Tournament Champions!

We had a whirlwind of a weekend away with the older boys in Kamloops. Michael's team was playing in Kamloops and Christopher's team was playing in Chase.

Christopher's team won 1 game and lost 3. They also had two goals taken away from them as apparently there were players on the ice that weren't listed on the roster sheet. Oh my! They eventually(after discussion with the tournament officials) gave them the 2 goals back as it was a consolation game. Had it been for 1st or 2nd place they wouldn't have given them the goals back!

Michael's team played amazing hockey! They went 6 and 0 with 48 goals scored and only 13 goals against! Michael had a really good end to end rush and hit the cross bar which Matty promptly put in the net!

It was very exciting to be a part of it all and even better that we won in Kamloops!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who surround us with love during difficult times and are there to share laughter in good times.

Everyone has been so great calling us to offer their prayers for my mom. Her appt. is tomorrow afternoon.

January 8,2010

Mom found some lumps on her breast bone about 8 weeks ago. She went for a mammogram, ultrasound, and then now a biospy. The waiting has been agonizing. Her Dr. called her and asked her to come in for the results.

It's cancer.

3 years have gone by since her diagnosis and mastectomy. Three years where I held my breath,and prayed for each year to pass so that we could get to year 5. If we could only get to the 5yr. mark then the chance of her breast cancer coming back would be slim.

Her Dr. says she's never seen it come back in the same spot twice. She thinks that maybe they didn't remove all the breast tissue, and that perhaps there were little cells left behind which took time to grow big enough for her to feel.

She sounded good on the phone when I talked to her. She's a strong lady and a fighter.

I have an amazing group of friends who support me and love me. They have been wonderful, and have been faithful in their prayers.

She's to see the surgeon next week and will find out about the surgery.

Not a good start to 2010, and something I never expected, but we will overcome and be stronger for it.

Re-cap of our Christmas Holiday.........

What a great Christmas holiday we had with my family in town! Gianna, Derek and the kids arrived late on Christmas Eve due to a mechanical problem with the plane in Vancouver. We had a late dinner and the kids had fun catching up with their cousins.

After they left I went into prep mode.....prepping the cinnamon buns for breakfast the next day. Setting the dining room table and getting all the presents put under the tree.

The boys did me a favour and let me sleep in till 8 a.m. which was fantastic!

Andy was completely surprised with his new iPhone! I love it when I can pull off a good surprise!

Christmas dinner was at mom and dad's. Good food and fun times. We played the boys new Trivial Pursuit Family Edition game and had a blast.

Mina, Carlo and the kids arrived on Boxing Day. That night we went to Gina's for Auntie Susanne's 60th Birthday party.

The 27th we had everyone over for dinner at our place. There were 27 of us for dinner and it was just like old times. Everyone stayed late and ate, played cards etc.

New Years Eve we had everyone over again and had a delicious dinner of Roast Beef, mashed potatoes, yummy! Mina had cut my hair earlier in the day as well as highlighted it and dried it straight! A complete change for me that's for sure! Everyone loved it. Here we are just before dinner:

The kids all made it till midnight and man were they loud when they counted down and blew their horns......they finally all fell asleep @ 1:30a.m. and I fell asleep not long after that.

Mina and Carlo left on New Years Day. We had a really good time with everyone when they were here.

We also had a nice break from hockey for the past 2 weeks, but were right back at it on January 2nd when I got on the bus @ 6:45 a.m. to go to Revelstoke with Christopher. I slept most of the way there and back.

Happy New Year. We hope this year will be filled with good times, good health and the company of family and friends.

HAPPY 14th BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER!!

It's hard to believe that today you are 14 years old! It really does seem like yesterday that you were just a little baby in my arms. Today you are taller than me!

I remember the day you were born.........

I was admitted to the hospital on December 22, 1995 as they were monitoring your movement and since they weren't happy with the lack of movement, they decided to induce me.......well they got really busy with other deliveries and told me I'd have to spend the night. There I laid in the room where patients came in to make toast......hooked up to a monitor listening to your heartbeat and scared out of my mind at the thought on induction. I had to listen to all these women deliver their babies. Around midnight they moved me to my own private room.

