Hobby Hazards

One of my favorite things to do is crawl into bed at night and lay beside my sleeping husband while reading a good book. I have been known to tuck everyone in early if there is a good book waiting on my nightstand, calling my name. Yesterday I suffered an all day, massive headache because 1) this particular book wouldn't let me go to sleep until way, way past my bedtime and 2) it made me cry buckets of tears which always causes me a whopper of a headache. I think I was literally sobbing out loud by the end of it. Thank goodness Aaron's a sound sleeper.

A Visit with the Kentuckians

This week my brother, Aaron and sister-in-law, Sandra were able to make a quick trip out from Kentucky. They moved to Kentucky at the same time we moved to Idaho and unfortunately, it's been about two and a half years since we've seen each other. That is way too long! Our visit seemed about as short as the blink of an eye and the whole time the kids were begging me to please, stick them on a plane and send them to Kentucky.

I was happy to see that Aaron hasn't changed a bit. He's still a big kid full of energy which makes him an awesome uncle. In the short time he was here he managed to give the girls cartwheel lessons and do stunts with Lauren.
And of course, he got a kick out of Austin's mini-bike.
It was so fun to see them and we were sooo sad to see them go. I hope we don't have to wait another two and a half years before the next visit!

Perspective

Today not one, but two of my kids told me I'm mean. I wasn't actually being mean, just firm and they didn't like it. Then Amanda's new friend came over and spent the evening with us. While she was here she told us that her mom wasn't speaking to her and hadn't been for a few days because she had gotten angry at this little girl for something she had done. Not only was she getting the silent treatment but her Mom left the home out of anger and didn't return until this afternoon. The little girl told me what she had done and it was nothing serious. She also told me that she hates her mom. By the end of the evening both of my kids had come to me with apologies in their eyes and told me I'm not mean.

Obviously, this past year has been a little tough on our family. We've had to face many changes and losses and adjustments. There are some days when we could get a little down about it all. But then there are days like today. This afternoon I met a wonderful lady and her fifteen month old daughter. This precious baby has Down Syndrome, a major heart defect, and was born with Leukemia. She has suffered two strokes (one in utero) which have left her with impaired vision and motor skills. She has now developed catastrophic seizures and will soon face a surgery that will remove two thirds of the right hemisphere of her brain. After visiting with the woman, all I could do was count my blessings.

Life, it's just a matter of perspective.

Hello!

Well, we've been in our new home for about a week now and we are enjoying it so far. The area is great. Clean, good air, temperatures that seem to stay in the seventies. The ocean is only 10 minutes away and I think we will be making our first beach trip this weekend. We are staying in a 3 story townhouse right now which means way too many stairs, but other than that we really like it. The kids especially like having a pool right outside our door. I think we having been swimming every day this week and they are already getting some killer tans.

Unfortunately, we suffered one casualty during the move. My beloved computer. I don't know what happened, but it's a goner. We are computer shopping this week and hopefully I will soon be reconnected at home instead of having to use a library computer.

Today

Phew, we found a home. It was tough, but we got it done. Now we are home and have already begun the packing. I tell ya, we are becoming pros at this. I think I could get a job with a moving company and do rather well. Our new home is in Camarillo, about 10 minutes south of Ventura and we really like the area. I think we will have a lot of fun there.

About twenty minutes after leaving Camarillo this afternoon I said, "Hey, maybe we'll see lots of famous people now that we are so close to L.A." Minutes after I said this we pulled into a gas station for a pit stop. As I pulled into a parking spot our eyes fixed on the guy leaning against the wall directly in front of the car and our jaws dropped open. We found ourselves face to face with this person:

Tommy Lee, the drummer from Motley Crue, ex-husband of Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson. Aaron and I were both dumbfounded. Aaron, because it was TOMMY LEE and me, because I was right about seeing famous people. Never one to miss an opportunity, Aaron jumped out of the car and approached him. A little flustered at the situation and not quite thinking straight, Aaron asked him if he was Tommy Lee Jones! Can you believe he said that??? After confirming that he was indeed Tommy Lee (not Jones!), Aaron shook his hand and told him that he rocks. What else do you say to a rock star?

Good Thing We're Flexible...

Friday afternoon I was at Austin's school helping out with the school Renaissance Faire when Aaron showed up during the lunch break. I was shocked to see him and couldn't imagine why he was there. Then he told me the news. The company he works for is opening a new yard and they want him to open it up and run it. In the Ventura area (the beach!). Next week. We have one week to find a house in that area, pack up and move. So, Friday evening we packed a suitcase, jumped in the car and made the 2 1/2 hr drive to Ventura. We have been frantically searching for a place to live for the past 3 days. We have a couple of prospects and hopefully by tomorrow we will know if we have a house to move into this coming weekend or not. If this had happened several years ago, I would have completely freaked out over a situation like this. I guess all the moves we've made have prepared me for something like this. Honestly though, I am sick of moving and I'm ready to buy a home and stay put.