $200. As I stared at the box in the aisle of Best Buy, I thought back to vinyl records and 8-tracks. When cassette tapes became popular, I was hestitant. I loved my records. I love the couple of seconds right before the song comes on where it makes the static/crunchy sound. It reminded me of home and evenings of listening to the latest records with my cousins. As my friends embraced the tape cassette, I became envious. The tapes were small and easy to carry around. The best part was that you could record your own favorite music on a blank tape and have your favorites all in one place! I eventually converted. When CD's became the 'in' thing, I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to carry around some disc you had to be so careful with. My friend in high school, Tita, was one of the first in our group I remember having a CD walkman. Everyone was in awe and obsessed about the quality; how clear it was and of course, how cool it looked! It wasn't until I was married (yikes!) that I converted to CD's. That took about 7 years:) Heck, since I'm confessing, our first DVD player was given to us by the Butters' because they were upgrading and were shocked that we were still embracing our VHS tapes. That, my friends, was only a few years ago!
Now I find myself agonizing over the decision to convert to, ahem, digital. Bobby has been telling me to buy an ipod and just put all our music on it. Then we could buy a receiver, or should I say, a docking station, and that can be our new 'jukebox'. For $249, we could have 40,000 songs at our disposal.
It's small enough to fit into my hand which means we can take it anywhere we'd like.
My daughter, Mercedes and my sister, pitched in to get me an ipod shuffle for Christmas. I must say I wasn't expecting this at all. I was so grateful for their generosity. It sat on my desk for a while and just last night I took it out of the packaging to charge it. I have to download the itunes program on my computer so it can reformat my music library off Windows media player. I have been fighting this and I'm not so sure why. The shuffle is smaller than a half dollar and will store about 400 songs. That is mind boggling to me. I had Mercedes hook it up to their computer but apparently the itunes program is dated and needs to be upgraded. Why am I hesitating? I guess part of it is being able to say goodbye to my past; to acknowledge that there are better things. I guess it is also admitting that I'm getting old... YUCK.
I keep looking at my little shuffle and I know I will love it. Mostly, I think, because my daughter and sister gave it to me... and probably because it's so easy to carry around and because it will be amazing to have so many commercial free hours of music :-)
I should just embrace it and enjoy it while it's here. Even though I can't imagine what else could be invented, I'm sure there is something all ready out there waiting to take the place of this little shuffle... UGGGH!

Quote of the week...

May all your troubles be as short as your New Year's resolutions!

Seperate beds

Once a upon a time a young lady got married. She was very excited to share a bed with her new hubby because that would mean cuddling... and lots of it! They would be sharing a full size bed so it would be perfect. Or so she thought.
She didn't realize that her hubby liked space and LOTS of it. He enjoyed having his own blanket as well because this young lady didn't know she was a blanket hog in her sleep. Oh, hubby would try to cuddle, but it lasted only a little while and then he would turn over to enjoy a night of noncuddling sleep. The young lady was very hurt and took it personally. She addressed the issue and hubby reassured her it wasn't anything to do with her; he just liked his space... and lots of it!
Time passed and hubby talked the young lady into a king size bed. She was very against this idea because to her, that meant no cuddling at all. How could they? The bed would be HUGE! But because she wanted him to be happy she went along with the idea and out went the cute little bed and in came in King Kong.
She felt completely lost and lonely in the sea of mattress. Hubby, on the other hand, was lovin' life. Over time, though, she grew to appreciate the space. She was a tired mother of two and needed the sleep. Something had happened to her hormones as well because she became a heat generator. She didn't like anything on her or anyone too close to her because she would sweat, alot, and that was not good.
Many years passed and the bed became old and soggy. The mattress just wasn't as comfortable as it once was and it was time to replace it. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford another king size bed so they down-sized to a queen. Hubby was very content with the new bed because, unbeknownst to the young lady, he had become a CUDDLER. However, some changes had occured over the years. The young lady now enjoyed her space and with the heat generating condition she had, she didn't want to cuddle anymore. She also became attached to a pillow that she would use for her shoulder to alleviate pain which, in turn created a 'barrier' in the bed. She wanted peace and quiet; hubby preferred to sleep with 'waves' to drown out any noise. She would be woken up by the slightest movement in the bed, while hubby, slept pretty soundly. Not only was she missing that King Kong of a bed terribly, their sleeping habits had changed so much that seperate beds were sounding very nice.
This idea freaked hubby out! 'Are you not happy?', 'Is there something I should know about?'
No, nothing like that. It just seemed that with the many years of marriage, countless hours of lost sleep,( i.e. children), and general stresses of life, the young lady was just needing something of her very own. Something she could crawl into and curl up in and enjoy all to herself. Something that she could lose herself in for a few hours every night, alone.
Hubby did some research and after much pondering decided his young lady's happiness was very important to him so he agreed.
He agreed...

It is very strange how when you think you really want something and someone decides they are going to help make it a reality, it makes you think twice...