The next morning I woke up early, showered and was so nervous about what would happen to me in the next few hours. The nurse came into my room around 6:30 a.m. to tell me that they were ready to get started. So off I walked to the delivery room, with my chapstick in the pocket of my housecoat and a glamour magazine tucked under one arm.......ya like I ever read that magazine that day! lol

Daddy got there after they'd broken my water and hooked me up to an IV with pitocin to start the contractions.......and boy it worked fast! I was up and walking around, and had to go back and lie down as the pain was getting bad.They called my Dr. as I had asked for an epidural. In the mean time they gave me nitrous which took the edge off. Trouble was that I sucked so hard on the mask that it bruised my nose! Dr. Docherty arrived to check me and found me to be 5-6 cm dilated. She went on some rounds and told the nurse to page her over the intercom as she'd forgotten her beeper at home. Well, they called her back pretty quick as I went from 5-10cm in less than a half hour!

At 12:05 p.m. you came into this world with blonde hair and a loud cry. You weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and were 21cm in length. You had so many visitors. On Christmas Eve Daddy brought supper to the hospital from Nonna. It was delicious! There we sat that evening staring at you and feeling such joy that we were now a family.

And here you are today.... you have grown into such a wonderful young man. You're a good student, and a good athlete, and you continue to make us proud of you.

Happy Birthday Christopher! We love you!

Bulletpoint highlights of July...........

Here are some high lights in bullet form of July 2009:

• The weather was H O T!
• 2 forest fires in the hills behind our house.One was caused by lightening.
• I took the boys to Vancouver to see American Idol Live
• The boys LOVED the concert.....3rd row baby!
• Had a spike in my tire so that delayed us at the coast for an extra day till they could locate a tire to match my other three
• Didn't pack enough clothes or puppy food for the extended stay, so spent that afternoon driving around with a teeny spare tire and looked for Shiloh's brand of food.
• Missed going to the lake as we didn't arrive back into Kelowna until Friday evening,and I was just too exhausted to go anywhere else.
• Gianna, Derek and the girls came for a visit. They all enjoyed the hot summer weather and the pool
• Canada Day soccer tournament for Michael. His team finished in 2nd place
• Our good friend Rob suffered a massive heart attack while in Bellingham for the girls soccer tournament
• So many people prayed for him.
• We were thankful for the updates from Elaine's brother who was in Bellingham
• Rob stayed in ICU for 8 days.He was very critical,and we prayed harder than we ever had for his recovery
• Elaine had the loving support of her girls and her siblings as well as the many e-mails she received which helped get her through each day.
• Rob was taken off the ventilator, and continued to improve a little each hour
• He came home the middle of July.
• We had them over for dinner/swim,and Rob looked good, but tired. We continued to pray for his recovery
• The boys attended a golf camp and a soccer camp this month
• Nicholas won the coaches award at soccer camp
• Our puppy Shiloh is amazing! She's just a dream puppy.
• The boys all had pool parties
• I can't remember a summer with such fantastic weather
• Landscaping continued to go well.
• Andy hired one of the teachers sons to help. He was a God send and the work got done
• Slowly things are coming together with regards to landscaping, and furniture for our living room

The trouble with posting AFTER the fact is that I forgot.....

to blog about stuff and now it's all out of order!

In May Michael and Nicholas competed at the school track meet. There were 2 other Christian Schools competing. The boys did well. Michael qualified to compete in the district championships in long jump and Nicholas qualified for triple jump. Michael also qualified for the 4x100m relay(an event I LOVED in school).

The day of the Districts came and the sun was of course shining brightly.....the boys were a bit nervous to say the least.

Nicholas placed 6th in the triple jump.

Michael placed 4th in long jump.

His relay team placed 2nd in the District! He was the lead runner for the team, and man alive he was FAST! Unfortunately they slowed down at the third exchange and that cost them the race, but what excitement at the Apple Bowl that day!

St. Joseph School won lots of events that day. We were all cheering the kids on and enjoying the excitement of the day.

June 28, 2009

My baby boy turns 8 years old today!

My goodness where has the time gone. Jacob you are a joy, and such a wonderful part of our family. Your sweetness and thoughtfulness will carry you far in life.

You are a determined little boy....always trying to keep up with your older brothers!

This year he wanted a Monkey Cake...so off I went in search of a Wilton Monkey pan. He loved the cake!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY JACOB!

Schools out for summer!!!!!!!

Another school year came to an end. The boys are thrilled to be out of school and are looking forward to a long hot summer!

June...........last month of school!!!

I LOVE the hot summer type weather we've had so far. The boys have been in the pool a lot since we opened it at the end of April.

