Just thought I’d jot down some random thoughts…..

Set one – Gina’s experience driving home from work in Southern California:

• When you’re in stop-and-go traffic and your lane is merging, following merging ediquette – EVERY OTHER CAR.
• When you’re in stop-and-go traffic and you’re waiting to merge, it’s not the best time to pick your nose.
• When you’re in stop-and-go traffic and you take the risk of picking your nose, it is especially important not to eat it!

Set two – loving your neighbor:

• When your neighbor asks that you turn off your pool pump because it’s too loud (which it really isn’t) smile and show love. (but don’t turn off the pump).
• When your neighbor asks you to not take your dog out before 8am on the weekends, smile and show love (but take him out if he needs to go potty because, seriously, he isn’t barking or anything).
• When your neighbor comes to your door in the middle of dinner to state that your dog barks “non-stop” all day when you know that’s a freaking lie and they stand at the fence making noises at your dog to prevoke him…..send Deana to the door before you cause a block riot.

Set three – learning how to behave appropriately:

• When Deana is testing your six-year-old son on random spelling words and comes up with “car” followed by “cart”, do NOT ask him to spell “far”.
• Do not, under any circumstances, make up a teasing name for your 11-year-old son because he just might say your name phonetically correct. (thanks for teaching him that, D)
• When your youngest son makes you a Valentine’s Day card and writes “I mith you” and reads it phonetically, do NOT correct him (it was so cute).

Thanks for reading……

Pretty Darn Cool.

I was able to spend yesterday, 12/28, with my niece Stacy and nephew Mike – who were in California from Colorado. Wow, how grown up they are! It was hard to believe I hadn’t seen them in three years. But it was also cool to be able to pick up as if it were just yesterday.

That just reinforces for me how family is very important. My busy life (very much like many of you, I am sure) gets in the way of that often, but I hope to focus more on what is really important – and that’s family. Let that be my motto for 2006.

And speaking of 2006, don’t forget to count the leap second on New Year’s Eve! Gotta make sure we are in line with those atomic clocks.

Blessings to you!

You know, each year we all run around, think about what we want to purchase for everyone, and plan the “big day” of Christmas. I know that I am looking forward to my family’s traditions, seeing the people I love, watching them open their presents, and adding to my memory the blessing of one more year of Christmas with those I love.

Many of you will be doing the same thing and I think that’s TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!

But as I sat here this morning, Christmas Eve, and watched the light change as the sun came up, I was in awe of something else – today is a miracle. I am sitting here thinking of all the things the Lord has done for me, beginning with His miracle birth, that I am overwhelmed with appreciation and happiness. However, due to the size of this blog, I will just focus on some of the blessings I received in 2005.

• My children, Kirstie, Kenny, and Josh, have been healthy and have been growing closer to Christ!
• My family is healthy and I am blessed with their love
• My friends (who are really family) bless me everyday. Deana, Wanda, Tonja, Amy (to name a few)
• I found a wonderful church – Crossroads Christian Church – that blesses me everyday
• My Mom, who struggles with emphysema (actually, COPD) continues to stay as healthy as possible which I am thankful for.
• I was able to see beautiful locations of our country; Philadelphia and Alaska especially.
• My Dad continues to enjoy his job and his health has been maintained by the Good Lord.
• Ellie has a horrendous commute, but the Lord keeps her safe everyday.
• I am thankful for the new family the Lord has brought into my life – Mary, Victoria, Andrew, Stephanie, and Michael.
• Deana is the best friend that I could ever hope for; she fulfills so many blessings that it’s impossible to list them all.
• So much more, thank you Lord!

As we move forward in the holiday, I pray that the Lord touches you in ways that are unmistakable. I know that the holidays are hard sometimes; finances, crazy schedules, thinking about those who are no longer with us (I especially miss Grandma M. and Grandpa M-who passed away Christmas Day 1985). But even with this stress or melancholy, the Lord still reigns. I pray that He touches you!

Gina

I am not as irritated with life today, so no heavy reading I promise!!!

Today has been a beautiful day so far. The sky is a gorgeous blue and the neighborhood is quiet. My cat, Lucky, is sitting lovingly on my lap as I type. My perfect-strength coffee is in a cup beside me and I am enjoying this beautiful house I live in – things are good!

That brings me to some of the events that occurred this week. When I was growing up, my family had this tradition of having hot dogs, beans, and tater tots every Monday….Monday Night Football, to be exact. Farmer John Weiners, pork n beans, and Ore Ida were a must. Doesn’t sound very gourmet, but I loved it. I also loved watching football with my Dad every week – a special memory that lives in my heart.

Well, driving home this past Wednesday, I got a craving for this exact dinner! I hadn’t had it in years! So I called my Dad and said “Hey, guess what I am eating tonight!!!!!” It’s really gourmet (say the “T”).

This simple interacting made me realize, as I often do, how wonderful my childhood was and how great my Dad is. I love him very much. Some of you may have heard me talk about him, and I have been told that it’s very clear that I love him. Well, I do. He is a wonderful man – not just to his kids, but to everyone. He is very intelligent, but not a snob. He is very confident, but not arrogant. He is very strong, but compassionate. He is wonderful.

He currently is a Funeral Director at Rose Hills – a perfect job for him because he is very much a calming force, but strong emotionally that seems to say to people “don’t worry, I am here and will take care of you”. Well, the last few weeks on of the arrangers at Rose Hills had the sad event of her own mother passing away. Do you know what? This woman, who arranges funerals everyday and knows all the funeral directors, requested my Dad to handle the funeral. THAT speaks volumes, doesn’t it???? So you are not just reading the adoration of a daughter…..he touches people!!!

So, anyway, I have so much to be thankful for – but today I am focusing on how my Dad touched and molded me, and loved me so perfectly. (Well, he still does, and that continues to bless me). So yes, today is a great day!!!!

I pray that you have someone (or someones) in your life who has touched you in the same way!

You know, I wonder why I thought to ignore all the warnings about teenagers. I mean, I have been told since my daughter was born in 1990 that the teenage years would be kind of tough. But here I am, amazed at the fact that they are kind of like what I imagine hell would be.

Not that I don’t love my daughter – I absolutely do! There are some things about her that make me smile to my soul – like the fact that she gets excited to tell her friends about God, or she wants to write poetry and be a journalist (maybe not like her old Mom, but that is something I used to aspire to).

However, most of the time I am sitting here wondering “what the hell?” For example, she tells me she doesn’t want to live with me anymore because “she doesn’t feel at home” at my house. This comes the evening following a morning where I made her change her clothes before going to school. Oh, and like a few days before Mother’s Day. And right after her father tells me we need to meet so that we can set Kirstie straight……

And then months later, after her room has been empty at my house with no one using it – and after I gave her plenty of time to change her mind – I decide to use the room for something else. (In this case, Deana’s brother who is going to college closer to my house). And what happens? Kirstie is shocked and thinks she is no longer part of my family because I did that.

Pass me the valium.

I have to remind myself, I am the adult here! I want to tell her she treats me like crap most of the time and then is OFFENDED when the world stops revolving around her. I want to scream at her and say she is selfish – she never even thought about what leaving this house would do to me or her little brothers. I want to tell her that I understand her way more than she realizes and I think about her at a level beyond trying to “be her friend” – I want to be her mother. I want to defend myself when she believes I don’t care, don’t love/like her, or that my rules are meant to torture her.

But I am the adult here.

And I love her more than she knows or will seemingly admit.

And my heart is broken.