I've been reading alot on married couples sleeping in seperate beds and couples who have seperate bedrooms. Why? First of all, I'm tired. We have a crappy bed and I can feel every little movement. Every move wakes me up. I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a LONG time. The idea of jumping into my own little space, with my own blankets, and sleeping any old way sounds so appealing to me. Second, two twin beds are alot cheaper than a king.
At least it WAS very appealing until Bobby did his research, and, after getting over the shock of it and receiving much reassurance that this wasn't the first step to divorce, and deciding he would go along with it. Now that I have the green light, I'm not so confident. I have to confess that now I'm a little worried that he'll REALLY like it. This could be temporary for me, a phase. I want it to be difficult for him because I don't want him thinking, 'Hey, we should have done this ages ago!'
I want to call the shots and be in control!

There you have it. My deep dark secrets and not so secret issues. Will it happen? I don't know. I must say that I'm pretty lucky that he is so flexible and isn't controlling. He's a pretty laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of guy. Maybe if I give it more time we will synch and finally be on the same page and how will that happen if I give him all that space...
;-)

Drum Roll.....

Gage is called to serve his mission in Asuncion, Paraguay. I'm too emotional right now so I will give more info later...


His to report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on Wednesday April 13, 2011. He will be preaching the gospel in Spanish!

Mission Call

We have been anxiously awaiting Gage's mission call!!! I wanted to let everyone know that we should know by tomorrow!!!!! As soon as we find out, I will spread the word...

Countdown; 10,9,8...

The New Year is here...

The new year is here and sadly I am not ready for it. I needed at least another week to catch up.
I wanted to be organized and ready to meet this year head on but I'm still working on 2010's to-do list :0
After much contemplating, I figured the best thing for me is to keep plugging along. No stress, no worries, right? I mean, life still continues regardless of whether you are ready or not.
So, here's to 2011 and all it has in store for me; good, bad and ugly. I guess I'll take it all :)
I pray that everyone out there will be blessed with all they need and a few wants along the way ;)

I would like to add that our family wishes Miriam a fantastic experience at BYU. She will be leaving tomorrow. She went to my sister's to have a wonderful turkey dinner with us and to visit. It wasn't until she was leaving that it hit me all at once that we wouldn't be seeing her sweet smile for awhile... and for Gage even longer. I was so sad for her and him that it took all I had not to cry. We said our good-byes and promised to write. She also promised that she would visit us in July when she comes back. My son will be long gone on his mission by then. I couldn't help but feel for him. So many, many changes that he's been through over the last few months but so many more ahead of him. As his mom I've always been fiercely protective of him. He's my only son and he is very sweet and sensitive. I want to protect him from change and the challenges that come with them but I know this will not serve him well. I am aware that it is not even possible to do so, but just the same it is difficult to watch any of my children struggle.
I understand it is part of life and will help him grow and strengthen him, but just the same, I miss those evenings when he would curl up on my lap to listen to 'Snuggle Piggy and the Magic Blanket' just one more time. I miss tucking him in bed and knowing he was safe under the same roof I was in. I miss him waking me up early with his cute grin wondering if I was going to make pancakes or if he was having cold cereal. Is it normal to long for him even though he hasn't left yet?? Too many changes, too quickly...
I wonder if my mom felt the same for me... I wonder what Miriam's mom is feeling.

Well Gage. Just know that no matter how crappy you may feel now, it does get better. This is all part of the learning process. Trust that God loves you and knows you and wants you to be happy. He is always there for you and so am I. I love you

Where does the time go?

I can't believe it's the end of another year. 2011 is peeking around the corner and I'm so not ready for it. It's a shame isn't it? No matter where you are in the race, the stopwatch keeps going.

I don't have a mirror above my bed but I'm pretty sure this is how I look every morning before I get out of bed. Scared, confused, holding my breath, bracing myself for what the day has planned. It doesn't matter what I have planned, life always has something else in store for me. From time to time it let's me think I have control, but in truth, I know that no matter how organized and well laid out my plans are, life always does me one better.

I need to be more like a surfer. Just ride the waves instead of frantically paddling against them. Or in my case, just sink like a dead weight because I never learned to swim.

In my efforts to make next year just a wee bit better, I've decided to focus on what my circle of influence is. Let's face it, if I'm going to be truthful my circle involves just me really. I can't really control anything around me; not my husband, kids, schedules, friends... just me. I'm thinking if I can get that down then everything else will take care of itself. Sounds a little bumper stickerish but that's the best I can do for now.

I can't really have any regrets because my life is pretty good considering where I could be right now. Everything shapes and molds us and we can take the good and run with it or wallow in the messy bits and blame everyone for our misfortunes.

Well, 2011 is coming whether I'm ready or not. It will come in like a hard and fast wave and leave before I realize what hit me and I plan on having a life preserver and enjoy the ride...