I took on the task of putting together the photo show for the Gr. 7 farewell....oh my gosh! What a logistical nightmare that turned out to be. Of course I should have left it alone, and not volunteered, but no one else stepped up to do it, and I know how much the gr. 7's appreciate this, soooooooooooo I jumped in with both feet. It probably wouldn't have been such a big ordeal if my computer photoshow program would have let me use some up to date music, instead of the canned garbage that they offer. So then I had to try using powerpoint which I'm not familiar with, and oh the stress I put myself under was something that I don't want to repeat anytime soon. Also, if the deadline for photo submission is May, then why on earth am I still without photos for some kids in the middle of June????

So, I plugged away at it day and night editing, moving stuff around, etc. and the perfectionist in me took over and needless to say I didn't eat or sleep for 3 days! The darn program wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, the photos weren't transitioning with the music, and I was going crazy! It was right down to the wire with glitches, and finally I called a friends brother who was a computer genius and he walked me through it.

The Gr. 7 Farewell was lovely. Speeches were great, and all in all it was a good evening.

The photo show was good despite one minor glitch with the audio, but everyone liked it, and my job was done!

Back to updating events from the Spring..........

May continued to be a busy month with soccer games for the boys. May long weekend took us to Kamloops for Christopher and Michael's tournaments. Michael's team placed 2nd in an intense game against Kamloops. Christopher's team losing against Penticton.

It's hard to believe that the boys only have one month left of school. One month left with all my boys at the same school. Never again will this happen, as when Jacob is in grade 8, Christopher will already have graduated. I wish there was some way to slow down time just a bit. It seems to be going by so quickly.....

The landscaping of the yard continued this Spring beginning with the installation of our putting green on the back burm. The boys were eager to help,and fascinated with the heavy equipment used in the process.

First Communion Day and Party............

Our little Jacob received his First Communion on Sunday May 3rd. It was a beautiful day!

He looked so sweet all dressed up in his suit. Mass was lovely and that was followed by breakfast in the Parish Hall.

That afternoon we had a combined party for Christopher and Jacob at home. I had rented tables, chairs and Lynda was catering the dinner. It looked amazing in our living room with all the tables and linens.

God Bless you Jacob throughout your life!

Jacob and Sophie

Christopher and Jacob

Nicholas turns 10!

Our sweet Nicholas turned 10 years old on April 26th!

Wow time sure does fly by.....

My favorite memories are:

• He was in such a hurry to be born, he didn't even wait for the Dr......a lovely nurse named Marion delivered him!


• He was such a dream baby....ate, slept and sigh, just a dream!


• He was the youngest of the boys to walk at 11 months.


• When he would wake at night I'd go to his room and he'd be standing up in his crib. I'd go over to him and he would reach out for my face, and then put his forehead against my forehead and just hold my face there. Sooooooooo sweet!


• He cut the cord to the baby monitor(that was plugged in at the time)with a pair of scissors!Ok, not funny!


• He sat in his kiddie pool fully clothed!


• He rode a two wheeler at age 4 after begging Andy to take his training wheels off


• He loved his chucho....so much so that he still had it when he was almost 4! One day he came outside with it in his mouth and Andy told him to take the silly thing out of his mouth...he then reached for it in Nicholas' mouth but Nico put up his hands to block him and that resulted in the choocho becoming airborne and landing right in the gutter! Good bye chucho!


• I loved all his chubbiness!


• He's a great soccer player


• He's a great hockey player


• He has lots of really nice friends


• He rode the California Screamin Roller Coaster all alone this past March!

We love you Nicholas you are a joy!

April/May

These were going to be busy months for us with Christopher's Confirmation and Jacob's First Communion.

Christopher asked Carlo to be his Sponsor. We had prepped for the big day and at last it was here. I bought him a really nice suit at Mexx with a bright blue shirt and new tie. He looked awesome!

You know it seems like yesterday when I held him in my arms at his Baptism, and here we were at his Confirmation. He did the first reading....and of course I had tears in my eyes watching and listening to him.

His chosen name was John after Andy and Nonno Giovanni. After the ceremony we came home for a small family celebration.

Meet our newest addition.........

Shiloh is our new mini labradoodle puppy, and she's gorgeous! We brought her home on May 29th. Up till then only me and the older boys had seen her at the breeders. Nicholas and Jacob fell in love with her instantly, as did Andy. She weighed lonly 8 lbs when we brought her home. The car ride home was interesting. She cried most of the way home(a 2.5 hr. drive) and then around Monte Lake she threw up all over Christopher. Poor thing...luckily he had some other shorts to change into.

We settled into life with a new puppy quite easily I might add. She's was a dream from day 1. We followed all the instructions from the breeder. As this is our first puppy, I didn't really know what to expect,and we'd heard horror stories from friends who have had dogs....but really she's slept well in her kennel beside our bed since the first night. She only cried a bit and I'd put my hand beside the door and she'd nuzzle her nose up against it and fall right to sleep....and sleep she did, for over 8 hrs each night!

Spring Part 2

Once the snow finally melted, and hockey was finished for the season, the boys happily moved on to soccer. Both Christopher and Michael were playing with Kelowna United Select Teams and had great seasons. Michael's team came 2nd in two tournaments and Christopher's team was undefeated in regular season play...only to lose in penalty shots in the playoffs. That was a very hard game to watch.

Nicholas and Jacob also played soccer in the U10 and U8 age groups. They break for the summer and have now resumed play for the month of September. I'll get some photos of them soon and post them.

My oh my where has the time gone?

My last real update was in the Spring after my Dad has his surgery, and now it's September, the boys are all back in school, and I finally get some time to sit at a computer!

So, the updating process will be quite lengthy as I recount all our happenings since March 2009.............

SPRING BREAK:

We went to Disneyland....and what a GREAT time we had! The day we arrived we met up with Franca and her family for dinner at Downtown Disney. One of our fav. restaurants there is Napoli. The kids were so excited to see their friends from school. The next day we met at Universal Studios. The weather was somewhat uncooperative, and we crossed our fingers that it would improve as we were just beginning our holiday. We had soooooooooo much snow this past winter, we just wanted some SUN!

Universal Studio's was fantastic. I think I left my stomach at the top of the Jurassic Park ride!

Oh my what a free fall at the end! The boys, Andy and even Franca and John went on alot of the rollercoaster rides there with The Mummy and The Simpsons Ride being their favorites.

The Studio Tour was fantastic....we had Front of the Line passes, so we didn't have to wait in line which was nice. They were filming Desperate Housewives that day. Andy's favorite attraction was the Terminator Show...one of his favorite movies.

The next day we started our 5 day passes at Disneyland. The weather was gorgeous, hot and sunny.....just what our winter skin was begging for! The boys loved being back in Disneyland.

Jacob being the youngest, and tall enough for all the rides in the park has a totally different Disneyland experience than his brothers......all they wanted to do was ride the California Screamin Roller Coaster.....in fact they all rode it 21 times in 5 days....ho hum, it got a bit boring for me around the 15th time watching....but they had so much fun it was hard not to laugh.

I think my favorite thing to do was to spend an entire morning with Jacob just in Disneyland. We got new hats, went to Minnie's House, saw Mickey, Donald, Pluto and all the gang....we even got to see the Fairy Godmother!

Soarin over California has to be one of my fav. rides. Here I am with the boys waiting in line.

We couldn't have asked for better weather. Here we were in hot sunny California(everday that week it got to 86F) and at home they were still shovelling the snow.

Michael had his 12th Birthday in Disneyland.....he got a gift card from the resort so he bought whatever he wanted...a Mr. Potato Head, a stuffed Mickey, a football, 2 t-shirts. Here he is with his Birthday hat..... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL!

You are a wonderful boy with so much love to give. We love you and hope you had a wonderful day!

The evening of his Birthday we surprised the boys with tickets to an NHL game....their first ever! Anaheim Ducks vs. Edmonton Oilers.....and the Oilers won.There were lots of Canadian fans on hand cheering them on.

The following day we headed back home. Exhausted, but filled with lots of good memories.

Summer time, summer time...............

I can't believe it's been soooooooooooooo long since I logged on here to tell about our day to day happenings.

The summer is flying by and we're loving our hot, hot weather!

I will post some photos and a complete update real soon.

My Dad..........

I haven't had time lately to blog as we've been busy with hospital visits with my Dad. He went to the hospital last Monday (March 9th) and the surgeon removed a portion of his lower intestine. Everything went well with the surgery, no complications. I saw him the day after the surgery and he looked better than I could have expected! The incision is HUGE! It's a vertical incision that goes from below his belly button to his chest! It is the nicest incision I've seen. Very clean and healing well. He continued to progress well, but was getting hungry as he'd been off food since the 8th. On the 5th day post op, he suddenly wasn't feeling well, was sweating profusely, and was agitated. The nurse called in the Dr. who then called the Cardiologist who ordered some tests. Now I'm getting all this info from mom who is completely overwhelmed with all that's going on, so it may or may not be accurate. Anyway, he's been off his diabetes meds, blood pressure pills, anti anxiety meds and my theory is that he was going through withdrawal of some sort. They gave him something in his IV and that calmed him down. Then they had to call his Dr. so that he could put the order in for the other meds. He's home now and resting. He'll see the Dr on Thursday to have the staples removed,then see his Dr. on Friday to discuss the 'irregular heartbeat' that they found after administering the heart tests. They also have him on Warfarin...not sure why, but Andy thinks it's to prevent blood clots after surgery.