19 Years and still in love...

Today Bobby and I celebrate our 19th anniversary. Considering that some people thought we wouldn't make it past our first year, I think we're doing pretty good. I don't think they realized just how stubborn we really are :)
Knowing how much I love everything old, Bobby bought me this thoughtful card. It reads, "The moment I saw you I knew we'd fall desperately in love, get married, have kids, and drive each other crazy for the rest of our lives." He adds, ' and beyond.'

He went to a place called Chocolate Works and 'hand-picked' these chocolates for me. He knows how much personal gifts mean to me so needless to say I was very happy.

He also took me to this little place called Caughlins for breakfast. I love little out-of-the-way places so this was perfect.

I love you Bobby! I don't think that there is anyone better suited for me. You have blessed my life with laughter, patience and unconditional love and for that I will be forever grateful! Thank you

Busy, busy, busy...

My daughter was commenting recently about how we never do anything anymore. I beg to differ. Here are some pics on the goings on in our lives...

In the month of October alone, we accomplished all you see here,(not necessarily in the order of the pictures. My computer is funny about how it chooses to load them.) Above, we are at my sister's for her 'non' Halloween party; below is my sis-in-law Joanne and I at a scrapbook retreat up in Vermont... so fun; I got Two albums done! yahoo!
A very colorful character who was gracious enough to pose with me in New York on my hope-to-be yearly excursion! ;); He commented that he wished he'd had time to get dressed up... hmmm,

Getting ready to trick-or-treat on Halloween night~ this spot is infamous. We always take a picture at our front door. It has evolved over the years.

Roci's room make-over; the 'after'. By the way, Mercedes primed the furniture and I painted it! It came out very nice! I'm not sure about the knobs though. They irk me a little. I think they need to be painted or replaced. Not sure yet...

This is the 'before' picture which should be before the top one, but it's not!...

Evening in Excellence at church... Princesses of God. Much time and thought went into this program. It was beautiful. And Janel's talk was inspiring!I cooked the food and was happy not to burn anything!

a picture of Aalyia on our walk and visit to the Farmer's Market at Forest Park;
She purchased, with her own money, a container of blueberry yogurt, kettle corn and two cookies, one for her and one for Roci. She promised Mercedes that she would buy her one next time but would be happy to share her kettle corn!

Kaleigh's open house/Book sale; of course Abuela had to spoil everyone buy buying them a book and junk, I mean cute pointers/nose pickers/eye pokers :)

A hike to Mt. Tom and a stop for dinosaur tracks; this is where I discovered that my camera does take black and white photos!

trip to NYC for Roci's friend Tatiana's birthday; Museum of Natural History, Central Park, FAO Schwartz and a stop by the temple. Doesn't get any better than that!

Friends and family over for dinner/Dave's 40th birthday party; full house, tons of food and dessert. It doesn't get any better than this! Good food by the way; didn't burn anything here either...

Carillon Field trip at Trinity Church; Mercedes will be taking lessons now, oh you'll enjoy it. and if not, at least you can play something you may not want to play. Is that so bad??

Roci and Mercedes' performance at Red Riding Hood's Basket... sold out of course ;) ha ha

So Mercedes, do you still think we don't do much? I'm exhausted just looking at the pictures and I lived them! Guess what? the holidays are just peeking around the corner! gulp

Oh I wanted to mention that Mercedes has officially passed the GED exam!!!! Yea for her! We are very proud of her. Two down, two to go! She is also recuperating from having her wisdom teeth removed this week. I didn't take pictures of her and I'm sure she'll thank me for that some day! She is a trooper.

Living Proof

I was watching a medical program called, 'The Doctors', a few months back at my sister's house while babysitting. They featured this product called, 'Frizz', (with a line through it, hence No Frizz).

I have very curly, dry hair that frizzes so easily that it would make a hygrometer jealous. I was impressed with the product demonstration and went online to find out where I could get some of this 'miracle serum'. I ended up at the mall and asked about the return policy and purchased everything in the line. I was told I could try it and return the unused product for a full refund. I figured I had nothing to lose.

From the first time I used it I was hooked! I am so impressed everytime I use it that I have a guaranteed great hair day. I found that the styling treatment, conditioner and the shampoo (for the summer), were worth the money. I ended up using the conditioner as a leave in conditioner and feel it works better than the leave-in. Plus you get more at less of the price. Unfortunately, the products are expensive so I use it once a week or when I want my hair to look amazing! I have tried thousands of dollars worth of hair products over the years. I can honestly say that this product is the only thing that has consistantly worked on my hair. I love it and decided I would share it with you. It is worth it.

The website is livingproof.com

let me know what you think if you decide to try it!

I miss you

Gil and Gail, father and daughter circa 1969

I know I've posted this photo before, but it was the only one I could find on my computer. It has been 4 years since my father passed away this week and I do miss him. It took me a while to realize that was why I was having a hard time this week. It is interesting how your spirit remembers things even though you are not aware of them.


I love you Papi...