Now for news from the complaints dept.

1. I think my sisters could have come home this week while my Dad was in the hospital
2. I think they could have sent flowers themselves instead of calling me on Day4 post op and asking me to get them
3. I think that since he's home now and it's spring break, that one or both of them could have come home.

Andy says " they're not all like you Maria" I take that as a compliment actually, and secretly wish they were more like me! I know this surgery wasn't life saving surgery, but c'mon, if I was living at the coast, I would have made the trip home regardless of the kind of surgery it was!

So, do I say something to them? Probably not as it would start a huge fight ....sigh

Featured Person of the Day


Kelowna dentist Dr. Andy Macdonnell has been brightening smiles in Kelowna for 15 years. His practice is located in Orchard Plaza, at #209 - 1890 Cooper Road. Whether it's cosmetic dentistry, crown and bridge work, or prosthetics, Dr. Macdonnell is committed to rehabilitating people's mouths and allowing them to regain the smile they once had.Dr. Macdonnell keeps active around Kelowna, getting outside for golfing and skiing, depending on the season, and coaching soccer & hockey. He would really like to see more homes & shelters provided for homeless citizens of Kelowna, and volunteers with the Kelowna Gospel Mission through their Dental Clinic and the 30K Club. He enjoys Rockets games at Prospera Place, and looks forward to our seasonal Wine Festivals.Have a great day, Dr. Macdonnell!

Uugh!

Another vent..............

Andy's away at a conference with his staff. They were all having a great time by the sounds of it when I called last night......I don't have a problem with them having fun, but they were all in Andy's room watching TV, and I think that's inappropriate. I mean imagine his reaction if he'd have called me at a hockey tournament and I had 8 men in my room! It's not to say I don't trust him....it's to say that he shouldn't put himself in a situation where everyone thinks he's their friend. They feel comfortable, and don't respect the fact that he's their boss! I don't like it and I let him know it.....I hung up on him. I know probably not the maturest thing to do, but I was pi$$ed off!

Then a half hour later I called back, and they were STILL there! I asked if they were there and he says NO....so I ask him another question and he says NO, all those one word answers made me fuming mad now, so I hung up on him again! Now I'm steaming mad and if I could have jumped through the phone then I would have.

He calls me back a half hour later....I was on the phone with Tina venting at the time so it went to voice mail. I called him back, didn't really have much to say other than what I said above.

Then tonight I text him because he's forgotten to call the boys to say goodnight(whole other issue that I won't go into now), and so he obviously got the not so nice text I sent, so he calls home. The boys all talked to him, but I don't have anything to say to him. He then says that they all went out to dinner tonight and that his Visa was declined.....so I call Visa, only to find out that it's because it's reached it's limit. So I call him back because he was supposed to have paid it the other night when he paid some other bills. Well, he didn't, so I had to promptly make a payment online. I tell ya, I'm completely sick of being the one who stays home, drives the kids all over the place(and this week has been extremely busier than most) while he's out having a grand old time with everyone. And no it's not a jealousy thing that they're there and I'm at home, it's about staff not behaving and acting stupid because they've had too much wine!

He can take a cab home from the airport on Saturday.

Today may you be blessed.........

Awhile ago I signed up for a daily newsletter that was inspirational and motivational. I have enjoyed reading the verses, quotes and most days it helps put things into perspective for me. Some days I need a kick in the arse to make me realize I have nothing to complain about.

Here's a really good little movie clip that brought tears to my eyes.

http://beblessedmovie.com/

The snow is starting to melt......................

Yipee, yippee, yipee....the snow is starting to melt....we woke to pounding rain this morning, but I'll take that any day over snow!

I just want to see some sunshine and feel the warmth of it. We leave for CA soon and the boys are really looking forward to it too.

I feel like I don't have much to blog about...don't feel much like talking either. Ok, I have to vent somewhere. You know the saying that people come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. Well, lately, I've had LOTS of time to think or should I say evaluate the 'friendships' I have and quite frankly, it sucks! Days, weeks can go by and not a phone call, or a wave in the parking lot. I just say 'whatever' and try not to let it bother me, but it HAS bothered me. Do I say something? Is it worth it? I don't think it's ok to completely ignore someone for weeks, only to call on them when you 'need' them. I don't want to always be the one who's picking up the phone, going out of my way to send a gift etc. I realize this sounds so petty, but you know what, I'm 42 years old, and I'm just sick of this high school stuff. Why do I wait for them to call me? Why don't I pick up the phone you ask? Well, cause I'm sick and tired of a one sided relationship, and I've chosen to distance myself. Trust me I have a LOT more important things to do in each day than to sit and listen to boring diatribes of nonsense. I'm not on my high horse. I do not think I'm better than anyone else, but no person needs to be sitting there between two people who are supposedly your friends and have them talk across the front of you like you're not even there Now this happens once...ok, get over it, but it happens A L L T H E T I M E!!! Ah, I had to get that off my chest. Now to make dinner.

My husband is the biggest baby!

You'd think that Mother Nature was taking it out on him personally by dumping all this snow on Feb. 25th. He says he's so sick of it all....blah blah blah, aren't we all?

He started to get his boots and coat on to go and shovel the driveway, and then had a hissy fit and said forget it, I'm not going! (Oh my!)

Ok, as I stated in earlier posts, I'm done with winter too, but you don't see me getting mad at everything that's living do you?

He says he's going to retire somewhere hot in the winter.....sionara dude, send me a post card!

Mother Nature has a funny sense of humour because..............

ahem, it's SNOWING outside right now! They weren' t kidding when they said 10-15cm of snow tonight! It started after school and it hasn't let up at all! In fact, now the wind has started and it's blowing all over! I can't even see across the lake atm.....waaaaaaaaahhhhh, I'm sooooooooo done with winter!!!!

Time to hang up one pair of hockey skates...........

Michael's team fought the good fight this weekend, but unfortunately they lost to a much stronger team that should be playing either AAA or AA level hockey!! The whole thing was just lousy from the get go.....really rough play on their part, as well as horrible officiating. I could tell the outcome from the get go. Michael's ok about it....I think he's ready to move on to soccer.

We win...........we advance to round 3!

Bring on Winfield.....round 3 of the playoffs for Michael's team starts next Saturday.....and we're ready! (insert maniacal laugh here)

The boys got to play game 2 vs. S. Okanagan at Prospera yesterday. Playing in that arena is always a great time for the boys....kind of like playing in the big leagues!

It was my turn to sell 50/50 tickets and I sold the most to date! The jackpot was $160. Not bad eh?

Michael woke up full of a cold, so he's home from school today. I took the others to school, stopped to pick up some stuff for dinner tonight and when I called home he didn't answer. I became concerned when I tried again and still no answer. I ran up the stairs calling his name with no response.....only to find him asleep in his bed under his duvet!

Stews in the crock pot, homemade chicken soup is cooking on the stove.It smells GREAT in here!

Playoffs round 2...............

Michael's team is now in round 2 of the playoffs, and they're out of town today. We just won in OT!!! Woo Hoo! Game 2 is here tomorrow.

Jacob's team is in a tournament this weekend and they've won both games so far. Tonight they get to play during the Rockets intermisson and are VERY excited!

Images from Granny Margaret's Life

http://www.mem.com/ViewImages.aspx?ID=2851088

Today was Granny Margaret's Funeral

My heart swells today with love for our boys. They were wonderful participants in their great granny's life and today she would be proud of them for their participation of her funeral mass. My husband was heavy hearted as he stood at the pulpit today to deliver a speech about his granny. I love him, and today my heart broke for him as I sat and listened to the many stories he had about this wonderful lady, and how blessed we were to have had her in our lives for so long.

Unfortunately, Jason wasn't able to attend the funeral, but he was here in spirit and sent along a note for Andy to read.

The funeral service was beautiful, the soloist had the most beautiful voice.

We are home now briefly to change clothes and then will join everyone for dinner at Andy's parents.

God Bless you Granny Margaret.

A poem about Granny:

Her smile can light up a room, her presence is of grace Her opinions are heard without one word but by the look upon her face Her touch is so gentle, her heart as big as the moon Her spirit is kindhearted and warm as a summer’s afternoon Her hair a river of gray, her eyes radiant as the sun Her time she’ll take no matter how long until the work is done Her kisses are so soft, her hugs preferred from the rest My granny is mine forever and ever and she’ll always be the best.